Layla

Chapter Thirty-Two: Who's That Girl?

Breath.

Just breath and focus.

A loud click sounded in front of her forcing her stare to look upon the large metal doors.

Her heart beat nervously against her chest; her palms were sweaty.

Another resounding click followed by a soft whirring noise.

Her body ignited as waves of warm heat coursed through her body causing the tips of her ears to redden.

Her hands gripped the denim sleeves of her jacket as she pulled the thick material off her heated skin, throwing it across the floor.

She wore only a thin red tank top with her worn denim jeans.

Coming down here hadn't been part of her plan otherwise she would have chosen a better more suitable outfit. But with everything going on, she needed to expel the energy that threatened to spiral out of control. To hell, what Charles or Hank thought. After tomorrow, she would no longer be accepted here or be part of the team.

Another final resounding click followed by a light whirring noise as the large metal doors were lifted.

Her heart did another summersault in her chest and she wiped her perspired hands nervously down her pant legs before glancing up through the dark corridor.

Two emotionless eyes glowed back at her as they made their way closer to her.

Breath she reminded herself.

Lowering her head, she placed her hands on her hips closing her eyes as she tried to focus and push her nervous energy down.

It had been a while.

Too long-in fact-since she had done this.

Slowly, she took in a deep breath and exhaled before glaring into the eyes of her metallic fighters.

Her eyes changed to a vibrant purple as she fisted her hands while putting one foot in front of her and keeping the other behind her.

 Power eagerly hummed through her veins.

 What a fight this would be.

She didn't bring one Sentinel out, nor did she bring two.

No, she allowed four at the same time to come after her. And what happened last time would not occur again. This time she would not hesitate or become distracted by the illusion of Apocalypse.

As the last Sentinel was brought down, she attacked not bothering to wait for the signal.

On cue, the Sentinels attacked showing no remorse.

One swung its arm down, hoping to make impact with her torso, but she dodged the attacked before using her powers to flip his arm behind his back. The Sentinel stumbled from the force, knocking its back against the cement wall. Seeing that one was distracted, Layla reacted quickly, dodging another hit to her body from a Sentinel. She stumbled over her feet as she jumped back, but caught herself before using her powers to rattle the ground beneath her feet. All four Sentinels teetered back and forth, but only one fell down. A smirk lifted one side her face and she waited, watching her competitors with careful eyes.

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Hank had been coming back down to his lab after talking with Charles when he felt the ground rumble beneath his feet. He stumbled, leaning one side of his body against the cool wall as confusion crossed his features. His brows were knit together and in the distance his ears picked up on banging down the hall. Once the rumbling had stopped, Hank slowly followed the noise and upon seeing that it was coming from the training room he ran over, opening the door. The doors slid open only to reveal a Sentinel flying across the room before it made impact with the cement walls. Hank took note of its shoulder blade that shattered into tiny pieces, but was taken by surprise as a large piece of metal came flying in his direction. Hank's eyes widened before he ducked to the floor, using the operating table as cover.