"Come on, Rogue!" shouted Jubilee from the other side of the door, banging on it for effect, "The newbies are here!"
"Gnnnngh…" groaned Rogue, burying her face in her pillow.
Rogue had completely forgotten about the new arrivals today. Just for once, she wanted to sleep in. Now not only did she have to get up, but she had to look presentable enough to meet the new students. Ororo would certainly have some sort of speech planned, so Rogue couldn't get away with showing up in sweats.
She rolled out of her bed, taking off her oversize T-shirt and tossing it into the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. She pulled a pair of worn jeans from her dresser and pulled them on over the underwear she had slept in. She would shower and change after this. Finally, she found a green flannel she liked and threw that on over a black T-shirt.
Rogue checked herself in the mirror. Her hair was an absolute mess. She grabbed the brush off of her bedside table and tried to tame the mess. After about a minute of failed attempts, she gave up and tossed the brush aside. She hid it all under a bandana instead.
Most of the other students had already gathered in the foyer by the time Rogue joined them. All of them of course looked much more put together than she did. Especially Jean Grey, who was already chatting up the new arrivals.
The arrivals themselves were hard to miss. One was a blonde with short hair, silver hoop earrings, black lipstick, a maroon crop top, high waisted black jeans with a black studded belt, and combat boots. She looked ready to start a fight at any moment and have a good time doing it. Despite all that, she was the most subtle of the three.
Beside her was a skinny woman with bright pink hair and pointed ears. She wore a denim jacket over a beige dress with matching beige boots. Freckles lined her face and her eyes were unusual. They were completely black, almost like an insect's.
The one standing in front of those two commanded the most attention. She had long, bright blonde hair and wore all white. White heels, skinny jeans, a tucked in white button down, and even a white blazer on top of it all. The clothes were all spotless, as if they had just been purchased that day. She boasted a confident smile, standing with one hand on her hip as she looked at the other students around her.
"Rogue," said Ororo, who was standing near the new students, "Good of you to join us."
"Punctual as always," smiled Jean playfully.
Rogue scowled in response. Things were still tense with Jean. Not only had she thoroughly humiliated Rogue in front of all her peers, but had recently had an anger outburst directed at just about everyone in the mansion. Jean seemed to assume a casual rapport with Rogue now, which Rogue refused to reciprocate.
"Now," said Ororo, "Allow us to begin. Ms. Smith, would you like to begin?"
"Sure thing," said the woman in the high waisted jeans and combat boots, "The name's Tabitha Smith. You can call me Tabby. You can also call me by my old college nickname..."
Tabby snapped, creating a spark that formed a small glowing sphere. She held the sphere between her fingers.
"Boom-Boom," she finished, tossing the orb in the air.
The orb let out a loud pop! as it burst into sparks in the air. Kurt and Jubilee chuckled in amusement.
"My name's Megan Gwynn," said the pink-haired one, "In case you're wondering: no, creepy eyes aren't my only mutant trait."
Megan shifted her denim jacket down off her shoulders, exposing her upper back. Two large insectoid wings opened up from her back, glowing a magnificent gradient of colors and releasing a burst of pink light as they opened. Then they began to rapidly flutter, slowly bringing Megan off the ground. Kurt and Jubilee again voiced their amazement.
"Our final new student comes to us from a very good friend of the institution," explained Ororo, "Allow me to introduce you to Emma Frost, of the Hellfire Club."
There was some murmuring amongst the students at the mention of the Hellfire Club. Rogue was tangentially familiar with it. It was some sort of elite club of billionaires that pooled their wealth for various purposes. Warren Worthington III, one of the primary funders of the X-Men and X-Student programs, was a member of the club himself. He had even used his influence to leverage donations from its other members.
"Thank you, Ms. Munroe," nodded Emma calmly, "I'm overjoyed to have this opportunity. I look forward to working with each of you."
Rogue suppressed an eye roll. She didn't trust this woman. She struck Rogue as filled with false sincerity and confidence. Rogue may also have distrusted her on account of her wealthy background. Rogue knew that the Hellfire Club donated to the X-Men program, but she was still weary of the organization. She was certainly weary of one of their heiresses enrolling in their program.
"Tomorrow will be your first joint training session as a team," explained Ororo, "I recommend getting to know each other before then to optimize your teamwork. See you then."
Ororo walked out of the foyer in the direction of her office. On her way out she passed Rogue, wrinkling her nose at the disheveled look Rogue had settled on. Rogue indignantly blew a stray strand of hair out of her face in response.
Rogue looked back to the new students. Kurt and Jubilee were already fawning over them, particularly Jubilee. Rogue considered sticking around to get to know them, but then realized she didn't care. So she returned to her room and went back to bed.
Rogue winced as another blast went off against the divider.
"Nothing personal, cherie," said Remy from the other side, "but I play to win."
Rogue heard several more blasts against the divider. Then the whole barrier vibrated for a moment before lowering into the ground.
"Damnit!" cursed Rogue, ducking and rolling away as Remy flicked several more cards at her.
Rogue barely made it behind a large pillar without getting hit. The Danger Room was unpredictable. Rogue was certain she'd have that cover for as long as she needed. The ever-changing environment was meant to keep the students on their toes. In that sense, it was working.
"You're free to surrender, you know," teased Remy, preparing another card, "All I need is your flag."
Remy flicked the card at the pillar, though it harmlessly exploded against the metal. He went to prepare several more cards as he slowly rounded the pillar, planning to overwhelm Rogue with all of them at once. Remy leapt around the corner, cards at the ready, only to be hit point blank with a large and colorful burst of lights, knocking him onto his back.
Rogue squatted beside the groaning Remy, gently took off one of her gloves and touched it to his face until he was unconscious.
"I'm the one who should be sorry, hon," she smiled, "You couldn't have known Jubilee lent me her powers for just such an occasion."
The X-Students were partaking in a game of capture the flag. There were two teams: the Red Team with Scott, Jean, Roxanne, Remy, and Kurt and the Blue Team with Rogue, Jubilee, Emma, Megan, and Tabby. Each team had hidden their flag in the ever-changing labyrinth of the Danger Room and were tasked with both defending their own flag and acquiring their opponents'.
"Rogue, back to the tower!" rang Emma's voice in Rogue's mind, "Scott has engaged Jubilee!"
"Aaah," grunted Rogue, still getting used to telepathic communication.
Emma's mutation granted her telepathic abilities comparable to Jean. She had been using it to communicate with the rest of the Blue Team throughout the exercise. Rogue assumed Jean was doing the same with the Red Team. A lot of good that did Remy.
On my way, thought Rogue, hoping Emma would hear it.
Rogue ran back to the large tower at the center of the Danger Room. The room itself was almost three stories tall and the tower was the full height of it. Rogue made her way to the interior and the spiraling staircase. Though the interior did change from minute to minute, the tower itself had remained for the whole exercise so far. Blue Team had made something of a base out of the structure.
Rogue made it to the roof of the tower just as Jubilee was blasted into a wall by one of Scott's optic blasts. Jubilee groaned in pain, but reached for Rogue. Rogue knew what to do. She removed her glove and touched her finger to Jubilee's, taking the last of her powers as Jubilee drifted from consciousness. Rogue turned to face Scott, who readied his visor to release another optic blast.
Hm… thought Rogue, I wonder if I can combine Remy's powers with Jubilee's…
"Worth a shot," came Emma's voice.
Rogue formed a large condensed ball of glowing, colorful energy in her hands. She ran at Scott, cradling the ball of energy as she sidestepped his optic blasts. Once Rogue was close enough to be confident in her accuracy, she kinetically energized the orb before hurling it at Scott. The explosion of color that followed was spectacular, leaving a defeated Scott its wake as the smoke cleared.
"Guess so," smiled Rogue.
"Good job, Rogue!" came Emma's voice again, "Can you see the pyramid from where you are?"
"The pyramid?" wondered Rogue out loud, looking around, "Oh!"
A large, two story pyramid had formed on the other side of the room. Rogue wondered how long it had been there. That's when Rogue realized why Emma had asked. At the tip of the pyramid was the Red Team's flag, clear as day. The Danger Room must have moved it there during one of its structural changes.
"I knew it!" came Emma's voice, "We've got this, Rogue. Thanks!"
"Hey," said Tabitha, walking up behind Rogue, "Come over here. You're going to want to see this."
Tabitha led Rogue to the edge of the roof overlooking the pyramid, where the two leaned against the railing and watched the red flag. Kurt and Roxanne suddenly appeared at the side of the flag in a puff of purple smoke.
"Looks like Jean sent reinforcements," said Rogue.
Then Megan soared past them, carrying Emma with her by the arms. Kurt and Roxanne readied themselves for combat. Megan swooped down over the pyramid as Emma let go and plummeted toward the flag.
"Is she crazy!?" cried Rogue, "She'll break her legs doing that!"
"Just watch," smiled Tabitha.
Emma's skin suddenly became a brilliant, shimmering whitish silver as she crashed into the pyramid, smashing apart the foundation and causing both Roxanne and Kurt to slide off. Roxanne managed to grab onto a ledge to save herself, but Kurt hit the ground hard and was out like a light. Emma rose to her feet, skin seemingly coated in shining diamond.
"Telepathy isn't her only power," explained Tabitha smugly.
Roxanne transformed into her own crystalline form and ran at Emma, quickly engaging her. The two locked arms and pushed at one another, each struggling to overpower the other. As this happened, Megan swooped back down again, this time grabbing the flag and flying back up with it.
"No!" cried Roxanne, trying to disengage from Emma.
"Yes!" cheered Rogue, knowing they were only seconds away from victory.
"NO!" commanded Jean, rising from behind the pyramid.
The redheaded mutant extended her arm toward Megan, freezing the insectoid mutant in the air. Jean then closed her fist and pulled inward, telekinetically carrying Megan and the flag toward her. Megan struggled to break free of the psychic hold, but couldn't.
"Sorry, Ms. Perfect," said Rogue, preparing another combination of Remy and Jubilee's powers, "But this time, I win!"
Rogue hurled the ball of glowing kinetic energy right at Jean. Jean realized what was happening a moment before it did, releasing Megan and putting all of her power into containing the orb. It exploded a moment later, temporarily blinding Jean and nearly knocking her out of the sky.
That moment was all Megan needed. She zipped to the top of the tower and quickly made it inside. Rogue and Tabitha cheered, following her in. Megan planted the red flag next to their own blue one as a loud chime sounded across the entire Danger Room, signalling the exercise's conclusion. Slowly the structures all began to sink into the ground, leaving the room completely barren with all students in clear sight of each other.
"Well done, Blue Team," said Ororo over the intercom, "Everyone report to the lecture hall for a breakdown of the exercise."
"Kurt," grunted Scott as he weakly got to his knees, "What was that!?"
"Sorry," moaned Kurt, rubbing the back of his head, "Sometimes I think I have a glass skull."
"And Roxy," added Scott, "You were supposed to already be defending the flag!"
Roxanne shrugged, embarrassed.
Jean lowered herself to the ground, clearly withholding her frustration. Rogue helped Remy to his feet. Emma, Tabitha, and Megan walked over to Kurt and Roxanne, who both still looked uncomfortable.
"Don't listen to them," said Emma, "You both gave us a run for our money. I didn't expect to face such a powerful opponent so suddenly. It was quite the move you two pulled off."
"Thanks," blushed Kurt.
"Oooooow," moaned Jubilee, rubbing her shoulder, "I'm going to be sore for days."
"Count yourself lucky," said Remy, brushing soot off of himself, "at least you got away without any burns."
"Come on," beckoned Rogue to the remaining students, "Let's go to that breakdown. I can't wait to see Scott and Jean squirm as we discuss their shortcomings."
"You're funny," smiled Emma as Rogue walked past her.
"...thanks," said Rogue cautiously.
She still didn't trust Emma, but now she was at least less suspicious of her. She had proven herself to be an excellent communicator during that exercise and her sympathy towards Kurt and Roxanne sure earned her some points. Rogue was also inclined to like anyone who helped take Jean down a peg, so Emma was starting to look pretty good to her.
Scott let out a long sigh. He watched the clouds roll by through the red lenses of his glasses as he lay on the wicker couch on the X-Mansion's back porch. It wasn't often that Scott relaxed, or even stopped working at all, but personal failures had a way of shaking his confidence.
Scott did understand that the day's earlier loss in the Danger Room was a failure on his part. He was still irritated with Kurt and Roxy for their shortcomings, but if he wanted to be seen as a leader, he had to recognize that he shouldered the team's responsibility.
Not that anyone really thought of him as a leader. No matter how hard he worked, it seemed like he only further alienated himself from the other students. Except for Jean of course. Jean was quite the leader herself. Scott wondered if she was beating herself up over the loss as much as he was.
"You asleep?" smiled Emma, walking up beside the couch.
"No," said Scott, "Just… Resting."
"It can be hard to tell with those glasses of yours," said Emma.
"Yeah well," said Scott, sitting up on the couch, "I don't have a lot of choice in regards to wearing them."
"Your powers, right?" asked Emma, sitting next to Scott.
"Yeah," said Scott, "I'm basically always firing these optic blasts. These glasses are the only thing between you and... Well…"
Scott made an explosion sound effect while miming it with his hands.
"That's a lot of responsibility," said Emma, "I don't envy you."
"Ha," chuckled Scott, "Responsibility? I'd happily take some more of that."
"Really?"
"Sorry," said Scott, "I'm getting into some personal stuff. I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright," smiled Emma, "Whatever you're comfortable sharing."
Scott paused. Why was he so comfortable sharing with this woman? He had only met her yesterday. Something about her made him feel at ease, like his insecurities didn't matter. It reminded him a lot of a therapeutic technique that Jean sometimes did for him when he was stressed.
"Wait a minute," said Scott, "Are you using your telepathy on me?"
"No," said Emma with a small laugh, "In this case it's actually empathy, Scott."
"It's just that I've been working so hard to prove myself as a leader," said Scott, "and then a blunder like this happens and…"
"Hey, hey," assured Emma, "Are those shades making it hard for you to see? Because that didn't look anything like a blunder to me."
"We could have done better," said Scott, "We could have won. You should've heard Jean's plan. It was perfect. If only we'd been good enough to-"
"Is that what this is about?" asked Emma, "Are you frustrated because you couldn't carry out Jean's plan?"
"I… I guess maybe," realized Scott.
"Well if you ask me," said Emma, "you get to beat yourself up over being a poor leader or beat yourself up over not following orders well enough. You don't get to do both."
Scott smiled. This woman seemed to know exactly what to say. He liked her.
"So what about you?" he asked, "What's your story? Why'd you become an X-Student?"
"This might shock you," said Emma, "but my family is pretty wealthy."
"I figured."
"They're all members of the Hellfire Club," explained Emma, "My membership was all but guaranteed when I was born. My parents wanted to raise me to be a part of high society. At least until it turned out I was a mutant. Then it was decided that I would have the best mutant training money could buy."
"That's flattering," scoffed Scott.
"You don't exactly have a lot of competition," smiled Emma.
"But what do you want?" asked Scott, "Do you really want to be here?"
"What I want," mused Emma, "No one's ever asked me that before…"
"Really?"
"To be honest, I didn't want to come here at first," said Emma, "You're right. It was my parents' decision, not mine. But now, being here… With you…"
Emma began to lean against Scott, resting her head against his shoulder. He gave her a perplexed look. She turned to him and moved her face closer to his.
"Whoa," said Scott, getting off the couch, "No, sorry. I didn't mean- I'm sorry if we misread each other. I was just… Uh… I'm happy with Jean. We're in a closed relationship and-"
"Oh," realized Emma, slightly flustered, "I'm so sorry, I didn't…"
"It's fine," assured Scott, "You're… You're, uh, very beautiful. I would, I really would, but you know. Uh… I have to go."
Scott rushed inside, leaving Emma by herself on the couch. She dropped the flustered demeanor and frowned angrily at the door. She hadn't expected Scott to be so loyal to Jean. It was becoming clear that Jean was the most powerful student at the mansion, both in terms of raw power and political influence. If Emma wanted the control she needed, she'd have to put Jean in her place. She needed to completely and utterly humiliate her.
Rogue poured the bag out onto the side of the plate, completing her lunch of a ham sandwich and chips. She carried the plate and a glass of sweet tea into the dining room where she sat down, removed her gloves, and began to eat.
It had been about a day since the training exercise. Rogue's muscles still ached from it, but she was happy to have the day off of field training. She didn't think she'd be able to handle that two days in a row.
"Hi there," said Emma, walking up to the table.
"Hi," said Rogue, barely looking up.
Emma was wearing another one of her all-white outfits. In this case she was wearing white slacks, white heels, and a sleeveless white blouse. She pulled up a chair next to Rogue and sat down.
"Great job yesterday" said Emma, "Your ingenuity probably won us the match."
"Thanks."
"Emma!" said Jubilee excitedly.
Rogue and Emma looked over. Jubilee, Kurt, and Roxanne had just walked in. They all looked like they were dressed to go out.
"We thought maybe we'd catch a movie and grab lunch," said Roxanne, "I've got an extra seat in my car if you want to join us."
"Oh, no," smiled Emma, "No thank you. But I'm sure Rogue would-"
"I'm fine."
"There's also Jean," suggested Emma.
Kurt suppressed a laugh. Jubilee didn't suppress hers, actively keeling over at the idea of bringing Jean with them. In doing this, Jubilee managed to knock Rogue's glass over, spilling the entire pint of sweet tea directly into Emma's lap.
Emma let out a shrill gasp and pulled away from the table. For a moment Rogue saw her glaring daggers at Jubilee, but then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jubilee still looked visibly frightened.
"I am so sorry, Emma!" apologized Jubilee profusely, "I'm such a dork! I didn't realize I was-"
"It's fine," said Emma firmly, "I'm fine."
"Really?" asked Jubilee nervously.
"Yes," smiled Emma, "Hey, maybe Remy will want to go with you."
"Maybe," nodded Roxanne.
The three left after that, with Jubilee offering Emma one last apology. Emma grabbed Rogue's napkin and began to pat down the orange-brown stain on the crotch of her white pants. It wasn't making any difference.
"Nice save," scoffed Rogue.
"Excuse me?"
"I saw you shoot Jubilee that look," smirked Rogue, "You wanted to kill her."
"I got mad, yes," conceded Emma, "but these things happen. You've got to forgive and forget, you know?"
"Especially when you're trying to make allies."
Emma stared at Rogue expressionlessly for a moment. Then she smiled.
"I knew you were different from the rest," she said, "I mean, I prefer to think of them as 'connections' rather than 'allies.' It's something of a business technique."
"And who's your rival business?" asked Rogue, "Jean?"
"Clever girl," nodded Emma, "Do you want in?"
"In?"
"Yes," said Emma, "You're going to want to be on my side in the end, you know."
"I don't care about sides."
"Do you care about revenge?"
Rogue's eyes narrowed.
"Oh yes," nodded Emma, "I heard all about Jean's little outburst and what she did to you. Mortifying, truly."
"Do you have a point?"
"I've spoken with Ororo and Jean," said Emma, "Tomorrow Ms. Perfect and I are going to have a sparring match in the Danger Room."
"She'll wipe the floor with you," scoffed Rogue.
"Only if she has her powers."
"...so that's why you want me on your side."
"That's the immediate reason, yes."
Rogue turned away with another scoff.
"Think about it," said Emma, "If you take away Jean's powers before the match we can be certain that she'll be thoroughly humiliated. Doesn't that sound satisfying to you?"
"Yeah," admitted Rogue, "It does."
"I'll give you some time to think about it," said Emma, "but remember: regardless of what you choose to do, you'll be picking a side whether you like it or not."
Emma got up and left. Rogue watched her walk away. Then she returned to her sandwich, considering the offer.
"How was the movie?" asked Rogue as she saw Remy walking down the hall toward her.
"Didn't go," he smiled back, "Thought I'd stick around here instead."
Rogue stopped where she was and leaned against the wall. Remy did the same with the opposite wall. They ended up having a lot of conversations like this. They never really made time to see each other, so whenever they ran into each other it turned into one of their long talks. Rogue still wasn't sure how Remy saw her. He flirted with literally everyone. It was impossible to tell when it was genuine interest. That or he was genuinely interested in everyone.
"Hey, you talk to Emma much yet?" asked Rogue.
"Some," said Remy, "Why?"
"She… made a sort of weird request," said Rogue.
"Go on."
"She wants me to steal Jean's powers tonight," whispered Rogue, "I guess they have a sparring match tomorrow and Emma wants to win."
"By cheating."
"Yes."
"If I recall," said Remy, "the last time you stole Jean's powers, things went poorly for you."
Rogue blushed. Among the things that Jean had done was reveal Rogue's sexual fantasies about Remy. They still hadn't discussed it since it happened.
"Do you think you're going to do it?" asked Remy.
"Maybe," said Rogue, "It would feel nice to see Jean get her ass kicked. Is that bad?"
"'Bad' is a subjective term," dismissed Remy.
"Well then, should I do it?"
"I can't decide that for you, cherie," said Remy, leaning in close, "but you know that."
Rogue smiled. She did. Remy's face was close to hers. She could feel his breath and smell his cologne. She looked into his eyes, which seemed to glow red in the light. Rogue was half expecting a kiss, but instead Remy placed something in her hand. Then he turned and walked away. Rogue looked down at her hand and yelped.
The card exploded, knocking Rogue onto her ass in a burst of kinetic energy. Rogue scowled as Remy chuckled to himself.
"Now we're even for the other day, cherie!"
Rogue growled to herself. She fell for that one hook, line, and sinker. Now she was covered in burnt bits of playing card. She got to her feet and brushed some of it off, but made her way to the bathroom to finish the job.
"Wait!" she heard someone say from the other side of the bathroom door, "I didn't-"
"Quiet!" hissed another voice.
Rogue immediately knelt in front of the door and peered through the keyhole. It was the most students she'd ever seen in the bathroom at once: Emma, Megan, Tabitha, and Jubilee were all crowded in there. Megan and Tabitha each held one of Jubilee's arms, restraining her in front of Emma.
"Do you have any idea how much those pants cost me!?" demanded Emma quietly.
"I'm sorry!" whispered Jubilee, "It was an accident."
"Well it won't happen again," said Emma, "Tabitha?"
"Ooh!" smiled Tabitha broadly, "Finally!"
Tabitha and Megan shoved Jubilee forward. Tabitha hooked her finger into the back belt loop of Jubilees high waisted shorts, pulling back the waistband. Tabitha then poured a handful of her small energy balls down the back.
"Wait!" cried Jubilee quietly, "No, no, no, no- YEEP!"
Emma had transformed into her diamond form, gripped the front and back of Jubilee's shorts, and yanked up with her considerable strength. The denim pounded Jubilee hard as it hoisted her into the air, leaving her kicking. The strain of the wedgie proved too much for Tabitha's energy balls, which all suddenly exploded in a bright flash, sending shreds of denim and cotton flying everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Jubilee was covering her completely exposed vulva. It looked particularly ridiculous on account of the fact that she was still wearing her boots and jacket.
Rogue gasped. Emma glared at the door. Rogue stood up and backed away just as Emma threw the door open.
"Rogue," she smiled, relief in her eyes, "It's just you. Did you need the bathroom?"
"Um…" said Rogue, "No."
"Very well," said Emma, "Have you made your decision regarding tomorrow?"
"Yes," nodded Rogue, "Yeah, I'll do it."
"Good."
Jubilee grabbed a towel to cover herself and sprinted off to her room, red in the face. Rogue pretended not to notice for Jubilee's sake. Rogue proceeded to lie on her bed late into the night, wondering what she should do. After careful thinking, she had come to her conclusion.
Rogue quietly snuck out of her room and picked the lock to Jean's room like she had done before. Once she unlocked it, she slowly snuck in. Jean was fast asleep, her face in clear view for Rogue to reach it. Rogue took a deep breath.
Rogue yanked the spandex out of her buttcrack. No matter how many times she wore this uniform, she would never get used to that. The X-Students had gathered in the Danger Room for the match between Jean and Emma. Ororo stood near the center of the room, ready to referee the match. Jean and Emma stood opposite one another, both in their uniforms.
"Bold move," said Jean, "Challenging the most powerful mutant here on your third day."
"Beat you once already," smiled Emma back, "or am I misremembering the flag exercise?"
"That was capture the flag," said Jean, stretching her arms, "No teammates to hide behind here."
"If you're both quite done," said Ororo impatiently, "Ready? Begin!"
Jean immediately thrust her arm toward Emma, who stood motionlessly. Jean's eyes widened in concern as she further straightened her arm, tensing her face as she stared at Emma. The students all began to murmur. Jean was starting to sweat from the strain. Emma yawned.
"What's the matter, Red?" she asked, "Performance issues?"
"What's wrong?" asked Jean to herself looking at her hand.
"It's probably been a while since you had to fight hand-to-hand," smiled Emma, walking across the room toward Jean, "Hasn't it?"
"Come on, come on…" muttered Jean, straining even harder.
Rogue swallowed nervously.
Emma broke out into a run at Jean. Jean gave up on using her powers and assumed a fighting stance. Emma tackled her and soon the two were wrestling on the ground.
"I don't even need my powers to beat you," bragged Emma, forcing Jean into a headlock, "How does it feel, loser?"
Jean coughed as she fought against Emma's grip. Emma tightened it. She had this. She was in full control. The other students watched carefully with a mix of glee and concern, all awaiting Jean's surrender.
"Must be nice to have Rogue on your side," croaked Jean through the strain, "You must have been certain I'd be thoroughly humiliated."
"What?" asked Emma in disbelief, recognizing the exact words she had said to Rogue, "What are you- EEEEEEE!"
Jean had formed an invisible telekinetic hand, reached it into the back of Emma's spandex while she was distracted, grabbed her underpants, and hoisted into the air. Emma yelped as her white underwear yanked her to the heavens, stretching thinner and thinner as the bikini cut panties were strained against the weight. Emma was making the most ridiculous face anyone had seen her make: puckered lips, bright red cheeks, and crossed eyes.
"Whoa!" laughed Roxanne, "Super wedgie! Nice!"
"Not this again…" sighed Ororo.
"Rogue told me about your little plan," said Jean, "So we decided to turn the tables on you. You should've thought twice before you started making alliances, because you also made enemies."
The others all looked to Rogue. She shrugged and offered a half smile.
Emma, furious as she dangled in the air, transformed into her diamond form. He increased weight ripped the underwear instantly, causing Emma to crash to the ground as the torn white fabric continued to hang in the air. She got up, a smirk on her diamond face.
"That the best you've got?" she boasted, "Maybe you forgot, but I'm a mutant too! There's no way your telekinesis can pierce this diamond!"
"Maybe," said Jean, casually pointing at Emma.
Emma shrieked as she felt her spandex pants slide right to the ground. Even in her diamond form, it made Emma feel completely exposed to be pantsed with no underwear on beneath. She covered her diamond crotch as best she could.
"But let's test that theory," said Jean.
"Oop!" chirped Emma as her spandex pants shot back up, lifting her in the process.
Jean then flicked her wrist about, slamming Emma into the ground over and over again, lifting her higher before slamming her down every time. After about a dozen slams, Jean floated Emma over to her to get a look. Her face was blank. Slowly the diamond skin returned to normal. Jean proudly tossed the unconscious body aside and raised her arms up in victory. The students cheered.
Jean smiled at Rogue. Rogue found herself smiling back. Jean may have been an uptight hardass, but she was honest and had their best interests at heart. Rogue could certainly not say the same for Emma. She hadn't expected to, but Rogue found a friend and ally in Jean that day.
"I don't want to talk about it," said Emma grumpily into the phone, "Let's just say there's been a setback."
"That's unfortunate," said the voice on the other end, "What's your next move?"
"Summers," she said, "He's easily the most vulnerable one here and he wants to be their leader."
"And you think you can control him?"
"I do."
"I hope you're right, Emma," said the voice on the phone, "The rest of the Hellfire Club relies on us, even if they don't know it. Being in the Inner Circle carries certain responsibilities."
"I'm aware," said Emma, "Don't worry. The Hellfire Club will have control over the X-Men one way or another."