Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men movie characters.
Title: Unforgivable Sinners
By: Cmdr. Gabe E.
Note: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse . Characters' unspoken thoughts are enclosed in .
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NEXT CHAPTER UP o!!! bows down to the reviewers . Love ya' guys o!
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CHAPTER 26 : Acceptance
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Professor Xavier called on all the core team members to attend a brief meeting in the study. Ororo, Rogue, Bobby, and their newest member, Kurt, arrived for the announcement. Scott entered the room shortly after Kurt had teleported into it. He was now going to inform them of Yuriko Oyama and William Stryker's presence in the mansion.
The study was filled with silence as Scott entered the room. Each and every one of them still felt the pain and sadness of Jean's death. And out of all of them, it was Scott who hurt the most. He loved Jean more than anything else. He loved her so much, that if Logan hadn't stopped him, he would have gladly joined her in the icy depths of the lake. Then at least they would still be together.
He still couldn't understand why she had to die. If only he could have done something to save her. If only he was stronger and more powerful. But he wasn't...and it just proved that good things, great things, don't last forever, even if you want them to.
He had left the mansion early in the morning and only came back just because the professor requested it. He just wanted to drive and drive and think of the times he had spent with Jean. But every time he thought of her, the pain grew ten times more. He hurt so much that he could barely breathe. He wanted the pain to go away, but he didn't want to forget about her. He was trapped in a love that was now lost.
"Welcome back, Scott." The professor said.
Scott just nodded. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. The professor knew Scott's pain, and he understood that. Even if he couldn't see Scott's eyes, he could still feel the sadness in them.
The professor looked at all of them and smiled. He, too, felt sadness for Jean's passing, but he didn't want it to interfere with the task at hand. "You may all be wondering why I called you here today." He moved himself closer to them.
"You may find this announcement rather inappropriate after the events that just transpired, but the school had just accepted a new mutant to be a part of its family." He said with a calm, fatherly tone in his voice.
Scott's eyebrows furrowed. "A new mutant in the school? Have we met him before?"
The professor smiled and looked at him. "He is actually a she, Scott. And yes, we have met her before. She once went by the name...Lady Deathstrike."
"Lady Deathstrike?!" Scott asked angrily. "Wasn't she the mutant who worked for Stryker?! How can we accept her in the team after what just happened?!"
He couldn't believe the professor had freely accepted an enemy into the school. He remembered how she attacked him when he and the professor went to visit Magneto's prison cell. She was the mutant who had abilities similar to Logan's and was somehow even stronger and more agile than her male counterpart.
A look of concern could clearly be seen on Ororo's face "Are you sure about this, professor?" She asked. She didn't know much about Lady Deathstrike, but she knew that the mutant worked for William Stryker during the Alkali Lake incident.
"I am positive about her, Ororo." He said with a smile.
He looked at Scott and noticed the infuriated look on his face. "Scott, you know as well as I do that Yuriko Oyama was under Stryker's mind-control drug when she was Lady Deathstrike. You have been under that drug before. You have experienced its horrors." His voice sounded firm, but mild.
"Your body did things you didn't want to do and yet you couldn't do anything about it. The drug didn't give either of you the freedom to control what you were doing. You of all people should understand the nightmare she had gone through. She's a new person now, Scott. And she's willing to live a new life. What kind of school would this be if it won't even accept a mutant who needs our help?"
Scott couldn't deny the truth behind the professor's words. He had been under the drug before and the things he did under its influence still haunted him up to this day. He hurt Jean...He almost killed her, and he couldn't do anything about it. He felt so helpless as he watched himself blast her with his optic rays.
And the professor was also right about the school. The mansion was meant to be a haven for mutants, especially to those who have been denied the joys of the world. He wanted to see Yuriko as she was now. And he wanted to know if she was really worthy of being accepted into the team.
"Where is she?" He asked with a mild tone in his voice.
"I asked Logan to fetch her from her room." He answered with a gentle smile. He knew he was able to reach out to Scott. He did not want a feeling of enmity between Yuriko and the team in their first real meeting.
The professer's eyes suddenly wandered to the floor then he moved himself by the window. "And another thing..." He said. His eyes focused on the view outside. "She had brought a companion with her."
Kurt had an excited look on his face. "A companion? You mean another mutant? Someone who is like us? Like her?"
The professor turned around and looked at him. "No, Kurt. He is no mutant. And like Yuriko, we have met him before. His name is William Stryker." He said firmly.
Everyone's eyes suddenly opened wide with shock.
"What?!" Shouted Scott angrily. His eyes sparked under his sunglasses. "You mean William Stryker?! Colonel William Stryker?! The man responsible for the Alkali Lake incident?!" He said with immense anger in his voice.
"How could you let him stay here?!" He knew he was shouting at Charles, but he couldn't control his hatred for Stryker. "That man almost killed us all! If it weren't for him, Jean wouldn't have died!!! He used you, professor! And he used me too! We practically let the devil into our front door!"
Rogue, Bobby, Ororo and Kurt were all taken aback by Scott's fury. But they knew they couldn't blame him. They all hated William Stryker too, and they were also surprised with the professor's decision to let him stay in the mansion.
"I know what he had done, Scott. But he doesn't. Like Logan, Stryker had lost all memories of his past. He probably doesn't realize it yet, but a part of him wants to start anew too. Some people deserve a second chance. And apparently, he's one of them."
"But he doesn't deserve a second chance, Charles!" Scott shouted. "The damage had already been dealt! Just look at what he had done! Look at the pain he brought upon this mansion! Do you think he can bring Jean back from the dead?! He can't! No one can!"
Scott gritted his teeth and looked away from the professor. He placed a hand over his sunglasses as he tried to hold back his tears. The conflicting feeling of anger and sadness within him just made him want to cry out in frustration. He just lost the love of his life, and now the man who had caused her death was about to live under the same roof as him. Fate definitely had its own twisted ways of tying up lose ends.
Ororo walked up to Scott and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Scott. The professor knows what he's doing." She said, hoping to calm him down.
He exhaled and took his hand away from his glasses. He turned around and looked at Charles. "I'm sorry, professor." He said in a low voice.
He knew he didn't have the right to talk to Charles the way he just did. He shouted at the professor and questioned his actions, when the only thing the professor wanted to do was to help a lost soul in need, even if that soul was their former nemesis William Stryker.
"Just don't let him near me." Scott whispered as his eyes looked out the window. "I don't know what I'm going to do if I get my hands on him." He clenched his jaw at the thought of seeing him again.
He could still remember the horrors of Stryker's mind control drug. And it just wasn't the drug's effects that angered him. The inhumane procedure of getting the mutants ready for the drug infuriated him too.
There was suddenly a knock on the door and everyone's eyes focused on the study's doorway. The doorknob slowly twisted and the door opened. Logan stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.
He arched an eyebrow when he saw Ororo, Scott, Bobby, Rogue and Kurt already in the study with the professor. "I guess the party's already started." He said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
He looked at Scott and nodded at him. "Good to see ya' back. You were gone for a while."
"Where are they?" Scott asked coldly. He didn't even seem to acknowledge Logan's warm welcome. He knew Logan had brought them with him, and that they were probably waiting outside the study.
Logan looked at everyone in the room and saw the anticipation in their eyes. "So I see you were already informed about Yuriko and Stryker's stay in the mansion."
He noticed the angry look in Scott's face at the mention of Stryker's name. "Trust me. I don't like the fact that he's here either. But we can't do anything about that now, huh?" He momentarily glanced at the professor.
"As for Yuriko...." He added. "She has changed. I know. I fought with her once. I almost died in her hands. But now that she's free from the effects of the drug, she wants to start a new life. Some of you experienced what she'd been through". He looked at Scott and Kurt. "...I do believe she deserves a second chance. And I know we're the right people to give her that." He tried to maintain the toughness of his voice. He didn't want anyone to think he had a soft spot for Yuriko.
Rogue was quite taken aback by Logan's words. She had never heard him talk about anyone that way. It usually took days for Logan to warm up to a newcomer, but he already seemed to care for this Yuriko. It was as if he truly did want her to stay.
What made it more surprising was the fact that she was his former nemesis. There was definitely something different in Logan. Rogue couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but it was something she hadn't seen in him before.
"You will all understand once you meet her." Logan said as he looked at his teammates.
He opened the door and signaled Yuriko to enter the study.
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Title: Unforgivable Sinners
By: Cmdr. Gabe E.
Note: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse . Characters' unspoken thoughts are enclosed in .
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
NEXT CHAPTER UP o!!! bows down to the reviewers . Love ya' guys o!
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CHAPTER 26 : Acceptance
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Professor Xavier called on all the core team members to attend a brief meeting in the study. Ororo, Rogue, Bobby, and their newest member, Kurt, arrived for the announcement. Scott entered the room shortly after Kurt had teleported into it. He was now going to inform them of Yuriko Oyama and William Stryker's presence in the mansion.
The study was filled with silence as Scott entered the room. Each and every one of them still felt the pain and sadness of Jean's death. And out of all of them, it was Scott who hurt the most. He loved Jean more than anything else. He loved her so much, that if Logan hadn't stopped him, he would have gladly joined her in the icy depths of the lake. Then at least they would still be together.
He still couldn't understand why she had to die. If only he could have done something to save her. If only he was stronger and more powerful. But he wasn't...and it just proved that good things, great things, don't last forever, even if you want them to.
He had left the mansion early in the morning and only came back just because the professor requested it. He just wanted to drive and drive and think of the times he had spent with Jean. But every time he thought of her, the pain grew ten times more. He hurt so much that he could barely breathe. He wanted the pain to go away, but he didn't want to forget about her. He was trapped in a love that was now lost.
"Welcome back, Scott." The professor said.
Scott just nodded. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone at the moment. The professor knew Scott's pain, and he understood that. Even if he couldn't see Scott's eyes, he could still feel the sadness in them.
The professor looked at all of them and smiled. He, too, felt sadness for Jean's passing, but he didn't want it to interfere with the task at hand. "You may all be wondering why I called you here today." He moved himself closer to them.
"You may find this announcement rather inappropriate after the events that just transpired, but the school had just accepted a new mutant to be a part of its family." He said with a calm, fatherly tone in his voice.
Scott's eyebrows furrowed. "A new mutant in the school? Have we met him before?"
The professor smiled and looked at him. "He is actually a she, Scott. And yes, we have met her before. She once went by the name...Lady Deathstrike."
"Lady Deathstrike?!" Scott asked angrily. "Wasn't she the mutant who worked for Stryker?! How can we accept her in the team after what just happened?!"
He couldn't believe the professor had freely accepted an enemy into the school. He remembered how she attacked him when he and the professor went to visit Magneto's prison cell. She was the mutant who had abilities similar to Logan's and was somehow even stronger and more agile than her male counterpart.
A look of concern could clearly be seen on Ororo's face "Are you sure about this, professor?" She asked. She didn't know much about Lady Deathstrike, but she knew that the mutant worked for William Stryker during the Alkali Lake incident.
"I am positive about her, Ororo." He said with a smile.
He looked at Scott and noticed the infuriated look on his face. "Scott, you know as well as I do that Yuriko Oyama was under Stryker's mind-control drug when she was Lady Deathstrike. You have been under that drug before. You have experienced its horrors." His voice sounded firm, but mild.
"Your body did things you didn't want to do and yet you couldn't do anything about it. The drug didn't give either of you the freedom to control what you were doing. You of all people should understand the nightmare she had gone through. She's a new person now, Scott. And she's willing to live a new life. What kind of school would this be if it won't even accept a mutant who needs our help?"
Scott couldn't deny the truth behind the professor's words. He had been under the drug before and the things he did under its influence still haunted him up to this day. He hurt Jean...He almost killed her, and he couldn't do anything about it. He felt so helpless as he watched himself blast her with his optic rays.
And the professor was also right about the school. The mansion was meant to be a haven for mutants, especially to those who have been denied the joys of the world. He wanted to see Yuriko as she was now. And he wanted to know if she was really worthy of being accepted into the team.
"Where is she?" He asked with a mild tone in his voice.
"I asked Logan to fetch her from her room." He answered with a gentle smile. He knew he was able to reach out to Scott. He did not want a feeling of enmity between Yuriko and the team in their first real meeting.
The professer's eyes suddenly wandered to the floor then he moved himself by the window. "And another thing..." He said. His eyes focused on the view outside. "She had brought a companion with her."
Kurt had an excited look on his face. "A companion? You mean another mutant? Someone who is like us? Like her?"
The professor turned around and looked at him. "No, Kurt. He is no mutant. And like Yuriko, we have met him before. His name is William Stryker." He said firmly.
Everyone's eyes suddenly opened wide with shock.
"What?!" Shouted Scott angrily. His eyes sparked under his sunglasses. "You mean William Stryker?! Colonel William Stryker?! The man responsible for the Alkali Lake incident?!" He said with immense anger in his voice.
"How could you let him stay here?!" He knew he was shouting at Charles, but he couldn't control his hatred for Stryker. "That man almost killed us all! If it weren't for him, Jean wouldn't have died!!! He used you, professor! And he used me too! We practically let the devil into our front door!"
Rogue, Bobby, Ororo and Kurt were all taken aback by Scott's fury. But they knew they couldn't blame him. They all hated William Stryker too, and they were also surprised with the professor's decision to let him stay in the mansion.
"I know what he had done, Scott. But he doesn't. Like Logan, Stryker had lost all memories of his past. He probably doesn't realize it yet, but a part of him wants to start anew too. Some people deserve a second chance. And apparently, he's one of them."
"But he doesn't deserve a second chance, Charles!" Scott shouted. "The damage had already been dealt! Just look at what he had done! Look at the pain he brought upon this mansion! Do you think he can bring Jean back from the dead?! He can't! No one can!"
Scott gritted his teeth and looked away from the professor. He placed a hand over his sunglasses as he tried to hold back his tears. The conflicting feeling of anger and sadness within him just made him want to cry out in frustration. He just lost the love of his life, and now the man who had caused her death was about to live under the same roof as him. Fate definitely had its own twisted ways of tying up lose ends.
Ororo walked up to Scott and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Scott. The professor knows what he's doing." She said, hoping to calm him down.
He exhaled and took his hand away from his glasses. He turned around and looked at Charles. "I'm sorry, professor." He said in a low voice.
He knew he didn't have the right to talk to Charles the way he just did. He shouted at the professor and questioned his actions, when the only thing the professor wanted to do was to help a lost soul in need, even if that soul was their former nemesis William Stryker.
"Just don't let him near me." Scott whispered as his eyes looked out the window. "I don't know what I'm going to do if I get my hands on him." He clenched his jaw at the thought of seeing him again.
He could still remember the horrors of Stryker's mind control drug. And it just wasn't the drug's effects that angered him. The inhumane procedure of getting the mutants ready for the drug infuriated him too.
There was suddenly a knock on the door and everyone's eyes focused on the study's doorway. The doorknob slowly twisted and the door opened. Logan stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.
He arched an eyebrow when he saw Ororo, Scott, Bobby, Rogue and Kurt already in the study with the professor. "I guess the party's already started." He said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
He looked at Scott and nodded at him. "Good to see ya' back. You were gone for a while."
"Where are they?" Scott asked coldly. He didn't even seem to acknowledge Logan's warm welcome. He knew Logan had brought them with him, and that they were probably waiting outside the study.
Logan looked at everyone in the room and saw the anticipation in their eyes. "So I see you were already informed about Yuriko and Stryker's stay in the mansion."
He noticed the angry look in Scott's face at the mention of Stryker's name. "Trust me. I don't like the fact that he's here either. But we can't do anything about that now, huh?" He momentarily glanced at the professor.
"As for Yuriko...." He added. "She has changed. I know. I fought with her once. I almost died in her hands. But now that she's free from the effects of the drug, she wants to start a new life. Some of you experienced what she'd been through". He looked at Scott and Kurt. "...I do believe she deserves a second chance. And I know we're the right people to give her that." He tried to maintain the toughness of his voice. He didn't want anyone to think he had a soft spot for Yuriko.
Rogue was quite taken aback by Logan's words. She had never heard him talk about anyone that way. It usually took days for Logan to warm up to a newcomer, but he already seemed to care for this Yuriko. It was as if he truly did want her to stay.
What made it more surprising was the fact that she was his former nemesis. There was definitely something different in Logan. Rogue couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but it was something she hadn't seen in him before.
"You will all understand once you meet her." Logan said as he looked at his teammates.
He opened the door and signaled Yuriko to enter the study.
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