Hey everyone! So, I've decided to continue this fic. Updates will be rolling out again, though I'm not sure on the exact schedule yet. We'll just see how it goes
Right now, Chapter 208 is up on Patreon, so if you want to read ahead, go check it out there.
I might go back and rewrite some of the older chapters since the quality wasn't the best. Gotta clean things up a bit
———————————————
patreon.com/Lonely_Translator
Would appreciate the support :)
———————————————
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POV: Baldur
Basketball Court, Xavier School, Greymalkin Lane, Salem Center, New York.
Two Hours After the Conversation with Odin.
2016.
It took me two hours to get organized. It's been a long time since I found myself caught up in an event I had no knowledge of or control over, so I used these two hours wisely to regain some of that control.
After my conversation with Odin, I got updated on the facts from Heimdall. It seems the Shi'ar are already on the move, they'll reach Jean in less than four hours. From where I am, using my fastest ship, it'll take about five hours, meaning they'll have an hour to make their move against Jean. But I'm sure they'll spend some time assessing the situation, so there's a good chance we can arrive before action is taken.
As promised, I'll take the X-Men on this journey. The connection between Scott and Jean, or Logan and Jean, might help us win this battle.
"Are these your students joining us?" I ask.
Standing in front of my jet's door are Cyclops, Logan, Beast, Gambit, Rogue, and Xavier a solid group, not just strong but also intelligent. The only thing I'd do differently is include Storm, Xavier's foolishness in not deploying his Omega-level mutant in a battle of this magnitude, he'll rather leave her on Earth to tend to the mansion and the rest of the children.
Xavier and the X-Men have no idea of the scale of the battle that's about to unfold, and I can't bring myself to describe it to them.
"Yes, we're ready," says Xavier from his futuristic wheelchair.
Each X-Man carries a small backpack, understanding that this will be a long mission.
"Then let's get in quickly, we don't have much time," I urge as they board the jet.
I take the command seat and wait for everyone to settle in behind me before speaking.
"To Genosha, Alice."
The ship quickly comes to life and begins its ascent.
"You seem more rushed than before. What happened, hub?" asks Logan from his seat behind me.
Without turning back, I reply, "Your friend has caught the attention of all the major galactic empires. Now, they all want to destroy her or use her for their own purposes."
Even without looking at them, I can feel the tension among them. They all underestimated the magnitude of the problem their friend has caused.
"What the hell did Jean do to attract so much attention?" asks a woman with a Southern accent, Rogue.
I turn around, my expression as serious as possible, and answer, "She destroyed an entire solar system, killing billions in the process."
The rest of the journey is in silence, a journey that lasts only a few seconds until my ship passes through Genosha's force field and immediately heads towards the massive ship above the city.
We enter Ratatosk's hangar door and land amidst the rows of Genoshan drones and golden jets. I'll bring my two motherships into this battle, but Ratatosk, as the fastest ship, will serve as my command center for this mission.
Exiting my small jet, I'm greeted by two rows of my soldiers in their silver armor, holding their spears at attention, an imposing sight for the X-Men following me.
Nordur will be my second-in-command on this mothership. This time, I left Freyja guarding our home since Nordur has more experience in space battles than she does.
We cross the hangar and enter a large elevator that takes us to the command bridge. As the elevator door opens on the correct floor, I'm greeted by Angela, Thor, Jane Foster, Wanda, and her brother. It was easy to get Angela to assist me, all I had to do was promise more help for her country, and her brother, as always, came as a bonus.
Jane's arrival was a surprise. I was against her staying here, of course, and despite all my warnings about the danger of this adventure, my stubborn brother insisted on forcibly removing her from the ship. I gave up and accepted it.
The only one who truly couldn't be absent isn't here: it's Amora. I tried to contact her, but she wasn't at her bar, and finding a sorceress isn't an easy task since they use various spells to protect themselves and avoid detection, not even Heimdall's sight could locate her.
But knowing her, she'll probably show up at the right moment.
"You're late," says Angela, not happy.
I told her that her mother was one of the Phoenix hosts and also Odin's lover before he married. She pretended to accept it well, but I know she was slightly shocked by her new mother figure that she was getting used to, only to find out it wasn't her mother again.
"This is my ship, Angela. I'm not late, since I'm the one who sets the schedules," I joke with her.
"It really is an amazing ship," says Jane. This is her first time on a spaceship.
Jane has changed a lot in the short time I've seen her. She spent most of her time since the War of the Realms events on Genosha Academy Island or in Asgard's libraries, gaining knowledge that had never been accessed by Earth's people before.
"Let's go, Jane, let's take a look around," says Thor, pulling his girlfriend into the elevator. She didn't resist and was very happy to discover Ratatosk's secrets.
I paid no more attention to them and left the X-Men in the upper part of the command room. I descended and sat in the captain's chair in the center of the room. In front of me were several operators who stood up when they saw me, they sat down after a nod of my head and returned their attention to the holographic screens in front of them.
"Are we ready?" I ask the second in command, General Nordur, who is wearing his golden armor with his sword at his waist and his shield on his back.
"Yes, sir!" he replies.
"Open a communication channel with Freyja," I say loudly to my subordinates in front.
Soon, a giant hologram appears in front of me with Freyja in her golden armor and short hair looking at me.
"My King," she greets me.
"We're departing, Freyja. Remember, full alert until we return."
"Yes, sir," she replies, and I close the hologram.
Then I feel a presence beside me. Vision appears, phasing through the floor and becoming tangible again.
"Creator," he adds, pleased to speak with me.
"I've told you not to call me that, countless times," I say with little enthusiasm in my voice. It seems like an impossible task to change that.
"I am aware of the thirty times, Creator, but for some reason, the word always comes up when I'm trying to talk to you. Surely it's because of my human-like feelings."
"Save me your excuses. Why don't you go entertain our guests?"
Vision is a curious being, so it's no surprise he was more than willing to meet new people. Bringing him on this adventure was something I carefully considered, the Mind Stone could be an advantage against a being of pure psychic energy, but it could also attract more trouble, such as a blue being who loves a manipulative troublemaker.
(Now that everyone is here, it's time to depart.)
I press a button on my chair and speak aloud.
"Everyone here knows our mission and how dangerous it is, but that doesn't matter. We have never feared death, the only thing we fear is dying in shame before our ancestors!" My voice resonates throughout the ship, and it hums with my words.
"So let's go, and if we die, let it be with honor!"
All the crew members stomp their feet, causing Ratatosk to vibrate with excitement, their spirits high. Ratatosk turns skyward and lifts off, leaving Earth's atmosphere headed towards what could become an interstellar battle.
POV: Third Person.
Former D'Bari Star System.
Several Hours Later.
2016.
Once a rich and vibrant system, it now lies in ruins, asteroids scattered around a star emitting a faint, melancholy light.
After the events that led to the destruction of this system, the space is now filled with asteroids of various sizes, remnants of the planets that were obliterated.
Navigating through these asteroids is the most well-known and feared starship among the Shi'ar, the Starjammer.
In its command center, seated in the captain's chair, is a human wearing a red uniform with a symbol resembling a yellow bird emblazoned on his chest. He appears to be in his forties, with short black hair matching his thin mustache that runs down his face.
"We need to be faster, Hepzibah," he says to the only other person in the command center.
Hepzibah is an alien who could best be described as a cross between a human and a cat, with white skin, a tail, fangs, claws, pointed ears, and vertical pupils. She wears attire that covers only the essentials, and every movement she makes is sensual and graceful.
"What are you talking about, Corsair? You're the one piloting," she says, smiling at him before turning her gaze forward.
"I know. I'm speaking aloud to heighten the sense of urgency, to keep us focused," Corsair replies to her.
Swiftly maneuvering around massive space rocks and firing at those they couldn't avoid, they finally reach the system's center, where the lone star still shines.
"Are you sure about this, Corsair?" Hepzibah asks, her tone now more serious.
"Anything the Shi'ar pay attention to deserves investigation, but I won't deny I was expecting something very different," he answers, looking at the enlarged image of the star.
In fact, it wasn't a star, there was no temperature or gravity there, just a large "lamp" glowing in space, its light emanating from a naked woman sleeping in the vacuum.
"If you're going to do it, do it now. I just received a message from one of our spies, the fleet is approaching," Hepzibah speaks.
According to the Shi'ar, the Starjammers are merely a band of intergalactic pirates who cowardly attack their lightly defended freighters. In truth, all their targets are strategically chosen to inflict damage on the empire or to free slaves. Instead of pirates, they should be rightly considered as resistance fighters. And just how could a small ship evade the radars of an intergalactic empire without possessing internal information from their allies? The larger the empire, the easier it is to find someone working against it within its ranks.
"Tractor beam!" Corsair shouts in response.
An energy beam, colorless and powerful, shoots from the front of the ship. It gently envelops the glowing woman and slowly pulls her towards their vessel. As she is moved, the light emanating from her body fades, revealing a naked woman with long red hair, who is transported aboard the Starjammer.
"We've got what we came for, let's get out of here!" the Captain declares.
The Starjammer then turns around and heads in the opposite direction of the Shi'ar fleet, which appears just moments later.