Talons
Chapter 2
Kurt teleported twice in rapid succession. First, he appeared in the empty control room under the mansion, where the rigs sat calmly on one of the many monitors. Kurt remained just long enough to slam the alarm button, teleporting out before the siren even started. Another 'port brought him to just outside the cab of the lead rig. The controls had to be in there somewhere. A quick look in showed two men. The driver, wearing a plaid flannel shirt and Yankees baseball cap, calmly adjusted something on his dashboard that was most definitely NOT a radio. The passenger, similarly attired and wearing a handsfree headset, was by chance looking straight at Kurt when he appeared. As the passenger raised a weapon, Kurt made his final teleport into the cab, between both men, and knocked out the driver with one unexpected blow. The passenger wheeled about and fired at the invader.
"Red!" he shouted into the mouthpiece.
A quick codephrase; it had to be. He got off one shot before Kurt ripped the gun out of his hand with his tail and pinned him to the passenger-side door. He wouldn't have much time before this man's compatriots came running to his aid.
"Who are you?" Kurt hissed, baring his fangs. "Who sent you?"
Kurt heard footsteps running up to the cab. He should teleport away with his "prize", but that meant leaving the cab undefended. What would stop someone else from using it? He could shoot the control panel, but would that trigger the missiles? He saw the head of another trucker as he stopped short under the passenger window. The first shot of many ripped through the door and Kurt's instincts took over. He teleported outside, behind the trucker, as the man unloaded his automatic weapon into the cab. On the other side of the cab, Kurt could hear someone doing the exact same thing. For a second, Kurt froze, stunned by the utter brutality of it all. These people had just killed their comrades to get at him!
The instant the shots died, Kurt heard the cab door open on the driver's side. Someone else was getting in to fire the missiles.
Nightcrawler wasn't quite sure what happened after that. Everything went on "autopilot". His training kicked in, that much was certain. When it was all over, six men lay about; two bloody messes in the cab and four more gently taken out of action outside. Nightcrawler was panting and shaking with adrenalin, his body tingling, as he stood alone on the cold, wet road. The missiles had not left their tubes. An exhilarated thrill ran through him.
Then strange, mechanical sounds, like the whine of hydraulics, issued from the trailers of the other two rigs. The long sides rolled up and open, as had the side of the missile launcher. Exhilaration turned to nausea as Nightcrawler imagined scores of missiles launching from their bays on some automatic timer.
As the sides rolled up completely, Nightcrawler saw that there were no missiles there. Instead came out two large robots, each one barely small enough to fit in its respective trailer. Nightcrawler swallowed hard and took a step back as they stood up to their full height, two humanoid forms at least ten feet tall, with manipulatory hands and digigrade legs. Nightcrawler grabbed one of the automatic weapons on the ground and started shooting. The bullets dented the robot's plating, but did not penetrate. The closest robot lunged for him with incredible speed, far more than such a bulky thing should possess. It moved with the grace of a martial artist, almost grabbing Nightcrawler before he teleported away. Were there humans driving them? The torso looked large enough to hold a pilot, or they could be under remote-control.
This is like some terrible movie, he thought. 'Kung Fu Robots from Hell'.
Nightcrawler appeared on top of the missile-laden trailer. If they attacked him and missed, perhaps the explosion would take them out. However, the robots weren't that foolish. One of them made a standing leap that could have easily cleared the trailer and lashed out with one leg to kick Nightcrawler off. Nightcrawler teleported again, the robot only connecting with thin air. Nightcrawler materialized on the other side of the trailer from the robots, trying to figure out his next move. There was no way he could fight these monstrosities. Did they have any way of launching the missiles through a remote control? Should he just go back to the mansion and get more support?
The second robot suddenly leapt over the trailer and landed in front of Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler yelped and stumbled back, almost losing his balance. It wasn't the abrupt arrival of the robot that so shocked him. It was that fact that the machine landed squarely on one of the men laying around the cab, crushing him to death on the glossy asphalt. Blood splashed up on a nearby wheel. This was insanity.
Nightcrawler teleported behind a tree some yards away. The robots seemed to lose track of him. They cast about, their heads literally swiveling 360 degrees in some kind of sensor sweep. Nightcrawler stayed absolutely still, holding his breath. Then the machines started moving, and Kurt heard the most sickening crunching sounds. Dear, merciful God... they weren't....
He looked around the tree to see something that made him think he was still held captive in a nightmare. The robots were methodically stepping on everyone left around the cab, crushing them underfoot. By the time Nightcrawler realized the awful scope of their actions, the deeds were done, and they were turning their attention to the longnose cab. They were going to launch the missiles themselves.
Nightcrawler would never know how he got the killing machine's attention. He might have made a horrified sound. He could have moved just a little too much. And he could have done nothing at all; the thing's sensors could have been that good. In any case, one of the machines turned to him and leveled an arm. A weapon flipped out from its forearm.
From somewhere to the left, a crimson beam lashed out and caught that arm, sending its aim far to the right, where hundreds of rounds shredded three maple trees. A lightning bolt hit the second robot, arcing through it and the cab it was investigating.
The rest of the X-men had finally arrived.
Cyclops' shot put the enemy off its aim, but did not disable the arm. The robot spun about, sweeping back with its gatlin-type gun still firing. The bullets tore apart whatever they touched, sending asphalt shrapnel every which way. The second robot pulled its head out of cab, still arcing electric blue, and faced Storm, flying high above. It readied itself for a leap, and Nightcrawler's heart pounded in his throat. From what he'd seen, Storm was easily in its leaping range. He teleported up to Storm as it leapt. Storm had a moment of shock as the robot shot up straight at her, as fast as a bullet from a gun. Nightcrawler appeared behind her, grabbed, and teleported, just as the robot punched a bladed fist through where Storm had been. Nightcrawler and his passenger appeared at the rear of the parked convoy, out of the immediate danger zone.
"Stay back," Nightcrawler warned her. "They're fast. They're as fast as me."
His voice unintentionally cracked and broke, as if he was on the edge of tears, and his labored breath burned his throat and lungs.
The front trailer, which held the missiles, lurched up and turned over, landing "face-down". Now angled down to the street, the missiles could no longer be launched. Colossus, shining silver in the faint moonlight, held onto the trailer a bit longer, like a wrestler waiting for his two second pin count. One robot punched him in the face with a blow that sounded like the impact of a wrecking ball. Colossus' head rocked back, but he still clung to the trailer, tearing holes in the metal as he dug in further. Logan came in and cut halfway through the robot's leg, the limb too thick for him to completely sever in one blow. Cyclops ran in a little closer, looking for a good angle, when he seemed to slip on something. He looked down and jerked back.
"Jesus!" he screamed, scrambling away.
"Storm, don't look at the ground," Nightcrawler whispered into her ear. "Stay airborne as high as you can. Don't look at the street. Don't look."
He forced himself to let her go, before he left bruises on her arms.
"What's down there, Kurt?" she asked.
"Smashed bodies." His voice broke again. "The robots smashed them like bugs."
Storm took a steadying breath, then flew high into the air, three times the distance as before. The robots concentrated on Colossus, pounding him over and over in a bid to get him to let go of the trailer. Colossus continued to hold onto the missile trailer, keeping either robot from turning it back over, while Cyclops and Logan attacked with all they had. It was the first time Nightcrawler had seen Cyclops unload completely. He always held back, for fear of killing someone. Now he must be opening his visor wide. Bullets tore through Logan, one ripping at his chest to expose a gleaming metal rib. It did not stop him from finishing off his target's leg. The robot fell heavily to one side, crippled but still fighting. Cyclops took the head off the other one. It seemed to blind it, but it was still moving. Storm called a lightning bolt into the robot's open stump, frying sensitive, exposed circuitry. It flailed about, then fell still. Cyclops and Logan finally succeeded in removing the other robot's limbs, leaving only the torso intact.
Kurt teleported back to the group only when he would no longer be a distraction or hindrance. Everyone was dressed in their nightclothes. Like Kurt, they had come to the fray without their armored uniforms. There was simply no time. Colossus was sitting on the gouged road, still armored, still staring straight ahead, still clutching a torn corner of the trailer. His bloody face and blank look told Kurt all he needed to know about his state of being. Cyclops looked like he was going to be sick as he kicked away a fragment of skull from his shoe. Even Logan was disgusted by the scene.
"So much for dental records," he mumbled. "We'll have to do DNA."
"Christ, Logan, I've got DNA all over my fucking boots!" Scott snapped. "Can't you think of anything else?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking it's a good thing we didn't let Bobby help like he wanted."
That was all Scott could take. He bent over and threw up. Kurt stood behind Scott and gave what support he could. Scott wiped his mouth with a trembling fist and looked back at Kurt.
"Thanks," he coughed. "How're you holding up?"
"Numb," Kurt answered quietly. "I will surely pay later."
To be continued….