[Utopia]

[June 21, 2023]

[10 PM]

Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, born as Max Eisenhardt, stared outside. This was his favorite vantage point from his usual spot in the tower.

The glass pane that once bestowed the greatest view was now tarnished by metal invaders. Instead of greenery and peace, there were now only flames and gunfire.

Sights and sounds haunted him until he confided to Charles and Moira.

Cold grey eyes hardened. The usually bustling city below was now devoid of life. There was little more than stragglers fleeing to the safety of the tower.

The only mutants supposed to be outside were Defensive teams. The now overstretched forces that were fighting off the invading forces.

Oh, he could have wiped them off the field. Yet it took everything to ensure that the central tower remained safe and stable. The lives of the mutants outweighed any empty victories.

Erik stared at his hands.

They shook as exhaustion and age had taken their toll. Once he would have swept the battlefield clean away. Even with these non-ferric machines stalking the city below.

The beachfront was now ruined. It had become a pockmarked landscape where visions of his youth returned to haunt him.

The machines were immune to his powers directly, but not against indirect forces. Say what you will about iron, but 2 tons of it falling on top of you had the same results as if he had ripped them apart himself.

The Titans, however… were an interesting problem.

“Erik, Illyana has returned with Piotr,” Emma said as she stepped up beside him. Few held him in regards as an equal. Emma Frost was one of them.

Erik nodded and turned away as more explosions rocked the beachfront. A team was most likely probing the current defenses set up there.

The two walked down in silence. The day had been a wreck of surprise attacks. Plenty of intense combat, and exhaustion for organizing defensive measures. There had been limited moments for rest.

The lower floor was filled with refugees. Citizens that had been able to flee here for safety. The various defensive teams prioritized the safety of the people.

Stopping the encroaching machine army was secondary. The appearance of Sentinals was just icing on the cake.

A concrete box was placed down and a glowing portal popped into existence. Within moments, soldiers began to exit.

The Val Verde flag was erected along with tents. Soldiers bearing the red cross were currently distributing supplies. Water, food, clothes, blankets, and basic medical kits.

Erik sighed as a problem they were facing was instantly resolved. Food was an issue since several warehouses were either inaccessible or burned down.

Piotr and Illyana were talking to a soldier with a dog-faced helmet. Unlike the other soldiers, this one had a cone-like faceplate.

The three were talking as soldiers and supplies came out of the portal in a steady stream.

“Emma! Erik!” Illyana waved and smiled. The first real smile she had all day.

Emma blinked but walked over and Erik followed.

“I see that Logan did indeed send help,” Emma drawled out. Her eyes watched as Val Verde soldiers flooded the lobby.

When the goods were dropped off, the soldiers moved out to the door and took up guard positions.

Emma frowned as she realized that she couldn’t get a proper read on the soldiers. She could when she visited the Venezuela mansion last year…

How frightening.

The leaps of technology that Johnny had under his control were truly awe-inspiring. Susan Akagi was not super smart like Tony Stark, or Reed Richards.

Susan was gifted with information organization. She could direct groups of scientists with incredible efficiency. Combined with a country’s worth of resources it created a scary image.

Val Verde was now a country that Utopia should not carelessly anger.

“Ah! The legendary Magneto! A man of presence indeed!” The dog-man said as the pair approached. “The White Queen! A regal presence and stunning beauty. Perhaps even greater than what the rumors suggest!”

Emma rolled her eyes at the obvious statements and Erik took off his white helmet. A sign of respect.

“How rude of me, I am Legion Commander Daisy,” the dog-man said as he touched his throat and the helmet retracted.

Everyone blinked as the dog-faced mask retracted to reveal a real dog face.

“Hahahahaha!” Daisy laughed as everyone stared. “I am a girl by the way.”

Everyone blinked again.

“Hahhahaha!” Daisy bent over in guffaws and slapped her knee as she struggled to keep composure. She loved the surprise looks she always got.

“Greetings Daisy,” Erik recovered first. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this person, but they seemed cheerful enough.

“Greetings, and apologies. The looks people give me never gets old,” Daisy stood but the chuckles remained.

“Is that your real face?” Illyana whispered and Emma shot her a look. It was very rude to ask metahumans about their physical features.

“Yes! I developed my features when young, and let me tell you, shedding as a human-sized dog is a nightmare!” Daisy dramatically sighed as she laid a hand against her face.

Piotr nodded as he stared at the woman. She was as tall as Illyana and the amount of fur shed must have been great indeed.

“Commander, we are ready to deploy an Omni-gate. We can also begin defensive measures,” a Val Verde soldier said.

The soldier tapped their chest twice and then slapped it. The soldier handed over a bulky computer tablet.

“Good, very good,” Daisy said as she tapped at her wrist. Ten minutes in and they were ready to move on to phase two.

Daisy looked at the unassuming metal cube that the engineering corp had placed down. It was a direct upgrade from the cube given to the X-Men.

The new Omni-gate system would generate a floating sphere. A portal that was twice as large and allowed for a much thicker flow of soldiers and vehicles.

“I require that the citizens of Utopia are alerted to our presence. Trying to work against friendly fire is less than ideal,” Daisy said as she read the reports on the data tablet.

Emma nodded and moved to the side to record a broadcast. She tapped at her arm to connect her personal computer to the central systems.

“It is done,” Emma said as she walked back to the group.

“Thanks!” Daisy said as she tapped at her data tablet. A hologram sprung up and showed the island in great detail.

“Satellites are in position. Our intel shows that the Omnic forces are concentrating on frontal pushes. The Titans will be dealt with by our own Titan types.”

The map was populated with static images of what the Satellites had tracked. Bips of colors and bar graphs floated around. At times they shifted as the real-time data fed into dense computer calculations.

“We will begin countermeasures in phase two. As soon as enough soldiers gather here, we will push out,” Daisy said as she poked at the central tower. Arrows pushed outwards and into the front lines and the residential sectors in the south.

“Our satellites are not sophisticated enough to detect lifeforms in buildings. What we know is that, statistically, there are people trapped outside,” Daisy said. She poked a finger at the residential sector.

Bar of probability popped up and thousands of grey dots appeared in the streets. Labels for last seen and a counter were tiny but readable.

“What kind of forces is Val Verde providing?” Erik asked as he studied the map. The sheer sophistication was not awe-inspiring, but rather worrying.

He doubted that even Hank or Forge had something as portable as this. It wasn’t that they couldn’t make it, but rather they did not have the time to focus on it.

Val Verde on the other hand… seemed to be spitting out military goods as if it had a hundred war factories. Every time the season changed, they were presenting new military technology.

“Val Verde is dedicating the entire Steel Hounds Legion. Roughly 2,000 soldiers in total. We will also be using some fun new experimental toys to ensure security for the island proper. Then we push the invaders back,” Daisy said as she looked at her soldiers with pride.

While they were not the most prominent Legion, they were not neglected either. They were loyal and that was why they had the fun task of testing R&D’s newest military gear.

An armor enhancement frame system for heavy combat. Supported by fast travel hovercraft and its rapid response abilities.

[Thunk-Thunk-Thunk]

Everyone stopped staring at the map and the atrium went quiet. The first large figure emerged from the glowing portal.

At 2.5 meters tall, they were the height of Piotr, but far more thick. The large helmets were dwarfed by their comically large pauldrons. Each step showcased their weight. They marched in unison as they scanned the area, but did not stop as they moved to the outside world.

Erik stared at Daisy who was hopping from one leg to the other. Their eyes eventually met and Emma winced as the minds met. One was a sheer radiant joy hitting a wall named Erik.

Emma closed her eyes as she reeled in her psychic senses. Erik gave out a forced smile as Daisy gestured to the tall mechanized soldiers.

“I present the Astartes! New armor based on the Protect Gear System taken to its extremes! Part armor for a human, and part tank, it is designed to kick ass and take names!” Daisy cheered as a new sound filtered out as a rocket-like object flew from the top of the sphere.

It was a flying… warthog Erik surmised. The chassis looked very similar to what Val Verde used. These vehicles were large enough to accommodate the Astartes soldiers.

“The Landspeeder! It can hold two Astartes, pilot and gunner. It's powerful engine allows for speed. The energy weapons also packs a punch,” Daisy explained. Several landspeeders flew out and into the battlefield beyond.

The holographic map updated. Green blips as the new landspeeders flew out and directly towards the front lines.

From the side came soldiers in light armor. It resembled Protect Gear if half of the plating had been stripped away.

“Last, but not least, the Pearl Caduceus! 200 medics with metahuman support training,” Daisy said with a smile.

The medics immediately dispersed. Some went to set up a central clinic. Others moved among the Utopian people to begin triage.

Erik nodded. His face was a controlled mask as he saw what he had feared most given life. A human force that was equal to Homo-Superior.

While he doubted that any one of these soldiers could kill any of the X-Men or even the trainees… they had numbers. Daisy had cheerfully informed him about numbers from an unknown Legion.

How many did Val Verde have? Did each of them possess such technology?

He made a mental note to speak to Logan and Scott. This was no alliance forged by steel, but rather a favor from Logan and the Supreme Leader.

Erik watched as the thin line of soldiers continued to stream out. The people were beginning to cheer as they listened to Emma’s recording.

These Astartes were designed for heavy combat. The speed of their new vehicles. The power of that Titan supporting them from the mainland shores. The fact that they were recruiting mutants for military service.

Erik glanced at Daisy.

She was proud to be a member of the military. A loyalist who would most likely turn on them with equal cheer. He had seen enough of it to recognize indoctrinated people.

An island nation, just like Utopia, yet full of indoctrinated people. Millions of such people were living their lives unknown to the world at large.

Val Verde scared him.

————

Chapter 66: Metahuman Utopia