Alternate X-Men #52
Michael Triggs at TRIGGS_M@bentley.edu

Cover : "Picture of the Uncanny X-Men, in Black And White, as the
         bottom of the picture is starting to burn in intense
         red flames.. In red letters, across the bottom:

         "A DREAM DAMNED"

Title : ClockWork: The Collapse Of The Eternal Machine

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

High In The Skies Above The Northern End Of Alaska..

Lights Shine in horrific brightness in the sky, drowing out the night
for those observing from the ground below.. The stars rain down, flying
about in random directions.. An intense light, the center of the brilliant
kaleidoscope light show, dances around in the sky erratically..

A decision has been made.. The odd entity hovering in the sky has decided
that it can't decide.. It suddenly freezes in the sky, changing colors
at random.. If one listens closely, (s)he might even hear arguing whispers
emitting from the center of the light..

In the sky, as a collective of astronomers watch from the ground below,
the bright orb of light splits in half.. One half of this light shoots
off into the highest realms of the sky, diminishing in size and brightness
the higher it goes.. The other half goes in a completely different
direction..

The "fireworks" over, darkness returns to this lonely corner of the planet..
However, are the fireworks really over??

Delta AirForce Base - Portland, Oregon
---------------------------------------
Private Bill Peterson is munching on a box of popcorn. His superior officers
have warned him of bringing food into the sensitive "radar station" of
Ft. Reynolds Airforce base.. He always finds some way to sneak the grub in..

Suddenly, the Radar Room explodes into chaos, as the radar beeper goes 
ballistic. Caught by surprise, Bill jumps, dropping popcorn all over the
place. He runs over to the control panel, to get a printout of the 
disturbance.. Brushing popcorn aside, he gets a printout of the radar
detection report.. His face, still drenched in popcorn butter, suddenly
stiffens up, as he reads the report.. 

Bill Peterson <systematically> : Unknown aircraft detected in sector 
                                 #52135654. Yeah, Yeah.. Cut to the
                                 important stuff.. WHAT?!?!!?!?
                                 This can't be right!?!? 

"MACH 4324137801??? Nothing could move that fast!!"


       
============================================================================
End Prelude
=============================================================================


"Faster!! Hank, put this sucker into overdrive.."

Jean Grey shouts from the back of the aircraft which serves as the 
X-Men's means of transportation..

The calm, poetic voice of Hank McCoy shouts back from the front seat..

Hank <manning controls> : Patience is a virtue, my dear lady..

Jean Grey : Not when my husband is involved.. Hank, forgive me for this, but
            hold on tight..

Hank : I am as worried about Scott as you are, but we are already travelling 
       at top speed, and there is no way of getting this lovely aircraft
       to fly any F-.. <cutoff by a considerable increase in speed>

"aaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssstttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"

Hank falls back on his seat, as the aircraft accelerates beyond belief.

Jean Grey : Like I said, I'm sorry Hank, but we have no time to rely on
            traditional machinery. I gave it a little TK push..

Logan comes in from the back, with a cigarrette jammed up his nose..

Logan : Who's driving this thing? You know how hard it is to light a cigar
        when the whole joint's shaking like crazy?

Suddenly, one of the monitors goes crazy.. The lights flicker on and 
off..

Logan : Great, the warranty on this baby has run out..

Threnody : Hate to spoil your fun guys, but we're here.. It's time to meet
           the maker..

Down below, in the Alaskan Wasteland, a small cottage sits in the middle 
of nowhere..

Logan : And I though we were coming up here to meet Santa Claus..

*fade out*

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

Voices : Where am I?

Voices : You are where you were always meant to be, Scott.

Scott Summers attempts to grasp onto what is left of his independence, but
he finds himself even more and intertwined with the man known as 
Mr. Sinister. Everything is black, as black as the soul of Mr. Sinister's
once living body. A voice, speaking:

Mr. Sinister : You've seen my past, Scott, now you must see my future.
               For tonight <cough> (breaking into a series of coughs),
               my work will soon be done. 

Over in the corner of the factory, lies a life support system, housing
the sedated body of one of Sinister's henchmen, Ruckus. On the panel next
to the life support, a beeping noise echoes through the silence, in
synchronicity with a flashing light. A small screen says the following:

"BEACON-GenoMorph sequence ENGAGED"

Mr. Sinister <staring at the casket> :  He always was one of my 
   stronger-bodied henchmen.. What a pathetic waste of genetic material
   he turned himself into.. Now, I don't care if it kills him, I'm
   going to get him to live up to his potential.. He can't go living
   in his candy-land world forever..

<fade out>

============================================================================
Scene : The Human Mind..

He feels as if he is in candy-land.. So many brands of liquor to take..
It was all there for the taking.. No money? No problem.. The mind of
Ruckus reminisces about old times.. The beer runs.. Both of the solo 
variety and the team runs.. Tonight was a team-run.. Ramrod and Slab
took care of the shopkeeper, while Ruckus and George grabbed the goods..

The store owner never even knew what hit him.. Then the motorcycle
chase away.. The cops hugged their tail down the escape route they
had planned.. Ruckus and Ramrod were on one motorcycle, and Slab
and George somehow squeezed on the other..

Except, in this memory, there was another person riding on the backs of
one of the motorcyles.. Somebody whom Ruckus isn't familiar with.. The
hair of the mystery individual flickers like a campfire..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Ruckus pulls over his motorcycle.. Suddenly, everything is mute.. Firehair,|
|the stranger and Ruckus converse, and suddenly, everything disappears..    |
|Ramrod, Slam, George, the motorcycles, the trees, the road.. Everything    |
|fades to black.. Everything but Ruckus and the stranger.. All the past     |
|memories disappear, and Ruckus is left with nothing but the present and    |
|the future..                                                               |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normally, after a successful beer run, they would celebrate by downing some
of the booty. However, staring back at the Fire-Stranger, he knows there
will be no celebration tonight..

<fade out>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scene : Sinister's Factory

>From inside the metallic chamber that houses Ruckus' body, an intense
scream erupts, something not quite human.. The intense sound causes
Scott's ears to bleed. Even Mr. Sinister, in his absolute coldness, cannot
help but to carefully block out his ears. 

Sinister <still holding ears> : Computer : Activate Mute Function ->
                                Parameter 0215.


Scott : What are you doing to him?????

Mr. Sinister : Nothing Scott. Absolutely nothing. He's resisting the 
               inevitable. Bringing it <cough> upon himself.

Scott <scratchy voice> : You realize that inevitably somebody is going 
                         to figure out where I am? You can't hide me
                         forever.

Sinister need not say anything. The union has already started to begin.
Deep down inside, Scott knows that Sinister has already covered all
the possibilities, in the most hideous of ways..

<fade out>

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

Scene : New Mexico. The Desert.

Something doesn't seem right. She instinctively mutters to herself..

Voice <heavy Spanish accent> : La chica .. No heavy.. Didn't feel nothin..
                               Collapsed on her.. Something wrong..

If one were to look around for the speaker, they would only find that it
was ground itself rumbling. Each word uttered causes the ground to shake
a little bit more.

If one were to look from a cliff overlooking this particular desert, they
would see a large aircraft of some sort, almost completely engulfed in
dirt. And in this case, two gifted onlookers are looking from such a spot.

A tremor from the ground below. Warren Worthington and Betsy Braddock
try to maintain their balance. The tremors continue to increase. Warren 
quickly grabs onto Betsy, lifting her off the ground, his large metallic
wings reflecting off the sun.

Betsy <shocked, to Warren> : Are you crazy? She'll see us for sure!

Warren <effortlessly maintaining flight> : She would have discovered
        us anyways. There is only so many times you can psychicly get
        her to think she was killing us before she'd catch on. Besides,
        we don't have time for this. Every second we doddle out
        here with our mysterious mutant is a second more that Scott
        is in danger. We must find out what this Earth-creature
        did with him - before it's too late.

She stares at the blue stuff above her. There was a time, when the mutant
calling herself TerraRota, was familiar with what this blue stuff was.
However, over the years, since the great change, the blue and the white
above the ground she was a part of became more and more foreign. It's
almost like explaining the land to a fish. However, peering out, she
sees a distinct shining in the sky, and suddenly realizes that her prey
have gone to the one place she hasn't travelled in a long time.

The hot desert sun is setting in the background. Warren carries Betsy
in his arms, towards the submerged ship. The sky shines a bright red.
On the ground, it nearly reminds Her of the ground which has been her
home for so long. Like a geyser of living earth, Terra-Rota shoots
into the air, blocking out the sun in the background. She spurts towards
the winged for of Warren, knocking Betsy out of his hands with ease.

Warren dives down, trying to grab Betsy, but his attempt is broken by a
stream of dirt directed at him, sending him diving towards the ground.

TerraRota <rough like the earth itself>: Blue, I once feared you. Now I'm 
                                         your master. Now TerraRota knows
                                         no master!

The earth once agains form into a female form. Terra-Rota swirls out of
the ground, like some sort of earthen Genie oozing out a bottle. Some sort 
of voice from inside her head shouts out.

Voice :  <cough, weez> Um, you forgot me.

TerraRota : Who's there? <losing her female appearance> Who talks in my
            head?

Voice : Who do you think? Now stop doddling with them. Finish them off
        and get back to the compound.

TerraRota : No! I know no master no more!

Voice : Come now my Spanish Fly. I made you above all other masters. You
        owe me something for that. 

TerraRota <angrily, the ground rumbling> : But you said I'm free when 
                                           done with this!

Voice <A "Sinister" Voice> : You will be free soon.. Soon enough..
                             Free to shake things up.. However, when
                             you are re-created, it's courteous to
                             repay your maker..

-*-

Scene : Abandoned Factory Building. Current Base of Mr. Sinister..

Mr. Sinister shudders at using such a lame quotation.. There was a time
when these "words of wisdom" slipped from his tongue easily.. But that's
when he had all the time in the world.. Now that he's out of time, he
has to wonder if he was as wise as he thought.. 

Suddenly, Sinister's body loses form. Like a creature made of putty, his
body changes shape.. He cringes in pain, trying to regain his old shape..

Scott : What's wrong with you?

Sinister <still in some pain> : Let's just say I inherited a little legacy.
                                Failed to practice what I preach, A maker
                                went unpaid..
-*-

<fade out>

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

INTERLUDE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        
Scene : Washington DC. Late night-time. A gusty fall wind blows in the air. 
         At one window, in one federal building, one man is working overtime.

A Washington DC Office.. His name is Trevor Faulkman.. Seated at his desk,
he reads a comic book.. Flipping throught the pages, he chuckles happily..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Close-Up> It's A Marvel Comic. The Amazing Adventures Of Spiderman's 
           Pet Hamster, Irving.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

He turns the page, cracking up even more. His brown curly hair flies back
and forth, as he smiles.

To the average onlooker, Trevor may seem like the most harmless man alive.
Ironically enough, as a sub-head of SHIELD, he may be one of the most 
powerful men in the United States. A wiseman once said that "Power was
drawn to a fool." - He certainly wasn't kidding.

Suddenly, an intense beeping can be heard. An intercom booms into action.
A female voice kicks over it. Hardly startled by the noise, Trevor puts
down his comic, leaving it in a pile with a million other comics on his
messy desktop.

<Voice - Computerized> : Mr. Faulkman.. Riot just called in.. He managed to
                         pull off the heist successfully.. The chemicals 
                         are being loaded onto Location : Rebirth as I 
                         speak.

Trevor, apparently happy, does an airguitar in the air, shouting happily.

Trevor : Cool. I'm sure our "Friends" will be able to have all sorts of fun
         with that genetic stuff.

<Voice - Computerized> : Mr. Faulkman, the proper term is "genetic DNA 
                         material"..

Trevor <hands in the air> : Oh, whatever.. Close enough.. You're dismissed 
                            Edie..                        

Trevor grabs his comic, and starts reading again..

<Voice> : Mr. Faulkman.. 

Trevor <annoyed> : What?!?! I said you were dismissed.

<Voice> : We had an agreement. I've paid my part of the bargain. Now you 
          owe me something.

Trevor <throwing legs up on desk, leaning back> : Well, Edie, I don't know..
        That mission you funded to get Kent -was- unsuccessful.. And the                     
        clause -did- say two "successful" missions..

<Voice> : You bastard! I've given everything I had to you and worthless
          Humanity Program, and now I demand what you owe me.

Trevor : Oh, and now you're calling my humanity program "worthless" 
         <folding arms> Fine, if you don't like my humanity program, maybe
         you're not ready to rejoin humanity.

Trevor <pulling out a remote control>

<Voice> (shouting) : No! Wait! <click>

Trevor <letting out a sigh of relief> : Ah, I'd love to worship the guy who
        came up with a mute button. Now, if there was some way we could
        mute all the muties.. Now that would be a breakthrough..

(The intercom statics)

Trevor <staring at the Intercom> : Now, Edie, you'll have another chance to
       redeem yourself. Selling your soul is costly, but buying it back costs
       even more..

<fade out>

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

END INTERLUDE

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

Scenario : Alaska. What remains of a cabin door lies in the snow.
           Logan pulls his claws back, as Jean, Hank and Bishop follow
           him in to the cottage.

Logan <sniffing around> : Something's not right here.. I don't smell 
                          nothing..

Jean holds her hand to her head gently..

Jean : I'm not picking up any life here at all. 

>From Jean's COM-badge, Threnody's voice can be heard..

Threnody <hollow>: He was here! I know it.. This isn't right.. Everything 
                   looks the same..

Logan : Except ole Diamond-Head ain't here.. 

Bishop : Perhaps he vacated the premises once you escaped?

Threnody <over COM-Badge> : Doubt it, man. In his condition, he wouldn't
                            have the time to do that..

Jean <puzzled, pressing down on COM-Badge> : What do you mean by
     "in his condition"???

Threnody <over COM-Badge> : Duh, Duh, and duh again.. Why do you think 
          Sinny needs a new body? Unless his old one is broken???

>From inside the aircraft's computer, where what's left of Threnody's
mind currently resides, she ponders. This antiquated log cabin out in
the wilderness seems so familiar to her, yet at the same time so foreign..

<fade out>

=============================================================================
Scene : Sinister's Factory HQ


A full-screen monitor plays before Scott Summers. A birds-eye view of his
wife and friends. Perhaps the last time he'll ever see them alive.
Suddenly, the monitor focuses in on the holographic form of Threnody, 
sitting in the X-Men's aircraft.

Sinister <to the screen> : That's it my pet. Lead them into the fire. I'll
         <cough> have my revenge on you for your destruction of my work
         by giving you total freedom after it's too late to do anything
         useful with it.

The screen falls back on Jean and the others in the cottage..

Scott <staring angrily at Sinister> : Why are you making me watch this??

Sinister <coughing sporadically> : I'm sorry, my son. But before I can 
         finish breaking your body, I must finish breaking your soul.

Scott <outraged> : If you do anything to harm any of them, I'll..

Sinister <calmly> : You'll do nothing.. Just forget about your previous
         life.. There's very little left to it anyways.. Your life is 
         little more than an alarm clock..

Sinister places an alarm clock on the restraining chair that Scott Summers
is being held in.. He leaves the room..

Scott stares at the screen, listening to the ticking noise of the clock.. 
It beats in conjunction with his heart..

<Thump, Tick, Thump, Tick, Thump, Tick>

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

Scene : The Alaskan Cottage
---------------------------

Hank : You mean he has the Legacy Virus?!?!? No wonder he has been so
       interested in finding a cure to it. 

Jean : And, here I was thinking he actually had a heart. My mistake..
       Good, it will make what I'm going to do to him when I find him
       much less painful..

Logan : And that being?

Jean : Let's just put it this way..

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

"I'm to going to make it so that he'll never bother us again, one way
 or the other!"

Scene : Sinister's Factory HQ
-----------------------------

Scott Summers can only help but watch the monitor. One of the few times
in his life, tears flow down his cheeks. If there was only some way to         
warn them, before it's too late.

In another room, Sinister clicks a button. The hollow noise of the click
can be heard across the world. 

<CLLLICK!>


Scene : Alaskan Cottage  
-----------------------

Hank McCoy walks about the small three-room cottage, followed by Bishop, who
has his rifle ready to blast. Bishop walks from room to room like a soldier
fighting in a foreign country.. 

Hank <fascinating> : There are no mirrors in here at all. Does he have that
     much of a problem about the way he looked? I never knew.. Also, there
     seems to be a lack of any form of time-telling device or anything 
     anywhere.. The immortal has no need to know time, I suppose. 

Bishop <opening closet readying his rifle> : Although, it would be 
        convenient at least to have something like a cl--

<The closet opens, as about 60 clocks come pouring out>

Bishop <finishing thought> "OCK??"

-*-

Jean and Logan walk into the cellar of the cottage.. It is totally 
earthen, merely dug out of the cold, hard ground.. The chill of the
arctic bites through the pair's uniforms..

Frozen beakers and chemical equipment lie scattered all over the floor..

Logan : Here, contact the others. We might be onto something..

Jean holds her hand to her head. An astonished look comes over her face.

Jean : My telepathic powers aren't working!

<At The Same Time, Upstairs>

Hank <examining each clock closely> : This certainly is fascinating.

Bishop <propping gun up> : What is the point of all this when one of
       our teammates' life is in danger?

Hank drops the clock.

Hank : Point well taken. This is one of the few chances we've had
       to have a look inside the mind of our friend Essex, so I can't
       resist.

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

Scene : Sinister's Factor HQ
----------------------------

Sinister watches Hank McCoy fiddle with all the clocks over the large 
monitor. His form begins to spasm, losing its shape.

Sinister : Ah, McCoy.. Curiosity has always been your weak point.. And time
           time lately has been mine.. Today, I will get over my weakness,
           as you will succumb to yours.. Once again I am the master of 
           time, and it's time to say.. TIME's up..

Scott <begging> : Please, don't hurt them.. I'll serve you willingly.. Just
                  don't hurt them..

<The alarm clock sitting in front of Scott begins ringing off-key.>

Sinister : Too late, Scott.. Too late.. The death knell has already
           sounded..

Scene : The Alaskan cottage 
---------------------------

Suddenly, as Beast is walking away from the closet, one of the alarm clocks
rings begins to ring, breaking the silence..

Bishop pulls out his gun, point it at the alarm clock, destroying the
source of the noise.

The silence returns for a second, however, suddenly all the alarm clocks
begin singing their alarms simultaneously, in a chorus..

Hank grabs one of the alarm clocks, staring at it..

Hank : Something isn't right here.. It almost feels as if we're being..

<The Basement>

Logan : <growling> Set-Up! We've been set-up! Let's boot out of here!

Logan and Jean run up the steps, only to find a metal barrier blocking
off the steps.

<Upstairs>

Hank runs for the door, followed by Bishop. As he reaches it, he is shot
back by some invisible force field.. Bishop fires away at the force-field,
as Hank relays a message to Threnody..

Scene : The X-Men's aircraft..

She repeats her thoughts in her mind.. Threnody ponders where Sinister could
have disappeared to.. 

Threnody <puzzled> : Let's retrace my steps.. When I escaped from his
                     headquarters in Colorado, he was there.. So where
                     could he have went??

Instantaneously, Threnody does a double-take..

Threnody <in fear> : Did I just say Colorado? This ain't Colorado oh-my-god!!
          Damn you Sinister! You f*cked with my memories!! How could I
          have been so foolish..

Suddenly, everything hits the young woman at once.. Despite all her attempts
to be human, she no longer is worthy of such a title.. She realizes that
she is little more than a machine, and just like any other machine, she
can be programmed.. And once that programming is done, just like any other
machine, she shuts herself off..

As her holographic body starts to fade away, watery orbs can be seen where 
her eyes used to be. But, she can't cry, since only living things can do
that, and, she, is only a machine.. Nothing more..

Over the Intercom, Hank McCoy's voice can be heard coming from the speaker.

Hank <over InterCom> : Threnody, we're trapped in here! We need your help!

Wolverine <over InterCom> : You double-crossing twig! You just wrote your
          own gravestone gi- <static>

>From outside the ship, a loud explosion can be heard. And then, the 
Intercom goes silent..

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

Last Page:

<Picture of Scott Summer's face reflecting off a monitor, showing a large
 explosion>

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

<TO BE CONTINUED>

