Arriving to Depart

[Andrew Murphy]

Murphy sat aboard the plane, holding onto the seat as if he were afraid he might fall out of the plane any moment now. The sad part was that it was quite a possibility. He was confident that his powers were of his own volition however Andrew had not survived the last fire fight, or the ones before that simply because he had wanted to.

"Sir, would you like anything to drink before we land?"

Andrew glanced up to the stewardess, fumbling a smile. He shook his head, lifting a hand, and said thank you, not really loud enough to be heard but Murphy figured the stewardess got the idea as she just kept her best customer service smile on and moved to the next passenger.

He grabbed his book, a red, leather bound journal that he had been keeping notes in for several years now, a gift from his wife on their second anniversary. He pulled the piece of paper Murphy had been using as a bookmark from the middle of the book and read the message he had already read a thousand times. It had been why he had accepted the suggestion from his Squadron Commander that he take his R&R earlier than originally intended.

TO: 2LT Andrew Murphy, AR
FROM: MAJ Mackenzie Keller, Adj. to BG Gideon Vasher, Vanguard C&C

In recognition of your valorous service during your tour of duty in the Afghanistan theater, you have been selected as a candidate for training in Vanguard Special Forces. You are hereby ordered to report to the Bastion Facility at the Nevada Testing and Training Range for briefing and evaluation.

Sure, he had told Branch that he was looking into maybe submitting a packet for SF but this was too quick. Maybe the reports had finally caught up with him. Three trucks blown to smithereens, several heavy engagements, and one man comes out unscathed each time without even TBI (traumatic brain injury) to complain about. And then he wondered if they'd even seen the posts he had made on that Mutant forum. Figured he couldn't get in that much trouble when half of everyone else was on skype doing all sorts of illicit things with their spouses or some other, other significant other.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to give a big round of applause and a big welcome home to the soldiers on our flight today as we make our approach into Reagan National Airport."

Andrew couldn't help but blush a little bit. Murphy didn't think he deserved much applause, going on R&R while his men sat on a COP, waiting to get shot at, whether that be by a sniper rifle, a dishka, or a B10. But its not like they could really understand that nor could he deny them their good intentions. Most of all, he tried not to shrink away from it, sincerely afraid that he might just slip out if the plane altogether.

Another moment and the plane jarred into its descent and then with a bump it had landed, and Murphy started breathing again. He'd flown all his life, his father a mechanic for another well known airline. And never had he been so afraid. It was something new, to have such a lack of confidence in what should have been so familiar. But it was done, for now. The plane taxied in and the seat belt sign went off. Andrew stood and straightened out his unkempt ACUs.

"Have a wonderful time, Sir, and thank you for your service."

"Thank you too, Ma'am."

It was a bit humid in March for D.C., or at least from what Murphy could remember from the last time he had been here. Must have just rained. He stepped into the terminal area, getting his surroundings straight and soon enough he was approaching baggage claim. Was this where he met the guy in a service uniform and black sunglasses waiting to take him away?

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

What should have been just one more set of footsteps in the cacophony surrounding the baggage carousels somehow cut through the murmur and clatter with laser precision. Clad in her army drab service jacket and skirt and flanked by a pair of soldiers in Vanguard gray, Major Mackenzie Keller quickly identified her target out of the handful of servicemen disembarking from the flight out of London. She found him milling among the other passengers as the carousel began bringing their luggage around.

"Lieutenant Andrew Murphy?" she said. "I'm Major Mackenzie Keller. Welcome home, Lieutenant."

[Andrew Murphy]

Murphy turned on his heel, a bit startled at a woman's voice. He caught himself from snapping to attention in the middle of the crowd.

"Oh, Ma'am. Thanks."

The Adjutant herself?! All sorts of alarms were going off in the back of his head. Why would a Major, and the Adjutant herself for a Brigadier General personally bother with picking him up from the airport?! Sure, one could receive a message from an Adjutant or contact of higher rank all the time, but for them to show up themselves... And then Andrew was trying to stifle the instinctive response of the combat arms towards women officers. It was an unfair prejudice he knew but it was hard to put down nonetheless.

"Thanks for the welcome home, Ma'am. It's only been eight months, but its still nice to be back."

His olive drab duffel bag finally came back around for the third time since he had missed it and he slung it over his shoulder. Two men stood on either side of her that were in a uniform that he didn't recognize at all. Their strangeness drew out a few more prominent questions in his mind as he started to follow them outside.

"So, uh, Ma'am? If you don't mind, maybe you tell me something about this deal in Nevada? I'll be honest, and I'm sure its no surprise, but I've never heard anything about any of this so far."

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"Not here, Lieutenant," Kenzie said. "Please, this way."

The four of them settled into a brisk walking cadence past the sign marked ARRVALS and down through the airport's cavernous foyer and out the front doors to where a large, black luxury sedan sat next to the curb. One of the gray-uniformed troopers relieved Murphy of his duffel and loaded it into the open trunk while the other opened the passenger-side back door for Kenzie and the lieutenant.

As the car pulled away from the curb, the two troopers in front, Keller and Murphy in the back, the major said, "I must apologize for delaying your return to your family, Lieutenant, so allow me to explain. Vanguard is an elite counter-terrorism task force drawn from all American armed forces. We have contacted you because we believe you may have certain qualities that would make you suited to service in our organization. I'm afraid I can't tell you any more until I confirm our suspicions. That will require a simple blood test."

She reached into her lapel pocket with a gloved hand and withdrew a small device that resembled a digital insulin meter for diabetics. Then she nodded to the driver, who pulled the car onto the shoulder of the accessway and stopped.

"I can administer the test now. You may, of course, refuse. In which case we will simply circle around and drop you off again, and you can be on your way for the remainder of your leave."

[Andrew Murphy]

"Errr, I would hate to waste your time then, Ma'am."

He rubbed his hands together for a moment, glancing at the small device and held out his hand.

One drop of blood was all it took to make that determination? It was amazing what advancements the government had made beyond the general public's knowledge. Then again, while amazing, it was certainly no surprise as some of the things he had seen during deployment had only been dreams of convenience until Murphy had actually been there.

But if this didn't work? If maybe Andrew had just somehow made all those things up from combat stress or something? What then? Return home to his family? A pre-emptive return surely, as he hadn't told anyone that he had taken his leave sooner than expected. Murphy quickly pushed the doubts and even thoughts of returning home so soon to keep himself away from thinking too much about his powers, lest he find himself suddenly not in the car anymore.

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

Kenzie took Andrew's hand in the palm of her glove to steady it and, with a practiced motion, lightly pricked the tip of his finger on the tiny needle hidden at the front of the device. The bead of blood it drew was minuscule, but more than enough.

The major then drew out what looked like a smart phone and pressed the data ports on the two devices together. Data spilled over the LED screen like a torrent, and after a few short seconds it had arrived at a result.

"Ah," said Kenzie. "Congratulations, Lieutenant." She turned the smart phone toward him so he could see the readout:

X-GENE PROBABILITY: 99.4%.

"You're a mutant."

With a tap of her finger, she ejected the needle and the collection plate stained with Andrew's blood, and the trooper in the passenger seat reached back with a small plastic bag to receive it.

"As I am sure you are aware," Kenzie said, "the United States Army does not prohibit mutants from serving, but it does require full disclosure. Nevertheless there is little to no structure currently in place within the armed forces to develop and harness the talents of mutant servicemen and women. This is a gap that Vanguard aims to fill."

With a deft motion, she loaded another needle into the sampling device and jabbed her own skin under the hem of her glove. Once more, she fed the data into her phone, and once more, she tilted the results for Andrew to see:

X-GENE PROBABILITY: 99.8%.

"There is little sense in denying what we have to offer our fellow American citizens."

She passed her own blood plate to the passenger seat as well, and the car began moving again, rolling out through the airport exit and merging onto George Washington Memorial Parkway.

[Andrew Murphy]

Murphy watched the guy up front slide the samples into bags.

"There is little sense in denying what we have to offer our fellow American citizens."

He watched a few cars pass by as he tried to process the confirmation that he was a mutant. It had been a big thing in the news for sure, and something he had always thought was only for the comic books had been coming true over the last few years. And now he was straight out of a comic book himself?

He had spent the last few months in Afghanistan slowly but surely finding out he was a mutant, fighting alongside his men, against an enemy that had no super powers. There wasn't any predictable comic book villain behind them and the hardship of the soldier's day didn't end when he took off his mask and came home to his wife who was having a hard time being an actress or super model. The reality of it, when considering duty to one's country, was that super powers or no, the service and sacrifice remained the same.

He turned back to face the Major. Murphy almost wanted to ask what her powers were. She wasn't old by any means but being a Major indicated roughly six to eight years time in service at least. Was she born with her powers or did she develop them later like he had?

"Understood, Ma'am. So what now? I think its important to note that I don't even know the full extent of my powers either. I'm not exactly a proficient mutant."

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"We can help you with that," Kenzie replied. "We have the facilities to study and train a variety of mutations in a safe and controlled environment. Of course, the initiative begins with you."

The major tugged on the fingers of her right glove one by one until it was loose enough to pull free from her hand, then repeated the process with her left. With her gloves folded neatly in her lap, she slowly rubbed her bare hands together, skin on skin.

"Of course I've read your official reports, Lieutenant, but I'd like to hear your account first-hand. How did you first come to notice your abilities?"

[Andrew Murphy]

Murphy ran a hand through his short red hair as he thought back to when it had all started.

"We were running a patrol in my AO. We didn't get hit often on patrol because it took a lot to shake us up, but when they did try, they tried really hard. This time around, they must've been really trying because they hit me and my platoon sergeant first. The IED literally rocked my world..."

He glanced at his hands, remembering how the explosion had torn through the vehicle and thrown him outside of it. It was impossible to remember how exactly he had been thrown from the vehicle but he'd gone through it and remembered not feeling a thing, thinking that must be how it is, when you're dying. The shock of it all must be so strong that you don't notice your limbs or missing or that you were probably even on fire.

"Next thing I knew, I'm on my back, staring at the sky, thinking I'm dead. And then my senior scout's face is in front of mine and he's pulling me up on my feet, handing me my rifle. I got back in the fight then and it wasn't until later when we were recovering the downed vehicles and had the reserve backing us up that I really noticed that I hadn't been touched. Not a single scratch, burn, or wound."

He glanced over at the Major. When Murphy had told this story to several people before, they'd given it up to stupid luck. Those that hadn't even been around just thought he was lying flat out. But he felt a bit reassured that she wouldn't doubt him after the whole 99.4% deal. Which made him wonder just a bit, what were her powers?

"After that one, it happened a few other times during two other IEDs, and then the most memorable gun fight, we were up on an OP. We were engaged by a sniper. I had my guys suppress while I moved to my radio. Unfortunately, we got hit with fire from a dishka. Those rounds chewed right through where my guys' position was and almost blew a guy's arm off. The rest of the rounds destroyed my radio and by all means should've destroyed me too but they went right through me. All four guys there said they saw the bullets, tracers and all, go right through me with no effect..."

That had been when Andrew had really begun to test the limits, as much as he could without risking his life. It had only picked up from there, and he'd begun to consciously control the ability to some extent.

"You need any other examples, Ma'am? I think my abilities might go a bit further beyond just going through things but I've not been able to test anything safely."

He hadn't really mentioned to anyone yet that he had destroyed probably thousands of dollars in military equipment because Murphy stuck his hand through an electronic device. Whatever happened when he did that seemed to disrupt it, short it out or something. Then he had attempted a few suggestions from that Mutant forum. Andrew wasn't sure if he could fly or levitate yet but he was sure he almost had a few times.

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

"That's sufficient for now, Lieutenant," Kenzie replied. "It's not at all uncommon for mutations to manifest spontaneously under stress. You're not the first soldier to have a battlefield conversion, so to speak. I can guarantee you that we can help you unlock the full potential of your abilities. But before I hear your decision I need you to understand exactly who and what we are up against."

She reached an open hand across the back seat toward him, a clear invitation. "If you please, Lieutenant. I can communicate with you much more effectively if I'm not limited to words."

[Andrew Murphy]

Murphy ran his hand through his hair quickly with a bit of anxiety. He was nervous enough about his own powers, much less someone else. Andrew had only conversed with a few others on a forum and now it felt like another leap of faith to see what someone else could possibly do. He extended his hand out to her, hoping she wasn't about to read his mind in depth. Maintaining professionalism in appearance was easy but if she was telepathic through touch or whatever, she might not necessarily approve of every single detail stored back in his mind. And thinking about improper thoughts wasn't really helping keep any more from developing.

He drew his hand back, nervously rubbing his hand against his jaw, taking a deep breath and then sticking it back out.

"Alright, Ma'am, shoot."

[Major Mackenzie Keller]

Kenzie gave no indication she was put off by his hesitance. She simply reached across the seat and took his hand. Hers was ice-cold.

Andrew's first sensation was one of falling, as if the car had gone over a precipice, and then, without actually landing anywhere, his feet were on the ground, and he was surrounded by curling gray mist, cool and damp like a morning fog, that spread out into infinity in every direction.

"Welcome to innerspace, Lieutenant."

Kenzie's voice emerged from a spot in the mist, and a moment later she stepped out of the vapors, or perhaps materialized out of them, her hands clasped demurely behind her back. Her Army service uniform had been replaced with an unfamiliar uniform all in black with brass ornaments.

"This," she said, indicating the misty void with a sweep of her eyes, "is a neutral psychic construct. We're here in a subconscious capacity, so you can think of this as a sort of shared, lucid dream. If we were in your mind, or mine, the landscape would be considerably more interesting, but I thought it best to start on an equal footing. Most people are understandably nervous around anyone with psychic gifts. I want to assure you that I respect the privacy of your thoughts, Lieutenant. That's why I wear the gloves."