MV1 #76 JANUARY Year 4

They are homo sapien superior - men and women whose genetic structure has gifted them with extraordinary abilities. Gathered together by Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men have been instructed in the use of their powers for the betterment of mankind. Shunned by society at large, these outlaw mutants  fight an endless battle to bridge the ever-widening gulf between humanity and mutantkind by protecting a world that fears and hates them.

"Sinister Developments Part Four: There Can Be Only One!"

What Has Gone Before: The X-Men were told that they had to join with Mister Sinister... to kill Mister Sinister?

Lying battered and bruised on the ground, Gambit thought back... back to the events that had taken him here, the events that might just be leading to his death... real death, this time. For him, and all the X-Men.

One would think that the X-Men, with their long history of owning SR-71 Blackbirds, Shi-Ar technology, a mansion in upstate New York, and the friendship of a few dozen teleporters, would be able to get around on their own. But with the Blackbird being ensconsed at Muir Isle and the British government unwilling to let it fly, the Shi'ar tech being unreliable of late*, the mansion being somewhat immobile, and the teleporters being mostly dead, unavailable, or out of the galaxy, the band of mutant heroes - or outlaws - were forced to hitch a ride.**

[*The Shi'ar tech is loopy because the Imperium is doing wierd things to it in preparation for the Kree/Shi'ar war - coming up in a few months MV1 time! -Chronologist Shawn]

[**Who says Christopher Priest is the only one who can use an in media res storytelling technique? Nyeah nyeah! -Shawn the Petty]

Quinjets, as a rule, can comfortably seat eight. This one held Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, Havok, and Kitty Pryde. A full load. But with the tension in the air, the space seemed incredibly crowded.

"Can' dis t'ing go faster?" Whenever Gambit got real stressed, his accent became a lot thicker.

Quicksilver sighed. "Gambit, if anyone could make it go faster it's me, and I tell you, we're going as fast as we can. Just relax - we're only a few more minutes out of DC."

Cyclops, in the copilot seat, nodded. "We know, Pietro. We're all just nervous, is all."

Havok raised his head from the console he'd been staring at. "Well, we can stop being nervous. We've entered Washington DC airspace and we're maybe ten minutes out from Sinister's base.

Eyes of blood, skin of bone, hair of blackest night. This is the way Mister Sinister liked to think of himself.

He watched, on a viewscreen, the X-Men's approach. There would be no Marauders to oppose them this time - he had had to use the last of his defenses to fend off a raid by a clone of himself, ironically enough. Clasping his hands behind his back, Sinister prepared for the inevitable confrontation, and almost involuntarily his eyes flicked to screen three - and he pondered the captive X-Men shown there.

If only he'd had the time, to grow some clones! But, alas... he had the genetic samples, and that, after all, is what this whole thing was about.

Nightcrawler was exhausted. He had been pushing himself, and pushing himself, and pushing himself some more ever since the Marauders attacked his team on Muir Island*. It was taking its toll, both physically and mentally. But with any luck at all, the mission was almost done.

[*We learned about it in X-Men #73! -Shawn]

Gambit was tired too. He'd been forced to tell the other X-Men that he had been a Marauder, forced to face Sinister again... forced to watch Sinister kill dozens of cloned versions of himself*, forced to humiliate himself in front of Rogue by not being able to keep his stomach still when that happened.

[*last issue, just for Mark Bousquet's reading pleasure. Oh, and to advance the plotline, too. -Shawn]

Nightcrawler was looking to get his team back, but Gambit was looking for vengeance.

Professor Charles Xavier shook his head. "Nothing. I can't... I can't reach them."

Jean Grey, his first and most beloved student, just took Xavier's hand. "Charles, perhaps there's some sort of psi-shielding, or interference from Sinister... my own powers aren't fully returned yet, but my psi-rapport with Scott is still active, and I can only barely feel him..."

"No, Jean. I appreciate it, but I have to face up to this. I'm getting old, Jean... and my powers are failing as a result."

Quicksilver had the Quinjet landed in no time. "And since we're pretending to be Avengers, the Air Force didn't even blink at our request to land."

"Yeah," added Havok, "real nice to know that if we let them know we were X-Men, they'd have shot us down. Thanks for the pep talk, Pietro."

"Cut the chatter." For once the comment didn't come from Cyclops, but from Kitty Pryde. "We've got work to do, and family to save."

Thus chastised, the octet* of mutants exited the Quinjet, jogging into the mouth of a cave... a cave that they knew was Sinister's base, thanks to information given them by Sinister.**

[* octet=group of eight. For those of you too lazy to find a dictionary. -Synonymical Shawn]

[**Confused? You shoulda read last issue! -Shawn]

They didn't have to run very far.

"Greetings, X-Men." From the shadows he appeared, a creature so vile that he disliked the light. A sinister being.

"I presume you've come for your teammates, at my double's urging. And you may feel free to take them and go home." He gestured to the side... and a holographic display simmered away. What once resembled a cave wall was now empty air, and beyond...

Roughly a score of X-Men, in restraints, on operating tables. Wolverine, Archangel, Iceman, Polaris, Storm, the others... all unconscious. Unharmed, but... it made the X-Men's skin crawl.

"And all you have to do... is give me Remy LeBeau."

He hated hospitals. Always had.

Senator John Ervin was a gentle-natured man. He was more at home in the debates of the legislative branch of the U.S. Government than anywhere else. Combat of any kind unnerved him.

That was what had made it so hard for him as the costumed hero Gravetix. His gravity control powers were slight, but they had allowed him to serve his country in another way - by stopping the costumed criminals that seemed to spring from the woodwork all over the nation.

But surprises... he didn't like surprises. That's why he had hated the chaos that sprung up after the press conference*, when he.... no. Better not to think of that, now.

[* In X-Men #74 -Shawn]

The SHIELD trooper that walked in the room looked apologetic, but firm. "Senator?"

Ervin stood, knowing he'd not have that title much longer. "I'm ready, Sergeant. For the record... I don't have any regrets."

"I understand, Senator." And by God... the trooper looked like he really did understand. "I'll need you to wear this inhibitor collar." Ervin took the collar willingly, even put it on himself. "Senator John Ervin, I hereby place you under arrest for violation of the Mutant Registration Act. I also must hereby inform you that the District of Columbia will be trying you for murder, assault with a deadly weapon, seven counts of..."

The trooper's voice trailed off as Ervin raised his hand. "I know, Sergeant. I know all of it. Let's just go."

The X-Men regarded Sinister, save for Gambit, who regarded the X-Men.

This is it, he thought, end of the road. They're going to give me up for their friends... trade me for someone they can trust. I can't blame them.*

[*Gambit doesn't think in an accent, so don't try writing in for a No-Prize. -Linguistic Shawn]

What happened then... shocked him. Only Cyclops spoke. And only three words.

"X-Men. Take him."

In the past, Sinister had been able to ignore the powers of the X-Men... and this time was no different. The optic blasts, plasma beams, charged cards, and whatnot all had no effect on him.

However, while a straight line is the shortest distance betwixt two points, it's not always the best path. Which is why said powers weren't aimed at Sinister, but rather, the ceiling above him.

Immunity to mutant powers does not always equal immunity to chunks of falling masonry and metal.

While Sinister got himself buried, Nightcrawler, Kitty, and Quicksilver rushed to the aid of the captive X-Men, unshackling them and doing their best to get them out as quickly as possible, even as Havok used his plasma beams in a more controlled fashion, melting stone and letting it solidify over Sinister's buried form.

Sometimes, it's better to just cut and run.

Once Sinister was safely entombed, those X-Men who could move got as many of those who couldn't out, ASAP. Iceman recovered consciousness and covered the rubble with ice a foot thick, and Storm summoned lightning so powerful that the cave mouth collapsed.

"Think that will hold him?"

Wolverine was the one to answer. "No, Kitty... it won't. But it'll slow him down, and it'll send him a message."

Quicksilver just said nothing, wondering what message Sinister was sending.

"Ah... guys?" The ever-pragmatic Iceman looked at the sole Quinjet sitting in the field. "We're not all gonna fit in that thing..."

Sinister punched his way through the rubble, finally. Those accursed X-Men had caught him off guard once, but...

He never felt much pain. Just a slight snap, and that was that.

Sinister stood over the body of his clone and shook his head in disgust. "A copy of a copy of a copy. Sickening." He strode away, knowing he had more work to do... and smiled.

His clone may have been a pathetic thing, but it had done a lovely job of procuring samples of mutant DNA....

It hadn't been easy, but...

Four trips, the Quinjet had taken, ferrying X-Men back from Washington. Quicksilver had left with it, saying he really did need to get it back to Avengers Mansion so that it could get a tune-up.

Charles Xavier looked at the gathering of men and women who called themselves X-Men, these children of the atom, these followers of his dream.

"My X-Men... it's time we all had a talk. The dream is not dead... but it has to adapt if it is to survive."

Cyclops clenched his teeth. Somehow, that frightened him more than Magneto ever had.

Letters! Well, letter. Well, review. But close enough! Let's hear from Mark Bousquet of Northern Bear Productions:

Well, Gambit's in it. Shawn does a nice job juggling all the balls he's got in play here, with Sinister, the Marauders, Gambit clones, half a ton of X-Men, and the issue feels like a promising start. (As long as Gambit dies next issue. ;-) It felt like a transition issue, but much to Shawn's credit, it also felt like the beginning of something. The highlight of the issue has to be his use of Rogue. Now that she's finally rid of the Ms. Marvel powers, she's got a chance to be something unique and not just another flying punching super strong hero. It'll be interesting to see where this all goes - there is the definite feeling that Shawn is trying to get things back on track. And with the mess that is the X-Men, it's not an easy task, but it does bear watching to see where it ends up.

You're telling me, Mark!

About Gambit - what, he didn't die enough last issue for you? Some people...

I've had several people mention that they like the idea of a de-powered Rogue. And I do too. I think there's room for a ton of character development there, and with Randy's establishment that Rogue has gained a little control over her powers, as shown in X-Men #73, she becomes real interesting. In fact, Rogue is going to be my 2nd favorite X-type once the new team lineup is established. Who's first? That would be telling...

As for the half a ton of X-Men... I look at most X-Men the way Kurt Busiek appears to look at Tony Stark's girlfriends. Bring them in when the story demands it, but otherwise, maybe mentioning them occasionally is all that's needed. Why? Because there's a lot of them, and some of them are less interesting than others.

So I'm paring the group down, and changing the goal a little. If you're on the MV1talk list, you have an idea as to what I'm planning. If not, well, you should be.

This is the last of the transitions, folks. Next issue the status quo changes - and is it ever gonna be a doozy!!!!!

-Shawn-