Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #2 of 2

Credits:
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Clayton Crain (Part 1)
Artist: Kaare Andrews (Part 2)

Part 1: Last Testament of Scott Summers
Scott stares down a big chunk of ruby quartz and recounts the last two years leading up to this point.

Two years prior, instead of letting Wolverine charge in, he took the slow and steady approach. That gave Agent X-13 enough time to activate the Ghostbox. Scott blasted the sentinel coming out of the ghostbox. Agent X-13 was subdued by the others then blasted his own head off.

Weeks later, ghost boxes were opened all over the world, unleashing the sentinel units and wreaking havoc all over.

With that, it was just a matter of time when everyone gets killed off... except him.
"I'm not worth killing. Only good things are worth killing." Classic signs of survivor's guilt (the same condition Emma Frost felt when she was the sole survivor of the massacre of Genosha way back years ago). Blaming himself for basically failing the world, he put himself out of his misery...


Part 2: 4
Hisako aka Armor, Logan aka Wolverine, and Henry aka Beast, have been trudging slowly for the past year through the countryside towards, supposedly, for a way off the planet. They were following a lead: Kitty Pryde is back and is airlifting people out to safety. All they had to do is reach Kalispel in Montana.

Wolverine is in bad shape, the adamantium on his legs permanently bent. Henry is mentally ill, barely coherent and has the emotions of maybe a five year old. Only Hisako is the sane one left, and has a very dark disposition.

She believes it's a trap, despite Logan's insistence that it isn't. No signs of spacelaunch. Noone else going to Kalispel. All too quiet...

They finally reached Kalispel... or what used to be Kalispel. It was a trap. A trap that has already claimed the lives of everyone who arrived there before them. They see hundreds of skeletal remains surrounding a large crater.


Perhaps sensing their desperate situation, Hisako armor's up, and kills off both Logan and Henry. Without any food left, she knew it was only a matter of time before she too will be dead...

Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #1 of 2

Credits:
Writer: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Alan Davis (Part 1)
Art: Adi Granov (Part 2)

Background:
Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes is a two-part limited series that takes off following the discovery of the so-called Ghost Box in Astonishing X-Men #27. Simnply put, think of a Ghost Box as a gizmo that can open up portals to other dimension in the Marvel Multiverse. This limited series is a collection of stories about alternate realities involving -- directly or indirectly -- the X-Men and the Ghost Boxes -- yep, there's more than one. Think of it as a mini What If series featuring the Astonishing X-Men.


Part 1: Agent X-13's Report on the Emergency Annexation of Earth-616

In this alternate reality, Agent X-13 recounts to his council/court martial how he managed to get rid of the X-Men and successfully annexed this parallel dimension.

The key to this was taking out Scott Summers, aka Cyclops early on, whom Agent X-13 believes to be the real threat. Killing Cyclops gives him the time to properly engage the Ghost Box.

Upon completing the Ghost Box, three "Deathlok-class security units" were deployed to the scene. These are basically juiced-up Sentinels. One of these "security units" happens to be "plugged-in" to a Magneto who quickly mangled the admantium-laced skeleton of Wolverine, rendering him harmless and useless. It also made short work of the remaining team members, killing in one blow Storm and Emma Frost, leaving the young Armor alon and clueless.

After that initial exchange, the Deathlok-class units secured Indonesia, then the rest of the southern hemisphere by the end of the day. The following day, after a nuclear fallout, the annexation of the world was complete, apparently with very high death tolls -- the reason for Agent X-13 is being court martialled in the first place.

Comments
This is an alternate ending -- a What If, if you will -- for Astonishing X-Men #26. Whereas Cyclops was taken out in this alternate reality, in the "real-world" AXM#26, Cyclops is alive and is able to prevent the Ghost Box from being activated, causing Agnet X-13 to fail and, subsequently, blow his own head off.

Part 2: Being An Journal by Miss Emma Frost of New Portsmouth Bay in the State of Albion

This features Earth-889, a pre-digital world, and centers around the thoughts of Emma Frost of the X Society. After being called upon to investigate the apparent murder of a peculiar floating, burning body, the X Society deduce from the journal left behind by the body the location of the killer.

Flying on the "steam-version" of the BlasckBird, the team flies to the aerodrome where the supposedly killer is supposed to be going. Opening the hatch, Logan jumps down earthwards. The killer, an alternate X-13, seeing Logan, grabs a briefcase, burns it, and tosses it to Logan. Logan was hit and his entire arm burst to flames. Logan unknownly rips the airship with his claws, which eventually caused to the airship to explode.

After that, the X Society are now blamed for the disaster. Emma Frost is placed under house arrest, with a bunch of clockwork mechanical guards called Sentinels with their great guns trained on her house.

Comments
The initial crime scene -- burning floating body -- is exactly the same as the original crime scene in AXM #25, except that this is a pre-digital world, where apparently, the steam engine is the highest form of technology available.