August 21, 2032
"One hour and fifty-two minutes after midnight. About to enter the Savage Land... It's on fire. Going to use the flames to mask my heat signature from Ultron's patrols. Meeting up with the agent for a assault on the facility. Queuing audio file." The flames changed the water into a vibrant orange, defeating the moon's glow and taking over the night sky around it. He ran across the water, nowhere near full speed as he approached the island. He was out of Ultron's scanners, his suit's fibers masking him from Ultron's satellites and infrared.
His foot stepped onto the orange water reflecting the flames and he took off, hitting the shore within a second, into the jungle the next. He traversed the jungle, passing by the fleeing animals of all shapes and sizes, all blurs and outside of their time period. Four seconds in, he passed by a T-Rex being shot at by Ultron's drones, one of the drones within its jaws. He gave it a passing glance before continuing on his way. Five seconds in, he turned right avoiding a energy field around his target,a large facility similar in design to Charles Xavier school for gifted youngsters.
He began making his way to his first destination, a waterfa- eyes. A pair of red eyes in a cave. They glowed brightly, mixing with the orange fires but quite distinguishable. Not synthetically bright, they were organic. They followed him. In that microsecond he ran by, they followed him, acknowledged his presence. A shiver went up Quicksilver's spine but he shrugged it off as he continued onward. Seven seconds. He was coming up on the cliff, the Savage Land beyond it untouched by the flames and he could see the moon in the sky. He nearly ran off the cliff but with a quick and precise heel turn, he shifted his momentum and began running down the side of the cliff.
Eight seconds. Another heel turn and he began running towards the base of the waterfall on the ground before turning upward and running up the falls. Halfway up, there was no more ground. His foot hit the edge of a entrance and he ran through. He slowed down instinctively, rolling as he always did and sliding to a stop.
Nine seconds.
"You're late." A light smirk appeared on Quicksilver's face.
"I took a little detour. Saw the sights." He was met with a single, disapproving brown eye. He saw the little crate, with various papers and blueprints with a torch being droven into the wall as the only light source.
"Yeah yeah. Important mission. Aren't they all." Quicksilver remarked as the figure rose up, placing something into his brown jacket with a unsually big collar.
"They are. If not important than just life threatening. But this one." The figure paused, apparentally in thought. "This one feels similar. Like before all of this."
"And those were life threatening and they sure as hell weren't simple. I mean, come on! Sentinels, Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, hate groups, time travelers, entire alien empires! Scott, nothing has ever been simple when it came to mutantkind. Doesn't matter what kinda state the worlds in. If mutants are alive, they're gonna be in situations like this." Quicksilver exclaimed, unnerved by all this.
Scott rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand, it's fingers apparentally torn off from years of use. Quicksilver was right. Mutants have always had to fight to survive. He just didn't think a robot like Ultron would put them in a situation that bigots and monsters wished they could have put them into.
"Come on. It's almost time." Scott said as he rose, taking the torch and breaking out into a jog down the rest of the cavern. Quicksilver followed him, reducing himself to average running speed. Scott knew the way and would know of any defense systems up ahead so not running ahead made sense but was tough to do. They turned so many times Quicksilver would have forgotten if he wasn't used to running through corridors that looked alike.
"So this mole of yours, you trust em?"
"With my life."
"You know what happened to the other people you trusted with your life?" Quicksilver asked.
"Yeah." Scott muttered as he appeared at the end of the cavern and leaped, Quicksilver jumped as well instinctively. There he saw it, the power generator that powered the school above. Guarded by Ultron's robots that shared his likeness though from a much older, simpler model. It was weird in design but rather simple. A large plate and panel at the top that covered the bottom of the school, a more thin tube connecting to the heptagon generator. It was at least half a mile high and the only light source, but it was bright enough to illuminate the whole cavern. He could hear the buzzing and what sounded like electricity cackling. That's two things that sent a chill up his spine today.
Scott jumped and landed on the slope and slid behind a large boulder. Quicksilver hid behind one adjacent of Scott's. Now all they had to do was wait for the signal.
He rolled around in his bunk, nervous and sweating. His stomach swirled and ached, which only increased his worry. He had no way to tell time, no clocks, no sounds, nothing. He could only go on his internal clock which he hoped was working. He stared into the darkness, the darkness he was forced to stare into every night since he was a boy. If he didn't fall asleep or if his thoughts didn't consume him, every sound, every thing he felt on his body would frighten him. But right now, all he could do was focus. Focus on the ticks in his mind, every second, keep track of it. He'll know when it's time, his body will reassure but he had got it wrong before and that was a punishment he doesn't wish to go through again.
A sunken feeling emerged in his stomach, as if pressing all the nervousness and the swirling down. It was time. He got out of a bed, making his way to the darkness towards the door. He pressed his hand on the wall and pulled off the panel. He put his hand went in and he made his way thorugh the wires till he found what he was looking for. A wire slightly thicker than the others with a old piece of gum stuck to it. He followed the line upward to the top, having to put his arm and shoulder in to get to the end. He reached to the top and with a light tug pulled out the cord. The door opened to a red eery light.
Not wasting time anytime, he made his way into the hall. The hall was filled with blackness, only having red lights at end of the hallway, showing the corners. He made his way down the hallway, trying to be as silent as possible. No guards yet. He continued making his way to the designated point, not encountering a single guard yet. He would call it luck but he coordinated to this specific time with Cyclops for the operation.
He turned another hallway, seeing double doors. The cafeteria. He creeped towards the door, opening it and a loud click was sounded that echoed through the hall louder than he had wished. They heard that, surely they heard that. He had to speed up. He opened the door, running through the darkness, the only sound he heard was the light patter from his thin linen shoes. He heard the doors fly open, slamming against the walls. He stopped, feeling around to make sure he was where he thought he was. He felt cold metal and felt an arm like extension. The cafeteria robot. If it was right here then behind him must... bingo! The freezer! He opened it, quickly going inside and closing the door. The freezer was on low cool, 20 degrees in farenheit and the air condition was just a low hum instead of the loud roar that filled his ears everytime it was opened. He could hear outside, though just barely.
He heard their heavy metal footsteps, the whirring of their servos. They wouldn't be long, at least he hoped. They normally did quick scans and then left. He heard heavy footsteps become softer and softer, getting farther away. He heard the doors close with a loud, echoing click. He exited out the freezer, rubbing his arms. The linen outfits, despite comfortable, weren't built to handle the elements. He continued on his way, opening a double door on the opposite of the cafeteria. The generator room would be just down the hall and a floor down. He ran, turning the hall. Bad move. A human sized Sentinel stood in the center of the hallway, a red light illuminating it's frame but leaving the details darkened. It's head turned onto the boy, it's eyes turning from it's normal yellow to red.
"Mutant. Outside of room after curfew. Retrieving record. Record retrieved. Mutant number, 1-6-5. Known amongst the students as Caesar. Four strikes on record, agreed to death sentence upon fifth strike. Method of death chosen: disintegration. Carrying out judgement." The Sentinel began walking towards Caesar, extending it's arm. It glowed yellow, charging it's attack for the necessary level for full disintegration.
"You have disobeyed the facility and thus have disobeyed Master Mold. No rule breaking shall be per-" A bright blue beam of energy hit the Sentinel straight in the head, illuminating the hall for that brief moment.
"I've heard it all before trashcan." Caesar commented, his eyes glowing blue. The lights turned on, illuminating the hallway. The halls were a plain gray with a hexagon pattern. Caesar rubbed his eyes, the sudden light blinding him momentarily.
"ALERT! MUTANT POWERS ACTIVATED OUTSIDE OF DESIGNATED AREA! SENTINEL 1149 HAS GONE OFFLINE! ALL SENTINEL UNITS AND ULTRON UNITS CONVERGE AND CAPTURE OR DISINTEGRATE THE ROGUE ELEMENT!" He heard the voice came from nowhere but yet it was everywhere.
"Shit!" Caesar exclaimed as he began running down the hallway. He saw the crossroads and stopped. Left, right and straight.
"Crap! Which way was it?!" He questioned hecticly, his mind becoming blank. This always happened when he got too stressed out, he couldn't think straight. The only thing that he could absolutely rely on when he got this way was-
"TARGET ACQUIRED! CORRIDOR 14!" A Ultron unit spotted him, calling out the command for whom Caesar wondered. It extended it's hand, firing a red energy blast at Caesar.
Caesar sidestepped it easily and fired another blast from his eyes. It hit the Ultron square in the chest, causing it to stumble. He fired another shot, more powerful than before at the Ultron's head. The Ultron unit's head flew off, rolling down a little down the hall before coming to a halt. Caesar breathed, trying to remember which way to go. He searched his memory from the passing day. Left. He turns left here cause he remembered turning right today to get to the cafeteria. He sprinted down the hall, trying to make up for lost time.
In unison a Ultron unit and a Sentinel turned the corner together down the hallway.
"165 uses concussive blasts." The Ultron unit said, apparently his offline friend identified Caesar and spread the info before going offline.
"Understood." The Sentinel responded. The Sentinels and Ultrons weren't on the same frequency for whatever reason. Maybe Sentinel and Master Mold don't like crossing wires. The Sentinel walked behind the Ultron unit which extended it's arm, the metal of it going upward, expanding outward till it all connected and became a round shield. With that open, they charged down the hall to Caesar. In response, Caesar rushed towards them. The Ultron threw a punch but Caesar slid underneath it's extended legs. Oppurtunity as beautiful as the purple crotch Caesar was sliding past, he fired a concussive blast, slicing the Sentinel in half right down the middle. It's front and back split apart and fell to the ground with a light clang.
Caesar quickly rose up on his knee and fired a concentrated shot at the back of the Ultron unit's neck. It went down with a heavy clang. Caesar turned his head, running down the hall, sliding and placing his hand on the wall to stop himself. This was the spot. He breathed in a heavy breath and breathed out slowly, closing his eyes. He opened them and small trails of blue smoke came from the ends of his eyes. He fired and two thin blue beams carved into the ground. He turned his head, as he began making a large square that hit the corners of the walls in the corridor.
The ends of his eyebrows were beginning to burn off, as if they were fuse of dynamite. He continued, hearing the heavy footsteps of Ultrons and Sentinels converging on him from all sides. They took their sweet time, if you asked him. He heard a set of footsteps amongst the heavy pattering of his robotic wardens. He couldn't look up but he guessed, he hoped, it was fellow prisoners meeting up with him.
"Caesar!" Yup, that tired but anxious voice was no one other than Marie. She was a darkskin girl of African descent, apparentally hailing from Wakanda. Each of her eyes were of different color. One was purple and the other was a dull gold. She carried in her hand what appeared to be a modified Ultron arm which was exactly what it was. C
"Need some help?" She asked, glib in her voice which wasn't normal for her. Well it was but only when she went into combat practice. Normally she's always tired or exhausted.
"Gee, could the ever amazing Marie sacrifice a few seconds of her important time to help a lowly mutant such as me?" Caesar responded sarcastically, causing Marie to chuckle. With a heavy smack to the Ultron arm, it sprung to life and fired a thin beam onto the ground. In no less than a minute, they were finished. A square in the hall, to the wall and to the corner of the hallways. A light tap from Marie's foot and that section of the floor fell into the hallway below. There were no lights on this floor for this was the basement, unaccessible except for the hole for two Marie and Caesar had just made. The two nodded at each other and jumped down. They're backs pressed against each other, covering to see if there were any guards. None.
"Okay, you get to the control room and set these." Caesar ordered as zipped down his linen jumpsuit, revealing two mini plastic explosive charges attached to the inside of his little suit, just small enough to go unnoticed. He handed them to Marie whom gawked at them. She had only saw these kinds of explosives in books up until now. She didn't question though, not yet. There was no time for that. She took the explosives and made her way to the central control room down the hall. He watched as the light from the Ultron's arm disappear into the darkness.
"Alright, gotta hold this point. And hope the others get here before things get too hectic."
With a light clang, the head of the Ultron unit rolled on the rocky floor. Cyclops rushed and pressed his back against the generator's wall. Where was Caesar? Resistance isn't as heavy as Scott suspected but things would get bad soon enough if they lingered. He turned to Quicksilver, whom had just charged through a Ultron unit, ripping it to shreds with his insane speed. That was the last one, at least for now.
"Where's this mole of yours?" Quicksilver asked, agitated. He didn't like this one bit, they were pass the opening time by at least two minutes and with Ultron, two minutes could be the death of them.
As if God was telling Quicksilver to shut his mouth, an explosion erupted at the top of the generator, right at it's top.
"There's your-" Before Scott could finish, Quicksilver was already half way up the generator. He ran through the hole, sliding to a stop at the door when he passed Marie.
"Which way?" He asked.
"To your right, down the hall. Should be a hole." Quicksilver nodded, turned and ran. Marie released a heavy breath. She knew who that was, she knew his capabilities and they quite frankly frightened her. Alright, it was time for her next part. She had to make a bridge to the cavern below. She walked to the hole and placed her hands down on the edge, focusing. Should be easy considering...
With one shot, he sent the Ultron unit flying into the cavern wall. He dodged, side stepped, and fired again and again. Each shot took out an Ultron unit with relative ease. Years of experience. Cyclops was used to fighting Ultron's robo children and knew how much force to apply to scramble their circuits.
That was Caesar's outside help?! Scott Summers, the great mutant devil himself?! Marie's thoughts returned to all the lessons about Scott. Who he was, his history, powerset, the things he had done. How could Caesar ally himself with Scott? How could he expect her and the others to work with him?
"ROGUE MUTANT! EXTERMINATING!" She hadn't notice the Ultron unit fly in front of her, it's hand extended, ready to vaporize her. She couldn't focus a shield in time, not one strong enough to block that kinda blast. She was dead.
The Ultron unit flew passed her, flying through the wall behind her and falling lifeless. She looked down, Scott's monocle glowing red. He looked at her, seeing the fear in her eyes. He waved at her, hoping that would reassure her and get her back into the fighting spirit. The bodies of multiple Ultron units laid around him, stripped of the very metal from their bodies, headless, or their circuits so scrambled they couldn't function.
"Trust Caesar." Marie muttered to herself as she focused again to create bridge. Her hands glowed, as well did her golden eye. A dull golden bridge expanded from her hands and went straight to the cavern floor, in front of Scott. He ran up it and Marie could feel a shiver rush through her spine. It would be so easy, much safer, to just let the bridge go and let him fall. But no, trust Caesar. And chew his ear off later.
A shadow casted over Marie and she felt as though God was casting a judgemental gaze upon her. But it was only Scott Summers, which was just as bad as far as she was concerned.
"My name is Scott Summers. Cyclops. Is everything going accroding to plan?" He asked, she couldn't pinpoint his tone but it wasn't threatening.
"No one has come yet." Scott crossed his arms, pondering.
"Alright, we'll give them a few minutes and hold this point. We have to buy them enough time to get as many mutants out as possible." He turned back to the hole, hearing the light hum of jet boots.
"Till then, we'll hold this point." Scott said, firing into the cavern. Marie nodded. Didn't matter whom her allies were right now, what mattered was getting her friends out.