Who: Xavier, Shard and Torrent When: Thursday, March 20th, 2008 (afternoon) Where: Xavier's; rec room What: loyalties and justice Status: complete Rating: PG-13
It had taken a few days for things to become normal again between Troy and Will, but neither was sure if things could be normal again for them at Xavier's. They had gone to Storm and reported that they would no longer be involved with missions or guard duty, but would continue to help with school-oriented things and the general upkeep of the mansion.
Troy had spent the days following the battle doing the hell out of the laundry and elbow-deep in macaroni with Gert in the kitchen. Today, he'd opted to go spend some time with the middle-school age students in the rec room while Will was out on a supply-run. The Native had his guitar and some of the music education equipment (stands, charts, the dry-erase board, etc) hauled into the common area and had just finished explaining the basic differences and uses of minor and major chords in music. When the last question was answered (there were several, and mostly things he couldn't answer straight away - these kids were tough), he noticed Will leaning in the frame of the rec room door and smirked a little to himself before piping back up, "You guys wanna hear a demonstration?" He was grinning ear to ear, which only egged them on. After many 'yeah!'s, he hit a few simple chords in a quick repetition before crooning out a 'Heeeeeeeyeah'. The group of eight broke out into chuckles and laughs when they realized he was playing a Christina Aguilera song, 'Ain't No Other Man'. He smiled and nodded when Siryn gave a few claps to the beat and joined in with the harmony. A few of the others joined in the clapping as well and joined in the song. Troy's eyes wandered back to Will toward the middle and he gave the man a discreet wink.
He couldn't help but smile when he noticed Troy's wink. And to think, a few days ago Will wasn't even sure if Troy would speak to him again. Okay, that wasn't true, he knew Troy would talk to him. He just wasn't sure if he was going to have anything nice to say to him.
Will had spent his time doing chores with Troy and venturing out for supplies. He wasn't too worried, as the only bad incident had been the encounter with Sabretooth. Will blamed himself for Troy no longer participating with the other X-Men. Will had come to the conclusion to stop because of what he was afraid of becoming. Troy on the other hand, had very different reasons. But as long as he had his Native, Will was happy. He returned the wink, in a very grand fashion with no concealment, as everybody else in the room was facing Troy. He was actually pretty impressed how well Troy was playing the song acoustically.
Reflections of light shined on the floor in front of Will from Xavier’s polished dress shoes. That was his only giveaway as he approached the man as he didn’t make any noise. He leaned on the other side of the door frame, not yet acknowledging Will and smiled when the kids responded to Troy's rhythmic talents. Once the clapping subsided, Charles looked over to Shard. "William, I'd like to speak with you and Troy."
Troy noticed the Professor just as he was finishing - the bald man was next to Will wearing a pleasant enough expression. Then he spoke to Shard and Troy cut the song short, ending it at the chorus they were finishing. He didn't smile, and didn't make any gesture toward the Professor, but he stood and handed the guitar off to the redhead in the front. "You guys can go get some lunch or somethin'. But don't break that," he indicated his guitar, and was speaking mostly to Siryn. He quirked an eyebrow to Will and Charles and moved his arms to cross at his chest. The children stood and when they noticed the Professor, most of them offered polite smiles and headed out between Will and X.
Will stood aside as the children moved between the two of them, and he nodded to Xavier. "All right." He wasn't going to say no, of course. He was sort of curious about what the man might say to them, actually. He moved forward from the doorway into the room and took up one of the seats the kids had been occupying.
Privacy was important in this matter, so Charles suggested to a few remaining students that they go and get something to eat with their classmates. He was glad the two young men offered help around the mansion, but he also knew that they weren't happy and it wasn't their place. It was obvious that the events that took place during the attack had upset them greatly, so instead of teetering around the topic, Charles got straight to the point. He took a deep breath before addressing them because what he was about to say would probably be the most important lesson in their lives. "I'd like to tell you both a story."
Troy looked leery, but gave a shrug. He wouldn't protest. Somewhere in his mind floated the thought 'Oh goody! Story time with Uncle Chuck!'. But of course, he didn't test the waters.
Will nodded his consent and glanced to Troy before focusing in on the Professor. "We're listening."
“I’m sure you both remember the incident, but there are details you are unaware of. Years ago, at the train station when Magneto captured Rogue, I was faced with a difficult decision.” He shifted a bit in his stance and crossed his arms.
“Storm and Cyclops had been unsuccessful at apprehending him and he was about to escape when law enforcement arrived. Jean and I were outside in the car witnessing it all. Over-confident as usual, Erik decided he would flee through the main entrance and come face to face with the resistance. I knew that the police would be no match for him, so it was that moment that I decided to take the situation into my own hands. I used Sabretooth and Toad as instruments and invaded their minds. I had Sabretooth's hand at Erik's throat, I could have easily killed him if I wanted to, much like you, when your shard could have easily ended Jason's life," he said while looking to Will.
"I've known Erik a very long time. He has done some unimaginably terrible things, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. No matter how much I wanted to rescue Rogue, prevent future tyranny, or seek some sort of revenge, I didn't carry out my threat. Sabretooth's hand simply let go." There was a period of silence before he continued. He folded his hands and spoke with more veracity.
"I didn't kill him because I believe if I had taken revenge, I would have been even with my enemy, but in passing it over, I would be superior. I know you both care greatly for Josiah and the others that were victimized by Demon, but trust me when I say that vengeance taken will only tear the heart and torment the conscience. When we took the lives of the many infected, we weren’t being vigilantes, we were defending our right to live.”
Still maintaining eye contact with Shard, he admitted to his anger with the situation, then looked to Troy to address him specifically.
"I know you were trying to prevent Will from killing him, but I wondered if deep down you thought it was right too. That is why I am here talking to the both of you, because I know you men are better than that. You're X-Men. You see, it's not about what we all have done that makes us who we are, it's what we're willing to do. Either we make a decision, or make the right decision. It's up to us to point ourselves in the right direction."
Will took a few moments and let it all sink in before responding, "I don't want to kill the infected. Because of how my mutation works, I don't think I should be one to defend the school that way. There are other people who can handle them non-lethally. I attacked Demon because I lost control. I don't want to be in that position again."
Troy had seen and heard about the Professor exercising restraint. They all had at one time or another. But he wasn't the Professor, and he hadn't attempted murder. "Even if I did think Will had the right to kill Demon, I didn't let him. But his delusional brother was the only other one trying to stop him. Pyro, Mystique and Toad were all near by. You can't just let people crap on you repeatedly and watch them walk around without punishment. There have to be repercussions. But even if I didn't give two craps about any of that, I still didn't do anything wrong. I used the least lethal defense I could have for the situation, while telling Will to stop what he was doing. I knew we both could've been killed considering who was watching. I didn't want Will to be taken out because Demon can't keep his thing in his pants. However you deal with that bastard is your choice, but how I deal with this bastard," he gestured to Will, "is mine. And I chose to save his ass. I'm not even half your age, Professor. It's hard for me to swallow my pride when I see everyone who heard you hand me my ass on a platter when I hadn't done anything wrong. Everyone wants to see Demon dead, and I tried to keep him from getting killed. By exercising restraint and intelligence and level-headedness, I got my butt pulled out of the battle and my swift kick to my pride."
He listened to both of them attentively. “Sometimes in order to grow, our pride needs to be rattled from time to time.” He put his hand on Shard’s shoulder. “However you want to perform here is your choice William, but it’s not uncommon that we do things we don’t want to do. We make sacrifices for the better of the whole, it’s what being a team is all about.”
He walked over and sat in one of the open seats before continuing. “I’m not blaming anyone here Troy, there’s no need for defensiveness. You need to understand that your reputations here are built more on what you guys have done right, rather than wrong. I don’t regret what happened, because I think every experience is a teaching. The education I provide doesn’t just reside within these walls, it goes wherever you go. It is my job and commitment that everyone here makes the right decisions.”
"I was growing. I didn't need to be watered," Troy remarked. He didn't need his pride rattled, he was doing his job. Xavier could've rattled his pride when he was goofing off in the danger room or hitting on one of the many X-Girls he pestered in the past. But not when he was defending Xavier's own school and person. "So the yard is a classroom, too. I see. I'll keep that in mind next time when I'm defending this pile of bricks. I'll keep my pencil handy."
Xavier practiced patience, it was as if he was dealing with the unpredictable behavior of Logan. But he'd had plenty of experience dealing with young rebellious minds. "I would never tell my family to leave, but if you don't believe in my cause here then you are free to go. But I believe in you and I want you here. I care for both of you and respect you more than you think. However, all minds here need to expand, even mine. I wish you could see that."