Looks Like Rain
"Forge, good to see you." Val Cooper said looking up from her desk. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up." She commented dryly.
"You know me better than that Val." Forge said walking into the sparsely illuminated office. It wasn't a large or glamorous office, yet it was decorated in deep colours and commanded an air of respect. The lateness of the day didn't help the atmosphere. Val put her files back in the filing cabinet and once again turned her attention to Forge. She was about to speak when Forge interrupted. "Look, if this is about the weapons then forget it. There's nothing you can say that..." In turn he was interrupted by Val
"No, Forge this has nothing to do with weapons." She said sternly. There was a short silence between them, not long but long enough to be noticed.
"What is this about then?" Forge asked taking a step closer to Val's desk and taking a seat in one of the dark red chairs that sat in front of Val's mahogany desk. Something told him this was going to take awhile. Val's expression lit up yet hardened at the same time. It was a typical excited- professional demeanor that, strangely, she managed to pull off.
"This is about a proposed project we're calling X-Factor." She said with a hint of excitement tingeing her voice that didn't show in her overall demeanor. Val, always the professional government liaison, her blonde hair tied up in a neat ponytail and wearing a traditional dark blue suit. Forge, across from her, was a contrast to both hers and the offices appearance. Blue jeans, an old shirt and traditional 'I'm going to the corner store' jacket thrown on at the last minute. His hair would have been messy had it been in any other style other than a scalp cut. He tilted his head inquisitively
"X-Factor?" He asked. Of course he'd heard of the X-Factor gene, the one responsible for not only his mutation but for all mutation. But what did it have to do with the government?
"X-Factor." Val confirmed. "I'm sure your aware of the so-called 'mutant menace'?" She asked. Forge nodded suspiciously and Val decided to take that as a sign to continue. "X-Factor is a solution, in fact, the only humane one we have at the time. It's a project that fights fire with fire, so to speak." She explained. Forge stopped her there.
"You plan to fight mutants with other mutants?!" He asked her in shock.
"Yes." She said.
"That's insane! You can't force mutants to fight against their own kind!" Forge said.
"Forge, hear me out, this is the best we've got! Every other solution we came up with would end in disaster!" Val tried to explain to him.
"What could be worse than hunting down our own kind?!" Forge said challenging her. She looked him in the eye, meeting his challenge.
"Concentration camps, de-powering and death, Forge. Right now the future of mutant kind isn't looking to good. We either get the situation under control or we have to resort to extreme measures." Val said, her voice coming down to a normal level once more.
"And you think this 'X-Factor' project is the answer?" Forge asked defiantly.
"Until we find a better one, yes. I take it your at least curious?" Val asked somewhat smugly. Forge's expression stayed neutral.
"Say I am, what would this project involve?" He asked.
"It's quite a simple concept, really. Put together a team and go on missions to stop renegade mutants and general threats to the country. There may be some international escapades but you will deal mostly in government /mutant issues." She said.
"So I put a team together to go out and do government dirty work." Forge said, already knowing the answer.
"Frankly, yes. If you don't want to take part in this you're free to leave, we can find a replacement albeit it is taking a needless risk. We chose you because we think you're the right man for the job. Plus we know you can be trusted." Val confirmed his suspicion. Forge sighed.
"And tell me again why I should do this?" He asked. Val shrugged
"You don't really have a lot of choice. Either the fate of mutant kind lies in your hands or someone else's, which you choose is up to you." she replied. Forge clenched his metallic hand in a fist. He knew he couldn't play with the fate of mutant kind, as Val put it, and on a deeper level knew there was no way out of it. He'd worked with the government before and if they wanted something they got it. At any cost. Everything was already set in motion and he'd have to surrender to it at some point. "What do you say, Forge? Do you want to be a part of project X-Factor?" She asked looking at him directly.
He hesitated but eventually replied "It seems I have little say in the matter." He said coldly. Val knew that was the closest thing to 'yes' she was going to get and extended her hand to him.
"Welcome to project X-Factor." He took her hand and shook it once, coldly. Val pulled away as he let go reaching once again for her file cabinet. "Your first mission..." She started dropping a stack of files on her desk "is to recruit these mutants onto the team." She slid the files over to him. Forge picked up the first file and opened it reading over the contents silently. Val looked on as he skimmed through all the files.
"Val, this is wrong. These are just children." He said looking over another file.
"That's irrelevant in this case Forge. We've chosen each one for their attributes, we think each would serve X-Factor well." She said.
"Serve X-Factor well? This one is a renegade himself" he said holding up one file "This one an illegal immigrant with a criminal record" he said pointing to another "This one is to young to drive and this one should be in a psyche ward!" he said. Val shook her head.
"It's all irrelevant." she said calmly. "The government has already agreed that they become part of this project, they either come willingly or by force." She explained. Forge stood there in shock wondering what possessed him to join this project in the first place. Having no other choice he grabbed the files and stood up. Val watched him with the same calm demeanor.
"What about funding?" He asked.
"Taken care of." she replied.
"Training?" he asked.
"We have top notch facilities awaiting you." She replied.
"Medical care? Payments? Team responsibilities?" He asked.
"You will have the best medical care, the team will get paid for their services and that is to be determined." she answered. "I will accompany you on the first few recruitment missions until I'm satisfied the team can do it on their own. We'll be in touch. " She said dismissing him from the office. Without a word Forge turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Val waited patiently until she was sure he was out of earshot. She picked up the phone receiver and dialed a number. "This is Val. Project X-Factor is a go." Silence. "Yes, Forge agreed, the recruiting should start within the next few days." Silence. "Yes." Silence. "I'll make sure of it. I'll update you as information comes to me." She hung up and went back to her files.
~~Next Issue: Polarity
"Forge, good to see you." Val Cooper said looking up from her desk. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up." She commented dryly.
"You know me better than that Val." Forge said walking into the sparsely illuminated office. It wasn't a large or glamorous office, yet it was decorated in deep colours and commanded an air of respect. The lateness of the day didn't help the atmosphere. Val put her files back in the filing cabinet and once again turned her attention to Forge. She was about to speak when Forge interrupted. "Look, if this is about the weapons then forget it. There's nothing you can say that..." In turn he was interrupted by Val
"No, Forge this has nothing to do with weapons." She said sternly. There was a short silence between them, not long but long enough to be noticed.
"What is this about then?" Forge asked taking a step closer to Val's desk and taking a seat in one of the dark red chairs that sat in front of Val's mahogany desk. Something told him this was going to take awhile. Val's expression lit up yet hardened at the same time. It was a typical excited- professional demeanor that, strangely, she managed to pull off.
"This is about a proposed project we're calling X-Factor." She said with a hint of excitement tingeing her voice that didn't show in her overall demeanor. Val, always the professional government liaison, her blonde hair tied up in a neat ponytail and wearing a traditional dark blue suit. Forge, across from her, was a contrast to both hers and the offices appearance. Blue jeans, an old shirt and traditional 'I'm going to the corner store' jacket thrown on at the last minute. His hair would have been messy had it been in any other style other than a scalp cut. He tilted his head inquisitively
"X-Factor?" He asked. Of course he'd heard of the X-Factor gene, the one responsible for not only his mutation but for all mutation. But what did it have to do with the government?
"X-Factor." Val confirmed. "I'm sure your aware of the so-called 'mutant menace'?" She asked. Forge nodded suspiciously and Val decided to take that as a sign to continue. "X-Factor is a solution, in fact, the only humane one we have at the time. It's a project that fights fire with fire, so to speak." She explained. Forge stopped her there.
"You plan to fight mutants with other mutants?!" He asked her in shock.
"Yes." She said.
"That's insane! You can't force mutants to fight against their own kind!" Forge said.
"Forge, hear me out, this is the best we've got! Every other solution we came up with would end in disaster!" Val tried to explain to him.
"What could be worse than hunting down our own kind?!" Forge said challenging her. She looked him in the eye, meeting his challenge.
"Concentration camps, de-powering and death, Forge. Right now the future of mutant kind isn't looking to good. We either get the situation under control or we have to resort to extreme measures." Val said, her voice coming down to a normal level once more.
"And you think this 'X-Factor' project is the answer?" Forge asked defiantly.
"Until we find a better one, yes. I take it your at least curious?" Val asked somewhat smugly. Forge's expression stayed neutral.
"Say I am, what would this project involve?" He asked.
"It's quite a simple concept, really. Put together a team and go on missions to stop renegade mutants and general threats to the country. There may be some international escapades but you will deal mostly in government /mutant issues." She said.
"So I put a team together to go out and do government dirty work." Forge said, already knowing the answer.
"Frankly, yes. If you don't want to take part in this you're free to leave, we can find a replacement albeit it is taking a needless risk. We chose you because we think you're the right man for the job. Plus we know you can be trusted." Val confirmed his suspicion. Forge sighed.
"And tell me again why I should do this?" He asked. Val shrugged
"You don't really have a lot of choice. Either the fate of mutant kind lies in your hands or someone else's, which you choose is up to you." she replied. Forge clenched his metallic hand in a fist. He knew he couldn't play with the fate of mutant kind, as Val put it, and on a deeper level knew there was no way out of it. He'd worked with the government before and if they wanted something they got it. At any cost. Everything was already set in motion and he'd have to surrender to it at some point. "What do you say, Forge? Do you want to be a part of project X-Factor?" She asked looking at him directly.
He hesitated but eventually replied "It seems I have little say in the matter." He said coldly. Val knew that was the closest thing to 'yes' she was going to get and extended her hand to him.
"Welcome to project X-Factor." He took her hand and shook it once, coldly. Val pulled away as he let go reaching once again for her file cabinet. "Your first mission..." She started dropping a stack of files on her desk "is to recruit these mutants onto the team." She slid the files over to him. Forge picked up the first file and opened it reading over the contents silently. Val looked on as he skimmed through all the files.
"Val, this is wrong. These are just children." He said looking over another file.
"That's irrelevant in this case Forge. We've chosen each one for their attributes, we think each would serve X-Factor well." She said.
"Serve X-Factor well? This one is a renegade himself" he said holding up one file "This one an illegal immigrant with a criminal record" he said pointing to another "This one is to young to drive and this one should be in a psyche ward!" he said. Val shook her head.
"It's all irrelevant." she said calmly. "The government has already agreed that they become part of this project, they either come willingly or by force." She explained. Forge stood there in shock wondering what possessed him to join this project in the first place. Having no other choice he grabbed the files and stood up. Val watched him with the same calm demeanor.
"What about funding?" He asked.
"Taken care of." she replied.
"Training?" he asked.
"We have top notch facilities awaiting you." She replied.
"Medical care? Payments? Team responsibilities?" He asked.
"You will have the best medical care, the team will get paid for their services and that is to be determined." she answered. "I will accompany you on the first few recruitment missions until I'm satisfied the team can do it on their own. We'll be in touch. " She said dismissing him from the office. Without a word Forge turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Val waited patiently until she was sure he was out of earshot. She picked up the phone receiver and dialed a number. "This is Val. Project X-Factor is a go." Silence. "Yes, Forge agreed, the recruiting should start within the next few days." Silence. "Yes." Silence. "I'll make sure of it. I'll update you as information comes to me." She hung up and went back to her files.
~~Next Issue: Polarity