[A/N]: You guys did it again and hit the 150 Power Stone goal. If you want to keep these coming, the next goal is 350 power stones. Let's see if you can make it happen.
UN Security Council, Emergency Session
The chamber was packed with diplomats, all of them looking exhausted. The emergency session had been called within two hours of the broadcast.
The US representative stood first.
"While the United States appreciates the concern of the international community, we want to make it absolutely clear that the actions of the individual known as PowerBroker do not represent official US policy. We had no prior knowledge of his intentions and do not condone unauthorized intervention in foreign affairs."
The Russian representative stood immediately. "But you're not condemning it either. An American national has assassinated a foreign head of state and fundamentally altered the geopolitical landscape of Eastern Europe. This is an act of war."
"Doom was engaged in supernatural summoning that endangered his own population," the American countered. "This was a intervention to prevent a humanitarian crisis."
"Convenient that you get to define what constitutes a humanitarian crisis worthy of intervention. Will you extend the same courtesy to other nations? If we determine that American policies endanger populations, may we send our own 'heroes' to fix the problem?"
The British representative raised her hand. "Perhaps we're missing the larger point here. Whether or not Jay's actions were legal under international law, the fact remains that he demonstrated capabilities that fundamentally change our understanding of what's possible. We need to be discussing frameworks for how to handle individuals with this level of power."
"You mean how to control them," the Chinese representative said flatly.
"I mean how to ensure they don't destabilize the entire world order."
The African Union representative, who'd been silent until now, finally spoke.
"Has anyone actually asked what the people of Latveria want? They were the ones suffering under Doom's ritual. They were the ones healed. Perhaps instead of arguing about sovereignty and law, we should be listening to the people most affected."
"The people most affected are probably in shock," someone muttered.
"Or grateful," another countered.
The arguments continued as dawn broke over New York, no resolution in sight.
Baxter Building, Living Room
The Fantastic Four, now including a normal-looking Ben Grimm, sat clustered around the main viewscreen with Alicia Masters and their newly constructed robot assistant H.E.R.B.I.E. The footage from Latveria played on repeat.
Ben flexed his completely human fingers for perhaps the thousandth time since his transformation, still marveling at the sensation of touch without the barrier of orange rock-like skin. Alicia sat beside him, her hand in his, both of them now adjusted to being able to feel each other's skin.
When Alicia first felt Ben's hand, she was startled. After Ben explained what had happened with Jay, she seemed downcast, uncertain whether to thank him or not. But when others asked how she could still recognize him now that his skin was flesh instead of rock, she smiled softly and said, "What do you mean? Ben is Ben, no matter what he feels like under my fingers."
Four months had passed since that terrible night when everything had fallen apart. The emotional aftermath of Jay's enhancement procedure, the constant attacks, the revelation of his deceptions, and finally Ben's cure had left everyone's emotions running too high to think clearly.
It was only after several days of cooling off that reality had set in. Yes, Jay had lied to them, but his reasoning had been sound. And what had they been thinking, trusting Victor Von Doom of all people?
Reed and Sue had tried to reach out to have a proper conversation about everything that had happened, but they'd discovered Jay had left on an extended vacation. Sue had been adamant about settling things in person, knowing the importance of clearing the air properly.
But seeing Jay fight Doom, who was using 'magic' and invoking demons and planning to sacrifice his first love, was unreal. Hearing Jay call out Doom's possible 'cuck' fetish made the ladies blush and sent Johnny laughing.
Then, watching Jay use abilities on a level that could heal nearly every sick person in an entire country, cure psychological trauma, and restore destroyed crops, they began to understand just how much he must have trained to reach that level of power.
"What's happening?" Alicia asked, having listened to Ben's running commentary of the visual elements she couldn't see.
When Ben finished explaining what the screen showed, tears began streaming down Alicia's face.
"Alicia, honey, what's wrong?" Sue asked with concern.
"I can't imagine how much Jay must have suffered, carrying all that guilt in his heart, to push himself to this level trying to clear his name," Alicia whispered.
The room fell into a somber silence as her words sank in.
H.E.R.B.I.E. beeped and clicked a few times. [Beep boop whirr, click beep!]
"H.E.R.B.I.E.'s right, we should apologize to Jay," Reed said, understanding the little robot perfectly.
[Boop beep whirr click,] H.E.R.B.I.E. added.
Alicia nodded. "Yeah, you are right, if Sue wants to meet face to face, we could take the Fantasti-Car."
Ben looked between them, scratching his head. "Hold up, how the hell do you two understand all that beeping?"
Johnny grabbed the small robot and spun him around. "Herbie, you're brilliant!"
[Beep beep WHIRR!] H.E.R.B.I.E. squeaked in protest, though he almost sounded like he was laughing.
"Seriously," Ben continued, "it's just beeps and boops to me. You guys got some kinda secret decoder ring or something?"
Reed's face grew serious, ignoring Ben's confusion. "No! Sue needs us here."
Everyone's eyes drifted to Sue's growing belly. Three months now, and the curve was becoming more pronounced. She'd had to start wearing looser clothing on missions. The baby kicked sometimes during their missions, a tiny reminder that their world of unbelievable science and megalomaniac villains wasn't exactly the safest place to raise a child.
Sue caught them all staring and placed a protective hand over her stomach. "I'm pregnant, not made of glass," she said, but her voice lacked its usual sharpness. The truth was, every time they faced danger now, she felt the weight of responsibility differently. She wasn't just protecting herself anymore.
"That's exactly the point," Reed said gently, moving to sit beside her. "The baby's due in six months. Between now and then, we need to be more careful about the risks we take."
"Which is why," Johnny added, his typical humor subdued, "maybe we should let Jay come to us when he's ready. Send him a message, sure, but dragging a pregnant lady across the country to apologize? That's not a great look, bro."
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
The mansion was unusually quiet, with most of the team away on missions and the younger students busy managing their social media presence after taking Jay's advice about connecting with the outside world to heart.
Only Professor Xavier, Scott Summers, and Jean Grey remained in the main sitting room, the latter now visibly nearly six to seven months pregnant. They watched the Latverian footage with expressions of amazement and growing concern.
Scott's tactical mind was working overtime, and his expression showed the discomfort of someone realizing they might have seriously misjudged a potential threat. "What would we have done if we'd been facing Jay as an enemy instead of Doom?"
Honestly, he was coming up short on viable strategies.
Jean suddenly laughed, though the sound carried an edge of nervous energy. "It's a good thing all those optic blasts you shot at him never connected, or I don't know what kind of revenge he might have planned for us."
She'd meant it jokingly, but both Xavier and Scott were now visibly sweating as they considered the implications.
"This changes everything," Xavier said quietly, his fingers steepled in thought. "For years, I've been working to show the world that mutants can be heroes, that we can be trusted with power. And now someone has demonstrated a level of ability that makes most mutants look... ordinary by comparison."
"You think this hurts the mutant cause?" Jean asked.
"I think it complicates it immensely. If the public believes that enhanced individuals can heal nations with a gesture, what happens when they realize most mutants can't do anything close to that? Does it make us seem less threatening? Or does it make them wonder what other impossibilities are walking among them?"
Xavier looked at Jean, changing to a more pressing topic. "How were the results from your last examination?"
"Hank says the baby is developing perfectly, but the delivery could be complicated to manage."
She paused, looking thoughtful.
"What about the method Jay proposed? Seeing how much his power has grown, I'm sure he'd be able to handle it safely now."
She looked at Scott, who immediately became defensive. "What?"
"You know exactly what, Scott. Your constant vigilance against him."
Scott's voice carried frustration as he responded. "Am I the only one who remembers that he lied to us? And in the Morlock tunnels, how easily he dealt with all of us combined? Not to mention he stole Sage's abilities..."
Scott stopped mid-sentence, his expression growing thoughtful. After a moment, he continued more quietly. "But if it's for our baby, I'd do anything. Even if it means making a deal with someone I don't fully trust."
Jean laughed again, this time with genuine warmth. After Jay's revelation about her being a clone, she'd begun embracing life to the fullest. Taking leave from active X-Men duty and her teaching responsibilities had allowed her to focus on experiencing her pregnancy completely. She and Scott were closer than they'd ever been.
The truth had hit her hard at first. Learning she was a copy with borrowed memories nearly broke her. But Jay's words stuck: "You're not less real because of how you came to be." So she chose to live fully and enjoy her pregnancy.
Scott had been her rock through it all. Before, they'd tiptoed around their feelings, scared of what the Phoenix might do. Now they talked about everything. Their fears, their dreams, the way he held her during nightmares about memories that might not even be hers. They were building something real together.
Xavier nodded decisively. "Then let's contact him and arrange a meeting."
A sudden kick made Jean gasp, her hand flying to her belly. "Someone agrees with that," she said, smiling at Scott.
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