What If Lindy had become The Sentry instead of Robert?
By Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO

In the months that followed the incident that led to Lindy Lee unwillingly drinking the formula, a complex series of events unfolded. The lab was completely shut down after that semester's chemistry class had ended. Upon the department that funded Project Sentry learning of the ultimate fate of the formula, scrapped any idea they had of ever making the formula again. Lindy became a celebrity to the military intelligence community overnight; suddenly, there were reports of a teenage girl, a freshman in high school, no less, who had been granted the powers of a god. The Department that ran the project initially attempted to keep her a secret, but her desire to use her abilities to help people eventually forced them to let her go. They also had tried to kill her seven times in the first two months after her empowerment, but they did their best to forget that ever happened.

In her early years, she fought a number of villains that were not especially noteworthy. Among them, a crazy ex-military officer codenamed The General, who always came up with some of the least intelligent schemes imaginable. Also, she had to deal with villains of the other heroes as well. When the Fantastic Four's enemy Doctor Doom posed a threat to New York, she was there to put a stop to him. She ended the Hulk's rampage, not with death, but by befriending him. An alien nuclear device threatened the entire world, and she threw it into deep space. She had, in all, saved countless millions of lives; and she did it all before she was old enough to drink.

She considered those years part one of her career; the getting used to her powers phase.

"Alright, Mrs. Reynolds," a polite, yet powerful voice said to her. "Clear your mind of all your worries and focus on the psychic plane; it is a separate place entirely from reality. Only those of us with mental powers can reach it." The man was Charles Xavier, and he had several years earlier started an institute for the purpose of training and mentoring young mutants and empowered humans to both use their powers and to respect each other.

"Thanks for seeing me," she said, closing her eyes. "I've got an hour before I'm set to go to a correspondence dinner with my husband Robert."

She felt her consciousness leave her body. She saw a large field of almost endless expanse, and just about every color imaginable. As she stepped across the land, an avatar of Charles Xavier approached her. "As you can see, Lindy, here, our mental avatar isn't limited by our physical body. Here, your vast might isn't going to help you as much as the might of your mind and your will." He held up his hands, gesturing for her to enter a grapple with him; she agreed.

Clasping her hands against his, the two pushed strongly against each other. "Wow, professor!" She commented, using her all just to equal his force. "Your mind is powerful! I can't even make ground against you!"

"That's because of a simple fact," he said, answering her. "You have unimaginable power; your strength can literally move mountains. Your eyes can melt through the hardest metals in seconds. But here, on the psychic plane, is where your might fails you. Against a powerful telepath, you don't have much of a defense. That's what we're working on."

Out of nowhere, her concentration almost broke. It took a sudden influx of psychic will to remain on the mental plane. Her physical body had been tickled. "What's going on, professor?"

"This is our second lesson after last time," he answered. "Last time, we taught how to prevent your mind from being invaded. Today, we teach an equally important lesson. You might have to fight someone who has both mental and physical powers, just like you do. In such a case, you will have to fight them both in the real world, and here, on the psionic plane." He pushed back against her avatar. "Focus on both being conscious here, and in your body, and you should be able to avoid the feather that one of my students is holding."

She fought back against Xavier's mental strength, and at the same time, slowly regained control of her physical body. It felt extremely strange at first, being aware of both the mental plane and what her physical senses were telling her. As she stood up from the seat, and avoided the student holding the feather like a knife, she also had to contend with Professor X trying to topple her mental image.

"This feels weird," she explained. "It feels like they're two different me's instead of me in two places."

"A psychic gets used to that eventually," Xavier assured her.

Almost forty-five minutes of struggling back and forth, while she avoided being tickled, and still keeping control of her psychic self, passed. When the session ended, Xavier reached up and shook her hand from his wheelchair, and thanked her. She thanked him back for teaching her how to use her psionic powers, and took off after climbing out the window. Ascending high into the sky to avoid the speeds doing damage to cities, she made it back to the Watchtower in a second.

"Robert!" she called out. "Are you dressed? Because I'm ready."

Robert stepped out of one of the rooms. "Yeah, honey, I've got my suit on."

She used her super-heightened senses to check him for drugs. "You're clean, right?" she asked.

He squinted. "It's been eight weeks so far," he replied. "I think the new treatment is working out fine. I haven't wanted to get high for awhile."

She hugged him before they left. "Just be strong, Robert; I don't want you to relapse like you did last time." He then draped his arm around her neck, and she supported him by the waist, and flew out of the tower. Passing most of the New York City skyline, they soon reached the auditorium that the note had said to go to. She touched down and the two of them got escorted in by Reed Richards, ahead of several dozen people who were waiting in line to have their identity checked. Lindy noticed Spider-Man in line.

"Come on…" she checked the security guard's name tag, "Jake. Let Spider-Man in. I think he's earned his place to be let in at this meeting."

He smiled and motioned for Peter Parker to be allowed entrance. "If you say so, Sentry," he cheerfully said.

Robert and her found their way to a pre-marked table at the front near the stage. After about twenty minutes, most of those in line had been identified and were at their seats. The lights dimmed and Iron Man took the stage. He retracted the helmet of his suit. "Sorry if I didn't wear a tux," he joked, "but I was in a hurry and this was the only thing that was clean." Everyone laughed. He began his speech. "Almost all of you know who I am, if you don't, I'm Iron Man, and I, along with Mister Fantastic, called this meeting."

A screen descended behind him. "Our main piece of business is the discussion of a new energy source pioneered by Mister Fantastic and myself, but before we get to that, let me get something out of the way." He motioned to Lindy. "Today is the birthday of our guest of honor, The Sentry!"

She got out of her seat and got up on the stage. "Now Tony," she said, taking a microphone, "this whole 'energy source' discussion wasn't just a ploy to throw me a surprise party, was it?"

Iron Man gave her a look. "No, not at all, Sentry," he joked, "actually, I just wanted to have an excuse to give food and beverage to the superpowered community."

She bowed her head, smiling. "How can we forget the incomparable deeds of The Sentry?" Reed Richards said to everyone, which garnered an ovation. "This is the same woman that helped us fight off Galactus when he tried to devour the Earth!"

Various images of her deeds displayed on the screen behind them. "She has saved countless lives, and we're here to celebrate her on her special day!" Iron Man added.

She took the microphone again. "Thank you so much, my friends," she said. "I know people call me the 'Golden Guardian of Good,' but I feel so humbled just to be able to know that I work with such wonderful men and women. I'm glad I could be an example for fellow superheroes to follow, and also be a symbol of women's rights. Thank you."

"Everyone can now form a single file line for the cake," Iron Man announced.

She wiped a tear. "I never would've expected this, Tony. This is absolutely amazing. You got just about all the main superheroes."

"We had to celebrate one of the best with a party," Reed explained. "And I also wanted to ask you for a favor."

It got her attention. "Oh? Sure. What is it?"

"The energy reactor Stark Industries made using Reed's assistance is going to make energy a lot cheaper for countries that desperately need cheaper energy," Iron Man answered. "Some of these are countries that are horribly oppressive towards women, and we thought that it would be a huge gesture if you would do the honors of installing the reactors."

"Now," Reed continued, "I know how you are about things that distract you from saving lives, but these countries won't be able to refuse our technology without looking bad in front of the entire international community. Also, we feel it'll make things more transparent, if you catch my drift."

She folded her arms. "You want me to spy on these countries?"

"No, not at all," Iron Man said. "Our spy satellites catch all the military stuff. You can use your super senses, in conjunction with the lenses you'll be wearing, to record examples of human rights violations that our spy network isn't interested in. It'll finally provide the United Nations with evidence that these countries are abusing people."

She brightened up. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll be glad to do it." She tilted her head to the left. "Excuse me a moment, guys. I'll be right back. I hear something."

Tony checked his scanners. "Is it nearby? Because Jarvis hasn't reported anything."

She focused her psychic will very carefully in conjunction with her super hearing. "It's not nearby; Abomination is attacking a military prison transport in southern Navada." She took off.

"Someone send help!" an officer cried into a radio. "This…creature…has attacked our transport! Eight of the inmates died instantly when he ripped through the bus, and the rest are fleeing for their lives! Oh god, he's coming back!" The officer dropped the radio and covered his head as he heard thundering footsteps approaching him. He expected to hear the sound of his bones crunching.

The footsteps stopped. He looked up to see what was going on. A goddess stood in front of him. "Hello, Emil," Lindy said to the gamma mutant, her arms folded. Even though the mighty Abomination towered over her, even he stood apprehensive of the six foot three woman. "Mind telling me what you're doing, before I send you to la-la land?"

His rage thundered as he picked up the front of the bus and smashed it against the ground. "I've been double-crossed! Now he's going to pay!"

"Of course he's going to pay if he's a part of this transport," Lindy shot back. "But not at the hands of an angry giant."

"You want to test my power, Sentry?" Emil Blonsky boasted.

"Before the Hulk became friends with me, I stopped a rampage of his by breaking his arms, which tends to have a calming effect," she said, countering his boast. "Just think about that for a moment."

Mentioning the Hulk had the opposite effect of her intent. It only served to make him want to strike her. He launched forth with all his leg strength and swung a straight punch right for her head. Lindy sighed, and launched forward with her strength. The two of them collided, sending pieces of metal and the people flying. She absorbed several mighty punches before flying into his sternum with a sideways kick, which staggered him. Finally, she put him to sleep by bashing her closed fists against the sides of his head like banging two cymbals together. He collapsed with a powerful thud against the ground.

"We owe you our lives, ma'am," the officer at the radio said. "Could you help us with the escaped…" a blur later and there was a pile of tied up inmates in front of him, "…prisoners?"

She smiled. "Is there anything else?"

He looked around. A series of military vehicles approached with sirens. "No, ma'am, it looks like our support just arrived. Could you take care of…that?"

"Sure thing." She scooped up Abomination. "It's not a birthday without a present, after all." She took off.

After about ten seconds of flying, she smacked Blonsky in the face to wake him up. "Uh…errh! Where am I?" he looked below him and saw the ocean. "You'll regret this!"

She pulled him close to her face. "Take a deep breath," she warned. Then she dropped him into the Atlantic ocean. Quickly, she flew back to New York.

Tony was waiting for her. "We saved the biggest piece of cake for you. So, what happened out there with Abomination?"

"It's a shame I wasn't able to get there before eight people died, Blonsky was looking for someone. I didn't have time to ask him who, before he tried to charge and I had to knock him out."

"What did you do with him?" Reed asked.

She shrugged. "I took him for a swim about fifty miles from coastline."

"He'll show up eventually. In the meantime, why don't you enjoy the rest of your party? We'll get the preparations ready for the transport of the machines tomorrow."

After the celebration, she and her husband retired to the Watchtower to discharge from the public event. Lindy went out and fought crime and saved lives, with the computer Cloc prioritizing the various events for her to go to. Robert went to a daily therapy session and then exercised for a bit with the television on. The whole time he ran on the treadmill, he thought of the early years. He thought back to several years earlier, the beginning of high school. It was startling to him, sometimes, how much had changed in less than a decade. They were about to reach the height of the mid-twenties, and yet, the world seemed radically different. It absolutely blew his mind that the chemical concoction that he almost drank turned out to be the key to almost unlimited power. It simultaneously made him envious and nervous; if he had taken the formula, he would've been able to experience all the splendors of power, but at the same time, he knew that he had a mental disorder. He realized time and time again, that he would've not been the worshipped hero his wife became when she used her powers to help people; even if he had been of good intentions, he just knew in his gut it would've turned out bad. Plus, he got other fringe benefits from being a weak human married to an almost-goddess; she made lots of money as a superhero that enabled him to do virtually anything he wanted, so he didn't have to work as hard as others.

While Lindy flew around the globe at high velocities, saving people's lives, her thoughts inevitably turned to the responsibility. Few things gave her quite as much joy as seeing the look in someone's face as they were being saved, but also, few things gave her so much grief as how the news media would often exploit her to make a story. They would talk about how her costume should look, they would talk about how she wasn't a good role model because she didn't have to exercise to look a certain way, they would talk about how she frequently worked with and supported mutants. It always bothered her. She knew it was a minor complaint considering that she was such a savior to so many people, but it got to her on more than one occasion that there were people who were only acting like they had the moral high ground so they could make money off of cutting her down.

"Help!"

As she was flying over one of the states of the midwestern United States, she managed to hear the scream of someone. Flying downward, and slowing her pace, she saw the target: ten miles from where she came to a stop, a young boy of thirteen was surrounded by weapon-wielding older teens. She approached.

"You can't hide from us, mutant!" the oldest male said, yelling. "We saw you make that wall explode!"

The boy couldn't run from his broken leg. "Come on! It just happened! How could I have done it?"

The one next to the leader stepped forward. "Because I was watching you. You snapped your fingers, you did."

The leader moved ahead with his axe in his hand. "And you mutants are ruining this nation!" He drew his axe above his head. With his muscles tensed, he brought it down. The young boy on the receiving end covered his eyes in nervous fear of what was to come.

Instead of flesh and bone being cut, the sound of steel breaking echoed. The young boy looked up to see a tall, muscular woman standing between the others and he. "Now, people," Lindy said, sternly, "let's not hurt each other."

The others stood in abject fear. "Uh, Todd? It's that chick…the Sentry! We should run!"

Their leader stood defiant. "Or she'll what? Kill us? Don't make me laugh. She's one of the goody two shoes 'superheroes.' She can't do us any harm."

She gripped his right hand tightly. "No, you're right. I can't kill you. But, I can squeeze right now and pulverize the bones of this hand," she explained. "I'm willing to bet that even with insurance, your family is looking at thirty, forty thousand dollars plus in medical expenses." She saw him began to whimper. "Your family doesn't have medical insurance, do they?" She got close to his face. "Go home."

"B…but," he uttered, "mu…mutants are killing this world! They're creations of the devil!"

"No," she corrected him, "they're creations of evolution. Or they're creations of God, choose your pick. Either way, look at it like this: it's genetic." She pointed at him and sneered. "You might turn out to be a mutant. Or your friends. Then what? You'll take an axe to their head?...!"

They turned and ran. She gave them one last angry look as they fled before turning her attention to the boy. No one was coming to help; she knew that with her heightened senses. "You're going to be okay. Your vital organs are fine, you just have a broken leg," she said, attempting to calm him. She made a splint in a hurry and wrapped it around his leg with his jacket. "I'm going to take you to the nearest hospital." She carefully lifted him into her arms. In a blur, they were gone.

Not five minutes later, thanks to her clout, they were in the local hospital, and she sat next to his bed. "So, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

He smiled. "Quinn Erickson," he answered. He leaned in and asked a question that took her by surprise. "You probably had some huge disaster to take care of with dozens of people dying. How'd you figure to save me?"

She hadn't expected such a question. "I was nearby, and you needed help. I wasn't going to ignore you just because you were one person. Sure, there are crises in the world that I probably wasn't at, but people have to rely on themselves at least once. You weren't able to help yourself."

"I'm surprised I got seen," he said. "People around here are big anti-mutant believers. And I…well, you know."

She let out a sigh. "It's a shame that the only reason you were seen ahead of five or six people who didn't have a serious problem, is because the Sentry brought you in." She pat him on the shoulder. "But don't worry, I'm not going to leave until they're done."

He looked sorrowed. "But what about tomorrow or while I'm healing?"

She thought a moment. "I think I know someone who can take care of your problem." She stood up, excusing herself from the room for a moment. "I'll be right back." She activated the earpiece in her ear. "Cloc, I need you to do me a favor."

The computer responded immediately. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Get me Charles Xavier; I've got a friend for him." She looked behind her at the injured young boy and saw an opportunity to make a leap forward with mutant-human relations.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3