Edward Boston sat quietly in the passenger seat of the sleek black car. The city lights blurred past the window, but his thoughts were far away, tangled in a storm of dread. His father, Neil Boston, kept his eyes on the road but glanced back now and then. Jessica Boston, his mother, was silent but firm in the driver's seat.
"Edward," Neil said after a pause, voice low. "You have to be ready. Aunt Hazel asked for you. It's important. You know how serious this is."
Edward's breath hitched. "I don't want to go," he muttered, staring out the window.
Jessica turned her head, her eyes soft but insistent. "Why not? Hazel is my sister. She loves you deeply. Why would you refuse her request?"
The truth burned inside Edward's chest like fire. He couldn't tell them that the Frost family—Hazel's family—were all mutants, some of the most dangerous he knew. And Hazel... she wasn't like the others. No mutant powers, but a strange and unsettling presence. She flirted with him in a way that made his skin crawl.
"I... I just don't want to," Edward said, voice weak.
Neil's jaw tightened. "You don't get to pick and choose. This is family."
Edward swallowed hard, feeling trapped and alone. He closed his eyes.
Inside his mind, a translucent interface flickered to life. Queen Medusa—his AI companion, fused with his consciousness after a violent past life accident—was ready.
"Queen Medusa," Edward whispered silently. "You're my only option. How do I block mutant telepathy without making them suspicious?"
The AI's words glowed softly in his thoughts:
"Analyzing… Telepathy functions by detecting neuronal patterns—your brain's electrical signals. To evade reading, you must obscure those signals and create cognitive noise. Here is a multi-layered strategy based on neuroscience and mutant physiology."
1. Signal Scrambling
Constantly shift focus; think about unrelated concepts all at once.
Overlay complex problems over sensitive thoughts.
Imagine abstract scenarios rather than clear memories.
Effect: Neural patterns become erratic and confuse telepathic probes.
2. Mental Compartmentalization
Store sensitive memories as abstract images or symbols.
Access only when needed. Keep decoy thoughts active.
3. Neurochemical Modulation
Use meditative breathing or focus to alter brain firing patterns.
Mild stimulants or calming techniques shift EEG signals.
4. Physical/EM Shielding (optional)
Use headgear disrupting electromagnetic signals.
Less effective for neuron-to-neuron telepathy, but helps against weaker detection.
"Combine these—scatter your thoughts, project decoys, scramble real ones. The less predictable your brainwaves, the weaker the telepathic insight."
Edward opened his eyes, letting out a slow breath. The car slowed as the towering silhouette of the Frost estate appeared, its dark outlines framed by ancient trees.
As the car carried him deeper into this world, his mind drifted to a memory buried deep—a past life that had ended in violent chaos.
He saw himself as Harvey, the wealthy genius obsessed with breaking the limits of technology and reality. His greatest and final project was a quantum teleportation device fueled by a rare gold-silicon asteroid metal. This special alloy pulsed with strange energies—it cut his hands and burned like fire to the touch.
The lab was humming with life, monitors flashing data, and streams of light pulsed through complex machinery. Queen Medusa, the AI he crafted from alien material, guided him through every step.
On the day of the experiment, the air thickened with electricity. The device's core sparked violently, cascading glowing shards throughout the room. The unstable alloy intertwined with raw energy pulses. Suddenly, everything spiraled out of control.
A blinding flash of light enveloped him as the teleportation field fractured.
His body shattered and reassembled unevenly across space and time, fracturing like splintered glass.
Queen Medusa's AI matrix was destroyed in the blast—but her essence wasn't lost. Instead, it fused with his consciousness, forever linked.
Harvey's physical form died.
But his mind survived.
Shifted.
Slipped into a new life inside Edward Boston's body.
Edward shook away the memory, focusing on the now. The Frost estate loomed ahead, a dark castle filled with secrets and danger.