This chapter is heavily influenced by 'Night of the Sentinels' the first X-men episode. Recommend that you watch it- Scott kicks some serious ass.
Chapter 10
The X-Jet touched down in a small clearing of a forest in the middle of the night. Quietly, the X-men made their way to the edge of the forest, not even 500 ft from the electrical fence. Tonight, they would be fully represented – even the New Recruits were brought along, on the belief that they would gain some experience in combat. They couldn't have been more wrong.
Quietly, Storm, Wolverine, Beast and Gambit made their way into the compound. They left Jean and Warren in charge. After breaching the electric fence, they quickly made their way to the main building, taking out a few guards in the process. They were expected.
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"Dr. Trask, mutants are attacking the Registration office."
"As expected. Release the Sentinels. Let them face their future."
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Jean Grey and Angel found themselves standing alone under a large tree as the X-men got into position to cover the escape. After a moment of silence, Jean spoke up, "So's her name's Betsy, huh?"
Angel was shocked that she would pry into his mind without permission. Noticing his reaction, Jean continued, "No, I didn't pry. You were broadcasting your thoughts as you walked out of the Study." A pause. "She seems to have made quite a first impression," she smiled as it brought back memories.
"Look, Jean I can explain-"
"Warren, really its okay. You don't have to say anything. I've been thinking a lot about us. I really like you and all, but I don't think our relationship would've worked out. Betsy seems like a nice girl, and my heart already belongs to.... someone else," she finished awkwardly. Both knew who she was talking about.
Warren was hit by a wave of mixed emotions. Although he was upset, deep inside, he knew what she said was true. He wanted her to be happy, and he had a feeling that Jean would be a lot happier with 'someone else.' It's not like he was itemizing Jean by thinking he could just 'give' her away, but he saw no point in ending their relationship on a low note. Smiling, he held her in a tight hug. "I just hope this 'someone else' realizes just how special you are Jean."
Just at that moment, they were both knocked off their feet as a missile exploded against the tree they were standing by.
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Xavier was tracking the progress of the X-men through Cerebro when something unexpected spiked up. Suddenly, Cerebro was overwhelmed with information as it detected many of the X-men using their powers outside the FoH Registration office. Detecting no significant human reading anywhere near the area, he put two and two together. His eyes expanded in shock ~Sentinels!~
He winced as he relived their battle against a single Sentinel. To put it mildly, they had been defeated, with a number of X-men captured before Magneto finally destroyed the Sentinel.
In truth, Xavier considered Cyclops (who had not been part of the battle) and his brother Alex to be the most potent counter to the Sentinel threat. So far, both had only fought the robots in simulations in the Danger Room, with promising results. This, however, does not necessarily mean that the same would happen in the real world – such things rarely do, as the simulation was based on a rough generalization of the abilities of their enemy.
~I suppose its time to find out~ Although Xavier didn't believe it was the right time to expose X-Factor, he understood that he didn't have much of a choice.
//Scott, you need head to the Mutant Registration Office immediately. The X-men are pinned down and require your support\\
It took a few moments before Cyclops finally responded.
//We're already gone\\
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"Fire in da hole!" Gambit shouted as he charged a cabinet, containing the last of the hard copies.
"Well, dats de last o' em," Gambit reported, clapping his hands casually. "Dat was easy."
"And I've finished erasing the last files from the hard drive," Beast said as he finished typing his final code into the main computer.
"Well then, it seems we have outstayed our welcome," Storm observed as the doors to the room started being pounded upon. The others agreed and they quickly made their way to the exit. As they stepped outside, they found their friends engaged in a fierce firefight with at least six Sentinels.
"Oh my stars and garters." They had so much trouble just taking on one before, but now.... six?
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Jean Grey and Angel found themselves being outgunned and out-manoeuvred. They hadn't destroyed a single Sentinel (although they did damage a few), while members of their team started dropping. The X-men with no long-range attacks, such as Sunspot, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat, were especially vulnerable.
Iceman did his best by freezing the arms, shoulders and chest of several robots, where all weapons were launched. He was just finishing his third before another Sentinel took aim and attacked. Barely avoiding the barrage of purple lasers, Bobby extended his arm to freeze his assailant, but nothing happened. "I'm all iced out!"
Before either combatant could make a move, a blast of magma struck the Sentinel in the chest. However, Amara's attack wasn't quite powerful enough to do any significant damage before she was knocked unconscious as a missile exploded near-by. "Amara!" Tabitha and Bobby made their way to their friend as Berserker fired a bolt of electricity, with little effect. At this point, Rogue came running over and briefly absorbed Bobby's and Amara's powers. She managed to fend off two Sentinels as the others made their way to cover. Kitty and Kurt did their best to stay alive, porting and phasing to the point of exhaustion.
By now, Storm, Wolverine, Gambit and Beast joined the fray, in a frenzy of thunder, flaming cards and adamentium claws. Gambit found himself coming face-to-face with one of the giant mutant-hunters, and in a barrage of Aces, Kings and whatever else that was in his decks of cards, the Sentinel was peppered with small explosions. Suddenly, the machine was rocked by a giant blast as a charged card finally lodged itself into its shoulder, igniting its missile supply. With one arm completely gone, the heavily damaged Sentinel continued its attack. By now, Gambit had run out of cards and was resorting to throwing whatever he can find.
Storm's lightning was useful for keeping the Sentinels at bay, but did little actual damage. Beast and Wolverine were at an immediate disadvantage, and both resorted to distract their attackers while the others regrouped.
"It's no use. We're being overwhelmed!"
Mentally picking up a Sentinel and slamming it into a tree, Jean dropped to the ground, exhausted. Everyone else seemed to be in equally bad shape - injured, tired, or both. They had succeeded in destroying the mutant files, but what would be the cost? Taking a headcount, they were now completely surrounded by at least twenty Sentinels. A military chopper buzzed by, and a man that she recognized as the one who built the first Sentinel spoke to them in a loud voice. ~What was his name? Trask or something~
"X-men," Trask almost sneered the name, "as you can see, we have you totally surrounded. I recommend that you surrender immediately, but that choice is yours to make. If its any incentive, consider that at the moment, there are enough bullets, missiles and rockets pointed at you to fight a small war."
"Warren, what do we do?"
"I don't know. We don't have much of a choice but surrender..." he trailed off. Appalled by his lack of valour, she found herself thinking of Scott. ~If only Scott was here....he'll know what to do~
The X-men started considering the options: If they continued to fight, surely they'll be slaughtered. However, if they surrendered, they'll likely be used as test subjects for "research." The biggest fear of every mutant is to be cut open and experimented on. After they're done, they'll dispose of them just the same. At least if they fought, some of them may be able to make it out alive....
With what little strength she had left, the fiery redhead got to her feet and assumed a battle stance. Slowly, the others got to their feet as well. They've come too far to be defeated, and they weren't going to back down.
"So you choose death," Trask ridiculed, "Fine by me. The world will be a better place without mutants poisoning our gene pool." At his command, the shoulders of every single Sentinel opened up, revealing an impressive arsenal of missiles and rockets. Simultaneously, a huge barrage of heat-seeking incendiary rockets was released. Surrounded from every side, there was little the mutants could do to stop the incoming missiles as they smoked towards their targets.
Nobody noticed the girl that stepped out of a mysterious gold disk some distance away....
