I am Not Now, Nor Have I ever Been...

• Writer - Alan Davis
• Penciler - Andy Kubert
• Inker - Tim Townsend
• Script - Terry Kavanagh
• Colorist - Liquid!
• Colorist - Chris Sotomayor
• Lettering - Richard Starkings
• Lettering - Comicraft
• Editor - Mark Powers
• Editor in Chief - Bob Harras

Summary

  Note: this occurs after the Astonishing X-Men limited series.

  Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt commiserate about their night on the town, ruined by a conniving Mystique and a disturbed Polaris (X-Men II:93-94). Kitty has authenticated Destiny's journal, then gets a call that sends them rushing back to Westchester.

  Piotr has Marrow and his unconscious brother and is driving back from Boston when he gets the call.

  Xavier has just tested X-Force, and they aren't too happy. He is about to visit Generation X when Ororo gets the call: Wolverine is dead.

  The X-Men gather around the corpse, and Scott tells the tale. They were protecting the Mannites when Death came and cut down Wolverine with one swipe of his sword. Kitty refuses to believe his healing factor didn't save him; Moira and Hank begin the autopsy.

  Mikhail is in a medical bed, and Moira wants to run tests on Marrow because of her recent transformation (X-Men II:90). Kurt says Scott should visit Lorna; Warren goes to protect Betsy, since someone is hunting X-Men.

  Xavier gathers the rest, debriefing Scott again, still overbearing. The lights blink off for a moment, then Scott argues with Xavier, saying some X-Men are ready to quit. Xavier says Jean is controlling Scott's mind and attacks her. Scott blasts him, but Kitty phases him in time. Xavier goes after Scott, and a general free-for-all ensues, Xavier, Jean, Cable, and X-Man all psi-blasting, collapsing the ceiling. Split into two groups, everyone is paranoid about mind control. They attack each other viciously, and one-by-one are killed.

  Warren wings his way to Connecticut but realizes a flying saucer is tailing him. He tries but fails to lose it in the trees, then gets to his cliff-side estate and finds armed men with jetpacks. He eludes them and is then confronted by himself.

  As Rogue dies, Remy says he loves her, and she says it would have never worked out. Kitty mourns Piotr; she sees Xavier become Onslaught and Remy sees Jean become Dark Phoenix. Then the test is over.

  Betsy appears and knocks out the false Archangel. Warren grabs her and dives off the cliff, to get away

  Xavier has put them through this hellacious scenario to expose their deepest emotions and verify their identities, having learned the X-Men were infiltrated. He had taken Ororo, Scott, Jean, Cable, and X-Man into his confidence, but the others have minds that are either guarded or unfamiliar to him, hence the extreme measures (therefore, Kitty and Remy have the slipperiest minds).

  They adjourn to the med-lab, where Hank and Moira have finished their genetic testing and realize Wolverine wasn't real, or even human. They inject him with a solution Remy took from Sinister (Gambit 9), and the corpse reverts to Skrull. Xavier realizes the switch was made while the X-Men were unconscious in a Skrull ship (iss. 371).

  Betsy says she identified the real Warren by his haircut. They fly back to Westchester.

  Jubilee and Banshee arrive, distraught over Wolverine's death. The rest of Generation X will be there soon, and Xavier prepares to test them. Ororo wonders where the real Logan is.

  Note: continued in X-Men II:95.

  Note: a preview of Heroes Reborn follows.