Typical Scott to remain stoic even in the middle of an argument. And this was an argument, not just a simple disagreement. He was accusing her of outlandish things, and instead of feeling hurt she got defensive and just as angry in response. "How I let them die? First of all, let's be clear about who you're accusing me of letting die. The people who attacked the mansion? It was a choice between them or us, there was no room to save any one that wasn't on our side. You weren't here so you can't possibly know what it was like. If you're accusing me of letting Charles and Jean die, that's a whole other story." Breathe. Remember to breathe. The metal-lined subbasement was not a good place to let her temper get the better of her.
"Logan and I were fighting two of Magento's Brotherhood members. Jean shut us out. She wanted Charles to herself. There was no way either of us could save him. And if you're casting blame around for that day make sure Logan gets his fair share because he was just as incapable of helping as I was. As for Jean..." Her anger ebbed some. What had been done that night was necessary, but it still hurt. Everyone knew what the loss of her meant to Logan, what it would have meant to Scott if he was there. Ororo lost her truest friend then, but the time to mourn had never been given to her. To be accused of letting her die hurt worse than anything else Scott could have said and it showed. "If there had been a way to save her," she said at length, her voice much quieter than just moments before, "we would have." When she looked at Scott, there was a mixture of sadness and pity in her eyes. "You didn't get to see what she became, Scott. And I'm glad you didn't. It would have torn you up."
She wasn't about to strike him or lash out, at least not right now. It seemed like she was the target of pent up emotions and anger. If he needed to get it all out, better at her, at someone who knew him so well, than at anyone else. "Letting Magneto in was not an easy decision, contrary to what everyone seems to believe. If he was not here to help Lorna, she would have hurt herself beyond repair and anyone close enough would have been destroyed as well. I wanted him here where I could watch him, where I could be sure of what he was teaching her and what he was doing. Maybe someone else would have chosen to let her go to him, to give up that control. But I stick by the decision I made. He was a leader to no one but Lorna, and even that was in a very limited capacity."
Ororo stood and let him rage at her, expressionless and with arms at her sides without defense. "Of course I don't want to pretend everything is all right. Scott, I'm doing the best I can with what I have to work with. I can't tell you anything about Essex disappearing because I haven't been able to talk to Emma about it yet. I asked her to look into it for me. I'm not just sitting on my hands here. Warren has enhanced our security systems, the mansion is being rebuilt at a respectable pace considering we have to make sure everyone who comes in here isn't some kind of a security risk. These people Laura found, they are the ones we've been looking for since January, and now that we know more about what we're dealing with, we are taking action." She shook her head. "I don't know what you want form me or what you want me to say here, Scott."