Chapter 38 : It always starts with a training montage (A casual walk)

 

The Mirror Dimension, image of Manhattan, the same day, 15:39

 

“So, what was that form exactly ?” Flash asks curiously as we make leisurely our way toward the reflection on foot.

 

Which suddenly has a lot in common with an obstacle course, with all the debris and cracks in the asphalt from our previous battle, but I’m honestly too winded to hover forward and it would be mean to Flash since the guy cannot do the same.

 

Yet.

 

“Something I had hoped would stay hidden a little bit longer.” I grumble a little, my arms folding themselves over my stomach.

 

Iris quietly snickers at that, her casual nuzzling of my neck doing a little hiccup.

 

Flash says nothing, contenting himself to direct me an imperiously interrogatively arched eyebrow.

 

We stare at each other for a beat before I relent.

 

“Fine.” I sigh aloud, “Iris, if you would ?”

 

Under my prompting, one wing blossoms over my back and way too many feathers layer themselves over my forearm to form a sort of dermal armor over my ‘clothes’.

 

I’m back in my clothes of the day and the breathiness of the sensation is liberating after a while spent under the rather stiffening feeling of being surrounded by the most bendy armor plate ever made.

 

It is handy, extremely efficient in its design to protect Iris and I, but my brain is sort of revolting at the idea of not being ‘naked’.

 

Iris’ operation definitely screwed with my brain.

 

No matter.

 

“Remember when I talked about some ‘complications’ in this body’s making ?” I ask conversationally, “Well, I wasn’t the only one impacted. Believe it or not, but Iris used to be a rather shiny and oily black with white undertone.”

 

Flash slowly nods, his eyes intently fixed on my forearm.

 

“Turns out that when you temper with two different X-Genes to build a composite healing factor and you conveniently forget that you already had some minor form of it, things can go haywire.” I drawl.

 

Flash slowly blink, his eyes going back to mine.

 

“What about the color scheme ?” He asks, a bit confused.

 

“Cherayafim gene-strain.” I answer cryptically.

 

Flash’s look of confusion doubles.

 

“I’m sorry, what ?” He asks eloquently.

 

“One part of the three gene-strains that got in conflict over my X-Gene dominion has an ancestry that can be tied to the Cherayafim, a group of winged humanoid mutants that used to live centuries ago.” I elaborate, “I suspect that my skin tone and hair color are derived from them messing around with one other part of my X-Gene that you can tie to the Neyaphem, mutants that looked rather… demon-like.”

 

“While the formers could easily pass for biblical angels.” He suddenly blurts out, understanding dawning on him.

 

“An interesting remark since biblical angels tend to be rather removed in terms of appearance from humanity.” I snort lightly, “I’m not shaped like a wheel with lots of wings and even more eyes, right ?”

 

“Well…” Flash drawls, a little smirk on his lip.

 

I harrumph while punching him lightly on the arm, prompting Iris to snicker.

 

“But I digress.” I carry on, “Yes, the Cherayafim probably dictated the collective belief that angels are two winged humanoid beings. That’s not really the point of this conversation, though.”

 

My hand, lost amid Iris’ hair, pet her scalp lovingly.

 

“When things got haywire, Iris took the parts of the genes that started to go out of control on herself, making her absorb part of the Cherayafims’ skill set, wings and aerokinesis in particular.” I continue, “And since she’s an amorphous being, the definition of wings is rather loose.”

 

My smile is positively mischievous after that statement.

 

“Because of an obscure piece of trivia that she fished in my brain, Iris had the idea to create as many little feathers as she could before layering them and solidifying them to create an extra layer of armor with it.” I explain while gesturing toward my forearm, still covered with the simili armor, “Turns out it doesn’t block her own perception either since I still can use all of our senses while it covers me fully.”

 

“So extra protection ? And firepower, with all the extra limbs ?” Flash ponders aloud.

 

“Not only.” I amend quietly, “It’s a possible and plausible shot at a second identity.”

 

He looks at me for a second, before nodding slowly.

 

“But now the others have seen it.” Flash points out.

 

“Yeah,” I softly sigh, “But I don’t really think it’s a bad thing, though.”

 

“I mean, the sorcerers definitely won’t care, especially if you turn the knowledge to a better use.” He answers with a shrug.

 

“I don’t really care about them, the Ancient One is in the dark and she is panicking. As long as I’m not killing random citizens, I’m pretty sure she’s not going to say a word.” I point out, one of my eyebrows arched and a hand gesturing vaguely around us, “I’m more worried about the others.”

 

“I can see it becoming a problem.” Flash comments slowly.

 

“But it’s necessary…” I start, ready to defend my idea.

 

“...To raise humanity’s bottom level, I get it.” He stops me with a gesture.

 

A little smile ghosts over my lips as I note that my theorem had found some traction with him.

 

“What do you call it anyway ?” Flash asks curiously.

 

“Alabaster Battleform.” I answer as Iris nods in assent.

 

"Fitting." He comments, eyes narrowed, “You looked like a statue that took life, that was kind of freaky.”

 

“Which makes it ideal for shock & awe purposes.” I point out with a finger in his direction.

 

“I wouldn’t say shock & awe, more like fear inducing.” He elaborates, “The eyes that are totally void of emotions and the absence of minute movements, those are shiver inducing.”

 

An image of the titanic of writhing metal with eyes that vomit sparks flashes through my mind.

 

“Pot, meet kettle.” I drawl.

 

Flash chuckles.

 

“Eh, maybe, but that was slow, bothersome to control and impractical.” He amends, “Yours seems way more useful. You broke the construct after all.”

 

“You and I are in the same boat, we’re not familiar enough with our powers and do not have enough brain capacity to use them all at the same time.” I point out.

 

Flash slowly nods.

 

“That’s true.” He starts slowly, “Maintaining both the storm and the giant forced me to only do one move at the same time.”

 

“And your construct was more held together by hope than anything else.” I add with a little smirk.

 

He snorts.

 

“You’re right, and I’m actually surprised that I was even able to make it work in the first place.” Flash answers thoughtfully.

 

“I have a theory.” I say, raising my eyes toward the gray sky, “Your original X-Gene awoke and melded together with the one Iris grafted on yours. We couldn’t have known because mine was scraped clean, but yours still had some space left after grafting the composite healing factor, stable version this time, and the sequence from Apocalypse.”

 

“And what would that be ?” Flash asks archingly.

 

“Magnetokinesis, like…” I start.

 

“Erik Lehnsherr." He ends, palling a little.

 

“Exactly.” I carry on, nonplussed, “Your little tempest of resurrection yesterday should’ve clued me in, rebar is as removed from technology as it can be.”

 

Flash stays silent for a bit as we keep walking.

 

“I think…” He starts anew and I let him structure his thoughts politely, “I think that, as long as the metal is processed, I can ‘grasp’ it.”

 

I slowly nod.

 

The silence stretches once more.

 

I sigh.

 

“Don’t agonize over it,” I tell him bluntly, “It’s not because you have the same kind of ability than a well-known terrorist that that makes you a bad person.”

 

It’s his turn to sigh as he shakes his head.

 

“That’s not it, not really.” Flash pauses, mulling over his thought, “It just puts some things in perspective.”

 

“Like how easy it would be to become like him ?” I gently ask.

 

Flash blinks.

 

“Yeah, I guess it’s kind of like that.” He answers slowly, brows furrowed.

 

“You know, it’s like a knife, a sword or a gun, in a roundabout way.” I say offhandedly, “It’s not the fact that you own one that matters, but how you choose to use it.”

 

Flash gives me a side-eye.

 

“Magneto has, like almost everyone on earth, some extenuating circumstances.” I retell, “But you probably know as much as I do since his life has been exposed a million time on TV. The real problem is his love/hate relationship with his old friend Xavier and that they keep empairing each other’s master plan as long as they do not have a common enemy.”

 

Flash sort of startles at that.

 

“They’re friends ?”

 

“Were, as it is.” I answer easily, “They had a rather heavy fallout somewhere along the line because, Xavier being Xavier, couldn’t help himself but to wipe his friend’s memory for the greater good at some point, and Lehnsherr noticed it.”

 

He visibly wince.

 

“You just masterfully resumed the situation.” I deadpan and he snickers, “I ripped the confession out of the Professor’s mouth myself. Thing is, without that, the Mutant Right Bill would’ve probably passed by now, but here we are.”

 

Flash’s brows furrows.

 

“The law that was supposed to grant outed mutants equal rights with homo sapiens ?” He tries, not really sure of himself.

 

I nod easily.

 

“In the great lines, yes.” I answer, “The point of contention was, and still is, that in the most recent text, every mutant identified needed to serve a compulsory term in the army if they triggered under twenty-five. I do find it somewhat ironic that the way both Xavier and Magneto’s group chose to respond was by forming their own PMC.”

 

“They’re bigoted.” He points out.

 

“You don’t say.” I deadpan once more, and he guffaws, “They have trouble identifying the fact that the times have changed, that the speciesism they used to be confronted against has evolved.”

 

“But we would be seen like assets, and researched upon.” Flash points out, “There are like a thousand ways it could go wrong.”

 

“With the current Bill ?” I ask archly and he nods, “Of course. Because those two morons are delaying and/or impairing the negotiations for years in their respective ways.”

 

Flash looks at me with big wide eyes.

 

“Each terrorist attacks from Lehnsherr reinforce the military stance, and each of the carefully curated operation that Xavier chose to make public alleviate it.” I point out, “I’ve spent a few hours last month parsing the different version, and, surprise, a new Bill is generated almost each time one of those two did something the week before.”

 

“So, if they just worked together…” He slowly starts.

 

“A rather more amiable law about mutants' rights would’ve already been voted on. Sadly, Lehnsherr carries a grudge and doesn’t want to cede an inch to ‘normies’. One of the tamest versions just required to have the mutant’s abilities recensed and a few blood samples taken, allegedly in case of a crime.” I carry on, “On paper, it was almost perfect. Two days before the vote, Magneto destroyed a suspended bridge.”

 

I shrug.

 

“For what reasons and against whom ? Don’t know, don’t care.” I continue evenly, “But if he could’ve kept it in his pants for forty-eight hours, mutants would’ve had rights since 1997.”

 

“What would you do, then ?” Flash asks, eyes narrowed and scratching his chin.

 

“Easy.” I answer cheerfully, “If you don’t manage to make the other party listen to your own point of view, then you make him belong to your own party.”

 

And if my eyes are twinkling with mischief while I’m saying that, it’s because I’m positively excited.

 

Flash’s eyes bulge.

 

“You want to make it so everyone is a mutant ?” He asks belatedly.

 

“I would only bring the inevitable a few millennia earlier if I succeed, Flashy.” I point out with a little smirk.

 

One of Spiderman 2099's most important contributions to his timeline, if I recall properly, which makes it possible since I’m now in his multiverse somehow.

 

“I technically have all the knowledge I need in order to do so,” I point out while scritching Iris’ head a little bit harder in emphasis, “All I need is the human perspective to understand it, and years of research. I succeed, and humanity will no longer have to fear alien invaders since we could kick their asses soundly.”

 

“Raising the bottom level another notch.” He articulates slowly.

 

“Exactly.” I answer with a little victorious smile.

 

“But what about the technological level if you want to focus on genetics ?” He ponders aloud.

 

“Well, I happen to know a cyberpath…” I start slowly, my eyes twinkling.

 

Flash suddenly turns a very deep shade of green as he realizes what I’m expecting of him.

 

On our mind-link, Iris titter with [Mirth].

 

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