"What's going on? Why summon me so suddenly, saturday?"
"It seems someone has found us, master."
"What?"
Artoria couldn't believe it. She'd hidden Maya's Extremis-plus-Sentinel lab a thousand meters beneath the sea to mask its heat signature, and Helen's site under two hundred meters of desert sand. These were her only two secret Bases.
The gaming company was public and needed no concealment, yet a minute ago saturday reported an intrusion—unthinkable.
"To be precise, someone is shouting your name toward the Base, master."
That calmed her; who could invade the deep ocean? But who even knew she was here?
"Show me the feed."
"Yes, master."
After a brief hesitation she had saturday project the beach. A feral-looking stranger filled the screen—no one she recognized.
"Run facial recognition."
"Running."
Faces flickered across the giant screen until one name appeared: Logan Howlett. Artoria blinked. Wolverine? She'd only asked Magneto for a vial of his blood; why would he track her down?
Before she could decide, Wolverine stalked off. The scene felt familiar—could this be Days of Future Past? Did her future intersect with the X-Men? She'd rather not wade into Mutant politics yet; that pool ran deep.
Jean Grey's Phoenix Force was a walking buff, and Scarlet Witch's chaos magic could shatter Infinity Stones. Against either, she'd be toast.
"Not yet," she murmured, steadying herself. The Sentry Serum had to be perfect before she risked her hard-won second life.
"master, your friend Hope van Dyne has left a message: 'Got plans tonight? I'll be at our old spot.'"
"…"
The note froze her. They'd barely spoken lately—just holiday greetings—so a summons meant trouble.
"Tell her I'll be there."
Reluctantly she agreed to meet. She'd abandoned Pym-particle research; without super-human cells, shrinking risked turning a person into paste or trapping them forever in the Quantum Realm. She'd rather keep Hope as a friend than chase dangerous tech, so a normal girls' night out suited her fine.