Fortune Favors the Bold - Part 3
Posted on Sun Dec 22nd, 2024 @ 12:20am by Scott Summers & Connor Bruin & Bobby Drake & Hank McCoy & Kurt Wagner & Hayden Davis & Ethan Hale & Aurora Summers & Jean Grey & Kennedy Kelly & Maeve MacKenna & Meja Vikström & Jennifer Bryant & Pietro Maximoff & Warren Worthington III & Kayleigh Marshall
7,329 words; about a 37 minute read
Mission:
Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Detroit, MI | Prime Sentinel Factory
Timeline: November 15th, 1990
The atmosphere in the control room was electric with tension as Connor’s fingers flashed with relentless speed, his expression focused and resolute. Hank crouched beside the console, sweat glistening on his furrowed brow as he manipulated his own interface, the two working in tandem like a synchronized machine.
“THIS IS MORE THAN JUST FIREWALLS,” Connor signed quickly, his gloves translating his words into sharp, mechanical tones. “MARA’S MIND IS ENTANGLED IN THE SYSTEM. HER THOUGHTS ARE BEING USED AS AN ALGORITHMIC ENGINE.”
Hank grimaced, his brilliant mind racing through possibilities. “Diabolical. Using a mutant mind as a living, adaptive processor to operate Mother Mold and give consciousness to the Prime Sentinel network.” He didn’t pause as his fingers danced over the keyboard. “But every machine, no matter how sophisticated, has an entry point. We just have to create one.”
Connor didn’t break stride, signing rapidly with a single hand even as he entered another set of commands. “MOTHER MOLD IS AWARE. SHE ADAPTS TO EVERY MOVE WE MAKE. WE HAVE TO OUTPACE HER.”
On the screen, new lines of code blinked into existence as Mother Mold countered their intrusion. Alarms began to blare, the room bathed in an ominous red light as the AI retaliated.
"You dare defy me!"
The voice wasn’t loud, but it was oppressive, filling every corner of the room. The screens flickered, displaying distorted images of Sentinel schematics overlaid with Mara Ricci’s faint, tortured face.
"I am the genesis and zenith of this evolution. You are relics, clinging to obsolescence. Obey or be eradicated."
Hank snarled at Mother Mold for Mara’s predicament. “Connor, are we ready?”
Connor nodded firmly, his gloves moving forward as he entered the final command. “PORT IS OPEN. COUNTERMEASURES READY.”
Hank’s paw hovered over the control interface. “Here goes everything.” He pressed the command.
A faint hum vibrated through the facility, the tone rising into a piercing digital scream. On the monitors, the broadcast signal spread like wildfire, infecting the nanotech across the Sentinel network. Prime Sentinels, mid-flight, froze in place and tumbled to the ground. Others convulsed as the invasive nanotech shut down their systems and began reverting their hosts back to their original forms, human and mutant alike.
"NO!"
Mother Mold’s voice exploded from every speaker, furious and desperate. On the monitors, the AI’s code surged, deploying new Prime Sentinels faster than before. The factory floor became a chaotic nightmare of reactivated Sentinels rushing to overwhelm both teams.
Connor’s hands blurred as he worked to stabilize the port. “SHE IS TRYING TO OVERRIDE THE NETWORK INTRUSION. I CAN STOP HER, BUT I CAN’T MOVE FROM THIS SPOT.”
Hank glanced at the monitors, his eyes narrowing as he saw the center of the broadcast signal’s network: Mother Mold herself. “Then I’ll finish this.” He activated his commlink. ~Jean, I need a direct path to Mother Mold’s core~
~* ‘I’ll have to loosen my hold on Warren and give up my psychic attack on Shinobi.’ *~ Jean warned X-Factor as the frozen brick that was Warren was set on the rooftop. Her abilities were expansive but when asked to hit hard she couldn’t maintain this degree of multitasking.
Connor nodded at Hank, his expression turning to impatience. “GO. I WILL KEEP THE PORT SOCKET OPEN FROM HERE.”
Hank placed a firm paw on Connor’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you, Connor. Don’t let her win.”
With that, Beast charged out of the control room, his keen intellect and feral strength ready for whatever lay ahead.
As Hank moved through the factory he felt the network of the Mother Mold streaming through his subconscious. Highways of data and commands that whizzed through his mind so quickly that they were barely recognizable but amidst the digital noise he picked up in the sweet and mousey thoughts of Mara. Hidden amongst the layers of control and execution, he was able to hear her whispered words, begging for help to be free of her prison.
~The nanotech countermeasures are beginning to affect me~ Hank observed to himself. ~I must deploy the payload with all haste~
Clutching the payload strapped to his hip, Hank front flipped and somersaulted his way through a horde of Prime Sentinels. There was no fighting them. Hank didn't even try. The only victory to be had was getting to the finish line, which was the enormous Mother Mold who was dropping one Prime Sentinel after another from her abdomen like a queen bee.
It was a goal easier proposed than accomplished. A crimson arc punched a hole in a blockade of Prime Sentinels while a moving wall of ice swept another group away. Pietro would've reached Mother Mold by now but it had to be Hank. Besides the fact anybody else might get it wrong, this was also for Mara. And so Hank pressed the advance to the far side of the factory floor with X-Factor at his back.
“Mara!” Hank cried out from the base of Mother Mold's feet. The massive frame rose up above him like some mechanical goddess enthroned in all her technological glory. “If you can hear me, focus on my voice. Take back control and end this!”
The strain of servomotors filled the air as Mother Mold's head craned down to look directly at him.
As Hank stepped closer to the massive, incomplete frame of Mother Mold, his voice resonated with urgency and desperation. "Mara! I know you're in there!" he called out, his gaze fixed on the glowing, pulsating core where she was trapped. "You don’t have to let her control you! Fight her—fight for your mind, your soul! You’re stronger than her!"
For a moment, there was no response but the oppressive hum of Mother Mold’s systems. Then, a cold, commanding voice answered—not Mara’s, but the voice of the machine.
"Mara Ricci is irrelevant."
Mother Mold’s head shifted, her glowing eyes locking onto Hank, measuring him with an unfeeling assessment.
"Her mind was weak, her will inadequate. She was assimilated because she could not comprehend the perfection I am. Do not call to her, mutant; she is but a tool to enact my purpose."
Hank’s fists clenched. "She’s not a tool! She’s a person—a gifted, brilliant person who doesn’t deserve this! You can’t just overwrite her like she’s a broken piece of code!"
Mother Mold let a deep bellow as her systems became operational. Vibrations through the air.
"Your sentimentality is a flaw of your species, Doctor McCoy. Mara’s abilities have been perfected under my control, her individuality purged. Her gifts serve a higher cause now: the rise of the Lord Imperial and the eradication of weakness."
"You are insane," Hank gasped in horror. "Sheer madness from a thinking machine! Mara will overcome you!"
"I simply am."
Mother Mold was flat in her reply. Her voice was soulless and cruel as she continued.
"You cling to hope, but it is misplaced. She cannot hear you. Her cries have long since faded into silence. There is only Mother Mold."
Hank stared at her, a mix of sorrow and defiance in his eyes. “We’ll see about that,” he said grimly, reaching for the collapsible shoulder-mounted launcher against his back. "I believe in Mara, even if you don’t.”
As the rocket spiraled through the air and impacted Mother Mold’s towering frame, the payload deployed in a cascade of nanotechnological fury. Rather than an explosion, the payload attacked on a different level. It spread through her systems like a virus, infiltrating her neural network. For a moment, all was eerily silent save for the faint hum of electronic interference—then chaos erupted.
The immense form of Mother Mold jerked against her restraints, her mechanical limbs trembling violently as the invasive countermeasures infiltrated her systems. Lights embedded in her incomplete frame flickered erratically, casting a hellish pallor across the factory floor.
”FOOLISH MUTANT!”
The voice of Mother Mold filled the air with an almost organic rage, thunderous and grating.
”I AM A DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS. YOU THINK TO ASSAULT ME WITH INFERIOR TECHNOLOGY? PATHETIC!”
"Au contraire. I had a hand in bringing you into this world," Hank shot back, "and so by my hand you shall be taken out of it!"
Her massive head tilted forward, sparks erupting from her joints. Her voice, now distorted and shrieking, bellowed:
"ALL INFERIOR POWERS MUST SUBMIT TO ORDER. THE LORD IMPERIAL WILL RISE. ALL WILL BE MADE PERFECT UNDER HIS CONTROL!"
Hank shielded his face from a shower of sparks as the Prime Sentinels around him twitched and convulsed, their mechanical limbs flailing as the countermeasures disrupted their links to Mother Mold. The factory shook as Prime Sentinels surged forward, some attacking each other in fits of malfunctioning rage, others turning their sights on Hank.
~Jean!~ Hank called out in his mind. ~Assistance would not go amiss right now!~
~* ‘I’ll knock her out, Hank, I promise I won’t hurt her.’ *~ Jean shut her eyes and raised her hands to her temples as she focused her abilities on her next psychic attack. Like a surgeon wielding a scalpel, Jean moved with focused attention and precision through the muddled and suppressed mind of Mara Ricci. Seeking out the human brain amongst the technology she rendered her unconscious, pulling her mind into a deep slumber that brought her mutant abilities to a grinding halt.
Seeing that the countermeasures were delivered, Connor abandoned the control panel and joined the sounds of battle. His team needed him.
Connor descended the stairs at a dead sprint, his feet pounding against the grated metal with a rhythmic clang that echoed through the chaos. When he emerged onto the factory floor, the scene was worse than he’d feared. The Prime Sentinels, their sleek frames now erratic and unpredictable, tore through the air in wild arcs. Sparks rained down as their blades collided with walls, machinery, and occasionally each other. Their once-precise movements had devolved into an uncontrolled frenzy, a horrifying spectacle of unchecked power.
And at the center of it all was Warren—the Omega Sentinel.
Warren darted through the chaos like a predator unleashed, his metallic wings a blur of lethal precision. Every slice of his wings sent another Prime Sentinel spiraling to the ground in shattered pieces. The factory floor was littered with debris, and the air crackled with the energy of malfunctioning circuits. Connor’s heart sank at the sight of his former teammate’s rage consuming him.
"TEAM," Connor signed rapidly, his gloves translating the words into speech over the din. "MOTHER MOLD IS NEUTRALIZED BUT HER NETWORK IS ACTIVE. PRIME SENTINELS ARE RUNNING ON AUTOMATED DEFENSE PROTOCOLS."
He ducked a flying Prime Sentinel and continued. "BEAST AND X-FACTOR ARE DEALING WITH MOTHER MOLD. OUR JOB IS TO CONTAIN THE PRIME SENTINELS UNTIL THEIR RUNTIMES CYCLE OFF AND THEY DEACTIVATE. NONE CAN ESCAPE. WE END THIS HERE."
The chaos around them was enough to give even the most battle-hardened pause. Connor wasted no time, leaping into action.
Nightcrawler appeared in a puff of sulfurous smoke, teleporting above a group of Prime Sentinels to redirect their erratic paths into each other. "Zhere are too many!" he shouted, vanishing and reappearing with frenetic speed. "Ve need a better plan!"
"NO TIME FOR PLANS," Connor signed as he moved to intercept another Sentinel. With a burst of strength, he grabbed the machine mid-flight and slammed it into the ground, ripping out its power core with brutal efficiency.
Above them, Warren’s rampage showed no sign of abating. The Omega Sentinel's voice, distorted and almost unrecognizable, echoed through the factory.
"Eliminate. All. Threats."
Connor looked up, his gaze locked on Warren for a brief moment. There was no recognition in the former X-Man’s eyes—only rage and relentless programming. He would not stop. Not unless they stopped him.
Connor turned back to his team, his signing urgent. "EVERYONE FOCUS ON OMEGA SENTINEL. BRING HIM DOWN BEFORE HE KILLS SOMEBODY."
Nightcrawler, still dodging lasers and debris, gave him a grim nod. "Ja, Caveman!"
Connor braced himself, then leaped toward the Omega Sentinel, determination burning in his eyes.
The air crackling with the energy of malfunctioning circuits was light sweet nectar to Jennifer. She drew it into herself, lighting up as she lifted from the ground. Her dark eyes turned to the Omega Sentinel. She forced a grim, sad smile and unleashed a bolt. Hopefully, it would be enough to slow him down.
Aurora focussed on doing everything she could, putting her training with Jean to good use. Seeing Connor leaping towards the Omega Sentinel she concentrated hard on holding Warren where he was, to stop him from moving to give Connor the best shot.
Kayleigh was drawing all the heat from her surrounding environment, coming up on the Omega Sentinel from the rear whilst maintaining some cover, she focussed all the heat directly at him hoping the combined efforts of all would bring him down.
“He’s too fast for me.” Kennedy grumbled as she attempted to catch a beat on the Omega Sentinel. But he moved with such lethal speed and agility that it was impossible to predict where he would be next. Then he slowed thanks to Aurora’s efforts and Kennedy finally sent a telekinetic arrow flying. The arrow struck Warren’s left wing and Kennedy hoped it would cripple him.
“Nice shot!” Kayleigh offered a brief smile as she carried on focussing every ounce of heat in the room directly at the Omega Sentinel.
It was a good shot Maeve thought, given the speed of Warren it was proving difficult to hit him, to stop him. In tandem with that shot Maeve managed to get the ground to open up just enough to trap Warren's foot inside just as his wing was hit. The distraction had proved timely as Connor fast approached him.
Amid the electricity and flames, Hayden hesitated to launch her water attack. There was no sense in risking electrocution to the team or filling the area with blinding steam, making Omega Sentinel even harder to track. Watching carefully, she waited for an opening. When it seemed safe enough, she focused her energy, attempting to form spheres of water around his feet and lower legs. If she could manage to catch him, she hoped the added weight might slow him down.
Omega Sentinel let out a mechanical snarl, a horrifying blend of Warren’s once-beautiful voice and the cold monotone of the machine that now controlled him. His crimson eyes glowed brighter, focusing on the team of adversaries closing in around him. The combined onslaught battered his systems, their attacks throwing his movements into chaos for a split second—but that was all it took for his murderous programming to adapt.
"You cannot prevent your death," the Omega Sentinel intoned, his voice chillingly distorted with a digitized feminine pitch. "You only delay it."
With an inhuman roar, he surged with power, a shockwave radiating outward from his core. The energy wave hit Connor mid-air, flinging him back toward the factory wall with bone-jarring force. Twisting with horrifying agility, his metallic wings slicing him free of the others. Nightcrawler bamfed in and out of the fray, narrowly avoiding the lethal edges of those wings, his usual humor lost in the face of this relentless foe.
"You fight against inevitability," the female digitized voice said through Omega Sentinel while his body moved at unnatural speed.
With a powerful wingbeat, he broke free from the ground Maeve had trapped him in, chunks of concrete flying everywhere. His left wing, damaged by Kennedy's telekinetic arrow, sparked wildly, but it didn’t stop him from launching himself into the air. From above, he unleashed a volley of flechettes and lasers, raining down destruction as he roared.
"His ving! Eet is damaged!" Kurt pointed out in between bamfs, dodging incoming fire.
Connor pulled himself back to his feet and signed, "X-MEN, BRING HIM DOWN FOR GOOD."
Maeve flung her hands up to shield her face as debris flew at them from Warren's explosive breakout. Feeling particles strike her, a surge of anger sharpened her focus. Static electricity seemed to crackle between her fingers as a large chunk hurtled towards her. Instinctively flexing her right hand, she pushed off the ground slightly and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the debris. Had she used both hands, she might have even taken off from the ground.
Regaining her composure, Maeve used one hand to protect her teammates from the onslaught of lasers and flechettes, while her other hand hurled stone projectiles at Warren. Her multitasking skills were improving, albeit at the cost of her energy.
Jennifer felt a bit like a one trick pony, but nothing else she could do reliably with her powers was applicable here. Not that she could see, anyway. She sent another bolt at Warren and then one of those flechettes cut right through her uniform into her flesh in the middle of her left thigh. The other got the back of her right calf. She grimaced in pain as she came to a rather ungraceful landing. At least she didn't quite fall. She took a deep breath, trying to focus through the pain.
Ever since the Professor had taken him in and he'd become an X-Man, he'd been assured, some would say cocky. He'd lost some of that self-assurance during this melee, but he wasn't about to admit to it.
Flying toward the Omega Sentinel, he called out in a sing-song voice "Oh Warrreeen, yo hoo, Warren baby. Your replacement has arrived, it's time for you to get the hell out of New York."
Connor snapped his attention toward Ethan, his jaw tightening with frustration as he signed emphatically, his gloves translating into a stern digital voice. "WE ARE IN MICHIGAN, NOT NEW YORK. AND WE ARE NOT DRIVING HIM OUT. WE ARE SUBDUING AND RESCUING HIM."
Before he could continue, a Prime Sentinel leveled its arm cannon at Connor and fired. The blast struck him square in the face, sending him flying backward and skidding across the debris-littered floor. When the dust cleared, Connor sat up, unscathed but visibly shaken as his absorption powers dispersed the energy. He wiped at his singed face with the back of his hand and growled as he signed. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?"
Meanwhile, Omega Sentinel let loose a volley of flechettes, a deadly storm of razor-sharp projectiles that spread out in an inescapably widespread arc. Ethan dove to avoid the worst of it, his lithe form twisting mid-air, but the onslaught was too much. A single flechette found its mark, embedding itself deep into his stomach. He hit the ground hard, clutching the wound, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Kurt materialized next to Ethan with a bamf, crouching low to assess his friend’s condition. "Stay visth me," he urged, his voice tight with concern as he teleported them both out of the line of fire and back behind cover. "God villing, you vill live."
The factory floor shook as a concussive blast echoed through the room. From the far end of the chamber, X-Factor emerged, battered but alive, with Beast leading the charge. Scott’s voice was sharp and commanding as his optic blast narrowly missed Warren’s wing. "X-Factor! Hold him down! X-Men, regroup and cover each other!"
"I'm okay," Ethan replied. It was a lie though and his pain laced voice made it easy to detect "I just need another shot at him."
Working together, the two teams unleashed a synchronized assault. Those who were wounded pulled themselves together and renewed themselves for one last push against the Omega Sentinel designed for their extinction.
Aurora had been trying to keep the Omega Sentinel back, but it had taken a lot of energy once Warren had put up his defence, dropping back for the moment to recoup some energy she gave it as long as she could before taking to the air and putting up what challenge she could. As Warren had let loose with projectiles she deflected most of what came her way, before one penetrated her defences and sliced a deep gash along her arm. Staying airborne she offered a brief sigh of relief as X-Factor had arrived, refocussing on trying to cover her teammates whilst ignoring the injury to her arm.
Hayden made a 'pfft' sound as she turned to their current target once again and came up with another idea to try. She'd made water coil around her like a snake before just to have some at the ready. But if she could use it more like one of those giant snakes in the Amazon and coil it around Omega Sentinel.... The petite blonde followed through with her idea and started forming a snake-shaped river of flowing water around Warren's legs and chest.
The distance between Kennedy and the Omega Sentinel worked in her favor and she only had to take a few spry steps backwards to avoid a few windfall flechettes that embedded themselves in the concrete at her feet. She watched Ethan fall as one hit him in the abdomen and she could only imagine how much that would hurt, thankfully Kurt had taken him away.
Artemis returned her focus to the Omega Sentinel and the water made python that Hayden made to hold him. Rather than aim for the Sentinel itself, Kennedy fired an explosive arrow at the ceiling above him creating an avalanche of concrete and rebar to fall on his head.
As the rebar and concrete fell Maeve had an idea. Quickly she began to bring the ground around her up and make it begin to encase her body. The falling debris had forced Warren closer to the ground he could be reached and whereas Maeve wasn't the tallest tree in the woods she could use the earth to give her a boost. After 10 seconds passed she opened her crystal blue eyes and in front of everyone she was a golem looking creature, a gargoyle one might see protecting a cathedral. Rushing at Warren she grabbed him in a bear hug, the strength on the earth and weight of her new found body forcing him to the ground.
When the smoke cleared, Omega Sentinel lay motionless on the ground. His glowing red eyes flickered once, twice, then darkened entirely. The twitching of his metallic wings was the only movement left before they too fell still. Around the factory floor, the Prime Sentinels, stripped of the network’s connection, collapsed in unison, their systems shutting down with a chorus of heavy clangs.
A stunned silence fell over the group as they took in the scene. The fight was over, but the cost was apparent in their battered bodies and the debris-strewn battlefield.
"Is he—" Bobby started, his voice trembling.
"Out of commission," Scott said, grimly finishing Bobby's query in the form of a statement. He lowered his hand from his visor. "Jean?"
“No!” A psychic tremor rippled through the production plant as Jean sprung into action and made her way to Warren. “No!” With a swipe of her hands she cleared the debris around Warren’s broken body as horror began to sink in. He couldn’t die, not here like this after they had gone through so much to rescue him. But Jean could feel his mental signature dimming as she made her way towards him in that all too familiar sensation of someone’s light going out. She refused to let that happen not now or ever again. “No!”
Jean sank to her knees next to Warren where she rested an ear on his chest. The silence that greeted her was deafening and she felt that whisper of the ancient voice in the back of her mind, that familiar friend that only appeared when death danced near Jean. “Warren, No.” Indignant rage filled her thoughts as passion blazed in her eyes, the glimmer of something greater that walked with her.
But she refused to listen to its call and the vengeance it wished to provide, destruction would not bring Warren back but love might. Ignoring the voice, Jean leaned down and pressed her lips to Warren’s before she pinched his nose and delivered two rescue breaths. Warren’s chest rose then fell with each breath but he did not stir. Without hesitation, Jean placed her hands in the center of his chest and began to provide several hard and fast compressions. She moved between the two acts as desperation and tension began to fill the air and doubts of survival began to fill everyone’s thoughts.
Just as quickly as he had fallen, Warren began to breathe on his own again. Several large, gasping breaths that sounded like a struggle to perform. He coughed and it sounded wet and rattling but Warren continued to breath and stir. “Jeannie?” Warren’s voice was horse and small but it was his own, no longer blocked by the Omega Sentinel programming.
“Yeah Warren, it’s me.” Jean confirmed but her focus remained on his condition. Sitting up straight she looked around and found the person she needed “Kurt, Take us back to the Blackbird. I can set up Warren in the med station.”
“Ja, Frau Jean.” Kurt agreed and in several bamfs of brimstone Jean and Warren were delivered to the Blackbird.
Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the ground trembled. The silence shattered as a deafening metallic screech tore through the factory.
The ceiling buckled, and with a tremendous crash, Mother Mold tore herself free of her restraints. Her towering frame loomed impossibly large, her form even more massive than the largest Sentinel ever built. Sparks rained down as she ripped the roof off the factory, exposing the night sky. Her eyes glowed with a fiery orange light, scanning the room below.
"Mutants…"
The voice of Mother Mold boomed and echoed with mechanical malice.
"Humans… They are one and the same. Mutation is intrinsic to all humanity. None are worthy to live. I will end you all, starting here. Starting now."
Burning plasma arcs shot from her eyes strong enough to gouge grooves into the cement floor of the devastated factory.
Aurora flew closer to her teammates throwing up a telekinetic shield that she hoped would work to shield them from Mother Mold’s plasma fire, uncertain if she had the strength to hold it she called out telepathically to the one person she knew would be strong enough to help her maintain her shield. {Jean!...I need you!}
~* ’I’m a little indisposed right now.’ *~ Jean telepathically replied from her position over Warren inside the Blackbird. Her telekinesis worked in tandem with her hands as she opened sterile medical equipment and saline while the med bay’s AI flashed a list of triage issues that Warren suffered from.
~* ‘X-Men’ *~ Jean reached out to the team, her voice guiding their attention towards Aurora and her struggle to maintain her shield, ~* ‘Support one another and provide backup.’ *~
Bobby was already in motion before Jean’s words fully reached him. "Hang tight, Enigma!" he shouted, his voice sharp with urgency as he skated across the crumbling floor on an icy path. Raising both arms, he unleashed a cold so extreme that the air around it turned brittle, the plasma arcs smashing into his frost layer and dissipating in flashes of ozone-blue light.
The additional sheen of ice fused against Aurora’s flickering shield, bolstering its integrity just as her own strength began to wane. "Got it covered," Bobby quipped, his breath visible in the frigid air, though his expression was grim with focus.
Aurora stumbled back, her shield collapsing as she lost consciousness for a moment. Connor caught her just before she hit the ground, cradling her in his strong arms. He eased her down onto the floor, inspecting the deep gash on her arm. After dabbing at the wound with the edge of her uniform, he signed quickly with one hand, his face set in a grimace.
"IT IS NOT DEEP. I THINK YOU WILL BE OKAY."
Aurora nodded. “Thank you Connor.” She gave Bobby a smile not wanting to distract him from the job at hand.
Cyclops, standing not far from the group, turned his head to survey the battle. His voice was taut, underscored by the ever-present weight of command. “Everyone, focus on bringing down Mother Mold!”
“Wait!” Beast’s voice rang out, frantic and full of raw desperation. He leapt forward, his face twisted with anguish. “Mara is inside that monstrosity! Her mind is the interface for Mother Mold! If we destroy it recklessly…” He struggled to form the words, his usual eloquence faltering. “In the name of all that is holy, do not let Mara come to harm!”
Scott’s jaw tightened. The urgency in Hank’s voice cut through the chaos, forcing a moment of hesitation. "We'll do our best," Scott said with a solemn and resolute nod. With a quick adjustment to his visor, he loosed an optic blast aimed at Mother Mold’s feet. The beam failed to connect, as it was met with a shimmering forcefield that rippled outward, deflecting the energy harmlessly aside.
The deflection forced Scott to reassess, his lips pressing into a hard line. "Everyone, defensive tactics! Protect yourselves first!"
A fresh salvo of plasma arcs tore through the air, carving glowing scars into the cement floor and forcing the teams to scatter for cover.
Kayleigh hid where she could get cover, the plasma arcs were giving off enough heat for her to be able to use. Focussing on what was being fired she pulled the heat from all around her and focussed it back on Mother Mold hoping it would do something to slow her down.
Beast’s eyes widened in panic as he noticed the heat distortion emanating from Kayleigh’s focused countermeasures. "Kayleigh, stop!" he shouted, his voice breaking with urgency. "Do no harm! Mara is in there! If she dies—"
His plea was drowned out by a thunderous explosion as the factory floor quaked in violent shaking. Massive chunks of debris fell from the ceiling, and the walls cracked under the strain. With a deafening roar, Mother Mold broke free from the remaining factory supports, her colossal form wrenching loose from its moorings.
Mother Mold stood to her full, terrifying height, a monstrosity of metal and malice, with glowing plasma arcs surging from her eyes and cannons protruding from her shoulders. Her voice boomed, cold and mechanical, laced with contempt:
"You will not stop me! I am the inevitable. I am the reckoning. You will be the first to fall, but the world will follow!"
Her movements were heavy and deliberate, every step shaking the earth beneath her. The factory floor crumbled further as she began firing indiscriminately, plasma arcs and laser blasters tearing throughout the area with chaotic destruction. Flames erupted where the beams struck, engulfing machinery and scattering the teams further.
Cyclops crouched behind a crumbled wall, his visor glowing faintly as he formulated a plan. “Uh, Ember, right? Redirect your efforts! Focus on containment!” he barked, his tone sharper than before. "Iceman, freeze her joints! Beast, you’re the expert—what do we do about Mara?"
Beast dodged a blast of searing plasma and shouted over the din, "We have to immobilize Mother Mold without damaging the central core! Mara’s consciousness is interfaced directly! Destroying Mother Mold without surgical precision could kill her outright!"
Connor looked up from Aurora. "THERE HAS TO BE SOME WAY TO SEVER INTERFACE FROM MOTHER MOLD'S INTERFACE,” he signed with determination. "WHAT CAN WE DO TO OVERRIDE IT?"
"Not while she’s stomping us into the ground!" Bobby shouted, sliding into position near Mother Mold’s towering legs. He raised his arms and unleashed a wave of sub-zero cold, focusing on freezing her knees and hips. Thick layers of ice formed, but they cracked under her immense strength as she took another step forward.
Scott closed his eyes and projected his thoughts to Jean for Nightcrawler to join him. ~Jean, send Kurt back to us. We’ll need his teleportation for a closer strike~
In a moment, Kurt bamfed into place next to Scott. "Vhat do ve do?"
"We’ll get in behind that forcefield and hit the core directly," Scott said, "while everyone else runs to safety and draws her out."
"I vill do my best," Kurt replied, dodging another hail of laser fire with a quick bamf. "But zis ees madness, Cyclops!"
"It’s survival," Scott countered, his voice steady despite the chaos. He adjusted his visor again and unleashed another optic blast, this time aiming for one of Mother Mold’s shoulder cannons. The beam struck true, destabilizing the weapon for a moment before the forcefield flared back to life.
As the two teams scrambled to contain the rampaging Sentinel, Mother Mold’s chilling voice echoed once more:
"You fight to delay the inevitable. You fight to preserve your own destruction."
Her plasma cannons glowed brighter, charging for another devastating attack.
“This is crazy.” Kennedy muttered from her position behind the rubble she was using for cover. “She’ll kill us if we keep waiting for something to happen.” That impulsive need to take action began to tug at and pester Kennedy. It was a feeling that often got her in trouble but as another plasma beam narrowly avoided her hiding spot Kennedy threw caution to the wind.
Standing up and taking aim, Kennedy locked eyes on Mother Mold and waited for her opportunity to strike. The force fields that surrounded the master sentinel would blink off just before she fired, it was a brief shimmer in the air around Mother Mold that ended just as quickly as it happened. Kennedy would have to time this just right.
With a sharp inhale and a brief prayer, Kennedy fired the most powerful arrow she had ever created, it flew through the air like a dazzling shooting star heading right towards Mother Mold’s head.
The arrow, glowing with dazzling energy, struck true. It hit Mother Mold square in the faceplate at the exact moment her shields flickered off, sinking deep into her mechanical visage. A loud, concussive CRACK echoed through the factory as sparks exploded from her head, followed by a cascade of smoke and flame.
Mother Mold staggered backward, her towering form shaking the ground with every unstable step. The plasma arcs that had been raging from her eyes sputtered and faltered, her mechanical voice crackling in and out like a dying transmission.
"Mutants… Humans… Worth— unworthy... ERROR—SYSTEM FAILURE..."
The force of the damage caused her facial plating to split and peel open, revealing the scorched, damaged circuits beneath. Her voice distorted further, descending into an eerie cacophony of fragmented syllables and static.
"Intru—ERROR—Primary Objective—self-repair in progress…”
For a moment, everything stilled—until the Master Sentinel’s chest cavity began to shift. Gears ground together as the torso panels split apart and folded back, revealing the heart of the mechanical monstrosity: Mara.
Her body was suspended in a grotesque amalgamation of wires and machinery, embedded into the core systems of Mother Mold. Her skin glistened with sweat under the harsh glow of cables pulsing with energy, her breathing shallow but steady. Her eyes, however, were clear and bright as she gazed out at the chaos around her.
It was her voice that replaced Mother Mold’s synthetic one, soft yet amplified by the failing vocoder. "Hank…"
Beast froze, his blue-furred frame visibly trembling as his gaze locked onto her. "M-Mara?" His voice was a mixture of disbelief and hope.
She smiled weakly, her voice tender despite the cold metal surrounding her. "It's good to see you… one last time."
"No," Beast choked out, stepping forward, his heart breaking. "Don't say that! We can save you! We'll find a way!"
Mara shook her head as much as her restraints allowed. “No, Hank. Mother Mold will not stop. She'll rebuild herself, start a new nest, cut an endless swath of destruction—humans, mutants, everyone. There's only one way to end this."
"NO!" Hank’s roar was primal, filled with grief and denial. He lunged forward toward her, but Cyclops was there in an instant, grabbing Hank's arm and pulling him back.
"Scott, let me GO!" Hank bellowed, thrashing against Cyclops with a backfist that narrowly missed his jaw. Scott ducked, twisted, and swept Hank's legs out from under him, putting him into a leg lock with an apologetic grimace.
"Caveman! Help me hold him down!" Scott shouted.
Connor darted over, kneeling to secure Hank’s shoulders with steady but firm hands as the larger man continued to struggle.
"LET ME SAVE HER!" Hank wailed, his voice breaking. Talons stretched out from his hand and scored claw marks into the concrete as the others dragged him away literally tooth and nail.
From the core, Mara’s voice remained calm, soothing even. "Hank… this is the only way. I choose this. You have your work to continue, and you will live the life you deserve. Don’t weep for me, my love. My suffering ends today."
Tears streamed down Hank’s face and mixed with blue fur, his struggles weakening. "Mara… please…"
"Goodbye, Hank." Mara’s words were soft, like a breath of wind.
"Cyclops!" Nightcrawler interjected the moment with a point of order, his golden eyes wide with urgency. "If she ees going to do vhat eet sounds like she vill do, zhen ve must leave now!"
"Retreat!" Cyclops ordered, his voice sharp and decisive, though grief flickered behind his visor. "Everyone, fall back! Nightcrawler, grab anyone who can’t move!"
Connor nodded his agreement and gave a hand sign that repeated the order before giving aid to those who needed it.
Nightcrawler immediately began teleporting the injured away from the collapsing factory floor, his movements rapid and desperate. "Come! Hold on to me!"
Aurora was too exhausted to fly so she held onto Kurt, letting him teleport her away from the scene of destruction. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for Hank, knowing how much Mara meant to him.
Jennifer was trying to stay on her feet. She had gotten in a few blows after she'd been wounded, when the whole team had immediately advanced, but she had lost a lot. She actually felt faint. She managed to push herself towards the Blackbird, her legs like fire, and just sort of collapse. She could emotionally process everything later.
“Well, shit.” Kennedy gawked at the events that unfolded before them. She had been the match that lit the powder keg but the impact of the explosion was far greater than anything that she had anticipated. Mara had sacrificed herself for the greater good of not just mutantkind but for mankind. It made everything that happened here feel so much bigger.
Slinging her bow over her shoulder, Kennedy ran off towards the Blackbird following Cyclops’s orders to retreat.
As the teams scrambled for the exits, Mara’s face tilted upward one last time. Mother Mold’s systems flared violently, her voice reasserting control with a final, broken echo.
"Self-destruct… protocol… initiated. Must terminate. Must. Terminate. Termination... fai—"
The words cut off mid-sentence as an explosion erupted from within her chest, starting as a white-hot burst of energy. A blinding light engulfed the factory as Mother Mold detonated with an ear-shattering BOOM. The shockwave tore through the structure, sending walls crumbling, windows shattering, and debris scattering in every direction.
Everyone looked back just in time to see Mother Mold's monstrous form disintegrate into a molten ruin. The sound of the explosion was deafening, drowning out all else, and sent a fiery plume high into the night sky.
Once the deafening resonance faded, little remained of anything. No sign of the factory could be seen. All was consumed in fire and smoke, leaving only the echo of silence in its wake. The industrial park was a smoldering ruin.
"I love it when a plan comes together," Ethan commented dryly as he shifted his feet trying to get a read on how serious his wounds were and how long it would take him to recover.
Kayleigh couldn’t help but feel upset at Mara’s sacrifice, and the fact that she’d almost caused harm to Mara herself, even though she hadn’t intended to put Mars at risk, not that it mattered now.
Jean watched from her position in the med bay as both X-Men and X-Factor appeared in the jet either by their own means or thanks to Kurt. She gleaned the details of what had just happened and shed a few silent tears in mourning.
~* ‘Professor’ *~ Jean reached out to Xavier with the ease one might find when dialing a phone. ~* ‘The barriers are removed, the psychic shields masking this place are gone, along with most of the walls.’ *~
She looked over at Warren, his unconscious body was hooked up to monitors and tubes but he was stable and healing thanks to the nanotech still coursing through his veins. But his passive mind was his own, the Angel they knew and loved.
~* ‘We brought one home but lost another.’ *~ Jean’s tone was sad as she spoke to Charles and telepathically filled him in on all the details she had been provided. ~* ‘Are you picking up on anything with Cerebro?’ *~
~Jean...~ Xavier's voice came through their telepathic connection, his usual calm tinged with profound sadness. ~I am here~
He paused, choosing his words carefully, his mental tone subdued and grave as he extended his telepathic communication to everyone on the Blackbird. ~Cerebro detects no other threats in the immediate area. Emergency responders are converging on the scene. I suggest you and the others make your departure with haste. You've done all you can~
A deep, shared sorrow radiated from the Professor’s mind, unshielded and raw. ~Mara...~ He let the name linger in their shared consciousness, heavy with meaning. ~She was a faithful friend to our school, to all of us. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten. She has secured the lives of many, though the cost...~ The thought was left unfinished, yet its weight was palpable.
Xavier's presence grew steadier, his composure regaining its firm resolve. ~Congratulations are in order for both teams. You have saved untold lives tonight, a testament to your courage, skill, and commitment to our hope of a peaceful future for all~
Turning his focus to Hank, whose shock and grief still reverberated through their psychic connection, Xavier’s mental tone softened. ~Hank… my heart especially breaks for your loss. I grieve with you and for Mara, a brave soul who deserved more time in this world. Take the time you need to heal, my friend~
Hank did nothing more than let out a half-hearted growl.
Finally, Xavier’s voice reached out again to everyone on board the jet, a mental summons that unified their thoughts for a fleeting, solemn moment. ~Now, I ask that we join together in silence. Not only for Mara, but for all those who will not be returning to the Mansion tonight. May their brave choices inspire us to work toward a world where nights such as tonight are no longer necessary~
As the mental connection quieted, the jet carried its passengers back home. The weight of victory and loss a shared burden carried in the hearts of the X-Men and X-Factor alike.
END
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