Exam and Cross
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of Marvel, I'm just playing with them, I promise to put them back later.
Thanks for the feedback: raniatlw, me, DemonRogue13, Eboni, Risty, Dusty, bitrona, damien455, IceBlueRose, Goofn1
Eboni, sorry, I've never followed the Fantastic Four so Johnny isn't a character I'm likely to write.
Kitty glanced up as Kurt and Scott bamfed in. "Kitty, Lance," Scott greeted them.
Kurt waved. "We've gotta go Kitty," he said. "I told Mr. McCoy I'd start studying for the PSAT today. There are still three hours of today."
"I'll see you in the morning Lance," Kitty said. She hugged him tightly.
Lance jerked. "Kitty, what's happening?" he asked.
"Bedtime," Kitty said with a forced smile. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Right, sorry," Lance said. "I zoned out didn't I?"
"Not for long. Scott's staying over tonight. I'll see you first thing in the morning," Kitty said. They kissed then Kurt teleported himself and Kitty to the X-Van outside where Jean was waiting to drive them home.
"How are you doing?" Scott asked after the other two teleported out.
"Same old," Lance replied. His attention drifted back to his guitar.
Scott put his hand over the strings. Lance leaned back against the wall. "I'm too much trouble… Like always," Lance said as he reached up to touch the mark across his face.
"No, you're not. You're an X-Man, we all attract trouble," Scott said. "That's why we have to stick together."
"Xavier saw what he made me," Lance scrubbed at the Shadow King's brand.
"Stop it Lance. That thing is meaningless. He's screwing with your head. That's the only reason he marked you."
"But I saw…"
"Lance, you're half-starved, the drugs are making you sick. Trust me, you are not evil. And we are getting you out of here… One way or another. I'm tired of playing by the rules when the other side keeps stacking the deck."
"The State calls Mr. Jordan Reece."
Lance flinched. "I never did anything hurt Jordan or Carol, I liked them. What did he do to make them hate me?" he whispered to Matt, his voice taunt with agitation.
"It wasn't anything you did intentionally," Matt replied quietly.
"Mr. Murdock is there a problem?" Judge Cars asked.
"No, I apologize. I didn't realize Mr. Kirkland's witness was one of the only foster parents with whom Lance had a positive relationship. I should have prepared him."
Guilt spiked in someone toward the back of the courtroom. Xavier turned to look for the source of the emotions but no one's face stood out in the crowd and he was reluctant to probe the crowd's minds.
Jordan was sworn in.
"Mr. Reece would you state how you know the defendant?" Kirkland asked.
"My wife and I fostered Lance for two and half years, starting when he was thirteen."
"Why was he removed from your care?"
"The house had some structural damage, it was condemned."
"Do you know what caused the damage?"
"You had me read some expert's statement saying the damage was consistent with prolonged exposure to numerous minor earthquakes. In other words, to Lance's powers."
"I didn't mean to use my powers there," Lance protested. "I didn't know anything about them then. I thought when I made everything still I'd stopped, I didn't know I was just making white noise."
"Mr. Alvers you'll get your turn to talk," the judge reprimanded him.
Jordan made a deliberate effort to catch Lance's gaze. "I'm told most mutations manifest when a kid hits puberty. I hardly think it's fair to expect Lance to get control over something like that overnight. I also wouldn't expect a teenager to think of every tertiary effect of his actions, especially went there weren't any immediately or apparent reactions."
Matt beat down the urge to grin smugly at Kirkland.
"While Lance was staying with you, would you say he had a problem with fights?" Kirkland asked.
"Objection, relevance?" Matt said.
"Overruled."
"Yes Lance fought, so did other kids. Ask Deerborn's Middle School councilor, the kids Lance fought with were bullies."
"So they'd been asking for it?" Kirkland said. "Lance's fights were normal kid stuff?"
"Lance was trapped in a very violent environment as a small child, sometimes he didn't realize when he was going too far."
"No further questions," Kirkland finished and conceded the floor to Matt.
"You said you don't hold Lance responsible for the damage to your home," Matt said.
"No, I don't," Jordan said. "Lance was basically a good kid."
"But you just said he was violent."
Jordan shrugged. "Carol and I went in with our eyes open. We knew about Lance's past but we both agreed he just needed a stable environment. My wife resigned from the Illinois Social Services department because she disagreed with their policies. Lance was one of the kids she knew the system was failing. It was ridiculous, he was a little kid, not a hardened criminal, everyone had just given up on him. We thought we could do better. The first few months weren't easy. Lance methodically broke every single rule we laid out. It was pretty obvious he was testing us."
"Objection, speculation," Kirkland objected.
"When a parent, teacher or social worker says that a kid's testing them I believe that should count as an expert opinion," Matt said with an engaging smile.
"Mr. Reece, please stick to relaying facts," the judge said with a slight grin of her own.
"After that Lance settled in and started making an effort to be pleasant to live with. We weren't having problems with him. When the house was condemned we lost custody. We asked for them to find a way around the rules, apparently it was too much trouble. If he'd been eligible for adoption we could have taken him with us, but because we were only fostering him we lost custody. Lance called us late one night about a month later, he asked if he could come home, telling him no was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
During a recess in the trial Hank directed Xavier's attention to a small television in the security office. "An Aztec pyramid suddenly has a large, sparkly, purple energy dome encasing it, it's all over the news. Mutants are already being blamed. While the news casts are excessively general I'm afraid they've a kernel of truth at their heart," Hank said. "Who do we know with a fondness for ancient pyramids and access to advanced technology?"
"You believe Apocalypse is making his move?" Xavier asked.
"I fear that he is," Hank replied.
"I don't want another direct confrontation," Xavier said. "Not yet. We need to know more about him."
"The data Gambit sent is filling in some of the blanks but it hasn't provided any clues as to how one defeats him," Hank said.
"Maybe this will. Take a few of the students," Xavier said. "Please don't take any unnecessary risks. We've suffered too many injuries already."
"Mrs. Pryde could you tell us what happened?"
Terri Pryde glanced uncomfortably at her furiously scowling daughter then at the undeniably ill boy at the defendant's table.
Mrs. Pryde?" Kirkland prompted.
She sighed unhappily. "Professor Xavier told us Kitty had broken into her Principal's office. He told us she was with Lance Alvers. We confronted them and tried to talk Kitty into coming home with us. We thought Kitty was going to run away with him. Carmen, my husband tried to stop Kitty from leaving. Lance used his powers to knock a bookshelf down on Carmen. Lance dragged Kitty away from us. Kitty broke free of him. He yelled at her and the building shook even more, the ceiling fell on Kitty. The next thing I knew Kitty was walking through the debris, she got us all out of the building before it collapsed."
"Then you sent your daughter to Xavier's school?"
"The night before Kitty fell through the floor in our house. She could walk through walls. We didn't know how to deal with that."
"Were you aware that Lance Alvers had also transferred to Bayville and begun a relationship with your daughter?"
"No, we didn't know."
"Thank you."
"No questions." Matt said.
It wasn't a song, just random, hesitant cords. Lance was curled around the guitar. He was holding it upright so his temple could rest against the body of the instrument as he played.
"Hey," Kitty said softly. She fitted herself against his back and rested her cheek against his back while she waited for Lance to notice her. Her breath hitched, she could feel the harsh angles of his bones beneath her hands.
"Kitty…" Lance realized with a faint smile.
Kitty cuddled closer to him and listened as Lance continued strumming the guitar for a few moments. "How are you holding up?"
"The connection… I think I must have always felt it… On some level…" Lance's voice was soft, tired. "Otherwise it's only been a couple of months. How can't I miss it this bad? …I feel so lost."
"I don't know. You just… you have to hang on. Okay?"
"Hang on to what? I feel like I'm drifting… like a ghost."
Kitty bit her lip. She listened to the mournful notes falling from the guitar.
"Am I really here? I feel so disconnected… Everything's so still… The world was alive with movement, now it's all so still… Like it's not real, or I'm not…" Lance strummed the guitar, focused more on the feel of the wood vibrating against his skin than on the sound. Just a few months ago the constant barrage of vibrations from the world around him had provided an information glut his mind couldn't comprehend or cope with, now the absence that same sensation was as profoundly unsettling as the sudden disappearance of gravity might have been. The guitar was a poor mimicry, it could never provide the connection he was dying for, but it fooled his senses and soothed his mind. "I can't stand this Kitty."
"Will get you out of here, I promise," Kitty whispered.
"The State calls Leonard Drisco."
Matt stood. "May I approach the bench?"
Judge Cars nodded her consent. "Is there a problem councilor?"
"Everyday the prosecution's witness list lengthens. We're into our sixth day of questioning," Matt said. "Jack do you intend to call every single person who has ever passed through Bayville to testify against my client? This is becoming redundant."
"People are still coming forward to report damages due to the earthquake," Kirkland said. "These people are all victims, they need to feel that they are getting justice for what happened to them."
"Mr. Kirkland wants Lance dead. If this trial lasts long enough he'll get what he wants regardless of the jury's decision. You likened the side effects Lance is suffering to chemotherapy. With chemotherapy you hope to kill the cancer before you kill the patient. Lance is getting sicker everyday, I'm sure you can see that. His body is shutting down. It took everything he had to walk into the courtroom this morning without falling. He can't think straight, can barely stay awake. Lance still isn't eating properly. He's loosing weight at a dangerous rate and Dr. MacTaggart is worried about the possibility of a heart attack. Either ask the prosecution to make their case in a timely manner or take Lance off the drugs."
"Mr. Kirkland, I feel those options are reasonable," Judge Cars said. "Do you have a preference?"
"Give me two more days to complete my case," Kirkland said. "Keep him on the drug. I don't want anyone else to get hurt by Mr. Alvers."
"Then I take it we're all happy?"
Matt nodded.
Charles Xavier sealed the door to his study then settled into a light trace state. His astral form freed itself from the confines of his flesh. For a few moments he simply enjoyed the release from the cumbersome necessity of his chair then he sternly reminded himself that he had serious business here.
Since encountering the Shadow King in Lance's mind he had been searching the astral plane for other traces of the malevolent entity.
He'd followed the darker currents in the malleable reality of the astral plane hoping that they would lead him to his adversary but the Shadow King was far from the only source of darkness in the world especially now with Apocalypse's dome so fresh in the news and in everyone's mind.
When the Shadow King had first restored Lance's mind Xavier had considered the gesture showmanship and not particularly impressive. It was true that Xavier couldn't have accomplished what the Shadow King had but Charles also knew that it was easier for the person who'd disassembled a thing to put it back together than it was for a person who'd walked into a room filled with a jumble of separate pieces.
Now, after days of fruitless searching Xavier had to wonder if there had been a secondary motive behind the Shadow King's actions. He wondered if the other telepath had also been trying to cover his tracks. Based on that theory Xavier was ready with a new plan. He sought out Lian Shen's presence. A careful examination of her mind revealed gossamer strands tying her to another. Black as obsidian, thin as fishing-line, woven of whispers and misery.
Xavier followed the strands back and found the Shadow King's web. Hundreds, maybe thousands of strands linked the Shadow Kings to his victims. Those strands carried his destructive whispers to them and brought their pain back for him to feed on.
The creature was a festering boil disrupting the beauty of the astral plane, a source of untold misery and perhaps the cause of the divide that existed between Xavier and a man who'd once been his closest friend.
Xavier used his powers to form a piece of the astral plane into a scythe and sliced through dozens of the strands leading into the web. Then he stood back and waited for the spider to take notice.
The Shadow King's response came in the firing of a neuron. A lance of pure darkness shot out of the heart of the web. Xavier fended it off with a shield formed of his thoughts. "Fool," a rasping voice said. "You're just a tourist here. This is my home."
"I may surprise you," Xavier replied. Psionic armor formed around him. Cautiously he ventured into the Shadow King's web.
Xavier fended off several more frontal attacks. Behind him one of the Shadow King's web-lines snapped. The dark strand snapped back like a broken piano string. The strand wrapped around Xavier like a constrictor. When he tried to pry it free it was so cold that burned and it was filled with a hopeless despair that sought to infect him. A second line broke free and wrapped itself around his arm.
With a feeling of real panic Xavier focused all his will on the slender cord tethering his consciousness to his body.
A moment later Xavier's eyes snapped open to behold his study again. A scornful laugh seemed to echo through the room. Xavier glanced down at his hands and found them blistered as if from exposure to extreme cold.
Foggy winced as the stapler hit the wall. "Matt?"
"We're doing this all wrong," Matt said. "The jury was poisoned against Lance from the start. We should be asking for a change of venue only it wastes time Lance doesn't have. The drug is forcing my hand! Kirkland's last three witnesses did a damn good job of convincing the jury that they're victims in this case. The only people in Bayville who don't want to see Lance dead are living at the Institute."
"Not quite," Foggy said with a sudden inspiration. "Remember the football coach? He also taught Lance's math class…"
"Yeah, the one who lost his house several months before the Brotherhood moved in with the X-Men. Todd said they crashed a party, that the punch was spiked. When the inevitable fight started Lance's control slipped. It's one of Kirkland's stronger examples proving Lance has a history of recklessly endangering human life… Oh my god, you're right. How could I have missed that? He wasn't comfortable testifying against Lance. Everyone put on the stand who knows Lance personally has been squirming up there."
"You got it," Foggy replied. "They know him. Even the ones who hate him know he's not some sort of a monster. With Kirkland pushing for the death penalty they don't want to testify. They don't want to feel like their actions could contribute to the death of an eighteen year old kid, even if he is a mutant, even if they dislike him."
I'm slipping Foggy. How could I have missed that?" Matt wondered.
"Don't beat yourself up Matt," Foggy said. "Between the case, Lance and worrying about the other kids taking matters into their own hands you've been busy… Which is why I'm here to pick up the slack partner."
Matt shook his head and grinned. "Is there anyone left on their witness list who'll work?" Matt asked.
"One person, Edward Kelly, principal of Bayville High."
"Let's see how much we can find out about him."
Scott wandered into the infirmary. "Hey 'Ro," he said as he snagged the chair by her bed.
Ororo smiled and waved. "Scott," she greeted him in a nearly inaudible whisper.
"I'm guessing Professor X filled you in on everything miserable and depressing around here so how 'bout I skip the whole news phase? How are you feeling?"
Ororo rolled her eyes, offered a half smile and made a so-so gesture.
"That good huh?" Scott replied. "Well you might be happy to hear I've been taking over a lot of your classes until you're up and around again. I know Logan's getting an ungodly amount of amusement out of it. He says its pay back for everything I did when I first came here."
Ororo smiled and pressed her fingertips to her mouth as if holding back laughter.
"I miss the days when the Professor only wanted me to monitor danger room sessions. Teaching classes is worse than taking them. Bobby made an ice statue of himself and let it sit in class for him. Ray fried my handouts… Yeah his powers are recovering nicely and he's putting them to such good use. The dupe Jamie sent to class rebelled. Tabby blew up my desk."
Ororo raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Oh you hadn't heard about that? Tabby and Forge both moved in full time. Most people at school think Forge is like Amanda, that he just hangs out with us. His powers are so different no one realizes he's a mutant. After what happened he got worried that somehow his neighbors would find out and that his parents might get caught in the crossfire. He and Tabby decided the mansion is really the only safe place left for us. The only reason Kitty's parents haven't pulled her out of here is because she said she'd run away if they did and they're afraid someone would hurt her… Sorry, I was trying to keep away from the stuff that sucks. Geez, I'm probably wearing you out. I'll come back later."
Scott moved on to talk to Mattie. "How's Pyro doing, any better?"
"A bit," Mattie replied. Scott nodded and continued to Moira's office.
For a few minutes he just hung out, watching and generally making Moira uncomfortable. About ten seconds before she was ready to kick him out Scott asked. "Hypothetically, if they let Lance go tomorrow what would you do?"
"Ye're not thinking of breaking him out are ye?" Moira asked.
"The Professor made sure we understood the possible repercussions," Scott said. "I talked to Lance a couple of nights ago. I'm worried about him. Even in the best case scenario how bad off is he?"
Moira glanced away. "There's not much I could do even given free reign. The safest course is to do nothing. Lance should recover as long as that witch's brew is allowed to wear off. After that the real challenge starts: Keeping Avalanche quiet long enough to truly recuperate."
"So basically you're saying the only thing we could or should do is get Lance some place peaceful?" Scott verified.
Moira turned and gave Scott a thorough looking over. "Aye, that is what I'm saying. I'll not ask what ye intend. He'll sleep a lot, let him. He never wants to eat but he has to. I keep a supply of his nausea medication in the cabinet to the left of the door, he needs to take one pill every eight hours."
"Thanks Dr. MacTaggart."
Kelly shifted his weight uncertainly as he waited for the cross-exam to begin. Walking into the courtroom had been a shock for him. He hadn't seen Lance in person since the shooting, the changes in the teen were drastic and alarming. The black scrawl across Lance's gaunt face stood out in stark contrast to his pale, almost gray complexion. The shadow of a dead tree branch outside the courtroom window lay across Lance like a skeletal hand reaching out to claim the teen's life.
"Mr. Kelly, you're extremely passionate about your belief that mutants shouldn't be allowed in public school," Matt began.
"Yes."
"Your school board has called your position segregationist and unconstitutional."
"I imagine their tune has changed," Kelly said smugly, then glanced at Lance shifted again.
"Why?"
"Because mutants are dangerous. They need to be separated from the rest of us for our protection."
"You've been completely consistent in your arguments for segregation," Matt said. "But that's not what's being discussed here. We're talking about putting Lance up against a wall and shooting him. Some of your other students already tried that, correct?"
"Objection, this is irrelevant."
Matt ignored Kirkland. His stomach was in his throat. This could blow up in his face so easily. During the prosecution's examination Kelly had began to work himself into a lather several times only to turn toward Lance then loose his steam. Kelly's heart rate had jumped at the phrase 'put against a wall and shot'. None of it was a guarantee though. "You only argued that they should be expelled but your students didn't think murder would bother you."
"Mr. Murdock, this court does not appreciate your implications. This court's decision bares no relation to the actions of those individuals."
"Jean Grey asked you if they were right."
"Mr. Murdock!"
"You couldn't answer her, couldn't even meet her eyes. Now I'm telling you: Look Lance in the eye and tell him he deserves to be killed."
Kirkland sat back. "Objection withdrawn."
Foggy superstitiously nudged Lance. Startled Lance's head jerked up. He didn't look like he knew where he was or what was going on. There was a long silence.
"No," Kelly said. "This is has gotten completely out of hand."
"…Those familiar with Edward Kelly's strong anti-mutant position were undoubtedly shocked when he stated that he did not agree with the prosecution's push for the death penalty," A reporter in the background pronounced.
"Judge Cars has just called an end to the day's proceedings," Trish Tilby said as she stepped to one side to give her cameraman a view of the courthouse doors.
They watched as the spectators emptied out first. The X-Men and their friends filed out more slowly then spread out on the steps and waited. The police escorted Lance out last. Matt and Foggy walked on either side of him. They were discretely lending him a supporting hand.
"Damn, it's almost impossible to believe one kid caused all that damage," The cameraman muttered under his breath.
"Look sharp," Trish ordered. Anticipation filled her as Matt Murdock stopped abruptly.
Simultaneously a riffle cracked, Matt shoved Lance and Foggy to the ground, Rogue vanished and Jean yelled for everyone to get down.
"Lance!" Someone in the mass of reporters yelled.
"I believe there's been an attempt on Lance Alvers' life," Trish narrated. "The X-Men and police are searching for the shooter… Over there." She pointed her cameraman toward the fire escape where Rogue was descending. She pushed a tall, athletic, blonde teenager in front of her.
"Well isn't this a surprise," Trish reported. She ignored a disturbance behind her in favor of the one on the courthouse steps. "The gunman is Duncan Matthews, formerly a senior at Bayville High, more recently an escapee from Bayville's jail. He was arrested after opening fire on his mutant classmates, injuring Lance Alvers."
Duncan struggled against Rogue. Despite her training, his size and strength repeatedly allowed him to break free, but Rogue's speed meant she had him caught again before he could take the advantage. As they reached the street Duncan twisted and lashed out at Rogue. His fist struck her cheek solidly, in that instant of contact Rogue's power came to life.
Duncan crumpled to the ground as his memories and mind were stolen away. Rogue shrieked in outrage. She staggered back and collided with the building.
"I hate crutches!" Pietro exclaimed as he hobbled to her side at what he considered an impossible slow rate.
Scott, Evan and Sam went to make sure Duncan stayed down while Kurt and Rahne hurried after Pietro to check on Rogue. Kitty, Jean, Fred, Todd and Ray gathered protectively around Lance, Matt and Foggy.
Trish was knocked off her feet as a man shoved past her trying to get to Lance. He was repelled by a burst of Jean's power and ended up sprawled across the pavement staring inconsolably at Lance.
"Rogue?" Pietro asked.
"Get away from me yah freak!" Rogue yelled with Duncan's hatred. "Ah'm sorry… Oh mah Lord, this ain't true!"
"What isn't true?" Pietro demanded. "Rogue, what did you see in his memories?"
"Irene," Rogue said then darted around him and raced back to the mansion.
"Irene!" she yelled. Rogue searched the mansion in a split second and found Irene in her room calmly packing. "Why is it everyone Ah trust betrays me?" she demanded. "Yah knew Lance was mah friend. Ain't bad enough yah paid for someone, someone like me, to be killed? Yah had to pick one of mah friends?"
"I am sorry, Rogue," Irene replied. "You must believe me, he wouldn't have survived the month regardless of my actions."
"How can yah know that?" Rogue demanded.
"Because, like you, I am a mutant and like you my gift is also my curse. I see the future Rogue. The boy's fate was sealed from the first moment Magneto's shadow laid eyes on him."
"So yah paid Matthews to shoot him. That makes all kinds of sense!"
"He was going to die Rogue. The trial had turned in his favor but these things take time to be resolved. Before that could happen he would have already been without his life's blood for too long. When the moment of crisis came his captor's intentions were good, but they acted from ignorance. Their 'aid' became the fatal blow."
"Don't talk like that, it ain't happened yet. The future ain't the set in stone. We could still change it." Rogue insisted.
"I've seen it too many times, too many different variations. The fruits of disaster have been sown in that boy, every path he walks leads to a dark future."
"No one would consider the possibility that the boy's death was an accident. Conspiracy theories are so much more entertaining. Months after his death, when the Sentinels darken the sky once more very few of the mutants in this country will wait to see what they do before jumping to their own conclusions. The government tried to have the boy executed legally and failed, so he was killed in secret and it was called an accident, but everyone knew what the 'truth' was. They knew what the 'truth' was when they saw a dozen new Sentinels as well, why bother waiting for confirmation? When a group of mutants attacked the government their fears turned to fact and the war never did end… For the good of all I had to see to it that the chain of consequences was broken. One domino had to be removed. If the boy dies by the hand of that bigoted fool Matthews the pattern of escalating consequences will end."
"Yah have no right to make that kind of choice Irene," Rogue said angrily. "And it didn't work, we saved him. We will keep him safe."
Irene froze. "No. Rogue you have to let me finish this. You can't image what will happen to this world."
"Ah don't have to do anything!" Rogue snapped. "Turning yah over to the police is something Ah want to do."
"So you would condemn me to Cassandra's fate?" Irene asked.
"Maybe killing Lance was the easiest way to stop what yah saw," Rogue said. "But Ah'm an X-Man. We generally do things the hard way… Gawddamnit Irene, get out of here before Ah change mah mind again. Don't ever come near me or mah friends again, Ah owe yah that much, they'd probably kill yah like they're killing Lance."