Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Shark Bait]

John stepped out of the machine that had been attaching skin to him, the whole lab now smelled like burning erasers with an undertone of coffee. He walked over to the large polished steel mirror again and looked at himself, he still looked a little like a giant action figure but at least he could pass for human now. His face was a little different than before but not much so, and his new hair was quite nice in his opinion. He then sat down at a work bench not bothering with clothing and proceded to clean his guns as his new synthetic skin cooled. He finished cleaning the guns about the same time the skin was fully set so he could put on clothing, he selected a shirt jacket and pants identical to the ones that had been destroyed in his battle with Hazard. He then retrieved the badge the agency had given him from his ruined pants and attached it to the inside of his jacket before putting his guns into the built in holsters.

John walked into what could be considered his living room and turned on the tv, there was nothing interesting on the news, nothing he didn’t already know. He plugged himself into his computer and updated his logs with all the video he had taken during his mission. Now he just had to figure out a way to kill time before he had to report back to the Ultima bureau.

[frigidmagi]

"Fuck what's normal," said Blackheart. "I've got a giant space wasp larva in my chest and I can do my own grilling without the air of fire and charcoal. Its what he's up to that matters."

"Maybe I pharsed that wrong. Look, it was like he didn't have a soul or something. Whatever he's up to it can't be good anyways. He tried to use to us like clay pigeons, twice."

[Cynical Cat]

"No shit he's up to no good. As long as he stays in HQ we're limited to bureaucratic judo, which I'm not terribly good at. Might be why he wanted as team leader. Have put a few things into motion though. Wonder how they'll pan out."

Blackheart paused for a moment and then took another pull on his beer. "What do you see when you look at me?"

[frigidmagi]

"Same thing as everyone else, energy field around you, kinda like an.. afterimage almost, you got a knot of energy in you." Tobin said taking a drink.

[Cynical Cat]

"Hmm," he said and finished the beer. He pulled a new one out of the case. "If you please maestro?"

[frigidmagi]

"Sure, so what do we do then?" He reached out and drew the heat from another beer, he have to remember this trick, would save on the power bill.

[Cynical Cat]

"Well, you practice that trick until you can charge up by freezing a bad guy solid. As for Tarot, we wait for an opportunity while we gather evidence to see if we can get the Powers That Be to deep six his ass. I'll make some call to a few people to see if the guys who operate away from the light know anything about him. Or at least see if I can burn him with the super spook community."

[frigidmagi]

"I guess that roughly resembles a plan." Tobin said taking another drink.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Avatar was still wallowing in his pool, nose and eyes above the water, when he woke up. Somehow he had learned to sleep like that, even in his human form. WHen he thought about it, and how far away from being human he really was, it was slightly disconcerting.

He hauled himself out, and went to go feed his pets.

[Dark Silver]

Lei blinked at the sudden departure, looking over to Garth who didn't seem surprised by his friends actions.

"Come again?" she called after Legacies, not sure what exactly to say before the door closed on his retreating form. Her black eyes turned to face Garth squarely as she asked. "Is he always this way?"

Garth watched Legacies go, and shook his head.

"No...he never was," he said softly, before moving back towards Lei.

"Let's get back to bed babe....we got a day ahead of us tomorrow."

[LadyTevar]

Lei blinked at the sudden departure, looking over to Garth who didn't seem surprised by his friends actions.

"Come again?" she called after Legacies, not sure what exactly to say before the door closed on his retreating form. Her black eyes turned to face Garth squarely as she asked. "Is he always this way?"

Garth watched Legacies go, and shook his head.

"No...he never was," he said softly, before moving back towards Lei.

"Let's get back to bed babe....we got a day ahead of us tomorrow."

Lei nodded, rising gracefully to her feet. Shadows moved in her wake, cleaning up the empty cans as she slipped her arm around Garth's waist, allowing him to lead her back into the bedroom.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas was again up to his neck in the media, and was now fielding questions from a reporter over a strong cup of coffee. None of this flavoured Starbucks nonsense, just strong coffee.

"How do you feel on the proposed Meta Registration Act? Do you oppose it?"

"Well, I'm in favour of registering Metas in general; certainly no one can say I'm less dangerous than a man with a gun. The problem is, the structure we hear about.. 'Parents should know...', 'communities should know...', it's not like gun registration at all. It's like the Sex Offender Registry. A valuable tool on it's own, but Metas aren't automatically sex offenders."

"But you're not opposed to, say, a confidential registry?"

"Far from it. I encourage it. If carefully regulated, it could prove more than just a tool for solving crimes in which Metas are involved. Consider my own work with the European and American Space Agencies," Gravitas' smile didn't twitch despite the desire to smirk. The reporter had the look of 'Your what? I need to find out..'. Pull back samples from Jupiter? No one noticed. Make Leno? Everyone wants your number. "..I had to go looking for chances myself. If there's a voluntary registry for those seeking Metas for work of various kinds, we can ensure people find fufilling jobs."

"Do you think Metas really are suffering in the current economy?"

"Not suffering in the sense of all Metas being poor. Undoutably many are, but I refer more to satisfaction. When you first find you're different, you want to use that, you want to make the most of it. It's a very human instinct to want to enrich yourself from it. What I'm discussing is the possibility of helping people do that through better jobs that uniquely need their abilities. By this, we can drastically reduce the largest cause of Meta crimes: Alot of power, and no way to use it to benefit yourself."

The questions continued, rambling into other topics. He glanced at his watch from time to time, wondering what to do next.

[LadyTevar]

Day 5: After the long talk with Legacies the night before, it was not surprising that Lei and Garth were a bit more somber when they woke that morning. Lei could feel that Garth was troubled, not only by what Legacies had discussed, but by whom he wanted her to meet in New Orleans. As if sensing the solemness, she dressed up a bit.. a long guazy crinkle skirt in shades of blue and green, a spaghetti-strap fancy tanktop in complementing teal. She added a necklace of small jade and mother-of-pearl squares, something she'd designed herself when a stolen jade bracelet was too hot to sell many years back. The mother of pearl set off the engraved jade, and turned a bracelet into a choker that only someone with intimate knowledge of the bracelet could connect to the original.

She teleported them to a shady alley, just off St. Peters, and even this early the city was already awake under the drowsy summer heat.

[Comrade Tortoise]

After Avatar got done feeding his pets, the phone rang.

He picked it up and answered

"Hello?"

"High Sally, how are you?"

"Glad you're holding up, I really am sorry..."

"You did? What did they say?"

"Both of them? Really? And Gravitas? When?"

"Holy hell, that is only two days away, I am glad I am on leave until then. Awesome, you are the best. How did they do this on such short notice?"

"Ah, so Rand is just looking for targets and Clinton is just so arrogant she cant pass it up, and they both had nothing better to do? Wow...just..wow, I think I just lost more faith in politicians"

"Alright, I will see you then"

[Dark Silver]

"take me back to New Orleans, and don't call me anymore....cause I might love you yeah, but I love me more..."

Garth sang the words almost beneath his breath, as they appeared in the alley, and he looked out upon St Peters Street. A few blocks from the, even today, infamous Bourbon Street, and even closer to the Open Air Market. He'd take Lei visit the market and Cafe Du Monde' for a cup of cafe au'late and a beignet later that morning.

He slipped his hand into hers, and moved towards the street. He took a moment to get his bearings, choose a direction, and walked down St Peters heading for Poiydrous and deeper into the French Quarter.

[LadyTevar]

Lei heard the whispered snatch of song, but didn't say anything, simply following where he lead, her hand in his. She was glad she'd chosen comfortable sandels... it seemed they would be walking for a bit.

She tried not to pry too deeply into his emotions, even as she wanted to ease whatever weight was on his mind. She wanted to break the silence somehow, but didn't know exactly how.

There was one thing, however. "Garth? ... slow down a little... my legs are shorter than yours."

[Dark Silver]

"What? Oh..Sorry sweetheart," he apologized as he slowed his gait enough for her to keep up. He pointed out a few places along the way, some of the fancier shops in this section of the Old Quarter, furniture, antiques, private art galleries, etc.

When they reached Poiydrous, he took a left, and headed back towards what should have been a old Church, once the crowning jewel of the Quarter, but now a silent testament to the damage caused by the Black Aeons when they assaulted the city of New Orleans.

"We'll be there in a bit...I want to show you the church first.." he told her, as they continued to walk.

[LadyTevar]

Lei wisely kept her mouth shut about a couple of the stores he pointed out. There might still be people wanting their artwork and jewelry back. Still, it was getting Garth talking, acting almost normal. "You never said you lived here..." she childed gently, happy to let him play tour guide.

[B4UTRUST]

Bowman slammed his fist on the desk again in frustration. Again his trail lead him to a dead end. Every time he found one piece of data to tie Tarot to something, every time he found a shred of proof to nail the bastard with, it slipped away, shrouded behind a wall of obscurity.

For the last half hour he kept running up against a block. He would request the data only to have it denied stating his lack of security clearance. He was confused, frustrated and annoyed. What the hell was Throne/6G clearance and who did you have to be to have it?

He tried to call up another file covering one of the lesser detailed operations that Tarot was involved with. Another pop-up appeared on his screen, once again requesting him to submit his security clearance. He typed in his information again and hit enter. The pop-up disappeared and was replaced by a different one, stating that he did not possess the neccessary clearance, Throne/6G or higher, to access the file. Damnit! Who the hell was this guy and who was he working for that gave him this type of power? He pondered calling a contact in IA to see if he could get any further with his access. He would do it in the morning.

-------------

"Good evening from the University of Millenium Convocation Center in Millenium, New York. I'm Jim Lehrer of "The NewsHour" on PBS.

"And I welcome you to the first ever public debate on metahuman registration. Tonight's debate will involve Senators Rand and Clinton arguing for mandatory metahuman registration. On the other side we have Biologist Dr. Alex Clarson, a registered metahuman, and Gravitas."

"Tonight's will last 120 minutes, following detailed rules of engagement worked out by the participants. I have agreed to enforce their rules on them."

"The umbrella topic is anti-meta legislation, registration and policy, but the specific subjects were chosen by me, the questions were composed by me, the participants have not been told what they are, nor has anyone else.

"For each question there can only be a two-minute response, a 90- second rebuttal and, at my discretion, a discussion extension of one minute.

"A green light will come on when 30 seconds remain in any given answer, yellow at 15, red at five seconds, and then flashing red means time's up. There is also a backup buzzer system if needed.

"The senators may not direct a question to each other. There will be two-minute closing statements, but no opening statements.

"There is an audience here in the hall, but they will remain absolutely silent for the next 120 minutes, except for now, when they join me in welcoming Senator Rand and Senator Clinton, as well as Gravitas and Dr. Clarson.

"Good evening, Senator Rand, Senator Clinton."

"As determined by a coin toss, the first question goes to you, Senator Clinton. You have two minutes."

"Do you believe that Meta registration, beyond what is currently done by the Radley-Gold Act, is neccessary? If so, to what extent."

"Yes, I do..

"But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want to thank the University of Millenium for hosting us. And I know that Senator Rand, ans the...others will join me in welcoming all of Millenium City to this debate. You've been through the roughest weeks anybody could imagine. Our hearts go out to you. And we admire your pluck and perseverance.

"I do believe that Meta registration is the answer.

"To force our metahuman populace to register is necessary to protect the safety of innocent civilians from metahumans. The simple fact is, metahumans are dangerous. Some of them have the ability to teleport through walls, and even others carry enough power to combat military units, or rend holes in the fabric of space time" she looked diretly at gravitas at that one.

"We want to make a registry of our metahuman populace because by identifying them we can prevent them from being a threat to us. The very idea, the very notion of a people running around with Rocket Propelled Grenades and Military Grade Assault Rifles is preposterous, why should we let someone who can throw cars with their mind be any different? The incident last week with Senator Sherman's kidnapping easily demonstrates what happens when we allow metahumans to hide among us unwatched."

"I think that's wrong, and I think we can do better."

"Alright then, same question to you, Senator Rand. The other two will be able to rebutt after these two finish"

"Ahem...

"First off, I want to echo the words of Senator Clinton in lauding the backbone and strength of this city. It is a testament to the accomplishments of our society, our nation, that you all continue to bounce back time after time from the horrendeous actions that continue to threaten this city, and this nation.

"Do we need stronger Meta registration? Yes! Yes, we do. A thousand times yes."

"What do we need? We need the registration nationwide. We need to identify the metahuman populace, not just as we do now with the criminal element that we manage to catch, or the vigilantees who act under the guise of helping. We need to identify the metahumans before they BECOME the criminal element!

"Do we honestly want these metahumans roaming around unchecked in our society? How many problems in the last few decades, not just of our society, but of our entire world, have been caused by these metaproblems. I just have to look around for a second to see the proof of what I say. Metahumans are dangerous. Metahumans need to be registered, they need to be identified and they need to be monitored to ensure that nothing like what happened on 9/11 ever happens again."

"Metahumans are dangerous. Do we really want them to continue to teach our children, preach at our churches, to work side by side with us? In school, especially college and universities, they can read the answers to the tests from our very minds. They can steal the idea to your new product from your thoughts, getting that promotion before you, getting what you worked so hard for. All because they have an unfair advantage. They can read our minds, manipulate our thoughts and toy with our feelings on a whim. There are instances of metas doing anything from flying to walking through walls into a bank and stealing money. "

"Our society is under attack. Not from terrorists but from within. It is a constant threat that we must face everyday of our lives. To allow these metahumans to continue to exist in our society unfettered is to allow every member of our nation to be victimized."

"Dr. Clarson A rebuttal?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Ahem"

"I too would like to thank all of those who made this possible, incluidng Dr. Sally Robinson for setting everyting up, and the university. Most of you dont know who I am so I will make this quick. I used to teach here. I taught zoology and ecology before I joined Ultima. I am a crocodilian lycanthrope and have thermokinetic abilities. I control temperature and pressure in water and air. I also have telepathic command over animals"


"Now to begin. Senator Rand's comments scare me. What she proposes sounds less like meta registration and more like what the Nazis did in the 1940s to the jews. It is not concern for national security, or innocent life that drives her. it is bigotry, and racism. Do we want them teaching in our schools or preaching in our churches? She makes it sound as if metahumans arent human at all, but subhuman. Monsters who deserve no place in our society because of the way they were born."

He took a breath

"Metahumans cannot control how they were born, or how an accident changed their bodies. What they can control are their actions. And just like any other person, some are driven to do good, others are driven by selfishness. Many others just want to live in peace. There are millions of metahumans of various sorts, from lycanthropes like me to women who can read the minds of babies who just want to live in peace. Why should we punish them? Why should we single them out for doubtless harassment and bigotry when they have done nothing wrong? All we would do is alienate them from society and cause more of the very problems Metahuman registration attempts to solve. It is a self fullfilling prophecy, a viscious cycle which must be stopped, not perpetuated."

With that, the light turned red, signaling 5 seconds. And he stopped, and the moderator pipped in

"Gravitas?"

[SirNitram]

Gravitas had dressed to impress. He wore what, to the eye, was an expensive, Armani suit, and he was immaculately groomed. He projected the image of, not the vigilante, the villain, or even the do-gooder he had been doing lately, but the mover-and-shaker, the elite.

"Thank you, again, for deciding to host this debate. Healthy discourse between individuals is the foundation of our way of life.. And even in the most opposed rebuttals, there's things worth talking about.

For those who don't know, I am Gravitas. My powers revolve around gravity. I have worked with the American and European Space Agencies on many occasions, and I occasionally freelance for small space-based startups. It's only recently I've found myself in the, ah, hero business.

But this isn't about me. The topic of Meta registration is so charged because it is so invasive. I, myself, have no fear of being registered for crime prevention. It will save time and lives, make many people feel safer. It's common sense. But this isn't what is being put forward by many people.

The idea that Metas should be segregated, removed from the populace, is dangerous. Not merely for what the Doctor has touched on, but because by preventing people from mingling, you will give rise to a sense of 'Other'. If a baseline human.. A normal person.. Is something a Meta never interacts with, why should he respect, care about, this person? Indeed, this person may seem like just another part of what's been working against him his whole life.

Ah, there's the light. Folks, we're here to stay. We exist in our infinite diversity, in infinite combinations. But we're not that different from you. We want the same things you do, most importantly, a life with people who care about us."

[Comrade Tortoise]

After the fist round of questions Jim Lehrer, who was somehow still alive and still working for PBS asked the next question

'Dr. Clarson, Senator Rand spoke of metahumans having special advantages. Without Metahuman registration, how would you propose we deal with that problem?"

"Well, that is a tough question. Unfortunatly, tough questions do no have easy answers. I would posit that metahuman registration would not solve the problem either, unless we want to go beyond metahuman registration. Following Senator Rand's logic to it's ultimate conclusion would result in the systematic segregation of metahumans, as well as the economic and sociopolitical disenfranchisement which inevitably follows such segragation. Which will, again, cause problems with metacrime."

"No, the only way we can handle these sorts of issues is to channel the talents of metahumans into something constructive. Instead of keeping them out of our schools, create special programs within them to teach metahuman children and college students how to use their powers to productive ends."

"There is nothing wrong with being good at something. There is nothing wrong with being better at something than someone else. Hell, normal humans have a wide range of viariance in ability, and we dont talk about registering people with IQs over one hundred and thirty. Some metahuman powers are downright useful. That same telapath who Senator Rand suggests will read the minds of his instructors, or steal inventions, would make a great police detective or a teacher who can give her studetns the best individual instruction we can comprehend. Someone like Gravitas can, and has, brought back samples from Jupiter, and that guy who can teleport into bank vaults can also teleport into a sinking ship, or a burning building to rescue people trapped inside"

"metahumans are not a scourge, or a problem to be dealt with. They are people in every meaningful sense. And just like normal humans, more of them are good decent people than monsters, in that regard they are gifted individuals who can give a lot to society if we as a society let them. Yes, some of them do bad things, some of the do break into bank vaults, or cheat on tests. But that is what the decent ones are there for. To safeguard against those who are evil. Thank you."

"Gravitas? Same question"

[Shark Bait]

As agent Bowman was stepping onto the elevator a younger man in a suit held out a had to stop the door from closing, “Agent Bowman?â€

[Charon]

Legacies sat on the street in his usual bum looking clothing. He was listening to the farce of a debate as it went on. As if in the end this debate mattered. Two of these people were senators, the other two weren't. It was easy to see where this was going to go. Legacies already had twenty different ways planned to get out of the country. It was just a hop, skip, and a jump across the border to Canada, and from there it would be easy to get a flight over to Europe or Asia.

Legacies listened dispassionately to the debate as it went on, listening to Senator Rand's insanity. She was a danger, maybe as much of one as Tarot. The only way she'd likely gotten her position as senator was through this very bigotry she spoke now. Could she be killed perhaps? No, that would only incite more hatred against the meta community. It was a shame really.

Past the corner Legacies heard another police car coming. Likely some jackass citizen had called in about a bum loitering. What the hell did they care? Couldn't stand to see the garbage this city made? Make them think of what humanity has done to it's own? Legacies disappeared into a nearby alley and then with a quick jump and costume change was practically invisible and sticking to a wall about 25 feet off the ground. The police got out of their car briefly and looked down the alley, then down the street.

"Must have been another prank call. That's the fourth one for this same damn street."

"Then forget it, I've got better things to do then chase after some prank. Man I wish we could get our hands on these punks."

"You and me both man." the policemen laughed, got in their car, reported the prank in and left. As soon as they were gone Legacies dropped to the floor and shifted to being a street bum again, walking out into the street he sat down to listen more.

[SirNitram]

"Metahumans have advantages. This is beyond debate, and almost academic. It may be as minor as your hair being replaced with a room-temperature superconductor.. Making you rich as hell when you patent it.. Or you can be like one of us, advancing science or fighting crime.

The concept that we have to prevent these advantages from being used is bizarre. Do we give students who turn out to have a higher IQ a handicap? Do we force naturally athletic people to perform beneath their abilities? Why, then handicap a Metahuman?

Therefore, the context changes. It's not a 'problem' to be 'dealt' with. In sports, I can fully see the reason you wouldn't want a Metahuman competing, but the Metahuman population is high enough to support Meta-only games, pushing the bar ever-higher.

What do we do? We encourage Metahumans to use these abilities to the betterment of all, the same way we encourage normal people with advantages to use their skills for others. Give them jobs, as I said earlier. You don't remove the threat of Metahuman terrorism by making them feel persecuted, that there is a 'They' they need to lash out at. You remove the threat by making them part of the system, of society."