{12 days after the events in X2: X-Men United}
~8:30 am~
Beautiful spruce, pine, and cedar trees cover the outer courtyards and lands surrounding Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The huge, Victorian era mansion is a sight in itself, but the finely manicured lawns, sprawling meadows, nature trails, and other amenities adds to the surreal, almost fantasy-like appearance of the hidden locale. Off the beaten path, the school is nestled in its own wonderland of lush old woods, intermingled with meticulously detailed landscaping. It is no wonder that at this time of morning, some of the many residents of the school enjoy their morning breakfast sitting in gilded picnic benches, just outside the school cafeteria.
Inside the school, the staff are already awake, and settling into their semi-normal routines. Professor Xavier, normally able to scan the globe with Cerebro, has opted not to do so, since he has been unable to use the device in the last two weeks. The last two weeks has seen a tumultuous turn of events. Not one day after arriving home from Aikili Lake, the X-Men were caught up in four days of limited missions, saving mutants from riots, lynchings, beatings, and other forms of domestic terrorism. If it weren't for his own powers masking the school's identity, perhaps the violence in the world would have come knocking on his pristine doors. Then the hammer fell on the fifth day, after the authorities regained control in most parts of the world. The U.S. government's campaign against 'mutant terrorism' kicked into high-gear, and the mutant body count went right through the roof.
It seemed that William Stryker's research may have been the proverbial tip of the iceberg. This troubled Charles, because Stryker's work into controlling mutants was already very advanced. But if he was just a MINOR player in a much bigger, much wider game, then mutant kind, and maybe mankind in general was about to enter a VERY dangerous period in its volatile history.
"Professor, I said would you like to join Logan and me for breakfast?" The Professor was broken from his train of thought and looked up to see a smiling Marie at his doorway. How long had she been there? Apparently long enough to have to repeat her request.
"No thank you, Marie, I have some work to do, but you enjoy yourself, and spend some time with Logan. You do him a world of good, do you know that?" The Professor wheeled his electric chair from behind the desk towards Marie. She smiled at his kind words, and blushed as she thought of the talk she and Logan shared the night before. It was the closest she ever felt to being loved by a parent… a father. It felt safe, secure, right… things she never felt with her parents in Mississippi – who secretly loathed her mutation. These people didn't even put out a missing person report on her, likely glad that they finally had their stress-causing family embarrassment out of the way. The Professor, trying not to pry into her thoughts, still caught the wave of innate happiness coming from the young lady. These feelings were the stuff that keep children clutching to their moms, and look up at their dads with curious awe. Who was he to deny this to Marie, who only now, at this age, was beginning to feel what other children routinely take for granted.
"Okay, I'll see you later", Marie bounded out of the office, and headed down the hallway. Professor Xavier went back to his desk, reading some reports that troubled him – for some reason, traffic, both commercial and pedestrian, was being re-routed away from the area by local authorities.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The cafeteria was only half full at this time in the morning. Though this was usually the busiest time of the day, half the students were out doors enjoying the warmth of the perfect weather. Among the throng of morning eaters, Colossus sat at one end of a large, silver-plated table next to Bobby Drake and Marie – the other "junior" X-Men. The three youngsters were not full-fledged members of Charles Xavier's covert strike-team, but they were recently informed by Cyclops that the next phase of their training would be "in the field". Cyclops also noted that the team is short-handed, with the loss of, arguably, their most powerful member. The defection of St. John Allerdyce, the powerful mutant known as Pyro, also thinned their ranks quite a bit. Piotr Rasputin never did like St. John. *That guy is a world-class loser*, he grinned inwardly as the thought crossed his mind. *I hope I get to put my fist THROUGH his puny head and…* but his thoughts were cut short.
Logan caught up with Marie at the cafeteria. He had already sat down and was moving over next to the three young mutants when they noticed him. Piotr wore a casual smile, Marie's face glowed with recognition, and Bobby's face looked like the blood had completely drained from it. Still, the Iceman forced a polite, although quite creepy, smile. "Good mornin'. Mind if an old Canuck joins ya?" Logan grinned that feral, toothy grin of his.
"No problem, I was expecting you", Marie said as she scooted over and let Logan sit next to her. "I'm glad you sat here with us instead of with Scott. You've been having breakfast with him for the last few days."
"Yeah", said Piotr, "I thought you guys weren't exactly pals… but now…"
"You're acting like butt-buddies", Bobby blurted with a chuckle. Piotr stifled a laugh, and Marie shot Mr. Drake a scathing look. Logan actually laughed himself while continuing to eat his food, much to Bobby's relief.
"You know kid, I HAVE been pal-ling around with Scooter lately. But the man needs some REAL friends right now", Logan said, not even looking up at Bobby. "Everybody just expects him to be the 'Fearless Leader' and don't care about what's really eatin' him up inside. Funny how I'm the one he's been talkin' to, even though some folks have known 'im for years… don't ya think?" And with that, Bobby Drake decided he was NOT going to speak again for the rest of the morning. He began eating his breakfast with a fervor and intensity that few had ever witnessed. Piotr shrugged, not being a resident of the mansion all that long, but Marie knew exactly what Logan meant. Scott was the kind of guy that people leaned on. But who did Scott lean on?
Just as she was about to comment, Scott Summers walked into the cafeteria, wearing a boyish grin. Before anyone could speak to him, they noticed that he was followed in by Emma Frost, although she was now calling herself Grace. Even in more conservative garb, Frost was stunningly beautiful. And she still had a penchant for white clothing – her loose fitting slacks, v-neck blouse, and tennis shoes were all completely white. The outfit gave her a radiant glow that was almost ambient. Even though her attire covered her completely, it still couldn't hide the woman's voluptuous curves. The males in the room, and even some of the females, were momentarily stunned into silence. Eventually, awkward conversations began anew, as Scott and Grace were waved over by Logan to come join him and the young mutants.
Sitting down beside Logan, Scott greeted the others with his customary "Good Morning all." Grace sat next to Scott and smiled at the group, letting her head tilt slightly, making her golden bangs flip a little over her face. Piotr stared intensely at the woman, in fact, so intensely that Bobby stomped on his foot under the table to make him stop. Grace blushed as she couldn't stop some of the Russian mutant's lustful thoughts from entering her mind. She just bit her lower lip to stifle a smile, and ate her food. Scott, not to mention Logan and Marie, caught that little mannerism, and all thought the same thing: this woman is behaving EXACTLY like Jean.
"So, you two been hitting it off lately" Logan stated. Grace glanced up at Logan, then at Scott, seeming to prod him to answer for them both.
Scott took the queue and spoke up, "Grace got me out of my hiding place yesterday. I was rather rough with her, but I'm glad she came by (looking at Grace). We talked a bit last night about what we're both going through… and it was great."
"Yeah", Grace finally spoke demurely, "There's so much going on inside my head. Everything's very… strange… yet comforting at the same time. Like a dream where nothing looks right, yet you still seem to recognize everything. Am I making any sense?" As Grace spoke, she had a tendency to look away while she formed thoughts, and then locked onto the eyes of the listeners – another dead-on Jean behavior.
Bobby Drake couldn't help himself, he asked her bluntly, "Ms. Grey, is that you?" Scott stopped eating and looked at Grace, and Logan was taken back by the young mutant's brashness, but no one faulted him, because they were all thinking it. In fact, the entire school, for the last two days, was wondering about the woman who acted like a Jean Grey clone. Was she really Jean, or just some doppelganger pulling the wool over everyone's eyes?
"The easy answer is…" Grace let out a breath, "No, I'm not Jean Grey." She looked at Scott, who clenched his teeth as a rush of thoughts threatened to overwhelm him. Grace studied him as she spoke, "I guess, I'm the first person who ever had a 'personality transplant' (Grace smiled slightly). I'm Emma Frost, with Jean's personality, and some of Jean's memories… and some of Jean's… (after a short pause, she spoke in almost a whisper) everything. Does that make sense to you?"
"So", Logan summed up, "You got Jean's mind pasted over what was left o' your own?"
"Yes, something like that", Grace smiled and nodded, and again, it was Jean's patented half-smile. "That's why I'm using my middle name now, because I don't feel like Emma Frost anymore, even though I know her VERY well." Suddenly, the smile fades off of Grace's face. She looked positively startled, and Scott instinctively reached out for her hand to steady her. "Oh my God… everything is so… silent" she whispers. No one understood what she meant by that statement.
At that moment, the school's emergency alarm sounds off. It was a screeching, high-pitched sound, mixed with a low rumbling tremor. Professor Xavier's voice comes in over the P.A. system – "All students, you are to be in your dorm rooms immediately. This is not a drill. It is imperative that EVERYONE be in their rooms, IMMIDIATELY. All X-Men, report to my ready-room." At the old man's words, everyone, both inside and outside the mansion, sprung into action. The recent attack by Stryker had made all the students weary about school alarms. Judging from the stress in the Professor's voice, this was going to be another harrowing attack.
"You guys are coming with us", Scott told the three junior X-Men. All the X-Men, and Grace Frost, joined the Professor in his ready-room, a room usually reserved for mission briefings, and action planning. When the others noticed Grace Frost in the room, Storm was about to protest, but the Professor cut her off, "It's all right Ororo, I asked for her as well – she may be helpful to us." Storm stifled a retort, and focused on the meeting at hand. "I'm sure you're all wondering what the alarm is about. About three minutes ago, my powers, as I'm sure Grace's powers… have completely stopped functioning."
"What?" Scott asked, "How could that be?"
"What do mean Professor?" Marie said, "You can't use your powers at all?"
"No child I can not", the Professor responded, looking grim. "Suddenly the entire world went eerily quiet."
"I felt it too", Grace said, "It was like someone flipped a switch and turned it all off. I'm just getting some kind of background static… like a mental ringing in my head."
"Vat is the cause?" Kurt wondered allowed, "Do you think we are in danger?"
"I think we're in deep sh*t", Logan said, "This could be a prep move for a strike."
"He's right", Scott added, "I bet that no mutant in the mansion who relies on telepathy or telekenisis can use their powers right now. That's about ten percent of the student body. Professor, do you think other mutant powers will be affected?"
"I theorize that ANY mutant power requiring mental processes similar to telepathic powers is being affected", The Professor explained. "We need to prepare the escape routes for the students." The clock on the wall read….
~9:14am~
The timekeeper on the helicopter's console read exactly 9:14am. The pilot glanced over the controls, looking over his myriad sensors, and noted that they were en route to their target, and on schedule. This man was piloting an AH-64D Apache Longbow, the United State's premier attack helicopter. The Apache is a twin-engined army attack helicopter developed by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). The US Army has more than 800 Apaches in service and more than 1,000 have been exported. It entered service with the US Army in 1984, and was first used in combat in 1989 in Panama. Since then it has been in just about every conflict the US has been in, including the new war on mutant terrorism. Today, five AH-64D's were converging on Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, spearheading an operation that many Washington insiders knew was long in coming.
These aircraft were armed to the teeth. A 30mm M230 Chain Gun is located under the fuselage. It provides a rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute. The helicopter has capacity for up to 1,200 rounds of ammunition. The AH-64D is armed with the AGM-114D Hellfire air-to-surface missile, which has a millimeter wave seeker: allowing the missile to perform in full fire-and-forget mode. Range is 8km - 12km. These Apaches are also equipped with air-to-air missiles (Stingers, AIM-9 Sidewinders, Mistrals, and Sidearms) and 2.75in rockets.
The Longbows are escorting two UH-60 Black Hawks. The Black Hawk is the Army's front-line utility helicopter used for air assault, air cavalry, and aero-medical evacuation. It is designed to carry 11 combat-loaded, air-assault troops… and today it is being used for just that purpose. These Black Hawks are carrying the men of Captain America, a covert strike team, with weapons specifically designed to combat mutant threats. Captain America knew the goal: to capture or kill the X-Men and Emma Grace Frost, regardless of collateral damage or casualties.
Under the helicopters, several vehicles are rumbling towards the school, in tight formation. They were elements of the Army's 1st Armored Division, 1st Brigade: "The Forerunners". The taskforce today consisted of twelve M1025 'Humvees', armed with M60, 7.62mm machine guns, M2 .50 caliber machine guns, and MK 19 Grenade Launchers. All the ammunition was now adamantium laced, ensuring penetration of any known armor.
Six M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, armed with their customary ATK 25mm M242 chain guns and TOW BGM-71 anti-tank missile systems, transported several more platoons of soldiers toward the school. Sitting on top of the Bradley's were some odd equipment that resembled signal boosters. In actuality, these devices were signal relays that were specifically designed to intensify the Cerebro-like signals from the newly deployed anti-mutant GPS satellites.
And somewhere above the fray, there flew an E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) jet, relaying data and theater information to the task force, which included the USS Ramage, an Aegis missile destroyer parked 200 miles away in the Atlantic. Close behind the Sentry, a lone F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet flew in formation, waiting for some specific orders to obliterate some targets below. Operation Avenger had finally arrived in Westchester.
~9:21am~
"Professor, all the students are assembled in the main lobby – per your orders", Scott reported.
"Well done", the Professor commented. "Get them ready for evacuation. We don't know how much time we'll have to…" The Professor was cut off by a sudden burst of broken glass, a sonic boom-like noise, and a violent tremor that shook the ready room like a major earthquake. The X-Men were jolted to the ground!
"What the hell?" Logan sputtered. Another explosion rocked the school, and shook the room just as violently as the first. It didn't take Wolverine's heightened senses to hear the collective screams of the school's children in the lobby, or the helicopter blades out side the school. Cyclops and the others got up quickly and ran out of the room. Piotr, changing into his Colossus form, was about to pick up the Professor and his wheelchair, but Kurt waved him off and simply touched the old man. In puff of smoke and brimstone, the two of them were gone.
Nightcrawler and the Professor arrived in the center of the lobby, in the midst of the frightened school children. The students were huddled in the center of the large main lobby. The entire structure rocked vigorously as another explosion was heard from somewhere in the southern wing of the school: the dorm section. The rest of the X-Men came down the main lobby stairwell, and into the lobby below. After making a quick headcount, Storm spoke up, "They're blowing up the southern and eastern sections of the mansion."
"The dorms and the classrooms? Why?" asked Marie.
"Because all those areas had multiple exits", said Logan, "And because they don't give a flying crap about killing any students that would be caught up in there!" With that, Wolverine's claws came jutting out of his arms. He could hear it all now, smell it too. The helicopters outside, the armored vehicles, the soldiers, and all their weapons were surrounding the school. Another explosion shook the lobby, and this time a burst of flames and rubble came spewing out of the hallways leading to the northern rear section of the school.
"They've cut us off from all the exits", said Scott, assessing the situation. "I think they knew we'd head to the lobby. They've been blasting the mansion from the outside in."
"How come?", asked Colossus, "Unless…"
"Unless they know the layout of the school", Scott cut him off. Scott gestured for Logan to follow him to the rear of the lobby, to the secret panel that led to the escape route they used when Stryker had attacked weeks earlier. Wolverine opened it, and sniffed down the darkened shaft. He stepped in and was gone for a few seconds… then came running out and dove for the floor. Scott, realizing what was going on, shut the door and dove for the floor as well. Another explosion rumbled through the shaft and blew flames, rocks, and other debris through the panel door. "What happened Wolverine?"
"The a**holes fired some kind of missiles through the other end of the escape tunnel. They knew it was there. They're caving it in", Logan said as he sucked in air in heaving breaths. Scott offered him a hand as they got up, and the two of them walked back to the main lobby to inform the others: there was no way out but through the front door.
~9:40am~
AH-64D Apache Longbows circled the school, one on each side. The Black Hawks were hanging back, waiting for the "go code" to enter the hot "LZ" (Landing Zone). The Apaches sprayed the school/mansion's outer wings and sections with 2.75in rockets, sending glass, wood, and twisted metal jutting up and out in every direction.
And they knew what they were hitting. The AH-64D Apache Longbow is equipped with the Target Acquisition Designation Sight (TADS), and the Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS). These provide direct view optics, television, and three fields of view with a Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) sensor to carry out all search, detection, and recognition functions. Add to that a Litton laser rangefinder/designator, and basically they could see exactly where the students and faculty were moving at all times. On top of that, the Cerebro-modified GPS satellites were providing pinpoint data on the locations of all mutants in the entire area. This data was being relayed through the E-3 AWACS jet, soaring above, and sent to every helicopter and armored vehicle.
The Captain America soldiers received all this information as well because of the super compact communication systems in each of their helmets. These included special monocles that had built in HUDS (Heads-Up Displays). These HUDS showed them exact target data: including location information, and what type of armor the targets had. The sensor on the HUD had a crosshair that was electronically tied to the barrel of their modified XM-29 Pulse Rifles. Wherever they pointed the rifle, the crosshair would go. This little innovation meant that each soldier knew exactly were his gun was pointed at all times, and increased average accuracy by a whopping 530%.
Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees rumbled in and took positions right outside the front of the school. If the plan was carried out properly, this would be the only way out of the mansion. The Apaches were carefully destroying all the other sections of the school, which seemed to have been deserted. The Bradley's used their Mk29 Grenade Launchers to pepper the outer walls with explosives, reducing all the beautiful outer masonry to burnt-out shambles.
A ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missile came flying in from the east – launched from the USS Ramage in the Atlantic. The missile slammed into the school's basketball court, blasting open the reinforced doors of the X-Men's secret underground hangar. High above, the E-3 Sentry jet signaled the F-15E Strike Eagle to close in and destroy its designated target. The F-15E was carrying a Guided Bomb Unit-28, better known as a "Bunker Buster". The GBU-28 is a special weapon developed for penetrating hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided conventional munition that uses a 4,400-pound penetrating warhead. The jet dropped the powerful bomb, which glided effortlessly right into the X-Men's exposed hangar. Upon detonation, the entire underground structure was decimated, and, along with it, the X-Men's ultra-advanced Blackbird jet. There was nothing left to salvage, as expected when you drop an $18.2 million dollar bomb.
~9:53am~
The younger students screamed and cried as they huddled near the center of the lobby. The enormous explosion that came from where the basketball courts USED to be shook the lobby, and debris was flying down on top of them from destroyed upper levels.
"This is happening too fast!" said Ororo.
"That's the point, Storm" replied Scott, "They're trying to keep us confused so they can move in." Cyclops pointed toward the front of the school, and the X-Men saw the armored division closing in on the once pristine Victorian mansion. They saw as soldiers embarked from the Bradley fighting vehicles, and took up positions in a makeshift perimeter.
"Looks like Army Rangers", said Logan, unsure as to how he could identify the soldiers so easily.
"Stay calm, everyone", ordered the Professor. "Bobby Drake, prepare to encase the front of the school in ice. Storm, I need you to cause a weather disturbance of EXTREME magnitude and…" The Professor was caught off by the sound of a hysterical student. Fred Dukes, known to his classmates as "Blob", just snapped under the stress and agony of the repeated explosions.
"I ain't gonna die here man!" The boy yelled. "I'll kill those bastards myself!" Young Mr. Dukes, possessor of vast physical strength, charged out of the lobby and into the courtyard. Army Rangers saw the charging mutant teen, and trained their weapons on him instantly. Scott Summers yelled at Nightcrawler to get the boy back inside. Nightcrawler sprung into action… but it was too late.
As Nightcrawler appeared just behind Fred Dukes… adamantium laced bullets were already ripping through the body of the mutant teenager. Kurt Wagner barely got his hands on the already dying boy, before disappearing to avoid being hit by the gunfire. He did indeed manage to teleport the teen back into the lobby, whose body was racked with bullet holes and bleeding profusely. The students gasped in horror, some visibly overcome with grief. Fred Dukes couldn't even speak, his choking breaths barely escaping his mouth. Blood gurgled out of his mouth for about a few seconds, and then his eyes lost focus: he was dead.
"No, no, no, nooooooo!" An equally hysterical Sam Guthrie let out a primordial scream as he slammed his fists into the ground. Sam, known as Cannonball, had a strange mutation. Cannonball possesses the ability to bodily generate thermo-chemical energy, and release it from his skin. This energy, released by an act of will, is accompanied by smoke, flame, and condensation, much like the exhaust of a rocket engine. At his present level of experience, he can only release this energy in one direction, beneath him. The reaction to this sudden thrust causes his body to be propelled through the air like a human rocket.
As a side effect of forming the thermo-chemical energies over the surface of his body, Cannonball becomes nearly invulnerable. Accompanying the release of energy is a half-inch thick energy field that channels the explosion and protects his skin from the direct effects of the blast. It also negates momentum and related energy effects, thereby cushioning his entire body from any impact. Not only is he protected from rough landings, but he is also protected from many types of injury while in flight. The young mutant ignited his jet stream… and tore full speed out the front of the school.
"Holy sh*t", yelled one Army Ranger, "What the fu…" Sam Guthrie slammed into a platoon of soldiers… who then slammed into several different armored vehicles. The young mutant veered high into the air, and arced back toward another group of soldiers. The soldiers fired their modified M-16's, but hit nothing. Cannonball was just too fast, being a blur of motion followed by a trail of smoke and flames. Bradley's and Humvees tried training their chain guns on the flying youth, but Cannonball bobbed and weaved too quickly for the guns to keep up. However, an Apache closed in on Cannonball's position, followed by another.
Cannonball saw the attack helicopter coming in close behind him. "I got a visual on the target", said the pilot. "Wait a minute, what the hell is he doing?" Cannonball increased his speed, and doubled back on his course. The young mutant was now heading full bore directly at the Apache's rotor blades. The pilot, realizing what the mutant was about to do, veered his copter to the right, tilting the iron bird just enough so that Cannonball collided with his tail rotor. A huge explosion shattered the copter's tail, sending it spinning out of control into a nearby thicket of trees.
Cannonball was barely hurt at all. In fact, he didn't even notice the impact… but he also didn't notice that one of the other Apache's had already launched a Hellfire missile at him. "Die mutie!" the pilot growled. Cannonball tried outrunning the missile, but even he wasn't that fast. The missile closed on him. He tried to evade the flying munition, but no matter how he weaved and turned, the missile was right on his tail, and closing even faster. Another Apache sprayed a cloud of 30mm machine gun fire in front of him, causing him to veer away, and leave him wide open for the missile. The young man closed his eyes, knowing he would be dead in less than a second. But suddenly, he was back in the mansion lobby.
"Nightcrawler, get all the students out of here." Scott barked an order, as he began blasting the armored vehicles with cover fire. Cyclops fired his wide beam, some five feet in width, and then moved the deadly energy back and forth over the soldiers. Storm's eyes were already glazed over, and right outside the mansion, massive cumulus clouds rolled in – covering the sky. The temperature immediately dropped below freezing, and hurricane winds began sending sheets of ice and snow on the soldiers and vehicles out side. Bobby Drake, known as Iceman, instantly began covering the grounds outside the school with a thick layer of ice, effectively halting the advance of all ground vehicles. Nightcrawler began transporting the students, in groups, to a location just over the visible horizon – some twenty-two miles away. It was a strange evacuation, but an effectively quick one.
~10:11am~
Inside the E-3 AWACS jet, a team of mission specialists from the M.I.B. are pouring over theater changes caused by the sudden weather patterns. The Airborne Radar technician calmly identified that several targets were literally disappearing from the mission theater and, according to the Cerebro-satellites, suddenly appearing twenty-two miles west of the mansion.
"Are you sure lieutenant?" asked General Thaddeus Ross, who was personally commanding this operation. "What do you mean they're gone?"
"Sir", answered the technician, "Some mutant is teleporting targets away from the mansion."
"Teleporting?" asked an incredulous General Ross.
"Here is the file", another technician, a young man in his late twenties turned around to reveal information on his LCD screen. She was one of the mission information specialists sent from the M.I.B. to provide intelligence and other data. "One of our targets is a Kurt Wagner, the mutant who attempted to assassinate the president almost a month ago."
General Ross skimmed the vast data in the file. "Teleportation? This mutant's an EXTREME threat. Captain Greer, contact the M.I.B. Scramble whatever assets we have in the area to the teleportation site!"
"Already on it sir", said the young female technician. Captain Greer relayed all information from the Global Broadcast Service (GBS) to M.I.B. headquarters in Washington. After several seconds, she received an affirmative answer. "General Ross, M.I.B. is already sending units to intercept the escaped mutants. Cerebro signal intensity is being increased in the area to Code Orange."
"Orange? Well, that's one way of avoiding a fight." General Ross referred to a procedure developed for Operation Avenger that mirrored the Cerebro attack from Aikili Lake. Modified satellites, the same ones used to detect mutants, were also equipped with transmitters that could blanket a small area with the mind scrambling "kill" signals – at various intensities. At code orange, the signals were designated to disable all mutants in the area. However, they were not used on the Westchester mansion due to the risk that an untimely mishap would result in many human casualties, such as what happened at Aikili Lake. This was not a risk that the M.I.B. was willing to take… yet. "Order the Apaches to pull back from the LZ. Have the 'Forerunners' pull back to 500 feet off the place. Contact Commander Young at the U.S.S. Ramage. Have them prepare four cruise missiles to hit that zone, on my mark."
"What about Captain America, General?" Another M.I.B. intelligence officer asked. "The Black Hawks have already touched down on the roof of the school. They're in, sir. We're tracking their every movement as we speak."
"What's their E.T.A. to the targets?" Asked the General.
"They are 30 seconds away from full engagement, holding and awaiting the 'go code'", answered Captain Greer.
General Ross thought about
his next order. Should he evac the
team, and destroy the mansion, or should Captain America be given a chance to
fulfill their mission: capturing the X-Men?
"Open up a channel to Lieutenant Lyman." One of the communications officers tapped his keyboard
furiously. Suddenly, a haggard
soldier's voice could be heard over a nearby loudspeaker.
"Lyman here, awaiting orders sir!" Peter Lyman's voice had a soothing calmness
that betrayed the dire situation they were in.
His men could be heard behind him, but just barely.
"Lieutenant, you and your men have exactly 7 minutes to pacify the mutant threat. SEVEN MINUTES, no more! We'll be monitoring your vitals from here, and if you take more than 50% casualties…" General Ross paused a moment, "We're letting the Tomahawks fly, son."
"Understood, sir. My men and I knew the risks of this operation", Lyman answered. "We won't let you down."
"Just give 'em hell, boy", the General said, "Give 'em hell. You have permission to 'go' at your discretion."
"Yes, sir…" Lyman's voice crackled through the loudspeaker, and then the radio went dead.
~10:13~
"Professor, it's been a wshile since Nightcrawler has returned from his last jump. What's going on?" Ororo grew worried as her blue friend failed to rematerialize since his last teleportation. The German mutant had just transported the last of the students away from the mansion, but had yet to come back. The others began to wonder if the soldiers hadn't gotten to him (and the students) first.
"We must assume that he's been… detained", Scott said, not wanting to admit that he was fearing for the mutant's life as well. "Just concentrate on the task at hand… getting out of here alive."
"Heads up kids, we got company!" Logan unsheathed his claws, because he could smell the intruders upstairs. He looked intently up at the main stairwell, even though there was noone at the top. The others joined him, in close formation, not knowing what Wolverine was concerned about, but trusting his instincts.
Suddenly, bullets started coming through the walls above the staircase – but these weren't regular ammo. These were High Explosive rounds, fired from Captain America's modified XM-29 rifles. The munitions were fired in "window mode" and set with a delayed timer. The X-Men had absolutely no time to react, as the rounds exploded in their midst, causing tossing them about the room, and knocking them against the walls and floor… hard. Marie looked at her leg, it was bleeding and had several cuts and wounds. She grimaced in pain and fought back tears, trying to be as 'brave' as she could be.
Wolverine smelled blood. His own for sure, since a HE round exploded just a few inches in front of him, but he could smell someone else's. Marie's! His feral rage overtook him, and his claws, which had collapsed back into his arms during after he was thrown back, jutted out of his arms again. Showing a speed that defied logic, the old mutant dashed up the stairs and ripped through the walls of the hallway. Several shots could be heard, and then three bodies came crashing through the stairway railing, and fell twenty feet to the lobby below. The men impacted the tiled floor with a sickening thud. Two Captain America soldiers slowly recovered and tried finding their weapons, while Wolverine quickly sprang to his feet and buried his claws into the nearest soldier.
The man let out a yelp, that was cut off as the rabid mutant ripped his arm sideways across the man's body – sending blood, armor chunks, and sliced organs spraying across the floor. The other soldier recovered his weapon, and aimed right at Logan's chest. In a split second, 30 adamantium laced bullets tore through Logan's abdomen, actually breaking some of his adamantium ribs, and puncturing his vital organs in several places. Wolverine tried to lunge at the man, but fell to the ground, face first… his claws retracting back into his arms. Cyclops drew a bead on the soldier, who was about to open fire on the X-Men… and fired an optic blast that literally smashed the armored man through the main lobby doors and flung him outside – some 200 feet away.
At the top of the stairwell, Captain America poured out of the hallway. The men took up positions and readied their weapons, aiming at the prone X-Men. Storm's eyes glazed over, hoping she would have enough time to cause some kind of disruption to the soldiers' coming onslaught. "Open fire!" Lieutenant Lyman yelled, and the soldiers let loose with a full barrage of gunfire. A cloud of adamantium laced bullets rained down at the X-Men, who were about to meet with certain death…
To Be Concluded…
Author's Note:
I had to end it… it was getting WAY too long. But fear not, I already have the next part in the works. And yes, people die. But who? You'll have to wait for the next and FINAL chapter: "To Be or Not To Be" AND THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED IT. I write a lot quicker the more feedback I get: good, bad, or ugly. So please, feel free to comment on any of it.