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Eagle Plaza is a fairly nice building. Three stories, fine construction, and the most expensive part of Manhattan. Of course, unlike it's official-competitor Stark Industries, it's constantly a ghost town, even after becoming public. The excessive space of the first story is dedicated to far too many couches, chairs, and glass tables. Just a lone receptionist desk with a usually bored woman with a nametag reading Margaret. Glass stairs lead up, to something unseen.
Now. Generally, Forge would be lost in his work, ignorant of his rare meetings. But he did recognize the name Sue. Primarily because he has been following Reed's work since he first began. He's actually already downstairs at the alotted time, in his finest suit with black gloves. He's talking to Margaret, who seems rather overwhelmed with the fact that… Forge is actually down here talking to her. That must not be a reliable part of their relationship.
*
Doctor Sue Storm, of Fantastic Four notoriety, doesn't look the role of the businesswoman today. In fact, she's dressed as, well, her Fantastic self. In her unstable molecules uniform, Sue seems under-dressed for this space, but with the chaos that seems to have broken out across the globe, it's best she be ready for whatever the day aims to throw at her.
Shehe steps into the lobby with an air of confidence, but the polite smile that doesn't reflect in the rest of her face presents with a modicum of weariness. The fatigue behind her eyes is much the same, but only practised watchers could identify it as such. Calculation rolls over her mind, and the careful consideration of the information in front of her had her moving towards the man. "Hello," her tone is chipper enough, considering the madness that lays waste to the streets of Manhattan. She arches an eyebrow as she treads towards the man in question; the one she's here to meet, "Forge, I presume?"
*
Sue's arrival causes Forge to perk, and he immediately abandons Margaret. Apparently this is her preference, as she goes back to reading a book. The Cheyenne approaches with the feel of a fan, really. "Sue Storm! A pleasure, really. I've followed Dr. Richard's work for many years." Of course he talks about him by proxy. Probably something she's used to. He extends a hand to shake, and if accepted it would be a touch overexcited. "I'm not complaining, but… to what do I owe the pleasure? I can't say there's many people in the world who wouldn't find strong use out of my contracts, but Dr. Richards shouldn't be one of them…"
*
The handshake is reciprocated, and the excitement warrants an easier smile and a small nod. Easily, she agrees, "Reed has many fantastic abilities," the pun is probably intended. "But I'm actually not here on behalf of the Fantastic Four," which could be a surprise. "While we've had our own challenges lately," including the blow up of the Fantastic Four residence in the Baxter Building, "I'm involved in another project. I suspect you know of the presence of extraterrestrials on earth? It's become public knowledge as of late."
*
"I'm sure." Forge agrees readily on Reed's capabilities, but doesn't linger overly long on his many praises. However, a different cause of business is a strange mix of surprising and not. After all, he couldn't imagine how he might have aided the Fantastic Four in technology… but he wasn't entirely aware of something else it could have been, either. "Another project?" he repeats, somewhat dumbly. "Yes… I've heard of that… mathematically, it's inconcievable for extraterrestrial life not to exist, and statistically they should be much more advanced. It's the notion of finding us that I was always skeptical about." He does scratch his chin at that. "Most believe our nuclear bombs could have alerted others in our universe to non-natural phenomenon here…" He's going off on a tangent!
*
"Right," Sue cuts him off; she's all-business with no time for tangents. She lifts a hand in pseudo-apology but continues with her thoughts, "The US and USSR governments have opted to create a joint task force to suss out the alien issues and potential troubles we could experience long-term." Dismissively, she lifts her hands, "This is not to say that we anticipate all extra-terrestrial life to be problematic, violent, or terrible for the human race, but rather," she turns on her heel, "we need to proactively engage, build our resources, and prepare for the chaos they bring. Already, we have giants invading our world because of Loki Odinson's recent murder. We must have the resources we need to move forward and help the human race sustain itself."
*
His mouth began to open to continue going, something about the dangers of broadcasting intelligent life, but is cut off easily. "Ah…? Yes. I heard whispers of that. I wasn't aware it was made official. My clearance is only for R&D…" Again he returns to listening. A glance is given back to Margaret, a few meters off, but she seems to have completely zoned out on whatever is being said. Certainly she had her period of curiosity on seeing a hero in the flesh, but she /was/ hired to primarily do a lot of nothing. "That… makes sense, yes… if a conflict was to be based primarily on technology, we would be significantly handicapped." He does glance back towards his staircase, before firming. "Normally I would not, but… I would like to show you what I can do. My particular talent might be more useful than just another support scientist."
*
A small smile pulls at Sue's features and she nods, "Exactly. If we anticipate these off-worlders have more advanced technology than ourselves, we need to equally anticipate ways in which we can engage and combat the threats that face our world. We need to be able to find strategies to do so. And, I've been told, you have some incredible technological advancement in this space." The suggestion about showing her his talent warrants a vague raise of Sue's eyebrows followed by a nod. "I'd be happy to see what you can do. And I take it, you're keen to be involved?"
*
"I don't generally make it public exactly how advanced I am." Forge murmurs while walking towards his staircase and beginning his climb. "That would draw the attention of certain… unsavory individuals. Only the Government is fully aware what I am capable of." At the top, there's a metal door with a red blinking light and a thumbpad. He pulls off his right glove, and presses it to it. After a beep of affirmation, a laser then shoots out, running up and down Forge's right eye. Only after does the sound of hydraulics ring out, and the door slides open. …It's quite thick. He must take security seriously.
Pushing in, there's a rather messy office, large desk covered in folders and papers. Filing cabinets are in little better state, and whiteboards have long, intricate formula scratched on them in small handwriting. They seem solved, but accurately? Another metal door leads further inside, and it's here that Forge goes.
"Do I want to get involved? I've spent my entire life trying to figure out how my gift can help humanity." he suddenly offers. "But I just can't manage the scale. Or the affordability. I could help hundreds, sure, maybe even thousands… but…" After another beeping, the next door slides open as well. Beyond, the rest of the second floor appears to be a gigantic manufacturing plant. Every sort of engineering, from electrical to metalcrafting, seems to have a section associated with it. Half-finished tinkerings litter everywhere. "Upstairs is my vault, and sleeping quarters…" He instead heads to a lift, a simple platform surrounded by a glass tube. "Honestly, I want to join this project more because it might help heal the growing wound between us and the USSR. A common enemy is one of the best methods of politics, sadly."
*
This kind of space — with its formulas, disorganization, and general mayhem of various pieces of technology — is actually the type Sue typically finds comforting. She spends the majority of her time in such labs; even without an engineering background, she has working knowledge of what the tinkerers in her life do and engage with. Which is why each of the crafts earn brief consideration. Sue follows through one door and the next, maintaining silence and allowing Forge the ability to work through his thoughts.
A tight-lipped smile tugs at Sue's features. "There are few initiatives that give any ability for the USA and USSR capacity to sit across the table with each other. And, I'm afraid, we may be embroiled in more of a conflict than we'd originally believed." Her lips purse and she notes, "I'm extending membership to you if you so desire. That said, membership involves frequent blood tests before being given any updates or sensitive information. I'm doing my due-diligence to keep our group intact," whatever that means.
*
It does seem to be lacking one thing: Neatness. There's absolute chaos, in a way that appears non-sensible. Many items are not even done being machined or constructed, as if he just abandoned them in their current states. Although all of them seem remarkably adept, based on the technology of the time. Assuming that the end result is what Sue can guess. Within the lift, the glass door slides into place and the pneumatic beneath quickly shifts to the third floor. There's a fairly posh penthouse-style living area. Kitchen, then a huge open area including the bed, with a door for the bathroom in a corner. Yet a veritable fortress exists, taking up the majority of the space. Doors worthy of a gold reserve, settled before an imposing series of security checkpoints. Forge makes his way over to this, pulling off his right glove entirely. "In here, everything I've finished is kept. The cutting edge stuff. If I want to extrapolate from it, or duplicate it. …A lot of it is military in nature, due to my contracts, but…"
*
Sue follows Forge towards his vault. Her hands clasp lightly behind her back and her eyes flit about the space, assessing it with rapt attention as she moves. Her posture straightens further if at all possible, and a small smile edges one side of her lips, pulling it up into something lopsided and nearly playful, "I'm pretty sure Reed, Johnny, and Ben would all love to spend time here if you ever wanted to share or collaborate. Unfortunately I'm far less mechanically inclined," with a doctorate in biochemistry, it's not wonder.
Her head cranes and she nods at Forge, "It's good you keep it under lock and key. The world is an increasingly strange place."
*
"Haha. It's been a little personal dream of mine to speak with Dr. Richards. I've never actually collaborated with a peer, before. Most people find my method… disorienting…?" Probably the best term for it Forge can think of. A full-hand scan is done, followed by another laser, this time checking BOTH his eyes. He finishes it by pulling a speaker forward. "Forge." After a few moments, the door hisses, and slowly opens. Within is a broad spectrum of items. Twenty years' worth of his inventions. Overhead lights slowly flicker on one by one. It seems the front area has the most recent, while the back has the oldest. It's about two-thirds full, a series of racks, shelves, cabinets, and other such accomodations.
"Behold, my life's work. I've always had a knack for machines. The first time I ever handled a real watch in my tribe, I knew exactly how it worked. Every little gear. The spring. That's what put me on this path…" Most of it seems to be rifles, pistols, and body armor. Large plates that seem to be metals and ceramics. The item in particular he settles in front of is a large mount, with a few reading devices and a small metal orb about the size of a golfball within.
"Time and time again, the main reason I can't change the world is infrastructure. I can purify water at a rapid pace, but it needs power… I can automatically till even the most difficult soil, but it needs power…!!" Frustration, definitely. "So for the last five years, I've been working on… nuclear power."
*
"I could introduce you to Reed if you wanted," Sue offers lightly. "Like I said, the rest of my team would be very interested in what you're working on." Pause. "Not that I'm not. Just not an engineer." She shrugs lightly and peers amongst the shelves of inventions. "My goodness, you've gotten quite the arsenal." Her smile stiffens, "I imagine many of these things would be incredibly useful. Tell me, if you could collaborate with my the rest of my team, do you think together you could build something that could fire a weapon into the sky if necessary." She frowns slightly. "I'm not sure it'll come to that, but I'm not certain it won't."
*
"No no no! He's a busy man. Much more than me. He is doing MEANINGFUL work. I'm blindly groping in the dark, hoping something will actually be useful…" Forge holds up his hands at that. "Although your opinion's not a whole lot less valuable to me. You're an accomplished hero, amongst all your civilian achievements." He's tinkering with the small device, before switching it on. The power reading immediately jumps a large amount. If Sue reads it, she could see that it'd probably power a small car. Sort of. Still, given how tiny the orb is, that's quite impressive. "I can't scale this one up, is the issue. The only reason the nuclear reaction is safe is because it's so small…"
At the mention of a weapon, he goes quiet for long moments. "I see. …So that is the kind of defensive measures the world governments want." After long moments, he pulls off his left glove. It reveals a metallic hand. Although the way it moves, one would never be able to tell when it's covered. "I already have something like that." After some adjustment, he lifts his palm. Energy glows, before a brief beam of energy is fired. It dissipates before reaching the end of the room, but from the displacement of energy, it was still quite volatile. "Transfering electrical energy output into something that can be used offensively is one of my recent developments. The limitation is on power output, however. Amongst other things But if you get me something that can put out the required amount of energy, and I can convert it into a beam. …How big do you want it? I can make it as big as the power supplied. Assuming they take care of everything unrelated to the conversion, and I know how much energy I'm working with, it shouldn't take exceedingly long…"
*
Sue emits a soft sigh, "It's one of many defences," not that Sue is likely to tip her hand without evidence of Forge's humanity. She squints slightly and ponders, "I think we should invest time and resources into developing vessels to go to space. Reed, Johnny, and Ben designed the one we went up in," that resulted in a strange accident. "It's possible we can modify what we already have and weaponize what we need. It wouldn't be our only strategy… just one of many different ones."
*
"NASA is only just struggling to put people in orbit, and you guys made a functional ship. That definitely impressed me. I had almost went into NASA, but… it would have taken all my time. I need some, the majority, for myself…" That, and for multiple reasons it's difficult to effectively work with others. Forge is a little surprised his explosive display didn't draw more of a reaction from Sue, though. That impresses most people. "I see." he follows, slowly flexing his fingers. "Your powers inspired me a bit, you know. Invisible Girl. I can't manage that, but." Again he lifts his palm, and this time a whirling shield of energy manifests with a crackle. It slowly rotates about his palm, large enough to fully cover him from the front. "This, and the energy beam, are brand new. I figured I needed some personal defense in this city…" His left glove is pulled back on.
"But I have an important question before I agree to do anything." He turns to look at Sue intensely. "Who ELSE will get access to this technology? The weapons. The aircraft. The countermeasures. Ultimately, who decides to push the button, if it needs to happen? Will I be indirectly improving the Soviet Union? Will I be giving the United States a free check to adapt it how they will? If these countermeasures just endanger the world more, then I'm not interested. I've taken great measures to minimize the damage of my contract work. The government wants something ten percent better, they get it. Even if I could have made it two hundred percent…!"
*
"Invisible Woman," Sue corrects lightly. "But mostly just Sue… or if more traditional, Seo." Her Korean name continues to be the moniker those closest to her use. But the shield merits a faint widening of her eyes. "Personal defence, are, unfortunately, increasingly necessary."
As for who gets the tech after, "Just Act-F… our task force. And once we inevitably become dissolve," as do all task forces when problems are resolved, "we'll dismantle it. We'll pull it apart and make sure no one has access. Whether governments can recreate it… well," she shrugs."That's part of advancement. But with so many brilliant minds on the project and task force I can't see anyone being able to easily do so."
*
"Erm—yes. Invisible Woman. …Of course. You're no girl. Some places, ah, try to make you sound more… …nevermind." He immediately detours to the more serious matters at hand. "I see." Forge murmurs, stroking at his chin while looking upon his sea of inventions. He wants to change the world for the better. That's always been his foremost goal. There's plenty of other people, more qualified, more deserving, to do the act of protecting it. And what does he have to show for it? This room, full of tools meant to kill. Meant to stop one from being killed. And shadows of his failed dreams. "How does Reed do it?" he suddenly asks, heading to the back of the room. He picks up a strange looking device. "Knowing he can change a single life for the better. One person who needs it, and has no hope. He could be that hope, couldn't he?" Dust is brushed off. "I made this to cure a young boy of leukymia. It took me seven months of iterations. And in the end, it's useless to me. It can't cure ALL leukymia. Just his." It's set back down. "If I really worked at it, in a year, I could make three thousand, maybe five thousand third world people never hungry again. Never worry about water. Probably for generations. But there's billions in this world… billions!" His back remains to Sue, going very quiet. "Helping so few won't help the future… right?" The more relevant tangent follows after. "But this… this Act-F. It will make sure that humanity has a future at all. Right?"
*
The questions prompt a vague downward turn of Sue's lips, but questions about Reed again have her eyes reflecting an all-too-familiar fondness. "A question for Reed," not Sue, "but we're a family. What we do, we do together. We challenge each other. We make each other stronger. Four instead of one. It helps us to have more foresight. Without my family…" she frowns, "I would've given up a lot time ago." She inhales a long deep breath, "It was Joon," Johnny's Korean name, "who saw the potential, making us feel obligated to do something with what we'd been so strangely gifted. But Reed Richards has long been a wonder."
The mention of Act-F has her nodding. "The goal is to keep our earth safe. Our people safe. All people. Across the globe. And while the goals are lofty, we need to try."
*
"Family." Forge murmurs, still not looking back towards Sue. That word summons things that he has long tried to run away from. "All this time, I've been a loner. And I'm nowhere closer to where I wanted to be. The person I gave up everything to CHOOSE to be. Maybe doing it all alone was the wrong answer all along." He finally turns back and approaches Sue once more. He extends his right hand then, face burning with resolve. "I'll do it. But I'm doing it for humanity. To protect this world. As long as I have input on how things I work on are used. But I hope… I hope with tears in my eyes… none of it will ever have to be used."
*
Sue doesn't miss the change in Forge's expression. She doesn't miss the change in body language, and she has a deep appreciation for his thoughts on protecting the world. The last however, causes Sue's expression to soften and her eyes turn down as her chin drops into a small nod. "You're not alone in that hope. Believe me. You're definitely not alone in that hope."