[2009 – October]
Appearing in a cloud of Darkforce, shadows snaking around my form affectionately, I left the foyer and stepped into the large open living room of the penthouse that Emma usually stayed at when she was in New York, seeing her sitting at the robust-looking dark wooden table that had enough space to seat a family of twelve.
"You wanted to see me, Emma?", I greeted her with a light smile.
Looking up at me from the three tablets that acted as additional monitors for the laptop that was placed in front of her, a look of surprise in her crystal eyes at my sudden intrusion, which were hidden behind a pair of delicately framed glasses.
My eyesight being superhuman, I could see from the refraction of light that the glasses were fake ones that just acted as a fashion statement, and not as a reading aid.
Getting over her surprise quickly, Emma smiled beautifully as she saw me.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you.", she replied while leaning back into her cushioned armchair, her movements elegant and her posture flawless. She gestured at a chair by her right side and I didn't hesitate as I closed the distance between us and sat down, waiting for her to continue.
"I got a call from one of your teachers at school. Mr. Harris was his name, I believe.", Emma started, a somewhat happy smile on her lips while her eyes shone with a bit of pride, "He tried to convince me that it would be in your best interest to join the basketball team, that you might have a real future in professional basketball."
"I just wanted to ask you if that is something that you might want. And if so, if there is a team that you might want to play on, tell me so we can acquire it in advance before you graduate.", she stated, undeniable sisterly love colouring her words.
Her words also hinted at the incredible fortune of my family in this life, which I had obviously known about. Sometimes though, it was a bit hard to truly comprehend this kind of wealth as it seemed to be just a number most of the time.
Still, hearing Emma casually mention that she would buy a whole basketball team of my choice, just in case I fancied playing on one of them, definitely helped in my understanding of the type of economic strength the Frost family wielded.
I had read somewhere that the average team was worth around a billion dollars while the top three hovered around a figure at least five times that much. This fact alone put things into perspective even if I wasn't one to care much for monetary wealth.
I couldn't help but smile at Emma affectionately when I thought of this before shaking my head lightly and trying to answer her.
Though before I could do so, she added: "I also had some of my employees look up a few retired NBA players, which we could hire for private lessons."
"Naturally, most of them are already rich enough but everyone has a price, so I am certain that they can be convinced to work as private tutors. There is a list from which you can choose from, I will send it to you later.", she finally ended with a smile that implied how satisfied she was with her preparations.
It took me a few moments to decide how to react since I wasn't sure what to say while facing her like this.
As the CEO of Frost International, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, and god-knows-what other responsibilities that needed her attention and focus, Emma had still spared the time to ponder about and arrange all this for my sake.
I was touched and conflicted as I didn't want to disappoint her when she so obviously cared for me. Eventually though, I chose to be honest with her and reply while lightly shaking my head.
"Thank you, Emma.", I said and reached out to grab her hand for a moment, squeezing it lightly, "But all that isn't necessary. I might play for the school team since it could be an interesting activity for my spare time but I have no intention to do this professionally for the time being."
"When I do though, I will make sure to send you a shopping list for the team that I want you to buy.", I added jokingly as I pulled back my hand.
I hadn't yet thought too intensely about what I wanted to do in the near future while I was still on Earth.
I eventually planned to go and experience life on other worlds, watching stars being born and dying, but the intense urge to do my best to make it possible for me to leave this planet as soon as possible had faded since I had become a Realm Lord.
It wasn't that I didn't want to wander among the stars anymore but I was immortal now, so time had a different significance to me. With an eternity to spare, I wasn't rushed to end my life on Earth, instead, I wanted to find a way to live it to the fullest with Jean, Laura, and the others that I cared about.
I didn't want to spend a lifetime on Earth but I at least wanted Jean to find her own passions and fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. I obviously wanted her to come with me and experience all that this Universe had to offer, but I also wanted her to want to come with me.
And I knew that the time for this would come eventually since she knew of my longing for the stars and all the mysteries that lay beyond this world. At this point in time though, we were both still young and our life together had just begun, our future filled with endless possibilities.
Also, nothing spoke against taking an interstellar vacation every now and then. Visiting Xandar, Asgard, Knowhere, Sakaar, Vanaheim, Alfheim, or any other place that I could remember off the top of my head would be a great place to start before going on a perpetual adventure.
All this though made me ponder about what I would do after graduation since I was sure that Jean would want to visit medical school to become a doctor, which I supported as I believed this to be a much more healthy occupation to express her desire to help others, in contrast to being an X-Man.
I thought about it regularly since I truly wanted to live and not just exist but I had no intentions of playing professional basketball. Playing in the school team might be an interesting part-time activity now but doing so professionally would surely bore me to death in the long run.
I was superhuman, after all.
Playing with and against normal humans professionally was pointless since I could only lose if I wanted to. I might be able to enjoy the team spirit and the activity itself since it was a great sport but there was no competition to be had, which was part of the essence of the sport.
Limiting myself for a few games until graduation could be fun but doing so professionally for others to profit from wasn't something that I considered at all.
Blushing ever so slightly as she seemed embarrassed by her earlier enthusiasm, Emma quickly shook her head before replying in a clear voice: "Well, if that is what you want, we will set the matter aside for now."
Smiling, she continued with a quiet laugh: "I will be waiting for that list though."
A short pause spread between us after I smiled back at her before turning my gaze to the large glass wall behind her that opened the view to the whole city. It was still afternoon, so the sun was up high, which made the skyline of New York seem so different from the one at night.
I could truly hear the whole city buzzing with life as people filled this strangely beautiful concrete jungle with vitality and the spirit of human resilience. I heard joy, love, hate, violence, and every other facet of the human character as the people of this city acted upon their desires.
Nothing could be hidden from the senses of a Realm Lord, my connection to the Darkforce Dimension enabling me to sense every single life in the city as it was being born, existing, and dying.
It was strange to see and feel all that life while knowing that a single thought was enough to turn it all into dust and ashes. I could only wonder if this sense of estrangement was a consequence of turning into a higher being, or if that was just my innate character speaking.
"Elijah, are you okay?", Emma's quiet voice pulled me from my thoughts and I felt the white glow in my eyes fading.
"Yes, I am.", I replied with a slight smile, "I was just looking at the city."
"What does it look like? With your eyes.", she questioned, concern and curiosity radiating off her in a mix that was hard to describe.
Looking into her crystal eyes, I grabbed her hand again as I answered with four simple words: "Let me show you."
…
Elijah's beautiful green eyes shimmered as they turned into an illuminating white, his expression a strange mix of serene uncertainty while a light frown settled on his face.
Emma wasn't sure what it was that he saw as he gazed out of the window but she wished that she did. It wasn't a newly formed wish either, as she had long since wondered what the world looked like from her younger brother's perspective.
After all, Elijah was a uniquely powerful existence that seemed to have no equal.
So when he took hold of her hand and finally showed her, she was somewhat nervous but didn't hesitate.
And in the next moment, she felt the presence of a mind that was infused with darkness, its strength greater than anything that she had ever felt in all her years as a telepath.
It was like a dark sun that radiate nothing but pure unadulterated power, which seemed great enough to destroy whole worlds and shatter stars. Feeling this overwhelming and all-consuming presence with her mind caused her to gasp in shock.
Her eyes widened as she looked into the blazing eyes of her younger brother, not quite able to comprehend how this could be the mind of a being that seemed so human.
She couldn't find the words to describe what she felt at this moment while sensing his strength in such a direct way for the first time.
Those thoughts though vanished quickly as impressions and sensations that didn't belong to her poured into her mind, Elijah's far stronger mental presence connecting with her telepathy even without her consent.
It didn't matter that she was an Omega-level telepath. Her mental shields didn't just seem unable to keep him out, they didn't even try, as if they were incapable of reacting to this intrusion.
Emma had one of the strongest minds on Earth, her mental shield unbreachable even for the likes of Selene or the Sorcerer Supreme, but in front of her younger brother, none of that seemed to matter.
She trembled as visual and auditory sensations took over her senses, smell, touch and taste following closely behind, in addition to a perception that was entirely foreign to her. As if her mind had been shifted to a higher metaphysical information state, knowledge and wisdom bloomed in her mind as new instincts and perceptions of her surroundings were born one after another.
Never in her life had Emma felt anything comparable.
At this moment, she wasn't a mutant or a living being, she was certitude and conviction as she felt the colossal city of New York with every fiber of her being. It wasn't her mind anymore that processed what she sensed, it was as if the whole city was just part of her.
It felt so close, and she imagined that she could just reach out to grasp the whole city in a single hand if she wanted to. A slight pinch and it would turn to dust, a word of goodwill and it would prosper.
She believed without a shadow of a doubt that this was how a god must see and experience the world, no other explanation could ever explain what she was seeing and feeling.
And then it was all gone in an instant, and she was back to being Emma Frost.
Gasping, she breathed heavily as she stared at her younger brother, her body feeling as if it had been starved of oxygen. Her lungs burned as unshed tears gathered in her eyes, her mind reeling as she desperately tried to make sense of what she had just experienced.
What he had shown her had been traumatic in a way that Emma couldn't even explain, the sheer perceptive intensity almost surpassing what her mind could take.
Her heart twisted in pain as she tried to comprehend the strength it took for Elijah to keep his sanity while he experienced the world in the way he had shown her.
She then began to understand why his mind was the most powerful presence that she had ever sensed as any lesser being would be driven to the brink of insanity if they had to experience the world like he did.
It wasn't the amount of information or the overwhelming impressions that threatened to drown one's senses but how fragile everything had seemed, so much so that even the smallest loss of control could spell doom to whole worlds.
She didn't say anything as she looked at her younger brother with unshed tears in her eyes, knowing that he lived in chains of his own making just so that he could be with those he cared about. For their sake, he repressed his own radiance.
The white glow of his eyes having dimmed, Elijah looked at her with a mild smile while he leaned forward and gently brushed over her cheek.
"Don't be upset, Emma. Please.", he whispered as his eyes shone with care while his gaze rested on something in the distance that her own eyes could not reach, "You might not see it but the world is still beautiful, even if this beauty seems hidden at times. I can see it clearly."