"What does Fury want now?" Tony couldn't help but complain, though in truth he was thankful for the distraction.
All this diplomacy was driving him crazy. He cared little for all that nonsense; he had gotten tons of inspiration from Wakanda and its Vibranium technology and wanted to integrate it with his own work.
But with all these meetings all the time, he didn't really have time to do it. Sure, he had planned everything out, but he wanted to start building and testing.
And he wasn't the only one who shared that feeling; both Reed and Doom shared it.
Neither cared much for the finer points of global diplomacy and just wanted to build and tinker.
However, the truth was that the Illuminati was split on this issue, and the key to that was the fact that there was no neat solution that would satisfy everyone.
The nations of Africa wanted to punish Wakanda for sitting there and doing nothing while they suffered, and the rest of the world wanted benefits; they wanted Wakanda's tech and resources.
While Wakanda, which had superior technology and the pride to go along with it, saw itself as superior to everyone else, and wanted that status to be recognized, they wanted privileges.
That was the base everything boiled down to, but there was no way both sides could get what they wanted.
There had to be a loser in this conflict...
Yet, Steve didn't agree with that, he wanted to reach a compromise, and Charles Xavier, despite knowing damn well it was impossible, agreed with him.
Reed was smarter than that, but still kind in heart, and didn't want to overreach, which meant he fell in the middle.
As for the other side?
Magneto and Doom were far more realistic, and far more radical.
They firmly believed that it was their privilege to decide who was right and wrong, and everyone would just have to agree to their decision.
Those two had gotten along quite well and built a firm bloc within the Illuminati.
It was a mess, a total headache that just wouldn't go away, so Tony and many of the others were secretly relieved that there was something else needing their attention, as it would hopefully give them an excuse to step back for a bit and leave this issue to Steve.
Without waiting for the others, Tony accepted Fury's call, and the one-eyed Director of SHIELD appeared through a hologram. He didn't seem any more stressed than normal, but that just made Tony's stomach drop. A calm Nick Fury was never a good sign.
"Stark," Fury said, by way of greeting. "We've got a situation. A big one."
Tony's tired expression vanished. "Define 'big,' Nick. Are we talking 'aliens attack New York' big, or 'your ex-wife found your secret bank accounts' big?"
Fury's good eye narrowed. "Not quite aliens, but nonetheless dangerous, I have gotten wind of a secret military project that has gotten out of hand," he said, "It's called the 'Sentinel' program."
At the name "Sentinel," a wave of cold silence washed over the room. Everyone knew the more noble-sounding something was, the less benevolent it usually was.
"Alright," Tony said, the joking attitude he normally had all but gone, "Is this the mass surveillance kind of thing, or the threat removal one?"
"The latter," Fury's reply was grim, "And the 'threat' in this case is the mutant population."
At those words, the calm that had settled over the room instantly shattered.
"What!" Magneto roared, a magnetic force so powerful it made the metal table groan, a sign that the master of magnetism was not as calm as he looked, a wave of anger washing over him.
As for Charles Xavier, his face turned pale. "This... this is a nightmare," he muttered.
Reed, on the other hand, was the most level-headed of the group and asked the most important question, "Do we know who is behind this, Fury?"
He had many theories, but he hoped none were true. The last thing he wanted was for this to be a government-sanctioned thing.
"We have a few leads," Fury admitted. "The project has been black-budgeted for years, with funding siphoned from a dozen different departments. As for who is in charge of the project... we have a name." He said, and a photo appeared on the screen.
It was a familiar face, a famous one, or at least it was to those who were in the know.
"Bolivar Trask," Charles said, the name leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, a wave of sadness washing over him as he thought about what this man had done.
Charles had dealt with plenty of mutant haters over the years and knew this man was one of the worst. Even he wouldn't mourn this particular man should he find himself dead.
"What I want to know," Magneto growled, "is how this is still happening, after the whole New York incident..."
Everyone else was curious about the same; after all, America had suffered greatly after trying to nuke their own city, the entire government was pretty much on life support, and they dared not make any moves, not even a peep, when Magneto had torn through dozens of military and other black sites and killed everyone involved with dozens of anti-mutant projects.
Magneto wasn't what he once was; he was no longer a wanted terrorist, he was the King of Mutants, and a member of the Illuminati, raised above all laws and restrictions, able to do anything he wanted without oversight.
For anyone to still dare to target mutants these days.
They had to have a death wish.
Or worse... some serious backing and confidence.
"Trask is not working alone," Fury confirmed, as if reading their minds. "He has a lot of powerful friends. Some in the government, some in the private sector. They see mutants as a threat, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to neutralize that threat."
Magneto couldn't help but laugh, a cruel, humorless laugh that sent a shiver down Tony's spine. "A threat? They are the ones who are a threat! They are the ones who are playing with fire! They are the ones who are digging their own graves!" he roared, as he stood up.
"Sit down, Erik," Charles said, placing a calming hand on the old mutant's arm. "Getting angry will not solve this. We need to think, to plan, to act."
Magneto looked at Charles, a look of pure, unadulterated rage on his face, but he did as he was told, sitting back down, his knuckles white as he gripped the arms of the chair.
"Where are these Sentinels?" Tony asked, his voice calm, but with a hint of steel. "What is the plan here?"
"Robots," Fury said, to the shock of everyone.
"Robots?" Steve couldn't help but ask.
"Yes," Fury confirmed.
Everyone was shocked at his words, because... robots? Against mutants?
While sure, most mutants might be unable to handle powerful enough weapons, but with Magneto leading them? How could anyone expect robots not to be crushed as soon as they encountered him?
Magneto was the master of magnetism, the overlord of metal.
Even Tony Stark's suits and Doom's Doombots were nothing but toys in front of him.
Yet, Fury was serious, and the others knew it, so there had to be a reason.
"Let me guess," Magneto said, a grim smile on his face. "They are not made of metal."
Fury nodded, a look of grim satisfaction on his face. "Bingo. Trask Industries has been working on a new type of polymer, a non-magnetic, heat-resistant alloy that is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and, most importantly, completely immune to your powers, Erik."
At those words, the smug smile on Magneto's face vanished, replaced by a look of cold, hard fury.
"Immune to my powers?" he asked, a low growl in his voice. "There is no such thing."
"There wasn't before," Fury said, "But my intel indicates that Trask has gotten his hands on a lot of alien debris from New York, and while those aliens were covered in exotic metals which could be manipulated by you, they also had a biological element to them," he explained.
"Trask seems to have found a way to combine the alien technology with some kind of organic material, creating a new type of alloy that is, for all intents and purposes, immune to your powers."
Reed Richards, who had been listening intently, a look of deep concentration on his face, couldn't help but interject. "Fascinating," he said, a spark of scientific curiosity in his eyes. "A bio-mechanical alloy... the applications are limitless. But the ethical implications are... troubling."
"The ethical implications are the least of our worries, Richards," Magneto snarled. "The fact that these things are out there, that they are being built, that they are being designed to hunt us... that is the real problem."
"He is right," Steve said, a look of grim determination on his face. "We need to stop this, and we need to stop it now, before it gets out of hand." He added, "We need to find these Sentinels, and we need to destroy them."
"That's easier said than done, Captain," Fury said, a look of frustration on his face. "Trask has hidden his research facility annoyingly well, and his funding has exploded over the last few months... I fear the only reason I was able to find out about this is that the project is already nearly or already complete." He sighed. "I imagine it will be impossible to stop them from being deployed at this point."
"Then we will deal with them as they appear," Magneto said, a look of cold, hard fury on his face. "I will tear them apart, piece by piece, and I will feed their remains to the person who built them."
"I am sure you would, but what happens then? Do you think Trask is a fool? He knows about you, and he knows that while he might have built a solution to your powers, it's not enough to stop the rest of us," Tony pointed out.
Indeed, things had changed, with the Illuminati now a thing, mutants weren't alone anymore; they had friends, and more importantly, they had real power.
"Any chance we can nip this in the bud? Use our authority to order the cancellation of this project?" Steve asked, still hopeful that a peaceful solution might still be possible. He didn't want to see a war between humans and mutants, a war that would inevitably lead to countless casualties, on both sides.
To that, both Fury and Reed shook their heads, and Reed explained. "I've already looked into that, Steve. As Fury mentioned, this project is not being run by a single government, or even a single corporation. It's a joint effort, a black-ops project that involves dozens of different agencies and private companies. And none of them are willing to admit their involvement. It's a mess, and we would have to take down all of them, one by one."
"Which would take too long," Magneto said, a grim look on his face. "And by the time we were done, it would be too late. The Sentinels would already be deployed."
The old mutant was many things, but he wasn't a fool. He knew how politics and bureaucracy worked. He had spent decades fighting against it, and he knew how to use it to his advantage. But this was different. This was a threat that was not just aimed at him, but at all mutants. And he would not stand for it.
"So we are left with two choices," Tony said, a look of grim determination on his face. "We either wait for them to attack, and then we respond, or we take the fight to them."
"Or we do both," Magneto said, a look of cold, hard fury on his face. "We prepare for the worst, while we look for a way to stop them before they even get started."
"Agreed," Steve said, a look of grim determination on his face. "Reed, Tony, I want you to find out everything you can about these Sentinels, their weaknesses, their strengths, everything. Magneto, Charles, I want you to prepare your people for a possible attack. And Fury, I want you to keep your ears to the ground, to find out where these things are being built, and when they will be deployed."
"And what will you be doing, Captain?" Magneto asked, a look of challenge in his eyes.
"I will be trying to stop this war before it even begins," Steve said, a look of grim determination on his face. "I will be talking to the leaders of the world, to try and make them see reason, to try and make them understand that this is not the way."
Magneto couldn't help but laugh, a cruel, humorless laugh that sent a shiver down Steve's spine. "You are a fool, Captain. A noble fool, but a fool nonetheless. You cannot reason with them. They are not interested in reason. They are only interested in power. And they will not stop until they have it all."
"Maybe," Steve said, a look of grim determination on his face. "But I have to try. It's my duty. It's who I am."
The others nodded, they might not agree with Steve's methods, but they respected his conviction. He was, after all, the moral compass of the group, the one who reminded them of what they were fighting for.
"Then we have a plan," Tony said, a look of grim determination on his face. "Let's get to work."
(End of chapter)
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