Chapter 108: Interlude: The First Students
Interlude: The First Students
1407 Graymaklin Lane, Westchester County, New York
Jean placed her hands on Charles's damp forehead, focusing on his mind. Emma Frost looked on with folded arms, a grimace on her face.
"This is futile; undoing whatever the child did won't be easy."
"Better than sitting around," Morph objected. His eyes were smarting. He snapped his fingers and transformed into a complete copy of her, speaking with a British accent that Emma had lost and was trying to compensate for.
"Your accent is missing."
Emma raised her arms in frustration. "Why is he even here?" she scolded. "Why are you all crowding around? Go teach or find someone else to attack." She hissed.
"Hold up," Morph began but stopped with a glare from his leader, acting head of the School Cyclops.
"He has every right to be here, even more than you." Scott Summers added.
"More than me," Emma chuckled darkly. "I'm one of his first students, too, Scott. Don't forget I chose to leave instead of blindly following another man's dreams, as did many others." Her tone took on the edge of caution.
Jean had yet to respond. Storm held her head in her hands, her mind reflecting her namesake as she became conflicted. Scott flashed his teeth but chose to remain silent. Morph folded and changed again, taking on an unknown individual appearance.
Storm said, "So what occurred had affected you too; it is quite impractical to place it at the professor's feet."
"Yes, quite the tale, Emma. Excuse me for not believing you, but what you say is a hard pill to swallow." Said Beast as he walked in through the opening door, his lab coat button to his neck as he walked over and checked the instrument connected to Xavier.
"He knew the teen was an Omega! And with that knowledge, he still went to fight? Cerebra is damaged. You all have no idea what happened. Jean and I Are not the only ones who felt the pulse. It was like a heartbeat; I'd never sensed such a thing. Why would Xavier risk it?"
"He is young, we didn't expect-" Beast began but was Interrupted.
"You probably don't know, but most Omegas die early," she shrugged. It could be the nature of the power that's wielded or outside factors."
"Omegas aren't unknown to mutant-kind, Emma." Said Beast.
Scott muttered. "Probably killed because powers have gotten to their heads."
Emma's face darkened at his words. "Omegas grow to the point that they are a force on their own," Emma stated, glaring at Storm.
"So what does that mean, Emma?" Storm asked.
"You don't antagonize them! That has been the procedure since before Xavier or any of you were born." Storm opened and closed her mouth, shook her head, and watched Jean try to return her mentor.
"Omega, huh? If that's the case, why didn't he kill us all? Jean scared him off with her new powers. We had him cornered once before that red guy showed up." Scott decided to talk.
"He bested you, bub. I would have skewered him if Ororo hadn't put that wind-up." Scott's head snapped toward Logan. The last couple of weeks had made their relationship grow cold, and with no one around to assuage their massive egos, they were bound to come to blows sooner or later—his ruby quartz shades pulsated a menacing red. Wolverine smirked, his adamantium claws slowly extending.
Beast had taken a seat, listening to the impromptu meeting; it wasn't lost on him that most of Xavier's oldest students were in this room, all concerned about his well being.
Orroro tiredly shook her head, growing tired of the same spill repeatedly. She stood and departed, her hands on her temples. 'What's going on in my head? She had been getting headaches since the battle; something was wrong.' She stopped and looked back at Jean before shaking her head, a white braid coming undone and laying across her face. She looked at Emma. Emma met her stare, the woman's eyes squinting, the telepathic conversation going unnoticed before Emma slowly nodded. Orroro looked back into the room and departed, the automatic door closing behind her.
"Orroro?" Scott called after her.
"It's your fault, kid. Come on, bub. I've been waiting for you to act up." Logan Neddled Scott.
Emma leaned forward and glared at Logan. "Logan, if you want to argue and fight, go elsewhere. Dangeroom perhaps? Scott, I understand your anger, but this is not the place to settle a lover's quarrel." Both men sputtered before staring at Jean and then back at Emma.
She tapped the side of her head. "Jean's new power aside, I don't think he was scared off. He came after Xavier and warned about boundaries. I have shown what we telepaths can do: surface thoughts. One of Xavier's tenets was the positive use of one's powers, especially with those that manifested around the mind. We disagreed on that, and so did Magneto before me."
Hank had taped away at the floating keyboard and brought up reports and newspapers. "Scott, that red guy has been causing NORAD problems; here's him on Satelite."
Scott walked over and leaned in to look, and Wolverine shoulder-over to see who the mystery man was, too. "He's able to survive in the vacuum of space, open portals, and be fast enough to cause aircraft to be deployed."
Wolverine grunted, and Scott whistled. Emma pushed between them and tapped at the keyboard. "And his associate," she blew the mugshot of the psychotic assassin up. "Bullseye, another man, depraved in mind and body, was injured in a fight against Daredevil; his spine and part of his skull had to be replaced with adamantium." She paused and regarded Wolverine.
He grumbled. "Who did the surgery, and how did he survive that much?" Emma shook her head. She had no idea. It could be luck, or the doctor was better than the ones who operated on Logan. She doubted it. The Weapon X program had some of the best. She should know; most of them were Hellfire Club members.
"Street magician, small-time pyrokinetic, he's not a mutant but an enhanced human. His code-name is Scorch, and his powers and scope have evolved."
"Power bestowal, possibly?" Hank suggested.
Emma shot that down. "Red Hood or Jason Todd, right? That's what your liaison has claimed as his alias."
Hank confirmed with a nod. Emma continued. "He took down Rhino. He took the Swarm and scattered the criminal group Sinister Six."
"My X-men could do the same," Scott said.
"I don't doubt that. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to do anything but react to mutant issues if they don't apprehend them themselves and vanish them."
"Headmistress Emma, that is unfounded, and I suggest you don't say that around tender ears," Hank said.
"Government Experimentation on mutants isn't new, Hank. Look what they did to me," Logan growled.
Hank made to retort, but Scott beat him to it. "That program has been shut down. Xavier has promised us that. It's the reason we were allowed to operate. Our actions will pave the way for all our kind. That's why Red Hood must be stopped."
"Bub, you think the professor didn't tell me this? I'm here too, but if these programs exist, the government has lied, and I'll be the first to rescue our kind."
Emma almost lashed out but cooled her face and inner turmoil. 'Fools. Weapon X is the least of your worries; at least Magneto goes the right of it, but even he is unaware of the true scope of what is occurring in the shadows,'
Emma cleared her throat and continued. "We still need to find out where he is. Xavier didn't even leave details where he projected, and we can't possibly find him with Cerebro broken. Don't you all see? This isn't some random teenager but a powerful individual who is building a team and has the means, money, and technology to outfit his group."
Jean sighed loudly. Her concentration broke. She ignored her team, especially Scott, and looked at Emma Frost.
"It's like he's trapped in some nightmare. I can't reach him. All I can determine is that he's resisting, which is also making him resist me and your attempts to bring him back."
Emma's eyes grew wide before she schooled her face, and before she spoke, her cadence shifted to her natural-born one.
Sometime later, inside the cafeteria.
Wolverine was flung across the cafeteria and crashed into a table; his considerable weight due to his modification shattered the table, the impact reverberating through the room. John Proudstar, a native American mutant standing tall despite his wounds, gripped a large blade that glinted ominously under the cafeteria light, ready for the next strike.
Wolverine, known for his snarls and retractable claws, lept up. He winced as a wound on his forearm stung.
"Vibranium? Logan growled and squatted.
"My brother's knife has been waiting to taste X-Men blood," John shouted.
Cyclops and Jean exploded in the cafeteria. Emma closed on their heels, her usual attire gone, her posture slumped and face languid. She had taken over from Jean, and her powers weakened, but her more significant concern was Astrid Bloom's disappearance.
"What is going on here." The three older mutants said in unison.
John decided at that time to lunge, leaping toward Wolverine at an inhuman speed and force. Logan was caught off guard, staring at Jean for a second before the young mutant would be on him, but another caught the mutant out of the air.
"Calm down, dude." Beef said, finally walking up after watching the confrontation long enough. He and the other Hellions had entered the cafeteria to eat when Logan stupidly told John that he smelled like his brother, which caused a battle.
Empath had decided to remain sitting, saying he would not interfere loudly enough. Hence, others understood he was here alone and to eat and not as a group. The last time he used his abilities to control someone's mind, Emma had trapped him in a mental stasis and taught him a lesson.
Tarot had a card out, ready to activate in case others joined; her earlier squeaky pleas to stop fighting were brushed aside. The timid girl decided to back up her team members but secretly wanted to help Logan. John was mean and deserved to be beaten up, she thought.
"Back off, man." Beef said, arms folded as he blocked the younger teen from continuing his brawl. Thunderbird growled and shoulder-checked Beef as he walked past.
"Hey, Kid, get back here," Cyclops called, stepping to give chase but was halted by Emma.
"No, Scott, let him go; maybe it was a mistake to bring him here."
"You think? All of you should leave." Scott shouted.
"Stop it, Scott. Your attitude is getting worse by the day. You need to take a break, Scott." She said half-hardheartedly
"How can I, Jean? Everything is going wrong, and Kurt is captured; the Brood is growing, and we're babysitting."
Jean shook her head. "Scott, you can leave and help in Mexico. Take another team; you need the distraction."
Emma decided to chime in. "Yes. I've heard about the incursion. How about you take my team too? They need the training, and at least you're good at that."
Jean nodded. Scott looked at both women, but he deflated and walked away. Hopefully, I am preparing to depart. Jean's eyes trailed after the younger boy. "That's Warpath, brother? Such hatred. Emma-"
"Yes. You know what happened, so I understand his anger at being here. I'm aware of his anger issues. He's in good hands."
"Empath," Emma Frost Called out; the teen in question grumbled but stood nonetheless. He walks by the two eyes connected. Empath nodded and followed behind the fuming John.
Emma sighed loudly and retreated to her room. Frost had left her institute in haste, taking her Hellions with her, disarray at her weak state.
'How many years had it been? Over a decade.' She had longed to hide away that part of her life and had arrived back at the wrong time. The Hellfire Club was changing the fundamental level, and now she had to deal with this.
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