(General P.O.V)

(New York)

(Lower Manhattan)

(Weapon Plus facility)

It didn't take long for Baron Mordo to complete his part of the plan.

Infact, he could only hope that the Ancient One was having luck as good as his.

It had taken barely any effort for his team of sorcerers to take over the Weapon Plus facility.

For starters, the security had been minimal. Mostly owing to the fact that the world had ended.

Only a few demons and Thralls, humans who were corrupted by demonic blood had provided security for the facility.

And while demons posed a problem for the average person, sorcerers fought them regularly. So they knew how to take them down. And did so almost too quickly.

Portals appeared behind him as the scouting team managed to make it back.

"Master Mordo, we have secured all entry points into the complex. The lab seems to still be operational even without any personnel."

A sorcerer informed him.

"The East and west wings of the first Sub-level are living quarters, although the occupants seemed to have left in a hurry."

Another Sorcerer chimed in.

"How about the rest of the floors?"

Mordo inquired.

"There's only 4 of them. The ground floor which is the main lab, we've left some of our people there. And then there's the underground section which is split up into 3 levels. The first is the living quarters, the second some kind of storage unit and the last...is here. This place. Where we currently are."

The Sorcerer answered concisely.

"I see. Then our target must be on this last level."

Mordo mused, staring at the massive metal door before them.

He could feel the spells woven around the edges of the door to prevent unauthorized access. Or rather...the spells were meant to stop whatever was inside from escaping.

The words, Sub Level XVH were boldly imprinted onto the door.

"Have all teams except for the ones guarding our back rendezvous here. This one might be tricky. I anticipate a final showdown with our enemies."

Mordo ordered the Sorcerers behind him.

"Yes sir."

Mordo had a feeling that breaking in wasn't a matter of simply destroying the entrance. There was more to this than met the eye.

There had to be a reason why the Ancient One deployed all active sorcerers not manning the Sanctum Sanctorium for this mission.

Fortunately for them, Mordo reached into his robes and pulled out an artefact that the Ancient One had informed him might come in handy.

A skeletal key belonging to one Morgan Le Fay. A key that could undo any enchantment. It was very useful against locking spells.

Morgan Le Fay had used the key in the past to try and break into Camelot's treasury. Only the intervention from Merlin had prevented her from succeeding.

The artefact was indeed very powerful.

*******

(Within Sub Level XVH)

The level opened up into a long hallway that was filled with low rank demons protecting the entrance.

Behind them at the end of the hallway was another door, which led into a wide chamber that was Sub-level XVH's main lab.

Incubation pods lined up the walls of the chamber. Some were occupied but most of them were empty.

A sprawling maze of gleaming steel and glass apparatuses were scattered across the chamber, arranged in a haphazard yet meticulously calculated fashion.

Countless wires, cables, and tubes snaked across the cold, hard floor, connecting bizarre machines and the incubation pods.

The perpetual hum of generators and the crackle of electricity filled the air.

The centerpiece of the lab was an enormous, pulsating chamber suspended from the ceiling.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

A huge Containment pod that housed the primary experiment, Weapon XVH.

And before a massive screen with rows of data on the status of every experiment in the lab, was a blonde haired, blue eyed female scientist, a perpetual frown on her striking face.

"Ma'am! ma'am! The intruders have managed to make their way here! And they seem to be Sorcerers."

A low rank demon wheezed while bowing Before Dr.Alba, the head scientist for this facility.

The blonde woman whirled around, anger marring her features.

"You fools let them get this far??!"

She yelled in fury.

"Don't you know this could compromise everything I have worked for? What will your master say if I tell him we failed because of your recklessness?!"

The Low Rank demon bowed it's head even lowerm While it could kill the woman in a heartbeat, It knew the repercussions would be too great to endure.

"What should we do then? They have magic greater than ours. And I have tried to contact the Master but the Sorcerers have a bounded field preventing any magical transmissions."

The Demon informed her.

Dr.Alba sighed, kneading her temples.

"Leave me. I have a call I need to make."

She eventually said.

The Demon bowed before retreating.

Once alone, Dr.Alba turned to the screen and pressed a key.

The screen changed to display a pale man with red eyes, long black hair and a smirk on his face against the backdrop of what looked like an office.

"You were right, Sinister."

Dr.Alba immediately told him.

"About what? I am right on every occasion. Be specific."

Sinister replied with a knowing look.

Dr.Alba stomped down on the urge to roll her eyes.

"Intruders. They have arrived at the facility. They're right outside Sub-level XVH. Just like you warned, this base has been compromised."

"What can I say, dear Alba. I am a man of great foresight."

Sinister told her, leaning back in his chair.

A cold look flashed across his gaze.

"That said...you cannot let H-Alpha or XVH fall into their hands. The latter is worth more than your life, Dr. Alba."

Dr.Alba swallowed.

"I am well aware. And I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't an emergency. The Demons that were supposed to guard XVH's development have been defeated and the Intruders have set up a magical barrier that restricts..."

"Communications of the mystical nature. Which means no reinforcements from hell."

Sinister saw the crux of the problem.

"I anticipated the X-Men to attack but not Practitioners of the Mystic arts."

"I need evac to the central facility in Thomasville, Texas. Everything is ready to move."

Dr.Alba explained.

"Mmmh."

Sinister hummed in thought.

"That might be difficult to arrange at the moment. Remember, the modern world is dead."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

Dr.Alba asked.

"Release H-Beta and H-Alpha. Let them deal with the intruders before I arrange transportation for you."

Sinister told her.

Dr.Alba slammed her hands on the console.

"That's impossible! H-Alpha is not ready!"

Sinister raised his brows.

"It's a question of who you're willing to lose Dr. Alba, H-Alpha, a genetically modified specimen with the Wolverine's mutant gene and Dr.Banner's gamma radiated blood. Or XVH, your magnum opus, an Embryo created from combining a particular X gene, d.n.a samples from the venom symbiote and biological material from a high rank Demon. You have already seen it's potential. In less than a week it has achieved maturity. That is greater than anything even I have created. Right now, it's at its most important developmental stage. Are you willing to lose such progress?"

Put like that, it was clear what was more important.

"Fine. I'll release H-Alpha. But I want assurance that when this is over...you get him back for me."

Dr.Alba said, giving Sinister an ultimatum.

"I could myself but H-Alpha's obedience implant is not as powerful as the others. The less said about XVH the better."

Sinister nodded.

"That can be arranged Doctor. Godspeed."

Then the display went blank.

In a flurry of activities, Dr.Alba begun to input the sequence in order to release H-Alpha from its containment pod.

Suddenly, alarms begun blaring out across the entire chamber as the main entrance was unexpectedly opened.

Dr. Alba immediately switched to the camera feed, pulling it up on the huge console display.

Her eyes widened as she saw the demons left guarding the door go down in a brief battle. It wasn't a contest. They couldn't stand up to the intruders who were wearing yellow robes and whose hands flashed with yellow energy.

"They're already in!?"

Dr.Alba yelled in disbelief.

Through the screen, one particular sorcerer looked up, spotting the camera.

Then he ignored it.

They wasn't any more time!

They could be here any second now. Releasing H-Alpha now would only delay the inevitable.

While the Ganna Radiated Wolverine clone was powerful, these Sorcerers seemed formidable.

She didn't have a choice then. They had forced her to do this.

Dr.Alba got back to typing, her fingers almost blurring across the keyboard. With bloodshot eyes she completed the sequence.

But instead of only releasing H-Alpha, she also unlocked the huge Containment pod hanging from the ceiling.

The one carrying weapon XVH. She hated doing this...but, she couldn't allow them to take away all her work.

The scientist stepped back, just as dozens of yellow portals manifested around her.

Sorcerers jumped out, hands flashing with mystical energy, binding her limbs with glowing magical restraints.

Another vortex appeared at her side, Baron Mordo walking out of it with a slow gait.

The latter looked around the place. Eyes passing over the specimens in the incubation pods built along the walls of the chamber.

"You have no idea how fucked you are."

Dr.Alba told him with a nasty smile.

Mordo brought a finger to his lips and a ribbon of energy covered Dr.Alba's mouth.

"I do. You're the one without a clue. Not even science should lead you to consort with demons."

Mordo chided her.

"And yet...their stench fills the air. You have been a naughty scientist, Dr.Alba."

Dr.Alba's eyes widened.

"Yes. I know of you."

Mordo told her before turning to the containment pod hanging above the ceiling.

"And I am also aware of what it is you do here. That, is Weapon XVH, isn't it?"

Dr.Alba blinked in even more surprise.

"Simply put, Dr.Alba. I'll be taking the boy."

Mordo told her, just as the Containment pod was lowered to the floor.

The pistons ground to a halt.

Steam was produced as the incubation pod opened.

And within lay a boy.

Weapon XVH.