X-MEN: INSURRECTION #2
CROSSING OVER: PART II
[A 3/4 page shot of
San Francisco from the air. The
Blackbird is flying up over a backdrop of towering skyscrapers. To the left of the picture we look down on a
panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
From the Blackbird Psylocke is sending a psychic transmission to Jean
Grey.]
1.
CAPTION: The
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco. 8:00
am.
2.
PSYLOCKE [from
Blackbird]: Jean, this is Team Omega.
We’ve picked up the target.
3.
JEAN: Good work,
Psylocke. How is she?
4.
PSYLOCKE:
Er…That’s the problem, Jean.
5.
JEAN: What is?
Bottom 1/4 of the page
shows Psylocke in the passenger seat of the Blackbird jet; Colossus is beside
her at the pilot controls.
6. PSYLOCKE: She is a he.
PANEL 1
Bishop is lying on a
metal bench in the carrier area of the aircraft. He is not looking his best – he has broken out in a sweat, as
though suffering from a high fever.
1.
CAPTION: For the
X-Man known as Bishop, the day began just 30 minutes ago. And already he’s beginning to think that
maybe he hasn’t woken up at all.
2.
It isn’t every
day one meets long-lost friends.
3.
Who are, to all
intents and purposes, meant to be dead.
He passes a hand over
his forehead to wipe the moisture away, closes his eyes.
4.
CAPTION: Yet in
the room right next to his, he knows that those friends – the X-Men once known
as Psylocke and Colossus – are talking.
Breathing. Living.
5.
He wonders
momentarily whether he’s still in the dreamscape.
6.
The bumpy ride
tells him otherwise.
7.
BISHOP: Too weak
to move…Whatever that light did, it knocked me out for the count. That is, if
I’m still actually alive. And if I am still alive, then why are Peter and
Betsy still here?
8.
BISHOP: One
thing’s for certain. This isn’t
what I was expecting the afterlife to be like.
9.
BISHOP: And the
only way to find out what’s going on is to sit tight and wait and see what
happens.
We see a wide shot of
the hallway of the Xavier Mansion.
Xavier is seating in his wheelchair, flanked by both Cyclops and Jean
Grey. The 3 are greeting Psylocke and
Colossus.
1.
CAPTION:
Westchester County, New York, 2 hours later…
2.
CYCLOPS: What do
you mean, it’s not Bishop?!
3. COLOSSUS: That it’s
not Bishop, Scott. In fact, if there were an opposite of
Bishop, the person we picked up would be it.
Xavier looks
thoughtful.
4. XAVIER: A man, you
say? But Jean was certain the psychic
distress signal was Bishop’s, none else’s.
5. PSYLOCKE: I read
his thought patterns, Professor. The
man’s neural signature is identical to Laura’s, no doubt about it. Jean was right. Mentally, psychically, the guy is Bishop.
The five are walking
down the corridor.
6.
CYCLOPS:
Impossible. And how on earth did she…he…end up in ‘Frisco? New York or Madripoor would make sense, but
this…
7.
XAVIER: Perhaps
it would be best to ask this man in person.
8.
CYCLOPS:
Professor, how can you be sure you can trust this man?
9.
XAVIER: The truth
must be uncovered, Scott. I see no
other way to do so but to interview our guest.
Jean opens a door for
the Professor. In it Bishop is seated
at an office desk, quite calm, as though he is at home. He looks up as the five enter.
10.
BISHOP: Professor
Xavier…At last!
11.
XAVIER: Ah – so
you know my name.
Cyclops turns aside to
Psylocke and murmurs to her.
12.
CYCLOPS: Is he a
telepath?
13.
PSYLOCKE:
Nope. My scanning shows no psychic
abilities whatsoever.
Xavier has moved
forward to confront Bishop. The others
stay behind, a little wary. Bishop is
out of his chair, confused.
1.
BISHOP: Of course
I know your name! Is this some sort of
test?!
2.
XAVIER: No. No tests Bishop. You are Bishop, aren’t
you?
3.
BISHOP:
What…?! I should be asking you whether you’re really the
Professor!
Bishop is sent back
into his chair by a psychic bolt from Jean, who gazes on him sternly.
4.
JEAN: Calm
down! If you so much as lay a hand on
the Professor…!
5.
BISHOP: You got
it all wrong, Jean! Something’s wrong
here, I’m telling you! How come you
guys can’t remember me?!
Bishop points to
Psylocke and Colossus.
6.
BISHOP: And how
come they’re alive?!
7.
PSYLOCKE:
What?! Are you bloody crazy?!
Bishop puts a hand to
his head.
8.
BISHOP:
No…wait. That woman…She told me she was
me…That I had to take her place…In her reality.
He looks up, amazed.
9.
BISHOP: But how could we have pulled a switch?! I was sucked in by the chronal anomaly
too! I should be dead!
Close up of Xavier’s
face, astonished.
10. XAVIER: Chronal
anomaly?
Bishop sits forward,
trying to reason with the professor.
1.
BISHOP:
Professor, listen. This is going to be
hard to believe – or maybe not as the case may be, but – I am Bishop. Not your Bishop,
but a Bishop from another
reality. Somehow – I don’t know how –
the two of us got switched while we were in the dreamscape. Or maybe I replaced her, I don’t know. But it happened. Your Bishop…She wanted me to take her place.
2.
CYCLOPS: And why would she want that?
3.
CYCLOPS: This is
insane, Professor. He’s lying. He can’t be telling the truth.
4.
BISHOP: You want
proof that I’m telling the truth, Scott?
Ignoring Cyclops’
amazed face, Bishop turns to the Professor.
5.
BISHOP:
Professor, scan my mind! Sift through all the memories you want, and you’ll
know that I’m telling you the truth!
Colossus places a
gentle hand on Bishop’s shoulder from behind, obviously thinking the man
insane.
6.
COLOSSUS: The
professor cannot scan your mind, tovarisch.
7.
JEAN: [stern] His
mutant powers were destroyed nearly six months ago by Erik Lensherr.
Bishop is horrified.
8.
BISHOP: Magneto?!
9.
CYCLOPS: Oh, so
you know Magneto then, do you? Interesting – or is it merely a coincidence?
10. CYCLOPS: [To Xavier] Professor, he could be a
spy working for our enemies. We should
be cautious.
11. XAVIER: I agree, Scott. Nevertheless, something tells me that this
man is speaking the truth.
Bishop looks a little
relieved.
12. BISHOP: That’s because I am.
13. BISHOP [to Jean] Jean, you have the power to sift through my mind, don’t you? Then do it!
My memories will show you that I’m telling the truth!
Jean looks to Xavier
for permission.
14. JEAN: Professor?
15. XAVIER: Go ahead, Jean. But be careful. There is every possibility this could be a trick.
PANEL 1
Jean closes her hands
over Bishop’s temples and the psychic connection is instantaneous.
1.
CAPTION: As their
minds connect, Bishop is given a brief introduction to a world so familiar and
yet so strange.
2.
A world where a
war shed the blood of both humans and mutants together.
3.
Where his mentor,
Charles Xavier, has been crippled - not only physically, but mentally as well.
4.
Where the X-Men
have made strange enemies, and even stranger alliances.
5.
Where mutants,
ones he once considered both friends and family, have disappeared into
oblivion.
Jean lets go of
Bishop; both their faces are strained.
6.
CAPTION: And when
it is done, and the exchange is over, he suddenly feels for the woman who
sacrificed her life to get him here.
7.
CYCLOPS: It’s
okay, Jean. I’m here.
8.
XAVIER: Well,
Jean?
Jean is obviously in discomfort,
but Cyclops has his arm about her tenderly.
9.
JEAN: I…I can’t
say for certain, professor. There’s so
much jumbled about in his mind that I can’t sort out what’s fact from fiction.
10.
But I did see some of Laura’s memories in
there though.
11.
And I am certain he at least believes he is telling the
truth.
12.
PSYLOCKE: Well,
what now?
Xavier strokes his
chin thoughtfully.
13.
XAVIER: I’m not
sure. This is a most confusing
complication, given the current riots and disappearances.
14.
CYCLOPS: Are you
suggesting this is related to recent events, Professor?
15.
XAVIER: Possibly.
Xavier turns to
Bishop, who is standing up slowly.
16.
XAVIER: I hope
you don’t mind if we take you down to the infirmary. You will need to rest before you can regain your psychic strength. We will, of course, need to rescan you once
you have recovered.
17.
BISHOP: I
understand. But one thing I know is
this. I was sent here for a
reason. And whatever I came here to do,
I don’t think I have much time left to do it.
PANEL 1
A shot of Rogue,
standing by what seems to be a street corner at night. She is leaning against a wall, illuminated
only by the glow of a single street lamp.
To her left is an alleyway, shrouded in darkness.
1. CAPTION: Nearby, Rogue is waiting. She
has time. Perhaps too much of it. She doesn’t know why she’s doing this. The others wouldn’t think this was like her. But she can’t help herself.
A profile shot of
Rogue against the wall. To her right, a
shadow jumps down from the top of a building and into the alley. But Rogue is showing no surprise. She does not even look towards the site of
the disturbance.
2. CAPTION: She keeps telling herself it’s because
she has nothing else to do.
3. In reality though, she knows what the truth is already.
The figure of Gambit
slowly emerges from the shadows of the alleyway.
4. GAMBIT: I hope I
didn’t keep you waitin’ too long dere, chere.
Wordlessly, Rogue
lashes out at him with a fist, but he is quicker, dodging her attack deftly.
In a flash he raises
his bo-staff and pins her arm against the wall.
5.
GAMBIT: Not
exactly the greetin’ I had in mind, but if you’re wantin’ to lay your hands on
me, Roguey, I can’t say I blame you.
Rogue kicks him in the
stomach and he stumbles backwards, away from her.
6. ROGUE: Ah’ll lay my
hands on you all right, you thievin’ coward!
PANEL 1
Gambit stumbles back
into a wall, winded…
Rogue leaps up to
punch him as he gains his ground…
But as she is about to
bear down on him he sends some charged cards bolting towards her and they
connect, momentarily stunning her.
Before she can get her
wits back, he is already behind her, his bo-staff held tight against her
throat. Rogue struggles, but cannot get
free.
1. GAMBIT: Dere now, dis
a lot more cozy den what you had in mind, non?
Her face etched with
rage, Rogue elbows him in the stomach, winding him for a second time.
2. Not as ‘cozy’ as
you’re gonna get right ‘bout now, swamp snake!
PANEL 1
Gambit falls back, unable
to catch his breath, freeing Rogue from his grasp.
Rogue turns and
launches herself at him, catching the descending bo-staff as she does so.
They both land on the
floor, Rogue on top of him, pressing his bo-staff ferociously against his
throat. Her face is contorted in grief
and anger as she screams at him.
1. ROGUE: Why’d you do
it, Remy?!!
2.
GAMBIT [panting
for breath]: Do…what…chere?
A close up of Rogue,
tears in her eyes.
3.
ROGUE: Leave us
there! While all those innocent people
were slaughtered?! Why, godammit,
Remy! WHY?!
Silence as the two are
locked in the grapple, neither able to move, caught in the heat of the moment.
4.
CAPTION: But even
as the question explodes from her mouth, Rogue knows he will not answer.
A close-up of Rogue’s
eye, a tear spilling from the corner.
5. CAPTION: That he cannot answer.
PANEL 1
A close-up of Gambit’s
face, confused.
1.
GAMBIT: Rogue, I…
2.
CAPTION: One look
into his eyes uncovers her weakness.
Rogue bends her head,
her hair covering her features as she begins to shake uncontrollably.
3.
CAPTION: Her
stupidity.
4.
Her love.
Rogue slowly lifts her
head; her cheeks are streaked with tears.
5. ROGUE: Computer…End
sim.
A large view of the
Danger Room sim ending, fading away. In
the foreground Gambit is no more than a lifeless android. By his side, Rogue kneels over him, head
bent, weeping.
PANEL 1
We see a 3/4 page
landscape shot of Bishop lying in the well-lit infirmary. He is in a bed, hooked up to several
machines. In the distance a Chinese
woman is walking towards him, a clipboard secured efficiently under her arm.
1. CAPTION: Upstairs, Bishop has problems of his
own.
Close up of Bishop’s
face – still sweating, his pupils are dilated.
2. CAPTION: One is trying to stay focused with
someone else’s memories running round his head. The other is the longer-term problem of trying to get everyone
round here to believe him.
A Chinese woman –
dressed like a doctor in a lab-coat – stops by his bedside, looking down on him
in a friendly manner.
3. WOMAN: How’re you
feeling, Mr. Bishop?
4. BISHOP: Like
someone hit my head with a brick.
The woman smiles.
5.
WOMAN: That’s to
be expected. Right now both your heart
rate and blood pressure levels are very low.
You’ll be feeling a bit strange until we get them back up again.
The woman looks down
at her clipboard as though making some assessments.
6.
BISHOP:
Er…doctor? Who are you? I mean, I
don’t…recognise you.
7.
WOMAN: Well, of course. We’ve never met. My name is Panacea. I’m
the mansion’s resident healer.
8.
BISHOP:
Healer? But I thought…
9.
BISHOP
[thinking]: Keep on thinking I’m still in my own world. But it makes sense. Xorn is the mansion’s healer back home. This Panacea must be his counterpart.
10.
Glad to know I’m
not the only one with a female double.
Another person enters
the room – it is Moira, whom Bishop is thankfully able to recognise.
1.
CAPTION: Another face that shouldn’t be
here. To Bishop, Moira MacTaggert has
been long dead, murdered ruthlessly by the mutant terrorist known as Mystique.
2.
He says
nothing. Somehow, the whole thing
doesn’t seem strange anymore.
Moira comes to stand
by the bedside.
3.
MOIRA: How is he,
Meilin?
4.
PANACEA: No
change yet, doctor. I’m at a loss to
know what the cause is. I don’t want to
try healing him just yet. We’ll have to
get him stabilized first.
Moira bends over
Bishop in a friendly, yet professional manner.
5.
MOIRA: You’re
takin’ this awfully calmly, Mr. Bishop.
6.
BISHOP: This
isn’t the first time I’ve done this.
7.
MOIRA: Oh? Strong man like you, I wouldna thought you’d
even seen a hospital.
8.
BISHOP: That’s
not what I meant.
Bishop suddenly spots
a wedding ring on Moira’s finger. The
sight somehow comforts him.
9.
BISHOP: So in
this reality…You and Sean finally got married?
Moira looks down on
him, looking shocked.
10.
MOIRA: Excuse me?
11.
BISHOP: You have
a wedding ring on your finger.
Moira leans in closer
to him, her eyes wide with astonishment.
12. MOIRA: How…how
come you know about me and Sean?
Without warning,
Bishop suddenly goes into shock, his body stiffening in a violent spasm.
1.
PANACEA: Wo de tian…! He’s going into shock!
Panacea desperately
tries to hold him down, but Moira is running for the door.
2.
MOIRA: Panacea,
try to stabilize him!
3.
PANACEA: Where
are you going?!
Close-up of Moira’s
face as she turns, her expression worried and frantic.
4.
MOIRA: The man
has all the physical symptoms of a psychic illness! We need Charles and Jean, now!
A close-up of Bishop’s
face, pupils dilated, his face lined with agony.
5.
PANACEA
[off-panel]: Oh my God, his vital signs are plummeting…!
PANEL 1
We are suddenly in a
strange landscape, not unlike the dreamscape, but far more bleak, rocky, barren
and coloured in greys and blacks. We
see Bishop from behind, looking out onto this wilderness.
Looking down, we see
that he is standing next to a wide black void in the middle of the ground. It is sucking rocks from the surrounding
landscape in.
1.
BISHOP: What…?
PANEL 3
Slowly Bishop begins
to get sucked into this hole, as though sinking into quicksand.
PANEL 4
But as he is about to
fall in, we see that someone’s hand has grasped onto his own.
PANEL 5
Looking up, Bishop
finds himself staring into the face of Jean Grey.
PANEL 6
He holds on,
surprised.
2.
BISHOP: Jean?
3.
JEAN: You don’t
run out on us so easily, mister. We
still have some things to discuss.
PANEL 7
Jean hoists him up.
Bishop looks around as
Jean lets go of him.
1.
BISHOP: Am I…?
2.
JEAN: Dying? Yes.
But you’re stronger than that.
Jean looks around
also, but is surprised to see herself walk past, holding the hands of two
Scotts.
3.
JEAN:
Interesting.
Behind them, two
Jubilees and two Skins are playing catch-ball in pairs. They only appear to have different costumes
and different hairstyles.
4.
BISHOP: What’s
going on?
5.
JEAN: I’m not
sure, but there seems to be two of everything here. Could it be…
Jean turns back to
him.
6.
JEAN: …You’ve
been telling the truth?
PANEL 5
All of a sudden,
Bishop is dragged away under the arms by two Trevor Fitzroys.
7. JEAN: Bishop?!
PANEL 1
The two Fitzroys are
dragging Bishop back towards the black hole. Bishop struggles but cannot free himself.
1.
BISHOP: Jean!!
Bishop is being sucked
back into the black hole, the two Fitzroys holding him down.
Terrified now, Bishop
struggles more, but cannot free himself.
2. JEAN [off-panel]:
NO!!
Behind the three men,
the Phoenix suddenly bursts into an explosion of flame, illuminating the bleak
surroundings in its awesome beauty. In
the middle of the blaze stands Jean Grey.
PANEL 1
Close up of Jean’s
face as the Phoenix.
1.
JEAN: You shall
not take him!
Jean raises an arm
imperiously towards the two Fitzroys.
2. JEAN: You have
stolen enough lives from the Phoenix, Technomancer! But this one is needed!
And he shall remain!
With a blazing psionic
charge, Jean glances the two Fitzroy’s away from Bishop.
3. JEAN: Leave him
be!!
The two duplicates
felled, Jean wordlessly powers down.
But looking around,
Bishop is nowhere to be seen.
4. JEAN: Bishop? Where…?
Jean is inexplicably
forced out of Bishop’s mind. We see her
sitting by his bed, her face in pain.
Xavier has a comforting arm round her shoulder, while the two doctors
stand on the opposite side of the bed.
1. XAVIER: Jean!
What is it?!
Jean touches her
forehead and winces.
2. JEAN: I don’t know…But the Phoenix came…of her
own will! I…I couldn’t control her!
3. MOIRA: The Phoenix…?!
4. JEAN: She spoke words I couldn’t
understand. It was as if…she knew this man who claims to be Bishop!
Bishop is suddenly
still, his eyes wide and staring.
5. PANACEA: Forget that! His vital signs are still dropping!
PANEL 5
Jean turns to Xavier,
her face worried.
6. JEAN: I couldn’t
help him, professor! But I found out
one thing – he was telling the truth.
His mind is a confused mesh of Laura’s memories mixed up with his
own. Bishop is two people in one!
Both Moira and Panacea
are working hard to stabilize a comatose Bishop.
1.
MOIRA: If that’s
the case, Jean…
2.
MOIRA: …Then
right now we have two lives at stake, not just one!
Suddenly Bishop goes
into spasm again – his heart monitor shows erratic readings. Shocked at the violence of his fit, the
doctors stand back, fearful.
PANEL 1
A horizontal 1/4 page
panoramic shot of a desert stretching out seemingly into infinity. The landscape is dotted by rocks, plateaux
and the odd cacti. A lone vulture
streaks across the sky, searching for carrion.
1.
CAPTION: The
Gibson Desert, Western Australia.
2.
A veritable
wasteland that stretches on for miles, from the Kimberley Plateau in the north
to the verdant Nullarbar Plain in the south.
3.
Desolate. Uninhabited.
We pan-in to see the
silhouette of a slim, beautiful, auburn-haired woman, standing on a rocky
ridge, her locks lifted by a warm desert breeze. It is the Scarlet Witch.
4.
CAPTION: Except
for the lone fugitives of a lost war.
5.
With no asylum to
seek, they have sought refuge here.
6.
In the land of
the dead.
Scarlet Witch’s face
is wreathed in shadow – her eyes are closed.
Over her shoulder, we see the man known as Avalanche advancing towards
her respectfully.
7. SCARLET WITCH: How
is he, Lance?
The same view –
Scarlet Witch’s eyes, however, are open to reveal to bright blue irises.
7.
AVALANCHE: Coming
round, slowly but surely, Wanda. But he
is still weak.
8.
SCARLET WITCH: It
has been six months, Lance. Six long, hard months. Out here, the days don’t seem to hold any
substance anymore. If it weren’t for
him, for all he means to me…I would long ago have lost myself to madness.
PANEL 1
Avalanche puts a
comforting hand upon the woman’s slender shoulder.
1. AVALANCHE: I know, Wanda. But it will not be long now.
Behind them, another
figure comes running excitedly towards them from the distance. It is Pyro.
2.
PYRO: Lance! Wanda!
3.
SCARLET WITCH:
What is it, John?
4.
PYRO: Your
father! He’s awake!!
As Pyro nears them, he
drops his hands onto his knees and pants hard.
The Scarlet Witch draws her cape closer about her, her eyes narrowed.
5. SCARLET WITCH: I
must go to him.
The three walk into a
makeshift shack hidden under the protective shadow of a ridge of rock. In a far corner, shrouded in shadows, an old
man lies on a ragged bed. Beside him,
crouched low like his namesake, is the Toad.
6. SCARLET WITCH: Is
he awake?
7. TOAD: Yes, barely –
but he’s up with the living all right.
Scarlet Witch walks to
the edge of the bed, Avalanche and Pyro on either side of her.
1. SCARLET WITCH: At long last, the psychic
battering he sustained is healed. And
we can finally look to avenging the deaths of those who died that we may live.
A close-up of the
Scarlet Witch’s slender hand taking the gnarled hand of an old man and grasping
onto it tightly. Affection and grief
emanate from their grip.
2. OLD MAN [off-panel]: Wanda…?
We gaze down with the
Scarlet Witch to see the lined, ravaged face of the man whose hand she
clutches. It is none other than
Magneto, weak, yet still alive.
3. SCARLET WITCH: Yes, father, it is I. Erik Lensherr is dead.
4. But you have been reborn…As Magneto!!
End of Crossing Over
Part II