X-Factor #13
"The Chimera Effect" Pt. 5
Pietro looked into the mirror and observed the royal uniform that had been tailored for him. He had on an unbuttoned red embroidered coat with black buttons and black metal shoulder pads. Underneath the coat was a v-neck white tunic and it was tucked neatly into his black, gold-laced trousers. A gold belt was wrapped around his waist and its buckle was in the shape of Genosha's new national emblem. The emblem was his father's helmet with the edges of it made jagged for effect. A black version of the emblem was knitted into the back of Pietro's red jacket.
Standing behind him was he looked in the mirror was his wife and to his side was his daughter. Luna smiled at her Dad. "You look like a real live king now!"
He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with that statement because he didn't come to this island to be its king, but now it seemed that he was. Even if he disguised it under the title of President, but he wasn't going to let his daughter see his doubt. "Thank you darling. I'll make sure to have the tailors draw you up an outfit and see if you like it. I wouldn't be much of a king without my princess."
Crystal wrapped her arms around Pietro and smiled. It was wonderful to see her husband looking so regal. "I was thinking. Why don't we give you an actual title besides for President? We've been doing all we can to break out on our own and I think a name change might help to solidify that."
"What did you have in mind?" Pietro asked. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of a name change, but things had been so good between him and Crystal lately. And she had been taking to her work for Genosha so enthusiastically that the least he could do was indulge her. The fact she was actually growing to think of the island as home had pleased him and he knew all her suggestions came out of love for him.
"We should honor your father. How would you feel about being called The Magnus?"
Pietro thought about it a few seconds before answering. "I think it would be an appropriate title. M y father id awful things' I don't think anyone on this island would argue that. But eh fought for mutants like none other. He deserves to have something of him preserved here."
Luna looked down at her watch and jumped. "Ahh! I'm late."
Pietro eyed Crystal. "Late?"
His wife smiled. "She's taking combat lessons. I figure with her new status in life she needs to know how to fight and fight well."
"I can't disagree with that," Pietro said as he leaned down and kissed his daughter on ht cheek. "Tell Sage to take it easy on you and don't try to outrun the guards this time please."
Luna waved good bye to her parents and was out of the room. When she felt the girl was out of hearing range, Crystal put her hands on her hips and suddenly looked serious. "Do you really think it's a good idea for you to meet with The High Evolutionary alone? Why not bring Doom or T'Challa with you?"
"I won't be going alone. Evelyn and Sasha are coming with me not to mention a guard detail. And I can't bring the others. It'll make him uneasy and if I'm going to invoke my status as a Knight of Wundagore then I have to go alone." Pietro hoped that his wife would understand, but judging by the frown on her face she wasn't' quite prepared to let the subject go yet.
"And what if he doesn't want to talk to you? What if he just attacks you on the spot?"
Pietro sighed. "We've already been over this Crystal. He's trained his New Men under a code of chivalry and an attack against someone who is one of your brothers would be against that code. The High Evolutionary will hear me out and maybe some sort of deal can be struck. One that keeps Wundagore from being in flames."
"If he refuses will you finally be ready to listen to what I've been saying all along?"
"Maybe. There are a lot of other avenues to be discussed before we go marching up Mount Wundagore to bring The High Evolutionary to Nuremburg. I want war to be a last resort and I'm honestly starting to wonder why you're so eager for it."
Crystal's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest, leaning toward s her husband. "The man threatened us and by extension our families. We Inhumans do not take threats to our family with a grain of salt."
Grabbing her shoulders, he looked into her eyes and said "I know you're upset and I am to, but we have too many lives under us to be guided by our emotions. We need to play this out through the right channels."
She knew her husband was right, but didn't want o admit it. Not to herself and especially not to him. "Be careful out there. Luna's not ready to lead this country and I'm certainly not ready to be a Regent in her stead."
A knock came on the door and Evelyn's voice penetrated the wood. "Our transport is ready Mr. President."
Pietro smiled and wondered how everyone would react to his coming name change. He kissed Crystal on the check before turning to leave. "Wish me luck."
=X=
Outside of Nice, France
Antony and Dali had learned much about themselves in the brief time they had spent with Medea. They were Heirs, the successors of the decreased warlord Apocalypse. All of them were incredibly powerful individually and together they would become a nigh unstoppable force. Their "true" names were now Zephyr and Janus.
Dali's new name came from the fact his abilities reflected aspects of the Roman god. Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions, thus his domain fell over the past and the present. Dali's powers mirrored this because he was able to manipulate time around him. He could speed it up, slow it down, and summon clairvoyant flashes for himself and others. Janus was also depicted as having to heads representing the year before and the year ahead. Dali's powers drew upon this aspect because he was able to split himself into two separate entities that divided his powers equally.
His last ability had less to do with his namesake, but Medea had said that was done on purpose. Apocalypse wanted his Heirs to be unpredictable. It was a power that he wished he had had during his early years in the embassy. Being able to manipulate the emotions of others as he saw fit would have quickly worked him up the food chain.
Antony was also named after a being from ancient mythology. Zephyr had been the Olympian god of The West Wind and like Dali his powers were derivative of his namesake. He was able to manipulate the air with a special focus on the element of oxygen. Medea had promised him that a number of interesting effects would come from that in time.
In addition to that, any creature that called the air its home ha dot bow to Antony's will. It seemed ironic since The Birds had been one of his favorite movies as a child and he was now able to summon up a similar scenario at a whim. If the aerial creatures weren't enough, he was able to form angelic underlings that would serve him and do his will. Almost like cherubim and seraphim coming to his call.
His greatest similarity to the Greek God came from the fact that they both shared mighty wings. Antony had always been told he was quite handsome and to now have wings like an angel almost seemed like the universe justifying those compliments for him. But as his wings were might so were his fists because he had been granted super strength along with everything else. Medea had promised him power and she delivered.
He wondered if she could deliver on everything else.
"I am so going to enjoy being back in Nice," Medea said from the backseat of the car they had rented for the ride into the city.
"Are you from there?" Dali asked. He had volunteered to be behind the wheel as Moses was too grouchy to and Chukwu was too nervous. Apparently he had only the most minimal of driving experience.
"I spent a great deal of time there as a child, but no. My home is Syria."
Moses didn't care to hear anything about the woman's biography. "So which Heir are we going to find here?"
"Heirs," Medea corrected as she shined the diamond at the tip of her cane. "Much like Zephyr and Janus, this is a package deal. They're lovers and their true names are Sisyphus and Ekera.
"Lovebirds. Just what this little troupe needs," Moses Magnus groaned.
His complaint was quickly overshadowed as his head slammed into the dashboard. The car had come to a very abrupt stop and no one had had any time to prepare for it. Moses looked up at Dali with a hand to his forehead. '"Idiot! Where did you learn to drive?"
Dali pointed at the woman standing in the middle of the road. "I don't feel like picking a pregnant woman out of the car. Do you?"
The woman was indeed pregnant and Moses quickly questioned her sanity because of the Pharaoh costume she had on, but the way she walked made him doubt. She walked with power and regality and the clothes seemed to flow along her body without an inch of awkwardness. "Who the—
"By Apocalypse!" Medea shouted as she quickly opened her car door and hopped out of it. "I had no idea that she had returned!"
The four men looked at each other wildly as Medea rushed to stand before the woman. She bowed with her cane for support. "My Lady Sekhmet, I am honored to serve your will and the will of Apocalypse."
"And you have served that will well. Rise my child," Sekhmet commanded with a gentle hand under Medea's chin.
She rose to her feet, but still kept her head down. "I have still not finished gathering The Heirs. Forgive me for not moving faster."
With a mother's smile, Sekhmet said. "Do not fret. There is still time yet and I have now come to aid you in your quest."
Moses had never seen Semone so openly quiver in front of someone before and now he was curious. Who was this woman and why did Semone deem her so important? Getting out of the car, Moses shouted to the pregnant Sekhmet. "Who are you? Why are you impeding our mission?"
Medea flashed eyes of venom his way. "She is the reason our mission even still lives and breathes. You stand before the paramour of Apocalypse. His beloved."
That revelation was enough to shut even Moses up.
=X=
Shi'ar Space
Exodus ran a hand along the glowing blue cylindrical chamber t hat held the Shi'ar soldier. He could feel this base speaking to him as if he were Chief Scientist N'Kut Lumari, the man who started The Red Feather Project. Apparently N'Kut had been a telepath and attuned this base to commune with him. N'Kut's design had proven to be a great boon for Exodus and his Acolytes as he was quickly able to discern what he needed from this base.
It was home to five Shi'ar soldiers that had been enhanced to superhuman levels during and slightly after the reign of Emperor D'Ken. Exodus was standing in front of one of those enhanced soldiers. As he ran his hand along the glowing lass he felt the name of the man being spoken into his mind.
Wi'not. A wielder of strength so terrible that it would give Praetor Gladiator pause.
Exodus smiled at that and became more intrigued as a thorough description of the alien entered his mind. These soldiers would be useful to him. If not for his robbing the Shi'ar language from the minds of a few hapless natives, exodus would never have had the means to take advantage of these soldiers. They would have been trapped on this backwards planet forever. In a way that made him sympathize with them because he had been trapped away for a long time before being found and given purpose.
Stepping back from the glowing tube, exodus spoke the words that would open it and set Wi'not free. "Fulinea rythia enu enuk."
The chamber hissed, the glass slid forward and plumes of white smoke poured out from it. Exodus watched patiently as the glass was lifted by mechanical arms vertically into the air and then horizontally flipped once it was overhead. The arms pulled the glass back and flipped it vertically again behind the chamber. As the smoke cleared away, Exodus saw a body crumple towards the floor.
A quick telekinetic grab from Exodus kept the Shi'ar man from falling face first into the hard metal floor. Sensing that the man was weak and disoriented from his long imprisonment, Exodus kept him afloat with his power. "Hello Wi'not. I am exodus of Earth.
The Shi'ar man looked up at him weakly and the confusion was evident on his face. "Why are you here?"
"I have come to give you purpose…and revenge.
=X=
Mumbai
"Could this place be any hotter if it tried?" Omega said as he walked the street with his fellow members of X-Factor.
Songbird rolled her eyes as she dodged the moving bodies in the business district. Omega was a work in patience. "I can't wait till a better telepath finds their way to Genosha so we can replace you."
Quentin had not doubt that Songbird meant every word. She had no great love of him and he could easily say that the feeling was mutual. He found her to be too rough around the edges and unladylike. He wasn't' a sexist by any means and had no problem with women in position s of power as he admired Polaris and Dr. Sando, but Songbird didn't handle her power like them. She wasn't elegant in his opinion.
Despite her name, Songbird's voice was anything but soft to him. "We have to be careful to not cause a lot of damage ere. Mumbai is an alpha city and we don't want to disrupt it too heavily."
Omega stopped walking and looked up at a rooftop. "We have company."
Washout groaned. "Assuming hostile?"
"No. They want to sit down and discuss the latest episode of X-Factor with us and see how we feel about Simon Cowell stealing our moniker," Omega said.
Before Washout could reply to the quip, they all had to scatter as a body fell from the rooftop and collided with the street below. Concrete flew in a dozen directions as the populace screamed and took off in a frantic run. Standing in a small crater was Omega Red, who flashed crimson eyes in the direction of Songbird.
"Here little pretty."
NEXT ISSUE: The Heirs are finally assembled except for one and who could this mysterious 12th Heir be?
Quicksilver
Crystal
Luna
Exodus
Medea
Moses Magnum
Sekhmet
Songbird
Omega
Washout
Omega Red