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He looked at Garm quizzically from the doorway, one eyebrow rising, and the wolf grumbled looking away. "Well, I have to admit that singing in this is actually quite good and besides, I want to see this so-called lord of the jungle, Shere Khan. Humph, as if a giant kitten would be any match for one such as I."
Harry chuckled at that but left them to it. So long as they were having fun, that was the main goal of this party.
One of the great things about having a magical castle was that Harry could control it to a certain extent, rearranging things and creating several different ballrooms. The main hall was for dancing to heavy music and rock. There were others designed for different musical styles or games, such as this one.
He found Scott in one of them, laughingly engaged in wagering on a game of table tennis between Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton on one side, and Rogue with an unknown trooper on the other, with a dozen of the troopers that had been invited, Americans, Italians and a few Turks and Georgian, around them. Sam Guthrie and Sam Wilson both nodded to him, and the sight of wagers being passed back and forth as the game of table tennis went on was almost surreal, but in an extremely good way, Harry reflected. Scott saw him and moved over, noticing when Harry had indicated he should come along.
"Sir, er, that is, Harry," said Scott said, one hand twitching up into a salute before he could stop himself. He looked a little inebriated, but not a lot and his eyes kept on straying back to where Rogue was starting to dominate her opponent. The girl's hand-eye coordination had certainly come a long way since the days when Harry had been training the team.
"Scott, just wanted to tell you that there will be a little meeting tomorrow morning, not early don't worry about that, we'll have a working brunch basically. I would however like you to start thinking about recommendations among the regular troopers to add to the Custodes Mundi and X-Men during this break."
Scott blinked, then slowly nodded, his eyes flicking over the crowd of troopers around them, Wendy and a few of her people. Wendy looked over at him and grinned, giving the two men thumbs up, before going back in shrieking out "Get them Rogue, show that bastard to keep his sexist comments to himself!"
Harry smirked back at the girl, shaking his head as Scott guffawed. Wendy had proven to be one heck of an asset from the get-go, but since taking over the mutant retrieval squad, she seemed to be styling herself along the same lines as a strange mix between Ororo and Jean, which, Harry reflected was all to the good. After all, she could do far worse in terms of role models. And she led her team very well indeed, although personally, Harry was wondering if it was time to enlarge the team some more and what she wanted to do with the rest of her time away from the team. She hadn't yet decided on doing more than finishing high school, but it was time for her to start thinking about college if she wanted to, either here in Camelot or elsewhere.
"Do you have any idea where Magma and Danielle are?" Harry asked, turning back to Scott.
Scott thought for a minute, then shook his head. "I know where they aren't, they aren't in the ballroom or the dance room, although I did see Steve in there. Not the main one, the small one, the one that was playing country and jazz."
Harry chuckled at that, but nodded, clapped the younger man on his shoulder and turned to leave, while behind him, the ping-pong games turned into a full tournament as Clint shouted, "Who wants to step up to the plate now, huh?"
With that, Harry made his way up two floors and along a corridor, to two rooms that had until today been designated for the recently created high school program. With all the kids they'd been taking in the recently, it would eventually be a necessity, although it wasn't quite yet thanks to Charles doing a magnificent job of putting up the thirty-odd students of high school age with mutant powers in the X-mansion. Harry and he had talked about that and Harry had already funded a major rebuilding project for the mansion, not only adding to its security but building an entire new wing into it, which would be turned over to the youngsters.
Now however, these rooms were serving a far different purpose. The walls between them had been magically absorbed into the rest of the castle, the stone floors had been smoothed out into a dance floor and like the main dining room, music was blaring from a stereo system brought in by Jean. But here, it wasn't the fastpaced techno-pop and heavy metal rock that dominated in the main room, but rather Western music and jazz as Scott had said.
In the middle of the room was Steve with, for some reason, a cowboy hat on his head, twirling and dancing along with Betsy and Laura to either side of him. This sight made Harry thankful that Havok had opted to not come to the festivities. He had instead decided to go to a rock concert in New York. He would, of course, have time to get involved in the festivities over the coming week, but Harry really hoped that if he came upon a scene like this that he kept control.
At first, Harry thought Steve seemed to be switching from one young woman to the other, but he quickly saw that in fact, it was the ladies guiding things taking turns and it was turning the good captain's head quite easily. Despite his concerns for the future, Harry grinned at the sight, thinking that if there was anyone who deserved to be as amazingly happy as those two ladies could make someone, it was Steve.
He made his way towards them but before he could get to Steve, Paige danced out of the crowd of soldiers and astonishingly enough, two politicians. She then bumped Betsy out of the way to grab Steve's head in her hands and pull him into a quick kiss.
"What the bloody hell Guthrie?!" Betsy shouted, her thick London accent coming out heavily in her shock and anger. "Ya bloomin' dog, ya can't just…"
Paige quickly twisted away, laughing and shouting "Snooze you lose English!" Before she disappeared into the crowd again putting several other people between her and the furious telepath and the equally furious user of magnetism.
Steve looked a little poleaxed and Laura almost glared at him as Harry came within hearing range. "You didn't seem to put up a much of a fight there did you?"
"Did I have time to?" Steve rejoined, shaking his head. "Before you ask, no I've never done anything to indicate that I was attracted to her, young Paige is well, young after all."
"And you being an old soul," Harry said, clapping them on the shoulders. "I'm sorry to take him away from you two for a moment, ladies. But I need to talk with Steve for a second."
Pulling Steve towards a corner Harry ignored the captain's muttered thanks, looking at him quizzically, "Are you interested in either or both of them? Or are you just uncertain how to tell them no? They're big girls, they can handle it I think if you're already in a relationship with Natasha or just not interested."
"Um, well, I'm kind of interested in them both I think. Did you know Laura is an amateur historian? She knows a lot of things about World War I and World War II that even I didn't know, and I lived through World War II! It was fascinating to hear her take on some of the men and people I met, however briefly, and correct some of her own misapprehensions of a few of them. And Betsy is just fascinating to talk to, she knows so much about how modern culture was formed and about world affairs and music, we've talked for hours without touching on the same subject twice. I, they're just so fascinating, I have a lot of trouble trying to figure out which to pursue and if I even should."
"Huh… well, you're a big boy too Steve and I'm the last person to tell you that such a trio's not a good idea. Just make certain if you decide to pursue both that Laura and Betsy both understand they're even in your eyes before getting too far, okay? A plus would be making certain they have feelings towards one another, or at least are attracted to one another. I sort of lucked out in that area with my ladies in that they came to love one another just as much as me," Harry said, chuckling as he remembered the night they had spent together, which, as Hela had thought, had grown to include much of the next day.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that there is going to be a brief meeting tomorrow. Not early, we'll have a working brunch out of it I think before heading back to our vacation," he said, deliberately using the same words he used earlier with Scott.
Steve nodded and said, "I'm not one to drink heavily anyway," he said, twitching one finger up, to where a cigarette was sticking out from behind his ear. "I get by with other vices."
Harry chuckled at that and nodded. He then officially turned Steve back over to the tender ministrations of the two ladies. He noted Paige had made her escape from the room entirely and wondered idly to Jean if they were going to get into trouble with her mother the next day for letting her stay up like this.
"Are you serious?" Jean asked in his head, having heard the thought from where she and the kids were watching Jungle Book. "She's a Southern gal from a small dying town Harry, she's been drinking since she was 14. No, unless she wakes up next to someone of the male persuasion lacking some clothing, we won't be having issues with her mother."
Harry smiled happily at that, sending back a wordless reply of relief, which caused Jean to giggle in his mind, a feeling that put a grin on his face as he made his way around the castle. He found Amara and Danielle outside with Piotr by the lake. Oddly enough, he had put a light nearby and he and Amora were actually drawing and painting respectively.
Piotr was drawing a picture of what the lake looked like with the moon overhead and the stars glittering down. It was actually quite good. Amara was concentrating on painting the castle itself at night, emphasizing the light from the windows and the shape of the castle against the night sky. It was odd to see a painting mostly composed of various contrasts of black, but it too was quite good.
And nearby, Danielle was talking quietly, along with Anne Marie Cortez and Kurt. Wanda was there too, although she was already asleep, oddly enough cozying up to Kurt's side while he ran a hand through her wild frizz of hair that was so like yet unlike Kitty or another frizzy-haired brunette he once knew. When did those two get so close? Harry thought to himself, before shaking his head. None of my business.
He tapped Piotr and Amara and Danielle on the shoulders, told them of the meeting and then left them to it. Some people preferred quiet fun and so long as they were enjoying themselves and simply having downtime after the last near to a month of hard grinding work and warfare, that was fine by him.
In the main dining hall, the techno-pop, and heavy metal music were so loud as to make Harry's teeth hurt, with the strobing lights above them and the hollow projection of a real-life band on the far wall. There were about 30 people in the room, dancing and hobnobbing and making more noise than their numbers should've indicated in such a large space. Like most other places in the castle, most of them were soldiers that had been invited to this, but many were aid workers, locals the Custodes had met and befriended from various places. Holding court in the center were Thunderbird, Boom Boom, Jubilee, Angel, Morph, and Mystique of all people. She was easily the best dancer of the lot, swaying her hips, doing small flips in place and twirls, her perfect body control being seen easily.
But despite the irritation of the loud noise and their having fun, Harry had to get a few of those people out of the crowd to talk to them for a moment. He whistled sharply, the noise cutting through to his intended victims, causing them to twitch and glare over at him. Using magic he sent his voice to their ears then left them to their fun.
And finally, on top of the tower, Harry found Hela and Ororo, sharing a bottle of wine and arguing something about history together, although by the smiles, they were both having fun. In the background, a slow jazz song played, mostly instrumentals. Nearby Hedwig perched, reading a book by the light of a booklight that one of the house-elves, or someone else, had set up for her.
Deciding he had finally found a place where he could relax, he conjured a chair right in front of the little table that was holding the wine and plopped down into it, sighing as he rested his hands on their knees to either side of them. "Hello ladies, I don't suppose you'd mind if a weary warrior takes away a load off here, would you?"
Ororo laughed the sound as always making Harry smile, squeezing his hand on her thigh gently. "Of course Harry. Welcome to our little quiet place."
Hela replied magically. Harry could feel it wash over the small table behind him lifting it up into the air, then pulling his conjured chair, with Harry on it, backward so that they were all laying out in a row. Then he watched as the chair shifted shape, before plunking down effectively trapping him in the chair, but once more putting the wine and their glasses within easy reach of the two ladies. "I don't mind at all, my Seidr man," Hela said, reaching to pick up her wine cup again.
Above them, the stars turned and Harry smiled, leaning back and closing his eyes as he let the words of their argument about whether or not the holy Roman air Empire had been doomed from the start wash over him, smiling faintly. There was still a shit ton to do but for now, for just this week, Harry felt he could let himself rest.
OOOOOOO
Back in the main room, Mystique handed Destiny down into her chair, smiling down at the older seeming woman. "Are you sure I can only tease you into one dance?" she asked. "That wasn't even a fast one."
"I'm afraid not Raven," Irene said with a small, wan laugh. "I have not had any energy for such as that for several months. But I would like your company if you would prefer to sit next to me rather than be out there humiliating the younger set with your dance moves."
Pouting as that was indeed what Raven had been hoping to do, the shape-changer sat down next to her old lover, taking her hand, sobering as she felt the frailty in that grip. It was so easy to forget when they were apart how much time had taken from Irene, given her own body's longevity, but now, once more, Raven had to admit that their time as lovers might soon be coming to an end.
They stayed silent, watching the fun for a time from their own quiet corner and Mystique idly noted that one of the house-elves seemed to have created a bubble of magic that kept much of the sound away from them. Despite that, she could hear the music and it had just shifted to another fast tune, one she remembered Irene had liked to drive to when it first came out, 'Radar Love'.
Before she could comment on that though, Irene spoke up again. "Yet you, you and Harry Potter, you did it. You did enough to forever silence the futures, that I predicted so long ago. The future Magneto saw. The future Sinister saw. The future the one who created him saw. All are impossible now. Humanity. Mutant kind. We will face the future together now, come what may."
At that, Raven turned to her sharply, ignoring the oddity of the spell around them to stare at her. "The one who created Sinister?"
"A problem for the future, a small one for now, but one that cannot touch the future of humanity, as much as that being might try." Irene smiled the one little smile, coughing lightly, but with a deep racking sound to it, that caused Raven to turn to her in alarm. Her old lover held up a hand, shaking her head. "There's nothing you can do," she said taking Raven's hands lightly their own. "Your injections of blood have kept me alive far, far longer than my own lifespan would've been, thanks to the impact my powers have on my longevity. It's just come time. I've known it would for weeks. Since before the Dire Wraiths launch their attack."
"Irene, are you saying you're… I'll go get help!" Raven said, trying to get to her feet, but Irene wouldn't let her wrist go.
The older woman just shook her head. "No, there's nothing anyone can do at this point. Not even Harry Potter and his magic can reverse the effects of aging although at least in the future, his scientists will discover the means by which to slow it. My body, it has been failing since before Magneto died and has simply been accelerating every month that has gone by since. Better that I go now, watching this, watching mutants, nonpowered humans, men and women from the world over dancing the night away, having bought peace for a time. Much better. No muss, no fuss, no last-minute attempt to revive me, just going out on my own terms, with my best friend beside me."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Raven asked, grief sorrow and hurt in her voice.
"You had a job to do," Irene replied simply. "What you had to do was more important than my wants and desires, more important than us. That's all there is to it Raven. Besides as I said, by this point, there's nothing you could've done. You heard what Una said the last time you offered to give me more of your blood, any more infusions would cause a negative reaction with my own T cells and kill me. Better to go out like this, on my own terms," she repeated. "Better to go out happy."
As she had been speaking, Irene's voice had slowly begun to soften, lowering, as she slowly began to slump in her chair taking Raven's hand with her, placing it into her lap and taking it with both of her own hands. "It's been a long time," she murmured, "I can go on, to my next adventure."
"Promise me, Raven," she said, squeezing the hand even as Raven was forced to lean in to hear her voice, her eyes glinting suspiciously, but no tears on her face. "Promise me that you'll go on. You will not wallow in grief, you will continue to live your life, rather than regretting the passing of mine. Promise me, my love."
"I promise, love," Raven said, her voice cracking, but still, no tears would come as she leaned her for head against Irene's close enough to feel the other woman's breath on her face. "I promise. I love you."
Irene smiled and whispered I love you back, but then as she finished saying the last word, Raven felt the other woman's breath stop. It was that quick, that simple, one moment she was alive, the next, she was gone. Still smiling, still looking as if she just closed her eyes to go sleep. The suddenness of it startled Raven almost as much as Irene's warning her had and she pulled back slowly, staring into her old friend's face, before shuddering and twisting around, taking her slowly chilling hand in her own.
As she did, two elderly house-elves, extremely elderly ones popped in, nodded to her and put blankets over them both. They then waved their hands, casting some kind of spell that seems to make the two of them disappeared to the senses of the other people in the room. Raven stayed there, staring not at the people around her, but at memories, holding her friend's hand through the night.
OOOOOOO
"I am afraid it is official my Emperor, Galactus the World Eater is turning inwards, deeper into our territory."
The man so speaking was tall, so tall he would have been a foot taller than even Colossus in his metal form. He was wider too, his entire body exuded power and strength, draped in a dark red uniform complete with a cloak. His purple skin shone brightly in the light of the massive throne room he was standing in currently, it's edges almost out of sight to either side. His hair was done up in a tall, almost equally purple, mohawk.
The Emperor this man was addressing was a much smaller man, although he was actually of normal height for his people as shown by the number of advisors crowded around his gigantic, golden and silver throne. Slight of bone, his skin was tanned red, his body thin under his Royal raiment of silver and white gold. The man wore on his head a small crown, with a single multi-colored jewel set into the platinum of the crown in the center of his forehead. His hair was as black as night, falling like the feathers of a bird to just above his shoulders. In his hands he held the staff of office, although it could've been called a spear just as easily and beside his throne lay the scabbards of two sabers, their hilts beautiful, but still perfectly balanced and useable.
His eyes were deeply sunken into his face, not because of age but because of a certain amount of personal austerity when it came to food and drink, although the Emperor was known to indulge in other, far more unusual vices. But those eyes still had the same predatory glare of his avian ancestors. And that was indeed the case, for all that he was looked frail, the Emperor of the Shi'ar was a predator in several different senses of the word.
However, even the stupidest predator knew that there were always bigger ones out there and Galactus was certainly one such. "What planet is he aiming towards, Gladiator?"
"it could be one of any three my liege at this moment, we have no way of narrowing it down just yet."
"And his Herald, do we have any information about that one?" the Emperor asked without pausing.
"Some my liege. He apparently is a large stone-skinned man, who wields an ax and has apparently no mercy for any sentient being that might be on the planet in his Master's path. We believe that it is by his inclination that Galactus has changed his course in such a manner. He seems to understand though that the more life force, the more Galactus approves of any given meal."
"Well now, that, in particular, is not good," the Emperor said mildly, his eyes flashing in direct jarring contrast to his tone. While he really didn't care much about any single planet within his realm, Galactus could eat more than half of his empire and still be hungry. "Do you think we could in some fashion shift their attention away?" He asked turning his gaze away from Gladiator to several other of his key advisors, including his chief military strategist.
"No," he said bluntly. "Galactus is something akin to a natural phenomenon. He cannot be waylaid or beaten off, only appeased, or survived. We could defeat his Herald, but not the being himself."
"What say you Deathbird?" the Emperor asked looking over at his sisters. They were younger than he, though not by much for Deathbird and they were a study in contrasts both physically and mentally.
Lilandra was the youngest of the three siblings. She was dressed in a silver dress, which flowed loosely from her shoulders down to her ankles, belted at her waist by a golden belt that held both a blaster and a sword, which she could use quite well, if not up to the standards of either of her older siblings. Her body was thin as all their people tended to be, but she moved lithely, quickly, her movements that of a trained dancer. She was a consummate politician and stateswoman, a fine advisor. But while she could fight at need, she was no warrior like her two siblings.
Oddly enough, Deathbird was the most physically well-built of the three siblings and was more beautiful than her sister as many humanoid races denoted such things. She was not any taller, but was far more muscled, with visible muscles and tones arms on display by her purple armor which ended at her shoulders. That armor covered her body like a second skin, showing off not just her muscles but also the large chest, larger by several sizes than was typical of their race. Her eyes were a cold, hard white without pupils and her hair flared up into two wings shapes to either side of her head. From her purple-armored wrists twin metal whips hung, a special kind of weapon their people had once used in gladiatorial arenas and which Deathbird, or Cal'ysee as she had been named at her birth, was quite skilled with.
And like the image she projected, D'ken felt Deathbird was a throwback to their ancestors' warlike, predatory side. In many ways, she was a blunt instrument, one who would always prefer violence and combat. Yet there was nothing wrong with her mind, even if that mind was, as D'ken knew only too well, seething with ambition and a desire for the throne he sat on. "Slay the Herald," she said, her words chopped off and angry. "That will at least slow Galactus down. It's a documented fact that he will give off his feeding for a time in order to search out a proper emissary. Further, if we can then somehow steer his search out into the other powers, it will be they who will be weakened by his hunger, not us."
"And what of you Lilandra?" The Emperor asked.
Deathbird's answer had been anticipated, but the Emperor D'ken looked at his youngest sister thoughtfully. Of both women, it was her odd empathy, as well as her monumental status with the common people that he was most worried about. His oldest sister's ambitions were obvious, but she knew her place too well to challenge him yet. Perhaps soon that might no longer be the case, he thought, twitching his eyes back towards Deathbird, seeing the eagerness, the bloodlust that seemed inherent in her stance, the way she hunched herself forward like one of their ancestors ready to pounce. But Lilandra was much harder to read, much more pragmatic than Deathbird, willing to speak or fight at need.
"I believe in this instance that our sister is right. An attempt to talk should be made with this Herald, that is their purpose after all. But if it fails, his death would prove useful in slowing Galactus down. And there are several planets inside Badoon territory which we know have a strong bio-signature. If we could somehow steer his search for a Herald in that direction, then the World-Eater will have his fill beyond our borders," Lilandra said, her tone calculating yet also showing concern for their own people.
"My men and I stand ready to serve the Empire in any way you wish, Your Majesty," Gladiator intoned, taking a knee and slamming a fist into the ground in front of him, the reverberations carrying through the floor for a moment.
"Yet we might wish to think of a way to slay the Herald without the use of the Praetorian guard," another advisor stated, speaking out of turn. D'ken looked at him and the man went on hurriedly. "Galactus has been known to take offense when someone slays a Herald and we do not wish the Shi'ar Empire to go the way of the Gith."
The Gith had been a near-prehistoric interstellar society, all of whom had been wiped out millennia ago. By Galactus, after they had slain his then-Herald. Yes, D'ken mused as he recalled his ancient history, the man had a point. He would, therefore, continue to live and serve his Emperor instead of being killed for speaking up out of turn. "Hmmm… this is true. But we do have a few hundred Praetorian Guards who can act outside of uniform. Not being able to use Gladiator would make killing the Herald far more difficult, but it should still be possible."
He looked around the room, silently asking for any more information or opinions on this issue. "There is one thing…" said one of his other advisers slowly, an older man with white air and pale skin, who moved creakily as he gestured forward into the air in front of him. He was the spymaster of the empire and despite his advancing years, he was one of his advisors even D'ken knew he had to listen to.
With a series of finger commands to the holo-computer that was set into the walls and floor of the throne room, the man pulled up information on a single out-of-the-way planet, which was several thousand light-years away from their own borders. The colors of blue, white and green, it looked to be a decent enough planet, the Emperor judged, reading off the information quickly, just the kind the Shi'ar would choose to colonize for themselves. Once it was wiped clean of any original sentients which had evolved there of course, unless they could be taught their place in the wider galaxy and made to be useful to the Shi'ar. Yet it was certainly not unusual for that. "Why are you bringing this insignificant nothing planet to our attention?"
"Because sire, that insignificant nothing planet, has apparently begun to produce superpowered individuals, individuals who are mighty beyond belief."
"Like our Imperial guard then?" The Emperor asked dryly. "I will concern myself with such a planet when it's empowered numbers rise into the tens of thousands."
"No sire, I did not mean to imply that the planet was a threat," the man said without any haste or fear of royal displeasure. "Indeed, attempting to take or even destroy it might well bring us into the endless ware between the Skrull and Kree, considering that they have fought one another over it several times in the past.
"HO? Truly? Why?" Deathbird asked while Lilandra frowned in confusion.
"The aforesaid super-powered members and its somewhat strategic position," the strategist, said leaning forward. "I've had reports about that from our military scout ships.
Deathbird nodded at that, seeing his point at once as she saw the position of Earth in relation to the two named Empires. For all her vaunted ambition, there was nothing wrong with her mind. "If either side could take that system and use it as a supply depot, they would be able to sweep around and flank their enemies either way. It makes sense, but it isn't something that should be taking too much of their time…"
She too looked at the man who had brought it up. But even under her yellow-eyed glare, he refused to be cowed. "My liege, Galactus also had shown an interest in that planet."
"So it's gone then," the Emperor said simply. "And you are wasting my time," he then added, his tone cold.
"Sire, the planet is still there. Some of its defenders apparently were able to come up with some means of either appeasing or scaring Galactus off," the man replied. "If we could but find out how then we could use it in turn and force Galactus from our territory for all time."
That drew some whispers of astonishment and the Emperor leaned forward. "Interesting. Very interesting…" he stared at his spymaster, waiting to hear any more information, but the man fell silent and he looked around. No one else had anything more to add and he nodded. "Gladiator, designate the one who will lead the secret attack on the Herald. Then ready a team of ten Imperial Guard. A ship will be prepared for you all within the day and you will head to this Earth place. You will find how they have appeased Galactus and then however you can, gain this ability for the Shi'ar Empire. If they balk at sharing, you know what to do."
OOOOOOO
The funeral for Irene was held the next morning. It was a small crowd that gathered to mourn her passing. It wasn't small because of hangovers or anything like that, Harry had enough anti-hangover potions to go around, but Mystique had insisted that only Destiny's friends attend. And while she had been acquainted with many, Irene had been friends with few. Kitty's parents were there, the mother sad, but dry-eyed leaning against her husband. Piotr and Illyana's grandparents were also there, Rahne, as were a few of the other teachers and adults, but the only members of the team that were there were Rogue and Anne Marie, along with Harry and Ororo.
Hela performed the ceremony, which was held on the shore of the lake as Irene had always loved the water, any body of water really. Though the Goddess of Niflheim hadn't been acquainted with the other woman overmuch, it would not be the first time she performed such a ceremony even for an unbeliever.
The goddess had organized it quite well, in Raven's opinion. Indeed, she was very thankful for the other woman's support and help to get this done so quickly. Irene wouldn't want us to linger over things, Raven thought, still dry-eyed even now as she moved away from the casket containing her friend.
In front of Hela and the coffin containing the body of Raven's old friend everyone sat in rows of chairs, while on the ground around them blue cornflowers, Irene's favorite flower grew in bunches. In the background the national anthem of Irene's native Austria, Land of Mountains, Land by the River played via a set of instruments Harry and Hela had magicked to play the song between them, low, but constant, followed by a series of Irene's favorite composers such as Bach and Chopin.
At first, everyone had a few moments to reflect on their friendship with Irene, going up to the currently open casket to say their farewells. According to Raven, Irene had never believed in gods before meeting Hela and even after had not believed in an almighty. Whether that equated to believing there was no afterlife, no one knew, but that lack of faith had made for a quite ad hoc ceremony.
Once everyone had a turn to come up to say their personal farewells to the dead, Hela spoke up, a benediction to a woman who had helped to change the world. "When a warrior passes, there is mead drink and feasting, to remember the life of the warrior, not the death. Though Irene was not in the truest sense a warrior, she was a fighter. A bright, pure soul, who saw the future through her powers and who determined that such futures should never be. It takes an intense amount of courage not only to stare into the skein of the future like that but to look at the Fates and say no, I will not let this happen. To challenge the very Fates, to shout at Skuld that you make your own destiny, takes a special type of individual.
"Such an individual was Irene. She could see the Fates and yet did not let that knowledge weigh her down. She used it, yes, to guide her actions and the actions of others. Not to hide away from that distant future, but to challenge it. All this, despite the fact that each time she used her powers, it cost her more of her own energy, more of her own life force and mental acuity. Truly a double edge sword and yet she took it's cuts and scrapes as bravely as any warrior could."
Hela looked at Rogue, then Raven as she continued. "And nor was her great charge the only thing in her life. For despite those visions, despite the weight of them, Irene was brave enough to open her heart to others. To befriend, to even love both in a familial way and in the way of lovers. To leave behind those that will mourn her yet keep on her great work. As a goddess of the dead, I tell you this. Her soul is one that the Lady will treat with utmost care. I tell ye true, she will travel to the bright lands and wait for her next turn of the wheel in joy and happiness. So remember her life good friends, her love, and do not let her passing mar your own lives going forward."
With that, she fell silent, her hands falling from where she had raised them and nodded to Rogue and Mystique, who gently picked up the two sides of the coffin, moving it forward. At the same time, Harry cast a spell into the coffin, burning the body within to ash in seconds without searing the coffin.
The two women who had been closest to Irene in her life laid her coffin down, then slowly opened it and at a gesture from Ororo a wind picked up, scooping into the coffin and scattering the woman's ashes out across the lake creating a kaleidoscope of colors as the sunlight hit the ashes.
Mystique stared at it for a time, still dry-eyed. She was a woman who had used up all her tears long since. But inside, she was weeping for her friend taken far too soon. More than eighty years we had together and it was still far too soon. But our mission, your mission love, it's finished. Mine isn't. You called the future bright Irene, harsh at times, difficult, but bright for mutant-kind. And it will stay that way, Mystique thought, staring at the ashes as they danced across the waters, the rainbow's hues slowly disappearing as the rest of the funeralgoers slowly drifted away. Whatever I have to do, I will keep it that way, I will make you proud and guard our dream, I swear it.
OOOOOOO
Oddly enough, the funeral for Irene did not cast a pall over the ongoing downtime for the various teams and their friends and allies. All the younger set were simply too tired from the fighting, too ecstatic it had finished for a time. So the week off continued as Irene had told Raven she hoped it would, with even Raven trying to put her lover's death behind her. It would be many months before she really did, but she refused to let her grief control her life.
But because of Irene's passing the meeting Harry had wanted to do with the men and women he had contacted during the party that had started their week off was, of course, moved to several days later. But it still occurred and was still a working lunch, held in the main dining hall after the rest of the castle's inhabitants had eaten. "All right, as you might've deduced from my hint about what I wanted you to think about, this is a meeting about the future of the Custodes Mundi. It had been pointed out to me and the meetings about Russia that the Custodes Mundi only has a few examples of unpowered humans, those being Carol and Wyatt. And Sam Wilson, if you want to get technical," he added looking over at Steve who just nodded. "But he is going to be seconded to another program entirely soon enough.
"But Hawkeye and Black Widow are both willing to sign up," Steve interjected.
"Fine," Harry said with a nod, "I'll meet with them in a few days down at Magical Mind's headquarters." From what he knew of the two of them he wouldn't have any issues, but it was best to make certain about such things. Especially considering how much he was going to be upgrading their armament.
"Beyond those two, however, I want recommendations from you Steve and you Scott. Five each, men and women who you've interacted with during this war with Russia and who you think can join the team. I've already asked the Black Panther to supply four names of his own and that'll give us fourteen new individuals to add to the team, nonpowered individuals. When they arrive, they'll be worked out with the rest of the team, separated into the various combat squads by ability. But I will not be part of that discussion or training," Harry trailed off with a sigh.
The others, his officers one and all, looked at him and he sighed. "This has been a long time coming people, but Ororo and I are officially retiring from the day to day activities of the Custodes Mundi and the larger efforts of bringing in further mutants or fighting against mutant and anti-mutant terrorists. "We'll work with you when you need bigger hammers and so will Jean once she recovers from her pregnancy. But frankly, we both have got too much else on our plates to keep working out and drilling and above all organizing the new incoming people into the team doctrine."
He turned to Steve, who stiffened. "Steve, that'll fall to you, with Amara as your second-in-command."
The young Neo-Grecian nodded, understanding instantly why this decision had been made even though she had been in charge of many of the team deployments before this. Steve had a lot more experience than her after all, especially when it came to working with newcomers, getting them used to how the teams did things.
"Furthermore, because of these newcomers and because they'll add to the size of the Custodes Mundi, it's time to formalize our organization. Steve will be Captain and Amara and Scott will be his first lieutenants. Piotr will be our acting first Sergeant. That's a noncommissioned officer position, which means you won't be the one actually making the decision, but you'll be the one who gets to know the people under you, gets to understand the tenor of the various squads and make suggestions. I don't think this needs to be said, but if Piotr makes a suggestion to you ladies and gentlemen, I suggest you listen very closely."
Everyone else nodded as the humble Russian farm boy ducked his head in acknowledgment.
"Thunderbird, Dani, you're both second lieutenants and you'll be able to choose your own sergeants." Harry's words made Scott nod and Thunderbird stiffen and Harry smiled approvingly at the Apache warrior. "You've earned it Thunderbird. Congratulations."
"You're not making me a Captain just because if you made me another rank it would class clash with my superhero name are you?" Steve asked, his eyes narrowed slightly even as his lips twitched in humor.
"Somewhat yes," Harry said with a laugh. "I can't exactly call you Major Captain America after all. It would both be a mouthful and rather silly."
Steve chuckled at that shaking his head, but nodded agreement.
"Each of the First lieutenants will need to create a plan to integrate the newcomers once they are assigned to them, turn them into Steve, who will then forward it to me for final approval. That final approval will only be based on the workload and the weapon loadouts Magical Minds will be asked to create for those newcomers, so don't think I'll still be the one making the decisions. I want you all thinking about that over the next week, but beyond that, get out of here and make sure to have as much fun as you possibly can before we all go back to the grinder."
As the meeting broke up, Harry smiled. That little bit of work was done, now he could get back to his vacation. He'd promised all the kids a trip to Disney World and right now seemed to be a great time for it. Although, Ororo and I will have to disguise ourselves. Still, seeing the most magical place on Earth could be very cool.
This was how Harry and everyone else spent their week off: having fun and being around one another. Not a day went by without Harry having fun with the kids, ignoring, for the week, his role as leader of the EDF and the budding nation of Avalon, although he knew that finalizing the creation of that nation would be his next job going forward. Not a night went by without him and his ladies going on dates or simply heading to bed early for more adult type bonding. For everyone from Harry on down to even Iceman and the newest X-men, it was a desperately needed time of renewal.
And at the end of the downtime, there came the wedding between Harry and Emma. Little did they know that that happy event would be interrupted by the outcome of a far less happy event occurring elsewhere…