I have spent parts of the past two reviews (here and here) complaining that Rock and X haven't met yet. Here is the deal. They aren't going to meet. It just took me a long time to understand this point. This is the type of story where elements of each character's world's cross over into the world of the other character, but otherwise the two main characters never actually connect with each other. It kind of sucks, but I can deal with it.
There are two crossover elements:
First, Mega Man (along with Pharaoh Man and Bright Man) was sent into one of the supposedly reformed Dr. Wily's laboratory to look for a group of evil Robot Masters who had stolen some powerful tech. With a little "help" from Dr. Wily, Mega Man inadvertently woke a powerful Wily Walker. This is a nasty spider-like tank loaded with all sorts of weapons -- both conventional and chemical! Mega Man and his two friends manage to prevent the Wily Walker from escaping into the world, but only by trapping themselves inside the lab with the robotic juggernaut!
Fastforward 100 years: Dr. Cain and X accidentally awaken the dormant Wily Walker. Unfortunately, the Wily Walker escapes from the old lab and threatens nearby Arcadia City. It's only through X's quick intervention that the Maverick Hunters are stopped from accidentally unleashing the chemical weapons. Sort of. Vile seems less concerned about those chemical weapons than he should be! How will they save Arcadia City?
Then there is the second crossover element. In the first chapter of this storyline, X found himself under attack by a group of anti-robot terrorists called the Emerald Spear. And then back in Mega Man's time, Emerald Spear leader Xander Payne accessed time-traveling technology to travel back in time and stop of "robot revolution" before it begins. Unfortunately, he accidentally gets whacked from the past and tossed into the future, which leads to him meeting X!
Payne is saved from a perilous situation by X, but all he can focus on is the explosive battle between the Maverick Hunters and the Wily Walker. His time-traveling energies send him back to the present, but not before renewing his opposition to robots everywhere!
Will the Wily Walker finally be stopped? And when??? And when will Mega Man and Dr. Light discover that Dr. Wily is still a lunatic? The answer to at least one of these questions will be answered in part four of "Dawn of X!"
"Out of Time" is written by Ian Flynn, drawn by Ryan Jampole and Jamal Peppers, and inked by Gary Martin.