X-Force: Beyond Omega
Ch: 162 [A vaccation for all]

[One Week Later – Earth, Genosha Hangar]

The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a golden glow over the island as Aron zipped up his black thermal jacket and adjusted his gloves. The hoverjet behind him purred softly, prepped for takeoff. Snow gear? Check. Resort passes? Check. Private suite at the most exclusive alpine retreat this side of the Himalayas? Double check.

He turned to Natasha, who looked, in a word, lethal in her snow-white snowsuit. Hair braided back, tinted goggles perched on her head, and a subtle smirk playing on her lips.

"You ready?" he asked.

Natasha cracked her knuckles. "I was born ready. You just make sure you don't cry when I beat you down the mountain. And no powers."

"I don't cry," Aron said. "I just shed power-infused, reality-bending expressions of emotion. And no power, that's a promise."

Before Natasha could respond, a very loud voice echoed through the hangar.

"WHOO-HOOO! ROAD TRIP!"

Aron blinked.

Natasha sighed.

Jubilee barrelled in wearing a neon-pink snowsuit, snowboard slung over her shoulder, ski goggles glowing with LED lights.

"Who told you?" Aron asked flatly.

"Excuse me, who didn't tell everyone?" Jubilee chirped. "You think you're gonna sneak off on a sexy ski date and not have Genosha join in like a rom-com on mutant steroids?"

He gave her that look and said through telepathy, 'I was planning the next date with you on a different planet with dinosaurs and weird creatures, but I guess you don't want to go.'

"Jean, read Nat's mind." She gave up Jean, just like that.

Behind her, Kitty came jogging in, dual-wielding cocoa thermoses. Jean followed with a duffel bag that might've contained everything except a small helicopter. Pixie teleported in midair, landed on the wing of the jet, and shouted,

"Did someone say SNOW?"

"Wofff! Wofff!" Goldy barked excitedly, his tail wagging in double-time. He wore a custom-made snow jacket and tiny goggles that Wanda made for him.

"How does he know?" Natasha asked, deadpan.

"Goldy always knows. He's a telepath of Omega level," Wanda said, arriving with Pietro and Storm in tow. Wanda was dressed in a white coat, her now-silver hair gleaming in the morning sun. "You think you're getting away from us that easily?"

Aron stared.

"This was supposed to be a two-person thing. One-on-one. Romantic."

Logan walked by in a thick flannel jacket, snow boots, and a ski mask with angry bear ears. "You thought. But I need this vacation more than any of you. Been two weeks since I stabbed something."

Scott strolled past with sunglasses and a clipboard. "I organized everyone's lift pass assignments. Also, I'm calling dibs on the south slope. Logan, you're banned from the beginner trails after last time."

"Beginner trail looked at me funny," Logan grunted.

Hank arrived with a tiny snow lab in a containment tube. "I'm tracking the atmospheric shifts caused by mutant energy fluctuations. Also, snowball trajectory studies. Science."

Emma floated down the steps of her personal hoverlimo, dressed in a white fur coat that probably cost more than the entire resort.

"I'm not here to ski. I'm here to supervise. And drink. Mostly drink."

Chat the critter telepath showed up with a small army of mutant-enhanced animals wearing tiny scarves. Squirrels, raccoons, a couple of birds, and a possum with a snowboard. All accounted for. Oh, she had Aron upgrade her small army.

Aron turned to Natasha.

"This was supposed to be our weekend."

Natasha looked utterly unbothered.

"Adapt. Overcome. Maybe ski behind a moving squirrel army."

"Are we even going to have room on the jet?"

Aron sighed and gave up. "Alright. Gather everyone. Let's all go. Make an announcement, Scott. We go in 30 minutes, as for gears, not to worry." He flicked his fingers, and the left empty side of the hanger got filled up with new gears. "Pietro, you are up."

[30 Minutes Later – Genosha Airport Hangar]

The last thermos was sealed. The last snowboard was secured. And the hangar was humming with energy, voices overlapping in a chaotic symphony of excitement, complaints, bets, and very loud animal chatter.

Aron stood in the center of it all, taking one last look at the crowd that had somehow turned his romantic mountain getaway into a full-scale mutant migration.

"Alright," he muttered, "let's do this before someone adds another emotional support llama to the list."

He raised his hand, fingers sparking with controlled energy. The air in front of him shimmered, twisting like water pulled through a vortex. Then... whooom... A massive portal opened, stretching wider than the hangar doors, swirling with winter winds and the scent of fresh pine.

On the other side?

Snow-capped peaks kissed by the rising sun. A luxurious alpine resort sat nestled against the mountains, smoke curling from chimneys, ski lifts already in motion. Powdered slopes stretched out in every direction, untouched, pristine, waiting.

A collective oooohhh echoed through the hangar.

"Move fast before it closes," Aron called out.

"Let's gooo!" Jubilee screamed and bolted through the portal, doing a front flip midair and landing perfectly in the powder. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER."

Pixie zipped through next, dragging Kitty behind her. Goldy bounded in with such force that snow exploded around him in a glittery halo. Hank was next, walking calmly while monitoring the air quality. A squirrel rode shotgun on his shoulder, wearing tiny goggles.

Pietro whooshed by, yelling "Dibs on the black diamond run!" before anyone could stop him.

Emma glided through as if the snow had been rolled out specifically for her. She looked around, nodded in approval, and then looked at Goldie, who was wagging his tail, looking at her. "Built me a crystal throne, my dear."

"Wofff!" Goldy barked once, and instantly a crystal throne appeared under a tree. It wasn't perfect, but good enough.

Emma walked over to him and ruffled his head, "Good, boy. No go. Enjoy your day."

"Wofff!" Goldy ran away, wagging his tail.

Storm stepped through, a small flurry swirling around her heels, snow parting gently like it respected her too much to touch her coat.

Scott followed, muttering logistics into his comms while checking a clipboard. He froze halfway through, saw Jubilee building a glitter bomb snowball launcher, and muttered, "I give it an hour before the medics get called."

Logan stalked in last, muttering about how skiing was for people who didn't know how to climb trees with claws. He popped one and cracked his knuckles. "Gonna find the tallest mountain and slide down it face first."

Magik stood beside him, "Wanna bet, old man? One crate of your limited edition beer stash that you got from Aron. If I lose, I'll give you a Roosevelt 1899 Whiskey bottle."

"Heh!" Logan grinned. "You are on, kid."

Aron and Natasha were the last to step in.

She looked at him sideways, lips quirking. "Still upset?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not at all. I love when thousands of people hijack my weekend plans."

Natasha leaned in. "They're your people."

Aron sighed, watching the chaos unfold: raccoons building snow forts, Jubilee and Kitty building something, Logan talking to Magik, and Scott attempting to reassign room pairings to avoid property damage.

"They are, aren't they?"

She nudged his side. "Come on. Race you to the top."

He smirked. "You cheat."

"I'm not the one with literal space magic."

He looked back and used his Omnipresence. There was still one person missing. Hela.

[Genosha – Main Tower, Hela's Room]

Knock. Knock.

Inside the dark and stylish chamber adorned with black velvet curtains, ancient blades, and one very judgmental mirror, Hela stood at her vanity, utterly absorbed.

She had three dresses laid out in front of her.

One was a shimmering midnight green, complete with a thigh-high slit and fur-lined cloak. Too dramatic. The second was black with silver embroidery in the shape of skulls. Too obvious. The third was… technically a battle outfit, just one she'd modified to pass as "resort chic." Still had hidden blade holsters, though.

She stared at the mirror.

Then back at the dresses.

Then at the mirror again.

"Ugh," she groaned. "Why is this harder than planning a kingdom-wide execution?"

The knock came again.

"Occupied!" she snapped. "Unless the realm is on fire or someone stole Emma's wine cellar again!"

From the other side of the door came a very calm voice.

"It's already been on fire three times this morning, Emma's wine is secured under five psychic locks, and… we're leaving."

Hela froze.

That voice.

Aron.

She turned slowly, eyes narrowing. Then she quickly opened the door and dragged him inside, "Help me choose. I can't decide."

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