---Five Minutes Later---
Disoriented by the abrupt change in scenery, the ragtag group of gladiators closed ranks and pointed their weapons at us. With his hands raised, Angron cautiously stepped forward and commanded his comrades to stand down. While his appearance had changed over the years, his gravelly voice was still unmistakable to them.
"You… You son of bitch!", a male Gladiator shouted, tossing his shield and weapon to the floor. "ANGRON!!"
Following his lead, the other gladiators threw their equipment to the floor and flocked to him. Violently sobbing as they reached for him, my poor uncle began to cry once again.
"It… It is good to see all of you again, my dear friends.", Angron softly spoke as he embraced them. "No more hiding in caves or running for our lives. You are safe here with us."
Burying Angron with questions, his comrades wanted to know exactly what was going on. While he tried his best to answer everyone, I wandered over to speak to my grandfather. As Angron would be busy for a while and others were discussing military tactics, only he would get to hear the good news for now.
"Ah, right!", Valdor remarked, steering the trio's conversation in another direction. "Victor has something very important to share with you, my lord."
"Oh, and what would that be?", the Emperor of Mankind asked, with a playful smirk. "Does it have something to do with Ionica being pregnant?"
Staring at him blankly, my grandfather began to laugh at my stupefied reaction.
"In case you were unaware, your grandfather has married countless women over his long lifetime. He has sired at least one child with each of his wives, so he is something of an expert on the subject.", Malcador stated with a chuckle. "You know, prior to the Great Crusade, he was called the- "
"Ahem… My grandson doesn't need to hear about that segment of my life.", the Emperor stated, shooting his friend a look. "Congratulations to the both of you, Victor. Do not worry about apprising Abbess Vahl; we will take care of that. The only problem now is dealing with those pompous nobles. They are going to kick up shitstorm over this…"
"No need to worry, Valdor and I are way ahead of you. He has generously agreed to find me potential partners to appease the nobility.", I informed him.
Expressing his displeasure once again, the former Captain-General had an epiphany.
"Wait a minute…", Valdor spoke, slowly turning his gaze toward Malcador. "You are a better diplomat than I am. How about you work that silver tongue of yours and help him out?"
"Glad to see some things never change…", Malcador grumbled, stifling a grin. "I've been in the 41st millennium less than ten minutes, and you are already dumping your work on me."
"Seriously!? Are you still stuck on the one time I asked you to file my after-action report?!", Valdor spat.
"One time?!", Malcador gasped, staring at him in shock. "Where did you learn how to count, boy? I recall filing your paperwork at least two dozen times."
Getting right in each other's faces, the two men began arguing over who was right. Though it appeared they hated each other, their tone told a different story. As I was about to head off to find Ionica, Luxion opened a private channel with Jarvis and me.
"Show me…", I requested.
Sending his results to me, I was taken aback by what I saw. Not only were these people X-gene carriers, but they were also the descendants of X-Men. Initially, I assumed this meant a group had been transported to Nuceria, but a harrowing discovery changed that. Upon further review, their genetic makeup showed each one was an offspring of several people.
"Pardon me, everyone. Can I ask you a quick question?", I inquired, tapping one of the gladiators on the shoulder. "Did the tyrants who controlled Nuceria possess any special abilities or powers?"
"No, aside from being fat bastards, there was nothing special about them. That said, their private standing armies were full of gifted individuals.", the female gladiator remarked. "The ones who relentlessly chased us down were all superhumanly strong. Aside from Angron, it took five or more of us to bring just one of them down."
Based on the evidence before us, Maestro had continued his research long after the Earth's demise. Certain he was holding countless mutant captives somewhere on Nuceria, it fell to me now to liberate them. Thanking the woman for the information, I promptly left the room to find my fiancée.
"Ugh… Please tell me I do not have to go back in there…", Ionica groaned, leaning against the opposite wall with a pale expression. "My poor stomach has nothing left to puke out…"
"Forgive me, Ionica. I had no idea you were suffering from hyperosmia. If I had, I would have never brought you with me today.", I stated, walking up to her with an apologetic smile. "Let us be on our way. Something came up that I need to address immediately."
"What about the traitors and sharing our news with your extended family?", Ionica asked as I opened a portal back to Brigoia.
"The Warp's taint has been cleansed from their bodies. From here on out, they are fighting for the Imperium of Man again.", I informed her. "As for sharing our amazing news, I told my grandfather, Malcador, and Valdor about it. They congratulated us and promised to give you plenty of maternity leave when our child arrives."
"Phew… I was so worried they would…", Ionica began, before everything I said sank in. "WAIT, HOW DID YOU TELL MALCADOR THE HERO?! HE PASSED AWAY TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO!!"
With a playful smile, I began to share everything she missed as we stepped through the portal.
---Brigoia, Twenty Minutes Later---
Back on the throne world, Luxion immediately contacted the Eternals. He told them to drop everything, informing them that we had located some of their former allies. After disclosing a few prominent names, the Eternals eagerly joined us on Brigoia to go over our findings. When they reviewed the genetic results for themselves, Thena's expression darkened with rage.
"Fuck!! I had the opportunity to kill Banner years ago, but I took pity on the scrawny man. If I had just followed my gut instinct instead of letting my heart sway me…", Thena seethed, slamming her foot into my nice marble floor.
"There is no point in beating yourself up over the past. Look at the positives; at least we know some of our friends survived the Earth's destruction.", Ikaris remarked. "We will save them and apologize for abandoning the Earth."
"You mean, assuming they do not try and kill us.", Gilgamesh commented. "Let's not forget our last encounter with the X-Men did not end on friendly terms."
Vaguely recalling their last conversation, Thena believed it was something to do with a slew of missing mutants. If she remembered correctly, Magneto believed one of the other groups had captured them for experimentation. They wanted the Eternals' help getting them back, but Zuras chose to remain neutral as they had no solid proof. While it may have prolonged Earth's existence a while longer, it soured their relationship with Genosha.
"Let's focus on saving them first before worrying about how they will react to you.", I spoke up. "Now then, current-day Nuceria is nothing more than a barren rock. Its surface was razed to the ground ten thousand years ago during the Horus Heresy. Our only option is to travel back in time and save them."
"Time travel, huh… Are you certain you can take all of us with you?", Sersi inquired.
Showing her the Time Stone affixed to my gauntlet, I assured her I could do so easily. With her concern abated, Ikaris inquired what my plan was.
"I will deal with Maestro and his allies. While I have their attention, you will need to locate the captives and liberate the locals.", I instructed him. "There are no historically important people on Nuceria, so do not hesitate to kill, if needed."
"Is there anything we can do to assist you?", Olivia inquired, having sat through the briefing with them.
"Yes, there are two things I could use some help with. First, please check in on our guests recovering in the infirmary. I intended to do so this morning, but I ran out of time.", I stated. "Secondly, check with Lala, Momo, and Nana to see if they need any assistance. We have been working on a device that can locate the remaining four Infinity Stones."
Nodding her head, Olivia ran up and demanded a kiss from me. Happily complying with her request, she giggled with joy before leaving the room. With that, I transported the rescue team to Nuceria and made the necessary preparations to take us all back in time.