The next morning, Logan arrived at the facility bright and early. Everyone there knew his
face, so he was easily able to make his way to the wing where the "crop" was being
held. He made his way to the security room, where monitors showed inside views of
every one of their cells. His eyes scanned the bank of monitors until they came upon
Marie, who was pacing the small cell with her arms tightly crossed across her chest.
A pang of guilt threatened to sicken him as he watched her worried fidgets and fearful
demeanor. Heʼd done this to her…after earning her trust, making her feel comfortable
and actually getting to know her…he deceived her.
Logan made his way to Strykerʼs office and knocked. When he was beckoned in, he
entered and quickly sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Stryker seemed very chipper, and Logan knew it was because the primary target had
been acquired.
"Logan, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I have a very...interesting
assignment for you."
"Oh?"
Stryker nodded, "Itʼs one you can refuse if you like, but I encourage you to take some
time to consider it."
"OK..." he said slowly and confusedly.
"Youʼre here because I need you to protect the future of the United States Military. Weʼre
in a very exciting time, and we have the unprecedented opportunity to change the way
our military works and how wars are fought and won. I know that you are questioning
what weʼre doing detaining young mutants women, and the truth of the matter is, weʼve
recruited these young people to be the first mothers of a new breed of army. Thanks to
their mutations, weʼll be able to breed an entirely new brand of soldier that doesnʼt even
need weapons. Thanks to a new mutant army, we can cut defense spending and create
soldiers with unprecedented skills and abilities."
Logan stared at him in shock for a few moments before he was able to recover enough
to speak, "You donʼt think peopleʼll start noticing that mutant kids are disappearing all
over the country?"
"The young women that weʼve picked are runaways…loners. No one will miss them,
and, to be honest, weʼre keeping them quite comfortable and will continue to do so. Your
job...and your teamʼs job, is to ensure that they are kept here...safely." Stryker stayed
quiet for a few moments before he spoke up again, "You may have also noticed that all
of our…guests…are female."
"Yeah. I did."
Stryker smiled, "Well, once you brought on your team, I realized that there might not be
a need to capture male mutants. Members of your team can be matched with
our...guests..."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, it would be a volunteer basis, of course."
Logan sat forward, "Um. Are you saying that you want some of my men to knock up
these mutant chicks so that you can have specially bred mutant babies for an army?"
Stryker nodded, "For lack of better words...yes."
"...and you want me to participate in this... ʻprogramʼ too?"
He nodded, "Actually, the other girls wonʼt be bred for some time. I have other tests I
need to run on them first...but I was hoping that you might partner with the primary
target. I would like to breed her as soon as possible and a match with you would be
ideal."
Logan blinked and started to say her name, but he stopped himself. She was just
supposed to be a target to him...not Marie...she was nothing more than a target.
"I...uh...I uhhh-"
"You donʼt have to answer just yet. And I wonʼt take it as a reflection of your capabilities
as a soldier if you refuse. My second choice is actually Victor for her."
Logan stuttered, "Victor?"
"Yes. Her mutation is very deadly, but you and your brother are healers. A soldier with
your combined powers would be...well, it would be indestructible. I also believe that, if
she were to use her powers at any point during her...breeding...you two would have the
ability to recover thanks to your regenerative capabilities."
"I would really...um...need time to think about this."
"Very well."
Logan stood and made his way toward the door, but stopped before he opened it, "Have
you approached Victor about his participation?"
"No. Not yet. Like I said, youʼre my first choice." Stryker looked down and sighed before
lifting his head to meet Loganʼs eyes again, "I hope I donʼt offend you when I say that
Iʼm well aware of your brotherʼs temperament. Iʼm not confident that she would be
unharmed after an encounter with him. Our goal is to breed her...not terrorize her."
"What if the um…breedings aren't successful?"
Stryker shrugged a little, "The subjects who don't fall pregnant will be used for experiments."
Logan gave a slow nod before clearing his throat and leaving the room.
That day, he went through the motions, unable to fully concentrate on any one task
thanks to his preoccupation with Marie.
He was fully aware of Victorʼs "issues" and wouldn't trust him to come within a mile of
Marie. Deep down, Logan knew that being with him wouldn't be a picnic for her, but at least she wouldn't be "attacked" in a more violent sense. Victor's conquests, willing or not, would often end up in need of medical care after an encounter with him.
Victorʼs feral side was a lot wilder than Logan's. He'd never learned to control his
animal because he never WANTED to control his animal. He enjoyed turning feral. He
relished the wild anger.
Logan, surprisingly enough, already felt guilty enough that he had brought her into this situation...he didn't know if he could live with the knowledge that he'd actually unleashed Victor on her.
Maybe he could help her escape?
After a few moments of mulling that idea over, he quickly eliminated it. The place was
being monitored and guarded by a team HE hand-picked. The very team he had run
countless missions with. If he decided to defect, that team would be on them like white
on rice and the life he knew would be gone. Was this girl really worth all that trouble?
For days, he was conflicted. He went through the motions of his job, showing up to work
on time, barking orders and making rounds. He'd often make his way to the security
room to stare at Marie as she sat on her bed with her legs huddled into her body.
He could tell that Stryker was keeping these girls in the dark. They were brought full
meals three times a day and a snack in the afternoon. They were also given books and
televisions were installed in their rooms.
Through hallway chatter, Logan learned that Stryker was tracking their cycles and
subjecting them to a daily round of hormonal and vitamin injections, but they were still
not being told what they were there for. Logan knew that keeping the girls in the dark
was a very effective way to control them. If they were unaware of what would happen to
them, where they were, and why they were where they were, they would remain fearful,
easy-to-control and confused.
Logan couldnʼt believe the twisted world heʼd allowed himself to get sucked into. More
than that, he couldnʼt believe that the government actually backed this shit. It was
probably technically "legal" thanks to some sick loophole that allowed it because
mutants technically werenʼt "humans", so their treatment wasnʼt a violation of "human
rights". There was nothing in the Mutant Inclusion Act that claimed that mutants couldnʼt
be held by the government. It only covered mutant treatment in the workplace, schools
and in the courts.
Logan was at work late one night, sitting in the security room, watching Marie in her cell
as she slept.
Logan watched as she suddenly broke out of a deep sleep and began thrashing and
screaming, kicking and getting tangled within the sheet that covered her.
Without thinking, he bolted out of the room to her cell. He used his electronic key badge
to let himself into her cell, where she had finally regained full consciousness and was
sitting on her bed, panting.
When her eyes turned to meet his, she stuttered, "L-Logan...what are you doinʼ here?!"
"I think you should know...Iʼm the one who brought you here. Iʼm a soldier...and this is a
government program that youʼve been enrolled in..."
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes in disgust, "...you made me trust you..."
He held up both hands, "Marie…I never—"
"What are they gonna do to me? Nobodyʼs tellinʼ me anything. They just come in every
day and gimme shots. For all I know, theyʼre injectinʼ me with poison!"
"Theyʼre not."
"Oh yeah? Then what is it?"
Logan lowered his head, "Vitamins. And hormones."
"Hormones!? Hormones for what? A sex change?!"
He forced himself to look up into her face. She was hysterical…and she had every right
to be. She had been kidnapped and taken to a strange place where she was held
prisoner for no reason. The least he could do was tell her the truth.
"Hormones for…for the pregnancy."
Marie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "I'm not pregnant."
He sighed and closed his eyes, "You will be."
She almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, "Was that a threat?!"
"No. It was a warning. I know youʼre angry and confused, but you need to listen to me.
You've been recruited to help build a specialized army of mutants. Youʼre especially
important, cause Stryker tells me you can take on any power you come across…so heʼs
gonna try to breed you first."
"Breed?!" she squeaked as she backed away and wrapped her arms around herself in
an effort to calm her tattered nerves. Marie shook her head, "This canʼt be happening.
This can't be true."
He sighed, "Marie...I had no idea-"
"I donʼt care. Iʼm here now because you brought me here", she said as she stared at
him with tear rimmed eyes.
Logan looked down in shame and sighed, "I guess now would be the wrong time to tell
you that...Iʼm probably gonna be the one who-"
"Who what?!"
He looked up at her, "I think you know."
"Wow. Wow. And you expect me to believe that you had no idea what they were doing?" She shook her head and looked at him in disgust, "Get out."
"Marie, look-"
"Get out!" she screamed.
"I will, but you need to know that if itʼs not me...itʼll be someone else...someone else who
doesnʼt know you...and doesnʼt give a damn about you. Theyʼll hurt you...scare
you...scar you..."
She laughed through the tears, "More threats. Wow. Youʼre really an expert at this,
arenʼt ya?"
Logan sighed, "Iʼm not tryinʼ to threaten you. Iʼm just tryinʼ to warn you here. I donʼt want
this situation. I donʼt want any of it!"
"Then why are you here?!"
"Because Iʼm a soldier, dammit!" he yelled. Marie jumped slightly and fell silent as he
angrily ran a hand through his hair and calmed himself, "Iʼm sorry...I just...Iʼm used to
not askinʼ questions...and this time was no different. Good soldiers donʼt question. They
obey orders theyʼre given. Iʼm here cause I was servinʼ my country."
"Well, youʼre a great soldier, Logan...but youʼre a pretty shitty person."
He couldnʼt argue with her there, but heʼd never thought of himself as a "good" person.
That ship had sailed a long time ago, and sadly, he was OK with that.
Logan sighed, "Iʼm gonna be the one they partner you with...cause I know you donʼt
want the alternative."
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