WHO: Chaoxing Woo, Wilhelmina Dobbs, and Franklin Prescott WHAT: The Heads discuss what's been going on at the school WHEN: December 10, late afternoon WHERE: Woo's office RATING: Low STATUS: In Progress
The life of the head of a secret agency was bound to be busy, and Woo had never expected differently -- but in the past month, the nature and pace of their business had taken him something by surprise, though it had not caught him unprepared. His agents were well-trained, if not entirely as disciplined as might be preferable, and all in all their work had been commendable. Woo was not worried about their performance.
But he was worried by what was keeping them all so occupied. In the past month, they'd seen surges of power flare-ups both within Willowbrook and in the general mutant population in numbers and frequency never yet seen. When that had begun to settle, he had -- perhaps foolishly -- breathed a sigh of relief.
But then people had begun to go missing. Bobby Cross, known to Woo from the earlier days of Willowbrook could have been a mere victim of unfortunate circumstance; it certainly wasn't unheard of for people to go missing, mutant or no. The same could be said of Charlotte Parker, for whom an Amber Alert had been issued. But then there was Naomi Devine, a Syndicate member of high rank, and worse, the mutant children, among them a cousin of one of Willowbrook's own.
And then, most recently, Tom Drescher -- a technokinetic calling for help, then gone. Vanished. Accosted by mutants and teleported, it seemed like, from the ATM footage.
All of this in the wake of the vaccine, which Nye had reported to him contained a substance of unknown character.
There was only so much Woo could pass off as innocent coincidence. His skin prickled with dread as he waited for Miss Dobbs and Mr. Prescott to join him in his office, as they had agreed mere hours before.