Chapter 4

Looking through the memories I found that he organized everything for me. I remembered more details regarding the events that took place in the TV series and the comics. I couldn't figure out what Sir changed. Everything looked right but knowing him he probably tweaked something small that I wouldn't notice right away. All the events that were vague were a lot clearer now.

I heard James and Victor coming back with some squirrel looking animal. We started a small fire and cooked the food. We ate quickly and made our way through the forest going south east. We passed by some people and houses but didn't stop. James did ask about the nearest town and they told him how to get there. Along the way, I started to think about what I could do. Being a woman in this time was hard. Men saw women as second to them. It's not until the late 1900s where the women's movement began, and women gained more rights.

"Look! There's a town up ahead." James said.

"It's big. Let's make sure we don't bring any unwanted attention to ourselves." I said this while looking at Victor.

"Why are you looking at me for?" Victor asked

"Don't pick a fight. Let's just try to talk our way first before we result to violence." I responded.

"…Says the person that tore someone's throat off…" I heard Victor say to James.

"What was that?" I asked glaring at him.

"Nothing! I was just telling James how bright the sun is today." Victor said. What a poor excuse. James just smiled.

We continued getting closer to the town and neared the entrance. If I'm correct, this should be Quebec City.

"James, Victor you guys do the talking. They won't listen to me since I'm a girl so I'm not going to waste my breath. Remember not to pick a fight."

They nodded and we continued towards the entrance. We saw someone posted at the front. Probably some guard. He told us to stop and asked what we were doing here. James explained that we were traveling here but were attacked by animals. James continued with saying that the animals killed our parents and we ran in this direction. The guard looked at our clothes and noticed how damaged they were. His eyes paused on me as he was inspecting us. I could feel his intent. What was left of the dress I had on was pretty much gone. My legs were exposed, and my right arm sleeve was torn off by the dog attack. The dress stopped above my knees and my chest was covered in dark stains and bullet holes.

James saw how uncomfortable I was and took a step-in front of me. He requested to talk with someone in charge. The guard pointed to a house and we left heading towards that direction. I could still feel his gaze on me as we walked.

"Thank you." I said facing James.

"I thought you might have been over exaggerating about you being a woman. Its always been just us in the farm so I didn't pay attention to that." James said. Victor nodded his head as well.

"I need to get something else to gear. I hope we can get something by trading our items." I said to them.

We reached the house and knocked on it. I was watching our surroundings while James talked with who I assumed was the governor. I couldn't help but look at the people. Coming from the modern age, it's quite the shock to see how people lived. Life is so simple here. I was drawn to how simple it was. Everyone contributed to the settlement and helped each other out. I started wondering what I can do. Is it possible for me to change history and prevent wars? All the needless deaths. I wish I could do something. If I said anything I would be seen of some sort of witch or a crazy person. No one would listen to someone saying they know future events. I noticed people started to stare at me. Probably because of how I looked right now.

"Lydia!" James said as he put his hand on my shoulder snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry." I said shyly.

"Are you okay?" James asked.

"Yea I was just thinking." I responded.

"About what?" Victor asked.

"Nothing important." I said in a low voice.

"Anyways I managed to get us some clothes and food for us in exchange for the guns. We can also stay here and help around the town." James said.

"Nicely done" I said. I wasn't paying attention to what James and the man were talking about, but I trusted James in doing the right thing for us.

We went inside the house and changed into our new clothing. I hated wearing these dresses, but I rather not get attack by some creep. I came outside and found James and Victor waiting for me. I smiled at them and they returned the gesture.

"I guess we'll be staying here for some time." I said excitedly.

We did things together and rarely were alone. We continued to help around the town and started to have our own jobs. James and Victor would work random jobs, while I decided to help in the clinic they had here. I wanted to study medicine to increase my knowledge and to try to get a better understanding on how I can get blood and how much I could safely retrieve from someone. With my ability to think faster and recall anything I want, I can learn just about anything and become an expert. I just needed to have access to the knowledge and practice it. Women were not taken seriously and constantly overlooked but I managed to convince the local doctor to let me help without getting paid. We continued this routine as we grew up on this town.

Much to my dismay, my period came. I couldn't believe when I saw the blood. I could only curse Sir for doing this to me. I didn't feel any pain when it happened, but it was annoying to have blood down there. Luckily working for a doctor gave me access to medical supplies so I was able to take care of it myself. I also started to notice how James and Victor were becoming very similar to the movies. It's something I had thought about but didn't really concern myself with it. It is good to know though as I would be able to tell who people are from afar if I need to.

During our down time we would spar with each other. It was something I made them start doing with me. At first, they both were very against the idea, but I convinced them by saying that it'll get us used to our powers and to protect ourselves by knowing how to fight. We started by just doing one vs one while the third person would watch and comment on what we did. James always pulled his punches and didn't take our spars seriously. I would take advantage of this and give him a good beating. Victor on the other hand always kept me on my toes. He always used his full strength and speed to attack me. He would refrain from using his nails when attacking me thankfully. I only managed to win sometimes by beating him with my speed and flexibility. If it tried to fight him with strength, he would always win. James would always glare at Victor after our spars since he would go all out on me. When it came to their turn to fight, they would go beyond just a friendly spar. James would bring out his bone claws and Victor would use his fingernails as claws. They would stab each other and push each other to their limit. I never said anything when they do that. It seemed like they were always hashing something out or maybe its just their personalities.

After spending so much time in the clinic I managed to get a good grasp on human anatomy. I'm no surgeon but I know enough to keep someone stable or when to stop drawing blood, so they don't die. I also started to notice the limits to my senses. I practiced ignoring or reducing my senses, so I'm not overwhelmed by a loud noise or a unique smell rendered me immobile. Thankfully, I learned that I could suppress my senses so they wouldn't be too sensitive. I practiced switching the sensitivity of my senses by occasionally picking up faint smells and tracking them down and ignoring others. We used to play a game where two of us would hide and the other one would have to search. We would use mud to cover our scent and do all sorts of things to learn how to lose someone's trail. It allowed us to hone our tracking and hiding skills. We became proficient enough that we would get sent out to help track people or dangerous animals that have attacked nearby farms.

We formed our own mercenary group when we turned 18 and started to take on jobs. I mostly handled the paperwork that came with taking bounties and the financial side of things. James and Victor had no problem with that. I would join them when a job was expected to turn ugly. Killing became easier for all of us. No matter how many we faced or what they used against us, we would always stand back up and kill them. During one of our jobs I got shot in the head. Everything went black for second as I fell to the floor. When I opened my eyes, I saw James in a fit of rage stabbing the person that shot me. I managed to call out his name and he came back to his senses. Victor also heard me and came to my side to pick me up. I jokingly said that I must've drunk too much alcohol and fell. That earned me a hit on the head by James.

We continued doing this for years. We built our reputation in the town and got ourselves a small house. We lived like this for a long time. I enjoyed every second of it. I knew I wouldn't get many moments like these anymore. I spend every second I could with James and Victor. My body grew and I became taller. I was slightly taller than James and Victor was about the same height as me. I let my black hair grow out and usually kept it waist length. Looking at a mirror I looked like an older Laura Kinney which kind of made sense since I am James' twin. I wonder if she would be in this universe.

Once we turned 30, I knew we would have to move. We stopped aging and it would bring suspicion from the town. I didn't want to cause trouble for the town that has helped us for so long. I asked James and Victor to a meeting about our next move.

"Why are having a meeting?" Victor asked James.

"I don't know. Lydia asked for it." James responded as he sat down on a chair. I walked in the room and sat down. I saw Victor leaning against the wall looking at me.

"I wanted to ask you guys something." I said. They remained quiet and waited for me to ask my question.

"I want some money to go to Egypt." I said.

"What? Why Egypt?" James asked.

"There's someone there I need to visit." I responded.

"And who would that be?" Victor asked.

"Someone I need something from." I said looking at Victor.

"Listen, I can't tell you everything. I just need to go there. It's important." I said

"I know you're both worried about me being alone, but you know I can take care of myself. Please trust me. I need to go there." I said maintain my resolve. Victor seeing this backed off and James looked to the side.

"…Who would worry about you" Victor whispered.

"Aw. You do care." I said smiling.

"Take what you need." James said as he looked at me with a serious expression.

"I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll find you guys. Don't get into too much trouble. I really don't want to fight my way to get to you guys again." I said laughing.

"You're never going to let that go will you." Victor said with a scowl.

"Well, when you get drunk and pick a fight with everyone in the bar then get knocked out and held hostage, I can't help but laugh. You even dragged poor James into it." I said smiling. James just grunted at my comments.

I managed to secure passage to on a trade ship that was going to Morocco, Africa from there they'll take me to Alexandria, Egypt. I packed my things in a bag I could carry. In another small bag I carried books. They were mainly books about Arabic so I could talk with the people there once I arrived. My reasoning for going there was to search for En Sabah Nur. Sir gave me a clearer location of where he was found. He is probably the easiest mutant I could get access to. He's basically just waiting for me to take his blood. My main obstacle would be digging my way to him and making sure it's only done during the night. If any sunlight hit that pyramid thing then he would wake up early. Without anyone to really oppose him, no one would stand in his way. I convinced the doctor to let me take some supplies. I had syringes and bags where I could put the blood. I tested out drawing blood on someone who can regenerate by sticking a syringe on myself and seeing if drawing blood would be successful. Thankfully it worked so I knew going to En Sabah Nur would work. It was just a matter of finding the location and digging carefully enough so I don't trigger anything that might wake him up early.

Arriving at the port, I said my goodbyes to James and Victor. I had a small room for the trip that would last about 2 to 3 months. That gave me plenty of time to learn Arabic and at least be able have some basic understanding plus I had people on the ship I could practice speaking with. The adventure there went smoothly. We were caught in some mild storms during our transit there, but overall the seas were very forgiving. When I arrived it was quite the climate change. The heat hit me hard. It was like opening the oven when it was hot. The sudden rush of hot air greeted me as I left the ship. I wrapped my hair in cloth and covered my face. I didn't want people to recognize me and leave a possible trail for people to track me in the future. I knew I was being a bit paranoid but better safe than sorry.

As I walked the streets, I eventually made I way to the location in the memory. I avoided talking as much as possible. As I reached my destination, I saw that it was a store. It wasn't a food store like in the movie it looked like they were selling spices and herbs. The location I need to dig was behind the store, but I now knew exactly where to go. I looked around for a place to stay. I exchanged all the money and valuables I had in order to get some Egyptian pounds. I searched for a place to rent out that was on the first level and close to the store. I would have to dig towards the direction of the store and then go downwards. I needed tools for the job and started looking for stores that had them.

It was easy acquiring the tools I needed. I just need to play the part of a dutiful wife gathering tools for her husband. I started during the day so the sound wouldn't be so suspicious. It was harder than I thought digging through the ground at first, but I managed to make a great start.

This continued for months as I slowly made my progress towards the store. The tunnel I was digging was very small so I wouldn't have to worry about putting up sturdy supports. I didn't have the money to spend on more materials like that. The only problem I had was knowing when I was underneath the store. Once I dug far enough, I switched from day to night operations. I knew the owners were also living in the store, so I decided to do my digging at nights and see if they complained about noises at night. One day while eavesdropping on their store, I heard them complaining about small shakes and noises. That was the happiest day in my life. I really underestimated how hard it was to dig. It certainly wasn't an easy job especially with the tools I had.

I encountered a problem when I started to dig downwards after a few weeks. I hit something extremely hard and broke my tools trying to dig through it. I guessed that what I encountered would most likely be a material of the pyramid that collapsed here. There was a way through it I just need to chip at it slowly. On occasion I would come up to drink water and eat. I switched my operations to be an all-day event. I was starting to get anxious and completely consumed about reaching the tomb that I neglected to pay attention to what was happening outside. People were becoming a little scared of who I was because I only stayed in the room I had. I decided to take a break for awhile and return to just nightly operations so people didn't think I was a danger to them.

After months of chipping away I finally reach the other side. I haven't really been using any light source, so I had to go to the markets and get a torch. I started setting up multiple torches to see the area I was in underground. It was truly beautiful once I set up the torches. The gold pyramid top was so mesmerizing. The statues that were here were also incredible. I decided to stop here and use what's left of my money to gather more tools. I had to be careful with the torches here since there wasn't any ventilation system going on. I could only light them up for a couple of minutes before I had to turn them off since the hole, I dug was very small and the air couldn't travel fast.

My progress was going well so far. Now came the hardest part. Digging my way down to En Sabah Nur.