(Scene moves to Gaby, sitting by a fountain somewhere in a quiet part of the
city, not far from the hospital.)

Gaby:   (dangling her fingers in the water absent-mindedly) Maybe I could get
        him to find some time, around the hospital, just to talk for a
        while... (snaps her head up, sniffing -- she's been crying quietly to
        herself) Oh, stop this, girl, you're acting like a teenager.  He's too
        much older for you, anyways, and he won't be staying in Israel
        forever...
David:  (appearing off to the side quietly) Mother?...
Gaby:   (looks for the source of the voice) Oh!  (David walks in, disguising
        himself as Charles telepathically)  Ch-Charles?  For a moment, I
        thought I heard... I thought you were... oh, Charles, what are you
        d-doing here? You said it was buh-best for us n-not to see each other
        anymore...

(Al appears just behind David, looking at his handlink)

Al:     (loudly) Okay, Gooshie, I found him!  He -- (quieter) hey, wait a
        minute, he's supposed to be in the hospital, I thought.  What's he
        doing out here with Gab...  whoa!  No wonder this Charles guy's having
        so much trouble staying away from her....
David:  I see things in a new light, Gabrielle.  You trust Charles' wisdom,
        don't you?
Al:     Well, you bet she does, kid, but what's she hearing this from you for?
David:  You believe that Charles Xavier can do anything he sets his mind to?
Gaby:   Well... certainly.
David:  That if he so desired, he could even recreate the world in his own
        image?  Make it safe for his own kind?
Al:     What's this weirdo talking about?  Gaby, this guy's supposed to be a
        bedridden amnesiac, why are you just sitting there??
Gaby:   Own... kind...?  Charles, you're scaring me...
Al:     _Charles?_  He's, I mean Sam's, still back on the ferry, kid.  This
        guy's a nutcase, you should be _running_ right about now...
David:  That without enemies to bar his way, he could have whatever he wanted?
        (He puts his arms around Gaby, slowly leaning over her.  Gaby doesn't
        appear to mind, but she clearly finds this a little unexpected.)
Gaby:   Charles?...
Al:     Oh my God, she thinks he's Sam.  This guy's got more power than we
        thought...
David:  Don't call me Charles.  Not tonight.  (They lean back onto the edge
        of the fountain.)
Al:     (watching helplessly) Hey, what are you... That's not your girl,
        she's... You're making her think you're... Aw, no, GOOSHIE!!...
        (taps the handlink, disappears)

(Back to the ferry, which has just docked.  Sam and Magnus are getting off with
the hospital supplies in their hands.  They are talking casually again.)

Magnus: ...plans for the future, Charles?
Sam:    Undecided... though, to be honest, the idea of teaching holds some
        appeal to me.
Magnus: Really?
Sam:    Are you amused?
Magnus: Only at the thought of calling you "Professor."
Sam:    It does sound pretty stodgy, doesn't it?
Al:     (appears right in front of Sam, startling him)  Sam, you've got to get
        out of here!
Sam:    (to Al) I don't...
Al:     Don't talk to me here, just listen! That kid from the hospital, he's
        with her!  He's making her think he's you!
Sam:    (barely catches himself before replying to Al)  Youuuuunnnnhhh...
Al:     What's wrong, Sam?
Sam:    (whispering under his hand) Where is he, Al?
Al:     Oh, sorry, good thinking.  They're just outside the hospital, at the
        fountain in the garden on the south side!  Move it!
Magnus: Charles?  What's wrong?
Sam:    Al...
Al:     I don't know, you're the telepath!  Tell him you, you "sense" there's
        something wrong at the hospital or something!
Sam:    (trying to think fast) A... darkness.  I sense a... monstrous
        darkness...
Magnus: What do you mean, "sense"? what --
Al:     Good enough, now get over there! Hurry!  He's gonna molest Gaby!
Sam:    (snapping his head up, still whispering to Al) Gaby.
Al:     Yes, Gaby!  That's who he's with!  Move it!
Sam:    (_now_ he's in a hurry.  He starts to run toward the hospital)
        GABYYY!!! (Magnus starts running with him)

(scene change, back with David and Gaby by the fountain)

Al:     (appears again, shouting as loud as he can) They're over here, Sam!
        Come on!
David:  (stops kissing Gaby, looks up)  He's coming....
Gaby:   Who's coming?  You mean Magnus?...
David:  (dissolves his illusion, stands up and grins evilly)  He's coming!
        And I'm all ready for him!!
Gaby:   Charles, what do you... EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Al:     That's it, Gaby, Just hang on!  Sam's coming! (shouts) Come on, Sam!
        Something weirdo's happening with this kid!
David:  Shut _up, mother, you'll ruin everything!  (He unleashes a telekinetic
        burst that knocks her off the fountain's edge and hard onto the brick,
        banging her head and knocking her out.  He makes himself invisible
        telepathically as he waits for Sam and Magnus to arrive.)
Sam:    (from the edge of the garden) This way, Erik!
Magnus: How?...
Sam:    Trust me, I know!
Al:     She's right here, Sam!  But be careful, this kid's showing off a lot of
        power right now!
Sam:    There she is!  Gabrielle!  What's going on?  What happened?
Gaby:   oohhhh... (she wakes up as Sam cradles her in his arms) Charles? It's
        really... you?
Sam:    I'm here, Gaby... and so is Erik.
David:  (reappears floating in midair behind Sam and Magnus)  Not for long!
        (he flares his power all around him) I have come far for you, Erik
        Magnus Lehnsherr!  In my tomorrow, you will become the greatest villain
        the world has ever known!  And for that you must die... TODAY!

(He throws a telekinetic blast directly at Magnus, but he manages to raise
a magnetic shield to block the blast just in time.  The blast ricochets,
though, destroying the fountain and knocking Sam out with a flying brick.)

Gaby:   CHARLES!... Oh, Magnus, what's happening?  What's that boy from the
        hospital doing here?
Magnus: I don't know, Gaby, but stay down!  Protect Charles for now, I can
        handle this boy!
David:  Very impressive, Magneto!  But I can do much worse... how about YOU!?
        (As he says this he throws a much more powerful blast at Magnus, which
        is deflected by Magnus' shields into a scattered kinetic blast that
        destroys most of the garden.)
Magnus: Have to get this battle away from the hospital... (concentrates and
        begins to levitate, flying away from the hospital and from Gaby and Sam
        as fast as his relative inexperience will let him.)  Come and fight me
        if you can, boy!
David:  Oh, I can, Magneto, I can!  Mr. David Haller didn't come all this way
        just to watch you run!  (wraps himself in a telekinetic bubble and
        flies after Magnus, throwing a pyrokinetic flame blast after him.
        They both disappear into the distance.)
Al:     Sam, come on, wake up!  Those two just took their little brouhaha
        into the air, and David's gonna kill Magnus up there if you don't do
        something!  Wake up already!
Gaby:   Charles--?!  Please, you have to wake up!
Sam:    Nnnnhhh....
Al:     Come on, Sam, you can do it!
Gaby:   That mysterious patient -- the one who said he was my son -- he's
        fighting Magnus outside -- I mean, up in the sky and outside!
Sam:    Gabrielle -- please -- lower your voice.
Al:     Forget her voice, Sam, someone's gonna get killed up there, and if you
        don't move it out of here it'll be you!
Sam:    This teenager who calls himself David Haller has proven to be a very
        powerful mutant, and his attack has left me... slightly worse for wear.
Al:     Forget that, Sam, you've still got a mission here!
Sam:    I remember now, Magnus and I heard your cries for help.  We rushed
        to your aid -- and that's when David attacked us.
Al:     Well, of course he did, Sam, stop going loopy on me!
Gaby:   But he said he was my son!  How could that be?  What was he talking
        about?
Sam:    In light of what's taking place, Gabrielle, David's claims, as
        ridiculous as they may seem, are relatively easy for me to accept!
Al:     Sam?  Sam, can you hear me in there?
Gaby:   That's insane!  What's going on here, Charles?
Sam:    The beginning of the end, I'm afraid.
Al:     Oh, man, he's Xavier again!  But how's that...  GOOSHIE!!
Sam:    Exactly what I knew would eventually come, Gaby.  Although not the way
        I'd hoped. It is the dawn of Homo Sapien Superior.
Al:     It must be something with Xavier's telepathy, he's taken control of
        Sam's body by reaching through their mental link from the leap, and...
        oh, man... (louder)  Gooshie, we've got a new problem, let's move it!
        (He taps the handlink and disappears.)
Sam:    We are watching a genetic atom bomb -- and it's exploding over our
        heads!

(Scene switches to outside the hospital, where Bishop, Bobby (Iceman), and
Betsy (Psylocke) are already working to keep the battle from destroying the
city with the fallout of David's and Magnus' mutant powers.)

Betsy:  *...I understand, Ororo.  Bishop and Iceman are doing all they can to
        minimize the damage from the fallout.  And I may have finally located
        the Professor.*
Sam:    (back inside the hospital) *Yes, I can hear you.*
Gaby:   Charles -- who are you talking to?
Sam:    *Forgive my hesitation, but this is only the second time I've
        communicated telepathically with a like mind.  I'll be right there.*
Gaby:   (desperately) Right where?  Please don't leave me here!
Sam:    Believe me, you'll be safer if you stay, Gaby... I'm sorry for doing
        this to you, but it's better you sleep here through all this.

(He telepathically puts her to sleep, and she falls into his arms.  He lays
her gently onto the ground before running outside the garden toward the
source of his telepathic summons.  As he reaches the X-Men, Al reappears
beside him.)

Sam:    You're the one who... called... me?
Al:     Whatever, I don't know who they are... Sam, listen to me!  I know
        you're still in there, this Xavier's just taken control of your body!
        He doesn't even know he's doing it, somewhere he thinks he's back in
        his own body in his own time!  You need to come back out here, Sam, I
        know what happens to Magnus now!
Sam:    (to Betsy) Who _are_ you?
Ororo:  (alighting beside the other X-Men) That is not as important, Charles,
        as our reason for being here.  We must stop the man named Legion before
        he kills your friend, Magnus!
Al:     Yeah, no kiddin', lady, but there's more than that going on here!  Oh,
        man... Sam, come on already!  I know you can do it!
Sam:    But why does he want to kill -- wait... your mental imprint, I
        recognize it -- I _know_ you!
Al:     SAAAAAMMMMM!!!!  Come on, wake up in there!  Erik isn't the only
        reason you're here!
Sam:    You tried to steal my wallet in Cairo weeks ago.  But you were a little
        girl, how could -- it _is_ you -- you're and adult now...  This is
        incredible!  David claimed to be Gabriele Haller's son -- which means
        that you're all from the future!?
Al:     But so are you, Sam!  Come on, break this guy's hold on you, it's still
        your body he's controlling!

(an explosion knocks Sam and the X-Men back briefly, as Legion and Magnus bring
their battle lower in the sky.  As Ororo uses her power over the winds to
deflect the debris flying around them, Sam/Xavier listens closer to the
conversation they're having as they fight.)

David:  ...I've thought about it every which way I could, and I realized
        this was the only thing that I could do!  Daddy's dreams -- his
        vision --would have come true if you hadn't chosen to fight it every
        single step of the way!  (He reaches out with his telekinesis, finally
        ripping through the last shreds of Magnus' shields and grabbing him
        in a giant flaring telekinetic fist.)  If I kill you, then his plans
        will happen the way they should have!
Al:     What is this kid going on about, he's not making any sense... Sam, come
        on, we need you out here!!
David:  But I couldn't kill you in my time, no, no -- see, the damage had
        already been done by then -- so if you die new, before you can ruin
        Daddy's hard work, he can be happy!
Magnus: (barely able to breathe inside the "fist's crushing grip) These dreams
        you speak of -- what are they -- ?
David:  Dreams of peace and love, of happiness, of mutants and humans working
        together for a better world!
Magnus: That sounds like -- no... that's not possible -- those are the works
        of --
David:  (madly) -- Charles Xavier!!
Al:     Hang on a minute -- that kid's Xavier's son!?  Ziggy, why didn't you
        tell me this before?
Sam:    Dear Lord -- Magnus!  And that boy up there... that poor, insane boy...
Al:     Insane is right... Come ON, Sam, we need you out here!  I need to tell
        you, David is gonna kill _everybody!_  Oh, man, you've got to come back
        to me here, Sam, before Xavier does something crazy with your body and
        gets you and Erik both killed, along with everyone else in the city!
Sam:    ...somehow -- some way -- is my _son?_  He believes he's doing this for
        me?  In my name?
Al:     Not _your_ name, _Xavier's_ name!  Come on, Sam, Xavier can't hear me
        as long as he's in control, but you can!
Sam:    He's going to kill my best friend for my sake?
Ororo:  No, Charles, not for you, but for a twisted perversion of what you
        believe.  But Legion will not accomplish his task so long as we are
        here!  Bobby, try to distract David while I keep Magnus from him! (She
        lifts off on her winds, and Bobby follows her on a column of ice.)
Al:     Finally, they're not distracting you anymore... Sam, I know you're in
        there!  You _have_ to listen to me!  Ziggy's finally gotten the
        information we needed here!
Ororo:  (lands with Magnus unconscious in her arms; she lays him on the ground)
        -- all you had to do was open your eyes.  May the Bright Lady be at
        your side, Iceman. (Xavier kneels beside Magnus to do what he can for
        him.)
Al:     Yeah, whatever.  Now listen to me, Sam!  This David Haller, or Legion,
        or whatever everyone's calling him, is Xavier's son, come back through
        this timeline from the future!  He's the cause of the space-time rip
        that you got sucked through, he may be your only chance to get back
        where you belong!
Sam:    (looking around) Did... did any of you hear anything?
Al:     You hear _me!_  Come on out of there, Sam...
Betsy:  (looks as well) ...No, Charles, no one's here anymore.  I scanned for
        any people left, and they're all being safely evacuated out the other
        side of the hospital as we speak.
Al:     They're not the only problem here, Sam... now listen: you can't let
        them kill this David kid, he has to go back to his own time so that you
        can go through the rip in space-time he made and get to your own
        timeline again!  But he's going to kill Magnus, or you... (hits the
        handlink) ...or both of you, or everyone!  The history's changing too
        fast around here to say anything definite anymore, but you _have_ to
        wake up and stop it now, Sam!

(Bobby alights with David's frozen body, explaining to Bishop and the others
what he did.  Sam/Xavier continues to hold Magnus, trying to determine if
there's anything he can do for him, and still ignoring Al.)

Betsy:  ...Bishop's right.  As far as we can tell, the time disruption wasn't
        even affected.  What Cable warned us about was so big, so horrific,
        there's no way of knowing if the future's been set straight or not.
Al:     Oh, yes there is, if you'd just get Xavier out of Sam's head long
        enough for me to tell him...
Sam:    Th-this is all too much.  Magnus is still alive... you've succeeded...
        haven't you?  unless... unless... NO!
Al:     What, what is it?
Betsy:  (activating her psychic knife, the focused totality of her telepathic
        powers) Get back, everyone!  He's not defeated -- I feel his thoughts,
        dear Lord, they're about to...

(she doesn't finish, as David's telepathic burst burns through their minds and
driving them all to their knees in agony.  David telekinetically un-freezes
himself, and turns and picks up Magnus off the ground by the shirt.)

David:  "Explode!"  That's what you were going to say, isn't it, Psylocke?
        Well, maybe not yet, but I will in a second, as soon as this monster
        is dead!
Magnus: (straining to speak) You dare -- condemn me -- for something -- I
        haven't done yet -- this is your morality?  This is your justice?
Al:     Sam, what did he do?  Are you there yet?
David:  YES!!  See, I know what's inside of you!  I know what you're going to
        become!  You're going to betray my father and spoil his dream forever!
Sam:    (whispering) my head... Al?...
Magnus: How can you be so certain, boy?  You presence here has changed
        everything.  I may never become this monster you describe....
Al:     Sam, you're back!  Xavier was controlling your body back there, but
        David's mental blast or whatever must've kicked him back out!  You've
        got to get up!  David's ranting again, and he's got Erik on the ropes!
David:  Oh, I'd like to believe that, sure I really would, but how can I trust
        you?  Where I come from is a terrible place -- and the blame can be
        lain at _your_ doorstep!
Sam:    Al, I can barely move...
Al:     It's probably an effect of the telepathic whadayacallit, it doesn't
        matter!  Ziggy says that as of now David kills _everyone_ here, unless
        you can stop him before he kills Erik!
David:  My father spent so much time batting you -- trying to stop your
        madness -- that he couldn't help others -- (quieter) he couldn't help
        me... (louder again) but I can change all that!  If I kill you now,
        Magneto, things well _have_ to be better in the future!  After all,
        they can't get much worse, eh?
Sam:    My mind... feels so funny...
Al:     That's probably Xavier trying to move back in again!  Sam, you can't
        let him, if he takes control of your body while he's still back in the
        imaging chamber you may never leap out of here!
David:  And Charles Xavier will make the world right -- and he and Mom and I
        will be together! (He creates his own psychic knife out of his free
        hand)
Sam:    (barely speaking) No... David!... *haff* wait... this is wrong...
Al:     Of course it's wrong, Sam, you've got to stop him!
Sam:    Can't concentrate -- enough -- to use -- my powers...
Al:     No, Sam, you don't _have_ any mental powers!  You're just Sam Beckett,
        and you're in the middle of a leap, and you're going to fail unless you
        do something fast!
David:  (draws back the psychic knife and aims it a the head of a helpless
        Magnus) Goodbye, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr.  I hope that in death, you'll
        find the peace you've been missing in life.  Sayonara!
Al:     Sam, move it!
Sam:    NO!!!

(Sam leaps foreward, trying to knock Magnus away from David before he can
strike, but the psychic blade is thrust directly at his head instead.  He
has no chance to scream before he realizes he's leaping again, but the feeling
is different than it ever was before.  When he recovers from the leap, he
realizes he's barely moved at all, but instead is now in the body of Bishop
with the other X-Men.)

Al:     Sam, you... (looks to where Sam is now)  Sam??  What're you doing over
        there?
David:  (looking at Xavier's body as it falls to the ground beside Magnus)
        What -- Father?  DADDY?!!
Sam:    Al, what's going on?
Al:     You leaped just before he killed Xavier, and you wound up here... Ziggy
        says you still can't leap back to your own timeline until...
David:  Are you?... This is impossible!  You _can't_ be dead!  (The air around
        him and the X-Men begins to crackle with energies flowing out of
        David's body.)
Al:     Sam, I think David's about to head back to the future!  If Xavier's his
        father, and he just killed him, he's just changed his own history!  He
        doesn't even exist anymore...
David:  'Cause if you're dead, that means -- NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!

(The energy flares up through the sky, carrying David, Betsy, Ororo, and Bobby
with it.  Sam begins to leap at the same time.)

Al:     Sam, this is it!  He's reopening the time rip, and you've saved Magnus
        and everyone else!  You're leaping back to...

(He doesn't finish his sentence, as Sam leaps out of Bishop's body just as
David's time-rip closes in on itself.)

Al:     (still waiting by Bishop)  Sam, are you gone?  Did it work?
Bishop: owrggha... owrrmm...
Al:     I'll take that as a yes.  (looks around)  Man, Sam's leap must've taken
        him through the space-time rip and left this guy behind instead.
Magnus: Charles?... You died to save me!?  Oh God, Charles...
Al:     (to himself) Who knows?  I mean, we may never know which one of them
        was actually in control when he jumped in between you and that blade.
        (presses a few buttons on the handlink)  All right, Gooshie, I
        think that's about it for this one.  Let's go see where Sam's gone
        now...

(The door of the imaging chamber opens behind him, and he steps back through
it.  He stops and glances once more at Magnus, crying silently over the body
of his best friend.  Then he steps back through the door, and it closes,
leaving Magnus alone with the man who was destined to change the future for
humans and mutants forever... and may still get the chance....)


*fin*



    Source: geocities.com/soho/studios/1400

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