Chapter 10:
Through the dark tunnels of the underground compound, a dark force made its way towards the mutant cells at an incredible speed. It moved on the air, and the scattered molecules of water turned to ice as it passed. Frost gathered along the walls and floor, and mechanical devices struggled to function as their wires and circuits cracked in the cold.
Outside along the mountain, the snow had begun to fall heavily, isolating the compound and preventing any other intrusion from the outside world. There were other mutants here already, attempting in vain to recover those taken by Stryker's machine.
As the force reached the final hallway before the cellblock, the form of a man stepped out of its shadow. He was tall, wearing a long dark coat and strolled along casually, his dark cane tapping harshly against the cold floor.
When he reached the hall of cells, a dark frown fell across his face. The door leading into the secured section was open, and an unnatural warmth lingered in the air.
He paused before continuing on, and stared at the open door with growing fury...
***
Stryker walked around the control room proudly, watching as his months of planning began to unfold.
The Sentinel had functioned above expectations. Magneto was now within the compound. Stryker's arsenal of mutant weapons was set, ready to destroy the intruders, even if it meant destroying themselves. His human soldiers were equipped with technology that kept Xavier from interfering. The prisoners, the price for Stryker's revenge, were boxed and ready for delivery to the Stranger.
On the large monitor before him, Stryker watched the five mutants of Systems Operations fall into place. On screens to the left and right, he watched the X-Men and the Brotherhood approach the inner sanctum where they would destroy each other.
"Sir?" a soldier below him called, "The two mutants from the Brotherhood have turned around. They are heading in the direction of Xavier's men instead of heading inward..."
Stryker smiled confidently, "Don't worry about them. If they kill each other before our five boys get a chance to play, so be it. Where is Magneto?"
"Still moving inward," the soldier replied, "The sentries have stayed clear and he has met no resistance."
"Excellent," he said, "Contact the troops in the upper levels, make sure the other mutants, his or Xavier's, are kept away from Magneto."
"Yes, sir," the soldier replied and then activated a communication channel, "Sector twelve...this is control...respond..."
Stryker walked over to a different control station and put a hand on the back of the operator's chair.
"How is our other special boy doing?" Stryker asked. The soldier in the chair glanced up at the general, and was slightly unnerved by Stryker's expression, a wide grin and his eyes unseen behind his glasses reflecting the light of the monitors.
"Weinberg is still in stasis," the soldier replied, "We will deactivate the neuralizer cap as soon as Magneto is in place."
Stryker stood tall again, with his shoulders back in confident satisfaction, a fallen man drawn up again to see his lost vision realized.
"Sir?" the first soldier called again, and Stryker glanced over at him, "There's no response from the guards in sector twelve..."
"Then radio up to sector thirteen and tell them to get twelve off their asses..." the general shot back angrily.
"I have, sir," the soldier replied, "They're not responding either."
Stryker sighed with frustration, "Bring both sectors up on the monitor."
A new image filled the large screen, and the bustling activity in the room fell silent. The bodies of three soldiers lay in a heap on a hallway floor. The images from the security cameras were quite clear and in color, and the crimson stains on the floor could not be confused as anything other than blood.
A moment later, the shot of the next sector appeared, and displayed similar mayhem. The guards had been mauled and unceremoniously left in a pile on the floor. Stryker ground his teeth together furiously.
"You see..." he growled, "This is what mutants do...This is why we..."
He paused and narrowed his eyes.
"Zoom in..." he said, "Here..."
The solder glanced up at him with quiet dismay but did as he was ordered. He focused the camera in on one of the bodies, which grew before them on the screen.
"Right there..." Stryker said, tapping on gloved finger on the screen, "Closer..."
The soldier swallowed a grimace and focused in again on his dead compatriot. The image on the screen was gruesome, and the others in the room shifted and glanced at each other in horror. But Stryker was not concerned with the body in particular, but the wall just beyond.
There was a mark, sign of the struggle. Five claw marks, slashing deeply into the wall. Stryker had assumed the soldiers had been killed by the mutant Sabertooth, or possible the Wolverine, however, he knew his creations when he saw them...and he knew what their attacks looked like.
"Impossible," he breathed quietly. She could not have survived...but of course, he had survived so why not the Lady. As he knew first hand, there were other forces at work at Alkalai Lake that day than just Xavier and Mutant 143.
"What's happening..."
A shriek rose through the compound then, an inhuman scream reverberating through the walls, shaking the very foundations of the mountain itself.
Stryker's eyes grew wide, and the color drained from his face.
The men around him automatically went on guard and looked around the shaking room with controlled fright.
The shriek came again, echoing as if the source of the noise was moving.
"No..." Stryker said, and shoved his way to the control station.
With surprising strength, he lifted an operator from his seat and shoved him out of the way as he sat down. His fingers pounded on the keyboard, until he activating the camera in the control room for the mutant cells. The image was blurred by a red stain on the camera's lens, but the destruction in the room was obvious.
A few more taps on the keys, and a new shot appeared. The room lacked the bloody mess of the previous sectors. It was dark and completely empty. A mutant cell...without its mutant prisoners.
"No..." he growled again, slamming his fists down on the controls and standing quickly.
"Assemble your men," he shouted at one commander, "Find them! Take them alive!"
The commander nodded, but looked uncertain and he and several others headed out of the room.
Stryker's hands were still clenched into fists, his own blood dripping from his knuckles from cuts made by the broken control panel.
"What about Magneto and the other mutants, sir?" another soldier asked.
Stryker seethed with fury and a mad smiled spread once again over his features.
"We continue on as planned..." he said in a strangely calm voice, "Prepare Weinberg for use. Get him to the front chamber...keep out of sight of Xavier..."
"Yes, sir."
"And..." Stryker said, "Tell the Systems Ops boys...they can go play..."