The mutants managed to arrive home from the demonstration without any
further incidents. As they pulled up to the garage of the Institute they
saw Storm and Professor Xavier waiting for them
"Are you all alright?" asked Storm as they got out.
"We saw what happened on the news," said Xavier.
"We're ok, Professor. Just a few little scrapes here and there," said Scott.
"Did you see the news people interview us?" asked Jean.
"Yes, we did," said Storm. "And we're proud of you for speaking your minds,"
"It's unfortunate that things broke down when they did," said Xavier. "I think you were touching on some good points that aren't really being discussed right now,"
"Well, now that you mention it," said Kitty. "I met one of the anti-war people during all the demonstrations, and he wanted me to come speak at another rally they're putting together in a few days,"
"Kitty, we're glad you're taking the time to get involved in this," said Storm. "But aren't you worried that another riot could break out?"
"Well, yeah, a little," said Kitty. "But this is something that's important to me, and I'm willing to take the risk,"
"All right, Kitty," said Xavier. "We'll do our best to support you,"
"Thank you, Professor," said Kitty, and they went inside to watch the news.
X
The mutants gathered in the den and turned on the TV. They ignored the cable news networks and instead turned on their local channel, hoping to see some footage of the riots. Their search paid off as they saw the face of the woman who had interviewed them earlier
"This is Tina Sanders reporting live again from city hall, where earlier today demonstrations both for and against the war turned violent. Police arrested several demonstrators on both sides but luckily there are no serious injuries to report. This reporter was very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview and later be rescued by Bayville High student Kitty Pryde. Kitty, if you're watching tonight, thank you. You are a hero and a genuine patriot. This is Tina Sanders, Bayville News,"
Kitty blushed a little as the den erupted into loud applause. Then she turned back to the TV as the news anchor continued the broadcast.
"Thank you, Tina. We here at Bayville News want to affirm our dedication to providing fair and unbiased coverage of events during these unsettling times. That's why I'm proud to announce that Bayville News will be sponsoring a town hall meeting this Friday evening at city hall. We've invited representatives from the Bayville Patriots as well as Bayville United for Peace to debate their views, and we'll be providing live coverage of the event,"
"Hey, that's Paul's group!" said Kitty. "They're gonna be on TV!"
"Do you think he'd ask you to speak in the debate?" asked Scott.
"Maybe," said Kitty. "Hey, that reminds me, I should go call him," She jumped off the couch and ran up to her room.
X
The rest of the mutants continued to watch the news, drifting between one news broadcast of the war and the next. After a little while, it seemed like the broadcasts seemed to blur together into one continuous event.
"I think I've seen enough," said Jean. "This is getting too depressing," She stood up and walked upstairs to her room.
"Seriously," said Kurt. "If I get any bluer from watching all this, I'll turn purple," He stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Just then, the TV cut to a commercial for a new anti-depression drug. Scott turned the TV off and stood up to leave.
"Hey, wait a sec," said Rogue. "Ah wanna ask you somethin'"
"Sure Rogue, what's up?" asked Scott, sitting back down.
"Ah was wonderin' about what you said to that newslady," she said. "Why don't you think that dictator guy's a threat?"
Scott paused. "Well, I wasn't expecting her to ask me for my opinion. She caught me off guard, and I kinda said the first thing that popped into my head,"
"Ok. So what do you really think about this war?" she asked him.
"Great, another pop quiz," said Scott. "You know, that's one thing I do have a problem with. War isn't something that can simply be rationalized with a few sound bites. That's why I can't stand most of these news commentators on TV. Seems like they think that they can make perfect sense of this war in a few seconds and then move on to something else, when it's a whole lot more complex than that and needs to be treated as such,"
"Yeah, ah see what you mean," said Rogue. "All those people are just sayin' the same thing over and over. Seems like these news networks need to make a news story out of somethin' that's not there,
"Good point," said Scott.
"Here's what I think about the war, though," he continued. "I understand why the President is doing what he's doing, because he's convinced that this dictator poses a genuine threat to our country's security. What that threat is, I can't really see, though. I mean, haven't we been bombing these people for the last 10 years or so?"
"Yeah, but what about all these chemical weapons he's supposed to have?" countered Rogue.
"Well, that's the thing. They've never been able to conclusively prove that he actually DOES have them," said Scott. "And what really got me going was when I heard the secretary of defense say a few months ago that the fact that the weapons inspectors couldn't find anything meant that the dictator DID have weapons and was hiding them someplace. What kind of backwards logic is that?"
"Ah see your point," said Rogue. "That is kinda shady. But what if he really does have them and tries to use them?"
Scott sighed heavily. "I dunno. I guess I've been thinking more about what Kurt said, about how the President is really alienating a lot of other countries by doing this. I know we need to be safe, but is it really worth getting so many other countries mad at us? I don't think it is,"
"Wow," said Rogue, shrugging her shoulders. "This really is a lot to sort through, isn't it?"
"I know," said Scott. "I hope Kitty can make better sense of all this than we did,"
"Right now, ah'll just be glad when all this is over and things can get back to normal," Rogue sighed.
X
Upstairs, Kitty was talking with Paul on the phone.
"Yeah, I just saw it on the news!" she said. "Are you really gonna debate those guys?"
"That's the idea," said Paul on the other end. "I'm glad this is going to be televised. It'll give us a lot of good coverage. I've even heard that one or two of the national networks could be covering this,"
"Wow!" Kitty said. "That means people in Washington will see this,"
"And the rest of the country too," Paul's voice turned serious. "I just hope we can find a good speaker in time. Graham Henderson's going to be representing the Patriots, and he's pretty tough. He's very much against us, and I think he'd be glad to see us all get deported or something like that,"
"That's sick!" said Kitty.
"I know, that's why I'm getting the best speaker I know for this," said Paul.
"Who do you have in mind?"
"You,"
Kitty nearly dropped the phone in shock. "What?" she asked, completely taken by surprise. "Are you serious?"
"I know, it's sudden," Paul said. "But I got to see what you said on the news tonight, and I was very impressed with the points you were making,"
"But, I can't speak in front of an audience that big!" she protested. "I, like, barely passed Public Speaking! If I got up there in front of the cameras, I'd, like, totally crash and burn!" she said, breaking into her typical valley-girl speak that tended to emerge whenever she was nervous or flustered, as was the case now.
"Kitty, I understand. I wasn't the best speaker when I was growing up, but I learned to overcome that. I can help you if you'll let me,"
"I really don't know," said Kitty. "I mean, I want to help you, but I'm afraid I'll break down and embarrass you on national TV,"
"I know it can be tough to speak to a big audience," Paul said, trying to console her. "It's a fear that a lot of people struggle to conquer. But I promise I'll do the best I can to help you,"
"Alright," said Kitty uncertainly.
"Thank you, Kitty. I'll try and meet you tomorrow to start coaching you. In the meantime, you'd better get started preparing your speech. I'll see you tomorrow," Paul said, and hung up.
Kitty slumped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, nervously wondering what she had just gotten herself into.
X
"Are you all alright?" asked Storm as they got out.
"We saw what happened on the news," said Xavier.
"We're ok, Professor. Just a few little scrapes here and there," said Scott.
"Did you see the news people interview us?" asked Jean.
"Yes, we did," said Storm. "And we're proud of you for speaking your minds,"
"It's unfortunate that things broke down when they did," said Xavier. "I think you were touching on some good points that aren't really being discussed right now,"
"Well, now that you mention it," said Kitty. "I met one of the anti-war people during all the demonstrations, and he wanted me to come speak at another rally they're putting together in a few days,"
"Kitty, we're glad you're taking the time to get involved in this," said Storm. "But aren't you worried that another riot could break out?"
"Well, yeah, a little," said Kitty. "But this is something that's important to me, and I'm willing to take the risk,"
"All right, Kitty," said Xavier. "We'll do our best to support you,"
"Thank you, Professor," said Kitty, and they went inside to watch the news.
X
The mutants gathered in the den and turned on the TV. They ignored the cable news networks and instead turned on their local channel, hoping to see some footage of the riots. Their search paid off as they saw the face of the woman who had interviewed them earlier
"This is Tina Sanders reporting live again from city hall, where earlier today demonstrations both for and against the war turned violent. Police arrested several demonstrators on both sides but luckily there are no serious injuries to report. This reporter was very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview and later be rescued by Bayville High student Kitty Pryde. Kitty, if you're watching tonight, thank you. You are a hero and a genuine patriot. This is Tina Sanders, Bayville News,"
Kitty blushed a little as the den erupted into loud applause. Then she turned back to the TV as the news anchor continued the broadcast.
"Thank you, Tina. We here at Bayville News want to affirm our dedication to providing fair and unbiased coverage of events during these unsettling times. That's why I'm proud to announce that Bayville News will be sponsoring a town hall meeting this Friday evening at city hall. We've invited representatives from the Bayville Patriots as well as Bayville United for Peace to debate their views, and we'll be providing live coverage of the event,"
"Hey, that's Paul's group!" said Kitty. "They're gonna be on TV!"
"Do you think he'd ask you to speak in the debate?" asked Scott.
"Maybe," said Kitty. "Hey, that reminds me, I should go call him," She jumped off the couch and ran up to her room.
X
The rest of the mutants continued to watch the news, drifting between one news broadcast of the war and the next. After a little while, it seemed like the broadcasts seemed to blur together into one continuous event.
"I think I've seen enough," said Jean. "This is getting too depressing," She stood up and walked upstairs to her room.
"Seriously," said Kurt. "If I get any bluer from watching all this, I'll turn purple," He stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Just then, the TV cut to a commercial for a new anti-depression drug. Scott turned the TV off and stood up to leave.
"Hey, wait a sec," said Rogue. "Ah wanna ask you somethin'"
"Sure Rogue, what's up?" asked Scott, sitting back down.
"Ah was wonderin' about what you said to that newslady," she said. "Why don't you think that dictator guy's a threat?"
Scott paused. "Well, I wasn't expecting her to ask me for my opinion. She caught me off guard, and I kinda said the first thing that popped into my head,"
"Ok. So what do you really think about this war?" she asked him.
"Great, another pop quiz," said Scott. "You know, that's one thing I do have a problem with. War isn't something that can simply be rationalized with a few sound bites. That's why I can't stand most of these news commentators on TV. Seems like they think that they can make perfect sense of this war in a few seconds and then move on to something else, when it's a whole lot more complex than that and needs to be treated as such,"
"Yeah, ah see what you mean," said Rogue. "All those people are just sayin' the same thing over and over. Seems like these news networks need to make a news story out of somethin' that's not there,
"Good point," said Scott.
"Here's what I think about the war, though," he continued. "I understand why the President is doing what he's doing, because he's convinced that this dictator poses a genuine threat to our country's security. What that threat is, I can't really see, though. I mean, haven't we been bombing these people for the last 10 years or so?"
"Yeah, but what about all these chemical weapons he's supposed to have?" countered Rogue.
"Well, that's the thing. They've never been able to conclusively prove that he actually DOES have them," said Scott. "And what really got me going was when I heard the secretary of defense say a few months ago that the fact that the weapons inspectors couldn't find anything meant that the dictator DID have weapons and was hiding them someplace. What kind of backwards logic is that?"
"Ah see your point," said Rogue. "That is kinda shady. But what if he really does have them and tries to use them?"
Scott sighed heavily. "I dunno. I guess I've been thinking more about what Kurt said, about how the President is really alienating a lot of other countries by doing this. I know we need to be safe, but is it really worth getting so many other countries mad at us? I don't think it is,"
"Wow," said Rogue, shrugging her shoulders. "This really is a lot to sort through, isn't it?"
"I know," said Scott. "I hope Kitty can make better sense of all this than we did,"
"Right now, ah'll just be glad when all this is over and things can get back to normal," Rogue sighed.
X
Upstairs, Kitty was talking with Paul on the phone.
"Yeah, I just saw it on the news!" she said. "Are you really gonna debate those guys?"
"That's the idea," said Paul on the other end. "I'm glad this is going to be televised. It'll give us a lot of good coverage. I've even heard that one or two of the national networks could be covering this,"
"Wow!" Kitty said. "That means people in Washington will see this,"
"And the rest of the country too," Paul's voice turned serious. "I just hope we can find a good speaker in time. Graham Henderson's going to be representing the Patriots, and he's pretty tough. He's very much against us, and I think he'd be glad to see us all get deported or something like that,"
"That's sick!" said Kitty.
"I know, that's why I'm getting the best speaker I know for this," said Paul.
"Who do you have in mind?"
"You,"
Kitty nearly dropped the phone in shock. "What?" she asked, completely taken by surprise. "Are you serious?"
"I know, it's sudden," Paul said. "But I got to see what you said on the news tonight, and I was very impressed with the points you were making,"
"But, I can't speak in front of an audience that big!" she protested. "I, like, barely passed Public Speaking! If I got up there in front of the cameras, I'd, like, totally crash and burn!" she said, breaking into her typical valley-girl speak that tended to emerge whenever she was nervous or flustered, as was the case now.
"Kitty, I understand. I wasn't the best speaker when I was growing up, but I learned to overcome that. I can help you if you'll let me,"
"I really don't know," said Kitty. "I mean, I want to help you, but I'm afraid I'll break down and embarrass you on national TV,"
"I know it can be tough to speak to a big audience," Paul said, trying to console her. "It's a fear that a lot of people struggle to conquer. But I promise I'll do the best I can to help you,"
"Alright," said Kitty uncertainly.
"Thank you, Kitty. I'll try and meet you tomorrow to start coaching you. In the meantime, you'd better get started preparing your speech. I'll see you tomorrow," Paul said, and hung up.
Kitty slumped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, nervously wondering what she had just gotten herself into.
X