SAVAGE LAND

Part I: Question and Answer

By Dino Pollard

Avalon

She tries not to look intimidated. She tries to hold her ground and stand tall. But when in the presence of the man called Magneto, the word “intimidated” becomes a gross understatement of the most severe degree. Especially in the case of Alison Blaire. Still, she tries not to falter in this. She steels herself and builds her resolve up for his questions.

“I wish to know more of these… Morlocks, Dazzler,” he says.

“They kidnapped us,” says Dazzler. “Me, Hank, and the mutant you sent us to find.”

“Yes, this John Allerdyce,” says Magneto. “Where is he?”

“After contending with the Morlocks, he decided he’d rather stay in England,” says Dazzler. “Typical product of the punk fad—all talk.”

“And the Morlocks?” asks Magneto.

“A group of mutants who lived in the sewers beneath London,” replies Dazzler. “They were led by a woman named Callisto. She wanted Hank to stay there, to become one of them, and she was ready to kill both me and John.”

“You were outmatched?” asks Magneto.

“Yeah,” replies Dazzler. “And our powers were negated by one of the Morlocks, called himself Leech. So to escape, I challenged Callisto to a duel. And I… well, I won.”

“Very nice,” says Magneto. “I’m not easily impressed, Dazzler. But given what I’ve seen of you in the field, this shows that you are beginning to evolve.”

“Right…” says Dazzler. “I don’t want people to start thinking I’m Wonder Woman or anything. Callisto was mostly talk, she didn’t have any moves that I didn’t already learn from Logan, and I… I think I just got lucky.”

“The strong survive, young Alison,” says Magneto. “A lesson Callisto learned all too harshly. I find it interesting that the Morlocks just let you go after you killed their queen.”

“It wasn’t like that, the Morlocks… they knew what was going on,” says Dazzler. “Not only that, but I didn’t kill Callisto.”

“You what?” asks Magneto.

“I… I didn’t kill her,” replies Dazzler. “…sir.”

“And Allerdyce is still out there,” says Magneto. “You realize you have put our entire existence at risk.”

“What?!” asks Dazzler. “What did you want me to do, kill Callisto, kill the Morlocks, and then kill John for good measure?!”

“I expect you to perform your duties,” says Magneto. “This Callisto, she wasn’t worthy of the gift of Avalon. She wasn’t worthy to lead the Morlocks. And yet, even after you defeated her in battle, you still allowed her to live?!”

“That’s not how this—!”

“Umm… I hope I’m not interrupting something…”

Magneto and Dazzler turn as they see the form of a young woman with long, brown hair as she walks through the wall into Magneto’s chamber. Kitty Pryde is fairly new to the X-Men, a recent recruit who has yet to see much in the way of field action.”

“Something you need, Shadowcat?” asks Magneto.

“I… umm… I just wanted to know if we were adding this new guy to the team,” replies Shadowcat.

“New guy?” asks Dazzler.

“Yeah, the big Russian guy that looks like he stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad,” replies Shadowcat. “I think his name’s Colossus?”

“Colossus?” asks Dazzler. “As in member-of-the-Brotherhood-that-tried-to-kill-us Colossus?”

“A man who also helped us during the battle with Proteus in Muir Isle,” says Magneto. “Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“On all of us, you mean?” asks Dazzler.

“You may leave now,” says Magneto. “Both of you.”

Shadowcat and Dazzler look at each other as Magneto turns away from them. The two young women follow his command and leave him alone in his chambers. As they step out into the hallway, the door slides closed behind them.

“God, that guy gives me the creeps…” mutters Shadowcat.

“You too, huh?” asks Dazzler.

“That’s why I came in,” says Shadowcat. “I was doing some tech stuff in the next room and accidentally phased through. It sounded like he was gonna get pissed because you weren’t a killer, so I decided to come in and try what I could to get you out of there.”

“I don’t like this place,” says Dazzler. “Not at all. Magneto creeps me out and his followers, these Acolytes, creep me out even more.”

Elsewhere, Scott Summers knocks on the door to one of his teammate’s living quarters.

“Hey Logan, are you in there?” he asks. “C’mon man, get up. I thought you wanted to do some training?”

He leans closer to the door and he can hear grunting through it.

“Oh man… what’s he doing now?” asks Scott. He starts banging on the door harder. “Dude, I don’t have all day!”

A few moments later, the door opens up and Scott looks at shock. Piotr Rasputin, the X-Men’s latest member, steps out of the room wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. In his hand he holds a small bundle of clothes.

“Oh… umm I thought this was Logan’s room,” says Scott. “I’m sorry, I must’ve…”

“No, it’s his room,” says Piotr. “I’m just leaving.”

Scott’s eyes follow Piotr as he walks past him. He can see scars on the former terrorist’s back.

“You waiting for an invitation, Summers?” comes Logan’s voice. Scott shakes his head and walks inside the room.

Inside, Scott finds the room in shambles, as if a tornado came through here. He sees Logan sitting back on the bed, wearing nothing. He holds a cigar between his fingers and in his free hand, he holds a bottle of Jack Daniels that’s just about empty.

“Y’need something to hold that jaw up, Summers?” asks Logan.

“Wha?” asks Scott. Then he realizes his mouth has been gaping open this entire time. He closes it quickly and tries to compose himself. “Oh right…”

“Y’look like ya got somethin’ on your mind, kid,” says Logan. “Spit it out.”

“Oh… it’s nothing… I mean… I’m sorry, I just thought you were… I mean I didn’t know you were… I mean, because Colossus is obviously and you… well you… umm… you’re not and I don’t really know what I’m saying here and I’ve bet I have the wrong idea about this because maybe you and him were just… I dunno… doing something… but not what I think you were doing because you’re obviously… I mean you’re… please don’t kill me.”

Logan cocks an eyebrow as he takes another swig from the bottle, polishing it off.

“That’s… quite a mouthful,” he says. “An’ no, I’m not gay.”

“So then… what were you guys doing?” asks Scott.

“Fucking,” replies Logan. “Obviously.”

“Oh…” says Scott. “But then that means… you’re bi?”

“Nope,” says Logan. “I just like sex.”

“Oh well… that explains it…” says Scott. “…I think?”

“Lemme get my uniform on an’ I’ll meet you in the training arena, fair enough?” asks Logan.

“Yeah sure…” says Scott. “I’ll go there… and I’ll… I’ll see you out there…”

“Good,” says Logan.

Scott stands there for a few moments.

“…so you should get going then,” says Logan.

“Oh right…” says Scott. “Right… right… I’m going…”

Scott slowly backs out of the room. Once he leaves, Logan bursts out into laughter.

“Hmm… that’s interesting…” mutters Hank. He sits in one of Avalon’s central monitor stations, with Jean Grey and Kurt Darkholme.

“What’s that?” asks Jean.

“I never noticed it before, but look at this,” replies Hank. He points to the monitor. “The power source seems to fluctuate a lot.”

“What’s that mean?” asks Kurt.

“I’m not entirely sure…” replies Hank. “Hold on, let me see what I can bring up…”

He tries to find the source of Avalon’s power, but is greeted with a message that reads “ACCESS DENIED.”

“Can you get through it?” asks Jean.

“I’m not sure…” replies Hank. “I’m not as good with computers as Kitty is, but I can try.”

Hank enters several commands, attempting to get around the security access. However, he is still greeted with the same message of “ACCESS DENIED.”

“Damn…” mutters Hank. “No luck.”

“Why would Magneto want to hide information about the power source?” asks Kurt.

“I’m not sure,” replies Hank.

Jean gets up from her seat and walks out from the monitor room.

“Jean?” asks Hank. “Jean!”

“I’ll go after her,” says Kurt.

“I’ll see what I can do here,” says Hank.

“Jean!” shouts Kurt as he runs after the redheaded young woman. He teleports in a flash of light and reappears closer to her. “Jean, hold up!”

“Not now, Kurt!” says Jean.

“Waitasecond Jean, just where are you going?” asks Kurt. He teleports right in front of her, blocking her path.

“I’m going to find out what it is that keeps Avalon running,” says Jean. “Look Kurt, this isn’t natural. We’re living in a tropical paradise in the middle of Antarctica! Doesn’t that sound odd?”

“Well yeah… but so does a lot of the stuff we’ve encountered,” says Kurt. “I mean, c’mon Jean, why are you trying to find a way to burn Magneto?”

“Because I don’t trust him,” says Jean. “I can’t read his mind, Kurt, but Proteus could. And he found out that Magneto is hiding something from us. I want to know what that is.”

“And how do you expect to find that stuff out?” asks Kurt.

“Not me,” replies Jean as her green eyes begin to change to a fiery red. “Phoenix.”

John Proudstar has been lifting weights since he was thirteen. For him, this has become routine. The breathing is clockwork for him. He could do this in his sleep. For the X-Man who has come to be known as Thunderbird, this is therapy. He hears the door to the weight room open and he rests the five-hundred pound weights for a moment and sits up. He wipes the sweat from his forehead with his towel.

“What do you want?” asks John. “Colossus, right?”

“Call me Piotr,” he replies. “Or Peter if it’s easier.”

“I’d rather not call you anything,” says John.

“Do you have a problem with me, Proudstar?” asks Peter.

“I’ve got a problem with former terrorists joining up with us,” replies John. “Especially since it’s because of guys like you that we lost O.”

“O?” asks Peter.

“Storm,” replies John. “Your buddy Rogue left her in a coma. Then when O came back, Rogue killed her.”

“Rogue was one of the X-Men, in case you’ve forgotten,” says Peter.

“Not to me she wasn’t,” says John.

“So you hate me, but you follow Magneto?” asks Peter. “A man who killed far more people than I ever have?”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Magneto was being controlled by the Shadow King,” says John. “So unless Mystique had some mindfuck powers that the Professor never told us about, then you have no room to talk.”

“When your father’s a big player in the Russian mob and very anti-mutant, your choices are very limited,” says Peter. “It’s not something I expect you to understand. Not everything fits into your twisted vision of black and white, Proudstar. And just as a reminder, I’m not the one who killed your teammate. In fact, the last time we fought, youbroke my nose. So if anyone in this room has the right to be pissed off, it’s me. But lucky for you, I don’t have to show off to prove how tough I am. After all, I’m not compensating for anything.”

“And what the hell does that mean?” asks John. He stands from the bench and stares directly into Peter Rasputin’s eyes, his fists clenching.

“Think about it,” replies Peter. “I’m sure even someone as dumb as you would be able to figure it out.”

John slams one of his clenched fists against Peter’s face. The impact causes Peter to lose his footing and fall back against the wall. Peter rubs his lip and sees blood on his thumb.

“Okay…” he says. “Now I’m pissed off!”

Peter Rasputin’s height increases to about seven feet while his skin transforms into the organic steel armor of Colossus. Proudstar’s eyes go wide as Colossus lunges for him. However, Proudstar’s superhuman speed gives him the advantage as he dodges around Colossus. Thunderbird moves in close and rams his elbow against Colossus’ chest. While not as strong as Colossus, Thunderbird is certainly able to hold his own against the armored mutant.

Colossus backhands Thunderbird, and the Native American mutant flies back into a weight rack. He grabs one of the weights and hurls it as if it were a frisbee. Colossus blocks the first one, but Thunderbird hurls more and more. Soon, Colossus is forced to resort to simply protecting himself from the weights. When they stop flying, Colossus looks up and sees that Thunderbird is gone.

…until something slams against his back. Thunderbird stands above him, holding one of the free weight bars with a hundred pound weight on the end of it. He uses it as if it were a hammer to beat Colossus down. After a few strikes, Colossus grabs the bar and looks up at Thunderbird, glaring at him with yellow eyes. He bends the bar and pulls it from Thunderbird, throwing it to the side. He wraps his hand around Thunderbird’s neck and pulls his fist back, poised to strike. Before he can, however, he finds that he cannot move. Colossus looks towards the entrance to the weight room and sees Magneto hovering there with a female Acolyte standing by his side.

“That will be quite enough,” he says. “Release him, Colossus.”

Colossus lets go of Thunderbird and John moves in to strike him. One of the free weight bars slams against Thunderbird and pins him against the wall.

“Just what is the meaning of this?” asks Magneto.

“He started it…” mutters Thunderbird.

“Bullshit, you threw the first punch!” exclaims Colossus.

“You baited me!”

“Enough!” exclaims Magneto. “I don’t care who started this—I’ve finished it. Colossus, resume your human form. The two of you will clean up this mess. Voght here will keep an eye on you and if either of you act up again, she will teleport you elsewhere. Understood?”

Colossus and Thunderbird slowly nod.

“Excellent,” says Magneto. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”

“Umm Jean?” asks Nightcrawler. “I think I’m going to lose my lunch…”

“Oh relax Kurt,” replies Phoenix.

“Relax?” asks Kurt. “Kind of hard to relax when I’m being suspended in the air by what looks like a flaming bird!”

“This was the fastest way to get here,” says Phoenix. “Relax, we’re here now.”

Phoenix lowers her and Nightcrawler to the ground, and the flaming avatar vanishes. Nightcrawler’s eyes scan the area, and he sees that they are nowhere near Avalon’s main city.

“So… what are we doing here?” he asks. “And where is here?”

“I detected some sort of presence here,” replies Phoenix. “Another mind on the island. One that wasn’t mutant and wasn’t animal.”

“Is that possible?” asks Nightcrawler.

“Apparently so,” replies Phoenix. “And he’s nearby.”

“Where’s nearby?” asks Nightcrawler. He backs into some bushes and something leaps out from behind him. Kurt’s eyes grow wide as he finds himself face to face with a sabertoothed tiger with orange fur. It growls at him and crouches, prepared to strike. It leaps towards Nightcrawler, but Kurt Darkholme teleports away instantly.

“DID YOU SEE THAT?!” shouts Nightcrawler. “THAT’S A FUCKING SABERTOOTH TIGER!!”

The tiger leaps again, but Phoenix holds it back in a telekinetic shield.

“That’s odd…” says Phoenix.

“What the hell is going on?” asks Nightcrawler. An arrow strikes the spot right before Nightcrawler’s foot. He and Phoenix look up and they see a man sitting in the tree, holding a bow and arrow with long, blonde hair and wearing next to nothing.

“I guess this is that human mind I sensed,” says Phoenix.

“He Tarzan, you Jean?” asks Nightcrawler with a grin. Phoenix rolls her eyes.

“Release Zabu,” he says. “Now!”

“It’s okay… just relax,” says Phoenix. “We’re not here to hurt you, we’re just here to talk, Ka-Zar.”

“How do you know my name?” asks Ka-Zar.

“I can read minds,” says Phoenix. “I’m Jean, this is Kurt. We’re here to help.”

“You work for Magneto,” says Ka-Zar. “Tell me why I should trust you!”

“Just give me a moment, and I’ll link our minds together,” says Jean. “I’ll show you everything, and I want you to show me everything.”

Jean closes her eyes and Ka-Zar’s mind is suddenly flooded with the events of Jean’s time with the X-Men. Recruitment by Professor Xavier into SHIELD’s mutant strike force program, Magneto’s attack on New York, the Brotherhood, Jean’s encounter with the Shadow King and transformation into the Phoenix, and Magneto’s newfound generosity. Jean also sees inside Ka-Zar’s mind and discovers what it is that Magneto has been hiding.

“Oh… oh god…” says Jean.

“What is it?” asks Nightcrawler.

“The terraforming technology that makes Avalon the way it is…” replies Jean. “Kurt… Ka-Zar isn’t the only human on the island. Magneto uses humans to power the technology.”