Post by AngelicTragedy on Aug 11, 2012 21:53:01 GMT -5
“Ladies and gentlemen, if you are just joining us, at three fifteen eastern time this morning the United States Congress has passed the Power Registration Act. This piece of legislation will require all Powers living within the United States to publicly register their name, place of residence, and powers for tracking. This bill gained massive support after the incident in Philadelphia two years ago. A new agency and taskforce know as the Power Response Agency has been created to deal with any further Power-related incidents in the future. Will the PRA be addressing the growing concerns in New York City of a possible Power-related attack from what locals are calling the Slum Shadow? We will be speaking with the newly appointed head of the PRA the top of the hour.” The projector television clicked off, casting the briefing room in total darkness.
“This is why you all have been gathered here today. You’ve been chosen from among your various branches of the military to become the first line of defense against the Powers that plague this country. We cannot have another Philadelphia on our hands. Too many people were hurt, too many questions asked. The higher ups want this to become a thing of the past. That’s why you were all chosen to join the ranks of the PRA.” The stern voice of barked from the darkness, several recruits shifted stiffly in their seats trying to show their poise in the all-consuming blackness.
The harsh fluorescent lights of the conference room flickered back to life causing some minor cursing and squinting among the thirty uniformed soldiers cramped into steel folding chairs surrounding the hanging white screen. A grizzled sergeant in army dress greens cast a hard glare into the faces of the young men and women before him. Without saying a word, the sergeant pushed through the throng and pushed open the only door. A tall woman in a smart business suit stepped inside and weaved among the recruits with a dances ease to take the place abandoned by the sergeant.
“My name is Marissa Costly and I’m the PRA liaison for the Secretary of Defense, but you will refer to me as ma’am. You’ve already met Sergeant Caplin; he will be leading your squad. I’m not going to lie to you all, what you’re here for is very dangerous but we believe that you’ve got what it takes. There will be no quarter given to you by the Powers in the field and I expect you to not give any in return.
“You are not the first group that we’ve brought into the PRA and I believe you deserve to know what happened to the squad that came before you. We chose five men to become our Alpha squad and sent them after a reported Power near Wallabout Bay in New York. Five heavily armed, highly trained PRA operatives went into a building at the corner of Market and 5th Street and only one made it out alive and even then he was a rambling mess. The recovered operative claimed to have engaged with a large, dark figure with glowing red eyes that slaughtered his team, whereas the pack cam recovered from his pack showed a hooded teenage girl. We don’t know exactly what this Power is capable of and we’re not willing to risk it going unchecked. You will depart at zero six hundred hours for New York to deal with this threat. I want a clean capture, and if that isn’t possible, I want a body. Stop the Shadow before it becomes a bigger threat. Good luck.”
*****
Alopa Singh slipped out of the tiny Japanese convience store a quietly as possible clutching a package of sesame Onigiri tightly to her chest. Being quiet wasn’t really necessary, the clerk was well into his eighties, but Alopa had learned long ago that you can’t be too careful. This wasn’t the first time she had stolen food from this shop, she never felt good about it, but she had to do what she could to survive. Alopa planned to one day repay the ancient shopkeeper for everything she had stolen over the past year and a half, but had no idea when that would be possible.
Life on the streets of New York was not easy for Alopa, given that she had come from a wealthy family in the north of India. She had enjoyed a very happy childhood with her three siblings until shortly after her twelfth birthday. Alopa began to see things and hear voices for weeks at a time, things that couldn’t possibly exist, and her family grew very concerned. Shortly thereafter Alopa was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder. Alopas father, feeling that a daughter with a psychological disorder would bring shame to the family, promptly kicked his oldest daughter out onto the streets. After about three months of trying to get her father to change his mind, between episodes of intense delusions, Alopa gave up and began to move as far from her family as possible.
Alopa never knew exactly how she had ended up in the United States but never really cared for the details. Aasim always took care of the big picture plans and Alopa had learned over the past two years to trust Aasim, seeing as he seems to be a part of her. Alopa ducked into an alley a few blocks from the Japanese store and quickly unwrapped her pilfered prize. She sank her teeth into the sesame seed covered rice ball and allowed the tender sweetness to coat her tongue. Alopa leaned up against the dirty wall of the ancient apartment building and sank into a sitting position next to a cracked window at ground level. This was Alopas favorite spot in the city; the resident of the apartment always left the television on a twenty-four hour news channel so Alopa still felt connected to the outside world. The recent news was plagued with mentions of the Philadelphia Incident and of the newly created PRA and Alopa couldn’t help but want to know everything that she could about what was going on.
“It was announced two short hours ago that the PRA has dispatching a team to New York City to assess and contain the Power threat known as the Slum Shadow. The head of the PRA, Charles Estus, encourages all New Yorkers to remain calm and stay off the streets as much as possible for the next forty-eight hours so his team may capture the Shadow unhindered. The Shadow is thought to be a homeless person between the ages of eighteen to twenty five. Any information regarding the Shadow should be directed to the eight hundred number below.”
Alopa froze on the spot. Every fiber of her being told her that she shouldn’t be afraid but at the same time something in the back of her mind told her that she was in terrible danger. Alopa could feel Aasim stirring in her mind and he wasn’t happy. She had never known Aasim to be frightened but now he was terrified. The PRA was on its way to New York to find someone known as the Slum Shadow, the Shadow was a Power and a threat, and the Shadow was a homeless person. Alopa suddenly understood that in all the times that Aasim had protected her he had earned a reputation as the Slum Shadow and now a government agency was baring down on him. Alopa was a Power and she was in a lot of trouble, not just for being in the United States illegally. Alopa eased back into her mind a bit and allowed Aasim to come forward a bit. He had a plan, he would protect Alopa, and he wasn’t alone.
“This is why you all have been gathered here today. You’ve been chosen from among your various branches of the military to become the first line of defense against the Powers that plague this country. We cannot have another Philadelphia on our hands. Too many people were hurt, too many questions asked. The higher ups want this to become a thing of the past. That’s why you were all chosen to join the ranks of the PRA.” The stern voice of barked from the darkness, several recruits shifted stiffly in their seats trying to show their poise in the all-consuming blackness.
The harsh fluorescent lights of the conference room flickered back to life causing some minor cursing and squinting among the thirty uniformed soldiers cramped into steel folding chairs surrounding the hanging white screen. A grizzled sergeant in army dress greens cast a hard glare into the faces of the young men and women before him. Without saying a word, the sergeant pushed through the throng and pushed open the only door. A tall woman in a smart business suit stepped inside and weaved among the recruits with a dances ease to take the place abandoned by the sergeant.
“My name is Marissa Costly and I’m the PRA liaison for the Secretary of Defense, but you will refer to me as ma’am. You’ve already met Sergeant Caplin; he will be leading your squad. I’m not going to lie to you all, what you’re here for is very dangerous but we believe that you’ve got what it takes. There will be no quarter given to you by the Powers in the field and I expect you to not give any in return.
“You are not the first group that we’ve brought into the PRA and I believe you deserve to know what happened to the squad that came before you. We chose five men to become our Alpha squad and sent them after a reported Power near Wallabout Bay in New York. Five heavily armed, highly trained PRA operatives went into a building at the corner of Market and 5th Street and only one made it out alive and even then he was a rambling mess. The recovered operative claimed to have engaged with a large, dark figure with glowing red eyes that slaughtered his team, whereas the pack cam recovered from his pack showed a hooded teenage girl. We don’t know exactly what this Power is capable of and we’re not willing to risk it going unchecked. You will depart at zero six hundred hours for New York to deal with this threat. I want a clean capture, and if that isn’t possible, I want a body. Stop the Shadow before it becomes a bigger threat. Good luck.”
*****
Alopa Singh slipped out of the tiny Japanese convience store a quietly as possible clutching a package of sesame Onigiri tightly to her chest. Being quiet wasn’t really necessary, the clerk was well into his eighties, but Alopa had learned long ago that you can’t be too careful. This wasn’t the first time she had stolen food from this shop, she never felt good about it, but she had to do what she could to survive. Alopa planned to one day repay the ancient shopkeeper for everything she had stolen over the past year and a half, but had no idea when that would be possible.
Life on the streets of New York was not easy for Alopa, given that she had come from a wealthy family in the north of India. She had enjoyed a very happy childhood with her three siblings until shortly after her twelfth birthday. Alopa began to see things and hear voices for weeks at a time, things that couldn’t possibly exist, and her family grew very concerned. Shortly thereafter Alopa was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder. Alopas father, feeling that a daughter with a psychological disorder would bring shame to the family, promptly kicked his oldest daughter out onto the streets. After about three months of trying to get her father to change his mind, between episodes of intense delusions, Alopa gave up and began to move as far from her family as possible.
Alopa never knew exactly how she had ended up in the United States but never really cared for the details. Aasim always took care of the big picture plans and Alopa had learned over the past two years to trust Aasim, seeing as he seems to be a part of her. Alopa ducked into an alley a few blocks from the Japanese store and quickly unwrapped her pilfered prize. She sank her teeth into the sesame seed covered rice ball and allowed the tender sweetness to coat her tongue. Alopa leaned up against the dirty wall of the ancient apartment building and sank into a sitting position next to a cracked window at ground level. This was Alopas favorite spot in the city; the resident of the apartment always left the television on a twenty-four hour news channel so Alopa still felt connected to the outside world. The recent news was plagued with mentions of the Philadelphia Incident and of the newly created PRA and Alopa couldn’t help but want to know everything that she could about what was going on.
“It was announced two short hours ago that the PRA has dispatching a team to New York City to assess and contain the Power threat known as the Slum Shadow. The head of the PRA, Charles Estus, encourages all New Yorkers to remain calm and stay off the streets as much as possible for the next forty-eight hours so his team may capture the Shadow unhindered. The Shadow is thought to be a homeless person between the ages of eighteen to twenty five. Any information regarding the Shadow should be directed to the eight hundred number below.”
Alopa froze on the spot. Every fiber of her being told her that she shouldn’t be afraid but at the same time something in the back of her mind told her that she was in terrible danger. Alopa could feel Aasim stirring in her mind and he wasn’t happy. She had never known Aasim to be frightened but now he was terrified. The PRA was on its way to New York to find someone known as the Slum Shadow, the Shadow was a Power and a threat, and the Shadow was a homeless person. Alopa suddenly understood that in all the times that Aasim had protected her he had earned a reputation as the Slum Shadow and now a government agency was baring down on him. Alopa was a Power and she was in a lot of trouble, not just for being in the United States illegally. Alopa eased back into her mind a bit and allowed Aasim to come forward a bit. He had a plan, he would protect Alopa, and he wasn’t alone.