Sage left the mansion quietly, knowing that whoever was monitoring the security systems was watching her, but not wanting to wake anyone unnecessarily. After all, she reasoned, she left the mansion at the same time every morning, and nobody she knew, other than perhaps Ororo and Logan, liked to be awake before six AM.
She slipped her shades on, setting them for a data review, nothing too trying, and slowly headed for the beginning of her morning running route. She always liked to start the morning with a gentle walk, followed by a two-mile run. She had done so ever since she came out of the club, as not only did it give her a chance to clear her mind but it also reminded her of the freedom she now possessed.
Breaking into a run as she reached her starting point Sage began the data review and sighed gently. It was nice not to be doing a dozen things at once or having to save the world again. It was nice, but she knew it probably wouldn’t last.
Keeping her pace steady, Sage checked the time on her glasses as she reached her one-mile marker. It wasn’t bad. She was staying consistently 2.342 seconds ahead of her personal best. Perhaps today she would be able to maintain it until the end of the run and set a new time for herself.
Breathing easily and keeping her pace steady Sage turned a corner and ran down an alley. Normally, this would be no place for a woman, but the combination of the daytime and her own dangerousness made Sage confident that she would not meet anything down it that she couldn’t handle.
The first she knew about the ambush was the low whining noise, and then the sharp, piercing sensation in her neck. Sage made no noise as she turned and spotted the sniper on the roof of one of the tall buildings to one side of the alley. Trying to get into a defensive position, she was dismayed when she found her body shutting down and out of her control.
Reaching slowly, painfully, up to her neck Sage pulled out the dart and her eyes widened at the familiar insignia. As her body slipped away faster now she heard a familiarly paced step approach where she was kneeling, and a familiar laugh boomed out as she fell onto her face. Her mind now slipping into darkness, she felt herself pulled upright and the voice whispered to her, “Don’t worry Tessa, it won’t do any permanent damage.”
****
Emma sighed impatiently as she waited for the last of the traffic to clear from in front of her limo. The damnable rush hour traffic was going to make her late for an appointment she already wanted over and done with as quickly as possible. She hated meeting accountants.
Tapping her fingers against the armrest she sighed again. She was seriously contemplating getting out and walking when the Limo started to move forwards.
“Finally,” she hissed to herself. It wouldn’t do to let the driver see her off balance. She had a reputation to maintain after all.
Arriving at the exclusive restaurant she graciously allowed the driver to aid her out of the car, and as she headed into the building she meticulously smoothed her suit. The girl at the desk didn’t even need to be told her name, and Emma suppressed a smirk at this. Power had its privileges.
“This way, Ms Frost,” the girl said politely, leading her to a table situated off to one side and away from the main doors. It was prominent enough to let people know she was there, but private enough to allow a discreet conversation with the man who was already sat there, looking decidedly nervous.
“Ms Frost…” he gushed as he stood. She motioned him to sit as she did. A quick surface scan of his thoughts brought up several inconsistencies in the accounting of one of her holdings that had him sweating. It was nothing too major, so she decided to put him at ease.
“Mr Franklin, while I’m sure our business is urgent I believe it can wait until we’ve at least had something to eat. After all, it would be a shame to waste such a fine restaurant on nothing but business.”
He nodded appreciatively as she called the waiter over.
“I’ll have the French onion soup, to start,” she said, having been to this restaurant many times and knowing what she liked. She waited to Franklin to order, and then prompted him on several subjects to get an accurate mark on where the problem with her business lay.
Finally, the soup arrived, and Emma tucked into it, enjoying the rich onion taste mixed with the set of herbs this restaurant used.
By her third mouthful Emma had started to feel uncomfortably hot, which she passed off as the glare from the lights. By the sixth, things were starting to blur slightly, which she passed off as being stressed. She never took her eighth. Instead, she flopped boneless back into her chair.
Franklin panicked. His employer had just passed out. He tried to rouse her, and when that failed, he called for the staff. When they failed to wake her, an ambulance was called, which arrived not long after. Emma was soon tied down to the gurney and loaded into the back. Nothing seemed out of place, but anyone who looked into the back of the ambulance would have seen a tall, well dressed man laughing to himself.
****
Sage woke up slowly, despite her nakedness and the unknown hand that was stroking her hair, and realised with a panicked start that she couldn’t move. Painfully slowly she forced her eyes open, the only part of her body that would respond to her thoughts.
The hand moved from her slightly damp hair and instead took her own, limp hand from the covers. “Tessa, darling, its good to see you awake.” She immediately recognised the voice, although she was put slightly off balance by the tenderness in it. Sebastian Shaw was never tender.
Fighting harder, Sage tried to forcer her body to do anything, to move in any way, but nothing came of it. It was all she could do to roll her eyes until she could see Shaw. He was sat beside her bed, holding her hand, an almost loving expression on his face. “I took the liberty of having you bathed. I didn’t want you to feel like a prisoner, Tessa.”
She tried to speak, but all of the muscles in her throat were also paralysed. Sage was starting to get extremely uncomfortable with this loss of control. It brought back too many memories, and apparently Shaw was able to pick up on that.
“I’m sorry you can’t move darling, but it is a side effect of the tranquilliser I had concocted for you.” His free hand brushed across her face, and he sighed. “It will wear off soon enough. I love you Tessa. Love you still, despite everything, and I thought you loved me too, after all, it was much more a partnership than a slave/master relationship, wasn’t it?”
Sage looked at him, incredulous. Did he honestly believe all that drivel that he was spouting? She knew that he did, unfortunately. She had played him that way deliberately for Xavier’s damnable dream.
He sighed again, and continued. “But, you betrayed me Tessa.” The grip on her hand tightened slightly. “You broke my heart. I’ve only loved twice in my life. One that died, and one that lied. I even used Lady Mastermind to try and undo the brainwashing the X-Men put you through.”
He was delusional, Sage thought with sudden clarity, completely and utterly delusional.
He leant down and kissed her gently on the forehead before getting up and moving over to a small table. He looked at her, almost sadly, before picking up a small syringe. “I initially had this developed for the Wolverine, Tessa.” He explained. “It contains a mix of sensory enhancers, powerful hallucinogenic agents, uninhibitors and libido enhancers designed to send the animal feral in a heartbeat. It is my intention to capture him, and then breed him. I’m sure you’ll agree that his offspring will be a valuable asset.”
He sat back beside her again, the wistful look back on his face. It scared her more than any physical torture he could put her through, since this made him unpredictable. “I wonder what it will do to a mind like yours? Although we’ve lowered the doses significantly, it is still a potent mix.” He leant in and kissed her forehead again, and as he pulled away Sage could swear she saw unshed tears glinting in his eyes.
“I hate to do this to you, darling Tessa. I do love you.” He paused slightly, and his face hardened imperceptibly. “But, you betrayed me Tessa, and I simply cannot allow that.”
Taking her unresisting arm he slid the needle in gently, and Sage felt the aching cold as the mix was pushed into her bloodstream. Leaning down one last time he kissed her full on the lips, a passionate, almost bruising kiss, before pulling her up into a semi-seated position. From there she could see a television monitor. “Enjoy the show Tessa,” he said, getting ready to leave. The last thing she heard before the drugs took effect was a whispered “I love you.”
****
Emma was woken by the sting of a bucket of ice cold water slapping across her naked body. Intending to sit up and chastise whichever student thought it appropriate to douse the headmistress, she instead jerked her arms painfully against the restraints she was in.
‘Restraints?’ That thought had her fully awake, eyes open and mind reaching for… nothing. Where the comforting ‘noise’ of her telepathy normally blanketed her mind there was nothing. A laugh caught her attention and dragged her focus back to the room she was in and the company she was keeping.
Correction, make that cell she was in. “Sebastian,” she spat, looking up at the elegantly dressed brute. Taking in the rest of her surroundings she realised that she was in a Hellfire holding cell, and that not only was she wet and naked but she was being ogled by the guard who had just doused her. “What is the…” She never finished the demand, as Shaw’s hand cracked across her face, knocking her down almost flat to the ground.
“Shut up Emma. You may not speak until spoken to.”
The tone of his voice surprised her. It was the tone normally reserved for slaves, not the White Queen, not Emma Frost. “I am the White…” The hand cracked across her face again, knocking her down from where she’d struggled into a kneeling position. She felt the blood running down her cheek from where one of his rings had tipped her skin. How dare he.
“You are nothing, Emma. You forfeited any title here when you left to join the X-Men.” He kicked her, drawing the breath from her body. “You are less than nothing, Emma, darling.” The sarcasm dripped from his voice, in a mockery of her own.
She tried futilely to reach for his mind, but this only caused him to laugh again and lean down to tap her neck, or more specifically the thin metal collar around it.
“Inhibitor Emma, you should have guessed by now.” He laughed again at the dismayed expression on her face. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long Emma. Far. Too. Long.” He punctuated each word of the last line with a kick, and laughed at her gasps. “As the White Queen I could accept that, after all, I foiled many of your plans. But to have it continue once you’d betrayed us to the X-Men, that was something I cannot abide. Not and maintain my position. You understand that I’m sure, darling.”
So, this was about some scheme of his that she’d inadvertently foiled. How pathetically male and typically Shaw. Emma told him as much, and was surprised when he didn’t hit her again. “So what are you going to do with me, Sebastian?” She demanded, the tone of her voice making it more than a question.
“I’m going to get my justice Emma, but before that, I’m going to have some fun.” At her horrified and sickened look he chuckled. “Don’t worry Emma darling. I wouldn’t lower myself to that.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “Not when I have people to do if for me.” Standing back up he beckoned, and the guard who had previously been watching her brought over an object, held in a leather glove.
Passing another leather glove over to Shaw, Emma watched as he transferred the brand over. She could feel the heat radiating off of it already. Shrinking back desperately as Shaw approached her; she wasn’t expecting the waves of agony as the metal touched her flesh. Blindly, falling into unconsciousness, Emma heard someone screaming, and realised it was herself.
****
“Dress her.” Shaw commanded to the guardsman as he put the branding iron back into its container. He was feeling rather satisfied with himself and watched as his guards dressed Emma in all her While Queen finery, removing the restraints but leaving the inhibitor flush against her skin.
All in all it had been a good day for Sebastian Shaw. He was coming close to neutralising one of his most annoying political opponents and he was punishing Tessa for her betrayal at the same time. Two birds with one stone? A good day indeed.
His thoughts turned to Tessa, and he felt a pang of regret for how he was using the woman that he loved, but she had betrayed him so bitterly. Besides, she would survive this, no doubt about it. And, once her precious, sanctimonious X-Men found out what she’d done, well she would have no choice but to come back to him. He would be the only one who could protect her.
Laughing, he instructed his guards to take Emma to the transport truck, while he went to collect Tessa. He hoped that, in her confused and uninhibited state, she believed the video he had prepared for her. So useful that Emma had left so much of her Hellfire clothing behind, so much easier to create a facsimile of her to enrage Tessa.
Looking in on Tessa, the set, cold, and dare he say it, feral expression on her face had him chuckling again. Oh yes, the game had only just begun and he was going to enjoy this. Yes, he was going to enjoy this.