Las Vegas - The Hellfire Club
In Ernst's memory of the original timeline, Shaw's meeting with Colonel Hendry was the catalyst for the entire war.
During this meeting, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert infiltrated the Hellfire Club. She stumbled upon the mutants, witnessed their abilities, and uncovered Shaw's plan to start World War III.
Ernst wanted to test a theory. He wanted to test the "correction power" of the universe.
If he altered a key event, would fate rewrite itself, or would the timeline fracture?
On the day of the meeting, Ernst and the group arrived at the Las Vegas branch of the Hellfire Club.
Ernst, however, chose not to attend the meeting with Hendry. He fabricated an excuse to separate from Shaw's entourage, preferring to lurk in the shadows and wait.
With half an hour remaining until the agreed time, Ernst expanded his mental perception.
Even before Hendry's arrival, Ernst identified his target parked down the street: a black sedan.
Although the car appeared ordinary to the naked eye, Ernst's enhanced senses pierced the chassis.
He saw the modified interior, the recording devices, and the advanced surveillance equipment exclusive to senior intelligence agencies.
"It's finally here," Ernst remarked quietly, adjusting his cuffs.
Inside the car, a suited driver and a woman with dark hair used binoculars to observe the club's entrance.
Ten minutes later, a military vehicle pulled up. Colonel Hendry exited, exchanged a few words with the bouncers, and walked inside.
The presence of a high-ranking American military officer at an exclusive underground club was the trigger.
Acting quickly, Special Agent Moira MacTaggert shed her coat, revealing a skimpy corset beneath, and joined a group of scantily clad women heading through the back entrance.
Observing this from a balcony, Ernst willed the nanorobots in his suit and on his skin to shift.
His facial structure subtly altered, his hair color changed, and his clothing transformed into a generic, high-end tuxedo.
Moira sneaked into the back corridors of the club, checking locked doors to inspect documents.
As she turned a corner, Ernst stepped out, intentionally confronting her.
Caught off guard, Moira froze.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom..."
"Who are you?" Ernst asked sharply, feigning suspicion.
"Why are you back here? Did Azazel send you?"
Moira's eyes darted around, calculating quickly.
"Uh, yes! Azazel did."
Ernst let a predatory smile cross his face. He feigned pleasant surprise.
"Excellent! Azazel finally found me a capable companion for the evening. Come with me," Ernst said, grabbing her wrist with just enough force to be insistent but not alarming, leading her through a side door.
As they walked towards a lavish private bedroom, Moira felt deeply conflicted.
She needed to find an excuse to leave and continue her mission, but breaking her cover now could get her killed. She had to play along.
Inside the room, Ernst continued his act. The door locked.
For the next hour, while Shaw negotiated with Colonel Hendry upstairs, the room echoed with suggestive sounds.
Ernst used his infinite stamina not just for pleasure, but as a calculated tactic.
He ensured Moira was thoroughly occupied, physically exhausted, and entirely distracted while the crucial events of the timeline played out without her.
Meanwhile, on the upper floor, Shaw's encounter with Colonel Hendry resulted in a dispute.
Hendry was quickly disciplined by Riptide's wind abilities and then mentally manipulated by the White Queen's telepathy.
Yielding to Shaw's demands, Hendry was teleported directly to the Pentagon by the Red Devil.
Thirty minutes later, Ernst lay on the bed, his eyes closed, breathing deeply. He appeared visibly exhausted and fast asleep.
Moira, enduring the soreness throughout her body, quietly sat up. She looked at the man lying next to her and cursed inwardly at the deceptive nature of his physique, which had nearly overwhelmed her completely.
She quickly and silently gathered her clothes and dressed.
Unbeknownst to the beautiful agent, Ernst wasn't asleep.
The strenuous activity had merely been an exercise in self-control and timing.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind Moira, Ernst opened his eyes and stretched, feeling perfectly refreshed.
He closed his eyes and extended his mental perception, tracking the CIA agent's progress through the club.
Initially, Ernst sported a triumphant smile. He had successfully derailed the inciting incident.
But the smile soon froze on his face.
The unfolding events left Ernst so frustrated he felt almost nauseous.
Returning along the original path to find an exit, Moira crept past the main lounge. A strange whining sound emanated from the slightly ajar door.
Peering through the gap, she saw a man, Riptide, conjuring a miniature, violent whirlwind between his hands, practicing his supernatural control.
Moira clapped a hand over her mouth.
Then, a loud BAMF echoed in the room, accompanied by a cloud of red mist.
The Red Devil materialized out of thin air.
"Azazel," Shaw's voice drifted out as he sipped a glass of red wine.
"Colonel Hendry... did you send him back? Was it as planned? Ensure there's no suspicion."
"No issues," Azazel replied casually, unaware that someone was eavesdropping.
"No one would believe Colonel Hendry can cover 3,000 kilometers instantly. Currently, he's sitting in the war room, advocating for the deployment of PGM-19 'Jupiter' nuclear missiles in Turkey to deter the Soviet Union, just as you ordered."
Moira, comprehending the terrifying gravity of what she had just seen and heard, suppressed her panic.
She backed away from the door and hurried toward the exit.
In the bedroom, Ernst sat up abruptly.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he considered going after her to snap her neck.
But then, he leaned back against the headboard, releasing a tired sigh.
Despite his careful planning, Moira had still gotten the information.
She missed seeing Emma turn to diamond and Hendry being actively threatened, but she still saw Riptide and Azazel, and heard Shaw's entire plan regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Ernst's efforts to change the plot had been corrected by the universe.
The only actual gain was a beautiful girl, a minor satisfaction in the grand scheme of things.
Ernst decided not to kill Moira. He realized that if the world's correction power orchestrated everything, Moira wasn't the linchpin.
If he killed her, the universe would just use another accident to bring Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique together.
The inevitable decisive battle between the two mutant factions was locked in. Ernst couldn't help but curse the stubborn whims of fate.
After Moira escaped the Hellfire Club, she returned to Langley.
She reported the unbelievable events to her superiors: teleporting demons, men controlling the wind, and a conspiracy manipulating Colonel Hendry to provoke a nuclear crisis with the Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, her superiors dismissed her account as the ravings of an exhausted agent.
They pointed out the geographical impossibility: Hendry was physically present in the war room 3,000 kilometers away at the exact time she claimed he was in Las Vegas.
Her explanations fell on deaf ears. Convinced of what she had seen, Moira resolved to investigate the truth independently.
After collecting substantial information on genetic anomalies, she found a paper written by Charles Xavier, an Oxford University graduate, discussing human mutation.
Her eyes flashed with determination. Everything circled back to the starting point.
—------
Miami - Days Later
After Shaw handled the internal affairs and funding of the Hellfire Club, he left the Red Devil behind to handle the remaining logistical tasks.
Leading Ernst, Emma Frost, and Riptide, Shaw relocated to Miami during the hottest period of the year.
They anchored a luxurious yacht just off the coast.
While Ernst enjoyed a leisurely life on the deck, reading and refining his energy control, Shaw dealt with the daily challenges of ensuring the nuclear plan's smooth progress.
Colonel Hendry was invited to the yacht. He had served his purpose, successfully lobbying for the missiles in Turkey, and had now become a loose end.
As they gathered in the ship's opulent cabin, Shaw confirmed that Hendry hadn't leaked any vital information.
Hendry, however, was paranoid. Realizing he was trapped, he pulled a live hand grenade from his jacket pocket.
"Stay back!" Hendry shouted, his hand trembling on the pin.
"Or we all go up!"
Shaw, unfazed, stepped forward.
"Go ahead," Shaw smiled.
Hendry released the lever.
The grenade detonated. Fire and shrapnel exploded outward.
But Shaw didn't flinch. He absorbed the entire blast, his body glowing with the kinetic and thermal energy.
He reached out, grabbed Hendry, and released the stored energy directly into the man's chest.
Hendry was incinerated instantly, reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes on the carpet.
Ernst, sitting in an armchair with a glass of scotch, watched the spectacle without an ounce of sympathy.
"A bit messy, Father," Ernst noted dryly.
"It sends a message," Shaw replied, brushing some ash off his lapel.
Ernst set his glass down and stood up. He needed to recharge. Magneto, Charles Xavier, and Mystique were set to arrive very soon.
The main event was finally beginning, and Ernst eagerly anticipated meeting the architects of the future.
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