The High Sierras

       Jordan Willoughby made his way across the sterile floor of the complex.  He looked around him, taking in as much detail as he could- more force of habit than anything else.  He'd been here in the past- when he was first brought into A-Next.  This was the complex where most of the kids' conditioning took place.  He stood on the ground level of the complex, about twenty stories beneath him.  All but the top two levels of the complex were underground, masking the building's presence and shielding it as well.

       He flashed his security badge to the DOD agent standing guard at the elevator.  The man looked at the badge, looked at Willoughby and then looked back at the ID badge.

       "You're clear for entry," he said.  "Be careful not to blink at the retinal scanner.  It screws the machine up pretty bad."  He waved Jordan towards the scanners- one hand print and the other retina.  He placed his hand on the scanner, and a warm red glow blinked for a few moments then faded away.  The retinal scanner then swung forward and Jordan leaned forward.  A small array of lasers sprung to life and swung across the surface of his eye.  The temptation to blink was difficult to overcome.  The computer chimed then showed on a screen next to the scanners-

       "Welcome to A-Next Agent Willoughby.  Please proceed."

       Jordan looked at the file folders in front of him, his five sleepers.  Kate Bishop was the only one he'd brought in himself.  She'd had her DNA laced with Kree genes and also her body energized much like Carol Danvers- hence her codename Binary.  The other four were total unknowns to him.  First there was Teddy Altman, codenamed Hulkling.  Teddy was in total control of his transformations, much like Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk.  In fact, Teddy's conditioning was based more on Walters than it was on Banner.  Gave the kid better control of himself.

       Bobbi Wheaton had been codenamed Mockingbird.  Although a skilled fighter on the level of the original Mockingbird, Bobbi's contribution to the table was shape-shifting.  She was one of the Project's three covert operatives.  He didn't know if having one of the covert kids on the team was an asset or not though.

       Jordan looked at the next file folder with mixed feelings.  He had been reluctant to activate Thunderstrike, but Buckner had a good point in choosing Billy Kaplan.  With three of the six kidnapped sleepers being the analogues of Sersi, Moondragon and Wonder Man, they needed the most powerful sleeper they could find- and Kaplan was probably the next person in line for the kidnappers.

       The fifth and final of the group was codenamed Redwing.  Jordan has fought Kyle Snapp's moniker as soon as Buckner had mentioned it, but it fit.  He was a flier and was trained with a device called the Talon, a gauntlet full of assorted gear and weapons.  He laughed slightly.  It was ironic that the Project had chosen someone of the last name "Snapp" to become the group's Falcon.

       Jordan looked up from the desk he sat at.  There was a view screen in front of him, feeding from the room where the five youths waited.  Each one had reacted to the fact that they were latent superhumans differently.  He ran his hands over his face, looking at each of them.  How were they going to react to what he had in store?

       It was some time ago during a crisis which involved six infinity soul gems that combined together made a wielder omnipotent that the project originated. Once such person had managed to do what no other had and collected the gems and in order to test his omnipotence. After collecting the gems the mad titan Thanos brought all of Earth's mightiest heroes to a location among the stars, he then proceeded to slaughter them like they were nothing, but a momentary annoyance. After the resolution to the crisis, the Department of Defense was given the task of setting up a replacement team of Avengers in case such an incident happened again. During the Onslaught crisis several years later the Project had 11 out of its twenty six sleeper agents ready for deployment, but with the heroes return it was deemed unnecessary and the program was shut down again. The eleven active agents were given special code words that would trigger their supplant personalities making them far different from the normal teenagers they appeared to be. Only in case of an emergency would these code words to be used and only three individuals in the A-Next program know those code words- John Michael Buckner, William Franklin Reid, and Ken Leon Gordon.

       The teenagers who were chosen for the program each had something that complimented their transformations. For Bobbi it was her intelligence in the field of electronics, Billy his bravado as he seemed unafraid of any challenge set before him, Teddy his strength which allowed him to overcome most obstacles, and for Katharine it was her impulsiveness to dive into anything head first.  Kyle was an excellent tracker.  For Redwing, Mockingbird, Thunderstrike, Hulkling, and Binary such a job was not too big for them especially after their conditioning.

Manchester, England

       Jacob Borne scanned the crowd.  He was in the mood for companionship for the remainder of the evening.  The club was full of plenty perfect specimens.  He rubbed his chin.  Was he in an ass or breast mood tonight?

       He picked his target.  It was a blonde, with red streaks in her hair.  She wore a red t-shirt with a white star on it and a very short denim skirt.  He stood from his seat and made his way over to the young woman.  She was talking to another man.  Merely looking at him gave Borne a good idea of the type.  Thought he was "the coolest," didn't shave well because the ladies like "scruffage," always thinking with his dick.

       "Excuse me mate," Borne said, grabbing the young girl's hand.  Instantly he knew her name, birthdate, weight, how long she'd been in Manchester, and the names of the last five men she slept with and how long ago she'd last really enjoyed herself in the company of a man.  It was his gift, telepathy through physical contact, and total control of the person's mind.  "You see what your problem is here?"

       "Who the hell you think you are?" the other man growled.

       "'S not important," Borne said.  "I was just telling you what you're missing."  He reached out and grabbed the other man by the scruff of his neck.  "Contact.  Now go screw yourself."  The other man's eyes glazed over and he turned and walked away.  Borne smiled and turned to his prize.  He leaned in and kissed her, pressing his body against hers.

       "Now shall we go get naked?"

       Borne flopped onto his back, sweat beading across his body.  He'd made a good choice.  The breasts were fake, but he didn't care much.  He reached over to the dresser and picked up his watch.  Two AM.  Plenty of time for some more sex, a shower and maybe even some picture taking for the lonely evenings.  He turned to his conquest and ran his hand across her nude figure.  She turned and smiled.  He'd given her most of her independent thought back.  The only thing he controlled was her lust for him and her desire to do anything for him.

       "Ready for some more?" she asked.

       "Damn right I am."  Borne leaned in to kiss her, but suddenly the glass of the windows behind him shattered.  The girl screamed and Borne turned to face the outer wall.  A massive hand reached into the room.  Borne stood, cursing the fact that his gun was so far across the room in his pants.  The hand grabbed him and yanked him out the window.

       A giant teenager was attached to the giant hand and he pulled Borne up to eye level.

       "Hey Mike come here and look what I found," the giant teen said.

       "What is it Marcus?" Mike said.  Borne looked to see another giant striding up to them, he loosed a string of curses.

       "I caught Borne," Marcus said as he eyed the little man in his hands.  "Man he's a foul mouthed little naked guy.  Don't you know that cooties are a sexually transmitted disease?"

       "Let me go you daft fool!" Borne said as he tried to touch the exposed part of Mike's hand.

       "He's squirming," the young giant muttered.

       "I don't think so Borne," a voice said from below, "If anything you'll soon be joining us."

       The blood flushed from Borne's face as he looked down trying to make out the shape of the figure below him, yet all he could make out was a white and black mask that did not serve any recognition for him.

       "I see you catch on quick Borne- and soon you will be helping us rule the world."

       Willoughby's cell phone rang as he walked down the corridor.  He pulled the phone from his pocket and opened it.  It was Buckner.  He answered the call.

       "They found him," Buckner said before Jordan could even say hello.

       "Found who?" Jordan asked, slightly confused.

       "Our one.  The only sleeper we couldn't find.  The Tate twins were seen in Manchester kidnapping a man in his early twenties assisted by a masked man.  They got Contact.  We need to recover him."  Willoughby started to reply, but Buckner sighed, indicating he had more to say.  "I'm calling Fury."

       "Sir?"

       "Fury caught wind of the project three months ago," Buckner explained, "and he offered two experienced operatives if we ever needed them.  I'd hoped when this started we wouldn't need them, but with Borne in hostile hands...  We need a field leader and a trainer.  Fury's offering both.  Get your team into the field after Borne and I'll get them to you.  Affirmative?"

       "Got it sir."

       "Good," he said.  "Call me when you're in the air."  Willoughby snapped the phone shut and continued down the hall.  If Contact was activated they'd be able to track his psi signature easier than any of the other sleepers.

       Jordan strode into the room the activated agents waited in.  Binary wore a black unitard with a yellow starburst over her breasts.  Her boots and gloves were both yellow leather with black piping down the seams.  Hulkling popped his knuckles and admired his sleeveless black leather uniform.  Mockingbird wore a costume similar to her namesake, minus the mask, her short blonde hair shining slightly in the light.  Thunderstrike wore a simple red tunic and slacks, a cloak draped over his left shoulder, fastened on the right, and a gnarled staff in his right hand.  A silver helm rested on his ears, the metalwork fashioned after ancient Viking work.  Redwing was the last member of the group, his costume a mixture of red and white Kevlar and an armored gauntlet on his left hand.

       "Ladies and gentlemen," Willoughby said.  "I know the last three days has been a shock to you.  It's been difficult.  I've been with the Project since a year after its inception.  In that time, I have dealt with nothing more difficult.  We've got our first lead."  He began pacing.  "Of the twenty six subjects of the Project only one is a psi.  His name is Jacob Borne.  I was just informed that Borne was captured by the same group that has taken your fellow... agents."

       "So he can read people's thoughts?" Thunderstrike said.  "What does that mean?"

       "Okay," Willoughby said.  "Imagine this- each of our brains has a specific psychic signature.  It's like headlights on your Mustang.  The psychics are continually driving around on high beam, while our bulbs are dying.  Get the picture?"

       "So we pick out which set of high beams are Borne's?" Binary stated.

       "And we have our man.  Be ready for some action kiddos.  It'll be fun."

       Billy drew his cloak tightly around him.  They were approaching the drop zone where they had located Borne.  Willoughby had told them that he hold it would be simple.  In Billy's experiences with life in general, nothing was simple, especially the things people assumed would be.

       "We're close kids," the pilot said.  "We've got to drop you and run.  We're allies with Britain, but we don't to give them the impression that we're running a covert op on their soil.  We land, you get clear, and we get out of here.  Got it?"

       "Clear as mud," Billy declared.  The pilot grinned and gave them a thumbs-up.

       "Clear as mud?" Redwing echoed.  He raised his eyebrow.

       Billy grinned.  "Something my dad used to say."  He looked at the floor, and then back out the window of the chopper.  The transport area was silent as each of the young agents withdrew into their thoughts.

       After a couple minutes, the pilot looked back at them.  "Here we go.  I'm going to hover about ten feet up.  Jump straight down from the door.  Don't try anything cute or you could end up stuck in the rotors.  Good luck."

       Teddy grabbed the handle of the door and popped the latch.  The door slid open, the roar of the rotors tearing at their ears.

       "Ladies first," he said motioning out the door.  Binary and Mockingbird both jumped, Kate floating gracefully to the ground and Bobbi rolling as she hit.  The three young men each stood at the door, looking at the ground.

       "On three?" Teddy said.

       "Yeah," Redwing said.  "Three."  He jumped headfirst, gliding under the rotors and coming up to hover on the opposite side.

       "Show-off," Teddy muttered.  He and Thunderstrike jumped.  Hulkling transformed on the way down, hitting the ground a foot taller and a couple hundred pounds of muscle heavier.

       Once upon landing the team fanned out, each splitting up in their own direction, planning to keep radio contact. Thunderstrike took to the air with a powerful gust of wind marking his departure and Binary shot to east leaving a sparkling trail of energy in her wake. While Mockingbird and Hulkling had their own ways of traveling, Teddy observed, they didn't involve fancy flying.

       "Be careful," Redwing said as he hovered above them.  "Call if you find anything."

       "Sure," Bobbi said.

       "Yes sir," Hulkling grinned.  As Redwing turned and flew away, Teddy stuck his tongue out at him.  "Bastard," he muttered.  "He's not the leader of this group.  We don't even have a leader."  He glanced at Mockingbird, then back into the sky.  "What a total son of a bitch.  What do you think of him?"

       "Want to know what I think?" Mockingbird said.  "Hail Hydra."

In Project: A-Next #2 Hail Hydra?  Does the Project already have a traitor in their midst?  Why Mockingbird's sudden change of colors?  Is Hydra really behind the kidnappings, or is there something more to it?  And who are Fury's agents that Director Buckner is calling in?