19 Issue #7

(So the answer we were looking for was Anastasia Tatiana Kravinoff, the Kravinoff Princess, or Kraven. All of these would have been acceptable answers.

Alkorian guessed this correct answer after being given the spider-man hint.

The top 3 incorrect answers we received were Magik, Darkstar, and Yelena.)

Jack read the mind of several students until he found out part of the girl's identity. Her name was Anastasia Kravinoff.

'Her mother is some sort of Russian noble while her father is a hunter or something. Neither of those explains why she feels so dangerous. Maybe she is related to one of the thousand Russian black-ops teams.'

Jack decided to forget about it and continue his school days as usual. She posed no direct danger to him on the school grounds and wasn't related to the White Rebels which meant whatever made her dangerous wasn't his concern.

Jack's days at the academy consisted of training alone, training with the team under the watch of Emma Frost, and going on missions with the Hellions. He also became good friends with Anastasia during this time.

These missions ranged from infiltration and information gathering to assassination. Whichever task they were given, the team had completed without failure. After the first month of this, Jack was recognized by the other members of the Inner Circle. He would be meeting with them the following Saturday with Emma.

The day before Jack was supposed to meet with the Inner Circle, he had another matter to deal with that he completely forgot about. The competition with the 5 most popular students. Each of the students that were voted for was incredibly rich and powerful outside the academy but inside, they were all nothing more than children for Jack to dominate.

The 5 teens were all seniors and challenged him to sports that they excelled in. If it was just relying on physical skills, Jack would have lost to all of them. His body was still somewhat lacking compared to people that had dedicated years to a sport.

Luckily, Jack was a powerful telepath. In each of the sports, Jack made his competitors make mistakes such as miss shots they normally wouldn't have. By doing this, his victory was assured.

After crushing all of his competitors, Jack was no longer questioned about his position as the student council president publicly. Privately, many people still questioned him but since the representatives lost to him in their specialties, they had no choice but to hold their tongues when they faced Jack.

"Wow. I'm impressed, Jack. I didn't know you were so... athletic," Anastasia said, the suspicion in her tone obvious

"Hmm. I'm not. They didn't perform up to par. I've seen their full capability and this wasn't it," Jack could hear the suspicion in her voice but pretended not to. He also knew better than to claim he was truly better than them so decided to blame it on luck.

Anastasia nodded at this answer and said a few more words to Jack before she left. The feeling of danger the girl gave him grew more and more by the day but Jack was unwilling to part with her. He would rather know when the attack was coming than be caught unprepared.

'Keeping enemies close used to sound like such bullshit! So I have to watch out for Jennifer, Manuel, and Anastasia. I wonder if I can get any more enemies before homecoming.'

Jack decided to put it into the back of his mind. He immediately went home and went down to the basement to train. Jack had discovered he always thought most clearly when he was training or after he was done. Like the entire process was a way for him to relax.

After he completed his evening training, Jack immediately went to bed. He wanted to be prepared for the big meeting the next day.

After a night of rest, Jack woke up the next morning energized. After getting out of his bed, Jack put on a blue suit. Emma told him to dress his Sunday best. This meeting was not only about him meeting the Inner Circle but also introducing him as her second in command. His every action would represent her.

Jack walked outside the dorm and waited 15 minutes for Emma and Mei to pull up in front. He then joined Emma in the back seat before the car began to drive off-campus.

{You are looking good, Jack. I'm glad I taught you how to dress yourself up and be presentable.}

Emma looked Jack up and down in appreciation. She bought him his clothes but it was Jack that had to properly dress and groom himself.

{Thank you, Ms. Frost. It was under your guidance that I can become this way.}

Jack spoke in a formal manner to Emma as practice since he was about to meet the Inner Circle. He could not speak as casually and she would be using her cold persona in front of the other members. Both had to make sure that they showed no weaknesses.

Even if all 5 were on the same side, no one would be able to tell when they would become enemies. It was better to be wary and secretive than allow them a chance to grasp at a weakness.

The duo drove to a small airport before boarding a private plane. They then took the plane to New York where the meeting was supposed to take place.

While they were on the phone, Emma's phone rang. She picked it up and spoke for a moment before her expression changed subtly. Most others would not have noticed but Jack did. After she got off the phone, Jack questioned her on the matter.

"What happened, Ms. Frost?"

"The White King, Rook, and Bishop will all be present. Since this is a meeting between the Inner Circle members and we haven't gone into direct combat with one another yet, they are allowed to join. This means that this meeting got even more dangerous."

Jack understood what this meant. He was about to face 7 of the most powerful people in the world. 4 of them who would most likely want to kill them in the future and 3 of them definitely did.

{I will be fine. If any of them try anything, they will know that even rabbits will bite back if they are cornered yet alone the heir to the White Queen.}

Emma nodded proudly a Jack. This was the answer that she wanted to hear. If he wanted to back out or show fear toward the situation, she would have been very disappointed in him.

{Good. Let's show these fools not to underestimate a Queen and her prince.}

(Quick poll: Who wants Jack's last name to eventually change to Frost? Someone thought Jack Frost sounded really good so figured I would ask.)