In The Heat

An X-men: Evolution fanfic by Lavender Gaia

Editing and Assistance by Laine

Chapter Fifteen: Newcomer

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution, any of its characters or Rachel Summers. They are all property of Marvel.

Note:comes sneaking back in: Hehe…oh, am I late? At least I made it, right? No? Well, enjoy the chapter and look for my pathetic excuses—or lack thereof—at the end.


When Rachel awoke, the sun was streaming through her blinds into her bedroom, coating her with its warm glow. For a moment, she laid there, reveling in the sensation before realizing something extraordinary: she wasn't miserably depressed. It was the first time since her mother's suicide that she hadn't felt like crying upon waking up and discovering the person she loved most in the world wasn't next door.

She sat up, running a hand through her shorter hair as she caught a look at herself in the mirror. The instant shock that she was her mother was gone, though the photographs that she had refused to remove still felt like a knife through her heart. Hopefully, she reasoned, that feeling would fade away soon as well.

There was a knock on her door and Kitty stuck her head in—literally. "Hey, Ray."

"Pryde, you have no idea how creepy that looks. In or out," she smirked.

She phased inside, light smile on her face. "You're grouchy this morning. That's a good sign. Wondering if you wanted to go down to breakfast?"

Rachel nodded. "Sure, just let me change." She pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top: perfect summer clothes. "God, it's hot outside."

"Tell me about it," Kitty moaned. "Let's go swimming later. Last time the stupid guys and their stupid volleyball game and then the new uniforms thing interrupted us. I want to spend a few hours lazing around in the water getting tan. How does that sound?"

"Works for me," she shrugged.

The brunette flopped on to Rachel's bed. "It feels like summer is just draining away. We haven't even done anything summery yet. All these things keep happening, and-" she cut herself off upon seeing her friend's face, "Oh, Ray, that totally came out wrong. You know what I mean."

"I know," she whispered, standing in front of the mirror and brushing her hair. For a moment, her gaze flickered to the picture of her mother. "It's ok."

"No, it's not!" Kitty protested. "I'm totally sorry. It's just I'm so used to going home for summer, but with my parents' divorce it's kind crazy. I'm not the one with the problems, though, I shouldn't be burdening you with my ranting." Rachel didn't answer and she bit her bottom lip sheepishly. "I really like your new hair though."

Rachel smirked, catching her friend's blue eyes in the mirror reflection. "You'd better, you cut it." She winked and Kitty knew all was forgiven.

Kneeling on the mattress, a hand was offered to the redhead. "Wanna take the express way down so you can show everyone you're gorgeous new look?" It was accepted and the two phased through the floor downstairs and through any walls between them and the kitchen.

"That really is handy," Rachel commented as they walked into the room which smelt of pancakes. She stopped dead upon realizing there was a newcomer in the mansion. A woman maybe a few years older than her was pouring coffee, dressed in a white tube top and matching mini-skirt, which also went with her silver painted lips and eyelids. She knew that it was summer and it was hot outside, but this was ridiculous. Organ grinder monkeys wore more.

Ororo looked up from the stove. "Oh, you girls are here. I was wondering when you were coming down."

The redhead looked over the new woman from the top of her straight white-blonde hair to the bottom of her very expensive white leather boots. "I'm sorry, I was busy remembering to put on all my clothes."

Kitty stifled a giggle when the new lady scowled at her. Ororo gave a disapproving look. "This is a new resident, Emma Frost. Emma, this is Rachel Summers."

"So gushingly glad to meet you," Emma drawled.

"Likewise," Rachel rolled her eyes, taking a seat next to Kitty at the table and smothering butter over her pancakes. "So what do you do?"

"I turn into a diamond," she said proudly. Rachel knew an ego when she saw one, she was also proud of herself for finding a mutant with a power more useless than Jubilee's. Emma wasn't done yet though. "I'm also a highly skilled telepath."

Her fork froze halfway to her mouth. "You're a telepath?" Emma just smirked triumphantly. "'Scuze us a second." Rachel grabbed Kitty, dragging her out into the hallway.

"Hello, arm is, like, totally attached to the rest of my body!" she complained until her friend let her go. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Did you know about this?" Rachel hissed.

She nodded slowly, ponytail bouncing behind her. "That's what the meeting was about. To introduce her as a new part of the team."

"She's gonna be an X-man? Why didn't you tell me this?"

Kitty shrugged. "You would have found out today. I didn't like her very much, didn't feel the need to mention it."

Rachel sighed in exasperation. "You didn't think it was necessary to tell me that my mother was being replaced?"

The brunette frowned. "Replaced? Ray, what are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Pryde! My mom dies and suddenly there's a new telepath showing up to join the X-men. It's not rocket science."

"That's not fair!" Kitty protested. "I like rocket science. And she's not here to take over for your mom. I'm not even sure why she's here. The professor said it was too late to explain everything, and that we would have another meeting today." Rachel didn't look convinced. "Maybe you can come to the new meeting. Ask Professor Xavier. But I for one want to go back in the kitchen and eat my pancakes so I can get skin cancer by the pool until I am taken away again. Pancakes? Please?"

She sighed again, this time in defeat. "Fine, let's go eat. I want to be as far away from that Frost person as possible. She gives me the creeps."

"Oh my god, like, me too!" she agreed. "Kurt and Rogue didn't really get it, but I totally don't like her." They went back in and resumed eating, the pancakes now a little cold. Rachel concentrated on the bottle of syrup, kinetically moving the molecules around to create hit and then pouring it on both their plates. Emma seemed to be fascinated with this and watched the redhead with interest; it sent a shiver down Rachel's spine.

"I didn't get a chance to mention it before," Ororo began, "but your hair looks lovely, dear."

She ran a hand through her shorter red hair. "I did it last night with Kitty's help." Shadowcat finished drinking her milk, smiling in accomplishment before wiping off the mustache.

Storm nodded. "It suits you."

At that moment, Logan decided to come in, grunting, "Morning, 'Ro, Half-Pint, Little Red." He paused for a second seeing the fourth woman in the room. "Miss Frost."

She smiled in an attempt to be pleasant. "Please, call me Emma."

The Wolverine just nodded. "Since the Danger Room's totaled, I decided I'm gonna take the New Mutants out on a five mile run."

"Two and a half miles to the stop point and back?" Storm confirmed with a raise of her eyebrow.

"What and make it simple?" He growled. "Five miles there, five back."

She rolled her eyes. "Logan, you can't kill the children from exhaustion or heat stroke. Remember, there is a princess on that squad. The X-men really don't need the publicity of an international incident."

"And Magma could quite possibly melt your adamantium skeleton with her powers," Kitty added, gesturing with her fork. "She's getting pretty good making those volcanoes."

Wolverine sighed. "Fine, five miles total. Don't see the point in coddlin' 'em, but if you insist."

"Can I come?" Rachel asked, telekinetically lifting her plate to the sink.

"Sure, kid. I saw your dad take the mutt out earlier, but dogs can always use a good run. Put on some shoes, grab the beast and then meet us outside," he glanced at Kitty. "You comin'?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Do I have to?"

"You're not a new recruit; completely optional."

"Then my option is to go sit by the pool and soak up some of that sun," she announced. Ororo gave her a look. "After I help clean up breakfast, of course."

Storm smiled. "Why thank you, Kitten."

Rachel downed the last of her orange juice, wiping her mouth as she promised Kitty to join her when she got back from her run. She was about to leave the kitchen to get her shoes when a chill when down her spine; turning around, she noticed Emma's eyes following her. Shaking over a shiver, she ran towards the stairs.


Was this really the best place for him to be? There were so many memories here. Memories were painful; a pain that should be kept away at all costs. But at the moment, Scott Summers didn't care. All he needed was to get away. Away from the pitying stares, the suggestions that he talk to someone, everyone asking him if he wanted to do something to get his mind off of it.

It wasn't as if they cared. They had enough on their minds right now without adding his grief on top of it. He had been trying to distract himself, really he had. Scott had spent a lot of time consoling the Greys, assisting with funeral plans to make sure everything was perfect. She deserved perfect.

A few hundred yards away, Logan was yelling at the New Mutants to keep up. Then there was Rachel. His daughter. Their daughter, leading the group, running like she had nothing else in the world to do. She had needed him, needed someone who had loved Jean as much as he did, who felt the absolute crushing devastation. But even she seemed to be doing better lately.

He was left alone. There was nothing left to pour everything in to. More than anything he wished that the Danger Room had been fixed so he could take out all his frustrations there. Well, actually, he wanted Jean back more than anything, but there was nothing that could bring her back to him.

The gazebo had been their place. A haven when the Institute got too crowded, when life seemed to take its toll on what remained of their sanity. Though apparently the nights holding each other under the stars had not been as healing for her as he'd suspected. He had tried to make her happy with hours of loving kisses. Had it taken him too long?

Now that she was gone, the few years they had known each other seemed to have gone by in seconds. The way the world worked was ironic, but lacked the amusement of most irony. There were tons of mutant haters, rapists, murderers and just bad people still living and doing horrible things. But the most wonderful, perfect woman in the world was dead.

She died at her own hand, his subconscious reminded him. After she killed all those people.

But she didn't mean to! he argued back. We could have worked it out, fixed it. If only she hadn't…The scene ran through his head again. He remembered cradling her dying body in his arms and she was just happy that he wasn't hurt. But that wasn't true. He tried not to think about that night; there were only so many times his heart could break.

He leaned his head back, closing his tired eyes and removing his glasses, hand rubbing his eyelids. Pain had never been foreign to him, but this killed him every moment of the day. The woman he loved was dead and she wasn't going back. It was a hard truth to swallow, but he had to admit it was real.

"Is this a private party or do you mind if I join you?"

Scott slipped his glasses back on, opening his eyes to see the new woman. It took him a second to process her question. "No, you can sit down," he offered with a gesture of his hand.

"Thank you," she smiled, settling across from him. He tried not to judge her on appearances, but truthfully Scott was glad that his daughter wore more than that. "You're Scott, right?"

He nodded. "That's right. You're Emma Frost, the diamond."

"Exactly. I know we didn't really get to talk last night, so I'm not sure what you can do."

"Come here for a second," he nodded to the open spot next to him and she moved. Once the way was clear, he carefully picked up his glasses, optic beams attacking trees in the distance. They were quickly replaced and the deadly red beam was kept under control. "That is what I do."

Emma looked mildly impressed. "That must be why you're the leader.

He shrugged. "Not really. I was the oldest and Professor Xavier's first recruit, so I just naturally fell into the position." And now that Jean's gone, I'm without a co-leader…my second…my better-half…

Her voice shocked him out of the stupor. "Well, even so, I'm sure you know how things work around here. Mind giving me some insight?"

"I give instructions, once a year or so people follow them and then I know I've made a connection," he relayed sourly.

She laughed in appreciation, arms crossed over her chest. "Alright, so I know you have at least a dry sense of humor. What else can you tell me about yourself?"

"I'm not very interesting," he shrugged. "Really, any of the other people here would probably more fun to talk to."

"Oh, I can't believe that," she defended, a smile on her silver lips. "My mother always told me that you couldn't have both beauty and brains. I'd like to hope I'm not alone in beating the cliché. I already know you're cute. Tell me the truth: you have a girlfriend, don't you? You're just humoring me."

The word 'yes' was poised on his lips for a moment before he remembered. "N-No," he swallowed hard, trying to rid himself of the lump that had formed in his throat. "I don't have a girlfriend."

She seemed increasingly interested. "Really?"

"Um, so, tell me about yourself," he requested, desperate to change the subject.

"X-men, please report to the Ready Room for a conference," Professor Xavier spoke to their minds. "Uniforms will not be necessary."

Emma smiled enigmatically at him. "Come to the meeting and you'll find out." The two started back towards the Institute, passing where Kitty was climbing out of the pool.

"Always when I'm in the middle of something," she grumbled, pulling a shirt over her bikini and drying off her legs. "I think he plans it this way."

The three, along with Kurt, Rogue, Ororo and Logan joined the Professor in the Ready Room. "I am sorry to interrupt your summer once again," he smiled apologetically at Kitty, "But I do think it is necessary for you to learn why Emma came to join our team last night. As I told you last night—which most of you have undoubtedly forgotten, as you were half asleep—she was one of my first telepathic students." He didn't have to say it, but everyone added after Jean in his or her mind. "She declined to join the Institute at that time, but now she is back with news that you should all hear. Emma?"

"Thank you, Professor," Emma nodded in his direction, though all eyes were on her. "Undoubtedly, none of you have heard of the Hellfire Club. It's a secret society for members of the upper class. Though it was originally a gentlemen's club centuries ago, it has evolved into a meeting place for socialites.

"There was formerly a group of specific members known as the Council of the Chosen until a man named Sebastian Shaw took over the club and renamed it the Inner Circle, which is made up of wealthy and influential mutants who want to rule the world through a combination of raw power and subtle political and financial maneuvers," she explained.

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with us?"

Emma took a deep breath. "Recently, the Hellfire Club has been…recruiting. Shaw has been seeking out the most powerful mutants first to see if they want to join. Particularly mutants who have control and know how to use their powers."

"Mutants like us," Scott finished. "And what if they don't want to join?"

"That's where Selene comes in. She's the Black Queen." Emma hesitated at the confused looks. "Positions in the Inner Club are based on chess pieces. Obviously the Kings and Queens are most important. Sebastian Shaw is the Black King and Selene is his queen. She's a vampire of sorts. A sorceress who maintains her immortality by absorbing the youth of others. She particularly prefers mutants for whatever her reasons are."

Xavier nodded. "I have had run-ins with Selene before. She's extremely dangerous."

Kitty raised an eyebrow at Emma. "What's your role in this Hellfire Club?" Suspicion coated her voice.

"I am the Inner Circle's White Queen," she announced. This was met by skeptical silence.

Wolverine crossed his arms over his chest, black eyes narrowed at her. "So what's your deal here with us if you're the high and mighty White Queen?"

Emma scowled lightly. "Positions in the Hellfire Club are inherited. Just because I'm the offspring of two members doesn't mean I believe in what they do."

"The important thing is she brought this to our attention so we can protect the children," Ororo interjected, trying to break the newfound tension.

Xavier nodded. "I do not want to scare the new recruits, but starting tomorrow we will be going over new safety techniques and evacuation protocols. I would appreciate it if you did not share this information with the New Mutants, particularly the information about Selene."

"What about Rachel?" Kitty asked. "She's not really a New Mutant, but…"

"She's a telepath, I don't think we'll be able to keep it from her," Scott pointed out.

"Make sure she knows that it's a secret, please," the professor added. "If that's all, Emma, I do believe we can dismiss everyone."

The White Queen pushed her white blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I just want to mention that the Inner Circle believes I have used my connection with Xavier to recruit more mutants, so I will have to meet with them periodically to keep up the façade."

"Well, then, I do believe you are all dismissed," Xavier smiled, rolling away from the table.

Storm stood, the only one who didn't stretch from sitting down for so long. "Charles, would this be a good time for me to start lunch?"

"An excellent time, I do believe. After a run with Logan, I'm sure the New Mutants are famished."

Wolverine grunted. "I didn' work 'em that hard. 'Ro wouldn't let me."

Rogue and Kurt offered to help with lunch, but Kitty headed back out to the pool where Rachel had taken over her lounger and was reading her magazine. "Hey, Pryde, where'd you run off to? It's not like you to leave Cosmopolitan unattended."

She took a seat in the other lounge chair the redhead pulled up for her. "Another meeting. I really do think it's the professor's way of slowly yanking away my vacation."

"Or making sure you don't get skin cancer. What was it about?"

Lowering her voice, Kitty relayed the news to her friend, opening her mind to telepathy for the really important details. "I know that this Miss Frost is trying to help us, but I, like, still don't trust her."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "Neither do I. I just wish she wasn't a telepath or I could find out what she was really up to."

"Thought you didn't like to poke into people's minds without their permission?"

"I'll do it if it's necessary. Trust me, when you have a telepathic mother, you learn how sacred the privacy of your mind is." Her voice caught in her throat. "Or at least I had a telepathic mother." Kitty reached over, squeezing her hand as Rachel smiled in appreciation. "Usually my gut feeling is right—of course, it's been a little off since I got here or else I would have probably realized my mom was on the brink of committing mass murder and killing herself—but everything about her tells me she's bad."

Kitty nodded. "I agree. I'm pretty sure we're alone in this though. Everyone else seemed to accept her pretty well. Mr. Logan was a little suspicious-"

"But Logan doesn't trust anyone," Rachel finished with a sigh. "I think we should just keep our suspicions to ourselves for now. I don't want it to come off as jealousy or that we're threatened. I know my dad has a lot on his mind, but maybe I could bring it up with him in one of those creepy bonding things the Professor's assuredly going to make us do so we can grieve together."

"I'm not so sure," Kitty bit her bottom lip nervously. "When I was going inside they were walking in together and I'm pretty sure I saw them having an awfully friendly conversation out in the gazebo. Of course, he's probably just being nice to her, make sure she's happy here."

"Doesn't want another member killing themselves on his watch," Rachel said bitterly. "Dad might be friendly, but there is nothing platonic about that woman."

At that moment, Kurt teleported out in front of them. "Lunch is ready. Hungry, liebchens?" He offered an arm to each of them as his stomach growled.

"Thank you, Fuzzy," Kitty smiled as he teleported the three of them into the house.

As her friends went to go grab one of the sandwiches, Rachel's eyes fell on to where her father held out a chair for Emma. The White Queen sat down and flashed him a smile that could only be defined as flirtatious. As Scott smiled back, a large knot formed in the pit of her stomach. This was not good. Not good at all.

A single question ran through her mind with resolve: What was she going to do about it?


A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update! I really have no excuse. It did take them forever to get my power back on after the hurricane, and then there was a huge amount of schoolwork for all of us to catch up on, but otherwise it was just me being lazy and I do apologize from the bottom of my heart.

I just had surgery again, so I've been bedridden for about a week and a half. I do go back to school Monday on a trial basis to see how I feel, but even if I do have to be home schooled that's still work I have to do. My school schedule this semester does concentrate on writing (it's a main focus in three quarters of my classes), so whether I'm stuck at home or at the hellhole for 9 hours a day, writing will always be on my mind and I do hope to keep this going at a regular schedule.

Astonishing X-men readers may notice some Joss Whedon quotes here; I think that he has mastered the writing of Emma Frost. While she isn't his favorite character (like me, he adores Kitty) he has still managed to write her respectfully and in character. Despite my…dislike of Miss Frost, I am doing my best to model his efforts in bringing depth to her while still keeping her witty and bitchy. I hope to do a good job on that since I'm not going near the whole Madelyne Pryor/Mr. Sinister thing. I'm honestly not that good of a writer to pull that off.

Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated.


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