"I..."
Facing Artoria's interest-filled gaze, Raven felt a bit flustered. This was the first time she had encountered such a look. Ordinary people looked at her with disgust and fear, and even some Mutants looked at her strangely. If it weren't for her blue skin, she would have already blushed with embarrassment. Artoria's direct demand made her heart race, and she didn't know what to do. It was the first time she had experienced such a burning gaze from another woman, something she hadn't encountered or handled before.
At this moment, the flustered Raven had no idea what Artoria was thinking. Artoria looked at Raven's blue skin with interest; this was a quite formidable ability. The 'Sentinel robots' in X-Men: Days of Future Past were the modified tenth-plus generation. A scientist had observed the uniqueness of Raven's blood and used her ability to create the Sentinel robots, which were the nemesis of Mutants. No matter what your ability was, the robots could endure and analyze it, then counterattack and kill the enemy. It was practically like cheating.
Especially since Raven's ability could change her own cellular and tissue structure, allowing her to transform into anyone, including their irises, fingerprints, skin texture, voice, and even gender. In other words, she could turn into a great beauty to tease you at any time, or when you're in the mood, turn into the philosophical Billy King to play a wrestling game with you. This was someone who could seriously pull out a "big treasure" larger than yours—someone you couldn't afford to mess with.
"I... I need to talk to Eric, Miss Artoria."
This was a major matter of switching sides. Raven was somewhat hesitant. For her, this matter wasn't necessarily good or bad, and using this excuse was just to give herself time to think. Through her long time spent with Magneto, she understood that Magneto would definitely agree to Artoria's request, letting her stay undercover by Artoria's side. If anything happened, she could report back to Magneto. Magneto wasn't entirely at ease with Artoria's attitude; a grand hero always leaves himself a way out.
"It's fine, I have plenty of time to wait for your reply."
She didn't make Raven stay right now. Even though Artoria was full of interest in Raven at this moment, she still decided to give the Brotherhood, or rather Magneto, some time to consider. After all, it was Magneto asking her for a favor, not Artoria asking Magneto. Opening her mouth wide now was just to confirm Magneto's bottom line—or rather, how big the matter Magneto wanted to handle was, and if it was big enough to temporarily let his capable subordinate leave his side.
"If there is news, I will contact you, Miss Artoria."
Standing up, Raven spoke to Artoria somewhat absent-mindedly, but Artoria suddenly reached out and grabbed Raven's arm. Although the force wasn't great, Raven was in a bit of a daze and was pulled off balance. She fell straight into Artoria's embrace, a soft and sweet fragrance wafting past her nose. Raven was stunned for a moment and didn't counterattack immediately. At that time, a fair, jade-like index finger reached out in front of her, gently lifting her chin. She looked at Artoria's beautiful face from such a close distance, those sacred green eyes staring straight at her.
"Don't make me wait too long, Miss Mystique."
With a domineering smile on her face, Artoria stared at Raven and whispered softly in her ear. After speaking, Artoria let go. This action caused the flustered Raven's emotions to peak instantly; after transforming back into Gwen, she ran away with a red face, leaving behind only the successfully mischievous Artoria laughing happily.
"What's wrong with Gwen? Isn't she off today? What's she doing at the company?"
After Raven left, Hope walked in, rubbing her shoulder which had just been bumped. She didn't know what 'Gwen' was so flustered about. Wasn't it the girl's day off today? Why did she run to the company? Was there something wrong? Being so impulsive didn't seem like her style.
"Just a small matter. Is that finished, Hope?"
Artoria wasn't surprised by Hope's arrival and casually made an excuse for Mystique. Artoria curiously asked Hope if the thing she wanted was ready, as it concerned her life and safety.
"It's already done. This is the new generation liquid nano-suit, Space Walker. See if you're satisfied with it."
Artoria's change of subject led the naturally unsuspicious Hope to walk up to her and take out the purpose of her visit. It was a pile of blueprints. This was the new type of suit Artoria had recently requested. Hope and Helen Cho had spent a long time designing it. According to Artoria's requirements, it had to be able to survive in Space for a week and be equipped with powerful firepower. The two of them had put in a lot of effort to complete this design plan.
Without wasting words, Artoria had Saturday scan the blueprints. Immediately, a set of 3D projected blue battle armor appeared before Artoria. Artoria had Saturday enlarge the armor and the activator and place them in a more open area. Artoria walked up to the projected armor and looked at the activator; the design was quite good. There were two bracelets worn on the wrists with new Micro-Arc Reactors, and the sci-fi belt matched the bracelets. There was also a matching necklace. Artoria nodded in satisfaction. To activate the armor, Artoria only needed to press the belt with her index finger. It was very convenient, with a coverage speed of two seconds. Spreading rapidly from the bracelets, necklace, and belt to the entire body, the donning speed was a bit faster than Tony's Bleeding Edge set.
"Can it be ready within three days?"
Thinking of the time Reed had notified her, it was exactly one week. Artoria had to be prepared. Everyone knew how awesome Mister Fantastic Reed was, but he also tended to mess things up—failing nine out of ten experiments. The one time he succeeded, he created a Zombie Universe, which should still be in a state of destruction now!
She couldn't guarantee whether her joining would cause the Fantastic Four to be swept directly into Space by the Cosmic Storm. Whether she could survive in Space then was hard to say. It was better to prepare a suit that could let her return to Earth. Better safe than sorry.
"No problem, there's enough time."
Regarding Artoria's request, Hope said it was easy. The core blueprints were finished, and materials were sufficient. If they hurried, she could assemble it in a day. However, for Artoria's safety, Hope decided to be steady and finish all the inspections and tests. Three days was just enough to finish everything.
"That's good."
"Then I'll have to trouble you both with the hard work."
Hearing this news, Artoria sighed in relief. There was plenty of time. Right now, she was incredibly nervous, unsure if those cosmic rays would actually be useful to her. But now that she had made up her mind, she could only wait patiently for that day to arrive.
"I'll get this done as soon as possible."
Taking the blueprints, Hope spoke to Artoria with a smile. She had actually tried to persuade Artoria several times; she had heard of Reed, who was rumored to be a genius, but she still felt this was unreliable. However, she couldn't stop Artoria once she had decided on something. The Universe was such a dangerous yet beautiful place; those who studied science were the most qualified to say so. Humans hadn't even finished exploring Earth, yet they wanted to set foot in the Universe and utilize it; this was undoubtedly a pipe dream. She could only pray that Artoria would never encounter a situation where she needed to use this suit. As for that little hussy Susan who was going with Artoria, she wished her well on her way to meet God.
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