The Trial of Jean Grey - Log 5

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The remaining commanders discuss what to do about Jean and the Guard



The CIC of the mansion was used to being filled with men and women in X-Men leathers, deploying by Blackbird to face one threat or another, ready to risk everything to save the day. The problem with risking everything is that eventually it catches up with you, and the butcher's bill of injured and dead amoungst the ranks of the X-Men were crippling. Remy leaned back in the chair, watching as the last of the information was uploaded to the holographic projector. Scott had to be helped to his chair, and slumped there from a cocktail of pain and exhaustion, ceding the floor to Remy.

"De situation is getting 'bout as dire as Remy ever scene. India has just suffered de second nuclear attack in less den five years at de hands of a mutant. De media has gone long past ugly and it wouldn't surprise me to see new anti-mutant legislation fast-tracked within de week. On top of dat, de Indian government confirmed to Xavier dat dey have Jean Grey in custody and based on de evidence, have her cold for de deaths of over 2 million citizens and counting. Before we go any further, Remy saw first hand dat it was Jean. But it didn't look right." He had already explained their hijacking of Apocalypse's teleport to escape ahead of the blast. "Hard to explain, but she looked... younger, maybe. So, what's de likelihood dat dey could have de wrong person?"

"Wrong person, right person, does it matter?" asked Emma. "With all the versions of us falling out of holes in the sky, who can tell which Jean it was they took? All I know is that the one on the boat wanted to go with the Guard rather than keep the fight going. Maybe because she was "our" Jean. Maybe because she killed two million people and was feeling guilty." Emma shrugged. "Maybe both. Or neither."

Doug tapped the fingers of his good hand against the table, considering Remy's question. "Given that my group faced some kind of...doppelgangers of ourselves, I'd say the possibility can't be ruled out?" Seeing himself as a Nazi had been disquieting. On top of that, the idea of Jean murdering over two million people just...didn't make sense. But then, very little of recent events was making much sense.

"It wasn't Jean," Scott said with an air of finality, "She wouldn't, couldn't do that," Scott had no idea what was happening right now, he had been at the mansion for decades now and was used to well the unusual but this was like nothing that he'd ever seen. Yet no matter what was going on he knew one thing, "she's not a killer. It could be one of these alternates, or maybe," Scott rubbed his head and sighed, "I don't know, but that wasn't my wife. And now she's in India about to go on trial for her life."

"Scott," Rogue said quietly, a sad look on her face. "I was on the ship when we got her out of the ocean....it was definitely Jean in that womb-thing." She sighed heavily before continuing. "She came out of it, the suppressor went on, and she was askin' for help..."

And here came the tears. Through all of this, Rogue had done her best to stay strong, to not break down, but reliving that moment -- it was too much to bear. "She was askin' for help, and we couldn't help her. I gave her my sweater...."

"I don't know if she's in control of her powers." The tone was flat, dead. Jim's body may have been at the table, but his eyes had an unfocused, far-away look that indicated he was not fully present in the conversation: the only visible sign of the psychic wound he'd received from the Imperial Guard. Nonetheless, he spoke with detached professionalism. "She lashed out when I touched her mind. I didn't have a chance to read much, but what I could sense was chaotic. She may be in pain because her powers are flaring, or else pain is what's behind the flare. She has a history of that. The fires and night terrors after Alkali Lake. The destruction of Muir could have affected her similarly." For an instant there was the faintest suggestion of a tremble in his voice, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. The telepath turned his dull eyes to Scott. "I've worked with Jean for a long time. I felt the increase in her power levels myself. We barely managed to fit her with the suppressor, and the only reason we could is that we were facing a reflex, not an intentional attack. I don't think she even knew we were there."

"We cannot decide her guilt or innocence ourselves," Ororo said then, pushing herself to stand and pace behind the chairs pulled up to the table. After a moment she stopped, forcing herself to remain still and calm as she faced the others. "Or divine the reasons why she may have done those things - if she did," she clarified, catching Scott's eye. Like him, she found it nearly impossible to believe that it was Jean who had caused such destruction and death. "But it seems at the very least we must entertain the idea that it is her being held prisoner, and decide what to do from there. I think we all must be able to see there is little chance that she will not be held culpable for these crimes by the Guard. Are we content to let that happen?"

"If she did this", Angelo said quietly, "she's not in her right mind. And if she didn't, we can't let her be held responsible. Which means finding out who did."

"If we don't think she did it then we have to go in and get her," Scott summarized, "We can find out who did it and let the guard deal with them later, but we don't leave one of ours behind if we think they're innocent." It didn't matter if Jean was his wife, ok it mattered a lot, but Scott would have felt the same way about anyone.

"Whatever you think of her guilt, or even her identity," said Emma quietly, "there are barely any of us left. And the Guard were willing to kill to retrieve her. What will we gain from rallying our threadbare forces to retrieve her? Will it help us fix the holes in reality? Stabilise the universes? Or will it just cost us more Namors?"

"De problem is dat de one clue dat we have to what is happening is Grey." Remy said, grimly. "Whether she is responsible or not, being attacked by alternate universes and seeing Apocalypse trying to make good of a thousands year old prophecy is a fact. If dey execute her, it might end any chance of us fixing them."

"You both have good points," Wanda said, her voice betraying her exhaustion. "Jean, or whatever is left of the woman we knew, appears to be the key to fixing our world and stopping Apocalypse. The firebird was the only thing in any of the writings or sources that indicated there was a way of stopping any of this. But..." She rubbed her hands over her face. "More of us will die trying to retrieve her, of that I have no doubt. But what other choice is left to us at this point?"

All this back and forth was ridiculous. Her tears now dried, she was left with her second favourite emotion: anger. Standing up, Rogue smacked a hand on the table, loudly. "We ain't got a choice." Rogue said bluntly. "We gotta do what's right for the world, and what's right for us. And that means we go after Jean." She gave everyone a pointed look. "And it is Jean. I talked to her after Muir. I saw the look in her eyes when she realized what she'd done. I saw her on that ship. Even if it's just 10% Jean in there, I ain't giving up on her, and if none of y'all wanna come, that's fine too. I can do it myself."

Scott shook his head as he struggled upright and nodded at Rogue, "You're not going in alone. I don't think that the Jean we know did this, maybe it was a doppleganger, or something else but I'm not going to stand by and let the guard just take her and put her on trial. I'm with you, if there is even a chance that it's the real Jean in there we need to get her back."

"I'm with Rogue too", Angelo said, quiet but unswerving. "If we can't keep the world together without Jean, we have to get her out of there."

Doug frowned, shifting uncomfortably in his seat from residual pain. "The Imperial Guard came in force for her. That means they'll be keeping her someplace they feel is safe to do so." His eyes lost focus slightly, his brain clearly searching down pathways of patterns. "I'm going to guess that there are only a few places they'd feel that way about. Let me see what I can dig up."

"Good. Dis isn't de time for a Spartacus moment. Emma and Wanda are right. Going after Jean, as beat up as we are, is going to take everyone healthy we have. And some of dose we can be sure won't come back. Dat's a hell of a price for 'ifs'." Remy's red on black eyes swept the room, meeting the stares of each of them. "We either decide to do it together or we going to fail. Wit' dat understood, are dere any objections?"

"Well then," Ororo said, when no protest came, glancing at her husband with steel in her eyes. "Let's go get her."