The Wanderer - 218 (Patreon)

[A/N: Some rather urgent stuff popped up so I had little time to write the last few days, I do plan to make up for the chapters in the coming week though since I made some room in schedule so that I can focus on writing.

Enjoy!]

Chapter 218 – Decision

[2009 – October]

A cold breeze assaulting her, Emma reappeared on the roof of a sky-high building, the rather memorable skyline of New York in perfect view. Turning her head, she saw Elijah to her right, standing at the edge of the roof, his back facing her.

The black gem on her neck was a gift from him, which allowed her to 'teleport' to his side through the Darkforce Dimension at any given time. It was something that he had given her primarily for her protection, and also for her convenience.

Naturally, she was aware that he was also protecting her with an ethereal forcefield that would activate when she faced danger, but it still warmed her heart to have actual physical evidence of how much he cared for her.

Approaching him as quietly as she could on her heels, Emma silently looked at her younger brother's handsome profile as he stared in the distance.

“You made your decision?”, she asked softly, knowing that Elijah had been uncertain what to do about the 'vaccine' before.

Turning towards her, his serene expression carrying the faintest trace of sorrow, his eyes pools of dark emerald green, he nodded.

“I will not fight them but I will stop them from creating the 'vaccine'.”, he stated with quiet confidence, causing her eyes to widen a bit in surprise as he continued, “Mutantkind cannot afford to be crippled by this drug.”

A few seconds of silence spread between them as Emma gazed into her brother's unfathomable eyes, seemingly understanding his intentions as she concluded: "You don't want Charles and Eric to know."

Elijah nodded again, a faint smile spreading on his lips as his eyes flickered with admiration for her sharp mind. Though it was replaced by a more somber expression a moment later as he said: “Mutantkind cannot depend on me for their survival and unity.”

Raising his hand to her face, Elijah gently brushed over her cheek with the back of his fingers, causing her eyes to widen at this incredibly affectionate gesture.

“You have to be strong yourself.”, he stated before his form dispersed into the cold wind, leaving behind traces of caring warmth.

…

Walking along corridors that were illuminated by endless lines of glaring white fluorescent tubes, the smooth walls covered with metallic white panels, giving the path a sterile and cold atmosphere, my thoughts circled around the decision that I had made.

I had rejected Eric's invitation to fight by his side even though I agreed with most of what he said. It wasn't that I had been infected by his ideology, I just knew that reality was far less kind than Charles hoped it was.

Without fighting back, the mutant race had no future.

It was a simple truth, nothing more, nothing less.

But I naturally wouldn't allow someone like Eric to order me around nor did I have any interest in directly participating in a war of mortals by his side. As a Realm Lord, there was no 'fight' to be had if I decided to act, only destruction.

After all, I wasn't the type to hold back and show mercy, though I never acted without having thought of the consequences. And in this case, I had no wish to maim or eradicate the human race for mutantkind's benefit.

More than that though, I did not want to unite the mutant race under me nor did I want to be the reason for the continued existence of the alliance between Emma, Charles, and Eric.

Doing so would undoubtedly have unforeseen and unpredictable consequences, which I did not fancy facing since I had no interest in being a leader or saviour in the first place.

In the end, this wasn't a responsibility that I was unwilling to shoulder since that was not the path that I wanted to take. My path was a different one.

So, if the alliance between the three dissolved without my interference, then that was just how it was supposed to be. I did not want to interfere with the natural progression of events in such a forceful way and tie myself to mutantkind so intimately and obviously.

At this point, I myself wasn't even a mutant anymore, after all. As a Realm Lord as I was technically a unique higher lifeform and belonged to no race.

On the other hand, I obviously still felt connected to the mutant race through Jean, Emma, Laura, and the others, so silently watching them near extinction was not something that I planned to do.

I wanted to see them prevail and rise. And I was willing to act to somewhat increase their chances of success.

As such, I couldn't allow the 'vaccine' to be completed since it was one of the biggest reasons why mutantkind almost died out when the Sentinels attacked since the race was almost crippled by this drug, despite the effect of the 'vaccine' not being permanent.

In one of the timelines that I remembered, mutantkind was severely weakened after the proliferation of the 'vaccine', which made it comparatively very easy for the Sentinels to nearly hunt down and wipe out the whole race.

Only through some time-travel shenanigans had it been possible to save mutantkind, which I obviously didn't want to see as messing with time was just too dangerous and unpredictable.

I wasn't sure if the Sentinels would come into being in this reality but what I remembered was enough of a warning to make me realize that I could not allow the 'vaccine' to weaken the mutant race in any case.

Even without the Sentinels, other dangers would inevitably pop up as I did not believe that the different organizations and groups would not take advantage of the time when mutantkind seemed to be at its weakest.

Preventing the 'vaccine' from being completed was thus nothing more than my attempt to give mutantkind a fair chance at survival since I did not believe that Eric could achieve this with Charles' interference. Or at least, I had no intention to bet on Eric's success.

Still, this was the extent of what I was willing to do for the mutant race simply because I did not want Jean and the others being dragged into a war of the races, which seemed to be an inevitable yet pointless conflict from my perspective, like children fighting over a toy.

Ignoring the numerous people wearing lab coats or military gear that crossed my path but were unable to perceive my existence, as I did not allow it, I followed my senses, trusting in their guidance.

Ignoring the thick metal door and the high-tech lock, my form just passed through the obstruction as I entered an all-white room and looked at the small boy sitting on a small bed, playing with some toys.

He was naturally bald and seemed a bit on the thin side, his skin pale but healthy.

Raising his head, he looked when I dispersed the ethereal barrier that hid my presence and from, while I simultaneously interfered with the surveillance cameras through small-scale reality-bending.

"Who are you?", the small boy asked rather innocently, his eyes glittering in curiosity.

Staying silent for a moment, I could feel the innate aura that he gave off, which tried to suppress my abilities. It was useless though since I was no longer an existence that could be affected by this level of ability, which was enough to hamper even Omega-level mutants.

“I am Elijah Frost, and I came to take away your gifts.”, I replied eventually, not hiding my intentions.