Less Than Legal

Posted on Mon Apr 29th, 2024 @ 7:11pm by Mara Ricci & Charles Xavier

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Cerebro
Timeline: September 3, 1990

Mara was still terrified of Cerebro.

It was probably silly—after all, she had already studied it and repaired it!—but she couldn’t get passed the idea that the Professor had been with her, keeping her from getting lost and if she were to delve into it on her own, she would never find her way out again. Somewhere deep down she knew that notion was ridiculous, but she couldn’t shake it. Which was just as well. Usually, when her brain screamed, “Danger! Danger!” it was for good reason.

And yet, here she was, about to join with the Professor to use this contraption. Granted, she wasn’t going to be operating it; she was only along for the ride. But, she was along for the ride! That in itself was frightening enough.

As she approached the door, the computer’s presence grew stronger. The weight of it pressed against her, heavier than when she had joined with it. Almost on instinct, her guard dropped, just for a second, and the computer flooded her mind before she quickly pulled back. She stopped short and stared at the door. For a moment—one brief fleeting moment—she had felt the full presence of the thing. It had felt familiar, as all computers do the second time she joined with them. But, the stranger thing was that she had felt familiar to it.

”Did you… did you… recognize me?” she said to the closed door.

But of course there was no answer. And she didn’t dare open her mind to it again to find out.

Professor Xavier had made his final preparations and appeared behind Mara. "Good morning," he said with warm cordiality that failed to mask the gravity of their endeavor. "I pray you slept well."

~We may not get another chance at this~ The Professor's voice resonated within Mara's mind. ~Take a moment. We may begin as soon as you are ready~

“As well as can be expected,” she answered out loud. ~I understand,~ she thought very deliberately. She carefully went through the names mentally, just to make sure she had them memorized. (They were on a slip of paper in her pocket just in case; she was leaving nothing to chance.) “I’m ready,” she finished aloud.

"Very well..." Professor Xavier closed his eyes, assumed the Cerebro headpiece, and let his mind expand beyond the confines of his body and the room. ~We begin~

Riding on the waves of telepathic cyberspace, the mental connection shared between Charles and Mara let them skip from mind to computer to mind to computer in a vast bio-network. Cerebro identified the chief targets: Mutant Response Division Chief Haskett, National Security Advisor Gyrich, and Unified Command Coordinator Colonel Moss in addition to President Richardson and his chief of staff. These key individuals would have details about Iris Walker and Project Strawberry.

~I will perform a series of memory purges from these individuals~ The Professor's mind was all but merged with Mara's at this point. ~Let us move together in sequence so as to prevent countermeasures. Have you located any directories yet?~

Mara had been pleased to find the “back door” to the system still wide open and had wasted no time in searching out the names of both the project and the people attached to them. The largest file, oddly enough, was on Yolanda Walker. It included not only the address of where she lived and went to school, but also where she attended church, when she went to youth group meetings, her class schedule, cheerleading practice schedule, all the clubs she was in and when they met and even that she typically went to the cinema every other Friday and the names and addresses of her friends. Silently, Mara was impressed, as well as a little disturbed. ~I found them,~ she replied. ~Ready when you are.~

~Begin~

Once Xavier gave the order, he split his focus as much as he dared. He could incapacitate single targets from a distance at great expenditure of focus. What he was doing now required much less expenditure, which was fortunate since it took the utmost focus. Most of the primary targets were in the MRD headquarters in Virginia, a detail that both Charles and Mara could deduce at the same time from their respective sources. The president and his chief of staff would have to wait.

~Identify your first target~ The Professor let Mara receive information through direct telepathic induction. ~I will execute the memory wipe on your mark~

~Yolanda Walker,~ replied Mara. Why they had so much on her was a complete mystery, but it made her want to protect her first of all. ~Go,~ she said and instructed the computer to delete the file. Once she received confirmation that it was deleted, she also instructed it to delete the free space to ensure that the file was not recoverable.

It took a bit of focus, like grabbing a fish out of the water, but Xavier did it. He had moved through the minds and isolated the name Yolanda Walker for removal. ~Done~ He sighed at the exertion but steeled himself for the next one. ~Second target~

On and on they went. All the names were being erased without incident, that is until they reached a firewall. Xavier detected it through Mara's mind almost as soon as she did. It was the root directory for Project Strawberry within the MRD database.

~If that one requires presidential clearance, then save it until last~ The Professor had just a few more officials in the MRD headquarters. ~President Richardson still contains all of his memories. I saved him until last. Transition from the MRD server to the White House extension and prepare to access the final files from there~

Mara gave a vague affirmative acknowledgement. Worst case scenario, she would have to simply force her way in. They would know someone was there, but she didn’t think they’d be able to trace who it was as long as they withdrew quickly enough. Still, if the Professor could get the access codes, that wouldn’t be necessary. In the meantime, she made sure everything was fully erased from the MRD database and waited for the Professor’s word.

It took a little bit of fine-tuning through the various stressor energies that resonated throughout the West Wing of the White House, but Xavier found his target in short order. President Richardson was alone for the moment, which was to say that he was attended only by his chief of staff, a low level aide, and two Secret Service agents. It was as private as the man was likely to get.

~I grow weary, Mara, so I will take the passwords from their minds for you to access the project files through the president's personal device~ The Professor did not exaggerate. He had been exerting himself far beyond the usual strain and it was showing in their connection. ~Delete the files. I will wipe their memories when you've finished~

Mara, too, was growing weary. While she had done this much- and more- with computers, the stress of knowing what would happen if they were caught was taxing enough on its own. Add that to the task at hand and she was feeling it for sure. Once she had the password, she searched up Project Strawberry and briefly scanned it to make sure it was the right one. ~Deleting,~ she reported. Once she had confirmation from the computer, she instructed it to delete the empty space, thereby eliminating the files completely, never to be accidentally stumbled upon. ~It’s done.~ she told the Professor.

~Disengaging~ The Professor informed Mara.

And not a moment too soon. It took a moment for Xavier to return to himself within the mansion's subbasement, but once he did, the helmet came off immediately. A bead of sweat fell free down his face. He removed a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed his face dry.

"Well done, Mara," he said, a little out of breath. "Well done."

Mara was sure she had found all the files, but secretly, she hoped she hadn’t missed one. Was the government smart enough to back up the files on other computer systems? No. Were they sneaky enough to do that? Yes. She only hoped that computers were new enough that they wouldn’t think of it. “Thank you, sir,” she said. “I only hope it was enough.”

"So do I," the Professor said as he greedily gulped from a water bottle he had kept at hand. "So do I." He took a stabilizing breath and said, "This act of ours will affect the lives of a multitude, one way or another."

She didn’t quite understand the statement, but nodded anyway. As long as the student could no longer be blackmailed, it was worth it. “I suppose time will tell,” she commented. “Do- do you need anything?” she asked, not really sure if this reaction was normal for him.

"No," the Professor said, already returning to his usual self. "Just some rest. Perhaps a cup of tea. You may join me on the veranda if you wish. Otherwise, I'll bid you a good morning."

“Maybe next time,” she said simply. She thought she should go eat a proper breakfast. Now that the task was over and her nerves had relaxed a bit, she was finally hungry.

As they parted ways on the main floor of the mansion, Mara wondered vaguely if anybody had noticed what she was doing, but pushed the thought away. It would do to dwell on something that might never happen.