[Age Of Apocalypse] – New Decade, New Situations

* BOOM *

A shockwave reverberated in the air while Val was flying. He had done the work he was meant to do in Poland, and now, he was leaving. He thought, 'One part of my plan is done. Erik and I aren't at odds with each other. We are friends. So, I knew he would help me with Apocalypse. This way, I have introduced an impostor in Apocalypse's ranks. When I give the signal at the correct time, Erik will backstab the Pharaoh, which will help me immensely.

I will take Nina and Magda away tomorrow. Erik and Magda told me they needed at least one day to convince Nina and pack their things. They would stay in my mansion in Queens, New York. They would be safe there. I know for a fact that Apocalypse won't attack my mansion. But, even if he does, he won't be alive much longer. I've placed a trap for villains like him to make my mansion villain-proof and allow me to sleep peacefully without worrying about somebody attacking at night. But.. I don't want that. If it happens, I would be forced to reveal some of my cards that I've hidden from the world deliberately. It's not the right time to reveal that, and I haven't set an unbreakable image in people's minds about me. Plus, it would be lively with Nina and Magda in my mansion since Mystique doesn't live there anymore.

Mystique moved out 5 years ago, a few weeks after the HYDRA sentinel was taken down. She came to me and said that she had been approached by S.H.I.E.L.D. and went to their main base, Camp Lehigh, where she met Peggy. She's so adorable. When she talked about Peggy, her eyes shined like little stars, and she smiled the whole time. She was like a little kid talking about their favorite thing. In fact, it was like that. She told me that Peggy was her idol. Her hero. She had been infatuated with Peggy since she was a kid and wanted to be like her. A superhero. Which she achieved. Also, her brief stint as Jennifer Lawrence was over in 1978. She had been in the Hollywood industry for over 10 years, and with my help, she grew Lawrence Industries. She didn't need to earn money anymore and was bored of it anyway. Also, after the whole thing with Trask, Trask Industries' market value shrunk severely, which helped Lawrence Industries to buy it.

Plus, Mystique told me that S.H.I.E.L.D. gave her the name Agent Red Queen. She had raised her nose proudly when she said to me about that. But.. I've seen her costume, and I have to say, she does look like a Red Queen. The complete outfit was red, except her face, which she didn't cover. Then, she had two gun holsters on either side of her waist. Then, a bow and arrows on her back. She looked incredible.

She could fight. I trained her, and she taught herself a few new tricks. She was an expert in marksmanship and was now a marksman in using bows and arrows. Also, she could shapeshift. She is the perfect spy.

A weird thing that happens is whenever my birthday arrives, and both Peggy and Mystique come to wish me at the mansion, they confront each other. Take last year, for example; I arrived home because Peggy had sent me a message on my Chrono that she needed help immediately, and she was home. I thought she was in some dire situation and hurried home, but when I entered, they both surprised me with a birthday party... with just three of us. It wasn't that I had no friends. I simply didn't tell them when my birthday was. Peggy knew because she's my older sister and I've lived with her for many years. Mystique knew because she saw a happy birthday message on my Chrono a few years back, and she pestered me to tell her when my birthday was.

Anyway, we ate the cake together. We were smiling and laughing, and both of them were teasing me. It was a happy moment. But, when the time for the gifts came... it turned into a competition. They both stuffed the gifts in my face and ordered me to open theirs first. They were glaring at each other, and I swear, if I had used my power, I could see sparks flying between them. I had to use my superhuman intelligence to get out of the situation while pleasing both of them. But I can't lie. It was fun to see them like that.'

Val looked down, and he saw the border of Germany. He sighed and thought, 'If I believe that the canon plot will happen, then Mystique should be in East Berlin along with Angel, Nightcrawler, and Psylocke. Apocalypse would definitely arrive there to make Angel and Psylocke his horsemen. I will arrive there, too. Because I want to fight the Apocalypse and test whether the Apocalypse of this universe differs from the cinematic one. I don't want to fight him at the end and then have a repeat of what happened with the Sentinel. If there's something different with him, then I would change my plan accordingly.'

* BIZZ *

* BIZZ *

Suddenly, the Chrono in his pocket buzzed, and he took it out while flying. It was a message from Mystique, which read - HELP!! NOW!!. Val frowned deeply and saw a bunch of coordinates below the message. When he saw them, he realized the importance of her message and...

* BOOOM *

A huge shockwave reverberated in the air as Val zoomed into the sky.