“Hmmm… Anissa!” Goku’s eyes snapped open, heart in his throat as he blinked away the haze of sleep. He was in a familiar med-bay, with a smiling Anissa in the bed across from him. “You’re alright!”
On his feet and at her side in an instant, he grasped her hands and returned her smile. His last clear memory was of Thragg’s brutal actions against her. After that, everything faded into a fog of red and gold.
“Empress May brought me back…” Anissa’s hands tightened around his like a vice, a flicker of terror in her eyes. “I was in darkness until she appeared, a dawn of light that showed the way home.”
“Where is she now?” Goku glanced around, as if May would walk in to greet them any second. “I need to thank her and… what about Thragg? What happened after I passed out?”
“May’s already dealt with Thragg,” Anissa’s hand loosened as she shook her head. “He’s imprisoned with the other Viltrumite prisoners, but I’ve asked to be allowed to speak with them before they’re officially delivered to the Coalition.”
“Alright,” Goku nodded. He knew that she wanted to bring as many of her people to Krypton’s side as possible, something he agreed with. “But I want to thank May first… this universe doesn’t have dragonballs, so I thought you were gone forever!”
“Dragonballs?” Anissa tilted her head as Goku hauled her to her feet. “What are… nevermind. We’ll have to travel into the galaxy if you want to thank May, she’s training Anakin and Astra in the depths of the core.”
“Then let’s go!” Goku pulled her toward the door, eyes bright. “I’ll show you around this galaxy before we head home to Sadala!”
“...are you sure it’s alright?” Anissa frowned as she was dragged through the Fortress’ halls. “I’m not a full member of the Empire yet and…”
“You’re my friend, and you were injured in battle against Krypton’s enemies,” Goku shook his head as they passed through the main gate and into the sunlight of Garnib. “If Dan was here, I’m sure he’d allow you to do some sight seeing!”
“Ok,” Anissa rolled her eyes as they leapt into the skies, headed for orbit. “But remember, we still have work to do back in my universe!”
----------------------------------------
“The patient’s life signs are stable, in line with expected levels for Kryptonian hybrids,” Prime-One monitored the data feeds, while Dan scanned the three volunteers with his improved biofield. “They should awaken soon… subject ‘Bucky Barnes’ has expressed variant Kryptonian dna in line with the x-gene, the nature of the mutation is currently unknown.”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Dan nodded, uncertain about the results of Bucky’s serum. Even if he carried the mutant gene, it may not manifest right away. The x-gene was generally triggered by extreme stress or puberty and Bucky was fully grown.
“Perfect,” Dan gave a final once over to the sleeping trio before he moved to the door. “Call me when they begin to wake, I’ll be in the cell block.”
Some of the prisoners there were sentenced to life, but among those that remained one still had a chance for redemption. Cassandra Nova, Charles' mildly insane sister, deserved more than a life entombed in crystalline walls.
Her power rivalled her brother’s, even surpassed it. She had all of his telepathic might, alongside tremendous telekinetic abilities. Most importantly, she could permanently enhance a mutant’s genetic code and drag out their potential.
“Unlike Sinister, she’s not beyond saving,” Dan shook his head as he reached Nova’s cell. She sat within, a wave of psychic force around her. She never stopped testing the wards, a constant assault that earned her no results. “But I’ll need to convince her to set aside her goal of killing Charles…”
Dan opened the door and suppressed her mental attacks with a wave of his hand. Once inside the cell, he resealed the door to prevent her mind from escaping. With her power, she could reach anywhere on Earth without much effort.
“Back for another attempt to woo me to your side?” Nova scowled as she took a seat on the only chair in the room. “I will never serve an ally of my brother, no matter how powerful you are.”
“Charles isn’t the evil you make him out to be, Nova,” Dan sat cross legged in the air and smiled at the bald woman. “He struck out at you because of your nature, a mindless act of a frightened infant.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nova scoffed as she leaned back in a relaxed pose. “He damned me to a life of hell and misery. I’ll never forgive him, not in this life or the next.”
Dan shrugged and raised his hand, palm faced toward the ceiling. A small, black symbiote clone took shape, an orb of shadow that floated into the air.
“Charles let this creature copy his memories, a perfect replication of his every thought and emotion,” Dan urged the clone forward until it rested on her small desk. “If you let it fuse with you, you’ll experience everything from his perspective, from birth until the moment he allowed it to read his mind.”
Nova’s eyes locked onto the symbiote, a flicker of uncertainty in her gaze as Dan turned to leave. He opened the cell and stepped outside, hand raised to halt the door from closing.
“Experience his life and see for yourself what kind of man he is,” a signal chimed in his ear, Logan was beginning to wake. “The universe is bigger than you imagine, don’t let vengeance limit the future you could have.”
Dan let the cell seal behind him as he set course for the lab. He doubted Nova could resist, and this Charles was truly a good man. He had his faults, but at his core he was a force for good. The laboratory door slid open at his touch and he made his way to the healing pods.
“Drain the fluid and get ready to open it up,” a quick glance at the data showed everything was within expectations. Logan had been transformed into a mutant Kryptonian hybrid, though how his healing factor would stack with a Kryptonian’s was yet to be seen. “Continue to monitor his life signs for genetic deviations.”
“Deviations huh…” Logan coughed up a mouthful of healing fluid and wiped the viscous liquid from his eyes. He took the towel that Prime-One offered and began to scrub at his skin. “I thought your Superman bloodline would be immune to that kind of thing?”
“Just shut up and get dressed,” Dan rolled his eyes and tossed a newborn symbiote into the mutant’s chest. “It can take the form of any clothing you want, and it will enhance your powers.”
“So I finally get one of your freaky suits,” Logan raised an eyebrow as the orange-black symbiote slipped under his skin. “How do I…”
“We are PRIMAL!” A tiny, orange face rose from Logan’s shoulder on a tendril of black. “Let us hunt and feast on our…”
“Shut up!” Logan swatted at the toothed maw next his face, lips twisted in a frown. “I’m right here, you don’t need to shout!”
“All the newborns have the same problem I’m afraid,” Dan laughed as he turned back to the pods. “You’ll get used to each other. Now stop bickering, Steve is about to wake up…”