Columbia, the speech
Jan. 24th, 2005 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe speech itself. Afterwards, Strange and Hank are bonding as only two academics can when possible trouble appears.
There were only five steps up to the podium that had been set up next to the parking lot, but to Amanda they might as well have been the climb to the top of Mount Everest. Heart hammering in her chest, she made her slow way up them, keenly aware of the thousands of eyes - not all of them friendly - upon her. She was greeted at the top by the dean of the school, who said something to her; for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was a second later, but no doubt it had been intended as reassuring. Certainly he had put a hand on her shoulder as he directed her to the microphone. Swallowing hard, Amanda let herself be nudged towards it, gripping the edges of the podium in a white-knuckled grip as a young man in the black Columbia Memorial t-shirt and jeans scooted forward to adjust the microphone height for her, as it was towering almost over the top of her head. Giving her a brief thumbs-up and a grin as he finished, the technician scurried back again, and she was alone. Alone in front of what seemed like an endless crowd of people.
Why was she doing this again?
"Um, hello?" she said hesitantly into the mike, and there was a squeal of feedback as she leaned too close. Pulling back a bit, she tried again. "Thanks for havin' me."
There was an amused titter from the crowd, and she flushed pink with embarrassment. She was making a right balls up of this. From here she could see the makeshift shrine against the parking lot fence that had evolved in the days and weeks and months after the attacks: ribbons and small bouquets of flowers and cards tied or wedged to the chain link fence, stuffed toys sat carefully against it, candles… In her mind's eye she saw people screaming, people running, people dying, and her resolve nearly broke. And then she caught sight of a banner, held by a young boy not much older than Kyle. 'No more muties = No more Columbias,' it read, and dull anger washed through her. That was the reason she was doing this.
"My name is Amanda Sefton, and I was here six months ago," she went on, voice filled with a sudden confidence. She and Strange had agreed that she'd modify her accent so that people could understand what she was saying - for once communication was more important than her sense of nationalism. "I had a class with my tutor that day, and I was meeting a friend in the car park afterwards so we could go to lunch. And that's when the killing started."
There was a low, sympathetic murmur from the crowd, and bouyed by this, she went on, words ringing out clearly. "I don't need to tell you what I saw - we've all seen the news coverage on TV a hundred times. But what I do need to tell you is that I'm a mutant."
She and Strange had debated long on this part, what to say, what spell to use as an example… He'd supported her decision, but had asked her to try and not confuse people by bringing the issue of magic up. It was enough that she was a mutant. Focussing on the plastic cup of water that someone provided for her should she need it, she gently levitated it into the air, until it was floating at her head height - let them think she was telekinetic. By now the crowd's murmur had grown in volume, and had lost the sympathetic edge. "I'm a mutant," she continued, leaving the cup where it was for now. "The same as the people who attacked us were. I tried to use my powers to stop them, to protect the people around me, but they were stronger than I was, and I ended up getting shot. Luckily only with rubber bullets, or I wouldn't be here talking to you today."
"Too bad!" called out a voice from among the FoH types, and there was movement from the police towards that area.
"I didn't have to tell you that," she continued, ignoring the heckler. "I could have come up here and given you a survivor's story, the same as some of the other people you've already heard from today. The same way I didn't have to try an' help that day. It would have been easy for me to use my powers to protect myself, to hide, but I couldn't do that. Not then, and not now."
Another FoHer called out something she didn't catch, but he was almost immediately shouted down by several others, and she couldn't help smiling. Among the crowd were people nodding, listening to her, and she glanced over at where Doctor Strange and Manuel and Hank were standing. Manuel might have lost his powers, but she could still feel the pride and love he was radiating down the link. She wished he could remember that he'd saved her life, and Nathan's, that day - he was the real hero, not her.
"I'm not from 'round here - you might have noticed the accent," she went on, drawing a ripple of laughter from a large section of the crowd. "I'm from a town in England called Brighton - some of you might have heard of it. Any way, it's a sort of centre for alternative lifestyles - it's pretty hard to shock us down there. Gay, straight, transgender, mutant, human, black, white, green, blue… it doesn't matter. People are just people, regardless of what they look like, who they sleep with, or what twists their genes take. An' that's the same everywhere. Even here in the States." Her mouth was dry, and she plucked the glass out of the air and took a sip before putting it back, still floating next to her. "Yes, the people who did this terrible thing six months ago today, they were mutants. But that wasn't why they did what they did."
Amanda paused again, seeing the pyrokinetic's laughing face in her mind again, and unable to help a shudder. "They did it 'cause they were full of hate, because they enjoyed hurtin' an' killin' an' destroyin'," she continued, accent thickening slightly as her throat tightened. She had considered telling the truth, but in the end she couldn't do that to Nathan, to the school. It was just too dangerous, even with Mistra on the run. "An' that's not somethin' that's restricted to mutants, just as it's not restricted to any particular country, or religion, or anythin' else. Adolf Hitler was human, and look what he did."
Taking another sip of water, she went into the last part of the speech. "No-one has the patent out on violence an' hate. It's a choice, an' 'cause of that, we have the chance to try and stop anythin' like this happening again. And that's why I got up here today and told you all that I was a mutie." She used the derogatory term deliberately. "I can't change what I am, same as you can't change any person's genetics. But you can change their behaviour, teach 'em that there are other ways of doin' things than violence, teach 'em t' judge people not by the colour of their skin, or by the fact they can lift stuff with their minds…" The cup did a little dance, bobbing around not unlike George the werelight and not spilling a drop of water. "…Or that they prefer t' sleep with boys instead of girls, or the other way 'round… If you teach people that, that's what'll stop this sort of thing. Not killin' or beatin' up muties," and she aimed this directly at the boy with the sign she'd first seen. "No more mutants won't mean no more Columbias. People will always find a way to kill, if they hate enough. You don't need powers for that." She took a deep breath, realising her hands were shaking. "That's all I have t' say."
Applause broke out as she stepped away from the podium, forgetting the plastic cup still floating in the air. Not thunderous applause by any means, patches of audience remaining stubbornly silent and still, glowering at her as she left, but enough. It was enough.
After the speech, Amanda rejoins Hank and Strange, and they have an encounter with Tommy and two other FoHers. Things get impassioned, Angelo joins in, and the arrival of the police breaks things up
"Thank you, Ms Sefton," the Dean said into the microphone, taking her place. "Ah, I think you forgot something…?" He indicated the cup, and Amanda paused on the steps, flushing scarlet.
"Oops," she said, and gestured, lowering the cup back to the podium. There was another ripple of laughter from the crowd. "Sorry 'bout that, guv."
"Not to worry, young lady," he said with a slightly bemused smile. "Our next speaker comes to us from…"
At the bottom of the steps, Amanda flung herself into the surprised Strange's arms with an almost-hysterical-with-relief laugh. "Bloody hell, I can't believe I did that!" she exclaimed as Hank looked on, protectively close.
"You did wonderfully, Amanda," Hank said proudly, his blue eyes very bright behind the little glasses that he wore more often when disguised as himself. He fished out a handkerchief and dabbed at them. "I'm terribly proud of you, and I can't claim to have had even a tiny hand in making you so brave and wise." He clapped Strange gently on the back. "You, my friend, must be even prouder."
"Oh, believe me, I am," Strange replied, awkwardly patting Amanda on the back. "But the full credit must go to Amanda. My dear, you did beautifully."
Amanda blushed rosy red. "I nearly choked," she admitted. "When I first got up there an' saw everyone lookin' at me..." She disentangled herself from the hug, realising in her exuberance she had pounced her rather stiff and straight-laced tutor. "I couldn't have done it without you," she told him, still grinning ear to ear with the rush.
"You did wonderfully," Hank said firmly. "I'm sure that those we're gathered here to remember would have appreciated it." He'd known several people who'd died or been badly injured... colleagues, students he'd met at guest lectures and stayed friendly with. He had kept quiet about it, not wanting to upset Nathan or Amanda even more, but he knew they wouldn't want what happened to them to be used against mutants as a whole.
"Well, most of 'em any way..." Amanda said, remembering the FoH hecklers.
"And speaking of which, perhaps we should more away to less exposed areas?" Strange suggested, giving Amanda's shoulder a squeeze before letting her step back fully. "Rejoin your classmates? No doubt they will be wanting to share in your success." Amanda nodded, and began to head that way, Strange and Hank on her heels like two academic mother hens. "You were saying you've attended here for lectures and the like?" Strange asked in a low voice to Hank.
Hank nodded. "Many times. Only once... since. My colleagues and I agreed that it would be best to give the students time to calm down before springing me on them. It's fairly widely known that I'm a mutant, even if I keep the fur hidden."
"Probably best for all concerned," Strange agreed. "Especially for those who lost friends, colleagues... Students." The last was said with a small catch in the magician's voice, even though his eyes never left the girl in front of them.
Hank nodded, touching his shoulder lightly in sympathy. Strange wasn't really all that tactile, but Hank was, and he'd found that it generally helped more than it didn't. "I've tried not to mention it," he said softly. "I didn't want to upset her... or Nathan... any more. It was hard enough for them just knowing that people had died, without having to listen to me talk about lost friends."
"It does make it more difficult, yes." Strange didn't pull away from the touch, which was as close as to accepting the gesture as he could, considering he barely knew Hank. He did like the man, however, found in him a commonality he'd seldom found in others. "I think that was the most difficult part. Coming down the steps of my building, seeing students I knew burning and dying. Their auras..." His throat tightened despite himself. "I haven't spoken of it to anyone, really, since that day. It was difficult to explain my role..." He smiled wryly. "Magic is not exactly commonplace."
Hank nodded. "And I was away.... I didn't know what was happening until it was all over." He sighed. "It's the drawback of being who and what we are, I suppose... because we know we can do something, most of the time, it's hard not to blame ourselves for not being able to do more. Life would be so much easier if we were, like most people, convinced that we can't actually change the world." He shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Not that I'd ever want to feel that way, myself... but it would make life easier."
"I never wanted to change the world," Strange admitted. "Up until last year, I was content with my books and my studies. Then Ms Wisdom called me, practically begging me to take on Amanda..." His expression was both affectionate and bemused. A man hit by the onrushing train that was a teenage mutant witch. "I've learned you cannot ignore the world. It has rather abrupt ways of getting your attention. I only wish... I'd been able to do more, save more..."
"Welcome to being a superhero," Hank said a little sadly. "No matter how many people we help, how many we save... there are always more that we can't. And because we've taken on the responsibility for trying to save them, we also take on the guilt when we fail. But it's better than not trying at all."
"This is true," Strange agreed. "So we do what we..." There was movement, counter to the crowd listening to the next speaker with respectful attention, and he reached out to grab Amanda's shoulder and pull her closer to him.
"What?" she demanded, then stilled as she caught sight of what he had over the heads of the crowd - a small group of FoH people, all just teens.
Hank moved behind them and close, using them to mask at least some of his bulk until he was sure bringing it out and waving it around was a good idea. And, also, from where he was standing he could grab Amanda and flip her around behind him probably a lot quicker than any of the kids confronting them could move. "What have we here.." he murmured.
Tommy walked up to the group, flanked on either side by Duncan and Josh. They'd been the ones making cat calls during her speech and now were ready to go in for the kill. "So, the little mutant is here to try and get some sympathy." He smirked as he crossed his arms.
Next to him Duncan sneered as he added, "Too bad any sane person would see through the act. You're just trying to spin this to your advantage."
"But everyone knows Mutant Rights is a joke." Josh was the last to chime in, the tallest of the group. He looked up to meet Hank's challenging gaze, smirking.
Amanda flushed angrily, and opened her mouth to retort, but remembered her own words about scenes to Shiro and closed it again. There had to be a less confronting way to deal with this. As it was she wasn't threatened by these three, no matter how big they tried to be. More saddened that they couldn't leave well enough alone, even today.
"Children," Strange murmured under his breath. "Foolish, hateful children." Fixing the three with a cold glare as he squeezed Amanda's shoulder meaningfully - let us deal with this - he added, aloud and coldly: "And why precisely are you three here today? Did you know one of those killed or hurt? Were you directly affected by events here that day? Or are you just trying to spin this to your own advantage?" A note of contempt entered his voice. "If that is the case, I'd trouble you to leave us alone and return to whatever rock it is you crawled out from under."
Tommy snorted with laughter, sharing an amused
look with Duncan and Josh. "I think everybody was effected by what happed here and by thousands of other terrorist attacks by your kind, causing billions of dollars worth of damage and an uncountable amount of casualties?" He raised an eyebrow daring any of them to deny it.
"So, do all of human kind a favor and crawl back
to your 'special' little school. Leave the humans to clean up your mess." Duncan sneered, kicking at the ground. "Its enough that you exist, but your stupid powers cost people here their families and their friends in a place they should have been safe."
Shaking his head, Tommy added, "And yet, you're not being held responsible for your actions. A normal human would get the death penalty for what was done here. You all get to go free. It's against what this country stands for and it's purely disgusting that disregard of the law is allowed."
Josh didn't say anything but nodded at what both Tommy and Duncan said, still meeting Hank's gaze.
Hank took a deep breath, reminding himself that he could not pound all three obnoxious little brats into the ground like tent pegs. It wouldn't look good. Instead, he slowly and deliberately leaned forward a little and walked around in front of Amanda... shambling four-limbed on his knuckles as
well as his feet. He was in no mood to be tactful here.
"Do I take it, lads, that you are accusing us of having something to do with this?" he said in the very cool, mild voice that indicated that he was very angry. "That you think that, in some way, we are responsible for the carnage here? I advise you to consider that making slanderous and incendiary statements in the presence of witnesses is an actionable offense."
"An' if you want t' talk death penalty, why not start with the people who sent those bastards here in the first place?" Amanda chimed in, before another warning squeeze reminded her it wasn't just her safety she was risking by telling the truth. "You just don't get it, do you? We're not some big mass of mutant evil. We're people same as you. Good ones an' bad ones."
Josh was the one to answer Hank, still staring at him calming, taking in the walking on all fours with a sneer. "We are not accusing you of anything. It's your entire race. One child with mutant powers is just as dangerous as a child with gun. Can you honestly tell me that none of you haven't hurt someone on 'accident' with your powers, even each other?" He snorted softly. "Please...you're all a menace to society, human and mutant alike."
With Josh still taking on Hank, Tommy smirked at
Amanda. "You're the one who said the evil word, not me sweetheart. We just don't approve of the special treatment you all get from the government and the law. A good person can be tried for murder just as well as a bad person."
Duncan piped in again, leaning in tauntingly. "The same rules should apply to mutants. You guys want equal rights correct? Why don't you start by being responsible for your own actions!"
Hank snorted quietly. "I can assure you, I have never in my life accidentally hurt anyone with my powers." He lifted shovel-sized hands and spread them. "These... and my generally apelike physique... are my only mutant power, and while I won't say I've never hurt anyone with them, it was never accidental." He grinned wolfishly. "And high school football is a rough game. They saw me coming." He'd been a little ashamed of prostituting his intellect by playing football to gain a measure of acceptance... but it had been fun. And, for a change, he actually hadn't always been the biggest person in a group. "Actually, the vast majority of mutant powers are entirely harmless... unless you consider the ability to turn everything one touches slightly pink, or a need to breathe helium instead of oxygen, a danger to you. A great many people have mutations so minor that they never even realize it themselves."
He turned to Duncan, scowling. "And as for you, young man... I assure you, we are all quite capable of taking responsibility for our own actions. But I will not, and will never, take responsibility for the actions of those others who, by reason of an adjusted genome, are suddenly classed as 'my people'. Those who attacked here today are not 'my people', and they never will be. I have taken oath to that effect... specifically, an oath which includes the phrase 'I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm'. The Hippocratic Oath, gentlemen, the modern version. I am a doctor... a healer of the sick and injured, sworn to prevent harm where I can, and never to inflict it myself. As such, I consider myself not only a part of humanity, but responsible for protecting it... from itself, if necessary."
Angelo, approaching to join the group, realized what was going on and started to move faster: the more people facing the Junior FoH, the better to scare them off.
"So you are one of the sane ones, doesn't matter. You are still a danger that while you try to keep yourself restrained, what's to say one day you won't snap? Plus what's to stop your precious children," Tommy nodded pointedly to Amanda, " from straying from your noble example? Even from just your wars between yourselves, innocent people have been harmed on both sides. Not to mention the extra financial and emotional burden your kind as wrought on the citizens of this country. Frankly, you're all freaks and one can't discriminate right?" Tommy's sneer grew larger as he threw that last bit in.
Josh noticed someone approaching that looked vaguely familiar and as Tommy talked, he hit Duncan's shoulder and pointed at the approaching teenager. It took Duncan a few moments to find what Josh was looking at and when he did catch it, he couldn't stop the sneer.
"Well well well...Tommy, look who Josh spotted. It's the freak with the stretchy skin and the stupidity problem." Duncan said loudly to get their leader's attention.
"Figures he'd be hanging out with this crowd." Josh added, rolling his eyes.
Hank glared. "And what, might I ask, is to keep you from doing the precise same thing?" he asked mildly. "Having power does not mean that one automatically desires to use it against others, any more than having possession of a gun would immediately fill you with the desire to shoot at people... at least, I will do you the credit of assuming that it would not." He glanced over, then, as Angelo approached, and reached out a long arm to rest a gently warning hand on his shoulder. Any confrontation above the level of 'intense but polite disagreement' was a bad idea right now.
Angelo nodded to Hank, fully aware that this was not the place and time, then looked coolly back at the boys. "Stupidity, huh? Well now. I've met you twice, kids, or some of you. The first time, you were beatin' the hell out of a guy with a completely passive power just for tryin' to protect a ten-year-old boy. The second time, you ambushed me an' you seemed to think it'd take eight of you to take me down. There's a word for that, it wouldn't be used to describe me, an' it's not stupidity. Or maybe it is."
"These are the ones who...?" It seemed Amanda was going to forget herself and the warning hold Strange had on her, but then there was a stirring as the crowd started separately to let several uniformed police through.
That made Tommy frown. "We do not attack children. We heard about that attack, and yes a few them were from our organization, but my friends and I have more honor then that. We do not attack those who can not defend themselves. Unlike some, we do have have some honor." He replied heatedly, glaring at Josh who had been part of the group that had attacked the kids. Josh tried hard not to flinch and save face in front of the mutants. He gotten has much as he'd given from Tommy when Tommy heard what had happened.
Then he looked back at Angelo, sneering, "And it may have taken eight of us, but you did have an unfair advantage, but the point is, we did get you down, did we not?"
Josh had been looking away still from embarrassment and he saw the police pushing through. He quickly tapped Tommy on the shoulder and whispered quickly in his ear, "Cops! We gotta go now!"
Tommy looked to where he was pointing, then back at the mutants. "Well it has been my pleasure, but we must go." He winked at Amanda. "Nice speech, I do hope it turned some heads. In our direction of course."
Then with a signal from Tommy, the three boys disappeared into the crowd.
There were only five steps up to the podium that had been set up next to the parking lot, but to Amanda they might as well have been the climb to the top of Mount Everest. Heart hammering in her chest, she made her slow way up them, keenly aware of the thousands of eyes - not all of them friendly - upon her. She was greeted at the top by the dean of the school, who said something to her; for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was a second later, but no doubt it had been intended as reassuring. Certainly he had put a hand on her shoulder as he directed her to the microphone. Swallowing hard, Amanda let herself be nudged towards it, gripping the edges of the podium in a white-knuckled grip as a young man in the black Columbia Memorial t-shirt and jeans scooted forward to adjust the microphone height for her, as it was towering almost over the top of her head. Giving her a brief thumbs-up and a grin as he finished, the technician scurried back again, and she was alone. Alone in front of what seemed like an endless crowd of people.
Why was she doing this again?
"Um, hello?" she said hesitantly into the mike, and there was a squeal of feedback as she leaned too close. Pulling back a bit, she tried again. "Thanks for havin' me."
There was an amused titter from the crowd, and she flushed pink with embarrassment. She was making a right balls up of this. From here she could see the makeshift shrine against the parking lot fence that had evolved in the days and weeks and months after the attacks: ribbons and small bouquets of flowers and cards tied or wedged to the chain link fence, stuffed toys sat carefully against it, candles… In her mind's eye she saw people screaming, people running, people dying, and her resolve nearly broke. And then she caught sight of a banner, held by a young boy not much older than Kyle. 'No more muties = No more Columbias,' it read, and dull anger washed through her. That was the reason she was doing this.
"My name is Amanda Sefton, and I was here six months ago," she went on, voice filled with a sudden confidence. She and Strange had agreed that she'd modify her accent so that people could understand what she was saying - for once communication was more important than her sense of nationalism. "I had a class with my tutor that day, and I was meeting a friend in the car park afterwards so we could go to lunch. And that's when the killing started."
There was a low, sympathetic murmur from the crowd, and bouyed by this, she went on, words ringing out clearly. "I don't need to tell you what I saw - we've all seen the news coverage on TV a hundred times. But what I do need to tell you is that I'm a mutant."
She and Strange had debated long on this part, what to say, what spell to use as an example… He'd supported her decision, but had asked her to try and not confuse people by bringing the issue of magic up. It was enough that she was a mutant. Focussing on the plastic cup of water that someone provided for her should she need it, she gently levitated it into the air, until it was floating at her head height - let them think she was telekinetic. By now the crowd's murmur had grown in volume, and had lost the sympathetic edge. "I'm a mutant," she continued, leaving the cup where it was for now. "The same as the people who attacked us were. I tried to use my powers to stop them, to protect the people around me, but they were stronger than I was, and I ended up getting shot. Luckily only with rubber bullets, or I wouldn't be here talking to you today."
"Too bad!" called out a voice from among the FoH types, and there was movement from the police towards that area.
"I didn't have to tell you that," she continued, ignoring the heckler. "I could have come up here and given you a survivor's story, the same as some of the other people you've already heard from today. The same way I didn't have to try an' help that day. It would have been easy for me to use my powers to protect myself, to hide, but I couldn't do that. Not then, and not now."
Another FoHer called out something she didn't catch, but he was almost immediately shouted down by several others, and she couldn't help smiling. Among the crowd were people nodding, listening to her, and she glanced over at where Doctor Strange and Manuel and Hank were standing. Manuel might have lost his powers, but she could still feel the pride and love he was radiating down the link. She wished he could remember that he'd saved her life, and Nathan's, that day - he was the real hero, not her.
"I'm not from 'round here - you might have noticed the accent," she went on, drawing a ripple of laughter from a large section of the crowd. "I'm from a town in England called Brighton - some of you might have heard of it. Any way, it's a sort of centre for alternative lifestyles - it's pretty hard to shock us down there. Gay, straight, transgender, mutant, human, black, white, green, blue… it doesn't matter. People are just people, regardless of what they look like, who they sleep with, or what twists their genes take. An' that's the same everywhere. Even here in the States." Her mouth was dry, and she plucked the glass out of the air and took a sip before putting it back, still floating next to her. "Yes, the people who did this terrible thing six months ago today, they were mutants. But that wasn't why they did what they did."
Amanda paused again, seeing the pyrokinetic's laughing face in her mind again, and unable to help a shudder. "They did it 'cause they were full of hate, because they enjoyed hurtin' an' killin' an' destroyin'," she continued, accent thickening slightly as her throat tightened. She had considered telling the truth, but in the end she couldn't do that to Nathan, to the school. It was just too dangerous, even with Mistra on the run. "An' that's not somethin' that's restricted to mutants, just as it's not restricted to any particular country, or religion, or anythin' else. Adolf Hitler was human, and look what he did."
Taking another sip of water, she went into the last part of the speech. "No-one has the patent out on violence an' hate. It's a choice, an' 'cause of that, we have the chance to try and stop anythin' like this happening again. And that's why I got up here today and told you all that I was a mutie." She used the derogatory term deliberately. "I can't change what I am, same as you can't change any person's genetics. But you can change their behaviour, teach 'em that there are other ways of doin' things than violence, teach 'em t' judge people not by the colour of their skin, or by the fact they can lift stuff with their minds…" The cup did a little dance, bobbing around not unlike George the werelight and not spilling a drop of water. "…Or that they prefer t' sleep with boys instead of girls, or the other way 'round… If you teach people that, that's what'll stop this sort of thing. Not killin' or beatin' up muties," and she aimed this directly at the boy with the sign she'd first seen. "No more mutants won't mean no more Columbias. People will always find a way to kill, if they hate enough. You don't need powers for that." She took a deep breath, realising her hands were shaking. "That's all I have t' say."
Applause broke out as she stepped away from the podium, forgetting the plastic cup still floating in the air. Not thunderous applause by any means, patches of audience remaining stubbornly silent and still, glowering at her as she left, but enough. It was enough.
After the speech, Amanda rejoins Hank and Strange, and they have an encounter with Tommy and two other FoHers. Things get impassioned, Angelo joins in, and the arrival of the police breaks things up
"Thank you, Ms Sefton," the Dean said into the microphone, taking her place. "Ah, I think you forgot something…?" He indicated the cup, and Amanda paused on the steps, flushing scarlet.
"Oops," she said, and gestured, lowering the cup back to the podium. There was another ripple of laughter from the crowd. "Sorry 'bout that, guv."
"Not to worry, young lady," he said with a slightly bemused smile. "Our next speaker comes to us from…"
At the bottom of the steps, Amanda flung herself into the surprised Strange's arms with an almost-hysterical-with-relief laugh. "Bloody hell, I can't believe I did that!" she exclaimed as Hank looked on, protectively close.
"You did wonderfully, Amanda," Hank said proudly, his blue eyes very bright behind the little glasses that he wore more often when disguised as himself. He fished out a handkerchief and dabbed at them. "I'm terribly proud of you, and I can't claim to have had even a tiny hand in making you so brave and wise." He clapped Strange gently on the back. "You, my friend, must be even prouder."
"Oh, believe me, I am," Strange replied, awkwardly patting Amanda on the back. "But the full credit must go to Amanda. My dear, you did beautifully."
Amanda blushed rosy red. "I nearly choked," she admitted. "When I first got up there an' saw everyone lookin' at me..." She disentangled herself from the hug, realising in her exuberance she had pounced her rather stiff and straight-laced tutor. "I couldn't have done it without you," she told him, still grinning ear to ear with the rush.
"You did wonderfully," Hank said firmly. "I'm sure that those we're gathered here to remember would have appreciated it." He'd known several people who'd died or been badly injured... colleagues, students he'd met at guest lectures and stayed friendly with. He had kept quiet about it, not wanting to upset Nathan or Amanda even more, but he knew they wouldn't want what happened to them to be used against mutants as a whole.
"Well, most of 'em any way..." Amanda said, remembering the FoH hecklers.
"And speaking of which, perhaps we should more away to less exposed areas?" Strange suggested, giving Amanda's shoulder a squeeze before letting her step back fully. "Rejoin your classmates? No doubt they will be wanting to share in your success." Amanda nodded, and began to head that way, Strange and Hank on her heels like two academic mother hens. "You were saying you've attended here for lectures and the like?" Strange asked in a low voice to Hank.
Hank nodded. "Many times. Only once... since. My colleagues and I agreed that it would be best to give the students time to calm down before springing me on them. It's fairly widely known that I'm a mutant, even if I keep the fur hidden."
"Probably best for all concerned," Strange agreed. "Especially for those who lost friends, colleagues... Students." The last was said with a small catch in the magician's voice, even though his eyes never left the girl in front of them.
Hank nodded, touching his shoulder lightly in sympathy. Strange wasn't really all that tactile, but Hank was, and he'd found that it generally helped more than it didn't. "I've tried not to mention it," he said softly. "I didn't want to upset her... or Nathan... any more. It was hard enough for them just knowing that people had died, without having to listen to me talk about lost friends."
"It does make it more difficult, yes." Strange didn't pull away from the touch, which was as close as to accepting the gesture as he could, considering he barely knew Hank. He did like the man, however, found in him a commonality he'd seldom found in others. "I think that was the most difficult part. Coming down the steps of my building, seeing students I knew burning and dying. Their auras..." His throat tightened despite himself. "I haven't spoken of it to anyone, really, since that day. It was difficult to explain my role..." He smiled wryly. "Magic is not exactly commonplace."
Hank nodded. "And I was away.... I didn't know what was happening until it was all over." He sighed. "It's the drawback of being who and what we are, I suppose... because we know we can do something, most of the time, it's hard not to blame ourselves for not being able to do more. Life would be so much easier if we were, like most people, convinced that we can't actually change the world." He shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Not that I'd ever want to feel that way, myself... but it would make life easier."
"I never wanted to change the world," Strange admitted. "Up until last year, I was content with my books and my studies. Then Ms Wisdom called me, practically begging me to take on Amanda..." His expression was both affectionate and bemused. A man hit by the onrushing train that was a teenage mutant witch. "I've learned you cannot ignore the world. It has rather abrupt ways of getting your attention. I only wish... I'd been able to do more, save more..."
"Welcome to being a superhero," Hank said a little sadly. "No matter how many people we help, how many we save... there are always more that we can't. And because we've taken on the responsibility for trying to save them, we also take on the guilt when we fail. But it's better than not trying at all."
"This is true," Strange agreed. "So we do what we..." There was movement, counter to the crowd listening to the next speaker with respectful attention, and he reached out to grab Amanda's shoulder and pull her closer to him.
"What?" she demanded, then stilled as she caught sight of what he had over the heads of the crowd - a small group of FoH people, all just teens.
Hank moved behind them and close, using them to mask at least some of his bulk until he was sure bringing it out and waving it around was a good idea. And, also, from where he was standing he could grab Amanda and flip her around behind him probably a lot quicker than any of the kids confronting them could move. "What have we here.." he murmured.
Tommy walked up to the group, flanked on either side by Duncan and Josh. They'd been the ones making cat calls during her speech and now were ready to go in for the kill. "So, the little mutant is here to try and get some sympathy." He smirked as he crossed his arms.
Next to him Duncan sneered as he added, "Too bad any sane person would see through the act. You're just trying to spin this to your advantage."
"But everyone knows Mutant Rights is a joke." Josh was the last to chime in, the tallest of the group. He looked up to meet Hank's challenging gaze, smirking.
Amanda flushed angrily, and opened her mouth to retort, but remembered her own words about scenes to Shiro and closed it again. There had to be a less confronting way to deal with this. As it was she wasn't threatened by these three, no matter how big they tried to be. More saddened that they couldn't leave well enough alone, even today.
"Children," Strange murmured under his breath. "Foolish, hateful children." Fixing the three with a cold glare as he squeezed Amanda's shoulder meaningfully - let us deal with this - he added, aloud and coldly: "And why precisely are you three here today? Did you know one of those killed or hurt? Were you directly affected by events here that day? Or are you just trying to spin this to your own advantage?" A note of contempt entered his voice. "If that is the case, I'd trouble you to leave us alone and return to whatever rock it is you crawled out from under."
Tommy snorted with laughter, sharing an amused
look with Duncan and Josh. "I think everybody was effected by what happed here and by thousands of other terrorist attacks by your kind, causing billions of dollars worth of damage and an uncountable amount of casualties?" He raised an eyebrow daring any of them to deny it.
"So, do all of human kind a favor and crawl back
to your 'special' little school. Leave the humans to clean up your mess." Duncan sneered, kicking at the ground. "Its enough that you exist, but your stupid powers cost people here their families and their friends in a place they should have been safe."
Shaking his head, Tommy added, "And yet, you're not being held responsible for your actions. A normal human would get the death penalty for what was done here. You all get to go free. It's against what this country stands for and it's purely disgusting that disregard of the law is allowed."
Josh didn't say anything but nodded at what both Tommy and Duncan said, still meeting Hank's gaze.
Hank took a deep breath, reminding himself that he could not pound all three obnoxious little brats into the ground like tent pegs. It wouldn't look good. Instead, he slowly and deliberately leaned forward a little and walked around in front of Amanda... shambling four-limbed on his knuckles as
well as his feet. He was in no mood to be tactful here.
"Do I take it, lads, that you are accusing us of having something to do with this?" he said in the very cool, mild voice that indicated that he was very angry. "That you think that, in some way, we are responsible for the carnage here? I advise you to consider that making slanderous and incendiary statements in the presence of witnesses is an actionable offense."
"An' if you want t' talk death penalty, why not start with the people who sent those bastards here in the first place?" Amanda chimed in, before another warning squeeze reminded her it wasn't just her safety she was risking by telling the truth. "You just don't get it, do you? We're not some big mass of mutant evil. We're people same as you. Good ones an' bad ones."
Josh was the one to answer Hank, still staring at him calming, taking in the walking on all fours with a sneer. "We are not accusing you of anything. It's your entire race. One child with mutant powers is just as dangerous as a child with gun. Can you honestly tell me that none of you haven't hurt someone on 'accident' with your powers, even each other?" He snorted softly. "Please...you're all a menace to society, human and mutant alike."
With Josh still taking on Hank, Tommy smirked at
Amanda. "You're the one who said the evil word, not me sweetheart. We just don't approve of the special treatment you all get from the government and the law. A good person can be tried for murder just as well as a bad person."
Duncan piped in again, leaning in tauntingly. "The same rules should apply to mutants. You guys want equal rights correct? Why don't you start by being responsible for your own actions!"
Hank snorted quietly. "I can assure you, I have never in my life accidentally hurt anyone with my powers." He lifted shovel-sized hands and spread them. "These... and my generally apelike physique... are my only mutant power, and while I won't say I've never hurt anyone with them, it was never accidental." He grinned wolfishly. "And high school football is a rough game. They saw me coming." He'd been a little ashamed of prostituting his intellect by playing football to gain a measure of acceptance... but it had been fun. And, for a change, he actually hadn't always been the biggest person in a group. "Actually, the vast majority of mutant powers are entirely harmless... unless you consider the ability to turn everything one touches slightly pink, or a need to breathe helium instead of oxygen, a danger to you. A great many people have mutations so minor that they never even realize it themselves."
He turned to Duncan, scowling. "And as for you, young man... I assure you, we are all quite capable of taking responsibility for our own actions. But I will not, and will never, take responsibility for the actions of those others who, by reason of an adjusted genome, are suddenly classed as 'my people'. Those who attacked here today are not 'my people', and they never will be. I have taken oath to that effect... specifically, an oath which includes the phrase 'I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm'. The Hippocratic Oath, gentlemen, the modern version. I am a doctor... a healer of the sick and injured, sworn to prevent harm where I can, and never to inflict it myself. As such, I consider myself not only a part of humanity, but responsible for protecting it... from itself, if necessary."
Angelo, approaching to join the group, realized what was going on and started to move faster: the more people facing the Junior FoH, the better to scare them off.
"So you are one of the sane ones, doesn't matter. You are still a danger that while you try to keep yourself restrained, what's to say one day you won't snap? Plus what's to stop your precious children," Tommy nodded pointedly to Amanda, " from straying from your noble example? Even from just your wars between yourselves, innocent people have been harmed on both sides. Not to mention the extra financial and emotional burden your kind as wrought on the citizens of this country. Frankly, you're all freaks and one can't discriminate right?" Tommy's sneer grew larger as he threw that last bit in.
Josh noticed someone approaching that looked vaguely familiar and as Tommy talked, he hit Duncan's shoulder and pointed at the approaching teenager. It took Duncan a few moments to find what Josh was looking at and when he did catch it, he couldn't stop the sneer.
"Well well well...Tommy, look who Josh spotted. It's the freak with the stretchy skin and the stupidity problem." Duncan said loudly to get their leader's attention.
"Figures he'd be hanging out with this crowd." Josh added, rolling his eyes.
Hank glared. "And what, might I ask, is to keep you from doing the precise same thing?" he asked mildly. "Having power does not mean that one automatically desires to use it against others, any more than having possession of a gun would immediately fill you with the desire to shoot at people... at least, I will do you the credit of assuming that it would not." He glanced over, then, as Angelo approached, and reached out a long arm to rest a gently warning hand on his shoulder. Any confrontation above the level of 'intense but polite disagreement' was a bad idea right now.
Angelo nodded to Hank, fully aware that this was not the place and time, then looked coolly back at the boys. "Stupidity, huh? Well now. I've met you twice, kids, or some of you. The first time, you were beatin' the hell out of a guy with a completely passive power just for tryin' to protect a ten-year-old boy. The second time, you ambushed me an' you seemed to think it'd take eight of you to take me down. There's a word for that, it wouldn't be used to describe me, an' it's not stupidity. Or maybe it is."
"These are the ones who...?" It seemed Amanda was going to forget herself and the warning hold Strange had on her, but then there was a stirring as the crowd started separately to let several uniformed police through.
That made Tommy frown. "We do not attack children. We heard about that attack, and yes a few them were from our organization, but my friends and I have more honor then that. We do not attack those who can not defend themselves. Unlike some, we do have have some honor." He replied heatedly, glaring at Josh who had been part of the group that had attacked the kids. Josh tried hard not to flinch and save face in front of the mutants. He gotten has much as he'd given from Tommy when Tommy heard what had happened.
Then he looked back at Angelo, sneering, "And it may have taken eight of us, but you did have an unfair advantage, but the point is, we did get you down, did we not?"
Josh had been looking away still from embarrassment and he saw the police pushing through. He quickly tapped Tommy on the shoulder and whispered quickly in his ear, "Cops! We gotta go now!"
Tommy looked to where he was pointing, then back at the mutants. "Well it has been my pleasure, but we must go." He winked at Amanda. "Nice speech, I do hope it turned some heads. In our direction of course."
Then with a signal from Tommy, the three boys disappeared into the crowd.
