Capítulo 81: Chapter 75 - Baldur and the X-men Part 1
City of the Sun God, Capital of Genosha.
During the X-Men's infiltration.
2012.
Five people crossed a purple portal that opened in one of the isolated alleys of the capital. After exiting the portal, which closed behind them, they automatically split up, covering all possible attack positions they could face. The X-Men were the most highly trained mutants Xavier had, well-versed in how to handle a mission.
"What can you sense, Jean?"
The leader of this group, positioned in the middle, was known as Cyclops, Scott Summers, the current leader of the X-Men. He was wearing a black jacket and jeans, tall with a strong physique, and sporting ruby-red glasses.
"Just a moment, Scott."
Jean Grey, the woman with long red hair, also known as Marvel Girl, closed her eyes and used her mutant powers to sense her surroundings, while the others waited silently.
"We're where we planned to be. I can sense various life forms a bit distant from us. I don't sense any hostility towards us, so they haven't noticed us yet."
Jean spoke, reassuring her friends.
"I told you I was getting better at controlling my portals."
Clarice Ferguson, a young Asian woman wearing sunglasses to hide her uniquely colored eyes, expressed a bit of frustration about her friends not trusting her powers.
"We never doubted you, Blink. We were just a little nervous about this mission."
A black woman with long white hair named Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, reassured her friend.
"I must say, Charles's caution for this mission was a bit annoying."
Logan, the man with hair and sideburns giving him a wild appearance, spoke while lighting a cigar.
"I've never seen the professor so nervous about a mission like this. He said that the man ruling this country is someone we cannot afford to antagonize."
Ororo spoke to her friends as they walked out of the alley and onto the street.
"That's why, among other reasons, we're on this mission, hiding as much as possible. Another team is also waiting in the Blackbird in case we don't make contact every two hours."
As the leader of the X-Men, Cyclops reassured them that if they were captured, another team would be responsible for their rescue. This mission had also made him quite tense. When he spoke alone with the professor, he revealed some facts about the king of this country. Scott practically grew up in the X Mansion, his professor always remained calm no matter the situation they found themselves in, but Scott saw fear in his professor's eyes when he talked about this man.
The five emerged from the alley and froze at the sight before them. They saw a street surrounded by gigantic buildings painted in gold, with several flying cars speeding through the sky above. On the ground, numerous civilians walked calmly in ordinary clothes, with drones also roaming the streets, cleaning up any litter. They knew Genosha was technologically advanced due to the events of World War II, but they hadn't imagined just how advanced they were compared to their home.
"This isn't something you see every day." Logan remarked, making everyone laugh.
"Are we far from our destination, Jean?" Scott asked.
"The coordinates given by Cerebro indicate we're about two kilometers from the target."
"Then let's go. I don't want to be exposed in the open for too long."
The X-Men walked slowly to avoid drawing too much attention. Before the mission, they thought Ororo's appearance would attract attention since this country was considered entirely closed off, but they were surprised to see some figures walking with African clothing on the streets of the city. They all concealed themselves perfectly from view, though they didn't let their guard down because of it. Every time the policing drones flew overhead, they tensed, expecting an attack. They weren't attacked the first time only because their friend Jean briefly read a pedestrian's mind and explained why the drones were there.
As the cars were well above ground level, there was no danger in freely walking on the street, which belonged to civilians. They then entered a street and came face to face with a large park full of trees and flowers of all colors. They saw several children running and playing on the grass, people jogging in sports attire, all living in a relaxed and happy manner. What caught their attention the most was the large statue in the center of the park, a three-meter statue carved in pure white stone, depicting a beautiful woman holding a staff, with a plaque below it.
{The Great Queen of Genosha, Amora.}
Below that was the date of Genosha's creation and the date of the park's creation. The five knew that the king of this country hadn't aged much according to their professor, but they hadn't imagined that he and his queen would be over a thousand years old.
"Do you think it's true that they're that old?" Clarice asked, shocked.
"If you didn't know that, you must be visitors from Wakanda, am I right?"
The five tensed upon realizing that someone had overheard their conversation. They turned around, and an old man with a cane and casual clothes stood behind them, seemingly strolling through the park.
"Yes sir, we've just arrived from Wakanda."
Jean was the quickest to respond, ready to confuse his mind if necessary. Wakanda wasn't as it was in stories anymore, with the path between it and Genosha open, many people with fair skin chose to live in Wakanda, creating great diversity. Because of this, the old man still thought they were from Wakanda, despite some of them having fair skin.
(T/N: I did some research and found a comic panel where a white guy sells pizza close to the palace in wakanda)
"Welcome then, it's good to see the new generation cultivating the friendships our ancestors built."
The old man seemed kind, and everyone relaxed a bit.
"Sir, what do you think about the age of the King and Queen?"
Scott knew it would be dangerous to talk further, but his curiosity won in the end.
"Our glorious King and Queen have been alive since before Genosha was built. They've reigned for hundreds of years, guiding us without aging a day. After all, gods are eternal."
The old man grew up hearing stories from his parents and grandparents about their rulers being gods from glorious Asgard who came to Earth to save them. Of course, he didn't take these words as true at first. Genosha was hundreds of times more advanced than any country on Earth, and the younger generation had the idea that divinity was against the laws of science. However, with time, he found himself aging while his rulers seemed untouched by time. If they weren't gods, what else could they be? Genosha didn't have a single religion, a part of it, descended from the people of Wakanda who came to live there, still worshiped the Panther Goddess. Most others worshipped their rulers as gods.
"Do you really think they're gods?" Blink asks.
"They're just two other mutants pretending to be gods, kid," Logan replies.
"Logan's right. It's not the first time we've encountered mutants who don't age or pretend to be gods."
After the old man leaves and they're alone again, they return to their conversation, and Scott agrees with what Logan said about these two "Gods" being nothing more than mutants who somehow lived without aging a day.
"Wait. The professor is trying to send me a message."
Out of nowhere, Jean feels something with her telepathy and closes her eyes, trying to concentrate as much as possible. Her friends gather around her to protect her in case something goes wrong.
"Is something wrong, Jean?" Logan's voice carries a hint of concern, rare for him to show to anyone.
"The professor said the defenses here are stronger than he thought. For him to send a telepathic message to me, he had to connect to the Blackbird's brain, and even then, we had a lot of trouble communicating."
"What was the message, Jean?"
Ororo knew the professor would contact them, risking the mission if it wasn't urgent.
"It seems like the target is wavering, like a candle about to be extinguished. That's what he said. We have to hurry!"
Running as fast as they could without arousing suspicion, they finally arrive at their destination: a large residential building with over forty golden floors, like all the other buildings in the country.
"How do we get in?" Blink asks.
"I have a few ideas," Logan suggests.
"It won't be necessary, Logan, look!"
Jean draws everyone's attention to a lady leaving the building. Jean approaches her, and the lady freezes, staring at the beautiful woman with red hair.
"Excuse me, ma'am, could you allow us to enter? We're your neighbors, do you remember?"
"Yes, of course I remember. Please, feel free."
She had already informed them that the only way to enter the place without attracting attention was to be a resident or be invited by one, the building's security was daunting. Normally, people used keys or fingerprints for access, but in Genosha, they used their own DNA as a security key.
The lady took what looked like a futuristic cellphone from her bag and, pressing two keys, allowed everyone to enter the building. The five went straight to the elevator.
"I still find this mind control thing scary, no offense, Jean."
"I don't blame you, Blink. Being mentally controlled is definitely frightening, which is why the professor and I use it as sparingly as possible, and only when there's no other choice."
The elevator stopped at the destination floor, and everyone followed Jean, who was the only one who knew roughly where the target was located.
"Wait! Something's wrong," Logan shouts.
When everyone was facing the door of the apartment they thought belonged to the target, Logan stops them, sniffing the environment around them.
"I can't smell any human scent, in any of the apartments we passed by."
Everyone catches Logan's keen sense of smell and becomes alarmed by what he says. Jean puts her hand to her forehead, scanning the entire floor, looking for any human life form. The shock on her face was enough of an answer for the whole group.
"Let's retreat. Now!"
Cyclops, as the leader, makes the decision that everyone agrees with, they head towards the stairs, considering it safer to descend rather than use the elevator. However, they are stopped by a thick purple mist that emerges from under the doors of the apartments or around them, quickly engulfing the entire corridor.
"Cough, cough. Storm!"
The purple mist seemed designed to induce sleep, at best. Scott shouted for the only one who could help them in this situation. The weather lady raised her arms to the ceiling, and a powerful wind simply emerged from her hands, dispersing all the toxic mist away from her friends. Shortly after, the mist dissipated entirely.
"Formation!"
Knowing that it's not over yet, they form a circular formation in the middle of the corridor. The doors of some apartments open, and out of them come men and women wearing black cloaks that cover their entire bodies. Their faces were concealed by the hoods, and they all carried a similar black staff.
"Shlik"
(T/N: I don't know what sound to make TT)
Wolverine unsheathed his Adamantium claws and crouched, ready to strike. Scott swapped his ruby-red glasses for a visor with yellow accents, Storm's hands crackled with electricity, poised to unleash lightning bolts, Blink conjured two purple daggers and removed her glasses, revealing her green eyes, and Jean floated a few inches off the ground. They all braced themselves for a direct fight to escape this trap.
support me at patreon.com/Lonely_Translator and read chapters in advance
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder