Inside a dry bar in London's shopping district, passionate cheers could be heard echoing even behind closed doors, evidencing the magnitude of the celebration that had taken place within its walls.
Inside the bar, young Charles became overwhelmed with excitement, ending up in a drinking contest with several of the bar's patrons, winning consecutively. After all, with his mental control, he could deflect the effects of the alcohol and continue drinking without getting drunk.
Artoria and the others stayed to one side, chatting quietly and occasionally supporting Charles, who was having fun. After finishing the last drink, everyone applauded, congratulating Charles for winning the competition again and concluding that this little drinking contest, if not stopped, would last all night.
With his heart full of ego and his veins hotter than necessary, Charles decided to try his luck with some girl at the place. Just as he decided to approach someone who caught his attention, he was interrupted by another young woman of a more serious demeanor but quite attractive, so Charles wasn't bothered by her interruption, especially since she praised his research so much.
Her name was Moira MacTaggert, and from what Charles sensed, she seemed to have something important to say, so they moved away from the crowd, all of this being seen by the three women who were relaxing in the distance.
"I wonder when Charles will realize that his talk about mutations and genetic changes doesn't work as a seduction technique."
Raven commented, taking a sip of the cocktail in her hand.
"He's young; it's good that he experiences as much as he can when he has the opportunity. Hopefully he'll get something out of it."
Artoria commented, although she had no experience on the subject. After all, in this life she was a woman, and although she had a charming effect on women, she wouldn't be so brazen as to seduce just anyone who caught her interest. It wouldn't be well received in times like these, and in her previous life she spent much of her youth working, so she hardly ever had interactions with other women until now.
"It's easy to discern men's thoughts; one doesn't have to be telepathic to decipher their minds. It was never about the content of the conversation, but about the intention behind it. If you manage to divert attention from that with enough charisma, you can create an opportunity."
Morgan commented with a smile on her face. "I know more than you girls."
"Wow, you're such an expert! I imagine many men seduced you the same way, that's why you know so much."
"What did you say, you little brat with frog skin?"
After that comment, the two began to argue heatedly, with Artoria in the middle, preventing either of them from accidentally hurting the other. It seemed the alcohol had gone to their heads, although Morgan was supposed to be immune to its effects. Artoria imagined it was the excitement of the moment that was causing her to get carried away.
Although Raven was mistaken about something, Morgan was never seduced; this was more of a weapon she used to manipulate and get what she wanted. Ironically, the only real relationship she had was with Artoria herself, from whom Mordred later emerged. Her other children were more like homunculi created from the corpse of Morgan's supposed husband, whose "mysterious" death was revealed days after their marriage. The titles of Black Virgin and Dark Saint weren't just there because they sounded nice.
I know this isn't how it works, but let it slide for the sake of the plot.
Some time later, Charles returned with the brunette girl who had accompanied him, looking more serious and lost in thought.
Later, the group split up, each going their own way. When they reached a sparsely populated area, Artoria pulled out her communicator and connected with SHIELD.
"Miss Carter, I have a report on the recent Soviet movement."
I'm commenting on Artoria already knowing what would come next.
[Well, a safety net has already been established since the United States decided whether to put nuclear missiles in Türkiye, and we are watching the Soviets' movements. Tell me what you know.]
"It is likely that there are infiltrators within the upper echelons of the US government selling nuclear weapons to a third party who, in turn, are connected to a deal with the Soviet Union."
[.....Tell me the details.]
Thus, Artoria told her, keeping some details to herself about what would supposedly happen in the future, including details about the mutants and the Hellfire Club.
[Hellfire… how problematic. It will be difficult for us to act openly with them.]
Carter commented with frustration on the other end of the line. The problem with Hellfire wasn't that it was just any terrorist organization, but that from the beginning, Hellfire wasn't a terrorist organization at all. To begin with, it was a prestigious club with influential and powerful people, backed and protected by bigwigs in the governments of several countries, with various headquarters in different parts of the world.
If SHIELD rose up and accused them of terrorism without conclusive evidence, they would be the ones who ended up in a bad position.
"I befriended two mutants who might get involved in the conflict. A CIA agent contacted one of them regarding the matter, seeking help. That's how I got the information. I plan to follow them and solve the problem discreetly."
[Is it true?]
"No falsehood can escape me."
[Okay. I'll contact Fury, who's currently in the Soviet Union, to investigate. I'll secretly contact the CIA to get their support. Your intervention can proceed without problems, Director of Chaldea.]
"Good."
With that said, Carter ended the call, and Artoria took the device away from her ear, turned around, and looked at Morgan.
"It seems we have work after so long."
Artoria commented, to which Morgan responded by gently taking her arm and continuing on her way.
"I hope it's something more interesting than marrying vampires who have strayed from their lairs or third-rate wizards who are just pawns of third-rate demons."
Morgan commented with a smile.
Chaldea was founded years ago, and as part of an organization dedicated to defending the social and human integrity of the world, they had to clean up from time to time. Their priorities were focused on supernatural disasters, in short, recovering cursed objects from forgotten villages, hunting down creatures of the night that did more harm than good, and eradicating cults that made deals with low- or mid-level demons. All of this had become somewhat repetitive for Morgan, so she was happy to have to deal with something new.
And so, the sisters disappeared into the night mist, heading off to make preparations for their next journey.
Meanwhile, in the Immortal City, now yielding to Chaldea
"Well, this is interesting."
Da Vinci said, her eyes shining at the sight before her.
In the deepest part of the city, there was a special vault that also functioned as a studio, which was the most recent construction of the Immortal City that Artoria took over.
In it, a gigantic humanoid being of mechanical and cosmic composition analyzed some files on an orographic screen that quickly ended and continued with the next one.
This was the Star Child.
"I wonder how you will help me go beyond the achievements that were the pride of the original Chaldea."
Da Vinci commented, and in response, the boy, Estelas, detached his gaze from the giant holographic screen and paid attention to da Vinci without saying anything without making a sound, just observing, analyzing, and storing the data of his conclusion.
Da Vinci, understanding the meaning of his gaze, simply smiled very broadly, with an intense gleam reflecting in her eyes.
Sooner rather than later, Artoria and Morgan took the first plane to the United States and arrived at CIA headquarters in Virginia, where they introduced themselves to the staff. They already knew why the sisters were there; the high command had already mentioned it, but they didn't give any details.
With everything arranged, the sisters established their temporary residence in a dry location, took a discreet CIA van, and headed to the military base where Charles and Raven followed Moira to convince the high command of the danger posed by the Hellfire Club.
Artoria had already contacted another agent who was at the meeting, and they agreed to meet in the parking lot with the others or not depending on how the discussions ended. That's why they took a CIA van.
"I wonder what faces they'll make when they see us here."
Morgan commented, flashing a playful smile as she leaned against the truck, waiting for her guests to arrive. Artoria was monitoring the Miami coastline, specifically the dock where Sebastian Shaw's yacht was located, using SHIELD's surveillance system. Artoria didn't need this kind of technology to do this, but since they had it, they had to use it. Besides, it wasn't hard to find the guy; he was practically in plain sight, strutting arrogantly in a private section of the docks.
On the screen of what appeared to be an early tablet prototype were characters I didn't remember from the film, and the absence of one. There was a morbidly obese, large man whose failure to sink the ship was a mystery, another middle aged man with long brown hair and a trench coat, and a woman pretending to be a normal assistant, but whose posture betrayed her combat capabilities. The others were henchmen who did appear in the film, like Azazel and Riptide, but without any trace of Emma Frost.
"They'll have a harder time," Artoria thought, considering the main cast of heroes in the movie. If things took their predetermined course, then that group of inexperienced kids was going to have a very bad time.
They waited a couple of hours at the location until a group of people approached them.
"General Artoria?"
The first to notice the sisters was Charles, who, accompanied by Moira, Raven, and the agent Artoria had previously contacted, approached them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you here, Professor Charles."
Artoria greeted Morgan as she nodded with a smile; the group's surprised faces were quite hilarious and pleased her.
"It's a pleasure to see you, but what are you doing here?"
Charles asked, puzzled, as Raven greeted Artoria, realizing it was her.
"The agency I work for has taken on the case, seeing the risks of the situation, so we're assisting the CIA given the nature of this problem. Oh, and I apologize for overhearing your conversation in the bar, but I had to be on the lookout since it's not common for a CIA agent to contact a recent college graduate, let alone one as special as the professor here."
Artoria explained this while apologizing to Moira, explaining that she had used the excuse of having learned about the Hellfire situation from her a lie, since she herself already knew how the events would unfold.
"The agency you work for? Is it some kind of UK secret service?"
Charles asked again, hating the fact that he couldn't read Artoria's mind and get all the information possible about it.
"It's not something that belongs to the United Kingdom. Well, never mind; I'll explain in more detail on the way."
Artoria said this while urging everyone to get into the van, which was luckily quite spacious.
When everyone was inside, Artoria, who was driving, entered the road heading toward the Virginia Coast Guard base.
In the middle of the trip, Artoria called Moira and handed her the tablet with the recent recordings from Sebastian Shaw's yacht.
"Are these the people you saw?"
Artoria asked, and Moira, who was a little confused because she didn't know what the device was, reacted immediately to Artoria's question and looked attentively.
"If it was them, they had convinced Colonel Hendry to plant nuclear missiles in Türkiye. That woman in particular discovered me and almost killed me."
Moira affirmed, explaining what happened during her investigation in Las Vegas.
"Then we shouldn't think about it anymore. We need to hurry."
Artoria responded by accelerating the truck without exceeding the speed limit, but performing quite risky maneuvers that, in a normal situation, would have gotten her fined more times than she could count.
"By the way, what's this about the agency? Is the British government involved in some way? Or is it something else?"
Raven asked this time, feeling curious about the situation. In her mind, a secret agent style scenario was unfolding.
"It's not something that has to do with the British government. The agency I work for operates independently with the joint support of several countries, and we move outside the public eye with the aim of protecting the planet from potential dangers. I am the director in charge of one of its branches."
Artoria explained without taking her eyes off the road.
"Are they something like secret agents? And you're one of their leaders? That sounds great."
Raven commented excitedly, looking admiringly at Artoria.
"Not entirely. The branch I lead only has three employees: myself, my sister, and our lead scientist. That's why we do the fieldwork ourselves."
Artoria replied with a bitter smile. "It's a bit pathetic that a secret organization only has three people in its ranks. Although it won't always be like that, it's still somewhat embarrassing."
"Well, I won't go into any more detail. We have work to do. Charles knows what all this means, right?"
I asked Artoria, and Charles nodded in understanding.
"Yes. If the situation escalates to the extent that these people's plans allow, it will be a global disaster. But there's something more to it. It's not just about moving nuclear missiles; it's something bigger and more methodical than simply destroying the human race. I'm just not sure what it is."
Charles commented, reviewing the contents of what Moira had shown him in her memoirs, feeling that a piece was missing from Sebastian Shaw's scheme.
"Let's expect a great show, then."
Morgan commented, smiling nonchalantly, hoping to see something amusing.
After that, nobody said anything else, as they had already arrived at the Virginia Coast Guard base.
Once there, there was little resistance to their mobilization. Artoria had the authorization to do so. As soon as they arrived, they boarded a ship and sailed toward Miami.
"Okay, let's recap. There's more than one mutant on the ship, and they might make things difficult for us when we get close. Charles, you need to make sure you have control of the leader, Sebastian Shaw, while my sister and I hold off the others from a distance. Raven, I know you want to help too, but in a naval battle, your skills won't be very useful."
I explained this to Artoria while comforting a dejected Raven, who would not be taking part.
"Francis, I know it's useless, but maintain a direct line to the CIA to request reinforcements if the situation warrants it."
I ordered Artoria, addressing the overweight CIA agent who was accompanying them.
There was a reason some high ranking CIA officials weren't keen on confronting the Hellfire Club. They had under the table deals with these people, all tied to their interests. If this conflict exposed their involvement, it wouldn't end well. That was why they would indirectly create obstacles for this mission, such as not responding to potential distress calls. Artoria knew this, but she didn't care. The action itself was enough so that no one could say they hadn't tried. Besides, it was unlikely such a call would be necessary.
"It's reassuring to have a World War II heroine nearby. The situation feels more controllable."
Moira commented near Raven as they climbed onto the bow, to which Raven nodded in agreement.
"It will be interesting to see her in action. I wonder if she's the same as in the comics."
Raven commented excitedly, with a hint of arrogance. She was surprised; she hadn't known a comic had been made about her. If so, how had she not found out? This was one of the downsides of limited social media information traveled very slowly. She would have to look into it later.
They sailed for some time until night fell. That was when they arrived at the dock where Sebastian Shaw's yacht was moored. Flares were quickly launched to illuminate the area, followed by a warning from the captain announcing their arrival.
Artoria disapproved of this, as they weren't supposed to draw attention to themselves, but complaining now was pointless.
"Charles, we're close. You've taken control of Shaw."
I asked Artoria, even though I already knew the answer. Perhaps Emma Frost wasn't among Sebastian Shaw's allies, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be replaced by another telepath. Men like Shaw always wanted to know what their adversaries were hiding, so he would certainly keep one or two nearby.
"I can't… I can't reach him. Something is interfering. It feels like there's someone just like me on the ship. It's confusing, like an illusory fog blocking my vision. I'm sorry, I don't think I can help much here."
"WHAT?!"
That came from Charles, alarming Moira in the process.
At that moment, the boarding boats approaching Shaw's yacht were suddenly blocked by a hurricane that appeared out of nowhere, lifting the boats and sweeping them into the air.
"Sister."
"I'm working on it."
Hearing Artoria call her, Morgan used elemental magic to interfere with the vortex's flow, nullifying it and causing the boats and their occupants to fall toward the water. Before they could hit the surface, they were caught by what appeared to be specters and gently returned to the ship though it was likely the men would develop lasting trauma from the experience.
"…God, that's creepy."
Raven commented, watching the familiars Morgan had created surround the ship like lost souls, giving her goosebumps just from looking at them.
"Be careful, or they'll visit you while you sleep and—"
Before Morgan could finish, there was a loud bang followed by a projectile that grazed her face. Behind her, a demonic looking man with red skin and a long tail disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Artoria, holding the base form of Sacace Morgan, a futuristic rifle with a black barrel marked in red aimed at the spot where he had been.
"Don't get distracted, sister."
"…My mistake."
Before they could argue further, the same red skinned demon appeared again, this time behind Artoria, intending to restrain her quickly. However, Artoria was faster.
The hand not holding Sacace crackled with small red flashes before releasing a burst of energy that struck the demon directly, giving him no chance to dodge.
"It's good that I remembered I could do that. It works well for crowd control if used at low power."
Artoria commented, watching the man writhe in pain on the ground. Before she could capture him, however, screams erupted around her.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"What happened?!"
In that moment of distraction, the red skinned man recovered and escaped. The screams stopped just as suddenly. Raven and Moira were pale, Raven nearly losing her transformation. Charles looked as if he had exerted himself greatly, and the CIA agent had fainted outright.
"What happened?"
"It seems he also has telepathic abilities."
Seeing Artoria's confusion, Morgan explained, having faintly sensed the mental interference herself.
Hearing this, Morgan reflected on what she knew of Azazel. From the movies and a few comics, she knew he could teleport and possessed additional abilities, though the full extent of them wasn't clear. It seemed telepathy was among them.
"Are you okay?"
Artoria asked the women while Morgan kicked the unconscious agent to see if he would wake up.
"We're fine. It was just… sudden."
Moira replied, with Raven nodding in agreement.
"And you, Charles?"
Artoria asked, noticing that although he had recovered quickly, sweat still trickled down his forehead. Such a sudden psychic clash could have been too much for the inexperienced young telepath.
"I'm fine, but there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"There's someone close by… and I know him."
As he said this, the anchor of Shaw's yacht rose from the water, floating into the air before slamming down onto the vessel.
"BOOOM!"
The impact destroyed the cabin and any remaining means of escape. But it didn't end there. The anchor rose again, and with its chain, it sliced horizontally through what remained of the yacht.
"BOOOM!"
Another explosion echoed as the yacht was completely destroyed.
"Is it over?"
I asked Raven, looking at the wreckage sinking into the sea.
"I'd like to think so, but people like that are like cockroaches. They don't die easily."
Artoria replied, watching as the water split, forming a path from the sinking yacht to their ship, something moving beneath the surface.
"He escaped in a nuclear submarine, and he's dragging something behind him."
"Erik is drowning! He'll die if we don't stop him!"
"Well then, stop him."
"Huh?"
Before Charles could react, Morgan grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into the sea just as Erik passed beneath the ship.
"At least you warned him properly."
Artoria reproached her sister, who merely shrugged in response.
Once Charles recovered from the shock, he contacted Erik telepathically, urging him to release the submarine and surface.
When both had calmed down, Artoria used her gravity control to lift them onto the deck.
Why hadn't she used that power to stop the submarine earlier? Simple: this story was already diverging from the movies, and she wanted to see how events would unfold. With so many people nearby, an all out mutant clash would only cause unnecessary casualties even if she ultimately won.
That resolved the situation. Now all that remained was calming an agitated Erik, who had lost his way.
"There's no reason to feel frustrated, young man. It's not as though the sun won't rise tomorrow."
"Lieutenant Artoria?"
As Artoria approached him, Erik straightened immediately, recognizing her.
"Hm? Haven't we met before? Your reaction doesn't seem like mere admiration for my actions during the war."
"Yes, ma'am. I was one of the refugees you rescued from an extermination camp in Poland."
Erik explained, and Artoria nodded in understanding, though internally she wondered when exactly she had saved him. During the war, she had stopped keeping track of faces.
It seemed she had saved Magneto without realizing it.
"I was housed in a Soviet temporary shelter, where I and another child were cared for by Dr. Morgan. I still remember her daily visits before we were moved to the United States. It's an honor to meet her again."
He extended his hand, and Artoria shook it.
This was fortunate. Negotiations were always easier when the other party felt gratitude, avoiding unnecessary conflict. Artoria silently appreciated her luck.
"So, Erik, we're here for the same reason. I'd appreciate it if you joined us for a while."
"If you help us, we'll give you something in return. Will you come with us?"
With Charles's encouragement, Erik hesitated briefly before nodding.
"Then there's nothing left to do here. Let's head back."
I ordered Artoria, signaling the captain, who acknowledged and turned the ship back toward the naval base.
Artoria felt a quiet excitement during the return journey. New events were about to unfold things she didn't yet understand and that uncertainty intrigued her.
For her, a good surprise was the best cure for boredom.