Chapter 3

Shanks obviously knew who she was, but he still pretended not to know her. He asked Mystique, "How are we supposed to find her?"

"That's the problem. California is the place where the Hellfire was disbanded and we all got separated. Many got captured and are currently being experimented on. I don't think Emma Frost got captured. She can project mental images into others' minds.

She can easily escape from anyone as long as they aren't using a camera. Since she is hiding now, it will be difficult to find her, but I know where to start." Raven said.

After hearing Raven talk about Emma Frost, Shanks immediately turned to Kayla and stared at her face for a while before following Raven to a pub.

They then headed to many pubs and gambling sites, but all they found were drunk men. Raven deduced that in order to be safe, Emma Frost would work with some gangsters who could protect her to an extent in return for using her powers for them.

After searching for the whole day, they decided to search one last pub before stopping for the day. Raven entered first, scanned the whole pub and said, "Tch. More drunk men."

Raven turned to leave the pub when Shanks stopped her and said, "I don't think they are all men."

He then headed to a table and asked, "Why is such a beautiful person all alone?"

Everyone in the pub looked at Shanks with weird expressions. The person sitting alone at the table said, "You have to choose your words wisely, honey, or else people will misunderstand you."

"If you showed them your actual self, they wouldn't think that I am gay." Shanks said.

Raven and Kayla then walked to Shanks and Kayla asked him, "Shanks, do you know him?"

He didn't have to answer, because Emma Frost stopped projecting the mental image in Raven and Kayla's minds. They saw Emma Frost and Kayla was shocked.

Emma Frost looked at Shanks and asked Raven, "When will you introduce your new friends to me?"

Shanks immediately extended his hand and said, "I am Shanks, but I think you already know that."

Emma Frost shook his hand and said, "I always know, but it is better to hear it from the person themselves. It freaks people out when I call them by their name before they introduce themselves."

Emma couldn't read Shanks' mind as he was using haki, but she just had to go through Raven's and Kayla's minds.

Raven then looked at everyone staring at them and said to Emma, "I think we should take this somewhere else. We are getting all the attention here."

They all agreed and left the place. Emma then took them to her house, which was a luxurious house outside the city. When they saw her house, Shanks was amazed by what telepaths can do and understood why they are highly feared.

They headed inside and Emma offered them drinks. After handing them each a drink, Emma sat next to Shanks and asked Raven, "So, why did you come looking for me after so many days?"

Raven was explaining how they had to get to Berlin and they had to get through the airport security. Meanwhile, Emma looked completely drunk and placed her hand on Shanks' thighs, rubbing them.

Raven saw that she wasn't listening and got up angrily. She said, "It looks like you are not in a state to even think properly. We should talk after you are sober." and left the room pissed.

Kayla saw Emma run her hand closer and closer to Shanks' crotch area and she too left the room. When everyone was gone, Shanks asked Emma, "Now that they are gone, do you have something important to talk about with me?"

Emma smiled and asked, "You are a smart man, but why are you still roaming around with bombs inside you, and why are you still keeping that woman Kayla around you when you know she is here to keep an eye on you."

"Do you think I like having people spy on me or roam around with bombs inside me? I learned that I was set free for some purpose. If I try to get rid of Kayla, the people behind her will abandon their mission and try to get rid of me.

Also, the bombs are the only thing the people behind Kayla have to control me. If I try to get rid of them and they learn about it, they will immediately detonate them.

You don't have to worry about your safety around her when you come with us. I will guarantee your safety." Shanks replied.

Emma smiled and said, "Honey. I never agreed to come with you."

"You wouldn't have brought Kayla to this place if you had no intention of coming with us. You wouldn't want the spy of some shady person to know where you live." Shanks said.

"I am slowly starting to like you." Emma said, kissing his cheek and getting up.

Shanks then asked Emma, "I still have one last question. You can't read my mind because I am using my powers, and neither Raven nor Kayla have seen my full strength. Why would you agree to come with us?"

"Like I said honey, I like you." Emma replied before leaving the room.

Shanks found out about Kayla on the first day itself. Harry and Jake are highly trained spies and they were always taught to sleep in such a way that even the slightest noise would wake them up.

Shanks had followed Kayla and found out about their conversation on the very first day itself, but he couldn't do anything in his current state. It was the 20th century and communication was not easy. The fact that she had to search for a telephone was what got her caught and ended up helping Shanks.

The next day, they headed towards the airport. Emma was driving and Shanks was sitting beside her, with Raven and Kayla sitting in the back.

Raven asked Shanks, "How did you get her to agree to come with us?"

Emma replied, "I was tired of that boring life there and wanted to roam the world again."

Raven knew that it wasn't the actual reason, but she stopped asking as she knew that she wouldn't get answers from her.

On their way to the airport, they had to go through a checkpoint. Now, this was weird, but no one had a problem with it, except Shanks and the group.

When Emma drove to the checkpoint, an officer asked for their ID, checked them and let them pass. They didn't have any trouble because Emma manipulated their minds to see a normal family.

After they were allowed to pass, Shanks asked Raven, "We can't go to Berlin. Do you have any other means to contact that person?"

"He doesn't use a telephone for his safety. We can only meet him in person." Raven replied.

Kayla was confused and asked, "Why are we not going to the airport?"

Raven replied, "The checkpoint we just went through, it was set up by the C.I.A. They know we are going to the airport. We can't go there."

"How do you know that?" Kayla asked.

Shanks replied, "There is a camera in the cop's car, taking photos of every passenger. You can hear the sound of the camera if you concentrate. If they look at those photos after we travel far enough, Emma can't use her powers on them and they will see our true appearances. Only the C.I.A. knows Emma's powers since she was in their custody."

"All hope is not lost. The C.I.A. doesn't know that I betrayed them. I can gain access to files on mutants since I was among the scientists." Kayla suggested.

Since they didn't have any other options, they all agreed with the plan and Emma headed back to her house.

Shanks thought, 'They don't want me leaving the country, but since she proposed this idea, are they fine with me recruiting mutants? Then, why stop me from going to Berlin? Kayla was there to keep an eye on me and she knew how to detonate the bombs in me. There shouldn't be any trouble even if I leave the country. It must mean that they aren't fine with me recruiting strong mutants. They want to control who I recruit so that they can deal with us later. This is getting more troublesome.

The more troublesome part out of all this is that Kayla isn't the only one keeping an eye on us. Since Emma's house is at the outskirts of the city, she couldn't make a call last night. Even then, they still managed to learn about Emma and set up that checkpoint. It is a safe bet to say that they also know that we know Kayla is working for them. Argh, if only Raven had mentioned we were going to meet Emma, I could've stopped her.'

Now, more determined to become stronger, they ordered some training equipment on their way home. Shanks started training while Kayla contacted her friend in the C.I.A.

Kayla asked her friend to get them the files on locations of the mutants known to the C.I.A. Shanks and Emma knew that she didn't call her friend, but instead called her boss and asked them to send the files.

They got their training equipment after a week and Shanks trained with even more intensity every day, pushing himself beyond his limits every day. A month passed and there was still no news from Kayla's 'friend'.

Raven asked Kayla, "Are you sure your friend would be able to sneak out those files? I can go and get them like I proposed earlier."

Raven had proposed to infiltrate the C.I.A headquarters herself and get those files, but Kayla stopped her saying it might be dangerous.

Kayla replied, "I don't know what's taking her so long. I will contact her again."

Emma walked into the room and suggested, "If you don't know what to do till we get that file, you can come with me to my casino and spend some time there."

"Great, I always wanted to gamble, but everyone around me stopped me saying I might get addicted to gambling." Shanks said with excitement.

Raven wasn't interested in gambling, so she volunteered to just stay at home.

Shanks followed Emma to her casino. It wasn't huge, but it still had many people wasting their money in the casino.

Emma gave him $1000 and let him play whatever he wanted. He started with the slot machines, which definitely looked rigged. So, he moved on to the poker table.

Now, this was the place he could use his observation haki. He could see the cards in others' hands and would bet accordingly. He was continuously winning money, until the staff informed Emma about him.

She had to come to the table, drag him away and say, "I know you're excited to win, but if people only lose money in my casino, no one will come here again. Go back home, that bitch Kayla has some news for us, or if you want to continue gambling, go to some other casino."

Shanks understood her and returned home. When he arrived, Kayla looked excited. She immediately ran to Shanks and said, "My friend wasn't able to get the files out due to the tight security, but she knows a place where mutants are being experimented on. It is a research facility of Trask industries. We can get there in two days if we start now."

Shanks couldn't understand why she was excited. He replied, "We will leave as soon as Emma comes home."

Kayla agreed and went back to her room. Shanks was sitting on the couch and thinking what the people behind Kayla had planned for him when Raven entered the room.

She looked at Shanks and asked, "So, are we really going to that facility?"

"Why? You don't want to go there?" Shanks asked.

"I've had my doubts on Kayla ever since I saw a checkpoint on our way to the airport. She was the only one among us who was working with the government before. I tried following her this month, but I couldn't find anything." Raven said.

Shanks sighed and then explained to her everything he knew about Kayla. After listening to him, Raven was furious and asked, "Why are you still letting her play you around even after knowing she is a spy?"

Shanks replied, "Raven, I need to know exactly why they let me out on purpose. Once I know what they are after, I can plan accordingly. It will become clear after we go to the research facility. Since they know about Emma, they know that we learned about Kayla. They can't risk delaying their plan and will act immediately."

Meanwhile, in Berlin, the person Shanks and the group wanted to meet, Caliban, was doing his usual broker business. Psylocke, his assistant and enforcer was sitting in a dark corner, cleaning her katana when suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head and her whole body shook.

She dropped her katana and Caliban asked her, "Are you ok?"

Psylocke obviously didn't reply and just sat there. She then looked around and then at Caliban. Psylocke then picked up her sword and started walking out of the hideout. Caliban asked her, "Where are you going?"

Psylocke in return asked, "What year is it?"

Caliban replied confused, "1973"

Psylocke then mumbled, "Shanks should be with Emma Frost now."

Psylocke then asked Caliban, "I am looking for Emma Frost. A telepath who can turn her skin into diamond. Where is she?"