Issue 1 Downtime

While using some x-ray equipment to scan a suspicious package, a bored security tech's brow suddenly rises.

"...the hell?"

He commands the display screen to zoom in on the medium sized wrapped box in question.

"False alarm. Just a metal sculpture," he reports.

"Just send it on to Bowen then," says the waiting guard.

"No... wait..." the tech says, looking closer, "Is that what I think it is?"

"Better tell the X-Men," the guard sighs and goes to put out the alert for potential alien tech.

"What's this about an alien artifact?" Sara asks as she walks into the room.

That was when the package moved.

"Will, if that's you in there I swear I will punch you."

The package hops sideways and one ends bursts open as what appears to be a large black cat squirms out. It turns its head to look a them. The right side of its face is torn open to reveal a damaged musculature of dark metal. Other places on its body appear similarly damaged, likely by a blunt object. It emits a metallic feline growl between too many dark and shiny teeth.

"Whoa, what the hell? Robot cat!" Sara shouts in surprise, jumping back a little and coming down with a bit of a thud, having turned to stone mid-hop.

The sudden movement provokes the cat to leap at Sara with unnatural speed.

"Somebody get a metal box or something!" she shouts while raising her arms to try and keep the thing at bay and maybe even catch it.

She manages to grab hold of the berserk thing. As it squirms, it opens its mouth far too wide and a dark metal tentacle tipped with a dripping needle lashes out at her. It is of eerily familiar design.

Why dos this seem familiar? she wonders but is somewhat distracted by the thing itself to think too hard on that right now. She stretches out her arms a bit to make sure the robot can't get her face and then looks around for something to trap the thing in.

There are a pair of metal file cabinets and some lockers.

She runs over to the cabinet and pulls one of them open. After some struggling to dislodge the thing from her arms she throws it in there with a loud metal *clang* and slams the door shut, leaning herself against it with her back to catch her breath.

"Anybody make a filing joke and I'll let this thing right back out." she informs the security techs.

It hisses and bangs around angrily. It is strong, but fortunately not strong enough to escape.

"Our lips are sealed," one tech says.

"What the bloody hell is that thing?" asks the other.

"Some kind of robot. Like the ones that invaded last year. Looks like some of them are still operational. And inside a cat, for some reason."

"And... mailing themselves?" one asks dubiously.

"Who was that package addressed to anyway?"

"Doctor Bowen."

"Well, either someone's trying to be helpful or this was an attack. I'll assume this thing didn't mail itself." she says. "And thanks. I'll take care of it from here."

The cat thrashes again, metal screeching as it's raked by claws.

The techs don't look convinced.