Excerpt from unofficial transcript of a session between Dr. Emma Frost and John Allerdyce, tape #1, side B.
Dr. Frost: I want to talk about the first time your powers manifested.
John: I don't.
DF: I'm already aware of the circumstances involved, John.
J: Then why do we have to talk about it?
DF: Because what happened isn't as important as how you feel about it.
(Sound of chuckling)
J: Here we go.
DF: How many other children were with you, John?
J: Twenty-four. (A pause) Twenty-four kids, three parent chaperones, a teacher, six employees, the owner of the building and his goddamned dog.
DF: Is that how many people died?
(Long silence.)
J: Everyone but me.
DF: Your parents must have been grateful.
(More chuckling)
J: Grateful the police didn't try to pin it on me, maybe.
DF: Did they blame you for it?
J: A restaurant burns to the ground and the sole survivor is the local punk kid who likes to play with fireworks. Wouldn't you?
DF: Was it your fault?
J: No. Not directly. Look, I already did this with the Professor. I had no idea what the hell was happening. Even if it was my powers that kept the fire from going out, everyone in there was dead before the firefighters even made it to the scene. That's what happens when you go on a field trip to a place that's been buying off the fire inspector for the last ten years.
DF: But your abilities go beyond keeping fires from going out. That's what happened, isn't it?
(Loud bang)
J: I didn't know it was happening! I ran, and I didn't get burned, and that's all I know, okay? (Long silence) I'm done talking about this.
DF: That's fine.
XXXX
"Do you have to stay here the whole time I'm eating? You're making me lose my appetite." John glared at his 'dinner date', who was sitting on his bed, legs crossed.
"Actually, I do," Kitty said, rolling her eyes skyward. "I'm supposed to make sure you don't try to slit your wrists with a spoon, or something."
"So I'm on suicide watch now." He made her want to try and slap some of the smartass out of him.
"It's not like I'm any more excited about being here than you're excited about me being here." The words pulled a faint memory from the edges of her mind.
It seemed that John remembered, too, because he smiled a crooked smile that was softer than any expression his mouth had worn since they had brought him back. "That sounds familiar."
Kitty tried to shake off the nostalgia that pulled at her insides, the tug that made her want to forget the last two years had even happened. "It's from before you hated us."
The smile slid off his face faster than butter down a hot skillet, driving away any lingering feelings of fondness that had surfaced in her. "Yeah, well, fuck you too."
He finished his meal in silence, and didn't look up when she took his tray and left the room.
XXXX
Logan waited half an hour, and when Emma didn't emerge from the garden that surrounded the memorials he put out his cigar and went in after her.
She stood not in front of the Professor's stone, as he'd been expecting, but in front of Scott's. A stiff breeze had started to blow with the setting of the sun, but despite her scant clothing she seemed unperturbed by the drop in temperature.
"I loved him," she answered, though he hadn't asked her, "once upon a time."
"You were a student here." He didn't know what he was trying to prove. Maybe that he belonged here now as much as she used to, that he knew more than she thought he did.
"I know that you know." Her face was serene and harsh at the same time, set like carved marble, but she let her façade break to close her eyes and lower her chin to her chest. "How did it happen?"
"She killed him."
A strange smile touched her lips, and she turned her head to gaze at Jean's stone next to her. "I knew she was no good for him."
Her tone rankled, and he tried to tell himself it was because he didn't believe in speaking ill of the dead. "It's not like he was much good for her either."
"Yes, well, they always were blind to each other's flaws." Smoothing invisible wrinkles from her skirt, Emma turned to him with the same charming smile she'd had when he first saw her. "I think it's just about supper time, isn't it?"
Logan nodded and turned to leave, resisting the impulse to caress the cold granite Jean's name was carved in. Somehow he felt Emma was expecting it, and he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
XXXX
She hadn't spoken to him or even looked at him since their argument, and for once Bobby was at a complete loss. He finally managed to corner her in the kitchen as she washed her plate, approaching her from behind and putting his hands on her arms.
Rogue shook herself from his grasp. "I don't want you touchin' me right now."
"At least it's your choice to make now, right? Yours and mine?" As soon as he said the words he wished he could take them back, erase the bitterness he had voiced.
"I didn't do it for you."
He stared at her back but she continued to rinse dishes, her bare hands rubbing debris away under the suds, and Bobby backed down from the confrontation that she wouldn't let happen.
"I'll be in my room," he said, but she didn't respond.