When Tony and Steve slip through time and space, I could actually feel the difference. They didn't tore into the timestream the same way Charles did, they took a detour. They used the Quantum Realm as a doorway, whereas Charles used Kitty Pryde's power to poke directly through the fabric of space and time.
While both methods were dangerous, the X-Men were in a much more desperate situation. Things hadn't gone their way at all, so they had to go back and change everything just to survive.
I actually think it was better for those who died, at least they didn't have to become collateral damage while the so-called heroes were busy fighting among themselves.
And honestly, with the X-Men and everything else going on, I don't think this world is going to be peaceful anytime soon.
I might have overdone it a little while finishing this dome under the forest. It's actually massive, you could probably put the Eiffel Tower inside and still have enough space to fit the Titanic.
It would be a waste of space if no one lived there, wouldn't it? The Morlock society is already starting to grow, I think they have around ten to thirteen people in their group now, if I'm not mistaken.
I think that next year, Mr. Sinister will send his 'dogs,' the Marauders, to slaughter the Morlocks. Later, in the early 90s, Mikhail Rasputin will flood the tunnels beneath New York. The most likely immediate threat is Sinister; I can sense the mental locks he placed on Scott, though I managed to break Alex's lock a long time ago. Alex has finally learned to let go of control and become one with his power. Sinister really did a number on both brothers.
It's not that I don't want to help Jean Grey or Scott Summers, but I need Madelyne Pryor to live. She's the one who will help protect everyone. I'm going to ask her if she wants to live a normal life. If she doesn't, she can be the Goblin Queen or whatever she wants, I don't really care.
If she's so hellbent on revenge against her husband, then I have no problem sending her to the afterlife first.
I'm going to New York because Howard is throwing a party for his son tomorrow. Peggy called and told me Stark asked for me to be there. I still don't understand that guy, he could've just asked for my number. I need to get a birthday present ready for Tony. I've heard he's a genius like his father, so I'm going to build him a 3D Rubik's Cube. The colors will change with every sequence he tries until he finds the pattern. Let's see how he handles that.
Before I head over to Howard's, I'm going to stop by the Morlocks first. I'm actually on my way there now. I imagine everyone is probably asleep by this time, well, maybe.
I'm opening a portal directly to the sewers. I've known about this place for a long time, I was actually the one who found the architect to build it.
Callisto: The original leader and founder.
Caliban: A tracker who could sense other mutants. I think he ran from the place apocalypse first met him and i think he found callisto and help her
Masque: A cruel mutant who could physically reshape others' faces and bodies like clay.
Sunder: The group's "muscle" with immense super-strength.
Annalee: An elderly mutant who could project her emotions onto others.
Leech: A young boy who could dampen or "turn off" the powers of anyone nearby.
Plague: An elderly woman who carried every known disease (later recruited by Apocalypse).
Healer: A mutant whose touch could mend wounds but only for other mutants.
Erg & Skids: Younger members who later became more prominent in other X-teams.
Now that I know everyone is settled, I'll get started. As I walked into their hideout, I think I woke someone up. Then again, I wasn't exactly trying to muffle the sound of my boots.
I saw Callisto holding her knife while Sunder stood ready to react. Plague looked like she was about to spray me with whatever disease she's carrying. Masque was readying his hands, too. I really didn't want to be anywhere near his face not because he's ugly (I can handle ugly), but because I can't figure out where he fits. Out of the whole group, he's the one I want to kill most because of his heinous acts. I honestly don't know why Callisto is so patient with him.
I looked at Caliban and spoke. "Bub, you know me, right?" I asked him, curious why he was frowning while looking at me.
Caliban was actually terrified. He knew exactly who was standing in front of him: the mutant who killed Apocalypse, the one who can kill without lifting a finger. He spoke, his voice wavering and thick with fear, "Why are you here, sir?" He looked even more frightened once the words left his mouth.
I smirked at him, but before I could open my mouth, I heard Callisto ask, "Who is he, Caliban?" She was demanding to know who had come into their hideout in the middle of the night.
Caliban's voice shook as he spoke. "He's the one who killed Apocalypse." A wave of fear washed over everyone, they had all heard Caliban's stories about Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen, about how easily they could kill everyone, even the x-men was defeated easily.
The person standing right in front of them was the one who had killed Apocalypse. Now, even they were terrified, even Sunder wavered a bit when he heard Caliban's words.
I laughed. "Hahahaha! You guys don't need to be afraid. If I were even a little bit like Apocalypse, this world would have burned long ago." They flinched the moment I started laughing, but by the time I finished that last sentence, they felt a chill go straight to their bones.
Callisto braced herself. She had to protect her newfound family. "Then why are you here, sir?" she asked. She needed to know why someone as powerful as him would come to a place like this.
I smiled at her. In every universe where she exists, she's always protecting people. While her methods are often at odds with Charles and more in line with Erik, in the end, she is always someone's protector.
"Child, I came here for one thing only: to save you. In a year or so, someone will come here to massacre everyone. That's why I've come to take you all back to my home." I said it with absolute seriousness.
Callisto and the others were in shock. They didn't want to believe me, and they started to wonder: what was in it for me? Would they just become my slaves? While they had power, their abilities were like broken cassette tapes, distorted and difficult, whereas I was strong enough to just kidnap them if I wanted. But there was one person among them who didn't agree with the others.
Masque spoke first. "Who's going to believe your shit? You think you can just come here and play savior?" He was blinded by jealousy. In his mind, only one thing mattered: everyone needed to be 'beautiful' like him. I knew exactly what he was thinking, he only stayed there because he saw everyone else as a test subject.
When I looked at him with fierce eyes, I flared my killer instinct at him, hitting him with the full force of my intent. He actually peed himself and lost consciousness. Even though the others didn't feel the full brunt of it, just a sliver was enough to send them reeling. Plague and Annalee fell to the ground, and everyone felt as if they were being choked.
My face didn't soften one bit as I looked at them. "I know you're all kind-hearted," I said, "but you need to be careful about who you allow to live among you. I know you might not trust me, but when I read his mind, all I saw was that he viewed you as nothing more than test subjects. While I did come here to play savior, it doesn't mean I'll stand by when I have the power to help. Your lives are tragic enough as it is; I have no desire to make them more miserable. I am not a sadist".
Callisto was at war with herself. She had noticed Masque's tendencies before, but her fierce nature to protect her people had overshadowed them. She felt foolish, how could she have been so blind after hiding from the world for this long? She actually wanted to believe me now. From the time she was a child, the only thing she had heard of me were the stories Caliban told: the legend of the man who killed the impossible. She knew Apocalypse was not only powerful himself, but that he could also make anyone he chose just as powerful.
She looked at everyone, and they were all watching her, waiting for her to make a choice. "Okay, sir. We will follow you," she said. She had to try. All she could think about was that if everyone was going to die next year anyway, at least someone had come to rescue them. Since I hadn't shown any signs of lying, she decided to take her chance. Her gut told her that if she rejected the offer, no one there would live past the next year.
I smiled. I knew it; she would always put her family first. But then I spoke, "Him... I don't want. He can fend for himself." I pointed my finger directly at Masque.
Every one of the Morlocks wanted to protest, but I held my gaze firm. They were always so kind, but circumstances were rarely on their side. "Pack everything and stay in one place," I commanded. "I will transfer you to your new home."
Everyone felt guilty now. They were going to leave Masque behind, and although they had heard what I said, they didn't have the stomach to abandon someone just like that. They began packing everything they owned. When they were finished, they looked around at the space that had been their home for the last seven or eight years. They felt reluctant, but they steeled their hearts. I waved my hand, and everyone disappeared, leaving behind only the unconscious Masque.
After some time, Masque woke up and saw that everyone had disappeared. He ran through the hideout, searching for them, but the only proof that people had ever been there was some scattered garbage and his own belongings. He flew into a rage when he realized I had taken his "things.".
Well, we'll see you when I see you.
****
Inside the cave I had built, everyone could only see a glimpse of their surroundings because it was so dark. But they didn't have to wait long. I ordered my nanites to build houses and a place for these kind people to stay. As the nanites swarmed out, they began to glow, and the Morlocks watched with their own eyes as I built a home for them right there. The space was massive, far larger than the tunnels they had left behind. I built everything they could need: houses, fields, and a garden. Finally, I set up the reactor I had prepared to power their new home.
I went a little further. I had been buying glass from a factory bit by bit, being careful not to let the IRS catch on to what I was doing. The glass was for the sunlight. This hideout was perfect, a lush forest on the surface and civilization hidden deep underground.
I installed glass mirrors throughout the cavern to pipe in natural light. On the surface, I built a small hut near a lake where they could go fishing or just enjoy the air. The water was pumped in from my lab. Speaking of my lab, I really need to upgrade it once I'm finished at Howard's party for his son.
I brought some steel and heavy-duty cables from my lab. I needed to build a lift for them so they could easily go upstairs to the surface. I didn't want them struggling with ladders or steep climbs. With a few quick movements and my nanites' help, I installed a smooth, industrial-strength elevator that connected the underground city to the forest hut above. Now, even the weakest among them could reach the lake whenever they wanted.
Everyone from Callisto's group, even Callisto herself, perhaps even more than I had predicted, sat on the floor, watching as I performed what looked like a miracle. They watched the swarm of nanites stream from my arm and begin building everything right before their eyes. They were in awe. They finally had a place where they could sleep without being hunted. They trusted me now because of what they saw today, if I truly wanted to experiment on them, I could have just left them to sleep on the floor. But I didn't. Now, everyone could live however they wanted.
After everything was done, I said to the group, "Go, live your lives." Everyone scrambled to their feet, running to explore their new home with excitement. Only Callisto and Caliban remained, standing quietly beside me.
"You two, follow me," I said. I led them toward my lab. I had actually connected their new home to my laboratory, though it was quite a distance away. That's why I installed an escalator in the floor, I was too lazy to walk the whole way.
Both of them were in awe when they saw the floor move. They never thought the technology I possessed was this advanced; while they felt it was cutting-edge, I already considered it to be quite primitive.
As we arrived at my lab, they were shocked by what they saw. The machines were so massive that they felt a surge of fear. Thoughts began to surface in their minds: Does he want to experiment on us after all? Callisto's hand instinctively drifted toward her blade. I didn't even need to turn around to know exactly what they were thinking.
"The machines you see aren't for experimenting on people," I said calmly. "That is the equipment I use to build the swarm you saw earlier. Those things are called nanites. They are tiny computers that I can command." They understood what computers were by now, since they had been available to the public for over ten years, but the idea of them being that small was still beyond their imagination.
Their minds went blank. The idea that such massive machinery existed solely to build those tiny swarms made the world feel like it had gone crazy. I continued, "I brought you here so you could see the future. The things I build in this lab will be common in the next ten to twenty years, and I want to show you something." I led them to the garment-fabrication unit, the machine my people use to create the carbon-weave suits they wear.
"This machine is just for making clothes," I said casually. "If you want to wear something new, you can use this to create it." I spoke lightly, but to them, it felt as if the future had arrived decades early.
While the clothes are made from carbon nano-weave, I don't really care that much. I have plenty of those materials, even my own family uses my machines to make their clothes now.
I offered them a seat as I spoke. The chairs were made of nanites. "Sit. We need to talk," I said. They watched as a swarm built seats beneath them, but I didn't sit on the nanites. Instead, I sat in a meditative position and floated in the air. At this point, Callisto and Caliban just didn't care anymore, they were beyond being surprised.
They expected me to lay down a set of rules, and Callisto likely assumed there was a catch, that they would owe me something in return for their freedom. But she was wrong. "I heard on the black market that you have a mutant power to detect others of your kind?" I asked, shifting my gaze directly toward Caliban.
Caliban nodded somewhat cautiously. "Yes, sir. I can detect them within maybe ten to twenty kilometers. If a mutant is near me, I can be more certain of their location. Why do you ask, sir?" He was clearly afraid that I might use his power to hunt others down.
"I don't want anything from you," I said firmly. "I want to give the two of you a purpose. Save them, the mutants. Find them and bring them here. We have plenty of space, but make sure to do a background check first. I will send someone to help you." I could see it in their eyes, I was giving them a true sense of belonging.
"Why didn't you guys ask where you are?" I asked, a smirk playing on my lips. "Maybe you're curious. For all you know, you could be on the moon. Don't you want to know?"
Both of them looked at each other; they were genuinely curious about where they were. As far as they knew, they really could be on the moon. "Maybe we are, sir," Callisto said, her voice laced with caution. "Someone as powerful as you must have a kingdom or something. Perhaps you are a king. That is why we don't want to do anything that might bring you displeasure."
I burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! A king? Me? My wife would kill me if she heard that!" I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. If Emma heard this, I'd probably be sleeping on the floor for a year. We aren't married yet, maybe in the future, but I already think of her as 'the one.'
They were perplexed. Even someone as powerful as me was afraid of his own wife. The image they had built of me as a terrifying, untouchable figure had shattered. They didn't see someone scary anymore, instead, they saw a man who was incredibly strong, but who answered to someone even stronger: his wife.
I continued, "Well, I'll let you meet her eventually, and I think you might even know her. But that's for the future. For now, I want to give you something." I handed them a phone, a Nokia 3310 that I had created but modified the look of. They both looked at it strangely, wondering what I had just handed them. "That is a phone. A cellular phone. Have you guys ever heard of those?" I think Caliban knew what a handheld phone was, but they were both truly terrified of the technology I was bringing out.
"I've saved my number in there, and your numbers are saved as well. You can look at that later. Now, for the next device," I said, handing them each a watch. It was a miniature portal generator for traveling to and from the cave. "This device, this watch, is a teleportation machine. It's for you to come and go as you please. When you find a mutant and save them, you can use this to get out of trouble and come back here instantly."
"You just need to press the dial, and the watch will teleport you anywhere you can think of," I explained. "If you press it twice, it will bring you back here, inside your cave." I had given them the cave to use as they pleased, they could live however they wanted now.
"And lastly, you guys are in Pasadena, Houston now," I said. After that, I didn't say another word. I pulled out my phone and called Isaiah. It was already six o'clock in the morning, and Isaiah always woke up at four. As I waited for the call to connect, he picked up. "Sir, Isaiah here," he said. I replied, "Isaiah, can you come to my lab? I need your assistance." Isaiah answered, "Be there in five, sir." Well, that was fast.
The faces of the two people in front of me were filled with joy, happiness was overflowing. How could they not know about Houston, Pasadena? This place was heaven for everyone white, black, yellow, or green. This city didn't care where you were from, they accepted you just like everyone else.
The only drawback was the rule: don't commit crimes, and don't bring your agenda here. This town has been protected by the 17 Royalty of Pasadena for a hundred years now. Because of them, this city has thrived to become the most powerful in the world, second only to New York because New York remains the global money hub.
Anyone living in America would give anything to live here. Even New York has become the second-best choice because this city exists. Now, it finally dawned on them who was protecting this city and why it has thrived to such a level.
As they were thinking about what I had said, I saw Isaiah coming out of the elevator. "Sir, you called for me?" he said. In Isaiah's eyes, I had earned this respect. Even as a super soldier, he felt deeply grateful for everything I had given him, including a high-ranking position in this city. How could he not respect me after all I've done for him?
"Isaiah, let me introduce you to the people in front of me. These two are mutants, outcasts even among their own kind because of their mutations, and they are the leaders here. There are others inside the cave I built for them to live in. And everyone, this is Isaiah Bradley: a super soldier, and my friend." As I spoke, the weight of that news was staggering.
If this information ever got out, this town would become a war zone. The government would stop at nothing to capture the escaped super soldier they once experimented on. Even deep in the sewers, they knew the legend of Isaiah Bradley.
"Isaiah, I need you to train them in escape and rescue techniques. Teach them martial arts as well, if you can. I need them to save other mutants from being experimented on, and they already have a way to find them. Make them ready," I told him. "I will, sir," Isaiah replied. He turned to the others. "Hello, everyone. My name is Isaiah Bradley, Director of THRUSH."
"Tomorrow, you guys report to Isaiah," I said. "Learn everything you can from him. Don't waste this gift, he's a very busy man," I joked. Isaiah just rolled his eyes at me. We've been friends for so long that he's well-acquainted with my sense of humor and how I am every day.
I didn't want to explain anything anymore. I just wanted to sleep. I thought I might actually make it to the party Howard invited me to tonight. I shooed them away and started making my way home.
****
Callisto pov
Today was the weirdest day of her life. First, someone so powerful they could kill a god-like being shows up in her hideout. Then, he tells her that in two years, someone will come to that very same hideout and massacre everyone there.
While Masque tried to debunk the threat, for the first time in my life, I felt true dread. The aura he emitted was so dangerous that it knocked Masque unconscious without him even lifting a finger. That alone told me how powerful he was. Then he spoke to me, confirming my own suspicions about Masque. I was terrified he would read my mind too, but his body language suggested he didn't even need to. He could read people so well that everyone was an open book to him.
He called us 'kind people' referring to the rest of us, not Masque. He told me that in the future, I need to be careful about who I bring into the group. I actually agreed with him on that. Then, he told us to pack everything and stand together. With a sensation like cotton brushing against my skin, we were suddenly inside a dark room. I was afraid I had made a wrong decision, but that thought vanished when I saw a swarm of fireflies fly from his fingers. Those fireflies began building a house out of nothing right before my eyes. It was so beautiful so modern.
Someone was actually willing to do this for us without asking for anything in return? I was skeptical. Why would he need us? He could have just dropped us somewhere and forgotten about us, but he didn't. He even created a house for us, you expect me to just accept that? Then he asked Caliban and me to follow him. He led us into this long tunnel, and I had no idea where it would lead. The floor began moving by itself. I was afraid at first, but then I saw the man's face. He looked nonchalant, almost bored. From what I could read on his face, it seemed like he was just too lazy to walk.
When we arrived at a place that looked like a lab, I was already bracing myself. I looked at Caliban, and he nodded, ready for whatever came next. When I saw those massive machines, my hand instinctively went for my knife. But then I heard the man say those were the machines that created the beautiful fireflies I had just seen. He told us those fireflies were actually computers. That small? I wanted to crawl into a hole right then and there. Did he really think I would believe that? And then his next claim was even crazier: he said if we wanted new clothes, we could just come to this machine and create them. I give up.
Then he threw us what looked like a brick. He told us the thing in our hands was a cellular phone, like those big, ugly ones the rich men use, and he expected us to believe that? He told us his number was inside, and ours too. Then he handed us a watch. It looked pretty and sophisticated, but when he told us this thing was a teleportation device, I thought I was listening to the biggest liar in the universe. A teleportation device in a watch? Maybe I'll tell this story to my grandkids one day.
Then he told us why he gave us those two things: it was so we could save others like us. For the first time, we felt that our lives were meaningful, that there was a reason we had survived until now. He also mentioned he was afraid of his wife. Heh. Even a man like him has something he's afraid of.
I saw him pull out his own phone, the same as the one he had just given us. He called someone named Isaiah. I thought he was just pretending, because it seemed impossible that this "brick" could actually call anyone.
Then he told us where we were: Houston, Texas. We were far from home, but this place was different. It was a haven for people like us. We heard that even if your body was shaped differently, they didn't care, you could live your whole life here and people wouldn't discriminate against you. Even as a kid, I had heard of this place. This town was protected by the "17 Royalty" who lived here. People called them royalty not because they ruled with an iron fist, but because they personally protected and maintained the living environment for everyone.
If you want a job or a place to live, this is the most ideal place on Earth. Only two things don't exist here: organized crime and conspiracy theories. The Royalty fights them to the death. Even the police in this town wear the most expensive gear the world has ever produced and all of it is made right here. They don't make offensive weapons, only defensive gear. But they have these pistols that tase people until they collapse, that alone is more dangerous than a gun itself.
And she was going to be living here? She couldn't wait to go out and see what this town was made of.
And then she heard a chime from the wall ting! and out stepped a large, muscular Black man. He looked incredibly strong, but when the man introduced him as Isaiah Bradley, we almost peed ourselves. We understood exactly what he meant to America: he was the second person in history to successfully become a super soldier.
If this information were known to the outside world, this town would become the flashpoint for a third world war right here in America. That is how dangerous his situation is. The public only knows a second super soldier exists because he escaped and disappeared from the face of the earth. That's why people know he was experimented on and that his family was taken hostage by the government. The Black community even took to the streets in protest, led by a man named Martin Luther King, who campaigned against the oppression of their people.
And the man who told us all this? He just shooed us away and went home. How crazy is that?
We were told to be at a specific place the next day to be trained by a super soldier. Caliban and I were excited. When we arrived, we saw someone waiting in a car. He told us to get in, and we were driven into town. We arrived at what looked like a government building. As we entered the parking lot and reached the lowest level, a door opened. The driver drove the car inside, and the entire room began to move like an elevator. When we saw that we were twenty levels deep underground, we weren't surprised, after all, our own dwelling had always been deep beneath the earth.
This was when we saw what Isaiah meant by the THRUSH organization. All this organization does is protect this town. I finally understood why there was no organized crime here: they were silenced before they could even start.
We learned that while this organization was a secret, they used a private security company as a camouflage. They serve as the protective detail for the 17 Royalty, which is why they are so effective. When we found out that everyone here was an orphan, we didn't know what to think. This place didn't feel like an assassin's guild, it felt more like a clubhouse. Everyone here looked happy. They didn't seem like they were being forced to stay down here.
We learned that the man knew we existed because of them. They have the most extensive information network in the whole world. They have this massive screen they call a supercomputer. This computer can process information at a rate equivalent to hundred thousand computers per second. Well, damn, that is 'super' alright.
Then they showed us this 'Judge Dredd' gun. Everyone in this town who works for THRUSH uses this weapon. It has seven different functions, and every one of them is capable of lethal force. They told us this gun was created by the very man who sent us to them. Damn... he really is a genius.
From today onward, we are THRUSH.
To be continued -