13342/The Mutant Farm: Shield interviews Lucas.

The Mutant Farm: Shield interviews Lucas.
Date of Scene:	21 May 2021
Location:	Staff Meeting Hall - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	SHIELD comes to the mansion to interview Lucas. Skye almost gets detention.
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Black Widow (Romanoff), Phoenix, Quake, Lucas Farmer

---

Cyclops has posed:
Settled in the staff lounge is Scott Summers, as well as Jean Grey and Lucas Farmer. They are waiting for the Shield agents to arrive as requested. The field leader is wearing a button down shirt of a solid blue color, black pants and polished shoes. He has a black tie on as well with a gold 'x' tie pin. He is settled at a desk and there are several chairs sat out, as well as a tray of small sandwiches, coffee, water, and mini cans of Pepsi. As he gives a glance over towards the student, he clears his throat.

"Don't be nervous today. They are good people that we trust. They just want to know what you know so that we can find your friends and bring those who harmed you to justice." Or worse. Depends on who finds them first. "Miss Grey will provide them with images of your memories to help them out. Just relax. It will be over before you know it, and you will be back with your friends soon."

Once the agents arrive, they will be met at the front door by an aide and brought to the meeting room.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
When the SHIELD agents do arrive, it is in a plain black SUV. No markings. They are dressed in regular clothes, not SHIELD uniforms. Just a couple of people visiting the school, nothing to draw attention. As they are shown in, they follow the aid to the meeting room and join the others already there.

Natasha is wearing a pair of black slacks with an emerald green button-up shirt that matches her eyes. A pair of ankle-high boots with a short heel. She does have a black blazer over the top.

A smile is given to all those gathered. "I appreciate you all allowing us to come visit. I promise we will keep this short."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey arguably owns more business attire than she does jeans and spandex uniforms these days, and she's opted into one of her preferable fitted slacks and blazer combo, though the jacket is cropped to add a bit more style and dodge the 'stuffy professor' look. Both are black like her polished heels with a deep cobalt shirt underneath and overhung with a simple chain necklace with an X pendant. The inner liner of the blazer looks to be trimmed in a muted gold.

The majority of her attention is paid to Lucas and she offers the young man as reassuring smile as she can offer, something well practiced even when she's not boosting it with her powers. "And if at any point you need a break, any at all, just let me know. For any reason. Okay?"

As she's alerted to the car arriving outside, she turns to look as the staff member guides the agents in. She rises up out of her chair and gives a polite dip of her head. "Of course, thank you for coming. One of these days, maybe we can meet without it being due to these kinds of circumstances."

Quake has posed:
Along with Nat came Skye. Definitely regular clothes (as usual, for the most part), but her wrists were bound with a special wrist brace. She tried to be normal but, she was a tiny bit nervous.

She nodded to everyone in the room.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Sitting on a chair, the young mutant listens to Scott, nodding. He's wearing the sameclothes that were given to him when he arrived at the School, jeans and a brand new shirt. If he understood Scott's words and the description of what's to happen , this doesn't seem to make him relax one bit. Not only Skye is nervous in this room! Lucas is, as usual, the living image of stress. At the mention of /being back with his friends/, Lucas raises an eyebrow, visibly puzzed. Back where exactly, or with which friends?

Lucas glances over at Jean, who's supposed to look inside his head, like Jeremy described to him. Still, nothing to make him feel any better. "OK, ma'am," he says in a low voice, almost a whisper.
And then the SHIELD agents arrive, two women who are given a glance, just long enough to ascertain if they pose any kind of threat, which, if they did, woud modulate his response accordingly.

Cyclops has posed:
"Natasha. Skye. Thank you for coming. This is Lucas." Scott says with a motion of his hand towards the boy. "He says he is also called Lucky, which I believe is very much so, being that we were able to liberate him. Lucas, this is special agent Natasha Romanoff and Skye Johnson. They are two of the good guys. I have long history with Miss Romanoff in working together and I trust her completely."

He rises upwards, giving a motion of his hand towards the refreshments. "If any of you are hungry or thirsty, please enjoy. We tried to pick out one of each meat and a vegetarian option, just in case. Whenever you are ready, by all means." He gives a glance over towards Lucas, trying to give him an assuring smile and a nod of his head.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Thank you," Natasha says. She does take a bottle of water and brings it over to her seat, leaving it on a table there. She moves toward Lucas, like she would any other person, albeit a bit more slowly. No threat here. No sign of weapons visible on her person. When she extends her hand to the young man, there is a glint of gold on her wrist from some sort of fancy bracelet. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucas."

Then she will move back to her seat. "We just want to learn more about this place where you were raised. We're going to be looking into it and making sure they of two things. First, they don't start a new one in another place. And second, they pay for everything they did to you and the others."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean resumes her seat next to Lucas once she's given Skye a polite smile of greeting and falls quiet for the moment while Natasha speaks with Lucas. Once she's explained their goals, Jean adds. "This is how this'll work, Lucas. I'll have my hands next to your temples. While I don't /need/ to - so tell me if you don't want that - it just makes things a little easier and the connection more comfortable. I'll be the go-between. Think of me like a projector, something that takes a picture and then makes it bigger for others to see since they can't do what we can. In this case, it'll be your memories."

"But, you are the one in control here. It's your mind. I will be there, but you guide me where to go. If there's a memory that you're not ready to share, then just imagine closing a door on it and I'll know not to go there. I can teach you other ways of keeping your privacy later, but for now that will work. If you want to stop, just think it and I'll hear you." There's something wistful at the edge of her voice. Maybe a remembrance of hearing some of the same words from someone a long time ago. "Everything that you can share will help, but we understand some memories may be hard to approach right now."

She shifts her chair around to face the young man properly and adds, "Let us know when you're ready or if you have any questions for anyone."

Quake has posed:
"I'm not so familiar with Scott." Skye actually breaks out into a grin. "But I like to believe I'm trustworthy. And.." She lowers her voice down, and lifts up her hands to show Lucas her wrist braces. "I'm pretty much one of you. The braces keep me from breaking my wrists. I control vibrations." This is one of the first times she has introduced herself as not quite human.

And at Nat's words she nods. Yes, they will pay.

She doesn't take any refreshments, just sits down.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Is it an attempt at looking /all right/, to reassure everyone when Lucas forces a smile back at Scott, and quickly grabbing a bottle of water. When Natasha offers her hand, the young mutant quickly shakes it in return. The smile still appears on his face as he nods at Skye, a curious look at her braces.

Then the young man stares at Jean as she approaches and places her hands near his head. Used to do what he's told, Lucas inhales deeply, then exhales, trying to relax.

As Jean dives accesses Lucas' mind, she's confronted with images which - although not of the same level of violence as might be seen in Logan's mind - tell of years of abuse and neglect, constant bullying by nameless guards. Along the memories, a few show moments of joy, shared secret moments of happiness between kids playing or joking around. These are quickly replaced by memories of kids being dragged away, or empty bunks found in the morning.

While visiting these memories, Jean might notice the overwhelming /absence/ of feelings, other than a fleeting general sense of despair and... something else. Something that is missing and should be at the top of layers of emotions. Anger.

So far, no useful information has been found. Jean might feel that she must look deeper, in the recesses of Lucas' memories to find something that can be of use, a clue, something. Moving deeper into the memories, Jean might feel some resistance, increasing as she gets closer to the deepest part of the young man's memories. A place that is well guarded, protected - not against any external intervention - rather well secluded within a protective net of basic emotions, the strongest of them, hate, despair, anger, grudge.

Once Jean can pass this protective layer of pent up emotions, merged together at the core, she can finally access some of the worst memories that Lucas - intentionnally or not - locked away. In this mental construction of himself, the young man seems to have stored everything that he had to hide in order to survive, emotions that he could not express without risking retaliation. And above all, this is where he hides his "powers", his mutant ability, as risky to use as it was highly priced by the Farmers. What some have deemed a low level telekinetic ability, might only be the tip of the iceberg, and iceberg the young mutant tries his damnest to keep hidden.

At last, Jean is granted access to this bundle of pent up emotions and repressed memories. Strangely, there is a fresh memory of a few days ago, the face of a man on a computer screen, which memory has been stacked upon older ones. Here, a dead man on the floor, his throat slit, his weapon by his side. There, a kid curled up and crying in pain. And then, some images of kids being transported away and boarded on aircrafts. Looking closely, the small aircraft shows signs of recent painting, which doesn't cover completely the original markings of what looks like a golden beehive, or some golden circle. Those in the know, might recognize an half erased, still visible under the paint, what looks very much like an old AIM logo. Browsing in Lucas memories, Jean can spot some of these logos on the guards, but not all of them wear the same outfit, which looks like second-hand clothes bought at the Army surplus.

Cyclops has posed:
As he watches from his spot on the desk, Scott is quiet as he sips at his own bottle of water. He has a turkey sandwich in front of him, having taken a few bites of it earlier. He watches Lucas curiously as he is used as a conduit for telepathy between the pair of agents. He trusts that the process will be smooth and he knows Jean well enough to cut the cord if it gets messy. For now, he remains silent, straight backed and thoughtful.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
As the images come flowing into her head, Natasha winces slightly. Not because it is painful but more because it is unfamiliar. She's not used to telepathy being used to share information this way, although it's not completely foreign. Just not something she's used to. Nor does she want to get used to it.

She recognizes the AIM bits but it could be surplus equipment that someone got ahold of. Or it could be them trying to hide. Both angles will need to be followed up on.

She focuses back to a few of the people, ones that were not taken into custody during the X-Men raid. "I know this is difficult and I appreciate you helping. Is there anything you remember about the ones who escaped? The people that ran the Farm. Maybe you've overheard conversations at some point when they were around. A name spoken from one to another. Someone mentioning an upcoming birthday for themselves or their family member." Bits of information they can start tracing from. "And the children that were taken. What is known of them. Abilities, if they have them yet, names."

Quake has posed:
Now, Skye was new, and it shows, even though she tries to pretend. As Jean, and ultimately, Lucas, got further, she began to focus. She didn't like what had been done to the kids. It was different than her growing up in foster home after foster home until she ended up in a group home, but it resonated within her. Of course, she caught the instruments from AIM, and nodded to herself. That would have to be investigated for sure.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The link between Lucas and the others is severed, the probe being over, at least for now. It's doubtful diving deeper in the young man's memories could being much more information. Birthdays? Names? Abilities.

Frowning in concentration, Lucas searches throughout his memories, freshly revived by the telepathic experience.

After a moment, Lucas nods, having found some details that could be of use. "My friends. Joshua, he can put people to sleep, he touches them and poof, they go to sleep. Sandy, it's funny, she can be in two rooms at once." He thinks a bit more, trying to remember his friends, "Andy, he can fly... well, not much cuz we had no room to fly in... They are maybe a little younger than me. They were gone when they" - he looks at Scott and Jean - "Came to the Farm." He then explains, sighing, "As soon as one of us showed our abilities, we were locked up. We didn't use our powers, so the guards and watchers would not see them powers. But at some point, they always found out. And then..." And then, bad things happened, starting with an auction among the clients!

And then, Lucas seems excited - something that rarely happens - as he remembers a few days ago, in the Library. "Jeremy! Jeremy was doing things on the computer, and yes, I remembered a few details then, a guard called Fourteen. He was close to the Owner, not like the other guards. But it's not /fourteen/, it's Fortin. Jeremy found a guy named Raymond Fortin, and we also found his picture, he was a soldier on the photo, but I recognized him."

Cyclops has posed:
As he listens, Scott take sanother bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully before he swallows and gives a lick of his lips. Mayo. Yum. He continues to remain quiet, glancing back and forth between the four participants. He may not be linked to the young boy, but he is fairly sure what they are seeing is horrific.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Thank you, Lucas. All of this has been extremely helpful. We will take that information and follow up on it. All of it. Skye here is really good with computers too and she will dig up what she can."

She glanced to Scott and Jean. "If you could have Jeremy provide us with any updated information he might have, please?"

She glanced to Skye. "If my partner has no further questions, I think we can close there?"

Phoenix has posed:
Memories are delicate operations when Jean is trying to stay as hands off as possible. Literally, in her case, as her hands hover next to the young man's temples and never actively touch. She makes it look easy, even as she leans back in her chair and takes a long drink of water. The tightness of her grip on the glass is the only tell she outwardly gives at what she'd seen.

"Of course, Natasha. If we find out any other information that may be of use, we'll send it your way. Likewise, if you need anything else from us just call."

She looks to Skye as the woman's asked for any additional questions.

Quake has posed:
"Just a minute.." Skye whips out her smartphone, and does a few swipes..

"Fuck." She hands her phone to Nat. "The man, his name is Raymond Fortin, ex-military, and suspected of being involved in the beating of teenagers, not just in Somalia, but also in the Balkans. He's got a dishonorable discharge.. and I would have to go deeper in get more stuff."

Needless to say, he sounded like a piece of trash.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Almost hesitantly, Lucas reaches for the plate with the sandwiches and goodies, and takes one of the turkey sandwiches. In a few bites, said sandwich is eaten, Lucas always eating like it's his first meal of the week or as if someone was going to take it away from him.

Hearing what Skye mentions, Lucas nods, "Yes, Somalia and Balkans," he repeats, "We saw that on Jeremy's computer. But he has gray hair now. And he's bad." Good thing the telepathic link is severed at the moment, they might not like to see more about the man from his days at the Farm.

Cyclops has posed:
"You did good, Lucas. Great job, actually." Scott says as he looks pleased the student is reaching out to take some food. He gives a glance over to Skye and clears his throat. His hand hovers over a pad of red 'slips' on his desk, then puts them off to the side. It's almost an instinctual motion. He can't give Shield agents detention.

"I'll make sure to have Jeremy send over anything else if we find it. I know that he's being pulled around for several projects, as well as a career at Stark Industries. Was not sure if you were aware of that."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
At the F-bomb drop by Skye, Natasha recognized it for what it was: Anger at what they had seen. Still, this was a student in front of them. Of course again, after what they had seen, that word probably didn't bother the kid too much. Wasn't likely his first time hearing it.

"Thank you again, Lucas." Then she turned her attention to the others. "Jean, we appreciate the link to help us." Then to Scott. "I was not. I wish him luck in his future," Natasha said as she rose to her feet. She'd never even cracked the seal on the bottle of water.

"Hopefully our next visit will be for pleasantries. Though I will not be participating in this years basketball game." She pats herself on the top of the head. "Vertically challenged."

Quake has posed:
"What.. oh.. oops?" Skye really doesn't feel very bad, that man was a few f-bombs and then some, but she does feel a bit bad for Lucas. "Sorry. My bad Lucas."

She stares at Scott.. A detention!? She didn't accept them when she was in school (for how many days she bothered to go to school before ditching and the group home all together). Then she laughed. "I'll be better next time." And she winks, before following Nat.