The Trial of Juggernaut
Chapter 1
Suspicion
Alison Blaire couldn't help the grin that seized her as she and her friend TJ walked arm-in-arm along the bustling streets of downtown London. The prospects of a full day out from the Lake House, partying on the town and hanging with the gang seemed like the perfect way to unwind after saving the world (again). They could get to know each other a bit better and have a small shot at some semblance of normalcy. Superheroes in general didn't really do normal very well, she least of all. After all, Brian was the king of an inter-dimensional nexus of realities (and the fact that she was OK with saying that and knew what it meant - sort of - gave a clear indication of how not normal their lives were). She was comfortable with that, really. She had spent of her life avoiding the hero gig and trying for 'normal'. But, when was the life of a rock star ever normal? Even as 'just Dazzler the singer,' weird stuff had followed her wherever she went. For example, she was once the herald of an intergalactic planet-consuming being of omnipotence. Normal went out the window after that. Her other friends (and her deceased husband) were further proof that her life had been rarely, if ever, normal: TJ was the daughter of a close friend, and came from an alternate universe that might no longer exist. And, she had blue skin; you couldn't forget the blue skin. Tessa was a living computer, and almost seemed to have as many secrets as Wisdom, the super-secret real-live James Bond super spy of the group.
She sighed and sipped her soda. True to his super-spy roots, Wisdom had begged off their celebrations and stayed back at the Lake House to "keep an eye on things". The man never seemed to relax; he was almost as bad as Scott Summers!
And then, there was Cain. If anyone had told her a year ago that she would have been on a first-name basis with the Juggernaut, and even count him as one of her most trusted friends, she would have called them crazy. Yet, somewhere between Cain begging for an autograph when they first fought five years ago and checking on her in that hospital room a few months back when they were fighting an evil alternate-dimension version of the X-Men run by a Shadow King-possessed Charles Xavier (and how was that for not normal?), she had come to trust and love him as much as she did any of the X-Men.
She looked over her shoulder, pretending to marvel at the sights of Old London, and studied her own real-life BFG. As usual, Cain was hanging in the back of the group, silently marching to his own thoughts. For someone so big, he sure was good at being invisible.
"Hey, TJ, check out the big friendly giant." TJ craned her head over her shoulder. "Don't look!" Her blue friend's eyes filled with compassion and barely masked affection for the former criminal. She had fallen for the lug, and bad. And the only ones who didn't know were Cain and TJ. Maybe it was time she did something about the situation?
Besides, playing matchmaker was so much fun!
"Let's go cheer the lug up." TJ nodded and they casually wound their ways back through the group, grinning as Tessa laughed at something Brian had privately whispered in her ear. He was such a gentleman; the kind of guy that would swoop a girl off her feet like Prince Charming in some fairy tale. Brian had immediately offered Tessa his arm as they stepped out of the building to walk down the streets of Rotherhithe-his right arm, to keep Tessa away from the dust of the roads. It was romantic and chivalrous, without actually being romantic or chivalrous. He wasn't trying to woo Tessa, nor was he trying to be polite. It just happened. He was thoughtlessly thoughtful. Brian really was Prince Charming.
They disengaged as they came to Cain. His eyes seemed dull and muted, like a lost child who didn't know how to find his way home. Again, not something she would have associated with the Juggernaut. "Hey, Cain, why so blue?" Ali grinned and wrapped her arms around his own while TJ followed suit on with the other.
"Yeah, Cain. Blue's my thing." TJ's eyes sparkled at the contact, and her blue cheeks gained a faint lavender hue. Yup, TJ had really fallen for the lug.
Cain's cheeks reddened as well and he stumbled on a microscopic crack. "Aw... uh... just... uh... just thinking about things."
That was really cute: the fearsome Juggernaut, blushing and stammering over two girls holding his hands. He was adorable, really, with those big puppy-dog eyes and that soul-patch on his chin. He looked rough and intimidating to those who didn't know him, like the kind of guy who hurt people a lot. And often. Which, given his history and their job descriptions was pretty true. But, he looked like the kind of guy who had gotten used to the idea that his fists and size could get him anything he wanted. When she looked in his eyes, though... those eyes and that big dopey grin of his made him seem like a big kid. A really big kid. Cain seemed like he was the kind of kid who got into heaps of trouble because he had too much energy and not enough impulse control. The kind of kid who became a 'bad boy': inner heart of goodness surrounded by a tough and calloused exterior that you just know you can crack with enough kind words and soft touches. She had fallen for a lot of bad boys with eyes like that.
"Sammy?" TJ patted his arm softly, her lower lip quivering. Sammy? Who was Sammy?
"His birthday's comin' up soon. He woulda been thirteen..." His head sunk lower, almost beneath his shoulders and he sagged in on himself even more. He was setting himself for a real brood-fest, Summers-style, and taking all the world's problems for his own. This was not going well.
"Hey! How about after the movie we go to the mall?" She grinned and squeezed his arm. Sometimes, that worked on a guy.
"Ali, I dunno if retail therapy is right for him."
She sighed and shook her head, undeterred. "He needs to get out of his funk. Take his mind off things." But, maybe TJ was right. Shopping was usually for girls, or gay guys. She squeezed his arm again. "You wanna hit the gym? Go work out. You muscley types like to work out, don't you?"
"Don't need to work out. Not sure they have anything I could use anyway. "
Ali flashed a stern look towards TJ, willing her to help. Cain needed to socialize, damnit! Her friend caught the hint and jumped. "Yea, Cain, please?"
Cain's cheeks reddened deeper to a blazing rose. "Uh... s-sure I guess... let's go to the mall."
"You sure about that, Cain? You know what those two are like when they smell a sale." Brian chortled. OK maybe he was a bit of a chauvinist. But, he was a really charming chauvinist. Cain laughed a reply and his dark mood seemed to have lifted amongst the friendly banter that echoed down the streets on their way to the theater.
