Jean vs Emma (No restrictions) – Requested by Meredith

Scott led the way down the darkened corridor, barely visible in the dim light. Jean and Kitty followed close behind, checking for sounds of pursuit.
"Do you think the others are okay?" Kitty asked quietly. Scott nodded.
"Kurt and Logan were the only other two that got cut off - those two shouldn't have much trouble with anything. The rest are still at the Blackbird, so they'll be fine."
"Us, on the other hand..." muttered Jean.

----

Four hours ago, Professor Xavier had detected a new mutant signature in a large office building in the west of San Francisco.
He'd also detected several known mutant signatures converging on it.
Not liking the look of things, he'd sent the team to investigate, even boarding the jet himself to ?keep an eye on things, as he put it. However, on the way, he'd briefed them on what to expect, and suddenly everyone had worked out why the Professor had really come.
It was because he thought he'd be needed.

The group of known mutant signatures he'd detected had turned out to belong to the Hellions, a notorious group known for a combination of military precision and utter ruthlessness. Their methods of recruiting were also questionable; they were known to literally hunt down targets and capture them. From there, their methods became less like 'recruiting' and more like 'brainwashing'.
As such, the Professor had decided that it was their responsibility to help this new mutant before he or she was captured. Despite the fact that it was nearly midnight, they'd set out as soon as everyone was ready.

And, with the best of intentions, the entire team had walked blindly into a trap.

----

The building was 23 stories high; the Professor had found the signal coming from the 16th floor. After landing on the roof, they'd split up - five heading down the fire escape, the rest entering from the main door in the rooftop.
The smaller group - Scott, Jean, Kitty, Ororo and Kurt - had reached the 16th floor first, and had searched it thoroughly. They'd soon found what they were looking for.
Not a mutant. Rather, a small device which emitted a sophisticated radio signal capable of fooling Cerebro's system. One that imitated a mutant signature.
They'd had time to realise the implications of that moments before they were attacked.

The affray had been sharp but brief. Shut into a small office, they'd had no easy avenue of escape and were forced to fight off the ambush. After a few short minutes, they'd gained a temporary respite, and used it. Kurt had teleported with Ororo to the 17th level, while Kitty had phased Scott and Jean down to the 15th. The former duo had set off to find the main group and get help.
The latter three, however, were now stranded - with a large group of enemies between them and escape - and attempting to get back to the roof.

----

Rounding the corner, Scott spotted the elevators up ahead and sighed with relief.
"There's our ride," he called, running up and hitting the call button. The girls came up behind and stopped with him.
Kitty frowned. "Um, are you sure that it's, like, safe to use these things right now?" she asked.
"Safer than staying here."
"Okay, point."
Jean eyed the display of lights above the door with uncertainty. "I'm not so sure..." she said slowly. "It looks like this thing's coming from the sixtee-"

DING

Too late.

Kitty was actually jolted backwards by the impact of the telepathic blow, her jaw snapping shut with an audible click of the teeth. She caught no more than a glimpse of the tall blonde woman inside before she slumped flat on her back, unconscious.
Jean and Scott had an instant longer; Jean used it to get them more time. Scything one hand sideways, she sent out a solid wave of telekinetic force that knocked the woman - and the other two occupants of the elevator - to the floor. A second pulse from Jean began to force the doors shut.
An instant before the doors closed fully, the blonde woman moved, diving forward through the narrowing gap and rolling to one side. Scott fired a blast of energy; though he missed, the bolt literally welded the door shut, sealing off any further attack. He, however, never registered that. Even before the woman rose again, she focused her attention on Scott and the captain of the X-Men fell facedown without a sound.
In the dim light of the hallway, the blond lady stood and faced Jean.
"Looks like we're all alone, girl," commented Emma Frost.
Jean stiffened. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.
Emma smiled wickedly. "Well, isn't it obvious? I felt that we could use some people like you on our side. So now we're collecting you."
"Collecting?"
"We don't take 'no' for an answer. And since that's the answer you would have given, we didn't ask." Emma's eyes narrowed. "And now it's time to say goodbye."

Jean staggered slightly at the abrupt assault on her mind; she'd never felt anything so brutal before. Even training exercises with Professor Xavier hadn't been this hard. It was like her brain was under siege. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back as hard as she could, straining with all her strength to fight off the attack, focusing, struggling...
The pressure lifted.
"You're telepathic..." Emma said softly. "Well, well. Charles got himself an apprentice. You will be valuable."
Jean shook the traces of fog from her mind. "Like hell I will."
Emma grunted as she was thrown backwards into the wall by an invisible hand, hard enough to crack the plaster. An instant later, she dropped to the floor; a bud vase on a nearby table suddenly lifted and swooped toward her. She raised one hand defensively and the vase shattered on her forearm. A shard of porcelain opened a shallow cut on her wrist.
She glared at Jean with sudden fury. "You'll pay for that."
Jean swung one hand; Emma was hurled back down the dark corridor, rolling to a stop near a large window.
"Add it to my tab," Jean smirked.
Emma staggered to her feet. "No tabs here, girl" she growled. "It's cash on the nail or nothing."
And Jean suddenly jerked back as a psychic pile-driver smashed into her brain.

----

Kitty stirred slowly as the weight on her mind lifted, her eyes fluttering open. The first thing she saw was Jean staggering backwards, hands pressed to her temples, eyes squeezed shut with concentration. The second was Scott, facedown on the carpet next to her.
As the disorientation quickly lifted, Kitty realised what was happening; she blanched. Then she did the only thing she could do.
Lifting one hand slightly, she moved it the necessary four inches to touch Scott on the shoulder. A moment later, they both began to pass through the floor to the next level of the building.
Professor? Help...

----

Emma's gift was telepathy, not telekinesis. When attacking a living thing, however, there was very little difference between the two. A telepathic push could fool even the most powerful mind into thinking that it had received a physical blow. Bruises would form, capillaries would break. The blows did not exist, but their minds made it real 1.
Jean lashed out with all her might, breaking Emma's contact with her. Already she had several bruises forming; she'd also bitten her lip, a trickle of blood now coming from the corner of her mouth. Then she swung her right hand in an uppercut motion, as though shadow-boxing. Of course, she wasn't.

Emma flew up toward the roof as though yanked up by a rope, connecting with the plasterboard surface with a thud. She let out a pained gasp at the impact; but she didn't stay there long. As Jean brought her hand back down, Emma followed it, hurled onto the floor.
Then back up.
Then back down.
Then back up.
For just an instant, Jean slowed down then; Emma fixed her slightly bleary eyes on the redhead and concentrated. Jean let out a cry and grabbed her head with both hands, teeth gritting in pain; Emma fell to the floor again. This time, however, she got back up on her own. Striding forward, she gripped Jean by the scruff of her neck and hurled the younger girl down the corridor, back toward the window.
Jean landed on her knees and skidded forward, sprawling on her face. Turning her head, she managed one jolt of energy through the pressure Emma was exerting on her; the blonde telepath's feet jerked out from under her and she fell on her backside in the hall. Her concentration broke.

Freed from the continued assault, Jean exerted all her strength. The table which had held the bud vase a few moments ago suddenly flipped into the air and flew straight at Emma, bashing into her and knocking her flat. A second later, Emma herself left the floor, turning in mid-air to crash into the sealed door of the elevator, pinned upside-down by the awesome force Jean was exerting on her
Then something completely unexpected happened.
A red beam shot over Jean's shoulder as the window behind her shattered into fragments, crashing into Emma Frost and causing her to scream at the sudden pain. Jean released her and she fell to the floor.

----

Hearing Kitty's call, the Professor had acted quickly. The rest of the team had returned to the roof and boarded the plane; it had lifted off and then eased down slowly in a vertical landing in the street next to the building. Some five minutes later, Kitty and Scott had walked out through the wall, having phased through fourteen stories to the ground level.
Kurt and Ororo had arrived a moment later, appearing inside the jet in an explosion of sulfur, and they'd lifted off, rising to the 16th level.
Just high enough for Scott to look in the window.

An explosion of smoke appeared in front of Jean, startling her slightly.
"The Professor thinks it was a mistake to come here - or had you noticed?" Kurt said by way of greeting.
"Yeah, I'd spotted that one," Jean agreed, stepping forward. Kurt took her hand.
"Well, if you've had enough fun..."
They vanished.

As the jet lifted again outside the building, Jean slumped in a window seat, wincing from the pain of her injuries. She glanced out the window.
Emma Frost stood unmoving in the broken window of the 16th floor, staring directly at her, arms at her sides.
Impressive work, Miss Grey, came a voice in Jean's mind. I'm looking forward to seeing you again sometime soon. And then, you won't get off so lightly...

With that, the window dropped out of Jean's range of vision, and the Blackbird shot off into the night sky.