***CONTEST***
Okay continuity freaks, this one is for you !!! The very first scene in this issue (it begins at the beginning of the issue and ends where it says: end scene 1) is special. Special in a way that it is connected to the normal Marvel continuity. Connected in some way. What I'm trying to find out is in what way are they connected. I'll give you a hint, it's got something to do with the past.
So basically what you do is you read the first scene and see if you recognize it. Those of you who know the history of X-Men should know what I'm talking about straight away. Even if you don't know, take a guess, you never know you might just get it ! :)
The prize is the original copy of X-Men Gold and Blue #1. You have seen the Remastered version last month as part of the Visions 2nd Anniversary Blow Out, now the winner can see the original version before it was beta read, and see just how it really was in the beginning. Believe me, you'll be surprised :)
Send all answers and guesses to Visions at vision-@ihug.co.nz and hurry ! The first correct entry counts !
HINT: What I'm looking for has got something to do with Phoenix. Good luck ! ****
Marvel characters belong to Marvel and are used without permission with no profit made. Visions characters belong to Visions, and if you want to use them, why beats me, just tell us.
EDITORS NOTE: Since we are about to
launch into Year 3 of XMGB next month, I just thought I would take a moment here to fill
in the new readers on what has happened in the 25 issues of our series, and to remind our
regular readers of what is going on. Without further ado, here it is:
The series started a month after Marvel's conclusion to the Onslaught crossover and headed in a totally different direction. With Professor X taken away by the government, the X-Men took it easy, until the original Acolytes, thought dead up until then, showed up, asking Joseph to become their master once again. He refused and they left, understanding his wishes. Unknown to them or the X-Men, a mysterious pair observed everything. The team then confronted Holocaust and learned of the death of Valerie Cooper. Up until now, it has remained a mystery on who killed Val and wiped the whole database on Charles Xavier. While this was happening, Bastion was putting his plans for Operation Zero Tolerance into reality. When he found out that someone had wiped all the information on Xavier and killed Val Cooper he became enraged. Bastion took Xavier to his complex anyway, hoping to discover how he was connected to the X-Men. He chose to strike shortly after Christmas, involving both X-Men and Gen. X teams. The crisis ended with the mansion destroyed, Bastion seemingly dead, and Professor Xavier with his powers once again. Many sleeper Prime Sentinels were displaced all over the country and the government finally realized fighting mutants was not the way to go. Such a victory for the X-Men would have been sweet had their mentor not fallen into a coma soon afterwards.
As year two rolled on, we learned of the government's special campaign called Reach Out, which sought to improve the human-mutant relations mainly by educating people on just what mutants were. Leaving X-Men after a rough argument with Psylocke, and starting up his business once again, Warren Worthington decided to back Reach Out financially after his newest assistant Eddie Cameron convinced him to. Senator Kelly, who himself was the main force behind Reach Out, also pushed for president's permission to bring back Freedom Force, and the international search for old members has already begun. Back in X-Men meanwhile, tensions were rising, as the situation proved tough with no roof over their heads. X-Men had to live in the Danger Room while Forge and Beast rebuilt the mansion. Meanwhile Psylocke began feeling really strange when she saw shadows, and was attacked by the mysterious Undercloaks. She was losing her grip on sanity and went off to the only place where she could think of going: Matuso's house. She was getting strange visions of him and it seemed like a perfect answer to ask him what was going on. Gambit stopped her as she was boarding the Blackbird (the very original one, hidden in the lake many years ago and now pulled out) and after an argument, Gambit went with her, and eventually saving her life. Matuso had drained all of the Crimson Dawn from Betsy while she was held captive, and she would have died had Gambit not made the sacrifice of lending his life force to her. The catch? Betsy got his memories, and with them his secrets. The whole situation turned out to be a plot by Matuso and Tar, the Crimson Dawn shadow master, who saved Betsy's life when Sabretooth gutted her. Tar was convinced that Betsy had died once the Crimson Dawn was drained, but Matuso decided to keep her alive, just to make sure she would suffer, the return of.... Revanche! When Matuso drained every pint of Crimson Dawn from Betsy he gave it to a cloned Revanche body, making her his own warrior. His plans for now remain unclear. When Betsy recovered, she found the red mark was gone from her face, her telepathy was back to normal and she no longer commanded the shadows. She also found out just what Remy's secret was, but promised to not tell anyone since he saved her life.
While this was all happening, a mysterious woman calling herself Lukin, attacked the African village that Storm used to live in, and took it over for reasons yet unknown. Storm, unaware of that, decided to return home now that her powers were gone after OZT, and Wolverine, with his andamitium returned to him during OZT as well decided to accompany her until he figured out just what was going on with his skeleton. Those two left, leaving the team shaking at it's core, with Cyclops stumbling with leadership, mostly due to the strange way Jean had been acting. Meanwhile in the Morlock tunnels, Calisto who had been injured during OZT had obviously caught a disease as she was lying in bed for months. Sarah, her companion unable to do anything called for help from a human, something she swore she never do and she accidentally stumbled across Dr. Cecilia Reyes. Dr. Reyes found that Calisto had influenza and gave her the vaccine, pulling Calisto from the arms of death. Meanwhile Fenris were once again plotting against Magneto. They broke into the SHIELD Helicarrier and stole information on Magneto's past and then attacked Magneto's base in the Savage Land, where the original Acolytes were living. They imprisoned them all, but Anne Marie Cortez, who managed to escape and warned Joseph and the X-Men. They traveled to the Savage Land only to be lured into a trap by Fenris and captured. It turned out that Fenris wanted the Maelstrom technology, a cache of technology Magneto had found many years ago and used to create Mutant Alpha, a artificial being. In order to find out where Magneto hid this technology, and to overtake his seat in the Hellfire Club seat, they returned Magneto's memory in a painful way, never suspecting that they would unleash his fury. Magneto, one restored to his old self, broke out and attacked Fenris, almost killing them before they managed to teleport away. X-Men left him to his own as he asked them to, unsure just what he was going to do.
As this was happening, the other part of the X-Men team, led by Cyclops traveled to New Mexico to destroy the Hulkbuster Base. They found the base abandoned and all the files erased, a month after Bastion died. Cyclops sent Iceman and Cannonball to check if there was anybody in the complex and to set up explosives around the base. Once the explosives were set off, it turned out there was someone still inside. Cyclops ran in and tried to save the woman, who turned out to be one of Bastion's workers, but she died before his eyes. As he ran to escape the destruction, he was hit by a falling piece of ceiling and it injured him severely.
Meanwhile back in the empty mansion, Professor Xavier woke from his coma.…
There you have it folks, 25 issues of X-Men Gold and Blue in a nutshell. Hope now everything will be easier to understand. If you have any questions, or would like to read some of these back issues, contact me and I can help you out :)
Tom
XMGB writer and EIC of Visions
June 1999
VISIONS presents X-Men in a special tale titled: "I SEEM TO RECOGNIZE YOUR FACE" or "INDIFFERENCE" or "THE ISSUE BETWEEN ISSUES" or "WAKEY WAKEY CHUCK!" or "THE RETURN OF BUCKET HEAD AND THE BALD GUY" Bald Guy: Tom Bucket Head: Link Alara Rogers: Brain inside the bald guy.
The small jet soared through the sky, flying high above the clouds, unseen from the ground. Inside it, traveled four X-Men, Gambit, Psylocke, Rogue and Bishop, who were returning from the pre-historical Savage Land in Antarctica. They were one member short for they left one of their teammates, the mutant known as Magneto, behind. Having been amnesiac for over a year, the young Magneto, who went by the name of Joseph, had been captured by mad twins called Fenris and brutally returned to his old state with all of his memories and full control over his magnetic powers. After he defeated Fenris and their escape, he told X-Men to leave, to let him sort out the mess inside his head. They did, understanding that what Magneto needed now was to be alone, but by all means, they were not pleased with it. They hated leaving a teammate to his own, especially such a dangerous one. Considering what he had done in the past this was an unwise move but the X-Men, despite their superiority were human and understood human needs. Now as they sped towards their home in Salem Center, mixed emotions and an uneasy atmosphere filled the plane.
Gambit leaned back in the pilot chair and watched with blurry eyes as the clouds rolled underneath him. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about what had happened. As a thief he had learned to watch people and things carefully, to always note everything and draw useful conclusions. This time, sure he understood that Magneto could become a threat to the society, but something told him he wouldn't. He didn't have many interactions with Magneto before but he knew that he was a decent man in heart. And having seen all those memories of his, Remy felt he understood the man a little better. Out of habit, Remy analyzed Magneto's most vivid memories as they flashed on the screen in Savage Land. He reminded himself to not ever talk to Magneto about them. Man's secrets were one thing that Remy would never talk about. For obvious reasons, as he never wanted to talk about his past and secrets either.
Rogue leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, sighing. Her reactions were not as simple as Remy's, simply because she cared more for Joseph. She had always denied loving him, but deep down inside she cared about what happened to him. She was the one that found him amnesiac and wandering around the country, and long before that, she spent many weeks with him in Savage Land, when he cured her of Carol's personality. They had something going between them there, and if it had not ended so tragically who knows what would have happened. And when she found him then, without his memories or a hint of who he was, some of that passion returned. Now that she had spent almost a year with him, she grew closer to him, and his everyday struggle to not become the monster he used to be. And now that his memories returned, Rogue feared the worst. Joseph didn't want to be a monster, it was always something else affecting him. And now that she saw his life and the misery he suffered, she felt even more sorry for him. It was a good thing he treated Fenris like that, they stripped him of the last thing that was truly his, his dignity. And Rogue knew that it would be enough to push him over the edge. All she could do was hope that he remembered his time with them, and how much he wanted to change. If not, she would have to take him down.…
Bishop had much more of a problem than Magneto himself. He sat leaning forward, staring at the floor underneath. He failed. He promised Joseph he would lead the team into victory, and he didn't, he led them straight into a trap. Because of his bad leadership, Joseph was now once again Magneto and Fenris knew the location of Maelstrom technology, a deadly weapon that could threaten the whole world. They had no means of tracking them. With the Cerebro destroyed, they could only relay on Magneto protecting that technology before Fenris got their hands on it. Bishop sighed and put his head in his hands. It was all his fault. He used to be a good leader. It was a fact, he didn't become an officer at X.S.E. for no reason. But ever since he came here, he had been slacking, always complaining how this wasn't home for him. Because of that, his leadership skills faded, and he had become indolent. He was making too many mistakes. This time his carelessness had cost Joseph his dignity, but next time it could be someone's life. He had to face it, as much as he hated it, he became a slack leader. If he was ever to lead again he had to work hard on it.
Psylocke, last of the occupants of the small jet walked around the cabin aimlessly, not able to sit down or do anything. Her mind was too much of a mess. Seeing the torture that Joseph went through, it reminded her of the torture that Mandarin had put her through. That one had wiped and altered her memories and this one returned Joseph's. Still she knew how he felt and she knew it was wise to leave him be. She never wanted to face anyone and talk after her transformation. It probably wasn't the best option but she knew from experience that it was the easiest one. She finally decided to sit down and she sat down next to Remy in the co-pilot chair, putting her legs on the controls in front of her, and sinking into the seat as much as possible. She did not look in Gambit's direction and neither did he. There was an uneasy silence between them ever since he saved her life. It was further complicated by her knowledge of his secrets. Secrets, he wanted so much to keep hidden. She promised him that she would keep it to herself and not let anyone know, but it was hard for both of them to get used to each other, now that she had his memories in her head. Sighing softly, she sank into the chair even deeper and watched as Remy began lowering the jet towards the ground. They were getting close to the school.
For no reason at all, maybe out of habit, she sent out a telepathic probe to the mansion to see if X-Force had returned from their mission. Suddenly she sat up and broke the link, looking towards Gambit. "Remy, we might have a problem," she said in a stern voice.
Remy slowed the jet down and landed it in front of the mansion instead at the landing pad like he planned. Rogue and Bishop got up from their seats and approached the cockpit as the jet landed on the grass underneath.
"What's wrong Gambit?" Bishop asked in a concerned voice.
"An uninvited guest, Bishop. Betsy found someone in the mansion but she but she can't tell if they're friend or foe."
"Prepare yourself for the worst," Gambit said grabbing his bo-staff and running out the hatch door, which slammed open. Rogue picked up Bishop and flew after Remy, with Psylocke already at his side. They headed for the nearest entrance, a large French door that led straight to the lounge. Rogue dropped Bishop to the ground and he ran after Gambit and Psylocke.
Gambit knocked the door open with his foot and rolled to his feet, charging up a couple of cards while Psylocke moved into a combat position with her katana pointed towards the threat. Bishop having no energy stored pulled out one of his numerous guns and bolted through the open doorway ready to fire at anything that moved. Rogue was right beside him prepared to knock the intruder unconscious.
But what they found, shocked them fully.
"Professor Xavier! You're back!" exclaimed Rogue as she stopped abruptly with the rest of the X-Men, surprised to see their mentor back.
And there he was, staring at them, smiling. "Welcome home X-Men. It's good to see you all alive and well."
(end of scene 1)
"Professor, but how... you're standing??!!" Bishop asked, putting his gun away.
"Ah yes, the detail. I'm not actually standing on my own," Xavier said as he looked down at himself, his feet slightly off the ground, but not enough to be obvious. "When Cable restored my telepathy, he broke the very faint line in my brain between telepathy and telekinesis, allowing me to use both of these powers now. That is how I pretend to walk now, I'm actually holding myself up telekinetically, hovering slightly above the ground. I find it more convenient."
"I see. But how do you feel Professor? You were in that coma for quite a long time. We almost lost hope that you would ever wake up. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I think I am," he answered shortly looking around his students. They all looked the same except Psylocke. The red mark was gone from her face. A question for later. "But come in and close the door X-Men, you have to fill me in on what's been happening. And most importantly, where are the rest of my X-Men?"
"They're in Mexico, destroying the Hulkbuster base," Gambit said closing the French doors behind himself.
Charles frowned slightly at the mention of Operation Zero Tolerance and Bastion. He did not want to think about what he found out that night he fell into his coma, not now. Smiling he headed for the kitchen with the rest of X-Men to catch up on old times.
***
Savage Land
The man, who had once been known as Joseph, looked up at the wall in front of him for the thousandth time and looked down once again, not finding the answer in the walls of his Savage Land base. He was wearing his costume, the one Fenris had dressed him up in. He sat on his bed, his head in his hands looking down at the floor and then up at the wall in front of him, not finding the answers.
His costume was new. It came with everything, save the helmet, even the cape. He had to admit that he felt comfortable wearing this costume once again, much more comfortable than the X-Men uniform he had on when he arrived here. Whether this meant anything, he didn't know. The costume was the least of his worries however. There he was, sitting in the room he had made so long ago, on a bed he had made so long ago, feeling exactly like he did then.
He felt empty.
Fenris had robbed him of everything he had, ripped it out and exposed it to everyone. And he could feel it once again, his rage returning and he was not sure if he was going to control it, if he should control it. The world had done so much harm to him. Why not turn against the world again? Or at least isolate himself from it? He could build himself another Asteroid M with no trouble at all. Or he could even stay here, not give a damn about what happened to the rest of world.
But then his newly acquired memories ran back to the days he spent with X-Men after the battle with Onslaught. He remembered how he struggled everyday to not become the man he was, to be make amends for his sins. He couldn't let them down. Even though he was not himself at the time, he grew during his time with the X-Men. And that remained with him even now, that he received his previous personality.
He was going to do something, he just didn't know what. But first he had to stop Fenris from getting the Maelstrom.…
"Master?" A voice from behind caught his attention and he turned around to see Anne Marie standing in the doorway, her orange hair neatly tied back into a ponytail.
Magneto rose from the bed, sighing. "I told you to not call me that, Anne. Please call me Erik, Magneto if you must, but not Master. Can you do that?" he asked, looking her straight in the eyes.
She glanced back at him shyly for few seconds before smiling. "I suppose... Erik." she frowned slightly at his name. It just didn't sound right. "So what happens now?" she asked slightly more confident.
"I have to go to retrieve the Maelstrom technology before Fenris get their hands on it. God knows why I used it in the first place. It's caused nothing but trouble," Magneto said looking around the room, spotting his helmet. He looked at it for a while and turned his gaze away. He wasn't going to wear it. Costume yes, but not the helmet. Enough "bucket head" comments.
"I'll get the rest of Acolytes," Anne said turning to walk out the door.
"No... wait," Erik said. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around giving him a puzzled look. "I will go alone. I do not want you to get mixed up in this again. If not for the Maelstrom, this would have never happened. I will return in few hours, then we will decide what to do," he said putting his hand on Anne's shoulder. "Okay?"
"Yes, I understand Mas-- Erik," she said blushing.
"You're a good person, Anne," Magneto said squeezing Anne's shoulder. ^And I ruined up your life,^ he thought but decided not to say it aloud. "I'll see you soon." He let go of her shoulder and walked down the corridor.
***
A much larger jet soared through the sky, high above the clouds, unseen from the ground. It was occupied by the other team of X-Men, Phoenix, Beast, Iceman, Cannonball and Cyclops, who were returning from their recent mission in Mexico. The mission was simple: find the Hulkbuster base, a complex Operation Zero Tolerance had used as a base few months ago, and blow it up. The plan went terribly wrong when they found out someone was still in the base after the explosives were set off. Cyclops as the leader, was the first to react to Jean's warning and before anyone could stop him, he was well inside the base. He had to admit, it was not the best move and he could have asked Phoenix or Cannonball to go in there since they both had protective shields but he rushed off in the heat of the moment and now he regretted it.
He lost the woman he was trying to save and she died before his eyes. He only survived when the rest of the X-Men rescued him. Now his skin was burned in various places, not severely, his costume protected him from most of the fire. It was his shoulder that was slightly more of a worry to Dr. McCoy. Scott said he got his by a piece of ceiling coming down, and it must have been a large piece of ceiling because it almost ripped his whole shoulder off. His collarbone was broken and would need long time to heal.
For most time Scott just laid there, staring at the ceiling, awaiting the time he would arrive home and Jean sat beside him, holding his hand, still thanking god for not taking away her husband. He rarely talked, storing his strength for what he knew had to come. He had to talk with Cannonball. The tension between the two of them had been building up ever since Sam joined the X-Men. He felt he should be given more of a free hand since he had led X-Force in the past. Scott thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea and believed that Sam needed to spend time learning about the ways that this team worked before he pushed into the leadership slot. Scott knew that Sam had the skill but he didn't think it was time for him yet.
Scott was proven right. Cannonball was supposed to make sure there were no people inside. He failed, and not only did this person die, so almost did Scott. He had to talk to Sam about it. "Jean?" he asked in a husky voice.
She raised her head immediately and looked him straight in the eyes. "Yes Scott?"
"Could you ask Sam to come here. I need to talk to him. Alone," Scott said looking at his wife.
"Are you sure? You're still weak," she asked concerned. All her previous anger at him had disappeared and she understood how wrong she was when she argued with him all those times. Any of them could die any day.
"Yes. Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"Okay I'll be waiting outside. Just go easy on him, he's still young," Jean said getting up from the chair and giving Scott's hand one last squeeze before leaving the medical bay.
For few moments Scott laid there, staring at the ceiling waiting for Sam to come in. He couldn't turn around when he heard someone enter the room and close the door but he knew it was Sam. The young man walked across the medical bay slowly and sat down opposite Cyclops his face showing nothing about the way he felt. "You wanted to see me?" Sam asked in a cold voice that was nothing like his everyday accented rich voice.
"Yes Sam. We need to talk... about what happened. I thought I told you to check for people there."
"You also told Bobby to do it but I don't see him here," Sam answered staring at the wall behind Cyclops.
"This isn't about Bobby, Sam, this is about you. Ever since you've been here you've been trying to do everything your own way, and I told you that you need to fit in with the team more before you even think of doing some leadership, but you insisted on being stubborn. Now look what happened!" Scot raised his voice over the last sentence.
"I am sorry about the woman, her death was unfortunate." he said looking down a the floor. "But I've had enough of being treated like this. You, and the rest of X-Men treat me like I'm some kid that doesn't know what to do." He said his head lifted, looking straight into Cyclops's eyes.
"Don't change the subject Sam! A woman died there because you stuffed up. Don't go off and complain about how badly you're treated. You're treated as equally as everyone else on the team so don't try to cover up your mistakes by saying you're not treated rightly." Cyclops's voice was now raised as he spoke and anger fueled him.
"Oh is that how it's going to be now? Well I've had enough. Enough of being bossed around by you, enough of being treated like a rookie. You don't want me to take part in the team? FINE! Effective immediately, I QUIT!" Sam shouted at the top of his lungs. getting up and leaving the room slamming the door shut behind him.
"Sam! Get back here! You can't just...." Scott stopped when he realized that he was talking to no one. He heard Sam's cannonball roar far away. Sam wasn't listening anymore. Sam wasn't here.
***
Sam blasted towards the main area of the Blackbird in the narrow corridors, his teeth and fists clenched. He had finally done it. He quit the X-Men. When he got to the main area of the plane everyone looked at him and for a while he felt ashamed. But then his anger returned and he headed for the door.
"Sam what are you doing?" Jean shouted after him.
"I'm quitting X-Men!" Sam shouted finally pulling the door open and blasting outside, just above the mansion. Iceman who was in the pilot's seat slowed the Blackbird down and landed it in front of the mansion instead of the hangar bay. They all watched as Sam blasted towards the mansion and disappeared inside.
"Does anyone have any idea what happened here?" Beast said looking at Iceman, who was just as confused as he was.
"Scott wanted to talk to him," Jean answered. "I suppose their little talk didn't go too well. By the sounds of it, Sam is leaving. I knew this was going to happen." Jean paused as both men turned their heads to her. "There was too much tension between Scott and Sam and none of them would compromise," she explained.
"I should go and talk to him...." Bobby began but stopped as Jean interrupted him.
"I don't think it's a good idea. Look!" She said pointing at the mansion.
They all turned to see X-Force's jet landing before the mansion. Sam was already outside, circling the plane as it landed. "I don't think you'll talk much sense into Sam now that X-Force is here," Jean concluded. "It's a shame, he would have made a good X-Man if we only let him be himself."
"But..." Bobby began.
"No buts Bobby. You have to respect Sam's decision. Now help me get Scott to the medical lab."
***
The jet X-Force were using landed in front of the mansion, it's engines blowing at the grass underneath, clearly marking the spot of rest. As the wheels touched the grounds, someone behind the controls turned off the engine and the hatch door dropped open, revealing the young members of X-Force inside.
"Hi Sam, what's with the rush?" Roberto DaCosta asked as he levitated towards his friend. Sam's girlfriend, Tabitha was right behind him, running to meet with her boyfriend.
"I'm leaving X-Men," Sam said, his face stern.
"You're... what?!"
"What?"
"Huh?"
Even Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks as she heard those words. "Why Sam, what happened?" she was the first one to ask the question on so many minds.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later," Sam announced looking over the faces of his friends, looking for assurances. "Right now, I'm leaving. The X-Men and the mansion. I would like you to come with me, just like the good old days. Cable is gone and so is Domino. I know I need time to rest and think over few things. I hope you do to. What do you say?"
"Well sure, I mean what the hell are we going to do here without you?!! Of course we're going!" Tabitha shouted jumping up in joy. No more four eyes to boss her around.
"Uh, Tab I think you should ask everyone else what they think," Roberto said looking at one person in particular. All heads too, turned to Theresa, the deputy leader of the team.
"The choice is yours Theresa," Sam said looking at her.
She looked around the team, clearly seeing everyone was siding with Sam. She didn't particularly have anything against X-Men, but some time on their own wouldn't hurt. "Okay," she said to everyone's joy. "We need some time off anyway, so we can treat this as a vacation before we decide what to do next!"
"Good," Sam said smiling. "Now let's pack up and get out of here!"
"I second that motion!" Tabitha shouted as she ran towards the mansion. The rest of the group followed, except for Sam who said he would catch up with them soon.
"What do you want, Iceman?" he said turning around to face Bobby as the rest of X-Force disappeared inside the mansion. Sam's voice was sharp and his expression serious.
"Sam... you can't just go like that... because of an argument you had with Scott. I had thousands of those and I'm still here," Bobby said looking at Sam's unmoving face. It didn't look like he was convincing him to stay.
"I'm not you, Bobby. I'm sorry about that. It's not about the argument. It's about the way I'm treated here. Like I'm inexperienced and know nothing. You were the only one that treated me for what I was during my time here, and for that thanks. But I have to move on. Joining the X-Men was a mistake in the first place. I'm sorry and good bye."
With those words, Sam turned around and began blasting for the mansion, leaving Iceman alone to his thoughts.
***
Much later in the underground complex
"I tried talking with him, Scott, but his mind was made up," Robert Drake said leaning back in his chair. Scott was laid on the bed before him, his whole left shoulder bandaged up; he had numerous scratches and burns all over his body. "Even the Professor talked to him...."
"Don't worry about it, Bobby. It was a mistake to have Sam on the team in the first place, I suppose he wasn't ready. And it was his decision."
Bobby opened his mouth to object but at the same moment someone entered the room and he decided to talk to Scott about it later. Right now he turned around and he saw Hank, Charles and Jean walk in. It was still strange, and would probably take a while to get used to, seeing the Professor walking, and Bobby could see that Scott shared his point of view.
"How are you feeling, Scott?" Jean asked in a voice full of concern. She sat down next to him and squeezed his hand.
"I will be all right I think. Few more days and I'll be.…"
"Few more months and you may be able to put your own clothes on, fearless leader," Hank cut in. All eyes turned towards him and he faced them back, readjusting his glasses and studying his clipboard.
"What are you saying, Hank?" Scott asked looking slightly up, not being able to sit up.
"What I'm saying Scott is that you were seriously hurt. Those burns will heal, luckily spandex is mostly fireproof. Your shoulder however, is more of a worry. I'm afraid it's going to be months before you can do every day things like putting on a sweater or holding up a cup. Your collarbone will take long to heal but that is not the biggest of my worries. The impact of the blow you received has seriously damaged your Trapezius muscle, ripped your Axillary artery and pulled apart your Deltoid muscle."
"In English Hank ?" Scott said the famous phrase, blinking under his glasses.
"Every muscle in your arm has been either ripped or pulled. Axillary, the main vein in your arm, was ripped apart and caused an internal bleeding which I managed to stop just in time. For now, and for the next six months you won't be capable of doing any physical activities. In normal case I would not recommend baseball, but with you, leading X-Men is fully out of question."
Hank paused taking a deep breath and looking around the room. He knew they didn't expect it to be so bad. Many of them had gotten injured in the past, but this was one of the serious cases. Whether he like it or not, Scott was out of action, and that would be the case for a long while now. Hank saw Jean squeeze Scott's hand even harder; she was glad her husband was alive. Scott however, was Scott and as soon as he realized what Hank had said he opened his mouth to object.
"I'm sure it's not so serious Hank. And someone has to lead the X-Men. Ororo is gone.…"
"No Scott," Hank said setting his foot down firmly. "You are in no condition to lead the X-Men. Not now, not for a while. We're just going to have to find an alternative."
Scott folded bit his lip and looked the other way in protest. He knew he was being told the truth. His right shoulder felt like it was being constantly ripped apart and the whole area was numb. Yet he couldn't leave the dream, he couldn't leave the X-Men. They would crumble.
"Scott, Hank is right," Jean said putting a hand on his good shoulder. "We'll have to find an alternative, and besides Professor is here with us now. " Jean looked back at the man behind her who up until now kept quiet.
"Jean's right Scott. If all else fails I can lead the X-Men, but we can always pick someone from the team. You need to recover now," Xavier said, as if concluding the argument. Everyone knew he wouldn't question Xavier's word. He might have thought otherwise, but Scott had too much respect for Charles to object him. He turned back around and looked at his friends gathered around him. They meant good, he knew it. Or at least so did Jean and Hank. He wasn't so sure about Charles anymore. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but he had lost his faith in this man after he destroyed the dream by becoming Onslaught. Scott didn't show it, and when Val showed up to take Charles away he was the first one to defend him, but deep inside he felt cheated and lied to. Everything Charles had told him, and thought him, he contradicted all that by becoming Onslaught. For the longest time, Scott saw Xavier as infallible, a man who could do no wrong. His views were shattered once the man became Onslaught.
And now he was telling him to leave the X-Men in his control. What if he flipped again? Scott didn't trust Xavier anymore.
"I... I don't know," Scott said looking away once again.
Jean turned back at the rest. She didn't need her telepathy to say what she wanted to say. They all turned around and walked out of the room, saying they would visit later and wishing Scott good health.
When they were all gone Jean turned to face Scott, who was still looking at the wall in front of him. "Scott, you have to give it up. You can't lead X-Men."
"I know that Jean. But if not me, then who?"
"Bishop."
Scott stopped for a while hesitating. Jean had a point. Bishop was just as experienced in leading a team as he himself was. "I don't know, Jean. I couldn't just sit around here, live in the mansion and not be part of the X-Men."
"Then leave," Jean said staring at Scott for his reaction.
"What?!"
"You heard me, Scott. Let's leave Westchester. We have a house in Alaska. You are in no condition to lead the X-Men now and you wouldn't be able to stay here and do nothing. Then let's go. I need some time off as well, and it's been ages since we took some time off. Please Scott, you, me, we need this."
"I don't know, Jean," Scott said hesitant. "I'm not sure the X-Men can carry on."
"You can't do much for X-Men, Scott. And they can carry on without you, Scott. They did before. And Charles is with them now. Right now we have no place among the X-Men. We need to have a life of our own, you won't be able to fight for months, let's spend those months as a couple, not sitting here and doing nothing." Jean squeezed Scott's hand to emphasize what she was trying to say. She really needed time off.
"Okay. I guess I have no place here anymore."
Jean embraced him, careful not to hurt his shoulder. "Thanks Scott. I knew you'd understand."
^Of course I understand, Jean. Still I feel like I'm making a big mistake,^ Scott thought as Jean let go off him and kissed him tenderly on the lips.
***
The newly built study of Charles Xavier
Charles sighed as he closed the door to his study behind him. It had been a tough day, not only because he spent months in a coma. The X-Men had changed. Changed so much since he last saw them, before he was taken away. Especially Scott. Scott would never admit it, but he didn't trust him anymore. Professor sighed. He opened a cabinet to find a stereo.
"Scott has every right not to trust me," Charles said to himself while he turned the stereo on and headed for a chair in front of his desk. The room was pretty much empty, save the chair, desk and cabinet, and it smelled of new carpet. As Charles rested in his seat, soft music started playing on the stereo. He put his head in his hands and sighed once again. ^Scott is right. I disappoint not only him but also everyone else. It wasn't Magneto's fault, it was all my fault, and it was my greed, pride, and anger that fueled Onslaught. I… I can't let that happen again.^ A slow, soft song started playing on the radio and the words caught Charles's attention.
"I will light a match this morning, so I won't be alone."
^Alone. That's what it always comes down to. I have the X-Men but right now I'm truly alone, they are not mine anymore. I've let them down.^
"Watch as she lies silent, for soon that will be gone."
^Gone. Everything I've ever worked for is gone. A dream turned into a nightmare.^
"I will stand, arms outstretched, pretending I'm free to roam."
^I can't pretend anymore can I? I've killed my own dream.^
"I will make my way through, one more day in hell. How much difference does it make?"
^Difference, it's always been about making a difference. Have we made a difference? It feels like we're always struggling with our own affairs, and we're not in contact with humans, maybe it's our mistake.^
"I'll swallow poison, until I grow immune. I will scream my lungs out, until it fills this room."
^I have fallen, it is true. But I can't just give up. I have to try to make a difference.^
Charles leaned back in his hair as the song played on, wailing about making a difference, sealing Charles's thoughts with concrete. He knew he couldn't stop. Even if he failed, he had to try again. The dream... the dream had to change. Adapt to the world. It might have worked when it started but now it wasn't going to. He had been a fool and not seen that. The dream was going to change. Change the way it operated. They spent all this time in this mansion, isolated from the rest of the world. They had to get out more, be part of humanity. The school....
He sighed as he thought of the school. Long ago, the school used to be just that, a school. Now it was just a base for mutant outlaws. He could barley remember just how full of life his home was when X-Men were still students. They were a family then. But now? Now everyone was just doing their own thing.
The dream had died, the school died too. Could hope be still alive? Charles Xavier sighed as he pulled out a grey folder out of a drawer and placed in on the desk before him. Resting his chin on the tips of his index fingers he stared at the folder. Change wasn't as easy as it seemed.
***
Morlock Tunnels
The young girl known as Sarah watched as her companion and mentor Calisto ate, putting large amounts of food into her mouth and drinking water occasionally. It seemed that she was fine now. The healer Sarah found managed to stop whatever it was that was keeping Calisto sick. She quickly came back to health, which was a great thing for the young mutant. All she ever wanted was for Calisto to be well. That's all. She even broke her own promises and asked a human for help. Of course Calisto didn't know that. She would not like to know that she was saved by one of the gene freaks. No one needed to know. What mattered was that Calisto was okay.
***
Across the world, the man known as Erik Lehnsherr, or more widely as Magneto, levitated in the air, traveling westwards, leaving the South African continent behind. He was carrying a large cache of technology with him that was ten times the size of him, yet with his powers it was as easy as lifting a piece of paper. He didn't even need to pay much attention to it, and his thoughts wandered away as he flew towards his destination.
^A year. I've spent a year doing nothing except running after Rogue like some high school kid. For a year I've been amnesiac and I haven't done anything to improve human-mutant relations and they have gotten worse. Operation Zero Tolerance was proof of that. And what had the X-Men done? Nothing. All the time I've been with them, they've been sitting inside their mansion, hoping a disaster like Zero Tolerance wouldn't happen again. The dream, Charles's dream is useless. It has always been. He would never listen to me.^ Magneto sighed at the thought of the dream.
^I had a dream once too. That had proven to be useless as well. Forcing humans to be pro mutant is definitely not the way to go. As much as I pity Charles with his dream, mine is no better; it doesn't even exist anymore. Maria had taught me well enough just what going against humans accomplishes. It's funny, how I had to turn to a vegetable to understand some things. For what it's worth, going anti-human is out of question. So what can I do?^
^I could join the X-Men.^ Magneto almost stopped dead in his tracks at the thought. ^Now that would be stupid. I have tried once and failed. Just what makes me think that I could try again. Besides X-Men's dream is dead and if Xavier refuses to see that, I have no place among them. No more "I'll do it Charles Xavier's way."^
^Not that the X-Men would want me. Judging from how most of them treated me when I was Joseph, I don't think I am a very welcome guest there. Especially the originals, they will never trust me. Not that I blame them. But then again I can't forget that not everyone would take in their enemy. Especially one like me, who in their eyes has betrayed them the last time. If I did that, I'm not sure but the X-Men sure look at it that way. I still need to talk to them. I owe them that much. Thank them for taking me in. Then I need to do something. Maybe something with the Acolytes, I'm not going to sit around like the X-Men and watch as the world crumbles from under my feet.^
Erik was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice he had arrived at his destination. Landing gracefully on the ground he looked up at the tall mountain before him. He remembered this place well. He built a small base here, as a back up to the South American base. New Zealand was the perfect place for a back up base since no one would ever think of searching there. It wasn't a world away either, it didn't take long for Magneto to cross the ocean. He was now on the bottom of South Island of New Zealand, on one of the two large islands that made up this country. He scanned the area thoroughly and then pushed some trees from the way, revealing a solid wall. Using his powers he manifested a device behind the wall opening a secret doorway. He walked in and headed down the steep corridor, dragging the cache of Maelstrom technology behind him.
He built this place soon after he built the South American base. He remembered those days as the first ones that he began to question his own dream. It was shortly after he tried to take over the world by threatening with earthquakes and volcanoes. The X-Men stopped him then and he hurt Kitty Pryde, the youngest member of the team at the time. It was then that he began to wonder if there was a point to what he was trying to achieve. This place was filled with memories of those times. Fenris would never find the Maelstrom technology here.
He was so deep in his thoughts he did not hear a rustle around the corner, as if someone was running. He walked past a deep doorway, not noticing three pairs of eyes watching his every move. As he proceeded down the hallway, the mysterious beings followed him, using the shade to mask their presence.
Soon enough, Magneto knew something was wrong. Once his chain of thoughts stopped, he clearly heard a sound behind himself but at first pretended as if he had not heard anything, continuing on, trying to figure out just what was that he had heard. Moments later he was sure that someone was following him. That was too much, no one was going to sneak up on him in his own home. Powering up, he turned around facing the stalker.
"I don't know who you are but you better have a good reason to be following me!" Magneto shouted as he looked straight into the young boy's face before him.
"Ag, mate it's me. Don't you recognize me Magneto?" The young boy stumbled few steps back, pushing his hands before him as two strange mechanic slug like creatures crawled up them. "Steady girls, steady," he whispered, as if to the slugs.
"I have no idea who you are young man, but you have invaded my home, and nothing annoys me more.…" The magnetic aura around Magneto crackled with energy and he looked straight at the young man before him, his eyes filled with rage.
"Magneto, it's me!" he shouted afraid of an attack, covering his head with his hands. "It's me Maggott!"
***
INTERLUDE:
The endless African desert was unusually quiet tonight, as if trying to say something to the two people that traveled deeper and deeper into the heart of the black continent, as if maybe to warn them of the danger awaiting.
"It's not much longer, my friend. We should be there by dawn," the young woman traveling on a camel said, her long white hair resting still, without a single blow of wind anywhere.
"Good to hear 'Ro," the man accompanying her answered, smoking one of his ever present cigars.
They traveled on south, heading for Storm's home village, unaware of the danger that virtually awaited them there.
END INTERLUDE
Continued in the 1999 X-Men Gold and Blue Annual online next week!!
...
NEXT ISSUE:
"Dreams are for people who sleep"
Maggott??? Maggott!!!! Yeah baby it's Maggott!! Yep Maggott is in
this issue. So is Magneto, making decisions. So is Angel, making some public
announcements. So is Chuck doing a lot of thinking and so are the X-Men facing a foe they
have never faced before. But is this foe a brand new menace or someone who has been around
for long? Plus a major hint on just what the new series from Visions is going to be! It's
all there, as we launch into year 3 of XMGB. Oh and yeah, will Bishop lead the X-Men?
BUT FIRST!
1999 X-MEN GOLD AND BLUE ANNUAL!
"Life ruled by coincidence"
Online in one week, the very first ever X-Men Gold and Blue Annual!!
And what else would we use it for than to tell the life story of the mysterious woman
known only as Lukin?! Why did she take over Storm's village in Africa? Why does she hate
Storm so much? Why does she want her dead? What happened between those two that led Lukin
to such hatred? It is all answered here, as Wolverine and Storm arrive in the village and
find Lukin there! Lukin is out to kill Ororo and with Storm's powers gone, Lukin might
just get her wish. All this and more developments on Wolverine and his andamitium, in this
annual, out in one week. Don't miss it!
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