Chapter 5

The crowd watched as Nate Grey emerged from the prison. There was nearly complete silence as he was escorted to a waiting car. His hands were relaxed at his sides, but the red welts from the manacles were still very much visible. As soon as he was safely inside the car, it began the long journey to the courthouse. Several anti-mutant protestors awaited him there.

The moment the car arrived at the courthouse, they surrounded it. “Freak!” they shouted, tossing rocks at the windows. “Go back to where you came from!” Nate smiled grimly. This place was his home. Not that he was going to try and explain that to them. He slowly stepped out of the car.

As he closed the door, he could see a man running towards him. Nate knew the guards would be helpless to stop him, but he didn’t really care. The man pulled a gun from his pocket (Nate sensed it wasn’t loaded) and smashed the butt against Nate’s forehead. A thin river of blood sprouted from his head as the man spit in his face. Instead of retaliating, Nate simply stared at the man with strange, almost hypnotic, blue eyes. The man froze, then quickly disappeared back into the crowd.

The guards looked at him, as if waiting for orders. Nate only turned his eyes to the courthouse, and the procession made its way up the steps in virtual silence.

“Did you see that?!” Jubilee whispered fiercely as Gen X watched the whole incident from the crowd. “How could Nate just accept that?!”

“He’s not accepting it,” Monet said quietly. “He knows an attack would only make things worse. He’s fighting back in his own way...with nonviolence.”

“Thank you, Ms. Expert-On-All-Things-Nately,” Jubilee shot back.

Ev silenced them both with an icy glare.

“He’s a great man,” Gemini said suddenly, his eyes shining with pride. “I guess I should be grateful that I look so much like him.”

“Mr. Grey, you say you killed Victor Creed because you had just cause. Is this correct?”

“Yes,” Nate replied. “Creed threatened to kill my unborn child and its mother. Killing him was the only way I knew of to stop him for good.”

“So you don’t think that rehabilitation would have helped?”

“Absolutely not. Every attempt to rehabilitate Creed has failed miserably. In fact, he gets worse each time.”

“And you feel this was a good enough reason to kill him?”

“No. But I refuse to believe that preventing a psychopathic murderer from killing again is a crime. I think the families of Creed’s victims would agree with me.”

“So you are pleading guilty to the crime of murder?”

“Yes. I killed Creed to keep him from killing again. If protecting my family is a crime, I’m more than willing to spend time in jail for it.”

“Has the jury reached a verdict?” Judge Thomas asked.

“Yes, your honor. The decision was unanimous. We find the defendant, Nathan Grey--”

--totally guilty on all charges!” Graydon Creed shouted as he entered the courtroom. Behind him, the Friends of Humanity were armed and ready to kill. “Ladies and gentlemen of the court, that thing up there is a filthy mutant, and I intend to punish his crimes by death!”

There were several startled gasps from the people in the courtroom.

“Kill him!” Creed ordered, pointing at Nate. The FOH sprang into action, firing their machine guns. Seconds later, several of them fell dead by their own bullets.

Nate slowly stood up and approached the bench. “Your honor, I am a mutant. I had no choice in the matter. I was born, like every other person in this room. I didn’t choose to be this way, but I’ve accepted it. It’s not my problem if the rest of the world hasn’t. But people should see clearly now that all mutants aren’t out to get them. If it wasn’t for my mutant power, many people in this room would be dead right now. Instead, several of their would-be killers have been stopped for good. My methods may be extreme, your honor, but they ensure that the madness stops forever.”

“This is Jack Ryder, reporting live from the Soho Courthouse. After an attack by the Friends of Humanity, the trial of Nathan Grey is over. The defendant was declared guilty by unanimous decision, even before the attack began. Also, the President has stepped in and decreed that all actions by the FOH are to be halted immediately, and that any member who refuses to do so will be promptly arrested.”

Monet turned off the TV. “See, guys? Nate didn’t even need our help. He can take care of himself.”

“He most certainly can,” Gemini agreed.

“Hello?! Guys, Nate’s in jail!” Jubilee cried. “He could still get hurt!”

“That’s not possible,” Gemini replied with a smile.

“How do you figure?” Paige asked.

“Because Nate isn’t in jail,” he responded. “I’m Nate.”

“So you lied to us?” Ev asked.

“No. We switched places the night before the trial, when I had the chance to escape.”

“So you are Nate?” Jubilee asked.

“Yes. Gemini insisted that he take my place. Something about protecting me and getting revenge. I’m not sure what he meant, though.”

“Hey, Creed!” the guard called. “Look alive! You got a new cellmate!”

Graydon Creed looked up as the young man entered. His reddish-brown hair was long and unkempt, the few white strands hanging before his eyes. “Hi, roomie,” he said with a smile. “So, I hear you don’t like mutants?”

Creed gasped and backed away. “Get away from me!”

“No can do,” Gemini replied with a bigger smile. “But don’t worry. We won’t be cellmates for too long. You’re looking kinda sick. In fact, I don’t think you’ll even make it through the night...”

“Are you sure this is wise, Rose?” Storm asked.

“No,” she replied, “but I’m going anyway. I can’t live like this anymore. I divorced Nate months ago, and I should’ve left then. Our child won’t be exposed to this horrible place. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Rose got into the car and buckled her seatbelt. She sighed as she gently rubbed her swollen belly. “Me and you, baby,” she whispered as the engine came to life. “Just me and you.” With that, she drove out of the gates of the Xavier Institute, never to return.

The End

Seeya next story!  Comments here!