12217/White Queen, Steel Knight

White Queen, Steel Knight
Date of Scene:	21 September 2020
Location:	Xavier's Office / Classroom
Synopsis:	Piotr and Emma talk about her promotion. Piotr throws shade, then offers some advice.
Cast of Characters:	Colossus, Emma Frost

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Colossus has posed:
The knock on the door is perfunctory at best. It is pretextual and offered only out of the respect that is due to another person. Piotr deals in respect. Still, he has a heavy hand and it is connected to a powerful arm. He wields that hand with a deft precision and subtle control. Make no mistake about it, if Piotr Rasputin wished to enter the room, even in his flesh state there is little that even this door would do to stop him. Unlike Emma, Piotr's gifts are purely physical.

The knock is enough to allow the big man to pop open the office door and settle his shoulder against the jam. He fills the frame in ways that the door cannot. Powerful muscles bunch and bulge as his shoulders flex and his arms cross over his massive pectorals. Piotr is a specimen, and Emma knows he is far more intelligent than many of the others give him credit. She's seen him throw chess games, not wanting the other player to be angry at having lost.

There is no accusation in his voice. Piotr merely asks the question. "Is this a bloodless coup?" His tone is direct as the big man does not waste his breath. Ice blue eyes watch the White Queen with a discerning eye. He might admire her form, but not in the way some of the others do. He admires her as a piece of art, his knowledge of the human form appreciating the exercise and effort put into sculpting the form; bodies like that are cultivated in the gym.

Emma Frost has posed:
Of all of the X-Men in the building, Piotr is not the one she'd have pegged for being first in her office. Emma is sitting behind Jean's desk, paperwork in her hands that she's skimming through as the door pops open, and she looks? comfortable. Setting the documents down slowly, she gestures for him to come into the office. "No," she replies evenly. "It is a favor for the headmistress of your school. Please, come in."

As she leans back in the chair, Emma watches the giant man thoughtfully. Her welcome here has been relatively calm, overall. But she's not surprised that people are wondering. "Jean is taking a step back to keep the school from being implicated in the goings-on the other night." It's the truth? as far as it goes. She is uncertain whether to say anything further on Jean's situation and to whom to say it if she does speak. So she remains silent on that front.

Colossus has posed:
"I am Russian. Regimes change. Nations change. Borders change. But the people who wield power?" Piotr's tone was declaratory, but it is now skeptical. "They never change." His eyes remain on the blond woman.

"You have been a team player since you arrived." Piotr says quietly. "You have been yourself, but you have made it clear you are on our side. In both your deeds and your actions you have been an ally and you have stood against others who, inadvertently, are training another team of X-Men. For this, you have my thanks and a measure of trust. If I discover otherwise, I will take it personally, Emma. I do not threaten." Piotr shakes his head to emphasize that point. "You are not a woman to intimidate. I tell you now, that we are loyal to Jean. This is your opportunity to garner respect and trust if it is what you want.

Emma Frost has posed:
The blonde crosses her legs beneath the desk and rests her arms on the padded armrests, her head back to study him. "Your loyalty and that of the rest of the X-Men has never been a question in my mind, Piotr," Emma replies softly. "Even were I fool enough to try anything untoward, I know that people will be watching my every move." She shrugs just slightly. "Perhaps rightfully so. And yes, I suppose I could be manipulating all of you to my own ends. But quite frankly? It would require too much energy expenditure to put such a play into motion. I'm quite happy to run my businesses; taking on a school again was not really something I aspired to. But Jean needed the time to work on something. And I could not in good conscience say no." Not knowing what could be coming, certainly.

Colossus has posed:
"That is the problem, Emma. You could, and you have." Piotr says in a plain tone. His eyes remain focused on her. "You could be manufacturing this memory in my head now. That is the problem, now, Emma." Piotr slowly allows his temple to rest against the door frame. "Your powers make you untrustworthy when combined with your past actions."

Fool me once? after all.

Piotr regards the woman, still, with his ice blue eyes. "Do you take advice?" He gives it without an answer. "This is your moment. This stint in her desk, running her school. Are you Emma the White Queen of the Hellfire club, or are you Emma Frost of the X-men. Who wins? Your predatory background, or your better angels. For once, Emma Frost, there is no excuse and no extenuating circumstance. Here is where you prove you have changed."

Emma Frost has posed:
There is a flicker of something in her icy eyes, and her chin comes up just a fraction -- an acknowledgement of his words but also an uncertainty that she's up to this challenge. One quickly masked behind a simple reply. "You will judge as you see fit, Piotr." She can only do what is in her to do. And these students have come to mean something to her. And heaven help her, so have the ornery X-Men.

Colossus has posed:
"I am not your judge, Emma." Piotr counters in his deep voice with a simple, rumbling declaration from deep in his throat. His smile is slight and a little worn. "Only you can judge yourself. That is your problem. It is the burden of your gifts and the results of your past. We will never know if you are the heroine or the villainess until it is too late."

His shoulder shrug elicits a worn creak from the door. "It seems to me like anything a person could ever want is laid out at your feet. Money, power, youth, beauty, even a suitor. All you must do is the right thing." Piotr lifts his brows. "The right thing is always the hardest thing. I wish it were not so, but as my mama would say.." He switches to Russian. SHe doesn't speak the language, at least not to his knowledge. The words are delivered in the cadence of a natural speaker. "Shit into one hand, and wish in the other. One will fill up faster."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma is uncertain she even *wants* to know what that statement parses into -- Russian sayings can be obscene at some times and completely incomprehensible at others. But she nods slightly to Piotr. "The 'right' thing is rarely as black and white as most would like it to be," she points out mildly. "When even a Boy Scout like Summers thinks Magneto could be right, we should tread the line of such judgements carefully."

Colossus has posed:
"The world is complicated." Piotr allows, actually agreeing with her. "Am I a terrorist, or an activist? In my mind, I am an activist. I am sure to others, it is clear that I am not. Life is hard. Some things, though?" Piotr allows his gaze to linger on her. "Some things are very clear."

He appears to think that her choice here is one of those things. The lack of reaction makes him smile as he turns. "My mother said that one should speak their wishes into one hand, and shit in the other, then they should tell her which hand was full first." Filthy and earthy, certainly, scandalously so coming from Piotr who only blushes a little.

"But our aspirations are a part of us." Piotr says with a shrug as he moves out of the frame to leave. "How we go about making them true defines us, not the opinions of others, Emma Frost."