"Mr. Stryker, an unidentified aircraft has appeared outside."
A soldier at the base reported to a man wearing a monocle, "They landed at the edge of the forest. The perimeter guards are already panicking."
"Something isn't right."
The fat, bulky old man with white hair looked at Stryker.
"There's no reason our whereabouts should have been exposed so quickly. As far as I know, we already have most of the students, and none of the remaining known X-Men have detection or tracking abilities."
Stryker had done his homework for this surprise attack. He had deliberately chosen to strike while the X-Men's main fighters were away, and had only decided to launch the assault after learning that Professor X had fallen into a coma.
This base was also in an ideal location that had never been exposed. Only a few hours had passed since their success, so how had the X-Men discovered their whereabouts so quickly?
He couldn't make sense of it.
Bzz, bzz, bzz.
His phone vibrated. Stryker checked the caller ID, then raised it and answered.
"Is there something you haven't told me? Those mutants are already at my doorstep!"
Stryker's tone was foul. Suppressing his anger, he all but interrogated the person on the other end.
"Huh? I told you everything you needed to know as soon as I learned it. Your plan was full of holes. If you still ended up like this with every advantage on your side, shouldn't you be taking a hard look at yourself?"
The voice on the other end was hoarse, with a distinctive electronic quality. It had clearly been processed.
"I'm calling to warn you. I don't care whether those messed-up products of yours live or die, but you must keep the organization's assets safe."
"One last thing: Professor X is