Welcome to Gaia! ::

Welcome To The Jean Grey School Of Higher Learning.

The sign already had her rolling her eyes in the back of the white limousine as they pulled up into the driveway. When she'd first heard what they'd decided to name the school, she'd found it absolutely hysterical, but seeing it up close like this could barely evoke a chuckle from the blonde. Stepping out from the backseat, Emma Frost was stoic as she continued to eyeball the sign. Why on earth would anyone name this establishment after such a reckless, idiotic—

And then, she saw it. Smack dab in the middle of the walkway. Big and bright and towering over her like some grotesque form of modern art. Standing before her, in a rather unfitting heroic pose, was none other than Jean Grey. Emma could do nothing but stand in awe of the display, even lowering her sunglasses, as if to make sure what she was seeing was actually there. Oh, but it was, and she was nothing short of appalled. She watched quietly as light from the sun beamed down to illuminate the woman's ghastly features. "Still a bloody show off." She thought to herself. It seemed that when she had referred to Jean Grey as a 'sacred cow,' someone had taken the first part of that insult to heart. This was positively absurd.

Never in a million years could she begin to comprehend the ongoing obsession with Jean Grey. As far as she was concerned, the most memorable thing the woman ever did was die. After leaving a trail of misery and heartbreak behind her, of course. What an inspiring message. Regardless of how much it irked her that she could never seem to escape the damn woman, Emma refused to dwell any further on the matter. She wouldn't give Jean the satisfaction. Instead, she turned her nose up to the statue and made a bee-line towards the front door. Though long before she found the opportunity to knock, it flew open, revealing a small crowd of familiar faces.

"Miss Frost!" They beamed, and if the school's tasteless choice in decor had put a damper on her mood just moments prior, any trace of that had vanished in an instant.

"Hello, children." She couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips, especially not when one of the smaller, bolder students managed to throw their arms around her in a touching, albeit awkward embrace. "Boundaries, darling, boundaries." She scolded playfully, but the students would have none of it today it seemed. Then came the barrage of questions.

"How's Mister Summers?"

"Well—"

"Is Magneto still with you guys?"

"Actually—"

"Where are the Cuckoos?"

"I..."

"Don't smother her like that, let her through!" One of the older students rolled their eyes as the rest of them backed away from the door. "Sorry about that, Miss Frost. The little ones seem to have forgotten their manners."

"With Logan in charge, I can't very well say I'm surprised. When the philosophy of Jack Daniels becomes a set part of the curriculum, I think it's safe to assume there's absolutely no hope for our kind." She grinned, taking in the mansion's interior design. The familiarity was making her feel like her old, snarky self again. Needless to say, it was a good feeling.

"That's not a real class?" The senior remarked and Emma scoffed. She had just begun to examine the new installations, when another voice addressed her rather suddenly, catching her off guard.

"Miss Frost, have you come to stay with us?"

The question brought about a long, awkward silence as the rest of them eagerly awaited her answer. Mentally, she groaned. She thought they might jump to conclusions, as children so often do. She'd gone over nearly every possible way to answer this particular question, hell, she even had a speech prepared if need be. But when reality came rearing its ugly head, she couldn't seem to remember any of it, leaving her head as blank as the stare she now held with all of her prized pupils.

"No, darlings," She answered finally. "I'm only here to visit." Hearing the words aloud made her inwardly cringe. In one dreary sentence, she had just managed to make their situation that more official. This, all of this, was really happening. "I'll be needing to have a word with your...headmaster." As expected, referring to Logan as 'headmaster' felt ridiculous. This was all so excruciatingly bizarre. Like she had accidentally stepped inside the looking glass, placing her in an alternate universe where everyone worked together in a collective effort to make her life more difficult. "No need to tell him I'm here. I'm sure he's already sniffed me out by now."

When the students reluctantly scattered upon Logan's request, Emma was finally able to let out a long, much needed breath she hadn't quite been aware she was holding. Being put on the spot, though she had expected as much, still proved to be more than she could handle at the moment. After all, she was only just beginning to let everything process in her mind. Yes, there were changes, but if there was one thing she was positively brilliant at, other than striking fear into the hearts of young men, it was dealing with obstacles as they presented themselves. A woman didn't get to where she was without learning to improvise. So, mutants were feared, hated, and facing rather extreme forms of prejudice. What else was new? Well, they were also divided, and if one were so inclined to believe in the old Greek philosophy, 'united we stand,' then one would have to acknowledge that things were beginning to spiral out of control. On another, more somber note, the school had been re-opened, and she wasn't part of it.

She wasn't part of it.

This was proving to be more difficult to process than the rest of her laundry list of grievances. She'd told Scott, more than once, how she felt about their situation. He wasn't having any of it, apparently. He took her for granted more often than she'd normally tolerate from anyone else, but he wasn't anyone else, was he? He was Scott. How could she possibly say no, especially when the rewards for her efforts often resulted in him being shirtless? The answer was, to no one's surprise, she couldn't. He needed her now more than ever, and even if he was asking her to be something she didn't particularly care to be, she'd be damned if she was going to leave him out in the fray by himself. If she had planned on abandoning Scott Summers after the going got tough, she would've never bothered standing up to the bloody Phoenix.

So, why was she here then? To check on the children, of course, their well-being she put before all else, but that wasn't her sole concern. Far from it. To put it in layman's terms, it was olive branching time. As much as she loved Scott, she was fully aware that his ego would never allow for him to call a truce this early on in their little game, even if it was imperative. Not to say Logan was being any less ridiculous. This made itself perfectly clear as she entered his office, only to find a half empty bottle of bourbon sitting out on his desk on full display. Only Logan could be so utterly careless. She swore sometimes she was the only one capable of rational thought.

"Need I remind you that you are now the headmaster of a school? A respected establishment with a code of conduct?" Emma remarked, eyeballing the source of her aggravation as Logan shut the door behind her.

Emma shot Logan a brief, incredulous look before removing her coat and placing it on the seat across from him. "My students wouldn't dare participate in any of these inane activities. Not without knowing they'd be risking life and limb should I catch wind of their thoughts." She sighed, pausing as if to decide whether or not she wanted to continue on with her rant. She decided against it, instead taking a seat on the edge of Logan's desk, her expression softening as she watched the children play in the schoolyard through the window. "I assume you know why it is I'm here, and if I assumed correctly, then you should know that the answer is yes, please." Emma arched a brow, gesturing towards the wine cooler. A heart-to-heart with anyone, let alone Wolverine, would surely prove to be difficult for the 'Ice Queen', and may even result in a migraine without alcohol thrown into the mix.

Of course she'd come to talk to him about Scott. They both knew it, but the subject known only as 'Summers' appeared to be taking on the role of the pink elephant, as it so often did. What was she going to do with him? Well, she had a few ideas in mind, but now was hardly an appropriate time for that. Several minutes passed, and Emma said nothing, just stared out into the yard. But somewhere between the third and fourth sip of her drink, she finally managed to work up the nerve.

"You and Scott," She began. "Haven't always seen eye to eye, I'm aware." The look on Logan's face told Emma all she needed to know. This was only the opening line to her little spiel and already the air was thick with emotions. She pressed on. There was no going back now. "And while I choose to remain supportive of his ideals for personal reasons, my patience can only go so far. You're both grown men. I find it a tad ridiculous that I'm being forced to take the initiative, but there are more important matters to be tended to, none of which include catering to either one of your egos. Our numbers have dwindled dramatically over the years, but I needn't tell you that. You already know, the same as all of us know. The safety of these children and all mutants, is too important to leave up in the air. Whatever it is that caused this divide, as I'm sure there's more to it than what I've been told, I'll leave that between you and Scott. However, refusing to speak to one another is putting all of us at risk. If one were so inclined to take advantage of our situation, this high school drama of yours could very well be the end of our species."

Idie Okwonkwo. Of course she knew about the poor girl, how could she not, with everyone's thoughts buzzing and blaring all at once the way they had that night? And the look on Scott's face. That solemn look, no matter how fleeting, had told her everything there was to know. Emma didn't need to read his mind to see that he was just as conflicted as Logan, if not more so. Try as he may to project the image of a fearless leader, deep down Scott was still incredibly fragile, only now he couldn't afford to acknowledge that side of himself, let alone show it. There was far too much at risk.

"We change in order to adapt, Logan. To survive. It's far from pleasant, but it's necessary. It's a war zone out there. You and I both know what that means. It means that sacrifices will inevitably be made, and the lines we drew long ago won't be nearly as distinct as they once were." She trailed, searching for her next choice of words. Her voice was modulated. Careful.

"Despite popular belief, I'm not utterly devoid of emotion. I'd personally love nothing more than to be able to teach my students without living in constant fear that one day, I'll wake up to find myself breathing in their remains. To live in a world where the most dire decisions I'm forced to make revolve around my wardrobe would be a godsend." She sighed, allowing her eyes to drift back over to the children, only to catch a glimpse of Jean under the windowsill. Of course. That stupid bint is haunting me, Emma thought, glaring daggers at the photograph. This accomplished nothing, for the redhead's eyes only seemed to bore deeper into hers, seeing through her, and causing Emma to shift uncomfortably. You really are an insufferable cow.

"I'm not asking you to forgive him," She continued, despite her growing impatience, and was relieved to find her previous tone still intact. "I'm simply asking for you not to turn your back on him, or the rest of us on Utopia. There are dark days ahead, and the mutants need to remain a people."

"On any trip, during any occasion, when have I ever brought only one change of clothes?" With that said, Emma unbuttoned the top of her suit, revealing her signature battle attire underneath. "Don't take this the wrong way, darling. It's not that I didn't trust you, it's just, well actually—" The ground rumbled beneath them suddenly, and the frantic surge of thoughts went blazing through her mind in a chaotic blitz. The students were panicking. "I'll save my quips for another time. Preferably when we're no longer at risk of being killed in an excruciatingly anti-climatic fashion."

Earlier

Paperwork. Oh god, the paperwork. No one liked it, but it had to be done, right? Kitty Pryde, 'headmistress', (it'd be awhile before she ever got used to that title) sat at her desk filing the documents on the new students in the serenity that was the West Wing, away from all the craziness. Taking a deep breath after putting the last of the files away, Kitty turned to her computer, glancing at the security feed. Needless to say, what she saw caught her completely off guard. Emma Frost. Who in the what now? The words escaped her as she raised an eyebrow. Unfortunately, she wasn't hallucinating. Looking as spoiled and snobby and ridiculous as ever, Emma Frost stood in the hallway. Greeting her students. Her students. God, she couldn't get over it. Everything was so different now, and the students, they seemed pretty happy to see her, actually. At least she was wearing something presentable. She'd rather not have to witness the majority of her class drool over that bottled blonde barbie. Letting out an irritable sigh, she turned from the monitor. If Emma was here, it could only mean one thing. Trouble.

Now

Somewhere between distributing grades for a test on mutant history and color coding the contents of her binder, she decided things couldn't get anymore bleak. So, it was time to face the music. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she stood from her office chair. The brunette allowed herself to phase through a nearby wall, making a bee-line for Logan's domain. The sudden rumbling accompanied by panicked shrieking however, caused Kitty to stop in her tracks. Then came the alarm. She wished she could say she hadn't seen this coming. Like I thought. Trouble. It was then that she changed course, deciding to head for the main entrance. When she reached the other side, she was greeted with the sight of Emma in her usual get-up. She narrowed her eyes. "Of course. Why do I feel like this has something to do with you?"