Joseph is held captive by an unnamed woman (Astra), who uses complex alien technology to draw memories from his brain. Astra, a former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, hatched a plot to clone a younger, more-powerful version of Magneto as a way to gain revenge against her former leader. It was she that restored Magneto’s mental faculties after he was effectively lobotomized by Xavier. When Magneto awoke from his comatose state he flew at Astra in a rage, but Joseph intervened and easily overpowered Magneto, who fled.In the Arctic Circle, Magneto continues to hold the world hostage by unleashing a massive electromagnetic pulse wave to disable all of the electronics on Earth. Seventy-five miles away, the X-Men are marooned in the ice with their crashed Blackbird while a jet full of Acolytes circle above. Nightcrawler attempts to get Wolverine close enough to the jet for an assault, but the EMP wave disrupts his navigation skills and they materializes in mid-air. Rogue is knocked unconscious by the wave as she tries to save them from their fall. Professor Xavier attempts to reason with the Acolytes in astral form; his presence is disrupted by an enraged Scanner.In Genosha, Dr. Alda Huxley is summoned away from the country’s civil war by the United Nations to act as an authority on mutants. Ferris continues his speech elaborating Magneto’s demands to the UN assembly. On a balcony above the assembly floor, Israeli Ambassador Gabrielle Haller argues with the Russian ambassador about Magneto’s preemptive strike on humanity.Back in the Arctic Circle, a Russian ice-cutter releases two fiberglass nuclear missiles at Magneto’s base. Unable to deflect them, Magneto does his best to contain the force of their blasts. Witnessing the distant mushroom cloud, the X-Men dig frantically through the ice to create a shelter.Their efforts are futile – the force of the blast sweeps across the team in second
