Unity
Chapter eight:
The Bronx:
"Whoa!" Logan evaded a beam and drew out his claws. He was now facing three four-story tall robots. They were humanoid in shape, colored purple and blue. "I don't know what the hell you are, but I do now what you're about to become!" He zigzagged towards the machines while avoiding their lasers, and when he got to the feet of one, he slashed at the leg. Unfortunately, the black-haired man didn't do enough damage and was kicked away like a rag doll.
"This mutant is to be classified as dangerous," one of the robots mechanically stated, "proceed to immediate termination."
"Easier said than done!" Logan waited for them to fire before launching another attack. He jumped onto one's hand and hacked at the wrist, then he leapt towards the chest of another and made a quick stab before getting away from there with a well-placed kick. The third robot was about to grab him but received a different sort of assault.
"Deep submerge!" The watery orb impacted the giant machine, making it fall.
"Thanks for showing up," the feral mutant told the senshi as they landed next to him, "you've got great timing."
"Give your thanks to Neptune," Uranus replied, "she's the one who had to touch up her lipstick." She sized up their opponents. "Okay, so what are we up against?" the robots also paused.
"New arrivals do not have mutant gene. Targeting protocol dictates: ignore." The one that Neptune had blasted rose and appraised the damage done to it.
"New arrivals threaten functionality of these units. Logic and preservation programs dictate: terminate."
"I could've lived without hearing that last part," the ocean senshi deadpanned.
"Just remember, they're machines," Logan reminded, "So don't hold back!" Again he charged, this time towards the one Neptune had hit. He made a giant leap upwards, to the damaged area, and drove his claws deep inside. Then he pushed his hand upwards, cutting some important wiring, but finishing it would take a while. The second robot tried to grab the feral mutant but was hit on the head by both senshi. This attack made the machines realize that Uranus and Neptune had to be taken care of first.
"One more time!" the sand-blonde shouted, "Aim for the neck. World shaking!" A couple of more blasts and the purple robot was beheaded. The third one raised its hand and fired a wide laser.
"Submarine reflection!" Neptune managed to repel the beam, but the force of it blew her away, slamming her painfully against a wall. Her lover growled in anger and readied her weapon. The robot took one step then began lurching, it twisted and the wind senshi discovered the cause, Logan was using his claws to climb up its back. He got to the neck, roared and started slashing away. The giant robot's eyes flickered, then turned off completely. It tittered a bit, then fell like a tree, causing all the cars and debris to bounce.
"There," he said as he jumped to the ground, "that's over with. How's Neptune?"
"I'm okay," the aqua-haired senshi answered while Uranus picked her up, "Just a couple of bruises-Ouch!" Logan rushed over and checked her shoulder.
"Looks bad. Better have Hank look at this." He tried to pick up Neptune but the shorthaired senshi held him back.
"Matte, what do you think you're doing?"
"You remember Beast, ne? Well he happens to be a doctor, and that's just what your friend needs."
"Arigato, but we'll manage on our own."
"Let's go with him, Uranus."
"Nani?"
"I realize I'm forcing us to swallow our pride, but we do need the X-Men's help." The ocean senshi grunted. "Besides, my shoulder really does hurt."
"Fine," the sand-blonde huffed, "But I'm carrying you." Logan smirked then went ahead to call Henry and the professor. Neptune giggled as her beloved picked her up.
"I never knew how kawaii you look when you get jealous." Uranus just blushed and looked away. The Canadian was using his cellular when they got to the jeep.
"Hank, I'm bringing you a patient. And tell Chuck to gather everyone, no one will want to miss this."
A safe distance away, Lucy and her companions had witnessed the whole battle.
"Who were those two?" one of the men asked.
"I have no idea," another one said, "The sentinel said they're not mutants, but those powers. Do you think it's the suits?"
"Things that size? Get real, idiot. Such attacks require a lot of energy. Where would they keep a battery that big?"
"Well in your case, you could shove it up your-"
"Will you three shut up!" Lucy hollered, "Once Rogers hears about this we'll all be shipped to Death Valley." She took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I already called the clean-up crew, so we shouldn't worry about the media just yet. And we better start taking those girl scouts seriously, they're a lot more than meets the eye."
*****
Xavier's school:
"Let me get this straight, Puu," Chibi-Usa requested, "You have to leave so you can come back here?"
"Hai, leave as Setsuna then come back as Sailor Pluto, one of the complications that come with secret identities."
"Well I'm glad Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama decided to come," Hotaru said cheerfully, "Aiding each other, we'll find a solution to this confusing problem in no time."
"I'm double glad," her pink-haired friend added, "we get to spend the night with Rogue-tachi."
"It's only fair," the ruby-eyed woman said with a grin. "These visits have been too short, you two deserve a compensation." She gave each a kiss on the forehead. "Now, I want you to behave and do as you're told, all right?"
"Hai, sayonara, Setsuna-mama."
"See you tomorrow, Puu."
Remy was lying in bed looking at a picture Chibi-Usa had lent him.
"They look like a cheerful group, and Chibi-Usa does resemble her cousin greatly." He tilted his head, "You know, she also looks like this Mamoru guy."
"Hey, you're right," Bobby agreed, "It's almost as if they were her… Nah, that's stupid."
"Maybe Chibi-Usa visits Mamoru very often," Giselle guessed, "You know, if you spend a lot of time with someone you acquire certain features." The green-scaled girl closed her eyes and huffed. "Ha, ha, very funny. Now scoot back into place." Kathy grinned and patted her friend on the back, she then glimpsed towards the door and saw the Japanese girls enter.
"Puu gave us permission to stay," the odango-headed girl announced with glee, "Haruka-kun and Michiru-san found something useful for this project all three of them are working on, and they're going to be busy. So, here we are."
"Well, we'll do everything possible to make you feel welcome," the streaked brunette offered.
"Even if there's a convicted felon sleeping under the same roof," David added sarcastically. He got a snowball on his face for that.
"Dave, you agreed to keep quiet!" Bobby snapped, "You want to cause a panic?"
"Maybe, the results would be interesting," the black-haired boy chuckled, "But as students, we should know what the professor is doing, keeping a criminal and murderer hidden."
"Remy wouldn't talk so soon, mon ami," the bayou dweller said quaintly, "you definitely show potential."
"Bite your tongue, LeBeau!" the reptilian girl hissed, "Any one of us could've ended up the wrong way if it hadn't been for Professor Xavier. In fact," her yellow eyes narrowed, "rumor has it you were caught shoplifting when they brought you here. So try thinking a little before opening your mouth, bozo." The red-eyed boy didn't answer right away. Slowly, he got off the bed and headed for the door.
"Remy is well aware of the faults he's committed, there is no day he doesn't remind himself." Everyone just stared at him until he was out of sight. In this group, Remy had been here the longest, but he was also the least known. The swamp rat showed an outgoing demeanor, but as Dr McCoy would say, he talked a lot while saying very little.
"You should've used more tact, Giselle-san," Hotaru scolded mildly, "Words can be very painful, we all know this by experience." The brown-haired boy had given off an aura of hurt and guilt, which had affected the pale girl greatly.
"I know," the green-scaled one sighed, "Looks like we're all sticking our feet into our mouths today."
"We better change the subject, before we say something we really regret," Rogue suggested in a soft voice, her sight still lingered towards the door. "So, what's this project Setsuna and the others are working on? It must be very important if they have to interrupt their vacation."
"You don't know the half of it," the pink-haired princess responded.
*****
Morlock Colony:
One of Rob's recruits was an elderly woman with the ability to project her thoughts holographically. Right now, she was showing something very big, the fight between Logan and the senshi against the sentinels.
"I might be jumping to conclusions," Cloud said, "but I'm guessing the surface-dwellers are scared."
"Well they're scaring me," Gus confessed, "I don't want to have to face those giants."
"All in all, it's interesting news. You may go now, Francine." The magma-skinned leader turned to his subordinates. "Now we know those girl scouts are mutants. Why else would they be helping that clawed runt?"
"Uh, sure, but it also means they're our enemies." Gus scratched the back of his head and looked away as he said this.
"Right." Rob's visage became darker, "Good thing I already have something underway."
"What?" the gray-skinned mutant's eyes widened, "You put a new plan into action without telling me about it? How come?"
"Because you're not strong, or good enough for it," Rob responded as he walked away, "This new mission demands heavy artillery only."
"Heavy artillery?" the gooey one asked.
"Now that's scary."
*****
Xavier's school:
Henry was checking Neptune's shoulder, that part of her fuku had turned into transparent ribbons that were moved away so he could do his work.
"It looks worse than it actually is," the blue-furred doctor noted, "These outfits must offer a lot of protection."
"That they do," the ocean senshi replied. They sure made Eudial wet her pants.
"Just like our own uniforms," Storm commented as she fastened her cape, "They're like kevlar, only stretchier and lighter, much easier to move in. When is your friend arriving, anyway?" Right on cue, Sailor Pluto appeared. "Great entrance!"
"Arigato." The time senshi counted heads and saw that everyone was present. She got in front of the professor and bowed. "Konnichiwa, Xavier-sama, I'm honored to finally meet you."
"Likewise, Sailor Pluto. Did Sailor Chibi-Moon tell you about our conversation last night?"
"Eto… Hai, she mentioned this partnership plan." She was going to have a serious talk with that child the next day.
"Well, now that we're all here," Uranus said as she sat next to Neptune, "let's get to work. Has anyone found out anything about these fights?"
"Not much," Jean answered, "just that they occur every now and then, there's no apparent pattern, and everyone involved ends up exhausted."
"The part I don't understand is why this person is after both humans and mutants," Cyclops said, "What's to gain with us killing each other?"
"I have a theory," the wavy-haired senshi commented, "As I said before, this enemy is probably after life energy, and it increases when a person involved in a battle or other such activity. Affecting both mutants and humans is simply strategy in numbers." She bit her fingernail. "But you do raise a point, Scott-kun, these fights are much too violent for a simple harvest."
"And becoming deadly," Wolverine added, "Imagine if a whole troop of those robots is sent hunting."
"I don't think I want to," the aqua-haired senshi replied, "(sigh) But we're still getting nowhere. We've only been reacting, we have to make a move of our own. The problem is, we don't know when or where to go."
"There might be a way," the telepath announced. He moved his wheelchair and turned on a monitor. "Aside from using Cerebro, I've been following Jack Stevens' activities. In addition to his questionable speech a few hours ago, he is about to hold one of his biggest rallies yet, a tempting target for the more radical groups."
"I commend you for your hindsight, Xavier-sama," the ruby-eyed senshi praised, "With luck, we'll finally be able to progress." She turned to her adopted sisters, "Neptune, Uranus, what do you say?"
"I say, let's get going already," the wind senshi answered as she got to her feet. Everyone nodded and headed for the Blackbird.
*****
Manhattan:
Stevens and a few of his followers were at the top floor of a building, waiting for the rally to start; Mystique was there as well. One of them was looking out the window.
"Just look at the size of that crowd!" she exclaimed, "Jack won't be ignored after this."
"His popularity will surely increase," another one added as he came up to her, "he might even be able to run for mayor on the next elections."
"With 99% of the votes no doubt," someone else added. Suddenly, he saw something that made his eyes go wide as saucers. "What the hell is that!?" Everyone rushed to the windows and gasped.
"Go get Jack," a woman ordered the female polymorph without giving her a chance to see what all the fuss was about.
"Right away," Mystique answered. She turned away and chuckled quietly. This is perfect, she thought as she took a gun from a desk. Everyone's over here and Stevens' alone in his office. I just go in, shoot him in the head and change forms in the hallway, it couldn't be simpler. She cocked the gun and kicked the door open. "Goodbye, Mr.-Oh my god."
Robert was also informed about Stevens' project, and that's where he sent all those super-powered morlocks. They arrived and right away, that unknown force started affecting both them and the anti-mutant supporters. The violent outcome was immediate and numerous. That's what had drawn the attention of the people up above, and what the X-Men and senshi found when they arrived.
"Ara, it's a complete free-for-all!" Uranus exclaimed, "How are we going to stop a mob that size?"
"The hard way," Cyclops quipped as he set his visor to stun, "We knock them down one by one; Storm, use mist to hold back as many as you can. And remember, keep your eyes peeled for whatever's draining them."
Mystique, forced to take her original shape because of a wounded leg, dodged another shot and fired her sixth and last bullet.
"Why the hell did I have to grab a revolver?" the blue-skinned woman whined. She made it out of the building and was tackled by one of her chasers, he was choking her when a possessed morlock showed up and tossed him away. Mystique raised her head and finally noticed the madness all around, she was so impressed that, for a second, forgot she was supposed to be escaping. She ran into an alley with five people behind her, she stumbled a bit and was pulled through a door. "Who-?" A hand was put on her mouth.
"Be quiet." They waited a while and the persecutors passed by. "That was close," the mustached man said, "You're sure lucky I like girls like you."
"Yeah, lucky," the yellow-eyed woman panted. She took a few deep breaths then peered out the door. "Thanks, but I gotta get going. See ya."
"You should stay," the man insisted as he held her back by the shoulders, "you'll have a better chance of living." The red-haired woman's temper rose.
"I said I'm leaving!" She tried to hit his neck with a chop, but the man was also a martial artist. He grabbed her arm, spun and slammed her against the wall; she tried to kick but forgot about her wounded leg, this allowed him to throw and pin her to the floor.
"I don't think you understood what I said earlier." The mustached man sneered as he leered at her dark blue body. "I meant, I really like girls like you." Mystique sweat-dropped.
"Give me a fucking break." Growling, she kneed him hard on the groin.
"Oomph! Little bitch, I oughta-Urk!" The man was knocked away and blue-skinned mutant saw who her third helper was, a woman with long emerald hair in a schoolgirl uniform.
"You okay?" Pluto asked.
"Uh-huh." She sneered at the fallen man and kicked him in the stomach. The time senshi was about to advise her to stay put when they heard a frightening roar coming from outside, they both ran to the window and witnessed a frightening scene.
The X-Men had been fighting quite well alongside the senshi, a lot people were down, which Jean carried away, but a greater number remained. Then, just as the heroes had expected, everyone affected by the trance started to drop from exhaustion.
"Neptune!" the redhead telekinetic called, "Does your mirror show anything?"
"Hai, the energy's gathering at three different spots."
"Three!?" Wolverine shouted, "I thought we-" he sniffed, "There's that scent again. Get ready everyone!" Three screams were heard.
A few days ago they had faced just one, now they were facing a trio of dark-skinned giants. Wolverine, Uranus and Storm charged furiously, forcing them away from the fallen mob.
"Great. Can you get Chibi-Moon here on time?" Beast asked.
"Hai," the ocean senshi answered, "but she won't be able to change three monsters at once, even if we weaken them."
"I might be able to help out in that part," Jean said, "I told the professor about our other battle. We figured out that finding and isolating the victim's mind from the possessor's would have the same effect." She scratched her head. "It's complicated, but it just might work."
"Good," Neptune said with a wide grin, "Take care of those things while I fetch Small Lady." She vanished. "KYAA!" She reappeared in an instant, with great pain running through her body.
"Neptune!" Pluto rushed to her friend, "What happened to you?"
"I don't know, something didn't allow me to teleport." The red-eyed leader of the X-Men hummed and looked up, he fired a beam and it impacted in midair.
"We're inside a force-field," he cursed, "whoever's pulling the strings has trapped us."
"Then I'll heal the three of them by myself," Jean claimed.
"You can't, not with your skill level," Beast warned.
"There's no choice." The redhead took a deep breath and began concentrating. "Just make sure they're weakened enough."
The ebony-skinned girl directed a blizzard to block a purple flame, breathed by one of the giants.
"Just what we needed, they were given new abilities," she complained.
"No, only one of them was," Wolverine corrected, "The other two just have muscle."
"That's because two of them are transformed humans, the third is a mutant," Uranus deduced.
"Really?" the feral man paused and analyzed their opponents' behavior. He chuckled when a plan came to mind. First he taunted the fire breathing one, then drew the flames towards the two regular ones. They growled in anger and started fighting each other. "Perfect! Get a predictable enough enemy and you'll play him like a drum."
"That'll give us some time," the short-haired senshi said, "probably enough to-Matte!" The two regular giants became feeble and fell; the good news, they became human again, the bad news, all their strength had been transferred to the mutated one. It threw an exploding fireball at the heroes before they could react, blasting them away.
"Logan, Ororo!" Beast and the rest ran over to help, but were repelled by the purple fire. The monster took a deep breath and threw a more powerful, and fatal, attack.
"Silence wall!"
"Moon gorgeous meditation!"
As the magical shield blocked the attack, while the dark-skinned monster shrunk and went back to normal. The two youngest senshi landed, but the future princess stumbled and fell.
"Small Lady!" The time senshi rushed to the little one's side. "How did you get here?"
"Oh, you know, I just followed one of those hunches we get from time to time."
"Thanks a lot," Cyclops said, "But how did you break through the force-field?"
"Force-field?" Saturn blinked, "We didn't find any obstacle when we arrived." The blue-furred man scratched his chin.
"Must've been taken down to further empower the giant," Beast guessed, "This shows our enemy falls into desperation easily, and we could use that." He knelt next to Chibi-Moon. "Right now, however, we have to take care of you, that maneuver was too exhausting."
"Hai," the pink-haired answered, "but it's not so bad, I should be okay by tomorrow." She was hardly able to keep her eyes open though.
"I'll take the princess where she can rest," the amethyst-eyed senshi offered, "We'll come back to you later on."
"Why not come with us now?" the white-haired girl asked, "It would help if your team was complete."
"Umm, hai, Storm. It's just that the princess and I have an assignment pending." She helped her friend get up. "Ja ne, minna-san."
"Good luck with this," Chibi-Moon wished as they teleported.
"We need a lot of luck," Uranus huffed, "We came for info and all I have is an aching back."
"Oh, I don't know," Wolverine replied, "there might be something else here." The masked man ran into a darkened alley and a second later, a woman's screams were heard.
"Logan-san, what are you doing?" the longhaired senshi protested as he brought his captive into view. "She was nearly abused by some hentai a moment ago." Noticing the questioning gazes, Pluto told them what had happened.
"This speaks well of you, Pluto," Scott praised, "However, I'm afraid you saved one of the bad guys."
"Okay, so I ain't Mother Theresa," the yellow-eyed woman retorted with snide, "Now let go!"
"Not until you tell us what you know about this," the feral man threatened.
"Logan, let go," Jean ordered, "she's been frightened enough already." Wolverine snorted and released the woman, but she wasn't allowed to leave just yet. "Your presence here can't be just coincidence, Mystique, if you do know something, you have to tell us."
"All I know, is that tonight has been going from bad to worse since that monster scared me half to death." She snorted angrily, "Weeks worth of planning and a huge paycheck down the drain."
"Matte," Neptune held out her hand, "What sort of monster did you see?"
"You're expecting me to help you?" The red-haired woman laughed insolently. "Fat chance, sister. If you've got trouble, solve it on your own. I already have my hands full."
"Go with them, Mystique."
"Huh?" The voice inside her head froze her. "Magneto? How?"
"A little assistance from Charles. Go along with the X-Men and Sailor Senshi, this crisis requires all the help we can get."
*****
Jack Stevens' H.Q.:
That night, Rogers was checking out some reports; among them, the one involving the incident with the sentinels gone haywire. This near disaster had actually turned out to be useful, it had tested the robots' efficiency in actual combat. Lucy and the others were still reprimanded, though. A very upset Stevens came through the door at that moment.
"I've already heard, Jack. Sorry the whole thing turned into a fiasco."
"Saying 'sorry' won't fix anything, this mess is going to set my plans way back." The mousy-haired man dropped on an armchair. "Although, something good will come out of this. Once this gets to the news channels, the attacks on mutants will increase tremendously."
"Thank heavens for tabloid journalism."
"Right, and all for the sake of our cause. My own goal is still distant, but the purification of humanity gets closer and closer." His grin vanished as he made a fist. "What really angers me is how one of those things got inside."
"That would be my fault, for not getting the detectors here on time. But soon you will have nothing to worry about, just let them try and pull that stunt on you again." There was a knock on the door and Michael came in.
"Sir, I conducted a search using that description you gave, and came up with some interesting results." The indigo-haired majordomo took some papers out of his folder. "Miss Raven Darkholme, a.k.a. Mystique, a shape-shifter. Her usual method is to eliminate a person then take his or her place by assuming the identity. She has successfully infiltrated many top-secret government facilities. Most importantly, she is a known ally to the mutant terrorist known as Magneto."
"I've heard of this woman," the elderly man said, "Bounty hunters are offered a six-figure reward for her capture." Rogers turned to his former disciple, "Consider yourself lucky, Jack, many capable men have died by her hand."
"And for what she saw," Stevens' eyes went dark, "she can consider herself dead."