A/N: I wrote this shortly after hearing Cole would be back for the 150th episode of Charmed. I had no idea how they were planning on doing it, but I felt compelled to write the way I would do it. It's canon up to and including "Show Ghouls." Kevin, in case you don't remember, is the kid who drew comic books that came to life in "Witches in Tights" -- he became an Elder at the end of the episode.
Fair warning, I am verrrrry snarky toward the Charmed Ones in this. :) But it's deserved.
Piper sat in her room, rocking Chris in her arms, smiling as she watched Leo play with Wyatt. This was Utopia, not the world the Avatars had brought about -- a peaceful home with her husband and sons. If only moments like this could last, uninterrupted by demons, but she'd come to terms with the duties that came with being a Charmed One. At least things had been relatively peaceful for the past few weeks, if one ignored the looming question of what the Elders might have planned for Leo.
"I think Wyatt wants to go to the park today," Leo said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "What do you think, big gu--"
Mid-word, Leo began to orb out. Piper had seen enough orbing over the years to recognize when it was against one's will. "Leo!" she cried.
Wyatt wailed in distress, reaching out his arms toward his disappearing father. Piper watched in horror as the magical orbs around Leo began to spin erratically, caught between the pull of the Elders and Wyatt's own power. She heard Leo's scream of pain and frantically told her son, "Wyatt! Let Daddy go!" Wyatt pouted and dropped his arms, and Leo disappeared. Chris began to whimper, and Piper gathered both her children in her arms to calm them.
She didn't have time for her rage and fear to build before a young man orbed into her room. She pushed the boys behind her and raised her hands instinctively. "Don't shoot!" the boy yelped, ducking behind a chair.
"Kevin?" Piper said, recognizing the young Elder.
"I know you're pissed," Kevin said, warily standing back up, "but I'm on your side here."
"What's going on?" Piper demanded. "Where's Leo?"
"Okay. The Elders are all sorts of pissed at Leo about this Avatar stuff, but you know that," Kevin explained. "But some of us -- like me -- aren't all about the punishment thing. We understand why what happened did. And we want to make sure justice is done."
"Justice?" Piper said suspiciously.
"There's going to be a trial," Kevin explained. "Leo has to justify what he did. The highest ranking Elders are going to preside over it."
Piper's hands twitched. "Justify himself?" she fumed. "The Elders are the ones who took him away from his family. They attacked our son! Bring Leo back here now or I swear to god I will find a way up there myself and..."
"Whoa, preaching to the choir here," Kevin interrupted. "Like I said, I'm on your side. Some of the Elders were all 'He must be punished!' for going against the will of the Collective or something, but some of us -- mostly the younger Elders if that makes sense -- want to hear Leo's reasons. So we compromised on this trial."
"I've been through one of these trials before," Piper said, her eyes narrowing. "I think we'll pass."
"You really don't have a choice at this point," Kevin said. "But I did arrange for you and your sisters to be able to attend and speak on his behalf."
One hour later, after Piper had made phone calls to her sisters to return to the manor immediately, Kevin orbed the Charmed Ones to the location of Leo's trial. The setting was eerily similar to that used by the Tribunal that had past judgment over the sister's misuse of their powers, but Kevin assured them that there would be no demons involved in these proceedings. "And they've learned to count. Three judges, not four," Paige said mockingly.
"Where's Leo?" Piper said, peering into the darkness around them. There were three Elders, two women and a man, seated on a dais at one end of the room, and another pair of Elders opposite them. The prosecution, Piper guessed.
"He'll be brought in shortly," Kevin said. "First we need to prep Leo's defense. I found the perfect person to handle it. Just...uh, trust me. Let me bring him in." He closed his eyes and concentrated, and a figure began to orb in.
"Oh my god," Phoebe whispered.
"Dude, I thought you were supposed to be helping Leo," Paige said in disbelief.
"Are you out of your freakin' mind?" Piper exploded.
"Nice to see you, too, ladies," Cole said with a small smirk.