A night of suggestions and secrets
*New York City, Empire State building
Carol had many places that she could go in order to clear her mind whenever something made her think. Sometimes it would be in the arms of her lover while other times it would be in the cold and empty void of space where she could be alone with her thoughts. But right now she felt that the best place to clear her mind was the top of the city's monuments and probably most famous landmark.
The empire state building
Unlike normal people who would have to climb over 100 flights of stairs or use an elevator, she could just fly to the peak and get the perfect view of the city within seconds. She remembered how Peter and her had more than a few romantic moments at the top of the skyscraper.
"Penny for your thoughts?" came a voice from behind her, Carol swiftly turned to be met with the crimson gaze of Viktor in his full attire with his arms crossed.
"Hi Viktor, fancy meeting you up here" Carol greeted her fellow Avenger, over the past two years the two had become great friends much like how Peter and Jess became closer friends due to their mutual friendship circle.
"I usually come up here when I need my head clearing…you?" Viktor asked as he sat on the side beside Carol, their feet hanging off the side of the building
"Same, I just needed to get a breath of fresh air and unwind a bit, you ever get the need to do that?" Carol asked
"All the time, you tend to need a lot of stress relief when you are older than the city you are defending" Viktor said, technically he was older than the United States themselves as he was born way before it was discovered. It was times like this when he really felt his age.
"Ha, you know I don't think I will ever get used to that fact" Carol smiled. It was true, the fact that Viktor was nearly a millennia old was hard to believe because unlike many of the older members of the team, he didn't seem like the type to have been born eons ago. Thor and Hercules spoke like they were fossils s it was easy to believe them, Steve said the odd word that made it seem like he was still in the 40's but Viktor seemed to have changed along with the world and had adapted.
"Anything on your mind?" Viktor asked the Blonde Avenger
"No, not really, I just like the feel of the wind, it helps me relax" Carol said closing her eyes as the wind blew through her hair. Viktor had to admit that Peter had one hell of a woman by his side; if Viktor wasn't with Laura then he would call Peter the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.
"I know the feeling, by the way how are things with Peter?" Viktor asked
"Couldn't be better Vik, I guess I have you to thank for that" Carol smiled
"…me?" Viktor asked with a tilted head
"Yeah, if you weren't there at the mansion when the Masters attacked, I'm pretty sure neither I nor Peter would be here, and by that logic, we never would have got together" Carol chuckled
"Haha….I never thought about it that way" Viktor chuckled as he took off his hat and ruffled his own long black hair which blew in the wind like Carol's.
"But I'm guessing he hasn't worked up the guts to ask the question or anything yet?" Viktor asked
"No, no I don't think he really wants to make that leap yet, but I'm fine with the way things are at the moment. As long as he is by my side I'm happy" Carol said
"Hehehehe" Viktor chuckled under his breath
"Was….was something funny?" Carol asked
"No, no of course not, it's just that, well. I have lived on in this world for 900 years, but you won't believe how rare it is to see a love like yours and Peter's" Viktor said
"In what way?"
"Well…if you don't mind me saying….you two are completely different, you are a soldier while he is a jokester, you don't take any nonsense while he is all nonsense, you are calculating while he improvises nearly everything he does…" Viktor said before he paused and continued.
"…and yet, you manage to make it work….you have no idea how rare that is" Viktor said
"Oh come on Vik, I think you are overestimating us a bit" Carol waved the subject off
"Carol" Viktor said with seriousness thus gaining Carol's attention
"I am 949 years old, and Laura is the first girlfriend I have had who has stayed with me for longer than a few months…..what you and Peter have is special….you would be wise to remember that" Viktor said with a grin.
"Yeah….I guess you're right…but I have to say he is quite the special one" Carol smiled
"'Special' is defiantly a word for it" Viktor chuckled as did Carol.
"I'm serious, he tries everything to make me happy, he books expensive restaurants for us to have lunch at, he lights candles around the apartment to help me relax, hell he has even tried speaking French to me on several occasions" Carol chuckled as she remembered her lover's failed attempts at speaking a 'romantic' language
"French? He tried to speak French? How the hell did that work out?" Viktor asked
"He isn't exactly a linguist" Carol chuckled before a thought came to her mind
"Can you speak French Viktor?" Carol asked
"Are you kidding? It's my second language" Viktor said
"Alors je suppose que vous n'aurez pas un problème pour comprendre ce qui im dire alors vous?" (Then i guess you won't have a problem understanding what im saying then, will You ?) Carol asked with a smirk
"Si vous pensez que je ne peux pas gérer simples français alors vous avez autre chose à venir" (if you think that I can't handle simple French then you have another thing coming) Viktor replied in fluent French
"Wow….you actually sound like a Frenchman" Carol said with a surprised tone
"Well I DID grow up in Norman occupied Britain, what did you expect?" Viktor smiled
The two simply sat next to each other and enjoyed the view, then a realization came to Viktor's mind, this had been the longest chat he had one on one with Carol. He was pleasantly surprised to know that he could have a civil conversation with the lover of one of his best friends.
*The Baxter Building, New York City.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Johnny exclaimed at the television screen
"Geeeez! Did you see that!?" Peter exclaimed as well as he cupped his hands to his face
"Viktor was not lying about this stuff being graphic!" Johnny said as he put a hand to his forehead in disbelief.
"Yeah! I did not expect that to happen! Who the hell stabs a pregnant lady?!" Peter questioned as the episode of Viktor's favourite show.
Game of Thrones
"How the hell do you like that?!" Johnny asked Peter
"Well….it makes me want to see more! I mean where do they go after something like that?!" Peter said as the credits came up on screen
"Now I see why Viktor doesn't like politics" Johnny said as he reached over the side of the couch that he and Peter where sitting on to grab a six pack of beers he had ready
"How does it make you feel about weddings?" Johnny joked with a smile as he handed Peter a beer. But as Johnny said it Peter didn't laugh and instead seemed to zone out for a second.
"Uhh….Pete? Earth to web head" Johnny said as he waved a hand in front of Peter's face thus getting his attention.
"You zoned out for a second there bud" Johnny explained as Peter came to his sense
"Sorry man, I've had a lot on my mind recently" Peter said as he took the can that Johnny offered
"Really, like what?" Johnny said before he took a chug of his can of beer.
"I want to ask Carol to marry me" Peter said. Johnny's eyes widened and the beer he was drinking shot out of his mouth in a spurt in surprise.
"….WHAT!" Johnny shouted in surprise and Peter froze in place as a massive smile appeared on the Human Torch's face.
"MY GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Johnny shouted as his smile looked big enough to crack his cheekbones
"Shhh! Can you keep it down? I don't want the whole city knowing" Peter said as Johnny quickly shut up and piped down.
"My god, I can't believe it, are you really serious man?" Johnny asked win sheer jubilation
"Yeah….I love her man, I haven't felt like this for someone since….I want to spend the rest of my life with her Johnny" Peter said with the upmost seriousness
"Good god, I never thought I would see the day where you decide to leave our noble bachelor ranks, I'm happy for you man" Johnny said as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder and brought him into a brotherly hug.
"Hey, don't get all soppy on me" Peter smiled as he patted Johnny's back
"Who else do you plan on telling?" Johnny asked
"You're the first person I've told, I might tell Viktor, Logan…..in fact I don't think I will tell Logan he might just tell her for a laugh" Peter said causing Johnny to chuckle.
"Uncle Johnny?" came a voice coming from the entrance to the room, Johnny looked over to see his nephew and niece, Franklin and Valeria Richards, wasn't Ben supposed to be watching them?
"Hey guys, what are doing up here?" Johnny asked them with a smile
"Ben fell asleep and we're bored" Franklin said, the two children did have a tendency to get bored very easily.
"Oh darn, I guess we should have some fun by ourselves shouldn't we?" Johnny smiled, both of the children's faces lit up with glee
"Hey Pete, do you wanna join in?" Johnny asked the web slinger
"Sure why not? Just the four of us" Peter smiled
*Washington DC, the White House, about 7pm
The new president had spent the last hour or two getting settled into his new office. He hadn't gotten much time to himself recently due to the amount of questions that the press had flooded him with and the amount of congratulations he had gotten from White House staff. He was just about ready to really get to work.
"Sir, there is a Senator Kelly here to see you" came a female voice from the intercom
"Thanks Sophie, send him in" Jones replied into the intercom. He doors soon opened and in came the man known as Senator Robert Kelly. He was carrying a few files with him and his walk identified him as a man full of pride and self-confidence.
"Ah senator, please take a seat" Jones smiled gesturing to the couch in the centre of the room.
"Oh, thank you Mr President, and thank you for having me here today on such short notice" Kelly smiled as he sat down and laid the files he was carrying on the coffee table in front of him.
"Oh it's no trouble at all, trust me, and would you like a drink? I can tell this will take a while so I'm having one" Jones offered by holding up a bottle of what could have been Whiskey, Bourbon or Scotch with a pair of glasses.
"Oh yes please" Kelly smiled; he was surprise at the hospitality this new president was showing him. Usually around his time the former president would be scolding him on his anti-mutant views and would be throwing threats his way.
"I may not have mentioned this Robert; you don't mind if I call you Robert do you?" Jones asked as he set the glasses down on the coffee table and uncorked the bottle of whiskey
"No please Robert's fine" Kelly replied
"Well I have to say this Robert; I am not going to sweep your views under the carpet like the previous president did, I want our relationship to be a lot more profitable for the both of us" Jones smiled as he filled both glasses with whiskey
"…I'm sorry sir?" Kelly asked
"I want to let you know that whatever you have to say, I will listen, hell SOMEONE has to listen to your views apart from rabid mobs on the streets" Jones joked. Kelly might have taken offence to that if it wasn't true, his views on Mutants made a lot of other Senators and congressmen sick to their stomach and he only seemed to be able to convince people on the streets which never really got him that much political overhaul.
"I thought that by your speech this morning that you would be…against my views, especially when you called those dam X-Men heroes" Kelly said as he felt disgusted by the association of those mutants with anything positive.
"I don't like sounding negative during speeches when there isn't anything to be that negative about. Lincoln never really went into a feral rage whenever anything bad happened to him, he kept his head high and spoke in a loud and steady voice, he never lost his temper, I am simply following the example of a good man, I am sure you can appreciate that" Jones explained getting a smile from Kelly who had to admit he had a point.
"Although" Jones said after he took a sip from his glass
"I must admit that these Superhumans and vigilantes are quite a threat to society. They may not be on the level of the Masters of evil but they do pose a threat" Jones said before Kelly went into action and did what he did best.
"Exactly! That is what I have been trying to tell the people of this country for years, yet they never seem to get it!" Kelly agreed as he found himself liking this president more and more as he spoke.
"I think you and I are going to get along just fine Robert" Jones smiled as he held put his hand to Kelly who shook it eagerly
"Likewise sir" Kelly smiled
"Please call me Harold" Jones smiled
"You getting used to flying now?" Viktor asked with his arms wrapped tightly around Laura, both of them were dressed in their hero gear and were both wearing masks. Viktor's mask covered the lower part of his face while Laura's covered the area surrounding her eyes though it did nothing to obscure her beauty.
"I should say that I am….yes" Laura replied with a smile, flying with Viktor had gotten way more pleasant over the years, the feeling of the wind on her face and flowing through her hair made it so relaxing, it made her want to be able to fly herself, though if she could it would mean she wouldn't need Viktor to carry her everywhere around the city.
"Viktor?" Laura asked
"Yeah?" he replied
"You don't think that if the government will actually go through with a registration act?" Laura asked a bit fearful of his answer, she had heard all the stories that Cable and Bishop told her and the other Mutants at Xavier's school and she knew that it wasn't above today's humans to resort to the same mass genocide that could occur in the future.
Viktor saw the look on her face and quickly landed on a nearby rooftop to set her down on her feet. Viktor then grasped her by the shoulders and looked at her in the eyes deeply, he knew exactly what she was thinking, you didn't have to be a genius in this day and age to know that the general American populace hated and feared Mutants with a vengeance.
"Laura, I am not going to pretend that I know what is going to happen in the future, but I do know this much, the people in DC would have to be raving mad to try and force an act on the Meta-human community, because I am pretty sure that if they tried then every last Meta-human in the states would tell them to go fuck themselves. And if any of those bastards try anything to hurt you or anyone else who wears a mask….I will make them wish they have never been born" Viktor reassured her. Laura loved it when he acted like this, even though she could protect herself just fine, he still insisted on being there for her.
Her knight in shining armour
"You know, you look really cute when you do that" Laura smiled
"Do what?"
"Act all protective, in case you didn't notice, if anyone tried to harm me, I could just gut them" Laura smiled and put her arms around the back of Viktor's neck
"What's worse? Gutting or having every bone in your body turned into gravel?" Viktor asked with a smile
"I would go with the latter" Laura said
"That's what would happen to anyone I find trying to harm you" Viktor said
"That is so sweet of you" Laura said as she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips
"Why thank you" Viktor said with a smile
"By the way, how is the buzzing?" Laura asked referring to the buzzing noise Viktor said has started to get 2 years ago. According to Reed it was simply a case of temporal mental displacement, which in English meant that Doom's machine just made Viktor's mind sensitive to dimensional rips, dimensional rips that began to happen 2 years ago.
"Fine, they are getting less and less annoying, I guess I am getting used to it…though once and a while I get a big one that really hurts" Viktor said rubbing his head
"I'm sure once Reed deals with the rips they will settle down" Laura smiled
"Yeah, let's hope Reed can….." Viktor paused in his sentence and seemed to freeze in place.
"….Viktor? Are you alright?" Laura asked
Viktor simply stood perfectly still in place, without moving an inch, his eyes didn't move at all as he didn't even blink. His muscles were completely tensed up as if he were frozen, Laura put a hand on his cheek to find he was still warm and he apparently was still breathing, though that couldn't be seen.
"Viktor?" Laura asked again
"….AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Viktor yelled as he suddenly sprang to life gripping the sides of his head in pain before he fell to his knees.
"VIKTOR! WHAT'S WRONG!?" Laura shouted in panic as Viktor rolled around in utter pain.
"GOD IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT FUCKING STOP!" Viktor screamed I pain as he gripped his head tightly enough to draw blood.
"Jesus….Viktor, I don't know what to do, what's wrong?!" Laura whimpered in panic as she had no idea what was wrong with him and could do little to help. All of a sudden Viktor stopped rolling around in pain and released his grip on his head and simply laid spread out on the floor breathing heavily.
"…ouch" Viktor muttered between deep gasping breaths
"Viktor…are you alright?" Laura asked as she helped him back onto his feet.
"I….am…..now" Viktor said still catching his breath
"What was that?" Laura asked with concern
"…that…..I….I….Don't know" Viktor breathed out heavily
Laura helped Viktor sit down so he could regain his breath. Little did the couple know that they were being watched from a far.
Standing on top of the building was a figure; the figure was defiantly male and stood at the same height as Viktor. He also wore a long black leather coat over what looked like a very complex and futuristic armoured suit that covered his entire body apart from his head. He had long flowing platinum blonde hair and pale white skin, the bottom half of his face was covered by an armoured visor that seemed connected to the rest of his armour and at his side was what looked like a Muramasa Katana in a strange sheathe that seemed to have a gun trigger and a cartridge connected.
His stance was elegant and graceful as his coat and long silver hair blew in the wind. His eyes were fixed upon Viktor and seemed to be concentrating on his every move; his hand was also gripping his sword handle tightly as he followed every move that Viktor made. The man then pressed a finger to his ear and spoke quietly.
"…..I found him….do you want me to observe him further?" he asked with a British accent that sounded a lot like Viktor's. A pause then lasted for a few moments before he kept speaking.
"Understood…..over and out" he spoke slowly as he clicked his ear radio off. He then shifted his gaze towards the moon hanging in the sky. He stared deeply at is with his glowing red eyes which burned like rubies.
"…..new arrivals" he murmured before he took off into the air and quickly disappeared as if he was never there.
Ok everyone the next chapter will take a little longer to get out as I will try and make the next chapter longer with much more content, not to mention that I have my other stories to update and I also have real life stuff that is slowing me down. btw that guy watching Viktor will make a MAJOR impact within the story, trust me :)
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter
Leave what you thought in the form of a review
And time for a question:
BIGGEST DICK MOVE IN THE 'CIVIL WAR' STORYLINE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IT IS?
For me it would have to be the time where Tony has the Gaul to tell Thor to register after making a homicidal clone of him that pretty much raped his memory.
See you guys next time!