-9 Months
Proxy Blue looked out from the screen as snarkily cheery as always, that electronic glint in her eye somehow a little duller today. "The movers and shakers are moving and shaking right now, as the natural disasters and sabotage continue to escalate.
Elsewhere, the disgraced genetic modifications company, Genomex, has launched a new product, something called the Flexible Sub Dermal Governor 2022, complete with variable control. Or to you and me, the SGFlex. So, what happened to the other 2021 versions, and where are the lab rats used to make the thing so advanced? And was there any such thing as a non-flexible version? In such trying times as these, why is there a price tag so high only a few people can afford it, instead of being a standard issue neutralizing mechanism? And guess what? The senate has endorsed using them at will. No licenses, no rights, no laws.
"The entire exposure of Genomex as the foundation of all mutants forced its stocks to collapse and has initiated a takeover by LexMor. Take a guess which conglomerate LexMor belongs to, although interestingly enough Mason Eckhart still retains the helm at Genomex. The timing also coincided with the abrupt changes in White House staff, not to mention the Cabinet re-shuffles in Downing Street and the Russian Premier going down with a sudden case of pneumonia, to cite some examples. Many of these changes involve the insertion of new staff with connections to companies run by a small group of backbench senators, one of which owns LexMor. Coincidence?
"Mutant in-fighting is causing some consternation all round as two major factions seem to be clashing regularly. The AV's and the Mutant Freedom Fighters can't seem to get along. Maybe someone thinks they'll take each other out and save the rest of us the trouble. After all, this could have been the catalyst for the discovery and subsequent decimation of the mutant underground. So many mutants were caught that camps, or to use that politically correct quaint colloquialism, 'freak farms', to contain them have been set up. But how do you contain people that can walk through walls and manipulate minds? Keep the stories coming, fair citizens; my job security is ensured."
*****
Mason Eckhart was fuming as he watched Morrisen's people swarm all over his work. The only positive points he could see were that at least the government contracts were more secure than they'd ever been, and his own place as Morrisen's number two was safe for the moment. However, there were secrets buried deep within Genomex that he did not want anyone discovering, let alone that megalomaniac.
He recognized the move for what it was, of course; a way of bringing him to heel because, without Genomex, he would go the same way as Byrnes. Eckhart supposed he should be flattered that Morrisen thought that he was that great a threat and ally. He just needed to make sure that LexMor found nothing of note to send back to Morrisen. Which was why he'd given them the SGFlex, something he'd been planning to keep for his own use, but which turned out to be an effective diversion.
Not only did it neutralize, but also gave fine control to whoever had the master controller, it's neurotechnology latched on at the sub-molecular level in order to configure itself to the individual in question, enabling partial use of powers as well as more mundane location boundaries and the like. A beautiful device that he was proud of and resented having to give away, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.
One thing he was quite certain of, however; he would eject Morrisen from his throne of power if it was the last thing he did.
*****
For once, Emma was grateful that her powers had become so well developed over the last few years. Her mental shields were immensely strong now, blocking out the thoughts and feelings of those around her, which was good because, so much of the time, what she was getting these days was sharp, strong and dark. Resentment was growing fast, as well as anger and terror.
She'd already seen some psionics go crazy from the sensory assault, especially among those who were suffering growth spurts in a time where there were no sanctuaries to which to escape and take the time build mental defenses.
With the AV's outrageous rampages ongoing and increasing, the initial influx of people who wanted the middle ground had vanished and Emma was finding that those who would listen were rapidly growing fewer. Contact with Shalimar directly was becoming worryingly intermittent and routed through Jesse more often than not, as the feral and her teams were spending most of their time taking on the AV's.
And the AV's seemed to be the one group where the Cyberteam's information was thin on the ground. What they got was spot on but, unable to find an in further up the ladder, they were relying on ground level leaks which were often too late for effective action to be taken.
Jeff and Julie were of the opinion that Emma was too vulnerable to be out in the open so much and this seemed validated when the first of what was to be many meetings turned into a fight - or more likely an AV ambush. Emma had demonstrated her own offensive powers for the first time then, shaking the rest of her team who'd had no idea how powerful she really was, understanding then that she would only use it if she absolutely had to. She too had been shaken at the violence of the attack on her, the pain she'd been in and that she'd been pushed to using her power so harshly.
But she was also determined, and wasn't going to let a little physical pain stop her when she needed to get the far worse mental pain to stop.
*****
The obliteration of the underground was devastating to the mutants, both in terms of practicality and morale, and depression hung like shroud among the mutant population.
Kathy and Brennan spent long evenings talking. It was only natural that, though the evening talks started out as de/briefings, they should turn to more worldly matters and eventually to each other. There was nothing so strong or perfect as love, it was simply mutual understanding and need, nothing more.
During one of their evening talks, after a couple of beers, Brennan talked about resurrecting the underground. But differently. Not like Adam had run it, one smooth operation which worked the most efficiently but was vulnerable, so that once one part had been discovered the rest just followed. But more like the slave underground railways, where each 'station' was compartmentalized, never knowing exactly where the cargo was coming from or going to. So that if one 'station' was discovered, the railway was simply diverted via another 'station'. A little more haphazard, but much safer.
They planned it out in the manner one does after some alcohol. But unlike most fantasies, this one was still alive in Brennan's mind the following morning. And with Kathy at his side rallying troops while he planned and organized, a new Underground Railway was born.
*****