Plot: Emma Frost and Lex Luthor attend sibling boarding schools. It starts as a simple dare, but will it turn into something else? And what happens when Victoria Hardwick steps in to save her best friend? Featuring appearances of Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne, and Sebastian Shaw.

Rating: R/M.

Disclaimer: I do not own many of these characters, unfortunately. Marvel owns Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw, and DC owns Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, and Victoria Hardwick.

Comments or Questions: Any questions/comments, e-mail me or leave a comment. This chapter is particularly dark; sensitive readers beware.

Chapter Nine

Over the next few weeks, the new couple was the hot topic of discussion. They weren't exactly spreading the news, but when students saw Emma and Lex holding hands or sharing a discreet kiss, they didn't hesitate to tell all their friends. The others marveled at how Alexander Luthor, the puny bald kid, could strike it rich and get someone as beautiful and popular as Emma Frost.

The rumors that were going around were odd, but when they were together, they were untouchable. Emma had taken a page out of Lex's book, and when they sat at the cafeteria tables and ate together, she ignored the stares and whispers. Even the thoughts they were sending her way, some of them hateful, went unappreciated. They had dinner every day now, and Lex forced Emma to do more than pick at her food.

Her problem wasn't lack of appetite. As a matter of fact, it was the other way around. She was having too much of an appetite. She found herself stuffing her gob with anything and everything when she wasn't careful about eating. It was only when Vicky snidely commented that she was getting a little curvy lately that she started watching her weight. Not only that, but she was going to the school weight room and working out with every spare moment she had.

At first, she would let Lex watch her when she did work out. But when he started sending dark glances toward her when he thought she wasn't looking, she stopped telling him. Instead, she told him that she was napping. She was getting better at keeping her thoughts from him, but that was another constant struggle. She had to be aware of what she was thinking every minute. Now, she was powerful enough to receive a stream of his thoughts wherever he was on the school grounds, and she had to work to keep him out as well.

She only found this out when she started receiving scientific formulas when she was trying to sleep. Lex had been staying up to work on his little project. She was taking time away from that, which she felt guilty about, but he told her not to worry about it. It was the first time she thought that she could really be with him forever. She should've been smarter than that. After all, good things never lasted.

"I knew you'd be here." She barely heard his voice over her portable music player, and she stopped running on the treadmill for half a second when she did. She knew this was coming, but she didn't expect it to be this soon. She had the grace not to look sheepish as she switched off the treadmill and pulled the ear buds from her ears. "You always think about the music you're listening to, and this is the only time you listen to music."

Why did Lex have to know everything? She stepped down from the exercise machine carefully. She had been working out for an hour now. Her legs felt like they were going to collapse beneath her, so she sat down on the bench where he had apparently been sitting for quite some time now. "How long have you been here?"

"Thirty minutes. Your thoughts were so serene." He sounded deceptively calm, even though she knew that he was probably angry at her for working out behind his back. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started rubbing the one closest to his hand. "I thought we talked about this," he said quietly. That quiet tone was far from good. He really was angry with her.

"We did, but I've had to work harder on my body lately." Honesty was the best policy. After all, she couldn't really hide her thoughts from him anymore. "I've been feeling bloated. This is the only thing that makes me feel better," she confessed, though it was said into his silk shirt. He was giving a good massage for only using one hand, and it wasn't his dominant one at that. He was the only left-handed person she knew.

"I don't care what you look like, Emma. Besides, you haven't been eating nearly as much as you should. How could you be getting fat?" The word repulsed her. She elbowed him roughly in the ribs, and he let out a grunt at her blow. "Bigger, I meant. Softer. Curvier." She nearly smacked him in the face that time, and she would have if he hadn't blocked with his arm. "What the hell do you want me to say?!"

"Nothing about being fat!" she protested. God, as smart as Lex was, he could be so dense sometimes. "I don't know. Just let me exercise, damnit. It's not like I'm doing myself any harm." His hand was moving on her back again, and she allowed him to continue his massage. It was definitely relaxing.

"No more than half an hour a day," he allowed. "And try keeping your music to yourself. Your play list blows." She couldn't help but smile and lean up to kiss the corner of his lips. He turned his head and deepened it. He was so sensual that it was addictive, and she didn't think she could give it up.

She jumped when she saw two figures in the darkness behind Lex. His wiry frame tensed, but two hands held him down by the shoulders. "Please. Don't get up on our account." She'd recognize that voice anywhere. It was Ollie's. She glared at Bruce, who simply stared back at her. She was infuriated already.

"Get out." Her tone was more than hostile. She was ready to castrate the both of them. Bruce, for bringing Ollie, and Ollie, for making Lex feel uncomfortable. She could feel the anger coming from him and mentally soothed him for the moment. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Calm down, Emma." It was Bruce's deep voice that echoed through the gym. No one else was there this late at night. "I brought Oliver here so that he and Lex could resolve their differences." While he spoke, Ollie looked down at the ground. She saw his messy hair and suppressed the urge to ruffle it. Lex was glaring at her from the corner of her eye. Whoops.

"So. Talk," Lex said tersely. He placed a hand possessively on her thigh when both of their guests rounded to the front of the bench. Ollie instinctively ran his nails over the stubble on his jaw in a nervous gesture.

"I'm sorry." It was muffled, but it was there. She only hoped that Lex wouldn't ask him to repeat it and ruin the entire thing. "You know, for making fun of you all these years. I was a real jerk for no good reason." His emerald eyes glanced at her to see how he was doing, and it made her heart ache. No matter how much she wanted to push him out of her life, she couldn't help but see what attracted her to him for the two years that they were together.

She could practically feel Lex seething. Please, Lex. Just apologize. He said nothing in response to her, but his grip on her thigh slightly tightened, though it wasn't nearly enough to hurt her. He was so cautious about that. After Aspen had come back to the room with all those bruises, Emma had been especially touchy. The first time that Lex had moved too fast in a verbal battle, she had flinched. He had broken down and made thousands of promises that he would never hurt her.

"Me too." Lex wasn't avoiding eye contact like Ollie was, and Oliver looked up in surprise. Lex's even gaze was making him uncomfortable. She could tell. "For going nuts on you. I was…really, really angry." She was a little shocked at him. Maybe he was finally getting better with his temper toward Oliver. Only time would tell. She put a hand over his in support.

Bruce was silent. She met his gaze with no small amount of curiosity. She was almost certain that he had something to do with Ollie apologizing. Was he worried about her? As if he sensed her questions, Bruce spoke again. "Good. I want to say something else, then." Instead of looking at her, he turned his gaze onto Lex. "If you break her heart, Luthor, if you lay one hand on her again, I'll fucking kill you."

Lex held his gaze, but she could sense the spike of fear that ran through them both. She could see Oliver putting together the pieces. "Again?" he voiced quietly.

Bruce turned and was directly in Ollie's face. "The same goes for you, Ollie." It was that same cold, deadly voice that made them all believe exactly what they were hearing. After that, he was gone. He always seemed to disappear into the shadows, like they were one and the same.

Oliver looked from Lex to Emma before turning and walking away. He didn't seem to be mad, rather strangely confused. She finally turned to Lex and tried to gauge his reaction. Jealousy was all she got from a surface scan. He wouldn't look at her for a few moments, letting her feel the sharp pang of guilt before she saw his eyes. If she thought he was raging before, she was wrong. This was rage, the ice cold steel color of his eyes instead of the loving baby blues.

"You still feel something for him, don't you?" His voice was eerily calm. "Tell me the truth. I can hear it in your thoughts. You wanted to touch his hair and to comfort him." She tried to move away from him, but he kept his hand on her thigh in a locked grip that was almost too tight. "Tell me."

"Yes," she whispered. His eyes were moist with tears, and the sight of them made hers the same way. The scar in the middle of his lips turned white when he pressed them together. "I went out with him for two years, Lex. That's two years of my life that I was with him romantically. So yes, I feel something for him. But I don't ever want to be his girl again." She let out a shaky laugh and felt a tear slide down her cheek. "You idiot, can't you see that if you had hair, I'd want to play with yours too? Don't you see that it doesn't matter that he has hair and you don't? You have me. He doesn't. I will never leave you for him. I love you, even if you are a jealous git."

She leaned forward and kissed him softly. Her hand ran along his smooth jaw, and her lips seemed to cling to his before he drew away. "I'm being stupid again, aren't I?" When she nodded, he only smiled. "Do you want to come back to my room so we don't get caught?" Make-up sex had become one of their new favorite activities. It was always slower and far more sensual and intense.

"Mm." She lightly bit at his lower lip and felt a small shudder run through his body. She loved making him lose control. She saw how he was so obsessive over his environment the first time she went through the things in his room. It took him two days to get everything back in order, and she didn't touch anything again. Instead, she asked him to get it for her if she really needed it. "Don't you think it'd be kinky?"

To prove her point, she cupped his hardening erection with her hand. He let out a soft moan, and his eyes glazed over in a soft blue. "Let me take care of you. No one's been here all night." Except Ollie and Bruce, she mentally added, but they were gone.

"Oh, god," he breathed when she moved to her knees on the floor. She hadn't done this for him yet. It was always straight to sex with them, mostly because they hadn't tried anything else. She would never tell him, but she was experienced in this from Ollie. He canted his hips forward, and she unzipped his pants.

She removed his cock from his boxers. He was already fully erect, and all the blood was rushing to the head. She softly licked the strained organ, and she could feel all of him tense up. She guided his hand to her hair, which he lightly stroked and tugged when she touched the base of his penis and took him into her mouth.

"Fuck." She had never heard him speak so many one syllable words in a row. She took his full length into his mouth and allowed her throat to open up. "Shit, Emma. That feels so good." His words were almost incoherent. She was determined to make him speechless. She bobbed her head up and down and ran her tongue down his dick.

She could tell that he wanted to thrust into her mouth, but he forced himself to stay calm and let her take control. She met his heavily-lidded eyes, and it didn't take him long to come afterwards. This time, he couldn't help it when his hips thrust forward, and she swallowed the bitter semen that spilled into her mouth. She managed to catch all of it and gently kissed the head before carefully tucking him back into his pants. He pulled her back up and into his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he kissed the spot on her neck that he knew she went crazy over.

"That was so fucking hot, Emma." His hand ran through her hair, which was a familiar sensation that she thoroughly enjoyed. "How'd you know how to do that so well?"

"Don't ask questions that you don't want to know the answer to." She made sure to put a serious look on her face when she drew back to look into his eyes.

"I want to know. Honestly. I promise I won't get jealous. I'm over it." Now he was at her ear. His teeth bit the lobe, and he started licking the shell of her ear.

"Ollie. We didn't have sex for a long time. I guess we're kind of going backwards." She had to laugh a little to relieve the tension she was feeling, but Lex was staying completely calm. She had a feeling that it had something to do with him being in a post-orgasmic haze.

"Yeah. I guess so." His hands slipped down to rub her back and shoulders, as if he could sense she was tense. "What was that thing with Bruce all about? He knows I love you." Bruce and Lex hadn't had many face-to-face conversations, but she saw both of them enough so that she talked about one to the other.

"I know. He's just protective over me. Like you and Ollie are. Only I've never dated Bruce." She flashed him a smile. "I guess moody and brooding was never my type." They both laughed. It was so good to hear Lex laugh. He'd probably laughed more in the past month than in his life. The same was probably true for her.

"I have a feeling that my father is going to visit any day now and tell me," Lex cleared his throat and did an uppity impression of his father, "'You must stop dating that Frost girl, son. She's not rich enough for you.'"

She softly punched his arm, and he acted hurt and rubbed his arm as if he were offended. "My dad is almost as rich as your dad. But Lionel would probably find some fault in my record." She could easily think of one. "I fell in love with one of my teachers in high school."

He looked at her with mild surprise. "Really? What'd he teach?"

"Math." She mirrored his curiosity.

"Is that why you're so bad at it?" He grinned.

She pursed her lips. "No."

He clicked his tongue. "You're so sensitive. Go on." When she didn't continue, he rolled his eyes. "Please."

"I kissed him. I kind of assumed something was there when it wasn't, and he rejected me. When I got all the questions right on a test using my telepathy, he had me checked out for cheating. He made me take the same test again with no one around. I failed. I didn't get one answer right." She swallowed hard and buried her face in his neck. "He drove me home. His car broke down, and I kissed him again. My father got a picture of it and had him sacked. He never wanted to see me again."

"We have some fucked-up fathers. He set you up." Lex breathed out a sigh. "How did you go from wanting to date someone so mature to dating Oliver Queen?" It was a legitimate question.

"I wanted someone to have fun with. Now I want someone to fall in love with." She softly kissed his neck, and he continued to rub her back and comfort her through touch. "I've got to go get changed, and then we can go back to your room. I think we deserve a little break in curfew tonight." Both of them smiled and kissed, and he patted her butt playfully.

"Hurry up. Don't take a shower, either. I like when you're all sweaty." She swatted him. "Glistening!"

She went into the girls' locker room with a smile on her face. She heard the door shut behind her when she flipped on the lights. She breathed out a long sigh as she made her way over to her clothes. There was the sound of a whoosh of air before she felt something slam into the back of her knees. She yelped and went down. Her body crumbled beneath her; her knees could no longer support her. Her body went backwards as she fell onto the lower half of her legs and smacked the back of her head on a bench.

There was a dizzying moment of confusion and blinding pain before she heard Lex's voice. "Emma?" She heard the door being cautiously pushed open.

"Don't--" she tried to warn before a gloved hand covered her mouth. She watched in horror as a guy dressed all in black with a mask on to cover all of his face stood behind a row of lockers with a bat ready in his arms. It was aluminum and heavy. Her head and knees were throbbing, but none of that mattered when she saw Lex lay eyes on her. She screamed when the bat swung into his face with a loud thwack. Lex's legs gave out beneath him, and he dropped to the floor like a rag doll. She'd seen blood trickle from his nose, so it was probably broken. His cheek bones were probably shattered.

She couldn't even think. Shock overcame her, and her telepathy was nowhere in the vicinity of her blank mind. Instinct took over, and she started struggling. The guy with his hand over her mouth was directly behind her, and she managed to elbow him in the ribs three times fast before he pushed her to the floor. The blow took her breath away. He was strong. His hand was squarely planted in the middle of her back to hold her down, and the other hand jerked her arm back hard. She heard something break. She couldn't feel any of it anymore. She saw spots dancing in front of her open eyes.

She remembered to scream when she caught her breath. She heard a gruff "shut up" before the guy with the bat pressed it against her cheek. It was cold, and she stopped immediately. Her body was trembling.

"Do you want me to break her jaw?" The one with the bat had a higher-pitched voice, and the bat traced against her cheek.

"No. I have plans for that mouth." The one on top of her let go of her arm. She couldn't move it anyways. He ran his finger over her lips. "She isn't going to scream anymore. Are you?" She opened her mouth to let out a dry sob, and he took advantage of it to slide his gloved finger inside. All of her being told her to bite the fucker's finger right off, but the man with the bat was watching her closely. "Besides," the man with the rough voice purred into her ear, "she wouldn't want us to kill the little Luthor freak, would she?"

She was quiet. Her mouth stayed slack, as much as the taste of leather repulsed her right now. She wanted to vomit all over the floor. She didn't want Lex to get hurt any more because of her. She felt sick inside. Her telepathy wouldn't work. Nothing was working right. She couldn't even feel Lex's mind, which had been the easiest thing in the world to do a minute ago. Finally, she shook her head in defeat. Submission. She hated it.

"Will Luthor stay unconscious?" The guy with the bat seemed to be a nervous little shit. Emma glared up at him and tried to remember his eyes. Her mind wasn't working the way it should be.

"You hit him hard. He'll stay down." This one was more confident, more certain of what he was doing. She twitched involuntarily when she heard the click of a switchblade. "Stay still." He was still speaking into her ear. She mustered all of her strength to stay still and unmoving, even though she was shaking like a leaf. She was feeling equal parts of fear and anger right now. There was the sound of fabric ripping, and her breasts were exposed to open air. The sports bra she was wearing was thrown aside. "Come on." He was talking to the partner now. "Get down here."

A pang of anxiety ran through her. What were they planning on? Most of it was clear when the guy behind her jerked down her sweatpants and thong. He took off her socks and shoes to remove them completely. He had calloused hands. Despite her bump on the head, she had a feeling that she would remember that touch. The other guy had dropped the bat and rolled it toward the one behind her. Even if her working arm wasn't trapped beneath her, she wouldn't be able to reach it.

"Get on top of him." She couldn't move. The man behind her shoved her forward, and the one that was now beneath her took his dick out of his pants. He was already hard. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see any of it. She didn't want to feel any of it either, but that wasn't an option. She was speared from both sides, one by the guy's penis and the other by slick fingers. Oh, God. They weren't doing this to her. The one beneath her squeezed her breasts roughly and rocked up into her.

"You're so tense, baby. Loosen up," the one beneath her told her, and she felt like punching him in the face. However, her arm stayed on one side of him in order to hold herself up. Every muscle in her body was tensed except for the ones she couldn't feel. Like her feet. The one behind her replaced his fingers with his cock, and she had him moving into her, which in turn forced her further onto his partner's dick.

She lost most of what happened next. She was stuck somewhere between consciousness and the impending concussion. She felt the guy behind her biting her shoulder hard enough to draw blood, and the one under her sucked her nipples while they moved back and forth. Suddenly, her head was jerked back by her hair, and that was the only thing holding her up. Her arm flailed and her hand tried to pry his from her ponytail, but he had a bulldog's grip. "Suffer," he whispered again. "Suffer, you fucking whore."

Both men let go into her. She was so close to crying, but she wouldn't allow herself to in front of them. She heard Lex groan. The two men pushed her to the side and hurriedly fixed themselves. "Where's the bat?" the nervous-looking one asked.

He was the one nearest to her, and she swung with all her crippled fucking might. It was only the one arm, but by the sound of it, she had made quite an impact on his ankle.

"Fuck! You fucking bitch!" he howled, and the other one grabbed the bat from her. The whole world went black, and her jaw was killing her. She could still hear them moving, though their voices were fading fast.

"Let's get the fuck out of here." They took the other way out, because Lex's body was blocking the door to the gym.

She waited until they were out of earshot to finally let out a cry of pain. She heard Lex moan in response. Instead of answering, she curled in on herself and tried hard to disappear. Of course, it didn't happen. Not literally, at least.

Her boyfriend, the sweet, caring guy that she'd made out with about fifty times by now, crawled over to her. His cheeks were swollen, and he looked incredibly fucked-up, but she could see those eyes looking at her with the utmost of concern. She couldn't help it. She started crying.

"Shhh...we need to get help." It sounded a little like a mumble, because he couldn't move his face much, but she heard it.

She couldn't move her mouth. Above her, Lex's image was spinning. Her jaw ached with so much pain, her head was about to give way to the worst migraine ever, and she still couldn't move her knees any. The good news was that she could just barely wiggle her toes. At least she wasn't paralyzed. Just ready to die from all the pain and humiliation.

She must've been in and out, because one second, Lex was getting up and going to get help, and the next, she was being lifted onto a stretcher. She fuzzily heard Lex tell the paramedics that he wanted to stay with her, and she didn't hear the response. The room was spinning again, and she could physically feel them moving. An ambulance? Something was beeping, and someone was telling her to stay awake, and then she felt the biggest jolt in her life. Her head rolled back, and her eyes glazed over.

She didn't know if she could survive this.

Go ahead and take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
I'm laid out on the floor, but I've been here before,
I may stumble, yeah I might fall,
Only human aren't we all?
I might lose my way, but hear me when I say,

I will stand back up,
You'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid, and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

I've been beaten up and bruised,
I've been kicked right off my shoes,
Been down on my knees more times than you'd believe,
When the darkness tries to get me,
There's a light that just won't let me,
It might take my pride, and my tears may fill my eyes,
But I'll stand back up,

I've weathered all these storms,
But I just turn them into wind, so I can fly,
What don't kill you makes you stronger,
When I take my last breath,
That's when I'll just give up,

So, go ahead and take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
You might win this round but you can't keep me down,

'Cause I'll stand back up,
And you'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

You'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up.

Stand Back Up by Sugarland