30 | Chapter 30: A King Among Mortals - Part I |
| Author's Note: Sorry for not posting sooner, but with the growing negative comments, I have been rather "dull" in gaining interest to write this chapter... I apologize to any reader that may have had to wait for so long because of it. Have a great day! |
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| Wanda Maximoff Pov / Moments Before |
My brother and I always had a problematic life after our parent's death.
Growing up in a war-torn country, with bombing runs that fell left and right all around us, was something no child should have to go through.
But we did, as they fell right before our house, every day, and every night.
We couldn't sleep, we barely ate, and all that we had was ourselves, in those fear-inducing times. Alongside the hope that one day we would be alive to witness the war's end.
That day never came though, and our family would never again be as whole, as it once was.
The hunger, caused by the continuation of the war that led to shortages of food, with time turned into despair of who should we trust and who we shouldn't. What should we do and not do, and for how much longer would we continue to live like this, if our parents had been taken from us already…
The answers never came, and the prayers were never answered.
Every negative emotion we felt, was turned into hate sooner, or later.
And while we never had to kill a person, we were close to it at various moments, which scared some of our innocent hearts.
Though with luck, the war resumed to an end, one day.
But our gained scars would never fade away, always to be felt and carried by us, together.
And that's how we have kept on living, for some time, thinking that our lives would turn to normality once more, even if a chunk of our hearts had been forever lost in those battlefields.
…
That was until we one day found our powers.
From that day onwards, our once-built walls of stability and "peace", fell yet again.
We tried to hide our powers, to pass as normal people, and try to live the life we so much wanted to live, but it was all for naught, the world always found a way to strip us of peace, and of peace we were once again, just strangers.
Mobs of government agents, secret cults or whatever they were called, and all types of cruel and vicious people, hunted us down, in hopes of getting their hands on our newly discovered abilities before we mastered them and became a threat to whatever they represented.
They had hoped to tame, change, and use us.
But they were always unsuccessful, for myself and Pietro always found a way to escape their inhumane clutches.
Our worst experience though, was with a cult called Hydra, where we were tortured and nurtured to be their killing machine, an Ace card for them to use and discard to their whims.
For months, we stood with our heads low, with no chance of fighting back against such an evil and powerful organization, until one day we were broken free from it, when the base we were locked on was suddenly attacked.
Fortunately, we were able to run away, but our trust in humanity was lost in those white prison cells of ours.
Well, almost lost.
I never stopped wishing and praying for acceptance out there, somewhere… surely there would be a place where we could be accepted, a place we could call home.
However, as time passed, my hopes got smaller and smaller, until I closed my mind to them, forging a cold persona that trusted and cared for no one.
Until today, when I saw that poor girl almost being raped in that cold and dark alley.
I was sure I wouldn't care about it, as no one had cared for me when I needed it most, but something in me had made me move my legs, something inside myself made me use my forsaken, hated and inexperienced powers to try and help that poor, and unlucky woman.
And as a result, what do I get?
This.
What I get is the feeling of betrayal that I feel when I look into my brother's eyes, for him to ally himself with people similar to those who hurt us in the past, it's something that I never thought I would feel, and yet here I am.
And besides having a difficult time assimilating everything that had happened during these previous minutes, that this fight had taken, I was also having difficulty choosing my next "move".
My mind was swirling in chaos, and as I was yet to make sense of most of it, something took me out of my musings, and that was the robotic voice of Art.
"Do your worst!" I heard him say, his golden and inhumane eyes glowing ever so slightly with the color of gold.
As my eyes found his broad and metallic back, my mind seemed to lose its "footing" more and more.
An enigma that I had yet to understand.
An android, just like the men I loathed more in this world, was protecting me from these so-called "righteous" people, who believed that they should be the ones ruling over the world with an iron grip, strongly positioned at humanity's neck.
Just by hearing their words, I was sickened to the core. Their sweet twists of truth made their way onto my mind, in hopes of deceiving me to join them, just so that they could, like the various others that had tried, use and abuse my abilities to their ends.
They didn't care about me, their only purpose and intention was to gain the abilities I carried, to mold me into something that I am not…
But then, wasn't the android's offer the very same as theirs?
All of them had their intentions to recruit me, all of these people had thrown promises above promises in hopes of swooning me over to their side.
But what should I do about this?
I understand that I would always have to give my abilities to either side, to be able to receive something in return.
That something would probably be safety, and a place to call home, even if provisory.
So, should I accept Art's offer?
And… If I didn't, what would happen to me then? Would both sides leave me alone?
The answer is, no. They would not.
They would rather force me to join them than let me go.
So my choice was made then… Well, I had no real choice to begin with.
Either I joined a terrorist group of mutants, people like me, and begin to go against everything that I believe in, or I would follow Art, and join the fray of a kingdom I have never heard of, in hopes that I was making the right decision.
And although some people would find the choice to be obvious, my heart felt torn, on one hand, I would not feel as myself, if I went with the brotherhood, but at the same time, if I didn't, I would forever lose my brother…
What should I do? You need to think of something, Wanda!
"What will you do, I wonder. Will you attack me, or will you protect the girl behind you, that you so much seem to put importance on?" I heard the Brotherhood's leader, Magneto the renowned mutant terrorist, ask Art, as the latter stood with his back turned my way.
Then, my breath left me, as in view, behind Magneto, appeared a monstrous size of floating metal, the mutant's leader surely controlling it with his powers.
My glazed eyes widened, as a shiver made its way down my back.
Would this be my end?
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| 3rd Person Pov / Sokovia, Now |
As the time seemed to slow down, at the exact moment that Magneto's attack was nearing Art and Wanda's positions, a sudden pressure made itself known, making everyone present on the scene feel a sense of dread climb up their bones, as shivers ran freely through their bodies.
Far away from the scene, Pietro and Cain, who were placing the healing, but unconscious, Victor onto the back seat of the SUV, suddenly felt a sensation of dread climb up their bodies, looking over onto the street they were previously in, worrying about what was happening.
Now, in the very same place Art, Magneto, and Wanda stood, a golden flying throne appeared high in the air, while dozens of golden portals rained down countless golden weapons that collided with the metal attack of the brotherhood's leader.
The very air started to ripple and reality started to distort into a golden hue, as this happened.
With clanging sounds, the mutant attacks were all reflected, saving both the android and the female mutant on the ground.
A thick, overwhelming feeling of authority and magic spread out throughout the place, when suddenly, a strong and calm voice reached everyone's ears, making their attention turn to the direction it came from.
"You would seem to need a hand in dealing with these criminals, Art?" Above the golden and futuristic flying throne, a voice traveled through the air, its speaker donning a golden armor that seemed almost ethereal, with golden hair that swayed in the wind, and red colored eyes that pierced through whoever dared to look upon them.
All the while, Art's robotic form kneeled on the ground, now without the worry of having to somehow protect the woman that his king had sent him for, from the previous attack.
"My king, apologies for not being able to conclude my mission without your honorable intervention." Art's voice reached everyone, as he used his most devoted and respectful tone of voice, surprising both Wanda and Magneto.
…
Magneto's eyes widened as his gaze fixed on a floating golden throne. By its side, emerald wings that pulsated with energy from time to time were easily seen, making the current scene even more magical.
On top of it was an imposing man dressed in golden armor. He sat there while leaning on his fist, his eyes looking down onto us as if below what his presence represented.
The throne, if it could be called that, was surrounded by golden ripples in the air that seemed to shimmer with power, while giving off glowing dust, the same ones that had stopped his final attack.
The golden man seemed to glance at Art, before fixing his blood-red eyes on Wanda with curiosity.
"Who are you?" Erik asked, he who gazed at the floating throne with confusion, as he tried to understand its proprieties.
The material looked to be made of metal, however his mind couldn't even start to grasp its make-up, as it was actively repulsing his attempts at gaining control over it.
The Golden King seemed to momentarily glance at Eric, his eyes squinting at him as if looking at something unpleasant he'd found.
Breaking his gaze away from the terrorist mutant, the man who donned the golden armor looked back to his subordinate.
"You may go back with her, Art." He said, before continuing, "I will take care of the rest while you retreat."
Once his words left his mouth, dozens of golden portals seemed to pop out of existence behind the flying throne again.
Sharpening his gaze at the mutant's leader, his face twisted into a frown.
"Now... how about we have a friendly chat, you and me?!"
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| Magneto's POV / At The Same Moment |
As the golden armored man's words reached my ears, weapons started to slowly appear on those flying golden discs.
"Miss Wanda please hold onto me tightly." I heard the android say, before he grabbed the girl and suddenly took flight, going up and away from us, while she yelped from fright.
Faced with that, I made a move to stop them, amassing some of the same metal from before, that stood now on the ground, to use as a projectile of sorts.
"You would think I would let you accomplish that silly plan of yours?" Unfortunately, at the same time those words reached me, those golden ripples that surrounded the newly present king, started to rain down on me with golden weapons of all sorts.
Instantly, I raised my hands, and focused on the weapons, instead of my supposed attack.
The fool had fortunately not gathered any information on me beforehand, or else he'd shoot non-metallic projectiles at me.
And, as they were all made of metal, they were also destined to fall under my control.
I spread my mental focus out to them quickly, feeling a small level of rejection from them, as if they were refusing my will.
Faced with that, I frown, as I quickly increase my focus, barely managing to divert the weapon's trajectory as they near me.
Booming sounds were then heard, as my surroundings were bombarded with swords, spears, halberds, and even a few golden bars much to my surprise and I assume to his amusement at my reaction.
All of which barely missed me and the now present Cain, as Pietro apparently had stayed behind to guard over Victor's body.
…
While still keeping both my arms up, I turned my head in the direction of my underling.
"Cain! Stay back, we need to retreat!" I yelled, while looking at Cain.
He seemed to have been in a daze while looking at the man who stood seated in front of us, but he was soon roused from his stupor as my words finally reached him.
Reflexively, he gave a nod, before yelling.
"On it!"
As he did, he turned around with a strange expression, one I could not decipher, not that I wanted to at this very moment, and ran back to the SUV once again.
Glancing back to the battlefield, I looked up at the golden man, as by now the flying android would be far away from us, with the girl I had intended to recruit today.
"Damn him." I said out loud without meaning to.
That damned robot had ruined this whole operation. And while I was about to end that miserable piece of scrap, this golden man whom I assume is the king he so much talked about, had to just swoop in, and ruin even more, my already bad mood.
Gearing at the man, I could only give a crooked grin of uncertainty.
While his flying throne might be beyond my abilities to affect, his weapons are just waiting to be used to be turned on him.
Raising my other hand, my consciousness spread into all the weapons, be they six feet deep in the ground below me, or lying in the dirt all around me, I felt a shaky connection with them almost instantly, and while not very optimal, it would have to do for now.
Slowly, all the weapons that were lying on the ground started to levitate, as the ones stuck in the ground floated out, hovering in the air next to the former ones.
And, as they flipped upwards, pointing their ends at the golden-haired man, I saw his eyes widen in surprise, but to me, it just looked like the man was having an internal battle within himself, as he looked on at me, which made me smirk even more.
Suddenly all the weapons that were now in my control, shot towards the airship at high speeds, as my victorious smirk spread on my lips, my expression of superiority present for all to see.
Time to give this cocky so-called king a taste of his own medicine.
"You worthless being..." At the sound of his ice-cold tone, the weapons turned into fine golden dust, before disappearing mid-flight, never nearing the flying throne, much to my surprise.
Feeling all of the connections I had made with those weapons disappear, my eyes shot up to the man who gave off waves of fury, his eyes glowing a dark red bore holes into my very own soul, and it suddenly felt like I was in the presence of a different person all-together.
"Who gave you permission, to lay your hands on my treasures?" His voice was dripping with rigorous anger, and his eyes seemed to glow with unknown rage.
The way he looked at me… it's like he was looking at a bug- no, he's making me think that I really am nothing but an insignificant existence, and if I ever dared to think otherwise, he'd just crush me underfoot just to prove his point.
"In my kingdom, there is only one punishment for those who dare sully my treasures." His voice was cold, enough to make the winds of Antarctica feel like a warm breeze.
And then I saw his right hand reach high in the sky, as if to prove my thoughts, as hundreds-- no thousands of golden ripples covered the sky, blocking its blue hues from reaching the earth.
"Death."
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| The reason for the Main Character be acting out of the norm in these last few paragraphs will be shown and explained in the next chapter. |
