… Aidan Quinn
Whatever happened between me and Raven last night — and something did happen, even if she's pretending otherwise with the emotional skill of a cat knocking something off a shelf — was apparently buried under seven layers of emotional ice between the pillow and breakfast.
Now she was sitting in the corner of the couch, one leg crossed over the other, arms folded, wearing that perfectly sculpted expression that said "touch me again and I'll rip your soul out through your retina and toss it in the nearest trash can." I was sprawled beside her with one leg over the backrest, like some bratty teenager who knew he wouldn't get in trouble — and honestly, that wasn't far off.
She hadn't touched me once since we woke up. No hand on my shoulder, no bored "good morning," not even the absentminded head scratch that made me think, for a second, that she might actually like me.
But of course, when I touched her, she didn't pull away either. She'd just roll her eyes with the patience of a cosmic entity on the brink of committing poetic murder.
Modern love, right? You cozy up to your personal demon and hope you're not banished to another dimension when PMS and the memory of your mistakes collide.
Robin, across the room, was watching like she was at an experimental play about dysfunctional relationships — and finding it absolutely delightful. Legs crossed, tablet in her lap, smiling. Not in a flirty way, but in pure entertainment. She didn't blink, like she was waiting for the next emotional train wreck with invisible popcorn in her lap.
She was the one who broke the silence.
"Is this a relationship or a cease-fire agreement?"
"It's love. It just looks like a war because I'm unbearable and she's got trauma", I said, glancing at Raven and smiling. "But she likes it. Deep down."
Maybe way deep down.
She responded by pressing a finger into my forehead hard enough to hurt.
"So", Robin changed the subject, "what's the plan for me, Captain?"
Ah, straight questions. I liked that about her.
I stretched, still leaning against Raven, who was looking at me like she was calculating how easy it'd be to hide my body.
"First? You're finding us a new apartment."
Robin raised an eyebrow.
"Any specific requirements?"
"Well, if at least half the secret agencies don't know where it is, that'd be a good start."
Robin laughed lightly, like she found it too funny that this was an actual requirement.
Raven scoffed.
"Like, a loft, or do you need more space for your ego?"
"I'm a minimalist, Raven. I just need a good bed, reinforced walls, and a kitchen that doesn't hate me. Everything else is a bonus."
Robin nodded, clearly taking mental notes.
"After that, you're going to build our financial empire."
"… Our?"
"Yeah. My name's the one they'll hunt for, but yours will be the one holding up the castle. You've got the talent, the know-how, and the amazing job of dealing with banks, CEOs, shareholders, and every kind of corporate parasite. Have fun."
She crossed her legs, her smile growing, clearly interested.
"And if I ask for a raise?"
"I'll give you a castle in Europe and an island with your name on it. Just let me know ahead of time if you want volcanoes."
Raven rolled her eyes so hard I thought she'd sprain something. I took the opportunity to slide an arm around her waist. As usual, she didn't pull away — but she gave me a look that would make any other man rethink all his life choices.
"You're playing with fire", she murmured.
"And that's what keeps me warm."
She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, probably picturing a peaceful scenario where I fell off a building.
Robin cleared her throat, still smiling.
"And what about superpowered people? Villains and heroes?"
"Violence", I answered without hesitation. "That's always the answer."
If violence didn't work, it just meant you weren't using enough of it.
"Whoever shows up gets what they deserve. If they're friendly, great. If not, we find out how much the human body can take before turning into dust in space."
"Elegant", Robin said, still smiling. "And the government?"
I sighed, staring at the ceiling again.
"The government only speaks one language: money. And now that we've got shares in weapons manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, and a few companies I can't even pronounce… I guarantee they'll listen to us."
Robin closed her tablet with a soft click.
"I see. You're gonna buy respect from some and blow up the rest?"
"Exactly. You catch on fast, that's why I like you."
Raven finally turned to me with a direct look.
"You're still overdoing it. This is all gonna bite you back."
"Probably", I said with a shrug.
She stared at me for a few more seconds before resting her head on my shoulder with a sigh.
Robin smiled but didn't say anything. Maybe she was enjoying the moment? Even with [Communication], it was hard to get a clear read on her intentions.
"I've also got a great idea for a new helper, when the time's right."
"Hm?" Robin arched a brow.
I should have enough credits for it by now…
Could the Creation Quirk make adamantium and vibranium?
Sounds like an excellent experiment~
...
The plan for the day was simple. Really simple.
Lots of coffee, stolen kisses from Raven — only when she let me, of course, which turned the whole thing into a hunting game with a risk of exorcism at the slightest slip. And a steadily growing stack of spreadsheets in Robin's lap until I saw smoke coming out of her ears — honestly, a show I was waiting to see. Oh, and of course, paying a visit to MJ and Gwen later and pretending I wasn't feeling guilty about almost letting the two of them become a statistic.
That's when, right in the middle of my personal productivity-and-procrastination festival, the White Queen knocked on my door.
No warning, no message, no telepathic heads-up — not that it would work on me. The kind of thing no one would do at my apartment unless they wanted to provoke me or were sure they'd walk out alive.
I opened the door with the same enthusiasm as checking the water tank to see if a dead rat had fallen in… and there she was.
White blazer tighter than Raven's patience with me, high heels that sounded like a court sentence, platinum hair in waves held together by a demonic pact, and that razor-sharp gaze that scanned everything like the world was a showcase of bad options. She stopped in front of me with a half-smile drawn with surgical precision.
"Aidan", she said in a sultry tone I wasn't expecting. "Glad to see you're not blowing up any facilities today."
"Day off. Here to serve me a subpoena, or just checking if I really live with respectable people?"
She ignored me, of course. Emma Frost reacting to provocation like a normal person? Not in this lifetime.
She walked in like she already owned the place — expected — and went straight to the center of the room, looking around with the same air you'd use to appraise an art gallery… or a crime scene.
Robin raised an eyebrow from the couch, wearing the faintest smile of someone about to witness something worth taking notes on. Raven… well, Raven crossed her arms and fixed her gaze on Emma with the intensity of a wolf watching a deer that dared to breathe wrong.
Perfect setting for a diplomatic visit.
Emma ignored them both with the ease of someone who knows she's the center of the conversation even when she's not speaking. She made a slow lap of the room, eyes scanning the furniture, the details, the energy in the air.
"I came to update you on the current state of our lovely X-Men", she began, as casually as if she were talking about the weather. "Let's just say… you made an impact."
"My goal was just to unclog the basement of hypocrisy, but good to know it worked."
She smiled — the kind of smile meant to measure you, not please you.
"The mansion is… divided. Charles is trying to keep the balance, but even he sees now that his ideals can't hold back the way the world is shaping itself out there. Cracks are forming. The question isn't if there's going to be a clash, Aidan. It's when."
"And you're here because you're a good Samaritan?"
She completed her slow circuit before answering. Looked at me with a soft smile — the kind that offers you poison in a wine glass and makes you accept it.
"I'm here because I agree with you."
"Agree with me or want to use me?"
"Why choose?" she said smoothly. "You've never been a match for Xavier's philosophy. His idealism demands faith, obedience, and limits. You, like me, weren't born to kneel. Especially not to follow rules written by men afraid of what they can't control. You're… pure dissonance. And, if you'll allow me, that's incredibly sexy."
Robin coughed. Raven let out a sigh that sounded like it came from the pits of hell.
Emma carried on like she hadn't noticed either of them.
"The difference between us is that I already have my own structure. Frost International can not only make your plans easier… it can launch them to levels you haven't even imagined. Contacts, money, power, stability. You want an empire? I can give you a throne."
"I already own stock in your company", I teased lightly. "Doing just fine without help."
"Tiny shares and you know it." She stepped closer, placing her hand on my chest and tapping with ice-blue painted nails. "But even so… you've already bet on me. Now imagine what we could do together, without limitations. The elevated version of both of us."
Robin's smile turned analytical. Raven's discomfort was obvious — she'd probably felt Emma's psychic touch brush over her.
Because it was obvious.
The way Emma laid out the plan I'd only mentioned today, the way she talked about my totally-not-overblown empire, about shares and structure — that wasn't just a guess.
She'd gone digging in someone's mind.
I didn't know if it was Robin — probably — or Raven, which would be even bolder. Maybe a little of both. But what surprised me?
She didn't say a word about Robin being from another universe, or about multiversal portals.
Make no mistake… once a telepath has read you, it's best to assume they know everything. Especially someone like Emma.
But she still… didn't overplay what she hinted she knew.
Because Emma understood the most important part.
Between the two of us… I'm the stronger one.
Emma could read body language like no one else, and she knew that one wrong step and that white blazer wouldn't survive.
And Emma Frost, ice queen that she is, never plays bad cards.
"So, darling?" she asked, almost casually. "Gonna turn down a queen's offer?"
"Emma, Emma… it's not about turning it down. It's just that you've never heard the word partnership? I'm in, but I'm not kneeling for anyone. Not even you, dressed like that." I let my gaze trail over her deliberately, just to provoke her.
She smiled again — this time with a dangerous edge. The kind that accepts the flirt and already counts the cost.
But Emma didn't say anything I didn't already know.
I've known from the start I didn't fit with Xavier. I know myself better than that.
But Xavier is… indulgent. Among mutants, he's the most lenient. I could use that to get close to the people I wanted in the mansion, and I'd keep doing it until I crossed the line.
Now, maybe, he wouldn't be so lenient anymore.
But it was already too late to stop me…
"That's why I like you, Aidan."
"Everybody likes me. At least until I open my mouth."
She let out a low, elegant laugh with just the right touch of calculated promiscuity. The kind of laugh that makes the air warmer for a few seconds.
"Think about the offer. We'll talk again soon."
And she left the way she came: in silence, with expensive perfume in the air, and the certainty that she'd left the world more complicated than it was before she walked in.
I closed the door and stayed there for a moment, back against it.
Behind me, Raven muttered, "I hate that woman."
"I can imagine, but she's fun."
… Emma Frost
Another universe, huh…
So that little "vacation trip" was a lot more than the girls made it seem to.
And that just confirmed that Aidan was hiding even more than she thought.
Now… how could she use that?
… Mary Jane "MJ" Watson
Mary Jane had no idea how to deal with any of this.
She'd seen weird stuff since meeting Peter — like the day he "accidentally" dumped an entire cabinet of chemicals on Flash without a scratch, or when he'd mysteriously vanish from parties with terrible excuses. But nothing… absolutely nothing prepared her for this.
A black van, masked faces, a needle she didn't even have time to dodge. Waking up tied next to Gwen in what looked like a military warehouse, listening to armed people talk about mutant powers like they were reading off a target list.
And the name they mentioned the most?
Aidan Quinn.
The same guy who talked like he was the main character of an anime and kissed like the world was ending right after. The guy who could make her mind feel like a whole movie just by looking at her a certain way.
And he had powers?
So it wasn't just charm. Wasn't just that "I-know-more-than-I'm-saying" look. He was a mutant. Or an alien. Or… something. The kind of "something" that made armed men kidnap innocent girls just to get his attention.
"Use the girls as bait", she'd heard one of them say.
MJ could still feel the anger rise just remembering it.
Like she was something to be used against him.
They wanted to hurt him. Because he was powerful.
And he showed up the second the call for help went out — portals, force fields, death in those impossible eyes.
And he wasn't alone.
A woman in a tight black suit and a mask came in through the window — fighting like it was personal — and then… Spider-Man. Yeah, the same one from the papers. The same one she'd once said was "cool, but probably smelled inside that suit." Him.
They saved them. Her and Gwen.
But MJ didn't feel grateful. Not yet. The fear, shock, and adrenaline had passed… now came the emotional mess. The weight of what it all meant.
She'd been kidnapped because of Aidan.
Because she was close to him.
And he hadn't told her a thing beforehand. Nothing about powers, nothing about danger. Just smiles, teasing, and that infuriating charm.
She didn't want to see him — not yet. She needed days of silence, time to process everything that had happened.
So of course… he texted her right now.
Tiger:Hey, we need to talk.
That's it. And she knew he did it like that on purpose just to be more annoying.
When she glanced at Gwen in the school hallway, it was obvious she'd gotten the same text.
MJ raised an eyebrow and Gwen avoided her eyes.
Great. An accomplice.
And then there was Peter.
Now acting more nervous than a peg leg on a trampoline. Every time Aidan's name came up, Peter either changed the subject or looked like he wanted to crawl into the nearest closet. It was subtle, but she'd known Peter too long not to notice.
In physics class, he dropped his pen three times.
Mary Jane propped her chin on her hand, staring at the blank notebook page in front of her.
Aidan, Gwen, Peter, Black Cat, Spider-Man, mutants, and superpowers.
And her, Mary Jane Watson, who just wanted to pass literature, put on a decent play, and maybe kiss someone without getting kidnapped because of it.
"Just another normal week in New York, right?" she muttered, staring out the window.