Chapter 69 – Requests

  Citadel- Portal chamber- 13th day of the month of Niffle of the 6983 GR (Night)

  Nath’aniel-

  Like usual he was the st one through the portal back to the Citadel, Lancer in her spirit form, while Psylocke walked with her arm intertwined with his. Most of his escort, including Rouge who he still needed to talk with, was already in the process of leaving for the lower levels of the tower. Only his towering lover and Curha stood waiting to receive him.

  ‘Welcome back.’ The fire elemental signaled.

  Sam had already switched back to her more casual Social Form. The open container holding this trip's offering of stone armor she grew for protection, already collected and ready for storage. She hasn't asked what Nath'aniel does with the leftover armor pieces, so he had yet to mention that he was studying them. As when he Appraised some of them the pieces didn't quite match with recorded samples of known stone to the Magi.

  Meanwhile, Curha’s mimicked formed with its darker red fmes and near-white fme hair seemed to copy Storm's form while dressed in the modern robes left behind by Janet Van Dyne for her crime of trespassing.

  The mage was about to greet Curha back the same way, but he hesitated when he noticed her holding the dream-stone, which she used to deal with the agents that had arrived while he was away. "Is something that matters?" He asked vocally instead of in her method of communicating. This allowed Sam to know that something might be up.

  The spirit raised the stone up higher before signaling. 'He is angry… hard to control around the blue woman.'

  Nath’aniel nodded in understanding. As he knew that Ryth’lor had skirmished a few times with the Tribesmen of the Sea centuries before the Betrayal. To show his apparition he raised his hand and signaled back at her. ‘I know, but few non-masters made dream-stone records. Still, you did good work helping the agents.’ As soon as he lowered his hand though, he was pulled away from Psylocke by Sam.

  He could see the psychic energy rise around him as his telepathic lover did something with her powers, but his vision was filled with a brown face and hands, as the rge Tribeswoman pulled him up for a deep kiss. The mage wasn't certain of his stance on these public dispys of affection, but the more often he received them, the more he was willing to admit that he was opening up to the idea of them.

  When Sam released his lips to allow both of them to breathe, he barely heard her whisper. “Bloody hell you got me all wet… Watching you bst that one fort apart. And then you just Houdini’d the other. Damn it, I wish we were alone right now."

  The sound of his other lover clearing her throat made the one holding him wince and put him back on the ground. Once he was standing under his own power he whispered back. “Don’t worry Samantha I will see you sated, but ter? Mmm?” She nodded before stepping away. Once Nath'aniel had a better view of the room he asked another question. "Citadel have Eric and my disciple had any progress on their project?" His childhood friend answered immediately.

  “They have Young Master, but they wish to present it to you themselves.”

  The mage frowned at that, but after a moment he was further gd that he had yet to bind the command throne. He knew that had his father asked the same question she would have just straight up told him the results instead of letting his friend and disciple get the pleasure of sharing it with him.

  “Tell them I am on my way.” He replied. Sam reached down and pced another kiss on his cheek, before letting him leave her though. He could then feel amusement from his bond, as Betsy spirit jumped.

  Yet the unexpected happened as he moved past Curha, as she requested. ‘I have a request, can I walk with you?’

  ‘Sure.’ He signaled back. Yet he was stopped just passed the doors to the portal chamber, as Elizabeth rematerialized atop him, her arms around his neck.

  She saved him time, as she telepathically spoke to him while they kissed deeply. "Sam was right. The way you dispensed justice on those svers got me a little wet too." This time he didn't overreact when her tongue entered his mouth. Yet before Sam could compin, however, Betsy jumped away again, her spirit floating towards the lower levels and the other members of the Brotherhood.

  Nath’aniel cleared his throat before gesturing for the elemental to follow him, and the two of them made their way towards the tower’s central chamber, which he had left the two to work over his list of changes. The walk was initially quiet and yet before getting even part of the way there, Curha signaled. ‘I wish to know your pns for the bodies of the sin seamen?’

  ‘This is for your goal of mortality?’ He asked back, she pulsed an affirmative, before he further asked. ‘Have you fully processed the Sun People you snuck away, back during the battle over the giant?’

  ‘Mostly.’ The elemental admitted.

  Agent Moonstar had been fully aware that it had been the fire elemental that she fought alongside, rather than the long-dead Father of Swords. So for the price of information on some ancient Ascended fire elemental she and Cuhra had snuck away close to thirty of the fallen Tribesmen of the Sun People bodies.

  ‘I can probably arrange that.’ The mage admitted. In truth, the bodies would probably be used, at best, as bait to lure away hostile animals, or otherwise dumped into a mass grave.

  She reached out and almost touched him, but remembered what the differences in their races were and pulled back, but still the elemental pressed. ‘I want more this time.’

  Nath’aniel could feel that while Shanna was now with them in the hallway, she was waiting before materializing. He also knew that somehow while in their spirit forms his Servants could ‘hear’ his and Curha’s conversations. So he continued their conversation. 'I strongly urge caution. I have never read or heard about a successful Descention. If things go poorly, you will Fall and be a little better than a demon. And you well know how they are viewed in the wider universe.'

  ‘I understand the risks, but I do not want to become like others and just use anything. How many other bad people will we encounter here?’ Curha reminded him.

  And it was true, because of his actions several of the tribes in around them were no longer fighting over something as simple as a border. They were beginning to learn to work together, as well as returning captives back to their families. Despite the presence of the toxin his people sowed into the Preserve.

  The mage stopped walking and sighed, he saw the doors to the chamber he sought, but still, he requested. "Citadel, could you patch me into Deadpool’s emitter?”

  A green hologram of the man running and gunning appeared in the middle of the hallway, on his harness he wore hung his emitter. “Bossman, I hope you’re not calling me back, I have drinks running on a bet and I am currently winning.”

  “It’s not that. I have a side mission for you… I need, ah, research samples. The more intact the better, damage to the brain isn’t a concern but the more undamaged the rest of it, the better.” Nath’aniel offered the merc the task.

  The regenerator's shots slowed either because he was running out of targets, or he was more focused on the conversation, still he replied. "Ok, headshots, not center mass. How much and how many you need? This better not be just for some room and board, I am talking…"

  Nath interrupted the man to answer him. “Fifty to sixty, you can bring more for quality assurance, but I will only pay for what I need. As for payment, I feel it is safe to say that precious metals, such as silver are valuable to you Tribesmen of the Land still. Yes?” That got Deadpool’s attention, and he stopped shooting completely. "Or, Magneto has been asking to work with some of my more exotic metals. I could give him some to make you a new sword."

  Deadpool with gun still in hand, lifted his mask enough to be clearly understood when he asked. “One like Ka-zar’s?”

  “Or an Adamantium one.” The mage suggested instead.

  Deadpool started doing a happy dance, he still had enough awareness of his surroundings to pop a couple of shots off, at those who neared him or swung at him. Then he quickly fixed his mask, before agreeing. "I'll get you your samples bossman!”

  Even before the hologram completely cut out, the elemental thanked him. ‘Thank you for your generosity.’

  "Just remember to process them slowly," Nath'aniel muttered, and was about to press on to see the results of what they learned while he was away, but then realized his work wasn't done. "Citadel, make sure some constructs are made avaible and ask the shell-born as well, since they can operate through a portal where our constructs can't. And make sure Deadpool is aware he is to make sure no harm comes to these borers in exchange for him not needing to handle the samples himself.”

  “Arrangements are being made.”

  Then the mage was free to join his friend and disciple. The doors to the chamber opened and his gaze drifted briefly to the command throne on its dais at the far end of the room, but Nath'aniel's attention quickly went to Eric's smiling face.

  "What did you find out, anything helpful?" He asked them hopefully.

  “Let’s talk about your Arcane Stabilizer.” The silver-haired man said with a smile. A hologram of a crystal the size of a middle-size fruit appeared between the two tribesmen of the nd. Then Eric added. “Or as you call it, your reservoir.”

  South Atntic Ocean –On approach to Helicarrier Beta 3- October 30, 2008 (15:47 Zulu)

  Danielle ‘Dani’ Moonstar- (Mirage)

  Dani more or less ignored the rest of the craft while she wrote her report. She had been torn about what to suggest given the information the Magi, or rather Curha had given them from the memories of a dead mage.

  She had so far held true to her promise to keep the secret that only Nath'aniel had survived the war with Atntis. That was part of the reason she had agreed to continue being the lead agent for their team sent out for Entreatment Day.

  So it came as a surprise when the quinjet suddenly banked instead of nding. Only her increased dexterity from being a mutant kept her ptop in her p.

  “What’s going on?” Dani asked into her microphone still near her face, her headset had long been left abandoned around her neck. As she spoke her hands quickly saved her progress before putting the device to sleep.

  “Landing was denied. The Fantasia-Car is blocking part of the nding strip.” An agent shouted at her, she bearly heard it over the wings and wind outside.

  With the ptop secure, Dani quickly repced the headset on her head so she could communicate with the rest of the team. Then she ordered. “Pilot a Quinjet is vitol capable, we have key information concerning the safety of that carrier, I don’t care if you have to nd us roughly and vertically, but I need you to put us on the deck.”

  When the turn and the strain on them lifted away, a female voice agreed. “Understood, ma’am. Making the approach.” The passengers in the back felt the pressures as the jet turned, aligned, and then stopped to nd straight down onto the deck. But then the wind and the pressures suddenly completely vanished, and the pilot compined. "What the…"

  While Dani wasn't, the others with her were already wearing their oxygen masks in anticipation of their nding. Still, it surprised them when the side hatch opened and a line-barker made of orange rock greeted them.

  “You all ok?” The Thing asked them.

  Dani waited, as the other agents looked over themselves, when none had any compints she spoke up. “We’re fine, but I have crucial information for this carrier's captain." She briefly held up her ptop, before unbuckling from the seat restraints.

  “This about how we beat the Herald?” The rock man asked.

  “The who?” The mutant asked confused.

  An attractive long-haired blonde woman appeared from nowhere beside the rock-man, before expining. “A Herald of Gactus, Johnny says he was gold in skin and hair and wore bck clothes.”

  Dani had been getting her stuff back on her back, as did the other agents as the heroine expined that, but they all stopped when the mutant began ughing. As she was ughing, a head-on an impossibly long neck joined the Thing and Invisible Woman.

  “Sorry, I don’t know who this Gactus person is, or why he needs heralds. But the golden-skinned man is a specimen grown as result of the High Evolutionary, or Dc. Herbert Wyndham, experiments. So golden-boy is domestic, not extraterrestrial.” The mutant agent expined before jumping out of the jet’s passenger hatch door.

  “Doctor Wyndham, isn’t he wanted for illegal experimentation on human subjects?” The Invisible Woman asked in crification. Dani nodded that he was the same person.

  “But the man wields the power cosmic?” Mr. Fantastic’s head asked confused.

  Dani nodded again, this time in agreement. "Yeah, not sure that that is, but he was apparently birthed from the DNA of five aliens and a rare breed of humans. This resulted in a man that can and does passively absorbs all forms of energy around him." Then the agent straightened the gear on her back and expined. "Now I have key intel for this ship’s captain concerning the demon woman in the cocoon in a maintenance hallway, so if there’s nothing else I need to get inside.”

  “Wait demons are real?” The head asked confused. Dani could now see that his body was helping the deck crews tie down their jet. So she just nodded numbly that they were.

  The rock-man, head, and blonde shared a look before the Invisible Woman asked. "Can we join you in this meeting?"

  DLRhanna