A/N - Hello again everyone. I've finally got the next chapter of this story here for you. This chapter was excruciating to write and I wondered if I'd ever get through it. It's definitely not as good as I wanted it to be but eventually a time comes when you just have to grit your teeth and Get. The. Damn. Thing. Done!
So here it is and for what it's worth I still hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this and the only thing that's mine are the original parts of the story.
22) INTO THE FORTRESS
"Normal Speech"
"Telepathy"
Quotes taken from X-Men #15
It was a real workout for the X-Men to avoid being blasted to smithereens by the large guns of the fortress. The rays that the guns were blasting at them were affecting the ground around the fortress and tearing it to pieces. Fortunately for the X-Men the guns the Sentinels were using were so large that they couldn't be moved all that quickly which allowed the team to avoid being hit but it was still very dangerous and there were several close calls along the way. Beast was almost caught by a bunch of large rocks that were sent flying when a blast hit the ground near him. Meanwhile Iceman managed to avoid falling into a pit that opened up under him by making a quick ice bridge that spanned both sides of the hole.
Angel had grabbed the professor to fly him to safety even though the professor told him not to. Xavier said that he could save himself by his own means even if he had been knocked out of his chair as a side effect of the blasts.
"Do not let me hamper your battle strategy" said the professor as Angel picked him up, "I'm not as helpless as you might think." The rest of the team wondered what the professor could have done if Angel hadn't carried him away but there was no time to dwell on it as they had to see to their own safety now.
"Head for high ground" the professor called to the rest of the team, "you're in jeopardy every second you remain where you are!" No one needed to be told twice. The whole team ran, climbed, or flew up to the nearest hill that overlooked the fortress. It was high enough that the top of it was out of the range of the fortress guns. They all assembled at the summit of the hill and looked down at where they'd been.
"We've got to invade that fortress" said the professor, "before they can launch a new attack against us."
"How do we get in there sir?" asked Angel, "it looks impossible."
"What if they can't see us?" asked Lightning, "if we were all disillusioned we might be able to get in there"
"I'm not so sure that would work" said the professor, "remember that the Sentinels can detect magic. They wouldn't have to see you to know you were there. Not even Lightning's invisibility cloak would work."
"Then it's just as well I didn't bring it" muttered Lightning.
"Aren't there spells that can hide magic?" asked Iceman.
"Yes" said the professor, "but obviously those spells are magic too – "
"I think we get the point professor" interrupted Mage, "if you finish that sentence we're all going to get headaches."
"Then what do we do?" asked Marvel Girl who had retrieved the professor's wheelchair with her telekinesis while everyone was talking.
"If one of us could get inside there" said Mage, "maybe they'd be able to disable at least one of the guns and make a path for the rest of the team to get in there too."
"It's a possibility" said Cyclops, "how would you do that?"
"Well" said Mage, "let's go down the other side of this hill where they won't be able to see us." Everyone agreed this was a good idea and soon the entire team had moved down the side of the hill that faced away from the fortress. As they came to a stop the professor suddenly turned his head as if something had attracted his attention but after a moment he seemed to discount whatever it was and turned back to the team.
"Are you all right professor?" asked Angel.
"I'm fine" said the professor.
"I thought that was my line" quipped Lightning.
"What's your idea Sirius?" Cyclops asked Mage, ignoring Lightning's comment.
"I was thinking of turning into Padfoot and sneaking in" said Mage, "chances are they wouldn't consider a mangy dog to be a threat and ignore me."
"That's a good idea in theory" said the professor, "but as your animagus form is created magically they would probably detect that you aren't just a dog."
"If they detected me while I was changing" said Mage, "but once an animagus has fully changed shape there's no way to tell it from the actual animal itself without using magic. The Sentinels can't use those spells."
"Maybe not" said the professor, "but it's very risky. Once you're inside the fortress you'd have to change back to disable any of the guns and if there are sensors in there to detect magic – which there probably are – they'd realize something was wrong."
"I'm willing to take that chance" said Mage.
"Gryffindor to the end?" asked Lightning.
"You know it pup" smirked Mage.
"You may be willing to take the chance" said the professor, "but I'm not willing for you to take it just yet. You'd be completely exposed and I don't think you'd stand much chance of surviving since you can't use your magic in your canine form."
"You are almost certainly correct professor, "said Beast, "so what would you have your gathering of powerful misfits do in this situation?"
"I can think one thing that can work for a while" said the professor, "though I cannot control the mechanical brain of a Sentinel I can still strike it with a bolt of pure mental energy."
"I get it" said Marvel Girl, "put down the Sentinels firing the guns and the guns will stop. Can I help you with this?"
"Yes" said the professor, "let's combine our power and we'll be able to do this more quickly and effectively." Marvel Girl concentrated for a moment.
"Making contact" she said, "okay professor, tell me what to do."
"Follow my lead" said the professor and he reached out with his mental power. Marvel Girl copied him. As the two telepaths made contact with the Sentinels they struck out at them with their full power. Seconds later all of the weapons firing out of the fortress shut off.
"Did you get them?" Iceman asked.
"We did" said the professor, "the ones who were firing those guns are down but I'm sure they will soon be replaced. For now, however, you can enter the fortress. Be careful as you do and once you're inside. I'll monitor you as much as I can."
"Thanks professor" said Cyclops who turned to the rest of the team, "let's go X-Men."
As a team the X-Men moved back over the hill and down the other side toward the fortress. Before they started out Mage turned into Padfoot so as to be able to move more quickly. As they raced toward the fortress Angel, Marvel Girl, and Lightning all took to the air while Beast took huge leaps forward and Iceman traveled on one of his ice slides. Cyclops hitched a ride with Angel while Lightning picked up Padfoot and carried him forward with his telekinesis.
A few minutes later the X-Men reached the fortress and found themselves facing one of the giant guns that had been firing on them earlier. Cyclops blasted it to pieces and the X-Men all entered the fortress through the opening. Once they were inside they saw a whole bunch of Sentinels sitting on the floor and leaning against a wall. None of them were moving.
"They won't trouble us" said Cyclops as the team moved past them and headed down the hall, "they're the ones the Prof and Jean put out of action."
"That's great" said Iceman, "but it's probably too much to hope that all of the Sentinels have been taken out already."
"I dare say you're right my frozen friend" said Beast, "I would love to investigate these Sentinels in more detail."
"I don't think now is a good time for that" said Iceman. No one had to ask him why as they all saw several Sentinels enter the area up ahead and come towards them.
"Intruders!" said the lead Sentinel, "they must be captured or neutralized."
"I don't like the sound of that" said Marvel Girl.
"Neither do I" said Cyclops, "X-Men look sharp and be ready. Here they come!"
The squad (or whatever it was called) of Sentinels bore down on the X-Men and soon the battle was joined. The Sentinels were strong but they weren't invulnerable. Cyclops blasted the first one to pieces while Lightning zapped another with electricity. That Sentinel was soon out of action but it took longer than Lightning would have expected, taking several seconds of concentrated electricity to put the Sentinel down and while he was doing that Lightning couldn't protect himself from other attacks. Fortunately Iceman and Beast had his back as they took out another Sentinel that tried to attack Lightning.
Although the first few Sentinels were taken out it was pretty clear that there were too many of them for the team to beat and Cyclops prepared to call for the team to try to escape from the Sentinels and regroup to come up with a new plan.
Unfortunately that's when things got worse. The Sentinels that had been put down by Professor Xavier all woke up again and came at the X-Men from behind, both blocking the way back and almost surrounding the team.
"You cannot beat us" declared one of the Sentinels, "we will destroy you."
"What now fearless leader?" called Angel.
"Get ready to run" said Cyclops as he turned his optic blasts on the ceiling, "I'm bringing down the roof on the Sentinels. We can escape to the upper floor after that."
"Great plan Cyke" snarked Iceman as he dove out of the way as debris began to come down from the ceiling, "just don't bring us down with it."
That turned out to be easier said than done. Either the fortress wasn't as well constructed as it had appeared to be, or Cyclops just got lucky with his optic blasts. It wasn't long before the whole ceiling was coming down and it looked like it was bringing the next upper floor down with it. All of the X-Men split in different directions to avoid getting hit by the collapsing debris. It brought some of the Sentinels down with it but nowhere near enough and the robots quickly took advantage of the circumstances to begin picking off their foes one by one.
The professor watched his students enter the fortress and waited for several minutes after they were fully inside before acting.
"You can come out now Cain" the professor finally sent out to the presence that had attracted his attention earlier. There was a momentary pause and then Juggernaut appeared from behind several trees and approached the professor.
"How long have you known I was there?" he asked.
"A little while" said the professor, "if you want to kill me, now's your chance."
"You know I'm not here to kill you Charles" said Juggernaut.
"You're right" said Xavier, nodding his head, "I do know that. Why are you here?"
"To help deal with the Sentinels" was the reply.
"Really?"
"Really. I've spent the last several days driving east from Colorado and destroying any Sentinels I met along the way."
"I'm surprised" said Xavier, "what made you decide to get involved?"
"I don't like them any more than you do" said Juggernaut, "I saw your debate with Dr. Trask. I knew the Sentinels would come for you and your team. But they wouldn't stop there, would they?"
"No, they wouldn't" said the professor, "but you could have stayed out of it if you wanted."
"No" said Juggernaut, "I need to help out. I need to show, to myself at least, that I can do the right thing. That I'm not just a jealous waste of space and talent."
"My goodness" said Xavier in some surprise as he made the connection, "Lightning's words really affected you."
"He told you about that?" asked Juggernaut.
"He didn't have to" said Xavier, "I heard what he said. It was kind of hard not to considering how loud he was yelling,"
"Good point" was the reply, "I've been trying to turn my life around ever since. Even went back to school if you can believe it. Just trying to do something worthwhile. These Sentinels are as much of threat to me as to you and I'm willing to help stop them in any way I can."
"Lightning will be pleased when he finds out" said Xavier, "as am I. You can start by helping me."
"What do you need?" asked Juggernaut.
"The X-Men have all entered the fortress but I can still help them even from here" said the professor.
"I know that" said Juggernaut, "your mental powers are very useful for knowing what's going on."
"Not just that" said the professor, "I can send my astral form out of my body and into the fortress after the team. Being unsolid nothing can prevent my entering any place I choose."
"But what about your body?" asked Juggernaut, "Ah, I see. You want me to protect it while you're not in it."
"Yes please" said the professor, "normally when I do this sort of thing I'm safe at home. Here, however – "
"Do what you need to do" said Juggernaut, "I'll keep you safe, just as brothers should do for each other."
"You really have changed" said Xavier, "thank you Cain."
The professor concentrated and soon his astral self slipped free from his body leaving his physical body in a trance from which it could only awaken when his astral self returned to it.
Juggernaut looked down at his brother's unmoving and unseeing body.
"Brother you really are quick to trust a former enemy" he said even though he knew Xavier couldn't hear him, "I hope this doesn't backfire on you someday. At least you'll be safe with me." He settled down to watch over his brother's body and wait for his return.
At the speed of thought Xavier entered the Sentinel fortress and flew straight to the central chamber where the Master Mold was. Along the way he noted what had happened to the X-Men as they fought against the Sentinels. The collapse of the ceiling had helped the giant robots to play the classic "divide and conquer" game as the team had been forced apart from each other and the Sentinels had managed to capture most of them one by one.
The professor knew that he couldn't help the team at that moment and instead concentrated on getting to the Master Mold as quickly as he could. Along the way he passed Lightning and Padfoot who had gotten separated from the others and were heading down a hall in the same direction he was. Happy that they at least seemed safe for the time being the professor pushed on to his destination and soon entered the central chamber where the Master Mold was presiding over the fortress from its big chair. The professor took a moment to stare at the giant robot / computer. He was impressed and a bit awed by its existence but he didn't let that stop him for long.
"I've got to probe the mechanical brain of the Master Mold himself – no matter what the cost" the professor said to himself as he began to do exactly that, "just as I thought. A vast complex of electronic circuitry."
Unfortunately for the professor the Master Mold was able to sense his scan. It didn't have such a huge brain for nothing and it was able to use the power of its brain to strike back at the professor with a mental blast that not even Xavier could stand up to without taking damage. The professor was forced to retreat from the Master Mold's onslaught before he could be harmed so much that he would be unable to rejoin his body. As it was the professor's astral form was weakened enough that he almost didn't make it back to his body at all. Fortunately he was able to escape from the Master Mold's counterattack before that could happen and he did get back to his body which his astral self settled back into with a sigh.
"Made it" he said as his body woke up.
"Brother what happened?" asked Juggernaut from beside him, "you look like you've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson."
"I met the force running everything" said Xavier with a tired sigh, "and it nearly finished me. I'm going to have to rest before I can do anything else."
"You do that" said his brother, "I'll watch over you."
"Thank you Cain" said the professor with a yawn as his eyes closed, "I appreciate that."
The professor fell into a deep sleep which he would obviously not wake up from for quite a while. Juggernaut looked around at the late afternoon day that was beginning to give way to early evening and began moving the professor's chair away from the fortress. He took the chair toward where he had left his van figuring he would have an easier time guarding the professor from there than here.
"I hope you X-Men can hold out for a while" Juggernaut muttered to himself, "because until my brother wakes up you're on your own."
Lightning and Padfoot ducked out of the way into a side hallway as the ceiling above them came down and filled the main hallway where they had just been. When everything finally settled Lightning saw that the way back to the rest of the team was completely blocked.
"I better get this rubble cleared out right away and rejoin the team" he said to Padfoot who barked in an approving manner before turning human again.
"Two will make the job go faster" said Mage as he pulled out his wand and began vanishing rubble while Lightning lifted more of it out of the way with his telekinesis. It took several minutes but they finally cleared out enough of the rubble to be able to get back to where the rest of the team was –
– only to find that the rest of the team was gone and there was quite a lot of damage to the area which showed that the fight had continued for at least some time after Lightning and Mage had gotten separated from the others.
"Where are they?" asked Lightning, "do you think they were captured?"
"Very likely" said Mage, "hopefully they haven't been harmed beyond that. We need to find them as quickly as possible."
"Right" said Lightning thinking for a moment how much easier it would be to do that if he had telepathic powers like Jean and the professor before he pointed down the main hall, "let's go that way. That seems like the most likely direction they would have been taken."
"I'll see if I can track them" said Mage. He turned back into Padfoot and put his nose to the ground to try to pick up the scents of any of the other X-Men. After a few seconds he gave off a "woof" and gestured with his snout for them to continue down the hall.
"You have them?" Lightning asked Padfoot who nodded his head.
"Then let's go" added Lightning and the two of them quickly headed down the hall. It was around this time that the professor's astral self passed them but they were completely unaware of that.
"I hope the others are safe" said Lightning a little bit later, "if only we hadn't gotten separated from them." Padfoot let off another "woof" in agreement before Lightning raised a hand and signaled for him to be quiet. The dog animagus didn't have to ask why. They were coming to the end of the hallway and it opened up into another chamber up ahead. The two of the proceeded toward the room with caution and it was a good thing too although that still didn't really prepare them for what they saw when they reached the room.
It was an enormous room and it had to be to house its occupant. Lightning and Padfoot both stared with some awe as they looked at the largest Sentinel either of them had ever seen. It was several times as big as any of the other Sentinels and it was sitting in an enormous chair rather like a king sitting on a throne and staring at them with an expressionless face although it didn't acknowledge their presence.
"Is that the Master Mold?" Lightning said out loud. He didn't expect an answer but he got one anyway.
"Yes mutant, it is" said voice on his right side. Both Lightning and Padfoot turned to see, not another Sentinel, but a human standing there. He was a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat. Both Lightning and Padfoot recognized him at once.
"Bolivar Trask" said Lightning. It wasn't a question.
"That is my name" said Trask inclining his head, "and I recognize you too. You're one of those infernal X-Men. You shouldn't be here."
"Probably not" agreed Lightning, "but we are anyway. Why are you doing this Dr. Trask? Mutants aren't the threat you think they are. You're only going to make things worse by persecuting us like this as you may well give mutants more reasons to hate humans. Have you never heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?"
"I believe in pre-emptive action" said Trask, "better to stop the problem before it actually becomes one."
"It wasn't a problem" said Lightning, "and it was even less of one with the magicals. They've been hiding from normal people for centuries. They weren't about to come out into the open and do anything to you."
"Oh no?" responded Trask, "what about Voldemort? I know you and your team fought him."
"How could you know that?" asked Lightning, "that happened in the magical – you have connections to the magical world. Are you a wizard?"
"No" said Trask, "I'm a squib."
"That explains a lot" said Lightning as he finally got confirmation of what the team had theorized about Trask back on Halloween, "you're pissed you don't have magic so you're going to revenge yourself on everyone who does and us mutants are just getting swept up in what you're doing. Wow, that's pathetic."
"You dare – " began Trask but Lightning cut him off.
"Yes, I dare" said Lightning, "you're not really afraid that mutants and magicals will take over the world you just want revenge because you can't be part of their community yourself."
"You know nothing of me!" yelled Trask as he turned a shade of red that wouldn't have looked out of place on Uncle Vernon's face.
"Then why are you so angry?" asked Lightning, "did I touch a nerve?" Privately Lightning wondered if there might be some connection between Dr. Trask and Aunt Petunia considering how similar their feelings towards magic were, even if Petunia hadn't ever tried to take over the world to get some kind of crazy revenge.
"Enough, creator" said the Master Mold, finally deigning to speak to the two humans, "calm yourself. He can do nothing to you."
"Oh really?" said Lightning. He struck out at Trask with his telekinesis and lifted him up into the air.
"Hey!" yelled Trask, "put me down!"
"I don't think so" said Lightning who flew up next to Trask and hovered in the air next to him before speaking to the Master Mold, "my dog and I are leaving now and I'm taking your creator with me. He has an appointment with the law."
"You'll do nothing of the sort" said the Master Mold who must have sent out a signal of some kind because several Sentinels appeared in the room from the other doorways. Most of them took to the air and began attacking Lightning while the last one went after Padfoot.
Lightning struck at the Sentinels with both telekinesis and electricity and managed to take out of two of them but there were too many for him to handle alone while also keeping Trask under control. He was soon knocked out and captured while Dr. Trask was caught by one of the Sentinels before he could fall and was soon standing on the floor again.
Padfoot knew he was no match for even one Sentinel in his dog form and tried to escape so he could become human again and attack with his magic. Unfortunately the Sentinel caught him before he could even leave the large room and put him down for the count too.
"What should we do with these two?" one of the Sentinels asked the Master Mold once both Lightning and Padfoot were unconscious.
"The mutant human made it all the way here to me" was the reply, "that makes him especially dangerous. Put him in the top security cell until further notice."
"That cell is occupied by the feral" said Trask.
"Then he will have a cell mate" said the Master Mold.
"As you will" said Trask as he turned to leave, "I must return to my work." He exited the room and left the Sentinels to deal with Lightning and Padfoot.
"The dog is no threat to us" said the Master Mold as Trask left, "put it outside the fortress. Now take them away."
One of the Sentinels picked up Lightning and slung him over a shoulder before heading out of the room accompanied by a second Sentinel while a third one picked up Padfoot to throw him out of the fortress.
The first two Sentinels walked down several halls before coming to an isolated door at the end of a hallway that had no other doors in it. One of the Sentinels opened the cell while the other shoved Lightning inside after which the door was shut and locked again. The two Sentinels turned around and walked back the way they had come. They were both confident that no one could get out of the cell they had just visited and they had good reason to think that. It was a very special cell designed to be indestructible.
Made of Adamantium.
(To Be Continued)
A/N - That's all for this chapter. I sincerely hope the next chapter doesn't turn out to be nearly as difficult to finish as this one was. We'll see.
Next time Godzilla arrives in New York. I don't think anything more needs to be said than that. I'll see you when it's done. Meanwhile please take a moment to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. Stay safe and well everyone.