Category: Drama
Season: Post-S4
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language
Summary: The National Defense Heavy Weapons Plant at Reichenbach River is the new manufacturing site of the mutant-killer Sentinel robots. Armed with some of the most powerful mutants in the world, and with a Morlock advance team, Magneto plans to destroy this facility.
Author's Note: This isn't the big fight scene. I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave that up to the readers (all three of you) to figure out. For Façade's voice, think Kif from "Futurama", with a lisp.
It was a dismal day in downtown Bayville. The rain hadn't started yet, but thunderheads were looming menacingly overhead. It was the kind of day that most people, even Phys. Ed. Coaches, preferred to stay inside on. "Façade, where the fuck are you?" Ray Crisp hated this day as much as everyone else.
"Right here, Ray," said a voice from over his shoulder. The shoulder leaning on a blank brick wall.
"Jesus Christ, Façade! I've told you never to do that!"
"S-so s-sorry, Ray. It won't h-happen again," stated the smirking Morlock clinging to the wall he suddenly appeared on. "What is-s it that you need?"
"Well, it looks like I'm going to need a god-damned raincoat! What the fuck took you so long?" Façade leapt from the wall into a crouch on the dirty concrete.
"H-hey man, in cas-se you've f-forgotten, we're f-forbidden to s-see you! Callis-sto doesn't take to kindly to des-serters-s, af-fter all. And if S-scalefas-se had s-seen, we'd both be s-screwed!" Ray looked down in order to hide his shame.
"How is she?" Ray asked.
"It h-hurt her, Ray. Both h-her, and Callis-sto. They would ev-vis-scerate me f-for even agreeing to meet with you.""I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward position, man."
"H-hey, ons-se a Morlock, always-s a Morlock, at leas-st in my book."
Ray smiled at his old friend."I need to ask you something, and you have to promise me that it's between us."
"Who would I tell?"
"Promise me." Ray's stony expression was all the persuasion Façade needed.
"I s-swear, Ray."
Ray dropped his bomb. "Tell me about the group Magneto's recruiting for the Sentinel factory raid. And tell me where they're meeting with him."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ray! T-that's confidential information!"
Ray glared at the Morlock. "Well it isn't fucking confidential if I know about it, now is it? Now tell me everything you know!"
"I don't know h-how you found out, my f-f-friend, but I can't t-tell you t-this-s."
"I need to know, Façade. I want to help." Façade looked at him, his head cocked to the side like a curious canine. Alliterative.
"It won't earn her forgiveness, Ray. Not Callisto's, and not Scaleface's.""I know that. But someone has to stop the madness. Someone needs to stop Trask."
Façade gave him another look, the look of amazed admiration a man going along with an absolutely psychotic idea would give. "I s-swear to Ming(1), you and your ideals-s will ruin me one of these days-s. Alright, h-here's-s how it's-s going to go down…"
MagnusCorp Electro-Magnetics, New York Headquarters... "Amelia, send Bennet(2) up to my office, would you?' Magneto's un-helmeted voice was deep, but cultured, with a hint of his native Poland masked by British schooling. At the moment, the would-be conqueror of humanity was pacing his penthouse office. He shut off the intercom with a wave of his hand and sat down behind his large ebony desk to wait upon the elevator.
When it finished its agonizingly slow ascent, an Egyptian man in a stylish gray suit stepped forward.
"Exodus!" boomed Magneto, sounding as if he had his trademark headgear on, "Do you want to tell me why the Avalon(3) rocket launch has been, and I quote," he WHOMed a pair of titanium reading glasses(4) to his eyes, "'delayed indefinitely'. Signed, Paris Bennet, Senior Vice President, and so on."
"Well sir," Bennet du Paris responded smoothly, "You had expressed the wish that the Reichenbach Sentinels be destroyed before launch. I'm simply preparing for any and all possible… complications.""The launch will proceed as planned, Exodus. Once the nano-probes I envisioned while linked to Apocalypse's mind are operational, I shall have created a sanctuary of sorts, for all mutantkind."
"All, sir? After all, there have been reports of mutants who are… shall we say not enthusiastic about you or your ideals."
"All that I deem worthy, that is."
"Very good, sir."
"Now, in case something-" the intercom cut him off with a buzz. "What is it, Amelia?"
"A 'Raymond Crisp' to see you, Mr. Lehnsherr," Ms. Voght, Erik's secretary replied."Charles' errant brat? Interesting…"
"What should I do about him, Mr. Lehnsherr?" she inquired.
"Send him right up.""Oh, and Exodus," said Magneto, "As I was saying, I'm putting you in charge of the primary strike team. To insure against any… complications."
"Yes, sir."
End Note: Mother of God, I have no earthly idea why this took me so long to update. Any-who, I've decided this is going to be the last chapter. Secondly, Darkholme is hereby on hiatus until October 8th, when I have my Fall Break and time to work on it. Apologies go out to the whole five people who read it. I'll also be coming out with a Academy X/Evo crossover thing at that time, which should be shorter on the whole, and less of a bitch to write. To my loyal fan (yes, that's singular), thanks for putting up with the wait.
1. Ming the Merciless, Ruler of Mongo, King of the Known Universe. I figure the Morlocks are weird enough to believe in him.
2. Two of Magneto's Acolytes Amelia (Voght), and Bennet du Paris/Paris Bennet (Exodus)
3. Anyone familiar with X-Men history knows that Avalon was Magneto's (second) space station
4. In an interview with some magazine, Patrick Stewart, who plays Charles Xavier in the movies, mentioned that one thing he couldn't live without was his titanium reading glasses. Yeah, I know, I'm a dork.