New York City, Empire State University Campus, Roof of Emma's Dorm

[icecoldfrost]

Unlike Fandom, the roof of the student dormitories at ESU were closed to students, and they were forbidden from going up there.

Then again, Emma Frost hadn't gotten as far as she had by paying any attention to rules.

It was a gorgeous day, sunny and bright and warm as she laid out her blanket on the roof where no one could see her. She had her cigarettes, her lighter, her phone, and the utter PILE of homework she had for her classes. Taking the accelerated Danger Shop courses had allowed her to test out of many of her general education classes that most freshmen had to take, and with the sheer amount of credits she was taking right now, she might be finished in two years, if she kept her grades up and maintained the grueling pace she'd set for herself. Even with two majors and a minor.

At the rate she was going, she was going to have enough classes to count as an engineering minor, too.

Even the most studious girl needed a break from the library - and all the deliciously info-packed-yet-incredibly-shallow brains that occupied it, which was why she'd sought refuge up here today. She could smoke, study for midterms, and not need to worry about hiding her Blackberry, dammit. She could text if she wanted to!

[OOC: NFB, open for calls/texts/etc]

Comments

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

Her phone rang.

Kerrigan wasn't too far from enacting the first of her plans. It wouldn't do not to know what one of her sleeper agents was up to...

[icecoldfrost]

Emma hit the answer button on her Blackberry, thumbing it over to speaker without taking her eyes off her textbook (or checking caller ID). "Frost," she said, her tone utterly bored. "Plotting would domination through academics, how may I direct your call?"

...sorry, Kerrigan.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

Kerrigan modulated her voice so that only the slightest hint of Zerg reverb was in it. "Miss Frost," she said, "I think world domination takes more than just academics."

[icecoldfrost]

"Yes, but it's as good a place as any to start when you're eighteen and starting from scratch," Emma answered without missing a beat.

Which was a lie, since she wasn't starting with nothing - she had her name, stolen acquired funds, and some diamonds stashed away - but it was close enough to the truth. "Miss Kerrigan? Are you back at the school?"

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"No, I'm still home," Kerrigan replied without missing a beat. "But I thought I'd check in on your progress. It's been a while."

She peered out over the expanse of creep, and noted to some idle satisfaction that the latest batch of Banelings seemed to be coming along admirably.

[icecoldfrost]

"Midterms," Emma replied absently. "This term I have intro to engineering, kickboxing, behavioral psych, international finance, classic french lit, and bio II."

Someone was being an overachiever, yes.

"But they're all so....human."

Emma had spent her last two years at Fandom, where everyone - even the most human of the lot - were typically extraordinary. But these people...small minds, small lives, and at times, it drove Emma utterly insane.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"Little minds, little ambitions." Even in her present condition, Kerrigan could... sympathise. "But think of it like this - if you have to push them out of the way, they don't have much to break."

Sort of progress. Back when she was human, she'd just have said 'fuck 'em.'

[icecoldfrost]

"True," she admitted with half a grin. "But it would feel like kicking a squirrel. I wouldn't feel bad about it, but is it really worth the effort?"

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"The trick," Kerrigan said, "Is finding something that is worth the effort, and enjoy the apathy."

She kicked a zergling aside. "Time for a superhuman college."

[icecoldfrost]

"I would kill for that," Emma sighed, shaking her head. "I keep training on my own, but..."

It wasn't the same without other telepaths around. She'd never admit it, but Emma was lonely.

[on-her-korhal.livejournal.com]

"You haven't sensed any other telepaths?" Kerrigan asked.

Be careful, Emma. River had gotten infested partly because she was lonely, too.

[icecoldfrost]

"It's a very big city," Emma pointed out dryly. She was good, and could easily pick out a familiar mind in this crowd, but an unfamiliar one? Not yet, anyway. "There are a few people who's minds are...interesting...but I'm not poking too hard just yet."

"No reason to give away my position until I have a better reason to do so."

[bitten_notshy]

And in London, Jack peeked out from behind his own pile of books and realized it had been far longer since he talked to Emma than he wanted it to be.

To be fair, he'd been hiding from all things Fandom-related for most of the last month. Still. He never meant to hide from Emma.

He called her, and -- an ocean away -- her phone began to ring.

[icecoldfrost]

An ocean and a world away, her lips quirked up into a smile slightly as her phone trilled a familiar tune, and she picked up the call.

"Jack. How much do you know about electrical engineering and lasers?" she asked, poking at one of the books in her pile. "Do remind me why I'm putting myself through this?"

Because you think science is fun, Emma, that's why.

[bitten_notshy]

"Because when you rule the world, you're going to need to understand the military as well," Jack returned. "Is that a good guess?"

A bantering smile crept into his tone.

[icecoldfrost]

"I have no idea why I thought taking engineering classes would be useful," she complained, although that wasn't entirely true. She had been too fascinated by that Ghost suit Kerrigan had given her to let the opportunity to understand it better slip past her.

"I'm starting to wish Portalocity did personal time-slip portals, so I could take as much time as I need to study."

[bitten_notshy]

"Could you book a weekend trip to some world where time moves more quickly, so you got a week there for two days in New York?" Jack wondered. "Or would they consider that misuse of their services?"

He didn't understand why Emma was taking engineering; his course load, while heavy, was standard for someone trying to get into law school, and he'd finish in the standard number of years. It was possible she'd become more of an academic overachiever than he was. But he saw no benefit in challenging her on it.

[icecoldfrost]

"I don't know if they'd consider it a misuse, but right now, I don't care," Emma mused. "Who do we know that has time run at a decent pace? At the very least, I could use a vacation."

[bitten_notshy]

"I wish I knew, but I don't," Jack admitted. "Besides, I'm still recovering from my last jaunt out of London. I don't think I'll chance another vacation for a while."

[icecoldfrost]

"I feel like I'm still getting adjusted," Emma agreed, shifting to get comfortable on her blanket. "New York is still New York, of course, and glorious as ever, but having a roommate again feels very strange."

[bitten_notshy]

"I think Kevin picked up someone at a club last weekend and the two of them made the most dreadful mess in the bath," Jack shared. Any mention of a roommate was a cue for him to ramble on about Kevin's many faults, apparently. "If this keeps up I'll go sleep in a cardboard box in the park."

[icecoldfrost]

"You aren't going to sleep in the park," Emma sighed, shaking her head. "You'll just put a lot of garlic in his food, which will keep his 'new friends' from wanting to get to know him better."

[bitten_notshy]

"I could mix some of those garlic capsules in with his vitamins..."

Jack, stop thinking about this.

[icecoldfrost]

"I would suggest a laxative, but you have to live with him," she pointed out. "Invite friends over to have brandy and study next weekend, and when he tries to pull something, you can all mock him."

"Especially if there's a cute girl or two there. Nothing wilts a man faster than scorn from a pretty girl."

[bitten_notshy]

",,, suitably devious," Jack said, impressed. "I should thank you. and anytime you want to come over and mock him, you're welcome."

[furnaceface]

Jono's visit back to the island, and running into an old friend or two from high school, had left him in one of those rare frames of mind where he was actually starting to wonder how his fellow graduates were doing.

Beware, Emma. That was a text coming your way from a certain Jon E. Starsmore, in a rare fit of legitimately wanting to have a conversation with a friend without first having to suffer humiliation at the hands of the X-Men or some sort of anti-mutant extremist group. And in retrospect, it was kind of sad that the two tended to wind up in the same sentence in that context.

Hello, Emma. Was thinking about people and got to wondering how you were doing. It's been a while.

[icecoldfrost]

The sound of an incoming text made Emma set her reading aside. It was another excuse to take a break, and she'd take it.

Midterms. I'd say shoot me now, but knowing our luck I'd rise as a zombie or a vampire and have to take the damned tests anyway.

Yes, she studied instead of just plucking answers out of the teacher's head. Try not to die of shock, people.

[furnaceface]

Well, Jono wasn't too shocked. Emma had her pride. He could understand that much.

It's a little known fact that the minimum passing grade on a midterm is higher in the afterlife, anyhow. Probably best you suck it up and battle your way through, indeed.

[icecoldfrost]

I would ask how you know that, but I don't think I want to know, darling. She informed him. vampire problems lately?

[furnaceface]

None personally, which makes for an astounding track record among the Starsmore family line, so I'm told. I could set out and pick a fight with one or two in an attempt to verify that information, but I think this is actually one of those rare instances where it's best to just take my word for it.

Yes. Yes he did just type all of that out on a wee dinky phone number pad. Jono was stubborn, dammit.

[icecoldfrost]

......

Wait.

no. tell me you're joking and our universe does not actually have vampires.

Working for Eric was one thing. Tolerating Jessica and Sebastien and Pam was another. Knowing that she had to be worried about vampires here, too, was going to make her start laughing hysterically until she cried.

[furnaceface]

Jono stared at his phone for a long, long time. And then, with a bit of a psionic sigh aimed at nowhere in particular, he started typing.

We have mutants. We have angry green men from outer space and we have gods. We have giant robots, blokes who ride about on motorbikes doing the work of the devil with their heads on fire, an entire Atlantean civilization, and a country in Antarctica where dinosaurs still wander about. And you're surprised by vampires?

[icecoldfrost]

...

...

Jono, you were a bad friend.

now you're just making things up, she accused. there are no gods, no devil, Atlantis is a myth, and penguins are not dinosaurs.

[furnaceface]

Jono was the best friend ever, dammit!

There was this thing with a large anthropomorphic ferret that called itself a Pooka once, too...

You're welcome, Emma.

[icecoldfrost]

pookas are horses, Jono. She read books! are you high?

Look, it was a fair question.

[furnaceface]

Not even a little bit, and now I'm actually somewhat regretting the lengths that I would have to go through in order to BE high for this conversation.

Should he tell her about the magical land of the fairies and leprechauns, or shouldn't he...

[icecoldfrost]

bullshit. find someone who's high and share, or get a telepath to zap you. Seriously, Jono, use your brain. it isn't that hard - you know I can do it for you.

[furnaceface]

I know you can, but you're not exactly in the neighbourhood. And as much as I want to creep around, looking for someone that's drugged half out of their head...

It would make for an interesting day, no doubt.

Even I'm not stupid enough to limit my own sense of awareness in the company of a bunch of complete strangers. The world doesn't exactly cater to the whims of mutants who let their guard down, these days.