Fate/Marvel: Chaldea Descend

( Ken POV )

Sigh...

The sound of my own breath—heavy, ragged—cut through the stillness of the frozen Alaskan wilderness. I tilted my head back, letting the pale blue sky fill my vision.

The sun hung low, a weak, watery thing that did nothing to ease the cold gnawing at my bones. My Mystic Code suit was stain with dried blood. 

I turned my head, the crunch of snow under my boots grating in my ears. Kadoc stood in the distance, his pale hair catching the light as he moved among the rescued mutants. They huddled together in the open field, their breath misting in the air, confusion and exhaustion etched into their faces.

The meta's were still in Facility jumpsuits. They flinched when he raised his hand, the faint glow of magecraft flickering around his fingers.

Obviously, he was going to perform the final protocol that every magus would resort to if they were seen in action by ordinary people: the classic Memory Manipulation move.

I smirked to myself, leaning against a jagged outcropping of ice. 

'I wonder if he'll go with the gas leak story this time. "Oh, you all escaped on your own! The Facility pipes burst! Nothing to see here, just run!" Pathetic, but effective. Hahahaha.'

Every Magus's favorite party trick.

Not far away us, the Alkali base lay entombed in Anastasia's glacier, its steel jaws frozen mid-scream. The walk up here had been a blur, everyone was busy with their own thing. The Hassans hauling data and corpses, X-23's twitching claws, and that bitch dead body being dragged out.

The Shadow Border loomed behind, its obsidian hull steaming against the snow. Now, Hassans swarmed around it like ants, loading crates of Facility files, blood samples, Project CHOIR's corpses and Harkins' frozen body into its belly. Kimura's corpse also wrapped in a tarp, dangled from Mordred's grip like a macabre piñata. 

Mordred and Ushiwakamaru stood off to the side, bickering over something stupid.

"—told you to carry the dead one, not drag her through the snow!" Ushiwakamaru hissed, her eyes narrowed.

Mordred grinned, tossing Kimura's body over her shoulder like a sack of flour. "What's the difference? She's not gonna complain!"

"It's disrespectful—"

"Oh, piss off with your samurai bullsh—"

And there they go again, the two girls always clashing with each other like a pair of dogs and cats. I can't help but shake my head, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I watch them with amusement.

A voice cut through the cold, warm and melodic but edged with concern.

"Master."

I didn't need to turn to know who it was. That ara ara tone—equal parts nurturing and scolding—could only belong to one person.

"Da Vinci," I said, finally facing her.

She stood with her hands on her hips, her cobalt-blue eyes narrowed. Her usual playful smile was gone, replaced by a tight line of disapproval.

"Mash told me you overused your Mystic Eyes," she said, stepping closer. Her breath fogged the air between us. "Let me check you. Now."

I waved her off, my glove crusted with blood. "I'm fine, really. The headache's already fading."

"Liar. Don't act tough, Master. Even though I don't know the detail about your eyes, I know that seeing through dead itself is not something any living beings could do without harming themself. It's a taboo after all." She poked my chest, her finger jabbing like a scalpel. "You're pale as a corpse, you know. What part of 'your brain is literally cooking itself' don't you understand?"

"Besides, Hinako's going to skin me alive if I let you collapse," Da Vinci added, crossing her arms. "Remember what she did to Romani just the day when we left the HQ?"

I winced. Not at the pain—though my skull was throbbing—but at the mention of her.

'Oh, man, I remember.'

The image flashed in my mind: Dr. Romani, Chaldea's resident cinnamon roll, sprinting down the hallway with Hinako hot on his pursuit.

Holding one of her swords, her voice had been calm, yet terrifying at the same time. "You bastard disgusting NEET! I've been itching to beat the hell out of you since long ago. If you keep running, I will turn your spine into a necklace"—while My boy, Romani screamed like a banshee.

Even Director Olga had just… stepped aside. Smart woman. Let just say, that day will leave a scar even for the almighty Solomon as he wouldn't able to get up for at least a couple of months.

'What a tragedy... My girl really put My bro Romani into misery...'

"Yeah, yeah, let's not bring her into this," I muttered, "We'll do the checkup after this. I promise."

Da Vinci huffed but relented, as my gaze shifting to the crowd behind me. "Anyways, what about them?" I asked, trying to shift the topic.

She followed my stare. Two figures stood apart from the others, deep in conversation with Mash not far away from us. The first was a girl with emerald-green hair, her hands animated as she chattered excitedly.

The second was a woman with black tattoo on one of the sides of her eyes, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp. She leaned against a rock, arms crossed, watching Mordred and Ushiwakamaru with a smirk.

"Why aren't they getting the memory wipe like the others?" I asked, curiosity evident in my voice.

Da Vinci fell silent for a moment, contemplating the situation. "Hmm," she mused, "One can manipulate magnetism, while the other has some kind of probability manipulation."

"So?" I pressed, seeking clarity.

"Well, why not ask for their opinion first? Both of them have useful abilities. It would be far more beneficial for us if we could recruit them. If they refuse, we can always wipe their memories about us and let them go," Da Vinci suggested.

I nodded in agreement, her answer aligning with my own thoughts. These two Metas were among the individuals I had mentioned in our file earlier.

"Fair enough. Let's ask them while we wait for Kadoc and Anastashia to finish their job," I said.

With that, we both started walking toward their position, ready to engage them in conversation.

.....

( 3rd POV )

As Ken and Da Vinci trudged through the snow toward the group, the emerald-haired girl was the first to notice them. Her green eyes lit up with recognition and excitement, accompany by a smile that spreading across her face.

The emerald-haired girl's excitement was palpable as she recognized Ken. "Oh my god, you're the leader, right? The one from the New York attack that night?" she blurted out, bouncing on her toes with enthusiasm. "I was watching the whole livestream from the internet before I got caught. I really never thought it would be you guys, Chaldea, who are saving us! It's really unexpected! Maybe it is fate."

Ken watched her antics with a mixture of amusement and resignation. He had encountered this kind of reaction before from Daisy, and it was always a bit overwhelming.

"Another one..." he muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly.

"That caster lady said The Chaldea are some kinds of secret organization. Do you have a base? Is it underground? Do you fight evil people every day?!" She continued to ask in her excitement.

Mash laughed nervously, adjusting her shield. "W-well, we're more of a… proactive observational group?"

Domino, who had been listening silently beside them, couldn't help but snort in disbelief. "Observational? Sweetheart, you stormed a mutant torture lab and turned a guy and his base into a Glacier. That's not 'observing.' That's a massacre," she remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

The emerald-haired girl and the others chose to ignore Domino's comment. Instead, the girl stepped forward and thrust her hand toward Ken with a confident smile. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Lorna. Lorna Dane. But I go by the name Polaris in the Meta society!"

The emerald-haired girl, who was about the same age as Ken, was none other than Magneto's biological child. She had inherited his ability to manipulate magnetism.

Ken stared at her in silence for a moment. He had never imagined that this female version of Magneto would be so young in this universe. The last time he had seen Magneto, albeit only a clone, the man had been in his mid-fifties, almost sixty, with gray hair.

Ken wondered whether the girl in front of him was another clone or the genuine one.

"Ken. Ryougi Ken," he replied, his grip firm but brief. "And yes, that was me and my group fighting The Brotherhood that night. But for your other questions, I couldn't answer them yet. I hope you understand, Miss Dane."

His gaze flicked subtly towards Da Vinci, a silent signal passed in the space of a heartbeat. The Universal Genius, ever perceptive, stepped forward with a flourish. "Fufu, my master is right, but we could answer the rest if you could cooperate with us, Miss Dane, Miss Thurman."

"It's fine, I understand. Oh, you can just call me Lorna too," Lorna replied, waving her hand to indicate that it was not a problem. "So, what do I need to do?"

Meanwhile, Domino, who had been referred to by her real surname, stepped forward with vigilance. She dropped her nonchalant act and stared at Da Vinci with a serious expression. "Who are you?" she asked in a solemn tone.

"Fufu, don't need to be so tense, Ms. Thurman and as for me?" Da Vinci responded not with caution, but with flair. With a theatrical twirl and an exaggerated bow, she declared, "Greetings, my delightfully ordinary friends! Allow me to illuminate your day with the presence of Chaldea's very own Universal Genius—Leonardo Da Vinci!"

The surrounding fell into stunned silence. As if the atmosphere itself being frozen. Lorna blinked, her mouth slightly agape, processing the eccentric display, while Domino's suspicion only deepened. And yet the genius is still not done with her introduction.

"Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking: 'How could this Universal Genius be such a beautiful woman?' Now, don't fret if your mortal minds struggle to comprehend my brilliance. Whether my gender is a man or not, such a thing would never stop my brilliance from shining in the previous era nor in the current era! A flawless fusion of wisdom, intellect, and beauty. Fufufu, such is me, The Universal Genius, Da Vinci-chan~."

After she finished her bizarre way of introduction, Ken beside her groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Sigh, you just had to go that way, huh?" Ken faced palms himself while shaking his head in shame.

Clap! Clap!

"Sasuga, Da Vinci-chan!" Mash, on the other hand, was delighted, her eyes sparkling as she clapped enthusiastically.

"Whaaat!? You are Leonardo Da Vinci? THAT Da Vinci!?" Lorna's astonishment finally burst forth. "I know there are Sir Mordred and the samurai lady, but this..."

The other Meta's, Domino remained unimpressed by Da Vinci introduction, her gaze sharp and unyielding. "Are you joking with me?" As she didn't have any prior knowledge about Chaldea because of her early imprisonment by The Facility.

Da Vinci basked in the attention, a smug grin plastered across her face. "Fufufu, indeed I am. So, praise me!" Feeling satisfied by Lorna reaction, while ignoring Domino.

But his master was having none of it before he coughed loudly. "Ahem! Da Vinci!" Drawing Da Vinci back to the matter at hand.

Getting his master reminder, Da Vinci cleared her throat dramatically and adopted a more serious tone. "Oh, right, the cooperation. So, Lorna, Ms. Thurman, here's the deal."

"You both have three options here. The first one is, you can choose to join the other Metas over there." Da Vinci pointed towards the group of unconscious Metas laying in the field, their memories erased by Kadoc's manipulation.

"Your memories about us will be wiped clean, as Chaldea operates in secrecy. After that, you will be rescued by the X-Men, who we will contact once we're done here. Beyond that, everything is depending on you."

"Second, as a token of our gratitude for your assistance in capturing Harkins, we will give you a ride to your base, home, or wherever you want to go. However, your memories of us and our organization will still be erased to maintain our secrecy."

Lorna and Domino listened quietly, contemplating the options presented to them. Da Vinci continued, outlining the final option.

"Lastly, you both could choose to join our organization, Chaldea. You don't need to decide right away. You can stick around with us on our road trip, get to know us better, and see if you feel you can trust us before making your decision."

"So, which option will you choose?" Da Vinci asked, her gaze steady as she awaited their response.

.....

----------

A/N: Please donate your power stones and leave more reviews for my story, I appreciate it and thank you for your support!