Ed Clone 2 POV
It smells horrible down here. I have no idea how these people live in this stench day in and day out. Mildew, sewage, and something I'm pretty sure died weeks ago, it's all mixed together into one big punch of nope.
If you're wondering where I am, congratulations, you're about to be blessed with the glamorous knowledge that I'm currently crawling through the sewers under New York. Why? Because I found the Morlocks.
How, you might ask? Simple, I used my ability to detect energy signatures. Focused in, scanned deep underground, and found a cluster of mutant readings all in one spot. Bingo.
I eventually made my way to a massive open space down here, big enough to fit a small village. And that's exactly what I found. It wasn't anything grand, shoddy makeshift homes patched together with scraps, trash piled high in every corner, rusted pipes dripping from the ceiling. It looked rough. Like post-apocalyptic junkyard rough.
But what caught my attention wasn't the sad architecture. It was the crowd of people huddled in the center of it all. I floated over to see what was going on.
"Callisto, he's just too dangerous to have here! What happens if one of those mutant-hating groups attacks again, and our powers stop working because of him?" shouted a guy with scales covering his face and arms. Looked like a walking gecko.
"So what? You want us to abandon him now? That's not who we are. We don't leave our own behind," said another man, bigger, bald, skin like stone.
"I'm thinking about everyone here!" the lizard guy snapped back. "If we don't exile this kid, we're all gonna die. I'm trying to make sure we survive."
"We don't abandon our own. That's our rule. No matter what."
"We might have to break that rule if we wanna live!"
Okay... yeah, that's my cue.
I dropped down between them before someone started throwing punches. Took about two seconds before everyone realized I was there.
"Look, it's Arsenal!" a kid blurted out, pointing.
The crowd shifted and turned to me, surprised. I gave a short wave.
"Hey there. Gotta say, you guys were not easy to find," I said casually.
That's when a woman stepped forward, short black hair, eye patch, definite presence. This was Callisto, leader of the Morlocks.
"That was the point," she said flatly. "I work very hard to keep my people hidden. So how did you find us?"
I just gave her a little smirk. "Let's just say... one of my many new powers."
She clearly didn't like that answer, but I wasn't really in the mood to give her the full breakdown.
"So, what's with the shouting match?" I asked, glancing between Gecko Guy and Mr. Rockskin.
"That's our business," Callisto replied coldly. "Morlock business. Not yours."
"Easy now," I held up my hands. "We're all mutants here. No need to get aggressive, I'm just here to help."
"Help?" a voice cut in, an Asian woman with purple highlights. "Help how? Shouldn't you be up top playing hero for the humans?"
"Well, first off," I said, meeting her gaze, "I'm not just a hero for humans. I'm a hero for everyone. Second... how about getting all of you out of this hole and letting you live somewhere that isn't a moldy garbage pit?"
Callisto laughed, a cold, bitter laugh that echoed off the sewer walls.
"You think you can just fly in here, throw around some nice words, and we'll just walk out and play nice with the surface world? Are you that naive?" Her voice turned sharp. "The moment we show our faces, they'll try to kill us."
I stared back at her.
"No shit," I said bluntly.
The entire crowd went silent. Even the kids. My bad on the language.
"Sorry, pardon my French," I added quickly. "But I'm not talking about dragging you all back up into New York and hoping people stop being racist overnight. I'm talking about a place I built. A city. On my island. For people like us."
All their eyes were locked on me now. Shock, disbelief, curiosity. I think I got their attention.
Now let's see if I can earn their trust.
"You built a city for mutants?" a kid with green skin and a horn growing out of his forehead asked. He looked up at me, eyes wide, not with fear, but with something I hadn't seen a lot of down here: hope.
"Yeah, I did," I said with a nod. "All of you would be safe there. No one hunting you, no one treating you like monsters. Fresh food, clean water, and most importantly? You'll feel sunlight on your skin again. You won't have to hide anymore. We can all live normal lives."
"How can we trust you?" a gruff voice cut in.
I turned to see a man step forward. He had four eyes, a mouth on the side of his cheek, and a nose so big I thought it was a tumor at first. "How do we know this isn't some trap?" he continued. "Maybe you just want to gather us all on this so-called island so you can experiment on us."
"Why the hell would I do that?" I asked flatly.
"Because I don't believe you're really a mutant," he snapped. "No real mutant has all those powers. You're some kind of government experiment sent to lower our guard, make us trust you, then BAM, black bags over our heads, and we vanish."
I looked at him like he'd just grown a second head. Actually, with the Morlocks, that might be a real possibility, but still.
I wasn't the only one. Most of the crowd was looking at him the same way. Embarrassed.
"Michael," a guy beside him muttered, rubbing his face, "I told you to stop smoking that crack."
I held back a laugh. Barely.
"Okay," I said, keeping my tone calm but firm. "First off, I already took down a government lab that was experimenting on mutants. I gave a full interview about it, and even helped some of the victims get back home. Second, if I wanted to capture any of you, I could've. I'm stronger than every single person in this sewer."
Michael opened his mouth, ready to argue, then promptly shut it when he realized... yeah, he had nothing.
"Now," I continued, "about what you all were arguing about earlier. It sounded serious."
Callisto hesitated for a moment, but eventually spoke up. "It's about a boy. His name is Leech. His mutation... it suppresses other mutant abilities. We were debating whether or not to banish him, for the safety of the others."
Ah. Leech.
Yeah, I remember him from the X-Men movies. His power was strong enough to cancel out other mutants—hell, they tried to use him to make a whole 'cure.' It's a dangerous ability, sure, but incredibly valuable.
"I'm glad I found him," I said. "He'll be safe on my island.
Then I looked around at everyone, voice serious.
"No one's getting left behind. I'm taking everyone, unless you don't want to come. That's your choice. But I'm not abandoning anyone."
With that, I raised my hand, and a massive swirling black portal opened behind me—dark as night, rimmed with faint crimson light.
"So, what'll it be?" I said, turning to face them all. "Keep living in darkness… or finally step into the light?"
Ed POV
"I'm glad everyone's here now, we've got a lot to talk about," I said, looking around the room.
"Good. I've got a few things I want to discuss with you too," Peggy added.
"Of course, but let's save it for the end. I already know what you want to bring up," I said, giving her a knowing look.
She nodded.
"Alright, back on track. We're about to be very busy. First off, I finally found the Widows. And before anyone asks, who are the Widows? They're highly trained assassins, raised from childhood to kill. All part of a Russian program called the Red Room Academy."
I clicked the remote. A few images popped up on the screen behind me—dark corridors, training facilities, blurred photos of girls in black uniforms.
"Now, technically, the Red Room worked under Russian authority... but sometime in the early 2000s, their leader, Dreykov, went rogue. Total scumbag. Turned the Widows into mercenaries for hire, selling their services for high-level assassinations. Worst part? He controls them using something called Red Dust. It's a mind control chemical."
"So… what's the plan?" Steve asked, arms crossed.
I flipped the next slide. A photo of a woman filled the screen.
"This woman. Melina Vostokoff. She created the Red Dust. If anyone knows how to reverse it, it's her."
"Damn," A-Train muttered under his breath.
We all turned to look at him.
"Sorry! Sorry, it's just, she's gorgeous. Caught me off guard."
I shook my head. "Moving on…"
"Why would she help us?" Isaac asked. "If she's working with Dreykov, wouldn't she be loyal to him?"
"She's not working with him out of loyalty," I explained. "One of her daughters is still in the Red Room. I'm betting she doesn't want that kind of life for her. She probably thinks she has no other choice. We offer her a way out, and her daughter too, she'll cooperate."
"So you're banking on her conscience," Anissa said. "Got a Plan B in case she doesn't have one?"
"It'll work…"
I paused, then added, "And if it doesn't, I'll just lock her up and read her mind to get the cure myself."
No one said anything for a second.
"…Okay, so we're doing diplomacy with a dash of psychic interrogation," Peggy muttered with a faint smirk.
"Hey. Plan A is diplomacy. Let's hope it works."
"Now, for the next problem, Hydra is going to make a move on us," I said.
"Do they know we even know they exist?" Peggy asked.
"No," I replied, "but after that whole monster invasion, and after they saw some of you in action, they've decided they want information on me. And their brilliant plan to get it… is to kidnap one of you."
"They're gonna try to kidnap one of us?" All Might smirked. "Good luck with that. I doubt they've got anyone strong enough to hold me down."
"Well, lucky for us, I already know who they're going after," I said, turning my head toward Kimiko.
She looked at me, confused.
'They're coming after me? Why?' she signed.
"I could explain," I said, "but… she can do it better."
The screen behind me lit up, showing a video call from General Hale.
"Before anyone panics, don't worry. She can't see us, and she can't hear us yet. And for the sake of keeping everyone's identity secret, call me by my hero name if you need to ask me something. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
I unmuted the call. "General Hale, you're now talking to all Vanguard members. Please, explain to me again, why exactly does Hydra want to go after Silent?"
Hale looked a little surprised at the audience, but she still answered."They believe going after one of your weaker members will be easier than targeting those with obvious powers."
'Weaker? Okay, I know I'm not the strongest here, but I can still take on a dozen regular soldiers, even if they've got high-end weapons," Kimiko signed furiously.
"Silent," I said, looking at her, "she can't see you signing."
Kimiko huffed, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
"To translate for my teammate," I said, turning back to the screen, "she wants to know why they think they can take her. She can take on a dozen regular soldiers."
"Because," Hale said, "They're not sending regular soldiers. They're sending the Winter Soldier."
A file appeared next to her image, detailing the man himself.
I'll be honest, I had completely forgotten about the Winter Soldier. But you can't blame me; I've had a lot going on. Still… this was a chance to save him.
"Bucky," Steve and Peggy said at the same time.
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AN: Sorry for the late chapter; for some reason, my computer has been messing up a lot lately. I'm going to try to release the Ben 10 chapter as soon as possible, though.