Chapter 22: A Gift of Transformation

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"A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of a sheep."

- Tywin Lannister, (Game of Thrones)

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<(Atem POV) >

'It is quite deplorable that they are so sad after having to kill only a couple of such vile evil bastards but I guess I can understand their line of thought. Killing someone no matter how evil for the first time could really be quite traumatizing for people as young as them.' I thought to myself sarcastically as I observed thousands of metahumans going about their business in the streets of New Genosha while standing in the 'penthouse' of the Central Administrative building.

"If you are wondering about the excess population, we are actually starting to run out of real estate again. We at the moment have a population of about eight million but with the rate at which our metahuman citizens are precreating and we are accepting immigrants from other countries, we are projecting it to increase to more than sixteen million by the end of the next decade. The island is only the size of Haiti right now. However, we are actively working on increasing the island size by using the powers of certain gifted metahumans in conjunction with Krakoa's unique ability to grow resulting in us continuously expanding our borders." Zoya, the mother box appeared by my side and informed me on its own.

"Yeah but by how much? You yourself told me once that only about 0.5% of the world's population have dominant or easily detectable x-genes in them with another 2.5% carrying recessive or undetectable x-genes that have much lesser chances to get activated according to your scans. But, even at full capacity and expanding our island's boundaries by a huge margin within a short amount of time, we will still be unable to house so many active metahumans at once without messing up the world's ecological balance. So we need to think about housing solutions of a more... permanent kind." Atem replied to his trusty floating box.

"Yes, you are absolutely right in your observations Sir. And that's where the search for Ego as well as the preparation for your floating city in Nornheim comes in. We have already completed one of the projects. We can start migrating metahumans to the floating city in a controlled manner whenever you want it." Zoya chimed in.

"You are the perfect little secretary, aren't you? Good, I am glad we aren't facing any delays in the project or the plans. What about the multi-national academy program? Did we get permission for that or do we have to break a couple of laws by mind-controlling or blackmailing some important people to speed up the process?" I asked, half expecting to have to use the Cerebra to make the others agree with the project.

I rarely did that but the multinational Gifted Academy program could be extremely important in not only helping metahumans all over the world attain optimal safety and education but also would help me in establishing a center of power in every major country in the world. Because let's face it, kids or not, the really powerful metahuman children were not weaker than military-grade weapons of governments. Hell, some of them were even stronger than nuclear missiles.

So having command over a bunch of such loyal students all over the globe would be quite profitable for both me and the organization. That's why I was ready to use mind control and even the Cerebra to try to bring the project to reality despite my distaste for the methods.

"You don't have to do either of that. The Hellfire Club has begun to show its value. Supported by the financial might of the entire Meta Enterprises, it has been succeeding in arm-twisting the various government agencies of different countries to force them to permit the project. We haven't faced any major hurdles yet and according to my estimations, the chances of facing any big additional blocks aren't too big as well. Even the secret organizations that generally do not support us like the Ten Rings, the Hand, and Hydra aren't actively trying to derail our efforts too much for some reason, probably because they are underestimating the usefulness of the chain of schools." Zoya informed pride and smugness filling its voice at being able to provide its help to its master. 

"Oh, another good news then. Just make sure not to rush things too much and ruin everything. I am a very ardent believer in Murphy's law. In a world of superpowers and gods like this one, things can go wrong at absolutely any time for any stupid reason. That is something I most definitely don't want." I made sure to let my thoughts known to my most loyal and probably even most useful subordinate. 

"Got it. By the way sir, I just detected the X-Force member Anna Marie, aka, Rogue outside your director's office in New York's Arcane Academy. Do you want to meet her or should I tell her to come back later so that the two of us can discuss our expansion plans in further detail?" Zoya asked as she displayed a holographic image of the teen girl diligently waiting in front of his 'office' room after giving it a gentle knock.

"Nah, we will discuss this later. Just focus on expanding the country and the company at your pace and finding Ego by tracing the unique energy signature we found in that flower. How much time do you think it will take you to give out a precise location anyway?"

"Without any star maps or other advanced space-faring equipment, about four to five years. However, I can do it in less if I somehow get access to any galactic maps or any other such reference." Zoya answered.

"Then I guess you will have to wait till 2012. Because there is no way we are getting our hands on the good stuff before then." I said with a sad expression on my face as I remembered the hundreds of ships that I would be able to loot, um... I mean, research during the Chitauri invasion in 2012. So do your best for now. Anyway, I need to go and meet a dear student to give her a small surprise, so bye for now. I'll check up on you later." I said as I opened a red boom tube and walked in through it.

It was time for me to make a girl happy.

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"Atem, I thought you were busy. I was just leaving when you opened the door." Anna laughed lightly as the door in front of her opened and the figure of Atem became visible.

"Oh, I was just making some plans on world domination and how to take over the world most efficiently. After a couple of long hours of thinking, I decided that establishing my main base on a talking living planet would be the best way to start." I said with a straight face as I waited for her to process my words.

"Your sense of humor ain't that good, is it? That sounds more terrifying than funny Sugah... I mean Atem." Anna giggled like a kid while trying to keep her Southern accent in check. 

"Yeah, I guess it isn't. But still, just imagine what if it was true? What if I was planning to make a completely separate empire with me as its absolute ruler? A world where metahumans would be given the same rights as any other human along with the respect they deserve. What if I wanted to conquer the world with a war only to bring eternal peace? What would you do then... Rogue, oppose me maybe?" Atem asked making sure to call her by her super name to remind her that he wasn't just asking the question to a normal girl but a metahuman who was a part of the reputed X-Force, a superhero.

"... Nothing. I won't do anything because I can do nothing. I have been enjoying the benefits of working under you for so long all the while you were working so hard and doing your best for the advancement of our race. If I oppose you now when your ambitions suddenly seem too big for me, then I am the biggest hypocrite of all." Anna acknowledged truthfully.

"I see. Anyway, that's enough useless and hypothetical questions. Let's come to the main reason why I called you here today. I actually have a gift for you Anna. Open your gloves." Atem commanded.

"Okay," Anna answered as she immediately opened her gloves without the slightest hesitation knowing that the power that she feared and hated so much held no sway over Atem. He was the only person she had ever met who was unaffected by her dangerous ability to absorb other people's powers and life forces, something that she was really glad of. 

After all, she would be in big trouble if she suddenly killed the god of metahumans with just a single touch. However, she still liked to keep wearing her gloves when around him because even though her powers were not strong enough to hurt him, they would still be able to absorb a minuscule fraction of his own power which on its own was enough to make her go into a sudden power rush.

"Such beautiful and soft hands, yet such an unbelievable power is hidden within them. You are no doubt really special Anna, something that I want to increase even more. You always seem to hate your gift and even though I understand the reason for it, I can't help but tell you how stupid that is. Our gifts are never evil or bad Anna, they purely depend on how well our body adapts to them and how much we have practiced with our powers. And that is why today, I'll be solving that little problem of yours forever." I smiled as I took her hands in mine to show how her power didn't even matter to me.

"R-really? Is that even possible? But how?" Anna asked emotionally, happy tears symbolizing hope filling her eyes to the brim.

"With the power of love and friendship... as well as a new cutting-edge special grade pharma serum called MX-001 that I have invested billions of dollars in which is capable of forcing your genes to adapt and make them much better suited to your body and mind. Now, available at your nearest drugstore. Injections are not involved in the package." I uttered like a professional salesman as I presented a small vial to her.

"..." Anna was dumb-spoken, her brain barely processing the fact that she would be able to return to her normal life and get her cursed uncontrollable powers in control. This would not only help keep her old powers and original identity as a metahuman which she had become very proud of after meeting Atem and her dear friends but also allow her to touch people once again without the fear of killing them.

This was officially the best day of her life, a day she would always remember as the one that changed her life and gave her the thing that she wanted the most, the ability to safely touch other people's skin.

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