Dazzler stared across the desk at Frost, who sat poised in her chair not so much like a headmaster, but more like a queen on a throne. Dazzler knew Frost had once been the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, but Dazzler felt ice queen was probably a better description. If Dazzler was more polished and less rock ’n’ roll, they could almost be sisters. Frost’s features were flawless, her skin ageless, her eyes sparkling like blue diamonds beneath a sheet of silken blonde hair. Unlike many others, however, Dazzler wasn’t drawn in by Frost’s beauty. She knew it had been a trap to many and was wary of it. To have power over the mind was a very dangerous thing, and Dazzler did not want Frost going anywhere near hers.
As she thought that, she felt a slight pressure inside her skull again.
“I said, stay out of my head,” Dazzler said firmly.
“You want to tell me why you’re here or are you just going to sit there and admire my beauty all day?” Frost asked nonchalantly.
Dazzler paused. Had Frost just read her mind?
Frost smiled at her. “I don’t have to read your mind to know what you’re thinking. Some people wear their thoughts on their face, in their body language. And you, Dazzler, are one of them.”
“Something to work on, I guess.”
“You mentioned Magneto and Cyclops.”
“When did you last see them?”
“What business is it of yours?” Frost stared at her.
Dazzler was at a loss for words. She figured honesty was best right now. If she wasn’t upfront and Frost found out the truth by other means, it would become much more difficult to gain mutant cooperation. She pulled out her new burner phone that she’d transferred all the necessary files and her music onto and displayed the special S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials.
Frost studied it, tensing as those ice blue eyes locked with Dazzler’s. “S.H.I.E.L.D. has been resurrected? By who?”
“Maria Hill is involved. My point of contact is an agent called Markis Bennett.”
“So, you’re working for them again.”
“It’s just a one-off case,” Dazzler said. “Relax. I told you no one followed me here.” She held up her phone. “This is a burner phone. I’ve taken every precaution to ensure your school remains a secret.”
“What’s this got to do with Magneto and Scott?”
“You tell me.”
Frost remained calm, barely moving a muscle. “No, I think you had better tell me. You came here. I didn’t invite you.”
Dazzler analyzed her, sensing hostility beneath the calmness.
“Forgive me, Dazzler,” Frost said, as though reading her mind again, “I know you were once a resident here, but then you left. Something you’ve done time and time again to the X-Men. Every time you feel that pull to return to the stage, you leave. You can’t just be a mutant when it suits you. There’s no such thing as a part time X-Man. You’re either in or you’re out. And if you’re not in with us, then you are out. So, tell me now, why have you come back here?”
Dazzler reluctantly conceded a nod to acknowledge Frost’s words. She guessed she deserved the mistrust, the questioning. Dazzler had learned long ago that most people did not understand the creative urge she felt, how it wasn’t something she could bury and forget existed. Like being a mutant, it was part of her, part of her very DNA. Music wasn’t something she could live without.
But her decision to pursue a musical career was not why she was here.
“What do you know about the MGH running through your school?” Dazzler asked, getting them back on track.
Again, Frost remained still as a statue, smooth as ice.
“MGH is not running through our school,” she said coolly.
“Isn’t it?” Dazzler challenged.
“No. It is not. So why don’t you tell me what you want and why you’re here before I rip it out of your brain myself?”
Dazzler knew she didn’t have much of a choice to tiptoe around the topic. Time was of the essence. “Did you know Magneto and Cyclops are working with S.H.I.E.L.D.?”
For the first time, she saw Frost’s right eye give a slight twitch. This was news to the White Queen.
“You didn’t,” Dazzler answered for her.
“They left on business three days ago,” Frost offered, clearly wanting more information from Dazzler. “Said they’d be back soon and would explain it then.”
“You didn’t question what it was?”
“No. I trust Magneto and Cyclops. I understand that may be a foreign concept to you. Trusting your fellow mutants.”
“It is,” Dazzler said plainly. “Especially when a mutant like Mystique did what she did to me.”
“Like I said, I understand.” Frost sat back in her chair. “So? I assume you’re going to tell me what this is all about. Is Mystique involved then?”
“You really didn’t know there was MGH in your school?”
Frost considered her answer before giving it. “I knew there had been an incident, but I didn’t know the details. Erik and Scott left soon after, and I was put in charge of the school.”
“I need to speak with whoever is involved. Now.”
“Why the urgency?”
“Because S.H.I.E.L.D. has lost contact with Magneto and Cyclops. They’re worried. And it takes a lot to worry S.H.I.E.L.D.”
For the first time, Dazzler saw the ice maiden’s face crack with concern.
“How long ago?” Frost sat forward. “When did they lose contact?”
Dazzler checked the notes on her phone. “About thirty-six hours ago now. They were supposed to check in, and they didn’t. S.H.I.E.L.D. claims they can’t find any trace of them.”
“Well, I’m not S.H.I.E.L.D. I have better facilities at my disposal.” Frost closed her eyes and touched her fingers to her temples. Dazzler watched as her eyeballs began to move back and forth beneath her closed lids. She knew Frost was trying to telepathically connect with them, so she sat quiet and still, letting Frost do what she did best.
Dazzler noticed the eye movement had become more rapid. Had she found them?
Moments later, Frost opened her eyes slowly, and Dazzler saw the concern within them had deepened.
“You didn’t find them?” Dazzler said, concerned herself.
“No.” Frost stood. “But I have something else I can try.”
“Cerebra?”
Frost paused. Silent, on guard.
“I was an X-Man once, remember?” Dazzler said. “I know it exists. So does S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“S.H.I.E.L.D. knew Cerebro existed, but Cerebro was destroyed. They don’t know about Cerebra.” Frost walked around her desk and headed for the door, throwing a dark look back at her. “And it better stay that way.” Dazzler noted the veiled threat in her words but stood and followed her out the door.
•••
Dazzler followed Frost into an elevator, and then down into the subterranean depths of the Institute, past highly secured doors that she knew few were allowed to pass. Though Dazzler knew of Cerebra’s existence, her knowledge of it was limited. She knew its name and vaguely what it could do, but she knew nothing beyond that. And she certainly had never seen it before. She was actually surprised that Frost was going to allow her to witness it.
Dazzler wanted to question her further but thought better of it. Maybe Frost’s mind was too caught up in not being able to trace her fellow mutants telepathically. If that was the case, Dazzler didn’t exactly want to draw attention to her presence. Regardless, her skepticism and mistrust flared up, despite the fact that she’d never had any conflict with Frost before. But Dazzler was smart enough to still be wary. After all, mutants were missing. Maybe she was walking into a trap. Maybe once she saw the subterranean depths of the New Charles Xavier School, she would never see the light of day again. The thought sent her pulse racing in fear.
They finally arrived at a set of gray metal double doors, the only doors in an isolated corridor at what Dazzler imagined was the lowest point of the Institute, but she couldn’t be sure of this. All she knew was that it was deep below ground. Very deep.
At the doors, Frost submitted to an iris scan. The doors opened, and she entered. Not once did Frost turn to look at Dazzler. Yet Frost did not stop her from following either.
Dazzler stepped through the doorway and saw an expansive room, packed heavily with numerous cables, monitors and equipment, and at its very center sat a large metal orb with a circular opening. Inside the orb was a cabled chair and large, domed helmet. Frost entered the sphere, sat in the chair facing Dazzler, and pulled down the helmet, which covered her entire skull and the top half of her face. It looked a little like Frost was in an electric chair. Knowing what she did about Cerebra, however, Dazzler knew the only execution that would occur was Frost executing an amplified telepathic search for the missing mutants.
Curious and somewhat nervous as to what might happen, Dazzler stood back against the wall by the now sealed doors to the room, watching silently as Frost, several meters away inside the dome of Cerebra, commenced her search.
The lights in the room suddenly dimmed, throwing a red hue across Dazzler as she felt the machine come to life, its vibrations beginning to thrum across the floor and massage the soles of her flat-heeled boots. Through the circular doorway into Cerebra, Dazzler saw the curved ceiling and internal walls around Frost project what looked like a global map of Earth. Soon sparks of light shone here and there across the map like twinkling stars. It was breathtaking and utterly fascinating, drawing Dazzler closer for a better look.
She moved forward carefully until she stood at the circular doorway, eyes fixed on the internal domed walls and ceiling. Her mouth fell agape as mutants emerged from the sparks of light, coming in and out of focus in the form of faces, as Frost’s mind jumped from spark to spark, mutant to mutant, city to city, country to country, searching for Magneto and Cyclops. The thrumming was much louder now. Dazzler felt a surge of energy within her body as Cerebra operated at full capacity, vibrating not just the floor but what felt like the whole room. She heard the mutant voices, in snatches and grabs, the chatter becoming a muddle of sound as Frost’s mental movement became more rapid. She saw Frost’s chest and shoulders moving up and down in time with her increased breathing and wondered whether that was normal.
The vision on the sphere’s internal walls was now a complete blur, the voices nothing but a loud cacophony, and the heavy vibration through the floor ran right up the length of Dazzler’s legs so that she felt as if she stood on the engines of an X-Jet. Her body, being what it was, absorbed every decibel of the sonic energy like a sponge.
Frost’s movement increased further in rapidity. Was this normal? Or was she being impatient? Desperate? Was she struggling to find them?
It made Dazzler nervous as her legs physically shook from the vibration now.
“Frost,” she said, but her voice was lost to the noise. Her chest rattled with Cerebra’s vibration, and the light energy buzzed inside her. “Frost!”
The rumbling beneath the floor intensified. Dazzler struggled to look at the sphere’s inside walls as everything spun, but she was sure she saw faces and places repeating. Which meant one thing.
Frost couldn’t find them.
“Frost!” she yelled, holding onto the sphere’s curved doorway, trying to suppress the energy surging within. “FROST!”
“Quiet!” Frost hissed back from inside Dazzler’s brain.
Dazzler shot out her hand and sent a jolt of concentrated light energy at the woman. Not enough to hurt her, but certainly enough to get her attention.
Frost instantly jerked back to reality. The vibration immediately dulled, and the sphere’s inside walls stopped spinning. She pulled off the Cerebra helmet, glaring, as a sharp headache like an ice freeze suddenly stabbed Dazzler’s brain.
Dazzler groaned then shot another jolt out at Frost, who flinched and rubbed her shoulder at the point of contact, where a singe mark now dirtied her white coat.
“This isn’t going to help find them!” Dazzler barked, before Frost could retaliate.
The ice maiden stared at her, breathing heavily, blue eyes angry.
“And you can’t find them with Cerebra, can you?” Dazzler said, more calmly, rubbing her pained forehead.
Frost looked away, then eventually relented, and shook her head.
“So, how about we talk to whoever at this school was involved in the MGH,” Dazzler said as the headache faded away, “and find our answers there? S.H.I.E.L.D. has no information in their files about that. I need to know what Magneto and Cyclops knew before they left the school.”
Frost took a moment to compose herself, then stood, ever the ice maiden again, and flicked the tail of her coat aside before walking past Dazzler to the door.
As they stepped back into the corridor and the door sealed behind them, Frost paused and placed her hand on Dazzler’s shoulder.
“You will forget everything you saw in there today.” Frost’s blue eyes burned into Dazzler’s. “Former X-Man or not, no one from S.H.I.E.L.D. will ever know the true workings of Cerebra.”
Dazzler felt a strange sensation in her brain. It was fuzzy for a moment, like the fresh carbonated fizz of a soda before it dies down. She saw Frost walking off down the corridor, coat swishing behind her. Feeling lost and confused, and a little dizzy, Dazzler suddenly glanced around and wondered why she was standing in the corridor.
“Do you want to speak to the students or not?” Frost called.
Dazzler shook her head to clear the fuzz and moved after her. As she did, she glanced back over her shoulder curiously, saw a set of closed doors, and wondered what was inside.