The X-Project

I believe I have located the mutant responsible for the power-swapping virus in Pennsylvania. Jean has agreed to take a small team to pick him up, where we hope to reverse the effects of what appears to be a powers accident and explain to him and his family the options for young mutants having powers difficulties.

I have located Magneto and the boy in San Diego, and directed the team on the Blackbird to that location. The boy seems to be relatively unharmed, if frightened, but Magneto's thoughts are closed to me.

It is not customarily my place to determine such things, but if a second person could be added to the watch in the communications room, that may not be amiss. I myself will be returning to Cerebro.

My business in the capital is, in fact, a meeting with President McKenna, who called asking for my assistance with the Austin situation shortly after the team deployed, and who, judging from the alacrity with which he opened up his schedule for this meeting, was as impressed as I was by your actions there.

The meeting is, however, at my request, so that something may finally be done about the questionable legal status of several of the residents here. Marie, I will be drawing the President's particular attention to your friend the military doctor.

President McKenna has proven himself an honorable man in the past, and I have high hopes for this meeting. I will keep you all updated as the situation warrants.

My periodic Cerebro scan of last night located a particularly powerful mutant in New York City; his or her signature is not in the database, but is certainly powerful enough that we should consider making contact before Magneto does to be a high priority.

Elisabeth, if you're sufficiently recovered, I would like you to lead a team of your choice into the city to make first contact and invite this mutant to the school. I was unable to define the parameters of the mutant's abilities, and his or her mind proved largely opaque; we may be dealing with a latent telepath, or an autistic, or simply someone paranoid enough to have developed natural psionic shielding. Whatever the reason, I am unable to give you many details other than the mutant's location, and therefore cannot predict with any degree of certainty how the first contact scenario will play out. Please select your team with an eye toward preparedness.

As most of you will already know from the news, the Senate vote on the latest incarnation of the late Senator Kelly's mutant registration bill is approaching. Until last night, I was relatively unconcerned; after the President's speech earlier this year, mutant registration has had many fewer friends on Capitol Hill.

Late last night, I received a phone call from Senator Aaron Lowenstein of New Hampshire, an old friend, and one of our staunchest allies in the halls of government, and he gave me some very grave news indeed.

Aaron's son, Jeffrey, turned seventeen this past April. He's a bright young man with excellent prospects; when last we spoke he told me he plans to attend Harvard, following his father into the law.

Jeffrey was kidnapped two days ago on his way home from basketball practice. This has, so far, been kept from the press; Aaron is a private man, and it seems that the perpetrators, a group calling itself the "Friends of Humanity," would rather not make a martyr of him. They did, however, telephone him last night; they put Jeffrey on the line and had him read a statement to his father to the effect that if Aaron wishes to see his son alive again, he will reverse his vote on the mutant registration bill--and Aaron is prominent enough that if he does so, many other Senators will follow suit.

The FBI were able to trace the telephone call as far as southern Mississippi before it was cut off. Their branch office in that state, however, is proving uncooperative; rumors of corruption have already begun to fly, and Aaron contacted me in desperate straits. He is a principled man, and not one to break under pressure--but Jeffrey is his only child.

Scott, I would like you to lead a team down there to locate these so-called "Friends" and bring Jeffrey Lowenstein back home. Roster and tactics are at your discretion, although I would prefer that you remain as unobtrusive as possible--and that you leave me at least one of the teachers, so that we cause as little disruption as we can to the younger students' lives. Other than that, take as long as you need, as many resources as you require, and report back when you learn anything.

I attended Jeffrey's christening. Please do everything you can to prevent me from attending his funeral.