"For crimes against the state, this court condemns Jean-Luc LeBeau, Henri LeBeau, Marius Boudreaux, and Julien Boudreaux to death."
"Court? What court? This was no trial!" Jean-Luc protested.
"Silence!" the man in the all black uniform ordered. They were in an old, crumbling warehouse. The makeshift platform was a stack of crates. Being held under guard in the old office Jean-Luc's youngest son and his wife stood watching. The unspoken threat hung in the air like the smell of dead fish. Marius Boudreaux grimaced as he was forced to his knees next to his son.
Four cracks of a gun later they all lay dead. Blood and brain matter splattered across the concrete floor like broken parade beads. Belle buried her face in Remy's shoulder, biting down hard on his collar to try to control her anger. Remy stroked her hair as he plotted revenge. He put on the stoic yet scared face he knew the man coming up the stairs expected.
The General, as everyone called him, looked at the teenagers. An adorable couple, he supposed. They were too young to have been a part of their parents' madness. There was no way that the pretty little girl sobbing her eyes out was involved in a massacre of military agents. And the husband was no better. He had obviously just had a growth spurt and his muscles hadn't bulked up to offset the upward motion. His men could snap the boy in half. No, these two were no threat.
"Get out of here. Tell no one what you've seen here. Understood?"
"Oui," the boy said, voice trembling. He led his wife outside and they broke into a run soon after. They skidded around a corner and without a word headed for the Thieves' Tunnels.
Breathing slightly heavily they stopped against one damp stone wall. "I'm going to kill them all. Every man who was there today. The one who gave the order. The clerk who requisitioned the bullets. The budget writer who got them funded. The agency that agreed to it. And anyone else involved in this sordid little happening!" Belle hissed. She felt Remy's arms slip around her and leaned into the embrace.
"And the one who found the uniforms. And the people in charge of covering up their existence." She nodded into his shoulder. "And we drain their accounts. But first we take care of our people."
"Lull them. Make them think they've won. We can start moving the clans. Those without contracts first." Grief would have to wait.
*****
TO: furry @ muir.edu
FROM: icy @ xavier.edu
SUBJECT: Oh, My God
Hank,
Scott's dead.
I can't fucking believe it, but he is. Jean's a mess. The school is in shock and I'm going insane because Xavier wants me to fix the children. He wants me to make them smile when I can't even summon up the energy to put a tape into the VCR. Kurt's been trying to keep up a stoic façade. He's been helping set up prayer sessions. And we can't even get the fucking body. We can't claim the body because they've only announced that it was Cyclops that died.
Prof. X put out a missing person's report. It's a fucking travesty. They put him to death with a bullet to the back of his head and announced that a mutant terrorist was put to death. He was stopping a bastard from destroying a school and they blamed Scott for what that FOH son-of-a-bitch did. I have never been this angry or sad or fucked up in my life Hank.
I got drunk for the first time last night.
God, I wish it had been you and not just Jean and Warren that I was drinking with.
Logan took care of the kids last night. You'd be so proud of him Hank. He didn't yell at them or anything, just dried their tears and tucked them in. Even the teenagers wanted him to look in on them last night.
Kitty's in bad shape. Some gang fucking gang raped her. And you know why? Because she was wearing her arm-band like a good little upstanding mutant teacher. Kurt's afraid she won't ever walk again. Cecilia, our new doc, is trying to find a neurosurgeon, but she doesn't sound hopeful.
Don't come home, Blue. It's not safe.
-me
*****
"Mutant Terrorist Cyclops Executed!" the headline shouted. Jean Grey sat stiffly in front of the professor's desk.
"He isn't dead," she stated. "I can still feel him."
"The residual feelings from the link will fade. I'm sorry. He is dead, Jean. I cannot find him anywhere."
"He's been shielded." //I want his body.//
"If we ask them for a body, we run the risk of exposing the rest of the team."
"I know that. He isn't dead, Professor."
"Jean, I love you like a daughter, but I will not jeopardize our operations for a foolish hope."
"It is not a 'foolish hope.' It is the truth. If you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach." Jean strode out of the room.
Charles Xavier steepled his fingers and sighed. He gazed at Jean and Scott's wedding photo for a long moment. "I'll miss you, Scott. I'll do my best for her," he promised the dead man.
*****
Eric Lensherr put his head in his hands and cried over the newspaper. Lee shifted it out of his lap. She looked down at it in confusion. "Eric? What's wrong?"
"Did you read the front page?"
"Yes, but. . ."
Magneto straightened up and forced down his tears. He blew his nose. "Xavier's son just died. My nephew was just shot down like a dog. They didn't even bother with a trial. He was a mutant and they put him to death for it. It's starting Lee. I've seen it before. Prepare for an influx. We need to look at more real estate. This island alone will not be big enough."
*****
Mystique was in shock. She might not have liked Cyclops. She might have agreed with the X-men's methods, but she never wanted him dead.
****
Wandering by a lake several miles away from the Mansion, Ororo Monroe attempted to make sense of the world. She never made it home.