Orbiting the planet Earth is a space station which once belonged to an alien warrior known as Boroh. This station utilizes both alien and futurisitc technology to conceal its presence from all conventional forms of detection. Quite simply, according to the technology on Earth, the space station known as Greymalkin II doesn't exist.

This station is usually home to just two beings. The sentient computer program known as Prosh, and the timelost warrior called Cable. Recently, it has become home to seven other mutants as well. These seven mutants, alongwith five others, comprise the Twelve. It is these twelve who will decide the final fate of mutantkind.

In an empty area of Greymalkin, a flash of light appears, and two figures are left standing once it dissipates. One of them is Cable. The other is an African woman with white hair and crystal-blue eyes. She is Ororo Munroe, Storm of the X-Men's Alpha squad.

"Where are we?" asked Storm.

"Greymalkin II," replied Cable. "Storm, before we join the others, I need you to tell me what exactly happened to Sam. It's important."

"He flew directly into War," recalled Storm. "But War... he simply smiled at him, and then... he did something..."

"What?"

"There was an energy signature of some sort," said Storm. "And then... Sam was gone. Henry suggested that there might still be hope, that War simply teleported Cannonball elsewhere."

"It's a possibility," said Cable. "And the best one we have to go on right now."

"Nathan..."

Cable looked up at her. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her eyes were cast downward at the floor. She looked up, but not at Cable. Instead, her vision was directed at the view of space.

"I...I'm afraid," she said. "I feel like I'm beginning to lose control over the weather. I know I've lost my control in the past, but... it's not an experience I wish to relive. Such power... it should not be a burden any human must bear."

"You can handle it, Ororo," said Cable. "You've got one of the strongest wills I've ever encountered."

"Can I?" she asked. "Recent events have caused me to... doubt myself."

"Don't," replied Cable. He stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone loses control at some point in their life. If it happens, we'll deal with it."

This was not the reunion he would have hoped for with Storm. At one point in time, the two of them could have been lovers, and neither can deny the fact that an attraction still exists between the pair. But they each have different loyalties. Storm to the X-Men and Cable to his mission.

{{Excuse the interruption, Nathan.}}

"What is it, Prosh?" asked Cable. He instantly slipped back into warrior mode and turned away from Storm. He looked at the monitor that displayed the computer-generated image of Prosh's face.

{{I have good news, I've located Cannonball.}}

"What are we waiting for, then?" asked Cable. "Bodyslide me to his location right away."

{{I shoudl warn you, though. He is currently located in Egypt.}}

"Directly into the heart of the lion's den..." muttered Storm.

"Maybe I should bring a chair and a whip with me, then," said Cable. "Storm, the others are in the next room. Prosh, bodyslide by one."

There was a flash of light and then Cable was gone. Prosh's face vanished from the screen. The doors at the end of the room opened and Storm walked towards them. Once she entered the next room, she was greeted by the rest of the Chosen.

"Hey, look who decided to join the party," said Bobby. "How ya been, Storm?"

"A little taken aback by these recent events, but otherwise I'm fine," replied Storm.

"Yeah, you're telling me," he said. He leaned back in the chair he sat on and propped his feet up on a coffee table in front of him. The entire room was set up as a lounge of some sort, but completely devoid of personality.

{{You'll have to forgive the appearence, Ms. Munroe. Nathan isn't one for interior decorating.}}

Storm smiled lightly at Prosh's attempted levity.

"It's quite alright," she said.

"It's probably because he's a Summers."

Storm's ears perked up at the voice, and she turned around and looked towards a window where a man with short, blonde hair and dressed in a dark, navy-colored bodysuit stood. He turned to face her, and she saw white circles on his chest. He also wore golden hip guards and one of them was connected to a big red and black X.

He turned to look at Storm and attempted to grin. His eyes gave off the appearence of a man who had seen more than his fair share of turmoil recently.

"We're not really known for our style."

"Of course you are," said Bobby. "Bland and boring's still a style. Not a very good one, but it counts."

"...Alex?" asked Storm.

"Long time, Storm," replied Alex Summers.

"But... how?" she asked.

The smile faded from Alex's face instantly. His eyes casted themselves downward, and his demeanor changed to one that was synonymous with despair.

"It's... a long story," he said. "And one I'd prefer not to go into."

Storm solemnly nodded at his response. She would liked to have known where her friend and former teammate had been for the past year or so, but if Alex didn't feel comfortable with sharing the story, then she certainly wouldn't be one to pry.

The last thing Samuel Guthrie remembered was slamming into the Horseman called War while surrounded by his kinetic blast field. So why is it that now, he finds himself blasting into sand?

He skidded across the desert landscape for a few feet after he disengaged his blast field, and once he stopped, his first goal was to expel the sand from his mouth.

"Wh... what happened?" he asked, although there was no one around to answer or even hear his question. He braced himself against the ground for balance as he tried to get to his feet. A little more than a moment ago, he was in Salem Center in New York. Now he finds himself in a desert with the hot, afternoon sun beating down on him. The recent change in climate and disorientation produces a reaction which is far from heroic.

He vomits.

Once he recovered from that display, he peeled off the leather jacket which was a part of his uniform. He also pulled off the shirt underneath it before collapsing in the sand once more.

"Damn, who's bright idea was it t' have uniforms made outta black leather?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Actually, ah kinda like th' look."

A femine shadow was cast over Sam's body, and he looked upwards to see the face of a dead woman staring back at him. A dead woman with long, brown hair that had a white streak in the center. She extended her bare hand towards him.

"It's okay, sugah," she said. "Ah got control over my powers."

"R-Rogue?" he stammered.

"That's my name, Sammy," she replied. She reached out with her hands and grasped his forearms. "C'mon, let's get ya up on your feet. There ya go."

She brushed the sand off his body, and he just looked at her with his mouth hanging open.

"But... you died."

"I got better," she replied with a smile.

"I... whoa..."

"What is it?"

"Startin' t' feel a little woozy..." he muttered as he began to stumble. Rogue steadied him. Was it just him, or had it gotten a lot hotter out?

"It's okay, it's normal," said Rogue. "It usually happens when I absorb the moisture out of a person's body."

Sam looked at her in shock at her response. Her skin began to turn to a pale, grayish color and her eyes became as black as oil. She slammed her fist across his face, and Sam reeled back and collapsed on the ground.

"GET BACK!!" exclaimed Cannonball as his blast field erupted around his body. The force of the kinetic energy sent Famine reeling slightly, but she came right back at it and delivered a punch surrounded by a the very same blast field. Courtesy of the powers she absorbed from Sam.

The blast field surrounded Famine and she rocketed towards Cannonball at incredible speeds and rammed into him at full force. Sam fell back onto the sand, and found himself staring directly at the sun. If not for the goggles he wore, the effect would have definitely ruined his eyes. He tried to get back up, but a kinetic-fueled punch from Famine slammed into his face. That, combined with the energy Famine drained from his body as well as the lack of moisture and the extreme heat caused Sam's world to go dark as life faded from his body.

Famine stood and brushed the sand off her body. She then blew a kiss at the fallen hero and flew off into the distance, using Cannonball's powers to grant her extra speed.

A flash of light appeared a few moments later, and Cable stood there in the middle of the desert. He saw Sam lying on the ground, motionless, and rushed to his side. He shook him slightly and felt for a pulse.

Nothing.

"C'mon soldier, you can't die," he said as he lifted Sam's head and looked into the young man's face. "You're an External."

He held Sam's head firmly in his hands and closed his own eyes. He reached out past the Astral Plane to another level of existence, to another source of power which few beings on Earth have access to. The Fifth Force.

He concentrated, and an aura of energy began to surround his body. He directed this energy towards his hands, which, in turn, transferred the power to Sam's body. Nathan knew that, due to Sam's External origins, he would have revived eventually. But he didn't have time to waste.