Chapter 24: The Filler Other POV Chapter! Also, AURAFARMING! (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don’t own Marvel/Disney IP. I am just a humble keyboard warrior. Also, the Chaos Gacha was made by Bronz here. I am just dipping my toe in the water, so to speak.

Antarctica

–Mike–

TING! You now have unlocked the fifth ability slot. Congratulations!

He dismissed the notification before checking in on his ability section to see if he could fill the two empty ability slots he had right now. [Light Step] seemed like a good option. Along with that, [Internal Duplication] was also something he wanted to experiment with, especially now that he has a body that could withstand the strain of multiple organs or limbs, with ease.

He did always wanted to be Four Arms from Ben-10, and this was his chance to do so. Slotting in the two abilities, his mind was immediately supplied with the necessary information about the light Step ability. He smiled as he realised it would be the best thing to pull off an Ainz Ooal Gown on the people who are undoubtedly headed this way. 

Basically, it allowed him to think of stepping on something, and that something will just materialise beneath him. It didn’t matter if he was in space or underwater or in some other dimension. If he wanted footing, he will get his footing, no matter what/

Well, not really, no matter what, the ability was just a Rare ability, and he was pretty sure that there were plenty of reality warpers in the universe who could no sell that ability, but still, it was nice to have, especially since that also unlocked the fifth ability slot. 

At this point, he really had to experiment with every single ability he had and figure out combinations of abilities for every scenario. That much was just basic preparation, and he could go down like a fool if he had all these abilities and did not know how to use them in conjunction with each other to better effect.

Deciding to just get it done with, he gave a mental command and then looked on with morbid curiosity as the skin just below his ribs wriggled in place before morphing into stumps. Stumps that began to grow, gaining definition as time went by. Soon enough, there were two extra arms just below his original limbs.

A budget Four Arms, if you will. He closed the fists, rotated the wrists, smacked himself in the stomach on accident, and more, all without a hint of discomfort.

Not physical and certainly not mental, at seeing stuff that theoretically should not exist. His brain somehow worked seamlessly to adapt to the two extra arms. It was definitely not as seamless as it would have been had he had the Omnitrix, but he liked to think that with a few weeks of practice, he should be capable of wielding all four arms without any issue.

He was just about to experiment with extra eyes to see if he could gain 360 degree vision, only to pause, his head tilting as he looked into the distance. Alcina must have sensed it as well, as did Ghidorah as he stirred faintly behind them, but when something the size of Ghidorah moved even a little, the impact was not small. 

The heat output from Ghidorah increased exponentially, as the Jet or rather, Jets were revealed to his senses. Well, the three others were completely cloaked and floating in place, which meant they were all Quinjets. 

The one jet that was completely visible, which definitely felt on purpose, was the iconic jet that he had seen twice in recent times. 

The X-Jet.

The same jet housed the person who tried to run a telepathic probe on him, and failed, as his newest trait just shut down that probe. It also felt a lot more powerful than the last time he felt Charles’ abilities, which made sense. If there was ever a situation where Xavier could be forced to forego the thin veneer of morals he maintained to gain total and utter control over someone’s mind, then that was now. Alas, just like the previous time, it failed, and he was certainly not going to let that go.

As the X-Jet hovered in place before moving forward a bit, he wondered what was Xavier’s fetish regarding putting his initials everywhere? The X-Men, X-Jet, Professor X. He was sure there were more. It was a wonder he hadn’t named his academy the X-School, though he wagered that the name would not be popular with any prospective student’s parents. Also, thank the One Above All that his last name started with X instead of C.

Then, the name of the team would be C-Men, which was just… unfortunate. In the middle of his thoughts, during which he was totally aware of his surroundings, the X-Jet had hovered down, slowly and at a distance, as if afraid of the Monster behind him. It seems they were testing the waters here, moving forward slowly to check if he or the monster behind him attacked them or not. 

Bold move.. They should be afraid, Ghidorah was dangerous, not to mention that kind of thinking will only give him the upper hand in any prospective negotiations. Speaking of Ghidorah, he resolved to use [Telepathy] to communicate with Ghidorah, since it could not speak any human language. 

Its nature as an interstellar predator that has been alive for untold years meant it must be a fountain of knowledge. Its skills in energy manipulation alone should be a literal treasure trove, especially since with his [Spirit Gathering] ability, he could channel Ghidorah’s ability without all the devastating drawbacks that came with it.

All he had to do was open a channel of communication between them that was more complex than stop, go here, land slowly and don’t kill me. A mobile, human shaped Ghidorah with access to its energy and potentially more control due to the ability’s nature and the ability to modulate the energy drawn would make him a deterrent surpassing a Nuclear Missile.

After all, he was far more mobile and practically undetectable, someone who could slip into crowds with ease. The best part was that his energy signature should not change as long as he was not actively channeling the Ghidorah’s ability, making him perhaps the most dangerous man on the planet, even without the monster behind him.

Ofcourse, he was not going to do that, but the people in front of him would do well to remember that he had the capability to do that. 

At that point, he had stood up, Alcina standing behind him, with his back turned to the sleeping monster behind him. He looked at the X-Jet, which was hovering just a couple feet off the ground, and nodded at the thin sheen of black glass at the tip of the Jet, and took a step forward.

Not on the ground, but on the very air around them. Alcina was lifted effortlessly off the ground using the wind surrounding them, but he was taking slow but long steps towards the Jet, walking on nothing but air, his gaze fixated on the area where the X-Men members presumably were. His energy senses told him of the rough direction, but it did not work with pinpoint accuracy, especially with the background Nuclear Bomb equivalent that was Ghidorah.

Nevertheless, he knew that Xavier was present, as was Scott, as was Ororo, along with an entirely new energy signature, but just as strong if not stronger than the rest of them.

Interesting.

Soon enough, he was face to face with the tip of the X-Jet, with the soundless propulsion of the Jet keeping it aloft effortlessly. Looking at the black glass, he simply knocked on it with his knuckles before the X-Jet abruptly moved back a bit, turned around to show him its ass, and then began landing.

He and Alcina did the same, landing gracefully on the ground, keeping the wind sense fixated on the three jets that were floating at a distance, probably gathering all the data they could and sending it back home for analysis. 

He kept eye contact with the Jets long enough for them to know that he knew about them before looking at the Ramp that had lowered from the X-Jet.

He was curious as to what tactics they had prepared for this.

___xx___

[A couple hours earlier]

–Charles Xavier–

“Remember, Xavier. You only get one chance,” The stern, pale, and haggard visage of Director Fury looked at him through the screen, “Make it count.” He nodded at the man, equally exhausted from the discussion he had just been a part of.

Both of them had come to an accord after a difficult discussion as they had to juggle between heads of states, rogue warlords, multiple spy agencies, monarchies, not to mention organisations that had more budget than sense, resulting in this delay.

When the news first broke out about the seemingly biblical monster that was going to bring about the world’s end, they were already moving. He had gathered the people present, leaving behind Jean and Hank to take care of the Institute, and flew on the X-Jet to Africa, knowing that time was of the essence.

If they failed to stop the monster from unleashing its attack, they could alteast help with the aftermath. 

When everything about the monster’s movements was leaked to the world, an inevitability when it came to an event this size, he was one of the first to recognise the face plastered on every single website on the planet. The same one that had just helped them drive off a major invasion, headed by multiple organisations that could have dealt them some serious damage.

The same one that had to copy Scott’s powers to drive the invaders off, doing so with a disturbing ease, not to mention his propensity to violence, resulting in multiple deaths on the other side. That alone had been enough for him to be wary of this Mike, but now?

From the video footage, radar readings, and subsequent drone findings, it was made abundantly clear that this Mike was either controlling the monster or they were allies. Either way, Mike had become the most sought after criminal on the planet in a scant few hours.

As a response to a threat of this size, Fury had called upon every single person he could, irrespective of their current legal status. After all, what did it matter if you were a convicted terrorist with hundreds of kills if the monster in front of them could generate an Extinction Level Event at will, according to what Hank had gathered, a sentiment that was echoed at SHIELD as well, and kill countless more?

Hence, everyone had been gathered, and that had worked in their favour, somewhat. Such a varied gathering resulted in multiple perspectives, with some of them correctly identifying that a nuclear weapon was not the answer here. 

Something that was difficult to digest for every single head of state that used to rely on that to deter any would be threat to the world order.

According to some of the most intelligent people on the planet, the monster was basically made up of energy. Energy so dense that if it exploded, it could crack a continent in half and go on, basically capable of destroying an entire Hemisphere based on where it exploded. That is, considering that the energy from the monster was not neurotic in nature.

Any nuclear weapon exploding in that vicinity could either destroy the beast entirely, triggering an energy explosion that would wreck the world for decades to come or there was the more worrying scenario, wherein the monster could absorb that energy.

After all, they had all seen the monster create a ball of energy around its mouth, only to absorb it back into its body on the command of this mike. It would not be wrong to assume that for a monster to be made up of energy, the energy released from a nuclear explosion might just be a snack. 

The generals had countered that by saying that they could always use bigger bombs, not understanding that doing so would destroy the water bodies on Antarctica, which would mean destroying the majority of the world’s fresh water, something that was bound to haunt them sooner rather than later.

As it is, the world was on track to suffer from a global water shortage.

The problem was they simply did not know anything about the monster, to make any concrete decision, and going in blind in this situation could destroy their civilization as they knew it.

No, after hours of back and forth, wherein Eric had stepped in personally and threatened multiple nations with total destruction, a threat he was unable to carry out, but with things being what they were, no one wanted to underestimate mutants at all, which is why they were able to get this one chance.

One chance to talk. It had deemed that he would be the one to initiate contact.

Aside from his powers, he was also one of the world’s leading experts on human psychology, and if possible, he was explicitly ordered to use his powers to not just take over Mike’s mind but also to destroy it entirely. No one wanted anyone to have such power, especially not in the hands of a single person. 

No, despite his vehement opposition, it was told to him, in no uncertain terms, that if he refused to use his powers for this, there would be no school left standing. 

So, against his will, he had to use his powers, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not get past the barrier around his mind. It was as if the mind from back then and now was completely different. The ease with which the probe was rebuffed told him that, save for maybe Jean at her strongest, no one should be able to control him.

A fact that simultaneously terrified and relieved him, as that would mean he was not forced to use his ability to do something his morals rebelled against, but also afraid because there was no chance of someone stopping this entire thing without violence of biblical proportions.

The prospect of violence reminded him of the force SHIELD had sent. A few jets, which were nothing in the face of what could come if he failed here. 

“Just like old times, huh, Charles?” He looked to the side, as Eric looked towards the screen with a slight smirk on his face. 

Eric had joined them halfway in their journey, flying on his own, without any backup, despite his protests because Eric was simply not the kind of person who could be trusted with a sensitive negotiation. Eric being who he was, disregarded Fury’s orders, pleas, and threats, joining them mid way.

Despite knowing that this was nothing like the Cuba situation, he nodded and repeated his words, “Just like old times.”

The X-Jet, which was kept deliberately de-cloaked so as to not surprise them, reached the place where the monster was currently resting. The cameras zoomed in on the two people sitting right next to the monster. A large circle around the monster had been cleared of snow, simply because of how much heat it generated, a natural consequence of being so energy dense.

Even now, Hank was gathering as much data as he could using the sensors onboard the Jet. The SHIELD Quinjets stayed back as they advanced slowly, Logan’s entire body taut as he piloted the jet. He was not afraid for his own life, that much was clear.

Yet, this was a risk they simply had to take, as the alternative was worse. If their deaths could take out the monster, then he would consider it a good thing. Alas, simply killing the monster was not an option, not unless they had a way to contain the fallout.

Technology for that simply did not exist.

Mike stood up from his position near the monster, as Hank’s face appeared on the screen. His grim visage told him what he already knew, “It’s as expected, Charles. He is completely different, once more. A film of energy covers his body, rendering any scan impossible.” Something that did not exist the last time they had performed a full scan. That energy field was absent back then. 

“Thank you, Hank. Make sure that Director Fury receives all your findings.”

See, he had a doubt. Within hours of Mike entering his pocket dimension, he had changed so much that his mind felt like that of a totally different person. The same with his energy signature. It grew more powerful, yes, but also changed in ways Hank couldn’t explain.

The same thing happened this time as well. Not only was Mike more powerful than ever, his mind a steel trap, but also the feel of his mind was different. It couldn’t be explained without sufficient data, but he hoped that it would be helpful somehow.

“He’s coming here,” Logan warned them, the Jet hovering just above the ground, stationary, as was ordered to Logan. All the weapons systems were disabled, and the guns retracted with strict orders not to use them. They needed to show that they were not here for violence.

“He’s walking on…air?” Ororo voiced out, confusion lacing her tone as he wondered why Mike was doing that. He was perfectly capable of three dimensional high speed flight. Why the need for this?

For shock value?

Eric snorted suddenly, “It would seem that we have a drama queen on our hands.”

What?

Shaking his head, he removed that thought from his head as Mike knocked on the Jet, as if politely knocking on someone’s door. Turning to Logan, he ordered, “Ground the Jet. I’ll go talk to him.”

Eric then added, “Yes. We will go talk to him.” 

“What’s the plan here, Charles?” he heard Eric talk in his mind, asking him the same thing his team had been asking, the answer to which he did not currently have. It was an incredible gesture of trust from Eric to forego any mental protections for the sake of the mission.

His only reasoning? After all, mutants live on the same planet, regrettably. If the planet was destroyed, we too would not have a place to live.

The right sentiment, but the wrong way to go about it.

Word Count - 3081