Eyelids slowly begin to open. The darkness is replaced by a view of sand. He moves his arm underneath his body for support and feels dampness in his boots. He looks at his feet and watches as water washes over them from the sea. He looks down at his body and checks himself only to find that there is nothing physically wrong with him. It's then that he glances around the beach.

All he can see is sand and the ocean.

"Scottie...?" he asks. "Elektra? Surfer?"

He brings himself to his feet and stumbles slightly. He catches himself before he falls over and figths for a few moments to regain his balance. The last thing he remembers is a battle on the blue area of the moon against the threat of the Phoenix. He remembers a lot of death. He remembers the Surfer's plan to defeat the Phoenix. And he remembers rushing into it, acting too soon, and almost causing the plan to fail. It was then that he pulled the trigger on the Ultimate Nullifier and then, everything went black.

Now, he's on a beach. But everyone else is gone. The Six, the Avengers, the Four, the Starjammers. Out of everyone on the moon, only he is left. His name is Alex Summers, and he is the product of two different worlds.

He was born on one world, but after his apparent death, he was transported to another world. In this other world, he led a team of mutants known as the Six. It wasn't long before his team was decimated and he had to form a new one (which was soon broken apart as well).

He hears screams in the distance. And although Alex Summers does not know where he is, he does know one thing—people are in danger. And he won't sit by and do nothing.

He runs across the sandy beach as fast as his legs can carry him. His body is still tense and his muscles strained from the battle with Phoenix. With every stride he takes, he feels pain shoot through his legs. He blocks it out and continues forward.

The beach eventually reaches an end, and his foot strikes pavement. He continues to run towards the center of the destruction. The screams grow louder, and he tries to run faster. His heart is pounding now. His breath is ragged. His body struggles to keep up with him.

He stops once he arrives at the scene and sees a large creature of some sort with blades for arms tearing through civillians. He recognizes the creature's appearence as that of the Phalanx, a race of aliens that desires to assimilate all of Earth into their unholy collective. He fought the Phalanx once, and he saw the danger they pose. He has no desire to see that danger return.

He extends his arm and channels the cosmic energy that flows through his body towards his outstreched hands. He concentrates, and the energy is converted to plasma as it's released from his hands. The blast strikes the creature and burns a whole right through it.

The creature turns to face Havok and smiles. Alex Summers is the reason why he was sent here. He leaves the locals and begins to move towards Havok, the wound in his body already healing as he assimilates the objects he goes through.

"We stopped the Phalanx once," says Havok. "We can do it again."

"I'm not Phalanx," says the creature. "I'm Pestilence."

Pestilence outstretches his arms and heaves his chest forward. As he does, hundreds of techno-organic spikes fly from his body towards Havok. Alex rolls away from them as fast as he can and uses his plasma blasts to vaporize any of them before they can strike him. Pestilence follows up on this by forming his arm into a giant battering ram, and slams it into Havok's body. The force sends Alex flying back, and he stops when he hits something hard. He looks up and sees that it's a statue. A statue of Magneto.

"What the hell's going on?" he asks. He regains his composure and stands. He searches the area for Pestilence, but finds no sign of him. He keeps his hand extended in the event that Pestilence appears in his vicinity. Surely, it can't be over that quickly, can it?

Before Alex can even think that thought, the statue becomes alive and overtakes him. Pestilence must have traveled through the ground and assimilated the statue while Havok was searching the area for him.

The Horseman flowed off of Alex and looked down to see that he was infected with the Transmode Virus. Pestilence smiled at his handiwork and vanished in a flash of light. His task was complete. Alex Summers was as good as dead.

Alex's thoughts drift to his loved ones as his world begins to fade away to black. But the only thought that comes to him is that he's already "died" three times in his life. He can't die a forth. But his thoughts begin to fade into nothingness as the Virus overtakes his system.

Then, his thoughts suddenly become clear. He feels his body growing stronger. He slowly lifts his body up and removes his gloves. The mark of the Transmode Virus is no longer there. His skin is perfectly clear. He wonders for only a moment what the cause is, and then he sees a man hovering above him. A man dressed in crimson armor and a purple cape. His helmet completely conceals his face, save for his glowing eyes.

"Magneto?" he asks.

Magneto isn't able to answer as a flash of bright light appears not too far from them. This is another man that Alex knows. This man is, despite the fact that he is obviously older, Alex's nephew. Nathan Christopher Summers—Cable.

"That one was a bit too close, Prosh," says Cable. "It looks like time's running short."

Before Cable takes another step, he finds that he can't move. He sees Magneto pointing an outstreched hand in his direction and realizes the source.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"I should ask you two the same thing," replies Magneto. "Specifically, what are you doing in my country?"

"Your country?!" exclaims Alex. "Where am I?"

"Genosha," replies Cable. "I appreciate you saving Havok, Magnus. But don't get in my way. This is something far more serious than you can even begin to imagine."

"Then go," says Magneto. He releases his grip on Cable. "Leave Genosha. And do not return."

"You're playing with fire, Magnus," warns Cable. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did to me the last time we met."

"And don't think I won't do it again."

Cable approaches Havok, keeping his eyes and his gun fixed on Magneto the whole time.

"Prosh, bodyslide by two, Greymalkin bound."

There's a flash of light, and when it dies down, both Cable and Havok are gone.

"Why did you save his life?"

Magneto turns to see Amelia Voght standing before him. She is a member of the Acolytes, a group of religious fanatics who believe Magneto is the second coming. However, she is probably the only one in that organization who doesn't subscribe to that theory. She has an incredible amount of admiration and respect, as well as some fear, for Magneto, but she doesn't believe he is a God. And that is something Magneto both respects and despises in her.

"Havok was once my teammate, Amelia," he says. "He was only attempting to protect my people. Saving his life was the least I could do."

"But what about Cable?" she asks. "Why did you let him leave? He can't be happy that his former students are now your Fallen Angels. How do you know he won't come back to claim them?"

"You heard what he said," replies Magneto. "There is something far more serious at stake than a simple rivalry."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes."