Tania's POV
Since nobody had any desire to die, we readily obliged, and followed our unlikely saviour deep into the house. We walked down stairs and through narrow corridors till we reached the underground. We walked briskly till we arrived at a small room and a set of heavy doors blocked with orange pylons. The doors were sealed with masking tape, apparently to keep people from entering. The caretaker reached up and peeled the tape off the door. Bringing a rusted iron key from his pocket, he slid it into the keyhole, turning the heavy, dead bolt, and pushed open the heavy door. We followed him as he entered, and I shut the door behind us.
I found ourselves striding briskly down a modern-looking tunnel that was obviously under construction. The man suddenly swevered to the right into a small niche from where a tangle of heavy-duty extension cords snaked out and disappeared into the passageway. He must have found the switch that sent power to the extension cords, because suddenly the route before us because illuminated.
I finally got a good look at the man who saved us as he came out of the niche. His face was covered with wrinkles, skin as pale as snow. His unkept hair had tufts of white and grey standing out, while his sideburns and beard made him look intimidating and powerful. He was extremely well-built. I saw the faint outline of his strong muscles and biceps as he flexed his arms. He must have been raggedly handsome in his youth. My eyes travelled up to his, which were shining brightly, but his face was morphed into a scowl.
He snapped." Whatcha staring at, kid?"
I flushed and looked away, embarrassed at being caught checking an old man out (ew!). He grunted and started walking down the passageway, leaving us to follow him.
****
Max's POV
After what seemed like hours, we finally reached the end of the corridor. The caretaker guided us through a set of double doors that he locked behind us. If anyone opened the door,they couldn't do that stealthily.
I found ourselves in a large,yet beautifully furnished room. It was decorated with vintage chairs, a large black couch from the 1900s, ancient lamps and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and various decorative pieces. Frames of pictures hung from the walls.
Stephen turned to the caretaker, who'd lit a cigar." Thank you, James."
James - I gathered that was his name- grunted as he let out a wiff of smoke." Are you crazy, Strange? Wandering around in the street of New York City, specially when all this is going on? Don't you know that those minions would kill you on the spot?"
Stephen sighed." It was a necessary risk. I'm fully aware of the consequences of my actions."
"Were you?" James sneered." And who are they?" He motioned at us.
"My friends."
"Whatever, bub." He shrugged." Y'all can stay here for the night. A few guest rooms there are still clean, I think. Night time in New York is hazardous." He pointed at an open doorway leading to a dark corridor.
Stephen acknowledged with a bow of his head." Thank you."
"Oh, and another thing." We heard him call out as we walked towards the corridor." The mansion is strictly protected by sentients. Try not to wander around if you value your life."
We chose adjacent rooms, each one being identical. Wishing each other goodnight, we retired for the day, ready to leave tomorrow.
Since I wasn't sleepy, random thoughts roamed in my mind. What we saw earlier, was truly nerve-racking. It was always known that the Avengers had been disbanded after the Infinity War, but nobody knew they died. My fists clenched at Thanos's cruelty. How low can one get, brainwashing someone to kill their own friends?
My mind wandered off to our encounter. Thanos had made it clear that the Captain no longer remembered us. Everything he was, everything he stood for, is now obselete.
Your Captain bears no memory of his pathetic former self. Thanos had said. He now has a new identity,a new family,a new master. He fulfilled his purpose.
You're a Rebel, but you're not doing your job well enough. Fight harder, human, if you want to stand a chance against me.
Then it appears that our dance has begun.
It's a challenge.
He's challenging me.
Pushing my buttons to make me snap.
But I won't.
Two can play at a game,Thanos.
You asked for our wrath.
Now you'll have it.
Because, if we can't protect the universe, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it.
****
Even after an hour has passed, sleep was out of my reach. Figuring a way to pass the time, I slowly crept out of my room. The corridor was empty, which meant everyone was asleep.
Getting my bearings, I trudged down the corridor as quietly as possible till i reached a door. Opening it, I walked up a flight of stairs and entered a wide hallway of Italian marble and stucco. The hall was lined with busts of famous personalities of the ages, including former U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and John Kennedy.
I walked through a vaulted archway into a far grander space. I smiled as I opened the heavy oak door. My calculations were correct.
The library.
Since the Renaissance, libraries were a mandatory part of the houses of nobles and lords. The Medici had a building full of books, which were eagerly devoured by the family. Lesser people knew about the voracious reading habits of Cesare Borgia, known for his notorious nature. It was an unspoken custom for libraries to be situated in the north-east corner of the building. Like this one.
The room was humongous,chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Books, hundreds of them, filled the shelves that lined the four walls. Rays of arabesque coffers curled down the dome to an upper balcony. Encircling the room, eighteen bronze statues peered down at me. Down at floor level, three rows of burnished wood desks stood behind the massive octagonal desk. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace.
Feeling at home already, I plucked a book from a nearby shelf. Pulling up a chair, I flipped on the reading light and began to read. It was a book on biotechnology- "Our Posthuman Future" by Francis Fukuyama.
After reading for an hour about biotech and genetics, I got bored and took another from another shelf. It was a leather-bound journal, with slight decaying around the edges.
"To Homo Neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo Sapiens, was an aberration. The arrival of the mutated human species, Homo Sapiens, was followed by the immediate extinction of their less evolved kin.
In innumerable times in history, it has been proved that the arrival of a more advanced species resulted in the extinction of their predecessors. Whether it be colonial conquest or otherwise, this fact has been undettered. Now we face this again.
The advent of the nuclear age accelerated the mutation process. It resulted in the formation of a new species, Homo Superior. Thess mutants possess extraordinary capabilities, which makes them both special and dangerous. I devoted my life to protect mutantkind as far as I could, and to teach mankind to be tolerant towards the same."
Surprised at what I read, I looked at the cover of the book. The faint writing was still visible.
" The private journal of Charles F. Xavier."
Charles Xavier? The name sounded familiar. I went through the journal,learning that he himself was a mutant, this mansion was his home, and he turned it into a school, for humans and mutants together. Two species cohabitating side by side.
The final entry caught my eye.
" A wasted life I have lived, I cannot say. I strived to protect mutants as far as I could, and have done so. Yes, today humanity knows of our existence. People with extraordinary abilities are already among them. Yet the times are not of peace. Mutants still live in fear and shame, run, flee for their lives. I wish I could have done more. But my time has come, as I must set my path on a different world. Thus I leave this mansion, and all my properties and assets, to James 'Logan' Howlett, also known as 'Wolverine'. He is the last remaining mutant, the last of the people who've given their best for their kind. He's the son I never had, and I assign him to take care of my legacy, for I fear that darker times are ahead. We must keep our cool when others have lost theirs. Only then can we become superior to our former self."
The pages after that were empty. Thoughtful, I reclined back into the chair. If this Howlett guy owned this mansion, is he still alive? Would he help us? And something's peculiar about this James character. Caretakers of graveyards don't use secret passagesways to old houses.
"Intruder alert!" A loud mechanical voice shook me out of my trance. Turning fast, I saw a robot walking towards me briskly, its eyes shining red.
"Intruder in library. Terminate immediately!" It said as it swung a punch at me. I dodged, but hit the desk. This time I failed to dodge the second punch to my jaw. Ears ringing, I stumbled back against a bookshelf, blood dripping from my jaw.
The robot's left fist transformed into a blade, and it paced upto me. It swung the blade in the air, ready to deliver the killing blow. I braced myself, but it never came.
When I opened my eyes, I saw the robot wobbling strangly. The light was no longer shining in its eyes. From its chest protruded three steel claws.
The robot disintegrated, and I was shocked to see my saviour. James stood in front of me, his eyes furious with rage and anger, his muscles taut, teeth gritted. My eyes went down to his clenched fists, where three long metal claws protruded from between his knuckles. Each.
"J-James?" I stuttered." Who are you?"
He glared as he brandished his claws in an X.
"It's Wolverine."
*peeks out nervously.*
I apologise for the long unexplained absence on Wattpad. I wished I could update sooner but my phone caused some problems. Here's your latest chapter of 'Galaxias', although I promise on better ones in the future. So we see the entry of Wolverine, one of my favorite Marvel characters. Will he help Max and the others? Let's wait and see. Please don't forget to vote and comment.