Chapter Six
"Magneto! I trust you have a reason for being fifteen minutes late?"
Magneto stared at the iron blue face and snorted, "where is the new
recruit?"
"In sector blue nineteen waiting for you. I got a look at him Magnus, am
I to believe you're going to let that sadistic maggot into M-tron?"
"Men of our position must care for what we call sadistic Kang. You are in
charge of earth monitoring, you have most likely seen Wolverine's new army.
We need numbers now more than ever?"
"But a mutant called Mesmero? What be his power? Sawing women in half?"
"I know the mutant very well and I'll say nothing more of him. Thanos
came to me to lead M-tron, he came to you for monitoring technology. Let's
keep our respective positions." Magneto exited the small room and turned a
corridor. In a walk that lasted ten minutes he descended deeper and deeper
into the darkened hallways of the space station. Turning the corner and
opening the door his arrival caused the mutant inside to jump to his feet.
"Mesmero," Magneto's voice was clear and deep.
"Yes it's me, I'm here." The green skinned mutant faced the master of
magnetism, "what is it you wish to show me?"
"This way." Mesmero followed Magneto down a darker tunnel explaining as
they went. "You see, with the coming of the deadlier X-men and the
Sentinels, I formed a partnership of protection with Thanos and Kang. While
their technology was at my disposal I agreed to pay off my part of the
bargain by creating M-tron. In but days they will be set loose upon the
world."
"M-tron?"
"Indeed, assorted mutants and non-mutants all under my leadership. Our
goal is not to merely free mutants from the grip of Sentinels but harness
the sentinels for our own purposes. Imagine the power we could have with an
army of them on our side. A power, I may add, that is shared by all
members of our organization. Like M-tron."
"Who else is there besides M-tron?"
"Kang has rallied members of Starforce to his side. Led by Kree
superpowers Atlas and Minerva they monitor earth in search of superhuman
activity. Kang sold the Kree improved versions of Sentinels, allowing them
to finally obliterate the Shiar. In turn the skrulls are on the side of
Thanos. He obtained their aid with five very special objects."
"Sure, and what were they?"
"Severed heads. The Fantastic Four and the Hulk. Levelled by Skrullian
battalions."
"Excellent."
"We have arrived." With a flourish of his cape Magneto unlocked a door
and swung it open. "This is the meeting room," he whispered.
A total of six superpowers huddled around the table. The first was a tall
white haired man dressed in a red bodysuit with a purple lightning emblem
across his waist and chest matched with purple gloves and boots. Beside him
was a blue skinned woman with flowing white hair. Her outfit was a random
collection of metal and cloth covered with high tech weopons within easy
reach. Next to her was a red haired male dressed in a form fitting black
bodysuit, a red domino mask and cape and a hammer and sicle emblem on his
chest. A metal hammer and sicle lay on the table before him. The mutant
looked impressive but was dwarfed by the monstrous armor clad man who stood
behind him. Mesmero recognized the goliath from news reports, the mighty
Juggernaught. Against the wall were the finals members of the group; an
arabic man with features hidden by a sari who kept an oddly glowing whip
strapped to his belt and a white and black clad male who looked more than a
little disturbed.
"I present to you M-tron," Magneto said, "welcome to the future."
"Ye killed them??" Banshee's voice was a shriek of disbelief. He gestured
helplessly at the body of 61, now lying on a slab in the tunnel morgue.
Snowbird and Puck stood around him, their uniforms black and royal blue.
"I told you what I trained the kids to do."
"But this man was your friend eh?" Puck's voice wavered.
"Not anymore Judd, the Sentinels must have gotten their hands on some mind
wiping technology. Possibly in the Africa seige a couple years ago. These
"mutates" are blank slates, designed just to kill their own kind. Wild
Child was down there Puck, I killed him with my own claws. I saw a few
others that looked familiar from Charley's old cerebro files. Killing them
was a favor!"
"How can you consider death a favor Logan, Moondragon is a telepath, she
might have been able to help them."
"There's no TIME to help them," he roared, "we don't have time for this,
we have to hit the Sentinels, not play shrink with their slaves. These
mutants were wiped and ..."
"Logan," Banshee cut him off, "why was Weopon X not part of this mission.
"I know and you all know Irish. We killed down there, you would have
tried to stop them. Blood's on our hands kiddies why can't you accept
that?"
"Because blood splatters and stains," Snowbird replied.
"I'm not having this arguement with you three again. Bomblast accepted it
fine."
"Bomblast levelled a city of hundreds .."
"That's enough Judd, get out of this room all of you. If you still want
to argue leave these tunnels or you will be forced out of them.
They took their leave, their heads bowed in heroic shame leaving Wolverine
to his tears and the body of his friend.
Chapter Seven
"This," Magneto pointed at the map of Egypt, "is the location of the city
formerly known as Cairo, now a jumbled desert of small poor villages, one of
which was attacked and butchered quite thoroughly yesterday. The culprits
as far as we know call themselves "mutates", brainwashed mutants with
Sentinel-esque markings?"
"Sentinel-esque markings? Why would they attack homo-sapiens?" was
Quicksilver's question.
"Because the X-men showed up prompt as ever and were almost beaten.
Apparently the Sentinels don't mind losing some human lives to get to them.
All of the mutates died in the battle."
"Not an action I'd condone," interupted Vannessa.
"Nor I," Magneto replied, "SHIELD got to most of the bodies, but Kang was
lucky enough to obtain this." With a flick of his wrist and small golden
magnetic wave was airborne. It settled on one of the slab drawers that
lined the station morgue and pulled it open.
"This," Magneto said lifting the corpse's head for all to see, "was the
mutant formerly known as Miss Locke, brother of the british superhero
Captain Britain."
"Jay-sus," wheezed Juggernaught, "what happened to 'er?"
"Psionic erasing, obtained by the Sentinels from God knows where. This
mutant was reported missing along with her brother almost two years ago."
"This explains the dissapearences of mutants throughout the past year, and
the lack of bodies," Quicksilver gasped.
"Indeed, and now they are used as canon fodder against Wolverine's little
army."
"Are you meaning to tell me their are hundreds of these ... things?"
Vanguard shrieked, "my sister is missing as well, could she be?"
"It is possible."
"Nyet!"
"Yes, and the only way to help them is to kill them," Quicksilver said.
"No," said Magneto, "they are making quite efficient marks on Wolverine's
army. They may help bringing mutantkind to its destined glory."
"By using other mutants?" Senyaka sounded angry.
"By whatever means possible."
The stink of the Tokyo sewers forced Banshee's noise to crinkle. Beside
him Snowbird, Puck and Bomblast looked around in disgust. All of them were
knee deep in green colored slime. The ooze was most definately not normal
waste.
*Banshee to Moondragon, we're all down okay.*
*Good, the de-railed subway is ten clicks north of your location. X-squad
is already there.*
*We're moving in.*
Wolverine stood atop the flipped subway car with the rest of his team.
The car and its four other deranged followers lay haphazardly throughout the
mouth of the dark tunnel embedded in the thick green slime. Here at the
source of the explosion the slime was more solid and gelationous. It made
him feel sick.
*I have the life readings Logan, everyone in the tunnels with the
exception of you and Weopon X are dead.*
*Any idea who they were? *
*According to the latest SHIELD classified information a trainload of
human Geecee supporters.*
*All in one place? Pretty risky for a town like Tokyo.*
*They had protection.*
*Yeah where?*
*See that green mess all around you?*
*Yeah.*
*Meet the Cyberai, or their liquified remains if you will.*
"Logan we're here." A snowy owl flew from the darkness and perched on
Logan's shoulder. The three other members of Weopon X.
"You got the 411 from Moondragon?"
"Yeah we know everything." Bomblast lowered himself into the pusslike
ocean and started moving through it with the aid of his thrusters.
"Why are we still here? They are all dead." Slider sounded irritated,
even after a month with X-squad he was still not used to the sight of death.
"Wait a minute!" Bomblast interupted, "I sensed a heat reading right
around .." He let out a short scream and was sucked into the gunk.
"Kid!" Logan shouted, "he lept onto the gooey surface propelled himself
lightly across the surface. A sudden flash of light blinded him, an impact
with what seemed like wood slammed into him, the world went green as he
landed in the gunk."
"Mutates!" shouted Banshee. There were four this time emerging from a
translucent shield cast by a female coded 2457. The one who had struck
Wolverine was a dark skinned youth coded 8890. The two others were male and
female, 30 and 24, neither exhibited any powers at all.
"There muties!" shouted 2457, "get them!"
Chapter Eight
"Snowbird, Puck help me round them up! Slider, give us some turbulence!
Pteronodon, Wildside get Logan and Bomblast out of there!" Banshee's words
ended with a sonic scream, 2457 fell with a scream as it reached her brain.
24 released a blast of light from her fingertips blinding him. Narya's
talon connected with her face sending her flying back.
"Eugene! 30 is getting away." In a single flowing motion Puck had lept
from the passenger car, flipped and connected his feet with the mutate's
head. The opposer was sent flying back and slammed into another car.
Suddenly there was three of him!"
"Nelvanna, he can duplicate himself!" Narya changed course mid-flight and
knocked 24 backwards yet again. "Slider the strong one is getting closer,
Banshee cannot hold him for long!"
"I can't control the ground! It's wobbling too much .. ARGHH!" Slider
fell from the car, struck down by a beam of concussive light.
"I got im!" Wildside jumped on the mutate's back and dug in with his
claws. 8890 screamed in rage and hurled his tiny attacker against the
side of a car. Wildside fell into a pile of duplicated #30's and found
himself being thoroughly beaten.
"Play nice ya bald baby, or I'm gonna have ta put you ta bed!"
Wolverine's claws clamped into 8890's legs and pulled him down beneath the
surface.
"Aggh!" Snowbird was shot down with a laser from 24 who directed a second
beam at Banshee. With a single scream he redirected it at 2457. She
caught the blast in the sternum and fell limp.
"Narya!" Puck surfaced through the crowd of 30's and scooped up the
fallen owl.
"Wildside! Jump!" The voice was that of an amplifier in a clothes
hamper. Wildside lept regardless as a blast of white energy scattered the
multiple men everywhere burning their bodies into soot. Bomblast surfaced
along with Pteronodon. With an unearthly screech the pink mutant struck
down 24, who was then holding a power war with Banshee.
"Nice job people!" Wolverine surfaced from the goo, punching multiple men
from his way. "These baldies aren't duplicatin anymore. I guess that's
all of em."
"Logan, the strong lad?"
"Is in a happier place right now."
"Ahh no!"
"What is yer problem Lucky?" Wildside piped, "killin em is like settin em
free."
"If anyone cares," groaned Slider, crawling atop the boxcar, "I am still
alive."
"Never doubted ya kid. Y'all ready for homecoming."
"Hold on Logan," replied Bomblast, "I'm just extracting some samples from
the area."
"Whaddya expect to find?" asked Wildside.
"If my hunch is correct," the other mutant replied darkly, "proof that
these mutates had nothing to do with the crash.
"Logan?"
"What's up BB?"
"We have a problem." Logan walked into Bomblast's quarters and found the
young mutant hooked up to a giant computer screen. He recognized the
diagram on the screen as a photo of the battle site in Tokyo. Hundreds of
small multi colored lights flashed across it.
"Yeah, go on. What is this?"
"A particograph taken by my micro-sensitive particle camera. It was
installed two weeks ago by Forge and .."
"Hey! Told ya ta stop goin' to that place!"
"We'll talk about that later anyway it's supposed to monitor air particals
and link them to mutant DNA."
"So?"
"According to this, a strobe level light was cast in this region. The
light particles match those in the DNA I extracted from mutate 24. The
quantity of diminishing particles in the area calculate that the blast was
launched 10.203 minutes ago, that was the original blast that blinded you."
"Go on."
"I did the same thing with the one labelled 2457. Take a look at this."
Bubbles and light flashed across the screen. "The most diminished quantity
of solid-air particles she created are all in the form of circles travelling
towards the center of this tunnel. Then they stop. She didn't get a chance
to use her power throughout the course of the battle and the air is empty
of solid air particles outisde of the circular track."
"Yer losin me kid."
"2457 had created an airtight bubble for the team to travel in. She used
it out to get them to the crash site but never used it at the crash site.
The strobe light cast by 24 is the oldest collection of light based
particles in the area. No light or solid air based residue was found
anywhere on the cars or in the samples of liquified Cyberai."
"So?"
"So neither of mutates used their powers on the cars or Cyberai. But
neither could be dismantled or liqiufied in such a short time without the
use of an energy based power."
"Yer figgirin there were more mutates on the site?"
"We extracted a mutate chip from Scott's brain. That's what Moondragon
uses to find mutates so quickly. If there was any other active mutates down
there she would have found them."
"So who did it?"
"More bad news .."
Logan goggled, "so we've got nothing?"
"I wish. Another energy based particle was still in the air at the time
and present in the head cars radio and location systems. Through these
readings I'd estimate the particles were about an hour old when I took the
particograph."
"That's it?"
"No, particles disspitate quickly Logan, only the most sensitive equipment
can photograph them properly. But even though the particles were an hour
old they had only dissipitated .25 percent of the way. And they are
dangerously magnetic. Three guesses."
The words sunk into Logan's mind, "oh shit."
Chapter Nine
The sun had just begun to set over the Italian city of Pisa. The Leaning
Tower of Pisa, one of the few major global structures still standing casted
a pointed silhouette on the moon. From a low flying airplane or a rooftop
view the Tower was a lovely postcard shot of serenity in it's prime.
At the bottom eighty one mutants were about to be lynched.
Wolverine surveyed the setup from the rooftop that he and his team had
just been transported on to. Ten Sentinels surrounded the tower keeping a
crowd of well over ten hundred Friends of Humanity supporters in hand. All
around the tower the mutants stood on their blocks with nooses around their
necks. Each of them flanked by sentries in sentinel uniforms/armor. A fat
black FOH leader was on a raised podium shouting about all the evil the
mutants represented. He recieved nothing but positive feedback from the
crowd.
He turned his attention to his thoughts. *Moondragon?*
*I can "hear" you Logan, the mental web is complete. You are now able to
communicate with X-force and Weopon X.*
*Banshee, where are you?*
*Over on the corner of Diva and Faranacci boyo.*
*Stay there. Sunder?*
*We in crowd like you say boss.*
*Good. The fat guy's almost finished his little speech then they'll start
lynching. When he's finished I wan't X-force to start hitting the crowd.
Hard. Torch I wan't a flame sheet covering all these bastards. X-squad'll
jump down and hit the armored guards. Weopon X, I wan't you all to move in
on the Sentinels. Drive em away from the chaos.*
*He's finishing up now boss* Sparkplug transmitted, *where d'ya wan't us
to start.*
*Go fer that fat chump up there, I wan't a hole in him.*
*You got it.* The air sizzled as the golden rush jetted over the heads of
the crowd and punched through the dictator's chest. The crowd goers
nearest to X-force turned around just in time to see an onrush of brilliant
flame.
*They did it! Move in!* Wolverine hurled himself from the building and
did a tumbling free fall through the air. Wildside had leapt right behind
him and Pteranodon whistled across the sky carrying Slider.
*Weopon X, fry the robotic scumbags* A white blast of energy thundered
across the sky putting a ragged hole through a Sentinel and carving a chunk
of the once pristine tower. The faint whistle in the air turned to an
unearthly screech as Banshee flew in from the east flanked by a brilliant
white owl carrying Puck in its grasp. Propelled by a blast of his own
energy Bomblast flew forward to join his teamates.
"Yeah fry ya losers. Fry!" Torch poured her flames on to the crowd in
front of her. Logan had taught her and her teamates well. Glob had spread
himself into a moon-shaped barricade behind her preventing the threat of
gunfire. Deploying an armada of purple tentacles he effectively "swallowed"
his attackers into his skin, suffocating them. All but Sparkplug's head
and arms were visible through the thick slimy violet skin that he used to
protect her as well as allowing her to open fire on the team's eastern
attackers. Sunder defended the west flank, uprooting boulders and pavement
and hurling it at the Friends of Humanity. He screamed over the dinn.
"They keep coming, more fire, more heat X-force!"
Glob twisted his neck in a spiral to face Sparkplug. "Chill yourself!
The heat is beginning to melt my skin."
"Than let me go sweetcakes." He released her in a burst of heat. She
waved her hands in a strafing motion. The blasts butchered her attackers.
"Hot enough for ya bastards?"
"My God, they're killin' em!" Banshee swooped over the crowd redirecting
his sonic scream into a Sentinel's robotic neck. A blast from Bomblast
knocked the Sentinel's wavering head off.
*Sean! Stop flying over the crowd! Let em do their jobs!* Wolverine's
claws punched through a sentry's chest. The sentry's body fell into the
riot as Logan cut the noose from the drugged mutant.
*Logan! Pteranodon is out of control!* Narya glided past her pink
skinned teamate who was vicously tearing apart the other sentries.
*Leave her! Keep distracting the Sentinels so Banshee and Bomblast can
take em out! Puck! Yer with us.* Wolverine's claws thrashed through a
barricade of guards sending five bodies falling from the tower.
*Wolverine! Look out above ya old man* Wildside's voice screamed in his
head. Wolverine jumped as a disfigured Sentinel fell towards the tower.
*My GOD!* Moondragon transmitted to all of the X-men, "there is a BOMB in
the tower!*
Chapter Ten
It was too late. The Sentinel collided with the tower setting off the
bomb. A terrific boom thundered in the late as vision was lost and shrapnel
was hurled everywhere. Wolverine found himself in free fall, he could make
out the white silhouette of Puck racing towards him.
"Eugene, NO!" Puck slammed into him knocking him off the building. Once
again falling Wolverine saw only a sentry with a gun behind Puck. Eight
gunshots echoed in his head.
The burning tower fell forward, landing on the still rioting crowd.
Another boom echoed as it crushed the masses. The white spots began to fade
and become red and black. Logan could feel a metal grasp against his neck.
"Wolverine. I've got you!"
"Bomblast?"
"We're gettin out of here."
On the surface of the burning tower he could see sentries falling into the
flames propelled by Slider's friction control. In the sky the black form
of Pteranodon was falling. The crazed screeches of a snowy owl rang in his
ears. He could smell smoke as Bomblast's armor toppled towards earth.
Then everything went black.
A man whose features were hidden behind an iron plate watched the battle
on his screen. He noted briefly the image of Wildside killing a male mutate
in free-fall through the air. The X-men were becoming a definate problem.
Before him he held the form of requestation. His fingers tapped on the
keyboard highlighting the mutant names on the keyboard that were to be
brainwashed for the next mission. Behind him came the chilling voice of his
souless ward.
"The mutants are ready lord," even through the thick hooded cloak he could
see his ward's empty eyes and silver skin.
He chuckled at the power at his disposal.
Wolverine awoke, shaking the spots from his eyes and marvelling in horror
at the new sights. He was on a broken rooftop of a still burning building.
Below him the night lights of the fallen tower blinked madly in tune with
the flames below them. Bodies of human and robot alike were scattered
across the area. The street was empty save for blood, fire and broken
structures. It reminded him of the Liberty Battle. He felt sick.
*Wolverine*
*Moondragon?*
*You have been out for two hours. The city is under quarantine. This
site has not yet been investigated.*
*The others?*
*I believe I have found some of them.*
*Lead me to em.*
*Of course* He descended the stairwell of rubble into the fire pits under
the fallen tower. *I lost track of Puck on the second elevation level.*
Against his own fears Wolverine began climbing the dead tower until he came
to a ledge stained with what he smelled as his own blood.
*Wolverine. There!*
"Aww no, aww gawd no." Puck lay half anchored on the ledge his short legs
hanging out over the oblivion below. Beside him lay a dead and bloody
sentry pinned to the ledge with jagged shrapnel. Wolverine bent down to
touch the small and twisted body. He counted eight gunshot wounds in his
friends broken chest.
"My gawd Judd," he whispered, "I didn't think I could screw up so badly
again. I didn't care about the rookies. I don't care about myself. But
you trusted me buddy and now you're ...."
*Dead Wolverine, Puck is dead. Continue on with your search.*
*I can't I ..*
*Wan't to stay here? Wan't to see them all die in the toxic fumes?*
*If I surrvive this lady I'll kill you.*
*You could try.*
Breaking the last shred of willpower he possesed he jumped into the
opening in the ledge and into the interior of the broken structure. The
inside was dark, illuminated only by fire. The insides had been cracked
open like an egg. Logan walked for what seemed like hours through the
bloody catacombs staring at broken equipment and lifeless vessels.
"Wolverine?" The voice was weak. It fluttered brokenly through a sea of
dead sentries.
"Wildside?" Wolverine dug through the mess pulling out the blood soaked
teammate.
"Heard Puck," Wildside rasped, "screams. Eight slugs in im. Killed a
lot. Slider fell. I saw. I fall ... down here."
"I found Puck. They shot him to pieces. Where's Slider?"
"Don't know ... fell ... down." Wildside's eys closed. He was
unconcious.
*Wolverine,* Moondragon interupted.
*Yeah?*
*Glob is about twenty clicks southwest of you. I can sense other minds
seemingly muddled in with his.*
*Good work.* Wolverine punched a hole through the low ceiling and began
an upward climb.
*What about Wildside?*
*If I find anyone I'll send em back here. If he's still alive he'll be
saved.*
The surface of the tower was less death covered than it's underbelly but
the pit of fire and blood below it's cracking surfaces felt like walking a
tightrope across Hell.
I didn't take long to find Glob. A break in the tower's exposed side was
filled completely with the gelatinous goo. The gash in the tower was quite
deep. Through the transparent purple muck he could see at least fifty
bodies suspended in the gel.
*Wolverine, the bodies! Some of them are still alive!*
"Let's find out lady." Using his claws he tore through the purple skin
tearing shreds off it. He plunged his hand into the hole he made and pulled
a gasping mutant from out of the skin.
"Sparkplug!"
"Wolver - ine?"
"What happened?"
She coughed and spoke slowly. "Glob surrounded the captive mutants and
made himself porous to protect them from the blast. X-force got sucked into
him. If it worked, we're all alive."
Wolverine gestured at the purple goop. "And he?"
"I don't know."
"Listen, I wan't you to go somewhere. Just follow Moondragon. She'll
show you the way. When you find Wildside and if he is alive, bring im back
here."
"Did you find anyone else?"
"Only Puck, and he's dead."
She looked a little nervous, tears began to fall from her cheeks. "I
don't want to do this anymore Logan."
"You .. what?"
"I don't want to be an X-man anymore. All this," she gestured to the sea
of bodies. "I help, I helped kill all these people."
"You saved the mutants."
"I didn't! I just killed and killed. I feel so dirty. I don't want to
.." she froze at the sight of his face.
"Go get Wildside. Now."
She ran from him. She could hear her crying. He thought of what a
monster he had become. He put the thoughts in the back of his mind and
began tearing at the purple flesh.
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