The apartment felt like a sanctuary when they returned. Everyone scattered across the living room—Anna and Daniel claimed the sofa, Laura settled cross-legged on the floor, and Illyana sprawled dramatically across one of the chairs like she owned the place.
Jeff burst out of the bathroom like a missile, his tail creating small tsunamis as he rushed to greet everyone.
"Jeff!" Anna called out, her face lighting up as he barreled toward her. "Someone's happy we're back."
Jeff rolled onto his back, fins wiggling in the air as he made those happy gurgling sounds that meant he was content.
"He's finally stopped growing?" Daniel observed, scratching Jeff's belly. "Seriously, look at him. Anna told us that he was small when you guys found him and continued to grow exponentially."
"Yeah, had he continued growing, we would have had to get him his own apartment," Anna laughed, watching Jeff flip back over and waddle toward Laura.
"Better than being watched by guards every second," Laura muttered, though she was smiling slightly as Jeff nuzzled her hand with obvious affection.
"Much better," Illyana agreed, stretching her arms above her head. "That place was beautiful, sure, but I could feel eyes on us the whole time. Like being in a museum where we were the exhibits."
"The other kids seemed to like it, though," Daniel said thoughtfully. "Especially the younger ones. All that space, the pool, the library..."
"They needed different things than we do," Anna replied diplomatically. "Some people need structure and community. Some people need freedom."
"And which do we need?" Daniel asked.
Laura grunted from where she was now, letting Jeff chew on her shoelaces. "Freedom. Obviously."
Lucien stretched and looked around at his makeshift family. The sight of them all relaxed and comfortable in their space made something warm settle in his chest. "So, what does everyone want for lunch? I got a few stores I wanna try."
"Yes!" Daniel perked up immediately, his eyes lighting up. "I want something that would horrify a nutritionist. Burgers, fries, onion rings, the whole works."
"Deli sandwiches," Illyana added enthusiastically. "The kind where you can barely fit them in your mouth and half the filling falls out when you try to bite them."
Laura looked up from where she was now letting Jeff gnaw on her fingers. "Meat. Lots of it. And make sure it's not that processed garbage from the facility."
"And you, Anna?" Lucien asked, turning to her with a smile.
"Surprise me," she said with a warm smile. "You know what I like."
"Alright, I'll get to it," Lucien said, heading outside, "Give me some time and we'll have a proper American feast."
As soon as Lucien disappeared, the atmosphere shifted subtly.
Illyana broke the silence first, shooting a sideways grin at Laura. "Well, I guess your daddy drama and my brother reunion are officially over, huh?"
Laura's eyes flashed dangerously. "It's not daddy drama."
"Sorry," Illyana said, though her tone suggested she wasn't particularly sorry. "What would you call meeting your genetic template for the first time then?"
"It's complicated." Laura's voice dropped, becoming softer than anyone had heard before. The change was so dramatic that even Jeff stopped chewing and looked up at her. "He's not my father. Everything those people did to me, every experiment, every training session, every moment of pain—it was all so I could kill him."
The room went completely quiet. Even the sounds from the kitchen seemed muted.
"From the moment I could walk, they told me I had one purpose," Laura continued, her hands clenching slightly in her lap. "Kill Wolverine. That was my entire reason for existing. Not to live, not to be happy, just to end his life."
Daniel shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. "Laura, that's... that's horrible."
"It was my normal," Laura replied with a shrug. "I didn't know anything else. They'd show me pictures of him, videos of him fighting, recordings of his voice. I memorized every fighting style he used, every weakness he had."
Anna moved closer without thinking, placing a gentle hand on Laura's shoulder. To everyone's surprise, Laura didn't pull away.
"I just wanted to see the man I was supposed to kill," Laura continued, her voice barely audible, "if Lucien hadn't saved me first."
Jeff seemed to sense the mood shift and padded over to rest his head against Laura's leg, offering what comfort he could.
"That's why you were so tense around him," Anna said softly, understanding dawning in her voice.
"Yeah. Part of me was still thinking about the mission, even though I knew I was free. Old programming dies hard."
"I'm sorry," Daniel said quietly. "I didn't realize it went that deep."
"How could you know?" Laura looked at him directly. "It's not like I advertise my origin story."
Illyana had lost her usual smirk completely. "Hey, I'm sorry too. I was just trying to lighten things up, not drag up trauma."
"I know," Laura said, then turned to look directly at Illyana. "What about you, blonde? How did things really go with Colossus?"
Illyana's eye twitched at the nickname. "Still hate when you call me that." She picked at the chair's fabric, her usual confidence wavering. "It was... complicated. He asked a lot of questions I wasn't ready to answer."
"Like what?" Anna asked gently.
"Where I'd been, what happened to me, why I disappeared without a word." Illyana's voice grew quieter. "He wanted me to stay at the mansion, said it was where I belonged, with family and all that."
"But you said no?" Daniel asked.
"Obviously. I told him I'd rather live with you lunatics than be locked up in a fancy cage." Her smirk returned briefly. "Besides, Piotr always was too protective. Even when we were kids, he acted like I was made of glass."
"That's what big brothers do," Anna said with a small smile.
"Maybe normal big brothers. But when your little sister disappears for years and comes back different..." Illyana trailed off, her expression growing distant.
Daniel leaned forward with curiosity. "Illyana, you mentioned you were missing before the facility captured you?"
"Yeah." Illyana's expression grew serious, all traces of her bratty attitude vanishing. " Nine years, give or take."
Anna's eyebrows rose in shock. "Nine years? That's... that's almost half your life."
"Where were you for Nine years?" Daniel asked, though something in Illyana's posture suggested this wasn't a casual question.
"That's a long time to be gone," Anna added softly. "You would have been what, nine when you disappeared?"
"Eight, actually," Illyana corrected, her voice becoming flat and emotionless. "I was eight years old."
The weight of that statement settled over the room like a heavy blanket. An eight-year-old girl, missing for Nine years, coming back only to be captured by researchers.
Laura studied Illyana with sharp eyes. "Nine years is too long to just be 'missing.' Where were you?"
Illyana's face became completely serious, and for a moment she looked far older than her eighteen years. She opened her mouth, her expression suggesting she was about to share something significant.
"I was in—"
"Lunch is here! Come to the table, everyone!"
Lucien's cheerful voice cut through the moment like a knife through silk. Illyana immediately snapped back to her usual self, jumping up from the chair with forced energy.
"Perfect timing!" she said, her voice artificially bright. "I'm absolutely starving!"
"Illyana, wait—" Anna started, reaching out toward her.
"Food time!" Illyana called back, already heading toward the dining room. "And it smells amazing!"
Daniel and Anna exchanged worried glances as Laura grunted and followed, Jeff trotting happily behind them.
"Nine years," Daniel whispered to Anna. "An eight-year-old, missing for nine years. What could have happened?"
"I don't know," Anna replied quietly, her voice filled with concern. "But whatever it was, she's hesitant to talk about it."
"Should we tell Lucien?"
Anna considered this, watching Illyana's retreating form. "Not yet. If she wants to share, she will. We can't force her."
They joined the others at the dining table, where Lucien had indeed ordered an impressive American feast. Thick hamburgers with all the fixings sat next to golden fries that were still steaming. Towering deli sandwiches were cut in half to show off the layers of meat and cheese, and a large bowl of mac and cheese sat in the center of the table.
"Holy crap," Daniel said, his earlier concern temporarily forgotten in the face of the food spread. "This looks like something out of a food commercial."
"I might have gone a little overboard with ordering all this," Lucien admitted, looking pleased with their reactions. "But I figured we deserved a celebration after today."
"Celebration of what?" Laura asked, already reaching for one of the burgers.
"Freedom," Lucien replied simply. "Making our own choices, being in control of our own lives."
Anna went to fetch Galacta from her apartment, returning a few minutes later with their cosmic neighbor in tow. Galacta took one look at the food and her eyes lit up with genuine enthusiasm.
"Oh, this is absolutely perfect," she said, immediately grabbing a plate and starting to load it with everything in sight. "I was just writing a blog post about American comfort food, and now I have fresh research material."
"You're documenting our lunch?" Illyana asked, seeming genuinely amused by the concept.
"Everything is research when you're studying Earth culture," Galacta replied matter-of-factly, taking a massive bite of a burger. "My readers love posts about regional cuisine variations. This will be great content."
"What do you usually write about?" Daniel asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Oh, all sorts of things. Human dating customs, Earth weather patterns, the strange obsession with coffee, why humans put cheese on everything..."
As they settled around the table, the earlier tension began to fade gradually. The combination of good food and easy conversation worked its magic.
Jeff had positioned himself strategically between Laura and Lucien, clearly hoping for dropped food. His patience was rewarded when Laura discretely slipped him pieces of bacon.
"Jeff's getting spoiled," Lucien observed with amusement.
"He deserves it," Laura replied, scratching behind Jeff's fins. "He's a good boy."
"A good boy who has taken a room's size bathtub as his home. " Daniel pointed out.
"Well that's what he gets for being a part of our little family." Lucien said.
"Our little family," Galacta repeated thoughtfully. "I like that. It's nice having people to eat with regularly. Usually, I just order takeout and eat alone while writing."
"You're always welcome here," Lucien said sincerely. "Consider yourself part of the family."
"Careful," Galacta warned with a smile. "I might take you up on that and never leave."
Lucien just smiled to that.
"So how was the X-Mansion really?" Galacta asked between bites. "Live up to the reputation?"
"It was like a beautiful prison," Laura said bluntly. "Fancy decorations don't change what it really is."
"Sounds like I made the right choice staying home and working on my blog," Galacta observed. "Much less complicated than family reunions and government facilities."
After lunch, everyone helped clean up. Galacta reluctantly returned to her own apartment to work on her blog, promising to share the post once it was finished.
"I think I'm going to take a nap," Daniel announced, stretching dramatically. "All that food made me sleepy."
"Good idea," Anna agreed. "I might read for a while."
Laura had already claimed a spot on the floor next to Jeff, who was contentedly digesting his lunch treats.
Illyana looked around at everyone settling in for quiet afternoon activities, then focused on Lucien. "What about you? Taking a break too?"
Lucien considered this, and saw the C-rank dungeon key in his inventory.
"Actually," he said, trying to keep his tone casual, "I think I'll go for a walk. Clear my head after everything today."
"Want company?" Anna asked, looking up from the book she'd been browsing.
"Nah, I won't be long. Just need some fresh air and time to think."
Anna studied his face for a moment, and Lucien had the uncomfortable feeling she could see right through his excuse. But she just nodded and returned to her book.
"Be careful," she said softly.
"Always am," Lucien replied with a smile that he hoped looked more confident than he felt.
Few minutes later, Lucien found himself standing in a narrow alley about four blocks from their apartment building. The alley was empty except for a few dumpsters and the kind of urban debris that accumulated in forgotten corners of the city.
He pulled out the C-rank dungeon key, watching it shimmer with blue energy in the dim afternoon light. This was a significant step up from the E-rank dungeons he'd been clearing. More dangerous, but also more rewarding.
He placed the key on the wall as a portal began to form in front of him, larger and more stable than the previous ones. The energy emanating from it felt different, too—more intense, more alive somehow.
Lucien took a deep breath, checked his equipment one last time, and stepped through into the unknown.
'Time to see what the next level looks like', Lucien thought.
.....
A.N.: Dear Readers!! The Shadow Monarch has descended on P atreon, which means he shall descend here soon~!!
Guess who's the first Shadow~? Hehe, Surprise Surprise~
Enjoy~
.....
POWER STONE GOAL: 700 ( 1 Extra Chapter)
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