American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

10. Madness

"Sorry, but I don't see anything beautiful about them. You damned madwoman, what have you done to them?"

Pietro leaned against the wall, using the friction to help himself stand up slowly. Anyone could see the unease in his eyes. This wasn't his first time facing a telepathic mutant, and Pietro knew all too well how bizarre their powers could be.

"I have given them gifts and blessings, all for the next generation. Look at them, look at these little darlings, newly born telepaths. Do you know what this means? We are the chosen ones, and I can bring these blessings to them."

Emma's expression was extremely twisted, her entire face contorted with madness, but her eyes were filled with a tender love as she gently caressed the heads of the two girls, as if they were priceless treasures.

Seeing this scene, Pietro felt only a wave of nausea. He took a couple of steps back, wanting to distance himself from Emma to gain a sense of safety. "If turning into lunatics is considered a blessing, then the one giving this blessing is not a god, but a devil."

The whispers around him started to speak again, and Pietro felt that if he tried to think about anything, these voices would drive him crazy. Was this the telepathy of that madwoman, Emma?

Pietro felt enveloped by an indescribable force and the nausea in his stomach grew worse. Then, Pietro lost some control over his body, which began trembling uncontrollably, making it difficult for him to stand.

"Say what you want, speedster, you have no idea how my creations will transform this world." Emma smiled, her face returning to its initial calm, though her eyes held a hint of mockery as she looked at Pietro.

"You're bringing destruction to the world," Pietro replied, struggling against his body's discomfort.

His condition was terrible. Shaking his head violently, Pietro's vision grew blurry, as if a nearsighted person had taken off their glasses. In his daze, Pietro saw mist rising around him. No, strictly speaking, it wasn't mist. Pietro couldn't identify what it was.

It gathered rapidly from the gaps in the iron doors on both sides of the corridor, rolling continuously around Pietro and Emma. Within the mist, faint human figures could be seen. At first, Pietro thought he was seeing things, but as he squinted through the nausea, he was horrified to realize that hidden in the pale mist were the indistinct forms of little girls.

Now Pietro understood what these negative energy-filled, eerie things were. Meanwhile, Emma continued speaking to herself.

"Honestly, if there really is a god in this world, then you are a gift sent to me by that god." Emma stretched out her arms, as if wanting to embrace Pietro.

"You're a lunatic!" Pietro cursed. "Don't you also have telepathy? Can't you see the psychic energy around us? These children were turned into this by you, and you call it a blessing?"

"You! You can actually sense it!" Emma's eyes brightened, filled with a possessive desire as she gazed at Pietro, though she quickly suppressed it.

"Yes, this is my mission. I lost everything...," Emma spoke softly, her hands trembling as she recalled painful memories. "My blessings, my everything was taken back by the gods. I don't know what I did wrong..."

Anyone seeing Emma like this would think she was a pitiable woman who had suffered a great grievance. But Pietro only wanted to run as far away as possible.

"So... I will take it all back!" Emma's humanity vanished, leaving only madness. She removed her gloves, revealing hands made of gleaming diamond.

"This is my power, and no one can take it away! Not even the gods!!!"

Emma suddenly appeared in front of Pietro, her diamond hand gripping his throat. The immense strength made Pietro suffocate instantly, unable to muster the strength to struggle.

"And you, speedster, you will be my most crucial experiment. Don't worry, I won't kill you. You're different from them. While those children have strong gifts, they are ultimately just ordinary humans, unable to bear the power of telepathy. But you are different. Your brain is resilient, very resilient."

Emma's other hand slowly lifted, grabbing her white hair and pulling it back. In the next moment, a head covered in stitched scars appeared before Pietro.

It was evident that Emma had performed numerous craniotomies on herself. Although it was unclear how she managed it, the scars resembled centipedes crawling across her head, a horrifying sight that would make anyone's legs go weak.

"Don't worry, you won't die. You will continue to live in my mind, as long as—"

Boom!

A blinding light suddenly exploded, tearing through the darkness of the corridor. The beam flashed and Emma was sent flying. The force of the beam was so strong that it sent Emma's body hurtling through the air, she crashed heavily to the ground with a metallic clang.

Then, an angry voice echoed in the silent corridor.

"Let go of my brother, you freak."

Hearing this familiar voice, Pietro's legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, tears streamed down his face.

"Are you okay, Pietro?" Alex rushed to Pietro, pointing his armored left arm towards Emma as he tilted his head slightly to ask.

"What took you so long? I almost died!" Pietro clung to Alex's clothes, tears streaming down his face.

If he were alone, Pietro would have forced himself to be strong, but now that Alex was here, Pietro finally found support. He felt like a bullied child who had found his parent, wanting to pour out all his grievances.

"Alright, alright, I understand," Alex consoled him half-heartedly. "Don't forget our plan. Go find that helmet. Leave this to me."

"Helmet? I don't know where it is. I can't use my super speed here; the telepathy will tear my brain apart." Pietro clutched his head in fear, not wanting to experience that torment again.

Seeing this, Alex realized that the environment was more complicated than he had thought, and it specifically affected Pietro. As an ordinary person, he felt nothing, unsure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Then do the search slowly, Pietro. I believe in you."

"But I really don't know where the helmet is. This place is too big to search," Pietro said, his face twisted with worry, pointing towards Emma. "I thought she'd be wearing it on her head."

"If she did that, she wouldn't be able to use her telepathy. Look around, the helmet can only be used in one place here."

"You mean the laboratory!" Pietro realized.

Alex didn't say much more, handing Pietro a loaded submachine gun. "I believe in you."

Taking the gun, Pietro looked at Alex's serious face, nodded slightly, and then stood up resolutely. He gave Alex a deep look, then ran towards the other end of the corridor without looking back. Watching Pietro's figure disappear into the darkness, Alex turned his attention back to the fallen Emma.

"It's time we talked, Emma. You've really broken my heart."

...….

10 advanced chapters on p@treaon

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11. Twisted Minds.
12. Escape.
13. Downfall.
14. Prison.
15. Releasing the Prisoners.