Special Notice: Ok, i'm splitting the hair awfully fine here...but everyone should thank Levanna for reviewing...:) She's not technically a new reviewer, but she begged so cute i decided what the hell:) So here it is, your bonus update!
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Chapter 20
(Logan)
"…press conference in response to the statement issued by Magneto two weeks ago, the President had this to say…"
A talking head on the television was recapping the event that had brought the mansion to a standstill earlier that day. I was in the study with Xavier, Scott, Hank and a few others watching as the news network went over it for the umpteenth time.
"…have just signed a bill into law that allows the arrest and indefinite detainment of any mutant suspected of engaging in terrorist activities. The American people will not tolerate bullying by any mutant, no matter how superior they think they may be. I have also authorized the use of a new, highly advanced weapons system by the military to respond to any suspected mutant terrorist attacks. We will protect the citizens of this country by any means necessary. Thank you."
Storm clicked off the television and tossed the remote down on the coffee table in disgust. "I can't believe it's come to this." She spat. "What was Magneto thinking, declaring war like that?"
"In his own way, Erik believes he is doing what's right to protect our kind." Charles replied and I could smell the sorrow coming off of him in waves. "His own past experiences have colored every decision he's made in the past decade. However, I fear that he has become that which he hates without even realizing it."
"What concerns me the most is this 'advanced weapons system'." Hank said. "Do you think there were other Sentinels that had already been sent away from the main staging area?"
"Hard to say." I replied. "We don't know how long that Master Mold was workin' before we took it out. Anythin's possible at this point."
"I thought Buzz said there was a problem in their programming?" Scott asked.
"He did. Maybe they fixed it."
"Or maybe the President doesn't care about that." Rogue added. "If the Sentinels accidentally take out a few humans, they can blame it on the mutants they were huntin' in the first place and no one would ever know the difference."
"Darlin', I hope you're wrong about that one. Crazy as he is, I have a hard time believin' your President would do anythin' to put his own people at risk."
"No matter what he will or will not do, this still puts us in a very difficult position." Xavier said.
"Magneto on one side, the President and his advanced weaponry on the other," Scott muttered, "and we're stuck right in the middle of the mess."
"Only because we put ourselves there." I observed and he looked at me sharply. "Hey, it's true. I'm not sayin' we shouldn't do what we do, but there's gonna come a day when we'll have to choose between facin' Magneto to protect the normal people or facin' whatever the President's cooked up to protect our own."
"Why would we have to choose? There's more than enough of us to do both, if it comes to that."
"In case you forgot, Cyke, we only have one jet. No matter how good it is, it still can't be in two places at once." He muttered something under his breath and looked away. "So what will we do when that time comes?"
"Get another jet?" Rogue asked and we all looked at her. "What? The first one came from somewhere, right? So can't we get another one?"
The Professor frowned in thought. "It's certainly possible, Lord knows I can afford it, but the difficulty will be in getting one built without anyone knowing about it."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." A deep voice came from the doorway and we all turned. Standing there was a tall, lanky man, obviously military from his bearing. His suit was a dark charcoal gray, well made but nondescript all the same. His blond hair was cropped short and he wore a pair of designer sunglasses perched on his prominent nose, a metal briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Other than that, this guy was so completely forgettable that it could only mean one thing; he was with some variety of government agency. I growled and clenched my fists, ready to pop my claws if he so much as breathed funny. He looked at me and chuckled. "Mr. Logan, I assure you, those will not be necessary."
I raised an eyebrow, but I didn't relax my stance. "Why don't let you me be the judge o' that, bub?"
He nodded in acknowledgment. "Very well, have it your way. May I come in?"
"How 'bout you tell us who you are first, then we'll decide?"
"My name is Terrence Bennington and I'm here because I believe we can be of great help to one another."
"That still don't tell us who you are."
"I'm with the NSA, specifically the Bureau of Constitutional Integrity."
"And what the hell is that?" Scott sneered. "I've never heard of any bureau by that name."
"I'd be surprised if you had, Mr. Summers. The NSA is a very large agency with many divisions. Some are more in the public eye than others. How often would you expect to hear of a division whose sole purpose is to uphold the integrity of the Constitution?" He took off his sunglasses and slipped them into his jacket pocket. "Besides, some objectives are too important to go about doing them in front of the prying eyes of the press."
"Excuse me if I sound obtuse," Hank began, "but I find it ironic to suddenly get a visit from a government agency whose job is to uphold the Constitution, when it seems to work for everyone except mutants."
"Dr. McCoy, I am not here to debate political science with you fine people. However, I will tell you that just such a thing was on our former President's agenda. Which brings me to the point of my visit." He nodded to an empty chair near the windows. "May I please sit down?"
"Yes, of course." Xavier said. We all watched Bennington warily as he casually walked across the room. Once seated, he placed the briefcase on the coffee table and sat back. "So, Mr. Bennington, I'm sure you can understand our reluctance to trust you on your word alone."
"Of course, Dr. Xavier." He replied and I was a little surprised at his use of the Professor's actual title. Most people don't know that he holds PhD's in several areas. "Which is why I come bearing several gestures of good faith. However, before I can present them, I do require the presence of both Miss Angela Rex and Mr. Kimaru Kyrohyou."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Hank said. "You see, Angela…"
"Has been placed on strict bed rest due to complications with her pregnancy, I know." Bennington interrupted and I growled involuntarily. Who the hell was this guy and how did he know all this stuff? Ignoring me, he continued. "Nonetheless, I still require her presence. Perhaps someone could assist her in coming down here to join us?"
The Professor's eyes unfocused for a moment, then he settled back in his chair. "Mr. Levison has agreed to bring her down here. Kyrohyou should be with us shortly."
Kyro showed up less than a minute later and he crossed over to stand with me. Anyone who didn't know him would think he was completely at ease, but I could sense the tension running through him because I felt the same way. A few minutes later, Sam showed up with Angela cradled in his arms. Storm and Rogue moved off the sofa to make room for her and Sam made sure she was comfortable before moving to the end of the sofa and crossing his arms. He wasn't making any attempt to hide his skepticism at the whole situation and I could tell by the way he was carrying himself that he was just as ready for action as anyone else in the room. It wasn't lost on me that if this guy was some kind of assassin, he now had the biggest players of the X-Men in this room at once. If that case had some kind of bomb in it, he could take out the most important figures and bring Xavier's dream to a screeching halt. I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet, ready to take this guy out if I had to.
"All right, Mr. Bennington." Xavier said. "We're all here now. Please, explain what you're doing here."
"No, not yet." Scott said. "I want to know more about this agency he works for before I hear any offers he might have."
"Very well, Mr. Summers." Bennington said. "The Bureau of Constitutional Integrity has been around since the very beginnings of the United States of America. It was created by George Washington himself and the Continental Congress agreed that something needed to be done to ensure that the precepts the Constitution is based on would be upheld long after they were gone." He produced a key from his jacket pocket and unlocked the case. I tensed slightly as he opened it, but there was nothing in there but a pile of papers and file folders. He rifled through the stack and came up with a handwritten document, the ink faded on the parchment and laid it carefully on the table before him. "This is the document, signed by the Continental Congress, that created the Bureau. You are more than welcome to run any test that won't destroy this document to prove its authenticity." He gestured to Hank. "A simple carbon test should prove that well enough."
"I got a better idea." I said and picked it up. I brought it to my nose and inhaled deeply. No matter what anyone says, the stuff they try to pawn off as "parchment" these days just isn't the same as the real thing. And this document was definitely written on the real thing, using genuine oxgall ink and everything. I couldn't tell exactly how old it was, but it smelled authentic enough to me. "I'd say it's the real deal." I said and put it carefully back on the table.
"Thank you, Mr. Logan." Bennington replied and leaned back in his chair. "Now, as I was saying, the Founding Fathers wanted to ensure that the Constitution would be upheld by any means necessary and created the Bureau to do just that. Over the centuries, our objectives have also been broadened to include establishing a certain quality of life within our borders. You've heard of Women's Suffrage, the Civil Rights movement, the Labor Act?" Storm, Angela and Scott all nodded in unison. A wry smile crossed Bennington's face. "You're welcome." He said simply.
"Whoa, wait a minute." I interjected. "You're sayin' that your 'bureau' is responsible for all o' that?" He nodded and I scowled. "If you guys have that kinda power, why'd it take so long for those things to get passed in the first place?"
"You assume we had a direct hand in them." He replied, meeting my gaze without flinching. "A word here, a nudge there, small things at the right time can have a tremendous effect on the outcome." He smirked and gave a little wink. "Besides, Mr. Logan, some things are worth the fight to achieve them. Had they come too easily, no one would have believed in their validity."
"And no one would have appreciated them either." Hank added thoughtfully. "People today take the Bill of Rights for granted because it's always been there. It's the new laws they pay the most attention to, because of the struggle to make them laws in the first place."
"Precisely, Dr. McCoy. Now, for the issue at hand." He reached again into the briefcase and came out with another file. "We know that you are the people responsible for the destruction of the Master Mold in Australia." He said as he opened the file.
"And how the hell do you know that?" Angela spoke for the first time, sounding clearly annoyed.
"Simple, Miss Rex." He stated, looking her in the eye. "It's my job to know these things. Your involvement with the Liberty Island incident was enough that a file was started on the X-Men. I know about your involvement with Alkali Lake, Hudson Bay and several smaller operations. However, it wasn't until the Des Moines incident that you caught my personal attention, and that mostly because of the involvement of the Sentinels."
"And how long have you known about the Sentinels?" Sam asked, not hiding the accusation in his voice.
"Since it was first put on paper by William Stryker." He replied and Angela, Kyro and I all tensed at the mention of that name. "Speaking of whom, there's my promised gesture of good faith." He reached into the briefcase, pulled out a very thick folder and dropped it heavily on the table. On the front, in large red letters, were the words "Weapon X" and "Eyes Only". I reached out for it, but Angela grabbed it first. Bennington cleared his throat and continued. "In truth, William Stryker did not exist. The Weapon X project does not exist. Any personnel, from cafeteria workers to military officers to civilian scientists that have ever been involved with Weapon X do not exist. The military installations across the globe that are currently involved with Weapon X do not exist. Any operatives, past or present, do not exist. What happens to any of those people, places or things, that are contained in this manila folder, is no concern of mine, because they do not exist." He leaned forward and looked Angela, then Kyro, then me right in the eye. "Do I make myself clear?"
The three of us nodded and I felt the animal inside me rage for the first time since Angela had brought me home. I glanced over at Kyro and saw that he had black fur sprouting from his arms, a sign that he'd barely managed to stop himself mid-change. Angela was paging through the file, but her claws were all out and I could hear the faint growl that she was barely able to contain. Yes, he made himself perfectly clear. He'd just handed us the key to our vengeance.
He reached into the briefcase again and pulled out three more files, which he fanned out on the table before him. There was one each for myself, Angela and Kyro and all of them were almost as thick as the Weapon X main file. "Now, as for the contents of these manila folders, I care very much what happens to these people." He sat back in his chair and folded his hands. "These folders contain all the details on the three of you, even before you were – ahem – recruited for Weapon X. I believe you, Mr. Logan, will find yours quite…enlightening." I glanced over at Angela and she gathered those folders as well. Bennington closed the briefcase and settled back in his chair. "Now that I've given those out, shall we discuss my purpose for being here?"
"I think you should." Xavier said dryly.
"As I said when I first arrived, I believe we can be of great help to one another." He looked at each of us in turn. "The late President was in the process of building bridges between mutants and normal humans, bridges that the current President seems hell bent on burning. The Sentinel program, Project Wideawake, was supposed to be the very last line of defense against mutant insurgents and terrorists. It was never supposed to be activated unless everything else had been tried and failed. The Des Moines incident is what garnered my personal involvement in all of this." He leaned forward and he gave us all a very serious look. "I'm here to recruit the X-Men to be the first line of defense against mutant insurgents and terrorists."
"With all due respect, Mr. Bennington," Storm said, her eyes sparking just a little, "the X-Men are not mercenaries. We are not for hire."
"I'm not trying to hire you, Ms. Munroe. I'm offering you official government sanction as well as the opportunity to make the first step towards mutantkind being accepted by humanity. If the general public sees a group of powerful mutants working with the government to protect them from insurgent mutants, it will only hasten the acceptance of mutants as a natural part of society as a whole. They will realize that much quicker that mutants are not that different from normal humans. Some are good and wish to help society, while others only seek to do harm. If normal humans really were better than mutants, we wouldn't have all those people on death row, now, would we?"
"So what would be expected of us?" Scott asked, still sounding skeptical.
"No more than you do now, except that no law enforcement or government agency within the United States will have the authority to stop or detain you. If you are called upon for action outside the borders of the United States, you will be granted full diplomatic immunity in any country where we have an embassy."
"So what happens if we're attacked by regular military forces while we're out on a mission?" Sam asked sternly.
"You won't be." Bennington said and his tone was so matter-of-fact that it brooked no argument.
"So what do you get out of all this, Mr. Bennington?" Rogue piped in. "Nothin's free, sugah."
"The answer is simple. Des Moines was a wake up call for me, Miss D'Ancanto. I can not sit idly by and watch my people be slaughtered wholesale by my own government or insurgents trying to make a point." We all stared in shock.
"You mean…" Angela started.
"Yes, Miss Rex. I am a mutant. In fact, I am the oldest living mutant on record." He looked at me with a touch of irony. "Yes lad, I predate you. By about one hundred twenty-six years, if memory serves."
My jaw dropped and I could smell the shock of everyone in the room. This guy was saying he was almost twice as old as me? "Care to explain that, bub?" I growled.
"Mr. Logan, you have a healing factor that negates everything from the common cold to aging." He stated plainly. "My mutation is a bit less complicated than that. Basically, I do not die. This was a simple fact hard learned when I was a lad of fourteen years over the winter of Seventy-Eight. That's 1778, for the record. I watched as my many of my fellow soldiers froze to death one by one, yet I was unaffected."
I looked over at the Professor, whose eyes were just a little unfocused. I was amazed that he'd relaxed his strict personal code to read this guy's mind without asking first. After a moment, his eyes refocused. "He's telling the truth." He whispered. "This man has been a simple soldier in every war the United States has been involved in. Not an officer, not a commander, just a basic soldier on the front lines defending his country."
"No, Dr. Xavier, not defending the country. Defending the Constitution, because George Washington entrusted it to me and me alone. Over the years, I've gathered people around me that I trust completely to assist me in my duty. And now I am here in that capacity because what looms on the horizon affects not just mutants in the United States, but worldwide."
"What do you mean by that?" Scott asked, his skepticism finally gone.
"In case you haven't noticed, the policies that the United States sets for dealing with mutants is usually picked up by the rest of the free world. Where we go with mutants, so shall the world. I would be doing myself and our kind a disservice if I didn't exercise what influence I have to do the right thing. I swore to President Washington that I would defend the Constitution and every American citizen against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Our President has become that enemy, but he is my problem. Mr. Lensherr and the Sentinels are the ones I am hoping you will agree to assist me with.
"The deal is this. I will give you jurisdiction to deal with Mr. Lensherr and his band of merry men on an official government basis. Our President won't know of this, of course, because he doesn't even know my office exists. On an unofficial basis, you will also be needed to deal with the Sentinels. I will provide you with all the intelligence as I can, as well as with any hardware you may require." He looked at Rogue with a smirk. "Such as that jet you were talking about? I have friends in the aerospace divisions of both Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, that might be willing to part with a prototype or two for 'evaluation'. And if Mr. Summers would be so kind as to give me a list of his specifications before I leave, I believe I can ensure they will be included."
"Make sure missiles are on that list, Cyke." I said under my breath and Bennington smiled.
Xavier steepled his fingers and took a deep breath. "May we have time to consider your offer, Mr. Bennington?"
Bennington nodded. "Of course, Dr. Xavier. Take all the time you need. Either way, you'll get the aircraft. Consider that, if nothing else, my contribution to your cause." He stood up, took out a business card and jotted something on the back. "This is my personal cell number. My business extensions are on the front. When you make your decision, give me a call." He gestured to One-Eye. "Mr. Summers, if you would like to see to that list?" Scott moved across the room and the two of them left.
As soon as they were gone, we all breathed a collective sigh. It was Angela who said what all of us were thinking. "Beware of strangers bearing gifts." She muttered. I couldn't agree more.
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Later that night, I watched as Angela paged through the main Weapon X file that Bennington had given us. I still hadn't worked up the courage to look at my own file, since I still had some gaps in my memory that I wasn't sure I wanted to fill. However, the file in her lap contained the information I wanted the most, namely who to kill and how to find them. After all this time, we had the means to get our revenge on the people who had forged us into living weapons.
"Logan, check this out." She said, pointing to the file. "It says here that the Weapon X program evolved out of something called Weapon Plus in the 1940's. And it looks like the first subject to come out of that was Steve Rogers."
I perked up when I heard that name. "Steve Rogers? You mean Captain America?" She nodded. "Holy shit. What'd they do to him?"
She read a little further before answering. "Looks like the injected him with something called 'Super-Soldier Serum', then they used something called 'vita-rays' to stabilize the chemicals. He's considered the only real success from the entire Weapon Plus program."
"Jesus Christ. I had no idea."
"Me either." She continued reading, occasionally pointing out things of particular interest, mostly the current locations of active Weapon X facilities or the names of people who had been involved in our alteration and had somehow survived our escape. It didn't matter to me if the people in that file had been at Alkali Lake or not. As far as I was concerned, Weapon X needed to die completely. No one else should ever have to go through what happened to us and I would do anything in my power to make sure it never happened again.
Near the end of the file, an envelope fell out and landed in her lap. She picked it up, then handed it to me. "Uh, Logan? Can you take this to Charles please?"
"What is it?"
"I have no idea. But it's got his name written on it. I think it's from Bennington."
I took it from her and gave it a quick sniff. Yep, the only scent on it was Bennington's. I shrugged and gave her a quick kiss before heading down to Xavier's office. As usual, he called out for me to come in before I had a chance to knock. "Hey Chuck. Angela found this in that Weapon X file that Bennington gave us." I said as I handed it to him.
"Thank you Logan." He replied, setting it aside. "Have you been through your file yet?"
I looked down and shifted uncomfortably. "Not yet. I'll do it later."
"Logan, there's nothing in there that you need to fear. It is simply an accounting of who you were before Stryker got a hold of you."
"Yeah, I know. But I think I'd rather let it all come back on its own."
"There may be information in there that will help trigger more memories."
That's what I was afraid of. Not the memories themselves, but the way I might react to them. Better to wait. "I get that. I'm still gonna wait."
"As you wish." I nodded to him and left the office. By the time I got back to my room, Angela was already asleep, the contents of the file sliding off her lap. I gently gathered the papers up and closed the file, setting it aside on the nightstand. I got undressed and eased myself in next to her, wrapping my arm around her waist. The offer that Bennington had made us was still rolling around in my mind, an offer that seemed to good to be true. No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like there had to be a catch. But my senses are never wrong and no matter how good a liar someone is, I can still smell them. And he'd been telling the truth the whole time he'd been here. I finally drifted off to sleep and my dreams were full of visions of Trojan horses full of Sentinels. Beware of strangers bearing gifts indeed.
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AN: I'm not gonna bore you all with all my normal thanks...you all know who they are...:) But i will answer the reviews i've gotten from ch. 19 so far...:) reeltreble: Come on now! Did you think i'd be able to go for eight story weeks and have them not come up with SOMETHING:) Levanna: Angela's not getting soft...in a way, she's like my cathartic release mechanism...whenever someone pisses me off in real life, Angela gets to kill someone really bloody in the story...so you can usually tell when i've had a bad day at work! Of course, since she's not allowed out of bed, i have to use other people right now to satisfy my bloodlust...:) As for the smut, well...remember that Logan and Angela are driven by feral instincts...so "hunt, kill, mate" are the three things on their minds the most...since the first 2 are frowned upon in polite society, well...that's all there really is to say about that!
Ok now that you know i'm a woman of my word, let's see a new reviewer! You could get another update while i'm at work tonight:)