During his hunt for Cable and the messiah child, Bishop found himself in New York in the desolate future his actions created. There, he learned from some of the last humans left that there was a “sleeping god” in the caves nearby. When he went to investigate for himself, he found Apocalypse, at rest in a hibernation chamber. Bishop used this knowledge to enlist Stryfe to his cause, and the two proceeded to work together and kill the weakened Apocalypse.

In 2973, X-Force and Cable are surrounded by Stryfe’s soldiers. Wolverine orders Elixir and Vanisher to take Hope and run while the rest of the team fights. Elixir calms Hope down and heals some of the old fractures she has accumulated over years on the run. As Stryfe’s army quickly overwhelms them, Archangel hears a voice that says “come to me” and flies off in a trance. Domino pleads with old, mentally cracked Deadpool to get his head in the game. Wade turns his fire on Stryfe’s soldiers and ends the battle. The team regroups and gets back on the move.

In Stryfe’s throne room in Celestial City, Bishop nearly lets slip to Stryfe that he is concerned with more than Cable. Stryfe’s telepathy tells him that Cable has been joined by other X-Men from the past.

Wolverine tells Warpath that he needs to keep Hope safe no matter what happens to Wolverine or Cable. Hope and X-23 share a bonding moment as Domino presses Deadpool that she knows there’s something he’s not telling them. A flare of light arcs towards them from Stryfe’s tower and Stryfe himself lands violently among them, psionic field surrounding him. Stryfe quickly overwhelms the team until Cable is able to get close and tag him with an explosive device. The blast causes the cliffside to crack beneath their feet. As they all fall towards the raging water below, Warpath grabs Hope. Stryfe traps the two of them in a psionic field, gaining possession of the future of mutantkind.

To the north in the Adirondacks, Archangel follows a call. He enters a cave and is greeted by his creator. Apocalypse, weakened on the verge of dying, tells Warren he’s glad that if Death has come for him, it’s in the form of his “greatest horseman”.

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