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Chapter 113: This Is A Touching Chapter
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He smiled. "I'm still figuring out the extent of just how much fucking better I'm than everyone else. But I know I'm not joining a club just to be part of someone else's 'master race' fantasy."
Shaw was visibly taken aback, not by defiance, but by the sheer scope of the worldview presented.
Demons. Aliens. Adam spoke of them as facts, not myths. It was alarming intelligence delivered with casual certainty.
Shaw certainly knows something about the depths of the world, but it seems that he doesn't know enough.
Even Emma, watching silently, felt a thrill of curiosity. She watched him say it in the conference, then again minutes ago when talking to Fury, and now again. She'd get the details out of him later.
Shaw composed himself, a slow smile spreading across his face. It wasn't friendly; it was the smile of a shark recognizing another predator.
"I'm Convinced," He stated simply. "We have much to discuss. Strategy and sharing some information. But for now."
He stood, extending a hand, "We have a ceremony to attend. And many… influential guests to introduce to the new White King of the Hellfire Club."
Adam stood, his white suit a mirror to Shaw's black. He took the offered hand.
He didn't mind the position. Not at all. In many ways, he was like Shaw. He wanted to experience everything, to own everything, to grasp the levers of the world and see what happened when he pulled.
The Club's labyrinthine resources, its web of global connections, its history of silent conquest; it was a tool of immense utility. A new toy for the Treasury.
And for Shaw, he has a few plans, just as he's sure the latter has plans for him too, but first, he must attend to his lovely friends at Hydra.
[RIP Hydra.]
[RIP Shaw.]
[RIP mom, I miss ya.]
[...] [Rest in peace.] [RIP] [+1] [+1] [+1] [+1]
[My condolences, man, I know how it feels.]
[Guys, let's take a second to pray for Hydra, Shaw, and everyone who lost their parents!]
[Rest in Peace!] [I miss u dad!] [I'm sorry I wasn't with you when u needed me!] [Hail Hydra!] [Wholesome chat.] [I'm tearing up...]
The party that evening was not an impromptu celebration. It was a meticulously scheduled event, a fixture on the Hellfire Club's social calendar.
It was thus clear that Adam Cypher's ascension to White King had never been in question.
The moment Emma Frost had whispered his name to Sebastian Shaw, the vast, silent machinery of the Club's intelligence network had begun its work.
By the time Adam walked through the doors, Shaw had already dissected his business maneuvers, his public antics, his X-Men connections, and his war on Hydra.
The vote, the deliberation; it was all theater. The decision had been made. The rest was merely ceremony.
Shaw is, after all, a very thorough man. He never attends a meeting uninformed. It's his duty to understand others better than they understand themselves.
The grand ballroom of the Fifth Avenue mansion was a study in gilded elegance.
Chandeliers dripped light onto a sea of black ties, diamonds, and fake smiles.
Shaw held court at one end, a monolith of dark charisma, exchanging weighted pleasantries with a senator, an oil magnate, and a media tycoon.
He left the task of introducing the new attraction to Emma.
She was in her element.
A glacier in a white silk gown, she guided Adam through the crowd. "Pretty much everyone here is in the outer circle," She murmured into his ear, her breath cool.
"Politicians, CEOs, old money. They see a powerful, controversial new tech billionaire. A mutant, yes, which some despise, but your wealth and influence mute their protests."
"They are kept in the dark about the true nature of the Club's leadership, however. Don't think about them too much, just useful idiots with reach."
She nodded towards a tighter knot of individuals near a private bar. Their bearing was different; more relaxed.
"The inner circle. Or those aspiring to it. Mostly mutants, or humans we find exceptionally… useful. They know what Shaw is. What I am. And well, you are a public whore, so everyone knows what you are."
The inner circle consists of relatively trusted individuals. The outer circle is different, including politicians, and they sure don't like mutants.
A European finance minister eyed Adam's cybernetic hand with fascination, and even if he had disdain for mutants, he still shook his hand firmly, murmuring about the future of technology.
A Hollywood studio head practically salivated at the mention of Cypher's social media reach.
There was even a general from the Joint Chiefs who offered a curt nod, talking solely about Adam's suit and its applications, hinting that the army is very much interested in it.
He even hinted that the higher-ups in the Senate are considering holding a talk about it to get hold of it, unless they reach an agreement.
The Hellfire Club thrived on a simple, brutal calculus; Power above species. Influence above ideology. Utility above morality.
Shaw's mutant supremacy was a personal creed, not a corporate policy. The club would happily use a human weapons manufacturer or a mutant-hating politician if they served the goal of amassing more control.
It was a machine that fed on the ambition of others, and it was ludicrously successful because it asked no philosophical questions, only "What can you do for us?"
Domino, sipping a martini, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle of high-society predation.
Anna, however, was glued to Adam's side, her face a mask of quiet displeasure.
"Ah don't like it here," She whispered, her Southern drawl low. "The air feels… dirty. Can't believe these people breathe the same air as us, so much greed. And Shaw…"
She glanced across the room at the Black King, who was laughing at some joke, the sound booming and empty.
"He feels like Magneto. No. Worse. He ain't passionate 'bout a cause. He just… reeks of evil."
She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial breath. "Should Ah just touch him? Put him in a coma? One less problem."
Adam raised a brow, looking at her with genuine surprise. How the fuck did I unintentionally corrupt her this much?
He didn't recall giving lessons in preemptive assassination. Well, Elektra did, but how did she so easily get influenced by him?
He shook his head slightly, and though Emma stood beside him, he spoke openly.
"Shaw is a very valuable tool, Anna," He said, his voice casual. "He's the kind of man compelled by curiosity and a desire for domination. And I'll make sure he learns a little more about Hydra."
"He's so pragmatic that accepting me as White King was the optimal play. His next optimal move will be to find a way to devour my influence."
"Likely by cozying up to Hydra, using their resources against me, then backstabbing them at the perfect moment."
"He'd position himself as the world's savior against the Hydra menace, a 'human' tech mogul who stopped the monster that threatens the world. His power and influence would surge. And that's all he really wants."
He took a sip of champagne. "He can't resist the temptation. Just like he couldn't resist the temptation of what I bring to the table, even knowing I'm dangerous. He wants to take it all for himself." Adam smiled.
"I want him to try. It can only serve me well."
Emma listened, a complex cocktail of fascination and thrill stirring within her.
Her initial investment in Adam had been a bet relying solely on his potential. After all, not just anyone can outplay Magneto.
That alone makes him worth the investment.
He had since become the most lucrative, unpredictable yield in all her history.
She was not, and had never been, wholly loyal to Shaw. Their alliance was one of mutual ambition, often clashing in method.
She didn't mind the coming mind games. In fact, a secret, covetous part of her hoped the beautiful, chaotic young man in the white suit would prevail.
She was also ensuring the conversation remained private, thus why Adam spoke so openly.
Her telepathic power, a diamond-tipped scalpel, extended a subtle, imperceptible screen around them.
To the nearby guests, their lips moved, words reached them as soft murmurs, but only seemingly talking about business, most of it drowned by the orchestra.
She specifically muted their conversation from the ears of a mutant across the room; a man with hyper-acute hearing who reports directly to Shaw.
Anna nodded, a weird, approving smile touching her lips. That was more like it.
She hated Shaw's vibe. She didn't like Emma's either, but the telepath seemed genuinely aligned with Adam for now, and Anna's instincts detected no active malice toward him.
Still, the thought occurred; Maybe I should just touch Emma, too. Absorb her memories, know her every plan. She's still too dangerous. The idea felt logical, clean.
[Tf?] [It's over, Rogue's mind broken! Damn u Adam!!]
[A lot of talk about touching, I swear this show is a porno in disguise.]
[If being touched to death sounds like a porno to u, then seek help.]
[God damn Rogue is broken, no? All she needs is a touch.]
[Dude, she can touch me all she wants and I won't ever mind.]
[But she will mind touching a basement dweller.]
[I'm not a basement dweller, I'm a mom dweller. Ask u mom, she'd know.]
[Damn.] [Fuck u.] [Mom jokes, haha so funny.] [...]