Chapter 76: Let Me Show You

X-Mansion, Westchester, New York

The Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is a unique institute founded and led by Professor Charles Xavier to train young mutants to control their powers and help foster a friendly human-mutant relationship.

Students ran through the hall, their teachers calling out to slow down; a few brazenly used their powers to make their way through and around the expansive mansion that hosted over a hundred mutants of varying degrees. 

Hidden deep underground and shrouded in mystery, the chamber that protected was Cerebro. The door opened, and a beautiful blonde woman who exuded grace and power sauntered in her heels, punctuating her presence as their echoes bounced around the oval-shaped room. 

The X-men stood straighter, safeguarding the professor. He raised his hand, halting his over-protective students; he looked at each one, nodding a tired smile stretching across his lips. 

"Just as I remembered it." She said, spreading her arms out theatrically.

Emma Grace Frost is the C.E.O. of Frost Industries and the secret White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Colw hadn't gotten around to rescuing her before and would be stumped at the more mature and deadlier woman, The White Queen. 

"Headmistress Frost." Dr. Hank McCoy greeted. 

Emma thrummed her hair back before cocking her head suggestively. She smiled teasingly, sauntering to Beast with a model's grace, her heels clacking against the stainless steel floor. 

Hank swallowed as the buxom vixen focused on him. Her smile was still infectious, and her beauty was unmatched.

She ran her hand slowly across his shoulder and down his arm as she spoke. "Doctor, it's great to see you again. I'm disappointed that you declined the tenure offer at my school. It almost seems like you're avoiding being alone with me."

He adjusted his glasses and blushed, his blue skin turning darker. "No, that's not why I've-" His words were cut off by a manicured hand with a pristine French tip covering his mouth.

She glanced at Xavier. " Let me amend that. Professor, fear that I will keep you. Corrupt you, maybe." 

"Ms. Frost, please let's not belittle Hanks' contribution to the school. His work has a great impact on the students, and they really admire him. I suggested a co-habitation plan to create a friendly and collaborative environment between your students and mine," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Professor, please understand that my students do not need to live with humans as much as yours. I am raising them to be confident in themselves and their abilities, regardless of their level of power," she paused, looking at the two college-aged kids standing awkwardly.

Xavier scowled at her words. Emma knew he intensely disliked her view on humans and humans. Their schism and her taking a quarter of his students were still something he struggled with. 

Jean scoffed, folding her arms and drawing the blonde's full attention. Emma Frost and Jean Grey's eyes met, and a battle occurred. The two telepaths tested each other's defenses. Emma winced and backed down. She took her eyes off the only other telepath with potentially more power than her, Jean Grey, an Omega in telepathy and telekinesis. 

Emma moved closer, ignoring Jean, and whispered some words into his ear. The powerful mutant choked and looked alarmed. Emma chortled, but not before rubbing the back of his neck teasingly. Jean did not even bat an eye turning to face the professor; whatever they had or Scoot's fixation on her, she needed a break. 

Emma had come to assist Xavier in recalibrating the Cerebro. Jean's powers had been unstable, which made her unable to help. A concession was made, and Emma would get access to the machine twice a year for assistance. 

"That should do it." Professor X said as he and Emma removed similar helmets from their heads. Emma observed the helmet in her hands before Hank Mccoy quickly grabbed Emmas.

"Afraid little ol me will steal your Jimmy hat, Hanky boy." Hank Hurried away; Jean looked at a few years older woman disgustingly. Scott looked off elsewhere, hand on an earpiece hidden in his goggles.

Xavier held the helmet in his hands, the many cables of the old one gone. The room had been updated by technology, not of this Earth, by one of the X-men's many friends from the stars. 

While the two telepaths were recalibrating, an emergency had been issued by the team in Mexico. "The X-Jet has departed, Professor," Scott said tightly. 

Emma perked up, interested. She had given the task her all and had missed the emergency. Scott pointedly ignored her, assuming Jean was mad at him, easily being riled up. 

Xavier stared into the distance, his decisions weighing heavily against him today. His and Mccoy's machine is a complex E.S.P. machine called Cerebro, from the Latin "cerebrum," meaning "the brain." Its sole purpose is to aid in detecting new mutant brain waves. To help locate other mutants, both good and evil.'

'Evil, truly, can one be evil? One so young. Are there redeemable traits in us all?' He thought.

"Professor?" Jean said, not used to the man's silence. Jean had argued with him about the decision; he suspected her mental fluctuation was because of her conflicting emotions. 

'Trouble in paradise.' Emma said telepathically, having picked up snippets of his ordeal. 

'Ah. Ms. Emma, your mind and gifts are still as potent as the day I met you.' HE responded similarly. 

'As a blade, professor.' She thought inside her head, her shields back in place.

Xavier cleared his throat. "I know you wanted to go, but we must trust the youth to hold tomorrow." The news genuinely saddens Xavier, but aware that it is for the good. The Brood pushback against the heroes had been brutal. 

"Red Hood is there. I know it. Those soldiers have gear similar to his." Scott hissed. Scott had argued Red Hood was in Mexico as Bullseye, a known associate of his, had become infamous to the surrounding towns and authorities. 

Emma looked at Xavier, shocked. "You're after him?"

Xavier folded his hands in his lap and stared ahead. "He has been able to avoid detection. We had to find out what he was doing. The damage he could cause to everything I have worked for." 

Emma stood. "Everything "we" have worked for." She said to him in correction. 

"Ah. Ive misspoke. My achievements could not be accomplished without each one of you in this room and abroad." 

There was a tense silence before she nodded. "If that's all I needed to return to my school and students." 

Xavier quirked a brow. Hank had noted her abrupt departure as suspicious, too. Emma had been trying to access the Cerebro since she left his school for hers. Emma went in a barely controlled haste. 

"Hank," Xavier called. 

"Systems are secure. Even someone as powerful as Emma Frost could breach them." Hanl boasted. 

He cleared his mind and shifted back around. "This shouldn't be long. Once we discover his location, we can attempt to reign him in." He placed the helmet on his head. 

"Why don't we start with picking up a phone." Muttered Jean, clearly upset.

Scott scoffed. "Call and have him over for dinner," Scott said exasperatedly.

Jean rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Yes. That's exactly what we should be doing. He's a teenager, for god's sake." 

Scott sneered. "Lock him away and throw away the key, or let me take a shot at him," Scott growled. Hank Looked over but shook his head, clearly hearing the two lovebirds' conversation, regardless of their perceived whispering. 

"And what do you think you can do to him? The combined telepathic abilities of me and the professor weren't enough." Jean added, her arms folded. 

"You held back! You could have stopped him, but you resisted." Scott lashed out in anger before he realized it. He reached out apologetically, but Jean mentally pushed his hand away. 

"Jean," Hank said, seeing her use her power. 

"Sorry, she said." Head down, her face scrunched in contemplation. 

"Mental energies of your caliber could further reduce the professor's astral projection. "Hank said, turning back to the keyboard as he amped the machine artificially. Unexpectedly, Cerebro alarms flared, and the oval metallic egg shuttered and shook as if an earthquake was happening. 

"This shouldn't occur," Hank said on his end, taping his way to the keyboard, dread pouring off him. 

"Emma?" Jean screamed in accustation. 

"No, she can't do this." Hank shot her down.

"Hank, get him out." Scott roared, stepping toward the professor to throw the helmet off, but he was rebuffed by telepathic power. 

"Jean, you have to get to him. The safeguards.. this." Hank stuttered. 

Jean nodded, her hands on her temple, her focus zeroed in. She cleared her mind and latched on to the astral tendril of the professor. 

She screamed and fell to her knees, one hand still on her temple as the other rested on the floor. 

He paused, heart beating faster than it ever had before. Dead silence descended upon the room like the call of the grave, a foretelling of his impending doom that lasted more than a dozen seconds before the pool finally stopped rippling. 

Then, in the center of the room and under the shuttering lights and klaxon wails of alarms, a figure began to emerge at a prolonged rate—but the face that came up was focused solely on Xavier. It was an alien yet familiar, white-on-black tendril spooled around it dangerously.

"Oh, god. Hank..." Jean's head shot up. An apparition had somehow gotten through the considerable protection that not even the most potent minds arrayed against them had been able to breach. 

The temperature in the room dipped as frost began to spread around Xavier. 

"No, please don't." Jean reached out, but Scott grabbed her. He touched his visor and stared at the forming being. He screamed in rage and began shooting redd powerful concussive blasts at the apparition. 

"Arghhhhh." Professor Xavier screamed. 

"I was fooled to not go after your school when I was attacked the first time. Let me show you that boundaries exist, hypocrite." Xavier screamed as he was pulled from his chair, and his crippled body floated in the air. 

"This," Hank stammered. Dread filled him as he turned and slammed his substantial clawed hand down onto the hit emergency button to no avail. 

He turned to Jean. "Something… is attacking him. It's got to be him. Red Hood. The Omega."

Suddenly, a loud, irritated shout came from inside the room. "Stay out of my fucking head, mind rapist." 

Xavier was dropped back to the ground; the apparition had looked around the room, ignoring the blasts from the roaring Cyclops.

Jean had never been so helpless. Had she been wrong? She watched in slow motion as Xavier's body fell back to the floor. She screamed, and something that slumbered behind potent mental walls screamed; flames erupted around her as she flung herself ahead under her telekinetic powers, screaming in rage and horror at her struggling father figure. No matter what, she loved the man. 

The apparition remained motionless while watching her. Its white and black face stretched into a sinister smile. Suddenly, the Cerebro room shook violently. Hank leaped with feline grace, grabbed Xavier, and pushed them both off the wall, carrying Xavier over his shoulder as he opened the door. 

Wolverine entered, his claws fully extended. Storm's eyes glowed with power as they observed Jean soaring across the room with wings sprouting from her back.