The ride back to the New-York took considerably longer than the flight to the Raft.  A couple of hours on a noisy helicopter was the icing on the long-and-exhausting-day cake.  When they arrived at Jacob Javits Federal Building's rooftop it was already way past midnight.  Yesterday was gone, and now they had a brand new day to look forward to, a day which will include a few hours of debriefing by 'Agent Johnson', and then (if they're lucky) a few hours of reprieve before the press conference in the afternoon.

The new field commander of Freedom Force was waiting for them.  Unlike Price, Johnson looked the part of a Federal Agent. Stereotypically so; grey suit to go with a dour expression and lifeless eyes.  He stood there, like a mannequin, until the rotors of the helicopters stopped spinning and the heroes disembarked:

"Evening, Agents.  I'm Agent Johnson, your new field commander.  I want to debrief you right away, so if you follow me - " he motioned with his hand toward the stairway leading down into the building "and we'll get started"

Tank stepped off the helicopter and stood next to the open door, in order to help anyone down who needed it.

Gwenyth had, for whatever reason, insisted on flying the helicopter. She had a nap before the mission, she was good for an evening's flight. Some might have found it boring to just fly in a straight line, but she found something relaxing about being behind the controls of a giant piece of flying equipment. She had insisted, and when the pilot had been unwilling to let her take the controls she had kissed him. The poor man had flown in back with the rest of Freedom Force, looking slightly concussed from the experience.

Gwenyth sets the helicopter down and disembarks with the rest of the team, accepting Tank's offer of help with murmured thanks as she does. Once she is boots-on-ground she gives Agent Johnson a long, appraising stare. Now there's a man who has zero love life, she thinks to herself. She gives an exaggerated sigh as she looks to the rest of the team. She was actually feeling pretty relaxed right now. "Shall we then?"

John had laughed after Gwyneth had kissed the pilot, and then tried to pass it off as coughing. His arms seemed to not react to such a display, but limb number six had given her the thumbs up. He then glowered at the errant arm, which ignored him as usual.

Once they arrived Shiva hopped off the chopper, still typing in the air on his invisible keyboard. Of course, his arms moved about him, sensing the area and networking the data to each energy limb and John's brain. It was clear John was not looking at where he was walking, or at people around him. Instead, he seemed to be looking at various HUD screens only he could detect.

This seeming lack of attention to detail did not trip him up or cause him to bump into anything. In fact, he was quite aware due to his limb's sensors. Even now, he was reviewing info he recorded during the fight, isolating Cletus material make up and downloading it to the primary Freedom Force server for later scientific examination, and of course writing a full report to Commander Johnson. All while trying to contact Director Cooper with her private email. Asking for a personal debrief later, as he trusted Cooper more than Johnson. Often his limbs would handle these sort of things at the same time, as he could multi-task like a machine could.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Wed 02 Feb 2022.

Danny elighted the chopper at the end of their journey.   He'd dozed in the ride along the way, and so was a little sluggish and groggy when facing their new Commander.

When Gwenyth invited them to follow his orders, Danny merely shrugged, and sauntered off in the direction indicated.

Kate, having lost her phone in the dump to the sea, and cloths when she went octopus had climbed onto the helicopter grudgingly.  The noise it made when it took off was even worse, and rather than sit there furry but uncomfortable she shifted down into a cat and crawled into Ana's lap where she did her best to hide her ears from the noise and catnap throughout the trip.

When they finally got there she kept her eyes closed.  'carry me.' she sent to Ana.  'I'm too tired to deal with someone like him right now.'

Johnson wasn't much of a talker.  He didn't try to chat his team up, or so much as to inquire about their well-being after their mission out in the field.  He led them, silently, to the very same meeting room they sat in for their meeting with Valerie a few hours earlier.

"Have a seat"
He waited for all of them to do so, and remained standing himself as he started the debriefing , which felt more like an interrogation:

"We lost contact with you once you were out of signal range.  I need to know everything; what happened to the Brotherhood, the escaped prisoner, and most importantly - Magneto"

The 'debriefing' was interrupted before it got started.  Johnson, begrudgingly, called out 'Enter' after someone gently knocked against the door to the meeting room.  It was one of the security guards, and the heroes didn't have to look at him to know what he was carrying with him; the intoxicating aroma of baking crust and melted cheese was unmistakable

"Sorry to interrupt you Agent Johnson.  But Valerie thought you might be in for pizzas?"

Frank had just opened his mouth to start to answer Johnson when the knock came at the door. Pizza? He could eat some pizza. Actually, Frank was hungry enough that he could eat a pizza. But he wasn't so dumb as to reach for it while Agent Johnson was trying to run a debriefing, unless he specifically said it was okay.

If the boss didn't want his team eating during a meeting, then the pizza would just... sit there. And wouldn't that be a shame?

Johnson scowled.  He didn't want to conduct his debriefing while the team were busy eating.  He didn't consider they might be hungry at all, and even if he did, saw no reason to delay his meeting on that account.

"Put them in the kitchen. We're busy here"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:20, Thu 03 Feb 2022.

"Oh, no pizza for me," Gwenyth says softly. "All that grease is terrible for my skin. Tell Valerie I said thank you, though!" She gives Gibson one of her radiant smiles.

"Of course, Commander Johnson...No! Six!" He managed to say before the aforementioned limb shot out, extended its reach and tracked down the food in the other room with its sensors. Then it proceeded to reshape itself into a pizza delivery heat 'bag' made of its constructed solid energy. On the side of the 'bag', the words 'Shiva's Pizza' could be seen, with a small cartoon of a 8 armed stick figure presenting the pie to the viewer.

"Heh...kitchen, right?" John said nervously as he glared at Six. Assuming whoever was delivering the food handed it over, the limb would retract and drop off the pies into the kitchen.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Thu 03 Feb 2022.

Before the get in the helicopter Ana Sofia replies to John after his message, "I was telling everyone that the slaughter of the prisoners at this latest prison was the same sort of murder as that committed by Zoey at the prior prison. I'm going to have to address this with the bosses."

When the helicopter arrives she hops in warily, "This seems like such a poor way to fly, especially after the last flight. But at least I can sleep while traveling this way." She doesn't make it too long before falling asleep for most the trip.

When the helicopter lands she takes moment waking up. She holds carries the cat in a comfortable hold, rubbing her head, not really knowing if that's appropriate or of it's strange. When she gets to the entrance of the helicopter she just glides out and down, still holding and stroking the cat.

...

For the moment she's just sitting quietly, sizing up this new boss and ignoring the arriving pizza.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:09, Thu 03 Feb 2022.

Gwenyth watches Shiva's arms get up to mischief again. "Is that... something we need to be concerned about?" she asks. "Not the pizza, the other thing..."

Danny had pulled up a seat when they entered the meeting room, and sat casually waiting.
When the pizza arrived, he perked up .... then visibly deflated with their faceless boss made his thoughtless decision.

'Fuck this', he thought to himself;  which may have shown on his face.

Kate perked up in Ana's lap as the pizza arrived, and then settled back down when it was rudely denied, deciding that she didn't feel a particular need to shift up to speak, or even sit up high enough to be seen above the table top.  She wasn't planning to actually go to sleep but was sure going to fake it, letting out a soft purr at the continued gentle petting.  It was pretty clear that Kate at least didn't think what Ana was doing was inappropriate.

'ruining good pizza like that, I don't think I like this boss.'  She let everyone but the new boss know.

Johnson glared at John, his lips pressed tightly together with anger

"Agent Ohm; if you can't control yourself, you're welcome to leave.  Permanently.  And is that Agent Messer on your lap, Windtalker!??"

His eyebrow furrowed.  This was getting ridiculous.

"I need you to focus.  We had multiple casualties today on the Raft, yes?  Agent Guberman, Mendez, Mistress; I need to know exactly what happened"

In reply to Agent Johnson (msg # 17):

"Commander, I am very sorry. My file should explain my...ah...situation with the armature, sir. They are...90% under my control...maybe 75%?" He tries to say that last part under his breath.

When Johnson mentions the causalities on the raft, Shiva inhales sharply. "I would also point out Freedom Force was totally successful on the beach without a single civilian causality. Ultimately they did act to save lives....and succeeded."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:36, Fri 04 Feb 2022.

Frank didn't snicker at the new guy's actions, mostly because the new boss kind of intimidated him.

"Magneto was waiting for us, sir," Frank replied to Johnson's prompt when he thought the conversation could use some steering back to the important stuff. From there he went through the rest of the evening's events, albeit briefly. "He wrecked the transport we'd borrowed from the X-Men and left us stranded on a sinking pile of wreckage. Gambit, our X-Man pilot, swam to the Brotherhood submarine and destroyed it. Gambit has not been seen since.

"Magneto then proceeded to attack the Raft facility.

"As near as I can tell, the Raft responded by flooding the facility to prevent a mass escape. Magneto tried lifting the prison out of the water but wound up destroying it instead. It would seem the prison collapsed under its own weight, suggesting that there is an upper limit to Magneto's power... but it's enormous.

"One prisoner survived to swim to shore. With Iron Man's help, several of us made it to shore to engage the super-criminal known as Carnage. We won."

He looked to the others.

"Did I forget anything?"

At that Kate shifted her position to sit up and look at Johnson.  'Putting aside just why a prison was built underwater the mission was not well planned.  Either we would have gotten there before him, and been unable to do anything, as we were told there was no place to move the prisoners, or we would arrive after him and again be unable to do anything.  Given where it was we couldn't really fight him.

The only reason any of us lived is that Magneto wanted to talk first instead of crush us in the plane.  Something he probably won't do again given how every time he tries to be less than murderous his side loses people.

He also seems to think that we're the X-Men, not unreasonably given we arrived in an X-Man plane, and were X-Men before working for the government.

Finally one other prisoner survived, named Wax, and is currently trapped at the bottom of the ocean.  They won't die but cannot get free.  We need to retrieve them even if it is just to throw them in another prison, being trapped on the bottom of the ocean forever is wrong.'

She had more thoughts on building a prison where the guards would die if a prison break happened but kept them and the other more sarcastic thoughts to herself.  Johnson got one shot to be reasonable, well, two but the pizza was the first strike.

"Thank you, Agent Guberman. Considering the circumstances, the opposition, and the time you had to prepare for the mission, not to mention your lack of training.  And leadership" he eyed Mistress as he paused for emphasis

"- I would say you performed better than we had any right to hope for.  You stopped the Brotherhood.  None of the prisoners escaped.  We have the Legion in custody, and after we retrieve 'Wax', we can interrogate him about Magneto's whereabout.  Arresting Magneto is a priority - that man is responsible for the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9-11"

Johnson finally sat down as well.  It was a good summary of what happened, but he won't be satisfied until he had a full debriefing; what exactly did everyone do, at any moment of time, throughout the mission.   That sort of detailing could take a couple of hours, but its not like he had anything better to do.

"Now, lets start again, from the top…"

****unless anyone have something important to add, we will skip a couple of hours post the debriefing******

When it came Danny's turn to 'fully debrief', he did so.
But his mood and attitude could use some fixing ... and as he'd been struggling against the waves for the entirety of the conflict that pertained to the prison and the encounter with the symbiote on shore Danny had little to offer.

By 2 AM Johnson nearly concluded his debriefing.  They were now discussing the fight with Cletus, which meant the ordeal was nearly over.

Though eating during his meeting was out of the question, he did allow them to stay properly caffeinated – just so they could stay awake throughout his questioning:

- survived having his head torn off" Johnson scribbled something on his notebook and took a sip from his own mug.  He took his coffee black, and without any sugar.

Johnson raised his head as the door swung open, this time, without the courtesy knock

"You all are still doing this?" there were shadows underneath Valerie's eyes.  She too, haven't slept all night.  "Johnson, can we take a quick break?  They aren't machines, you know"

"We're nearly done"

Valerie was technically his boss, but he talked to her like she was his own subordinate.  She did interrupt his meeting, and if he was going to run this team, she had to let him do it his way

"Do you mind?" he gave a slight hint-of-a-nod toward the door

"I will only be a minute then; you need to hear this as well"

"I just got off the phone with Nielsen.  President Davis wants to meet with Freedom Force today, after the press conference"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:25, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

John had to restrain Six several times through the debrief. Fortunately none of those times had been noticable by the Commander. Mostly it involved Six getting 'distracted' by a noise, a smell, or something outside. Mostly that involved the other five arms moving in front of Six, or weaving around it. Then John would retract all the tendrils into his back once more. Only to have Six reform again when some new differance in the environment occurred.

When Director Cooper spoke, it was a welcome change of pace. "So...is this a PR thing? I mean, if the press is gonna be there, you can bet they will bring up Camp X."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:29, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

Ana Sofía cannot pass up coffee when it's available. Those who have been around her for long know that, and they also know why she spends so much time going back through the limited extras. 'Where is the goat's milk?!?!?!' Oops, that thought was a little louder than intended.

She takes definite note of Valerie's comment about meeting the president, but she says nothing as she's already on the new boss's bad side for keeping Kate on her lap.

Meeting the President? That was big. That was huge. In that moment, Frank felt like some puffed up kid more than ever.

In his distraction, he handed Ana Sofia a container. It said "OAT MILK" on it.

"Oops." He realized his mistake pretty quickly, but the container was out there already, making him look like an idiot. "Sorry. Close enough?"

"Only reporters we can trust are going to be in that press conference, and all questions were submitted beforehand. All you have to do is memorize the lines we wrote for you.  If someone asks something unexpected, let me answer the question"

It was a press conference in the loosest sense possible

"Following that, you will meet with President Davis.  She wants to congratulate you, personally, for what you've done in New-York.  The meeting will also include a Photo op"

Gwenyth was used to directors being fussy with details; it was not unusual to spend a whole day or more on a thirty second action scene. Even so, as the hours started ticking into those of tomorrow, even she found her patience being tested. It was taking every ounce of her sparkly magic princess power to avoid yawning her way through the tail end of the debriefing.

When Valerie comes in Gwenyth looks over to her with dull eyes. "Help," she stage-whispers.

She gets some life back when she is promised a press conference and photo op. Those were always fun. Well, fun... if you have certain very specific ideas of what the word fun means. Gwenyth thought they were fun at least. "We are going to get some sleep before then, right?" she asks Valerie with muted hope.

In reply to Valerie Cooper (msg # 30):

Shiva wanted to respond to that, but with Johnson in the room that might not fly. He worked with Cooper since being brought in 8 months ago. It had been her who saw his potential and insisted to her superiors John was an asset.

He sent a email to her phone, making sure as usual it was fairly untraceable. He made his 'self destruct' messages that where diffcult, if not impossible, to trace after they where opened. Of course he would insure no one had hacked her account frist.

Need to talk to you, just you, and team about Camp X. Before prez meeting. The message said.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Sun 06 Feb 2022.

Kate took merciless advantage of her shape and position to cat nap throughout the debriefing.  It seemed to her that it just might not be worth trying to help if this man were waiting after every mission.  The teachers at the mansion had been bad, disappointed, but at least they didn't have some weird soul sucking power in their voice like this guy did.  She wondered idly if they were supposed to get a break every four hours and a lunch break every eight.  That was a thing wasn't it?

"Don't worry, I got you" Gwenyth couldn't exactly read Valerie's mind, but the subtle nod she gave in response to her silent call for help was as good as words spoken

"Yes, I need you all fresh and well rested.  Can't have you falling asleep in front of the cameras, or yawning when meeting the President.  I'm sure Agent Johnson is going to conclude the debriefing soon. " she gave the older agent a knowing look

"I'll have a taxi waiting for you outside the office in the meantime.  Goodnight everyone; will see you later today"


Valerie only got around to reading her emails once she was on her own uber back to her hotel.  By the time Shiva got the text message Johnson finally released them, and the security guards arrived to escort them back outside
'Sure.  Will talk before the press conference. Goodnight'
This message was last edited by the player at 07:55, Sun 06 Feb 2022.

Danny had contributed what, and when, he could.
And when they were permitted to leave, he chose instead of accepting the offered taxi, to walk back to where he/they* were staying.
Along the way, he purchased something yummy to eat ... so that, by the time he arrived at his room, he fell onto the bed, and slept.



* I forget if we are all being put up in some agency hotel?  or if we are still living our own lives

Realizing she had probably better say something just in case Kate sends Valerie a thought or two.  'I don't have anywhere to stay in DC, or cloths, or you know a phone or money or anything.  It's all in the Atlantic...'  Valerie at least seemed to have her act together so letting her know about her problems was probably for the best.  She might be able to reach Zoey, but for that she would need a phone first and Zoey was up in New York.

In reply to Tank (msg # 29):

Ana Sofía gives Frank a smile that is reminiscent of one given to one's child when they do something adorable but incorrect with good intentions.

Overhearing Kate's message to Valerie Ana Sofía replies, 'I've got plenty of space.'

After getting some much-needed sleep and a quick breakfast at the hotel, Freedom Force boarded the shuttle Valerie arranged for them, to be escorted straight to the airport by a convoy of police cars and armored black Cadillacs.    It was surreal driving through the usually busy streets of New York, at rush hour, without seeing a single car on the street other than patrol cars and the occasional armored personal carrier.  New York was under martial law; while the government assessed the terrorist threat, as well as to prevent riots from erupting on the streets.

The events at New York have become world news by the time they woke up, with every channel filling its airtime with videos sent by eyewitnesses; those of Magneto melting down the Statue of Liberty, Frank punching the monstrous Basilisk through a building, and the cat-girl freeing the hostages at the UN were repeating in an endless loop all throughout the day.  The talking heads were having a field day, spending hours upon hours analyzing the attacks, debating human-mutant relations, and trying to guess how it would impact President Davis’ chances for reelection.

The news anchors were relatively tame, however, compared to the vitriol on social media.  The ‘Friends of Humanity’ Facebook page was finally brought down after their leader, Graydon Creed, published a post calling for the forceful interment of Mutants and mandatory prenatal screening for the ‘X’ gene, with the not-so-subtle insinuation such pregnancies would have to be terminated.  The popular Reverend William Stryker outright called mutants the ‘spawn of the devil’, and the ‘harbingers of the Apocalypse’, while even the more mainstream Daily Bugle had ‘Mutant Menace’ all over their website’s frontpage.

Little wonder, then, that Valerie prioritized them getting some rest before the press conference and the meeting with the president that spending a few more hours at debriefing.   The real battle they needed to win now was waged in television studios and social media.  It won’t matter how good a job Freedom Force does, unless it was widely publicized and acknowledged to be so by everyday people.

The private jet that was to take them back to Washington was waiting for them at the airport.  A civilian aircraft, for once, which meant the short flight would be that much more comfortable.  Valerie was waiting for them on the airplane once they arrived.  She was already dressed up for the press conference later today, going with a conservative office attire consisting of a knee length black skirt, and matching jacket over a white blouse.  Johnson was also inside, sitting at the front of the airplane in his usual dark suit and tie, and holding an even darker mug of coffee.

”You wanted to talk about Camp-X? Valerie didn’t so much as wait for the airplane to taxi to the runway before mentioning the email John wrote to her earlier that day.  She knew he was reluctant to broach the subject in front of Johnson, but if he wanted to discuss the matter before the meeting with the President, he would have no other opportunity to do so.

"I don't know about talking about Camp-X specifically. I wanted to talk about what just happened at the Raft and how it relates to Camp-X. The atrocities led by the doctor at Camp-X were horrific, and hopefully were not being carried out at Camp-X. But there was something else at Camp-X. I believe Zoey Fujino committed mass murder, deciding it was better to kill every one of the prisoners there, no matter the severity of their crime, rather than risk any of them escaping. Killing an escaping prisoner is understandable. Killing all prisoners in a facility, including all those who are not even trying to escape, is actually mass murder. And now someone has done the same mass murder at the Raft. They killed all the guards as well, making it even worse. If you doubt how bad it was, I can let you know what it feels like to experience all of them dying at once; trust me that you don't want that experience. Now, we cannot prosecute the person who pressed the button like we potentially can Zoey Fujino. But someone was responsible for setting it up, and they surely were not in the facility, and whoever it was needs to answer for what was done. Eventually another facility will be built. I understand restraining mutants with all sorts of varied powers is difficult. But something different than mass murder for all if there is any threat of one escaping must be done."

Was that all done in one breath? Ana Sofía must have snuck some little breaths in there somewhere, as she just let loose non-stop once Valerie gave her the opening.

He listened to Windtalker, nodding as she spoke. He waited until she said her piece, and cleared his throat.

Slightly paranoid, John's arms made sure to scan the plane for listening devices and hidden cameras. He wanted to trust the government, but too much had happened to just hope for the best. Once he was sure, another arm showed Director Cooper and the others the video of Captain American speaking to the former commander of Freedom Force via holographic replay and audio speakers.

"Look, I know the ex-commander is most likely fired by now. Or on leave or something. But these are the social media numbers of internet traffic regarding camp X." Another arm shows the holographic pie cart of internet comments and discussions. Most of them where really bad.

"If we go on TV, as the offical mutant task force of the US government, and give some excuse for Camp X? It will literally give aid and comfort to people like Magneto. Given the wide spread knowledge of mutant power restraint tech, the whole Camp X thing seems like a deliberate effort to make an anti-mutant gulag. You dont need a black site prison for mutants if you can cancel out their powers.

We need more transparency. We need to show the mutant community as thier police force, we can be held to account. Firing the former director may not be enough. Not for the followers of Magneto anyways. So as mutants Freedom Force needs to be honest with the public. Or this is gonna happen again."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Tue 08 Feb 2022.

"It's worse than that," Frank said. Giving excuses would be bad, sure. But prosecuting the offenders might actually be worse. "If Zoey Fujino stands trial and wins, it will be open season on mutants, everywhere. It'll be like saying it's okay to kill mutants just because they might do something bad."

Kate accepted Ana's invitation to spend the few remaining hours of night at her house and after calling Zoey that night was quite happy to find that Valerie had arranged to have cloths delivered so she would have something to wear.  After a little time she finally decided upon a nice cardigan and skirt.  She had seen some of the news and wanted to look as innocent and least threatening as possible.  Even if people watching her on TV could see that was obviously a lie impressions still mattered.

So with that picked out she went with the rest onto the plane to DC.  With everything going on and being said she felt she needed to add her own two cents.  "I think another problem is that nobody knows that these things were even happening, except apparently the deep dark secret parts of the government that nobody trusts and Magneto.  How a terrorist knows more than the rest of congress is something they won't like, and the rest just gives more reason for why no mutant should trust the police."

Frank's frank talk about Zoey made her uncomfortable.  She liked Zoey but intellectually knew that what she did was wrong.  It was like what Frank did, but not as obviously not-bad and she didn't like thinking things like that about friends. "Maybe we need to emphasize how new we are and that we aren't doing the old things?  That was the last super evil villain style prison right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Tue 08 Feb 2022.

Valerie knew she was stepping into a mine field when she agreed to have this discussion.  This was a difficult conversation, with the different points of view potentially impossible to reconcile.  But she also knew they had to talk through it – the sooner the better.   She didn’t want to string them along, even if it meant she would have to get through the press conference and the meeting with the President on her own.

“John, you played the recording from Commander Price just now*.   I thought the Commander made the perfect argument for the existence of these super prisons.  What would you suggest, as an alternative?  How do we put such people on trial, or imprison them, when being within two hundred feet of them is akin to being issued a death warrant?  How?”

She shakes her head

“We had no other option but Camp-X.   As for the Raft; that prison was managed by a different branch of the government because it was never meant to be a prison for Mutants.  I never realized they had measures in place to stop a potential breakout.  Nonetheless, normals can’t possibly stop a mass escape of supers without resorting to extreme measures.  There were dozens of supervillains in that prison, each of them earned the electric chair several times over.  And if but a few escaped, it would have been a catastrophe on a global scale."

"Look" she let out a drawn sigh

"I’m not at peace with any of this either.  You find me an alternative, a better option, and I PROMISE you I will take it up all the way to the president, use whatever influence I have, even quit and become a whistleblower if I have to.    But we can’t just say what we’re doing is wrong, when the best we can propose is the deaths of countless millions at the hands of psychopaths and egomaniacs with ambitions for world domination."

Douglas Price:

"Carlos Pérez was a psychopathic serial killer with the power of making people heads explode.  We couldn't exactly put him in court in front of a judge and jury.  Then there's George Hannaby; objects spontaneously combust in his presence.  We picked him up after a fire in his house consumed his parents, kid sister, and pet rabbit.  Need I go on?"

In reply to Valerie Cooper (msg # 45):

John shrugged. "There will always be risk, Director Cooper. Can I promise 100% success rate? No. No one can.

Remember, no one in Camp X was actually charged with a crime. Not to mention they just disappeared into the night. Some of them are horrible dangerous people...but some are just dangerous because it was forced on them, by nature and by the government.

What should have been done in the first place when dealing with problematic mutants is go to the mutant community to restrain them.

You wont have people like Magneto coming after you if we can figure out some sort of mutant restraint system that become as common as handcuffs, and at the same time highly regulated in their use. And the way you have that happen is through a selected council of a human and mutant review board. Each member should be selected by certain established criteria and by...maybe the president and her advisers?

I would NOT leave it up to congress. The human justice system is filled with inequality and corruption. America has more people in prison than anywhere in the world, including China with it's billion plus population! And we use private corporations with the cheapest methods possible. Not to mention a drug war that results in a prison population of 40% non violent offenders in jail. By the time they get out of prison, they are pretty violent. Plus the fact that some of them cant find work or even vote in the south which then makes crime even worse."

He paused, realizing he was going a bit off track. "Look, I can write something up, point you in the direction of how I as a mutant would like to see this go. I have some ideas of technology that could help. But even if you dont change a word of it and send it to the President's desk, I know its out of your hands at that point. I am also sure there are people in the Presidents cabinet who are telling her Gulags are the way to go now. If she does that, and does not find another way, this cold war between humans and mutants will become a hot one. And weather or not Magneto lives or dies, he will have won that war. He needs to be proven wrong publically. It's the only way to stop him."

Even as John said this, he knew what he was proposing would only maintain a better system for a cold war. Humanity was not capable of being decent to each other, much less mutants. The history and the cold unfeeling logic that judged human behavior showed that to be true. John wished he could somehow see a future where humanity loved its children...but his own past showed that to be impossible.  As he was not wearing a mask, he struggled to keep that despair off his face.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:55, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

"The trouble there is that Magneto needs to be proven wrong in absolute black-and-white, and he's really only wrong in certain shades of gray." Frank was waiting by the microwave, where he was heating up some of the cold pizza. It would be terrible, but edible, and he was hungry. "He's got some valid points. Just because he goes around using murder as a tool to make them doesn't entirely make him wrong. The Camp-X mutants were kept under 24-hour sedation. The X-Men supported that. Magneto opposed it. If you reduce the argument to those simple terms, suddenly Magneto's right and the X-Men are wrong.

"Now, like it's been said already: releasing those mutants would have been very, very bad. Just waking them up might have been catastrophic. Magneto would have released them without any alternate means of restraining their runaway abilities, so we opposed him. But all we really did there was choose the lesser of two evils.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of moral ambiguity. There is no right answer."

"John; what you're suggesting, asking the Mutant community to restrain Mutant criminals, would undermine democracy.  Only the US government, which is elected by the people, should have the power to enforce the law.  We can't delegate that power to anyone else"

She frowned as he went on disparaging the American justice system, especially when he made the comparison to China.  She was pretty sure THEIR statistics didn't include the millions of Uyghurs held in interment camps.  Arguing the point, though, would only sidetrack the debate

"I did plan on demanding transparency and non-partisan oversight of those prisons.  It might get me in trouble with my boss, but we can't let Homeland Security operate without any sort of supervision.  That's the best I could come up with so far.  Unless you have that magical piece of technology that can inhibit Mutant powers at the ready..."

In reply to Valerie Cooper (msg # 48):

"Director Cooper, with respect-you have already asked the mutant community to police the mutant community. Freedom Force are the mutant representation of that community. Given this is a state of emergency, and your other options are far worse, you need to deputize certain mutants to restrain these criminals.

Magneto is counting on the US government to overreach. He believes they would use the excuse he provided them to start a mass imprisonment of mutants. I am sure you know the expression, 'when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.' You cannot brute force your way out of this mess until the technology catches up. That could be years away...or longer if Magneto has his way."

"It might sound like I'm splitting hairs here, but I didn't approach the leaders of the Mutant Community, if such existed, and asked them to police their own.  Freedom Force doesn't represent the Mutant community.  The Mutant community doesn't have membership cards, they didn't run an election and choose you " she points at John "to represent them.  Freedom Force is a branch of the government.  Though you are all Mutants, you represent the American people as a whole, not just the Mutant community . That is an important distinction"

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't look into recruiting Mutants into the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  Just that they ultimately must answer to the government, and not some unelected, self professed community representative"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:37, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

In reply to Valerie Cooper (msg # 50):

"We are out of super prisons of any kind, and yet we have an abundance of super criminals. The President has the power to suspend the law during times of emergency. Including using the normal means to hire and fire people. This qualifies as an emergency given the fact we have no other option. That being said, I am not suggesting anyone force the leaders of the mutant community into government service.

I am saying if the President and Freedom Force asks publicly, and the fact that most mutants are not holocaust survivors ready to stop the rise of what they see as a 4th Reich, those mutants will volunteer if they are called upon. They are also citizens of this country, right?"

It was weird, hearing those hopeful words coming out of his mouth. Normally he was much more pragmatic and a bit pessimistic. However, he was running out of options. Until he invented a way out of this mess, there was nothing to fall back on.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

"Well it sounds to me like one problem is keeping all your dangerous eggs in one basket, so if one thing goes wrong for a single one everything breaks.  If you spread things out then one thing going wrong is only loosing one egg.  The other thing is if they earn the electric chair, have actually earned it then use it.  After the trial of course, and to the trial by video if its too dangerous to do it in person."

Kate sighed.  "But just do everything out in the open.  Give a mutant criminal the option of serving their sentence peacefully.  Let them know that if they agree to be a prisoner, to not try to escape that they will be treated fairly and humanely.  There was a prison near where I grew up.  It had a chain link fence with barbed wire on top sure, but they lived in little houses and there weren't anyone with guns in towers and all the rest.  They stayed in jail because they were serving their time and while I'm sure a lot of them could have escaped if they wanted to, it wasn't worth it.  So do the same thing with mutants."

"If somebody is a danger to everyone near them, give them the option to live out in the middle of nowhere.  Get them a good phone and computer and satellite tv or whatever.  That has got to cost less than a secret evil prison where you have to keep them drugged up and one mistake will cause chaos."

Gwenyth of course immediately went to the cockpit. She had actually never flown a jet before and no-doubt annoyed and harassed the pilots with her incessant questions. Before too long however she had a suspicion that the rest of Freedom Force wanted her back in the cabin to be a part of the smarty-pants political conversation.

So it was that Gwenyth found herself occupying the long couch in their jet, legs crossed, one hand on her thigh while her other arm propped up her head, iridescent violet-white hair artistically splayed all about herself. She hadn't meant for it to fall that way; it just does that. It's a good thing she was pretty because she had no idea what to add to the ongoing conversation between Tank, Windy, Valerie, and especially Shiva. She was still trying to figure out her own place in the world; there was no way she was qualified to discuss others'.

One thing she does appreciate is Valerie's stated willingness to go as far as necessary to see that solutions be heard. But it's clear from listening that there are no easy, safe, or surefire solutions. Plus, she's a woman, and she knows all too well how women are viewed in any sort of power hierarchy.

So, instead of weighing in on an arena she has no business in, Gwenyth instead browses the major social media sites, taking the pulse of public relations. She tries to follow along with the discussion as best she can as she does.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Wed 09 Feb 2022.

As usual, Danny seemed to be sitting nearby (not really part of the conversation), listening in.
He remained quiet, though often a small smile creased his lips, and lit his eyes, when someone said something particularly intriguing.  This happened a lot when Kitty-Kate spoke;  for her age, she was quite insightful.

"Camp-X was a high security facility for dangerous mutants.  Obviously, we didn't put people in there that didn't pose a risk to anyone; intentionally or unintentionally.  And I know how putting people on trial via a webcam sounds like a good idea.  We do it when we can, but it isn't always practical.

Pérez murdered three officers when we tried to bring him in.  He would have killed off the prison guards too if we didn't sedate him, so its not like we could sit him through a trial even if he was in a cell hundreds of miles away - there would still be people around him.  Same goes for George Hannaby.  He wasn't a bad man, but he couldn't control his powers.  It would only be a matter of time before he sets whatever room you put him on fire; webcams, laptop, and himself included.  Then we had people like 'Citric', that induced metal-corrosive acidic rain to fall in a ten miles radius.  'Avalanche' that could generate earthquakes capable of leveling entire cities.  It goes on and on.  "

She didn't think any of them really appreciated the scale of the problem.  And there were other constraints as well

"You also need to be aware that we're working within a limited budget.  We can't afford to split prisoners to hundreds of locations across America and still be able to allocate the manpower to guard and treat them.  It would also be that much harder to scramble the army to recapture them, in case of an escape, when the breakout could happen anywhere in the US"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:11, Thu 10 Feb 2022.

In reply to Valerie Cooper (msg # 55):

John listens to the others and waits for a chance to respond.

"To people like Magneto, that is the all the excuse they need. Can you honestly tell me, with the limited resources you just said, no mistakes where made? Remember, there is no charges and no trials. Just because a mutant could create earthquakes, does not mean they would.

I have to return to my original point. If you had a staff of mutants, not just as soliders, but as the offical govement response to mutant problems like this, you would not need to be kidnapping people and drugging them into comas. The President needs to enact her emergency powers for us to find and recruit as many willing mutants as possible. Not just for human safety, but for theirs as well. I know the backlash to Magneto's actions will be taken out on mutants with no real ability to defend themselves."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:47, Thu 10 Feb 2022.

"He'd only have to do it once," Frank said softly, regarding 'Avalanche'. He was beginning to see why someone like that wasn't given the benefit of the doubt. Too much doubt, not enough benefit. And he'd probably already shown some proclivity to do so, to get himself locked away. If otherwise, how would they have known about him in the first place?

Frank was beginning to see why the X-Men had defended this status quo. He still thought they'd needed to try harder, but try what precisely? There was no easy answer.

"We all need sleep. We're not going to solve the world's problems right now."

"Not every mutant has control over their powers," Gwenyth says quietly, looking up from her phone for a moment. "Have you read the report on the Manhattan Incident?"

In reply to Gwenyth Blake (msg # 58):

"I agree. I did not have full control...and still don't. Not totally." He glared at Six, which seem to turn the end of its length into a bunny. John rolled his eyes at the limb.

"Yeah, from the file I read about the Manhattan incident it was bad. Really bad. I was not there so I can only imagine Agent Tank did what he had to do. Certainly extreme measures are sometimes needed.

But if we want to help new mutants, the only way is for them to learn control. If that is possible.

The best way that happens is by getting those mutants help by people who have experience in mutant powers. Because outbreaks of mutant powers are going to keep happening randomly, there is nothing we can do about that. What we can do is choose how we react to it."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Fri 11 Feb 2022.

Danny nodded with that last part from Johnny.

Kate was pouting a little, and of course she knew better so just waited for a chance to speak up.  "You can't punish someone just for that they could do... maybe you do need to take them someplace remote to figure out how to control their powers, but how do you know they won't figure it out, or learn and get better.  It would be like saying Frank can't fly because he might choose to take the plane hostage or something stupid like that.  OR no, throwing him in jail because he could take a plane hostage."

Danny nodded to that too, with a smirk.
Maybe they should lock Frank up on the premise that he might take the plane hostage.

"No arguments there:  We're not putting anyone away for what they could do, but for what they've already done"

There were, in fact, a few politicians suggesting just that.  Thankfully, they were still sitting across the aisle, and not in any position of power.

"I admit, the government prioritized the public safety, but I don't know if they are that wrong in doing so.  None of us are experts on Mutants.  There is no evidence to suggest that all Mutant CAN learn to control their powers.  Clearly, some can, while others can not.  And we can't stick people out in the middle of the Mojave Desert until they figure things out.  Someone would have to take care of them, which would leave them exposed to their powers.  We can and do consider this option for Mutants who aren't dangerous to the point they can murder you in their sleep.  For the few who were though, that's what we had Camp X for"

"Why not?  Give them a phone and a drop off location for stuff, They live in their house, they go to the drop off location once a week for stuff, and then go home.  Nobody is getting killed, and nobody is getting drugged forever, and nobody is getting experimented on.  It would be lonely but they would have phones and maybe the internet to talk to people right?  How is that worse than locking them up in a place like camp x?"  Kate simply doesn't seem to understand the problems involved.  "It sounds like you just need some people to look at individual cases instead of trying to fit everybody into the same cell.  And I bet if even one of them figured out how to use their powers safely they could pay back the government like, ten times if given the chance once they have control over them."

"Because Citric own power would have melted any shelter you would put him in.  If he goes to pick up food or water, he'll bring the storm with him.  Hannaby would have burned to death in his own house.  There was this kid down in Pinedale.  I forgot how they called him on the news, but everyone around him started getting depressed to the point they didn't want to go on living anymore.  And we had no idea how far his powers could reach.  This isn't a science experiment.  We can't put people spaced a hundred feet away from each other and check what happens, like when they first tested the atomic bomb.  If we get things wrong, people die.

"Um... but isn't that exactly what ended up happening anyway?  Just a different experiment?  By putting them all together weren't you risking that one persons power would negate the drugs in everyone else, or that the drugs won't work on just one person so then everything else goes wrong, or that someone's power works even if they are drugged?  I mean, it seems like all those same kinds of problems still exist only now when something goes wrong with a single one everybody there suffers."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Fri 11 Feb 2022.

"Agent Messer is correct, director Cooper. There is no way of knowing what mutations could happen, or how to control them. However, the best people to handle such situations are mutants themselves.

That is why you created Freedom Force, right?" John pointed out.

Ana Sofía has been listening to where things have gone since her original outburst, contemplating. "I understand there are no perfect answers, but mass-murder cannot be the automatic response to problems. We have seen that too many times in the past. One intermediate solution I would propose is reading the minds of prisoners. This could be done with their consent, as it would be better for them to consent. Then we can discover if someone just lost control and needs a safe place to gain control, or if someone really is a criminal and intends on using their powers to harm others. Professor Xavier has been able to give mutants a place to learn to control their powers, so we know this can be one, probably in the vast majority of cases."

"I wonder if Professor Xavier sneezes every time someone mentions him," Gwenyth muses aloud, idly twirling a lock of iridescent hair around her pinky finger. "He's some kind of mega-psychic after all."

"Professor Xavier? He's the leading expert on mutation, right? Are you saying he's...also a mutant!?" He paused. "Wait...he runs a private school. Is that also full of mutants!?"

He looks like he is about to jump for joy. Six turns then end of its tendril into a lightbulb, that turns on.

"So...what I have been suggesting the entire time was already been going on and NO ONE SAID ANYTHING!?" He was really trying not to yell.

He smacked his own forehead, and then Six looks like it is about to smack him as well in the forehead, only with a much bigger open palm. The other arms make a mini wall, blocking Six's action. Six resumes a tendril shape and seems to silently 'stare', minus any eyes, at the other arms, which also do the same.

"Just ignore them!" John says, causing the energy limbs to retract into his back. "This is amazing news! My plan is gonna work! All Professor Xavier needs is full govement backing and resources!" He jumps up and nearly breaks into dance. Six comes out, and holds up its palm to Gwyneth for a high five.

"Yes, Charles Xavier is a telepath," Frank said, eyeing Gwenyth with mild irritation. Legion had outed Xavier as a mutant earlier, but she didn't need to spread that news around. But in for a penny, in for a pound, he just continued on, confirming John's mental leap. "And, yes, his school is full of mutants. A couple of us were students there for a while.

"We were there for Camp-X. They had washed their hands of it. It's why we quit."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Sat 12 Feb 2022.

In reply to Tank (msg # 71):

"Look, I understand that mutants will not want to expose themselves even if they are not worried about national imprisonment. I...am well aware of the fanatics among the human population that will go after publicly known mutants. However, mutants like Charles Xavier can still do plenty more good even if we need to keep his ID a national security secret. If he trained all of you, then it proves mutants can teach control to other mutants. The next logical step for Xavier would be a nation wide program using resources he never had access to before."

He turned to Tank. "I am sure one of the reasons he supported Camp X was due to the lack of help he was getting. That's not the case now. The whole country needs his methods to save ourselves from Magneto's war."

"I agree, Ana; we never had a 'kill-switch' at Camp-X.  The Mutants there would still be alive if it wasn't for Miss. Fujino..."

She quieted down once the discussion turned toward Xavier.  She was a lot less optimistic than Shiva about securing his help, and she had a reason to.  He never did return her calls...

Kate quiets down as the conversation turns to Xavier.  It was a complex subject, and she was very ambivalent about talking about him.  Valerie's words about Zoey didn't help, because Kate didn't want to think poorly of her, but also... well, didn't like what had happened.

"So, um, what are we going to do going forward?  There aren't any more prisons are there?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Sat 12 Feb 2022.

"No, there aren't, and it's a big problem.  There's nothing we can do with violent Mutants right now.  Stark might have facilities that can hold them, but he refuses to open them up to us.  I practically begged him to"

The corner of her mouth twitches with annoyance

"I have a meeting about it with Nielsen later today.  Maybe she can think of something..."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Sat 12 Feb 2022.

"I'm sorry; who is Nielsen?" Frank was wondering if he had missed a name drop at some point.

"Kirstjen Nielsen, the current Secretary of Homeland Security.  She's responsible for our department as well"

The press conference went rather smoothly, which was to be expected when all the questions, and their answers, were written beforehand by Freedom Force's PR team.
Hardly any time at all was spent talking about the terrorist events of the previous day; any information they would have provided could only have raised additional questions.  Difficult questions, that even if left unasked by the 'reporters', would have been on the minds of the viewers.

So instead, Valerie had each of them step forward to talk about their gifts, and how they would use said gifts to 'keep America safe'.  It was a concoction of flag-waving and self-adulation.  A hard pill to swallow for the cynics of the new age.   But they did have the pictures.  Running on the monitors behind them were the proof that Freedom Force weren't making empty boasts.   There was the one of the Basilisk evacuated on a stretcher after he was knocked out by Tank.   Phantazia, Shocker and the Legion being brought into custody. People being safely evacuated from the UN headquarters.

At the end of the day, The Brotherhood WERE arrested.   There was only the one that remained at large, and as the press conference drew to a close it was Tank that came out with a very public challenge Magneto, inviting him back to Liberty Island to settle things 'Like Men'.

An hour later they were all on their way to their meeting in the White house. By that time, Frank's, Ana's and Gwenyth's phone exploded with dozens of missed calls and thousands of text messages.  It wasn't only from people that knew them.  Somehow, their private phone numbers were leaked to the general public, and for every identified call they had ten from numbers they couldn't place.  Most of the messages were benign, but laced between the suggestive texts and business propositions from African Princes were more than a few vitriolic hate texts.  And death threats.

There wasn't too much time to worry about it now.  Their convoy was stopped at the gates of the White House by the secret service.  The men in black suits and shades only peaked inside to identify them – patting them down, or searching for weapons, was pointless, when Tank alone was the equivalent of an armored brigade.  They let them through, and soon enough they were all escorted straight into the oval office where the President's closet advisors, and one Captain America, were already waiting for them.

"God, am I happy to see you all in one piece.  Stark told me it was a bit rough last night"  the Captain approached to greet them while they were waiting for President Davis to enter the room.  He was very much in the way of the guides who wanted everyone to line up, and to stand exactly where they were supposed to.  But none of them dared reproach the Captain; he was held at awe even more so than the President.

"Wow! That's what happens when you're public about things huh?" Ana Sofía looks at Frank mostly. Then she asks Gwenyth, "Has your IMDB ranking shot toward 1 already? You're probably the most searched person on Google right now." She shares some of the funniest, oddest, most suggestive, and most threatening of the messages with the rest of Freedom Force in the car.

As they get close to the White House she says, "Wow! This is exciting, isn't it? We actually get to meet the president!"

"It was like that when I was first outed as a mutant at ESU," Frank agreed. "But this was about a thousand times worse."


Not long after, they were in the White House, meeting the President. Frank stood in line, and smiled and shook her hand when it was offered. The election had been before he turned eighteen, but he supposed he would have voted for her if he'd been able. But vote for her or not, this was an auspicious moment in his life, and he silently drank it in. This was a story to tell the grandkids.

John had stuck to the back of the group during the press conference. The original members of the team took center stage, which was fitting. If it where up to him, he would have said nothing and just hid behind his mask. He did not trust the human public at all, which was unfair. Though given his past experience, it was a predictable emotional response.

Even as Windtalker expressed her excitement about meeting the president, he was a bit more star struck meeting Captain America. He was sure it was old hat to rest of the team, but having researched the man like he researched every public figure, it made him wish he could believe in people like the Captain inspired others to. The problem with seeing the whole picture is seeing the negatives too. It was almost like the Captain came from another dimension even farther removed than Thor.

"Its...ah...honor to meet you...sir." He offerd a hand, but six offered up one as well. "Dammit, Six..." he grumbled.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Wed 16 Feb 2022.

For the most part Kate thought the press meeting was a big waste of time and mostly lies.  Thankfully she hadn't kept quiet about that while they were going over the questions so any awkward answers she might have given were sidestepped and they even managed to get her to be both charming and honest when she talked about wanting to use her own powers to help everyone as best as she could which was why she did what she could to help.  The footage of her inside the United Nations was carefully chosen to avoid the bloodiest bits, and to help support the narrative of the simple American mutant who stepped up to help her government, country, and the world when given the chance.

Kate could tell she was being used, but it seemed to her like that was okay.  Better that everyone she was likely to meet like her than hate her.  Still smiling that much was hard work, even in her furry cat/fox girl form.

In the car she was confused and a little disturbed by some of the things Ana shared, which made her wonder if her own basically unlisted number had been leaked too.  Not that she might ever find out unless Zoe got a new sim card delivered.  Probably for the best to just get a new number all together.

She was nervous when they got to the white house, the seriousness starting to get to her.  She was going to meet the president.  THE PRESIDENT, she had seen her win the election and been thrilled.  The first woman president in history.  She was almost bouncing with excitement by the time they got to the oval office.  When they got inside to see Steve Rodgers waiting for them her focus abandoned her.  Honestly he was still dreamy enough that Kate completely forgot that there were important things she had intended to do or say.  This being the first time she could actually talk with him without a mission looming or being an absolute disaster.  So she managed to get out"It's really nice to see you again, I hope you're well?"

At which point she was immensely grateful for having a furry face to hide her embarrassed blush at just how dumb that had sounded even to herself, though her body language and ears largely gave away the game to anyone paying her much attention.  So much for being cool, Zoey would never let her live it down, and so must never ever know.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:49, Tue 15 Feb 2022.

Gwenyth had seemed so normal up until the final hour before the presentation, and then a... change had overcome her. "Does this make me look fat?" "Are you sure this blouse doesn't clash with this jacket?" "This skirt length is fine? right You don't think it's a little too, 'fuck me?'"

And if she was stressing about her own outfit (which was perfectly adequate), it was nothing compared to how much she fussed and worried about Ana and Kate. Especially Kate. After almost ten minutes of minor adjustments to the young woman's outfit she gives up and just hugs her tight. "Don't let anyone take advantage of you, okay?" she murmurs into the girl's ear.

And then, all too soon, it seemed like it was already time for the conference. Gwenyth straightens herself and fidgets with her perfectly perfect hair and steps out on stage, delivering her memorized lines with the flawless precision of a professional actress. She knew to fade into the background when the videos of their deeds came into view; she didn't have the strength of a god, she couldn't fly or control thoughts, turn into fearsome predators, or control arms made of force fields. She fidgeted behind her back, feeling very much like an imposter. Someone to plays a hero on TV in a room filled with real heroes.

She let out a long sigh when it was over, releasing tension. Then her phone blows up. She and Ana bond over making fun of some of the most eccentric messages they get. Has your IMDB ranking shot toward 1 already? "Oh! Let me check!" She excitedly beepboops on her phone. "I'm going to have to hire someone to manage my social media... and get a new phone."

"The president, wow... I can hardly believe this is really happening. I feel like a fake."

The Captain shook John's hand.  And six's too.

He was mildly uncomfortable to hear the 'it was an honor to meet you, sir'. Despite all his heroics, he never truly believed himself worthy of that much respect.  He nodded at the young man, and again at Kate, whose words brought a tight-lipped smile to his face:

"I am.  And I'm sorry I couldn't join you when you went to stop Magneto.  I had no way to make it there in time…" it probably wouldn't have made much difference if he WAS there, but at least he would be fighting with them, shoulder-to-shoulder.

"I do want to catch up with all of you.  After meeting with President Davis, perhaps, if time allows"

At that point one of the young social aides finally mustered her courage to approach the dreamy Captain and direct him toward his spot, behind the sofa.  The President was about to make her entrance, and she couldn't have America's favorite superhero stand with his back facing the door.

Amanda Lee, President Davis' Chief of Staff, moved to stand by the entrance just as the President stepped into the room, two other women in tow.   One had to be living under a rock to not instantly recognize the current President of the United States.  The woman had that natural poise and confident look about her though, that even if you never did saw her face on the evening news, you could naturally assume her to be the leader among the bunch.


There was a moment of tension as Davis stopped at the doorframe to inspect the room.  Secret Service.  Social aids.  Valerie, and even Captain America, all stopped to look at her, waiting in attention in a show of respect.

"Good afternoon, everyone" she was quick to break the silence as she entered the room proper

" - And thank you for coming here on such short notice.  Captain, and our heroes of the hour" She quickly eyed each of the heroes, her gaze reflexively staying on the furry Kate a little longer than the rest.

"I'm sure you know Miss Taylor, our secretary of defense" she nodded at the shorter, heavyset African-American woman by her side, " and Miss. Nielsen; Secretary of Homeland Security.  Both wanted to be here today, to meet with you personally"

Kate had to work not to bounce a little given how giddy she was feeling.  He acknowledged her and she was about the meet the president!  So she was already grinning when President Davis came into the room, a smile that only got bigger under that worthy's regard.  It felt like she was being singled out and it felt great!

Of course the introductions just about flew over her head, and also she hadn't had a clue who the two other women had been, only that they didn't walk like any secretaries she had ever seen.  An idle thought that she quickly banished after remembering that this was a different kind of secretary, the important kind and tried to remember their names before they slipped out of mind.

She did however have just enough presence of mind not to say any of that aloud, or even think it especially hard so that only Ana might really have been able to follow her thoughts.

In reply to President Davis (msg # 86):

Shiva made sure to be standing when the President came in. Nobody sits when the Prez shows up, he knew that from the West Wing. He makes sure to acknowledge all the various secretaries of defense and homeland security.

"Thank you for seeing us, President Davis." He said. While not standing at attention, he did stand with formality. After all, Freedom Force was not technically a branch of the military, but was under the direct control of the office of the President.

It was a weird situation. He had gone from basically a glorified IT guy for his parents to a personal meeting with the President of the united states after only 8 months. He reviewed his notes on his unseen HUD, making sure his statement would not waste anyone's time. He was pretty sure the people in this room where very busy.

"Not at all.  You're here because I wanted to thank you.  For everything you've done. Stopping the Brotherhood terrorists at the UN.  Making the arrests.  Fighting Magneto Off. But most importantly – you've shown the American people, and the world, that we can depend on Mutants.  I hope your heroics can repair at least some of the tear the Brotherhood has caused to the fabric of our society"

Miss Lee, Davis' secretary of state, used the lull in the president's speech to invite everyone to sit on the two sofas decorating the oval office.  The seating places have been pre-arranged, with Freedom Force on one of the sofas, opposite to the President's staff sitting on the other.

"And you have my thanks as well" Kirstjen continued where the President left off once they were all seated   "From all of us.  We have taken the first step on a long journey here.  It is going to be a long time before people feel safe again.  But we've made a start, at least.  Our next priority is going to be finding Magneto.  He disappeared off the face of the earth after last night – but rest assured, we will find him"

This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Fri 18 Feb 2022.

"Do we have any leads as to his possible location?" Frank asked. Catching Magneto had been a high priority for years, he suspected. Higher now, sure... but if they had some idea of where the man was now, they wouldn't be having a leisurely meeting with the President. They'd be scrambling to catch the guy. Was this meeting really just empty talk, then? Or was it building to something else? "Or maybe where he will be?"

Ana Sofia looks a little star-struck. She remains a little quiet, moving about as directed. Mostly she's trying not to stand out in any bad way. With so little space on the couch, she might just sit on Frank's lap, but that would probably make her stand out in a bad way. So she just hesitates on the seating.

"No, not as of yet.  But we're working on it"
Nielsen didn't want to turn the meeting into a work session.  She quickly changed the subject:

"You're 'Tank', right?  I saw the footage of you fighting the one-eyed Mutant in Brooklyn.  Very impressive"

"Yes, ma'am — and thank you." Frank sat on one end of the couch, trying to make himself as small as possible for the others to fit more comfortably, and failing at it. "I go by 'Tank' in the field. You can call me Frank, if you'd prefer."

Gwenyth sat with her legs crossed, hands folded atop one knee, and tried to look as unobtrusive as possible in a room of so many powerful people. Her mutant ability (for surely it had to be a mutation that did it) made that difficult, causing her to subtly sparkle and draw eyes to her even more for daring attempt hiding in plain sight.

"Do you think what we did will be enough to keep people from being so racist?"  Kate spoke up before realizing maybe she probalby shouldn't have and then feeling all the attention turning to her tries not to shrink underneath it.  "I mean, it was bad before this but now..." She tried to keep going, to explain but the weight of attention was just a little too intimidating.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Mon 21 Feb 2022.

In reply to Kate Messer (msg # 96):

"No. Its going to get worse." Shiva said, not realizing that Kate's question would be addressed to the President rather than the whole room. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing a bit. He was confused, as none of his 360 degree sensors noticed anyone reaching for him...and then he noticed it was Six.

He shooed the errant limb away with his normal hand, and cleared his throat. "President Davis, Kate brings up a good point. After the...incident with camp X, trust is going to be in short supply for both humans and mutants. But as they say, every tragedy is also an opportunity to make needed changes.

I think Magento really wants to capitalize on his efforts. In order to prove there can never be common ground between mutants and humans. I think we now have the opportunity to stop his vision dead in its tracks."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:18, Sun 20 Feb 2022.

"I wish it was that simple.  People have a genuine reason to fear people like Magneto and his Brotherhood.  Now that they know we have a response to such threats, they might be more at ease.  And Mutant criminals will likewise know they are not beyond the reach of the law, so we expect to see a drop in Mutant crime in the long run.  These are all positive outcomes of your actions yesterday.  We just have to be patient - "

The President face hardened when John mentioned Camp-X.  But not because of any anger toward him:

"Magneto delivered an Ultimatum after he destroyed the Statue of Liberty; that the government must be held accountable for the experiments and the murder of the Mutants at Camp-X, or there will be further acts of terror.  We do not negotiate with terrorists, but that doesn't mean his demands aren't justified.  I already asked Secretary Nielsen to conclude her investigation on 'Essex' as soon as possible.  Before the election" she emphasized   "And find out who murdered the prisoners. We're not going to let anyone involved escape justice"

All Nielsen could do was feebly nod in response to the President's demands.  All of these events happened barely a couple of months ago, and neither investigation was anywhere near complete.  She was surprised, then, when Valerie spoke up, looking like a deer caught in the headlights:

"We know who murdered the Mutants at Camp-X, Madam President, and I will have a warrant out for her arrest by this afternoon.  And I'd like to volunteer Freedom Force to assist with the 'Essex' investigation.  Give us a week, and we'll identify all of the culprits"

"That sounds like an excellent idea"
Davis looked at Nielsen, who was still in shock of Valerie's brazen maneuvering
"Please work with Miss Cooper on this.  Provide her with everything she needs.  This is just as high on our priority list as capturing Magneto"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:29, Sun 20 Feb 2022.

"Of course, President Davis." John said. He knew it might seem a bit forward to bring up his future plans now, but when else was he going to have a captive audience with the President of the United States?

"As we are now without super human containment facilities, I have been working on an alternative system. One that will bring positive change for the mutant community while at the same time keep the population safe. There will be a technological component as well, but that part of the plan is still years away from a prototype I am afraid." He said, hoping to get Davis' interest.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Tue 22 Feb 2022.

Kate had to frown a little, she was conflicted about what to say or do about Zoey getting arrested, and those who knew her well could tell, but she did speak up a little as well.  "What about the people who were doing experiments and dissecting people, are they going to be arrested as well?  Do we have all their names in records and stuff? Because if they aren't also held accountable nobody will feel safe going to the government."  Though she clearly probably meant mutants when she said, nobody.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:07, Mon 21 Feb 2022.

"Everyone involved.  And while you're at it, add the investigation into the death of Dr. Adler to the list.  I know we have the footage of him committing suicide, but we live in an age where people can take over minds.  We can't rule out foul play.  I want Freedom Force to look into that as well"

Ana Sofía perks up a bit at that last reply. "I take this to mean we're now allowed to operate internationally. That was where our hands were tied earlier. How much will this be sanctioned by allies, such as the UK? How much must remain secret even to, for example, other NATO members?"

"I didn't intend to turn this into a cabinet meeting.  Miss Cooper will brief you after we sort everything out.  And she, in turn, will update me on all your initiatives on our next meeting" she gave a short nod to John

"I think we're ready for our photo now" she motioned to Secretary Lee, who soon departed out the door to fetch the White House photographer.

"- we still have many pressing issues to deal with, after yesterday, so I can't dedicate to this meeting as much time as I would like.  But I did want to use this opportunity to publicly acknowledge your heroics"   The President of the United States welcoming Mutants into the White House would set the example to everyone; that not all Mutants are to be feared.  At a time like this, even a gesture can make a difference.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Mon 21 Feb 2022.

In reply to President Davis (msg # 105):

"Thank you, President Davis." John said. He could only hope that she would take his detailed plan seriously. He did not know another way, but he could make it more attractive to the President by showing possible anti-power devices he was working on. Granted, those where the bare bones of a prototype. However, she could run for re-election on the idea she was funding super human restraint tech. For mutants, by mutants needed to be the public view of that.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." Ana Sofía gets in her spot when the photographer is ready and dons one of the many smiles she's practiced over the recent couple years, this one not from among the provocative ones.

Kate wanted to ask more questions but mutant or not, teenager or not, she was cowed by the president being... well presidential.  It took a lot to keep her from talking, she even had managed to do so in the face of Magneto, but under the gaze of those three women, but mostly just the president herself she couldn't quite bring herself to open her mouth.

It was hard for a photographer to frame Frank in the same shot as normal-sized people. He instinctively took the back row, but the photographer didn't like that at all. He waved Frank to the front and made him take a knee. Then he didn't like that either, and sent Frank back to the back row.

Photo op! Photo op photo op photo op!

Somehow, Gwenyth ends up on the sides of the group shot. Once it is over she strikes an indignant huffy pose.

In reply to Gwenyth Blake (msg # 110):

Gwenyth gets a text from Shiva's phone.

I can alter the pic digitally if you want.

Shiva himself is more than happy to take the photo with his full face mask on, and in the back of the group.

The photographer had the furry Kate, and John with his extra six arms, take the front and center.  They needed to get the message out that it was Mutants that were invited to the White House, so they just had to focus on the ones who didn't look entirely human rather than those who did, even if they were much easier on the eye.   The photo-op concluded the (very) brief meeting; President Davis and her cabinet stayed at the oval office, as Freedom Force were escorted back outside, accompanied by Johnson and Valerie.

The last few days were hectic, and Valerie had the mind to let them all off for the rest of the day; get some rest before they start their new investigation.  Johnson, though, was the one to get his way this time:  "I'll see you all at HQ at nineteen-hundred hours.  Be ready to travel".    Preparation was half the battle, they could all sleep on the airplane, and besides; if he wasn't having any fun, then no one else should either.

Phantazia, Unus, Random, Toad, the Basilisk and Shocker were all sleeping with the fishes beneath the waves off the coast of Virginia. Wax was too. Though still alive, he was trapped under the wreckage of the prison, perhaps till the end of times, which may come far sooner than he might believe.  Under the streets of New York, in the Morlocks Sewers, Pyro finally regained consciousness, only to close his eyes again after receiving word about his friends.

An entire wing at the super-max prison in Arizona is being prepared for the arrival of 'The Legion'.  Dozens and dozens of clones, picked up by the authorities from across the United States.  They each profess to have had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks or the Mutant Brotherhood, but doesn't every criminal claim to be innocent?

Back in the X-Mansion, Professor Xavier and Cyclops are still in intensive care after being mauled by the Sabretooth-Rogue amalgam.  Saber-Rogue, or Rogue-Tooth, was being kept comatose by Jean, and watched at all times by Colossus and Storm, because if 'they' wake again, 'they' were bound to go on another killing spree.  Gambit returned to the Mansion from his mission only to pick up a few things before leaving, never to return.  He blames the Professor for the 'death' of his lover.  He has nothing to stay for, anymore.

The Avengers, too, were strained over recent events.  A very ugly argument between Stark and Rogers almost came to blows, when the former pushed for 'a suit of armor around the world', and Mutant 'containment'.

At Mount Sinai ICU, Commander Price drew his last breath. Not even Danny could save him.

And far away at Antarctica, Magneto slumped into an icy chair in his 'Fortress of Solitude'.   He didn't shed any tears over his comrades, not because he didn't feel the pain over their loss, but because he lost the capacity to cry decades ago, at the camps.  For the first time in a long time, he was starting to feel his age.   There wasn't any doubt in him about the path he has chosen; he was too hardheaded, or proud, to change course now.  There was only despair; that even the most powerful Mutant in the world was caught within the strands of destiny, unable to change the course of history.

If a God has lost all faith, what hope is there for man?