Dead X-Men #3

(Moira's Ninth Life)

'Ugh, I'm covered in Ultron oil!' Alison Blaire a.k.a. Dazzler complains as she and the rest of her teammates in the “Dead X-Men” are suddenly shunted through Space-Time and into another reality. 'And I've got Emma's blood on my hands, Dazzler. Perspective' Jubilee exclaims. 'Point taken' Dazzler responds, before Joanna Cargill a.k.a Frenzy tells her teammates to be quiet. 'We have no idea where Askani sent us to this time' she points out. Examining his surroundings, which appear to be hieroglyphics on stone, Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball remarks that he would be surprised if this is Moira's first life, unless she's Scottish by way of ancient Egypt. Suddenly, he and Frenzy go wide-eyed as a voice calls out 'It appears we'll need to cull the guards and start over – for none who would allow intruders to reach our inner sanctum are worthy of serving Apocalypse and his queen!'

It's Apocalypse himself, who sits on a large throne, a smaller throne is seated next to him, with Moira taking that seat. Moira narrows her eyes and asks 'Is that Joanna Cargill, my king? Did she not fall us years ago?' Apocalypse tells Moira that he purged Joanna Cargill himself, which means these five are either impostors – or unwanted visitors from another reality. 'Yeah, this is not where we want to be right now' David Alleyne a.k.a. Prodigy utters, while Apocalypse snarls and announces that, either way, they must be dealt with. 'Summon...the Host!' he exclaims, and a moment later, dozens of beings resembling Archangel – Death – swoop into the chamber and fly straight towards the time-displaced X-Men. 'C'mon, Rach – we ain't got time to spare here!' Cannonball calls out to Rachel Summers a.k.a. Askani, when suddenly, a portal opens up ahead of them.

(The White Hot Room)

The White Hot Room, where the Atlantic Krakoa is currently being housed. Thankfully, the X-Men were teleported to safety in time. 'Moirapocalypse. Guess she went way off the rails in a few of her lives' Jubilee supposes. Prodigy frowns, before shouting out to Rachel, 'Send us out again!' But he gets no response. Cannonball goes over to him and tells Prodigy to take a second to catch his breath, suggesting that if Rachel yanked them back here, she might need a breather, too. 'We don't have a second, Sam. That was Moira's ninth life. And I didn't pick up anything about a Dominion from her before we jumped...which means the only goal of the mission now is finding and stopping Moira -' Prodigy exclaims, when suddenly, a fiery image of Rachel Summers' face appears above the X-Men. 'Sorry – we're changing mission parameters again?' she asks. 'Was anyone planning to tell the very stressed chronoskimmer coordinating this madness from afar?'

Frenzy ignores that comment and explains that there has been a complication. 'Even if we can't gather information to use against the Dominion, we need to reach Moira's other past lives' Frenzy explains.

(No-Place X)

From No-Place X, currently under bombardment, Rachel mutters 'Oh yeah, this wasn't at all complicated already'. She tells the X-Men to keep in mind that she is trying to manage the five of them while Rasputin IV staves off the very persistent Hunter-Killers attempting to rip open their ship and implode them all into nothingness. Rachel asks the X-Men what is still worth risking trips to these defunct realities if they can't procure anything to stop the Dominion.

(The White Hot Room)

'We're not the only ones traveling to Moira's past lives' Frenzy announces.

(Moira's Tenth Life)

Meanwhile, in the present-reality, the deranged Moira stands atop the Palais de Justice in Paris and watches as Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops is marched up the courthouse's steps, while two oppressive Stark Sentinels watch over him. 'I hope ye fry, Summers. I hope ye all fry' this cyborg Moira utters.

(Moira's Third Life)

'Brilliant, Dr. MacTaggert – simply brilliant!' a scientist smiles, while several others applaud Moira, who holds up a glass tube containing a red liquid, while the Moira cyborg watches from behind another room.

(The White Hot Room)

'A half-made Moira got her hands on mysterium, the mutant metal we barely understand?' Askani gasps. 'And you didn't think that was worth telling me the moment you discovered what she was planning?' Askani asks. Jubilee points a finger at Askani and responds 'Oh, sorry, we didn't realize it was within the mission brief to kill off all potential threats we encountered in branching realities'. Jubilee declares that the whole point of these incursion-excursions was to draw as little attention as possible. 'Besides, you're the one who yanked us straight from Ultron-ville to Apoca-Egypt!' Jubilee adds. Dazzler can tell that Jubilee is upset, and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder, before telling Rachel that that Jubilee is right, and that they couldn't have known what this Moira ewas planning until they saw the aftermath of her seventh life. 'Just saying allof this out loud is hurting my brain' Dazzler adds.

Cannonball hangs his head and claims that this is all is fault. 'Frenzy was ready t' finish her off, but Ah rushed everyone through the portal' he explains. Frenzy reminds Cannonball that they are a team, that they all made the same choice, and all share responsibility. Askani tells the X-Men that she isn't mad, and acknowledges that she chose the five of them for a reason – and part of that was trusting that they weren't going to go full Terminator on these branching realities. She tells them that they couldn't have guessed that some crazed future version of Moira was capable of ripping through time and space. 'Maybe not, but us being there changed how everything played out' Prodigy explains. He adds that the twisted Moira wasn't supposed to complete her black-hole weapon – and he wasn't supposed to get this fragment of glow rocks stuck in his chest.

(No-Place X)

'Then we're way, way off the beaten path, and the timing couldn't be worse' Rachel exclaims, before she reports that Xavier is speaking to Moira now, in her tenth life, when she was still a child. 'Everything depends on him getting through to her and changing her mind. It's our best chance' Rachel declares.

(The White Hot Room)

The X-Men listen as Rachel tells them that if the mad Moira affects her own past, or finds her way to Xavier right now, then everything they have been trying to pull off could be stuffed.

(Moira's Second Life)

The cyborg Moira makes her way in front of an airport terminal. Civilians look on at her, as she remarks to herself 'Buckle in, lass. It's going t'be a rough ride'.

(Moira's Fourth Life)

'You haven't defeated me yet!' Magneto exclaims as he hovers above the original X-Men, who attempt to defeat him. 'Tch' the cyborg Moira remarks as she watches from nearby.

(The White Hot Room)

'That's why you need to keep sending us back – we have to intercept the Moira we unleashed before she blows everything up!' Prodigy exclaims. Rachel asks him if he missed the part about targeting these lives being extremely difficult, even without the No-Place being under assault.

(No-Place X)

'If you can let me out, perhaps I can -' begins Mother Righteous, trapped inside an energy field. 'No' Askani cuts her down quickly.

(The White Hot Room)

'The how and why of this are way above my paygrade, but each jump has put us close to a Moira so far, or at least someplace relevant to her' Dazzler remarks. Jubilee notes that Prodigy absorbed her mental map, and figures that they wouldn't randomly end up on the other side of the world as Moira when they follow it. 'In the timeline with the Ultrons – you said we arrived about a decade before the end of Moira's life. Did you pick up any data like that in Apocalypse's timeline?' Frenzy asks Prodigy, who shrugs and replies 'Kind of?' He explains that he absorbed a lot between those two, but if he has the order of things right, they got there not long before an assassination attempt hurt Moira so bad that she put herself in stasis. Cannonball suggests that maybe all the jumps are trending toward the end of things, like Moira's anchor point on these past lives is how they wrapped up. 'Grim to think about, but it makes some sort sense' he adds.

'We're trying to logic out the impossible here – and there's no guarantee this dystopian Moira is following any of the same rules' Askani notes, before declaring that Moira is hacking and slashing her way through time and space. 'Then we hack and slash faster!' Jubilee exclaims. She points at Prodigy and declares that he is right. 'We're at least partially responsible for this mess. If Xavier's in the middle of his save-everything mission, I do not want to be part of the reason it goes belly-up' she announces.

(No-Place X)

Mother Righteous looks on from within the energy bubble, while Rachel responds to Jubilee by saying 'Sure, let's just play whack-a-Moira'. She proposes to fling the X-Men back and forth until they happen to end up in the same time and place as the crazed ax-wielding one.

(The White Hot Room)

'No – we know where she's going. She announced it when she carved Gyrich in two' Prodigy informs Rachel, revealing that Moira wants to go back to the very beginning. 'We have to get there before her. To Moira's first life' he explains. 'At least that gives me something to aim at' Rachel supposes, before noting that, according to Xavier, Moira's first go was pretty uneventful. 'Didn't exactly stretch on for a thousand years' she adds.

(Moira's Sixth Life)

The Preserve, Year Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine. Logan emerges from some shrubs, claws at the ready. Two other mutants can be seen in the distance behind him. The cyborg Moira looks at Wolverine, her ax glowing with energy. 'I don't know what you are, but you sure as Hell ain't any Moira I know' Wolverine snarls. 'And you'd know better 'n most' Moira responds, before informing Wolverine that the two of them go way back – especially in this life. Wolverine frowns and lunges towards Moria, and warns her that if she is with the blue meanies, keeping them locked in here, then he will send her back to them in pieces. Moira's ax clangs against Wolverine's body as she tells him that he never changes, and that is comforting. 'As much as I'd love to stay and gab, I'm getting awfully close to my destination. Ta now, old friend. Enjoy the inevitable' Moira declares.

(The White Hot Room)

'Great. We're all decided. Moria's first life it is' Dazzler remarks, before suggesting to Rachel that they get going. 'Things aren't looking too hot in here' she adds. 'That applies to just about anywhere right now' Rachel tells Dazzler. 'Except, fingers crossed, Xavier's little sit-down, which we need to protect at all costs' Rachel adds, before telling her team to buckle up, and let's hope she can get them where they need to go.

(No-Place X)

'And speaking of, Xavier's been gone for a minute now' Askani remarks as she wipes her brow, before deciding that if Rasputin has the invaders covered, she needs to check on the Professor. 'Rachel Summers and Rasputin IV. Lost little girls with the weight of everything on their shoulders' Mother Righteous sniggers. Askani glances back and replies: 'Mother Righteous. A #$%& stuck in an egg'. Mother Righteous smirks and replies 'Heh. Fiery. Let's both of us hope, Askani... that Charles and Moira's playdate achieves its goal', while, elsewhere within No-Place X, Rasputin IV can be seen battling some ghoulish Sentinels.

(Moira's Fifth Life)

Faraway, Earth's moon, where, under a blue doom, the Beast entes a lab where Dr. Cecilia Reyes is at a console, monitoring Moira, who is within a sealed room, undergoing some sort of scan. Dr. Reyes reports that Moira's vital stats are stabilizing, and she is confident they will be able to attempt another psychic probe later. Suddenly, an alert sounds, reporting that an unpermitted teleportation on medical center grounds has occurred. 'Another Sentinel attack? So soon?' Cecilia asks, before telling the Beast to go, while she protects Moira. But the Beast tells Cecilia that he is not leaving her alone. 'Besides... we're prepared this time' he adds.

There is a surge of energy, and the Dead X-Men materialize. 'Crap. No way is this her first life' Dazzler complains as she examines her new surroundings. 'Looks like Epcot on steroids' Jubilee jokes, when suddenly, a voice calls out 'Normally, we'd extend a warm welcome to any and all mutants...but after what the Sentinels did to us, we're not taking any chances!' It's Psylocke, wearing her pink and purple “resurrection” costume. With her are Banshee, Wolfsbane, Sway and Cyclops, all wearing variations of the classic X-Men uniform. Cyclops' optic visor is structured in such a way that it resembles the classic large eye of the Greek legends he takes his namesake from. Psi-blades at the ready, Psylocke instructs the X-Men to defend their home. Banshee takes the first shot, unleashing a powerful sonic scream which knocks the Dead X-Men backwards, only for Dazzler to respond with a brilliant burst of light, which knocks Banshee off-balance. 'Attacking the pop star who turns sound into light with a sonic scream? Guess you never had the privilege of meeting me in this lifetime!'

Prodigy approaches Cyclops and tells him that they have no reason to fight each other. 'We're on an important mission here, and -' Prodigy begins, to which Cyclops interrupts: 'Oh, I agree. See, my important mission? It's working with my wife and the rest of our squad to keep mutantkind safe' Cyclops responds as he fires an optic blast at the ground in front of Prodigy, causing Prodigy to leap backwards. 'Yikes! Need a nail file much?' Jubilee asks as she dodges an attack from Wolfsbane, who growls at her. 'C'mon, Rahne – Ah know you're not a killer in any reality. Let's get you outta -' Cannonball exclaims as he blasts past Wolfsbane, knocking her away from Jubilee – until he finds himself trapped by Sway's power, as he begins to slow down mid-air. 'I hold sway over time, interloper. And you're not going anywhere anytime soon' Sway declares.

'You're smart enough to know we're not enemies, Braddock' Frenzy begins, dodging one of Psylocke's psi-blades, as Psylocke declares 'Sentinels nearly wiped us out a week ago, “Frenzy”. Now I see the faces of dead or duplicated friends, all with severe psychic defenses...so you'll have to forgive my caution!' before she shoves a psi-blade into Frenzy's head. Frenzy remains resilient, and through gritted teeth tells Psylocke to go ahead and  read her thoughts. 'We're not here to hurt you. We're here...' she begins, before she is interrupted by another voice that exclaims 'Hopin' to find little old me, isn't that right?' Psylocke looks over and is horrified at what she sees: 'You – you're out of your coma? But -' she begins, as the cyborg Moira raises her ax and releases a wave of energy that knocks everyone backwards and she exclaims 'Oh, I'm not the Moira yer used to, lassie. She's a saint by comparison. I'm much more fun!'