Not My Magical World

Chapter 21

In his disguise as Bolivar Trask, Kru-El stood before a holographic representation of his investors, his arms folded behind his back as the most prominent shadowed figure at the head of the holographic table complained.

"You told us," The rotund shadow growled, "that your new Sentinel design would be superior to the others. While it gained confidential information and killed a few mutants, it was stopped by a single one."

"Not only that," the shadow raised a giant finger, "but its adversary repaired the damage caused during the fight, so we can't even use that as propaganda."

Kru-El stood there, his face a mask of calm, but on the inside, he was raging. How dare these ants question him? Don't they know the value of gathering information? They may have lost the fight, but the next model will be more prepared thanks to the data collected by its predecessor.

With a flick of his hand, a holographic screen appeared beside the table. On it, the Sentinel's activity plate, only to freeze as Amelia emerged from a portal and hit it with a blast of decay.

A text box appeared beside the frozen image, displaying numbers and other data.

Kru-El smoothed down his dark suit, his hair reflecting the light of the small pyramids mounted around the room that produced the holographic images. "We lost the battle but gained valuable information for the next generation of Sentinels. We also learned that there is a group working together. In my opinion, this endeavor has been a rousing success."

"And what about the money wasted?" The largest shadow countered.

Kru-El's blue eyes narrowed, "It's not like you haven't gotten other benefits from this company."

The others at the table shifted. It was true Trask had given them technology decades ahead of anything on Earth; it even beat Stark Enterprises in processing power.

"We can't use any of that technology because of the contract you had us sign," the head shadow complained.

Kru-El wagged his finger, "Don't lie, the contract only states you can't use it to develop any weapons or combat technology," a grin spread across his face, "After all if our positions were reversed, would you want me undercutting your businesses?"

Silence fell across the table.

After a moment, a feminine shadow leaned forward, her curves visible despite the obscuring technology, "What data have you collected?"

Kru-El clapped his hands, "Finally, an intelligent question."

"First and foremost, there is another human subspecies on earth."

Everyone at the table froze.

"What are you talking about?" The fat shadow demanded.

The holographic screen shifted to show the face of Amelia Bones, "This woman right here, according to the Sentinel's scanners, possesses a unique variant of the X gene that not only grants her a unique ability but also absorbs and produces unknown energy to strengthen her body."

The large shadow opened his mouth, but a thinner male leaned forward, "What else can you tell us about this individual?"

"I've used my satellites to search the earth; certain individuals use the same energy found in this woman's body." A screen popped up, revealing a man with pale skin, a thin mustache, a stripe of a goatee, and dark hair that grayed at the temples, "The most well-known of those individuals is Dr. Stephen Strange."

"Are you saying there is a variant of mutant enhanced by magic?"

"It appears so."

Pandemonium broke out at the table; the raised voices echoed across the concrete room, bouncing off the circular walls.

"How do we combat this?"

"Is it safe to continue fighting them?"

"Do you think they will come after us?"

"What about our families?"

"What about our businesses?"

Kru-El let them continue shouting over one another. Eventually, they ran out of steam and turned to him in a disturbing display of synchronicity.

"What are you planning to do?" The large shadow asked.

"Right now, nothing."

Every eye at the table stared at him, "Nothing," the feminine figure from before repeated.

"That's right, nothing. Thanks to my Sentinel disintegrating, they don't know who we are, so I will gather more information in preparation for future battles."

Most of the tension drained out of the figures at the table once he reminded them that the mutants didn't know who had attacked them. As one, they nodded, and the female shadow spoke again, "That seems to be the correct course of action for now, but we want results soon."

Kru-El inclined his head as the holographic table and the screens winked out of existence.

"You handled that surprisingly well," an unfamiliar voice said from behind him, "but can you live up to your words?"

Kru-El spun, his eyes wide.

Standing a few feet away from him were two women.

The first was 6'2" tall with a narrow waist and prominent bust. Her face had a classic beauty with high cheekbones and a narrow chin. Long black hair flowed down her back, blending in with the black dress that hugged her curves.

Green eyes stared at him in the light from the silver holographic pyramids mounted next to the ceiling. She stepped deeper into the light, causing it to highlight her pale skin, giving it an ethereal glow. Deep red lips twitched in amusement at his shock.

Kru-El's thin hands clenched into fists, and his eyes narrowed as they began to burn with bright red energy, "Who are you?" A quick flash of his x-ray vision showed him that the women before him weren't human, even though they looked like it.

Disregarding his X-ray vision, their bodies gave off an energy that sent a static charge through the air.

The dark-haired woman raised her hand, "Calm yourself, little alien; I'm not here to fight."

At her words, Kru-El shot forward in a blur, only for the second woman in the room to intercept him, black energy outlined in red boiling off her body.

Nervous of unknown energy after seeing the video, Kru-El swerved to the side, firing two beams of dark red energy from his eyes.

Time seemed to slow as the woman moved before his attack. The energy wafting off her body shifted into Greaves and gauntlets.

As she crossed her arms to take his blast, Kru-El took in her features while moving in the other direction.

She was 5'4" tall, curvy with a small bust, lean muscle, bright blue eyes, pale skin, and golden honey-colored hair. Unlike the dark-haired woman, she wore tight leather pants and a leather vest that showed off her toned stomach and drew attention to her chest.

Thick-soled boots skidded on the floor as his first set of beams impacted, and a grunt exploded passed pale pink lips.

Appearing on the other side of the dark-haired woman, Corel took a deep breath and released a blast of air from puckered lips.

Frost coded the floor as the blast of air drew closer to his target.

"Enough," the dark-haired woman said, flicking her finger.

A vortex of air swirled around the two women, absorbing Kru-El's icy wind.

With another gesture, his attack was returned, only amplified and condensed.

Before he could react, the wind slammed into him, and ice grew across his body, fastening him in place.

"Now," the dark-haired woman said, only to stop as Corel flexed his arms, causing the ice to explode off of him.

"Pitiful creatures," Kru-El hissed, more crimson energy burning in his eyes, "How dare you come into my home uninvited and attack me!"

Unafraid, the dark-haired woman stepped forward, "We did not come here to fight you, we came here to talk, and you will listen." Thrusting her hand towards him, a bright green outline surrounded his body, and an impossible weight forced him to his knees.

Kru-El strained against the force, but his indomitable strength failed him for the first time since arriving on this planet.

"Now," the dark-haired woman began, "I am Morgan Le Fay, and this," she gestured to the blonde-haired woman, "is Ariana Dumbledore."

"Pleasure to meet you," Kru-El said through gritted teeth as his eyes bore into Morgan's, "now, what do you want?"

"Rude," Morgan replied, looking down her nose at him. She cocked her head to the side, "But we did enter your home unannounced, so I guess it can be forgiven."

With a wave of her hand, the pressure holding Kru-El in place vanished, and he slowly rose to his feet.

"As for what we want, we," she gestured between herself and Ariana, "want to help you."

"How could you possibly help me, and why should I trust you?"

Morgan narrowed her eyes as a light began to build in them, "And here I thought we demonstrated our power."

"Just because you have power doesn't mean you will be useful."

"I suppose that's true," Morgan conceded, her eyes shining with an inner glow, "We can help you understand your new opponents. As to why you should trust us, I have known your secret since you stepped through that portal and have not said a word."

"Why?"

This woman had a power he didn't understand; she entered his home without his notice and kept his secret despite his enhanced senses. There was no way she didn't have an ulterior motive.

"I believe we can help each other."

"How so."

"The people you are fighting are using magic, a unique brand of energy manipulation that allows one to manipulate the fabric of reality. I can help you create a soldier to battle against them."

"And what do you get out of this?"

"I will need the soldiers you create for a future endeavor."

"Will this endeavor put us into conflict in the future?" Kru-El asked, his eyes focused, searching for any signs of deception. The sounds of the world faded away as he focused on her heartbeat.

"At the moment, I have another throne to conquer."

'That wasn't a no,' Kru-El thought.

"If you only want to give me information about this magic, you can leave; I'm sure that with my technology, I will eventually discover a way to counteract it."

Outwardly calm, Morgan inwardly bristled at this man's casual dismissal of her. Who did this man think he was, dismissing her? She was a Queen, an immortal, a living goddess.

Suppressing her anger, Morgan smiled, "Ah, but I can also make your soldiers more effective."

"How so?" Kru-El asked. Despite her attempts to hide it, he knew he had made her angry by the rise in her body temperature and the change in her heartbeat. He inwardly smirked. Either this woman wasn't as powerful as she claimed, or she needed him for something, and if the latter was the case, he could use that to his advantage.

"By merging your technology with a living host."

Kru-El raised an eyebrow, "That does sound interesting, but who would volunteer for such a project? After all, it would be dangerous; my technology was not meant to be used that way."

Morgan turned to Ariana, "Ariana will do it."

Kru-El watched the color drain from Ariana's face as her breathing and heart rate increased in fear. He raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? She doesn't seem to be too enthused with that idea."

Morgan turned to glare at Ariana, "She will do as she's told, won't you, Ariana?"

Ariana nodded quickly, though she did not want to be transformed. She owed Lady Morgan her life and would do as she commanded.

Kru-El shrugged, "Fine, but I want to watch the process."

"Of course," Morgan bowed her head. She was confident this inhuman creature could not replicate her power. Thus, he would become dependent on her, a smirk spread across her face, hidden by the shadow of her hair, at least until she no longer needed him.

Ariana watched the two walk away, wondering, not for the first time if she was doing the right thing.