While many worried about the mysterious Arthuria and her knights, or the alien gods known as the Asgardians and their claims to rule and protect Earth as part of their domain, others never forgot the true threats.
The invisible rot that plagued humanity, one that had been hidden for years, was slowly taking away sons and daughters from their parents, turning them into freaks of nature.
A threat that now openly showed itself, proclaiming itself the future, kings and rulers.
They were nothing but a disease, one that needed to be cured… No… eradicated.
And the one who would do it — who would ensure that not a single mutant remained — was none other than Bolivar Trask, founder of Trask Industries. A man of vision, who saw the threat and was determined to eliminate it once and for all.
Thankfully, he wasn't alone in his vision — even more so after Magneto proclaimed himself King of Mutants and held the entire UN body captive for hours as he made his demands known.
Thanks to that, plenty of people now shared Trask's worry and desire for a solution. And with their shared goal came resources.
And generous amounts of it.
Enough that Trask could push forward with his anti-mutant measures — weapons, detectors, drugs, ways to disable their powers; everythin
g his cruel mind could think of, he was now pouring infinite resources into.
And he was seeing progress — enormous amounts of it. Sure, if he had access to truly brilliant people like Reed, Stark, or even that dictator Doom, he would already be there, but those were busy or not someone he could command.
So Trask had to head many of the projects himself, though despite how tiring it was, he still found it rewarding.
He sat in his office late into the night, surrounded by screens filled with numbers and images that only he and a handful of others in the world could truly comprehend.
Genetic sequences, neuro-mapping charts, satellite captures of mutant events — every image a reminder of how widespread the infestation had become.
On one screen, footage played of Magneto's declaration before the United Nations — the magnetic fields rippling through the chamber, the metal twisted around screaming diplomats.
On another, a shaky camera recording from a small town in India: a teenage boy bursting into flames in a crowded market.
Next to that, a mutant healing from bullet wounds in seconds during a robbery gone wrong.
Every clip, every data point, was proof.
Trask leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. "And they call themselves superior," he muttered. "They think divinity excuses contagion."
He tapped a command into the console, and the main screen changed. Rows of project codenames appeared:
• Project Prometheus – gene suppression nanodrugs.
• Project Cerberus – portable power dampeners for law enforcement.
• Project Pythia – predictive AI for early mutant detection through genetic drift modeling.
But all of them were listed as supportive research branches. Only one line glowed in blue.
Project Sentinel.
Trask smiled faintly.
He rose from his chair and walked toward the glass wall of his office. Beyond it stretched a massive hangar — easily the size of an aircraft carrier hangar — humming with energy and activity.
Dozens of engineers, technicians, and roboticists moved like ants beneath the towering silhouette at the center of the chamber.
A man like Stark might have been able to build this on his own, but Trask, he could still get there in the end. With data from Stark's suits and the work Hammer had put in to make a new one, his robots were coming along quickly.
For now, it was incomplete still — a skeleton of titanium and vibranium composite plating, its head bowed like a dormant titan. Nearly the size of a building, its hollow eyes reflected the light of the work lamps below.
"This," Trask whispered to himself, "is how humanity survives."
A voice spoke from behind him — cold, bureaucratic. "The Oversight Council has approved another round of funding. They're impressed with your pace, Doctor."
Trask turned slightly, recognizing the man even before he stepped into the light. Henry Peter Gyrich, liaison to the Department of Defense and unofficial director of Project Wideawake.
A CIA project that hadn't gotten anything done in decades — but still, the man had contacts when it came to anti-mutant-leading people.
"They should be," Trask said dryly. "We're creating the first autonomous defense system capable of identifying and neutralizing mutant threats without hesitation, without bias, without fear."
Gyrich folded his hands behind his back. "Just remember, mutants are only the beginning. Those who are funding this are expecting this project to be used to deal with other threats once the mutant menace is dealt with."
Trask smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it. "Of course. Once the design is perfected, it can be adapted. Mutants today, gods tomorrow. You think I haven't thought about that?"
Gyrich's expression didn't change. "Good. Because that's exactly what the Council wants to hear. The world's growing more unstable every year — mutants, Asgardians, Wakandans, even that so-called kingdom of Albion. Humanity needs to reclaim its leverage."
Trask nodded slowly. "And I'll give it to them. Machines don't kneel to kings or gods. They obey orders."
"Orders from us, you mean," Gyrich corrected sharply. "Keep that in mind. You build the tools — we decide where to point them."
For a moment, silence filled the office, the hum of the distant reactors below the only sound. The two men regarded one another, their reflections ghosted against the glass wall and the vast silhouette beyond it.
Finally, Trask broke the silence. "When does Phase Two begin?"
"It already has," Gyrich replied. "Roxxon Europe and Hammer Advanced Systems have finished fabricating the flight modules. The U.N. has authorized us to begin live calibration testing — under the cover of humanitarian drones. The first models are already en route to Eastern Europe for 'infrastructure patrol.'"
Trask turned back toward the sleeping giant in the hangar. "Good. The field will teach them faster than any lab simulation. Every encounter with a mutant gives us better data — reaction time, countermeasure efficiency, adaptive response."
Gyrich checked his watch, his tone almost casual. "There likely won't be too many mutants, but Doom's drones can be substitutes for now. With Magneto having gathered much of the mutant population in Albion… we need them to be fully ready before unleashing them there."
Trask cursed. "They should be used against mutants first, that was the agreement — not that little dictator and his tech. They aren't designed for it."
Gyrich merely snorted. "You just said they could handle other threats after dealing with mutants. The Oversight Council just wants to be sure of those claims. But don't worry, these here," he paused to point to the hall outside the window, "those are for mutants. Don't worry."
Trask wasn't happy about them going over his head on this, but those sent to Europe were the last-generation units. He had already seen the flaws in that design, so their loss wouldn't be too great, and the data could still prove useful.
If nothing else, the data they could get from analyzing Doom's robots in the fight might prove useful; that man had some amazing technology, something Trask was deeply jealous of.
Trask turned away from Gyrich, his gaze once again fixed on the great metal titan beyond the glass. Engineers continued their work in silence, sparks raining like falling stars around its bowed head.
He could almost imagine the thing moving — rising — answering only to his voice.
"Just don't blindside me again," he said softly, more a command than a complaint. "My work is precise. If you want monsters, fine. But make sure they die the way we designed them to."
Gyrich's smile was all chill bureaucracy. "Precision, Doctor, and accountability. For the time being."
Trask did not trust the concession. He only trusted the iron and code that took shape beneath the hangar lights.
It wasn't that Trask didn't see the threat posed by the likes of Asgard or Arthuria from Camelot — those almost alien beings were dangerous, an enemy to be eliminated. And people like Doom, or even the entirety of Wakanda?
Yes, they too had to be dealt with, but compared to the mutant problem, they were minor things.
The truly insidious thing about the mutants was that they couldn't easily be detected. Even those without powers meant to evade detection, most of them masqueraded as humans. They could live in your home, sleeping beside you, and you wouldn't even know it.
They could be a friend or lover… and people had no way of knowing the sinister truth. They could spread and multiply in secret, using innocent people to care for their young.
With gods, there would be some way to find them. Sure, Loki had looked like a human when he had paraded around the globe, but the difference would be easy enough to spot with time or through detection measures.
Mutants, on the other hand, had once been humans. Most tests couldn't see the difference, which is why his Sentinels would be the best bet humanity had to rid themselves of them — because they would be able to detect them.
Or at least that was the plan. He still couldn't really figure out how to make the detection easy and smooth.
Remotely detecting minute differences in something as complex as DNA wasn't easy; it took time — too long. To scan a city?
Months, at least.
Though he wouldn't tell Gyrich that. He knew the man and his backers had no solution. Telling him that he was in fact falling behind schedule would only make them hesitate with their funding.
And he couldn't allow that. He needed everything, all the help he could get to solve this issue. Not to mention that while his Sentinels would be able to deal with most mutants easily, he hadn't forgotten about Magneto — the master of metals and magnetism.
He couldn't be allowed to use his powers, or Trask's work would be for nothing. So he needed the power suppressors finished as well, so he could equip his Sentinels with them. And not just suppressors to stop mutants from using their powers.
No, those that would shield his Sentinels from mutant powers… and wasn't that another headache.
But he would get there. Maybe the data from the battle against Doom would yield some answers — that man had apparently managed some amazing shielding technology. Maybe the key would be hidden in that.
And if not him, then maybe Wakanda — they had all kinds of special technology hidden away. Or maybe just making a Sentinel of vibranium… yes, that might work if it resisted magnetism. But he would have to get some and do some tests.
So much to do — but for humanity, he would gladly do ten times as much!
(End of chapter)
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