When the ferocious Shi'ar warrior Deathbird lands on S.W.O.R.D.'s doorstep at the brink of death, Abigail Brand calls in the X-Men to investigate! But are even the X-Men equipped to handle the horrific new threat that's emerged from the edge of space? Monstrosities called the "Genespliced" - creatures engineered from the fiercest alien races across the galaxy - threaten S.W.O.R.D.'s orbital base, but as the X-Men explore the Acanti Skunkworks, they soon find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that has connections to the deaths of Rachel Grey's family! Can the X-Men hope to stop an alien horde? And does Brand know more about the Genespliced than she's letting on?