Paris, France
Power. It's a word Scott is all too familiar with, but never truly understood. For years he thought he had a dangerous power. Uncontrollable and untameable. Sadly he was nothing but a naive fool.
What he had was no more than something akin to a water gun. Sure he could have leveled whole buildings and killed people with it, but true power can shape the world as a whole. True power allows you to be free. To be something beyond everyone and everything.
True power lets you hold the fate of the world in the palm of your hand and laugh at how insignificant it is.
'That is what I have now!' He mentally shouted to himself as he watches the heroes in their futile effort to try and stop the meteors, 'That is what I am now! I am power! I am fire! I am-'
He quickly whips around and grabs hold of Red-Hulks neck with one hand as he fires an optic beam at Iceman sliding on his dumb ice rail. Or whatever he calls it. To think he once thought that was something to behold.
Then again, he was only a mere mortal.
He can feel the struggle of the pest in his hand. Using all his strength to try and bend his arm and throwing a few punches for good measure. An impressive attempt, but to him, it's nothing more than a gnat hitting a wall.
He tosses said gnat to a 'God of Thunder' that was trying to hit him from behind. He then blasts off to another country to punch a green gnat hard enough to launch him across the world.
As a mere mortal, he would have never been able to do that.
***
Algeria
Hope has been trained since before she could walk by a variety of different mutant heroes. Cable, the man who essentially raised her and gave her purpose. Wolverine, who is arguably the most dangerous mutant ever.
Cyclops, who was considered the man who will bring Charles Xavier's dream to life. Iron fist, who sharpened her skills. And Spider-Man, who oddly enough taught her valuable life lessons over physically training her. All four of them wanted to prepare her for the Phoenix Force so she may use its power to restore mutant kind.
Sadly it seems they couldn't prepare her well enough. Because her former teacher, and surrogate grandfather Scott, is now wielding the very same power he trained her to inherit.
Her last teacher was certainly right about one thing, she will have her moment to save the world.
The only problem is she doesn't know if she's ready.
"Alright everyone," Captain America calls out through the psychic linc that the Cuckoos established with everyone involved, "I don't have time to make a speech! You all know the drill!"
She hears him mentally shout as she stands on a mountain, not far from the fight, and watches balls of fire rain from the sky. Waiting for the right moment to strike.
"It's the end of the world! This is what we do! The earth does not die on our watch!"
She doesn't know what it is about the Captain's voice that makes her want to follow him, but damn if it's not inspirational.
She can feel and hear other heroes, Avengers and X-men alike, around the world through the connection. She can feel their fear, their anger, and most of all their resolve to keep fighting. She can hear them all call out for help or call out their success in preventing so much death.
Damn if it doesn't get her to want to do the same.
But again she has to be patient.
"Patience sucks," she thought.
"But it is necessary."
Crap, she forgot that others, including Iron Fist who just spoke to her, can hear her thoughts right now.
"AVENGERS!," she hears Captain America shout from across the mountains, "TAKE HIM DOWN!"
They all rush at Cyclops with Captain America leading the charge.
Man, what is it about that guy that makes you want to die for him? Spider-Man was right, Captain Rogers is patriotism personified.
Hope figuratively gets knocked out of her musing when Captain America and the other heroes literally get knocked off their feet when Cyclops counters their charge with a psionic shockwave.
"Take him down?" Cyclops mocks them as he confidently struts forward, "Mere ants like yourselves have a better chance at blotting out the sun by throwing pebbles at it than you do at stopping me!"
Cyclops then fires an optic blast at the good Captain, which he blocks with his iconic shield. Wolverine charges at him from his blind spot, but Cyclops swings his arm and knocks the feral mutant away.
While the heroes are fighting, Hope is getting more and more restless. She needs to get in there and help. She knows she can. Everyone knows she can. But she was told to wait until the time is right.
Iron Fist said that timing is everything.
"It's almost time," an older female voice said to her as she looks at the woman in red who is going to help her save the world, "Get ready."
The Scarlet Witch. The magic-empowered mutant responsible for the extinction of mutants all over the world. The very person responsible for Scott's actions now.
And frankly, someone Hope wanted to avoid altogether.
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