X-Men: Night of the Living Brain Dead
                               by
                           Ben Church bchurch@su.edu

	All major characters are the property of Marvel Comics 
except Hotshot.

                           Chapter 17b
	Hotshot emptied his sack onto the floor of the furnace 
room. Carefully, he cannibalized the teleporters and took the power 
pack from each one.  He wired them together, and using some duct 
tape he'd found, attached them to the huge "furnace" that powered 
the entire complex.  Then he turned and switched on the computer 
terminal and began to stall.
    
        M entered the chamber room, and stopped short.  She had 
arrived just in time to see Cyclops materialize inside one of the 
chambers.  The fight was apparently going rather well.  several of 
the brainwashed X-Men were already in chambers.  She looked 
impatiently at the empty chambers and sat down on the floor to 
wait.
    
         Synch sidled up to Blink.  "Mind if I lend a hand?" he 
asked, indicating the charging Wolfsbane.  Blink shook her head. 
Synch reached out with his power and felt hers joining with the 
Synching aura.  Synch teleported behind Wolfsbane and threw his 
shoulder against her back.  She began to recover just as Blink 
appeared above her and struck with both feet.  The teleporter 
activated soon after.
        Their victory was short lived however, for they were 
immediately attacked by Majik and Karma.  While Majik attacked 
Synch, Karma possessed Blink.  Still synched to Blink's power, he 
dodged both Majik's and the possessed Blink's attacks.  Fighting 
panic, he synched himself with Karma's power, and possessed Majik. 
 Turning, Majik suddenly slammed the flat of the Soul Sword against 
the side of Karma's head, she crumpled to the ground even as she 
faded away.  Thus released, Blink quickly activated Majik's 
teleporter, just as Synch lost control of her, no longer having 
Karma nearby to synch with.
        Banshee found himself blasted out of the sky by thousands 
of tiny explosions.  He fell to the ground and struggled to his 
feet only to be knocked once again.  Jubilee advanced cautiously, 
every time she saw him draw in a breath to scream, she blasted him 
again.  When she was close enough to slip a teleporter on him, she 
was suddenly thrown to the side by a psionic blast.  Chamber 
watched as she disappeared, then reached out a hand to help Banshee 
up.
        "Thank ye lad." Banshee said.
        "Don't mention it Guv." Chamber replied.
        "Lad!" Banshee cried.  "Get down!"  They ducked a plasma 
blast from Havok.  Banshee took him out with a scream.
        Skin watched as the blur that was Quicksilver approached 
Penance.  Quickly, he stretched his arm skin and wrapped it around 
a tree then kept stretching it  till it reached another tree and 
wrapped around it.  No sooner had he accomplished this then 
Quicksilver passed between the trees.  He flew backwards at least 
three feet.  He quickly vanished.  Skin reeled with the impact.  
Penance looked at him with concern on her face but he waved her 
away.
        "I'm all right Chica.  Thanks for bein' bait."
        The White Queen psionically hid herself from Polaris, and 
looked for the teleporter.  Finding it, she reached out with her 
mind and activated it.
        Storm used gale force winds to blow Ice man off his perch. 
He soon made himself a column of ice to save himself.  But while he 
was distracted, Storm had found the teleporter.  She sent a small 
bolt of lightning into the device to activate it.  And so the 
battle ended.
    
        Bishop stalked through the corridors of the building, his 
gun at the ready.  As he passed a door, he heard noises from 
inside.  He held the gun in front of him, burst in.  M was 
assisting Strong Guy from the chamber.
        "I'm never taking the subway again." he said.
        Bishop looked at the array of chambers in the room.  All of 
the missing mutants were here.
        "How much longer before the rest are released?" he asked M. 
No sooner had he spoke, then three of the chambers opened, and 
Husk, Wolverine, and Sabertooth were released.
        One by one, the chambers opened, releasing their contents. 
The last to be released, was Jean Grey.  Cyclops, his eyes clenched 
tight to hold in his optic blasts, asked tensely, "Why hasn't she 
been released yet?"
        "There has been more damage done to her mind than to anyone 
else's." M said.  "The Black Queen drained her mind.  When Arcade 
used the machine on her, it retained all the information that was 
in her head.  Now it's putting it back in."
        Soon the chamber containing Jean opened and she slumped to 
the floor.  Wolverine helped her to her feet.
        "Is the boy all right?" she asked.
        "Last I heard darlin'." Wolverine answered and looked at M.
        "He was fine when I left him."
        "You however, will be far from all right!" said a voice 
from the doorway.  There stood the purple clad man that they had 
seen before.
        Polaris looked wearily at the man and clenched her fist. 
There was a sound of wrenching metal and the man's head collapsed 
in on itself.  Sparks flew, and the 'man' fell with a clang.
    
        Storm smiled as the procession exited the building.  M the 
last in line, spoke into the comm-badge on her chest, and nodded.
        "Where is Hotshot?" Storm asked.
        "Finishing it." M said softly.
    
        Hotshot  was running out ways to stall Arcade, who was 
trying to access the computer.  Finally, he got the signal from M.
        "We're out." she said.
        "Good.  Get every one away from the building."  He picked 
up the detonator, and started the program he'd put on the computer.
    
        "It's about time!" yelled Arcade as he finally managed to 
access the computer.  "I knew I shouldn't have gotten Windows '95."
        Suddenly the screen flashed the message: ATTENTION K-MART 
SHOPPERS, ALL FILES ON THIS COMPUTER HAVE BEEN COPIED AND THEN 
ERASED.  PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE...
        Numbly, Arcade pressed enter, the synthesized voice of 
Samuel L. Jackson emanated from the speakers.  EZEKIAL 25, 17.  THE 
PATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN IS BESET ON ALL SIDES, BY THE INEQUITIES 
OF THE SELFISH, AND THE TYRANNY OF EVIL MEN.  AND BLESSED IS HE 
WHO IN THE NAME OF CHARITY AND GOODWILL SHEPHERDS THE WEAK, THROUGH 
THE VALLEY OF DARKNESS, FOR HE IS TRULY HIS BROTHERS KEEPER.  AND 
THE FINDER OF LOST CHILDREN.  AND I WILL STRIKE DOWN UPON THEE WITH 
GREAT VENGEANCE, AND FURIOUS ANGER!  THOSE TRY TO POISON, AND 
DESTROY MY BROTHERS!  AND YOU WILL KNOW MY NAME IS THE LORD, WHEN I 
LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON THEE!
    
        Hotshot pressed the detonator.
    
        The shockwave created by the explosion, sent them flying.
        "What the hell was that?" asked Jamie.
        "That," answered Monet, "Was Will destroying Arcade's 
headquarters, and hopefully Arcade and his accomplice with it." 
Saying this, she flew quickly to the site of the explosion, and 
began to sift through the rubble.
        "You don't actually think that he survived that do you?" 
asked Guido.
        "That's a very insensitive thing to say.  But yes I do. 
Part of his powers is immunity to damage by impact with blunt 
objects and heat."  Guido, and Rogue helped her lift the massive 
debris.  They soon found him buried under the remains of the 
furnace, unconscious.  His left cheek had been slashed by shrapnel, 
and there were several lacerations on his stomach.  His clothes had 
been incinerated in the explosion.  He was completely naked.
        "If he survives this, he's going to die of embarrassment." 
Monet said humorously.
        "Ah won't tell if you won't." answered Rogue.
        "I'll go get a blanket." Guido said blushing.
    
 To be continued...