-Other than making sure you don’t shoot our people out of some inane need for political supremacy, no. We’re generally pretty reserved with nations without a significant extraplanetary presence, as they tend to have deep-seated political biases that need to be wrangled out before diplomatic relations can begin, as well as being incapable of sufficient power projection to deter invaders on their own, thus sapping our own forces without commiserate considerations.

-We don’t even have all the disparate nations of Terra working with us yet, we’re certainly not going to be imposing on your fractured Earth.- I turned my head slightly. -Good Heavens, you’ve still got malevolent AI infestations in your computer networks.- I tapped my temple. -Reporting Ultron, Machinesmith, Master Mold, and Zola infestations in the planetary networks of the new Earth and Mars here. Quarantine all information networks coming out of the planets until they are purged. Commence a Worldmind sifting immediately, the base coding is in the Alternity Files.- It went without saying that my Cosmic Awareness would be available to track everything down, and Uncle Ben would disintegrate any hard technology that could not be thoroughly wiped.

-They... are in our own systems?- Magneto /asked, startled.

-You seem surprised. Coding done by superhuman intellects that is also self-evolving being able to bypass some of your firewalls is surprising to you?- I /arched an eyebrow at him. -You plainly need more exposure to truly intelligent individuals, Master Lensherr. Do you make a habit of underestimating non-mutant intellects or something?-

He mentally coughed, facing me and realizing that intellectually he wasn’t on the same planet, let alone in the same ballpark. -Your people’s achievements do seem to have been taken to a higher level than we are used to considering,- he /answered somewhat ruefully.

-Mutual cooperation instead of antagonism reaps great rewards,- I /replied to that. -Miss Grey, you can inform whoever parties you deign to telepathically that their projected data and extraplanetary information exchanges are going to be interdicted until the hostile programming is wiped from your systems before it can spread. We are not going to risk malevolent AI infections to our systems, and trying to force such matters is basically an act of military aggression we are not going to take well.

-Once your systems are clear, you’ll have full access to interstellar media once again.-

-What of our claim to Mars?- Magneto /spoke up quickly, eyes flashing at the presumption we could do that, and the knowledge that we were going to do so regardless of what they thought. -The majority of our population is here.-

I considered that, looking around. -A fiat planetary claim is out of the question, as you are basically colonizers in our system brought in from elsewhere. That being said, you’ve plainly done a lot of work making the world habitable via your arrival, which we had not bothered to do.

-There is no problem with allowing you to live here, as we’ve no wish to take advantage of your exemplary work, nor do we have any intention of intruding on your affairs of governance among yourselves. If the mining intrudes measurably on your quality of life, it will be suspended or altered as needed.

-If you wish to join in the mining, your people will naturally be compensated fairly for the labor and efforts they put in. If you wish to trade excess agricultural production, we will also pay fairly.

-We do suggest you increase the relevant mass on the planet to bring its gravity up to par to offset long-term muscle weakness, and make the magnetosphere self-sustaining, instead of the constantly-monitored situation it is in now. We have some experienced terraformers who you can consult with to find amicable solutions to these problems, and the system has excess moons that will not be missed to provide the mass.-

They were looking at me in disbelief at my attitude. I wasn’t acknowledging their right to Mars, but I was functionally giving them carte blanche to do as they wished here, regardless, and wasn’t demanding anything like taxes or obedience.

-We had claimed the right to represent the Sol System in intergalactic affairs,- Jean Grey /began cautiously.

-You don’t have the capabilities to defend Mars or your Earth, let alone the system, and somehow that granted you the right to negotiate with galactic empires?- I just turned my gaze on her, and she /flushed mentally. -I don’t know if you simply have that much chutzpah, or those empires were in very sad states themselves.

-Regardless, you are not in a state of societal or scientific advancement, let alone military prowess, to even consider such a status. We are particularly not interested in a society that discriminates on the basis of genetic identifiers joining us.

-If this lack of ultimate responsibility for your own fates disturbs you, there are other systems out there with colonizable worlds, and we can facilitate your immigration. I will warn you that if you make such a move, I expect you to be wiped out in under five years, as the galaxy is not a safe place.-

-We may be more capable than you think!- Magneto /stated proudly.

I looked at him, then at her, then away. -No. If anything, I am overestimating you based on luck and fighting spirit. You are not aware of how dangerous the galaxy is, and how much exposure it has to superhuman abilities applied on the stage of galactic war. Any intruder who is aware you are Terran Powered in heritage will be ready for your superhuman abilities and likely obliterate you faster than you believe possible. Your mono-focus on X-gene power development is particularly easy to neutralize with the right technology, and relying on it for planetary defense is suicide.-

The look on their faces was priceless. Yeah, the High Evolutionary had invented that stuff years ago. Monitoring alien empires had not been slow to pick up on the utility of it when he went worldwide with it during his little Evolutionary War, and at least one of the satellites had gone missing during the clean-up afterwards, snaffled up by the Kree, and its specs were gained soon after by the Skrulls, as well.

And that wasn’t even including biological warfare, like custom viruses or cross-mutational vectors, like the Legacy Virus or Terrigen Mist.

-Regardless, if you chose to settle on Mars and become natives of the Sol System, we will be expecting cooperation and some contributions towards the defense of the planets and system itself, but all that is negotiable and can wait until you get your people resettled and explain to them what has occurred. A positive attitude and effort will win you much more respect than dithering and attempting to circumvent your responsibilities, as it were.-

They glanced at one another, and I knew it was time for the loaded questions. -You said there was a counterpart for each of us in this universe?- Magneto /asked carefully.

-Elder Lensherr quietly refused to join the High Guard decades ago, serving as the Champion of New Israel, a position he has held proudly ever since. He is one of the most admired men on Terra.- Magneto’s expression grew even more complicated when he /heard that. -I’m sure you can arrange to meet through diplomatic channels. However, be aware he will be aware of your past exploits and your loudly professed beliefs on genetic discrimination, and he will not approve of them.-

-I see.- His mind visibly flashed with thoughts of roads not taken.

-What of me?- Jean Grey /asked, very curious about the possibility.

-The Phoenix and her husband both serve in the High Guard, although they are on reserve duty now raising a family. Three kids and a fourth on the way! I think all the Summers boys are having contests with how many children they can have, although Vulcan definitely cheats by having four consorts.-

Her eyes flashed at the news. -So you have Scott Summers and his brothers here, too?-

-And their father, Admiral Summers, still commanding the Starjammer, flagship of the Pentad Alliance Expeditionary Forces, which basically means he goes looking for trouble and usually finds it without much effort.-

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The Summers boys are doing fine, but...

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-Charles Xavier?- Magneto /asked intently.

-Charles Xavier is the royal consort to Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar, has two children with her, and is currently ensconced on the Ringworld Shi’ar with them.-

The fact didn’t seem to surprise either of them, so much as interest them. -A Ringworld for the Shi’ar? They must be more advanced than those of our timeline,- Jean Grey /murmured.

I lifted a mental eyebrow. -Doubtful, the Shi’ar would be approximately the same with only a century-some of non-active divergence. The remnants of the Shi’ar Empire live on their Ringworld after the fall of their empire and occupation of their galaxy by the Annihilation Wave invasion from the Negative Zone.- As they stared at me, I went on, -It is a fate shared by the Kree and the Skrull Empires, who are ensconced upon their own Ringworlds with what members of their populations and the vassal races they could evacuate.

-When I say the universe is dangerous, it is because all three empires are jockeying for resources, and are in a quiet state of unending war with the Zoner species who now occupy their worlds and home galaxies. The Milky Way was spared the full invasion, but random elements of the Wave are everywhere, and very opportunistic, and certain militaristic elements of all three empires are not much better.

-And then we still naturally have to deal with the Badoon, who have long eyed humanity as a convenient source of slaves and genetics for their own stalled evolution.-

-This level of technology is not human, then,- Magneto /confirmed, looking a little relieved.

-Yes and no. The core of our technology is Xandaran, but there have been numerous improvements and upgrades to it from Reed Richards, Howard Stark and his son, and many other contributors.- Yes, I was one of them, although Barb and Anning were probably the biggest on the tech side among my Dupes. -Much of the mining equipment below has a Corbinite foundation, and the power armor of the Solar Marines is based on Galadoran standards. The Annihilation Wave and the many species involved in it also gave us a lot of technology to reverse-engineer and integrate into our own.-

-And do you share this technology with your homeworld?- Jean /asked narrowly, naturally looking for signs of hypocrisy.

-We are neither so foolish nor naïve to believe that delivering this technology widely across Terra will change the behavior of those who live there unilaterally for the better. We do recruit from across the planet, and nations showing greater maturity and responsibility have access to more materials. The primary beneficiaries of the technology are those allowed to emigrate to Venus, where we have a multicultural presence of all member races of the Pentad.

-Of course, we have standards for immigration, and firm believers in genetic discrimination do not satisfy them,- I /noted for them, making them both flinch. -We have thus little to no interest in your peoples or lands, as you might infer. We have enough problems with genetic supremacists back home on Terra to have any desire to deal with yours.

-Naturally enough, there are plenty of Terrans who believe they are universally entitled to the benefits of our technology as they deem fit, and the fact they don’t meet our qualifications tends to anger them mightily.- I /shrugged. -We still save the world they live on. It’s our job. And they don’t pay us for that, either. Must figure they are entitled to work us like slaves, too.-

Their proud little declamations died in their thoughts.

-Our standards are not double standards. I can see there are members of your populations who are little more than mass murderers, and would be executed immediately were the decisions ours to make. Why you tolerate them among your own I do not purport to understand, but it again establishes that you are immature societies based on genetics, and not spiritual or mental virtues or models of behavior. Perhaps in time.

-Have you any more questions of relevance? More in-depth discussions can wait for formal diplomatic relationships to open, once you’ve settled your own people.-

-We can trust to your honor that there will be no aggressive moves by the troops you have brought here?- Magneto /asked carefully.

-You can see quite clearly they are establishing a defensive perimeter around our people, not an offensive formation against yours, Elder Lensherr. If continued mining operations are untenable, we will vacate the miners and equipment from near your population centers.-

-I will trust in your word at this time, then,- he /bowed slightly, and I returned the gesture.