Another Snip for Chapter 35

Emma feels the mental presence of the Cuckoo sisters in her mind, their thoughts intertwining with hers like strands of silk.

'Ms. Frost,' Celeste's voice echoes in her head, 'We have some interesting information about Spider-Man.'

'Oh?' Emma responds, her interest piqued despite the tense situation around her.

'Yes,' Mindee chimes in, 'We've been monitoring the thoughts of the students and staff. Apparently, Spider-Man recently used his powers to heal both Broo and Beast.'

'Heal them?' Emma's mental voice is tinged with surprise and curiosity.

'Indeed,' Phoebe adds, 'It seems his abilities have evolved. He was able to heal Broo's damaged head and help evolve the physical mutations Beast had undergone.'

This information intrigues Emma more than she cares to admit. Since their time with the Phoenix Force, she, Scott, Magneto, and Illyana have been experiencing fluctuations in their powers. Some days they feel stronger than ever, other days they can barely access their abilities at all. The inconsistency is maddening, and potentially dangerous.

'A healing power,' Emma muses, 'That could be quite useful.'

'Shall we approach him?' the sisters ask in unison.

Emma considers this for a moment. She glances at Spider-Man, who stands alert and ready beside Wolverine and Rogue. His body language is tense, wary. She knows approaching him now would likely lead to conflict.

'No,' she decides, 'Not yet. He's too on guard at the moment. We need a different approach.'

She scans the crowd, her eyes landing on a younger face that bears a striking resemblance to the Spider-Man she knows. The time-displaced version of Peter Parker, brought to the present along with the original X-Men.

'Girls,' Emma communicates to the Cuckoos, 'I have a better idea. That young man over there, the one who looks like a teenage version of our wall-crawler. He's Spider-Man from the past, brought here by Beast's time travel shenanigans.'

The sisters' mental excitement is palpable. 'You want us to approach him instead?'

'Precisely,' Emma confirms, 'He's younger, less experienced. He might be more willing to share information about himself and his powers given the proper motivations a young man like him would like.'

'We understand,' the Cuckoos respond, 'We'll be subtle in our approach.'

'See that you are,' Emma warns, 'We don't want to alert the others to our interest. And girls?'

'Yes, Ms. Frost?'

'Find out who he is under that mask. That information could prove... valuable.'

As the mental conversation ends, Emma refocuses on the tense standoff before her.