Marvel League
A Wildcard Pair
Teaser
Scene: Space
We see Green Lantern
(John Stewart) flying. He comes upon Oa, but instead of it’s usual
green glow, it is replaced by yellow and black circuitry. GL rushes in to help, but is immediately
attacked by other Lanterns who have been infected.
GL: Phalanx…
GL fights off the
Phalanx as best he can, but there are too many of them. Kilowog stumbles
in, also infected. He falls to the
floor, looks up and reaches toward GL.
Kilowog: John… get help… must save… (His voice shifts) There is no escape. You too will become one of us!
GL: Kilowog, I’m sorry man. (He blasts him back down, and flys away.)
Opening Sequence
Scene 1
Scene: The Earth from outer space, shifting to North America, then New York, a Mansion in upstate New York, finally settling on the golden address plate on the outer gates, which reads “1407 Graymalkin Lane. Xavior’s School for Gifted Children.” Gambit is sitting in the kitchen, throwing cards at a pot. His coat is draped over the chair next to him. All of the sudden an alarm goes off, causing Gambit to accidentally charge his card as he throws it. It hits the pot and explodes all the cards.
Gambit: Damnez-le!
He gets up and puts his coat on with a flourish. He runs over to a cabinet, opens it up, and it is filled with decks of cards. He scans the whole cabinet, meticulously choosing his decks. He grabs two decks, from different spots, and sticks them in his inner jacket pockets. He runs outside and sees GL flying in.
GL: (Landing) X-Men! I need your help!
Gambit: Well well, look what we got here. Si ce n'est pas mon ami, la lanterne verte. What’s your hurry?
GL: I don’t have time for this!
GL shoots a green
energy beam at Gambit, which he nimbly dodges.
He grabs three cards from his trench coat and throws the charged cards
at GL. GL quickly puts up a force bubble, and the cards harmlessly explode. The fight continues during the following
dialogue, with both heroes trying to best eachother.
GL: (Grunting from the strain of a continuous
beam) Where…are…the…X…Men?!
Gambit: De X-Men… (Throws cards) aren’t here. Dey on a mission, prob’ly won’t be back for a few days.
GL: Why aren’t you
with them then? (Shoots beams like bullets, causing Gambit to run and take cover)
Gambit: (With a smirk) A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.
Gambit leaps from
behind his shelter and throws a bunch of charged cards. GL re-raises his shield, but the cards
weren’t aimed at him. They hit the ground, producing an enormous cloud of dust
and dirt. When it all settles, Gambit is
nowhere to be seen. A moment later
Gambit appears behind GL, pulls his quarter staff out of his coat and extends
it, uses it to pole vault in the air, and in air he pulls out the rest of his
decks, charges them, and fires them all at GL, 52 card pickup style. The resulting blasts cause GL to lose his
concentration, and he falls to the ground.
Gambit leaps on top of him, laying his quarter staff over GL’s chest,
and leans on it to try to subdue him
Gambit: But, mon ami, maybe I can help. (Stands up) I’m a card carryin’ member o’ the X-Men. (Extends his hand to GL) Got a room in dis here mansion and everythin’.
GL: It’s the Phalanx. (Hesitantly takes Gambit’s hand. Gambit pulls him to his feet.) Those techno-organic parasites have taken over the Corps and Oa. All Green Lanterns got a call back to Oa for further training. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, it’s happened before. They were infecting us! I think… I know… I’m the only one left. With the power and resources of the Green Lantern Corps they could take over the universe! I know you X-Men have some history with them. I need your help.
Gambit: Mon ami, you need to relax! We’ll help your friends. Come on in and we can talk.
GL: There’s no time! The longer the Lanterns are infected, the worse our chances are. Even now the central power battery is being taken over by the Phalanx nannites. My personal power battery is tied directly into the central power battery on Oa. I’ve got one charge left in my battery before it recharges itself from the infected battery. And now I just wasted the little bit of juice I had left on fighting you. I’ll barely have enough power to get back to Oa.
Gambit: I don’ see no problem dere. Let’s you and me round up some o’ your pals and hop in one of dose spaceships you’ve got.
GL: (Pause) The rest of the League is fighting Mongul on Warworld. Looks like we’re on our own.
Gambit: Even better…
Scene 2
Exterior shot of the Blackbird approaching
the newly Phalanx styled Oa. Cut to interior.
Gambit is flying, GL is riding shotgun. GL un-straps himself from the seat and moves toward the back of the cabin.
GL: I’ll head down the rest of the way on my own. There’s no time to waste! (GL opens the back hatch and jumps out.)
Gambit: Lantern, wait!
He, of course, doesn’t wait. He flies down into the fray, and is once again immediately attacked. Gambit uses the Blackbird’s weapon systems to clear a path for himself as he lands. Gambit is swarmed the second he steps out of the ship.
Gambit: (As he’s throwing cards) LANTERN! Dis ain’t as easy as you make it sound!!
GL: (From farther away) Easy as…? Will you just shut up and help?!
Gambit jumps across various Phalanx Lanterns, kicking, knocking heads together, flipping off of, and generally hurting all of the ones in his path to GL. They fight back to back.
Gambit: So dis the plan, mon ami? Just fight as many of dem until they take us down?
GL: We’ve got to take back the central power battery. If we can do that it should weaken the Phalanx’s hold on the Corps. Think you can handle that?
Gambit: Fight as many of dem until they take us down. Got it.
GL: Let’s go!
As they fight their
way toward the power battery, an enormous battle erupts. GL and Gambit are doing well, but they are
quickly becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of Phalanx Lanterns.
GL: (Looking at his ring) Not much power left… Well Cajun, I hate to say it, but it looks like you were right. We’ll make our last stand here, try to take out as many of them as we can before we get infected too.
Gambit: Mon ami, us mutants, we can’t be infected. Don’ know why. Somethin’ about us bein’ dif’rent
from the rest o’ the humans.
After a while of fighting, GL and Gambit are pinned down by the Phalanx Lanterns. A Phalanx Lantern comes behind Gambit prepared to strike a killing blow.
GL: NO!
GL dives in front of the Phalanx Lantern, catching the blow in his shoulder, but it infects him. He uses the last bit of energy in his ring to blast Gambit, forcing him away from the Phalanx and back to the Blackbird. Cut back to GL to see him open his ring hand, and his ring shoots off his finger and flies along the tail end of the energy beam, hitting Gambit in the chest.
GL: One less power ring on their hands. It’s all I can do. Get out of here, you’re our last hope!
Gambit: I can’t! I can still fight!
GL: Just go! Just…just… (voice changes)
just become one of us!
Gambit: (quietly) I’ll be back, mon ami. I promise.
Gambit boards the Blackbird and takes off, as we see GL finish transforming into a Phalanx Lantern.
Scene 3
Scene: Gambit in the Blackbird, in orbit around Oa.
Gambit: (To himself) I need backup. Mutants can’t be infected by the Phalanx, but dey sure can kill us easy ‘nuff. (Pulls GL’s ring out of his pocket) Maybe I could just… (Puts the ring on) Dead. Shoulda known.
Cut to memory of GL
telling him “I’ve got one charge left in my battery before it recharges itself
from the infected battery.” GL’s power
battery appears in front of him.
Gambit: Wonder how dis ting works.
He takes off his jacket, grabs the lantern by the handle, and sticks his hand in the opening. A noticeable change in demeanor appears, as if something washes over him.
Gambit: In brightes’ day,
in blackes’ night,
no evil shall escape my sight.
Let dose who worship evil’s might
beware my power:
Green Lantern’s Light!
During the oath, an energy wave slowly overtakes Gambit’s body, transforming his costume into the traditional Green Lantern costume. His red glowing eyes change to green. When the oath is over, we cut to Oa, with a focus on GL doing various slave tasks. Suddenly he seems to be in pain and screams.
GL: AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH! (The Phalanx pieces are being rejected from his body and expelled.) AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH-ALL RIGHT! (Other Phalanx Lanterns are noticing what is happening and move to attack him. He decks one, then another, and fights them off as best he can. Eventually though, their numbers overtake him again, and they move to infect him once again. Somehow, it doesn’t work. GL looks as shocked as the rest.)
Phalanx Lantern: No matter. He will die like the mutant.
Gambit: (Flying in) Like moi?
He grabs GL in a force bubble as he flies past, swiping him up as he goes. They land in a more unpopulated area.
GL: How did you…? What did you…? Nobody should be able to do that but me!
Gambit: It’s fate, mon ami. You gave the ring to me, it musta sensed that it needed me. But you can have dis t’ing back, it’s not really my style. Plus, y’all might wanna t’ink about gettin’ some new threads. Dis costume ain’t exactly GQ. (Gambit begins to take off the ring)
GL: Wait! I felt a surge when my body expelled the Phalanx techno-organic virus. The ring is connected to me, and you’re connected to the ring. And mutant bodies can’t be a host to the Phalanx. That’s it! You. We need you to cure the Corps.
Gambit: We can’t exactly jus’ attack dem all one by one, steal their ring, and put it on me.
GL: No, but there may be a better way. Come with me.
Gambit: What ‘bout you?
GL: I can’t get infected while you’re wearing the ring.
Gambit: But you can be killed just the same. Here, take this. (Uses GL energy to grab his coat from the Blackbird) It’s not much, but dere’s some tings dat might help you.
GL: (Putting on the coat) Thanks.
Scene 4
Scene: Oa. Gambit and GL are flying across the landscape, blasting any Phalanx Lanterns that get in their way. Eventually, they land in front of a set of very large double doors.
GL: This is it. The Central Power
Gambit: Jus’ keep dose tings offa me. (Gambit turns to go through the double doors)
GL: Gambit, wait! (Gambit turns, GL extends his hand) Good luck.
Gambit: (Takes hand) You too, mon ami.
Gambit turns and runs
to the doors, which respond to his Green Lantern ring. Immediately Phalanx Lanterns turn to respond
to this threat, and begin to attack. GL
pulls the quarter staff out of his coat, extends it, and uses it very
effectively on the Phalanx Lanterns.
Inside, Gambit encounters pure Phalanx, who are
working to fully convert the Central Power
Gambit: I tink I could get used to dis!
He jumps over Phalanx as he did before, and when he jumps off of the last one he uses a little bit of GL energy to propel himself forward directly into the power battery.
Phalanx Prime: STOP HIM!
Interior of the Central Power Battery, we see Gambit there, completely soaking up the energy, and a similar force washes over him, yet this time much stronger than before.
Gambit: (Almost shouting) In
Brightes’ Day!
(During the rest of the oath we see ghost-like heads of other Lanterns also swearing the oath, in unison)
Gambit and other Lanterns: In Blackest Night!
No Evil Shall Escape My Sight!
Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might
Beware My Power!!
All: (Many Lanterns appear on screen around the central figure of Gambit)
GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!!!
Cut to exterior shot
of the Phalanx styled Oa, and then a blinding green
light. After the light subsides, we see Oa as it should be.
Cut to pan across the
surface of Oa as it has been, then the blinding green
light sweeps across the surface, and everything is back to normal, as if
nothing ever happened.
Cut to outside the double doors, where we see GL fighting with the quarter staff. He goes to strike a pure Phalanx, and then they are all overtaken by the blinding green light. We see GL finish striking at the Phalanx, but he only hits air.
The double doors reopen, and Gambit walks out.
Gambit: Looks like your plan worked, mon ami.
GL: Better than I hoped, actually. It seems to have killed all of the Phalanx on Oa and the ones infecting the rest of the Corps.
Gambit: Dat was a little touch from me. Thought it’d save us some trouble. Ya know, I could get used to dis ting. (GL looks a little concerned) Jus’ kiddin’ mon ami. It’s all yours. Thank you. (Takes off ring, and hands it back to GL)
GL: Right back at’chya.
Gambit: After all dis work, I could use a drink. You in?
Epilogue
Scene: A dark bar. Gambit and GL, in civilian clothes, are sitting in a booth, with a couple of beers, laughing.
GL: (Laughing) And then Despero shoots a beam from his third eye directly at Shayera and knocks her through four walls! I mean, the girl doesn’t have any super strength or anything, but she just picked up her mace and flew back into the fight!
Gambit: (Laughing) You ain’t seen nothin’ until you seen Rogue absorb Wolverine’s temperament with his healing factor, den try to get tender. Now dat’s scary!
GL: (Laughing harder) Oh man, there’s no way I can top that one!
Pan out to see them
laughing and clink their beer bottles together.
Fade to black.