The Uncanny X-Men #4

[fan4]

The Uncanny X-Men #4
Sentinel War, Part 1: Production

Written by Thomas
Edited by Aaron Martel

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, 14:00

The quiet of the afternoon was interrupted as a helicopter positioned itself over the secret military base. Two men approached the chopper as it landed on the main deck. They watched as the door opened to reveal President Graydon Creed. Creed glanced at one of the men, an older man in a suit.

“Trask.” He nodded to him.

He turned to the man wearing military garb and an eye patch. “Fury.”

The two men nodded back and the three together strolled to the interior of the helicarrier.

To break the silence Creed turned to Fury. “How’s the Super Soldier Project going, Fury?” Fury piped up, hearing his name.

“Alright, I guess, Mr. President.” He shrugged. “The boys down in the lab tried to recreate the serum that made Captain America, but the best they got was a mutagen. The test subjects died within minutes of injection, so I’m putting the project on hold.”

They passed a young blond man that Creed could have sworn he’d seen before as they strolled down the long hallway.

“The mutants through here.” Trask escorted Creed to a door. Fury stepped forward and typed in the pass code. The door slid open with a single beep. A group of men dressed in white lab coats turned to the three and saluted. The leader stepped forward. And nodded to them.

“Colonel Fury, Secretary Trask, Mr. President.” He led the three to a corner were a beast lay on a table, tied down by a black metal. It was snarling and breathing heavily. At the sight of the small group it shot up, struggling.

“Too bad, mutie.” Trask mocked. “Those things are a special import from Wakanda. Vibranium. Nearly unbreakable. Why don’t you calm down?” He snapped his fingers. They watched as the mutant convulsed as electricity passed through him. Trask stepped over as the shock stopped. “Now, who are you?” The mutant smiled up at him.

“Sabretooth,” he muttered.

Trask nodded. Another shock. The mutant collapsed, breathing heavily.

“Creed… Victor Creed.” Another shock.

“Funny.” Trask turned from the table. “I don’t have time for this.” He looked over to the two guards. “Keep it up and report to me every hour.”

The three left the room leaving the two guards behind. One of them finally sighed as the door closed. He turned to the other.

“Thought they never leave. I need to go for a smoke. You gonna be okay with this mutie for a while, Jackson?”

Jackson nodded. The other pulled a cigarette out of his pocket as he strolled to the back door. Jackson scoffed as he heard him laugh exiting through the door. He walked over to the retrained mutant. It was mumbling something.

“I know, Victor, It’ll be alright.” He pulled out his ID card and swiped it on the panel beside the table. The restraints popped open. Jackson smiled as he put his hand to his ear.

“Director,” he whispered. “Weapon X2 is free.”

As soon as he turned back to the table, the weapon was gone.

[fan4]

President Graydon Creed entered his helicopter. He was saluted off by Colonel Fury and Bolivar Trask. As soon as he was sure the copter was off the helicarrier and headed for the safety of the ground, he relaxed. A million thoughts raced through his head. Is Trask’s Sentinel project the right way to correct the mutant problem? He said these things are designed to hunt down any mutant by just using a sample of that one’s DNA. On top of that, was the name the mutant gave: Victor Creed. He loosened his tie and opened his shirt. He reached down pulling out a dog tag. It was old and rusted, but the imprint was still clear:

Victor Creed
Weapon X2
Codename: Sabertooth

He remembered the day his mother gave it to him. She said his father was a great man and died in the service, but she didn’t say anything about him being a mutant or being part of the extinct Weapon X program. He set down the dog tag beside him and bent over to pour himself a cup of scotch when he happened to glance out the window. He didn’t recognize any of the area from the flight before.

“Dick?” He opened the door dividing the small cockpit from the cabin. He was greeted by a large man uncomfortably positioned in the pilot’s seat. Next to him sat the mutilated body of his former pilot.

“What the hell!” He fell back into his seat. The man smiled and leaned over into the cabin.

“Took you long enough, Sonny. Your friend here was starting to rot.” He pointed over his shoulder to Dick’s lifeless body. Graydon sat up in his seat, reaching for his hidden gun. “Thought we’d have a family chat.”

Without a moment’s hesitation Graydon pulled his gun and fired the whole round.

“Die, mutie!” He felt his adrenaline rush as he stared blankly at the mutant. Bullet holes riddled his chest, but he was still standing.

“They didn’t tell you about me?” he asked as the holes in his chest closed up and the bullets fell to the ground. “I heal.” He leaned in closer. “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Why didn’t they tell me my daddy was a mutant?’ and ‘If this gets out, I’m ruined in the next election.’” He smiled. “But don’t worry, the only people who know you’re my baby are you and me. I won’t tell… well, at a price.”

Graydon swallowed. “Name it.”

“My dog tag.” He reached at Graydon. The president moved out of the mutant’s way as he snatched the dog tag. He raised it to his nose and sniffed it. “Cologne and sweat.”

Graydon felt turbulence as the mutant crawled back in the cabin. As his claw gripped the door, he scraped his other hand over Graydon’s cheek, drawing blood.

“A little something to remember me by.” He laughed as he tore open the exit door. “Hope you can fly this thing, ‘cause I’d like to see you at the next family reunion.”

He jumped out of the helicopter, slamming into the water below. Graydon quickly ran to the cockpit and gripped the controls, steadying the craft.

[fan4]

The present

The lights blazed upon the President of the United States. He took a deep breath as he watched the cameraman in front of him count down on his fingers. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1. He pointed at the president as the light on top of the camera glowed red.

“My fellow Americans,” he started his speech. “I’m here to inform you of our stance on the so called ‘mutant menace’.”

[fan4]

The past

Bolivar Trask, the Secretary of Defense, stood in front of a conference room filled with men. He fixed his collar and cleared his throat.

“Privates, generals, gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the Sentinel Mach 1.”

He pressed the button on the remote in his hand. The screen behind him began to glow. Schematics flashed on the screen, replaced with a rotating picture of a hulking robot. Despite the flesh tone of its face, the rest of it was covered in purple and pink. Its glowing eyes seemed to stare at everyone in the room.

[fan4]

The present

“Within the last couple of years, we have been plagued by mutant attacks,” the president continued his speech, “Whether it is from gang fights, or police shootouts. But now, hopefully, we can put an end to that. The Secretary of Defense, Dr. Bolivar Trask, has developed a way to track potentially dangerous mutants. Because of this I’m administrating a Mutant Registration Act. Let this be a plea to any mutant who doesn’t wish to cause any problems: register. Any mutant who refuses to register will be hunted down and placed in a correctional facility. Thank you.” The president wiped his brow as the cameras turned off.

[fan4]

The Past

“The first units will be sent to Genosha, a known mutant stronghold off the coast of Madagascar, and New York.” Bolivar Trask continued.

“Why New York?” someone piped up. Trask pressed the button again, this time revealing blurred pictures of men and women in colorful costumes.

“Two words: super heroes. Take the vigilante Spider-Man, for example. There’s a good possibility that he’s a mutant. The Fantastic Four, the rumored Iron Fist, and even sightings of a ‘devil’ in Hell’s Kitchen, all possible mutants. With the Sentinels, we can stop these so-called ‘heroes’ before they turn on us. Any questions?”

Trask was answered by silence.

“Thank you, gentlemen.” He quickly picked up his papers and exited the hall. He took out his cell phone and activated the speed dial. “Send ‘em out.”

[fan4]

The Present

The castle of scrap metal stood, unmoved by the wind. Inside the castle sat a man in a meditative state. He opened his glazed-over eyes as a swirl of colors appeared beside him. It radiated and morphed into a portal. A man dressed in a cloak and helmet emerged from the portal and turned to the meditating man.

“Thank you, Gateway.” He turned away. “Quicksilver, status report,” he shouted into the air.

A silver blur rushed past him and stopped. A young man with white hair appeared where the blur stopped.

“The Sentinels are arriving, Lord Magneto,” he reported.

“Inform the army to prepare,” Magneto ordered as Quicksilver sped off. “They will pay for invading my country, the monkeys.”

Suddenly, a humongous robot clad in purple and pink smashed through the wall.

“Surrender, mutant, or be terminated,” it ordered in a metallic monotone voice.

“How about neither?” Magneto asked, raising his hand and binding the robot. He clenched his fist, crushing the machine. After throwing the Sentinel aside like a worthless toy, he stepped to the hole it made in the wall and raised his fist.

“Genoshans, fight for your country!” he shouted, rallying the hundreds of mutants below him.

[fan4]

The X-Men exited the local theater dressed in their street clothes.

“Waste of money,” Logan said, lighting his cigar.

“You kidding?” Scott asked, with Jean clutched on his arm.

“Hugh Jackman can’t act,” Logan snapped back.

“You are kidding! He was the best part of the movie!” Kitty piped up. “Right, Kurt?” She turned to their blue furred teammate, covered in clothing.

“I was a little hard to focus on the movie when I was sweating under all these clothes and fur,” he responded. Jean chuckled.

“Logan, I read your thoughts, you…” She was interrupted when a group of robots appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“Surrender mutants, or be terminated,” one commanded.

“This is what I call a night on the town,” Logan smiled. “Tin Man,” Snikt! “Launch me.”

Peter nodded as his flesh was replaced by cold steel. He cradled Logan in his arm. Logan crouched, waiting for it. With great force Peter launched Logan at the nearest robot. On impact Logan sank his claws in its chest and began tearing at it. Another robot raised its arm.

“Resistance. Proceed with termination.” A beam shot out of its palm, hurtling towards the group. They dispersed as best as they could, but the beam managed to pierce Peter’s side, turning him back to normal.

“Peter!” Ororo cried out.

Scott turned to the two younger members of the team. “Kurt, Kitty!”

Kitty grabbed onto the unclothed Kurt. Bamf! They appeared over one of the robots. They fell, phasing and short circuiting the machine. With two of the machines fallen, the rest of the team began a strike. While the others tried to fend off the robots, Jean tried her best to protect Peter. In what seemed like desperation the robots managed to grab Scott, Kurt, and Bobby. Before the three could react, a jolt of electricity surged through them, knocking them out. Jean, in desperation, called out to the remaining teammates to run. After running for a block or so, they managed to find an escape route. They quickly climbed down, all the while hauling Peter. Logan was the last one down and sealed the entrance behind them.

“Man, it smells.” Kitty held her nose and tried to waft the air.

“Quit complainin’, kid.” Logan said as he turned around and was greeted by the end of a bo staff.

“Who are you?” a voice in the shadows asked.

Continued…