Alternate X-Men #48
Michael Triggs at TRIGGS_M@bentley.edu
-------------------

Title: A Leap In The Wrong Direction

A Jungle... Trees, Animals, Volcanoes... The Savage Land... But is it?

He floats through the scenery, which is as immaterial as he is... Charles
Xavier has walked through people's heads many times before... But, he has never
encountered the chaos that he has found in the thoughts of one Lorna Dane...

He is not sure how much time has passed since he entered Lorna's mind...
Minutes? Hours? Days? Time is so inconsistent in the Mindscape... 

One week ago, Lorna Dane was attacked from behind with a blunt instrument,
taken completely by surprise... Ironically, it was one of the very Friends Of
Humanity that she and the other combined members of X-Men and X-Factor had just
saved from mortal harm... So much for gratitude...

For the last four days, Xavier has been coming here, to the inner realm of
Lorna's mind, trying to dig through the deep layers where her psyche has buried
itself... He recalls the last time he was forced to do this... When his son,
David, was left an empty husk after being used by the Shadow King... However,
there, David's mind was completely blank... The mind of Lorna Dane is teeming
with activity... Birds Fly, Trees Sway, Animals Trot... But, Lorna Dane is
nowhere to be found...

Professor Xavier calls for her on a mental level of communication, and waits
for a response...

{I know you're here, Lorna... I can feel your presence all around me... Please,
show yourself... You can't hide from reality forever...}

Suddenly the mindscape that Charles is transversing through morphs all around
him... For a second, there is nothing, and then, the replay...

Charles Xavier has been subjected to this for the last three days... The whole
attack scene plays back before him... Lorna's brutal attack... Alex's tragic
mistake... The charred remains... And, Charles knows what will happen next...

<SHHHHZZZZT>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blurry images become clearer... He can make out the forms of Jean Grey, Logan,
and Ororo staring down at him. Jean Grey tries to comfort the frail body of
Xavier, which is slumped over on a chair next to the hospital bed of the
Comatose Lorna Dane. 

Jean Grey : You shouldn't be doing this to yourself. You haven't gotten any
sleep for days. I'm worried about you.

Logan leans against a nearby wall. He mutters at half-volume:

"Take a rest, Chuck... Lorna ain't going anywhere... We already have seen
enough injuries cuz of this... The last thing we need is you popping a brain
cell..."

Charles, hoarsely, motions to speak:

"I have seen too many die. I already have the blood of my students on my
hands. I refuse to add any more to the list."

<fade>

============================================================================

Scene: The American Southwest. 

Two lovers go on a joyride down an isolated route through a Desert Region.
Thomas Grubb and Amanda Sumner have been dating for the last several weeks.
Typical puppy love... This could have been their first kiss... Their lips
approach gingerly, Tom's hand still on the steering wheel... And, then,
much to Tom's chargin, a distraction: 

The Jones Corporation. An industrial factory over the hills. It has 
been deserted since the company went bankrupt three years ago... However, for
the last few weeks, to coin the term: "A light was on, and somebody was home."

The brilliant light coming from the multiple windows of the ghost-plant
is almost unnerving. Amanda pulls away from Tom, to stare out the
window at the noticeable light. The light glares off her face. 

Amanda [staring] : I thought they shut that place down... My uncle worked
                   there... New Ownership? [turning her head to Tom]

Tom, with one hand on the wheel, puts his other hand around Amanda...

Tom [jokingly] : Yeah, must be... O' course, could be haunted or somethin..

The car drives off into the distance. The delayed first kiss inevitably
happens. However, Tom would be surprised to learn he was more right than 
he thought, whether he was kidding or not:

The Depression of the early 1990s put this Industrial Factory out of 
business. Supposedly, it is abandoned. But looks can be deceiving. A man by 
the name of Essex claimed the deserted plant as his own, after one of his 
older bases was 86ed in a freak "accident" at the hands of one his own, 
Threnody... One of the lower levels of the plant has been made into a 
"living" area... Static and Sound can be heard coming from a television
set: 

Television Set: Huh, Huh Huh, Huh Huh, Huh.. Beavis, you can be cool
                sometimes...

Television Set [Beavis' voice] : Heh, heh heh heh... Yeah, I'm cool...

Butthead's voice can be heard again, followed by the voice of Beavis. 
However, this time, the voices aren't coming from the television set. The
forms of Ruckus and Ramrod are sitting on a mat in front of the television
set, holding a beer bottle in each hand. They watch, almost hypnotized
by the television screen...

Television [Beavis] : Heh.. Heh... Heh... That's Cool...

Ruckus : Yeah, Heh... Heh... Heh...

Ramrod : Huh... Huh,huh.... Huh,huh... No that sucks...

Ruckus : Don't make me kick your butt again! Heh heh...

Television : (The sounds of Beavis and Butthead fighting can be heard)

Ruckus and Ramrod begin brawling it out in front of the television set.
Suddenly, there is a loud smashing noise, pulling Ruckus and Ramrod
away from their playful skirmish. Where the screen of the television
set used to be, there is now a large fist mark...

Ruckus pulls at his long hair in frustration.. He looks over at the form
of Slab, who is hovering over the television set, ready to punch again...

Ruckus: What did you do that for?? What did the telee ever do to you?

Slab [growing, grabbing Ruckus by the neck] : Shut up, you screaming
MiMi! Just be lucky that television set wasn't you! Thanks to your
stupid leadership, my sister's missing, Hairbag is in a bodycast, and
we got no redhead, no money, no nothing, and on top of all that
Sinny's pissed off at us!

Ruckus tries to utter something with Slab's large hand wrapped around
his throat:

"Hey.. If you hadn't... deserted me... none of this ... would have... happ.."

Slab <increasing his grip> : I was trying to save Hairbag's life! Unlike
you, I actually give a damn about everybody else... I don't see what
Sinister sees in you, you stupid wino!

Slab can feel a hand resting on his shoulder. The deep voice of Sinister
echoes abruptly behind him:

"Let him go."

Slab [obediently, like a punished child] : Yessir...

Slab lets Ruckus drop, landing atop of the remains of the television set..
Ruckus, now able to breathe, begins yapping away...

Ruckus <to Sinister> : Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude. I knew you'd
                       come around inevitably..

Suddenly there is a flash of light, and the smell of ozone in the air...
It flashes by Ruckus, knocking him down hard. Barely conscious, he looks
up to see the eyes of a rather perturbed Mr. Sinister staring down at him..

Mr. Sinister [angrily] : You bumbling idiot. Your irresponsiblity has cost
                         me BIG. I spared you, but you can damn bet I'm
                         going to put you to -good use-. [to Slab] Take
                         him to the storage chamber.

Ruckus [barely conscious] : Where..?                       

Mr. Sinister [to Ruckus] : Rest easy, lad. Up until now, you've been part
                           part of the problem. Now you're becoming part
                           of the solution.

Slab walks off with the weakened form of Ruckus in his large hands. Ramrod,
who had run off when the commotion started, hides behind a pile of junk in
the corner... Sinister speaks up:

Sinister [calmly] : Come out, Rammy... I'm not blaming any of this on you...

Ramrod, puzzled, pops his head out: You're not?

Sinister : No. You weren't directly responsible for any of this. Here,
           have a beer, on the house.

Sinister tosses a green bottle at Ramrod, who grabs it clumsily. He finally
manages to get a handle on it, and stares at it, reading its contents.
All sorts of cool letters. Only half of which Ramrod can make any sense
out of of. Ramrod guzzles down the bottle in one gulp. The ultimate
hangover... The kind that you never wake up from.

Ramrod's body writhes in pain, glowing brightly, and suddenly disentegrates
into nothing... The sound of Ramrod's intense scream is the last thing
Sinister hears, and then it fades away into silence...

Sinister drops his head. The serum didn't "take". If he only had more
time to work. Time is such a limited thing, though. A long time ago,
Sinister went by a different name. Nathaniel Essex. He was a human...
Nothing more. He made a pact with the devil himself in order to achieve
immortality. Time became his friend. It was no longer the obstacle it
had been... However, the last two years, thanks to a Madman's Legacy, time
had been become his worst enemy once again. And, if he cannot defeat it,
the work of a man called Nathaniel Essex will have been all in vain.

Sinister suddenly becomes aware of a presence watching him: 

Sinister : Come out Threnody... I can feel your holo-presence...

The computerized image of Threnody pops out from nowhere. As a punishment
for her destruction of his last base, Sinister had all but stripped the
former street urchin of her physical form. Now, the remains of the woman
known as Threnody exists as a holographic image. A ghost in the machine,
so to speak... The hologram of Threnody speaks:

"You killed him... Another death under your hat..."

Sinister [turning his back on Threnody] : I kill a few to help the greater 
                                          many.. You killed the greater
                                          many to help a few... Who are you
                                          to judge?

With a click of a button, Sinister causes Threnody's holographic form to
disappear, leaving him in peace. Sinister realizes that he can't beat time.
So, what if he can kill two birds with one stone? Get a step ahead on time,
while achieving his supreme goal as well? Sinister speaks to himself:

Sinister [muttering] : Ruckus and the others may have failed me. However,
                       hopefully my other agent will do better. 
                     
Sinister presses a button on a keypad, and suddenly a still holographic
image of Scott Summers appears in the middle of the facility...

Sinister [still outloud] : Scott, once a gene sample would have sufficed. 
                           Now, I'm afraid I'll need your whole body..

<fade out>

==============================================================================

Scene: Somewhere Else. A Desert. The harsh sands swirl in the air all around
Charles Xavier, who once again has found himself entering the mind of one,
Lorna Dane, who has kept herself bottled up within herself since she was
assaulted one week ago with a blunt instrument to the head. She has been in a
coma. Charles floats over the terrain, the blue skies created by Lorna's mind
surrounding him on all sides. 

The doctors had given him, Jean, and the others the news: If something wasn't
done to get Lorna out of her coma quick, she was going to die. They couldn't
support her much longer.

And as Charles wanders through the dreamscape within the mind of Lorna Dane, he
thinks back to students of the past: James Proudstar, Doug Ramsey, Jamie
Madrox, Warlock... Illyana... He refuses to let another person die in the name
of his precious dream. Even if it means his own death.

These thoughts flicker through Charles Xavier's Head, as he searches the
maddened terrain for a sign of life. And he finds one:

-*-
A small cottage. It stands in the middle of the desert terrain. Where the
cottage stands, grass grows, bird sings, and the smell of flowers is present.
Xavier can feel Lorna's presence here. Lorna's subconscious, reacting to the
sorrow of Lorna Dane, formed this "escape" for her. An escape from reality.
And, now, to save her life, Charles realizes that he is going to have to tear 
this asylum down to the ground.
-*-

Professor Xavier approaches the door to this cottage. He begins hammering on
the door.

Xavier <banging> : Lorna! You must come out. I realize how you feel, but-..

Charles watches in surprise as the flowers begin to fade, the grass begins to
die. The birds become silent.

Xavier : You're body is dying! Don't you care?

<Back To The Real World>

Doctors Scramble Madly around the form of Charles Xavier, who is going into
spasms. A doctor wheels a cart around, and two assistants carefully lift
Charles atop of this.

<Doctor> : He's having a seizure!

The others: Logan, Ororo, Jean, can only watch in shock. 

<And in the DreamScape>

Charles pounds on the door, which has turned from wood into stone. The flowers,
the birds, the grass. All dead.

Charles <shouting> : Lorna, I know what you're going through, but are you
willi-

A voice cuts him off. The raspy voice of Lorna Dane, barely audible, echoes
through the dreamscape.

Lorna : You don't know the first thing about what I'm going through.

>From the background, a second feminine voice can be heard.

<Voice> : The Lorna Dane I Know had more Backbone than this. You disappoint me.
You think you're the only one with problems? Get Over It. Move On.

The sleek psy-form of Jean Grey appears behind Charles Xavier, staring at him,
as he is in the process of turning around to see who speaks behind him. Their
eyes make contact.

Jean: And as for you - I won't have you doing this to yourself. Stop trying to
hold the whole weight of the world on your back.. 

Professor Xavier <bowing his head> : It's just that I feel resp-..

Before Charles has a chance to finish his sentence, he finds himself being
pushed back towards the real world, out of Lorna's mind..

Jean <mentally to Charles> : We'll finish this discussion later.

Jean appears worn down. The effort it took to shove the Charles' psyche out of
Lorna's mind takes it toll on her own. That was her first goal for the evening.
Now she knows what she has to do next - Tear Lorna's Safe Haven to the GROUND.

<Back To The Outside World>

His vital signs have kicked back up to normal, -safe- levels. Charles Xavier
sits on a chair next to the bed of Xavier, while a doctor performs tests on
him. The Doctor speaks to him, but his words go in one ear, and out the other.
Charles' mind, once again, is diverted to other tasks. From a distance, he
monitors Jean's presence with the mind of Lorna Dane. He is somewhat puzzled as
to how Jean managed to push him out in the first place. Has the student finally
surpassed her teacher?

Suddenly, Xavier feels a zap of electricity through him, bringing his psyche
back to where it is supposed to be. Xavier becomes aware of his surrounding
once again. The form of Ororo stands over him, with the glint of electricity
still surrounding her. She stares, apologetically:

Ororo: I'm sorry, Charles. But Jean requested that I keep you from harming
yourself over this anymore. As she put it, we're going to get you to calm down
and relax, even if means killing you.

Charles [annoyedly] : My place is by my student's side. You can't keep me from
her. I will not be responsible for any more deaths.

The rough voice of Logan permeates. He stands in the corner, just coming
through the door from the hallway:

Logan: Then don't be responsible for your own, Chuck. The doctors are
hollering. Guilt Trips ain't exactly healthy exercise...

<Back Into The Dreamscape>

She charges towards the door, the power of her own mind fueling her.
The cottage, which seems larger than it was when Jean Grey first entered into
Lorna's Mind, has darkened in color, turning almost pitch-black. The door
approaches closer and closer. Jean Grey prepares to break through it. 

Jean Grey <breaking through the door> : Lorna, please forgive me, but I'm doing
this for your own good. I've seen too many people die.

Then, SHE appears. The frail form of Lorna Dane, emaciated, and very weak,
appears at the center of the pile of wreckage, where the cottage used to be.

Lorna: You don't know what've you done. This was my refuge. I came here to
cope! And now I have nowhere else to go!

Jean Grey: You can't just leave your body dangling on auto-pilot! A body
without a mind is bound to die.

Lorna: And is that a bad thing? Tell me, Jean, what is left for me to live for?
Are you saving me for me, or for everybody else?

It is a question that Jean cannot answer. However, for better or worse, she'll
never have to..

<Back To The Real World>

Brooklyn Bridge : Five minutes ago, if somebody had been looking at the upper
supports of Brooklyn Bridge, they would have seen the form of a man standing
there, in deep thought about his wasted life. However, he stands there no more.
Finally, Alex Summers managed to keep one of his vows, instead of backing off 
like a spineless coward.. Even if it was a vow to die..

In the waters down below... Floating on the Water's Surface... His mind 
radiates one last thought, a goodbye of sorts, before going to some other 
place... 

This one last thought remains, radiating to a world full of people who don't
care, until it crosses the mind of one of the only people who can see it for
what it is, and who actually does care:

<Out Of The Dreamscape>

Professor Xavier lies in bed. Doctors have moved him to an independent part of
the hospital, in order to better monitor him.

Professor Xavier <to the chief doctor> : This is entirely unnecessary. I feel
fine.

The doctor, a bit overweight, with brownish hair, thick glasses, and a
receeding hairline, stares at Charles in a concerned manner.

Doctor <to Charles> : You don't go keeling out on us, having seizures and other
"fun" stuff, and expect to walk away. Seizures are nothing to take lightly, my
friend.

Charles <to the Doctor> : But I feel fine! I have a job.

Doctor <cutting Charles off> : We all do, my friend. Now, please let me do
mine.

<*>

Suddenly, Charles feels cold. It starts off as a chill. Then a general
gloominess. A feeling of darkness. The final swansong of one, Alex Summers, a 
singular goodbye going out over the psychic airwaves, has finally found 
somebody who was tuned "in"..

As Charles will discover later, this is one swan song which that he will wish
he never had to heard. Suddenly, Charles Xavier is reliving the last moments
of Alex's existence:

Anger. Betrayal. An Accident. Never meant to happen. Falling, Plummeting at 
high speeds. As the bitter cold night air makes its presence felt. And
suddenly, there is an impact. A collision with a wet surface. It feels like 
concrete. And suddenly,

SUFFOCATION... 

<*>

Charles awakens, expecting to find the doctors hovering about him. Another
something which they'd interpret as a "seizure". However, when he comes to, he
finds the doctor out like a light, and Ororo barely conscious. The final
goodbye of a man named Havok had come and gone through the mind of the most
powerful telepaths on the planet, only to be richocheted through the minds of
everyone in the nearby vicinity. The doctor and Ororo, who were those
unfortunate enough to be in close proximity, got the full brunt of it. However,
all across the hospital, there is a feeling of loss. Men, women, and children,
all, for one second, shed a tear for somebody they never even knew. 

<Back Inside Lorna's Mind>
                                          
Jean, suddenly feels the whole kit and kaboodle. The last rites of Alex Summer
play through her Psyche. The raw emotion of the thoughts forces her out of
Lorna's mind. She had been slumped over on a chair near Lorna's bed. The
doctors had thought she was asleep. Suddenly, Jean's Psyche goes rushing back
into her body, jolted by the memories...

Before Jean knows it, one of the electrical relays watching Lorna's lifesigns
begins to beep. A doctor walks in, dressed in blue and white.

Doctor: Hm, perversions in her cerebral functions. This doesn't looks good. 
Nurse, get me a few air valves over here. This is going to be messy.

Jean finds herself being pushed out of the hospital room, a concern look etched
onto her face...

-*-

A concern matched by a white-haired angel hovering over the waters of the East
River... She searches for a sign... An arm hanging over the waterline... A call
for help... With dazzling speed, she soars down the East River, ending up where
it connects with the Hudson river. Storm hovers in space, riding in the
incredible gusts of wind this high up in the atmoshphere to a complete halt.
Charles had sent her to search for Alex... He had picked up his last dying
thoughts in his brain... The fall... The plunge... The suffocation...

But Ororo can see no sign of Alex Summers. Devoid of any tears, since she has
already cried them all out, she lets the sky weep for her, as the rain begins
to pour.

-*-

It has been forty-eight hours. The worst part of the operation is over. For the
first time over a week, she opens her eyes. Just barely open, she can see forms
of people staring down at her. A bald man, with a beard. A young redhead with
curly hair. A short, rough-looking guy... A dark-skinned woman with whitish
hair... They speak out to her...

<Charles> : Lorna? 

Lorna <weakily> : Professor?

<Jean> : You're alive! You had us so worried!

<Chuck> : See Chuck, Dane is a tougher nut to crack than we thought. You had
nothing to worry about. Everything is okay...

<Ororo> : Yes, Charles. You are a fine teacher. You have shown dedication to
your students time and time again. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Lorna <hugging Xavier> : Thank you for being there when I needed you.

-*-

And then, Charles wakes up: He has been having this same dream for four nights.
It has been a week since Lorna died, and his subconscious still hasn't forgiven
him for it. Charles angrily lashes out at his dreams. 

"Why do you torture me night in and night out for something I didn't have contr
ol over? It wasn't my fault she died. I could have saved her if I was given 
the chance!" 

However, the emotions pass as quickly as they came. By arguing with his dreams,
he is only arguing with himself. 

Charles walks over to his window, and is able to see all the stars in the
heavens shining down on him. He realizes that Lorna and Alex are together up in
Heaven. A perfect place. No hatred. No bigotry. No worries. No fighting. No
Death. 

A final thought passes through Charles mind, as he looks out the window:

"If we could eliminate the hatred, the bigotry, the worries, the fighting, and
the death from the Earth, would that make the earth Heaven, and allow us to be
with Lorna and Alex again?"

Charles shakes off the silly idea. However, he is determined to eliminate all
these things, if not to bring Alex and Lorna, but to prevent all the future
Alex Summer's and Lorna Dane's of the world from sharing in their cruel fate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<Last Page>

Picture: A Joint Tombstone, with the names of Alex Summers and Lorna Dane 
etched into the stone. Blowing from a tree in the foreground is a photo of Alex
and Lorna happily together.

<END>

Next: Enter Terra-Rota

**

(Disclaimer: The characters and other stuff, for the most part belong to
Marvel. The cleverly original manner in which they're being portrayed is my own
handiwork.)




