Creating Oasis:Mutant Dawn

While the X-Men were busy storming and liberating the Weapon X base, Joseph wore a slightly odd expression.

He hadn't joined Logan, Storm, or the others during the raid. Instead, after escorting Magneto and Mystique safely away through a portal, Joseph returned—alone—and slipped deep into the facility. His destination wasn't the main laboratories, prisons, or holding cells being exposed on live broadcast.

It was a place even the X-Men didn't know existed.

Alice, the AI bound to him, had quietly infiltrated the Weapon X central system earlier. Through it, Joseph discovered something hidden—something buried nearly fifty meters beneath the main facility.

A hidden sublevel.

Roughly a thousand square meters in size, the concealed area was split between secure document archives and specialized laboratories. It was so secret that not even high-clearance personnel could access it—only Wilhelm Stryker himself.

And yet now… it was empty.

Empty, except for one room.

In the farthest corner of the space sat a sealed cell, and inside that cell—a lone figure.

Joseph stood silently at the thick, enchanted window, crafted from reinforced magic-enhanced steel. He peered inside, his face calm, but his eyes sharp.

"So…" he murmured, "you're the backup in Stryker's Mutant extinction plan."

The Weapon X program had always revolved around two cores.

One: the brainwave amplification device, designed to project mental control across vast distances.

Two: a powerful psychic Mutant—someone with mental strength approaching or surpassing Professor Charles Xavier.

But Charles Xavier wasn't easily captured.

Even if Stryker managed to subdue him, the risk was enormous. If Xavier resisted or something went wrong with Jason Stryker's neural fluid control, the entire operation could collapse.

So Stryker needed a replacement. A contingency. Another psychic of near-equal power.

And that's what led Joseph here.

From within the sealed chamber, the woman's voice drifted softly toward him.

"Very clever. You figured it out immediately."

Her tone was light, almost musical, but laced with an unmistakable sultriness. She stepped out of the shadows, her presence unmistakably commanding.

Blonde hair. A fitted white cape. Leather pants, high heels. And a dangerously graceful figure.

She smiled and tucked a golden strand behind her ear.

It was elegant. Flirtatious. Calculated.

Emma Frost.

The White Queen of the infamous Hellfire Club.

Once a villain, later an Omega-level ally of Magneto. In the comics and world alike, she was known as one of the most formidable psychics on Earth—on par with Xavier himself.

Now? She was imprisoned. But not broken.

Joseph raised an eyebrow. He had sensed her a minute ago—her psychic energy flickered like cold starlight—because until moments earlier, her body had been fully encased in a crystalline diamond form.

A form that rendered her immune to most forms of physical and psychic harm.

"Transferred from Trask Labs, were you?" Joseph asked casually.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes. Years ago."

"Project Sentry, I imagine," Joseph muttered under his breath.

Her smile twitched—barely noticeable.

Joseph's expression didn't change, but his mind was already piecing things together. Trask Industries, the same group responsible for Sentinels, had been neck-deep in Mutant experimentation. Stryker must have traded favors to get his hands on Frost.

"I've spoken with Magneto recently," Joseph continued. "He didn't mention you—but I suspected some of his early allies didn't fare so well after Hellfire."

"So, what was it?" His gaze flicked across the room. "Captured during an ambush? Handed over by someone inside?"

The White Queen gave a sad smile. "The details no longer matter. I'm here. I've been here. Lingering because of my Ability. That's all that's kept me alive."

Joseph nodded, eyes still scanning the chamber.

"They wanted to recruit you, didn't they?"

Her pupils dilated slightly. That hit the mark.

"How did you know that?" she asked, startled.

Then suspiciously: "Who are you, really? Why are you here?"

Joseph didn't answer.

Instead, he observed her more closely.

Emma's diamond form was gone now. She had shifted back into human form almost the instant she saw him.

Which was odd.

If she had remained in diamond form, even someone as powerful as Joseph might have found it difficult to get through her defenses. So why hadn't she?

Unless... she didn't perceive him as a threat.

Or rather—she recognized him immediately as an ally.

"You seemed remarkably relaxed when I arrived," Joseph said, tone dry. "Most prisoners don't switch back to flesh when a stranger appears unannounced."

Emma tilted her head, lips curling into a half-smile.

"Because I could tell right away—you weren't sent by Stryker."

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them until her face was mere inches from the barrier.

"Your psychic shielding... it's beyond anything I've ever seen. Even Charles Xavier would need time to break through it."

Her voice dropped.

"But your shield—it's not artificial. It's not defensive armor—it's a wall you built yourself. A subconscious barrier that reflects psychic scans like a mirror."

"No one working for Stryker has that kind of talent. So yes—I knew you were a Mutant. And a powerful one."

Joseph stared at her, impressed despite himself.

Professor X hadn't even noticed his spiritual immunity when they first met. But Emma Frost? She saw it instantly.

"As expected from the White Queen," Joseph said softly. "Even locked away and isolated, you're sharper than most in the world."

Emma's expression softened, her eyes studying him carefully.

"I don't know who you are," she said quietly. "But if you're here, that means Stryker's plans above have fallen apart."

Her voice shifted again, this time filled with subtle seduction.

"You came here to find me, didn't you?"

She leaned closer.

"And if you set me free... I'll serve you."

"Willingly. Unconditionally."

"Whatever you need..."

She exhaled slowly, her breath fogging the magic-infused window.

"…even if it's everything."

The implication hung in the air like a cloud of perfume.

Joseph raised a brow.

"You're offering your body for your freedom?" he asked, not unkindly—more out of honest curiosity.

Emma's smile didn't fade.

"I'm offering everything," she said softly.

Joseph's gaze flicked down. Emma was still breathtaking, despite being technically old enough to be Professor X's contemporary. Her X-gene had preserved her appearance. She looked no older than twenty-five—stunning, elegant, alluring.

But Joseph wasn't a man to be swayed so easily.

He stepped back, arms folded.

"Tempting," he said. "But I didn't come here for that."

Emma's eyes sparkled. "Then why?"

Joseph tilted his head.

"Because I see what you truly are. A survivor. An asset. And possibly—a future queen to this new Mutant age."

She blinked.

"But only if you're sincere."

For the first time, Emma Frost looked completely serious.

"I am."

Joseph raised his hand.

A soft hum of magic filled the air as the barrier between them shimmered and dissipated.

The cell door creaked open.

"Then step out, White Queen," Joseph said with a half-smile. "Your crown awaits."

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