Uncanny X-Men (Marvel Omega)

SuperNova, Part IX

The Quinjet

Departing from Avengers Mansion in the heart of New York, one of the many Quinjets owned by the Avengers streaks towards Los Angeles, California. The Wasp, currently serving as field leader of this squad of Avengers, sits at the controls of the Quinjet with the Black Panther sitting beside her. The Falcon and She-Hulk are seated behind them. After the brief exchange they had earlier at the mission briefing, the Wasp and the Black Panther, in particular, are silent around each other. Both Falcon and She-Hulk notice the tension between the two Avengers, but say nothing.

Behind them, Ant-Man sits in a chair with his helmet sitting on his lap. He holds a cellular phone to his ear and speaks to his daughter, Cassie, through it.

"That's right, honey," he says in the phone. "We're going to Los Angeles. They want me to save Captain America. I'll call you when I get back, okay? Okay, I love you, Cassie. Be good."

He disconnects the cell phone and places it in a small storage compartment nearby. He sits back in his chair and sighs.

"Personal calls before a mission?" notes the Jack of Hearts from his seat. "Shouldn't that be against protocol? Telling people where you're going and everything – what if someone's listening in on the call?"

Ant-Man silently curses himself. He and Jack of Hearts have not exactly gotten along since he came to the Avengers. Jack seems to think the only reason Scott Lang has a place on the team is because he's Hank Pym's successor to the Ant-Man mantle – and he resents Scott for that.

"Look, I was just on the phone with my daughter, okay?" says Ant-Man. "I call her before every mission, because I never know if I'll be coming back alive. Besides, all I told her was that we're going to LA. Considering what's going on there, I don't think the Masters are gonna be surprised to see us."

"Oh," says Jack. He looks away from Ant-Man and mutters something that sounds like 'sorry' under his breath. But Scott cannot be sure if that's actually what he said or not. Instead, he just dismisses the entire conversation and pulls his Ant-Man helmet on. Better to focus on the task at hand; he can worry about his little feud with Jack of Hearts at another time.

In the back of the Quinjet, the Scarlet Witch sits at a small console and watches news reports on the monitor. It is a press conference in Switzerland, as Cassandra Nova Xavier speaks to delegates of the United Nations on the issue of Magneto. Among the other things he has been in his life, Wanda Maximoff is ashamed to admit that he is also her father.

"Magneto is building weapons of mass destruction, of this I am certain. I have recorded irregular bursts of electro-magnetic energy in the area of Genosha, and I believe these are due to Magneto running some smaller-scale tests on his machine. Again, every bit of data, which spans over several weeks, is included in the reports."

She sighs deeply at these words, and glances over her shoulder to see the Vision standing behind her. She crosses her arms and seems to sink slightly into her chair. The Vision takes notice of this.

"Is something troubling you, Wanda?" he asks.

"These reports," replies the Scarlet Witch. "We just... ugh, when will my father stop? What will it take to finally put an end to his pointless feud with humanity?"

The Vision offers no response, because he has none to give. Or rather, no response that he feels would be acceptable for his ex-wife to hear. Instead, he remains quiet and the two watch the rest of the press conference in silence.

The Falcon glances over his shoulder and notices the exchange between Vision and Scarlet Witch. He turns back to the front and looks at She-Hulk.

"Really makes me wonder about some of this," he says. "I mean... this whole thing with Cassandra Nova. Then the Masters of Evil attack LA, and now, we've got Magneto building weapons of mass destruction. Anyone think we seem to be just a bit unlucky lately?"