Eva, who had been marshalling her breath for an argument, found that she couldn’t argue with this logic. “OK, yeah. I get that,” she said instead.
“Emma will meet you there tomorrow morning to tell you what to do. Magneto is away from the school for the moment, and I think it would do you both some good to keep busy. I know I need busy work when I come off a mission. Otherwise I end up brooding.” Christopher winced, and Cyclops, who was watching them closely, picked up on it. “Is there a problem?”
“Emma has been acting a little strange,” he admitted. “There was that whole stabbing thing.”
“Ah, yes. She’s a bit unconventional, I admit. Years in the Hellfire Club and all that.” Cyclops shook his head. “I think she wants you to call her out. Emma’s big on independence, and she wants you to think for yourselves rather than blindly parroting what we tell you. She’s a big part of the reason I was able to talk to you calmly now that you’re back, because she helped me see that a little independence is a good thing given the circumstances, so long as it’s tempered with some healthy respect and quality teamwork. I think Emma is deliberately acting out because she wants you to question her. She wants you to realize that you have the freedom to question any of us. I think once you do, she’ll lay off a little.”
Christopher let out a breath of relief. “I’ll do it the minute we get to the cafeteria then, because she seriously freaked me out.”
“I’ll let you get on with it then. Oh, and Eva? You never get over losing a teammate. I lost Jean years ago, and my heart still aches like it was yesterday. If either of you want to talk about it, you know where to find me. I can empathize. Even if the person you’re mourning is Sabretooth, and he probably called me some awful names.”
Cyclops smiled sadly at them. He looked so lonely behind that desk, surrounded by empty walls and sterile space. Eva wondered how he managed it, sitting there hour after hour with only his memories to keep him company. But maybe he wanted it that way. She could begin to understand that now.
“Thanks,” she said. Christopher echoed it. Cyclops shooed them away, but as they reached the door to his office, he said one last thing to them.
“Excellent work, X-Men. Glad to have you on the team.”
Acknowledgments
Writing this book was a dream come true.
I owe a debt of immense, world-shattering gratitude to all the folks at Aconyte Books for making this one of the best publishing experiences I’ve ever had. An extra soupcon of gratitude goes out to Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells, who is not only an excellent and supportive editor, but also a fabulous person to boot. Also, she has a very cute puppy.
Every member of the Marvel team who touched this book made it better, and I’m not surprised by how good they are, but I sure am grateful for it. Special thanks go to Caitlin O’Connell, who is so blindingly smart that I suspect she might secretly be a mutant. That is a compliment.
Thank you to Stan Lee for making me feel truly cool (by association) for the first time in my entire life.
A few fine people read bits and pieces of this book and provided expertise that I lacked. I owe tons of eternal squealy gratitude to Emily Cooperider, Ali Cross, Jen Fick, and Evelyn Preston. Naturally, all errors are to be blamed on me. I will in turn blame them on any handy super villains.
A tip of the hat goes to the fine folks at Black Cat Comics for being my go-to research buddies. Support your local comic store, and make sure to visit Black Cat if you’re ever in Salt Lake City.
Last but certainly not least, thanks to my family for putting up with the constant runs to Black Cat, the repeated requests to “please read this; it’s short this time,” and a lot of late/slightly scorched dinners.
About the Author
CARRIE HARRIS is a geek of all trades and proud of it. She’s an experienced author of tie-in fiction, former tabletop game executive and published game designer who lives in Utah.
carrieharrisbooks.com
twitter.com/carrharr
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Table of Contents
Cover
LibertyandJustice_cover.xhtml
ARC Cover
Advance Reading Copy
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Acknowledgments
About the Author
By the Same Author
Further Marvel Adventures
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