Operation: Annihilation.
At the beginning of the war, humans realized very early on they could not beat mutants using conventional tactics. One on one, most mutants could handle the most well-trained, well-armed human soldier with a flick of their wrist or a bat of their eye. Thus, new tactics had to be implemented. The entire style of fighting had to be reinvented, and they lost a good chunk of the world powers before they were finally able to respond to the mutants advances.
Edward Kelly, one of their first great generals, had instituted among his troops the rules that would eventually become widespread among the earth powers. Every day he made a very specific speech.
"We know who they are. We have to know what they can do," he would say.
Thus, mutants were captured instead of killed, studied instead of executed. Their bodies sliced to pieces, their genes unraveled to uncover their secrets. Know thy enemy, and know thyself.
Thus, Kelly's troops had been those who'd tested out an experimental weapon. Using a mutant child and some very jury-rigged technology, they'd tried to nullify the powers of all the mutants who'd been at the battle of Roanoke. Their plan had worked in part, and they'd managed to kill great numbers of the mutant attackers (lulled into a false sense of security) before the device broke down. The day was lost, all six hundred troops were slain. But they managed to take out at least fifty-seven mutants and wound two dozen or so more. Unfortunately the mutant child had been stolen, and the plan was scrapped. But it had given the ruling Human Council the basis for future ideas. Kelly had been lost in the battle, a martyr for the human cause, but it was a cause that lived on and fought on.
Scrapping the failed Nullification Project, thus began a series of other projects.
The Viral Project. The Weapon X Project. The Phoenix Project. The Rebirth Project. But now a new project had been implemented. Projection Annihilation.
Humans had early on learned from captured and tortured mutants about the Cerebro machine. How it worked, how it had been built and most importantly... how it was operated. A most important factor in this project was the information gained from a former close colleague's of Professor Xavier's and a former infiltrator of Magneto's. A redheaded woman going by the codename Will O' the Wisp. She had, after a great deal of 'persuasion' finally told them what they'd believed was the key to winning the war.
The Cerebro machine linked the mind of its telepathic user to every other mind anywhere else on the planet Earth. Human or mutant, young or old, soldier or civilian. Normally, the technology enabled said user to locate individuals. However, with increased concentration... the user could kill them as well. An individual, a country, a specific group. Any sort of specifications the user decided.
Like all the mutants on the planet earth.
Magneto had once planned to use the device to destroy all the non-mutant humans on the planet. Ending the war in a mere hour or so, leaving it the paradise for the remaining mutants. Under his leadership, of course. And after him Quicksilver... once the boy had been suitably trained to lead.
However, Charles Xavier had been the only telepath powerful enough to truly tap into the potential of the Cerebro machine, and he had been afraid of doing such a thing. And before he had the chance, he'd been killed by the very humans he'd tried to make peace with. Since his death no telepath had ever lived up to his caliber... except his son, David.
David had the potential, but Magneto was loathe to use him in Cerebro for such a purpose. His mind simply would not be able to handle the strain. And then there would be another dead Xavier, and Magneto would've destroyed the only living link he had to his old colleague.
Psylocke, thought telepathic, was not an option, as her powers did not function in the manner necessary to allow for such a link up. She simply wasn't powerful enough.
But the humans had no such problems killing another mutant to wipe out the whole of them. So they'd built another Cerebro machine, using stolen schematics and testimony from Wisp and other such captured and interrogated mutants. The mind controlling chips designed by General Wraith would be able to control whomever sat in the center of the dark Cerebro. All they'd needed was a telepathic mutant.
Which they'd just acquired.
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"Mah gawd," murmured Rogue, when all was said and done. To think, they were willing to go the lengths of... genocide. It boggled the mind. Cyclops and Magneto too, seemed to be having a hard time grasping the very concept of it all. They were quicker to get their act together, however. They were soldiers, after all.
"Façade. Tell no one of this. Gather Storm and Beast and have them meet in my chambers," ordered Magneto. "Cyclops, get a link with Asteroid M. We need to move quickly and we'll need their support. We need to make a plan and retrieve Mindbender."
"Perhaps..." came a voice behind them. As one, they turned.
It was Nightcrawler. His head was bandaged, and he looked weak and sluggish, but he held himself high.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance."
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The commanders met in the council room of Magneto. As in the tradition of Camelot, the table was round, there was no head, all spoke equally with Magneto. Here, all advice was welcome. Rogue and Kurt sat to either side of Cyclops, specially invited for their... unique... insight into the war effort. Right now, every single possible edge they could get, they got. It was that or face extinction.
Gauntlet was being patched in from the Asteroid M base. His face occupied one of the three screens lining the walls of the room, directly behind Magneto. It was in live-time, he could hear them and respond just as well as if he was right there in the room with them.
"This is the single most terrible threats ever to befall the mutant people," stated Magneto. "If we fail this mission... our friends... our family... our comrades... every single one will fall dead at your feet, and you alongside them. Not one of us will be safe. Not even those high above in Asteroid M. Therefore... we cannot fail."
"Our objective is relatively simple. We find and rescue Mindbender from the hands of the human oppressors. Or... or..." he stumbled, unable to voice the possibility.
"Failing that," said Cyclops, picking up where Magneto left off. "We have to take him out. Mindbender is the key."
"We want to rescue him if possible," stated Magneto again. "He is... valuable to our side of the war effort. If we lost him, there will be no more mutants found, save by accident. We cannot afford that either. But, Cyclops is correct. If there is no other option only."
"Understood sir," said Storm, Gauntlet and Beast.
"Good... now, Cyclops. Our battle plan."
Cyclops tapped some keys on the console in front of him. The center of the table lit up with a three-d series of light-lines, creating an image that was better than most maps. It smoothed out quickly, creating an image of the southern half of Great Britain.
"This is where Facade reports the base containing the dark Cerebro is being held," reported Cyclops, tapping another key and allowing a small red square to appear on the field, roughly where the city of London was. "Frankly, its damn near close to impenetrable. Surrounded on three sides by heavy military zones," he added, allowing three green triangles to appear, as well as circles around those triangles to show the zones. They overlapped one another, as well as the red square. "We get spotted in any one of those zones, the other two move in. We finish off one, the other two finish us off," he added darkly.
"Obviously they are prepared for trouble," stated Magneto. "They've been planning this a long time."
"Our best hope," said Cyclops. "Near as I can figure, is to hit them with everything we've got, every angle, hard as we can. Then, while the troops are busy dealing with ours, a small team infiltrates the fortress, finds Mindbender, and rescues him. Then the teams withdraw."
"What about the navy?" asked Beast, indicating the English channel. It wasn't too far from the base, and he said as much. "If they move in, we'll be cut off on both sides... it'll be a bloody massacre."
"I have someone who can handle that," interrupted Gauntlet. "You don't need to worry about the navy in the slightest."
"Very well," stated Magneto. "Then our attack is as Cyclops suggests. Hit them hard, slip in, get Mindbender and leave. Storm, Beast, Gauntlet. I am personally placing you three in charges of this military zones. Get them as far away from the fortress as possible. I will take a specialized team with me into the base to retrieve Mindbender myself."
"That's going to be trickier," remarked Cyclops, tapping in another key and zooming in on the screen, showing a satellite view of the fortress. "Guards are posted all along the perimeter. And then there's this unknown bunker to worry about..."
"Sentinels," said Nightcrawler, speaking for the first time since the meeting had begun.
"What?"
"While I was under the mind control, I could... still remember everything I saw and heard. I heard talk of some experimental machines being made there. They called 'em sentinels. They're supposed to be big. Bigger than the machine soldiers."
"But metal," said Magneto. It was more of a question than a statement.
"Ja."
"All the more reason for me to go on this mission. Is there anything else you can tell us?"
"I... I know some of the internal way of the base. Enough to find the Cerebro unit. That should be where Mindbender is going to be. It'll make the rescue go a lot faster," he stated.
"Sir?" came Gauntlet's voice. "Can we afford to trust this man? I've already received the report he killed two of our men."
"Under mind control!" shouted Rogue, moving to defend Nightcrawler.
"Rogue... you have to understand. If this is a trap..." started Cyclops. She cut him off.
"Goddamnit ah know Kurt... he's no traitor. It's not in his character."
"Your Kurt maybe," replied Cyclops, pointing at Nightcrawler. "That man sitting there isn't him."
Rogue started to make an angry reply, but Magneto's cool voice cut through the air once more.
"He will come," he stated, ending the argument. "If the humans wished to set a trap, we would know. His information will be invaluable. But know this, Nightcrawler," he stated darkly, his eyes glowing yellow beneath his helmet. "Betray us... and I shall make you wish you had never been born."
Nightcrawler gulped, nodding. Magneto gestured. A metallic hum rang through the air as the collar around Nightcrawler's neck clicked off. It stayed around his neck, however. There were limits even to Magneto's generous nature.
"Very well. Commanders, assemble your teams... I shall select mine. Dismissed. Rogue... I want a word with you," he added, as she had been preparing to leave. Gauntlet switched off his vid screen as the others filed out, leaving only the Untouchable and the Master of Magnetism behind.
Magneto sighed deeply.
"This is not your war, Rogue. I do not ask you to come with us. But your help will be greatly needed."
Rogue hesitated. Then she remembered something. "Ah was taught always ta do what was right," she said. "By one of tha wisest men ah'll ever know. Ah'll come with you... and help you rescue Mindbender," she stated, surprised that her voice remained calm throughout. Her hands were shaking. "Besides, even if I don't go, if that machine activates I'm dead as much as any of you. I might as well come along and help ya'll destroy it."
"Very well put. Who was this teacher?"
"Professor Charles Xavier."
Author's Notes:
Mostly just a lot of background and filler material, to be sure, but hopefully cleared up a lot of things for those of you who might not have known about Cerebro and its powers. The idea comes, of course, from the movie 'X2: X-Men United.' Will O' the Wisp is not a made up character. I am basing her off a redheaded woman I saw in the TAS episode 'Sanctuary' though for the life of me her name eludes me. I know she and Xavier were close. Her powers were turning into a pinkish mist and back at will. I don't recall her real codename. Hence Will O' the Wisp, her AU codename. Next chapter you all get a good glimpse at the elite chosen fighting squad Magneto had chosen for the infiltration.
DoubleL27: Not all that greatly, but of course he's different. As for O:A… well, hope this cleared it up. Scared? You should be. For Kurt and Eric and Rogue and simply everybody. And yeah, Rogue's secret had to come out sooner or later. Good, eh?
Risty: I'm a little disappointed to. My original plan was to make AU Magneto the cold, evil person he could've been. My stories just have a way of getting out of control. And yeah, that was Facade's and Kurt's stories. Disappointed now?
Todd fan: Because you know me too well, doubtlessly. But don't worry… I would never dream of hurting your poor precious Forge. Or… would I? Muwahahahahahahahahhahahaha!!.
DaughterofDeath: Just for that, I will! And another, and another, and another! Until you're damn well sick of me or 'til the story ends, whichever comes first! So there, jou-chan!!
Star-of-Chaos: Are you saying my stuff isn't good?! Huh?! Is that the deal? That my quality isn't up to general standards to get out the quantity? Fine, I see how it is!
X00001: Not yet, but soon… verrrry soon. A few chapters down the line.
Nessie6: Truth be told, I used to hate Pietro. Arrogant, annoying, ego the size of Poland. Plus he used to be friends with the old Evan, and that certainly didn't earn him points. I think about the only good thing he's ever done is rescue his sister from their mutual father. That said, he is fun to write about… especially a few chapters down the line.
Sashi: He had to have been, else he wouldn't have had the same features as our Kurt, and Rogue wouldn't have recognized him. Same father, same mother. Same fate (dropped off a bridge), same upbringing (to a point) and -then- we get AU Kurt. And 'fraid not, he's no jerk. It's not in Kurt's nature. But things will be different.
Princess Myra: Its not. Its because its AU, you know at the end we return to the regular universe and, in general, only Rogue has really changed. And angst is always a good element in any good story. If nothing bad ever happened, then the good stuff seems… surreal.
Rugsrat: Thou mind shalt be blowneth. Believe me. I never go the normal way. I do what nobody ever expects, but what everyone enjoys (well, mostly.) I am most unworthy of such incredible high praise. But I thank thee, and like ye, I feel this story is going above and beyond my other fics. Which'll make it harder to top with Graduation.
Terminatrix T-X: Of course the title came out. I always include the title. I did that a way bit back in the beginning when Jean had thought Rogue was "annihilated." Little subtle things. Shooting and porting is good, but why a bow? This is the modern day, wouldn't a gun be better? Ah well, your fic.
Spectra2: I grew up in Syracuse, NY. I never heard of any Treflois, but I have heard of a Snickerdoodle. I'll stick to cheesy poofs and coke though, danke. Glad you're enjoying the story though. That, above all else, is what's important. Considering I wrote it and all. Hehe.
GothicBlacre: Oh more there shall be. I am trying, oh so very hard, never to leave any of my stories unfinished anymore. What I start I finish. Glad you're enjoying the story and the different elements involving. I blame it all on my lack of comic knowledge. Most X-Men Evo fics are just that… based on Evo characters as if they were their comic selves.