Alternate X-Men #59
Michael Triggs at TRIGGS_M@bentley.edu
===================

Cover : Archangel, Psylocke, and Rogue over the body of Gambit, which
        glows bright red. They are seen through a pink-shaded lense, with
        various measuring gages and computer readouts illuminating it.
        They're expressions locked, they are staring at whoever it is
        behind the lense. In White Letters at the top of the page:

        "Caught In The Looking Glass"

        And at the bottom of the page:

        "As Gambit's life hangs in the balance!"

Title : Divided Houses/The Killing Hand

-*-

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@ Prelude @
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Scene : New York City
---------------------

His name is Randy. With a silly outfit, and grizzled beard, He is what is 
commonly referred to as an Nihilist preacher. However, he is having a bad 
day. He left his "The End Is Near" sign at home today, and accidentally, 
grabbed his "The Sky Is Falling" sign instead. So, he's made the best of a 
bad situation. He is parading back and forth with his sign.

Standing next to him is Larry. He is working at his hot dog stand. It
can be said that "Politicians make strange bed partners." This is the
ultimate example of that. Larry noticed that his sales tended to go up
when he set up his hot dog stand near Randy. They would listen to
Arnold's prophecy of forthcoming destruction, and then buy a chili-dog
from him. 

Larry : So, Arnold, when is the sky supposed to fall this time?

Arnold <pulling out a calculator> : By my calculations, it should be falling
                                    any minute now!

Suddenly, a shadow appears on Arnold, growing larger by the second. There
is a Tarzan-like noise from sky above, followed by a large metallic
object landing on Arnold with a thud. 

>From the top of the metallic sphere, a little guy lacking hair with burnt
clothing jumps off, as Arnold the Preacher groans in pain from underneath.

Larry <munching on a hot dog> : You messed up again, Arnold. So much for the 
                                sky falling. This looks more like a 
                                government-issue communications satellite.
                                Nice try, though.

A small crowd of people form around the satellite, staring at it.

<Crowd> : Maybe it's the Mars Probe.

<Crowd> : We're being invaded by aliens!!

<Crowd> : No! It's the IRS! They're after me!

<Crowd> : Boy, I could sure use a hot dog.

<Crowd> : Me too. What a swell combination. Aliens and Hot Dogs.

Arnie, the little guy from on the satellite, his specs slipping from his 
face, stares at a map he is holding. He wets his finger, holding it to the
wind, as a crowd of people stare at him strangely.

Arnie The Watcher : Damn, I knew I should have taken that left at
                    Alberquerque. <to the crowd> Does anybody know
                    what direction New Mexico is from here? Critical
                    event in the life of the X-Men, and I'm gonna
                    miss it. Damn!

Various people in the crowd point in several different directions 
simultaneously. Arnie sighs, leaping back on the satellite. It suddenly
begins to levitate back into the air.

Arnie <floating away> : Nevermind, I'll find it myself. Thanks for nothin'.

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@ End Prelude @
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Scene : A Hospital In New Mexico, or rather, what's left of it..
================================================================

His name is Warren Worthington. Over his life, he has been known as
many other things. The Avenging Angel, The Fourth Horseman, Death
Itself. Today, he finds himself caring out the duties of his latest
name : Archangel - A guardian of life.

<Archangel comes flying out of a hospital window, carrying several people.
 The hospital is erupting in flames.>

Little does he know that he is being watched..

<View of Archangel, tinted red, as if through some camera>

Voices speak, in the distance, obscured by the confusion of crowds of
panicked people..

A Feminine voice : Are you capturing any of this?

A high-pitched male voice <hollow> : Why bother? We're supposed be trying
to make them look bad. All this would do is glorify them. We're better off
getting a few shots of the glowing guy, before we cart him off. Speaking
of which..

The Feminine Voice : Don't worry.. Leave that to me.. Bareback should be
                     getting here soon, with the autorig.. They won't even
                     know what hit them.. The X-Men are being picked apart
                     piece by piece, and they don't even realize it!!

-*-

Archangel and Psylocke returned to the hospital where Gambit and Rogue
were, after a failed attempt at contacting the X-Mansion using the
broken remains of the Blackbird in New Mexico. They weren't expecting
what they returned to.

An image of Gambit, his body glowing bright red, as several bodies
lie charred about him. The entire hospital is consumed with flames.
Psylocke, holding a crutch, Rogue, and another doctor hover over Gambit. 
Rogue grabs a doctor by the throat as Gambit suddenly goes into convulsions.

Rogue <to Doctor> : Isn't there anything ya can do for him?

Doctor <squirming> : I'm.. I'm sorry.. His condition is way over my head..
                     I can't endanger any of my personnel.. We've already
                     lost three people to one of his explosions.

Rogue <clenching the doctor tighter> : So you're just going to let 'em die?

Rogue feels Psylocke's soothing voice speaking in her mind.

Psylocke <telepathically> : You can't blame the doctor for this. Tearing
                            him apart isn't going to do us any good.

Rogue <dropping the doctor> : So, what can we do to help him then?

Psylocke <leaning on her crutch> : We can pray. We can pray..

Suddenly, Gambit's form grows even a brighter red, his features becoming
blurry, and out of focus..

Rogue : Prayers aren't going to help us now, Bets.. He's gonna blow again..
        Take the Doctor, and get out of here!! 

Psylocke stares down at her leg, which was broken in a fall she took in
the desert*..

* [In her fight against Terrarota a few issues back - Mike]

Psylocke : But..

Rogue : Don't worry about me, just get out of here!!

Gambit grows even a brighter red, as ripples of energy begin to pulse
through the nearby area. Psylocke attempts to limp away as quickly as
she can, as the doctor helps her.. Suddenly, Archangel comes flying 
in, lifting Psylocke and the doctor away.. 

Scene : In The Sky
==================

Archangel : What's happening?

Psylocke : It's Gambit! He's about to blow again! Rogue stayed behind
           to try to stop the explosion from happening..

Doctor : This is serious. His material form seems to be discorporating.
         I've taken the option of calling in Stark Enterprises.
         Perhaps they may have some solution to this problem.

The conversation is broken by an intense explosion, shaking the remainder
of the hospital to the ground.

Archangel plants Psylocke and the doctor on the ground. With blazing speed,
he flies above the crowd, using his wings as shield, blocking the debris
from the crowd, as they run away in panic.

<Archangel is seen through a red-tinted camera>

Scene : From a distance..

A female voice : Don't take pictures of that, you moron! Focus your
                 camera on the explosion! We can put the best spin
                 on that.

A whiny male voice : Arggh.. I want to get some pictures of the Cajun..
                     Where the heck is Bareback?

A female voice : I don't know.. I'm not getting any transmission from her..
                 Something wrong with the satellite.. The warranty
                 must have run out or something.. Once she gets close
                 enough, you should be picking her up on local frequencies..

A whiny male voice : She's putting this whole mission in jeopardy! We have
                     to do something now, or else this is going to be an
                     utter failure..

The male steps into the light. He is dressed in a grey jumpsuit, with
red specs covering his eyes, and a camera mounted on his shoulder. 
A red arm from the alley suddenly grabs him, pulling him back into
the alley unexpectedly.

A female voice : The best we can do is wait.. The muties are writing their
                 own media gravestone right now.. With a little 
                 spin-doctoring of course..
<fade out>

-*-

Scene : The Hospital

Archangel soars back into the broken remains of the hospital.. Hot winds
howl through wreckage, as Archangel narrows his wings, swooping through
demanufactured hallways and passes.. The walls and ceilings break down
even further as he nears the center of the howling wind..

Gambit lies as the center, glowing a brilliant crimson red.. Rogue is
nowhere to be found.. Archangel goes tearing through the wreckage,
which corrodes into dust as he picks it up.. He shouts for Rogue
an infinite number of times, but there is silence, save for a howling
wind..

-*-

Epilogue
--------

Outside The Hospital
--------------------

A walkie-talkie in the hands of the Doctor accompanying Psylocke suddenly
begins beeping ballistically. The Doctor grabs the walkie-talkie out of
a pouch on his pocket, holding it up to his mouth.

The Doctor : Clemson here. What is it.

Voice through radio : Yeah, we finally managed to contact Stark Enterprises.
                      We're patching the manager through to you <click>.

A different voice through the radio  
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"This is Anthony Stark. I reviewed the data you sent to me on this Gambit 
 fellow. I passed your synopsis of his condition to a few close friends, 
 and if their diagnosis is correct, then something needs to be done to 
 stabilize his energy fluctuations quickly."

Doctor Clemson : Could it be fatal for him?

Anthony Stark : "That's only the beginning of it. If this energy field he
                 is radiating isn't contained quickly, then it could
                 destroy an area the size of Rhode Island."

<TO BE CONTINUED>

Next Issue
==========

"Who might be this be?"

Image

===========================================================================
A Brunette female, Native-American in appearance. She wears a brown and
gold jumpsuit. Her forehead has a large cybernetic piece built into it,
dividing it into two segments. The cybernetic piece has a red sensor in 
the middle, and strands of circuitry weave down each cheek to her neck.
===========================================================================

 

 










