3rd POV:
Building Sentinels costs materials. During the war, like all wars, they needed information to make strategic decisions. And while trying to gather information about their enemy, they also stumbled upon a gold mine.
Not all Sentinels were the same. There were the Mark 1 to 7, the Prime Sentinels, Bastion and finally the X-Sentinels.
The X-Sentinels were expensive. Sometimes Bastion and Trask would decommission a few of the weaker Sentinels to make X-Sentinels from its scraps.
While they could deal with Mark 1 to Prime Sentinels, having learned to do that after all this time, the same could not be said of Bastion and the X-Sentinels. Bastion was Bastion. But the X-Sentinels were making use of Darwins and Mystiques DNA, to not only shape their body a little, allowing them to disguise themselves as Mark 1 to 7 Sentinels, but also to adapt to their enemies mutant powers.
So far they only managed to kill exactly one X-Sentinel during the entire war.
Their most recent battleground would be probably scavenged of all the scraps and new Sentinels would be made.
And of course, despite all their powers, the Sentinels loved to rely on sneak attacks, traps and subterfuge, which only made things harder for them. That is how they got the more powerful ones of them.
A few of the reasons why they haven't won the damn war already.
''You think it is a good plan?,'' Ororo asked Logan who grunted in response.
''It is a sound plan, can't disagree with that. Certainly not one Scott would have made,'' Logan replied.
He was being carried by Ororo to a building.
The plan was simple, though Albium stressed that they can adapt or improvise it at their leisure.
Split the forces. Perform their attack and then regroup.
The most powerful and agile will go and perform a high profile attack. They will target infrastructure. Industries that make Sentinels, administration offices that ensured a (somewhat) steady supply of demand and even the mines from which materials are dug up from. And even a testing site, where experiments are done to make better Sentinels.
The forces will perform a high profile attack. One that would level the entire area asunder and desolate.
Logan could see the appeal. A combination of hit and run tactics/ guerrilla warfare and Blitzkrieg. And of course the lure and the trap. If the trap fails, at least they have cut of their supplies. Something that would serve them well, should the war continue.
Flashback:
''But won't that kill the workers there? If we level the entire area I mean?,'' Bobby asked Albium. That is one of the reasons that Scott listed, why they couldn't attack the facilities.
''So?,'' Albium asked impassively,''Hitlers regime was not just the Nazis and the military. It was the train conductors, it was the snitches, it was the Gestapo, it was the radio hosts. It was everyone that participated, that enabled such evil to be perpetuated. Those people are complicit. Whether they do this because of fear or anti-mutant sentiments is irrelevant. The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing and thus they are the enemy. It is not like I'm asking you to attack the Time Square or the Tower of Pisa.''
Barely anyone innocent will be in those spots, was left unsaid.
''What about the testing facility?,'' Jean asked him,''We know that at least Darwin and Mystique are in there. Maybe there are more mutants too?''
''Do we have anyone that can teleport?,'' Albium asked them.
''I can. But those testing facilities are insulated. The only way in is through breaking down the wall. Those facilities are more like fortresses then labs,'' Kurt said stepping forward.
''Hmm. Leave that to me then. I will get them out. The rest of you have your orders, unless there are any questions?.....No? Then let us get to work,'' Albium finished relaying his orders.
Flashback End:
Those that were not to powerful and agile to destroy the facility were sent to protect those that remained, the mutants hiding in the underground. Be it mines, sewers or caves.
''Are you ready?'' Logan asked Ororo.
Instead of replying she closed her eyes and focused. When she opened them again they were white and cracking with lighting. The sky above was darkening and began flashing with lighting and thundering, illuminating the night briefly every now and then. The wind blew harshly kicking her hair and cloak up.
Logan grunted. Atta, girl. It has been a while since he has seen her go all out with her powers.
''Forgive me,'' Storm whispered in the wind. But she was tired and she wanted the war to end. Nothing else has worked so far, so she wasn't completely opposed to going to those lengths.
Wolverine watched, floating on wind and a cloud courtesy of Storm, as the mine down there was being bombarded by lighting, dust kicking in the air. Not too far away from the mines was a processing facility. Despite it being night, the light was still on. There were probably at least a few workers there, but Storm did not hesitate and formed three massive tornadoes around the facility and began ripping it apart.
It was a testament to how powerful she was that within seconds both sites were in ruins.
Storm looked briefly saddened by the turn of events, but then she shook her head and looked down resolutely at the carnage she has wrought.
Now comes the other part of the plan.
Already she could see three Sentinels, thanks to them using plasma repulsors and it being night, flying towards them in the sky.
She immediately turned around and flew, Logan being kept beside her thanks to her powers.
Eventually, she had to start performing some evasive maneuvers as reinforcements came in and attacked her from above the clouds. Of course she felt and kept track of their presence thanks to feeling the current in the wind, whenever it flew around their body.
But she kept at it. Logan sometimes, giving her warnings, while appreciative it was rather pointless to her.
She was the slowest out of all agile and powerful mutants, so she was sent closest to the trap point. She just needed to guide the Sentinels there.
---
Sunspot was flying way above the clouds and in space. His solar infused body allowing him to survive in the vastness of space.
He was tasked with flying almost halfway around the world to pick out a Factory that was making Sentinels.
The Factory was a veritable fortress and guarded by a lot of Sentinels of varying ranks. The mountains being used for strategic purposes. The factory was built into the mountains, so destroying it would have required significant force.
But Sunspot had the power. And the rage to go along with it. The war has been dragging out for so long he was no longer going to hold back, now that he was given the opportunity.
Besides, the goals was to destroy the facilities and infrastructure not the Sentinels. That is what the trap was for.
He began gathering solar energy. The fact that he flew in space was not just because it brought him some comfort, but also because it allowed him to gather solar energy even better. Sure it was almost day here in Thailand, but nothing beats absorbing solar energy without the Ozone Layer in the way.
He formed the solar energy into a sort of spear above his head, ignoring for now the Sentinels that noticed him and began flying towards him.
Just a little more energy and...voila.
Sunspot threw the spear at the mountains and then began quickly flying away, sparing just a brief glance to see the spear encounter a beam of defensive energy on its ways down. It overpowered the energy beam moving almost unhindered on its path, blew up and erased the mountain in a ball of flames, before picking up his speed and the Sentinels after him. The Sentinels having the same appearance as him, having quickly analyzed his powers and adapted it to their own.
Molten rock and fire and dark smoke was all that remained of the mountain and the factory. As well as massive debris that began raining down from the skies.
The government would quickly send fire fighters to combat the fire... and call it a terror attack.
---
Nexus clicked his tongue.
Flashback:
''Can you infuse your swords with elements or create swords with different purposes?,'' Albium asked him, when the two were alone.
''Well, yes,'' Bell replied,''But they aren't strong enough to do damage to the X-Sentinels. And while they can blow up buildings, I'm not the best at it.''
Despite training so much with his powers, he could only achieve so much. Then again 'training so much' may be a bit of an overstatement. He trains when he can, but war demands focus and subterfuge. He could not always train as much as he wants too.
''Hmm. Here. Take this and use it. I trust you recognize these items and know what to say when using them,'' Albium sounded smug when he said that.
Flashback End:
Nexus looked at the bow as he was flying, his sword wings flapping and making sounds up here in the air.
Unlike Albium, he could not make pocket dimensions so he had to carry the bow and sword with him. He could... feel it brimming with power, even if he was not adept enough to sense energy. It gave of a small hum so that is why Nexus believed the bow and sword to be filled with energy.
He clicked his tongue and wondered how his variant moved on past the guilt to indulge in this.
Soon enough he arrived at the military post. Repairs and improvements were done here to the Sentinels. It was also a gathering point for other equipment. It was among the most important military post they knew off and it came as no surprise that it was enveloped by some sort of protective energy shield, in a form of half globe.
He took the bow and then the sword from his hip. The sword was thicker then his thigh, but when he pulled back the string of the bow it thinned massively and it began cracking with red energy.
Nexus sighed despondent, but he would suffer this small indulgence if it meant advancing the war. (He had to admit a small part of him was enjoying this.)
''I am the bone of my sword...Caladbolg,'' Nexus whispered as he released the arrow-sword. The release immediately kicked back the clouds from around Nexus in a circle away.
Whatever Albium did to the sword, made it tear trough the barrier like butter and hit the military post, blowing it up in smithereens.
Nexus began flying away as a lot of Sentinels followed after him.
---
Rogue was carrying Iceman as the two flew through the skies. Soon enough they made their way to an administration building. It was used to categorize and keep track of all the mutants. Workers tending to the servers that would constantly update a list about the remaining mutants.
Rogue kept hold of Iceman as he stretched out his arm and the metal began to freeze. He went above and beyond and made the very air around the buildings freeze in seconds. His rage slipping through as he began to engage in the act. His previous hesitation being forgotten.
Then Rogue moved Iceman to her back so that she could clap her palms in a thunder, the shock wave cracking the ice and the second clap of hands being enough to reduce it to debris as the structure of the ice block began falling apart and whatever was inside it breaking off and falling with it.
As this was an administration building there were not a lot of Sentinels here, but a few still flew after them and they began quickly flying away.
---
Jean flew in the air and arrived at a industrial complex. A lot of things were happening here, but she did not have time to ponder.
She summoned flames, the flames briefly moving around her to form a phoenix before gathering in front of her in the form of a ball and being shot at the complex.
If she was a little salty from having just returned from the dead and releasing her anger right now, well... no one would be able to tell.
The ball of fire incinerated everything in its path, not just blowing up but also dismantling the enemy at a molecular level. Most of them at least.
The X-Sentinels were still SOMEWHAT operational as she was not completely used to her new power yet, but instead of standing her ground and finishing them off she decided to stick to the plan and flew away. The damaged X-Sentinels flying after her, ever so slowly regenerating from the sustained damage.
---
Albium was walking with Nightcrawler and Shadowcat towards the testing facility all casual. Something that was not shared by the other two, who were anxiously looking around the desert for an ambush.
Having had probed and analyzed the enemies strength while Katherine and Bell were doing their thing and most caught up, somewhat, Albium knew he could easily deal with all this, if he takes a few steps to ensure his plan worked.
''So, how will we get in?,'' Nightcrawler asked.
''Hm? We're not animals. We will be polite and knock, of course,'' Albium replied.
''Bist du wahnsinnig?!,'' Kurt slipped into his mother language.
Kitty put her hand on his shoulder and grabbed his attention.
''He is only casual, because he is confident we can handle this. Either that or it means he has a plan,'' Kitty gave a quick glance in Albiums direction. Her efforts to reassure Kurt, being a little undone by that action.
''My dear, a wizard never reveals his tricks. But rest assured that you will enjoy the show,'' Albium made no effort to reassure them both.
''Are you sure we can trust him? We're all gonna die,'' Nightcrawler lamented.
''We can... That doesn't mean someone is not making it difficult, by fucking with us,'' Shadowcat pointedly replied.
They walked some more, now only being a few meters away from the entrance to the testing facility.
The closer they got, the more apprehensive they got, only for the apprehension to slowly give way to confusion as no alarms rang out and they were not attacked.
Eventually they arrived at the gate. Five guards standing guard and machinery protecting the gate in case of an attack.
''Albert! How are you doing this fine day? Ready to kill some more muties?,'' Albium suddenly said to one of the guards.
Alber the Guard snorted.
''Fuck off, Kevin. You know I can't do that anymore, since one of them shattered my knee cap. Still, it is not all bad here. Say what you will about these muties, but they are all very good looking, both men and women...if you know what I mean,'' Albert chuckled perversely,''Especially that blue chick. Not only is she exotic, but can also change into anyone.''
Albium took a deep breath and clenched his hand around his staff. The two tensing besides him as well.
Not yet, Albium calmed himself down. Priorities. Priorities.
''Can't believe you can actually stomach touching one of these disgusting creatures,'' another guard muttered.
''Well, while you wait here and gather dust I can enjoy my wife and kids...and do some actual work around here. The type that is productive,'' Albium said.
''Oh, yeah?,'' Albert challenged playfully.
''Yep. Those two have decided to volunteer for the Prime Sentinel Program,'' Albium gestured to the two behind him.
''Really? That is great! Bastion usually has to settle for reanimating corpses, but volunteers are so much better. My gratitude for you service to the human race, you two. That said, I still need to see some identification. You know how it is, Kevin. Procedures and all that,'' Albert said.
''Of course. Here,'' Albium laid out his empty palm and Albert looked at it for a moment, before nodding.
''All well. Now please step through the gate to confirm you are no mutant and then you are ready to go,'' Albert further instructed.
Albium casually stepped through the gate, causing it to turn green.
Kitty and Kurt stood around for but a brief moment, before Kitty decided to follow Albiums steps and stepped through the gate as well, before the guards would become suspicious. The gate turned green again. Kurt followed after them quickly.
''Goodbye, Kevin. See you around,'' Albert called out.
''You too Albert. Make sure to not catch any diseases from these muties,'' Albium called back causing him to laugh.
''Was zum Teufel?,'' Kurt asked incredulously,''Are you a telepath?''
Albium did not reply and merely indicated him to stay silent. There were a lot of security measures here and taking care of all of them required focus.
''Is he like Wanda?,'' Kurt leaned in to whisper to Katherine.
''...No. No, I think he told you that he is a wizard,'' Kitty decided to have some fun at Kurts expense. She needed that after the stress she went trough and the fact that the mutants here were probably living in torturous conditions.
Albium held up his hand and stopped, causing them to stop as well. He gently tapped the staff in his hand into the ground and then began walking again.
''There are four mutants here. I just located them, we need to move quickly to spring the trap,'' Albium told them.
On their way they walked past a X-Sentinel. It failed to trigger its mutant detection system and paid them no mind.
Eventually they arrived in a massive lab. In the center where four cages. They were empty as the mutants were strapped to the wall with cables going into them. But so far nothing seems to be being pumped into or out of them.
Around their neck there was the familiar sight of the Suppression Collar. This one however much thicker then all the previous ones he has seen.
''Frost? Betsy? What are you doing here?,'' Katherine and Kurt ran forward and asked them as Albium moved to the computers to see what the cables were doing.
''What do you think? We were captured and taken hostage. They were trying to find a way to make telepathy work for themselves. A futile endeavor as machines are not subject to telepathic charms,'' Forst replied after wearily blinking to get a better sight of who she was speaking to.
The four of them were malnourished and kept weak so that they could be made to comply.
''I'm sure we thought the same of these Suppression Collars or Robots that could adapt to our powers and kill us easily. Say what you want, but these bastards are crafty and innovative,'' Betsy said.
''I'm sorry,'' Darwin replied feeling guilty. Out of all of them he looked the best, even if he was malnourished a little as well. They found out that his powers only activated to instantaneously adapt to a threat and ensure his survival if he was subjected to life threatening situations.
So it was in their interest to keep him safe.
Mystique looked hopeful of finally escaping this hell, upon seeing them.
Hmm, Albium was rubbing his chin a little. They were trying to turn them into Prime Sentinels and make them fight against their own people. Makes sense since they already got everything they needed from Mystique and Darwin. And they others were probably captured so that they could manipulate others with telepathy into trusting them.
They were prepared today for tomorrow. First they would pump blood out and then... they would be injected with the techno-organic-virus.
Techno-Organic-Virus?
Albium looked up some more with his technomancy, but there is not a lot of information on it. Very confidential it seems.
Hmm.
No matter, he could find out while fighting Bastion. He clicked a few buttons and the cables began to get pulled out of them.
Kurt and Katherine caught Bettsy and Emma, while Darwin picked up Mystique. They all began making their way back only to stop as Albium did not follow them and began scribbling something on the wall.
''What are you doing?,'' Kurt asked.
''Inscribing some runes on the wall. I will raze this facility to the ground,'' Albium said.
After a few more runes he began following them out. They could not teleport away as not only did people inside carry Supression Collars, but also the walls were insulated with something that hindered them from using their powers effectively.
Mystique tried to attack Albert on their way out, but she was too weak to escape Darwin, let alone kill someone. She scowled, but made no further attempts to try anything.
''So how will the runes work? Will they create a ball of flame or...?,'' Kurt began.
In that same moment, the runes inside the facility activated and a Black Hole expanded enveloping the entire facility. The trees and all other matter close enough to the event horizon were immediately sucked in, but the rest merely experienced a small pull. Then the Black Hole began shrinking very quickly and disappeared with a small light form existence, leaving behind only silence and a crater.
While Albium wished he could have dragged their suffering out, he was pressed for time and had other priorities. At least those scums were dead, so there was that.
''...''
''You job here is done, but for what is to come, you will not be needed and your help is not wished for. Kurt, you know where the rest are hiding, take them all there and you two will take up the task of protecting the survivors. I on the other hand have a magic trick to perform,'' Albium instructed, his voice leaving no room for argument.
''J-ja. I mean, yes Sir,'' Kurt saluted instinctively.
''And me?,'' Kitty asked.
''You too. We don't need precision. We need overwhelming force. Go and protect the rest,'' Albium instructed and watched Kurt teleport them all away.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something was happening out there.
Bastion had the ability to connect his mind to all the Sentinels. Sort of like a hive mind.
One of the Sentinels moved to engage with Katherine Pryde and then the connection was promptly cut off after the white robbed man raised his staff.
He was wondering were Katherine was hiding for the past two years and what she was doing. Probably something inconsequential.
Shortly after that attacks all over the world began on his facilities. Excuse him, he meant Trasks facilities.
That... was highly unusual. There was a reason he kept Scott alive. A spineless leader or an incompetent one can be more harmful then any enemy, some times. It was not his style to attack the facilities stacked with humans. There were reasons he did not employ only Sentinels under him and this was one among many of them.
...
How amusing. Where they trying to lure them all into a trap?
Smart. The Sentinels only had a small rudimentary directive AI. The Prime Sentinels were better at making decisions, but they were not as powerful as the X-Sentinels and the techno-organic-virus was a double edged sword.
He could only use very small amounts for any one person, while at the same time he had to administer the 'antidote', nano bots that would fight the spread of the virus, for each human.
No matter. What they lacked in decision making, they made up for in killing Mutants in exemplary fashion. And where they lacked he could pick up the slack, until he found out a way to make the Prime Sentinels better.
Either way, they were useful as their loyalty was beyond doubt and he had insider agents in the governments thanks to them.
He sent out the order to his Sentinels to disengage and regroup. The loss of the facilities would be a blow, but one he would quickly recover from once he put the Sentinels up to the task of repairing the damage done.
For now, he needed to find out what happened to Scott and who exactly it was that were leading the remaining mutants now.
Hmm?
Bastion tried sending out the order again for his Sentinels to disengage.
He sat more upright, when he failed for the second time to do so.
...
Was it the white robbed man? It was not a mutant he knew off. Then again it did not register as a mutant on the X-Sentinels radar.
While Bastion was contemplating he received a call from Trask.
''What is it?,'' he asked after picking up.
''S.H.I.E.L.D contacted the UN and was also contacted in turn. There are a lot of 'terror attacks' happening all over the world. But they also wished to inform the UN that there is a massive floating tower amidst a field of flowers in the Mojave Desert in California. What will you do about it?,'' Trask asked him.
''I will attend to that. Take care of matters on your own end,'' Bastion dismissed and hang up.
A field of flower in the middle of the Mojave Desert and a floating tower? Was that supposed to be the place where they would trap him? What were they gonna do? Slay him with Valentines Day?
!?
What was happening? Jean Grey was back. She just blew up one of his facilities and even damaged his X-Sentinels a little. Aside from Wanda Maximoff (who was not even a mutant) he considered her the most dangerous Mutant. There was a reason he only began getting more daring after he managed to ambush her and kill her.
People don't just die and rise from the grave.
...
...
Tch.
He did not like how things were developing. An unknown variable running amok, people returning from the dead, someone actually giving him trouble in cyberspace.
What was next? The Scarlet Witch, a reality warper, returning from her isolation?
Bastion was not about to tempt his chances so he decided to cut his loses and engage in guerrilla warfare. Killing one mutant at a time when the opportunity presents itself.
''Yeah, about that. You are not that guy, pal. Trust me, you are not that guy,'' Bastion heard being whispered in his ear, before his seat blew up under him and he was being blown through several hundred meters of earth.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telepathy was useless on Bastion. But not technomancy. That said, whatever this techno-organic-virus stuff was gave Bastion some competency in this department. It took some considerably effort as well as a lot of energy to 'read' his mind.
But he did. Prioritizing first Bastions immediate strength before he would find out anything else. And frankly? The nanites gave him some serious strength. Credit where credit is due, whoever made him made a masterpiece.
Anyway.
Bastion escaped being shoved by the energy beam towards the Mojave Desert. Sprouting six wings to give him flight, but Albium was not holding back this time. It was not his world and he only planned on staying just a short time here, before dipping back to his world.
Even on the other side of the country Albium was fully aware of what was going on. So the energy simply turned and began chasing Bastion. He briefly tried to use his wings as a shield and also absorb the energy for himself, but instead of the energy beam weakening it only increased in energy output. So Bastion redirected the energy beam and flew away.
---
''Sir, what do you think this tower could be?,'' Hill asked Fury. They watched as their agents set up a camera to display what they were doing, in regards to researching the event as well as determine if it was a danger to humans.
There was also another channel, showing the UN what was happening there. A 'request' Fury could not refuse.
''Whatever it is, I'm sure it is not simply for decoration or accommodation. I'm sure it must be related to the terror attacks around the world,'' Fury replied.
Terror attack? Is that what they call it now? And the genocide did not warrant such a response from the mutants? But Hill kept her thoughts to herself. S.H.I.E.L.D was beholden to the UN (even thought it should be independent) so politics got involved sometimes. Frankly, that was stupid as S.H.I.E.L.D was supposed to have a much bigger purpose then become some politicians lackeys and further their interest.
''Should we send The Avengers?,'' Hill asked.
Fury remained silent for just a bit. The two watched as their agents found out that the tower seemed to gather energy at an increasingly alarming rate. Thoughts going through his head, whatever they were.
''No,'' Fury replied eventually.
---
The X-Men eventually made their way to the Mojave Desert. The Sentinels hot on their trail.
''What now? How will the tower help us in defeating the Sentinels?,'' Logan asked as Jean connected all their minds telepathically. Except Nexus' mind.
''You may not feel it, but the tower is gathering energy. A lot of it too,'' before Jean could continue she briefly used her telekinetic charms to smash two Sentinels against each other and turned them into pieces. Unfortunately it was the weaker Sentinels.
It was in this moment that Albium arrived near her and was floating on his staff.
''You are late,'' Jean replied.
''A wizard is never too late or too early, my dear lady. He arrives precisely when he needs to,'' Albium joked and quickly blasted a Sentinel away. He briefly considered using his technomancy to call for all the Sentinels in the world. But honestly? There was no need to.
''So what now?,'' Jean asked him.
''Now you watch each others back. We are almost at the finish line. The tower merely needs to gather more energy. Keep the Sentinels away from our fight and ensure that none of you die. I will fight Bastion,'' Albium replied.
''Shouldn't I be the one fighting him?,'' Jean asked.
''Maybe. I was told you only recently came back to life? Perhaps you already have the power to beat him, but why risk it? Instead use your power to avoid further loses on your side. Bastion will be taken care of by me,'' Albium replied.
Maybe she had more right to be angry with Bastion for killing her. But the world clearly did not care about rights or else the genocide would have never occurred. Albium was furious at Bastion and selfish enough to act upon it. He could have been a leader, leading all to prosperity. Instead he did this. He was only angry with him, because unlike the Sentinels he could clearly make choices. He has seen it in his mind.
Albium paid her no mind as she engaged in battle with the Sentinels again. As well as she guarded her allies back every now and then.
Logan leaped at the few Sentinels that were weaker. Shoved his adamntium claws inside and provided the other claw high in the air. Mark 5-7 were insulated outside, allowing them to resist lighting. But the found out that their insides were not as protected. Ororo redirected lighting at him and it traveled into the Sentinel destroying it.
Jean kept track of everything and occasionally destroyed a few Sentinels that tried to sneak attack her allies, whlie she was fighting her own battles.
Frankly they all could deal with the Mark 1-7 quite easily, the Prime Sentinels were not called or were destroyed in the facilities, it was the X-Sentinels that gave them trouble. Ironically they could not throw their strongest attacks against them as they did with the facilities since it would hit their allies. But they did manage to kill them off one at a time,it just took longer then they liked to, especially since in an endurance fight the X-Sentinels won more often then not thanks to their adaptability.
So whatever Albium planned by gathering energy with his tower, he better do it quickly.
Albium landed on the flowerbed and waited a little. Bastion was good at evading the energy beam, but he did not want to fight him halfway across the world and kill him simply off.
No, he had something else planned for him. And then he would kill him.
The night was almost over and dawn was beginning to break, but a star could be briefly seen lighting up in the sky. Shortly afterward Bastion crashed into the flowerbed kicking up in the air as well as some dust, but Albium reinforced the ground so that Bastions landing would be a just a little more harmful. The flowers that were destroyed quickly regenrated.
Bastion picked himself, the damage he sustained quickly regenerating.
''You. Whoever you are, though your interference was but brief, you caused me a lot of trouble. You threw a multitude of plans I had in disarray,'' Bastion scowled.
''Gonna cry?,'' Albium replied. Bastion scowled further and shot an energy beam from his chest. Albium summoned Rho Aias, the petal shield, easily doing its job and stopping the energy beam. That kicked up even more petals among the previous ones that were still in the air.
Bastion threw himself forward and flew at him at break neck speed, but Albium merely raised his staff and the previously harmless petals in the air began to descend down on Bastion like spears, piercing his wings and body with ridiculous ease, despite all his defenses. In the same motion Albium spun his staff and a pillar of earth slammed upwards into his face as Bastion crashed down and blew him away. The pillar landing on him for good measure and landed on him.
The dust provided him with cover as Bastion picked himself up and shot several smaller energy beams from his body into several directions. Not just aiming erratically, but shooting them into portals. The portals opened up all around Albium and he slammed his staff down to create a shield around him. The energy beams being repelled by it.
Bastion not, sitting idle threw himself forward again. The enemy was trying to keep him at a distance, so clearly he was a long range fighter. If he was one specializing in long distance fighting, then he probably had a weak body.
Albium chuckled, reading his mind with technomancy. Smart thinking in most cases, but bro doesn't know the thing about Fate Servant Classes and he was pretending to be Merlin, just by a different name.
He blocked Bastions punch the earth cracking under the force, despite having reinforced it and before Bastion could react Albium jumped up locked his legs around Bations neck and did a few spins before slamming him face first into the ground, the staff floating besides them and then back into Albiums hand when disengaging.
Bastion slammed his fist down on the ground and sent out the command for X-Sentinels to come and engage his enemy in battle. Only for the command to fail through again.
He scowled and teleported behind Albium only to be gripped by a vine before he could touch him, one that grew from the ground in seconds. With his wings he managed to slice the vine and disengage. The two finding themselves in a stand off. Bastion cast his eyes slightly above Albium to look at the tower. By now it probably had more energy then the sun, Bastion guessed.
''You don't really seem to try and kill me. What? Are you trying to appeal to my humanity?,'' Bastion mocked.
Albium burst out in small giggles, before descending into a full blown laughter. He was quickly calming himself down and refocused on the fight.
''Kill you? Why would I do that? No, no. I don't want to kill you. I want to rip you apart, pull you at the seams and rob you of your identity. I want to destroy you. I want your lifes work to become meaningless,'' Albium told him.
''You are doing a poor job at it then,'' Bastion said, having bought himself enough time to shoot a energy beam at Albium, who summoned Rho Aias again. Meanwhile the true attack was shot above Albium towards the tower in an attempt to destroy it.
Only, it did not get destroyed. Instead it seemed to absorb the energy beam, Bastion scowled and quickly shut the attack off, but it was already to late.
The tower gathered enough energy by this point and opened up the top part of the tower, like a flower of metal and with energy waves going from the bottom to the tip it shot out with a massive bang three bursts at once that were so closely together it seemed like one massive burst.
Bastion briefly looked up, uncertain what was about to happen. The X-Men would have wanted to look at the sky too, but the X-Sentinels kept engaging them.
Albium jumped back and landed on his staff, before pulling out a sword made of golden light. He raised it above his and Bastion could feel it gather energy so he gathered his own.
'Ex-','' meh it was a little bit too on the nose, so he would not be yelling out loud as that would raise too many questions, but yelling it in his mind would have to suffice.
Bastion prepared his own attack and-
'-calibur!'
-teleported behind Albium at the exact time Albium swung down his sword at Bastions previous position. Then he released his own energy beam at the enemies back. Only for Rogue and Bobby to be shoved away from their enemy as a portal opened in front of Albium and his back and the golden energy was redirected towards Bastion, easily overpowering his own attack and shooting out into the sky incinerating everything in its path. Then it exploded so hard it sent out at shock wave so strong it blew chunks of earth away (despite Albium still reinforcing it) blew away the clouds in several kilometers of radius and nearly caused his allies to crash down into the ground.
But that was not the end of it as it began to rain golden particles, the particles slowly descending and upon touching the Sentinels easily disassembled them and turned them into golden shards that quickly turned into golden particles.
Albium dismissed the golden sword with a swing.
And while the X-Men began to slowly feel celebratory as the fact the killed Bastion sank in, he waited.
Ah, there it is. He felt the flow of time begin to be manipulated in the space where they all were.
He let Bastion do his thing. Everything that just happened slowly being played back wards, those outside the space could see with their own eyes and keep their memories, while those inside except one lost their memories.
Albium found himself back before he summoned his sword and jumped up.
Bastion released as much energy as he could at once, willed his nanites to turn his arm into a spear and bolted towards Albium. Albium summoned Rhongomyniad and the sky briefly sparkled again, as if a star lit up and the first of the three energy bursts descended down at almost light speed and slammed into Bastion shoving him forward and right into Rhongomyniad. It pierced easily through his abdomen and kept him there, while beginning to emit a slow hum and spark slightly golden.
The golden hue was extended to Bastion as it enveloped him and he began losing his abilities, but not dying yet.
It was over, Albium had everything he wanted from Bastions mind.
Shortly afterwards the second energy burst came down, the small star sparkle being seen in the sky again, before it crashed down on the tower, right in the spot where it originally shot off from. The tower was pushed immediately into the ground, no longer floating and send out a golden wave of energy across the globe. Eventually it would make its turn back towards the tower only to be sent out a second time and then a third.
Third times the charm after all, and three, seven and thirteen was a magical number. Although only one wave would suffice, he was still playing the wizard.
No matter where or how well hidden a Sentinel was the same thing would happen to them, that happened before Bastion turned back time.
Before anyone could say anything Albium teleported away taking the X-Men with him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The UN has quickly gathered for an emergency meeting in its New York City headquarters. Suffice to say, absolute pandemonium reigned here, as no one could make heads or tails of what was happening.
The sight on the screen did not inspire confidence. And when the wave rolled over the globe and some of the Prime Sentinels in the UN began dissolving they began panicking. Well, not all, there were those that tried to call for order in the hall, but that proved to be difficult.
It was like this that Albium and the X-Men found the UN. Bastion tried to say something, but his mouth remained firmly shut courtesy of Rhongomyniad.
For a brief moment the people here looked like a deer caught in head lights, as the hall quickly quietened, realization kicking in.
''Arrest these terrorists,'' some one screamed. Albium tilted his head a little at the display of idiocy. He had to deal with many idiots as Supreme Imperator. It never quite settles in how entitled, idiotic or incompetent some people can be.
The soldiers advanced diligently.
''Tsk, tsk, tsk,'' Albium tsked and waved his finger, before snapping his fingers and turning them all into dogs. The smallest breed out there.
''Good soldiers follow orders, right? But sometimes even a well behaved dog recognized the futility of obeying his master. Be glad I did not kill you,'' Albium remarked.
''What give you the right to come here and threaten us. You are all terrorists!,'' the leader of Thailand screamed.
Albium tilted his head in the other direction and began making his way to the Secretary-Generals seat, Bastion and the spear floating after him.
''You're in my seat,'' Albium told Pierce.
The Secretary-General looked at the situation, analyzed it and determined that this would be not a battler he would win, so he stood up and gave him the seat.
Albium sat down like a king and he propped his head on his fist, the gesture evoking both fond and painful memories.
''What give me the right? What gives you the right to commit and sanction a genocide? What gives you the right, to call foul play not that you have lost the war? What gives you the right to stand in my way and ask me anything as if you were my equal?
I can sit and play this game with you onto perpetuity, but the simple truth is that I have the sword and you no longer do,'' Albium replied.
''So might makes right? Is that it? You are just another megalomaniac in a long line of megalomaniacs that wants to rule the world. We will deal with you the same as we dealt with all the others. So long as people die liberty shall never perish,'' the France leader said to him.
''Rule the world? Rule YOU?,'' Albium burst out laughing, throwing his head back.
''I'll let you live in your delusions. Besides, isn't that the way of the world? Might makes right. But what happens when you are no longer the mightiest, hmm? You had the might to kill mutants, you did not aid them or remain neutral. The Legacy Virus, funds to both that project as well as to William Trask to his Sentinel Program and a lot of other projects. Almost everyone here partook in that. Thought the Legacy Virus is not yet in full completion.
Was that right? No, of course not.
Instead all of you here were complicit, because you could. Be it either out of bigotry or malice or fear to lose your power. It does not matter. I'm merely providing you the same courtesy,'' Albium told them.
''Whatever you have planned, the people will not comply. History has taught us that tyrants never last long,'' the German leader said.
''Hmm. History. I remember the good old days when kings were unapologetic in their command and display of power. Of course they still had to be mindful of assassins, if they overstepped too much.
I could sit here and wax lyrical about your wrongdoing. I could show you facts that what you are doing is both objectively bad and disastrous, but I know well the nature of men.
No matter how advanced I have seen them get, they still, in the end, prioritize feelings over logic. They follow logic till it suits them and then give themselves to their baser instincts. Like beasts.
There is no point in having a philosophical debate with you. So I will simply tell you how it will be,'' Albium explained to them.
''And what will you do?,'' Pierce asked them. It was in that moment that The Avengers burst through the doors, but the feelings of victory were short lived as Albium snapped his fingers again and turned them all into rabbits.
''You accused us of being terrorists? Let me tell you something, the human race was at war with the mutants race. And foolishly they presumed they would win this war. Even the kings of the past always made sure not to raise the stakes TOO high, in case they lost their wars that they started. You see, it gives your opponents the justification to visit upon you what you tried to do onto them,'' Albium said and stood up.
Everyone across the world and in the room tensed at what he was implying.
''You are suggesting genocide,'' the Netherlands leader said in horror.
''Of course not. What do you think of me? That I am some sort of monsters. But also ...yes,'' Albium snapped his fingers again.
---
The third energy burst landed, like the second, on the tip of the tower and kicked up all petal flowers (far more then there physically were in the flowerbed) all across the world in every direction. No longer were they physical, but ethereal.
---
''The human race will die. Let us see, what all you bigotry has brought you. When bigotry is akin to hating yourself,'' Albium said, ignoring the X-Men almost lunging at him when he snapped his fingers.
The politicians looked around them uncertainly for a few moments.
It was soon afterwards that a petal flew in through the walls and landed into the German leaders chest while he was trying to get away. He touched himself over his body feeling confused.
''What did you do to m-,'' he hiccuped, bubbles shooting from his mouth.
''You- you have no idea what you h-,'' Pierce began only for his body to begin slightly changing. His tongue elongated, his finger tips became slightly flatter and his eyes adapted a frog like appearance.
''This is how humanity dies. Not with glory or with a battle cry, but with a whimper and a weak whisper. Oh and one more thing. I can't forget the architect of all this,'' Albium snapped his fingers again.
Trask and a Sentinel were teleported inside the hall. It was not an actual Sentinel, just a machine that he scrambled together took on the appearance of a Sentinel. But it would serve its purpose.
''Human detected. Beginning extermination,'' the 'Sentinel' declared and caused Trask to sprint away. But the machine was much faster and transformed its hand into a spear before piercing Trask trough the back almost bisecting him.
''Human exterminated. For the Glory of Mutantkind,'' the Sentinel replied, before Albium snapped his fingers again and he disappeared.
''You...You are like the Scarlet Witch. You are a Reality Warper. Goddamn you, your kind are all the same!,'' the Spanish leader screamed.
''My kind? You insult yourself my good man. Besides, I'm a wizard, not a reality warper. Forgive me, if I don't care enough to educate you plebeian on the difference,'' Albium turned to Bastion after saying this.
Bastion looked around. 'Multiple Mutants detected' flashed across his integrated screen. His shock turned from disbelief and then into horror, before settling on defeat, his eyes and body slacking lifelessly.
''I did say, I will destroy you and strip you of your identity,'' Albium came around him and grabbed the hilt of the spear.
''Look at what all your effort have sown and reaped,'' Albium twisted the spear a little further. Bastion was only halfway pierced and the spear was getting thicker the closer it got to the hilt.
''All of your effort and all your lifes work, turned to dust, but at the snap of my fingers,'' Albium twisted the spear futher.
''You are nothing. You are less then nothing. You are useless. This insignificant bug that history will record as the one in the wrong and as the evil guy,'' Albium whispered in his ear and twisted the spear even further, enough that the thickness of the spear bisected him and only then did Bastion shatter into golden shards and particles as well.
If he was particularly cruel and vindictive to Bastion it was because, he was a poor leader. He brought out the worst impulses in humanity and allowed them to behave like beasts with the mutants. Whatever it was that he saw at the testing facility, was just the tip of the ice berg, Albium was sure.
Albium quickly gathered the techno-organic-virus and put it in a second pocket dimension so that it would not contaminate everything he held in his first pocket dimension.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''The war ended abruptly. Almost anti-climatically,'' Logan grunted.
''Are you complaining?,'' Ororo joked as the two watched the sunset.
''No. It is good the war ended. Now we can rebuild,'' Logan took a sip of his beer.
''Still. To think we were lucky enough to stumble upon another reality warper that would lend us their aid. I wonder how we could repay him?,'' Ororo mused.
''Wizard. He seemed particular about that. Guess they are all eccentric. Besides, I doubt he will ask any payment from us. He was here at Katherines request and was pretty upfront when I confronted him about wanting to get into her pants,'' Logan said.
Ororo chuckled and raised her own beer. Not something she would usually drink, but it was a cause for celebration and the store did not sell wine, only beer.
''To their happiness and to all our happiness,'' Ororo toasted.
Logan grunted and raised a toast as well.
---
''For someone that won a war, you seem pretty downtrodden,'' Albium said as he came over.
''No, it is no that, it's just...,'' Katherine laid her chin on her forearms, which were resting on a fence near a pier as they watched the sunset.
''I'm dead here... aren't I,'' Katherine asked him. Now that the war was over, it was truly beginning to sink in, the revelation she made just a day ago.
''...Eternalism is not the be all and end all of everything, even if the universe functions by this principle. Maybe another version of you did time travel truly or maybe she died without even dimension traveling. I wouldn't spend my thoughts too much on that, these sort of what ifs can take away from you entire lifetimes. All that matters is that you are here and they choices YOU make.
IF you want, truly want, then you can stay here,'' Albium tried cheering her up.
''...Thank you for winning us the war,'' Katherine tried to distract herself, just a little bit.
''I didn't do it alone. ...I mean sure, I could have (*Kitty rolled her eyes at that*), but that would have stretched my focus and it could have risked something slipping my notice. It would have bee tragic if the remaining mutants died. So, I should thank you all for watching my back, keeping the Sentinels away from me during the fight with Bastion as well as protecting the surviving mutants just in case some Sentinels attacked them,'' Albium told her.
Besides, if Jean came back from the dead then she most likely connected to Phoenix. She is new to her powers, but soon enough she would become more adept at them and would have been able to easily take care of things herself. All he could really take credit for is resolve the war so absolutely in their favor and so much quicker. At first he planned on soundly defeating the enemy in war and giving control of the government to the mutants. It would have had its own issues, but humanity would have not recovered from that defeat for along time. But then he saw M-Day and add in the fact that they told him there were only a few hundred thousand mutants left, made him decide on a different path.
Katherine pressed her face a little more into her forearms.
''Say...will you do the same in our world. What you did here I mean?,'' she asked.
''No,'' Albium immediately replied,''Such things take time. Compare the situation/ society here akin to a bleeding heart. All I did was apply some visceral and shoddy band aid that stopped most of the bleeding, but not all. The war on mutantkind is over. But another war will take place. One of elitism, class, and powers. Soon enough, they world will look like before the war and you would barely see the difference as new issues start cropping up.
Not to mention that, for all their faults, governments do some good by providing institutions, like the police. It will take some time for them to be equipped with the training to handle this new territory. And a LOT of other things besides. So, to reiterate, no, I will not be doing the same in our world. But I will treat it as a last resort. Besides, I wouldn't be so blatant in my display of power back home, out of my own reasons.''
''...You are speaking of being a leader. You have plans. Plans that involve gradually allowing humans and mutants to coexist...,'' Katherine began.
''Yes?,'' Albium asked her to carry on.
''You are like a mix of Xavier and Erik. You want peace and prosperity for all, but you are more then willing to use force. Except you don't take things too far, like they did. They were both extreme in their ways. At least our worlds Xavier is more... shall we say, understanding that others will act in their own way. ...And also doesn't seem to read everyones minds at his leisure,'' Katherine trailed off in thought.
''You going somewhere with all this?,'' Albium asked her.
''Huh? Oh, right. Sorry. I want in, I want to join your side. If tensions will rise in our world and we inevitably will clash again with humans, then I want to be on your side and help you. I can't risk Xavier and Erik fucking things up, so I want to put my trust in someone that I can truly believe in. So, like, you talked pretty old fashioned while we were here. Do I, like, kneel and take a oath of fealty or something,'' Kitty was getting a little nervous at the end.
''No need for that. I'm guessing if you talk so much about 'our world' then you have made your choice?,'' Albium asked her.
''...Yes. I love my people here, but... I died. And I have to move on. Besides, I can do more good in the other world,'' Kitty looked at him.
''Hmm,'' Albium looked off in the distance watching the sunset for a bit in thought,''I guess you know my secret then. This way I don't have to silence you. So, sure. Welcome aboard. I will put you to good use.''
Kitty snorted.
''Funny. I somehow know you wouldn't pull a Xavier and mess with my mind until I become your enemy or threaten to expose you. So, jokes on you on trying to tease me,'' Kitty smiled.
''Hmm. Then do go to the others and tell them that I'm taking my bride with me. As compensation for services well rendered,'' Albium shooed her away, making her blush a little at his audacity. In her defense she did not expect him to go there considering he had a girlfriend.
''Ugh, right. I will go do that. It won't take too long,'' Kitty quickly scurried off and Albium watched her hurry away.
As for him? There was just one more thing, he wanted to do while here.
---
Albium stood across Bell.
''Hm. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. How old are you?,'' Bell asked him.
''16,'' Albium replied as they were alone and no one was spying on them.
''Just four years older, huh? ...If nothing else I now have a skill ceiling to strive for. So, about the war, you engaged in a lot of indulgences. All those references and copy paste abilities... You moved on from our guilt,'' Bell said.
''How?''
''I didn't,'' Albium replied.
''What?,'' Bell asked incredulously.
''I didn't move on. The guilt is still there. I just learned... No. It would be more accurate to say that I remembered something that I had forgotten or tried to ignore. There are people -past, present or future- that did worse things then me and still do them. Do you see them living a miserable life? Or someone dragging them to justice? The world does not care about such things. Only humans do.
Our hell is of our own making. And certainly we must repent for what we did. But we can do so while living, instead of being miserable. We can do so, having learned from our mistakes and minding their lessons, as we head towards the future.
We certainly weren't the only war veterans that returned home. And no one, not even us, minded that they built a family and moved on, even if the scars still linger and a part of them always remained back during the war. It is OK to live a little,'' Albium explained to him.
''Is it truly fine? I doubt I can simply move on,'' Bell remarked.
''If it helps, treat it as you making a choice. We both have an iron will. It is not brittle. It will be hard, but you can do it,'' Albium encouraged.
''I...will try,'' Bell conceded.
''Sometime, trying is all anyone can do,'' Albium replied.
For a moment silence reigned between them.
''But I didn't come here just to give you my wisdom. I want to confirm a suspicion. Did you truly know it was time travel?,'' Albium asked him.
''...Not quite. My thought process was that there could be three outcomes.
One, she really does time travel. That would be a huge boon for us. That was the best scenario.
Two, she dimension travels. In that case, we re fucked. And she may find happiness. At least someone would have found their happy ending in this accursed war, was my thought at the time. I saw it as a kindness.
Three, she simply dies. The worst ending. In that case her suffering will simply end. Though it was lamentable that she did not find happiness as with the second option,'' Bell explained.
''And thus, we strive for the most advancements in as many fields as possible,'' Albium mused. Yes, that thought process would be something he would arrive to too, if he was in Bells situation and had to make uninformed decisions about time travel.
''...Yes,'' Bell agreed.
''In that case, I have no more questions. Live your life, Bell. Live it well. With honor or without,'' Albium turned back and began walking away, just once tapping his staff on the ground and summoning a small chair, table and cup of green tea for Bell.
Bell looked a little uncertain, but then took a seat and watched the sunset as he dared to take small sip from the cup.
Small steps, should be fine. Right?
---
Bell and Katherine arrived pretty unceremoniously back in her room.
''How much time has passed since we were gone here? Like, a day passed for us, right?,'' Katherine asked a little fearful of what kind of excuse she would have to make to the others. Especially, since only two year passed for the others, but like six for her here.
''Two hours. Mmm. Though I'm not tired bodily, I am mentally exhausted. Especially since I had to throw so much energy around, both to maintain the time dilation as well as fight Bastion and perform the inverse of M-Day. Sooo, I'm gonna dip, Katherine. See you around. You try and rest as well. I won't be putting you to work for quite some time,'' Bell waved and teleported away before she could say anything.
She held her finger up, her mouth moving a little uncertain, not quite knowing what to say, until finally she let her arm drop by her side in defeat.
How rude of him. He could have at least waited for her to say goodbye too.
---
The techno-organic-virus, from what he gathered from Bastions mind during the battle, had a will of its own. It was driven by the singular purpose of invading all living bio-organism and transforming their tissue into nanites.
Bastion never found out, for what purpose it tried to achieve something like that, but it was something that gave even him pause and made him cautious. Apparently it also produced energy and was able to escape most containers and did so a few times, until Bastion found out that if a living organism had enough energy they could contain it in their body.
Hmm.
In that case. Bell reinforced his pocket dimension with more energy and also created a body, one that did not share his DNA, to imprison it more properly.
Still. He might do his own careful prodding into the matter. This is the first time that Bell encountered something that was almost similar to his technomancy. Maybe he could reverse engineer it for something while also making it safer.
Maybe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bell knocked on the window to Gwens room. She opened it and let him in.
''You know, you could at least call me to tell me you are coming over,'' Gwen playfully replied.
''But then how could I surprise you?,'' Bell complained.
''By surprising me over normal matters,'' Gwen said.
Bell simply raised an eyebrow.
''Uhhh. You are right. We're not normal. So, what brings you over?,'' Gwen asked him.
Bell plopped on her bed and gestured her to sit a little farther away from him. She hesitantly replied, wondering what mischief Bell would do now.
She was pleasantly surprised that he laid down and put his head on her thighs.
Thick thighs save lives.
''You are tired,'' she remarked looking at his eyes and the way his face relaxed upon resting his head on her thighs.
''Mhm. Don't worry. I'm fine, I'm just mentally drained from having to focus on so many things at once,'' Bell said and then gave her a quick recap of the war he just fought and won.
Wait.
That reminds him, he neglected to transform Scott duck back into a human and release him from his pocket dimension and the meadow. As fun as it would be keep him as a duck and stuff, it was not his way. Assholes were unfortunately counted among complacent people and while he was more then ready to prank them harshly, he made it a point not to harm them...anymore.
Then again, he was enough of an asshole that none of his friends reminded him that they wanted him back.
...
Meh. He was going to be their problem, not his. Bell gave the mental command and sent Scott as a human back to his world.
''...I just fought a guy named Shocker that was robbing a bank. Seems lame by comparison,'' Gwen sighed a little embarrassed.
''Tell me anyway,'' Bell instructed.
''Can't you just look it up as Raezen,'' Gwen tried evading the question. She did not exactly perform ...to the best of her ability. She got cocky and took a pretty big hit. At least, she now fully believes when Bell said that it was a PROGRAM that would ensure her survival. Or else he would know and chastise her.
And her father quickly came home and 'acted' all casual when she was limping as Ghost Spider. Thankfully, she healed up by the time she came home.
''As much as I would love to see you in that skin tight suit, that accentuates your ass and heavenly thighs all the time. And I would know how heavenly your thighs are, I did mean it when I said, I'm not spying on you. Besides, it would be nice to talk to you,'' Bell shamelessly complimented her, causing her to blush and moved her thighs a little.
She began stroking his hair gently as she recounted her tale.
''There is not that much to say. Shocker was rubbing a bank and I confronted him. he had some sort of gauntlets that released concentrated blasts of vibro-shocks. I engaged him in battle and dodged most of his attacks. The problem was that he was a normal human I quickly determined and it was a little hard to determine how much force I should use since he wore a heavily insulated suit, so that his own attacks would not harm him. And while trying to determine the force I messed up and was slammed by his vibro-shock into a pillar that collapsed on me,'' Gwen quickly added,''I'm fine! Really, the damage healed, but...''
Gwen trailed off when she did not hear Bell chastise her as she expected him to.
She looked down and noticed that his breathing was very soft and even.
He fell asleep.
Huh.
So even reality warpers had a sort of weakness. He must have been more tired/mentally exhausted then he let on.
Gwens chest warmed up at the thought that Bell trusted her enough to show his vulnerable side around her like this.
Gwen bent down slightly and kissed his cheek fondly.
''Sleep well, Bell,'' she gently whispered.
...
Eventually George would come around again and found the two sleeping together, when he opened the door gently after Gwen did not answer his knock. His first instinct was to raise a fuss, his instincts as a father jumping to the worst conclusions. But then he quickly realized their position, how they fondly held each other and seemed to just have fallen asleep together and he closed the door not wishing to disturb them.
George had to endure Evelyn gushing to him how cute they were when she came home and saw the sight for herself.
God save him from temperamental boys.
Was it too much to ask for, for his daughter to grow a little slower?
He remembered when he held her in his hands after her birth. He blinked and now she was almost a woman grown. If things continue like this she would marry Bell and she would be truly a grown up.
...And leave the nest.
Home would not be the same then.
Evelyn stopped gushing and gently took his hand in hers, seemingly knowing what he was thinking.
''It's fine,'' she assured him. Or was she trying to reassure herself?
George nodded.
He just hoped that this was truly all he needed to worry about. So far his suspicions seem to be just that, suspicions.
But he really hoped Gwen was not Ghost Spider.
He doubted his heart could take that.
(A.N.: 11332 words. Hope you enjoyed reading that. Cheers.)