Okay. We begin at a maximum-security prison. A guard is walking through the halls, passing a handprint-reader and a retina scan to get into the room where Juggernaut is held in suspended animation. The guard shifts back into Mystique.
Notes: Wow, she can copy personal identification signs? She's good.
Roll credits!
Scene: Ironback Mountain Survival Camp.
The X-Men, Brotherhood, and other random kids are all standing by a big yellow bus. The X-Men are wearing different clothes than usual, so here's a quick run down.
Scott is wearing a really revealing sleeveless
shirt.
Jean has a slightly more modest tank top,
and her hair is in a French braid or something.
Kurt is wearing an ugly brown shirt with
a darker stripe across the shoulders.
Kitty has these really cute short-alls.
Rogue and Evan are wearing... I dunno,
something not interesting.
The drill sergeant - er, counselor - gives a rundown of the camp.
Counselor: You will not be making walnuts,
neck tie racks, or tie-dye shirts. There will be no potato sack races or pony
rides. You *will* have twenty-mile hikes, and cross treacherous rivers with only
a rope and all the courage you can muster. Do you read me?
Campers: Sir, yes sir!
Counselor: Here's Scott Sumner.
Scott: Summers.
Counselor: Because of his scholastic achievement at Bayville High, he'll be team
leader. You have ten minutes to unpack. Dismissed!
Kitty: Oh, I'm going to be dead in, like, two days!
Evan: What about me? I'm a city kid.
Kurt: What did we do to deserve this?
Rogue: I'm going AWOL. Anyone know how to hot-wire a school bus?
Scott: Hey, the Professor endorses this place.
Jean: We had a choice. Survival training here, or with Wolverine.
Rogue: Some choice.
Scott: Come on, we can do this.
Fred: Scholastic
achievement, huh? That shoulda been me.
Pietro: You couldn't even *spell* 'scholastic achievement', Blob.
Fred: Yeah, but I *can* spell 'doomed', which is what that goody-goody gang is
after I get them alone in the woods.
Todd: I can hear it now. (breaking news music in the background) Search and
rescue efforts abandoned for missing teens, no traces found.
Lance: Hey, easy, guys. We'll beat them where it hurts most: in public. In front
of everyone. Let's go.
Scene: Stokes County Maximum Security Facility.
Mystique: Cellular bio-paralysis
fluid. Amazing. It actually stopped the unstoppable. You'll be able to move in a
few minutes. Then I'll sneak you out of this horrible prison, where - now, who
was it who locked you in here? That's right - your brother, Charles Xavier.
Juggernaut: Grr...
Mystique: Sore subject?
Juggernaut: Who - are you?
Mystique: A dealmaker. I arrange for your early release, and you bring me one
item from Xavier's possession - his mutant detection system, Cerebro.
Juggernaut: And my brother?
Mystique: I leave his fate in your capable hands. I have a plane waiting -
Juggernaut (pushing Mystique into a hole in the floor): No one takes Juggernaut
anywhere. And nothing stands in my way.
Mystique: Charming.
Scene: Ironback Mountain Survival Camp.
Here's a rope climb. Assorted mutants are climbing. Fred tries to climb, but his rope breaks.
Fred: Ah, I'm not built for this.
Scott and Lance reach the top, and take off on flying foxes. They jump down to the shore of the lake, and start untying inflatable rafts.
Lance: You swim?
Scott: Yeah.
Lance: Pity.
Lance uses his powers, and Scott falls in the water.
Evan (spikes up his arm): Hey! That's
cheating!
Jean: We agreed, no powers. Just man against nature.
Evan: But he needs his boat popped.
Jean: Yeah, well, Scott's cool. He'll handle it like a group leader should.
Lance speeds towards the finish line. Scott shoots him out of his boat, climbs back into his own, and paddles like mad.
Jean: Or not.
X-Men cheer as he crosses the finish line.
Fred: That loser
Scott lost, and you know it.
Pietro: Just because he slipped and took a bath, the guy goes ballistic.
Kurt: Slipped? More like avalanched!
Todd: He stole that first-place ribbon.
Kitty: He did not!
Rogue: You want that ribbon so bad? I'll pin it to your forehead, freak.
Okay, now we're doing push-ups.
Campers: Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty.
Counselor: On your feet! Now we're going to separate the loudmouths from the
tough guys. You boys want to prove yourselves? Do it in the wilderness, against
the wilderness. Climb Mount Humiliation and bring back the flag I planted there.
Pietro: No problem. I'll get it for our team.
Kurt: Not if I beat you there.
Counselor: It's the whole team or nothing. And to prove it, I want a snapshot of
every team member standing at the flag. You leave from opposite trails in five.
Lance: Better say your good-byes, *Sumner*, because you won't be coming back.
Scott: You got something in mind, Rock-tumbler?
Jean: Scott, what do you think you're doing?
Scott: What? Nothing! I'm just tired of these delinquents getting away with
everything while we have to play by the rules.
Lance: We don't need powers to beat you guys.
Scott: Fine then. We'll play it straight.
Jean: That's it, then. We'll play fairly. No powers. And I for one am very proud
of-
Scott: Come on, Jean!
Scene: Xavier Institute.
Logan: Cerebro finding any new mutant sigs?
Xavier: No. Just our students up at Ironback. They've been quite active.
Logan: Didn't you tell them not to use their powers?
Xavier: I was hoping they'd reach that decision by themselves.
Logan: I still say you should have let me handle their survival training.
Xavier: I gave them that choice. They seemed to think they'd have a better
chance of surviving the camp.
Cerebro: Enhanced mutant signature found. Matching with archives. Name: Cain
Marco. Location: In transit. Upstate New York.
Logan: Cain Marco? Who's he?
Xavier: My half-brother.
Logan: What does it mean, enhanced mutant signature?
Xavier: He was born with an X-gene, but it was dormant most of his life. He
awakened it with mysticism.
Logan: What are his powers?
Xavier: He's become a Juggernaut - invulnerable.
On a road somewhere, police cars attempt to block Juggernaut. He pushes them out of the way.
Scene: Ironback Mountain Survival Camp.
Scott: Come on, guys, let's pick it up. We're almost at the
base.
Kitty: Kurt, can't you, like, make yourself useful and port us to the top?
Kurt: This trip is of the power-free variety, I'm told.
Jean: Come on, just follow Scott's lead.
Evan whines about the mosquitoes.
Scene: The X-Jet.
Storm: Engage auto-pilot.
She stands on a lift platform and rises to the roof of the jet. She starts making a fog cloud.
Scene: Xavier Institute.
News Reporter: Attempts to recapture a powerful convict have been thwarted by dense inland fog. Now to Halle Robinson.
Xavier turns off the TV.
Xavier
(telepathically): Good job, Storm. Keep it up. (aloud to Logan) If no one can
see Cain, they won't be able to recapture him.
Logan: Your best defense is the Danger Room. I've got it set up.
Xavier: It will slow him down, but it won't stop him.
Logan: Do you have any defense against this guy?
Xavier: Just one - my mind. With enough psychic blasts, I can disable him...
unless he's wearing his helmet.
A train is running. Juggernaut pushes through it.
Scene: Ironback Mountain Survival Camp.
Lance and Pietro are hanging from ropes.
Lance: Hey, Freddy, a helping hand?
Fred hauls them up the cliff.
Lance: An abandoned mine shaft.
Fred: Todd's checking for a shortcut.
Todd (returning): There's a way through. Like a staircase right to the top.
Lance: Now you're talking. Let's go.
He tears down the Keep Out sign, and ignores the one saying Danger.
Scott: I can't see the flag. Kurt, pop up and see if it's
still there.
Kurt: Jean won't like this.
Scott: Do you want to win or not?
Kurt: Fine. ... It's there. We are very close. And no sign of the enemy!
Scott: Evan, spike a rope up there.
Evan: You sure? ... You look pretty sure.
Evan ties the rope around a spike and launches it upwards. Scott takes the rope to start climbing. He glances back and sees all his teammates looking irked. He offers the rope to Jean, but she passes him and starts climbing the rocks.
The Brotherhood come to a ladder. The hole at the top is too small to climb through.
Lance: We can't get
through there! We probably lost the race 'cause of you.
Todd: I figured you could, y'know, avalanche it loose a little.
Lance thinks for a minute, then focusses his powers towards the hole. Unfortunately, all he does is cause a cave-in.
The X-Men are climbing when a tremor strikes. Evan falls off the rocks. Jean uses her powers to catch Evan and lift him back up.
Evan: Whoa... I do *not* recommend that.
Scott: Nice move. That tremor had to be Lance. They're close. Jean, levitate us
all to the top.
Jean: No way.
Scott: But you just used your powers! What's the difference?
Jean: That was life or death. This isn't. X-Men oughta know the difference.
Rogue is looking down the mine shaft.
Todd: Help! We're caved in! Come on, don't leave us over some
stupid flag.
Scott: We won't.
Scene: Xavier Institute.
Xavier: His failed relationship with our father - his growing resentment of me - fueled his anger. With power, that anger became destructive. He *had* to be locked away.
Outside, Juggernaut and Mystique approach.
Juggernaut: Lay out the welcome mat, brother. I'm coming home.
Logan leaps from a balcony, but his first attack fails.
Juggernaut: You
can't stop me!
Logan: Forgive me for trying.
Juggernaut throws Logan through the front doors, then smashes some additional wall on his way in.
Mystique: Hm. I expected better.
Logan goes flying through some walls that are apparently made of paper, and Juggernaut follows, making his own holes. Mystique walks behind.
Mystique: No! *picks up mangled Cerebro helmet* That musclehead!
Repeat Logan-and-Juggernaut scene, putting them in the Danger Room.
Mystique: You
imbecile! What did you do, *sit* on Cerebro? We had a deal!
Juggernaut: I don't make deals. *tosses Mystique away* Charles. Aren't you going
to welcome me home?
Scene: Ironback Mountain Survival Camp.
Scott climbs down a rope into the mine.
Scott: Hold onto my back. I'll pull you up.
Lance: Forget it. I'll pull myself up.
And instantly they're all out of the mine.
Fred (points to the
flag): Pietro?
Pietro: I'm there. *zips past X-Men*
Kurt: Hey! *teleports*
They grab the pole at the same time, and fight over it. The X-Jet rises in the background.
Storm: X-Men. There's an emergency at home. Professor X is in
danger, and so is Mystique.
Scott: Up to it?
Lance: Let's go.
Notes: Jets have external loudspeakers?
At the base of the mountain, the counselor ducks for the low-flying plane. The white flag lands in front of him, followed by a polaroid. It's a picture of both teams at the flag.
Notes: This was more important than the emergency at home? Why didn't anyone seem to be carrying a camera earlier? And if they're all in the photo, who took it? Storm?
Scene: Xavier Institute.
Mystique: You ungrateful thug.
Xavier: Cain. This doesn't have to end badly. This house is a place of new
beginnings.
Juggernaut: This is a beginning for me. And the end for you.
Xavier: Run X13, Wolverine's run.
Enter all sorts of nasty things that would fricassee a normal person in approximately .2 seconds. Juggernaut smashes them as he walks by.
Scott: Take
a break, Wolverine.
Lance: We'll take it from here.
Mystique: Well now. This is a surprise.
Juggernaut approaches Xavier. Jean holds him back with telekinesis until her strength runs out.
Logan: Cain's helmet - remove it!
Fred body-checks Juggernaut.
Fred: Unstoppable, meet the immovable.
Kurt ports onto Juggernaut's back and
opens one buckle before being thrown off.
Lance makes a earthquake, creating a small pit under
Juggernaut and causing him to fall down. Pietro zips over and undoes another buckle.
Juggernaut gets up, and Storm uses her
wind powers to bind him.
Kitty and Rogue phase through the wall
and open the last two buckles.
Toad, sticking to the wall, grabs the
helmet with his tongue.
Xavier: Cain, I'm sorry.
The Professor uses repeated psychic blasts to
knock out Juggernaut. They've won! Both teams cheer.
Mystique: Now there's something you won't see everyday.
Xavier: I agree. It's too bad.
Mystique: Come on, boys. Let's get out of here before you're invited to a
slumber party.
Lance: Hey, Summers. As a team leader, you're only half-bad.
Scott: Maybe next time you can call the shots.
Lance: Trust me, there won't be a next time.
Scene: Stokes County Maximum Security Facility.
Juggernaut is back in his tank.
Logan: You can't
control the will of others, Charles. They do what they want to do.
Xavier: And we do what we have to do.
Logan: Yeah. Repairs on Cerebro are waiting.
Xavier: Yes.
Scott: You know, it felt kind of right.
Jean: What did?
Scott: Us and them, working alongside. Why can't they stop drawing battle lines
in the sand?
Jean: Like Logan said, you can't control the will of others.
Scott: Maybe someday they'll come around. You can be their conscience. You have
to admit, you're pretty good at it.
Jean: Shut up! Even good guys need a nudge once in a while.
Scott: Jean, any time you think I need it, nudge away.
The End!