Five Card Studs

• Writer - Scott Lobdell
• Penciler - Luke Ross
• Inker - Andy Lanning
• Colorist - Steve Buccellato
• Colorist - Electric Crayon
• Lettering - Richard Starkings
• Editor in Chief - Bob Harras

Summary

  Warren has lent his Soho loft to the X-Men, who invite Ben Grimm over for a poker game. Sam, ever the cornball, stands behind Hank and gives away every hand. Hank fulminates; Ben: "Give the kid a break, McCoy. That's the problem wit' youse mutants... Yer always takin' things much too serious." He leaves, so they deal Sam in.

  Ororo is distracted, thinking about Betsy (UXM 328) and Bishop, who is still dealing with his memories of the Age of Apocalypse. He sees himself older, being chased, but he can't see by whom. Scott and Jean say his mind must be trying to protect itself. They dealt with time-compressed memories (after the Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix miniseries), but their psionic rapport let them help each other. Dark Beast observes all and plots mayhem. He is surprised in his lair by Sugarman, who has evidently eaten the guards. He accuses Dark Beast of holding out on him, not letting him know Bishop has appeared in this timeline.

  Xavier thinks Sabretooth wounded Betsy but left her alive as a message to him. He counts the casualties to his dream and feels tired; Betsy insists it was her choice.

  Sam turns out to be a card hustler, and only Remy has chips left. Hank watches the action, while Ororo and Bobby go to the kitchen. Bobby: "'Ro, got a sec?quot; Ororo: "I cannot lend you another five." But he actually wants her to help him train, since her power is also elemental. She gladly agrees.

  Sugarman raids Dark Beast's fridge, while he explains that Bishop started the fall of Apocalypse and never had a counterpart on this earth till recently. He deduces he's the same person, a chronal anomaly, who therefore retains memories of the AOA, and Sinister may find out about them.

  Remy tells Sam that bluffing is only part of the game: distraction is the other. Hank has a brainstorm, realizing Stryfe built distractions into the Legacy virus, and goes back to his lab.

  Dark Beast shows Sugarman a horrifically deformed mutant he grew from brain tissue, which filters thoughts into data. They plan to kill Bishop before they are discovered.

  Sam shows his hand: full house, tens over nines. Remy lays down a card at a time: ten, jack, queen, king: the makings of a royal flush, but then he blows up the table with the last card. He apologizes; Sam gets the pot; Ororo is confused when she realizes he had the ace.