As hundred Sentinels circled Wyndmoor, their massive forms hovering with eerie precision over the ruined mountain town. They moved in unison, their glowing crimson eyes sweeping across the chaos below. The mutants, Echelon Prime and Purity Dawn soldiers, even the survivors—all of them lifted their heads toward the mechanical gods descending from above.
And then—They opened their arms. A pulse rippled through the air, low and droning, vibrating through bone and blood.
Every Sentinel stretched their arms outward, releasing arcs of pure plasma—brilliant, electric tendrils lashing out like the grasping fingers of an unseen titan. The plasma beams snapped toward one another, linking with unnatural synchronicity, forming an enormous, radiant dome that swallowed the entire city.
The effect was instantaneous. The sky above Wyndmoor was gone. Replaced by a glowing, pulsating prison. A cageoflight. A coffinofenergy. The mountain town was trapped.
Seraphina's breath hitched as she watched the dome snap into place. The warmth of it settled over her skin, not quite burning—notyet.
Kai stood frozen beside her. "What the hell is this?"
Rick touched the ground, his diamond-coated fingers buzzing as the very air crackled with electricity. "Containment field." His voice was quiet, almost reverent in horror. "They're not letting anyone out."
Kevin clenched his fists, flames flickering uselessly against the dome. "No—" He took a step forward, then another, thenhurled a fireball at the plasma barrier. The moment his flames touched it—BOOM.
The fireball imploded, swallowed by the energy field, dissipating into nothingness. The Sentinels shifted. Their heads turned in unison. And then—The dome tightened.
Seraphina felt it, the field constricting, the air thickening. The mutants shrieked—some of them melting where they stood, their bodies collapsing under the sheer radiation of the barrier. Purity Dawn soldiers scrambled back, some attempting to run, but there was nowhere to go. The Sentinels had locked Wyndmoor in a death grip.
From the war room, General Calloway watched, his fingers digging into the metal table. His face was stone. Silas, standing at his side, grinned. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Calloway said nothing. Silas tilted his head, watching the carnage unfold through the holo-screen. "A work of art, really." He glanced at the General, eyes glinting. "You do know what happens next, don't you?"
Then, Sentinels spoke as one. Their voices weren't voices at all—just a terrible, mechanical decree vibrating through every living soul in Wyndmoor. "INITIATING TOTAL PURGE."
The plasma dome hummed, casting an eerie glow over the battlefield. The air was thick with smoke, the scent of burning flesh mingling with the acrid bite of ozone. Wyndmoor was already in ruins, yet somehow, things had just gotten worse.
The Sentinels loomed above like gods of judgment, their glowing eyes fixed upon the chaos below. Then, a voice—calm, collected, and mockingly polite—echoed across the town, vibrating through every broken street, every collapsed building, every terrified survivor. "Attention, citizens of Wyndmoor."
It was Silas. His voice boomed from every Sentinel, cold and unbothered, as if he were announcing a flashsale instead of mass extermination. "This is your official evacuation notice. You have exactly five minutes to clear the area before total atmospheric cleansing begins. Please proceed in an orderly fashion to the nearest exit."
Barry, panting, covered in mutant blood, scowled at the sky. "Is that guy serious?"
Kai, slumped against a pile of rubble, glanced at the towering plasma dome sealing them in. "Oh yeah. Totally. Let's just take a leisurelystroll through the unbreakable death cage and be on our way."
Kevin wiped the sweat from his forehead, hands still flickering with dying embers. "I hate that dude."
Rick groaned, stretching his aching shoulders. "We've been fighting for hours, and now he wants us to—what, just leave?"
Seraphina wasn't listening. She was staring up at the sky, her silver hair clinging to her sweat-drenched face.
Because Silas wasn't done. "Oh, and one more thing," he continued, voice dripping with amusement. "Before you evacuate, do be good sports and eliminate what's left of Purity Dawn and Echelon Prime. Chop chop. Five minutes, or we turn you all into fertilizer."
The comms cut out. A heavy silence followed. Then—Hana let out an exhausted laugh, wiping blood from her cheek. "You've gotta be kidding me."
Barry turned to Seraphina, breathing hard. "What's the plan?"
Seraphina exhaled sharply. "We don't have five minutes."
"Yeah?" Kai snapped. "We barely had the energy to deal with the Newborn mutants, and now we gotta wipe out two entire armies before bedtime?!" He threw up his hands. "I vote we just—y'know—diewithdignity."
"No," Barry growled. He cracked his neck, flexing his fingers as his claws extended. "We're finishing this."
Seraphina nodded, face set. "No choice."
Kevin wiped his face, groaning. "Oh, great. No pressure. We just have to beat an entire military force before a hundred killer robots drop a nuke on us. Awesome."
Silas, still watching from the Sentinels' eyes, sounded almost bored when he announced—"Four minutes left, folks. Tick-tock."
Barry snarled, his massive werewolf form launching toward Yamazaki once more, claws flashing in the dim light. The monstrous ape grinned, flexing his ridiculous biceps, barely fazed by their ongoing brawl.
"Why so impatient, Barry?" Yamazaki taunted, ducking under a swipe before driving a bone-crushing punch into Barry's ribs. "Tired already?"
Barry didn't stop. He spun, slashing across Yamazaki's chest, sending dark blood splattering onto the cracked pavement.
Yamazaki laughed. "Oh, come on," the ape grinned. "You hit like a dropout."
Barry's rage ignited. He slammed Yamazaki backward, pinning the massive mutant against the remains of a shattered building. "You talk too much."
With a roar, Barry sank his claws deep into Yamazaki's shoulder—then ripped downward, tearing muscle and bone apart.
Yamazaki howled, but his grin never faded. "You know," the ape grunted, even as blood poured down his side, "I always wondered why you left Dravmora University." He smirked, eyes glinting. "Flunk out? Too feral for academics? Unlike me—brawn and brain, completelybalanced."
Barry's teeth clenched. Yamazaki leaned in, voice dripping with mockery. "I'madocto, youknow."
Barry snapped. He slammed his head into Yamazaki's face, then threw him like a ragdoll into a pile of wreckage.
Elsewhere—Locke wasn't just losing. He was getting destroyed. Volkov moved like a predator, every attack precise, calculated, inevitable. His tactical analysis mutation allowed him to predict every move before it happened.
Locke lunged. Volkov was already three steps ahead. A sharp elbow to the ribs. A twist of Locke's wrist. A brutal knee to the stomach. Locke collapsed, gasping, pain rippling through his body.
Volkov smirked. "Humans never stood a chance."
Locke gritted his teeth, forcing himself to rise—only for Volkov's fist to crash against his jaw, sending him sprawling again. "Face it," Volkov said, towering over him. "Mutants have already won. We're just waiting for the world to catch up."
Locke groaned, trying to push himself up, but Volkov placed a boot against his chest, pinning him down.
"You fight," Volkov continued, "but you're always a step behind. That's why you lose."
Above it all, Silas watched. Through the glowing red eyes of the Sentinels, he observed the battlefield like a child watching insects in a jar. He smirked. "Three minutes remaining."
Kai groaned. "That guy's really gonna keep doing this, huh?"
Kevin wiped the sweat from his face. "I hate him so much."
Rick exhaled sharply. "Then let's hurry up and finish this."
Seraphina's silver eyes flashed. She threw up a force field, shielding the team from an incoming barrage. "Everyone—focus on the Newborns. We don't have time for anything else."
Seraphina's force field snapped shut, crushing several Newborn mutants into the pavement. Their screeches were short-lived, their bodies splattered into unrecognizable heaps. But there was no time to celebrate. Because suddenly—A voice echoed in her head. Seraphina.
She froze. It wasn't the Sentinels. It wasn't Silas. It was him. Professor. Listen carefully, his voice resonated in her mind, calm yet urgent. Solus is preparing a portal. Evacuate as many civilians as possible and get to the Hall of M.
Seraphina's breath hitched. "What—? Now?!"
Immediately. Seraphina's mind reeled. Her team was still fighting. Barry was still locked in combat with Yamazaki. The town was swarming with mutants, Purity Dawn, and Echelon Prime. There was no time.
"We can't save everyone!" she snapped aloud. "We're outnumbered! We're out of time! If we start pulling people out now, we'll—"
You don't have a choice. The Professor's voice was final.The Sentinels were already in position. The purge was seconds away. And Wyndmoor—everyone left behind—was going to die.
Seraphina's fingers trembled. They couldn't save them all. She turned to Barry, Kai, Kevin, Hana, and Rick. Her voice was sharp, commanding. "Change of plans! We're evacuating! NOW!"
Barry whirled, panting, fur matted with blood. "WHAT?!"
"Solus is opening a portal!" she shouted. "We can't fight anymore! We need to take whoever we can and—"
"And leave everyone else to die?!" Barry's growl was guttural, his golden eyes blazing with rage.
Seraphina hesitated. But the Professor's voice cut through again, this time to all of them—"You have thirty seconds. MOVE."
A hum split the battlefield. A swirling portaltore open in the distance, glowing with golden energy. The Hall of M. Barry's fists tightened, claws digging into his palms. His body trembled with exhaustion and rage.
Kai cursed under his breath. "We're really doing this?"
Rick didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted toward the nearest cluster of survivors, grabbing them. "WE'RE LEAVING! MOVE!"
Kevin groaned. "God, I hate tough decisions." He hurled fireballs to push back the approaching mutants, buying time.
Seraphina's heart ached, but there was no other way. With a deep breath, she raised her hands—her force field expanding, scooping up as many people as possible—and dragged them toward the portal.
Barry stood still for just a second longer. He could hear them. The screams of everyone they were leaving behind. All about to be erased.
The Sentinels shifted in perfect unison. Silas's voice echoed one final time. "Final warning."
Barry's hands shook. Then Seraphina grabbed his wrist. "BARRY. GO."
Barry snarled in frustration but turned and ran for the portal. One by one, they dived in. The last thing they heard—Was the screaming. The last thing they saw—Was Wyndmoor, burning—Before the Sentinels rained hellfire down upon it. And then—Nothing.
Wyndmoor was dying. The plasma dome hummed, its energy pulsating like a beating heart, sealing the mountain town in a cage of light and death. Every escape route—every cliffside path, every crumbling road—was cut off. And then—The Sentinels struck.
From the sky, lances of white-hot energy erupted downward, slicing through the ruins like a divine execution. Buildings melted into slag. The mountain stone shattered under the force. Every living thing—mutants, soldiers, civilians too slow to escape—was caught in the storm of fire.
The streets of Wyndmoor, once alive with screams and battle cries, turned into a silent wasteland. The mutants who had overrun the town—both the monstrous Newborns and the ones who had called Wyndmoor home—vanished in the inferno.
Even Purity Dawn, zealots who had spent their lives hunting mutants, found no mercy. Their weapons, their armor, their righteous fury—none of it meant anything against the Sentinels' cleansing light.
High above, Silas watched through the Sentinels' eyes. There was no satisfaction on his face. No anger. No regret. Just cold efficiency.
He leaned back in his seat, fingers steepled, as the last remnants of Wyndmoor disintegrated into nothingness. And then—Silence. The plasma dome flickered once—then collapsed. All that remained of Wyndmoor was a charred, lifeless crater.
The next morning, across Edenia, the biggest news station in the nation broke the story. "This is Vanessa Lorne, reporting live for Edenia Prime News."
The screen flickered to show a smoking wasteland where Wyndmoor once stood. Rescue teams from Marrowind (to the north), Duskford (to the west), Silvermere (to the south), and Brighthelm (to the east) stood at the edges of the ruined town, their faces grim as they searched for survivors. But there were none.
Vanessa Lorne, standing amid the rubble, adjusted her earpiece, her expression haunted. "Last night, the town of Wyndmoor was… erased. The official statement from the Capitol Patrol Guard confirms that the Sentinel Protocol was activated following a high-level mutant outbreak. The CPG states that the measure was 'necessary to prevent further loss of life.'"
She turned to the camera, the wind whipping her dark hair across her face. "But was it? Thousands of people lived here—humans, mutants, families. Were they all threats? Or was this a warning to the rest of us?"
The camera panned to the horizon, where survivors from neighboring towns stood in stunned silence. Some wept. Others whispered in fear.
Marrowind's mayor stood with a shaking hand over his mouth. A shopkeeper from Duskford clutched her apron, eyes hollow. A fisherman from Brighthelm shook his head. "We used to trade with Wyndmoor… I had friends there." A teenage girl from Silvermere, wrapped in a blanket, spoke barely above a whisper. "That could've been us."
Vanessa swallowed hard before turning back to the camera. "One thing is certain, the people of Wyndmoor are gone. And tonight, Edenia asks itself—who's next?"