"Fashion magazines, cell phones, makeup, cute little accessories…"
Even though Elsa had lived for ten thousand years, since she'd never experienced the events of the movies, she had zero social experience. She didn't know how to make friends, didn't know how to deal with people. She was still just a kind but completely sheltered girl.
She actually looked even more innocent than Liu A'dou. Now, Liu A'dou and Ada Wong were practically acting like her parents, starting from scratch, teaching her how to interact with classmates. For example, they told her that if she ever got cornered and bullied by girls in the restroom—just swing her fists and fight back. Simple and direct.
"I'm heading to work now. You take Elsa to school," Ada said as she grabbed her bag. "Elsa, if anything happens at school, just call us, okay?"
Elsa nodded. As usual, she didn't like to say much.
"I'm off. Good luck on your first day," Ada added before leaving.
Liu A'dou had finally upgraded to a new car. He'd left the old second-hand one back in Gotham. That city was still the base for Kaitou Kid anyway, and since he had the invisible jet, traveling back and forth didn't take long.
He drove all the way to the gates of an old mansion. Iron fences guarded the place, and through the gates, you could just barely make out a tree-lined path winding toward the mansion.
"Hello, I'm Liu A'dou. I called earlier about visiting today," he said into the intercom.
The iron gates opened remotely. Liu A'dou drove in, following the stone path deeper into the estate.
They finally arrived at a massive mansion with black roofs, white walls, gray stone paths, and ivy climbing the walls. This place had to be at least a century old.
In fact, it was built by Professor X's parents during World War I.
Standing at the front door was a short-haired woman in white.
Storm had been waiting for them.
When she saw Liu A'dou, she looked a little surprised.
"You're Liu A'dou?"
"That's me. And you are?" Liu A'dou replied.
"You can call me Storm," she said calmly. Her real name was Ororo, but hardly anyone ever used it.
"What a weird name." Liu A'dou chuckled as he helped Elsa out of the car. Elsa had a backpack on and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a long skirt. Liu A'dou had suggested jeans, but Elsa had flat-out refused. How could she let people see the shape of her legs? That wasn't ladylike at all!
"This must be Elsa," Storm smiled as she recognized the student on the enrollment list. "Come with me. I'll take you to meet the headmaster."
"After you."
They walked through the estate, passing kids of all ages—from rowdy little kids to rebellious teens.
They even saw two teachers. One wore red-tinted glasses—Cyclops. The other had flaming red hair—Jean Grey, host of the Phoenix Force.
Liu A'dou couldn't help but glance a few extra times, especially at the kids showing off their abilities. The powers were all over the place, but most of them seemed pretty weak.
What stood out, though, was the life energy Liu A'dou could feel from them. Mutants had much more vibrant life forces than regular humans.
"This way, please."
Storm pushed open a heavy wooden door.
"Go on in. The professor is waiting."
Liu A'dou led Elsa inside and sure enough, there was a bald man in a wheelchair.
Professor X had expected a parent to accompany the student, but it turned out both visitors looked about the same age.
Still, there was something steady about the boy's demeanor. And the girl—cold and distant—seemed like the type who didn't fit in anywhere.
Professor X had seen many kids like Elsa before. Children who had been ostracized because of their powers, withdrawing from society. He wasn't far off the mark—Elsa had closed herself off because of her powers. But what he didn't know was that she wasn't some ordinary troubled teenager—she was the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Queen.
"Welcome, Elsa. Don't worry, you're safe here."
Ignoring Liu A'dou completely, Professor X addressed Elsa directly. He only cared about mutants, after all. Everything he did was for the mutant cause.
Liu A'dou wasn't going to let himself get sidelined like that.
He stepped up and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Professor."
Professor X raised his eyebrows. This kid was bolder than he expected.
"Nice to meet you too," the professor replied, shaking his hand.
"Elsa's here to enroll in the X Academy. Please take good care of her," Liu A'dou added.
Professor X just assumed Liu A'dou was being a concerned friend.
"Leave her to us. We'll help her understand her abilities and herself."
He turned his attention back to Elsa, clearly done talking to Liu A'dou.
Despite being a so-called peace advocate, Professor X couldn't fully shake the sense of superiority he felt toward non-mutants. In his mind, this conversation was already over.
"Elsa, what's your power?"
Elsa glanced at Liu A'dou.
She had lived for millennia, long enough to have all her opinions worn down.
She used to follow Zeus, and now she followed the Pope.
After spending time with Liu A'dou, she hadn't exactly formed any kind of deep bond with him.
But she wasn't going to disobey the Pope's orders either.
Liu A'dou gave her a little nod, signaling her to go ahead. Elsa slowly removed her white gloves and, with a gentle wave of her pale, jade-like hand, a swirling snowstorm appeared at her feet, and with another flick, a snowman materialized on the ground, although Elsa hadn't given it life. Elsa could not only control snow and ice but also create living ice creatures, practically making her a goddess of the elements.
"What a beautiful ability," Professor X marveled, seeing for the first time someone who could manipulate snow itself. "Elsa, your powers are beautiful. There's no reason to hide them." Elsa gave no response, and no one could tell what she was thinking.
"Storm, come in," Professor X called, and when Storm entered the office, she immediately noticed the snowman on the floor and thought to herself that this was indeed a rare ability. While Iceman could generate ice, the snow effect around him was purely a natural byproduct of freezing moisture in the air—he couldn't actually control snow—but this blonde girl, Elsa, had clearly shown she could, even creating a snowman, proving she had an impressive grasp of her powers, though the truth was she had already perfected them long ago but was holding back on Liu A'dou's instruction.
"Storm will show you around the campus and arrange your dorm room," Professor X said, and Storm gestured, "Come with me." Liu A'dou turned to Elsa and said, "You go ahead, I have something to discuss with the professor." Storm glanced at Professor X, who nodded for her to proceed, so she took Elsa out, leaving Liu A'dou alone with the professor.
The professor's office was lined with books on science, history, and philosophy, clearly showing he was a scholar, although it seemed reading so much had cost him his hair. "Do you have any other questions?" Professor X asked politely. Liu A'dou reached into his pocket, pulled out a USB drive, and asked, "Mind if I use your computer?" "Go ahead," Professor X gestured toward the terminal, curious about what this kid was up to.
Liu A'dou plugged in the USB, opened the single file on it, and said, "Here's the thing—I've got a dream I want to achieve, but I'm short on funds, so I was wondering if your school would be interested in investing?" Professor X raised an eyebrow, wondering what this was about and thinking, We're a school, not a venture capital firm, so he asked, "What exactly is this project of yours?"
"I want to help the world accept mutants, of course. I've got a full plan laid out. All I'm missing now is the funding," Liu A'dou answered, speaking like someone who had every ingredient ready for a perfect dish—except the meat. Professor X couldn't make sense of this kid's pitch and asked, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your approach is wrong," Liu A'dou replied confidently. "You've spent years trying to get governments to recognize mutants through legislation, but you've failed every time. Have you ever considered flipping the strategy?" Professor X leaned in slightly, intrigued, and asked, "What do you mean? You seem to know a lot about our affairs."
Liu A'dou grinned and said, "Well, I used to be a journalist. Information flows to me like water. Plus, I know some mutants personally, so I've always kept an eye on mutant-related news. I know all about the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. That's why I think you've got your priorities backwards. We should start by winning over small groups of ordinary people and, through them, influence the majority. We should rally all forces to push back against the extremists among humans."
"I've tried that before. It didn't work," Professor X replied, shaking his head. "Yeah, because you've been trying to convince the elites, aiming straight for the top, thinking the rest of society will just follow along. No wonder you've failed. Instead, why not start with the people at the bottom? Make the general public fall in love with mutants first. Then the elites will have no choice but to follow," Liu A'dou proposed.
Professor X froze for a second, realizing that actually made sense, since he had always believed that society was shaped like a pyramid—if the top accepted mutants, the bottom would follow—but Liu A'dou's idea to start from the bottom and let public opinion pressure the top sounded crazy yet possible. "But how do we make people accept mutants?" Professor X asked cautiously.
Liu A'dou smirked and replied, "Through media campaigns, hype, and great storytelling," before turning the laptop screen toward the professor to reveal the title: Frozen. That's right—Liu A'dou had decided to break into the entertainment industry to build his seed capital, since robbing banks had lost its thrill and it was time to aim higher. Now that he had allies and connections, it was time to start a real business, and for his first ten-million-dollar plan, he was betting on the deep pockets of none other than Professor X.