As everyone knows, family upbringing shapes a person's character.
When Emma was little, she was rather withdrawn. She didn't like talking to others, and she had very few friends.
If there was anything worse than having an incompetent father, it was also having a mother who drank, did drugs, and cheated.
In that kind of rotten home, living there could only feel suffocating.
"It looks like the famous White Queen and Silver Fox aren't living very well."
Zod stared at the beautiful pair of sisters on the screen.
They were sisters, but they didn't look alike at all. One had long brown hair, the other long platinum hair.
"Boss, should we bring them back? They might awaken similar mutant genes," the Black Queen said.
"I don't really want to disturb their peaceful lives," Zod said after a moment of thought, "unless they themselves are desperate to give up that peace."
It wasn't like he had some collecting obsession. The White Queen and Silver Fox weren't that powerful either. Was he supposed to do it just because they were pretty?
Hm. Thinking about it carefully, if there were no mutants in this universe, then would Magneto, Erik, be living a normal life too? And what about Polaris?
"The real tragedy is that there's no Mystique," Zod suddenly said, thinking of a mutant that made him feel a bit regretful. "Mystique's true form is gorgeous, sure, but without her ability she's probably aged into an old lady by now. About the same age as Carter."
White Queen Emma played the pure, saintly act every day. But the moment she got home, she stripped the mask away.
While Emma wasn't aware, Zod obtained a small blood sample from her. The Black Queen quickly modeled, analyzed, and tested it.
"There really is an X-gene in her body," the Black Queen reported after the analysis. "But we can't confirm whether it's the same type recorded in the files."
Silver Fox Kara was analyzed as well. She also had the X-gene.
Emma lay on her bed. The day-long performance, all that coy affectation, left her exhausted and disgusted. But it was what she had to do.
"Emma Grace Frost."
A voice sounded without warning. Immediately after, a figure shrouded in shadow appeared, startling Emma badly.
Just from the way it showed up, it didn't look like the kind of person you'd call good.
"Don't be nervous, Emma Grace Frost. I'm not a good person," the shadow said frankly, as if being bad were something to be proud of.
The tone alone stunned Emma. For a long moment, she couldn't even react.
"Enough nonsense. I'm here because you have the potential to become one of us. Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly live?"
Emma curled up on the bed, silent.
"Then I've disturbed you," the shadow said, its presence dimming as if it were about to leave. "Since you want to spend your whole life keeping up this fake, delicate act."
"Wait!"
Emma called out to it.
In the next room, Silver Fox Kara spoke the exact same words.
"You can come back," Emma said, watching the shadow return, and she couldn't help asking, "What can you give me?"
At first she had been terrified. But the moment the shadow talked about living like this for the rest of her life, her fear vanished.
She really didn't want to live this way forever. She didn't even know why she was living like this. She wanted to change.
"The ability to break away from all of it," the shadow said.
"What do I have to pay?" Emma asked.
She had learned from a young age that nothing in this world was free.
"Freedom and loyalty. You will become one of us. After that, you won't be able to betray us. The only outcome of betrayal is death. But honestly, your life right now isn't much different from being dead."
Freedom and loyalty made Emma hesitate.
Everyone knew America prized the spirit of freedom. Freedom and democracy were everything.
To give up freedom as a price…
"I'll give you some time to think," the shadow said. "Consider it carefully. But if you refuse, I won't appear again."
It hadn't expected Emma to agree so quickly. It turned to leave.
"I agree. Can you take me away now?"
It had underestimated just how badly Emma wanted to escape this life and this family.
"Of course. But once you choose, there's no going back. Are you sure?" the shadow asked.
"…I'm sure."
Emma felt like there was nothing left worth holding on to.
And then she vanished into thin air.
Next door, Silver Fox Kara chose to think it over for a few days. She couldn't make that decision so quickly.
"Welcome to us, Emma Grace Frost."
The figure that appeared before Emma was clad in pitch-black armor, a simple cloak hanging from its shoulders.
"You are…" Emma said.
She could sense several other presences nearby, but she couldn't make out their faces clearly.
"You can call me the Black King. Come with me," Zod said to Emma.
Black King?
In this unfamiliar place, Emma still felt afraid, so she hurried after him.
Zod brought her into a laboratory.
"This is… what are you going to do?" Emma asked, a tremor in her voice. Why bring her to a lab?
"I told you, Emma. You have the potential to become one of us. Now we're going to develop that potential," Zod said.
He seized her hand to keep her from fleeing in panic, then secured her to the operating table.
"Don't worry, Emma. It'll be over soon."
Under Zod's strength, Emma fell into a deep sleep.
Zod first extracted Emma's X-gene and created a file. Only then did he begin helping her awaken and activate it.
Then he saw changes begin to appear in Emma. Starting at the cellular level, her normal cells were rapidly infected and converted into X-gene cells. A moment later, Emma's eyes snapped open.
Her entire body transformed into a diamond-like structure.
Zod sensed someone attempting to invade his mind. He counterattacked without the slightest courtesy. Emma immediately clutched her head and cried out in pain.
One of Emma's well-known abilities was telepathy. She could read others' thoughts and memories. She could also forcibly alter someone's memories, control their thinking, block mental signals, link multiple minds, and use telepathy to plunge victims into an unconscious sleep. She could even use a Cerebro-like brainwave amplifier. Overall, among all mutants, Emma's telepathic ability was second only to Professor X.
Besides telepathy, Emma's other ability was full-body diamondization. In diamond form, Emma's body was nearly indestructible, able to withstand tremendous impacts. She did not feel fatigue, did not need water or food, and was immune to mental attacks from other telepaths. However, in this form, she could not use telepathy.
/-\
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