Another unexpected visitor

"Well, what are we going to do now, L?" asked Dana Scully as the water from the sprinkler system that had been set off by Liz Sherman's attempt at pyrokinesis continued to pour down upon their naked bodies. "Thanks to your friend Liz, our clothes are now soaking wet. We can't put them on now."

"Well, I could dry them for you," said Liz as she started to summon up the fires on her hands that had been extinguished by the water from the sprinkler system.

"No," said Laurel, frantically waving her arms in front of Liz Sherman's face as if her naked body wasn't already sure to get someone's attention. "Please don't! Please don't!"

"Why not?" asked Liz. "I'm sure that if I put an effort into it, I can summon up flames just like before and --"

"Er, you don't have to do that!" exclaimed Laurel. "In fact, please don't do that. For the love of God, please don't do that!"

Liz smiled. "You scared, L?"

"Damn right, I'm scared, Liz," said Laurel. "I've seen how easy it is for you to burn up stuff without even trying. You really think Dana and I want to risk seeing our only clothing destroyed just because you want to be helpful?"

"Well, I could rip up your clothes instead," said Jessica Sanders, feeling more than a little miffed that Laurel and Dana seemed to be more scared of Liz than they were of her.

And yet Liz is on their side, Jessica thought. What a world.

"Er, please don't," said Laurel. "Please, please don't."

Jessica smiled. "Now that's the type of response I like to hear. For a while there, I thought you two were ignoring me."

Just then there was a knock on the door. Before any of the women in the room could respond, the door opened and a thirtyish blonde woman in a white fur coat entered the room.

"Ah!" exclaimed the stranger. "So this is where the new mutant has been hiding."

"Hey, I am not a mutant," said Liz. "And I'm not exactly new. I'm a --"

"She means me, Liz," said Jessica. "Don't you, strange lady?"

"Strange lady?" asked the stranger. "You're one to talk, Jessica. Or is it Niki? It doesn't matter. The organization I represent could probably find use for both of you anyway -- and even provide free daycare for Micah as well."

"How do you know my name?" asked Jessica. "For that matter, how do you know about Micah? I don't recall mentioning him to anyone in this place."

"That's because you don't have to," said the stranger. "I'm a telepath. But where are my manners? I really should introduce myself before we discuss further business. So I will. My name is Frost. Emma Frost. And I'm here on behalf of the Hellfire Club."