A Battle of Conscience

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters.  Marvel does.

Chapter 6

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Kitty sat straddled on her horribly unmade bed, with various books and papers sprawled out on her bright purple quilt.  In the center was her laptop, into with she typed frantically.  A knock at the door pulled her out of her computer world. 

"Hey,"  Rogue greeted her.  "Can Ah talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, come on in."

Rogue took a few steps in, then back stepped and closed the door.  "Ah don't really want the others to hear all this."

"Okay."

"How do you sit like that?" Rogue asked, perplexed at Kitty's spread legged position. 

"I've danced since I was three."

"Neat,"  Rogue sat on the edge of the bed. 

"What's bothering you?"

"Well, Ah was talkin' to Logan earlier and he told me somthin'  interesting about Ms. Frost, that Ah thought you might wanna know.  Cause Ah  know that you don't care about Jubilee's crazy ahdeas either."

"What did he say?  Oh! Was it him who was sleeping with Ms. Frost last night?"

Rogue nodded unhappily. 

"I'm sorry if that's a sore topic for you."

"No, its okay.  He and Ah talked about it.  Ah'm over it.  More or less."

"Good."

Kitty and Rogue weren't that close, but Kitty didn't want ot see her upset. 

"So Logan was sayin' that we need to watch out for Ms. Frost.  She's got an interstin' manifestation of her telepathy.  More like Professor Xavier than Dr. Grey.  She's capable of mental suggestion."

"Like putting thoughts into people's heads?"

"Yeah."

"That's not good.  Especially with how she's been behaving."

"Yeah.  Ah was thinking about her goin' after Mr. Summers.  Yu at least agree that's happenin' right?  Even if the rest of Jubilee's ahdeas are crazy…"

"Yeah, Ms Frost grilled me about them yesterday while I was fixing a cut on her leg.  But why'd she sleep with Wolverine when she wants Mr. Summers."

"He made himself available," Rogue growled. 

"I'm sorry…"

"No, its okay.  What do you think we should do?"

"What's Logan doing?"

"Ah don't know."

"Is he still after Dr. Grey?"

"Not really.  He plays around with it, but he's recognized that she loves Mr. Summers too much.  He doesn't want to hurt her."

"We need to tell Dr. Grey.  I'm pretty comfortable with her.  We can let her tell Mr. Summers."

"Okay."

"I'm glad Logan finally gave up on Dr. Grey,"  Kitty announced as she climbed off her bed, and knelt down, searching underneath for a pair of flip flops. "There is such a crazy, complicated history between her and Mr. Summers, that their relationship is amazingly strong.  She was telling me about it this morning in the lab."

"Ah didn't realize."

"They've practically been together since they were our age.  Well, since Mr. Summers was our age.  Dr. Grey's three years older."

"Really?"  Rogue perked up.

"Uh huh.  Mr. Summers is only 26.  Dr. Grey is 29.  Hey how old is Logan actually?"

"No one knows.  Includin' him," Rogue sighed. 

"Are you still interested in him?"

Rogue nodded. "He's made it clear though that he can't do anythin'."

"I'm sorry," Kitty apologized again, grabbing the laptop off her bed, as Rogue headed for the door. 

"What's that for?"

"Oh!  I've been trying to hack into Ms. Frost's computer.  Don't tell anyone.  Well, actually, Dr. Grey knows already. It was kinda, sorta her idea."

Rogue laughed.  "Any luck?"

"Not yet.  But is only a matter of time," Kitty grinned.

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Jean sat at the microscope in the lab.  She had an overload of samples to process because she'd been distracted.  She'd had a lot of fun this afternoon, but now it was time to get down to work.  Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face as she peered into the lens. 

Kitty and Rogue strode into the room, chattering away. 

"Hi girls.  What can I do for you?"

"We've got some interesting information about Ms. Frost we want to fill you in on."

"Did you get in?" Jean asked, gesturing the laptop in Kitty's arms, and looking cautiously at Rogue. 

"I told her.  She told me what we're about to let you know.  And no, I'm not quite in yet."

"Have a seat girls," Jean invited, then looking at the cluttered bench, quickly stood up and piled the books on top of the pile of books that was already on the table.   Kitty settled in at the bench and opened up her laptop to resume hacking, and Rogue pulled up a chair between her and Jean. 

"So tell me what you've heard."

"I think Rogue should tell you, because she's the one who was told it originally."

"Okay."

Rogue looked hesitantly at Kitty. 

"I don't bite Rogue," Jean laughed.

Rogue smiled.  "Well, first off Ah heard this from Logan.  He, uh, got more acquainted with Ms. Frost last night…"

Kitty snickered.  "That's a wonderful euphemism."

Jean nodded in agreement.  "Continue."

"Anyways, did you know that Ms. Frost is more a telepath like Professor Xavier than like you?"

"Like she has to go into heads, not block them out of her head?  That's what I'd figure.  My own type is rare."

"Oh.  Ah thought it was the other way around.  Logan said she's also capable of mental suggestion."

The girls looked to Jean for a reaction.  Her face was lined with worry as she came to the realization of what that meant. 

"For mutants like the Professor, with high moral standards, the power of suggestion is only exercised in rare cases.  However with someone like Emma…"**Honey…**

**Yes?**

**Where are you?**"Rogue can you go look up Ms. Frost in that computer over there?  Kitty continue what you're doing with the hack"

**I'm in the shop.**

**Be careful of Emma.  More careful than before.**

**You sound worried**

**Kitty and Rogue just told me a bit of unsettling information about her. She can do mental suggestion. Like the Professor.**

**Really?**

**Rogue heard it from Logan, who apparently slept with her last night.**

**Oh, jeez.**

**I trust you, just be careful.**

**I will**

**I love you.**
**Love you too.**

"Ah found her Dr. Grey!"  Rogue called.

"What does it say about her powers?  I can't believe I hadn't looked her up yet."

"She's a first class telepath.  Grade B.  What does that mean?"

"That's the Professor's classification."

"What're you?"

"Grade A."

"Wow."

"What does it say about her past?"

"Not much.  She was the headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy for a while, but that's it."

"Okay."

"Hey Rogue," Kitty called.  "What's Emma's codename?"

"The White Queen.  That's an odd one."

Jean nodded. 

"Got it!" Kitty exclaimed. "I'm into her email."

'What was the password?" Jean asked anxiously.

"White QueenEGF."

Rogue and Jean huddled around Kitty and the laptop.  Kitty scrolled through the history folder. 

"Nothing of interest here.  Ooh! This one looks interesting.  Titled "Progress", Author:  ssshaw@hfc.com ."  Kitty clicked on the email and opened it. 

Emma—I would like to know the progress of our plan.  Please contact me as soon as you can. –Sebastian Shaw, President.

"Who's Sebastian Shaw?" Rogue asked. 

Jean shook her head.  "I have no idea."

"Here's a reply!" Kitty clicked it open.

Shaw-  It's moving along on schedule.  That's all you need to know.  You will be able to reach me by cell phone on Tuesday, from 4-5.  I'll give you more information then.- EGF

"Today's Tuesday!" Kitty realized. 

"That mean in an hour she'll be talking to this Shaw on the phone," Jean acknowledged. 

"Hey, Rogue, ready to do some espionage of our own?" Kitty asked. 

Rogue grinned.  "Certainly."

"Just be careful!"  Jean advised, as they scampered out of the room.  She crossed back to her microscope and looked at it.  There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate now.  She trusted Scott, but even the best intentions could get waylaid by a telepath capable of controlling your thoughts.

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