21 Chapter 21

"Lydia," I heard someone call my name. I slowly opened my eyes and the morning sun entered my vision. I yawned and looked to see who called. I saw Astrid standing near my bed smiling at me.

"Sleep well," she asked.

"Yes," I said happily. I looked at my body and saw that the burn marks are now healed.

"What did I miss?" I asked.

"Here," Astrid handed me a tablet with a report file on the screen. It had a picture of the Hellfire club members. Some had an x on top of their image. It looks like the Strucker twins died. I already knew that Selene had died.

"Ophelia Sarkissian a.k.a. "Viper", Roberto da Costa a.k.a "Sunspot", Elias Bogan, Friedrich von Roehm, Harry Leland, Andrea von Strucker, Andreas von Strucker, and Jason Wyngarde are all confirmed dead. Their bodies have been brought back for examination, collection, and disposal. Shinobi Shaw proved to be an interesting fighter. His ability to control his density proved to be difficult. He managed to escape using his abilities. The Sentinels lost track of him as he descended into the ground. He might have died there but seeing him fight, it's safe to bet that he is alive," Astrid reported.

"We have captured Emma Frost and Tessa. Tessa seems to have been under the influence of their telepaths and was not willingly helping them. Both are restrained and locked in a cell," Astrid finished.

"Let's go," I said and got up. I showered and got dressed to the underground facilities. Astrid and I created a section where we can put prisoners in. The walls were made of vibranium and adamantium, so it would be extremely difficult to break out. They were guarded by the Sentinels so if they did manage to escape, they would have to fight them to get out.

"Let' s go see Tessa first," I said, and Astrid nodded. There were two Sentinels guarding her door and they step aside when they saw us coming. I opened the door and saw Sage in a corner hugging her legs. She immediately looked up and saw me. Her eyes widen and gulped. I saw her eyes scan the area behind and looked at every corner.

"Have a seat," I said and motioned to the table where two stairs were. Everything was bolted down to prevent someone from moving or using them. I proceeded to sit down and looked at her. She showed no intentions of moving.

"You can do it yourself or I can make you do it," Astrid said angrily. Tessa gruntingly moved and sat across from me. She was hiding her emotion very well, but I could see her fear.

"How much do you know about me?" I asked. She was silent for a few seconds before she spoke.

"Lydia Howlett, founder of Howlett Enterprise and Howlett Medical Innovations. Richest woman to live and died leaving the business to Jennifer Howlett who was her daughter, yet no sign of a relationship ever surfaced. Public seemed to buy into it. Documentation of "daughter" seemed to appear out of nowhere. Being a mutant was a possibility, but no concrete evidence suggests that," she explained.

"Impressive," I replied.

"So, here's the situation. You were controlled to some degree, I suspect from Jason, but I believe that some of your actions were not entirely influenced by him or other members. I know you had a rough childhood and I can relate to that," I said and she facial expression changed. Her anger exploded as she stood up. I pushed her back down with my energy.

"I had to kill my mother to survive. I was hunted like an animal. I had to whatever I had to do in order to survive. So, I can understand what you've been through," I said. She had to escape an attack on her village only to enter another battlefield. She developed a personality that was cold and calculating. She had different paths from my memories but from I could tell she would most likely remain working for the Hellfire club.

"I offer a chance. Only one chance," I said with a serious expression.

"You join my family. Your talents are incredible, but they'll just be wasted out there. I know your tired of hiding and running," I paused and look at her eyes.

"It's not a clean slate. You'll be monitored. Constantly. Until you can proof that you won't take advantage of the situation," I said.

"You have an hour to think about it," I stood up and went to exit.

"If I refuse?" I heard her say faintly. I looked at her and we made eye contact. She looked down and I never replied. I'm sure she got the hint.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Astrid said as we made our way to Emma.

"I just feel for her. I know it's difficult, but she will be an incredible ally and friend if she lowers her barriers," I replied.

"And Emma?" Astrid asked.

"The same," I replied.

"Use the nanites," I said as we stood in front of the door. Astrid understood what I meant. We could inject them with nanites to monitor everything and kill them if they ever betrayed us.

"Have a seat," I said to Emma who was standing with her arms crossed at the corner. She took a deep breath and took her seat across from me.

"Let's start. How are you alive?" I asked.

"My second mutation allowed me to survive the attack that occurred. It also stops aging if I am in that state," she responded.

"Why did you go after Jean?" I asked. She sighed in response.

"It wasn't to control her. I wasn't aware of what Selene was planning or Jason for that matter. The moment he died the mist around my memories faded. I wasn't even aware it was there in the first place," she replied. I would be a fool to believe her words, so I entered her mind to search. She widens her eyes slightly from the force I used but she didn't fight back or create barriers. It took a few minutes of silence, but I searched through all her memories. I verified that she was telling the truth. She had faked her death to lose the people that were after her. Smart. She is very meticulous.

"Considering that you surrendered after Jason died, I will extend the same offer I gave Tessa. Join my family and have a place to call home. You'll be monitored until a time that I won't question your loyalty," I explained and got up.

"You have one hour," I said and left.

"What did you see?" Astrid asked.

"She has had very unfortunate events happen to her. I won't judge her. She had very little options," I said as we made our way back to Tessa's room. She had to do some extreme things to survive, including using her body to escape death. In a while, Shaw saved her life.

"How did the Sentinels do by the way?" I asked.

"Extremely efficient," Astrid replied quickly.

"They were able to adapt to the abilities used against them very quickly. They essentially learned to fight on the go and destroyed them. Quite frightening actually," Astrid said she put her arms behind her neck.

"Perfect. Do we have enough to build more?" I asked.

"No, we need more resources. We had to recall the ships in case we had to fight in space," Astrid responded

"That's right, I forgot about that," I said.

"Send them out again. We should be okay," I asked Astrid.

"Understood," she replied, and her eyes flickered for a moment.

"En route," she said.

"I don't know about asking both of them to join us," Astrid said after a while.

"It'll be hard to get people to join us unless I mind control them or manipulate their memories. Real loyalty is hard to come by, but we can't muscle our way to get it," I said.

"I guess that makes sense but considering their background, that's quite the gamble," Astrid said.

"Yeah, we'll see if it pays off. How's Erik?" I asked.

"Good, happier when he saw his family again. I believe he went to Europe to look for Charles," she said.

"Charles?" I asked confused.

"He left his school. He blames himself for what happened to Jean," Astrid answered. Ah, I should have guessed that might happen. It was a possibility, but I didn't think it would occur.

"Let's see if they would like to join us," I said.

"That's going to be a tough sale," Astrid replied.

"Yeah, worth a shot though," I said.

"Hank the new headmaster?" I asked.

"Yes, the school has been renamed in honor of Jean," Astrid answered.

"It's hard to predict what might happen to them," I said.

"The public seem to have mixed feelings. After the destruction in the city, they feel mutants are a threat, others still think of them as heroes," Astrid said.

"Well, hopefully this doesn't blow up in our faces," I said sighing.

"Let's enter," I said and opened the door to see Tessa. She was still in the same position when I left.

"Your decision?" I asked. She looked at me and then to the ground. I didn't have to be a telepath to know how much she was thinking. She stayed like this for a few seconds before looking at me with confidence.

"I accept," Tessa said. I nodded and looked at Astrid. She made her way to Tessa.

"You'll be injected with something. This will temporary until trust is established," I said. Tessa accepted and gave her arm to Astrid. Astrid's index finger became like a needle and injected nanites into her blood stream.

"You'll be with a Sentinel everywhere you go. Astrid will show you around later," I explained and headed for Emma.

"Your decision," I asked Emma.

"I accept," She responded quickly. Astrid performed the same thing and injected her with nanites.

I asked Astrid to show them around while I visit Erik and Charles. I traveled to Genosha to see if Erik was still there. His wife told he had had gone to search for a friend. I thanked her and I teleported to France. I traveled to Paris and scanned the area with telepathy. I felt Erik nearby and went towards that direction.

"Hey," I said as I neared their table.

"Lydia? Who else did you bring Erik?" Charles asked.

"I didn't bring her," Erik responded.

"I wanted to talk with you guys," I said. They both looked confused.

"But finish your game. I'll wait," I said as I noticed they were still in the early stages of the game. Seeing them play made me smile. They almost forgot I was there. They were so focused on finding a move to win that the game was the only thing that mattered. Charles made the winning move after a couple of minutes. It was interesting watching them play. Erik favored his strongest pieces while Charles favored his pawns. In the end, it was a pawn that hit the final blow.

"My win," Charles said confidently. Erik looked confused and looked at the board trying to see what he meant. He realized his mistake and sighed. He made his king piece fall.

"Next time," Erik said smiling. They both looked at me when they cleaned up the table.

"I'll get right to it," I said and placed the cup of coffee I ordered on the table.

"I am here to ask you to join me," I said. Erik furrowed his brows and Charles looked surprised. Charles looked at Erik and noticed he hasn't said anything.

"Why?" Charles asked.

"I want to start something. Something like the X-men, but in a larger scale," I explained.

"What does that mean," Erik asked.

"Dealing with threats not only on Earth but outside as well," I answered. Both remained silent.

"There's going to be other groups like the X-men. Good people trying to do the right thing. I have the knowledge to do something, but I can't be everywhere. I need help from friends and family. I'm not going to be here on Earth. I have to prevent other disasters from happening in the universe," I said. They remained silent. Charles turned and looked at the table. Erik was still looking at me.

"Show me," Erik asked. I sighed. I grabbed his hand and Charles' as well. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my memories. I showed them most of my memories from the MCU. I displayed most of the catastrophic events ending with Thanos killing half the universe. I was careful with the speed of the information. I knew Charles could probably handle it, but Erik was not a telepath. I opened my eyes after finishing.

"W-what did he do," Charles asked.

"In that universe, a villain named Thanos kills half of the universe because he thinks that by getting rid of half, the resources of the universe can be balanced. He thinks it's a mercy. He comes from a planet where they were at the end of their resources and eventually perished. He suggested killing half of their own population at random to reduce the consumption. He was seen as mad and exiled, but in the end, he was right, everyone on the planet died," I explained.

"Who were the people fighting?" Erik asked.

"The Avengers. One of the groups I mentioned. In that universe the X-men did not participate in the battle, neither did anyone else really," I answered. They remained silent once more and I took a sip of my now cold coffee.

"I will be completely honest with you," I paused and waited until both looked at me.

"There are maybe different realities. We are just but a small grain of sand among other realities. I know what happens in other realities but not all of them. I am afraid of that unknown. I need help. Thanos is but one of many dangerous enemies out there," I explained.

"Can you fight someone like that?" Erik asked.

"If he had all the stones, no. Maybe if he had two stones, I could put up a good fight. Even without them, he is a tough opponent," I answered.

"Then how do you expect us to fight him?" Erik asked.

"As a team. Remember En Sabah Nur? If it wasn't for all of us distracting him, Charles wouldn't have had the time to get Jean to help," I answered.

"What are these stones? They seem to have a lot of trouble following them," Charles asked.

"That requires a much longer conversation. In short, each stone is unique. There is stone here on Earth that can manipulate time," I said, and Charles chuckled in amusement. I remained serious and he stopped smiling.

"You can't be serious," Charles said half smiling.

"I am. It's the only stone that I know of that won't kill you for using it. The stone's release radiation when used. There might be others, but I am not 100% certain," I explained.

"Anyways, if you are interested, come over to my house. We can go over the details there," I said and left.

I decided to take a walk around here before I returned. I didn't spend too much time in France, but it sure does look different now. I found an empty alley to teleport when I was finished sightseeing. I arrived at the lab and saw Astrid talking with Emma and Tessa.

"How did it go?" Astrid asked.

"Not sure to be honest. I think it'll be a coin flip," I answered.

"That would be problematic," Tessa said. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"I explain to them the situation and the goal. I also talk to you regarding how you should address didn't I?" Astrid said with a dangerous smile.

"Yes ma'am," Emma and Tessa said. I chuckled at their misfortune.

"Start a training regimen for them. I'll be in the training room," I said and started to walk away.

"It would be good for them to watch," Astrid said.

"Okay," I responded. I went to the training room to fight two Sentinels. I want to see how they fair off against someone like me.

"Training, override safeties, start 30 seconds," I said to the two Sentinels in the room.

"Acknowledged," They responded. I waited and closed my eyes. I opened them and release my aura. A faint blue layer of energy cloaked me, and I brought my fists up. I wanted to practice close combat today.

After 30 seconds passed, one of the Sentinels launched a blast at me while the other one charged. I dodged and prepared to counter. Their speed was nothing to laugh at. The one that charged quickly closed the gap between us in seconds and attempted to stab me. I pushed the attack away and threw a punch at him. When it connected, its body moved slightly back. There was no damage from the punch.

"Oh," I managed to say before I was blasted away from the kinetic energy it absorbed and released.

"Forgot about that," I said and got up. Astrid had incorporated the vibranium into them and used the kinetic energy to create a shockwave. It was essentially what the future Black Panther would have.

Both were now charging at me and I brought my hand up to control their magnetic material. I lifted them up, but they released an electric charge and dropped down to continue charging at me.

"Really?" I said and looked at Astrid who looked away. They managed to demagnetize their structure to prevent me from controlling them.

I lifted both my hands and used telekinesis to stop them. They were both stopped however from their eyes they released a laser blast towards me. I channeled energy to bring up a force field that stopped their attack.

"I win," I said smugly. I started to squeeze my hands together and the two Sentinels started to get crushed. The Sentinels eyes lit up and they started to merge. I was too surprised to continue my attack and just watched as they merged. The final product looked like the Destroyer from Asgard. Its head started to split in the middle and a beautiful light started to collect in the center.

"Holy s-" I said before the concentrated beam hit me in my stomach and pushed my against the other side of the wall. The impact was so intense that I dented the wall. The beam continued for a while after I hit the wall until it stopped. The pain I felt was unreal. It reminded me of my fight with En Sabah Nur. I looked at my stomach and saw that it had made a large hole.

I coughed up blood as I fell to my knees and collapsed. Even as my body started to heal, the tissue being regenerated was painful. It was like having the beam hit me all over again. I heard Astrid say something as I continued to heal. Once the pain stopped, I looked to see the hole was now completely healed. I slowly got up and watch the Sentinel in standby mode.

"Ow," I said as I still felt some soreness from the wound.

"How are you alive?" I heard Tessa's voice say. I looked and found Astrid, Emma, and Tessa gathered near me.

"It'll take more than that to kill me," I said smiling.

"Astrid, did you do that?" I asked pointing at the Sentinel.

"I…I don't know. I never programmed it to do that. Since you released all the safety measures, it was fighting with no restraints. It saw that it was going to lose and came up with a way to overpower you," Astrid said as her eyes glowed. She was probably interfacing with the Sentinel and analyzing the information.

"Well, I guess we have to come up with a name for that," I said.

"Fascinating," Astrid said completely ignoring me as she was still scanning. I chuckled and looked at Emma and Tessa. They were both staring at the hole in my shirt where the beam hit.

"As you can probably concluded, I have the ability to heal quickly," I said.

"I've seen people who can do that but not that quickly. You just regenerated major organs in a matter of seconds," Emma said.

"And there's no sign of damage. It's like it never happened. If your cells regenerate that quickly…" Tessa stopped saying. I smiled at her.

"Go ahead," I said.

"…your like Selene," Tessa said. Emma looked at Tessa then back at me.

"How old are you?" Emma said surprised.

"Mmm, 160 I think," I said thinking about it. I haven't really put much thought in my age.

"Whoa," Emma said. Tessa just continued to look at me.

"Have you guys met Wendy?" I asked and they both shook their heads.

"Astrid," I said with no response.

"Astrid!" I raised my voice to snap her out of it.

"Yes?" she said.

"Can you have their Sentinels show them to Wendy?" I asked.

"Yes," Her eyes glowed again, and their Sentinels moved. One was leading while the other was in the back.

"What did you find?" I asked knowing something caught her attention.

"I was looking into the data on how I could incorporate it into my body," she answered.

"You'll be really scary if you can pull that off," I said smiling.

"Did you want to test your other state?" she asked. I was caught off guard, but she saw my hesitation of going into my other state where I increased the energy to its max.

"Yeah, can you monitor?" I asked.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready," she said as she took several steps back.

I started off slow and increased my energy to create the small aura. It looked like a faint white/blue coat was covering my entire body. I continued to increase the energy and it started to intensify in color. I kept going until it came into a tipping point. It was like a wall was hit and I gathered my energy to break through it. As soon as I did, the energy shroud around my electrified. I felt pain around my body as the energy bolts hit around me. The energy in this state is similar to the space stone. I felt something off and decided to continue energy all my energy. I immediately felt burns all throughout my body. My energy shroud intensified, and red energy bolts could be seen mixed in with the blue. The ground around me cracked from the pressure it released. I cut off the energy and noticed several burn marks.

"There's no way…" I said. This felt like when I absorbed the Phoenix's energy.

"The energy signature does match what we collected from the Phoenix," Astrid said.

"However, it is still raw when you channel it. The burns are evident of that," Astrid continued.

"If that's the case, then I should only use it if I am about to die. It gives me a huge power boost but at the expense of more energy and harm to my body," I commented.

"Are there side effects?" I asked.

"Nothing that I can tell right now. We have to monitor your cellular structure to make sure nothing is happening. The nanites in your body are not reporting anything we don't already know. The huge energy drains and burns seem to be the obvious effects," Astrid explained.

"Well I guess I have to name it something," I said and hummed.

"For the meantime, let's refer it has your shroud. As it stands, you have 3 levels to it. A faint energy surrounding you and an intense flow of energy. The third could be left open. We still don't know if this new energy will stay there for long," Astrid said. I nodded in agreement. I didn't absorb that much so she's probably right.

I accepted that and we left to follow Tess and Emma. They were talking with Wendy and it seemed like Wendy and Tessa got along. I was satisfied with everything so far. Astrid and Wendy would bring them both up to speed and train them. I was still waiting on Erik and Charles to see if they would join. I also had to prepare for Carol's arrival. I missed her.

"Just a little longer," I whispered as I stared at the sky.