Chapter 67- Sarcophagi Upgrades
Citadel 4th floor– Citadel Control room- 2008- 10- 30 (Afternoon)
Eric Lensheer- (Magneto)
He had been surprised when he got back from the X-men to find his daughter waiting for him with a request from Nath’aniel for the two of them to work on together. Eager to help his friend he agreed, not really listening to what the actual request was, so here he was with a stack of handmade paper, with a lot of words he needed to look up their meaning to understand. He shifted the page in his hand again to see his daughter sitting at a magi interface showing her a simir holographic list in his hands.
Before the mage and the others set off to complete another Entreatment Day request, he had asked him and Wanda to look over the list of changes applied to his body. ‘Wanting a fresh set of eyes’ the mage had put it. Eric smirked at recalling his friend using one of their phrases.
He then gnced over to his left where the currently cloaked Assassin construct stood guard at his shoulder. And for all a handful of seconds, he was jealous of the fact his daughter had free range of this floor, while he still needed an escort. As he felt no other metal besides the walls and artifacts that filled the room.
"While I am gd to take a break from magical theory, I am actually surprised that Nath'aniel hasn't already gone over this list he gave us," Wanda muttered while rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands. Yet before he could give his own thoughts on her comment the Citadel shared her observations.
“He has. After he was finished coupling with Lady Elisabeth st night, and she was sound asleep, he spent the morning hours going over the list.”
"Ah, the things I could get done if I didn't need to sleep." Eric joked that got him a chuckle and a nod from his daughter. Once she was back at reviewing the list, that the mutant leader asked. "Some of the things done to him seem random to me. Take, for example, the command seeds for his future command spell on his eventual Servants were added long after the eight bind points seemed to have been added. So I have to ask, who or what was making the decisions what would be applied to the boy?" The answer was both immediate and surprising to him, when the Citadel stated.
“I was the sole person who decided what changes would be requested of the Sarcophagus.”
“You Citadel?” His daughter asked, sounding as surprised as him.
"Well that makes some sense, besides the illegal immigrant in their basement the only two thinking people were her and Nath," Eric said in agreement, but then asked the oblivious next question. "Then does that mean that you can tell us which component or more than likely components are what allows him to bind Servants?"
“I cannot.”
“Why?” He pressed rather frustrated at the denial. Again her answer was immediate and honest.
“As part of Legacy protocol, I was ordered by Master Path’aniel to delete all memories regarding any procedures done to [Subject: Son], once said procedure was complete."
‘Frey had mentioned that Nath’aniel’s father was overprotective, but to have his own servant AI ordering her to whip her own memories to protect the young mage's secrets… this is a touch too far.' Eric thought.
"That would expin the slight randomness to these upgrades since you wouldn't remember what you most recently had added." His daughter muttered, bringing his thoughts back to the present.
He sighed as he id out the page and stretched it out fully to read the whole list. Some of them were rather obviously not tied to his ability to ability to bind Servants, while others clearly were. Such as the eight bind points and the command seeds, Eric doubted that they were the only required thing that a person would need to make the magic work. Otherwise, Nath'aniel would have his answer already.
"At least we know what his eighth css is from this list, whatever a universal css is.” The mutant leader muttered as he read over the list again.
"I don't recall seeing that in the Thesis, but I haven't read all of it like he has," Wanda added from her pce in the room. Yet it was the Citadel that expined what the odd css was.
“A Universalist is effectively a bnk space that can take any css of Servant.”
"Then why hasn't it lit up for anyone yet? When Nath bound Shanna he said only two lit up for her and that one wasn't one of them." Wanda asked confused. He rubbed his chin in thought at his daughter’s comment, brief feeling of regret at getting drunk with Dum Dum so he missed the battle against the Sun People. Although it passed quickly as the idea of the power of becoming a Servant would be worth the cost of being tied to his friend for life.
“Maybe it will only work once the other seven are filled.” Eric suggested. There was a silence following that, as neither his daughter nor the Citadel could argue for or against that suggestion.
The mutant leader crossed his arms in thought then, wondering how many of the Brotherhood would qualify. He first gnced at his daughter as she scrolled up to the top of the list again, he wondered if her schooling as Nath’aniel’s disciple counted enough for her to be the man's Caster. As he shook his head at the thought, although having such wandering thoughts he was very gd that Psylocke was already tied to the mage as she wouldn't be here to hear him pondered the thought of pushing his daughter off on his friend.
Then the mutant leader frowned as a different thought struck him, so he asked. “Citadel?”
“Online.”
"The sorcerers that are basically forcing us to look into this Servant matter, want to do it to see their dead loved ones again right?" Eric asked for confirmation, which he got when she said.
“Correct. Professor Oritani wants to speak with his father again, while Master Kaecilius wants to hold his dead wife again.”
“Good, and I am guessing that an Asgardian warrior princess was a skilled swordswoman and would qualify for a Saber Servant css." The mutant leader stated more or less his thoughts, without actually asking if it would work.
The teenager pushed away from the terminal and looked at him before asking. “Dad, where are you going with this?”
Eric held up his hand at his daughter to tell her he heard her question, but instead asked the Citadel. “So Citadel, if we find her could we revive his friend? I mean Shanna wasn’t like Psylocke, who was only dying, the She-devil was as dead as dead can be from all of the accounts.” Unlike all the other times that they asked the magic AI a question, this time her answer was not immediate, there was a pause until she said.
“That is unlikely, because she is Asgardian, not mortal. First of all, as an Asgardian, she was already partially Ascended, thus already simir to a Servant. Thus there may be some compatibility issues.'
“Additionally when Asgard’s home sor system and race Ascended, King Bor ordered the construction of Valhal, an artifact feasting hall, where the honor dead of Asgard would be pced when they died. To even test your theory would require us to trespass in those hallowed halls, which would generate the ire of all of Asgard instead of just its current king.”
The mutant leader defted at the AI shooting down his theory so thoroughly. Then she added something that he didn’t expect.
“I thank you for thinking of it though, as if it would have worked, it would have brought happiness to the young master.”
Hearing about that made him grin a little, so he reached for his now lukewarm coffee, and pnned to get back to work, but as took a swallow of it, he sighed as he looked over the page before him. So he then shook his head before he compined. "I'm an engineer, not a bloody magician. I am not sure what I really can add to this search."
"Maybe that's the point, Dad," Wanda muttered from her pce. When he gred at her, she added. "Despite the limits of your education, you're still one of the smartest people I know, Dad, and if sorcerers and magi can't see the solution, with my help maybe you can."
The mutant leader frowned, but nodded in agreement as he set aside the page though a thought hit him and thought up a different way to approach this. “Citadel?”
“Online.”
Eric cleared his throat before asking. “Is there anything in his body that is connecting Nath’aniel’s bind points and his command spells?" Her answer was again immediate.
“There is a thin vein of Abyssal Ink connecting each of them.”
“Abyssal ink, that wasn’t on this list. What is it?” The mutant leader asked, somewhat confident that he was on the right track to an answer.
Yet it wasn't the thought engine that answered but his daughter. "Abyssal Ink, that's what I use to crave my rune shards. It's used in writing Abyssal spells, either in runes or tattoos. It's basically concentrated grounded down mystic powder from the Abyss."
“And he has a vein of this ‘ink’ stuff in his arms?” Eric asked the Citadel, which not only confirmed it. She showed a hologram of the mage’s body.
“Yes, but it is not limited to his arm. He has veins of the ink throughout his chest and shoulders as well.”
A green outline of Nath’aniel’s body hovered in the air above him. It showed him red lines linking the tattoos on the back of his hand, and along his arms, as well as to his heart and another organ he didn’t recognize.
"What's that opposite of his heart?" The mutant leader asked pointing at an almost secondary heart. The Citadel again answered immediately.
“Nath’aniel calls it his reservoir. However, it is listed in the upgrades as an Arcane Stabilizer.”
“I remember seeing that in the list multiple times, both it and his circutory system had been revisited while he was in the sarcophagus," Wanda added pointing at the list still in front of her.
Eric remembered seeing it too while the Citadel expined.
"The young master likens it to the power cells they use. It lets him hold more energy than is normally safe for a mage to hold. This both allows him to cast more spells in an emergency or combat, and reduces the risks of him accidentally blowing up, as a result of overly long periods of inactivity and the eventual build-up.”
“Right, Nath’aniel told me about that during my first lesson with him.” His daughter recounted. “Mages have to learn the mystic arts, because their bodies are constantly absorbing mystical energy, and if they don’t find a means of letting the energy out, they will get too much and risk accidental death.”
Yet the mutant leader wasn't really paying attention to them, he instead was looking back at the list, while stealing gnces at the hologram of his friend's body. "It's also a capacitor." He muttered realizing that the answer was right in front of the mage, but he didn't see it because of his own assumptions.
“You think that’s why he succeeded?” Wanda asked him.
“Early electronics tended to burn out, because of sudden spikes or browns. A spike when the powers suddenly shot up, a brown when the power flow dipped down. And according to Nath’aniel energy is energy regardless if it’s mystical or mundane. So I think it is safe to assume the same is true with mystical energy.” Eric theorized.
“And if magical energy were to spike in a human the extra power would harm them, thus negating the offer of friendship that is basically being extended in the Servant’s Bond.” His daughter added to his theory.
"But with this here 'stabilizer'." The mutant leader added extra weight when he said the upgrade's real name. "The energy for the bond is steady and constant, thus why Nath'aniel succeeded and his fellow magi failed. Mind you I think if they had tried to bind to a fellow mage it probably would have worked because their bodies are used to the extra power flowing in them, but I am willing to say it is a safe bet they only ever tried to bind normal people and not one of their own." The Citadel seemed to agree when she mentioned it.
“I have no records of any actual attempts being made, as all we have in the Archive is the Thesis itself.”
"So we found it?" Wanda asked them excitedly with a smile on her face.
“Maybe.” He muttered. Seeing his daughter defte he quickly added. “A test of some kind would confirm it, if there was a way to see the flowing energy in both his body and this ‘organ’ would be ideal to confirm it, otherwise we just need to make another and test it.’
“If we py our cards right dear, you may be our next ‘Master’ as Nath calls them. We just need to figure out who you would bind first."
Wanda's face ran through a gambit of emotions as he said that, but in the end, she refused his idea outright. “Oh, hell no. I am too young to attach someone to me for the rest of my life.”
That got him ughing, and his daughter ter joined him and after a moment he reported. "Citadel, would you let Nath'aniel know that we might have a lead on his theory." There was a short silence before the magic AI responded.
“He has been informed, and he and the other Brotherhood members will be returning in ten minutes. Minus Deadpool, as he currently trying to out-kill Frey in the battle to suppress the Ice Carvers."
“Only Frey?” His daughter asked slightly surprised.
“Frey currently has thirty-two ko’s, while his sister has one hundred and six. To Deadpool’s thirty-eight. Point of note, Urd’hildi has fifteen.”
Hearing how skilled the aliens were in battle made him think they were mutants. "Really, it is too bad we couldn't revive his old friend," Eric muttered before heading for the room's nearest exit and fresh coffee.
Asgard- Sentinel’s Watch- 19th day, of the 11th month, of the 6,759 year in the 3rd age- (Early Day)
Heimdall Gjallerson, the All Seeing
It had been a long time since he felt his heart race as it currently did. His glowing all-seeing eyes were wide as he gazed upon Midgar. Queen Frigga had requested that he keep one of his eyes on her younger brother and sister while they were away ‘hunting’.
And when his sight lost them completely, he redoubled his efforts to find his queen’s kin. Yet what really shocked him was not so much the two blonde Vanir, but rather the young mortal, nay, immortal that they were keeping company with.
The glowing red and green eyes seemed for a moment to lock with his own, just before the mage started weaving his runes to work his magic. It made him wonder if the famed Mage Sight had caught him staring at the supposed extinct creature about to unleash untold amounts of pain and suffering on his enemies.
“Brother.” The joyous voice of his sister made him blink, and bring his attention closer to home.
He saliently thanked her for startling him, for it would have been far worse had she seen him so surprised. “Sister, what has your spirits so lifted?”
“Prince Thor has agreed to allow me to accompany him and the Warriors Three on their next foray.” His sister, Sif said with a wide grin. Then after a gnce at his face, she frowned and asked. "What's wrong?"
His gaze shifted and returned back to Midgar, back to the mage, and while he wanted to only see his kin, yet with his sight he could see that the young dark-haired immortal was not alone. The mage marched alongside both Lord Frey and Lady Freya, as well as Lord Frey’s squire.
"Sorry sister, but while your news is indeed joyous, our queen has given me a task. She asked me to watch over her sister and brother while they are off-world on a hunt, and yet they have somehow found an area that my vision cannot pierce." Heimdall told his sister a half-truth.
“What?! Your vision sees all.” Sif shouted, worry clear in her voice.
“Not all, some areas are shielded from me. Take Heaven for instance, I cannot see passed the Great Rune Wall.” The Great Sentinel reminded his sister, and then he frowned when he noticed that the Prince and Princess of Vanir were near the mage, as he spotted the lion-headed goddess, Hathor watching, not his kin, but the mage as well. ‘Frey said nothing about encountering a mage when he returned from Midgar, such news would be joyous yet he remained silent. Why?’ he thought before easing the worries of his sister. “I have found them, they were in a Temple of Hathor, it appears she has taken an avatar on Midgar. Sister, you need to find our King or Queen, they must be informed. We need to tread carefully when dealing with the mortal world.”
“Hathor, that whore? But you’re right, her family can be a danger to the nine worlds, I will be back brother, keep an eye on them.” His sister said before running off.
"I doubt Frey would even need to try to charm her for the goddess to open her legs," Hiemdall muttered when he knew no one would be close enough to hear him.
