When Nick returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, he immediately called Maria into the director's office.
"Raise Morgana's threat level to the highest," Nick said directly, his voice somewhat grim, leaving Maria in uncertainty.
"What happened, sir?" Maria asked suspiciously, wondering what had happened at Tony's villa.
"Although this is just my assumption, I suspect that Morgana has become a mutant… and an omega-level one at that."
"When I saw her… even though it was just a moment, I could swear she didn't have a gun. It was as if she suddenly created it out of nowhere…" Nick slowly recounted what he had experienced.
"So, either she has the ability of creation… or space manipulation… or maybe something else," Maria said seriously, guessing based on his description.
"Yes… and she has also undergone physical changes. She now has white hair, and there's also some charm and mystery about her, I can no longer read her like before," Nick added, looking at Maria seriously.
"What about Tony? Will he join the 'Avengers' plan?" Maria asked, reminding him of the original mission.
Nick's already dark expression grew even darker as he remembered Tony's arrogant demeanor.
Maria noticed the change in his mood and knew the meeting hadn't gone well. She quietly exited the room.
The next morning.
Inside the bedroom, Morgana was lying on the bed, holding a laptop while watching a video.
The video showed the living room of Tony's villa. Morgana zoomed in on the table, where a barely noticeable and blurry golden spark could be seen.
"Pray to God I don't find you," Morgana said indifferently, staring coldly at the golden spark.
When she used the serum, she recalled the USB she had left Tony with information about Obadiah's involvement. However, she had no idea someone would try to manipulate her memories.
I need to become even stronger,Morgana thought, clenching her fists tightly. She couldn't stand the feeling of someone manipulating her or the people she wanted to protect.
While Morgana was dealing with her own problems, outside her villa, Sofia encountered unfamiliar guests.
"Who are you?" Sofia asked cautiously, looking at the three people in front of her.
"There's no need to be afraid of us, child," Professor X replied kindly, while Jean and Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, stood beside him.
"I don't know who you are, and don't call me 'child'," Sofia said coldly and annoyed when she heard how Professor X addressed her.
"Sorry, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Charles, and this is Jean and Scott," Professor X introduced himself politely, ignoring Sofia's hostility. Jean stood calmly, while Scott became slightly irritated when he saw how Sofia was treating the Professor.
"Sofia. And what do you want?" Sofia replied shortly, slightly surprised, recognizing them as the X-Men who appeared on TV, though she tried to hide it. However, with two telepaths present, she failed.
"We came because of you. As a newly awakened mutant, you're probably scared of your sudden powers," said the Professor.
"I don't know how you know about my power, but I think you should leave," Sofia said coldly as she began to close the door. However, just as she was about to shut it, she felt someone trying to peek into her mind.
In an instant, she instinctively released shadows within a ten-meter radius, which proved quite effective.
She looked at the three of them coldly, who were now slightly injured by her sudden outburst of power.
"At first I wanted to let you go peacefully, but it seems you have a different opinion," Sofia said in a cold, almost murderous voice, staring at the Professor, while Jean and Scott tensed, preparing for battle.
"Please, forgive me," the professor was trying to calm her down, while Sofia was now surrounded by darkness. However, in her eyes, it was nothing else but hypocrisy.
Just as Sofia was about to strike, a sound of a sports car was heard in the distance. They all turned and saw a car approaching them. Morgana got out of the vehicle and calmly walked past the group.
"What's going on here?" Morgana looked at Sofia, who was ready to attack the three people in front of her.
Sofia explained calmly, leaving nothing out. Morgana listened quietly, and as soon as she understood why Sofia wanted to attack, she looked at the Professor in front of her.
"So, you peeked into my friend's mind," Morgana said with a polite smile, while looking coldly at the Professor. Before the Professor could say anything, Morgana's words surprised everyone.
"Then why don't you look into my mind? Maybe you'll find something interesting," Morgana said.
"Morgana…" Sofia wanted to say something worried and disturbed, but Morgana put a finger to her lips, stopping her from speaking, silently telling her it was all right.
"Well, shall we begin?" Morgana said in a bored tone. She saw Jean trying to warn the Professor, sensing something was wrong, but before she could, the Professor had already peeked into Morgana's mind.
Morgana felt an unpleasant wave in her mind, but it lasted only a moment. She saw the Professor lose color in his eyes as his body twitched uncontrollably.
"Professor!!!" Jean and Scott rushed to the Professor in panic. While Jean tried to help him somehow, Scott started to attack Morgana, raising his hand toward his glasses to shoot a beam at her.
Morgana looked at Scott who wanted to attack, she just raised her hand toward him, and around his head appeared a railroad block, enclosing his head and preventing him from using his mutant abilities, while also cutting off his air, leaving him to panic and scratch the iron block with his hands.
Jean also wanted to attack, but Sofia was faster, controlling a shadow and creating a blade beneath Jean's neck.
"You better not move," Sofia said coldly.
During this short fight, which didn't last even a minute, the Professor slowly regained consciousness, still afraid of what he had experienced.
"I think it's clear to you now that we don't need your help," Morgana said, looking at the Professor without feeling.
"Having the X-gene doesn't mean you can act like some kind of savior to us... Also, next time we meet, if you peek into my mind or the mind of someone close to me again, it won't be only you who faces my wrath, but those around you as well. So you better control yourself," Morgana said in a cold and contemptuous voice, looking at the group with murderous intent.
With a slight movement, Morgana destroyed the iron block around Scott's head that she had created, leaving him greedily breathing air, while he looked at her with hatred and anger, but she didn't notice because of his glasses. Even if she had noticed, she wouldn't have cared about some worm.
Morgana entered the villa with Sofia, leaving the group in uncomfortable silence.
"Let's go," the Professor said, breaking the silence as he left.
"Professor, what happened for you to react like that?" Jean asked curiously, but the Professor remained silent.
A few minutes ago.
POV Professor X
He looked at Morgana in surprise as she waited to activate her abilities. He noticed Jean trying to warn him, but curiosity overcame him. He wanted to see why Morgana wanted him to enter her mind so badly.
When he entered her mind, the first thing he noticed was darkness all around him; there was nothing, just empty space.
At the moment he wanted to look deeper, he felt the space around him tremble, and what he saw terrified him.
A river of blood appeared around him, while in front of him lay a pile of bodies of various shapes, from children, through adults, to elderly people. Some were grotesquely twisted, some halved, while others were whole.
However, what terrified him the most was an unusual creature in the sky. He couldn't discern its true shape, but he noticed a huge body with countless distorted eyes watching him, while countless tentacles in front of the eyes uncontrollably writhed in all directions. Some even approached him, trying to grab him.
He could only stand frozen, staring at that strange and supernatural creature with fear and horror, not knowing how much time had passed. He felt himself return to his body but was still filled with fear of the unknown being. Throughout his life, he had never seen a scarier nightmare. That moment was the longest he wished he had never experienced.
POV end.
"Why did he react like that?" Sofia asked curiously, wondering why the Professor had reacted that way.
"I wonder," Morgana only gave a vague answer, knowing that the Professor had seen a creature from the Lovecraft stories she had read in her past life.
"However, I still haven't forgiven you for reacting so impulsively," said Sofia with fake anger in her voice, as she crossed her arms and looked seriously at Morgana, who now stood stiffly.
"Hahaha..." Morgana laughed, avoiding Sofia's gaze.
Sofia sighed heavily, knowing Morgana was unpredictable.
"What do we do with the building?" she asked Morgana seriously.
"Now that you mentioned it..." Morgana said thoughtfully, stroking her chin.
"I think I know who's behind this," she said as she headed toward the basement, with Sofia following her.
"Who?" asked Sofia.
"Kingpin."
"Hmm... How did you get here so fast? It's like you knew something was going to happen," Sofia asked suspiciously, looking at Morgana who was descending into the basement.
"Ah, that... Instinct. I felt something was going to happen, so I came as fast as I could," Morgana answered honestly, recalling how her instincts had warned her of danger in her villa.