***********************************************
This is X-Writers, a fan-fiction group with its own version 
of current X-continuity, and we don't get any cash from 
anyone anywhere, so we'd really like it if we weren't sued. 
Most of the characters used here are copyright of Marvel 
Comics, except for the ones that aren't. Dr Faustus isn't
copyright of anyone, as Christopher Marlowe has
been dead for a very long time indeed.
***********************************************
 Uncanny X-Men #328 - That Faustus May Repent.
 Written by Andrew Wheeler - aw108@york.ac.uk
 Edited by Marysia
***********************************************
 
 Ororo Monroe; mutant, X-Man, wind-rider, goddess; had just 
been about to make her first real public speech. She had been 
prevented in this endeavour by a heckler. The heckler in 
question, a singer by the name of Jezebelle, was planning to 
become the latest hit on Mojoworld. Even if she had to take 
the world by Storm. 

 'Who on earth is that?' asked Dazzler, staring out from the 
wings at Jezebelle, hovering over the crowd. 

 'The support act, Alison dear.' said MojoII. 'Though I don't 
remember her listing flight among her skills on the CV.'
 
 Storm glared at Jezebelle, a sheen of anger flashing like 
lightning across her face. 'You must be the one who tried
to kill Lila.' determined Storm.

 'Yeah, and now I'm going to do worse. I'm going to take
over her show.' claimed Jezebelle. Lila could be heard gasping 
in horror. 'And you aren't going to stop me.'
 
 'Think again.' said Storm. Black clouds began to form 
overhead. The low crackle of building thunder emerged above 
the stunned hush of the audience. A deluge of rain hit down 
on the open air stadium.

 'Ooh, I'm scared.' said Jezebelle. 'Going to drown me, are 
you?' She bolted down from the air and barrelled into Storm, 
slamming her against the back of the stage. Then Jezebelle 
herself was hit sideways on by Cannonball. She too was 
slammed into a wall, but unlike Storm, she recovered at once. 
She pursued Sam as he doubled back for a second hit. Then a 
solid light beam hit her in the side. She reeled slightly, then 
turned to face Dazzler.

 'Well, well, well, if it isn't her Ladyship.' sneered Jezebelle. 'I 
can take more than a little laser, sweetheart.'

 'Keep talking and you'll get it.' replied Dazzler. 'You picked 
the wrong day to launch your career.'
 
 'Not at all.' claimed the upstart. 'I must have a huge audience.'

 'She has a point there.' agreed Mojo, still lurking in the wings.

 'Dazzler shouldn't be out there!' complained Cyclops. 'She's 
pregnant!'

 'Dammit, Mojo, call out security.' insisted Lila.

 'And evacuate the stadium.' added Cyclops.
 
 'Are you kidding?' asked Longshot. 'They have the best seats 
available for this spectacle. Nothing will shift them.'

 'Not even a little audience participation?' suggested Cyclops.

 'What does that mean?' asked Mojo.

 'You'll see.' said Cyclops. He grabbed Longshot's arm and 
headed on to the stage towards Storm.

 Meanwhile, Jezebelle was flying rings around Cannonball. 
'She's faster than me!' he complained. 'How can she control 
herself?' Jezebelle crashed into the stage, leaving a 
considerable dent in it without hurting herself.

 'She doesn't.' replied Dazzler. 'Looks like she's invulnerable.'

 Jez swooped in a wide arc, towards the backstage wings 
where MojoII was standing with Lila. The pair dashed away 
just a moment before she smashed through the entire wall. 
Again, she was unscathed. She wrenched a metal pipe from 
the backstage scaffold and lunged towards Cannonball
with it. Suddenly she found herself pulled up short as a 
microphone lead wrapped around her leg. She turned to see 
the other end tied to a massive amplifier, Longshot leaning 
against it with a broad grin.

 Jezebelle grinned back as she flew on with a burst of renewed 
energy, pulling the amplifier from the stage and swinging it 
from her leg over the audience, who cleared away beneath it. 
The mike wire snapped under the weight of the amp, which 
crashed to the ground.

 'That was hardly lucky, Longshot.' complained Dazzler, 
attempting once again to get a clear shot at Jezebelle. 'You 
could have killed someone.'

 'But lucky I didn't, and it cleared the crowd from in front of 
the stage.' replied Longshot. 'Now I just need to get *you* out 
of here.'

 Jezebelle then scooped up the amplifier and hurled it towards 
Dazzler. Longshot ran towards her, then slid onto his knees. 
He shot across the stage, knocking Dazzler down so that she 
fell into his lap, and slid on, clearing the area beneath the 
plummeting amp just in time.

 Cyclops was backstage again, this time with Storm, who was 
regaining consciousness after her blow. Lila had been taken to 
a safer part of StormDome, as it was her life that was in 
danger. Mojo II handed Scott a glass of water, which he 
promptly threw in Storm's face.

 'Aah!' gasped Ororo, reacting to the icy awakening. 'That was 
unceremonious.' she claimed. 

 'I need you to evacuate the stadium.' said Cyclops. 'Get the 
people to safety.'
 
 'Of course.' said Storm. 'What will you do?'

 'He'll be destroying the cameras.' said MojoII. The two team 
leaders stared at him. 'I've had an idea.' he explained. 'The 
audience out there isn't the only one we have to get rid of.'

 - - - -

 The mansion of Professor Charles Xavier. Home of the X-
Men. But the X-Men aren't home. Except for Dr Hank 
McCoy, the mutant known as the Beast, and his friend Dr 
Alice Yeung. Just returned from a night of drunken revelry, 
they naturally enough came back to the mansion to... to visit 
the lab?
 
 'Ooh.' said Alice with the fascination only a drunk person can 
muster. 'What a lot of stuff you've got. Hey, that rhymes.'

 'So it does.' replied Hank. 'So it does. Look at this.' He 
activated a holographic generator and the Legacy Virus 
schematic appeared. 

 'Ooh.' said Alice again. 'Looks like a helter skelter.'

 'That's the DNA Alice. It always looks like a helter skelter.' 
replied Beast.
 
 'I never noticed that before.' she replied.
 
 Beast stared at the projection. 'No.' he confessed. 'Neither 
have I.' He gazed at the hologram a little longer, tilting his 
head along it's curves until he lost his balance and fell over. 
Alice laughed hysterically and then fell over herself.

 'Oh dear!' laughed Alice. 'That was silly.' She grabbed a 
swivel chair to haul herself back up. It swivelled and she was 
thrown mercilessly back down again. She laughed some more, 
as the Beast lay on his back staring up at the virus.

 'It's a viroid, you know.' said Beast. 'We call it a virus, but it's 

a viroid.' Alice was laughing too hard to speak. 'Hmph.'
He reached up to press a button, and deactivated the 
hologram.

 Alice, breathless with laughter, spoke up again. 'You turned it 
off!' she complained, clambering onto her feet with the benefit 
of a workbench, scattering a paperback and a sheaf of notes 
onto the floor.

 'That's my Ray Bradbury!' muttered Beast.

 'Turn on the helter skelter.' insisted Alice.

 Beast stared at his book, contemplating the fact that he had
probably lost his place now, then looked at the hologram 
generator. 'That's nothing.' he told her. 'You should see the... 
uh... room with all the... uh... room with... where we go 
practising in.' said Beast.

 He walked out of the lab, leaving Alice behind. She 
regathered herself moderately, then went staggering off in 
pursuit. She had to run to keep up, and wasn't having much 
luck. Beast finally stopped outside the Danger Room where he 
entered the observation and control booth. By the time Alice 
caught him he was sitting at the controls, staring out at a scenic 
woodland.

 'What's this?' asked Alice.

 'Big hologram.' said Beast, avoiding going into the details he 
couldn't remember. 'Set to... um... why is it a wood-land?' He 
pressed a few controls and the woodland faded to reveal a 
bare, metallic room. Completely empty.
 
 'Wow.' said Alice. 'Where did all the things go?'

 'Something's missing.' muttered Beast. 'What's missing?'

 'Everything.' replied Alice. 'You made it all go.'

 Then realisation dawned. 'Oh my stars and garters.' he 
gasped. 'Where's Sabretooth?'

 - - - - 

 The rain had turned torrential, beating down forcefully on the 
Mojoworld audience. That, combined with the fact that this 
was a tropical storm, and the water was very warm, seemed to 
be having the desired effect of washing away the crowd. 
Already the Stadium was three-quarters empty.

 'Thank you for coming. Please keep your ticket, and we will 
refund you for the cost.' said the voice of MojoII across the 
tannoy systems. 

 Jezebelle swung her metal pipe at Dazzler and Longshot. He 
backed away as fast as he could, with his arm as far around 
Dazzler's waist as was possible. She almost tripped as he led 
her.

 'You'll have to be nimbler than that, little Disco Diva.' hissed 
Jez. 'Perhaps you need your roller skates?'
 
 'Right, that does it, let's kill her.' muttered Dazzler. Longshot 
gave a sigh, then hurled a handful of throwing blades towards 
Jezebelle's head. They all missed.

 'Nice try, kid.' said Jezebelle. There was a creak. Jezebelle
looked up in time to see a large lighting fixture falling from
above. It slammed on top of her, pinning her to the stage.

 'Well, there you are.' said Dazzler. 'In the spotlight, just what 
you wanted.' Longshot began to take her off stage. Jez was 
already lifting herself out from under the light with a grunt.
 
 'She just won't stay down.' complained Cannonball. Longshot 
and Dazzler began to run to the wings as Jezebelle climbed to 
her feet. Cannonball flew to intercept her as she sprinted after 
the couple. She saw Sam coming and twisted in time to slam 
him in the face with her fist. It didn't hurt him, but it sent him 
off in the direction he had just come from. Then Jezebelle 
grabbed Dazzler by the shoulder, spun her around and 
prepared to knock her head off.

 'Stop!' bellowed a voice.

 Jezebelle turned to face where Cyclops was standing, beside a 
smoking television camera. Between her and him was a large, 
empty expanse of stadium.
 
 'What's it all for, Jezebelle?' he asked. 'What good will it do 
you to kill anyone now? What use is a spectacle when there's 
no-one to see it?'

 Dazzler, paralysed by imminent death, started hyper-
ventilating. Longshot dared not move in case Jezebelle saw it 
as a threat.

 Jezebelle stared around the StormDome. Every camera was 
destroyed, what remained of the audience was halfway 
through the door. No-one was watching.

 'They've gone!' gasped Jezebelle, aghast. 'And... you... no! 
No! You destroyed all the cameras! Why did you do that?!'

 'So that you knew for certain that no-one was watching.' 
replied Scott. ' 

 'No!' muttered Jezebelle again. 'This was my big break. This 
was my chance at fame. This was my big close-up! I could've 
been somebody! I could've been a contender!'

 Storm descended between Alison and Jezebelle's poised fist. 
'Take her, Longshot.' ordered Storm. 'If she wants to kill, then 
let her kill me.'

 Jezebelle stared at the wind-rider. Her eyes were beginning to 
water. She was too astonished, too lost, to say anything. She 
lowered her fist, and began to cry.

 'You were going to kill a pregnant woman?' hissed Storm. 
'Have you no soul?' Jezebelle looked back up at Storm. They 
made eye contact. Storm found herself staring deep into two 
dark, empty eyes, the faintest pin pricks of red at their core. 
'Oh dear goddess!' she gasped. 'It can't be!'

 'You've taken away my audience.' screamed Jezebelle, 
suddenly hysterical. 'You've taken away the only thing that 
matters to me. I should kill each one of you!'

 'But you won't.' soothed Storm. 'That proves something. You 
still have time to repent.'

 'You don't get it.' said Jezebelle. 'I'm not sparing you out of
compassion. I'm just saving you for later.' She raised herself
into the sky. 'I *will* kill you.' she screamed. 'I'll kill all of 
you. 
But not today. Not when there's no-one to see you die. You 
wait, I'll be back. There *will* be a sequel!' And then she shot 
off into the sky and disappeared out of sight.

 'Shall I go after her?' asked Cannonball.
 
 'No, Sam. You can't catch her.' said Cyclops.

 'Uh... guys.' said Longshot, emerging from backstage. 'Ali's
having a baby.'

 - - - - 

 Betsy and Bishop silently stalked into the mansion. It was 
about 4am. They could hear noises coming from the kitchen. 
They went to see who it was. As they opened the door they 
found a woman they didn't recognise being force-fed coffee by 
Beast.
 
 'Ow!' yelled Alice, pushing the mug away. 'I've had enough, 
Hank, I can't drink anymore.'

 'I need you absolutely sober for this, Alice.' said Hank. He
noticed the new arrivals. 'Oh, good morning.' he grinned.
'You're back then?'

 'Warren sent us away.' said Betsy, evidently not too happy
about it. 'Charlotte's son has been abducted. He's staying with 
her tonight until they can go searching in the morning.'

 'Oh my! Have they informed the police?' asked Beast.

 'Of course they've informed the police. A counsellor came 
'round and Charlotte's superior said there's nothing they can do 
until morning.' said Betsy.

 'We could go looking.' argued Bishop. 'I'm a trained officer of 
the law.'

 'We can join them tomorrow.' said Betsy, adding to herself 
<If I can be bothered.> She had been cultivating a grudge all 
the way back to the mansion. Warren had shoved her out of 
the apartment, insisting that it would be best if he and 
Charlotte were alone. <Why?> she asked herself. <I could 
have helped. Why must he keep me on the outside like this? 
Well, looks like he won't be coming  with me to visit Brian 
tomorrow. But if he expects me to stay here waiting for him, 
he can think again. I have my own life to
lead too.>

 Beast went to pour more coffee. 'I think we rather have need 
of your services here tonight.' he claimed. 'I'm afraid Gambit 
has run away.'

 'He can handle himself.' claimed Bishop.

 'Well, the security cameras showed otherwise. I'm afraid to 
say he's probably drunker than even Alice here...'

 'I'm *fine*.' argued Alice.

 '...And in his current state I can't imagine what he might do 
with Sabretooth.' finished Beast.

 Betsy and Bishop stared at him querulously for a moment, 
before realisation dawned. 'Oh no!' said Betsy.

 'Oh yes!' replied Beast. Alice burped. 'More coffee.'

 'I'm FINE!' yelled Alice indignantly.

 - - - - 

 A simple clearing among the trees, probably a good few miles 
clear of Westchester. Gambit had left the car at the roadside 
and dragged the shackled Sabretooth out into the woods. He 
sat opposite the lobotomised psychopath, staring at the 
confusion and bewilderment on his face, and lit up a cigarette. 

 'S'cold, no?' said Gambit. 'I could light a fire, but I don't want 
anyone findin' us out here.' Sabretooth could say nothing, his 
mouth was bound as well as his arms and legs. Even if he 
could speak, he wouldn't. Wolverine had seen to that. 
Sabretooth didn't even seem to be paying attention to the 
Cajun. He was more interested in the sounds of the woods, the 
movements in the shadows, the faint traces of golden light 
from the approaching sunrise. 'Only a matter
of time before the X-Men... the *other* X-Men find me, but I 
have to be sure I know what I'm gon'do before I do it.' Gambit 
explained.

 He rose to his feet and inhaled deeply from the tobacco, then 
exhaled the smoke in two dagger jets from his nostrils. He 
reached into his pocket and withdrew a pack of cards. 

 'Well, dere's a t'ing.' he smiled. 'Wrong pack. I keep these for 
best. They throw smoother.' The pack in his hands was larger, 
longer than the average pack of cards, and decorated in 
French-Celtic knots. Woven into the knots was the one word; 
'Tarot'. Gambit slid the cards free of the box and thumbed 
through them for a second. 'Dere she is. The Queen of Cups. 
An she went and left me.' He charged the card up, and 
dropped it. It didn't so much explode as just combust. A 
whimper, not a bang. 'The Queen of Cups rules the emotions, 
Creed. And she controlled mine better than she ever could her 
own. But you went an' wrecked dat for me, din't you? She 
ain't never gonna trust me again.' He began to thumb through 
the cards again, searching out another. 'O' course, you didn't 
tell her the whole story, eh? But you set the doubt in her mind. 
An' she ran.'

 He came across "The Lovers". 

 'Oh, dat's cruel.' he hissed. 'Real cruel, Remy.' He charged 
that card too, and flung it as far as he could. It hit a tree and
flared. The next card he picked out was the Queen of Swords. 
'Ah, here's de other one. She went inside o' my mind to look 
for the truth, and I ain't sure what she found.' He dropped the 
card out of the pack, letting it fall to the damp carpet of leaves 
below. 'Y'see, Creed, it ain't been goin' too well for me of late. 
You, Rogue, Psylocke. How many people lookin' to blow the 
game, eh?'

 Sabretooth looked up, a puzzled expression on his face.

 'Well, I ain't takin' a risk.' muttered Gambit. 'I ain't lettin'
you get your mind back, I ain't lettin' your healin' factor
do its' trick.' Gambit frustratedly threw a handful of cards
into Sabretooth's face, making him flinch away. The cards 
settled. The High Priestess. The Empress. The Magician.
 'Oh, but it goes beyond the benefactress and the bride.' 
said Gambit, scanning over the cards. 'I can lay the blame on 
them, but it goes further than that.' One card had rested on 
Sabretooth's shoulders. A movement and it fell, flipping over 
and over in the air until it landed. Death.

 Gambit stared at the card. 'That must be you.' he decided,
reaching for his staff. 'I know what card is mine.' With 
the dexterity of a card sharp he performed a one-hand cut,
revealing "The Hanged Man". 'Yeah, dat's the one.' he 
muttered.

 He dropped the cards, tumbling them from his hand, then
raised the staff and swung it with both hands, smacking
the metal mask from Sabretooth's face. Creed reeled from 
the blow and fell onto his side. His mouth now exposed,
Gambit stuck the end of his staff into Creed's throat, 
forcing it down. Creed was gagging, though it almost sounded 
like strained laughter. Gambit closed his eyes
and began to charge up the staff with energy. It glowed 
from tip to tip, lighting the inside of Creed's fanged mouth. 
'Bang.' whispered Gambit. 'You're dead.'

 But nothing happened. Gambit opened his eyes. The staff
had stopped glowing. He stood for a moment, just staring
at Sabretooth, then the staff, then at his own hands. Then
he heard the sound of a footstep on grass behind him. He
didn't turn around. 

 'Did I do that or did you?' he asked.

 'Stop you killing Creed? Well, it was one of us.' replied
a calm, balanced voice. 'Believe what you will.'

 Gambit turned to face the pale face of the man known
to most as Sinister. Sinister had one of the cards poised in
his hand. 'Guess.' said Sinister with the slightest smile.

 'I don't need to guess.' said Gambit.

 'Oh? You know me that well?' asked Sinister.

 'No, that card is marked.' said Gambit. 'It's the Devil.'

 'Correct.' said Sinister. 'I didn't see the mark, though. So 
few people do, I suppose.'
 
 'What are you doing here?' asked Gambit. 'I was hoping it 
would be a long time before I saw your face again.'

 'Oh? But Seattle was such a charming reunion.' said Sinister. 
'No, LeBeau, I haven't come for you. Not yet. But that time 
will come. You have a debt. All debts must be paid in full.' he 
explained. 'And I should know.' The card in his hand burst into 
flames. 'We all face the devil at some point in our lives, and to 
some of us he makes an offer. You'd be surprised how many 
accept.' He paused in 
contemplation. 'Then again, I suppose you wouldn't.'

 'There's always time to repent.' claimed Gambit.
 
 'Never.' snapped Sinister. 'There's never enough time to 
repent. You think I don't know that by now? You think I didn't 
try? When you give your soul, you give your life, and there is 
no way back, no way to make amends. You *cannot* repent, 
no matter how long you have.' he insisted. 'Even if you have 
forever.' 

 Gambit took another drag from the cigarette before dropping 
it and stamping it out. 'Perhaps,' he suggested 'You didn't try 
hard enough.'

 Sinister smiled. 'Believe what you will.' he replied. 'The day 
draws nearer, LeBeau, and the nights get darker. Colder. More 
lonely. Scream all you want, but the horses of midnight run 
ever onwards. They stop not for you or for any man. The 
damned have their path to follow. I am on it. I'm sure I will see 
you at the next junction.'

 Gambit turned away. 'So why *are* you here?' he asked.

 Sinister put a hand on Gambit's shoulder. 'To take back one 
of my runaway children.' he replied. Then he slammed his 
hand into Gambit's face. The Cajun blacked out.

 - - - - 

 Jezebelle sat in her room at her dressing table, the dressing 
table with the mirror framed in lights, and wept into her hands. 
She looked up at her own reflection and caught sight of Spiral 
stood behind her. 'Leave me alone.' she cried.

 'You failed, Jezebelle.' said Spiral.

 'I can try again.' said Jezebelle. 'I can succeed.'

 'No. You won't get a second chance.' said Spiral. 'It's too late.'

 Jezebelle stared at the reflection. She turned around to face 
into the room. Spiral wasn't there. 'Where are you?' she 
screamed.

 'You have to pay the price now Jezebelle. You have to 
surrender to me. We all face the devil at some point in our 
lives, and to some of us he makes an offer. You accepted. So 
did I. My devil is dead, but I survived. And thus, your devil is 
still very much alive.' said the voice of Spiral. Jezebelle tried to 
get to her feet and run to the door, but a hand reached out 
from the mirror behind her and held her in place. She 
screamed as another hand took her, then another, another, 
another, another. The lightbulbs
began to explode around her head as she was dragged towards 
the mirror, into the mirror, through the mirror. Then the last 
bulb was gone, and it was darkness.

 And silence.

 And then Cannonball kicked the door down. He raced into 
the room, MojoII and a small consignment of the Mojo-world 
police behind him. 'She's not here.' said Mojo. 'I knew it.'

 - - - - 

 Ororo Monroe; mutant, X-Man, wind-rider, goddess and 
aunt. Well, not technically, but if the X-Men were her family, 
then this was her niece she held in her arms. A girl. Longshot 
had so hoped for a boy, but he seemed as much in love with 
this daughter as he could be. Dazzler was resting now, and 
Longshot was with her, so Storm decided it was her chance to 
have some time with the beautiful child.

 'Marilyn.' she smiled. 'I cannot believe they called you 
Marilyn.' She looked up and realised she had walked as far as 
the damaged stage of the StormDome. She stepped up to the 
edge, and looked out at the stadium, far less threatening now it 
was empty. 'Magnificent,' she declared, and her voice carried 
off into the arena. She listened as it echoed off the walls.
 
 'Do you see what your father and mother have achieved, 
Marilyn?' asked Storm. 'This stadium may bear my name, but 
it is a testament to them. Mojoworld was for too long under 
the control of an evil tyrant, but today the people have 
freedom, and they may come and witness that freedom here, 
where they know that the artists they see will be there of their 
own volition. And they may sing what songs they please. It is 
this fight, the noble fight, the fight for the freedom of all 
people, all races, all creeds, all abilities and all lifestyles to be 

able to live their lives without
hindrance or prejudice or exploitation or hate, that the X-Men 
have dedicated their life to. It is a cause that we will never 
surrender. It is a dream shown to be possible by what has been 
achieved here in Mojoworld. It is a fight we will carry on well 
beyond this day, no matter who may oppose us. Remember 
this, child, when you are grown, for it is through you and the 
generations beyond that the fight will always be maintained, 
and though there may be peace here today, always look 
towards what may come tomorrow.' Storm craned her neck 
down and kissed the sleeping infant gently on the forehead.

 Then the sound of one man's applause filled the stadium.
Cyclops stepped out of the shadows. 'You see, Storm? 
That's the speech you were meant to give.'

 'Thank you, Scott, it is kind of you to say so.' replied Ororo. 
'But I must say I am relieved that I never had to give that 
speech.'
 
 'Unless they reschedule the concert. The show must go on.'
said Cyclops.

 'Then it can go on without me.' smiled Storm.

 - - - -

  Archangel stood at the window staring out at the rising sun, 
Charlotte asleep on the sofa behind him, her hand resting by 
the telephone. Today he had to catch a killer. What he would 
do when he caught him, he did not know.

 - - - -

 "Fair nature's eye, rise, rise again and make perpetual day: 
  Or let this hour be but a year, a month, a week, a natural day,
   That Faustus may repent and save his soul.
   O lente, lente currite noctis equi!
   The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike,
   The devil will come and Faustus must be damned."
 
       - Faustus, Act V, Scene II, The Tragical History of the 
   Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe.

  _____________________________________
  NEXT ISSUE: Warren and Charlotte go in 
  search of Timmy, and Gambit faces the
  awesome wrath of Henry McCoy. 
  _____________________________________  
 
--
*Marysia* | The Original Holy | "Live without your
  Keeper of the |   Virgin of the   | sunlight. Love with
Labyrinth Flame | Church of Xbooks  | out your heartbeat."
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 Editor in Chief of x-writers at majordomo@minuteman com