"Hey…" Susan asked Alex as they flew through the air.
"What is it?"
"What is your ultimate goal with these planets?" She asked. "You don't seem like the power-hungry authority kind of guy. Control-freak, yes. But not the kind that would motivate someone to do what you are doing."
"My goal with these planets isn't anything too complicated, Sue," Alex said. "There is a certain resource that can be produced by life. I want to harvest that resource. The more people, the greater the prosperity, the more of that resource I can acquire."
"That does sound more like you," she nodded. "You told me that gods exist before… Beings like Thor, Zeus, and the like. Is this resource something like faith? Is faith even a tangible resource?"
"You're close, but also not," Alex said. "What I want to collect is Cosmic Energy. That has nothing to do with people's faith in me. Instead, it is a special form of energy that is harnessed by the creators of life as we know it. Not the fake ones that clone beings and call it a day. True creators. The Celestials. They sow seeds of life on planets that eventually evolve over billions of years into conscious living beings."
"Celestials… Cosmic energy…" Susan grew thoughtful at Alex's revelation.
"No skepticism?" Alex asked her.
"I don't think you'd lie to me about something like this…" She said. "Plus, this whole cosmic energy business sounds an awful lot like it might have to do with the cosmic storm that gave me my powers."
"You aren't far off," Alex said. "In reality, the other three really got the short end of the stick when it comes to the mutations that storm induced. Your powers vastly eclipse Reed, Ben, and Johnny. Whether it be in potential or raw power, you outclass all of them."
"So my powers also originate from this Cosmic Energy?"
"That's very likely. Exposure to any form of volatile energy, be it radioactive gamma or cosmic rays, can induce random mutations in living tissue. Cosmic energy is especially effective in this case."
"How do you plan to collect it?"
"No idea," Alex shrugged. "That's one of the reasons I kidnapped your planet's Reed and took him to work in my lab. He's smart, maybe I'll be surprised. Cosmic energy is the most mysterious form of energy that I've ever encountered to date. The few times I've gotten a taste of it, I've tried to analyze and study it, but it's just too complex."
"How do you know its production requires people?"
"That's because of the way Celestials are born," Alex said. "Every once in a while, a planet is seeded by their kind. Not in the initiating life kind of way, but literally burying a seed in the center of the planet that uses the planet itself as an incubator. Now, this could be done with any old planet, but it isn't. The only planets that are seeded in this fashion are planets with life. Over a span of millions of years, the incubating Celestial absorbs the cosmic energy that is produced by the cycle of life and death of a civilization. Each era is symbolized by a large amount of death and destruction before another era eventually comes by, prospers, and declines all the same. Over millions of years, this cycle provides the infant Celestial with enough Cosmic energy to be born."
"That… is a lot to take in," Susan said.
"Take your time," Alex said. "I know this kind of information is a bombshell for anyone. And I'm not expecting you to do anything with it either. My plans are already in motion regarding the collection of Cosmic energy. For us, our priorities are this planet, and then spending time with each other on your planet."
"I guess…" It was clear that Alex's words were still on Susan's mind.
The rest of their journey passed by in silence as Susan moved closer to Alex for some warmth as he flew through the air, deep in her thoughts.
…
Soon, they reached the somewhat dilapidated Xavier's School for the Gifted and landed right at the gate. As for why Alex didn't simply phase into the mansion. Most of the occupants were already outside, awaiting their arrival.
"Am I crashing a party here?" Alex asked, looking at the solemn expression of Scott Summers, the current leader of the X-Men, following the untimely departure of their leader, Charles Xavier.
Not getting an immediate response, Alex looked around, noticing quite a few familiar faces, including that of Jean Gray, Ororo Monroe, and even Emma Frost, who was part of the lineup, though she seemed a little distant from the rest.
Curious. I don't recall seeing her during the battle…
Alex's gaze then went to Wolverine, who, after Charles' death, seemed to have rejoined the school. Laura and Kamala were standing beside him. While Wolverine looked at Alex solemnly, Laura and Kamala were much more casual, aware of his means and the way he operated. Beside them was a familiar figure that he hadn't expected to see today.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Wiccan," Alex said. "How's your mother?"
"She's recovering," he said. "Hasn't regained consciousness yet, but she's out of danger."
"That's good. Want me to fix all her trauma?"
"You'd do that?"
"You're strong," Alex said. "Your help would be invaluable to maintain worldwide stability in these trying times."
"I–I'll be grateful if that's possible," the man outright bowed to Alex.
"What the hell?" Scott's sudden outburst made both Alex and William turn to look at him. "Not only did he kill the professor, but he also kidnapped Laura for who knows how long. For god's sake, she looks like she's grown by more than a year in these few days."
"How about I bring Charles back to life? Will that satisfy you?" Alex offered with a teasing smile on his face.
Not only Scott, but Wolverine, Jean, and Ororo behind him all stiffened at his words.
"I can do it. You should've seen the information about the Human Torch coming back to life."
"You'd do that?" Scott asked, despite the visor covering his eyes, his desperate expression was fully conveyed from his tone.
"Fuck no," Alex sneered. "Dickhead tried to read my mind. It's good he died quickly. Otherwise, I would've tortured him to death. Now I'll give you all a choice. This planet's digital landscape is already under my control. Soon, my people will start stabilizing the unrest left by Hydra and clean up their remnants. I'll give you all a choice: surrender or die."
"I've fucking had it with you!" Scott lost his temper completely as his visor automatically fell off, releasing two beams of light directly at Alex. At the same time, Ororo and Jean also acted, the former controlling the weather to release a thunderous bolt of lightning down at Alex and the latter using her telekinesis to immobilize Alex in place and yank away the blonde woman beside him who hadn't spoken a word since their arrival.
All of that happened within an instant as Alex only responded with a light smile, grabbing Susan's hand and holding her in place as Scott's eye beams struck his torso, and Ororo's lightning struck his head, coursing through his body.
Seeing the rest of the members standing at the side without any intentions to act, Alex got an idea of their plans. If the three of their strongest and most experienced members won, well and good; if they lost, the others won't be held accountable.
A solid backup plan…
"Honey, how about you take them? I want to see if all that training I put you through bore any fruit."
Susan gave him an exasperated look that perfectly clarified that she had very little interest in being a combatant.
"I'm being blasted by rays of scorching light, and all you can afford is that look? Where's the concern? The love?"
"I can tickle you and that would be more effective than whatever those two are doing. Tell me their powers…"
"Ahh!" Scott growled loudly, intensifying the beams further, but Alex seemed entirely unaffected despite taking it all on directly. Moments later, a force field appeared in front of Alex, blocking the beams from reaching him and revealing his pristine state. Even his clothes weren't affected by the light as Susan started pushing it back.
Realizing the futility of their actions, Ororo intensified her efforts as it started raining thunderously, drenching everyone in the field. Soon, multiple bolts of lightning struck down, some targeting Alex and some targeting Susan. Jean once again acted, trying to infiltrate Susan's mind to make her lower her defenses, but it was of no use. She couldn't even form a psionic connection with Susan.
That was because there was a force field around her as well, blocking any mental probes from affecting her. Alex had already told her about their respective powers, and she'd taken the respective measures to not be affected. She formed another force field above her and Alex that blocked all of the lightning bolts that attempted to strike them.
Moving further ahead, she pushed Scott's light beams further back, soon reaching the halfway mark. The other two's efforts continued intensifying, but to no avail. Alex simply stood back, letting Susan take care of them as he observed the remaining X-Men, who also stood back, without any intention to act. Though he knew that the moment he threatened any of their lives, all of them would come at him together, screaming bloody murder.
Should I just kill them all and be done with it?
***
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