"Cry Havoc"
Erik Lehnsherr sat on his ornately decorated steel throne. The throne-like chair rested in the corner of his palatial observation lounge. The décor in the room was almost entirely made of steel and iron. Most of the furniture was constructed out of old-world wrought-iron bars. The iron was decoratively wrapped in silvery faux vines whose shiny petals glistened in the soft fluorescent lighting that bathed the room. Erik looked on at his enormous television monitor with intense disgust – a scowl painted across his face, his features contorted in a painful grimace. The old man's bones ached, as did his weary mind. But he took in the images of the burning buildings, twisted corpses wrapped in body-bags, and jubilant soldiers. As he had done so many times in the past, he filed the visuals away with all other such imagery… in the darkened annals of his aged memory. He would have wept, had he still been able to, but the time for tears had long passed into the dustbin of life – driven there by jack-booted thugs in gray cotton uniforms.
Raven Darkholme, aka Mystique, blinked back a tear, her lithe azure body sitting at the edge of the old man's desk. "Emma…" she softly whispered, as she placed her hand over her gaping mouth – thoughts of a lifelong friend swimming wildly in her head. Next to her sat a glum-faced Mortimer Toynbee (Toad), whose usually insatiable wit was deadened by the gloomy atmosphere. Standing behind them, Victor Creed, the mutant known as Sabretooth, loomed menacingly... pacing back and forth and cursing silently to himself. Off in the far end of the steel-laden room, in a less stately silver chair, sat the youthful mutant named St. John Allerdyce. Pyro, as he was also known, fumbled nervously with his lighter, flicking the flame over and over and over again. "Stop doing THAT!" yelled Mystique from across the room.
"Yeah kid", stated Mortimer, "that noise is beginning to bother the HELL out o' me."
"Let the child cope in his own way", said Magneto, as he stood up from his throne and gazed at his minions. "The war is under way… and I fear it's finally upon us." His announcement was an under-statement. In the last five days since the incident in Aikili Lake, there had been riots in every major city of the world, residual violence against any known mutants, several prominent mutant groups had gone into hiding, and the U.S. government (with the UNANIMOUS blessing of the entire international community) had launched a military offensive called Project Avenger.
Unbeknownst to him and his cohorts, two SH-60 Seahawks moved silently over the rolling waves of the waters outside the island fortress. The Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter. It is used for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue ops, drug interdiction, anti-ship warfare, cargo lift, and other special operations. They also extend the range of a warship's radar capabilities… as they were doing today. Some 120 miles away, unseen to the naked eye, were the USS Normandy and the USS Anzio – Aegis missile cruisers.
The Aegis cruiser is a warship designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. The heart of the system is an advanced, automatic detect and track, multi-function, phased-array radar: the AN/SPY-1. This high-powered (four megawatt) radar is able to perform search, track, and missile guidance functions simultaneously - with a track capacity of over 100 targets. But on this day, these warships were only tracking one, un-moving target. They are part of the Naval taskforce - codenamed Submariner - entrusted to locate and destroy ISLAND-M, the hidden fortress and headquarters of the Brotherhood of Mutants. The taskforce was being aided by GPS satellites equipped with a CLS (Cerebro Locator Sensor) array – a system that was launched and brought online as part of Project Avenger. The CLS satellites blanketed sections of the ocean with Cerebro-psionic signals, and relayed the information back to the cruisers' computer-aided tracking sensors. The computer-based command and decision element is the core of the Aegis combat system. This interface makes the Aegis combat system capable of operating simultaneously against a multi-mission threat: anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare. Locating ISLAND-M actually proved daunting at first. The locale was seemingly shielded from the CLS array, and thus invisible. The structure also seemed to have a stealthy, anti-radar cross-section – so definitively identifying it with active radar was also proving impossible.
Three days into the search, Dr. D.B. Banner, head of the M.I.B., came up with a brilliant idea; that was quickly relayed to Admiral Stark at Naval High Command. Basically, his idea was to intensify the CLS signals, so as to form a psionic topographic map of their targeted region. At that point even lower life forms, from fish to sea-algae, were being detected and mapped by the tracking sensors. Normally, this overload of data would only confuse the CLS relays, making pinpointing individual targets implausible – but that was Dr. Banner's point. His plan was not to look for a target… but look to for a "hole" in the psionic blanket. In fact, he gave specific instructions to look for a LARGE psionic hole in the sensor sweep. Locate the epicenter of the hole, according to Dr. Banner, and ISLAND-M will be found. The plan was ingenious and brilliant… and immediately paid off dividends.
On the USS Normandy, resting on the landing platform, was another SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. Inside the iron bird, eleven men were making final preparations and inspections to their gear and weapons. They were dressed in their dark body armor, which had an emblem of a large star, encircled by red, white, and blue stripes, on their chests. Small flags adorned their shoulders, as did a white letter "A" set in a blue circle on the front of their dark helmets. Some wore flag bandanas under their helmets, or tied to their arms. The men of Captain America sat patiently - listening to their commanding officer, Lieutenant Peter Lyman, give them last-minute instructions.
"As soon as positive contact is made, the cruisers will attempt to eliminate the target at range. We will immediately deploy to capture survivors and pacify any residual resistance." Lyman's voice strained as he tried to speak over the din of the helicopter's engines – which were beginning to fire up.
A large bald man, with tattoos on his cranium, was fastening on the chinstraps for his helmet. "So we ain't going in first? We just mopping up?" he barked angrily.
"Turk… I told you already…" Lyman's patience was wearing thin from having to repeat himself to the gruff older man. He understood Turk's "eagerness" to be on the frontline. The man had a personal vendetta against the Brotherhood – since his father and brother, who both worked as security guards, were killed at Liberty Island. "This mutant group is headed by Erik Lehnsherr, one of the most powerful known mutants on the planet. The only way to get after them is to make sure he's taken care of. Sit tight and relax… It'll be over soo.." but he was cut off by the noise of a MK 26 Guided Missile Launcher spinning port, and launching its SM-2 missiles. "Go get 'em." The man smiled at his squad mates.
The U.S. Navy's Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) is the world's premier surface-to-air air defense weapon. Its primary missions are: (1) fleet area air-defense and ship self-defense, (2) extended area air-defense, and (3) anti surface-ship operations. SM-2's use tail controls and a solid fuel rocket motor for propulsion and maneuverability, and, in addition, this extended range missile has a booster with thrust vector controls. All are guided by: inertial navigation and mid-course commands from the Aegis Weapons System (AWS), semi-active radar, and an IR (Infra-Red) sensor for terminal homing. ISLAND-M had proven immune to detection by ANY of these sensors, but it was now being "painted" by two of the taskforce's lead Seahawks – using two infrared targeting beams. The SM-2 missile, with a range of 100-200 nautical miles (115-230 statute miles), skimmed the surface of the ocean – heading for its intended target.
Magneto only had a split second to erect a magnetic barrier some 1000 meters outside the outer wall of the fortress, as soon as he heard the missile's rocket thrusters. Still, the shockwave from the missile's explosion rocked the observation lounge where he was standing. "Creed, get the others to the lower levels!" He again turned to look out the window of the lounge and could only fathom a small gasp as he saw not one, or two… but over a DOZEN flickering lights from rocket thrusters – all homing in on the same spot: right where HE was standing. As the first three missiles struck the barrier, the old man strained as he tried to keep the transferred kinetic energy of the blast at bay… as the next four missiles slammed into the barrier, the graying mutant's knees' buckled and gave way… as the next two missiles detonated their blast-fragment warheads, Magneto crumpled to the ground, blood trickling from his nose – but still conscious. Knowing that at least three more missiles were on their way, he magnetically "shoved" himself out of the lounge, down the hallway, and to the rear of the base's main chamber.
As the missiles slammed into ISLAND-M, the steel fortress rocked violently, as red-hot fragments of iron and steel ripped through the facility. Flames erupted from what use to be the outer walls, observation lounge, and main chamber. Eight more missiles pounded into the inner sanctums of the base, disintegrating the living quarters, common areas, and storage warehouses of the facility. Mystique and Creed pulled a large iron grate from the top of Magneto's prone body. The blue woman had a large gash on the side of her head, blood matting her orange hair. Creed was already healing from his injuries, and Pyro was standing behind him, holding his arm as if it were broken. "Where is Toad?" Magneto coughed out. His only answer was the tear that suddenly streaked down from Mystique's yellow eyes. He nodded knowingly, unconsciously muttering a silent prayer for one of his most trusted confidants.
Creed perked his ears up, and looked up at the ceiling – his heightened senses already hearing the low whirring of helicopter engines and rotor blades. He smelled the oil and powder associated with weapons and guns… lots of guns. Turning to the Brotherhood, he growled, "We got company… one or two choppers on their way!"
Magneto used his powers to free himself from the rubble, but howled in pain when he tried to stand up. He levitated himself up, and was concentrating with all his mental faculties to try and keep pressure off of his crushed and ruptured knee. "Quick, let's get to the escape hatch… it's through this rear chamber." He pointed to a narrow passageway at the near wall. The four mutants made their way across the darkened area to the opening… that was almost completely sealed with steel debris. Magneto furled his brow as he concentrated on the wreckage. The iron and steel girders budged, then jolted, then spread out to either side, parting to make way for the haggard quartet.
Mystique, Magneto, and Pyro had already entered the escape chute when Creed, who was the last in line into the dark corridor, heard some voices coming from behind him. "Target in sight!"
Creed covered the opening with his body – and paid for it with a back full of adamantium tipped bullets. Magneto managed to use some debris to provide him with VERY temporary cover. Sabretooth clenched his teeth in pain and managed to say, "Get out… I'll hold them off… this sheet o' metal ain't going to hold for another couple seconds."
"NO!" gasped Mystique, reaching out to the large man. "Victor… no… don't do this…"
"You won't get down the chute unless I do this…"
"Victor please…", she pleaded as she shook her head in disbelief. Tears were actually flowing from the woman. The woman who was lethal in combat, cunning as a viper… did have a FEW things in life she cared about.
"Raven…",Creed's eyes momentarily softened – making him look a lot more like a man, and much less like an animal. He placed Mystique's trembling hand in his own large, paw-like hand. Giving her a wry smile, he said, "You know… it could've been good."
"Yeah….", she gasped softly, barely breathing, "real good". She nodded, biting her lips… and then reached up and kissed the large man like her life depended on it. Their lips ate into each other – each person wanting this to last forever. It was a kiss to make up for opportunities missed, a kiss to say things that words never did, and never would… it was a desperate goodbye… as desperate as the two people locked in the bitter embrace of their star-crossed passion.
It was Creed who finally, gently, pushed Mystique away. "Take her… keep her safe…" And the other two companions grabbed Mystique by the arms. Lips trembling, she acquiesced at first… but as the platform began descending she shook her head and shoved Pyro into Magneto. Normally, Magneto could just pull the boy off of him, but, in his weakened state, the extra weight of the boy was too much. The two men crashed into each other, allowing Mystique to vault herself and shimmy up the chute, back to Creed. "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
"Choosing when to die… and who to die with…" She looked intently into his large eyes. Silent communication passed between them. Friendship, affirmation, kinship… love… maybe some combination of the four. The two comrades-in-arms embraced each other as the shoddily erected steel wall was demolished. The tender scene of the two mutants momentarily halted the advancing soldiers.
"Targets acquired!"
~~~~~~~
Magneto and Pyro continued to descend down the chute which lead to a magnetically sealed underwater corridor. The corridor contained a seemingly useless vehicle, unless the passenger could manipulate magnetic forces and send it careening through the tube, which stretched for hundreds of miles, and ended up on a secluded corner of the U.S.'s Atlantic coast.
Pyro winced as he barely heard the screams of soldiers and the crackle of gunfire. It lasted a few minutes, then all fell eerily silent. Realizing that his two mutant comrades had met their end, the young man, who until now had kept up a strong appearance, slid down the side of the chamber. He held his head in his hands, and began sobbing. "It wasn't supposed to be like this… not like this…"
"There now boy…" Magneto propped himself up using his own powers. He then sat down on the opposite end of the platform, which continued descending toward the ocean floor. Gazing warily at the crying youth, he let his mind wonder over the words of Shakespeare… Wafting over the Bard's most legendary prose, he muttered whimsically… "Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood… Over thy wounds now do I prophesy… A curse shall light upon the limbs of men… And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge… shall, in these confines, with a monarch's voice Cry 'Havoc', and let slip the dogs of war!"
Author's note: Coming next - The X-Men get into action, risking widening the conflict to rescue a survivor. Kurt and Ororo discover something about themselves, and… the rest is a surprise… till next time!