Chapter 35
At the Institute...
A couple of days later Kitty was working late down in the computer room still trying to finish the decryption of the data from Lex. She was biting on her thumb nail...which was a habit she was trying to quit.
Peter had had a few suggestions...on helping her decrypt, not her biting her nails problem. He wasn't the greatest at the interstices of computers but he could do maths and decryptions were usually finding the mathematical formula through which the data was encrypted to start with.
Kitty pauses. Peter. She finds she thinks a lot about Peter. She is starting to wonder what it means in terms of her feelings. Peter's...great seems so inadequate but he is. She also worries about him, out there every night, sometimes by himself fighting who knows what villain. She understands...she thinks at least she understands why he does it and she accepts it. He needs to help people. It's very noble but still she can't help but worry he'll get hurt by one of these villains one day.
Ok, so in actuality some of his villains are pretty lame. This time when they were out on a date there was this guy who could control metal rings. Those were his weapons. He was called the Ringer(which is a name so lame Kitty can't help laughing every single time she hears it). Kitty called him Hula Hoop Man and joked to Peter openly exactly how he had the lamest villains.
Kitty defeated the guy thanks to her amazing phasing powers. He wasn't a mutant. Just a man in a high-tech suit which she shorted out. Saying that she would love to know where all these people who keep popping up get all their toys from.
Seriously since mutants were revealed 6 months ago it seems every nut-job and insane genius in the world suddenly decided, 'Ooh I know, I'll build something ridiculous and try and take over the world'.
Kitty's lips curve up into a smile. After that incident Peter took her swinging through the city. That was amazing. Always is...and there was some pretty amazing making out as well.
Kitty is starting to wonder whether she is ready to take the next step with Peter.
Before she can think more the computer beeps as her latest decryption program finishes its work.
Kitty's eyes light up with interest as she can see that it's succeeded. Finally! She leans in close as she tries to figure out what it is she sees before her.
Horror dawns on Kitty's face as she realises what it is Lex is working on. "Oh no," she whispers.
Up in the mansion above Clark and Claire are returning from another night out just before their curfew. It is a school night after all and Logan and the adults were still very insistent on this curfew so they get the right amount of rest.
Claire heads straight for her room, muttering something about snuggling up with Marie. Clark so did not want to know. He heads to the kitchen and grabs himself a snack before he turns in. He looks upward and uses his x-ray vision to peer into his room to check on his roommate. Yep, Bart was conked out, fast asleep.
It was going ok. Bart is a little over abundant with energy but he's no worse than Bobby to live with. In fact those two were engaged in a prank war to see who could outdo the other.
Once he has had his snack he decides he too will grab a couple hours of rest. He leaves the kitchen only to pause as he picks up the sounds of quiet music drifting along the corridor. Clark follows it to one of the sitting rooms and finds the source of it to be a certain purple haired telepath staying up late, sitting, reading a book. She is dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of cut off jeans.
"Can't sleep?" he asks.
Betsy looks up and smiles at him. "No," she replies. "Although it should be the opposite thanks to your new room-mate."
"Bart?" Clark queries, bemused by what she means.
"For a telepath he's exhausting. He thinks at a million miles an hour. It's this constant stream of gibberish going by too fast to make it out."
"Um...sorry?" Clark offers, at a loss what else to say.
Betsy shakes her head a little. He's so nice and polite all the time. "You just back?" she asks him.
Clark nods. "Yes."
"When do you have fun?"
"I did go out like you asked on Friday," Clark reminds her.
That clicks an idea in Betsy's head. "You still owe me a dance."
"Um...ok. I guess."
Betsy grabs her music player, shifts through the stored songs and chooses one before turning up the volume. She rises to her feet and signals for him to come close.
Clark figures out what she wants. "Here? Now?" he queries because it is very late.
"You have better things to do?" she almost dares him. "Come on. I don't bite," she promises. "Well not unless you ask me too. From what I hear that's something you know about," she quips with a waggle of her eyebrows.
Clark knew that joke he made would, forgive him, bite him in the ass.
"I'm waiting," she pouts.
Clark sighs. He does owe her a dance. He saddles up to her and she grabs his hand, locks their fingers and places her other hand on his back. For whatever reason she's chosen a slow dance song.
Her and Clark slowly move round on the spot.
"You're better than you let on," Betsy comments in regards to his comment about being a bad dancer.
"This sort of thing I'm good at...as long as I don't stand on your toes. I'm kinda heavy."
Betsy fixes that by taking her bare feet and standing on his boots, bringing their bodes even closer together. "Problem solved!" she declares.
"Only it leaves me doing all the work," he points out with a dorky expression of mock complaint.
"Well isn't that what men are for," Betsy jokes.
"What happened to equality between the sexes?"
"I leave sex equality for between the sheets," she says with heavy suggestiveness.
Clark blushes brightly and Betsy thinks it so cute the way he can be made to go red. Clark clears his throat, clearly uncomfortable at the way Betsy has pushed this conversation. "Um, err, so how are you finding the Institute now?" he asks, desperate to change the subject.
Betsy grins and lets him off the hook. "Oh it's pretty good. Uncle Charley..." (hey he isn't here to stop her calling him that), "has been teaching me new techniques to control my powers. New mental exercises, mediation, you know that sort of thing."
"Too many voices in your head?"
"Yeah."
"I understand. I can never shut out the noise."
Betsy looks up into his face. "Noise?" she queries.
"My superhearing. It never turns off. I always hear them. All the time. Millions and millions of people," he says, his voice drifting off into a haunted echo.
A flame of deep sympathy bursts inside Betsy. He had mentioned his hearing, of course, when she was enquiring about him after he told her he was an alien. He didn't mention that he suffers like that. "Hey," she says softly. He looks down at her with those blue eyes, a vulnerability in them that you can drown in. "I'm sorry."
Clark smiles a little. "You don't need to apologise. It's the price of my power."
"How about I show that gender equality and take you out some time?" she offers.
Clark looks at her curiously. "Out? As in...?"
"Two friends spending some time together," she fills in although in her head she might privately call it a date but she doesn't want to push her luck just yet and risk scaring him off. "I am a friend, right?"
"Of course...and I accept your offer," he says.
Betsy grins brilliantly. That's a step forward.
"Professor!" Kitty calls out urgently as she phases her way into his room through his door. "Professor!" she repeats her call.
"Y-yes Kitty?" the Professor groggily answers from his bed as her yelling ruins his slumber.
"I'm really, really, like totally sorry to wake you but it's like mega important. I cracked the data and...it's bad...I think...I don't believe it's good...well it's complicated...not sure what it means...Lex...mutant response...badness."
Charles gets next to nothing from that. He leans over and hits the switch on his desk-side lamp turning it on. "Kitty, slow down, take a deep breath," he advises.
Kitty tries to do as asked.
Charles takes a moment to wake up. "Now you've cracked the data encryption, yes?"
Kitty nods.
"And this won't wait until morning?"
Kitty shakes her head.
"Very well," Charles says with a tried sigh. "You wait outside. I'll be a moment."
Kitty does that and phases out through the door.
Once Charles puts on his robe and gets down to the computer room it doesn't take long to figure out what Kitty was meaning. This is serious. So serious the Professor wakes up Beast to come down and have a look.
Hank's expression after only a customary assessment of what is on the screen is grave.
"Is it what it appears to be?" Charles asks his old friend.
Hank has to reluctantly nod in confirmation. "Yes. Lex is working on power inhibition technology."
"It's a power inhibiting collar isn't it?" Kitty asks, worry etched deeply into her face.
"It appears to be," Charles must concede. "However lets not jump to conclusions yet. There is a lot of data here to process. Kitty, why don't you go to bed. Hank and I will analyse this," he tells her.
"But I can help," Kitty insists.
"That's not in doubt but you still have school in the morning and you need your sleep," the Professor logically debates her down. "Now off to bed," he makes it an order and Kitty obeys.
Charles turns back to the issue at hand.
"This shouldn't be a complete surprise," Hank comments about this discovery. "Stryker had this technology and he worked for Lionel."
"And Lex bought out the assets," Charles finishes the link. "I know."
"If anything we should be surprised this hasn't come out before now," Hank thinks.
Charles has a theory about why Lex hasn't produced this technology already. "When I was being held by Stryker I got the distinct impression he was not overly enamoured to be working for Lionel."
"That being the case you believe Stryker wasn't entirely forthcoming with all his technological secrets," Hank can assumes what Charles is hinting at and therefore that is why Lex is not further along.
"Yes."
"And we both know the Hellfire Club would never share this technology. It would take away its advantage," Hank reasons why they have never produced this technology despite possessing it.
"Well at least not until there is money to make and influence to be bought," Charles modifies that assertion about the Hellfire Club.
"That's true," Hank agrees.
Charles turns his attention to sorting through the data. "How about you look at the technical details to see how far along they are while I read the reports," he proposes for how they divide the work.
"Very well," Hank agrees and the two men get to work.
The 'Free' Republic of Genosha...
As Lionel had mentioned to Shinobi he was good friends with Cameron Hodge who in turn is good friends with the Genoshan President. Well Cameron's aid in getting into country came at a price. Right now Lionel is in Cameron's office in the capital explaining why there has been a partial delay on his side of the bargain.
"You lost the data," Cameron accuses. He was a man just above average height with blond hair, slim stature with a long, narrow face.
"I did not lose the data," Lionel refutes that description. "In all likelihood it is probable Superman took it," he gives his opinion on where it is.
"That's...disappointing," Cameron phrases it as, his tone showing it is a lot more than that.
"Yes, yes. I'm sure a short delay in your ability to control mutants is going to render the whole country a wasteland," Lionel snarks.
Cameron eyes his old friend with a perplexed expression. This didn't sound like the Lionel Luthor he remembered. "The President sees mutants as another source of material wealth."
"Lets not beat around the bush, Cameron. He sees them as a superpowered slave workforce."
"A slave is a term you can only apply to humans which mutants are not. It is no different to how humans have used horses and donkeys and such. You wouldn't call them slaves but to our ancestors they were an invaluable tool in helping them advance forward. Mutants are no different. The President sees this."
"Whatever term we use I agreed to help you provide the means to control mutants in exchange for asylum in Genosha and I shall live up to my bargain. You know I always do. Without the data it will merely take me more time. That is all."
"The President is not always a patient man."
"That's a character flaw. From my spell in prison I can tell you patient is one of God's greatest gifts. It literally helped me become who I am today. Assure your President I will live up to my bargain. The data I have already provided should be more than ample proof of that."
"I will do my best to persuade him of your sincerity. It would help if I knew what you were up to with the Shaw boy."
"That wasn't part of our agreement Cameron. All I will say is that my plans will bring benefits to us all."
"I can hardly do otherwise. Now if business is out of the way how about you and I spend this evening together," Cameron suggests.
"Splendid idea," Lionel agrees.
"Very well then. I shall see you tonight."
"Indeed," Lionel says as she stands up. The two men shake hands and Lionel departs. Once outside he takes a moment to bask in the sunshine and in to be in a place he doesn't have to worry about the authorities trying to arrest him again.
Now that meeting is over he has to attend to other business. He leaves Shinobi to oversee Vanko's work. Lionel's business is Superman. Now he knows that Superman is the Traveller he needs to reinvest some time and effort into investigating what he needs to bring that young...man, using the term loosely, to heel.
The Kawatche caves in Smallville would be a good start since there is clearly some sort of link. Lionel knew that ages ago. He just got distracted. Now how to go about doing what he needs to to investigate those caves. He can come up with the funds to organise an archaeological examination of the caves but he can't be there himself personally to oversee it. He needs someone he can trust to do this.
Not Lex.
That link is broken.
Ah family is so fleeting...wait.
Lex is not his only family.
Lionel had almost forgotten about her but not quite.
A smile comes to his lips. Yes, yes! That will work. He just needs to talk to her, persuade her. Oh he has some planning to do and with that Lionel hurries off back to his car.
The next morning at the Institute...
The students were away to school except for Bart. The Professor was still working on that. It's tricky to sort out when they can't even be sure Barry Allen is his real name. It makes it difficult to track down his history. Most likely they'll just have to make a false identity for him.
Anyway Bart's not the Professor's main priority this morning. What he and Hank found on that memory stick is. It is why he has gathered the teaching faculty together. Logan, Storm, Sean, Domino, Jonathan and Martha too. Hank is, of course, here as well to help him explain.
"So, what's up Doc?" Domino asks in a pitch-perfect Bugs Bunny impression.
Logan groans. "How long have ya been waiting to use that one?"
"Ooh, that would be telling," Domino says, being deliberately obtuse.
Sean laughs. He was still learning what it meant to be an instructor around here. One thing he had learned was Dom was funny as hell.
"Very amusing as always, Neena," Charles replies dryly, deliberately using her proper name, knowing that she hates it.
Domino gives him the appropriate dirty look in response.
"This is important," Charles announces in serious tones. "Kitty managed to decrypt the data Clark brought back from Lex."
"What was on it?" Jonathan asks.
"Simply put Lex is working on power inhibitors."
Logan snarls. "What!" he snaps, furious at that.
"Calm yourself, Logan," Charles requests. "From an analysis of the data he's months away from perfecting it."
"I have to go with agreeing with Hairy," Dom expresses her opinion having had personal experience of power inhibitors when she was working for Stryker, working against her will she might add.
"Is this like those collars Shaw had us wear when we were his 'guests'?" Sean asks.
"Precisely like that, yes," Hank confirms.
"How does it work?" Martha asks, having never understood the principles behind it.
"Now that's very interesting," Hank says with a gleam in his eyes. A gleam he always gets when he is allowed to indulge in his love. Science.
"Ho, boy. I know that look," Sean complains. "Me brain's about t' explode isn't it?"
"I'll keep it simple," Hank promises. "When I started to work on figuring this out I had two basses to work on. One, it is something both x-gene and meteor mutants have in common because Volcana had one of those collars as well when she was at Alkali Lake. Two, Clark managed to sketch the internals of one of the collars from memory. It therefore became a task of trying to figure out the internal engineering. Even then I struggled. In fact the issue in the end was that it was so simple I overlooked it."
"What do you mean, Henry?" Ororo asks in her gentile tones.
"I mean is that the principle is so simple I dismissed it as that. Too simple. I thought if you have to suppress our powers it had to be an extremely complicated process."
"It's not?" Dom queries.
"No. It is in fact thanks to Clark's father, Jor-El that I finally got the key to it."
"How?" Jonathan asks, instantly suspicious of anything involving Jor-El.
"Our trip to Nova Roma. I got to read his research notes on creating a power inhibitor for Selene. It's complicated but basically it comes down to electromagnetism. He created a device that generated an electromagnetic field that disrupts the flow of magic within a subject's body. From Clark's sketch I knew that the collars we have experience with have electromagnetic generators. We all know kryptonite generates a very unique form of electromagnetic radiation. It got me thinking hard that that was the key. After further study I managed to measure and detect the fact the x-gene emits its own unique form of electromagnetic radiation."
Hank grabs a pad of paper and pen off the Professor's desk and draws a very simple sine waveform going along up and down. "For argument's sake lets say this is the waveform of the x-gene. Obviously it's far more complex than this but this will do for my demonstration. Now if you overlay the inverse wave," Hank begins while he draws the inverse wave where the peaks are opposite the troughs.
"You cancel it out," Martha states it, recalling her education.
"Exactly," Hank says. "By cancelling out the EM field you effectively switch the x-gene off. The same principle applies to the kryptonite altered gene of the meteor mutants."
"That's disturbingly simple," Ororo has to say.
"Well the theory is simple. Putting it into practise is hard," Hank informs them.
"That would be why Stryker just never blanketed the whole mansion that day he attacked us, then?" Jonathan asks.
"Yes, in a way. The distance this waveform can travel is extremely short. Hence the collars having to be worn. You could blanket an area but you would need dozens if not hundreds of EM generators which would need enormous amounts of power especially if you are to suppress the most powerful mutants. For them you need a very intense field."
"Hank started this research because we knew others had the technology and we needed a way to counter it if necessary," Charles reminds them all of how this started.
"Can ya counter it?" Logan wants to know.
"I'm still working on that. Forge and I have been trying to build our own prototype devices to test. They haven't worked yet but I'm very hopeful for our latest attempt that we have worked out the bugs. It's essentially ready to test today if required. Forge and I were going to do it this weekend."
"Can you counter it?" Sean repeats the question. "Just a theoretical yes or no, Hank," he clarifies what he wants to know that Hank didn't answer.
"On yes, in theory. It's perfectly plausible to build a device to counter the collars. We just need something small enough to be hidden on our persons."
Logan folds his arms across his chest as he chews this over. "Quick question. Would these collars work on Speedy Gonzales?" he wonders about Bart.
"Can't say but doubtful," Hank replies. "Bart's...a very unique individual."
"In what way?" Domino asks. "In the fact he tries to hit on me every morning which is not as flattering as one would assume," she says, sounding like she is making a complaint about it.
"No. As in I have no idea where his power comes from. All I can tell you is that there is an energy present in his cellular structure that I can't identify. It is like nothing I have ever seen."
"What about his memory?" Martha wonders. "Is there any chance of it being restored?" she asks, hoping for Bart to reclaim his past.
"Bart's thoughts moves at such a speed it makes it difficult to interact with his mind," Charles reports. "It's going to be difficult," he has to apologetically say and is understating it. In truth Charles doesn't know how to interact with Bart's mind unless they find a way to slow his thoughts down.
"That would explain his rather disjointed thinking...or it only appears disjointed to us," Hank describes it as.
"I'm lost," Domino admits.
"His thoughts aren't disjointed. He just moves on at such a speed from one topic to the next it looks to us as if he jumps randomly."
Sean returns to the issue of the power inhibitors. "So what are we doing about Lex Luthor?"
"I need to think on it...and sleep. I need sleep," Charles responds. "I was up most of the night. Give me a few hours...and Hank once you have a nap can you set up a demonstration of what you and Forge have been working on for the students when they return from school?"
"No problem."
With that the meeting breaks up but Logan stays behind.
"Yes, Logan?" Charles inquires.
"Luthor Junior is working for Fury," he points out.
"Do you mean is he doing this for SHIELD then I can't say. There was nothing specific in the data we have but we can reasonably assume they and the government would be interested in this technology. In truth this is bringing to ahead a topic of contention that has been building for awhile."
"What do ya mean?" Logan asks, not sure what Chuck means.
"I'll explain it later when Hank makes his demonstration," Charles puts off that answer.
"We will have to respond. Magneto certainly will when he finds out," Logan warns with some foreboding.
"I am aware but there are no easy responses. Please, Logan, I'm tried. We will debate this, I promise."
Logan accepts that. He has some thinking to do on his own. Mostly it will involve how to do unpleasant things to that Luthor boy for carrying on his father's work.
That evening the X-Men plus Clark gather down in the Danger Room. Clark since of his particular connection to all this and to Lex. The Professor didn't want more than that because it can get quite unruly. This is too important for that.
The meeting is brought to order and the Professor lays out the basic facts of what had been found out about what Lex is doing.
"The question is how do we respond to this," the Professor puts it simply.
"Find Luthor and beat him up?" Rogue proposes and it's impossible to tell whether she is joking or not.
"Find wherever he is developing this technology and trash it," Dom proposes, her tone laced with anger and pain caused by her memory of this technology in Stryker's hands. That gets a few murmurs of agreement.
Charles smiles painfully thin. "We could do that but it does not solve the problems we are facing."
"What problems?" Scott asks.
"First off, this technology exists. Stryker has it and we don't know where he is. The Hellfire Club has it. Domino's proposal is about trying to put the genie back in the bottle but we are way past that point already. We could slow Lex down but what would that achieve in the end?"
"Zhat's a good point," Kurt has to say.
"We can't undo this technology's creation. However we are still in a position to determine who publicly controls it."
"What do you mean, Professor?" Jean asks.
"This technology has never been patented. Legally speaking we could do so and then legally we would control the technology."
"Wouldn't mean anything to Stryker," Dom points out.
"It would mean something for how we are perceived by the government."
"What does that mean?" Evan asks.
"The number one issue of contention I am presented with when I deal with the government is that mutants are not accountable to the law."
"That's rubbish," Scott says.
"Is it?" Clark asks bluntly in a tone that makes everyone look at him.
"Que voulez-vous dire?" the newest member of the X-Men, Marie asks him. What do you mean?
"You were arrested on Friday night along with the Hellions."
"So?" Kitty asks.
Clark looks at her. "So, Kitty, it should be more obvious to you, than most, that if you had not chosen to cooperate you couldn't have been arrested. What jail cell can hold the girl who walks through walls?"
Kitty's eyes dart back and forth. That was an uncomfortable close truth to hit home.
Sean works it out first. "Ye want t' give this technology t' th' government, don't ya Charlie?"
"Want? No. Need to...that's going to be what we are here to discuss."
"Ya can't do that!" Logan barks.
Jonathan's remarkably calm tones speak up. "How does a society function? It functions because we have laws and when those laws are broken it is the fact you can be held to account that keeps order. Without enforceable laws you have anarchy."
"Jonathan speaks truly," Ororo is forced to agree.
Logan looks at her with a glare. She meets it in turn. One of the few people capable of staring him down.
"With all our power it is more important we can be held to account," Clark repeats a theme that has been peculating around his life this last few days. "May I point out that was why we developed those weapons to stop me."
That gets a few murmurs of agreement.
"Yeah and ah told ya how stupid an idea that was," Rogue reminds him, slight bitterness in her tone because it was part of their break-up. "Ya give tha government that technology we might as well march ourselves inta camps," she strongly gives her view.
That gets a few murmurs of agreement as well.
"I zhink you are being over pessimistic mein sister," Kurt feels he needs to argue.
Rogue snorts. "No. Ah think ah'm being perfectly realistic, bro."
"Laws do have to be enforced, Rogue," Jean points out.
"Wow the teacher's pet agreeing. Big shocker," Evan mocks sarcastically.
"Take that back," Scott snaps in defence of his girlfriend.
"Make me!"
That starts off a whole series of flung back and forth disparagingly names and remarks.
Martha watches on and you can see the dividing lines starting to form amongst the group.
This was what Charles was afraid of. If it can split his students it will only further split mutantkind. The chances of uniting together might be dashed to pieces on the rocks without any hope of ever putting it back together.
"Enough!" Storm's stern tones crack, literally with a crack of thunder, around the room. "We will have a debate. Not a slanging match. Am I clear?"
Everyone shuts up.
Scott looks on. This was bad. Unfortunately he could see both arguments were perfectly valid. There were some in the government who would love to just shove them into camps and they were contemplating handing over the means to do so willingly. Yet the other side was accurate. Laws had to be enforced. Mutants are not normal people. Metal bars and concrete walls can't hold them unless you suppress their powers.
"I believe people are basically good," Clark says sombrely. "But I've seen the evils they do. We've all seen that there are mutants who think their power is simply there to bend the world round to their will but it doesn't work like that. Humanity is a collective. Laws are for everyone and even if Rogue's point is valid it doesn't take into account the basic truth. This technology is coming. Live in denial if you wish but it doesn't change that fact. You can fight it, try and destroy it or you can accept the truth and realise that the Professor said it at the start. The only question left is who controls it."
There is silence for awhile before Kitty speaks up. "Do we have this technology to control?" she asks a very fundamental question.
Hank, who has been very silent during this due to not having an opinion just yet one way or the other, answers. "I have a couple of prototypes if we wish a demonstration."
"Please, do so, Mr McCoy," Scott requests. "Unless anyone has an objection?" he asks, looking particularly at Rogue.
Rogue shrugs. "We are all here. Might as well," she says sullenly.
"Please, Hank, proceed," the Professor permits of him.
"I'll need a couple of volunteers," Hank asks for.
Rogue, surprisingly, steps forward. "Use meh. Lets see if this collar can shut down mah new powers," she says it, almost like a challenge.
"As you wish," Hank says, a little surprised at her volunteering.
"I'll volunteer," Scott also steps forward.
"That's fine. I'll use you in a moment, Scott," Hank says as he picks up his version of the power inhibiting collar.
Rogue lets him put it around her neck. "Take a good look at the future," she says with a nasty smirk.
It is then everyone gets why she volunteered. She wanted them to see what it is she thinks they're doing.
Clark shakes his head at her. He has no idea what has caused this in her.
Hank freezes momentarily.
"Continue, Hank," Charles says, not letting Rogue stop this.
Hank fastens it and turns it on. "Give it a few moments while I adjust the EM field. This is its first trial," he explains as he adjusts the settings on it.
"Ah have all tha tahme in tha world, lahke ah will when ah'm lock up in that camp," she says snidely.
"Oh give it a rest, Rogue!" Kitty of all people snaps at Rogue's attitude.
Rogue rolls her eyes defiantly.
"Done," Hank says.
Rogue is still wearing gloves to be on the safe side despite her apparent control over her power. She pulls one off. "Who wants to volunteer?"
"I will," Hank says and takes her hand. "Absorb me," he tells her.
Rogue concentrates...and concentrates and concentrates and nothing. "Congratulations Dr McCoy," he says with her not so deft sarcasm. "It works."
Hank releases her hand.
Rogue then wonders about her strength. That wasn't from her x-gene was it. She has an idea how to test that. She idly wanders over to Clark and then suddenly tries to pick him up and throw him...which she can't. She can't even budge him. "Hey! Mah strength is gone!" she complains.
"Over course it is," Charles says dryly. "Your x-gene created the organs. They're linked. Shut the x-gene down and the organs shut down."
Rogue huffs. "Well then ah guess slavery here ah come!"
"Oh seriously, what has gotten you so grumpy today?" Clark asks her, having had enough.
"Ah just don't lahke tha idea of walking into slavery."
"Cut the crap Rogue. You don't believe that is what will happen. You're cynical and sarcastic but you do believe in what the X-Men stand for."
"Do ah? Maybe ah'm re-evaluating that position," she suggests her views are changing.
Clark just looks at her with disbelief. Seriously, again, what the hell is wrong with her? Maybe he should ask the Professor or Jean to scan her mind to make sure she isn't under the influence of someone or something.
"Vhat's zhe ozher zhings vith zhe pillars?" Kurt asks, moving the topic on, to the 4 pillars sitting in the Danger Room in a square about six feet apart from each other.
"Scott," Hank addresses him. "Can you step inside the square?"
Scott does as asked and stands in the middle. Hank activates the 4 pillars with a switch on each one. A sort of green energy field springs up between the pillars. Hank makes some last minute checks. "Ok, remove your glasses," Hank instructs Scott.
Scott hesitates for obvious reasons.
"Trust me," Hank asks.
Scott closes his eyes and pulls his glasses off.
"Open your eyes," Hank instructs the young leader of the X-Men.
Scott isn't sure but he cracks one eye open and is surprised by something. He's seeing colours. He fully opens his eyes and blinks to adjust.
There are a few gasps.
Jean wanders over in amazement. "Your eyes," she whispers. "They're so...blue," she remarks at seeing them for the first time since Asteroid M.
Scott looks at Jean in living colour, taking every moment to engrave this into his brain. "You're so...beautiful," he says in hushed tones.
Jean blushes.
"It's a prison cell," Domino describes what it is.
"It's a concentrated space with an inhibition field," Hank properly describes it. "That is the limit of size for 4 pillars. It is like I said previously. It has a short wavelength and can't travel far."
"No, it's a prison cell," Domino continues.
"Yes," Charles relents in conceding that description.
"It could work," Jonathan says. "If we are the ones who give this technology it would show the world that we do respect the law and are serious about living in one world where the laws apply to everyone, equally" he gives what he sees from this.
"That's one view," Charles says in respond. "I'm sure there are others from the people just in this room."
"No kiddin," Evan says, him being one person who has another view.
"We have to be accountable to the law," Scott says. "Ignore everything else. Ignore what you may perceive to be the consequences of this. Does anyone deny that basic fact?" he asks the room.
No-one, not even the strongest objectors so far, deny it.
"This isn't the way," Logan says. "Trust me. You give this sort of technology to people it'll be abused. I've been there," he says, his tone showing the anger of his personal experiences.
"I think, perhaps, everyone should go away and think on it so cooler heads can prevail," Martha steps in. Let time take the heat out of it.
"Fahne by meh," Rogue agrees. "Now, can ah get this dang collar off meh!"
"Can we leave it on?" Clark asks with a cheeky smirk.
A few people chuckle.
Rogue scowls at him.
Hank removes the collar from her before they slowly exit the Danger Room, all except Logan and the Professor.
"Yes, Logan?" Charles inquires wearily.
"I ain't goin to lecture ya Chuck. Not my style. I'll just say that if you go through with giving this to the government there will be a backlash from those who think you're betraying them."
"I am aware Logan. Please don't think I can't see the consequences but also realise there are consequences if we make the other choice. Can you look me in the eye and say definitely that that outcome would be any better for us?"
"No. I can't do that," Logan concedes.
"There are no easy choices here Logan."
Logan will concede that. "Life sucks like that."
"Indeed," Charles agrees readily.
Afterwards the Professor retires to his study to contemplate the options. After much thinking, which gets him nowhere as he goes round in circles, he ends up phoning and speaking to someone who is, and their opinion is, very important to him.
"I can't win, Lilandra. No matter what choice I make I'll create division and strife."
Lilandra had listened carefully and had not judged as Charles explained his dilemma to her. "Sometimes Charles there are no right or wrong choices. There are merely choices which have both positive and negative outcomes. You have to decide which is the lesser of two evils."
"I understand the sentiments against but I have to edge towards using this technology. If mutants and humans are to live in peace there must be faith in a justice system that applies to both equally."
"You're not wrong," Lilandra agrees with him. "Though if you were to use this technology or more accurately sell this technology then, as a balance, you could use the profits to fund organisations that work for peaceful mutant/human relations. I know a few small ones that have sprung up. They just get overshadowed by the anti-mutant ones, especially that Friends of Humanity lot."
Charles takes a moment. He too knew of these organisations. They were very small and didn't get huge amount of funding. They certainly couldn't compete with the anti-mutant groups. "Perhaps I could set up a fund for them to gain access to," he says speculatively.
"That sounds sensible."
"Assuming I make that choice."
"You know the alternative. Lex, or someone like him, will put this technology out anyway. I can see no positive to that. It'll put you into a position of endorsing it or opposing it which is practically the same situation you are in now. It'll create division. Oppose it and be accused of defending a situation that makes mutants beyond the law. Endorse it and be accused of collaborating with humans against your own kind."
"So I can't win."
"It's not about winning Charles. It's about building a future for us all. Whatever decision you make I'll back you. I'll stand with you if need be when you announce it."
"And risk dividing your own community?"
"Charles, you have to accept that can't be avoided," Lilandra states it bluntly, feeling he is trying to find some impossible perfect solution. There isn't one. He needs to see the harsh truth. She likes Charles fine but she isn't here to mollycoddle him.
"Couldn't let me live in the illusion?" he asks wryly.
"Reality is much better. Especially the one I can provide," she says with just that necessary suggestive edge.
"I'm certain."
"What will you do?"
"Take my time to think on it. It is not a decision to be rushed."
"I understand. I know it's hard for us to see each other, with our commitments but don't be a stranger for I am only a phone call away."
"I will remember that. Thank you for listening to me."
"Any time Charles. Any time."
"Bye Lilandra."
"Goodbye Charles."
Charles ends the phone call. He doesn't get a chance to muse much longer when the gate intercom goes off. He has a feed of it into his study and decides to answer it. "Yes? How may I help you?"
"Professor Xavier?" the voice at the other end queries. A female voice.
"Speaking," he confirms.
"I'm sorry to bother you but I need to talk to you. I'm not sure you remember me but we met a long time ago when I was little. You, um, you knew my father."
"Who was your father?"
"Swann. Virgil Swann. I'm his daughter, Patricia."
Author's Note: I've hinted for awhile now that how the law is applied to mutants would be an issue and here we are at a crucial turning point that could split even the students of the Institute apart. Ooh, look, surprise guest ending. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. My team name poll is still open for anyone who still wishes to vote. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Patricia Swann, why has she shown up at the Institute and what does she want?