The Campbell Chronicles Part Two
Chapter 6
within 30 minutes, the Council had convened in the city of foliage.
Namor and Naiad entered the room hand-in-hand, followed shortly after by Penelope Campbell, Alexi Campbell, Emma Frost, Pamela Isley, Gaia Rosenstein, Bailey Brandon, and Jade Tice. Each of them eyed the Skrulls as they sat down.
Namor tensed, and his blue eyes narrowed, "What are they doing here?"
Alto and Thea tensed at Namor's harsh and accusatory tone.
Nicholas rose to his feet. "These are Alto and Thea. They are part of the newest resurrected mutants on Cradle's second moon. They were brought into this universe by the void Titan Tiamut with a message."
Naiad placed a calming hand on Namor's, "What's the message?"
Nicholas gestured to Thea.
Thea stood to her feet, her back straight and her head held high. Despite her outward calm, nerves roiled in her gut. Exhaling, she spoke, "Before our resurrection here, the void Titan Tiamut said that he hated to see the loss potential of children, so he was connecting the souls of the children that died on earth to the bloodlines of the people of Cradle, so that they may have another chance at life."
The Council's eyes widened.
Naiad tensed, hand drifting to her still flat stomach, "When does he plan to implement this?"
Thea shook her head, "He did not say."
Nicholas focused on Jade, "Do you sense anything?"
She gazed into the distance, her purple eyes becoming vacant. "I sense the passings of people on earth, but I'm too far away to sense where they go afterward," she focused on Nicholas. "That would be Roslyn or Salvé's domain, most likely Roslyn's, since she is the Phoenix."
The Skrull's eyes widened.
Nicholas turned to Wanda, "Can you contact them both and ask them if they'll come here, please?"
Wanda nodded and closed her eyes, a faint red light leaking from beneath her eyelids.
Nicholas turned back to the rest of the Council, "While we wait for Roslyn and Salvé to arrive, how are things progressing?"
Pamela leaned forward, brushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "The plant life is developing well, and the Organites have completely integrated with the vegetation, allowing us to siphon off some of the solar energy the plants absorb to supplement the thermal power we used to power homes."
Nicholas nodded, "Keep an eye on that and let us know if it negatively affects the planet's vegetation. The last thing we want to do is live in a barren world."
Pamela interlaced her fingers, "You don't have to worry about that. I will not let this world end up like that."
"Good, but don't allow your drive to protect the planet's environment affect the people here. A world full of nothing but plants is a lonely world indeed."
Pamela nodded, a distant look in her green eyes. Since living on Cradle and learning that mutant powers could be used to live without the need for the technology Earth had become so dependent on, Pamela had been questioning her past actions, wondering if instead of getting rid of humanity, she should've been trying to develop a way that they could have lived in harmony with plants.
Nicholas turned to look at Emma. "Is there any way we can use the organic nanite spread throughout the plant life to bolster the effects of Phoenix's rebirth serum?"
Emma bit her lip, the light reflecting off her silver-framed glasses as she slowly shook her head, "I don't think that would be a good idea. Everything seems to be in balance right now. Messing with it could cause disaster."
Nicholas nodded, "That's fine, but please make sure no one can use the existing nanites in our foliage to weaponize the plant life against us."
Pamela looked up. "I'll begin working with the plants to fully metabolize the nanites so that their effect will become an inborn trait of the plants. To do that, I will need the planet's plant manipulators to work with me to create a root system that spreads worldwide."
Polo leaned forward, "You can manipulate plants?"
Pamela looked at the black-haired alien with a raised eyebrow, "Yes?" she said, her tone tapering off into question at the end.
A tree sprouted up from the floor beside Polo, purple fruits with black spots sprouting from its leafy top. He smiled, "I would like to work with you on this project. There are few plant manipulators among the Skrull."
Pamela glanced at Nicholas, and he shrugged, "Tiamut sent them here, and you know the restrictions he put in place for resurrection."
Pamela looked at him, curiosity shining in her eyes, "I don't have a problem with that," a smirk curled her red lips, "if you can keep up."
Polo clapped his hands, "Oh, this will be fun; I like a challenge!" Standing to his feet, he moved around the table and began talking with Pamela.
Alto and Thea shared a look before Thea turned to Emma: "My mutant ability allows me to absorb a planet's knowledge once I step foot on its soil. I know everything about our previous universe's earth. You might find some of it useful in reconstructing this serum of yours."
Penelope looked at her, interest shining in her eyes for the first time. "Really, do you know the super soldier formula used to create Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America?"
Thea stiffened, but nodded slowly, "I do."
Penelope looked at Emma, "We'll have to compare her version to yours. Maybe hers contains the missing piece we need."
Emma nodded before turning to Thea, "Do you know the chemical makeup of the plants used in Wakanda to create their champion?"
Thea looked up in thought, shifting through everything she had absorbed from the earth of her universe, before nodding.
Penelope cleared her throat, excitement shining in her eyes, "When your people get settled, come to the Science Citadel, and we'll collaborate."
Thea nodded, surprised these people weren't trying to pressure her into giving up her knowledge.
Alto scowled, "If my wife and son are helping you, what will we get in return?"
Everyone at the table tensed at Alto's tone, but Nicholas leaned back in his chair, "What do you want?"
"Our people arrived in this world with nothing."
"I'll personally come to Cradle's second moon and build places for your people to live in."
Alto's brow furrowed, "You, by yourself?"
"My power is to manipulate matter and energy."
Suspicion still shining in his eyes, Alto nodded, "Fine, but I want them to be good homes. I've seen what you humans do to each other."
Nicholas's eyes narrowed, "I will personally provide housing and furniture for your people, but after that, they're going to have to find some way to make a living."
Before Alto could respond, Logan Wayne, Roslyn, and Salvé entered the room.
As the others greeted the newcomers, Artie eyed the newcomers.
She was a soldier, a guardian of her people; her job was to ensure their safety.
Leading the group was a man 6'2" tall, broad-shouldered with thick, defined muscle and blue eyes that scanned the room for threats. Black hair crowned his head, and dark sideburns curved around his jaw.
He carried a small blonde-haired child, who was digging in his flannel shirt's pocket.
Beside him walked a blonde-haired woman, her green eyes staring at the child with the love only a mother could produce. She was 5'10" tall, curvy, with a moderate bust. She wore a white blouse and tight-fitting jeans that accentuated her curves.
Following a step behind the other two was a lien, wiry, dark-skinned man who stood 5'7" tall. Close-cropped black hair covered his head, and hazel eyes gazed around the room curiously. He wore a white robe that hid most of his body but showed off thin, nimble fingers.
"Logan, Roslyn, Salvé, thank you for coming."
The three sat, and Roslyn began creating small toys of psychic energy to entertain her son. As his son reached for the toys, Logan passed him over to his mother and focused on Nicholas, "So why are we here?"
Nicholas gestured to the Skrull at the end of the table, "As you can see, we have some new guests. Tiamut resurrected them and gave them Cradle's second moon as their home."
"Not only did they bring news of future alien mutants arriving from the other multiverse, but they also came with a message from Tiamut."
Thea leaned forward, "We never said there would be other extraterrestrial mutants coming to Cradle."
Nicholas focused on her, "We can infer that there will be more."
"Until that is proven to be true, let's stick with the facts."
"Fair enough," Nicholas turned back to the rest of the Council. "Thea and her people are the first alien mutants to come to Cradle. I believe there will be more, but that remains to be seen."
Thea nodded and sat back.
Roslyn looked up from playing with her son, "what was Tiamut's message?"
"Tiamut mourns the loss of potential when children die, so he is connecting the souls of those children to the bloodlines of Cradle and having them be reborn here."
Roslyn's eyes widened, and Salvé closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened them, "I can't sense anything," he turned to Roslyn, "Can you?"
Roslyn closed her eyes, and her blonde hair lifted into the air as a white aura surrounded her. In the blink of an eye, it expanded outwards to cover Cradle and a reasonable distance beyond the planet.
Roslyn's brow furrowed. "All I can tell is a higher concentration of life energy flowing toward Cradle." She opened her eyes and looked at the Council. "We will have a baby boom before too long."
Naiad looked at Roslyn, "Will this life energy replace the children we would've had if it didn't exist?"
Roslyn's gaze dropped to Naiad's stomach, and a smile blossomed on her face; "Congratulations, and no, I sense no memories inside the life energy."
Naiad relaxed, and Namor wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.
"If there's nothing else, I will head to Cradle's second moon and begin building homes for the Skrull."
The rest of the Council looked at each other, and Logan raised his hand.
"People have come to me about hunting the animals."
Nicholas cocked his head to the side, "I thought we were already doing that?"
"We are; I think this was certain people's way of asking to hunt to make a living."
Nicholas looked at the Council, reaching out with his mind. He connected their thoughts. Thea and her group were surprised when Nicholas included them in the psychic net. Thoughts bounced back and forth faster than a conversation, and after a moment, Nicholas blinked and leaned back.
"So, it's decided that people can begin hunting to make a living as long as they don't hunt above a certain threshold." Nicholas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yolanda really needs to be here to monitor this kind of thing."
Logan looked up and down the table. "If it's all right with everyone else, I think my sister would like the job monitoring this. If she turns it down, there is someone else who would probably do it."
Everyone nodded.
Nicholas focused on the Skrull, "I'll need one of you to come with me so I know what type of homes to create."
Alto stood to his feet, "I'll go. I built most of the homes in our old universe."
Thea rose, "I think I would like to check out this science Citadel and see what kind of technology they have developed."
Nicholas raised an eyebrow, "Given your abilities, don't you already know?"
"Having the knowledge and seeing it with my own eyes are two very different things." Leaning over, she kissed Alto's cheek before walking around the table to join Emma, Penelope, and Alexi.
Polo and Pamela rose, still talking as they exited the room.
Alto turned to his daughter, "What will you do?"
"Stick close to you and the rest of the scroll until we're sure these people are safe."
Polo glanced at Nicholas to see how he would take his daughter's words, but Nicholas just shrugged, "I would expect nothing less. Are you ready to go?"
–XX –
Amanda Waller stood on a balcony, watching the scientists she had collected work. Four men stood around a surgical table.
As they moved, she would catch sight of bits of metal. Tearing her gaze away from the work, Amanda turned and began walking down a long hallway, her footsteps echoing off the strange metal that made up the floor. She dodged the vines hanging from the ceiling and tiptoed around leaves strewn across the floor.
Stopping at a large window, she stared at the jungle beyond, shuddering as insects crawled along the glass.
Fifteen years ago, she was looking through files to gain leverage over a competitor when she came across mentions of alien technology being used by natives. Out of curiosity, she took a team into the jungle. After a long fight, her men and the natives were dead, but she had discovered what they came for an alien city hidden in the Amazon jungle, but not just any alien city, an alien city from Krypton, Superman's home world.
She left the city and returned to the States to collect scientists to work with her. It'd taken a decade, but she had found her men Thomas Oscar Morrow, Anthony Ivo, Dabney Donovan, and Matthew Thorne.
These four men were masters in genetics, medicine, engineering, and bioengineering, and together, they would help her create a soldier who would stand against the meta-human menace.
Her hand curled into a fist. With this soldier, she would mold the world in her image. Never again would a family lose a loved one to a superpowered freak. They would face the consequences if they didn't bend their knee.
A blue flash drew Amanda out of her thoughts. She turned and found a holographic screen floating before her. On it, Thomas Morrow looked pleased but nervous. Pausing for a moment, she took him in.
Thomas Oscar Morrow was 5'11" tall with black hair that grayed at the temples, Brown eyes, and a lean frame. Dark circles stained the skin under his eyes, and sweat glistened on his brow.
His seafoam green shirt was wrinkled, and his normally neat hair stuck up in all directions. He licked his lips when she didn't answer, the tip of his tongue brushing his mustache.
Shifting her gaze to his eyes, her lips puckered in irritation, "Yes?"
"You said you wanted to be there when we performed the final part of the project."
He glanced to the side, "It's time."
Amanda cursed. You ought to know the minute she walks away; they need her for something. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she scowled. She was due back in DC in less than an hour. She had destroyed all the information about this city, but that didn't mean others couldn't find it. She needed to act normal to avoid suspicion, or someone would try to take away her greatest asset.
Shaking her head, she began walking back where she came, "I'm on my way."