X-Men Chapter 3 The Battle

[Foley]

The helijet soared over the Mexican desert silent as a ghost. Inside each member of Cerebro's squad of X-Men sat in somber grace, at the front of the passenager area stood the leader himself, decked in full field uniform and looking very much the grim general.

"All right, X-Men, listen up!" he announced once the pilot informed him they were just outside the target area, "According to our newest member Juggernaut," Cerebro motioned to the towering figure in the back, "C.E.L.L. headquarters is a underground sprial and the 'dungeons' are in the lower most. That is the main objective, to shut those down and free the prisioners held there."

"Resistence will come in the form of at most Beta-Level mutants, most likely clones of other known and unknown mutants, as well as human soldiers armed with class two power suppressent weapons." He turned and looked at Robin who sat just at his right. She too was wearing a black and gold field uniform so new that the folds were still crisp, "That is a weapon that will shut down your power for fifteen minutes for every time it hits you. Make sure you don't get hit by one, stick close to Simian. He will aid you during the mission."

He looked back up to the rest of the team, "We are going to split into three teams. Team one, lead by Simian will keep the troops occupied once Juggernaut opens the door for us. Team two will be led by Wolverine down to the dungeons and is in charge of shutting them down, Juggernaut will show you the way. Once the team two is finished both teams pull back to the helijet for extraction with the freed prisioners for any medical attention and debriefing."

"And Team Three, sir?" Simian asked raising his hand.

"I'm Team Three," Cerebro said standing up a little taller, "According to Juggernaut, the shadowhead of this abomination has a clone of myself which is used to control the prisioners and workers alike. I find that very...upsetting." The X-Men that had served with Cerebro for a long time all smiled grim smiles. They knew and upset Cerebro meant a ruthlessly effective and powerful Cerebro and that anyone who had the misfortune to get in his way were truely blissed if the walked away from the encountered the same way they walked in.

"We're here," he announced. "X-Men, at the ready. Juggernaut," Cerebro opened the side door showing they were still hovering several hundred feet above the ground, "Knock on the door."

[Fire Star]

"Lets find out if this fabric will burn."Robin said with a smile looking down at the ground. She took her place next to Simian. "When were out there don't touch me. Unless you want to get burned.

"Hey boss, if I live through this how about giving me a cool X-men name." Looking at Cerebro Robin tried not to let her nerves show.

[Foley]

Cerebro grinned at her. "Trying to be a bright little firestar on this mission, kid? Hmmm, I think that will fit nicely." he grinned wider, "Woman who had that name before you was someone...important...to me, make me proud you got it, Firestar."

"Flyers!" he called to the rest, "Get ready to airlift nonflyers!"

[Juggernaut]

Juggernaut jumped from the helijet and hit the ground with a huge thompnig sound. He whinsed at the thought of alerting anyone prematurly. Juggernaut looked up and waved at the team then walked over to the bunker that was the entrance to C.E.L.L. It stuck out over the horizon like a sore thumb.

"This is weird, Cerebro." Juggernaut said in his ear piece. "There are no guards posted outside or nuthin..It is almost like...."

Suddenly a huge explosion blew open the main entrance and sent the Juggernaut staggering backwards a few steps. Through the smoke and debris Juggernaut managed to get one final transmission out before all hell broke loose...

"It is a TRAP!!!!...."

[Foley]

Cerebro had telekineticly lowered himself and others, including the newly dubbed Firestar and Simian almost as soon and Juggernaut jumped out of the plane. When the explosion occured the mental mutant put his hands together palms out in front of him and then moved them quickly aside. At the same time the fire and smoke parted like a stage curtain at showtime clearing a path to the small mound that served as the top of the base.

"I figured as much," he said reaching a telekineticly backed hand to the big man, "Something has been trying to worm its way past my mental defenses for that last few hours. Thats why I changed the plan from sneak and grab to frontal assault." He pointed to the mound, "There's the front, now go assault."

Cerebro turned to Simian, "Keep your people back for a moment. Firestar, think you can take control of the flames from that blast, it make a useful weapon once ol' Cain here opens the door. Course," he said tilting his head to one side and grinning wickedly, "I think ya lost yer key there, Big Guy."

[Juggernaut]

"Ha ha! I dont need no stinkin key to get into this place."

Juggernaut lunged forward knocking back debris and exploding into the main entrance like a himan wrecking ball. He smiled and looked up at Cerebro.

"Just like old times! Really gets the old blood flowin."

Suddenly a cloned muntant runs towards Juggernaut slinging spikes from his hands. They are sharp but there is not enough force to even break through his armor. Juggernaut quickly grabs the clone by the nap of his neck and slams him face first into the ground. a spray of blood and dirt go into the air as he finishes it off with a well placed stomp to the back of the head.

"Hey little worm. Hows that dirt taste?"

[Foley]

Cerebro put himself directly in front of the Juggernaut so he could look the man directly in his eye. "No killing. PERIOD. I dont mind you reducing this place to dust but you will not take a life unless it is to save your own or a member of this team. "Do not test me on this or I will reduce your mind to jelly, and you should know I am just as powerful as your brother."

[Foley]

Simian leaped forward past Cerebro and Juggernaut, tackleing a pair of human guards who were getting ready to fire their weapons at the pair. Laughing, he rolled to his back and facekicked another pair before returning his feet in dizzing speed in order to deliever a knockout punch to a cloned fighter.

"Hurry up, you old timers," he shouted good naturedly, "or I'm going to take this place all on my own."

[Fire Star]

Running forward, giving herself some room. Arms stretched she began to mold the flames as if they were clay. Moving it away from her team. The flames danced and sparked moving toward her.
Firestar directed two snake like flames to engulfed two of the Haman's weapons. Causing them to drooped their guns. Another river of flames circled her. Fire shot from her fingers raining down on the first wave.

[Juggernaut]

Juggernaut stepped backwards and shruggeed his shoulders.

"Well, if you wanna do things the hard way then thats fine by me."

Juggernaut steps past Cerebro and stand behind one of the clone guards. He is dazed and begins to get up. Juggernaut, with one finger, flicks the guard on the back of the head, knocking him out,

"There..." He smiles "He aint dead. Satisifed."

[soul]

During the first explosion, the power to Souls cell, flickered. But that flicker was all he needed to escape the ties that had him bound. Although the energency lights had kicked on, SOul cold see very well indeed. Darkness was like a long lost friend to Him. Soul took a long deep breath and smiled within himself.

"Now to get out of this place. I call forth the spirits from the beyond"

Soul raises his hands as the shadows around him begin to dance and take on a life of their own. Suddenly movement catches his eyes. Three of the cloned guards are running towards him. Soul turns to see severl other mutants have freed themselves as well.

"Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Soul smiled a wicked smile as he sent forth his living darkness towards the oncoming guards. They begin to scream as their bodies were being possesed and taken from them.

"Your screams are as a symphony to my darkened heart. Sweet music to my tender abyss. Come let us see what other music we can make together."

the three zombie like creatures shambled behind Soul as he walked towards the main entrance of C.E.L.L. and towards the oncoming attack.

[dc]

"Logan 3:16 says you screwed the pooch,bub!" Wolerine said as he sliced through the zombie-like guards ans did a flip landing three feet infront of Soul.

He smiled a wiked smile as he looked at the mutant and said "You gonna stop? Or am I gonna stop you?!" His adamantium claws extraced, he was poised for battle.

[Foley]

"Report," Mr Sinester commanded.

Mindwipe sat in a crosslegged position in the middle of the air in the middle of a raised dais in Sinester's innermost sanctum like some supernatuaral oracle. His severly short white hair took on a greenish blue hue that was cast off by the dozens of computerbanks that surrounded the dais along the wall as he tilited his head to one side. He seemed to be listening to things only he could hear.

"The Progenitor and his X-Men have breached the first level," Mindwipe said finally in an all-knowing way. "Wolverine and a handfull of others have broken off and made their way to the dungeon levels."

"Not surprising."

"Juggernaut seems to have allied himself with the X-Men,"

"Interesting," Sinestro almost purred, "I had figured that once Cain Marko regained his courage and sense of self that he would make it a point to come after us. I honestly did not foresee his joining those he once fought against in order to do it."

"The Progenitor has corrected Juggernaut on the matters of killing enemies." Mindwipe added, scrunching up his nose like he smelled something unagreeable.

"Again not surprising," Sinester said as he resumed walking around the outside of the dias, "Cerebro has become something of a zealot when it comes to the covenent of 'Thou shalt not kill'. Ironic given just exactly how he felt about it in his misspent youth. Anything else to report, something truely shocking?"

"Soul is free."

Sinester stopped walking again and stared hard at Mindwipe as if willing the clone to take back what he just said. In the deep recesses of his black mind and even blacker heart Sinester was quite glad that Mindwipe's abilities did not work on him or that with his eyes closed, Mindwipe did not see the brief flicker of fear wash across the genetists face. "Location?" he asked after a beat.

"Dungeon level, not far from his cell. He was attempting to make his way here but he is currently being blocked by Wolverine."

Sinester stopped pacing the dais and took a seat in the large command chair that resided on one side of the room. "Keep me updated on his progress. I would rather Wolverine do what he is best at but I am sure that Soul will sidestep the confrontation and make his way to me just as I am sure Cerebro is planning on doing so. It will be nice to have a family reunion don't you agree, Mindwipe?"

[Foley]

Before Wolverine could leap into action, he was slammed into the wall by a plasma blast from a side corridor. Out of the shadowed all stepped a massive cybernatic being whose right arm was smoking from the blast it had fired. It's face was masked by the same crimson red fabric that covered what few parts of it's top half that was not machine.

"Hello, old friend," it said, it's voice sounding hollow as if through a telephone speaker, "Certainly you remeber me. Fellow war vetern Crimson Commando? No, then prehaps from our battles between your cursed X-Men and the Freedom Force? It don't matter much. By the time I'm done with you, you won't ever have to worry 'bout forgetting anything ever again!"

Crimson Commando's arm whined with the sound of it charging up as a wide leecherous grin could be barely made up beneath his mask. After a few seconds he lowered his gun arm and aimed squarely at Wolverine's head.

[Foley]

Simian was a blurr of filps, kicks, and haymakers as he bounced and leaped around the human and clone fighters of C.E.L.L. all the while he was grinning like that cat that ate the canary. This stopped when something long, heavy and flexable whipped out of no where and sent Simian top over kettle several feet before he landed on his back in a unceremonious thud. "What was that semitruck that decked me?" he asked to himself as he started to collect his senses.

"That would've been me, Monkey-Boy!"

Simian looked up and saw that touring over him was a large, ugly mixture of elephant and a man. "Aw, come on! All this crap and Mammomax too? Didn't think you were the type to go for cloning, Hose Nose."

"You kidding," A collection of four more Mammomaxs came into sight, "I gots me my own crew to mess people up with."

Simian backflipped and landed in a fighting stance, "Well there goes you being to fugly to clone."