Issue #8

Everyone was shocked to see the grown man that had appeared. One moment, Jack was about to punch Magik with an electric fist and in the next, an unfamiliar, grown man came out the other side of a portal.

It took everyone by surprise. The first to recover was Emma. The woman studied Jack's features and noticed a few were familiar. She decided to telepathically reach out to him.

{Jack?}

The white-haired man turned around and flashed her a boyish, goofy smile

{The one and only. How long was I gone?}

{Not even a second. How long were you gone?}

{8 and a half years, give or take. I can now say that I have literally been through Hell and back.}

Emma smiled when she heard Jack say this. This further confirmed that it was still her student.

{Do you want revenge? From what I heard, the place that she opens those portals to is very dangerous.}

Jack shook his head at this

{Not this time. Because it was me, I benefitted more than I suffered. I can show you all about it later.}

Emma nodded and did not continue talking with him. Instead, she turned her attention to Charles.

"It seems like your student has made a bit of a mistake. We shall end today in a tie but I expect a proper answer the next time we speak, Charles," Emma said in her usual Ice-Queen voice

Charles could only nod. He knew just how dangerous Limbo was. The beings there had killed and enslaved an entire team of X-Men from another dimension. And from how old Jack appeared to be, he had spent as long, if not longer than, the time Illyana spent in there.

Emma nodded and gathered the Hellions before the group left the mansion and went back to their jet. They then flew back to the academy.

Once they returned, the Hellions went back to their rooms while Jack left with Emma back to her place. Once they were there, the serious talk could begin.

The duo entered Emma's office and sat on opposite sides of the desk. Emma's face was as serious as Jack had ever seen it. Jack lost the smile he had been wearing the entire time when he saw the look on Emma's face.

{Go ahead and ask what you want to ask, Emma}

Hearing the way he spoke, Emma raised an eyebrow

{It's Emma now? That time in Limbo sure has made you bold. Exactly what did you go through?}

Jack thought about how to explain it to her but did not where to begin. It was all too much. He had killed several beings that could be considered demi-gods, pretty much become a demi-god himself, fought for years, and ate beings that he would have never thought to eat if it was on Earth.

{It's faster and easier if you just read my mind.}

Emma nodded and used her powers to enter his mind. Jack closed his eyes and tried to ease his mind to make it easier for her. She began to scan through it all. The moments that were the fondest. The moments he wanted to suppress the most. It was all on an open book for her.

When they both opened their eyes, Jack could see a tear coming out of one of Emma's eyes.

{Child. It has been rough on you. This is my fault.}

Jack hurried to shake his head. He wouldn't let Emma take the blame for this. Nor would he let her blame anyone else. It was better to put this incident behind them.

{It's not your fault. I'm the one that wanted to fight her. And while she may have sent me there, I benefitted greatly. So let's not think of this as something sad but celebrate my glorious return.}

Emma shook her head at Jack's words. She knew what he was trying to do and agreed with him on the surface. Whether she would keep her word and what she meant, was uncertain.

{So what are we going to do now? You can't exactly come back as a student with your new appearance.}

Jack had actually thought about this the entire way back from The Institute. And now that Emma asked, he had come up with an answer.

{We need to infiltrate the hero community. Currently, it is a war between a few mutants and a few humans. But if the Hellfire Club's ultimate goal is mutant domination, we will have to go against Earth's defenders.}

Emma had thought of this problem before too. It was just that their members were too involved in other matters or their reputations were too poor for something like that. But with Jack's new age and appearance, that could change everything.

{You... you want to join the Avengers?}

Jack nodded. During his time in Limbo, he had time to think about a lot of matters. What he wanted was one of them. While he didn't completely agree with the Hellfire Club's plan for mutant domination, he did realize that the heroes did not care about crimes against mutants as much as crimes against humans.

He wanted to join the Avengers to see how they thought. If they were just ignorant of the matters involving mutants, he would make them aware. If they were purposefully ignoring them, then he didn't mind turning against the Avengers in the future.

Emma had read his mind and understood this is the way that Jack thought but she didn't dislike him for it. She liked Jack because of his soft spot for children, not because she wanted her own Magneto under her. As long as he was following the same path he had originally set out on, she would support him.

{That's good then, Jack. As for your identity, let me take care of it. From now on, you will be Jack Frost. My father must have several bastards around your age from how often he cheated on my mother.

We can give you the identity as one of my half brothers or even a child he adopted with one of his mistresses. I will figure out exactly how to deal with it. As for the original you, he will have to die.}

{Whatever you say, Emma. You have my trust.}

The pair discussed a few more matters before Jack went to his guest room to sleep. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he was knocked out. Nothing in Limbo could compare to that bed.