Chapter 42
At the Institute...
"So what precisely is tha plan again?" Rogue asks Domino as they stand outside the mansion this chilly Saturday November morning.
"Easy. We know Bobby, Roberto and Cat are meeting up this evening to sort out their little threesome so while she's busy Kitty gets inside her house, bypasses, or if necessary disables, the relevant security using my knowledge and Clark's eyes and we have a look around and see if we can find out who she really is."
"Ok. Ah see. That being tha case what's with tha van?" Rogue asks pointing at the white nondescript van Domino had picked up in the last couple of days.
"What? You've never watched any spy movies? It's our secret spy van! Spy vans are cool!" Domino says with all the enthusiasm of a little child.
Rogue gives herself a face palm. "Ah can't believe we're related," she mutters.
Domino wraps an arm across Rogue's shoulder. "You know you love me really little sis."
"Can ah get back ta ya on that?"
The back door to the van opens and Kitty steps out. "All the equipment seems to be working," she reports from her checking it all. There is a kind of excited nerdy gleam in her eye at how cool this van is. "Although I have like got to know where you get a spy van all totally tricked out like this?" she asks.
Domino shrugs. "I know a guy," she replies vaguely.
"How?" Rogue wants to know.
"I was 20 years old before Stryker came looking for me Rogue. I did have a life before him."
"Ya nevah talk about it."
"There isn't much left to talk about. Stryker made sure no-one would miss me. There's nothing left of that life for me to go back to even if I wanted to...which I don't. My life is here now with you guys," Domino says in a flat tone which shows how she doesn't want to talk about it.
Domino doesn't want to talk about her past. Something she has in common with Rogue. Rogue guesses that proves they really are sisters.
Later that day an expensive looking white sports car pulls up at the mansion door. The car's door opens and out steps Emma Frost dressed in jacket, top underneath, pants and boots, all in white and all sinfully expensive. She had decided to 'dress down'. It is all about making an impression. Life is all about presenting a certain impression of yourself to others. Anyway she is here to make Charles think she is here to heal the wound and lure the old fool and his precious X-Men in to where exactly Emma wants them.
Emma takes a moment to acquaint herself with the mansion. She could see the differences with her memory but that isn't surprising. It was blown up and rebuilt after all.
Emma strides elegantly to the door and rings the bell. Several moments later it is opened. Emma arches a perfect eyebrow at the appearance of the one who opened the door. "Seriously Logan you're still wearing that old wife-beater?" she critiques Logan's clothing choices.
Logan's eyes narrow. That voice, that attitude...he sniffs the air...that scent. "Frosty?" he queries in complete surprise.
"Oh that nickname never gets old," Emma sarcastically complains with a roll of her eyes. "And seriously we're still doing the sniffing? Have you ever heard of violation of personal space?"
"Oh yeah. It's you," Logan confirms to himself. No-one else was ever this cutting.
Emma brings a pleasant but still rather cold smile to her face. "Of course it is. How are you doing old man?"
Logan gives her a small glare at that. "What brings you here?"
"Charles never mentioned I was coming for lunch?"
"You're his guest?" Logan inquires. The Professor had said a guest was coming but never gave a name. Now why didn't Chuck say who it was is a question Logan will be asking at some point.
"Yes. I am. Now are you going to invite me in or have me forgotten your manners along with your past?"
Logan growls softly at the stab at his missing past. "This way," he says gruffly. He is surprised that she is Chuck's guest. He remembers when she left...hell you couldn't miss the way she left. Emma's voice has quite some carry on it. You could have probably heard her all the way in Canada. Point is there was a lot of anger and vulgar language involved. The kind of anger and hurt that usually means you don't come back, especially in Frosty's case since, even back then, she was the sort of person who never let a grudge go. When Frosty resented ya she would resent ya for life so what is she doing back here having lunch with Chuck?
Emma follows Logan in silence, her eyes, ears and telepathic senses taking in everything around her. As they pass a few of the students Emma suppresses her smile at the all too obvious hormonal thoughts in regards to her from particularly the boys...although there is one or two she picks up from at least one of the girls. Emma is use to it. They should hear what goes through her students' minds about her. Positively R rated.
Logan leads Emma to a small dining room which hadn't been used often in recent years. There the Professor is already waiting.
"Emma. So good to see you again," Charles greets her warmly.
"I'm sure," she replies dryly.
"Thank you Logan," Charles says to his friend in gratitude.
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," Logan says, still clueless about what is going on as he turns and leaves.
Emma rolls her eyes at Logan's 'eloquent' use of language. "I thought you would have bought him a dictionary by now," she remarks.
Charles actually smiles a little wider. "I see your wit hasn't lost its cutting edge."
"I certainly hope not. A world without me to point out people's flaws is unthinkable."
Charles stretches his hand out at a chair opposite him across the small dinning table. "Please sit. Lunch will be here shortly."
Emma sits herself down, as always holding herself in complete poise.
"So I must ask what made you decide to contact me after all this time?"
Emma takes one moment before giving her answer. "It started when I saw the X-Men on television battling the giant robots. It got me to start rethinking over my time here, the current situation regarding mutants and of our future. When I saw yourself at Stark Tower it crystallised in my mind a thought I had been having that whatever unpleasantness existed between us in the past must be laid down if we are to provide a future for our kind."
"I am pleased to hear you say that Emma. The future is important but what sort of future is it you envision?"
"Not Magneto's if that is what you're asking. A world ruled by that man...I think I may just have to kill myself if that ever happened."
"I certainly would hope you would never choose to deny the world your charming wit and intelligence Emma by ending your life."
"It would be a tragedy I agree," Emma says in rather haughty tones.
At this juncture Martha enters with lunch and serves it out to Emma and the Professor. Charles thanks her and she departs leaving him and Emma alone once again...as he would prefer so Emma can't pry into anyone's thoughts. He is making sure she doesn't try to do so.
Teacher and former student begin their meal while continuing to talk.
"I'm a little surprised," Emma says.
"At?" Charles queries.
"That you would have humans stay here."
Charles can hear a sliver of bigotry in her tone but decides not to call her out on it. "I fight for a world where humans and mutant live together in peace as equals Emma. Why would it be a surprise that I would have a few to assist me?"
"Humans despise us."
"A small minority only. After all when you were having your nails and face done this morning I'm going to guess it was a human who did that."
"Well of course humans have their place."
And Charles can guess where Emma thinks that place is. Beneath her. "Your language concerns me Emma."
"I am not Magneto, Charles. I'm not looking to engage in some wasteful, pointless war but if our kind is to survive we must be prepared to be more proactive in dealing with the threats against us," she states her belief.
"We've had this debate before," Charles points out because this is what Emma was saying before she left.
"I know that and it is still my belief. However..."
Charles arches an eyebrow. "However?"
"I will not change my belief and you can expect me to continue to argue for it. However, if we are to survive, we must bring as much of mutantkind together as possible into a united front. Therefore I am willing to look past our differences and work together for the greater good."
"I am pleased to hear that. May I ask you to elaborate how you think we should do that?"
"Certainly. As I said my views have not changed and I set about creating the means to pursue them so I have set up my own mutant school."
"I'm flattered," Charles says, implying she copied him.
Emma almost can't keep the scowl off her face at that comment. As if she did it to flatter him. Senile old fool. She simply carries on saying, "I call it the Academy of Tomorrow as children are our future, our hope for tomorrow, after all."
"Appropriate. What is it you propose Emma?" Charles asks.
"An alliance between us and our schools and our respective students. We can do more together than apart."
Charles lets her stew for several moments while he continues with his meal. As usual Martha's cooking was excellent. "I, of course, wish to see mutants united in a common cause, Emma. I, therefore, would hope you and I can find a way to bridge our differences," he says, playing along and keeping all options open. He has to balance this carefully in making Emma think he doesn't know why she is really here.
"Excellent. That being the case I propose a start is for myself to invite you and your X-Men to my Academy outside Boston and for our students to meet. That would give the two of us a further opportunity to work out the details of our partnership."
"Well obviously I will need to discuss that with the X-Men first before I can give you a definite answer," Charles cautions, which gives him a way out, should the students not agree with what he is doing after he has talked to them and informed them of everything.
"Naturally," Emma says. "Also I would like to extend my invite to your ally; Superman."
Charles doesn't need to fake a surprised expression at this request. "Any particular reason?" he asks. "Superman, whilst a friend, is not a member of my Institute."
The reason is of course because Selene wants Superman captured so Emma needs him in a place where she can study him and see if he can be persuaded or tempted over to her side. If Selene deems him important than Emma must have him. For her response to Charles, Emma shrugs and tries to play it off as not very important. "Idle curiosity mostly. You only need a rudimentary understanding of the x-gene to see he is unusual but if he refuses my invite that's his choice and changes nothing over my offer of an alliance."
"Well Superman comes and goes. His visits can be infrequent and unpredictable. I can't guarantee I'll see him to ask but if I do I will certainly let him know of your generous invitation," Charles tells her while wondering what Emma's true game is at making that invitation specifically for Superman.
"As I said. Idle curiosity. Not important to our aims."
"So do you have a date in mind for us to visit?"
"Whenever you feel it is suitable. I am returning to my Academy tonight and will be there for, most likely, the next few weeks without needing to leave. There is no immediate rush for an answer beyond the need to address the situation facing mutantkind as soon as possible." Emma reaches into her purse and pulls out a small white card. She holds it over the small dining table. "My personal number," she explains what is on the card. "When you decide, call me."
Charles takes the card and smiles politely. "I'll make it as swift as possible," he promises her.
Emma waves that off a little as if it doesn't matter when it most likely does. Shaw was correct. Selene has little patience. Emma returns to her lunch. She and Charles engage in some banal small talk but it is simply to pass the time. The important part of the conversation is over and so far Emma has to say it went more or less as she expected. She completely believed Charles would accept her offer as she knew Charles would not pass up an opportunity to try and reconcile. He was that foolish to think she could be 'changed' or 'see the error of her ways' or some other such crap. He would agree to come to her Academy. Emma was certain of that and that would be the beginning of the end for the X-Men.
After the lunch is over Emma makes her departures. Charles waves her off from the entrance of the mansion. He rests his hands in his lap and contemplates his next step as her car speeds off through the gate and out of view.
"So...was it as you expected?"
Charles looks to his right as Hank comes to stand next to him. "Yes. Emma invited us to attend her academy."
"Trap?"
"Too early in proceedings I believe. More likely the beginning of trying to lure us in and get us into a vulnerable position. I haven't heard any word from Sage that says otherwise and I'm certain Shaw will personally direct it the day we are suppose to be taken down. What concerns me is that Emma made a particular invite to Superman."
"You think Shaw might have an eye on Clark?"
"Possible. Clark's power is such that it would interest the Inner Circle. His heroics were always inevitably going to draw attention eventually."
"Then it is time to tell them the truth," Hank insists on telling the students.
"It is," Charles absolutely agrees. "First, though, I need to go to the bank and get something from a security deposit box I put away for safe keeping."
"What?"
"The truth of the first class of X-Men."
Bayville Suburbs...
As night falls a certain nondescript white van pulls up to the kerb a couple of streets away from the house of a certain Ms Cat Grant. They weren't so stupid as to park right outside the place. Didn't need to when Clark could easily spy on the place from here.
The gang of 4(Clark, Kitty, Domino and Rogue) had become 5 when Domino had realised Kurt's teleporting powers would be useful and he was never going to turn down the chance to be a spy for the evening. They were just waiting for Cat to leave on her night out with Bobby and Roberto so were sharing stories as they sat in the back of the van, all dressed in dark clothing to blend into the night better.
"So like finally caught that Prankster guy huh?" Kitty asks Clark. It was in the paper this morning along with a photo of the Prankster being carted off to jail.
"Yep. Thank God. If I had to put up with one more stupid prank I swear I would have lasered him to pieces," Clark says in relief he finally tracked Oswald Hubert Loomis aka the Prankster down. This was obviously a guy who spent way too much time in his basement making his arsenal of trick items to commit his prank related crimes...or is that crime related pranks? Oh well in either case it's over.
"I cannot believe vhat you did to zhe Human Torch," Kurt says in disbelief to Rogue who was retelling what she did that night to him.
Rogue smirks and shrugs. "He had it coming. Ya should hear his thoughts and then ya would agree with meh."
Domino has a good long laugh a she remembers that bit with the Human Torch through the buffet table. That was hilarious. Even Clark chuckles a little. It was funnier now than he had thought it then. "Only Kitty gushing over Tony Stark was funnier," Clark lightly jabs.
"I like did not gush over him!" Kitty insists, an annoyed expression over her face.
"Ok. I'll take that back," Clark decides. "It was Janet Van Dyne you gushed over."
"I..." Kitty pauses and cocks her head to the side. "Ok I may have gushed over her a little," she concedes, "but she makes like the most totally awesome clothes."
"Who went inta a full fangirl squee ovah tha Thing Clark?" Rogue asks him.
"Now you're blatantly exaggerating. I did not squee over the Thing," Clark argues. "I don't squee over anything...and I really need to step saying squee. It's not even a real word."
"Sure it is," Kitty insists.
"Who's the writer here?" Clark asks back. "And who has memorised the dictionary?"
"You memorised it?" Domino asks, looking slightly bemused.
Clark shrugs. "Photographic memory and perfect recall. Once it goes into my head it never leaves."
"That sounds more like an eidetic memory," Kitty argues.
"Could well be I suppose," Clark is willing to concede.
"How come no-one is asking me about what I did that night?" Domino complains.
Rogue gives her a look. "Because we all know what ya did and we would all rather not think about it. Ah don't need images lahke that in mah head."
"Hey my whole night wasn't Tony Stark you know. I met celebrities. Real life ones and you all know why I did what I did with Stark."
Rogue looks to Clark whose gaze turns to her for a moment and he shrugs as if to say just let Dom talk.
Rogue sighs and rubs her head. "Ok Dom. What did ya get up to?"
Domino grins. "Well let me see here. First off I..."
"She's leaving," Clark interrupts her reporting Cat is leaving her home. "And sorry for interrupting you," he apologises to Domino.
Domino sighs. "Always. I always get interrupted. With my luck you would think I would catch a break but no," she mutters in complaint. She slips into professional mode. "Check on your ear pieces," she says to Kurt and Kitty. She speaks into the microphone of the communicators. "Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3...how are you hearing me?"
"Good," Kitty and Kurt say in response.
"Alrighty then! Kurt you know what to do," Dom says, taking charge.
Kurt nods. Kitty offer out her hand which Kurt takes and they vanish in a puff of blue smoke. The 3 left behind cough and wave the smoke away.
"That's worse in a confined space. Next tahme make them leave tha van first," Rogue complains between coughing fits.
"Noted," Domino croaks as she tries not to choke.
Kurt and Kitty reappear on the roof of Cat's house. It was one place where the security did have a hole since it did not take into account a girl who could phase into the attic. Kitty does exactly that with her and Kurt. "Alright. We're inside," Kitty reports at a whisper.
"Fire up the laptop and let us see what signals we can pick up," Domino orders over the comm link.
Kitty pulls her laptop out of the bag on her back. She sits down cross-legged with the computer on her lap and fires it up. "How's the data link?" she queries.
Back in the van the laptop's signal is being transmitted and they can see what is on the screen. "Looks good," Domino reports back.
Kitty gets to work at what she does best. "Her Wi-Fi has crazy levels of encryptions on it," she soon discovers.
"Can you break it?" Domino wants to know.
"If I had like a month maybe. This...isn't going to work this way. I'll need to try to break into her own computer manually," Kitty concludes.
Back in the van Domino looks to Clark. "Where is Cat's computer?"
"One of the bedrooms has been turned into an office. Get Kitty to go 5 feet to her left and she'll be right above it."
"Did you hear that?" Domino asks Kitty.
"Yeah. 5 feet to my left." Kitty starts to move.
"Her other left!" Clark says urgently and can be heard by Kitty.
"Oops," Kitty says sheepishly. She and Kurt move the other way. "How's that?"
"One pace forward and she'll be right above it," Clark can report.
"What's the security like for this room?" Kitty asks as she takes that solitary pace.
"We think there's motion sensors that cover the door and window. Phase directly down from where you are and don't go near them and move slowly," Domino tells them.
Kitty takes Kurt's hand and phases them down through the ceiling until they glide down to the floor in the room beneath. They then walk slowly on their toes toward the computer up against the wall. Kitty turns it on and plugs her own laptop in which has some software she wrote to crack encryption, which they will certainly have to do.
"Alright I'm at the first password entry. Lets see how good I am." Kitty starts her programs running. It takes a few minutes before she can happily report, "I'm in. Ok lets see like what we have here," she says as she peruses over the icons.
Kitty takes some time going through everything she can think of and finding nothing.
"Maybe zhere's nozhing to find," Kurt suggests. Maybe they've made a mistake about Cat.
"Maybe," Kitty might concede. "However if we are like super paranoid for a minute and assume our computer might just possibly be hacked then we would set it up to look normal...to appear to work and be just like any other computer." Kitty taps her finger on her chin as she tries and decides where to go next. "In fact if she is really good then this whole part of it is a fake to throw you off the scent."
"Do you have an idea?" Dom asks over the communicator.
"Who's the computer genius around here?"
"Isn't that Ray?" Clark's voice breaks in over Kitty's communicator.
"Oh you are so not funny Clark," Kitty lambastes him.
"Yet you are dating someone whose humour is lamer than mine. Can't imagine what that says about you."
"When I get out of here prepared to be pranked back to the stone age Kent," Kitty vows.
"I'll make sure to leave a space in my schedule," he responds dryly.
"I'm killing him," Kitty says to Kurt.
Kurt's heard that before. "Um can ve focus on Cat. You had an idea?"
"Yes. Right. I do. First we reboot the computer," she says as she does it.
"Vhat next?"
"When you start a computer up there are always options. Usually everyone ignores them but if I go into them..." Kitty does just that. "Well, well. Look at that."
"Look at vhat?"
Kitty points at the list of options. "The bottom line. There's a number but no description. That shouldn't be there. Lets choose that and see what we have."
Kitty does that and...lets out a sigh. "More encryption. Ever get the feeling someone like doesn't want you to know something."
"I get zhe uneasy feeling of how scarily easy you make zhis look," Kurt says with some trepidation about what Kitty could gleam off his computer with barely a few strokes on the keyboard.
Kitty grins a little evilly. "You should my dear fuzzy blue friend. You should."
"Any idea how long this will take?" Dom asks.
"No. This is much more sophisticated looking from what I can tell so far. You just get Clark to keep an eye out for Cat returning and I'll work on this." Kitty pulls her pony tail tighter and redoubles her effort.
Downtown Bayville...
When it came to a decision on one thing Bobby and Roberto had managed to agree on where to meet Cat and bring all of this to a head. In the end they had agreed on a simple diner. Yeah not very fancy or anything but since one of them is going to end up dumped by the end of the night why waste money on some place nice?
They both sit on one side of a booth while Cat sits opposite them, drinking a warm beverage as her eyes gaze at them. "I made a similar point to both of you about who wants to take this seriously."
"I do!" Bobby and Roberto say at the same time and then glare at each other.
A small amused smile comes to Cat's pink coated lips at how the two boys look. She sobers. "We really must take this seriously. I like both of you, I truly do."
"I like you too," Bobby and Roberto speak again in sync and glare at each other once more.
Cat suppresses her smile this time. "Yet, like I said, I don't feel like I'm as in as others who only count as friends. Surely I mean more to you two than that."
"Of course you do!" the two boys says in stereo and then go back to glaring at each other.
"Then where do I stand? On the outside? I don't want to sound pushy but my emotions are not a toy. When I choose to give my heart to someone I want to know they are willing to open their heart to me, let me into their lives, and we have reached that point where I need to know which of you is willing to do that. I can't promise that it will be a 'Happy Ever After' but I can promise you a hell of a good time."
Bobby and Roberto sigh dreamily at that image. "Oh, good time," they say with far off daydream gazes.
Cat almost bursts into a laugh at their expressions. She coughs lightly to snap the two boys back to the here and now. "So tell me. Where do I stand? On the outside or on the inside?"
"On the inside," Bobby and Roberto say together once more and once more glare at each other.
"Before I make up my mind on which of you I date I want proof you are both sincere. Isn't that the least I deserve?" she asks.
"Suppose so," the two boys chime in harmony and really, honestly, they are not meaning to keep doing this.
"Well then, will you let me in?"
"How?" the two boys both asks together.
"Will you stop that?" Roberto complains at Bobby.
"Me? It's all you that's doing it," Bobby fires back.
"No it's not."
"Yes it is."
The two boys glare at each other. Roberto still can't believe Cat is struggling to choose. After all there is no doubt in his mind which of the two of them is the better choice. Him. If he needs to prove it he can.
Bobby can't believe what Cat sees in this egotistical jerk. At least Bobby has his sense of humour. He doubts Roberto can even spell humour. If he has to prove he is the better choice then he will.
"I enjoy two handsome young men fighting over me as the next girl but you asked me how you can prove you are sincere," Cat breaks up the little glaring contest.
"Yes," the two boys say together. They glare at each other with more anger than before. Both have the same thought about doing whatever it takes to prove to Cat that they're the one she should choose.
"Well I have an idea about how to do that," Cat says with a sly grin pulling at her lips.
Author's Note: Domino channelling the 11th Doctor there with her spy vans are cool remark. Clark gets a surprise invite to the Academy of Tomorrow. That'll make that trip more fun. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; The true identity of Cat Grant is revealed.