Yelena's POV
I wish I could say it was hard. The Widows and I coordinated with SHIELD and got Bruce, Betty, and all of their immediate friends and families relocated and protected before we went after Aldrich and the rest of his co-conspirators.
The assassins were easier to suss out with SHIELD handling the tech side of things, and with us on the street canvassing minds. Kitty and Scott pitched in too.
All in all, we captured seven of them. A few posed as Bruce's neighbors. One of them had even been posing as his pharmacist, feeding him laced prescription pills for weeks to mess with his hormones in preparation for this.
Then we went after Aldrich's chief of security next, some guy named Wendall Xao, who also happened to be employed by Biodyne. It saved us the trouble of looking into the company separately.
We had Aldrich in custody before lunchtime and snagged the CEO of Biodyne as well. She was a brilliant biologist named Amanda Choo and was, apparently, the mind behind the new Super Soldier Serum. Aldrich had bought a controlling interest in her company and had essentially dragged her into his plot, kicking and screaming.
The excuse sounded awfully convenient, considering how much she stood to gain from it, but it was the truth.
Aldrich, predictably, threatened us with a lawsuit and prosecution, but the girls and I weren't bothered. His lawyers would have to find us first.
By the time the seven o'clock news rolled around, our heroics, believe it or not, weren't the most interesting thing that happened all day. Magneto had called a press conference and announced Project Krakoa, riding on our very public success.
"Throughout my long life as a mutant, it has become abundantly clear to me that humanity and mutantkind cannot coexist. Plots and counterplots. Extremism on both sides, and politicians and money men pitting us against each other to turn a profit, to wage war. No more. Mutants the world over, I have created a sanctuary—a nation where you won't have to hide in the darkness or be afraid to show everyone just how special you are. It will be governed fairly by your kind, and it will be called Krakoa."
The media erupted into a feeding frenzy. They found the proposed island nation within minutes. It was where Kiribati used to be—a stretch of islets that had been becoming increasingly uninhabitable due to rising sea levels—but Magneto had changed all that seemingly overnight, raising the chain of islands and expanding its territory into a massive landmass nearly half the size of Texas. He'd imported sand, soil, and even rock formations from seemingly nowhere.
And the media heads couldn't decide if they were impressed or outraged. There were extensive references to Magneto's past attacks and sweeping claims that the new island had clearly been coerced from the people who lived there, even after several government officials came forward to refute those claims.
What the media collectively agreed on, however, was that Magneto was painting a massive target on his back. No superpower or sovereign nation would be happy about this. He was poaching future assets, and there was next to nothing they could do to stop him legally without publicly losing face. But with stakes this high, I didn't think that mattered much to them.
I wondered how they'd respond.
"Not bad at all, old-timer," I hummed as I sipped my cocktail. "Almost makes up for stealing our thunder like that."
I was at some swanky hotel bar, absently watching the news.
Emptying my glass, I rose to my feet and paid the bartender. My new assignment was on the move.
—
Dante's POV
"You're just letting us go? Just like that?" Gamora asked on the mostly empty bridge. Only Michael, Peter Quill, and the mute, floating Nebula remained. She'd proven entirely uncooperative, hurling slurs at me, screaming, and doing her best impression of a feral cat. Consequently, I'd been forced to add a gravity rune to the small array I'd already scratched into the metal floor and let her tire herself out.
Gamora, on the other hand, had been much more reasonable. She told me everything I needed to know—what ships were worth keeping or scrapping, what to expect from Thanos's former enemies, and the galaxy at large.
And honestly, it was a bit worrying. It was enough for me to offer Gamora and Nebula permanent protection in exchange for serving as my galactic liaisons and advisors, but the former daughter of Thanos had turned me down.
She didn't want to be tied to anyone or anything, and while I needed her, I understood the desire and granted both women their freedom.
"I just thought—"
"Keeping prisoners of war is more of a hassle than you'd think," I said. "All mine usually end up dead or missing, so I thought I'd save us both some time."
"Thank you?"
I waved off the thanks and stood there for a long moment before offering an awkward nod.
"You've shown us mercy where most in your position wouldn't."
"You seem like the nice enough sort," I said, then passed Nebula a look. "Well, one of you does."
I flicked my finger, and the cyborg dropped to the ground and rose to her feet rapidly.
"You will regret that," she seethed.
I shot her sister a tired look, and she mercifully dragged her away, kicking and screaming, leaving me alone with Peter Quill. The dude looked about ready to jump out of his own skin.
"Relax," I said. "I don't want to hurt you. It's the opposite, really."
He didn't seem convinced.
"Let me see your blasters, thrusters, and mask," I said.
"Why?" he asked in a small, skeptical voice.
"Because I owe you a favor," I said. "I bought your identity off a fence a few months back. Figured giving you a few basic upgrades is the least I can do."
His eyes went wide with disbelief that slowly morphed into outrage. "You did some fucked up shit with my name, didn't you!"
I flashed him a teasing smile. "So, you want the upgrades or not?"
He grumbled something about asshole demons and handed over his gear. I chuckled as I souped up his kit.
The mask was infused with my new Twilight Arcanite, making it ridiculously durable and energy-absorbent. I also packed in a few basic wind and telekinetic runes and created a breathing system that ran entirely on electricity.
Next were his blasters. The Arcanite improved the fire rate and heat of the lasers, but it was the amplification and flame arrays that really made them shine. He now had multiple firing modes and robust energy storage, so he wouldn't run out too quickly.
I got a bit carried away with the leg thrusters, fitting them with density-shifting, telekinetic, and fire runes for better speed and maneuverability.
Finally, I gave him a jacket I made from arctic mammoth hide. I infused it with Arcanite and some of Wolverine's blood so he'd always bounce back from wounds when he wore it.
Quill stared at the gifts, slack-jawed, after I explained how they all worked.
"Now you definitely have to tell me what you did with my name."
I winked at him mischievously. "I'll never tell."
The Arch Sentinels, Rin, and I departed for Earth shortly after.
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