The Fastest Man Alive

Chapter 37

Unknown

Ororo was awakened bright and early as her daughter came running into her room: she was instantly awake with the delightful squeal of 'mommy!' Sitting up in bed, Ororo arranged her daughter across her lap.

"Little Flame, how did you get here?" Ororo asked while she smoothed over her daughter's hair.

Maya turned to her mother with a cute pout on her lips that slowly transformed into a smile, "Grandma brought me."

For a moment, Ororo thought about that, "Let mommy get ready, and then we will have some breakfast."

Quickly using her bathroom connected to the room, Ororo exits her room to find that Maya was nowhere to be found in her room within the X mansion. Walking through the mansion and leaving the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand, Ororo decided to head out into the gardens to find her daughter.

Once she walked outside, Ororo was stunned at the display of her daughter playing with one of the other little girls that she knew to be named Illyana. It wasn't that her daughter was flying around with flaming hair that surprised her, no. What truly surprised Ororo was the rose rings that popped up from the ground that the girls were running through. Little Anna hadn't displayed any powers yet, but with her older brother displaying his own powers, then she wouldn't be very far off from displaying her own.

Taking a seat next to the metal-clad man on the bench, Ororo commanded a gentle cross breeze to wash over the garden as she watched the children play. Silence fell over the garden as the sound of tinker-bell like laughter was heard. After a moment, Ororo turned to her seated companion. "I do not believe we have been introduced yet. My name is Ororo Munroe, and I teach the language electives."

"Dah, my English, no so good."

"I believe you are Pietro Rasputin. It's nice to meet you," Ororo said in fluent Russian as she looked at the young man. "Why might I ask, are you still in your metal form. This school and its surroundings are completely safe."

"It's for practice," Pietro replied as he shuffled his feet where he sat on the bench. "There was a folder on my bed a few days ago with details on how to improve my form."

Hmm, Ororo thought to herself as she watched the kids play, It would seem that Ben had someone write up a detailed report and then create a training program for the older Rasputin. As she watched her daughter play, more and more kids woke up for their morning breakfast or to come out and play until there was space available for breakfast.

Getting up to help maintain order, Ororo was surprised when Logan pressed a button, and floating tables came out and set themselves up.

"Alright, Bobby, you're in charge of the kids outside. I don't want to hear any whining, or there will be extra laps." Came Logan's gruff voice as Ororo walked into the kitchen to find him staring down a teenager with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Logan." Said the boy who Ororo was taking to believe was Bobby.

"Logan, where did these tables come from?" Ororo asked as she stood next to her friend. It had been a few days since she was last here, and it had changed so much. Not three days ago, Ororo remembered doing a rotation shift for breakfast. Yes, the manor was huge, but the kitchen didn't have enough space for all the rescued children.

With a grunt, Logan scratched his jaw before he answered, "Ben had them made, and Laura brought them back with her."

With a nod, Ororo replied, "Has the Professor said anything about expanding the Manor?"

Logan grunted once more but stayed silent for a moment that stretched far too long before he answered. "No, Chuck hasn't said anything about expanding yet."

"Hmm, thank you for letting me know," Ororo replied quietly as she watched the kids organize themselves for breakfast.

There was a ping on her wrist that had Ororo looking down to find a message from Alfred. With a tap, a hologram came up to inform Ororo that the island will be ready for people to move in by the weekend, but jobs won't be available for another month. With that in mind, Ororo went back and forth in her correspondence about the school that's being built. Ororo wanted to know if the dorms will be completed any time soon. The answer that she got back placed a smile on her face.

The dorms were completed even if the school building wasn't completed yet. The campus grounds were completed and so was the park that the kids could play in. The dorms had more than enough space for over a thousand students from the age of five and up, with the young ladies and men's section separated for safety. Unfortunately, Natasha wasn't asked to look for teachers so Ororo didn't know who she could have found to fill the role of chaperon for the students.

With a silent hum to herself, she sent that request on to Ben and then also had Alfred field that request. They would need people that were comfortable with meta-humans, nothing else would be able to fit her needs. The reply from Alfred about teachers and chaperons was answered instantly. That was a new one because Ororo was very aware of how the rest of the world views their kind. Raising an eyebrow at the message she received, Ororo continued her correspondence with Alfred as she made her way to the end of the hallway near Xavier's office.

With Alfred keeping her informed of the staff she will have available, Ororo knocked on the office door and waited for the call to enter. Opening the door Ororo entered to find Professor Xavier sitting behind his desk. Ororo found the Professor going over some paperwork while drinking Earl Grey tea.

"Ohh, good morning Ororo. Can I help you?"

"Yes, Charles, you can," Ororo started as she took a seat before the oak desk where Xavier was sitting. "What are your plans for the children?"

Charles looked up from the papers he was going over before answering in a succinct manner. "To teach them, of course."

Ororo took a moment before she decided to answer, "Professor, the manor isn't large enough. I believe it is time we look to a more established facility to house and teach the kids."

"I understand your concern, I assure you I do Ororo, but this is the best place for them," answered Xavier with a smile.

"I would like to believe that Professor, but we lack the basic space to even have breakfast, but I have a solution that will work best for everyone," Ororo said as she held up the holo-tablet in her hands for Xavier to see.

"And where is this school located?" Xavier asked as he looked at the tablet that Ororo held up for him. Xavier reached out for the tablet, but Ororo took it back and kept the device out of his reach.

"Sorry, but this is classified information. If you would like to know more you will have to talk to Ben." Ororo said as she pressed the button for the tablet to shrink and return to the size of a cell phone so it would be placed in her pockets. There was a small buzz on her wrist and Ororo checked it to be greeted with a message from Alfred. She then relayed the message: "You will not be allowed on the school grounds until Ben has spoken with you."

Xavier reeled back in his seat stunned at the words he just heard.

O.o.o - o.O.o - o.o.O

Felicia woke up instantly as she felt the sun suddenly shine down on her face. Felicia was ready to lash out at the person that dared interrupt her sleep when a flash of red broke through her blurry sight. Grumbling to herself, Felicia rolled over in bed to seek out the other warm body that should at least be there for her to cuddle.

The person next to her groaned and rolled over right into Felicia's arms snuggling in closer for warmth.

"No, warm more sleep," Felicia mumbled out.

"Nope," A voice said, and before Felicia could register what was happening. The blankets that she and her sleeping companion were cuddled up under were swiftly removed. "Breakfast has already been prepared, and we have a long day ahead of us, so up now.

Felicia instinctively flinched and curled into the other body laying with her.

"Ahh!" escaped her lips as Felica felt a firm swat on her rump. Before she could react, Felicia and her sleeping companion were both levitated out of bed.

"Alright, alright I'm up, I'm up." Felicia heard Gwen grumble before her feet touched the ground. Felicia gave Jean a fierce glare before she too was also placed on the ground. With a snort, Felicia begins to stretch like a big lazy cat before joining Gwen in the bathroom.

Yawning, the duo moved to the kitchen and Felicia sat down on the right side of Jean as Gwen took the other side. Surprisingly, Salt was also there in the kitchen attired in a simple military dress of dark camo blue.

"Alright, girls eat up! We have a very busy day ahead of us," Salt said as she activated her data tablet. Holograms came to life around the table showing the days schedule for each person. Gwen had some lab activities, Jean had nothing to do, but it was Felicia's schedule that had the most activities.

"Why is there so much of it filled in with my name?" Felicia asked as she nibbled on bacon and peered at the holograms around the table.

"That's because we will be liquidating Fisk's undercover assets before things go on the market proper." Salt replied, and with a press of a few buttons, the news came up reporting on how Wilson Fisk died during a gang shootout.

Felicia didn't answer, she slumped in the chair and groaned at the long list of appointments that she had to go through. Felicia couldn't help but grumble to herself, yeah she finally got her revenge, but now it's just so much work to keep it all going.

"Remind me why am I doing this again?" Felicia asked with a sigh before taking the data tablet from Salt.

"Because you volunteered," Jean said from her pancakes.

"We could do a lot of good work with the homeless," Gwen said before sipping her coffee.

Salt snorted at their reply before speaking up herself. "You're doing this because the alternative is Ben doing it, and then you would be in his debt, and I doubt that ass of yours will be able to pay it all back."

Felicia spluttered and began to choke on the bacon of choice that she was methodically eating as she browsed through the itinerary. Gwen placed down the coffee she was sipping and started to pat the back of Felicia while Jean just smiled and looked at the blushing girls.

"I don't know why you're blushing, I'm more than aware of what Ben plans to do to the three of you." Salt replied jovially before drinking from her cup of coffee. Ignoring the girls, Salt went back to making sure that the day's plans would go smoothly.

O.o.o - o.O.o - o.o.O

The time was mid morning as the sun shone nice and bright within the room through the curtains. A mental command from me, through my sub dermal implants, had the curtains close all on their own and I rolled over to find a wash of red hair laying across the pillow next to my own. I rapidly became all too aware of the arm that lay across my chest and the leg strategically placed across my waist. There was no stopping the smile that swept across my face: it took me seventeen years to lose my virginity and it took a jealous Black Widow to gobble me up. Wait: it might be the other way around and it was I who gobbled her up.

Well, there was no need to feel any different about it, I had put this off long enough, and there was no telling how much longer I would be able to last with the number of women that were gathering around me. Snorting at the thoughts that played through my mind, I went in to kiss Natalia on her forehead when a single eye opened up to greet me. With swift and fluid motion, Natalia was back on top with her legs tucked along my sides, and her hair cascaded around my face as she held me in a shroud of her beautiful curls.

"Hey, there handsome," Natalia purred above me as she looked down at me from above.

"Hmm, Natalia," I whispered, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from her. Natalia slowly ground her slit along my shaft, and I couldn't help but rise to the feel of her heated dampness as it greeted me.

"Say my name. It makes me want to," Natalia growled as she kissed me fiercely. Then without warning, and with no small amount of dexterity, she slid me home deep within her. "Reward you."

The pleasure rushed up along my spine as Natalia sat up on my waist placing my hands on her ample bosom.

*Bang!*

"Daddy! I played with so many kids today!" Maya yelled with much joy and enthusiasm as she rushed into the guest room where I was currently residing inside and tangled up with Natalia. "Ohh, hey, mommy red."

"Maya you can't go rushing off like that out of grandma's sight,"

"She just went into one of the guest rooms. I will get her, can you hold little Anna for me please?"

The blanket was up and around Natalia's waist and chest soon as my little firestarter burst through the door, which I noticed banged up the hinges a bit. Right behind Maya walked in Ororo in all of her stately glory; Natalia released a sigh at the raised eyebrow that Ororo gave her, but Natalia returned a shrug.

Ignoring the look my two ladies were sharing in their silent communications, I turned my attention to my daughter. She was standing, more like floating, a few inches off the ground. With the blankets secure around my waist, I held my hand out for the drawing that she held.

"Is that for me, princess?" I asked with my hand outstretched for the paper that looked like a painting.

"Yeah, I drew it with Anna after mommy gave me crayons," Maya said cheerily as she floated to the bedside. On the painting was a large tree and her flying in the air.

"It's beautiful," I said as I levitated the painting to the bedside table. "Now, run along back to grandma, and I will be outside shortly."

With that, I swatted her little behind and watched as Maya blazed out the room in a flash of flames. The three of us shook our heads at that, but what happened next surprised the hell out of me.

Ororo looked me in the eye as she leaned over and brought Natalia's face to hers and laid a searing kiss on her lips. The kiss was as hot as her chocolate skin mixed with Natalia's creamy complexion, from the way Natalia was gripping me with her vaginal muscles. I knew that Ororo was pushing all of the right buttons.

A squeak didn't escape my lips as Ororo pinched and flicked a nipple of Natalia's before she turned and gave me my own stunning kiss. Ororo removed her hands from Natalia's chest and traced my jawline as our lips parted.

"Everyone is waiting on you both," Ororo said as she brushed her thumb across my lips before turning around and walking away with a sway in her hips. The clenching of Natalia around me drew my attention back to her, and I noticed how hard her nipples had gotten from our little encounter with Ororo.

"You better move fast before I feast on her delectable body," Natalia whispered as she quivered from the mini orgasm that shook her system.

Without a reply I levitated us both up out of bed. Whoever was here can wait while I paint Natalia's insides once again.

O.o.o - o.O.o - o.o.O

Walking out into the living room, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated with a new lease on life.

"Alfred, where is everyone?" I asked out loud as I looked around the bungalow that I had built next to the heart tree.

[Grandmother, Ororo, and Maya are at the school with the rest of the kids. Emma is looking over the city that is currently eighty percent completed, only needing a proper energy source before it can be occupied. Faora is at the military compound with five hundred of the Astarte Warriors and Alexander is at the ministry of science with his five hundred Astarte, more soon to follow them when the next batch is birthed.]

Rubbing my chin, I began to think about the implications of this whole endeavor that I was doing. I was heading down a road of no return while treading on a knife's edge. I would need every angle I could imagine through for the coming storm across the galaxy and here on Terra.

"Let everyone know to gather in the conference room, leave Logan in charge with the kids for now and inform the Astarte teachers to look over Maya and her friend while Ororo joins the meeting," I said out loud as I began to put the parts of a plan together. Once I had my little chat with Xavier, I would need to upgrade Cerebro then have Jean and Emma tag team the system and call all Meta's home.

Natalia came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist as I looked out the window of the bungalow at the heart tree.

We stood like that for a moment, then the beep from my Sanskrit beads notified me that everyone was in the conference room. Natalia hopped up on my back, and I did a step point teleportation to the conference room.

Arriving outside the room, Natalia got off my back as she looked out from the heart tree where the real control of my island was located. One of the things I had found out about the island was that once I had connected to it, I was given complete control over everything, even the trees and earth, and how the water flowed.

One of the things I did with that control was to make sure to create hollowed out spaces in the heart tree and a few of the giant trees on the island. I wanted to work with the nature of the place and not against it like the rest of humanity. There was so much I was sure that the island could do, but I planned to take my time to discover them all.

Around the hall stood my Astarte warriors in their brand new Mjolnir armor that I recreated based on the Locke armor specs. Hell: since I was making Astarte I wasn't going to start copying the space marine armor when the Halo Locke armor was far more fluid and tactical. Now that I thought about it, since the island was mine to mould to my will, I should start to consolidate my black sites though it would seem Alfred took the initiative and set the troops up with the armor I had waiting in storage.

"At ease," I said since the Astarte went into a full salute when I appeared. "Also; please, all of you remove your helmet so I can see your faces."

With that command, the six of them removed their helmets, and what greeted my sight was a mix of men and women standing at attention. What really caught my attention was that no one had the same skin color. They ranged from green skin to black skin to purple-skinned Astarte before me, and their hair itself ranged from different colors to complement their complexions.

Natalia was instantly enthralled with the women that had pink skin with purple hair. One of the major things that I stuck into my Astarte program was that no one person could have the same feature. When one DNA sequence was used for appearance, then it would be locked out and couldn't be used again for at least another three hundred thousand combinations. What I also locked down was the original DNA sequence of Reed, Raven, and a few others that I had mixed in to allow me to have the best of the best Astarte.

There was no need for another Reed or Summers clone to run around because I got greedy with my Astarte program. The only thing I wanted from their DNA was their intelligence and abilities. Well, maybe not Summers intelligence because that man was never really a leader, just a tool, and I didn't need his intellect gnome marker messing up my soldiers.

With a nod to my soldiers, I walked into the conference room. It was sleek with hologram lines running across the tops along with the light fixtures and each chair. I had the old world mixed with new-age functionality. Across one of the walls was a ceiling to roof window with a balcony that led outside for anyone that wanted to look out to the island from the heart tree. The table could easily change to seat anywhere from six all the way to thirty people with the size of the room.

One side of the room had the grains from the inside of the tree, and another wall had clean white panels. Even inside here, there were four more of my Astarte standing guard in their own custom-built Mjolnir armor.

Not long after we arrived, more people started to filter in from the outside, each walking with their own security guards. Emma Frost showed up, and I had her sit in the Minister of Finance seat. Faora took the Generals seat as her brother Alexander took the Minister of Science seat. Ororo took the Minister of Education closer to my own seat. Jean and Gwen had a seat, but theirs didn't come with a title on the back of the chair.

There was a seat that was empty, and that was the one for the Minister of Magic. Before anyone could say anything about the empty seat, the Ancient One walked in as if this was just another day in the life of a Goddess. A small chuckle escaped me simply because a wizard is never late, and a sorceress is always on time. I was already standing as we all were about to have our little meet and greet, so it didn't take much to introduce the Ancient One to everyone.

"As the Sorceress Supreme, it's my honor to meet the Daughter of Gaia and the Avatar of the Phoenix." The Ancient on said with an elegant flourish and bow. Jean was clearly taken aback, but Ororo took it in stride.

When I turned around, I found Emma giving me the eye as she went back and forth between myself and Natalia who was hidden within my shadow. When our gaze met, Emma gave me a smokey smile, and that was when I realized that the bungalow didn't have any soundproofing, and she heard me pound Natalia through the bed for more than half the night.

Shaking my head at Emma, I decided to start by pulling Gwen's seat out for her and then worked my way through the rest of my ladies. Pulling out the Ancient One's seat was a courtesy, and that was because she already knew what I was going to ask of her, and being nice always helps.

I activated the door controls and the hologram protocols for today's discussions as I took my own seat.

"Alright everyone, we have some very important decisions to make today," I said as I brought up the meeting agenda for them to view. With a few more button presses the data pads hidden in the table appeared for everyone to use and make notes with.

"We found the location of Klaue, and he is hiding out on an island off the coast of Australia," Natalia spoke up first as I left the floor open for topics.

"I would like to volunteer with my Astarte," Faora spoke up as she put forward her name.

"Widow can tag along since this will be your first off-Island deployment," I said instantly to make sure that someone would go and watch over my little hellion. "Kill him or bring him back alive; it matters not as long as we have his head."

Natalia gave me a nod, and so did Faora, since there were no complaints I marked it as finished.

"As the head of the scientific department, I would like to suggest we make sure that this Vibranium that Klaue is hoarding is sent to finish the work on the solar reactor before we attempt to use it in any of our weaponry," Alexander said, leaning forward on the table.

"Noted, and I would also like some to be donated to the school for the kids to study," Ororo said from her seat at the table.

"Would there be any space at this school for the mystic arts?" The Ancient One asked as she didn't even touch her datapad.

Before Ororo could say anything, I interjected, "I had plans to build the mystics a compound, but I would rather the University house the Mystics that would like to come to the island."

"Will there be any policy set for the use of powers on the island?" Jean asked from her seat as she scrolled through a datapad.

"The only restrictions there are on powers are the use of them in an act detrimental to those around them and the island itself will not be tolerated. I don't have plans in place to police anyone on how to use their powers. The school is to learn control and other things, and the medical facilities are for those with unique needs." I said, but I noticed Gwen with her hand on her chin thinking about that.

"I would recommend Susan Storm for the medical division," Gwen said after her moment of thinking.

"I read her file, the issue with her involves Reed Richards who is an unstable influence and thus very dangerous." Ororo said from her seat.

Emma cocked her head to the side then spoke up, "Then don't invite him, if this is to be a place for our people then we should extend our hands to those we know are certain not to cause trouble."

"Miss. Frost is correct, but you're aware of the dangers Richards poses, are you not, Godspeed?" The Ancient One said while looking at me with that slight smile of hers.

Faora looked very interested in the topic, "What does she mean, my lord?"

Releasing a sigh, I spoke up, "Richards is a ticking time bomb, one of, if not the only reason, I made sure to snap up the Baxter Foundation was because of his intellect and danger to those around him when he gets caught up in his lab. The hope was to curb his enthusiasm, but as the Ancient One said, he is trouble and will cause us trouble in the future."

"And you let him in the tower?" Gwen asked, shocked.

"Do I need to remove him?" Natalia asked.

"I have lawyers to sue him back to being a middle school science teacher," Emma said.

"We can let the accident happen, but make sure he doesn't survive it," Jean said.

I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me, "Can we shelve the Richards situation for now. I have a plan to eliminate that troublesome person without causing the planet to explode because of his inventions. Actually, Alex, I will be sending you all the data points on his dimensional exploration device. I want to know how and why it exploded. Then once you solved that, we need a door to the negative zone in one of the secure underground labs."

With that said and done, I sent over all of the information of the first-dimensional doorway that exploded. The negative zone was a place that had gold and more Vibranium, and I wasn't going to let a place with such resources go.

Alexander gave me a nod, and then we moved along the meeting. The Ancient One still wore that small smile on her face while also giving her input here and there in the conversation. Out of the air, the Ancient one pulled a tea set and passed cups around. The look that was on Emma's face when that happened was priceless.

The Ancient One gave Emma a wink and then levitated each of us a cup of tea, then offered a spoon of honey. We all took a moment to enjoy the tea; then it was time to get back on task.

"Alright Emma, talk to me, how are our finances looking?" I asked as the holo charts began to change for all to see.

"Our finances are good, no they are great actually, but that's also the issue," Emma said as she began to show the data points that needed our attention. "All the currency that you have been raiding from the experimental facilities are going into the coffers and going back out to buy goods for the island, but that's also the issue. It's all in USD, and eventually, the tax bill is going to come due. People take no notice, but the one thing you can't get away with in America is tax evasion. You can kill, steal and swindle, but you can't dodge the taxes."

"Then invest in gold to diversify our assets and get into the stock market," Ororo said from her seat.

Rubbing my chin I decided to speak up, "That's good but it won't be enough, right now Alfred is keeping the money on the run as it changes hands between shell companies but all it would take is that one lucky accountant to spot what we are doing and it all comes crumbling down."

"Then what do you suggest, Miss. Frost?" The Ancient One asked as with a snap of her fingers, the empty cups vanished.

"We start to dump the cash into every market we can. The point of this island is to be our own nation and we can't do that if we are using the USD as currency. I have seen that we launched satellites towards the asteroid belt in hopes of finding Vibranium. I say we use that and any other rare metals that we might find as a basis for our currency." Emma said showing the charts on how even a gram of Vibranium ran anywhere from ten thousand to twenty six thousand a gram. "This makes us direct business rivals with Wakanda but also removes the possibility of the United States imposing a tax based stranglehold on our economy."

"That could work, but we will have to remove our current opposition in the Wakandan Royal family," I said as more and more ideas blazed through my mind. "Here is what we do."

With that statement, I brought up the profile of one Eric Stevens, aka the Killmonger, currently a ghost in the military.

"What about him?" Jean asked as she looked at her datapad with the information about our little killer.

"Oh, that's clever Mr. Blake." The Ancient One said as she did a little laugh. Everyone turned to look at her, and then she decided to elaborate more. "This Eric Stevens is a lost prince of Wakanda, and Mr. Blake would like to help him reclaim the throne. This will allow you to ally with the only country that could oppose you with your Vibranium backed currency."

Everyone turned to me, and I could see the play of emotions and thoughts play on their faces.

"She isn't wrong," I replied nonchalantly. "From what I can gather, he is currently on leave and will arrive back home in a little over sixteen hours. Faora, I would like your team to pick him up once finished with Klaue and bring him here."

"Yes, my lord."

"Anything else?" I asked the table of my inner circle.

"Yes, my lord, there is, Aside from the Astarte program that's currently running. I was able to finish the unstable molecule fabric that has been waylaid for some time now," Alexander said as he changed the holo-image. "I have also taken it upon myself to close down the black sites off the island and have their inventory moved to the sub-basements one through six."

"I would also like to add to that my lord," Faora said as she also pressed a few things on her datapad. "We currently have ten jets with no name, but the specs state that they can move at escape velocity. Unfortunately, they do not have inertia dampeners or shielding, so the heavy G turns in the atmosphere would kill anyone that we field to fly these craft. I would like the science department to tear them down and rebuild them with a modified gravity harness. If we can set it to counterbalance during heavy turns mid-flight we might be able to save our pilots that attempt any 180-degree turn stunts."

"Okay, okay, the unstable molecule fabric schematics don't leave the island: period. Alfred lock that down for us, please," I said out loud to my A.I. son listening. "Field a science team and construction team to get those jets upgraded ASAP. I refuse to have them grounded any longer when they could be in the air running drills and back up. Jean, I would like you to take a look at the Unstable Molecule Fabric; it's going to revolutionize the fashion industry for our people."

"Yeah sure, I can do that," Jean replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

When no one said anything else, I called the meeting to an end. Everyone left to do their own task, but the Ancient One stayed behind to speak privately with me.

"It's a pleasure to receive a seat on your small council Mr. Blake." The Ancient One begin, but I held up a hand for her to stop.

"Please, we both know I will ask you to call me Ben, not Mr. Blake." I said, which earned me a smile.

"Yes, that might be true, but it would be rude of me not to show you courtesy in your domain with your people and guards around." The Ancient One replied. That was such a smooth and correct answer I had no way to reply to that. So with a wave of my hand, we went out of the balcony to view the forest that expanded beneath the view of the heart tree.

"So, was I correct in giving you a seat on my council?" I asked as I leaned on the railing and enjoyed the fresh air.

"I survive past that night." The Ancient One said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"You think I was going to accept someone killing you because you believe that would allow Stephen to become the Sorcerer Supreme? Bahh." I scoffed and waved a hand. "I will let you die on your own terms and not because some mad student of yours decides he can't accept reality for what it is."

"And what is reality?" The Ancient One asked.

"It's what we make of it," I replied instantly "I have thought long and hard about this since the last time we talked. You spent too much time using that stone to look into the future and forgot about the here and now. The fact that you see so many diverging paths should have let you know that nothing is written in stone. That nothing is set to play the way you first viewed them to be. You have become far too dependent on that stone of yours."

"And what would you have me do: give the stone over to someone else? Perhaps you?" The Ancient one said with a raised eyebrow.

I scoffed, "Nah, I have no need for that thing. It's a crutch and we both know it. Stop depending on that stone and open all those tomes that have gone dusty. From my understanding, most of the languages from Earth came from the wider Galaxy. I plan to search for them. There are plenty of species who use the mystic arts naturally and you can use the refresher of reexamining your tomes."

"And how will that help us?" The Ancient One asked as she looked over the forest.

"There has been no improvement over the years since Merlin: and I can tell." I started, "The sling rings the gates to Kamar-Taj. The Mystic's have reached stagnation. And Stephen will be the one I hope to bring your school out of its funk."

The Ancient One stood beside me and watched the sky for a moment before she decided to speak again, "You have given me a lot to think about again."

"I would suggest getting the Master's a set of Unstable Molecule clothing. They can be enchanted like the master robes but are also able to transform into many different clothing variants." I said as I thought about the moves to come.

"You would allow us to use such valuable technology?" The Ancient One asked with a small smirk on her lips.

"Progress must be done by extending the hand of faith," I replied.

"And learning if the enchantments stay on the clothing when it changes forms would just be you learning new things, I'm sure." The Ancient One said with a little joy in her voice.

"I didn't say that one of my scientists wouldn't be there to overlook the progress. Remember: robes won't stop a bullet nor will they stop a sword, my fabric will. And if I'm not mistaken, your people aren't savages, so they will need upgrades when your wayward student makes his play for the book of time." I replied with a shrug.

"I will send one of my enchanters to assist with the fabric," The Ancient One said as she faded from my senses and sight.

Damn: I'm gonna have to learn how she does that. With a step of my own, I teleported myself to the Military base on the southern portion of the island. The team Faora was taking was suited up and running final checks to leave the island and bring back two more of my board pieces.

"At ease," I told my Astarte that immediately went into a salute at my arrival. Walking past them, I entered the command center and took a seat to watch how everything plays out.

O.o.o - o.O.o - o.o.O

Faora sat in her commander's chair outside the cockpit of the orbital dropship. The ship she was commanding was sleek, fast, and deadly. Each engine pack could rotate a full three hundred and sixty degrees and bank and dodge at a speed that would have heads spin if her Astarte weren't so advanced.

Each of her Astarte had a nano package upgrade that made sure that they had the latest knowledge in military tactics available. Faora had used that to her advantage to have Alfred upload attack plans and moves over her command network.

Another thing that her Astarte had over the humans that she would be facing were their abilities. Her Lord had selected their abilities out of a long list and made sure they would be the best of the best. Telekinesis, metal transformation, energy absorption, regeneration, enhanced reflexes, and senses, even enhanced strength and speed compared to any other soldiers that they might meet.

With a concerted effort, Faora put those thoughts out of her mind and turned her attention to her Lady in charge. She had noticed how her Lady arrived on the back of her Lord.

"Widow, do you plan to join the operation when we hit Klaue?" Faora asked as she thought of how to include her lady in her plan of attack.

Widow tilted her head to the side for a moment in thought before replying, "No, I only plan to observe, but I plan to lead the operation when we pick up Eric."

"Noted," Faora replied before undoing her seat harness. Outside the cockpit were the stars, and Faora would not miss a chance to see them. It was beautiful and breathtaking Faora thought, and again she gave praise to her Lord for giving her life and allowing her to witness such beauty. Below the VTOL, Faora noticed the Earth as she stretched out below the ship.

"Beautiful isn't she,"

Turning around, Faora found the Widow standing right behind her in her shadow. With a nod, Faora went back to look out on the planet below their position.

[General: ETA to Australia is five minutes. Shields are holding, and so is stealth.] The pilot said from his seat.

"Hold-over Australia and wait for my command to break back into atmo." Faora commanded turning around and walking away from the cockpit back to her tactical team, Faora telekinetically summoned her helmet to her hands. With a nod to Widow, Faora walked to the back, where her Astarte awaited her orders.

With a wave of her hand, Faora summoned out the holo-deck and began to lay out her plan of attack for either the alive retrieval or the head of Klaue.

"A loud insertion will be from here and here to gain the defender's attention. Silent insertion will be from here and here to meet up outside of Klaue's danger room. We cut him off from retreating to the room: period. Let's try and not kill the VIP that we need to extract, so keep eyes open for Klaue. This is a smash and grab people; let's keep it simple and clean." Faora said as she pulled her helmet over her head.

[Call sign Talon, radio check.]

[Black Widow, radio read.]

[Spartan 01, radio read.]

[Spartan 02, radio read.]

[Spartan 03, radio read.]

Faora listened to her team all give their radio checks; with that over with, Faora knew that it was time to go hunting. Ten Spartans and this was their debut on the stage of man.

[Raptor 1, it's time for a turn and burn]

[Raptor 1, turning and burning General.]

The magnetic locks activated in her boots and Faora held onto the overhead rung as the ship reentered the atmosphere of the planet. Before long, the VTOL stopped shaking, and some of her Spartans jumped out and activated their stealth fields, they did this two more times until it was Faora and Widows turn to leave the VTOL.

Without a second word, Faora jumped out the VTOL as it came to a stop over the house that Klaue was selling his weapons out of. Landing lightly on the roof, Faora didn't hear Widow land but from the shimmer in the air. Faora noticed that Widow was beside her: silent, yet deadly.

[General we are in position, three bogies on this entrance.]

[General we are in position, five on the docks.]

Faora waited for the other teams to check-in, and then she gave the command. Walking over to the edge of the roof, Faora looked down, locating a spot for her to descend onto. Picking her target Faora gave the command.

[Let's go loud.]

Without a second word, Faora jumped over the roof edge and crushed the person waiting on the balcony beneath her. With a telekinetic push, Faora launched the person that was standing beside the one that she crushed across the lawn below, killing him instantly.

With a telekinetic shield around herself, Faora removed the dual lightsabers from her waist and proceeded to disarm each person that appeared before her. No one could stand in her way as Faora did her grim work on the path to the safe room.

Getting pinned down around a corner was not something that Faora was going to accept. Removing a smart grenade from her clip, Faora set it to ping locations then sent it around the corner with her telekinetic control.

Four showed up on Faora's H.U.D from the smart grenade's sensors.

Taking deep breathe's Faora did a commando roll out from behind cover and then jumped and ran up the left sidewall. With her dual sabers deactivated in her hands, Faora pulled the two that stood out of cover with her telekinetic pull and slammed them against each other and then the roof. Landing in a crouch in the junction of the T shaped hallway, Faora sent out her sabers fully activated to impale the other two that stood behind cover. With a twist, she launched the right saber and pinned the two guards that lay on the ground, dazed from her slamming them around.

Regaining her feet, Faora gave a nod to the team of her Spartans that came up the left side hallway. Pulling her hand back, Faora sent a telekinetic blast breaking down the door that was hidden by the blank wall in the hall.

With a nod to her troops, Faora jumped directly into the elevator shaft.

Landing lightly on the elevator at the end, Faora dropped an Ion grenade in the elevator to stop anyone using it. Walking out of the elevator, Faora caught sight of her prey turning a corner from her location. With a growl, she launched herself towards the guards that stopped to take up fire positions against her person.

Kicking off the ground, Faora sent herself into the guards with a vengeance; the left person's head was removed with a savage kick that she lashed out across his face. The person on the right had his torso fall in two parts as her lightsaber cleaved him in two. Three more guards fell as her troops following behind her shot them with precision. Without looking back, Faora took off towards her prey.

Within three turns, Faora found her prey pulling a door open in his attempt to escape her and her Spartans. Faora threw her left hand forward, pinning the door shut with a telekinetic lock as she went to work on removing the remaining guards that stood in her way. It took no time for Faora to cut down the guards. Her armor was still in stealth mode, and they were unable to locate and see her form. The only thing that gave Faora away were her lightsabers that she used to cut down her foes.

With her foe's slain at her feet, Faora turned around for her prize. Turning off her stealth function, Faora stalked up to the stunned Klaue.

"You're lot ain't those buggers from Wakanda," Klaue said, surprised.

"Pirate and Weapons dealer Klaue: you are under arrest," Faora said with her voice ringing with command.

"Hey, hey now deary, I resent that title. I'm no pirate." Klaue said back heatedly. "I'm a man with fine taste and the ability to acquire artifacts that my clientele would like to purchase. And that means I'm a trader, not a pirate."

Widow uncloaked right beside Faora, stunning the man calling himself a styled trader.

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before." Widow said with her hands folded across her chest.

"Blimey, I'm going to die, ain't I," Klaue said as he looked at Widow.

"Depends on if you cooperate peacefully or put up a fight. We still get paid for bringing in your head. So tell me, do you feel lucky?" Window said as she pulled out a nasty-looking blade that Faora never knew she was carrying on her person.

Before Faora could say anything, her coms activated.

[General, we found his stash of Vibranium.]

[Pack it all up Spartan 08]

"Widow, we have all that we came for; it's time for an evac," Faora said to Widow, who was looking at Klaue menacingly with her knife. "Spartan 02 cuff the pirate."

[Spartan 05, leave an implosion bomb behind.]

Faora couldn't help the smile on her face when Klaue started to get angry at the name she called him. With a nod, Faora took up the position behind Widow and walked to the waiting VTOL that touched down on the lawn for their evacuation.

The pick-up and take-off went smoothly with no problems, with the VTOL in a high hover Faora relinquished the command over to Widow for her to press the detonation button.

"Stand him up; I want him to see this." Widow said her voice ringing with authority for the Spartans around her. Turning to face the man, Widow brought up the control for him to see.

"You might be the first, but you're not the last Pirate that we will rid the world of." Widow said before pressing the button and detonating the device.

*WHOMP!*

Down below, everyone watched as the mansion that Klaue used as his hideout was sucked within itself and vanished from existence. The look of rage and desperation on Klues face warmed Faora's heart to no end. Turning away from that broken form of a man, she went to the pilot's cockpit and removed her helmet.

"Raptor 01, get us to California we have another one to pick up," Faora said to her pilots as the adrenaline from the skirmish subsided.

[Roger that General.]

 

---

AUTHOR NOTE'S

Alrighty, folks this is another chapter brought to you by my imagination.

Yes, I went away on vacation for my birthday and then took a break from the Fastest Man story because I was toning down the updates that way I didn't burn myself out.

While out and relaxing I came across a story that died after only 3 chapters and I thought since it's been on my mind for a month why not write my own version and then go from there and cause havoc in the DC Universe.

The Story that came out of my imagination is called the Brightest Doom and it can be found in my profile.

Please leave a review and comment.

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