Chapter 127: Allen Responds to the Sentinel Crisis
The X-Men, Brotherhood, Apocalypse's team, and the remnants of the Hellfire Club—
All the major mutant forces had gathered at the Hydra base.
Apocalypse attempted to deconstruct and absorb the Sentinel robots, only to discover it was completely ineffective.
It turned out that the Sentinels were coated in a magnetic interference field that rendered his abilities useless.
Upon witnessing the Sentinels' power to mimic and replicate abilities, the surviving mutants began to panic.
It was like facing a fusion of Pyro, Iceman, Colossus, and Cyclops—not just one, but a whole army. It was tantamount to fighting a legion of Class IV mutants.
Wade, remembering what Allen had said back on the island, couldn't help but ask, "You mentioned there was a mole—who is it?"
"She is…"
Allen's gaze swept across the crowd before declaring solemnly, "Raven, the Blade of Vengeance."
Who!?
Blade of Vengeance?
There was only one Raven present—Mystique.
Everyone immediately turned to look at the red-haired, blue-skinned shapeshifter.
Raven quickly defended herself, "Don't slander me! How could I be a mole?"
She was known throughout the mutant community for fighting on behalf of her kind. Many owed her their lives.
"You're insane! How are you going to prove that Raven is a mole? If you can't, I won't let this go."
"Anyone who accuses Mystique is making an enemy of the Brotherhood."
"I think you're the real mole! The moment those robots appeared, you instantly identified them as Sentinels."
…
The Brotherhood mutants immediately lashed out, doing everything they could to protect Mystique's name.
Allen remained calm, pulled a carrot from under his arm, and took a relaxed bite. "I'm a staunch anti-American fighter—I can't be the mole. As for why I said Raven is the mole? Simple. I saw X-Men: Days of Future Past. In that movie, the dwarf scientist Trask used Raven's DNA to create the Sentinels' mimicry and shapeshifting abilities. And now, here Raven is—totally unharmed. That gives us reason to suspect her."
Uh…
Is he insane?
What the hell is he even talking about?
Did he just reference a movie?
Some present were highly educated and sharp-eyed.
The Sentinels' mimicry did look strikingly similar to Mystique's—during transformation, feather-like structures would rise and flip on the surface of their bodies.
But still—what reason would Mystique have to side with the government?
Wade offered a possibility: "What if they just got hold of a blood sample? I come home missing limbs all the time."
"That's a valid possibility."
Allen stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Then there's only one person who can give us an answer."
"Who?" Wade asked.
"Logan."
All eyes turned toward the corner where Wolverine was leaning, smoking a cigar.
Allen walked straight up to him, dead serious. "You came back from the future, didn't you?"
"…"
Logan looked confused, completely lost. "I'm me. I've always been me."
As he spoke, he popped out his Adamantium claws, warning, "Keep talking nonsense, and I won't be so polite."
"Oh right."
Allen recalled a key detail. "If you'd come back from the future, you'd still have bone claws right now."
"I can prove Mystique's innocence," a mutant suddenly offered. He explained that he had the ability to read others' memories—and share them.
Immediately, someone else suggested, "Don't just read Raven's. Read his memories too."
"I've got no problem with that."
Allen spread his hands, completely open to the idea.
Everyone unanimously agreed Magneto should act as witness.
Magneto was famously ruthless, especially toward traitors. Years ago, when he tried to live a quiet life and save someone, he was reported, and both his wife and daughter died as a result. He'd executed everyone involved without hesitation.
Truth be told, Magneto only had lingering sentiment for Charles. The rest were disposable.
Before long—
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Mystique's innocence was confirmed.
Then the memory-reader placed one hand on Allen's shoulder and the other on Magneto's.
Not even a minute passed before both he and Magneto's noses began to gush blood.
They looked at Allen in shock and horror.
"What did you see?" Apocalypse couldn't help but ask, intrigued.
Was the reaction really so intense? Actual nosebleeds?
"I saw three cats arguing. Then they turned around—and all had his face."
Magneto shuddered as if he'd just watched a horror movie.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would never dive into Allen's consciousness again—it was simply too deranged.
"I didn't even feel anything, and you guys already backed out?"
Allen had actually hoped someone would invade his mind—last time Charles tried, he ended up with a nosebleed too.
"Shame Ray, activate!"
"Biu! Biu!"
Allen waved a hand and fired off a beam of healing light to patch them up.
"Your powers weren't neutralized?" Apocalypse asked in surprise.
He clearly remembered the syringe was full of the suppression serum—it must have been at least partially injected into Allen. He should have lost his powers.
"Maybe I've got a recessive gene," Allen replied casually.
Apocalypse didn't press further.
They needed manpower right now—and having a healer on-site was extremely useful.
With the mole issue resolved, the three factions each sent representatives to discuss how to deal with the Sentinel crisis.
Cyclops stepped forward for the X-Men. He was Charles's prized student and the team leader.
The Hellfire remnants had already split up between the Brotherhood and Apocalypse's camp. They were like stray dogs—without shelter, they'd be slaughtered when the Sentinels arrived.
While the others deliberated, Allen got to work.
"Madman, you know what's going on, don't you?"
Wade looked at Allen with suspicion, certain he was hiding something.
"It's obvious that forces beyond Earth are involved."
Allen's tone was serious. "The Sentinels' powers supposedly came from Mystique's DNA—but there's another possibility."
"What possibility?" Wade asked.
"Skrull infiltration."
Allen speculated, "The Skrull Empire from the Andromeda Galaxy has long planned to invade Earth. Their natural ability is shapeshifting and mimicry. I really can't think of a better match."
"Now we're talking aliens?" Wade looked stunned.
"Please. Earth's been disaster-prone for ages. An alien in red underwear worn on the outside is worshipped as a hero. We humans are trendsetters." Allen joked.
Wade immediately thought of Superman. Although, at this point, that Superman was probably still in diapers.
"Relax—everything's under control."
Allen, radiating confidence, strode toward Black Widow's quarters.
Wade followed him in.
At that moment, Natasha was lounging in a bathrobe, sipping wine during a rare moment of leisure.
Strictly speaking, ever since she joined Hydra, she hadn't been on any real missions. She was more like background decor.
"Nat, I brought your ex-husband to visit you."
Allen plopped down casually, scooped some ice from the bucket into a glass, and took a small sip.
Despite being a self-proclaimed lunatic, Allen stuck to his principle of never drinking alcohol.
"Long time no see, Scarlett."
Wade flopped into a chair, calling her by her actress's name.
Slightly tipsy, Natasha's mood instantly soured. She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Don't be so distant. The three of us are tight—on and off the set, we could play cards together."
One moment cheeky, the next dead serious, Allen declared, "The organization has an important assignment for you."
"Time, place, objective." Natasha asked matter-of-factly.
"See? Total pro."
Allen gave Wade a proud look.
Wade nodded. "Totally agree."
"Find out if Trask Industries is manufacturing Sentinels. Locate their production facility."
Allen added, "Do you need your ex's help?"
"Doesn't matter. Just don't get in my way."
Natasha stood up, starting to undo her robe.
Allen and Wade leaned in close, eyes wide with anticipation.
As the robe fell away, it revealed her iconic black tactical suit.
The two men sighed in disappointment and sat back down.
"What were you expecting?" Natasha teased.
Allen responded with a straight face, "I wanted to see if a man running at light speed could, you know, hit himself."
"You'll need the Flash for that," Wade offered sincerely.
Only Natasha was suited for this mission. She wasn't a mutant, but a seasoned professional spy, and with six Winter Soldiers backing her, it would be child's play.
Wade, on the other hand, would just get in the way.
Currently, Allen was Hydra's top dog. Natasha was second-in-command. She could access all intelligence to reduce mission risks and command Hydra operatives for support.
They descended to the lower level.
The Sentinels were operated via a neural network. Allen couldn't exactly ask the still-child Tony Stark to create JARVIS.
And Cyborg wasn't even born—just a sperm at this point.
There was only one option left: Dr. Arnim Zola.
The lights flickered on.
Mainframes hummed to life, and a pixelated image of Zola's face appeared on the screen.
"I've been waiting for the dawn of a new era—The Fourth—"
"Can you not use that line again?" Allen cut him off.
"You again? Why did you wake me up?"
Zola looked visibly annoyed—even though his face was a monitor, you could tell he was exasperated.
"You're here to work. If you don't help, the world's ending. And the Fourth Reich goes down with it."
Allen wasn't exaggerating. The Sentinels were continuously evolving, capable of detecting latent X-genes in humans and executing a "better safe than sorry" extermination protocol.
After hearing the whole story, Zola awkwardly replied, "I can't help you. My system is isolated—no internet access."
"I already thought of that. I'll just hook up a wireless router."
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