Rome.
The dream destination of many vacations, a city filled with ancient history, art, and culture, one of the cradles of Western civilization.
A city that had survived wars, plagues, fires, and the fall of empires.
It had stood the test of time and had come out on top, a symbol of endurance and resilience.
But today, it was a city in chaos.
Steve Rogers landed the sleek Talon fighter in a hidden spot, not wanting to attract any attention as he started to move towards the city center, where the battle was the fiercest.
He wasn't alone; Natasha and Banner were with him. They had been the closest to Rome when the alarm came, and the three of them had moved as fast as they could.
Though they were all still in the dark about the exact situation, and as they got closer, the more worried they became.
The city was a warzone.
Buildings were on fire, the streets were filled with rubble, and the air was filled with the screams of the innocent.
It was a nightmare.
And in the middle of it all were the Sentinels.
Towering, monstrous machines that moved with a cold, relentless purpose. They were not fighting like soldiers; they were slaughtering like butchers, and their targets were not the military or the police.
No, their targets were the civilians.
Steve felt a cold rage build inside him. This was wrong, this was everything he fought against, everything he stood against.
He had seen a lot of horrors in his life, the atrocities of war, the cruelty of men, but this was something else entirely. This was systematic, this was planned, and this was just wrong.
"We need to find a way to stop them," Natasha said, her voice tight with anger as she looked at the destruction.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Banner asked. "These things are built to fight mutants, and while we might not be normal humans, we also aren't the best at dealing with things like this."
He knew he himself, or rather the Hulk, had the power to fight, but it wouldn't be easy to use the Hulk effectively. After all, these robots could fly, something the Hulk very much couldn't.
In fact, none of them had much ranged power.
"He is right," Steve added, as he looked at the Sentinel closest to them. "These things are built to fight people like us, and I don't think our standard gear will be enough."
He had heard the briefing, heard Stark, Doom, and Reed go on and on about the abilities of these machines. So he knew that this wouldn't be an easy fight, but when was a worthy fight ever easy?
"Italy is doing its best to fight back, but it's hard for them to deploy military force inside Rome, not to mention that while Rome is the hardest hit, it's not the only target," Natasha said as she pored over the data.
"Are we the only ones here?" Banner asked. "Anyone else fighting with us?"
"There are pockets of resistance, not many mutants, most have long since gone to Albion under Magneto's banner, but other people have displayed strange abilities. In particular, the Vatican is holding its own," Natasha said with shock in her voice.
And why wouldn't she be surprised? Few people were still able to accept Arthuria as a God, because doing so would mean accepting that God was real as well.
Yet as demons, monsters, and magic appeared, people looked increasingly hard at the Church; people flocked to it seeking help, yet the Church had mostly been silent on many topics.
Making people unsure of what to think, yet today, as robots came from the sky, the Vatican could no longer hide.
And had somehow repelled and destroyed the Sentinels that attacked the mini-state.
As a result, civilians rushed there for protection, adding both a layer of chaos and safety to the place.
"The Vatican? Now isn't that a surprise." Banner was surprised; he wasn't a very religious man. In fact, he was a man of science, so he would be the first to disregard religion.
But he wasn't a fool; he knew the Church had more secrets than most governments, and it was clear they had been hiding some kind of power.
It wasn't just him; even Steve was surprised by this, but it also made him feel a little bit more at ease, as it meant that the Sentinels could be dealt with.
"I have an idea," Steve said. "We need to get to the Vatican, maybe they can help us."
"That might not be a good idea, Captain," Natasha said. "The Sentinels are targeting the Vatican harder than anywhere else. It seems the Sentinels aren't taking their loss quietly."
"All the more reason to go there. If we can join forces to take the Sentinels down, then that would be a better use of our time than going hunting for them," Steve said.
Natasha and Banner looked at each other. Neither was fully on board with this plan, but they also didn't have a better one, and in the end, they both nodded.
"Any update on Charles' school?" he asked into the communicator, asking for an update on those rushing to help fight the Sentinels attacking there.
"You don't have to worry about that," Magneto responded.
Steve let out a sigh of relief; he hated to imagine a school filled with children getting attacked.
"I'm glad you have it covered, Erik," Steve replied, ready to focus back on the task at hand.
"I don't have it handled. The reason I'm saying you don't have to worry is because it's pointless at this point," Magneto said chillingly.
Steve froze, the words hitting him like a physical blow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, they are gone. The school, it's gone, reduced to rubble, nothing but a hole in the ground at this point." Magneto's voice was cold and flat as he delivered such chilling news.
Steve opened his mouth to speak, but he wasn't sure what to say, and while he hesitated, someone else spoke up first.
"I'm afraid he is correct, Cap," Tony said. "Jarvis just detected a nuclear explosion at the location, a nuclear missile was sent in... nothing remains there now." Tony's words were clinical, but Steve could hear the pain in his voice.
The world seemed to stop for a moment, and Steve felt a surge of rage like he had never felt before. A school, a place of learning, a place filled with children, had been destroyed, not by the Sentinels, but by a nuclear missile.
Who would do such a thing?
Who would be so cruel, so monstrous, as to destroy a school, to kill children, in such a way?
He felt a wave of nausea, and he had to lean against a wall to steady himself.
This... this was too much.
First, they had attacked them in New York, and he had thought Arthuria's actions following that were overly harsh, yet now, yet another such weapon was used, and again, the targets were innocent people.
Ever since getting dug out of the ice, Steve felt that America was disappointing him more and more.
But now, he felt pure disgust.
He knew this wasn't the will of the people... he loved democracy, he really did, but why did he increasingly feel that people who lived under supreme kings had it the best?
Whatever it was, Arthuria and Albion, Magneto and the mutants, Doom and Latveria, or even Wakanda. He just couldn't understand why the kings were the ones doing the most for their people, while democracy seemed to be failing again and again.
Because the people would never have bombed New York, nor a school, even if it was full of mutants. He had seen plenty of goodness in people, yet why did that goodness never reach the White House?
"Nat, Banner, we are going down to the Vatican, now! We must do what we can here, and Fury, I know you are still listening, make sure no more nukes are fired! That's an order!" he commanded, not just as the Captain, but as a member of the Illuminati.
He was done with playing nice.
If he had to be the tyrant to ensure the innocent were safe, then so be it.
"Understood," Fury's voice came from the other end of the line. "I'll deal with it."
With that, Steve turned and started to run towards the Vatican, his shield on his back, ready for a fight.
He didn't care if he was outmatched, he didn't care if he was going to die.
All he cared about was saving as many people as he could, and he would not let anyone else suffer the same fate as the children at the school.
He had to make a stand.
He had to be the hero people needed him to be.
He had to be the hero he wanted to be.
And as he ran, he could only pray that he would be strong enough.
-----
Magneto looked at the screen, watching as the nuclear explosion consumed the school, a mix of anger and sorrow on his face.
He had seen a lot of horrors in his life, he had seen a lot of death and destruction, but this... this was something else entirely.
"Did he make it out?" he asked, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Yes, he made it out before it fell. He is currently in Albion," a mutant said from beside him, one of Erik's people.
As a king, he no longer just had the few dozen members of the Brotherhood; now he had tens of thousands of people working for him. Some might not be strong, the kind he would have once disregarded.
But now, he understood that everyone had their place.
Mystique might be the best there was for gathering intelligence, but that didn't mean he didn't need others working intelligence for him.
The media was a powerful tool, and even if he couldn't broadcast worldwide, he still had his own station broadcasting to mutants in Albion.
Propaganda was a powerful tool indeed.
The woman beside him was a telepath, but far from as powerful as Charles; she could instead connect her mind with a limited number of people, but in exchange had no known limit on range.
Only, she needed to touch someone to link up with them. This was far better at passing intelligence around than using radios or phones.
Faster, and far more secure.
To think that someone like her had once lived pretending to be a spirit medium, such a waste of her gifts.
She was his assistant, and given that he was a member of the Illuminati, his personal assistant got to meet many people.
Shaking hands with powerful people.
Erik had every reason for being pleased with her.
(End of chapter)
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