Part 4: Inspection "Sebastian," Jean Grey was lounging on a couch in her penthouse apartment. "Aren't you a little worried about these new Hellions at Emma's school?" "Oh, my dear Phoenix" he smiled at her from the bar, where he was fixing drinks for them, "There's no danger. When has Emma not been able to control her student?" "At Graduation last year," Jean said dryly. "They thought, they didn't act." "That little blonde ferret wanted to act," Jean told him, "Until Emma took away her powers." "But the problem was solved." "Sebastian, have you READ the reports she's been sending us?" "Some of the new members aren't meshing well with the old. Emma will be able to deal with it. She has more help now." "You mean that Tai woman? I don't trust her." "Tai is a mysterious, able to resist your telepathy, but she's hardly a threat. She promises to give the Hellions a different perspective, making them stronger and even more valuable." "I don't see what you need them for," Jean told her king. "I mean, I'm glad they're gathered for their own safety, but their power is always going to be secondary to mine." To drive her point home, the champagne glass Shaw was carrying burst into flames, flew through the air to Jean's outstretched hand, and the fire extinguished again. "Perhaps Tai will be able to put some discipline into that worthless son of mine," Shaw grimaced. "She's not telling us the whole truth," Jean said, sipping the drink. "And Emma doesn't know or doesn't care." "I think Emma is easily capable of handling herself against an eighty year old woman." "As you say," Phoenix was reluctant to end the conversation, but it was apparent that Shaw wasn't listening. "If you're so worried, why not call Dwayne and find out more about her." "He knows as much as I do," Jean said. "She's just been his housekeeper and teacher for as long as he can remember." "So she's moved from serving one individual member to another. What's the problem?" "The PROBLEM is that she's not what she claims!" The Black Queen yelled. "She's got powers, at least enough to prevent Emma, Psylocke or I from reading her." "The old woman is harmless," Sebastian he silenced her. Phoenix acquiesced. She had joined the Hellfire Club, at the bequest of Mastermind, in order to further Xavier's dream of peaceful human/mutant relations. Of course what the Hellfire Club offered was a much different version of the dream than Charles'. The Club believed in the same outcome, but that was a secondary outcome of their primary goal. They desired the most powerful beings on the planet to rule, as they always had. They simply intended to be the most powerful. Jean didn't agree with all their methods, but if she were one of the planet's leaders, she would be able to easily stop the anti mutant prejudice. Even after Mastermind had perished at her hands for trying to manipulate her, Jean chose to remain with the club to pursue Xavier's goal, and reform the organization. The Group had become significantly less violent since she had risen to power, but something about Tai seemed to threaten that control. "Do you want Shinobi at a school like this?" "I want what is best for my imbecilic son," Shaw growled through grated teeth, effectively ending the conversation. Jean told Sebastian that she was going out for a few days, and stepped out onto her terrace. Summoning the power of her mind, she telekinetically reached to her clothing. The black gown began to shimmer, altering its composition to her will. Her long red hair flowing in the breeze, Jean Grey stood gleaming in the sunlight. Her arms and legs glowing with gold, a pale green jump suit with a triangular bird across her chest. The Phoenix had decided that it was time for a little trip to The Hellion's School. Snow Valley was lovely at this time of year. Her body was instantly surrounded by fire. The woman rose into the air, coasting north east at incredible speed. She and Tai were going to have a little talk, and there weren't going to be any secrets left between them. "We'll be arriving shortly," the limousine driver told his passengers. "It has been very pleasant spending time with you, Dwayne," Tai said. "I have missed you over the past year." "Tai, you know that you can come to the Hellfire Club or the Ambrose Building any time that you want to!" Dwayne responded. "I have responsibilities at the Academy," She told him. "But you have neglected to visit me or Silhouette as well. And for someone who can spend his night back flipping through the streets of New York incarcerating criminals, you require some vacation time as well." "It will be nice to see the Academy again," Angelica smiled. "I've missed the Hellions and Ms. Frost." "Emma has missed you as well, child," Tai told her. "She is having difficulty with the newest recruits." The three passengers chatted aimlessly for the remainder of the trip. They pulled into Emma's private residence near the school. The driver opened the door, and the three entered the opulent home of the White Queen. "Welcome home, Angelica," Emma smiled. Dazzler and Black Bishop flanked either side as Emma descended the grand staircase of her home. Firestar through off all semblance of formality and rushed up the stairs to meet the woman who had saved her from the life of being the outsider, the "mutie," the witch. They embraced fiercely. Frost was smiling. It was late afternoon, and Emma offered Night Thrasher and Firestar Dinner before being shown to their rooms. "Miss Frost," a servant entered the dining room. Firestar was happily consuming an extremely tender piece of roasted beef, smothered in gravy. Emma certainly knew how to throw a dinner party. "Yes," Emma looked at her butler. "There's a Ms. Grey downstairs." "Jean Grey?" Angelica asked. "Yes ma'am." Emma sent the thought to her counterpart. the red head's thought came back to Frost. "Richard," Emma told the servant, "Please set another place at the table. Ms. Grey will be joining us for dinner this evening." "Yes Miss Frost," he said. "Shall I show her up?" "No," Emma told him. "She'll find her own way." The butler hurried to the kitchen to order Jean's meal prepared, and soon the door opened. Phoenix, dressed again in her black gown, entered the room. Dwayne rose from his seat in greeting. "Lady Grey," he said stiffly. "Lord Taylor," she inclined her head towards the younger man. Dwayne pulled out a seat, and soon Jean's meal arrived. "What brings you here?" Emma asked her. "I was...concerned about the new Hellions. Your reports are suggesting discipline problems." "Oh," Frost's tone spoke volumes. Emma was shielding her thoughts, and so was Jean. "No, Emma," Jean told her. "I'm not trying to usurp your authority. I've talked Sebastian into sending Shinobi up here, and I want to make certain that he's not going to get any resentment from the other students." "I see." Her voice was at least less frosty this time. The dinner continued, with Tai sitting in silence, watching Phoenix out of the corner of her eye. Night Thrasher didn't seem to notice, but the three women did. Firestar watched the other two, while pretending to be focused on the conversation. came the voices of Emma and Jean simultaneously. The telepath's looked at each other and laughed. That relaxed the tension a bit, but Angelica was still worried. Jean had settled into the room Emma provided for the night hours ago. She reached out with her mind towards the others in the house. The White Queen had gone to sleep within the last few minutes, as had Firestar. Night Thrasher had taken Silhouette out to a movie, and had not returned. Firestar was asleep. She couldn't locate Tai inside the building, but a broader scan revealed her presence out on the grounds, and she was not alone. "Who?" Jean said out loud. It was a slightly familiar presence, but whoever owned it was attempting to mask their identity from any telepaths who might be in the vicinity. Converting her robe into her Phoenix costume, Jean stepped outside the room. Masking herself from Frost and the servants, she exited the house and moved, quietly, towards Tai and the stranger. The scent of mint filled jeans nostrils as she walked through the fog, and then she heard voices. "Frost is more difficult to control than Taylor," it was Tai, "But I have won her confidence completely, with only one difficulty." "The Black Queen," the other voice named that particular difficulty. "She will prove to be a problem." It was female, but Jean couldn't identify the speaker yet. She crept closer. "We'll deal with Phoenix when the time comes," Tai said. "We choose our own path. Our union will conquer the world, and Phoenix will be incapable of defeating that union." "If that is all," the second voice said, "Then I'll depart." "It was good of you to come." "I would not leave my most important ally," the woman said. Jean felt her presence melt back into the fog. And then Tai disappeared. Jean called out telepathicly to Emma, trying to rouse her from slumber, but could not. "You should not have come," Tai was suddenly standing behind her. Jean felt something cut her across the face. Her hand covered the wound, feeling the sticky warmth of blood through her gloves. Eighty years old? "Far older, Avatar," Tai sneered. Jean didn't give her a verbal response. Instead, she sent out a telepathic spike, hoping to incapacitate the woman. Tai seemed to struggle for a moment, but then completely shrugged off the effects of the mind blast. "You should have stayed away," was all the ancient figure said. Phoenix felt energy crackling around her, the scent of mint filling her lungs. She couldn't breath. Desperately, she created a psychokinetic shield around her. "You have so much power," Tai told her, "But no knowledge of how to use it." Phoenix's shield crumbled. Tai was controlling some new type of energy. It wasn't telepathic, but Jean could feel psychic cold, as if there was a great emptiness around them. Evil, cruelty, cold, hatred, it was all surrounding her, pulling her into it. She felt herself being dragged away, not physically, but mentally. She screamed, but heard no sound. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing but blackness around her. She reached out with her mind, but found nothing at all. She was swirling through the darkness, unable to move, unable to breath, unable see. Jean hugged herself against the cold, feeling tears of terror running down her face. Strangely enough, the tears provided the warmth that she couldn't find in her environment. So she just kept on crying. Daniel Thomas "...But I do not enjoy the killing...I AM NOT VIOLENT!! And I will put an arrow through the brains of anyone who says I am!!!"-Artemis (Artemis Requiem #4-DC)