A/N: Getting my ducks in a row…
With Grace's lawsuit about to get underway, I'm going to have to bring in some villains. (other, of course, than Erik and company) That means I have to do what I should have done a long time ago, which is to figure out the backstory and when this is going on. I hinted at it before, but now I want to explain it.
Here goes: This is an AU. Things start happening differently somewhere during X2. Professor Xavier spotted that something was wrong with Erik on one of his visits—dilated pupils, bruises, difficulty concentrating, generally spaced-out, courtesy of Stryker and his son's cerebro-spinal fluid. He complained to someone.
Before Stryker's abuses could be fully investigated, however, Erik escaped as seen in the movie, and went to the school to prevent the attack. What with one thing and another, everything got blown open, and exactly what the president feared would happen did: injured mutant kids all over the six o'clock news. No Alkali Lake, no kidnappings, no heroic sacrifice on the part of Jean.
When the dust settled, the president was impeached, and stepped down in favor of his VP, who is now the president, pretty much everything Stryker was up to had been revealed, and Stryker went into hiding with his lobotomized son, Jason, and his knuckle-cracking bodyguard, Lady Deathstrike; Stryker is therefore alive and will resurface.
Erik, meanwhile, was acquitted of wrongdoing in his escape, because he was under the influence of a psychotropic drug administered to him against his will—the cerebro-spinal fluids again. He was held not responsible for his actions. He was also granted amnesty for his actions at Liberty Island, partly because this was a hell of a lot easier than trying to recapture him. He received a stern warning to behave himself. Of course he hasn't been completely good, and reassembled his Brotherhood.
Therefore, Stork begins shortly before X3. The Act was passed, Hank is the government's token mutant. Worthington Labs is working on their 'cure', which, as hinted at the end of the movie, has only a temporary effect; Stryker is working on his—the one which Erik and the Professor speculate about—a vaccine against having a mutant child in the first place. Maddox and Juggernaught are being chauffeured around in their mobile prison. Can't think of anything else…
The so-called Prince of Sharkness arrived ten minutes early; Scott met him and led him to the professor's office, where Hank McCoy greeted him with "Mr. Angevin, so good of you to come. Ms. Engstrom, may I introduce Mr. Robert Angevin, attorney-at-law? Mr. Angevin, this is Ms. Grace Engstrom. I asked you here on her behalf. She has a story to tell which you may find of interest. This is Professor Charles Xavier, the headmaster of Xavier's School for the Gifted, and his cousin, Mr. Michael Xavier."
Angevin was much as McCoy had described him; a handsome man who looked deceptively young and deceptively pleasant, with white-gold hair and blue eyes. He was on the shorter side of medium height, and he had a sunny, open smile.
I am not inclined to like him, Erik thought, and not merely on the grounds that he is human. He looks so Aryan that he might have stepped directly off a 'Hitler Youth' poster.
The introductions having been made, Angevin sat. The Beast cleared his throat, and began, "First of all, I must say that I am not here officially. I did not set this meeting up. I know nothing about this matter; I did not even recommend you to Ms. Engstrom. I have to maintain total deniability."
"I understand. Just as I also understand that the gentleman to your left is Michael Xavier, not Erik Lensherr. I would swear to this in a court of law. I recognize Ms. Engstrom from coverage of that incident in Ann Arbor a few days ago. Am I to assume this has something to do with that?"
"Yes, but not in the way you might think. I'll let Ms. Engstrom tell her own story." The Beast turned to her.
"Thank you, Dr. McCoy. About four months ago, I went to my doctor for my annual pelvic and mammogram. While I was there, I submitted a sample so my genes could be screened for the breast cancer genes…" Grace related what happened after that, handing the attorney papers from her medical file as she went.
He recognized me right off. He is observant, at any rate. Erik glanced at Grace to see how she reacted to that. She raised a quirky eyebrow. His gift gleamed against the charcoal colored top she wore, gold and a flash of green.
When he had given it to her the night before, she had looked so lost, so stricken and saddened—vulnerable, in other words. Well and good—I have shown her enough vulnerability of late.
"…and this morning, my agent called me to tell me the Australian Aborigine Spinner's Collective has pulled out of the deal, and they're holding me responsible for the yarn labels that have been printed, as well as other related costs.
"I want to sue Marine Starcare for violating my rights under the Genetic Privacy Laws, and to challenge the constitutionality of the Mutant Registration Act on the grounds that it is a form of discrimination and has caused me pain and suffering both personal and financial. At the same time, I want to petition the court to enact anti-discrimination laws extending to mutants the same rights and privileges as other minority groups, including the right to use one's powers in public or private, even as one has the right to freedom of speech." she concluded.
Angevin whistled in appreciation. "After that, making water flow uphill will be easy."
"There are people on this campus right now who can make water flow uphill without breaking a sweat," Erik put in. "If it were that easy, we wouldn't need you. Are you interested in this case?"
"I suppose Dr. McCoy has told you about my son." Angevin turned to face him full on.
"He said your son is a mutant, yes. Are you afraid?" Erik challenged him
"Of him? I am monstrously self-centered, Mr. Xavier. My ego is so large that if it were visible, it could be viewed from orbit with the naked eye, like the Great Wall of China.
"I am conceited enough to believe that if I do my job right, if I devote the same sort of time and attention to my son as I do my career, if I tell him bedtime stories and carry him on my shoulders, play ball with him in the park, make sure he eats his vegetables and brushes his teeth, if before his impressionable eyes I prove myself a living example of a good husband and father, a good friend, a good employer, and a good servant of justice, then no matter what his powers are, however fearsome and strong he may be, he will not only never harm me, he will never wrongfully harm anyone on Earth, be they mutant or sapient. No, I am not afraid of him.
"I am afraid for him. I have been mortally, desperately afraid for him ever since we were told he is a mutant. To answer your previous question, yes, I am interested in this case. I have been waiting for this case. If I did not take it, I could never again claim to love my son."
"You are a very unusual man, Mr. Angevin." I may have misjudged him.
"I have been told so before, Mr. Xavier. Ms. Engstrom, before you retain me as your counsel, I would like to ask you if you understand exactly what you are getting into. The case against Marine StarCare is so open and shut that they would beg to be allowed to settle out of court, for whatever sum you named—if they were the only defendants in the case, that is.
"Involving the Mutant Registration Act puts this on another level entirely. If you thought what happened to you in Michigan was bad, with the mob baying for your blood, let me tell you it will be ten times worse. You will be the most hated woman in America. You will be spat on, assaulted, parodied, reviled. Your life will be in danger."
Professor Xavier stirred. "We are to provide protection for Ms. Engstrom for as long as she will need it. She will live here, on my private property, and whenever she will have to venture off the grounds, it will be with people around her to guard her. We are prepared to offer the same to you and your family."
"It will be needed, sooner or later. Are you prepared to go through with this, Ms. Engstrom?"
"Yes, Mr. Angevin."
"Then do you have a bill on you of any denomination, however small?"
"I—no. I can go get my purse…"
All three mutant men stirred—Hank and Erik reaching for their wallets, Professor Xavier for his desk drawer. Grace was presented with her choice of dollar bills. She hesitated, and chose Erik's. "Thank you. I'll pay you back later."
"No need."
She handed the money to Angevin. "Thank you. You are now my client, and this is the sum and total of not only my retainer, but the fees I will charge you. There are some things one does not do for money, and this is one of them."
"But you will be out of pocket for your expenses…?" she asked.
"I have very deep pockets, Ms. Engstrom. Moreover, all our costs will be reimbursed by the defendants automatically when we win."
"'When we win', Mr. Angevin?" Erik could not resist challenging him.
"Yes. When we win, Mr. Xavier. I have never yet walked out of court without the result I wanted, and I want this one. I want it bad."
Hank put in, frowning, "Mr. Angevin, you have not won every case you took on. How do you reconcile that with your statement that you have never walked out without the result you wanted?"
"There were some cases I did not want to win, Dr. McCoy, for whatever reason. Now, is there a private room nearby? I must speak to my client under the umbrella of confidentiality."
"You can use my office," the Professor volunteered.
"Thank you—and especially you, Dr. McCoy. I am in your debt."
"Not in the least, Mr. Angevin. Not in the least."
After the three men had left, Angevin turned to Grace. "All right—now is the time to tell me everything you haven't told me yet."
"Such as what?" She spread her hands out. "Ask away."
"You might begin by telling me about your relationship with Magneto. Is he the father of your child?"
