Chapter 58

There was a long and rather intense list of questions that followed. So I did my best to give Fury the rundown on some of the bigger threats I thought might rear their heads soon.

I held back on the truly absurd ones like Celestials, Galactus, or Knull because, frankly, what the fuck were we supposed to do about any of them? That was a problem for me in the far future when I started rolling with the big leagues.

Still, even without bringing up the universe-ending nightmares, there were more than enough villains to worry about. As the conversation dragged on, the scowl on Fury’s face just kept getting deeper and deeper.

It wasn’t exactly a one-sided exchange, either.

With Fury standing right in front of me, it would’ve been a waste not to get a few answers of my own. Getting them was like pulling teeth, but I did manage to learn that both Thor and Bruce Banner were active.

From the little Fury told me, their lives seemed to be playing out pretty similarly to their MCU counterparts, which was honestly a bit of a relief.

“Any other bombs you’d like to drop in my lap?” Fury scowled, staring off into the distance with an increasingly murderous glare.

I could imagine learning about this many potential threats in one sitting would be stressful for anyone, let alone someone in his position.

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s all of the likely ones, to my knowledge.”

“Likely ones.” Fury slowly glanced at me, his face scrunching up. “Should I even ask?”

There were a lot of powerful bastards and shitty assholes running around Marvel. Ego. The Phoenix Force. Chthon.

God, I really hoped Mephisto didn’t exist in this reality.

“...Trust me.” I shuddered. “Don’t.”

Fury frowned for a moment before letting out a long sigh. He turned away and grabbed another bottle.

“You’re gonna be the fucking end of me, kid.” He shook his head as he popped the cap and took a swig.

“Uh...” I scratched my head. “I get this is stressful, but should you really be drinking this much? You know—”

Fury shot me an affronted look.

“It’s nonalcoholic, of course.” He rubbed his brow. “But dear God, do I wish it was a real stiff drink. Thought I was stressed enough working with Wakanda and the freaking mind reader.”

I blinked.

Huh. I was surprised that move had actually panned out.

“How’s that going?”

“Well enough.” Fury gave me a flat look. “You can ask your bald friend for more details. I’ve got agents to brief on your... foresight.”

He shook his head before turning away and pulling out his phone.

Well, that went about as well as I could’ve expected.

I took another bite of pizza and glanced back toward the others.

Magneto was already looking in my direction. He shot me a small nod, motioning me over.

Now I just had to hope the next conversation went as smoothly.

—

It was strange how mundane Magneto looked without the helmet and cape. He wore a simple black polo and, at first glance, looked no different from someone’s neighborly grandfather.

Although his eyes reminded me more of the harsh old-man type than the kindly one.

Still, I’d take harsh over radical Magneto any day.

“I see.” Magneto rubbed his chin, a thoughtful frown tugging at his features.

I’d given him the basic rundown of my plan for cooperating with Fury, partly as a thanks for his help, but also as a test to see how he’d react. Keeping Magneto from running off and crushing HYDRA before everything was ready was a pretty important part of the plan.

More importantly, with the Brotherhood still in its infancy, I was really hoping I could ward off their shitty descent into radicalism before it ever got started.

“So, are you willing to work with us?” I asked. “Dealing with HYDRA is something I think we can all agree is pretty high priority.”

Magneto’s face twisted with sheer hatred at the name before quickly returning to something more neutral.

“Yes... I wholeheartedly agree with that—”

I opened my mouth, only for Magneto to raise a hand.

“But you ask for much. Trusting the government to do right by my people?” His expression hardened. “I’m not foolish enough to make that mistake again.”

The bitterness in his voice really made me wonder what the hell had happened to the early X-Men in this reality.

Still, probably not the best time to start digging into old scars.

“No, I wholeheartedly agree.” I nodded. “You shouldn’t trust them any farther than you can throw them. Fury is... someone who wants to do good, but would I put my complete trust in him? Hell no.”

Magneto looked taken aback for a moment before a hint of amusement crept across his face.

“Yet you tell me to cooperate with the very man.”

“Yes.” I stared him straight in the eye. “Because he needs you. That means leverage. You get an in with the government, and you can bargain for better rights for mutants, protections, resources, whatever you want. If they can’t be trusted to do the job right, then force them to. There’s literally no better time for you to start throwing your weight around.”

“Humanity will not tolerate us.” There was anger in Magneto’s voice, but beneath it was something else. Tiredness, maybe. “People will always condemn those who are different from them. They are all fools who can barely think for themselves.”

“Everyone?” I raised an eyebrow and glanced toward Steve.

Magneto followed my gaze.

For just a moment, I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of admiration cross his face before he looked away with a grunt.

“...There can be exceptions. Nevertheless, we cannot coexist with humanity.”

“So you’re just going to do what?” I waved a hand. “Try to conquer the world? Segregate mutantkind from everyone else?”

“Charles has infected you with his pointless dreams, it seems.” Magneto scoffed. “Soft methods will never work.”

“Neither will yours.” I shook my head.

Magneto went quiet.

He stared at me with a terrible focus before finally asking, “What does the future hold for mutantkind?”

My lips thinned.

“You can make a country. You can even go to the stars. But it’s never enough.” I shook my head. “Just separating yourselves will never be enough.”

His eyes widened slightly as he processed what I’d said. 

For a moment, Magneto looked almost resigned.

Then his expression hardened.

“Then what?” He threw out a hand angrily. “Should I get on my knees and beg for mercy? Act with the same piddling soft hand Charles does?”

“No.” I shrugged. “Look, there are a lot of things you can try before jumping straight to crazy radical shit, and they don’t have to be soft. Buy out the media. Bribe rich people. Hell, use your powers if you have to. Or, you know... make some friends in the government.”

Magneto’s brow furrowed, but he stayed silent.

“People are stupid a lot of the time. I agree with you there.” I gestured loosely around us. “So why not give them a little nudge in your direction? And I’m betting that nudge gets a hell of a lot easier when you’ve got Captain America in your corner.”

He didn’t reply for a long moment, instead turning to look toward Steve, who was discussing something with Fury.

Maybe I’d underestimated just how much admiration Magneto had for the guy. I knew plenty of other versions of him who would’ve dismissed everything I said outright.

“...Perhaps.” Magneto spoke slowly, a deep frown still etched across his face. “I will speak with Charles and... consider it.”

I kept my expression carefully neutral even as a spark of glee shot through me.

“That’s all I ask.”

—

The impromptu pizza party had somehow succeeded.

Fury apparently had a mountain of work waiting for him and left pretty quickly, while Bucky chose to remain at the safehouse with Steve. I took the hint and made my own exit not long after.

Magneto and Mystique had already left, leaving behind a note for me before heading off to speak with Charles.

I could only hope for the best with that.

Still, as happy as I was that everything seemed to be turning out well, I could seriously use a break.

Which was why I couldn’t help but relish the soft couch in the New York Sanctum. The room they’d given me was pretty spartan, but damn, I had to give it to the wizards.

They did not skimp on the furniture.

Plus… what better way to relax than to gamble.

I focused on the golden ticket sitting in the back of my mind and tore it apart.

[Rolling Gold Gacha Ticket]

[Nature Lungs]

|Rare Trait|

Your lungs are optimized to harmonize with the world around you with every breath. You take in energy from the environment and process it within your body, enhancing your energy and vitality recovery.

I felt something shift inside my chest.

Taking a deep breath, the sensation was almost ridiculously pleasant. It felt like crisp mountain air filling my lungs with every inhale, cool and clean in a way normal air definitely wasn’t supposed to be.

Oh, this was going to synergize very nicely with Thunder Breathing.

I briefly considered going out for a test run. Hmm. I knew the Sanctum had a training room somewhere in the basement...

“Get something good?”

I looked up to find Anna staring down at me with her arms crossed.

“Was I that obvious?” I snorted, laying down back onto the couch.

“Like a kid in a candy shop.” Anna chuckled as she walked over. “Scooch over.”

“Nah.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “Too comfy. Find your own seat.”

“Well...” Anna rubbed her hands together. “If you say so.”

A sudden weight dropped onto my back.

I raised an eyebrow and turned my head, only to find her comfortably using me as a cushion.

“Perfect seat for me.” Anna preened.

“Lady Iron Fist abusing her poor subjects.” I sighed with exaggerated despair. “How far she’s fallen.”

“Consider it your rightful punishment for offending this young mistress.” Anna lifted her chin imperiously. “For speaking lies against K’un-Lun.”

We stared each other directly in the eye for a long moment.

I tried to hold it together.

I really did.

But my composure cracked first, and I burst out laughing.

Anna smirked. 

I twisted suddenly beneath her, and she nearly went tumbling off the couch.

“Hey!”

I smirked right back and stuck my tongue out at her before finally scooching over.

“Fine. You win.”

“Obviously.” Anna settled into the newly opened space beside me.

I snorted and leaned back. “So, how’d things go with the Chaste?”

Anna let out a long sigh before leaning against my shoulder.

“It went okay,” she muttered. “Annoying, but okay. Had to beat up a couple more guys, but nothing too serious.”

“Sounds productive.”

“Very.” Her tone went dry before she glanced at me. “Is help coming for the kids?”

I nodded. “Fury came through.”

Some of the tension left her shoulders at that.

I hesitated for a second before adding, “The HYDRA raid went well too. Nothing really went wrong.”

Anna slowly raised an eyebrow.

Then she just stared at me.

I stared back.

Her eyebrow climbed a little higher.

“...Okay, fine.” I sighed. “They reverse-engineered some kind of monstrosity from one of my summons.”

Anna frowned. “Is that going to be a problem?”

I blew out a breath and sank a little deeper into the couch.

“Yeah, probably.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “But we’ll deal with it. Not much else we can do.”

“So what now, then?”

“Well...” I stared up at the ceiling. “We’ve got, like, a dozen different people who might want to get in contact with me, so staying available for a while seems like a good idea.” I chuckled.

“Besides, I could use a break.”

Anna smiled faintly and settled a little more comfortably against my shoulder.

“Fast food and movies?”

“Hell yeah.”

—

Selene hummed softly as she eyed her new gown.

It had been a vexing time since reviving herself. Returning from the dead was something she could never truly grow accustomed to, even after all her years. The terrible malaise of death still clung to her senses, leaving everything feeling just slightly wrong.

Still, it was ultimately a minor inconvenience.

Gorging herself on new and interesting things had always been a tried-and-true method for washing away that particular discomfort.

The door to her private room suddenly slammed open.

A rugged-looking man strode inside with a wide grin.

Selene didn’t bother looking toward her supposed fellow king. “Sebastian. To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

Ha. As if this little gnat could ever compare to her.

Still, there was hardly any fun in crushing a fool’s delusions too quickly.

“Selene, Selene.” Sebastian laughed in that irritatingly grating voice of his. “I’m hurt. You used up all our little pawns and didn’t even give me a call?” His smile sharpened. “Still, I’m sure it was just an accident. You wouldn’t waste my soldiers. So you’ll explain yourself, right?” 

She rolled her eyes at the oaf’s poorly veiled threat.

Selene returned her attention to the gown, studying it for another moment before giving a satisfied nod.

Yes, this would do.

Without bothering to answer Sebastian, she turned toward her vanity and began sorting through her makeup.

She could practically feel his anger building behind her, even as he did his best to keep that smile plastered across his face.

Just as he opened his mouth again, she cut him off.

“I was seeking to catch a little rat,” Selene said, “but found quite the treasure instead.”

Scrying on that little wretch had turned up nothing, which was vexing, but her investigations had provided quite the consolation prize.

This so-called HYDRA was little more than a collection of mortals playing at power, yet somehow they had managed to get their hands on quite the gem.

Selene purred as she opened the drawer.

Brilliant iridescent blue light spilled across the vanity as she revealed the Tesseract.

“...What is that?” Sebastian stared, transfixed by the stone.

“Power,” Selene whispered with glee. “Unfettered and beautiful power”

***

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