The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Negotiations

He yelled out. Hiroshi twisted, yelping in alarm. But Tuatara's tail lunged and wrapped around the man's arm. The muscles in the appendage tensed and the Secret Service man cried out in pain. The gun fell from his hands and clattered to the floor.

With a flick of his tail, Tuatara tossed the Secret Service guy on his ass before scooping up the handgun. He growled before snapping it in half. "We're not here to fight," He growled. "But if anyone tries to hurt us, you can hurt back."

The whole conference room went quiet, the Vice President swallowing and the faces of his generals paling. Jason turned his attention back to the TV and said, "Thank you...now let me listen to this for a second..."

"...The dead are still being counted," The news woman was saying. In the background, another convoy of ambulances went buzzing past. "Despite efforts from the National Guard, the police, and many volunteers, dozens are still MIA across the city. Quincy appears to be the latest casualty of what government officials are calling Code Black incidents, terrorism perpetuated by superhumans. Here are some words from a civilian who nearly killed by one of the monstrous invaders..."

The scene switched and Jason blinked. A young man was seated inside of an ambulance, a blanket wrapped around him as he spoke into the camera. It took Jason a moment but he recognized the guy. He was the employee at the bookstore, the one who Incisor had snatched up. Jason breathed a sigh of relief, glad the man was still alive.

"...I still can't believe what I saw," The man said, his teeth chattering slightly as he spoke. "Like, I heard all these explosions and gunfire and I dunno, I just panicked. I didn't think to call anyone or do anything, I just hid behind the counter...then there was this...this roar. Like..." He shuddered. "I can't even describe it. Then I caught a glimpse of this...this thing plowing right through the storefront! He grabbed me and oh god..." He shook his head. "Oh man. I thought I was gonna die. And then, these other people showed up...people in weird costumes...I think it was those people. The...the ones from TV. The Metahuman Agency."

He made an arching motion with one hand. "And like...the monster threw me into the air. God...my head's still spinning. And then I started to fall but...but then this other monster came out of nowhere. This beetle girl. She flew under me and caught me...put me down and told me to run. I didn't think. I just did what she said...and I legged it..."

The camera switched back to the news woman. She ran a hand through her hair before saying, "Similar reports have cropped up all across Quincy, from civilians to law enforcement. It seems we may have the Metahuman Agency to thank for driving off the mysterious superhuman attackers. And once again, we know little of what has transpired here. Despite their ties to the government, officials have refused to answer questions about them. Still, many are thanking the so-called Agency for saving their lives."

The camera switched again, now showing a woman clutching a young boy to her waist. This time, Jason didn't have to think hard to recognize them. It was the boy he'd save inside the building, the one who a mercenary had taken hostage.

"It was horrible..." The woman said, whispering, closing her eyes as she addressed the camera. "A quiet evening...just a normal evening. Then I heard all these explosions outside...for a moment, I didn't think they were real. I thought it was Danny playing a video game. But then..." Her lips quivered. She visibly had to set herself before she spoke again. "Then there was another explosion. Louder. And the building shook. And I..." Her eyes started to well up with tears. "I got separated from my child. Oh god..." She sniffed, her entire body starting to shake. She hugged Danny closer to her chest. "There were men in the building. Men with guns. I saw a few of my neighbors..." Her voice died away before returning and she took a breath. "...A few of my neighbors get gunned down. Right in front of my eyes."

She looked at the camera, blinking through her tears. "Those people...the Agency...whoever they were, I don't care. All that matters to me is they saved my life. They saved my child's life. I'm going to thank god for them, everyday from now on. They were heroes and you can quote me on that..."