"The Family You Never Knew You Had" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email : ryleyunderscorebreenathotmaildotcom
Disclaimer: I do not now nor have I ever owned the characters, plot elements or settings in this fanfic crossover. They are the property of their respective owners and so I am not making a single dime off of this. I am doing this purely for my own personal enjoyment and the enjoyment of the readers who like my work. Therefore I would greatly appreciate it if you could refrain from taking any legal action against me. After all anything you could possibly get from me would in no way cover the legal costs of a trial or even getting the lawyers to work on this problem.
Note: This is to all the Wildstorm fans who might read this fanfic once it is posted online at I am only just getting into the whole Wildstorm universe as a result of my efforts to familiarize myself with the first WildC.A.Ts team. I am in the progress of downloading more issues online and will read them when I can so that I may be able to stay true to the characters I will be using. Therefore I ask that you exercise some restraint and tolerance for any mistakes or grievous errors I might make in the following fanfic. Rest assured that as I read more of the issues I have downloaded and become more familiar both with the Wildstorm universe and its characters any discrepancies in the early chapters, including this one, will be taken care of one way or another.
Note 2: This takes place after Season 3 of BtVS when Xander is on his road trip. As for the Wildstorm universe I would say that this occurs about a week after the issue where Tapestry debuted in the WildC.A.Ts comics and about a month or two prior to the events in the mega-title-crossover entitled 'Wildstorm Rising'. I'll do my best to keep the timeline consistent and intact for the three main titles that'll be shown (WildC.A.Ts, Gen 13, Stormwatch) but without an official timeline to follow be prepared for a few mistakes as far as what happens when. If anyone can provide me with an accurate timeline of the Wildstorm Universe involving these three titles I'd appreciate it. Also while there are mentions of several real life people and events in the Wildstorm universe as well as actual dates that the adventures that I will write about happened before BtVS ever went on the air much less around the time that Xander went on his roadtrip I ask you to overlook these discrepancies. I know that the canon mongers will likely flame me for not sticking strictly to how and when things happened in the Wildstorm universe but the way I look at it fan fiction is meant to be flexible on those issues. Fan fiction is like the ultimate 'What If' and as long as the story is good I don't see the point to fussing over details. So if you are one of those people who believe in strictly following canon with little if any leeway then go elsewhere because I doubt you'd like this fanfic.
PS—I know I said I wouldn't start a new fanfic until I had finished at least some of the others but with every issue of WildC.A.Ts or Gen 13 I read I can't help myself from putting the story coming together in my mind on paper (metaphorically speaking of course).
The Family You Never Knew You Had "The Fabulous Ladies" Night Club, Oxnard, California, MidnightThis is definitely not how I planned on spending my summer vacation! Xander thought as he did his last duty of the night which was taking the trash bags and tossing them in the dumpster out back.
He had been in Oxnard roughly a week so far and already he was wishing he had been given another option than working as a busboy/dishwasher/janitor at a strip club. Not that he had been given much choice on account of the car his Uncle Rory had given him had come to a smoking stop just inside the city limits. He had walked to the nearest garage and managed to get the car towed but when the mechanic looked over the car and named the price for the repairs it had left the Xan-man seriously short of cash. So he had gone about town and tried to find some place that had a 'help wanted' sign in the window so he could replenish his travel funds. For two days straight he looked, passing this place by ten times, before he was left with no other choice but to take the 'manual labour' position being offered. In reality it was simply all the jobs that no one else in the place wanted to do and so they dumped it all on his shoulders. Now you might think that working at a strip club might actually be pretty fun especially since there'd be a few hot female strippers doing their thing on stage. Sadly due to the grimy state he tended to be in due to his 'duties' hadn't been allowed to enter the main area of the club but rather had been told to stay in the back and 'do your damn job'. So while all the customers and other male employees got to enjoy the show out front he was left the back doing all the literal dirty work.
Normally I wouldn't mind as much but this frickin' headache looks like its about to upgrade itself to migraine status soon! Xander thought as took a bottle of Advil out of his pocket and popped two pills into his mouth.
It had started about three days after he had left Sunnydale to travel the country in the clichéd road trip style and had been getting steadily worse. If he had to liken it to anything it would be as if he was unconsciously using a muscle that had been paralysed for a while and it was complaining about the sudden workload. For the life of him though he couldn't figure at all what the cause of the headache was. All he could do was keep popping Advil into his mouth to take the edge off while hoping that eventually it would blow over. Otherwise he might really lose it and take it out on his boss and THEN he'd get fired and still be about five hundred dollars short of his goal.
Slamming the lid down on the dumpster he headed back inside to report that his last duties of the day had been completed and that he was heading to 'Lee's Bed and Breakfast' where he'd been hanging his hat for the past week. It wasn't the cheapest place in town but it was the only one that didn't look like half the current tenants were either roaches or rats. It was run by this old couple that were about halfway between being parental age and grandparental age and they were nice enough to give him a little slack if it took him a few more days to get the money to pay for the room. Apparently the husband Mr. Lee had gone on a road trip himself when he graduated from high school so he knew what it was like making it from one side of the country to the other. Mr. Lee even gave a few suggestions on where to go once he earned enough money to drive on out of Oxnard that made a mental note to visit if the places were along his planned route.
Entering the back door to the club he spotted one of the female strippers, Cathy Farson, talking to the manager and from the looks of things something was up. She was looking a little tipsy and dazed on her feet while the manager had this look in his eye that reminded Xander of a similar look that Tony usually had when Baywatch came on TV. Basically it was a caveman leer and a perverted look in his eyes that left no doubt in his mind that the crooked man planned on taking advantage of the young woman. He was definitely not the sort of manager of a strip club that he had thought he'd be working for starting out since he treated his employees either like dirt or just a piece of ass. In fact the only reason most of the employees stayed was because they were in pretty much in the same situation as him in that they were too short on cash to leave. After all once a person met the costs of a place to stay and food on the table for the week and then added on the unexpected extras there really wasn't much to spend on anything else. He was just lucky that he had paid for the repairs to his car using his own money 'cause if he'd had to depend on his salary from the club he'd never leave Oxnard.
"Why don' ya come ta my office an' we can see 'bout ya becoming the headliner for the club?" Mr. Carson asked in a way probably meant to sound caring but came out lecherous, "I'll even see 'bout puttin' a call inta someone I know in Vegas. If ya work hard an' really suck in the customers ya could be on yer way to the big time as early as next year."
"I don't know Mr. Carson. I'm not feeling all that good right now." Cathy replied with a slight wobble in her step, "I think the rum in that rum an' coke you gave me has gone bad."
"All the more reason ta come ta my office an' take a load off." Mr. Carson stated trying to add persuasive weight to his proposed course of action, "It ain't safe fer ya ta be out there at this hour 'specially since ya ain't feelin' good."
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell what he has in mind! Xander thought angrily as his mind provided him with images of what the sick manager planned for Cathy, Well not tonight asshole!
"Don't worry about that Mr. Carson. I'll walk Cathy to her apartment." He said as he walked up to the pair, "It's not far and after dealing with all the gang members on PCP in Sunnydale I think I can handle anything that might be out there."
"Mind yer own business Harris! Can' you see me an' Cathy are trying to do business here?" Carson asked rhetorically in a way that clearly conveyed a warning of what would happen if he didn't get lost.
"Oh I can see that but given that Cath' here is feeling a little under the weather I don't think her head's in any condition to think straight much less talk business." Xander replied acting like he hadn't understood that the manager's question was rhetorical, "Besides I'm sure you two can get together tomorrow and have the 'business talk' then. After all it's not like either of you are going anywhere anytime soon."
"I'm gonna tell ya one more time Harris! GET LOST!" Carson yelled dropping all pretences at being the 'professional businessman.
Well looks like I got two choices here: a) I can mind my own business and keep my wonderful job here, b) I can keep trying to reason with the guy or c) I can grab Cathy and make a run for it before Mr. Sick and Perverted here gets violent. Xander thought as he went through his options mentally, Decisions, decisions!
It was right about then that Carson made things go from difficult to nasty when he reached into his jack for something. It only took a moment of seeing the outline of something gun shaped to make him realise what was about to happen. Acting on pure instinct he charged Carson head on and before the lech could finish pulling the weapon out he delivered a right hook straight to the guys jaw. Now in most cases when one normal teen punched an older guy in the jaw it would only daze the person on the receiving end but given that Xander had been fighting vamps for the past three years his punches had a little more oomph to them. So when Xander-fist A connected with manager-jaw B it was no surprise that the guy got knocked clear off his feet and had a brain on the fritz. However the Xan-man didn't expect that to last long so with a quick 'sorry' to Cathy he scooped her up in his arms and made for the exit as quickly as he could.
They were out the door and past the firs three rows of parked cars before a shot rang out and shattered the windshield of a muscle car they had just passed. Deciding not to see if Carson was a better shot the second time around he dove to the ground while making sure to cushion Cathy as best he could. He could tell from the way her head still lolled about that whatever the prick had given her was still strong in her system but thanks to all the excitement adrenaline was quickly neutralizing it. Unfortunately that was causing her to turn into a frantic and terrified woman who was trying to do the stupid thing by making a run for it. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the firm grip he had on her left arm but giving the crazed look in her eyes he had a feeling it wouldn't last.
"Cathy! You need to calm down!" he yelled at her in an attempt to pierce through her fear filled mind, "You won't make it ten feet if you try to run! Our only chance is to use the cars for cover and wait for him to go back inside to reload the gun!"
The truth was he was only certain of one thing and that was that by keeping the cars between them and the gun they'd be okay. All the rest was pretty much bullshit since he had no idea if Carson would go back into the club to reload or if the sicko had been smart and had brought some extra bullets with him. Still hiding was the best option considering that running would only get them shot while keeping their heads down might keep them alive until the local police responded to the shots and got their asses over here. Assuming of course that the cops here in Oxnard weren't like the police back in Sunnydale because if that was the case then he and Cathy were doubly screwed. Deciding to take a peek through one of the windows of the BMW in front of him he barely managed to duck back down as a bullet shatters that particular window missing his head by inches. It also unfortunately had the side effect of causing him to instinctively use both hands to cover his face in order to keep any glass shards away from hitting anything vital. This caused him to release his grip on the terrified Cathy Farson's arm and BOY did she not waste time taking advantage if that since she tore off down the parking lot towards the diner on the other side of the highway. However given that the lights in the diner were out it obviously wasn't one of those all night diners where there was always someone behind the counter or working in the kitchen. Cathy though didn't seem to care as her mind was apparently just as locked on 'RUN' as his had been on 'HIDE'.
Damnit! She's a sitting duck out there and judging from that last shot that almost took my head off Carson isn't a lousy enough shot that I can bank on him missing her! Xander thought as the first fragments of a plan began to form in his head, I gotta get him to focus on me instead of her but how?
Getting to his feet but in a crouch he looked into the car that Carson had just given cheap air conditioning to hoping to find something he might be able to use. It took a little longer than he would've liked but eventually he found the three things that might just discourage the creepy manager from pursuing them any longer. Grabbing the half full bottle of beer, the scarf and the Bic lighter he ducked back down out of sight and began to assemble his little surprise for Carson. A quick stuffing here, a little shaking there and he had an improvised Molotov cocktail in his hand waiting to be lit and light it he did. Then shooting to his feet he took a moment to zero in on Carson before throwing his half-assed weapon in the dickhead's direction. Unfortunately for the manager Xander had been a little too used to lobbing cocktails at vamps so instead of landing a couple feet in front of Carson his muscles had dropped it at the gun wielding man's feet. In a whoosh of flame the Molotov shattered at the man's feet splashing him with beer and providing the flaming scarf with all the invitation it needed to crawl up his legs. Carson screamed in fright as he tried to pat the flames out but his clothes, which were probably the recipients of quite a few spilt glasses of liquor, were entirely too set to burn and so his efforts were in vain.
Shocked and more than a little guilty about what he had done to the man, despite his lecherous ways, he got up and started towards Mr. Carson but as the flames reached chest high the man began to fire his gun wildly in random directions with one shot clipping Xander's leg. With a flash of pain arcing through his left leg he dropped to his hands and knees only able to watch as the flames finished enveloping the crooked strip club manager. Closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer for the man that he had unintentionally killed he looked up a few moments later to see if he could spot Cathy. She had to be coming off the adrenaline rush at the moment and while it may have knocked most of the drug induced tipsiness there would still be some aftershocks. When he finally found her though he muttered a curse he had once heard G-man say during one of the gang's research sessions.
Cathy was lying still in the middle of the highway and while he thought he could see a slight rise and fall of her chest to show she was breathing it was hard to tell from where he was at the moment. For all he knew it was his eyes playing tricks on him but he prayed that wasn't the case and that he wasn't responsible for killing two human beings this night. He got to his feet and while the pain was still intense he'd dealt with worse after some of the beatings Tony had laid on him when he was younger. Pushing the sensation aside he began moving towards her in a brisk jog, not daring to push his injured leg any more than that, he needed to find out just how serious her injuries were. If they were serious he'd break into the diner and call 911 before grabbing the First Aid kit he hoped was located under the counter. If it just turned out to be a flesh wound he'd use his shirt to bandage the wound as best he could before helping her back inside the club to call her a cab.
Fate however had something monumentally different in mind though.
As a particularly sharp jolt of pain raced up his injured leg causing him to close his eyes and stop the sight that manifested before him when he opened was beyond strange. Laid out before him was the normal world as he it had been before he had shut his eyes but there was another world overlaid on top of it. It was like those primitive 3D computer recreations he had seen the courts use on TV to recreate the crime for the jury to see. Every object and surface as far as his eyes could see were wrapped in some kind of blue plastic wrap that outlined the basic shape of what it covered but no real detail beyond what was necessary. Mixed in with the blue wrap though were numerous red ghost-like figures roughly the same height and shape as him moving like the Flash in different directions but all acting in an attempt to get to Cathy. Some were a darker shade of red while others were so light red in colour that he could barely perceive them but just as he began get over the weird sight a solid red form in the shape of a car appeared. It was barrelling down the highway at a speed completely over the posted limit and it was heading for Cathy. He watched as many of the red figures of different shades blinked out of existence leaving only those closest to being solid red behind.
What the FUCK? He thought as he closed his eyes and willed the strange sight to go away.
A minute later he opened them and breathed a sigh of relief when there was nothing but the ordinary world before him. He wasn't quite sure what the hell that had been but he decided to write it off as being related to his hurt leg and resumed his job towards Cathy. No more than five steps later a sound reached his ears that caused a feeling of dread to take form in his gut and look up the highway to his left. Barrelling down the grey stretch of highway with four loud and obviously drunk teenagers in it was a car the exact shape of the red one he had seen in that weird vision preview thing a few moments ago. He wasn't sure what was going on but he did know that if things played out the way they did in the vision Cathy was going to be road kill. Deducing that solid red meant 'yes this will happen' in the vision or 'you must do this' he quickly began to follow the path the red Flash figure that was closest to solid had laid out for him.
No longer concerned in the least about his own leg he ran as fast as he could along the path that had been specified by the red figure. Up onto the rooftops of several parked cars it took him as the quickest way to Cathy was indeed a straight line and the automobiles were on top of that straight line. However even as he was getting closer to Cathy so too was the car full of idiots and it didn't look like they had two clues that they were in danger of running over an innocent and maybe injured young woman. This knowledge only deepened his disgust of all drunks and caused him to try and quicken his pace even more. With one final burst of speed he finally reached Cathy and wrapped his arms around her to get her to safety. When he tried to stand up though he suddenly found that his injured leg could no longer support his weight much less his weight and Cathy's. He knew what had happened of course. The blood loss combined with him overworking it had caused it to give out and now it might as well be gone for all the good it was right then.
"Fuckin' HELL! Not NOW!" he exclaimed as the morons driving with Jack Daniels and Jim Beam in their systems continued to drive towards him at a dangerous speed.
It was in the next few seconds that time began to slow and the movement of both his body as well as the car coming towards him slowed. His mind however was working at a slightly faster rate as it scrambled to come with a solution, ANY solution, to the current crisis that would let Cathy or the both of them live. One after another though the ideas were shot down as most of them either required more time than he had or needed him to be able to use both of his legs. His mind eventually was forced to concede that there was no way out and that it had best accept its fate. The spirit of Xander Harris though remained determined to prove that this WAS NOT the end of everything and that if anyone or anything had a different opinion he was going to make them change it. With all his determination, all his willpower and all his soul he thrust his right hand out towards the oncoming car and voiced his position in one reverberating word.
"NOOOO!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as though to command the gods themselves to obey him.
In the blink of an eye a force was unleashed towards the car and while the truth of the matter was that it had not been caused by a god those who viewed the area afterwards would certainly believe it had been. With a blast of energy, perceivable by only those sensitive of mind, the car that had once been hurtling towards Xander Harris and Cathy Farson flew backwards into the air as though it had been shot from an electromagnetic launch system. It was kind of like the bullet trains in China that rode on E.M rails but judging from the distance the now airborne car was covering without having reached the apex of its ascension yet a bullet train was the slower of the two. The damage done was not confined to just the car though for so unfocused and primal was the release of energy that anything and everything in the general direction the blast was aimed at was affected. The highway was torn to shreds, trees were uprooted and buildings were demolished with all the fury of the most powerful of tornados.
Not that Xander was aware of all this though for with the emergence of this great power his mind reflected the status of his environment perfectly. The only coherent thought, the focus of it all, was eliminating the threat to both him and the one in his arms finally and permanently.
Then, with just as much warning as before, the release of energy came to an end and like a puppet whose strings had been cut Xander slumped to the ground his mind slipping into unconsciousness. For the remainder of his life he would never clearly remember what had happened, how these new abilities of his had surfaced, but there were others sensitive to the raw telepathic and telekinetic energy he had unleashed who would at least have a theory. That was because in the first two seconds after he unleashed his power a psionic shockwave was unleashed as the barrier that had kept the power locked away for so long shattered. Across the globe and even to a lesser degree into space it went letting all who could perceive it know that a new player was now on the field.
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Skywatch, Earth Orbit
"Ahhhh!" exclaimed Jackson King, also known as Battalion, leader of the U.N sanctioned team Stormwatch One.
He had been in the middle of a debriefing with his team when out of nowhere a wave of psionic energy had rolled over him. It hadn't been anything too dangerous, especially given his training, but given how raw and unfocused it had been he couldn't believe anyone on Skywatch had generated such a wave. Each and every person onboard the station was a consummate professional that had both complete control over their S.P.B power/s and knew how to do their job perfectly. Therefore it was a complete mystery as to what had happened but as the holo-display in the center of the table activated to reveal the Weatherman One aka Synergy he had a feeling he was about to be given a clue.
"Battalion, psi-scanners have just registered a massive telepathic and telekinetic discharge coming from Earth." Weatherman said in a professional and in charge tone, "Stormwatch One is to prep for deployment but remain on standby until we can get a better idea of what or who we're dealing with."
"Do we have the location of the discharge's location?" Battalion asked as he already started to form a strategy in his head.
"Not yet. We know that it originated in California, south of Los Angeles, but due to the interfering radiation from the B.D.I zone it'll take some time to get the precise co-ordinates." Weatherman replied promptly before being handed a data pad by an assistant, "Once the location has been determined Stormwatch One will investigate ground zero and then learn the cause of the discharge. If it is a S.P.B and human then you are to apprehend if possible but terminate if necessary. Also be aware that we expect American agents, most likely I.O Black Razors, to either be there when you arrive or show up soon after. Attempt to co-operate with them but if they try anything cite article 34 of the Skywatch/U.N charter."
"Understood." Battalion stated in a 'YES SIR' manner.
With that the holo-display shut down and King immediately began to fire out orders to his team concerning what weapons and equipment to bring as well as the ground rules once they reached planet-side. Once that was done his mind returned to the implications of what he had been told and what it could mean for Earth whether they succeeded or failed in their mission. It was shocking to think that something or someone was such a powerful psi-talent that their power could be felt thousands of kilometers above the planet. It was also going to mean that once they found the source he and his team would have to act fast or they'd wind up on the receiving end of another discharge like the one that had just occurred. If being hit by it up here in Skywatch was enough to knock the wind out of his sails he didn't even want to think about what it would feel like at close range.
Looks like it's going to be another one of those days. He thought as he stood up from his chair to follow his team to the armory.
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Waering Industries, Earth, Team Designation: Wetworks
"Aarrrgghh!" yelled Dane, leader of the special Ops group known as Wetworks, as his mind was assaulted with a storm of psionic energy so potent that only the protection and enhancement provided by the golden symbiote that covered his body kept him from crashing to the ground.
"Dane! What's wrong?" asked the female Cyborg known as Mother One as she ran to his side.
While it was true she had a good idea, like all the other members of Wetworks that were linked together telepathically by their symbiotes, Dane was the only one who had possessed telepathy prior to receiving his symbiote and so was more sensitive than them. All she had felt was a flood of psionic energy causing pain right up there with the worst brain freeze one could possibly imagine. Judging from the look on the face of Dane though what he felt was significantly worse.
"Psionic shockwave of some kind. VERY intense." Dane replied as his symbiote worked to quell the proverbial ringing in his ears left by the shockwave.
"Any idea who or what might have caused it?" Mother One asked professionally once she was fairly certain that Dane was going to be okay.
"No. It was too primal, too unfocused, to gain any clues as to the source." Jackson Dane replied as the last vestiges of discomfort faded, "I just hope that it isn't one of the Night Breed or Craven's projects or we could be in for some serious trouble in the future."
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Cabalitto Island
"Feeling any better?" asked Sublime, also known as Rachel Goldman, as she watched the leader of her team DV8 sit up in his infirmary bed.
"If by 'better' you mean that I don't think my brain is going to explode then yes." Threshold, also known as Matthew Callahan, replied as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"Do you have any idea what happened? I mean one second you were getting on Copycat's case about the last simulator scenario and the next you were out cold on the floor." Rachel asked more than a little concerned given that Matt was supposed to be the strongest member of DV8 given that he was the leader.
"Aside from being slammed by a psionic tsunami not much. Where's Ivana?" Callahan asked as he stood up off the bed.
"In her private office. Some of the real high tech sensors managed to catch a blip of what hit you and when she saw it she went straight to the office and locked the door." Sublime replied looking a little wary as she remembered the look on the C.O of the base's face, "I've never seen her like that before. Whatever it was she saw in those readings it's big."
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Black Tours, McLean, Virginia, Office of Director Miles Craven
One Hour After the Psionic Event
Power
In so many ways that one word epitomizes Miles Craven both in what he seeks and what he already has. He is the director of one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, intelligence agencies in the world. While it may have started off as an offshoot of the C.I.A in 1964 under his leadership it quickly became an agency unto itself with a purpose unique compared to its counterparts worldwide. For him the mandate of protecting the interests of the United States abroad was only performed to pacify the bureaucracy and be utilized to serve his true agenda. That agenda, simply put, was super humans. Over the past few years the world's population had undergone tremendous changes with certain portions of the population beginning to manifest powers and abilities that were as varied as they were devastating. The origins of these powers differed from case to case but it was the results that he considered important. Beings capable of punching through concrete walls with ease, people who could fly through the air without any artificial aid whatsoever and people who could pierce the very sanctity of a person's mind were the facts he was concerned with. It was with the reports of the first few emerging super humans that his appetite was whetted and he set forth to create an army of beings such as these for his own ends.
It was when he stumbled upon Simon Tseng and the baby the scientist had found that possessed abilities that seemed impossible for one so young. Study of the child proceeded apace and eventually the source of the infants powers was revealed. Dubbed the Gen Factor the director of I/O began a series of experiments exposing subjects to this source of super human might but none produced results that could be classified as a success. Still the experiments continued and even with the escape of Dr. Tseng he was still determined to fulfill his plan of an army of super humans. After many failures he decided that perhaps if he exposed the Gen Factor to heartier stock the subjects would survive the changes they'd undergo as a result of exposure. He select his best soldiers, a group classified as Team 7, to be exposed during a mission and later covered up his involvement claiming they had been attacked by the enemy using a new form of chemical warfare. Some members of the team committed suicide while others died simply because their bodies could not endure the strain of their new abilities. Once the weak had been weeded out the survivors were sent out on a mission without knowing that the true purpose of the operation was to test their new powers. They managed to survive but immediately went to ground with the exception of two members.
Eventually they were found and using their loyalty to one of the team members that hadn't gone into hiding, Michael Cray, sent them on a mission that their successors in Team 8 failed to accomplish. Once sufficient time had passed for the soldiers' guards to relax he was free to put into action a secondary agenda besides utilizing Team 7's skills once more and that was the acquisition of their children. Knowing that the Gen Factor had changed the men on a genetic level it was only logical to assume that something might have been passed down to their children. With such malleable young minds at his disposal he had intend to found the first team of his super human army loyal to him and him alone. Unfortunately due to an escape attempt by the residents of level 9 and the manipulation of Jackson Dane the members of Team 7 learned of his plans and immediately went to work putting the babies into hiding. Of all the members of the team only Lynch, Cray and Slayton chose to remain loyal but only on the condition that the children of the remaining members were left alone. In retrospect he probably should have continued pursuit of the other children but then it is always easy to recognize the mistakes you've made years after the event in question.
It hadn't been until the last year or so that he had decided to restart his efforts to produce a super human army. Given the heat from the actions of Team 7 and the level 9 fiasco he had been forced to put the experiment on hold after Lynch and the others had returned. Now though with the appearance of the superhero team Youngblood and the United Nation's own Stormwatch gaining wide acceptance and praise the political and military climate was ripe for a revival of the project. Under the direction of Ivana Baiul young teens from across the country underwent testing for signs of the Gen Factor as well as other genetic anomalies that could indicate extraordinary abilities. Once they had been found they would be relocated to the Project: Genesis compound where they would undergo rigorous testing as well as a covert drug program meant to activate their special abilities. Several promising recruits were discovered but due to a sudden case of conscience Lynch chose to turn traitor and make off with five of the candidates revealed to be the children of Team 7 members by genetic testing. If that wasn't bad enough Baiul also chose that moment to go independent stealing several other possible candidates for his army. In short he had been looted from within and now was forced to make a decision regarding the future of Project: Genesis as to whether to piece it back together or shelve it once more until a more opportune time arose.
BeepBeep
"Come." He said as he looked away from the computer screen in front of him to the door of his office.
An I/O agent in a standard issue black suit and tie with black glasses entered the room looking rather nervous. That was to be expected and what he desired of all his subordinates even though it sometimes became something of a bother if it impaired their ability to give an efficient report.
"Sir we've just received a priority zebra call from Agent Anderson." The obscure agent said as he came to a stop a healthy distance from the desk, "He says the subject has become active."
Craven felt a vague sensation of recognition at the name of the agent who called but he needed more information to recall the man's assignment completely.
"Refresh my memory agent. What exactly was Agent Anderson's assignment?" he asked making sure it was in such a way that it sounded like a test rather than a lapse in memory.
"He was dispatched on a surveillance assignment of an unauthorized experiment that was thought to be a failure sir." The Agent responded promptly and efficiently, "I don't know the details of the experiment other than it was codenamed 'Project Foresight'."
Those two words, Project Foresight, instantly brought the information he had been searching for in his mind to the front as though the words had caused the fog obscuring the data to vanish instantly. He now remembered well the failed Project Foresight, the geneticist that had worked on it in secret during the early days after the members of Team Seven went to ground after the level 9 incident, as well as what he had done when the experiment failed to meet expectations. He had been intrigued by the geneticist's idea and had let it progress on the off chance that it might bear fruit but when failure came instead he had the prototype relocated and placed under surveillance. In truth he had not expected to ever hear about it again and being assigned to surveillance of the project was generally considered to be a punishment for some agents or a low stress job for agents recovering from some malady or another. To suddenly find that the experiment had suddenly decided to turn around and become active was a great surprise. A rare thing as he prided himself on being on top of everything that concerned him or his plans but not an unwelcome surprise.
"What are the specifics of the subject's activation?" he asked the Agent knowing that the man would at least have clearance enough to have that information even if he didn't have the necessary pieces to make sense of it.
"Once Agent Anderson reported the activation of the project and location it was quickly connected to a massive psionic event in the same location that our sensors picked up an hour ago." The Agent replied with a bit of curiosity leaking into his voice, "According to preliminary data it appeared to be a discharge of telepathic and telekinetic energy."
"Did Agent Anderson give an explanation as to why it took him so long to report in if the event in question happened an hour ago?" Craven asked as he mentally called up the list of punishments Anderson would face depending on the answer.
"Well… sir… according to Agent Anderson the psionic discharge was so powerful that it demolished several buildings and a piece of flying debris knocked him unconscious." The Agent replied genuinely nervous about his life and career if the director didn't like his answer.
"Hmmmm, impressive. Where is the experiment now?" Craven asked as he decided that he would be lenient with Agent Anderson given the potential of this supposedly failed experiment turning into a success.
"Local law enforcement and emergency response teams are on site at ground zero now sir. The subject appears to be unconscious at the moment so it is expected that he will be transported to the nearest hospital with any others injured in the event." The Agent replied internally relieved that he was apparently safe from the director's wrath.
"Excellent. Tell Santini to dispatch Black Razor's One and Two to the hospital under orders to retrieve the subject and to proceed immediately to our west coast branch." Craven said as he began to make plans to deal with the wild card that had been added to the deck, "Make sure that Santini remembers that I want the subject alive and in relatively good condition. However if there is a risk that forces other than International Operations, any other force, are going to succeed in acquiring the subject then it is to be destroyed immediately."
"U-understood sir." The Agent said since he knew full well what it meant when the director didn't want something to fall into someone else's hand whether they were ally or enemy.
"Then you are dismissed." Craven said and then for dramatic effect he swiveled his leather chair around so that the tall black back was facing the agent.
He waited until he was sure that the agent was gone before he let a light chuckle escape from his lips as he began to envision how this new variable would alter the path of the future.
Interesting times were ahead for all, interesting times indeed.
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