From their station in orbit, Agents Brand, Deems and Sydren watch as Ord of the Breakworld and Danger rocket to the Institute in search of Colossus, who they have discovered is destined to be responsible for the Breakworld’s destruction. Despite the threat, Brand orders Lockheed, SWORD’s mole in the Institute, not to interfere. Shortly thereafter, as Logan and a recovered Hisako go in search of Kitty, Danger and Ord arrive. However, Danger immediately realizes she is experiencing critical malfunction caused by an unknown source. As she and Ord consider their next action, they are unaware that a mentally recovered Wolverine is nearby. In the levels below, to cajole Kitty into performing their needed task, Perfection – now revealed to be “the White Queen” – telepathically has Kitty live a fantasy in her mind, where she has a son with Piotr Rasputin, named Michael, but then loses him to the X-Men. Eventually escaping incarceration, she steals into the Xavier Institute and removes her son from a containment capsule designed to keep even her out. In the real world, she has actually removed the artificial body of Cassandra Nova from her prison, much to Ms. Nova’s delight. However, before Cassandra can make use of her body, the White Queen is shot by a de-powered, though no less dangerous, Cyclops.

Overview

Part 1 (of 6)! They're back and they're bimonthly! The chart topping super team of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday return for another full year of Astonshing X-Men! If you thought last year's run was full of shocks and surprises, hold onto your eyeballs, cause you haven't seen nothing yet!

SPOILERS

In the present day, Emma Frost is forced to confront the deal she made so long ago with Cassandra Nova, even as she was sending the Mega-Sentinels to destroy Genosha. In exchange for saving her, by bestowing the secondary mutation of Emma’s diamond form, Cassandra would gain Emma as a plant within Xavier’s group, even though Emma would not remember it until Cassandra allowed it. Now that that time has come, Emma stands with Cassandra, Sebastian Shaw, Ellie Phimister and the one who has brought them all together, the cloaked Perfection, who informs Emma that her game will be first. Elsewhere in the Institute, Logan trains the remaining students in combat himself, since the Danger Room is no longer a high-tech training facility. Meanwhile, Beast and Cyclops each try to lose themselves in their work, shunning the company of others. Miles away, SHIELD Director Hill meets has Special Agent Brand of SWORD meet her at the SHIELD helicarrier, though the meeting is useless. Brand refuses to submit to an administrative lease and storms off the carrier, rocketing to SWORD’s orbital space station, the Peak, where she is informed that they have news. Back at the Institute, Kitty is still unsure of her relationship with Piotr, after a romantic dream of the two of them, which leads into a horrific nightmare of her father, she is even more confused. However, after building up enough courage, Kitty finds herself visiting Piotr in his room and rambling about their relationship, until he defines it once and for all with a passionate kiss. Having witnessed this via her telepathy, Emma intends a little seduction of her own and tries to prompt Scott to their bed. Engrossed in paperwork, he rebukes her, so she uses her powers to wear his “favorite outfit,” the exact form of his former wife in her green Phoenix costume.

Overview

Move over Astonishing X-Men...there's a new club in town and their name is..."Hellfire." In this issue, after secretly lying in wait for months, they make their move! Part 3 (of 6)!

SPOILERS

Preparing herself after having just reduced Cyclops to a catatonic state, Emma rushes into the kitchen, informing Kitty, Logan and Piotr of his state, though not her role in it. As Kitty and Piotr take Scott to the infirmary, Logan goes to find Hank, discovering him cornered in his lab by Cassandra Nova. With her mental abilities, Cassandra reduces the Beast to his animalistic namesake, and Wolverine to a childlike state. Logan quickly becomes afraid of the Beast and runs for cover in the girl’s bathroom, where he finds Hisako and Blindfold. The Beast follows him there, but Hisako manages to use her powers to scare him away after which Logan uses the opportunity to flee the Institute, with the Beast in pursuit. Elsewhere, Ellie Phimister uses her abilities on Kitty to make her lose control of her phasing powers, sending her downward toward the Earth’s core, while Sebastian Shaw confronts Colossus in the infirmary. Colossus begins to beat Shaw, demanding to know what’s going on. However, Shaw merely takes the beating to absorb the kinetic energy, eventually expending it to knock Colossus out. Meanwhile, on SWORD’s space station, Agent Brand and her colleagues monitor the situation in the Institute via their mole. However, their information is incomplete on the cause of the attack. Elsewhere on the station, Danger approaches Ord of the Breakworld, who is still imprisoned. Danger informs Ord that not only are his people on the way… but the mutant destined to destroy his world has been found. Later, as the Hellfire Club reconvenes to discuss the status of their plan, Kitty Pryde has managed to stop her descent, in a cavern deep underground. Her thoughts composed, she tells the non-present, traitorous Emma Frost that she has made good moves so far, but now it’s her turn!