Deep in the Nevada desert, lies a dark sanctuary. This sanctuary once held humanity's last hope against the mutant threat of Onslaught. Now, the sole inhabitant of this fortress slaves endlessly for the psychic High Lord it was once designed to destroy. This fortress houses the Master Mould. Master Mould now works steadfastly towards a goal that the High Lord set upon him. The Master Mould is creating one million Sentinels for an attack upon a similar sanctuary in the sands of Egypt, to destroy Onslaught's only true threat: a centuries old mutant whose power is the only that rivals the strength of Onslaught.

Apocalypse.

Los Angeles, California

Havok ripped through a Sentinel with powerful blast of cosmic energy. Alex grinned at the newest kill. This was the sole thing Alex was willing to completely and utterly destroy. Reducing Sentinels to scrap had began to become his favourite activity. He took a moment of respite to assess the rest of the team.

Cannonball weaved in and out through the giant robots, blasting through their heads- the central processor. Warbird harnessed the energy of her nega-bands to tear the Sentinels to their elementary atoms. Sanctity used her telekinetic powers to rip the guts of the Sentinels, slowing the onslaught, if not stopping it. Revelation turned and twisted, as he blasted the Sentinels with his plasma blasters. Cable spun her psimitar through the air, harnessing telekinetic energies to slice through the monoliths. Banshee flew above the chaos, using his sonic screams to scramble the electronic minds of the Sentinels. Havok grinned. The team was working together perfectly.

Havok blasted a Sentinel, blowing his trenchcoat around him. He looked to his deputy leader, Iceman. Bobby faced a Sentinel alone. The robot charged, and Bobby raised his hands, an aura of blue energy surrounding them. Frost gathered on the Sentinel's metal skin as Bobby flash-froze every bit of moisture within the Sentinel. Its engines died and the Sentinel fell to the ground, shattering.

"Looking good, Bobby!" Havok cried to his friend.

"It's a blast, Alex!" Iceman laughed. Iceman's eyes suddenly narrowed. Havok spun and saw a Sentinel threatening Doc, Iceman's lover. The Sentinel charged much like it had towards Bobby, but this time Iceman was too far away to flash-freeze the Sentinel. He feebly tried to erect an icewall around Cecelia. The Sentinel stopped before it reached Doc. It turned its head to face Bobby.

">clik< Target sighted: Robert Drake, Iceman. Wanted for PROJECT FIVE. Acquiring target. >clik< " Iceman and Havok froze as the Sentinel charged them. Neither acted, just watched as Bobby's fate approached. Havok shook himself into alertness.

"Chamber!" Havok screamed to the youngest of the X-Men. "Slag it!"

Jonathan Starsmore spun and primed a blast of bio-nuclear energy. It was too little, too late. The Sentinel snatched Iceman and placed him in the containment tube within its chest. Chamber powered down in disgust. Havok screamed at the Sentinel as it blasted into the Los Angeles night, not daring to act, for Bobby's life was on the line.

A whistling sound filled the air. The sound was piercing in the silence of the X-Men's victory. A bullroarer started to take form. Gateway. The aboriginal teleporter appeared, followed by Exodus, and then Bishop. The X-Men snapped to military attention, answering Bishop a salute, then relaxing. Havok extended a hand to the man he saw as a father. Bishop took it and pulled Havok into a hug.

"We lost Bobby," Alex said, his voice cracking. "It's my fault."

"I know, son," Bishop said. "Exodus saw everything from the Astral Plane. It wasn't your fault. It'll be okay. We've tracked the Sentinel. It's headed for Onslaught Island. Scott and Maddie are there right now. They'll rescue Bobby."

"Thank you Bishop," Alex said, pulling away from his mentor. The older man nodded then viewed the chaotic scene around them.

"Looks like you have started the mission early, team," Bishop said. Several questioning looks fell upon Bishop. He held up his hand before any questions could be raised. He displayed a hand-held holo-projector. An image of a large building appeared above it.

"Roswell, Nevada. This building seems to be the one that the bulk of the Sentinels come from. One of my agents lost his life infiltrating the building to transmit this image back out to us." The hologram shimmered and took the form of several hundred ranks of Sentinels.

"We figure that there is over two hundred thousand Sentinels throughout the building, and about a thousand more being made a day. We think that Onslaught is building up his forces for a major assault somewhere. Clarity suspects that it might be the Australia base. Our base."

Bishop made eye contact with each X-Man. "X-Men, Jade Team, you mission is to infiltrate the Sentinel processing factory and destroy the being that creates Sentinels." The image changed again, this time to an enormous Sentinel. "Master Mould."

The trip to Roswell was silent. The team was reeling from Bobby's capture. Each had one question on their mind. What was the Five Project?

Havok was brooding more than anyone else. Banshee joined him in the cockpit of the Blackbird. The Irish man sat in the co-pilot's seat silently, waiting for Havok to talk first.

"It was my fault," Alex said. "I was close enough to slag that blasted Sentinel. I was too shocked by what was happening to do anything. So I gave Jono the responsibility of getting rid of the blasted thing! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!" Havok pounded the console with his fist. "A good leader shouldn't pass that sort of responsibility on!"

"But you did, lad," Sean said, "and there's no taking it back. Rachel's back there right now contacting your brother, telling him about Bobby. Scott will get him out of that hellhole New York City's become."

"Yeah," Alex said, "he will. Sean, with Bobby gone, the team needs a deputy leader." Havok turned to his long-time friend. "You up to it?"

"Certainly."

(For that answer, check out X-Man #1!)

Lawrence Trask read the mission briefing that Bishop had left with them. Larry cursed the unpredictable precognitive powers that earned him the code-name Revelation. More often than not, those powers were a curse, not a blessing. He looked away from the tiny computer screen and rubbed his eyes. Tanya sat across from him, sleeping through the night-time flight to Roswell. The rest of the X-Men were asleep, except Havok and Banshee, who he could hear talking in the cockpit.

{And me,} a voice said inside his head. Larry jumped and turned. Rachel Summers grinned at him from the rear of the passenger compartment.

{Sorry Larry, couldn't resist,} she flashed.

{S'okay Rachel,} Larry replied telepathically. {It's not like you've never done that to me before.}

{Hey!} a third telepathic voice interrupted. {Some of us are physically unable to sleep. Or don't need it. Whatever.}

"Sorry Chamber," Larry whispered.

{S'okay mate,} Chamber said. {Just think softer.}

Rachel and Larry both laughed. Larry turned back to the screen and gasped as he read a line within the briefing.

"The Sentinels were designed and built by Bolivar Trask..."

"Havok!" Banshee suddenly whispered harshly. "There it is!" The Blackbird flew over the fortress that contained Master Mould. Havok whistled in awe.

"Let's set her down just within visual contact of the fortress," Havok said, pressing the toggles that shut down the Blackbird's auto-pilot. Havok and Banshee landed the Blackbird several miles from the fortress, just behind a small hill.

Havok keyed the Blackbird's loudspeakers. "Okay team, we're here. Pile out an set up base camp. We'll start planning the assault tomorrow."

Master Mould turned on the screen to view the mole within the X-Men. The traitor smiled at him.

"Onslaught was correct," she said. "We're approximately ten miles away. We're starting plans for the assault tomorrow."

"Keep me informed," the giant android replied. "The X-Men will not destroy me or my creations."

"Yes, master," she said, then cut off the transmission.