Genosha: In the Balance - History Repeating

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

When Lex refuses to cooperate with his interrogator, things take a violent turn.

Warning: Graphic violence, language, general content.



Two Days Ago

"Who are the X-Men, Alex?" The woman said, without much of a preamble.

Furling his eyebrows, Lex looked at her with a wary expression. Why ask a question she already knows the answer to, he wondered while trying to read her. He couldn't see anything there. "X-Men trainee, Hamster, X dash double oh seven dash omega," he said, his tone neutral. He wasn't going to give those murderers anything, for any reason.

"Not smart." She said, and he was suddenly rocked sideways from the force of the blow. "Who are the X-Men?"

He tried to keep the smile from his face, barely succeeding. "X-Men trainee, Hamster, X dash double oh seven dash omega," he said, his tone neutral. If physical pain was the way they were going to go then they'd have to do a lot more than that to even get him to flinch.

The next punch broke his nose, and then his cheekbone as she slammed him into the table. "Who are the X-Men?"

"X-Men trainee... Hamster... X. dash. double. oh. seven. dash. omega," he said, his tone remained neutral even through the coughing and retching of blood. He knew his face was broken, but he suffered it with relative dignity. His mind went blank after his head hit the table, he wasn't going to give in.

"Alright, tough guy. This is how you want to play it? Wake up!" She twisted his broken nose, jarring him awake. "I'm going to ask you again. If you give me your name and rank again, we're going to walk down into gen pop, and get a couple of the lifers from the rapists case files. Then we're going to pop them in the cell with the little blonde girl. And I'll ask you the same questions while they fuck her to death. We've got a couple of real winners down there. One of them was so violent, that he split the girl's taint open. Not that it stopped him until he was good and done. So, one more time, Fuckface. Who are the X-Men?"

The growl was something so inhuman Lex didn't realize it was coming from him until his nose and jaw hurt from the pressure against his broken face; they'd made a mistake in threatening one of his teammates. He couldn't really think straight be he thought that might make the bluff all the more believable. With a great deal of effort he cut the growl short, as if in supplication, and hung his head for a moment. He nodded to her to come closer so that he could speak through his injuries.

She moved forward slightly, and then her hand snaked out, grabbing his jaw. "Pretend to whisper and instead try and bite my ear off or something? Seen that play too." She pulled the baton from her belt, and taking careful aim, smashed it into Lex's teeth, breaking several and leaving them scattered amidst the blood on the floor. "Who are the X-Men? Who gives the fucking orders and how many more of you cocksuckers are out there?"

Lex spat blood, coughing loudly. He didn't speak; he couldn't speak. There was too much pain. As he looked up at the woman he smiled vaguely and the fire behind his eyes, the sheer defiance of a man who would not give in to brutality shone through them. "Xsh-men shtrain... 'mster... Xsh. tgh. cughle. oh. s'ven. tgh. omega," he sputtered.

He passed out. Even unconscious he was in pain.




Today

"Well, here we are again." The woman smiled, sitting across from the obviously labouring Lexington. "Who are the X-Men, Alex?"

They had broken Lex through a combination of physical pain and starvation. They had repaired his teeth, for the most part, but only so they could beat him again and again every day. After thirty six hours without food and water, he'd started to become delirious and by the time they'd brought him back to the room on the fourth day he was all but mad with discomfort. "They're superheroes, a group of men and women who protect the innocent and defend humanity from powers beyond their comprehension." He wheezed as he spoke, his eyes full of hot tears. "I'm nominally one of them, a trainee, but more experienced than a lot of the full members."

"Powers beyond our comprehension. I see." She sneered. "So why aren't you a team member if you're so experienced?"

Lex had thought about that question for most of the past two years. He had the discipline, and now he had the control of his powers, what was keeping him from being a full member of the team? "I don't trust myself, you're people have shown me a darkness within myself that I have to fight to be with the team. The rage inside me, the desire to kill my enemies is always at odds with the Professor's reasons for the X-Men's existence. He wants us to help people, but I am not sure that's where I belong. I'm a soldier... maybe warrior is more accurate, because I'm bad at following orders." He concentrated on his breathing for a minute, controlling the turmoil beneath the surface. His friends would accept him into their ranks but Lex still didn't know if it was where he belonged. At that moment he didn't know if he'd ever have the chance to figure it out.

"So tell me what your X-Men have done, Alex? Who have you fought and where? We're in no hurry." She said as she picked up her pen.

"Uh," Lex stammered, he was having a hard time remembering much of anything, let alone specific operations. "I think we were in India at one point, fought the military there; I know we've fought Magneto and the brotherhood. We were at the breakout from the SHIELD installation, try to round up mutants before they slipped away. There were tons of other mission reports but I can't really remember them right now. I'm normally quite good at this."

"You fought against India's government forces. Interesting. Was it because you didn't like India's policies or their government?"

"They attempted to start a war with mutants as the centerpiece of the force and to usurp a lawful government. I think that the Professor had a problem with allowing that to happen, at the very least because it sets a terrible precedent. If mutants become the foot soldiers of war then the concept of MAD becomes even more volatile, if only because of the variety of ways a country can be destroyed." There were too many mutants with powers that could wipe out the whole of humanity if properly channeled or increased. "We stepped in and prevented the deaths of millions. In hindsight we may have set ourselves up as the mutant police of the world, but I was not in charge of the decision. I merely chose to accept the consequences of joining them in their battle."

He paused a bit before whispering, "I also lost my powers for half a year afterwards. It was a bad time for me."

"I find it interesting that you're so blaise about a handful of mutants being able to dictate politics to billions of people because of their, what was it, 'powers beyond our comprehension'? If anything, Alex, you can see why mutants need to be controlled, because just one can do so much damage unless there's a way to stop them, and a group of them can set themselves us as their own kingdom; answerable to no one." She smiled. "We have many more questions, but before we get to them, I want you to consider this, Alex. Very soon, you will return to being a warrior. You will face mutant terrorists toe to toe and make the world safe from them, all in the service of billions of ordinary people. And when you die, your loss will be mourned. I think you'll be happy in your place as a mutate."

Lex cringed without meaning to as the woman spoke the last word. Thoughts of a young girl came unbidden and a tear streaked his cheek. For all his pain she had suffered far worse before the end. "I trust the Professor explicitly. I don't want to be involved in controlling anyone and I know that in his heart he doesn't want that either, otherwise he would have become a compatriot of Magneto." He paused, thinking before he spoke. "I told you the truth, we set an awful precedent. We showed the world what we're capable of. I do not think that anyone has the right to use mutants as their pawns, it will never end well. I'd tell you you're making a mistake, but I have the feeling that sooner or later you'll figure that out for yourself... the only question will be whether it costs you your life to do so."

He dropped his head out of exhaustion and the desire to hide the defiance in his eyes. "May I have some water, please?"