Alternate X-Men #65
 
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Front Cover : A sandy plain, with an infinite number of ice sculptures of the
  various X-Men in a variety of poses stretched out across it. In the
  middle, Iceman is seated on an ice stool, deep in thought.
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Title : The Bombtrack..
 
X-Factor Headquarters : A crowd of people eagerly await for a bomb
  planted in the basement of the X-Mansion to go off --
 
5!
 
Among them are Trevor Faulkman, arguably one of the most powerful
people in the country.
 
4!
 
The bomb was planted in the X-Mansion during an under-the-table break-in.
 
3!
 
And now it resides in their basement, with the remaining X-Men
sorting out their differences with the Psionex up above.
 
2!
 
In the X-Factor Headquarters, they eagerly await for the bomb, a "smart"
bomb, to go off..
 
1!
 
ONLY TO FIND IT DOESN'T..
 
Trevor Faulkman : Um.. <tapping fingers impatiently> Where's the explosion?
 
<people shrugging their shoulders>
 
Little does Mr. Faulkman know, but this bomb was made a bit too smart.
 
***
 
Deep In The X-Mansion : A bomb sits, constantly shifting its form, 
  gradually becoming more humanoid in appearance. A tinny voice erupts :
 
  "Screw that, mon! If they think I'm blowin' myself up, they're high on
   somethin'.. That would totally, like, dis my self-defense programming."
 
***
 
Back At the X-Factor Headquarters : Trevor Faulkman shakes Oliver Chaulker,
  one of his chief tech-men, trying to get some answers out of him :
 
"What the heck is going on? Who was dumb enough to give a smart bomb a 
 defense mechanism? And what's with the hippie accent?"
 
Unknown to Trevor, somebody stands invisible in the corner, snickering
a soft snicker.
 
Trevor : I want some answers!
 
***
 
The X-Mansion : A meeting of sorts is taking place. The various members
of the Psionex, along with the few remaining X-Men at the mansion, bicker
amongst themselves, trying to find some answers of their own :
 
Role Call : Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Bishop [X-Men]
            Night Thrasher, Rage, Impulse, Pretty Persuasions [Psionex]
 
Jean Grey sits at the head of a table in the ready room. In a set of
fresh clothing, she seems worn out, to say the least :
 
Jean : Okay, here's what we've decided upon. Beast and I will accompany
  the Psionex back to New Jersey. If Cyclops really was there, then I
  will know. 
 
Pretty Persuasions : How will you know? Are you like psychic or somethin?
 
<Night Thrasher kicking PP under the table>
 
Jean : I'll KNOW.
 
Logan : We've been over this, Red. And me and Bish'll stay here, and comb
  the Mansion for clues about who else has been fishin here while we were
  out. Why's Beast goin with you, tho? <cough>
 
Beast : Well, my inquisitive friend, since we'll be down in that neck of
  the woods anyways, we were planning on swinging over to the New
  Warriors shack, where Coronary is being kept. I might be able to aid
  him in his reassembly. And if I can't, I know somebody who can..
 
*****
 
Muir Isle : The North Shore.. A steep cliff overlooks the cold sea, as it
inevitably flattens to a sandy plateau.. Normally barren, the sand is
littered with various ice sculptures of incredible accuracy.. Moira 
Mactaggart attempts to find her way through the maze of ice sculptures,
depicting the various X-Men in a variety of poses. She shouts :
 
"Drake! Drake? Where the hell r'ye, lad?"
 
As Moira proceeds further into the series of ice sculptures, the forms of
the X-Men become more and more distorted, the farther she proceeds. Finally,
she reaches the end of the sculptures. A perfect replica of Lorna Dane
stands before Moira, her form augmented by angel's wings. Standing next to
this sculpture is an ice replica of Havok - shattered. As Moira stands
shocked by what she sees, the Lorna sculpture melts away -- And the Iceman
is nowhere to be found.
 
*****
 
New Mexico : A series of police, armed with riot gear, charge a local
hospital. Nobody is there, except for some scrawny kid, wearing a jacket
and a baseball cap. He holds a laptop computer in his arm, and is typing
away eagerly.
 
The Head Police Officer : Boy, have you seen a winged fellow, and
a woman with purple hair? 
 
The Kid : Yuh just missed 'em. Some babe dressed in a funky uniform just
made 'em disappear in a flash.. Looks like they didn't wanna go..
 
The Head Police Officer crunches his knuckles in frustration. He mutters 
a silent curse to himself. He heads back to his police cruiser, motioning
for the others to follow. Before he leaves, he shouts at the kid :
 
"Get out of here, boy. This area is off-limits. It's dangerous.."
 
The sound of tires screeching.. As the police vehicles move out of sight,
the young boy removes his hat, depicting a bald head with an almost alien
physiology. He dances around, singing "My report's almost done! My report's
almost done! Yippee!"
 
He punches a pin on his jacket, and speaks into it : "Computer, give me
the next location where something big will happen in the life of the 
X-Men."
 
#TARGET DESTINATION : NEY YORK CITY#
 
"Cool. Teleport me there. I love the Big Apple. Before you do, how is my
 live specimen holding out?"
 
#LIFE SIGNS STABILIZING. HE IS SAFELY STORED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PACIFIC,
 LIKE YOU REQUESTED#
 
[The kid fades away.]
 
*****
 
Scene : At the bottom of the Pacific, a canister, the size of a coffin
rests, as an odd red glowing comes from inside it. The light attracts
something, or somebody. There is a multitude of them, who hover
around the canister as if it were some monolith. Finally, overcoming
their fear, it turns to an awe, as these humanoid forms drag the
canister off, swimming away. Very little can be seen of them, since the
only light is that coming from the canister, and from their eyes, which
glow a dim yellow.
 
*****
 
Just Outside Of New York : Norman has spent the last two days fixing
his leaky roof, at his wife's insistance. He finally can say he's done.
 
Wife <shouting from other room> : Now, you're sure that the roof won't 
leak anymore?
 
Norman : Honey, with what I've done to this roof, nothing short of an
act of God will break it!
 
There is a sudden rapping, as the entire house begins to quake. With a thud,
two humanoid figures, one of them recognizable as Sabretooth, and the other
as Caliban, fall to the ground, breaking right through the ceiling. They 
are at each other's throats, growling instensely.. Caliban, who is on
the losing side, makes a retreat, breaking through the door leading out,
as Sabretooth chases after him. Norman's wife runs in, with curlers in her
hair, seeing nothing but the broken roof. She clears her throat most
angrily..
 
Norman : But honey.. Two monsters came through and broke the roof!!
 
Wife : Oh come on Norm, if you're gonna lie, at least come up with 
something better than that.. That's an insult to my intelligence..
 
Norman : I AIN'T LYING!!!
 
Wife <sarcastically> : Sure, this coming from the man who claims he was
abducted by aliens on the weekend he was supposed to paint the house..
 
Norman looks out the window, staring at a highway, looking for hide or
hair of either of the two creatures.. A sign reads :
 
@@New York City [25 miles]@@
 
******
 
The remains of the Genetech Facility, in New Jersey : Even now, it is being
rebuilt. As Jean Grey, Beast, and the members of the Psionex are arriving,
a starting discovery has been made. A top scientist at the facility meets
them, as the Psionex helicopter lands uneasily.
 
"Night Thrasher, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we found Dr.
Rosenberg, or rather what was left of him. He - He was reduced to ashes
somehow. We're attemtpting to determine more from his remains, which are
highly ionized."
 
Night Thrasher has a mournful expression coming from behind his mask.
 
"Spit it out in English doctor.."
 
The Doctor : He was hit by some sort of powerful laser..
 
In the helicopter, Jean Grey overhears this conversation, in thought to 
herself, she contemplates :
 
@@"Oh Scott, all the evidence points to you, but how could it be?"@@
 
Without warning, Jean finds herself whipped into the psychic plane. 
Disoriented by the transformation of the scenery, she falls to her feet,
as she stands all alone, or so she thinks..
 
Scott Summers stands in front of Jean Grey, who doubts her very senses :
 
"Perhaps everything points to me, because it was me, in body, if not in
 spirit?"
 
 SPIRIT??? SPIRIT??? SPIRIT??? SPIRIT??? SPIRIT??? SPIRIT??? SPIRIT???
 
But a single word repeats through Jean's mind, as she finds the psychic
plane spinning about her faster and faster, as it fades to an almost 
whiteness. Dizzy and disoriented, she almost thinks she can here a 
sinister laugh --
 
-- only to find herself pulled back into the physical plane :
 
"Jean? Jean? Can you hear me??"
 
Jean stares up, only to see the face of Hank staring over her. 
 
"You konked out.. You've been doing that a lot lately, so we rushed you
over to the New Warriors HQ as quickly as possible.. What happened?"
 
Jean : "It was Scott. He was there.. IN SPIRIT.."
 
******
 
Scene : Colorado.. Sinister had redecorated this unused factory to serve as
his temporary headquarters.. After leaving on a supply run in order to
finish his experimentation on Ruckus, which had resulted in failure for some
reason, he is surprised by one minor element in his headquarters that is
out of place.. 
 
Sinister, in the body of another, stares at a broken containment unit in 
shock..
 
Sinister : Ruckus! He's gone!
 
Sinister's eyes wander and widen, looking upon a broken LCD panel on the
  containment unit.. 
 
  ##GEOMORPH PROCESS --COMPLETE--##
 
It blinks, almost taunting Sinister.. The red of the light reflecting off 
his face.. The face of another..
 
******
 
The X-Mansion : Bishop waves a funny detector device around, which blinks,
as a loud beeping can be heard coming from it. A short distance away,
Logan has fallen asleep at the kitchen table, after polishing off a 
submarine sandwich which he had found there..
 
Bishop looks back at Logan, resenting him for choosing such an inopportune
time to take a nap. Although, another part of Bishop, one a little deeper
in his psyche, almost feels sorry for Logan. 
 
@@I figure he deserves a nap. He's been put to the brink of death twice
in the last week. Why Logan? If I were in your shoes, I would just stay
dead. Why do you keep coming back? A glutton for more punishment@@.
 
Without warning, the device in Bishop's hand begins to beep wildly. Bishop
stares down at the readout in amazement :
 
"Holy $hit! A lifeform has been detected in the mansion, and it's coming
 this way!"
 
 Bishop pulls his gun out with a swipe, as a jingling noise can be heard
 coming from a hallway, along with the tapping of feet on metal..
 
*****
 
New Warriors HQ : The Beast carefully examines the remains of Coronary..
  When him, Jean, and the Psionex had arrived at the New Warriors HQ on the
  docks, they had been greeted by two of the NW members : Speedball and
  Firestar.. Other than that, the place was empty.. As the Beast probes
  the shards that remain of Coronary, Speedball and Firestar rummage around
  behind him.. Pretty Persuasions, noticeably lacking the coat she was
  wearing earlier, and Night Thrasher hover over the Beast, waiting his
  prognosis, as Jean rests in the corner from her earlier psychic shock..
 
Beast : Hm, I hate to say it, but this is much over this bouncing blue
  bundle of joy's head. It's time to call in the big guns. I'm going to
  have to dial out Muir Isle on this one. He'd best be left in their care.
 
Night Thrasher : I've been to Muir Isle before, and if you're talking about
  that Mactaggart nut, forget it.. She seemed like a basket case to me..
 
Beast : She got better. And, Muir Isle might be the only place that can
  allow this humpty dumpty to put himself back together again..
 
[In The Background]
 
Firestar <to Speedball> : Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Where the heck are my 
  car keys! Why can't your $#@$ cat leave them alone for once?
 
Speedball <to Firestar> : I can't find him! The bugger's missing.
 
Firestar : Well, when was the last time you saw him? I -want- my keys back!
 
Speedball <pondering> Uh-Oh. The last I saw him, he was hiding in the pocket
  of my coat.
 
Firestar <getting frustrated> : And where is your coat?
 
Speedball : Well, I sort of can't find that eith- Oh wait, I lent it to her!
<pointing to Pretty Persuasions> How could I have forgotten? The last time
she was here, she looked cold.
 
Pretty Persuasions : Oh.. Yeah.. Your coat.. I sort of.. Um.. Accidentally
  left it at the X-Mansion.. 
 
<Speedball slaps himself on the forehead>
 
*****
 
The X-Mansion : Bishop readies his gun, and begins firing, as a golden
colored kitty-cat goes flying over his head, kinetic bubbles flying
everywhere.. The cat lands on Logan, waking him from his slumber.. Startled,
Logan leaps up, falling back on his chair, as the cat panics, running [er]
bouncing off..
 
Logan : What the $#@$#@ was that?
 
Bishop : A cat.. False alarm.. Although I definitely wonder where the heck
  a cat like that came from.. Perhaps it's worth catching afterall..
 
Logan <half-asleep> : Find anything else?
 
Bishop suddenly does a double-take, spinning around, staring at his
  scanner..
 
Bishop : Oh %$#@%#@%!!!
 
Logan : What is it, doc? What did you find?
 
Bishop : It's not what I found, but what I didn't find! 
 
Bishop stares through a viewing panel in his scanner, hooked into the
Mansion's security system.
 
SABRETOOTH IS GONE!!!
 
*****
 
X-Factor Headquarters : "Tigerstryke!!!!!!!"
 
Trevor Faulkman, a tad stressed out from the congressional hearings he
is currently undergoing, seems a bit pissed..
 
Trevor : Tiger! James! I left you in charge, so I demand you tell me what
the heck happened to the Bi-Op we sent to the mansion!!
 
Tigerstryke <a bit nervous> : Well <heh>.. The Armoured Division, sort of
.. misplaced him..
 
Trevor : How the $#@$ can you misplace a big white giant? 
 
Tigerstryke : Well, they sort of lost sight of him after he got into a
fight with Sabretooth.. But don't worry boss, they managed to tag him with
a tracker before he got away.. <shouting into space> Edie, call up the
exact location of the Bi-Op Caliban.. Just to show Troy we're keeping an
eye on him..
 
Edie's comptuer voice rings out, as a holographic form of a woman appears
before Tigerstryke..
 
Edie : Um, Sir, that wouldn't be a good idea..
 
Tigerstryke : Trust me.. I know what I'm doing..
 
Edie : Very well.. Bi-Op Designate Caliban is currently engaged in combat
with the mutant terrorist known as Sabretooth ..
 
##DESTINATION : NEW YORK CITY##
 
Tigerstryke <uneasy laugh> : Ohboy..
 
[TO BE CONTINUED]
 
Next Issue : Sabretooth versus Caliban versus the Sentries versus the X-Men!


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


