xp_logs | Clean Slate: Resolutions

xp_madin posting in

Following Kevin's questioning technique, Kane has a chat with Madin.

Magneto had left. Madin had picked themself up off the floor and shaken themself off and begun hammering at the door. It didn't budge. Exhausted, they finally sank back down onto the bed, glaring at the door. "Let me out," they said, for the hundredth time, hoping that someone would see it on the cameras. Hoping that whoever saw it wasn't the Brotherhood.

Kane took a deep breath before he opened the door and stepped into the holding room. He'd started the process that led to this. And even if it wasn't the exact same, Madin was in his custody. Which meant they were his responsibility until the end.

"Madin. I'd ask how you are, but my brain is actively rebelling at the idea of saying something that stupid." He said as he crossed over to the door.

He looked... calm. Unruffled. Fuck. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah. There was no attack. Sorry." Kane said as he keyed a code into the door and opened it. "Kevin Sydney, the guy who works for Snow Valley, always in a suit? He's a shapeshifter and decided to trick you as Magneto to find out if your loyalty was still to him. It cleared up some things but I'm sorry for it. I can't imagine how shitty that was to go through."

"What the fuck. What the actual fuck. Was Quire real or was that him, too?" Madin shook their head. "I thought everyone was dead, you fucker."

"Why wouldn't you think Quire wasn't real? How was he involved in this?" Kane said, pausing for a moment.

"He came and visited me. Checked if I was okay."

"Hmm..." Kane muttered, not needing to say anything further for the moment. Quire seemed to be playing his own game yet again. Instead, he simply pulled the door open. "Anyhow, you're free to go."

"That's it?" Madin stood and stared at him. "That's fucking it?" They shook their head, angry. "You lock me up, you do seriously fucked up mind games and that's it? 'Oh, yeah, the Brotherhood thing, that's fine. Off you go love. It's all right now.'" They tried for a Canadian accent. It was pure Texas.

"That's it." Kane said, keeping his anger quelled. "And the Brotherhood thing is not fine. But some of us know all too well how seductive Erik's pitch can be, and for a young person facing what you've faced, twenty years in a maximum security prison isn't likely to teach you anything you haven't already learned by getting out on your own."

"Sorry, not fine-fine but, you know." Madin waved a hand. "You're not turning me over to the feds?" They were dizzy with relief. "Do I have to leave?"

"That's your choice. You lied to us. This place, whatever you might think of it, is based on trust. There are ex-Brotherhood members here right now." Kane said. "If you don't want to deal with that, take your time, pack up, and we're happy to get you wherever you want to go next. But if you want to stay, you need to be honest." He paused and caught Madin's eyes. "That's not the easy option, Lots of people here have scars from the Brotherhood. They mourn people they care about that the Brotherhood killed. If you want to stay, that's what you'll face."

Madin closed their eyes. They couldn't look at him and say this. It came out almost as a whisper. "I joined because I didn't know what else to do. They said I could help. It was. What was I supposed to do? Wait till I got community detention in a year or so? They'd blown the whole place up. What? Was I just supposed to walk back into my cabin and sit down and wait for breakfast? They said I'd be helping mutants."

"I know. In your position, I can't honestly say I wouldn't have done the same thing." Kane agreed. "But for some people, that might not be enough. At least, not at first. For others, it might be that you lied more than your past. And some will absolve you in a heartbeat because you made a decision." Kane sighed. "I don't know. I can't speak for anyone else. What I can tell you is, if you want to stay, we need the truth from you. If you're willing to do that, you have a place here for as long as you want it."

Madin scrubbed at their eyes, rubbing away tears. "Really? I don't have to leave?" They gave a shakey laugh. "I'll have to give Alani her money back. She just helped me. No questions asked." Madin rubbed more tears. "Who fucking does that, you know?" They swallowed hard a couple of times and continued, "I'll do that. Full disclosure. Thank you for saying I can stay."

"You're in an impossible place. I understand why you lied to us." Kane said, rubbing his eyes for a second. "This place has always been meant as a haven. But, Magneto's made it clear that he considers this a war that we're on the other side of. It means we need to be sure, even if that means we can't be as open as we want to be. I don't know, just-" He sighed and shook his head. "Why don't you head back to your room? A couple of people will come talk to you in a few hours. Not sure who yet. We don't need your deepest secrets; just your real history."

Madin nodded. "I can do that. I --- I'll be honest. I swear."

Kane stepped back from the door, giving them clear access to the way out. "Anything past that is up to you. And now that you're free, you need to know. I'm the one who put you in here. I was the one that started digging. So, if that matters to you, I'm the one to blame."

They wanted to be angry at that but it was too much. Too much fear and exhaustion and emotion. "Jesus. I don't know what to say," Madin said. "I always kinda figured this was going to come out. I knew I should have left months ago if I didn't want people to know. I... If it wasn't you, it was going to be someone else or I'd have gotten comfy and thought around one of the telepaths. Fuck."

"Maybe." Kane said, pushing away the thoughts that were coming. "Take a few to rest, get your head together. You can ask them whatever you want as well. And... well, fuck, you can tell me to fuck all the way off and be right, but I hope you do find an honest place here."

Madin scrubbed away some more tears. "I guess I don't blame you. I know what they're like. I know how fucked they are. I'm just. I'm just so glad you didn't just stick me in a hole someplace or, I don't know. I was afraid you'd kill me."

"The fact that you thought that was a possibility is a sign of just how much we've failed." Kane said, giving one last and impossibly long look before he left.