BIOGRAPHY - Page 8
Moira returned to her research while Excalibur became embroiled with shadow ops games against Black Air and the British Hellfire Club. As her team fought in London, Moira received a surprise visit from the X-Men with a dire proclamation: Charles Xavier had gone insane. An independent third entity named Onslaught had somehow formed when Charles wiped Magneto’s mind months ago. Possessed by Onslaught, Xavier was now leading a reprogrammed flight of Sentinels in the 
conquest of Manhattan. Following a lead, Scott and Jean spoke to Moira who confirmed the existence of a “crypt room” under Muir which Charles asked her to install years ago. Unlocked by their brain wave patterns, the room revealed a series of worst-case scenarios for eliminating any of the X-Men if they went rogue, called the Xavier Protocols. Charles had included a fail safe for himself, involving plans for anti-psionic armor which the X-Men brought back to New York for their final battle. [Excalibur (1st series) #100]
[Note: Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #335 had Moira requesting the X-Men visit Muir Island to unveil the Xavier Protocols, but Excalibur #100 had her unaware of why they had come, a continuity glitch in the crossover.]
Moira was left to explain the professor’s fall from grace to Excalibur once they returned. Nightcrawler and the others were prepared to leap to the aid of their friends, but Moira cautioned against it. The team had already exhausted themselves during the London incident, and somebody needed to carry the torch for Xavier’s dream should all else fail. Onslaught was 
defeated, but at the loss of many of Earth’s heroes, including the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Anti-mutant sentiment was at an all-time high in the States after this, encouraging Excalibur to remain active in the UK and Europe for the time being. Rory Campbell and the patients / detainees beneath Muir were moved off-site by Alistair Stuart and the new Department which replaced Black Air, leaving Moira to continue her Legacy research without additional support staff. [Excalibur (1st series) #101-102]
Moira struggled to stay the course in Xavier’s absence. Charles had been her best friend and closest collaborator for years. Despite separating from the Onslaught entity before its destruction, though, Xavier was still taken into custody by the government for his role in its creation, leaving him imprisoned and out of touch. Her research into the Legacy Virus was not progressing as it should. In truth, she seemed to be no closer to a cure than when she started. Moira’s habit of holding on to questionable things from those who passed resurfaced again. In addition to Joe’s suits and Kevin’s corpse, Moira became possessive of the Xavier Protocols as a way to understand and remain close to Charles. Nightcrawler was firm that the Protocols needed to be transferred to a more secure location at the mansion, though, and the point was driven home when the Mutant Liberation Front raided Muir Island to steal Moira’s Legacy research and the Xavier Protocols. [Excalibur (1st series) #103-106]
Moira’s condition grew worse over time, though she did her best to hide it from her friends. With no new research avenues occupying her thoughts, Moira tried to spend more time with Rahne, knowing their days together were limited. [Excalibur (1st series) #107-114] When Nate Grey had problems with his powers, he returned to Muir Island for a check-up. Moira was unable to help him restore his telekinesis, but a second comparison of his genetic code to Cable’s reaffirmed her old suspicions that the secrets of the Legacy virus might somehow be locked away in the DNA of 
Stryfe and his genetic doppelgangers. [X-Man #26] Banshee arrived from the Massachusetts Academy with data on his students, the St. Croix twins, for Moira to provide an expert opinion on. Sean did his best to convince Moira to live her last days as a human rather than as a scientist, and not to let life pass her by. They had a lovely picnic together and renewed their old bonds together. [Generation X (1st series) #32-33]
What Banshee saw as a new beginning, however, Moira treated as a last hurrah. She decided her failures with curing the Legacy virus were based on a lack of dedication. Further evaluation of Meggan’s comments from months ago confirmed Legacy truly was chaotic and random in whom it infected, a deliberate innovation of Stryfe’s. Combined with strong evidence indicating the virus was airborne, Moira made the decision to impose full quarantine on her lab, completely isolating herself from the outside to prevent further exposure and to ensure her total focus on the problem. She even prepared a time lock for the lab which would prevent it from being opened on either side 
until her research was successful. Rahne was beside herself regarding Moira’s decision, believing it was effectively a death sentence for her foster mother. Banshee spoke with Moira before the isolation began, and reluctantly agreed to stand by her choice in the matter. As Moira said her good-byes and closed the isolation doors, however, Wolfsbane impulsively leapt inside to be with her mother. [Excalibur (1st series) #115]
Moira was initially furious with Wolfsbane for trapping herself in isolation with her. Even Moira was unable to reset the lock and end her quarantine until a cure was found. Left without a choice, Moira made the best of the situation and allowed Rahne to help her as a lab assistant and control subject in her experiments. However, Rahne’s friend Douglock couldn’t stand the idea of Rahne sacrificing herself like this, and he used his cyber-hacking abilities to try and break the lock. 
Months earlier, Stryfe’s former servant, the android Zero, had secretly downloaded Stryfe’s Legacy data into Douglock’s mind. Doug uncovered the existence of this information during his efforts and was able to break Moira’s time-lock. Despite his earnestness, Douglock couldn’t direct access the information in his head, which made Rahne furious that he broke her mother’s quarantine for nothing. [Excalibur (1st series) #117-120]
However, Moira had a different take on the situation. She saw how much her research had consumed her in recent days, and believed she needed a sabbatical from the Legacy virus. After passing the torch to Hank McCoy, Moira focused her attention on more personal matters, such as encouraging Rahne to forgive Douglock and helping Meggan prepare for her wedding to Captain Britain. [Excalibur (1st series) #121-125] Excalibur disbanded after the nuptials, with many members going their separate ways. People like Hank McCoy and Jamie Madrox came to visit at Muir Island occasionally, but only Moira and Rahne remained living there full-time. [X-Men Unlimited (1st series) #21]
Moira returned to her Legacy research in time, but she also remained on-call as a consultant for the X-Men and their friends. She was visited by Storm and Gambit, and made an evaluation of Gambit’s growing bio-kinetic powers. [Gambit (3rd series) #2, Annual ‘99] Douglock’s new incarnation as Warlock stopped by for an evaluation of his friend, Esperanza Ling, and the threat of the transmode virus on Earth. [Warlock (3rd series) #7] Moira also provided medical support during the Gathering of the Twelve, when Apocalypse finally launched the plan for his final ascension and domination over the globe. [Gathering of the Twelve crossover] Finally, her connections with the Sharra family in India set the stage for Thunderbird III meeting the X-Men and joining their ranks. [X-Men Unlimited (1st series) #27]
Moira’s research into the Legacy virus came to a sudden, shocking conclusion as Mystique and the Brotherhood began taking severe terrorist action against humanity. While the Brotherhood made another assassination strike against presidential candidate Senator Robert Kelly, Mystique had the virus re-engineered to target ONLY humans, not mutants. This innovation gave Moira the 
data she needed to innovate a stabilizing agent which might actually cure the virus for everyone. Before she could explore this research, however, Mystique and the Brotherhood attacked Muir Island with a massive explosion. Rogue and the X-Men intervened to save Moira, but Doctor MacTaggert was fatally wounded in the fallout of the blast, Wolfsbane was struck by Forge’s Neutralizer, and Rogue and Mystique critically injured each other.
Aboard the Blackbird, Rogue called upon her absorbed knowledge to perform triage and stabilize Moira, hoping to keep her alive long enough to pass on her ideas for a cure. Circumstances were against them, however, and Moira was on the verge of death. Rogue’s touch was dismissed as an option, as she might kill the weakened Moira with the shock before the information could be absorbed. The X-Men reached out to Charles Xavier mentally, getting him to telepathically 
connect with Moira as they crossed the Atlantic. Charles extracted the formula, but nearly died himself as he refused to leave Moira at the moment of her death. Cable and Phoenix met with the former couple on the astral plane, convincing Xavier to let go. Moira pressed Charles to carry on without her and passed away, her knowledge soon being used by Beast to formulate the cure for the Legacy Virus she had sought for so long. [Dream’s End crossover]