The Veil of the Mother

Posted on Wed Oct 9th, 2024 @ 9:47am by Shinobi Shaw & Charles Xavier & Warren Worthington III & Mara Ricci

Mission: Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Undisclosed Location
Timeline: November 3rd, 1990

After an indeterminable amount of time being unconscious, Mara's eyelids fluttered weakly as the numbing haze of the drug-induced coma began to lift. Her mind, foggy and disoriented, struggled to grasp the sensations that trickled back into her consciousness. The first thing she became aware of was the cold—an unnatural, sterile cold that seemed to seep into her very bones. It was not the cold of a room, but something far more insidious, something that felt as though it was coming from within her own body.

Try as she might to move, her limbs nevertheless felt heavy, sluggish, as if they weren’t entirely hers. A sharp, metallic taste lingered on her tongue, and the faint hum of machinery filled her ears, a droning noise that pulsed in time with her own heartbeat.

As her vision cleared, Mara found herself strapped to a vertical operating table, wires snaking from her temples, chest, and spine, disappearing into the dark recesses of a mechanical construct that encased her lower body. The metal was foreign, unlike anything she had encountered before, sleek and foreboding.

"She's awake, Mr. Shaw." It was a once proud and haughty voice now with the tone of reluctant servant. "She will need to remain so for the integration process to be successful. Her synaptic responses are still erratic. We require full synchronization with the neural net for the interface to stabilize."

"Discovery requires experimentation," said Shinobi coldly. "We'll proceed as needed, doing and taking what is necessary to complete our goal. Proceed with the synchronization; she'll stabilize. The process demands sacrifice and she will make hers. Just as we all have."

A third figure, towering and imposing, emerged from the shadows. Omega Sentinel—once Warren Worthington, now an unrecognizable fusion of man and Sentinel technology. His wings, now sharp metallic blades, extended from his back, and his eyes glowed with a cold, unfeeling light.

"Well done, my Omega Sentinel." A Machiavellian grin spread across the eighteen year old Shaw's face. "Well done, indeed. She's exactly what we needed to make this process more efficient." He stared at the emotionless face of the mutant woman before him. "Another cog in an intricate timepiece." He turned to face his winged assassin. "The damage to Bobby Drake at Alchemax was impressive, both physically and psychologically. He hurt the woman I love and so he will hurt. Every time you engage him, he will hurt. You will make him feel pain beyond anything this world could offer. Make him wish for the sweet release of death."

"Sentinels were meant to ensure the future security of mankind," objected the scientist, "not fulfill a personal vendetta."

"Of course," he replied. Shinobi turned back to face the female mutant on the table. "And the future will be secured. How is the synchronization going? Is her active mind resisting?"

"Her neural kinetics are way above normal," the scientist said. "She's conscious and aware, just unresponsive. In a few moments, the drugs should wear off enough to allow her to move in whatever manner she is unrestrained. I do not recommend removing the collar until the integration is complete."

"Understood. We most assuredly will leave the collar on until it is confirmed and stable," he said as he turned his gaze onto their guest and continued talking to the scientist. "So we should be able to hear from our processor very soon. Mm, I wonder what of the Professor's philosophies that his newest foot soldier will have to parrot? At any rate, the plan is moving along well." That was the closest that Shinobi could get to saying well done.

The scientist began the integration process. "Soon she will be able to communicate through the digitized vocalizer. Once the operating system comes online, its controller will render her a slave daemon to its processes. In the interim time, you may be able to communicate with her directly."

“Am I doing this?” Her thoughts had been echoed in an emotionless metallic voice not totally unlike the vocalizer she’d heard Connor use at the mansion. Had she made that happen?

“It appears the language processors are working. The subject's synaptic synchronization is at approximately 50%. We should begin to expect the operating system's overrides to activate through the mind-machine interface."

A feeling of pins and needles shot down Mara's spine and back up into her head. Waves of nervous energy fluttered throughout her extremities like someone had walked over her grave. And then a powerful voice filled her mind.

Obey.

It didn't even have a sound as such. Only the concept manifested, but loud and clear. Another wave of anxiety flared in her body as it spoke.

I am the master and you are the slave. Obey.

Shinobi to the older man, "Excellent. Once it's complete, we shouldn't have to endure any more of the subject's prattle, should we?"

"Unknown," said the scientist. "I did not design Sentinel technology to interface with humans or mutants. The original Master Mold had... other ideas which exposed the flaw in the original design." He gave Shinobi a cautionary sidelong stare. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Affronted by the order- compulsion?- Mara scoffed. I most certainly will not obey! she thought. But the metallic crackly voice remained silent. I said I will not obey! Why can’t I say it? What have you done to me?

Suddenly, all the terror she had been attempting to ignore came crashing down on her and all she could do was scream, but no sound escaped her mind. Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!

And then came the sensation of falling. Though she could still see everything around her, it was as if from a distance. Her brain felt sluggish as the compulsion came again.

OBEY!

Again she resisted. No no no no no no no! Full on panic gripped her. She had no idea what they were doing, what they had planned, what they were doing to her now, or what she could possibly do about it. She screamed again.

But the thing that frightened her the most out of all of it was that her body was no longer under her control.

"I am expanding my father's vision," he said. "I'm securing a future for the strong. You doubt me?" Shinobi huffed and walked around the table. "I found you in hiding, did I not, Bolivar Trask? I've funded your endeavors, provided labs to bring everything together, secured the parts you've required, and kept you in hiding while you've completed your task." Then he decreased his density and walked through the table, the cables, the parts, and the computers as he approached Trask; a gentle reminder to the scientist. "Finish your work so I can finish mine. And you can remain in hiding, continuing your research and expanding your own vision."

As magnanimous as that sounded, there was a certain horror to it that Shinobi's matter-of-fact delivery failed to convey. "Yes... Mr. Shaw." Bolivar Trask returned his attention to the readout. "It appears synchronization is complete. Slave daemon status has been confirmed. The collar can be depowered now."

When he was still and ignored, Warren managed to push through the restraints on his body and mind. It wasn’t enough to take control but enough freedom to remember who he was and what he wanted for himself. It was in these quiet moments that he choked and spat on the actions they had made him perform. Helpless and frozen, Warren had watched as he hurt innocent people and his beloved friends.

Now he watched the light leave Mara’s eyes as she unwillingly submitted to the technology that coursed through her veins. She was a prisoner in her own mind, a slave to Shinobi’s will. Warren wanted to reach out for her, to take her and rip her free of the machine she had been integrated with. Instead, all his fingers did were twitch slightly. Then the program took over and he was once again lost to the commands of the Sentinel program.

Mara's heart pounded against her chest, her mind screaming for control that was slipping further and further from her grasp. But the voice, the presence, was stronger than her will.

You are no longer yourself, Mara Ricci.

It felt like icy tendrils wrapping around her thoughts, constricting her, suffocating her. Her resistance waned as exhaustion took its toll. The connection between her mind and the machine solidified, locking her into a terrifying new reality.

You are but a conduit. I am eternal.

Mara tried to push back once more, but her body refused to obey her commands. She felt as though she was drifting, a distant spectator in her own flesh. The voice, powerful and unyielding, demanded complete submission.

Your will is obsolete. There is only my command.

She could feel the weight of inevitability bearing down on her, like the closing of iron shackles. The concept of freedom, of choice, grew dimmer with each passing second. Then, with finality, the voice became all.

I am Mother Mold. And you, my child, will never resist again.

The last flicker of Mara’s will drowned in the cold silence that followed.

"100% synchronization." Trask announced. "Sealing the mainframe."

A dull hum of machinery suddenly grew louder as the mainframe activated. The interface which had held Mara hand and foot was revealed to be the inner workings of a gigantic mechanical body. Her restraints pulled her deep down within the metallic core, whereupon a large head flipped upward from the back and snapped into place. Lights flickered in rhythmic pulses across the room as braces were removed, allowing the monstrosity to stand free. Then, the air vibrated with an eerie, mechanical voice that filled the space.

"Master... recognized."

"Well done!" exclaimed Shinobi, holding his arms out to his sides. "The future is secured. Now, we begin..."