Chapter 387: [491] - The Sentinel Is an Alien Artifact

"What? The hearing's been suspended? Why?"

The X-Men had just landed in Washington, D.C. when they heard the news. Professor X had flown in hoping this hearing would be the first real step toward peace between humans and mutants. Now, as he met the presidential aide waiting for them, he felt a rare flicker of resentment toward President Turner.

The rest of the group looked just as shocked. The White House could have called them before they left, but instead waited until they landed to cancel the hearing without any explanation.

The timing made the whole trip feel like a bad joke at their expense.

The aide didn't react to their frustration. He opened his briefcase, took out a stack of documents, and handed one each to Xavier and Magneto.

Storm, Jean, and the others got the same thing.

They were nondisclosure agreements.

Jean opened her folder and skimmed the first page. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the subject at the top.

"An extraterrestrial visitor?"

The aide met her gaze without blinking. "Until you sign that document, I cannot say anything further."

The agreement covered everything about something called an "Alien Entity."

If they wanted answers, they had to agree not to talk about it.

Xavier and Magneto exchanged a look. Neither liked the situation, though for different reasons. After a short pause, they took the pens and signed. The others did the same.

After the aide checked every signature and put the documents back in his briefcase, he finally explained why the congressional hearing was canceled.

"This situation came up without warning," he said. "A military base in Texas reported finding a suspected extraterrestrial artifact early this morning. Although, 'finding' might not be the right word. The artifact seems to have found us."

The aide turned to Xavier. His face took on the practiced look of regret you'd expect from a White House official.

"Right now, the President, the Pentagon, and some senior members of Congress are focused on whatever landed at that base. President Turner also meant to invite you to lunch today, Dr. Xavier. He asked me to give you his deepest apologies."

Xavier's irritation faded behind his usual, calm smile. "There's no need to apologize. National security comes first."

"So you brought us all the way here for nothing." Magneto wasn't as patient.

The aide gave a tight smile. "The President has promised that once this crisis is over, he'll personally ask Congress to reschedule the hearing. There's also something else, Dr. Xavier. The artifact is being moved from Texas to Washington right now. Depending on what we find, we might need your help."

"What kind of artifact are we dealing with?" Xavier's interest grew.

The aide reached into his briefcase again.

"This kind."

He took out a photograph and handed it over.

The photo showed a towering humanoid machine. It was almost five meters tall, made of matte-black metal with no markings or insignia. Its shape was clearly human, but nothing about it looked built for communication or exploration. Every joint, plate, and reinforced limb pointed to one purpose: combat.

If Wolverine had been there, the Logan who came back from a ruined future would have recognized it right away.

So would Mystique.

But Logan was long gone, and everyone thought Raven was overseas rescuing persecuted mutants. Xavier and Magneto had no reason to think otherwise. Mystique often disappeared for weeks while moving between safe houses and covert missions. Unless she stayed silent for more than a month, neither man would suspect she'd been captured.

With the only two people who could identify the machine missing, Xavier and Magneto saw just an advanced, unidentified robot.

The word Sentinel never crossed their minds.

As far as they knew, the Sentinel Program ended with Bolivar Trask twelve years ago. Trask never finished a working model, and no government had brought his work back. The idea that one of his machines could suddenly show up at a U.S. military base seemed too unlikely to consider.

"Is it alive?" Xavier looked at the photo for a few seconds.

"We don't know," the aide said. "The people at the Texas base ran every scan they could. They found no biological activity, no normal power source, and no active transmissions. That's why the Pentagon ordered the artifact sent to Washington for a closer look."

"What does the President expect from us?"

"He would like you and your team to remain in the capital for the time being."

Xavier rested the photograph on his lap, considering the request. "Remain in Washington?"

"There it is. You canceled the hearing, brought us to the capital, and now you want to keep us here." Magneto let out a dry laugh.

When it came to people, Xavier always looked for the best in them. Magneto, on the other hand, looked for the hidden threat.

The aide immediately raised both hands. "Mr. Lehnsherr, no one intends to detain you. The President hopes that your team can help protect the capital if the situation deteriorates. The truth is, we have no idea what this object is, where it came from, or why it landed on American soil."

"You know nothing about it, so your first decision was to ship it directly into Washington?" Jean frowned.

The logic was hard to defend. It was like finding an unexploded warhead in a field and deciding the safest place to examine it was in your living room. As strange as it seemed, that was exactly what the government had done.

"Miss Gr…" The aide stopped himself before finishing the name. "Miss Phoenix, the Texas facility lacks the equipment and containment systems required for a proper examination. Quantico has both the necessary technology and the appropriate security clearance. We also hope your group will assist with the investigation."

Jean's expression shifted at once. "Having me here won't help you."

"No," the aide replied. "But your father might."

Jean stared at him for half a second before laughing. "You want help from my dad? Do you people even want to let him enter Washington again?"

The last time Hawk visited the capital, many people died and the damage cost over ten billion dollars. Even if he agreed to come, Jean doubted anyone in the White House would dare let him back in.

The aide's carefully maintained smile became strained. "We would naturally prefer that Mr. Phoenix remain where he is. However, if the situation requires it, we hope he might provide information from a distance. This artifact is extraterrestrial, after all."

The meaning was obvious.

Hawk Phoenix was also an outsider to this universe. For all the government knew, he might recognize the machine or possess information about whoever had sent it.

Jean just shrugged and looked at Xavier. She would be going back to her own universe in two weeks. It was up to the Professor to decide if the X-Men stayed in Washington.

Xavier looked from the photograph to the presidential aide, who waited with controlled anticipation.

He did not try to read the man's mind. Even if he wanted to, it would not have worked. Most people working for Congress, the Pentagon, and the White House now carried special devices to block telepathy.

It was hard to ignore the irony. Xavier had helped the Pentagon create that technology.

He thought this gesture would show that mutants did not want to control humanity. In his mind, peace could only last if both sides trusted each other, and trust needed boundaries. Helping the government guard against his telepathy seemed like a fair compromise.

Had it worked?

Xavier wanted to believe it had worked. Otherwise, Congress would not have even thought about holding a hearing on the Mutant Peace Accord.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

He pushed the thought aside and lowered the photograph. "If you require our assistance, I assume we'll be allowed to examine the artifact in person."

"Of course," the aide said at once. "That is precisely what the President has in mind."

The trap was already set.

The government's plan was straightforward. The X-Men would be allowed to inspect the supposed alien artifact. Once they were close enough, the Sentinel would be activated in secret, and whatever followed would be blamed on the mutants.

The official story was already in place.

The machine had remained dormant throughout its transfer from Texas. It had shown no signs of aggression until the X-Men began examining it. Therefore, the public would naturally assume that the mutants had triggered it through recklessness, incompetence, or deliberate sabotage.

Once the Sentinel started destroying Quantico, no one would care about proof. Pictures of mutant heroes next to a rampaging alien machine would be all people needed.

President Turner would then have the perfect excuse to abandon the Mutant Peace Accord.

How could Congress approve a peace treaty after the X-Men caused a disaster in the capital? The administration would say it tried to work together, but mutant actions put thousands at risk. At best, nothing would change.

The mutants would be sent back to their mansion and told to wait until the government needed them for another secret mission—without pay.

The Pentagon's generals came up with the whole plan while Xavier and his team were still on the plane. By pretending the Sentinel was an alien artifact and making sure it malfunctioned during the X-Men's inspection, they hoped to solve two problems at once.

First, they would manufacture enough public outrage to kill the peace treaty.

Second, they would draw out Hawk Phoenix.

The aide had already suggested a link between Hawk's strange origins and the so-called alien machine. Once the Sentinel's mimicry gene was added to its systems, the government would create a crisis big enough to draw Hawk to Quantico.

Two years earlier, Hawk had reduced the facility to a crater.

This time, the White House and the Pentagon intended to make Quantico his grave.

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