Embers of the Phoenix Part 1

"Bring it down slowly, slowly!" I cried out, ordering the transport to be placed carefully onto the sand dune. There was no one else around, the Star Lee was beating down on us hard but it wasn't as bad as one would expect when being in the middle of a desert.

It took a long time to get this ready, spent a lot of time and money in the private labs the Broker had rented out for me. Making the microbots took time, and uninstalling and deleting every spy software and virus in the system took just as much time as that place had almost everything inside spying on my every move and copying every calculation.

In the end, I knew I would have possibly missed something, so to throw anyone who looked through the system I installed plans for a secondary project. A new kind of blaster that was twenty times stronger than the galactic standard. Hopefully this would distract anyone who was curious about what I was doing.

The blaster would be easy to make and easy to use, but unless one looked carefully, they wouldn't notice the flaw in the rifle's barrel and it would cause the weapon to heat up and explode. Yup, I was a bitch.

But after a week, it was finally done. I pressed my hand against the container's side and the side opened up causing a tsunami of black small robots to come flooding out onto the sandy ground.

Johnny looked out from the ship's cargo bay and whistled, "think we have enough?"

"I think so," I smiled, reaching down and picking up a single microbot, it had a circular central body with eight robotic legs around it. It was the very cutting edge of the tech I had, the amount of things I built into it, a swiss army knife would be jealous.

Each microbot was around an inch big, black with blue eyes on the front and a small exhaust in the back. The eyes has the very best in spacing sensors and sensor technology, able to scan a kilometer ahead in a spectrum of vision that would make Superman seem blind.

The pincers in the front of its body had laser cutters similar to what Tony used in his Mrk. IV and VIII suits, able to break down virtually any normal material. The first pair of legs served as sonic breaking tools that would further break down any material the lasers would cut out.

The second set were refiners, made to separate the materials into different parts before shoving them into the microbots' body where an internal refinement center was made. This part was difficult to make as it had to be magically expanded to be bigger on the inside, that took magic and that meant I was magically exhausted by the time they were all made.

The internal refinement container would allow any single microbot to carry vast quantities of a single element, process it with internal refinement process to removal further impurities that the sonic refinement process hadn't removed and then be released as a pure and refined product.

Then came the third set of legs which was sonic leveling, which used sound to flatten and put pressure on any flat surface, this allowed the robots to fly for a short distance as well as bind together certain surfaces.

The last set of legs were used in tandem with the back exhaust of the microbot which released a modified form of my own web fluid. This fluid was easy to produce using simple raw materials and worked similar to my own, only it was ten times a stronger binding element than graphene concrete was. The legs would balance the microbot as it released the binding fluid, serving as an all in one construction unit.

"So, do things actually work?" Johnny called out as he jumped down and landed in a burst of flames, "I mean Sue and Wanda were pretty wound up while you did this."

I blinked, "I wasn't gone that long, just a few days. Seven at most."

Johnny shrugged, "yeah well, it's been a test keeping things quiet while you were away doing your best mad scientist bit."

I blinked, "really? Didn't Scott manage things? Did something happen?"

"No, it's just a few of the guys are getting angst," Johnny sighed, rubbing his neck, "they are 'eager to get out there and teach the Shi'ar bastards a lesson', to quote a few of them."

"But they didn't move did they?" I asked quickly, "I told him specifically that we weren't going to attack them for the time being."

Johnny sighed, "I know, I know. He did actually come with a brilliant plan actually, he got in contact with that Broker guy and got them a mission to do to keep themselves occupied."

I raised an eyebrow, "a mission?"

Johnny nodded, "yeah. Something about a lost cargo ship. The pay was good so Scott sent Bill and Carol with a few dozen recruits with a warship and two of those lighter freys after it. Figured it was good credits to our name and a nice sum of units to the coffers."

I had to admit, that was smart. Guess I was right in having Scott be my unofficial second in charge while I was away. Logan or even Carol would have been a better choice given their experience but they were too much of a lone wolf for my taste...kind of like me.

It was also a good move on Scott's part. After capturing those seven warships news of our actions spread like wildfire. Even when I was locked up in that private lab on a remote planet far away I heard how people talked about the Shi'ar Empire planning on retaliating.

Problem was, there was no push back from the people. Since we returned most of their men alive, save a few who wouldn't go quietly, they have mostly treated us as an annoyance rather than a threat, which was exactly what I wanted. Plus the good publicity this mission Scott sent them all on would get us more missions, a better name and maybe more recruits. I doubt the people we have are the only ones with a bone to pick with the Shi'ar Empire.

But right now, the fact was simply that we had no other choice but to keep quiet for the most part. We have seven warships and around 14 smaller ships from Sinthoes but that's about it. Not quite an Armada. But it was something, and I knew unless I gave them an objective right now to perform the people wouldn't stay silent for much longer.

"Scott did the right thing," I finally said, reaching out with my hand and summoning a black box from inside the crate.

"What is that?" Johnny looked over my shoulder as I opened the casing, displaying a black crown inside. It was a simple ringlet with red gems placed around the ring, "ah, dude, a crown? Isn't that a little egotistic?"

"It's a controlling device Johnny," I snorted, pulling the crown and pushing the box aside. I placed the device on my head, immediately a holographic display came alive before me with the readings and HUD of the enetier microbot collective swarm before me.

"Alright, first things first," I looked around, we were in the middle of what could be called the greatest dessert on Archno, around 4 million miles, just a little bigger than the Sahara desert back on Earth. I gave a mental order for the microbots to activate and in a whirl, all seven hundred thousand units came alive.

"What the shit?!" Johnny cried out as he jumped away in shock, watching as the spider like robots moved and began digging into the sand below us. In twenty seconds all seven hundred thousand of them were gone.

"Okay, what was that?!" Johnny cried out in shock, "where did they go?!"

"I sent them into search mode," I explained, pointing at the holographic HUD displayed over my head, "their scanners detected several mineral deposits below us so they've gone to excavate it."

"I see," Johnny replied, looking at the ground with unease, "so right now nearly a million robots are digging up the ground?"

I blinked, "maybe we should move."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," Johnny snorted as he and I flew up onto the transporter ship and looked over the edge, watching as slowly the sand dune we were standing on began to sink into the ground. We watched in awe as the pit became bigger and bigger, until a ping rang out from my headset.

"What was that?" Johnny asked.

"I had uploaded a building structure into the microbot's program, the machines went in searching for the materials needed to build it and it seems they found it," I hummed, surprised at the speed in which they worked.

Soon the swarm of microbots came out of the sand, waiting for my next command. I looked around for a stable place to build the plans I had in mind, sadly though no place seemed suitable. So with a mental command, all the robots moved as one, almost like a sentient wave, flowing across the desert sands.

"Woah," Johnny exclaimed.

"Come on," I ordered as we jumped up and began flying after the microbots. I looked around from above until I saw a large rock structure just up head a few miles from where we began. I ordered the microbots into the valley and they reached as soon as we landed there.

"Begin construction," I gave the verbal command and watched as they moved, breaking apart and evening down the landscape before us. They then began to construe, a whirl of black metal came across us. They started from the basement, inputting the underground pipes and other systems before moving slowly upwards.

I could make out a few details here and there, but they were still moving so fast that before I could identify what exactly was happening they were almost done.

Ten minutes later they moved to the side and stacked themselves up in the shape of a giant cube, moving into standby mode. And in the place of the construction was a house. A plain and simple house.

The house however was perfect. There was no flaws or mistakes in the construction. Johnny and I stepped in and felt a cool breeze, the way the walls were constructed one could feel a breeze come from one corner to the other. Natural ventilation using the movement of the desert winds.

The house was bare of anything wooden and any furniture. But in everything else it was perfect. Three floors, a flight of stairs with a metal banister and a fireplace running up the side of the wall with a chimney coming out the back.

"This is kind of amazing," Scott whistled as he looked around, amazed at what he saw.

"Yeah," I placed my hand on the wall and pushed, taking a fraction of my strength to break the wall apart, "not bad, stronger than most buildings on Earth. Johnny, can you burn it?"

Johnny looked unsure but nodded. I stepped back and he set a wall on fire. After a few moments however the walls remained uncracked and except getting darker, the walls of the house remained standing.

"I totally expected it to crack like clay," Johnny said as he tapped the wall, "if anything it sounds harder than before."

"The impurities have been fully removed," I explained, "and then built back together using some strong fluid...this will do, this will do very well indeed...I think we can officially call this project a success."

"Alright, what now?" Johnny aked.

"Now, we headed back home and begin construction for real," I told him, ordering the microbots back into the container on the supply ship. Storing them and the control crown away we flew back to what soon became the capital of Archno.

Flying down the cloud line I gained a glimpse of the capitol, what the people began calling Avengers Point. Nice name than any, so I didn't mind...also Felicia refused the idea of naming it Awsomeville, honestly, some people have no sense of naming.

We came down at the edge of the city limits and walked in, leaving the microbots behind in our ship. The warships we had managed to capture were patrolling the system, they were much too large to bring down to the surface, but the escape ships from Sinthoe was not as they were placed around the city limits serving as both the sleeping area for the people and as protection.

The 'city' consisted mainly of these ships along with several tents and wooden cabins built near the center. The cabins were used for storing food and as a mess hall, while the tents were mainly for those who didn't want to sleep in the stuff ships, which were many if I was being honest.

As we walked in my appearance drew many people's eyes. Everyone was surprised to see me again after so long, many greeted us with smiles, waving happily, I waved back, though I admit I didn't know all of their names just yet.

Pitched in the middle of the city by the lake side was a large tent inside of which I found Scott and several other members of my team. Wanda, Felicia, Rocket and Gamora were there, each working on something.

"Peter," Sue noticed me as soon as Johny and I entered, "how was the test run?"

"Perfect, the binding compound was used perfectly, I couldn't break it apart without using a fraction of my strength," I replied, tapping away at my SA and sending a file over, "I just sent you the working data, see if you can spot something I missed."

"On it," Sue nodded as she quickly became engrossed with that.

"Where are Drax and Groot?" I asked Rocket.

"Drax is with that Lin kid," Rocket grumbled, "took a real shine to her. Been teaching her how to hunt and fight."

"Well what do you expect?" Gamora asked with a huff, "they are the last of their kind, I'm sure he sees her as the daughter he lost and she him as a father she never had."

Rocket shrugged, "whatever, you mammals are all the same."

"Dude, you're a mammal too you know," Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"Say that again?" Rocket threatened, lifting a socket wrench in warning, to which Johnny raised his hands in surrender.

I turned to Scott and quickly walked over, "so, I heard you sent a squad out on a mission?"

Scott stiffened as he slowly placed the SA he was looking over down, "yeah...about that-"

"-It's fine Scott," I waved away his words, "frankly I think you did the right thing and I did leave you in charge."

"You aren't mad?" he asked.

I shook my head, "no, I'm not. Tell me about the mission."

"It's a simple search and rescue operation," Scott explained, "I figured Bill and Carol could handle anything too strong and unexpected. I have the details if you want."

I looked over the info pack and nodded, finding nothing too out of the ordinary, well, expect the price that is, "this is a large sum for a simple rescue mission."

"I'm not sure, but I think a member of the crew that was lost is someone personally connected to the guy who hired us," Scott explained, "he paid double our asking price on the condition that everyone be brought home safely."

I shrugged, "well, as long as he can pay...anyway, walk with me?" He nodded as we exited the tent and walked around the small community that was Avenger's Point. I looked out and saw the people off duty enjoying themselves, sitting down and talking or playing. Hard to imagine they were once slaves were treated as poorly as the Jewish people of Germany were.

"So, have our guests said anything yet?" I asked about the general and the minister we captured a week ago. I tried to read their minds and extract the information that way, but the Shi'ar Empire seemed to have some kind of inbuilt immunity to psychic attacks. Very annoying and very dangerous.

Scott sighed, "no, they've been silent. Though Dorik is kind of getting on everyone's nerves. He has this habit on insulting...everyone. Wanda broke his finger a few days ago when he made a pass at her...I don't think she feels guilty much."

"I'll talk to her about it," I nodded, "thanks for this Scott. I know stepping up was hard and all...especially with the Gabrielle situation."

"You mean how my long lost baby brother turned out to be a giant prick?" Scott snorted, "honestly, having something to do helps. I think I've processed most of this stuff...all that's left to do is, well, try and figure out how to stop him without killing him."

A flash of memories rose across my mind as I remembered my first encounter with Vulcan and Gladiator, "don't worry, it's going to take a lot to bring down those two...anyway, since the microbots have finally been made I think it's time we finally begin our plans for our city. How long before the squad you sent out to come back?"

"A few days? Maybe more?" Scott guessed, "they should be back within three days by the latest."

I nodded, "good, that means we have time...listen Scott, I'm not much for the day to day tasks, I'm more of a long term kind of guy and right now I have another project that needs my attention."

"Which one?" Scott asked.

"The Phoenix tracker?" I reminded him,"the one the Shi'ar Empire was developing? Well I think I finally figured out how to make it work. I'm going to need a few weeks for this though so I was thinking...maybe for the next few days….you could keep everyone straight?"

Scott nodded, "whatever you need Pete, though ah, before you go into research mode again maybe it's a good idea to talk to everyone? Interact with the troops as it were?"

"Been reading up on military leaders?" I asked with a smile.

Scott shrugged, "you're the one who suggested it."

"Alright, I'm going, keep things smooth and call if you need anything," I wished Scott well and left, looking through the people at Avengers Point to see who to talk to first, before spotting Drax and Li Anna, sitting together by a fire site, skinning what looked to be a local animal.

We began a small bestiary of all the local life forms we found, naming what we could and finding what parts were edible and what wasn't.

Drax took the lead on the hunting trips with Li Anna by his side. I was happy the man found some form of peace, the two sharing a bond of being one of the last of their kind.

Looking around now...I see just what the galaxy has become. Thanos attacks anyone who is alone, be it a system like Gamora's that didn't align with any major empire or a weakened empire. And if not Thanos then they had to deal with assholes like the Kree and the Nova Empire, or god forbid you were conquered by the Shi'ar.

The outer galaxy seemed like a shit place to be, it had its moments, but why did it feel like everyone else expect Earth was a place where the strong preyed on the weak? Did they not have heroes of their own?

"Peter! Come join us!" Drax called out. I smiled and nodded, walking up to him just as he finished carving the last of the animal's hide.

"So, what's this one called?" I pointed at the bipedal beast. It had the snout of a pig by the body of a long rat, very meaty around the body and limbs.

"We call it a Karakoo," Li Anna said proudly, "I hunted it myself."

"And you are a fine warrior for it little eon," Drax nodded in encouragement, turning to me and pulling out one of it's legs, "eat, it's tasty."

I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and took the offered meat. I snapped my fingers and summoned a spark of lightning between them, burning the meat until it began to give a tasty arumo.

I bite into the now cooked meat and hummed, "that is quite good."

"It tastes even better raw," Drax said, biting into another piece violently, blood and loose strands running down the side of his mouth. Li Anna quickly copied his action.

I bite down my disgust, "yeah well, humans have a weaker stomach than your species. We need cooked meat to prevent any indigestion."

"Are all humans so weak?" Drax grumbled.

I shrugged, "we have our ups and downs."

"Why are we talking about directions?" Li asked, confused.

I blinked, "oh, right, sorry, forgot your kind takes things literally. I just meant every human has things they are good at and things the are bad at."

"But not all are as strong as you are they?" Li asked.

I nodded, biting into the meat again, "that is true, not all. But as you can see, we all have our own gifts."

"So you are saying every single one of your race as an ability?" someone else at the carving station asked. I looked around and surely enough a small crowd had formed, all eager to interact with me in some form.

I shook my head, "no, they are rare, but yes, from what I can see my people tend to develop powers more often than other species in the galaxy. Most were in hiding or didn't exist until…"

"Until what?" Li asked, now curious.

I smiled, "until the Avengers were formed." They all looked confused, since in their minds they were the Avengers. I chuckled, and explained, "the name I gave you is actually in honor of the team I served on before venturing out into space. The Avengers were seven heroes, the mightest on Earth at the time. We joined forces and prevented Thanos' army from conquering our planet."

"Seven people stopped The Mad Titan's army?" one teenage alien asked in awe.

I nodded, "yes. But it was difficult."

"Can you tell us the story?" someone asked. I turned to reply that I didn't have time, but stopped myself. I had a crowd and by doing this I would be bonding with the people I would ask to risk their lives for me. A few minutes of my time was a small price to pay.

"Alright," I smiled, sitting down on a nearby crate, making myself comfortable, "I suppose it all began a few months after I gained my powers."

"You gained your powers? How? Were you not born with them?" came a logical question.

"No, you see I had actually gained them by accident. Well...it wasn't really an accident since it was specially coded to only work for my DNA...I think I should begin at the beginning," I sighed, they all sat down around me, eager to listen, and I told them my story.

A few hours later:

Twas the night before I knew it. More and more people joined in on the impromptu story session and soon a camp fire was made in the middle and I sat surrounded by nearly all the people of Avenger's Point.

Felicia was snuggled to my right, my arm around her hips, holding her protectively. Wanda was on my left, it felt awkward at first, memories of the kiss we shared came back to me, but I pushed it away. She sat a little closer than before, nearly touching me, it even gave Felicia pause.

Wanda was never that friendly.

Everyone from my team and the Guardians were here as well. They all sat there listening, listening to me tell them stories of home, of my adventures.

"-And when I woke up...Jean was gone," I sighed, getting to the end of my story, "she had given herself into the Phoenix in order to save us all. So, we came after her, all of us."

"But how do you plan of defeating such a being?" someone asked, "it is a literal Cosmic Entity!"

"Yes, but who said anything about a fight?" I winked, only Wanda understood what I meant. "Now, since the story is over, I suppose it's time for a curfew, Wanda, do your scary voice thing."

Wanda rolled her eyes and got up, her eyes glowed, "if I catch you doing somthign stupid, I'll hurt you." Many grew used to her threats by now, but she still managed to scare the shit out of most of them.

As they all dispersed to their respective sector ships, a loud beep suddenly came out. I tapped my SA and a holographic image of an Avenger recruit came up. He was stationed on one of the many patrolling warships we had captured.

"Sir!" he cried out, "this is the Warship Gamma! We have detected the away team coming back. They sent the verification codes and they check out. Shall we allow them entry into the system?"

I nodded, "do it. And tell Carol and Bill to report to the Liberty as soon as they can."

"Sir, actually, they said they wanted to talk to you directly and that you should, and I quote 'get some extra beds ready as soon as you can'."

I narrowed my eyes, "fine," I dismissed the call and turned to Scott, "think something happened?" He shook his head, clearly hoping that wasn't the case.

We waited by the fields outside the city limits and sure enough, a few moments later the two smaller freighters we sent with them came down. When the ships landed and opened up we were surprised to find Bill leading not the small away team from before, but rather a small village of people that quite frankly looked a lot like him.

"Bill, you found your people!" Tandy cried out in joy as we all quickly joined the now proud cyborg.

Bill smiled, "yes, I did."

"May I ask how?" I spoke up. I looked over at the second craft and sure enough Carol walked out with the rest of our members and a few more of the Korbinite species coming behind her and quickly lining up behind Bill. They were dressed in rags, dirty things that I frankly was sure wasn't cleaned in few days.

The Korbinites were orange skinned bald people with longer limbs and a very potato like face. Bill honestly looked very different from his people, but I could see the resemblance here and there.

Bill nodded, "certainly. The mission went ahead as expected. We tracked the missing trading ship and found they had been captured by pirates."

"Took them out pretty easily, no biggie," Carol smirked, rubbing her finger nails with a smirk, "took like a minute."

"We freeed our client's daughter and then..in the cells, I found my people," Bill turned, looking like he was on the verge of tears, "they had been starved and beaten and...I know I should have told you before bringing them here-"

"-None sense," I cut in, looking at their thin and shivering forms, "they're cold and they need food. Drax," I turned to the man, "do we have enough for them?"

Drax grunted, "more than enough. I personally hunted enough meat to feed several large families."

"We should be careful," Sue advised, "start them with something light, don't want to cause indigestion."

"That won't be a problem," Johnny spoke up, "remember the stuff Bill ate?"

"He is a cyborg."

"Yeah, but...I mean-"

"-Something light for now, meat if they can handle it," I spoke up, cutting off the debate, "Bill have them sit around the campfire. We still haven't built a proper city and I think they are about done with small spaces for now."

Bill nodded, "yes, very much so," he turned to his people and repeated my instructions. They looked unsure, but nodded and moved towards the flame. The people still around the flames looked at them curiously, it took them a second to realise they were refugees as well, and when they began to help.

Curfew was forgotten as we all worked in tandem to make the Korbinites feel at home. We built a tent over their heads and made sure the smoke from the flames had proper ventilation. Food was given and they were shown the nearest stream to bath in if they wanted, and many did want to as they were desperate to wash the grim off their bodies.

By the end of it all everyone, and I mean everyone, was tired. Tired and sleepy. They all went to bed, I promised Felicia to meet her and sent her away too, the only ones left awake were a few patrolling guards, Bill and me.

I walked up besides him, stood like a towering gaurd looking over his sleeping people. Silent, watchful.

"You should sleep," I told him, "they are safe for tonight."

"I failed them once, I will not do so again," Bill whispered before turning me, "for tonight? What do you mean? I thought...forgive me if I was mistaken Peter but did you not promise a planet for my people?"

"That was before said planet belonged to a system that was in open defiance of a galactic Empire," I replied, "the Shi'ar Empire will find us one day, and when they do I….I don't want your people going through such hardships again. I'll help you buy a solar system of your own, you can make a proper home for them there. But until then, they are more than welcome to stay here with us."

"I see...I understand, thank you for offering your home all the while," Bill replied, a little too sharply for it to be genuine.

I sighed, "Bill, you have to understand, we're starting a war here and I don't want to pull your people into it...they have been through enough."

"You see these people before you and think them broken Peter of Earth?" Bill asked, turning to me with the fire in his eyes that I remember seeing before when we first met, "you think my people weak? They are not. They are not fodder in war or victims...let me speak to them in the morning, they will tell you what they think of this war you have begun...and I promise you, it will be not what you expect."

He turned and I knew I wasn't getting anything else out of him. He was focused on his duty, and I understood that. I patted his shoulder and walked away, sparing a glance at his people and scanning their surface thoughts for any irregularities.

Oddly enough, instead of mostly loathing and self pity I found...gratitude and joy. Maybe I really did judge them harshly.

I walked back to the Liberty and went down to my room. Without bothering to knock I walked in and found Felicia on the bed waiting for me. I smiled sadly and she knew immediately something was wrong.

"Get in," she ordered. I turned my UMF suit into a loose fitting set of boxers, tossed the Thriller jacket aside and climbed in, snugglinging in close by Felicia's side. She held my head in her arms, pulling my close as she did, "you want to talk about what happened?"

"I told Bill having his people here would put them in danger," I sighed, "told him I didn't want them hurt, even offered to buy another system, for them...didn't seem to like it."

"You know...if you're going to be a leader of people, you can't get upset everytime someone doesn't like what you say," Felicia smiled, running her fingers through my hair, "I mean, Fury," I growled, "for all his faults," she added, "was a dick to everyone but a few people. And he managed just fine."

"His organization was inflitrated by a Nazi sympathising agency and he didn't know until a seventeen year old told him so…." I added.

"...Yeah, I suppose...but my point still stands. Sometimes, you need to be the mean guy to get people to respect you. I know you can do that, I've seen you do it several times."

"But it was to people I didn't know or generally didn't like...Bill is a friend and I feel bad breaking a promise..."

"I'm sure after sometime, he'll come to understand. Problems for another day Tiger," she leaned down and kissed me, "now, can we discuss why Wanda is being so close with you?"

I sighed, "she….I think she grew a little worried after seeing my injured so badly...she kissed me on the cheek."

Felicia's eyes went wide, "and you didn't tell me?"

"Honestly? Still trying to process it a little," I shrugged.

Felicia hummed, "do you think she's finally gives into her destiny?"

I chuckled, "about having kids with me? I'm not sure if she's that kind of woman Kitten..besides," I leaned up and kissed her, "until we get Jean back, all of that is on hold."

Felicia smiled, "I know, but," she pushed me down before straddling me and bending over. Her claws seeped into my chest and she began rubbing against me, "right now, I'm feeling a little...rowdy. Care to help?"

I smirked, "with pleasure," she shrieked in pleasure as I pushed her down, throwing the covers over us. The stress of the day just washed away with every second I spent with her, our screams muffled by being closed over each others body parts.

An hour later:

I was wide awake. Felicia was asleep on my chest and lightly snoring. Her hair was a mess, I took a strand and played with it between my fingers, thinking of nothing.

I couldn't sleep. There was too much work to be done. I carefully pulled away from Felicia, replacing myself with a large pillow for her to hug. Planting a final kiss on her forehead I walked out of the room and to my lab.

I sat down on the seat I grew accustomed to calling my 'Idea Chair' and pulled up the schematics for the city Bill had proposed.

"Sexy, analyse the city plans with the microbots measurement program and find out how much material we would need to build it," I gave the command, taking off my Thriller jacket and putting it on my table, rolling my arms.

"Done, I've put up the needed material now," the AI replied, displaying everything I would need to build the city.

"Alright, now use the scans we have of the smaller freighter ships and the warships we have on hand and tell me how many of them would we need to make the city?"

"You mean how much material the city would require being recycled from the ships?"

"Exactly?"

"There are several materials that are not present as an exact match, but there are suitable replacements for them. Shall I use them instead in my calculations?"

I hummed, "what are the materials we don't have?" Looking at the screen I saw that it was basic things like copper or rubber, but the ships had their own insulation agents and wires that severed a hundred times better than what was needed. More of an upgrade than anything.

"Go ahead," I replied. And in seconds the calculations were done.

"It would require one war ship and three smaller galleys to make the city proposed Peter," Sexy replied, "but we will have a lot of leftover materials which frankly seems like a waste."

"Find a way to use the material, don't want to waste anything we can use," i hummed, leaving the system alone to do the calibrations before turning to the project with really interested me, the Phoenix tracker.

I narrowed my eyes, from their records, it seems the Shi'ar were tracking the Phoenix for a long time, even before Jean got possessed by it. They had centuries of data, but for some reason only recently were they able to successfully track the creature.

The dat however was...missing key information. Like how the energy signature of the Phoenix was able to hide itself despite being so powerful. Or even how it worked, because there is no research here on how exactly said Phoenix is as strong as it is.

One would think when researching your greatest enemy you would try to take into account all their powers and how they work but apparently the Shi'ar Empire is more interested in tracking and killing the Phoenix rather than trying to understand it.

Their greatest issue however was a lack of raw data. They didn't know what they were looking for... neither did I.

I needed a fresh Force signature, something I could track something...I got it.

I closed my eyes and developed into my mindscape. Turning to the Lightning Forest of Franklin Richards powers I searched near the base where the power was pinned down. Where Jean saved my life.

And there, around the lightning and under the Dark Tower, embers of what they were before, was a trace of the fires of Jean's telepathic powers. Phoenix embers, old, just a touch, but raw and pure. I had a sample size, I had something the Shi'ar EMpire never did or will, I had been touched by the Phoenix and saved by her.

That had to count for something right? This was a step in the right direction. I now had a stepping platform to begin my search...but it was going to take a while...a long while.

1 month later:

"Peter! A little help over here!" Quill cried out.

I looked up from the metal box I had on my lap and raised an eyebrow, "Quill, you should stop talking to yourself."

"Ha ha, very funny! I'm serious! Get your ass over here!" Quill cried as he activated his jetpack, flying away just in time to avoid getting slapped across the platform by the giant tentacle of the monster we had been hired to kill. Looked like a naked mole rat crossed with a squid and a shark.

I rolled my eyes "I believe in you guys. Plus, what does it say about you if I have to bail you out every time?"

"It says that you are a caring leader who doesn't treat his people like dogs to be trained!" Gamora cried out, firing several blaster bolts into the interdimensional monster's hide, though they barely slowed it down.

I rolled my eyes and ignroed them. Like the in the begining of Gaurdians 2, the Sovergin, the race of fancy golden skinned blond super people, hired us to protec their stupid battieries. Obiously I knew my team of Gamora, Quill, Drax, Rocket and Johnny could handle it, leaving me free to work on my project.

The Phoenix tracker project had finally given fruit, in the form of the metal box I now held in my hands. It looked very much like a rubix cube with a silver colouring over its surface, displaying on it several star patterns and symbols.

After a month of work, using the embers in my mind as a base, I was finally on the edge of completing the system, which is why I didn't want to wait until after the mission to finish it. I tightened the last sensor inside, slide the top shut before turning it on.

"Die space monster!" Drax cried as Johnny threw him onto the beast's head.

The silver cube began to glow, sending out energy waves that would identity the Phoenix's signature no matter where it was in the galaxy. It took a moment, but suddenly, the far side of the cube changed, turning from silver to orange, before creating darker and darker colours, like shades on a deep pound.

"Sexy?" I asked.

"The tracker is working according to plan...extracting information as we speak and….it seems the device has located several streams of energy matching the Phoenix," the AI displayed the energy signatures on a galactic map with little spots of red here and there to show where the Phoenix had been.

I narrowed my eyes, "ignore the energy in my own mind," I ordered, making one red dot vanish, "now remove the ones on Prevor - 2344 and also anything which matches or is weaker than the intensity of these two readings."

These were likely places the Phoenix visited or touched, a red herring if you will. I then looked at the dots going around the galaxy, "now, show me the location with the highest energy reading."

The map began to shrink as it moved to a galaxy system a few hundred light years away, showing a burning bright marker. "Gotach. Record this location and calculate how long it would take to reach this location Sexy, hurry."

"Doing so now...it would take approximately-"

CRASH!

Drax came flying at my. I sent out a giant psionic arm and grabbed the man, "Hey! Watch it!" I snapped, "I'm working here."

"It is a worthy challenge!" Drax cried in joy, "I will take great enjoyment in killing it! Li Anna will love it's teeth! Quick, toss me into its mouth!"

"What? Why?"

"It's hide is too thick to cut form the outside! So I shall go inside and cut it from there!"

"That is the stupidest thing I 've ever heard. The hide will be the same inside as it is outside. Just cut it's eyes Drax, gods."

"Just do it Spider!"

I rolled my eyes, "just don't die." I tossed him away, sending him flying at the monster who swallowed him whole in one bite.

"Parker?! What the hell man?!" Quill cried as he landed before me.

I shrugged, "he wanted to kill it from the inside. Something about being easier than cutting its hide."

"That's stupid! The hide will be the same inside or out!"

"That's what I said. But he didn't listen. Aim for its eyes or something, shoo," I motioned him to leave. Quill grumbled, shaking his head and took off, ordering Rocket to fire at his eyes while Gamora and Johnny took aim at a shallow cut the beast had on its neck.

I turned back to the tracker, "continue."

"Right...according to this, the Phoenix is located just two hours away from our current position or twenty five hours from the Marvel system. It's a planet called Birj, a moon of the gas giant Marman."

I groaned, "I haven't heard much about this place...tell me, does the system lay under any Empier's jurisdiction?"

"Yes, the Shi'ar Empire lay claim over it, but it rests on the edge of their border," my faithful AI replied.

I nodded, "I see...hiding under the enemies' nose, clever girl. Alright then, send a message home, tell everyone of the original Avengers team to ready themselves and come to Birj via The Liberty. Tell them to bring two war ships with them, we might need the backup."

"You wish for them to come on their own? What about you?"

"It would be a waste of time to go back home, it's pretty close by after all. Tell them we'll be going ahead and to catch up when they can."

"Do you intend to leave right away? What about your current mission?"

I turned to the monster, it had Gamora on one tencale, though it was missing six more, reduced to stumps form the woman's blade. Quill had burned out one of it's eyes and Johnny was frying it from the outside. Rocket did his best with his guns but I suppose this went on long enough.

I held out my hand and formed a psionic bullet. I closed my fist into a gun and flicked it upwards.

Pew!

It shattered the sound barrier and blasted through the monster's skull, ripping out the other end. Everyone turned to look at me and then the monster. It moved, swaying from side to side before suddenly falling forward, dead.

I snapped my fingers, summoning a psionic blade, cutting into beast's back, pulling it apart with a pair of giant pliers. Drax stood up, covered with it's stomach contents, panting, "did I kill it?"

Quill sighed, "Drax… yeah, you killed it. Good job buddy, your plan totally worked."

"I knew it! I am victorious once again! Come friends! Embrace me!" he threw his arms in a welcome.

"We're good, thanks," Johnny raised his hands in surrender.

"We'll be leaving immediately," I told Sexy, "so tell home base to leave ASAP as well, it's better to have numbers when venturing into Shi'ar space. Peter out," I put the tracker cube away and turned to my allies, "alright, not bad."

"You know, you could have just done that and saved us the trouble," Rocket grumbled, putting his gun away.

"If I did that, then you all wouldn't gain the team training you so clearly need," I held out my hand.

Rocket looked at it, "what? What you want?"

"The batteries you are trying to smuggle in your satchel," I pointed to said pack on his hip, "they hired us to protect the batteries, not steal them."

Rocket scoffed, folding his arms, "I don't know what you're talking about." I narrowed my eyes, glaring him down. It took a few seconds before he returned, "fine! Fine, alright, here," he dug in and brought out the bright glowing batteries, placing them in my hand, "boy scout."

"Hey, I'm not as straight and narrow as that," I said, telepathically sending the batteries back into the docks, "I just don't think making an enemy of the Sovereign is a good idea."

Rocket rolled his eyes, "oh what are they going to do? Talk us to death?"

Some time later:

"God, they might actually talk us to death," Rocket said in a low growl as Ayesha, the leader of the Sovereign, approached the half an hour mark of her speech on why the mission given to us was the most important thing since the creation of the universe.

Honestly, the way she phrased it, we should be the ones grateful for having been given the privilege of helping her people.

"...so you see Master Parker, your services to us, are in truth service to the greater future of the entire galaxy itself," Ayesha said with a smile, "after all our-"

"-Please, you humble us with your words" I bowed, straining a smile, "and we thank you for your patronage. As agreed, the monster has been slayed, your Anulax Batteries are all accounted and all done without a single life of your people lost. As agreed."

"So all you have to do is just pay us and we'll be on our way," Quill added, with a flirty smile at the high priestess.

The woman caught the smile and flashed one of her own, "I must admit, when I first heard of your little mercenary group, I was intrigued. You are lead by a terran, an inferior race, and one so young at that," she smiled at me.

I raised an eyebrow, "am I to assume that's a compliment of my aching so much despite my genetic inferiority?"

Ayesha nodded, "exactly. You...Avengers, are an oddity in the galaxy. First you defend Xandar from the Mad Titan's forces, then you attack and free the civilians of the Shi'ar Empire-"

"-If they were civilians how could we free them?" Johnny cut her off with a glare, "they were slaves, not equal civilians."

Ayesha snorted, "as far as we are concerned all those below us are inferior, might as well be slaves. What does it matter? After all, people like you, your existence is so...primitive."

I could almost feel everyone's anger, and the Sovereign's enjoyment. I stepped forward and in my clamest voice said, "our price."

Ayesha nodded, "yes," she waved her hand and two gaurds came forward, and with them was a blad blue skinned woman with a missing arm, bound in chains.

"I understand she is your sister?" Ayesha asked, eyeing Gamora who slowly stepped forward.

"Nebula," Gamora hissed. I turned to her and nodded, she immediately came forward and grabbed her sister by the arm, leaning in and whispering, "we have much to discuss."

"I have nothing to say to you," Nebula hissed as Gamora dragged her away.

"Our soldiers apprehended her attempting to steal the batteries," the golden woman continued, "do with her as you units you are owed have already been sent," Ayesha said, folding her arms, "now, is that all?"

I nodded, "yes, that is all, we thank you high priestess Ayesha," I turned and walked, morning my team to leave as well. But before we stepped out of the hall I stopped and turned, facing the Sovereign court once more, "although, I have one question, if you would be kind enough to answer."

"That depends on what it is about?" Ayesha replied.

"It is about the value of perfection," I replied. Ayesha looked surprised, motioning me to continue, "tell me...has a single member of your Sovereign empire ever done anything worthwhile?"

Ayesha look blistered, "you see the technological marvel around you, do you not? You have seen the batteries-"

"-If I am correct your race has existed for around 10 million years yes?" I cut her off, "of which, the last three thousand years you have been reproducing through artificial methods with a set genetic code in mind, yes?"

Ayesha nodded, "and your point?"

"My point, is in that time, I have never heard once of a Sovereign do anything worthwhile. Sure, your technology is amazing, but what have you done with it if not sit hobbled up on your planet to afraid to go out and explore? Too afraid to take care of a pest problem, instead choosing to hire mercenaries" spitting the term, "to help you while it would have taken yourselves, what? Five minutes to kill the beast?"

"A life of a Sovereign cannot be risked under any circumstance," the Priestess told harshly, "I will not risk a single life of my people."

"And in doing so, you forever seal yourselves to a life of mediocrity. My own inferior race, as you put it, has lived for a quarter of the time your race has. But in that time, we have produced not just people of incredible intellect, but people who have shifted the very balance of the galaxy. As you said yourself, we kicked the Mad Titan's ass. We, so if we did that, and we are still such an inferior race, imagine what your own people can do, if they had but the balls to try."

"Is that a challenge?"

I shrugged, "it's a fact. Your people are stagnant, no risk, no reward. A Sovereign will never have their name uttered in the annals of history like that of Thanos or the Phoenix itself. No...if anything, your race will be nothing but a footnote," I turned and walked away.

One soldier came forward, his trigger finger itching to be pulled. I eyed him for a second, forming Godzilla's features around my body with psionic energy, intimidating him enough to stop. I eyed everyone in the room before turning and leaving. Godzilla growing a little before vanishing.

We got into the Milano and took off. Rocket turned to me from the pilot's chair and raised an eyebrow, "what was that about?"

"They reminded me of Nazi's," I sighed, "people who killed and slaughtered millions of others simply because they belived they were superior….guess I let my anger get the best of me."

"You're lucky they didn't kill you," Quill spoke up, "the Sovereign are a very prideful race, they have murdered cities for less."

"They saw us fight the beast, they wouldn't dare," Drax snorted, "we would have crushed their pretty little heads."

I sighed and nodded, "Drax is right...anyway," I turned, Nebula was made to stand, chained to a support beam to the side, "Nebula...you are wanted by Xandar for your crimes committed while under the command of Ronan the Accuser."

Her eyes shifted to Gamora, "she spilled just as much blood as I did, and yet she is forgiven?"

"I repented for my actions by fighting against Ronan," Gamora spoke up, "and in doing so I was absolved of my sins."

"But not the blood on your hands, sister," Nebula spat.

"Which brings me to the two options before you," I spoke up before a sibling fight sprang out, "you have two choices as far as I can see Nebula...one, we hand you to the Nova Corps and walk out with the bounty on your head. Which admittedly is a lot and is very tempting. Or two...I offer you the same deal I offer Gamora."

"What?!" Gamora shipped to me, clearly shocked.

"What deal?" Nebula asked.

"You're end goal is to kill Thanos, yes?" I asked.

"And?"

"I founded the Avengers with the goal of having an army to oppose the Mad Titan," I explained, "so, if you join, you'll be on the front lines."

"I don't want to be on the front lines, I want him dead now!" Nebula hissed, "let me go and I'll do it myself."

"How? You have no army, no resources," I looked at her robotic stump, "and one arm."

Nebula growled, "I have my ways."

"I'm sure…. But take a while and think, do you want to do this alone? Or do you want an army by your side?" I asked, turning to Johnny, "tie her around the supporting beam in the cargo bay."

"Right," Johnny said nervously, turning to Nebula, who looked ready to kill him, "put the robotic assassin in the cargo bay, totally no chance of her escaping."

I shook my head as Johnny took her away, still a little afaird of her, which was stupid considering he could literally explode into fire whenever he wanted.

"You are offering her a place on our team?!" Gamora spat the moment Nebula left.

"Yes, you don't approve of?" I asked.

"No! She is a murderer, deceitful and traitorous vile woman! You cannot trust her Peter!" Gamora snapped at me with more rage than I expected.

I looked at her calmly, "fine, then what do you suggest we do? Give her to the Nova corps? Where will they put her? In the Kyln? Remember when you were there? You would have died in a week. Do you want your sister's head delivered to you again in a month's time?"

Gamora looked conflicted, "we still cannot trust her."

"I know," I nodded, "she will betray us the first chance she gets I have no doubt of that, but she will never give up the chance of fighting her father. Thanos is her destiny, she lives only for his death...and maybe yours. So...maybe you and your sister need to talk?"

"There is no talking to that woman, you don't know her like I do," Gamora hissed, turning around and walking away.

"Where are you going?" Quill called out.

"To keep an eye on the blue bitch! If she hasn't killed dJohnny already," Gamora hissed.

"Wow she really doesn't like her sister huh?" Rocket asked, snorting in amusement.

"I think it's a family thing," I sighed, leaning into the navigations seat, setting in the coordinates for Birj, "if I was raised by a genocidal maniac who wanted to destroy half of all life then I think I would turn out much worse then those two."

"Hey Parker, these coordinates, they are on the edge of Shi'ar space," Quill turned back, "you sure about this?"

"I am," I replied, leaning back, silent. Quill shrugged his shoulders and set course, slipping into warp the moment we were out of the Sovereign's atmosphere.

My mind was spinning, Jean...after eight months I would finally be able to see her again. Eight months of training, hardships and battles, in the end it would all be worth it.

Two hours later:

We came out of warp and below us was the moon Birj. My team was gathered in the cockpit and were looking down at the planet. Even Gamora was here, though she still looked pissed.

Birj was a mix of green and yellow, looking like a dying planet in the process of turning into a dessert. It was orbiting Marman, a greyish yellow gas planet with seven other moons around it.

"So your friend if somewhere down there huh?" Rocket asked with a snort, looking at the planet, "she chose a hell of a place to hide. No one would think anything important would ever come from down there."

"Parker, I'm not sure this is a good idea," Quill spoke up, "I mean, I'm all for finding lost friends and what not, but this is Shi'ar space, we can't stay here for long otherwise they will spot us and Genine will be in trouble."

"Jean, her name is Jean," I corrected him with a sigh, "and yeah..you're right. So here's the plan, we split into two teams. One stays here and take the Milano away and hides until reinforcements come, which should be around twenty three hours. Hopefully by that time I and the ground team will have found Jean and we can extract her before the Shi'ar empire even realises we were here."

"I'm staying," Gamora said before promptly leaving for the cargo bay.

"Maybe I should too," Quill said slowly, "make sure they don't kill each other."

I nodded, "good idea."

"I ain't going down there," Rocket spoke up, "the scanners say it's hot as heck down there and my fur makes me more of a winter guy. Trust me, you don't want to be with me while I'm sweating."

"Guess that means it you, me and Drax," Johnny said quickly.

I turned it Drax, who shrugged, "I do not mind. I will help you find your friend."

"Alright then," I took out the Phoenix tracker and activated it. Looking through the scans I identified the closest approximation for the Phoenix force, "Rocket, take us down on the North Western hemisphere."

"I'm picking up some kind of city there, I'll put you down on the outskirts," Rocket grunted as we dove into the planet's atmosphere, quickly flying towards the location indicated on the tracker.

Johnny, Drax and I quickly went to the cargo bay where Nebula and Gamora were currently engaged in a staring contest. When we came they shot up equally hostile looks before ignoring us, returning to their sisterly bonding.

The cargo bay doors opened and a gust of hot air rushed in. Sand was blown inside and the heat of the star bathing the planet made everything feel hot.

"It's very hot," Drax stated the obvious as we walked out.

"I know," I had my UMF suit transform into a pair of beige robes with a light fabric build, similar to what travelers of the Sahara desert would wear. Johnny mimicked my choice in clothing, having his own suit change, while Drax just stood there, shirtless as always.

"You're going to get a sunburn big guy," Johnny said, "you sure you don't want to grab a cloak of something?"

"I will not burn, the star is too far away for it to hurt me," Drax grunted, puffing his chest in pride. Johnny and I shared a look before shrugging.

I tapped the communicator in my ear, "Rocket, you read me?"

"Loud an clear," came the reply.

"Good. Take off and keep this line open. We'll contact you as soon as we made contact. Hopefully, we can get Jean out of here without any trouble."

"Sure, whatever," Rocket replied, closing the bay doors and turning. My eyes winded as I realised what he was about to do, a quick hand motion later and a psionic shield formed around Johnny, Drax and I. A second after it did Rocket kicked the thrusters, causing a cloud of sand to come at us, only to be deflected by a shield.

"I hate that racoon," Johnny growled as he flipped the Milano the middle finger.

I shook my head, "he has his charms," taking out the Phoenix tracker I held it around before pointing it south, which garnered the biggest reaction, "that way."

"Isn't that where the city the animal detected is located?" Drax asked, looking at the silver box curiously.

I nodded, "yeah, it would be smart to assume Jean is hiding with the people. Come on." We walked under the scorching desert heat, Johnny and Drax were deep into a conversation about metaphors, Johnny trying once again to help the aliens understand their hidden meanings.

I however had my mind occupied with other thoughts.

Jean. If she's hiding, does that mean she somehow gained control over the Phoenix? The Phoenix would never hide, never worry about the consequences for its actions. No, that was a human thing to do. If Jean is back...why didn't she come home?

I had so many questions to ask her, but first...I would hold her in my arms and not let go until we reached Archno. I would be damned if I let her get away from me again.

Soon the empty desert horizon gave way to a gigantic wall and towering watch towers lining it. It seemed the city Rocket had detected was...well, more like a fortress.

We hide behind a sand dune and watched several people come out and go in. Most traveled in floating platforms, with one person at the head and several other in the back. Observing their clothes I realised they all wore white robes with brown leather straps around their joints and hips.

The people themselves looked vaguely human, though they had grey skin and generally looked bigger than humans.

"We need to change clothing and slip past the guards," I spoke, altering Johnny's and my clothes into the something that matched the natives.

"And they notice we aren't giant grey behemoths?" Johnny asked.

I snapped my fingers, casting a glamour charm over all three of us. "What magic is this?" Drax asked, looking down at his now grey skin, "Peter, give me back my body!"

"Simple glamor buddy, you're still you underneath," I lifted the charm, "see?"

Drax looked at his hands and sighed, "good, I was afraid you turned me into something hideous. Like Johnny."

"Hey!"

"Metaphor," Drax smiled.

"That's not a metaphor!"

I sighed, putting the glamor back on and moving ahead. I kept my head down, walking ahead of Johnny and Drax, who continued to bicker like an old married couple.

"You told me a metaphor is a hidden meaning within words."

"Yes, but that's not-ugh! You just don't understand!"

"You are a poor teacher!"

"Enough!" I hissed at them, "both of you shut up! Put your heads down and don't draw attention to yourselves! Or I swear to every living God I will fucking shove you both neck deep into the desert and keep there permanetly until we finish this mission!" They flinched before doing just that. I sighed, rubbing my eyes, it's times like this when I miss working alone. So much more effective.

We reached the gate to the city, we kept our heads down, Drax did look up, eyeing the guards, but we managed to get past unharassed. We walked down the main road, my eyes wandering around.

The city looked to be broken down and just as sandy inside as it was outside. The roads were mud and cracked from the heat. The buildings looked to be made out of hard sand and wood, which made me think the level of technology on this planet was lower than that of Earth's.

"Vegetables for sale!"

"Fresh water! Get it now before it's gone! Absolutely no sand!"

"We must be in the market," Johnny noted correctly, looking at all the open stalls lined up on either side of the road.

"Stay close, we can't afford to get separated," I told them as slowly the road began to get crowded with people. I looked down at the tracker and it was pointing me deeper into the crowd, from what I could tell the marketplace was only getting denser the further inside we went.

"How much further?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know, it's more of a hot and cold then than an exact tracker," I replied.

"That kind of sucks."

"You want to try and build a detects radiations that hasn't been recorded or tracked anywhere in the known galaxy?!" I snapped, Johny threw his hands up in surrender, "that's what I thought."

"Come quick Ty! It's time for the witch's hanging!" a group of children that passed us by called out, dragging their smallest member along as they headed in the direction where the tracker said Jean was.

"Peter," Johnny looked at me, "when they said witch, you don't think they meant..."

"We need to hurry," I told him, "follow me and stay close," I took off, pushing my way through the crowd. Many grunted and a few yelled, but I ignored them all. I kept pushing through, making my way through the seven foot tall crowd of people, until I broke through the masses, and leaned against the giant fence before me.

Inside the giant circular fence were dozens of guards surrounding a raised platform, metal by the looks of it. A man native to the land stood in center stage, dressed in red and blue robes. He was bald with a straight black beard and a war axe in hand with a glowing red edge.

"My people!" he began, just as Drax and Johnny managed to reach me, "we have been invaded by a threat from beyond the sky and the glittering gems of night! A rouge that tried, and failed, to assassinate me, your champion, while I slept!"

"BOO!" the people cried out, hissing and cursing. The man raised an arm and immediately silence fell upon the people.

"However she was foolish to think she could do something so unholy and not have the very gods themselves come to stop her actions!" the man continued, "through divine intervention I live! Standing before you as your king! And today, the criminal shall met her fate!"

He stepped aside and a mass of red hair appeared behind him, bound and chained under links three times bigger than her head. She was kneeling, her legs pressed under large restraints that were bolted to the stage and her arms crossed behind her neck, cuffed to the collar around her neck.

I gasped, worry flying into my soul. "Jean?" I whispered. But then the woman raised her head, the crowd of red hair that flowed down her scalp gave way to a hard and sharp face unlike Jean's soft features.

"Any last words assassin?" the man asked as he raised his axe and held it with both hands.

The woman snarled, her pupiless eyes echoing flames that were burning just under the surface, "I am no assassin! I am no hider of the shadows! I am the execution of justice! The thrall of liberty and virtue! I am Angela of Heaven and I will not die today Tyros of Dirk! Your tyrannical reign will end today!"

Tyros smiled, "you and what army? And if you are an angel from the realm of heaven, where are you wings?"

The woman flinched, "I do not need wings to end you." I held up my tracker, it was pointing squarely at the red haired woman on the platform who was most assuredly not Jean Grey. She continued, "I am fire! I am not one to be held by chains! I am your death!"

A flash of fire exploded out of her body, but not before a visible shock went into her through the chains to the platform. "Enough of you," Tyros hissed, "I have given you your last rites of words. Now, face the consequences for your actions," he raised his axe, "Angela of Heaven, pray to your god."

She growled, spitting a wad at his face. Tyros smirked, wiping the spit away. He held it over his head, moving to bring it down.

I pressed my hand against the metal fence and sent a blast of psionic energy into it, ruptering it apart. Before anyone could gasp in shock, I was already moving, leaving Johnny and Drax behind.

The axe came down over Angela's head, she hadn't turned to look away from her death. No, she was looking right at it, almost daring it to draw blood.

Skit!

My stingers ripped across the handle. I sent a kick into Tyros' gut, blasting him off the stage and into the arms of one of the many guards stationed around us.

I focused on the chains around her arms and legs. With my telepathic powers I focused on their hindges and pulled, shattering them, breaking her free.

Tang!

The metal rang out, hitting the stage and falling away. I held out my hand and said the only thing I knew I could think off, "come with me if you want to live."