The Wanderer - 206 (Patreon)

Chapter 206 – Information

[2009 – October]

"A cure?", her younger brother asked with a faint frown, the shadows in his swelling and flickering.

Emma couldn't really tell what it was that he was thinking about as Elijah's intentions and emotions were as obscure as ever, his calm presence showing not the faintest ripples.

"It's a mutant boy.", she explained, telling her younger brother what has made her so anxious, "His power is to negate every mutant's ability that comes too close to him."

“From the information that we gathered, the government has been experimenting with his genetic material to create a 'vaccine' that serves to turn mutants back into normal humans, causing them to lose their abilities permanently.”, Emma voiced out.

Being one of the three 'leaders' of the mutant race, even if only under the surface since only Charles and Magneto were known as the two powerful representatives of mutantkind and Emma preferred to keep her identity hidden in the face of the public, she very well understood the graveness of this matter.

In essence, the 'vaccine' wasn't just another potential weapon against mutants, it was a tool that could be used to cause the extinction of her race.

And while she personally believed in benefits and not in morality, Emma was a mutant herself and knew that her own life might be at risk in an eventual conflict between the races, not to mention that losing her psychic powers was a nightmarish thought for her.

She wasn't blind to human greed and envy so she naturally understood that if this 'vaccine' was ever successfully produced, it would spell the end of mutantkind as humanity would never be at ease knowing that there existed people with the power to destroy cities amongst them.

The governments and other powerful factions would use any and all methods to eliminate the threat that mutants represented due to their potential.

This was especially so after the leading factions of the world had just been witness to Elijah's wrath.

Her little brother was a pinnacle existence amongst mutantkind, his strength seemingly unlimited. He could shatter this world piece by piece and devour the sun if he so desired.

So how could the human race not be afraid with such a being walking amongst them, their own power insignificant in front of his?

Emma, not unlike Erik, understood very well that a conflict between humanity and mutantkind was just a matter of time, given the vast gulf in individual power between the two sides.

This conflict was bound to happen soon too, since she could guess that none of the governments wanted to wait for more mutants to appear and gather together. They simply could not allow mutantkind to unify and establish itself with a firm foundation in this world.

Naturally, Emma wasn't this worried for purely altruistic reasons.

She knew very well that her own ambitions for power were best achieved through hidden means, not direct conflict. This was where her strengths lay, after all. The Club's influence was also best used for subterfuge while the various businesses under the Frost name would find it hard to profit from a race war as they might also be implicated due to her identity.

“Hmm … “, Elijah simply hummed in response, a faint thoughtful look appearing in his otherwise calm shadowed eyes.

If Emma didn't know any better, she might think that her younger brother just didn't understand the ramifications of what she had just told him as his reaction seemed much too mild.

But Elijah's intellect was no doubt as terrifying as the demonic strength that he hid within himself, if not greater. Having interacted with him for some time now, Emma knew that his intellectual prowess easily rivaled her own.

Like all members of the Frost family, Elijah's mind was as sharp as a tempered blade.

His serene expression though once again made Emma realize that her younger brother was not just a powerful mutant anymore. He was something greater, a being for whom even the possible extinction of a whole race seemed to be incredibly trivial.

It might garner his interest or attention for a moment but it was impossible for such matters to rouse him into action easily in most cases.

“Who is responsible for this research? Have they made any progress?”, he inquired lightly a few moments later.

"The government handed over the boy to Trask Enterprises.", Emma replied, her faint agitation fading completely as Elijah's calm presence infected her, calculating coldness replacing it.

"Trask Enterprises were the ones to develop the suppression collars and other specialized equipment to subdue mutants and rob them of their abilities temporarily. As such, they already have a tight relationship with the U.S. Military and the government.", she continued.

“They are the ones that have done the most research on mutants and their abilities, so they are the ones most likely to succeed in creating a 'vaccine'.”

"At this point, from the information that has been dug up, they have made some progress but are not yet able to create a 'vaccine' that permanently robs mutants of their innate abilities. Still, from the reports that I read, it is only a matter of time before they succeed.", she ended.

“Trask Enterprises, huh … “, Elijah murmured, understanding and recognition flickering in his eyes.

Realizing what the look in her brother's eyes implied, Emma asked: “You know something about this from your visions?”

Shaking his head lightly, he replied calmly with a faint sigh: "I can only tell you that they will indeed succeed in their research."

The apprehension in her heart growing, Emma knew that Elijah must have 'seen' something in his visions and she had the impulse to ask him in detail about this. Ultimately though, she suppressed that impulse, knowing that her brother didn't like talking about the knowledge that he had about the future.

Not to mention that he generally refused to involve himself in matters that weren't directly related to himself, his philosophy one that made him unwilling to be anything but an ethereal observer.

Even just speaking of the future knowledge that he possessed was something that Elijah saw as a very serious matter.

Her younger brother believed in a greater fate, a kind of karma that determined one's future based on one's actions.

It wasn't as simplistic as it sounded though as Elijah believed that the consequences for one's action were not always visible as some form of retribution. In fact, he believed that direct consequences were rarely the issue.

When he spoke of fate, Elijah spoke of it as if it was some kind of forked path that he was on and that his every action determined the direction that he took.

He had once told her that it was a path of no return, an unforgiving path that mercilessly devoured those that treaded it wrongly by making them lose themselves, which he had no intention of doing.

Though even as intelligent as she was, Emma couldn't really understand how Elijah saw the world, his beliefs too obscure for her truly comprehend them. She wasn't sure if this was the case due to the incomprehensible gulf in power between them or something else.

What she knew though was that this wasn't a religious faith but a personal one, and it gave Elijah the kind of conviction that allowed him to still be human even though the origin of his strength seemed wholly demonic.

Her heart was a bit pained whenever Emma thought of this as Elijah had changed so much in the short time that she had known him, his pursuit of strength and freedom leading him down a path that he could only tread by himself.

She didn't want her brother to disappear and turn into something else before she even had the chance to really get to know him.

Still, she was powerless to stop him, not to mention that it was not her place to ask him to give up on pursuing his dreams and ambitions. Emma only hoped that Elijah didn't forget that she was his sister and that he was part of her family, and as such there would always be a place where he could return to.

Inwardly sighing, Emma tried to keep a calm and collected expression on her face but she couldn't suppress the trace of gentleness that appeared in her sky-blue eyes.

On the matter at hand though, it was evident that, while the whole mutant race was threatened by the possible existence of the 'vaccine', Elijah didn't think much of it.

Lightly nodding in response to his words, she answered: "Charles also knows about this through his own channels and he has informed Erik since this matter is too important and affects all of mutantkind. He wants the three of us to meet up and discuss eventual countermeasures."

"Hmm … ", Elijah hummed in acknowledgment before adding quietly, "I will join you for the meeting."

Somewhat surprised by this, Emma realized that Elijah might get involved after all, though she knew it wouldn't be for his sake but for hers.

Nodding while smiling beautifully, she replied: "Thank you, Elij- … What's wrong?"

Having just wanted to express her gratitude, Emma saw his head turn sharply as he gazed at the city, his eyes burning with white flames.

“Interesting.”, Elijah whispered, “A mutant in the city has just awakened his connection to the Darkforce Dimension.”