New Mutants #23

Official Solicitation

In possession of knowledge that could mean the collapse Fortress X, Rogue is on the run, hunted by every other member of the mutant race. But one of those pursuing her has an agenda of his own. Will it be her destruction…or something else entirely?

Story Information

As the Age of X is set in an alternate universe, many familiar characters have different names. Keeping with the continuity of the story, all characters will be referred to by their new names. The most notable changes in this issue are:

• Basilisk = Cyclops
• Eclipse = Sunspot
• Legacy (or "Reaper") = Rogue
• Nightmare = Pixie
• Revenant = Phoenix

This issue starts following the events of X-Men: Legacy #246.

Plot Summary

Flying above the battlegrounds surrounding Fortress X, Magneto observes the flashes below. What appear to be pretty fireworks, are really defeated human soldiers dying in explosions created by the 'suicide chips' to prevent the mutants from salvaging any additional technology, armor, weapons & resources. Using his magnetism Magneto lifts the wounded mutants on metal stretchers, leaving the healthy survivors to look on & gossip about the morality of Legacy & Gambit's apparent fate. Just as Dazzler comments that they may as well forgo the Force Walls (to let the Humans in) if they've resorted to killing their own ranks, the Force Warriors arrive. They talk also among themselves about low morale as they construct the Force Walls. Like Nightmare & Avalanche had done before them, Psylocke & Unuscione discuss the 'murder' of their colleagues. However, Revenant appears worried as she confesses that she feels lost & that she doesn't even recognise herself.

Back inside the walls of the Fortress, the strange grotesque residents greet Legion warmly. However, inside his quarters he finds Moira MacTaggert crying in the foetal position. She voices her fears about losing everything & each other, to which he holds her, reassuring that he refuses to let it happen.

Deep in the foundations of Fortress X, Magneto tells X that he feels paranoid after Legacy's betrayal & is therefore searching for mines or other traps. X commended Magneto for his actions, suggesting that he should go further by publicly executing Katherine Pryde. He disagreed as she was imprisoned, but as he passed further & deeper into areas heavily lined with metal the signal with X disintegrated. Once all communication with X was lost, Magneto enters a subterranean room with Legacy & Gambit waiting for him. Magneto quickly dispersed any misplaced notions of murder, admitting that he wasalso suspicious of the world surrounded Fortress X. Therefore his previous actions had been to provide Legacy & Gambit with cover, allowing them to investigate without observation. When asked, Legacy explains what happened when she went to speak with Katherine Pryde & the visions of Earth-616 she'd seen inside Charles Xavier's mind, recalling the events of the Decimation, and that the Professor's thoughts were focussed on his son's welfare. This causes Magneto to confess that he'd been the one who'd sent Pryde out passed the Force Walls, and then produce blue-prints of Fortress X he'd taken from Box. The plans revealed that there was a secret room in the middle of the Fortress which even Magneto (the man who'd constructed the building) didn't know about. With all knowledge shared, Legacy & Gambit agree to investigate the mysterious room while Magneto left to liberate Pryde.

Meanwhile, the Moonstar Cadre are changing in the western Barracks when X addresses Moonstar directly. Although shaken by the day's events, Moonstar admits that she'll be fine. However, X stirs up a conspiracy by suggesting that Magneto had purposefully set out to undermine their security.

In the Brig, Magneto casually destroys the doors & all of Danger's drones before magnetically dismantling Pryde's bonds. He immediately leads her to the room holding Charles Xavier.

Legacy & Gambit continue to move through unmanned tunnels inside the Fortress. Their progress is slow as they had to avoid all security. In order to give herself the same thief's skills that Gambit had, she gives him a quick kiss for luck before ascending an abandoned elevator shaft.

Professor X is held in an artificial stasis that blocked all sensory perception, which Magneto disables with ease. Pryde admits that he looks familiar, but can't understand why. As he wakes, Professor X recalls an unnamed female who had been lay in waiting. He had gone back "inside" when she attacked and turned everything inside out. However, as he started to address Pryde as 'Kitty' (which surprised her) the stress became too much & he passes out. Suddenly, they are cornered by Eclipse, Magma & Moonstar.

Gambit & Legacy exit the abandoned elevator shaft through a wall-mounted vent. There, they discover the two-dimensional image of Dr Nemesis, frozen in time as he raced to his computer keyboard. Unsure of whether he is still alive or not, they observe that the power is still on in the room & that he had been examining someone's mind. Legacy is distracted by the presence of a box. A box that is located in the centre of the room that is central to the whole of Fortress X. Slowly she pries the box open to take a look inside.

Meanwhile, the young mutants are appalled that Magneto's words seem to suggest that they've been fighting for nothing, but he is looking for a world bigger than that surrounding the Fortress.

Shocked by what she's seen, Legacy drops the box.

Magneto confides in Moonstar & her reduced Cadre that he hasn't murdered anyone. He reasons with Moonstar that he isn't a traitor to the mutants or their home, and that Professor X will be able to enlighten them when he wakes. Moonstar agrees to stand down, but is interrupted as she commands Eclipse & Magma to stay on their guard.

As the mysterious box lands on the floor with it's lid open exposing the contents, Magneto is hurled across the room. The Force Warriors descend through the opening in the ceiling they'd just created. Usurping his position, Psylocke relieves Magneto of his command.

Inside the central room, Gambit runs to Legacy who lies in shock on the floor. The reason there was nothing to see outside of the Force Wall is because someone has stolen the universe & placed it inside the box.

Note

This issue if followed by X-Men: Legacy #247.