It was a new day.
When Bruce walked into the FBI building in Quantico in a suit and badge, he was surprised to see
Inexplicably, he felt as if a lifetime had passed. In fact, it had only been a month since he last worked here.
But a lot had happened during this time.
The elevator did not stop at the familiar floor.
He had not been reinstated yet. He had gone through a series of routine reviews and evaluations. Today was probably the day he would know the results. He knocked on Erin's office.
Strauss's office door.
This was the chief executive of their department.
"Agent Jones, please have a seat."
Please take a seat. "Strauss looked up from his desk.
Bruce sat in the chair across from her.
He watched her take off her glasses.
She closed the folder in her hand.
"Agent Jones, I've reviewed your results.
You passed the review, and the evaluations are excellent. "
The evaluations are also excellent. "Strauss glanced at Bruce and rummaged through the stack of documents on the table.
Bruce did not speak and waited for her to continue.
Strauss did not look at him, or rather, she looked away after a glance. She seemed to be calmly rummaging through her desk.
But her eyes revealed that she was a little nervous.
"Your application for reinstatement should have been approved a long time ago.
But there's still a problem with your identity as a mutated human. "She took out a piece of paper from the pile of documents.
"Of course.
Mutated humans also enjoy all the rights of citizens, but in a department like ours.
We will be more cautious about this.
There are some terms you should have signed when you joined. "
Brosnan took the piece of paper over.
There was not much content, only a few. Every once in a while, he had to report his whereabouts. With how busy BAU was, there was no need to worry about this. His whereabouts were confirmed when he was working. Strict restrictions on entry and exit. Private exiting was almost not allowed. If he left the country for work, he had to go through layers of review. Every once in a while, he had to undergo a physical examination. Was this to monitor his physical condition? There were also restrictions on the use of abilities (S-class). In short, he was not allowed to use them casually. If he used them, he had to report them. If he used them in an emergency, he had to make up for it. There were also some supplements for various situations.
This was probably the unfriendly agreement that Professor X was talking about. Bruce found it acceptable. "If that's all, it's fine."
"Of course, I know that these are some violations of privacy and restrictions on personal freedom, but … What, you said you agreed?" Strauss was still looking at the document in front of him when he suddenly looked up in surprise.
"Yes, I agree with this. Can I just sign here?" Bruce pointed at the bottom right corner of the paper.
"Uh … Agent Jones," Strauss showed a slightly stiff smile, "That was originally the case, but because you hid your identity as a mutated human, we need another layer of insurance."
"I think I've said it before. It's because I didn't know about it. I didn't mean to hide it from you." Bruce had talked about this when he was with the people from the review committee.
He had just found out about it not long ago. It turned out that there was an X Gene Test in his information, but that test result showed that he was not a mutant. However, the current situation showed that he was indeed a mutant. He used his sudden genetic mutation as a reason to shut those people up, who cared if they were reliable or not.
"No matter what your situation was at the time, the fact is that you didn't follow the agreement that all mutants should follow." Although Strauss's words were tough, her tone was not. "If you want to stay here, you have to accept the suppressor. This is the order from the higher-ups."
Bruce looked at her expressionlessly for a while. "Do you think I'm easy to talk to? Or do you think I have to stay here? " At that time, when the review committee mentioned this from a high vantage point, he directly rejected them and gave each of them a bottle of ice mineral water. He froze the mineral water in front of each of them, and then the bottle exploded because the ice was larger than the water. This issue was immediately shelved. He did not expect this woman to be the one to talk about it today. No wonder she was so nervous even though she tried to hide it.
Although Bruce didn't want to leave BAU, he found that these people didn't want him to leave the law enforcement department either. He didn't know if they wanted to make use of his ability or if they were afraid that he would cause trouble. This gave him a little bargaining power.
"Our department deals with ordinary serial killers. Your mutant ability is not often used. Of course, if you choose a department that needs your ability, you don't need to accept the suppressor," Strauss explained quickly.
"I think I've already rejected a transfer."
Strauss looked at her watch. "Don't be in a hurry to refuse. There's a department head who wants to see you."
Bruce did not plan to change jobs, which meant that he should not fall out with his boss. He followed Strauss into the conference room. There was already a person sitting in the room. It was a tall black man with a bald head and a black eye patch over one eye.
"Agent Jones, this is Nick Frey, the head of the Strategic Homeland Defense Attack and Logistics Bureau," Strauss introduced the two.
Frey stood up and shook hands with Bruce. Compared to a normal agent like Bruce, this was a very friendly gesture. Frey looked at Bruce with his one eye that was not covered by the eye patch. He had the typical air of a soldier. "Agent Jones, I've learned a little about you. I hope you can join S.H.E.L.D.," Frey went straight to the point.
"Sorry …" Although the boss of S.H.E.L.D. personally invited Bruce when he was in trouble, Bruce had never considered leaving BAU.
"This department was originally established to guard against major threats. Now, it is also used to contact and manage people with superpowers." Frey interrupted Bruce's rejection. "Although mutants are usually not under the jurisdiction of this department, they are still considered superpowers.
"Your work ability is outstanding. You've been fighting criminals, hunting down serial killers, and saving victims. However, there are people in this world who can cause more damage than serial killers. S.H.E.L.D. deals with these matters, and you have the ability to deal with these people. We need you."
Bruce was unmoved. Frey's understanding of him came from BAU's mission summary reports at most. From there, he imagined that Bruce was a righteous person. He wanted to use this to persuade him, but unfortunately, he was not. Frey said that his work ability was outstanding only because of BAU's high rate of solving cases. Everyone's files looked outstanding. Frey was more likely to think that because he was born in the system, he knew how to follow orders and had mutant powers, and would not give him a headache like the other Iron Man.
After that, Frey mentioned more benefits for Bruce, but Bruce still rejected Frey's invitation. After watching Frey leave, Strauss and Bruce returned to her office. "Why did you reject his invitation? It's a good offer, isn't it? "
"I will only make two choices. Stay in BAU or resign." In fact, Bruce knew that there was only one choice.
"Why?"
Bruce did not answer this question. "I remember that there is a clause in the agreement between the government and the mutants that states that the freedom or ability of the mutants cannot be restricted on the grounds that they may pose a threat." He narrowed his eyes. Of course, this clause was completely invalid after the mutants did something that they should not do.
"If you work in the government, if you don't enter a department that requires your ability, a suppressor is a must." Strauss directly stated the bottom line.
"What about non-working hours?"
"Not during non-working hours."
"BAU is a field department, it is very likely to encounter some dangers." Bruce paused and said, "If the suppressor's switch is in the hands of the field supervisor and I can use my ability in times of danger, then I will agree."
Strauss considered it and said, "That's fine."
After signing the newly printed agreement, Bruce walked out of the office and suddenly turned around. "So, I can be reinstated tomorrow?"
"Yes, the relevant equipment will be handed over to Hotch."
When Bruce walked out of the building, he looked at the sky. The blue sky was filled with white clouds, and the sun dyed the clouds with a hint of gold, driving away the haze. He could barely hold back the smile on his face. He was looking forward to tomorrow.
The next day, Hotch appeared in his office at 8: 30 sharp. This was his habit. He did this almost every workday, regardless of the weather. He walked straight to the chair behind his desk. The sound of his leather shoes on the floor was dull, just like his mood at the moment.
Hotch immediately saw the documents and … props that were sent to his office yesterday afternoon. At the top was the approval of Bruce's reinstatement report. This was a good thing. Everyone was looking forward to Bruce's return. However, the next document made him frown.
Hotch never thought that Bruce would have to make so many concessions and compromises to stay here because of his identity as a mutated human. Those restrictions were no better than a prisoner on parole. There was also the mutant suppressor. In Hotch's opinion, it was like handcuffs for criminals. However, Bruce was not a criminal.
He did not understand why Bruce would agree to these, but if it were him, he would definitely not agree.
When Bruce came to Hotch's office, Hotch asked, "Why did you agree to these?" A person like Bruce … Hotch still had a deep impression in his mind: the indifference he had when he first met him.
At that time, he felt that Bruce was like a proud eagle, looking down on everything below and unmoved. After Bruce joined BAU for a long time, Hotch still felt that way even though he had a friendly smile on his face every day. However, when did it start to change?
Bruce looked at Hotch. "Maybe it's because you've subdued the most charming and dangerous animal in the world?" He said jokingly with a smile.
Hotch was surprised that he could feel warmth from Bruce's pure black eyes when he looked at him with such a gentle smile and gentle eyes.
'Is it because of me?' Before Hotch could ask this question, Bruce had already blinked mischievously and said, "I'm just kidding. I belong here. I like this team."
Hotch watched as Bruce took out the suppressor from the box and opened it. He gestured a few times around his neck. "Is this right?" Then, he buckled it and the blue light that indicated that it was working properly lit lit up. Bruce then stuffed it under his turtleneck sweater. This was the first time he saw Bruce wearing a turtleneck sweater.
When Bruce walked out, Hotch's eyes followed his figure. Through the blinds, he saw the surprised expressions of his team members. They all hugged Bruce to welcome him.
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