Chapter thirty-three.
~~~Third Person, The Pentagon~~~
~~~July 1942~~~
"Mr. President, a telegram from Mr. Stark has just been received, informing us that the rebirth project is ready, only awaiting the approval of the King of Xandar to begin the first attempt, and your arrival in the country". A man of African descent walked into an office where Roosevelt was reading reports from the front lines in Europe.
Having regained the mobility of his legs, Roosevelt was more energetic in dealing with the serious war situation in which the country found itself. Japan was losing more and more ground in the Pacific due to the Xandarian advance into the peninsula. The US could focus on dealing with Hitler and the Axis forces.
"Also, the intelligence office reports that a huge armada is heading towards the Japanese peninsula, at least seventy ships in total, with the Xandarian flag flying and no sign of concealment, apparently they want to make their presence known," the black man spoke again, causing Roosevelt to sigh, "well Isaiah, when you have the power they have, you can strut around without worry, something that is both good and worrying at the same time."
"Sir, have you thought about whether the rebirth project works, will Xandar have access to the serum?" Isaiah asked a little slowly, hesitant to go into said topic, "Well, at this point, we've already entered the lion's den to win this war, I'm afraid we have to break bread, and more so if by the reports are true, Doctor Erskine has been able to improve the serum thanks to the help of the Xandarians."
"I want you to get ready, you will come with me to Xandar, you will be my chosen one for the serum," Roosevelt's comment surprised Isaiah, who didn't know what to say, "but sir, I'm not in the military anymore, and forget that I'm black."
"So?" Roosevelt replied confused, "I don't give a damn what you think, you and I piss the same color, our blood is the same color, and based on Dr. Erskine's requirements, I don't know anyone else who is as honorable, helpful and caring as you, so it's not up for discussion, think about it, if you become the first colored supersoldier, you will create a movement in this country for the acceptance of black people."
"God hear you, sir, God hear you," was Isaiah's comment, then he left to pack his bags. Just in time for the door to be opened by a man.
An African American and slightly overweight man entered the room, momentarily greeting Isaiah, "Dr. Francis," Isaiah greeted him, receiving a nod from 'Dr. Francis' is in the process.
"Oh, Dr. Francis, I've been expecting you," Roosevelt greeted the man, a friendly smile plastered on his face and a sincere greeting. "I understand there have been advances in your nuclear power research."
"Yes sir, we are getting closer and closer to achieving it, I am very excited about it, imagine it, clean and self-sustainable energy, without the worry of continuing to use polluting oil, you could even get to clinical research with the help of energy, the change will be great." The doctor was noticeably happy, and even his big glasses couldn't help but notice the smile on his face.
"Well, that's great to hear, after this war, the thing to do would be to build, and what better way than to start by getting off polluting energy?" Roosevelt commented, sharing the sentiment of seeing a healthy future for the planet as a whole... With America leading the race.
"But there is something important why I called you in the first place, Dr. Francis," Roosevelt set the amiable mood aside and got into the subject at hand," You are aware of our temporal proximity to Xandar, are you not?"
"Yes sir, I understand that the country has ceded control of the Panama Canal and has left the war in the Pacific in your hands," Francis said, mentioning the things that had been relayed to the public.
"Well, it's more than that, but I have first to ask you to sign this," Roosevelt handed a document to Francis, with a bold title with the words confidentiality agreement written large. "The subject I am about to tell you is a state secret, so I hope you will understand my reprimand for leaving everything secure, we cannot have a fleeting of information."
Doctor Francis did not think twice, and after reading the document well, he signed it, "Very well, the country has embarked on a human enhancer project, called the renaissance project, led by Doctor Erskine and Lord Howard Stark, currently both are on Xandar, and both have made significant advances, but it is not this project that I want you to be interested in, but in its range of knowledge and research."
"Mr. Stark managed to make a breakthrough using a Xandarian energy material, called Redstone, the material in the form of red rock dust, which is capable of emitting clean and so far unlimited energy," at this point, Dr. Francis was almost drooling from his mouth, excited to investigate the Redstone spoken.
"This... Redstone is the one that will be used as energy to activate and green-light the project, and I need your knowledge to travel with me to Xandar and check that there is no problem using it for the activation of the machine that will bring the supersoldier to life, it may even help you to advance nuclear energy research."
"You don't have to tell me twice, Mr. President, I will gladly come," Dr. Francis agreed without thinking, eager for research and advancement.
~~~Auschwitz, Poland~~~
"Splosh!"
A small burst of energy was heard in the highly decorated office, with a flash of red smoke appearing out of nowhere, and in the place where there was nothing before, a nightmarish being appeared, with red skin, fangs, and a long, pointed tail swinging from its back.
Azazel seemed to be in a hurry, because the moment he appeared in the office, he looked around for something or someone, and found them sitting in comfortable armchairs in a corner of the spacious room.
"Oh, Azazel, good to know you're back, join the fun, you'd be surprised to know that the awakened boy has been able to start having control of his power, he's young yet, but he'll be strong in the future," Sebastian Shaw, a mutant with the power to absorb ambient kinetic energy, and at the same time be able to release them when needed.
"Shaw, the subject is serious," the soft voice of the beautiful woman sitting in one of the armchairs caught Shaw's attention, causing him to look at her, only to have his eyes glaze over, and his gaze become confused.
The woman, named Emma Frost, was also a mutant. Still, unlike the power of her two roommates, she had telepathy, the gift of entering the minds of others and playing with them, and just now she was using her gift, the moment she detected another mind in the room, she entered her subconscious. Still, she then noticed that it was her comrade in arms Azazel.
But that little instant that was in his head was enough to see what he had seen, and the sight shocked her, frightened her, frightened her, and she wasted no time in showing it to Shaw, who let out a gasp after seeing all that Emma showed him.
"It's beautiful," was all Shaw said, getting up from the couch and walking over to a wine rack, "they're just like us, and they have a whole nation to their name, even the gods are weak before them, before our people."
"When I arrived, the altercation had already started, it was frightening, in all my years of life I had never seen Odin's presence on Earth, he is revered throughout the universe as a being of immense power, but to think what humans, have the power to fight against him, and not only that, make him flee back to Asgard... It's just terrifying." Azazel gave his opinion, and his tone of voice could not hide his fear.
"Do you know anything important about this community called Kamar Taj?" Shaw asked Azazel, the latter, being a being who had lived for thousands of years, was knowledgeable about several important aspects on Earth and beyond, so he was the focus of Shaw's questions.
"I only know that there are three temples, one in the United States, one in London, and the last one in Hong Kong, they are responsible for the protection of Earth from threats from other dimensions, they were the ones who stopped Mephisto's ingress about a hundred years ago, and their leader is the Sorcerer Supreme, and as you saw, he is very powerful."
"Are they like us?" Shaw asked again, and Azazel answered without thinking; "No, they are human, but from what I understand, they get their powers from masterless dimensions, which gives them their gifts."
"What if these Xandarians are not like us?" Emma, who had been quiet so far, decided to speak up, "Azazel has said it, these sorcerers get their powers from alternate methods, not from their own body, from their evolution, what assures us that they are the same?"
"There is no way to know at the moment, at least not for now, that's why we will go now, there is no better sign of recognition, than on your own," Shaw said unexpectedly, taking Emma and Azazel by surprise.
"Are you sure?" Emma asked a little reluctantly, "They just came out of a battle against this... Asgard, I don't think they'll accept our unannounced arrival in a good way."
"They will, you will help us if they get non-homely," Shaw commented with a sinister smile, no concern in his being.