This article contains spoilers for SWORD #1 by Al Ewing and Valerio Schiti.
The X-Men are attempting to conquer creation itself. Created by Joss Whedon in his classic Astonishing X-Men run, SWORD - otherwise known as the "Sentient World Observation and Response Department" - is traditionally dedicated to protecting the Earth from extraterrestrial threats. Usually associated with mutant/alien leader Abigail Brand, SWORD famously make SHIELD look like the Boy Scouts.
SWORD had been discontinued in recent years, replaced by the Alpha Flight program. The X-Men have seen this as the perfect opportunity, approaching Abigail Brand and offering her the opportunity to reform SWORD on behalf of the mutant nation of Krakoa. Dissatisfied with Alpha Flight's recent actions, and with the Avengers' refusal to cooperate with said Alpha Flight program, Brand jumped at the chance. But, although Brand's goal is to keep Earth safe from harm, SWORD #1 reveals the X-Men have a very different agenda. They are aiming to conquer creation itself.
The X-Men have learned the secret of synergizing mutant powers in order to accomplish feats beyond any individual mutant. The Five are the most important to date, a group who combine their powers to literally resurrect the dead, but Krakoa's scientists have come up with another idea - one that involves two separate "circuits" of mutants. The first stage are five teleporters - Blink, Lila Cheney, Gateway, Vanisher, and Amelia Voght - who combine their powers to transport the second stage group through the Multiverse. This second group consists of Wiz-Kid, Fabian Cortez, Armor, Manifold, Peeper, and Risque, and they are transported into the heart of the Multiverse itself. Their objective is to retrieve something precious - something very rare indeed.
It's not entirely clear what the X-Men are retrieving - but SWORD #1 offers some tantalizing hints. The second stage group enter a realm described as the "mysterium tremendum," the "elemental cosmic heart," the "white-hot room of secret fire," and the "excelso prae omnibus aliis." The third of these statements will be familiar to any X-Men reader, because it is the realm that lies at the heart of the Phoenix Force itself. That means the X-Men are literally taking something from the very heart of creation.
It's likely the X-Men have retrieved something akin to the M'Kraan Crystal, a gem worshiped by the Shi'ar that contains the power to potentially destroy the Multiverse. If that is the case, then the X-Men are pushing the boundaries of mutant pseudo-science beyond anything that's been seen before. The Resurrection Protocols themselves almost had an unexpected effect on the nature of reality - they almost led to the destruction of death in the Marvel Universe - and there can be no doubt there will be drastic consequences to all this. The X-Men may well come to regret their dangerous experiments.
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