After the meeting, I teleported to Omnitek Nexus to catch up on paperwork—something Ashley had been bugging me about for a while. We'd also hired a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent recently… just one, and she's working as a secretary. Looking back, I honestly don't know why we thought putting a trained spy on janitorial duty was a good idea. They basically had access to everything.
I slumped back in my chair with a groan."Finally done," I said, stretching my arms.
Ashley walked in with a grin—and a new stack of documents."Yes, you are," she said, setting the pile down, "and now you've got round two."
I groaned again. "Did I do something to piss you off?"
She laughed. "Of course not. This is all the paperwork you've ignored for months while playing hero."
"Couldn't you have done it?" I asked, half-joking.
"Oh, I easily could have. But technically, I run the company. So I decided not to." She smirked. "You're the boss on paper, Ed. You get the paper."
"Fair enough," I muttered, resigning myself to another round of forms.
As I picked up a pen, a thought crossed my mind.
"Hey… Ashley, how would you feel about being Stratosphere's biological parent?"
Her eyes widened. "WHAT?!"
"Right, I should explain that better." I held my hands up. "I'm building an organic body for Stratosphere, something real—not just metal. But I can't clone myself because of one of my powers. It makes me immune to cloning. So, I need someone willing to donate their DNA. I figured I'd ask."
Ashley blinked, stunned silent for a moment. Her expression was unreadable.
"I know that's a lot to take in, and you really don't have to ag—"
"I'll do it," she interrupted.
"Seriously? Just like that? You don't want time to think about it?" I asked, honestly surprised how fast she agreed.
Ashley looked at me with a small smile."I always wanted to be a mom," she said softly. "Back in my old world, I thought that chance was gone. But this? This is a second chance. And I don't even have to go through childbirth? Ed, I'm all in."
I nodded, smiling back."Thank you, Ashley. He's lucky to have you."
7 Hours Later
After seven long hours of paperwork, I was finally done. Seriously, if I don't get a cloning ability in my next gacha roll, I might just scream. I am never doing that again if I can help it.
Anyway, I was back in the lab, focusing on something far more important—creating a body for Stratosphere. I was still a little surprised Ashley agreed so quickly to be his biological mom, but I'm grateful. Since Stratosphere's mental state is comparable to a ten-year-old, that's how old I've decided the body should be once it's fully grown.
Good thing I built more than one cloning pod. If Project Cell ever fails, I'll have backup infrastructure ready. Church is already working on forging a full background and ID for Stratosphere, just in case anyone starts asking questions.
While I was tweaking some of the parameters in the cloning chamber, I heard footsteps. Ruby walked into the lab.
"Hey Ed, how you doing?" she asked.
"Creating a body for Stratosphere," I said, not taking my eyes off the monitor.
"Oh? How?" Ruby asked, curious.
"Pretty simple on paper," I started, "but a pain in practice. First, I'm building an organic body using Ashley's DNA. It'll take a while to finish, but once it's done, I'll integrate cybernetics—enough to classify it as a full-on cyborg."
She leaned against a nearby table, listening as I continued.
"I'm designing the cybernetics to stabilize and house his Spark—his soul, his memory, and his consciousness. That's how I'll transfer him into the body."
"You make it sound so easy," Ruby said with a smirk.
"It's anything but," I replied. "Right now, his energy source is Energon. Since I can't exactly mine it, I had to create an artificial version months ago. It works, but this new body won't be compatible with it long-term. So I'm working on a different power core, one that'll sync with his Spark without risking instability."
She nodded slowly. "Sounds like a lot to juggle."
"Yeah," I muttered. "But he's my kid now. And I'm gonna make sure he has the best body possible."
She smiled at me, soft and genuine.
"Stratosphere is lucky to have you as a father," Ruby said.
"Thanks," I replied, glancing back at the pod. "I'm gonna try to be a good father—the best way I can."
She folded her arms, her tone light but understanding. "Well, I came to see if you wanted to hang out, but... this looks pretty important. So, I'll leave you to it."
I gave her a grateful nod. "We can hang out later, I promise. Just let me finish this groundwork. Once he has a solid foundation, I can breathe a little easier."
"Deal," she said with a wink. "Just don't forget. You owe me time."
"I won't," I said with a small smile as she turned and walked out, leaving me alone with the steady hum of the lab and the faint glow of the cloning chamber.
Darkblood POV
It was late—somewhere between night and morning, that weird hour when the world is still but not asleep. I figured it was the perfect time to kick off my vacation, so I made my way to Escanor's bar. Quiet. Peaceful. Just how I like it.
When I stepped inside, the place had that warm glow—low lights, polished wood, and the faint smell of citrus and smoke. Escanor was wiping down the counter, surprised to see me.
"Hello, Escanor," I said.
He looked up, blinking for a moment. "Oh—hi, Darkblood. Didn't expect you. Can I get you anything?"
I slid into a seat at the bar. "Just a drink. I'm on vacation. Figured I'd start it off with something I've heard too much about—your booze."
His expression shifted to a proud grin as he stepped behind the counter. "Of course! I'd love to pour you some. But fair warning, I don't have much time—my crew's showing up soon to help clean the place."
"Crew?" I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you hired anyone. Does Ed know?"
He shook his head. "Doesn't think it's worth his attention. And they're not really employees. Just kids—runaways. Living on the street. I'm helping them get back on their feet."
That... was very Escanor.
He slid a glass my way and poured the drink. I took a sip. And wow. The rumors didn't do it justice—smooth, warm, a hint of fruit and something smoky. It was easily the best drink I've had in a very long time.
I drained the glass, and he refilled it without asking. I could tell he was hesitating, like he had something on his mind.
"What do you want to ask, Escanor?" I said flatly.
He froze for a second, then exhaled. "It's about the kids. I can tell they're hiding something. I didn't push—I'm waiting until they feel comfortable enough to talk. But... I don't know, I've got a gut feeling something's going to go wrong. I want to protect them. If you don't mind, could you look into them? Their backgrounds. Parents. Why they ran away. Just... make sure I'm not missing anything."
I nodded slowly. "I don't mind. Compared to what Ed has me chasing, this should be simple. Just write their names down, I'll handle the rest."
"Thank you, Darkblood. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it. Like I said, should be easy—probably won't even take me a full day."
He scribbled the names down and passed me the list. I tucked it away and lingered a little longer, letting myself enjoy the peace and the drinks.
What I didn't realize then... was that what I just agreed to?
Wasn't simple at all.
Ed POV
After I finished laying the groundwork for Stratosphere's new body, I decided to take a well-earned break. I spent some time hanging out with Ruby, Frankie, and Pikachu. We didn't do anything world-shattering—just sat back and watched a couple of movies. Honestly, it felt good. Normal. Ruby and Frankie had gotten really close too, probably best friends at this point, which was great to see. Sitting there, laughing, just being present reminded me that I can't always be in mission mode. I need to start carving out more time to enjoy life, even if just in small doses. Once Stratosphere's body is complete, I think I'll actually take that break I've been putting off.
Then—of course—the movie paused mid-scene, and Delta appeared out of thin air like a ghost with bad timing.
"Hey, Delta. Everything okay?" I asked, half-knowing the answer.
"Not exactly. I found something you might be interested in," he said flatly.
I raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Alright, give me a couple minutes. I'll meet you in the briefing room."
He nodded once and vanished.
I sighed, got up from Ruby's bed, and slipped my shoes back on. "Sorry, guys. Duty calls. We'll pick this up later if you want."
Ruby gave me a small smile. "No problem. Next time."
"You got it," I said, then stepped out of the room and headed straight to the briefing room.
When I arrived, Peggy was already there. That caught my attention.
"Is something wrong? Did you and Delta find more Hydra leads?" I asked.
Peggy shook her head. "Not exactly. But we did find something… alarming. Delta, show him."
The screen lit up as Delta pulled up classified government files—lots of them. My eyes scanned the data until a name hit me like a brick: William Stryker.
"Are you kidding me…" I muttered as I kept reading.
Turns out Stryker's been up to the usual horror show—awful, twisted experiments on mutants, sanctioned by corrupt branches of the government. That part didn't even surprise me anymore. What did catch me off guard was seeing two names buried in the files: Sarah Kinney and X-23.
Not just them. Dozens of others. Mutants locked away in a black-site facility in Canada, tortured and experimented on like lab rats.
Peggy looked at me carefully. "That's why I called you in. I wanted to know what you want to do about it."
I stared at the screen, rage simmering just under the surface. "It's simple, Peggy," I said coldly. "We're going there. We're freeing every last mutant in that facility. And everyone involved in those experiments? We erase them."
I clenched my fists. "No trials. No mercy. They chose their fate the moment they treated innocent people like weapons. We end this."
I called everyone to the briefing room. It didn't take them long to show up—everyone could tell by the tone of my voice this wasn't just a routine update.
"Alright, listen up. I know we just had a meeting a couple hours ago, but this... this is different. Peggy, show them."
Peggy stepped forward and brought up the files on the main screen. The room went quiet. All eyes were on the classified documents revealing William Stryker's black-site facility and the horrors he's been conducting on captured mutants.
He wasn't tied to Hydra—not directly, anyway—which meant we had more freedom to act. We'd still have to be surgical, precise, but at least this op wouldn't tip off our bigger target.
"We're hitting this base tonight," I said firmly, letting that settle in.
I turned toward Annie, Reggie, and Alana. "You three will focus on rescue. Your job is to locate and extract every mutant inside. Church will be in your earpieces the entire time, guiding you to the prisoners. If any of them are unstable or in bad shape, stabilize and bring them out. Don't leave anyone behind."
I turned to Kimiko, Toshinori, Bang, and Anissa. "You're the distraction team. I don't care what kind of defenses they've got—draw them out, keep them away from the facility itself. Make noise, make damage, make them look at you."
Then my gaze shifted to Steve and Plo Koon. "You two are with me. We're heading straight for Stryker. I want him alive. If he has intel on any other groups harvesting mutants, we need it. Once we've got it, then we decide what to do with him."
I let a moment of silence hang over the room.
"These people… they've been tortured, experimented on, treated like lab rats. Tonight, that ends. We're not just saving lives—we're making a statement."
I looked around at everyone.
"Any questions before we move out?"
No one seemed to have any questions, which meant it was time to move.
"Alright, everyone suit up and meet at the Ground Bridge. You've got two minutes," I said.
With that, they all dispersed to gear up, and I headed straight to the medical wing. If this mission was anything like the last one, the mutants we were rescuing were going to need serious medical attention.
When I arrived, Mercy and Wendy were both there—looked like Mercy was in the middle of teaching her something.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a mission," I said. "We're about to extract a group of mutants from a facility. No clue what condition they'll be in, but I've got a bad feeling. I need both of you on standby, ready to handle anything."
Mercy didn't hesitate. "Understood. We'll have everything prepped and ready. Good luck out there—and be careful."
I gave her a small smile. "Always. Not a lot out there can hurt me, remember?"
With that, I turned and left the med wing, heading back to my quarters. I changed into my hero suit—fastened the gauntlets, adjusted the chest plate, locked the helmet in place. Everything was ready.
By the time I arrived at the Ground Bridge, the whole team was there.
Captain America stood tall in the custom suit I made him—modeled after his Marvel Rivals look, but with a few of my own enhancements. The shield was unchanged, just the way he wanted it. He said it didn't need anything extra. "Simple's enough when the job gets done."
Kimiko stood beside him, her new suit sleek and battle-ready. Black with white highlights, a streamlined mask and hood. The most important part—armor. Reinforced plating to keep her safe, just like she asked for. Not as flexible as her old gear, but Kimiko was adaptable. She'd already made it work.
image here
Everyone else stood at attention—focused, locked in.
The mission was about to begin.
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AN: Hello everyone, happy Memorial Day, if you got any good human names for Stratosphere, let me know, I'm still thinking over it.