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CHAPTER TEN

Larry Trask was at work on a computer in what had once been his command centre. The impassive gaze of Master Mould never left him. Neither did that of the Sentinels present. Trask was aware that if he did anything Master Mould disapproved of they would kill him. But he no longer cared about his life. All he cared about was his duty: Destroying the things that had killed his father.

"What are you doing?"Master Mould asked.

"I am providing you with all the information we have on mutants terrorists,"Trask replied. "With it, you will be better equipped to anticipate their powers and work on an effective counterattack."

"Your plan is logical,"Master Mould agreed. "Continue."

Trask began transferring the information held in his records to the brains of the Master Mould and the Sentinels. Known members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Mutant criminals. All those who were considered suspect. Once all the information was transferred, he opened another folder.

"What is that?"Master Mould asked.

"Information on another mutant group,"Trask replied. "They call themselves the X-Men."

Beast had been joined by Professor X, Storm and Archangel in constructing the jamming devices, leaving the rest of their uneasy alliance to form into small groups. Banshee was watching Siryn intently. She was chatting with Jubilee, Kitty and Colossus, acting like she didn't have a care in the world. Her lack of fear was simultaneously inspiring and a cause for extreme concern.

"You worry about her, don't you?"

Banshee hadn't realised that Wolverine had been observing him as closely as he'd been observing Therese. He found his sudden presence intrusive. "What do you know about it?"

Wolverine shrugged. "I worry about Rogue. She's like Siryn, insists that this is her fight, her cause, her friends. And she hasn't even got any powers to fall back on. I'd prefer it if she was happy to stay behind but I guess neither of them's cut from that cloth."

"Why do you think that is?"

Wolverine nodded towards Xavier. "The Prof. He's pretty good at inspiring people. Hey, he's even got me acting like Martin Luther King."

"Doctor King wasn't really into slashing people with twelve inch claws,"Banshee reminded him.

"His loss. Guess having Xavier back reminds me how important he is to all this. So we'd better make sure we don't lose him again." He looked Banshee in the eye, as though expecting some silent understanding.

Banshee nodded. "Agreed."

Their attention was drawn to the construction group, who had suddenly started speaking loudly. "Do you think we've got enough?"Storm asked.

"Given the time available, I fear it will have to do,"Beast noted.

"All right,"Xavier agreed. "Let's get moving."

"About time too,"Blob complained.

"We'll take the X-Jets to Colonel Trask's command post,"Xavier continued as if Blob hadn't spoken. "Once we get there…we'll have some idea of how enormous this task is."

"Mutant presence detected,"one of the Sentinels intoned.

"Show me,"Trask ordered.

The Sentinels all looked at Master Mould uncertainly. "Obey the instruction,"Master Mould ordered.

Trask watched two craft coming into land on a security monitor. "It's the X-Men. Wait!" His eyes narrowed as he saw three familiar figures among the group disembarking. "It's the Brotherhood, the ones who killed my father. They're working together! I knew we shouldn't trust them."

"Trust is not necessary,"Master Mould replied. "All the mutants will be eliminated."

Beast began handing out the deactivators to the rest of the group. "Activating one of these within ten metres of a Sentinel's power source should shut it down,"he told them. "For best results, I'd advise attaching it directly to the chest."

"Any reason why we can't just run at them and smash them to bits?"Juggernaut asked.

"Whatever method you feel works best for you. However, there is one detail I think you should be aware of first."

"This isn't necessary, Henry,"Xavier told him warningly.

"I'm sorry to disobey you, Professor, but I feel it is."

"Hank, what's going on?"Storm demanded.

"The Professor's new body is similar in composition to the Sentinels. If he is present when we use these deactivators, there is a strong chance he will be killed."

All eyes, even those of the Brotherhood, turned to Xavier.

"Perhaps I've lived too long,"Xavier replied. "I clung to life once when I had no right to, ignored the cost to others. If my being here has served to inspire you all, my life has not been a waste and my dream will continue. And if my death is necessary to stop all that we've fought for being destroyed, then so be it."

Wolverine looked at him for a long moment. "Yeah. Right. Cassidy?"

Banshee swooped forwards, grabbed hold of Xavier and carried him off into the sky, in the opposite direction to their target. It was the first time Wolverine had actually seen the Professor look surprised.

"You fancy doing that for us?"Pyro asked.

"Well, you can always start walking if things get a bit hot for Homo Superior,"Rogue retorted.

Pyro shrugged. "Just asking."

Storm stared hard at Wolverine, then slowly her face relaxed into a smile. He returned it for a moment then turned to the others. "Let's go."

More and more Sentinels were gathering outside the base. "Mutants approaching,"one of them reported. "Prepare to resist."

The mutants came charging at them. Pyro and Iceman aimed their powers at two of the Sentinels, sending out bursts of fire and ice. The Sentinels detected the threat and began sending out opposing beams, meeting theirs in mid air.

Storm flew at one of the Sentinels. "Target identified as Ororo Monroe,"the Sentinel reported. "Power: Control of the elements."

"Other power: Lateral thinking,"Storm retorted, slamming the deactivator into the Sentinel's chest and sending it toppling backwards.

Wolverine leapt among the Sentinels, slicing them with his claws without doing any real damage. "Logan!"Beast called, throwing him a deactivator.

Wolverine sighed and slammed the deactivator against a Sentinel, downing it. "Not nearly as much fun."

Bobby glanced across at Pyro. "Swap!"he shouted. They began directing their powers at each other's opponents. Caught unawares and unable to adapt, the Sentinels were both blasted away.

Colossus, Juggernaut and Blob were trying to take down the Sentinels with brute force. One of them caught Juggernaut in tendrils. Kitty rushed at him and phased him, pulling him clear. He glared at her. "Hey, if I need help I'll ask for it."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry."

"Head for the building!"Wolverine shouted.

They fought their way through the cordon of Sentinels, heading inside. They entered a large hall where even more Sentinels waited for them, the air alive with destructor beams which the mutants tried to avoid.

"This is most uncivilised,"Beast sighed as he leapt out of the way of several blasts.

"Logan, are we actually getting anywhere?"Storm asked.

"There has to be a control centre somewhere,"Wolverine protested. "Hank, you know the layout of this base?"

"I am familiar with the basic design."

Wolverine glanced around the battle. Jubilee and Siryn seemed to be combining their powers to try and take down one Sentinel, Colossus and Juggernaut were forming an unlikely double team of demolition chargers… "Rogue!"he snapped. "Take a party and take out whatever's controlling these things. Beast will guide you."

Rogue started for a moment at being handed the responsibility, then nodded. "Bobby, Kitty, Warren, with me."