Disclaimer: This is my prediction based on rumors and so-called scripts of the upcoming "X3: The Last Stand" movie. I do not own or claim to own any of the characters, they are all owned by Marvel Comics and/or Fox studios.
Previously on X-Men…Jean Grey died at Alkali Lake.
Alkali Lake… During a confrontation with William Stryker, Jean Grey had manifested her psychic power to its fullest potential. The power she wielded was great enough to save her teammates' lives as the dam holding back the icy water broke. The water washed over Jean Grey, supposedly killing her. By 'supposedly,' I mean that she was, in fact, still alive. Suspended in the cold, murky waters, Jean Grey thought she was dying. Her senses reached out beyond human possibilities, she could have sworn she heard Scott scream. She felt his pain, all of the X-Men's pain. "Live, Scott…Live." Jean thought as her mind faded into oblivion. Then it happened; it was like a dam gave way in her mind. That power she manifested, it was not a fluke. In surged through her even as she was dying…
"…What goes up, must come down." Professor Xavier explained to his class with a faint smile. The group of students let out a soft murmur of laughter. He stopped, sensing a powerful presence. Xavier turned from his class, looking out of the bay window behind his desk. There was nothing in his immediate vision to explain what he sensed, but it was out there. It was… "It cannot be." Xavier muttered, distressed by what he felt. Scott, I want you and Logan to go to Alkali Lake… Xavier telepathically contacted the two X-Men.
Scott Summers sat in his room, the room he once shared with Jean Grey. He looked out the window, unable to bring himself to leave the darkness. He had loved her so much and now she was gone. Behind ruby quartz glasses, he was crying. Scott, I want you and Logan to go to Alkali Lake… Xavier spoke to him telepathically, startling Scott from his misery. "Professor…" Scott began to beg, but the urgency in Xavier's voice stopped any further argument. He reluctantly stood up and left the room. "I don't want to go back to that place, don't make me go back…" He whispered.
Logan…Wolverine…was bent over his motorcycle. His faded blue jeans were smeared with grease as he fiddled with the engine. Scott, I want you and Logan to go to Alkali Lake… Logan felt his chest tighten with grief. "Jeanie." He whispered like a prayer. Logan loved Jean Grey too. Jean knew it, so did Scott, and that was the cause of the friction between the two men. Now Xavier wanted them to go together? This was bad news. However, the urgency in Charlie's voice compelled the Wolverine to do as he was asked.
Cyclops and Wolverine met in the hanger of the X-Jet. Neither spoke. Scott still held a deep set resentment towards Logan for pursuing Jean. Logan blamed himself for Jean's death, even though he had no direct participation in her choice to save the team at the expense of her own life. Both men were heartbroken by her death, but had very different ways of expressing it. They boarded the jet in silence. Aside from the pre-flight checks, there was very little said. The flight lasted about three hours as the state-of-the-art X-Jet flew from New York to Alaska where someone very dear to them had died.
Ororo Munroe stood in her loft, tending to her garden. It had been many years since she had this much time to herself. She was born in New York, but raised primarily in Africa. She had been revered as a goddess and feared as a mutant. Over the years, Ororo had fallen away from her nature-oriented beliefs and fallen prey to the fears that a dark future awaited mutant kind. "Storm?" A small voice caught her attention. Peeking up from the doorway to her loft appeared a student. The girl's eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks streaked with tears. "I think I've done something bad."
Kitty Pryde climbed the rest of the way up the ladder into Storm's loft. "What's wrong, Kitty?" Ororo turned from her garden to greet her. Kitty sobbed. "I think…I think I stole Rouge's boyfriend." Kitty began to cry again. Ororo only looked confused. She sat Kitty down. "What happened?" So, Kitty told her. "I-I was going to my math class, walkin' through the garden, and talking to Bobby when he reached over and kissed me. He was, like, telling me how pretty I was and, like, all sorts of things! I-I like Bobby and all, but he is totally going out with Rogue and that is so totally wrong." She sobbed again, whipping the tears away. "And she would, like, totally kill me if she knew what happened."
"Bobby Drake!" Bobby turned around in time to see Rogue making her way towards him. 'Busted!' He thought as she stormed towards him. "Yer cheatin' on meh! Ah can't believe it!" Bobby cleared his throat. "Ah, listen, Rogue. I have no idea what you're talkin' about." He tried to act cool. "Ah saw you, Bobby." Rogue's voice was getting louder with every word. Students started looking at the couple and whispering. "No, Rogue, not me. I…" Rogue did not look amused. "How could you, Bobby." Tears started to fill her eyes. "I's over b'tween us." She turned away quickly and rushed down the hall before Bobby Drake could get another word out.
Kurt Wagner, otherwise known as the Incredible Nightcrawler, sat perched in a tree outside in the school's gardens. He watched students as they exercised their mutant powers and played. Him mind drifted back to his own childhood. He loved to play with his adopted siblings Amanda and Stefan; however, he was always different from them. They were human. Growing into adolescence, Kurt found himself growing attracted to Amanda as she grew into a young woman. However, Amanda was never interested in him. This was when Kurt turned to religion. And his love for Amanda and the church lead him to be ensnared by William Stryker. This all brought him to be an X-Man. "Oh Amanda…" Kurt sighed. "What is on your mind, friend Kurt?" A deep voice called to Nightcrawler.
Piotr Rasputin was a young man who stood above the rest, literally. He stood about 6'5" normally and when manifesting his mutant power, well, he was a really big guy. "Just reflecting on zhe past." Kurt sighed. Piotr nodded, as if know what Kurt was thinking. "Da, I miss my family too, especially my little sister." Piotr heard voices in the background, causing him to look. In the distance, he saw Bobby Drake kiss Kitty Pryde. He felt his heart sink at the sight. Kurt watched Piotr closely. "You know, family iz important, but so is following zhe heart." Kurt gave a small smirk. Piotr nodded in silence. Kurt patted him on the shoulder, then BAMF, he was gone, leaving plumes of blue smoke. Piotr turned his attention back to Kitty. She hurried away from Bobby and vanished through the wall.
Kurt Wagner BAMFed further out into the gardens where he could be left in peace. He was still thinking about home. "Perhaps," He mused. "It iz time to go home." Kurt went to Professor Xavier in another BAMF of blue smoke. He appeared at Xavier's door and gave a small knock. "Come in, Kurt." The professor's voice called from within.
"Listen to me, Kitty, this is not your fault." Ororo tried to comfort the girl in a soft voice. Kitty's sobbing had faltered off as Storm comforted her. To Ororo, the girl was like the daughter she never had. "Bobby was wrong to have put you into that position." She hugged the girl to her as Kitty's eyes filled up with tears again. "Should I tell Rogue?" Kitty squeaked. Ororo bit her lip, this was a tough one. "Yes, you should tell her what happened." Kitty sat up and gave a sniffle. "Are you sure?" Ororo nodded. "It's the right thing to do."
Rogue sat in the den, watching TV, she was still furious with Bobby. "Ah could kill him!" She growled, brooding over how much she hated Bobby Drake's guts. Kitty Pryde phased through the wall into the den. "H-hey Rogue." Kitty squeaked. Rogue looked over at the younger girl. "Hey Kitty." She grumbled. "Rogue, listen…" Kitty took a deep breath. "Bobby kissed me earlier today. It didn't mean anything to me and, like, I'm really, totally up set about the whole thing. And, like, I'm really, really sorry. Please don't, like, kill me or anything." Kitty blurted the whole thing out, almost too fast for Rogue to understand. She watched the girl, stunned at what she was saying and the speed of which she was saying it. "It was you?" Rogue finally asked, not sure if she wanted to hate Kitty or not. She let out a soft sigh. "I know what Bobby did, Kitty, it wasn't yer fault."
Piotr sat in a student's lounge, looking out at the gardens. His drawing pad was blank. For some reason, Piotr couldn't find any inspiration to draw. He gave a deep sigh, not sure what to think about Kitty and Bobby. To be honest, he felt a little attracted to the girl. "S'up, Peter." A chipper voice caught Piotr's attention. There was Kitty Pryde, phasing through the door. "Do you use doors anymore?" He asked with a soft chuckle. Kitty grinned, "Only in public." She flopped down in a chair across from Piotr. The large Russian sat up straight, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "So, uh, what is with you and…ah, Bobby?" He asked, feeling the heat on his cheeks. Kitty frowned, her bubbly nature fading away. "Nothing, he cheated on Rogue." Relief! "Oh, uh…That's too bad…" Go ahead, big guy! Ask her! He told himself. "Ah…Kitty…" He asked, nervous to the point of almost stuttering.
Kitty looked over at Peter. "What's wrong, Peter?" He adverted his eyes, took a deep breath, then said, "Would you…like…to go out…with me?" He struggled hard with the right words. Kitty was surprised, to say the least. Peter was, well, a total hottie! He was shy, though, and she didn't know much about him. Well, that's what dating is for! "Yeah, sure! That would be great, Pete!" The young mutant smiled brightly. Piotr smiled in return, relieved that she said yes. "Wonderful!"
Cyclops and Wolverine landed a mile out from Alkali Lake. The flood waters had begun to retreated, leaving devastation in its wake. However, there was no sign of a body. "What did Xavier want us to come here for?" Logan grunted, looking across the shimmering water. Scott Summers remained silent, his jaws clenched tight. He was suppressing the desire to give Logan a piece of his mind. "Eh?" Logan asked after a prolonged silence from Scott. Scott turned to him. "This is all your fault!" Scott finally let it all out. Logan stopped in his tracks and looked back at Scott. "Come again?" The words were slow, but spoken as a warning. "This is all your fault, Logan. Jean is dead because of you." Scott roared as tears pricked at his eyes.
"Look, bub, no one knew this would happen. We all knew the risk." He said cautiously. However, Scott was not done. "It was your past and you dragged us into it. Because of you, Jean is dead." That's it! Wolverine grimaced. "Okay, now ya gone too far." Slink! The deadly adamantium claws slid out of Wolverine's hands. "Let's end this!" He snarled. Cyclops gritted his teeth. "Right now." He touched his hand to the visor. Wolverine let out a feral war cry as he raced at Cyclops. Cyclops changed the setting on his visor, unleashing his optical beam. The irresistible force was about to meet the unmovable object as the two teammates raced at each other.
San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz…
Alarms sounded, soldiers scurried around like ants. "In coming!" Suddenly, the stone wall exploded from the outside in. Someone was breaking into prison. "Bonjour." From the newly formed hole, a man in a trench coat appeared. He had long, shaggy reddish- brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail at the nap of his neck. The man had a charming smile, but his eyes were black with red irises. He wore fingerless gloves, a black t-shirt, and leather pants, complete with black boots. "It's a mutant!" From his coat sleeve, Gambit withdrew five playing cards as soldiers rush forward to stop the invader. The playing cards began to glow and Gambit threw them with a skill of a ninja with throwing stars. Upon contact, the cards exploded, causing a great deal of chaos.
Following the Cajun, more mutants infiltrated the prison. They were the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They were there for Magneto!
"Magneto's escaped!" Piotr rushed into Xavier's office. Xavier turned to face the young Russian. "Get the others, assemble the X-Men." Piotr nodded, leaving the room as quickly as he had arrived.
"Good morning, Mr. President." A large, man with blue skin and fur stepped into the oval office. He was well spoken and highly educated with a clear, professional voice. "Ah, Dr. McCoy, I'm glad you could make it." The President stood up from his desk. The two men shook hands and the President invited Hank McCoy to sit down. "I fear, Dr. McCoy, that we are in troubled times. Mutants and humans are clashing as more mutants are born every day. Worse yet, Magneto's so-called Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has just helped Magneto escape." The President shook his head. "So what can I do for you?" McCoy was not sure what role he played in all of this. "I'm sure you've heard of the X-Men." Hank nodded in the affirmative. "I want you to help them." Hank's expression dropped into a look of honor. "Mr. President?"
There came a pulse over the water. Both men stopped in their tracks, turning their attention to the water. Out ten yards from shore, bubbles broke the surface, followed by a pulsing light. The water exploded, giving way to the glowing form of Jean Grey. Her long red hair flared out about her, her body surrounded by an aura of fire. "Scott? Logan?" Jean whispered. Scott reached out to Jean. To his horror, his hand began to melt away. Jean's telekinetic powers were more powerful than anything he had ever seen. He pulled back his hand and his hand quickly pulled itself back together. Then the fire faded and Jean collapsed into the water. "JEAN!" Logan charged into the water, retracting his claws. He swam swiftly out to meet her. "Jean!" Scott watched from shore, dumbfounded and in awe of what he had just witnessed.
"Jean! Jean!" Scott rushed knee deep into the water as Logan dragged Jean's limp form from the water. What happened to her? How did she survive? And how was she able to do all this? Logan set her down on the rocky bank. He pressed his ear to her chest. Scott bristled, he wanted to touch her, hold her. Jean was alive! "She's breathing, but it's faint. Let's get her onto the jet." Logan scooped Jean up into his arms. As much as he hated to be taking orders from Logan, Scott hurried to the jet. They were airborne in no time and on the way home. Three hours later, the X-Jet landed.
Scott carried Jean's unconscious form to the examination room, Logan followed closely behind. "She seems physically fine, but her psychic powers have gone..." Xavier could not bear to say it as he read over her vital signs. Scott stood over Jean, running his fingers through her hair while Logan stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Ororo, Rogue, Bobby, and the rest of the students at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters crowded the hallway. Xavier frowned as he looked down at Jean on the bed. "I knew this would come back to haunt me." All eyes turned to Xavier quickly, hungry for answers on Jean's condition, but more curious as to what he meant. Ororo gently pushed Logan from the doorway and shut the door behind her. "Go on, Professor." She urged. No one breathed as Xavier began his story.
Xavier took a deep breath. "It was some time ago, when Jean was only thirteen years old, just beginning to show signs of her mutation…" He shook his head, remembering the bright, cheerful little red head. She had freckles all over her face. "Eric and I went to her house for the school, you understand." He looked around at his team of X-Men. "That little girl…just lifted every car in the neighborhood into the air, right before our eyes. She had extraordinary power, more powerful than I could ever hope to be! And she was only thirteen! But her powers were out of control. And she was too powerful for me to work with her…so I put a psychic block in her brain, to weaken her powers enough so she would not be a danger to herself or others, and so I could work with her." Again, Xavier looked around at him team of X-Men, this time seeking some sort of reassurance that he did the right thing. He shook his head. "I guess I never thought she was ready for her full potential, subconsciously keeping the mental block in place. Jean's extraordinary power, however, was like the flood waters of Alkali Lake, they broke through the barrier. That was how she achieved that display of power at Alkali Lake when she…when she…saved us."
The X-Men looked stunned. "Professor, why are her powers breaking through now?" Ororo asked, looking at the sleeping form of Jean. Xavier shook his head. "I don't know." Xavier said solemnly, watching Jean's vitals once more. Kitty stood close to Peter, unaware that she was leaning on him for support. Piotr put a reassuring arm around Kitty's shoulders as if to protect her. Bobby took Rogue's hand and Rogue did not resist. When the story finished, the two looked at each other with surprise and pulled their hands apart, Rogue mad and Bobby unsure of what else to do. Cyclops looked down at Jean, never once shifting his gaze elsewhere. Ororo put her hand on Logan's shoulder, listening in awe.
Elsewhere…
"Mr. Worthington, we have it at last." An Asian man in a white lab coat stepped into the office of Warren Worthington Sr. Worthington Sr. sat at his desk with the city landscape to his back. Behind him was a young man with blonde hair. He wore blue jeans and a trench coat, but no shirt. The young man looked over his shoulder at the scientist. He was Warren Worthington Jr. "Father, please don't." Jr. begged Sr. "It's for your own good, son. No one wants a mutie to run this company." Sr. replied, relatively cold heartedly. Jr. threw off his trench coat, revealing a pair of white feathery wings, bound in a harness. "Father…" Jr. began, but Sr. held up his hand, silencing his son. "You will do it."
Together, Sr., Jr., and the scientist made their way down ten stories to the laboratories. There was a medical bed with chest, hand and foot restraining straps. Above the bed were adjustable examination lights. Doctors stood around the bed, awaiting Warren Worthington Jr. "Get over there, son." Sr. ordered. Jr. looked at his father, then the bed. "No." He spread his wings, the harness exploding apart. "I will not give up my wings." Warren Jr. took a running leap through the window. The glass flew out about his, but his great wings snapped open and he was air borne.
The young Angel flew away from his oppressing father, away from the so-called cure for mutants.
"Hello, Margali?" Kurt Wagner talked into a pay phone upon his arrival in Germany. To any observers, he looked like a disfigured human in a trench coat and hat. Margali was Kurt's foster mother who adopted him when he was an infant. She raised him beside her two children in the circus. That was how Kurt became the "Incredible Nightcrawler". He was a natural at acrobatics, flexible and agile helped him more often than not. "I'll be there as soon as possible!" She said before hanging up.
Kurt waited for over three hours before Margali and Amanda showed up. "Margali, Amanda!" He called to them. Amanda, Kurt thought. She was an angel. "Kurt!" Tears sprang from his foster mother's and sister's eyes as they rushed up to hold him. "Oh God, we thought you were dead!" Mother and daughter took turns kissing and hugging him. He had vanished without a trace five years ago. They couldn't file a missing person's report, Kurt was a mutant! They would kill him before trying to save him. So, they lived on in fear, with no idea that he was alive and well.
"Kurt, I…" Amanda started to speak. Amanda was a woman with long, strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She had a brilliant smile, Kurt remembered. And her laughter was like music. She brushed some tears away. "I thought I'd never see you again." Tears rolled down her face. "It's okay, Amanda. I'm here now." Kurt reached out and whipped away the stray tears. She smiled up at her foster brother and he smiled back. Amanda reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug, almost afraid that he might disappear. Slowly, Kurt wrapped his arms about Amanda's slender form. "I've missed you as well, Amanda."
"X-Men, Magneto has escaped his prison with the aid of some powerful mutants." Xavier began. "I'm afraid his ideal future has become very popular with the mutant community, so he has gained many supports." The gathered team of X-Men, reluctantly gathered in the briefing room after overseeing Jean's arrival, listened intensely. The arrival of their lost teammate had filled them with hope, but this news was the last thing they expected to hear. "However, we have the full support of the oval office and the President has sent us some assistance." The sliding door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a large, furry blue man. "X-Men, this is Dr. Hank McCoy." Dr. McCoy cleared his throat, "Please, call me Beast." Rogue leaned over to Wolverine, "Maybe he's related to the elf." Wolverine smirked and shook his head, trying not to encourage the girl.
"Beast will be assisting us in our mission. Magneto is set on bringing about his ideal future and we are all that stands in his way of achieving it." Xavier finished. Hank…Beast…looked around the room. These were the X-Men? Half of them were no more than children! How much power did they truly possess? He cleared his throat again. "I've brought some reinforcements to help us," He began. The door slid open once more, revealing a handful of mutants. One looked like a werewolf from a horror movie known as Wolfsbane, another was a woman with bright green hair called Polaris, then there was Strong Guy who was large and muscular. Another woman looked like a ninja with purple hair named Psylocke, she was "on loan" from the UK. Havok was the brother of Scott Summers, but neither acknowledge the other. Finally, there was Sunspot, the strong arm of the team. Together, the mutants may have a chance to stop Magneto and his Brotherhood. "Lets go."