The penultimate update.
INT. LAB HALLWAY
Worthington and Kavita walk briskly through the hall, looking for a way out. As they turn a corner, Quill and Arclight appear. Worthington and Kavita promptly turn the other way, but Psylocke appears from the shadows, purple energy glowing in her right hand like a knife.
PSYLOCKE
Going somewhere?
Worthington and Rao stop in their tracks, trapped.
QUILL
Youre the guy who invented the cure, right?
WORTHINGTON
I am. What bearing that has on whats going on now is lost on me.
QUILL
Sure.
He signals to the girls, who grab Worthington and drag him away.
KAVITA
No! Dont hurt him!
Quill grabs Kavitas shoulders.
QUILL
Shh
dont scream
He hugs her, comforting her.
QUILL
Its all right
everythings gonna be all right
Suddenly, he spikes up. Kavitas eyes widen. The quills retract, and Kavita slumps to the floor. Quill claps his hands as though brushing off dust, then follows Arclight and Psylocke.
EXT. LAB NIGHT
Wolverine and Beast are back to back fighting Magnetos mutants. Wolverine shouts to Beast, both conversing as they fight.
WOLVERINE
I thought you were a diplomat?
BEAST
Well, as Churchill said, there comes a time when all men must
He stops to back flip over a mutant, who he then punches to the ground.
BEAST
Oh, you get the point!
INT. LEECHS ROOM
Shadowcat phases into Leechs room. She looks around and spots Jimmy hiding on the floor behind his bed. She runs over to him and grabs his arm.
SHADOWCAT
Dont worry, Im here to help you!
She helps him up.
SHADOWCAT
Im gonna get you out of here. Hang on!
She runs toward the wall. And straight into it.
SHADOWCAT
Ow! How the
JIMMY
Your powers wont work around me.
She looks at him.
JIMMY (contd)
Thats my power.
SHADOWCAT
Oh.
She looks around, at a loss. Juggernaut can be heard approaching.
SHADOWCAT
Wait
stay close.
Jimmy stays by her side as Juggernaut crashes in.
JUGGERNAUT
You picked the wrong bloke to play hide and seek with!
SHADOWCAT
Whos hiding, ********?
Juggernaut shouts and charges at her. At the last second, Shadowcat grabs Jimmy and dives out of the way. Juggernaut runs right into the wall and falls backward, knocked unconscious.
SHADOWCAT
Come on, lets go!
They run back through the path Juggernaut created.
INT. HALLWAY
Arclight, Psylocke, and Quill take Worthington up to the roof.
WORTHINGTON
Please, dont kill me!
QUILL
You mean the way youve killed all these mutants?
WORTHINGTON
No ones died because of this cure! And I never meant for it to come to this! The cure was meant to be for those mutants who wanted it!
PSYLOCKE
Yeah
theyre called the weak ones.
They climb a stairwell.
EXT. ROOF NIGHT
They walk Worthington over to the edge.
PSYLOCKE
Weve had quite enough, Mr. Worthington.
She shoves him. Worthington falls, but at the last second, Angel swoops in and scoops him up, saving him from death.
Worthington looks at his son.
WORTHINGTON
Warren
son
ANGEL
Its okay, Dad. Ive got you.
Warren flies his father away to safety. They land on the other side of the bay.
WORTHINGTON
Son, Im so sorry. I
I was wrong.
ANGEL
Its all right.
He spreads his wings.
ANGEL
I have to go back.
WORTHINGTON
I know. Just come back to me, all right.
ANGEL
Yeah.
WORTHINGTON
I love you, son.
Angel takes off and returns to the fight.
EXT. LAB NIGHT
Callisto and Storm continue their fight. Storm manages to wrest the knife from Callisto, who punches Storm in the face. Storm extends a hand and sends lightning at Callisto, who flies back into a wall. Storm charges at her, but Callisto flips over her. This time Storm is ready, however, and she plunges the knife behind her into Callistos gut. Callistos eyes widen, and then she falls back, dead. Storm flies off quickly.
EXT. HILL NIGHT
Magneto, Pyro, and Phoenix stand on the hill. Magneto scowls.
MAGNETO
Its time to end this war.
PHOENIX
The boy still lives, Erik.
Magneto turns to her.
MAGNETO
I see you making no effort, my dear.
PHOENIX
You think Im on your side?
Magneto turns to Pyro.
MAGNETO
Follow my lead.
Magneto summons a car from behind him and sends it into the air. Pyro sends a fireball up, turning the car into a grenade. It lands on a group of soldiers.
Phoenix returns to her silent vigil.
Down the hill, Cyclops and Emma fight a group of mutants. They find themselves surrounded.
EMMA
Shoot me, darling.
CYCLOPS
What?
EMMA
Your visor, aim it at me.
CYCLOPS
Oh. I get it.
He fires an optic blast at Emma. Her diamond body acts as a prism, and the beam goes wild, hitting all of the mutants encircling them.
CYCLOPS
Good thinking.
He looks up the hill and sees Jean.
CYCLOPS
Jean
Emma notices where his attention has gone.
CYCLOPS
I have to get to her.
EMMA
Shes not hurting anyone right now. Why dont we try to keep it that way?
CYCLOPS
I can save her!
A flaming car comes flying in their direction. Emma grabs him and dives away.
EMMA
It might just have to wait!
Magneto sees Cyclops and Emma, and turns to Gambit.
MAGNETO
Gambit!
GAMBIT
On it, msieu.
Gambit leaps down and swings at Cyclops with his staff, hitting him square in the jaw. Cyclops recoils and fires a blast at Gambit, knocking him back.
EMMA
Well arent you just a delightful opponent?
GAMBIT
Now, now, chére, dont say anything you might regret. Who knows, after this battle, we might go out for a drink or two
?
Emma scoffs.
EMMA
Darling, if youre trying to make me vomit, then its working.
She places her hands at her temples.
EMMA
Why dont you take a break?
Gambit collapses. Emma helps Cyclops back up.
EMMA
Lets take care of the huge army, and then we can save your girlfriend. Fair?
CYCLOPS
Someones gotta take out Magneto
Emma, patch me in to Logan and Hank.
EXT. LAB
Colossus and Iceman encounter Phat.
ICEMAN
Oh man.
PHAT
End of the line, X-Men!
Phat charges at them. Iceman ices up the ground, causing him to slip. Iceman jumps over him, creating an iceslide to lead him back down. Colossus picks up Phat and throws him into a wall, removing more than a few bricks.
COLOSSUS
That wasnt too hard.
Elsewhere, Storm dodges a car, then finds cover with Wolverine and Henry. Iceman joins them.
STORM
Wheres Scott?
WOLVERINE
He was just talkin in our heads.
SCOTT (V/O)
Guys, listen up.
STORM
We hear you.
SCOTT (V/O)
We gotta do something about Magneto.
Scott and Emma run toward them, Scott blasting a car away.
They join them in the cover. Cyclops spots a cure gun laying on the ground.
CYCLOPS
We have to make a choice.
EMMA
Im for it.
WOLVERINE
Its him or us. And we work as a team
right?
STORM
Right. And you know what they say
Wolverine chuckles briefly, then turns to Iceman.
WOLVERINE
Think you can distract your old friend?
Iceman looks toward Pyro.
ICEMAN
Yeah.
CYCLOPS
All right. Storm, give us some cover. Emma, keep everyone connected, all right?
EMMA
No problem.
Iceman runs out from the cover and ices a car before it explodes.
EXT. HILL NIGHT
Magneto looks down at Iceman, then turns to Pyro.
MAGNETO
Go ahead.
Smirking, Pyro takes off. He shoots a fireball at Iceman, but Iceman freezes it, and their powers collide. Back on the hill, Magneto and Phoenix look around for the remaining X-Men, but the fog obscures their vision.
Pyro and Iceman continue the struggle, as Pyros flames begin to test Icemans stamina. Soon, he is engulfed. Pyro laughs.
PYRO
Youre in way over your head, Bobby. Maybe you should go back to school.
Enraged, Iceman fully ices up and leaps out at Pyro, headbutting him.
ICEMAN
You never shouldve left.
Scowling, Pyro gets up and punches Bobby, but to no effect.
PYRO
Neat trick.
Pyro ups the ante on his flames, but Bobby retaliates. Finally, Bobby dives forward and grabs Pyros lighter.
ICEMAN
Not much without this, are you?
Iceman freezes the lighter, and throws it away. Pyro whips his head around to track its progress.
PYRO
No!
Iceman punches Pyro in the side of the head, knocking him out.
ICEMAN
Youll be better off that way, trust me.
Elsewhere, Wolverine spots Magneto, and looks to Colossus.
WOLVERINE
Think you can do it again?
COLOSSUS
Shouldnt be a problem.
WOLVERINE
Lets see it, then.
Colossus picks up Wolverine and throws him up the hill, at Magneto. Magneto merely spins around and uses his powers to stop Logan mid-flight.
MAGNETO
You really never learn, do you?
WOLVERINE
Actually, I do.
Beast leaps out from behind Magneto and injects cure needles into his chest. Stunned, Magneto falls to his knees. Wolverine falls to the ground. Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, and Emma all gather around him.
MAGNETO
Im
STORM
One of them.
Magneto rolls on the ground and looks to Jean.
MAGNETO
This is
what they want for all of us, Jean!
Cyclops moves slowly toward Jean.
CYCLOPS
Jean
its over.
The battle is dying down now. Soldiers have set up new cure cannons, and they take the opportunity to fire at Jean, who it seems from their vantage is attacking the X-Men. Cyclops shouts at them:
CYCLOPS
No, dont shoot!!
Too late. Jeans eyes go black and she stops all the shots telekinetically, turning the needles into dust. The X-Men all go flying down the hill in a burst of telekinetic energy.
CYCLOPS
Everyone, get out of here!
A telekinetic storm begins to rage as Phoenix levitates into the air. Shadowcat and Leech exit the lab and join with Iceman to run away. Magneto looks in horror at Phoenix.
MAGNETO
What have I done?
Surreptitiously, he sneaks into the large group that is now fleeing.
Storm, Wolverine, and Cyclops gather.
CYCLOPS
I have to stop her.
WOLVERINE
You didnt see what she did to the Professor. Shell tear you apart! Send me.
STORM
He can heal, Scott, hes the only one
CYCLOPS
No.
He looks at them, resolved.
CYCLOPS
It has to be me.
WOLVERINE
Scott, dont do this, you dont
CYCLOPS
No, Logan! It cant be anyone else.
Storm looks at him, saddened.
STORM
Please
come back.
CYCLOPS
Get everyone to safety. Now!
Storm flies away, and Logan runs off. Cyclops turns back to Phoenix.
CYCLOPS
Jean!
She ignores him. The TK storm has gotten worse. Poles fall, cars fly. Soldiers have begun to explode, as the professor did earlier. Quill, Arclight, and Psylocke run outside. Psylocke melds into the shadows as Quill and Arclight explode. Water now begins to rise up from the bay, and fiery wings engulf Phoenix, her rage embodying itself in the form of a firebird. She glows like a second sun as Cyclops continues to move toward her.
CYCLOPS
Jean!
Phoenix knocks him backward as she returns to the ground, but he resists and continues onward. The building itself has now begun to fly apart.
Cyclops continues up the hill, bits of his uniform flying off slowly. She continues to resist, and he is forced to crawl up toward her. Mere feet separate them, when, as he gets up, his entire top is destroyed. Gritting his teeth, he continues. His cheek is now bleeding, as is his arm.
Finally, he is before her. Phoenix looks to him, and smiles wickedly.
PHOENIX
You would die for them?
CYCLOPS
No! Not for them, Jean!
She is confused for a second, fire still surrounding her.
CYCLOPS
For you. I love you, Jean!
Slowly, her eyes return to normal. The flames recede.
JEAN
Scott
CYCLOPS
Why, Jean? Whyd you do it?
JEAN
Do what?
CYCLOPS
Leave me.
She looks away.
JEAN
I
I wanted to save you. From this.
She cries.
JEAN
Please, Scott
save me.
CYCLOPS
No, Jean
we can make it better.
She falls to her knees, and Scott collapses with her.
JEAN
Im so sorry, Scott! This is all my fault! I felt the power, and I knew I could save you, but
I couldnt keep it in. I cant control it!
CYCLOPS
We can make it better.
They both cry now. Silently, Emma approaches them. She hands Scott something.
JEAN
Please, Scott. I cant anymore.
CYCLOPS
Its okay.
Tears streaming down his face, he jabs Jean in the side with a cure needle. She gasps. Emma watches silently, her diamond façade hiding the fact that shes tearing up. Scott clutches at Jean, who sobs into his shoulder as the transformation takes place.