Calvin dropped from the plane next to the Hellion base, his metallic skin hitting the ground hard. He looked at the base where he'd been trained, had rallied his troops, adn been given command. At least eighteen Sentinels were converging on it. The few Hellions that they had left behind were fighting tooth and nail, but the bodies of office workers and other Hellions littered the ground.
He felt Logan and Emma thud on the ground behind him. Logan shook his limbs as his broken bones healed, and his narrowed eyes looked over the scene. Emma kept her diamond skin firmly intact and turned her attention to him. The rest of the Hellions were coming off the plane and they'd need orders; fast.
"The operators would've moved to the eastern building," Calvin said, "That's the one with the generators. We get there and we defend it, you understand?"
There was a chorus of 'yes sir's and Calvin charged in. Logan took out his claws, scraping against a Sentinel's feet. Anything that got in Calvin's way he punched, a philosophy that most of the Hellions and the X-men who'd come with them were adopting. By the time they'd gotten to the east corridors they'd taken down three Sentinels.
It wasn't enough though. The Sentinels had followed the fleeing workers, and they were almost all crowded around the last building. The only thing keeping them from destroying the building were the distractions offered by the Hellions. He saw Psylocke and Thunderbird ripping into them, swords and fists flashing. High in the sky Sunfire was making her rounds, trying to melt the Sentinels into submission.
Even as he watched she was hit with a beam of red light. He saw her crash to the ground, her body broken. Sasquatch hurried up, placing her hand on Sunfire's pulse, her face hopeless. She shook her head at Calvin. He felt a lump in his throat as he hurried on, knowing that he'd lost a Hellion.
As the relief force cut its way to join the defenders Calvin saw Psylocke sigh in relief. She immediately paired up with Colossus and the two ran over to a Sentinel. Calvin bypassed them both to reach Thunderbird. He'd been taken back to the base for treatment of his injuries, but he'd apparently decided to forget about them in favor of helping the defenders.
Fresh blood stained his bandages and sweat beaded on his forehead. Calvin saw that he wasn't going to last much longer. Then again, if they didn't successfully fight off the Sentinels, none of them were going to last very long. He supposed that Thunderbird had decided, with his usual straightforward logic, that he'd rather die fighting than in a hospital bed. It seemed like him.
"What's the situation?" asked Calvin.
"Beyond a shitstorm?" Thunderbird asked.
A Sentinel shot a beam their way. Both of them leapt to the side in order to dodge it.
"Commander Summers is dead," Thunderbird said, "Him and his wife."
"What?" asked Calvin, disbelieving.
Thunderbird nodded before jumping up and pounding into the Sentinel. Calvin followed after him, feeling disoriented. Christopher had trained them from the start. He'd been the one to select the Hellions, to give them the go aheads before missions, and to appoint them to command positions. Christopher had been such a part of their lives and he theirs that he'd brought his sons into the compound.
Calvin's blood ran cold. His sons. He stepped up to Thunderbird's side to help him rip up the Sentinel's legs.
"What about Alex and Scott?" he asked, "What about the Commander's sons? Did he bring them here?"
Thunderbird hesitated.
"They're alive," he said, "But Alex…he's not going to be the same. Mimic...it wasn't a clean way that the Commander and his wife died, not by any means, and Alex was right in the thick of it. Him and his brother are lucky to be alive."
Calvin winced. It appeared that children were always suffered the most from war.
"Where are they now?" he asked.
Thunderbird jerked his head towards the building behind them.
"Well then," Calvin said, "It looks like we need to finish these things off."
Thunderbird grunted in agreement. Calvin made a gesture to Thunderbird to follow him. Keeping his speed up Calvin ran some distance away from the Sentinel. Thunderbird followed, looking confused. Calvin cracked his neck and gestured at the Sentinel. When Thunderbird grinned he knew he'd gotten it.
"Let's do this," he said.
The two of them ran towards the Sentinel, picking up speed as they went. By the time they reached the Sentinel they were at their top speeds. Together Calvin's metal form and Thunderbird's hulking form hit the Sentinel in the leg. The Sentinel tottered and fell backwards, hitting the ground.
Thunderbird rushed up, jumping into the air. He brought his fist down into one of the Sentinel's eyes. Sparks filled the air and Thunderbird was thrown back. Calvin rushed to his side, taking inventory. The bandages were now soaked with blood. He suspected that Thunderbird's arm was broken as well.
"Sasquatch!" he yelled.
"I'm good," Thunderbird wheezed.
"Sasquatch!" Calvin yelled again.
Sasquatch lumbered up, still in her combat form. She took one look at Thunderbird and shook her head.
"Jesus, what did you do to yourself?" she asked.
"Been busy," Thunderbird said.
Sasquatch lifted him up, careful of his injuries.
"You're a mess," she said, "I'm getting you inside."
She nodded to Calvin. Convinced that his brother in arms was alright Calvin turned back to the Sentinels. One was lumbering towards the building. He got ready to charge at it until he saw a figure on its shoulder, pounding into its head again and again. The shredding sound was unmistakable even from where he was.
The Sentinel collapsed and Logan jumped off its shoulder. Calvin hurried over to him.
"Need someone else to throw you on Sentinels?" he asked.
Logan cocked his head.
"Would be nice bub," he said, "Climbing up that last one was a pain."
"Alright then," Calvin said.
A Sentinel lumbered up. Logan jerked his head towards it. Calvin grabbed him by the shoulders, still in his metal form, and tossed him up at the approaching Sentinel. The Sentinel put its hand out and Calvin narrowly avoided another blast. At the same time Logan reached its chest, clawing his way up to its face.
There was a ripping noise and another Sentinel found itself without a head. Logan slid down, wiping sweat off his brow and grunting. Calvin watched as his bloodied hands began to heal, not quite recovered from his successive attacks on the Sentinels. The broken shards of bone made Calvin wince.
Logan caught him staring and shrugged.
"It's just like breaking a bone bub," he said, "Only you don't run the risk of having to break it and reset it."
Calvin winced again and Logan laughed. He looked over at another Sentinel that was going around the back of the building. There wasn't anyone back there. Logan took off running and Calvin followed him. He passed by the other Hellions, each engaged with their own battles with Sentinels. Two more had arrived, and the Hellions had mobilized to back them up.
Another Sentinel went down near them, causing them to jump out of the way. The Hellions were doing good work. Calvin could already see that the number of Sentinels were dwindling. They could win this, but even then it would be a small victory. Their Commander was dead and their base all but destroyed. Few would be able to stay behind and try to get it into working order.
They turned around the building, following after the Sentinel. They turned a corner to find that it was moving into formation with two other Sentinels. Another metallic grating began around the corner. Calvin looked over his shoulders. Two other Sentinels had arrived to support the first three.
Logan looked between them and the others, his eyes narrow and calculating. He inclined his head towards Calvin, who shook his head. There was no way he could throw him fast enough to get all of them. Logan probably didn't even have time to climb one.
All of them held out their arms, their lasers glowing. Calvin whirled around, looking for an escape route, only to see three more Sentinels approaching. How could they have possibly garnered that much attention? The question was irrelevant though. They were hemmed in on all sides. Calvin turned back to Logan, whose jaw was set and his face was grim.
His eyes were on Calvin, a question there. Calvin knew what it was going to be. Logan's healing factor was seemingly limitless. Being hit with sixteen searing beams of heat might be what undid it though. They couldn't know otherwise. It dissolved everyone else, and there'd been theories that Logan wouldn't be able to form himself back together if he got his head cut off.
There was no question of Calvin surviving what was about to happen though. His healing factor was only half as strong as Logan's, and if his survival was doubtful, then Calvin didn't have a chance. He'd be blasted apart by the heat before he'd begin to scab over. The knowledge sank into his stomach with a cold dread. There was only the question now of how he wanted to die.
"Let's take them down," Calvin said.
Logan nodded. They moved around in cross circles, unable to move past the Sentinels but confusing their targeting. Already their palms were moving around, trying to follow them. Even if they didn't get a direct hit they were going to fry though. If they were lucky the blasts would take out most of the Sentinels around them as well. It was thier best shot.
As Calvin got into position he took a deep breath, trying to brace himself for what happened next. Clenching his jaw he shifted his powers. It was difficult for him to use two at a time, nigh on impossible. However, if he concentrated hard, he could just barely use his telepathy. He hoped that it would be enough.
Emma felt something tickle in the back of her head. In her diamond form she was unable to access her telepathy, but at the same time no one could get into her head. She could still feel when people were trying though, and right now it felt like someone was desperately trying to whisper something to her.
Under normal circumstances she'd get back to what she was doing and try to remember to call back later. It could be a cry for help though. The MRD might have telepaths in Weapon X, but now wasn't the time to quibble. She'd just fight them off if and leave them comatose if they were from Weapon X. So she smashed the Sentinel's foot before moving out of its range so she could listen in safety.
Emma allowed her skin to turn back to flesh.
Yes? she thought in the direction that the call had come from.
Emma?
Calvin? she thought, frowning, What's wrong?
In my room in my apartment, if it's still there, there's a diamond ring in the top drawer of my dresser, he thought, I…I was going to ask Clarice to marry me. I don't have the range to tell her so…please tell her that.
What? Emma thought, Tell her yourse-
She stopped herself in mid-thought, realizing what was going on. She amplified her powers, delving deep into Calvin's mind to see what he saw. She saw him ringed by Sentinels by the back of the building, their lasers powering up. Logan was across from them, the two moving in formation.
Emma began running towards the back of the building, her mind a jumble.
Calvin, no! You and Logan have to find a way out of there! she thought, even though she knew there was no way, You can't-
I really did want to marry her.
Pain like she'd never felt before pierced her mind, severing the connection. She could practically feel the white-hot lasers burning through her body, dissolving her flesh into ash. Emma screamed and sank to her knees, her hands clutching her head.
Emma didn't know how long she stayed like that, the pain consuming everything and screaming herself hoarse. She was dimly aware that the other Hellions were staring at her. When it finally stopped there were tears running down her face as she got to her feet again.
Stumbling Emma continued running to the back of the building. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Calvin, the man that Clarice loved, had died. His healing factor wasn't strong enough to save him. Even if she'd had her doubts, any slender hpe that he'd survived, she'd felt his mind go. It was like a candle that had been snuffed out. She couldn't imagine telling Clarice what had happened.
Logan would still be alive though. He'd be charred and in an unimaginable amount of pain, but Emma knew that her brother-in-law would still be alive. He was immortal, invincible. He'd survived nearly two hundred years of constant warfare. However, unlike earlier that night she didn't feel as confident as she had when her sister and niece were in the streets. Doubt was there, and it was eating her up.
When she reached the back of the building Emma saw what Calvin and Logan had been trying to do. In shooting them the Sentinels lasers had ended up creating a burning force focused on the two of them that had taken themselves out too, their lasers going haywire. They had certainly succeeded in taking them down, but she knew it would bring little consolation to Clarice.
Emma climbed over the remains of the busted Sentinels, hurrying towards the center where she'd seen Logan and Calvin standing. The ground was blackened and charred to a crisp, not even a blade of grass remaining.
"Logan!" Emma yelled, "Logan!"
There was no reply. As she hurried along the clearing her foot hit something and she felt the heat of it through her shoe. Emma looked down to examine it. When she realized what it was she fell to her knees, turning her hand to diamond and picking up the red-hot piece of metal with trembling hands.
It was Logan's wedding ring. She'd handed it to him during the ceremony, and her memory was impeccable.
"Logan!" she screamed.
There was still no answer. He'd be healed by then if he was still alive, able to at least give a raspy answer. Emma's hands clutched the ground, digging into the soot and her tears watering what she knew to be graves. It appeared that she'd be telling two women that night that the men they loved weren't coming back.
