X-claimer: I do not own any of the characters in X-Men Evolution.
Scott sat behind the wheel of his car in heavy Bayville traffic. Jean, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt were in the car with him. The mood was somber as they listened to the President broadcasting a speech over the radio.
"My fellow Americans, today we have embarked upon a war to rid the world of a fearsome dictator and bring freedom to the oppressed citizens forced to endure his tyrannical reign. We have lived in fear of this regime too long, and we are now taking up our obligation to make the world safer for democracy. There are those in the world who have shirked their duties to peace and freedom, but we will not let their lack of resolve be a distraction to our just cause. A new day is coming, and its rays of light will signal an end to oppression and fear worldwide,"
The speech ended, and the President's voice was replaced by numerous unseen "analysts" describing their views exactly what the speech had meant.
Scott flipped off the radio. "Why do they even pay those people? Anybody can figure out what THAT speech meant," he said.
Kitty slumped in the back seat. "I am SO sick of hearing about this war!" she said.
"I know," said Jean from the front seat. "Seems like every day all you hear about is who we're going to bomb next,"
"He's got a point, though," said Rogue. "Ah mean, this guy's got all sorts of dangerous weapons, doesn't he?"
"But that doesn't mean that he's any kind of threat to anybody," said Kitty. "Why should we bomb people who can't hurt us?"
"And what about the United Nations?" asked Kurt. "Doesn't their opinion count for anything?"
"Apparently not," said Scott. "The President's been saying for months that if the UN isn't willing to accept his responsibilities, he'll send in American troops even if they have to do it alone,"
"I just wish they had gotten this guy back in the first Gulf war," said Rogue. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess,"
"Actually, the Gulf war never really ended," said Kurt
"What do you mean?" asked Kitty
"There was never any formal peace treaty signed back in 1991," Kurt explained. "There was only a cease-fire which was supposed to last while the UN searched for all these chemical weapons,"
"I don't remember hearing anything about that," said Jean. "Of course, I was only 7 at the time,"
"One of the advantages of living in a foreign country," said Kurt. "Our newspapers aren't as biased as yours,"
"Like, I wish we could go over there and use our powers to take care of this mess," Kitty said with a smile. "We'd be home in no time at all!"
That drew a laugh from everybody in the car.
Rogue looked out over the sea of traffic. They had barely moved in the whole time they had been talking. "Gah! What's with this traffic?"
"Hey, look at that!" Kurt said, pointing over the sea of cars.
Ahead, at the courthouse, they could see large crowds of people, holding signs and waving flags. The police had them safely blocked off on the sidewalk so they wouldn't obstruct the flow of traffic.
"Cool! Protesters!" said Kurt.
"Hey, Scott, do you think we can stay and watch for a bit?" asked Kitty.
"Why not? We're not going anywhere in all this anyway," he said. He quickly pulled the car into the opposite lane, ducked down a side street, and found a parking spot. He put a few coins in the meter and they all walked back to the square.
X
The scene at city hall was a hotbed of excitement. There were two distinct groups of people separated by the congested street. One side was waving American flags and holding signs that said "We Support Our Troops" and "God Bless America" The mood on the opposite side of the street was just as jubilant, although the messages they were sending out were very different. Kitty could see a number of signs that read "No Blood for Oil," and "Drop Bush, not Bombs" People on both sides were shouting back and forth at each other.
"Wow! This is so awesome!" said Kitty.
"Hey, maybe we shouldn't stay here too long," said Jean. "I mean, this could get ugly, and we're right in the middle of it,"
"I think you're right," said Scott. "Let's find a safer spot to watch all of this,"
X
As they turned to head to a less vulnerable viewing location, they walked right into a TV news crew. The reporter looked at them excitedly, glad that she had found some people to interview.
"Excuse me," she said. "I'm Tina Sanders, Bayville News. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Well, we were kinda trying to find a better spot to stand," said Scott.
"Sure, we'll answer your questions," said Kitty.
"Great! And what's your name, young lady?" Tina asked.
"Kitty Pryde," Kitty replied. "These are my friends, Scott, Kurt, Rogue, and Jean,"
"Ok, hang on just a second," she said and turned to her cameraman. "Chris, I'm live here at city hall with a group of students that have come to take part in today's demonstrations,"
She turned back to Kitty. "With me now is Kitty Pryde. Kitty, what do you think of all these demonstrations?" she asked.
"Um, they're pretty exciting," said Kitty. "It's cool to see that people care so much about stuff like this,"
"And what are your thoughts about the war our country has entered?" she asked. At this, she walked up all five of the X-Men. She obviously meant to ask all of them.
"What about you, sir? And what's your name?" she asked Scott.
"I'm Scott Summers. I really don't know what to think about this war. I mean, do these people really pose that much of a threat to us?"
Tina moved on to Jean. "Jean Gray," Jean spoke into the mike. "I'm glad to see that people still want to express their opinions even when we are at war,"
"Ah'm Rogue," said Rogue. "I'm glad we're finally going to deal with this guy. We've let him go for too long,"
"Kurt Wagner," Kurt said. Tina moved in a little closer. "You sound like you're from another country, Kurt," she said.
"Ja, I'm from Germany," he said. "And I don't think it's good that the President wants to go to war when so many other countries want him to settle this diplomatically,"
"Thank you, Kurt," said Tina. "And what about you, Kitty? What are your thoughts?"
"I think this war is, like, totally stupid! It's senseless and it's going to get innocent people killed no matter what!" she said. The anti-war crowd behind her gave a passionate cheer in response.
"And another thing," she continued. "Some of these protesters have gotten a really bad rap. People say that now that we're at war, they should, like, go away or something. Like they think that the protesters are just as bad as the people we're fighting. That is so wrong!" she shouted, trying to make herself heard above the throngs of people that had gotten louder.
Kitty turned around to see that the crowds were starting to press up against the police barricades. Their chants were becoming more intense and Kitty could see that people were beginning to get angry.
All of a sudden, a bottle went hurtling through the air and hit Kitty in the forehead. "Ow!" she screamed and clutched at the gash. She felt blood trickling down her fingertips. Nobody could tell which side it came from, but the sky above them instantly became filled with rocks, bottles, and all sorts of debris as the demonstrators began to riot.
"Let's get out of here!" Scott shouted as a rock whizzed by his head.
The group turned to run, but at that point the crowds broke through the barricades and the X-Men found themselves trapped in between the crush of people descending on them.
X
Scott sat behind the wheel of his car in heavy Bayville traffic. Jean, Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt were in the car with him. The mood was somber as they listened to the President broadcasting a speech over the radio.
"My fellow Americans, today we have embarked upon a war to rid the world of a fearsome dictator and bring freedom to the oppressed citizens forced to endure his tyrannical reign. We have lived in fear of this regime too long, and we are now taking up our obligation to make the world safer for democracy. There are those in the world who have shirked their duties to peace and freedom, but we will not let their lack of resolve be a distraction to our just cause. A new day is coming, and its rays of light will signal an end to oppression and fear worldwide,"
The speech ended, and the President's voice was replaced by numerous unseen "analysts" describing their views exactly what the speech had meant.
Scott flipped off the radio. "Why do they even pay those people? Anybody can figure out what THAT speech meant," he said.
Kitty slumped in the back seat. "I am SO sick of hearing about this war!" she said.
"I know," said Jean from the front seat. "Seems like every day all you hear about is who we're going to bomb next,"
"He's got a point, though," said Rogue. "Ah mean, this guy's got all sorts of dangerous weapons, doesn't he?"
"But that doesn't mean that he's any kind of threat to anybody," said Kitty. "Why should we bomb people who can't hurt us?"
"And what about the United Nations?" asked Kurt. "Doesn't their opinion count for anything?"
"Apparently not," said Scott. "The President's been saying for months that if the UN isn't willing to accept his responsibilities, he'll send in American troops even if they have to do it alone,"
"I just wish they had gotten this guy back in the first Gulf war," said Rogue. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess,"
"Actually, the Gulf war never really ended," said Kurt
"What do you mean?" asked Kitty
"There was never any formal peace treaty signed back in 1991," Kurt explained. "There was only a cease-fire which was supposed to last while the UN searched for all these chemical weapons,"
"I don't remember hearing anything about that," said Jean. "Of course, I was only 7 at the time,"
"One of the advantages of living in a foreign country," said Kurt. "Our newspapers aren't as biased as yours,"
"Like, I wish we could go over there and use our powers to take care of this mess," Kitty said with a smile. "We'd be home in no time at all!"
That drew a laugh from everybody in the car.
Rogue looked out over the sea of traffic. They had barely moved in the whole time they had been talking. "Gah! What's with this traffic?"
"Hey, look at that!" Kurt said, pointing over the sea of cars.
Ahead, at the courthouse, they could see large crowds of people, holding signs and waving flags. The police had them safely blocked off on the sidewalk so they wouldn't obstruct the flow of traffic.
"Cool! Protesters!" said Kurt.
"Hey, Scott, do you think we can stay and watch for a bit?" asked Kitty.
"Why not? We're not going anywhere in all this anyway," he said. He quickly pulled the car into the opposite lane, ducked down a side street, and found a parking spot. He put a few coins in the meter and they all walked back to the square.
X
The scene at city hall was a hotbed of excitement. There were two distinct groups of people separated by the congested street. One side was waving American flags and holding signs that said "We Support Our Troops" and "God Bless America" The mood on the opposite side of the street was just as jubilant, although the messages they were sending out were very different. Kitty could see a number of signs that read "No Blood for Oil," and "Drop Bush, not Bombs" People on both sides were shouting back and forth at each other.
"Wow! This is so awesome!" said Kitty.
"Hey, maybe we shouldn't stay here too long," said Jean. "I mean, this could get ugly, and we're right in the middle of it,"
"I think you're right," said Scott. "Let's find a safer spot to watch all of this,"
X
As they turned to head to a less vulnerable viewing location, they walked right into a TV news crew. The reporter looked at them excitedly, glad that she had found some people to interview.
"Excuse me," she said. "I'm Tina Sanders, Bayville News. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Well, we were kinda trying to find a better spot to stand," said Scott.
"Sure, we'll answer your questions," said Kitty.
"Great! And what's your name, young lady?" Tina asked.
"Kitty Pryde," Kitty replied. "These are my friends, Scott, Kurt, Rogue, and Jean,"
"Ok, hang on just a second," she said and turned to her cameraman. "Chris, I'm live here at city hall with a group of students that have come to take part in today's demonstrations,"
She turned back to Kitty. "With me now is Kitty Pryde. Kitty, what do you think of all these demonstrations?" she asked.
"Um, they're pretty exciting," said Kitty. "It's cool to see that people care so much about stuff like this,"
"And what are your thoughts about the war our country has entered?" she asked. At this, she walked up all five of the X-Men. She obviously meant to ask all of them.
"What about you, sir? And what's your name?" she asked Scott.
"I'm Scott Summers. I really don't know what to think about this war. I mean, do these people really pose that much of a threat to us?"
Tina moved on to Jean. "Jean Gray," Jean spoke into the mike. "I'm glad to see that people still want to express their opinions even when we are at war,"
"Ah'm Rogue," said Rogue. "I'm glad we're finally going to deal with this guy. We've let him go for too long,"
"Kurt Wagner," Kurt said. Tina moved in a little closer. "You sound like you're from another country, Kurt," she said.
"Ja, I'm from Germany," he said. "And I don't think it's good that the President wants to go to war when so many other countries want him to settle this diplomatically,"
"Thank you, Kurt," said Tina. "And what about you, Kitty? What are your thoughts?"
"I think this war is, like, totally stupid! It's senseless and it's going to get innocent people killed no matter what!" she said. The anti-war crowd behind her gave a passionate cheer in response.
"And another thing," she continued. "Some of these protesters have gotten a really bad rap. People say that now that we're at war, they should, like, go away or something. Like they think that the protesters are just as bad as the people we're fighting. That is so wrong!" she shouted, trying to make herself heard above the throngs of people that had gotten louder.
Kitty turned around to see that the crowds were starting to press up against the police barricades. Their chants were becoming more intense and Kitty could see that people were beginning to get angry.
All of a sudden, a bottle went hurtling through the air and hit Kitty in the forehead. "Ow!" she screamed and clutched at the gash. She felt blood trickling down her fingertips. Nobody could tell which side it came from, but the sky above them instantly became filled with rocks, bottles, and all sorts of debris as the demonstrators began to riot.
"Let's get out of here!" Scott shouted as a rock whizzed by his head.
The group turned to run, but at that point the crowds broke through the barricades and the X-Men found themselves trapped in between the crush of people descending on them.
X