X-Men: Fate
Destiny's Embrace
Anna teleported into Irene Adler's living room. She looked behind a curtain and watched Irene sit and rock on her porch swing while she sipped some lemonade. She watched Irene turn toward her and reveal a short smile.
Irene beckoned her outside. Anna went out on the porch, opening the door and closing it behind her.
"Anna," Irene said. They met each other halfway, and Irene wrapped her arms around her.
"Destiny," Anna said, reciprocating the embrace.
"Don't call me that," Irene said, heading back for her seat. As she sat down, she picked up the second glass of lemonade she had waiting.
"It's what I feel most comfortable calling you," Anna said, a southern accent tinged her voice. She sat beside Irene and took the glass from her. "I call you Destiny, with love."
Irene smiled before she spoke, "You've come to speak to me about my diary entry, about our progress."
"Because of your diary, I recruited a team, I began to lead them against the Purifiers and I gathered the young mutants I had to find," Anna said. "You told me to come to you when I reached August 29th, the day Forge finished his repairs on Cerebra and the day your diary ended."
"And that day was a few days ago," Irene said. "Today is the day I tell you what should happen next."
"Do I want to know?" Anna asked. She stood up and looked upon Irene. "I've been with these three, Lupita Conejo, Aimi Yoshida and Leon Grimm, and I don't want to put them in danger."
"Aimi, hidden on a tanker and sent to the states by her parents, by Shiro, to save her," Irene said. "Lupita, living on her own to survive, and Leon, hoping to do more, be more and become a part of something greater than himself."
"Our world's messed up, and I won't throw them into the worst of it," Anna said.
"You've started to care about them," Irene said. "I understand what you're feeling. Without us, without you, they'd be worse off."
"I believe that, at least when it comes to Lupita," Anna said and sat back down. "She and her mother watched a Purifier fill her father with bullets, and she watched her mother suffer a breakdown because of it. With no other family, she chose homelessness rather than possibly end up with an anti-mutant foster family."
They sat in silence for a few moments.
"I hate this war between humans and mutants, I'm tired of watching friends and loved ones die," Anna said." And I'm angry, I'm angry with Xavier and Raven for dying, and I'm angry with Jean, especially Jean. She caused all of this." She seemed to lose herself in memories.
"That's why you decided to do something about it," Irene said, bringing her back.
"Tell me what's next," Anna said.
"Send those three to take control of Jean," Irene said. "To have her use Cerebra and find the mutant Matthias Calhoun, code name Siphon."
"The next step involves Jean?" Anna questioned. "I find that suspicious. And who is this Matthias? What does he have to do with anything?"
"You can find it suspicious, but she's required," Irene said. "And in regards to Matthias, I only know him, know his face, from visions. I've seen bits and pieces of him. I know he's tied to Xavier and Erik's past and our future."
"I'll make sure it's done, but when I return, I'll expect more," Anna said. "You're not telling me everything."
"Believe what you will," Irene said.
Anna stood and walked a few steps from Irene. "If this ends with you betraying me," a short smile came and went, "well"
"I know," Irene said, smiling briefly before Anna teleported from the porch.