56 CHAPTER 56 - HOMEWORK

[Raven Darkholme POV]

Raven heaved a sigh of relief as she peeked at the three strangers who just came to her office leaving the school premises in their car.

"What the hell is happening?" It did not take a genius to figure out why Raven had been quite stressed for the past few days with everything that had been happening in the mutant scene, and now she was being offered a deal by a… robot? In her own opinion though, he didn't feel the least bit like a machine.

She groaned as she opened her laptop and saw the notification of a folder downloaded to her drive, already aware of who exactly had done it.

The files detailed the specifics of the people she was to gather information on and also the nature of the 'request' Vision asked for.

Why was she thinking along those lines as if she's already accepted? The reasons for accepting were very few and besides, what Vision needed from her was pretty simple as she knew someone inside the Club who could get her the information she needed.

Logically there was no way Vision could help her join the Inner Circle as any inclusion to it was done through a vote of the members but even with that, all she needed was to show them her value and influence, both of which she had in spades.

"This is going to get me killed." She let out another groan.

Oh she contemplated reaching out to Eric but despite how much she respected the man, feared even, she reluctantly had to admit that he was a little over the top in his ways. His vision was as great as any leader's could be but it tended to grow a tad bit extreme and after over 4 decades of being together and helping the other further their goals, everything started growing stale. So at the end of it all, she decided against it.

Besides, it's been over 4 years since they last talked.

"Looks like it's time I cash out my return favor." Even though she hated the nature of this shady deal with a passion, she couldn't deny the benefits it presented to her, even more with the information she now had.

She had a lot to think about even though her decision was already set. Did she trust Vision? She's Mystique for crying out loud. The last thing she would do is trust a man she hasn't even known for more than a decade.

All that was needed, most importantly, was to find a way to secure her safety in case this is all a bust and how better to do that than siding with the very people she wanted to overthrow.

Her phone rang and she waited patiently for a few couple seconds before the call was picked and a soft, clearly effeminate, voice came out of the speakers.

"Raven. Long time no see."

"Well, I've been busy running a school. You know how it goes, right?" She said with a smile tugging in her lips.

"I don't. So? Why call now?"

Seeing as how the other party was clearly not in the mood for making small talks, she sighed and got straight to the point. "I think we need to meet, Emma."

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[Vision POV]

The drive back to the Compound was filled with Wanda and Pietro asking me questions about what I was planning and why I needed someone like Mystique to infiltrate the Club.

Like I said before, I don't want to take control over the Hellfire Club if I can help it but instead what I wanted was to have access to what the Club provides. I already have the Avengers and that was enough for me.

Not to also mention that having the Club under the scrutiny of the Avengers will make it embarrassingly less efficient than if I let it function on its own. Good and bad. Balanced, just as all things should be.

"So you trust her?" Pietro asked, which earned him an unamused glare from me.

"She's been working with Eric, the world's number one mutant terrorist, for almost twice the years both of you have been alive. At least, be a little smart will you?"

This time it was Wanda who asked. "So… she's going to double-cross you?"

"Hmm, not outright, but she probably will." Vision said in a voice as if he was teaching them about important things, which he actually was.

"She's been hiding from the government for as long as she's been alive so that means she's not one to buckle down under pressure. People like her only work for benefit and that's what I'm counting on."

Pietro became even more confused. "Wait, wait, wait. So you WANT her to betray you?"

I chuckled at that. Psychology really was a complicated field. "I don't want her to betray me but I'm counting on the fact that she could. She knows that so she'll be extra careful in the event that she does, which inversely means that the other party is offering more than I did, which is also what I want."

"So, either way you win?" Wanda asked.

It's nothing that arrogant but, "Yeah." I nodded.

"What do you even need from this Hellfire Club? If they are not good people, why can't we just take them down?"

I understood Wanda's question but there was a balance to these things. You won't really know why until you delve in really deep. A simple fact of life was that crime was necessary in every society. Well more than necessary it was actually inevitable.

I'm not advocating for anything they are doing since I'll sooner or later end them but what I'm trying to say is that they keep a good lid on things to prevent them from going out of their control.

It's also the same with drug lords. If they weren't manipulating the flow of drugs and building their own cartel and traffic routes, every two-bit thug out there will be selling drugs and everything will turn to chaos.

It was for that reason that I wanted Raven there.

If I had any other viable choice then it would have been Jean Grey or any of the X-men who later joined the Club but unfortunately I was not in those timelines which meant I had to go with the options open to me.

"You've ever heard those theories about the secret societies of elites who run the world?" They both nodded. "Well you could say this is one of them, and not just any simple 'Club' either. They really have a great deal of pull in today's world, in both the human and mutant side."

I then explained how having access to the Hellfire Club will prove immensely useful to the Avengers, or anyone affiliated with us for that matter in preventing some useless conflicts, especially on the mutant side.

°°°°°°

[Tony Stark POV]

[Boss, Vision sent his update on nanotechnology. Would you like to see it right away?]

Well would you look at that? Barely a year old and he's already aiming to take over his old man. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

[I don't believe he will like you calling him your child. He seems to hate the notion of it himself.]

"Oh come on. I patented Jarvis so I should have at least a 35% right on staking parenthood on Vision."

[I'll be sure to remind Miss Potts of your exact words.]

Is this the day AI starts taking over the world? Am I the one who will bring the fabled rise of the machines?

I pulled up the schematics that Vision sent over and couldn't help but let out a whistle as I saw the detailed outlines on his work in respect to how easily the molecules of vibranium could become so tightly compressed that it could even change their shape seamlessly.

"It appears he's not just going around in circles. I don't know why but something tells me he's already cracked it." I murmured.

[I concur. But why would he send an unfinished update?]

"Did he specifically say it was the update for nanotechnology or did he just send it under that?" I enlarged the molecular design and Vision's own changes to its energy conversion.

[Under the tag.]

"Then he doesn't need me to crack nanotech since he's already done so…. Ah! That smug little bastard." I gasped with mild irritation as I finally understood what this meant, but still turned to my trusty AI sidekick to verify. "Is this what I think it is, Friday?"

[… I believe it is, boss.]

That piece of metal fibers has gone ahead and done it now. It appears I've been too lenient for far too long because who in their right mind would otherwise give me, Anthony Stark, "A homework."

[…]

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