Spoilers: As Clan Akkaba and the Acolytes battle, Jubilee and Sunspot approach Rusty and Skids, who admit that they joined Exodus because they had nowhere else to go after X-Factor rounded up the mutants at the vigil. Jubilee condemns the Acolytes for recruiting frightened children and blasts one of their enforcers when he confronts her. Psylocke and Archangel join the fight, with Betsy disabling another attacker with her psychic knife. Cable then stuns Rusty and Skids, refusing Jubilee’s request to take them along. He argues that they could be spies and offer little tactical advantage, reminding her that X-Force’s mission does not include rescuing every mutant they encounter. Despite her anger, Jubilee refuses to abandon the team.
Meanwhile, Ozymandias encourages Famine to stop Exodus from claiming Apocalypse’s rejuvenation chamber. Determined to preserve her promised future with Apocalypse, she attacks, but Exodus counters her touch with his own control over matter. As X-Force withdraws, Jubilee makes another attempt to help Rusty and Skids, only for the Acolytes to insist that they belong with Exodus. At the team’s aircraft, Ozymandias confronts Cable and reclaims his opal. Cable orders Archangel to attack, but Ozymandias uses the stone to overwhelm Warren with visions of his torments and temptations, causing him to lash out at his teammates. Psylocke reaches him telepathically, reminding him of his vow never to let Apocalypse control him again and urging him to take her hand instead. Betsy brings Warren back to himself, although Ozymandias escapes.
Cable then activates explosives that X-Force has planted on the rejuvenation chamber. Ozymandias, who privately dismisses Famine as a distraction incapable of defeating Exodus, is trying to have the chamber moved when his followers discover the unfamiliar wiring. The resulting explosion destroys it, ruining both factions’ plans. Exodus incinerates Famine when she confronts him over the loss, then departs with his Acolytes, declaring their attack a victory against Clan Akkaba. Ozymandias survives beneath the rubble and insists that Apocalypse will need him again. With the opal restored to his forehead, he vows to continue serving his master’s plans, however many centuries they might take.
Aboard X-Force’s aircraft, Cable confirms that the stolen prophecies have provided the information they need to locate War. While Sunspot unsuccessfully tries to comfort Warren, Jubilee approaches Psylocke with the question she has been afraid to ask: has Betsy seen the missing X-Men through the opal, and will they be all right? Betsy explains that the stone reveals both the past and possible futures, but sharing those visions could alter their outcome through the butterfly effect. Although she can offer no guarantees, she reassures Jubilee that the X-Men are fighters who will not easily surrender their love for one another or their hopes for the future. The two share a warmer moment, teasing each other about their intimidating ninja and mall-rat reputations.
Cable announces that they have approximately twenty-four hours to prepare an ambush before heading to Rio, where their search for War will continue. Back in the battered town, X-Factor arrives after receiving reports of the clash between Clan Akkaba, the Acolytes, and X-Force.
The story continues in X-Men ’97: Season 2, Episode 2, "A Force to Be Reckoned With".
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
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