POV: Baldur
King's Personal Laboratory, Below the Royal Castle, Genosha
Eight Months After the Battle Against Galan
2016
"What are the results, Alice?"
Sitting in a silver armchair in the center of my personal laboratory, surrounded by numerous holographic screens displaying hundreds of calculations and graphs, I ask my AI for an update.
"The result is the same, sir. I don't think it's possible to recreate this compound," she responds.
"This test was our last attempt," I say aloud.
Since the end of the battle with Galan, I have remained in Genosha, not directly engaging with the world's current chaos. With my free time, I began studying Galactus's blood—an incredible source of vital energy that transformed the barren land of the devastated city into a vast forest within days.
My theory is that this blood is simply energy that has somehow changed its state—something impossible according to the laws of physics. But in this world, the laws of physics can be easily bent.
"Unfortunately, we lack the knowledge and materials to convert energy into blood, sir," Alice states.
"I never had high hopes of achieving that, Alice. It's enough that we found other uses for his blood beyond rejuvenating destroyed lands."
The potential uses for Galan's blood are still unfolding. So far, I've discovered it can serve as an energy source—one drop could power a small city. It can also be used as a source of magical power, accelerate the healing of wounds, and even regenerate severed limbs.
Just as Kree blood can be refined into a compound that can resurrect individuals, I believe Galan's blood could be even more effective. There's also a possibility that a mortal exposed to his blood could develop meta-human abilities.
But I'm not crazy enough to test this on my people, nor am I a mad genius aiming to create an army of immortal soldiers revived by a drug every time they fall in battle. Too many disasters occur when people tamper with death in the Marvel Universe. As tempting as it is to steal souls from Death, I won't take that risk.
"Now that this is settled, how is our other plan progressing?" I ask.
The holographic screens shift to show images from various global newspapers reporting on my plan. Even after a week, it's still a hot topic worldwide—and for good reason. I've just offered a solution to end world hunger.
After battling public opinion that was crushing the Avengers, and with numerous signs that the UN was about to try to control us with their laws, I made a political move to try to restore some of our reputation.
Several years ago, during my travels through space, I encountered a green planet. I collected soil and water samples, believing they were the key to the planet's lush flora. My intention was to replicate this phenomenon on Earth to eradicate hunger. However, the research was abandoned due to numerous unforeseen challenges. In my defense, the events of the subsequent years were exceedingly chaotic.
With some free time and a desire to improve public opinion about us, I revisited the project. To expedite matters, I sought assistance from Stark and Reed. Despite Reed's past alliance with Doom, I decided to keep him involved, largely because of the look on his wife's face when I visited them for help.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't need their help for a simple analysis, as the scientists in Wakanda and Genosha could easily handle it. However, involving Stark and Reed ensured transparency in case our plan succeeded. A few days later, we achieved a breakthrough.
We discovered that the fertility of the green planet's soil was due to a unique element found there. This element didn't directly promote plant growth; instead, it transformed the soil into a highly fertile medium, significantly accelerating cultivation. Once we identified this element, replicating it was straightforward. We modified it slightly to prevent Earth from turning into an endless forest. The final substance could render any soil fertile, allowing crops to grow four times faster.
After a month of rigorous testing, we finally announced our discovery to the world. The public's reaction was as anticipated: those in regions with poor farming conditions rejoiced, while those profiting from large-scale food exports were furious, as our substance would drastically lower food prices, impacting their profits.
By sharing the synthesis method freely, without seeking profit, we garnered significant public approval.
With the Avengers regaining public favor, politicians and large food corporations attacked us to prevent this shift. However, they were no match for Stark and Reed. Despite the destruction caused during the battle, the public recognized and accepted that these two are the smartest men in the world, and that carries weight.
My small plan bought the Avengers some time to avoid political issues, but if any other events occur and we are blamed, there's nothing more I can do.
"Open the door, Alice. We've worked for four days straight; I need a good night's sleep."
As the door to my lab unlocked, reconnecting me with Genosha's systems, I noticed that unlike last time, my realm had not faced any invasions and was quite peaceful.
I took the elevator to the highest point of the castle, accessible only to Angela and me, as it houses our private quarters. With Angela touring the realms like a tourist, the area was completely empty.
A few weeks ago, the only other person visiting this place was Carol. After our first kiss, which led to our first night together, we spent weeks in each other's company. We didn't label our relationship; she had duties in space, and I couldn't accompany her, so we kept things casual.
Initially, it was strange. Carol has a unique talent for making me furious, yet she also has a vulnerable side that she shared with me during our intimate moments. I cherished the time with her, as it had been a while since I felt such companionship. She made me forget my loneliness, even though it complicated my relationship with Amora. It's a small victory that Amora didn't attack Genosha upon learning Carol stayed in the city.
(T/N: I dislike that)
However, our time wasn't without conflict. Carol visited old friends, and Fury certainly wasn't kind in his opinions of me. Being out of touch with Earth's affairs, she believed him, which led to a fight between us.
We kept the fight on a sporting level; she was just venting, but even so, the argument lasted for two straight days. In the end, through a lot of conversation and patience, I managed to get her to accept what Fury had done and the punishment, which I already consider too lenient.
She left a few days later for space. It seems that the relationship between the Skrulls and the Kree underwent a significant change due to the peace treaty between the Kree and the Nova Empire. The Kree have stopped hunting the Skrulls, allowing them to rebuild their secret planet more freely.
When Carol gave me an update on the Galaxy's news, I was a bit stunned. Unintentionally, I missed out on the events of the Guardians of the Galaxy, despite having full access to my past memories. I can't remember what I didn't know before, which in this case is the Earth year when the Guardians' movie takes place.
It's a shame, but even if I knew about the events, I couldn't have participated. I was dealing with my own problems when those events occurred.
I arrive at my room and immediately collapse onto the bed. While my physical body doesn't tire easily, allowing me to work continuously for months, my mind is a whole different matter, and right now, it's screaming for a good night's sleep.
"Sir, sorry to interrupt."
I think I dozed off for a few minutes before Alice called me.
"What is it, Alice?" I ask, already knowing I won't be able to return to my sleep.
"One of your communication devices has been activated," she says.
POV: Third Person.
Meeting Room, Xavier's School, Greymalkin Lane, Salem Center, New York.
A Few Minutes Earlier.
2016.
In one of the mansion's rooms, a large part of the X-Men was gathered, spread throughout the room. Cyclops, Logan, Storm, and Xavier were present, considered leaders both of the teams and the school. Normally, there's a relaxed atmosphere among them when they gather, even when the discussion is serious. But today, everyone wore expressions of defeat.
All four of them were wearing their uniforms, and they were all practically in tatters, clearly having fought in a major battle, which they lost.
"We have to go after her," says Cyclops, more a statement to himself than to his friends.
"And we will, Scott, but first we need a plan," Xavier as always, the voice of reason.
"Jean clearly left Earth, we can't just fly off into space hoping to find her," says Ororo, seated with her eyes closed.
"The Blackbird can be converted for interstellar travel," Scott says again.
"Yes, it can, but its speed doesn't compare to Jean's," Xavier replies.
"Are you going to offer any ideas, Charles? Or just keep shooting down ours?" It's the first time Logan speaks, his mood as sour as Scott's.
"Let's ask Magneto and his nation for help," Xavier then suggests.
Those words made everyone silent for a few seconds. Scott is the first to speak after the silence.
"We can't, Magneto will try to do the same as the Hellfire Club did, try to use Jean's powers for his own purposes."
There was clear anger in Cyclops' voice when he mentioned the Hellfire Club; in his opinion, all this confusion happened because of them.
"I agree with him, Charles," Logan then speaks.
"We need help, Logan, and he's the only one who can help us," Xavier tries to convince everyone.
"No, he's not the only one who can help us," Logan retorts.
After saying this, he starts walking towards the door.
"Where are you going, Logan?" Xavier asks.
He already knew what help Logan was referring to.
"To the vault, that's where you put the device the blond guy gave you," Logan replies without turning back.
"Logan, we can't trust him, he'll likely try to use Jean for his own purposes too," Xavier tries to stop him.
"Maybe so, but between Magneto and him, I'd rather trust the man who helped me regain a bit of myself, even after meeting each other only once."
With that reply, Logan leaves the room, and no one stops him.
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