"Who tell us this is not a trap?" said the Raptor, calmly, looking at Danny straight in the eyes. "The guy... Sam... said he was tricked into his role... what if he is tricking us, now? I know he was your friend... but he could have been brainwashed... or he could be possessed... like I was."
"So, you say no to the mission?" asks Danny, frowning.
"Sam disappeared 13 months ago, just before the Hurricane. I missed him by hours. No one of you did try to search for him, then he reappeared many months ago, in a coma, we put him in a bed and basically forget about him... now he awakes and we are ready to go to straight in a black hole to demonstrate him we are still his buddy..." continued Euro, without paying too much attention to Danny's question.
"You are not fair, Euro..." tried to say Danny, but Cicciotto continued...
"The place where we should go is an alien planet in a different dimension... Kristogar, if he would still be here, probably could have demonstrated that such a thing can't even possibly exist... thorn by a civil war among dead and living... where a mad wizard has convinced your Sam to lead a populace to doom... where no technology exist and probably there are diseases we have not ever faced and that will challenge our survival changes, if we could come untouched by black magic and steel blades". The words of the Raptor were falling over some of the listeners like an chilling, pouring rain.
"Things like that have never stopped us before, Euro, you know that" said Danny, an hard expression on his face.
"Plus, this is not a payed mission, we are going without assurances, and harming the profitability of the company itself." Ed's mouth's corner where bended down like he was profoundly disgusted.
"Enough with this speech, Euro. Just a yes or a no." Danny was enraged.
"It's a yes, obviously. The team stand for his members, old or new. What bothers me is to see this enthusiasm to go play superheroes in a forgotten dimension, while we don't move a finger for our planet, leaving it in the hands of Merlin and his Strikeforce. Not to mention George W."
Said that, Edulcore Cicciotto stood up, and walked trough the door. "I have an appointed meeting with Miss Xiang." The door closed behind him.
.........................................................
One minute later, Ed walked trough the door of Victoria Xiang' office. The ageless woman was sitting behind her desk, while, as usual, Nuriko was standing next to her, in a black suit with miniskirt of the same color and white shirt.
"Ed, I have called you for two things. First, I want to discuss with you a little idea from mine, that I hope should help counteracting the media attack that Merlin is orchestrating with the support of the United Nations, Usa, Russia and European countries included. i don't know if you had the chance of seeing his speech at new York on Christmas eve, but he is succeeding into merging our public image with that of the MBL metahuman terrorist. I guess what he is trying to obtain is having the various countries passing more severe laws to fight terrorism, and in the same time less controls over his own Strikeforce, and more founds. And to sustain this, he is fomenting metahuman hating all over the world."
"Like there is need for that" added, sadly, the Raptor.
"Exactly. That's the key. Merlin's long term plan for world domination lies over a foundation: the meta-hate. A strong, powerful foundation, but nevertheless single. If we can discard it, all his castle will rumble down. You understand what I mean, Ed?"
"Sure, Miss Xiang..."
"Victoria."
"Victoria, Ok. But telling the world to love the metahumans is not an easy thing. It's not an easy thing tell the countries to ban their anti metas laws, but even if that would be accomplished, the people at large will still hate the metagene blessed people. Who would like people able to peep trough the walls of your home, or able to get inside without being seen, or faster, smarter and stronger than you at whatever work?"
"Ed, that's what Merlin says at the people. We must let them know that there are people that will be able to protect them faster than any "normal" cop. People that can feel the location of their missing sons, that can smell the serial killer of the moment is hiding, that can capture a mad gunner before start to kill all of his hostages."
"Victoria, that's what the Strikeforce is for. Merlin has beaten us by time, if anything."
"Really, Ed? Had you ever seen the Strikeforce doing that? The Strikeforce save cities from meteors, fights demons... most of the time they do nothing at all, unless you count the parades across the biggest cities of the world. Merlin craves over the fear of people, the Strikeforce will never do anything to really clean-up the streets."
"Let me have this straight, Victoria: you want Vanguard to became the common man Strikeforce?"
"Bwhahahaha! No, Ed, no. Vanguard has higher purposes. Vanguard is studying to become what the Strikeforce should be. I am talking about the "superheroes" appearing everywhere in the world. People like our Drake Marshall. There are dozens, everywhere: the Technician in Russia, the Vulture in Spain... Merlin is enlisting a few of them for his new team, but many remains, doing a big work all buy themselves, inspired just by comics and movies."
"Strange. I never heard about them."
"You see? That's the problem. Nobody talks about them, so it's like they don't exist. There is just the Metahuman TV, trying to shed light to the hidden world of those meats, but it's not enough. That channel is outlawed in most countries, has a bad financial situations, I and a few others are financing it secretly, but it's all on the edge of bankruptcy. We need a long term plan, Euro, like Merlin. we have to work on many lever. Pushing the countries to ban the anti-meta laws. Fighting the metaterrorists like the MBL and the metamadmen like Rothman. Expose Merlin's liar about the Strikeforce. Let the people at large knows of the good deeds done by metahumans around the worlds. And I need a public face for this. One well known face that could, by experience, talks about all these issues to world leaders and to the common man."
"And that would be me? Edulcore Cicciotto, ex junkie, failed chef and wannabe world conqueror?"
"No. I am talking about Edulcore Cicciotto, ex track champion and proud father."
"Wouldn't that be too little?"
"No. Because you are another thing, that in media jargon means a lot: you are the first metagene carrying man that the world has known. True or not, you are the first known person to have carried the metagene. No one could claim more experience than you. And we'll capitalize over that. Are you with me?"
"You are tempting me, Victoria. What have I to do?"
"For now, nothing. We first have to rebuild your public image. Then, we'll see."
"And the second thing?"
"I don't know if you know this, but one of the victim of the War with naecken was a relative of you. A first cousin. See this." Miss Xiang handled Euro a paper, with a long list of names.
"Nicoletta Cicciotto? I never heard about her. I never heard about a relative of me that was not my mother or my father?!"
"I don't know nothing more than her name, Edulcore. I guessed would have been of interest for you".
"Yes, thanks" said Euro, standing up. Before leaving the office, he turned and said: "It all would be asier if there would be some big alien invasion. We fight it and then all the world loves us and the metas."
Xiang's eyes wideded. "But there is not an alien invasion coming."
"Maybe we should simulate one..."
"That's Merlin's way of doing things. We can't be like him. Remember that."
