So here we go, more Age of Apocalypse and some chocolate-caramel-cookie goodness... mmm... excuse me, I'm going to go get a Twix.
I'm back. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Three - Wolverine's Plan
"They've been gone too long," Forge said. He stood with Mystique and Magneto in the Danger Room control balcony as the X-Men and Mystique's Brotherhood trained. "Do you think?"
"No. There is nobody around for a thousand miles," Magneto assured him.
"Magnus, if my son is in any danger…"
"Calm down, Mystique. He and Wanda can take care of themselves. If they haven't returned, it's only because their egos are clashing."
"I hope you're right."
"Your other children are well-trained. I had thought you had given them no instruction."
"I'm not that bad a mother," Mystique gave the unnamed baby a bottle. She didn't seem very happy having to care for him. "They're smart kids. Most of what they know they learned themselves. After all, experience is the best teacher."
Despite having such a non-confrontational mutant power, Rogue was doing exceptionally well. She dodged various laser beams with such nimble grace that her brother Todd felt upstaged. He kicked off a laser projector and slimed a razor launcher before it could even fire. He landed on top of it and flipped over to a large robot that grabbed him. Kurt teleported next to him and teleported away with his brother. Freddy pounded away at the robot with his fists, but the robot had a surprise in store. Its arms fell off the battered torso and collapsed into man-sized spider drones, each equipped with two missiles. Kurt teleported away when he saw one of the missiles flew towards him. As soon as he appeared, the missile's trajectory changed and it again headed for him.
"Damn! Seekers!" Jean watched as Kurt teleported around the Danger Room evading the determined missile. She sighed in frustration and forced the missile to fly into a wall. Kurt appeared next to her in a puff of smoke.
"Thanks, I owe you!"
"Some fighter you are. How well would you have done if I hadn't saved your ass?!"
"Whoa, settle down, honey," Freddy said. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright!" Kurt turned around and found, to his annoyance, that a second missile was headed for him. He teleported away, but it didn't followed. The missile was headed for Jean. Freddy chuckled and stood in its path.
"Nice to have a human wall covering you," Jean said.
"What was all that about needing someone to save your ass?"
"Oh, shut up."
Freddy giggled and brushed off the pieces of metal attached to his suit. Kate ran right through him and Jean, and another missile hit Freddy.
"Hey, mind asking first?"
"Sorry," Kate said.
"Just kidding you. What's a human wall for, huh?" Kate forced a chuckle, then ran from another missile. This time, it swerved away from Freddy and headed straight for Rogue.
"Oh, hell no," Rogue hid behind a shorted robot, but the missile went around. She rolled away from it, then ran. Alex stepped in and fired his omni-directional energy waves. The missile, as well as several other weapons, were fried.
"You alright?" Alex asked.
"Yeah… thanks." Rogue smiled at him.
"Aw, gimme a break," Jean said.
"Session's over," Forge announced through a microphone. "Today's stats… most versatile fighter, Rogue. Strongest defensive maneuvers, Kurt. Strongest offensive maneuvers, Havok. Most agile, Rogue. Good Teammate Award goes to Stalwart. Worst Teammate Award, Havok… you gotta work on that buddy, get in there right away. Least agile, Stalwart… but that's no big deal, as usual, Weakest offensive maneuvers, Ariel, Weakest defensive maneuvers, Todd, least versatile fighter, Converse."
"Aw, no recognition?" Todd asked.
"Nope, gotta do better, Toad. Jean, you're slouching, better pick up the pace. Can't always rely on Freddy, you know."
"Right." Jean rolled her eyes. Freddy giggled. A few minutes later, the guys and the girls split up to hit the showers. Though they were all separated by different stalls (as they had complained about privacy, especially the guys), they could all still talk.
"That sister of yours," Alex started, "Is she…?"
"Taken? No," Kurt replied. "But don't be so quick to move in."
"Yeah, she likes to take it easy," Todd added. "If you want to get to know her better, go ahead… but we'll be watchin' you."
"That we will. Gotta warn you, though…"
"What, you'll both come after me if I hurt her? Don't worry, I won't."
"Well, besides that. There's something about her I think Magneto forgot to mention."
"What's that?"
"Can't touch her."
"Why not…?"
"Touching her is like getting hit in the head with a pile of bricks," Freddy said. Freddy had done some research on the Brotherhood, though he knew Rogue's powers through experience; he had met them shortly after joining the X-Men, when Magneto had decided to introduce the two teams to each other. Alex hadn't joined at the time, but from what he knew, the teams didn't exactly get along. After time, they had mellowed out, and any past grudges and incidents, such as Rogue's absorption of Freddy, were forgiven and forgotten. "She takes your powers, too."
"That's a shame. She's such a babe, too."
"Hey, you're talking about our sister, you know!" Kurt yelled.
"Er… sorry. But she is!"
"Uh… Alex," Freddy said to him, "I don't think brothers really think of their sisters as babes. Except a few of my cousins, but I don't talk to them anyway."
"Right… speaking of brothers, has anyone seen Scott?"
"Not that he's your brother or anything," Todd said with a bit of a hiss, "But Scott likes to do his own thing. He's his own man. Can't keep him tied down."
"When we grow up, we want to be just like big brother Scott!" Kurt said and then laughed with Todd. Alex tried to hide it, but he was hurt. He hadn't particularly done anything to his brother, but still, he had already found two others to take his role as little brother. Alex sighed quietly and continued scrubbing.
In the girls' showers, Jean, Kate and Rogue carried their own conversation. Rogue found it difficult when one of them had an attitude problem and the other was insecure.
"So Alex… he's not seeing anyone, is he?"
"No," Kate answered dryly.
"Oh… I'm sorry… do you…?"
"No," Kate again answered dryly.
"Oh, because you sounded hurt…"
"That's what she always sounds like," Jean muttered.
"I know you don't have anything on Alex. Seems to me you're pretty sweet on Fred."
"And what if I am?" Jean snapped.
"I dunno, you just don't strike me as the type who'd actually care about anyone."
"You can have Alex, Marie. Touch him for me, will you?"
"Hey, that's low, Jean. I'm trying to be friendly and you go on a little bitch trip. Nice guy like Freddy, what's he doing with you?"
"For your information, Freddy happens to love me very much, just like I love him! You can go on dreaming about having a guy you can't even touch. I've got someone who understands me, and I'm happy." Rogue didn't reply to Jean's comment on her powers, so she didn't and went right back to washing her hair. Then she thought of something that had to be a touchy subject for Jean.
"So Jean… you and Toad. What's up?" Rogue could hear Jean sigh in frustration.
"Just drop it, Rogue."
"No, really. You've got a past with him. He came into the family when he was ten, so I don't think you and him could've had any romance."
"You know what? Fuck off. I don't need to answer any of your questions."
"Where's Wanda?" Kate asked.
"What?"
"Where's Wanda?"
"Oh, Wanda…" Jean had completely forgotten about her. "Daddy's girl went off to do something for him. Probably has to do with that asshole brother of yours, Marie. Don't worry too much, Kate. Not too many people can mess with Wanda and leave in one piece."
Rogue was a little surprised that Jean's tone seemed to change when she answered Kate, like she was saying it just to reassure her. Maybe there was more to Jean than she had thought.
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X-Force waited inside their plane for Wolverine and Mastermind to return. Wolverine had some scouting to do, and Mastermind would help keep a low profile. Pietro had asked to come along, but Wolverine had told him it was important to minimize scouts. Apparently, whoever it was they were spying on would be able to detect anyone else besides Wolverine and Mastermind.
"Hey Gambit, I'll play you solitaire," Cannonball said.
"Solitaire's a one-player game, stupid." Cannonball held his helmet in his lap. His blonde hair was kept short and neat, but his face had several scars. Sam's propulsion manifested before his limited invulnerability, so he had damaged himself quite a bit in his younger days. Gambit's hair was medium-length, and rather crazy. It seemed to stand up without aid. He wore a brown trench coat, strangely enough. Remy shuffled a deck of cards. "Since there's four of us in here, how about a little poker?"
"No way," Wolfsbane said. "You're a dirty cheater." Rahne had grown up in Scotland, so she had a noticeable accent. Gambit thought her accent was cute, but nothing else. Rahne's hair was tied behind her in a short ponytail.
"Pietro, you in?"
"No, I'm just gonna sit here and think."
"Don't hurt yourself." Pietro was worried. They were close to Trask's destination, too close for comfort. It seemed unlikely to him that Trask would actually go there. But Wolverine couldn't be wrong, could he?
"What's bugging you?" Rahne asked.
"Nothing… I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Well… doesn't it seem weird to you that Trask would want to come here?"
"I'm sorry Pietro, Wolverine doesn't tell us as much as he tells you… just where are we, anyway?"
Pietro took a deep breath. "We're in the old Sentinel factory."
"The Sentinels? You mean Trask wants to start that up again?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
"But that's not exactly what's troubling you, is it?"
"No… not specifically… when I was a kid, I came to this area with my family on vacation. That's when the Sentinel prototypes were sent out… metal monsters. My sister and I… we escape. I used my speed to carry her away from the assault, but the Sentinels were just stomping around, blowing every mutant they could find to pieces. My parents were trying to help some survivors to get away from them. My father…" Pietro took another deep breath. "He was already enhanced by those gems by then. The Sentinels couldn't detect him unless he used his powers, so he kept low. Then they came after mom." Rahne could see that it was difficult for Pietro. She put her arm around him.
"It's okay Pietro… let it out."
"Sorry, Rahne…" Pietro was holding back his tears. "Those metal monsters came after her. My father stood by and watched. They burned her, Rahne… they…"
"It's alright, Pietro… it's alright…"
"No…" Pietro still resisted. "That bastard didn't use his powers to save her, all so he could keep himself hidden… selfish bastard!" Pietro couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears ran down his cheek, and he cried on Rahne's shoulder.
"Uh… what's with him?" Cannonball asked.
"Bad memories," Rahne said. "Just bad memories."
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Wanda opened her eyes. She stood in a glass tube of some sort, inside a giant metal dome. She looked to her right and saw Scott in another tube. To her left were several more tubes, all empty.
"She wakes!" Beast said. He stood at a console of some sort with a flashing blue screen and a strange helmet connected to it. "Good, good." Behind Beast, Colossus, Sunspot, Magma and Berzerker stood. He all kept their hands behind their backs. "We are ready then?" he asked Wanda.
"Ready for what?"
"A test. Tell me, Wanda… have you heard of the Cyttorak crystals?"
"Cyttorak…? Yes, I have."
"Good. You see this machine you're under?" Wanda looked up to see a smooth red sphere embedded in a metal plate. "It's a modification of the enhancer your father developed."
"The enhancer…? Wait…"
"Yes, Wanda. Soon, you too will know the feeling of advancement. As of now, I am the only mutant in this room who has gone through an enhancer, one modeled after the one your father built. But you, Wanda… ah, I envy you. You will be the first of a new race of super-mutants… whereas I am only an enhanced mutant, you my dear, will be an advanced mutants. I would perform this test on myself, but it's shame that I have to work the controls here."
"No, you can't!"
"Oh, come now!" Beast laughed. "What part of advancement do you find unappealing? You will be stronger than anyone else on this planet… with one tiny exception."
"Exception?"
"…But that's a different story altogether." Beast hummed a happy little tune as he activated the super-enhancer. The red stone above Wanda glowed pink, and then white. She could hear the machine powering up. Immediately, she aimed her hands upward.
"Don't bother!" Beast yelled over the machine. "These tubes are fitted with nullification devices. You have no control over your powers here!"
Something caught Wanda's eye. In the tube next to her, Scott's eyes were glowing under his glasses. Finally, his glasses were thrown off, and his eye-beams were fired at full force. Scott desperately tried to shut his eyes as the red beams bounced off the glass. Though his own beams couldn't hurt him, Scott preferred to keep his optic blasts under control. Due to past experiences, he was always afraid to open his eyes without his glasses for fear of hurting an innocent.
"How can…? Of course," Beast muttered to himself. "The device only works if the subject has full control to begin with. Silly me. I'll have to get that fixed… holy-" The glass was beginning to crack under the pressure as the beams continued to pound away. Finally, the thick glass shattered, and everyone ducked for cover. Scott unknowingly blasted the controls to the enhancer. The machine powered down and the tube slid upward, allowing Wanda to escape. Scott fell over and looked down at the ground. When he fell, he had stepped out of the nullification zone, and he finally closed his eyes. Wanda handed him his glasses.
"Thanks," Wanda said.
"Uh… okay…"
"C'mon, we gotta get out of here!" Wanda took Scott's hand and forced a large door open with her free hand. As they ran out, Beast looked at the enhancers. It was fortunate that each tube contained one, and only one had actually been damaged. Still, the controls were fried.
"He is not pleased," Archangel said, startling Beast. Archangel had appeared without warning, through means Beast still couldn't identify. "You will be punished."
"A simple design flaw! It can be fixed!" Beast pleaded. "Just give me a few more hours, it'll be up and running again!"
Archangel stared at him silently. He cringed as something passed through his head.
"You have until sunrise, Beast. If this attempt fails, your eyes will be pulled out of your head."
"I understand…" Beast turned to his team. "Alright. Bring me the spare parts container and my tools."
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Wolverine walked through the old Sentinel factory alongside Mastermind. The factory was quite busy for an abandoned factory. Human workers worked at creating new Sentinels in the assembly areas. Wolverine walked without fear of being noticed thanks to Mastermind; to everyone else, they were just two more factory workers.
"Sentinels won't be as effective," Wolverine said. "Trask doesn't know that, of course. Too many mutants out there for an army of Sentinels to take on."
"Of course, but the fools don't see any other weapon. It's their only hope."
"You two, back to work," Colonel Duncan Matthews ordered. A young blonde-haired man recruited into Trask's army, Matthews had risen in ranks partially due to the limited amount of available recruits, but also because of his commitment to what Trask called the Pure Blood movement. In an attempt to appear older and more worthy of respect, Matthews had grown a beard.
"Excuse me, Colonel?!" Mastermind yelled, slowly tricking Matthews into thinking he was talking to two high-ranking officers. "General Trask will have you executed for your insubordination!"
"I…"
"We're here to report to the general on your progress," Wolverine said. "Now quit slacking and give us something to report!"
"Sir, yes sir! Sir, our foundries are working at maximum efficiency, sir."
"Drop the 'sir' crap, kid. Just give us the straight facts."
"Yes si… yes, alright. We have three thousand men working round the clock. No Sentinels completed yet, but we expect to have at least two-hundred by the end of the week."
"Only two-hundred?" Mastermind asked. "Son, there's three billion mutants out there and only a million and a half human beings left on this planet, and you expect us to win this battle with only two-hundred Sentinels?!"
"…I'm sorry sir, but that's all we can afford."
"Afford?! This is life and death, son! Us or them! We don't have the luxury of being able to decide to doddle around without any worries! General Trask will be VERY unhappy about this!"
"…How many Sentinels do you suggest, sir?"
"I want at LEAST a thousand ready for battle by the end of the week!"
"A thousand?! Sir, that's ins-"
"ARE YOU CALLING ME INSANE, COLONEL?!"
"Sir, no sir! We will have a thousand Sentinels ready by the end of the week, sir!"
"Good. Keep this factory running at that rate. We're building another factory a few thousand miles from here to double our supply. I just hope it'll be enough."
"We will win this war, sir," Colonel Matthews said.
"Good, good. Get to work, son. Get those workers working."
"Yes, sir." Colonel Matthews hurried to the control center. Wolverine and Mastermind laughed.
"A thousand? You're an evil man, Mastermind," Wolverine said.
"Maybe. Those poor fools will be so overworked that they'll die before they get a chance to protest. I almost feel sorry for that kid. When Trask finds out he has no workforce, he's going to be hanged for sure."
"Only good human is a dead human."
"So true. Now then, the other business we were here for…" Mastermind created the illusion of an extra door in the factory. Wolverine took a bomb from his belt and placed it on the wall.
"Stand back." The door swung open, at least, that's what the workers saw. The two high-ranking officers walked in and shut the door behind them.
"Stay here and keep the illusion up." Wolverine walked down the secret metal hall to a secret metal door. He took a metal key from his belt and placed it in the metal door.
Wolverine walked inside the large metal chamber and activated a hologram projector. A tall, dark and imposing figure appeared in hologram form, twice the size of Wolverine. Wolverine kneeled down respectfully.
"Master, the humans are being worked to death."
The figure grimaced.
"Yes, Master. I will bring Quicksilver here. Magneto and his X-Men will be yours."
Alex and Rogue? Yikes, Rietro fans are gonna murder me! BRING IT ON, PUNKS. Er... so what does Apocalypse want with Magne-FUCK. I revealed it? Oh, like it was a big surprise. So what does Apocalypse want with Magneto? All will be revealed... maybe.
I'm back. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Three - Wolverine's Plan
"They've been gone too long," Forge said. He stood with Mystique and Magneto in the Danger Room control balcony as the X-Men and Mystique's Brotherhood trained. "Do you think?"
"No. There is nobody around for a thousand miles," Magneto assured him.
"Magnus, if my son is in any danger…"
"Calm down, Mystique. He and Wanda can take care of themselves. If they haven't returned, it's only because their egos are clashing."
"I hope you're right."
"Your other children are well-trained. I had thought you had given them no instruction."
"I'm not that bad a mother," Mystique gave the unnamed baby a bottle. She didn't seem very happy having to care for him. "They're smart kids. Most of what they know they learned themselves. After all, experience is the best teacher."
Despite having such a non-confrontational mutant power, Rogue was doing exceptionally well. She dodged various laser beams with such nimble grace that her brother Todd felt upstaged. He kicked off a laser projector and slimed a razor launcher before it could even fire. He landed on top of it and flipped over to a large robot that grabbed him. Kurt teleported next to him and teleported away with his brother. Freddy pounded away at the robot with his fists, but the robot had a surprise in store. Its arms fell off the battered torso and collapsed into man-sized spider drones, each equipped with two missiles. Kurt teleported away when he saw one of the missiles flew towards him. As soon as he appeared, the missile's trajectory changed and it again headed for him.
"Damn! Seekers!" Jean watched as Kurt teleported around the Danger Room evading the determined missile. She sighed in frustration and forced the missile to fly into a wall. Kurt appeared next to her in a puff of smoke.
"Thanks, I owe you!"
"Some fighter you are. How well would you have done if I hadn't saved your ass?!"
"Whoa, settle down, honey," Freddy said. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright!" Kurt turned around and found, to his annoyance, that a second missile was headed for him. He teleported away, but it didn't followed. The missile was headed for Jean. Freddy chuckled and stood in its path.
"Nice to have a human wall covering you," Jean said.
"What was all that about needing someone to save your ass?"
"Oh, shut up."
Freddy giggled and brushed off the pieces of metal attached to his suit. Kate ran right through him and Jean, and another missile hit Freddy.
"Hey, mind asking first?"
"Sorry," Kate said.
"Just kidding you. What's a human wall for, huh?" Kate forced a chuckle, then ran from another missile. This time, it swerved away from Freddy and headed straight for Rogue.
"Oh, hell no," Rogue hid behind a shorted robot, but the missile went around. She rolled away from it, then ran. Alex stepped in and fired his omni-directional energy waves. The missile, as well as several other weapons, were fried.
"You alright?" Alex asked.
"Yeah… thanks." Rogue smiled at him.
"Aw, gimme a break," Jean said.
"Session's over," Forge announced through a microphone. "Today's stats… most versatile fighter, Rogue. Strongest defensive maneuvers, Kurt. Strongest offensive maneuvers, Havok. Most agile, Rogue. Good Teammate Award goes to Stalwart. Worst Teammate Award, Havok… you gotta work on that buddy, get in there right away. Least agile, Stalwart… but that's no big deal, as usual, Weakest offensive maneuvers, Ariel, Weakest defensive maneuvers, Todd, least versatile fighter, Converse."
"Aw, no recognition?" Todd asked.
"Nope, gotta do better, Toad. Jean, you're slouching, better pick up the pace. Can't always rely on Freddy, you know."
"Right." Jean rolled her eyes. Freddy giggled. A few minutes later, the guys and the girls split up to hit the showers. Though they were all separated by different stalls (as they had complained about privacy, especially the guys), they could all still talk.
"That sister of yours," Alex started, "Is she…?"
"Taken? No," Kurt replied. "But don't be so quick to move in."
"Yeah, she likes to take it easy," Todd added. "If you want to get to know her better, go ahead… but we'll be watchin' you."
"That we will. Gotta warn you, though…"
"What, you'll both come after me if I hurt her? Don't worry, I won't."
"Well, besides that. There's something about her I think Magneto forgot to mention."
"What's that?"
"Can't touch her."
"Why not…?"
"Touching her is like getting hit in the head with a pile of bricks," Freddy said. Freddy had done some research on the Brotherhood, though he knew Rogue's powers through experience; he had met them shortly after joining the X-Men, when Magneto had decided to introduce the two teams to each other. Alex hadn't joined at the time, but from what he knew, the teams didn't exactly get along. After time, they had mellowed out, and any past grudges and incidents, such as Rogue's absorption of Freddy, were forgiven and forgotten. "She takes your powers, too."
"That's a shame. She's such a babe, too."
"Hey, you're talking about our sister, you know!" Kurt yelled.
"Er… sorry. But she is!"
"Uh… Alex," Freddy said to him, "I don't think brothers really think of their sisters as babes. Except a few of my cousins, but I don't talk to them anyway."
"Right… speaking of brothers, has anyone seen Scott?"
"Not that he's your brother or anything," Todd said with a bit of a hiss, "But Scott likes to do his own thing. He's his own man. Can't keep him tied down."
"When we grow up, we want to be just like big brother Scott!" Kurt said and then laughed with Todd. Alex tried to hide it, but he was hurt. He hadn't particularly done anything to his brother, but still, he had already found two others to take his role as little brother. Alex sighed quietly and continued scrubbing.
In the girls' showers, Jean, Kate and Rogue carried their own conversation. Rogue found it difficult when one of them had an attitude problem and the other was insecure.
"So Alex… he's not seeing anyone, is he?"
"No," Kate answered dryly.
"Oh… I'm sorry… do you…?"
"No," Kate again answered dryly.
"Oh, because you sounded hurt…"
"That's what she always sounds like," Jean muttered.
"I know you don't have anything on Alex. Seems to me you're pretty sweet on Fred."
"And what if I am?" Jean snapped.
"I dunno, you just don't strike me as the type who'd actually care about anyone."
"You can have Alex, Marie. Touch him for me, will you?"
"Hey, that's low, Jean. I'm trying to be friendly and you go on a little bitch trip. Nice guy like Freddy, what's he doing with you?"
"For your information, Freddy happens to love me very much, just like I love him! You can go on dreaming about having a guy you can't even touch. I've got someone who understands me, and I'm happy." Rogue didn't reply to Jean's comment on her powers, so she didn't and went right back to washing her hair. Then she thought of something that had to be a touchy subject for Jean.
"So Jean… you and Toad. What's up?" Rogue could hear Jean sigh in frustration.
"Just drop it, Rogue."
"No, really. You've got a past with him. He came into the family when he was ten, so I don't think you and him could've had any romance."
"You know what? Fuck off. I don't need to answer any of your questions."
"Where's Wanda?" Kate asked.
"What?"
"Where's Wanda?"
"Oh, Wanda…" Jean had completely forgotten about her. "Daddy's girl went off to do something for him. Probably has to do with that asshole brother of yours, Marie. Don't worry too much, Kate. Not too many people can mess with Wanda and leave in one piece."
Rogue was a little surprised that Jean's tone seemed to change when she answered Kate, like she was saying it just to reassure her. Maybe there was more to Jean than she had thought.
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X-Force waited inside their plane for Wolverine and Mastermind to return. Wolverine had some scouting to do, and Mastermind would help keep a low profile. Pietro had asked to come along, but Wolverine had told him it was important to minimize scouts. Apparently, whoever it was they were spying on would be able to detect anyone else besides Wolverine and Mastermind.
"Hey Gambit, I'll play you solitaire," Cannonball said.
"Solitaire's a one-player game, stupid." Cannonball held his helmet in his lap. His blonde hair was kept short and neat, but his face had several scars. Sam's propulsion manifested before his limited invulnerability, so he had damaged himself quite a bit in his younger days. Gambit's hair was medium-length, and rather crazy. It seemed to stand up without aid. He wore a brown trench coat, strangely enough. Remy shuffled a deck of cards. "Since there's four of us in here, how about a little poker?"
"No way," Wolfsbane said. "You're a dirty cheater." Rahne had grown up in Scotland, so she had a noticeable accent. Gambit thought her accent was cute, but nothing else. Rahne's hair was tied behind her in a short ponytail.
"Pietro, you in?"
"No, I'm just gonna sit here and think."
"Don't hurt yourself." Pietro was worried. They were close to Trask's destination, too close for comfort. It seemed unlikely to him that Trask would actually go there. But Wolverine couldn't be wrong, could he?
"What's bugging you?" Rahne asked.
"Nothing… I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Well… doesn't it seem weird to you that Trask would want to come here?"
"I'm sorry Pietro, Wolverine doesn't tell us as much as he tells you… just where are we, anyway?"
Pietro took a deep breath. "We're in the old Sentinel factory."
"The Sentinels? You mean Trask wants to start that up again?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
"But that's not exactly what's troubling you, is it?"
"No… not specifically… when I was a kid, I came to this area with my family on vacation. That's when the Sentinel prototypes were sent out… metal monsters. My sister and I… we escape. I used my speed to carry her away from the assault, but the Sentinels were just stomping around, blowing every mutant they could find to pieces. My parents were trying to help some survivors to get away from them. My father…" Pietro took another deep breath. "He was already enhanced by those gems by then. The Sentinels couldn't detect him unless he used his powers, so he kept low. Then they came after mom." Rahne could see that it was difficult for Pietro. She put her arm around him.
"It's okay Pietro… let it out."
"Sorry, Rahne…" Pietro was holding back his tears. "Those metal monsters came after her. My father stood by and watched. They burned her, Rahne… they…"
"It's alright, Pietro… it's alright…"
"No…" Pietro still resisted. "That bastard didn't use his powers to save her, all so he could keep himself hidden… selfish bastard!" Pietro couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears ran down his cheek, and he cried on Rahne's shoulder.
"Uh… what's with him?" Cannonball asked.
"Bad memories," Rahne said. "Just bad memories."
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Wanda opened her eyes. She stood in a glass tube of some sort, inside a giant metal dome. She looked to her right and saw Scott in another tube. To her left were several more tubes, all empty.
"She wakes!" Beast said. He stood at a console of some sort with a flashing blue screen and a strange helmet connected to it. "Good, good." Behind Beast, Colossus, Sunspot, Magma and Berzerker stood. He all kept their hands behind their backs. "We are ready then?" he asked Wanda.
"Ready for what?"
"A test. Tell me, Wanda… have you heard of the Cyttorak crystals?"
"Cyttorak…? Yes, I have."
"Good. You see this machine you're under?" Wanda looked up to see a smooth red sphere embedded in a metal plate. "It's a modification of the enhancer your father developed."
"The enhancer…? Wait…"
"Yes, Wanda. Soon, you too will know the feeling of advancement. As of now, I am the only mutant in this room who has gone through an enhancer, one modeled after the one your father built. But you, Wanda… ah, I envy you. You will be the first of a new race of super-mutants… whereas I am only an enhanced mutant, you my dear, will be an advanced mutants. I would perform this test on myself, but it's shame that I have to work the controls here."
"No, you can't!"
"Oh, come now!" Beast laughed. "What part of advancement do you find unappealing? You will be stronger than anyone else on this planet… with one tiny exception."
"Exception?"
"…But that's a different story altogether." Beast hummed a happy little tune as he activated the super-enhancer. The red stone above Wanda glowed pink, and then white. She could hear the machine powering up. Immediately, she aimed her hands upward.
"Don't bother!" Beast yelled over the machine. "These tubes are fitted with nullification devices. You have no control over your powers here!"
Something caught Wanda's eye. In the tube next to her, Scott's eyes were glowing under his glasses. Finally, his glasses were thrown off, and his eye-beams were fired at full force. Scott desperately tried to shut his eyes as the red beams bounced off the glass. Though his own beams couldn't hurt him, Scott preferred to keep his optic blasts under control. Due to past experiences, he was always afraid to open his eyes without his glasses for fear of hurting an innocent.
"How can…? Of course," Beast muttered to himself. "The device only works if the subject has full control to begin with. Silly me. I'll have to get that fixed… holy-" The glass was beginning to crack under the pressure as the beams continued to pound away. Finally, the thick glass shattered, and everyone ducked for cover. Scott unknowingly blasted the controls to the enhancer. The machine powered down and the tube slid upward, allowing Wanda to escape. Scott fell over and looked down at the ground. When he fell, he had stepped out of the nullification zone, and he finally closed his eyes. Wanda handed him his glasses.
"Thanks," Wanda said.
"Uh… okay…"
"C'mon, we gotta get out of here!" Wanda took Scott's hand and forced a large door open with her free hand. As they ran out, Beast looked at the enhancers. It was fortunate that each tube contained one, and only one had actually been damaged. Still, the controls were fried.
"He is not pleased," Archangel said, startling Beast. Archangel had appeared without warning, through means Beast still couldn't identify. "You will be punished."
"A simple design flaw! It can be fixed!" Beast pleaded. "Just give me a few more hours, it'll be up and running again!"
Archangel stared at him silently. He cringed as something passed through his head.
"You have until sunrise, Beast. If this attempt fails, your eyes will be pulled out of your head."
"I understand…" Beast turned to his team. "Alright. Bring me the spare parts container and my tools."
-------------------------------
Wolverine walked through the old Sentinel factory alongside Mastermind. The factory was quite busy for an abandoned factory. Human workers worked at creating new Sentinels in the assembly areas. Wolverine walked without fear of being noticed thanks to Mastermind; to everyone else, they were just two more factory workers.
"Sentinels won't be as effective," Wolverine said. "Trask doesn't know that, of course. Too many mutants out there for an army of Sentinels to take on."
"Of course, but the fools don't see any other weapon. It's their only hope."
"You two, back to work," Colonel Duncan Matthews ordered. A young blonde-haired man recruited into Trask's army, Matthews had risen in ranks partially due to the limited amount of available recruits, but also because of his commitment to what Trask called the Pure Blood movement. In an attempt to appear older and more worthy of respect, Matthews had grown a beard.
"Excuse me, Colonel?!" Mastermind yelled, slowly tricking Matthews into thinking he was talking to two high-ranking officers. "General Trask will have you executed for your insubordination!"
"I…"
"We're here to report to the general on your progress," Wolverine said. "Now quit slacking and give us something to report!"
"Sir, yes sir! Sir, our foundries are working at maximum efficiency, sir."
"Drop the 'sir' crap, kid. Just give us the straight facts."
"Yes si… yes, alright. We have three thousand men working round the clock. No Sentinels completed yet, but we expect to have at least two-hundred by the end of the week."
"Only two-hundred?" Mastermind asked. "Son, there's three billion mutants out there and only a million and a half human beings left on this planet, and you expect us to win this battle with only two-hundred Sentinels?!"
"…I'm sorry sir, but that's all we can afford."
"Afford?! This is life and death, son! Us or them! We don't have the luxury of being able to decide to doddle around without any worries! General Trask will be VERY unhappy about this!"
"…How many Sentinels do you suggest, sir?"
"I want at LEAST a thousand ready for battle by the end of the week!"
"A thousand?! Sir, that's ins-"
"ARE YOU CALLING ME INSANE, COLONEL?!"
"Sir, no sir! We will have a thousand Sentinels ready by the end of the week, sir!"
"Good. Keep this factory running at that rate. We're building another factory a few thousand miles from here to double our supply. I just hope it'll be enough."
"We will win this war, sir," Colonel Matthews said.
"Good, good. Get to work, son. Get those workers working."
"Yes, sir." Colonel Matthews hurried to the control center. Wolverine and Mastermind laughed.
"A thousand? You're an evil man, Mastermind," Wolverine said.
"Maybe. Those poor fools will be so overworked that they'll die before they get a chance to protest. I almost feel sorry for that kid. When Trask finds out he has no workforce, he's going to be hanged for sure."
"Only good human is a dead human."
"So true. Now then, the other business we were here for…" Mastermind created the illusion of an extra door in the factory. Wolverine took a bomb from his belt and placed it on the wall.
"Stand back." The door swung open, at least, that's what the workers saw. The two high-ranking officers walked in and shut the door behind them.
"Stay here and keep the illusion up." Wolverine walked down the secret metal hall to a secret metal door. He took a metal key from his belt and placed it in the metal door.
Wolverine walked inside the large metal chamber and activated a hologram projector. A tall, dark and imposing figure appeared in hologram form, twice the size of Wolverine. Wolverine kneeled down respectfully.
"Master, the humans are being worked to death."
The figure grimaced.
"Yes, Master. I will bring Quicksilver here. Magneto and his X-Men will be yours."
Alex and Rogue? Yikes, Rietro fans are gonna murder me! BRING IT ON, PUNKS. Er... so what does Apocalypse want with Magne-FUCK. I revealed it? Oh, like it was a big surprise. So what does Apocalypse want with Magneto? All will be revealed... maybe.