Filling in the Blanks

• Writer - Alan Davis
• Penciler - Roger Cruz
• Script - Terry Kavanagh
• Inker - Jimmy Palmiotti
• Inker - Andy Owens
• Colorist - Liquid!
• Lettering - Comicraft
• Editor - Mark Powers
• Editor in Chief - Bob Harras
• Lettering - Albert Deschesne

Summary

  Note: this occurs after X-Men II:95 and is part of the Apocalypse: The Twelve storyline.

  While Scott blasts away in the Danger Room in the middle of the night, he thinks about his earliest days in the X-Men, his marriage to Jean, retiring, then being drawn back in to help find Logan. Jean gets up, and they realize that troubles never end, and they need to make a decisive break.

  In Egypt, the Monolith, having spent years as an asteroid, emerges from his sarcophagus.

  Rogue breaks up with Remy. Xavier assembles the X-Men; he has analyzed Destiny's journal and is convinced it tells the future.

  He mentally directs them to catch a Skrull lurking in the air duct. He can change size as well as shape and is therefore a mutant Skrull. After trying to flee, he surrenders to Kitty, who speaks Skrull. She learns his name is Fiz and he was trying to find Xavier, so he shrunk to microscopic size and attached himself to Kurt when they were in the Skrull base (X-Men II:95). He wants to join the X-Men, and Ororo gets a Shi'ar translator for him.

  The disruption wakes Mikhail from his coma. He had a nightmare about pyramids and a dark god resurrecting.

  Fiz says the surviving Skrulls allied with a death god, who has plans for terran mutants and is using Skrull mutants as soldiers. The rest compare notes and realize "the Twelve" are involved.

  Lorna wants to retrieve Alex's uniform from the Skrulls, but Scott says it's too dangerous. They both feel Alex is still alive.

  The Monolith exults in his power, then Apocalypse reminds him that he made him what he is. He had Sinister graft Alex's modified DNA into him, so he could absorb energy, but it went wrong, and the two split the available power instead of sharing it. Now Alex is gone and the Monolith has his headpiece, but Apocalypse has a device to control it and keep the Monolith subservient.

  Destiny's journal is cryptic, but it lists the Twelve: Xavier, Cyclops, Phoenix, Storm, Iceman, Sunfire, Polaris, Cable, Bishop, Mikhail Rasputin, the Monolith. They wonder if the Monolith could be back, put out calls to Bobby, and practice in the Danger Room for the inevitable.

  Xavier apologizes to Scott and Jean but asks them to stay and hold the team together. They agree but demand full disclosure. He admits he listed only eleven names, and he himself will contact the twelfth, Magneto.