POV: Baldur
D'Bari Star System, Ratatosk, Near the Shi'ar Mothership
At the Same Time
2016
Given that a member of the royal family is on that ship, it makes sense that someone from the Shi'ar Imperial Guard would be present as well. Besides their vast number of soldiers and equipment, the Imperial Guard will undoubtedly be my biggest source of trouble.
Not only do they possess superhuman abilities, but they are also trained to perfection in team coordination. My allies will face significant challenges when fighting against them.
I am relatively more relaxed compared to them, not even considering their leader.
After repelling one of them, I focus on returning to the Ratatosk. I was halfway back when the enormous mothership, previously engaged in the battle ahead, turned towards our position. This maneuver was risky, exposing their flank to their attackers.
"Sir, the Shi'ar mothership is preparing to attack," Alice warned me.
"I can see that," I replied aloud.
It was already difficult enough to dodge the crossfire from the two fleets; now I had to avoid a direct attack.
"Sir, I'm detecting antimatter energy signals," she warned again.
If I get hit by an antimatter cannon, I will undoubtedly suffer severe injuries, and I won't be able to protect any of those with me.
"Detonate, Alice!" I shouted to my AI.
Before they could fire, a small explosion occurred beneath the mothership. It was my stealth jet, which I had left behind. I had deliberately left it there to monitor the mothership, with Alice able to do so as long as the jet was attached. Unfortunately, I had to blow it up now. The explosion wasn't large or powerful enough to destroy the mothership, but since the jet was near the thrusters, the damage was significant. As they didn't fire, I knew I was right.
"Do you realize what you just did?" Beast asked me.
"More than you do, Beast," I replied.
"He just saved us, that's what," Pietro said, sitting within my protective bubble.
"Not just that, he also declared war," Logan added, his clothes in tatters and his wounds still healing.
With considerable effort, I managed to return to the Ratatosk. We entered through the observatory, and once I set everyone down and deactivated my golden bubble, the Ratatosk made a swift turn and sped away from the battle.
"We'll meet in five minutes for a debriefing," I told them, then exited the room.
In those five minutes, I caught up with Nordur. Everything seemed to be fine, and we weren't being followed. After that, I sent a message for everyone scattered across the ship to meet in the conference room.
POV: Baldur
Star System D'Bari, Aboard the Ratatosk, Near the Shi'ar Mothership
At the Same Time
2016
The conference room is simple, just a rectangular table surrounded by chairs, all of which are now occupied by the X-Men and my allies.
"It better be a meeting to go into battle, Baldur, because I'm tired of just using the training room," Angela says. Unlike the others, she stands leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching us.
She's spent most of her time either in the gym or the recreation room. The Ratatosk is a ship designed for exploring the universe—a venture we haven't had the chance to undertake until now. To provide comfort for its crew, the ship is equipped with almost everything, both tactically and psychologically. Movie theaters and gyms are essential to prevent psychological issues during long voyages.
"We'll decide if we're heading into battle after we review the data Dr. Hank McCoy obtained," I say, cueing Beast to speak.
Like the other X-Men, except for Professor Xavier, who's wearing a suit, Beast is in his yellow X-Men uniform.
"I managed to extract some data from the mothership," Beast begins, pulling a silver device from his pocket.
"But it will take days to analyze all of this information," he concludes.
Immediately, Scott stands up, slamming both hands on the table and shouting at us.
"We don't have days!"
His outburst leaves the room in silence, until unexpectedly, Thor speaks up.
"I understand the pain of not being able to rescue a loved one, mortal, but acting foolishly won't help her," he says.
Thor, seated beside me, is clad in his silver and black armor.
Thor's words seem to calm Scott a bit, and he sits back down, arms crossed, staring ahead.
"There are many people on this ship. Can't they help analyze the data?" Rogue asks, looking at me.
"There's no need for that. Place the drive on the table, Doctor," I tell Beast, and he complies.
"Alice."
At my command, the drive is read by the table, and the information is processed by Alice.
{All set, sir,} she announces a few seconds later.
"Any information on Jean?"
I know many here are anxious to find out what happened to Jean, so I ask to quench their curiosity and calm them.
{Yes, sir. The data indicates she was moved before their arrival.}
"Moved?" I ask, confused.
{Miss Grey was in a deep sleep after consuming a star. A small spacecraft captured her. That's the conclusion the Apocalypse-class starship arrived at.}
"Then what were they doing there if Jean was already gone?" Logan asks, puffing on a cigar.
{They were trying to find a way to track the energy trail left by the ship that took her.}
"Were they succeeding?" I ask.
{The data doesn't specify, but they discovered the trail is familiar to them, belonging to a pirate ship called the Starjammer.}
(Great, now we'll have to deal with them too.)
"So now we have to find pirates?" Pietro laughs beside his sister.
"Thor, try to contact Heimdall. He can give us the coordinates for the pirates. We need to act while the Shi'ar and Kree are occupied," I say.
Then the meeting concludes, and everyone stands up.
While Thor communicates with Heimdall, I'll take a moment to contemplate our next steps.
I head to my quarters and settle onto a couch. My personal room is spacious, equipped with all the amenities for comfortable living, including a private bathroom.
With some time to think, I start planning our next moves. Finding the Starjammers shouldn't be too difficult for Heimdall, but what comes next is the real challenge. The Shi'ar are experts in killing Phoenix avatars. If Jean uses her powers, they will undoubtedly locate her. I can only hope she hasn't awakened yet.
The second issue is Scott's family drama. It's not just his presumed-dead brother now on the enemy side; his father is involved too. I could tell him everything, but it's complicated since I don't have a legitimate excuse for knowing this information. So, I'll let things unfold and intervene only if necessary to prevent them from killing each other.
"Sorry to interrupt your rest, sir, but I have news," Nordur's voice comes through my communicator.
"Is there a problem, General?" I ask.
"Thor has located the pirate ship Starjammer. It's three hours away at our maximum speed, sir," he continues.
"Set course immediately, and send a message to Níðhöggr to meet us there."
"Yes, sir."
With three hours to kill, I delve into the data Hank McCoy obtained from the Shi'ar. Most of it is trivial, but there are some details about the weaponry of the Apocalypse-class starship.
It takes me an hour to go through everything. My conclusion is that the ship lives up to its name. It has enough firepower to obliterate planets, which is no small feat considering neither of my two ships can do that.
Luckily, I have the advantage in terms of energy. The Shi'ar power their largest ships with antimatter engines, but there's a limit to how much energy they can use before the engine becomes unstable and risks exploding. This limitation pales compared to my ships, powered by the energy of a small sun.
In theory, I could win a direct confrontation since my ship can withstand more damage if I divert significant energy to the shields. This holds if it's a one-on-one duel, but I doubt this is the only Apocalypse-class starship in their empire.
"Alice, send a message to all the X-men, and also Pietro and Vision, to meet me in the workshop," I say as I stand up from my chair after reviewing the information for an hour.
"Yes, sir."
The data Fera provided also included footage from the battle site where they fought the two Imperial Guard members. Considering the trouble they had with those relatively unknown opponents, I need to upgrade everyone to ensure they stand a fighting chance in the upcoming battle.
The workshop is located on the lowest deck of Ratatosk. Here, we can literally print armament, armor, weapons, parts, and anything else for which we have the blueprint. Think of it as a 3D printer that can produce anything using our metals.
The room is quite empty, a blank space with no furniture or windows.
"Alice, prepare the creation of suits, please." My guests haven't arrived yet, so I'll get a head start.
After my command, the floor opens in the center of the room, and a silver capsule the size of a person rises upright. Just then, the door behind me opens.
Entering are Logan, Xavier, Rogue, Gambit, Scott, Beast, Quicksilver, and Vision. All are in their X-men uniforms except for Pietro, who is in casual attire.
"Why did you call us, sugar?" Rogue asks amicably.
"I intend to equip you all with suits that will offer better protection in our upcoming battles," I tell them.
"We don't need new suits; ours are good enough," Logan grumbles.
"Not everyone has a healing factor, Logan. And these are not just ordinary suits," I reply.
"What's the difference?" Gambit asks, shuffling a deck of cards without looking at me.
"First, the durability. These suits can withstand attacks far more powerful than a C4 explosion," I say, capturing everyone's attention.
"I appreciate the gesture, but I must ask why you're doing this," Xavier says from his chair.
"Because you barely survived a fight against just two members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Now, stop talking, we don't have much time before we reach our destination."
I say nothing more, moving directly in front of the capsule as a holographic screen with numerous numbers and parameters appears before me.
"Vision, I called you here to help. We need to do this quickly."
Vision understands and stands by my side, another holographic screen materializing in front of him.
"So? Who's going to be first?" I ask, looking back.
The X-Men exchange glances for a moment until Logan steps forward.
"I'll go. If anything happens, I have the healing factor to protect me," he says. I don't take his suspicion personally.
"Just get into the capsule, Logan," I tell him.
"Do I need to take my clothes off?" he asks.
"For Odin's beard, no!" I exclaim, shuddering at the mental image.
When Logan approaches the capsule, it opens, and he steps inside. With a command, it seals shut. The capsule is entirely silver, preventing anyone from seeing inside, which makes the others uneasy. However, Vision and I are unconcerned and begin designing Logan's suit.
Creating a suit for Logan and using Logan to create a suit are two entirely different tasks. I'm not just making something to cover his skin but to enhance his abilities to the maximum.
Next comes the matter of the materials we can use. We opt for Vibranium mixed with a bit of Adamantium as the primary material. I don't include Uru; that would be a waste.
The system then molds the suit perfectly to Logan's body. This is where Vision and I come in: we need to give the suit personality. Vibranium is highly malleable, allowing us to add tiny circuits to the suit, granting it various properties and abilities. This is how we create the capability to absorb damage and release it as energy.
Typically, suits like this take hours to create, but since we're making a basic model compared to Steve's and Natasha's new suits, and with Vision and Alice assisting, the suit is ready in ten minutes.
When the capsule opens, Logan steps out in his new suit. For nostalgia, I designed it with a classic look. It's primarily yellow, except for the boots. It covers his entire body, leaving only his arms and chin exposed. There are black details, including shoulder pads resembling fangs. He has a belt with a red "X" in the center. The most striking feature is the mask, also yellow with white eyes. It covers the upper part of his face, leaving only his mouth and chin visible. The eye areas are black and extend into horn-like projections.
"Snikt!" Logan wastes no time, releasing his claws from his black gloves.
"Shing!" He tries to cut his chest with the claws, but all that results are sparks from the suit.
"I like it," he says to me, smiling.
With this suit finished, I look back and ask,
"Who wants to be next?"
To my surprise, everyone except Scott, Xavier, and Beast raises their hands.
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