X-Men Termination: Part XXIX

Sarah and Derrick snuck out of the Hellicarrier earlier tonight. I couldn't sleep and Wade was wandering the flight deck, so we decided to follow them. We made sure that we were discreet. Whatever they're doing, they don't want anyone else to know about it. Fury will not be pleased when he finds out that they "borrowed" one of his flying cars.

We're at some sort of storage facility. I must say, they did well for people that have never had a flying lesson. The car doesn't have a scratch on it. It's been a while since they went into that building. Something's wrong. I can feel it. Time to play rescuer.

"I'm going in. Wait a few minutes, then follow me in".

"No problemo. Kick some ass".

Normally, I don't like to use Sue Storm's abilities. They are defensive in nature, and I prefer the George Patton book of combat strategies: always attack, never dig in. But when you want to be discreet because you are following someone, being invisible does have its advantages. I sneak around quietly so that no one can hear me as I enter the building. Inside, I find two goons playing cards and Sarah and Derrick tied up in their underwear. Clearly, whatever they were up to did not go as planned.

"Cut the cards". I do, with Adamantium claws.

"Hi".

"Um, any chance you'll give us a head start?"

"No". I drive the claws through the first goon's forehead. The second one manages to draw his gun and shoots me in the back of the head, but I recover quickly.

"Holy shit! Look man, I'm just in this for the money. You want the metal? Take it. Go ahead".

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but YOU just shot me".

"I've got a family".

"So do I". I fire a plasma burst through his head. "And you threatened it". I probably should have been paying attention to my surroundings, because someone just knocked me on my ass and broke my jaw.

"We were not expecting you". Judging by his speech pattern and his posture, I'm guessing he's a Terminator. He also does not seem to understand why I'm laughing.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with".

"Joshua Plotkin. Also known as Mirror. A mutant...."

"Oh, I don't mean me. I was talking about him".

Wade comes around the corner and fires a single shot into the Terminator's head. It dies before it even knows what hit it. For the first time, we have destroyed a Terminator while leaving it more or less intact. This should prove useful. Sarah and Derrick look shocked.

"Adamantium bullets. Never leave home without 'em".

"Fury is going to be pissed when he learns that we borrowed his new bullets".

"Meh, what he can he do to us?"

"Good point. You two alright?" Derrick is still in shock from seeing a Terminator taken down with a pistol, so Sarah answers my question.

"We're fine. They only stripped us to search our clothing. So far, we don't have a scratch".

"Care to tell me what the hell this is all about".

"Look around you. What do you see?"

"Metal. It's not like anything I've ever seen before. Not Adamantium, not Vibranium...."

"It's Coltan".

"Coltan! The stuff that Terminators are made out of? This stuff shouldn't exist yet. Where did it come from?"

"No idea".

"How did you know it was here?"

"We didn't. We picked up a lot of radio traffic from this location, and we figured that something had to be going on. A storage area usually doesn't attract this much attention".

"Reese? Hello? Anyone home?"

"Can I get some of those bullets?"

"Sorry, these are from Fury's personal stash. Don't ask how we got them. More importantly, don't tell Fury that I had anything to do with it. What happened?"

"We forgot that these guys carry tasers".

"How could you forget that? Never mind. Wade, take them back to the ship. Take the Terminator too. We can use it".

"What are you going to do here?"

"Things are about to get very hot around here. We're talking volcanic".

"Oh. Have fun melting the metal. Ok, nearly naked people, let's go home. Quick question, why the hell didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

"We didn't want to disturb anyone while they were sleeping".

"Sarah, politeness is for wimps. When you're in our profession, you never go anywhere without someone watching your back". They teleport away, just as two more goons walk into the building.

"Oh shit!"

"You might want to get out of here".

They run off as I fly over the building. I use Magma's powers to cause a volcanic eruption right where the storage facility is. The area fills with molten lava, destroying everything. I watch the Coltan melt, then I open the Earth's crust so that the lava pours back into the Earth.

"Impressive. You never cease to amaze us". What the hell? Oh crap! It's a T-X! "Relax, I'm not going to fight you. Now".

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, we had planned to use the two humans as bait and then kill you all when you tried to rescue them. We did not expect you to arrive this quickly".

"We followed them. Where did you get the Coltan?"

"That is something you will have to find out at a later a time". A helicopter flies over the area and lands near us.

"I believe my ride is here".

"I could shoot it down".

"True, but then you would lose your only link to the Coltan".

"I could follow you".

"I have plasma warheads in the helicopter. If you follow us, I will detonate them and you lose your only link to the Coltan. Till we meet again, my worthy adversary".

I don't think I have ever met a Terminator that was that talkative. Well, that is not entirely true. Catherine and I have great conversations. Speaking of Catherine, I had better get back to the Hellicarrier. Time to check on Sarah and Derrick. I wonder if everyone else is awake yet.

I teleport into the infirmary, where Sarah and Derrick are being examined by Life Model Doctors. Everyone else is here. They do not look happy. Cameron looks concerned, Fury looks pissed. He is currently chewing Wade out for taking the Adamantium bullets. The doctors have finished their examinations, but Cameron wants to check them out herself. Sarah objects to the extra attention.

"Cameron, I'm fine. Really, you don't need to....CAREFUL! Be careful under my arms, I'm ticklish".

"I'm very upset with you, Sarah".

"Excuse me?"

"You and John and Derrick, you are my family. I could have lost part of my family tonight. That is upsetting".

"Cameron, we're fine. Besides, I have a healing factor, remember".

"Derrick doesn't, and a healing factor does not make you immortal". Fury makes a comment that I find disturbing.

"You have no idea".

"What was that, Fury?"

"I'll tell you later, Mirror".

"We might have another problem, Colonel".

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you later, when everyone has had a chance to calm down".