X-Force #6

X-Force #7: Struggles

The goverments secret Mutant work program was setup in the outskirts of a small town in South Dakota. It wasn't too hard to infiltrate the program. Domino had made a fake history for Cannonball, and he was inside the program to keep an eye on things. The rest of the team hung around a rented house in town, checking for any signs of the MLF, and ready to back Cannonball up if the program wasn't as benign as it was made to seem. Domino was doing surveilance on the program director, a burocrat that lived in town. Siryn had gone to buy groceries with Meltdown who could not be disuaded from a shopping trip, no matter how mundane the items to be purchased. That left Elena and Warpath in the house running the temporary HQ. "This is so boring!" groaned Elena from her chair under the ceiling fan. "We've been here for two weeks and nothing had happened yet!" Warpath gave her a funny look. "We are expecting something to go wrong with this program. If nothing is I would consider that a good thing," he said. Elena sighed. "Yeah, but I can't work on my powers here without alerting the neighbors to the fact that we are mutants, and then the goverment will come down on our heads!" Warpath just smiled at her. She was a pretty misterious, but nice girl. They didn't know all that much about her except that she had graduated High School at 16, and then lived in the States for two years before joining up with X-Force. She never said why she left Puerto Rico, 'course Warpath didn't know much about Puerto Rico anyway. "Well what about that sixth sense thing that led you to us?" he asked. He wasn't one for helping others learn about their powers. He had pretty much known how to use his and hadn't taken too many classes on using them except maybe with the Hellions. But back then he had been distracted by many things. He watched Elena's face contort into a confused look. "It's been pretty blurry since I joined the team. I really don't understand it," she sighed. "Well maybe as a distraction you can think up a codename for yourself. After all, with the way Cable and Domino were pushing you you should be an active member of the team soon enough." Elena smiled at him. She had a warm smile. "That's great! I love the way all your codenames fit your powers. Could you help me think of one for me?" Warpath nodded uncertainly. Her sudden enthusiasm was surprising. Cannonball ran into Renee, a fellow mutant in the program after his latest medical exam. He had been there two weeks and what they had been doing was analizing his powers in every way they could, to see what he could: "Contribute to society". He was feeling very uncomfortable with the thought of the goverment knowing every aspect of his powers. They'd know how to take him down, as would anyone else who could access their files. He was putting himself in danger and he wasn't even sure why! There was no sign that the MLF was planning on doing anything concerning this project. "Hey Brian!" said Renee in greeting. "They finished using you as a lab rat?" "Well foah this session anyway," he said with a smile. Brian Thompson was his alias for this mission. He was supossed to be from somewhere in Mississippi. There were ten other mutants involved in the program. They said that they had recieved a letter from the goverment inviting them to take part in the program. Most of them were younger than he, and their parents had been eager to send them away. "I guess it's my turn now," she said with a sigh. Renee seemed to have the ability to make her hands take on any shape she wished. What kept this from being an Alpha class mutation was the fact that no matter what shape she made her hands into, they remained made out of soft tissue. She couldn't mold them into anything beyond their original mass either. All of the mutants in the program were low class except for Sam and a girl named Marianela Rivera. She was from Puerto Rico, as was another of the programs mutants. 2/11 were from Puerto Rico. The scientists had said that it was do to the fact that it was a small island with a large population. Feral grit her sharp teeth and paced. They had forgotten about her again. They'd learn not to forget about her the hard way if this kept up. Her asylum from the Morlocks among these soft surface dwellers wasn't turning out quite like she expected. Their pathetic "training" was supposed to make them into soldiers. Feral knew what soldiers were. Soldiers didn't play these little intrigue games. A real soldier would decimate the enemy and those pathetic humans as well. Because of those silly quivering humans she was supposed to remain in the basement. She couldn't care less if the flatscans got a little scared. Reality was uglier than she, they'd have to learn that soon enough. In a fit of anger she viciously lashed out at an equipment crate, knocking it over and scarring the wood with claw marks. Even other mutants rejected her. No one on this team had tried to get to know her. They just irritated her and treated her like she didn't belong, as the peroxide blondie did. Then they'd wonder why they got scratched up and she was hostile and anti-social? Feral snarled. She's show them hostile. "Feral?" came a voice from the top of the stairs. Feral whirled and snarled, with claws bared. Elena barely pulled back in time to keep her face from getting slashed. "Calma chica!" she exclaimed. Feral growled menacingly. Elena backed away from the challenge. Feral growled derisively. She had always thought the newcomer was weak. "I was wondering what the noise was," the girl said. Feral couldn't remember her name. "It was me. You gotta problem with that little upworlder?" Anger flared in the other girls eyes. "Look mijita, you may think you are this big thing, just 'cause you lived in the sewers for awhile, but don't you dare go around threatening me. I've seen your kind before. You're nothing but a little niña with this 'pity me I had a hard life' attititude. I grew up in a little barrio without a father and with an alcoholic mother I never saw. I'm not anymore afraid of you than anyone else, because in case you missed the news flash, I lived with death my whole life and I'm not afraid of facing my own." "Yer own death might be exactly what I give you, chiquita. Don't antagonize me." Elena stood up on tiptoes so she could stare into Feral's face. "No me importan tus garras, muchacha. I'll behave as I please and won't back down from your hissing." Feral growled and swiped at Elena. Elena was expecting it and ducked, so the claws only scratched her back. She swept her leg under Feral's, as Domino had done to her in several combat sessions, and knocked her to the ground. Feral jumped up quickly, but Elena managed to grab hold of her lashing tail. "Is it true what they say about pulling at a cat's tail?" asked Elena. Feral growled and lunged, but Elena dodged and yanked her tail to knock her off balance. "Ya basta," said Elena releasing her tail. Feral leapt up and gave Elena a scratch along her arm. Elena barely flinched. "I'm not afraid of you. You might think me weak and a pushover, but I stood up to you. Perhaps we can be friends now if I passed your little test." "I don't need any friends," growled Feral, spitting the word out like a curse. "Fine." Elena shrugged and walked up the stairs. Feral glowered in the dark. The girl did have guts. She obviously grew up in a barrio. Feral was Hispanic, but had never been to Puerto Rico. She didn't know if the barrios there were like where she grew up. Still, if Elena wasn't so pretty she would have made a good Morlock. Feral didn't need or want to be friends with these weak surface dwelers, but Elena was ok with her. Cannonball sat in the cafeteria with his fellow mutants from the program. They were a happy riotus bunch. So far Sam had pretty good impresions of the program. The participants seemed pretty happy and there didn't seem to be anything fishy going on. No sign of the MLF either. He laughed at Renee's joke. She was a lot of fun and always had good jokes to tell. In the corner of his eye he noticed that Melissa wasn't laughing. She was one of the Puertorrican mutants. Her power was changing the surface of things. She could make the table top that their food trays were on slimy, or grainy, or pretty much anything. She was limited to only about two square feet though. If she ever tried to change more it wouldn't work. She tried really hard to be able to cover more surface too. He had watched a few of her attempts. She always ended up cursing in Spanish and giving up. There could be several practical aplications for her power though. That was probably why she was in the program. He wondered why she was so quiet just now. She seemed to notice him looking at her. She scowled and turned away. Cannonball followed her into the hallway after lunch. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothing," she replied. "Well ya didn't look to happy earlier." "I'm just tired for the work the put us through here." "Well they do try tah push us to the limits, don' they?" he asked with a grin. "Yes, but it makes me wonder at their intentions." "What do you mean?" he asked trying to sound confused. This could be what he was looking for. Maybe there was an ulterior motive to all this. She looked both ways down the corridor. "I won't talk about it here, but meet me in my room tonight. We can talk there." That night Cannonball went to Melissa's room. Jeremy saw him in the hallway. All their rooms were in the same corridor. He hooted. "Looks like ol' Brian will be sleeping well tonight!" Sam couldn't help but feel a blush creep up his cheeks as Melissa let him in. "Don't worry about what they think," she said. She shut the door and motioned for Sam or "Brian" as she knew him, to sit on the floor. All their rooms where the same. They were small rectangular cubicles with a bed in one corner and a small desk and chair by the door. There was only a little floor space between the bed and the desk and that was where they sat. Melissa reached up, pulled a folder off her desk, and put it on her lap. "This little goverment program studies mutants inside and out. They study our genetic codes, and try to discover more about mutation and why each mutation is diferent. You are the only high class mutation here, and they are practicaly rubbing their hands together in glee. They say that their reason for all this is to determine practical uses for our powers so we can contribute to society." "Do they have anothah purpose in mind?" "Oh they want to use our powers, that's certain. But unlike most of us assume, they have no intention of helping us fit in to society. They've decided that we wouldn't be usefull in tracking down or capturing other mutants, but they are looking to use our powers for military purposes in the production and creation of new weapons to use against mutants. If a couple of us aren't usefull in that field they'll probably use those as ginea pigs." There was silence for a few moments. "How do ya know all this?" asked "Brian" finally. "Because when I was coming here voluntarily, I was approached by a group that wanted me to dig into the projects files and find out if they were clean or not. They gave me some security clearances and codes so that I could access the secret files. I wasn't all to sure about this program in the first place, but I couldn't stay at home since everyone already knew what I was so I agreed." Sam ran a hand through his hair pensively. "Why are ya tellin' me this now?" Melissa clutched the file to her nervously. "Because I need to get out of here. I have to deliver this information. You are the most powerfull one here so I need your help." Sam thought of all the security and all the doors that required access cards to get through. They had been told that they were to keep Friends of Humanity, and other mutant hating groups out once the project became more public. They also effectively kept the mutants in. "What group sent ya in here with that access?" "They didn't give me a name, Brian. They only told me they were a mutant rights organization." To Sam that wouldn't have been enough. Still, not everyone was a cynical as he had become. A lot of the mutants in the world had no choice but to put blind trust in others, even if it could cost them everything. "Ya have tah hide that information. Ah'll try and see what we can do, but ya have tah hide it." "No problem," she said. She held on to the folder like it was a lifepreserver. "Ah'll see what Ah can do," he said. "Ye canna all expect me to do all the cooking, you know," called Theresa from the kitchen. "But everyone knows that Boomer can't cook, Elena can only heat things up and make coffee, Domino won't set foot in the kitchen, and you are the only one who can make a wholesome meal," called James into the kitchen. "Ye can cook a wee bit, James," she calls back. "Yo, guys! The computer thingy is vibrating!" yelled Boomer. "It vibrates?" Elena asked interestedly. "No it doesn't," said James, grabbing the handheld computer. "Sam's sending a message." "It's about time that boy reported in," snapped Domino. She was irritated because her surveilance had turned up nothing. The goverment wasn't usualy so careful, and if something was foul they should have found it by now. Siryn came out of the kitchen and sat on the arm of the easy chair James was sitting in. "He says he's found information of the real objectives of the project. Another girl got it with codes she was set up with. We need to recover it. She's Puerto Rican. She has sisters so he wants Elena to go in acting as a sister, Marianna Gracia and get the hard proof. That's all he sent us," James finished. "And not damn near all we need to know!" sighed Domino. "Well ye told him he had to be short and criptic so they donnea catch the signal," Siryn said reasonably. "So I have to go in there?" Elena asked. "If the girl is Puerto Rican you are the only one who can pass as a relative. You have the right look and you speak Spanish." "An since Ric walked out on us, Elena is the only Spanish speaker we have," commented Boomer. "Yes, but she is also the least prepared of all of you to deal with any situation that arises," said Domino. Elena crossed her arms and scowled. "Quit arguin' about it!" growled Feral. "'Less you want me to show up there speaking Spanish for the little girl," she added in a hiss. Everyone looked at Feral, surprised. They didn't really expect her to take part in supporting anyone. "Fine," agreed Domino. "She'll go and pretend to be Marianna Garcia. But we need to think of her story." "Yeah, she can't just show up like nothing," agreed Tabitha. "She needs some sort of story." James agreed with her. "It should be wuite simple!" exclaimed Elena. "I tell them that I am Marianna Garcia, come from Puerto Rico to see my sister. I could invent any excuse to be there! I could say that I didn't care if she was a mutant or not and had to see if she was alright, my mother sent a message to her, whatever!" "You might need ID to prove that you are Marianna Garcia though," said Domino. "I'll see what I can do about that. Siryn will see that you are prepared for this." Domino still looked a bit doubtful. Siryn kept Elena up all night. She told her that if she looked a little haggard she could easily say that it was from her long trip to find her sister. She was practicing Elena's combat skills, in case anything should go terribly wrong. Siryn also had the idea that if Elena was going to take up Disruptor as her codename(James had blabbed), because of her power to disrupt electric devices and laser beam, she should try and see if she could disrupt any other kinds of energy blasts. This had lead to her experiencing Siryn sonic scream several times. Elena knew she hadn't really tried hard in that session with Siryn, but she was so nervous! Everything went off without a hitch. The fake ID Domino had gotten fooled the program administrators, and they begrudgingly allowed her half an hour to see her sister. They were very curious as to why she was there, but she told them that it was 'asuntos de familia', family business, and that the goverment shouldn't concern themselves with it. So she was led by armed men to Melissas' room and told to wait there for the girl to be brought. "Melissa Garcia, you're sister is here to see you," one of the scientists running the latest batch of tests on her said. Melissa tried to look surprised. Brian had informed her of his plan to get the documents out earlier. The doctor disconnected the devices that read the way her brain waves reacted when she used her powers, and she got up and went to the door. Soldiers led her to her room. She was very nervous. She hadn't seen soldiers in the building before. But she knew she couldn't keep the documents with her either. Rusty sighed as he and his fellow members of the MLF waited near some secret goverment base. "Why can't we just go in there and kill the flatscans?" complained Wildside. "Stryfe told us to make sure we got documents proving the not so honorable intentions of this place before we ripped it appart," snapped Strobe. "And our lovely little acomplice Melissa sent us the signal last night. The documents will come out this afternoon!" exclaimed Reaper with some glee at the prospect of more mayhem. He had indeed enjoyed their recent trip to Genosha. "So Zero takes the goods to the boss and we are free to level the place, right?" asked Forearm. "Exactly." "Are you really sure it'll be necesary to wreak the same level of destruction we did in Genosha?" asked Skids. Wildside shoved Skids. "You commited to our organization or not?" he asked with the hint of a threat in his voice. "Leave her alone!" said Rusty. "Could we just wait without you guys going at it again?" said Forearm as he pulled Wildside away from Rusty. Not all the mutants in the MLF got along. If it weren't for Stryfe, the probably couldn't even hold together. "Forearm is right," said Strobe. "This mission is too important to our species to bicker foolishly." She glared at Skids and Wildside. "If anyone here lacks the determination for our endevors I'm sure Stryfe will find a way to fix things for them."

Next: The game is over and the team learns of war, and casulties.

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