X-Men Page #5

He plunges through the ice like a mark in a carnival

dunking tank. His massive weight and hairy coat quickly

suck him down.

The TWO FIGURES - CYCLOPS (Scott Summers) AND STORM

(Ororo Munroe) - obviously two of the children we saw

earlier now grown - move over the hole and calmly watch

Sabretooth gather himself and swim back to the surface.

Storm looks down at the hole, concentrating her intense

gaze. The wind whips further and the water in the hole

begins to freeze over.

UNDER THE ICE:

Sabretooth wisely concedes.

With one last look at the two mysterious figures now

nearly obscured by the ice, he turns his body and swims

away with the same agility he had on land.

ABOVE THE ICE:

THE SNOW AND WIND ARE NOW VIOLENTLY RAGING

Cyclops and Storm walk over to Logan and look down at him

curiously.

LOGANíS P.O.V.

They look at one another, wondering. Above them, a black

shape looms into frame, bringing with it the whining of

jet engines.

This is the X-JET and it is like no other plane we have

seen before.

Loganís eyes begin to close as they obscure the last of

all perceptible detail.

INT. CAVERNOUS ROOM - NIGHT

CLOSE UP ON:

The Periodic Table of Elements. A chart made up of

blocks depicting the elements and their chemical symbols.

Among the standards like Gold (Au) and Iron (I) and

Oxygen (O2) is a new square on simple red construction

paper tacked to the top.

It contains simply a large letter ìA.î

TRACKING SHOT THROUGH:

We are in a laboratory of sorts, quite different from any

we have ever seen -- and so are its occupants.

MORTIMER TOYNBEE, a dim, loyal thug whose agile leaping

ability and superhuman strength have earned him the name

TOAD.

Across the room, JOHN ALLERDYCE, a wiry redhead whose

ability to control fire with his fingers has earned him

the name PYRO.

In the corner we see BLOB, no explanation needed,

devouring a BUCKET of cereal, preariously balanced on his

huge belly.

They are a bestial and sinister bunch.

Toad and Pyro are working on:

A MACHINE:

A fantastic device which occupies a hallowed space in

this lab. It is meticulously designed, and with its

intricate circuitry, wires, and power boards, it

resembles most closely (and only resembles, because truly

itís like nothing weíve ever seen before) a combination

of an upright torpedo and a fantastic light source --

only far more dark and foreboding.

Pyro holds a stick of solder in one hand. He lights a

lighter with the other, then drops it. Strange thing --

the flame remains hovering about his finger. Quickly the

flame intensifies and turns blue, melting the solder over

a small circuit board. Then, the flame is gone.

He sticks out his hand like a surgeon.

PYRO:

Hand me the dykes.

Toad, both hands occupied, flicks his long tongue and

grabs a pair of pliers which he rests in Pyroís hand,

leaving them slicked with SLIME. The flame in his finger

goes out. The slimy coat over the pliers quickly

HARDENS, freezing their action.

PYRO (contíd)

I asked you not to do that.

Blob laughs. Toad shrugs.

In the background, almost ignored by them, something is

on the television. The news.

NEWSCASTER (O.S.)

Preparations are nearly completed for

the upcoming anniversary gala

celebrating the formation of the

United Nations. With nearly every

invitation confirmed, the occasion

promises to be the largest single

gathering of world leaders in history.

The image in the screen is a helicopter shot of ELLIS

ISLAND, with Liberty Island and the famous Statue in the

background.

NEWSCASTER (contíd)

Ellis Island, once an arrival point

for thousands of immigrants crossing

the Atlantic with the hopes of a

better life, will open its doors

again. Only this time it will be to

leaders and their families from over

200 nations.

Blob belches his skepticism deafeningly.

TRACK FURTHER THROUGH THE LAIR AND OUT THE DOOR as the

Newscast drones on.

INT. CORRIDOR/OFFICE - NIGHT

WE MOVE through subterranean corridors and past dozens of

projects that share some similarity to the machine we

have seen, including crude designs that have been

rejected or stripped of their good ideas.

FAINTLY we become aware of a clicking sound. Almost like

a stopwatch very far away, always growing louder.

The newscast has faded and another voice is getting

closer from somewhere down the hall.

Sabretooth emerges around a corner heading towards us,

turning just as we get to him. The clicking is loud and

clear now.

Sabretooth enters an office and we follow him. Seated at

a desk in the center of the room is MAX LENSHERR - age -

somewhere after sixty, but strong and vital for his

years. He is more often called MAGNETO.

The clicking is from the sound of an executive pendulum

thingy on his desk. The six steel balls hang onto one

another from string supports in formation depending on

how many are let to fly from either end. One ball

strikes one and one ball swings out from the other. Two

balls and two, and so on.

Slight difference. There are no strings supporting the

balls, thus defying gravity.

A chess set - all of its pieces made of beautifully

crafted iron - sits on the far end of the desk.

He is watching television, or more accurately listening -

his eyes looking off into space, deep in thought.

INTERVIEWER:

...and the leading voice in the call

for Mutant registration is Senator

Scott Frank Kelly, of Florida, who

claims to support the constitutional

rights of the genetically enhanced,

but whose crusade to register mutants

is gaining popularity.

Now Kelly is on the screen. Magneto shakes his head.

MAGNETO:

Not this one again.

When Sabretooth clears his throat, the clicking balls

instantly freeze and hover there.

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