Really impressive. Lots of twists!
We open on Arakko, Broo sleeping in a hammock on the beach. Magik lifts his sunhat with her sword gently waking him up. "You up, Broo, bro?" She tells him that the Brood are rampaging and Jean wants to know what's wrong because with Broo as their monarch this shouldn't be happening. Broo says it's not possible for them to attack anyone with his consent. To demonstrate his control, he mentally orders his sleeping Brood bodyguards on the beach to get up and perform the Thriller dance. Illyana is joyously fascinated.
Jean asks how he's been sleeping. He confirms he's a little tired, saying he came to Arakko to study the people and he's been having nightmares. He's pretty sure it's the change of planets, his allergies and what not. Jean says she needs him to open up his mind to her.
Broo: What if I'd rather not?
Jean, telepathically: I wasn't asking.
(Oh boy)
Title page says "Broo, bro... she wasn't asking." lol
We get the preview pages, Iceman, Firestar, Talon, and Synch (utilizing Firestar's powers) fighting back the Brood as the planet's inhabitants rush to board a ship the X-Men have commandeered to escape. This distant planetoid is called "Refugee Rock", lost to the ages and never visited by the Nova Corps.
Cyclops is looking over his father who is unconscious and gravely injured. Scott promises Corsair that they'll get out of this alive and he'll make sure this never happens again. He fires up the engines as the last of the survivors rush onboard. Iceman tells Cyclops to punch it even if he doesn't get onboard. He can't be infected while he's in ice form. A flying Brood descends on him and stabs him in the gut. This just makes Bobby angry as he stabs it in the eye and ice spikes pop out of the Brood's head. He says Cyclops was right, they should have ended all of the Brood a long time ago. With everyone on board Talon says they need to take off. Iceman is forming a wall to block the Brood and though Synch says they're not leaving him behind, Iceman says to trust him. The door is closing and they lift off, Talon yelling out to Bobby that they'll be back for him. The door closes. A voice behind her says he appreciates the concern. She turns around and tiny Iceman is standing safely inside the ship, saying he'll grow once he gets access to more moisture. "Don't worry, it's totally normal for men to suffer from shrinkage in extreme cold."
They rescued as many as they could, the survivors hugging each other. Iceman tells Synch and Talon that they did nice work. Ev says they've had experience fighting while retreating. Talon is like "only half a millennium". I like her. Firestar is in the cockpit with Cyclops and asks how they're doing because the engines don't sound too great. Scott says the ship is a mess and wishes Forge was there because they could use him.
Out in the middle of space nowhere on Knowhere, Forge and Monet are tinkering with a machine Forge created. Monet asks if he's absolutely positive that "it" will only exist for a moment. Forge confirms. Monet is like okay because I don't want to die but if I do, I'd prefer not to take the rest of whatever universe we're stuck in with us.
We're now inside Broo's mind and get a cute panel of him and other students of the Jean Grey school. We then see Broo as the king of the Brood and we're reminded that the Brood need to feed and reproduce. But with Broo's leadership they now have a moral compass guiding their needs. We get a flashback of Broo ordering the Brood to "kill the slavers" as they invade a ship used for slavery. The Brood kill the slavers as told and the newly freed slaves hoist Broo in the air in celebration and thankfulness. "Yes you're free! And tell everyone it was Broo of the Brood who liberated you!" The Brood have been a force for good in the universe for the past few months thanks to King Broo.
Back on the physical plane Broo says the memory he just showed her of the slave ship is recent and not tampered with in the slightest. He's spent "every waking moment" trying to target folks worthy of a visit from the Brood. I love him. Magik says he's like the cosmic-horror Dexter. Jean says, "Yes, every waking moment... and what happens when you sleep Broo?" He says he doesn't know and that he hasn't been sleeping too well and... Jean gently touches his head and puts him sleep. Evil laughter suddenly encircles them.
Jean: Oh no. Not you!
Nightmare slaps Jean hard for their encounter at Halloween and binds Magik in glowing nightmare chains, saying he's going to make a fear she has, one she is too scared to give voice to, course through her veins. He tells Jean that he's been busy and has crept through the dreams of thousands of mutants on "your freak-show island". He considered sleepwalking Polaris into crashing every plane on Earth or disrupting the planet's core but those ideas didn't excite him. (Thank goodness, no more mind-controlled Polaris please.) Then he came upon Broo and learning he was in control of the Brood hivemind, well, that's the stuff of nightmares.
"As the Brood rampage across the stars, I'll make sure that the nightmares of every race are filled with visions of the true horror behind it all -- the so-called rulers of Sol are to blame for this new annihilation wave."
Broo says "NEVER! The X-Men will stop you!" Nightmare's demon horse kicks Broo in the face and Nightmare says he won't be stopped. He's directing multiple monarchs of the Brood and mentions how Carol and the team of mutants with her are currently in their clutches. And he says they would laugh if they knew what the X-Men were doing right now. Jean realizes he's somehow using the rescuing of that distant planetoid's inhabitants against them. Nightmare delightfully confirms saying their good hearts are so easy to manipulate. "So yes. The X-Men are working for me at the moment. Taking refugees that are ticking time bombs into new worlds for the Brood to conquer." Daaaaaamn. He also reveals that he's given the Brood the dream of conquest. Now that mutants have scattered their gates all over and Broo can use them, the Brood will be free to roam everywhere. Jean: "Oh god. We can't let these monsters have access to the gates."
A caption box below her reads, "You're not gonna believe the monsters that just came through a gate on Krakoa..."
It's from a new scene and this is Sage telepathically talking to Emma.
"... I need to alert the council, but I'm giving you a heads-up now, Emma" says Sage who is in front of her usual monitors on Krakoa. She tells Emma that a mutant has arrived to the island for the first time with her legally recognized husband. Emma is sparring with Kate on the beach and telepathically tells Sage to just welcome them, show them where the biome flowers are and the whole bit. Like why are you calling me, Kate is currently kicking my ass and I need to concentrate. Unless it's like Doctor Doom, what's the problem?
Behind Sage we see Typhoid Mary doing a cartwheel, holding a sword. "Wheee! I'm Mary, and I like you" as she practically nuzzles Sage from behind. Sage tells Emma that it's not Doom but he might have been preferable. Mary kisses Sage on the cheek and says she already loves it there and asks if she and her husband will be living in a tree too. Sage looks up at her husband who says, "Tell Emma Frost that I have arrived and that..."