The Uncanny X-Men #6

[Spider-Man Beyond]

The Uncanny X-Men #6
The Sentinel War
Part 3
The Tangled Web

Written by KM Jones (Wonderphoenix)
Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond)

Camp Wide Awake
Richmond, Virginia

Camp Wide Awake was the name of the unmarked three story building nestled at the foot of a mountain about nine miles outside the city limits of Richmond, Virginia. With its paint chipped, wooden frame, drape covered windows, and a roof in desperate need of repair, the building provided cover for what really went on inside. Built in the 1960 by the United States Marines, its original purpose was to house and train black ops agents and did so until the division was annexed by S.H.E.I.L.D. in the late 80's. Its original front, a half-way house for former war veterans, served its purpose to explain the presence of the military as well deterring unexpected and unwanted guests - with the exception of the occasional thrill seeking teenagers over the years.

The building remained unoccupied for much of the 90's but remained the property of the United States government. Then, in the winter of 2001, a covert military operation resumed operations and two bunkers with state-of-the-art Stark Enterprises tech were built below ground. An up-and-coming inventor by the name of Bolivar Trask placed in charge.

Trask, the widowed father of two sons Larry and Laurence, attended MIT and worked briefly with the son of industrialist Howard Stark before a disagreement in philosophies sent them in different directions. During his early career, Trask made key contacts and later used his influence in Washington to help fund and elect Graydon Creed, a relatively unknown Senator from Oregon, to the Presidency. This, in return, ultimately placed Creed in his back pocket – or so he believed. However, after his last meeting with the President - a meeting where he had seen a side of Creed previously unknown to him - Bolivar Trask was anything but pleased.

Trask arrived in the early morning hours via helicopter and proceeded through the side door. He picked up a small flashlight lying on the floor just inside and walked slowly to the back of the room. A large metal cabinet stood in the corner. Trask reached in his pocket, produced a key and unlocked it to reveal a hand recognition device. Trask rested his hand within the outline and, after a few seconds of scanning, a portion of the back wall slid away to reveal an elevator. Trask rode down to Bunker Two. The elevator opened. He stepped out and was quickly greeted by the production manager.

“Glad to have you back, Sir,” the manager said as he began to walk with Trask. “How did your meeting with the President go? What was his response to the news?”

“How the hell do you think it went?” Trask muttered as he continued to walk, barely acknowledging the man. “I was lucky that I was even allowed back here after that fiasco with Magneto.” He turned. “I want answers, Mr. Green.”

Trask began to walk again only to stop at the end of the hall to begin looking at the dozens of men and women working on the Sentinels below. “I want to know why the Sentinels were so easily defeated by Magneto but weren’t by the X-Men.”

“Mr. Trask,” Green timidly began, “don’t forget that Magneto controls metal. We always knew that there was a risk that he would be able to bypass any security we setup within the robots.”

“Don’t take me for an idiot, Green,” Trask replied as he continued to observe. He turned to the portly man and noticed the sweat beading upon his brow. “Something went wrong. That was obvious and I specifically warned Creed that we faced that possibility.” He shook his head and took a breath. “I just don’t understand his reaction and I didn’t expect this nor did I expect to be spoken to the way I was.” Trask restored his resolve. “Creed needs to remember that he is where he is today because of me.”

Mr. Green followed along behind Trask. “Well, at least we were able to capture three of the outlawed X-Men.”

“Yes,” Trask smiled, “that is one consolation. How goes the interrogation?”

“We are analyzing the visor worn by the older one, who will only give us a name of Cyclops, and plan to incorporate any findings into our programming sequence. We believe that the visor is made of refined ruby quartz that somehow acts as a deterrent to his mutant eye blasts,” Mr. Green proudly boasted of his findings.

“What about the demon and the cold boy?” Trask asked. “What have you found from them?”

Mr. Green hesitated.

“Well, tell me.”

“Uh, well,” Mr. Green slowly responded, “we haven’t actually started interrogating them.”

“And why not?” Trask demanded.

“They are children, Mr. Trask.” Mr. Green looked at the floor, to the production line down below, and back to Trask. “The boy with the cold power couldn’t be any more than fourteen and the demon boy, as best I can tell, is most likely around sixteen or seventeen.” He tried to compensate by saying, “We have them in holding with power dampening collars.”

Trask stared down at the man in front of him. There was a tense moment of silence before Trask began. “I assume that you are telling me that you see these mutants as human children?”

Mr. Green slowly nodded in agreement.

“Green, you have a job to do for me, yourself, and your country. These are mutants and they do not have the rights guaranteed to you and me by the Constitution. If I am not mistaken, I do not believe that it reads ‘all men and mutants are created equal’. Mutants are not human, Mr. Green. They are no better than the meat from chicken, cows, and all the other meats you eat from the look of you.” Trask laughed and turned away.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Trask,” Mr. Green weakly stated.

Trask looked back at him and knew that his demoralization of the man was a success.

“It won’t happen again.”

“Rest assured that it does not. I would hate for you to lose your job as I know it helps to pay for your daughter going to Harvard.” Trask smiled. “How is Janet? I trust she is doing well.”

“She is, Mr. Trask,” Mr. Green answered as he turned and began to walk away. “I will see that the interrogation of the other two begins shortly. It won’t happen again, Sir.”

Trask nodded and began to walk to his office.

Mr. Green entered the elevator, pressed the button to take him to Bunker One, and ran his hands through his thinning hair. God forgive me for what I am about to do, he thought. God forgive.

X

[Spider-Man Beyond]

A small cloud hovered over the lush foliage that adorned the attic of the Xavier Institute. Ororo gestured, her radiant catlike blue eyes now completely white, and a fine mist covered flower and plant alike until she heard a knock at the door. The rain stopped.

“Ms. Storm,” the voice said, “are you busy?”

Storm stood and waved the cloud away. “Never too busy for a student, child.” Instead of opening the door, Kitty phased through. “Ah, Kitten, I thought that sounded like you. I am glad to see you as I had planned to stop by your room after I finished up here with my plants.”

Kitty looked at the plants and around the room. “Why don’t you have a room like everyone else, Ms. Storm? I noticed that when they took me on the tour.”

“First, you can call me, Ororo,” She sat on a wicker chair and motioned for Kitty to join her on an adjacent couch. “As for the room, I like space and this attic allows me that, plus the skylight provides the sun’s warmth for my plants.” Ororo smiled at Kitty. “But, I don’t think you came up here to ask about my plants.”

“No,” Kitty replied. “I didn’t.” She paused as if trying to find the right words. “I am just confused, is all. I mean, I hadn’t been here a week and I was sent with you and the others to Washington, DC to fight some bad mutants.”

Ororo listened.

“Don’t get me wrong. That was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done and it was cool and all. I just am worried about Bobby, Kurt, and Scott. Why haven’t we gone to try and rescue them? Isn’t that what being an X-Man is all about?”

Ororo smiled. “I assume you haven’t asked these questions to the Professor?”

“No,” Kitty answered. “To be honest, and please, don’t tell him I said this, but I’m a little scared of him. I guess I just don’t like the idea of him being able to get inside my head.”

“Kitten,” Ororo continued, “the Professor is here to help you learn to use your abilities to their fullest potential. You must not fret as he would not read your thoughts without your permission and neither would Jean. I trust them both with my life, and, being an X-Man, that is something that is instrumental. As for why we haven’t attempted a rescue, we must first find them. Even now, the Professor is searching for them via Cerebro and through other means. Until then, the safest places for all of us is right here.” Ororo stood, walked to her dresser and pressed a button. The skylight opened. “Would you care to join me?”

“What do you mean?” Kitty asked as Ororo took her hand. Kitty felt the wind beneath her feet and then felt it grow stronger to the point where it lifted both off the ground and then through the skylight and into the sky above. “Wow!”

“Amazing, is it not?” Ororo asked.

“Totally!” Kitty replied. “I can’t believe it, I’m flying!”

“When I first came to the Institute,” Ororo explained, “I could fly with the winds but had limited control. With the Professor’s guidance I was able to master that ability to the point of not only flying on my own, but to now be able to carry guests on the winds as well.”

“I feel like I am learning all of this and still trying to get settled. I really miss my Mom and Dad.” Kitty‘s eyes began to tear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to get emotional.”

“There is a lot happening for you, Kitten, and in a very short time at that.” Ororo gestured and the wind dried away the tears. “There must be something special about you for the Professor to have so quickly chosen you for the X-Men. There are students here that have been here several semesters and have not graduated to the team.”

>>Ororo, come join me at Cerebro.<<

“What is it?” Kitty said after noticing Ororo’s distraction.

“Our flight is over,” Ororo replied. “The Professor awaits.” The winds began to change direction and the two X-Men descended back into the attic.

X

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Genosha

“Lord Magneto,” Quicksilver said as he entered the throne room, “I will have the subjects repair the hole in the wall today.” He paced as he spoke. “The subjects go restless and wonder when the attack will begin. Shall I enlist those with fighting abilities and have them ready for your command, my lord?”

“Leave them be,” Magneto replied.

Quicksilver looked puzzled.

“There will be no attack in the sense that you mean.” Magneto smiled. “The first domino has fallen.”

“What do you mean there won’t…” Quicksilver began.

“I apologize, Lord Magneto,” the Scarlet Witch said as she entered the room dressed in her more traditional uniform with her long brown hair falling freely on her shoulders. “Peitro can be impulsive at times.” She bowed. “It is not for us to ask those questions. But, as always, we are at your service.”

“My dear Scarlet Witch,” Magneto smiled a knowing smile, “you’re abilities never cease to amaze me.”

“I thank you, my lord,” she responded.

“What did you do, Sister?” Quicksilver questioned as, in an instant, he stood before her.

“I asked her to use her magic to transform those robots as soon as I became aware of them heading for the island,” Magneto boasted. “Your sister’s hex worked better than I anticipated even over the distance.” He turned to the Blob, sitting at a monitor station. CNN was airing another broadcast of the fight between the X-Men and the other group of Sentinels. He walked over to get a closer look and gestured for the Blob to raise the volume. “I didn’t expect Charles’s students to fare as they did.”

“Looks like the X-Men got their backsides handed to them. Seems like them robots got them a few hostages, too.” The Blob chuckled as he ate from a bag of potato chips. He raised the bag towards Wanda. “Want some?”

“I think not,” Wanda replied and slightly moved her fingers – unnoticed by everyone.

The Blob reached into the bag and felt worms instead of chips. “Awww, hell,” he grimaced. “That’s gross, Witch.”

Magneto turned. “We fought off an attack to our sovereign soil and you now play childish games?!?” He raised his hand and summoned magnetic energy. The monitor’s reception wavered and fixtures in the room began to rattle.

“Forgive me, my lord,” the Scarlet Witch quickly said as she gestured again to restore the chips.

The Blob threw them in the trash.

“I was only trying to lighten the mood.”

Magneto looked at them all. “Get Sabertooth and the Toad. I want you all here with me.”

In a blur, Quicksilver was gone but Magneto continued anyway.

“If the X-Men are to be destroyed, it will be by my hand and mine alone.”

Quicksilver returned.

“You each know the history between Charles and me. Nevertheless, we are all mutants and must, in times like these, stand united.”

“You never answered the arrogant twit. What about our attack on the United States?” the Blob questioned. “Why ain’t we gonna go back?”

“You dolt,” Quicksilver mocked. “Do you not see that our lord has a plan?”

“What you mean?” the Blob again questioned.

Sabertooth and the Toad entered the room. “What he means, fat boy,” Sabertooth said, “is that Magneto never intended to attack the United States, cause we don’t have an army.”

“Enough!” Magneto exclaimed. All fell silent. “Plans, as Shakespeare said, are a tangled web. To attack the United States with an army of one hundred mutants would be a dire mistake. We would then have to deal with retaliation from Reed Richard’s Fantastic Four or other such self-styled ‘heroes’.” Magneto became silent for almost a minute. “There are plans that none of you could possibly comprehend. This war will be fought, but it won’t be the war that each of you believe. Wars are fought in arenas other than battlefields and without a shot of a gun ever being fired. It is but a game of chess.”

“So, you got a plan, huh, boss?” the Toad asked as he bounced back and forth from the ceiling to the wall.

Magneto raised his hand and a magnetic grip caught the Toad in mid jump and threw him to the floor. “You are most irritating.”

The Toad remained seated on the floor.

”But, yes, Toad, I have a plan and what I have set in motion will ultimately secure the survival of all mutants, be it on Genosha or elsewhere!”

To Be Continued...