Emma Grace Frost (faberges) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-06-12 21:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | marvel 616: canon: emma frost, marvel 616: canon: jean grey |
Characters: Jean Grey and Emma Frost
Where/When: Knowhere Marketplace / June 11, morning
Ratings/Warnings It’s pretty clean and super brief, but there’s mention of character death and some grief.
Status: Complete
Emma was very slightly hungover as she walked down the aisle in the marketplace. It wasn’t obviously apparent to anyone around her thanks, in large part, to her powers, which she was using on everyone around her to more or less make their eyes slide right off of her the second they looked in her direction. If there was ever a time to be grateful for psychic powers, it was when she wasn’t looking entirely her best and she could use them to cover that fact up.
Her second day in Knowhere was looking up, though. In spite of the fact that she felt miserable and lonely and uneasy about so many Avengers just being around, she was making plans to make things a little easier. Sleeping in a barrack just wouldn’t do for more than a night; Emma had standards, after all. So she was walking with purpose, heels clicking with each step as she scanned the area for some sort of construction area or mechanic shop. In order to be more comfortable she needed money and her secondary power could help with that. All she needed was a machine that could cut through diamond. Then she could shift into her diamond form, give herself a trim, and pawn to the highest seller.
It wasn’t Emma’s proudest moment, but she’d been hitting enough lows lately that focusing on progress instead of the indignity of it all kept her afloat. Barely.
Jean hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and the previous evening, she hadn’t slept at all. Instead, she had spent her time monitoring those in the med bay, and when Tim and Ororo had been brought back, her attention had been focused on saving the two of them and ensuring that they were beginning to improve. When morning came, she knew that if she stayed any longer she’d be forced to deal with questions about why, and she honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with the emotional force that would be the Wayne family reunion, so after she made sure ‘Ro was resting comfortably, she slipped out, ending her shift.
Rather than return to her apartment, Jean had decided to go for a walk. She barely noticed those around her, but instinctively she managed to avoid others as she took a wandering path which eventually brought her to the marketplace. As she walked through it, an awareness began to prickle at the edges of her mind, and once she reluctantly focused on it, Jean let out a near-audible sigh. The mental tricks Emma was using to avoid attention were easy for the redhead to counter, and as she turned a corner to head down an aisle, she stopped, considering the blonde was headed straight for her.
Emma was honestly the last person she wanted to see right now.
Emma felt Jean before she saw her and it was through years of training that she managed, in one swift movement, to straighten her back and slide a hand through her hair to smooth out any flyaways. She was wearing the same white dress she'd arrived in, as she didn't have anything else to wear but her old uniform and that didn't feel right for a number of reasons.
Glancing up, Emma caught Jean's eye and tried not to scowl the way she instinctually might have. It did no good to let Jean see through the carefully crafted mask she put on on any given day. She was half tempted to keep going, but Emma slowed, lips pursed. Jean was the first one to comment on her first message after joining the community and Jean was the first person she'd met up with. "You're like a bad dream," Emma said in a pleasant, conversational tone that belied her irritation.
Jean was more than a little annoyed to see the blonde, but met her gaze unflinchingly. The last time she’d seen her in the flesh, Jean had been pulling the Phoenix from her. After that, she’d only seen her in the White Hot Room and had pieced her back together while trying not to focus too hard on the memories she’d picked up of Emma and her husband….who was now dead.
There was a faint shadow of grief on her face, in her eyes, but she shoved it aside in favor of righteous indignation. “I was here first. If anything, you’re the nightmare, Emma, not me.” She’d been first on Knowhere, at least. It was too bad that her desire for another mutant had resulted in...this.
It was the hint of sadness that momentarily flashed on Jean's face that made Emma glad she's spoken first and gone the mean route. Unprepared to deal with her own feelings about Scott's death, Emma certainly didn't think she could handle Jean giving her watery eyes and pathetic looks. For a moment, Emma considered Jean going so far as to talk about her feelings. She nearly shuddered. Though she recognized that Jean had a right to some grief, it was in Emma's arms that Scott had passed and that was something, at least to Emma, that belonged entirely to her.
Rolling her eyes, Emma smiled tightly. "And yet here you are, everywhere I turn. Be a dear and tell me where the nearest mechanic is, won't you?" Best to try and keep this short, Emma figured.
Anger was easier than sadness right now, and Jean didn’t hesitate to wall off the more painful emotions. Her eyes were clear when she did meet Emma’s gaze again, and she arched a brow. “And here you are, asking for my help yet again. Don’t tell me we’re settling into a routine?” Jean nearly considered not even answering the question and instead ignoring the blonde to continue on her walk, but after a moment she decided that would be too spiteful, and why should she let Emma bring out that side of her?
“There’s a stall run by a woman named Ahsoka. She’s from the Star Wars universe, and is the best there is.” She gave directions, then eyed her considerably. “What could you possibly need a mechanic for, anyway?”
"I'm applying for a job," Emma said dryly, eyes narrowing on Jean a little. The pair of them always brought out the worst in each other and Emma could practically feel the righteous indignation that threatened to come out of Jean. It would have been a little fun to poke the bear, but Emma had things to do. And, if she was being entirely honest, she wasn't quite ready to deal with a provoked Phoenix.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Then, Emma pushed forward. "Well, this has been just lovely, but I've things to do." She started to walk, head held high, hoping that she'd at least managed to annoy Jean a little.
The sarcastic response elicited a small eye roll from the redhead, but she didn’t rise to the bait. All she really cared about for the moment in regards to Emma was that the woman go about her business and stay out of her own.
When she began to pass her, Jean nearly continued on herself, but instead she hesitated, then reached out to catch Emma’s arm. This was a personal touch for two telepaths, particularly the two of them, but her own shields were firmly in place, and Jean needed to know more.
“Rachel, Nathan...do you know anything about them? If they’re…” Honestly, Jean couldn’t finish the sentence, as though saying the word would make it more real. But she had to know about her children. “Please, Emma.”
Emma was quick to react, instantly tugging herself free of Jean’s grasp. Old memories of Jean snatching her by the wrist and forcefully touring her way through Emma’s memories came to mind. “They’re fine,” she said, scowling and straightening quickly. Fine was, perhaps, a bit of an overstatement. The amount of drama any given X-Man went through was considerable and Nathan had been thought dead for a while. Everyone was scarred, mentally and emotionally, even if they didn’t carry physical injuries from every bad thing that had crossed their paths lately. But as cruel as she could be, Emma didn’t think it necessary to share that with Jean. Nathan was alive now, as was Rachel, and that was good enough. And Emma wasn’t especially interested in rehashing the sordid details of the past few years of everyones’ lives for Jean’s sake.
“Pull yourself together,” Emma said coolly, putting enough space between the two of them that she’d be able to avoid Jean grabbing at her. “They’re not dead and they’ve still got their powers. They’re better off than plenty of others.”
Jean didn’t fight Emma’s abrupt pull back. She shouldn’t have grabbed her, but she’d needed to know the answer to her question and couldn’t risk Emma leaving without telling her. Releasing a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding, Jean straightened again and nodded a little at the first part of the other woman’s response.
The rest of it had her eyes narrowing slightly, and she wanted to press the issue, but that wasn’t how one pulled information out of Emma Frost. For a full half a minute, she considered possibly pulling the memories out herself, but she pushed away the very idea quickly. That wasn’t what she did unless absolutely necessary. It wasn’t who Jean Grey was.
Realizing she’d have to be satisfied with that tiny piece of news, Jean gave Emma another faint nod. “Thank you,” she said, then turned away and began to walk down the aisle, more than willing to get away from her now.
Emma remained in her spot as Jean walked away, a look of indignation crossing her face. It probably spoke to her mental state that Jean had rattled her so easily and silently, Emma kicked herself for letting it show. Once she was far enough away, Emma sighed. “Dumb cow,” she muttered to herself before starting to walk again. She needed to get back on track and not allow Jean to completely sour her. She was too busy to feel bad and that, at least for now, was how Emma liked it.