Author's Note – I do not own any of the characters, Marvel and DC do.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Plans And Changes

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"Report." Magneto said from his throne and Tekmage looked up at him.

"Almost done, sir. I've tested the alterations to the programme and we will be ready to launch within two days."

"Excellent." Magneto said quietly as he leaned back on his throne. "Chrome, report."

"We have found the lab that you wished us to locate and are keeping it under surveillance." Chrome said, then he paused. "Sir, I must ask. Assuming that your plan works…"

"Never assume." Magneto said. "That is why, when I deploy, Bizarro will be by my side and Quicksilver will be nearby. If the plan works, all that I will have lost is some time as the lab is set up somewhere new. If it fails, which it might judging from what happened at Genosha, then we will have a secure fallback plan. Always prepare for things going wrong, Chrome. Most of the time, it will be unneeded, but there will be times when a backup plan will save you from disaster."

"Yes, my lord." Chrome said with a bow. "I understand."

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Scott's eyebrows shot up as Xavier entered the room and the bald professor chuckled.

"Yes, Scott, this is one of the chairs we used during out first meeting at the Fortress. Clark was kind enough to modify it with a power cell, controls, armrests and footrests for me."

"You have a… hover-chair." Scott managed and Xavier nodded.

"I have been considering one for quite some time. I even tried to use the Danger Room to draw up plans for one last year, but I ended up with something that looked like a pair of yellow shoe-boxes attached at forty-five degrees. Clark, Forge and Peter put this together for me in under an hour since now that Clark has been revealed as Superman, there is less need for secrecy."

"Nice." Scott said, walking round to examine the chair from all angles. The chair itself looked like it was made from a single curved piece of metal with several lines of glowing crystals running down parallel to each other. The armrests emerged seamlessly from the sides of the backrest while the footrests were supported by a single angled strut which emerged from the base of the floating chair. Embedded in the base of the chair was a thick crystalline disk that looked almost ten centimeters thick and which Scott suspected supported the entire thing.

"It also has a remote link to Cerebro, although I need to land before I can use it." Xavier added. "While it isn't anywhere near as powerful as it would be if I was actually in Cerebro, I can see several ways that it could prove useful."

"Heh, I guess that means that they've upgraded you again." Scott joked and Xavier paused as he thought about it before nodding.

"Yes, yes, I believe that they have."

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"Sir, where are we?" Trask asked as they emerged into a cavernous factory humming with energy. Creed gave him a slight smile.

"I always believe in having a backup plan, Bolivar. When you created the basic types of Sentinels, you also designed another and even had the largest crystal programmed ready for if you should ever choose to build it."

Trask nodded, unsure about where Creed was going with his comments, then they rounded a large piece of machinery and he inhaled sharply.

Sat in a giant throne which was set against the back wall was a Sentinel almost thirty feet tall. Its lines were smooth and flowing, the sculpting of its torso armour giving the impression of a sleeveless tunic while the head had been shaped to give the impression of a Rroman-style helmet with an emotionless face. A veritable fan of conduits, cables and pipes were connected to its back, giving it the impression of wings.

"If you recall, I reassigned the White Bishop after you got the assembly lines sorted." Creed said as the aforementioned cyborg walked into view. "This was his assignment, Master Mold. The ultimate Sentinel, with the ability to repurpose any modern factory, rearranging it so that it can create new Sentinels to protect humanity. Master Mold, state your primary directives!"

The looming figure moved slightly, its purple optics swivelling in their recesses to focus upon them.

"PRIMARY DIRECTIVE ONE, PROTECT HUMANITY FROM THE THREAT OF MUTANTS.

"PRIMARY DIRECTIVE TWO, DEPLOY SENTINEL FORCES FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY.

"PRIMARY DIRECTIVE THREE, OVERSEE MAINTAINANCE AND CONSTRUCTION OF SENTINEL FORCES.

"PRIMARY DIRECTIVE FOUR, ANALYSE MUTANT POWERS AND DEVELOP COUNTERMEASURES."

Trask stared at the metal giant, then he started to grin.

"We may win this yet, especially if we can reclaim the Sentinels we have lost."

"Oh, the Sentinels that Magneto stole from us are gone, barring a full reprogramming." Creed said, then he smirked. "But Master Mold is receiving all the data from them regardless. Soon, we will know Magneto's plans, as well as the identities and locations of his allies."

Trask's grin turned feral.

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"What. A. Day." Ray sighed as he staggered to the chair and slumped into it, earning a few glances from the others who were doing homework in the library. "Callisto finally made her decision and I've been helping the Morlocks move to Sanctuary, along with another group they were in contact with, a group living in an area known as the Labrynth."

"And we were grateful for your help." A voice rumbled from the door. Several students gasped as the owner of the voice walked in and looked round.

"The winged cat is Talon." Ray said without bothering to look round. "He's joining the X-Men. His girlfriend Maggie and their friend Claw are moving to Sanctuary as its guardians."

"Vhoah." Kurt said, moving closer to the tall being. "Zat is vun heck ov a mutation."

"Not the same as yours." Talon shrugged, pulling his wings closer to his body. "I'm the result of a genetic experiment, I used to be human before the now-thankfully-deceased Dr. Sevarius used me and a few others in an attempt to create artificial Gargoyles. He did something to mix Panther, bat and electric eel DNA to create this form. Superman told us he can turn us back human with his medical tech, but… we're sort of used to this form now. Except for Fang, he was abusing his power, so Superman returned him to his former self."

"Talon can fire electrical blasts too." Ray noted. "Nowhere near my level, but he can taser people in close combat."

"Another flight-type." Storm noted as she placed a bookmark in the novel she was reading and set it to one side. Rising from her seat, she walked over and fearlessly offered her hand. "I am Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. Welcome to the X-Men."

"Thank you." Talon smiled.

"It is good to know you are well, my friend." Another voice rumbled and Talon looked up as Goliath stepped out of one of the alcoves, his wings wrapped around him and a book clasped in his claws. "Eliza was worried about you. Do you mind if I tell her you are here?"

"Not at all." Talon said. "I didn't know that you lived here too."

"I do not. I am just visiting." Goliath shrugged, holding up the book in his hand. Talon tilted his head slightly.

"The Sword and the Staff by Jeffrey Robbins." He read. "I heard about that book, is it accurate?"

"As I have never met Merlin, I cannot answer." Goliath shrugged. "Perhaps you should seek out Arthur Pendragon for he may be able to answer your questions."

"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Rahne interrupted. "Arther Pendragon? King Arthur's alive?"

"I met him on Avalon." Goliath said and Rahne's already-wide eyes somehow grew larger.

"Avalon actually exists?!"

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"Lord Magneto!" Chrome shouted excitedly. "Tekmage reports success, it is done!"

"Excellent." Magneto purred as he rose from behind his desk and strode towards the door, his cape flaring dramatically. Stepping out of the office, he paused as his gaze travelled across the Sentinels, then he turned to face his chief lieutenant.

"Did you do that?"

"Yes, My Lord." Chrome stated proudly, looking at the lines of Sentinels with their armour plates outlined in deep purple and a styalised representation of Magneto's helmet in red on their shoulders and the left side of their chests.

"I like it." Magneto said after a long moment of contemplation.

Chrome smirked slightly, then turned to face Magneto, letting Magneto's gaze drift to the similar insignia located above his heart, a red helmet in a silver circle.

"Xavier has his circled X, Superman has his diamond S, the Avengers their circled A, we needed an Icon to mark our own as well." Chrome explained. "Since it is you, my Lord, who is the one we all look up to, it must be you who inspires the Icon that we use and since your helmet is so recognisable…"

"I agree." Magneto said with a smile. "You have my approval, but don't go overboard with it. I do not want to end up with an Evil Lair look with my new Icon plastered five meters high between pillars and on banners descending from the ceiling. I saw too much of that when I was young."

Chrome froze for a moment, his suddenly-expressionless face reflecting his realisation.

"Of… of course, my Lord." He managed and Magneto nodded.

"Excellent, Chrome. I knew that you would understand."

Chrome bowed as Magneto walked away, then he slumped slightly.

"I almost failed him."

"What are you talking about?" Tekmage asked as he approached, wiping his hands and Chrome glanced round before answering.

"When Lord Magneto was but a young boy, Europe was rent by war, a war sparked by a madman who believed in the purity of a race that he himself was not part of. Lord Magneto's family was slain by the people who followed that madman and Lord Magneto himself, once his powers activated, was taken and experimented upon until the day that he was rescued by Steve Rogers and Logan."

"Captain America and Wolverine?" Tekmage asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Indeed. Both far beyond human in their own ways, just like Lord Magneto.

"Once the war ended, Lord Magneto searched for a way of promoting peace, eventually meeting Charles Xavier. The two were great friends, but their differing experiences led to their eventual parting of ways. Xavier foolishly believed that the humans would choose to live peacefully with those who were their superiors whilst Lord Magneto knew that Humans would seek to wipe out our kind because we are different, we are superior and they fear us because of it."

"And why did you almost fail?" Tekmage queried.

"Because I almost took us down the path of grandoise display that the madman from his youth embraced. The madman, Adolf Hitler, used such displays to seize power, to reinforce his insane desire to control everything. Lord Magneto merely wishes for our kind to take our rightful place as leaders, a place without fear, without human oppression preventing us from living our lives as we should."

Tekmage nodded slowly in understanding, then he placed a reassuring hand on Chrome's shoulder.

"But you didn't fail him." He said gently. "And that is what counts."

For several seconds, both men remained unmoving, then Chrome slowly nodded.

"Thank you."

"No problem, big guy." Tekmage said with a slight smile. "Now come on let's get these things as close to perfect for Magneto's plan."

"Of course." Chrome said, then he paused. "Thank you."

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"Sir, a message from our agent in Magneto's organisation!"

Nick Fury looked up from the eternal flow of paperwork and e-forms that he dealt with on a daily basis, a sysiphian task which he hadn't signed up for, a task that he would take any excuse to avoid, even dealing with Tony Stark's drunken misadventures which, as aggravating as they might be, were less so than the bureaucratic nightmare he was faced with. Reaching out, he accepted the datapad and quickly scanned it, then he froze and re-read it, hoping against all hope that he had been wrong.

He wasn't.

"Status on the Avengers?"

"Currently on a mission to Asgard, dealing with an issue with Amora and Skurge."

"And the Commandoes?"

"Taking down a necromancer in Brazil."

"DAMMIT!" Fury shouted. "Just when… Xavier! Get me Xavier on the comm, NOW!"

"Yes sir!"

"And get ready to start evacuating Washington!"

"Yes sir!"

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Author's note: Yes, the chair Xavier tried to design was the one used in the original X-Men cartoon series. At the time it was made, it looked futuristic. Now, it just looks clunky.

As for Talon, it seemed such a shame to waste him especially since I've brought in Goliath and the Gargoyles. Besides, you can never have too much air support. On that subject, Goliath may briefly appear again, but I have no real plans for him as he's useless during the day (unless you need a giant paperweight). Ditto the Morlocks, I just needed to put them somewhere where they can show up if needed without requiring a contrived coincidence.