"Ugh," James groaned. He raised his head for a moment, but the pain was too much to overcome. It shot down his neck like a lightning bolt, and spread to his forehead. The intense throbbing of his veins irritated him all the more. It was the worst migraine--or headache--he had ever had. He lowered his head back onto the debris, which covered every square inch of himself. The pain lessened, but only slightly. The Telepath instinctively tried to rise out of the rubble only to find more pain to meet him. James' body felt even worse than his head. He immediately regretted the movement. It felt like he had been stabbed in the back twenty times, and shot in the legs at least ten times. The accumulated dust had already settled, that much was for sure. It covered everything; even James' visor was no match for it. James coughed up the dust, his body heaving as he did so. The incessant heaving of his chest flung the dust back into the air unfortunately, and James followed it with his eyes, the only things that didn't hurt in the particular moment. He began to breathe even harder, having sucked in even more dust. His attention span was short, for the blistering pain in his head bothered him a lot. Dust just wasn't interesting. Instead his eyes had focused more on the holes that led to the outside, and to where the Sentinels were.
James rested, realizing he'd cause more damage to himself if he tried to wrestle with the debris resting heavily on top of him. He couldn't think straight, with all the pain, so he decided to use his telepathy. He used his suggestive abilities on himself. A trick of the mind, he thought with immense pain. He was able to shut down his pain receptors mentally, just by focusing on walking down a warm beach in Florida. He felt euphoric, the type of euphoria that you would feel when you're drunk or under the influence of various drugs. His head wasn't filled with the obvious pain from being flung through several brick walls. Now he, with his trick of the mind, felt more light-headed and relaxed. His muscles, previously tensed, now rested in a normal state. The pain in his back and legs had been replaced by a quiet calm. James smiled to himself, the dizziness settling over his body. He was free to take in his surroundings.
With his mind free from pain, James was able to take in his surroundings more. The building he had crashed into was abandoned, and seemed to have been unloved even before the submergence of New York City. The wallpaper on the wall had peeled totally off, lying on the floor. The thick, blood red bricks behind were visible. James looked down at his covered body, a feeling of queasiness settling over him--like he was going to throw up. It passed quickly thereafter, and James was left to discover that four pipes lay firmly across his legs. No wonder I couldn't move, he thought stupidly. James also felt a pipe across his belly, and several destroyed bricks and wood beams on his arms and the rest of his body, as well. James, seeing how much damage had been caused, immediately began to wrestle his arms from under the pieces of bricks. His left arm came out first, which he used to wipe his visor. Then he put the notch at four, and released a blast onto himself. His body heated up a bit from the beam, but most of the bricks had been blown off of his body. The wood beams disintegrated into ashes. James sneezed, then got over it. He looked over his body once more. The only debris that remained were a few heavy bricks and the pipes.
His other arm was freed after this, but James was still paralyzed from the lower abdomen down by the bricks and pipes. He used his two hands to lift the pipe on his chest and threw it to the side. It landed on a wall, which cracked as it collided. The pipe fell through to a different room. "Wea-weak walls," James muttered, gasping for as much air as he could. It felt great to not have such a weight on his chest, and the easy flow of oxygen help relieved some of his dizziness. James sat up, and began the work on the pipes placed over his legs. He quickly got them off, rolling them down, and then off, his legs. It took about five minutes to do everything, and by then James was physically exhausted. Even with the telepathic euphoria placed on his senses, his body still ached. James stood up, and began to dust himself off. It was at this time that he actually began to focus on hearing things outside. He was so far into the building that noises didn't reach him until he strained to hear them.
James studied the sounds, and heard screams, but less of them. He could feel the slight rumble of metallic, Sentinel feet--farther away. James now knew he had been out for a while. He was probably behind the Sentinel's advancement now. Death and destruction probably lingered behind, and the injured as well. James, worried for other's safety and well being, burst forward. He got four steps in before he tumbled down. He fell face first, his body giving up on him. "Come on," he tried to encourage himself. "You're better than this! Damn it, James. Those people need you. You're here to protect them, now do some freakin' protecting." James' body got the message, and he got back up. However, he used a wall for stability. He decided to pace himself, make a slower advancement. Plus, he realized he was staggering aimlessly without the support of something to guide him. He stepped over the threshold of walls, and made it to the ledge of the second floor of the destroyed building.
From his vantage point, James could see that almost all the cars on the street had been destroyed in some way, either by being crushed, thrown against something, or stepped on. There was splashes and specks of blood on the concrete and on walls, and a few bodies lay crumbled on the ground. However, James had expected more casualties. It was as if a lot of the people had disappeared, vanished into thin air. They were nowhere to be found. James searched up and down the street, over plumes of smoke and fire, only to find the street barren. He could see, however, that the Sentinels had moved over into the next street, leaving behind their destruction. They were going away from him, firing beams at buildings and causing explosions by using the cars. James limped over to the ledge of the edge of the wall he had broken through, and jumped off. He expected both his boots to immediately turn on, but instead, only one did, and his body turned down and he collided with the sidewalk. "What the heck," he said through gritted teeth. The collision hadn't hurt too bad, the euphoria was still protecting him from pain. But, he did feel it.
James winced down at his boots and discovered that one was mangled beyond repair. He looked at the bottom of his heel only to find that his propulsion system was cracked and torn apart. He smacked his hand against his leg in anger. Well, so much for flying, he thought angrily. He pulled off his boots, leaving himself barefoot. He threw them into the street. Then James began to search. He looked around for anything to help him get to the Sentinels quickly. Sure, the cars had been destroyed. He couldn't get to the Sentinels at seventy miles per hour, but he could get there on a different form of transportation. James searched for the little things, roller skates, bicycles, or even a skateboard. He staggered along the sidewalk, searching for anything. His eyes were trained on bike racks and the staircases to doors. He eventually found a bike, a block down, underneath a heap of debris from a destroyed building. He pulled it out and got on, ignoring the fact that the bike was pink and had the word "Princess" on it. "Wow, I'm the "Superhero Bicyclist" now." James said to himself, ashamed. Then he began to push the pedals, propelling himself forward, towards the Sentinels, at a much slower speed. "I'm going to be a laughing stock," he said, his head hung down. "Who'll want me to save them now?"
The Next Street
James stopped about fifty feet from the Sentinels. He could see them destroying buildings and snatching up people. Snatching up people? James connected the dots. They're taking them! James saw as a claw protruded from one Sentinel and grabbed a fleeing person, then retracted back into the iron giant's chest. James felt a rush of fear overcome him as he watched each Sentinel perform similar acts. No wonder it was almost a ghost town, James thought. He dismounted from the bike and let it fall to the ground on the blackened pavement. He valiantly ran barefoot towards the Sentinels, turning the notch on his visor to 10. It would burn through some of the Sentinel metal, but probably wouldn't cause too much damage. It would be just enough to distract one of the giants for a little bit, and possibly allow some people to escape. It was time to be the heroic Perception, and not a sissy.
Perception pressed a button releasing the valuable ambient light and heat energies onto the back of one of the Sentinel's head. It melted some of the metal, revealing another thick sheet of protection. He evaluated the situation. It would take multiple blasts before he was capable of penetrating the Sentinel's systems, and another to destroy its wiring and control panel. "I have the time," he admitted. Perception fired another blast, melting more metal. The Sentinel now turned its body, and focused on him. It looked down at him as if he was puny. A small obstacle. He did feel feeble, but he knew he was capable of a lot of things. Nevertheless, the blood drained from his face as he saw an iron hand raised towards him. "Not this time," Perception yelled. He jumped forward instinctively, towards the Sentinel, and rolled outside of the blast radius. It narrowly grazed his back, giving him a numbing feeling. He got up, and then fired another heat blast from his visor. This time it was aimed for the Sentinel's left kneecap. Afterwards, Perception rolled sideways to evade the Sentinel's big foot, which had tried to stomp on him. Perception fired again, and again, in quick succession. He had cut halfway through the metal kneecap, but found the progress excruciating. It took too much work.
The barefoot Perception dodged more stomps, and various swipes, before he tripped over a small rock. A rock! He looked down at it ruefully, and then up at the Sentinel's kneecap. Two more blasts, he thought. The idea of completing a goal urged him to continue. He fired one more, and then rolled underneath a slightly damaged car. He didn't stay underneath the car for long, and rolled out on the other side. With the car as a meager protection, Perception fired the final blast. It passed cleanly through the sheet of metal, and the Sentinel went down. It collapsed to one side, unable to stand on one leg. It crushed its left arm as it fell. Perception threw his fist in the air in triumph, but his grin faded as he heard the scream as the iron giant hit the solid concrete. They yelled, hoping someone would hear them: "Help us!" "What's happening?" "Where are we!" "Is anyone out there?" "Please, I'm pregnant!" "Take me, leave my mother alone!"
Perception limped towards the machine. It felt like there was needle in his foot, but it hadn't hurt while the adrenaline was pumping in his body. Now, his body more relaxed, the hero could feel it. He looked down at his left foot and found a gash in the side. "Rocks," he muttered under his breath. The blood poured out of it with every step he took, but Perception continued towards the Sentinel. Its right leg was bent in a position that left it immobile. The robot fell on its back, unstable, and trapped its right arm as well. The Telepath climbed up the broken hand, using protrusions in the metal to help his footing. He made it to the chest of the Sentinel and began to look for a button to eject the prisoners. The other Sentinels had already moved on, too busy with their individual duties to help assist. Perception felt unsafe however, the Sentinel's eyes were firmly placed on him. Watching his every movement. Accessing his skills, observing his abilities.
As Perception scoured the remnants of its body, the robot made a noise. The Telepath instinctively looked in the direction of the Sentinel's head. He looked into the Sentinel's golden-colored sockets, as it spoke. A mechanical, menacing voice emanated. Emotionless, toneless, androgynous. It was robotic. Perception became still. His eyes, hidden by the visor, opened wide with fear. Sweat began to form on his palms.
"~~~Self~~~Destruct~~~5~~~Seconds~~ "
"No!" Perception screamed. The Sentinel wasn't listening though. It was beginning to inform its systems of the immediate self-implosion it would undergo. The Empathic Hero felt the fear rise in the people held within the machine. They had heard the four simple words, and were now in a state of disarray. Their feelings overpowered Perception for a moment, and then he heard their thoughts. It broke his heart. He frantically looked for a button. "~~~4~~~" He stomped on the chest of the Sentinel in thought. The claw! Perception focused his attention for the area where the claw protruded from and grabbed the citizens. He started a brisk walk towards the center of the Sentinel's chest. "~~~3~~~" He stopped in the center, looking for a button. He got onto his knees, and began to search on all fours. "~~~2~~~" There it is! He thought, pressing a button he had discovered. The detainment area slowly began to open, but stopped. It had only opened a foot. Perception could see inside He clicked it again, but to no avail. It was jammed. "~~~1~~~"
"Stop!" Perception yelled. Something surged through him. It wasn't anything he had ever encountered. It was different. Absolute power. It spread from his brain down his torso to his legs. Then it came back up, and spread down his arms to his fingertips. He raised his hand towards the menacing Sentinel face, and it surged out. It was so different from his telepathic abilities. It was more destructive, less passive. Perception watched as the Sentinel had was ripped off the body and thrown into a building. It crashed into the brick walls, and rested in its makeshift seat. At the same time, Perception was lifted into the air, the top part of the Sentinel's metal chest tearing away from the main body. The hero stood awestruck as the metal cages that housed the detained flew out of the humanoid prison. It was everything he wanted to do. Rip off the head of the Sentinel and open the detainment area. Everything he had wanted to occur had occurred.
"Did I do all this?" he whispered. Perception looked down at the cages and put a hand towards them. He wanted them to open. An unidentified force did just that, and the cage bars separated. He hadn't noticed that he was still floating in the air atop the metal chest until people began to scream in fear. Someone said: "Mighty Magneto! He's here to kill us all!" The Telepath immediately relayed a mental image to everyone around him. I am Perception, a hero. These are my...powers. I just saved you. Perception began to lower from the air, the metal body dropping soundlessly onto the pavement. "Is everyone all right?" he asked. People began to step out of their cages, and none of them had suffered any serious injuries. They were hesitant to respond to him, however. Then, a young boy stepped forth. "I'm o-o-okay, but my mom is still in the cage. She br-br-broke her leg." Perception stepped off the metal Sentinel chest and smiled down at the boy. "Where is she?"
The boy pointed to the cage, and James saw the woman. He raised a hand towards the cage, and it raised into the air, and began to float towards him. As his hand came closer to his body, so did the cage. He lowered it until it rested in front of himself and the boy. James stepped around the child and picked up his mother, and then stepped out of the cage's threshold. A few civilians stepped forward and took the lady from him. James nodded in gratitude. "Everyone, take refugee in the buildings. Stay there until this mess is sorted out. We can't have anyone roaming the streets, the Sentinels are taking you and that is very dangerous." Everyone nodded in agreement, and made their exodus to the closest buildings. There were at least thirty people inside this one Sentinel. James felt relief, he had saved them all. Even when he thought all of them, including him, would die a miracle had happened. I've developed another psionic ability, James thought, looking down at his hand. He recalled all the psionic abilities that he had read about. It was at this point that he knew what power he had gained, magnokinesis. Power over the magnetic field. It was the only power, besides telekinesis, that could control metal at will.
"Am I a monster? Like that of Mighty Magneto?" James pondered. He knew the legends of infamy that had spread around the world of Mighty Mags. He feared the Master of Magnetism, and now he feared himself. James shook his arms, wanting to lose his new gift. He had just attained the power of one of the most evil, vile villains in the world. "No, I am not like him!" James declared. A feeling of reassurance washed over his thoughts, and he felt a little better about himself. I need to embrace this power, it is the only way I can save all these people. James looked up, and witnessed a path of destruction leading to three other Sentinel's. Two had gone on to another street, while one had continued along the same one. James took a step forward, and then he felt his illusion failing. The migraine and intense body pain did not return. "How?" James thought. "Without my 'mind trick'... This shouldn't be possible. Unless..." James recalled research he had done about the abilities of manipulating magnetic fields. He was pumping magnetic energy into himself, subconsciously. He was heightening his strength and stamina, as well as his reflexes and durability. "My body is becoming more durable because of the magnetic energy pumping into it."
Standing, without pain, James looked towards the Sentinel still on the same street. He raised his two hands towards it, and pulled towards his body. Immediately, the robot flung off its feet toward him. It flew at least four hundred feet before crashing into the concrete on its stomach, right in front of him. Pieces of concrete pelted his body, but James didn't feel it. James’ extra durable body was not bothered by the feeble materials, he was now above the average level of tolerance. James used his right hand to raise the Sentinel head up to look at him. "I know, you're just following orders--but this is enough." He used his left hand, aimed at the Sentinel's head, and then through his hand behind his head. The head tore from the body. James heard the wires stretch until they ripped. After that, the Sentinel had vaulted over him and onto the street, rolling down it until being stopped by a decimated car.
James flipped the robot over, and then ripped the body open. With his right hand he guided the cages towards a gentle landing, and with his left threw the Sentinel body away. It landed on a few empty buildings and laid there, one of its arms hanging over the side--with its metallic wrist on the ground. James opened the cages in the same way he had done before. As the saved civilians began to hide in buildings, James compressed three cages together. He constructed a fine, rounded disc. It floated a foot in the air, and James stepped on it. It lowered a bit with his weight, but then James guided it upwards. From prior knowledge, James figured he was creating two opposite magnets, which were repelling each other. As he rose above the building, James flew towards the remaining two Sentinels. Then he saw three more, and realized there was a lot of work ahead of him.
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