As the Exiles, the group of mutants banded together by Exodus, a former ally of Magneto, stood in the conference room of X-Corp, there was a feeling of anxiety in the air. Especially since Joseph snapped and nearly killed Xorn, an action which led to the team being kidnapped and put through horrendous training and put Maggott and Diode in the hospital. Also, the Fantastic Four got involved and X-Corp was forced to fight them.

It...could have been messy.

"Um...hiya," Joseph said as he sat at the conference table in his fine tailored suit.

"Get out," Archangel growled. "Now."

"Please, Worthington," Exodus began, "we wish to help you...and Joseph."

"Stop calling him that!" Warren shouted as he looked Joseph straight in the eyes, "You nearly killed Xorn...and we all died!" Archangel yelled. "We were reanimated by Feng Tu and Xorn brought us back fully, but...we were clinically dead."

The Exiles exchanged glances with each other. Exodus said something within a psi-web. Psylocke tried to snoop in, but she was blocked out by Bennet's more advanced power.

"Joseph is not to blame," Xorn said. "I am."

"Xorn...," Archangel sighed, silently cursing his friend's tendency to throw himself upon the sword.

"It was my fault for staying with you--" Xorn said.

"No one is to blame, here," Blink spoke up. "It was Deus and Astra that have done this. It doesn't matter one bit of who or what Joseph was before he came to the X-Men. The point is he came to the X-Men to help others." She sighed, "When hasn't someone cracked under the pressure of this line of work?"

"Yes, but on worldwide television?" Pyro asked. He shut his eyes and winced, realizing his hypocrisy with his recent verbal tussle with the paparazzi, "Bah...shit."

"Pyro flipped on TV!" Polaris shouted.

Pyro waved his hands in the air, "Um...I said 'Bah shit!' didn't I?"

Archangel rubbed his forehead, "Forgive me, Exodus, this isn't a very good time. Perhaps we can reschedule. The board has a dinner with the president to attend, two of my employees are in the hospital, and our PR is working overtime to try and salvage our image."

"The only reason Bush is even agreeing to eat dinner with you is to boost his own image," Havok said as he crossed his arms. "Christ, Warren. Xavier wouldn't stoop this low."

"What exactly would Charles stoop to by accepting a dinner invitation to the White House?" Psylocke asked.

"Ugh. Don't start with your haughty British woman speech, Betsy," Havok said. "I've had enough of that shit back when we operated out of Australia the first time."

"Go eat your desert griddle, pillock," Psylocke countered as she balled her fist. "Or do you want me to manhandle you?"

Havok flailed his arms in the air, "What is with the mostly ninja women and the Summers family?! I will blast you across the continent, I swear."

"We've got a secret society," Polaris smirked.

"Radioactive hair extensions!" Havok shot back.

"...shut up," Polaris muttered as she stroked her green hair.

Sunfire let out an exaggerated sigh, "Come on, Exodus. Let's get out of here. It's obvious they don't want our help."

"Yeah, we don't want help from self-absorbed losers like you," Pyro quipped.

Sunfire's body literally burst into flame, "Say that again?"

Pyro concentrated as he said, "Another Torch, huh?" He continued to decrease the oxygen around Sunfire, but the energy was internalized. It was having little effect.

"Shiro, power down," Exodus said. He sighed and placed his hands on Joseph's shoulders, "I will take him in."

"I really don't care. He's fired," Archangel said. "Either way, I can't really decide who controls him after that. I guess he can be one of your little foot soldiers to carry out your unseen war."

"Hey, that's not how it is," Proudstar said.

"I would have thought one of The Twelve would be much more special than to be a preordained puzzle piece," Exodus sighed. He looked Archangel down, "But I suppose that isn't the case. Without the Exiles and our 'unseen war,' you wouldn't have a world to pamper yourselves in. Open those eyes of yours, Worthington. There's a world out there that others live in that is unlike your own."

A portal ripped open as Blink's eyes glowed brilliantly.

Psylocke cleared her throat, "The wedding will be...a public celebration. If you want to attend, that's up to you."

"We'll consider it," Exodus said. He looked to his teammates and nodded.

Proudstar, Polaris, and Havok were the first to go through the portal, followed by Sunfire and Exodus. Joseph stood up and slowly turned his back to the people he once called friends. Blink sniffled as she looked back at X-Corp and then clenched onto her boyfriend as they walked through the portal. Colossus remained still and silent as he had since he arrived. He looked angered, but not at X-Corp.

"Peter?" Psylocke asked.

Colossus armored up as his size increased. He began to walk into the portal. Piotr Rasputin stopped and turned his head, responding in his thick Russian accent, "If anything...I admire your work."

The portal finally closed off when Colossus went through.

"What was that about?" Pyro wondered.

"He was the one who killed Proteus," Archangel said. "Now that Exodus is letting Joseph join his team...I'm sure Peter's a little uneasy."

"Is he afraid of him or something?" Pyro asked.

"He was mainly afraid of the possibility of having to kill Joseph," Psylocke said. "He regretted the day when he had to destroy Proteus's body, but...it had to be done. Peter always made the tough decisions everyone else was too afraid to make."

"Oh," Pyro interjected. "So what now?"

"I think we should all just go home and...get ready for the dinner with the president. Meet back here at 6 o' clock," Archangel said as he sighed deeply. Pyro and Xorn silently exited the conference room. Upon opening the door, a tidal wave of reporters and snapping cameras flooded them. As the door closed, the noise eventually lessened as the media frenzy followed the two mutants down the hall.

Warren loosened his tie and plopped down in the chair nearest to him at the table. Psylocke pulled up a chair behind her fiance's and began to rub his shoulders. Archangel's wings tensed up as Psylocke's powerful fingers massaged his aching muscles. To Betsy's surprise, Warren's shoulders began to heave.

"Warren...?"

"I...," Warren spat out between whimpered sobs. "Ugh, God." He shut his eyes tightly. He leaned his head back and sighed with damp eyes, "I almost lost you. For a minute I wanted to rip Joseph's head off, but I knew Blink wouldn't allow it...I was really going to kill him for a minute there."

Betsy sighed, "We're alright now, luv. I never doubted your decision to save Xorn's life."

"But it was all for nothing," Warren said. A tear sloped down the arc of his nose, "I'm just not very good at what I do. I'm not Charles and I'm certainly not Scott...maybe this was a mistake. X-Corp, I mean."

"It's not a mistake," Psylocke said.

"Building a new jet is really setting us back...and with the Danger Room still being installed, I'm just not sure if it's worth it anymore," Archangel sighed. "We haven't had many calls lately, have we?"

Betsy shook her head, "Not any mutant threats, no. We're a business first...so how is our business?"

"Not good," Warren said. "We've had many companies sold out to Stark and others just went belly up and we had to cut our losses."

"Maybe we should start charging for our services?" Psylocke asked. After a prolonged pause, Betsy continued, "I know you don't want to be a sell out, but what else is there for us?"

"...drink Red Bull, it give you wings!"

"CUT! Did you just say 'it give you wings'?"

"Uh," Warren paused as he held the energy drink in his hand while on the commercial sound stage with a blue screen behind him, "I stuttered."

The director formed his two index fingers and thumbs into the L-7 formation and flipped his hat backwards, "Okay...just try and remember your line."

"I'm not an idiot," Warren said.

"...I'm not that desperate, either," Warren said as he shook his head, as if to exorcise the thought of X-Corp getting sponsors.

"I'll help out then," Betsy said. "My family's fortune should help us, for a while. Just until we land on our feet."

"What about Brian, will he approve?" Warren asked.

Psylocke crossed her arms and smirked at the thought of her twin brother getting upset over money, "Well, he better approve. It's my part of the pie my parents left behind."

Archangel turned around and hugged Psylocke tightly. He whispered, "Thank you." He felt a tear drip onto his neck. He pulled back and asked, "What?"

Psylocke smiled and shook her head, "I just realized dad won't be there to walk me down the aisle...Mum won't be there, either."

"My parents won't be there, either," Warren sighed. "It sucks being orphans."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Xorn asked as he sat in the passenger seat of Pyro's decked out Ford Mustang. They were currently at the longest red light imaginable on the way to the hospital to visit Maggott and Diode.

"My wife died...that's about it," Pyro said matter-of-factly.

"And that's what fuels your rage towards humans?" Xorn asked.

Pyro leaned his elbow on the inside of the car door and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, "I was never completely antihuman. I mean, when Mystique recruited me to take out Senator Kelly with the rest of her Brotherhood..."

John Allerdyce paused and popped a piece of nicotine gum into his mouth and chewed it for a few moments. He adjusted his sunglasses and coughed.

"...wouldja look at this traffic," Pyro said, changing the subject.

Xorn looked out through the windshield and then out the passenger window, which was tinted, "Sorry, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. It's difficult admitting to mistakes..." He turned back to face Pyro, "But at times, too much pride can be fatal."

Pyro sighed, "It was like ballet. Diana and I were a criminal duo. Robbing banks, mostly. She was a telekinetic and with my powers, well...you get the idea. We eventually got into drug trafficking for a mob boss and when we tried to break into the biz ourselves, our employer didn't like the extra competition. He was about to kill me, but...Diana pulled a Juliet when she thought I was gonna die. But I burned the place before they could do anything to me...I hunted them down...all of 'em. Joined STRIKE...liked the thrill of usin' my powers--the action, I guess."

"Why did you resort to criminal behavior?" Xorn asked.

Pyro shot him a glance, but eased up knowing Xorn had a sort of innocence to him, "Eh...I dunno. Sometimes life deals you the wrong hand and you have to cheat a little. That's all it ever was. Of course, I'm a little more responsible having almost died of a deadly virus."

Xorn bobbed his head, "I see. So you are on the path to redemption."

"I wouldn't call it that," Pyro said. "I'm just...thinking with a clear head now. It's complicated." He coughed again, "So, what about you?"

"What about me?" Xorn echoed.

"Yeah...uh," Pyro paused as he gestured his hands in a way as if to brainstorm of a question faster, "how can you like...talk?"

"...?"

"I mean, your skull is like radiated away...you don't have a jawbone or tongue to pronounce words and crap. And I don't even think you have a voice box," Pyro observed.

"Oh...," Xorn huffed. "Guess I never really thought about how I did it...just that I could mimic sounds using gravitational frequencies as vibrations in the air."

Pyro nodded as he bit his lip, "Yep."

"This is one funky traffic light," Xorn said.

"Yep."

"I love Jell-O, I love Jell-O...," Veronica Santiago sung quietly to herself as she devoured each spoonful of jiggly goodness. When there was a knock at the door, she fumbled her spoon and bowl, "Erg...come in?"

The door opened slowly as Eany and Meany shrilled and slithered up to Diode's bed and slurped up her spilled Jell-O. Diode gave them a mean stare, "Does your papi know you're here?"

"Ey!" Maggott shouted as he limped into the room, dragging an IV with him. He groaned loudly as he slowly sat his keester on the chair next to the bedside. There were a few scars over his bulky navy blue form, most notably one that ran along the left side of his temple down to his cheekbone.

"Ey...your slugs ate my Jell-O, dude!" Diode replied. She sighed as she gripped the area around her ribs that was bandaged. Feng Tu blasted her good. Diode looked down at the two slugs as they seemed to swirl around and cuddle with their master, ever so often perking their heads up to stare at Diode. They acted like cats in that respect instead of two loyal dogs.

"They're gettin' big," Maggott said. "I've been able to control them better. A lot better."

"Because of what Tu did to you -- to all of us?" Roni asked.

Maggott remained silent as his fingers traced the scar on his face. He responded, "Of course that's what happened."

Diode sat up in her bed, "You know, I've noticed you've been...different lately."

Maggott arched an eyebrow, "Is that a bad thing?"

Diode giggled as she shook her head, "It's just...what happened to the overly obnoxious asshole?"

"We all change, Roni...," Maggott said as he looked off into space. Echoes within his mind of the panic he felt as he struck that match in his apartment building's basement full of that propane gas. The only way to rid himself of the part of his mutation that wasn't a blessing, but a curse. People, innocents, could have died in the explosion and resulting fire, but thankfully he saw to it personally everyone made it out alive. So far, the authorities have been eluded, as well.

Suddenly, the shells covering the two slugs suddenly shot open, revealing two sets of insectoid wings each. Diode's eyes widened in shock, "They got...wings?"

"Yeah," Maggott said affectionately as he pressed down on the shells, 'closing' the wings off, "they always had 'em. But they were too small to do anything. Now...hell, they'll probably be flyin' on their own soon. Could come in handy."

"How so? So you can make your own indie film about giant flies attacking people?" Diode joked.

Maggott chuckled, "I can see what they see. They can be my little spy planes...or something."

"You still didn't answer me what changed you into...well, a nice guy," Diode wondered.

Hugh Japheth shrugged, "My life became simpler." He sighed, "Although the docs say I might be stuck in my blue form because of the skin damage."

"For how long?" Diode asked.

Maggott smiled, "They sugar coated it and told me it was inconclusive, but...it's pretty much permanent."

"...damn," Diode swore. "Well, there's nothing wrong with the color of your skin, it's just...you don't change skin, but your physique changes too. What's it like changing your body around like that?"

"First I'm insecure when I'm all lanky and skin and bone, but then I just change into this and it disappears," Japheth explained.

"...you didn't really kill your family, did you?" Diode deduced.

"Huh?!" Maggott asked. "Oh...you guys took that seriously?"

Diode laughed to herself, "Man...that was one huge ass awkward moment. I never believed it for a second, but I guess I still took pity on you for some reason. How the hell did you fool Psylocke's telepathy with that, anyway?"

"I had a little bit of training with my days at SHIELD. Marcus Raven, a telepath, helped me with a little trick to fool telepaths into thinking made up thoughts are the real deal," Maggott said. "It was a joke...honest."

"Not a very funny one...," Roni said pompously on purpose. She was a stand up comedian for many years, after all. She pounded her bed, "Gah, I'm so pissed we have to be kept under observation for another two days!"

"I know, we're gonna miss the dinner with the President," Maggott said.

"I had some good Dubbya jokes written up for that, too. I'm givin' the list to Pyro when he and Xorn get here," Diode giggled.

"Hahahaha," Maggott laughed. "Oh man, I can just imagine the look on GW's face!"

"...I'm not sure if I have the context right, but...so then, this other Arab was all anti-American and we're all, 'wha?' " Pyro rambled as he shoved a wad of glazed chicken to the side of his mouth. He wore a tuxedo...an orange tuxedo...but still...classy.

Archangel, Psylocke, and Xorn all appeared to be unamused as they sat at the large dining room table inside the White House as Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bush. Secret service agents were aligned at each doorway as they kept tabs on everything. The President appeared tickled, however, "My...what a barrel of laughs this guy is, huh?"

"Why thank you, but it was my colleague who wrote my material for tonight's show," Pyro let out a laugh. He swallowed his food and cleared his throat. Warren shook his head.

"How is the chicken, everybody?" Laura Bush asked politely.

"Very scrumptious...," Xorn, wearing a sleek black kung fu suit, responded. "Perhaps just a touch of honey glaze would bring out the flavor more, but I thoroughly enjoyed it."

"Yes, it was very good," Psylocke, who wore a beautiful black gown with sparkling jewelry, chimed in as she dabbed her lips with her napkin.

The President sighed as he laid his forearms on the table, "Boy, am I stuffed. Whew."

"So, Mr. Bush, what are your thoughts on mutants?" Warren asked.

"Well, I have been opened up to an interesting uh...culture, so to speak," Bush said as he stared at the ceiling. His eyes met Archangel's stern face and he cleared his throat, "But I'll tell ya what, I really like what X-Corp is doin'. Especially Xorn. Our relationship with China was somewhat strained, but your role as their official national hero is...well, good for us, in a way."

"Um...couldja do somethin' about the media?" Pyro asked.

Warren shot him a look, "Heh, I don't think--"

"Heck, I'd sign a bill right now to put paparazzi or just the muckrakers in jail," Bush said with a quick nod. "I mean, I'm just a normal person. I choke on a pretzel, and suddenly I'm a dunce. I lose the popular vote, but win due to the electoral college, and I'm criticized for every decision...I'm just doin' the right thing...and people just don't understand."

"I think what George is tryin' to say is that...well, he knows what mutants, maybe more specifically, you, go through each day," Mrs. Bush explained.

"I hate the media," the President grumbled.

"George," Mrs. Bush groaned.

"Well, I do!" he responded. "It wares on ya." He pointed his finger at his guests, "Anytime they go too far, you just call me. I'll propose something for the Senate."

"What about other mutants and their civil rights?" Xorn asked.

Bush sighed, "Mutants are recognized as human beings by America. But even still...after slavery was abolished and after all the civil rights movements, there is still hate in this country. Sometimes...a people's mindset can't change overnight."

"Are we making a difference?" Psylocke asked.

"I think so...just being in the spotlight like you are, I know it's tough, but...I think mutants will gain acceptance eventually," Bush said. "But for now, there is still a lot of concern, especially with so many hostile mutants trying to bring humanity's days to an end."

Warren sighed, "It's X-Corp's board of directors the public likes...it doesn't include mutants, American or international, in general. That's the problem."

"Force Works has mutant members, as do the Avengers," Bush said, "But even then, the same thing applies. They are revered, while other 'normal' mutants trying to live everyday lives are persecuted."

"And there's our mainstream X-Men counterpart," Warren said. "They're not treated with the same open arms of the world when they do sometimes twice as much as any superhero team out there."

Bush nodded, "Well, they're..." He cleared his throat, "I'm actually rather intimidated by them, to tell you the truth. Not because they're mutants, but...something about them and the way they operate."

"Betsy, make sure he isn't planning on doing what I think he's doing," Warren called out telepathically.

"He's not planning an attack on the mansion, Warren," Betsy replied. "Still, Scott's team is in more ways more hardcore than Omega ever was."

"They're still our friends, we have to stick up for them," Warren said.

"Yeah, but...Emma Frost? What the hell is Summers thinking?"

"I said 'do you like NASCAR'?" Bush repeated. Pyro chuckled as the President and First Lady gazed upon Archangel and Psylocke engaging in what appeared to be an intense staring contest.

"Heh, don't worry," Pyro said. "They do this all the time. Crazy lovebirds. They're probably playing hide the sausage telepathically."

"Uh...awesome," was all the President could find the words to describe the majesty of having psi-sex.

"I just don't get it," a voice said. "This is the worst season finale ever. There's no cliffhanger, no one dies, no major reveal, no resurrection of someone who died, no one good became evil or vise versa...it's just...blah. I was expecting better from these yutzes. They wasted all of that material during the season!!! Who's dumb enough to do that and not wait for the season finale for that crud!?"

A large, bloblike creature who sort of stuck to a pair of mechanical legs akin to a cockroach, ripped the appendage off of the producer of the X-Corp reality show and stuck it into his mouth and smiled. He watched as X-Corp had dinner with the President of the United States and rubbed his hands together.

"I know I'll be breaking a few rules with the show, since it's reality television, but I don't have much of a choice," the voice said as he swallowed the arm. "I'll just have to tweak certain things to get better ratings for season two," Mojo cackled.

Mojo pressed the screen in front of him as it zoomed in on Psylocke's face. He smiled as he licked the screen, "Ah, yes yes yes..." He then appeared to have a conversation with her image, "I remember yoooou. Naughty! Bad girl! Hehehehehehe."

"Um...sir? About my arm--"

"Save it, douche bag!" Mojo shouted as his scorpion-like mechanical tail arose and fired a bolt of energy, vaporizing the producer into a pile of ashes. Mojo turned his head to the doorway of the broadcast center of his citadel, located in the appropriately named Mojoworld dimension, "We've got some planning to do for our ratings juggernaut!"

In the doorway, a woman leaned against the wall. As she stepped into the light, she had six arms, one of which was metallic and encased in some sort of armor. She had katanas sheathed and strapped to her back.

Spiral smirked, "I'd say so." She looked into the corner of the room and saw a naked purple-haired Asian woman cowered over on the floor, muttering to herself.

"Isn't that right...Psylocke?"

COMING SOON: MANIFESTO