duty was to hire Forge, to create a machine to detect mutant powers. The Freedom Force project was shut down when several members were killed while others were missing after being abandoned in Kuwait. During the Muir Island Saga, Cooper's mind fell under the control of the Shadow King. Valerie was ordered by the Shadow King to shoot Mystique but fought the command and ended up turning the gun on herself. Val was critically injured, but survived. Mystique, with the aid of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. hypnotists, went undercover as Val in an attempt to foil the Shadow King. It wasn't until the defeat of the Shadow King, by the X-Men and X-Factor, that Mystique and Cooper were able to return to their own lives. X-Factor After witnessing first-hand the deeds of mutants throughout the years, Valerie Cooper wanted to give the concept of a government sponsored team another shot. She was able to convince several members of the X-Men and their associates to form a new X-Factor team. This new team, composed of Havok, Polaris, Wolfsbane, Multiple Man, Quicksilver, and Strong Guy replaced Freedom Force, with Val acting as government liaison to the team. Val is assisted by the human employee Baldrick. Soon after Val was once again mentally controlled, this time by the Acolytes. Val was freed from the Acolytes' control, but her relationship with X-Factor was damaged when it was revealed that she knew of Project Wideawake, a new Sentinel project being developed by the U.S. Government. Cooper later decided to hand leadership of the team directly to Forge. With the world getting more dangerous around her and the departure of some of the members, Cooper was forced by the government to allow Mystique and Sabretooth to join. With Forge in command, the team went underground. Commission on Superhuman Affairs Cooper returned to the Commission on Superhuman Affairs. In her position, she found herself helping the X-Men out on several occasions. She was later responsible for taking Charles Xavier away to a government facility following the Onslaught incident. Valerie was instrumental in helping the old Thunderbolts defeat Henry Peter Gyrich and negotiated for the team their Presidential Pardon. O*N*E Cooper helps establish the Office of National Emergency (or O*N*E), an official government branch dedicated to preparation and defense against superhuman threats; not much later, she becomes its deputy director. The O*N*E, with its first line of defense