Hmmmm...

The grounds of the Mansion were green and clear, the landscaping undisturbed, the lawn unharmed long enough for the grass to grow to a respectable height. The Professor had kept it at that discretely manicured New England height, like he was ashamed that all that green was alive, but Scott let it grow. The longer it grew, the bigger the victory.

He knew this place. It was about the only time SHIELD had shown up at the Xavier Institute, in the form of Maria Hill, her body long and lean and every inch of it cradled by her SHIELD jumpsuit like a knife in a sheath. A hard face, strikingly even-tempered, close-cropped hair, breasts small but neatly fitted to her body, ass flat, all of her toned and hardened. The reason the jumpsuit was so unforgivingly tight as to leave no doubt: it hid no weakness, no excess, no softness. She was as sharp-edged as she looked, inside and out.

Down boy, Emma thought-cast. This was back when they were on thinking terms with each other.

Maria was here with the Devil’s deal, just sign on the dotted line. Scott remembered the SHRA, the Civil War. He’d steered clear of it, watching the proceedings with a bit of bemused bitterness. Back then, he’d been a little ashamed of how cathartic he’d found it to watch Captain America and the rest get the mutie treatment.

Now…

He and Emma sat down at the garden table with Maria. Emma poured for them from the carafe of iced tea, Scott wondering if she knew yet just how submissive she could be.

They weren’t in the shadow of the Sentinel meant to keep them from going off the reservation, literally, but they were close.

Emma, what’ve you got?

Emma gave him the briefest look, evincing surprise, before casting. The great Scott Summers asking me to violate another’s mental privacy?

When I asked what have you got, I meant besides sarcasm.

She’s SHIELD. She has the best psi-blocks in the world.

So?

Emma smiled for him: She thinks you’re handsome, has a lot of daddy issues, and is so into being dominated that she keeps thinking about Nick Fury pulling her over his lap and tanning her hide.

So just about what I expected for a top-ranked member of the United States intelligence community.

Pretty much. Are you planning something?

Always.