sen·ti·nel

noun

    1.  a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch.

 

"Today we're going to do some combat simulations against Sentinels," Scott announces.  "We hope that we will never have to actually use these skills, but he have to be prepared for that possibility."

"I still can't believe that we even have to consider it as a possibility," Kitty complains.  "I didn't think people hated mutants any more.  I mean, isn't this the 21st century?"

"Dude, times are changing," says Jubilee.  "And not for the better.  We all thought things were peachy between humans and mutants, but there are haters out there.  A lot of them, and looks like they've just been laying low up until now."

"There are a lot of haters, but there are many of those who are our friends and allies," Storm says in her usual calm, unflappable tone.  "Just because the haters are blowing their horns the loudest right now, does not mean that they are the majority."

"Yes, we must focus on the positive," adds Kurt.  Storm smiles at him and he smiles back at her shyly.

"Respectfully, I must interject," says Hank with a furry finger in the air, "that majority or not, there are some significant 'haters' as you say, who are in power right now.  We must keep an eye on things, and as Scott said, be prepared."

Scott nods.  "And on that note, let's get started.  I'm splitting you up into teams of two.  Logan, you're with Colossus, Storm, you're with Nightcrawler, Rogue, you're with Ice Man, Shadowcat, you're with Jubilee, and Beast, you're with me.  Jean will be taking a break from drills for a while, for obvious reasons.  She'll be in the control room with the Professor." 

Scott looks up and Jean smiles down at him through the glass of the control room.  She rubs her belly and Scott smiles back.

"Begin simulation," Scott says.

The room is suddenly transformed to the White House lawn, where a hundred empty chairs are lined up in front of a stage decorated with red, white and blue.  Behind the stage are ten sentinels standing in one towering row.

"Whoa," Bobby breathes.  "They are huge."

As I look around, it dawns on me; this scene looks familiar. Very familiar.

"This set was designed based on the 1973 White House standoff; details taken from news footage  as well as first person accounts from the Professor, Hank, and Mystique were used in the creation of this simulation.  The only thing we have left out is the crowds of people."

"Wow, this is like going back in time," says Jubilee.

Yeah, something like that.  I think it's funny how they all talk about this as if it were ancient history; to me, this happened only a few months ago.  I made the time jump, changed the past, and in the blink of an eye, woke up here in the new timeline.  It still fucks with my mind sometimes.  To think that only a few months ago, I was in a completely different world; a dark, dismal world in which Rogue was dead.  The thought is like a prick of pain in my chest, and my eyes seek out Rogue, who stands next to me.  Unable to stop myself, my hand is drawn to hers, lightly touching her fingers with my knuckles; a slight movement, just to remind myself that she is really here.

She looks at me for a moment and gives me a little smile before turning her attention back to Scott.  I feel the feather-light brush of her hand, then a gentle squeeze of my finger before letting go.  It's a subtle exchange, but it's enough to keep me grounded.

"These Sentinels were absolutely state of the art at the time," says Scott.  "Although they were created during a time when computers were a new thing and there was no such thing as the internet, make no mistake; they are still dangerous.  They were formidable then, and they are formidable now."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Piotr says, balling his fist and hitting his palm. 

"Yeah, let's kick some Sentinel ass!" says Jubilee, her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Alright, let's go," says Scott with a nod.  "Remember, you'll need to work with your partner and have each other's backs.   They are relentless machines, designed to detect the mutant gene and destroy it.  Sentinels, power on."

At Scott's command, the Sentinels come to life, their eerie eyes glowing yellow.  Everyone just stands there, in awe of these 18 foot minions of menace.

"You all just gonna stand there?" I grunt.  "I think you better get a move on."

Suddenly half of the Sentinels turn on their rocket blasters and rise into the air.  They raise their arms and begin firing at the team with built-in machine guns.

"Oh, shit!" Jubilee yells and starts running for cover.  Everyone except for me and Piotr takes off in different directions, with the Sentinels in hot pursuit.

"Well, whaddya think, Tin Man.  Feel like a fast ball special?"

Piotr looks at me strangely.  "A what?"

Oh, yeah.  I forgot that this is the new timeline; they've never seen this kind of battle before, and Piotr has no memory of this effective little move we created.  It was kind of a running joke in the old timeline, before the shit hit the fan and things got serious.  Any time we were up against a really tough opponent, the solution was to "throw Wolverine at the thing".  Heh.

"Just throw me at 'em," I explain with an evil grin.

He looks at me for a moment, unsure if I really mean what I just said.  He shrugs his shoulders, then grabs me by the uniform and wails me into the air, straight at the approaching sentinel.  Hell yes, this is the one time that I actually enjoy flying.  Wouldn't Carol be proud if she could see me now.  Letting out a thunderous roar, I pop the claws and chop the Sentinel's head clean off with two swipes.

With a heavy thud, the head falls the ground and rolls, coming to a stop at Piotr's feet.

He looks up at me in wonder, and then a big smile forms on his face.  "Fast ball special.  I like it!"

"Heh, I thought you would, big guy.  C'mon, let's go find some more robots."

----------

Twenty minutes later and Piotr and I have managed to take down two more Sentinels.  These monsters are definitely formidable, as Scott said, but after fighting them for several years in the old timeline and experiencing the latest generation of Sentinel that could shape shift and take mutant powers, these ones today almost seem like child's play to me.  The rest of the team, however, are still working on the remaining seven with difficulty.

Storm is trying to get together a tornado to tear apart the Sentinel chasing her and Kurt, but it takes her a few moments to work up the winds; hard to do when two Sentinels are coming at her so fast.  Kurt keeps having to teleport her out of danger every time they get too close or open fire, and then she has to start over again.

Scott and Beast are doing ok with their Sentinel, though Scott is finding that they are pretty tough and can withstand a good number of blasts from his visor.  He's finally managed to knock out one of its legs out, and Beast is jumping on its back to tear out the hydraulic tubes and wires from the neck, just like he did back in '73.  Before he can completely disable the Sentinel, it lifts an arm and fires off several shots, two of which hit Scott in the shoulder.

"Fuck!" He yells, grabbing his shoulder and staggering behind a fallen tree.

There's no blood, since the simulation has been programmed to use non-lethal bullets, but they still hurt like a bitch.  If this were real life, he could have been killed.

Kitty and Jubilee are struggling just to stay alive, let alone defeat their Sentinel.  It's hovering in the air, coming at them with bullets and heat-seeking missiles so fast, Kitty can barely phase herself and Jubliee  in time.  Jubilee starts shooting off her energy plasmoids at the Sentinel, but it only disrupts the machine temporarily.  They duck behind the White House pillars to regroup, and Jubilee yells to Kitty that she needs to get closer.

Kitty nods and answers that she will create a distraction.  She begins playing a game of cat and mouse with the Sentinel, dodging between pillars, disappearing into the floor of the balcony and reappearing below, sprinting across the lawn and hiding behind the stage, dashing and phasing through anything and everything that will hide her.  The Sentinel shoots at her with precision, but she remains phased as she runs so that the bullets go right through her.  She makes her way back to the pillars and phases through the first level door, the Sentinel in hot pursuit.  The machine comes down to the landing and smashes in the door.  Just then , Jubilee sets off a rapid series of explosions at the base of two of the pillars, causing them to collapse on top of the Sentinel, crushing the mechanical monster to the ground.  The light in its eyes go slowly fade out, and then it's still.

"Yeah!"  Jubilee cries out, pumping her fist in the air.  "We got him, Kitty!  Wooo!"

Kitty comes out of the White House with a wary expression on her face.  "We did it?"

"We did it, girl!"

"Yes!" Kitty claps her hands and gets a huge smile on her face.  "We rock, Jubes!"

"Yes, we do, my friend."  She runs over to the Sentinel, climbs up the pile of rubble, and stands on its head.  Wiggling her hips, she does a little dance of victory, then puts her hands on her hips and raises her chin to the air in a super hero pose.

"Kickin' some Sentinel a-a-ass, unh!"  She sings.  "Ooo!  Here, Kitty," she says, reaching into her pocket.  She pulls out her phone and tosses it to her.  "Take my picture.  This one's going on my kick ass wall of fame."

"Jubes..." Kitty shakes her head with a smile.  "You really are--"  Kitty stops, a look of horror on her face.  "Jubes, get off.  Get off of that thing now!"

"No way, dude!  I need my picture."

"Jubes, it's not dead!"

Just then, the Sentinel's eyes light up, and it begins moving.  It lifts its head and tries to get up, reaching around to push off the broken pillars.

"Oh, shit!"  Jubilee jumps off the Sentinel's head.  "This sucker is still alive!  Run, Kitty!"

The two start running for cover as the Sentinel stands up and begins firing.

Rogue and Bobby, meanwhile, are taking down a Sentinel with a one-two combo.  Rogue has taken a piece of scrap metal and is shielding herself and Bobby as he shoots ice from his hands to freeze the Sentinel's legs and arms, so that it can't walk, fly, or shoot.  She then flies up to the Sentinel and tears its head off.

She sees me watching her from a distance and smiles, blowing me a kiss.  Damn, that's my girl--I knew she would be good at this.  I am seriously turned on right now.

Another Sentinel approaches, and Rogue picks up the scrap metal again.

"I've got you covered, Bobby.  Freeze this son of a bitch."

Bobby nods and begins blasting the Sentinel with ice.  First he aims for its arms to keep it from firing, then he works on the legs.  Its feet begin to falter for a moment as they become encased in ice, but the Sentinel still manages to advance towards Rogue and Bobby.

"Keep going, Bobby; I'll fly up to tear its head off like the other one," Rogue instructs him, before launching into the air.  "Cover me!"

Just then, a cry is heard from behind a crumpled car several yards away.

"Kitty?"  Bobby calls out, searching the field with his eyes.  "Kitty are you ok?"

"I'm ok, Bobby!"  Kitty answers.  "I think I sprained my ankle."

"Bobby, keep going with the ice!" Rogue yells over her shoulder.  "It's starting to break free and I need to get closer."

Bobby hesitates.   "Kitty's in trouble," he says, sprinting towards the car.  "Hang on, Kitty, I'm coming!"

"Bobby, wait!" Rogue calls after him.  She watches as Bobby rushes across the lawn to help Kitty.

The Sentinel that has been chasing Kitty spots her and Bobby and raises its arms to open fire.

"Bobby, take my hand!" Kitty shouts.

He grabs her hand and she pulls him to the ground with her.  They wrap their arms around each other and Kitty phases them both, allowing the bullets to pass through them.  It shoots relentlessly as Kitty and Bobby remain huddled, clinging to each other.

Out of nowhere, the Sentinel's head suddenly explodes, a shower of colorful sparks shooting out like a firecracker.  The headless Sentinel drops to its knees and falls over.  Kitty and Bobby look up in confusion.

"Surprise, bitch!  I bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?" Jubilee says as the smoke clears, looking at the fallen Sentinel with satisfaction.

"Jubilee!"  Kitty exclaims.  "That was amazing!  How did you do that?"

Jubilee shrugs her shoulders with a grin.  "Learned something new today.  I thought I could only shoot fireworks from my hands; but it looks like I can focus my energy on an object and kind of charge it up, causing it to explode from a short distance."

"That is so awesome!" Kitty says with admiration.

Jubilee smiles.  "Yeah it is kinda awesome, isn't it?"  She pulls out her phone and takes a selfie next to the burnt gaping hole where the Sentinel's head used to be.  "Kick-ass wall of fame, baby!"

Kitty and Bobby look at each other and roll their eyes, then laugh.

"Thanks for trying to save me," Kitty says to Bobby, squeezing his hand.

Bobby smiles and kisses her sweetly.  "I told you, I'll never let anything happen to you."

Things are starting to quiet down as one by one, each team defeats their respective Sentinels.  Rogue is making short work of the one that she and Bobby were fighting; she has torn off both its arms and busted one of its legs, throwing it down to writhe in a broken heap on the ground.

She sees Bobby and Kitty cuddling and whispering to each other, and stares at them intensely, her expression one of pure animosity.  She's so focused on the two of them that she doesn't see the last Sentinel suddenly appear from behind.

"Rogue, look out!" I shout to her.

She glances at me for a moment, but I'm too late.  Before she can react, she is smacked out of the air by the Sentinel's huge robotic hand, slamming into a tree trunk with a sickening thud before falling to the ground.

"Rogue!"  Piotr and I start running towards her.  Oh God, she's not getting up.  My eyes are fixed on her, watching for any sign of consciousness.  Finally, she moves a little and groans, rolling onto her back.

The Sentinel slams down his foot on top of Rogue, smashing her with brute force.  Rogue cries out and struggles to lift its foot off, but her arms are trapped.  She tries to gasp for air under the crushing weight, barely able to make a sound.  She can't breathe.

Piotr gets to her first and tries to lift the Sentinel's foot off of her, but it doesn't budge.

"Scott!  Shut down the Sentinel!"  I yell as I jump over the smoking rubble and debris lying everywhere, trying to get to Rogue as fast as I can.

Scott quickly looks at me and then Rogue, and nods.  "End simulation," he commands.

Everything around us disappears, revealing the Danger Room once more.  Rogue gasps for breath, coughing violently and turning to her side, the crushing weight finally removed from her chest.

I rush to her side and gently pick her up, cradling her in my arms.  Her eyes are closed as she swallows, trying to catch her breath.

"Rogue, darlin'..." I whisper, touching her cheek.  "Are you ok?"

She moans and cracks her eyelids slowly.  "My head hurts."

"Shit.  Come on, let's get you to the medbay.  Hank!" I call over my shoulder.  "We need a stretcher."

"No, I don't need a stretcher," she mumbles.  "I can stand."

"Darlin', I don't think that's a good idea."

"I can stand," she insists, slowly getting to her feet.  She rubs her chest and hisses in pain, then takes a step, wobbling a little.

I quickly take her arm and hook it over my shoulders, wrapping my free arm around her waist.  The rest of the team gathers themselves and start heading for the locker rooms, looking sore and beat up.

Bobby walks a hobbling Kitty along and reaches the door at the same time as us.  He looks at Kitty and then Rogue, who is grimacing in pain.  The moment Rogue sees Kitty and Bobby, she goes stock still.

"You son a bitch," she spits.  "What were you thinking?"

Bobby's mouth opens, but he says nothing.

"You never leave your teammate!"  She throws my arm off her waist and takes a step towards Bobby, pointing a finger at him sharply. "You never abandon your partner!"

Bobby and Kitty both stumble backwards a little, stunned by Rogue's venomous behavior.

"I-I'm sorry, I--Kitty was in trouble.  I had to help her," Bobby stutters.  "I thought you could handle it."

"Bullshit!" Rogue spits again.  By now the rest of the team members are approaching, curious about what is going on.  "She had a twisted ankle, she would have been fine.  All she had to do is remain phased until Jubilee could get there.  Rogue was the one who needed you!  She was almost killed because you ditched her in the middle of battle!"

Bobby and Kitty get a strange look on their faces.  "She?" says Kitty.

"This is so like you, Bobby.  She needed you to do your job, and you chose to run off to your precious little kitty-cat," she says with a dismissive wave at Kitty.  Kitty's chin drops with a gasp.  "Meanwhile, Rogue was clocked in the head with the force of a freight train, and then almost suffocated under the weight of that Sentinel."

Everyone stands there, staring in stunned silence.  Jubilee clears her throat.  "Ummm, Roguey?  Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?  Are you okay?"

"Your eyes..." says Storm in wonder.  "They're green."

Oh shit.  I grab Rogue's arm and spin her around; two very green eyes stare back at me. Carol.

"Hey, guys, Rogue hit her head pretty hard.  She needs to go to the medbay, right now," I say, quickly wrapping my arm around her and ushering her towards the door.

"I'm not going to the medbay, bub, so don't even try it," she says firmly.

"Ok, then we'll just go to my room and lay down for a while."

"Hmph.  Fine," she grumbles.  We're almost out the door, when she stops and turns around.  "She still feels pain, you know.  Even if her skin is invulnerable."

The team stands there, saying nothing as Carol looks each of them in the eye.

"C'mon, darlin'.  Let's go," I say quietly.

I give her waist a little tug, and she finally relents, turning back with me towards the door.  I can feel everyone's eye on our backs as we walk away, the only sound coming from the swish of the door closing behind us.

 

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