Jubilation Lee

Angelo Espinosa

Jonothon Starsmore

Monet St. Croix

Paige Guthrie

Everett Thomas

Sean Cassidy

Emma Frost


Penance

Monet St. Croix is extremely bored.

But what can you expect? When you're a perfect woman living in an imperfect world, you tend to suffer from boredom quite easily. Especially when one of your roommates is droning on and on about something which is none of your concern. Monet sits upright in a plush chair, while the roommate in question, Jubilation Lee, stands in the center of the room addressing her small audience. Aside from Monet, the rest of their roommates comprise this audience. Jonothon Starsmore and Paige Guthrie sit on a loveseat in the corner of the room, while Everett Thomas and Angelo Espinosa sit on a couch right in front of Jubilee.

"...so yeah, he was like, killed by an animal or somethin—"

"Jubilation, are you through?" asks Monet. "We have already heard the details of the principal's demise, you're not telling us anything new."

"Okay, how about this, then?" replies Jubilee. "I saw Banshee."

"Mr. Cassidy?" asks Paige. "Are you sure about that?"

"I'm positive," says Jubilee. "Look, I know what the dude looks like, and I'm tellin' you guys, it was Sean."

"Wouldn't he have gone back to Cassidy Keep?" asks Jono.

"Or the X-Men?" asks Angelo.

"The X-Men have been pretty messed up since Storm's funeral," replies Jubilee. "And I dunno about Cassidy Keep, mebbe he didn't wanna go?"

"What was Mr. Cassidy doing?" asks Monet.

"I dunno... he was bitching at some local cops," replies Jubilee. "And then he started looking at the body and stuff. He was... y'know... that thing that cops do..."

"Beating non-white people?" asks Angelo.

"No," says Jubilee. "Y'know... that thing... dammit, I can't think today..."

"You can't ever think."

"Shaddap, M."

"Investigating," says Paige. "I think that's the word you're looking for."

"Right, investigating," says Jubilee. "He was investigating the crime scene or something."

"Why would Mr. Cassidy be investigating a crime scene?" asks Paige.

"Hey, I dunno, I'm not the mind-reader here," replies Jubilee. Each member of the group looks towards Monet's direction.

"Oh, of course," says Monet. "As usually, it falls to me to lead you children."

"Can you read Sean's mind?" asks Ev.

"Not from here," replies Monet. "I cannot read the minds of people who aren't in the immediate vicinity. Our first goal is to locate him and hear the story from his mouth."

My name is Emma Frost, and I am now the superintendent of the Snow Valley Board of Education. Several months back, my company's stock took a dive. I went bankrupt. Under normal circumstances, perhaps Frost Enterprises would still be open for business. But I devoted most of my energy to my students, and I left my company in the charge of others.

Never send a man to do a woman's job.

Following the passing of Xavier, the task of handling his finances, including the Massachusetts Academy, fell to Summers and Grey. I may not have trusted Xavier, but at least I respected him. I cannot say the same for the doting lapdog and mother hen. So I pulled the Academy away from Xavier and continued the funding on my own.

Then, the stocks fell. And the bank foreclosed the Academy. I dropped out of sight after that. The students left, and thanks to Monet's father, they were able to find a house near the local high school. As for Sean Cassidy? Who knows, he's probably drunk somewhere. Cassidy is not my main concern right now, the children are.

Everything I do is for the children.

Case in point - I am bringing up the schedules of five of my students, the ones who are enrolled at Snow Valley High School. I look over the names of their teachers. Then, I pick up the phone.

"This is Frost," I say. "I am about to e-mail you some names. See that they are screened."

I hang up the phone and sit back in my chair. As a telepath, the thought patterns of others are constantly intruding on my head. Most telepaths choose to screen out these thoughts. I, on the other hand, prefer to let them come to me. It takes a bit more discipline to listen to the thoughts as if they were at a low volume, but it gives me an extra sense of my surroundings. For example, right now, I sense the thought patterns of a tortured young girl. She is outside, waiting.

And I smile.

"What's the point of this assembly anyway?" asks Angelo as he tries to make his way into the crowded auditorium.

"Has something to do with the new principal," replies Paige. "With Leahy dead, they got someone else to replace him, I guess."

"Makes sense, I guess," says Angelo. He takes a seat and Paige sits next to him. "Where are the others?"

"I think I see Monet down there," says Paige. She stands and tries to wave her roommate over. Monet glances in Paige's direction, and then turns away.

"She's gotten a lot more uppity since we started coming here," says Angelo.

"Guess so..." mutters Paige.

"Yo, there you guys are!"

Paige and Angelo turn their heads to see Jubilee and Everett moving into the row and taking seats next to them.

"It's too crowded in this place, my claustraphobia's gonna start acting up," says Jubilee.

"...you don't have claustraphobia," says Ev.

"So?" asks Jubilee. "What's your point?"

"Nevermind..." replies Ev.

The four young mutants watch the stage, and a tall man with thin, grey hair and glasses steps up to the podium.

"Hey, what's Hewey doing up there?" asks Jubilee.

"Hewett is the vice principal, so maybe he's gonna introduce the new guy," says Paige.

"That's the vice principal?" asks Angelo.

"Yeah," replies Paige. "You might know these things if you showed up for class every once in awhile."

"Quit ridin' me," says Angelo. "Yer starting to get as bad as Emma."

"Good morning," says Hewett into the microphone. Upon hearing that the assembly is about to begin, the students quiet their chatter to a whisper level.

"The passing of Dr. Leahy is a tragedy," says Hewett. "Some of you may be wondering about the nature of his death. I am not allowed to go into the details of the case, as an investigation is still being conducted. However, due to the rather... bizarre nature of his death, I have my own theories, and it is safe to say that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are... not human. They are something else.

"We must not allow this event to shatter our resolve. We must press forward and I will personally see that Dr. Leahy's killers are brought to justice.

"In light of this tragedy, the school board has asked me to serve as the new principal, and it is a position that I have accepted."

"I don't like this..." whispers Angelo

"Don't worry about it," says Paige. "He didn't say anything about mutants."

"Then why is everyone staring at me?" asks Angelo.

As I said before, I am a telepath. I do not bother screening out the thoughts of others. So when I sense the mixture of emotions emanating from the man outside my door, I know who is going to burst into my office before he does.

"You can't go in there!" I hear a receptionist outside shout. But he doesn't care, he enters anyway. I swivel my chair ever so slightly so I can face him. One side of my mouth slightly curls into a small grin.

"So good to see you again, Sean," I say to him. "I like the suit, it's very becoming on you."

"No games, Emma," he says.

"Why Sean, whatever do you mean?"

"Yeh vanish after Frost Enterprises goes under," he says. "And then, once the students enroll in the high school, the principal is murdered. Stranger still is the fact that nae long after, yeh drop back into the public eye as the superintendent of the Board of Education."

"Coincidences Sean, nothing more," I tell him.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small plastic bag. He drops it on my desk, and I glance down at it. I already know what's inside, and I already know what he thinks it is.

"I found that at the scene of the murder," he says. "Ran a test on it. Seems that it's diamond."

"Now how do you suppose a red diamond arrived at the scene of a crime?" I ask.

He places his hands on my desk and leans in so that his face is inches from mine.

"I'm only gonna ask yeh this once," he says. "Where's Penance?"

"Tell me Sean... how does this concern you?" I ask. "Why are you questioning me about a murder before you've even flashed a badge?"

"You knew who I was working with the minute I walked through those doors, yeh stone-cold bitch," he hisses in a low voice. "Don't play daft with me, woman. I know you better than that."

"I don't know where young Yvette has wandered off to," I say. "When I left the academy, she was still there. I have spent these past few months overseas, so you will just have to excuse my ignorance."

"Ignorance me bleedin' Irish arse..."

"You know Mr. Cassidy, this is bordering on harassment," I say. I lift up the phone and place it to my ear. "If you do not vacate the premises immediately, I will call the police and report a trespasser. And even if your superiors bail you out of that predicament, which I am sure they will, then I'll make up for it by filing a lawsuit against you for harassment."

"Yeh haven't won this battle," he says as he moves towards the door. "This isn't over, Frost."

He slams the door behind him and I hang up the phone. I could have easily implanted a mental suggestion in his mind which would cause him to doubt my involvement in this matter in any way, shape, or form. Where would be the fun in that, though? Sean Cassidy is a determined man, but the role he fits is more akin to an entertainer than a threat.

I know it's not over, Sean. In fact, it's just beginning.

"Damn..." says Jubilee.

"Wait... this doesn't make sense..." says Angelo. "I mean, me, I can understand. But you guys look... y'know... human. Why would they think you're mutants?"

He turns in the opposite direction and runs through the clearing halls. The bell rings, and Monet is left standing in the middle of an empty hallway, her face overcome with shock.

"...he rejected me?"

"Go."

Ev slowly backs off and then walks inside the building.

"Why do the ones with claws get all the attention?"