Episode 4 Part 1
Cipher emerged as she always did when she passed through large solid objects, with the feeling of a pulling force that would usher her through. A willed pull. She emerged still invisible, inaudible, intangible to everything she wished to be, in the small cubicle sized bathroom on what was likely the lowest floor of Magneto's facility. She was able to access it through the walls of Ka-Zar’s house that were the ridge itself, deep in which this facility resided, on the mountainous interior of the savage land.
When she was fully out of the wall she stepped from the cubicle, that she wouldn't let herself smell, into a small bedroom, unoccupied with ruffled sheets on grey, bland bedding. She walked through the walls of the room that led her to a narrow grey hall. The place was well lit and she assumed that this lower floor was just the living quarters of the few treacherous crazies that were based there.
The narrow hallway lead to a staircase going up. She decided to skip the unnecessary tread and surf straight through the ceiling of this floor to higher floors where she was most certain to find the action she was looking for.
No sooner did she level on the next floor in a room far more spacious that the one below, but bare and grey with a hard-looking bed fit for a prison cell, scattered tools and scraps of circuit boards, mechanics and paper, than the door to the room swung open and the Wolverine himself threw a frail looking man into the room. He stumbled with a ghastly look in his eye and stress all over his pallid, fatigued face.
Cipher hadn't taken her eyes off him before the shadow of the Wolverine left the doorway. 'Poor guy' Cipher spoke in silence. She had no time to stick around to get to know him. Just to take note and move on.
Cipher followed the short, husky, hairy man down another well-lit hallway and up another flight of stairs which landed in a small room with large glass panels above several dashboards with control panels that obviously operated some kinds of mechanics.
" Are all systems go ? " a gentle baritone came from speakers mounted somewhere in the room.
"Look's about it." answered Wolverine to the voice Alisa only assumed to be Magneto’s.
Cipher moved in closer from the entrance of the room close towards Howlett's father, who was bare chested and wearing just a pair of comfortably fitting jeans and boots.
"So we'll launch tomorrow. I don't want to be keeping around that pitiful fool any longer. We'll dispose of him tomorrow as soon as our mission is successful."
Ali saw the Wolverine’s head twitch and his metal claws popped through his wrist. Then he withdrew them. For a second she was startled, but then she realized it wasn't that he somehow magically detected her. Something was definitely off about him. She observed the faint reflection in the glass pane. His eyes appeared slightly spaced out and his left brow twitched. Then his eyes once again found intent to look through the glass into the next room.
When she got closer to peer over his shoulders through the glass panes she saw that the room she was in was elevated above a wide open cavity in the ridge. The cavity must have been the biggest part of the entire facility. It was the size of a football field at least. For a second Ali imagined the expanse of a colossal creature, as it grew, maybe even digesting the inner matter of the ridge. She imagine Calisto the Krakken.
Mageto was there, hovering above a series of machines. At least 800 identical machines, coloured red and yellow, were lined in rows. They were lighting up row by row as Magneto hovered above them in his well fitted purple pinstripe suit, donning silvery locks.
They were more than machines it seemed. They looked like androids. Or, at least they all bore the same familiar face. A face she had seen several times before. Ali’s invisible eyes widened with the realization of who it was, who that frail pallid "pitiful fool" must have been: Anthony Stark!
Anthony Stark was a billionaire who had, for the longest while, been supporting the mutant cause. He’s given several hefty donations to various non-profit mutant organisations and even contributed to the Agency itself. After his disappearance, The Captains had been put on the case, the government believing it to be too high profile for the Agency-X and out of it’s scope since Tony is just a regular supergenius human.
Ali spent the next forty five minutes scouting the remainder of the facility. It was a bit extensive. Amazing what someone as powerful as magneto can do with just a bit of time. He was also something of a genius. Not quite on Stark’s level, but enough to be able to quality control the sentinels, make sure that Tony wouldn't be able to sabotage him, give himself power to control them remotely as a fail-safe. Genius and cunning.
During the time she wondered about the stories that Ka-zar had given them. Not much, but more that what X himself had let off. Interesting that a lot of what they've learned this week had to be second hand. Things add up, but so much more is missing. Cipher was the best at gathering intel, however; she was certain there would be more she would learn.
Forty five minutes and a full secret lair scouting later. Ali was able to report the data she gathered of the facility for the logistics of the mission; building structure, ventilation , exits, technology and the weaponry, everything. Her team all gathered in the ridge-walled room.
"He called the sentinels his iron-men... "
"Magneto has Tony Stark?" interjected Alex for the third time. He was in disbelief.
"I- All I knew was that he was going to hijack some scientist program for the weapon. I didn’t know he was going to actually hijack that scientist." added Howlett.
Lorna finally addressed the issue. "This complicates the mission a little bit. Mr. Stark has been missing for ten months and his case has been in The Captains' portfolio since then. We can't risk telecomm back to base being intercepted so we'll have to deal with his rescue mission till our cover's blown. His rescue is now second priority to decommissioning the sentinels. It takes precedence to Magneto's capture."
"Magneto's capture might become more important. When I was there it appeared he could control his iron-men remotely with his powers."
"This is how the plan has to be then." continued Lorna. "Cipher will phase us up to one of the rooms on the lowest level. There's no surveillance there. Then I'm giving her eight minutes to phase up to the cavity. Take out the control room tech and then start taking out the sentinels. Once you're doing that we move out. Anole, secure Mr. Stark. The Wolverine might come for him. Give it all you got. Havok and I will tag team Magneto. Howlett and Ka-Kazar will help taking out the machines and be ready in case any get initiated. As soon as you're done, Cipher, you get Stark and phase him out. Cipher hasn't reported Cyclops being in the facility. All clear?"
"Crystal." The agents responded.
Ka-zar gave a consenting nod.
Episode 4 Part 2
Cipher “solid-surfed” back to the upper floors. The was the first and most integral part of the plan. She remained invisible because she knew these floors had surveillance and couldn’t afford to be detected sooner than it takes to decommission all the Iron-Men Sentinels. She was at the last hallway going up when she glimpsed a figure at one end going down the stairs. Closer to her, at the other end, going up into the control room, was Wolverine.
“Cyclops, dammit!” She whispered in silence.
He might be headed back down to the living quarters. When she did surveillance earlier there was no sign of him, ANYWHERE. Ka-zar informed that the dense forestry at the entry points of their facility means that it was unlikely that he would go out alone, especially given the dangers of the terrain. They somehow concluded he might not be on the island. A gross and hasty oversight.
There was no time. The team would have to deal with an encounter with him. Cipher hurried, phasing through the Wolverine into the control room, and began phasing through the controls. The machines gave off sounds of snapping, phizzing and crackling. No time for delicacy.
Wolverine began to get frantic as Cipher surfed through wires and circuit boards and power cables. “What the hell’s happening Eric?! I’m going to kill that Stark if I find out that it’s him!”
“I don't think this is him Logan, but there is something definitely going on. Go downstairs Logan, now! I’m initiating.”
Upon hearing this Cipher phased out of the controls, which she was sure by now was in ruins, to observe magneto seemingly activating the machines remotely. They were wrapped in the purple glow of his magnetic powers and the center of the sentinel’s were pulsing a bright orange glow. They were booting up, loading. She still had time.
Cipher floated down into the large open cavity and began, line after line, row after row, phasing through each Sentinel with as much molecular disturbance power -- or however this worked --as she could muster.
One after the other Sentinels blew out, some fell. Magneto became visibly angry as he realized his master plan was falling apart. Then, he stopped. He simply stopped trying to boot them.
Whether or not he had given up was no concern of Cipher’s but she kept on taking out the killing machines as fast as she could. She was almost through them all when she was stopped in her tracks.
She was still invisible but for some reason she could no longer move. No longer phase, or de-phase or even know which state she was in.
“You will NOT ruin this for me, miss. Such finesse, you must be female. Show yourself. Your mission is over, foiled.”
Cipher would not show herself, but found her speech choked up as she tried to speak aloud.
“H-.. How” she couldn't speak. She felt herself being lifted from the ground, by Magneto’s powers.
“You see” he said calmly “there is a very faint, magnetic disturbance when you use your powers for ill the way you did. I suppose there might be degrees to your stealth and to do damage you have to give some of it up. I felt you the moment you stepped into that control room, when you floated down and when you tried to ruin my work. A faint wisp, but nothing the master of Magnetism couldn't grasp. Show yourself!”
Cipher felt her invisibility drop as magneto got a greater hold on her. It felt like a choking of every molecule in her body. She looked at him as he peered at the X emblem on her shoulder. His face grew red with fury as the lights of the remaining sentinels began pulsating brightly, and much faster than they’d been before.
“Xavierrrr!!!!” He exclaimed.
Magneto was known to be a ruthless hater of mutants. Cipher would surely die today.
As per Ali’s instruction, with the exception of Anole, Lorna and the rest of the team, along with Ka-Zar and his beast, took the left in the hallway as soon as Ali went phasing up the ceiling. Anole went in the opposite direction, which is a quicker way to Tony Stark’s room. Lorna regretted not sending any back up with him, however they’d need a lot more help with Magneto and the Sentinels.
The bigger group was already in another large open room after the staircase landing, which would take them to the door to the sentinel floor. Their current location appeared to be a giant electronics lab with several parts and tools and incomplete sentinels lying around. There was a large metal door that Cipher informed would lead to a passage and from there to the location of the completed sentinels.
Before the group could get anywhere near the door they were stopped in their tracks. Scott was sitting laxly in a chair at one corner of the room fiddling with a sentinel arm. Scott, called Cyclops, was Lorna and Alex’s brother who stayed with Magneto when the two had escaped. He was Tall and lean built with a neat crop of brunette and ruby quartz visors that cover up his death-ray eyes. His demeanor, as always, very stern and pensive.
Cyclops tossed down the sentinel arm he’d been fiddling with and stood the moment they entered the room. Ka-zar immediately launched his spear with such swift reflexes hardly a complete thought had been done by the others before it was at Cyclop’s head and blasted away almost as swiftly with a quick touch on the release in his visor; his crimson optical blast colouring the room red.
Lorna had screamed as surely she thought in that split second it was the death of her, albeit hated, brother.
“Ka-zar!” she exclaimed.
Cyclops stood, seemingly annoyed by the attempt on his life. He was wearing worn out clothes, a grey shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers, and signs of dirt and leaves indicated he’s been in the forest.
‘gross oversight’ Lorna thought to herself.
“I’m not the one you should be attacking and you’re very late by the way.”
“We must act quickly.” said Ka-zar, observing the teams hesitance. "If you dont with him then how will you face your father?"
Lorna didn't seem to listen. "What are your talking about ,Scott?" she asked. "It doesn't matter. You either give in to us or get taken down." Fist clenched, Lorna was getting ready to fight. "Cover's blown." she said, looking over at Alex. "Signal for the Captains, now."
Cyclops seemed unmoved. "Who do you think helped Howlett Jr over there get out ? Who fed him information?"
They all looked at Howlett, who had a sly smirk on his face, but said nothing.
"Why Scott?" Asked Lorna. "Who would y- ?"
"No time for that." He interrupted. "We have to get down to the lines." He turned the face on his wrist watche and the wide metal door began to open.
Ka-zar's beast instinctively pounced ahead and went through, Howlett, Lorna, ALex, Ka-zar and Scott following.
"Lets hope Cipher is on her way to Stark by now." said Lorna.
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