Initiative 2029
New Year
President Valeria Richards smiled warmly as the New Years address went out over the tv and internet. Her speech had been well written, and the people in the viewing gallery had taken it well. She finished with, "While I know we've had our ups and downs last year, I hope that the coming year will be bright and hopeful for us all."
A round of applause followed as she left the stage, then the broadcast went to black. She kept the smile on her face, waving to the crowd as she left.
"I really wish you wouldn't do stuff like this," Daken noted as the mutant followed her away from the press gallery. He was working as a special bodyguard for the President, in addition to his work with the Defenders squad.
"Have to," Val answered him honestly, "you know public relations are critical for my administration right now."
Daken nodded if a bit reluctantly. The Avengers raid on Dreamland had been a heavy blow to the government. The test data on captured aliens was lost, as well as the medical facilities studying human DNA and superpowers. And the public was not happy about hearing about any of that.
Thankfully, President Richards had a simple solution to the whole mess: she thew Alec Pym under the bus. He was the head of Dreamland, his name was on all the critical documents, and he was publicly known. So it was easy to paint Alec as a rogue operator who went far beyond his orders in running the research facility.
Congress was still pushing for a formal investigation, but they had already given up on attempts to impeach her. They simply didn't have the votes to push that through. And Val was reasonably certain she could kill any attempts to get a congressional investigation going via procedural means or, if needed, by vote trading.
"How is Stane taking losing his protege?" Daken asked as they headed to her office, passing by hurrying staff and other minions.
"Livid," Val conceded as she nodded to the secret service men waiting at the office door then headed in, "He was pretty much the Igor to Stane's Frankenstein, so yeah he's upset. But he's just going to have to live with it."
"Assuming Stane doesn't take a shot at you," Daken remarked as Val sat at her desk.
Val raised her eyebrows slightly. "You think that's likely?" she asked, curious to hear his opinion. Not that she fully trusted the man, Daken had made his reputation being cunning, but he had a sharp mind.
"Depends on how much he can gain," Daken mused as he warily scanned the office. It was supposed to be secure, but who knew? "You salvaged him, got him out of prison and working for you. In theory, he owes you. But once he was out he leveraged control of former Stark Industries assets, and now runs a fairly strong company himself. He may think he can go on his own."
"Hmm," Val murmured as she logged in to her desk computer.
"On the other hand, he stands to lose a lot if you go down," Daken noted. "Most of his company's products are defense contractor work, and there's no way to know if your successor would keep him on. And there's the fact he'd most likely get busted if he tried to nail you."
"Oh?" Val asked.
"If Zeke Stane is anything, it's unsubtle," Daken smiled grimly, "I have my doubts he could pull off a covert assassination."
"True enough," Val agreed, running through her daily planner, though she had most of it memorized. "I'm going to need a escort for the New Years Gala. You're drafted," she added.
"Well, I DO look good in a suit," Daken took it calmly. "Not to be rude, but don't you have a date?" he asked mildly.
"Where do I have the chance, not to mention the time, to date?" Val asked wryly.
"Point," Daken admitted. He tilted his head to the side, "Incoming..."
Henry Peter Gyrich barged past the guards, the older man wheeling his chair by expertly. "Why hasn't Phoebe Cuckoo been fired?" he demanded harshly.
"Why hello, Peter, how are you?" Val said with a sigh.
Peter stopped, taking a calming breath. "It's a bit urgent for pleasantries, Val," he managed.
"Politeness is never wasted, Peter," Val answered tranquilly.
"Want me to throw him out?" Daken offered mildly.
"No, but thank you for the offer," Val murmured.
Peter visibly grit his teeth. "Please..." he sighed, "the Phoebe situation?"
Val sighed. "She hasn't been dismissed because we can't prove she did anything wrong," she said, picking up and fiddling with a pen.
Peter looked at her blankly a moment. "We KNOW she tampered with Karla Sofen, and was monitoring her reports," he finally said. He did NOT mention the fact the young telepath had also sexually enslaved the older woman, mostly because it made him deeply uncomfortable.
"We know that, from her testimony," Val agreed, "but can we prove it? In fact do we have any evidence at all against Phoebe?"
There was a beat of silence as he processed that. "That's a lot like saying a rape victim is lying," Peter said finally.
"And I don't like it," Val agreed, "but she's covered her ass too well. I have taken steps though, including installing psionic dampers around the White House." Val smiled grimly, "Phoebe also knows that if necessary, I will do whatever it takes if she crosses the line again."
"As in?" Peter had to ask.
"I've told her we'll hand her over to the X-Men," Val smiled coldly as she noted, "they are a bit irritated with her."
That made Peter smile faintly. "That is evil," he conceded.
"I thought so," Val agreed. She looked at her paper covered desk, "Now, is there anything else? I still have paperwork to run through."
"No, that's fine," Peter nodded, smoothly turning his chair around. "Thank you for the time," he said as he left.
"You didn't tell him about the sanction order?" Daken asked after a moment.
"How do you know about...?" Val started, then realized it was a dumb question. Of course he'd know there was a plan to sanction Phoebe if she crossed the line again.
Daken shrugged, "I AM one of the people who might have to DO it, after all." Pleasantly he added, "Of course I hope we don't, but..."
"Uh huh," Val gave him a look, then went back to her paperwork.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"I expected this to hit them harder," Captain Marvel noted sourly. Carol Danvers was dressed in street clothes and tried to look casual, though the striking looking blonde had a hard time just blending into the crowd.
Logan, known to many as Wolverine, smiled back grimly as the smaller man drank from his huge mug of beer. "We knew Val was slippery," he shrugged as he continued, "but at least we hurt 'em. And it ain't over yet."
"You think the government will reign her in? Don't make me laugh," Carol snorted as she took a drink. "Or do you know something I don't, Patch?"
"There are folks in Washington none too happy with President Richards. When the time comes, they'll move," Logan promised.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Carol scoffed.
"You're too young to be that cynical," Logan smiled.
"Pot, meet kettle," Carol toasted him.
"Anyway... Cyke wanted me to tell you to thank Rogers and Stark for us," Logan continued somewhat more seriously. "Thanks to you we found out what happened to a lot of us mutants who dropped outta sight."
"Held at Dreamland or dead," Carol said sourly. "Some of us too," she added flatly. After a moment she added, "I was surprised how much of the place was a straight forward hospital."
Logan grunted softly. While part of Dreamland had clearly been a prison, a large section had actually been devoted to caring for sick superhumans, helping them deal with the unfortunate consequences of being born different.
"Strucker was supposed to have been a nice guy too," Logan noted dryly.
"Point," Carol conceded. "Think we'll ever get to move against Richards," Carol wondered as she drank her beer, "or will we just have to hope we can vote her out?"
"She's too damn good at the political game for us to hit her," Logan lit up a cigar, "she'd use it just to drum up votes. No, we gotta hope Steve's gambit works."
"President Steve Rogers does have a nice ring to it...," Carol grinned.
To be continued...
Notes: Following up on some plot bits I'm trying to keep Valeria kind of... morally ambiguous, if at all possible. I've never liked cackling, evil supervillains. Plus, it keeps it in doubt if she really IS a villain. From her perspective, she probably isn't...
