Friday, day of Ian's trial.
" All right, inmate arms through the bars." The deputy on guard at the time, told Ian to put his arms through the cell door, so that he could cuff him up and prepare him for his trial.
Ian did as he was asked and placed his hands out for the deputy. Once he was cuffed the deputy opened up the cell door and escorted Ian out of it.
" Good luck, Ian. And remember what we talked about" Frank told the boy.
" I'll do my best, Frank. That's all I can promise you." Ian told the man.
" That's all I can ask of you! Take care my friend!" Frank shouted to the boy.
" You as well!" Ian replied.
Father Frank had been a good source of joy in Ian's time in jail. Sharing with him many of his own personal pains and tragedies and his joys and pleasures as well.
" Take care, Ian. May God watch over your soul and guide you along the path of virtue. Goodbye my friend. Until we meet again." Frank spoke. He watched as Ian and the guarded vanished beyond the jail door one last time.
Ian had been brought to the courthouse in the back of a transportation van, which had been quite hot. Once there Ian was brought into a small lockup where he was placed.
" Okay, you're Trial, will be soon. Your friends brought you clothes to wear. If you want, you can go ahead and change." The deputy spoke. " Just make sure you do it before it's time for the trial to start."
" Alright, thanks." Ian replied. He took the bag from the man and looked inside to see a fresh pair of clothes. A pair of dress pants, a white-collar shirt, and a pair of his dress shoes. " Well, it's nice they at least brought something cheap." Ian chuckled. He started undressing and quickly changed into his suit. And once he was done, he sat down on his bed until the guard returned to bring him in front of the judge.
" All right, hands through the bar." The deputy spoke.
" Yup." Ian replied. He stuck his hands through the bar and waited until the deputy had finished. Once he had the deputy pulled Ian from his cell and the two walked to the court room.
When Ian walked inside, he noticed that only a few of the teachers had actually showed up. Dani, Emma, and Rahne were the only ones to show up and immediately Ian's good mood soured.
' That's it?' Ian thought to himself. He figured the X-men were always busy, but he had at least hoped that more than three of the school's students and staff would show up.
Ian was brought to the stand right in front of the Judges podium and was sworn in.
" Hello, Ian. It's nice to meet you. I'm your attorney Evangeline Whedon." Whedon, Ian's attorney introduced herself to the young boy.
" Thanks, but don't you think we should have met before the actual trial?" Ian asked.
" Normally, yes. But for your case things are a little bit easier than normal." Whedon replied. " Just watch." Whedon spoke.
" All right, miss Whedon the floor is yours." Judge Rosenberg told the woman.
Whedon winked at Ian and stepped forward.
" Your honor we seek to have all charges dismissed." Whedon told the man.
" On what grounds, Miss Whedon?" Rosenberg asked.
" We have already submitted substantial testimonies from eye witnessess from the graphic assault on San Francisco, by a mutant terrorist organization known only as the Facility. The investigating officer has ruled that Mister David Williams death was caused by a .50 caliber bullet fired from the barrel of a sniper rifle that had to have been fired in the air, most likely from the same helicopter that destroyed the city a little while ago. Once more, these people responsible kidnapped Ian and tortured him for days and weeks repeatedly. When he managed to escape from their clutches, he fled the facility and ended up floating down by Mister David's home. Mister David then took in Ian, allowing him to shower and eat. We have the phone call from Mister Williams cell phone indicating everything that happened from the time he found Ian. Trying him now, would only punish him for being a guinea pig and a victim." Whedon explained to the judge.
" Agent Pierce, is this true?" Rosenberg asked.
" Yes, your honor it is." Pierce replied.
" And does the state have anything to offer?" Rosenberg asked.
" In light of Agent Pierce's findings, the state does not oppose this motion." The state attorney told the judge.
" Then your motion is granted, Miss Whedon. The charges are dismissed. And allow me to say that I am sorry for what you have been through young man, I hope this does not weigh heavily on you or your opinion of the justice system." Rosenberg spoke, he banged his gavel down signaling the end of a month's long wait.
Ian was extremely satisfied and relieved to hear that he was finally being released. He wanted to scream and shout so badly, but he figured if he did, he might just end up getting thrown back in jail for contempt. Or maybe not.
" Well, mister Sinclair, you are a free man. Try to stay out of trouble and do call me if you ever need a lawyer." Whedon told the boy.
" Of course, thank you miss Whedon." Ian told the woman.
Whedon quickly left the court room leaving Ian behind.
" Well, kid. I'm glad everything worked out in the end." Pierce told the boy.
" Yeah, it did. This time. Shouldn't have happened at all but hey, we all make mistakes right Agent? Right! You take care of yourself." Ian told the man.
Pierce took note of his passive-aggressiveness and decided not to work things up. He simply nodded his head and allowed Ian to walk past him.
Ian walked past Pierce without sparing the man another glance and instead walked towards his three teachers with a smile on his face.
" Ian, I'm so happy to see you again. How have you been?" Dani asked.
Ian ignored her and Emma and walked straight up to Rahne and hugged her.
" It's good tae see ye, again teach. I've missed ye." Ian told the woman.
Rahne smiled and reciprocated the hug.
" Och, I've missed ye too, Ian." Rahne told the man.
" Oh, isn't that how it is?" Emma asked playfully. " Aren't you forgetting someone?"
" Don't talk to me. Either of you. Things might have worked out, but I haven't forgotten how I got here in the first place. I might not hold as much of a grudge as I did, but even now, I still dislike you both intensely. I want to try and get my things that they took from me and then I want to go home. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't want any more hugs, I don't want either of you asking me how I'm doing or how I've been. I would like nothing more than quiet, please. Is that okay?" Ian asked.
" Just fine." Emma replied. She was a little nerved by Ian's disposition, but she was used to it.
Dani, however, was saddened by how Ian spoke to her. She hung her head down and simply stayed quiet.
" Thank you, now. Who do I talk to about getting my stuff back?" Ian asked.
" No one. None of your things were used as criminal evidence, so we were able to retrieve your things already." Emma spoke up.
" Oh, okay then. Let's go." Ian spoke up. " I'm sure I've missed a lot. Why don't you fill me in on the way home?" Ian asked Rahne.
Rahne smiled and nodded and the two walked out of the courthouse with Dani and Emma right behind them.