Angry with Cable, Hope lashes out and shunts herself back in time two years--without Cable. Without his charge and unable to leap backwards in time, Cable tries to formulate a plan while wrestling with the techno organic virus which is raging out of control. Bishop doesn't help things by showing up and attacking Cable. Finding Hope gone, Bishop leaves Cable and leaps back to find her. Nine years old and alone, Hope enters one of Stryfe's cities and befriends a young boy named Emil. But Emil's father used to work for Stryfe and has now allied himself with someone else--Bishop.