Chapter 10
Jean quickly explained to Ororo what she discovered. Her friend agreed to stay behind at the hospital to look after Nate while Scott and Jean confronted Ms. Snow. On their way out of the hospital, Jean telepathically let Professor Xavier know what they just discovered. She asked him not to let Ms. Snow out of his sight and to find out what her motives were. Jean just could not believe that she would go through all that elaborate manipulation for the sake of mischief.
Jean looked over at her husband who was behind the wheel driving Ororo's car. In hindsight, she probably should have driven. Scott was breaking every traffic regulation to get to the mansion. It was nothing short of a miracle they hadn't gotten pulled over. His rage was so intense, Jean had to telepathically ease his anger for fear they'd get into a vehicle accident. They finally got to the mansion and Scott didn't even bother to park the vehicle properly. He just stopped right in front of the mansion and got right out of the car, not even waiting for Jean.
They went straight to Professor Xavier's study where he'd told them they were holding Ms. Snow. Jean had a hard time keeping pace with her husband's sweeping strides. Even the students jumped out of his way when they saw him barrelling through the hall. Scott threw open the double doors of the professor's office causing them to smash against the walls.
For a moment, Scott and Jean had no idea what they were looking at. On a chair, in the middle of the room was a woman in diamond form. She was surrounded by Professor Xavier, Raven, Logan, Hank, Kurt and Peter. But their surprise only lasted a moment. Scott realized who the woman in the diamond form was and went right after her, his eyes glowing bright red. Logan and Hank had to be quick. They blocked Scott, each taking an arm and holding him back.
Scott was livid. "You almost got my son killed! He's in a hospital right now, badly hurt because of you!" Jean made no move to stop her husband.
"Scott, son… This was my fault," Professor Xavier said, breaking through Scott's haze of fury.
"Mine too," Raven added.
"What are you guys talking about?" Jean asked.
Professor Xavier sighed deeply, then said, "When you told me what you discovered at the hospital, I went to confront the woman we all knew as Ms. Snow. Obviously realizing we were on to her, she quickly morphed into her diamond form. This form of hers prevents her mind from being read."
"We were able to subdue her, but we can't force her to go back to her flesh form," Raven explained. "And we realized who she was the moment she used her diamond form. This woman's name is not Anna Snow. It's Emma Frost."
"I first met her back in 62'," Professor Xavier said. "At the time, she was working for a mutant called Sebastian Shaw who was trying to start World War III. After we defeated him, Magneto recruited her along with Raven to join him in his quest. The last I heard, she had been killed when Bolivar Trask began capturing mutants and experimenting on them."
"1962?! She looks younger than we are," Jean said. "Does her mutant powers cause her to age slower, like Logan?"
"Not as far as I know… That's why I didn't recognize her. Aside from the fact that I assumed her dead, she is in fact around my age," the professor answered.
Raven put her hand on Jean's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jean. I thought there was something familiar about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. We have no idea how she survived… I saw her captured by Trask's men myself. I barely got away. And we don't know how she's defied the ravages of time… By the way, she was blonde when I knew her," Raven said, wryly.
"It's not your fault, Raven… Nor is it yours, Professor," Jean said, approaching Emma Frost.
"Who are you, and why are you here?" Jean asked the woman before her, her steely calmness belying the fury that was just on the surface.
Emma smirked at Jean, obviously taunting her. "Just trying to get into your husband's pants… You know how it is."
Jean ignored the barb. "I'll ask again, who are you, and why were you trying to manipulate my son? I saw the illusions you planted in his mind. Why did you do it?"
Emma scoffed at Jean. "Really? It took you that long to figure out what was going on? And to think, they call you the second most powerful telepath on Earth… Quite frankly, I'm not impressed," Emma said. She then turned to Scott whose eyes were still glowing red behind his glasses. "Scott, darling, you can do so much better."
Before Scott could answer, everyone in the room gasped in shock as the metal copper rod that held up the curtains in the office was ripped from the wall, and with invisible hands coiled around Emma Frost's diamond neck. Jean calmly said, "I'll ask you again, who are you, and why are you here?"
Emma Frost gave Jean a look of pure loathing, refusing to speak. Jean returned her look with one of pure resolve. The metal coiled tighter around Emma's neck. She tried clutching at the metal, but Jean telekinetically pinned her hands down on the arms of her chair.
"Umm… Jean, you uhh… You might kill her," Peter said, tentatively.
"Jean, that's enough," Professor Xavier said. But Jean ignored them both. The woman before her was obviously a threat to her family. She would get her answers, by God!
Emma was choking and gasping, but Jean didn't let up. "Red, you gotta stop! Yer gonna kill her!" Logan yelled.
Her husband didn't say anything. He knew through their psychic rapport that her intention was to destroy Emma's diamond form, not kill her. But neither of them cared enough to let Emma or anyone else in the room know.
Just when it looked like Jean was going to finish her off, the pressure from the coil cracked Emma's diamond neck, and after a few more futile moments of her hanging on, she was forced to revert back to her flesh form. Jean could hear everyone's sigh of relief around her. The woman before her coughed and gasped before she got her bearings back.
"Remind me never to piss you off, Red," Logan mumbled.
Jean telekinetically allowed the metal rod to fall on the floor with a clang. Intimidatingly, she walked towards Emma. She put her index and middle finger at the woman's temple and began probing.
Emma tried valiantly to resist Jean's intrusion. She found just enough time to hide important details from Jean behind another level of mental barriers. She probably knew her powers didn't stand a chance against the more powerful telepath, but it would at least buy her a few more hours.
Jean continued to probe the woman's mind. She saw various memories that were of no interest to her. She was searching for the motives behind Emma's actions. Then she found it. The image scared the hell out of Jean. It was the face of the man who had haunted her dreams as a mother for the last twelve years. Mr. Sinister!
"No!" Scott and Jean screamed at the same time, Scott being privy to what his wife saw in real time through their link.
"What is it?" Kurt asked.
"What did you see, Jean?" Peter asked.
"She's working with Mr. Sinister!" Jean said, gasping from the shock. "My God… Where is Rachel?! Where is my daughter?!"
"I haven't seen her," Hank said.
"I can't reach her telepathically, Jean," Professor Xavier said.
"I saw her with Franklin Richards this morning," Kurt added.
"Professor, can you-" Scott started.
"Already on it, Scott. Franklin is at the back of the school where the basketball courts are. I've already summoned him," the professor said.
Jean closed her eyes and concentrated hard. **Rachel? Rachel, please answer me. Rachel!** But there was no answer. Jean couldn't even sense her daughter. "She's not answering, Scott!"
Scott pushed past Logan and Hank and lifted Emma Frost by the collar. "What have you done with my daughter?!"
"I haven't done anything," Emma answered, the smirk on her face suggested otherwise.
"Mein freund, it's possible Rachel's just out with friends right now. It's possible she could be perfectly fine," Kurt said, putting a hand on Scott's shoulder.
"My gut tells me there's something wrong, Kurt," Scott said, angrily. Scott turned to Emma and asked, "Have you been messing with Rachel's head too? Is that why she's been acting differently?"
Emma just smiled back at Scott. Scott was about to say something when Jean took his hand in hers. "I'll get it out of her, Scott… Don't worry."
"Rachel could be in danger right now! We don't know! We don't have time to chip away at her mental defenses!" Scott argued.
Before Jean could respond, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Professor Xavier said. The door opened to reveal Franklin Richards.
Scott wasted no time. "Franklin, do you know where Rachel is? We heard she was last seen with you this morning."
"Rachel?" Franklin asked.
"Franklin, please, she could be in grave danger. I've been trying to reach her telepathically but she's not answering, nor can I sense her anywhere near by," Jean added. Franklin could not have missed the desperation lacing her voice.
"Dr. Grey, I'm afraid I don't know where she is. She told me she needed to run some errands after breakfast and then we went our separate ways," Franklin answered, sneaking a look at Ms. Snow surrounded by everyone, sitting in the middle of the room.
Scott took Franklin by the shoulders. "Franklin, think hard. Ms. Snow is not who we thought she was. Her real name is Emma Frost and she's working for a very twisted and evil man named Mr. Sinister. That man's sole purpose is to get his hands on my children. Did Rachel mention anything at all about these errands?"
"Wait… Rachel had been debating about seeing a man who she believed would help her with her powers. When I asked her who it was she said she didn't know much about him other than his name and address. The man's name was Mr. Essex and it was Ms. Snow who gave her this information," Franklin answered.
"My God! I have no doubt that Mr. Essex is Sinister!" Peter exclaimed.
"What else did she tell you, Franklin?" Jean asked.
"Not much more… She asked me if I wanted to come along. I thought it was a bad idea and told her so. I told her we knew nothing of the man and that it could be dangerous. I made her promise not to go alone. Now that I think back on our conversation, she didn't really say anything to that," Franklin answered.
"Damn it! Knowing Rachel and how headstrong she can be, she probably went there," Scott said. Jean could feel her husband's heart pounding through their link. It mirrored her own.
Jean turned to Emma and demanded, "Where is Sinister hiding?"
"You want that information? Come and get it," Emma said, tauntingly.
"I will rip it out of your head if I have to," Jean said, menacingly. "I don't care if you end up a drooling, vacant-eyed, vegetable that can't even tie their shoelaces. Where is Sinister? We can do this the hard way, or the easy way… It's up to you."
Emma looked up at Jean in a show of bravado, but no one could mistake the fear just behind her eyes. After a moment or two of Emma debating internally whether or not to cave, it seemed her pride won out. "I'll let you put your money where your mouth is, Dr. Grey."
Jean gave Emma Frost a look of pure derision, then turned to her husband. "Scott… Please take Franklin and find all of Rachel's friends… Ilyana, Marie, Clarice… all of them. There's a small chance she may not have gone to see Sinister. I want to cover all our bases. Let them know the situation and to keep an eye out. If you have no luck finding Rachel with their help, meet me back here."
"Alright, I won't be long, Jean," Scott said, squeezing her hand. But before Scott made a move to walk out, he turned to Emma and calmly said, "If something happens to my daughter, I swear, I will kill you… Mercilessly and painfully." Scott then walked right out of the office with Franklin right on his heels.
Jean then turned to her friends. "Professor, could you please use Cerebro and try to search for Mr. Sinister's whereabouts. See if you can sense Rachel as well. I doubt you'll be able to, as I can't sense her at all, but we have to at least try."
"Of course, Jean," Professor Xavier answered.
"Hank, Kurt, Logan… Could you please go to the hospital and help Ororo guard Nathan. If Sinister already has Rachel, he most likely won't bother going after Nate… But I don't want to risk anything," Jean said.
"You can count on us, Jeannie!" Logan said.
"Raven, Peter… Stay with me, please. It could take me a few hours to break through Emma's psychic defenses… It would also leave me exhausted and she might try to pull a fast one on us. Help me keep an eye on her," Jean said.
"We got your back, Jean," Peter said.
"And as for you…" Jean said, turning her attention back on Emma Frost, "You'll regret your choice by the time I'm done with you."
Meanwhile
Undisclosed Location
Rachel's head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Her vision was a little blurry, and it took her a moment to see clearly again. She tried moving but realized she was strapped to a metal gurney. What the hell?!
"Ahh, Miss Summers, glad to see you're awake," the voice to her left said. It took all her effort to move her head towards the voice. Then she saw him. That face! If she lived to be a hundred she'd never forget that face. Red eyes with no pupils, face as white as snow, and unbelievably tall… Mr. Sinister.
Her memories suddenly flooded back to her. She visited the address Ms. Snow gave her. The address led her to a small, unassuming, dilapidated old house. An old, harmless looking man opened the door. He claimed to be Mr. Essex and said he was expecting her. He offered her tea and… Well, that was all she could remember. He obviously drugged her. She felt like the biggest fool!
"Where am I?" Rachel asked, her mouth feeling like it was stuffed with dry cotton.
"Does it really matter? By the time your talented mother wrestles that information out of 'Ms. Snow's' mind, we'll be long gone," Mr. Sinister answered.
"We thought you were dead… My dad killed you…" Rachel stuttered.
"So he wishes," Mr. Sinister said wryly.
"What are you going to do to me?" Rachel asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice.
"Exactly what you came here asking for… I will give you full access to your vast array of powers," Sinister said, laughing.
Rachel's blood ran cold. She knew it was a cost she did not want to pay. Mr. Sinister opened the refrigerator behind him and pulled out a jar. Inside the jar was a disgusting looking parasite. It reminded her of a mini version of that alien creature she saw in that 80's film Aliens. She almost gagged.
Mr. Sinister placed the jar right before Rachel's face to give her a clearer view of the creature inside it. "You see, Miss Summers, this creature here has no name as it's not found in nature. I genetically engineered it for one purpose…"
"What's that?"
"To give me slaves. You see, this parasite will lodge itself to the base of the victim's brain which will prevent him or her from carrying out any of their own decisions. They will respond only to my commands. And you know the best part?" Rachel shook her head. "You'll be conscious the entire time. You'll know exactly what you're doing. But you'll not be able to do anything about it. Brilliant, huh?"
"You're a monster!" Rachel screamed, thrashing from side to side as Sinister pulled the vile parasite with tongs out of the jar.
"You see, it would take several years for me to clone you and raise that clone to adulthood. This way is so much more efficient for such a time sensitive matter," Sinister said, as he forced Rachel's head to the side. In her horror, Rachel realized that he was going to put that parasite in her ear! She realized he meant to have the parasite reach her brain through her ear canal.
"No! You can't do this! No!" Rachel screamed and sobbed at the same time.
"Hold still, my dear… This won't hurt a bit."
To be continued…
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why it's never a good idea to defy your parents LOL just kidding… sort of… Oh, and if that scene with Jean squeezing the life out of Emma seems familiar, it's because I totally ripped that off from First Class. It's one of my all time favorite scenes from the X-Men films. I'll just ask you to forgive me for that one. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.