It was just me, Steve, Peggy, and Emma Frost now, the room silent after her daughters had left. The tension hung in the air like static until Emma finally broke it.
"How do you know about the Hellfire Club?" she asked, her tone calm but laced with caution.
I leaned back slightly. "I have my ways. But that's not the question you should be asking."
Her eyes narrowed. "And what question should I be asking?"
"How we can help each other," I said.
Emma tilted her head. "What?"
"How we can help each other," I repeated, "and keep me from having to throw your ass in a cold prison cell."
Her posture stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, Emma," I said, meeting her stare. "I'm a hero, your little club's been running schemes that hurt people and make life harder for mutants. You really think I'm just gonna ignore that because your Steve babys mama? No. The only reason you're getting any leniency is because of them. I'm giving you a chance to do better, to redeem yourself… and make a lot of money while you're at it."
Emma stayed silent for several seconds, studying me, weighing the intent behind every word. Finally, she asked, "How exactly can we help each other?"
I smiled and walked closer, resting my hands on the edge of her desk. "Glad you asked. You have all the kings and queens of your little evil empire, and I have the team, tech, and resources to take them all down. Once I do, you can absorb their assets and companies under your own control. You'll come out stronger, cleaner, and in charge."
She raised a brow. "And after that?"
"After that," I said, "I'm hoping you and I become allies. You're a powerful telepath with influence in both mutant and human circles. You could help me prepare for… let's just call it an upcoming event."
Her eyes narrowed. "An event?"
"An event that'll help mutants find a real place in this world, somewhere safe, somewhere free. A chance to show humanity we're not the monsters they make us out to be. I may be a hero to humans, but I'll do more for mutants, because they've had it worse than anyone. The same goes for other races who've been hunted or feared."
She crossed her arms again. "And what's this event called?"
"I'm not telling you, not yet," I said. "You don't trust me, and I don't trust you. But with time, maybe that changes. Once we build a little trust, then you'll be brought into the fold. Until then, once we've taken down the Hellfire Club, I only want one thing from you, let Steve see his daughters. If they want him in their lives, don't stand in the way."
Emma didn't hesitate long. She pulled a small thumb drive from her desk drawer, plugged it into her computer, and began typing quickly. After a moment, she removed it and set it on the desk in front of me.
"You know," I said, taking the drive, "I didn't expect you to trade your friends this quickly, but I'll take it."
"I only consider one of them a friend," she replied smoothly. "And this is a better opportunity for both of us."
"Only one?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "And I'm asking you to allow her to join this alliance. She's influential, like me. Not a telepath, but her mutant ability makes her a force to be reckoned with."
"Who is she?" I asked.
"Reeva Payge," Emma replied. "The White Knight. You'll find her information on that drive, along with the rest of the Hellfire leaders."
"Alright," I said, slipping the thumb drive into my pocket. "I'll go through it carefully. And for the record, I'm plugging it into a sandbox system first, just in case there are any surprises."
Emma smirked faintly. "I'd do the same. But I assure you, there's no trap hidden in that drive."
"I'll believe that when I see it," I said.
She turned her gaze to Steve, her voice softening just a fraction. "I'll ask you to give our daughters time to think about all this. They need to discuss it among themselves. Come back in two days, five p.m. I'll have no meetings then. Whatever their decision is, I won't interfere or influence it. They're adults now; they deserve to choose for themselves."
Steve nodded respectfully. "I will. And… thank you, Emma."
She gave a slight nod in return, the closest thing to warmth she'd allow herself to show.
The Ground Bridge activated behind me, swirling open in a flash of light. I stepped through first, followed by Steve and Peggy, leaving Emma Frost alone in her office, already planning her next move.
Esme's POV
"You two can't be serious!" Phoebe snapped.
"Oh my god…" I muttered, rubbing my forehead in frustration.
It had been hours, literal hours, of us arguing about him. About our father. We were finally back home, in our room, and the tension was thick enough to choke on.
Phoebe and Sophie were firmly against having anything to do with Steve. Celeste and I wanted to at least try to get to know him. And Mindee… she hadn't said a word the entire time. Just sat there quietly, eyes distant, like she was listening to a different conversation entirely.
Normally, we'd be using our telepathic hive link to talk things out, faster, cleaner, no shouting, but not tonight. Things were too raw. Too emotional. So we stuck to words, even if they hurt.
Mother hadn't said a single thing to us since the meeting. The last I saw her, she was heading back to her office, probably to pour herself a drink and think. She'd had that same serious look on her face she always wore when something big was turning in her mind.
I didn't know what she and Arsenal had talked about, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. And here we were, trying to decide whether to let a man we'd just met, a man we'd only ever read about, into our lives.
And for once, not even she could make that decision for us.
"Don't you oh my God me!" Phoebe snapped. "You two are seriously suggesting we try to have a relationship with Steve Rogers? Captain America? A human?"
"He's not just a human," Celeste shot back. "He's a super soldier, technically, that makes him a mutate."
"And why does it matter if he's human or not?" I argued. "You saw his eyes, Phoebe. He actually wants to be in our lives. Even Mother confirmed he wasn't lying."
Phoebe threw her hands up. "Oh my God, why are you two being so stupid? It's Steve Rogers, Captain America! A symbol. A hero. And he's working with the second-strongest hero alive!"
Sophie stepped in then, her tone cutting. "And we're not even close to that word, Celeste. Let's say we all welcome him with open arms. Tell him about us, what we've done. How many people we've killed, how many we've tortured, how many we've left brain-dead just to get the information we needed."
Celeste and I went silent. There was nothing to say to that.
Sophie's voice softened, but it hit harder because of it. "We can't have a relationship with him. Because once he finds out what we've done, he'll look at us the same way those doctors used to, like we're monsters."
We all knew that look. The disgust. The pity. The fear. None of us ever wanted to see it again.
"So here's what we do," Phoebe said, folding her arms. "We tell him we don't want a relationship. He moves on with his life, we stay in ours, and he never has to see what we really are. Problem solved."
There was a beat of silence.
Then, for the first time that night, Mindee spoke. Her voice was calm, but there was a weight to it that made all of us look her way.
"No."
Every head in the room turned toward her.
"Oh, look who's finally talking," Sophie muttered.
"What do you mean no?" Phoebe demanded.
"Like I said, no," Mindee replied, calm but firm. "Those are just theories you've built in your heads. We don't know Steve Rogers. Yes, we've done terrible things, but we didn't have a choice. Those scientists forced us to do those things when we were thirteen. And later, we had to keep killing just to survive in the Hellfire Club. You know that. We all do. We had to be ruthless, Mother made sure we survived in this chaotic world."
Her voice softened as she went on. "Mother and Aunt Reeva saved us from those scientists, and all five of us swore we'd protect them, no matter what."
Phoebe folded her arms, still defiant. "And you think he'd understand that?"
"We don't know unless we ask," Mindee said. "You two are scared, scared that if you talk to him, he'll see you like those doctors did. But I know you both always wanted to meet him. Don't lie, we all did. We read everything about him when we found out he was our biological father. We were heartbroken thinking he was gone forever." She paused, her voice breaking just slightly. "Now he's alive, standing right in front of us, and he wants to be a part of our lives. And you're telling me you don't want that?"
"Of course I want that!" Phoebe and Sophie shouted at the same time.
"You don't think I wanted a father in my life?" Phoebe's voice cracked. "You don't think I wanted him there? I read everything about him, old newspapers, archived files. For years, I imagined what it would've been like if he had been our father."
Sophie's eyes softened. "I wanted that too," she admitted quietly. "I wanted him to save us from those scientists, to help us through everything we went through. I wanted him there for the good moments, to call me his daughter, his princess. I wanted to call him Dad. I wanted us to be a normal family." Her expression hardened. "But we can't."
None of us said anything. We just… listened.
Phoebe exhaled shakily. "He's spent his whole life protecting people, literally being the shield of America. And we've spent ours taking lives. Too many innocent ones. There's too much blood on our hands."
Sophie nodded, her voice trembling. "Do you really think he'd want us, people like us, in his life? Once he finds out what we've done, he'll look at us the same way those doctors used to… like we're monsters."
We all fell silent again. The room felt heavy, like their words had sucked the air right out of it.
Finally, I spoke. "Then maybe all those fantasies we had about him were wrong."
They all turned to look at me.
"We can't keep imagining what kind of father he might be," I said softly. "We have to find out for ourselves. Yeah, there's a risk, maybe he won't accept us. But I'd rather know the truth than keep living with a dream that isn't real. I want to see if he's willing to be our father for who we really are, not who we pretend to be."
They all looked at me.
"We can't just keep imagining what kind of father he'd be," I said quietly. "We have to find out for ourselves. There's a risk in showing him who we really are, sure, but I'd rather know if he's still willing to be my father than live with a lie in my head."
Celeste and Mindee nodded right away, determination soft but clear in their eyes. Sophie hesitated, biting her lip for a long moment before finally sighing and giving a reluctant nod.
"Fine," Phoebe said, crossing her arms. "Fine. But the second he calls us monsters or tries to haul us off to jail, I'm going to say I told you so."
Celeste smirked faintly. "Yeah, yeah. You always do."
Phoebe rolled her eyes, but the fight had drained out of her voice. For the first time that night, the room felt… lighter, not peaceful, but not suffocating either.
Maybe, just maybe, we were ready to give him a chance.