A
while back, I penned a little ficlet based on the Ultimate X-Men
Weapon-X arc: "The Goose Who Laid the Golden Egg." It was an idea
that took up residence in my head and wouldn't go away, so I wrote it
down but never did anything with it, since I had too many other things
on my plate to write. But in clearing off old stories from my
hard drive, I stumbled on it again and decided to toss it out there,
leaving it open, in case somebody else had an idea of
what might come next. Several somebodies did.
This story series was begun in the fall of 2001, then went dormant for a while. In the meantime, the Weapon-X storyline was concluded and a new arc begun. When the story was revived in the summer of 2002 it departed from the comic some time after issue #10 (the Punjabi mission) where Jean killed the scientist and Logan was retaken. Differences to be assumed include:
1) Neither the Brotherhood nor Fury had a thing to do with the X-Men's escape, and it was Logan, not Fury, who killed Wraith. The Weapon X headquarters was destroyed in the process.
2) Professor X is comatose due to too rapid a disconnection from Cerebro. Cerebro was destroyed in the escape because they couldn't take it with them.
3) The mansion was not rebuilt, and the X-Men are still on the run.
FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN JOINING US IN THE AU SANDBOX:
When the RR is complete, with epilogues, the AU will once again be open for others to play in this alternative future (assuming anyone wants to!). There are, however, two small stipulations, as follows:
1) Further stories in the AU should either fit into "blank spots" in what's been done already, or should be a 'stand alone' stories (with a distinct beginning and ending). I simply don't have time to shepherd the RR further, or shepherd another large plot art. :-( So putting it simply, the round-robin aspect is over, but the AU itself is still open to anyone who wants to join in our little corner of the alternate Ultimate Universe.
2) I reserve the
right to refuse to archive the story if I feel that it goes too far
afield of the characters as established in this AU, or if it's too
poorly written. (I should note that I haven't turned anyone down
yet, just thought it was worth clarifying.)
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A certain young woman thinks about her past and the child she holds in her arms, c. 1800 words
The Goose Who Laid the Golden Egg (Minisinoo)
Foundation story, begin here
The thoughts of a
special mutant prisoner in the Weapon-X program, c.
950
words
The Gander's Delimma (Paxnirvana)
Scott gets a
"sinister" visitor, c. 1050 words
A
Bird in the Hand (Mara Greengrass)
Scott and Maddie
meet at last, c. 1050 words
Of a
Feather (David
Ellis)
Scott tells Ororo
about his session with Madelyne, and Ororo has her own story to tell, c. 3150 words
What's
Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander (Dyce)
In which unexpected
help arrives, c. 1700 words
A Nest of Stones (Unanon)
Rogue observes, and
tells stories, c. 2400 words
Wild Goose Chase (Sascha)
Maddie and
Sabretooth are on their own. Or are they?, c.
1500 words
The
Huntress (Diana)
Who's hunting the
Goose?, c. 2200 words
A
Little Bird Told Me (Mara Greengrass)
Scott wants to go
find Madelyne and his child, but he's got to go through Ororo first, c. 1950 words
Gosling's Dreamer (Paxnirvana)
I dropped Alex in as
a lever against Scott, now I'm going to see just what this boy's made
of, c. 4100 words
Mother Goose, Father Gander (Dyce)
Mystique, Sabes,
Maddie AND Dom, oh my!, c. 2900 words
The
Cuckoo's Nest (Mamfa)
What happened to
Juggernaut, Rogue and the baby?, c. 2300 words
Oh,
What a
Goose I Am (David Ellis)
Nathaniel Essex
closes in on Maddie, Sabretooth and the rest, and we get a look inside
his disturbed mind, whether we want it or not, c.
1650 words
Hawk
and Pheasant (Minisinoo)
Jean and Ororo go
after the boys – but are the boys really who they're each after?, c. 4000 words
Migration
(Paxnirvana)
Alex and Dani hit
Canada, and meet with an unexpected welcome wagon, c. 4375 words
Why Did
the Ganders Cross the Road? (Mara Greengrass)
Scott and Logan are
on the road together. It could be going better, c.
3100 words
Hawk, Pheasant and Phoenix (Minisinoo, with
Dyce)
In which almost
everyone ends up in one place at one time, c.
5800 words
Sitting Ducks (David Ellis)
All bets are off
when the major players engage in a battle royal, c.
2200 words
It
All Goes South (Paxnirvana)
The Final Showdown, c. 5900 words
Sorting Nests
(Diana and Minisinoo)
Cleaning up the
mess, c.4350 words
Ruffled Feathers (Mara Greengrass)
Epilogue 1, After
the team returns to Westchester, Logan hits the road to do a little
hard thinking, c. 1600 words
Roosting (Minisinoo)
Epilogue 2, Finding
a safe place to rest ... , c.3250 words
Twin
Geese (never
finished)
Epilogue 3, Turning
an unexpected corner and finding yourself. Round Robin Finale.