Chapter 20: The Meeting.
"Before we start playing kings and queens, Seraph is going to teach you about the history of mutants. This is because most of you don't understand your origins."- I'm looking at you, Mr. Superior.
Seraph took my position and created an immersive illusion. We were 'transported' to a time on Earth when the Homo sapiens hadn't evolved yet.
"In the beginning, before the 'modern' human came to be, the protohuman walked on Earth. Beings filled with potential for change, yet untapped at that time. Peaceful beings whose enemy, and forge, was nature itself. Whose existence was promoted by the past battles of our favorite goddess Gaea."- Seraph said while showing hairy hominids struggling to live another day.
"But everything changed when the Celestials' Nation attacked!"-... Maybe I should have dialed it down with the anime.
We were pulled to outer space where a group of Celestial could be seen arriving on Earth.
"The Celestials discovered the potential for something more in the bloodstream of our peaceful protohumans. The Celestials had visited Earth with a mission, a mission to plant a seed in the planet to birth another one of their numbers."- My pain in the ass dear Tiamut.
"Aided by their supreme technology and vast knowledge they experimented on the protohumans. The objective? To create a race strong enough to protect the planet from external threats, hence protecting the celestial seed, while also feeding it a special type of energy."
"After a round of experiments, a few twists and turns, some millennia here and there, and the birth of three races came about. Deviants, Eternals and Humans."
"The deviants were the first to come out of the 'lab', they reproduced and took control of the planet. They enslaved the protohumans left."
"Even though the deviants were strong and prosperous as a species, the deviants didn't generate thought energy, or life energy, a supplement needed for the growth of the celestial seed only generated by sapient life."
"So the cosmic mad scientists created the second batch fresh out of the oven. The humans. The humans produced vast amounts of life energy, multiplied fast enough, but were weak. The Deviants enslaved them and didn't let them reproduce in great numbers."
"The Celestial didn't like this. So the Eternals were born. Energy beings like themselves. A model that they had used before on other planets. The Eternals were strong and immortal, however, they didn't reproduce nor did they generate life energy. But that was enough, they just needed to balance out the Deviants in the equation."
"Our mad scientists ordered the Eternals to cull the Deviants and enable the prosperity of the humans. These were their last directives before leaving to outer space to fulfill their cosmic duties."
"But too much time had gone by and the Deviants were firmly rooted on Earth. The only Human kingdom that was not conquered was Atlantis. The Eternals were stronger, yes! But they were less in numbers and didn't multiply like the deviants."
"The humans and Eternals banded together and fought against the Deviants for ages. Yet, the Eternals knew the truth, they wouldn't be able to get rid of their enemies even if they were working together."
"Luckily the mad scientists returned. The Eternals implored for their help in their mission and the Celestials, being the overachievers that they were, initiated the great cataclysm."
"A massive flood. A civilization-crippling flood was their response. They even went as far as to sink the Deviant's main continent, Lemuria. The Eternals were happy, their grueling mission was finally coming to an end, after this, they would have to only babysit the humans from time to time."
"But the humans? What about Atlantis? In their overachieving ways, the Celestials left Atlantis sunken at the bottom of the sea. But nobody cared, after all, now that the deviants were, for all intents and purposes, extinct, the remaining humans just needed to do as rabbits do and repopulate Earth."
"Time went by and as projected by our dear mad scientists, humans repopulated Earth. The Eternals offered humans a helping hand from time to time and things were looking forward for the Celestial seed. The baby Celestial was getting its metaphorical milk."
"A few millennia later, a Celestial, after receiving crippling wounds, came to die on Earth. From the mixture of its blood, energy, human potential, previous experimentation, and Gaea's permeating energy a miracle befell. The 'super' miracle."
"That's what granted humans the ability to 'safely' gain powers. What enabled the future activation of the X-Gene. What gave humans that special something that later on other advanced civilizations came to harvest. The spark that most Terrans share!"
"This is the massively abbreviated story of the origin of some of the races inhabiting Earth. Mutants included."- Seraph concluded with a graceful bow for the gaping masses.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
"Yeah! That's our girl!"- Of course, Spark and I celebrated her presentation.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
My maids joined, and our guests, especially Fury, looked at us, clapping and Seraph blushing, wondering whether to cry, join, or do both.
"Thank you! Thank you!"- Said our cute blushing Seraph.
I joined Seraph in the front and rewarded her with a hug. After which I looked back at the public and asked:
"Any questions so far?"- Hands were raised.
"Right... Let's start with Erik over there."
"You expect us to believe that our kind came from a series of accidents and a test tube? How would you even gather evidence of this? According to the girl, this happened millennia ago. I find it hard to believe."- Especially since his paradigm of evolutionary superiority would be shattered if this was true.
"Yes, that's what we expect you to believe. We gathered this information from two sources. The first is our resident fox sorcerer teacher, she can see past, present, and future. The second one is Gaea. For reasons you don't need to know, Gaea lives here in Halo."
"That's another thing altogether! Gods! You talk as if they were real."- Aniki almighty! We have to start from there.
"Yes. The divines are real. Not all of them, but most of them."- God is not real in this reality, but Noona said that he is in a few others. Somehow his influence became a Nexus event, that's why we have Christianity here even though there's no God.
"How can you prove that?"
"I could bring Gaea here, but that would be rude. Any ideas Seraph?"- I won't bring my goddess here just to please this heretic.
"Can't you show him Omnipotence City?"- Commented Seraph for all to hear.
"Won't he say that it is just an illusion?"- I answered.
"Shove him into it?"- What a crude way.
"Aside from the fact that he would die, he could say that I implanted the illusion with telepathy."- Can't he say that about whatever we do?
"Then... Mr. Erik, What would you like as proof? Since you could say that whatever we do is mental manipulation it's hard to convince you."- Asked Seraph.
"Oh! I know!"- I interrupted.
"Ms. Adler, in some of your future visions you should have seen gods visiting Earth. Can you confirm our claims about divinity?"- I could pull the memory out of her but that's just rude.
"Yes. Gods are real. We will probably see some in the future."- Answered Destiny under everybody's gaze.
Erik was frozen in place, just like a child who had just broken their favorite toy. Not so superior anymore.
"Aragorn if that's what happened, Why is it that mutants have only surfaced until recent times?"- Asked Hank.
"That notion is both correct and incorrect. Mutants had surfaced thousands of years ago. It is just that they have only been recognized as such in recent years."
"Also, the number of awakened mutants is escalating due to several factors, the environment, society, time, and lastly Tiamut's emergence is happening soon."- A harsher environment due to pollution affects the body. A hostile society can spark the awakening of the X-Gen, as it did before during times of conflict.
"Tiamut? What's that?"- Hank.
"The name of the Celestial inhabiting the planet."
"Is that... perhaps what cracks the planet apart?"- Asked Destiny.
"Yes. that should be it."
"So that's what that was, huh! I never discovered what caused that future. Thank you, Mr. Aragorn."- The emergence is one of the later apocalypses and if you are not in space you wouldn't know what killed you.
"WHAT!?"
"Cracking the Planet?"
"What are you talking about!?"
"Mutherfucker!"
"What are we going to do!?"
"Can we even do something?"
"Can't we take control of its mind?"
"We should kill it!"
Except for Destiny, Mystique, and my people, everybody else broke into panic. I guess that is the normal response.
"SHUT UP!"- Shouted our blue grown-up baby.
'Well done Seraph, these children will be your responsibility. As their guardian, you'll need to reprimand them sometimes.'
'I don't remember you reprimanding me before, father.'
'...That's because you're perfect my girl.'- I also feel a pang in the heart every time I think about scolding her... or my maids.
"The responsibility of the council doesn't extend to cosmic matters. Tiamut is way above your pay grade, my creator is already on the matter. All you need to know is that the planet is not going to end."- At least not from Tiamut's birth. These people are plenty capable of killing themselves.
"Thank you Seraph. As was said, I deal with those types of threats. For the foreseeable future, you'll just need to make sure that a mutant doesn't end the world."- Sounds simple? It's not.
"Any other questions?"- I asked ignoring their dissatisfaction about me disregarding their concerns.
"Does this mean that all humans are possible mutants?"- Asked Callisto.
"Yes. In about 50 to 180 years all humans will be mutants, or something different from 'normal' humans. There's an Inhuman gene as well but that's another can of worms. The point is that no one will be 'normal' hence everyone will be."
"Thank you, Mr. Aragorn."- I looked at the other guests, and Xavier took this opportunity to ask his question.
"The Celestials, What are they? Will they come back?"
"The Celestials are one of the precursors of the universe. They play a part in its creation. They are not gods but simply something beyond the divine. They would come back under certain circumstances, but most likely they should be coming back after I fixed our Tiamut situation."
"What will happen then?"- Asked Mystique.
"Nothing much. Although they look like the villain of the story, they are not. Me and them can be considered allies and in the future, we will fight side by side. They have a fundamental role in the universe same as I have mine."
"Are you... like them?"- Asked Erik, who just recovered from his shock.
"Similar but different. Their purpose is creation, life, and protection among others. Mine is protection and destruction mainly."- Though my existence is not defined by my purpose like theirs is. Hence I Shine.
"Excuse me Mr. Aragorn, but What are you?"- Asked Callisto.
"Well, this is not an interview, and defining myself is difficult."- I'm paradoxical. I am, but also I am not. Unalive. Amortal. Void. I can be defined by different terms but none would be entirely true.
"What you need to know is that I'm one of the parties interested in the continuance of this universe. I take action to ensure that the universe is not destroyed. At the moment, from an intergalactic standing, I'm the owner of Earth and Emma is its queen. I'm not humanity's nanny but you're under my umbrella."
After that, no further questions were necessary regarding this topic.
"Alright! Since we are done with the history lesson, Seraph and Emma will proceed with the next part. The help the mutant nation will get from us, what you're expected to do in return, rights, and responsibilities; this will be addressed by the girls."- I gave the stand to the girls and joined Spark's side.
'So far so good... well, better than expected.'
'Master Chief, haven't we had a few missteps already?'
'Yes, but this was never going to be as smooth as I would want. So I'm gratefully accepting our current situation.'
'That's acceptable, Master Chief. My little sister has done great so far.'
'Yes, she is awesome. Do you think she will ascend in the future?'
'I don't know, insufficient data. What I do know is that she, the same as me, will get the choice in the future.'
'Spark, 'God of Knowledge'... Sound good, doesn't it?'
'I would prefer to take the technology domain and leave knowledge for Seraph. If I were to ascend.'
'Maybe you're right. But you don't have to choose for now. What you should be thinking about is your body.'
'You have said so before, Master Chief. Is there a problem with my current body?'
'Not really, it's just that I made it as a shell, for safekeeping yourself until you have grown enough to choose a body for yourself.'- And a gender. Hopefully, I will get an additional brother to help me in this sorority. I'll even take genderless at this point, but preferably not another female.
'I like my current shell. However, I do recognize the lack of combat power it presents. I think I will keep it for the moment but I will be thinking about a body for the future.'- No rush brother.
We directed our attention to the girls after our quick interaction.
"Hello, future councilmembers. My name is Emma Fulgebunt Draconis, I rule over all territories of Aragorn along with Spark. I manage assets because otherwise Spark and Aragorn would be collapsing several economic systems across the universe."- The fetish is strong in this one. She already changed her name. I had to stop her from adding a Roman numeral to her name.
'Why would we care about assets when we have an infinite amount?'
'I think the same Master Chief.'
"Initial funding, infrastructure, and services will be covered by us. That is unless you have resources from another entry we were not aware of. Repayment can be in the form of resources or personnel."
"Local currency and mundane metals are of little use to us. Biological samples, knowledge, future assistance, and specialized personnel is what we want."- I bet she wants to have a terraformer like Erik. Not that she'll need it for much longer once I complete my terraforming tech.
'Can't argue with that. We technically lack nothing but giving help for free is not ideal.'
'Master Chief, Do you think they will generate knowledge that we don't have?'
'Yes, Spark. Never underestimate what geniuses can do in this reality. For example Reed Richards, I think that his brain just comes up with some random bullshit tech and then he unknowingly bends reality so that the world fits his bullshit.'
'That doesn't compute, Master Chief.'
'Exactly my point. I bet he could create a concept-negating bullshit gun, a void-generating bullshit device, an omnipotence-negating bullshit bomb, and an anti-omniscience bullshit shield generator. According to my knowledge, impossible things, but you never know with these broken characters.'
'I will add it to my database, Master Chief.'
"We do not have a specific timeframe for debt repayment, but it would be appreciated if you could aim to pay it off within a reasonable time, say less than a century. Our predictions suggest that, with the shortcutting advantage that mutants will provide, it should not take longer than 5 years for you to reach the status of other developed countries."
'If we factor our tech in the equation I would give it less than 2 years.'
'Indeed, I think Seraph can do it within those two years.'
"We can discuss how your repayments will be evaluated later but know that we value any knowledge that Seraph doesn't have in her database, and reality warpers over most things. Seraph will explain your rights and responsibilities."
"Rights that you will have include but are not limited to: Self-governance, territorial expansion, military force creation, currency creation, assistance from the Fulgebunt Draconis Imperium in case of conflict, and level 2 access to The Grand Repository of Knowledge through me, among others."
'Are you sure about the access, Master Chief?'
'Yeah, that should help their scientist expedite the knowledge generation. Besides Level 2 is only planetary info.'
"Responsibilities include but are not limited to: Providing basic rights, security, and quality of life for the citizens, creation of a specialized rescue force for mutants around the world, and lastly in case of a third party trying to create a unified world government approved by me you will support the said party."- The task force should help us with our efforts against mutant experimentation.
'Have you found a qualified person for the position?'
'No, Master Chief. More data is needed.'
'I thought so. Doom is probably the best candidate, but he's not ready yet. It would be easier if Emma was not 'terraphobic'.'
'Master Chief, according to my prediction modules, it's surprising that after all the grievances and abuse that she experienced on Earth, she didn't outright burn the planet after you gave her access to our planetary weapons.'- What a gamble that was.
'*Sigh* I think that's one of the reasons why I overindulge them so much. Could also be because they are cute.'
'... So you knew...'
'Yeah, I know. I'm aware of how much I pamper them. According to my self-analysis, I needed company and Noona was the first to provide that, my 'surface' mind subconsciously associated her gender with the warmth that I felt with her, and most of my subsequent interactions were with girls. So I kind of developed a soft spot for girls. I could remove it at any time, but it's not a problem for now.'
'Master Chief, you would make a psychologist very famous. Either because they fell into insanity or they miraculously unriddled your head.'- Maybe I should look for my own Harleen Quinzel, I was always a fan of her type of crazy. Post Joker, of course; not the Joker-dependent Harley Quinn.
'Now, that's just rude. Though technically my mind exhibits all psychological profiles and none. The trippiest is when I split my mind and develop multiple instances of 'me'.'
'...You further validate my statement, Master Chief.'
"We also own a gene stabilizer serum (GSS), it should fix about 80% of the adverse effects of mutations in humans. Other issues are treated on a case-by-case basis. For those with undesirable mutations, we have power-neutralizing tech."
'That was one heck of a windfall after my study of the X-Gene, Was it not, Spark?'
'Yes, Master Chief. It added further proof to my theory that hobbies and fetishism massively contribute to the advancement of human society.'
"Lastly, my role is that of an overseer. I will only intervene if a decision can't be reached or if an unacceptable decision is reached. Outside of that, I would be spending most of my time answering queries and working with the future scientists of Krakoa."
After a pause, Ororo raised her hand.
"What would you consider an unacceptable decision?"
"To this, I apply morally approved guidelines. My first priority would be the citizens of Krakoa, second is the rest of the world. As long as the livelihood is not negatively impacted, without a reason, then it is acceptable."
"Can you give us an example, Miss?"- Asked Xavier.
"If you wanted to declare war for no apparent reason then I would oppose. If you wanted to start a retaliatory war I would assist you."
"So... Common sense?"- Said Callisto.
"Exactly, but I got my common sense from my sibling, Spark, and my creator. According to my independent research, they don't have much of 'common' in their common sense. Hence I prefer to use cautiousness a bit more before saying that I would be operating under common sense."
'Do you have any idea what she is talking about?'
'Not in the slightest, Master Chief. Last I checked my data we have common sense.'
'Maybe she is trying to diss us.'
"Will you be participating in physical conflicts?"- Asked Erik.
"If there's an anti-mutant weapon that disables our citizens and we had no way of counteracting or a similar situation, I would. Otherwise, I will strive to keep out of physical conflict. I would commonly act from the background."
"Ms. Seraph, What would be our policy for international trade?"- Asked Destiny.
"It is important that we focus on stabilizing our nation before engaging in any trading with other countries. Therefore, for at least two years, we will not be engaging in any trade activities. Our goal is to ensure that our nation is firmly established before we venture into the global market. In fact, we plan to remain hidden from the world for a considerable amount of time, with portals as the only way of access. The only trading partner we will have during this period will be the Fulgebunt Draconis Imperium."- It's better to operate as a hidden nation until I get rid of most of the mutant hate.
'Master Chief, Have you finished the vaccine for the Sublime 'pandemic'?'
'Not yet, I also have to wait until I have taken over more than 40% of the global health market.'
'Is it to promote the vaccination globally?'
'Yes, I want to make sure that the bacteria dies. Since this is a doomed reality I don't know if just killing its main body/mind would be enough. It may return if at least one of its bodies is left, so I plan to hinder his spread so much that if by chance it survives, by the time it comes back most of the humans would be mutants.'
'So delaying him until it's too late to take over the humans since they would be the new minority.'
'Exactly! I might be overpreparing and it dies on the first encounter, but better be prepared than to regret.'
"How long will it take for the infrastructure to be built?"- Asked Hank.
"It depends on the size of the city that you want. A small city of about 10,000 humans can be built in a day."- TK and energy manipulation coupled with an 'evolved' mind like mine can do wonders.
'Master Chief, Don't you find it... sad... that most of the women here see you as the designated builder?'
'You mean because it is a wasteful use of my abilities?'
'Yes, Master Chief.'
'If anything, I feel like Bob the Builder. Also, I like building secretly hidden spaces, routes, and others. Though you are always aware of their locations.'
'So that's why you always build unplanned spaces on our buildings.'
'Yeah, I find it funny. Maybe in the future, someone is going to discover these secret spaces and they will wonder why we built these passages and chambers, maybe they will develop a whole study field out of it, like archeology, and maybe they will start these complex conspirational theories, and the real answer would be that I did it for fun.'
As I kept enjoying the meeting along with Spark I felt a speeding presence nearing.
*Fwoosh*
'Hey, unruly speedster.'
'Agh- Old man, I hate it when you do that.'- He said while complaining about my telepathy.
' 'Crybaby.' '- Said both me and Spark.
'What are you doing here? Tired of your sister's nagging?'
'*Sigh* Why would a speedster like me need to learn magic? Before the spell is cast I would already be whooping asses.'
'Heh! You just can't recognize how weak you are. You're like a young master but without the arrogant attitude, just the stupidity. Before you get to whooping asses you would be launched into another dimension, and that's the most harmless scenario.'
'Yeah, yeah, I know. Ms. Harkness trapped me in the mirror dimension for an hour because I annoyed her.'
'Hehehe! The witch is softhearted. Yao would have let you in there for at least a day, to teach you a lesson.'
'*Ughh* Please don't remind me how everyone here is crazy... and crazy strong.'
'Hahahaha. Well, come here, you can stay with us and enjoy the changing faces of the crowd. Your father has aged about 30 years more by this point.'- He sped to our side.
'I pity them.'- He said as if remembering something.
'Oh that's right, Pietro! Your mind can study in the learning room the fastest. You must have already completed the basic courses. Hahahahaha! You must have been flabbergasted after you learned about 'the truth'.'
'Yeah... Like I said, everybody is crazy here. These girls in particular. They gather at least once a week to plan your, the cosmic dragon, demise. Shouldn't they know by now that you won't be beaten by them?'
'Well you know the saying, aim for the stars and at least you'll land in the moon. These girls in a few years should be able to handle gods on their own.'
'Mr. Maximoff, you should consider joining the girls in their extracurricular activities.'
'Are you trying to play matchmaker, Spark? I don't approve.'
'That's not my intention, Mr. Maximoff hasn't been cleared for the girls' romancing, he doesn't match my standards, he's lacking. But he will learn and get stronger if he is part of your sparing matches.'
'Hey! What could I be lacking in? I'm a great match!'
'Intelligence'
'Wisdom'
'Strength'
'Maturity'
'Will'
'Determination'
'Character'
'Looks'
'Manners'
'Money'
'Influence'
'Housing'
'A Job'
'Ok, Ok, Ok! Can you two stop with it? I will show you!... in the future! I will have you two begging me to be your son-in-law!'
'Whatever you say unruly teen.'- Honestly he is not so bad, but he is not at my girls' level yet. He needs to, at least, have access to a primordial force, like Wally West.
'According to my prediction modules, there's a 0.0000000000000000000000--\\Your AI is low on memory//-... That's how low the chances are. I can't even compute it.'
'HA.HA.HA You guys are hilarious!'
'Yes, we know.'
'Compliments will get you nowhere, Mr. Maximoff.'
As Seraph answered more questions and Spark and I shared quality time with Pietro, time went by and the first stage of the meeting was concluded.
'It's my time to shine again. Bye boys!'- I said as I approached the stage once again.
"I'm glad that you got along with Seraph since you'll be seeing her more often. Now on to more pressing matters... Earning Krakoa's acknowledgment and permission for residency!"
"You need to strike a deal with it. Krakoa will benefit from your presence since it will be able to siphon the mutant energy that you passively leak, also known as M-Energy, and you will get a place to live and security."
"It's a straight easy deal. The problem lies in the fact that you need to get to the place where its mind resides but you'll be recognized as invaders, and it has natural defenses, both passive and active, that will try to stop you. You'll also be hindered by the energy leeching. Meaning that energy projectors and manipulators will be essentially deadweight."
"...Not entirely deadweight, but when your inner reserves of energy deplete you'll be left with just your body. There are a few exceptions to this, like Ororo, but you'll know more once you land on Krakoa's shores."- I don't know how the mutants that pull energy from other dimensions will work, but if my understanding is correct they still need M-Energy to use the connection to the other dimension.
"This is just for energy emitters and manipulators, all other physical type mutants will be fine, like Logan, Colossus, and Hank. Oh! Before I forget, Mr. Marko can't participate, he is not a mutant."
"If he is not a mutant then what is he?"- Erik.
"An Avatar of Cyttorak. A dimensional lord."
"..."- Most Mutants chose to ignore the new info.
"Aragorn, Will you or someone from Halo be assisting us?"- Asked Ororo.
"No. Besides transport and planning, in no other way will we be supporting you. This is your task and I'm only helping you with this nation-building arc because otherwise one or more of you will cause an apocalypse."- To this, I could see Moira, Mystique, and Destiny nodding in agreement.
"You have one shot and one shot only. We will assist you before and after but not during the assault. Don't mess this up!... Or else I will un-mutant the planet. You guys are a risk and one not needed anymore. I alone can protect the Celestial baby, if you can't even put aside your differences to ensure the survival of your sub-race then I will remove the X-Gene from humanity."
"This is specifically for both of you, Erik and Xavier. There will be no more conflict between you two. You both will get what the mutant kind needs, not what you want. Mess this up and I will kill you!"- I said while switching my eyes red and letting a sliver of my presence out.
"I'm a very patient dragon but you two along with another being not present here are the biggest benefactors of mutant hate. Work together, work for the betterment of mutants, work for your future nation and I will take care of the rest of the planet, your only matter of focus after this will be how to make your nation better."
"I know you, all of you, know little to nothing about leading a nation, but that's what Seraph is there for. You're not activists or terrorists anymore after this. You're not to go around preaching about absurdly improbable human-mutant love and rainbows, or supremacy and natural selection and shit. Are we clear?"
I made it clear that the only answer was 'yes'. Logically speaking, even Spark suggested we depower humanity. However, I think that if Aniki allowed them to get to this point, Why should I undo his work?
These humans are not 'my' humans, they are Aniki's. I didn't create them, so I don't think I have the right to collectively remove their gifts.
However, if they are an unnecessary hazard or downright carcinogenic, then I will either kill them or take away their gifts.
"I... I think I speak for everyone when I say that we understand."- Answered Xavier.
"You should!... Remember, one chance. You will get no more."- I hid my presence once more.
"You have one more week. You should train as a group and get your teamwork on point."
After saying my part I went back to talk with Spark and Pietro, Seraph took command once more to coordinate their training and plan their future assault.
'Are you going to participate, Mr. Maximoff?'
'Nah, I don't have to, nor do I want to. I'm not team mutants anymore, I'm team witches now.'
'Heeeh! Isn't the real reason that Wanda doesn't want you to be near Erik?'- I commented with mirth.
'Please, everyone on Halo could make fun of me being on a leash except you old man! At least my leash's end is held by Wanda.'
'*Tsk* *Tsk* *Tsk* You don't understand Pietro. Take a look at that black pirate over there. He is the leader of one of the most powerful and far-reaching organizations on Earth. His only leash was his work. But now? Now he is under the girls' leash as well.' I said while pointing at Fury.
'How long do you think it will take for you to fall under their feet?'
'The Master Chief is not wrong Mr. Maximoff. In one week you not only regained your Wanda-leash but you also got Ms. Harkness' leash.'- This brought a look of realization to Pietro's face.
'... Oh God...'
'Welcome to the club, Pietro!'- Why fight it when you'll end up joining anyway? That's why I need Spark to man the F up! He is the chosen one! He will bring balance to this sorority!
_________________
The X-Force, the newly coined name for this group, was training in full force, pun intended. They were on the final lap of their training arc. Tomorrow will be their 'D-Day'.
With the help of the mirror dimension, we enabled them to scout their battlefield. After that, Yao and I recreated their opponents as realistically as possible based on the possible futures that Yao had seen before my presence.
On the second day, Wanda decided to 'help' her father train. Agatha had to supervise her after I asked her to stop her adoptive daughter from joining the statistics of the most notable patricides in history. With the amount of disgust she irradiates the chance is high.
Alas, she said, "Killing this insect is beneath me." donning her haughty young lady persona. I made sure to get a video of her for future blackmail. I bet in a few years she'll be embarrassed. Not as much as Rogue though. Those red cheeks will be left in our memories for ages to come.
Cyttorak, miraculously, behaved and I did not have to portal the Juggernaut to outer space, yet I felt his sight following my every action from behind his avatar's eyes. Normally I would be concerned but Cyttorak is one of the most benign dimensional lords.
Which is weird considering that he is the lord of destruction. But I'm technically a Void terror so I'm not in any position to judge.
Kitty decided to join her friends in the upcoming battle, she said something about the power of friendship but I know that, just like my maids, she just wants to use her powers for slaughter. So with the cat's addition this campaign is in the bag.
She can just spam elemental spells from the back. *Sigh* All the planning and strategizing that these poor mutants did... just went to the trash. At least it worked as a team-building exercise. I told her to at least let them feel like they were part of it.
Like when I used to let my younger sister 'play with me' with the unplugged controller.
She agreed after I promised her that we would get to her 'space arc' as soon as this was done. I just need to deal with Emma's clone, Captain America, and set a few more plans in motion. If everything works out we should be joining the space pirate crew that she picked, the Ravagers, in less than 4 weeks.
But my plans tend to go awry in terms of scheduling, so we will see.
Jean joined us today after she was done with her exams of the day. Honestly, she takes more time writing the answers than thinking about them. She is, after all, already a medical doctor, geneticist, chemist, biologist, and a bioengineer.
Like most people here, she has at least 3 degrees. Jean is the one with the more subject-oriented occupations. For example, Natalia has managerial education, arts, and ballet. As one can see only one of these has to do with her job and the rest are about her hobbies.
Emma, as expected, has economic administration, ruling, psychology, politics, and a few others in the way that are either related to manipulating people or ruling over territories. So, again, professions that generally would not go with each other.
Kitty has law, physics, and chemistry. When I asked about that combination she said that you need to know about the rules in order to play with them. And by rules, she meant even the creational rules. According to her 'wish list', her next courses are about energy, matter, space, time, and divinity.
*Sigh* Sometimes I want to go to the future and find out if these girls become the undoing of the universe or the glue that keeps it all together. However, I'm sure that the Aniki himself deliberately made sure that Kitty's mutation was not Reality-Bending.
Leaving aside their questionable career choices, I asked the cheat code, Jean Grey, not to join the fight. One overpowered cat was enough, there's no need to add the supreme tier firebird.
Also, she confirmed my supposition that she should have enough control of her fire by now to heal Rogers. After this Krakoa business, we should be able to heal him and get him reacquainted with the world, the last part will probably take a few sessions in the learning room.
Hopefully, there won't be any need for references to be randomly understood.
On another note, I got the confirmation that the reality-warping brain of Reed Richards will try to breach the dimensional wall next year.
Which presents me with a conundrum. On one side I could take this opportunity to get rid of Annihilus, to quote the future J. Jonah Jameson: That insect is a menace! The smart thing is getting rid of him now before he starts making deals with Mephisto or getting greedy for the Power Cosmic.
On the other side, it is better to prevent the accident since I don't even know if the breach is going to the negative zone. What if it opens to the Dark Force Dimension? or the Dark Dimension? That's a mess I don't want any part in.
At least I still have time to procrastinate for a decision, however, I think that it's for the best if I get myself some front-row seats in the demonstration. That way I can do damage control on-site.
Maybe I'll even get some extra benefits. Don't know which extra benefits since I won't mutate no matter how much radiation I bask in. But I like to dream and hope for the best. At the bare minimum, I should be able to get them on my debt.
However, with Doom present, it is unlikely since Yao confirmed that this Doom is already learned in the mystic arts. He should know about dimensional threats and I doubt that he would allow this project, which he is partially funding, to go to waste because of the ignorance of Richards.
The good news of the week is that I finally have visual confirmation of all infinity stones within my reach, reality and mind not included. I felt their high-density presence long ago, but that was more like the general area which, in cosmic dragon terms, is about a galaxy-wide area.
Power and Soul are exactly where the MCU said they would be, Morag and Vormir. I should proceed as planned and get both stones during Kitty's 'Space Arc'.
Emma recently became interested in the stones... She said that they would make a nice addition to her crown. That gave me some Nemesis vibes, the creator of the stones.
I chose to ignore her because I already had plans for the stones, besides that, she needs to calm her hard-on for ruling and power. I pamper her but not enough to give her the infinity stones. Not like she could hold them anyway.
Krakoa's battle is almost here and I plan to observe from afar but not more than that. After their battle it shouldn't be long for the city(s) to be built, subsequently, our black ops should begin and the crackdown on Hydra should follow.
So many things to do just to get rid of a squid-worshiping cult. I have to take over the global market, destroy several black sites, create a country, unite two opposing groups, host a founding meeting, and this is just the beginning.
*Sighhhhhhh*
{A/N:
Hello there!
This chapter is shorter than the last 2 and the next one should be of around the same length. As you have read after this founding nation segment comes Emma's clone, which will come attached with the hellfire club, Captain America, and some facility smashing.
The point is that we have several things planned for the future but some will take more time than others.
I have so many plans for the story but I have so much writing to do. But no complaints here, at least I'm sure that there's no writer's block. Possibly more like holding myself back from speeding through the story.
2 weeks from today I should be writing more often but for the next couple of weeks, I will be releasing one chapter a week.
See you next chapter!}