Disclaimer: Do I own the X-Men?  Hah!  You're kidding, right?

Sorry this chapter took a while.  It won't be very long, but the next one will come out much quicker than this one.

Elven Lord Mic:  Who indeed should I put Psylocke with?  I've been toying with the idea of bringing in Angel.  We'll have to wait and see.

Trinity: Yes, you are correct about Marrow.  However, I've taken a few creative liberties.  In this story, Marrow was never one of the Morlocks.

Roguechere: Alex's little flirting may seem a bit awkward, but it has its' purposes.  It just might be his ticket out of there.

Well, here's the next chapter for your enjoyment.  Enjoy!

The Bayville drive-in had once been the hotspot for teenage activity.  Hardly a night went by when the dirt ground wasn't packed with cars full of kids, all there to watch the action unfold on the big screen.  That is, when they weren't watching the action unfolding in the backseats of their cars, but that's another story.

          But, like most things, drive-ins had eventually gone out of style.  Now, the screen had been blank for over a decade, and virtually no one came by here anymore.

          That made it the perfect spot for the arrival of a most unusual visitor.  A howling wind picked up, kicking dust and debris in all directions.  Electricity crackled in the air, and the very atmosphere seemed to bend in on itself as a portal through time and space opened.

         A bright flash of light, and the phenomenon passed, witnessed by none save for a few animals.

          But the drive-in was no longer uninhabited.

          An imposing man with white hair, dressed in clothing no human had ever seen, surveyed the land around him.  His left eye flashed every-so-often, as though it were actually glowing.  Sunlight reflected off his left arm, which appeared to be metallic.

          Reaching down to his belt, the figure unclipped a small tool, closely resembling a Game Boy in size and shape, and brought it up to his face.  Pressing a few buttons, he observed the screen for a time, before grunting in satisfaction and replacing the device.

          "Definitely in the right time period, and this looks like the right location, according to intelligence."  Reaching over his shoulder, he pulled out a futuristic looking weapon, of similar design to the one carried by the Marauder named Bishop.

          "Time to go hunting."  The man growled.

          It took the Brotherhood about half-a-minute to realize what they were looking at, and an even shorter amount of time to realize that if they didn't move they'd all be fried any moment.

          The four scattered in all directions, just as the Sentinel lifted its arm and fired off a blast from its palm mounted energy weapon.  The crimson beam tore a large trench in the ground, reducing one of the F.O.H. cars to twisted scrap.

          "Uh…whadda you guys think we should do, yo?"  Toad asked as he hopped to safety.

          "I say we pound that thing!"  Fred shouted, flexing.

          "Good one, genius."  Pietro sneered.  "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly well equipped for dealing with fifty feet of mutant killing technology!"

          The group scattered a second time to avoid another blast.  They dashed around the back of the house to by themselves some time to think.

          "Well, what's your idea then, speedy?"  Fred asked.

          "Obviously we need some help.  We could probably get the X-Men, or something."

          "Sounds like a plan yo."  Toad said.

          "Good, glad that's settled."  Pietro said.

          The other three stared at him.

          "What?"

          "What are you standing around here for?"  Wanda snapped.  "Get going!"

          "Me?"

          "You're the fast one, remember?"

          "Oh…right."  With that, Pietro sped off in the direction of the institute.

          "So, what d'we do in the meantime baby cakes?"  Toad asked.

          "We'll have to hold it off for as long as we can.  Toad, you distract it while Fred and I do as much damage as possible."

          "Whatever you say, sweetums."  Toad hopped back around the front of the house, into the Sentinels' line of sight.  "Hey, catch me if you can, yo!"

          The Sentinels' optic sensors tracked the Toad's progress as he jumped around in random directions.

          "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Toad."  It intoned.  "Threat level: Minimal.  Recommended course of action: Immediate termination."  The monstrous robot's chest opened up, revealing the launching bay for it's payload of missiles.  With a burst of propellant, the projectiles shot forth, homing in of Toad's position.  He yelped, and leapt as high as he could with his powerful legs.  One of the missiles streaked under him, continuing on before crashing into the Brotherhood boarding house.  The projectile exploded on impact, taking much of the building with it.

          The second missile made a long, looping turn, and bore down on Toad once again.  Before the hapless young mutant could be blown to smithereens, a scarlet hex bolt surrounded it.  Its inner workings suddenly failed, and the now harmless dud slammed into the ground.

          The Sentinels' massive head swiveled as it turned to face Wanda, its scanners giving her the once over.

          "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Scarlet Witch.  Threat level: High.  Recommended course of action: Nullification of mutant powers.  Termination."

          With a whirring of servomotors, the Sentinels left shoulder opened up and a slim, antennae-like device slipped out.  Not taking notice of it, Wanda attempted to hex the Sentinel, hoping to cause some of its inner workings to malfunction.  She watched in shock, however, as the scarlet bolt fizzled in mid-air.

          "Damn!  This stupid thing's blocking my powers somehow!"  Changing gears, she turned to the now nearly destroyed house and hexed a large chunk of rock directly at the Sentinel.  The debris bounced off its massive chest, doing little damage.

          The Sentinel raised its' hand, pointing its palm directly at Wanda.  There was a build-up of energy, and then a beam of energy shot right for Wanda.  She would have been incinerated, had not Fred rammed into the Sentinel's leg with all his strength, throwing off the robot's aim just enough to miss.

          The Sentinel slowly turned to observe its' last opponent.  "Target confirmed.  Mutant designate: Blob.  Threat level: Moderate.  Recommended course of action: Immediate termination."  From somewhere in its upper arm casing, a thick cable shot out, wrapping around the Blob's substantial girth.  The Sentinel attempted to lift Fred off his feet, but met with unexpected resistance.

          "Heh, you don't know me that well, do ya?  Nothin' moves the Blob!"  Indeed, with Fred exerting all his gravity downwards, not even the mighty Sentinel could lift him.

          Unfortunately, the earth he was standing on was not so sturdy.

          With a great cracking noise, the chunk of ground Fred was standing on ripped free, taking him up with it.

          "Oh…um…this ain't a good thing."  Fred mutterd, as he began working feverishly to try and free himself from the cable's grip.  The metal it was constructed out of, however, was exceedingly strong, and stood up to even his strength.

          Wanda, seeking to return the favor to Fred for saving her earlier, hexed another rock at the Sentinel's arm.  This one had a sharper edge and when it hit, it dug into the exposed machinery that operated the cable.  The gears ground to a halt, and it lost its grip on Fred.  He dropped like a stone to the ground and stood up again, unharmed.

          "Nullification of Scarlet Witch's powers: 56% successful."  The Sentinel rumbled.  "Now extending field to encompass an area of 2.43 miles."

          "Uh, what does that mean?"  Fred asked.

          "It means this stupid son of a bitch has stopped me from using my powers anywhere near here."  Wanda said, frustration rising.

          Fred frowned, and then squinted as he glanced up at the Sentinel.  "Hey…Wanda?  Is that Todd up there?"

          Wanda looked up also, and saw that Toad had, indeed, worked his way up near the Sentinel's head while it was busy with her and Fred.  "What is that ignoramus doing?"

          Toad hopped across the Sentinel's head until he reached the device that was blocking the use of Wanda's powers.  Not seeing anyway to shut it off, he began kicking at it in an attempt to break it.  The Sentinel swiveled its head to the side to stare at him.  Thinking quickly, Toad abandoned the antennae and turned to face it.  Spitting twice, he covered the Sentinel's eyes with a thick coating of slime.

          "Optical feed impaired.  Beginning purification procedures.  Now activating level 1 security measures to repel mutant designate: Toad."

          A current of electricity coursed across the Sentinel's outer casing.  Toad yelped in surprise as a non-lethal amount of volts caused him to lose his balance, stumble backwards, and plummet off the Sentinel's shoulder.  Fred ran under his falling form, succeeding in catching him before he splattered himself over the ground.

          "I think we're in trouble now."  Fred stated.

          Jean sat in her room, her head in her hands.  Tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes.  After so many days and no leads as to where Scott and the others were, she was on the verge of losing hope.  The bond she shared with him wasn't helping much either.  All it did was give her occasional insights into what Scott was feeling at the time.  Lately, that had involved no small amount of pain on his part.  That only served to drive her despair up further.

          It was at that moment, that she felt a familiar, but no altogether friendly presence approaching the mansion very quickly.  A slight probe confirmed it to be Pietro.  Jean briefly wondered what the speed demon could be up to, but then she noticed that his thoughts were a mixture of barely-contained-panic, and a small amount of fear.  Something was not right.

          Drying her eyes on her shirt-sleeve, she stood and made her way down to the main entrance, where she found Xavier already conferring with Pietro.

          "And then a Sentinel shows up, and I got here as fast as I could."  The silver-haired boy was saying.

          Xavier turned his head to see Jean already standing there.  A silent conversation passed between them for a few moments.  Xavier nodded, and Jean left to change into her uniform.

          "You needn't worry Pietro; we'll do everything in our power to help your sister and your friends."

          Pietro nodded, wishing he was more convinced.

          Hey.  I know this one was short, but I'm a bit behind schedule and I wanted to get another chapter up soon.  Don't worry though; I plan to have the next chapter up before tomorrow night.  We'll see the conclusion of the fight with the Sentinel, as well as another insidious plot at the hands of Sinister.  This one'll be very familiar to comic book fans.  Till next time, Cobra awayyyyy!