X-MEN #31
TRANSFORMING TOWNS PART 4
By:Bodhi Ouellette
Editors note: Thanks for Jeremy for coming up with the name of the "Walking Town"! You're my hero!
Virginia; Inside of the "Walking Town":
Darkness. That was what the inside of the "Walking Town" was like. The sound of the battle was barely even audible. Instead, the sounds of "thump", "thump", "thump" echoed throughout the very few opened parts of the "Walking Town". Yet darkness did not cover the entirety of the inside. A huge open spaced in the chest, stood a Brotherhood Mutant, who had fused itself with the machine he deployed in that town of West Virginia. A few small lights illuminate off from the machine, which was the only source of any light in their. Big tubes spread around the inside, with two big tubes hanging up on the top, and through the rock. The Brotherhood's eyes were closed, yet he could detect and hear things. He turns his head back around and stares at the darkness.
Brotherhood Mutant: (weekly) I can feel you in here...
Kitty then phases herself back, making her visible.
Shadowcat: You need to stop this, right now.
Brotherhood Mutant: (weekly) It's useless to attack me... what is your name?
Shadowcat: Kitty... Kitty Pryde. And you are?
Brotherhood Mutant: (weekly) Sam.
Shadowcat: Well then, Sam. Are you aware of what you've just done? How you killed hundreds upon thousands of people by turning this entire town into this... whatever this thing is called?
Sam: (weekly) This thing right here is just the first of the Animus...
Savage Land:
In an empty room, a table with about four chairs are set up, with four Brotherhood members playing a game of poker. One of these members, Sheriff, puts down a full deck of straight flush cards. The other Brotherhood members, including Drift, all yell out in disbelief.
Sheriff: I'm on a roll tonight!
Brotherhood #1: God damnit! I just gave away my full collection of baseball cards!
Brotherhood #2: I told you you wouldn't be able to beat Sheriff. He's too good at this game for anyone to defeat him at.
Sheriff: You're damn right about that! (Turns to Drift) What's the matter? Still mad at me for winning your new phone?
Drift: No, I'm looking at the news.
The rest of the Brotherhood look at the television they've set up. On the screen is of a news report about the Animus, as it travels across Virginia, while the X-Men battle both it, and the rock monsters it's created. The look on Drift's face was in distaste.
Sheriff: Oh, no way! Look at that! Oh, man, Sam is killing it out there!
Brotherhood #1: I guess we can call this a major success for us. When's Magneto gonna make that broadcast video?
Sheriff: I think it's soon. But it all depends on when Sam brings that hunk of rock over to D.C.
Drift: Hang on, guys, I gotta go to the bathroom before we start this next game.
Sheriff: You'd better hurry up then? Cause by the time you come back, I'd probably win another four rounds, am I right guys?
Brotherhood #1: (long beat) Screw you.
Drifit exits out of the room, and turns left to head down a hallway. The boys bathroom was at the end of the hallway, and right beside it was a control room. The doors were open, and Drift couldn't help but peek inside of it. He notices a bunch of computer monitors displaying the Animus and it's functions. Another screen shows a bunch of Animus' in a set of 20 separated in two lines. The screen next to it shows a map, with dots on the mark for many capital cities from different countries. Drift eyes widen even more when he sees a counter that is clocking down at two days.
Drift: Oh, no.
The sounds of a gun clocking is heard, as Drift turns around and sees the Sheriff, pointing his gun at him.
Sheriff: What's the matter, huh?
Drift: This is what we've been planning? This?
Sheriff: Yeah. It's gonna be brilliant. I mean, we finally get to show the world just how powerful Mutant supremacy. So what's the matter?
Drift: I can't do it. I don't want to be known as being apart of a group of mutants who killed hundreds just to show that mutants are superior.
Sheriff: Then why in the hell did you join up with Magneto?
Drift: Because he promised me a life where we won't be discriminated for being different. He promised all of us that we wouldn't have to live like we're meaningless. But to kill hundreds... to rule like dictators... I can't do that, you know?
Sheriff: (beat) Well, ain't that sad. And to think I was starting to like you. Oh, well. I'll be enjoying your phone that I just won.
Quickly, Sheriff pulled the trigger to his gun. Unexpectedly, Drift quickly dodged it, as he ricochet into Sheriff, and continued to do it at a fast speed until he turned the corner. Sheriff gets back up as he quickly sprints off, but not before he goes to notify the other Brotherhood members.
Sheriff: Drift's getting away! We gotta catch him!
Brotherhood #2: What? Why-
Sheriff: -Shut up, and follow me!
Virginia; Inside of the Animus:
Sam: (Cont, weekly) And it will be the first of many...
Shadowcat: Of many?! You mean there's more of these?
Sam: (weekly) Yes...
Shadowcat: Ok. Now I know this has to end. Now.
Sam: (weekly) I don't think so...
A large chunk of pointed rock comes out from the wall, and threatens to hit Shadowcat. She quickly uses her phasing powers to go right through the piece of rock.
Shadowcat: (On coms) Rogue! Smash! Now!
Busting through the back of the Animus was Rogue, and behind her was the rest of them (Pixie, Marvel Girl, Thunderbird, Psylocke). Pixie drops Thunderbird, while Marvel Girl drops Psylocke.
Sam: (weekly) No... I won't, let you stop, meeeeeeeeeeeee...
As Psylocke charges at Sam, she gets knocked back by an invisible force only seen with direct contact. An invisible force field. Thunderbird helps Psylocke back up.
Sam: (weekly) I can't focus on multiple things at once. Must... send... force...
The entire cave starts to shake, as pieces of rock detach out of the wall and begin sending themselves to the X-Men. The focus on what Sam was doing was distracting him from his main objective; heading to Washington D.C.
But the speed of the Animus began to slow down. And the X-Men (the ones that were outside) notices this as well.
Wolverine: (Com.) Are any of you guys noticing this thing slowing down? And how there's less rock monsters coming at us?
Beast: (Com.) I'm noticing it too. Whatever they're doing in their, it's making this thing go slower than the speed it was at, and the less spawning of the rock monsters.
Wolverine: (Com.) Then now's our chance to do some damage to the feet. All heavy hitters, I need you to wreck the ankles.
Colossus, Ruby Summers, Gentle, Armor, and Warpath began using their brute strength to begin knocking chunks of earth off of the Animus.
Back inside, rather than having a battle of strength, here there is a battle of agility. Psylocke was dodging a couple of speeding rock chunks that were hurtling towards her. She uses her sword and creates a psychic layer over it, and uses it to cut a rock in two pieces. One of the pieces hits one of the tubes on the ground, bursting it, and giving Sam a lot of pain, as he screams from it, grabbing his right arm. Rachael then gets a com from Wolverine.
Wolverine: (Com.) Whatever you guys just done, this thing's arm just stopped working.
Rachael then looks over at Psylocke again, when she sees the broken tube that fused, and she connects the dots.
Marvel Girl: The tubes! Psylocke! Make some psychic knives and cut all these tubes down!
Sam: No... no, no, NOOOOO!
More rocks come out of the wall, and come plundering at Psylocke. She does her best to slash down most of the rocks, but when more begin coming, she can't keep up. Thunderbird tackles Psylocke down as a rock threatened to hit her right smack in the face. Psylocke looks back at Thunderbird, who are both now positioned in an uncomfortable matter.
Psylocke: Why, Neal. I thought you were a married man.
Thunderbird: I'm a married man, but that doesn't mean I can't save people like you.
Marvel Girl: *Ahem*
The two both quickly get back up, as they both dodge another rock that hurled right at them. Psylocke made some psychic knives and cut's the tubes on the other side of the cave. Sam screams again.
Sam: My arms! I can't feel my arms!
Marvel Girl notices this act of plea, and looks above him to see Rogue beginning to pull out the tubes above.
Marvel Girl: Rogue! No!
But it was too late. Rogue had ripped out the tubes from the top of the cave. This was the final nail in the coffin, as Sam began to scream in panic.
Sam: My eyes! I can't see! Ahhh!
The Animus fell to it's knees. It slowly tipped towards the side as it began to fall back down on the Earth. By this time, the rest of the X-Men had evacuated the entire Animus, including the ones inside. This huge piece of land, that once was just a city the day before, was now left as a hunk of rock. Rock that now had the blood of one particular mutant.
The X-Men looked down upon Sam as he struggled to try to move anything. His eyes were wide open, yet he couldn't see anything, and he couldn't feel his arms.
Sam: (weekly) I can't... I can't see... someone... help me... please...
Psylocke looks over at Wolverine.
Psylocke: You know what to do.
Wolverine: (turns to Psylocke) I'm not putting this kid down, like a dog.
Psylocke: What choice do you have? We might as well end his suffering.
Wolverine: I'm not giving up. I'm not letting anyone kill him.
Sam: Please... just... finish...
Wolverine: (long beat) Do what you need to do. But first, I want Rachel to read this kid's mind. I want to know what he knows.
Rachel kneels down as she read the mind of Sam. After another moment, she stood back up facing Wolverine.
Marvel Girl: Done. And just to let you know-
Shadowcat: - His name was Sam.
Wolverine: Then we're done here... Betsy.
Psylocke pulls out her katana and stabbed the kid in the chest, as Wolverine watched helplessly as she did it. Wishing that it didn't have to come to it. But what choice could they have made? He killed thousands, and in returned, he payed the price with his own life. It was the price you'd have to pay when you worshipped Magneto...
New Utopia:
A jet lands on the front lawn of the floating city. The doors open, and out came Xavier's X-Men team, with Xavier himself, along with the New Mutants standing outside waiting for them.
Professor X: I take it the mission was a success.
Havok: Yes. We learned some information about what Magneto plans to use with the "Animus" that was powering the colossus.
Colossus: No relations.
Professor X: So have we.
Beast: What do you mean by that?
Professor Xavier moves out of the way to reveal Drift is now with Xavier.
Professor X: He came to us about some things concerning Magneto.
Drift: I know what Magneto's plan is.
Wolverine: So do we, kid. But I guess you got some additional info that we didn't pick up...
Well, wasn't that something? Probably not, but what is special, is that we've just hit the crossroad now. Magneto's plans are known by the X-Men, but not to the whole world... yet. But the events with the Animus in Virginia leads to a call within the United Nations... and the X-Men have been invited. Check back next week to find out what happens next!