[A Sentinel Situation] – Aftermath

A boy clutched his jacket and crossed the busy street hurriedly.

* HONK *

* HONK *

* HONK *

The cars honked at the boy since he was crossing the street at a green light but the boy showed them the middle finger and continued running

He arrived in front of a television shop where a crowd had gathered outside.

He glanced at a kid playing with a male doll that was hand-painted black and golden and watched as the kid excitedly imitated the doll flying in the air as he exclaimed, "Starlaance! Woooo!"

He smiled at the sight and glanced back at the crowd.

He tried to squeeze himself through the crowd and he apologized as he said, "Sorry! Please move! Excuse me! Coming through!"

He finally managed to get out of the crowd and saw several television screens through the window.

A news anchor was on each television screen and just like the crowd, the boy began watching the news intently.

Footage of the Sentinel wreaking havoc in the city was playing on one side of the screen and the news anchor on the other side was speaking, "Last night, a... Sentinel, a robot was wreaking havoc in the city. Our sources say that the robot had attacked the Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters first and killed several students and injured many. The principal of the school, Prof. Charles Xavier, himself was injured heavily and had to be taken to the hospital. The cause for this attack is mainly pointed to the fact that the school only accepted mutants. And, due to the fact that most of the people who were killed or injured were mutants. A few of the teachers of the school fought back against the robot and their fight came to the city but the teachers were also mercilessly beaten by the robot.

It seemed that the robot would continue on its killing spree but... something extraordinary happened. A person wearing black and golden armor appeared on the scene and fought back the robot and rescued the people caught in the crossfire. This... new superhero goes by the name Starlance, as per what witnesses say. The people he has helped or saved have nothing but praise for the man. They are extremely thankful to him. He is the next superhero to appear after Captain Carter. We don't know much about him right now. But... our sources have been trying to find out more.

The people have several questions regarding this man such as who he is.

And, most importantly, where is he?"

. . .

In a graveyard,

Several people, wearing black clothes, were standing around a casket.

Most of them had a somber expression on their faces while some of them were quietly sobbing.

A priest was standing beside the casket and speaking as the crowd of mourners listened.

This scene was happening in the entire graveyard where the family and friends of the people who had been killed during the Sentinel attack were mourning as the dead were being buried.

The priest continued, "Let us remember the life that was lived, the laughter shared, and the memories cherished. Each of us carries a piece of their spirit within us, and as we gather here, we keep their memory alive."

A few minutes later, the priest concluded and the people stepped forward to place roses, flowers on the casket.

Among the crowd, Val, clad in a black suit and a hat that hid most of his face stood stoically as he gazed at the casket.

A melancholic sigh escaped his lips and he stepped forward and began walking toward the casket.

He placed a rose on the casket and as he rose, his eyes met with that of Billy who was holding his mother's hand and he was staring at him.

Val saw the shock on his face and he placed a finger on his lips and when he saw Billy try to act as if he was not surprised, he smiled and walked away.

He walked toward a quiet part of the graveyard and looked around.

Seeing nobody around him, he used his powers and flew away.

* WHOOSH *

. . .

* WHOOSH *

Val hovered in the air above Xavier's school and saw people clearing the destroyed buildings and rebuilding them.

He landed on the grass and walked toward the school.

He entered and noticed the school was quiet except for the sounds coming from the people working outside and thought, 'The kids are probably mourning their lost friends in their rooms. That's the reason why it's so quiet today.'

He walked across the medical room and stepped back and peeked inside only to see Hank, Havok, and the rest.

He knocked on the door to alert them and entered the room and said, "Hey, guys! How are y'all feeling?"

Banshee was fast asleep on the bed while Hank was staring at the ceiling and Havok and Angel were busy watching the television.

All of them were in hospital gowns and had several casts on either arms or legs.

Angel muted the television and turned to Val with a smile on her face and said, "Mr. Haller! We... are doing okay!"

Havok also turned to Val and said, "Thanks to you, we were saved!"

"There's no need to thank me.", Val smiled and replied.

He looked around and asked, "You must be bored, right?"

Seeing them nod, he put his hand in his pocket and took out three Chrono phones.

He gave one to Angel and Havok who took it with an excited and surprised expression on their faces and said, "Thank you, Mr. Haller!"

Val noticed Hank staring at the Chrono and threw one to him and he hastily caught it.

Seeing Hank look at him, he smiled and said, "Go crazy with it!"

"Take care of yourselves!", Val said and walked out of the room.

He walked toward Charles' office and entered it, only to see Magneto also present.

Val smiled and shook Magneto's outstretched hand and greeted him, "How are you?"

Magneto smiled in response and replied, "I'm fine, thank you."

Ignoring Charles' outstretched hand, Val sat on the chair and stared at him, and said, "You need to get your shit together."

Charles balled his hand into a fist and angrily asked, "What are you talking about?"

Val sighed and asked, "Your students... are dead. They are dead. They would never come back. They were killed in front of their friends, who most definitely have been traumatized by the ordeal. What are you going to do about it?"

Charles was taken aback by Val's words and he could only stutter in response, "I-I-I-"

Val sighed seeing him stutter and said, "Charles. You need to let go of your pacifist ideal. This world would never accept it. Look at what happened to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and others who preached non-violence and pacifist ideals. They were assassinated. This world thrives on negativity. This world thrives on hate. This world thrives on murders. This world thrives on conflict. This world wants conflicts. This world wants war. If you go up to a random person on the street and ask them whether they would choose violence or non-violence, 99% would choose violence."

Seeing him keep silent, Val continued, "If you keep holding on to your pacifist ideal, people would kick you, abuse you, and think that you would never fight back and are easy to be bullied."

He pointed at Magneto and said, "Ask Erik. Would he be a pacifist after everything that's done to him? Would he be a pacifist and spare Shaw? He would never. There are millions of people like him who would never accept non-violence."

Another sigh escaped Val's lips and he said, "Look, Charles. I have watched you grow up from a kid to a man. You were a good kid. And, you are a good man. But... remove the pacifism from you, and you become almost... perfect. But, I am also not saying that violence would solve everything. Instead, I am saying that sometimes violence is the key, and sometimes it's not. You have to realize when you have to use violence and when you don't."

Charles sighed and slumped back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

A few seconds of silence later, he asked, "W-What do you think I should do?"

Val smiled and thought, 'There you go! Now, you are asking for my advice.'

He replied, "The first thing you have to do is provide comfort to your students. They are traumatized and in desperate need of comfort and support. They also, have anger in them. This anger could be from considering themselves useless since they couldn't protect their friends or it could be anger against the robot. You have to channel their anger and frustration into something constructive. Teach them how to fight. Teach them how to defend themselves. Teach them how to use their powers for good. Also, teach them what's right and what's wrong. Some of these kids are orphans and most of them are disowned by their parents. So, the role falls onto your shoulders. You are their principal, teacher, father, mother, role model...you are everything. Live up to their expectations. Be the person they would aspire to be."

Charles wiped the tears off his cheeks and stared at Val for a second and then...

He slightly bowed his head and said, "I am sorry. I am sorry for all of the hurtful things I have said about you in the past. I am truly sorry."

Val smiled and said, "Pick your head up, Charles. I never took those words to heart. You were a kind person and you still are."

Suddenly...

* CLAP *

* CLAP *

Val and Charles turned their heads and saw Magneto clapping and said, "Excellent! I never thought my visit would turn out to be this fulfilling."

"Oh?", Val smirked and asked, "And, why were you here...Mr. Politician?"

Magneto was taken aback and he stuttered, "I-I-I was here to just check on things and a-also ask about M-M-Mystique."

Val remembered and asked Charles, "Yes! Where is Mystique?"

. . .

At Camp Lehigh,

Peggy opened the door which had the sign "Director Carter" written on it and stepped inside her office.

Mystique who was sitting on the chair immediately stood up when she saw Peggy entering it and stuttered, "H-Hello!"

Peggy smiled and sat on her chair and gestured to her chair and said, "Please, sit."

"O-Okay!", Mystique replied and sat on her chair.

Peggy smiled at her thought, 'She seems to be excited to meet me. I thought she would be different. The one and only Jennifer Lawrence who is none other than Raven Darkhölme or Mystique.'

She asked her, "How are you feeling right now?"

Mystique smiled and replied, "I-I am feeling as if I am in a dream from which I don't want to wake up. Y-You have been my hero. I-I mean, everybody's hero, obviously. You were... I mean, you are, yes, you are my role model. You've been my idol since my childhood."

"Oh?!" Peggy said and asked with an amused expression on her face, "So... do you want to work with your idol?"

Mystique was taken aback by what Peggy said and she asked, "W-What?"

Peggy smiled widely and took out a file from one of the drawers and slid it across the desk toward Mystique.

Mystique grabbed the file and read the title, "Agent... Red... Queen?!"

. . .

Three Mile Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,

"Look! I don't want you to interfere in my program. I don't want any meddling, no snooping around and everybody has to listen to me or else they can fuck off!", Stryker demanded as he sat in front of Madame Hydra.

She smiled at him and replied, "You don't have to worry about any of that, Major Stryker. HYDRA would fund your program."

An eerie grin crept up on her face as she continued, "In return, you have to give HYDRA access to the program and the metal."

Stryker thought about it for a few seconds and then, he nodded and said, "Okay, I can agree to that."

She smiled and said, "Our deal is done, then. But, I have to ask, how you found your candidate for the Weapon X program?"

Stryker sighed and replied, "Unfortunately, I haven't. Even though, I was so close to finding it before all of the mutant rights bullshit happened."

With the eerie grin still on her face, she placed a photograph and slid it across the desk toward Stryker and asked, "How about him?"

Stryker was curious and picked up the photo and looked at it.

The man in the photo was none other than Logan himself.