The pickup truck rattled through backroads, Lily between Bill and Clara, her hands clasped to dim her glow. Bill's mind churned with threats—Brotherhood ambushes, Phoenix-driven destruction. He'd kept his past life vague, but now the comics' stakes were his reality.Clara broke the silence. "Bill, what did you see in those memories?""Everything," he said grimly. "Mutants hunted, cities burned. There's a guy called Apocalypse who'd see Lily as a weapon—or a sacrifice. Magneto might try to recruit her. And the Phoenix… it's a force that could wipe us out just by waking up."Lily shivered. "Why us, Dad?""Because you're special," he said, ruffling her hair. "And I'll be damned if I let them get you. We're heading north—maybe the X-Men can help. They've faced this stuff before."The system hummed:
"Host objective: Locate X-Men. Emotional state: Determined. No new templates unlocked."Night fell, and they stopped at a motel. Bill kept watch, the comics' paranoia seeping in—every shadow could be a Marauder, every noise a Sentinel. Clara patched a scrape on his arm, her voice soft. "You're carrying too much, Bill.""I have to," he said. "You and Lily are all I've got. I've seen what happens when people let their guard down here."She kissed him gently. "We'll carry it together."