Section Chief Erin Strauss was bent over her desk, diligently working on paperwork when the door to her office was thrown open. Without preamble, Aaron Hotchner blurted "Morgan and Reid are on their way back."
Strauss immediately rose and hurried around her desk. She and Aaron Hotchner were soon striding down the corridor side by side. When they reached the elevators, the rest of the team joined them.
"What do we know?" Strauss asked.
"They have the victim's statement. The X-Men are dropping them at Freestone Point, in Leesylvania State Park." Hotch told her.
"What do we have in regards to security and forces to apprehend them?"
"Uh…" Rossi said slowly, looking amused. "Morgan just laughed and told us not to bother. It would be a wasted effort." Strauss sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"We have to try." She grumbled, and pulled out her phone…
Storm and Cyclops guided the BlackBird down the Potomac, heading southwest in stealth mode.
"Landing point is just up ahead." Storm said, her eyes glowing as she kept their approach hidden by the mist on the river. "They're ready for us, as expected. A LOT of people down there."
"We'll do what we can." Morgan called from one of the passenger seats behind them.
"Ready, Helios?" Cyclops called.
"Ready." Spencer nodded. He focused and his eyes flashed and began to swirl with color.
"What are you doing?" Morgan asked, nervously.
"Covering our entrance."
"How?"
"… Wormhole!" Spencer announced happily.
On the ground, shouts of alarm went up when a sudden blinding light appeared in the sky… a spinning kind of tunnel formation. And then, something dark appeared, seeming to fly out of it. When the light disappeared and everyone could see again, a large, black stealth jet had touched down on the point. Military personnel had their guns up and ready and spotlights flared, shining on the BlackBird.
The men from several different government agencies that had been arguing over who was in charge or who had priority with captured X-Men, were now silent. Everyone stared. A moment later, the ramp lowered with a hiss and two people appeared. A man and a woman, both wearing black body armor. The woman had dark skin, long white hair, and a cloak down her back. The man was tall, strong and wore a visor. They reached the bottom of the ramp and then stepped aside.
Agent Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid appeared then. Both looked totally relaxed. Everyone watched as the pair smiled and shook hands with the strange man and woman, and then disembarked. They walked across the grass, eyes scanning the scene and taking in the sight of the army, the marines, agents from Homeland Security… so many people were there. But striding towards them were Aaron Hotchner and Erin Strauss. Both of them smiled at their approaching superiors, though they were not pleased at the SWAT Agents that moved in with them. They paused and waited, and then Strauss and Hotch were before them.
"… I told you not to bother, man." Morgan cried, looking annoyed when the SWAT Agents leveled their weapons on the X-Men. Reid, on the other hand, blatantly reached out to the gun barrels nearest himself, placed his hands on them and forced them down.
"Don't." He commanded, softly.
"Doctor Reid…" Growled a man in military fatigues. "They are terrorists and they—"
"No. They're not. They brought us home peacefully and they should be allowed to leave peacefully."
"Can't do that, Agent."
"… Fine. You can TRY." Reid sighed, letting his head drop as the command was given to move in. But Cyclops was already back in the jet, and Storm stood before it. When the military moved in, she raised her hands and rose off the ground, the wind swirling. Helicopters appeared over the trees of the park, but were quickly blown off course. Lightning bolts dropped from the sky and the spotlights exploded.
Morgan made a show of ducking down, and taking Reid down with him, keeping anyone from seeing his eyes as the blinding light appeared in the sky once more, forming a "wormhole" that the BlackBird moved into… it remained for about ten seconds, and then vanished. And once it had… it was found that the X-Men, and their plane, were gone.
As Morgan and Reid were led down the hill and into the trees where the team greeted them, military leaders were barking orders, furious at the escape. While JJ was hugging Reid, Morgan moved in to Hotch and Rossi and murmured, "How bad is it?" Hotch and Rossi exchanged glances. "… How much trouble is Reid in?"
"We don't know." Rossi admitted. "But it isn't good…"
Morgan took a deep breath. "Should I have left him behind with the… X-Men?"
Hotch stared at him a moment, and then said "Maybe."
Morgan and Reid sat silently in the back of a car, side by side. Two men drove. They didn't know what department they were from. They had an armed escort. They had no idea what was coming. What they did know was that several departments were fighting over who got to have them for their debriefing. Apparently, a compromise had been arranged…
Neither felt very good about it when they were brought to the FBI Headquarters in DC, and not back to Quantico. But hey… better than the Pentagon. It was a whirlwind of activity around them. Their arrival had caused quite the excitement. Before they knew it, they had been escorted to an empty interrogation room and were told to wait.
"… I feel like I'm gonna be charged with treason or something…" Spencer finally said.
"No kidding." Morgan snorted. "They're acting like WE are the X-Men."
"As far as they think, we might be. God knows what those detectives told them." Reid pointed out.
"No kidding. They had it out for the team the moment we laid down the law about not sweeping mutant murders under the rug. But they really had it out for you, kid…"
Reid sighed and sat down in the only chair in the room, and Morgan perched on the table.
"You doin' okay?"
"I dunno." Reid admitted and Morgan nodded, reaching out and gripping his shoulder.
"It's gonna be okay, kid."
At that moment, the door opened.
"Agent Morgan?" The woman said, her voice hard. "They're ready for you."
Morgan looked at her, took a deep breath and nodded, sliding off of the table and following her out of the room. Reid watched him go, his own little heart pounding. He watched the door close, and then he closed his eyes and bowed his head, trying to will away his fear…
Morgan was led down a corridor, and into another room. He felt the anxiety skyrocket. There was a small table, and a large table. The small table had a glass and a pitcher of water on it with a single chair. It was facing the large table, which had several people sitting at it. Morgan got a small bit of comfort seeing Hotch there. Strauss was beside him. There was also a member of the NSA, Allison Courtnall, Counter-Terrorism, Bart Devanny, and another man who worked in the government's small mutant department that kept getting discontinued, continued, adjusted, funded, defunded… they never knew what to do with it. But this man, Dan Buchannon, was decidedly anti-mutant. Morgan didn't like that… Hell, he didn't like any of this. It reminded him of when Hotch beat George Foyet to death…
But he took a deep breath and sat down.
"Agent Morgan." Strauss said, and Morgan was actually relieved that she seemed to be the one taking point on this interview.
"Chief Strauss." He nodded.
"First and foremost, we are glad to see you back safely."
"Thank you, ma'am. But…"
"But?" Hotch asked.
"All due respect… I'm feeling more threatened right now than I did at any point while I was with the X-Men." The reactions were entertaining to say the least. The panel before him looked stunned, amazed, and even outraged and insulted. Only Hotch and Strauss kept straight faces.
"Can you walk us through what happened to result in your time with the X-Men?" Asked Strauss.
"Yes, ma'am. It was a complete accident." Morgan said. He and Reid had gone over this several times over the last few days, to ensure that their stories matched. "As you know, the last victim was a member of the X-Men. Apparently, he was also an anonymous informant that had called in tips and information to us a few days prior to his abduction."
"But anyway, in the hospital, there had been issues with anti-mutant attitudes. And he was in really bad shape. Any neglect could have resulted in his death. As such, the X-Men decided to take over his medical care. Transporting him was going to be difficult, especially with an incredibly hostile anti-mutant police force swarming the place. The X-Men sent in a teleporter. And he removed the victim."
"There was another X-Man present?" Asked the Agent Courtnall from the NSA.
"Yes, ma'am." Morgan nodded. "When the victim was taken out, one of the detectives demanded the arrest of the other mutant. Agent Reid moved in to make the arrest. He had the man cuffed and was taking him towards the door when the teleporter returned. I saw him jumping towards the mutant Reid was holding and I just… reacted. I went to tackle Reid out of what I feared to be harm's way. When I grabbed Reid, the teleporter grabbed the other mutant and then…" Morgan trailed off and shook his head. "It was… unreal. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground on top of a building, staring at the X-Men. They were… pretty damn shocked. But the victim was in bad shape and he was their priority. They decided that Reid and I couldn't just be left there, and so they brought us on board—"
"They forced you?" Asked the anti-mutant jerk.
"… Not really. They told us to get on board and we did. We didn't argue or resist. We figured that the smart thing to do would be to comply. We got on the plane and took off."
"What did they do to you once you were on board?" Asked Strauss.
"Made is sit down and buckle our seatbelts." Morgan deadpanned.
Hotch shot him a warning look to behave.
"Upon arrival, Reid and I just… followed them. We were in a hangar, and we went down a hall to a… medical facility. That's where they got the victim set up and that's where he was when we left."
"You were with the X-Men for…" Agent Courtnall checked her papers, "almost six days…?"
"Yes ma'am." Morgan nodded.
"What happened during that time?"
"We waited for the victim to wake up."
"… You just… sat around and waited."
"For the most part. They didn't exactly turn us loose in their facility, ma'am." Morgan pointed out. "We slept in a holding cell, but we weren't kept locked up. We spent a lot of time socializing."
"Socializing?" The Counter Terrorism rep asked, looking surprised.
"Yeah. Talking to the X-Men. Getting to know them." Morgan nodded.
The Ani-Mutant dude perked up and his eyes seemed to gleam, eagerly. He leaned forwards. "And?"
Morgan shrugged and held out his hands, smiling. "They're good people." Needless to say… that caught everyone off guard. But Morgan continued. "If there's one thing that I learned in the time that I spent with them… it's that wild powers or not… they're all just as human as we are. And they just want the same rights. They want to be able to live without fearing for their lives, freedom, privacy and safety. They want to be able to go to school and get normal jobs. Meet someone and fall in love. Get Married. Have kids, raise a family… But so many of them don't. Because they don't want their children to grow up with the struggles that they face. They don't want to have children until they know that their children will have some kind of future. Until things are better."
Morgan leaned back in his seat. "The fact is, this past case had really opened my eyes to an issue that I never really paid much attention to."
"And that is?" Strauss asked.
"Mutant Rights."
"… They've brainwashed you!" Howled Agent Buchannon. "One of their mind fuckers has gotten into his head!"
"Calm down." Commanded Strauss.
"Ma'am?" Morgan asked. "On that note, I have a request."
"And that is?"
"… I want to meet with SSA Jordan Todd." The representative from Counter Terrorism looked surprised.
"Agent Todd?" He asked. "Why, Agent Morgan?"
"Because. There's something I'd like to discuss with her."
"And that is?"
"… The X-Men would like to open up a line of communication. They want to speak with Counter Terrorism, as they have been labeled terrorists. And I recommended Agent Todd."
Spencer Reid sat at the table in the room, staring into the reflection of his eyes in the mirror window across from him. He wondered if he was being observed through that thing, and if so, by whom? He lost himself in his thoughts, and was startled when the door opened.
"Dr. Reid? They're ready for you." Said a woman he didn't know. Reid took a deep breath and stood with a stiff nod. Morgan was nowhere in sight. When he was led into the room, his gut clenched. There were representatives there from Counter Terrorism, the National Security Agency, and the unofficial, on again, off again, Department of Mutant Affairs… Reid knew the man who "headed" it… and he was most decidedly the worst choice Reid could have imagined. If this man had his way, every mutant in the world would be put on a rocket to the sun…
He was able to take comfort in the presence of Hotch… he knew the man would have his back as much as he could. Now Strauss? He didn't know which way she would go. And she was keeping a surprisingly neutral look on her face.
Reid took his seat, and the woman who had guided him in, left. Spencer took a deep breath, and waited for the questioning to begin.
"Thank you for being willing to meet with us so… soon after your ordeal." Said the man from Counter Terrorism, an Agent Bart Devanny.
"It was hardly an ordeal." Spencer said. "We were not held against our will, we were not forced to do anything, we were not threatened or intimidated. We were treated as respected guests. The X-Men were friendly and very hospitable." The anti-mutant asshole, a Dan Buchannon, scowled darkly.
"Are you telling this because it's true?" He asked. "Or because you're trying to protect them? Agent Morgan seemed very firm in telling us that he was not threatened in any way. That the X-Men are… good people." He sneered the last two words. "I have to wonder, how much of that is actually the result of their… their mind freaks brainwashing him?!"
"They didn't TOUCH his mind!" Spencer shouted, sitting upright, alarm and anger on his face. "He said that because it's the truth!"
"And why should we believe you, Agent Reid?" Buchannon asked. "According to detectives…" he checked his papers, "Sanders and McKennon… you seemed rather friendly with one of the X-Men. Care to explain that?"
Reid stared at the panel. He looked at Hotch. The man dipped his head slightly, letting know that whatever Reid chose, he would have his back…
"He's been a friend since before I ever joined the Bureau." He admitted, leaning back in his chair. "I trust him with my life. I trust the X-Men with my life. And if there were an incident involving a mutant, either as the victim, or the perpetrator, I would trust the X-Men to handle the situation properly, more than I would the government." Shock swept over the faces before him, and outrage on Buchannon, who opened his mouth to speak. But Reid never gave him a chance. "For example… on this case, the moment that it was revealed that the victims of these killers were mutants, the entire police station was in total anarchy. The police chief made them all suck it up, but not for the right reason. He said, and I quote, 'I don't like mutants. You all know that. But what's happening isn't right. People are being tortured and murdered. In OUR city. You think these killers will stop at mutants?! They're a danger to everyone! And if it gets out that we don't do all we can to stop them, can you imagine the shit pile that will bury us?! Legally, this IS a Hate Crime! And if we don't work it right…'" Reid trailed off.
"He flat out said that he didn't like mutants, but that they would work the case right because if the killers branched out to non-mutants, it would make them look bad for not stopping them earlier. He was avoiding the scrutiny and negative reactions they might get if they DIDN'T work the case properly. But you could tell… that was his only reason. If he thought they could get away with letting the killings continue, he would. I honestly believe that the only reason he didn't just let the officers sweep it under the rug, was because of the presence of the team."
Reid sighed and poured himself a glass of water as the panel digested this. He sipped it and then set the glass down again.
"You know, one of the officers called them Public Service Killings. Another said, and I quote, 'I'm not busting my ass for a bunch of freaks.' Another said 'As far as I'm concerned, the less there are, the safer we are', them being mutants. One officer even suggested that the killers be given a medal. Tell me… should I be trusting these people to enforce the law and protect the Constitution? People who see others… who would see ME… as less than human?"
Silence.
The entire panel stared at Reid. He could see the gears in their heads turning as they processed his words.
"… Dr. Reid…" Strauss said, her tone soft. "Did you just tell us that… you…"
"That I'm a mutant?" Reid asked. "Yes, ma'am. I did. I am a mutant. And it's time I stopped hiding."