Ten Years

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Attilan, Fetal Care Center.

His Highness Alex lay wearily outside a mutation chamber, gazing tenderly at the person wrapped in blue crystals inside. "Three years, child. When will you finally wake up?"

Three years had passed since Alex underwent mutation through the Terrigen Mist. The crystals covering Alex showed no signs of breaking, plunging His Highness Alex, who had initially been somewhat excited, into endless panic. After the panic came resignation.

The longer the wait, the more powerful the ability gained from the eventual mutation would be. But once the wait exceeded a certain limit, it became torment. The outcome was no longer a matter of strength, but life and death.

Yet as he endured day after day, His Highness Alex gradually got used to it.

As he pondered this, familiar footsteps sounded outside the door. Without looking back, His Highness Alex called out, "Crystal, it’s training time. If you snuck out, be careful Gorgon doesn’t punish you."

Crystal, with her golden-red hair, skipped inside with a bright, exuberant smile. She excitedly waved her fist and declared smugly, "It’s fine. Gorgon wouldn’t dare punish me. He’s no match for me now!"

Over the past three years, Crystal came here whenever she had time to see Alex lying in the mutation chamber and chat with her uncle. Their relationship had grown ever closer.

Meanwhile, in the Floating Temple rebuilt atop the Floating Giant Island in the Savage Land, Emma leaned back in her chair while a tall young man gently kneaded her shoulders. As he worked, he consoled her, "Little Mom, take a break if you’re tired. Don’t wear yourself out."

A massive two-winged dragon lay nearby. Hearing this, it lifted its head and gently licked Emma’s cheek with its pink tongue, its sticky saliva immediately soaking her clothes.

"Qiqi, I’m warning you again: don’t lick me!" Emma sprang to her feet in fury and pointed at the dragon as she berated it.

The two-winged dragon was Qiqi, the Little Fire Dragon from back then. Rather than retreating at Emma’s scolding, it advanced, extending its tongue toward her again.

Emma flashed away, then spun around and pointed at the young man behind her. She charged over indignantly and raised her hand to hit him. "Little Logan, did you tell Qiqi to do this?"

Seven-year-old Little Logan had already grown as tall as an ordinary young man. He took Emma’s slap head-on, then nimbly dodged away and led her running circles around Qiqi’s massive body. As he ran, he shouted, "Little Mom, when you’re upset, you need to let it out. Bottling it up for too long is bad for you."

"Let it out? Let it out? This is how you want me to let it out?!" Emma was furious, but she had to admit the effect was pretty good. After scolding and hitting him for a while, she truly felt much better.

Three years had passed without any news of Alex. She had searched for a long time, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had searched for a long time as well, yet there had been no trace of the Inhuman race. Even Tashim, whom she had feared greatly, had vanished without a single word.

Then another three years passed, and before anyone realized it, ten years had gone by.

Attilan had endured war, and the Fetal Care Center had been destroyed and rebuilt. The present-day Fetal Care Center was larger and more refined than it had been ten years ago.

In a private room within the center, a middle-aged man sat blankly in a chair. Before him stood a mutation chamber, and inside lay a person completely encased in blue crystals.

"Ten years, child. It’s time to wake up." After a long silence, the middle-aged man looked at the person within the crystal and sighed.

Just then, familiar footsteps approached from outside, mixed with several unfamiliar ones. His Highness Alex turned his head in confusion. Crystal entered first, followed by a man and a woman.

The woman looked rather similar to Crystal. Her long red hair fell straight to her waist. She had to be Medusa, the sister Crystal mentioned so often. The cold-faced man beside Medusa was undoubtedly Crystal’s brother-in-law, Medusa’s husband, and the current ruler of the Inhuman race, Black Bolt.

His Highness Alex had not left this room in a very, very long time. Even the battle that had nearly destroyed Attilan had failed to make him leave. Yet through Crystal’s introductions, he knew everything about the Inhuman race.

"What is it, Crystal?" His Highness Alex glanced at Black Bolt and Medusa before turning to Crystal in confusion. "Why did you bring them here?"

Crystal awkwardly glanced at her sister and brother-in-law. After hesitating for a long while, she could not bring herself to speak.

Medusa looked at her younger sister, lightly cleared her throat, and said, "Uncle Alex, it’s like this. The slave workers have launched an uprising, and Attilan is in grave danger. We need you to step forward and take charge."

His Highness Alex froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "I’m useless. How could I possibly take charge of anything?"

"You can, Uncle!" At her sister’s prompting, Crystal had no choice but to join in persuading him. "You’re the only elder left in the royal family. If you won’t step forward, who will?"

His Highness Alex shuddered and abruptly rose to his feet, staring at Crystal in utter confusion as though he could not believe his ears.

"Black Bolt’s younger brother, Maximus, secretly attacked him." Medusa spoke again, her delicate face filled with barely restrained hatred. Black Bolt beside her remained as calm as ever. "Black Bolt mistakenly used his ability, causing many deaths, including those of his parents."

"My brother?!" His Highness Alex looked at Black Bolt in disbelief, a trace of anger appearing in his usually calm eyes. Over the past ten years, if not for his brother’s unwavering support, he and his son would likely have been executed long ago.

Crystal hurried forward and grasped His Highness Alex’s arm, carefully trying to reassure him. "It wasn’t my brother-in-law’s fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s Maximus."

"Yes, it was all Maximus’s fault." Medusa spoke fiercely as her red hair rapidly grew, cascading to the floor in moments. The gray ground seemed to have been covered in a red carpet.

"I’m not qualified. Let him do it." His Highness Alex nodded with a bitter smile and slumped back into his chair. He pointed at Black Bolt, who stood like a block of ice. "He is royal blood, and his ability is extremely powerful. It makes perfect sense for him to inherit the title of Inhuman King."

Medusa turned to glance at her lover, then looked back at His Highness Alex and said solemnly, "Black Bolt is not yet prepared to succeed as Inhuman King. The slaves are rioting, and Attilan could fall at any moment, so we beg Uncle Alex to step forward!"

His Highness Alex turned to Black Bolt, his aged face expressionless. "You are the king of the Inhuman race. Whether you are prepared or not, you must shoulder this burden!"

Black Bolt was visibly stunned. After a long while, he shook his head firmly.

"Black Bolt believes he is guilty and unworthy of becoming Inhuman King." Since Black Bolt could not speak, Medusa served as his voice.

"You are indeed guilty!" His Highness Alex said bluntly, without the slightest hesitation. "But if you refuse to take on the burden of being Inhuman King, then you are even more guilty." With that, His Highness Alex ignored them and turned back toward the mutation chamber.

Crystal and Medusa exchanged glances, then shook their heads with bitter smiles, signaling that there was nothing they could do. Medusa sighed and turned to Black Bolt, only to find something different in his expression. There seemed to be a chance after all.

A moment later, Black Bolt nodded and gave His Highness Alex a solemn bow. Medusa promptly translated beside him, "Thank you, Uncle Alex. I will be a good king of the Inhuman race!"

"Get out. Don’t disturb my child’s sleep!" His Highness Alex snorted and immediately began driving them away.

Black Bolt and Medusa hesitated briefly before turning and leaving. Crystal, however, remained behind.

"Why aren’t you leaving? Aren’t you going to help your sister and brother-in-law?"

Crystal pulled over a chair and sat beside His Highness Alex. Her eyes stared blankly at the mutation chamber as she casually replied, "The two of them are enough. They don’t need me!"

His Highness Alex chuckled but said nothing.

In the Floating Temple of the Savage Land, Emma, Vivien Leigh, and the other women sat side by side, their expressions somewhat downcast.

"Ten years have passed. Are you still going to wait?" Emma looked at the three women beside her, her expression difficult to read, part sympathy and part admiration.

Ten years had passed, and Vivien Leigh had gradually begun to age. Crow’s feet were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Even so, they could not conceal her peerless beauty. After ten years as a business owner, Vivien Leigh carried even more of an air of a formidable businesswoman.

Under Vivien Leigh’s management, X-Film Company had become one of Hollywood’s top film production companies, with its movies receiving widespread acclaim. The principles Alex had established back then had been gradually implemented under Vivien Leigh’s control, subtly influencing people. At the very least, many people no longer turned pale at the mention of mutants.

Vivien Leigh glanced at Emma, gave a soft laugh, and said calmly, "So many years have passed already. I don’t mind continuing to wait."

"My brother owes me ten years of promises. He’ll have to repay me double." Eighteen changes a girl, and Audrey had finally grown into the elegant, beautiful goddess she would become in the future. Beneath her slightly melancholy gaze lay an unshakable will.

Beside Audrey, the plump Monroe wore a coat and trousers, wrapped tightly from head to toe, yet she still could not hide the captivating sensuality she exuded. "I belong to my brother. I always have, and that will never change!"

Ten years had passed, yet the three women still could not forget Alex. To be honest, Emma was deeply moved and impressed. Their former estrangement had vanished like smoke. But Emma did not want them to spend the rest of their lives alone. After all, they were only ordinary people. She had tried time and again to persuade them, but the moment she opened her mouth, the three women stopped her. "Wait. We’ll wait together!" (The official WeChat platform for Marvel’s Teleporter will have even more fresh content, along with a 100% chance to win prizes! Open WeChat now, tap the "+" in the upper right corner, select "Add Friends," search for the public account "qdread," and follow it quickly!)

As I kept writing, I went over time, so I simply wrote three thousand words. That made the chapter feel complete.

Actually, Scorpion had been planning this chapter for a long time. The span from World War II to the modern era was simply too great—seventy years, based on the film timeline. There was no choice but to use this method to skip ahead in time; otherwise, a seventy-year span would have been too difficult to write. I hope everyone understands!