They took Ksenia home to get some rest. After she woke up, they spend some quality and intimate time together and after a day returned to the Lab.
Ksenia stayed in the lab for monitoring. Raj didn't leave her side—not for a minute. When she needed food, Raj had Anna bring it in herself, then had Red Queen scan every item just in case someone tried something foolish.
In the original movie timeline, Ksenia lost her memory because of Dr. Kuratov—some unstable lunatic working in another wing of the same base. No clear reason, no sensible logic behind it. Raj refused to let that play out here. Before, they didn't take him seriously. Now, they didn't dare bother him. But still—he didn't trust anyone around his women.
Once Ksenia fully stabilized, that doctor would be handled. Quietly. Cleanly. One meeting with Raj would be enough. A single thread of mental influence, and Kuratov's brain would fold like damp paper.
But for now, Ksenia came first.
Three months passed. Ksenia completed her metabolic cycle—no complications, no abnormalities, no unexpected mutations. Everything followed Raj's blueprint.
Now it was time to deal with Kuratov.
Raj had always felt the movie villain was ridiculous. A "machine-controlling supervillain" whose ability still depended on electricity… and who wired the full voltage straight into his brain. Anyone with basic electrical knowledge would laugh—Raj certainly did.
But idiots become dangerous when given titles. And Kuratov, left alone long enough, would eventually cause trouble. Raj didn't intend to give him the chance.
Ksenia moved more comfortably now, her invisibility refined, her temperature-control ability stabilizing. Raj understood exactly what her temperature manipulation meant—for both combat and private moments—and he didn't hide his appreciation.
The two of them practiced her control routinely. A warm touch. A sudden drop. A perfect balance of heat and frost between them. That duality pushed her ability to evolve rapidly.
Within weeks, she could shift her temperature smoothly every few seconds—a feat that would take a normal test subject years.
The research staff wanted to train her in combat techniques, but Raj turned them down flat. "I'll teach her myself," he said. And he did.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Mongolian wrestling.
Indian Kalaripayattu..
Muay Thai. Chinese Bajiquan.
Raj's physique and mental processing made everything easy. What took others years to master, he assimilated in days. Ksenia absorbed everything he taught her with the same dedication she showed him in every part of their life together.
He also took the opportunity to fix something else that bothered him—the show-off teleporter, the one who moved like he was always performing for a camera. Raj disliked pointless theatrics, even more so when they risked survival.
So he gave Anna teleportation instead. She handled the power better, used it efficiently, didn't waste motion. Raj appreciated that.
—
In time, Ksenia learned to turn invisible without needing moisture or external triggers. True invisibility—clean, stable, instantaneous.
Anna learned precise teleportation—silent, controlled.
Together, the three formed a balanced unit, and Raj kept them under his protection wherever they went.
1968
Five years after Ksenia's transformation, Raj, Anna, and Ksenia left the Patriot base for good. Officially, it was during a mission. Unofficially, they simply never returned.
Coincidentally, the three other enhanced individuals left the base around the same time.
As for Dr. Kuratov—he had already been expelled two years earlier. The KGB tried to arrest him, his lab blew up, and he mutated from a frail nuisance into a bulky nuisance. Raj didn't bother chasing him. Kuratov was already under subtle influence—he would never escape it.
Raj took Anna and Ksenia across the Soviet Union like a wandering family. Missions just served as excuses to travel; Raj simply wanted to keep them close.
To the two women, anywhere Raj stood was home. They traveled mountains, rivers, forests. They grew close in ways that didn't need words. They slept side by side, laughed over shared meals, and found comfort in each other's presence—each in their own way.
Raj also brought them to the Arctic once, just because Ksenia and Anna wanted to see polar bears. They ended up staying for weeks in a small igloo Raj built with his own hands. The two women played with the bear cubs long enough that Raj had to gently pull them away when polar night began.
During long nights, Raj revealed everything about himself. His origins. His world-traveling. His other women. He didn't lie. He didn't hide.
Anna and Ksenia listened quietly, and after a long silence, they told him the truth—they didn't want to leave him. They didn't want him to disappear. They just wanted him with them.
He understood. Their future was short. His was endless. Spending a few decades with them was nothing for someone with billions of years. But for them, it meant everything. He decided to stay.
For a time, they lived peacefully. Raj used the chaos of the USSR's collapse to quietly earn wealth through Anna's brother, now a logistics minister in the Far South Asia Military District. Before Putin took power, Raj even smuggled him out to the US.
Soon after, Raj bought land at the foot of the Altai Mountains and built a large manor. He lived there like a reclusive lord with Anna and Ksenia. When he wanted to travel, he took them. When he wanted to hunt, they followed him through forests with rifles.
Life settled into something warm, grounded, and strangely domestic—until 2016.
When their favorite ballet troupe announced a performance at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Anna and Ksenia immediately insisted on going. Raj reluctantly agreed, booked a private room, and flew them there.
They changed into formal clothes—Ksenia in a sleek black dress, Anna in a soft silver gown, Raj in a fitted suit—and headed to the theatre.
Their private box overlooked the stage perfectly. The three sat on the velvet sofa, enjoying snacks while waiting for the show to begin. Then the door opened. Three familiar silhouettes appeared—Stone Man, Iron Bear, and the teleporting show-off.
"Hey. Surprised to see us?" the Stone Man muttered with a tired smile.
Raj didn't even glance long. "Whatever you want, wait until the performance ends. I'm not ruining their evening."
The Iron Bear opened his mouth to speak, but the teleporter put a hand on his arm. "Let them watch. They earned this peace." The three left.
Anna and Ksenia didn't argue. Raj's word was enough—they trusted his judgment.
The performance was beautiful, though Raj's only takeaway was the dancers' legs. Anna and Ksenia knew he wasn't interested in ballet itself; he came because they asked. That was more than enough for them.
When the performance ended, both women leaned toward him at the same time, silently, warmly, offering soft kisses as thanks.