After several hours of soul searching, the team had reconvened in the
meeting room to make one of the most important decisions of their careers.
Professor X took a moment to address the issue of protocol, before they
voted on the issue at hand.
" We are gathered here today on decide whether or not to release Hank's 'pancura formula' to the world at large, taking into it's appalling origins. But, I feel we are looking at a larger issue of whether it is right to use medical information obtained thru torture. I feel that with this issue we should err on the side of caution. Due to the fact that there are fourteen staff members voting on this, we must be prepared for the possibility of a tie. If we do indeed come to a tie on this issue, then we will not release the information to the public. Is that understood?"
" Professor…"
" This point is not up for debate, Hank. This is my home, and as founder of the X-Men, my decision. I say again, should this matter come to a tie, we will not release the information or formula to the public. End of discussion."
" How so very democratic." Emma said, " Since we're on the subject, what is your vote on the issue? Yay or nay?"
" As much as my heart goes out to those who would or could benefit from this information, I feel that using it will ultimately devalue human life as a whole. I feel it would eventually lead to even worse crimes than Dr. Calvin performed. Nay. Scott?"
There wasn't a man or woman in the room who didn't recognize the fact that the Professor had asked Scott his opinion next because he wanted Scott to side with him. Xavier was like a father to Scott, after all, and for the first time in his life, Xavier, consciously or not, was attempting to manipulate that bond.
" I respectfully disagree, Professor. While I don't condone what happened to Rahne and the others, I feel that to turn away from this information would be a bigger crime. Yay."
-How ken he think like that? They violated me every way they could tae get that bloody information, an' they'd do it again, most likely- Rahne thought to herself. Scott's vote in favor of using the information scared Rahne. That was mainly because she wasn't certain of how she felt about the issue now.
" I…see. Logan?"
" Not chance in hell. Even considering using that information is spittin' in the face of everyone they killed." He growled.
-But what if it ken help people?- Rahne thought to herself. She kept playing devil's advocate in her head against her will. For every pro she came up with she immediately came up with a con, and it distressed her greatly. Did she not want the information to be used because she wanted to deny those horrible doctors any victory she could, or because she honestly thought it was wrong?
" Stacy-X?"
" Yay, I guess. Those people aren't coming back from the dead, after all."
-Because they're nae X-men- Rahne thought bitterly to herself. They always seemed to come back from the dead in droves…
" Cecelia?"
" I wish I was strong enough to say that we shouldn't use the information, that its origins are more important than what it can do. But I'm not. I've worked in E.R's, and in hospitals, and I've seen too many times where a patient is figuratively inches from a treatment that could save his life, that maybe if he got sick a few weeks later than he did, then he would still be alive. We need this information today, not tomorrow. Yay."
After Cecelia said that, she couldn't bring herself to look at Rahne. While she felt that she was following her intellect at the expense of her conscious.
" Kurt?"
" As a priest and man of god, I am taught to look for the good in all things and in essence, make the best of a bad situation. That said, I feel that we have already found the good in this formula. Rahne is healed in body, and that is enough for me. I will have no part in vindicating murderers and sadists. Nay."
" Emma?"
" When my students, the Hellions died, it was a heavy burden on me for many reasons. One of the main reasons was because their deaths really didn't matter. They were never able, for good or ill, have any lasting effect on this world. I don't want that for anyone who has their life stolen from them, to be forgotten. Yay."
" Warren?"
" While I arbor what was done to these poor souls, I feel that the needs of the many outweigh the few in this instance. This information is just too important to throw away. Yay."
" Jean?"
" I honestly wish we could release this formula and let that be the end of this whole affair. But it won't be. Others, be they private companies or rogue governments, will get the idea to start their own inhuman experiments when they see the benefits of the first ones. And it will spiral on from there, becoming a domino effect that will only get worse as time goes on. And the only way to stop it is to never let it start. I know there are a lot of sick people out there who would be helped by this information, but those who Calvin kidnapped and killed had nothing to do with making them that way. It isn't their fault or responsibility. Nay."
" Hank?"
" Though I freely admit tampering with the data Calvin gathered was wrong, I feel that the benefits to society…outweigh the moral concerns of how it was…gathered, if only in this particular instance. Yay."
" Dani?"
" I feel that if we release this information, we will be damning countless souls in the future to a experience far worse than what Rahne barely lived thru. I know this, because I have seen the apathy that society has for victims whose loss benefits that society first hand. For fear of stating the obvious, I am a member of the Cheyenne tribe, and as such, I am the only real damn American in this room. I have seen the white man chip away at my people inch by inch, taking everything we ever had. Sure, history books condemn what was done to my people now, but history never stopped my people from being victimized all over again. We have never gotten our rightful lands back, even when treaties were openly violated. The 'Trail of Tears", the equivalent of a nazi death march that killed hundreds of my people and displaced thousands more, is barely a foot note in high school history books. Let's be honest, can the majority of Americans name the tribe from whom the land they now live on was stolen? After a while, people just stopped caring, if they ever did, I mean. And that's exactly what will happen here if this information is released. Nay."
" Bobby?"
" I've given this a lot of thought, and I have to agree with Emma. Sarah, Wildchild and that Jack Flag guy, their deaths are meaningless. No one will really remember them. And I want more than anything to give Sarah's death meaning. But that said, I don't want her death to mean that it is all right to commit murder, so long as your goals are pure. Nay."
-Oh dear lord no- Rahne thought. Everyone had voted with the exception of Jono, and Rahne knew how he would vote. The formula had given him back his face, his life. And so, Rahne knew it would come down to her. She couldn't help but feel that regardless of how she voted, she would be damning her soul.
" Nay."
After Jono said that, the entire room gasped in shock. After all, only Rahne benefited more from the formula than Jono…
" The more I think about this, the more I have a hard time looking at meself in the mirror. Knowin' that I got me life back because of some sod who decided to play god…As much as I wanted me face back, I would never want others to suffer because o' it. But they did. And why will in the future. An' also, I don't want to tell me grand kids that all we had to do to cure cancer was to cut up a few cancer patients an' such to see what makes them tick. It's a poor history lesson, mates."
After Jono said that, Rahne abruptly left the room, quickly followed by Dani who was obviously concerned about her friend. Xavier didn't bother to ask her what her vote was, and no one was willing to do so either. It wasn't as though her vote would matter, either.
" And so, we have decided. The information will not be used in anyway, and what remains of the pancura formula will be destroyed." Professor X said firmly. Hank just nodded in acknowledgement.
***
Danger Room.
" You don't have to be here, Ms. Frost. Things might get rough." Jono said to Emma Frost.
" Perhaps, but that is a risk I choose to take. You are my student, X-man or not. And I'm begging you, Jono, to reconsider your course of action. No one will blame you if you don't…"
" No one but me self. An' I meant what I said back there, Ms. Frost, about havin' trouble looking at meself in the mirror after what those poor souls suffered thru. I don't fancy the idea of anyone benefiting from torture in such a way."
" I understand that, but you had no idea where the formula came from at the time. Are you making a principled statement here, Jono, or simply doing this so the others don't consider you a hypocrite?"
"…"
" Well?"
" Look, I've got enough on me mind wit' out you questioning me. Diamond up, Ms. Frost, and wit' due respect, be quite. I've made up me mind."
Once Frost had transformed into her diamond form, Jono concentrated and started to amass all of his psychic energy as though he intended to release all his energy in its entirety. But he didn't release the energy. He held it in, amassing more and more energy until…
-Boom!-
The massive explosion shook the danger room slightly and threw Frost clear across the room. It also gave Jono one hell of a headache.
" That was one hell of a chance you took, Jono. You could have killed yourself with that stunt," Frost said as she walked back across the room, unharmed thanks to her new powers. She handed Jono a small, vanity mirror (made of unstable molecules, of course).
" But for better or worse, it worked. I'm not certain if I should be proud of what you have just done, or deeply disappointed."
Jono took the mirror and looked at his reflection for long minutes. His mouth and chest was gone, and his upper body was once again a furnace of energy.
*It's not the handsomest face around, Ms. Frost, but at least…least it's an honest face* He said as he tossed the mirror away.
***
As Hank McCoy hit the delete button on his computer, his heart sank. All that information, all that potential… He didn't bother to turn around as he heard someone enter his lab.
" If you are hear to make certain that I am destroying all the data, you need not worry. I am as good as my word, and I will abide by the decision of my peers." Hank said humorlessly.
" We're just here to make sure, doc." Logan said.
" It is good to know you trust my word so."
" I actually think the fact that we don't trust you with this speaks more highly of your character in this instance," Jean said. " I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier Hank, but I know first hand what was done to Rahne, and I don't want anyone else to suffer like that."
Hank went into one of his cabinets and pulled out the beaker that held his pancura formula. He walked over to the sink, and started to pour in down the drain.
" I can't help but think how we could have helped the world with this information, what we've lost today…" He said absently.
" I think we gained a lot personally," Logan said, " I think we showed that we're not animals and that we won't allow people to play god. I think that we showed today that we're not willing to sacrifice our humanity in the name of science."
***
Washroom
As Rahne splashed her face with cold water, she tried to think about what her vote would have been.
" Rahne? You okay?" Dani asked as she came into the room.
" I don' know. I wish I did. I feel like such a coward, I jus'…" Rahne tried to speak, but the words just stuck in her throat. She started to get angry, angry at Hank for creating the formula and making her decide on such a horrible situation, angry at god for making her suffer, angry with herself for being unable to put the trauma of what happened to her behind her without the formula. Rahne stared in the mirror for a moment, enraged at the weak, indecisive coward she perceived. She lashed out with her fist, smashing the mirror to pieces.
" Rahne!" Dani quick grabbed some paper towels to cover the wound, " Why the hell did you do that?"
" I jus'…got so angry. At Hank f'r putting us in such a position, at god f'r…everythin'. Don' worry aboot it." Rahne winced. She shifted to her wolf form, and the extra skin and muscle growth instantly sealed the wound. But Rahne could still smell the blood that had escaped, and in an instant, she was mentally thrown back to the labs. She could feel the straps on her wrists, and the smell of her own blood was overpowering now, filling the room. But Rahne didn't panic. Even though her heart was pounding and all her senses told her she was back in the labs, she knew it was a lie. She knew she was having a flash back and that she was still safe at the mansion. She took three deep breaths, and found herself back in the washroom at the mansion.
" Rahne? You all right? You zoned out there for a moment."
" No, I'm nae alright, Dani. I'm still nae free." She sobbed. Dani hugged her and comforted her as best she could as Rahne collapsed into tears in Dani's arms, " An' I don' think… I ever will be."
-The End-
" We are gathered here today on decide whether or not to release Hank's 'pancura formula' to the world at large, taking into it's appalling origins. But, I feel we are looking at a larger issue of whether it is right to use medical information obtained thru torture. I feel that with this issue we should err on the side of caution. Due to the fact that there are fourteen staff members voting on this, we must be prepared for the possibility of a tie. If we do indeed come to a tie on this issue, then we will not release the information to the public. Is that understood?"
" Professor…"
" This point is not up for debate, Hank. This is my home, and as founder of the X-Men, my decision. I say again, should this matter come to a tie, we will not release the information or formula to the public. End of discussion."
" How so very democratic." Emma said, " Since we're on the subject, what is your vote on the issue? Yay or nay?"
" As much as my heart goes out to those who would or could benefit from this information, I feel that using it will ultimately devalue human life as a whole. I feel it would eventually lead to even worse crimes than Dr. Calvin performed. Nay. Scott?"
There wasn't a man or woman in the room who didn't recognize the fact that the Professor had asked Scott his opinion next because he wanted Scott to side with him. Xavier was like a father to Scott, after all, and for the first time in his life, Xavier, consciously or not, was attempting to manipulate that bond.
" I respectfully disagree, Professor. While I don't condone what happened to Rahne and the others, I feel that to turn away from this information would be a bigger crime. Yay."
-How ken he think like that? They violated me every way they could tae get that bloody information, an' they'd do it again, most likely- Rahne thought to herself. Scott's vote in favor of using the information scared Rahne. That was mainly because she wasn't certain of how she felt about the issue now.
" I…see. Logan?"
" Not chance in hell. Even considering using that information is spittin' in the face of everyone they killed." He growled.
-But what if it ken help people?- Rahne thought to herself. She kept playing devil's advocate in her head against her will. For every pro she came up with she immediately came up with a con, and it distressed her greatly. Did she not want the information to be used because she wanted to deny those horrible doctors any victory she could, or because she honestly thought it was wrong?
" Stacy-X?"
" Yay, I guess. Those people aren't coming back from the dead, after all."
-Because they're nae X-men- Rahne thought bitterly to herself. They always seemed to come back from the dead in droves…
" Cecelia?"
" I wish I was strong enough to say that we shouldn't use the information, that its origins are more important than what it can do. But I'm not. I've worked in E.R's, and in hospitals, and I've seen too many times where a patient is figuratively inches from a treatment that could save his life, that maybe if he got sick a few weeks later than he did, then he would still be alive. We need this information today, not tomorrow. Yay."
After Cecelia said that, she couldn't bring herself to look at Rahne. While she felt that she was following her intellect at the expense of her conscious.
" Kurt?"
" As a priest and man of god, I am taught to look for the good in all things and in essence, make the best of a bad situation. That said, I feel that we have already found the good in this formula. Rahne is healed in body, and that is enough for me. I will have no part in vindicating murderers and sadists. Nay."
" Emma?"
" When my students, the Hellions died, it was a heavy burden on me for many reasons. One of the main reasons was because their deaths really didn't matter. They were never able, for good or ill, have any lasting effect on this world. I don't want that for anyone who has their life stolen from them, to be forgotten. Yay."
" Warren?"
" While I arbor what was done to these poor souls, I feel that the needs of the many outweigh the few in this instance. This information is just too important to throw away. Yay."
" Jean?"
" I honestly wish we could release this formula and let that be the end of this whole affair. But it won't be. Others, be they private companies or rogue governments, will get the idea to start their own inhuman experiments when they see the benefits of the first ones. And it will spiral on from there, becoming a domino effect that will only get worse as time goes on. And the only way to stop it is to never let it start. I know there are a lot of sick people out there who would be helped by this information, but those who Calvin kidnapped and killed had nothing to do with making them that way. It isn't their fault or responsibility. Nay."
" Hank?"
" Though I freely admit tampering with the data Calvin gathered was wrong, I feel that the benefits to society…outweigh the moral concerns of how it was…gathered, if only in this particular instance. Yay."
" Dani?"
" I feel that if we release this information, we will be damning countless souls in the future to a experience far worse than what Rahne barely lived thru. I know this, because I have seen the apathy that society has for victims whose loss benefits that society first hand. For fear of stating the obvious, I am a member of the Cheyenne tribe, and as such, I am the only real damn American in this room. I have seen the white man chip away at my people inch by inch, taking everything we ever had. Sure, history books condemn what was done to my people now, but history never stopped my people from being victimized all over again. We have never gotten our rightful lands back, even when treaties were openly violated. The 'Trail of Tears", the equivalent of a nazi death march that killed hundreds of my people and displaced thousands more, is barely a foot note in high school history books. Let's be honest, can the majority of Americans name the tribe from whom the land they now live on was stolen? After a while, people just stopped caring, if they ever did, I mean. And that's exactly what will happen here if this information is released. Nay."
" Bobby?"
" I've given this a lot of thought, and I have to agree with Emma. Sarah, Wildchild and that Jack Flag guy, their deaths are meaningless. No one will really remember them. And I want more than anything to give Sarah's death meaning. But that said, I don't want her death to mean that it is all right to commit murder, so long as your goals are pure. Nay."
-Oh dear lord no- Rahne thought. Everyone had voted with the exception of Jono, and Rahne knew how he would vote. The formula had given him back his face, his life. And so, Rahne knew it would come down to her. She couldn't help but feel that regardless of how she voted, she would be damning her soul.
" Nay."
After Jono said that, the entire room gasped in shock. After all, only Rahne benefited more from the formula than Jono…
" The more I think about this, the more I have a hard time looking at meself in the mirror. Knowin' that I got me life back because of some sod who decided to play god…As much as I wanted me face back, I would never want others to suffer because o' it. But they did. And why will in the future. An' also, I don't want to tell me grand kids that all we had to do to cure cancer was to cut up a few cancer patients an' such to see what makes them tick. It's a poor history lesson, mates."
After Jono said that, Rahne abruptly left the room, quickly followed by Dani who was obviously concerned about her friend. Xavier didn't bother to ask her what her vote was, and no one was willing to do so either. It wasn't as though her vote would matter, either.
" And so, we have decided. The information will not be used in anyway, and what remains of the pancura formula will be destroyed." Professor X said firmly. Hank just nodded in acknowledgement.
***
Danger Room.
" You don't have to be here, Ms. Frost. Things might get rough." Jono said to Emma Frost.
" Perhaps, but that is a risk I choose to take. You are my student, X-man or not. And I'm begging you, Jono, to reconsider your course of action. No one will blame you if you don't…"
" No one but me self. An' I meant what I said back there, Ms. Frost, about havin' trouble looking at meself in the mirror after what those poor souls suffered thru. I don't fancy the idea of anyone benefiting from torture in such a way."
" I understand that, but you had no idea where the formula came from at the time. Are you making a principled statement here, Jono, or simply doing this so the others don't consider you a hypocrite?"
"…"
" Well?"
" Look, I've got enough on me mind wit' out you questioning me. Diamond up, Ms. Frost, and wit' due respect, be quite. I've made up me mind."
Once Frost had transformed into her diamond form, Jono concentrated and started to amass all of his psychic energy as though he intended to release all his energy in its entirety. But he didn't release the energy. He held it in, amassing more and more energy until…
-Boom!-
The massive explosion shook the danger room slightly and threw Frost clear across the room. It also gave Jono one hell of a headache.
" That was one hell of a chance you took, Jono. You could have killed yourself with that stunt," Frost said as she walked back across the room, unharmed thanks to her new powers. She handed Jono a small, vanity mirror (made of unstable molecules, of course).
" But for better or worse, it worked. I'm not certain if I should be proud of what you have just done, or deeply disappointed."
Jono took the mirror and looked at his reflection for long minutes. His mouth and chest was gone, and his upper body was once again a furnace of energy.
*It's not the handsomest face around, Ms. Frost, but at least…least it's an honest face* He said as he tossed the mirror away.
***
As Hank McCoy hit the delete button on his computer, his heart sank. All that information, all that potential… He didn't bother to turn around as he heard someone enter his lab.
" If you are hear to make certain that I am destroying all the data, you need not worry. I am as good as my word, and I will abide by the decision of my peers." Hank said humorlessly.
" We're just here to make sure, doc." Logan said.
" It is good to know you trust my word so."
" I actually think the fact that we don't trust you with this speaks more highly of your character in this instance," Jean said. " I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier Hank, but I know first hand what was done to Rahne, and I don't want anyone else to suffer like that."
Hank went into one of his cabinets and pulled out the beaker that held his pancura formula. He walked over to the sink, and started to pour in down the drain.
" I can't help but think how we could have helped the world with this information, what we've lost today…" He said absently.
" I think we gained a lot personally," Logan said, " I think we showed that we're not animals and that we won't allow people to play god. I think that we showed today that we're not willing to sacrifice our humanity in the name of science."
***
Washroom
As Rahne splashed her face with cold water, she tried to think about what her vote would have been.
" Rahne? You okay?" Dani asked as she came into the room.
" I don' know. I wish I did. I feel like such a coward, I jus'…" Rahne tried to speak, but the words just stuck in her throat. She started to get angry, angry at Hank for creating the formula and making her decide on such a horrible situation, angry at god for making her suffer, angry with herself for being unable to put the trauma of what happened to her behind her without the formula. Rahne stared in the mirror for a moment, enraged at the weak, indecisive coward she perceived. She lashed out with her fist, smashing the mirror to pieces.
" Rahne!" Dani quick grabbed some paper towels to cover the wound, " Why the hell did you do that?"
" I jus'…got so angry. At Hank f'r putting us in such a position, at god f'r…everythin'. Don' worry aboot it." Rahne winced. She shifted to her wolf form, and the extra skin and muscle growth instantly sealed the wound. But Rahne could still smell the blood that had escaped, and in an instant, she was mentally thrown back to the labs. She could feel the straps on her wrists, and the smell of her own blood was overpowering now, filling the room. But Rahne didn't panic. Even though her heart was pounding and all her senses told her she was back in the labs, she knew it was a lie. She knew she was having a flash back and that she was still safe at the mansion. She took three deep breaths, and found herself back in the washroom at the mansion.
" Rahne? You all right? You zoned out there for a moment."
" No, I'm nae alright, Dani. I'm still nae free." She sobbed. Dani hugged her and comforted her as best she could as Rahne collapsed into tears in Dani's arms, " An' I don' think… I ever will be."
-The End-