Forty miles S/SE of Bridgeport, Alabama
Angel checked on Husk's condition once more before taking to the air to confirm Rachel's assessment. From her airborne vantage point, the outline in the trees was obvious, so much so that he shook his head, cursing himself for missing the evidence when they first arrived. As he touched down to earth his mind was already racing, formulating a plan to accomplish their recon and get the hell out of there in the shortest possible amount of time.
"Rachel, Sam and I will do the aerial recon… let's get an idea of how many and what kind of support they had. Husk and Wolfsbane gather whatever you can on the scanners. We leave as soon as the aerial recon is complete."
"An' what about me, Ang?" Rogue cocked a hip and planted her hand in her best imitation of Emma, mock indignance seeping into her voice. "Want me to just stand around an' look pretty? How 'bout ah help with the aerial…"
Angel caught her gaze with a harsh glare, cutting her short mid-sentence. "Back up Husk and Wolfsbane." He held her gaze a moment longer than necessary before turning to face the rest of his team. "I want everyone to assume the worst. We are out of here in under ten minutes." He barked out the order, turned to plant a small kiss across Paige's lips before taking to the air, Rachel and Sam following in close formation.
Rachel immediately established a telepathic link between herself, Sam and Angel as they left the forest floor behind. Three of us online, boss.
Thanks, Rach. Sam, take the perimeter, up to a mile out. Rachel, north and west, I'll cover south and east. And I'm not kidding about the ten minute time limit. The tension in his thoughts was a palpable thing that stiffened both Rachel and Sam's shoulders, his sense of urgency loud and clear in their minds.
The three veered off towards their assigned directions. Rachel and Angel skimmed the tree line methodically then circled higher in a well practiced spiral search pattern. Sam quickly identified a poorly maintained access road to the northwest that seemed to show signs of recent vehicle activity but whose was anyone's guess.
Angel, I've got clear signs of at least five individual Sentinels. Rachel reported, a hint of something more preventing the thought from sounding final.
I've got at least seven, all seem to have landed from a northeast trajectory. Angel added his report, pausing long enough to give Rachel the opportunity to complete her last thought. Rach, what is it?
Rachel was deep in thought, instinct telling her that the results of her telepathic scan on the bluff had everything to do with the now apparent Sentinel attack. But Sentinels were, as a rule, immune to telepathic disciplines - no sentience, no consciousness - machines were simply immune to mind altering powers. But somehow this was different. She carefully wrapped her psychic shields around herself like a second skin, peeling them back in layers, just enough to telepathically scan the area once more, prepared to defend her mind against the overwhelming power she encountered the first time. And once again, the raw fury of the telepathic signature she encountered slammed up against her shields like a concussive force, rocking her back, breaking her concentration leaving her free falling from sky.
Husk and Wolfbane moved with renewed determination. Husk was realigning the scanner repeatedly, trying to find a frequency she could actually get a clear reading on. The scanner simply wasn't powerful enough to process the readings it was taking, finally freezing up solid as the processor was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information.
"That's it, I'm done. This thing seized up." The annoyance in Husk's voice punctuated by a sigh.
"I have clear readings on the 'porter." Wolfsbane announced from the other side of the Sentinel made clearing. Rogue and Husk quickly joined her as she started back towards the cave, following the scanners lead. Before she cleared the tree line, Wolfsbane once again heeded the nagging of her instincts, gruffly tossing the scanner in Husk's direction as she assumed her feral form, leaping off into forest with a snarl.
"Wolfsbane, what is it?" Rogue called after her to no avail. She looked back to Husk as she fumbled with the scanner then back into the trees after Wolfsbane who had already disappeared silently into the shadows. "Stay close, girl!" She called aimlessly into the forest, glancing helplessly back to Husk, reluctant to leave her side as per her promise to Angel.
In those few seconds of free fall, Rachel was inundated with images. Struggle as she might, she couldn't slow the download of psychic information crashing through her mind: images of Neo rushing to defend the entrance of the cave; the figures from the briefing, Recoil's 'Old Ones', joining their fight, taking over the nearly lost battle, their mutant powers pushing back squad after squad of Sentinels with frightening ease ; then, through someone else's senses, she felt power course through her veins, a swirling blackness reaching out from deep within her, enveloping the Neo and her teammates and sucking them in, and through, depositing them far away from the fight; a moment of absolute calm as the remaining Sentinels closed ranks around her, a moment to telepathically scan the surrounding countryside to assure nothing human was within range, then a blinding flash of barely contained raw psychic power unleashed, the sheer force of it scrambling then fusing circuitry and wiring as effectively as a nuclear blast, felling everything in it's path.
A smile of contented satisfaction crept across Rachel's face as she plummeted, Sam scooping her out of the air just seconds after her telekinesis failed her. Sam called her name over and over, knowing full well his blasting would drown out the sound but there was little else he could do. One of the most powerful mutants among them and she lay limp in his arms, and he couldn't help but notice how light she felt. Angel pulled up along side him, pointing him to the clearing at the mouth of the cave, Rachel's telepathic link having been severed just before she dropped like a rock from the sky. And still, she had the most pleasant expression on her face.
They tried to assess her condition once on the ground but it was quickly apparent there was little they could do here. Angel passed a concerned look to Sam then tapped his com. "Rogue…" He was cut off by a loud crackle of static. Sam repeated the motion and he too was interrupted by the hiss over his com.
"I'll get the girls. We are out of here." Angel was up and heading for the treeline as he spoke. "Get her under cover until we get back." He turned and pointed for the shadowed mouth of the cave before breaking into a full run.
"Angel…" Sam called after him but his determined leader just disappeared into the trees. He lifted Rachel and found a sheltered niche with a full view of the clearing to settle into. He sunk to his knees, cradling her head, brushing a stray lock of fiery red hair from her cheek. "Come on, Rach… we're gonna need ya." His eyes wandered aimlessly over the treeline then to the sides of the cave, up to the natural curve of the roof and the destroyed guns imbedded there. "I got a bad feeling about this whole thing."
Angel caught sight of Rogue and Husk a few yards ahead. The stern look on his face immediately put both women on edge.
"Where's Wolfsbane?" He impatiently looked around then expectantly back to Rogue.
"She musta heard something. She bolted off just after you left." Rogue smacked at her com. "Wolfsbane…" The squeal of feedback greeted her.
Husk immediately tapped at her com, feedback eminating from the tiny device in an escalating squeal. "They're being jammed." Husk spit out as she rushed to stuff the scanner into her backpack then swinging it over her shoulder.
"Jammed?" Angel questioned reflexively as the implication of her hurried statement sunk in.
"Jammed by wh…" Rogue never got the chance to finished her question. A loud crack resounded off the trees was followed a mere second later by a ball of auburn fur crashing through the underbrush and slamming head on into her with enough force to rock her back, almost off her feet. The acrid stench of burnt fur lingered heavy in the air as the furry projectile dropped to the ground with a thud. The singed ball of hair reverted back to the default human form of Wolfsbane, in a twisted, motionless heap at Rogue's feet.
"Rahne! Talk to me girl." Rogue tried to gingerly untangle the twisted limbs, the wolf girl's uniform still smouldering on her chest. As she brought the broken form to rest in the leaf litter, wetness trickling across her wrist drew her attention to the bright crimson blood seeping from her teammate's ear. "Oh god… no." The swell of fear that washed over her was almost immediately transformed into the more familiar sting of rage. Rogue whipped her head around in the direction of the attack, looking for a target to charge.
"Rogue! Grab her! Move!" Angel screamed the order as he scooped Husk off her feet and took to the air, dodging through the trees in a flash of silent white wings. He didn't need to see Rahne's attacker to know that they needed to regroup and get a clear line of sight.
Rogue's brow creased as she looked to Angel then back into the forest with a sneer. As she gathered Rahne's limp body into her arms, a familiar mechanical sound echoed off the trees.
"HALT MUTANT."
A few yards into the mottled forest shadows a shimmer of light materialized into the familiar form of a prime Sentinel, the usually metallic armor of its carapace shimmering in the sun dappled light like a heat mirage in distance. Before its form solidified, it was raising a hand in a familiar gesture.
"SURRENDER OR BE NEUTRALIZED."
"Charming, as usual." Rogue grumbled under her breath, her hands curling into fists even as she held her wounded friend. The urge to rip the mechanical menace apart, circuit by circuit, bolt by bolt, was overwhelming but the bubble of blood still trickling from Rahne's ear was a powerful, grounding reminder. She turned with a yell of pure frustration and streaked for the clearing. A crackle of energy and an explosion of splinters followed quickly behind her.
Rogue joined her teammates just inside the cave entrance. A quick assessment explained Angel's surly demeanor. Rachel and Rahne were both out of commission, their coms were being jammed, and most likely, there were Sentinels en route thanks to the sentry Rahne flushed out of the woods. The Xmen walking into a trap - Rogue rolled her eyes wide with the thought - why did it always seem to work out that way?
"You guys make a break for it, Angel. I'll cover you." Rogue nearly commanded Angel as she gently handed the wounded Rahne to Paige, careful to cradle her neck as best she could.
"Back off, Rogue. Not all of us are bulletproof." Angel reasserted his role as leader with a quiet but stern command. "Rahne is in bad shape and we don't know what happened to Rachel. The jet is probably compromised too. We need to get out of here and warn the others."
"No problem boss." Rogue took to the air without a glance back. The Sentinel emerged from the treeline, right into a roundhouse left fist that sent it sailing into the air, crashing through the trees. Its self diagnostic program came online before it even slammed into the massive pine trunk, imbedding it several inches into the gnarled wood. Rogue turned to flash a smug little grin to her team when three Sentinels appeared overhead, their retrorockets firing as they lowered themselves to the ground. The prime Sentinel and it's nearly human size was nothing compared to the massive, twenty foot high Mark IV's that joined the battle.
Rogue mouthed a few less than lady like curses to herself as the behemoths descended. A quick charge at the leg of one set it off balance and the massive robot fell into the trees with the force of an earthquake.
"I've never fought these before." Paige eyed the giant robots with trepidation.
"Mark IV's.. these things are old school. Obsolete. I don't understand… these things were ancient when I was in school, I only fought them in the Danger Room." Sam looked to Angel, the senior team leader, the man with the knowledge and experience, for some reassurance.
"They can't be Mark IV's… they were all scrapped." Angel mumbled as the memories of these, the most vicious of the mechanical mutant hunters, raced through his head. He shook his head hard, needing to think and fast. If these were Mark IV's they were literally fighting for their lives. He looked back to Paige, his stomach twisting into a sick knot. "Paige, get us inside this base, find a terminal, find a way. Fast."
"What about you?" Paige knew the answer to her question but hoping only that the love of her life would reassure her he'd make it through this in one piece. He kissed her once, squeezing her hand as he turned to her brother.
"Sam, just keep moving. Don't let them get a bead on you. Use them against each other. They used to be weak at the joints and their scanners and sensors were fairly easy to disable. Most of their weapons were in their hands but we have no clue what kind of upgrades these things have." Angel's face was a mask of steely determination as he turned to face the monstrosities closing fast on their location. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Sam bellowed over a deafening CLANG as Rogue's fist connected with the head of one of the robots. Sam lowered Rachel gently to the ground and took his place by Angel's side. With a nod, they were both off.
The fight was actually going well. At first. Angel was impressed with how easily the three of them had blinded and disabled the triad of mutant hunters. But his enthusiasm was quickly squashed as another three touched down just as the last Sentinel fell. Enhanced self repair programs were the most obvious among these Sentinels upgrades. No sooner did the next squad land that the first of the three they felled started pushing to its feet. These may have been Mark IV shells but their programming seemed to be far more advanced.
Rogue charged headlong into the lead robot, swinging hard at the concealed access panel she knew was on its chest, intent on ripping its hardwired guts out of its shell one cable at a time. She dented it with a crushing blow before the thing batted her away like an insect.
Sam put some distance between himself and the Sentinels then rounded back at full speed slamming into the back of one of them, nearly knocking it face first into the ground. Unfortunately, it held its footing and righted itself, its dented carapace already starting to pop back into place.
Angel didn't have nearly the brute power of either Rogue or Sam at full blast but he did have the agility and speed to hit fast. With a flash of his blade, he soared up over the back of the metal head and into its face, sliding his steel into the gap between the metal eye and its socket then, with a twist, severing half its circuitry. The sensor eye went dark as he dodged away from a swing of its metal hand. But before he even could assess their situation, the eye was starting to flicker back to life. They were nothing more than gnats to these things. The last two disabled Sentinels were already on their feet and mostly functional again. And worse, they were anticipating their moves; adaptive software was definitely an upgrade. Just as he was about to signal the retreat, his felt the rush of air from behind but never felt the impact; his world went black as he plummeted from the sky, the last thing in his vision a flash of red and purple armor.