The Wanderer - 248 (Patreon)

[A/N: My ear infection was more serious than I thought, I haven't been feeling too well these last few days. The fact that its unbearable hot outside also doesn't really help.

Still, I try to work as much as I can and hope you are all well and healthy! Enjoy!]

Chapter 248 – Respect

[2009 – November – Sunday]

Seeing Emma walk past me with my cup, I rubbed my 'battered' cheek and stood up too.

“We should make these spars a regular thing.”, I suggested, and not just because I desired to learn from her, “It could be of help to advance your powers even further. You are a mature Omega-level mutant but this isn't your limit.”

Laughing teasingly, Emma asked: “You want to act as my grindstone? Or do you just want to learn my tricks?”

“Why can't both be true?”, I replied with a smile of my own.

Staring at me for a moment, she shook her head somewhat helplessly before commenting: “It's good that you are with Jean, I would fear for the female population otherwise.”

Looking into Emma's clear blue eyes, her flawless features expressing a slight but incredibly charming smile, I couldn't help but counter: “Shouldn't it be me who is worried, you are the criminal beauty of the family after all?”

Placing the refilled cup of tea on the counter in front of me, Emma smiled sweetly at my words and replied while looking at me with innocent crystal eyes: “How can I be a criminal? I look terrible in orange.”

Smiling, I shrugged my shoulders: “Have some confidence, I am sure you could make it work.”

Laughing melodically, her eyes bright, she turned towards the fridge and grabbed a piece of sliced apple, that had already been prepared by her before, and took a bite out of it.

"Still, my offer is a serious one.", I reminded her when she turned back to me again, "Mutants grow stronger through constant training and by pushing their limits. And while Omega-level mutants are said to have limitless potential, I see most of them struggle to unearth this potential further."

"Even Magneto has been training for decades but his growth has almost stagnated because he lacks stimuli and opportunity. You are the same, as is Charles, since you all lack an opponent that can pressure you in a safe environment."

Telepathy was a very dangerous thing to practice since a little mistake could not only permanently damage the minds of others but also one's own mind. As such, serious sparring amongst telepaths of equal strength was something comparatively rare to avoid accidents.

This though was not an issue if Emma were to spar with me regularly since I could simply put up a barrier that shielded her from any permanent harm, like I had done before we had started to ensure her safety.

As such, sparring with me would allow her to go all out and advance her powers to a higher level, which was obviously something desirable.

"And not to brag, but the opportunity to spar with an existence such as myself is a rare one.", I added with a look of fake arrogance, my nose held up high before I broke character and just settled for a grin with my chin resting on my palm while I bent over the kitchen counter, tea in hand.

Laughing again while leaning on the counter next to me, Emma reached out and affectionately ruffled my dark hair while replying with an ironic and joking undertone: "You are really good at this 'not bragging'-thing. But yes, I would love the chance to spar with you and go beyond my current limits."

“Well, that- …”, I began before raising my upper body again and turning to face Emma, the colour of my irises shifting to a blazing white colour for a few moments, “They are here.”

My Extrasensory Perception had picked up a strange presence approaching the building and my hearing confirmed that to be the case, a line-up of three cars entering the underground parking garage.

Nodding seriously, the genuine smile vanished from Emma's lips and the soft and bright light in her eyes turned clear and neutral.

Turning into the perfect picture of a professional businesswoman, she straightened the light-rose coloured blazer that she wore over her tight white blouse, as well as the pair of pants with the same light-rose colour that sat high on her waist and just clung to her curves.

Her hair was already done up in a flawless bun of platinum blonde hair, two small silver hoop earrings drawing eyes to the graceful curve of her neck and adding a more feminine and sensual note to her outfit. The white pairs of high heels on her womanly feet aided the same purpose.

She moved to the large table again, and after making sure that the chairs were all aligned perfectly and that all her devices had been shut off and placed in a wooden drawer that had copper mesh running through every surface, Emma seated herself calmly while I stepped behind her in an obvious protective fashion.

The drawer was obviously custom-made and acted as a Faraday cage to prevent the theft of data or other types of manipulation and intrusion.

Emma had one like this in all her offices and given that Wakanda had technology that surpassed the rest of the world such a simple but effective way to protect her electronic devices was definitely a smart idea.

It wasn't the only precaution that she took obviously as she had the best people for cybersecurity on her payroll but nobody had ever accused her of not being cautious enough.

I naturally could have offered to do the same with a simple shield but Emma hadn't asked that of me and I didn't offer to do so.

After all, this was Emma's business and so it fell onto her to take precautions while my own involvement was merely situational and not something she should rely on. She obviously knew this herself, which was why she hadn't asked for my assistance in the matter.

She made an exception for her cell phone, which she placed on the large empty table before her instead of putting it with the rest of her devices. And while I wasn't one to scheme myself, I recognized it as the obvious bait that it was.

The moment that the Wakandan visitors placed a bug into the phone, they would turn into chess pieces for Emma, to manipulate and influence as she wished. After all, the illusion of success could damn a man.

If they dared to spy on her actions through the phone, I was sure that the only way this could end would be with them on the losing side. Ultimately, Emma was brilliantly devious and that was even without using her abilities as a mutant. With them? She was a menace.

“It's the prince himself, T'Challa from the Golden Tribe.”, Emma stated, no doubt being mentally connected to John who was receiving the Wakandans.

She wouldn't try and read the minds of people that she knew almost nothing about, especially not if they potentially had a divine patron as their guardian. This cautiousness was one of the reasons that she was such a formidable adversary as she was a thinker before all else.

In fact, despite her prowess as a mature Omega-level telepath, I guessed that she used her power much less liberally on others than Charles.

I knew that Emma preferred to use her abilities as a last resort with her civilian identity, which was why her skills at manipulation and scheming were so fearful as she polished them every day of her life. Obviously though, she also did this to, in part, minimize the risk of being exposed as a powerful mutant.

When she acted as the Hellfire Club's White Queen though, she naturally played by different rules.

"That's no surprise.", I replied, "The matter of Ulysses Klaue is too important to let someone untrustworthy handle it, especially considering its importance to King T'Chaka personally."

“The credibility of his name and promises would stand to question if Klaue's remains would land in the hands of another tribe after his failure to bring justice to the man himself for so long, which is what he had once promised his people.”

"Well", Emma smiled ever so faintly, "let's see if the Prince's youth betrays his wisdom, or if his father chose the wrong person to come here today."

“He has his mother by his side. Queen Ramonda, a woman with decades of experience as a political figure.”, I pointed out neutrally, using my Farsight to follow the Wakandan's movements as my eyes glowed white.

“Hmph.”, Emma just snorted, and I could feel her disdain like a physical sensation, “Experience does not equal capabilities. She has no real power or influence beyond her station even after being Queen of the most advanced country of this planet for decades.”

“She is weak and she may very well be the nail in T'Challa's metaphorical coffin.”, she ended with cold impassiveness.

My brow was raised mildly after hearing those words but only for a moment as I quickly understood Emma's dismissive reaction. After all, she herself had crawled out of a hell of suffering and paid the price for her power and influence with blood and sacrifice.

As such, she simply could not respect a woman, or man for that matter, who sat in a position of power but was too incompetent to wield the influence given by their position.

This was also why she respected Erik more than Charles, as the latter had failed to turn his influence into real power, and continued to do so even now.

The older telepath's ideology placed him and his own people at the mercy of others because he wasn't ruthless enough to really use the influence that he had built for decades with people of authority.

And while Erik wasn't a political player, he never shied away from wielding his power, which was a quality that Emma could respect even though she thought him too impulsive and set in his radical ways.

And though I personally wasn't interested in those political machinations since my personal strength afforded me immunity to such games, I agreed with her on those points. If one failed to use one's power and influence, then one simply did not deserve to possess them in the first place.

Under the laws of the eternal cycle that balanced fate, power invoked challenge, and it was the nature of challenges that the 'strongest' prevailed. Carelessly sitting in a position of power could thus only lead to one end – destruction.

The Wakandans hadn't understood this principle yet because they had relied on their technological advantage to come out on top for too long. Time though was the curse that was eroding their advantage bit by bit until eventually, something might happen that would remind them that possessing yet failing to wield power was simply a sin in itself.