Krakoa. The Quiet Council Chambers
The council chamber was alive in the way only Krakoa ever was, roots shifting beneath marble floors, bioluminescent veins pulsing faintly along the walls like a living nervous system. The table was full.
Too full.
Charles Xavier sat at the head, helmet resting lightly against his temples, fingers steepled. His expression was controlled but those closest to him could sense the strain beneath it.
Magneto stood with arms crossed, cape hanging heavy behind him, eyes hard as forged iron.
Storm sat upright, regal and calm on the surface, though the air itself subtly responded to her unease.
Destiny leaned forward, fingers laced, blind eyes unfocused yet seeing far more than anyone else in the room.
Mystique lounged beside her, visibly tense despite her casual posture.
Emma Frost sat in diamond form, unblinking.
Mr. Sinister smiled.
That alone made several council members uncomfortable.
Xavier: "We are no longer dealing with a rogue enhanced individual."
A holographic projection bloomed above the table, Yellowstone. Or what used to be Yellowstone.
A shattered caldera, seismic scars stretching for kilometers, readings still screaming across every spectrum.
Xavier: "This man is an extinction-level anomaly."
A low murmur rippled through the room.
Magneto: "You underestimate him if you still think in planetary terms."
Storm's eyes flicked toward Erik.
Storm: "You believe he is thinking… beyond Earth."
Magneto didn't answer immediately.
Magneto: "I believe he no longer sees a distinction."
Emma's voice cut in, sharp and precise.
Emma Frost: "He consumed Jessica Jones without hesitation and Luke Cage via airborne spores. That's not rage. That's optimization, it shows he has some level of strategy behind his actions."
Sinister chuckled softly, hands clasped.
Mr. Sinister: "Oh, this is deliciously efficient. Viral deployment, selective targeting, momentum stacking at relativistic thresholds, honestly, whoever designed him had taste."
Several members turned on him instantly.
Nightcrawler: "This is not amusing, Sinister."
Sinister: "I didn't say it was amusing. I said it was elegant."
Destiny's voice was quiet but when she spoke, the room stilled.
Destiny: "There are futures where Krakoa burns. Futures where Arakko screams with war and Futures where Mars falls completely silent."
Mystique stiffened.
Mystique: "You're saying he's coming here."
Destiny tilted her head.
Destiny: "I'm saying… he's already listening ."
The air shifted.
Storm's eyes widened slightly.
Storm: "Charles?"
Xavier's hand trembled just a fraction.
Xavier: "He's gone."
Magneto: "Gone where?"
Before Xavier could answer, several council members reacted at once.
Cypher's eyes snapped open, sweat beading on his brow.
Cypher: "Krakoa just… lost something. Like a pressure drop."
Kate Pryde frowned.
Kate: "A gate?"
Cypher: "No. Movement. Fast. Very fast."
Storm rose to her feet, the wind answering her instinctively.
Storm: "You mean Something just left Earth!? ."
A cold silence followed.
Xavier (quietly): "I tried to reach him again."
Everyone turned.
Xavier: "I barely touched his mind—and it was like plunging into a storm of screaming souls. Human. Mutant and Other strange unknowns."
Emma's diamond form cracked slightly at the edges.
Emma Frost: "You disengaged."
Xavier: "I had to."
Magneto's jaw tightened.
Magneto: "And now he knows we tried to learn more ."
No one argued.
Storm looked toward the ceiling, toward the stars.
Storm: "Arakko, I'm coming ."
ORCHIS. Low Earth Orbit
Alarms rang through the sterile white command center as multiple satellites struggled to track a single object.
Technician: "It's accelerating again, no heat bloom, no ion trail, he's just gone!"
A massive trajectory display flickered wildly.
Director Devo: "You're telling me he just… left?"
Scientist: "Not jumped. Not teleported. He flew faster than before."
Silence.
Scientist: "Sir… he's heading for Mars."
Devo slowly smiled.
Devo: "Then let the mutants have their miracle taken from them."
Flashback Orchis and the Mutant War
Before Derrick.
Before Yellowstone.
Before the world cracked open.
There was Orchis.
A coalition born from fear, human governments, rogue AIs, remnants of Hydra, AIM, and secret think tanks convinced that mutants were not the next step in evolution, but the final mistake.
They built Nimrods. They built Sentinels that learned. They burned mutant sanctuaries. They assassinated precogs. They turned resurrection protocols into weapons.
And Krakoa answered with defiance.
Mutants claimed sovereignty.
They terraformed Mars, renaming it Arakko, a world for the strong. They forged a culture of warriors, poets, and gods.
Orchis adapted. Always adapted.
And then Derrick arrived.
And suddenly… Orchis wasn't sure who the real enemy was anymore.
Derrick, In Transit
Derrick heard everything.
Not through ears but through vibration, quantum echoes, psychic resonance bleeding through spacetime. Words layered over thoughts. Fear tasted metallic. Hope tasted fragile.
Mars.
Mutants on Mars.
His lips curved slightly as he crossed the void between worlds, gravity folding around him like a cloak.
A whole planet of power… untouched.
Microscopic spores, engineered and adaptive bled from his presence, dispersing invisibly into the Martian atmosphere long before he arrived.
Arakko, The Red World
Life on Arakko was harsh but vibrant.
Mutants trained beneath a crimson sky. Warriors dueled for honor. Poets carved epics into stone.
Children learned to control powers that would level cities on Earth.
Among them:
Storm who was recently teleported here along with magneto (Regent of Arakko) – Omega-level weather and atmospheric control, planetary scale.
Magneto (Arakko Ally) – Master of electromagnetism.
Isca the Unbeaten – Probability manipulation ensuring she always sides with the winning outcome.
Lodus Logos – Reality-shaping speech.
Sobunar of the Depths – Hydrokinesis in vacuum-adapted forms.
Xilo – Living ecosystem, biological terraforming entity.
Fisher King – Ancient strategist and mentor.
Lactuca the Knower – Cosmic-range teleportation.
Vulcan – Omega-level energy manipulation.
Sunspot – Solar absorption and amplification.
Cable – Telekinesis, telepathy, advanced future tech.
And above them…
Something arrived.
Derrick, Analysis
Derrick hovered unseen, gravity bending light, spores already threading through lungs, bloodstreams, power signatures.
Arakko mutants… biologically distinct from Krakoan strain.
Resistance levels higher.
Adaptation would be required.
He watched Storm command the skies in preparation for his potential arrival, it seems she hadn't told the mutants here about his existence yet.
Watched Vulcan burn the air. Watched Isca turn away from a sparring match, uneasy, instinct screaming.
Probability-based entity detected.
Priority target.
His eyes glowed faintly.
This time… I don't rush.