Chapter 245:
I met up with Jean the next day. The two of us hovered in the air, a few miles above New York City, while they had our conversation. I asked Jean what happened after the Phoenix Force took her away the day before.
"It was crazy! She took us into space! Actual space! There was no air, and we were in a total vacuum, and yet I was completely fine. The Phoenix Force told me a little about my powers. Apparently, I can fly faster than the speed of light now! I can cross the entire galaxy in only a few hours! I'm a little hesitant to actually try it because I'm afraid I'll end up getting lost," Jean explained what had happened to her.
I nodded in understanding. "I can fly into space as well, but I've never gone much farther than Mars. If I wasn't able to open portals anywhere I want, then I would also be afraid of getting lost in space. I'm sure the Phoenix has some kind of method to figure out where she's traveling in the void. You should try reaching out to her in the future and asking her about it." I told her. Maybe Jean had some kind of instinctual way to read the stars that she just hadn't realized yet?
I changed the topic back to yesterday. It was time to find out what planet the Phoenix wanted us to purge. I wanted to get this done quickly so I could gain access to cosmic energy! I had a feeling it could dramatically increase my offensive and defensive capabilities. My Susanoo enhanced with cosmic energy would be incredibly powerful, at the very least.
[You could probably make it a lot bigger too with all that power!]
"The Phoenix told me that she wants us to purge a planet called Ego. It's kind of a weird name for a planet. She also told me that it can be hard to locate because it's always on the move." Jean said while scratching her cheek. "I'm not exactly sure how that works since planets are supposed to circle stars and all…" She explained to me.
"Fuck…" And just like that, my excitement came to a halt. Of course the Phoenix Force wasn't going to give us an easy assignment!
"What's wrong?" Jean asked in concern.
"Ego isn't a planet, it's a Celestial!" I told her.
Jean tilted her head curiously. "What's a Celestial?"
I let out a sigh. I decided to give her the explanation of what we were getting into on the way to our first destination. I had no idea where Ego was, and neither did Jean. I figured if anyone knew, it would be the Universe's biggest Voyeur. We were off to Asgard first.
…
Jean and I traveled to Asgard while I explained to her what a Celestial is. Needless to say, she was not happy that we were hunting one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe. Something told me that Ego was not going to go down without a fight. In the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Rocket managed to kill the Celestial by planting a bomb in Ego's core, but something told me it was not going to be that easy for us.
We were currently in Asgard's war room. The top figures of Asgard and the Grigori were here.
Hela was quite pleased to get her full necromancy powers back before the war kicked off for real. "This is quite the gift you've brought me, my love." Hela said as she took hold of the black orb containing Hades's divine power. "I thank Lady Death for taking vengeance on that foolish god who stood against us as well." She added vindictively.
"I'm glad that Hades has been greatly reduced, but until he's dead I won't let my guard down. For now though, I've got a much bigger fish to fry." I told her.
Hela nodded in understanding. "Yes, you've certainly stepped up your game. Hunting a celestial? How I wish I could go with you…" She lamented. She obviously couldn't and neither could any of my siblings. I'd brought them the news that the war was about to kick off as well. King Laufey and Surtur were finished amassing their forces and ready to attack Asgard.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay and participate in the glorious battles to come, Sister?" Kokabiel asked me with a vicious grin. The news that the Fire Demons and Frost Giants were planning to attack in a few days had really gotten my more bloodthirsty siblings excited.
"She can't stay." Azazel said. "She received a mission from the Phoenix Force. It wouldn't be a good idea to delay something like that. Just be careful out there, Sis." He stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug.
"Indeed, Celestials are very tough opponents. Even my Father only managed to kill them with the power of the Infinity Stones. That being said, I believe in you far more than I ever did him." Hela told me with an encouraging smile.
I smiled back at her. "Thanks, Hela." I turned to Heimdall and asked him if he was able to see where Ego currently was located in the galaxy?
Heimdall shook his head. "I'm deeply sorry, my Lady. Celestials all have their own methods of shielding themselves from my gaze." He looked dejected that he couldn't be of any help to me.
"How are we supposed to find him then?" Jean asked with a pout. "He can't be that hard to find! He's an entire freaking planet after all!"
I pondered that for a moment. I was hoping that Heimdall would know where Ego was, but if that wasn't the case, I would need a new plan. Neither Jean, nor I, wanted to spend years searching a massive galaxy for him. There had to be a way to find him quicker.
[Maybe you could lure him to you? What did Ego want desperately in the second movie?]
A smirk crossed my face at the System's words. That could work!
"Did you think of something, Layla?" Jean asked after noticing my expression.
I grinned at her before turning to everyone else and explaining. "Ego has a half-human son. His name is Peter Quill. Sometimes he goes by Starlord. Ego has been searching for his missing son for decades. If I can get to Peter, then I can make Ego come to me. Maybe lure him into a trap even."
"Starlord?" Heimdall asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That's a pretty arrogant name, but if he is Half-Celestial, then he must be a fairly impressive being. I'm surprised we've never heard tales of such a fierce being." Hela said.
I snorted. Well, he was impressively lucky if nothing else. He didn't even know he was Half-Celestial, so he never bothered learning any of his powers. Without them, he was basically Tony Stark in Space, but with way less cool tech at his disposal.
"Still, the galaxy is massive! Being locked away in the Dimensional Gap for 1000 years, I truly forgot how big it is. It could take Heimdall months to locate this guy." Azazel said with a sigh. "He could be anywhere–"
"I found him!" Heimdall said while cutting my brother off. Heimdall was staring off into the distance. Well, he was actually staring at a wall, considering we were currently inside, but I knew he could see through walls as the Universe's greatest Voyeur.
"What!? How?" Azazel asked in shock. Everyone was looking at Heimdall in surprise as well.
"Well done, Heimdall. Where is this Demi-Celestial currently?" Hela asked.
"He's on Xandar. The capital of the Nova Empire. It was literally the first place I looked," Heimdall said with a shrug. Once again, my Daughter of Heaven's Will perk was coming in clutch.
"Well, that's convenient!" Jean said with a grin. "...What's Xandar?"
I sighed again…
…
–Jean Grey–
Jean had been pretty much going with the flow for the past two days now. Finding out that one of the most powerful beings in the Universe was a giant flaming space bird was pretty weird. Finding out that she was the Avatar of that giant space bird was even stranger! Still, she went with it. After it had removed the barriers in her mind–and she was very mad at Professor X for even placing them there without her knowing–Jean had access to more power than she knew what to do with. Before, she could read the minds of anyone within a mile of her if she focused. Now, she could probably read the mind of anyone on Earth if she knew where to focus. Now she was powerful enough to bathe entire continents under a sea of cosmic fire if she chose to.
Having power like that at only 19… It unnerved Jean. That's why she was glad that Layla was currently with her, "showing her the ropes." It was a bit embarrassing, considering she was dating Akeno, but Jean idolized Layla of the Fallen! She was one of Jean's biggest heroes and inspirations!
Layla saved the world multiple times in only a few years. Meanwhile, Jean had spent most of her teenage years constantly fighting a 'secret war' under the Professor.
A 'secret war' between him and Magneto…
Jean scoffed internally. It was never an actual war in hindsight. All those fights never even mattered. She lost count of how many times she fought against Magneto's forces. Near the end, she had just grown tired of it all. Neither side never fought to actually hurt each other. Magneto considered all Mutant lives to be precious and would never order his forces to actually harm the X-Men. On the other hand, Charles didn't believe in killing either.
It was only when Jean and Ororo had gotten together with Akeno, that they realized how much of their lives they had wasted doing pretty much nothing to further the Mutant cause. Layla had been caught on camera one time in a restaurant defending a Mutant couple and that did more for furthering Mutant rights than anything the X-Men had ever accomplished.
"I think we're getting close now." Layla said and snapped Jean out of her thoughts.
The two of them were currently inside the legendary Bifrost as it hurtled them through space at incomprehensible speeds. Layla had never been to Xandar so this was their only way to get there quickly. Jean had, at first, been fascinated when they were inside the Bifrost. It was like being inside an actual kaleidoscope. After 10 minutes though, the bright flashing rainbow lights on all sides lose their charm. Xandar was pretty far from Asgard, so it was a 30 minute trip to get there.
30 minutes of never ending rainbow strobe lights going off all around them…
"It's about time." Jean replied. She had actually had her eyes closed for the second half of the trip. She didn't know if she could still get migraines, but with all the flashing lights around her she didn't want to risk it.
They slammed down onto the ground with surprising force. Jean ended up stumbling a bit as she quickly readjusted to the altered gravity. The gravity on Xandar was slightly stronger than on Earth. She didn't experience that on Asgard. According to Layla, all of Asgard was enchanted so that any visiting species felt the standard gravity from their home planets.
Jean took in their new surroundings before furrowing her brow. "This is an alien world?" Jean asked while looking around. She and Layla had landed in the middle of a small room with four white walls around them. It looked to be filled with brooms, towels, and a bunch of cleaning supplies. There was a human-looking man sitting in an office chair nearby. His eyes were closed and he was snoring loudly while drooling. She was surprised that Xandarians looked like humans, but then again, so did Asgardian. According to Layla, a bunch of Aliens in the galaxy looked identical to humanity.
"I expected a warmer welcome than a sleeping janitor." Layla laughed.
"Are we in the right place?" Jean asked Layla.
"I'm not sure. The Bifrost was supposed to send us to the Asgardian embassy on Xandar. Maybe the coordinates were slightly off and we ended up somewhere else?" Layla replied. She didn't seem overly concerned. Jean had heard the stories from Akeno and knew that much weirder things tended to happen to Layla.
"Should we wake him and ask where we are?" Jean suggested. The Janitor shifted in his sleep and something fell from his arms and splashed on the floor. It was a bottle of booze…alien booze. Not only was he passed out on his job, but he was drunkenly passed out…
Layla softly snickered next to her. "Let the poor man sleep. Even halfway across the galaxy some things never change…" She muttered while shaking her head.
It became clear that they had not landed in the Asgardian embassy.
They were in an alien grocery store…
How did Jean know that? It was almost identical to a human grocery store, except for the fact that Jean couldn't recognize a single product on the shelves. That, and the shopping carts that people were pushing around were literally using anti-gravity technology as they hovered above the floors.
"I didn't expect Heimdall to miss the mark on where he was sending us." Layla said as she stepped out of the way of a busy shopper. Layla didn't know what happened either.
They made it to the front of the store and Jean approached a cashier. "Excuse me, do you know if the Asgardian embassy is nearby?" She asked politely.
The cashier was busy staring at some kind of phone or tablet while obnoxiously chewing on, what Jean suspected was, alien gum. She rudely didn't even glance up at them as she answered. "Why are you looking for that release? You're about 100 years too late to find that place. They tore it down and built this store on top of it. Now don't talk to me anymore, I'm busy. If you want to check out everything's automated anyway…"
…
–Layla–
"Ok then…" I muttered as Jean and I made our way out of the alien grocery store.
Since Asgardians have such long lives, they tend to forget other species aren't as long lived. Because of that, no Asgardian visited the embassy for over 200 years. The Nova Empire obviously took that to mean the Asgardians no longer had an interest in them. So the Nova Empire got rid of the embassy all together…
[200 years is a long time. Odin was also extremely isolationist towards the end of his reign.]
"They tore down the Asgardian Embassy and built a grocery store on top of it!? That's so disrespectful!" Jean huffed out. "What do we do now!?" She asked me in concern.
"We try to find Peter Quill ourselves. We then have to find a way to let Ego know that we have his son." I explained the formations of my plan. Ego can't start his plan of purging all life from the galaxy without Peter. He would have to come to us when the word got out. Especially if we got some kind of video proof that Peter actually had the Celestial powers that Ego desperately needed.
"How are we going to find this Starlord?" Jean asked. "Do we just start asking around? There's literally billions of people on this planet. Just this city alone has tens of millions." She said with a grimace. "What if he leaves the planet before we find him?"
I pat Jean on the shoulder while strolling forward towards a nearby group of people. "Relax, everything will work out." I said over my shoulder to her.
I approached a group of teenagers who were huddling around a guy holding a tablet. They were all watching whatever was on the screen with enthusiasm.
"Is this video real? Was that really him!?" A girl asked.
"Almost half of Xandar has seen it at this point! It's 100% confirmed to be real!" The boy holding the tablet said.
"Hah! Take that you purple bastard! That's what you get!" Another guy said while pumping his fist.
"This is absolutely stellar! And this woman is so beautiful. What I wouldn't give for her to appear in front of me!" A third guy exclaimed.
"Hello everyone." I said to get their attention. The group of four teens glanced up at me and their mouths all fell open almost simultaneously.
"Am I dreaming right now!? Did my wish just come true!?" The third guy spoke while looking at me. "If this is a dream, then I'm going to make the most of it!" He reached his hand forward…towards my chest.
I smacked it away in annoyance. This was not the first time some horny guy had tried to grope me, but usually they didn't attempt it when other people were looking.
"Ow!" He cried in pain while clutching his hand. I didn't break it, but there would definitely be a bruise! A shocked expression then appeared on his face as he gazed up at me while rubbing his hand. "...It really is you! You're actually here!" He exclaimed excitedly. He was looking at me in reverence!
"Holy shit! It really is her!" The boy holding the tablet exclaimed. He started looking between me and the tablet he was holding rapidly in disbelief.
"I can't believe it! It's Layla of the Fallen!" The only girl of the group pushed her friends out of the way and ran up to me. "You are amazing and I'm such a big fan! My name is Xenu! Can I get a picture with you?" She was asked while holding up some kind of recording device.
"Sure?" I said questioningly. I had no idea what was going on right now. How did teenagers from an alien planet I'd never been to recognize me? She made a happy "squee" noise before she hopped next to me and took a few selfies.
"Thank you so much!" She said happily while skipping back to her gaping friends.
"Sure…" I said again. I still had no idea what was going on. What I did notice, though, was that I was starting to draw a crowd. And by a crowd, I meant pretty much everyone nearby.
Jean walked over towards me as more and more people nearby started pointing at me with looks of shock or excitement! "Uh, Layla? I don't know how, but somehow the video of you fighting Thanos a year ago has spread all over the galaxy. You've become a really big deal. Not only that, but this Universe's Thanos has apparently completely stopped committing atrocities for the past few months since the video spread everywhere. Everyone thinks he's in hiding because he's afraid you'll kill him next." Jean explained to me as she read the minds of the people around us.
[Wow…]
Ok, then. Did I just go from the most famous woman on Earth to the most famous being in the galaxy? It kind of felt like it with all the reverential looks and cheers these people were giving me.
[I wonder how they got a copy of the video? Do aliens have access to Earth's internet?]
Clearly some aliens had been to Earth in the past year without us knowing, and they did have access to the internet. That would have to be rectified in the future.
More and more crowds of people started to surround Jean and me. They were starting to get pushy and grabby as Xandarians and other aliens all rushed forward to get a look at me. I didn't want to get mobbed, so I signaled to Jean that we should head up.
My black wings manifested behind me as I took to the air. A red aura appeared around me as Jean kept pace and flew next to me. That seemed to only excite the alien crowd even more as they started cheering for us loudly!
I heard weird sounding sirens off in the distance before a handful of flying vehicles sped towards the two of us. The writing on the side of the vehicles identified them as the Nova Corps. One of the flying cruisers hovered over to us. A window rolled down. "Layla of the Fallen? I'm Corpsman Dey. The Nova Prime wants to see you. Hop in!" He said as the doors slid open.
I glanced at Jean to make sure he was who he said he was. She nodded at me. "Alright then." I said while scooting in the back seat. "Take me to your leader."
XXX