Chapter 7
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Wolverine woke up in a hospital bed. It was strangely familiar to him, and Rogue was with sitting with him. He was still in pain, but he could already feel his healing ability working again.
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Rogue: The doctors said you should be okay, that your healing ability is working.
Wolverine: That's a relief. Is that a nicotine patch you're wearing?
Rogue: Yeah. I'm trying to quit smoking. Suddenly the thought of dying by lung cancer is more real.
Wolverine: Good for you.
Rogue: How did you know?
Wolverine: Know what?
Rogue: That I changed my mind, and I wanted to live.
Wolverine: I didn't, not until just now, but I was going to save you anyway.
Rogue: Why? I'm a murderer and a thief, and as far as you knew, I wanted to die. Why was I worth saving?
Wolverine: You're my friend, seemed as good a reason as any to fight. But if you want some big plan or philosophy you should go...
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With this thought, Wolverine suddenly realized where they were.
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Wolverine: Is this Xavier's mansion?
Rogue: Yes.
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Wolverine then saw professor Xavier, and Jean Grey. Jean was a doctor, and needed to examine her patient.
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Jean: I need to examine you, and I need you not to make any rude or sexual comments during it. Am I clear?
Wolverine: Yes. I didn't intend to come back here.
Jean: I know, Rogue didn't know where else to bring you.
Wolverine: I'll leave as soon as you say I'm healthy enough.
Jean: Actually, I've decided to lift your exile. You can come back if you want. But just to be clear, we will not be having another affair, and you will not in any way try anything.
Wolverine: I won't, you have my word. What happened to the others?
Xavier: Eric and his team have been arrested. For now I've convinced the police that you, Raven and Remy saved Marie.
Wolverine: Marie?
Rogue: That's my name. If you don't mind, I prefer to be called that.
Wolverine: Fair enough. I know Raven is Mystique, I'll make an educated guess that Gambit's name is Remy.
Xavier: Correct. You stopped Eric before his machine could affect anyone from the United Nations. But people were affected by it.
Wolverine: How many?
Xavier: They're still counting, but so far no fewer than 100 people. Unhoused people, teenagers who went to this place to do drugs, police officers. Approximately half are becoming mutants, the other half are dying. This will not help the cause of mutant rights, we could use all the help we can get right now.
Wolverine: You're asking me to rejoin the Xmen?
Xavier: Yes. I've also made the offer to Raven and Remy.
Wolverine: Sounds like you'll need all hands on deck. Okay, I'm in. Magneto might be stopped, but other enemies are still at large.
Xavier: Erik isn't the enemy.
Wolverine: Maybe you haven't heard what he did.
Xavier: The true enemy is hatred, bigotry, intolerance. Erik has been a victim of this, and now he has fallen to it. But he and his friends are still human beings, and therefore capable of redemption. I can only hope and pray they find some form of peace before it is too late.
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Xavier's prediction about this incident hurting the cause of mutant rights soon became apparent. Reporters were interviewing people on the street to get their thoughts on this. One person said "They say it was good mutants against bad mutants. But if we would just keep these inhumans away from us, then those 153 people would still be alive." This person was echoing what many humans were thinking about mutants. The final count of people affected by this was 153, 78 died and 75 were becoming mutants. People were not making the distinction between those who were dead and those who were turned into mutants. Many anti-mutant groups were turning these 153 people into martyrs, the Friends of Humanity were the loudest of these voices. They had no problem with victim blaming, with saying that the 75 mutants were no longer human, that they deserved to be dead like other mutants. Senator Robert Kelly was already planning to run for president, this seemed like the best opportunity to officially announce his candidacy. And it was during this annoucement, that he first stated his proposed mutant registration act. To force all mutants, including those who had committed no crime, to reveal themselves to a world that feared and hated them more than ever.
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Wolverine, Rogue, Mystique, and Gambit stayed at Xavier's mansion. He was able to protect them, for a little while at least. It was a bit of a difficult adjustment, except for Gambit they each had some "history" with Xavier. Rogue had tried Xavier's school, then joined Magneto's Brotherhood, now she was back. Mystique was once Xavier's adopted sister, but she chose Magneto's side. She also had a troubled history with Kurt/Nightcrawler, she was his father. That was the interesting thing about being a shapeshifter, she could be one person's father and another person's mother. What was less confusing was the fact that she had abandoned Kurt, and the pain from that was still a part of him. Kurt struggled to forgive her, but he still viewed his adoptive parents as his true parents. Xavier tried to mediate between these two, and Kurt agreed to a meeting.
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Mystique: I am sorry for what I did to you Kurt. There's no excuse for what I did, I just hope you can forgive me someday.
Kurt: I do forgive you. But I consider my adoptive parents to be my true parents.
Mystique: That is fair, they were the ones who raised you. If you wish me to leave I will.
Kurt: Do you want to leave, again?
Mystique: No, not at all. But whatever you decide I will do.
Kurt: Then stay. The professor's right, we need all hands on deck right now. But that's as far as I want to take our relationship. I don't know if I'll ever be able to think of you as my mother, or my father.
Mystique: I understand. Thank you.
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Wolverine tried to reintegrate himself with the Xmen. Some were happy to have him back. Others were not. Scott Summers, who was sometimes called Cyclopes, made it clear he still didn't like Wolverine. He told Wolverine "I forgave Jean, that doesn't mean I forgot. It took awhile but we came to an understanding. That I would only tolerate one affair in this marriage and as far as I'm concerned she wasted hers on you." Wolverine decided it would take some time, he just had to try and reintegrate himself. When he heard that one of the teachers, Danielle, was expecting a baby, he decided he could do something for her.
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Wolverine: Hey Danielle, I hear you and your wife are expecting a baby. If you don't mind me asking, which one of you is pregnant?
Danielle: Actually, we both are. Rainn and I decided that we wanted two children, and we should go through pregnancy together.
Wolverine: I only made one, but I can make another before the babies come.
Danielle: Another what?
Wolverine: A crib for the baby. I only made one, but I can make another before they come.
Danielle: Thank you, I really appreciate that.
Wolverine: What are friends for.
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Kamala Khan, also known as Ms Marvel, saw that Wolverine was making an effort to reintegrate himself with the Xmen. She decided to help him, and get a favor in return. Kamala's friend Nakia was running for a seat on their mosque board, and Wolverine agreed to help hand out Nakia's flyers at their local Eid Al-Adha celebration. During this celebration Wolverine ended up talking with a young man named Hameed.
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Hameed: I've never seen you at our mosque before.
Wolverine: You're right, I'm not a member of your mosque, I'm not even muslim. I'm just doing this because Nakia is a friend of a friend. But ask yourself this, how has the mosque been maintained under the current board. Are repairs done in a timely manner? Have they been good at serving the members of your community?
Hameed: What's your point?
Wolverine: Just that if the current board isn't doing a good job with these things, maybe new leadership should be voted in.
Hameed: You might have a point. I'll consider voting for Nakia.
Wolverine: Thank you.
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Dr Hank Mccoy, sometimes known as Beast because of his blue fur, brought some of the Xchildren to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wolverine agreed to help him chaperone it. Many of the children didn't yet fully appreciate the works of art. Some were dissapointed because this museum didn't have the Rocky Steps. Wolverine explained that Rocky ran up the steps of the art museum in Philadelphia, but maybe they could go there one day. Wolverine thought back to the time she and Jean were in Philadelphia, they ran up those steps and acted like Rocky. It was during their affair, and he looked back on that with nostalgia. But then he had to stop thinking about that, he knew Jean would never be his, and he had to get over it. As they all left the museum Wolverine bought the kids hotdogs and soda, and instantly became more popular than Beast. He hadn't intended for that, he just wanted to be accepted by the Xmen, and it seemed to be working.
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Marie tried to once again adapt to Xavier's school. It was difficult, considering she had already left once to join Magneto's side. Kitty and the others were uneasy around her, but they tried. One time, Marie and Kitty were watching "the Vampire Diaries." Marie had gotten Kitty into the show before she left, and Kitty still watched it after Marie left.
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Marie: I always liked Vicki, felt she was a little bit like me. Neglected or abandoned by both her parents, looked down upon by her whole community.
Kitty: That why you joined Magneto's side? You wanted to die and didn't mind if it destroyed everyone else?
Marie: That was a low blow. And he lied to me, I thought we were turning them into mutants, not destroying everyone.
Kitty: I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said.
Marie: I know I still have things to make up for, but I'm trying. I didn't tell Lance you were here.
Kitty: So you know that Lance was my whirlwind teenage romance.
Marie: Yes. I figured if you let him think you were dead, it wasn't my place to tell him the truth.
Kitty: Thank you. He was never violent to me, but he did have a temper. I was scared, but I hope he can find some peace, even in prison.
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Magneto's case attracted a number of people. There were his supporters, those who felt he had only done what was neccessary for mutant-kind. And there were those who hated Magneto, who felt he deserved to die for his actions, or merely for the fact that he was a mutant. Police tried to keep the two groups seperate, tried to keep them from fighting each other. Both sides came to demonstrate for their side, both were vocal, but so far at least they didn't physically attack each other. There was another group here. Those who wanted to honor the people killed by Magneto's plan, but who weren't neccessarily anti-mutant. They held pictures of those killed, some of the family members showed up. They wanted Magneto to know the faces and the names of his victims. Magneto was brought to court in a plastic cage, it was the only way to contain him. He tried to ignore the shouts about his victims, but he couldn't completely ignore them. He was grateful that Charles came. They were friends, and once they were more. Charles, Xavier, Moira. Time was the three of them had some good times. Then Charles was hurt, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, Moira and Eric both blamed each other. Whoever was responsible Charles forgave them both. To noone's surprise Magneto was convicted of 78 murders. He was given an opportunity to make a final statement. Everyone believed it would be his final speech, he planned to make it count.
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Magneto: I have, may it please this court, a few words to say. In the first place, I deny everything, except for what I have all along admitted, and what has been fairly proven by this court. The design on my part to prevent genocide against mutant kind. That was all I intended. It was never my intention to commit murder. I do acknowledge that there were miscalculations on my part, and for that I do accept full and sole responsibility. Had my intentions been to prevent the nazi holocaust against the jews, or to prevent the enslavement of African-Americans, or to protect any other group whose basic humanity cannot be questioned by intelligent individuals. Had I tried to do these things with as little collateral damage as possible, then every person in this court would condone my actions, and deem them worthy of praise and reward rather than punishment. But because I did it to protect mutant kind, a group that is today persecuted, than this court might concievably sentence me to death shortly. This court acknowledges, at least to a certain degree, the validity of the law of God. I have seen witnesses take an oath to tell the truth by placing their hand on a book that I presume to be the Bible, or at least the New Testament. This book has taught me that whatever I would have done to me, I should do that unto others. And to remember those who are in bonds, as in bonds with them. This I believe in. Rather than simply hide my mutant side, pretending to be human and hope that the oppressors never learn my secret, I chose to fight for all mutant kind, and not simply my own life. I have long feared that war between humans and mutants, between homo sapiens and homo superior, was inevitable. Vainly I flattered myself into thinking that, by my own hand, I could win this conflict without the firing of a gun on either side, or at least with as little bloodshed as possible. In this I have failed. And if this court deems it necessary that I should forfeit my life for my actions, that my blood shall be spilled alongside so many other oppressed mutants, than I say, so let it be done.
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Magneto was brought to the holding cell while the judge contemplated his sentence. Judge Snyder was not opposed to the death penalty, and he did seem to give harsher punishments to known mutants in his sentences, there was no doubt in Magnet's mind that he would be executed. He assumed that the only reason the judge waited so long to deliver this verdict was because it was lunchtime, no reason to deliver a lengthy speech on an empty stomach. Sure enough the baliff said the judge was ready shortly after Magneto finished his own lunch. Magneto thought back to a story from when Oliver Cromwell ordered the execution of the deposed king of England. On the morning of his execution the king wore three layers of coats. He said "If I shiver my enemies will say it was from fear." And this king refused to give his enemies the satisfaction. Magneto vowed that he would not give his own enemies the satisfaction of seeing him shiver or cry. He would stand as stoic as possible when judge Snyder sentenced him to death.
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Judge: Erik Lehnsherr, you have been convicted of no fewer than 75 murders. I realize that you might not have targeted any of them specifically, but you committed your act knowing there would be innocent people killed. That you did this for what you see as a noble cause is no excuse. I could no more condone your actions than I could condone a person who bombs an abortion clinic, or a person who assasinates a neo-nazi activist. Crime is crime, it is not political. It occurs to me that you want to die, to avoid the consequences of your actions and become a martyr to your cause. However, I will not give you the satisfaction. Therefore, I sentence you to 75 consecutive life sentences, each to be served without the possibility of parole.
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The courtroom audience was surprised, some expressed great relief, others outrage. Despite his efforts to remain stoic Magneto was clearly surprised at this development. He wondered, had Charles influenced the judge in this? Such a violation of a person's mind went against his moral code, but would he do that for his friend. But he looked over at Charles, the look on his face suggested that Charles was as surprised as anyone. Magneto found he was a bit dissapointed, he had hoped to lead his people to victory, but it became apparent he would not live to see it, nor would be become a martyr to the cause. Perhaps his followers would find some way to free him one day, but was judge Snyder really so incompetent as to not consider this possibility. Magneto feared there was something else at work.
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Word soon came that Magneto had been sentenced to 75 life sentences. Wolverine and Marie were discussing this.
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Mariee: How does someone serve 75 life sentences?
Wolverine: You can't. The point is that each of his victims gets some measure of justice, and to make absolutely certain that he never gets out on parole. But I don't get why the judge would take such a chance. This judge isn't opposed to capitol punishment, and he's usually harder on mutants who appear in his court.
Marie: Maybe he was worried about turning Magneto into a martyr.
Wolverine: Maybe, but at a certain point, maybe he should risk it. Magneto is more or less a walking argument for the death penalty.
Marie: His other followers, Avalanche, Pyro, Sabertooth, they've all been sentenced to the Raft, none to execution.
Wolverine: Yeah, and by judges who were not exactly pro-mutant.
Marie: Are we missing something?
Wolverine: Maybe.
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As these two were thinking of possibilities Xavier returned to the mansion with two police officers. The look on Xavier's face said he had bad news.
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Xavier: Marie, these officers have a warrant for your arrest for the murder of your father. Do not say anything to them until I get you a lawyer. We will fight this, there is still hope.
Marie: Not for me.
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Marie had known this day would come, any 12 year old with a cellphone could learn that she was on the run for murder. Maybe she would also get "Lucky" and have a judge who seemed to momentarily be against the death penalty. But she would then be going to prison for life. Either way, her life seemed to be over.