A Force Unleashed
Written by Darkstorm5000
Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.
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Chapter 5- On and On
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It was a mostly cloudy and overcast morning as the Blackbird, the supersonic jet used by the X-Men, prepared to lift off from its underground hangar located beneath Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted. It had been not quite forty-eight hours since the team's junior student-squad had been promoted to senior status, and now most of the X-Men were on their way to begin a search for where the Sentinel's new base was located, which would hopefully also reveal where Dr. Moira MacTaggert was being held.
"All systems are a go. Prepare for take off." Scott said, as he and Ororo sat in the cockpit and went through their usual pre-flight procedure. The hangar's ceiling doors, which also served as the school's basketball court, quickly retracted and the Blackbird's vertical thrusters fired off, sending the plane into a rapid upward ascent.
"E.T.A. to our destination should be about 35 minutes." Ororo said, as she talked through one of the headsets that both she and Scott were wearing, as the plane soon leveled off at a steady altitude.
"Is everything running smoothly?" Forge asked, as he came up to the cockpit area a few minutes after takeoff. Although he wasn't an active member of the team, he decided to join the X-Men on their current expedition. Forge thought he would be able to lend his technical expertise in the event that they did find something at the abandoned base of Bolivar Trask, which was located due north in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.
"It appears to be so far. Apart from redesigning the instrument panel, what other modifications have you made to the Blackbird?" Ororo asked Forge, as he stood in the area between her and Scott and bent down, looking at the instrument panel's readouts for himself.
"Well, I re-routed the control systems, so that it goes into a fail-safe, back-up mode in the event of a momentary power loss. Hopefully, it will prevent another complete system failure, like the one that was described at Alkali Lake. Other than that, all I've had time to do is rearrange and increase its passenger seating capacity, and upgrade the plane's shielding system. It should cloak the Blackbird from most other radar arrays out there. And after studying that Sentinel that was brought back from Muir Island, the shielding should jam their sensors too." Forge revealed, "But, that's only the beginning of the upgrades that I intend on performing."
"Precisely, what else do you have planned?" Ororo now asked, as she looked over at Forge and was very much intrigued by what he had to say.
"I've been working on an experimental fuel delivery system, which some of the major airplane manufacturers have already shown an interest in." Forge revealed, "An airliner, for example, could fly ten times farther without the need to refuel. I also believe it would greatly increase the fuel efficiency of any vehicle that is equipped with it. That is, if it works."
"For someone considered to be one of the world's greatest inventive minds, you certainly don't sound very sure of yourself." Ororo warmly commented, with a small smile.
"You never know how something is going to work, until you actually have the chance to test it out. My mutant ability allows me to invent complex instruments and devices, with the exact details seemingly working themselves out." Forge explained to her, "Ninety-nine percent of the time my inventions work without a hitch, but I'm always worried about which one will fall into that one percent. I suppose it is a good thing, though, at least it keeps me from getting over-confident and sloppy with my work."
"I would doubt that. At times, you seem to be as methodical and precise in your efforts as Henry." Ororo replied, "But, what you are proposing does sound revolutionary and rather interesting."
"If you'd like, I can show you the unfinished prototype that I've been working on with the second Blackbird down in Hangar B, when we get back to the school." Forge offered.
"That would be nice." Ororo said, as she nodded her head in acceptance, before turning and looking back at the instrument panel in front of her.
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Meanwhile, back in the passenger section of the Blackbird, Peter was sitting and busily drawing in his notebook-sized sketchpad.
"So, what'cha drawin', Mon Ami?" Remy asked Peter from the opposite side of the seating aisle, as he had been watching the young artist at work.
"This? It is a picture of my brother Mikhail." Peter answered, as he turned the unfinished sketch towards Remy so that he could see it.
"Oh yeah, Rogue told me what happened wit' him. I'm sorry 'bout your loss." Remy told Peter, as he recalled Rogue informing him about Peter's brother, Russian cosmonaut Colonel Mikhail Rasputin, who had died recently during a test-flight of an experimental spacecraft.
"Thank you." Peter said in response to Remy's sympathetic words, "Sometimes, I find myself sketching different pictures of him from the way that I remember him when we were younger. Sometimes, I do it without even realizing it until I am halfway finished."
"I s'ppose dat's only t'be expected. He was your brother, and it sounds like you two was pretty close." Remy surmised, "I know how I'd feel if it was me and my brother Henri."
"You have a brother?" Peter asked him.
"Yeah, back home in New Orleans." Remy revealed.
"I've been meaning to ask you, how is it that you managed to run into Rogue and Logan so far from home, halfway around the world in Japan?" Peter inquired.
"You could just say I needed to get away from some family problems back home, So, I jumped on de first t'ing smokin'." Remy told him.
Remy was to referring to what had happened with Bella Donna Boudreaux, the woman that he had been secretly dating. She was from a family that was at bitter odds with Remy's own family, and those bad feelings culminated themselves in a fight between Remy and Bella Donna's brother Julien, whom he ended up killing in self-defense. Remy's father then suggested that he leave New Orleans before a full-scale war between the two families erupted, and that he not return.
Peter meanwhile proceeded to flip through a few pages in his sketchpad, before handing it to Remy.
"That is one of my favorites. It is of my little sister, Illyana." Peter told him.
"Cute kid." Remy said, as he examined the sketch of the young girl with a winter-themed backdrop behind her.
"I call her 'My Little Snowflake'. Just as each snowflake is different and unique, to me there is no other like her." Peter remarked, with tremendous pride in his voice.
Just then, Rogue returned from the rear of the plane to join them.
"So, what're you two talkin' about?" Rogue asked, as she walked up carrying a large duffle bag and big black case in her hands. She took both items and sat them down in the aisle next to her seat.
"Nothin' much. Petey here was just showin' me his fine works of art. Hangin' around wit' him, maybe I'll soak up enough knowledge t'show me what t'look for, when me and you go to one o' those fancy museums together, Chere." Remy told her.
With that statement, Rogue stopped and looked down at Remy.
"Is that your way of askin' me out on a date, Mr. Lebeau?" Rogue inquired with a slight grin, as she then went to sit down in the chair next to him.
"Only if de answer's yes." Remy replied, wearing his best poker face.
"Ah never took you for the type to do pre-date homework." Rogue commented, as she put her leather-gloved hand over his.
"Dat's because you're worth a man puttin' a little extra effort in for. Besides, I gotta keep on my toes wit' de resident art expert sittin' back there." Remy said, as he motioned to the back section of the Blackbird where Logan, Jubilee, and Kurt were.
"I heard that, Cajun…" A gruff voice called out, as he replied from the back of the plane.
"Big surprise, de man can hear everyt'ing." Remy commented.
Rogue then lifted the large carrying case that she had brought with her up from the aisle floor, and then handed it to Remy.
"Would you hold this for a minute?" Rogue asked him, as she now unzipped the other large duffle bag that was still located on the floor.
Remy's curiosity immediately got the best of him, and he unlatched the large case in his lap to see what was inside. He wanted to know what in there was so important that Rogue had to go retrieve it from one of the compartments in the back of the Blackbird.
"Damn, what you plannin' on huntin' wit' dis?" Remy asked Rogue somewhat sarcastically, as he pulled a fully assembled crossbow out of the case and held it in both of his hands.
"Maybe a Sentinel or two, if we get lucky." Rogue replied.
Rogue then took out the arrows for her crossbow from the large bag on the floor. From that same duffle bag, she also took out another smaller case that contained the arrowheads for them. The arrowheads were cone-shaped, measured about two inches in diameter and contained explosive materials within, which she pointed out to Remy as she screwed them onto the ends of the arrows.
"Your Daddy teach you how t'handle hardware like dis?" Remy asked her, after she had assembled more that a dozen of the explosive tipped arrows.
"No, my Daddy didn't have anything to do with it. But, you can thank the 'art expert' in the back for givin' most of us our self-defense and weapons usage training." Rogue told him.
"But unlike the rest of us, it seemed as though you greatly enjoyed becoming so thoroughly proficient in the use of virtually every weapon known to man." Peter said to Rogue with a small laugh.
"Ah just wanted to be as prepared as Ah possibly could, that's all." Rogue responded, as she looked over at Peter.
"Don't worry 'bout dat. Thanks to de art Professeur, you sound like a regular Five Fingers of Death." Remy told her, as he held those five fingers in his hand, while Rogue took a break from putting her arrows together.
"Well, you could've said that about me before Ah got any special training." Rogue jokingly responded, as she referred to her own mutant power. Sitting there, she gazed into Remy's red on black eyes, which she thought were as unusual as they were beautiful.
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"Read 'em 'n weep! I win again!" Jubilee excitedly said, as she and Logan finished playing a hand of cards in the back of the Blackbird, "You know, this is starting to become a habit."
"Winning two games ain't a habit." Logan replied, as he picked the cards up from the foldout cot that was located in between the benches that they were seated in, which they had turned into their makeshift card table, "Besides, you haven't beaten me since you got lucky with that one hand on our way down to Nova Roma."
"That's because we haven't played since then. I can smell a trend starting, can't you?" Jubilee proclaimed.
"She may have a valid point, Herr Logan." Kurt added, as he sat up on another bench in the rear of the plane.
"Don't you go encouragin' her. It's bad enough I gotta put up with Lebeau's constant braggin' as it is." Logan replied to Kurt.
"Which makes me wonder why he hasn't joined you two, since this activity would seem ideal for him?" Kurt asked.
"Probably, because he's too busy tryin' out his latest pick up lines on Rogue. Plus, Lebeau's a pure poker man. He only likes to play when there are stakes involved, whether it's in cards or life in general. Since I don't play for money with these kids, he's got no motivation to try and rig this game and cheat like he did to beat me before." Logan said, as he recalled the card games that he played with Remy on the plane ride from Japan back home.
"So, anyone that beats you is automatically a card cheat, huh?" Jubilee asked Logan, as he dealt her another hand.
"No, Gambit's a card cheat. You just got lucky, kid." Logan smirked.
"Like, whatever. We'll see whether it's luck or skill with this hand." Jubilee said, as she selected her cards, "But, just remember who beat you last time, bubba."
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By the time that Jubilee and Logan had finished their hand, the Blackbird had arrived at its destination. It landed in a small clearing in the expansive wooded area that surrounded the Adirondack Mountains.
"Alright everyone, keep in mind the computer layout of this base that we went over last night, but also be prepared for any surprises that we may run into." Cyclops said, as the team left the plane and split up into two groups. The first went to enter the base through the main entrance at the bottom of the mountain where it had been built into. The second team went to go in through a smaller opening, higher up on the mountain.
After a short walk from the Blackbird, Cyclops, Colossus, Jubilee, Nightcrawler, and Forge all found themselves in front of a large steel door at the foot of the mountain base. Forge, like Rogue, had also decided to bring along a weapon. He carried a powerful energy rifle that he had built himself, in the event that they did end up in a fight with the Sentinels.
"Well, should we knock or something?" Jubilee asked the group.
"I say we let ourselves in." Nightcrawler remarked.
"I agree." Cyclops added, as he opened his optic visor to fire a tight and concentrated beam, which went straight down the center of the rusted door. The rest was up to Colossus, as he converted his body into solid steel. He proceeded to make short work of the door, as he easily pried it open to allow the group inside.
As Cyclops' team went to begin their search, Storm had Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine link hands with her at the bottom of the other side of the mountain. She then used her ability to control the weather to create a wind current, which carried the four of them up to a higher section of the mountain in almost no time. Once up there, they soon found a hatch on the ground that led down to the upper levels of the base's interior.
"Any ideas on how to open it?" Rogue asked the group, as she locked and loaded the digital firing mechanism on her crossbow.
"Well darlin', I definitely got an idea." Wolverine said, as he popped one set of claws from the housing within his forearm.
"Don't trouble yourself, dis one is on me. Hasn't been a door made dis master t'ief can't unlock." Gambit said, as he knelt down and proceeded to unlock the hatch on the grassy ground in a matter of minutes.
"Not too bad for a 'master thief', I suppose." Storm said to Gambit, as he stood back up.
"Really? Does dat mean you got some pointers for me?" Gambit sarcastically grinned.
"In all likelihood, I could probably teach you an entire course on the subject." Storm smiled in response, as she thought back to her life before joining the X-Men, and how in those younger years she often found herself on the wrong side of the law.
The group entered the hatch and cautiously descended down a lengthy ladder to the interior. Then, Wolverine led the way inside as they walked through a corridor in the base, which was almost entirely constructed of metal.
"Do your heightened senses detect anything?" Storm asked Wolverine, as they followed behind him.
"Nothin'. It smells like it's been a while since anyone's been in here." Wolverine replied, as they neared a staircase. They walked down the stairs and once they reached the bottom, the flashlight that Storm was carrying revealed that they were in a room with a number of large glass cylinders, a few of them cracked and broken open. The walls of the room had a charred appearance to them, as though an enormous fire had swept through it.
"What are those?" Rogue asked as she pointed towards the glass tubes, while everyone looked around the room for any clues that might prove helpful.
"They are holding cells. When we first fought the Sentinels, a few of us were captured by them. We were detained inside of those cells for the purpose of them further studying us." Storm answered.
"Creepy." Was the only thing that Rogue was able to utter in response.
"Storm, Cyclops here. Do you copy…" A voice said over the headset communicators that each X-men was wearing.
"Storm here. Have you found anything?" Storm asked him.
"Nothing so far. How about you?" Cyclops asked.
"Nothing here either." Storm replied.
"We're preparing to enter the manufacturing depot and check it out." Cyclops told her.
"We'll be there to join you in a moment." Storm said, as her group continued on through a few more empty rooms inside of the base. Eventually, both teams met up inside of what appeared to be a very large warehouse. It looked as though there had been a major fight in there, judging by the damage done to its structure.
"It looks like this base has been cleared out for the most part." Forge said to the entire group, as he held his rifle down by his side, "Whatever equipment with any use or value that might have been here before, seems to have been long removed."
As the group stood silent in the large space for a moment, Jubilee used her plasma sparkle-effect to illuminate the room. With that, something quickly caught the attention of Colossus.
"What is that?" Colossus asked, as he pointed with his flashlight at a large object within the room.
"It appears to be an enormous chair." Nightcrawler realized, "But who could possibly sit in such a thing?"
"That's where Trask's Mastermold unit was located." Cyclops answered.
"You said somethin' before about a Mastermold, somethin' about it bein' destroyed." Wolverine recalled.
"What we're standing in is where the Sentinel processing facility of this base was once located. A Mastermold is an extremely large version of a Sentinel, almost like a king Sentinel, capable of mass-producing Sentinel units inside of itself at an alarming rate." Cyclops explained, "When we fought the Sentinels here before, Bolivar Trask was nearly finished with his Mastermold unit and was about to activate it. We managed to destroy it just in the nick of time, along with a good portion of this base. Had he been able to fully utilize that unit, I don't know if any of us would have been able to stop it."
"Whoever is building these new Sentinels, do you believe that they could construct one of these Mastermolds?" Nightcrawler asked Cyclops.
"If they're able to build Sentinels of their own, then theoretically, I imagine that they could replicate the Mastermold design as well." Cyclops answered.
"Heaven help us if they do." Nightcrawler said, as he looked at the large chair, which much more closely resembled a giant metallic throne.
The group continued its search throughout the base for a while longer, until they realized that there was nothing there that would be of any help to them in their quest. As the X-Men later prepared to leave the base and board the Blackbird for home, they hoped that wherever their investigation took them next would prove to be more fruitful than today's endeavors.
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While the X-Men were wrapping up their exploration of the Sentinel's former base, a small private jet was just taking off from a small airstrip on the outer edge of Westchester County. It was on its way to the nation's capitol, carrying those onboard there for a very special purpose.
"So, what did we do to win these field-trip tickets?" Kitty asked as she turned around in her seat to face Professor Xavier and Bobby, the three of them sitting a few seats apart from one another on the plane that had just become airborne.
Unbeknownst to Professor Xavier, while Bobby had been eagerly looking forward to putting his skills that he had been honing in the Danger Room to use against the Sentinels, Kitty was more than fine with being selected to go to Washington D.C. It wasn't as though she didn't want to be a part of the X-Men, she had volunteered for the position after all. And, she had effectively made her case to the Professor as to why she should be included on the team's student squad. Professor Xavier had been initially reluctant to allow someone her age to join, but he couldn't deny her after hearing the articulate manner in which she delivered her argument…
"If someone like Colonel Stryker can bust into my home and drag me off in the middle of the night just because I'm a mutant, then shouldn't I at least be allowed to learn how to use those powers to defend that home and help protect the people in it?"
But, the truth of the matter was that despite her desire to help fight the 'Stryker's' of the world, Kitty had learned firsthand just how serious and dangerous those conflicts could be. Ever since she had returned home from Muir Island, Kitty had been having recurring nightmares about the Sentinel that she had run across there. It was a fact, however, that she kept secret from everyone else on the team, including the love of her life Peter. Kitty already felt self-conscious enough about being a couple of years younger than everyone else on the senior-squad, and she didn't want them thinking that she couldn't handle the pressure of being on the team with them. So, she just hid what was going on inside of her, assuming that her anxiety was just temporary and that it would eventually fade away on its own.
"Would you believe that I had Logan draw straws?" Professor Xavier replied with a small smile, as he responded to Kitty's inquiry, while he looked out of the window next to him.
"As long as you don't say I ended up being the short straw, it's fine with me. Between Logan always calling me 'short-stuff', and Remy referring to me as 'petite', I'm seriously thinking of changing my code-name from Shadowcat to Munchkin." Kitty said sarcastically, as she moved her thoughts to a less stressful subject.
"It'd still be a better choice than your original idea for a codename, 'Sprite'." Bobby said to her, as he joined the conversation from his seat right behind hers.
"That was like a million years ago. Besides, I was just brainstorming, and that name didn't even end up making it to the final cut." Kitty replied.
"Probably, because you knew those soda people would come looking for you for infringing on their copyright." Bobby said with a laugh.
"I'm gonna tell you for the absolute last time, it had nothing to do with a soda! Besides, like 'Iceman' is such a creative and original codename. At least I moved past my first choice and came up with a decent one, you just stuck with the first name that popped into that frozen brain of yours." Kitty asserted.
"Come on, Iceman is so perfect. What would you have me call myself, 'Coldguy'?" Bobby responded, showing that he had no intention of backing down from the most dangerous mouth in the mansion.
"Whatever. All I know is that as soon as we get back home, I'm trading in these stupid glasses that I'm wearing and I'm getting a pair of contacts." Kitty now said, as she changed subjects and took off the eyeglasses that Dr. McCoy had recently recommended that she get.
It was after he had given her a second vision test in his lab and confirmed that she did indeed need them. Hank had initially run the tests on her to ensure that Kitty hadn't suffered any permanent injuries, following the fall of nearly thirty feet that she took while escaping from one of the Sentinels on Muir Island.
"What's the matter with them?" Bobby asked her, "I think they look alright."
"Because, with the braces and now the glasses, I look like such a dork. Besides, whoever heard of a superhero that wears glasses anyways?" Kitty responded.
"Well let's see, there's Cyclops and Beast, for starters. And, oh yeah, there's that Super-guy who wears them, even though that's only when he's in disguise." Bobby answered.
"Thank-you-comic-relief." Kitty sighed, as she heavily stressed each word.
While Kitty and Bobby continued their exchange, Professor Xavier was relegated to being a silent spectator to their conversation. He wondered to himself if Logan knew what he was doing, when he made the random selections on which students would be going to Washington? Meanwhile, Kitty and Bobby had already moved on to a new subject with which to continue their verbal barrage…
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Back at the mansion, Hank had just finished substituting in Scott's English class for him and was now on his way down to his lab, when he heard someone playing what sounded like a guitar. Or more accurately, it sounded like someone was being taught how to play a guitar.
"Just hold your right hand here, but keep your left hand at an angle like this." Alison said, as she showed Julio Esteban Richter, who always went by the simpler name of Rictor because of earth-shattering abilities or just plain Ric, the finer points on how to hold the instrument.
"But, it feels weird to hold it this way." Rictor replied, as the dark-haired Latino teen tried to readjust his fingers to accommodate his new grip on the neck of the guitar.
"It's gonna feel like that, until you get used to playing with proper form. But in the long run, it'll help you become a much better guitar player." Alison said, as she sat next to Rictor on the sofa in the main rec-room.
"Who knows, maybe one day you'll actually be good enough tah make records too." Samuel Guthrie, the blonde-haired Kentucky-native said, who also went by the descriptively accurate nickname of Cannonball. He had been sitting in another chair close by Rictor and Alison in the rec-room, while silently observing them together.
"Perhaps with enough practice, there might even be a variety show with your name on it in the future." Hank said, as he walked in to join them.
"I think we need to get the basics down first, then he can talk about going to Hollywood." Alison replied, as she looked up at Hank.
"The Senora has taught me so much, and in just a few lessons." Rictor said, in reference to Alison's instruction.
"It's really no problem. These days I've got more than enough spare time on my hands to help show you how to play." Alison said, as she looked over at Rictor.
"Now, that sounds like an excellent idea, Ms. Blaire." Hank said to her, which left the young woman in her early twenties slightly confused.
"What does?" Alison inquired.
"Why teaching a music appreciation class." Hank revealed.
"Sounds nice, but I'm not a teacher." Alison said to him, as she stood up from the sofa where she had been seated next to Rictor.
"I think you're already more of a teacher than you may realize." Hank pointed out, "You certainly have some credentials in the field, and as you can see, the faculty currently has a glaring deficiency in our music department."
Alison stood there for a moment, to carefully consider what Hank was suggesting.
"Well, if you ask the Professor and he thinks it's okay, then it's fine with me. I'd be happy to do it." Alison said, as the idea of being able to share her love of music with others seemed like a fascinating prospect to her.
"Excellent, I will meet with you later to go over a potential class syllabus." Hank said, as he turned to head towards the elevator and go to his lab downstairs.
"Well, it looks like you guys have just gotten yourselves a new teacher." Alison said to Sam and Rictor, as she sat back down on the sofa.
"Is that cool or what?" Rictor said, as he strummed a chord from the guitar.
"Wait till the others hear about it." Sam added excitedly.
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A short time later, while Alison and Rictor continued their lesson with Sam observing them, Hank went into his lab and pulled out some documents that pertained to scientific endeavors that he had been working on. It was research that he hadn't been able to give much time to lately, as he had been extremely busy serving as the school's acting Headmaster in Professor Xavier's place while he was out of the country. But now that the Professor was back, he intended to devote more of his time to his research, which was important to him for reasons of a very personal nature. As he rummaged through the drawer that contained some of his other items, Hank came across a framed picture that he usually kept on his desk. It was a photograph of the woman that he loved very much, and whom he knew loved him. But, because of other circumstances in their lives, the two of them were currently apart from one another.
While Hank sat and stared at the photograph for some time, his blue eyes and jet black hair reflecting back at him off of the glass in the picture's frame, three residents of the school were passing by outside in the sub-level corridor. They were on their way to make a very special visit. It had become a daily occurrence for Theresa Cassidy, the young Irish mutant nicknamed Siryn. But, unlike her previous visits, Theresa wasn't alone as she neared her destination.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" A voice said to Theresa in a very prim and proper tone. It belonged to Amara Aquilla, who had earned the code-name Magma, because of what generally happened to her surroundings when she used her mutant abilities.
"Stop worryin', will ye." Theresa answered her.
"But, I thought the Professor said he didn't want the rest of us coming down here." Amara recalled, as they walked down the corridor.
"The Professor said he didn't want too many people coming down here before, because he thought all of the unfamiliar faces might make Rahne even more agitated." Theresa replied, in a slightly hoarse voice. She had mostly recovered from overstressing her vocal chords when using her mutant power while on Muir Island, but her recovery was not yet complete.
"If that's the case, then why are we down here now?" Amara further questioned.
"Because with Kitty in Washington, and everyone else off onna mission, I'm the only familiar face left here. So, I figure it's time Rahne got herself familiar with some new faces. Plus, if Dani can do what she says, we might be able t'actually get through to her." Theresa explained.
"I didn't say I could do it, I just said I'd try." Danielle Moonstar, the young Native American teen also referred to as Mirage told Theresa, as she walked along with the other two girls, "I'm just starting to get the hang of controlling the mental images that my mind powers project in and out of other people. This new ability to talk to animals didn't even start until a few months ago."
"Ye know what they say, practice makes perfect." Theresa pointed out.
"But, I've only used that part of my powers to talk to a few of the forest animals around the school, I've never tried it out on a human girl that can shapeshift herself into an animal. I don't even know if it'll work." Dani replied.
"Well, there's only one way t'find out. Besides, if ye don't get her attention, we can always turn 'Volcano-girl' here loose. I'm sure Rahne won't be able to ignore her tearin' the place up with those lava powers of hers." Theresa said, as she teased Amara.
"I have a name, and it isn't Volcano-girl." Amara said flatly, as she ran her hand back through her shoulder-length, brownish-blonde hair.
"A thousand pardons m'lady, I meant no disrespect. I forgot my place and who I was speakin' to." Theresa said, as she continued teasing Amara.
"Terry, we mustn't forget that we're in the presence of Amara Aquilla, the daughter of Lucius Antonius Aquilla, Nova Roma's greatest and most revered diplomat." Dani said as she joined in with Theresa, which made Amara's face turn from its lightly tanned tone, to a bright red color.
Even though she was proud of who her father was and loved him very much, Amara always felt slightly uncomfortable when other people would make such a big fuss over her because of him. It was due to the fact that he was one of Nova Roma's most influential Senators, as well as the small nation's foremost Ambassador to the world. All of his work towards putting Nova Roma on the map as one of the globe's major epicenters of commerce, art, and technology, made Senator Aquilla a well-known and important figure on the international political scene.
"You know, just plain Amara will be fine." Amara said, as Theresa and Dani took notice of their friend's current emotional state.
"Ye know, ye definitely need t'learn how to take a joke." Theresa said, as the red-head put her arm around Amara, just as they reached the detention cell area.
"I can take a joke just fine, all you have to do is find something funny to say." Amara smiled, as her blue eyes looked into Theresa's green ones, her moment of uneasiness now passing.
Inside, Rahne was currently the only occupant in the detention area. In her current lupine state, Rahne's animal instincts had taken complete control, while her conscious mind retreated within. It necessitated her being held in one of the cells, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to injure anyone in her full wolf-form. Standing outside of the entrance to the detention area, Theresa pushed the access button that immediately slid the large steel door to the side, allowing the three girls to go inside. There they saw a not quite, fully-grown brown wolf sitting on the cold metal floor in one of the cells, which had an energy force field across the front of it.
"Rahne, it's me Terry. We came to see how ye we're doin'." Theresa said, as she approached the front of the cell. But, as had been the case when either her, Professor Xavier, Ororo, Kitty, Peter and even a couple of times Rogue had come to talk to her, Rahne just looked up at her visitor and then laid her head back down on the floor, as though she didn't hear them.
"Maybe she doesn't understand you, you know, when she's turned into an animal?" Amara guessed.
"I think she does. She's still shutting us out, like she's been doing ever since we found her after she first took off on Muir Island." Theresa replied, referring to how Rahne had run off that same night the Sentinels attacked, after she found out that her adoptive mother Moira MacTaggert had been kidnapped.
That following morning, Theresa, Kitty, and Peter had searched most of the island for Rahne, and eventually found her hiding in a cave. She had converted herself completely into animal form, both in mind and in body. Rahne, who was normally the kindest and most polite person anyone could ever hope to meet, had buried her conscious mind so deeply within that she didn't even recognize her friends anymore, and attacked them simply from instinct. Peter ended up wrestling with Rahne, until he was able to subdue her and carry her back to the island's research complex. From that point on, Rahne was unresponsive to anyone that tried to reach out to her. Without the use of his telepathic powers, Professor Xavier tried but was unable to reach into Rahne's mind, and coax her out of the apparent state of shock that she was in.
"Okay, let me try." Dani said, as she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts, slowly projecting them outward. Dani could immediately feel an animal presence nearby, and assuming that it was Rahne, spoke to her telepathically.
"Rahne, can you hear me? My name is Danielle Moonstar, and I'm one of the students here at Professor Xavier's school. If you can understand me, uh, just wag your tail." Dani said, as she used her powers to reach into Rahne's mind. Immediately, Dani was hit with a sense of great sadness emanating from the young wolf-girl's psyche inside of the cell.
"I can hear ye just fine, which is why I'm askin' ye t'just please let me be."
"But, everyone is so concerned about you, because you won't change back into your human form. They just want to make sure you're okay." Dani mentally revealed to Wolfsbane.
"Well, I'm not okay and I don't know if I will be. Spending the rest of mah life as a wolf is what I deserve as punishment. I'm the one that those monsters were looking for on Muir. Tis just like Reverend Craig said, mah powers are evil and Miss Moira was taken away because she showed kindness to a wicked creature like me." Wolfsbane mentally replied.
Dani then turned back behind her, to face Amara and Theresa.
"Rahne thinks it's her fault that those Sentinels attacked Muir Island. She thinks that her powers are evil, and that's why they showed up there." Dani told them.
"That's crazy talk Rahne. The Professor and Storm both said that there was something else going on, which is why they attacked us." Theresa walked over and told Rahne, "The only thing that's evil are the Sentinels themselves."
"Well, then maybe I don't want to be part of a world where someone can build things like that." Rahne said, as she finally shifted herself back into human form, so that she could verbally communicate with Theresa, "Miss Moira was, Lord forgive me, the only person that ever gave a damn about me, and someone took it upon themselves to just take her away. I grew up without mah real Mother, and I can'nae stand losing the only other one I do know. That's why I thought that spending the rest of mah days as the wolf that I was meant t'be, was a better alternative."
As she sat and poured her heart out to Theresa, Dani, and Amara, Rahne's conversion back into human form had left her naked inside of the cell. She sat up against one of the walls inside, and curled herself up into a tight ball on the floor. She was now crying her eyes out, as she was forced to confront the feelings that she had been able to suppress while in her animal form.
Amara quickly left the detention area, to go to the locker room area and find some clothes for Rahne to put on. Meanwhile Theresa, who had been shown how to adjust the cell's force-field to bring Wolfsbane her meals, turned off the energy field completely and walked inside. She put her arms around the young Scottish girl in an attempt to help console her.
"It's gonna be alright Rahne, I know what it's like to lose a mother. I was just a baby when my Mum died too." Theresa said as she hugged Rahne tightly, who was still crying heavily, "But the X-Men are gonna find Dr. MacTaggert, and they're gonna kick those Sentinels' rears for bein' stupid enough to go messin' with us."
"Do you really think they can do it, I mean find Miss Moira and beat those things?" Rahne asked as she lifted her tear-stained face up, her short red hair looking slightly disheveled from her meta-morphic conversion.
"If anyone can do it, it would be them." Dani added, as she entered the cell to join Rahne and Theresa. She sat down on the bed inside, which hadn't seen any use from its guest. Soon, Amara returned with a sweatshirt and sweatpants for Rahne to put on, which had the school's insignia printed on them, and then the three girls were eventually able to convince Rahne to come upstairs with them.
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While Rahne woke up in a cell to find herself in the presence of friends, the same could not be said about another individual who had also found herself in confinement. Her sterile, metal cell was at first glance similar to Rahne's, but a major difference was that she was currently in a secret government installation, buried deep underground somewhere inside of the continental United States.
"Good afternoon, Dr. MacTaggert." A voice said, as the dimmed lights in the cell flashed to their full fluorescent luminance.
"Dr. Stephen Lang, to what honor do I owe yuir presence?" Dr. Moira MacTaggert replied scornfully as she sat up on her bed, dressed in a dark blue prison jumpsuit.
As she put her glasses on and pushed her medium length, reddish-brown hair to the side of her face, she saw a blond-haired man before her. He was dressed in a white lab coat and additional research regalia, and judging by his appearance, he looked to be in his mid to late thirties.
"It's the same reason that I've been visiting you every day, to see if you've had a change of heart in regards to your refusal to assist me." Lang answered.
"Ye're joking, aren't ye? Ye're holdin' me here against my will and expect mah help. Ye have no right t'keep me locked up in here, and ye had no right turnin' yuir Sentinels loose on Muir Island!" Moira angrily shouted at him.
"Legally, I have every right to detain you here. The fact of the matter is that I believe that you have information vital to U.S. national security interests." Lang quickly told her.
"I'm not even a citizen of yuir bloody country! Ye broke a whole host of international laws by simply bringing me here." Moira retorted.
"You are a person of interest, and detaining you is well within the scope of recently passed laws here. And, given that identified members of the band of mutant outlaws known as the X-Men were at your research facility, it only serves to further solidify my position." Lang said to her.
Dr. Stephen Lang then walked into the cell, taking a seat on a chair within as the door closed behind him.
"As far as sending Sentinels to your island, I believe that precaution had prior justification as well." Lang continued, "Muir Island is, after all, the place where Mutant X began his rampage more than half a decade ago. You remember him, the individual that you harbored there until he escaped and attempted to destroy your beloved Scotland. If I also remember correctly, I believe his little 'episode' is what lead to the creation of Project Wideawake here in the United States, and led to initial talks regarding the Mutant Registration Act. I'd say that my actions were prudent, to say the least."
"You bastard! My son Kevin's been dead for years now, how dare ye use him as an excuse for what ye're doin'." Moira said angrily, as she was determined to hold back the tears that the very mention of her son Kevin MacTaggert, the mutant also known as Mutant X and Proteus, stirred up in her.
"Your 'son' pointed out a critical weakness in our nation's defenses. He proved that a single, super-powerful mutant could take over an entire country if he wanted to. The powers that be at the top levels of this nation's government, knew that would most certainly be the case if something wasn't done, and done soon, to prevent it." Lang smiled, as he replied in a smooth, calm voice that showed Moira's outburst had no effect on him at all, "He also proved that mutants existed beyond any shadow of a doubt. You've spent years at your precious research facility content with simply studying these creatures, when what you should have been doing was searching for a cure for their condition, and for some way to eliminate the threat that they pose. That is why I've brought you here, to help me find a solution to this mutant problem."
"That's just what I've been tryin' t'get through that thick skull of yuirs ever since ye brought me here. There is no cure for being a mutant, it's not like a disease that can be treated. Being a mutant is an essential part of their genetic structure. It'd be the same as me saying that I was going to cure someone from having blonde hair or black skin, it just doesn't work that way, and ye're beyond insane to continue thinking otherwise." Moira tried to explain.
"I'm not insane, but I think we both know that you're lying." Lang replied calmly, "It's already a fact that mutant powers can be suppressed through the use of neural inhibitors. What I'm searching for is a method of permanently neutralizing those powers, in essence, turning them off for good. And, I believe that is the reason why you deleted your files on Muir Island, before my Sentinels could retrieve them."
Although Moira had in reality uploaded her lifetime's worth of work to the safety of the computer system at Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted, it was knowledge that she had no intention of giving to Dr. Lang.
"Even if that were true, I'd never help a maniac like you." Moira steadfastly said to him.
"Very well, if you won't help me to rid the world of the mutant problem in a more humane manner, then you can watch as the Sentinels take care of them, knowing that you had the opportunity to prevent the mutant blood that must now be shed in order to guarantee humanity's survival." Lang said sternly, as he stood up and proceeded to leave the cell.
"Ye can't, that's…that's genocide!" Moira yelled, as she sprang up from her bed.
"Call it what you will." Lang said in a monotone voice, as he continued on while Moira's cell door closed behind him.
"Lord, what have I just done?" Moira said silently to herself, as she realized that Stephen Lang was dead serious about his intentions. As the lights in her cell went back to their dimmed setting once again, Moira closed her eyes and sat back down on her prison bed, praying that she hadn't just unintentionally helped to sign a death warrant against an entire segment of the population.
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Stephen Lang made his way from the facility's detention center, traveling through the huge underground military-looking complex. Soon, he was at the facility's manufacturing plant, where the crowning achievement of his work was about to be realized.
"How is everything progressing?" Lang asked his assistant, as he walked into the computer control-center above the processing plant.
"You're just in time to witness the Prime Sentinel being brought online." The assistant replied, as she monitored the terminal in front of her.
"Dr. Lang…" Another assistant said, as he walked into the room.
"What is it?" Lang asked him.
"I've been keeping constant tabs on the situation regarding the Sentinel operation we initiated on Muir Island. The British are now asking the United Nations to begin a formal investigation into where the Sentinels originated from." The assistant told him.
"I wouldn't be too concerned. Even to the highest echelons of our government, Project Wideawake is merely a research program designed to gain a better understanding of the mutant phenomenon, of super-powered beings in general, and of other supernatural affairs. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. has seen fit to send us the creatures that their top scientists have no idea what to do with, which is where many of those unusual looking animals in the holding pens on the level below the processing plant came from." Lang replied.
"We're about to activate the Prime Sentinel now, sir." The first assistant said to Dr. Lang.
The three individuals then stood and looked through a window below them, as most of the power in the complex was temporarily diverted to the processing center. All of the lights in the facility flickered off and on for about thirty seconds, before returning to normal. Dr. Lang and his assistants proceeded to make their way from the control booth down to the ground level, so that they could have a first-hand look at their latest accomplishment. As they walked past more than two hundred Sentinels silently standing guard around the Prime Sentinel, they soon found themselves in front of the gigantic cybernetic construct that was as big as four Sentinel units combined.
"Prime Sentinel, respond to me. Repeat what your Prime Directive is." Lang said, as he spoke to the giant Sentinel that was sitting in a very large chair in front of him, which had been constructed from both the remains of Bolivar Trask's original Mastermold, as well as from new parts.
"Unit designate: Prime Sentinel, also designated as Mastermold, retrieving data. Prime Directive one: The elimination of any and all mutant lifeforms." The giant Mastermold unit replied.
"Very good." Lang said, as he turned to his two top assistants, "Our Sentinel processing unit is now fully functional and independently operational. The additional time that we spent to complete its vast central processing core will prove to be well worth the extra effort."
But unknown to Dr. Stephen Lang, as he thought that he finally had the capability to wipe every vestige of mutantkind from the face of the planet, Mastermold was using its nearly limitless artificially-intelligent brain to devise the most effective means of eliminating those mutants. The conclusion that Mastermold would logically come to would most certainly shock Dr. Lang, and the numerous individuals and groups that had secretly invested private dollars into Project Wideawake to help make sure that the Sentinels became a reality.
Now, the Super-Sentinel was busy plotting its own agenda, regarding how it would ultimately fulfill its Prime Directive…
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Next Chapter: Professor Xavier, Kitty, and Bobby run into a 'friend' of an old friend in Washington D.C., while Scott and Logan have an unexpected bonding moment back home. Plus, Remy and Rogue go out on their first date…
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A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
TheDreamerLady- Nah, Storm and Warren were a couple during their early X-Men days. But, as you'll see in this next chapter, there may be something new starting to brew on the horizon for Storm and Forge. As far as the minors thing, I'd say Emma took a page from Xavier's book as far as recruiting mutants when they're still pretty young. Rogue doesn't have any additional powers, like from Ms. Marvel. Well, at least not yet anyways. As far as Northstar, I haven't decided yet. I do have something in mind if I do eventually include him, which would most likely involve the original Alpha Flight as well. Take care Amanda, you and Lanco.
EmeraldKatsEye- Glad I got you hooked on Kiotr. Yeah, when I read Astonishing X-Men #4 for the first time, my jaw nearly dropped when I saw Colossus at the end, and I was pretty moved too. Now, I can hardly wait each month for the next issue.
ishandahalf- Glad you liked the whole junior X-men United theme from the last chapter. Also glad that you liked Rogue confident and with a stronger personality, I'd say Logan's influence is definitely rubbing off on her. But then again, with role models like Storm around to show an example of what a strong female is, I don't think Rogue and the other girls can go wrong.
Episodic- I love the regular uniforms too, so I tried to find a way of varying the movie-verse versions, while still staying true to them. Yeah, there were Hellions, Acolytes, and a couple that don't fit into either category. Hopefully, we'll see a wider variety of characters whenever X3 comes out. And here's the next chapter, so hopefully I can get a break from all of the shoulder poking.
Lucas'sgirl- Yeah, it hadn't really occurred to me to alter the X-Men's black leather uniforms until I read that in your story, so I wanted to at least give credit where it was due. Glad you liked Storm and Warren's conversation and the 'new' X-Men too.
Jean1- Glad you liked Storm and Warren, and the junior team graduating. With Rogue, I thought her being team leader would be something new and different to explore. Since she doesn't have the baggage of having to deal with Mystique as her adoptive mother, nor the whole Carol Danver situation, at least not yet, I thought it'd be an interesting aspect to her. I basically got the idea from the way Rogue acted in X2, by wanting to go back for Logan when Bobby and John just wanted to get away from Stryker's men (Not that I can blame them in the least), and from a deleted scene on the DVD where Rogue helps two of the younger kids to leave the mansion through an escape hatch, and instructs them on what and what not to do. It just really struck me that she'd be so concerned for other's welfare, while most everyone else was making a break for it. Her actions, along with Colossus wanting to help Logan take down the soldiers, left an impression on me in regards to how they would function in a combat situation, if they were ever on the active roster. As far as Bobby goes, I don't think he's having too much of a problem with Rogue being in charge. If anything, he's probably regretting not being more supportive of her in that capacity over the last few months. Anyways, I hope you like what I have in store next.
Independent Fire- Glad you liked the last two chapters, I think the Brotherhood angle and the Storm/Warren revelation were pretty interesting twists. And read on, you don't have much longer to wait in regards to Wolfsbane.
Jeremy Harper- Wow, thanks for the reviews of each chapter and for the constructive criticism. It really does help when someone tells you if something's not quite right, and how it can be improved. I know what you mean about getting behind, there are a few fan-fic stories out there that I'm behind on reading, including yours, but I hope to get caught back up now that I'm finished with this chapter.
Glad you liked the characterizations, I'm always trying to make sure that, while I'm putting established characters in new situations, they still maintain ties to their original depictions. Jubilee's probably the easiest character for me to write, because you know it's going to be a wise-crack a minute with her. With the Kitty/Peter scene in Ch.1, I had been looking forward to that one since Force pt. I, mainly for the reasons that you outlined. I do also intend on tying in this movie-verse story to other characters in the Marvel Universe, even ones that may not have a movie in the works.
Without going over everything else that you pointed out, I can say that you're pretty dead-on with most of your observations. And as a small spoiler, as far as her best-friend, it's one of those, two but it ain't Doug. Thanks again for the insightful reviews, and I'll be letting you know what I think about the latest chapter of Deathless very soon.