Chapitre 36: But it's not just one, two, three. You get an assassin! You...
Central Park, New York.
Last year the Young Lady graduated from High School, she planned to get funding in Krakoa and dedicate herself to the study and comprehension of the X-Gene. She planned to work as a doctor during her downtime and further pursue the secrets that the said genome withheld.
Sadly, the green door incident interrupted the Young Lady's plans. In a manner of atonement, she followed Aragorn's advice and decided to help the dragon into helping Chile... into helping 'Re-Nazca'.
After the new capital city was built—one week ago—the Young Lady became Aragorn's right-hand and errand girl.
Did Aragorn need an on-field census of the unemployed, the illiterate, or even the affected by the green door? The Young Lady was the answer. Did Aragorn need someone to help with search and rescue? The Youg Lady was there to help. Did Aragorn need someone to visit local conflict zones to reassure and police the residents? The Young Lady will be there in a second.
This gained her a lot of visibility—much to my displeasure—and reputation—much to my satisfaction—as well as another unintended consequence. Now it's publicly accepted that the Young Lady is the sweetheart of Aragorn.
It's obviously not the case, but the evidence against them is condemning.
Exhibit #1: The Young Lady lives in his mansion.
Exhibit #2: The Young Lady is seen multiple times—since the public reveal of Aragorn —at Aragorn's side.
Exhibit #3: They both are psychokinetic. Now this exhibit, of course, would be annulled by a competent judge, but in the eyes of the public, this means that they are meant to be. Like when you see doctors married, or lawyers, or police officers, and so on.
Exhibit #4: Due to the average Haloan's clingy behavior, there are multiple pictures of the Young Lady in Aragorn's arms. This as well would be revoked by a judge since there are also other pictures of Irina or Yelena in Aragorn's arms. Still, it adds to sway the public opinion into believing that AragornXJean is a thing.
Things didn't improve when evidence of Aragorn's guardianship over the Young Lady was released, if anything they got worse.
Normally, it would be frowned upon for a guardian to be romantically involved with their charge, but in this case, the age difference is 'public-approved'. With Aragorn being 21 years old—on paper of course—and the Young lady 18 years old this year. How he legally got the Young lady's guardianship remains a mystery to me, even if Xavier was the one who signed the papers—who is technically the old me.
There are rumors about how he saved her from her previous guardian and offered her a place by his side. The press somehow made them a knight and damsel story... As the person born from Charles Xavier—the previous guardian—I feel conflicted about how accurate this made-up story is.
But I'm letting my thoughts wander! The attention the Young Lady gained due to her public involvement with Aragorn led to our current situation.
"Young Lady... I believe you don't need me to remind you about it—especially not when it comes from me—but for your sake I must... Please finish them off, or you might end up in another situation like what led to your punishment."- I looked at the conflicted eyes of my young lady and then up to the six masked and armed struggling figures that she held afloat.
"I-I-I Know! But it's not the same watching a memory of the previous avatars doing it than killing them myself!"- She exclaimed with some unshed tears in her eyes.
"I could do it for you, my Lady. But I don't believe it will help you."- I maintained my position.
"But! We could deliver them to Aragorn, they might have some important information. I may not be able to bypass their anti-psionic wave implants but I bet Aragorn could."- She tried to shift responsibility.
"My Lady, you and I both know that them being currently alive is against Aragorn's orders. Please don't try to shift the responsibility of their lives to his hands when we both know how clear his instructions were."
"..."- The reluctance was visible in her visage and body language.
"My Lady, I believe I understand and admire your reluctance to take a life, but I don't comprehend why this is taking such a heavy toll on you... I can almost feel your panic from here."- Normally—after Aragorn's training—I can't feel her emotions unless she allows me to, the fact that I'm getting glimpses of them is alarming.
"... I felt the death of Annie and it felt... I just don't want to cause that feeling, I never wanted to be responsible for that, I wanted to protect and heal, to reassure and secure, never to be the bringer of endings! And now! Now I have to kill them! They just couldn't stop themselves, could they? Why didn't they attack Aragorn as usual? Why did I have to be their target? I know I'm being stupid! I know I will have to claim their lives, and not only theirs, I will have to claim a possibly endless number of lives... But! I just don't want to."- She shouted and finally tears were shed.
"I will follow whatever you want, my Lady, yet I feel the responsibility to inform you that this path will cause more pain to you and their future and past victims."- I believe Aragorn won't allow them to walk away but that shall be something the Young Lady will have to witness.
"I know... I will just call Aragorn."- The Young Lady sent a message through the connection they shared and after about half an hour Aragorn appeared.
"Sorry, Padawan, we were deciding the route of the northern subway. How can I help you and why are these things alive when I told you to take no prisoner upon confirmation of their hostile intentions?"- He pointed with his tail at the floating assassin.
"I-I thought you might be able to extract some info from them. I couldn't do it but thought you might."- She nervously said.
"... So you don't want to kill them, is that it?"- She was seen through.
"... I don't... Does that make me a failure of an avatar?"- She confessed.
"Yes, it does. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, there can't be rebirth without death, life without destruction, it's the basics."- He playfully flicked the Young lady's nose.
"Ouch! Stop that!... What should I do?"- She hit his chest.
"Mmmmmm... More like, why do you think death is a form of punishment? Not that it can't be, mind you, but that just isn't all there is to it. Let me show you..."- He brought one of the assassins down and I felt a shiver down my spine as he reached for him.
My instincts were warning me...
"Ahh!... Ahhhhh!.... AGHHHHHHHHHH! N-AGHHHH! N-NOOOOAGHHHH!"- The assassin cried and wailed, yet nothing seemed to be physically wrong with him, but his desperate cries and the tears, snot, defecation, and piss seem to differ.
"Wh-What are you doing?"- The Young Lady stammered as she reached for the arm Aragorn held against the assassin's chest.
"Pain due to oversensitivity... Jean, don't you think death would be a relief for him?"- He asked with a calm in his tone as if he hadn't just made the man's life a living hell.
"AGHHHHH! S-AGHHH S-S-STOP ITAGHHH!"- Aragorn just looked at the Young Lady, ignoring the wails of the assassin.
"Okay! I get it! Please just stop it!"- She shouted.
"No... You stop it."- He ordered her expressionless.
"N-No, You do it!"- Tears fell and her emotions became erratic. I could feel them with clarity now.
Aragorn didn't answer and five tentacles grew from his back and touched the other five, leaving them in a similar state to the first victim.
"No, you do it. Don't let them suffer this much, Jean."- He kept his face expressionless, yet his eyes were shifting toward blue, purple, and green.
"Crazy bastard, you're in as much pain as I am!"- I'm guessing the Young Lady knows what those colors mean because I only know that red is bad.
"No, Jean. I care not for their suffering, I care for yours. I'm feeling all of it."- He kept his expressionless facade.
"I-I-I... I don't want to! *Sob*"- She openly cried out loud.
Once more Aragorn didn't answer. I saw his tail flash for less than a second and then the cacophony of howls intensified.
"NOOAGGHHHH AHHGHH!"- A few were frothing and kept losing consciousness and coming back due to the pain. Lacerations shorter than a nail now covered every part of their visible skin.
"Jean, please end their suffering. This is not even close to the worst I could do, don't make me torture you more, please. This is helping no one"- He said almost pleadingly but keeping his face flat.
"I-I don't want to, I can't."- The Young Lady resisted the inevitable.
"... Jean, end their suffering or I'll trap them in pain for the rest of my eternal life."- Six magic circles appeared on top of the wailing blights.
"I-I-"
"Do it! Don't let them suffer more than this! Bless them with the merciful liberation of death!"- He shouted interrupting the Young Lady.
"I-"
"Do it! Kill them, Jean! Don't let this torture continue!"- He once more interrupted her while shouting.
"I-"
"NOAGHHHHHHH!"- One assassin cried out.
"AAAGHH *SOB* AGGGGH!"- Another wept while shouting.
"Do it, Jean!"- Aragorn insisted with more force in his voice.
"..."- The Young Lady couldn't remove her eyes from the suffering humans.
"NOW!"- Aragorn screamed demandingly.
*CRACK*x6- The Young Lady complied and she fixedly stared at the bodies floating with their heads turned at impossible angles.
"Let me show you something, Jean."- After he said this I saw how the crazy fucker linked his mind to the last vestiges of the assassins' minds.
"This is the last they ever felt... Relief, Comfort, Regret, Coolth, and Gratitude. I bet is different from what Annie felt."- I believe he sent those feelings through the link they shared.
"Don't beat yourself up for something you logically know you shouldn't, Padawan."- Aragorn moved to hug her and she resisted with futility, she hit him and tried to get away from him—all without uttering a single word—until she fell asleep in his embrace.
"Hart, take her to her room in Halo."- He entrusted the Young lady to my arms and I let my shadow swallow me to return the sleeping beauty to her chambers.
_______________________________
"Well, that was unnecessarily cruel..."- I said to myself and the peeping tom.
*Fwoosh*- A wild fire-clad Senior Sister materializes.
"You're too soft."- The fire Jean said with a flat expression.
"Noona disagrees."- I returned the same flat expression.
"..."
"..."
"Idiot."- With another *Fwoosh* she disappeared.
"~Heh~"- I smiled and went back to the Domed City—we should probably think of a name for it.
I jumped back to the meeting room I just left, the committee and a few of my 'witches' were present designing and planning.
From time to time a witch is sent to do an onsite investigation, to gather info about the terrain, population, or even hydrography and then this information is added to a virtual think tank, we have several engineers from around Re-Nazca and the world on contract, each adding their contribution. In the end, the final product comes to me and Spark for revision and approval.
Spark and I could have done this on our own, but we need to mobilize money and contributions. For this part of the project—the underground routes—we plan to lend our aid only for the part of the heavy lifting—if strictly necessary. The subway system is estimated to take around 30 years without our help, and 3 with our help.
"I'm sorry, people. I had a little assassination attempt to deal with."- I commented as I moved a hologram of a point of inflection in the pathways that needed readjustment to account for possible earthquakes.
"Is this the sixth of the week?"- Asked Yelena.
"First for Jean, for the Young Master the seventh."- Irina specified as she brought some refreshments to the table.
"You guys are too relaxed about this."- Commented our newer addition.
"I agree with Ms. Adler. Were these duds as well?"- Asked Agent Coulson as he reached for his archaic tablet and proceeded to note down the specifics of the assassination attempt.
"Yep. Chemically brainwashed with wave inhibitors implanted in their cervicomedullary junction."- Anne Marie (Ms. Adler) joined us after she managed to flawlessly complete the introductory exercises I left for her, she now can at least recognize her bioelectric field and wield some basic manner of manipulation over it.
"Agh! This ain't workin'!"- Shouted the irked goth teen vampire mutant with the southern accent.
She has been assigned the task of detecting the bioelectric field on others, in this case, Yelena.
"Don't worry, sugah. You might could do it in a few hours!"- Yelena petted Anne Marie's head.
"You! Minx! Stop making fun of me!"- This has been going on for a few days now.
"What happened to the bodies, Mr. Abner?"- Coulson ignored the now normal exchange between the fox and the goth mutant.
"Why ask the same question after more than 30 attempts on our lives? They've been disposed of, ashes to the Andes, fertilizer to the Arbor Mundi, food for the fishes, take your pick."- This batch went to the roots of the tree.
"Mr. Abner, I fail to understand how you consider tampering with evidence the go-to practice after dealing with attempts at your lives. It is almost like you're covering for the perpetrators..."- He eyed me suspiciously.
"..."
"..."
"*Sigh* Mr. Agent Coulson, if—and let it be known that this is a big ass 'if'—you manage to pull something out of the corpses with your ancient technology, or even if I capture them and you manage to get something out of them, your body would wake up on a ditch the next day and your soul would wake up in the afterlife."- This batch came from Essex—I recognized the genome from the fifth batch, a perfect match—so maybe he wouldn't kill Coulson, maybe he would 'repurpose' him into something else.
"... You speak as if my organization was compromised."- He asked the unasked question.
"..."- I, Yelena, and Irina stared at him like he was an idiot.
"No, Mr. Agent Coulson, Aragorn is not speaking as if your multinational organization was compromised."- Yelena said with a mocking smile.
"I am in no way saying that an organization as big as SHIELD and as decentralized as it is could ever be compromised."- I shook my head in negation with a mocking smile mirroring Yelena's.
Yelena and I stared at Irina, like saying 'Your turn'. She stood in silence for a second before rolling her eyes and then joining our fun.
"The Young Master could not ever imply that a spy organization with secrets upon secrets could fall to the spy practices it teaches, that would be simply outrageous!"- Irina nailed the last nail of the coffin.
"..."- Coulson placed down his tablet and looked at me with an uncanny seriousness.
He inspected our surroundings and noticed that nobody was paying attention to our conversation, as if they couldn't hear us—which they couldn't, privacy wards for the win.
"Who are you talking about?"- He ordered.
"Number one, I don't work for you so I have no responsibility to provide you with information. Number two, Fury already knows."- I brought my palms in front of my horns, facing forward, and arched them away leaving a floating message of hard light that read 'Chill Dude'.
"Why are you telling me this?"- He asked after settling down a bit.
"Fury can't trust his facilities, but he knows nothing goes out of this tent without my approval. I owed him a favor so he asked me to put you up to speed with a few details you were authorized to know."- I owed him nothing but I told him that Coulson and Hill were cleared so he asked me to get them up to speed concerning Hydra. Hill is supposed to rotate with Coulson next week.
"How can I trust you? You've been nothing but jokes after pranks and then more jokes."- That's a very logical question.
"My heart! How could you say that?! Haven't you seen how serious I was when I was working on rebuilding this country? You hurt me, Mr. Agent Coulson."- I smiled.
"..."
"Fine! ~Alpha-Delta-12-16-1726-Doorway-Omega-Delta-19-80-500~ He said you'd understand."
"... Omega-80-19-500."- He asked in all seriousness.
"98-96-95-951."- Such a needlessly complicated verification. My secret code is: '-What rules above the heavens?- -The Fluff, The Shine, and the Holy Noona-' I bit blasphemous but it works—though I doubt we would ever use it.
"*Sigh* I can't believe the director entrusted you with this."- He said after relaxing a little—about as much as the situation permitted.
"Of course he trusts me. I and Jean are the only people on Earth that should be trusted to not be a part of the enemy's camp."- There are few others, but Coulson doesn't need to know.
"Prey tell, why do you claim so?"- Coulson.
"Because if we want something, we just think hard about it and someone does it for us. Why would we go the roundabout way when we can have whatever we want?"- Sadly this couldn't be further from the truth... Maybe for me, it's partially true.
"Sorcerers should be excluded, though."- Yelena commented.
"Also some special existences and a few of the divine."- Irina added.
"... I don't feel so secure thinking about it that way, but your logic holds true. What did the director ask you to inform me about?"- Oh boy, here we go.
"Better take a seat, Mr. Agent Coulson."- He will need it.
________________________________________________
Birnin Zana, Royal Palace of Wakanda.
"I can't believe you! You do not get to act the victim now, Daughter! Not after what you did!"- A regal woman wearing an outfit as queenly as her, said outfit which cost about as much as the GDP of Liechtenstein.
"But, Mother, it was my only chance at getting in contact with Goddess Gaea. I took Nakia with me. No one was supposed to know I was there!"- Princess Shuri responded.
"Do you listen to yourself, Shuri?! No one was supposed to know you were there? What about the dragon that ripped space to destroy the portal? You are smarter than this! What was your backup in case you were discovered? What if the goddess had taken offense at your trespassing?"- Queen Ramonda grabbed the princess by her shoulders and shook her.
"Think Shuri! You're smart, it's not so hard and it is free!"- She released the princess and brought a hand to her forehead in desperation at the foolishness of her daughter.
"It was all I could do to get a fighting chance, and it worked."- Princess Shuri answered.
"You call that working? All you've got is the unreliable word of a lunatic. That's all you have to show for putting your life, the life of your guards, and the livelihood of every one of the citizens you're bound by duty to protect on the line."- The Queen retorted.
"A lunatic he may be, but one that has the backing of Goddes Gaea. You can ask Nakia, she was there when the goddess recommended I seek his help."- She motions to the Dora who was trying to harmonize with the wavelength of light and become invisible.
"Nakia, is this the truth?"- The Queen asked.
"Yes, my Queen."- The Dora respectfully answered.
"So what if he could help? How do you think you're getting that help? After your little escapade, your father has rescinded your flight privileges."- She pointed at the obvious problem after recognizing the seal of approval the goddess entrusted in the lunatic.
"Mother these doors can't stop me, I will do as I have done before and visit Mr. Abner."
"Maybe the doors can't, but what about your guard?"
"They would not sell me out to Father."
"Do you think your father didn't update their orders after your last charming prank?"- The Queen motioned to Nakia for the Princess to ask her Dora.
"Nakia, is this the truth?"- Princess Shuri asked.
"It is, your Highness. On the orders of His Majesty, you are no longer permitted our assistance, furthermore, we are to prevent any attempt from your Highness at vacating the perimeter of the Royal Castle."- The Dora lowered her head in deference with the orders of T'Chaka.
"... This is my only viable chance, you have stood by me all this time, and when we are reaching the finish line you abandon me?"- Princess Shuri asked with a subtle cracking to her voice.
Nakia kept her head lowered, it wasn't clear if she did so out of shame or complicity.
"Shuri, stop that! You know the Dora Milaje serves first and foremost the Black Panther, and you were not the Black Panther last I checked. The emotional manipulation will get you nowhere."- The mother saw through her child's schemes.
"*TSK!* Fine! Then I will invite Mr. Abner to Wakanda!"- The Princess declared with as much authority as she could muster.
"Is this the part where you try to overcharge only to then lower the price to what you really wanted? Because I'm not buying whatever it is you're selling, tell me your real thoughts, daughter."- Queen Ramonda asked with a deadpan expression.
"Okay, Okay! Stop it with that look. I just need you to help me get to the border, I will have Mr. Abner wait for me there. Could you do that for me, Mother?"- The Princess asked with her real motive out in the open.
"Do you think he will walk into what appears to be a blatantly obvious ambush? That's leaving aside the fact that I don't believe you can summon him at your whim, foolish daughter of mine."- The Queen exclaimed, grabbing her waist and looking at the Princess with disbelief.
"It's not like I have any other cards to play—non-self-destructive cards— and something tells me that he will come, even if he knew this was an ambush."- She smiled sheepishly.
"Right, a lunatic, I had forgotten."- Queen Ramonda shook her head in disapproval.
"When will you need my help?"- She relented to her daughter's faulty plan.
"Thank you, Mother! Let me call him."- Princess Shuri rushed to her mother and glomped her.
"Release me! Don't behave like a child, young lady!"- Queen Ramonda resisted but her pleasant mood was obvious to everybody in her chambers.
Assisted by her Kimoyo beads, Princess Shuri called Aragorn. A hologram of Aragorn appeared—which should be said was a rare occurrence when contacting someone outside of Wakanda.
"Heya, Princess. How is it going?"- Aragorn asked with a wave of his hand. Papers and pens could be seen floating about and a few holograms of organic molecules were displayed in his background.
"Is this how he talks to Shuri?"- Queen Ramonda—out of frame—murmured, displeased, to Nakia.
"Yes, my Queen."- Nakia muttered back with a hidden righteous fury.
"Hello, Mr. Abner. I wish I could say good."- Shuri.
"Was it house arrest?"- Aragorn asked with a grin.
"*Ugh* Yes, it was."- Shuri.
"Makes sense. So, what do you suggest we do? Do you want me to sneak in?"- Aragorn offhandedly mentioned.
"...Do you think you can?"- Shuri asked daringly.
"I don't like where this is going."- Muttered Queen Ramonda.
"You guys have no real protection against spatial incursion, so... Yes, I'm sure I can. Just say when."- Aragorn.
"Let me ask my Mother."- Shuri muted her microphone.
"Mother?"- She questioned.
"*Si~~~~igh* Just do it."- She resigned herself to the inevitable.
"Really? I thought you were going to decline."- Shuri asked the question that was also in Nakia's head.
"From my point of view, we can test the veracity of his claims this way, and if someone was going to sneak in I prefer it to be the man endorsed by Goddess Gaea, no matter how lunatic this man may appear."- This so-called 'trust' in Aragorn, should better be credited to the relation between Bast and Gaea.
Otherwise, some of the assassins hitting the telepathic duo would be carrying vibranium weaponry.
"When are you available? I have time, but if I want to get used to my new skill set, the sooner the better."- The princess said after unmuting the call.
"It's fine now, since it's nighttime over there that works in our favor, that should give your body enough sleep time to settle down after the changes. I'm going over there."- Aragorn
"Now?"- Shuri asked startled.
"Now."- They heard Aragorn's voice from the chaise lounge in the room.
The three women jumped a little and the Dora brought about her weapon.
"Still with the spear, huh?"- He laughed at Nakia.
"You do know that they shoot, right?"- The Princess asked with a smile.
"*TCH!* I know but I wanted to see if she would lose her cool and shoot me with it. Now you ruined it."- Aragorn clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Why would you do that?"- The Princess asked in bewilderment.
"To create leverage..."- Queen Ramonda answered.
"Mmmmm, I wouldn't say that, no. Not that it wouldn't lead to that, but I like messing with arrogant people. She is racist to boost, so there's that. A pleasure to meet you, Queen Ramonda. You have an amazing daughter and a beautiful kingdom."- Aragorn stood up and walked towards the queen with an extended hand.
*Shinnng*- And was stopped by a spear to his face. He looked at the Dora and smiled broadly.
"...Nakia Shauku, do you like your arms?"- Aragorn's smile turned evil.
"Stop that!"- Queen Ramonda ordered sternly to the Dora.
Nakia lowered her spear but stood by her queen's side.
"The pleasure is mutual. Please forgive this girl, Mr. Abner, she is rather overzealous."- The queen shook hands with the dragon.
"I've seen. No problem though, we are basically best friends at this point."- He kept smiling at Nakia.
"Please don't bully my friend, Mr. Abner."- Princess Shuri mocked displeasure.
"Fine, I was mostly joking. I was not going to remove her arms, that would put me in your crosshairs. I'm aiming for a friendly relationship not one of hostility."- He tried to dispel the heavy mood.
"Mostly?"- Queen Ramonda asked.
"...~Hahahaha!... Princess Shuri, are we doing this or what?"- He failed, and in his attempt to ignore the loaded question he ignored the queen.
"...*Si~igh* Yes, do I just need to lay on the bed, and we are done?"- The Princess decided to move on.
"Yes, just lie down and I'll take care of the rest. I have experience so rest assured."
"Was that a sexual innuendo?"- Shuri asked with a chuckle.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Last question, are you sure about the werepanther mutation?"- For the sake of the glare from the Queen, Aragorn decided to move on from the joke.
"Yes, it's the option best aligned with my Goddess and with the more compatible parameters with my fighting style. Why?"- Shuri asked trying to understand why the reluctance.
"Humans tend to discriminate what's different from them, so I thought you were going to go for the more discreet mutations."- Aragorn answered.
"But you said that I could still switch forms, like a werewolf, right?"- Shuri asked as she lay on the bed, Queen Ramonda stood by as she listened attentively.
"Yes, but humans can find fault in the most minimal of differences, skin color, nationality, faith, social standing, you name it, I bet one of my horns I can find you at least one human that discriminates against anything you could think of."- He said looking straight at the Dora.
"You are at a disadvantage—compared to your brother—by being a woman, younger, and because your mother is of South African origin—No offense, Queen Ramonda—add to that the assistance you're receiving from an outsider such as myself and the resultant change in your appearance, and you'll end up with more negatives than you started with."- Aragorn remarked, casting a measured glance at the princess.
"But some aspects will cancel out some of those negatives. Goddess Gaea endorsed you, so that will offset your outsider status, and my appearance will resemble that of our Goddess which means no one will have any standing to discriminate against me. I can't do anything about my origin or who I am—not like I'm ashamed of it—so that won't change. In the end, I will be left with the only positive I care about... strength!"- Princess Shuri said with conviction.
"You hurt my feelings, Princess! What about my friendship? That should be a positive that outshines any negative, right?"- Aragorn asked while starring in a one-dragon drama.
"... You like to joke don't you, Lord Alduin? At best you might consider me your pet, would you not?"- Shuri asked with a nervous chuckle.
Queen Ramonda's expression faltered and Nakia was confused.
"...~Hahahahahaha! Was it Bastet?"- Aragorn asked with a pleased grin.
"No, my Lord. Goddess Gaea looked at you unlike a superior but like an equal."- Shuri.
"That makes sense, Gaea doesn't care enough to put up a convincing act, the only reason she went along with it was because she found it amusing to act as my superior. ~You're quite observant Shuri, not even your trained guards saw through it."- Not only Gaea but also Aragorn didn't care enough because he could have rewritten their memories if they had found out.
"... So what happens now?"- Shuri asked nervously.
"Nothing much, I'll let Ramonda and you keep your memories while I rewrite that girl's."- Aragorn looked at the panicked Dora and this one fell forward to the bed, asleep, in an uncomfortable position.
"Should I call you 'Lord Alduin'?"- Shuri asked as she reached for her Dora and set her right in the bed.
"That's a made-up name, I go by Aragorn, without the 'Abner'. But if you're going to talk to my human self use Aragorn Abner."- Aragorn said with a smile.
"So 'Mr. Abner' is fine."
"It is. Are you ready?"
"I am ready!"- Shuri answered with some false bravado.
"Relax, you'll just fall asleep. By the time you open your eyes, it'll all be over."- Aragorn said reassuringly as he took her hand in his, and Princess Shuri drifted into sleep
"That's it."- Aragorn said to the still-shaken Queen.
"... That's all?"- Queen Ramonda asked after she got a hold of herself.
"Yes, no light show, no shouts of pain. I'll have to spend the night here to monitor her, I hope that's not a problem."- Aragorn asked looking at the tall window in the room.
"No, if anything this is preferable... my Lord."- Queen Ramonda was unsure about what manner of speech to use since things had been informal after the dragon arrived, but it turned out that their guest wasn't who she thought he was and her daughter didn't even bother to inform her.
"..."-Aragorn remained silent, his lack of response once again setting her on edge.
"My Lord? Are-"- Queen Ramonda was interrupted.
A light seemed to converge on the window Aragorn was looking at and a projection of a black cat took shape.
Apart from Gaea, Thor, and a few extraordinary cases, Gods were forbidden by a pact with the Celestials from stepping foot on Earth. To account for this problem, Bastet manipulated the faith—which her followers offered—in the air and manifested this projection of a small piece of her.
"He was talking to me, Child. There's no problem, grandfather, you can stay wherever you want."- Bastet said.
"Grandfather?"x2- Queen Ramonda and Aragorn both asked.
Queen Ramonda quickly realized her blunder, kneeled hurriedly before her Goddess, and waited to be addressed.
"Is it a misunderstanding perhaps? You're laden with her divinity. Are you not her partner?"- The black cat asked in confusion.
"Ah, that! Yes, it's a misunderstanding. But we do share a familial association, so it wouldn't be wrong to consider me your grandfather, or uncle, or perhaps some type of elder in your family. On the other hand, I don't want to suddenly become family to everyone related to Gaea—that's how you end up with all the Gods of Earth at your Thanksgiving dinner... Alright, let's make it first come, first served; you can call me uncle. Do you prefer Bast or Bastet?"
But it was not entirely a misunderstanding, Gaea deliberately did so to avoid an incident with a 'golddigger' goddess that would undoubtedly end in the disappearance of her divine household—death by Death—and to affirm her claim over the pseudo-Cosmic dragon. Romantic relation or not she wanted any god or goddess that met Aragorn to know that he was taken. Her children they may be, but she knew very well how they operated—especially the Greek.
"~Huhuhu~ Uncle has a funny tone to it. I prefer Bast, it's the name my believers worship."
"You should say something to Ramonda over there..."- Aragorn pointed at the still kneeling queen.
"Oh! Child you don't need to do that here. You didn't kneel before... my uncle, so you don't need to kneel before me. At least not in this setting."- Her tail swayed behind her in amusement.
"Thank you, my Goddess, but I didn't dare to presume."- Ramonda stood up but kept her head lowered.
"Uwah~ So stiff. I'm guessing you don't normally communicate with your believers, Bast."- Aragorn smiled at the Queen's behavior and her lips twitched.
"After the last Celestial Host I have not directly done so, Uncle. The only exception being the succession of a new Black Panther."- And even in said case, Bast did so only indirectly.
"That's understandable, Celestials can be annoying to deal with."- Aragorn.
"Uncle, why are you helping the girl?"- Bast asked as she curiously eyed the sleeping princess.
"Mmmmmm, Wakanda is not a problem due to its isolationist nature, but it could be a positive influence under the right leadership. Objectively speaking, T'Challa is the best choice for Wakanda, while Shuri is the best choice for the world. This doesn't mean Shuri would be detrimental to Wakanda or that T'Challa would be harmful to the world; rather, her rule could prove beneficial globally, ergo, beneficial to me."
"A difference in perspective..."
"Indeed. I care for the planet as a whole, while you focus solely on your believers—no blame there. Additionally, I wouldn't have invested much effort if Wakanda hadn't integrated this tribal ritual of combat into their political succession. It's this very aspect that makes helping the princess towards the throne worthwhile for me."- Aragorn never considered Wakanda to become a problem, but if they could slightly help his cause then why not do it with the minimal investment possible?
"Thank you for answering my question, Uncle... Why is it that grandmother left her pocket realm?"- After mulling over it for a second Bast decided to ask about what the Ennead has been wondering for the past years.
"That's a secret, don't ask, but you can rest assured that I guarantee her safety. You can also assume she will remain with me for the foreseeable future."- Aragorn explained.
"I understand, I'll let the rest know."
"I thought you gods cared only about yourselves—or your respective pantheons at best. I know she goes by Neith in your mythology but she was never truly a part of the Ennead. Why the sudden interest in Gaea?"- He asked, his tone striving for non-confrontation.
"Can't it be because she is our Mother Goddess and we care for her?"- Bast answered like a playful cat.
"Nah, you guys are not like that. Don't get me wrong, anyone would find it in them to love that cute woman—I don't doubt that—but you were a terrible family to her, with the best of you being those who pay no mind to her. Is it because she is considered the true power source of what you gods can do? Were you worried that something might have happened to her?"
Gaea is what the Gods of Earth consider their progenitor, their true font of creation, the first being to form out of chaos, and the origin—the starting point—of their power.
While it's true that most of them now have dimensions to power themselves with, the death of Gaea could be disastrous to their existence—not to mention the total loss of life on Earth—hence why they always kept tabs on her whereabouts—until they lost her when Aragorn 'recruited' her as the surrogate mother of his baby.
"... It is as you presumed, Uncle."- Bast replied, her discomfort evident in her response.
"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you. Gaea made her peace with all of you long ago and she doesn't care much about you now—a mutual feeling as I've seen—I was simply asking to satiate my curiosity. You can go back, Bast, I presume keeping that little cat of yours here must be wasteful, I'll be out of your hair after Shuri wakes up."- Aragorn gave her a neutral smile which represented how he wasn't bothered by her nor pleased. He positively didn't care.
"Thank you, Uncle."- Bast replied before dissolving her feline avatar of light.
With the departure of Bast, Queen Ramonda released a breath—trying to exhale the years of stress the recent experience brought her—and took a shaking seat at the edge of the bed. Her legs kept shaking and her eyes were closed as she tried to level her breathing.
"Funny how you relax in my presence, yet Bast—the one that got you all overwhelmed—was tense because of the same presence. Quite illogical."- Aragorn said with a smile as he touched her shoulder, using his biokinesis to biologically relax her.
"...*Sigh*... Thank you for that. It was shameful of me to succumb to anxiety."- Queen Ramonda said, regaining her composure.
"No biggie, I find your daughter entertaining, I wouldn't mind helping you out a bit."- Aragorn said in an informal tone. Trying to avoid more unneeded fright.
"As illogical as it may appear, my worship is devoted to Goddess Bast, not to you. So even though you clearly hold a higher position, you don't strike the same awe in me as she does... Perhaps your interactions with my daughter have also shaped this perspective."- Queen Ramonda said, her gaze distant.
"It's definitely the last part, isn't it?"- Aragorn said with a smirk. He floated a few feet off the ground and assumed a sitting position midair, then summoned some papers from his desk in Re-Nazca. His P-Link projected seven monitors that initially appeared static, but as he focused on them, information began to cascade across the screens.
"I hope you don't mind; I need to finish by tomorrow noon and dilatating time seemed like an overkill for some paperwork."- He said without looking away from the screens and occasionally controlling a pen to sign paperwork—which soon was sent back to his work station in Re-Nazca.
"Do as you please, I should go and inform at least my husband of your presence here... Unless I want the Dora Milaje to storm this room once they discover something isn't right."- Queen Ramonda looked at the sleeping Dora next to her daughter.
"Oh, I can neuralyze them if it's easier."- Aragorn replied, multitasking between approving funds, designing infrastructure, and engineering the organic components that would mix with the tree's sap, setting the stage for a pharmaceutical revolution.
"Like the Men in Black movie?"- Queen Ramonda asked, questioning reality.
"Less tech-driven, more telepathy-driven. Though, I could probably build a Neuralyzer... Then again, your daughter could probably do as well... Mmmmmmmm... Why hasn't she?"- Aragorn paused his work and looked at the queen with curiosity overflowing his eyes.
"... She wasn't given permission. The council decreed technology involving psionic energy a dead end and a waste of resources after we found a way to protect against it."- She said with some embarrassment.
"A 'dead end'?... Are they stupid or afraid? I can rearrange molecules with telekinesis alone and that's not even the limit, how can there be such small-minded people in your council?... No! I might be wrong, maybe they are smart for stopping its development if they thought of themselves as possible victims of it..."- The stupidity of the answer killed any curiosity he harbored and he returned to his work.
"... Shuri said something similar. I'll be back... Possibly with my husband and son."- She hid her embarrassment under the mask she wore as a queen and attempted to exit the room.
"Is it trust in my character or your powerlessness to stop me that gives you assurance in leaving me alone with your sleeping daughter?"- Aragorn asked.
Queen Ramonda paused in front of the door, then opened it, and before exiting and closing she said:
"Both."
With a smooth sealing sound, the door closed and Aragorn continued with his work. After half an hour, he extended a tentacle and gently touched above the princess's navel to monitor her bodily status. Satisfied with her progress, he retracted it.
"Spark, add the advanced development of her pituitary gland when compared to the process our girls went through."- He said out loud, not because it was needed but more out of habit.
"Master Chief, could it be because of a bigger requirement in the control over the endocrine system?"- Spark asked, adding his own hypothesis.
"I think so, the load of hormonal control in our girls was minimal since their adaptability took over most of it. We'll get confirmation at the end."- He said, then returned to his paperwork.
After approximately one hour since she left, Queen Ramonda returned with her husband, stepson, and the recently promoted head of the Dora Milaje, Okoye.
Aragorn halted his work and observed the royal entourage. Emotions and microexpressions were dissected, and with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he said:
"Hello, King T'Chaka, Prince T'Challa, Leader of the Dora Milaje Okoye. I trust Queen Ramonda explained the nature of my intrusion and that there are no problems with my temporary stay."
'Why didn't you tell them about me?'- Aragorn asked the queen, who flinched after hearing his voice in her mind.
'I didn't have enough time to convince them. So I only explained the basics.'
"There might have been a misunderstanding, Mr. Abner. Outsiders are not allowed in Wakanda. Even the young princess knows this."- T'Chaka said with a neutral face that betrayed no emotion.
"Intruders are dealt with accordingly, Father. We don't need to waste time with this, Shuri made a mistake and she shall take responsibility for it. Abner, release my sister and her guard from whatever mental manipulation you have on them!"- Prince T'Challa demanded.
'How did you even get them to come here with just Okoye if they were this confrontational?'- Aragorn asked, ignoring the prince.
'I calculated our pace and the time it would take to finish the recount of events, I finished just before we opened the door. I did leave some details out.'- Queen Ramonda.
'That's impressive in its own way.'- Aragorn admitted.
"No. Listen to your mother's story first. If you want to die after listening you can repeat what you just said."- Aragorn said firmly, then proceeded to ignore them and resume his work.
"Wh-*Agh*... I can't move!"- The prince exclaimed, locked in position.
"... I can't either. Okoye, can you move?"- T'Chaka asked, feigning calm.
"No, my King, I can't."- Okoye said while attempting to free herself from whatever was restraining her.
*Ahem!*- Queen Ramonda called for their attention as she moved in front of them.
"I will continue with my report. I'm sure Mr. Abner will release you after we are done!"
'Thank you for not harming them.'
'It's alright, I'm a patient dragon... Most of the time.'
There were some complaints and demands—which for the sake of his patience Aragorn ignored—but eventually the prince and king settled for listening to Queen Ramonda's report.
When the story was done disbelief and suspicion were the prominent feelings going around.
Which was to be expected. Aragorn was a telepath who had proven capable of bypassing their psionic dampeners. Instead of believing that Aragorn was some uber-god who outranked their Goddess Bast, it was more believable that he had played with the mind of their Queen.
It wouldn't be unbelievable if Aragorn was trying to worm his way into Wakanda and its coffers through the Princess and the Queen. It would be believable if he was after their precious metal. It would make sense if he created a false memory for the Queen and had her bring the three most important people in the palace to manipulate their minds.
The possibility of these scenarios is what brought terror to the still-frozen trio.
This doubt was clear even for Queen Ramonda, who didn't know how to convince them other than recounting her experience—which she already did.
"I... I don't believe there's anything I could say to convince them of the truth."- She resigned herself.
"Then don't. It was merely a courtesy to inform them of my presence here. I can leave them frozen until Shuri wakes up. However, you might have to come up with something to account for their disappearance to your subordinates... Or I could freeze whoever enters the room."- Aragorn offhandedly commented.
"Ramonda, please stop with this madness. We can take you to the medical wing and run an electroencephalopsiongram. You must see how this looks from our side! It's clear there's some folly at play; the only mystery is why this man chose this fantasy-like story over something more believable if he aimed to get us on your side!"- T'Chaka exclaimed with an intensity befitting his status.
"I can't come up with a believable excuse because there are protocols for this, and I can't speak for my husband or Okoye. Even if you freeze everyone who walks in, eventually it will escalate, and the doomsday protocols will come into effect."- The Queen tried to explain the perilousness of her situation while ignoring her husband's plea.
"You are becoming more of a problem than you're worth."- Aragorn remarked bluntly.
Queen Ramonda remained silent, unable to see a way to defend her position—at least not one that she believed would matter to the dragon.
With a deep sigh, he ordered:
"Bast, do something about it."- He didn't stop looking at the screens that now projected a myriad of complex tridimensional organic structures.
With a lightshow—which Queen Ramonda quickly recognized and acknowledged by dropping to her knees—Bast appeared for a second time in her divine feline glory. Though no one dared to voice it—or point out the logic in it—they all recognized the annoyed frown on the cat goddess's face.
"*Ugh* They are too much, Uncle."- She complained and walked to them and touched their foreheads—except Okoye's—with her paws.
"That's true, but their concerns are perfectly logical."- Aragorn objectively said.
"I know, but it feels wasteful to use faith for this."- She argued.
"The other option was to freeze every citizen, but unfortunately, it wasn't realistic because I'm not aware of the protocols they have running automatically in their servers. We could end up triggering a self-destruct sequence scenario."- He explained, a hint of annoyance evident in his tone.
"*Sigh* I understand... It's just so wasteful... See you later, Uncle."- Bast lighted off.
"*GASP!*"x2- T'Challa and T'Chaka snapped out of their trance, and noticing their now understanding feelings Aragorn released them.
The royal duo dropped to their knees, whether from tiredness or genuflection wasn't clear, and Okoye—unsure of the appropriate stance—stood behind them.
"You don't have to say anything, your actions were understandable, just make sure nobody interrupts us anymore. I'm not saying that this would impact Shuri's mutation, but I believe she wants to be the one to inform Wakanda of my involvement in her change and not by happenstance."- Aragorn spoke before the duo started issuing apologies.
The King and Prince looked at Queen Ramonda—whom they unconsciously acknowledged as the elder in their unbelievable situation—and she gave them a nod of approval. They stood up, and Okoye followed them out of the room.
"Now that was, somehow, necessary and totally unnecessary."- Aragorn remarked.
"..."- Queen Ramonda was pensive and silent.
"What's up with you, Ramonda?"- Aragorn asked, recognizing her contemplative state.
"I apologize, I was wondering if Goddess Bast would be resentful after this."- They did cause her to waste faith, after all.
"Mmmmm, I don't think so."- Overall she should have some green numbers because of the resulting contact with Aragorn—at least in terms of divine networking.
The rest of the night was spent with Queen Ramonda overseeing her daughter, with Aragorn intermittently checking on her condition. As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight touched the peaks of Wakanda, Aragorn paused his work and Shuri woke up in synchronicity.
"Mo-mom?"- She asked in her lethargic state.
"How are you feeling, Shuri?"- Aragorn asked.
"Mr. Abner... Ah! Right!"- Shuri jumped out of bed and started to flex her body and tried a few recalibrating exercises.
"I think I'm about 5 to 7 times stronger in my human form. There's a small sensorial overload, but I should get used to it eventually... Should I try my werepanther from next?"- Princess Shuri asked with stars in her now feline eyes.
"The vibranium clothing that usually protects you would strangle you now—remember that your body will buff up a little—get naked first then try it. You'll need a new entire wardrobe."- Aragorn said.
"What? Not in front of a man!"- Queen Ramonda interjected.
"I never said to do it in front of me, did I? And would this make it better?"- Aragorn shifted into his female form.
"..."- The mother-daughter pair was left speechless.
"Chop! Chop! Shuri. I have to get to a meeting in an hour."- Aragorn demanded.
"Even if you can do that, you are still attr-... Are you attracted to women?"- Queen Ramonda asked.
"I'm not attracted to mortals; I like women, but even then I'm happily married. These eyes of mine aren't just for lighting up like a Christmas tree; I can see through stuff. So there's no point in trying to preserve her so-called purity. Think of me like a doctor, and let's get this over with."- Aragorn said tactlessly, in exasperation.
"That is still no reas-"- Ramonda tried to object.
"Done!"- Shouted the now very naked princess.
Queen Ramonda facepalmed.
"Good. I made the trigger 'Desire'. Desire to protect, Desire to kill, Desire to clash, any one of these I recommend. Simply focus on the feeling that will follow."- Aragorn said.
He really did not even register Shuri as a female, the closest classification he had for her would be something along the lines of 'Possibly Useful', 'Princess', or 'Smart Mortal', in fact, most people he meets he sees naked. Simply because he doesn't bother to 'turn off' his eyes in the presence of mortals.
His feelings toward it are similar to how a normal human doesn't feel embarrassment or lust at naked animals. Not that he couldn't appreciate beauty or attractiveness, he just didn't feel lustful desire toward mortals.
*ROAR*- After a moment of concentration—with a roar—the Princess Woge and morphed into her Wesen form... She transformed into her werepanther form.
A digitigrade, bipedal, humanoid female panther with long black hair.
"This feels good!"- Princess Shuri spoke now with a guttural vibe to her voice.
"Now try to relax, that should morph you back."- Aragorn.
She relaxed and with a few cracking sounds and winces, she returned to her naked human usual self. Aragorn moved behind her and placed a hand on her back.
"Everything is good. You'll have an average caloric consumption of 4,000 calories on a passive day and above 9,000 calories on an active one. Aside from that, emotional unrest—like nightmares—could trigger your transformation. Be careful of wounds, although your regeneration is now unnatural it is not superhuman, so if you get hurt make sure to rest appropriately. Lastly, you're still growing so as you get stronger so will your panther form. Questions?"- Aragorn made sure to write this and more down to give it to the worried mother fretting around the panther mutant.
"Behavioral changes?"- Shuri clinically asked.
"Just the expected conduct derived from your now enhanced physiology. You're not a human-panthera hybrid so nothing much will change, but you might find yourself experiencing some more animalistic impulses, just not something worth mentioning, like something you couldn't control."- At worst she might find herself unusually attracted to laser pointers.
"Okay! Thank you!"- Shuri said with a beaming smile.
"Don't mention it, you know my motivations. Contact me if you have any problems or once you win the Panther Habit. Bye now!"- Aragorn, with the wave of a hand, jumped back to Re-Nazca.
"..."
"..."
"*Si~~~~~~igh*"x2- The royals released the biggest sigh of their lives, accompanied by a slight quiver in their bodies.
________________________
Arbor Mundi, 4 weeks AGD(After Green Door)
*Pop!*- With a popping sound—which only I could hear since it's a product of my imagination—I disconnected from the tree.
"Alright! This big boy is done!"- Gaea exclaimed with a fervent smile.
"It took so long, at least by my expectations, but EGR (Extreme Gamma Radiation) is no laughing matter."- I said.
"Yep, normally a few minutes would have been enough for the amount of divinity I used in a single tree, but it took a month."- Gaea nodded.
"What are you going to do now? Will you stay here or will you go to Halo?"- I asked.
"You won't go after the witch until next week right?"- Gaea.
"Yes, I want to shake some trees and see how the monkeys will react to the new drugs I'm presenting."- I will start small, but I want to see what will they do.
"Don't you have to do clinical trials and such before you release pharmaceuticals?"- Gaea cutely tilted her head.
"What I'm releasing is aimed towards skin care, so I will just use my current results as marketing and start clinical trials afterward, not long before starting manufacturing."- It's more like a political move to show the world the potential that the tree has.
With a second objective of baiting a few organizations out.
"Okay, then I'll stay until the trials. It's been a while since I've been 'grounded' so I will enjoy this time on the planet before ascending to Halo."- It's not like she's been doing anything different than what she normally does on Halo, but I won't be telling her that.
I should go and make a few rounds and show my face to the public.
2 Days Later
Yesterday, I unveiled the avant-garde line of skincare that will shape the future of health. Not because skincare alone can encompass a vast concept like 'health', but because this is the beginning of a series of health products that will make me the enemy of the entire healthcare market.
Even though I'm not aiming for the cure to all human ailments, I will chip at some of their major income sources. Stuff like Alzheimer's, Sexually Transmitted Disease, Diabetes, Autoimmune diseases, and various other Infectious diseases will be a thing of the past.
Now, I'm not crazy enough to release all of these miraculous drugs at once, but I became their enemy simply because they recognized the tree as a big source of potential income—one that I'm currently monopolizing. And if there's a thing that capitalism both likes and dislikes is Monopoly... Oh, the hypocrisy and greed of humans! How amazing it is that they are so shameless about airing their ugly side like this under the covers of market stability and the greater good.
Only when it's them it's fair, but when against them it's despicable.
Oh, well, I'm a hypocrite myself, but that's me and this is them, it's different!
This tree will soon enough become the catalysis for World War III... Or at least they will try to make it so. I wonder how many countries would fall before WWIII could even start. At the moment 'Lord Alduin' is my nuclear deterrent, and while it would be a stupid decision to try anything against Re-Nazca, politicians are not known for their wisdom and common sense.
"Incoming. Let's go outside, I don't want to deal with this many inside the dome."- I said to Jean—who has been making great progress—Maria Hill and my personal maids.
"We are going to step outside for a minute or two."- I tell the rest of the committee.
"Is it assassins again?"- Asked Clemencia—still leading as the Most Likely To Be President—very much like anybody else she is now used to it.
"Yes, there's a few this time so we will intercept them outside."- I added.
Irina opened a portal that led outside and we walked through. We appeared at the northern superficial entrance to the Dome—which surfaces just outside the edge of the barrier.
"You ready, Jean?"- I asked looking at the carefully 'hidden' guests.
They were not really hiding since they learned we could spot them even with their psionic scramblers.
"I counted 64 bags of walking fertilizer."- Yelena said indifferently.
"They might be fish food this time."- Irina added.
"Do I have to be the one killing them?"- Jeans asked.
"Yes, the sooner you get used to it the better."- I said.
"Jean, be careful of psionic interference devices. You've got this, Jean!"- Irina gave her advice and support with a thumbs up.
"There's a mismatch between the mood and the situation..."- Hill commented.
"Covergirl, they are about as deadly as a Dodo Bird."- They are quite deadly, but now that Jean learned how to go around anti-psionic tech these are sitting targets.
"Are these Hydra?"- Hill asked, displeasure in her voice.
"Who knows?"- They are brainwashed and usually only by using a psychometry spell do we find out where they come from, or by tracking them the old school way.
"*Sigh* What did I expect from you?"- Hill sighed.
"That's no way to treat your most important consultant/asset."- I replied.
"Don't flatter yourself, it makes people recoil."- Hill.
"That's only if you're not pretty."- Yelena interjected.
"That's true, double standards are a thing."- I agreed.
Jean pulled some rocks from the floor—car-sized rocks—compacted them into spheres and then shot them in a parabolic trajectory. This way she doesn't need to keep her telekinesis on the rocks so their anti-psionic measures become useless.
The sounds their bodies made upon collision had Jean flinching, she no longer melts down after taking a life, but she is still not field-approved so we usually accompany her when dealing with fertilizer bags.
"You missed 3."- I comment while cracking their necks from this distance.
"Tell me again, why is it that you can bypass their and our countermeasures?"- Hill asked.
"Because I shine and I'm handsome."- I made sure to light up my horns and the blade of my tail.
"...*Sigh*... Are we done here?"- Hill asked.
"Nope. There's a... I don't recognize the model but it looks similar to an AGM-65 Maverick missile, maybe it's a new model, well the point is that someone is doing the equivalent of carpet bombing us but with AGM-65 Maverick missiles."- I see 28 of them.
"What type of aircraft could carry that payload?"- Yelena.
"It looked like a modified Quinjet... it just self-destructed... Maybe it was a jet-turned-drone type of aircraft. I'm not sure, it looked like someone Frankensteined a Quinjet with a VTOL plus an MLRS and maybe a tank."- People don't know when to give up.
"Extra points for creativity, though."- Yelena said after seeing the illusion I built of the aircraft.
"Can you handle it? Or are we portaling out of here?"- Hill asked with some impatience.
"Jean, do the thing!"- I answered.
We waited a few seconds before all the incoming missiles exploded at about a soccer field away from us.
"That's pretty cool. 7/10★"- I rated it.
"5/10★ for me."- Yelena.
"I agree with the fox."- Irina said.
"It wasn't that bad..."- I tried to defend my score.
"That's because you only care if explosions are bright and shiny or not."- Jean—the totally mistaken firebird—said.
"Are we done now?"- Hill asked once more while observing the dispersing explosion.
"Nope."
"They were testing the waters the past weeks."- Irina explained.
"Now they are trying the famous wave tactics."- Yelena mocked.
"That was just the start of the raid, of course. You don't play RPGs, do you, Covergirl?"- I said while shaking my head in disapproval.
"Aragorn-"- Hill started to say something.
"Mr. Abner."- Irina said with her eyes taking a feral gleam.
"... Mr. Abner, while I understand that these silly attempts at your life are nothing more than training material for your charge in your eyes, why are you blocking us from getting evidence and maybe prosecuting the organizations that are not Hydra?"- Hill said after she saw the look in Irina's eyes.
"That's just idiot-thinking. Every one of these organizations, whether they know it or not, is Hydra. And even if they were not, why do you think you have the leeway to make an enemy of them when you're under the squids' tentacles like one of those hentai girls?"- SHIELD should for the moment focus on Hydra, Fury knows this, that why he doesn't care if I'm destroying evidence and burying witnesses.
"Ms. Hill, this may not be my place to say—given that I'm not a spy—but you and Mr. Coulson behave like you want to run before walking. Mr. Fury said that he was building a faction within SHIELD secretly, I think you might want to hold up until that's done."- Jean softly said.
"I understand that, Ms. Grey... It's a little bit hard to explain, but to some of us—like Coulson and me—SHIELD was our dream job, the good fight, the good guys, and now... when we thought that we had finally reached our dream it turned out to be a bucket of SHIT!...*Sigh*... Sorry about my outburst. I'm simply beyond frustrated."- Her rage was more apparent in her face than Coulson's.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Hill. Do you want to kill a few of the incoming group to let it all out?"-... This manipulative padawan is trying to skip on her training.
"... No. You kill them."- Hill said with a deadpan.
"*Tsk!* Worth a shot."- Jean murmured.
30 minutes into the pest control I looked west in surprise.
"Oh wow! Some idiots they are!"- I couldn't stop myself from exclaiming.
"What is it this time? I'm getting tired of causing so much carnage."- Jean complained. Craters, blood, smoke, wreckage, and guts adorned her background.
"We are getting dirty bombed."- I said.
"A radiological dispersal device (RDD)?"- Hill arched her right eyebrow in questioning.
"Yes."- I said.
"Idiots."- Yelena.
"Morons."- Irina shook her head.
"Did they lose their mental faculties?"- Jean pondered.
"Maybe they are trying to study our response to it... Maybe they are simply idiots."- I said.
"Am I missing something?"- Hill asked.
"It's the tree, Ms. Hill. It feeds on radioisotopes, among other things. As you know, a dirty nuke is just an explosive with radioactive material, it doesn't do nuclear fusion, so no one will get irradiated because the tree will eat the radiation, meaning..."- Jean said.
"Meaning that a dirty bomb turned into a regular bomb... I didn't know the tree still did that so I can't say anything about their mental faculties... But I can see now why they are idiots in your eyes."- Hill finished what Jean left unsaid.
We turned to look west, I aimed my palm in that direction and then there was a yellow-orange flash, we waited a few seconds and then we heard the boom.
A small-sized root—about the girth of a school bus and the length of 3 or 4 soccer fields—burst from the ground and opened up like a fan of tendrils, it then swayed three times, closed up, and then went back underground.
"Huh? I didn't know you could control the tree like that."- Hill.
"It's because I didn't. That wasn't us."
In front of us, a car-sized flower bud bloomed after a root burst out of the ground and Gaea made it out of the rose.
"I was napping. Can you finish this sooner?"- She said.
We kneeled before her—Hill copied us because she wasn't taught how to behave in front of the divine—I kissed her extended hand and stayed still for about 3 seconds and then said:
"It's is done now, my lady. I apologize for the disturbance. I will ensure that next time it won't happen near the Arbor Mundi."- Gaea gave me a pleased look—most likely out me acting as her servant—and if one paid enough attention one could hear the very distant explosions belonging to the few aircraft I just blew up.
"Thank you, Aragorn. Drop by some time, I enjoy your company."- She returned to her rose.
"It will be my honor, my Goddess."- I said just before the rose turned into a bud and then into a root that returned underground.
"That was her? And why are you flirting with the goddess?"- Hill speedily asked.
"Yes, and I wasn't. I acted like a perfect gentleman, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else."- I said.
'You do look like you're flirting if you couldn't feel the :Mirth: coming from our Goddess.'- Yelena telepathically said.
'I don't think they care at this point.'- Jean said.
'Our goddess was having fun, I don't see a problem with it. :Compersion:'- Irina is cute.
'That's because your favorite people in the world are Aragorn and our Goddess, you're biased. :Mirth:'- Yelena added.
"Whatever you say. I will add this to my report. Please portal us to base, I want to finish this day already."- Hill asked with some tiredness in her voice.
A portal later we returned and the day was over. Tomorrow I shall return to the day of the Green Door and find out who this witch is... I can't wait~Heheheh~to find out who~Heheheh~made me blew my soul up~Heheheh~
{A/N:
I probably rewrote this chapter about 2 times, I was not happy with it, so that's the reason behind the delay.
I consider it a filler chapter but sometimes those are needed.
I will upload some pics, so if you got here and found none you mind want to check back.
}
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone