The Scott and Jean Archives
The X-Men are sick from drinking contaminated water after the previous day’s mission. Except for Cyclops who stuck with bottled water, and thus is the only fit member of the team for Xavier to send on a rescue mission.
Cyclops is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia to track down a “killer mutant” who has been abducting residents of the town of Weirton and holding them hostage in an abandoned quarry.
Xavier and Cyclops are not able to get much information or cooperation from the local police and authorities, but Xavier is able to dig up enough information to send Cyclops in the right direction.
In the forest, Cyclops is ambushed by a mutant who calls himself Frederick. Frederick decides to have some fun brawling with Cyclops. In self defence, Cyclops knocks Frederick out, stone cold. A quick examination reveals that Frederick is still barely breathing, and Xavier and Cyclops venture into his mind to try and locate the missing people they had set out to find.
They learn that Frederick’s father was a miner who worked around dangerous levels of radiation. After the death of his father and institutionalisation of his mother during his teenage years, Frederick was left to the care of the state. When his mutant power manifested and no one could help him, he fled to the abandoned mine where his father worked. Feeding off the radiation made him stronger, but as a result from total isolation, he was starting to lose his humanity.
Suddenly, Cyclops loses contact with Xavier again. Frederick had revived. After knocking out Cyclops, he flees back to the mine to fully recover. Xavier deduces that he has “a little bit of everything” when it comes to mutant powers, given his exhibition of telepathy and healing power.
Cyclops finds the mine. With no time to waste, he heads in alone. Despite Xavier’s suggestion to send a recovered team mate, Beast, as back up, Cyclops is fearful that the people trapped in the mine find themselves in more danger the longer time goes by. Cyclops finds the trapped victims of Frederick. Some of them have been weakened more than the others having lived in the dark of the mines for too long without proper nutrition. Cyclops finds a mining cart to carry the weakest, with the stronger people helping him to move the cart towards the exit.
Frederick stops them in their tracks. Cyclops blasts Frederick into the cave walls, possibly burying him alive, and causing a cave-in. Cyclops manages to rush the victims safely out of the mine.