Cassie's POV.

Cassie walked up silently to a raised platform inside the suiting lab. As she walked, murmurings were heard among the onlookers of the lab. Cassie bowed her head shyly as she made to speak. She was not built for this. She had always shied away from public speaking but right now, she has no choice... These are her people now. She is their commander and she wasn't about to let go of that position based on fear. More than half of the people here will jump at her post at any given opportunity.

She raised her head and breathed deep one last time. The crowd before her gave her a little scare. She could see the glum face above his shuby blue suit, Greg's face plastered with a wide smile like a proud kid cheering his parents on, she could see Olatunde the Nigerian boy's eager face, like be was about to jump a playmate on a ring. She could see a whole lot of familiar faces that she hasn't seen together at once... Mutants created by her father, mutants bit recognized by the American government. How she hope to get them involved in the war, she has no idea since only registered supersoldiers are allowed.

She could see pale faces, angry faces, sad ones and happy ones, she could see doubting faces, judgmental faces, hungry faces, hundreds of them... Hundreds of them... Let this fucking cup pass over me, she prayed in her secret vulgar language. She curses but always liked to keep it to herself.

Her face swept from left to right, looking for one last person. That one...

Her eyes fell on Jacq at her far right. He was just standing there talking to a nearby robot. Probably sharing a joke, that one. Cassie had always wondered how he could be so cool in the face of danger. She remembered when her father's soldiers had almost killed them inside that lab, how he had bought time with his cool thinking and smart moves. Overall, she had been impressed with his cool headedness and his ability to make jokes at the slightest opportunity, and somewhere down in her heart, she had felt something for the boy... Something she had prayed was not true. She hoped it was all just false.

Now, now...

Good day to everybody... As you know what situation we are in at the moment... She paused.

She looked down at everybody and realized nobody was listening. Something was wrong. She had enjoyed just thinking to herself so much that she thought she was taking to the people before her. She had just been saying those words to herself.

Good grief, she lamented.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat to bring silence. Everybody went quiet but some clinking noise still lingered at the left side of the lab. Cassie turned to see what was making the sound, and was shocked to see Jacq fully suited with a sword in his right hand moving left and right, parrying blows from his opponent. He was fighting the robot.

Cassie nearly broke down. What in the world is this?

Everybody in the lab had turned also to witness the scene and many of them cheered Jacq on. The fight went on for another minute with the robot seeming to have the upper hand when,...

"JACQ!!!" Cassie screamed angrily. "Get over here, you annoying piece of bone!"

The robot dropped the sword and Jacq did the same before running to mingle with the gathering. He murmured an apology before settling down.

Cassie took another deep breath and cleared her throat again. Now...

"Good day everyone..." She was slightly surprised at the sound of her voice. She continued nonetheless. "I think we all know why we are gathered in this manner. We have all been informed of the ruckus the Russians are causing as of late... And it has been decided that there will be no sitting down watching us suffer at their hand. Therefore, we have been summoned to join the army at their base.

"I know a fraction of you are against this movement but just remember that you have been registered with the American army right from the time you got out of that machine as a superhuman. So, it is the little price you pay for that powers you possess. So, think twice before backing out. You are the American property..."

She was cut short when a hand rose among the crowd. A scarred man in his sixties walked forward. "What about this young black dude? Is he also the property of America? When did he join us?"

Cassie looked at Olatunde's angry face before answering, "true enough, he's not American. But his country made a pact with us. He and his other mutant brothers are meant for their country but in the case of urgency, America can make use of them especially for this coming war. Understood?"

The man wasn't satisfied with the answer but he had no choice but to nod in the affirmative. He glanced at Olatunde with a cold face before returning to where he stood.

This man has no liking for Olatunde, Cassie thought. She looked at Olatunde's hard face again and wished he hadn't bursted into the portal after them. Truly, she had accepted him and all blame will fall on her if things go awry. She decided to keep an eye on him... His first objective had been to secure the orb for his people, after all.

Jacq is also a stranger here but his humorous nature had earned him friendship with the other guys, so they had no issue with him. Cassie brushed these thoughts off her mind and concentrated on her soldiers.

"So, do we have any more questions?" She asked.

Jacq raised his hand. The sword was in his hand again. He spun it round playfully as he walked forward. Cassie looked expressionless at his handsome face. This boy.

"Fire on," Cassie commanded.

"So, what situation am I in at the moment? I was neither made from that machine nor registered. How am I supposed to fight?"

Cassie had her answer ready but cannot speak it out for everyone to hear. It was meant to be a secret. So, she pulled Jacq close and whispered in his ear.

"You are an exception. You will still join the war. We plan to smuggle you in, if you allow. Normally I won't go extra this far for anyone but, you are still the best fighter here, though I hate to admit it."

Jacq was humming some jumbled up tune the whole time Cassie was whispering. Irritatingly, Cassie asked why he was doing that.

Jacq whispered back, "everyone here has advanced hearing. Don't you think they will grasp what you're whispering? I have to hum to make them hear something else."

Good god, why didn't I think of that? Everyone could have heard that. What commander shows favoritism among her subordinates? And besides, even with the extra care taken when recruiting potential mutants, there might still be spies delivering new info to the American government among them. Her plan might have been thwarted, and she might be punished and regarded a traitor too. The orb has been declared destroyed, so new mutants are not expected to be made. If it is known that the orb still existed, she could be forced to produce it and the whole mutation process will therefore be carried out by the government.

No, nobody's getting caught, she shook the bad thoughts off.

She called for silence again before continuing her speech. "Remember guys, The Blue Corp never existed. This lair never existed. This lab never existed. The orb has been destroyed. My father has been dead since the Green war. We have never gathered like this since after we got mutated years ago..." She paused, growing more serious. "I'm not about let these secrets get divulged because I'm calling you to service. Get your mouth sealed and don't waste those blue energy answering suspicious questions. If you have anything against this Corp, voice out your discontent now and let's make things clear and settled. In the absence of none, let's begin the preparation. In a week, we evacuate."

She concluded her speech and stepped gingerly down the platform. The crowd dispersed to their various stations in readiness for the evacuation. Jacq, Olatunde, Greg and Callum remained with Cassie.

"Greg, inspect the troops and make sure nothing is amiss. Contact me if you notice something strange." Greg turned on his feet and walked off towards the exit. "Callum, go to the armory. Load the necessary weapons and make sure they are complete. Make no mistakes," she instructed the blond boy. He exited the lab as well.

To Olatunde, she said, "you will be meeting your brothers at the military base any time soon. Please make sure not to tell then about the orb yet. Nobody must know, u hope you understand. It's all for our good... Now, go to the bunker and get prepared. We have no time to waste."

Olatunde turned on his heels and scampered off the exit obediently.

I'll have to be careful of him, Cassie reminded herself again. He might be friends with them for now, but it will be very safe not to forget his initial mission. He is here for the orb.

In the chamber remained just get and Jacq. She turned to face him, racking her head for a role to give him. "You... Go to the bunker also and get prepared, we..."

"You're scared," Jacq cut her short.

Cassie stared wide-eyed at him, her normal defensive reply flew right out if her head. Was it that obvious? No, I'm not scared, she assured herself.

"You're scared," Jacq repeated.

"Yes, I am," Cassie admitted. "This whole situation happened so fast, I can't even keep track. From getting mutated at a very young age to clinching the post of a commander... Even if my dad was alive, I still have to do it... I can't run away... I can't back down... I have to fight in this war... I have to..."

Cassie broke off as she was lost for words. She looked up at Jacq's expressionless face and regretted opening herself up that way. I am weak. I am so weak...

Jacq finally spoke. "I am scared also. Everyone is scared. I mean, most of us are High school teens and we have to leave our fun life to join a war because we have this superpower. Who wouldn't be scared?

The most important thing is that you do not show that fear on your face. We need a brave commander, don't you think?"

Cassie nodded slightly and smiled a little. The littlest word if encouragement was all she needed and she had found it... Let's go girl...

She said her thanks and the faintest hint of happiness shone on her face.

"Let's do this, girl," Jacq offered a fist for a fist bump.

"Yeah," she hit her fist against his.

The walked together towards the exit. "Keep that angry face," Jacq advised.

"Why?" Cassie asked smiling.

"You look more beautiful when you're angry."

Cassie laughed. "Damn you, boy."

"Did you just curse?"

"No," she replied....