Back at the X-Mansion, Ben and Laura had existed the front door and were now walking towards the front gate.
"You picking up Emma's scent out here?" Ben asked, the Mutant Girl.
Laura sniffed the air and nodded. "Yes, I even have the scent of her car. We can follow it to wherever she's taken Jean."
"Ok. But first things first." Ben said as he activated the Ultimatrix. He then slammed the dial down and transformed in a flash of green light.
"Clockwork!"
Laura looked at the Mechanical Alien, tilting her head to the side, like a confused puppy.
"I do not understand. I told you that I can track Emma's scent myself." She then lowered her head as a look of sadness spread across her face. "Or perhaps, you do not trust my abilities and you're going to use Clockwork to check yourself."
Clockwork immediately put his large metal hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. He gave her a warm smile.
'Zat could not be furzer from ze truth" Clockwork stated. "I just vish to understand vat exactly happened here. Better to have all ze information, before ve head into a fight. And ve can also get a better idea on who ve are dealing vith. Don't you agree?" Clockwork clarified.
The doubt in Laura's mind, immediately evaporated. Of course, It made sense to get as much information as possible before heading out. Her senses are sharp, but they cannot tell her exactly how an event has played out in perfect detail.
The Female Mutant then felt a wave of shame wash over her, for doubting her friend. She should not have been so hasty to question his intentions. She should have been able to deduce his intentions, the moment he transformed.
She lifted her head and opened her mouth to apologise to him.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Laura." Clockwork said, cutting her off before she could utter a word. "I should have explained my intentions, before transforming. I vas too eager to get going, zat I did not take your feelings into account. Can you forgive me?"
Laura was a little taken aback by his apology, but that quickly turned into a smile as she nodded in response. Clockwork grinned back and held out his hand to her. The Clone slipped her dainty hand into the large, metallic appendage as the copper fingers swallowed her hand.
Clockwork looked forward and the key on top of his head started to spin. A green light illuminated from the outer rim of the key as the area took on a green tint as the Time Alien started to reverse the time around himself.
Eventually he reached the point he wanted to see. Stopping the rewind, Clockwork let the event play out as there is now a Black stealth Helicopter parked just beyond the main gate, the rotters spinning as the engine warmed up.
Turning around, the Alien Teen witnessed a group of five individuals, all around the same height and wearing long hooded cloaks that obscured their faces. Though Clockwork did notice strands of blonde hair poke out from the hoods. Along with how the cloaks hugs their figures Clockwork assumed they were young women.
The five carried Jean on a stretcher towards the chopper. Then out from the mansion behind them, was Emma Frost herself. Unlike her story, she showed up while the chopper was still there and also, she casually walked behind the kidnappers, making no attempt to stop them.
The Alien Hero payed very close attention to her actions. From what he's witnessed in the past, Emma always places her fingertips to her forehead whenever she would use her psychic abilities. Yet, the entire time she was walking behind the kidnappers, her hand never came close to her brow.
She simply walked behind the group and watched as they loaded Jean into the chopper and took off into the sky heading in a western direction.
That was all Clockwork needed to see as he ended to the flashback. He wanted to believe Emma's claims that she was innocent. But the evidence was clear. She did help abduct Jean. She had betrayed the X-Men.
And yet, Clockwork couldn't help but feel something was off. Like there was a piece of the story that he wasn't seeing and there was some hidden detail that would prove Emma's innocence. But, why would he feel that way towards her? He saw the event unfold, she clearly lied and has been played everyone from the start.
Did he feel this way because he didn't want to jump to a conclusion before he knew the information, or was he merely being blinded by a stubborn belief that he could save her too?
Clockwork turned back into Ben in a flash of green light and shook his head. It didn't matter what his conflicting thoughts were. He couldn't take any chances until Jean was safe with the X-Men. Until then, she was just another villain he needed to plough through to save the day.
"Can you track a helicopter from the ground?" Ben asked Laura.
Laura sniffed the air as she looked at the sky. "Tracking an airborne target is difficult. However, I can track them more efficiently when they are at a lower altitude. Such as an approach vector for a landing." She explained.
Ben nodded in understanding. "Ok we'll work with that. I saw the chopper head in that direction." He pointed to the tree line ahead of them.
"We can follow them from the ground, and you let me know if you pick up the scent." The Alien Teen finished.
Laura nodded as the sound of an engine roared in the distance. The two teens looked forward as the DX Mark 10 pulled up to them, its engine purring like a pet awaiting its master.
Ben and Laura both entered the vehicle and drove out of the gate in pursuit of the kidnappers.
While Ben could've flown in the direction of the chopper himself, while carrying X-23. He felt that he'll need his Ultimatrix at full charge in order to rescue Jean. He had no idea who kidnapped her, aside from Emma and she's already a powerful telepath. While the watch can protect him from psychic attacks that could control his mind or knock him out. She was still one of what seems to be a very resourceful group, with enough money to afford a Stealth Chopper and also seem quite confident to believe they can contain someone as powerful as Jean Grey.
So if he was going to save her, he's gonna need to be at his best.
As they drove, Laura rolled her window down and sniffed the air that blew into the car. No trace of the scent yet, so she rolled the window back up as the thumping of the wind blowing into the open window of the speeding car started to feel uncomfortable.
X-23 glanced at Ben, who's eyed were focused as he watched the road ahead of them. Yet, she could see he was deep in thought and was troubled by something.
"What is on your mind?" She asked.
Ben shook his head as she broke the silence, glanced at her concerned expression, then let out a sigh.
"With so much happening these last twelve hours, I couldn't help but notice something off." Ben said as he overtook another car.
"Which is?" Laura questioned.
"This whole thing involved time travel. Or at least, someone in the future, warning us in the present to prevent the event that causes said future." Ben explained, trying not to trip over his own words.
Laura nodded, allowing him to continue.
"Yet, normally whenever time travel or future events is involved. Professor Paradox usually shows up to give some help or cryptic advice." Ben finished.
"Perhaps he believes you can handle this situation without him?" Laura suggested.
"I guess. Still, it's weird being in a situation involving Time Travel without him." Ben stated as he continued to drive.
Laura looked ahead and thought about what Ben said. He had told her all about the Time Traveling Professor in their past conversations. She remembered Ben telling her how Paradox always shows up in situations that usually involve time travel. Though, from what she could recall, the Time Traveller also tended to show up when events were dire and Ben required his assistance.
"Perhaps Paradox is not here because you do not need his help?" She stated. Causing Ben to glance at her in confusion. "You mentioned that the Professor appears in events involving time travel, but also in events when things are dire. You're battle with the Highbreed being one and the Map of Infinity being another. Both times you required his help to succeed, so perhaps in this current event, you are capable of saving the world without his help."
Ben considered Laura's words. While she has a tendency to put a lot of faith in him. She is not one for over exaggerating, nor does she embellish her statements. She's always been blunt and honest with him. So, when she says she believes he doesn't need Paradox's help. He can't help but believe her.
Smiling, Ben glanced at his friend gave her a grateful nod.
Suddenly, Laura stiffened as her nose twitched. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out of the car, like a dog. Her raven black hail, flapping in the wind as she sniffed the air.
"Laura, that's not safe. Pull your head in!" Ben yelled over the roaring wind as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. While he knew she can heal from any injury she sustains. He still did not enjoy seeing her get hurt.
The Female Mutant soon pulled her head back inside the car and pointed to the road coming up on their left.
"Take this road here." She quickly instructed.
Immediately Ben swerved the car as the DX Mark 10 skidded across the road, turning down the road she pointed to. The path lead towards a dense forest area, with trees lined down either side as if shielding the area from prying eyes.
Feeling that they are approaching their destination, Ben let his foot off the gas pedal a little, slowing the car down to a crawling pace as he pressed a button on his cars console, the screen above it displayed an image of the car with labels, highlighting the status of the car.
Ben then clicked a button on his steering wheel and the status label changed to saying 'Stealth Mode'. Immediately the image of the DX Mark 10 changed to a black colour scheme with a purple hue. Laura's sensitive ears were caught off guard when the sound of the DX Mark 10's engine suddenly went silent, yet she could still feel the vibrations of the engine.
From the outside, the green markings on the car faded into black as the headlights turned off and the entire vehicle went silent, not even the sound of the wheels on the gravel road could be heard.
From the inside, the windscreen illuminated with a green filter that displayed the outside like a pair of night vision goggles.
Laura looked around the vehicle with a surprised expression. Despite the high stakes of the mission. Ben could not help but smile as Laura checked out his modifications.
"Some new stealth features I installed." He explained. "Convinced Black Panther to let me use some Vibranium tech to absorb all sound from the engine and wheels. Along with some camouflage and night vision sensors, so the bad guys won't see us coming."
"Impressive." Laura complimented.
They continued in silence for a little while as they drove down the dark path.
Eventually, they reached a clearing, that sloped into a tall hill. Atop it was a large mansion that resembled a castle of some kind, with several tall spires. It almost looked like one of those fancy clubs that the super-rich would attend to drink tea and play some snobby rich person game.
The entire atmosphere of the place gave Ben the chills. Since he didn't know who or what they'll be up against. Ben decided to park at the base of the hill and approach on foot.
"The Sentinels will be launching any minute." Laura stated as she checked the time.
"I know." Ben said, concerned. "Normally, I'd go with the direct approach and just blast my way in, grab Jean and get out. But we have no clue where she is in there and we don't know who we could be up against. There's Emma, there could be a bunch of people in there with crazy powers."
"Indeed. Going in blind would be trouble." Laura concurred. "I can sneak in from the back."
"Good plan. I'll take the front." Ben said as he removed the keys from his car and held them to Laura. He gestured to a button on the side of the key handle. "If you find Jean, get her outside and press this button. It'll activate the homing beacon and bring the Car to you. Don't bother trying to find me. I'll find my own way out."
Laura looked at him, hesitation in her eyes. Her stare told Ben everything without her saying a word. She didn't want to leave him, the idea of leaving him behind seemed to cause her stress levels to rise.
Reaching forward and taking her hand in his. Ben gave his friend a hard stare. "I know you're worried. But I need you to focus on Jean right now. The world is counting on it."
"I understand." Laura responded. Her worried expression not faltering. "However, entering this mansion with little to no communication is a risky move. Using our communicators could give away our positions and any kind of signal would alert our enemies and draw them in. Complicating our chances of escape."
Ben nodded with Laura's logic. Even though he designed his communicators to be untraceable, there's still the possibility that someone inside the mansion could have some power that could track them. Not to mention Frosts telepathy.
"So, what do you have in mind?" Ben asked. Since Laura had been trained since birth as a master assassin, infiltration and stealth are her bread and butter. He may have more experience as a hero than most of the people he's met. But, as far as he can tell, he's never seen anyone that matches Laura's skill.
"We enter the mansion at our two points. We search the area and determine its layout. Then after 10 minutes, we rendezvous outside at the base of that tower." She explained, pointing to the tall castle like spire in the middle of the mansion. "Once we meet up, we can plan a joint rescue to retrieve Jean and ensure we both escape."
"Be kinda hard to do that since we don't know how many there are, or what powers they have." Ben stated.
"Indeed. Would be unwise to use a direct approach with XLR8 or Clockwork as they may have abilities to counter them." Laura agreed.
"Why I never go for the quick fix in these situations. Lost a lot of card games, by showing my hand too early." Ben said as he held up his Ultimatrix and activated it, turning the dial as he searched for the alien he needed.
Before he could push the dial down. Laura placed her hand over the hologram, causing him to look at her as she had a stern expression on her face.
"Ten Minutes." She emphasised.
"And not a minute sooner." Ben replied with a smirk.
Slamming the dial down, a flash of green light erupted from the Alien Shapeshifter. Once the light died down, Laura opened her eyes to see that Ben had vanished.
"Nanomech!" A tiny voice squeaked.
Laura followed the sound to see a small, humanoid, insect-like being roughly a centimetre in size. It had grey skin with a green circuit-like design on it. It possessed green wings as well as one large, green cyclopean-eye. It had four long fingers on each hand, and triangular feet. It wore the Ultimatrix symbol on its chest.
Nanomech sprouted his tiny insect like wings and flew up to eye level with Laura. Emitting a faint green glow as he did, similar to a firefly.
"Ok, let's do this." He said in his high-pitched voice.
Laura nodded as they exited the DX Mark 10. The Alien Avenger was glad he installed the stealth function as the light from his transformation would've definitely given away his position to anyone watching.
He quickly flew towards the mansion, he glanced to the side and noticed the dark shadow of Laura, dart around the perimeter to the back of the mansion. Her movements so fluid and catlike. Unless one was actually watching her from the start, you wouldn't even see her approach.
Nanomech then flew towards the mansion, keeping his eye out for any security measures the building may have. So far, there didn't seem to be anything above the standard security and motion sensors. Neither of which would respond to something of his size. Making it easy for him to slip past undetected and fly right through the keyhole of the balcony door.
Once inside Nanomech felt like he just entered a museum than someone's home. The room was filled with old books, paintings, maps and other artifacts that looked like they were pulled from different eras of history.
If it wasn't for the electric lamp that was plugged into the coffee table next to large armchair, he would've sworn he got sent back in time.
Flying further into the mansion, the Alien Teen started searching for any signs of Emma, or Jean, or anyone really. But, to his surprise, the mansion was empty. Despite the lights being on, there didn't seem to be anyone home.
Could they have moved Jean to a different location after ditching the chopper? Possible, yet there weren't any fresh tire tracks leading away from the mansion. Laura would've noticed if there were.
As the Alien Avenger flew through the large, empty halls, he tried to think of a reasonable explanation as to why the building was devoid of life.
That answer almost answered itself as Nanomech entered the next room. His single eye sparkled as his tapped his tiny fingers together in glee. For before him was a massive bookshelf, taking up the entire back wall of the room, filled with an assortment of books that looked so boring to read. To the Young Hero, there was only one reason that anyone would have a bookcase like this in their sinister looking mansion.
Secret Door…
Nanomech could hardly contain his excitement as he flew over to the bookcase and started examining each book for any clues to one of them being the switch to open the door.
The moment he found the first book that didn't have any dust on it. Nanomech immediately grabbed it and pulled the book out. The action took a bit of effort on his part, as unlike Wasp, Nanomech does not possess the same strength he would have at his human size. His envy of the Pym Particles would have to wait as the Mechanical-insect Alien gave one more heave and the book was pulled from its shelf…
And fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Nanomech winched at the sound as the thud, echoed through the halls. Due to his size, the book sounded like a cannon firing. He quickly flew down and landed on the open book's pages.
Looking up, Nanomech had to take a moment to adjust to seeing the world from this size. From the air, everything felt fairly normal. But from the ground, it felt like he was on a different planet. Everything looked so different when you're a centimetre high. How Hank and Janet can navigate the world like this on a regular basis is beyond him.
The Teen Hero looked at the book in disappointment. He really hoped that this was a secret passage. But, it seemed his dreams were dashed as it seemed to just be a regular bookcase.
"Ugh, does that mean, that people actually read these books?" Nanomech asked aloud, actually surprised by the notion.
His thoughts were interrupted, when he felt the ground vibrate beneath his feet. A slow pounding sound, which Nanomech quickly summarised to be footsteps were approaching.
Suddenly, the bookcase started to rumble and then slide to the side, revealing itself to be a hidden passage.
Mentally, the Young Hero screamed with joy that he was right and about the secret passage. But, he quickly realised that someone would be exiting that doorway at any moment and no doubt would notice a tiny, silver alien, atop of one of their dusty old books.
Even at his miniscule size, they would surely notice him. Good thing, small is this Aliens specialty. Concentrating, Nanomech's body glowed with a faint green light and his body started the shrink. Smaller and smaller, until the Tiny Alien vanished from sight, becoming so small that not even the sharpest eyes could see him.
At this size, Nanomech's perception of the world, looked even more bazar than before. Though, it did not hinder his ability to see the being who emerged from the door.
He was a tall man, though from his current perspective, everyone it huge compared to him, and he fit right into the mansions theme of being trapped in the past. He looked like an oil painting from the Victorian era come to life. He wore a long, blue overcoat, with gold bands along the cuffs and sides. He wore a brown vest underneath and a white puffy shift, with a neckerchief tied around his neck. His long dark, raven hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail and he wore white knee high socks with his loafers.
Behind him was a large stout, man with short orange hair, combed neatly on his head and beard. He wore clothing that seemed to be from the same era as the first only his coat was several sizes bigger and light brown.
"What is it, Shaw?" The fat man asked the first gentleman.
The man called Shaw looked down at the book Nanomech had knocked over and reached down to pick it up.
He could not see the Tiny Alien standing atop it. While a relief, Nanomech did not wish to be used as the worlds smallest bookmark. Spreading his wings, the Miniscule Alien flew off the old book and flew as fast as he could as the giant pages closed in on him, due to Shaw reaching down and closing the book as he picked it up.
As the book slammed shut, a powerful gust of wind blasted out and launched Nanomech into the air. He only just managed to stabilise himself right beside Shaws head. He watched as the raven-haired man observed the book as he glanced back to the shelf it had been pulled from.
Shaw narrowed his eyes as he glanced around the room, as if checking for any other signs of tampering.
"I am not sure, Leland. It would seem Donald did not properly secure this Volume back on the shelf after he was finished with it. Or maybe…" Shaw left that sentence hanging, even though what he was implying was very clear.
Nanomech instinctively held his breath and covered his mouth. Despite being too small to be seen by the naked eye or even heard, the fear of being discovered, overwrote his rational mind.
As Shaw continued to scan the room. His companion, Leland, walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"You're probably just on edge. I know I am. Years of searching and planning and now we are so close. I doubt even Selene will be calm at this point." Leland stated as he took a handkerchief from his pocked and dabbed some sweat from his brow.
Shaw glanced back at his comrade and gave him a soft grin. "You are right, my friend. This night is the culmination of all our efforts. Miss Frost has served us well."
Hearing Emma's name come from this guys mouth struck Nanomech as odd. The way he spoke about her. It almost sounded like she was being kept in the dark about something. Like she was more of a pawn than anything else.
Maybe he was just hearing things. After all, everyone's voice sounds warped when he's the size of a mite.
Glancing over to the open doorway, Nanomech flew to the entrance as fast as his wing could carry him. Once again, the Alien Avenger found himself envying Pym Particles as not only to they allow you to keep your strength at full size, but also your speed. For Nanomech, being at his current size, made the distance even greater for him to travel. At his normal size, he'd be like a fly, buzzing around the room. But now, he's so small, he may as well be flying to a different country. By the time he reaches the door, the cast from Downtown Abby will have past him and closed the door.
He can't grow to his normal size, or they'll see him. He can't transform or they'll definitely see him. He had to go faster, he needed to go faster.
Suddenly, Nanomech felt a tingling sensation in his body. His body started to glow a faint green colour as his wings retracted into his back and the metal plates on his back shifted and retracted, forming into box shape structure, with an opening at the base. A green light illuminated from the base, which then erupted into a blast of energy, propelling Nanomech forward with a tremendous burst of speed.
The Alien Avenger was so caught off guard by his new jetpack as he flew forward at blinding speeds. He was moving so fast that he was about to smack straight into the stone wall at the end of the passage.
On reflex, Nanomech managed to manoeuvre himself to fly around the corner, then stop himself in mid-air. The jetpacks thrusters calmed down and its roar turned into a low hum as he hovered.
The Alien Shapeshifter glanced back at the device he created. He'd almost forgotten about Nanomech's ability to adapt to his situation. Changing and acquiring new abilities in order to survive. He hardly ever used the form, mainly because he was so small and didn't pack as big a punch as some of his others forms.
He always had that problem, favouring some aliens over others. Even when he matured, he still had a few top aliens he would choose over the rest of his playlist. And it's that way of thinking that causes his to overlook hidden gems like Nanomech's adaptation ability and several other aliens hidden strength.
He was told once that he'd hardly scratched the surface of just one of his forms. Even after all these years, Nanomech still felt he didn't know even a quarter of his alien's full capabilities.
But, field tests will have to wait. He could hear the fashion disasters entering the stairway. While Nanomech's booster had allowed him to cover an impressive distance from his perspective. In actuality, he'd only travelled about five meters. Activating his jetpack, the Micro-Alien blasted further down into the depths of this Mansion.
This time, Nanomech was able to control his flight path. Given how he was caught off guard by this new adaptation, initially. He was aware of its capabilities and managed to control the output of the thrust. It was kinda similar to how Jetray and XLR8 move at high speeds, only his perception didn't really speed up along with his body. It was more like he was making calculated jumps to different areas with controlled bursts of speed.
These bursts, put some considerable distance between him and his unknown hosts. As he entered a dimly lit room at the end of the corridor.
Something the Alien Avenger noticed, upon entering the lower levels. While the mansion above, looked like something out of the 16th century. The sub levels looked straight up Medieval.
It was giving the Young Hero a serious case of Déjà vu, as it was like he stumbled into a secret Forever Knight castle. Any moment now, he was expecting to see one of their signature armor's or maybe one of their robot dragon guard dogs.
His reminiscing almost tore his attention away from the glow of candlelight that illuminated the centre of the room.
Seeing as there doesn't appear to be anyone else in the room with him. Nanomech grew to his regular size. His little jetpack transforming back into his wings, since he no longer needed to move at high speeds. Though, the memory of that adaptation was still present in the Micro-Aliens mind.
As he approached the glow of the candles. Nanomech noticed that there were several artifacts scattered around the room. With candles illuminating each item in an ominous glow.
While the Teen Hero wasn't a history buff in the slightest. He has certainly played his fair share of video games. Sumo Slammers being his favourite. The Young Hero was shocked when he learned that his beloved franchise did not exist in this Universe.
Anyways, Ben loved the games and collected every one. Even games that weren't all that great. The first couple of games were great, but then things got weird when they started taking the franchise to other parts of the world instead of Japan, like Greece or Egypt and even Rome. It took a few years before the Franchise did a soft reboot to go back to its roots where it belonged.
The point being, that those games, while strange, did portray other countries and cultures accurately. Because of that, Nanomech could recognise the artwork of Ancient Cultures like the Greeks, Ancient Egypt, Rome and many other cultures from around the world.
For some reason, each one of the items, depicted an image of a bird that seemed be either be on fire or made of fire.
The Alien Teen seemed to remember a myth about a bird like that. What was it called? A Phone-ix? No that wasn't it. Thunderbird? No that was a different mythical bird. Fawkes? No that the name one was given in that Movie, Janet picked for movie night.
The Alien Avenger wracked his brain trying to remember what this magical fire bird was called, he almost missed the sound of footsteps echoing down the halls. Getting louder as they approached him.
Nanomech quickly flew down to one of the artifacts and hid behind it. From the sound of the footsteps, there was more than one person heading towards this room. And from the clicking of each step, one of them was wearing high heels. So, either a woman was approaching him, or that Shaw guy lead a very "Interesting" lifestyle.
As he lay in wait while the rhythmic sounds grew louder. A familiar sultry voice echoed through the door. Even muffled, Nanomech would recognise that voice anywhere.
"Since the moment you were born, there's been a power growing within you." Emma Frost said from the other side of the door to the other person.
Suddenly the doors opened, revealing Emma in all her beauty, with Jean right behind her.
Nanomech's eye widened in surprise. First, due to the fact that Jean is walking around with Emma, despite her kidnapping. A likely explanation being Emma is manipulating Jean in order to get the poor woman to go along with her scheme.
Secondly, due to the smoking dress that Jean was wearing. It was an elegant evening dress, crimson red, with a single strap over the right shoulder holding it up. The dress hugged her body nicely, showing off all her curves.
While he did find her pretty when he first met her. Her scared and innocent expression, combined with the high stressful situation he was in trying to rescue her, prevented him from fully seeing one undeniable fact.
Jean Grey is a hottie.
Pushing his natural reactions aside, Nanomech focused on what Emma was saying. The Blonde Telepath closed the door behind her as she glanced back at Jean.
"That power pushes against the barriers that Charles Xavier so wisely put into place when you were a child."
Jean immediately spun around and looked at Emma. A surprised look on her face. "How do you know about that?" Jean asked.
That immediately caught the Young Heroes attention. Upon meeting her, Jean has made it abundantly clear that she had no memory of her past. She didn't even remember her own name. But now, Emma had just referenced an event from Jeans past and the Red Head reacted as if she knows exactly what Emma was referring to.
Does that mean that Jean has regained her memories? Did she do that herself or did Emma somehow unlock them, like she said she would attempt?
If it's the latter, then Emma might be more powerful than he initially thought. He even wondered, how many of the previous fights he witnessed her take part in could she have easily won, but chose to restrict herself in order to continue her facade?
She truly is an enigma. And yet, Nanomech's heroic instincts continued to tell him that there is more to all of this and right now was his best chance of finding out.
Emma then turned to Jean as she calmly answered. "I know everything about it, Jean. It's called the Phoenix Force. And it's been afflicting telepaths since mutants first emerged."
Now Nanomech wondered if his gut was psychic, cause he so called it. The Tiny Alien leaned further out from his hiding spot, to get a better view and to hear their conversation more clearly.
He wouldn't risk getting closer to Emma at this point as her telepathy might detect him, if he is literally hovering around her head. So, he kept his distance for now, but ready in case something comes up. He knew it was almost time to rendezvous with X-23, but he just needed a little more time to hear everything before he left.
He watched as Emma directed Jean over to an Egyptian stone tablet, with a series of hieroglyphs on it.
"This Egyptian tablet is over 3,000 years old, yet it could be telling your story." Emma explained as she pointed to the images. "As you can see, the Phoenix was present even at this baby's birth. As she grew, it grew...until finally, it reached maturity… And took her over."
Jeans eyes widened as she turned to Emma, who continued the story. "Floods, fires, earthquakes, even shifts in climate. Throughout history, these events tend to coincide with the emergence of the Phoenix."
"And... People die?" Jean asked. But her face and tone clearly showed that she was afraid of the answer.
In response, Emma walked over to one of the candle holders and removed a candle stick, before holding it in front of another stone tablet. This one depicting an image of a giant Phoenix, floating above a town as people ran away from burning buildings. Confirming the very thing Jean feared.
"Yes. Many." Emma stated.
Jean gasped as she clasped her hands over her mouth. Nanomech also felt his breath shorten as his tiny metal body started to shake.
If what Emma was saying is really true. Jean was essentially a ticking time bomb for an ancient fire bird entity that will burn the world to ashes if it ever escapes.
This all seemed way too crazy and normally, Nanomech would just think she was lying or misinterpreted the artifacts. But no, the Alien Hero read the tablet, clear as day. It clearly said that untold destruction occurs when the Phoenix Force is unleashed.
Any other time, Nanomech would've been thrilled that his Ultimatrix's universal translator extends to Ancient Human languages, but as of this moment, the Young Hero would have preferred to remain ignorant as the reality of the situation was terrifying.
"This will happen again... with me. Won't it?" Jean asked, rhetorically.
"Unless I can stop it." Emma replied.
Both Jean and Nanomech looked at Emma in shock. Stop it? Did she really say that? She really believes she can stop a destructive force like this.
"Is that possible?" Jean asked, unknowingly, for the both of them.
"If we can prevent the force from igniting, yes." Emma answered. "But to do that, we must release it before it matures."
For a moment Jean had a hopeful expression on her face. Like she had been living with this weight on her soul for her whole life, only now she's being told that it could be taken from her. However, Emma's last statement caused her to raise an eyebrow.
"Release it? Where?"
"Into the atmosphere." Emma stated. "And because psychic beings like us need a host to survive, we believe it will perish without one."
"We?" Jean asked, once again unintentionally speaking for the Alien Eavesdropper.
"Yes. There is a group of us." Emma stated.
As she explained, other figures stepped out of the shadows to stand alongside her. Nanomech instantly recognised Shaw and Leland. But, there were two more people who joined them. A tall lanky man, with short blond hair combed back, wearing a green suit and a woman with jet black hair that reached her shoulders, violet eyes and wore a black strapless dress with black gloves that covered her entire forearm, up to her elbow.
While the Alien Avenger had no clue who the other man was, he made an educated guess that the woman was that Selene character that Leland mentioned beforehand.
He couldn't focus on the details as Emma continued to explain.
"Over the centuries, the members change, but not the purpose." She stated.
"And that purpose has been to find the next telepath where the Phoenix dwells." The man named Shaw continued.
"To find you, Jean." Emma finished.
Both Jean and Nanomech's eyes widened. This was quite the day they were both having and a lot of information to process.
The Young Hero couldn't help but sympathise with the Red-Haired Woman. It wasn't that long ago; Ben received his own doomsday prophecy from the Time Traveller Kang. Now he had to watch as Jean went through the same situation. He wanted to comfort her, but that would blow his cover. But, seeing the look of horror on her face as she processed the knowledge that one day, she would be responsible for so much destruction and death.
But this organisation before them, seemed to be here to help prevent that. Or at least, that's what they claimed. From the Young Heroes experience, usually when a group of shady people claim to be acting for the Greater Good, it doesn't usually turn out that way. Kidnapping an innocent woman and knocking out her friends, certainly did not scream 'Noble Defenders' to Nanomech.
While he is still on the fence about Emma, the other members of this secret society really gave the Alien Avenger some serious creep vibes. Especially from Shaw and Selene, the former just oozed creepy from his oiled back hair and Selene…
Nanomech couldn't put his finger on it. But just looking into her eyes. It was like staring into a black void that threatened to swallow him should he get to close. He's only ever seen these kinds of eyes from a few beings in his life. Most recently from Thor and Wolverine. The eyes of someone who has seen too much for one lifetime.
Things were getting more complicated by the second. The Alien Teen could only hope that the others were handling things on their end.
In the skies above New York. The Quinjet, rocketed over the city skyline straight for the docks, where Bolivar Trasks facility is located.
Inside the Avengers flew in silence. This situation was both new and familiar to the team. Going to save the world was nothing new to them. Only this time, they were basically tagging along with another hero teams' mission to save the world.
"Am I the only one finding this a little weird?" Wasp asked as she fidgeted in her seat.
"What are you talking about, Jan?" Hawkeye responded as he restrung his bow.
"I mean, were usually the ones that go in first to save the world." She explained. "This time. It kinda feels like were, like, backup. Or something."
"Feeling a bit jealous, are we?" Clint smirked at the Size Changing Heroine. "And I thought Hulk was the only green one on the team."
Hulk chuckled at Hawkeyes joke, while Wasp crossed her arms and pouted in response.
"You know what I mean." Wasp grumbled back.
"Take it as a good thing, Wasp." Captain America responded from his seat. "Knowing that there are other heroes out there. Doing their part to protect this world. Even if we may not be aware of them. I'd say that's pretty heroic."
"Aye, tis and honour to provide support to fellow noble warriors, who stand against evil." Thor agreed, twisting his Hammer in his hands.
Their conversation was interrupted when the Quinjet's radar started flashing.
"Aircraft detected." Black Panther reported as he analysed the information the scans were collecting. "A modified stealth jet, Blackbird model."
"Gotta be the X-Men." Iron Man concluded. Panther seemed to arrive at the same answer as he nodded his head. "What's their trajectory?"
"The Trask Facility." The Wakandan King responded. "They will arrive before us."
"Looks like we will be backup." Hawkeye remarked, slightly disappointed.
"Better not smash all the robots before we get there." Hulk commented as he eagerly tapped his root, causing the jets interior to shake from each impact.
Iron Man didn't respond as he looked ahead. His armor's enhanced optics zooming in on the skies above the docks. He easily detected the X-Jet as it cruised towards a warehouse, located near the edge of a pier. Most likely the Sentinel production plant, Ben informed them about.
All of a sudden, the entire roof of the facility burst open like a bag of Jiffy Pop popcorn. From the roof, flew several dozen Sentinel Robots. Each one standing at least three stories tall.
The robot fleet, rocketed into the sky thanks to the jet thrusters built into their legs. Unfortunately for the X-Men, their jet was directly in the flight path of the giant robots. With barely any time, the X-Jet managed to bank away to avoid a head on collision with one of the Sentinels. But, with the robots flying in such a tight formation, the black aircraft struck against one of the other Sentinels, causing the left wing to get ripped off due to the high speed collision.
With only one wing, the aircraft tumbled from the sky in an out of control spin. It all happened so fast that the Avengers could only watch as the Mutant Heroes plummeted to the ground uncontrollably.
Fortunately, whoever was at the controls was a crack pilot as they managed to use the planes remaining wing to take them out of their spin and preform a controlled emergency crash just outside the facility.
The black jet crashed into the ground, carving a long trench behind it as ground to a halt. Fire spewed from where the left wing used to be and the cockpit was cracked open with smoke flowing out of it.
Despite the crash, Iron Mans scanner picked up several life signs within the wreckage. The X-Men were still alive, though most likely injured in the crash.
Wasp gasped as she looked down on the downed aircraft.
"We have to go help them." She immediately said.
"We cannot." Black Panther replied. Pointing to the Sentinel armada that is currently flying towards Genoshia's location. "If those Sentinels reach the Mutant Nation. Magneto will begin his war."
"But we can't just leave them like this." Wasp argued, shocked that her teammate would be so dismissive.
"Panthers right." Iron Man stated. "We can help the X-Men later. Right now, we need to focus on the bigger picture."
It sounded harsh at the time. But deep down, they all knew Tony was right.
"Down there." Captain America suddenly spoke up, looking out his window.
The other heroes followed his gaze. Down at the docks below them. A group of armored SUV's were driving towards the downed X-Jet. The Avengers didn't need Iron Mans advanced sensors to know, those were MRD vehicles. Most likely going to arrest the X-Men, while they're down.
Captain America turned his attention to Iron Man with a hard expression.
"If we fail to stop the Sentinels. We'll need all the help we can get to fight Magneto." The Super Soldier stated.
Didn't take a genius to figure out what Cap was implying. While it was in their best interest to prevent the war in the first place. It wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan.
"Cap, take Hulk and Wasp and go rescue the X-Men. The rest of us will take down those Sentinels" Iron Man ordered.
Captain America smiled and nodded in approval. He then stood from his chair and walked towards the exit ramp as the others joined him.
"Looks like I'm gonna clear the board before you get a chance, Jade Jaws." Hawkeye remarked, with a cheerful smirk. Glancing up at the grimacing Hulk.
Before the Green Giant could respond, Wasp fluttered up to his shoulder and patted his cheek.
"Don't worry, Hulk. You can still smash some armored cars?" Wasp suggested with a cheerful grin.
Hulk grunted in response. Smashing cars just wasn't the same as giant robots. But at least it's better than smashing nothing.
He turned back to the Archer and pointed a giant green finger at him. "You better take all those robots down. Cause I'm not giving you another chance."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Big Guy." Clint smirked as he watched his teammates head to the back of the jet.
As the ramp opened up, Captain America gave one last look to the Armored Billionaire.
"Good Luck, Soldier." He said with a salute.
"Was just about to say that to you." Iron Man responded as Caps team jumped out of the aircraft and dived towards the docks below.
Iron Man closed the ramp and turned the Quinjet to pursue the Flying Robot army.
In the pit of his stomach, Tony could feel the coming storm. The board has been set; each side has its pieces set up. Ben, the Avengers, X-Men, Magneto, the MRD and possibly players that Tony was unaware of.
Any moment now, someone will make the first move and start the chain of events. Tony could only hope that when he makes his move. The world will still be standing afterwards.
There it is folks, the first part of this arc. This took a lot of work on my part. Finding the mental strength to continue this story prooved much harder than I thought it would.
But, I pushed past and worked at it so you can all find out what happens next. So I hope you all enjoyed it.
Now, I will also address some people who have sent me messages addressing Ben and the Avengers involvement in Mutant affairs. To those who believe that Ben shouldn't help mutants because he himself isn't a mutant. I say, Get Over It! Ben is a hero, heroes help people. No matter the race, gender, religion, etc. A hero will help those in need, regardless if they ask for it or not.
As a certain Japaness hero once said. "Meddling where you don't need to, is the essences of being a hero." - Deku
And to Quote the Man himself. "That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real Superhero." - Stan Lee
To those of you who enjoy my work and support my choices, I want to thank you. Knowing my work has been able to bring you some joy is more than I could possibly ask for.
And to those who have suggestions or critiques. I will be more than happy to listen and discuss the topic with you. But if you are disrespectful towards me in any way, then I have nothing further to say to you. I will not waste my time on people who are rude.
As always, feel free to PM me anytime. Im always interested in a good chat. Leave your reviews if you like my work. And I will try to get the next chapters up soon. I cant promise I will be quick. But I promise you that I will keep working on this story. Im not giving up. Not until this story is finished.
Until next time, CaptainRex75 out!