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PART 9
EXT. TORCH - NIGHT
Magneto prepares to execute the next stage of his plan when he
looks out over the island. A DENSE FOG has rolled in, obscuring
his view of the bottom half of the Statue. He looks out towards
Ellis Island and sees that the fog is localized over Liberty Island.
MAGNETO
(into radio)
Be careful everyone... I think we may have company.
EXT. SEAWALL - NIGHT
The Coast Guard boat Magneto came in on. The giant tarp on the
boat and what is under it.
IT RISES IN THE AIR, standing upright. The tarp slides to the
deck to reveal:
THE MACHINE. The one Kelly and Xavier saw. The air ripples as
it rises higher in the air.
INT. MUSEUM - NIGHT
Storm and Rogue quietly enter the Statue¨ªs museum. It
is filled with scale models and full size displays documenting the
history of Lady Liberty. One display showcasing the METAL STRIPS
which line the Statue for support. They quickly head for an exit
on the far side of the room.
SUDDENLY:
The lights go out. Darkness.
A low guttural CROAK echoes in the void.
STORM
(whispering)
Rogue... run.
Rogue runs into the darkness, heading for the exit. She dashes
past a six foot copper replica of the Statue and out the door.
As soon as Rogue is past, the Statue¨ªs HEAD TURNS and
watches her go. The replica blinks and the eyes turn Mystique yellow.
INT. TORCH - NIGHT
The machine is rising. Logan yanks at the manacles in an attempt
to pull his hands free.
INT. OLD TORCH ROOM - NIGHT
A giant room that welcomes the many visitors to the Statue. In
the center is the old torch, placed there after the Statue¨ªs
1986 restoration. The only light in the room is a soft red glow
that emanates from the old torch.
Cyclops notices a map of the Statue on a pedestal.
CYCLOPS
Over there.
Cyclops and Jean study the map, looking for the way to the torch.
In front of them is the old torch. It¨ªs eerie red glow
is growing brighter.
EXT. STATUE - TORCH - NIGHT
THE MACHINE rises up and into the bottom of the torch itself.
INT. TORCH - NIGHT
The machine is now almost on him. Logan¨ªs struggles
turns to rage. SHOOK -- He pops his claws and frantically cuts at
the wall behind him, as the machine draws closer.
INT. MUSEUM - NIGHT
We hear an ominous LOW RUMBLE, as you hear on an overcast day
just before a thunderstorm. SHEETS OF HEAT LIGHTNING begin to roll
across the ceiling, lighting the room in sporadic bursts.
Toad darts around the room.
FLASH -- Reptile eyes -- DARKNESS.
FLASH -- A WEBBED CLAW -- closer -- DARKNESS.
FLASH -- leaping body -- closer -- DARKNESS.
Silence. Darkness.
The heat lightning continues to expose the room in rolling flashes.
Silence. Darkness.
Suddenly, behind Storm the sound of ELEVATOR DOORS
OPENING. Storm spins and unleashes a BOLT OF LIGHTNING.
The lightning strikes an empty GLASS HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR SHAFT. No
TOAD.
INT. OLD TORCH ROOM - NIGHT
ANGLE ON: The map of the statue. Cyclops watches as the
dim red glow turns brighter and brighter. He turns to look up at
the old torch -- it glows FIERY RED HOT.
CYCLOPS
Get down!
THE TORCH EXPLODES.
A RING OF FIRE wipes across the room.
Cyclops and Jean duck behind the marble map pedestal as fire whips
around them.
Move up through the CEILING OF FIRE to reveal Pyro at the
center of the old torch. His eyes wide, manipulating the fire like
an orchestra conductor.
INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE THE MUSEUM - NIGHT
Rogue runs down the hallway, she stops. The sound of
footsteps echo from behind her. The footsteps quicken from walking
to running. Rogue runs to get away as the footsteps of her pursuer
get closer.
INT. MUSEUM - NIGHT
Darkness. Silence -- except for the sound of Storm¨ªs
own
breathing. Storm¨ªs eyes dart around the room, her senses
are in overdrive.
Suddenly, SLIME drips onto her cheek. A low guttural
CROAK. Storm looks up -- TOAD clings to the ceiling.
WHAM. Webbed feet slam into Storm¨ªs chest sending her
flying into the elevator shaft. She crashes helplessly to the bottom
-- stunned.
Toad¨ªs head peers through the open elevator doors to
the level below, looking down on the helpless Storm. Toad SMILES.
His webbed finger presses the elevator button.
The elevator doors above her close, sealing her in the glass tubular
shaft. The ROAR of the hydraulic engine coming to life, the elevator
begins its crushing descent down toward Storm as
she lies at the bottom of the shaft dazed.
INT. OLD TORCH ROOM - NIGHT
C.U. on Jean and Cyclops both pinned down.
Fire sweeps around the map pedestal. Cyclops turns.
BOOM -- He fires a series of OPTIC BLASTS blindly through
the fire, blasting the ceiling.
Chunks of debris from the ceiling shower down onto Pyro. The inferno
stops.
Smoke fills the room, Jean tries to catch her breath. Cyclops
stands and heads toward the old torch trying to draw a bead on Pyro.
Cyclops doesn¨ªt see him. When:
A COLUMN OF FIRE erupts from the thick smoke, rocketing
at Cyclops.
Cyclops dodges, flipping a heavy wood table with flaming
pamphlets on it -- using it as a shield against Pyro¨ªs
fiery onslaught.
EXT. TORCH - BACK - NIGHT
ANGLE FROM DIRECTLY OVERHEAD:
Magneto on the side of the torch¨ªs flame raises the
huge
machine -- while on the other side -- LOGAN PUSHES
HIMSELF THROUGH THE HOLE -- his hands still bound behind his back,
and slams against the outer railing of the torch.
Logan looks around in shock. He realizes where he is. He looks
out at all the activity on Ellis Island, drawing a greater understanding
of Magneto¨ªs plan.
EXT. TORCH - FRONT - NIGHT
With a MAGNETIC RIPPLE of the air Magneto drives the
machine right up through the bottom of the torch like batteries
in a flashlight.
EXT. TORCH - BACK - NIGHT
Logan turns his back to the hole he has just emerged from and
braces his cuffs against the rising machine. The machine pushes
against Logan¨ªs wrists driving his cuffs up against the
top of the hole.
CRACK.
The pressure leaves the cuffs apart.
INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - NIGHT
Storm¨ªs eyes open, looking straight up.
ANGLE ON: The elevator continuing its crushing descent.
Storm struggles to her feet. Her hand presses against the thick
glass elevator shaft, it surrounds her like a coffin.
LIGHTNING strike the glass -- to no effect.
Storm frantically searches for a way out. She looks up to see
the elevator closing fast.
Storm raises her hands above her head. WIND begins to lift Storm¨ªs
hair. The wind picks up and starts swirling violently against the
sides of the elevator shaft.
Wildly, the wind whips around causing a CYCLONE within
the glass shaft buffeting upwards against the elevator.
The elevator groans as the hydraulics fight the unrelenting vortex
of wind. Smoke begins to pour from the hydraulics, which whine in
protest. At the center of the tornado stands Storm, a force of nature.
As the elevator continues its descent the cyclone pushes
outward. Small cracks start to appear on the glass walls.
She is now forced almost to the ground. The elevator is now inches
from Storm¨ªs head. The floor is made of a thicker version
of the same Plexiglas and we look up through it, the massive elevator
looming over Storm.
BOOM.
The glass walls explode outward, showering the museum.
Storm partly rolls and is partly blown from the shaft to safety.
The pressure of the cyclone released, the elevator SLAMS to the
bottom.
INT. OLD TORCH ROOM - NIGHT
Jean, having caught her breath, looks over to:
C.U. on Cyclops. He¨ªs pinned down as fire wraps around
the table -- the fire is burning through.
Jean, seeing Cyclops defenseless, stands up from behind the marble
podium. She quickly scans the room and spots, on opposite walls
near the old torch, TWO LARGE FIRE
EXTINGUISHERS.
Jean stretches out her fists and focuses her telekinesis.
Pyro spots Jean -- with one hand continuing to blast Cyclops,
he uses the other to unleash an ARM OF FIRE toward Jean.
Jean focuses as she brings her outstretched fists closer together.
Suddenly -- the two fire extinguishers crash through their glass
holders.
Like two gunslingers in a showdown.
The extinguishers bullet toward Pyro.
The arm of fire rockets closer to Jean.
Suddenly, the EXTINGUISHERS COLLIDE EXPLODING in front of Pyro.
Inches from Jean¨ªs face, the ARM OF FIRE disappears.
The COLUMN OF FLAMES against Scott VANISHES. The flames once covering
the room are gone, a choking smoke is all
that remains.
Through the smoke, at the center of the old torch, Pyro lies dead,
covered in a sea of white foam.
Jean starts choking on the smoke. Cyclops stands and motions for
her to get out of the smoke filled room.
EXT. TORCH - FRONT - NIGHT
The machine finally locks into place. Magneto raises a walkie
talkie to his face.
MAGNETO
Lights on.
INT. POWER STATION - NIGHT
Sabretooth grabs a hold of the lever for the ¨¬Liberty
Display? power breaker and pulls up. Turning it on.
INT. ELLIS ISLAND - GREAT HALL - NIGHT
The lights of the Statue come back on. The crowd of dignitaries
burst into enthusiastic applause as if it is part of the proceedings.
INT. SECURITY CONTROL CENTER - NIGHT
The Statue now lit up in the monitors.
OPERATION COMMANDER
Roger. We see the lights.
EXT. TORCH - FRONT - NIGHT
Magneto turns and opens the hatch. Magneto sees the hole
-- Logan is gone.
EXT. TORCH - BACK - NIGHT
Magneto walks over and stares at the hole, clearly out by
Logan¨ªs claws.
Magneto looks at his fingers after wiping the edge of the hole.
Logan¨ªs blood. Magneto looks down and sees Logan¨ªs
claw marks down the arm of the Statue, marking his escape.
Magneto scans the island from his high perch. He does not see
Logan.
EXT. STATUE - MAIN ENTRANCE - NIGHT
The doors to the old torch room burst open -- SMOKE
BILLOWS OUT. Jean runs out coughing violently.
Suddenly, Toad lands in front of Jean, grabs her head and
before she can react, his tongue launches at her face.
His tongue covers her face with an ADHESIVE SLIME. Jean
falls to the ground. Toad looks back at the main entrance, sees
Cyclops emerging and LEAPS up, out of frame.
ANGLE ON:
Cyclops stumbles out of the smoke filled building. Seeing Jean
lying on the ground, he runs to her.
Cyclops turns Jean on her back, ready to perform CPR. He
is shocked, the slime has now hardened to Jean¨ªs face.
She is suffocating. He desperately tries to pry it off.
ANGLE ON:
The camera quickly pulls higher and higher revealing --
TOAD¨ªS P.O.V.
EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - NIGHT
Toad looks down, perched on top of the railing surrounding the
base of the Statue -- the same position he had before crushing the
Secret Service agent.
Toad arches his back ready to spring downward. He will kill two
birds with one crushing leap.
The sound of WIND.
C.U. Toad¨ªs face static, his eyes slowly look to the
side. His head twists, looking over his shoulder. Storm stands behind
him.
Toad turns and hops off the railing towards Storm.
C.U. on TOAD¨ªS FACE. Which is horrible.
TOAD
Don¨ªt you people die?
Suddenly the wind picks up violently. Toad moves closer
-- fighting the wind.
Storm is MAD. A face we remember seeing on a young girl
in Africa.
Toad fights the gale force winds, his webbed feet adhering to
the ground. He inches closer to Storm. Toad bares his FANGS.
EXT. STATUE - MAIN ENTRANCE - NIGHT
On the ground Cyclops notices the wind howling with rage
above him. He frantically pulls on the encrusted slime
suffocating Jean.
EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - NIGHT
Storm¨ªs eyes widen. HURRICANE force winds blast Toad.
Try as he might to use his sticky feet to hold on, Toad is blown
back off his feet, catching the deck with his hands.
The piece of the deck TEARS LOOSE still attached to Toad¨ªs
hands. He flies off the deck, past the metal railing. Toad¨ªs
tongue LASHES OUT AND ATTACHES TO THE RAILING. For a moment, Toad
just flaps there like a flag.
Storm RAISES HER ARMS.
CRASH -- A huge BOLT OF LIGHTNING strikes the railing.
Toad is blown off the railing in a flash of electricity and --
EXT. HARBOR - NIGHT
Toad lands in the water. He disappears below the surface
leaving nothing but bubbles.
EXT. OBSERVATION DECK - NIGHT
Storm moves to the railing. She looks down at Cyclops and Jean.
Suddenly, the metal railing on which her hands rest BEGIN TO BEND
TOWARD HER.
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