Genosha - Step by Step: Meeting with the Commission Members

[x-adrienne.livejournal.com]

The group meets with the Commission Members regarding the intel, and both are horrified to hear and see it. Joseph proposes that the Genoshan public needs to see it, and the only way to do that is through the national broadcaster. They suggest a plan to get inside the main studio and lock the signal on.


Davis had arranged for the group to meet with the Commission members at a neutral, private location- the conference room of another hotel, using the fake IDs of the group to concoct a cover story about their presence there. The benefit to the room was that it had easy audio and visual technology set up, and they had just finished running the footage of the video they'd gathered for the two Commissioners. Someone threw the lights back on so everyone could see the reactions of Joseph and Jobeth to what they'd been shown.

Joseph blinked away the tears which blurred his vision and threatened to overwhelm him. His hands had turned white as they gripped the hand rests of his chair with a claw like grip. He looked around at the others in the room, "I....We suspected...but this? We never wanted this." His gaze swept over the occupants of the room, begging them to tell him that this wasn't true.

Jobeth looked up from her notes. "I have to make some calls. If- and I still mean if your intelligence is correct, then this is much, much further than we feared." The woman may have been in her seventies, but she spoke with ferocious charisma and self-assurance. "The mutate programs was always supposed to be a last resort for the most dangerous mutants. But if this is true, they've put dozens or more through the Genegineers office."

"I'm sorry, who is the Genegineer?"

"He's the head scientist of the mutant research division. He's been working with Genosha for, what, eight years, Joseph?" The old man nodded and she went on. "He is a foreign scientist, who originally only consulted until the President finally persuaded him to move here full time. He originally made some remarkable advancements in helping stabilize less controllable mutations. Out of that evolved the mutate process."

Mutates. The word echoed in Nico's head. They were turning people into puppets, and people with powers that might be dangerous to boot. Keeping an eye on Jobeth and Joseph, Nico decided to stay quiet; she wouldn't be able to offer anything to this conversation, if only the express desire to turn whoever was in charge into a pile of dust.

As a visible mutant, it had been strongly suggested that Artie keep his goddamn mouth closed and downplay his powers, even around these people. He tapped Jean on the shoulder and signed "Can you ask them how we reverse it?"

Jean hadn't had a chance to examine the suits the mutates were wearing first hand. In way way she didn't want to, even if she knew eventually might have to.

"I'm sorry the two of you had to find out this way," Jean said to the two Commission members, leaning back in her chair as she nodded to Artie. Not every Genoshan was bad, just like not every American was good. It all started out with good intentions. Hell just got there a little more quickly that way.

"Some of our people...students, friends...children...have been converted as well. Is there a way to reverse it safely?"

Joeseph looked up, his brow furrowed in concentration, "I believe...yes" he said his voice hesitant at first but gaining in confidence, "The Genegineer did mention that he should be able to reverse the process and free your friends. The equipment should be in his laboratory if you can get to it."

"That is getting ahead of ourselves, Joseph." The old woman said with a click of her tongue. It gave them impression that it was not the first time they'd had this argument. "If this is all true, then the first thing we must do is make sure that the President is held accountable. It may be hard for you all to believe, considering your circumstances, but many Genoshans are proud of Genoshan mutants and the work we do. This will seem as inexusable to them as if your government secretly re-institued slavery in some states."

"If we have to get there in order to save our friends, then we'll get there." That was that as far as Sam was concerned, and he was confident that the rest of them felt the same way. He turned to Jobeth. "No disrespect to you, ma'am, but it's all true. I've seen a lot of it with my own eyes. I do believe there are many good Genoshans out there, but first and foremost we have to put an end to what the bad ones are doing, not just to our friend and family but to your friends and family as well." Any political ramifications or fallout could happen after everyone was safe and not in indentured servitude or held prisoner as far as he was concerned.

"Like Sam said, it's not just our friends and not just Genoshans", Angelo said quietly. "There's a girl, I only know her as Mutate 17, but from what Moreau said, she was kidnapped from somewhere in America- Midwest, I'd say - and sold to them just for being a mutant."

Joeseph looked askance at Angelo, "You mean to tell me that the President is buying mutants from other countries. That he's engaged in slavery?" The old man shook his head, "I've seen proof of how he treats the mutates, but I...I'm sorry, I can't believe he would go that far."

"What about his brother?" Kane said quietly, and Jobeth's lips thinned.

"Thomas has always been a disagreeable man. I find it less difficult to believe that he might be involved in something so brutal."

Oh, that was it. "You need to stop thinking that way." Yeah, Nico was going to give them a piece of her mind, although she was careful not to let her anger get the best of her. "I know it's easy to live in denial, but you yourself had suspicions to begin with. People are being turned into things, perhaps even as we speak. Why would we lie? It's not like we are winning anything out of hiding and fearing for our safety by staying here." She paused for a moment. "If you can't bring yourself to believe that either the President nor Thomas are the ones behind this, then believe someone else is pulling their strings. It doesn't make this any less real."

Well, by hook or by crook they needed to get the information out and more importantly, get hold of that laboratory equipment, but without the cooperation of the two Commissioners, the situation could get ugly. John was sure he was going to lose his patience soon enough and resort to mindless threats. He was sleep deprived and all too pissed right now. He would give it another few more minutes before he let his own two cents out if needed. Why couldn't he have been blessed with mind control?

"It does not matter who of the two is the guilty one in this picture," Sooraya spoke up. "That can be sorted out at a later stage. The point is that every moment more innocent people, even children, are being turned into mindless slaves who are then worked without any regards for their well-being. It can happening at the moment with your children or grandchildren. Do you truly wish for that to happen?" She fell silent for a moment, giving a few moments to let that sink in. "It can be happening to anyone's child or grandchild out there. Most mutants are still being born to normal humans. There must be a stop on the process first. Please help us stop it."

"Listen important Genoshan types," Maddie rose, her gaze altering between the older man and woman. She spoke with conviction, yet there was a pleading look in her eyes."There are no "ifs" about all this. It is happening, you watched it happen. They are abducting people with no real ties to your country. We," she swept her hand, motioning to the teenagers in the room. "Are proof of that. And one of our girls is thirteen. So the fact that this process is only for 'the most dangerous mutants' is no longer true. And if you sit here and let it happen, you are just as bad as the guy holding the scalpel."

She paused and gave a slight, awkward curtsy, said, "Thank you for your time", and quickly sat back down.

Joseph stared at Maddie, letting her impassioned speech sink in for a few moments. "It was never meant to be like this," he told her quietly. "I look at America and mutants are hounded and despised by the people around them. But here, we wanted to avoid that, make it so people were no longer scared of mutants but allowed them to function as a valued section of society." He nodded at her with resolve in his eyes, "I won't allow this to continue."

"From the mouths of children and an old fool." Jobeth leaned back, tapping her chin. "Times like this, I wish Okim Etufunwa was still with us. If David or Thomas have taken this step, it won't be in haste. Thomas might be prone to rash decisions, but David will have worked out every angle. That includes ways to hide it - the Genegineer could bypass Ryan's office, which would make sense. She'd never agree to this knowingly. Anderson might be Chief now, but the GDF command remembers that Moreau was their boss not long before. He could have moved allies in place."

"You're kidding," Garrison said. "You think something this big is being covered up?"

"It's easier than you think, young man. We trust the information that our subordinates provide. Compromise them and you've compromised us unless we have a reason to suspect otherwise. Add on top of that a healthy dose of nationalism..." She gave Garrison a long look. "Decades ago, we saved Genosha. Eight of us went into Prenova when it was no more than a couple of abandoned fishing shacks and went to work at the bottom of the ocean. Terrifying, every minute, but no where near as bad as seeing children starve in the streets, and armed gangs and criminals control the cities. When we opened that first pipeline, the profits when to aid for the poor and guns for our new Magistrates. By the time we'd dragged the economy out of the abyss it had fallen into thanks to our now negligent former trade partners, the cities had been retaken and order restored. Eight of us, young man, watched what we started turn into millions of safe, prosperous people. If you're correct, everything we sacrificed for has been corrupted. That is a hard truth, and I can think of many who'd rather stay fooled."

"Ignorance is bliss," Jean-Paul said from his position near one of the windows. His arms were crossed across his chest and his expression was more blank than anything else. A corner of his lips had quirked upward at Maddie's speech, but it was gone now. "That does not mean it is for the best. Slavery is slavery. People will see. If they are worth anything, they will act. The fundamental things you established with your actions, the foundation you built for this country. If it is what you say, they will act." Otherwise, what was the point? Their ideals, their hopes, their dreams for their people - all lost.

In the silence that followed Jean-Paul's speech, there was a long, quiet sigh from the corner. Callisto, as usual, had folded herself into the least noticeable nook in the room as soon as she'd arrived - in this instance, sitting behind the little table that held the projector and the notebook laptop attached to it. As such, behind the projector's light had the effect of obscuring her face from view, even now that the lights were up. As eyes turned toward her, she seemed to realise she'd been noticed, and she reached out a hand, flipping off the projector and throwing herself into sudden focus, her always wild hair even crazier than normal, still windblown from her aerial recon, her scarred face wearing not the 'Callisto think hard' pout she generally reserved for times like these but instead a look of mild frustration and boredom.

"Jesus you people know how to waste time. Are we done here? You've seen the video, you know we're not bullshitting, you know people need to see. How do we make that happen?"

Joseph pondered the question thoughtfully, "We need to inform the people of Genosha of the truth." he stated simply. "Simply puttig the information out there won't be enough though, it needs to be from a source they can trust. Someone they trust enough to believe them over the propoganda they hear everyday." He looked at Jobeth resignedly, "It has to be us doesn't it. Can you get us to the TV station?"

"Don't have a choice." Bishop added in. "We're on a time frame. We'll get a working plan going immediately."