*********BEGIN STUPID DISCLAIMER************
X-Man #11 by Andy Banks. The X-Writers are an 
independent writing team not affiliated with any company, 
organisation, mush, mud, or newsgroup. Based on 
characters and events in the X-Men. All characters are 
trade-marked and copyrighted by Marvel Comics Group 
and are used without permission for hobby purposes only. 
*********END STUPID DISCLAIMER*************


  X-WRITERS PRESENTS:  X-Man #11   by Andy Banks
  The Focus - part I     "The Golden Apple"   
                     

"Ooowwww!!!" he thinks as he keeps his eyes closed. 
"Okay, my head REALLY hurts. I haven't taken a beating 
like that...ever."

His name is Nate Grey, or so he calls himself. He's really 
only had one name given to him. He adopted the last name 
Grey as an act of defiance. He defied his upbringing as a 
genetic clone created by Sinister. He defied the fact that he 
didn't have a childhood, parents, and purpose. His life has 
always been predetermined and controlled by others for 
benefits unknown to him. Only once in his life has he 
known what it was like to be treated as a respectable human 
being with feelings and emotions, but even then he didn't 
feel completely free.

Nate can almost see the light coming through his eyelids, so 
he squints a little bit harder to keep it out. His head pounds 
like he has just bashed it against a wall repeatedly and he 
clenches his teeth for a brief respite from the pain. Over the 
course of a few minutes, he gradually opens his eyes just a 
little bit at a time, hoping to ease into his situation. He lifts 
one eyelid slightly and lets his vision focus. He expected to 
see the still night air of Paris.

"Huh? A ceiling? Where am I?" he says as he sits upright 
and turns his head. 

A grimace covers his face as he turns toward the light. 
Bars. Big thick steel bars cover the only passage in his cell. 
On the other side of the bars stands a large uniformed man 
with a dark and curly moustache. He turns towards Nate 
and lets out a slight chuckle before walking on. 

Nate looks around for a few seconds as the panic wells up 
inside him. Bright images burn in his mind. He remembers 
images of a dark, filthy prison. He remembers every vivid 
detail with precise accuracy: The dirt and blood that stained 
the cold concrete floor and the smell of rotting flesh and 
faeces. He can hear the mutterings of those who went 
insane and the bitter weeping of mothers, children and the 
weak. He can visualise the faces of the victims and 
prisoners who exuded pain and anguish. He specifically 
remembers a young girl, not more than 20 years old. Her 
emaciated body somehow standing and her withered fingers 
clenched around steel bars within a small cell. Silently she 
stared straight ahead with sad eyes and a blank look, never 
reacting to the death screams or the beatings at the hands of 
Prelates, Rooks, and Guards. One could only begin to 
imagine what she was thinking. Perhaps of a time when she 
enjoyed the company of a stranger, or maybe of a time 
when people could roam free and uninhibited. She might 
have been pondering what life was like before Apocalypse, 
or what it was like to be in a Nazi Concentration Camp. 
Maybe she was only trying to forget about the deaths 
that she witnessed, the bodies at her feet, or the cruel 
testament of  genetic experimentation which left her 
mentally and physically scarred. 

"No...no....no" Nate gasped. His eyes widened and his 
heart sunk with a dread despair that he hasn't felt in years. 
"I'm not going to let that happen again. Not to me and not 
to anyone else. Never again. NEVER AGAIN!"

With the loud cry, Nate summons incredible telekinetic 
energy, which crackles around his left eye. He turns toward 
a wall with a small barred window, and unleashes a blast of 
telekinetic energy so powerful that it leaves a hole big 
enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.  Concrete chunks 
go flying in every direction pummelling the pavement and 
walls of the adjoining buildings. The deafening roar of the 
explosion causes everyone in the vicinity to duck and 
scramble, especially those in the jail cells who scatter 
timidly in the dark since the explosion knocked out all 
power in the Paris prison. 

When the dust clears and only the smallest rocks continue 
to fall off  the broken building. A young man's body is the 
only thing left unmoved. He is a young man with a 
determination never to be held captive, never to be 
another one's pawn, and never let a world like the one he 
knew come about. 

Nate walks silently and calmly into the cool Paris night. He 
turns his head briefly and notices guards cringing with fright 
below a scattering of rocks. He looks forward again and 
continues walking, already mentally preparing himself for 
his next task.

                             - - -

"Selene? Seleeeeeennnneee?" Belasco calls out as he roams 
the hallways within her building, "Blast her...where did the 
little witch go."

                             - - -

"You remember this little trinket, don't you my darling?" 
Selene says as she holds a small necklace with a tiny 
ornament dangling from it.

"The Golden Apple. It was from my past...I think...I can't 
recall"  Madelyne says. She stares at it and examines it 
closely, thinking hard to remember it's meaning.

"It was a gift to you, from a dear friend of yours. I know 
that you don't have any recollection of who you are or what 
you've been through, but this little talisman represents a 
grave betrayal by someone who was very dear to you at one 
time." Selene boasts.

"Who was it? I'm trying to remember...but I just can't" 
Madelyne says as she pounds her fist on the couch.

"A lover. His name was Alex. He was jealous and resentful 
because he found out that you have an untapped potential 
that greatly dwarves anything that he would ever amount to. 
Alex had no idea of the pain that he caused you and the 
suffering you endured as a target of his scorn." Selene says 
obviously trying to strike a raw nerve within Madelyne.

"Yes, the name sounds very familiar to me. Tell me more. 
Who was he? What was he like?" Madelyne appeals. 

"He caught you in a difficult time in your life. You were 
trying to get over a broken relationship with his brother, 
and he saw it as a perfect opportunity to inflict his 
resentment towards him by using you. He seduced you and 
used you without a care for you. During your relationship 
with him, he gave you this necklace as a token. Afterwards, 
he turned against you when he realised that you were 
everything that he wanted to be: attractive, vibrant, strong 
and powerful, he turned on you and tried to destroy you" 
Selene says while pocketing the necklace.

"Powerful? What do you mean powerful? You mean... I'm 
a mutant?" Madelyne hesitated, her eyes wide with 
anticipation of the answer.

"You are, and you have tremendous potential. I'm willing to 
show you your full potential, in good time. But for now, 
ponder what I've revealed. I don't want to overwhelm you." 
Selene says as she stands and starts to walk away.

"Okay" Madelyne says hesitantly. She relaxes into the sofa 
and runs her hands through her hair.

                              - - -

"Oh perfect. This is absolutely perfect. A little bit 
improvised, but perfect nonetheless. My punctual pawn has 
precisely picked the proper place to be." Henry says aloud 
with glee. 

He sits with one hand under his chin and another tapping 
his furry fingers on the table in front of him while he stares 
at a monitor. Henry McCoy is a brilliant geneticist and a 
living legacy of genetic experimentation. At one point, he 
looked like any other human being, until an experiment 
gone awry left him covered with blue fur. He tried to find a 
cure for his condition, which left him dark grey and 
covered with quills. After which, he decided that he rather 
liked his new look.

"Well, while we wait to see what becomes of this little 
encounter, let's have another look at his DNA. 
Hhhhmmm... normal chromosomes, normal DNA pattern 
except for the X-Factor. It replicates itself the same as 
any other strand, except that the X-Factor moves up the 
strand as it replicates, almost as thought it's trying to be the 
most dominant characteristic. Very interesting. Any DNA 
with the legacy viral infection remains in the same spot on 
the DNA chain, but overpowers adjoining molecules. I 
wonder if Sinister knew how close he came to replicating 
the virus. Curse him for destroying all his records so 
thoroughly. All that I know is that this little fail-safe will 
keep Nate from ever reaching a ripe old age, but how do I 
slow its progress?" Henry thinks. "Its not a perfect match 
for the effects of the Legacy Virus, but it's extremely close. 
A new strain? No, it would exhibit traits similar to the 
previous strains, and this obviously does not."

Henry stretches his arms and rubs his eyes as he leans back 
into his chair. He holds a small capsule between his large 
fingers. "This little pill I gave Nate is the closest thing I've 
been able to find that does anything to the effects of the 
Legacy Virus. It protects the neighbouring DNA from 
being consumed by the X-Factor. It appears to slow the 
progress of  the X-Factor going up on Nate's DNA chain, 
although hardly halts it. I had to include enough 
regeneratory compounds to make him sprout new arms 
though. His power is more than his body can contain. It's 
causing rapid cellular degeneration which will eventually 
destroy him completely. The second law of thermo-
dynamics in action...so how does one defy a law?"

                              - - -

"Finally. Where have you been?" Belasco asks as he walks 
into Selene's bed chambers.

"Oh here and there. I've been talking with Madelyne." 
Selene answers as she starts to remove her cape.

"I hope for your sake that you haven't revealed too much. 
She is a key that we cannot afford to lose, you know. With 
her at our side, we can control everything on earth." 
Belasco retorts.

"Save your bravado, Belasco, I know her potential. I merely 
planted a seed. A seed of hate. An apple seed, if you will." 
Selene remarks slyly with a slight grin.

"Ah yes, the pendant. It draws her closer with the appeal of 
knowledge and power." Belasco grins in agreement.

"This little apple is perfect. Think of the symbolism, 
Belasco. The forbidden fruit that fills us with evil. Just a 
taste, and one can no longer resist its temptations. Soon, 
she will be filled with hatred towards everyone that we 
stand against." Selene says as she holds the necklace at eye 
level.

"Then continue your work Selene. Very soon, the Goblin 
Queen will return, and she will summon the Phoenix which 
will give us power beyond imagination." Belasco says as he 
turns toward the door. He walks out of the room and 
Selene closes the door behind him. She holds the pendent 
in her hand and looks at it briefly with a dark grin before 
the room fills with her evil laugh.
                               _ _ _

"What's the point?" Nate asks himself.

"Why me? Why do I have to be the one to do everything? It 
kind of makes a person wonder... if I really AM a person, 
that is. All I really am is just a lab experiment. I guess 
Sinister wasn't joking, that I'm nothing but a gun for him to 
aim. I suppose that's how everyone sees me. Well, if that's 
what I am, then I'm gonna start firing, but first, I'm gonna 
find the only person who hasn't treated me like that. I came 
here to find Maddie, and I'm gonna find her."

Nate walks downs the street with his hands in his pockets. 
He looks around occasionally trying to get a bearing of 
where he is and where he should be going, but nothing 
looks very familiar to him currently, one of the dis-
advantages of wandering a large city. The streets are 
quiet, reflecting the fact that it is nearly 3 a.m. He walks 
past several shops and bakeries, and eventually walks right 
by a large electronic boutique. He pauses as he sees several 
televisions with the volume up loud enough to hear through 
the glass windows. Nate stops for a moment as a familiar 
image flashes on the TV.

Nate can't speak French, and he can't understand what the 
reporters are saying, but he knows exactly what he is 
seeing. It's a news report on the massive destruction on the 
upper west side of town. Destruction that he caused in his 
battle with Siege. Destruction that will take months to 
repair and millions of dollars. He is shocked that he could 
have done such a thing, and the scene looks similar to 
towns that were scourged by Apocalypse during his hostile 
take-over of the United States. For a moment, he feels 
regret which quickly changes to hostility.

On other televisions, he sees sports, movies, and shows. 
The only other one that catches his eye is a conference and 
a man in a wheel chair. The only recognisable word that 
Nate can understand is "Legacy Virus". He ponders the 
thought for a moment, and moves onward.

As he turns around to walk away, he bumps into a dark 
skinned girl. Her flowing black hair whips in front of her 
face as she flinches from the sudden jolt. She recovers 
quickly and looks up at Nate, who was barely moved by the 
impact. He stands still, looking at her and smiling.

"Hi" Nate says confidently.

"Pardon me" she says as she brushes her hair away from 
her face with her hand.

"I'm Nate. It's nice to meet someone who speaks English" 
he says. He's obviously stunned by her good looks.

"Hello. I'm...Threnody" she says. She quickly puts both 
hands on the sides of her head and rubs her temples. She 
grimaces in pain.

"Are you okay?" Nate asks.

"Yeah... I get... headaches... occasionally. Excuse me. I've 
got to go right now." Threnody says as she starts to walk 
away, still holding her temples.

Nate turns to run after her. He hasn't seen a girl so exotic 
and sultry in quite some time. He runs up beside her and 
says "Is there anything I can do?"

She stops and holds her head. Her face shows the look of 
extreme pain. She says softly, "Please... go... right now... 
go."

"Let me help you." Nate offers.

Threnody screams and starts to cry. At first, its a low and 
painful moan, but it quickly escalates into a loud shrill. Nate 
grabs her by the shoulders and screams, "What's wrong?"

He feels an energy flowing from her and building up as she 
continues to scream. He senses that something is terribly 
wrong even before it happens, he erects and telekinetic 
shield around himself.

The energy release is considerable, astonishing even. In a 
fraction of a second, the air displacement and energy rush 
sends Nate flying away from Threnody. The initial brunt of 
the blast knocks him unconscious even through his force 
field. The blast devastates the surrounding areas causing 
glass to shatter from windows for blocks around. The street 
buckles causing chunks of asphalt and concrete to fly in all 
directions. Had there been anyone else around, surely they 
would have been injured at the least. 

After the explosion is over, Threnody quickly stumbles off, 
leaving Nate alone and unconscious. After a few minutes, 
he starts to move around and moan. His first thought is, 
"Am I having bad luck with women lately, or what?"

-----To be continued-------

Next issue: Nate vs. Siege again and Maddie will never be 
the same. Special guest star: Adam-X the X-Treme. All
in Part 2 of The Focus, "From the Fires of Death".


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