Editorial earns their salary as this issue’s exposition finally connects some random dots.
spoilers:end of spoilers
The x-ladies arrive on Gameworld while Rocket Raccoon narrates Gameworld’s purpose: it’s a place where the fate of planets is decided through gambling. Earth is on the table and being bet against (shorted), after mutants gentrified Mars. Jean notes this is capitalism’s final form.
Laura gets the drop on some guards who are possessed by Cordyceps Jones fungi. He overwhelms Laura and possesses her too.
Jean makes her way through the casino and threatens the gamblers who are betting against Earth. She reminds a kingpin looking gambler that she doesn’t take commands from anyone - not even Phoenix.
Cordyceps suddenly appears with his moldy crew, including Laura, and begins to overwhelm Jean.
On Earth, Cyclops and Synch navigate the sewers in search of Dr Stasis. They split up and Synch encounters Stasis’ tiger man who is cremating his fallen team mates / experiments remains. After some trash talk, Synch manifests wolverines claws (?!) and kills tiger man. He ends the moment by saying he’s been wolverine longer than anybody else (?!).
Nearby, Cyclops takes on Dr Stasis, and blasts his helmet off revealing what looks like a Sinister clone. But with a black playing card club symbol on his forehead - instead of a red diamond. (?!)