| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
NYX 3 |
| Item: |
NYX #3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1206498005
|
Owner Comments
NYX 3 02/04 "Wannabe, Part Three"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Joe Quesada
Penciller(s): Joshua Middleton - 'Josh'
Inker(s): Joshua Middleton - 'Josh'
Colorist(s): Joshua Middleton - 'Josh', Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer(s): Randy Gentile, Chris Eliopoulos - '(principally a letterer)'
Editor(s): C.B. Cebulski, MacKenzie Cadenhead
Cover Artist(s): Joshua Middleton - 'Josh'
Synopsis: A teenage darkhaired girl is with a man in a motel room. The man gets dressed and leaves some money on the bed. Scratch marks are seen on his back.
The girl is in a bar visiting a well dressed gentleman who is setting her up with another money making opportunity. She goes to a different hotel room to discover the same man. This man has brought a surprise along, a knife.
Kiden waits for the paramedics and rides to the hospital in the ambulance with Ms. Palmer. Kiden stays on a 24-hour vigil at Ms. Palmer’s side until she regains consciousness. When Ms. Palmer is released to go home, Kiden accompanies her.
Ms. Palmer presses Kiden to return to her family and to end her life as a run away. Kiden tells her former teacher she is a mutant but Ms. Palmer believes it’s a game and encourages Kiden to return home a second time. Ms. Palmer promises to called Child Protective Services and Kiden agrees to leave the next morning. However, that night she dreams of seeing her father covered in blood. Her father gives her an address of a hotel to go to. Kiden wakes, writes it down and leaves in a hurry. Ms. Palmer hears her leave and goes to the front room to check. She finds an indent on the notepad of the address that Kiden has gone too. Ms. Palmer decides to follow her former student.
Kiden arrives at the hotel first, climbs the stairs, and sees a door to a room ajar. She enters and sees the darkhaired girl on the bed over the man covered in blood. The girl has two metal claws extending from her left hand. Ms. Palmer joins Kiden in standing in the doorway and staring at this horrific scene.
Characters: Kiden Nixon (Marvel)
Nick Nixon (Marvel)
Cameron Palmer (Marvel)
X-23 (Marvel)
Zebra Daddy (Marvel)
|
| Slot: |
X-23 1 |
| Item: |
X-23 #1 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1508870016
|
Owner Comments
X-23 1 02/05 Signature Series - Signed by Craig Kyle 02/20/2017 "Innocence Lost: Part One"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos - '(principally a letterer)'
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal, Brian Haberlin
Synopsis: A top-secret program led by Dr. Martin Sutter and his young protégé, Dr. Zander Rice is struggling to recreate the original Weapon X using a damaged cellular sample. After years of failures, Sutter hires leading geneticist Dr. Sarah Kinney to take the project in a bold new direction. Unable to reconstruct the severely damaged Y chromosome, Dr. Kinney proposes creating a female specimen using the intact X chromosome. Her request is denied, but Kinney defies order and creates a viable female specimen anyway. Unable to argue with her success, Sutter reluctantly approves her new approach despite Zander’s protests. Zander retaliates against Kinney by forcing her to serve as the surrogate mother. During the months that she is pregnant with specimen X-23, Dr. Kinney realizes the inhumanity of her actions.
Characters: Dale Rice
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Martin Sutter
Rachel Sutter
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 1 Limited Edition |
| Item: |
X-23 #1 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1508868001
|
Owner Comments
X-23 1 02/05 Limited Signature Series - Signed by Craig Kyle 02/20/2017 Edition "Innocence Lost: Part One"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos - '(principally a letterer)'
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal, Brian Haberlin
Synopsis: A top-secret program led by Dr. Martin Sutter and his young protégé, Dr. Zander Rice is struggling to recreate the original Weapon X using a damaged cellular sample. After years of failures, Sutter hires leading geneticist Dr. Sarah Kinney to take the project in a bold new direction. Unable to reconstruct the severely damaged Y chromosome, Dr. Kinney proposes creating a female specimen using the intact X chromosome. Her request is denied, but Kinney defies order and creates a viable female specimen anyway. Unable to argue with her success, Sutter reluctantly approves her new approach despite Zander’s protests. Zander retaliates against Kinney by forcing her to serve as the surrogate mother. During the months that she is pregnant with specimen X-23, Dr. Kinney realizes the inhumanity of her actions.
Characters: Dale Rice
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Martin Sutter
Rachel Sutter
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 2 |
| Item: |
X-23 #2 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1508868024
|
Owner Comments
X-23 2 03/05 Signature Series - Signed by Craig Kyle 02/20/2017 "Innocence Lost: Part Two"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos - '(principally a letterer)'
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Synopsis: X-23 dreams of an idyllic moment at a fair in the past when Wolverine offered to adopt her. In horrific contrast, she wakes up with the halfway house on fire and everybody dead. She tries to get outside and sees a living unconscious man, but her way is barred by a demon who tries to seduce her. It disappears and Laura carries the man outside but, when he wakes up, he claims she caused the fire. She is comforted by Gambit. Later, back at Utopia, Storm and Cyclops talk to Laura, who still believes she is to blame. The two X-Men walk outside to discuss matters while Wolverine keeps Laura company. Not the real Wolverine, though, but the demon Hellverine as Laura has figured out. She attacks him but, at that moment, Hellion enters and believes Laura has snapped. He traps her telekinetically, allowing Hellverine to injure him mortally. Laura offers her life for his and Hellverine sends her to a hellish landscape… Unaware of what has transpired, Storm asks Gambit to help X-23.
Characters: Dale Rice
Deborah Kinney
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Martin Sutter
Megan Kinney
Rachel Sutter
Tanaka Sensei
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 2 Limited Edition |
| Item: |
X-23 #2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0285370013
|
Owner Comments
X-23 2 Limited Edition 03/05 Sketch (Self Submission) cover "Innocence Lost: Part Two"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos - '(principally a letterer)'
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Synopsis: X-23 dreams of an idyllic moment at a fair in the past when Wolverine offered to adopt her. In horrific contrast, she wakes up with the halfway house on fire and everybody dead. She tries to get outside and sees a living unconscious man, but her way is barred by a demon who tries to seduce her. It disappears and Laura carries the man outside but, when he wakes up, he claims she caused the fire. She is comforted by Gambit. Later, back at Utopia, Storm and Cyclops talk to Laura, who still believes she is to blame. The two X-Men walk outside to discuss matters while Wolverine keeps Laura company. Not the real Wolverine, though, but the demon Hellverine as Laura has figured out. She attacks him but, at that moment, Hellion enters and believes Laura has snapped. He traps her telekinetically, allowing Hellverine to injure him mortally. Laura offers her life for his and Hellverine sends her to a hellish landscape… Unaware of what has transpired, Storm asks Gambit to help X-23.
Characters: Dale Rice
Deborah Kinney
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Martin Sutter
Megan Kinney
Rachel Sutter
Tanaka Sensei
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 3 |
| Item: |
X-23 #3 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1508867010
|
Owner Comments
X-23 3 04/05 Signature Series - Signed by Craig Kyle 02/20/2017 Direct Editions have "BMG Music Service" insert included. "Innocence Lost: Part Three"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Cory Petit
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Synopsis: (Ten years since X-23’s birth)
The department chooses the first field assignment to test their new assassin. They choose at random, the only important factor being that the target is high profile and perceived as untouchable. The selected target is Greg Johnson, a candidate for US President. X-23 is given a dossier and sent to the Los Angeles Convention Center where a rally is being held for the candidate. She is disguised as a handicapped child complete with braided pigtails, thick glasses, leg braces and crutches. After assessing the crowd, X-23 approaches security and asks in a small, child-like voice if she could meet Mr. Johnson. When the guard refuses, X-23 throws a temper tantrum, crying loudly and causing a scene. The guard confers with the campaign manager. The candidate’s wife overhears the call and sees a perfect photo opportunity.
Mr. And Mrs. Greg Johnson pose with their two sons and the poor little handicapped girl for the photographer. As the camera flashes, X-23 pops her claws and maneuvers deftly to attack Mr. Johnson. In a swift movement, she drives her foot claw into his chest. In a matter of minutes, she kills everyone in the room. Security, press agents, campaign staff and the candidate’s family are all dead by the time the security forces outside can react.
Sarah Kinney notes that she asked her superiors why this display was necessary. Dr. Sutter’s reply was that you can’t sell anything without advertising.
Following this display, the department is able to sell X-23’s services for fifty-five million a hit. Martin sits in front of a monitor reviewing potential clients and targets that include such criminal luminaries as Wilson Fisk, Hydra, Doctor Doom and Magneto. Sarah Kinney waits outside while he and Zander plot out X-23’s future.
While waiting, Dr. Kinney makes small talk with Rachel, Dr. Sutter’s assistant and lover. She asks how old their son Henry is now. Sarah is about to leave when Zander comes out of Dr. Sutter’s office and asks Rachel to start a client file for Wilson Fisk AKA The Kingpin. He sneers at Sarah and comments that her “pet” is starting to earn her keep. Sarah makes it clear that she plans to try and put a stop to that. Zander replies that Sarah no longer has a say in anything and is unimportant. As Sarah leaves, Rachel tries to talk with Zander about Henry, who is actually his biological son. Zander blows her off and she gets a bit teary from his refusal to deal with her.
Sarah goes to X-23’s room and asks if she would like her to read to her. X-23 seems distant and only perks up when her next assignment is passed under the door.
Sarah notes in her narrative that she feels she doesn’t matter to anyone anymore and all she can do is watch as X-23 is sent out time and time again to kill.
X-23 is assigned to kill a variety of targets around the world: dictators, royalty, godfathers, and drug lords. On these missions, she uses her claws, firearms and disguises to complete the assigned kill.
Rachel confronts Zander and insists on telling Martin the truth about Henry’s parentage. Zander grabs Rachel by the throat and slams her against the wall. He makes it perfectly clear that Rachel is to tell Martin nothing of their affair and that if Rachel does as she’s told everything will be just fine.
Sarah is in her office looking at a photo of her niece Megan. She is interrupted by her colleague Kevin who informs her that Rice is in the prep room and planning on going with X-23 on her next mission. Sarah goes to the prep room where Rice is loading his weapons for the mission. He makes it clear this is none of Sarah’s concern and that if she has a problem, she should bring it up with Dr. Sutter.
Sarah notes that X-23 continues to succeed on every mission without fail for three long years. She never missed a target and always completed the mission within the assigned time limit. She reached every single rendezvous point without fail until the mission that Rice chose to accompany her on.
The mission goes smoothly and X-23 has achieved her objective and has five minutes remaining before the arranged rendezvous. Rice tells the crew that they’re leaving and when they begin to protest, he shoots them. He places his gun to the pilot’s head and tells him that they had to abort the mission when X-23 failed to make the rendezvous.
X-23 is being pursued by a team of Hydra agents and sees the transport leaving as she arrives with over a minute to spare. Rice sneers down at her and bids her farewell. He tosses his father’s dogtags down to her. She looks at them, bewildered for a brief moment. The AIM team catches up to her and she finds herself surrounded. She pops her claws and they open fire.
Characters: Doctor Doom
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Hammerhead
Kingpin
Megan Kinney
Mr. Sinister
Rachel Sutter
Red Skull
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 4 |
| Item: |
X-23 #4 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1508870019
|
Owner Comments
X-23 4 05/05 Signature Series - Signed by Craig Kyle 02/20/2017 "Innocence Lost: Part Four"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Cory Petit
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Synopsis: Doctor Sarah Kinney sits at her desk looking at a picture of her niece, Megan. She then opens the file on X-23. She is crying as she recounts Dr. Rice’s report that X-23 died on the last mission she was sent on. She notes that she didn’t believe him just as sirens sound throughout the research facility.
She races to an observation deck where Dr. Martin and Dr. Rice are watching as a security team scrambles to deal with the intruder. On the floor below, the main hatch door opens and a somewhat wounded X-23 enters. Sarah is joyously surprised and Zander continues his claim that he saw her die at the hands of AIM agents. Dr. Sutter orders Sarah to handle the debriefing of X-23.
X-23 refuses to talk about what happened to Sarah.
(flashback)
X-23 was gunned down by AIM, who believed her to be dead. She survived and killed her attackers in a berserker rage.
(present)
Sarah looks at the deep X-shaped scars on X-23’s forearm and asks who did that to her. X-23 remains silent.
Later in her room, Sarah is crying once more when she receives a message that her sister has called several times in the last hour trying to reach her. Sarah agrees to speak with her sister who is frantic. She learns that her niece, Megan has been kidnapped.
Sarah and her friend and colleague Kevin go to round up X-23 to help. Sarah always thought she was above Dr. Sutter and Zander Rice who turned her into a killer. But now that she was desperate and in need of help, she willingly chose to use X-23 as a weapon, too.
Rachel approaches her husband, Martin and asks if he loves her. He seems exasperated by her question but replies that he does. She starts to tell him the truth about their son, Henry when Zander comes in to inform Martin that they have a situation. Rachel begs Martin to stay but he puts her off once more. As he and Zander leave his office, Zander gives Rachel a harsh look. Zander reveals to Martin that Sarah has taken off with X-23.
In San Francisco, Sarah arrives at the home of her sister, Debbie. She assures Debbie that she’ll help find Megan and tells her that she has a detective friend in San Francisco who is working on it. X-23 uses her claws to scale the wall of Debbie’s building and enter Megan’s room. Using her keen sense of smell, she is able to identify the scents of those who had entered Megan’s room. She catches the scent of the kidnapper with ease and tracks him, as Kevin and Sarah monitor her progress.
She reaches an older apartment building and tracks down the room in which Megan is being held. She disguises herself as a Girl Scout selling cookies before ringing the doorbell. The kidnapper sees her and opens the door. He asks where her parents are and she says they’re at home with wide-eyed innocence. He invites her in while he grabs his wallet. Instead, he grabs a knife X-23 opens the box of cookies and offers him one. He looks inside and the box is empty except for a picture of Megan. He is shocked at what he sees and threatens to kill X-23.
Outside, Sarah and Kevin are waiting for a signal from X-23. It comes in the form of the kidnapper crashing through his apartment window and slamming into a car on the street below. Sarah and Kevin pull up in a van just as X-23 emerges with a somewhat shaken Megan. Sarah rushes over to her niece who wonders who she is. Sarah tells her that she’s her aunt and assures her that she’s safe. Kevin gives her a shot that sedates her and Sarah mentions that when she wakes up, she’ll forget it ever happened like a bad dream.
Sarah returns with X-23 to face an enraged Zander. They argue over Sarah’s unauthorized “field trip” and Zander’s choice to leave X-23 to die. Martin intercedes and Zander takes X-23 back to her room. Martin is clearly angry with Sarah’s little escapade and asks if she has anything to say for herself. She asks if it would matter and Sutter replies that it probably would not. He tells Sarah they will discuss her future there in the morning. As she leaves, a news reports on the apparent suicide of a man in San Francisco linked to the kidnapping and murder of seven young girls in the Bay Area.
Zander drives Martin home that evening. Martin wonders what has Rachel so upset and why she refuses to discuss it with him over the phone. Zander expresses his concern for Martin’s well-being and gives him a document to sign. This document hands over all of Martin’s duties as director of the program to Zander. Zander states that he’s already lost one father to the program and doesn’t want to lose another. Martin signs it and Zander thanks him with a hug.
A few yards from Martin’s house, Zander pulls over and pops the trunk. X-23 is inside. He hands her pictures of Martin, his wife Rachel and their son, Henry. Zander gives X-23 twenty-two minutes to kill them all and asks that she make it look like an accident.
Characters: Deborah Kinney
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Martin Sutter
Megan Kinney
Rachel Sutter
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 5 |
| Item: |
X-23 #5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0285370019
|
Owner Comments
X-23 5 06/05 (Self Submission) "Innocence Lost: Part Five"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Cory Petit
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy', Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Synopsis: X-23 and Gambit are brought to Miss Sinister, who explains she has taken over one of Mr. Sinister’s old labs and is taking care of the children he kept for experimental purposes. Nevertheless, Laura (and especially Gambit) are having a hard time believing Miss Sinister is as harmless as she claiMs. to be. When she tries to manipulate Gambit by taking Laura’s shape, the real Laura attacks her, only to witness Miss Sinister transforming into the real Mr. Sinister.
Characters: Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Henry Sutter
Martin Sutter
Rachel Sutter
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23 6 |
| Item: |
X-23 #6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0285370020
|
Owner Comments
X-23 6 07/05 (Self Submission) "Innocence Lost: Part Six"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Billy Tan - 'Billy Tan Mung Khoy'
Inker(s): Jonathan 'Jon' Sibal
Colorist(s): Brian Haberlin
Letterer(s): Cory Petit
Editor(s): Cory Sedlmeier, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s):
Synopsis: Dr. Sarah Kinney and her friend and colleague, Kevin are leaving the Weapon X re-creation facility with a team of soldiers hot on their heels. The guards shoot at the two and Kevin stops to return fire and is shot several times. Sarah stops and turns to help and he urges her to go on without him, for X-23’s sake.
She does so and makes her way to the central security monitoring room. She shoots the guard there and disables the security cameras, in the hopes that it will give X-23 the chance to complete her final “mission” and escape with her life. Sarah says a prayer to God hoping that X-23 doesn’t die.
In her narrative, Sarah notes how her father robbed of her childhood and her innocence. She realizes that she has done the same to X-23. However, she notes that when X-23 spared the life of young Henry Sutton, it proved to her that people can change and rise above what they were forced to be and become something better.
Xander Rice emerges from the shower. He is on his cell phone speaking with a representative of Wilson Fisk about the production of additional assassins for hire from the genetic material used to create X-23. They are discussing costs when a security guard interrupts on a viewscreen to inform Rice that X-23 has escaped.
In the embryo gestation chamber, a scientist is taking readings and measurements of the developing embryos. He sees X-23 in the reflection of one of the glass globes that hold the embryos just before she kills him. Before leaving, she sets an explosive charge in the chamber. As she turns to leave, a contingent of armed guards arrive to confront her. She turns around with a grim look on her face as she pops her claws. Bullets fly as X-23 wades through the entire squad with ease.
Xander checks in on one of his science team members named Morris to see if he has seen X-23. He finds Morris dead in his room. Xander orders an understandably nervous guard to continue his search for X-23 and to check the embryo chamber first. When he arrives, he finds X-23 perched atop a pile of dead security agents.
Outside, Sarah has taken out the guard at the gate and waits anxiously for X-23. In her narrative, she mentions that once they are together they will leave this place and have the chance to start again as a real family.
Inside, X-23 enters Xander’s room. He is lying in wait and she senses him a split-second before he opens fire on her from behind. She goes down and he once again calls her a “stupid beast” and taunts her by wondering aloud if they didn’t teach her better than that. She replies that they did as she pops her foot claw and uses it to slice his weapon in half, along with the finger that was resting on the trigger. She rises and stalks over to Xander who threatens to kill her. She sheathes her claws and begins to punch him with her bare hands.
As she beats on Xander, she recalls the abuse he has heaped upon her over the years. She recalls the sneering and name-calling, the torturous surgery she endured at his hands and the mission during which Xander left her to die at the hands of AIM. Once Xander is helpless and beaten, she turns to leave. He laughs at her and says that she can’t kill him. She calls him an “animal” and leaves him there in a bloody heap.
As X-23 emerges from the building, the explosives she set go off behind her. She sees a thankful Sarah in the distance and walks towards her. As she does so, she catches a scent on the cold winter air. The trigger.
X-23’s eyes turn red as she enters the conditioned berserker rage and loses control. Sarah sees the change and wonders what’s happening. As X-23 leaps at her with her claws, Sarah flashes on her last interaction with Xander.
He touched her hair and told her to go see X-23 one last time. He set her up to die at X-23’s hands.
Sarah hits the snow and as she lay there dying, X-23 comes to her senses and sees what she has done. With her dying breath, Sarah tells X-23 that her name is “Laura” and that she loves her. X-23 takes Sarah’s hand as tears run down her cheeks. She lays down in Sarah’s lap as she did so many times and says again and again, “Please don’t leave me.”
As she lies there, the pages of Sarah’s journal are blown about. In the final sentences, Sarah once again tells X-23 that she is a child and not a weapon. She makes it clear that she thinks of her as a daughter and loves her as such. Along with the scattered pages are a passport, pages from the Pinocchio story that Sarah always read to X-23 and pictures of Wolverine and Charles Xavier.
As the facility burns, an unknown party requests a final report on the facility. It is nothing but a scorched crater. All personnel were killed and all the embryos destroyed. X-23 is identified as the sole survivor. The project isn’t a complete loss though, as someone has recovered a sample of the trigger scent used to control X-23. The unseen voice wonders where she is and is assured that she will be found.
X-23 exits a bus and steps out onto the streets of New York City. It is two years after the destruction of the facility where she was created. She is wearing a pair of fishnets, a choker and a black leather jacket with an X symbol on the sleeve
Characters: Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Professor X
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 1 |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1212790003
|
Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 1 02/07 "The Killing Dream, Part 1"
Cover Price: US $3.99
Writer(s): Marjorie M. Liu
Penciller(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Inker(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Colorist(s): John Rauch
Letterer(s): Virtual Calligraphy, Cory Petit
Editor(s): Jeanine Schaefer, Joe Quesada, Jody LeHeup, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Danni Shinya Luo
Synopsis: X-23: Age Fifteen.
She sits in an interrogation room wearing an X-Men jacket. She has a bag over her head and her mouth is taped shut. A light comes on and the bag and tape are removed. A man asks twice “Are you X-23?”
X-23: Age Eleven.
X-23 is put through a Weapon X training sequence. A hologram of the original Weapon X appears. X-23 shadows its movements perfectly as a pair of cyborg wolves attacks her. In a control booth above, Dr. Zander Rice, Dr. Martin Sutter and Dr. Sarah Kinney observe her progress. She is initially within .09n percent synchronicity with Weapon X. Zander goads Dr. Kinney saying that as a clone she should match his moves perfectly. Sarah tells him to shut up and Dr. Sutter says that X-23’s performances will determine whether their efforts to create her have been a waste of time or not. Sarah tries to tell him that she’s only a little girl and Zander reminds her once more that they’re here to build weapons not Girl Scouts. Sarah tells him to go to hell.
Behind the trio of scientists, X-23’s handler, Kimura watches the training as well. X-23 is momentarily overcome by the wolves and falls out of sync with the Weapon X hologram. Dr. Rice barks at her to resume her position but before she can do so he unleashes the next attacker: a cyberneticly enhanced grizzly bear. The bear tosses her away like a rag doll and Dr. Kinney begs him to stop the program. He notes that getting tossed like that has to be considered out of sync with program parameters.
X-23 tries to return to the hologram and is again swatted away by the bear. Dr. Kinney begs her superior, Dr. Sutter to stop the sequence before x-23 is killed. Sutter coldly replies that if she fails here, she’s no good to him anyway and orders Zander to increase the bear’s adrenaline levels. The bear advances on X-23. She kicks up from where she lies on the ground, driving her foot claw into the bears mouth and up into its brain.
Sutter is impressed by X-23’s ability to improvise and upon comparing her fight time with that of the original Weapon X finds that she defeated the bear in significantly less time than it took her predecessor. Sutter is pleased but Dr. Rice notes that she was outside mission parameters. Sutter tells him that doesn’t matter and to prepare the girl for a field test. He assigns her to the Candidate Johnson assassination. Kimura watches X-23 closely as she approaches the Weapon X hologram.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The question is repeated: “Are you X-23?” to which the girl bound to the metal chair replies “No.” One of her interrogators confirms that she is telling the truth and the other insists that that’s not possible. He holds out a locket and asks who the woman in the photo inside is. X-23 replies that it is Doctor Sarah Kinney, her mother.
X-23: Age Thirteen.
Dr. Sarah Kinney lies in a pool of blood on the snowy grounds of the Facility. X-23 begs her not to leave her and to wake up. She asks her “What is my mission?” X-23 remains by her “mother’s” side for a long time despite the bitter cold. The sound of approaching helicopters forces her to her feet. She gathers the scattered notes and journals that lie strewn about Dr. Kinney’s body. She begins to walk away and then returns to Sarah’s lifeless body to wipe the tears from her empty eyes.
The circling copters easily tracks X-23 and send a small squad of troops to intercept her on the ground. She easily takes out three of them mere moments after they hit the ground. Using one of their assault rifles, she takes out one of the helicopter pilots. The copter explodes magnificently in the forest near her.
As she continues her flight from the Facility, she is suddenly hit by a series of crossbow bolts. She immediately recognizes the source: Kimura. X-23’s handler steps boldly towards her and asks if she really thought they were going to let her get away. She says that she’s going to take X-23 back in. X-23 lunges for Kimura’s gun and Kimura reminds the young clone that there’s no way that X-23 can hurt her. X-23 replies coolly “I know” and shoots the gun into a nearby snow bank. This creates a miniature avalanche that buries them both. X-23 is the first to emerge and makes good her escape.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The interrogation continues as they ask the name of the young girl in the other side of the locket. It is Megan, Sarah Kinney’s niece.
X-23: Age Fourteen.
In San Francisco, Megan awakes from a nightmare about a deranged madman who kidnapped her when she was a child. She cries out and asks for it to stop. Surrounding her bed are drawings of the man in her dreams and another figure: a dark-haired woman with claws extending from her hand.
As Megan makes her way downstairs, she overhears her mother Debbie and her mother’s boyfriend, Desmond arguing. Desmond insists that he won’t pay for another “shrink” and what Megan needs is discipline. Debbie begins to tell him what Megan needs and Megan interrupts and asks what that might be. Debbie asks her daughter if she’d like some breakfast and Megan slams the door behind her.
From across the street, X-23 watches as her “cousin” heads off to school. For the next several weeks, X-23 watches Megan, Debbie and Desmond from afar. She observes Megan’s lonely isolation and Debbie’s motherly desperation. After three weeks of watching, X-23 rings the doorbell wearing a t-shirt and looking like a normal teenaged girl. Debbie answers the door and immediately recognizes the young woman.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
X-23 sits silently in the interrogation room. One of the men in the room insists that this isn’t going to work and the other that it has to. They ask the question “What is X-23?”
X-23: Age Fourteen.
Desmond is furious as Debbie tries to explain to him what has happened. Debbie tries to apologize and explain that the situation is complicated. Megan arrives and asks what’s going on. Debbie struggles for words and finally just tells Megan that they have a guest, her cousin. Megan is surprised by this news. She finds X-23 in her room looking at the drawings that adorn her wall. Megan gets angry and tells her to get out. X-23 asks Megan why she draws the man who took her. Megan tells X-23 that he’s not real, except in her nightmares. X-23 replies that he is real and that she killed him. Megan begins to cry.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
Again the men in shadows ask the question, “Who is X-23?” One of the men asks if he can ask the question and the other replies, “Go ahead.” The man, Matt Murdock asks “Who was X-23?” to which X-23 replies, “He knows what I was…” Captain America looks down on the young girl and says flatly “She was a weapon.”
Characters: Anole
Bobby Soul
Cameron Palmer
Captain America
Captain Universe
Catiana
Cyclops
Daredevil
Desmond Alexander
DJ
Domino
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Dust
Elixir
Emma Frost
Gamesmaster
Hellion
Henry Sutter
Jubilee
Kiden Nixon
Kimura
Lady Deathstrike
Lil' Bro
Megan Kinney
Nimrod
Psylocke
Raina
Rockslide
Storm
Surge
Wolverine
Wolverine Demon
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 1 Top Cow Edition |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
2014026009
|
Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 1 Top Cow Variant 02/07
(Self Submission)
"The Killing Dream, Part 1"
Cover Price: US $3.99
Writer(s): Marjorie M. Liu
Penciller(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Inker(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Colorist(s): John Rauch
Letterer(s): Virtual Calligraphy, Cory Petit
Editor(s): Jeanine Schaefer, Joe Quesada, Jody LeHeup, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Danni Shinya Luo
Synopsis: X-23: Age Fifteen.
She sits in an interrogation room wearing an X-Men jacket. She has a bag over her head and her mouth is taped shut. A light comes on and the bag and tape are removed. A man asks twice “Are you X-23?”
X-23: Age Eleven.
X-23 is put through a Weapon X training sequence. A hologram of the original Weapon X appears. X-23 shadows its movements perfectly as a pair of cyborg wolves attacks her. In a control booth above, Dr. Zander Rice, Dr. Martin Sutter and Dr. Sarah Kinney observe her progress. She is initially within .09n percent synchronicity with Weapon X. Zander goads Dr. Kinney saying that as a clone she should match his moves perfectly. Sarah tells him to shut up and Dr. Sutter says that X-23’s performances will determine whether their efforts to create her have been a waste of time or not. Sarah tries to tell him that she’s only a little girl and Zander reminds her once more that they’re here to build weapons not Girl Scouts. Sarah tells him to go to hell.
Behind the trio of scientists, X-23’s handler, Kimura watches the training as well. X-23 is momentarily overcome by the wolves and falls out of sync with the Weapon X hologram. Dr. Rice barks at her to resume her position but before she can do so he unleashes the next attacker: a cyberneticly enhanced grizzly bear. The bear tosses her away like a rag doll and Dr. Kinney begs him to stop the program. He notes that getting tossed like that has to be considered out of sync with program parameters.
X-23 tries to return to the hologram and is again swatted away by the bear. Dr. Kinney begs her superior, Dr. Sutter to stop the sequence before x-23 is killed. Sutter coldly replies that if she fails here, she’s no good to him anyway and orders Zander to increase the bear’s adrenaline levels. The bear advances on X-23. She kicks up from where she lies on the ground, driving her foot claw into the bears mouth and up into its brain.
Sutter is impressed by X-23’s ability to improvise and upon comparing her fight time with that of the original Weapon X finds that she defeated the bear in significantly less time than it took her predecessor. Sutter is pleased but Dr. Rice notes that she was outside mission parameters. Sutter tells him that doesn’t matter and to prepare the girl for a field test. He assigns her to the Candidate Johnson assassination. Kimura watches X-23 closely as she approaches the Weapon X hologram.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The question is repeated: “Are you X-23?” to which the girl bound to the metal chair replies “No.” One of her interrogators confirms that she is telling the truth and the other insists that that’s not possible. He holds out a locket and asks who the woman in the photo inside is. X-23 replies that it is Doctor Sarah Kinney, her mother.
X-23: Age Thirteen.
Dr. Sarah Kinney lies in a pool of blood on the snowy grounds of the Facility. X-23 begs her not to leave her and to wake up. She asks her “What is my mission?” X-23 remains by her “mother’s” side for a long time despite the bitter cold. The sound of approaching helicopters forces her to her feet. She gathers the scattered notes and journals that lie strewn about Dr. Kinney’s body. She begins to walk away and then returns to Sarah’s lifeless body to wipe the tears from her empty eyes.
The circling copters easily tracks X-23 and send a small squad of troops to intercept her on the ground. She easily takes out three of them mere moments after they hit the ground. Using one of their assault rifles, she takes out one of the helicopter pilots. The copter explodes magnificently in the forest near her.
As she continues her flight from the Facility, she is suddenly hit by a series of crossbow bolts. She immediately recognizes the source: Kimura. X-23’s handler steps boldly towards her and asks if she really thought they were going to let her get away. She says that she’s going to take X-23 back in. X-23 lunges for Kimura’s gun and Kimura reminds the young clone that there’s no way that X-23 can hurt her. X-23 replies coolly “I know” and shoots the gun into a nearby snow bank. This creates a miniature avalanche that buries them both. X-23 is the first to emerge and makes good her escape.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The interrogation continues as they ask the name of the young girl in the other side of the locket. It is Megan, Sarah Kinney’s niece.
X-23: Age Fourteen.
In San Francisco, Megan awakes from a nightmare about a deranged madman who kidnapped her when she was a child. She cries out and asks for it to stop. Surrounding her bed are drawings of the man in her dreams and another figure: a dark-haired woman with claws extending from her hand.
As Megan makes her way downstairs, she overhears her mother Debbie and her mother’s boyfriend, Desmond arguing. Desmond insists that he won’t pay for another “shrink” and what Megan needs is discipline. Debbie begins to tell him what Megan needs and Megan interrupts and asks what that might be. Debbie asks her daughter if she’d like some breakfast and Megan slams the door behind her.
From across the street, X-23 watches as her “cousin” heads off to school. For the next several weeks, X-23 watches Megan, Debbie and Desmond from afar. She observes Megan’s lonely isolation and Debbie’s motherly desperation. After three weeks of watching, X-23 rings the doorbell wearing a t-shirt and looking like a normal teenaged girl. Debbie answers the door and immediately recognizes the young woman.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
X-23 sits silently in the interrogation room. One of the men in the room insists that this isn’t going to work and the other that it has to. They ask the question “What is X-23?”
X-23: Age Fourteen.
Desmond is furious as Debbie tries to explain to him what has happened. Debbie tries to apologize and explain that the situation is complicated. Megan arrives and asks what’s going on. Debbie struggles for words and finally just tells Megan that they have a guest, her cousin. Megan is surprised by this news. She finds X-23 in her room looking at the drawings that adorn her wall. Megan gets angry and tells her to get out. X-23 asks Megan why she draws the man who took her. Megan tells X-23 that he’s not real, except in her nightmares. X-23 replies that he is real and that she killed him. Megan begins to cry.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
Again the men in shadows ask the question, “Who is X-23?” One of the men asks if he can ask the question and the other replies, “Go ahead.” The man, Matt Murdock asks “Who was X-23?” to which X-23 replies, “He knows what I was…” Captain America looks down on the young girl and says flatly “She was a weapon.”
Characters: Anole
Bobby Soul
Cameron Palmer
Captain America
Captain Universe
Catiana
Cyclops
Daredevil
Desmond Alexander
DJ
Domino
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Dust
Elixir
Emma Frost
Gamesmaster
Hellion
Henry Sutter
Jubilee
Kiden Nixon
Kimura
Lady Deathstrike
Lil' Bro
Megan Kinney
Nimrod
Psylocke
Raina
Rockslide
Storm
Surge
Wolverine
Wolverine Demon
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 1 Variant Edition |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1461223009
|
Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 1 Variant 02/07 "The Killing Dream, Part 1"
Cover Price: US $3.99
Writer(s): Marjorie M. Liu
Penciller(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Inker(s): Will Conrad - 'Vilmar Nunes Conrado'
Colorist(s): John Rauch
Letterer(s): Virtual Calligraphy, Cory Petit
Editor(s): Jeanine Schaefer, Joe Quesada, Jody LeHeup, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Danni Shinya Luo
Synopsis: X-23: Age Fifteen.
She sits in an interrogation room wearing an X-Men jacket. She has a bag over her head and her mouth is taped shut. A light comes on and the bag and tape are removed. A man asks twice “Are you X-23?”
X-23: Age Eleven.
X-23 is put through a Weapon X training sequence. A hologram of the original Weapon X appears. X-23 shadows its movements perfectly as a pair of cyborg wolves attacks her. In a control booth above, Dr. Zander Rice, Dr. Martin Sutter and Dr. Sarah Kinney observe her progress. She is initially within .09n percent synchronicity with Weapon X. Zander goads Dr. Kinney saying that as a clone she should match his moves perfectly. Sarah tells him to shut up and Dr. Sutter says that X-23’s performances will determine whether their efforts to create her have been a waste of time or not. Sarah tries to tell him that she’s only a little girl and Zander reminds her once more that they’re here to build weapons not Girl Scouts. Sarah tells him to go to hell.
Behind the trio of scientists, X-23’s handler, Kimura watches the training as well. X-23 is momentarily overcome by the wolves and falls out of sync with the Weapon X hologram. Dr. Rice barks at her to resume her position but before she can do so he unleashes the next attacker: a cyberneticly enhanced grizzly bear. The bear tosses her away like a rag doll and Dr. Kinney begs him to stop the program. He notes that getting tossed like that has to be considered out of sync with program parameters.
X-23 tries to return to the hologram and is again swatted away by the bear. Dr. Kinney begs her superior, Dr. Sutter to stop the sequence before x-23 is killed. Sutter coldly replies that if she fails here, she’s no good to him anyway and orders Zander to increase the bear’s adrenaline levels. The bear advances on X-23. She kicks up from where she lies on the ground, driving her foot claw into the bears mouth and up into its brain.
Sutter is impressed by X-23’s ability to improvise and upon comparing her fight time with that of the original Weapon X finds that she defeated the bear in significantly less time than it took her predecessor. Sutter is pleased but Dr. Rice notes that she was outside mission parameters. Sutter tells him that doesn’t matter and to prepare the girl for a field test. He assigns her to the Candidate Johnson assassination. Kimura watches X-23 closely as she approaches the Weapon X hologram.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The question is repeated: “Are you X-23?” to which the girl bound to the metal chair replies “No.” One of her interrogators confirms that she is telling the truth and the other insists that that’s not possible. He holds out a locket and asks who the woman in the photo inside is. X-23 replies that it is Doctor Sarah Kinney, her mother.
X-23: Age Thirteen.
Dr. Sarah Kinney lies in a pool of blood on the snowy grounds of the Facility. X-23 begs her not to leave her and to wake up. She asks her “What is my mission?” X-23 remains by her “mother’s” side for a long time despite the bitter cold. The sound of approaching helicopters forces her to her feet. She gathers the scattered notes and journals that lie strewn about Dr. Kinney’s body. She begins to walk away and then returns to Sarah’s lifeless body to wipe the tears from her empty eyes.
The circling copters easily tracks X-23 and send a small squad of troops to intercept her on the ground. She easily takes out three of them mere moments after they hit the ground. Using one of their assault rifles, she takes out one of the helicopter pilots. The copter explodes magnificently in the forest near her.
As she continues her flight from the Facility, she is suddenly hit by a series of crossbow bolts. She immediately recognizes the source: Kimura. X-23’s handler steps boldly towards her and asks if she really thought they were going to let her get away. She says that she’s going to take X-23 back in. X-23 lunges for Kimura’s gun and Kimura reminds the young clone that there’s no way that X-23 can hurt her. X-23 replies coolly “I know” and shoots the gun into a nearby snow bank. This creates a miniature avalanche that buries them both. X-23 is the first to emerge and makes good her escape.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
The interrogation continues as they ask the name of the young girl in the other side of the locket. It is Megan, Sarah Kinney’s niece.
X-23: Age Fourteen.
In San Francisco, Megan awakes from a nightmare about a deranged madman who kidnapped her when she was a child. She cries out and asks for it to stop. Surrounding her bed are drawings of the man in her dreams and another figure: a dark-haired woman with claws extending from her hand.
As Megan makes her way downstairs, she overhears her mother Debbie and her mother’s boyfriend, Desmond arguing. Desmond insists that he won’t pay for another “shrink” and what Megan needs is discipline. Debbie begins to tell him what Megan needs and Megan interrupts and asks what that might be. Debbie asks her daughter if she’d like some breakfast and Megan slams the door behind her.
From across the street, X-23 watches as her “cousin” heads off to school. For the next several weeks, X-23 watches Megan, Debbie and Desmond from afar. She observes Megan’s lonely isolation and Debbie’s motherly desperation. After three weeks of watching, X-23 rings the doorbell wearing a t-shirt and looking like a normal teenaged girl. Debbie answers the door and immediately recognizes the young woman.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
X-23 sits silently in the interrogation room. One of the men in the room insists that this isn’t going to work and the other that it has to. They ask the question “What is X-23?”
X-23: Age Fourteen.
Desmond is furious as Debbie tries to explain to him what has happened. Debbie tries to apologize and explain that the situation is complicated. Megan arrives and asks what’s going on. Debbie struggles for words and finally just tells Megan that they have a guest, her cousin. Megan is surprised by this news. She finds X-23 in her room looking at the drawings that adorn her wall. Megan gets angry and tells her to get out. X-23 asks Megan why she draws the man who took her. Megan tells X-23 that he’s not real, except in her nightmares. X-23 replies that he is real and that she killed him. Megan begins to cry.
X-23: Age Fifteen.
Again the men in shadows ask the question, “Who is X-23?” One of the men asks if he can ask the question and the other replies, “Go ahead.” The man, Matt Murdock asks “Who was X-23?” to which X-23 replies, “He knows what I was…” Captain America looks down on the young girl and says flatly “She was a weapon.”
Characters: Anole
Bobby Soul
Cameron Palmer
Captain America
Captain Universe
Catiana
Cyclops
Daredevil
Desmond Alexander
DJ
Domino
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Dust
Elixir
Emma Frost
Gamesmaster
Hellion
Henry Sutter
Jubilee
Kiden Nixon
Kimura
Lady Deathstrike
Lil' Bro
Megan Kinney
Nimrod
Psylocke
Raina
Rockslide
Storm
Surge
Wolverine
Wolverine Demon
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 2 |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #2 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0746923011
|
Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 2 02/07 Signed by Mike Choi on 04/18/07 "Part Two"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Inker(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Colorist(s): Sonia Oback
Letterer(s): Troy Peteri - 'Comicraft/TP'
Editor(s): Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Synopsis: Captain America hands Matt Murdock the report on the assassination of presidential candidate Greg Johnson. It details the precise and professional manner in which each victim was killed, twenty-seven in all including Johnson’s teenaged sons. Stunned by the gruesome thoroughness of the entire operation, Murdock asks why. Wide-eyed but far from innocent, X-23 answers “It was my mission”.
Four years earlier…
Captain America arrives with a squad of SHIELD agents after receiving a tip about an assassination attempt on presidential candidate Greg Johnson. Cap leads the squad into action after shots are fired with SHIELD director Nick Fury advising via comlink. Fury is insistent that they catch the would-be assassin. As Cap makes it to the room where Johnson is, agents greet him with grim news: Johnson and his entire family and campaign entourage are dead. Cap enters the room to see the eviscerated bodies of the slain.
As he surveys the carnage, Cap hears a whimper. He scrambles through the corpses until he finds the body of a young girl with leg braces. She asks him to please help her. As he carries the girl to safety, he fails to even consider that she might be the assassin. He also overlooks a camera on the ground that captured an image of the girl slaying Johnson. Cap gets the girl to an ambulance and assures her that she’ll be okay.
A SHIELD agent approaches and reports that an EMP took at surveillance before the hit but that the building is locked down and no one has left since then. Cap thinks to ask the sole survivor what she may have seen and looks over at the ambulance. When he sees blood dripping from inside the vehicle, he immediately realizes that the girl was the killer and he had let her get away.
In the interrogation room, Cap confesses his role in this situation to Matt Murdock who recognizes that Cap feels personally responsible. Cap tells Matt that he holds himself personally responsible for every single life that X-23 has taken since that day. Murdock tries to tell Cap that his personal investment is too great but the Star-Spangled Avenger insists that they continue.
He asks X-23 what happened in San Francisco with Megan after she verified the girl’s claim of being abducted. X-23 tells them that Megan wanted her to tell her mother that it was all true.
One year earlier…
Megan demands that Laura tell her mother and Desmond the truth about her being kidnapped. Laura acts as if she has no idea what Megan is referring to. Desperate, Megan begs Laura to tell them how she killed the man who took her, that he was real. Debbie pleads with Megan to calm down, while Megan begs X-23 to tell them that she’s not crazy. Megan runs away, upset by Laura’s refusal to talk. Debbie is concerned about Megan but Desmond blows it off as just another tantrum. Debbie begins to explain to Laura but can’t. Instead, she takes her upstairs to get her settled in. She tells her she can borrow some of Megan’s clothes until they can get her some of her own. Laura is pleased when she sees the wilder fashions that Megan insists on wearing.
The next day Laura is ready for school, dressed in a racy outfit from Megan’s closet. Her Aunt Debbie asks if she’s sure she wants to wear that and Laura assures her that she is. Debbie says they’ll figure out someway to get her enrolled in school and asks awkwardly if she has a birth certificate. Laura tells her that she has seven of them as she identifies Megan’s scent. She tells her aunt that she knows the way to school and can find her own way. Debbie tries to insist but X-23 merely thanks her and takes off after Megan.
She finds her cousin alone on a pier. Megan has been crying and asks why X-23 didn’t tell them the truth. X-23 explains that when she saw Megan’s drawings she assumed Megan remembered everything. Had she realized that she only had vague recollections, she wouldn’t have confirmed the veracity of them. She tells Megan that she is safer not knowing the full truth as those who made her might come looking for her. Megan is surprised to hear this and asks Laura what she is.
In response, Laura pops her claws causing Megan to gasp. She tells Megan that if anyone knew she was there they would kill Megan and her mother to get to her, so no one must know. Megan agrees as Laura sheathes her claws. She tells Megan that they should get to school as she doesn’t like to be late.
As they arrive at school, Megan is enthusiastically asking for details about X-23’s claws. As they make their way down the hall, they are taunted by jeers. Terms like “freaks”, “Goths” and “Sluts” are bandied about. A pair of jocks stops Megan and teases her about her new ‘friend’. When a young boy named Henessey grabs Megan’s arm, X-23 tells him fiercely to let her go. He asks if she’s going to hurt him if he doesn’t and she answers yes. Megan pulls Laura away as the jock notes that she’s kind of hot for a freak.
In French class, the teacher notes the arrival of his new pupil and asks in French if she has any familiarity with the Romance languages. X-23 answers “oui” and he snottily asks if she can say more than “yes”. Laura rises and in perfect French gives him a lengthy and detailed explanation of how to bribe and torture international peace officers while obtaining information. This lands Laura and Megan in the principal’s office.
At lunch, Megan tells Laura that until she came along no one believed her about being abducted and thought she made it up to get attention. Even her mother thought she was crazy. Laura tells her that she doesn’t think she’s crazy at all. Megan tells Laura that she’s her only friend.
Later in biology class, Laura corrects the teacher when he gives incorrect information about the amount of blood in the human body. He chides her for interrupting his lesson and asks if she has any other trivia about the human body to share. She stands and shares with the class details on the most effective way to kill a person without leaving a trace. This leads to a second trip to the principal’s office for her and Megan.
The principal unleashes a tirade on the two girls about the topics that X-23 has brought up in class and the disruption they’ve caused. She assures the girls that they are nothing special and undeserving of the attention they are clearly seeking. She shouts at them and asks if they are even listening. Laura rises and shouts back at the principal, reiterating word for word everything she has said since they entered the office to prove that she was listening. This gets both girls suspended.
As they leave the school, Megan is amazed at what Laura did and comments on how her mom is going to kill her. X-23 asks what sort of training her mother has. Megan says off-hand that she wishes they could just run away and Laura agrees. Megan notes that they don’t have a car as Laura eyes the principal’s convertible. Moments later, the girls are joy-riding throughout San Francisco.
They spend the day exploring the city, enjoying a museum, a movie, shopping and even drive out to a nearby amusement park. Laura provides cash to buy jewelry at Tiffany’s after which the girls take in a Dazzler concert! They stay out all night and watch the sun rise at Fisherman’s Wharf. Laura tells Megan about her life and confesses that she was forced by those who made her to kill her mother. She explains that her creators made a scent that triggers a blackout and when she wakes up, everyone around her is dead. Megan tells her that she’s sorry and Laura tells her that she is too.
When the girls return home, Debbie is furious having spent the whole night trying to find them. Megan stops her mother and tells her that she’s sorry… for everything. Debbie hugs her daughter and Megan promises that things are going to be better now.
The present:
In the interrogation room, Captain America guesses that things didn’t end up being better and X-23 confirms this. She explains that she followed the proper protocols and was careful but that they had already found her and were going to make her kill Megan. She didn’t even realize it.
As Megan and her mother were patching things up, Debbie’s boyfriend Desmond drove to a desolated part of the city where a man gave him an envelope and told him to call in. He reports that he almost lost her and that he can’t take X-23 down on his own. He opens the envelope and inside is a vial marked “TRIGGER”.
Characters: Captain America
Daredevil
Deborah Kinney
Desmond Alexander
Megan Kinney
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 3 |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0308510023
|
Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 3 02/07 (Self Submission) "Part Three"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Inker(s): Sonia Oback
Colorist(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Letterer(s): Troy Peteri - 'Comicraft/TP'
Editor(s): Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Synopsis: While being interrogated by Capt. America and Matt Murdock, X-23 details how the Facility conditioned her to respond to the “trigger scent” by torturing her regularly from the tender age of eight. When she was fourteen, she was sent on a paid assignment for the Kingpin. She posed as the Kingpin’s niece and was kidnapped by a rival crime boss with invisibility powers called DiLorenzo. The trigger scent was used to mark DiLorenzo and X-23 easily killed the man. This was the start of a profitable business relationship between the Facility and the Kingpin. When asked by Cap which other targets the trigger scent was used on, X-23 reveals that they used the scent on both her sensei and her mother. Cap then realizes that it was also used on Megan and Debbie. Desmond, an operative for the Facility who had been assigned to get close to X-23’s aunt Debbie had spiked her tea with the trigger scent. When Megan arrived home, the tea spilled all over Desmond and a bit got onto her as she was helping him to his feet. Desmond panicked when he realized that he had been marked by the scent. In his panic, he demanded to know where X-23 was. Megan was surprised that he knew this name. She had no time to put the pieces together and realize how Desmond might know it. Laura had already smelled the trigger scent and was standing in the doorway, her eyes red as she entered the trance-like killing frenzy induced by the scent.
Characters: Beast
Captain America
Daredevil
Deborah Kinney
Desmond Alexander
Dr. Sarah Kinney
Dr. Zander Rice
Fade
Kimura
Kingpin
Megan Kinney
Tanaka Sensei
Wolverine
X-23
|
| Slot: |
X-23: Target X 4 |
| Item: |
X-23: Target X #4 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
0285370004
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Owner Comments
X-23 Target X 5 05/07 (Self Submission) "Part Four"
Cover Price: US $2.99
Writer(s): Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle
Penciller(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Inker(s): Sonia Oback
Colorist(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Letterer(s): Troy Peteri - 'Comicraft/TP'
Editor(s): Michael O'Connor, Daniel Ketchum, Axel Alonso
Cover Artist(s): Michael 'Mike' Choi
Synopsis: Captain America asks X-23 if she killed her aunt and cousin. Matt Murdock jumps in and tells Cap that she was under the influence of a mind-controlling drug and cannot be held responsible. Cap tells Matt that despite that people are dead and he has to understand what happened and that it will be up to someone else to decide what X-23 will be held responsible for. He asks her what happened when the tea spilled on Megan and Desmond.
One year earlier…
As X-23 pops her claws, Desmond immediately realizes what is happening and begins to panic. Megan, on the other hand, is bewildered by Laura’s behavior. Desmond calls Kimura on his cell phone and begs her to abort the mission and evac him immediately. Megan asks what he means by mission and he pushes her aside.
As he screams into the phone for help, X-23 leaps at him. She lands on his back and in seconds he is dead. As he cries out, Debbie who is upstairs in bed is startled and spills her tea. Megan cries out for Laura to stop but she doesn’t. As Megan watches her kill Desmond, she recalls the story that Laura told her about killing her mother while under the influence of the Trigger Scent. Megan quickly surmises that the tea was laced with the stuff and rushes upstairs.
She cries out for her mom and asks her franticly if she drank the tea. Debbie tells her that she spilled it and Megan takes her by the hand and hurries her into the bathroom.
X-23 makes her way up the stairs in search of her next target. Megan slams and locks the bathroom door and Laura’s slice come slashing through it. Megan is stammering to her mother that they have to get out of there and Debbie is confused by all that is happening.
Turning to the window, Megan sees the shower. X-23 is cutting the door to pieces to get to them. Megan thinks fast and shoves her mother into the shower. They both scream as X-23 bursts through the door, and yanks back the shower curtain.
As X-23 pulls back for a full force attack, the last of the Trigger Scent is washed from Megan and Debbie’s bodies and swirls into the drain. X-23 sniffs and her eyes clear. She stops and then realizes that Kimura is here and coming for them.
Nearby, Kimura reports in that Desmond is dead and they are going to have to do this the hard way. At her command, a small contingent of armored troops makes their way towards Debbie’s home.
present:
Captain America interrupts X-23’s tale and asks her who Kimura is since she has now mentioned her twice. X-23 recounts the story of their first meeting.
X-23: Age twelve….
Just days after her claws were surgically removed and laced with adamantium, Dr. Rice enters X-23’s room and introduces her to Kimura. The older woman stands imperiously over X-23. When Rice orders x-23 to kill Kimura, she strikes without hesitation. Her blows do nothing to the woman, who simply stands there and takes it.
Rice taunts X-23, ordering her again and again to kill Kimura. Finally, Kimura blocks X-23’s blow. Rice sneers and tells X-23 that she has failed to follow his orders and must be punished. He signals Kimura who smiles sadistically and says “hi, sweetie” before viciously head-butting X-23. She then proceeds to pummel on Laura until Rice tells her to stop.
He then tells X-23 that Kimura will be her handler from now on and that if she fails to complete an order or disobeys him in any way, she will answer to Kimura. He tells X-23 that she can’t hurt or kill Kimura who they made just for her.
X-23 explains that Kimura was there when they the first tested the Trigger Scent and forced X-23 to kill her sensei. They chose her sensei because he had disobeyed orders by being kind to X-23. This was their way of punishing him. As X-23 grieved for her sensei and realized what they had forced her to do and why, Kimura dragged her away by the hair to punish her for her role in all of this.
She notes that Kimura always punished her even when she had not failed. When she failed to rendez-vous at the assigned time following a mission, Kimura relished this and took the opportunity to punish X-23. In other instances, Rice lied just to create a reason for further punishment at Kimura’s hands.
present:
Both Cap and Matt Murdock are disgusted by the lengths that Rice went to manipulate and control X-23. Cap asks if Kimura was a mutant whose mutation allowed her to withstand X-23’s claws. Laura tells him that she wasn’t but was created by the Facility as a specific counter to her abilities. Cap brings the interrogation back to the night that Debbie and Megan died.
past:
As X-23 leads Debbie and Megan downstairs, Megan mentions that Desmond said he was on a mission. She asks what’s going on and if Laura’s creators were after her. Debbie asks Megan what she means about Desmond just as they come upon his dead body in the foyer. Debbie begins to freak out and Megan asks Laura to help her with her mother. X-23 punches Debbie in the jaw and knocks her out with a single blow.
Megan asks Laura why she did that and Laura hurriedly explains that they are coming there to kill the two of them. At that moment, a tear gas bomb crashes through the living room window. Megan asks if it’s anthrax as X-23 leads them into the basement. She then uses her claws to slice through a water pipe. She tells Megan to stay down here no matter what she hears and to not make a sound. Megan agrees though she is freezing and unclear on what Laura is doing or why.
Upstairs, armored goons enter the building and scan for targets using infrared devices. They pick up life-signs in the basement but conclude that the body temperatures are too low to be human. X-23 takes one out from behind and then braces herself against the ceiling above a doorway in an adjoining bedroom in order to take out a second. She then takes out a third in the bathroom.
A pair of troops sees this and opens fire. They report this to Kimura who sarcastically wishes them luck in taking her down themselves. X-23 dives into the kitchen and then kills the two men by hurling meat cleavers at their faces.
Downstairs, Megan can hear the sounds of battle and is frightened when the basement door swings open. The armored troop stands there a moment before falling down the stairs. He lands at Megan’s feet, several knives are sticking out of his neck.
The battle continues upstairs as X-23 uses the claws on her hands and feet to take out four goons at once. She stops to assess the field of battle and catch her breath. In that moment of pause, Kimura grabs her from behind and snaps her neck. She smiles sadistically and greets X-23. She asks “Did you miss me?” as X-23 falls to the floor.
Characters: Captain America
Daredevil
Deborah Kinney
Desmond Alexander
Dr. Zander Rice
Kimura
Megan Kinney
Tanaka Sensei
X-23
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