When she was little, Marie had always wanted to at her own press conference. To be the centre of the entire nation. At seventeen, Marie knew better. Being paraded before a large group of anti-mutant fanatics and government officials who were all screaming for her death was not what Marie had in mind all those years ago. The jeers and taunts and death threats were terrifying.
What made things even worse was the fact that Marie had no way to defend herself. Ever since Sabertooth had strangled her in the cold, dark cell, Marie had been unable to speak. Each time she tried to speak, all that came out was a gravely whine. With her hands bound behind her back, Marie couldn’t write anything either. All that Marie could do was shake her head in defiance of the accusations being brought against her.
“This horrible, vicious mutant attempted to mutate important leaders from all over the world,” Senator Kelly declared, pointing a finger at Marie. “The most prestigious nations on our planet could have been left leaderless because of this mutant.”
A cry rose up from the crowd. All of them shouting for vengeance.
Tears in her eyes, Marie glanced around the crowd, praying to find one face that wasn’t full of anger. There were none. Not a single person in the crowd was the least bit sympathetic to Marie’s plight. Not that she had expected them to be. Mystique was a very convincing Senator Kelly. She had the entire crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.
“Security cameras were able to capture all of the action,” the Senator continued. “We have pictures of her-- very clear pictures --of her in the machine as she was preparing for the attack. We even have blueprints and plans written by her hand. There are others who will testify against her. Mutants that she used to her own ends in an attempt for the global domination of the mutant race.”
Marie’s jaw hung open in shock. She wasn’t even in control of her own life yet people were believing that she wanted to rule the world. What made it even worse was that Marie knew that people all over the world who were watching the conference were believing every word that dripped from the Senator’s lips. They believed every foul, twisted lie for one reason and one reason alone. Marie was a mutant and “Senator Kelly” was human. That was what it all came down to in the end. Humans were revered and mutants were reviled.
Gawd, Ah wish Ah was with ya, Logan, Marie though to herself as she stared out at the angry crowd. A solitary ear slid down her cheek as she thought of Logan. Ah love ya so much, Logan, and Ah’m so sorry Ah couldn’t save ya.
Taking several deep breaths, Marie was determined to remain strong. For Logan. Wherever he was, Marie was going to make sure that Logan was proud of her. She was going to be strong no matter what. No matter what they did to her, Marie wasn’t going to let them beat her. Squaring her shoulders, Marie stood up straight, staring defiantly at the crowd.
Ah can do this, Marie said to herself, allowing all emotions to fade from her face.
“Mr. Creed, could you please inform the nation of what this mutant had you do?” Senator Kelly said, glancing over to his left. “I’m sure that everyone will be quite interested to see what this seemingly innocent girl did.”
Marie now knew why Sabertooth had been wearing an Armani suit. It was all for presentation. The crowds would be more likely to sympathize with a well dressed man like Victor Creed than a ruffian like Sabertooth.
The case against Marie had suddenly gotten much worse.
Despite her earlier conviction to remain strong in the face of adversity, Marie whimpered slightly as Sabertooth appeared on the far corner of the stage. Considering how much the throng was already against her, Marie knew that it wouldn’t take much to make them believe Sabertooth’s story. They would be eating out of the palm of his hand before he even opened his mouth. Marie didn’t know how anyone could actually think that someone as tiny as her could possibly control the behemoth known as Sabertooth.
“She completely absorbed the powers of an incredibly strong mutant known as the Wolverine,” Creed began.
Marie wanted to scream that it had only been an accident. That she would never willingly hurt Logan. She loved Logan. She couldn’t even if she wanted to. It just wasn’t in her to hurt Logan. It would be like hurting herself.
“As much as it pains me to say it, that tiny slip of a girl was able to overpower me,” Creed told the gathered crowd. “I had no choice but to do whatever she wanted me to do. She could snap my neck if she wanted to. So me and my.... associates, built the machine for her. Right down to her every specification. She’s very thorough. Heartless, too. The way she killed the Wolverine. He was begging for mercy, but she refused to let go of him. It was downright awful. Worst thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff in my time.”
Marie let out a long, mournful whine that would have been an outraged scream could she have produced he noise. There was no conceivable way that she would ever do something like that to Logan. Fighting against the oppressive hold of her two guards, Marie tried to rush towards Creed. Marie let forth a slew of gasps and gurgles that should have been accusations. Angry tears coursed down her cheeks in twin rivers that merged at the bottom of her chin. Marie began to stomp her foot, trying vainly to gain the attention of the crowd.
It was useless.
So enraptured with Creed’s story, the viewers, including the camera men, refused to pay any attention to her. And, with everyone’s attention on Creed, they paid little attention to Senator Kelly either. That gave Mystique the chance to cast several mocking smirks in her direction. In an act of pure defiance to their situation, Mystique also allowed her vibrant yellow eyes to flash for all to see.
“This mutant, and others of her kind, are a plague against humanity!” Senator Kelly cried, snapping Marie from her thoughts. “She kills on a whim and nearly brought the world to its knees. Now is time for us to act!”
“YEAH!!” the crowd echoed.
“We must rid the world of the plague that is humanity! We need to act now before they destroy us!” Senator Kelly shouted, waving a fist about in the air.
But I didn’t do anything! Marie wanted to scream. Her mouth moved to form the words, but not a single sound came out.
“Mutants are a burden and a threat to not only our nation, but the entire world!” the fake Senator ranted. “Our debt has only increased since the introduction of mutants to our society! They are sapping our resources faster than the immigrants who arrived at the turn of the last century. We need to rid ourselves of them!”
Mob hysteria took over then. People rushed the platform where she was and grabbed her away from her guards. Of course, they were only there to guard the humans from her. They cared nothing about what happened to her. She could have been killed and they wouldn’t have cared. Hell, for all Marie knew, they would have helped to kill her.
Somebody help me! Marie screamed in her mind, praying desperately that the Professor would hear her.
With the threat of danger, the Logan in her head flared to life again. He was snarling and lashing out like a caged animal. At that moment, Marie would have done anything to hear the real Logan snarling. Her Logan.
But Logan was dead. He couldn’t help her anymore.
It didn’t take Marie long to figure out what they had planned for her. Mutants had become the latest scapegoat for the world’s troubles. Throughout history, Blacks and Jews had predominately been the ones blamed for everything that was wrong in the world. With the evolution of mutants, the world had found someone else to suffer the burden of the world’s troubles. They were the ones to be lynched and hanged without the possibility of a fair trial.
Marie was about to become their latest victim.
In her entire life, Marie had never felt so completely helpless. There was nothing she could do and she knew it very well. This helplessness did not sit very well with Logan who was all worked up in a rage. His rage only made her feel that much more helpless. Made her feel as though she was somehow letting Logan down. Marie wanted to be strong for him, but at the site of the ancient tree with the hastily constructed noose, Marie knew that it was no longer an option.
“Help me. Please,” Marie mouthed when she was turned back around to face the angry mob. Her cheeks were soaked with tears and her body was trembling so badly that, were it not for the men holding her up.
Fight, kid. I know you can do it. Fight! the Logan inside her head was shouting as he fought against the cage that Marie had once seen him fight in.
“For her crimes against our world, this mutant must die!” an overzealous Senator Kelly raged. “If we let her live, she will only try it again! Next time she may actually succeed! The time has come for us to give a message to all the mutants out there who don’t know their place! We must let them know what happens to those who cause trouble! This girl will be our first example!”
It was then that Marie realized that she wouldn’t be able to talk them out of it even if she could speak. They were all dead set on killing her. There was no way out of it and Marie knew it full well. She was going to die. Very soon and very painfully.
There was only one consolation. Wherever she ended up when it was all over, Marie was confident that Logan would be there with her. No god would be cruel enough to keep Marie from the one thing she loved in both life and death.
Knowing that her death was imminent, Marie strengthened her resolve. Squaring her shoulders once again, Marie took several deep breaths and blinked the tears away. Marie was bound and determined to make them believe that she wasn’t afraid of what they were going to do to her. That was what they wanted. They wanted her broken and weak, but Marie refused to give them that.
Marie squeezed her eyes shut when they placed the noose around her neck, biting savagely into her bottom lip. The feel of the rough cord wrapped around her neck terrified Marie more than Sabertooth’s massive fist had. That was because this time Marie knew that there would be no going back.
“Do it!”
Suddenly, the ground was snatched out from under her. Marie’s eyes and mouth shot open as the air was forced from her lungs As Marie fought to free her arms from behind her back, she could hear the cheers echoing from the crowd. As the seconds ticked on, Marie could feel her life slipping away from her.
FIGHT, DAMN IT!! Logan roared, snapping the bars that held him confined within her mind. YOU FIGHT THEM, MARIE!!
With a sudden burst of strength that Marie knew came from the last time she had touched Logan, Marie snapped the ropes that bound her arms behind her back. Nearly unconscious by this time, Marie managed to find enough energy left in her to break the cord that was digging painfully into her throat.
Marie was falling rapidly. The ground came up almost immediately. She fell hard, her legs crumpling painfully under the weight of her body. The pain was incredible and Marie passed out almost instantly. But not before she heard the one voice that she had been longing to hear.
One that wasn’t in her head, either.
“MARIE!!”