The X-Men have many close friendships, but they also have some bitter rivalries. Storm and Emma Frost in particular share a mutual animosity, based on a history of pain and suffering. One of their fiercest battles took place when the two mutants swapped bodies. This peculiar incident took place in Uncanny X-Men #151-152, by Chris Claremont, Jim Sherman, Bob McLeod and Josef Rubenstein. Kitty Pryde's parents wanted to pull her out of the Xavier Institute, believing she needed to be around a group of students her own age. As an alternative, Kitty's parents enrolled her in the Massachusetts Academy, where the headmistress was Emma Frost. At the time, Emma was known as the White Queen, part of the nefarious Hellfire Club.
During Uncanny X-Men #129-131, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Emma had kidnapped and tortured Storm and some of her fellow X-Men, with a young Kitty forced to watch. This experience formed Kitty and Storm's long-standing grudge towards Emma. Nevertheless, Storm accompanied Kitty to the Massachusetts Academy. Soon after their arrival, the White Queen ambushed Storm, using her telepathic powers to swap bodies with Ororo.
Inhabiting Storm's body, Emma had set a plan in motion for the Hellfire Club to attack the X-Men. At the X-Mansion, Marvel's Mutants were bombarded by a group of Sentinels, sent by the Hellfire Club. The X-Men were taken by surprise when Emma showed up in Storm's body, knocking them all unconscious. Meanwhile, the real Storm was locked in a cell at the Massachusetts Academy. Using her skills as a thief, Ororo broke out of her cell and found Kitty.
As Storm and Kitty were escaping, Emma used Storm's powers to send their car swerving off the side of the road. Kitty, still believing that Storm was Emma, reluctantly saved Ororo from the car wreck. Eventually, however, Ororo managed to convince Kitty that she was the real Storm. In order to save their fellow X-Men, Storm used Emma's powers very creatively by linking her mind with Kitty's.This way, Kitty could phase through the X-Men's main hangar and Storm could guide her through unlocking the hangar doors from the inside. Kitty eventually freed the X-Men from the Hellfire Club, before an all-out brawl took place in the mansion.
The tide turned when Emma lost control of Storm's powers and accidentally struck Sebastian Shaw with a lightning bolt. Storm took advantage of this confusion, using Emma's powers to switch their bodies back. Ororo defeated Emma in battle, before making the White Queen promise to never bother the X-Men again.
This adventure added to the mutual animosity between Storm and Emma Frost which still resonates on some level today. Emma had already kidnapped and tortured Storm before, cementing their rivalry. This time, however, Emma stole Storm's body and powers, for the express purpose of killing her loved ones. Ororo felt so violated that Wolverine had to persuade Storm not to kill Emma. The White Queen also tried to steal Kitty Pryde away, who is basically a surrogate daughter to Storm. Attempting to disrupt such a strong, wholesome relationship, Emma seriously angered Storm. In the end, it was this bond between Kitty and Storm that saved everyone. Kitty was able to figure out that Storm was in Emma's body, leading to their cooperation in freeing the X-Men. Even though Emma tried to tear Storm and Kitty apart, she couldn't.
This is also one of the first instances where Emma showed some humanity. Emma demonstrated a sincere sense of fear and confusion when she lost control of Storm's powers. Even though Emma craved this power and used it for fun initially, she ultimately realized that she couldn't handle it. When Emma harmed her love, Sebastian Shaw, she displayed feelings of shame and distress, making her more than a mere villain. While this wild tale added to the rivalry between Storm and Emma Frost, it also added some surprising depth to the White Queen.