[2009 – October]
The streets were dark as we left the Massachusetts Academy, the night not yet willing to submit to the rule of the sun.
To leave the relatively secluded school, I drove along the winding mountain path for quite a while until the surrounding land turned into a more flat region. The expensive sportscar made it comfortable to drive, the occasionally rocky ground unable to shake the smooth suspension system.
In my last life, I had always driven cars that were functional yet cheap as I had refused to pay exaggerated sums just for a transport vehicle that wouldn't really increase the efficiency of my travels.
Comfort was welcome but ultimately not necessary and most of the time much too expensive.
Money though wasn't something that I lacked in this life nor was there a need to pursue wealth considering my blood ties. As such, I naturally could enjoy comforts and luxuries such as this without any problem.
Normally, I tried not to indulge too much as I just wasn't entirely comfortable with spending money on uselessly expensive goods, even if Emma had repeatedly told me to not worry about this and use the family fortune as I pleased.
Still, I just wasn't the type to do something like this. I enjoyed the immense wealth of the Frost family but I wasn't blinded by it.
I was glad that I could provide for Jean and let her enjoy the novelties of being rich but that was as far as my interest in wealth went. My lovely redhead also wasn't too different from me in this aspect.
When it came to cars though, I had to admit that driving such an expensive sportscar was a completely different experience than driving a normal car, one that I enjoyed immensely.
This was especially true considering my inhuman senses and reaction speed. I drove faster and faster, ignoring the traffic signs while doing my absolute best to ensure that the ride was still smooth.
My eyes started to glow white as I engaged my Farsight and stretched my Extrasensory Perception, my superhuman physique causing the world around me to slow down as my physical senses switched into overdrive.
The luxury sportscar came alive under my driving skills, moving like dark-grey light over the mostly empty roads as if trying to escape from the approaching dawn.
The gears were switched so smoothly that it seemed almost impossible while the roaring engine of the high-end car purred in satisfaction. Feeling a smaller palm suddenly cover my hand that was gripping the gear stick, I at first thought that Jean wanted me to slow down but her next words told me otherwise.
"Faster, my love.", she urged with a whisper and I could hear the excitement in her voice, my slowed perception of time not interfering with my brain's ability to process sounds.
It seemed that my feisty redhead had awakened to the joys of being an adrenaline junkie.
"As you command, Firefly.", I replied while I smiled carefreely, my foot increasing the pressure on the gas pedal.
…
Looking over the hundreds of sealed tubes containing raw Vibranium ore, as well as the human head that was preserved in an iced glass box, Emma couldn't help but turn to the dark sorceress to her left while standing in one of the underground storerooms of the Hellfire Club mansion in Boston, a pink-haired girl with stark green eyes standing behind her vigilantly.
"He asked you to hand this over to me?", Emma asked her fellow Queen, her tone cold and filled with traces of suspicion even though she already believed that Elijah was responsible for what she was witnessing.
Nevertheless, she wouldn't just lose all the ingrained vigilance that she had gained after uncountable hardships, especially when dealing with someone as dangerous as Selene.
The gorgeous blonde telepath knew very well that she wasn't a match for the priestess, even if she could face her for a short period of time without losing. The presence of her favorite Hellion wouldn't change the ultimate outcome of the battle either, though Clarice might be able to help her escape at the critical moment.
Elijah and Jean were the only mutants in the Academy that could possibly be a match for Selene, the former undoubtedly capable of killing the immortal sorceress after his transformation into a Realm Lord.
As for Jean, Emma could only assume that she would be able to deal with the ancient priestess considering the immense power that was hidden in her consciousness, as well as the fact that Selene herself believed the girl to be capable of killing the External leader En Sabbah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse.
The two of them had already left the Hellion Mansion for their road trip though, so they naturally weren't present to help her deal with Selene.
Not that Emma expected this of them, or wanted them to babysit her. She was the White Queen after all, her incredible telepathic gifts were only surpassed by her abilities to scheme, manipulate, and mislead.
Even if she wasn't the Black Queen's match in combat, Emma knew that her own influence in the Hellfire Club was not something that Selene could disregard.
She had built her own powerbase in the Club over the years and at this point in time, removing her from the position of the White Queen would do untold damage to the organization that Selene had built up for the last few thousand years.
It was this talent that had earned her the recognition of the ancient sorceress in the first place and had allowed her to climb up to the seat of the White Queen and be the official ruler of the Hellfire Club while Selene stayed in the dark as a mostly forgotten influence.
"Do you think that I would pass on this kind of opportunity to you out of my own free will?", the dark temptress snorted lightly, her flawless facial features and indescribable charm making even such an action of hers seem inviting.
"He requested this of me, and even I dare not disobey the order of a Lord that can take away my immortality.", Selene ended with a calm tone, the vexation in her voice only a faint shadow.
It seemed as if she didn't even dare to curse at Elijah openly, even if he was not present.
Emma though naturally did not believe the words of the priestess, knowing not to believe a liar.
After all, lying sincerely with a genuine expression was nothing difficult to achieve even for her, not to mention someone like Selene who had trained her cunning in the courts of ancient kingdoms and empires.
Still, Emma also knew that the sorceress was most likely speaking a few bits of truth as she had not forgotten her talk with her younger brother about Ulysses Klaue and the Vibranium that the man possessed.
She knew that Elijah wanted to pay her back for her care and help, as well as do his part to increase the family's fortune and influence since he did not want to benefit shamelessly from his heritage while appearing ungrateful.
The fact was though that his aid in saving Celeste and keeping her alive was a debt that Emma felt that she could never ever repay, so she had not expected that Elijah would still help her deal with Klaue nor had she had any thoughts of asking him to help.
More than that, Emma knew very well that her younger brother's mere existence was like an invisible shield that made those parties acting in the light and those acting in the shadows not dare to have any designs on her, her Hellions, and Celeste.
His demonic strength was something that even an ancient existence of Selene's level feared angering, not to mention mortal forces and governments that had seen what he could do, and what he was willing to do.
Her younger brother though had his own code and will.
"I will tell my brother that you have fulfilled your duty.", Emma voiced out, looking at the priestess with a raised brow as she continued impassively, "Though I assume that not a single gram of Vibranium got lost while you retrieved it?"
Clearly, her words contained a warning and a threat as she didn't put it above Selene to try to play tricks on her brother.
Snorting again, the dark priestess replied: "If you really understood what kind of existence 'he' is, you would not ask such a question, Emma."
"I know you, Selene.", the White Queen countered without any fluctuations in her beautiful cold voice, "You would try to cheat even a Devil of its horns."
"Naturally, I would.", the ancient sorceress admitted lightly without any shame as she locked gazes with Emma, a deep look in her eyes, "But only a fool tries to play games with a Lord that is practically the reaper incarnate."