X-Men #49
Michael Triggs at TRIGGS_M@bentley.edu
=========

Cover : The forms of Psylocke, Rogue, Cyclops, Archangel, and Gambit lie
scattered about an area of absolute ruin. Standing behind them is a figure, not
entirely separate from the ground it self. Rather, she is an extension of it. 
She is poised to come piling down on them, along with the ground, which she is
a part of. In large grey letters, in the corner : "ENTER TERRA-ROTA"

Title : The Quake And The Dead

===============================================================================
Prelude
===============================================================================

Scene :  An abandoned factory. The shadowed form of Nathaniel Essex sits at a 
table. A crystalline chess set sits in front of him. The light from overhead
reflects off the crystalline pieces. His chessboard - One of the few things
that survived the explosion that destroyed his last complex. It had destroyed
99% of his genetic work, including almost all of the genetic material he had
picked up from the Morlocks. However, by cruel irony, this table had been
spared. So, the game continues..

He peruses over the pieces on the chess board. The side he sits at has pieces
smoked in glass to a dull grey. He fingers the pawns, his pale-white fingers,
looking much older than they have been in the past. He begins to speak to
himself:

"The Nasty Boys were the pawns, Scott. Just sacrificial lambs."

With a brush of his hand, he knocks the pawns off the board, and they shatter 
into fragments upon hitting the solid floor. Only one pawn is left."

"So one pawn remains, eh? Even the blindest chess master knows that in the end
game, pawns can be useful. Perhaps I can exchange this one for a better piece."

Sinister notes that the pawn is almost at the other side of the board.

"I have nothing else but a Queen left. But, alas, Scott, you always did have an
attraction to women, don't you?"

Sinister finger moves his hand from the pawn over to the Queen piece. 

"Ah, Xavier. You always did have a curiosity for things you didn't
understand, didn't you? You thought you moved your pawns in, but don't you
realize that you are the pawn? The real king is exposed! It's in my grasp!"

After a moment of hesistation, he moves the Queen piece forward, out into the
center of the chess board, stopping it there. He realizes that this is a game
he must win. Or else there will be no more games to play. He sits calmly,
knowing his "Queen" is already moving into action as he speaks.

=============================================================================
 END PRELUDE
=============================================================================


An abandoned mine shaft. A cloaked form can be seen carefully climbing through
the ancient tunnels. A dim light radiates from his hand. He holds the lantern
close. It illuminates some odd technological device in his other hand. 

The clicking of footsteps in the background subtly hints that this person isn't
alone. Several other covered forms traipse through the rubble behind the first.
A dim glow comes from one of these forms. It's not a lantern he's holding, but
a card? The card glows radiant pink, illuminating his way. Remy Lebeau always
considered his mutant power nothing more than a clever parlour trick to impress
the ladies. However, in instances like this, it comes in handy. And, as he's
found, it doesn't impress the ladies as much as he originally thought. It's
been over three weeks since the young lady standing in front of him has spoken
much of anything to him. Rogue stumbles along through the wreckage, cover in a
large cloak to keep the debris off her, completely oblivious to Lebeau's
presence. For the first time in his life, Remy, the ever constant
smooth-talker, is at a loss at what to say. For, whatever Victor said to her,
words apparently aren't going to fix.

The first cloaked form, at the head of this parade, suddenly stops, staring at
the device with a befuddled look on his face. Two weeks ago, Cerebro had
detected two new mutants of considerable power. One was in nearby Providence,
at a convention center of all places - The other was in the middle of nowhere
--> New Mexico.. The X-Men had drawn straws to determine who got put on which
mutant hunt.. Scott Summers, being the lucky person he is, lost.. "Oh well, as
Bobby said, at least I'm getting a tan out of all of this."
                                       
Scott Summers holds up a mini-cerebro unit up to an adjoining natural cavern
that partially linked up to the mining tunnel. Him, Rogue, and Gambit have been
crawling about down in the tunnels for the last two hours looking for this
mysterious new mutant. In their initial encounter, back at a small desert town
about five miles NW of here, this mutant had nearly destroyed the entire town
and everything in it. That was two weeks ago. Two weeks later, what had started
as an innocent mutant verification call has turned into a witch-hunt.
                                       
Suddenly, a presence flares up in Scott's head. Psylocke's calm mind, with the
funky British Accent, speaks up:

Betsy (mentally) : Any luck detecting our mutant?

Scott (mentally) : No. The mini-cerebero is giving conflicting readings. 
According to these readouts, the mutant exists below us, and above us, 
simultaneously. Have you been able to psychically detect Mutant X's presence 
like before?

Betsy : I've been trying the best I can. It was incredibly difficult the first
time around to lock onto her. And that time, we were right on top of her.

Betsy Braddock stands on the surface, the hot, dry New Mexico air breathing
down her back. In truth, she hasn't even tried to psychically scan for the
mutant cerebero picked up since her first psychic encounter with it. There was
not one coherent thought in it's mind. It was absolute chaos. And, to somebody
who has lived such a chaotic life as Betsy, only lately being able to pull any
semblence of order out of it, Chaos is something she never wants to encounter
again.

<fade out>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 INTERLUDE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scene : Springfield, Massachusetts.. A warm spring day.. Harvey Lennox, an old
retired photographer from a local paper, is hard at work, processing pictures
the old-fashioned way.. He's always been a little afraid of using those dratted
self-processing cameras.. "If you want anything done right, you do it the
old-fashioned way.." That's his motto..

Harvey eyeballs one of the pictures oddly. For a sixty-year old, doctors have
always complemented Harvey on having incredible vision. Still without glasses,
there was a time when he could spot a white tick on the back of an albino dog,
from a mile away. Even now, his vision is still pretty good. And it's giving
him some strange images as we speak:

He remembers when he took the picture he is looking at. He was in Brooklyn a
couple of weeks back. It was a particularly warm day.. Stuffy spring weather..
Was visiting one of his sister-in-laws.. He figured he would get a few 
snapshots of the Brooklyn Bridge.. 

Now, as he stares at the picture, he can't help but wonder what that odd
reflection off the top of one of the bridge supports was. Looks almost like
crystal, the way the sun shines off it in the picture.. 

Harvey ponders what it could be.. An optical illusion caused by bad processing
of the film? Naah.. "Maybe ICE Or Somethin'", Harvey thinks.. "Yeah, but how
the $#@ could ice have got itself there in the middle of the spring?" 
                                                   
(A question to be answered another day..)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 End INTERLUDE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scene : New Mexico.. In the skies overhead the mine, a distinct form flies 
through the air, with blazing speed. His metallic wings reflect the overhead 
sun with blinding fury. The wings of Warren Worthington III have been both a 
blessing in a curse. A marvelous piece of work, yet he had to literally sell 
his soul to the devil to get them. 

>From above, Warren monitors the terrain, looking for any signs of mutant
activity. It had been his overhead surveilance which allowed him and the others
to spot the mystery mutant the first time around. And, as luck would have it, 
history was about to repeat itself, for better or worse.

It starts with a bump. Warren dives towards the mineshaft entrance to get a
better look. Just like last time.. A bump in the earth appeared out of
nowhere.. And then, Warren almost knows what will happen next:

On the surface, Betsy telepathically remains in contact with Scott. Scott
speaks back to Psylocke through her mind. Betsy thinks to herself: "Darn, he's
married now. Thank God it wasn't really me falling for that gorgeous chap."

Scott mentally communicates to her : Okay, I think we're getting something
here. The cerebro seems to be giving us a concise reading on Mutant X's
location. According to this, she is, directly above -- ...

Betsy feels a shockwave go through her mind.. Total chaos in the form of
thoughts.. She suddenly feels boxed in.. Trapped.. Buried Alive.. -*-

Betsy comes to what seems like a second later. The tall sleek form of Warren is
directly over her, with a concerned look etched into his metallic face.

Warren : Are you okay? What happened? First you konk out, then a second later,
everything is shaking like crazy.

Betsy [still dazed] : It's her. She did this. We must get Scott and the others
out of the tunnels! I saw what she was thinking-

Before Betsy can finish her sentence, the ground begins to rumble with
incredible intensity. Dirt and Debris from the hill above the entrance of the
mining tunnel plummet on top of Warren and Betsy. Warren subconsciously spreads
his wings, blocking as much of the debris from falling on them as possible.

Meanwhile, The Tunnels:
-----------------------
                                                                              
The form of Rogue lies on the ground, barely moving. About a minute ago, a
tremor of incredible intensity flew through the inside of the cavern. Rogue
moans, and gets up to her knees.

Rogue [holding hand to head] : Ouch, can somebody get the name of the Mac Truck
that knocked me?

No response from Gambit or Scott.

Rogue pulls herself together, getting back up to her feet. She is suddenly
aware why she is getting no response. Gambit and Scott are both knocked out.
She moves to help them, but she doesn't even have a chance. If Rogue were
paying attention, she could see the Earth of the upper-wall of the cavern
contorting into something almost, but not quite human. A female silhouete comes
plunging out of the side of the upper-wall. Rogue turns her head to see where
the rumbling noise is coming from, but she's a second too late.

They had been looking for the new mutant. Little did Rogue or the others know
that she or it or whatever would find them first. The Earthen Form comes
crashing down on the cavern, and everything in it, followed by an entire hill
full of dirt and debris.

Back On The Surface
-------------------

Archangel digs through the debris, using his great wings as improvisational
shovels. Thirty seconds ago, the entire mining shaft, and everything in it,
came crashing down suddenly. He realizes he has little time to work. With
lightning speed, he does his best to sift through the rubble.

A few feet away, Betsy is in deep concentration. She tries to ignore the fact
that she is soiled with dirt with head to toe, as well as the pounding headache
she has. With only sheer force of will keeping her on her feet, she scans for
signs of life in the wreckage.

Warren [staring at Betsy] : Anything?

Betsy [with almost a look of desperation on her face] : I can't detect any life
down there. Nothing! 
                       
Suddenly, a female form comes flying out of the wreckage, heavily soiled with
dirt, and bruised all over. She carries another person in her hands. Without a
moment's hesistation, Rogue shoves the body of Gambit into Warren's hands.

Rogue : Don't just stand there, Sugah. We need to get him to a doctor! He's
barely breathing!

Betsy (turning towards Rogue) : Scott? Where's Scott?

Rogue (dropping her head) : Ah.. Ah.. Couldn't find him.. 

Betsy critically scans through the wreckage, calling out Scott's name in her
mind. But there is no response. Dead silence on the psychic airwaves. DEAD
Silence..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 EPILOGUE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scene : An abandoned factory. Sinister sits at his chessboard. He fingers a
pawn, which is almost far enough over to exchange it for another piece. A
better piece. His hand suddenly moves back to the queen piece, which sits idly
in the middle of the board. Sinister speaks, to nobody apparently but himself:

"Ah. God said that the meek would inherit the earth. He had no idea how right
He was. Did, he my queen piece? You've served me well. So, let's play this
through."

Sinister gingerly moves the queen piece across the board, directly over from 
the opposing king..

Sinister: "CHECKMATE. Scott Summers. You are mine now. And through you, a new
game will begin!"

<TO BE CONTINUED>

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Disclaimer : The merry mutants you see before you are the property of Marvel.
The way they are being portrayed here is my insane creation, and nothing that
Marvel could possibly think up in a million years.

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