Chapter Text
There were murmurs in the court, Evelyn could barely hear them over the rush of her breath all she wanted to hear was the judge’s verdict not the whispers of gossiping civilians. They pegged her a coward. Whether they supported her actions or not, the world saw her as a cop out, some believed she accepted the deal out of a spoiled desire to get out of jail scot-free, others said she’d been corrupted by the super loving government officials, all of the groups added to the stress of her final hearing.
Things would go in Evelyn’s favor, Winston had assured her of it and Evelyn believed him but not without reason, their legal team had worked tirelessly through the duration of the trial to paint her as simply unstable rather than pure evil as the majority of the public seemed to believe. Whatever strategy their lawyers cobbled together was working and all without sullying Winston’s newly established reputation as a super lover, it worked so well that the government prosecution took notice and offered a plea deal of their own weeks before the Deavor’s lawyers were about to enter their insanity plea something that would get her out of jail and into a “rehabilitation facility”.
As she gained control of her breathing Evelyn mulled over the possibility of their lawyers being good enough to make the government second-guess themselves; the situation had become convoluted enough to make Evelyn struggle to keep the strings behind her plan from tangling together but Evelyn doubted the government would make the same mistake, it was something else, an unethical ploy Evelyn was sure of it.
The plea deal itself was simple, on the surface at least, no clauses, no small print just an act of community service, five hours a day for two and a half years. It was a blessing as Winston kept shrieking every time Evelyn so much as looked doubtful but the community service wasn’t the problem it was who or rather what it was for.
The newly established and fully functioning National Super Association requested her intellect for “A small but noteworthy task to be completed alongside the NSA’s leading scientist Dr. Colibat,” Evelyn had nearly curled her lip in disgust when she heard the offer it smelled like a trap to her. Their lawyers admitted they were boxed in, if she refused the deal it would prove to the public that prejudice and not grief-fueled insanity was the root of Evelyn’s actions which would possibly get their insanity plea thrown out, she’d be stuck in prison.
Evelyn was convinced that was the NSA’s goal even if Winston insisted on believing they were being merciful and that perhaps they wanted her help because of the rumors of a new Screenslaver but those were stupid rumors spread by the uneducated, Evelyn kept her hypnosis tech in a secret place out of reach of even the government. No they hadn’t done it to be kind, the supers knew Evelyn would never accept a deal that would force her to actually work with them. They wanted her to rot in prison and Evelyn could understand their logic even if it angered her, they were thieves as she saw it, over glorified thieves who never did their job. They took everything from her first her parents, her reputation and her brother and then when she was within inches of getting back the last thing, the one thing that wouldn’t affect supers’ vigilante crime fighting they put up a roadblock.
A good roadblock at that, Evelyn had little doubt Elastigirl had something to do with it.
But Elastigirl didn’t know Evelyn as well as she thought she did. Elastigirl didn’t know her at all.
Perhaps the roadblock would have worked if anything besides Winston had been on the line, money, fame, nice clothing she would lose them all to prove a point. But her brother was worth more than a silly statement, worth more than correcting misinformed views and turning her nose up at Elastigirl, Winston was worth more than pride, Evelyn valued him above walking free, for all accounts he was priceless.
The supers didn’t know that, they may not have even realized the plea deal was a personal affront, but it was. So Evelyn had watched with silent vindication as the supers brave enough to attend the hearing stared slack-jawed as she accepted their plea deal and got one step closer to the one thing they were stupid enough to mess with.
The thrill of throwing them a loop wore off quickly when Evelyn realized she would have to wait for the judge to accept her plea. It was torture.
Evelyn kept her head down until she heard the judge clear his throat, her stomach had lost the ability to handle the hopeful expressions of the supers present, besides the crazier side of the divide Evelyn had created she had no support in the courtroom.
Winston was outside probably drinking those candied milkshakes she didn’t want him having, he never attended the hearings Evelyn knew it was for the best Winston was too excitable to keep silent for hours and if he were subjected to the negative remarks of the government prosecution team while forced to remain quiet his positive energy would quickly be converted into nervous gloom instead of cheer, then everyone would have a problem Evelyn would make sure of that.
The judge cleared his throat once more Evelyn stared him anxiously this hearing seemed so much longer than the others.
“The plea bargain-” The judge started slowly almost fearfully his dark eyes scanned the courtroom not stopping once on Evelyn, she realized the judge probably didn’t have much of a say in the matter not when the NSA was involved. “Has been accepted by both the defendant and prosecutor it is my belief that the benefits are substantial to the public and as such, I concede with both parties. The plea is accepted.”
The gavel came down with enough force to resound through the marble room and send a chill through Evelyn. The room fell eerily silent not even a whisper was heard then there was a wail and the room erupted in chaos as if she had fallen into a pool the noise around Evelyn became distorted, she wasn’t prone to fear or glee and so the emotions that coursed through her were indistinct yet notably unpleasant. She was numb by the time she was escorted from the room leaving a frenzy behind her. A group of police officers grudgingly flanked Evelyn and her lawyers as they prepared to open the courthouse doors.
The mob was smaller than Evelyn expected, a handful of picketers, a few curious onlookers and a throng of reporters. Evelyn ignored the questions as she was instructed to and turned her eyes away from the blinding flashes of the camera, they were nothing in comparison to her hypno-tech. She and the lawyers boarded a small car devoid of her brother and driven by a teenager with acne it was a simple display unbefitting of one of the richest women on the planet but it had been planned down to the second. The Deavor’s lawyers work didn’t stop in the courtroom they were engaged constant battle to keep the twins track record sparkling.
Winston made it easy, Evelyn was a challenge that required countless approaches even before the super incident. Evelyn spared a glance at the men beside her they all looked smugly satisfied with themselves, their work was hardly finished but the highest stakes were over and they had gotten her off with one of the best sentences in history two years of community service for a list of charges that included attempted murder, fraud, kidnapping, misuse of therapeutic devices and flying an aircraft within city limits while that last one was completely bogus the lawyers were proud of themselves and Evelyn didn’t blame them but she wasn’t interested in a victory party.
The ride was a blur and when the car rolled to a stop in front of their manor Evelyn still hadn’t sorted through the tangled mess of emotions the final hearing gave her but Evelyn had freed one string that gave her clarity and reminded her why she accepted the deal in the first place, for her brother’s sake. The gates closed behind them sealing out even the most persistent reporters, Evelyn mustered up the energy to climb out of the car leaving her lawyers behind Winston would pay them their weight in cash before the day was over a token of his gratitude and a reminder of what money could buy.
Evelyn’s shoes crunched across the gravel pathway, it felt foreign even though she had only been away for a few months even the breeze was strange. Evelyn braced her hand against the door for a moment she was afraid of opening it and walking into uncertainty, Evelyn chuckled bitterly to herself as she realized she’d done that as soon as she accepted the plea bargain, with a steady breath she turned the doorknob, it was unlocked and the door swung wide with ease.
There was a soft noise that filled the house Evelyn attributed it to the television in the den and followed the sound. Her legs felt weak as she made her way down a long winding hall when she stood under the archway of the den Evelyn had placed the sensation that had been haunting her since they left the courthouse the whole ordeal was surreal and a small voice in the back of Evelyn’s mind was terrified she would wake up and find the whole thing a dream that voice had gotten louder the moment the car pulled onto the estate.
Evelyn inched into the den slowly, she had seen her brother almost every day while she was in prison but the thought of seeing him now made her jittery.
Winston was sitting on the couch staring at the television intently her hearing played across the screen and Evelyn resisted the urge to turn it off instead she coughed. Winston jumped and looked over his shoulder his expression faltered before it was replaced with a wide smile one that Evelyn recognized as not entirely heartfelt.
“You’re back!” Winston said. “And so soon too.”
“Eh, that thing isn’t exactly live,” Evelyn said with a shrug, she nodded her head to the television set.
Winston smiled wider in response.
Evelyn sighed under her breath and walked over to the couch, she wrapped her arms around him and patted him on the back awkwardly, she wasn’t the affectionate one of the two, but she refused to let aloofness sour the weight of the day, Winston returned the embrace after a moment. Evelyn could smell the sweet scent of those hated milkshakes they turned her stomach but she held her tongue. Neither of them knew what to say or even exactly how to feel, the situation was too convoluted to have one opinion, as upset as Evelyn knew Winston felt she knew he understood the reasoning behind her actions even if he didn’t agree with her. It was complicated but it was an issue separate from their relationship and it was smaller than the love they had for each other, the world may have been falling apart but they would be fine.