There was silence. Even for me, the Statue of Liberty was a symbol of America, and I couldn't even begin to understand its importance to Americans themselves. Wendy slipped inside the house and sat down in a chair as if nothing had happened, while Mary collapsed on the floor. Snezhana steered us on a straight course and joined the silent scene. Only we were looking at the smoking wreckage, washed by waves of water thrown up by the explosion.
"The worst version of freedom. I like yours much better," said the Ghost.
"We should send Karl back to Russia and have him send the Worker and Kolkhoznik there too," Snezhana voiced her thoughts.
"They already sent one Karl there, and then spent almost a hundred years dealing with the consequences. By the way, the consequences of our red-haired cutie will be even more unpleasant than he is.
"You couldn't have said it better, Peter. We shouldn't have spared him.
"Come on, I'm not the kind of man who wishes death on all his ex-girlfriends.
Snezhana choked, and Mary froze again. Wendy giggled, and then all the girls burst into ten minutes of non-stop hysterical laughter. Probably the idea that there could be competition among men was physically impossible in this world, but that didn't stop me from voicing it.
The hysteria on board subsided only as we approached land. The mutant state greeted us with an empty pier and a few ragged figures loitering around the harbour, but even they scattered at the sight of sand rising from the water.
"What now? Does anyone have a map?" I asked when the car stopped in the middle of the road leading from the port into the island.
"I've never been here before," Mary replied.
"I came from the mainland and went straight to the hotel.
"Aunt Erica lives there," Wendy said, drawing an arrow in the sand.
"Aunt? Are you related to Magna?"
"Yes.
"Ladies, from now on, no farting or penis jokes! We have a princess among us!" Snezhana joked.
I wanted to go straight to my final destination, as I had managed to recharge my batteries during the trip, but the girls talked me out of it. We had all been through too much today, so it was better to tackle such an important task with fresh energy. I lay down with Mary on the wide double bed on the lower level of the trailer, while the hostess climbed up to the upper guest bunk. I offered to switch with the girls, but Snezhana just snorted, and Mary quietly whispered in my ear that even if the cat girl didn't rape me during the night, she would definitely turn into a cat that wouldn't even fit in such a spacious trailer.
We went to have breakfast at Sablezubaya's, a large mutant with shaggy hair and a wild look in her eyes. Her establishment was located in the basement of an almost entire, but still abandoned building, and served mainly meat. The owner cooked herself, sniffing loudly at everything she was frying, sometimes adding spices to the finished pieces. We ordered the signature dish and sat down at a table.
We were served by waitresses from among the common people, and they exuded fear, although they did not show it, trying to behave very tactfully and primly.
"Why are they so scared?
"Well, for example, if I wanted to use one of them instead of pork, Sablezuba probably wouldn't help with the marinade, choosing spices or the frying pan, but she wouldn't get in the way either," said Snezhana.
"They" — slaves?
"Only to their greed. Auntie gives them a million dollars in gold after a year of service.
"Ghost, do you have a very bad relationship with Magna?
"Yes.
"Should we be afraid for you, or expect trouble from your presence?
"I don't know. She owes me.
"Whatever happens, I'll be on your side.
"How sweet. Now kiss each other," the Huntress muttered sarcastically.
"Snezhana, this is the last time I'm warning you, don't piss me off!
"Let's order some more meat to go," Mary decided to intervene.
"Yeah, you do that. I have one free drawer in the freezer," the cat girl took advantage of the offer to change the subject.
***
Magna's house was located on the other side of the island, closer to the mainland. On one side of it was an elite cottage community, noticeably surpassing Wendy's estate in luxury. On the other side were numerous boxes of production workshops, where mostly mutants who lived in the neighbourhood worked. The ghost refused to go inside with us, and I didn't insist.
On the first floor, in the hall, there was a reception area — a table in the middle of a spacious room with high ceilings. A blue-skinned man was sitting at the table, apparently without clothes.
"Hello, ladies. What brings you here?
"Did you forget something, you blue-skinned bastard?
"Damn" is our logistician, and my name is Mystic. Magna respects the tradition of living in prides, but also demands respect for the traditions of our clan. According to them, people can only speak when they are allowed to.
"I prefer the real Mystic!" a loud, rattling voice drowned out my reply, coming from all sides.
The man sitting at the table grimaced and changed his skin colour to flesh tone.
"I said 'the real one'!" the voice continued.
The man sighed deeply and covered himself with a three-piece suit, his face resembling that of actor Michael Fassbender.
"Disgusting," a tall woman in a cloak and helmet-crown swooped down from the ceiling. "How many times have I told you not to show off your abilities to visitors? What's the point of being a shape-shifter if everyone knows you can change your appearance?"
"Are you Magna?
A woman in blood-coloured spandex, with massive metal bracers and daggers, looked at me irritably, but almost immediately her displeasure turned to interest.
"What an unusual telepath. Is that vibranium I smell on you?" Magna shifted slightly so that I wasn't standing between her and the girls.
"Mary, show me the goods.
The supergirl lifted the heavy case with a light, even graceful movement, squeezed it with two fingers on either side as if it weighed nothing, and pressed the buttons to open the locks. But the lid was at the bottom, and the contents of the case spilled out. But they didn't fall to the floor.
"Mary Jane Watson, I presume? It's nice to meet the person behind the legend.
"I'd like to order a weapon from you," I said, not letting the conversation stray.
"I don't do custom work, call Stark or Osborn." The irritation returned to Magna's face, but I didn't feel her emotions at all. Does she think I'm ordering goods for resale? Doesn't she take me seriously as a fighter?
"Ladies, what do you want in exchange for the vibranium?" the queen continued.
"I need weapons for myself, Erica. And armour with a reinforced exoskeleton.
"What does that have to do with me? They don't make shiny designer armour with rhinestones here, boy." Magna had completely lost interest in me and, turning to Snezhana, continued:
"Did you show him what combat weapons look like?
"Men aren't interested in round, elongated objects," the cat replied dismissively.
The entire palace laughed along with Magna — literally, the building transmitted her rattling laughter with every piece of metal. And then I realised that I could actually feel her emotions, just very faintly. She was laughing so hard and so sincerely at me that I could even sense some of her abilities, and I put them all into one blow, crushing her helmet from all sides.
"Does the crown hurt?" I asked when the laughter died down.
"How dare you...
"What's the big deal? Your clan puts mutants above humans, and you put yourself above mutants? I thought everyone here was free to use their abilities as they pleased.
"You attacked me!
"Or you attacked us with your acoustic weapon." I put my little finger in my ear and twitched it, pretending to relieve excess pressure in my ears.
"I see. So you're ready to defend yourself? Against the strongest mutant in the world?
"Against anyone.
"You do realise that pride won't save you?
"I heard you know how greed works. If you want more vibranium, you won't touch me or my friends. And yes, we're not a pride.
"Business boy. No, this world won't be destroyed by crazy titans, but by men like you. If you want to talk business, then first answer me, where did you get the rarest metal in the world?
"From where you think I got it.
"I stole it from Queenpin. What's stopping me from killing you with their hands?
"Nothing. They might even make you head of the department for such a service, with prospects for career advancement, of course.
Small metal balls flew out of the walls and stuck to me. Magna stood with her eyes closed, swaying on her heels.
"I don't even know what I want more, to tear him to pieces or give myself to him right here?" Erica shouted without opening her eyes.
"The second one," Mary whispered.
The balls got into my trousers.
"No, no, we can't do this," whispered the queen. The balls flew away, except for those that formed an iron fly.
"I can't ignore the insult, this blue rubber dick will ruin everything..." Magnus continued whispering. "Play along, and we'll both win."
I nodded.
"The decision is made. I sentence you to death!
***
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