POV Rio
As my clone is destroyed, I lay in silence and take a deep breath as I look back on my situation. I know there really wasn't much else I could do. But it didn't make me feel any better about Jean's death. Sure, it was possible that eventually this would have happened, but it didn't make it any easier.
"You okay?" Lucy asks me as she looks into the crater where I was lying.
"Just a lot of broken bones and likely a nasty bruise. Otherwise, just peachy," I joke with a slight grimace.
"Hmm, should I get some help?" Lucy asks.
"No, just give me like, 5 minutes, and I'll be up again," I reply.
Once I was finally healed enough to get up, I left the crater and saw the human-shaped hole in the mansion.
"Even my outline is handsome," I joke.
Lucy just gives me a deadpan stare.
"What? Too much?" I ask with a cheeky smile.
I am pushed by an unseen force and tumble back into the crater I just crawled out of.
Oof
"Point taken," I reply while dusting myself off.
I get back out of the crater and wisely stay quiet.
Time Skip...
I stand to the side on the stage as Eric Lenhsherr gives his speech.
"We are gathered here to discuss a crisis that the Earth has avoided and to honor a hero who died saving the world," Eric starts.
"A short time ago, I worked alongside the Guardians of the Globe and the X-Men to deal with an enemy that had killed thousands of people. Several X-Men were killed by this enemy before we were able to set a trap for it and slay the enemy. But it came at a cost. Jean Grey, who some may know as Marvel Woman, sacrificed herself to destroy this foe. She was a good woman, a loyal friend, a kind teacher, and most of all, a brave hero," Eric says with a firm tone.
"Mr President, what is the name of this enemy?" asked a reporter.
"It doesn't have one and it never will. It doesn't deserve to be remembered or revered. What matters are the names of the victims it took. Those that died saving the world," Eric calmly states.
Once Eric answered a few questions, it was my time to speak, or rather Batman's time to speak.
"This enemy was a threat to Earth, and we won this time. But we must change if we are to avoid a similar case. This enemy was allowed to grow in strength partially because it targeted those that society tries to ignore. The homeless, the addicts, the criminals, the kind of people that you prefer not to think about. It also targeted places that don't talk to each other. 33,296. That is how many people this enemy killed. And that is strictly those we can confirm. Many of these happened where the Guardians can't operate due to the local government's refusal of our assistance, or more accurately, oversight," I explain with a cold tone.
"H-How can so many people have died without anyone reporting it?!" asks a reporter.
"I've already explained why. But to make things worse, this alien had the ability to transform to perfectly mimic anyone it had killed," I explain.
"Do you have a list for those that might be missing their loved ones?" asks another reporter.
"Yes, the Guardians have been investigating the missing people from across the globe, and we have published a website with all the information about the people we found the fate of. To prevent fraud, we have worked with any country that permits us to make sure that the records of these people cannot be abused. If you have a loved one who is missing or that you have been scared to report, then submit it to the website we posted, and we'll do what we can to help," I explain calmly.
The list of missing people was over 100k, but as was stated, only about 33k was related to the monster. The only reason we had the list was that Jean had left a psychic record in Charles that had the complete list of all those the creature killed, and that was only possible because she was able to easily tear such info from its mind. That and the creature kept perfect records of everyone he absorbed. Their memories, where he killed them, their looks, even what people they knew. All of it was kept, as it used all that info and it had no reason to discard anything when it could be useful.
The press conference didn't last much longer as I answered a few more questions with Eric doing the same. The last announcement was the founding of the Jean Grey Foundation. A foundation that was meant to help those left behind by the creatures' rampage as well as help those with missing family members. Obviously, some countries that refused our help got a lot of bad press, but they ignored it and worked to fill in the massive hole that was left by all those who were killed by the creature.
Some tried to levy claims that all of this was fake or that we held true responsibility for the attacks. But those were a small minority and were swiftly bullied off the internet and out of the news media. Even J Jonah Jameson, who usually wouldn't stop complaining about Spider-Man and Spider-Woman, stopped publishing articles about them and focused on the tragedy, even going so far as to donate 10 million dollars to the Jean Grey Foundation. Though he was far from the last one, as many companies and private individuals donated.
The Guardians also changed. For one, Emma Frost was added to the team. And I also made sure there were far more ways for the public to contact the Guardians. I even hired a bunch of veterans to handle the coordination work. Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries also stepped up to help handle that work and help fund it. Another change was the stronger integration between the Guardians and most countries.
This incident was just another push from the outside that moved people to reconsider how things work. One of those things was a discussion of changing how the world is governed. The idea with the most support was founding the United Nations of Earth, which would work as a form of federation where everyone worked as one to protect Earth. Research and the military would be shared between nations, and the focus would be on Earth and Humanity as a whole and not many small parts all fending for themselves. Culture and religion wouldn't be touched, and each nation could still do what they wanted economically.
The real incident that put forth the idea was the Xenomorph invasion, but with the evidence that we posted showing that aliens had repeatedly invaded and abducted people on Earth and that this latest incident was technically caused by an alien, people were rightfully scared. I didn't sugarcoat it. The Guardians were lucky to win this time, but we might not be as lucky next time. Especially my report on the Extra-Galactic Threats and Allies.
The report was just as the name suggests: a clear and comprehensive report on the various threats beyond Earth and beyond the Milky Way Galaxy. This included technology levels, estimated populations, military size, governing style, atrocities they committed, and their opinion of others. Despite humanity's tendency to destroy itself and isloated themselves, irrefutable evidence from a trusted source and decades of evidence, as well as literal aliens appearing before the UN to be broadcast across the world, caused them to clearly change their minds.
Speaking of those aliens, some were me; others were those that worked for the Guardians. I mean, I had several alien species I could change into: Thanagarian, Mon Calamari, Harch, Unicorn, Changeling, and Xenomorph, but obviously the last two weren't included. Some pointed out that my Nahdar form looked just like the Mon Calamari from Star Wars, but I submitted myself for medical examinations by several organizations, and each one confirmed I was a real living being. That combined with my real Lightsaber caused a massive stir, as many started wondering what that meant. It also helped that Star Wars: The Clone Wars had been airing for a while and the Providence Class Destroyer was a known ship. We went with the explanation that the Star Wars series was a way to introduce our species to Earth in a more understandable way.
Obviously, there were those that had no interest in joining this new world order, and it was made clear that those at war cannot join. And there was a long way to go before it actually happened, as a lot of work had to be done to get such a governing body up and working, but they were at least starting the process. As for that refusal, they were easily embargoed and sanctioned by everyone else. The UN still existed, but it had changed drastically, and they were more active than before due to the very real threats outside Earth.
The Guardians were officially recognized as the defenders of Earth and entrusted with keeping Earth safe while they prepared to join the FTL Age. All of this was also helped by a much more important part. Crime was down globally, and many of the guilty or dark-hearted had been wiped out, which included a lot of the old guard. This meant most of those in power now were often quite a bit younger with a more open viewpoint on things and not the geriatric drooling morons that many governments were stuck with. Ghost Rider was a major reason for this, as the fear of being visited by the Ghost Rider was a very real threat. And more importantly, those who survived the Ghost Rider changed their lives for the better.
It wasn't all good news, though. The X-Men disbanded. With the death of most of their active members, there weren't enough people. Moreover, Jean's death hit Charles and Logan the hardest. Logan left the X-Mansion with his daughter to explore the world. Charles became quite depressed after losing such close friends, and he had no interest in reforming the X-Men. Jean was like a daughter to him, and her death and his perceived failure have caused him to withdraw from the world at large. The X-Men idea is likely to stay dead for a long time. The other members have returned to their studies and chosen to stop hero work for now. I was actually happy about that, as simply put, most of them were still children and should have more time to experience a childhood of some kind.
Life after Jean was very different. But with her sacrifice, the world was truly on the right path. Or at least that is what I believe.