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Rain patters against the windows of the Baxter Building, begging everyone remain indoors today. Grey dismal skies along the New York skyline retreat into the world above, drawing ever more and more clouds and, presumably, moods. It's a far cry from the day before when life had been merry, happy, and generally jovial. Indeed, the weather reflects the quiet of the house this morning.
There's a quiet creak from Sue's bedroom door. But no movement can be seen.
It isn't until the coffee pot mysteriously moves on its own that evidences that someone, aside from Reed Richards at the table, indeed around. A single cup of coffee is left beside Reed along with a muffin that seemingly floats on its own. Another quiet pace has another coffee cup floating from the cupboard to the counter and the pot mysteriously filling it all on its own.
*
All in all a much better environment for the news Reed needs to share. He of course could have last night, when they got home, or before the party, or… well, he had a lot of considering to do, anyway. Because even though he's asked this Black Widow lady for a copy to show Sue… he still had to debate it. Even having decided to do so… he still isn't sure. So avoiding ruining a fun night out was a good excuse to postpone. Running out of postponement now, though.
He diddn't get a lot of sleep. The Worry shows a little but he's obviously trying to keep it contained. He just looks a little… grim. Not a Little Grimm, mind, that would be a-okay. In any case, he's dressed, in one of his usual slightly-rumpled button-downs. but the black bunder on the table between his hands is not his usual breakfast reading, and also.. he's not reading it. He nods a quiet thanks when the coffee ghost arrives. He gives her a little time before he notes in a mild voice, "You're looking very… invisible this morning, Sue. Rough night?"
*
All has been quiet from the direction of the younger Storm's little apartment, as well — at least, until the first murmurings of activity from the others waft in from the kitchen. Then the door to Johnny's room opens.
Honestly, Johnny looks like he might still be asleep. Still bundled up in flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt beneath a robe and entirely mussed from sleep, he doesn't walk towards the kitchen so much as shambles, zombie-like, in the direction years of experience tells him the coffee maker is in.
*
With a creak of a door and a loud yawn, Ben's big rock of a body slowly inches out of his room as he shuffles down the hall, wearing giant slippers that whisp across the floor as he moves. He adjusts his blue and white stripped pajamas as he walks, gazing at the table. "Mornin'. Reed. Sue." He murmurs. At least he assumes it's Sue causing the items to move about seemingly on their own, otherwise they'd have a big problem on their hands.
Ruffling through the cupboards, Ben gets together porridge oats and a pot. Mixing the oats with some water in the pot, he places it on the stove top and lets it begin to heat up and do its thing.
*
Reed's observation has Sue turning visible quickly. Unlike both Johnny and Ben, however, she looks fresh as a daisy. "Practicing, actually," she notes with a flicker of a smile. Instead of her unstable molecule uniform, she's wearing a pair of black slacks and a white t-shirt. "It's hard," she states blandly with a stitch of a frown as she rubs her forehead — mere minutes and she's developing a headache. "I… think I'll stick with the uniform." And then after pouring a cup of coffee for Johnny and a giant bowl of coffee for Ben, "Good morning, guys." She smiles all-too-knowingly before slipping back to the table with her own cup of coffee. "Ben, are you making enough for me to have a bowl?" she bats her eyelashes as sweetly as she can manage.
A glance is given to the binder and then back towards Reed. She studies him for two beats before finally drinking her coffee. "Feeling alright?"
*
Reed mmmms in a vaguely approving manner at Sue's reply, taking a drink of coffee as everyone filters in. He waits for Sue to settle, ask, and get her first drink of coffee before he uses his index finger to slide the binder in her direction.
"I had a visitor the other day. I referred her to a colleague for her needs. I debated whether I should share the data she brought me or not," he admits. "I'm still not sure, but I've decided to go with my initial gut feeling of 'can I make a copy of this to get Sue's opinion'. Genetics are a little closer to your area of expertise."
*
There comes a vaguely-coherent sleepy noise of greeting when Johnny passes Ben, to go along with a grateful air-peck in Sue's direction when he sees a blur in roughly her shape pouring coffee. <Thank you, Seo.>
Once Johnny's gotten his mug, he sleepily shambles his way towards the kitchen table more out of habit than interest in what Sue and Reed are talking about. He sets the mug down before dropping heavily into a chair, his mouth parting wide for a yawn. Genetics? Again? Ugh. Wake him up later.
*
"Right back atcha, big guy." Ben lightly pats Johnny on the back when he passes. There's a glance toward Sue and suddenly he's pouring more oats into the pot. "Sure thing, Sue. There'll be enough for ya, right as rain." Adding a bit more water as well, he shuffles back over to the table, nodding as he accepts the large bowl of coffee that's been poured for him. "Thanks Sue, you're the best!"
Settling at the table, he takes a long sip of his coffee and sighs, content. Yes, he'd be happy to just sit here all day and drink coffee, if it were up to him. However, with the talk of science, he has a feeling that he'll end up elsewhere, eventually, whether he likes it or not.
*
<You're welcome, Joon,> she chimes musically. Sue's eyes narrow slightly as she accepts the binder and her expression subdues — reading into Reed's words, her own smile turns to a thin line. With a skeptical arch of Sue's eyebrows she gently flicks the binder open and begins to scan the pages.
The very quick scan of the first page causes her eyebrows to furrow. Her chin lifts and she levels a look at Reed while her jaw tightens. The question is on the tip of her tongue, but rather than ask it, her gaze turns downwards again to scan another page. Her flipping becomes faster as she very quickly gets a gist of what is going on one page at a time. With each successive flip, her expression turns more despondent, that is, until the pages can be seen flipping themselves. While the white shirt and slacks remain, the light bends around Sue — wholly by accident.
She stops midway through a single page, and the binder is laid flat on the table once more, no longer held by a pair of now-invisible hands. "Is it… real?" her voice cracks around the words — the humour has completely drained form her voice, and, quite likely from her face.
*
Reed is silent while Sue flips. Except for a fingertip that eventually starts tapping on his coffee mug. "It," he notes in a tight, controlled voice, "came from a facility. Which, I'm told, was under Coney Island. The entrance was through the ferris wheel," he manages in a remarkably level voice, but there's the sound of his finger squeaking against his mug with the degree of pressure he's applying to it. Like a latex balloon rubbed across ceramic tile.
"It seems the mysterious spate of recent abductions and strange arrests are… not so mysterious," he notes darkly. Then, after a moment, adds: "We may not be able to do much about this, either." Which is a thought he is clearly not happy to be the one to give voice to.
*
While Sue reads, Johnny lazily sips on his coffee and just watches the interplay between her and Reed. At least, until Sue begins to look visibly troubled. That has him blinking the sleep from his eyes and straightening in his seat, his brow furrowing. This… this isn't normal.
By the time the light's bending around her, Johnny's abandoning his chair and moving around the table to stand behind Sue instead, his hands going to her shoulders as he gives Reed a questioning look over her head. "What do you mean?" he asks, before dropping his eyes to Sue. "What does he mean?"
*
Letting his gaze slip from Sue to Reed and back to Sue, Ben can't help but notice their reactions regarding…whatever it is that was passed from Reed to Sue. He takes a gulp of his coffee and clears his throat. "So, you guys gonna keep us over here in the dark, or are we going to have to start taking wild guesses?"
Crossing his arms, Ben raises an 'eyebrow'. It's more just some of the rock in his brow moving up a little, leaving an inquisitive look upon his face. "And what's this…this…" He waves his hand toward the report in Sue's hands. "What's this got to do with those recent disappearances?"
*
It isn't until she gasps that Sue realizes she was holding her own breath. She remembers how to breathe again and her expression edges on severe — not that anyone can see. Johnny can feel his sister's shoulders rise and fall with breath. At least she is breathing. Because there's not a whole lot else that is happening.
Aside from the drops of moisture that seem to appear along that single page in the binder. Until Sue straightens and presses her hands to her face.
Her throat clears. "This," she whispers. "This is evil." The binder slides towards the centre of the table. The coffee is raised to her lips, and as she drinks she becomes visible. Her reddened eyes, pursed lips, and tight-set jaw suggest something beyond not right has happened.
"But where to begin.." she whispers softly. The binder is tugged back towards her and she reviews the first page aloud this time. "Genetic sequences are being recorded and kept for various purposes. I don't…" she cringes "…I don't understand this part — " the specific sequencing " — but they seem to have succeeded in manufacturing people. But that's not the goal."
"They're tooling people. Changing them. Altering them. All with a mind for control." Her eyes train on the page below. "Selecting them."
*
Reed's jaw works a few times while Sue describes it. "I was told this facility," he adds, "Was all Mutants." He lets that sink in. "I don't know what they did with the humans arrested. Presumably they were a smoke screen to draw attention away from the primary interest." He frowns thinly. "Or I hope so. But the alternative doesn't really fit the profile, at least."
*
Johnny casts a searching look towards Ben as Sue and Reed explain, as if Ben might somehow be able to make all of this make more sense. "Manufacturing people?" he echoes, looking back down to Sue with his face contorting in disbelief. "Controlling — no. No, no, that's ridiculous," he says with an anxious laugh, giving Sue's shoulders a light, reassuring squeeze.
Johnny turns his attention back to Reed and, slowly, the disbelieving smile on his face fades into an expression of simple, quiet numbness. "…wait. But you said we couldn't do anything," he says quietly. "Reed. Why would we not do anything."
*
"Sounds like they're taking people away, experimenting on them, changing 'em, all in the hopes of…what? Duplicate 'em? Make 'em better?" Ben tells Johnny, catching sight of the younger man's look toward him. "Is that what I'm hearing?" He asks of the two scientists who know more about this stuff than he does.
Regardless, something has to be done about this, doesn't it?" He nods along to Johnny's words. "I agree with the fiery one. We have to do something." His rocky lips purse together as a small gust of air emits from his nose in a sigh. "We can't just stand by and let innocent people be harmed."
*
Sue hums quietly at Reed's thought. "I think they're recoding them. The humans." She frowns. "Or… were planning to." She chews on her thumbnail — a silent tell from days long past. "This is eugenics. It's chemical eugenics." There's a long pause as she runs her fingers down one of the pages, "There's… there's pieces of…" She presses a hand tightly to her forehead as her thoughts aren't fully phrased. "How did they…? It's not even published yet…"
Sue cants her head at Ben's explanation before pressing her hands to her face. "Basically, they're taking people, experimenting," she nods at Ben's first two assertions, "cloning," her teeth worry her bottom lip, "controlling, and recreating them." Her throat clears. "On a genetic level. If legislations passes," Sue frowns, "this research could see those registered controlled. Neutered. Powerless…"
*
Another of those balloon-squeak noises, and Reed takes his hand away from the mug and puts both into his lap, propping one foot on another chair. "Weaponized," he bites out, then falls silent briefly.
His eyes shift over to Johnny. "I don't like it either, but we have positioned ourselves in a very particular position." He quickly adds, "And for good reasons. We can help a lot of people from the public position we've got. But this is necessarily covert. And we're not suited to direct interventions in that arena. For one thing, we need to be above reproach, or we may as well blow up the Bugle tomorrow and have done."
He takes his glasses off and cleans them on his shirt in a somehat weary-seeming gesture. "Anyway, I only have what was brought to me. And that facility is decidedly in the past tense. Apparently a group of Mutants took issue and… I am unclear on the details, but the lady was very clear it was a rather permanent result."
*
"Good." The word isn't said so much as spat. Johnny takes his hands from Sue's shoulders before he can lose track of himself and hold on too hard or end up burning her with his fingers. Both hands go up into his hair instead and Johnny turns away from the table, pacing an irritated line towards Ben. He can't be standing still right now, he needs to be in motion.
*
With the porridge almost done, Ben gets to gathering all the fixings that a person may, or may not, wish to mix with their porridge. "Deep breaths, Johnny boy." As he gathers up the items, one or two from cupboards, one or two from the fridge and places them on the table, he sighs. "Well, at least it was…taken care of. But do we know who is responsible? Is it possible to, maybe, pay them a little visit?"
*
"Reed is right. We need to do what we've been doing. We're in a unique position to influence that legislation and make sure it never surfaces." But one particular page in the book continues to capture her attention. Sue slides away from the table while holding the binder. She snaps it shut and treads back towards her room. It isn't until she's nearly there that she even tries to come up with an excuse. "I…" Ben is cast an apologetic look. She'd expressly asked for oatmeal. "I'm not hungry anymore. I'm sorry." She looks back to her room and freezes. Retreat shouldn't be her go-to, and yet.
And so she stands there, in the hall. She opens the binder to stare at one of the pages again.
*
Shortly afterwards, Reed pushes himself up in an abrupt kind of way, murmuring, "If anyone needs me I'll be upstairs dismantling a particle accelerator." Which is why he comes around to face the correct direction to spot Sue in the hallway. He frowns briefly, and does NOT head for the lab after all.
Instead he ends up coming behind Sue, not QUITE enough to look over her shoulder. His hands land lightly on her shoulders from behind, and he adds, in a quiet voice, "What did you find?"
*
<This is bullshit,> Johnny mutters darkly as he paces a path next to Ben, hands still in his hair. He is, in more than one way, running a bit hot. <What good is having powers if we're not out there stopping things like this?>
Gritting his teeth, Johnny tries to focus enough to breathe evenly and keep his actual temperature under control, if not his emotional one. Priorities. They just got this place insured. He peers after Sue and Reed as they both get up to leave, and cocks his head to one side when neither of them actually does. Oh, he does not like the looks of that.
"Nunim? What is it?"
*
"I hope you're right. We need to ensure that this sort of thing does not keep happening. I just don't know how much longer we can stand by doing nothing, for the sake of keeping a good image. After all, doing good will keep our image good." Granted, Ben realizes that ruining properties doesn't look good on them, even if said properties are ruined while they're attempting to do good.
He shakes his head and smiles gently at Sue. "Don't worry. It just means more for me. And you know how I love to eat." He chuckles softly, hoping to bring some levity to the day, which has only just begun.
"Is something the matter?" He enquires after Reed and Sue, as they remain still, down the hallway.
*
Sue's shoulders sink further under the touch. Her eyes close gently and her lips tighten. It's not in her nature to easily break down in front of anyone. She's supposed to be strong. And she already shed two tears too many while unseen by her cohorts. When her eyes open, she points to a single paragraph. "I wrote that. Those are my words. That's my diagram. I wrote that." Her body stiffens. "It isn't even published. It isn't even defended." Her eyes narrow and she looks back towards her door. "It's in there tucked away. Someone either took the discarded pages," thanks to typewriters and the need to constantly retype pages, "or… the committee. And someone saw it and used it. For this."
*
There is a lengthy silence where Reed just stays as he is, not saying or doing anything, because there's nothing to do or say. Eventually, though, he gives Sue's shoulders a very light, supportive squeeze, and then removes his hands and steps back. He turns, with thin, compressed lips, and his eyes find Johnny. A thumb jerks over his shoulder towards Sue. And without a word, he exits, up the stairs. He doesn't walk up them— he just stretches into an impossibly-tall single step from one floor to the other.
*
Johnny casts a quick look up at Ben before he starts across the room to join Sue, his brow furrowed in confusion. He doesn't say anything out loud — he just leans to peek over the top of Sue's head at the page she's holding, both arms curling around her shoulders. And then his eyes flick after Reed, his mouth twisting into a very thin, grim frown.
*
A sharp exhale of air can be heard from Ben. He's not happy. Then again. Nobody is. A line was crossed. Walking toward his room, feet no longer shuffling, the pounding of his steps vibrate down the hallway. He glances toward Reed. He'll have to check on him, sooner rather than later. He nods to Johnny, pointing at the young man, then using two fingers he points at his eyes, and then he points to Sue, hoping that Johnny understands he wants him to watch her. Not that that wouldn't have happened anyway.
Heading to his bedroom, he changes into his street clothes: A long sleeved shirt, slacks, a long jacket, a hat, and shoes. Even when he leaves his room, however, he doesn't leave the building right away. He goes up to the lab to check on Reed.
*
Sue's knees buckle as she feels the arms around her. Her body wants to crumple and admit defeat. Something niggles against her mind. Her breath rakes in her throat. And her thoughts burn on her mind. A hand reaches up to squeeze Johnny's around her, almost in apology before psionic energy pushes him away. A second later, Sue is gone. At least, by all appearances, Sue is gone. The binder is abandoned to the floor. There is no sign of the elder Storm.
*
<Seo. Are you going to be ->
Johnny doesn't get to finish the question. The invisible force pushing him away catches him by sufficient enough surprise to send him sprawling awkwardly to the floor, skidding a few inches along the floor before he comes to a stop. He blinks a few times in genuine shock before he thumps his head back against the floor, squeezing his eyes shut. Good job, buddy. "Dammit! Seo! Come back!"
*
Ben finds Reed standing pensively in front of his favorite worktable in the lab, his hands on his hips. He's always kept an old photo in a frame on this table— that one of Einstein making a face, you know the one… everyone knows that one.
He doesn't budge when Ben turns up. "I'll be fine. Check the university. That's where I'd go."
It's only when he's alone again that Reed moves, to turn the photo face down. Then he picks up a screwdriver from the workbench and heads for the corner where he spent most of last week.