(0/400 Power Stones) For an extra chapter!
This may be a little more character focussed for Rogue, but I wanted to do some passive world building and to also add some more context and texture to her character. It also shows the scale of Drecarios's company and the sheer madness of the AI
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"It's nice to meet you Anna, I'm sorry for the fan fare downstairs but many of them hardly ever journey past the tenth floor and thus never see me." Discordia apologized softly as a mundane ditty started tuning within the elevator.
"Ah, no problem... W-who are you to Drecarios, if I-I may ask?" Rogue stuttered out as she nervously started comparing herself to the unnaturally beautiful woman that she was sharing the elevator with. She was wearing a body-tight secretarial suit with refined dark purple flat shoes, her skirt and top were a mix between the darkest of purples and the blackest of blacks as she sported apple-motif earrings that were coloured gold and sparkled slightly pink-purple due to the amethysts that sat in the middle of them.
"I am his secretary and his second 'creation'." Discordia stated promptly, pride shining through her smile.
"C-creation?" Rogue questioned in confusion.
"Yes... I am an artificial intelligence granted a physical body through Drecarios's power over matter. I am made of 20% heavy water, 50%Mythril-Metallic Hydrogen Alloy and 30% Solarium." The secretary proudly listed as if she were discussing the weather.
"So you're the second of his 'creations'? Who was the first?" Rogue inquired.
"That would be the first son, Apollo. He is the first fully sentient AI that Drecarios has created... Originally he helped him manage everything within Frost Dynamics. Now, well, now he is the designer of the company's more violent wing." Discordia paused for a moment as the elevator shuffled a touch before continuing upwards. "Apollo is also considered the most senior amongst the family... Anyway, since Apollo, he has created me, Hermes, Hestia, Artemis and has started constructing Athena."
"Are they all like you?" Rogue asked in wonder, considering the amount of effort Drecarios must have gone to, to create AI that have such personalities; as evidenced by Discordia.
"No. My brothers and sisters don't have a physical bod yet, however, they do have avatars that they manifest using holographic images and can create on any digital device within their range; which just so happens to be the entire internet..." Discordia proudly explained, as if she were hyping up her siblings.
"The internet...? You mean, they can spy on anyone, at any time? Even on my phone...?" Rogue queasily questioned, her right hand grasping her phone and pulling it out as if to ask it why it betrayed her.
"Yes. Funnily enough Human technology is hardly anywhere near sophisticated enough to give us a challenge... Artemis was so proficient at scanning the internet that she scanned the entire database upon consciousness, from there it has been a struggle for her to act normally around living people, but we're getting there... Oh, yes, only alien technology gives us a challenge and even then it is just a coding language issue. Fortunately Drecarios is creating a far more complex linguistic model for our base-code, it should be complete in less than a week, given he has enough time..." Discordia proudly ranted before turning silent as the elevator pinged.
Rogue could barely keep her jaw closed as she considered how much black mail and evil Drecarios was stopping on a day to day basis. It was so far beyond the scope of the X-Men it wasn't even a laugh, it was a wheeze.
The elevator doors opened to the image of a man with a radiant halo of sunlight around his head and the cocksure grin of Drecarios himself, though the expression itself was completely unique to the figure that stood before the two women.
"Sup sis! Who are yah bringin to meet father?" Apollo asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling within mock-sunlight as he glanced at Rogue from the corner of his 'eyes'.
"Brother... I am bringing a friend of Father. She reached out to me in hopes of meeting him and I searched the CCTV footage of where he has been since he was one... They met and had coffee with a Miss Katherine Pryde and she invited him to a party. I am quite sure he will be happy to meet her." Discordia happily informed the eldest of the AI.
"Awesome!!! He needs more people meeting him! He gets too swept up in work sometimes... Hahaha" Apollo chuckled out before turning to her and mildly bowing. "I am sorry to ignore you for so long... My name is Apollo and it is nice to meet you Anna Marie!"
Rogue blinked several times before oddly bowing back, her mid telling her that she should be giving a handshake instead of a curtsy. "It's nice to meet you...?" She said in mild overload.
"Haha, great! So... What is your favourite form of explosion?" The AI asked seriously before breaking into cackles as he witnessed her expression turn blank and her eyes widen in confusion and bafflement.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! She's fun!" Apollo stated exuberantly.
"Brother you may wish to tone yourself down, you're taking your antics too far again..." Discordia chided softly despite the small smile that slipped onto her cursedly perfect face.
Apollo toned down his brightness for a few moments as the elevator dinged again and started ascending. Discordia shook her head in a 'what will we do with him' manner as Rogue tried not to have a panic attack. She had been expecting maybe some stooges in security outfits or perhaps a stiff manager, not, whatever this was...
"So..." Apollo broke the silence after several moments of it, "What mutant ability do you have?"
Rogue shook her thoughts away at the question and turned to the nearly Omnipresent AI son that Drecarios had somehow made in the few months that she hadn't seen him. "Ah, um, I kill anyone that touches me physically... Except for your dad..." She blushed a little at that admission, her gaze snapping to the side of the elevator not occupied by his children.
"Ooooooooooh shiiiiit! SPILL THE TEA GIRL!" Apollo did his best impression of a squeal before putting his hands under his chin and blinking his eyes rapidly, as if he was swooning at her potential 'tea'. Discordia even leaned towards her a little, an intrigued glint sparking inside her eyes.
"A-um-ah- I... Um... Drecarios, your dad, has been the only one to treat me like a person and not a fragile vase that is moments away from fracturing..." She admitted to the two AIs as a spark of shame flared up her spine and into her heart.
"Go dad! He's definitely good at doing that...! He did the same with his sister, helping her out with the Hellfire club... Then there's this really smart scientist lady he met that had some self confidence issues, he's been treating her like a normal person and giving her tech to look into... You know, make her see that she can figure stuff out without help and all." Apollo chattered away whilst Discordia winked at Rogue, a large grin spreading across her porcelain face.
"H- he has been meeting other women?" Rogue asked in a whisper.
"Nah, not like that. He hasn't been with any women. Heck, I thought he made Discordia to fulfil those needs but he treats her like me and the rest of the siblings... Not that Discordia is willing to give up the goal though..." Apollo taunted cockily as Discordia just raised an eyebrow.
"Why should I? He needs all the love he can get. I wouldn't even be opposed to sharing..." Discordia shot Rogue a meaningful look.
Rogue naturally took this with all the tact and maturity that she could summon... Which was about as much as a horny teenager with a case of the hots could conjure; sweet fuck all. A massive blush suffused her cheeks as she descended into a stuttering mess.
Unfortunately for her that was when the elevator finally reached the penthouse of the Chrysler building... The doors opening into a lush office that currently had two blonde haired individuals sitting down at opposite sides of the desk.
One was a woman with impeccable taste in clothing and the poise of an upper-class CEO whilst the other was the man that she had hit off so well with in that café months ago... Though he now had a large scar extending from the top of his right eye diagonally across to the bottom of his nose. His other eye had some minor scarring across the eyelids but was otherwise the same as before. He was dressed in a loose white dress-shirt and a pair of matte-black trousers that had an odd silver belt attached to them.
"I've told you before Emma, you can choose whatever you want from that list and help me with it... And finally, yes, you can invite Apollo, Arti, Tia, Hermes and Disco to your house whenever you want..." Drecarios said in exhausted finality, his right hand rubbing his eyes as he slumped a little further in his office chair.
"Good, now, what about the scars!?" Emma Frost, the sister of Drecarios, questioned attentively.
"I got hit by something really powerful and barely came out alive, this is the consequence... Get over it." He declared powerfully before he lowered his right hand and opened his eyes once again. The reaction was immediate as he snapped his eyes onto the elevator, watching Apollo and Discordia step out, the latter dragging along a panicking Rogue.
"Fine! But I want to help with the refugees on New-Asgard!" Emma slapped her hand on the desk as Drecarios softly gazed at Rogue for a few moments before snapping his attention back to his sister.
"That's fine, just send whatever aid you want to give to the New York landing pad, we're setting up a Stargate there for ease of logistics." He waved away her concerns, his eyes intermittently flicking to Rogue, Apollo and Discordia.
And then, as if things couldn't get even more chaotic, Tony Stark stepped into the room whilst wiping his hands off with paper. "Your toilets are really good, maybe I should get someone to install some of these at Avengers Tower..." The billionaire commented casually as he swaggered up to the desk, not noticing Rogue or the two AI that had stopped at the other end of the room.
"So you're going through with changing its name?" Emma asked condescendingly.
"Of course! It just doesn't feel right to have the centre of the alien invasion be named after me... No, it needs a more dramatic and powerful name. Avengers tower fits that perfectly!" Tony gesticulated with all of the exuberance and regality he could manage.
Emma rolled her eyes before Drecarios stood, drawing both of their attentions.
"Thank you for checking in with me but I have appointments to get to..." He paused and looked at Rogue before coming back to his Sister and best friend. "Tony you'll find the Stargate open in my lab-" He lightly waved his hand in the door's direction, opening it without even touching it, "Emma, feel free to come over any time and please bring Cordelia next time. I'll meet you at the family house in two days, like a promised before we left."
The two rich CEOs nodded and gently went on their ways, both of them comprehending that something important had come up within the company's schedule. Emma, noticed Rogue and narrowed her eyes but eventually smirked in her direction before entering the still opened elevator and smacking a button on the side. A minute later and the room was clear except for Drecarios, Apollo, Discordia and finally Rogue.
"Hey Rogue, it's been a while." Drecarios lazily commented as he slumped back down into his seat, the black bags beneath his eyes betraying the amount of exhaustion he was feeling.
"Y-yeah... It has..." She awkwardly went silent as she contemplated how to apologise for the party and the fact that she hadn't stuck near him because of Jean's interventions.
"How are the X-Men?" Drecarios attempted to break the ice.
"Annoying? Disgusting? A bunch of lying fucks...? Take your pick." She hissed with a little sass added to it. The scarred man simply raised an eyebrow as his 'children' chuckled into their hands; their laughter barely kept in check.
"So you noticed..." He murmured with a hint of hilarity tinging his tone.
"Yeah, especially when they all ignored you. I thought, at first, that you had simply left because you didn't find it interesting or didn't enjoy the little company I gave you... Then I noticed a bunch of odd things happening when we went out as heroes... A-anyway, I don't want to unload all of my drama onto you..." She finished with a whisper.
"Don't worry Rogue, I never truly blamed you. From what I understand Jean has been manipulating them all to agree with her." He said calmly before pulling a few chairs from the side of the room over to the desk. "Please, take a seat." He waved his hand out in invitation, using a small lull in the conversation to offer them.
She took him up on his offer, her duffle bag set beside her and her backpack strapped over the back of the chair. "A-are you sure?" She asked in mild desperation, clinging to the hope that this was all Jeans fault and could be fixed.
"I received some visions about Madelyne Pryor and Jean Grey. They weren't completely clear but I did get the sense that there may have been some mix up in declaring which one was the clone or the original... Either way, it matters very little because from what I can tell there is no mind influences working on the X-Men or other mutants." He said with a hint of exasperation and tiredness.
"Fuck..." Rogue intoned hollowly, now fully coming to accept the fact that the home she once had was truly gone and buried.
"You're free to crash here if you want. As I said, I never considered you responsible for what happened." He offered with a smile, his eyes having an unnatural softness to them.
"S-sure... I- thank you..." She eventually managed as a blush spread through her face rapidly. He smiled in return.
"FUCK YEAH! YOU'RE DOING GREAT DAD!" Apollo yelled out at the top of his lungs before Discordia narrowed her eyes and sent a minor virus into his server, which made his image flicker as he fought it off.
Drecarios immediately facepalmed as Rogue went atomic with her embarrassment.
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