Commodum Ex Iniuria (The Reward of Injustice) [6/6]

[nike_ravus]

 Title: Commodum Ex Iniuria (The Reward of Injustice) [6/6] (Final Part!)
Author: Alsike
Pairing: Emily Prentiss/Emma Frost
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The members of the BAU are faced with hunting down a mutant killer.  Other people may also be in pursuit.  And Emily finds out that where there are mutants, divisive politics follow close behind.
Apologies: There are many.  Feel free to yell about any of my many failings.  I deserve it.

The Whole Damn Thing
Prequels:
Women of Diamond
Oedipus for Girls
Commodum Ex Iniuria: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

JJ was not impressed by Emily’s taste in women.  Emma was exactly the type of mutant that terrified her, the one with more power than they deserved, and a lazy attitude towards morality.  She made you feel that you were lucky she wasn’t interested enough in you to destroy your mind.  She probably thought that using her powers was too easy and she would rather deal with JJ by gaslighting her until she went insane.

And it wasn’t fair to bully her about what was in her head.  JJ had just been blindsided, with a one-two punch, by the sexuality of one of her friends, and she wouldn’t be human if she weren’t thinking about it.  And anyways, whatever Emily said, JJ had seen those scratches, and those were not playful little accidental scratches.

Emma was going to hurt her.  And JJ was not going to just sit back and watch it happen.

The officers were milling about and it looked like they had never set up a roadblock in their lives.  Emily had said something about them being forest rangers, which had been odd at the time, but now was looking more and more credible.

It was only after she had carried the barricade nearly halfway into position that she realized the man helping her was the hairy mutant.  She nearly dropped the barricade.

“Relax, princess.  We’re on the same team.”

JJ glanced towards the part of the forest where their opposite numbers had disappeared.  “You sure about that?”

Logan chuckled.  “No one’s ever sure what team Emma’s playing for.  In any sense.”

JJ breathed in sharply.  “Really?  You don’t… think she’s trustworthy?”

“She hasn’t stepped wrong yet.”  Logan shrugged.  “She’s played long games before though.”

JJ felt nauseous, and looked back towards the woods.

A blue pickup truck pulled up to the roadblock and the area was full of erratic motion and panic.  Distracted, JJ ran around, trying to get the officers into position.  She spotted Morgan and Reid in the truck and nearly laughed in relief, but made the officers go through the procedure anyway for practice.

When the block had been sorted, she glanced up, noticing a flash of white in the corner of her eye.  Emma was speaking to the young officer.  JJ looked around but couldn’t see Emily.  She looked back to Emma in time to see her frown.

“Where’s Emily?” she asked, and then saw a look cross Emma’s face that she had never expected to see there.  It looked like fear, and when she started to run, JJ’s hand went to her holster and she ran after her.

*            *            *

Emily was collapsed in the middle of the clearing.  The boy, for he was a boy, scruffy and overgrown, but fresh faced and wide eyed, was kneeling next to her.  He was bending down, as if to kiss her, and the photos of the charred interiors of the bodies flashed through Emma’s mind.

<< Don’t- >>  The rest of the phrase was lost in the echoing roar of rage, and a bolt of diamond burst into him, knocking the boy away.  He fell, his eyes wide to see a woman of diamond, and then his mouth opened and flame shot towards her.  She caught Emily’s body, pulling it in front of her, flames bursting out across her diamond back.

“David!  Stop!”  Emma couldn’t shut him down telepathically in her diamond form, and she couldn’t change in his range.  JJ stumbled out of the woods, her gun out.

“FBI!  Freeze!”  Then she choked on the sulfuric air, her gun wobbling.  The boy turned and fled.  A hairy ball of flesh, propelling itself on silver knives, flashed past and after it. A humming came from the sky and sun caught red hair, making it glow gold.  The nerd and the campy black man ran up to JJ, who pointed, still trying to catch her breath.  She signed to them to go around the clearing, and they ran on, following Wolverine’s shredded trail, guns out.

Emily wasn’t breathing.

*            *            *

Jean caught a glimpse of the fleeing boy, and swerved in the air to follow his path.  Scott tapped his visor shattering a cliff face.  Jean, flowing with illicit phoenix heat, tossed the boulders into a barrier.  Faced by a change in the landscape David turned and fled, rushing to the right.

Suddenly a lawnmower whirlwind appeared in front of him.  “Hey bub, slow down, or you’ll do yourself an injury.”

Davy huffed flame, setting all of Logan’s hair on fire.

“Hey!”

The boy struck, open-handed, leaving a red welt on Logan’s skin.  In seconds it was whole again, and David stared.  Logan knocked him down with a sideways blow.

“Give it up, bub.  You’re out of your league.”

“FBI!”

Reid and Morgan held him in the sights of their guns, but Davy bent and the air around him warped like on a humid day.  Reid was first to grab his throat.

“Can’t-“

Davy was on his feet and huffed fire at Logan again.  This time the air itself seemed to catch fire.  Logan ducked low, beneath the fiery gasses, and lashed out with the backs of his claws at the boy’s ankles.  He fell and with a brisk clip to the back of his head, Logan knocked him unconscious.

*            *            *

She coughed, finally, and Emma felt the flutter of her heart under her hand.  Emily’s eyes opened, and Emma sat back on her heels, but she left her hand where it was.

JJ stood back in the trees, breathing slowly and carefully, and watched.  There was nothing on Emma’s face, no way to tell what she was thinking.  Her eyes were shadowed and the line of her jaw was cold and still.  It was almost hard to believe the change.  When she had been diamond she seemed more alive.  She had acted, attacking David, protecting Emily, and for that moment JJ had really believed that she was a hero.  But that energy faded the moment she returned to being flesh, checking airways, administering CPR.  She had closed up, become rigid, almost jerky.  As she sat back she regained her self-possession, but no fluidity.

Emily’s eyes caught the light oddly, glistening, and then closed, an expression of resignation crossing her face.

The conversation was over.

Emma looked up, and JJ found her self suddenly transfixed by impenetrable blue eyes.

<< Come here, and help her back to the roadblock. >>

Not quite understanding, but unable to question or disobey, JJ moved.  Emily sat up on her own and took her arm to get to her feet.

Emma turned and walked in the opposite direction.

*            *            *

The Kamas Police did not have the facilities to hold a mutant as powerful as David Barry, so the X-Men put him in a holding cell on their plane.  His mother, charged as an accomplice for alerting him to the FBI presence, was in the single Kamas cell.

“Why in hell did you go off on your own?” Hotch demanded of Emily, looking even grimmer than usual, as he always did when they came that close to losing an agent.

“I’m sorry sir.  I wasn’t… thinking clearly.”

Hotch shook his head.  “I can’t let this go.”  He turned to JJ.  “How could you let her just wander off like that?”

JJ closed her eyes.  He was right.  The X-Men weren’t agents.  They didn’t have the same procedures.  She shouldn’t have taken Emma’s bait.  She shouldn’t have turned her back.

“I know you haven’t been getting along lately, but this is unacceptable.”

JJ nodded.

“We were outclassed on this one.  We were damn lucky the X-Men were here to help us.  Three agents with mild asphyxia, and one needing resuscitation… I am not eager to explain this to Strauss.”

“Maybe it would be useful to have mutants on the team.”

Everyone turned to stare at JJ, Emily and Morgan’s eyes widest of all.  JJ shrugged, embarrassed.

Hotch looked wryly grim instead of grimly grim.  “I’ll be sure to suggest that to Strauss.  And when she assigns me a psych evaluation, I’ll mention who said it.”

A few chuckles lightened the atmosphere slightly.

“The mutant containment team is coming tomorrow morning.  So everyone should use tonight to rest their lungs.”  Hotch stopped Emily on her way out.  “Shouldn’t you be checked into a hospital?”

Emily looked away.  “Dr. McCoy checked me out.  He told me what to watch out for, but that I should probably be fine.  I didn’t inhale any smoke.  He was releasing sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide, so I choked, and the hypoxia sent me into cardiac arrest, but there wasn’t much internal damage.  He had me on oxygen for an hour.”

“You were dead.”

“Only clinically.”

Hotch shook his head in disapproval.

*            *            *

Logan found Emma standing outside in the dark underneath a tree.

“Nice evening.”

Emma nodded vaguely in response.

“I was planning on crashing in the ‘bird tonight, keep an eye on the prisoner, eh?”

Another non response.

“You want your room key back?”

Emma finally looked at him, well, the key in his hand.  He nearly stepped back, stunned by the vulnerability on her face.

“It probably smells like me, but…” he shrugged.  Emma took the key and inclined her head.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.  Hey, we caught the bad guy.”  Logan frowned and scratched his head.  “Young little snot though he is.”

Emma wasn’t listening to him anymore, so he slunk off towards the Blackbird.  What a mess this whole thing had become.

*            *            *

Emily, in pajamas and a hotel robe, found her there an hour later.  The moon had risen and Emma was staring up at it, through the trees.

“It’s smaller here,” said Emily, quietly.

Emma glanced over at her, saying nothing.

“I need you tonight.”  Emily whispered the words, too ashamed and too desperate for anything else.  “I close my eyes and I think I can’t breathe again.  I can’t…”

Emma nodded and followed her up the stairs.  Emily curled up in her arms and Emma laced her fingers through her hair.

“I’m broken,” Emily murmured into her chest.  “You said it.  I hate you for being right.”

Emma’s hand moved gently against her head.  Emily felt her swallow, and then her grip tighten almost painfully.  Maybe now she could sleep.

*            *            *

Emma was gone when she woke up.

Emily dressed slowly, packing her bag.  She winced as cloth rubbed against her arm where David had touched her and left shiny red burns behind.

She couldn’t get the expression Emma had worn when she regained consciousness out of her head.  For a moment she couldn’t tell which one of them had been dead.  She wished Emma had been angry, raging, furious, given her anything but that blank hollow stare.  There was nothing, no words, no thoughts, just the snap of their cold brittle connection breaking.

“Hi.”  JJ leaned in through the door and picked up her bag.  Emily wished she could smile, but it was a little beyond her today.

“Hey.”

The mutant containment team was just bringing David Barry out when they reached the field that served as a local landing strip.  He was wearing a small electronic collar and looked young and desperate.  His eyes fell on Emily as he stepped onto the grass and his expression changed to sneering disdain.  The Agent at his left shook his shoulder.

“No looking, keep moving.”

He ignored the instruction and kept his gaze on Emily.  “What a shame,” he said, to her, disregarding the distance.  His voice was rough as if his own smoke had hurt his throat.  “I really wanted to kiss you.”

Emily cringed.  She wouldn’t have survived that. 

“Why?  Couldn’t get a date your own age?”  Emma’s sneering tone was almost a relief.

David spat at her.  “You’re a disgrace.  Collaborator.”

“Collaborator?”  Emma laughed.  “Been reading up on World War Two?”

“Been fucking any dogs lately?”

“Shut your gob, kid.”  The Agent elbowed him forward.

“Woof!  Woof!”  He laughed.  “They really need to re-define bestiality.”  He aimed a kick at one of his escorts, who smacked him in the head to keep him moving.  “We’re better than you.”

Emma rolled her eyes.  “Scum like you doesn’t have an edge on anyone.”

“Yeah?  Like you, who can’t even get a date in your own species?”

“Unsuccessful rapists shouldn’t brag.”  Emma arched an eyebrow.  “It sounds bitter.”

“Emma.”  Scott used his paternal instruction voice, and Emma grimaced, but let David be manhandled into the transport.  She glanced over to Emily, then jerked her eyes away.

“All right.  Let’s get moving,” Hotch called out, leading the way towards the FBI jet.

“Us too,” added Scott, turning to climb up the hatch into the Blackbird.

Emily nodded for JJ to follow the rest of the team into the jet, but stayed behind.  Emma ignored her, but didn’t move to enter the plane.

“Are you going to call this time?”

“No.”

Emily sighed and shook her head.  She hadn’t really expected a different answer, but a lie would have been nice. 

Emma turned slightly, glancing over her form.  Then suddenly she was in front of her, barely six inches of air between them.

“I can’t do this.”

Up close Emma’s shimmering white make-up looked like armor, a defense.

“Can’t do what? If you would remember, I can’t read your mind!”

“I would be ashamed to be with you.”

“What?”  Emily was disgusted.  “Did that asshole’s barking get to you?  You’re saying you agree with him now?”

“He’s not the only one who thinks like that.”

“So what?”

“I’m not going to waste my life protecting you!”

Emily stepped back, bewildered.  “Waste your life?”

“You don’t know who I am.”  Emma stalked towards her, closing the distance again.  “You don’t have any conception of the things I’ve done, for power, and you have no idea of my plans.  These X-Men, they’re children, they’re happy to find out that I’m weak, that I’m more like them.  But they’re worthless.  The people I need, they would lose all respect for me if they knew any of what happened here.”

Emily shook her head.  “I don’t believe you.  If I’m that much of a liability, just make good on your threat.  Rip yourself out of my head.  I don’t care.  I don’t need you.”

Emma growled, her hands gripping her shoulders, nails digging so deep that Emily was sure they would bleed.  “And when you were dead?”

“I was dead!”  She jerked away.  “I didn’t need anything!  It would have been horrible for everyone else, but it was my own fucking fault.  You were the one who needed to save me.”

A hiss of breath as the dagger hit home.  “I don’t need you!”

And the air between them became a vacuum.  Emma was kissing her, artlessly, angrily.  Emily held on tightly, clinging to the moment with every ounce of strength she had.  There had been too many lies spoken, every word had been a lie.  But the one truth unsaid was that this was over.

It was over.

*            *            *

Emma entered the Blackbird, hitting the button to close the hatch behind her.  She looked straight ahead, ignoring the interest of her teammates, and walked to the back of the plane, locking herself in to a seat by the window.

The plane lifted off and she closed her eyes, trying to find the synapse that would make her head stop throbbing.  The whine of the engines only added to the pressure as they turned, taking a northward curving route back to New York.

She curled her hand to inspect her fingernails, and hated it.  She hated her hands, hated her arms, hated herself.  Why was she the one always left carrying the dead bodies of the people she loved?  Why was it always her?

*            *            *

Morgan glanced up as Emily climbed into the plane.  He grinned.  “Hey beautiful, you’ve got a little…” he touched his lip.  “Not sure if the white is really your color.”

He wasn’t prepared for the stricken look that crossed her face.  She disappeared into the plane bathroom.  JJ, startled by the slamming scrape of the door, looked up at Morgan, who physically expressed his bewildered consternation.

JJ frowned exasperatedly at him and stood, dropping her book on the seat.  The door to the bathroom hadn’t been locked.  Emily was bent over the sink.  Her mouth had been scrubbed clean, but tears were running down her face.

“Fuck her,” she managed to get out.  “Fuck her.”

She looked up enough to meet JJ’s eyes in the mirror.

“It’s not fair,” she said, her voice cracking.  “She always leaves her mark on me.”

JJ could see the cement blocks of Emily’s foundation crumbling and scattering into sand.  She hesitated, her hand poised to reach out.  A touch might destroy her entirely, but she had nothing else to give.

 

FIN

Comments

[tabfan19.livejournal.com]

Beautifully done. Normally, I'm bitter about the lack of a happy ending, but in this case, with these characters, this ending seemed totally appropriate.

Of course, if you want to write a sequel, and FIX the situation so it IS a bit more happy, I'd be totally on board with that.

Thanks again for the great story (stories! counting the prequels) and hope to see more from you!

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I'm glad you didn't hate the ending, but it *is* only the ending of this segment. Truly happy endings are no better than double suicides in my book. I like to stay in the rocky in between. But a *little* happier might be in the cards.

[di-glossia.livejournal.com]

Fantastic. The White Queen is still herself and yet so likeable and vulnerable. If only JJ weren't already taken...

[trexkitten.livejournal.com]

Brilliant end! Emma is so so mean... but completely right. She has pissed off way too many people to ever be able to have a normal life. It happens to Erik all the time, he goes clean, finds a nice normal lady to settle down with, some idiot kills her and then he returns to evilness with a vengeance, and a plan to destroy the entire planet.

That said the possible future annihilation of the human race is no reason for them not to give it go. So... Sequel Sequel Sequel!

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, annihilation of the human race sequel... I'll have to give that some thought.

*thinks*

Oh great, i needed more angst.
Where's my notebook?

[trexkitten.livejournal.com]

Damn! I was hoping for a sequel with rainbows and kittens and puppies! You know all the things that make Emma so good and kind ;)

If your taking votes I agree with harbordesperati the Hellfire Club would be interesting.

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Hellfire club... is going to be weird, probably not in a coherent way. It actually has some rainbow/puppy elements that may need to be straightened out with *extreme angst* (TM)

And, for the annihilation of the human race, the best thing about XMen, is the fact that AUs can be combined into the main thread.

I'm planning angsty fun with M-Day too.

[twtd]

Great ending. It seemed so appropriate though I'dd second the request for a sequel that leaves things in a slightly better place (happy would be a bit much to ask where Emma's concerned I think). Maybe something with Emily dealing with Emma's world the way that Emma had to deal with Emily's.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this.

[harbordesperati.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh. Beautiful, heart-wrenching. I was sure there could be no perfect resolution in the one part remaining (if ever, for them), and you play out the angst of the aftermath so artfully.

(On a quick action/plot note: you've really merged these two worlds seamlessly and found a way to balance emotional drama with the linear workings of the case; the take-down scene was fantastic: quick-paced, tense and vivid!)

I love how you use JJ both as a perceptive outsider to the Emma/Emily dynamic and as a perpetual misreader of it, how she understands that Emma will hurt Emily, but cannot actually comprehend the why. I love JJ's observation of Emma's transformation from active, feeling diamond to cold, impassive flesh, and I love the parallel between their 'cold brittle connection breaking,' the representation of both women as irreparably broken, and Emma's vessel metaphor, her understanding of herself as almost disgustingly stronger, fated to picking up the pieces. I love that Emily both understands and rejects that interpretation of their relationship.

Emily's whispered admission of need, followed by her admission of brokenness, met only by silence, mute acquiescence on Emma's part... Gorgeous. How you manage so much with so few words, so little surface motion, is a mystery to me.

The last scene between Emma and Emily tore me to pieces. Every barb, every vulnerability. There had been too many lies spoken, every word had been a lie. But the one truth unsaid was that this was over. Utterly painful, but stunningly phrased.

I love their separate reflections on their respective planes, Emma's absorption into self-loathing negating the fact that, unlike everyone else she's tried to save, Emily is still alive, still accessible, still potentially knowable. I love Emily's admission to JJ, how you've juxtaposed it with the aftermath of their initial parting (being marked vs. marks disappearing in time).

So, yeah. Thanks for this. I'll have to go off and cry now, but I'm so glad you ran with this story the way you did. I almost never comment on stories (I'm such a recluse), but this is so unique and brilliant, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it.

Of course, bleeding-heart romantic that I am... Dare I hope for more?

Because Emily's not dead, after all, and Emma's story is changing, whether she likes it or not, and no one else is going to tackle this world, with these characters in tandem, the way you do... I don't care if it takes you years to get them to a space where they can freely admit their need to each other. Even if it's just perpetual breaking for a long, long time, I'll read every word.

<3! Thanks for making my week.

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

Who made who's week? with a review like that? It is all to my enjoyment!

I love that you point out and actually like all the things i don't have confidence in. I'm always sure that it's too fast, too over the top, too much JJ and Logan, so knowing that the tricky bits are being noticed is both terrifying and affirming.

There are sequels to come. Somehow, writing for them is like candy... or something tastier than candy that doesn't make you sick.

Although i can't even imagine what a happy fic would look like with these two, Emily won't have to cry at the end every single time. I really hope you do keep reading them, even if it forges away into some of the strange places in my head.
(even the Hellfire Club)

[harbordesperati.livejournal.com]

Yes! I can't wait! (And I was hoping it might take a dive into Emma's world; would love to see what you do with the Hellfire Club...)

And no, it's not too much; the myriad points of view are both refreshing and true to the procedural-style 'Criminal Minds' bent of this arc. You opened up the world, gave it dimension and depth, without losing your primary focus (the Emma/Emily dynamic). The Logan-Emma interactions are fantastic; he's the perfect character to ground her/act as an emotional touchstone without actually becoming involved or threatening her need for privacy. Also: Garcia-as-mutant is made of pure win (that, by the way, is a subtle petition for more Garcia), and you even made me like Jean! (Not a feat to be scoffed at.)

Anyhow, I know what it's like to send things out into the void and hope they ring true; as long as you're writing, I'll be here on the other end.

[quew.livejournal.com]

X-Men/Criminal Minds? It's like I've taken delicious, delicious fandom crack (even though I've not seen much of CM, but we'll gloss over that).

This was wonderful, thank you :) I have to ask though: what little plot bunny inspired this? I ask for no other reason than I am curious :)

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

It came from this meme:
http://nike-ravus.livejournal.com/7989.html#cutid1
Questions 3 and 17, and then it just exploded.

[quew.livejournal.com]

Lmao. Having checked that out, I have to say that that is just crack-tastic. I may have to pinch that from you, if that's okay? And thank you very much for indulging my curiousity :)

[nike-ravus.livejournal.com]

it is totally cracktastic! I recommend doing it, I tried to stay away from OTPs and it went very well.

[triggerhappy.livejournal.com]

harbordesperati said it all, and a lot better than I ever could.

I too hope for a slightly happier ending next time, but where this one ended just fits perfectly.
Fits the story, fits the universes and fits them.

And just damn good writing, too.

[craving-vintage.livejournal.com]

Absolutely brilliant! :) I loved it! You are so freaking talented. Just the interaction between Emma and Emily is just so good. The plot, the characters, everything is so well-done. etc. And to think I learned about these two characters just recently. Ok, I'm gushing and major fangirling. lol Good stuff!

[mord5ith.livejournal.com]

Wow.

Just give me few minutes to regain mysefl.

Alright, done. I think I'll leave a comment about the whole fic.

This fic was awesome. First of all, I really could picture Garcia as a Cyberpath. That woman is a genius! And a funny one.

And I liked the argument about the mutant registry between the BAU members. Actually, I liked all the mutant talk. From the one between the team, to David Barry's rant.

And somehow, it doesn't surprise me that J.J. is the one with the small bourgeois idiocracy and ignorant fear. Even if it is not totally displaced.

I loved how you showed different points of view of the same issue.

JJ fears them because she doesn't know how to deal with them (or she wouldn't have tested her son). Emily could never. Both because of her Cosmopolitanism and belonging to minority herself. Emma explained the point of view of a powerful disillusioned mutant. And David Barry wanted revenge which turned in rightful (for him, at least) hate. And Read is your usual kid on sugar rush.

I love when characters do what they do because of who they are. And not the reverse.

And of course, I squealed like the fangirl I really am, every time Emily and Emma talked/kissed/touched. You write them beautifully.

"Emma’s one of those ‘if you can’t handle my fingernails, you can’t handle me’ type of girls.” :D That's Emma! And poor JJ.

My favorite bit: Emma did not like the feeling she had when she realized that she had slept with Emily more nights than with anyone else in her entire life. She had gone through her history, trying to find someone, anyone, whom she had been with more than fourteen times. The trouble was, even if they had sex, she would kick them out. She had kicked everyone out before Emily. But with Emily it was the sex that was incidental. The important thing was to have someone there in the morning, to remind you that you were alive.

It had been so long since she had had someone to talk to like Emily, someone who wasn’t suspicious, wasn’t competitive, and wasn’t secretly plotting against her. It was almost like having Christian back.

Emma has always been such a lonely character. Even in the story line when she's with Scott (except maybe in House of M... even if being with Scott sounds bad enough) she's always so alone.

It's nice how you didn't just put the two together and had them have sex with a happily ever after. How you focused on their need to fill the void, even if they're masking it as lust.

P.s. Xorn was his lovely odd self. And I'm wondering if your Xorn is Magneto Xorn or the real one. Well, I'll just keep reading. It's not like I have another exam in two days. :P