Burdens of Tomorrow

Chapter Two: Escape from Living Hell




The Hellfire Club two months ago . . .

Within a dark, dismal room Sebastian Shaw and Selene stood on either side of an examination table. They were gazing intently down at an unconscious Emma Frost. Neither of them said a word for the longest time.

Minute after minute has passed at this point. The silence was broken by Sebastian who said in an anxious and kind of skeptical demeanor, "I thought you said that Emma would awaken? What's taking so damn long?"

Selene glared at him and replied in an icy tone, "She will. Be patient."

"I've been patient for nearly four months! Now I’m really beginning to doubt your . . . " He said harshly.

She cut him off in just as harsh of a tone. "Have I ever let you down before? I think not. She will awake, and soon. Stop whining, Sebastian."

"I do not whine, Selene." He said glowering at her.

While they tossed words back and forth Emma began to stir. Her eyes opened and she scanned the room warily. After being pretty much dead she didn't understand what was going on just yet. She gasped and jumped into a sitting position when she realized where she was.

Selene and Sebastian both had their attention on her now. Selene sneered at Sebastian and said derogatorily, "I told you so." She then placed her hands on her hips and wore a smug grin.

"While I will not apologize I will take back what I've said." He told her, but he still glared at her. He didn't like to be wrong.

Emma gazed at them. She looked highly confused. And she was. The last thing she remembered was asking for Scott's forgiveness and then shattering. That's all. And now she was sitting on an examination table alive. Her eyes never left the Black King or the Black Queen.

At that moment she was uncertain of everything. She wondered how she was there and why she was allowed to remember what happened prior to her apparent death. She looked at herself finally and realized that she was naked, except for a silky black sheet which had fallen down when she sat up. It was cold in the room so she reached down and pulled it up over her. That was the only reason for she didn't care if she was seen naked.

Sebastian spoke to her first, "Welcome back, my queen."

Selene glared at him and said, "Yes, welcome back."

Emma finally spoke, "How?" That was all she could manage to get out.

"Allow me," Selene said. She moved closer to Emma and began to explain everything. "We found out what happened to you not too long after you supposedly died and we came back to from your telepathic attack." She paused and gave Emma a harsh look. She then went on, "I used sorcery to gather every last piece of your shattered form. It wasn't easy, but it was a success, as you can see. Once all of the pieces were gathered I again used sorcery to put them together. It was sort of like a diamond jigsaw puzzle. It took immense time and energy and many spells. But it worked. So, here you are." She had a strange look in her eyes.

Emma stared at her. "But what makes you think I'd want to be here? You all betrayed me! Or have you forgotten?" Her tone was cold.

Selene glowered. Emma wasn't supposed to remember anything. Sebastian stepped in at that point. "Yes, we did betray you. But we all need one another. You belong here, my queen." He wanted her to stay with them and was hoping he could reel her in.

She looked at him. "So now I suppose you expect me to pretend that everything is better? I can't. I trusted you then, but I will not do so again."

"You ungrateful bitch, as I recall you’re the one that screwed up everything in the first place!" Selene snapped acidly.

Sebastian held a hand up at her. "That’s enough, Selene!"

"If not for me she'd be a goner. She'd have been washed away by the rain." Selene stated.

"That's true. Give her time. You told me to be patient, now it's your turn." He said.

She gazed him. She then whispered, "But you don't get it. She wasn't supposed to even remember what happened before. I don't know why she does."

He whispered back in a cruel tone, "That's your problem. You must have fucked up somewhere."

"As much as I hate to agree, I have no choice but to." She really couldn't argue his comment. It was only the hard, cold truth. Somewhere in the process she messed up.

Emma wasn't to have any memories of the X-Men. Especially not of how close she got with them. And the fact that she fell in love with Scott Summers. She was to only see them as enemies.

"You had better fix this!" He ordered her.

Selene then said, "Oh, believe me, I will."

"How long will this hocus pocus take?" Sebastian questioned.

She answered icily "As long as needed."

"You must have a better estimation than that." He pressed.

She glared at him. "Damn you, Sebastian! This isn’t something to take lightly! I might have to do more than one try on this. I put so much into her and she still remembers!" She then added, "Now leave! I want to be alone with her." She nearly shoved him out of the room.

"Fine, then." He said, irritation was clearly heard in his tone and shown in his expression.

He turned and left the room, angry. "Finally." She mumbled to herself. She didn't know how she messed up, but she would fix it. One way or another Emma was going to be hers, not Sebastian's.

Emma listened quietly and carefully to everything that was just said. Some of the conversation was harder to perceive, however she caught most of it. And she didn’t like what she heard.

She thought, "How dare these fools do this."

Selene had locked the door once Sebastian exited. She stood in front of it staring at Emma. It was obvious that she was deep in thought. Emma gazed back, secretly entering her mind.

A few moments later Emma said, "So, Selene, how do you plan to make me forget? Hm, let me think . . . perhaps by sorcery or drugs?"

Selene snapped out of her thoughts. She glared over at Emma. "I don’t know. Both would work more efficiently."

"I’d love to see you try." Emma said dryly.

Selene wore a malicious look. She said in a tone that matched her expression, "Try? I won’t try I will!" She made her way back to where Emma was sitting.

"I hardly believe that." Emma said mockingly.

"Whether you believe it or not, it’s going to happen!" Selene assured her.

Emma replied with, "Not if I can help it help it."

Selene moved in closer so that her face was directly in front of Emma’s. She used her powers to push Emma back down. She then leaned over her menacingly. Emma narrowed her eyes and struggled to get free. But she couldn’t move. And before she could speak Selene forced her mouth over hers. She figured that would shut Emma up. And she would get a thrill out of it as well.

While Selene did that Emma tried to move once more, but she was frozen in place. All of a sudden she felt a stab of pain in her left arm. Selene released her lips from Emma’s, but she held her there for a bit longer. After a bit she pulled away.

She was grinning sadistically. Emma was able to move now. She sat back up, although she began to feel weak. And whatever Selene injected into her made her veins burn. She scowled at Selene and yelled, "What the bloody hell did you do to me?!" She fought hard against to pain and growing weariness.

Selene kept on sneering at her. But she finally said, "You’ll be fine. I’ve just injected you with a special serum that I’ve created. It will make you entirely weak and then you’ll eventually pass out. Then I can work my magic." She laughed at the irony of what she’d just said.

Emma shot an evil look at Selene. "You will pay for this!" She wasn’t able to yell that time around for she was becoming more and more exhausted.

"Oh, relax. What am I saying? I know will, it’s not like you have any choice otherwise." Selene was still smiling the same way.

"You . . . bitch!" Emma got out. But she was barely able to even get those words out. She was weakening rapidly. And she began to feel fatigue enveloping her mind and body. Before she could say another word she fell backwards and fell unconscious. But it was only as if she were asleep.

Selene was grinning still. She would now fix her mistake. This time she wouldn’t mess up. Emma would belong to her. She was hers to control.

With Emma laying there unconscious and completely vulnerable Selene made preparations so that she could perform her dark deeds. Since her attempts to suppress Emma’s memories of being with the X-Men hadn’t pulled through the first time around she decided to take a different approach.

First, she lifted Emma off of the examination table and laid her down on the floor. Then she gathered every single candle she could find in the room. She placed them in an enormous circle around Emma and herself. Finally she lit all of the candles.

She didn’t know how much time she really had. The serum she created was fairly new. So she was unaware of its expiration period. She did have more; however, she didn’t want to have to inject more in the middle of a spell. That could interfere with the process. Since she had limited time she got right down to business.

Selene began by kneeling on the floor and then straddling over Emma. She sat there, leaning forward, and placed her hands on either side of Emma’s face. She closed her eyes and started to chant in Latin. She continued with that for a few minutes or so. Then she moved her right hand away from Emma’s face, keeping her left one in place, and pulled out a dagger that was hidden within her boot. She began to chant again; this time she used the dagger to make a small incision on her left arm, drawing a decent amount of blood. She did the same to Emma’s left arm. After doing so she actually licked the blood from the blade of the dagger before moving to the next step. But in no time at all she went on with her spell. She started chanting again. As she did so she lifted Emma’s arm and moved her left hand away from Emma’s face. She then placed her wound over top of Emma’s wound, allowing the blood to blend. Once that process was completed she stopped chanting and licked both of the wounds. Finally she chanted one more time to conclude the spell. And then she just sat on top of Emma and gazed down at her nefariously, all the while grinning in an avid and ominous manner. She ran her right hand along Emma’s face and down her neck. She traced her index finger over her collar bone and between her breasts. She then leaned over her and placed her mouth over Emma’s, but only briefly. She pulled away and moved her mouth to Emma’s left her.

"You are mine, Emma. While you must still obey Shaw’s rules you will answer to me. You will be under my control." Selene whispered into Emma’s ear. She sounded slightly deranged.

Shortly afterwards she stood up. She blew out each candle then picked Emma up, placing her back on the table. She kept on sneering at her. She was confident that this time around her spells would work. After all, she had mixed their blood and put even more into it. This time it was more like a ritual. But if for any reason this wouldn’t turn out right she would keep on trying. She’d mix spells with drugs. If the spells somehow do not succeed then the drugs will. She didn’t care if Emma was drugged. As long as she was under her control that was truly all she cared about. She would soon know what the outcome would be.

XXxXX

The Hellfire Club earlier present day . . .

Throughout the following weeks Selene had to proceed with further spells. It appeared that Emma’s mind wasn’t bonding with her magic. That was highly frustrating her. She had put so much energy and effort into those spells, yet it still didn’t prove effective. Emma’s mind was much more powerful and stronger than before.

Selene was beginning to realize that spells were not the answer. She now had to move on to the drugs. With that she was certain that Emma would be under her control. Not enough to raise suspicions of Sebastian or any of the other members, but enough to hold Emma in her grasp.

The Black King was again skeptical of Selene’s ability to bring back the Emma they once knew. At that very moment they were arguing outside of the room where Emma was being held. But what they didn’t know was that she was right on the other side of the door listening to every single word.

"Damn it, Selene! What the hell have you been doing?! Nothing has worked!" He roared at her.

The Black Queen looked outraged and she replied with a pure coldness to her voice, "Don’t you know how much I’ve tried! I’ve been weakening myself for weeks trying to make her forget!"

He glared at her. "I knew that you wouldn’t be able to succeed."

She responded before he said another word, "There is one other way. And I am positive that it will work out perfectly." She now wore an evil grin.

He stared at her cynically, but he said, "I’m listening."

"I've been working on an array of drugs with Leland and Pierce that will cause massive psycho-active effects within the brain. That seems to be the only way. You see, I believe that I’ve figured out why her mind is rejecting my spells." She explained.

"Go on." He said back.

She looked at him. "When I resurrected her I used great deals of sorcery. I placed a lot of myself into her. And I’m beginning to think that my spells are only making her stronger. So, she’s kind of immune to my magic."

He nodded and said, "That does make sense. How else could your spells not take effect on her? That is a very good possibility indeed." He paused and then went on, "I also have a theory."

"And what would that be?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"We didn’t witness what had happened with the whole Phoenix ordeal, but she had to of allowed it to merge with her. She probably thought she could fix everything. However, it shattered her. I do think that if that’s what occurred then she could very well have remnants of the Phoenix still intact."

She now nodded. "Yes! That’s it! With that and my magic she’s able to ward off whatever spells I place upon her. The last resort is drugs."

"What else can be done if that doesn’t work?"

"I honestly don’t know."

Both of their expressions became dark and sullen. If the drugs didn’t take effect it was possible that nothing would work. It was still worth the try.

Selene sneered. "All I can do is to make an attempt to drug her. Of course, I could always torture the hell out of her. Surely she’d give in at some point."

He grinned. "Yes, but this is Emma Frost we are speaking of. She’s doesn’t succumb all that easily. It will take a long time for her to give in. And perhaps she may never."

She glowered at him. "Then I will whip her and beat her and make damn sure she suffers."

"I’m sure you will." He said.

She gazed at him with rage in her eyes. "That bitch will do as we say. She’ll have no choice otherwise." She added, "Now, leave me be. I’m going in there to give her some ‘medicine’."

"I’m certain that I’ll know how it turns out." He told her.

"Yes, now go." She was urgent to get him out of her way.

He stared at her for a moment or two and then he left. As soon as he was gone she turned and opened the door. She wore a sadistic smile.

Inside Emma hurried back to a small bed. She was no longer in the room she woke up in two months ago. While she was given a better room she still didn't have any clothes.

Selene stepped into the room, shut the door behind her and locked it. She made her way over to where Emma was seated. Emma glared at her, but Selene only grinned.

"What’s wrong, Emma? I hope you didn’t overhear what was said. You weren’t eavesdropping now were you?" Selene said in a dark tone.

"Oh, like I’d tell you!" Emma shot at her.

Selene stepped closer and backhanded her hard. Emma flinched slightly but didn’t try anything. Selene stood over her naked form.

"I tried to do this nicely, but you’ve given me no choice. You will obey me. No doubt about it." She spat.

Emma stared at her. "Since when have you done anything nicely?" She said snidely.

Selene didn’t say a word back. She simply flung herself onto Emma, pinning her to the bed. She pulled a syringe out of her right boot and held it to Emma’s neck. Emma began to struggle and she managed to knock the syringe out of Selene’s hand.

The Black Queen became irate and she looked demented. She started to use her powers to drain Emma’s life force, but only enough to weaken her. She really didn’t want to kill her. Especially not after everything she’s put into bringing her back. Luckily Emma attacked her mind. Selene backed off some.

"Emma, stop it! If you don’t I will drain you to the point of unconsciousness! Change youself!"

Emma said, "As you wish." Now it was her turn to grin. She changed into her diamond form and shoved Selene off of her, harshly. Then she used her telepathy to knock her out.

Selene hadn’t expected that because Emma was still in her diamond form. Emma had learned a few new things about herself in the last eight weeks as well. Her powers certainly have evolved. The Black Queen and Black King were both right. She was rejecting Selene’s spells because of the Phoenix and the sorcery. Separately they would have aided her some, but together they are much more intense. With both fused into her DNA structure her original mutant abilities became exceedingly potent.

Another alteration that occurred was that Emma could now use her telepathy in her diamond form. It wasn’t as good as in her normal form, but it was something. And she finally got to test that in its entirety. One more thing was that she was also fully indestructible in her diamond state, unlike before where she had some weaknesses.

Emma contemplated these changes often. But she was the only one who had known of her new found powers and strength. Sebastian and Selene just figured out why the spells weren’t holding up. But they still didn't have an idea about the changes in her diamond form.

From being with the X-Men Emma became softer, that was true. But she still carried herself just as well. And she could still be a bitch; she was snide and she could manipulate people. However, she would only use that when needed. She thought of this "rebirth" as a chance to start off with a clean slate. She wanted to leave all of the bad things she’s done in her previous life behind her. She only hoped that the X-Men would give her a second chance. But first she had to escape from the Hellfire Club.

Emma looked around the room. There were not any windows, so she couldn’t sneak out that way. She glanced down at the floor where Selene lay unconscious and it was clear that she had to get out before she awoke. With Selene’s powers it wouldn’t take all that long either.

She hurried towards the door and unlocked it. She took a deep breath, held it and listened. Then she did a quick telepathic scan to see if anyone happened to be outside of the door. It all appeared to be clear. She exhaled and carefully opened the door, closing it behind her. With great caution she hurried down the long, wide corridors.

So far so good, she made it to the main level and she wasn’t far from exiting the manor. Her bare feet pounded on the marble floor as she raced towards the exit. But out of nowhere something struck her down. She fell to the floor with a thud. And it hurt quite badly. She groaned in pain.

She glanced back and saw Donald Pierce, Harry Leland and Sebastian Shaw. "Oh, shit." She mumbled. Pierce was the one who took her down.

The Black King glared at her. "Where do you think you are going, Emma?!"

She stood up and glared back. She said, "You didn’t call me ‘your queen’. I’m hurt." Her tone was snide.

"Just answer the question." Pierce ordered her.

"You can’t tell me what to do!" Emma yelled at him.

Sebastian said viciously, "Maybe not, but I can. So answer me, now!"

Emma stared at him and she grinned. "Oh, I only wanted some air. I’ve been cooped up in that dark, gloomy room for so long."

"Don’t try to play your games with me! You know it will not work." He retorted.

"But I’m not playing any games, ‘my king’." She mocked him. "I really would like some fresh air."

He glowered at her. "I’m not stupid! And you know very well that you must earn that privilege."

She smirked. "Are you going to bend me over your knee and spank me? You know how much I’d love that."

Just then Selene made her way into the area; she was furious. Sebastian looked at her.

"Where were you?! Emma nearly escaped!"

"The little bitch attacked me telepathically!" She screamed.

The Black King gazed back over to Emma. "Change yourself, now!" He demanded.

"That won’t do any good, Shaw! She can now use her telepathy while in her diamond form." Selene stated fiercely.

He glared at her and then back to Emma. "Then we must take her down. Hurry up!"

Leland and Pierce went at her first but she attacked their minds faster than they could reach her. They both fell to the floor. She sneered at Sebastian and Selene.

Selene charged at her, but Emma was unable to get to her as quickly. Selene’s powers allowed her to reach Emma extremely fast. She tackled Emma to the floor, holding her there. They scowled at one another momentarily.

Selene saw Emma focus on Sebastian. She said acridly, "Use your telepathy, wench, and you’ll be very sorry." She then grabbed Emma’s wrists and held them above her head. "Sebastian, help me with her so that I can inject her!"

He walked over, but he said, "Just drain her enough to weaken her."

Emma wasn’t taking any chance. She ignored Selene’s previous order and she attacked his mind. It took a bit longer than it did for the other two, though in only a few seconds he was out cold. He was on the floor now as well.

Selene tightened her grip around Emma’s wrists. "You little whore! I told you not to use your powers!"

"Oh please, like I will listen to you! I don’t even listen to the so-called king." Emma scoffed.

Selene took both of Emma’s wrists and managed to hold them in one hand. With her right hand she slapped Emma across the face. "Frankly, I do not care if you obey him. But you will learn to respect me! I don’t care what it takes!"

"Good luck with that." Emma then broke free of Selene’s grasp and pushed her off of her. Now she was on top of Selene.

They briefly wrestled around on the floor. Eventually Selene pinned Emma down again. "Looks like I won." She said snidely. "And now it’s time for you to learn your lesson."

Selene began to slide her right hand up the inside of Emma’s thigh. Emma knew all too much what was coming next. She quickly changed into her diamond form and she harshly banged her forehead off of Selene’s. That actually drew some blood.

"Mmm." Selene moaned and she collapsed on Emma.

Emma shoved her off and stood up. Selene wasn’t unconscious, only temporarily weakened. "No, Selene, I believe that it’s time for you to learn yours. You should have drained me when you had the chance."

She was about to attack her mind when she realized that Pierce was stirring. "Oh, bloody hell!" She exclaimed. She was still in her diamond form, she felt safer that way. She focused on both of them, but something held her back. "Come on, work?!" She mumbled frantically.

He was about to stand up and Selene had recovered enough that she could be a threat again. Emma had to think fast. She singled Pierce out and attacked him first. It worked. She realized that in her diamond form she could attack only one person at a time. That held her back, but at least she could use her telepathy in that form.

Selene sat up and glared at Emma. She said crudely, "You will pay greatly for your insubordination!"

"I don’t think so, you sadistic bitch!" Emma shouted vindictively. She finally attacked Selene’s mind as hard as she could.

With that done she made sure that the others wouldn’t be coming around any time soon. She used her telepathy to sedate them all, but it was only temporary. Still, it gave her enough time to escape and get as far away from the Hellfire manor as possible. She didn’t have time to get her car, so she’d just have to walk and run.

Emma was out of the building and on the run. At first she wondered why so many people were gawking at her. Then she remembered that she was naked. "Damn it." She thought.

She decided to use her telepathy to keep onlookers from staring. It was going to be difficult to keep that up for too long. Fortunately for her it was getting dark. Still she had a long way to go.

After a while she became exhausted. It was harder than she thought to use her telepathy for such a length of time. She scanned over her surroundings and an idea popped into her head. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I 'borrowed' someone's car." She thought. She figured that she'd use her telepathy to convince them that they've left her use their car and that she would return it later. It beat walking all the way to the X-Mansion.

Not too long after that idea blossomed she saw the perfect opportunity. A young man was getting out of his car to go into a club of some sort. She smiled seductively as she walked over to him. At first he paid no attention. But she dropped her telepathic cover so that he could see her. That surely got his attention.

The young man stared at her, wide-eyed. She continued over to him and stopped when she was standing directly in front of him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Holy shit! Either I'm drunk or I've died and gone to Heaven!" He exclaimed.

She gave him a sultry look and said, "I assure you, you're not in Heaven."

"I'm sorry, miss, it's not every day that you see a hot, naked woman walking towards you. Especially outside." He said. Once he collected himself a bit he said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, if you would be so kind to allow me to borrow your car?" Her tone was both seductive and kind.

"That's all?" He asked suggestively.

"Yes." She replied.

He kept on staring at her naked form. She knew he would. But after a few minutes it got frustrating. "My eyes are up here." She told him firmly, but she was still being kind. After all it wasn't his fault that she was gorgeous and naked.

His eyes finally met hers and he said, "Oh, my bad."

"It's alright, but did you hear what I've requested of you?" She asked and she traced her finger down his chest.

"Yeah, you would like to borrow my car. I would love to, but I'll need it to get home." He said.

She gazed over to the club and then back to him. "I highly doubt that you'll be driving tonight. At least I wouldn't recommend it."

"Oh, well, I . . ." He stammered.

At that point she used her telepathy to persuade him. She placed her finger over his lips and said, "Hush now, we both know that it's best that you call a taxi later. I'll borrow your car and you have my word that I will have it returned to you at this location."

He was an easier target than she had assumed. Still she didn't want to take any chances. She needed a vehicle and he had a lovely ice blue convertible.

He stared into her eyes. "Sure thing, Miss. Here are the keys."

"Thank you, you are so kind." She said pretty much into his ear.

Once she took his keys she told him telepathically to go back to his business. So he turned and walked off. As soon as he entered the club she hopped into his car, started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

Telepathy was wonderful. All the young man would remember was what she wanted him to. When he left he would take a cab home. In the morning he would wake up and remember that he had left his car parked at the club. He wouldn't remember her at all. He would only think that he drank too much and was unable to drive. She would have plenty of time to return his car. He probably wouldn't wake up too early.

Momentarily her only plan was to go to the X-Men. She really didn’t know where else to go. If they turned her away she’d be totally lost. But if they did she wouldn’t blame them. She wasn’t exactly the most trustworthy person in the world. Either way she drove towards the Xavier Institute.

XXxXX

Back at the Hellfire manor everyone was coming back around. They all looked highly infuriated. But Selene was more so than any of them, even Sebastian.

She sat up and slammed her fist against the hard, marble floor. "We must get her back!" She cried out.

Sebastian got up off of the floor. "Trust me, we will." He added, "It’s not like we don’t know where she’s gone to."

"I know she’s run off to the X-Men. They’ve been a thorn in our side long enough!" She said in a cold tone.

"Yes, surely that’s where she went. If they are smart they will not take her in. After she’s lied to them they’d be fools to do so." The Black King stated.

"They are fools! You know as well as I do that they’ll allow her to stay with them." She retorted.

"No matter, we will seize her. If any of them stand in the way we will annihilate them." He said harshly.

She grinned. "Why don’t we just destroy them all, except for Logan and maybe that Scott Summers."

"Why spare them?" He asked.

Her expression was sadistic and even lustful. "Logan because he can heal quite rapidly, he’d be fun to mess around with. As for Scott, I just want to see what’s so special about him. I’d eventually kill him though."

Pierce and Leland finally jumped into the conversation. Leland speaking first. "When do we hunt her down?"

"I hope soon." Pierce added.

Sebastian answered with, "In a while. We need to give her time to feel at ease. Plus we must work on a strategy. A plan like that could take several months. But it should be worth the wait." He grinned.

The others agreed with him. Selene was a bit impatient, but she understood that they needed a fair plan. Just barging in right away was something amateurs did. The element of surprise was better. Within time they would have the perfect plan.

XXxXX

The Xavier Institute present day . . .

At that moment Logan gazed at Emma and his face was a mix of emotions. Among them were surprise, confusion and even anger. He stood there staring at her. He couldn't think of anything to say. She easily picked up on his distraught feelings.

Emma looked a little different. Her hair was a couple of inches longer. And while she still had that usual smugness in her features she also looked worn down. She was still stunningly beautiful, but it looked like she hadn't slept in days. And she had some scratches and marks on her face. Those would eventually heal. Most important was that within her features was a look of sincerity and remorse. And what was even more evident was the lack of clothing. Logan finally took notice and he couldn't help but eye her up and down. He wasn't doing so in a perverted way. It was just hard to resist.

When he remained silent she sighed. "Please let me inside. I will explain everything in depth. I promise."

Logan was still shocked. All he said was, "This is impossible."

He actually seemed to be frozen in place. And after around three minutes of more silence she sighed again and said, "Come on. You deserve to know the entire truth." There was a pause and then, "If you expect me to get on my hands and knees and beg, forget it. But what I will do is give my sincere apologies. So, please let me in."

Logan finally snapped out of it. He growled slightly, drew his claws and said kind of harshly, "Why should I even believe a word you say?"

"Easy, Logan. I could not lie to you, even if I wanted to."

He thought about that. She was right. Now they had Jean. "Still . . . " He trailed off. He wasn't highly convinced, but he did retract his claws.

"Look. I know that I've let you all down. I am truly sorry." Her voice sounded genuine. It really appeared that she did regret her actions.

Now Logan sighed and said gruffly, "Frost, I don't like this one bit. But, since ya did happen to save us all I'll give you a second chance. Jean will know if you're lyin'. And eventually the Prof. can do a mind probe just to be certain." He paused and then added, "He may be unconscious, but you know that we can still contact him."

A faint smile spread over Emma's lips. "I'll do whatever it takes to prove myself. May I come in? It’s quite chilly." She looked down at herself.

Logan didn't say anything. He just moved to the side and allowed her to enter. He kept his eyes on her. "I better not regret this." He mumbled to himself in a harsh tone.

Emma didn't go too far. She remained as close as possible. After what went down before she would have to work extremely hard to earn trust back from Logan and the others. That was definite.

As she stood there she could feel Logan's constant stare on her. It felt as if it was boring a hole through her. She wasn't certain if it was due to the fact that she was there or that she was naked. Or even both. She faced him. "Logan, I have much to say. When should I explain my previous actions?"

"It's kinda late, so it can wait till morning." He told her. "Doesn’t it bother ya that you’re standin’ there naked?" He couldn’t help but ask.

Emma shook her head. "I truly didn’t have time to get any clothes."

He shrugged and walked into the living room, she was right behind him. He took a blanket off of the back of a couch and handed it to her.

"Here, cover up." He then said in a more threatening tone, "And Frost, ya better not be up to anything or I'll throw ya out on your ass, believe me."

"I believe you. And do not worry." She said. She honestly didn't want to mess up.

"Thanks." She added, referring to the cover. The nakedness didn’t bother her, but she was getting chills.

He nodded and then it was silent for a while. He just stood in front of her, gazing at her. It was surely amazing that she was standing there. She gazed back at him.

Finally she asked, "Is my old room vacant?"

"Yep, in the sense that no one new has arrived. Your belongings are still here though." He told her.

"So, will you be escorting me to that room?" She questioned, though she already knew the answer.

He shook his head and replied with, "Nope. Not tonight, blondie."

Even though she was sure he'd say no, she didn't know where she'd spend the night. "That's understandable. Where will I crash then?" She paused and added, "Perhaps with you." She said seductively and she caressed his face.

He cleared his throat and said, "Absolutely not. You will crash in one of the holding cells."

Her mouth dropped. "What?"

"Not the tiny ones. The one I stuck ya in when I found out about your betrayal." He scowled.

"Oh, well, I can live with that." She stated. Truthfully she could, even if it would bring back memories of that horrid day.

He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her along with him. In a few minutes they were outside of the holding cell. He looked at her and said, "I will bring some clothes to ya."

She nodded, "Thank you."

He placed her inside the cell and locked it up. He left her for a bit. She glanced around and noticed that it was like a one-room apartment. There was a small shower stall, a sink, a toilet, a refrigerator, a few cupboards, furniture and a bed. The cell had only the necessities.

In about ten minutes Logan returned. He had a variety of clothing for her. He didn’t know what she’d want so he brought a few different things. And he even brought her some of her shower stuff that was left behind, such as shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

He opened the door and gave her the stuff. "Here ya go." He said gruffly.

"You didn’t have to bring all of this." She said with surprise.

"I know, I thought I’d give ya some options. And as for the other things, it ain't just for charity. You smell like you ain't bathed in weeks." He told her.

She glared at him. "You try being a prisoner of the Hellfire Club!"

He stared at her. "I was only pointin' out the facts."

She calmed down and said, "Either way, thank you. I really could use a nice, hot shower."

"You’ll get to explain yourself first thing in the mornin’. I’ll leave ya be now, ‘night." He said to her in a coarse tone.

"Goodnight." She said back. And to show she had no hard feelings she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. Logan didn't respond to it and that didn't really bother her.

He turned and left again, but that time he wouldn’t be returning until morning. Once he was gone she took a long, relaxing shower. When she was done she dried off and put on some clothes. Luckily Logan brought her some night clothes. She couldn’t believe that he actually brought her panties and things like that. She couldn’t help but laugh when she thought of him carrying lingerie down to her.

Soon she was ready for bed. She was happy to be back with the X-Men. She only hoped that they would all give her a fair chance to redeem herself. She wanted to prove to them that she could be trusted and that she was truly on their side.

As tired as she was it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. She was out within five minutes of lying down. There was a lot to think about. But if she thought about any of it at that moment she would have been awake all night long.

XXxXX

Early the next morning Logan called everyone into the living room. He told them to get comfortable and he left the room. They all looked at one another with odd expressions.

"I wonder why Logan wanted us all in here." Ororo said with confusion.

"Yeah, and so early." Forge said yawning.

Bobby said, "Maybe he got some news from Professor X."

Hank replied with, "Likely, but why didn’t he stay and tell us instead of leaving?"
"This is kind of strange." Kurt stated.

Oddly, Kitty and Rogue both said, "I know," in unison. The others looked at them briefly.

"That was weird." Rogue said.

"It sure was." Kitty agreed.

Scott then spoke. "It just doesn't make sense. Jean, do you have any idea to what is going on?"

Jean shook her head. "No, I’m just as confused."

"You could have gotten into Logan’s head and found out, right" Bobby questioned.

"Sure, I could have. But I don’t care to invade peoples’ thoughts unless I must." Jean responded.

Before anyone said anything else Logan returned. He said, "I could answer everything for ya. But I've always been a bigger fan of showin' rather than tellin'." He then said, "Come on in."

At first they all stared at him like he was crazy for it seemed as if her were talking to an invisible person. Not that that wasn’t possible; however, only seconds after Logan spoke Emma walked into the room. Everybody's eyes were on her. They all were obviously shocked to see her, although Jean also looked and felt sort of angry. No one else showed any other emotion at that time. But in no time nearly everyone started talking at once.

Logan yelled, "Quiet!" They all hushed and he went on, "Your questions will be answered."
Jean glared at him and her irritation was in her voice, "You actually allowed her to enter our home after all that she’s done?!"

Logan’s eyes met hers. "Yep."

She shook her head. "Why?"

"Mostly because she saved all of our asses that night." He said gruffly. He then added, "Plus, people change. I’m livin’ proof of that."

Rogue scowled. "How could ya, Logan? You nearly disowned me for what I did."

"I thought you betrayed us." He answered gruffly.

Rogue glared at him. "But I didn't, she did!"

In a calming tone Ororo said, "Perhaps we should give her a second chance." She received some odd looks and she added, "Not that I disregard what she’s done. It’s just that people do make mistakes. Nobody is perfect."

"But how can we trust her?" Kitty asked. Her voice wasn't harsh or even cold, but it was stern and uneasy.

Scott said, "I don't know what to think. I trusted her maybe more than anyone and I got burnt." He looked at Emma and her eyes met his for a moment and then she looked down. He added, "I'm glad she's not dead, but at this time I don't feel that I can trust her."

"Yeah, I mean, I thought she was great. Then we find out that she was a fake." Bobby stated.

Kurt sat there listening to everyone's points of view. He finally said, "I'm neutral, only because I wasn't here for the most part. But I'm not too fond of my friends being misled." He gave her a serious look.

Jean was too enraged at the moment to comment. She actually would have preferred that Emma had remained dead. She felt so much anger. All she could do at that time was glare at her.

"I have to agree with Logan and Ororo. We should give her another try. Most of us have made bad choices one time or another. I know that I have." Hank said.

Forge took a while to respond on the issue. But he finally did and he spoke directly to Emma. "Look, Emma, I'm not choosing sides either. Not yet at least. I liked you. If any of that was you."

No one else said anything yet, they were either still shocked, contemplating the situation or both. Logan cut the silence by saying, "Let’s just let her explain what went down and how and why she’s here, and then see what everybody thinks."

"I don’t like it." Jean said.

"You’ll love this idea then. After she’s finished you can verify that she was honest." He told her. Jean nodded. He looked over to Emma and asked, "Any objections?"

"No." She answered.

"Okay, Frost, let’s do this." He said.

Emma actually was nervous. She really wanted them to forgive her and except her. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything else in her whole entire life.

Before she started her explanation Logan said, "Ya could sit down, ya know."

"That’s quite alright; I prefer to stand right now." She said. He remained standing as well.

Emma moved forward a little so that she was closer to the others. All of their eyes were on her. The only set of eyes that looked aggressive was Jean’s. She was overly glad that Scott wasn’t giving her harsh looks. Truthfully she didn’t even know what he was thinking at that moment. She’d find out how he and everybody else felt soon enough.

After a few long minutes she began, "I know that some of you may not be all too happy with me and I do not blame you one bit. But I will set things straight once and for all." She paused and took a deep breath, she then continued, "When I first arrived here, it’s true that I was only pretending to be an X-Man to get what I needed. And that was to have use of Cerebro. I messed up in extracting the Phoenix the year before that and I was sent here to fix my mistake. After I was here for a while I actually felt that I was one of you. I suppose that my false pretenses became that of reality. It wasn’t hard to feel like an X-Man. For once in my life I felt that I belonged somewhere, and not just for my looks, powers, sex appeal or things along those lines. I was part of something grand, being at the Hellfire Club never made me feel like that. I didn’t once feel like I was part of a family. Most of the time I doubt that they even had my back." She paused again and closed her eyes briefly. In a matter of seconds she resumed, "Before I knew it I found Jean. That’s when everything turned bad, no offense, Jean."

Jean said in a surprisingly calm tone, "None taken." Still, she looked irritable.

Emma nodded then went on, "I thought that the plan with the Hellfire Cub was to extract the Phoenix and destroy it. Or at least try to. That’s what I was led to believe from the very beginning, but either those bloody fools changed their plans behind my back or they placed me in the dark from the start. I found out their true plans, indeed they wanted to extract the Phoenix. However, they also wanted to destroy all of you, Genosha, the Sentinels and I believe even Senator Kelly. While getting rid of the Sentinels wouldn’t have been so bad, everything else was plan out sordid. I had found out the truth and I didn’t want to take any part of it. There was no telling at how far they would go. So, for the record, I want you all to know that everything was not a lie. I loved being here and I’d be grateful to get an opportunity to prove myself." She ended there.

Logan walked up beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. He said, "Isn’t there somethin’ else ya’d like to explain?"

"Yeah, like how you’re even here in the first place?" Bobby said.

"Oh, I reckon that I do owe you that explanation also. Well, Selene, the Black Queen, resurrected me with magic. She had all of my shattered diamond pieces collected and she put me back together. While some of you do not know who she is Scott knows all too well. And he knows what she is capable of, only to an extent. But it‘s something. After two long, dreadful months I managed to fight my way out of there." Emma told everyone.

Scott nodded, but remained silent. Everyone else stared at her in silence. They were waiting for Jean to inform them that Emma was being sincere. Now Emma’s nervousness had disappeared for she had nothing to worry about. She wasn’t lying.

Jean stood up and walked over to Emma. That was something that Emma dreaded slightly. Not for fear that she had lied, but because she wasn’t all that thrilled to offer her mind as an open book. There were many things prior to the X-Men that she would have liked to keep personal. But she would Jean inside.

Jean stopped directly in front of her. At first she stared into her eyes and then she finally placed her hands on either side of Emma’s head. She entered her mind kind of roughly and scanned over everything. She saw all of her memories and thoughts. From before she even had any contact with the X-Men up until now, just as Emma figured. And Jean went as deep as she could to get a feel for Emma. After around five minutes she moved her hands from Emma and stepped back.

"So, is she being real?" Kitty asked.

Jean turned to face the others and said in a surprised voice, "Yes, all that she’s said was true." Jean sighed.

Scott said, "We should still see what Professor Xavier has to say about all of this."
Emma looked at him. "Surely he won’t object."

"Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to get his opinion." Ororo said. Her voice was soft and kind.

Hank added, "Yes, Emma. It’s nothing against you."

She nodded, "That is how you do things around here. I’m not used to that. The Hellfire Club doesn’t always get everyone’s opinion before they make a decision." She grimaced.

Rogue came over now, "Get used to it. If you’re goin’ to be one of us you must." She didn’t sound as harsh as she had before, but there was still a touch of irritation in her tone. She looked at Logan strangely and left the room.

"It’s how the Professor would want it." Kurt said. His voice was hard to read.

Bobby said, "Sometimes it can be a pain telling every detail."

Emma only scowled. That was going to be one of the hardest things about being there, nearly all was out in the open. But she would deal with it for it would be nice to have people who cared enough to know what you were doing. She got a taste of that before and it was priceless.

Upon seeing Emma's expression Kitty said to her, "Jean said that you’re telling the truth, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about." Even though Kitty sounded kind her tone was a bit somber.

Forge then said, "Yeah, unless you blocked something."

"I did not block anything." Emma retorted with a bit of frustration in her voice.

Logan waited to see if the others were done before he spoke. When it was clear he said, "Let’s have breakfast. I’ll pay Chuck a visit afterwards and give him a heads-up."

They all were happy about eating. At that time they were hungry. The secret meeting took a while. And after being up extra early, waiting around and all in between they worked up an appetite.

Everyone aside from Jean, Scott, Logan and Emma headed off to the kitchen. Jean stayed because she wanted to apologize for a few things. Scott remained to be with Jean and for the fact that he was glad that Emma wasn’t dead. Logan didn’t leave only because he wanted to keep tabs on Emma until she spoke to Xavier.

Jean said to Emma, "I’m sorry for being a bitch, so to speak. Though, I don’t regret the way I feel."

"You do not need to apologize. And you have every right to feel the way you do." Emma told her.

Scott stared at Emma for a long time. Logan couldn’t help but make a joke. "If ya can’t keep your eyes off of her now then ya wouldn’t have wanted to see her last night." He chuckled slightly.

Jean was in Emma’s mind, so she was aware of what Logan was referring to. She didn’t see the humor in it at all. Scott was certain that he missed the punch line. He stared at Emma, Jean and Logan strangely.

Emma shook her head at Logan, "I’ll fill you all in later."

"Okay." was all that Scott said.

Jean said flatly, "It’s really not that amusing."

In an attempt to change the subject Logan said, "I don’t know about any of you, but I’m starvin’."

Emma, Jean and Scott agreed with him. So, the four of them left the rec room and joined the others in the kitchen for breakfast.

As they moved along Jean thought, "She had better not try anything with Scott."

Apparently her thoughts were very loud because Emma picked up on them without purposely doing so. She said, "Jean, we need to talk later."

Jean glanced at her and they stopped walking. "What?" Her features became hard, "How dare you get into my head!"

Logan and Scott stopped and looked at them. They had no idea what was going on. But they didn’t want it to get too far.

Emma looked at Jean and said, "I’m sorry, but it's not my fault that you're thoughts are so loud."

"Emma, while I may be able to trust you with everything else now, and that's still questionable, I absolutely do not trust you with Scott!" Jean fumed.

"Excuse me?!" Emma said. They were facing one another at that point.

Jean glared at her. "You know damn well what I’m referring to!"

"Whoa, calm down, Red." Logan said stepping in between them.

Scott said, "Yeah, why don’t we talk about this later in a civilized manner?"

"Fine, but she had better lay off." Jean stated.

Emma glared at her. "I didn’t even do anything!"

"Not yet." Jean mumbled and she began walking away.

Emma gave her a dirty look and said snidely, "Apparently you're not doing something proper behind closed doors. Why else would you be so uptight?"

"You are a bitch!" Jean turned around and yelled.

"I was only pointing out the facts. If you're afraid that I'll steal him away then you better keep a hold him, darling." Emma told her.

Scott shrugged and took Jean's hand. "Come on, honey."

Logan stayed behind with Emma. "What the hell was that all about?" He asked.

"I accidently heard Jean’s thoughts. She thinks I’m going to try to steal Scott from her." Emma told him.

"Wow!" He exclaimed. "Why would she think that?"

"It’s a long and complicated story." She replied.

He grinned. "Ya need not say any more. I heard enough for one day."

"Good because I’m not in the mood to go into details about this particular subject." She retorted.

They then continued to the kitchen. Emma really hoped that Jean would discuss that matter calmly. They were mature adults after all. But there would be much time to think for Emma would probably be seeing the Professor some time after breakfast. Maybe by then Jean would be easier to talk to.

XXxXX

An hour later breakfast was over and Logan went to visit Xavier. He told the others that they could come in with him for this was something that everyone needed to be present for. He figured that it was better done sooner than later.

At the moment they were all gathered in the room where Professor x was kept. Logan stepped up and said, "I need to speak to ya, if you're available."

Shortly after that the Professor projected himself. "Is something wrong because nothing out of the ordinary has been detected here?"

"No, nothin's wrong. We just need your opinion on somethin'." Logan said back.

It was then that Charles noticed that Emma was standing among them. He stared at her with complete amazement. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Before replying to Logan he had to say, "Emma, I thought that you had perished."

She said, "I did. But I was brought back."

He continued to stare at her. "That's a big surprise to say the least. How?"

"I don't feel like repeating what I've told them." She said, but she was very respectful to him.

"Oh, I see." He told her and then he looked back at Logan. He now responded to him, "You would like to know what I think about her, right?"

Everyone looked at him with anxious expressions. But Logan said, "Yep. We all do. She explained herself, as she said, and Jean scanned her mind thoroughly. But we'd really like to get your take on it."

Xavier looked over all of his X-Men and his eyes then went back to Emma. "Honestly, I do not find her to be a problem. She certainly has my permission to be here. We all owe her our lives. As I recall, she was only a player in a sick, twisted game. She did what she had to."

Rogue said, "I had a feeling you would say that." She didn't sound too happy about his decision.

"Rogue, in my time I've seen many things. I've witnessed good turn evil and vice versa. I am confident that she is not with you to cause any turmoil this time around." He was as calm as ever.

Jean glanced at his holographic projection and said, "Professor, I do trust your observation. And I'm sure that my teammates do as well. But please, could you still read her thoughts? I want to make sure that I didn't skip over anything."

"If that would make you and the others feel at ease then sure. I have no problem doing that." He made eye contact with Emma and said, "Unless you have a problem with it?"

Emma replied, "No, do what you must. I have nothing to hide." She gave Jean a nasty look.

Jean returned the look but kept quiet. She would save it for when her and Emma spoke. Then she'd really let her have it. After being in Emma's head she was positive that she was there to truly become an X-Man; however, she didn't want her near Scott if she could help it.

Xavier paid no attention their exchange. He said in response to Emma, "Very well."

He then did with her as he had done with Logan numerous times. They stood before each other surrounded by nothing but white. He stepped towards her and placed his right hand on her left shoulder. His eyes met with hers.

Only instants later he said, "This will not hurt as long as you keep you mind open. If I find that you are blocking me then I will have no choice but to force my way in."

She said back, "As I've said, I have nothing to hide."

"Good, I will start examining your mind." He declared.

Immediately following his statement he began to scan her mind, sorting through her thoughts and memories carefully. He went even deeper than Jean had, searching her memories from as far back as he could. He saw how her life was before she ran away from home. He observed her thoughts on joining the Hellfire Cub, including the sworn oath she made in blood. He could see just how demented and immoral that entire organization was. Of course, along with all of that he saw all of the ruthless, dark things she was obliged to do. Most of which she would have prefered to get out of doing if she had a choice. He continued along until he reached the present time. It was clear that she wasn't really a bad person in general, she just got caught up in the wrong crowd. Now she was being absolutely genuine. The others may not see that, but he saw it perfectly.

As he read her thoughts and tapped into her memory she remained calm, even though some of it was mighty painful to relive. She had placed much of the disturbing and hideous memories in the farthest parts of her mind, hoping to somehow forget them entirely. But reliving them from time to time was completely inevitable for her. She found that no matter how hard that she tried she could not fully escape the hellish things that she'd done.

He also stumbled upon her memories and thoughts on Scott. He saw how she felt for him. She was in love for probably the first time in her life. That explained why her and Jean were sending each other mean looks. He had a feeling that they would have some kind of altercation at some point. But even though he learned of her feelings for Scott he wouldn't speak of it. He was sure that it would be a very touchy subject.

Soon Professor X withdrew from her mind. He stared at her. He was aware that she had some baggage, he just never knew how much or how it affected her. She didn't ever allow anyone to see how she truly felt. She suppressed her emotions excessively well. But that was yet another result from being part of the Hellfire Club. Although, Xavier broke into the very depths of her soul, so to speak. She couldn't hide anything from him. And truthfully, she didn't want to. He needed to know everything.

For a while there was absolute silence. And it was so intense that it could have enveloped them. But Charles spoke to her, breaking the silence. "Emma, you have much weighing down on you. You're still very young, yet you've went through more than most have within a lifetime. It's got to be difficult."

She took a few moments to think of how she would respond. Finally she shrugged and said, "That's what I must live with every single day of my life. It is immensely troubling."

"I know. When I was in your mind I could feel what you really felt. If not for that I wouldn't have any idea to your true emotions." He stated.

"Well, I've been conditioned to not reveal any slightest bit of how I feel. Especially if it's sorrow or remorse. Those emotions are simply not tolerated. You can only keep a hard exterior." She explained to him.

He shook his head. "That's not how it's meant to be, Emma. People are not machines, we're supposed to be entitled to express our feelings. No matter what they are. The Hellfire Club's ways are extremely absurd."

"Tell me about it." She said with a scowl. She added, "They are psychopaths. Particularly Selene. That woman makes my skin crawl."

"Yes, I got a good idea of how she is from your memories. She's quite deranged, in my opinion."

"Oh, she sure is."

Professor X then said, "If you have nothing else to discuss at this time, I will release you."

She thought for a few seconds and replied with, "I have nothing more to say right now."

He nodded and said, "Then you are free. But if you ever need someone to talk to don't hesitate to come forth. Logan will surely have no problem with that."

"Thanks." She said.

Not too long after those last words Xavier parted from her. He again projected himself so that he could give the others the news. Emma stood still and she didn't say a word.

"So, what did you find?" Scott asked.

Everyone else looked to the Professor, waiting for his response. He said, "Emma is definitely sincere." He looked over at Jean, "You didn't miss anything important." His attention then went back to them all. "None of you have to worry about her deceiving you. You have my word."

Even though Jean had confirmed that Emma wasn't playing them it was still reassuring to hear it from Professor Xavier's mouth. The X-Men felt relieved, but many were still filled with uncertainty. It would just be hard for them to completely trust her after what she had done. It would take time.

Jean would be one of the hardest to convince. Along with Scott and even Logan. Emma had no doubts that she would have to to work overly hard to prove herself. She was determined to do so, too.

With all of that taken care of Xavier said, "I must go now. I'll inform you if anything changes. And you do the same." He then said to Emma telepathically, "Remember what I've told you."

She said back in the same manner, "Certainly."

Everybody said their goodbyes. And soon after they left the room. Most of them went off on their own. Kurt would soon be leaving to visit Wanda. And shortly, Jean and Emma would be having their long awaited talk. But for the the meantime they went off in their seperate ways.

XXxXX

A couple of hours later Kurt was just about ready to head off to Genosha. He had made his rounds and said his goodbyes to everyone. Now he was standing with Logan inside the front doors.

"Should I really be leaving, now that Emma's back?" Kurt questioned. He still didn't like the fact that he wasn't going to be there if something went badly.

Logan replied, "Everything will be fine. The Professor didn't see her as a threat."

"But what if something else goes wrong?" Kurt asked.

"Then I'll contact you. Go and have fun with your girlfriend." Logan said. He wore a funny grin when he said the last line.

Kurt said back, "Wanda is not my girlfriend. She's only an ally and a good friend."

"Whatever you say. I mean that kiss she gave ya after we rescued her was SO friendly." Logan quipped.

Kurt blushed, turning his cheeks purple. "Um . . . ." He couldn't get any more out.

"Ya can't even speak now. Are ya secretly practicin' how you're gonna slip her the tongue?" Logan winked at him and wore a dirty grin.

"Logan!" Kurt exclaimed and he blushed even more; his cheeks were dark purple.

Logan chuckled and said, "O.K., I'll stop. But ya better go before I tease ya again. I do know how much ya wanna see her again. So go on before you're late."

Kurt smiled. "Okay, but if something does happen inform me right away."

"Will do. But I'm sure we'll all be fine." Logan said more seriously.

"Well, see you."

"Yep, I hope ya have a good time with your friend, who happens to be a girl." Logan started to joke again.

Kurt couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sure I will, Logan. Bye."

"Oh and one more thing, make sure ya give her a kiss for me." Logan was smirking.

Kurt laughed again. "Bye, Logan."

After that Kurt left. Logan shook his head and laughed. He didn't really think that Wanda and Kurt were more than close friends at the moment, but he couldn't resist. Wanda was after all a beautiful and attractive young woman. Surely Kurt took much notice to that.

Logan was making his way towards the rec room when Jean came out with Emma in tow. She was pulling her along by her wrist. Scott came running out after them. Jean looked furious, but of course Emma wore a smug look upon her face.

"Now what?" Logan murmered.

Scott heard him. "I guess they are going to have their talk now."

"Didn't they already?" Logan asked.

"No, Jean and I were discussing everything that's happened when Emma walked in. Emma suggested talking to me, alone, and Jean got all upset." Scott explained.

They two men followed Jean and Emma. Logan said back to Scott, "This could end badly."

"That I have to agree with you on. What do we do?" Scott said.

"We allow them to talk. But if it gets out of hand we have to break 'em up. Are ya in?" Logan told him.

Scott nodded and said at the same time, "Yes, I don't want them to hurt each other."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we have to worry more about Jean hurtin' Emma than Emma hurtin' Jean. Although, we are lucky that Jean isn't packin' the Phoenix Force still 'cause then it could REALLY get messy." Logan pointed out.

"True." Scott stated.

Logan said, "Here's my idea, as soon as we see where they're goin' to talk we'll secretly follow. If something goes awry we bust in and break it up."

"Sounds like a good plan." Scott agreed. "Does it really require both of us though?"

Logan laughed, "More than likely. Have ya ever seen women fight each other?"

"Yes, of course I have." Scott retorted.

"Well then ya know of wicked they can get. And ya add mutant powers, especially of their nature, and ya have a big problem." Logan said.

They hurried up the steps and saw that Jean pulled Emma into her room. The door slammed shut. Logan and Scott moved towards Jean's closed door to listen in.

XXxXX

Behind the closed door Jean and Emma stood facing one another. Jean was glaring at her. Emma grinned back smugly.

Emma said to Jean in a satirical manner, "I don't know why you're acting so moody. I'm quite certain that I heard you and Scott getting it on this morning."

"What?!" Jean screamed.

"Don't get mad at me, it's not my fault that you can't be more quiet." She was sneering at Jean.

Jean glowered at her. She didn't even know what to say to that. She was fuming.

Emma said, "I know that you probably can't help it. Surely Scott's a wonderful lover."

"More than you'll ever know." Jean said. She was positive that to Emma that would be like taking a punch to the stomach.

Emma stared at her without even changing her demeanor. She said in an overly snide tone, "We'll just have to see about that, darling."

Jean thought, "I should wipe that smug look right off of your face, bitch!"

"Then why don't you?" Emma said snobbishly.

Jean narrowed her eyes. "Are anyone's thoughts sacred to you?!"

"Yes." Emma responded. She added in a nasty tone, "But not yours."

Jean was fighting the erge to slap the woman as hard as she could. In some ways she felt bad for Emma, she endured so much. But that still didn't excuse Emma's actions.

Jean stared at Emma with a cold expression and she said with a tone that matched it, "Stay out of my head! And stay away from Scott!"

Emma glared at her. "What is your problem, Jean?! This all started only because I requested to speak with Scott. No harm done. I just need to talk to him."

"You can talk to him, but not alone." Jean stated firmly.

"It must be alone." Emma replied crossly.

Jean said, "That's not going to happen."

"What if he'd agree to it? Would you stop him?" Her tone was a bit snide.

Jean had to think about that. She very well couldn't hold Scott back if he indeed wanted to talk to Emma in private. In a way it would be similar to him not allowing her to speak to Logan alone.

Jean scowled. "No, I suppose not."

Emma's smug expression washed over her features once more. "That's what I thought."

"While you may have been right there's no reason to act like a smart-ass bitch about it." Jean said irritably.

"Oh, my bad." Even though Emma said words that seemed to be apologetic her tone sounded sarcastic.

Jean had enough, she shoved Emma using her telekinesis. Emma gasped, caught by surprise. She glared at Jean. She thought, "Two can play this game, Jean."

Emma attacked Jean with a psychic bolt. It wasn't enough to harm her, but it did push her back a little. Jean shoved her telekinetically again.

Emma shook her head. "Jean, are you afraid to fight me without your powers?"

"No, I'm not afraid of you at all!" Jean replied.

"And weren't we suppose to be talking, not fighting?" Emma asked, but her tone was just as snide as usual.

Jean answered, not hiding her anger, "You're right, but how can we talk when you can't stop being a bitch?"

"I have news for you, darling, I am not being a bitch, I am a bitch. And so are you. Isn't that what we all are?" She said.

"At times, yes," Jean agreed. "But you're a real bitch."

"As are you." Emma threw the words at her.

Jean smiled slightly. "At least we agree on one thing."

Emma said, "What, that we are both bitches?" She couldn't help but smile herself.

"It's only the truth." Jean stated.

Before anything else was said there was a knock on the door. Logan said, "Scott and I were up here and we heard some yellin'. Is everything alright in there?"

"Yes." Jean said back.

Emma looked at Jean and then to the door. She said, "Oh please, Logan. I could sense you two. You were out there the whole time."

Jean walked over and opened the door. Scott said, "Yeah, we were. But we were worried."

"It was actually my idea. Jean, you looked really pissed." Logan said gruffly. He smiled, "And I know how devious women can be." He then added, "Would ya like for me to leave you three be?"

Jean said, "Yes, please. I believe we need to have a quick talk."

He nodded and said, "Alrighty then. Catch ya later." He then left them.

Scott stepped into the room. Jean looked at him. "I need to know what you really would like to do, Scott."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"Remember what started this thing?" Jean said.

He replied with, "Yeah, she wanted to talk to me alone."

"Right." Jean said back. "Is that something that you'd want to do?"

"Perhaps, but not yet." He told her.

Emma listened as they spoke back and forth. She really was hoping that he'd say he wanted to talk some time in the near future. He gave her hope, but she also felt that they'd never get time to talk. She needed to talk to him.

"Scott, please, we must talk." He gave her a strange look and she added, "It doesn't have to be right at this moment. But I'd like for it to be soon."

He said, "I'll think about it, okay."

She nodded and for once her smugness disappeared. Her face was washed with what looked like pain. "Yes, I understand the subtext. Well, I'll go and allow you two to do whatever you may."

Emma turned and began to exit the room when Scott gently grabbed her arm. "You don't have to leave."

"Yes, I do." She replied kind of dryly. She then pulled out of his grip and left.

After she left he looked at Jean with great puzzlement. "Did I say something wrong?"

"I don't think so." Jean said back.

"Then why did she take off like that?"

She said, "She's upset. She certainly believes that you're brushing her off. I also think that you might have hurt her feelings."

"Really?" He was kind of shocked. "I'm trying not to. It's just not all that easy getting over that kind of betrayal. I trusted her." He explained.

Outside the room Emma hadn't left completely. She wanted to know what they said while she was gone. Her mood changed slightly as she headed down the hall. Maybe she'd get a chance to talk to Scott after all. He didn't purposely upset her. That was a little uplifting.

As Emma was about to enter her room she remembered something she had to do. She still needed to return that nice young man's sweet ride. So instead of going into her room she went to find Logan. She didn't think that he'd have a problem following her. She would need a way back. There was no way she was going to attempt walking again. Or 'borrowing' another vehicle. Also she could make it worth her while, she could tease him when she got on his bike. She laughed softly to herself as she thought about it.

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A/N: I plan to have the next chapter posted by either this coming Sunday or by the following Sunday:) Thanks:) Take care:)