A/N: APB entry aka Crisis - Scylla 'verse.

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A Powerful Bond

Queen's Blade

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Medusa's angry steps marched through the green fields of Krakoa as she quickly narrowed in on her target.

It had only been a month since the White Queen was given authority over her daughter's education, and already the former Queen of Attilan could see the corruption in her daughter. Whether it was Scylla being an impressionable child or the councilwoman's skill at teaching, Medusa knew she needed to have a strong word with her co-wife.

Medusa knew Emma Frost was one vindictive woman with a mean streak, but after all they had been through since her arrival in Krakoa, she had thought those bridges were mend. More a fool, she was!

"Councilwoman Frost!" Medusa all but roared, drawing the seated woman's raised brow.

Emma Frost, ever prim and proper, was sipping a cup of tea, legs crossed, under the shade of a pristine white umbrella overlooking the docks of Krakoa. Doubtlessly, the blonde was overlooking the shipment of goods being transported in and out of their island nation.

"Medusa." Emma greeted coolly. "You may sit."

The Inhuman bristled—as if she needed permission to sit!

"I will have words." Medusa growled.

"And you may have them." Emma commented, nonplussed at how her words visibly angered her guest further. She turned her attention back to the docks. "But your current appearance suggests those words would be long. You may either stand or sit. The choice is yours."

Medusa almost chose to stand just out of sheer obstinance. She knew a power play when she saw it—taking a seat was to play in Emma's field. But she also knew to remain standing would only serve no purpose but to alleviate her own pride.

Unhappily, Medusa took the seat. At once, Emma's attention returned to her.

"You wish to speak about something?" Emma offered. "Be quick about it though. I have more tasks to do."

"No, you won't." Medusa declared. "Because as of this moment, my daughter will be out of your care."

Emma chuckled—a sound so grating to Medusa's ears that she was surprised she hadn't retched. "Oh? By whose authority is that?"

"A mother's authority!"

The White Queen's chuckle erupted in laughter at the Inhuman's declaration. "A mother's authority?" Emma repeated mockingly. "A mother's authority! Of course! How could I forget a mother's authority?"

"Do not mock me." Medusa's lips thinned, her red hair rising threateningly. "You forget that I am still royalty of the Inhumans."

"Royalty!" Emma laughter died down to a mocking smirk. "I suppose that means I should treat you my equal? Because you are, what, royal?"

"I grow tired of your games, Frost!" Medusa slammed her fist on the table, making the White Queen's drink shake dangerously. "You will back away from poisoning the mind of my daughter! This is an edict!"

Emma's blue eyes bore into Medusa's jade orbs. Slowly, Emma took a sip from her cup, allowing the tension to waft through the space between them before, gracefully, settling the drink back on its plate.

"You insult me." The White Queen declared. "For another reason, I would treat you equal. But not for this. You have no authority here, highness."

"Neither do you, false queen." The Inhuman Queen clicked her tongue in distaste. "You sit up on this hill overlooking your empire. Feeling a sense of superiority over those you deem below you. Over me. But you are no queen. Royalty is bestowed, not elected. Certainly, not something bought." Medusa's tendrils circled their space, drawing nearer to the unmoving mutant. "I will tell you again. I want you far away from Scylla."

The smile left Emma's eyes, and though Medusa knew the mutant had no such power, the space between them suddenly felt frozen.

"You judge me a pretender simply because I was not born a royal." Emma began. "But who between us is truly worthy of sovereignty? You, with no land? Or me, and my empire?"

"I was bestowed-!"

"I have earned what is mine." Emma cut her off. "I grew my empire while you and Black Bolt were in courtship. In my short lifetime, I made what I now have. And I still got my man. You may think me egoistical, but you are queen of what, again?" The blonde bared her teeth in a vicious grin. "And by whose authority it is, again, that I follow your orders?"

Medusa knew she had lost her foothold. She knew there was no arguing that she had no power in this land- and that even in her land, the power was gone.

But still, she had to try.

"Scylla is my daughter." Medusa stubbornly repeated.

"And Scylla is mine to teach, council edicts be damned." Emma swiftly countered. "She is mine to nurture. I will not have her living in your fantastical reimagining of the war between Inhumans and Mutants, Medusa, even if it means alienating you and me."

Every bloody event of their war—even Scott's murder, and her own mother's role in that horrific event—would be revealed to the young Scylla. In due time, of course, but revealed nonetheless.

When Emma deemed her fit.

"If she is to be our bridge, then I shall ensure her foundations are strong. I will ensure she will not crumble under paltry pressure. This is a promise you can hold against me. Her mind will be sharper than mine; her will stronger than Scott's."

Her words sounded good. The White Queen was always eloquent—her silver tongue, a sharp blade. But Medusa knew there needed to be more than just iron will and determination.

"And what will she then be, Emma?" Medusa implored. "You wish to turn her hard and cold as diamond. What of empathy? Without love for her people, what will she be?"

"A queen capable of leading two species that simply cannot coexist." Emma raised a hand to pause Medusa's kneejerk interjection. "And I mean this in its most literal sense. Biology. Your mist kills us. Our gene neutralizes yours. We are both guinea pigs of higher beings that convinced ourselves to have higher knowledge so we must coexist."

Medusa's hair shook.

"You and your facts-!"

"Biology."

"-If your facts are so ironclad, then explain Scylla!"

"A miracle." Though the White Queen's response was swift, it was not lacking in reverence.

For what else would one call an outcome that defied the natural order? When the Kree and the Celestials created the Inhumans and Deviants, neither group likely saw a future where their lab rats attempted to procreate. To cross Inhomo supremis with what years of evolution would result from Homo descendus? Inconceivable!

If Emma was more inclined in science, then perhaps the true Homo superior was the resiliency of what it is that makes a Homo sapien.

"Scylla is a miracle…" Emma repeated, far more resolutely. "-and I will not have the miracle that is Scylla snuffed out. She will be prepared. I shall see that it happens."

And it was then that Medusa finally understood. Emma was no longer a councilwoman in matters that concerned her daughter. She was no longer adversary to the Inhumans. Neither was she championing the mutant agenda.

No.

To Emma Frost, a woman made barren by the machinations of human fear so many years ago, unable to conceive her own child with Scott…

…to such a woman, Scylla, a child of Scott's, a child she had watched over since her birth, was her everything.

Emma Frost was no less a mother to her daughter than she was.

"… It seems I was wrong about you, Emma Frost."

It was a pity the White Queen was not honest with herself. It seemed the blonde mutant could never bring herself to admit that Scylla was her daughter, too. She was too prideful to allow such a sentiment to leave her lips.

Pitiful, indeed.

"Oh?"

"You are a far more vulnerable a woman than I ever thought." Emma's eyes seemed to smile, catching the hidden meaning in her barb. "I cannot entrust Scylla's education solely to you… but I trust that you will mold her into whoever we need for our future."

"Hn." Emma hummed approvingly, taking another sip from her cup as Medusa's red tendrils withdrew. "And you, Queen Medusa, are not as stupidly bullish as I had thought. I am glad we struck this accord."

"Just promise me one thing."

"What is that?"

"Promise me… promise me that when I step out of line… promise me that you will stop me." Medusa's jade eyes searched Emma's blue orbs for permission. "Whatever it takes."

Emma tilted her head. "You expect me to make enemies of my people over you?"

"Not me. Our daughter." Emma's eyes widened in surprise, and Medusa found herself smiling at finally placing the mutant on her backfoot. If her co-wife could not admit it, then she would make it clear. "I need you… to protect her from me."

If Emma was bothered by the declaration, she didn't show it.

Truly, the White Queen was royalty.

"… very well, Medusa." Emma stretched out her hand. "You have my word."

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A/N: 'cept they all failed 'cause Scylla still popper her eyes out, teehee.

No song choices this time.

I know I've tread through this story beat before with Hungry for Another One and even with the Ana x Emma interactions, but misunderstood protective mama!Emma is one of my favorite tropes for the character. Blame KYost's Academy X for that, as it was the run that brought me back to the X-Books so many years ago.

More's a pity Marvel decided to ruin the characters post-AvX.

Moving on. I've got maybe 5 more chances to reach a personal target before, I think, I can finally let go. Declare this drabble series complete. There're just more important things to do now than be disappointed each time I look at an X-Book or daydream about x-fanfics.

So, to everyone that stayed, to everyone that left reviews to this amateur work—sincerely, thanks.

Thanks for showing interest.

To those that haven't given up on Marvel or are still enjoying their stories, go support them more. Whether a nameless fanfic writer [me] likes the current direction or not is irrelevant. Those pros still need to eat.

Anyways.

If you liked what you read, please leave a review, I guess, and as always – take care.