Summary: A fierce battle rages against the Stranger, who is basically unfazed by the mutants' corporeal attacks. Bobby realizes that Toad is the only one who might understand how the "cosmic puzzle" the Stranger is trying to fit them into might work. Bobby freezes the Stranger and Cain shatters him, though the Strangerr simply chnages to a fiery shape. The Stranger brings Phoenix and Juggernaut onto a different plane of reality. Cain can't handle it, but Jean is able to converse with the Stranger, though she still doesn't understand what he wants with humanity. The Stranger tells Jean that she of all people should understand, given her connection to the "Resurrection Force."

Meanwhile, the conversation has bought time for Iceman and Mystique to transport Toad to a medlab. Bobby is forced to thaw tn order to use the machines, which also allows Prosh to contact them through a remote terminal.

To illustrate his point in manipulating mankind, the Stranger again opens Phoenix to the Phoenix Force. Jean sees that humanity has such great potential that it will eventually evolve to become Eternity itself! Therefore, if the Stranger can control humanity's advancement, he will control the entire universe!

Back in the medlab, Prosh helps set up the machines needed to saveToad, and takes the extra step of correcting the genetic imbalance Toad was born with. Prosh then directs Bobby to unfreeze other parts of him needed to stop the Stranger, and Iceman leaves.

On the other plane of reality, the Stranger suddenly falls silent, as Eternity stops time to talk to Jean. It reveals that the Stranger hopes that by controlling the evolution of mutants (and humans) he will be able to control Eternity and the birth of a new universe that he will be able to survive. However, Eternity says that the cosmic powers are fine with humanity supplanting them and ending this universe - it is nature's way.

Jean takes that to mean that the cosmic powers disapprove of the Stranger's plan, and returning to this plane of reality, she renews her assault against the Stranger.

In the medlab, the situation takes a turn for the worse as a vital conduit for the cellular regeneration proess ruptures, with Toad only 84% healed and basically dead. Prosh tells Mystique she must hold the conduit together, and after just a little internal debate, she does. As soon as the process completes, Toad leaps out of the biobed. He's got a long sticky tongue now, is stronger and has a better physique and more control over his secretions. He looks at Mystique, who has also undergone a transformation. She now has scales all over her body, just like her future self (which is exactly like her movie self). They hightail it to rejoin the others. They meet up with Bobby and Toad uses his knowledge of the Stranger's ship to connect cables and set machines to bypass Prosh's virus and start his reconfiguration program. Mystique can't help but be impressed.

Jean is telekinetically attacking the Stranger, but he shrugs it off and begins to cage her. Jean calls for Cain, who topples the Stranger, releasing Jean. Bobby intervenes with some well-placed ice, and tells Toad to start the program. The mutants leave, except Bobby, who holds the Stranger at bay, and Prosh begins to reconfigure his ship's shape. Soon, Prosh's ship collapses in on itself and leaves this plane of reality, causing a vacuum into which a sharp gust of wind rushes. Toad is grabbed by Cain, and in turn grabs Mystique with his tongue to keep her from being sucked in. After the ship is gone, a twinkling in the air heralds Bobby's return.

Confused and profoundly changed, the Keys ponder what to do next. TOda goes for the old "villains vs. heroes" thing, but they all disagree, realizing that Prosh would not have wanted them to continue on as before. They make their separate ways home.

One week later, at the Mansion Bobby tells Jean he's rejoining the team, now that he has such incredible control of his powers.

Two weeks later, in Seagate Prison, Juggernaut is released from jail to become the Commission on Superhuman Activities' bounty hunter, under the watchful eye of D.A. Sachi Yama.

Three weeks later, Toad ponders what he should due next, as a group of yuppie-types make fun of his appearance. Without turning around, he grabs a chair with his tongue and knocks them all out.

Four weeks later, Mystique huddles in a corner of her apartment, cursing Prosh for showing her the things now running through her head, and wondering what to do as she looks at a newspaper showing Senator Kelly ahead in the polls...

Elsewhere, the Stranger sits immobile in a lockdown chair on Prosh's new prison ship. He realizes he's lost this battle, but knows that time is on his side, and eventually he will have the chance to control Eternity again. Outside, the ship is awash in bright energy, which at a far distance appears to be a glowing X on the palm of Eternity itself!

Review: A really good closing to a pretty rockin' LS. The explanation of the Stranger's motivation worked well, and though I'm not entirely crazy about Mystique and Toad becoming like their movie selves, since they were already seen that way in X-Men #106, at least this explains the change. Actually, there was a nice way of explaining why Mystique gets the scales that you can see in the panel where she holds the conduit together. Also, I was wondering why Toad went back to being evil in "Dream's End" if he was in his "compassionate mode" here, but it's clear from the end that it has a lot to do with the abuse he's taken over the years, rather than a genetic thing, which was fixed. So that also makes sense. Leave it to FabNic to pull all the threads together and make them work.

I also liked the fact that Bobby FINALLY broke his preconceptions of his powers. Now that he's rejoining the team, I hope we won't see ice slides anymore. He needs to open up his mind. Then there was the whole metaphysical conversation between Phoenix, the Stranger and Eternity. Geez, talk about heavy stuff. But in its own way, it made sense. It kind of goes one step further than Avengers Forever in terms of mankind's destiny. To think that we could become cosmic-level beings is, as Jean put it, "revelatory." That's good old optimism for ya!

Finally, I thought it was very cool to have Juggy start working for the CSA under Sachi Yama. It's very cool because it lays the groundwork for the MC2 Universe, and for Juggy becoming a hero (though the way the CSA is these days, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cain coming up against the X-Men soon, with a federal mandate behind him). So he could still be a baddie, though with gov't support. Nice dangler with a lot of possibilities.

And one last Q: when did Jean get her TK back? Hmmm...

Anyway, if you didn't get all the issues of this LS, be sure to pick it up in TPB. It's worth it!
A note on placement - this LS takes place before X-Men #106. Nice to see that clarified.