PART 3


EXT. WHITE HOUSE - PARKING LOT - DAY

Kelly and Guyrich walk out of the White House on their way to their limousine.

KELLY
I can¨ªt believe the President can¨ªt see it. I wouldn¨ªt be surprised if he has a mutant on his staff.

Kelly and Guyrich climb into the limo and slump back in their seats.

INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY

GUYRICH
Have you thought of a demonstration of some kind? Maybe use the UN Summit to our advantage. The whole world will be watching.

KELLY
I¨ªm not interested in the whole world, Henry... I¨ªm interested in America. Let the rest of the world deal with mutants their own way.

GUYRICH
Where to?

Kelly rubs his eyes.

KELLY
Home.

Guyrich leans to address the driver.

GUYRICH
Dulles Airport.

INT. LABORATORY - DAY

Medical monitors beep, keeping track of the vital signs of -- Logan, who lies in a bed in the middle of a medical lab.

In the wall beside Logan¨ªs bed is a light board on which hang Logan¨ªs X-rays. Logan¨ªs skeleton seems to be more the creation of a Deco architect than of nature. Streamlined, refined... almost manufactured.

He is asleep, recovering.

Jean Grey enters the lab. She walks over and examines the X-rays, fascinated by their unique structure. She notices what appears to be an unusually complex network of bones in the forearm. Jean looks down and runs her fingers over the traces of three incisions on the backs of Logan¨ªs hands. Jean¨ªs eye moves across his body. His rippling muscles.

Jean uncaps an IV needle and moves to the middle of Logan¨ªs arm. We cannot help but notice a diamond ring on her left hand.

Jean starts to put an IV in Logan¨ªs arm.

Just as she is sticking the needle in his arm HE JOLTS
VIOLENTLY.

SNAP

Logan¨ªs hand reaches up quickly, breaking the needle off in his arm. He grabs a startled Jean by the throat.

He is out of bed. She is unable to speak, choked silent by his grip.

He places his fist near her face. We see the three faint scars just above his knuckles.

Hesitation. Logan looks at her for a moment. Taken by her beauty. Then he is on his feet.

Jean is on the floor, gasping for breath.

Logan realizes something is missing. He reaches to his chest and feels for the dog tag. Gone. He stifles a curse.

LOGAN
Where is it?

He looks at Jean who recoils from him in terror. Logan thinks, then bolts.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Logan comes out into an empty hall. Strange. Deathly quiet. It is very sparse and modern, matching the lab we have just left. Logan runs and goes through the first door he comes to, to keep Jean from seeing where he has gone.

INT. READY ROOM - DAY

He looks around and sees he is in some sort of locker room. A row of lockers run along one side of the wall. And hanging from the other side in a row, are UNIFORMS, much like the ones Cyclops and Storm were wearing in the snow.

He starts to rummage through the lockers, coming up with
a shirt and pants that almost fit. A pair of sneakers as well.

He hears the sound of approaching foot-steps coming from
the hallway. He spots another entrance on the far side of the room and, carrying his clothes, he staggers out, still in considerable pain.

INT. HANGER - DAY

Logan rushes through the door, looking behind to see if he has been seen. He closes the door and leans back to catch his breath... which stops momentarily as he looks around the massive hanger he has entered.

The X-Jet, the stealth plane we saw in Alaska, now sits parked and quiet.

Logan walks to the plane and stops -- listening. We hear a strange THUMPING. He listens for a second. The sound picks up in speed and we realize that we are listening to the SOUNDS OF A BASKETBALL GAME coming from above.

As Logan tries to digest this, the door that he had just come through begins to open, letting in a shaft of light. Logan looks around wildly for a moment, looking for a place to hide when -

BING.

An elevator door opens in the wall of the hanger ten feet from where Logan now stands. He whips around and runs for it.

There is a button marked ¨¬G.? He presses it.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

The elevator opens on a hallway that doesn¨ªt match the rooms we have already seen at all. It is plush and stately, the hallway of a great mansion.

He hears a voice coming from a room.

As he gets closer to it, we can begin to hear:

VOICE
... until the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. With that one act, history was changed. The Christians who were once prosecuted and fed to the lions, became accepted.

Now the voice is clear as a bell, coming from a room with the door slightly ajar.

INT. CLASSROOM - DAY

Logan peeks in and sees in front of a chalk board, a massive blue furry creature called BEAST. Besides two arms and two legs, the only remotely human thing on his ape-like face is a pair of wire spectacles. He addresses a class of kids between the ages of 16 and 17. Besides the occasional physical alterations, there is an overall oddness to the group, giving way to the fact that in some way or another these are all mutants.

BEAST
So as their leaders went, so did follow the hearts and minds of the people of the Roman empire. Which made for some very happy Christians.Now he sees Logan standing in the door, looking back at him in mute shock.

BEAST (cont¨ªd)
Can I help you?

All the students turn to see Logan, standing in a hospital gown with a mean case of bed head. They start to giggle.

Logan turns and heads down the hallway to the left.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Logan hears footsteps and quickly does a one eighty back down the hallway. He turns a corner, hugging the wall. He halts. A large oak door stands down the hall. He smells something, taking in a deep breath, his head cocking to the side - listening.

He turns and looks behind him. More foot steps. Someone is about to enter the hall.

He turns again, ready to run the other way when he sees the SHADOWS of two more people coming from the other
direction. Logan is trapped. He lunges for the large oak door and bursts through.

INT. XAVIER¨ªS OFFICE - DAY

Logan shuts the door and leans his head back against it, exhausted.

VOICE (O.S.)
Good morning, Logan.

Logan, still clutching his stolen clothes, opens his eyes and sees a man sitting behind a large mahogany desk -- PROFESSOR CHARLES XAVIER, an intense and intelligent man just to look at him.

XAVIER
Would you like some breakfast?

Logan, who was prepared for anything but this, just stares.

XAVIER (cont¨ªd)
I¨ªm sorry, allow me to formally introduce myself -- I am Professor Charles Xavier. This is my school.

LOGAN
How do you know my name?

Xavier taps the side of his head with his finger.

XAVIER
You¨ªre not the only one with gifts.

When he speaks, his lips do not move. We realize Logan ¨¬hears? the voice in his head. In addition, the voice is
accompanied by the FAMILIAR SOUND OF FOOT STEPS
indicating that perhaps Xavier had herded Logan through the mansion with his mind. He does not like it.

Xavier comes out from behind his desk. We see that he is in a MOTORED WHEELCHAIR. Realizing that he is safe for the moment, Logan begins putting on his stolen clothes.

LOGAN
What am I doing here?

XAVIER
I brought you here so that you would be safe from Magneto.

LOGAN
Who?

XAVIER
A very powerful mutant who for some reason has taken an interest in you. I¨ªm not sure why, but until we find out, I must ask you to stay.

Logan looks Xavier over. He is obviously a kind man who is offering his help. Logan is silent for a moment.

LOGAN
No thanks.

Logan goes to the door.

Xavier, disappointed, just watches him go.

INT. FRONT HALL - DAY

Logan sees a grand entrance with two huge oak doors and
brightly-polished steel knobs that scream ¨¬exit.? He starts in that direction when the doors begin to open.

A moment of traffic, laughing, chatter... then they are all gone.

He gets to the doors and pushes them open. Bright white sunlight floods in, nearly blinding him.

EXT. MANSION - DAY

The first thing he sees through the haze is wings - GIANT WHITE, FEATHERY ANGEL WINGS.

A young boy, no more than fourteen, has them sprouting from his back. He is stretching not only his limbs, but his unusual appendages in the morning breeze.

Sensing something - the boy turns, and sees this shambling ruin of a man in the doorway.

Off Logan¨ªs expression, we hear the flapping of wings and
see his awestruck face following the boy onto the sky.

This only holds his attention for a moment. Logan looks across an expanse of grounds that house the Mansion. A high, wrought-iron gate surrounds the entire property.

He watches as several children play basketball across a large court.

Logan shakes his head and is out the closing door.

Xavier simply watches from his window.

EXT. MANSION - FRONT GATE - DAY

Logan heads for the gate.

SHOOK -- Logan pops his claws.

Suddenly, the gate slowly opens -- Inviting him to leave. He pauses, momentarily confused. He takes one long look back at the mansion. And then leaves.

Stay for a moment. Watch him go. Then pan across a sign
which reads --

PROFESSOR CHARLES XAVIER¨ªS SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED

Westchester N.Y.

PANNING slowly across the road to the thick woods on the
other side of the street.

SOMETHING MOVES in the trees, catching our eye. Someone
is watching. It is Toad, camouflaged amidst the trees
and branches.

EXT. SKY - DUSK

A helicopter streaks across the sky.

INT. HELICOPTER - DUSK

Kelly sleeps fitfully in the large seat. A bump of
turbulence. He wakes suddenly and looks out the window seeing the ocean below.

Kelly looks out the window again and sees water. They are flying low.

He looks at Guyrich, who sleeps as well. He wakes him.

KELLY
Where the hell are we?

Guyrich looks out the window and looks at Kelly, puzzled.
He stands and goes to the door to the cabin of the helicopter.

GUYRICH
Pilot?

No answer. Guyrich tries to open the door. It¨ªs locked.

GUYRICH (cont¨ªd)
Pilot?

Kelly looks out the window now and sees the helicopter is
closing in on an island - where, is anyone¨ªs guess. What is known is that the place is no pleasure resort.

It is in fact some sort of refurbished island fortress, complete with turrets, built right into the side of the cliffs.

EXT. ISLAND HELIPAD - DUSK

A clearing in the middle of a ring of trees at the base of a rocky rise. The helicopter touches down.

THE PILOT, wrapped from head to toe in a flight suit and
helmet, gets out and opens the side door, exposing Kelly and Guyrich to the intense wind of the rotors. They cover their eyes, cowering.

KELLY¨ªS P.O.V.

Two figures come out of a hole in the mountain. One seems extremely larger than the other.

Guyrich and Kelly step out. As they get closer he can make out Magneto and Sabretooth.

KELLY
Dear God... Dear... God.

The Pilot removes his helmet to REVEAL:

Pyro, smiling.

KELLY (cont¨ªd)
What the hell is this?

Kelly is utterly confused. As Magneto nears, Guyrich steps forward to greet him, putting arms around Magneto¨ªs neck and kissing him deeply. Then Magneto looks deep and lovingly into Guyrich¨ªs eyes.

And with that GUY SHAPE SHIFTS into a beautiful woman who herefore will be known as MYSTIQUE. Her body is covered in iridescent blue scales, which complement her lovely,
solid yellow eyes.

Kelly, of course, is shocked. Mystique shows a little hip, raising the scales at her mid-section mockingly, as the last of what we thought was Guyrich slips underneath.

KELLY
You... wha... Who are you... Where is Henry?

MAGNETO
Mr. Guyrich has been dead for some time Senator.

KELLY
You mutant bastards...

Pyro grabs the Senator as he runs back for the helicopter in vain.

KELLY
Whatever you do to me... no matter what you¨ªll make me right. Every word I have spoken will be confirmed.

MAGNETO
Gosh, I hope so.

As Kelly struggles against all hope.

KELLY
People like you are the reason people like me exist.

And with that, Mystique walks up.

MYSTIQUE
And people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school as a child.

With that, Mystique punches Kelly. Knocking him out cold.

BLACK

INT. MACHINE ROOM - MAGNETO¨ªS LAIR - NIGHT

Kelly comes to.

Magneto walks past him, holding Logan¨ªs dog tag.

His thumb crushes one last time over the curious ¨¬Wolverine.?

PULL OUT TO REVEAL:

Kelly is strapped to a metal chair, bound impossibly tight. He struggles. Mystique watches from the far side of the room.

MAGNETO
Are you a ¨¬God-fearing man,? Senator?

Kelly¨ªs reaction tells him he is certainly afraid of something right now.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
That term always confused me. As if there were something to fear.

Kelly looks around wildly, terrified.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
God after all, is often defined as all- forgiving. A description I rather like. I think what you really are afraid of...

Magneto uses his mind to move Kelly¨ªs chair a little closer. Kelly nearly loses it.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
...Is me and my kind. The Brotherhood of Mutants.

He touches Kelly¨ªs face and Kelly recoils.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
And this law. Your mutant registration act is only the beginning.

KELLY
The intention of registration act -

MAGNETO
INTENTION? Intention, Senator? We are talking about mankind here. His fear. It is only a matter of time before mutants will be herded into camps. Studied for weaknesses. And eventually wiped off the face of the Earth.

Kelly shakes his head. There is nothing he can say to sway this man.

Magneto turns and admires his machine.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
Well, we¨ªre much more giving than that. We simply want to share with you... To help you understand.

KELLY
What is it you intend to do to me?

MAGNETO
(smiling)
Let¨ªs just say, God works too slowly.

Magneto moves to the machine.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
You¨ªre a leader, Senator Kelly -- you set an example. And if more of you... were like more of us? Well, you¨ªll see.

Kelly watches as Magneto takes Logan¨ªs dog tag and places
it atop a tube at the bottom of a large spire in the center of the room some thirty feet high.

He walks toward the opposite side of the room and watches
as the tag is raised to the top of the device, through the shaft.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
Don¨ªt fear God, Senator. And certainly - most certainly... don¨ªt fear me.

A beat.

MAGNETO (cont¨ªd)
Not any more.

ANGLE ON:

MAGNETO raises his arms and a series of metal rings up from the machine platform that holds the dog tag. With a slight motion of his hand, the rings begin to spin slowly gaining in speed as Magneto controls it with his power.

The air around it ripples, gaining in intensity.

WAVES OF MAGNETIC ENERGY POURS from Magneto¨ªs hands toward the machine.

Now, Magneto has the rings spinning around the dog tag at such speed, the rings themselves are no longer visible - merely a blur around the stationary tag. Magneto lowers his hands. The machine is now working on its own.

Kelly¨ªs eyes grow wide with fear as the metal dog tag begins to glow. Dull at first... the brightly... too brightly.

The deafening whine of the machine builds louder and louder.

Suddenly -- SILENCE

FIVE SECONDS OF ABSOLUTE SILENCE.

The sphere vanishes, enveloped in a light so white, it defies description.

But I¨ªll try:

A light that seems to ooze rather than radiate. A light that fills the room as it expands outward and engulfs everything in sight.

It is liquid light. Creeping and unstoppable.

From outside the room, Pyro and Sabretooth watch through
the window. It comes through, first casting its shadows darkly against the wall, then erasing them as it swallows them - as though they were never there.

INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT

From under a door, the light leaks in, filling the room.

All through the lair, air vents, keyholes, drainpipes and the like, the liquid light fills the lair to the gills.

 

© Ed Solomon


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