Chapter Six - SENTINEL

Knife-wielder ran into a disused warehouse. About half-a-dozen of the gang were still with him. He had spent weeks building them up, preparing them so he could petition the Friends of Humanity to set up a chapter in his hometown. Now, thanks to the muties, that was all gone. First the ghost, then the psycho firebird. And if that was not enough, that guy with those freaky claws had to show up as well. Knife-wielder had seen him on the news and knew just what those claws could do. Even if he did not, you could see from his eyes that the guy was a killer. They had that in common.

'Hey, Mikey,' someone called from the back of the group, 'what are we doing in here?'

'We're hiding from those damn freak-jobs,' another replied.

'We are not hiding!' Mikey snapped. 'We don't need to hide from any mutie. 'Specially when we got us one of these.'

'What is it?' someone else whispered.

'Gimme a hand with this tarpaulin and I'll show you,' Mikey answered as he started to uncover his prize.

He had met her last night in the club. Said her name was Isabel or something. They had been dancing. He liked dancing with her, dancing close. Then she had whispered in his ear. Told him she knew his secret. Told him she knew how to help him. Then she had taken him and shown him this.

'Whoa! Mikey, is that what I think it is?'

'Sure is,' Mikey replied, triumphantly. 'That, my friends, is a honest-to-god mutant-hunting Sentinel.'

'Are you sure that thing still works?' a girl asked. 'I mean, it looks a bit beat up to me.'

'Well, of course it looks beat up,' Mikey retorted. 'This is one of them Sentinels that the X-Men trashed the other week. Only they didn't trash this one so good, cause it was able to crawl in here and hide. It's been repairing itself ever since. It may not look so hot, but it's what's inside that counts and our friend here's got what it takes to help us show those muties who's really top of the ladder in this town.'

* * *

'What the hell did you do that for?' Kitty demanded, striding towards Logan. He took a step back. Not many people stood up to Wolverine, but Kitty had never let herself be intimidated. Strangely enough, she was more nervous around Kurt, for all his practical joking, than she was around this hardened killer.

Logan sheathed his claws and held up his hands. 'Look, kid, from where I was those people were in danger.'

'In danger?' Kitty repeated. 'Ray was bluffing. You know bluffing, don't you? Don't tell me you've never tried it.'

In fact, Kitty had seen him threaten people to good effect, extending two of his claws, one on either side of a man's face and threatening to extend the middle on if they did not co-operate. At least, Kitty had assumed he was bluffing.

'Kitten, listen to me,' Rogue interjected. 'You don't know she was bluffing. Ray's been acting mighty strange lately and from what Logan's been telling me'

'So he's been poisoning you against her, too, has he,' Kitty snapped. 'Well, that's awfully brave of you, Mister Living Weapon, mouthing off about someone behind their back!'

'Hey, it wasn't like that,' Logan protested.

'Sure it wasn't,' Kitty responded, 'and it wasn't like you just punched her in the head!'

Just for a moment, Kitty thought that she might have pushed him too far.

'Listen, kid,' Logan replied, 'I like you. But if you don't shut up I'll deck you as well. Rachel's possessed. She's not in control of her actions any more.'

'You don't know that,' Kitty insisted.

'Maybe not,' Logan agreed, 'but if I see people who may be in danger I'm not going to take the chance.'

'You still didn't have to hit her,' Kitty said.

'Kitten, trust me, with Phoenix, talking to her sternly just doesn't cut any ice.'

'But it might with Rachel,' Kitty whispered.

* * *

Ororo woke up. She was tied to a chair in an expansive dining room. The décor looked to be eighteenth or nineteenth century, she was not sure which. She scanned the room for her colleagues. They were also tied to chairs but they were still unconscious. Ororo suspected that they had been drugged to keep them that way. With their powers they probably would not have a problem escaping. Ororo, on the other hand, was stuck. Or so they thought.

Her fingers started to search for the knot that bound the ropes while her eyes looked for her captors. The woman was sitting at the opposite end of the table, head bowed. Ororo coughed to show she was conscious.

'Oh you're awake at last.' She giggled. 'Goody. I hate being on my own without anyone to talk to. I'm Isabelle, by the way. I'm a sorceress.' She pronounced the last word with reverence, but then spoiled it by bursting into more giggles. 'At least that's what Tomas tells me. He looks after me and tells me I'm really important. He also says I'm pretty. Do you think I'm pretty?'

'Why are you doing this?' Ororo asked, ignoring Isabelle's question.

'Why am I doing what?' Isabelle replied. She reached for the fruit bowl, plucked a grape and popped it into her mouth.

'Terrorising the city,' Ororo explained. She had found the knot now. It was complicated, but not impossible to untie, given time. 'I assume it was you who created the fireball.'

'Yes, that was rather clever of me, wasn't it?' Isabelle giggled again and spat the grape pip into her palm. 'Tomas said it was very clever. He wants me to have another go tonight.'

'Another go at what?' Ororo pressed.

'I think that's quite enough, Isabelle,' a voice instructed from the doorway. The two men entered. One was carrying a bundle of silver candlesticks, the other a large cardboard box.

'Good evening, Miss Storm,' the blond man said. 'Or is it just Storm. I've never been quite sure how one addresses a superhero in polite society. Or perhaps superheroes and polite society simply don't mix. Now that would be shame, especially if they are all as pretty as you, my dear.'

'You said I was pretty,' Isabelle whined.

'Of course I did, child,' the man replied. 'But I'm forgetting my manners. I believe you've already met Isabelle, our conjurer. Over there is Caven, our seer, and I am Tomas.'

'And what are you, Tomas,' Ororo asked, 'a politician?'

Tomas laughed. 'How very droll. No, I'm but a dabbler destined for better things.'

'You'll forgive me if I don't bow,' Ororo said. 'I'm a bit tied up at the moment.'

'Don't mock me,' Tomas shouted, slamming his hands on the table. 'I will not be mocked.' He took several breaths to calm himself. 'You know,' he continued, his voice still a little shaky, 'I had expected better from the leader of the X-Men. It's something of a blow to find that you are just human after all.'

'My apologies,' Ororo replied. 'I've tried being a goddess, but there's more to be gained from helping people than in being adored.'

'What a quaint notion,' Tomas said. 'I'm just the reverse. I wanted to help people, I really did. So when I discovered I had these powers I enrolled in the Society to learn how to better control them. And do you know what they did? They laughed at me. Called me a cheap stage magician with a measly bag of tricks. Tricks! Well, I'll show them. They'll learn to respect me!'

'Is that what this is all about?' Ororo asked. 'You're upset because they wouldn't let you join their club?'

'Oh, it's far more than that, Storm,' Tomas answered. 'This is about power. You see, when they refused me I studied all the harder, just to prove them wrong. I researched and I read the forbidden books and I learned that I need not be limited by a mere accident of birth. I may not be a natural talent, but through the use of artefacts and celestial cycles and through rituals I can be as powerful as any archmage. But the thing about power is that it's a drug. Once you've started down that road you'll never be satisfied. And you know what? I don't care. I'll just keep taking and taking and taking because I can!'

'You're mad,' Ororo said.

Tomas shrugged. 'So what? Every man should have a hobby.'

'And do the others crave power as well?' Ororo asked.

Tomas shook his head. 'Caven's in it purely for the revenge. He was kicked out of the Society because he tried to use his natural talents to get ahead. As with most things in life, they would have turned a blind eye if he hadn't annoyed the wrong people. I've promised to help him bring the Society to its knees. As for Isabelle, she's a sad case. I fear someone must have dropped her on her head as a child. She's a brilliant natural conjurer, but she's a few plates short of a dinner service, if you know what I mean. Tragic. Now, if you'll excuse me, we've got much to prepare before the night's activities.'

'Which are?' Ororo prompted.

'Oh, haven't I mentioned it? How remiss of me. We're going to release a demon in downtown San Francisco.'

* * *

They were having to walk home. Rogue could not carry all three of them and none of them fancied trying to explain why they were carrying an unconscious teenager on public transport. Rogue was carrying Rachel in her arms while Logan scouted ahead. Kitty was staring daggers into his back.

'How hard did you hit her anyway?' Kitty demanded.

'Hard,' Logan replied. He turned and saw the look in Kitty's eyes. 'Hey, you try tapping anyone softly when you've got a metal skeleton, kid.'

Kitty had to concede he had a point. That did not mean she had to like it though.

'Where are we now?' Rogue interrupted. She had been trying to play peacemaker between the two of them since they left the alley and was clearly getting fed up with the whole thing. Kitty felt sorry for her. It was not her fault Logan had dragged her into this. She got the map from her pocket and unfolded it.

'We're about here,' she said. Rogue leaned over her shoulder for a better look and even Logan crowded round. 'If we cut across Chinatown we're almost there.'

'Lead on, kiddo,' Logan suggested.

They walked on in silence for another quarter of an hour. Kitty could not help staring as they entered Chinatown. She hated looking like a tourist, but there was so much to take in. All the colours. All the smells. She made a mental note to come back here with Rachel before the team flew back to New York.

'Keep an eye on her for me, would you?' Logan said to Rogue. 'Back soon.' Then he disappeared into the throng.

'Now where in tarnation is he off to?' Rogue asked.

'Beats me,' Kitty said. 'He's probably found some other teenager to attack.'

'Now that ain't fair,' Rogue scolded.

'I know,' Kitty admitted. She looked away and started drawing in the dust with her toe. 'It's just we're supposed to be team-mates. More than that, we're friends. And friends shouldn't hurt each other.'

'Hey, I'm not saying what he did was right,' Rogue replied, 'but I do understand why he did it. Wolvie's a man of instincts and he acts without thinking sometimes. Kinda reminds me of me. But he's always done right by us. He's just trying to do what's right, is all, and sometimes it's kinda difficult to see what that is. I should know.'

'Yeah, I guess,' Kitty agreed.

Logan appeared from the crowd again. In one hand he was carrying a brown paper bag.

'What you got there, sugah?' Rogue asked.

'Peace offering.' Logan handed the bag to Kitty. She looked inside.

'Fortune cookies.' She thumped Logan on the arm. 'No fair,' she complained. 'I want to stay mad at you.'

'Hey, ain't you gonna give me one of those things?' Rogue asked.

Logan tensed, sniffing the air.

'What is it, sugah?' Rogue queried.

'Trouble,' he replied. There was a snikt sound. Kitty glanced down to see that Logan had extended his claws. Rogue was putting Rachel on the ground so that she was in a position to defend herself.

Then Kitty heard a familiar voice. 'Well, well, if it isn't my favourite group of muties,' said the man who had held her at knifepoint. 'Not so tough now are you, freaks.'

Rounding the corner of a nearby building was a Sentinel.

The evening crowds were panicked, scattering in all directions. The mutants stood their ground. Sentinels were designed to hunt and kill mutants. If they ran it would simply follow and unlike them it would not tire. Their best option was to stop it here.

Kitty studied it, looking for weaknesses. It was thirty foot tall and painted in purple and silver, with a crude approximation of human features. One of its eyes was missing as was its armour plating in several places. It looked to be a survivor from their most recent battle. That time they had fought off several Sentinels, but they had relied on the power of the Phoenix to help them. With Rachel unconscious, defeating one, even in its current state, might be beyond them.

If Rogue or Wolverine realised this then they did not show it.

'Welcome to Claw City, bub,' Wolverine snarled, charging forward ready to curve his initials in the robot's hide.

'Mutant Ident: Wolverine,' the Sentinel announced in its mechanical monotone. 'Abilities: Healing Factor, Enhanced Senses, Skeleton has been bonded with Adamantium, Claws of same. Threat Level: Only at close range. Response: Keep target at distance.'

The Sentinel raised its hand, opening its fist to reveal a circular depression in its palm that began to glow with a blue light. Wolverine was hurled across the street and pinned to the wall by an invisible force. Kitty had seen Magneto do the same by grabbing hold of the metal bonded to Logan's skeleton. Wolverine growled with fury as he tried, unsuccessfully, to move.

Rogue was up next, flying at full speed at the robot, trusting in the strength she had stolen from Ms Marvel to protect her.

'Mutant Ident: Rogue,' the Sentinel intoned. 'Abilities: Absorption of Memories/Abilities from organics, Enhanced Strength, Flight. Response: Shields to compensate for impact.'

Rogue struck an invisible barrier. She started to pummel it with her fists, but could get no closer than a foot from the target.

'Ah could do with some help here,' she shouted.

Kitty was terrified. She did not mind admitting that. But she was an X-Man and that meant she had to do something.

'Maybe I can short out its shields,' she suggested.

'Mutant Ident: Shadowcat.' The Sentinel turned its attention on her. 'Abilities: Phasing. Phasing may disrupt electric circuitry. Response: Eliminate phasing ability.'

The Sentinel raised its other arm and launched a cloud of green gas at Kitty. She tried to breathe, but she had already inhaled some of the gas. She could feel her eyes watering and her head spinning.

'Kitty!' Rogue shouted, turning to help her. The Sentinel took advantage of her distraction to grab her in one of its fists.

Kitty fell to the ground, fighting to stay conscious. The last thing she saw was the Sentinel squeezing Rogue harder and harder.

'Mutant Ident: Rogue. Threat Level: Eliminated.'