It didn't take long for everyone to gather together once again, and once they did, the mood quickly turned worse.
Because they realized something important.
They had known.
They had known all along about Trask and his mad plan, about the Sentinel weapons, about it all.
It had long since been added to the list of future things to deal with, they had just forgotten about it due to everything going on. If Steve hadn't seen it on the list by accident, they might never have remembered that they had once deemed this issue as unimportant.
Something they now realized was a mistake, which made everyone feel slightly depressed about it, because they should have dealt with this before it became a problem.
Because it showed that they had done little since Magneto had forced the war here to a pause.
And they all felt guilty about it, because when they all thought back to what they had been doing for the last few weeks, they all realized that yes, they hadn't gotten anything important done.
And... they had no good excuse, because all the people gathered there knew one important thing, that just because a task was difficult, didn't mean it couldn't be solved, and sometimes, the quickest solution was the best.
Not because it was all that good, but simply because if they left it hanging while trying to find a better solution, other problems might appear, which made the problem even bigger.
Which was exactly what had happened here.
Something that was originally easy to solve had now become a threat.
"Alright..." Tony said, wanting to break the heavy atmosphere. "So, we looked at the data, and things are pretty bad; these Sentinels are for sure made with the best tech there is outside of us three," he said, pointing to himself, Reed, and Doom.
"Don't forget the alien technology they have added into the mix," Bruce Banner added.
Just as Tony opened his mouth to add something more, Fury's face once more appeared as he joined in from the command room. "I'm afraid I have to interrupt your little meeting, but the situation has changed."
"What now?" Magneto couldn't help but sigh, feeling tired all of a sudden.
"The Sentinels... they have just been deployed," Fury said, and the image changed from his face to a dozen small images of large robots moving about.
"Are they?" Steve asked as he leaned in to get a better look. "Attacking people?"
"Yes, and not just attacking them, they are slaughtering them." Fury's voice sounded deep and grave as the pictures changed into one larger one, where everyone could clearly see a large robot shooting fleeing civilians. "Trask has just released a press statement."
A new window opened, showing a smug-looking man with a thin mustache and an even thinner smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Bolivar Trask's voice oozed through the speakers, a strange mix of scientific authority and messianic fervor. "For too long, humanity has lived under a shadow. A shadow born of genetic uncertainty, of random, unpredictable mutations that threaten our very way of life. We have called them 'gifts,' 'powers,' 'evolution.' I call them a plague. A ticking time bomb in our very DNA."
The camera panned, showing a sleek, sterile laboratory, with the massive, dormant forms of Sentinels standing in the background like metallic gods.
"But today, humanity strikes back," Trask continued, his voice rising with passion. "Today, we reclaim our future. I am proud to announce the activation of Project: Sentinel. These are not mere machines. They are our guardians. Our saviors. Engineered with the most advanced technology humanity has ever devised, they are the ultimate answer to the mutant question."
On screen, a clip played of a Sentinel's red optic scanner sweeping over a crowd, then locking onto a young man, just another young journalist, yet the Sentinel saw something no one else did. The moment the young man raised a camera, the Sentinel's arm cannon whined to life. A searing beam of plasma incinerated the camera, the young man, and the three people standing beside him in an instant.
"They can identify the X-gene at a distance?" Reed Richards murmured, aghast. He, Tony and Doom, all thought they had at least a little more time, they thought the enemy would still need to refine their machines.
"I assure you, this was a rogue mutant, a threat neutralized before he could harm anyone," Trask's voice-over insisted, the blatant lie chilling in its conviction. "The Sentinels can identify, contain, and if necessary, eliminate the mutant threat with precision and efficiency. They are our shield. Our sword. They are the promise of a safe, normal future for our children."
The broadcast cut back to Trask, his smile wider than ever, a predator claiming victory. "Let the world know: the age of fear is over. The age of humanity has begun."
The feed cut out, leaving the room in stunned, horrified silence. This wasn't a defensive measure. This wasn't a contingency plan. This was a declaration of war. A pogrom. And it was being broadcast on every news channel in the world, presented as a public service.
"But why are they killing randomly? Surely all those people we just saw getting attacked can't all be mutants, right?" Steve asked, looking towards Magneto.
The King of Mutants shook his head. "Impossible, the only place you can find that many mutants is in Albion, and that clearly wasn't there," he agreed with the captain. "What they are doing is nothing but random murder," he said, the last two words filled with a cold, burning anger.
While Magneto didn't have an answer, the brightest minds of humanity were gathered in that room, and they saw through it right away.
"Surely he wouldn't have made such a foolish mistake?" Bruce couldn't help but say.
"Sure looks like he did," Reed sighed heavily.
"A fool playing with things he does not understand, unleashing something he has no control over," Doom agreed.
"I will bet my collection of cars on it," Tony joined in, all the brains in the Illuminati having all come to the same conclusion.
"What?" Steve asked, not understanding what they talked about.
"The detection system, Captain," Tony explained, waving a hologram of the Sentinel's head into existence. "We saw the schematics. It's a new piece of tech, likely rushed into production based on the alien components. Trask is probably dead himself, his hate towards mutants having pushed him beyond the edge."
Reed picked up the thread, his expression grim. "The X-gene is still not fully understood, but what we do know is that it can be found in many people, a huge portion of humanity, though in most of them it is fully dormant, unable to awaken in their entire lives... but."
"There is a chance that their children might have the X-gene in a more stable state, one that can awaken, and if you go even further, mutants, as our friend," he pointed to Magneto, "likes to proclaim, are the next step in human evolution. If you go by that logic, then all humans will one day lead to mutants," he explained simply.
"So what you are saying," Steve said, a look of growing horror on his face as he understood what they were getting at, "Is that these things are not just killing mutants, but also killing potential mutants," he said, a look of pure, unadulterated horror on his face.
It was worse than a hate crime; it was a crime against the very concept of humanity itself.
"The detection system is flawed," Reed finished, his voice heavy with the weight of the discovery. "It's not precise. It's not selective. It's a blunt instrument, a sledgehammer cracking a nut. It's identifying any trace of the X-gene, no matter how recessive, no matter how dormant, as a 'threat.'"
"In short," Tony said, his voice flat, devoid of its usual sarcastic bite. "He created a weapon designed to exterminate mutants. And in doing so, he accidentally created a weapon designed to exterminate the future of humanity itself. The damn things can't tell the difference between Magneto and a kid who might one day have a kid with blue fur."
The room was deathly quiet. The gravity of the situation, the sheer, cataclysmic scope of Trask's folly, settled over them like a shroud.
"In the worst case, they will target all of humanity to wipe out the threat once and for all. Trask knew he couldn't get away with this, so he programmed them for maximum results in the least amount of time," Magneto said. His voice was calm, but everyone understood that it was merely the calm before the storm.
"Erik is correct, they are targeting everyone, but still moving towards mutants or people with the X-gene in a dormant state, but should they wipe those out, they will surely turn their attention onto the rest of humanity," Fury confirmed.
"He has to be stopped," Steve said, his knuckles white as he gripped the table. "He has to be stopped now."
"It isn't Trask we need to stop, it's the Sentinels. I don't assume there is an easy way to shut them down," Bruce corrected, before looking at Tony.
"I had Jarvis try to hack into their signal, but it's clearly based on the alien technology, so I don't have any equipment that can hack into it. This isn't just a simple radio signal that connects them," Tony sighed. "I'll need a sample to find a way to disrupt them."
"I have that," Doom said, with a confident smirk on his face.
The others all looked at him, surprised by his sudden declaration. He had been quiet for the most part, observing, analyzing.
"When the aliens attacked, I took samples of their technology. I've been studying it for a while now, and I've made some... progress. I've already worked on their network, trying to make one for controlling my Doom-Bots. It should work, but we would need to construct a jammer, and that won't be easy; it's not pure technology, it's also part alien biology," he admitted.
"How long?" Steve asked.
It was Doom who answered again. "Too long, I'm afraid there is no quick way to shut them all down remotely," he admitted, something that was rare for him.
It was clear that while he was a genius, he didn't have the resources and manpower of Stark and Richards, and even with their help, it wasn't a quick thing.
The three most brilliant minds in the world, the three most advanced scientists, couldn't find a quick way to stop the slaughter. The realization was a bitter pill to swallow.
"So we do it the hard way," Magneto said, a look of cold, hard fury on his face. "We tear them apart, piece by piece. We show them that we are not afraid. We show them that we will not be hunted. We will be the hunters."
He didn't wait for a response, but simply stood up, the table around him starting to groan as magnetic forces gathered around him. "I'm done with all this pointless talk, you 'protectors of humanity' keep talking, trying to find a solution. I'll go and fix this in my own way," and with that, he left, leaving the rest of them to stare after him.
A heavy silence fell over the room, the other members of the Illuminati left to process the events that had just unfolded.
"He's right," Steve said, a look of grim determination on his face. He remembered back when he was still little more than a dancing monkey, putting on dances and songs.
Back then, Bucky had been captured, and he was told there was nothing they could do to save him. And yet, he had done it.
Not because he had a brilliant plan, not because he found the perfect solution, but because he acted.
It was stupid, but sometimes the best thing to do is just to act, fight, and break the rules.
(End of chapter)
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