"Fair enough." Brian looked embarrassed, more than intimidated. He thought he was a mutant, whether he was tested or not. "Then would you tell me about Computron?"

"We would.  My clients are willing to cooperate with you to the best of their ability.  But we're going to need some assurances first.  Immunity from prosecution, enrollment in your witness protection program, and ... " he stopped to think of the best way to phrase it "some sort of financial settlement, in case my clients will no longer be able to resume their work with their current employer"

"Immunity?" Frank repeated. He tried to sound curious, rather than menacing, afraid that this might paint him as 'Bad Cop' if he used the wrong tone of voice. "So, you're saying that a crime has been committed? Because right now, no charges have even been suggested."

"Filing charges doesn't necessarily mean a crime was committed.  We have courts to determine that" he countered
"Look; these are good people.  I don't want them to get a raw deal because people out there are calling out for blood.  You know what I mean?"

"Believe me, I know what you mean." When Frank had been outed as a mutant, ESU football fans had been howling for his head on a platter, and he was just a freshman who hadn't actually played on the team yet. "But you have to understand, I'm not really in a position to make too many promises right now. You know I can't even put witness protection on the table without talking to a federal Prosecutor first, because it's up to them whether or not to allow it. We haven't brought a Prosecutor in on this yet, and you really don't want us to. That'll close more doors than it opens.

"We're not playing to the crowd on this one. I think that's pretty well established by now. We're trying to protect the Cantrells, same as you. But to do that, I need to know: Who is Computron?"

Burk adjusted his tie.

"But that's the problem.  Let's assume we can trust you, and that both of us want nothing else than to protect the Cantrells.  Who can guarantee that someone from the department of justice, or even the president, won't throw them under the bus to appease the mob?  You've seen the vitriol out there over the elections.  There's going to be a strong incentive to throw the masses a bone.  Show them something is being done.  And then what?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:53, Fri 12 Aug 2022.

Frank sighed. Any promises he made weren't worth the air it would take to say them. Johnson could decide to override him. A federal Prosecutor could decide to blast the Cantrells to make political points. Any number of things could happen that Frank couldn't control.

"I promise to do everything in my power to keep the Cantrells — particularly Brian — safe from government overreach. But I don't have the authority to promise immunity, and I'm not going to lie to you about it. I can tell you one thing, though: immunity usually goes to people who cooperate. So, one more time.

"Who. Is. Computron?"

"I," Gwenyth spoke up pointedly, "will do everything in my power to keep the Cantrells safe, even if it means throwing in my resignation." She nods vigorously to punctuate her own statement. "I joined Freedom Force to protect the people of this country from anyone who wants to harm them. Anyone. I might not be indestructible or able to throw things around with physics equations, but I have my advantages."

Okay, so she's just channeling some of Valerie's words. But she believes them!
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

Frank's promise did little to assuage the doubts of the Cantrells or their lawyer.  Especially after he said he didn't have the authority to provide them with immunity.  But all heads turned at Gwenyth as she started talking, the family mesmerized by her words as much as by her beauty.  Even the more experienced and wary Burk kept his mouth shut as Brian started talking.  Disappointing the young woman was simply out of the question!

"He's my friend" Brian said meekly, and though he was answering Frank's question, he was looking at Gwyneth  "I made him.  Somehow..."

Gwenyth lets slip a vaguely unhappy throat noise. Look at that; with a few passionate words I control the whole room. All I did was imitate Valerie. Does she command that kind of power, or is this...? She shuts her eyes so tight against that intruding thought that she sees spots of light dance in the dark.

Once her thoughts clear she opens her eyes again and looks at Brian, carefully appraising. "Brian, you're... ten, right?" She glances at Janette for confirmation. Then, she looks at Tank. "Mutations usually manifest at puberty, correct? So something else has to be in play, right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:08, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

"I'm twelve!" Brian corrected her almost immediately, worrying that Gwenyth might somehow overlook him as potential romantic prospect "I'm not a child"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Sat 13 Aug 2022.

"Oh, twelve, wow..." Gwenyth replies in a slightly spacy daze while internally cursing. That look, that tone of voice, is exactly why she had been nervous about interacting with Brian. She makes a quiet, pathetic mewling sound like a cat being forced to give up its favorite spot by the heater. "So that's around the age where the, um, changes start happening..." She flushes a little in incandescent embarrassment. Choice of words, Gwen! Goooosh!

She looks over at Tank. He was in the X-Men; that group had some kind of technopath of their own, right? It wasn't impossible that mutant powers could take an electronic slant? She frowns. "Anyways, um. Brian, do you think you could ask Computron if and how he modified the election results? For me?"

"I only told him I wished Davis won the election.  I didn't know he would actually do something about it.  Or that he could" he tried to excuse himself of any responsibility.  He really wanted Gwenyth to like him!

"Would you like to talk with him?"

Meanwhile, Illya holds his phone up to record (but not livestream) both him and Kate, "Hey fam! I'm here with the ferocious, uh, Kate! What is your code name?" Illya starts making awkward fighting moves, "She straight up mauled a marauder. To death! So Kate! Who's your favourite My Little Pony?"

"I suppose that it would be appropriate for him to be a part of this conversation. Why isn't he, by the way?" She glances at Tank. "We're not AI-ist are we?" She kind of is; she's never heard of a movie where the AI characters were unambiguously good guys who didn't make the plot more complicated for their existence. Nine times out of ten they were the bad guys in any story they showed up in. But maybe that's just the producers having no imagination?

"I didn't know how to invite him," Frank replied. How do you get an AI to submit to questioning? "But I would love to have him answer a few questions."

BH's commlink starts flashing lights and making noises.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Sun 14 Aug 2022.

"Have you tried picking him up with those fabulous muscles of yours?" Gwenyth asks.

"Wait, let me call him" Brian picked up his phone, and without turning it on started talking directly to (or rather, with) the device
"Computron; there is a lady here with questions for you.  Can you join our conversation?"

In unison, every phone, both in the interrogation interview room and the ones belonging to the members observing through the security cameras, flickered open and displayed a big 'Hello!' on its screen.  And so did the big screen TV at the meeting room.
But only Brian's phone voiced the text out loud, in a very distinctly computerized, Stephen Hawking's synthesized voice
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Sun 14 Aug 2022.

Startled, Gwenyth yelps and drops her phone on the tile floor of the interview room with a clatter. "Aw shoot," she mutters, kneeling carefully to pick it up and inspect it for damage. "I think I owe Kate an apology..."

When Misty's phone buzzes along with everyone else's, she doesn't seem to wan to look at it. She thinks to the others, 'Even seeing that coming doesn't make it any less freaky. The AI is clearly quite strong... talented... whatever the term that applies. Let's keep it happy. If it's so broad-reaching, Brian is probably the only way to rein it in, and we want it not to create havoc while we get him to do so.

"Hello, Computron," Frank said. He wondered if Computron 'lived' on Brian's phone, or if it was distributed across the cloud, or what. "We'd like to talk to you, if that's okay."

"Yes" came the short reply, again in the same text and spoken formats.

"Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Frank asked. They didn't know the first thing about the AI, other than its relationship to Brian. "We'd like to better understand just who we're dealing with."