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Generation Next, Part 2: "Drop the Leash"
Part 2 of "The Phalanx Covenant"
Prologue: Monet St. Croix is under siege by the Phalanx, who are trying and failing to assimilate her. However, little do they know that she is taking every opportunity to learn about them in return! Meanwhile, the Phalanx units patterned after Steven Lang and Cameron Hodge discuss the Phalanx's inability to absorb mutants and the plan to use the neo-mutants to figure out how to fix that bug. Lang soon, realizes that the Phalanx may have evolved into something more dangerous than an anti-mutant faction, and it scares him. In St. Lous, a young Everett Thomas is surrounded by cops, who accuse him of blowing out every window for blocks when he last yelled. Ev doesn't really know what's going on, but suddenly three of the cops morph into Phalanx. As the techno-beings attack, a scream splits the air, bringing the adjacent building down on them. The cavalry has arrived. Creed tears Everett out of the Phalanx's grasp, and then Banshee cuts loose, liquefying his foes. Creed taunts Sean about the "dark side" of himself that he just revealed, but Banshee doesn't rise to the bait. In another part of town, Emma and Jubilee are conducting their own search, while getting on each other's nerves. Although Emma's powers keep the humans from noticing them, it's only a few minutes before the Phalanx find them. At the same time in Cumberland County, Kentucky, the Guthrie homestead is under attack as well. While the children cower in the corner, the machines grab their mother. Disregarding her mother's warning, Paige tries to help, but when the Phalanx have her, they drop Mrs. Guthrie, who was only the bait, and take off with their prize. In St. Louis, Frost and Jubilee have run out of options, except to die, when Banshee, Everett and Sabretooth rip into the techno-men. However, they cannot hold out for long, so Emma telepathically links Jubilee and Everett so that Ev can use his power to "synch" with Jubilee and use her power to detonate the matter comprising the Phalanx on a sub-atomic scale! However, from the rubble of the Phalanx rises the form of Lang, who taunts the remaining X-Men by showing them Sara Grey, missing sister of Jean, whom he says was absorbed into the collective, along with other friends and enemies of the X-Men, so that the Phalanx now knows them intimately. Besides, while they saved Everett, Paige Guthrie was taken! Banshee kicks Lang's projection, but it's afutile gesture. Finally, Jubilee notices that someone's missing: Sabretooth. Banshee sees that his control module was damages, and then sees Creed's restraints on the floor!