*Chapter 2*
~Briefing~
General Grün was not a happy man. On paper he was a powerful man, but in reality he had little power at all. He was the commanding officer of Germany's secret operations, specifically the Mutant division. He oversaw all projects and missions conducted in this facility, and he was responsible for all their successes and failures. So far there had been no significant failures, this program was one of the most successful, but that wasn't why he was upset. It was this latest mission that really bothered him.
Normally he chose who went on what mission, but there were times when his political masters decided they knew best and made the choice for him. This was one of them. Not only was it incredibly stupid of them but it was dangerous. It was his job to decide who was best suited for what and keep certain individuals from being overstrained but the politicians had no knowledge of or concern for these things. There were times when they had chosen the wrong person for the mission. One time they had decreed that Agent DX-5 should go on a swift infiltration mission when she was most useful at long-term undercover operations. She managed to pull it off but it was a very close thing. But this particular mission was the worst yet, a disaster in the making.
They wanted DX-0 to be put on a joint mission with some American forces involving some organized crime in Chicago, and it looked to be a long-term undercover type of operation. This had major failure written all over it. DX-0 was the absolute worst Agent imaginable for the job. He was barely useable for most infiltration missions; he was bettered suited for secret military operations than anything else. His strange and unique appearance was one major factor and his emotionless behavior was the other. Disguising him was a difficult task to say the least, the best and only solution was to use a complex and high-tech hologram system that made him appear perfectly human. Its only flaw was a major one; the hologram took care of his looks but not his 'feel'. If someone were to touch his 'skin' they would instead feel fur and it would blow his cover.
And then there was the issue of his behavior. General Grün wasn't the first to command this unit; he inherited command from General Schwarzbaum, a real mental case. Grün wondered how the Hell such a man rose to such a rank with the problems he had. To this day the man still claimed that Hitler had good ideas and should've won the war. The man also had a twisted view on what made a good soldier and DX-0 was the result. He had beaten the soul out of that boy and left him an empty shell of a person. DX-0 was a soulless robot, doing exactly what he was told, no more, no less. And unfortunately there was little Grün could do about it.
Combine these two things with the unknown variable of this American team. It was impossible to know what they were like, how they did things, and how DX-0 would react to it all. No matter how he looked at the situation it was bad. Americans were the worst thing for this boy, the culture shock alone could cause him to snap or function poorly. Damn the politicians, when this went bad they would shoulder him with the blame when it was their error, not his, that was the root of the problem. But he was powerless in this matter, they wanted DX-0 to be attached to this mysterious American team for this mission and that was that. Before he could further contemplate the idiocy of government heads and how bad this was all going to end DX-0 arrived for his briefing.
"[Ah, there you are DX-0, how are you today?]" The General asked in an attempt to get the tiniest reaction out of him. He was again disappointed; DX-0 simply nodded an affirmative, staring blankly at the wall behind Grün. "[Of course, you're always fine aren't you?]" The General sighed. So much for that. Well down to business then. The General began to pace to better organize his thoughts.
"[Let's get this over with. DX-0, our government has been asked by the Americans for assistance and we are to give it to them. They have discovered a possible organized crime ring that has ties to both American and German groups. The center of this ring is believed to be the American city of Chicago. This group is believed to traffic drugs, illegal weapons, and stolen vehicles as well as other, more violent activities. Your mission will be to learn as much as you can about the target group, their operations and high ranking members. You have an unlimited span of time to complete your objectives so be cautious, take as long as necessary to insure safety and success. The best way to gather such information is to do a long-term infiltration of the organization through some of its front businesses but don't get in too deep or you might not be able to get out easily. Another part of this mission involves an American team of Agents. Their mission is the same as yours and you are to help them in any way that is needed. They are mainly to investigate the American side of this group while you are to focus on the German element. Are you clear on this so far?]" The General asked, pausing his pacing as he awaited the Mutant's response. Again DX-0 nodded an affirmative, he understood. Grün resumed his pacing and continued where he left off.
"[In approximately one week you will board a flight for New York City with your Handler Juli. From there you will catch the connecting flight to Chicago itself alone while Juli will return to base. When you arrive in Chicago the American team will pick you up and the mission will begin. They will make all major decisions since you are a guest in their homeland, obey and respect them as you would a superior. They will provide you with all other necessary information when you arrive and you are encouraged to begin the mission as soon as you are ready. I would like to give you information on this American team but I have none. They will have to make first contact with you so wait near your gate for them at the airport; they will take you from there. Are we clear on this?]" Grün asked once again, pausing for confirmation. Again the Mutant nodded the affirmative.
"[Good, DX-0 you are dismissed. You may return to your quarters now.]" The General grumbled, dismissing the young Agent with a wave of his hand. DX-0 obediently turned and exited the office and headed back to his empty, gray room. Grün sighed as he lowered himself back down into his chair and absently shuffled some manila folders scattered across his desk. "Warum mich?" He muttered to himself. Why me?
***
DX-0 sank limply onto his plain cot inside of his cold, gray room. The mission briefing had taken up the last of his 'free time', oh well. It didn't really matter. What did matter was that he had a new mission to complete. His training would be modified to better prepare him for it of course. That's how it always was, get a mission, undergo special training, complete the mission, and return to the old routine. But this mission seemed different from his others. And it actually bothered him. That hadn't happened in a long time.
For one thing his Handler Juli would only go half-way with him which was highly unusual. She normally went as far with him as the temporary base of operations for his missions. This would be the first time he'd be so disconnected from his chain of command while on a mission. He would be under the supervision of a group of strangers who knew nothing about him and vice versa. That would make things rather difficult for him. He would've preferred Juli come with him to make sure things ran smoothly between him and the Americans, but no such luck.
And for another thing he would be sent to a foreign land of which he had limited knowledge on. He would be required to speak English, one of the most mixed-up and backward languages on the planet, most of the time. And he was completely in the dark about American culture. This American team would probably have to spend their first week with him teaching him all the things he'd need to know. That was nothing that he was looking forward to. This was going to be a very long and difficult mission to be sure.
Then there was the question of why he was selected for this operation and not one of the other DX Agents. They had skills and appearances more suited than he for this sort of thing. He couldn't have physical contact with any one outside his mission or risk blowing his cover and he was quite aware of his social deficiencies. None of the others had such drawbacks associated with them and they had more experience than he did with long-term operations. The only reason he could fathom for his selection was that Grün's political masters had made it for him. They wanted to show off their highest trained Agent to the Americans, a show of power, that's all it was.
The Agent who really should've been chosen to do this was DX-1. He had all sorts of experience in any kind of secret operation imaginable. He was older and more experienced than DX-0 was and was better traveled too. He spoke fluent English and Russian in addition to his native language and was rumored to have done operations all over the world. And he didn't have a Handler. Unlike all the other Agents of this Facility he was the only one who willingly volunteered for this. The other Agents, aside from himself, were former delinquents, career criminals who happened to be Mutants. It was either work for the government or rot in jail. Too late they realized there wasn't any appreciable difference between the two.
DX-0's sluggish musings were interrupted by the call to dinner. He slowly picked himself up and made his way to the mess hall. He did as he always did. Took his place in line, received his dinner, and sat in his seat eating silently. The other Agent's conversation was unusually animated tonight, probably because of his summons during 'free time'. They made all sorts of outlandish speculations on what he was to do this time. The other DXs never bothered to ask him personally, he'd never bother to answer. Once he was finished Juli escorted him back to his cell of a room like always and locked the door for the night once he was inside.
Again the young Mutant slumped down on his bed, this time to sleep and turned to face the gray brick wall. As he slipped off to sleep his thoughts briefly revisited his latest mission. It was definitely different, but how different remained to be seen. He'd just have to wait and see how things played out. His mind emptied of all conscious thought and he slid into a dreamless sleep, just like he always did. DX-0 never dreamed anymore. He never had a reason to. He had lost all hope. So what was the point?