Next plan

Author's Note: Heeey, y'all. Did I die? Yes, kinda. I do this disappearing act a lot, so sometimes it's hard to tell when I'm gonna continue a branch or not, even to me (literally my first ever branch on this site didn't even get to my twist). That being said, this entire time I've had not only plans but drafts (or parts of drafts) for next steps. If you follow me, first make better decisions, but this also includes branches on other stories and some for stories I've never posted work on before! Basically, I wanted to have like, something actual sexual in the chamber for my next upload, and wanted a buffer if my next break was too long (oops). I wrote those chapters out of order tho, and the connective tissue is what was really stopping me.

All that being said, since I last posted a LOT has changed. Krakoa is gone. Oops. In addition to that I feel kinda weird writing this setting for personal issues that I won't get into. Still, I'm gonna add to this chapter, it just won't be "contemporary" X-Men, For massive nerds like me, this takes place post-Sins of Sinister, pre-Hellfire Gala. Specifically, right after Selene joins the Quiet Council (this is actually after I took my break but Lucas Wernick draws Selene SO FUCKING HOT YOU GUYS).

P.S. Also fuck Marvel. They're being actual supervillain evil right now for reasons you can look up. This is a fan fiction branch, and one Marvel would never support. This is a fuck Marvel account. Pirate their shit and support indie publishers.

Time zones are so fucking weird on a mutant island. After X-**** leaves, you finish packing up and head back to California where you have an actual bed. Krakoa's sun was just setting while it's already dead of night on the west coast. You snuggle in under the covers for the next day and before you know it... someone wakes you up screaming bloody **** as they pound on your door like they're trying to break it down.

"Percy, you lazy fuck. Get up, it's nearly two pm!" You recognize that voice. It's your busybody suitemate. One of the downsides of staying back in America.

'You should hang out with kids your own age,' Your mother argued back then. It was the only way she'd agree to let you live so far away from her for college.

"What?" You scream. You pull open your door, not bothering to get dressed. You're shirtless and in your boxers. In front of you is your suitemate, Kristen. She's kind of frumpy but not ugly. Her curly brown hair is tied into two large puffs on either side of her head and her dark brown skin has a couple of acne scars on her cheeks. She's a bit short for her age, at 5'1". Currently, Kristen is wearing a neon green pullover hoodie that is two sizes too big for her, cut-off denim shorts, and puffy pink slippers. She's not impressed by your outburst.

"First of all," Kristen holds a finger in front of your face. "Don't scream at me, or I'll drop your ass with my half of the rent unpaid, credit score be damned." Kristen went back to typing on her StarkPhone. "Now, some stripper librarian is here to see you." Kristen pointed her thumb over her shoulder, towards the common room. There, fiddling with some metal headband in her hands on the couch, sits Sage.

Last night, as you locked up the bar, you set plans in motion for future goals. First on the list: Emma Frost. That woman has not only the ability to read your mind but every intention to do so. You got under her by not appearing as a threat, but she would be the first to notice a man of your inexperience and personality having a gaggle of girls hanging off your every word. No, you need to get Emma first. Jean and the Professor have "boundaries" that let you stay off their radar for just a little longer. Besides, you've felt her tits before, and you want to know how they compare unfrozen.

To ensure your Emma plan goes off without a hitch you've enlisted the help of Wolverine and Sage-- your two new allies. Funny, you expected the hairy imp to show up for the first half, but then again, you didn't expect any of them to show up at your suite, not so soon after you left the island. You walk up to Sage as Kristen heads off to her own room. As you approach she pays you no mind, instead just staring off into space. Wait, no, she's staring into her sunglasses. They're little screens. Does she even need glasses? Wait, if they're screens, are they cameras too? Important info for later.

"Fancy seeing you so soon," You say. Sage doesn't even look at you, preoccupied with the screens on her glasses.

"Logan told me you wanted this." Without moving the rest of her body, she extends her arm to give you the headband she's holding. It's a weird mix of modern and fanciful. The inside is a simple metal ring, with small, hard-to-see indents along the base spaced so unevenly you'd assume they were haphazard and accidental if the actual grooves they made weren't so clean. An ornate wreath is attached to the basic steel ring, forming an outer ring. It's so cleanly connected you can't see any weld lines. The wreath is flowery and expertly crafted, the leaves look identical to the ones you'd find on a plant, only in a dull shiny grey. If you look closely though, the "branches" of the wreath going every which way serve to cloak seemingly randomly placed protrusions from the inner ring. You can tell the difference as while the branches are detailed and thin, bending and splitting like the real thing, these protrusions are simple small poles with round ends, going at angles independent of the wreath's detailing. Lastly, the entire thing is connected to four small bumps extending down, seemingly to keep it on your head.

"This is.... not what I was expecting. Shouldn't this be a helmet?" You ask Sage. She gets up and starts inputting some commands into her glowing wristwatch, still not looking at you.

"There are many designs to get the same effect," Sage sighs. "Logan asked if I had one that was less conspicuous. This fit the bill best." The wristwatch goes blank and --for the first time since she arrived-- Sage turns her head to look at you. "I've sent the other info you asked for to your phone." You whip your head back to your room door. You never gave anyone on Krakoa your number. You turn back to Sage.

"Well, thanks a lot for your help." You extend your hand to Sage for her to shake.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't." She turns to leave, ignoring your offered handshake.

"Wait!" You grab her wrist. Sage slowly turns her neck to face you, like a turret locking on to a target it's about to obliterate.

"I heavily suggest you let go." She says, with a look that says "I have killed before and I'm willing to do so again." You obey, immediately letting go of her arm.

"Sorry, sorry." You raise your hands up to show you mean no harm. "I just wanted to ask something." Sage seems to perk up at that. The **** annoyance at you manhandling her washes away as her face goes blank, like a robot waiting for its next command. You lean in close to her. "Those glasses, they're not normal glasses, no?"

"No, they let me interface with the rest of the intelligence network on the island." Sage drones on. It's like you flipped a switch.

"Sage, has anyone ever told you you're hot when you drone on helplessly like that?" You're grinning like a madman.

"Yes, many times." Your smile melts a little.

"It was rhetorical, Sage." You say. "Now, with glasses like those you can do a lot of cool stuff, right?"

"Yes." She answers.

"Can those glasses record audio and video?" You ask.

"Yes. You just navigate the menus with your eyes and you can turn on the mic and camera." You see her eyes dart around. A second later a voice pipes up from her glasses.

"Yes. You just navigate the menus with your eyes and you can turn on the mic and camera," A recording of her voice plays.

"Um, so like, could anyone but you make those commands easily?" You ask.

"Almost certainly not," She Says.

"Look Sage, I need to record something inconspicuously so I can get some intel on someone. Is there a way those glasses can help?" Sage is silent for upwards of a minute. More darting of her eyes. Then Sage, in a very mechanical motion, takes off her glasses, turns them around, and hands them to you. Then she shakes off her dronish mode. It seems she no longer needs it to answer your questions.

"I've set the glasses to auto-record. Just say a clear, easy-to-hear, and unique code phrase around whatever you want to record and you can come back to X-**** HQ for me to edit around it." She picks up her glasses and puts them on your face. You blink in anticipation of a blurry prescription mismatch, but no, these glasses are perfectly clear. There's a bit of a heads-up display but it's all minimized. "The glasses are tuned to a certain amount of commands per second so you're not likely to accidentally open or close anything."

"Wonderful. So I just stop by your humble abode after I'm done and you'll grab the intel I need?" You say.

"Bingo. Now, can I go back to my lab? Or do you need something else?" Sage asks.

"Uh, sure. See you tomorrow after I've recorded the footage?" You point finger guns at Sage as she heads towards the door.

"If what you need to record has anything to do with the person you wanted me to track, that's going on right now, so it'll be much sooner than tomorrow," Sage says, hand on the doorknob.

"Wait, right now, right now?"

"Yes." Sage opens the door and leaves.

"Shit, shit shit!" You shout as you run to your room to get dressed.