THE CHYNA SYNDROME

By Ryan Krupienski

Westchester County, New York.

This is the location of the Xavier Institute For Higher Learning, also the home and headquarters of one faction of the X-Men. Warren Worthington III and Betsy Braddock are not currently part of that faction.

Months ago, Charles Xavier and Scott Summers had an argument, an argument that divided the X-Men into two separate teams, each with its own way of going about achieving Xavier’s dream of peace between humans and mutants. Warren and Betsy decided to side with Scott, and have not been back to the Xavier Institute since. Until today…

Warren and Betsy are not here to rejoin Xavier’s X-Men, but rather are here to ask for Xavier’s help in a matter that is hitting Warren hard. Worthington Industries is in danger of being taken over by a woman known as Melissa Bennett, who has in fact worked for the company for years. There are eight men and women, minus Warren and Melissa, who sit on the company’s board. Xavier is one of them. Warren must convince Xavier, and at least four of the other board members, to vote in his favor… or Worthington Industries could become Bennett Industries.

As they drive up to the mansion in one of Warren’s white stretch limousines, Warren and Betsy feel a bit on edge. How will the other X-Men react to their appearance at the mansion? Will Xavier understand Warren’s situation, look past the fact that Warren ‘betrayed’ him, and vote in his favor? Or is this whole meeting just a disaster waiting to happen?

The limo stops in front of the mansion’s front doors, and the engine is turned off. The driver exits the limo, and opens the door for Warren and Betsy. The two X-Men get out of the car, and walk up to the doors of the mansion. Warren rings the doorbell, and stands with Betsy for a moment to wait for someone to answer.

No one does.

Warren rings the doorbell again, and after a moment, begins pounding on the door with his fist.

“Hello?” he says loudly, “Anybody home?”

Warren is surprised. “Why is it taking so long for someone to answer?” he asks.

“Warren, they’re probably not home. It’s possible that they’re tied up somewhere. We can probably come back later, or in a few days even. We have nearly a month before the meeting, and other board members to sway to our side,” Betsy says. She walks back towards the limo, while Warren remains at the doors.

Betsy turns to Warren and says, “Warren, are you…?”

She stops in mid-sentence, and starts looking around. She walks away from the limo, and towards the forest of large trees that cover much of the estate’s ground.

‘What was that?’ she thinks to herself.

Warren walks swiftly towards Betsy. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“I sensed something, Warren… something dark…” Betsy replies.

“You ‘sensed’ something? Is your telepathy back?” Warren asks.

Betsy continues towards the forest, not turning to face Warren. “No, it’s not. It’s something else I gained from my exposure to the Crimson Dawn, something that allows me to sense the darkness emanating from others. This darkness I feel… it’s strong. And it’s close,” she replies.

‘Here we go again… the last time she ‘sensed’ darkness in someone, we ended up battling Maggott on the streets of Manhattan!’ Warren thinks to himself. ‘Just days ago, I thought she was finally starting to act like herself again… but now, she’s hunting someone who’s ‘dark’ inside, using another one of her abilities gained from the Crimson Dawn. I’m beginning to think there’s more to the Crimson Dawn than any of us know… and I have suspicions as to how it’s affecting her, but I pray I’m wrong…’

Meanwhile, dozens of feet away, in the aforementioned forest on the grounds of the Xavier Institute…

She slowly makes her way towards the large mansion in her sights, jumping from tree to tree in an effort to stay hidden. If the X-Men have security systems set up on these grounds, they’re either very ineffective, or just not working, because she’s easily made it this far.

Her name is Chyna. She recently learned a dark secret, and escaped from the man named Sinister, who is not who she thought he was. Her main goal since escaping has been to find the X-Man known as Cyclops, and, to her knowledge, he still resides at the Xavier Institute.

Of course, that’s not currently the case.

‘I am close… a bit too close! According to Sinister’s files, the X-Men have access to alien technology, which they utilized in several ways, especially when it came to security. Perhaps they know I am here, and are luring me in… well, no matter. I am not here to harm them, and if I… what?’

Chyna stops where she is, as her eyes catch site of the approaching Betsy Braddock. ‘That is the X-Man known as Psylocke! Does she know I’m here?’

Not far away, Betsy continues her advance towards Chyna’s location. “I know you’re here somewhere, dark one. Come out from wherever you’re hiding, and you shall suffer minimal harm!” she announces.

‘Dark one…?’ Chyna thinks, puzzled. She gets down from the tree she’s in, and starts walking swiftly towards Betsy, until she reaches her.

“What…? You! You’re the one I sensed!” Betsy exclaims, as Chyna approaches her.

“I am not here to harm you, or your fellow X-Men. I must speak with…”

Betsy ignores Chyna’s words, and instantly uses her Crimson Dawn abilities to transform her pedestrian clothes into her X-Men uniform.

“You’ll speak to no one! I sense darkness within you… and if you take one more step, I’ll make sure that you don’t live to regret it!”

Warren makes his way to Betsy’s side, but not in time.

“Oh great, here we go again…”

Meanwhile, thousands of miles to the West, at the Worthington Estate in the city of Chicago…

Hank McCoy, a.k.a. the Beast, and Cecilia Reyes are X-Men. Like Warren Worthington III and Betsy Braddock, they also chose to side with Cyclops when the X-Men were divided. Presently, they are on the basement level of the Worthington mansion, in a gymnasium which, as is about to be revealed, has become more than a simple gym.

“So, Hank… is this your ‘mega cool suprise’, as you put it?” Cecilia says, looking around the white-walled gymnasium. “Just looks like a plain old gym to me…”

Beast, who’s standing at a computer monitor on the wall not too far away from Cecilia, is looking quite pleased with himself. “No, this is not the suprise, dear Cecilia,” he starts, “this is!”

Before Cecilia can say another word, holographic images of Riptide and the Griffin appear out of thin air. They both remain still, while Hank continues typing on the keypad that’s right below the monitor.

“What the…?” Cecilia says, a bit surprised. “Where’d those come from?”

“Cecilia, these are holographic projections of the Marauder known as Riptide, who’s on the left, and an old enemy of mine known as the Griffin. Spiked tail, bird wings, lion claws, super strength… he’s just nasty,” Beast says sarcastically. “I created these two using some Shi’ar technology that I took with me after my last trip to Muir Island. Moira does have quite a bit of that stuff lying around…”

“Moira?” Cecilia inquires.

“I’ll tell you all about her later, Cecilia,” Beast replies. He clicks a few more buttons of the keypad, then walks over to Cecilia’s side. “Now it’s time for a training session against these two… and maybe a few others later on. Now, be warned, Cecilia, although these are no more than holographic projections, they are still dangerous, and they can hurt you…”

“But how? If they’re holograms…?”

“The holograms are hard-light energy spectrums which, for all intents and purposes, are as real and as dangerous as any actual opponent. Way advanced stuff, my dear,” Beast replies. “So, are you ready?”

“I’ll be okay… as long as my powers don’t go nuts!” Cecilia says, acting as if she’s ready for anything.

“Don’t worry, Cecilia, you’ll do fine. Your force-field will protect you from harm, and this is the perfect way to hone the new abilities you gained after Lodestone tampered with your powers,” Beast replies.

“Yeah, if you say so… I just can’t believe that I was taken down by Lodestone! From what you told me, she’s one of biggest losers in the super-villain hall of shame,” Cecilia says.

Beast laughs a little. “Well, yes, I suppose she is. I met Darkhawk back when the Avengers were regrouping, and he told me much about his adventures and such, including an encounter with Lodestone. Fret not, Cecilia, for even the mighty, experienced Darkhawk fell before the lowly Lodestone! It happens to the best of us,” he reassures.

“Well, when you put it that way, I don’t feel so bad,” Cecilia replies with a smile.

“Okie dokie then, let’s get ready to rumble!” Beast exclaims. “Computer, activate holographic projections.”

In an instant, the projections of Riptide and the Griffin start dashing towards Cecilia and Beast. Beast proceeds to grab the Griffin’s tail and throw it across the room, while Cecilia’s translucent form activates itself immediately after a horde of shurikens blasted her way, courtesy of Riptide.

‘What? I’m not feeling any pain!’ Cecilia thinks to herself, as Riptide’s shurikens bounce off of her. ‘This is incredible… for once, something good came out of going into battle! Now, I’ll just…’

“INCOMING!!!” Beast yells at the top of his lungs, as his body hurtles in the air towards Cecilia.

“Hank!” Cecilia exclaims. She immediately thinks about saving the blue-furred X-Man, and before she even knows what she’s done, her force-field has extended from her body to create a slide that catches Beast, and lowers him to the floor slowly and safely.

“Did I… did I just do that?!” Cecilia says in awe, helping Beast to his feet.

As Beast gets to his feet, he replies, “Yes, it would appear you did! Now, let’s continue in our quest to take down these…”

Before Beast can say another word, a swarm of metallic squirrels begin encircling him and Cecilia. The two X-Men look to their right, only to see a woman wearing a squirrel-esque costume, pointing at them.

“Get them, my furry friends!” she yells.

“You have got to be kidding,” Cecilia says, looking at the squirrel woman with one eyebrow raised. “Who’s this nutball? No pun intended…”

“That would be Squirrel Girl… although I don’t remember her ever saying anything to the effect of ‘Get them, my furry friends!’ Of course, I didn’t exactly install personality chips for these holographic projections,” Beast says innocently. “So don’t be surprised if Sir Riptide over there has the urge to Herbal!”

The next moment, the robotic squirrels attack Cecilia and Beast, crawling all over them. Riptide and Griffin join in the attack as well, while Squirrel Girl keeps a slight distance. Cecilia’s translucent form extends all around her body, keeping her attackers at bay, while Beast picks up several of the squirrels and crushes them with his hands.

“RRRAARGH!” Griffin roars, leaping in the air at Beast.

Beast is otherwise occupied, and can’t react in time to evade Griffin’s attack. Instead, Cecilia uses her forcefield, extending it over and above Beast’s body, swatting Griffin out of the way.

“Why thank you, Doctor Reyes!” Beast says, leaping to Cecilia’s side. “It seems you’re coming a long way with your powers!”

“Yeah, I guess so… I just think of what I want to do, and it happens! Take this, for example…”

Cecilia’s force-field extends around Beast’s and her own body, preventing anyone or anything from reaching them. “See? I just thought of doing that, and it happened!”

“Impressive indeed,” Beast replies, “but, we should really get back to battling these nasty little rodents. Shall we?”

“Let’s get to it!” Cecilia says confidently. She removes the forcefield from around her and Beast, and the two charge at their enemies, ready to kick some squirrel behind.

Meanwhile, on the streets of Chicago, two more of the X-Men, Scott and Jean Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops and Phoenix, are having some fun of their own. Well, at least Jean is…

The temperature is about ninety-three degrees, but the humidity makes it feel like well over a hundred. Luckily, Jean’s equipped with telekinetic powers, and can shield herself and her husband from the sun’s scorching rays.

Scott and Jean walk down the busy street, with cars, buses, people, and lots of noise all around them. Chicago reminds them of New York City in a way, while still maintaining its own… ‘flavor’.

The pair have never been happier in their lives, as far as they can remember. They just learned that Jean is pregnant with twins, which is the best news they’ve heard in a long time. But while Jean contemplates the joys of motherhood endlessly, Scott struggles with a nagging thought he’s had since the pregnancy was announced – the thought of how being a father will affect his life as an X-Man.

Months ago, Scott decided it was time to take the X-Men in a new direction. Many of his friends sided with him, and they went off to take a more ‘direct’ approach in dealing with menaces to society. Since that time, his team of X-Men has stopped a major hostage situation at a bank, and defeated the notorious Masters of Evil alongside the Thunderbolts.

Now that Scott’s a budding father, he has new responsibilities, and juggling those responsibilities with being the leader of the X-Men… it may not work out. He’s contemplated leaving the X-Men in the hands of his best friend, Hank McCoy, but… he can’t help but think that by leaving this team, this team that is dedicated to his ideals, that he’s betraying them. He doesn’t know what to do, and it’s tearing him up inside.

Jean can normally sense Scott’s problems instantly due to the psychic rapport they share, but now that she’s pregnant, she’s too caught up in planning for the babies’ arrival. Scott doesn’t want to burden Jean with any of his problems anyway, not when she’s this happy.

“Scott… I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen! We’re finally going to have children of our own!” Jean says happily, tightly holding Scott’s hand.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Scott replies, smiling, “but if any Askani warrior from the future tries to take them away…”

Jean is a bit surprised. “Is that a joke, Mister Summers?”

“What? Don’t look at me like that! I’m not as boring as people may think,” Scott replies with a grin.

Jean reaches up and kisses him playfully, “Oh, I know you aren’t,” she giggles.

The two continue walking in silence for a few minutes, until Scott thinks of something more… joyful to talk about.

“So Jean… have you thought about any names for the kids?” Scott asks. “I know we don’t know if it’s two boys, two girls, or a boy and a girl, but I think we can figure out what we want to name them in any case.”

Jean ponders for a moment. “Hmmm… well, I haven’t thought about it much. Although, I know that if we have at least one girl, I’d like to name her Sara… after my sister.”

Jean lowers her head, now not as happy as she was before.

“I think that’d be perfect,” Scott says in a consoling tone, “Sara Summers. Perfect.”

“I still… I still think about her all the time, Scott. She was the first person I ever told about my powers, and she never judged me because I was mutant. She loved me unconditionally, and I’ll never forget that,” Jean says softly, “but you know how I feel, Scott. Not only did you comfort me all those nights after her death, but you’ve lost your mother… and Alex…”

Scott is now a bit depressed as well. “Alex… I wasn’t even there to say goodbye, to help him, to save him…”

“Scott, don’t start that again!” Jean says. “You can’t beat yourself up every time something goes wrong. There was nothing you could do to save Alex. You weren’t there… you didn’t know!”

Scott sighs, then replies, “You’re right… I guess I have to get used to the fact that Alex is gone. It’ll take time, but eventually…”

“Eventually, you won’t want to break down and cry everytime you think about it. Instead, you’ll think of him and smile, remembering the good times. I know Alex wouldn’t want you to mope around forever, blaming yourself for his death. You owe it to him to move on, to live your life, like I owe the same to Sara.”

Jean puts her head against Scott’s shoulder, and squeezes his hand. “I love you, Scott…. more than anything.”

Scott turns to kiss Jean on the forehead. “I love you too.”

Meanwhile, back at the Xavier Institue, something much less romantic is occuring…

Psylocke and Archangel are now in their X-Men uniforms, facing the mysterious woman known as Chyna. Psylocke senses darkness within Chyna, Archangel is distressed at Psylocke’s actions, and Chyna? She’s just trying to find the X-Man known as Cyclops.

“Please,” Chyna pleads, “I must find Cyclops. I have information that is very important…”

“The only thing that’s important is that you leave now,” Psylocke starts, interrupting Chyna.

Archangel was not there at the beginning when he and Psylocke met Maggott on the streets of Manhattan. Had he been there, perhaps the fight could have been averted. This time, however, he isn’t going to let Psylocke start a useless fight.

“Betsy, wait! This woman said she’s not here to harm us! Let’s hear her out!” Archangel argues.

Chyna and Psylocke relax their bodies from their battle stances. “Thank you,” Chyna says. “Now, as I said, I must speak with Cyclops. I have information that is very important to him. It regards a man called Sinister…”

“Sinister?!” Archangel and Psylocke exclaim in unison.

“What is he up to now?” Archangel demands, walking towards Chyna. “Is he trying to harm Scott and Jean again? If he is, I swear I’ll…!”

Chyna sighs, and takes a moment to gather her thoughts. ‘This X-Man obviously has a great hate of Essex… of course, I do as well. He lied to me, used me… and now I shall return the favor, by foiling his plans!’

“Well?” Archangel asks impatiently.

“He…” Chyna starts.

Almost instantly, Psylocke leaps into the air and jump-kicks Chyna in the face. “Enough! The darkness is strong within you… save your lies for some gullible fool!”

Archangel backs off, knowing that he won’t be able to stop Psylocke. ‘What does this Chyna woman know?’ he thinks to himself.

Chyna is on the ground, Psylocke standing over her. What Psylocke doesn’t know is that Chyna is baiting her, making the X-Man think that she’s beaten.

While Psylocke boasts over her victory, Chyna pulls a small, metallic, cylindric object out from underneath the band on her right arm. Just as she turns her body around to face Psylocke, she presses a small button on the object, and it enlarges into a long battle lance. Chyna presses another small button, and two large blades appear on either side of the lance.

Psylocke is thrown off-balance by the sudden attack, and Chyna wastes no time in utilizing that to her advantage. The lance begins to glow, and bright yellow-orange energy blasts erupt from the blade facing Psylocke, hitting her right in the shoulder.

“Betsy!” Archangel exclaims, flying to Psylocke’s side. He takes a look at her arm, and sees it had been burned. He then looks at Chyna, rage on his face.

“Not here to harm us, huh?”

“I did not start this battle!” Chyna argues. She presses a button on her lance, and it folds up into the small cylinder it started out as. “I see there is no way I will convince you. Tell me where I can find Cyclops…”

“Well, you won’t find him here! And I’m definitely not going to give his location up to you… not after this!” Archangel says coldly. “You better get away while you still can!”

Chyna sighs, and lowers her head, “Very well, I’ll leave. But be warned… Sinister has interest in the unborn child of Cyclops and Phoenix. Please, at least warn them of that.”

In an instant, Chyna dashes into the forest, and disappears from sight.

Psylocke is still a bit dizzy, but manages to stand on her own. “Why did you let her get away?” she asks.

“She’s no threat, Betsy… but she’s not exactly one of the ‘good guys’ either. Why don’t we just go back to the loft, and we’ll worry about this ‘Chyna’ later on,” Archangel replies.

Psylocke uses her Crimson Dawn abilities to morph Archangel’s and her uniforms into their civilian clothes, as the two start walking back towards the limo. Archangel tries not to show it, but he’s very eager to find out as much as he can about Chyna.

‘She’ll come back, I’m sure of it. And when she does, I’m going to find out everything she knows about Sinister! She said Sinister was interested in Scott and Jean’s unborn child… so I guess that means that Jean’s pregnant. I better call the mansion in Chicago, and let them know… before it’s too late!’

Back in Chicago, Beast and Cecilia are just ending their training session…

“Well, that takes care of Riptide and Griffin!” Cecilia exclaims, as she and Beast back away from the destroyed holograms of the aforementioned villains. “Now it’s just Miss Nuts and her squirrels.”

Squirrel Girl charges at Cecilia and Beast, and manages to knock Beast down flat on his face with a smack to the face with her tail. Cecilia gets a bit steamed, wraps her forcefield around Squirrel Girl, and squeezes it tight. Squirrel Girl is crushed to a pulp, leaving Cecilia satisfied.

“Computer… end training sequence,” Beast says, still lying on the floor.

The holograms disappear, and the computer makes a few beeping noises. Cecilia kneels next to Beast, laughing.

Beast is depressed, humiliated, and just plain tired. “Not a word… not one word…” he mutters, as he raps his fingers on the floor.

An ages-old geneticist, bent on creating an elite mutant army to use for his own evil purposes, his latest specimens are the unborn children growing inside the X-Man known as Phoenix.

“My suspicions were correct, Jean… you are pregnant with twins. Twins which will be mine, once they are born. Cable was a failed experiment… had Apocalypse not tainted him, I could have used him in glorious ways! But alas, he is of no use to me now. Your children will be mine.”

Sinister sits there in silence, smiling evily. He watches the computer monitor, which shows Cyclops and Phoenix walking down the street together.

“Enjoy yourselves now, for it shall only last for a short while longer!”

Sinister presses a button, and the monitor went blank. “Once I have your children… there will be no further use for the two of you.”

NEXT: X-Men: The Movie kicks off in the 1999 Uncanny X-Men Annual! Hazard is loose, and now it’s up to the X-Men to stop him! But the psychotic villain known as Mojo has plans for our merry mutants, and has them teleported to Mojoworld! Now, alongside Longshot and Dazzler, the X-Men must fight ghosts of their past, and fight to save Earth from an invasion by Mojo’s army!