Interlude: Great Awakening

Interlude: Great Awakening

Charles Xavier retreated from the edge of the young mutant's subconscious. He appeared haggard, and his astral form dulled. He shuddered, having paid a toll to enter the teen's mind.

Without a doubt, Charles was convinced that the child was a telepath of some kind. He had never witnessed mental shields as strong as Jeremy's before, and the way the child resisted him only confirmed his suspicions. It was a passive force, almost like a secondary mutation.

Thadump.

Charles's eyes widened as he scanned the astral plane, feeling a foreboding sense of dread that washed over him. His mind and powers were heightened beyond their norms, so it could be a common occurrence in the plane that he wasn't aware of, but he was doubtful.

He turned, hands outstretched, ready for an attack, but nothing happened as he flexed his amplified powers if he had known that the young man was the CEO of York Industries' son.

'Something was off about the tower,' he thought, but he couldn't quite place it. As he turned to leave, a sudden pulse reverberated through the astral plane, causing him to drop to his knees in horror. He quickly turned back, his hands outstretched.

'No.' he gasped as the astral flexed like plexiglass.

Astrid|Emma

Suddenly, the world of dreams and daydreams expelled many of its residents, and the waking world shuddered on the brink of collapse. The universe would have almost ended if it weren't for entities so far removed from Coles's scope.

As is often the case with events of such magnitude, some attempted to control it. However, those few who tried were snuffed out like candles, as the psionic impact was more significant than anything ever witnessed.

The phenomenon called the Great Awakening happened across the entire planes. None knew the cause or where the impact originated; not even those conceptual beings had an idea. All except one, Xavier, was a transferred soul that carried powers not of this reality or existence; not even the great beings were aware of what occurred.

The world over, comatose patients suddenly opened their eyes. Among them was Astrid Bloom, a powerful mutant with a normal childhood in England with her loving parents. However, her father passed away when she was a child. Nine months later, Astrid's mother got remarried to a man named Aubrey Chilton. Although Astrid had mixed feelings about her mother's new marriage, she eventually accepted the couple. Astrid's mother and stepfather had another child not long after their marriage.

She now had a new sister named Yvonne. Soon, change happened rapidly, as her Mom changed Astrid's room into a nursery for Yvonne. Astrid now had no choice but to sleep on the couch. As years went by, Astrid became increasingly depressed and resentful. She was enraged over her new sister and how she was now being treated.

When she turned thirteen, her telepathic powers activated. Astrid claimed her mother favored Astrid's half-sister, Yvonne, and sent her away after discovering her abilities. Astrid had mind-controlled Yvonne into killing their parents. Yvonne was sent to a mental institution shortly after that.

Astrid then moved to New York City. This taught Astrid to count on herself. How she got accepted to Empire State University is still being determined. Still, she met Emma Frost, who she also found to be a mutant. Astrid taught Emma how to use her powers.

Astrid had become very close to Emma, and they shared everything. However, Astrid had an evil plan in her mind to harm Emma and was manipulating her to turn against both male and non-mutant humanity. She had taken control of Ian's mind (who was Emma's boyfriend at the time) and made him act as a bigot. Emma eventually discovered that Astrid was behind Ian's wicked actions.

Astrid tried to justify her actions to Emma, telling her that she did it to spare her heartbreak in the future. But Emma could see that Astrid was being insincere. In a desperate attempt to control Emma and falsely accuse her male love interest of assault, Bloom tries to imprison Emma by trapping Frost's psyche within Astrid's psyche.

Astrid's strategy of using telepathy against Emma backfired when Emma could immediately access and absorb all of Astrid's memories, knowledge, skills, and abilities, including her understanding of telepathic combat. With this new technical skill to support her already superior power level, Emma could break free and attack Astrid with her telekinetic powers, leaving Astrid shocked and helpless.

Their confrontation was brief, and Emma's vast potential outmatched Astrid. Emma had used her powers to leave Astrid in a catatonic state, effectively destroying her mind. Emma was deeply influenced by Astrid teachings, which stated that humans, regardless of whether or not they had telepathic abilities, were essentially just "soulless meat puppets" created solely for the pleasure of those who could manipulate them. This belief significantly impacted Emma, which led to her becoming one of the most formidable and dreaded White Queens of the notorious secret society known as the Hellfire Club.

The event had shaped Emma Frost's position on mutants and humankind long before she met Xavier. With access to Astrid's techniques and training, she had hidden that part in the deepest recess of her mind under lock and key, never thought of by her.

In the present, those memories flowed from the deepest recess of her subconscious. Emma languished on the ground as she gripped her head. Her hellions had no idea what to do and could only assist her to her couch as she writhed in pain.

But, Astrid, unconscious in a hospital in central New York, opened her eyes after a decade of being brain dead as her soul had been lost on another plane. Astrid stood up, shocking the nurse as she ran to get the doctor, missing the words from her mouth.

"Jeremy York!" She wailed, her shout shattering the windows in the private wing laid for by Emma Frost.

Emma Frost

Emma Frost had jerked away, surrounded by her students. She stood on wobbly legs before speaking in an alarmed, scared tone.

"Xavier, what have you done."

All across the world, psionics had lost consciousness only to wake with utter dread. Even the mystical masters of the arts had stumbled in their training.

The Ancient One

"Ancient One, we must attack now; the psionic will fail," Mordo argued.

She didn't respond, afraid to utter a syllable as she sensed the chill from earlier still lingering on her, attached to her very essence, a threatening feeling when a god has required payment for a debt.

'Did she owe the Shinto goddess? Yes. She did. Her actions to prolong her life had just about caused the end of the realm.' She sighed and opened her eyes, prepared to turn down the ma nonce again, but in a split second, all of the sanctums glared at their mystical shields.

"No! This cannot be. A dimensional breach is imminent." Ancient One roared, jumping to her feet, her earlier fears gone as hundreds of years of training came to the forefront. Kamr-Taj erupted in action as archaic ancient wards glowed with power and had been dormant since the time of the first Sorcerer Supreme.

"Who?" Mordo asked in a hiss as he ran alongside her.

She waved her hands, and the spell form shattered. She cursed for the first time in years as she refocused; mystical energies were still haywire.

She cast her sling-ring, cutting the air in sparks of sheer mystical energies. She gasped, sputtered, and tripped; Wong had caught her, placing an arm around her shoulder.

Soon, a veritable flood of Dark energy permeated the room as a mark appeared on her forehead, signifying her connection to the Dark realm.

As the Dark Lord sensed her actions, she could feel the strain on her soul increase as the flow of Dark energy took its toll on her body and soul, but she could also feel the results of her spells.

She gripped the Eye of Aggamotto. 'Vishanti, protect us.' Time parted as she peered through multiple timelines.

Wong and Mordo stood in awe of what they were witnessing. This was the sorcerer Supreme. Unbeknownst to them, a dark symbol attempted to form on her head. Still, another one, a blue Kanji, superimposed itself atop the dark lord's claimant, albeit weakly, forestalling its power somewhat and giving her a second more to do what must be done.

Though she could see the multiple timelines, she couldn't see his, which made her even more afraid this time. Just who or what was this anomaly that gods shielded him from her?

Wong and Mordo, enraptured in time energies, watched as the world was rewound to a time before the breach. Ancient one stumbled but righted herself and peered through the diverging timelines, her face impassive.

The dimension breach had been halted, but the entities waiting to take the earth remained ready, and she knew that time would come soon. She needed to find the new Sorcerer Supreme; during the time shift, she had been able to see the man who would lead the mystical world.

'Dr. Steven Strange, I hope you are up for the task.'

Alarmed, she turned to see an enraged Mordo slip through a portal. The man turned and glowered at her before the portal snapped closed. Her many years of walking the realm had allowed her to grasp the details of the mountains in the background; an archaic castle sat atop a hill. Mordo had returned home. She had seen the outcome of her actions in using the eye.