The Black Lion - The path to follow. (Patreon)

Jean Grey, New York City.

“Two more on the right,” Danielle said, pointing toward the bay.

Jean, clad in her own battle armor, courtesy of Harrison, directed her cold emerald orbs toward the approaching Kree dropships.

“It seems they are learning, they stopped assaulting the Dome and will attempt a ground assault,” the redhead said with a frown, as she massaged her head heavily.

There it was again… the damn headache.

Jean was not sure what the cause really was, all the studies she had undergone said that she was perfectly healthy, her body had no defect.

And even so, she still felt that incessant and annoying sensation in her body, as if something wanted to come out.

Not pain… pressure. Like something pushing from the inside, patient… waiting.

“Iron Man has joined the fight, it seems,” Danielle said, watching as one of the enemy ships was shot down by Stark’s repulsors, crashing into the bay.

“He’s not the only one, the X-Men have also given us their support, Captain Carter is on her way accompanied by a team from Europe, James Potter mobilized his own men, but we have no response from the army,” Jean said, though it wasn’t like it really surprised her.

Most likely the idiot Elliot was eager to use the invasion to discredit her beloved.

A problem for later, the redhead thought.

“Get ready, Danielle,” Jean said, bringing her hand to her head, concentrating all her psionic power and, letting out a roar of fury, unleashed her power.

The scream was powerful and merciless, as if reality itself trembled before the redhead’s fury.

In an instant, an entire group of Kree fighters lost control, crashing into each other and wreaking havoc on the alien gunships, bringing one down and damaging two in the process.

The Kree ship that was clearly transporting troops was struck by the redhead’s mental assault, causing it to lose control and crash into the streets of the city.

Yes…

More…

“Nice shot, Jean,” Danielle said, as she moved her new wand, levitating a half-destroyed car above her head, transforming it into a kind of giant spear and launching it toward another ship, piercing it in a single blow and bringing it down in the process.

“I see you’ve improved,” Jean said with a smile, which Danielle returned with one of her own, her face showing a hint of embarrassment.

“Yes, since Harrison and Lord James gave me access to a wand, it was like being whole again, like… as if a part of me I didn’t know had finally come home,” the brunette said.

And although it was evident that she was telling the truth, there was something in her words that made it clear she was hiding something.

But now was not the ideal moment to get distracted, not when they had an alien invasion on their hands.

Suddenly, the calm of the moment was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by screams and what were clearly gunshots.

“Let’s go,” Jean ordered, as she ran toward the source of the noise.

The skies were filled with fire, drones, and sentinels fighting fiercely against the alien ships, keeping the worst of the enemy in the air, they were losing drones at an alarming rate, and although the Rock’s material processors and assemblers could replenish those numbers in a short time, it was more than evident that they could not keep up at this pace.

“I wish Harrison were here,” Danielle said to herself, but loud enough for Jean to hear.

And the redhead completely agreed.

With Harrison here… this whole damn circus would already be over, her beloved Lion would have flown directly toward the enemy ship and torn through it like wet paper.

Alas, you can’t always get what you want, and they weren’t doing so badly.

Ororo was in the skies, unleashing the power of storms upon the enemies, between her and the AATIS, they had taken down several dozen ships.

Emma was coordinating everything from the command center, serving as a telepathic nexus and mission control, in charge of sending real-time information about what was happening.

Wanda and Ilyana were securing Hogwarts before joining the fight, while Sai danced through the streets doing what she did best.

Eliminating enemies with terrifying efficiency, all the lionesses were defending their home.

And something inside Jean thrilled at the word.

Home. Mine. Ours.

And speaking of defending, Jean and Danielle reached the source of the disturbance, finding a large group of civilians, being protected by brave but terrified police officers, who did not hesitate to risk their lives.

These, Jean noticed, did not have the experimental Evans Technologies weaponry.

The aliens mocked them, while their sophisticated suits resisted the shots from conventional firearms, they did not even bother taking the situation seriously, preferring to inflict terror on their enemies.

An arrogant attitude that would cost them dearly, the redhead thought.

“Get ready, no mercy,” Jean said, making Danielle at her side nod with determination.

No mercy… yes…

However, just before they intervened, another group appeared.

A pair of armored S.W.A.T. trucks arrived at the scene, and without any kind of mercy, hurled the heavy and lethal vehicles toward the group of Kree soldiers.

One of the alien soldiers was killed instantly, torn apart by the heavy truck, while the rest managed to dodge, throwing themselves to the ground.

A second later, the doors of the two trucks opened, revealing a group of police officers, clad in tactical suits, but with certain modifications that Jean recognized instantly.

They wore tactical defense harnesses, the kinetic barriers that Harrison had designed months ago, vastly inferior to the energy shields that Jean and the rest of the lionesses used, but quite effective, it was a technology Harrison planned to use for space operations.

“NO MERCY! FOR EARTH!!” shouted the evident captain of the police officers, who aimed their energy rifles at the surprised, yet still arrogant Kree.

An attitude that would not last long.

Jean smiled with cruel satisfaction as she watched the captain and a pair of his men raise their class Scythe laser rifles, and without hesitation, activated the mechanism.

The Kree, who expected conventional gunpowder weapons, were surprised to receive not primitive kinetic ammunition.

But energy weapons capable of piercing steel.

The S.W.A.T. aimed at the heads, and three Kree fell dead as they received the lethal shots, killing three of the invaders in the process.

The aliens looked at their captain and fallen comrades, completely stunned, before reacting and taking cover from the now lethal enemy weapons.

“Oh no you don’t,” Jean said to herself, using her power and levitating all the cars and debris, leaving the Kree soldiers exposed, becoming easy targets for the human soldiers.

The enemies’ screams were music to Jean, while that voice in her head purred with satisfaction for some reason, and in a matter of seconds, the Kree regiment was completely exterminated.

More… I want more…

The thought wasn’t entirely hers.

The debris trembled in the air for a moment longer than necessary.

Too long.

Jean narrowed her eyes slightly, forcing the mass of metal and concrete to drop in a controlled manner.

“Good work team,” said the captain, at the same time Jean and Danielle approached the group, the police officers without Evans equipment looked relieved and exhausted.

The captain, seeing them approach, turned around and raised his hand as he began to speak.

“Ladies, this place is not safe, you must—”

But Jean did not respond, she simply raised her hand and sent the cars she had levitated flying away, silencing the man.

“My name is Jean Grey, fiancée of Harrison Evans, I see the LAS weapons were a success,” the redhead said, looking pleased at the weapons in the officers’ hands.

That statement silenced the soldiers, but that was fine for Jean, she was here to evacuate civilians after all.

“We have a resistance post at the entrance of the Lion Tunnel, we are directing all civilians there, it is the only entrance to the Black District,” the redhead said, and without waiting for a response, made a gesture to Danielle, who nodded slowly, before beginning to make circular motions with her hands, the sling ring Harrison had given her adorning her hand.

In an instant, an unstable portal appeared, a direct connection between the civilians and the entrance of the tunnel.

“Come on, everyone inside, you will reach a safe place,” Jean ordered, herding the terrified but relieved civilians toward safety.

The S.W.A.T. simply watched the act with astonishment and disbelief, and the captain could not help but ask.

“Is there anything the Black Lion cannot do, ma’am?” he asked, his voice full of awe, making Jean smile with amusement, but without answering.

Because for a brief moment… she wasn’t sure of the answer either.

The warm moment was interrupted by a powerful explosion, followed by a tremor and a sweeping blue light that shook the entire city, making everyone present look upward.

“Shit!” Jean spat, observing what was happening in the sky.

The ship’s shields dropped for an instant, at the same time that the sky returned to normal.

And the very moment the blue haze disappeared…

“JEAN!! JEAN!!!”

Harrison’s voice inside her mind captured all her attention.

“Harrison! Harrison my love!” she said with relief in her mind.

“What is happening? I received a distress call from the Rock, but I cannot return, something is blocking the Bifrost, both mine and Asgard’s! I contacted Sue, they cannot return to Earth either,” Harrison said, his tone filled with fury, fear, and desperation.

“We are under attack, Harrison! A massive unknown ship, we are holding, but we need support,” the redhead said, relieved to be able to contact her beloved lion again.

“The troops of Jotunheim and our allies from Asgard are ready to jump, but you must destroy whatever is preventing us from arriving!” Harrison said urgently.

Jean was about to respond when the damn haze returned, cutting the psionic connection with Harrison instantly.

“FUCK!” the redhead shouted furiously.

The pressure in her head spiked.

Closer…

Just a moment before Emma contacted her through the shared mental channel.

“Did you feel it?” the blonde asked with urgency and hope in her sophisticated and seductive voice.

“I did, that haze, whatever it is, it is the cause of our problems, we have to bring it down so Harrison and our Asgardian allies can reach the fight,” Jean said, now with a clear plan.

“I will inform our allies, perhaps Fleet Master Rogers has an idea,” Emma said with determination.

Jean was about to respond when it happened.

From the lower part of the ship, a kind of portal, similar to the Bifrost, manifested.

“Shit,” both Emma and Jean said, watching in horror as waves of enemies, similar to flying space lizards, began descending, Jean counted dozens, perhaps hundreds of them.

And behind them… an entire fucking fleet, with architecture similar to the mothership, clearly belonging to the same faction.

“Damn,” said the S.W.A.T. captain, completely overwhelmed by what he was witnessing.

“We have work to do,” the redhead said, her face furious, her eyes, normally bright green, now a blazing orange, like exploding suns, while in her trembling hands, golden flames began to manifest.

The fire felt… right. Too right.

Yes… burn them…

“Yes my avatar, accept my blessing,”

Jean’s breath hitched for a fraction of a second.

That voice again. Closer now. Clearer.

“We have to bring that ship down, we need to regroup Danielle,” Jean said with leadership, making the brunette nod.

There was much to plan, and little time.

However, they had a chance.

They had to damage that ship.

One way or another.

Jean clenched her fists, the golden flames flickering violently.

And for a brief, dangerous moment… she wasn’t sure if she was holding the power…

or if the power was holding her.