Chapter 45 - Missions and a Plea for Assistance

After the visit from The Ancient One, Devin decided to make a list of all the things that he either needed to do or he needed to check on. He added checking in on Rogue as he would hate for the energy that she absorbed hurt her after all the trouble she went through to help stop him during the whole Stryker situation.

The next thing that he needed to do was to check on the decryption of that file as it had to be close to being done. He needed to catch up on the future members of the Avengers and what kind of situations they are in.

It was at this time that Izabela entered through the door and set some bags on the counter. Devin stood up and began to help her put away the food she bought. As Devin reached to grab a jug of milk his hand came into contact with Izabela's, both pulling their hands back in surprise. They continued with putting away the groceries before Izabela spoke.

"Devin, I need to ask you something." Izabela said as she placed a box in the cupboard with her back to him.

"Yeah?" Devin said as he placed some cheese in the fridge then turned to look at her.

"I am really grateful for what you did for getting Yana and Henric back safe and sound. My only regret is that I got left here while you went to save them. I have no powers and I only have the few moves that you've taught me. I just wanted to ask if there was anyway that I could change that?" Izabela asked as she turned to look at Devin with the most serious look that Devin had ever seen her have.

"I'm not sure. What exactly are you asking for? Are you asking if I can give you powers or are you asking if there is a way to help in the case of something happening again?" Devin asked hoping that she wasn't asking for super powers, because this universe is full of examples of that very desire going horribly wrong.

"I just want to be able to help if something bad happens again. I feel so useless and more like a burden. Yana and Henric have their powers, but I don't have anything." Izabela said as she wrapped her arms around herself as she looked down.

Devin could understand where she was coming from. Her only family members were in danger and she couldn't do anything. Just wait at home for the possible bad news that she was now alone in the world. Devin knew that he didn't currently have anything that could even resemble granting her wish.

"I'm sorry Bela, but I don't have any way for me to make that happen right now." Devin said as he gave her an apologetic look. Izabela only let out a sigh in response as she finished putting away the groceries. It was at this time that a notification sound let off several times in his ear.

Apologizing once more Devin left the room and headed for the back porch. Once he had stepped out he pulled up the menu and saw that new missions had popped up. The first was concerning the message that he had gotten concerning Rogue. Why it popped up now only the old man who sent him here would know.

New Mission: All the Rage

Mission Level: B

Info: Remove the energy that was absorbed from the X-men Rogue by any means necessary.

Reward: 1500 exp, Elemental Weapon: Heat Blade, 3x Spirit Potions, 2x Healing Fog

Devin looked at the rewards with multiple thoughts running through his head. The Heat Blade was a sword that would constantly channel fire through the blade, searing foes on contact and was worth quite a bit in the shop. Same with the the other items. Devin went on to check the next mission.

New Mission: More Power!

Mission Level: A+

Info: Izabela has asked for you to find a way she can help in future crisis. Find a safe way to give her a suitable power to protect.

Rewards: 1 Dragoon Spirit, 1 Weapon Voucher, 1 Bloodline Voucher

"Holy!" Devin muttered as he couldn't stop looking at the rewards. The first and the last were one of the most expensive and powerful rewards he could have hoped for. The question was how was he going to complete the mission? It said suitable power so most likely he couldn't just try for any power out there. If he could wait till the whole HAMMER tech incident with Whiplash and Tony Stark then he could stash some of the drones and re-purpose them into a Rescue knock off for Izabela. It was probably the safest bet as long as he went over every piece of hardware as HAMMER tech was beyond faulty.

There were other options that were viable, but the problem was that most of those options included either altering her DNA or are years out from being a possibility. I doubt the system would want him to turn her into a different version of Jennifer Walters' alter-ego She-Hulk. All he would need to do is watch and keep an eye and ear out for possibilities.

Looking at his mission menu revealed nothing more for the moment so Devin headed inside. As he was headed for the war room his cell phone began to ring. Looking at the display showed a New York number but it was an unfamiliar one. Pressing the answer button, Devin spoke.

"Hello?" Devin asked as he wondered who it could be.

"Mr. Price, this is Ororo Monroe. We met during the problem earlier involving Mr. Stryker." the voice of Storm came through the speaker.

"Hello Ms. Monroe, I remember you. How are you doing?" Devin asked. There was no reason to be rude or uncorgial to the woman as she was one of the more friendly and likable members.

"I wish that we were better, but we have a problem." Storm said as Devin had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Let me guess, something is wrong with Rogue and you guys are hoping I have a solution that will put her back to normal." Devin said as he turned and looked at the stairs.

"Yes, we were wondering if you would be able to come to the mansion and see if you could help?" Storm asked as Devin could hear the concern for her fellow X-men teammate.

"I should be able to head out in roughly ten to fifteen minutes after I take care of a few things." Devin said as he began to think about what exactly he could do.

"That's fine we will see you soon Mr. Price." Storm said with a small amount of relief bleeding into her tone at the end.

"Please Ms. Monroe, call me Devin." Devin said as he turned and headed for the stairs.

"Alright Devin. See you soon." Storm said as she hung up. Devin reach the landing of the stairs and stowed his phone in his pocket.

'Now comes the uncomfortable part' Devin thought as he headed towards Izabela's room. It had been some time since the kids had been taken and they had for the most part settled, but since Devin was headed over to the X-Mansion he thought to take them with so that they could see for themselves what they were offered, but he would have to ask Izabela first as she was their guardian.

"Bela." Devin said as he knocked on the door. Soon the door opened and Izabela looked out. She still seemed down, but didn't seem as upset.

"Bela I need to talk to you about something. May I come in?" Devin asked before Izabela stepped aside and Devin entered. Sitting on the bed the two turned towards each other.

"What is the matter?" Izabela asked as Devin was nervous about her reaction.

"I just got a call from one of the people that helped to save the kids and they are asking for my help. One of their members is having some problems that might be tied to something that happened while we were trying to rescue Yana and Henric." Devin explained.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me?" Izabela asked confusedly.

"They had extended an invitation for you and the kids to tour the school and I thought that this would be a good opportunity for the two to see if they would like to attend or not." Devin said as a frown creased Izabela's face.

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea. We just got them back not too long ago and now we will be sending them off to a new school?" Izabela said as Devin could see that her worry was justified but also a little smothering.

"Bela, I never said we were gonna send them to the Xavier school, but I think that they should decide if they want to attend. For now though it is just a tour while I help them to fix their friend's problem." Devin said as he laid a hand on one of hers to calm her. With a sigh Izabela nodded her head in acceptance as Devin smiled.

'Now all I have to do is tell the kids.'