- Argh! - and immediately received a "hello" from my universe, politely reminding me that it was worth rebuilding according to the old model - to avoid disintegration. Well, what to do - it is already clear. Now I still need to find out how long I was gone. There seems to be no dust in the room, and all the equipment is in its old places, but this does not mean anything.
Having gotten to my feet and tidied myself up, I checked Gungnir and, very carefully, the samples I had captured from another world. Both were in order, and being in my subspace pocket seemed to relieve the trophies from the pressure of the universe, which was, in principle, logical and expected. It was still advisable to study them as soon as possible, but first Yuriko, Charles, Storm and everyone else. I really hoped that the gradient of the time flow between parallel realities was not too large; I would not want to find a world outside that Thanos had already halved.
Reconnaissance of the immediate surroundings revealed only empty corridors of the underground part of the mansion, and I even began to worry, but the elevator was working, and after a few minutes my curious nose looked out into the corridor of the first floor. It was quiet...
Too quiet...
The bad suspicions began to grow stronger, and, having more deftly grabbed the silver cane, I cautiously moved on. Somewhere, a window was clearly not closed, which was why a draft from the street was blowing on my legs, and this was also strange - usually Jean and Storm were very careful to ensure that there were no drafts and that the children did not catch a cold for no reason. The guesses multiplied with each step, and the steps themselves carried me more and more confidently to Xavier's office. The search should definitely begin from there!
I was already close, literally five meters away... And then THIS happened.
The phone rang...
And the silence was replaced by hubbub.
Crowds of monsters filled the corridors. Wild screams of sinners began to torment my ears. The break began for the senior classes... And dozens of illusory horns of imps found their owners simply by reflexes.
"Oh, Professor Loki..." Jubilee was the first to notice me, running out of Xavier's office ahead of everyone else, almost running into my chest.
- A-a-a! Damn, I'm horned again! - Pyro, who followed her, was indignant.
- It suits you, - Bobby, aka Iceman, couldn't help but tease him. In response, he was sent far and away by one expressive glance from the blond.
"I didn't do anything, can I take off my horns?" Rogue continued the baton, clutching the books to her chest, quickly starting to make pitiful eyes at me. About the same as that time when she extorted sandwiches in Canada...
"I have a counter-offer," the relief that everything was okay at school put me in a playful mood, so the girl was awarded a very characteristic smile. You know, one of those that disguise themselves as charming, but in reality reflect the approach of mischief. "I'll add leather wings and a tail with a heart on the end, and we'll ask Bobby whether to keep it or not.
"No need!" Rogue immediately got her bearings, trying to shame me with her "scary" eyes, but her face failed, unable to hold back a reflexive smile in response.
- Guys, what do you think? Let's add a little color to the girls? - I address the students.
- Can you change your clothes too? - came an extremely interested question from the back rows. - Corsets, miniskirts... ouch!..
- Wee! Ew! Shut up, idiot! - the female half of the class expressed their categorical disagreement in different voices, physically punishing the impudent fellow right in the process and simultaneously dragging the male half away.
- Of course I can! - enjoying the performance, I hurried to give it additional acceleration. - But where are you going? I need to aim!
- Ya-ah!!!
- No-o-o!
- Come on, move, what are you standing there for? - Having received a dose of cheerfulness, the ladies redoubled their efforts and literally carried their classmates around the corner of the corridor in their arms. The sparkling taste of a job well done tickled their insides pleasantly. Oh, I love being Loki!
The hubbub of the retreating crowd, in which the young ladies did not hesitate to find the guilty among their boyfriends and reprimand them for their preoccupation and all other sins, became quieter. And I was already preparing to turn towards Professor X's office, when a new character decisively appeared from behind the second turn of the T-shaped corridor. A ten-year-old girl in an open denim suit, sternly drawing her eyebrows together, was sniffing intently. Now the gaze of brown eyes slid from the corridor, from where the voices of the older group could still be heard, to the turn, ran along the carpet and froze, finding my feet. A moment - and Laura raised her eyes to my face. A strange expression was reflected on the girl's face - something between mistrust, suspicion and a biased analysis of credibility. Taking another sniff of the air (by the way, I never hid my presence in the mansion, so there were smells), she seemed to be convinced of something and quickly ran towards me.
- Come on, Wolf Cub, what's wrong? - At the last moment, I scoop the child up in my arms and lift her up to neck level. Judging by the speed of her run and her general motor skills, she was clearly about to crash into me...
– (>_<)! – they glared at me sternly, wrinkling their noses.
- I know you can talk, explain it in words.
– (>_>)… – they pouted at me and turned away.
"What's going on?" I asked, now seriously concerned.
- (–___–)! - they lightly hit me with their fists on the hands with which I was holding her by the armpits, and quietly growled.
- Um... - there were no ideas.
– (>__<)!!! – they hit again and twitched their whole bodies, not forgetting to kick their legs expressively.
- Should I let you go?
– (-_-«), – they shook their heads.
"She wants you to let her hug you around the neck, Loki," Charles's sympathetic voice came from behind me.
- Really? - I turn to him to meet the laughing gaze of the blue eyes of the most powerful telepath on Earth.
"You can be sure of that," Xavier assured, standing in the doorway in his dark blue three-piece suit, leaning slightly on his cane, and looking at the couple with a gentle half-smile.
"In my defense, I want to say that this is the first time for me," I turn to the girl again.
- (>_<#)! - I was met with an even more displeased look than before.
- Sorry, I'm slowing down, - I grab the baby more comfortably, trying to pick her up in my arms the way I once carried her out of her room in the laboratory complex where she was created, but... They didn't let me. Laura twisted and simply hung on my neck, clinging to me with a death grip, and even growled in my ear, as if to say, just try to take her off.
"Okay," I drawled, listening to the angry puffing under my left ear. "So how long have I been gone?" I looked at Charles, having finally picked up the child in my arms to make it more comfortable for her.
- You disappeared two days ago, - the professor gestured for me to enter the office. - Miss Oyama was the first to discover it, but there were no signs of a struggle, only a broken test tube. We decided not to panic for now, but another day and we would try to contact Asgard. But what really happened?
- Oh, Charles, you have no idea where I've been! - We've already gone inside, and I sat down in my favorite chair, allowing X-23 to sit on my lap, although this did not affect her grip in any way. - It was literally a dream come true! But let you invite Yuriko here, reassure Dr. Kinney that her child is not missing, but simply decided to cuddle the tame God who owes her two bedtime stories, and I'll tell you everything, - with a smile, I glance sideways at Laura and, seeing no point in holding back, bury my left hand in her hair on the back of her head.
"Okay," Xavier, already sitting down in the next chair, also smiled, following my gaze, and closed his eyes for a few seconds in concentration. "Miss Oyama will be here soon," he said, ending the telepathic communication session.
- Excellent, - I was tempted to ask how much she was worried, and also the same thing about one cute mulatto, but I decided that it would be better to find out myself later. After all, Charles was not hired as a matchmaker for me, and it would not be very nice to demand gossip from him. - Wolf cub, stop snorting at me so angrily! - I ask the girl playfully. - Uncle Loki, of course, is a scoundrel, but he brought you a gift. You want a gift, don't you, oh formidable snorting fluff?
- R-r-r! - they growled quietly into my neck, but after a couple of seconds they pulled away, rewarding me with an indignantly offended look. - (>_v)!
- Were you really that worried?
– (<_<)… – they turned away from me expressively.
It looked so funny that I couldn't help but chuckle, although Charles's look and his silence made it quite clear that this wasn't just a whim, but that the situation with the girl's mental state was very serious. However, I understood this very well, but I wasn't going to be embarrassed about it.
- So, - I wave my hand, and from the kaleidoscope of distortions a pack of cartoonish chocolate chip cookies falls into my palm, - I hope you'll share with us and leave some for Yuriko, because, you know, these are rare cookies. You could say that in the entire universe only I have these, and I won't be able to replenish my stock anytime soon, - I hand the offering to the little girl born as a biological weapon.
The eyes of both my interlocutors widened in surprise. Both were familiar with my illusions, but the thing is that I had never created illusions that were "out of touch with reality", but here was a natural drawn box, as if extracted from the space on the other side of the TV screen when cartoons are on. And it was very out of touch with how the surrounding reality looks.
"This is…" Xavier spoke first as Laura began to carefully feel the texture of the object.
"A gift from another universe," I nod in response. "Don't worry, it's safe. The composition and properties of the molecules themselves are slightly different, but once they enter the body, they are decomposed by another reality much faster than they can enter into any negative chemical reactions for the body, while still managing to replenish its energy reserves. It's a very cool process! I ate similar food for two days…
A polite knock on the door interrupted my speech.
- Sir? - Yuriko's wary face appeared in the doorway. The girl's eyes instantly found me, her chest jerked in a sharp breath, but then dropped, and the woman regained her composure.
"It's okay, you're not disturbing us," Xavier hastened to reassure her. "Loki was just waiting for you to start telling us what happened to him."
"I understand," the girl went inside and settled down on another chair, trying not to let her movements betray her inner tension. Only then did she notice the box in Laura's hands and she too raised her eyebrows in surprise.
- Well, I'll start from the beginning...
And I told him everything. About studying Peter's blood, about the transfer, about the cartoon universe, and so on, I even showed him photos of my selfie with Peni and Gwen. I showed him photos of other "characters" too, but I didn't hug them anymore. I didn't hug these two much either, but that didn't stop them both from making horns with their fingers for a joint photo. Prof, of course, had questions for me, for example, about how I even knew that Peter Parker could become a superhero and with whom he would build a social unit, given that, according to my own words, no Mary Jane Watson existed in our world, but only Michelle Jones, and Peter was still just a child. However, Xavier was a tactful person and respected other people's secrets, so he was quite satisfied with my standard excuse that I was the God of Magic and just knew such things. Or rather, he had not lost his curiosity at all, but, being the most powerful telepath on the planet, he was quite able to control his desires and curb inappropriate displays of emotion. Nevertheless, he did ask one important question after finishing the story:
- So that means it's all? Are you going to leave soon? - the man was calm and didn't give away his attitude except for a small shadow of sadness in his eyes. But Laura and Yuriko noticeably tensed up, equally staring at my face.
- No, I don't hate this universe so much that I'll run away from here at the first opportunity, - I reassure the beautiful ladies and one respectable gentleman. - Moreover, the installation still needs to be built, thoroughly refined, and it's worth doing this after first finding a no-man's planet far from inhabited space, so that various force majeure events don't lead to the death of entire civilizations. All this is not a one-day matter, and rushing into it would not be the smartest thing to do, - I turn my face to Laura and, meeting the wary and inquisitive gaze of her brown eyes, I ruffle her hair on the back of her head with a grin. - Plus, I have enough other obligations, - I change my tone slightly, returning to the conversation. - In a year, I will lead an army of evil ice giants to war with a crazy titan, cherishing the idée fixe of saving the universe by destroying half of life in the universe. Don't ask me what the logic is, I raise my hands, he's an idiot... But he's a stubborn idiot, so something will have to be done, since Odin has deigned to fall asleep. Thanos has already assembled an army to match the Asgardian one.
"And you decided to pit one threat to the galaxy against another?" Xavier understood the plan.
"Yes," I shrug. "Of course, it's sad that I'll have to personally take part in all of this, but sometimes even I have to do what's necessary, and not what I want."
"That's not all, is it?" Charles continued to inquire, closing his eyes understandingly.
- Of course. I still need to visit Kamar-Taj, your earthly center of magical arts. It's also unlikely that everything will be done there faster than in a couple of years. Also, somewhere in the next few years, an ancient weapon hidden on Earth by Odin's father may awaken, and this will entail the interest of all sorts of galactic scum, which will have to be dealt with. And Hydra has almost chewed up the governments of all NATO countries from the inside and is about to give birth to another idiotic plan to seize world domination. In short, there's a ton of work to do, and I still need to clone Penny and Gwen. By the way, I'll be petitioning for them to be given places in your establishment.
"I understood almost everything," the telepath shook his head, slightly confused, "but why do you need to clone these girls?"
- What do you mean, why? - I feign genuine surprise. - They're so cute!
- Is that the only reason?
"Charles," I begin earnestly, turning on all the seriousness Loki's face was capable of, "we're talking about girls from cartoon universes, and one of them is also an anime girl. Patting the head of an anime girl who controls a healthy humanoid robot – no one in our entire universe has ever been able to do that, and I can get that opportunity on a permanent basis! What other reasons do you need?"
"But imagine what it would be like for them in our world with such a distinctive appearance," an elderly teacher and guardian for many orphans tried to reason with me. "Besides, they would hardly approve of such an attitude."
- Firstly, I'm not sure that I'll be able to preserve their original metrics when cloning, and secondly, who do you think I am? Of course, I asked them for permission to clone before we parted ways - in the main story I didn't emphasize this point, so Xavier's question was natural.
"And they agreed?" the bald telepath raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," I smile. "You know I can be very charming."
- Oh, - Professor X covered his face with his hand wearily. - I would prefer to live this day without discussing mutant cloning. Especially minors...
- Don't worry so much, everything will be fine. And let's eat these wonderful cookies already! By the way, I grabbed a few more cakes for the kids and a couple of bottles of something stronger for the teaching staff, so I will insist on holding celebrations in honor of my triumphant return!..
Later in the evening. The living room of the school for gifted children.
The impromptu party was coming to an end, the children had already gobbled up all the otherworldly sweets, drunk the juices, and some even managed to swipe the adult wine while the teachers were distracted. We won't point fingers, but it was Kitty Pryde, and now the bottle was waiting for its time in the girl's room, where the rest of her neighbors from the women's wing were slowly trickling in. Did I approve of children's alcoholism? Definitely not! But I considered turning the stolen wine into cocoa too cruel an act, informing on the young ladies was against my very nature, and laziness, the beautiful blonde goddess with whom I was sweetly flirting, not wanting to interrupt this process at all, and also Laura, who continued to watch me vigilantly and not let me go anywhere, did not allow me to personally stop everything. The girl didn't leave my side for a single step, only being distracted by sharpening something tasty from the table, but even at these moments her brown eyes followed me as if through a rifle scope. And even having eaten very well and having become drowsy to the point of obvious sleepiness, X-23 didn't leave her post. In general, the young adventurers were lucky today - Loki turned out to be too irresponsible a teacher to fulfill his duties as a school teacher and torment his charges to his heart's content, limiting their freedom, right to vote and... what else do evil adults usually do to unfortunate children?
"It's late," Jean raised her voice, as if echoing my thoughts, addressing everyone gathered. "Children, everyone take your dishes and take them to the kitchen! Robert!" she called out to a dark-haired twelve-year-old boy who had tried to slip away into the hallway. "First take your plate to the dishwasher, and then you can brush your teeth."
"Laura, let's go," the heavy hand of parental despotism in the form of Sarah, who had crept up on me, caught up with my spy.
– (‸)… – the girl was already naturally "hanging" and "passing out" on the spot, but she didn't want to leave her post.
"Darling, you still need to wash your hair," the woman hugged her softly. "Let's go. See? Everyone's already leaving…"
For about another minute, the little one, drowsy from the abundant food, tried to put up some resistance to being dragged away, but the forces were clearly unequal, so that age and larger dimensions prevailed over youth and theoretically infinite endurance. The girl has no problems with physical fatigue by definition, but mental fatigue is a very effective thing for a child's consciousness. She has a lot of impressions today. And, naturally, watching this confrontation, I simply could not help but smile.
"You know," Storm whispered to me when X-23 finally disappeared into the corridor, "I really like you like this."
- So, in another state, you don't like me anymore? - turning to the girl, I raise an eyebrow "in surprise". - My little black heart of an evil teacher is breaking with pain!
- And in other states too, but in this one... - she leaned closer and hugged me tenderly, laying her head on my shoulder, in a kind of trusting and natural gesture, like between really close people. - The way you look at children, how you care for them, even this holiday. You really are a very good person... ahem, god, - she rubbed her charming nose against me contentedly, thereby becoming similar to a big cat.
- Well, why not? - hugging her back, I allow myself to stroke her back, simultaneously running my fingers through the silky white hair of the mulatto. - Children are amazing creatures, managing to simultaneously combine both innocence and purity, inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of adults, and some kind of animal cruelty, again, inaccessible to most adults. And this dualism... it is attractive. In addition, thanks to your joint efforts, in this school the first part of nature is revealed as tightly as possible and the second is curtailed.
"It's called 'education', Loki," they "enlightened" me with a small drop of malice in their smile and voice, starting to draw some patterns on the shirt's chest with their fingernails.
- Oh, that very thing about which I have only a fragmentary idea.
- If you don't count the Vikings? - the girl's smile grew stronger, and now it could be called nasty. As far as this concept is generally applicable to my mistress of the weather.
"Does anyone want to make fun of the god of jokes?" I raise an eyebrow.
"No," she shook her head, "someone wants to do something else with the god of jokes…" and she looked away, her cheeks darkening.
And I... well, frankly speaking, fell into a kind of stupor. I mean, this phrase... It's not even a hint, but almost an open sentence. But... why? I mean, it seemed like nothing foreshadowed it... or... Oh, fool, I suddenly disappeared without a trace. Naturally, the girl was worried and wound herself up, and then she matured in the process.
I look around and see that the crowd has almost dispersed. Another fifteen seconds and we will be completely alone in the entire hall, or even sooner, given Jean's urging calls from the corridor... Why does it seem to me that there is something not accidental in this? Ah, it doesn't matter. Isn't this what I have been wanting and striving for so long?
- Well, since our desires coincide... - my hand slid from the upper part of the beauty's back to her waist and carefully pulled Ororo closer. Or rather, tried to, because Storm did not give all the initiative into my hands and leaned forward herself, catching my lips in a greedy kiss.
We broke away from each other only after about a minute, and I must responsibly admit that I was very... simply very pleasantly surprised by the agility of the beautiful mulatto's tongue. There was no one else in the living room, and that was also suspicious, but I had no time for that. Having picked up the lady who screamed in surprise, I covered myself with illusions and brazenly dragged her upstairs.
The night promised to be even more pleasant than this evening...
A few days later. James Howlett.
Logan drove through the wide-open gates of the school for "gifted children" and tensed up a little. His instincts told him that he was... no, not in the crosshairs, but something so elusive, barely noticeable, but still quite dangerous cast an appraising glance at him. Nothing like this had happened last time, but considering that the gates had opened before he had even touched the bell, it was probably a security issue. Apparently, whoever was sitting in front of the cameras recognized him and gave him passage, and the excitement flared up because the cameras were not visible. However, this did not bother Wolverine much. Unlike his own thoughts.
The trip "to the roots" did not give anything, but the result was much more modest than he had hoped for - some scattered visions, fragments of memories that did not want to line up into a single picture, and there were not so many of them. Of course, it was better than the complete "nothing" he had to live with for the last fifteen years, but he had counted on more. All those conversations within these walls, the observed abilities, the optimistic promises... It is clear that it is stupid to be offended by people who do not owe him anything (except for the mobile home and trailer that he lost because of their showdowns), for not solving his problem immediately and completely, but some disappointment ached in his chest. In general, he needed to talk to Xavier, maybe he would tell him where to look for clues for the brain further, since the prof himself could not restore his memory because of his beliefs.
Having left his motorcycle in the garage without any problems, the man entered the central building of the estate. The school greeted him with the familiar bustle of small children and the slightly more focused, but still the same bustle of teenagers. Someone was running somewhere, someone was arguing with someone about something or frantically trying to come up with an excuse for not doing homework. In short, no one paid attention to him, and if they did glance at him, it was without hostility or doubt that he had the right to be here. And that was nice. Yes, he didn't feel like he belonged here, but to have a place where the doors were open for him… that was unusual, new and warmed his soul. Lost in thought, he himself didn't notice how he found himself at the principal's office, after which, shrugging his shoulders, he knocked on the door.
"Come in, Logan," came the invitation. Charles already knew of his visit, which, when you thought about it, was not surprising.
- Professor, - he nodded to the telepath, entering the room. - Storm, - he greeted his deputy for educational issues, who was now showing the invalid some papers.
"A cup of tea or coffee?" the elderly man offered cordially, smiling at the sight of his face.
"No, thank you," the regenerator put a cigar in his mouth, but under the indignant gaze of the mulatto woman he was forced to refrain from lighting it.
"How was your trip?" the owner of the house continued asking.
"So-so," Wolverine winced, standing next to the guest chair but not sitting down. "Vague fragments, someone's voices, but too few and too confused to understand anything."
- Don't rush. Your memory is being restored, and in the future this process will only accelerate, all you need is a little time and peace, - the bald telepath assured him with conviction.
"Which can be found here?" Logan chuckled ironically, earning another displeased look from Storm.
"I have said this before and I will repeat it again - we are always glad to see our brothers and sisters and are ready to help, but we will not hold anyone back either.
- Well, I would stay for a couple of days, and I would like you to try to put my thoughts in order again. Yes, - he raised his hand, - I heard what you said, but just sitting and waiting, gradually remembering strange episodes of my life, giving rise to more and more new questions... - Wolverine winced. - There is little pleasure in this.
"Okay," Charles agreed, "I'll test your state of mind, but it's unlikely to give you anything new."
- But it's worth a try, thanks, prof, - the man shrugged. - I see you're busy now, - he nodded at the papers on the table. - If there are no questions for me, then I'll go - I need to visit a couple of friends, - the mutant was a little surprised by his thoughts, the term burst out by itself. Yes, he really considered this big-eyed pedant his buddy, and he could probably call one eccentric swindler a friend, which was completely strange for a man who had spent the last fifteen years alone with himself and was not very accustomed to trusting at least someone, but here ... here he did not feel alone. Perhaps this was the main reason for his return, and not some desire to spend a couple more sessions of brain correction with an elderly telepath. But Logan himself did not intend to admit to such a thing even under the most cruel torture. Speaking of friends, cruelty and torture... – Can you tell me where our annoying know-it-all dandy with a slight mania of grandeur and a god complex is?
"Loki's in the basement right now," Storm replied, smiling slightly. She was clearly amused by the definition, "conducting inhumane experiments on children, inventing a doomsday machine or something equally interesting."
- He said so himself, didn't he?
"Yeah," the girl rolled her eyes. "I never thought a man who'd already turned a thousand years old could act so frivolously, but that's just him," Storm smiled again, and Charles, casting only a fleeting glance at her, also stretched his lips into a barely noticeable smile. It seemed that during his absence, Logan had missed something… although he could guess "what."
"Okay, I'll go rob him for a couple of beers," Logan decided and, saying goodbye to the mutants, left the office.
Once in the hallway, Wolverine couldn't resist lighting up. Yes, he had heard that smoking indoors was bad form, but last time Charles had allowed him to smoke at school, and he remembered that. Besides, he personally believed that it was better for children to have an example of good tobacco before their eyes, rather than some weed or syringes.
Two minutes of leisurely walking led to a round elevator, which delivered him to the lower tier. Still just as bright, shiny and futuristic. The deserted corridor with identical rows of doors forced him to spend a little time trying to remember which way Loki's laboratory was, but he managed to recall this fact much easier than he had with his memories from Canada.
But inside the room he found a rather... strange picture. Even for Loki, it was strange. Or he had seriously underestimated the eccentricity of this guy. In a basement room, littered with a bunch of some kind of machinery, briefly described by the mutant as "high-tech junk", the illusionist was cooking up... something. Or studying. Or... who the hell knows, Loki was simply poking his finger at some hologram hanging in the air, which in response changed colors, bent some graphs and gave out creepy-looking formulas and equations, just looking at which his head began to hurt and his eyelid began to twitch. It didn't help that these formulas were in some incomprehensible language - their very appearance said that it was better not to even try to understand.
The guy was accompanied by a pretty girl with Asian features. And a child. To be more precise, a girl. To be even more precise, a girl standing on a stool behind him and trying to braid his hair with an extremely concentrated look. Wolverine closed his eyes, shook his head and looked at the picture that opened up once more. But no, nothing had changed. The girl was still standing behind the guy who was busy with some scientific work. And she was twisting his hair. Without the slightest objection from him. For some reason, this seemed Very Important to Logan. Shaking his head again, the mutant stepped closer.
"Loki," he called out to his friend.
- Oh, hi, Logan! - he nodded enthusiastically in response. - I see you're back. How was it?
- So-so, - the regenerator winced slightly. - Something has started to become clear, but it's still too little and chaotic. And what are you doing here?
- Really? Well, it will all resolve itself sooner or later, and if anyone has plenty of time to wait, it's you. As for me, I'm studying the deep processes of mutations and their nature. By the way, let me introduce my beautiful companions. This is Yuriko, - the guy pointed his hand at the girl with Asian features, - my assistant. And this, - he shrugged slightly, as if indicating a child, who, from the movement that almost tore the guy's not-so-long hair from her fingers, frowned with displeasure, squeezing the "prey" even more decisively, - Laura. She's... hmm... my... um... a child dictator? - it seemed that he himself did not really understand how to introduce this Laura. - Yes, a child dictator, - he agreed with his definition more firmly. - And she is also your daughter.
"W-what?!" Logan choked on his cigar.
- (O_O)?! - the "child dictator" supported him.
- Well, to be more precise, she is your female clone, - freeing himself from the grip of the child's hands, Loki turned to face him. - Someone somewhere dug up some of your DNA and wanted to make another Wolverine, but the fragment was somehow damaged, and so the maniac scientists had to pervert, as a result, part of the genome was replaced with the genome of the woman who then carried and gave birth to Laura, so, despite some difficulties, she is your daughter, not a clone. By the way, Yuriko is also your daughter, and this time completely natural. So congratulations, happy daddy.
- Sir? - Judging by the way the said Yuriko's face distorted, this was news to her too.
– (-___-')… – Laura joined in the question, looking from one face to the other, puzzled and distrustful.
- It's a joke?
"No, I'm deadly serious," the brunette shook his head. "The results have all been checked and rechecked."
"I have... two daughters?" Logan sat down right where he stood, the cigar he had just lit was "drunk" in two puffs, and his trembling hands were already groping for the next one.
- Maybe more, you are almost three hundred after all... - Loki shrugged, not at all reassuring. - Hey, why are you looking at me like that? - he noticed the expressions on the faces of the ladies present.
- (o‸V')! - Laura glared at him with displeasure, sharply folding her arms across her chest.
- Well, yeah, I didn't say, - the illusionist spread his hands, with a look of "why did you pounce on me right away?" - Well, I got busy, it happens. You know, sometimes I prevent a galactic war, sometimes I get kidnapped to another dimension, sometimes some other crap happens. After all, I told you right away that you could be related - big deal, I guessed. That happens to me often.
"I… uh…" That was all Wolverine could manage, some vague and confused visions popped up in his head again, something about Japan in the mid-to-late forties, a woman's face… He… was married?
"Well, I see there's been some complications with this happy family reunion," Loki sighed. "Yuriko, please call Sarah. I sense we're all in for a long and intense conversation..."
Five minutes later. Loki.
The conversation was not going well. Logan, quietly digesting everything he had heard, looked from his adult daughter to the mother of his second child, whom he was seeing for the first time in his life. And if you think about it, the "genetic material" was obtained illegally, so Sarah could be considered a rapist... Oh, I shouldn't have thought that, now I can't change my mind! And my presence was a bit of a hindrance to them all. No, Laura didn't care, but that was Laura. She was perfect, knew how to wrinkle her nose and dominate Gods and Kings. But the others weren't so cool, so additional measures were required.
- Well, that's it, Loki has done his job, Loki can go away... continue to tinker with his hardware, allowing the happy family to celebrate a heroic reunion.
- So you're going to jump off? - Wolverine tried to act like a cool and unperturbed guy, but it was clear that the prospect of being alone surrounded by three women at once, with whom he would have to build some kind of relationship... let's just say it threw him off a bit.
- What's wrong?
– …
– …
– … – all three adults looked at me… well, like they look at a jerk who raised a fuss and is trying to shift the burden of cleaning it onto someone else. Even Yuriko's face showed something… offended and condemning.
- Oh, relax, big deal - relatives were found? - I shrug. - This is joy, not tragedy. At first, of course, it will be awkward, but don't dwell on it. Behave like adults, get to know each other, discuss interests, drink tea and cake, go bowling, go fishing... What else do people like to do to relax and change the scenery? Nothing terrible happened. I turned out to be the son of the king of the ice giants and the Goddess of Death, who at one time made all the Nine Worlds shit themselves to such an extent that her own father disowned her and erased her from the history of Asgard. And I also killed my biological father and seized his throne. Just keep in mind that worse could happen.
"So…" Sarah looked at me with a heavy gaze, "perhaps it's better not to ask you about improving relationships in the family…"
- I said so right away! Although I am serious about the cake. You can't be frivolous about the cake at all. Even if the cake is a lie. But in our case, the cake is not a lie, it is a means to make everything better. Almost like the helicopter explosion in the trailer for the movie about ponies and friendship magic. Action! Intrigue! Drive!
- Loki, - Sarah glanced at me again, - how many cups of cocoa did you drink today? - Oh, attempts at jokes have begun - progress!
"I don't know, I stopped counting after the tenth, why?" I play along with the lady.
- No... nothing. Nothing at all. Well... shall we go? - she asked cautiously.
- Yes, yes, come on, there should be a good cake in the kitchen, if the little ones haven't already stolen it and gobbled it up. Although... they shouldn't, I left a note in the fridge about whose cake it was and what would happen to anyone who encroaches on the property of the King of Asgard... and Jotunheim... Hmm, can the fridge be considered a kind of embassy and representative office of Jotunheim in Midgard? - While I was wagging my tongue, people and mutants slowly left my abode. Laura was about to stay, because... well... she was surprised at first, of course, but then she clearly realized that nothing in her life had changed, and she threw the topic out of her head. To be honest, I'm not sure that she fully understood the meaning of family ties. In general, she was about to stay, but was dragged away by her mother.
And that was good. Their shared awkwardness would bring them a little closer, and I had provided the initial topic of conversation. Who would refuse to discuss the balls in the head of a modest but damn charming God that had gone off the rails? Well, I think no one would.
Having sent the mortals (conditionally, because the lifespan of a regenerator has no limits) out of my laboratory, I returned to the research that Logan's visit had interrupted. And I hung with them until late at night, completely falling out of the world without Yuriko's caring supervision. But I finally managed to sum up some results, fortunately the work had been going on for several days.
I studied the genomes of all the spider variations, including the spider itself, the initiator of the mutation, and its "victim" in the person of Miles. Of course, the need to keep the samples disguised so that they would not be dissolved by an alien reality did not add accuracy to the results, but where quality could not be taken, the number of experiments came into play. And I mean not only the "number of approaches" to the same effect, but also their diversity. In general, I divided a single complex study into many small, highly specialized tests. And this gave results.
Firstly, the general structure of the mutation in the experimental samples was practically identical, adjusted for the properties of the native universe. That is, for example, the noir Peter Parker from the black-and-white world of the thirties was practically no different from the seasoned Peter with a paunch and the blonde Peter with a militant aunt, whose samples I naturally got during my two days in his cave. They were not completely identical, but they easily resembled twin brothers at the genetic level. Despite the fact that the blood of the "noir" was white. Nevertheless, their abilities were exactly the same. It was similar with Gwen - she was not related to the Parkers in any way, but her mutation differed only at the level of measurement error. And even Miles, despite the presence of an electrokinesis add-on and optical camouflage, was the same in terms of expressing physical parameters in the gene code. It was more difficult with Penny and Pig. Pig, he... It was better not to touch him even with a ten-meter pole, because... Because I did it once and I don't want to do it again. I just don't want to see red blood cells in the shape of Spider-Pig and white ones without a shape, but with hands in which they hold wooden hammers, which they use to kill any viruses and bacteria that got into the sample. I have a strong psyche, but... But I just won't drink as much as it would take to properly study all of this.
By the way, it turned out the same way with his hammer. Not only did this thing need to be shielded so that it wouldn't dissolve, but there was no way to replicate the effect it worked on. At one point, I even thought about attaching it to Gungnir's heel. I mean, what difference does it make how it works if it's a cool imba that breaks any laws of physics, and therefore, types of protection. After all, this thing could actually bend even adamantium upon impact! True, it straightened out when the distortion area was removed, but the fact itself! Just imagining how it would look... I couldn't commit such blasphemy. And Gungnir also categorically stated that he would only go for such an upgrade after the heat death of the universe, and even that's not certain.
But let's get back to Peni. Her mutation was the most different from the others and was exactly what I had been trying to achieve in the lab by experimenting with the blood of Peter Parker from this movie universe. She had no physical enhancements - no rebuilt muscle tissue, no strengthened bones, no enhanced regeneration, in a word, nothing that allowed Spider-Man to punch through walls and lift cars with his body. Yes, she was stronger than an ordinary person, but this was due to the nature of her universe, that is, if the noir Spider-Man smelled of rain all the time and was exposed to the wind even indoors, then Peni could easily withstand a blow that in my current reality would easily make a grown man float. By the way, they all felt a similar thing, it was just that she felt it the most. Well, after Pig. One could joke about cartoonish conventionality, but there was no joke here, that was exactly what was being discussed - the universe itself, native to them, made such things an objective norm and reality for its inhabitants. And I felt how it worked, with my divine essence. The laws of reality. The conditions of existence. And no matter what.
And yet, although Penny Parker was not a full-fledged Spider-Man, she was a mutant with abilities in the form of tactile telekinesis, short-term foresight and even telepathy, although quite limited, literally with a setting for one specific object. All the same, only without telepathy, I reproduced on the sample of eight-year-old Peter. And, by the way, now I could well imagine how it would be possible to graft a telepathic channel to the spider that bit him, there was no need to even pervert the conditions, just give the necessary psychological settings before awakening the latent gene X. In other words, Penny was living proof that the results of my research were correct.
Well, she was also an alternative variation of Peter Parker. Despite the apparent obviousness, it turned out to be quite difficult to establish this experimentally, since the genome of the people of her world was extremely different not only from the people of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but even from the cartoon universes of the rest of my friends. It was actually a different biological species. A doppelganger species in its most natural form. Objectively, all of them (except Pig - we don't touch him even with a stick) were representatives of doppelganger species. At the same time, capable of interbreeding and giving birth to viable offspring, but still doppelganger species, without a single ancestor, but developed in the same conditions into living creatures of the same form. It was very interesting to study this, I literally saw how someone created species using one template, but each time anew. First of all, I, of course, proved this for the Peters, practicing the method of comparison and analysis on the closest samples. First, the "blond" with the "seasoned", then they together with the "noir", then, having already worked out some patterns, the eight-year-old Peter from this universe was taken into circulation, and when I completely worked out the "kinship determination" algorithm, ignoring such trifles of life as a different form or composition of proteins, I managed to figure it out with Penny, proving that she is the same person. In short, I made some strange and, frankly, no one needs a damn scientific discovery, but in the process I got a lot of pleasure and I felt good.
Now, regarding the "second thing". The substance that was in the poison glands of the spider with the cool tattoo was a natural mutagen. It carried an "awakened" genome with a set of basic functions, but at the same time it did not prevent the natural mutation of the organism it entered, moreover, it spurred and activated this mutation. Actually, that is why Morales, in addition to the "spider set", had the talent to shock his opponents and cover his body with an electromagnetic field that distorted all radiation so that he became invisible. I suspect that if it were not for the spider bite, he had a good chance of becoming the "Shocker" of that universe. I don't know much about him, but firstly, he was a mercenary in the service of crime (hi, Uncle Aaron), secondly, he liked to hit the original Spidey with beautiful lightning bolts from his hands, although not always it was a mutation, but that's not the point, and thirdly, it seems that in the comics this very Shocker was often black ... so the kid pulled out a lucky ticket. But in the whole story, something else killed me. They, damn it, managed to grow a spider-injector with a super-soldier formula. No need for complex laboratories, a lot of energy and expensive reagents - a small spider will generate a dose of the most gorgeous, without exaggeration, mutagen itself, and it will make a super soldier out of any skinny guy overnight. The only downside of this development compared to Captain America's formula is the fact that the one who received a dose of mutagen did not acquire bulletproofness, like the aforementioned captain. The overall strength of the body to withstand a blow - yes, it was comparable, but he couldn't withstand bullets with his skin. Although in speed, reflexes, physical strength and general agility he was noticeably superior to the brilliant creation of the mid-twentieth century. And yes, this mutagen could be given to already established mutants without the slightest harm to them, because it itself rebuilt the body within the given framework of physical characteristics, and did not simply provoke it to awaken and rebuild.
And I was frankly at a loss as to what kind of genius of biology and genetics inhabits that mysterious universe where this spider came from? Because I want to believe that there is one in this universe, as in any other where Spider-Man exists, because someone creates "radioactive" spiders for them, it's just that in some cases it's someone from Oscorp, in others - from Alchemax, in others - from some other nameless company, but... But damn. It's too cool for the creator of something like this to just take it and never show himself in anything else. But he doesn't show himself. I literally don't know of a single story where the creator of the "radioactive" spider was named directly or distinguished himself in any way anywhere. The same Octavius was constantly inventing something, Stark is also obsessed with more than just armor, Reed Richards did nothing but issue all sorts of things for the missions of his Fantastic Four, Bruce Banner even with his green problem managed to conduct scientific work and literally mold all sorts of variations of his treatment on his knee. Whoever you take from the geniuses of the Marvel universes - they are all always busy with something and are not the creators of one creation. Hence the simple conclusion: either all the spiders were transferred to all the Spidermen from the same reality where they are numbered, or ... or one of the two.
In short, I simply have to visit where this spider came from. After all, whatever you say, but I have always been a little envious of Thor with his direct power and divinity, and if this formula can be changed for an Asgardian... Yes, in its current form it was not suitable, this is the first thing I checked. It was a pure material mutagen. Ingenious, managing, without killing the organism, to almost instantly rebuild it at the genetic level, with a complete renewal of all living cells under the new template, including brain cells, without losing their functionality even for a moment, but still material. And here the trouble is that magical races are not entirely material. Our organisms are an interweaving of matter, spirit and mystical energies, and matter is secondary in this bundle. Any impact only on it will simply roll back - the spirit will heal the body, bringing it to the standard state. We can't even be cloned - neither the Aesir, nor the Jotuns - none of the truly powerful magical races. That is, we need a mutagen that will work in three directions at once, with perfect synchronicity and precision. And only a genius equal to the one who created this spider could create such a thing. I didn't even know how to approach it, although I knew the formula for "reaching the limit of evolution" from the "Slab of Life and Time" stored in Odin's treasury. A good formula, by the way, allowing the one who uses the finished product to reach the full evolutionary potential of his race, but alas - the Asgardians used it on themselves even before Odin's grandfather, so it is unlikely to work on me, even taking into account the blood of the Jotuns. After all, the Jotuns also knew it during the heyday of their civilization. As for people - yes, it will work, but for some reason I am not ready to let it into the world - there are already too many psychos with superpowers here.
In general, I was envious and offended. And I also had to start experiments on people. School students were definitely not suitable here - Charles would not allow such a thing, and I have no desire to test still dubious drugs on children, even if I am completely confident in them. Death row inmates, fortunately, every year the USA officially sentences at least half a thousand people to death? That's more interesting, but ... hey, we are in the Marvel Universe, which means that giving even for a moment, even in controlled conditions, some maniac superhuman abilities ... no-no-no, Cinematic Universe, you can't fool me! We, the ancient Scandinavian gods, will act more cunningly and vilely! Because who does Loki not like? That's right! Loki does not like the Vikings! And who in history was the best at punching the Vikings in the face? Once again, that's right - the Russians! The conclusion is that I need to go to Russia, to look for veteran loyalists who stood firm and did not betray the God-Emperor in the hour of the Heresy, um... well, I mean, the ideals of communism, remaining faithful to the Bolshevik cause until the very end, and then were thrown into the dustbin of history by the new market economy. I bet there will be enough of them who have serious health problems and who will agree to participate in an experiment with a chance to be completely cured. And most importantly, if they start to rebel, having acquired superpowers, it will become the problem of the new liberal government of Russia, and not mine. If I can slap together a couple of divisions of supersoldiers, I can even seize power and revive the USSR, after which I will begin mass construction of Kirov airships... Ahem, I'm going somewhere wrong. In general, it looks like a plan... if without airships... Or should I think about it?.. If you've already started to seize power in the Nine Worlds, it's so hard to stop... Okay, we'll figure it out on the spot, all that's left is to warn Charles that I want to take a short vacation and my illusion will be in charge here.
More chapters on my P@treon: https://patreon.com/OOOTEN