IRRATIONAL CHOICES

Part III: Lovingly Angry

By Brent Lambert

The mood in X-Factor’s briefing room could only be described in one word: tense. Even then that word didn’t quite do the situation justice. They had just come back from a mission that could only be classified as a disaster. The ultimate result of which ended up with one of their team’s leaders missing. Polaris had been snatched away by New Son, and everyone was getting a twisted sense of déjà vu.

“To say I’m extremely pissed right now would be an overly gross simplification. Does anyone care to tell me where the hell this went wrong?” Valerie Cooper, fire hot and dressed in civvies, blared. Behind her was a large television screen displaying the devastation laid out across Coney Island as reported by Trish Tibly. Bodies were scattered like broken limbs.

Forge, unflinchingly, respond to Valerie’s rage. “You sent us in there with inadequate numbers and inadequate information. It’s a miracle that all of us made it out uninjured!”

“We had barely any idea of what we were up against,” Shard added in response to Valerie’s blame-laying.

Valerie cut her eyes in the direction of the two mutants. “This failure was one of teamwork and not of information.”

Simply put, if Valerie hadn’t been pissed before she was now. They had the nerve to put some of the blame on her instead of owning up to their blundering effort as a team. They had entered into other missions with less information and came out victorious. This situation shouldn’t have been any different.

Director Nero walked into the briefing and silence fell upon everyone like a Biblical plague as they stared at his angry visage. He made his way to where Cooper was at and stood next to her. “To say I am severely disappointed would be putting it lightly. Coney Island was an unacceptable disaster and changes shall be wrought from it.”

“Such as?” Forge asked in defiance to Nero’s anger.

“Effective immediately, the Hound Program will be reinstated and the X-Factor Initiative authorized.”

“You can’t be serious!” Shard exclaimed. “Hounds! You might as well call up Bolivar Trask and ask for a new batch of Sentinels.”

“Have you lost all perspective?! The Hounds are one step away from a bonafide genetically engineered military branch,” Forge snapped.

“You would think so wouldn’t you Forge? In case you haven’t noticed there are more and more forces out there who want to use mutants as weapons and more than likely will turn them on this nation. I see absolutely no problem with volunteers defending this country,” Nero replied.

“Volunteers? I doubt that for some reason. The US government has a tendency to draft mutants whether they want it or not,” Red Lotus responded.

Nero turned on the former Triad assassin. “You had better watch your tone with your superiors boy! Another mission like Coney Island and you might find yourself at Guantanamo Bay.”

Red Lotus rose up from his seat and stormed out of the room. Forge rose up as well and kept his focus on Cooper. “I don’t know what’s going on around here, but I plan to get to the bottom of it. Everyone has a boss after all.”

Val crossed her arms, but said nothing to Forge’s threat. She wasn’t exactly keen on the Hound program coming back and she had no idea what the X-Factor Initiative was, but the team needed to understand that failures like Coney Island weren’t an option.

The bazaars of Istanbul were said to be a labyrinth that sometimes pulled people in and never let them out. Ms. Witch and Vargas were in search of someone who had found safety in this endless maze. The two mutants moved through the crowd with fluid speed. They stayed close to each other, but never once gave off any indication they knew one another. Vargas was following Elena’s lead, as it was her powers that had found the assassin who murdered her brother. Honestly, the Spaniard had no idea how this all would turn out. Ever since Pierce’s mutilation of her, she had been steadily showing more power and more temper.

The air became noticeably hotter as the two came closer to a tiny brick building that Vargas could only guess was the location of their query. He looked over to Elena and saw the fiery aura that was beginning to flare from her body. Vargas began to push through the crowd to be close to her. He was a strong man so imposing his will wasn’t a hard task. When he finally reached Elena he grabbed her arm and said, “You’re showing your power in public! Be careful!”

With that the world suddenly went gray and time stood still. Elena pulled away from Vargas, crossed her arms, and looked away from him. “You’re scared of me now, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

“Elena, you of all people know that I don’t scare easy. I’m scared for you, not of you. You’ve always used your power sparingly, but now-”

“I’m not afraid anymore. My powers aren’t to be hidden, but embraced. Please don’t worry about me Vargas,” Elena said putting a hand to his check. “Just love me.”

“I do, but you know once we start down this road that there’ll be no turning back,” Vargas said.

Elena looked down. “I know.”

Giving a supportive smile, Vargas said, “Okay then. Let’s go.”

Time restarted and the two were in each other’s arms. Elena pulled away from Vargas and pointed at the brick building. “The assassin’s in there. I sense her.”

“Her?” Vargas asked. Elena had not known anything about the killer a few hours ago. Just one more display of his lover’s growing power. Or maybe that power had been there the whole time and was just now being utilized.

“The closer I get the more I know. We’ll be looking for a Latino woman with a handprint tattooed on her face,” Elena replied. She kept walking towards the building, but Vargas grabbed one of her shoulders tightly. Almost enough to hurt.

“I know that woman,” Vargas said, not lessening his grip. “Her name is Maya Lopez, but she goes by Echo. Not an assassin we need to trifle with lightly.”

Elena used a push of magical telekinesis to remove Vargas’ hand from her shoulder. “You sound like you’re afraid of this Echo.”

“No, just cautious. Echo is a female Taskmaster. She’s someone I could handle, but it would be close.”

Ms. Witch smiled. “You must forget you have me with you.”

“Haven’t forgotten, but we still need to be careful.”

Stretching forth an arm she said, “Fine. Careful.”

Suddenly, the walls of the building were turned to dust and its occupants began to scatter in fear. The bazaar had become a directionless stampede of old, young, and everything in-between. One person stood firm in Elena’s assault. The petite woman was hardly what Ms. Witch expected to see from someone Vargas respected so much. Still, she respected his opinion so bolts of lightning poured forth from her fingers and flew straight at Echo. The woman dodged each bolt with a skill Elena would have expected from Red Lotus.

“That wasn’t careful at all Elena!” Vargas shouted, moving past his girlfriend. “Let me handle this!”

Vargas charged forward and unsheathed his sword. He quickly swung the broadsword at Echo’s feet and she just as quickly jumped into the air to dodge it. With his other hand, Vargas flung two ninja stars at Echo’s shoulder. The weapons didn’t find their target as Echo twisted her body into a spiral. She landed on the ground with her feet spread. Running forward, Echo tried to kick Vargas in the head, but The Spaniard grabbed her by the ankle and flung her to the ground.

Echo threw her arms behind her so that she was able to use the impact to do a back flip. Vargas was already on her with his sword as soon as she completed her flip.

“Shit!” Echo yelled as she ducked under the sword and rolled forward into Vargas’ cloak. She grabbed it and flipped Vargas over her. He lost grip of his sword and smacked into the ground.

“You must be Vargas? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Echo asked before she was struck in the back by a lightning bolt.

“Don’t consider it a pleasure,” Ms. Witch answered. Energy sprung forth from her eye. “Not even close.”

“Hey!” Lorna yelled as she beat on the prison door. “Let me out of here! Let me out!”

The tiny cell that she found herself in was dark, smelt like onions, and the bed was rockier than the Grand Canyon. If she had her powers the confining space would have been ripped asunder already. Unfortunately, New Son and whoever he had working for him had made sure that her powers were put under. It was just like that slimy creep to not be able to stand a fair fight.

“Let me out of here you bastards! Let me out!” Polaris cried as she continued to beat on the door.

{ Hello Miss Dane. My name is Doctor Osman. I will be the main facilitator of your stay here. It is futile to beat on the door. I assure you that it is quite thick. }

Lorna looked around for the source of the voice and saw an intercom in the upper corner of the roof. “Look whoever you are you’re making a very big mistake. New Son-”

{ Is an operative here. Don’t make the mistake of assuming he’s the top of the totem pole. Things go far deeper than I think you could even imagine, Miss Dane. So prepare yourself for a long stay. }

“I don’t think so!” Lorna yelled. “When X-Factor finds out about this place you’re all going down.”

The door creaked open and a middle-aged man and woman stepped in. The hairs on the back of Lorna’s neck stood on end as she stared at them. The man was the first to speak. “We intend for X-Factor to discover where you’re at Lorna.”

“Hi honey,” the woman said.

Lorna backed away from the couple. “Who are you? Why am I here?”

“We’re your parents, Lorna.”

Echo stood to her feet and backed away from the approaching Vargas and Ms. Witch. “I’m guessing you two are the people that I was warned about coming after me.”

“You’re damn skippy! You murdered my brother!”

The assassin looked at Elena without sympathy. “All part of the job lady. Your boyfriend should know about that.”

Vargas scowled at Echo. “And you also know that we assassin’s are constantly open to retribution.”

“Why? Who ordered you to murder my brother?” Elena asked, her anger beginning to simmer over.

“Oh yeah, that’d be smart of me,” Echo laughed. “Tell you what you want to know and then let you kill me. That isn’t happening.”

Ms. Witch stepped forward and held up a glowing hand, which caused Echo to be thrust upward, clutching at her throat. “Fine. You want to do this the hard way, we can. You’re lucky I don’t torture you in the worst possible ways imaginable. Maybe I should let Chthon lick at your mind? Or make your mind feel the sensations of having your skin slowly peeled from your body?”

“Elena! This is not going to help,” Vargas said as he grabbed his girlfriend’s shoulder.

Dropping Echo to the ground, Elena turned back to Vargas. “Okay. But she obviously isn’t going to talk. So we’ll need to make her talk.”

Before Vargas could offer up any protest, a green mist shot out from Elena’s fingertips and shot up through Echo’s nostrils. The assassin began to convulse violently and her skin grew pale. Vargas shouted, “What have you done to her?”

Elena waved a dismissal hand at The Spaniard. “She’ll be fine. I’m just making her a bit more cooperative.”

Lopez’s body finally stopped shaking wildly and went deathly still. The color returned to her face though and she calmly rose to her feet and asked, “Who is it that I serve?”

“You serve Elena Boon. That is me. Remember who it is that you serve.”

Echo bowed. “Yes master. I am yours to control.”

“See how easy that was baby,” Elena said to Vargas as she walked forward and ran a finger across Echo’s cheek. “We’re going to get everything we need from her and she won’t get hurt.”

Vargas nodded in agreement. “You are right and honestly I’m surprised you just didn’t kill her outright.”

“So you think I’m bloodthirsty now?”

Vargas shook his head. “No. That was not what I meant. But she did kill your brother – without remorse.”

“She’s an assassin. She’s paid to be remorseless. No, I need to know why my brother was killed and who ordered it. Echo here can tell us all that. Can’t you?” Elena asked with a smile that made Vargas uncomfortable. He wasn’t quite sure what road Elena was taking him down but her actions and behavior just wasn’t like her. But he did know one thing – he was the only person in the world right now that she was willing to even allow herself to be around. He couldn’t outright call her actions what they were. No, he’d have to stay with her and maybe his love for her would be enough to open her eyes. Let her see that all she was now doing was against her own beliefs.

“Vargas, I know you think I’m losing it, but trust me. I’m doing this for us. Someone out there is after X-Factor for whatever reason and Val doesn’t have the balls to try and find out. We got to. For our families and our friends. I know I’m doing things that surprise you. Maybe even make you love me a little less, but I need you on this.”

The Spaniard gave her a sneer. “So now you read my mind?”

Elena shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t do that. But that look you gave me. It told me everything I needed to know. You never looked at me like that before.”

That broke Vargas’ heart and he ran to embrace Elena. “I’m not leaving you and I don’t love you any less. This just isn’t like you is all. I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret. Believe me, in my line of work I’ve done plenty of regrettable things.”

A tear ran down Elena’s cheek and touched Vargas’ shoulder. “I know. I just want this to all be over so that me and you can take that cruise.”

“Alright then. I’m going to follow your lead on this one. Wherever it takes us. I’m with you all the way. I love you and I’m not leaving you alone.”

Elena broke the embrace, smiled, and wiped the tear from her eye. “Okay. Together. So let’s find out exactly what Echo has to tell us.”

Dr. Osman was checking off some status reports when the clone of Lorna approached him. She was clad in her new body armor. It was an all-black suit from the neck down with green spikes going from her down from her shoulders to her fingertips. There was a large green ring in the middle of her chest and she had a belt to match with it.

“Is it true? Have they captured my uglier half?” the clone joked.

“Yes. One of our agents was able to detain her. I’d suggest you get your team battle-ready. It won’t be long before her friends show up to save her.”

“Hey don’t worry about the guys. They’re ready to take on whomever. So can I see her?”

“No. That’s not yet advisable. She’s being seen by some of the higher ups. My superiors will decide who and who doesn’t visit her. Is that understood?”

“Crystal, doc. Just wouldn’t mind the chance to pound her face in is all.”

‘With the M-Core Virus treatments she could literally do just that,’ Osman mused to himself.

Forge laid his head on the pillow and pondered exactly what the hell was going on with his team. Nero was trying to restart the Hounds. Polaris was kidnapped. Vargas and Elena had gone AWOL. If there was anything good that could happen he sure wouldn’t mind having it pop up right about now.

Then his phone rang.

“Hello.”

“This is Puma. Can you meet me tonight? I may have info on the whereabouts of someone important to you.”

Forge knew exactly whom he meant. “Of course I can. Just give me the place.”

NEXT ISSUE: Elena and Vargas storm Nero’s office with the one thing he’s been afraid of – THE TRUTH!