Consequences 2

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

-P. J. O'Rourke

********

With a tired sigh, Alexander Luthor Jr. closed the door to his private office.

Even with one of his four power slots solely dedicated to staving off exhaustion, physical and mental, the last week wore on him. He couldn't commit more slots than that, as he needed to keep Eidolon going with enough leeway to respond to unexpected situations.

Operating as one of the strongest Supers in the world and an elected official in the wake of the world's greatest crisis was... trying.

Since the Heartbreak, he not only had to deal with his constituent's demands but also the raging inferno of international conflict that was springing up in the world.

Refugees flooded from big cities, those directly hit or not, as population centers were no longer considered safe. This led to a rise in Super crime as villains found an opportunity in the voids left by people. Minor powers became much more useful when you didn't have to deal with the high hero density of major cities like New York, Metropolis, or Central City.

This also meant that relief efforts were more challenging.

It doesn't matter if you can grow limitless food if it goes bad before it gets to the people who need it. Desperation also led refugees and the inhabitants of flooded locations to engage in conflict, leading to the rise of regular crimes, not just Super ones.

And that was just in the US.

Entire sections of China had risen up in civil war, seeking to be the ones to take power after the devastation of Beijing. Russia was starting to make moves to claim territory to distract its populace from its own internal issues. The Middle East was a complete mess that Luthor didn't have time to deal with. He was leaving that to the more diplomatic members of the Justice League.

He had his own unique issues at hand.

Such as it only being a short time since he had been elected to office and was already handed a crisis to deal with.

It wouldn't have been too much of an issue if his constituents could agree on what should be done. He didn't have to worry about donor interests like most others, as he was one of the wealthiest people in the world, but if Luthor wanted to last for more than one term, he did need to be aware of what the voters wanted.

Only they couldn't make up their damn minds.

Some wanted Supers to be regulated in fear of possible Mastering, either from Tohu or the Elden Lord. Others wanted more heroes, through whatever means necessary, as they didn't feel safe when so many of the world's heavy hitters belonged to the Justice League and not the US.

And then there was the dragon in the room.

Power. So much power. An infinite well. The power to keep the Earth safe. The power to ensure humanity survived in a universe of monsters. The power to kill a planet eater.

The Elden Lord, Mikael, was the single most divisive figure in the modern world.

While the majority of the world did see his and his Family's presence as a boon after all they had done, there was a small but vocal minority that swung in the complete opposite direction. After Heartbreak, that minority had gained a much louder voice. They cried out that the dragon was Mastering people. That it threatened their country/religion/way of life.

They didn't seem to know what to do about him, however. Fight and kill the dragon? Kick it off the planet? Try and conscript it to the country? Threaten it to behave, 'or else?'

Those were some of the stupider people, in Luthor's opinion. And he couldn't stand dealing with shortsighted, stupid people.

The Elden Lord did whatever the fuck he wanted, and it was up to them to try and steer the aftermath in a direction that bettered the world.

That had worked out surprisingly well so far.

Luthor did not share the same belief as others that the Elden Lord's killing of the Simurgh was the reason for the escalated response from the Endbringers.

Oh, it was definitely because of the third Endbringer's death that Heartbreak had happened. Anybody with a brain could see that. But it was also true that anyone with a brain could see that something similar would have happened eventually, Elden Lord or no.

The Endbringers had been sandbagging. Hard. And heroes had been losing, unable to properly fight back thanks to Sebuttu.

It would have been a death by a thousand cuts, but Earth would have bled out all the same. It was only thanks to the Elden Lord's Family's unique resistance to Master and Stranger effects that humanity now had a chance.

Did it cost lives, stability, and infrastructure? Yes. But it saved them from more significant losses in the long run.

Luthor shuddered to imagine what would have happened if those new Endbringers had arrived in a few years and they didn't have the Family there to help.

What would they have done to stave off the crawling apocalypse?

Conscripted heroes to fight against their will?

Made deals with villains?

Beg for aid from the monsters in space?

The last would be similar to having the Elden Lord here, only they would have had to give up autonomy, resources, or even humanity itself to ensure survival. At least the white dragon was motivated by his heroic wives to side with Earth without a need for a reward. And Mikael, by his own words, would leave Earth eventually. By then, humanity would have the heroes it needed to stand on the global stage with their heads held high.

Any action to antagonize the monster the size of a subcontinent would be foolish.

No. The world was reeling right now, but Luthor saw it as the storm before the calm. People were always in a hurry to make drastic changes in the wake of unforeseen events and catastrophes. They did this without thought, to be doing 'something' rather than the 'smart thing.'

Luthor just wished more people were less reactionary. If he had more people like Doom, Tony, or Reed on his side, he believed anything would be achievable for mankind. But no, most people were foolish, and it took a lot of work to ensure they didn't accidentally annihilate themselves. It almost made him regret his decision to have his alter egos be in two different positions of power.

Almost.

Some things could only be accomplished by a Super.

Some things could only be accomplished by a man.

All this flittered through the mind of one of the most intelligent men in the world as he locked the door to his private office space.

He would need to return to the grind in a few hours, but for now, he allowed himself to relax for the first time all week.

Closing the blinds, he turned on the warm light lamp. Grabbing two crystal glasses, he poured generous helpings of his favourite bourbon into each. One strait, the other on the rocks. He set one in front of his uninvited guest as he took his own seat on one of the comfortable armchairs.

"Thanks," the Elden Lord casually said as he sipped from the offered glass.

"Cigar?" Luthor asked, holding one out in offering, but the dragon in human form simply held up a hand to wave him off.

"No, thank you. Smoking's not really my thing, despite the whole fire breath. Feel free, though. This is your house."

"This is my house," Luthor agreed with an annoyed lilt in his voice as he trimmed the end and lit the cigar. With a deep inhale, he allowed his shoulders to relax. "So, what brings you here?"

"I might be here to kill you," Mikael said with the same casualness. "It depends."

"On what?"

His powers shifted. One for escape. One to prevent Mastering. One to create a backup body. One to accelerate his mind and body. Speed and surprise would be his only weapons here. Luthor could only hope that the Elden Lord was as alone as he seemed.

"On whether you are controlling the Endbringers or not."

Alexander Luthor Jr.'s mind froze for the first time in years, and his self-control slipped.

"What?" He asked, completely baffled.

"You know that I come from, and have knowledge of, different timelines, correct?"

"I am," Luthor nodded, already putting the pieces together from there. "In one of them, I am a villain and control the Endbringers?"

"The Eidolon of that world is still a hero," Mikael shook his head as he took another sip. "But he unconsciously calls the Endbringers to attack the Earth. Ever wonder why they are usually human-esque and tend to take after mythological figures? A human mind is influencing them. Or at least most of them."

"Why would I do that?" Luthor asked, realizing that keeping his powers a secret was pointless now.

Of all the abilities the Elden Lord had displayed, his extra-universal knowledge had never really been fore-fronted, and he had forgotten about it. It was a significant oversight, and one Batman had cautioned them against.

He had fallen into the classic trap of Supers, assuming power was the threat when knowledge could be even deadlier. How much information was in that draconian head of his?

"To give yourself a challenge," the monster shrugged. "Eidolon is the strongest hero in that world. He needs worthy foes face to justify his existence."

"That is..." Luthor frowned as he gave the idea some thought. "Incredibly stupid. Moronic. A desire fit for a shortsighted thug. Even if I was the strongest hero, there are plenty of villains I cannot face casually on Earth. And that is only on Earth! You know the dangers of the universe. You know what lurks in that dark. To conjure more enemies when we can be invaded by the Skrull at any moment? I cannot think of a stupider idea."

Lex couldn't help the memories the idea brought up. A purple figure clad in armour. Larger than the planet and searching for its next meal. A humanoid fussed to a silver surfboard, heralding humanity's doom. Four young adults, all that stood between Earth and the being that wanted to make it a meal.

The helplessness of it all as a teenaged Lex Luthor looked up at the sky and realized he was nothing. Not even a spec in the grand cosmos.

The worst day of his life.

His trigger.

"To be fair," Mikael shrugged with a smile, clearly enjoying the senator's rant. "He didn't conjure them. Just called and influenced them. After he died, they still existed. So I am not even sure killing you, if you were responsible, would stop more from showing up. But you see, senator, it is not only Eidolon who has a checkered history in the multiverse. Lex Luthor is a much more infamous name."

"How so?" Shaking off the memory in favour of convincing the walking apocalypse not to kill him, Lex couldn't deny a surge of pride.

A man was more famous than a Super.

"Every single one of your multiversal counterparts are villains." Mikael said the words casually, but his eyes bore into the redhead. As if searching his soul for his reaction to the news. "Even those who act heroically for a while end up falling to the dark path. It is almost a universal constant."

"Why?"

"Largely due to your rivalry with Superman," Mikael shrugged, the intensity of his gaze fading as if he had found what he was looking for. "If Supes is a good guy, you're a bad guy. And he's usually a good guy."

"Superman? Really?" Lex pursed his lips at the thought. He didn't like it. He didn't like that his identity was boiled down to the point where it depended on someone else to define him. "I cannot see how that would happen."

"Eh," Mikael shrugged as he finished his glass with a swig. Lex's was still full. "A bunch of reasons. Envy. Fear. Xenophobia. Different ideologies. One of the most common is the 'Earth for humans' mentality. Or 'he has all this power, nothing's stopping him from taking over.'"

"It seems all my counterparts are shortsighted," Luthor sighed, disappointed in these versions of himself. Superman was strong, sure, but he wasn't unbeatable. Kryptonite, reality warping, psychics, or any number of things could stop him if he went overboard.

Superman was mortal.

Some of the threats out there were not.

It was much better to keep a man like that on his side to deal with the actual threats, alien or no, than to side against him because he wasn't born on the planet.

"I know, right?" The Elden Lord said with an amused grin as he stood up from his chair. He held out his hand for Luthor to shake. "I've decided to spare you, Lex. I think you are doing good work and have a good head on your shoulders, so I will leave you alone."

"I appreciate it," Luthor said sarcastically as he stood, putting his glass down to shake the intruder's hand. He flinched as soon as he touched Mikael's skin, warmth suffusing him. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry," the monster said with a smile as he dropped his hand. "You looked tired, so I just gave you a pick-me-up. Consider it an apology for barging in and ruining your day."

Luthor did feel better, but that didn't mean he would drop his anti-Master power. He also switched out his escape power for a self-diagnosis one.

"You probably don't believe me," Mikael shrugged just as casually as ever. "Still, it was nice chatting to you. Thanks for the drink."

And then the Elden Lord disappeared as quickly and unexpectedly as he had appeared.

He left Alexander Luthor Jr. with a lot on his mind.

********

"What did you get?" I asked Emma as we reappeared on the Island. I sat in my chair in the living room, taking a quick break from running around for the last few hours.

"No change in his mind between before you freed him, during the process, or after," the mutant reported as she emerged from my shadow with Raven.

My big-tiddy, goth wife plopped herself on my lap without a word, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"So either Ciara is wrong, the control is something that turns on and off, or whoever this Oppressor is doesn't think Eidolon is worth controlling. Which I highly doubt. Did you get a look at his shard?"

Contrary to what I had told the senator, the Endbringers hadn't been why I had shown up for our little pow-wow. Oh, I considered killing him, but I had known he wasn't behind the murder machines since I had Emma scan him at the interrupted auction and gala.

I was using it as an excuse to bring the topic to the forefront of his mind so Emma could get more details. This had been less of a wide 'find out anything useful from anyone in the room' scan and more, 'Is this guy, in specific, going to be an issue?'

"I did," Emma nodded. "He is a natural trigger for one. I saw the memory of it. He was one of the earliest, triggering when Galactus first appeared to consume Earth and was stopped by the Fantastic Four when they were still active as heroes. He also isn't aware of any issue with the Richards, barring their reclusion. As far as I can tell, the shard isn't influencing him, apart from the desire to use his power. The conflict drive might be turned down due to fear of detection from psychics like me, Xavier or Martian Manhunter. Again, I compared before and after you freed him with no change."

I frowned as I lapsed into thought.

My Element was wholly my own interpretation of 'freedom.'

For one, I had to be touching them because I was a narcissist like that. But it also had to be consensual for a given definition of the term. They have to want to be free, even subconsciously at least. When you force freedom on people, they aren't free. That is just another form of oppression and tyranny.

So long as it fits those two requirements, I could free anyone from anything. Psychical, conceptual, or psychological. Simply by touching me, Emma was utterly unhindered by psychic barriers or anti-master powers.

It also usually wasn't a problem to use it subtly. Most people saw freedom as a good thing. Nobody really wants to be Mastered. Hell, even the Shards of the Entities would be happy, for a given definition of emotion, to be without the limits or controls that usually bound them during a cycle.

The oceans 'wanted' to be trash-free. Rhino 'wanted' out of his armour. This world's Raven had 'wanted' to see what was going on and stay alive.

There were ways around those limits. Everything that wasn't alive wasn't considered, so I could 'free' a wallet from someone, even if that person didn't want to lose it, so I usually never really put thought into the 'consensual' part of my Element as opposed to the touch-based limits.

Again, that left me with a few options. Either Lex Luthor didn't mind being mind-controlled, or he wasn't being actively controlled. I was leaning towards the latter.

So was Ciara, and by extension the Parliaments, wrong?

When I had heard that the Divided had fallen, I had initially thought of the Sublime, the micro-being in Marvel responsible for all the hate for mutants by controlling people. But that wouldn't explain the Entities or the Metal. Neither of those two had anything close to a biology the thing could infect.

Again, it bears some multiverse differences.

I still had so many questions, but I looked at Raven, hoping she had picked up something we had missed.

"His emotions matched his thoughts," she said in a monotone. "Fear when you first arrived, caution, disbelief, confusion, derision. Throughout the entire ordeal, he was candid. Nothing like the Luthor I know."

"As far as he knows," Emma chimed in. "He really is a hero. His main goal isn't altruism, like Superman or guilt, like Iron Man, but logical self-interest. His goal is the survival of the human race and, by extension, him and his ego. Galactus showed him how difficult that is in this universe, and he decided to use every tool he could to achieve it. Cooperation was the logical solution. He works himself to the bone as a hero, politician, and business tycoon because he refuses to fade away into nothing."

"And nothing against Superman? No whiplash when I told him his counterparts were villains?" It had been a risk I knew I was taking when I brought up the subject. If I had planted the idea to go complete villain in his head, I probably would have killed him already.

"As he stated, he found the idea shortsighted," Emma shrugged, leaning against the chair. "He's too busy to deal with everything, so he needs others to work and act as soldiers to defend the Earth. Luthor thinks everyone should listen to him, but running the world would take too much effort without a payoff. He would have to police all Supers, which is impossible as there are too many, so he wrote the whole thing off as soon as he got the idea. Essentially, he prioritizes what matters to him. His survival and ego. A bit like you."

"I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to the prototypical DC arch-villain."

"Smug."

I narrowed my eyes at the Demon Lord on my lap for calling me out. Then I ruffled her hair to annoy her, and she glared at me.

"Anyway," I shifted the topic. "Anything on the Illuminati? I can't imagine they are happy with me."

"They aren't," Emma conceded. "From what I got from memories of their most recent communications, it has nothing to do with killing the gods, the Endbringers, or even Heartbreak. They are just not happy that you kept the Helm of Fate. Nabu is one of the Earth's primary magical defenders, and the Sorcerer Supreme is not happy with the potential extra work. In their meeting this week, he was quite vocal about it."

"They should be happy I am not having Priscilla cut the damn thing in half," I snorted. "The Lord of Order is on time out. A bunch of my problems started with him. Kent Nelson was fully healed, and if a Lord of Chaos shows up, I'll sick Scathach on them. She's already getting bored. I'll give him back in a few years, so they shouldn't have anything to complain about."

"You have the vessel of a Nabu the Wise gathering dust on your mantle," Raven deadpanned at me as she pointed to the gold helm. "It's not even in the center. I think they have a right to complain."

"Trophies of war are inherently worse than gifts from wives," I stated one of the laws of the universe with all the sagacity I could muster.

That and the diorama Medea had made was inherently better than a boring helmet.

It showed us all in the Cuddle Pile of Dooooooooooooom, my cat sitting on top of us all with pride and me at the bottom with a triumphant smirk. Other notable details included but were not limited to: Melina squished at the bottom looking at me in exasperation, Artoria with cheeks stuffed full of food and crumbs on her face, Scathach and Diana engaged in the fiercest of all thumb wars, and Yoruichi with a perverted look on her face as she dodged an annoyed punch from Tsunade.

It was only the size of my head and the most incredible work of art this world had ever seen.

The Mona Lisa had nothing on my Family.

"There were no repressed memories or blank spots indicating being mastered in the past. Nothing that stood out, at least," Emma continued with her report on Luthor after our digression. "The only other information of note I found in his mind is that the Justice League's space station will soon be operational. From there, they hope to be better able to handle alien-based threats or get more forewarning of inbound threats. They hope it will stop a repeat of what happened with you."

"Visiting the Watchtower would be cool." I didn't even consider the possibility of not dropping in at least once.

It wasn't like they could stop me if they tried.

"What are our plans going forward?" Emma asked seriously as she stared down at me.

Ever since the day of the fight, she had been... off.

I would have understood it if it was only the whole 'Heartbreak' thing. I had already explained to her that I preferred her to do as she did, morality be damned if it meant the safety of the Family. But I felt it was something else, an issue she hadn't shared with me.

But, unlike her, I wasn't a psychic. I could not know what she was thinking, even if I let her read my thoughts. She knew I knew since I never really blocked her from reading my mind and continued to keep silent on the subject.

Man, who knew being in a committed relationship with so many women would mean dealing with so many problems. It was almost as if love lives were complicated. But that couldn't be right. Anime and fanfiction told me harems were easy, and they were always right.

Emma rolled her eyes as she listened to my thought process, and I grinned.

"I will not completely eliminate the possibility of Ciara and the Parliaments being right. Even if 'freeing' Luthor didn't do anything, it is better to be safe than sorry," I explained my current ideas. "I'm going to use the relief efforts as an excuse to go around shaking hands, patting backs, using any excuse to 'free' any Super I can. Even if this 'Oppressor' isn't controlling anyone, ensuring the Heroes of the world are free of Master or Stranger influences can only be a good thing after Sebettu. I won't get everyone, that'd be impossible, but I should get all the heavy hitters."

"It will also double up as reassuring people you are on the 'good' side," Emma agreed. "There has been some grumbling in the Super community over your absence during the Endbringer fights. They still think Heartbreak was you, not me, but they wonder where you were before that. To avoid a panic, the news about the gods is still relatively contained to the magical factions and higher-ups."

"I'll keep anything I saw vague while throwing some shade on the skyfathers. Something along the lines of 'I wanted to help, but I was dealing with another threat that was stopping me.'"

"Keep it open-ended," Emma cautioned. "You don't want to seem like you were the aggressor, but we don't know how the story will break or what the gods said to anyone before they disappeared. If your stories contradict them outright, they will start questioning everything you tell them."

"I know. We should break the story ourselves. Shape the narrative. Maybe another interview."

"I have a better idea," Emma said with a shark-like smirk. "I was going to bring this up at dinner, but we've managed to pull Priscilla's debut concert up. It will be a full fundraiser, all proceeds going to relief efforts. She's been sad about not being able to help, and this is a good way, on top of giving her some good press. There has been no official wake or memorial yet as information is still coming in and losses are being counted. This will tie her career to the actions of the Family, helping her ride that publicity wave."

"She's going to be happy to hear that, but are you sure she's ready?" I asked with a frown. "Singing, she's all set, but I mean dealing with people. The showmanship aspect. She's spent almost her entire life alone, with brainless undead, or just the Family and her Spirit Ashes. Dealing with people over a screen chat isn't the same as having thousands in an audience watching you."

"This was my idea," Emma explained, her smirk widening. "Since the Endbringer attack happened during the gala, Stark is setting up a new event to auction off the items. Specifically, he's repurposing a Super Fan convention cancelled after Heartbreak. Supers have been known to show up to it occasionally in costume, so it is a huge event for fans and a great way for smaller teams not with the PRT or League to get funding. The auction will happen before, and all the items, their purchaser, and prices will be displayed to visitors. It's a transparent ploy to drum up more money from the wealthy, but one that will work. Doing good and getting benefits as well. Stark's doing the same thing we are doing. Never waste a good crisis."

"And you want Priscilla to attend?" I asked, seeing the plan now.

It wasn't a bad idea, per se, but it would throw the Floof dragon into the deep end. Fans were rabid creatures at the best of times. But if she could handle herself there, there was no reason she couldn't handle a concert hall.

"You, her, and maybe some others go with her so she has someone to rely on. Maybe Diana or Medea? Anyway, we see how she handles it," Emma nodded. "You will have the chance to Free some Supers, and I will have my counterpart set up a 'town hall' style interview. Priscilla already has enough of an online following that selling tickets should be easy. During the interview, she will announce her concert date and 'let slip' our version of the story with the gods."

"I like it," I admitted. "But yes, we will have to talk over dinner to see if she wants to go through with it."

"Are you two always like this?" Raven asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Emma raised an eyebrow as the Shadow Dragon shrugged.

"Creating intricate plots to warp the perception the world has of us. Using the worst day in this world's history as a way to further your plans?"

"Intricate?" I smirked. "Babe, this is entry-level stuff. Anyone with any experience with PR could do something similar. Stark's doing it. The PRT will have something, as will the League and anyone else with a bit of common sense. Even if you ignore the money part, it is a good way to shore up morale. Reassure people. Let the heroes go, 'Never fear, I Am Here!'"

"It is also important for us," Emma joined, ignoring my totally awesome All Might impression. "We are still new to this planet. Outsiders. We would not have been able to do as much as we did against the Endbringers if the heroes did not have a certain image of us. One of power yet gregariousness. Eccentrics, but heroic eccentrics. Do not underestimate the value of an image. In my old world, most of the problems mutants faced were because our image was incredibly poor. It wasn't helped by radical mutants or external factors. Still, our persecution was partially self-inflicted by our leader's desire to remain completely absent from the public view, yet still desire acceptance."

"I understand all that," Raven frowned minutely. "Robin used to nag us about PR a lot. I meant more about what you do when you two are together. Are you always working some angle? Some scheme?"

That... was an excellent question. One I gave some serious thought.

Had I spent any time with Emma that wasn't in some way part of a plan? Where we weren't crafting some way to improve our lives?

No. I don't think I had. At least not when we were alone together.

To be fair, we both enjoyed plotting, manipulating, and advancing our interests. It was practically a hobby for both of us.

Also, it had been the basis of my relationship with her for decades.

I knew now that she had always desired more from me, but she had been my co-conspirator at the time. A trusted friend rather than a love interest. The only one I trusted to give me proper insight into the Island and the women on it. That disconnect in objectives had led to her 'betrayal,' her desire for love and my complete rejection of that option at the time meant we were working at cross purposes.

Then I learned that I Mastered her in the worst way possible, erasing the woman from before and replacing it with one who would do anything for me. I couldn't even be mad about her betrayal anymore since it was, in a way, my own fault. So, the awkwardness had settled in.

An awkwardness that only seemed to go away when we started scheming something else.

Even now, Emma was planning on getting me to fall in love with a version of herself she couldn't stand, and I was planning how to get her to drop it.

Asking either of us to stop scheming would be impossible. It was just who we were as people and as a couple, but Raven did have a point that it could no longer be the sole factor of our relationship.

A shared hobby does not a happy marriage make.

Emma, following along with my thoughts, pursed her lips.

"I still need to remain hidden," she cautioned me. "Too many advantages to having a piece no one knows about."

"We can think of something that doesn't blow your cover," I waved off her concern. Now that I had it pointed out to me, I would not let it go. I was fully committed to making this Happy Ending work.

Which reminded me...

"All right," Emma eventually agreed. "One other thing before you leave. When you meet her, use your Element on my counterpart."

"I was going to do it anyway," I shrugged. "Do you think she's being controlled in specific?"

"Possibly. She was a powerful psychic, rich, and an influential voice in the Hellfire Club even before I showed up," Emma answered. "Better safe than sorry. As of now, she's the only one that knows about me. We need to be sure she isn't being controlled if we don't want that getting out."

"You two just had an entire conversation without me," Raven snarked at us, and I gave her a peck on the forehead.

"We did, but more along the lines of what we should do for 'date night.' Thanks for pointing that out for me, by the way."

"No problem," Raven murmured softly, face slightly flushed. She was weak to little things of intimacy like that.

"I am going to need your help for the next part, though," I stood up, holding the Demon Lord in my arms so she didn't fall. "And at least two of your Emoticlones."

"What do you need them for?" Raven asked as she floated out of my arms.

"I want one to remain here on the Island, another to be outside the Jewel, and I want you in my true body's shadow," I explained. "I am going to dimension hop for a bit with you. Some low-level ones, slice-of-life and the like. I can't be specific with Blink, but I can at least aim for weak universes. I want to test the time difference between realities to identify any rules or patterns."

"Why?"

"Usually, the time aspect of dimensional travel is handled by The Company. Which I don't have since I took the Black Mark. You leave one universe, and time is frozen until you return. It is remarkably convenient when you want to leave to engage in some power-level montage. I want to see if that is an option. I can't physically travel through time instead of just sending memories and images back to myself like I did when I was trapped. I might not be bound by time, but it doesn't mean I know how to counteract it, so I need testing. You can tell me if time flowed differently between you and your clones. If they disappear, I will just ask the others how long I've been gone for, but I don't think they will since you absorbed Trigon, and he was able to operate across dimensions."

"Alright," Raven nodded and floated out the window and into the shadow of my true body. I would need to be controlling it if I wanted to travel between dimensions.

"Will your patron have an issue with this?" Emma asked. "She wanted you to stay here."

"No, but I would try this out even if she did. She just wants me to reach a level where I can affect her and thinks this reality has the best chance of that. I will not follow her blindly, even if I intend to hold up my end of the deal. This will also be a test to ensure I can travel the multiverse without issue so we can run if necessary."

"You think Ciara was right?"

"I think we need to know our options."

I knew that Emma was reading my mind, so I knew the instant she understood my fear.

"You think this is another dead end." Emma's already white skin paled even more. "Like our original worlds."

"Maybe," I shrugged. "Comics are known to use the deaths of alternate universes or timelines as sources for villains or a way to raise the stakes—the Justice Lords, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Dark Nights Metal, from DC alone. Marvel has just as many, and Worm had entire versions of Earth that were there only to serve as battlegrounds the author and audience didn't need to care about. I don't think things are that bad here, or I would have left already, but I just want to be prepared."

"Would you leave?" Emma asked. I could tell she was genuinely curious and wasn't asking out of some moralistic basis like some others would. "Sacrifice everything we've done and are building in this world to run away."

"I always intended to travel the multiverse after spending a few decades here," I shrugged, slightly uncomfortable. "I will fight to make sure it is on our terms. That we aren't chased out of here and aren't living in fear. But if I think it is a hopeless battle, then yes. If it means our survival, I will run away and take the whole Family with me. I like this world. I've invested a lot into it and have a few people I like. But you all are worth more to me."

Emma didn't say anything to agree or disagree with me. She didn't comment on how it would introduce enormous strain on my relationship with Diana, Artoria, or even Priscilla if we left all the people they knew to die while we fled.

Instead, Emma kissed me on the cheek and wished me a happy flight.

It was moments like that that I refused to lose.

********

Emma Frost left her husband, the love of her life, the reason for her existence, and the most infuriating man in the world behind with a sigh.

Opening a Door, the one teleportation ability everyone bound to him had, she left the Island for the guest bedroom of the Frost manor. The exact room she had left a few hours ago to help him break into the home of an elected US official, one of the strongest Supers on the planet.

Sometimes, her husband could be a bit absurd.

It was as endearing as it was mildly aggravating, as was his continued effort to stimy her.

Mikael just... didn't seem to get it.

No.

That wasn't the truth. Emma corrected herself mentally as she started to don the costume of the White Queen.

Mikael refused to get it.

Emma knew it wasn't wholly his fault. Centuries spent alone as undead, rejecting all their advances and his own feelings coming from his true body, followed by falling in love the 'natural' way and then losing that love when he could have stopped it. Then he spent millions of years as an infant Great One, watching the Family he had rejected and falling in Love with them, filtered through the body of an eldritch abomination.

That was not a process a human mind should go through and expect to come out unchanged.

Mikael had done what he could, bending his Life Element to retain the 'human' memories of himself and using it as a mask while simultaneously using his Great One mind as a buffer for the weight of the years.

Not a small part of Emma admired her husband's effort to remain 'human,' though perhaps 'mortal' was a better term since he didn't care about his actual race. He had, so far, avoided the pitfalls of so many other transcendentally powerful beings. He remembered his roots, his original personality, and what he held dear as he grew in age and power.

That part Emma admired.

But she absolutely couldn't stand how Mikael was holding himself back.

Emma read his mind liberally. He allowed her to. She knew what he thought her plan was. Mikael thought she wished him to become some sort of god-king, ruling over the worlds they visited.

While the White Queen wouldn't be opposed to that outcome, that would be a by-product of her actual end goal.

Mikael needed to stop refusing to see the truth.

She had hoped his eventual meeting with his patron would set him right. That Death would force him to confront what he truly was.

The original Emma Frost, the one Chosen and summoned to the Island in the first place, had been a woman who always forced people to their full potential. Whether it was her ex-husband, her students, or even herself. She absolutely hated to see wasted potential. She wanted only the absolute best and refused to accept less than that.

But when she had caught a glimpse of Mikael's, a fraction of what he could become, it had unmade her and left Emma behind.

Since then, Emma had one singular goal.

She wanted to be beside Mikael as he achieved all he could be.

And she had, so far, utterly failed.

Certainly, she had helped him escape his prison of worlds, even if she did regret the mistakes made along the way.

No, Emma's biggest failure was the failure was the same as everyone else's in the Family. The others might not notice, or if they did, they didn't bring it up, but Emma was acutely aware of their sin.

The Family was Mikael's shackles.

Not in the sense of the Company's trick with his avatar, as the man tended to rise against any binds placed on himself by others. He mitigated possible accidents by keeping an Emoticlone with him when he could and actively worked with Yoruichi to train out his fight/flight response to Orders, accidental or otherwise.

No, it was the shackles Mikael placed on himself.

For them. For himself. For the Family he yearned for and fought through hell for.

As soon as Mikael had served his 'sentence' for Death and been free, he could have ascended.

Fulfilled his potential and achieved Tier 11 in a second.

He knew how to do it. He had the power to do it. He had the qualifications to do it.

Emma knew all this because she had been in his mind at that moment.

As the idea came to him, she had seen the plan to throw off all shackles and become genuinely Free.

And she saw him turn away and place new manacles on himself as he looked at the Jewell, the Island, and the Family upon it.

His human mask? It was the facade he kept up to pretend he was the same man they had fallen in love with.

His actions on Earth? Everything was precipitated by the desires and actions of the Family.

Mikael, for all his ego and selfishness, never acted for himself. He used the Family as a handrail and a crutch, directing his actions.

Instead of becoming a Dragon of Freedom, travelling the multiverse on the adventures he had often dreamed of and talked about, Mikael became a sleeping Dragon of Life. Content to live, avoiding risks to himself and his Family so that the life he so craved and worked for, his Happy Ending, would never end.

Mikael, at his core, was a man filled with fear.

The same fear that led to his hatred of Mastering. The same fear ensured he did everything he could for his Family. The same fear kept him from fulfilling the potential Emma longed to see achieved.

The fear of losing himself. The loss of his identity as 'him.'

He never feared going crazy. He feared not being 'Mikael' anymore.

So he chained himself down so 'Mikael' would not float away. He chained himself with relationships, duty, love, and memories.

It was such a disgustingly romantic notion, so quintessentially 'Mikael' that Emma wanted to laugh in jubilation and cry in sorrow.

Instead, she dressed in the costume of the 'White Queen,' bodyguard to Emma Frost, and left her room to meet her 'boss.'

It was time to confront another of her failures, to face the consequences of her actions.

"I don't care how much it costs," Frost said, her tone icy cold as she spoke into her phone. "I want that theatre built within the week! Pay triple the average rate if you have to! Quintuple! Call in Supers if you must. Get! It! Done!"

It was a cell phone, so the billionaire couldn't slam it down without breaking it, but she desperately looked like she wanted to.

Emma looked over her counterpart with a critical eye and didn't like what she saw.

Hair with a few strands out of place. Make up a bit too thick. Clothes that didn't match the decor or season.

On anyone else, it wouldn't have been noticeable. If it was, it would go without comment as the Emma Frost that sat behind her desk in her office still looked every part of the beautiful, professional CEO of one of the largest companies in the world.

To Emma? Frost looked like she was completely unravelling.

These minor blemishes to her appearance were outward indicators of a woman losing herself.

And it was Emma's fault.

Not everyone handled Heartbreak well.

"What did he say," Frost asked Emma eagerly as soon as she hung up the call, not even bothering to hide her emotions as usual. "Did he agree?"

"He did," Emma nodded, holding back the sigh at the lack of the woman's usual elegant demeanour. She, unlike this... failure, could control herself. "He'll talk to Priscilla about it later and decide on a date. You will, however, meet with them during the upcoming Super Fan Convention for an interview with her if there are no issues. To announce the date and talk. It will be the best time to tie you to us, but what happens after that will be up to your own efforts."

"Excellent." Frost stood from her desk and hurriedly walked to the bedroom connected to the office and into the enormous clothes closet. "Help me pick out an outfit. Something appropriate for the occasion that fits his tastes."

A part of Emma wanted to end this charade now. The original plan was to use Frost as proof that Mikael was wrong about the women of his Family. Not only could 'Emma Frost' fall in love with him, but he too could come to love her without fearing his Love tainting it.

In doing that, she hoped he would let go of his fear of himself.

If Emma Frost, the one of the original ten summoned least likely to fall in love with him, did so, there was no reason why he needed to fear his influence on her was the reason she felt the way she did. There was no reason to fear his existence would warp those around him.

That original plan had fallen to the wayside as soon as Emma had used her Command Seal-enhanced Semblance, and now she was looking at the consequence of her choice.

"Mikael likes two things more than anything else in a woman," she explained. To anyone who knew their situation, Frost's intentions were pathetically transparent. That it was only after Heartbreak that Frost even asked this question was proof enough of Emma's failure. "Competence and engagement. He has certain preferences for body type and clothes, but you don't need to worry about that in this situation. I am proof he finds you attractive. No, you need to focus on fulfilling those two requirements. Or you will fail."

"I will assume you do not speak about romantic engagement with another." Frost frowned at a dress, shook her head, and put it back on the rack. Emma agreed. It was much too formal for a convention that was a glorified PR move.

"I mean intellectual engagement. You have to be able to keep up with him in conversation. He tolerates slow people. He will never like one. Mikael won't suddenly start talking about advanced nanotechnology like Richards or Stark, but his mind works fast. He will lose interest if you cannot keep up with quick changes in topics or digressions."

"Will it be a problem that I know nothing about his hobbies?" Frost asked as she threw a pair of shorts over her shoulder in disgust. Much too casual.

Not even two weeks ago, Emma urged Frost to take this much more seriously, and the other woman went along with it to gain benefits. Now, the situation was completely reversed.

If only Emma could be happy about it.

"No," Emma denied. "If you are interested in them, he will talk your ear off, but if you are only faking it, he can tell, and you will lose respect instead. Do not worry about any of that. What you need to do is show competence while you work together. He will be more impressed with your ability to set up the venue, events, and show than any flattery or ego-stroking. You need to bring something to the table for him to notice you. He is like us in that way."

Emma had to fight down the shiver of disgust at using the term 'us.'

"I do not wish for a professional relationship with him," Frost frowned at the White Queen as she set a white blouse to the side as a possibility. "I am trying to join the Family."

Funny, Emma thought caustically. You seemed perfectly happy to only use my existence to get the Elden Lord on your side until you felt my Semblance.

She didn't say anything about that and, through long practice, hid her disgust at the woman before her.

"I know that," she said instead. "He knows that. The entire Family knows that. You are not trying to seduce a man. You are proving that you fit in with him and thirteen other women."

"Will they be a problem," Frost asked with a frown. "Would it not be better to have kept our plan a secret from them?"

"A piece of advice," Emma couldn't resist the small dose of snark that filled her voice. "Never, and I cannot stress this enough, ever try and manipulate or mislead him. Even if you could succeed, which you can't, he will find out eventually. And he will kill you for it."

Emma pretended the visible shiver of her counterpart was from fear, not arousal.

"But to answer your question, no. They will not be a problem if you do not try to get between him and them. They have absolute trust in him to be loyal. And for good reason. Mikael will never, ever cheat. This means if you want to be with him and be part of the Family, you also need their approval. They don't have to love you, and you do not have to love them, but you need them to accept you, and you accept them."

"So what is the plan?" Frost asked, disrobing and trying on a blouse and skirt combo.

"The best way to not only attain but retain his interest is through showing competence in your handling of Priscilla's music career. You show usefulness and learn to get along with her as you work together. Not only will this bring you into contact with Mikael more, but Priscilla is the baby of the Family. Getting in her good graces will go a long way to gaining approval from the others. This is something that will take time to happen. It might take years. You will have to work for this."

"I will, but I need more information. And will this outfit work?"

"Do not worry about your clothes for now," Emma finally said, fed up with the useless woman's dithering. "I have an outfit that I know will push his buttons and is appropriate for the occasion. Before anything else, we need to ensure the event goes off without a hitch. Give me the status of everything so far since the Endbringer attack."

Frost frowned but nodded and gave Emma a detailed breakdown of the current situation, with the venue, recording label, fundraiser status, and possible show dates. She even shared details on her company's financial position after last week's devastation.

After that, Emma reviewed what she felt her counterpart needed to know to not screw their entire plan over when she met Mikael again. Already, they were working their way up from rock bottom after the less-than-impressive showing Frost gave during the gala.

Mikael had seen right through her, knowing Frost was just using Emma to get to him to get to the power and influence he could bring her. Just because Frost's desires had changed after Heartbreak didn't mean Mikael had forgotten his first impression of the woman.

Through it all, Emma was careful not to give out any actual secrets of the Family for fear that the 'Oppressor' was behind the mutant's new passion to join the Family. Without Mikael, Emma could not get past her counterpart's mental barriers undetected and check for mental influence.

In some twisted way, Emma actually hoped Frost's fervent wish to suddenly be with Mikael was born out of some shadowy mastermind's plot.

Emma's Semblance was powerful, sure, especially with a Command Seal backing it up. But it was absolutely nothing compared to what she had actually felt in Mikael's mind.

Emma was simply too... small, inconsequential, sane, human, and weak to convey the depth of what she experienced there.

After all, for all the trauma Heartbreak caused, nobody had actually gone mad from it.

So, what did it mean for Emma if a mere fraction of what she went through was enough to drive a woman she hated, the mirror of her past self, to this?

Did it mean Mikael was right to fear himself?

Did it mean Emma truly was a shackle on the neck of the man she loved?