Chapter Twenty-Five
The Thinker looked at Madelyne. So soft, so nubile, so lifelike. She would be a good guinea pig, he thought with satisfaction.
All was ready. The computers-after digesting every scrap of information about the X-Men-had come up with a street. Graymalkins Lane, Salem Center. Up in Westchester. The actual street number eluded him at first, but that hardly mattered. Not when a county directory gave him Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. And when a photo he perused of Professor Charles Xavier looked so much like the puppet of the leader of the X-Men which the wretched Masters had made. No, he had his address. He was ready.
My giant android will blunder into your little world, he thought. And before you realize your real peril, it shall be too late. I estimate a 99.46% chance of success in my endeavor. The only conceivable wild card is the girl, Shift. And I shall deal with her. No, this shall be a triumph.
Once more the Thinker looked out over the city, imagining all the improvements that would be made in its operations under his benevolent hand. That pleased him, and he went to bed and dreamed of a world in which the trains-and everything else-ran on time.
Maria had an early Danger Room session on her own, with only Scott presiding. There were no ostensible repurcussions from the Thanksgiving Night Massacre, as she and Jean had taken to calling it. Scott remained cool and professional in his relations with Maria, regarding the team at least. But she could sense him just waiting for some opportunity she couldn't quite put her finger on. Had they gone too far, by taking the picture? Should they have had more modest ambitions? No, she finally decided with determination. The old saying came to mind-if you strike at a king, you must kill him. They had struck at their team's "king", all right, and gotten a total victory. Still, Jean was showing signs of remorse. Feeling that Scott, as their leader, shouldn't be embarrassed like that. Maria snorted to herself. The girl needed some steel in her spine! And she, Maria Gianelli, was just the one to give it to her.
The session had gone well, Maria passing with what Scott called "flying colors". She was in the study hall later, reading Galbraith's The Affluent Society for her social studies class, when a mental clarion call came from the Professor.
X-Men! Assemble in the front garden, in costume, at once! The Mansion is under attack!
What the hell...? Maria Shifted into a gas state, went through the vents with lightning speed to her room, got into her costume, and ran out to the stairway landing. There she encountered Jean, in costume, and was a bit surprised when Jean looked around her tentatively.
"Do you know what the matter is, Shift?" Jean asked, and Maria was surprised by her voice-it seemed stiff, almost toneless. She just shook her head.
"Sorry, Jeannie. Guess we'll know when we assemble."
"Yes, I suppose so," Jean answered, as Maria ran down the stairs and out the front door, assuming that Jean was on her heels. But when she got out into the garden, she saw the rest of team already there-including Jean. Huh?
"Jean-" Maria started to say, but the Professor put a hand up.
X-Men, he told them mentally. We are under attack from the Mad Thinker and his Android.
There was a murmur from the others. Maria, still puzzled as to how Jean got there ahead of her, wasn't listening too closely. The Mad Thinker. His "Awesome" Android. Big sumbitch, could mimic the powers of anyone who attacked it. Totally mindless. Didn't sound too much like any kind of threat. Why on Earth was the Thinker doing this? They had whipped him once, with the FF's help. Yes, it was before Maria had joined the team, but still...
Shift. Shift! the Professor called out to her mentally, and Maria came to.
Yes, sir?
You will take the point. Advance upon the Android. Halt any advance he makes on the Mansion, any way you have to. Try, if possible, making direct physical assaults upon the Android, as this shall only strengthen it. The others shall be on your flank, awaiting an opportunity. And all of you, be on the lookout for any sign of the Thinker himself. This attack might be some sort of diversion. That is all.
Maria walked south on the lawn, towards Graymalkins Lane, on the lookout for the Android, but also still very much wondering about Jean's magic trick of getting ahead of her. Did she use her telekinesis to go out a window? I didn't see her. How the hell...?
There. Ahead of her, on her right-tromping through a flowerbed, bare for the winter-the Android. Maria was a bit more impressed than she thought she would be. It must have been a good twelve feet tall. Maybe more. It lurched towards her. She Shifted to eagle form and flew around him a few times, the Android taking swipes at her as she did so. Still, confusing it wasn't the same thing as stopping it, and soon the Android resumed its march towards the Mansion.
Maria landed, and Shifted back to normal. The Android, its attention span, such as it was, distracted, lurched towards her. Maria Shifted into one of her "ent" forms-a giant chestnut-and spread her arms, which soon resembled a giant web of branches. The Android blundered into them, and stopped. It pushed forward, and Maria felt the force of its strength. In this form, she was considerably stronger than her normal self, and still she was barely able to hold the Android at bay. He pushed even harder, and Maria-to her dismay-could see the Android adapting, turning into a chestnut-form itself, and pressing the attack against her.
Jean was striding carefully about a hundred yards to Maria's right. To her right, about the same distance from her, was Iceman. Cyclops and Beast were flanked on Maria's left, and Angel was flying over their heads, this way and that, looking for signs of the Thinker, or any other threats. There-Jean heard the sounds of combat to her left. Maria must have encountered the Android. She moved towards Shift-
And immediately ran into the Thinker, wearing a helmet and carrying a large sort of gun. "My dear," he said, almost apologetically, as he encountered Jean. "My deepest apologies for this ruse-for such it is. My Android is here merely as a diversion. This helmet-" he said, indicating the one he was wearing- "is designed to keep Xavier from mentally interfering. It can't keep him at bay forever, needless to say, but for the nonce it will do. You, however, my dear, unfortunately-"
Jean scowled. "You know, mister, you talk even more than the Beast does. And he's a lot wittier." She tried to grab the gun in his hands telekinetically, but the Thinker just frowned and shook his head.
"Foolish, Marvel Girl. Very foolish." He looked at his watch. "To think that I would not have taken your power into account. I, of course, have. And it is precisely ten forty-eight a.m."
Ten forty-eight? What did that have to do with anythng? She grabbed the gun telekinetically-
-And nothing happened.
The Thinker sighed. "My dear Miss Grey-you won't mind my calling you by your proper name? No?-I told you I had taken your power into account, and I have. Just as my Android can adapt to any power directed at it, I am surrounded by a field right now that cancels any powers directed against me. Do you honestly think that I would appear here, in my enemies' own home base, without some such precaution?"
Jean paused, folded her arms. "OK, mister," she said scornfully. "Whoopee for you. You sure have that figured out. What the heck is this all about, anyway? Why is your Android blundering about like a punch-drunk prizefighter? And wasn't one licking enough for you?"
"The answers, my dear," he said genially, "are-in order-you shall find that out any moment, I haven't the slightest concern about my Android's movements, and yes, indeed, one licking was more than sufficient. Which is why this time around I'm going to win."
" 'Win', huh?" Jean asked. "In the middle of our own grounds? That I'd like to see."
"I rather doubt that you will," he said. "Ah-here Madelyne is now. I had her reconnoiter the Mansion a bit, to get its imprint into her memory. Madelyne! This is Miss Jean Grey. Miss Grey-Madelyne. I don't think we'll require any more introductions than that."
Jean turned at the sound of someone approaching-and stopped dead. She was looking at-herself!
"What the hell-" She turned from the newcomer, back to the Thinker, and to "Madelyne" again. In the background, they heard the sound of something large and heavy falling to the ground.
"Ah," the Thinker said with satisfaction. "That must be the defeat of my Android. Well-that's no surprise. It's never won a battle yet, after all. Well done, X-Men!" he called out to the others, as they surrounded the small area of the lawn where Jean, the Thinker, and her doppelganger were congregated. Jean could hear the sound of the Professor's wheelchair approaching from the Mansion, as well.
They all arrived-and stopped dead. They looked at the Thinker, and Jean, and her double-and froze. Finally, it was Bobby who spoke.
"What-the-hell-" he said, and the Thinker nodded eagerly.
"Quite so," he said, a friendly smile on his face. "Quite so, Mr Drake. It might have been amusing at this point to play the old who's-the-real-Marvel-Girl game. Maybe have your Jean and my Madelyne do antics in front of a supposed mirror, like Groucho and Harpo in Duck Soup. But no, this is Madelyne-" he said, pointing to Jean's double- "and this, of course, is Miss Grey." He nodded to Jean.
"Oh?" Scott said, a suspicious look on his face. Jean sighed. End this quick, at least.
She turned to Scott. "Exlax," she said severely. Maria shut her eyes, bit her tongue. Scott had no reaction, then nodded slightly.
"OK," he said. "You are Jean." He turned to "Madelyne". "And just what is the purpose of this-what? Robot?"
"Please, Scott," the Thinker said, a hint of wounded pride in his voice. "Please do not confuse me with that overeducated peasant von Doom. Madelyne is an android. Like my not-so-awesome playmate you just defeated. But Madelyne is so much more than he could ever be."
"So that's it," Jean heard Maria say quietly, and the Thinker nodded enthusiastically.
"Indeed, Maria," he said. "Indeed. You begin to understand now. You saw Madelyne in the Mansion, and wondered how she beat you out the front door. Well-that's how. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to steal Jean's powers with this gun here, and transfer them to Madelyne, and we'll see what we see."
There was a stunned silence from the others. "Uh-am I missing something," Maria said, "or do we not have you totally surrounded and completely at our mercy?"
The Thinker smiled appreciatively. "Well, my dear Maria, it certainly appears that such is the case. But of course, in reality it is not." He turned to Jean. "She can tell you. I am surrounded by a field that cancels out your powers, should you turn them against me."
Cyclops pondered this. "Fine," he said. "But what's to prevent me, say, just knocking you cold with my fist? Or calling the police and having them take you away?"
The Thinker sighed a bit impatiently. "Scott, Scott, Scott-please. Just think for a moment. I am no fool. I am here. Don't you think that just maybe, I have taken this possibility into consideration?"
"Your field," the Professor said, speaking up for the first time. "It not only protects you from our powers, but also works as a normal force-field, as well."
The Thinker smiled eagerly. "Excellent, Charles! Of course. Now, if we are through wasting time-"
"Hold on, buster," Jean said sternly. "Nobody is going to steal my powers out from under me. Especially to put into this-this-" She indicated the android version of herself with disgust.
"On the contrary, Jean," the Thinker said, fiddling with the gun as he spoke. "That's exactly what is going to happen. I spent ten million dollars for just that purpose, after all, and that kind of money isn't chicken-feed, even to me. You're ready, dear Madelyne?" he asked the android, who had been waiting patiently all this while.
"Yes, Master," "she" said in a quiet, unanimated voice.
The Thinker shrugged. "Still having a bit of trouble getting the right tone in her voice," he said. "It's really harder than you'd think, making an android appear human. Oh, well. This process will expedite matters."
"No!" Scott cried, and hit the force-field with his power beam. But the energy merely bounced against the field and reflected off in all directions, and the Thinker frowned.
"You're wasting your time, Scott," he said severely. "And now, if you'll excuse me-" And with a smooth, quick gesture he aimed the gun at Jean and pulled the trigger.
Maria could have kicked herself. She knew there was something odd about the "Jean" she had encountered inside the Mansion. But who could have expected this, after all?
Warren leaned over to her. " 'Exlax'?" he asked, a frown on his face.
She shook her head. "I'm sworn to secrecy."
"OK," he said in a dissatisfied tone of voice, and they turned their attention back to the drama unfolding.
"And now, if you'll excuse me-" the Thinker said, and pulled the trigger. Jean shrieked, and fell to the ground, writhing in agony.
"Jean!" Scott called out, and bent down to see to her. The others seemed to freeze in their tracks, unsure what to do. The Thinker smiled slightly.
"She'll be fine," he said. "It is extremely painful, I must admit-I'd be lying if I suggested otherwise, and I am a very honest man. But this pain will pass relatively quickly. My gun-" And indeed, the machine was glowing red-hot- "is now full of potential power, taken from Miss Grey. I shall fire the gun again, and it shall enter Madelyne. Are you ready, my dear?" he asked the android, who merely nodded.
"Quite so," he said. "As I said-Miss Grey will be fine in a few minutes. With her powers back, I might add. This process could have been fatal, but I moved heaven and earth to ensure that it would not be. Really, X-Men, you should all be grateful to me for my considera-"
Scott gave an animal scream and aimed his most powerful optic blast at the Thinker. It merely dissolved into red energy beams as his force-field sparkled in the December sun.
"That wasn't very smart, Scott," the Thinker said. "After all, you know by now that your powers are useless against me. And the beams might have injured one of your fellow X-Men. I never lie, Scott-"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Scott cried, then took a deep breath and mastered himself. He looked at Jean, listened to her heartbeat, felt her forehead.
"How is she, Scott?" the Professor asked, and Scott nodded.
"She's breathing easily, Professor," Scott answered. "She'll be OK. But she's had a bad shock, and experienced a great deal of pain." He looked at the Thinker. "And I assure you, mister, every ounce of pain you inflicted on her will be returned to you tenfold."
"Of course," the Thinker said, not really listening. He played a little more with the gun, and turned to Madelyne. "Are we ready, dear?"
"Yes, Master." The android stood there, acquiescing in whatever the Thinker was prepared to do. He merely smiled, and again turned the gun on, giving Madelyne the power he had stolen from Marvel Girl.
The android turned red, and bowed slightly, as if under the weight of the energy flooding her system. Then she began to cry, a cry that soon turned into a raging howl, as if it, too, was in agony. The Thinker frowned.
"No," he mumbled. "No-this should not be happening." He looked at the gun. "No-it's calibrated all right. No-there is something happening here that I did not take into account-I hate it when that happens-"
He turned off the gun, and watched Madelyne. The android, still beet red all over, was shaking, hands to its stomach, bent over in agony. Soon it was writhing on the ground, and the X-Men watched in horror as the android body began to steam.
"Master!" the android called out. "Master! I-I do not understand. This was not supposed to happen-"
The Thinker just watched dumbly, and it seemed to Maria that just maybe a look of regret passed his face for a moment. Then it was replaced by a look of scientific dispassion, and that did not change as the android steamed more heavily than ever. The android's voice got higher and more shrill, and it started to shake.
"MMMaaasstterr-MMMaaassttteeerr-" it wailed, and then it gave a great shudder and went still. The Thinker looked at it, opened its eyes, put his head to its chest. Finally, he just shook his head and got to his feet.
"It's quite dead," he said, voice full of discouragement. "Quite. I do not understand. Why on earth did this happen?" He looked at Jean, who was sitting up now, Cyclops' arms around her. "I can only theorize that there's something about you, Miss Grey, that the computers cannot simulate or understand. Something that poor Madelyne wasn't able to adapt to." He looked thoughtful. "Now-I wonder what that 'something' is. It's a very interesting question, really. If I had the opportunity, I would take you with me and possibly dissect you, in hopes of finding out. But that is not a serious option," he said, looking at the X-Men surrounding Jean with very grim expressions indeed on their faces.
"Your plan has failed, Thinker," the Professor said. "You have inflicted needless suffering on a brave young woman to no purpose whatever. Get out, and take your androids with you."
The Thinker looked at his gun. "No, Professor," he said, a sly smile on his face. "I still have a card to play. It cannot really do me any practical good, but it will assuage my curiosity-and I assure you all, my curiosity means a great deal to me." He looked at them. "I have two doses in this gun-doses which will enable me to depower a mutant. And every one of you is capable of receiving the dose, I assure you. Naturally, I must choose." He looked Maria right in the eyes. "But there really is no doubt about the matter. None at all."
Maria froze. No. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening. She was having a nightmare. "No," she was able to get out of her throat, somehow. "Please, no."
The whole world froze. She saw the amused look on the Thinker's face, the quizzical expression of the Professor, the emerging horror on Jean's face, the alert posture of Cyclops, the compassion of the Beast as he realized that something terrible was threatening her, the bafflement on Iceman's face, the sheer look of black hatred directed at the Thinker by the Angel. "No. Don't. Please."
The Thinker laughed, and for once made no attempt at urbanity. It was the laugh of a madman, pure and simple, and he pressed the button of the gun again. Maria shrieked, and felt a burst of energy hit her.
The pain was the first thing she felt. It was overwhelming, indescribable, and pushed everything else-even her panic-out of her mind. She kept shrieking, and fell to the ground, to her knees, face covered by her hands. Her hands! No. No, no, no, no, no...
Her hands were "human". She felt her body, underneath her X-Men costume. It was "human". The pain remained, and she cried out because of it. But every second that passed, she realized more and more what had happened. She was "human". She was "Anna". She wasn't a mutant right now, she was that girl whose existence she had shared with Jean on that day they met, her great secret, her great shame, and now all of them, all her fellow X-Men, the Professor-they would all know. Her soul was stripped naked, and she rolled in the dirt, howling like a madwoman.
Somewhere in the background she could hear voices with some part of her mind-the small part that was still lucid. "-Anna? It's Anna!" "That's what Maria really looks like?" "My God-it was her at the Coffee-a-Go-Go-" "Why hasn't she shown us this part of her before?" "Professor-I'll explain later-but she's having a breakdown! Maria! Stay with us!" "Jean-levitate her into the Mansion. She can't move or function on her own right now. I'm afraid of a total catatonic breakdown-" These words, and more like them, all meaningless, went through Maria Gianelli's mind as she vaguely sensed being lifted and moved. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The entire Universe consisted of nothing but shame and humiliation. At some point she realized that she had changed back to her "normal" mutant self, but she barely noticed, and that didn't matter, either. Her world shrivelled further and further, to the point where there was nothing left of it. The shame and humiliation were so great that she couldn't face them or ignore them. So she went away, and the Universe disappeared.