A S.H.I.E.L.D. team surveys the aftermath of a massive fire at a church of Reverend William Stryker’s outside Fargo, North Dakota. As Agent Morales reports back to Maria Hill, another agent alerts her to more bodies underground that were not killed by the fire.

Eleven hours earlier, Wolverine’s X-Force is in a standoff at the church with the Purifiers and their leader, Matthew Risman. Risman has just shot a captive Wolfsbane in the leg, and Wolverine is trying to get X-23 to stand down before Risman does any more damage. X-23 reluctantly sheaths her claws and she, Wolverine, and Warpath drop to their knees and surrender. As the Purifiers bind the three mutants, X-23 produces a detonator and pushes the trigger against Wolverine’s orders. A massive explosion destroys the building and engulfs the remains in flames.

In the ensuing chaos, Risman grabs Wolfsbane and begins to run. X-23 grabs a pistol and pursues him as Wolverine pulls Warpath out from underneath debris. Risman drags Rahne to a waiting helicopter, with Laura hot on his tail. Laura kills three more Purifiers but she can’t reach the helicopter before it takes off.

Back at Angel’s Aerie in Colorado, Logan unloads on Laura, furious at her recklessness with the explosives (that she failed to tell the team about) and for putting Wolfsbane in danger. Laura says rescuing Rahne was not her mission, and Cyclops backs her up. He confirms that killing Risman was her objective and puts the blame for Rahne’s situation on Logan because he didn’t realize how determined she was to get to the Purifiers. Reverend Craig, the sadistic religious extremist who raised Rahne, has joined the Purifiers, and Rahne has learned that he is in fact her father.

Suddenly, Angel arrives and demands to know the reason for the secret meeting at his home. Warpath tells him Rahne has been captured and Warren insists they call the X-Men. Cyclops refuses, saying that Rahne may not be in as much danger as they think, considering that the Purifiers - whose sole purpose as a group is to kill mutants - have decided to take her alive.

X-Force then goes on the hunt. They raid Purifier bases throughout the Midwest looking for Risman. In Tulsa, Wolverine is able to extract a location from a captured Purifier.

Elsewhere, Rahne is being held in a dark room, tied to a chair with her eyelids pried open. Revered Craig enters and injects her with an unknown substance, telling her he will listen to her sins and she “will make amends to the Lord”. Outside, Bastion orders Risman to kill Wolfsbane. Risman insists that William Stryker left specific instructions for what to do with Rahne, but Bastion dismisses Stryker’s plan as destined for failure. Risman insists that per Stryker’s instructions, he has to “protect the oracle and create the choir”. Bastion grows impatient and threatens Risman with an energy blast. Risman finally relents, and Bastion dictates the new plan.

Bastion has sent a group of Purifiers to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve something that can end the X-Men for good, a creature that can “infect and absorb organic matter” - a member of the Technarch called Magus.

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