May 20, 1960
"Now, Dr. McCoy is going to be attending you in a few days," Dr. Hudson said, "I figured I should tell you ahead of time."
"Why's that?" asked Doug.
Dr. Hudson opened her mouth to reply when there was a soft explosion from the doorway. Raven had gotten much more used to Azazel's surprise visits since their first occurrence. She just inclined her head as Azazel walked into the room, dusting imaginary lint off his black jacket.
"There is event we must go to," he said.
"That thing that's happening in the square?" asked Rahne, "The rally?"
Azazel rolled his blue eyes in her direction.
"You are very clever little girl," he said, "Your father tell you this?"
Raven shot him a warning glance. They didn't talk about Rahne's parents in the hospital. Rahne, oblivious to her aunt's displeasure, shook her head.
"I hear things," she said.
"Of course," Azazel said.
"What's it for?" asked Doug.
"There's a mean law that's going up for the vote," Rahne said, "It's going to hurt people, so some people are going to protest tomorrow."
"Rahne, that's not all that's going on," said Raven, her voice chiding.
"Nyet, I think that she has it," Azazel said.
He sounded playful and Raven glared at him.
"I think you're simplifying it," she said.
Azazel smiled. When he spoke though, all hints of playfulness were gone.
"Nyet, I do not think I am," he said.
Raven wanted to say something back, but Doug and Rahne were in the room. Dr. Hudson was already giving her a reproachful look. She shook her head.
"I have to go get my bag from the break room," she said, "Rahne, get ready. I told Charles I'd have you back home in five minutes."
"Not gonna happen," Rahne muttered.
"I know. We're already late, so meet me in the lobby in five," Raven said.
She walked out of the room, waving to Dr. Hudson and Doug. When she made it into the break room she heard the soft explosion that always announced Azazel. Raven blinked and turned her head, staring into his eyes. His face was hard and he leaned up against the wall of lockers, his tail flicking behind him.
"What makes you such expert on law?" he asked.
Raven grabbed her bag out of the locker and shut the door behind her.
"I'm not talking about this," she said.
"Nyet, I think you are," Azazel said.
His tone was sharp. Raven rolled her eyes, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
"Charles is being an idiot by not cooperating," she said, "There, I've said it."
Azazel's expression didn't change.
"Yet, he is your starshy brat," he said.
Raven knew enough Russian to pick up 'older brother'.
"Doesn't mean he isn't an idiot," Raven said, "If he cooperates than he can make the law more moderate. Instead he's just fighting the whole damn thing. He might be able to stop humans coming in and keep the ones we have here. That's all I'm saying."
He continued to stare at her, his expression unwavering. She figured the conversation was over since he didn't say anything. She made a move, trying to leave, but he was blocking the way to the door. Raven let out a frustrated sigh.
"What?"
"It seems to me that you have worse grasp of situation than little girl," Azazel said.
Anger flared up in her.
"Excuse me?" she demanded.
"The real danger of law isn't that it is unmoderated," Azazel said, "Real danger is that it is gateway. First ban human immigration, then take all humans out of Genosha. Forever."
"No it wouldn't!" Raven argued, "We need to have some sort of check on them."
Azazel raised an eyebrow.
"You really hate humans, da?" he asked.
She tilted her head up.
"Don't play stupid. We both have visible mutations, we both know what it can be like," Raven said, "I was abandoned by human parents because I looked different. Moira's alright, I'll give her that, and so's the Queen and Dr. McCoy. But in my life, almost all the people who've given a damn about whether I live or die have been mutants!"
Azazel looked calmly at her. She panted, feeling the heat in her face.
"I was in Genoshan freak show from birth until ten," he said, his voice steady, "I run away then, run far away as possible."
His casual tone made Raven feel like the floor had been cut out from under her.
"Managed to make it to California," said Azazel, his voice still casual, "Was attacked by group of humans when crossed highway."
He leaned in and Raven took a step backwards.
"Bleeding I stumbled into field. There were caravans," he said, "One opened and I expected death. Instead woman looks at me, and screams; 'Sabu, someone is hurt!"
His face still drawn Azazel let out a shuddering breath.
"Someone," he said, "I had never been called this. Something, da. Not someone. They cared for me with nyet thought. And I will never let such people be hurt. Rest of humans…I do not care. But for them, I will keep close by. I will not risk."
Raven tried to look down, feeling embarrassed. His hand hooked under her chin and jerked it up so she faced him. Azazel's face softened.
"Why should someone like you be so angry?" he said.
Her lips parted and she stared at his pale blue eyes. They'd gone from hard and angry to something she was entirely unfamiliar with. She saw them flicker down to her mouth for a minute before meeting her eyes again with that same unreadable expression. A long moment passed between them, neither saying anything or moving.
Then Azazel pulled his hand away. Raven cleared her throat.
"Thank you for…having patience with me," she said, "And for…telling me."
"Nyet problem," Azazel said, swallowing.
"Well…I uh…I'm supposed to be meeting Rahne," Raven said.
"Da," Azazel said, "Da."
She nodded to him and he moved aside. Raven walked past him, feeling her heart pounding.
Emma could be patient. She'd learned patience in a cell, counting time between when the scientists came in, food was served, and Azazel was conscious enough to have a conversation. Watches had never appealed to her because she measured time by events, not the continuous movement of a hand and a small ticking noise.
So she measured the time since the act had been introduced in the same way. First there was the fight between Charles and Magnus. She knew it had happened even if she hadn't been present. Their stances when they walked into the cabinet room were enough to tell her that they had, without much politeness, decided to disagree on the issue.
The next event was when she cast her lot in with Azazel. It had felt strange without Clarice standing by her side. Clarice had resigned her cabinet position since it was a military one, but Emma knew she'd be canvasing aplenty. She had never been one for sitting important things out while the world moved around her. Emma actually suspected that she was one of the major pushers in the rally that was coming up.
Emma found herself envying her friend, again. This time it wasn't because of Clarice's pretty pink hair or even her sanity. Her decision to oppose the law was caused by a deep-rooted belief of equality. Emma's was an automatic one that had nothing to do with her personal feelings. The Szardos family was being threatened. The Szardos family made Azazel happy. She would defend the Szardos family until the day she died.
There were other reasons of course; ones involving the happiness of her sister, but the Szardos family was the big one. Moira would be staying no matter what. The Szardos family would not. They were the ones who were in jeopardy. They were the ones who needed to be protected. So Emma had, without a word, stood up with Azazel.
Now that she had thrown herself into the deep end of the political ocean she had to reassess her position. There were sharks out there, and blood was in the water. There had been plenty cabinet members who'd stood by Magnus, and there would be plenty of parliament members who would stand by him as well. Obviously all of the human members were going to vote against him, but that still left a lot of votes up in the air.
Emma had never seen herself as a knight in shining armor. She wore white, but only because of the fact it reminded her of her siblings. There were other colors in her wardrobe, both in the physical and psychological sense. Emma could turn her coat as well as anyone, and she could do it quickly.
She no longer had the luxury to be her lackadaisical self. They were fighting a war again, a war made from words instead of actions. There were no guns or explosives, and you'd get arrested if you punched or killed someone. Instead rhetoric was the weapon of the day, rhetoric and seasoned arguments. This was a war on a level that she'd never fought before, but she knew that the stakes were just as high.
Just because she hadn't fought this kind of battle didn't mean that she couldn't fight it, which was why she was so easily underestimated. Emma knew she was smart. She had quick wits and a sharp tongue. Her greatest power was her mind; her diamond skin was just a perk. It was time to use her number one weapon and get back into the ranks.
So she went into attack mode. Her eyes sharpened to details and her heart hardened. There was no room for sentiment in a war. Emma might be fighting because of her emotions, the attachment she felt for someone, but that was just the cause. She was going to be utterly unsympathetic in her manner of battle.
It was why she was moving through the political offices at one in the morning. Emma wore a black skirt, tie, jacket, and glasses pushed around her eyes. She held a folder with a pen clipped onto it, the height of professionalism. Her hair was pulled back, something she detested above all else. No matter. It was just a disguise, one of many she'd worn during the revolution.
Azazel had been involved in spy work, being the best teleporter they had. Clarice, when her powers had sharpened, had soon joined him. Having a telepath was handy for interrogations, so she started to come along too. It had drawn the three of them closer together and had taught Emma the few life lessons she hadn't already learned.
Her face set as she thought of Azazel. He was one of her treasured people and his happiness was at stake. He'd never had that threatened before, not since Emma had mustered up enough sanity to fool the psychiatrists. Clarice and Kayla had been threatened, but Emma had never been able to even start to pay him back for the care he'd shown her.
It wasn't just about debt though. If it had been solely about debt than she would've had several conflicting ledgers. Of course she owed Magnus and Charles her life. They'd both been good to her and normally she would sit such a battle out. However, it was a clear choice of sorting out her priorities.
She slipped into the aides' office. Emma had scanned a few of their minds while she'd brought Clarice her lunch for the past few days, gathering vital information. She hadn't told her what she was planning. Clarice wouldn't approve. Azazel probably wouldn't approve either when she thought about it. So she figured it was best to just keep her lips zipped.
Emma walked into a back room opened up a hidden compartment behind a light switch. Behind it was a keypad that she punched numbers into. A panel in the wall slid back to reveal safes. She knelt by one of the safes and used the combination she'd plucked from an aide's minds to get in. Inside she saw several black leather folders. They were the political briefs for high-ranking members of the Genoshan government. She could even see her own.
Emma looked through them, using the codenames from the aides' minds to find Susanna's. She looked through it. Emma read countless texts on charity work and the establishment of new foundations. There was very little about politics, and she suspected that Magnus kept it that way on purpose.
Carefully Emma pulled out her own brief from her folder. It was a summary of the new law in the Genoshan parliament, written in the same kind of format and on the same paper as the other briefs. She allowed herself a small congratulations as she tucked the new brief in with the others before closing the folder.
She put it back into the safe, taking note of the correct order, and closed it. Emma got up and walked away. She smiled to herself. Kayla had been the one to give her the idea, however unknowingly. As soon as Kayla had brought Susanna's name into it she'd had an epiphany. Of course someone like Susanna wouldn't support this law. However, Emma knew Magnus better than Kayla. She highly doubted that he would let her know about it if she'd disapprove. He'd see it as a small price to pay to further ensure domestic harmony.
Telling her like this was underhanded, but no more underhanded than what had already been done to Susanna. She'd find out and having his wife angry at him might do a great deal to withdraw his support. If it didn't and the law went through anyway, then it would be a perfect revenge in its own right.
It was a dirty move, but Emma wasn't above using such tricks. Her own personal feelings didn't enter into a situation like this and she felt like morals fell out of the sphere. And yes, she supposed it would be rather disloyal to Magnus. However, it was just another case of sorting out her priorities.