We were eating breakfast when we heard the news about the attack on the White House by supposed Mutant Terrorists. There had been press on the scene almost as soon as the explosions started. Our meals, steak and eggs made the way I preferred it, scrambled and medium rare plus, lay half-eaten on the table as the television set, mystically capable of tuning into various channels without being physically connected to the grid, portrayed the evens of the attack. None of my current houseguests were buying the story that the president was under assault by Mutant Terrorists, mostly thanks to who said terrorists supposedly were. Kitty Pryde, Dani Moonstar, and Tabitha Smith were friends of theirs and apparently, their true wherabouts were accounted for. Kitty was in the UK right now, while Dani was in Asgard and Tabby was dealing with the Externals.
Sure enough, some two hours into the siege of the White House, SHIELD had arrived to set up a perimeter around the grounds and it came out via an interview with Commander Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan live on air that Director Fury, the head of SHIELD had called them in to back him up. Apparently Nick Fury had already been at the White House to brief President Clinton on certain abuses going on at the NSA under the watch of National Security Chief Gyrich and discus options for a SHIELD-backed Congressional Inquiry. Commander Dugan confirmed that SHIELD had eyes on at least one of the supposed mutant terrorists, Kitty Pryde, who was currently in London even while she was supposedly spearheading an attack on the White House. While that wasn't conclusive exactly, since there were many powers that could allow for co-location, it did raise questions that should be answered shortly.
Of course, twenty minutes after that a massive explosion ripped open part of the grounds, throwing up all kinds of chunks of debris and dirt. A second camera showed that part of the Oval Office had been destroyed in the explosion, along with a tunnel leading down into a fortified corridor. The sounds of combat could be heard from down that corridor. Five minutes later, those sounds cut out. Five minutes after that, the sky clouded over, the formerly sunny day turning gray and stormy out of nowhere. Then, in the sky, the Camera panned down to see three figures, two flying themselves while one was being carried. The muscular, blonde, form of the Mighty Thor swung Mjolnir around and used it as a conductors baton to direct a bolt of lightning down into the crater. The lightning bent ninety degrees at the Thunder God's command and a cracking noise was heard before Thor followed the bolt down.
Iron Man paused only long enough to drop Captain America off at the lip of the Crater before he too dove down into the underground bunker. Cap followed shortly afterward, climbing down part-way before dropping off the wall. The Avengers had arrived, apparently the threat was great enough for them to band together once again. Whoever had been impersonating the Mutants didn't stand a chance. In fact, within ninety seconds, one of the assassins had been smashed into the air where it exploded in a flash, raining metallic fragments down on the White House grounds after a brief burst of high-energy plasma. A robot of some kind, built to look like Dani Moonstar, showing the lie of Mutant Assassins for what it was on live television. Moments later, the battle was essentially over. As the details came out over the course of the next hour or so, everyone watched the TV with rapt attention.
"This could be huge. A false flag by on a sitting president, captured on live Television? If it's confirmed that Gyrich's group is behind this, then we might actually have a shot at adding Mutant Rights to the Constitution. It'd be cheaper than any other reparations Congress could make." Offered Bobby.
"The glass may not be as full as it first appears. This is going to cause a stability issue in the US Government. SHIELD will have to dismantle the NSA and if my read on the political situation is correct, at least one Senatorbis going to be expelled from Congress over this." Cautioned Hank.
"So?" Retorted Jubilee.
"So governments typically don't make large legal changes while lacking political capital, Dear. Those who do tend not to stay in power for long." Informed Emma Frost.
"That isn't the worst part. Think about it. If you were Gyrich, and you saw your false flag just get exposed on National Television, would you sit and wait to be arrested?" Frowned Monet.
"Hell no, I'd get as much muscle as I could together and fight back." Pointed out Angelo.
"And Gyrich's Muscle includes Sentinels." Nodded Everett.
"He also has hostages. Logan, Scott, Jean, Ororo, and Sean. If SHIELD even knows where his base is, he can force them to back off by threatening to kill them." Added Paige.
The Penance Twins nodded, clearly looking worried about all this. Their worry was, it seems, shared by everyone at the table. A conversation began to ensue as everyone tried to float an idea or plan for how to rescue the X-Men in the custody of the NSA. Plan was a strong word, mind you, as nobody even knew where they were being held or what the opposition was like beyond Sentinels likely being around. Fortunately, that was when Bartholomew arrived bearing a phone on a red satin pillow. He appeared next to me to let me know that a Mister Stark was calling. I didn't hesitate to answer tge phone. I had been waiting for this call for a few days, even before the False Flag on the White House, in fact.
"Tony, tell me you've got good news." I asked after picking up the call.
"Oh yeah, I've got good news. We know whose behind this and where they're holed up." Answered Tony, a grin in his voice.
"What's the situation and when do we go in?" I demanded.
"Patience, Grasshopper. Let me set the stage first. You might have seen the News footage just now, yeah? Well, they weren't just Synthazoids, they were Skrull Tech Synthazoids, made specifically to mimic powers." Began Tony.
"Fits the pattern, but how else is it relevant?" I pressed.
"That'd be because Skrull Synthazoids always have a quantum data storage dump in their skulls. They record everything that goes through their sensors. Now, most people wouldn't be able to crack the secure datalocks on the storage to get at the recordings, but I'm smarter than the average bear and have more experience with Skrull Tech than anyone not named Reed Richards." Boasted Tony.
"Which means we know where they came from." I blinked.
"We also know who sent them, a general base layout including defenses and a pretty decent guesstimate of troop numbers and types we can be expected to run into. They wanted to hoodwink us, but it turned out that they've literally given us everything we need to attack them." Chuckled Tony.
"So who's the mastermind here?" I questioned.
"You know, you could be a little more impressed about this." Pouted Tony.
"Call me when you've created something from nothing, then I'll be impressed." I shot back.
"You can't create something from nothing, Jan. Physics doesn't work like that." Scoffed Tony.
"Sorcery does. Ever hear of Conjuration?" I grinned.
"Moving on, the Guy in charge of the whole project is a Cybernetics Genius named Sebastion Gilberti. We've done some checking and he's exactly the kind of guy who would pull this sort of thing. He's got the psyche profile of a narcissist with an added intense hatred for Mutants. Got tangled up with the Friends of Humanity and the Purifiers a few years ago and never technically renounced his membership, even after taking a job with the NSA's Sentinel Project." Informed Tony, changing the subject.
"All right. Where's he holed up?" I queried.
"An old ICBM Complex Outside Baltimore. The NSA saved it from decomissioning after the Soviets fell a few years back. The Silo is one of the NSA's major black sites and has been acting as their East Coast HQ for a couple years now." Explained Tony.
"Great, I'm coming with you to hit it. Probably going to be bringing a few others with me too." I warned.
"Cap and Thor are coming on my end. Who do you have?" Asked Tony.
"Emma Frost, Ice Man, Jubilee, maybe Beast and a couple others." I answered.
"Well, it looks like the rondezvous is going to be on Assateague Island at seven tonight. Director Fury wants to go over a plan with everyone first then hit them under cover of darkness." Offered Tony.
"We'll be there." I assured.
"Great. I'll see you there." Responded Tony before hanging up.
I hung up and turned to see the assembled group staring at me. Even Emma, who was trying to be inconspicuous about it, kept giving me looks out of the corner of her eye. With a sigh, I prompted them to speak up instead of just staring at me. Bobby was the first to speak up.
"So, you've been talking with the Avengers and now they want to counterattack?" He questioned.
"We know the location of their base, a rough layout of the base, plus a rough estimate of defenses and troop strength. Director Fury of SHIELD is calling together a meeting on Assateague Island to go over a plan of attack tonight at seven. Presumably, we'll be attacking once everyone's been briefed." I nodded.
"Finally! I want in." Demanded Bobby.
"I'd like to come too. If only to express my. . .displeasure at the ruin their attack made of my Estate." Added Emma.
"If Ms Frost and Bobby are going, I would be remiss not to join. Besides, it would be good to see some of my old friends from my Avengers Days." Agreed Hank.
"Which leaves the matter of the kids." I intoned.
"Hey! We can so fight!" Protested Jubilee.
"I know you can, but you don't have to be at every fight. You should take some time to relax when you can, Dear." Tried Emma.
"Indeed, that goes for all of you. Just because the Professor pushed us into fighting before we were old enough to drink doesn't mean you need to follow in quite so many of our footsteps." Concurred Hank.
"No way, Jose. We're coming, right guys?" Prompted Jubilee.
"Yeah, Mister Cassidy is our teacher too! They've got him locked up and we're gonna bust him loose!" Grinned Paige.
"I should help too. I feel like I could bust up a dozen Sentinels now that I have my real body back!" Affirmed Monet.
"I can handle round two with that Terminator chick. We'll have Thor with us, right?" Shrugged Angelo.
"We will." I nodded.
"See? Anyone'd have to be loco to target us instead of a threat that big." Confirmed Angelo.
"I think we can handle it. In fact, I know we can." Added Everett.
"The Kids want to fight. Reminds me of us back in the day." Chuckled Bobby as he nudged Hank in the ribs.
"I don't recall being quite so eager." Frowned Hank.
"More to the point, if you're sure about this, then we won't stop you. Consider this a Graduation Exam, then. Know that I am proud to have been your teacher these past couple years." Intoned Emma Frost.
"Right. Everyone make last-minute preparations. We may have overwhelming force on our side, but no one ever won a battle by underestimating the enemy." I nodded, before heading to my workshop to churn out more batches of potions while I had the time. I had a feeling we would need them before everything was said and done.
Several hours later, we all piled into the Generation X Blackbird heading south for Assateague Island off the Eastern Coast of Baltimore. The long, sandy, barrier Island was currently playing host to a sight I hadn't seen before in person. A SHIELD Helicarrier, one of the Amphibious Ones that could land on water, lay berthed just off the Island. The white paint emblazoned on the bow of the Helicarrier christened it the Agamemnon. A fitting name for the flagship of a disparate coalition of SHIELD Agents, X-People, and Avengers. I spotted not only Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and SHIELD Agents like Dum Dum Dugan and Nick Fury, but also some Heroes on SHIELD's payroll, like Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and the Black Widow. As we headed to join the group on the island, Nick Fury stood in the center of activity puffing away at a lit cigar.
Maria Hill was standing near him, but I'd been under the impression that she should still be a Marine right now. Had Bastion's attempt to assassinate the President as part of an Anti-Mutant False Flag changed that somehow? Were butterflies flapping their quantum wings already? Ultimately, I couldn't know from where I was. Not unless I spoke to the Beyonder again and asked him point blank. Of course, that was when Nick Fury decided to speak up, breaking me out of my thoughts about the timeline.
"Good. Now that yer all here, we might jus' be able t'get this show on th' road!" He grunted. As he began to lay out what we knew of the NSA Silo Base, I shoved my worries about the timeline aside to pay attention to the plan. It was actually pretty simple, a combination of stealth and overwhelming force. Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Mockingbird would slip into the base to free the prisoners while the rest of his hit them with everything we had and drew their attention away from the Insertion Team. The Insertion Team would free the prisoners while everyone else drew the Base's strength into a giant brawl they couldn't afford to ignore. Once the prisoners were secure, the Insertion Team would Evac them out. Then the rest of us wouldn't have to worry about hostage-taking.
It was a good plan. Now we had to put it into action. The Battle of the Silo began with Thor causing a storm to brew as the clock struck midnight. That forced the Aerial Prime Sentinel Patrols to ground or else they would have their circuits fried by the lightning. With one fell swoop, we'd attained Air Superiority. The rest of us charged in, landing via SHIELD Hover APCs and drawing off a giant amount of Prime Sentinels and even several of the Omega Sentinels. As they came in, I noticed the Insertion Team head into the Base.
Then the Omega Sentinel that had been Karima Shapandur landed in front of my APC, and there was no more time to take in the big picture. . .
XXXX
AN: Apologies for any spelling or grammar errors in this one. My editing software is on my still at the shop laptop. Hopefully, this wasn't too illegible and you could read it all right.
Anyway, this Arc is drawing to a close. We've gathered the Heroes, gotten a plan together, and are now striking back at Bastion. All that's left now is to fight and then deal with the aftermath.
Accordingly, the next chapter will be the climactic battle with Bastion's Forces.
Stay tuned. . .