From the cold hard floor Warlok waited for the next wave of torment. Left alone with no light, no stimulation at all he could feel his mind slowly going insane. He relived every conversation, every action and reaction from that day in that dingy little hotel room.
He could see the fear in her eyes, see the hatred, the expectation and deep inside he knew he could have stopped it. He could have let her go, could have let her have some dignity. Instead he’d followed Iceman’s lead, allowing the other X-Man to destroy whatever ground that young woman had gained.
Like a sick, twisted picture show the image of her body flitted through his mind. Each scar, each rip, each burn, each mark of torment. Even her eyes bore the marks of the depraved.
He’d known deep in her soul what her fear was, what would harm worse than a blade, worse than the rape. It was the isolation, the loss of freedom, the caged in feeling of being tied up. It was that more than any fear of her that he’d suggested it and it had worked. She hadn’t fought, hadn’t screamed, hadn’t struggled…and that sickened him.
“Come on asshole.” The low, furious tone had him glancing up to see the dark eyes of a young man. “The tribunal’s ready.”
“So soon?” Warlok murmured climbing to his feet shakily. Despite the sensory depravation he’d been treated well, three square meals, a warm blanket for the nights, no brutal beatings. Standing still he waited until the locks clicked into place around the restraints on his wrists before following his escort out into the long, boring grey corridor.
After a long walk, one that seemed to get longer each time he made it he was ushered into the cold, impersonal chambers and shoved into a chair. Sitting before him were three women and two men, all dressed in flowing black robes.
“It’s my understanding that Mrs. Creed has a statement for the tribunal?” The red-headed judge glanced up from the file folder before her.
“Yes Mistress.” The guard bowed slightly. “I’ll bring her in.”
“Very good.”
Warlok turned slightly in his chair and watched the doors open. From the corridor he could see a shadow moving and gasped as a tall, dark haired woman stepped into the room. The long curls were lifted away from her face, a face that bore a startling resemblance to the man Jean Grey had called Wolverine. Hazel eyes filled with icy rage fell upon him before moving to the panel.
“Aw Mrs. Creed how nice to see you again. It’s always a pleasure to have you in our court room.”
“Thank you Honorable Monkton.”
“Its our understanding that you have a victim impact statement to read to us?”
“Yes.”
“Please continue.”
“Miss Lee was one of three young women held for nearly a year in a laboratory in Western Canada. When she came to us she was hostile to the extreme. Any attempt to make physical contact was met with brutal rejection. One of my own team was badly hurt with her sparks. It took weeks, months for her to over come her natural and quite understandable distrust of him. I watched her recovery and she made amazing progress. So much progress that she felt that she could handle leaving my facility and went with Mrs. Creed, Mrs. Summers, their husbands, and Dr. Tank to create and maintain a safe house for young mutants.” Helen explained. “During a trip into town with two of the young people this person and another man took it upon themselves to kidnap Miss Lee. During her subsequent captivity they assaulted her repeatedly.”
“Considering what they did to Bobby…” Warlok interrupted.
“Silence or I will have you gagged!” the judge snapped. “Continue please.”
“I’ve spoken to Dr. Tank and it took weeks for Miss Lee to recover to any degree. She still has nightmares, as well as she contracted a rather potent STD that was able to be treated. She has shown indications of self-harm though because of the nightmares and the trauma of being raped again. It is Dr. Tank’s professional opinion that she may never truly recover. There are indications that she’s retreated to where she was during the early part of her treatment at my facility. He fears for her mental and physical wellbeing. I’ve also spoken to Mrs. Creed and Mrs. Summers and they both have expressed similar thoughts.”
“Are you saying that she may never be normal again?”
“The even has scarred her in ways that we will never really understand. It has forced her to confront demons from the time she spent as an entertainment icon in the labs. In my opinion the attack suffered at his hands has set her recovery back years.”
“Thank you Mrs. Creed. Do you have anything you’d like to add?”
“I believe that the team has reached a decision in regards to Xavier and his team. I will have any and all documentation available to you as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.”
Helen nodded and shot the man staring back at her a hard, cold glare. He deserved the same fate as Jean Grey had gotten but that wasn’t her call. Turning she stalked out of the court room and headed for her car. She had a plane to catch.
“The prisoner will rise to his feet.” The lead judge ordered and glared at him. “It is in the opinion of this court that your actions were more befitting of an animal than a man. You purposely set out to destroy the fragile mindset of a young woman you know had been abused. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“I feel bad about what happened but I’m not about to accept the blame. She knew what was coming and she knew she could’ve fought us…”
“So unwilling to accept the blame for your own actions. Next you’ll be trying to convince us that she asked to be captured, experimented upon, and abused in such a manner. No, I do not believe that. It’s the judgment of the court that you spend the remainder of your life in custody. Personally I’d just kill you and let that be the end but my associated disagree on that analysis. You are to be remanded in custody at Elk Hump Maximum Security Prison for the remainder of your natural born life. You’re gifts will be permanently negated by the implantation of a repressor chip. This court is adjourned.”
Warlok sat in silence, stunned beyond belief. To lose both his gifts and his freedom? It was too much for the crime and yet he couldn’t object, couldn’t risk a greater punishment by protesting. His only hope was that Xavier would come to his aid. That the telepath would be able to reduce his sentence or something, it was his only option left..
Jean sat in silence as she watched Scott stalking away from her. He’d come to bring her the nightly meal and that was it. There had been no kindness, no warmth in his voice or expression rather he set the plate on the floor and ignored her.
Still a handsome, charismatic man she felt the old familiar lust for him tickling at her but the more recent, harsher memories associated with lust kicked in making her wretch in horror.
It had hurt to watch her former fiancé marry another woman, a girl who carried more scars than any two people. It hurt to know that Scott had given that girl something he’d never been willing to give to her. Even the hostility that seemed to float between Logan and Scott had vanished. There was no bickering, no painful barb, nothing but a steady, almost equal friendship between them.
Closing her eyes Jean laid down and immediately felt the wash of pain that she was growing to expect washing over her. She hated them all, hated them for what they’d stolen from her and she wanted revenge but she knew she couldn’t get it. Her mind was no longer her own, her body was an alien, foreign thing to her and she couldn’t make herself feel anything that resembled a connection to it. With a soft sigh she let sleep come…even the nightmares that haunted her sleep were better than the agony and the pain of knowing she should have more of a grasp on the reality around her than she did have.
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