Hammer Bay

Storm’s eyes widened as she looked to the skies, the giant purple and crimson humanoid shapes breaking through the clouds and blacking out the sky almost completely.

“Goddess protect us…Sentinels…”

Havok came to her side, concentric rings of cosmic energy emitting from his clutched fists. Although these two mutants had recently been at each other’s throats, at the moment they both stared at the horror above.

“I think we’ll have to continue our little fight later,” he said.

Storm said nothing, just generated a pocket of wind beneath her legs to raise her into the sky. Havok was right, she knew that—the Sentinels posed a threat to all of them and right now, they needed to band together. They could go back to killing each other later. But for now, they had other things to worry about.

As she hovered in the air, a Sentinel rocketed towards her. With a fluid movement of her arm, lightning shot forth from several different points in the clouds, all converging on the Sentinel’s giant head. The robot’s sensors overloaded and it plummeted from the sky before crashing to the ground below.

The Sentinel began to pull itself back up, but before it could, Havok pounced on its back and brought his fists together, a massive burst of plasma severing the Sentinel’s head from its shoulders.

{Rachel, can you and Psylocke set up a psychic link with both teams?}

{Give us a few seconds. And by the way, next time it might be helpful if you actually let me know who’s on our side.}

{Sorry, I guess I was a bit distracted by the whole our-old-friends-are-trying-to-kill-us thing.}

{The link is operational, Havok.}

{Thanks Bets. Okay X-Men—and by that I mean all of you. As you can see, we’re in a little bit of a rough spot now that these Sentinels have arrived. So for now, we’re going to put aside our differences and work together to send these goose-stepping tin cans back to the scrap heap. Everyone okay with that?}

Thoughts of agreement came back in Havok’s head, although some a bit less enthusiastic than others. He did his best to ignore those. {First thing’s first—Xorn, you’re the resident healer here. I want you to go around and make sure no one’s bleeding or unconscious. Looks like James in particular could use some help.}

{I will do what I can, Alex.}

{Everyone who’s still standing and has their body in working order, get into position. Storm’s setting up some cover for us, but it won’t last long and in a few minutes, we’re going to need to strike out at these things with everything we’ve got.}

{Ah, leave it to Sentinels to bring people together.}

{Stuff it, Cajun.}

{That goes for you too, Avalanche.} Havok took point. {Everyone get ready, ’cause here they come…}

GET UP AND KILL

Part II

By Chris Munn and Dino Pollard

Tom Skylark turned his head to the side as one of his fellow pilots cried out followed by the sound of a flatline. “Bugger…” he muttered.

The Sentinels were remote-operated by each of these trained pilots from a safe distance away. Unfortunately though, the system has yet to be fully perfected. So whenever one of those Sentinels was destroyed, the resulting feedback killed the pilot as well.

“Well Rover old boy, let’s try to stay alive, eh?”

Skylark pulled the visor down over his head, the helmet he wore allowing him to see through the eyes of his Sentinel unit, which he had nicknamed Rover.

Phoenix hovered in the air, surrounded by flames and the avatar of her namesake appearing over her right eye. It brightened as two Sentinels flew towards her. She reached out with her. Telekinetic flames began to materialize all around the Sentinels as every screw, every bolt, every fixture came undone at once and the Sentinels literally fell completely apart before they could approach her, the different parts falling from the skies.

From the ground, Psylocke watched this whole exchange and allowed herself a little smile. “What a show-off.” A Sentinel tried to ambush her from behind but Psylocke vanished into a shadow portal beneath her feet. She left it open and the Sentinel reached its hand in. Once it was there, Psylocke reappeared behind the Sentinel and the portal closed around its arm, severing it.

“What a pity,” said Psylocke. “Peter, my love, if you would be so kind?”

The metal form of Colossus coiled his legs and sprung up, his leg muscles allowing him to reach the Sentinel’s upper thigh. Colossus dug his fingers into the metal and tore the leg open. He reached inside, grabbing wires and servos and tearing them out, causing the Sentinel to lose its balance.

“Think I’ll handle it from here,” said Skullfire, coming upon the fallen Sentinel. He slapped his hands together and generated a burst of radioactive energy that vaporized the Sentinel’s head.

“Hah, the little one has fire in him!” said Colossus, patting Skullfire on the back. At his touch, he could feel the heat even in his current state and he pulled his hand away in shock, steam rising from the palm.

“Watch it, Tin Man,” said Skullfire, glaring at Colossus with the burning emerald embers within the sockets of the black skeleton. “Just because we have to work with you now doesn’t mean we’re on the same side. Far as I’m concerned, you’re just another metal-plated fascist, so save your camaraderie for the rally.”

Skullfire moved on to take out his anger at another Sentinel, while Colossus stood there in stunned silence. Psylocke came by his side.

“I don’t understand this,” he said. “These were once our friends. Now look at them.”

“We invaded their home looking for a fight, Peter. Not to talk to them, not to reason, not to debate—but to fight,” said Psylocke. “Have we given them any justification to treat us with anything less than hostility?”

“And who’s side are you on, Elisabeth?” asked Colossus, his yellow eyes narrowed at her.

“I just want you to keep things in perspective,” said Psylocke. “Tell me, how did you feel when Xavier and Kitty tricked you into coming to Muir Isle after you joined the Acolytes?”

Colossus walked on without answering and Psylocke just watched him go as she muttered, “that’s what I thought.”

Kachneh Domnur sat in her prison cell, lying on what could only in the loosest of terms be defined as a cot. She felt that sleeping on the floor might actually be more comfortable. For now though, she had only one thought on her mind—revenge against the woman who left her in her current state, who tortured her in ways she couldn’t imagine before.

The Cambodian’s mutant powers of location and spatial disruption could also be used for detection of other spatial disruptions. And she had detected one only a few feet away from her.

“So this is the promised land for mutants, huh?”

The new arrival was female, that much Domnur could tell by the voice. She sat up on the cot and if she could see, she would see the woman had light purple skin with red hair and wore a black mini-skirt with a yellow halter top.

“Doesn’t look like the brochures at all.”

“Who are you?” asked Domnur. “Did Havok send a new lackey for another torture session?”

“Looks like you’ve seen quite a bit, and probably quite a bit you couldn’t see for obvious reasons.” The woman referred to the bandage over Domnur’s eyes. “The name’s Edie Sawyer and I’m here to spring you.”

“And why would you do that?” asked Domnur.

“Because I work for someone who wants to offer you a chance for revenge. That something you’re interested in, Kachneh?” asked Edie.

Kachneh stood from the cot. “Yes. And the name’s Blindeye now.”

Edie cracked a smile. “You go, girl.”

Ecstasy boosted the adrenaline in her body, enabling her to move faster to avoid the Sentinel attacks. However, she knew it was just temporary and she couldn’t keep this up forever. With just her pheromones, she wasn’t much use in this fight, but she knew someone who was.

“Hey Jimmy, you up for a boost?” she asked.

“Don’t you know it,” said Warpath.

Ecstasy walked over to her teammate and Warpath held out his hand. Instead, she pulled him close and locked lips with him, using the physical contact to boost his adrenaline levels and also stimulate his pleasure centers just a bit.

“A little something extra for luck,” she said with a wink. As Warpath charged off, now able to move faster and push himself harder, Ecstasy watched him go with a smile. “Damn, been wanting to do that for months.”

Warpath ran full-speed into a Sentinel’s leg, using his newfound strength to topple it to the ground. He pulled out his knives and raced about the Sentinel, trying to commit surgical strikes at weak points, but finding that tactic difficult.

“Allow me.”

Warpath stepped to the side as his former teammate both in X-Force and X-Corps pounced on the Sentinel. The alien metal Shatterstar’s swords were crafted of was far stronger than the vibranium daggers Warpath wielded, able to penetrate the Sentinel’s thick hide whereas he couldn’t.

Once Shatterstar finished off the Sentinel, Warpath wrapped one arm around him, pinning Shatterstar’s own limps to his side and with his free hand, Warpath brought the tip of one dagger mere centimeters from Shatterstar’s throat.

“I want you to remember how you shoved one of those swords into me,” he hissed into Shatterstar’s ear. “And then I want you to remember how I had you dead to rights.”

Shatterstar dropped to the ground but by the time he rose to his feet again, Warpath had already moved on to another Sentinel, assisting Havok. The denizen of Mojoworld gritted his teeth.

“Next time, I won’t go so easy on you, Proudstar…”

The earth rose up before Avalanche to protect him from a Sentinel blast and Dazzler, who had been nearby, found herself knocked to the ground from the vibrations. She glared at the terrorist. “Watch what you’re doing!”

“I was,” he snarled back before dropping the shield he fashioned from the ground and turning his vibrations on the Sentinel. Piece by piece, the Sentinel rattled loose before collapsing in a giant heap.

Dazzler dove from a Sentinel blast, the sound from it fueling her own power as she hurled a laser burst at the Sentinel’s legs, blowing off one of its feet. She clasped her hands, pointing her two index fingers like a gun and took aim, a concentrated laser burst firing from her fingertips and burning right through the Sentinel’s head.

She looked up and took aim at another Sentinel, firing but it turned its head just in time and the blast just scorched part of its face. It reached towards her and was knocked back courtesy of a blow from Rogue. The Sentinel looked up, seemingly distracted somehow and then another one came up behind Rogue, slamming its fist on her back and knocking her to the ground.

Dazzler went to her teammate’s side and Rogue shook her head, slowly pulling herself back up and glaring at the Sentinel who attacked. “Alright, now I’m pissed!” She took off like a rocket and drove her entire body through the Sentinel’s head. Dazzler turned to deal with the Sentinel she had damaged but it was gone.

Chamber’s burning psionic furnace generated a massive burst of energy that ripped through a Sentinel’s chest. He stood over the fallen unit, looking down on it. {I know how you feel, mate.}

“Perhaps now isn’t the best time to find common ground with these machines,” said Xorn, hovering in the lotus position. His hands were clasped together and he looked down, the blue energy emitted by the star that served as his brain seeping through the slits in his iron mask. Several Sentinels surrounded him and one by one, they collapsed under their own weight as Xorn pulled them crashing to the ground.

“Why’s that, Xorny? They just misunderstood, I bet,” said Gambit. “Mommas didn’t show ’em enough love when they were just transistors.”

Gambit dodged a Sentinel blast and ran towards one of them, leaping in the air and throwing his bo-staff like a javelin. As it left his fingers, it began to glow and crackle with the kinetic energy he charged it with and once it went into the Sentinel’s chest, it exploded. He grabbed the fallen staff, offering a cocky grin to his teammates.

“An’ that’s how it’s done, mes am—”

While relishing his victory, Gambit failed to notice the Sentinel creeping up behind him. Someone else did, however, and swooped in, snatching him just as a laser would have vaporized his body. Gambit looked over his shoulder, not expecting to find himself in those arms once again.

“Watch your back, Cajun,” said Rogue.

“Didn’t know you cared, cherie,” said Gambit.

“Only ’cause if you die, then I won’t be around to knock some sense into that fool head of yours,” she said, dropping him onto the ground where he landed face-first in mud.

Gambit got to his feet and wiped his face off as he watched Rogue plow into another Sentinel. He cocked a little smile. “Gambit get de impression you mad. Was it something he said?”

The Sentinels descended in greater numbers, pooling around both teams of X-Men and surrounding them. Havok and Storm found themselves practically back to back, each of them using their respective powers to keep the Sentinels at bay, as did the rest of their teammates.

“We’re running low on options here,” said Havok. “Maybe if you hadn’t attacked us, we could have been paying attention to Genosha’s borders and had time to prepare an adequate defense.”

“If we hadn’t come to Genosha, you would only be at half-strength at the moment,” said Storm. “Perhaps you should thank me.”

“Christ, you’re even more pompous than Scott…” muttered Havok.

The Sentinels seemed to freeze and the night sky lit up with energy. The X-Men could feel every piece of metal on them seemingly pulled towards a source. They looked to the air and saw the form of a man surrounded by a pulsating energy bubble lower from the skies. He was clad in crimson robes with a flowing, purple cape and over his head was a helmet adorned with both those colors.

Erik Lehnsherr—Magneto. Second-in-command of Genosha had just arrived home. And he was not happy to see throngs of Sentinels invading his sovereign territory which he spent so much time building alongside the late Charles Xavier.

The Sentinels disassembled one by one under the magnetic powers that were his to command. He pulled them completely apart, not leaving the slightest bit of material for them to rebuild from. The pieces fell and scattered all around the area.

“Metal machines in a country ruled by the Master of Magnetism,” he scoffed as he crossed his arms, admiring his handiwork. “After all these years, one would think these monkeys would learn their lesson.”

Magneto hovered towards the X-Men, dropping the magnetic shield as he lowered towards the ground. However, he still remained a few feet above it, as if he felt he belonged in that position.

“I will give you one chance to explain your trespass into Genosha,” he said.

“Havok and his ‘X-Men’ have been launching terrorist attacks from this po—”

“I wasn’t talking to Alex. I was talking to you, Storm,” said Magneto. His helmet left his entire face in shadows, save for the eyes that crackled and hummed with power.

“So you knew?” asked Storm.

“Why am I not surprised Magneto’s been harboring terrorists?” asked Dazzler.

“My question is what does Jean know?” asked Rogue. “She know you’re using her country to go back to your old ways, Magnus?”

“Jean and Scott are currently in Wakanda on a diplomatic mission,” said Magneto. “That means I am acting President. And you will address me with the respect that position holds, particularly when you have invaded this country illegally and attacked Genoshan citizens on Genoshan soil.”

“These are not Genoshan citizens,” said Storm.

“Yes they are, and they are under my protection,” said Magneto. “Either you leave now or there will be dire consequences.”

“Your idle threats mean nothing to us!” said Shatterstar.

“To you, perhaps not. But what of Storm?” Magneto turned to the X-Men’s leader. “An Avenger and one of the X-Corporation’s board members. Given the scandal Worthington recently found himself embroiled in with the X-Corps debacle, how would it look now that you’ve attempted to arrange a coup in a sovereign nation?”

“This was no attempt at a coup and you know it,” said Storm.

“Is that what the rest of the world will think?” asked Magneto. “Genosha was granted sovereignty by the United Nations. Combine the X-Corps debacle with the tarnished reputation of the Avengers after the Latveria situation, and you are not in an enviable position, Ororo. It looks as if you and your superiors are involved in numerous scandals as of late. This could potentially be the biggest of them.”

Storm turned from Magneto and stepped up to Havok, glaring into his eyes. “This is not over.”

“Any time you want to try again, my team and I will be more than happy to kick your ass,” said Havok.

“Storm, I will give you and your teammates this choice only once and you must make it fast,” said Magneto. “Either leave Genosha peacefully this instant or you will be removed by force.”

Storm kept her gaze fixed on Havok as she spoke. “Elisabeth, take us home.”

“Finally, someone starts making sense around here…” muttered Psylocke. “Move into the shadows.”

As Storm’s team entered the shadows, the red tattoo over Psylocke’s left eye began to glow and the X-Men vanished into a portal courtesy of the Crimson Dawn.

Skylark removed his helmet, finding himself surrounded by the lifeless bodies of his fellow pilots. The doors to the room opened and he heard a voice barking at him.

“Skylark! Why did you leave?”

Skylark turned, looking into the angered face of Donald Trask. Beside him stood the Reverend William Stryker, who placed a hand on his partner’s shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We knew this would happen, that once Magneto would return, he would make short work of the Sentinels. This was nothing more than a test.”

“Test?” asked Skylark.

“Yes,” said Stryker. “Now we know the extent of Genosha’s defenses. And that knowledge will come in very handy…”

NEXT: Anomaly