"He's being kept on the other side of the island, separated from the rest of the prisoners. But your concern is still valid.  I'll call the justice department and see if there is anywhere else they can keep him, just to be on the safe side.  There are bound to be other deserted islands in this country"

"We could probably keep him in any prison," Frank suggested. "He's pretty much there on the honor system, since the only thing stopping him from leaving is him. He could open the doors and walk out anytime he wanted to."

"I don't think he could.  There are plenty of soldiers on the Island.  Fighter jets in the nearby airbase" Valerie was clearly not so convinced "besides, I don't run the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the Justice Department.  I can make suggestions, but I don't have any authority"

Illya frowns. He clearly finds no comfort in the thought of Shiva alone on a desolate island but for armed guards and fighter planes.

But he attempts to move away from the distressing image by focusing on the other pressing matter, finding Magneto, "I wonder if there aren't pro-Magneto forums and social media groups. These may be seeded with folk in contact with Magneto. They may use these groups to organize mutant cells aligned with him. We could either use these to get a message to Magneto, if that's what we want. Or we could monitor them to learn where he is or what he may be planning next."

"You can find pro-whatever groups for whatever deranged nonsense you can imagine. It's like rule 34 but for bad opinions."

"We need an alternative to 'blow everything up' when there is a problem. That's basically what we've seen done twice now. If that's what we're doing, then we're no better than those who came before us. We also can't just put people to sleep forever until they die; that's basically a death sentence, too. We need to lead the country and the world forward rather than repeating past mistakes."

"The NSA is monitoring such groups, and hasn't come up with anything so far" she didn't quite get Gwenyth's reference but agreed with the overall sentiment  "I'm counting on the new Agent joining us to help find him.  She's a precog"

"Oh, new agent!" Gwenyth says, perking up some. "I'm glad despite the media assassination there's still people who believe in us enough to put their lives on the line with us. I cannot wait to meet her!"

"Maybe we are the answer to the problem," Frank said. He looked around the table. catching everyone's eye one-by-one. "Freedom Force started with a handful of X-Men who didn't think the X-Men were being the change they wanted to see in the world. So far, we haven't been that change either, although I'd like to think we've gotten closer. Maybe what we need to be doing is inducting mutants into the team as a form of 'community service'. Not the killers, obviously. We'd still need a way to contain the most dangerous mutants who don't want to cooperate. But maybe the actual idealists like Legion and Wax can be brought into the fold as a more progressive means of addressing mutant issues.

"Having a precog on the team could definitely help us control outbreaks of violence, too."

Illya's face grew red with embarrassment, "What's a precog?"

"A precog has precognition," Frank explained. It was something that had only been theoretical to him until now, but as a geek he knew the word. "That's the ability to see the future."

Illya's eyes grow wide, "What!? Are you serious?! Wild!"

"Are you suggesting that being a member of Freedom Force is some sort of punishment?" Valerie's lips, for the first time that morning, curled into a smile "'community service' makes it sound like they're doing their sentence for crimes committed.  But yes, I'd very much like to get more Mutants to cooperate with us"

Maybe Wax, whose name Frank has mentioned, but definitely not the Legion.  That 'man' (and she used to word loosely when it came to 'him'), was entirely unpredictable

"Frank, I've been in his mind. Legion is no idealist. Some may well be. But each clone is different, so I wouldn't even trust clones from an idealist Legion clone. Wax... He is more of an idealist and might be someone who could be useful; he just needs to see a better direction, like you suggest."

"Agreed. But you get my point. And no, Freedom Force isn't a punishment... but consider it a path to redemption." It was all a matter of perspective, he supposed. "Like that movie, except without the exploding heads."

"Yea.  Maybe" she wasn't entirely convinced "I think it's going to take a lot more.  Ultimately, we're the police, and the police never does a good job addressing societal issues.  We're just here to pick up the pieces and put away the bad guys.  The real battle isn't one we can win with our fists"

"Um.. Isn't that really exactly the problem?  Why should we be the police?  Maybe we should be showing how mutants can help people without punches and explosions and stuff.  I'm not sure just what I could do... but I mean why not find someone in the government to help us think of things like that.  Way's to have mutants help in society instead of fighting all the time."

She shifts a little. "It works for community service better too.  I mean Zoey could go to a hospital once a week and heal the otherwise incurably sick.  That has to count for something.  And I bet NASA would love someone who could make things lighter, so you could be an astronaut Illya... ooh I could be an astronaut too."

She sped up as she seemed to get more excited.  "That was the big problem we had with the X-Men right?  That they were just not using their powers smart?  I know getting Magneto on board would be hard, but if we sort of offered community service for whatever he could probably do a lot to help build things.  But the way it is right now all we're really doing is showing that mutants are good at fighting.  That just has to scare people more."

"She has a point," Frank agreed. He'd been trying to come up with a way to say more or less the same thing. "We need Mutant Outreach programs to connect with mutant teenagers, when they're struggling to find their place in the world, before they decide to be criminals. The X-Men were halfway decent at that part, offering a free school to any mutant who wanted to enter.

"The problem with the school was that there were two basic paths. One, learn how to blend into society. Hide, for lack of a better word. The other was to join the X-Men. They should have been the voice of Mutant Pride, though. They talk about peaceful coexistence, but hiding isn't the same thing."

"You're right.  Both of you.  We've been so busy chasing our own tails and putting out fires that we never got the chance to look at the bigger picture.  A Mutant outreach program will require a serious investment, but I'm sure we will find a sympathetic ear with President Davis.  I'll mention it to her today" saying President Davis name triggered her to check her phone.  She already had fifty messages, and three unanswered calls from the last couple of hours.  With a small sigh, she pushed the phone back into her purse

"I really must be going"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:38, Tue 19 July 2022.

"Everyone is right. We just need to remember that Freedom Force is sort of like FBI's SWAT unit, so Freedom Force is roughly police. It's not that Freedom Force should do these other things so much as other people should do these other things."

"But Ana, shouldn't we be doing those other things?  Otherwise aren't we just, you know, doing the same thing as before only with a different letter on the t-shirt?"

Gwenyth waves farewell to Valerie.

She then turns her attention back to the ongoing conversation. She bites her lip as they hit upon something important. "Uhm, if I remember the recruitment pitch correctly, Freedom Force isn't just a hammer for the government to yield. It is an all-mutant hammer, designed specifically by President Davis to show people that mutants are nothing to be afraid of. I know Valerie is a huge believer in this mission, too. So... so a work-release arrangement makes a lot of sense to me. And we should advertise the heck out of it too."

Valerie wrinkled her nose at the 'advertise the heck out of it' part
"Work-release is fine, but let's not turn this into a 'get out of jail free card' either.  We don't want to publicize that we're going to let people off the hook if they work for Freedom Force.  That'll open the door for all sorts of abuse"

Valerie hung her purse over her shoulder and started to make for the door.  She was all kind of late, and couldn't stay for even one minute longer.

"Illya, do you mind accompanying me? I have something I want to talk with you about"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:25, Wed 20 July 2022.

"I trust your judgement!" Gwenyth responds quickly to Valerie, saluting. It's a sloppy salute that wouldn't make it in the military, but it manages to look friendly as well as respectful regardless.

Illya’s drifting attention snaps back into focus, “What? Me?! Uh. Sure. I guess.” He rises reluctantly and accompanies Valerie out of the RV.