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The Ancient One opened the portal and said to the shadow clone, "Follow me."
The shadow clone didn't hesitate and followed her. When it stepped through the portal, it found itself in a room with a small table, a cup of tea or perhaps some kind of magic liquid. The room was simple, devoid of any modern presence.
Suddenly, the Ancient One said, "To be honest, I'm very surprised by your visit, Ms. Emma."
The shadow clone replied, "I'm sorry for coming so suddenly, but well, I don't know how to make a reservation."
The Ancient One smiled and joked, "I see your complaint. Maybe I should create something like a website for reservations?"
The shadow clone was surprised by the Ancient One's joke because it wasn't something that matched its memory of her. Nevertheless, it replied, "In fact, I'm just a clone. If possible, could you open a portal for the real me and make it seem like you're forcibly taking her?"
The Ancient One nodded. In truth, she had already sensed she wasn't speaking to a person, but rather to something filled with energy. She judged it to be a projection but hadn't expected it to be a clone.
She was curious why this Emma wanted to stage her own kidnapping and even more interested in what had caused the timeline to change.
...
Agent Balmung sat in the place where he'd been stationed, tasked with only one role: to monitor the newly awakened mutant. It seemed she was very important because Director Fury had given him a direct line of contact. As soon as there was any change, he had to report it.
On the screen in front of him, Emma was sitting at her computer playing games, a little different from how he'd expected a girl to act. But given that she had chosen to join the military, it didn't seem too surprising.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Suddenly, the device in the monitoring room started beeping, indicating an energy surge from Emma's house. Then, something resembling a portal from a video game appeared on Emma's left side and moved toward her, completely engulfing her.
Balmung didn't hesitate and pressed the device Fury had given him, saying, "Director, something strange has happened. A weird portal suddenly appeared in Ms. Emma's room and absorbed her."
Fury, who was at SHIELD's Trident Base after yesterday's meeting with the council, was working on various strategies to persuade Emma, even using threats if necessary. He heard an alarm from one of the many computers in his office and checked it.
It read, "Alert from U-7." The first thing that came to his mind was one word: "F*ck!"
U-7 was the name of the device he had given to the agent monitoring Ms. Emma. Since there was an alert, something bad must have happened.
"Director, something strange happened. A weird portal suddenly appeared in Ms. Emma's room and absorbed her."
"A portal?" In his memory, while there were some mutants capable of teleportation or even transporting others, none had ever opened a portal.
He called Agent Hill. "I need you to gather a team of scientists and combat-ready agents in five minutes."
Hill, receiving the order, didn't ask questions. She quickly gathered the team that Fury requested.
Since SHIELD's base was a bit outside the city, it took them more than twenty minutes to arrive.
"Director, we didn't detect any strange fluctuations. The space around this place is also stable."
Fury nodded. It had been fifty minutes since Emma disappeared. If he couldn't find her before his meeting with the World Security Council, they would cause him major trouble.
At the same time, he had watched the video of her being absorbed by the portal many times. Unfortunately, they couldn't see what was on the other end of the portal, leaving them without a target. It was truly the unknown, something he hated most.
As he was considering all the possibilities, the same portal from the video appeared again, and Emma emerged from it.
He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't mistaken. She really had returned, and she didn't seem to have suffered any injuries, which was good news.
He also heard a voice through the communicator in his ear that eased his doubts: "Director, the energy signal corresponds to Ms. Emma."
Emma, who had just finished her discussion with the Ancient One, was in a good mood. As planned, SHIELD had been alerted by her disappearance, and even Fury himself was present, confirming that she had underestimated her importance to SHIELD or perhaps, to the government.
'Guess it's time for Oscar-winning actress Emma Müller to get back to work,' she thought sarcastically.
She feigned surprise at seeing so many people in her apartment and said, "Colonel Fury? What are you and all these people doing in my house?"
Fury replied, "Ahem, Ms. Emma, I was here to discuss our cooperation and to see how you were feeling the day after your awakening. But when you weren't here and mysteriously disappeared, the government was alarmed and sent a unit to investigate."
The surprise on Emma's face vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "I feel fine. I started studying my powers today and discovered something interesting. When someone is lying, I can see a green energy surrounding them, so I'm 100% sure you're lying, Mr. Fury."
Fury was surprised that her powers had such an application after only one day. He couldn't help but think she was really worthy of the Omega Level classification.
He sighed and said, "You know, Ms. Emma, the government places great importance on you. The nation's hopes rest on your shoulders. It's only natural that we have ways to ensure your safety."
'Round two,' Emma thought as she began to release chakra, just like yesterday when she was angry. This time, though, it was on a smaller scale after all, it was her apartment.
She said, "So, if I understand correctly, I'm being spied on, right?"
Fury, looking at her, was speechless, unsure how to respond. He couldn't help but curse internally, dealing with mutants was more exhausting than fighting in World War II.
END OF THE CHAPTER
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