Broken Lance

• Writer - Chris Claremont
• Penciler - Sean Chen
• Inker - Sandu Florea
• Colorist - Avalon Studios
• Colorist - Ian Hannin
• Lettering - Dave Sharpe
• Ass't Editor - Andy Schmidt
• Ass't Editor - Molly Lazer
• Ass't Editor - Nicole Wiley
• Editor - Tom Brevoort
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada

Summary

  X-Force's jet crashes, and Cable comes running. For the X-teams, the world had been at peace for years, and they weren't expecting trouble. Cable finds Domino in the rubble; Irene is annoyed he's so shaken -- did he expect the X-Men to live forever? Puffball was killed in the crash, but the others emerge from the balls she put them into.

  Shatterstar swats a bullet away with his sword; the fragments hit him and Irene. Shaitan attacks and reminds them he's the champion of a thousand dimensions, though stuck in Ororo's body. He bests Shatterstar and Rictor, but Meltdown bombs him. She's absorbed by Divinity; Cable tries to shoot him off her, but he's shot in the back by Scalphunter. Domino rushes Scalphunter, dodging his shots, and kicks him in the head, executing him. Cable tries to stab Divinity with his psimitar but misses; actually, he never misses, and got his target, Technarx. He warns Divinity to release Meltdown unharmed, but Shakti is unimpressed.

  She weaves a spell, forcing Apocalypse to reveal himself. He'd been hiding in Irene for years; Cable is shocked. Then he's more shocked, when Shatterstar stabs him in the back. He apologizes but can't control himself; the bullets were laced with T-O virus; Technarx has taken control of him, and he grabs Warpath with tendrils and transforms him, too.

  Divinity has co-opted Meltdown's power and blasts Domino; Apocalypse blasts him, saying they're just pawns, and he plans to destroy them. Cable apologizes to Irene; part of him hopes this is the end. Shaitan knows chess: if properly played, a pawn can take a king. Apocalypse is transformed; Irene was hit with a T-O bullet, and now that he's corporeal, he's affected. Better yet, Cable was hit, heir to both Apocalypse and Phoenix.

  Cable uses TK to push Feral away, telling her to live to tell the tale. He tells Domino, "Now," and she tries to shoot him, but Shaitan intervenes. Domino has Rictor take his shot: he opens the earth, and their transformed teammates fall into the crevasse with the villains; he closes it on them.

  Domino gets the remainder of the team moving; Feral is distraught and doesn't care what will happen next; Domino tells her to think: Sinister just killed Apocalypse and took control of Cable. Scott will try to save Cable or avenge him.

  At the Institute: Scott wants Wolfsbane to work with Martha and the Spikes to find Moonstar. Emma says she's taking the children to Rogue's house. Scott tries to dissuade her, but she's buried too many students and won't risk her babies.