2013-02-22 Tomorrow is Yesterday

The was the last shot. After her meeting with Hank McCoy the previous day, she returned to her new posh Metropolis home and stared at the ceiling. Closing the school was logically the right idea, pick up the pieces from there, sell what she could to make up for the losses. But then she remembered, above all else she is a survivor. And she was going to survive this.
The next day she had arrived to her office early, and dismissed the cleaning staff that was attempting to fix the current mess that was her office. Very threatening and unpleasant letters were strewn and thrown throughout the place. She was going to clean it up herself.
She invited Shaw to meet her the office at his earliest convenience. By the time he would be there, the room would be back to looking pristine. The room was white and glossy, with silver and stone accents. But she kept the curtains closed, she had no patience for the protestors today.
Emma Frost was dressed professionally for the meeting. Her attire was a very well fitted womens white with silver pinstripe three piece suit, but worn without a blouse. She wore also wore a pair of very pointy and deadly-looking white boots, with four inch stilettos. A white fur coat was placed on the chair behind her.
There was no way Sebastian Shaw could refuse an invitation from Emma Frost. Especially after his last encounter with the charming beauty. Reminding her of her role and place within the Hellfire Club all those years ago and her quick exit. He knew she'd be calling on him soon. Besides he didn't get the Metropolis nearly as much as he should.
He dressed for success, as he always did, his black suit and dark maroon shirt accented by a red silk cravat. His hair pulled back into a tight pony tail held together by a perfect silk bow. As he marched into directly into Emma's office just moments after she had finished rearranging her desk he had a wool coat with a fur collar draped over his arm.
"Emma, Emma, Emma," Sebastian said in a some what undermining tone, "I knew I'd see you again, but I had no idea it would be so soon."
Emma Frost smirked and shrugged her shoulders dismissively, "Well I suppose I just missed you /that/ much already. Thank you for stopping by so quickly."
She rose from behind her desk and walked around it in order stand before him with a soft handshake, "I assume business brings you to Metropolis often?"
Shaw took her hand and kissed her one either cheek, "Not as often as you'd expect. My primary businesses operate out of New York and Pittsburgh... with a subsidiary in Tokyo that I visit regularly. Most of my Metropolis holding take care of themselves, to be honest."
Shaw handed his coat to Emma and walked by her and her desk, sitting down in her chair. It was a power play to say the least and what it was designed to do was to see how much of his help she needed. If this was a minor issue, she'd tell him to move. If it was too important to lose, she'd let him stay.
He set his elbows on the table and steepled his hands and said, "So, Emma, tell me. Why did you want to see me?"
Emma Frost lifted her left eyebrow just slightly as he sat at her desk. It was a simple power play, a very good test on what she needed. And she was going to let him sit right where he was. She moved towards the couch in the corner and gently tossed the coat onto it. She had been going over the words she would say all day, but she felt herself being nervous. Asking for help, especially at this magnitude wasn't easy. And she wasn't going to ask Tony.
She moved to sit at a chair from the opposite end of the table, crossing her legs and leaning back onto the high-backed chair to make herself comfortable. She sighed before speaking, "It's the school. It's failing miserably. Big surprise there."
"Well, I am very aware of that. I'm on three of the committees that are behind the protests your experienceing. And well, the third contracting firm that quit... I own. And the senators who are trying to pass the legislation against you are in my pocket." Shaw said matter-of-factly, leaning back in Emma's chair and resting his hands on his stomach, "See, the problem you had was you didn't come to me, first. You went to Tony Stark, an admirable man."
Shaw thought for a second, "When he's not drinking."
He chuckled and then added, "But you should have come to me, to the Club. I would have directed things a bit differently perhaps."
Emma Frost felt the very edge of her mouth twitch just so. She knew that Sebastian Shaw was a right-wing darling on certain conservative news channels, but she had no idea he was already so tied to her school. Just one more detail she didn't look into at this whole venture, of course.
She looked over to the side and eyeballed her liquor cabinet, which was kept under lock and key of course. For a talk like this she was going to want a drink, "Scotch, was it?"
Emma moved from her seat and began making herself a martini first, "He's a visionary. He literally the future. But he admits to not being a realist. And this school's goals were not realistic. I didn't take into account the risks. But if you are so tied to my school already, what would you have done differently?"
As she asked she peered over her shoulder at him.
"Scotch on the rocks," Sebastian said with a nod, impressed that Emma remembered. Later he would see how much she remembered,.
"As for the school, I wouldn't have been -as- open about it. Do you know that right now, there are people in the business world who think you are a mutant because of all this?" Shaw said with a smile, he looked at his watch, a very high tech looking one at that, though Shaw Industries was just behind Stark and Luthor as far as companies producing advanced tech, "I've convinced them otherwise. Pointing out it would be just as likely to be true as if -I- were a mutant."
Emma Frost with a genuine smile on her face she returns to the desk with a drink for the both of them, the glasses make a small noise as they touch the glass of the table. It seems she didn't completely finish cleaning earlier. She found the coasters hiding underneath a notebook and placed them underneath each of their drinks, a design with a white ceramic rose. With her smile she responded with, "I got carried away. Swept up in making an expressive haven for the children. Spandex-clad "superheroes" are popping all over the place, I thought I could fake it until I could make it."
She chuckled as she raised the glass to her lips, "Again. A toast, to. . .the future? Me? You? I'd wager a guess that you toast to yourself every day."
"To the Future, because dear Emma, I am the Future!" Shaw said very seriously as he took a drink. He finished it in one. It seemed Tony Stark wasn't the only one who liked the drink.
He set the glass down and tilted his head slightly, "Alright then Emma, we established what you've done wrong. But, I assume you had already come to the same conclusions. So I have to wonder, what do you want from me?"
Emma Frost took a longer drink from the rest of her glass and took one of the olives from the metal pick. She ran the tip of her pick across her lips as she carefully considered her words, this was the harder part of this conversation. Emma took a casual breath and responded with, "I told my colleague, Hank McCoy that I'm closing the school. And I was. . .okay with the idea, at the time. I don't need to tell you the sort of fallout I'm getting from this. But what if. . ."
She placed the drink aside and rested her elebows on the table, leaning forward, not keeping in mind her sudden cleavage but it is what it is. And with a smirk she said, "We hid in plain sight. This building itself is excellent, could still use improvements but I'm still behind this concept I just want to be hidden in plain site. My company does specialize in a very specific type of technology. . ."
She lifted her left eyebrow, Shaw was clearly proving himself as a man who knew EVERYTHING already. She wondered if he even figured her out completely already. "Mind control, of course."
Sebastian Shaw raised an eyebrow at what Emma was saying and suggesting, "And what do you need from me then?"
Emma Frost stayed in the position she was in, and maintained contact with him. She ran the end of her long fingernails gently across the surface of the desk, as she felt her heartbeat increase just so. "I need help. Help with the technology in place to keep this school cloaked, to get the government off of my back and everyone else. On top of that, this school has drained my assets."
Before he could respond, she added "And without prying, I think my vision of this school can match yours. I want to mold the future leaders of tomorrow, children who know who will make the hard decisions and be exceptional. Do you understand?"
Sebastian Shaw considers for moment. He was thinking of his own plans and how a school of the brightest minds, artists and super-humans. Oh yes, there was much he could do with a school that was set up like that, "Alright then, Emma. I have three conditions for my help. And since you know the level of help I can give you know you're getting off light right now."
He stood up and walked towards the window and opened the drapes. He then folded his and arms behind his bank and said, "To make sure we both know what this deal will consist of is the following: You will 'officially' close the school so that I can appease the protesters and save your own reputation. I will purchase the property through one of my puppet companies. I will help you develop a technology to hide the more unsual aspects of your school. I will finance and unfinished projects or construction. And finally, I will set up the Hiram Shaw Scholarship to help finance students who cannot afford the academy."
Shaw turned his head to Emma and said, "Do you agree to these terms?"
Emma Frost rose from her chair and stood behind him, with a hand on her hip she peered over her shoulder and stared at the protesters just outside of her gates. At that time of day there were less, but she could still faintly catch their thoughts from there, and they were horrid. Their minds were not about the safety of her children, she felt her jaw clench. She spoke softly, "I would be interested in those terms. What would I have to do in return?"
Sebastian Shaw smiled and turned around and held out his hand raising one finger, "One. You will also help me develop a piece of technology of my choosing. You will not question why I desire it or sabatoge its creation in any way."
He raised his second finger, "Two. My role in your academy as its benifactor will not be revealed to anyone unless I approve of them known that information."
The second requirement especially was reasonable. She held up three of her fingers, and with a small smile asked, "You suggested three ways you would help me, is there a third boon I owe you?"
"You will go out to dinner with me, and we will discuss... our future together," Shaw said lowering his hand again and smiling broadly. He knew what he wanted, and despite what Emma was probably thinking, his bed was the lowest priority.
Emma Frost caught his thoughts, his mind was mostly pure. As pure as a mind like Shaw's was capable of. And at the moment this was her best option, next to blowing up the school and running away from her problems. Shaw was the man of handshakes and shady business dealings, but this worked exactly how Emma was hoping. She stepped forward and embraced him in a hug, "Yes!."
She broke away from him immediately, feeling like an ass. She smiled and pushed her hair behind her shoulder, "Heh. Yes I agree to your terms. All three."
And that is how Shaw remembered that the Ice Queen was not exactly what she always appeared to be, he hugged her gently before she pulled away. It was nice, it reminded him of old times. Times before he killed the White King and became Lord Cardinal. Times when he was just the Black Bishop. Times that Emma had likely blocked out of her own mind.
He had his favorites back then. Rebecca. Anne. And then dear Emma, Emma who disappeared one day, the day he was to tell her that she was to be the White Queen as soon as he took control, "Then we have an accord," he said with a smile. The memories of their time together when he taught them all how to play, now lingering at the forefront of his mind.
Emma Frost there was a silence for a few moments. Emma remembered those times as well, even if she looked upon them with mixed feelings. At the time, some of the events she was involved in made her uncomfortable. But at that time, the Hellfire club was her work and her "home", without much of a family or social circle of her own. She took the confidence she saw in others from the club, and made them her own. A lot of what made Emma, is what she made for herself. Even if she doesn't think about it often to this day.
She moved to grab their empty glasses to refill then, "Excellent. I don't presume to know your schedule, but I'd like to get started on everything as soon as possible, including my terms to this agreement. But for tonight, I wish to celebrate."
Sebastian Shaw smiled broadly and sat back down in her chair, "My schedule is 100 open at all times. I have assistants and assistants to my assistants who handle my day to day operations. Only new aquisitions and the worst of problems ever come anywhere near me."
Shaw looked at the glasses of Emma's desk, he knew that Stark and Luthor were five years ahead of him, but he was still 5 years ahead of consumer tech. He swept his hands across the desk and knock nearly everything that was his arms reach off the desk, only her organized folders and laptop remained.
Before Emma could react he had pulled a small circular device out of his pocket and placed it on the glasses. The glass came alive with a custom operating system and file structure, "If you'd like to get to work right now, we can do so. Of course I'll need the schematics of the telepath you are basing your technology off of."
The smile on Shaw's face revealed one thing... he knew.
Emma Frost looked him over, glad he didn't knock over her laptop. While her files were backed up quite regularly she was fond of her school office computer. She took a sip as he began his work. She knew that he knew. But she was considering whether to let it be known that she knew. Oh screw it. She placed a hand on her hip, "Of course. I /am/ right here after all. If you are in the mood for an almost all-nighter I have some excellent coffee. First Peruvian blonde of the season."
"Like I said, your just as likely to be a mutant as -I- am," Shaw said with a smile as he started to bring up a series of files that weren't entirely over Emma's head. They were files about detecting genomes through a remote MRI styled scan of the body.
He pressed along the glass on Emma's desk as if it were a computer and things changed as he added and subtracted to the files, "And I don't require coffee, just slap me occasionally and I'll be good to go for the night."
Emma Frost rolled her eyes and finished the rest of her drink, placing the glass aside far from her desk to give Shaw the most room. She moved to remove the rest of her items from her desk so Shaw would have the most room, "Oh Sebastian, darling. You never change. But a bit of nostalgia now and then is always good."
She however, did not know the added detail he just insinuated to. This was going to be interesting.
Sebastian Shaw chuckled and went back to his work, bringing up a CAD file he started design something outside the scope of Emma's realm of comfort. It w as a power source that could work for nearly infinite just on the concept of absorbing energy from a human being walking, "I'm your darling now? Interesting."
His now nostagic mind thinking of his first beat down... how every blow made him stronger and more energetic. How he was a mutant, and yet hid it among all the new reports and the contributions. And made strong of mind because of it.
Emma Frost crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow, "Fine then, Mr. Shaw if that will make you feel better."
She began thinking of how they were going to play this, outside of the schematics, "I have some ideas as to how we can proceed, at least publically."
Shaw smiled at her and said, "Well then, tell me?"
Emma Frost leaned up against the desk and checked her nails for their cleanliness, "Well. . ."
And for hours into the night, and surprisingly liquor-free they work for hours. As Shaw worked his ideas into the final output into the school, Emma expressed her ideas for a future press conference and the complete faade they were about to portray. Emma was willing to lie through her teeth for her vision, and for the children. And in the years to come, Emma would hopefully prove just how willing she was to do whatever it takes to protect her children.
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