[A/N]: We hit 400 Powerstones, so here's the SECOND bonus chapter! Next goal is 600 Powerstones. If you're enjoying the story, please vote, comment, and share!
The words were carefully chosen. Not quite crossing the line into overt slurs. But the meaning was clear. The contempt in "your lot." The emphasis on "proper British bloodline." The assumption that Jay's heritage somehow made him less deserving.
Jay's expression didn't change. But his eyes hardened.
Domino's hand moved toward her gun. "Watch yourself, British boy."
Brian's face went white. "Jamie, for God's sake..."
But the damage was done. The mask had slipped. Jay had seen exactly who Jamie Braddock was beneath the aristocratic polish.
That settled it.
"You're right about one thing," Jay said quietly. "I'm not from your noble heritage. My grandparents actually worked for their family rather then pillaging another country in the name of 'White Man's burden'. Worked harder than you've ever worked in your privileged life. And you know what?"
His hands began to glow with that blacklight.
"Keep your bloodline politics and think of this as a final act of kindness towards you lot."
Jay reached out with Mad Jim Jasper's reality warping. Not at Jamie but at Betsy.
His hands, surrounded by a black aura with bright stars speckled around them, thrust forward, appearing to plunge into Betsy's chest. She gasped, eyes going wide with shock and pain.
"BETSY!" Brian and Jamie screamed simultaneously, their voices cracking with identical panic.
Jay pulled both his hands in opposite directions.
Betsy's form split down the middle. But instead of blood and gore, instead of organs and viscera, two complete bodies were separated. The process looked violent but was actually incredibly precise. Jay was unweaving reality itself, finding the place where two souls had been forced into one body and simply... separating them.
On the left stood Betsy Braddock with purple hair now lighter in shade. Features matching Brian's, clearly British, clearly the woman who'd been born to the Braddock family.
On the right stood Kwannon with asian features and dark violet hair, almost black. The innocent victim in all of this. The woman who'd been forced to share a body after a mystical accident, trapped and helpless while Betsy lived her life.
Silence fell.
Then Kwannon's knees gave out. She collapsed, hands touching her face, her arms, her body. Her own body. After months trapped, she had control again.
Tears came. Not quite crying but deep, wracking sobs that shook her entire frame.
Her hands moved frantically, checking herself over and over. This was real. She could move her limbs, speak with her own voice, and exist as herself.
The sobs intensified. Months of helplessness, of being a passenger, of screaming silently while someone else lived in her flesh, all of it came out at once.
Brian caught Betsy as she stumbled, holding his sister. His actual sister, back in her original body. "Easy, Bets. I've got you." His voice was thick with emotion.
Betsy stared down at her hands, her features, the body she'd been born with. "Brian? Is this... am I really...?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
Jamie stared at the scene. His earlier anger forgotten. "Bloody hell. How did you...? Even after I tried multiple times, I couldn't separate them. The mystical binding from Siege Perilous was too complex, too deeply woven into their very essence. How did you manage it?"
"Think of this service as a bonus." Jay's voice was cold. "And consider it payment rendered for your powers. Fair trade, yeah?"
Domino moved to his side, her hand finding his. She squeezed once. Gentle and supportive.
The Ancient One approached Kwannon, kneeling beside the sobbing woman. She placed gentle hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down.
It took time. Long minutes of Kwannon crying while the Ancient One held her, murmuring soft words in Japanese.
Finally, Kwannon's breathing evened out. She looked up with red-rimmed eyes, uncertain.
The Braddock siblings had their moment. Brian held Betsy close, checking her over repeatedly. Making sure she was real and whole. "You're alright. You're really alright." His voice carried wonder.
Jamie stood slightly apart, his expression complicated as he watched his power being used in ways he'd never imagined. Ways he'd never even considered.
Jay decided enough time had passed.
He gestured, and the Mirror Dimension began to collapse. Reality folded back on itself, the dimensional barriers dissolving as they returned to the parking lot in an instant.
Only to find themselves surrounded by media crews and police officers. The crime scene had been cordoned off. Cameras pointed at them and questions shouted from every direction.
"Is that the Power Broker? Can you confirm your identity?"
"Is it true a mutant attacked London?"
"Did you kill all these people because they were Anti-Mutants?"
"Were you involved in the attack on the Braddock estate?"
"Reports say dozens died here. Can you explain what happened?"
"Are those the missing Braddock siblings? Are they alive?"
"Power Broker, is it true you're connected to the mutant community?"
Jay sighed. Of course, the press had found them. This mess was too public to contain. He reached out with his technomorphing, finding every camera, recording device and phone.
He deleted all the footage they had captured.
Then, Blue energy rippled, and they were teleported.
The Braddock were sent to their mansion to give them time to recuperate while the rest reappeared at Kamar-Taj, in the meditation hall where this day had started so many hours ago.
Kwannon stumbled as the sudden shift disoriented her. She bent over, hands on her knees, breathing hard and vomiting.
Wong appeared almost immediately.
"We have a guest," the Ancient One said. "Please arrange accommodations. She's been through significant trauma and needs rest."
Wong nodded, gesturing for Kwannon to follow.
Silence fell over the meditation hall.
Jay, Domino, and the Ancient One stood together. The weight of what had just happened settled over them.
"You took a significant risk," the Ancient One said quietly. "Resurrecting Jaspers to steal his power even after Lady Death's warning was explicit."
Jay's jaw tightened. "I'd do it again. Every time. If it meant keeping you alive."
The Ancient One's expression softened. She reached out, cupping his face with both hands.
"I know. And that's what makes you both wonderful and terrifying. Your loyalty is absolute. But so is your willingness to defy cosmic law."
"Is that a problem?"
"Not for me. But it may become one for you." She released him, stepping back. "Death doesn't forgive easily. And entities like her have long memories."
"Then I'll deal with it when she comes for me."
Domino moved to Jay's side, her hand finding his. "We'll deal with it. Together."
The Ancient One looked at them both. At the young man who'd defied death itself. At the woman who stood beside him despite the cosmic dangers.
"You've changed since you first came here," she said softly. "But promise me this, don't take the ability to resurrect the dead lightly, we don't want any more of her attention, whether it be good or bad."
"As long as it's not my friends, I promise not to abuse this power?"
"It's a human thing. That's good." The Ancient One smiled. "Now go. Rest. You've earned it. We'll discuss the ramifications of today's events later. Extensively."
That last word carried warning.
Jay grimaced. "Looking forward to it."
Blue energy gathered around Jay and Domino.
They teleported.
Left the Ancient One standing alone in the meditation hall.
She looked down at her hands, feeling the life force thrumming through her veins. The psychic vampirism that would sustain her indefinitely.
Her student had given her immortality. True immortality.
She closed her eyes and began to meditate, reaching out with her enhanced senses. Using the Mind and Time Stone to search for any trace of Death's attention.
What she found made her open her eyes.
Death's voice, cold and absolute, echoed in her mind:
'He pulled a soul from my realm. Tore it free like theft. The next time he reaches into my domain, I'll take something of his in return. A life for a life. A soul for a soul. Tell him this: his defiance has a price, and I always collect.'
The Ancient One's expression became troubled.
Jay hadn't just angered Death. He'd stolen from her. And Death, unlike other cosmic entities, didn't bluff.
"Oh, my student," she whispered to the empty hall. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
The meditation hall offered no answers.
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