The X-Project

Unable to sleep, Lex finds himself talking to Forge in the garage.



Lex sat at his computer, the time said it was 3:15 in the morning and he knew he should be asleep. There was too much bouncing around in his mind, like the plane that landed in the basketball court earlier, and he decided that he was going to go for a leisurely stroll around the Mansion. He still couldn't believe he was living in a mansion. Not a month ago he was sleeping on a cot in the middle of Afghanistan, and now he was surrounded by a plushness that he couldn't believe.

He grabbed a pear from the kitchen and cut slices of it off for himself as he exited the mansion. He had no idea where he was headed, but he was hoping that he didn't run into anymore well-meaning residents who'd give him a pat on the shoulder and say, 'welcome to the madhouse.' As far as he was concerned, this was just like being with a bunch of men with guns. Though he had to admit that there were a great deal more beauts here, and a lot stranger weapons.

Walking around the corner, Lex saw the lights on in the garage. Maybe the fabled Forge is working late, he thought, or early. Either way, I should swing by and say hi. Especially since I want to be able to work on the toys he's got in there. He approached the side door and knocked loudly. "Hello, can I come in?"

As in response, a loud clang followed by muffled cursing came from under a Jeep, then the distinctive rattling noise of tools scattering on the concrete. After a few moments of incoherent noise, a grease-streaked face popped into view on the other side of the Jeep's hood.

"New guy," Forge surmised, blinking in surprise. "Odd hour for a tour. Insomnia, time zone adjustment, or just an unusual non-diurnal sleep cycle?"

Lex looked over the man, trying to gauge him, and squinted when he got to the metal arm. "I'm not, uh, sure what the last one is, but I don't sleep well. Too long in the field I guess..." He tore his gaze away from the cybernetics and said in a much lighter tone, "Sorry about startling you, I just wanted to pop my head in and say hello. I'm Lex, by the way." He offered his hand. "You're Forge I take it?"

Forge reached over the hood to shake Lex's hand, then gave the older man an inquisitive look. "That's right. In the field... military? I'd have guessed that or 'cop', frankly. So I gather you've had the big introduction to the new world order," he gestured around with a wrench, indicating the mansion at large. "Normally it's a bit of a culture shock, but you get used to the weirdness pretty fast."

"Culture shock, that's an understatement. I'm not even comfortable with being a mutant myself, and now I find I'm surrounded by them." He sighed, it had been a rather trying week, and it was barely half over. Turning to the jeep, he examined it and decided that working on an engine might be better than wandering the grounds. "Want any help?"

Sliding a ratchet over to Lex, Forge popped the hood and took a long look over the engine. "I rebuilt this from a wreck when I first got here," he explained, "kind of an ongoing project as one of the community vehicles. Just finished reconfiguring the suspension, working on regapping the spark plugs." Fishing a spare gap gauge out of his pocket, he flipped it like a coin over to Lex and began adjusting the ones on his side of the engine.

"So," he asked in an almost-forced casual tone, "how exactly 'not comfortable with being a mutant' are we talking here?"

Lex caught the gap gauge and thought about how much he was willing to tell Forge. It was a personal matter, not something most people would understand, but he was trying to get on the man's good side to secure his job. "To be honest, up until last month I hadn't used my powers for ten years... You see, when I was a teenager I used to help my dad fix cars, planes, damn near everything we could get our hands on. I'd use my mutation to help him test them, make sure they work and all that, and it increased his productivity by a large margin. Then one day his P51-D Mustang crashed into an oak tree at the air show in Pensacola. He was killed outright and I thought I was to blame. See, I don't have complete control over my powers so I end up burning out a lot of things I use them on. I thought I did it to his plane, blamed myself for almost a month..." He took a breath, and felt his eyes sting. "My mother blamed me for his death, even though the investigators pinned the accident on a faulty valve, something I couldn't have caused. She disowned me and I joined the military. I've been hiding my mutation ever since."

He looked at Forge, stared him in the eyes, and wondered if the man understood how hard it was for him to say that. It was the first time the words had left his lips, and they hadn't come for almost ten years. "It's not that I'm uncomfortable with mutants, I'm just not sure how to deal with what it's done to me."

Forge arched an eyebrow at the confession. "So... you thought your powers killed your father, you found proof that they didn't... and you still tried to do the whole 'live in denial, pass for human' thing?That's... kind of messed up, man."

He let that hang for a moment, then turned his attention back to the engine. "You'll find that tends to change pretty rapidly here," he said, "Some of us are a bit more proud of what we are than others, but one thing we've all had to do is come to terms with it. You know, you might want to talk to Julio. If he can get over causing the Great San Diego Quake, he's probably got some good advice."

"I'm pretty sure it was my mother kicking me out of the house that made me try to pass for human. I didn't know anyone I could trust with the truth, so I just hid it from everyone." He leaned into help Forge, "I think meeting people I can be open with about my powers has already started to change me. A week ago, I wouldn't have told you that story to save my life. Now, I feel like I need to be honest with myself."

As they worked Lex began wondering what Forge's power could be. He was apparently the head of the tech-based mutants but besides the metal arm, Lex couldn't figure out what would give him that entitlement. "So, what's your power?" he asked, sliding the disk into place.

Forge tapped his fingers on the engine. "Machines. I'm an inventor. Comes with a bit of an intuitive understanding of machines, sort of sixth-sense type thing. For example, just the other week I developed a zero-emissions flywheel-based hybrid-electric engine and suggested retrofitting all the vehicles with it. And then Jennie beat me about the head and shoulders with a projected cost analysis for ten minutes."

"Huh, is it a power or parts problem? Because I might be able to help you if it's a power problem..." He smiled, and stood up. The man would probably understand his power the moment he heard it, but lex thought it'd be fun to show him anyway. He walked over to the Harley and sat down. "Watch this."

He gently ran his hand across the surface of the metal, making a connection with the machine. He forced a little bit of energy through it's structure and into the ignition block. The motorcycle started with a little roar, and continued to purr loudly. "Like it?"

Forge smiled. "Nice. Electrokinesis, I assume? You've got a lot more control than most of our straight-up generator-types. I think Jean-Phillipe might have introduced himself, there's also one of the students - Noriko Kikuchi - that's basically a walking capacitor. They don't have that kind of fine control, though."

He gave a small wince and nodded to the bike. "Although I do feel it necessary to warn you, leaving fingerprints on Lil's bike might result in her tracking you down and throwing you into the next county."

"Um... you said this was Lil's bike?" He sighed, go figure. He turned it off, and dismounted. He stood there a moment, rolling the word electrokinesis around in his head. It had a good ring to it. He'd never have called it that by himself, but it worked for him. "Control? That was like flipping a switch... I can control electronic devices, by touch and remotely, but I normally burn them out if I use them for more than a minute or two. That's actually how I ended up here. I took control of a helicopter and disrupted the gunner's firing arc. I blew out all of the pilot's systems, hurting him pretty badly, and ended up crashing the helicopter. So I don't know if I have as much control as you think I do. However, I would like to learn how to interface for longer, so I can increase my ability to pilot any craft." By the time he was done with his speech, his face had broken into a very self-satisfied smile.

He walked over to Forge, "As I said, I can help you with power issues. Parts, I might be more harm than good."

Forge nodded and filed the information away in his head. "Well, you seem to be familiar with the engineering side of the equation," he said - Lex seemed like someone who wasn't in need of any kind of classroom theory on mechanics, he certainly knew his way around a workshop, "and as for learning the finer points of controlling your ability, well, that's what this Institute is here to do. The Professor's the best in the world at helping our people refine and explore our gifts, there's no better place to learn."

"Yeah, my father taught me how to fix things, everything from cars to old airplanes," lex said, he couldn't place it but for some reason working in this garage was very therapeutic for him. "As for the powers, I'd like to train up and maybe join the--" he cut himself short before he told Lil's secret, leaning into the engine to cover for his slip. "I think we've got it. What's next?"

"Next?" Forge looked at his wrist, twitching his fingers and watching the liquid crystal display on his forearm blink twice. "Crap, it's still early. There's a 24-hour diner in Salem Center, I was going to go grab some coffee before the breakfast crowd shows up. Hungry?"

Lex felt his stomach rumble at the mention of food. "I could definitely go for something right now." Lex looked at the engine, examining Forge's progress. "You think it's ready for a test drive, or should I hot-wire us some bikes?" He chuckled as he stepped back from the jeep.

"Given who the bikes belong to?" Forge asked, opening the door of the Jeep. "Four wheels are much safer than two."

Lex got into the jeep, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could talk Lil down, but I don't know any of the other owners..." He tried to hide the smile on his face, but he found himself grinning like an idiot nonetheless. Looking around the garage he wondered who all the various vehicles belonged to.

As they left the garage, Lex felt the wind pick up and wondered if the strange plane was taking off again. "Speaking of vehicles, I have a question... whose plane landed in the back yard earlier?"

"You like it?" Forge said, laughing as he revved the engine and took the Jeep out onto the road. "Let me tell you a bit of a secret," he leaned over and raised his voice to carry above the wind. "I built it!"

Lex looked at him, completely flaberghasted, "You built it, by yourself?" He sat back and stared at the stars. If the man next to him could build a plane that size that could hover and lower itself with perfect precision, he wondered at what else he could build. Whatever it may be, Lex knew he wanted to be a part of it.

Forge shrugged. "Designed. Had a lot of help - I wasn't on the top of my game, just had an arm ripped off, funny story there. But yeah." He tapped his head with a finger. "Machines, told you. She's a beauty, her name's the Blackbird. Blackbird II, to be precise. Who knows, we might take you up in her sometime."

Lex liked the sound of that. His father had taught him how to fly the P51, even let him try it once, and though he knew it was nothing like flying a jet that could hover, but he still had to ask, "Can I fly it? Or does it belong to some secret organization here. I mean, it does come out of the basketball courts." He tried to sound like he was joking around, but he really wanted to know more about the organization Lil had mentioned--X-Men wasn't it--without giving her away.

Forge laughed and leaned back in the driver's seat with a conspiratorial smile. "Ah, Lex. Buckle up and let me tell you about the X-Men..."