20 chapters ahead on pa treon!
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After breaking the telekinetic connection with Raven, Charles sighed.
It wasn't as if Raven's affiliation with Charles was a secret or anything, he just preferred Telekinetic communication over a simple telephone call because in S.H.I.E.L.D. all phones were supposed to be wiretapped.
After gathering his thoughts he called Fury on a secured line. Well unlike with Raven who was on a mission outside of S.H.I.E.D., he couldn't contact Fury with his telepathy.
The one-eyed paranoid man had set up many anti telepathic measures in his office and headquarters.
"Professor Xavier," Fury greeted, "To what do I owe the pleasure."
Professor Charles Xavier took a deep breath before responding to the greeting. "Director Fury, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"Always something important going on, Professor," Fury replied tersely, "but nothing that can't be put on hold for a moment. What do you have for me?"
"Well, are you aware of the recently appointed Military General of Sokovia?"
'Wanda. Freakin'. Maximoff...' Fury sighed. He has been hearing this name quite a lot these days.
Charles continued to tell him about the happenings in Japan, about how he contacted Eirikyr, how he met Wanda there... how she seemed similar to the Scarlet Witch that had attacked him a year ago... and how she had this Eirikyr all under her fingertips.
"I see... so, you suspect that Wanda Maximoff attacked you a year ago too, huh... Hmm..."
"You mean Miss. Maximoff attacked someone else too?" Charles asked with concern.
Fury sighed and told him a couple of things about the attack on Tony Stark.
"I see... at first it was just a suspicion. I merely wanted to look into her in case she had used unethical means to become a Military General but now it's a surety that it was done through supernatural, wrongful means. She must be manipulating Eirikyr as well... What should we do about this, Fury?"
While Charles thought that Wanda was manipulating Erik, Fury believed just the opposite of that, i.e., before Charles fucked up his theory about this.
As Fury contemplated the matter, a notification on his desktop took away his attention.
Sighing, Fury decided to end the call. "Look Charles, I am not sure who's manipulating whom but these people have Asgardians as allies. I appreciate the info you provided, but for now, we can't do anything about this."
Hanging up the call, Fury cursed Alexandre Pierce. If his theory was correct then his senior could be a bigger threat than the trio on the other side of the globe.
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.
.
.
A couple of weeks passed since the day Erik had briefed the group about the next phase of his plan.
Their individual tasks were going smoothly, Pietro had scheduled a mass protest on the streets of the capital city, Novi Grad, a week later. It was sure to gain international attention with Erik's control over the media.
And in that protest, for maybe the first time in the history of Sokovia, the public would praise the military instead of cursing at them.
A few days later, he received a call from Dr. Helen Cho. She had called him to pick her up from Korea as she had finished the work and taken care of the contract she was previously engaged in.
Erik had offered Helen a proposal to work in his country in the past — on the day he got summoned to fight Ultron...
He was on Mars when she contacted him, checking on Cindy and Yui Sasaki's work.
He told Cindy about it and then opened a portal to Helen's location.
The Korean scientist was shocked when the sparks appeared mid-air. Fearing an explosion, she quickly ducked under a table, and when she finally saw Erik, she calmed down.
"What the heck, Eirikyr! You scare me every time you come to my office!" Helen breathed. "And who's the goatee guy with you?"
Erik chuckled, "Well, sorry for that. And he is Strange."
"Well, he's definitely strange with those set of clothes... wait, you mean his name is Strange?"
Erik nodded and looking away, he helped her up with his telekinesis. The flabbergasted woman's panties were visible in the position she was on the floor.
Helen realized it and got embarrassed again, 'Kill me, god! I just showed my boring white panties to the guy I got rejected by!!!! Godddd, he's not gonna think it was deliberate, is he!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
As Helen stood there blushing awkwardly, Erik tried to change the atmosphere back, "So, ready to leave then?"
"Uh, not yet." She replied, "I thought it'd take at least a couple of hours before you come, I still haven't finished my packing."
"That's fine, just give me a call when you're done, I'll come back just like this." He said before disappearing into a portal just like the one he came into.
Helen stood there for a moment, processing the whirlwind that was Erik's visit.
She glanced around her office, which was strewn with papers and personal belongings, and sighed. Packing would indeed take a few hours. She also had to pack those pretty dresses in her home as well.
'I just hope that I'm not as awkward with Erik in the future days as I was with him today.' She sighed again, 'But are these feelings ever going to fade away or not... more so when I'll be so close to him in the future.'
Meanwhile, back on Mars, Erik stepped out of the portal, finding himself back in the sprawling, high-tech lab where Cindy and Yui Sasaki were working.
Cindy was hunched over a holographic interface, manipulating complex schematics of the telepathic blocker grid, while Yui was examining some intricate machinery.
"How's it going?" Erik asked, striding over to them.
Cindy looked up, her eyes lighting up with a mix of excitement and frustration. "We're making progress, but it's slow. Expanding the range of the blocker without compromising its stability is tricky."
The brainwashed Yui nodded in agreement. "We dealt with some interference issues. Mars's environment is unique, and it was affecting the equipment in ways we didn't anticipate. But with Cindy's help, we managed to fix that problem."
Erik rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see. You should've just told me to relocate the lab, but I suppose it's fine now that you've already dealt with the issue. Good work you two. I'll just go and help Wanda with her training."
As he turned to leave, Cindy called out, "Erik, can you take a look at this?" She pointed to a section of the schematics, where a series of red lines indicated potential weak points.
Erik leaned in, analyzing the data. "Hmm, a problem with the power distribution network, huh... You can just discard this scheme and try the Xandarian power grid scheme, I'll help you design it later. In the meantime, focus on reinforcing these areas." He highlighted a few key points on the hologram.
"Thanks," Cindy said, returning to her work.
Satisfied with their progress, Erik flew to the training chamber where Wanda was waiting for him.
A few hours later, Helen Cho had finished packing her belongings.
She took a deep breath and called Erik, who reappeared in her office within moments.
"All set?" he asked, his usual calm demeanor in place.
"Yes," Helen replied, adjusting her coat. "Let's go."
Erik led Helen through the portal, emerging onto the Mars base. Helen's eyes widened in amazement.
"Welcome back to Mars," Erik said with a smile, "You will be working here for a few weeks. Just like before..."
Helen looked around, her mouth slightly agape.
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