Zambose Presents

X-Men: Back To Basics

Episode 1: Seeing Red

It was a clear, warm summer day in Boston, and a young man, about 16, was sitting in the park. He wasn't talking to anyone, he was sitting in solitude, wearing a pair of red tinted sunglasses. Just then, screams came from the construction site in town. The young man heard the cries, and ran towards the crowd. A metal beam was breaking loose from the crane. The crowd looked up, horrified, as the crane wire broke, and the beam came falling down, towards the citizens. From out of nowhere, a blast of red light destroyed the beam, saving the people. The crowd turned toward the apparent source of the beam: the young man who's eyes were tightly closed as he was replacing his tinted glasses.

3 weeks ago...

"Doc, I keep having these really awful headaches. They're almost like migraines. I've taken almost every prescription known, but nothing's worked." "Well, Scott, maybe you are in need of lenses to correct the problem. Let's do an exam." 40 minutes later, Scott Summers wasn't any closer to relief. Dr. Morgan told him, "I'll call you when I find a solution. We have the number for the orphanage." Scott was an orphan, and was never adopted. He had spent his entire life in the orphanage, at least all that he could remember. The supervisors told him that he was in a coma when he was young, of which the causes were unknown, thus the loss of his memory. He was told his parents and his brother died in an accident. He always wished for someone to adopt him, but at 16, it was much too late. He would have to wait until his eighteenth birthday before he could live on his own.

1 week later, the doctor called the orphanage and told Scott to come by. When the lad arrived, he was greeted by Dr. Morgan and a bald man in a wheelchair. "Scott," the doctor said, "I'd like you to meet Professor Charles Xavier, a friend of mine from college." "Hello, Scott. The good doctor here called me and told me about your problem, and I think I may have a solution. Put these on." The professor held out a pair of red-tinted sunglasses. Scott obliged, and his headache went away almost instantly. "Wow! Thanks, Prof! What is this?" "It's called ruby quartz. Try these on, now." The other pair was a clear set, but they did not hold the same effect. "Interesting. Unfortunately, regular quartz doesn't seem to work. You don't mind wearing red glasses, do you?" "Not at all, Prof." "Good. I hope to see you again.

Another week passed. Scott continued to wear the glasses, and his headaches never returned. However, his eyes began to feel strange. He walked outside one day and removed his glasses. WHAM! When the youth opened his eyes, a beam of red energy shot out! He tried to stop it with his hands, but to no avail. However, the beam did not hurt him. He shut his eyes and the beam stopped. He put on the glasses, opened his eyes, and the beam wasn't there. He didn't even feel it come out. "Oh, no! What's happened to me? What am I??"

Now

Scott hurried away from the crowd, hearing screams of "He's got death dealing eyes!" and "He must be a mutie!" He, in fact, was a mutant, and he could not control his power without the use of ruby quartz. He ran away into an alley, but was caught by a few men who beat him mercilessly. The professor arrived just in time to save the young lad from annihilation, and he wiped clean the memories of all witnesses of the event event that had occurred. The people immediately stopped running, and started to go about their lives again. Scott found his glasses, and put them on to face the professor. "Thanks, Prof. If there's any way I can repay you..." "Yes, I have something in mind."

At the Professor's mansion, he was outfitted with an outfit consisting of a blue body suit with a yellow overshirt, gloves, boots, and belt. His mask was outfitted with a thin ruby quartz visor with apertures on the sides for control of his beam. He was the first X-Man, Cyclops!