Thread: Empire - City of Lost Cause (Black_Out and meomeo)

Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock.... Henry Shattenkirk couldn't help but watch the seconds skip by on the simple black and white round clock hanging on the far wall of his lonesomely quiet little office. It was late on a Saturday night and again he glanced away from the ticking of the clock to look back at the computer screen before him. Feeling his bottom lip tug up in dismay as he looked over the available agents that the Garrison Agency held in reserve. A soft sigh of reservation escaped his mouth as he studied the image and file of the last available hero that was at their disposal. With one elbow flush against the top of his black desk and tired fingers that stroked over a well manicured beard that covered his chin, he read over her file for only about the tenth time in the past half hour. He pulled his black rimmed glasses off of his face and dangled them out before himself as he buried his head into his other hand. She was almost thirty, hadn't ever seen a spit of action and worked as a physical trainer. Hell she didn't even have a special name to protect her real identity. His head shook back and forth slowly as he regarded the file concerning Vallie Olsen. She had potential, that's what the file said, so long as she had that mystical hammer of hers in hand. It also stated that she was naive, gullible, had zero experience, and was considered a potential liability to any team she might be thrust into. She was kept around though, and trained at the facility on the weekends and on some evenings. Times were tough though, and she was the absolute last available option left. It's not like they could turn and look to one of the vigilante's running around dispensing justice, because that would sort of completely defeat the point of what their agency was trying to accomplish. The Garrison Agency had thought they could offer up a new solution to the growing number of mutants and other worldly powered beings that were making themselves known across the face of the planet. They reached out with their sales pitch, offering a decent pay check, a nice 401k, good insurance, and some government funding, all in the hopes that those individuals might come and work for them. To a degree they were successful. Despite being in only their fifth year of existence the Garrison had collected a small team of heroes under their banner. Seven in total, a modest triumph given how reluctant most of the super's seemed to be when it came to striking a deal with the government. The first few recruits had handled some tough situations in their infancy, which had helped pull in others that were hesitant. Modest victories began to pile up. The training facility that started out as an old gym in an abandoned elementary school was being considered for a full upgrade. It wasn't easy, they didn't have the best of the best, but if they continued to show progress then maybe things would open up for them. Then one of the executives on the board, Simon Chance, who really had no clue how things worked or what the team was capable of decided to intervene. Let's send our two stalwarts into Empire City. It's going to be a great way to gain some publicity. We go in there, help clean it up, and I'm sure the Pentagon will take notice. It's a sure fire way to really move us in the direction we need to go. The massive metropolis was a known hot bed of criminal activity, it hosted by far the largest population of violent and self centered supers in the entire world. Things had gotten so bad there that the government had all but pulled most of their funding to the city. Still though, Empire thrived, people just seemed drawn to the mystique of the place and the thrill that came with living there provided. The government wanted a cut of that, but it was considered so volatile that they just weren't willing to invest in a losing cause. The Garrison Agency would go in, make an impact, and Simon Choice would look like a brilliant man and the sky would be the limit. At least that was the plan. The nimble and swift Midnight Angel along with the human tank called the Crimson Marauder were the first duo sent to Empire City. The curvaceous acrobatic vixen and the bulky cumbersome brute were the Garrison's top pair. A perfect yin and yang to compliment one another, despite how vocal they were at times over the personal dislike they had for their partners methods. Two weeks later, Midnight Angel was laid to rest and the Crimson Marauder was assumed to be at least missing in action when he failed to respond to any attempts to contact him. His disappearance didn't sit well with the board that directed the Garrison Agency, especially Simon. They weren't going to allow that failure to stain their credentials. If they tucked tail now, they'd be the laughing stock of Washington. So the next four were gathered up and sent in to find out what had happened to the Crimson Marauder. That team was comprised of the beastly and strong Savage Animal, a rough red neck from the fetid swamps of Florida. While nowhere near the strength of the Crimson Marauder, he was considered a bright up and comer. Next up was the roguish and acrobatic Curb Appeal, a talented thief that signed on instead of doing time. Then came a speedster known as Highway, who had been clocked at over a hundred miles an hour at a full sprint. Lastly was Dice, whose powers could sway fortune, and it didn't take long for him to be pulled in after certain factions in Vegas were growing suspicious of his presence. Better to work for the government then end up six feet under. So they were sent in as a single unit to track down the whereabouts of their missing comrade. They didn't even last a full week before the call came into his office just a short time ago tonight. He was in supervisor mode, the team was tracking a lead down at the Sea Court when one by one in quick succession their signals all disappeared. He scrambled about, trying to figure out what went wrong, if it was a glitch on his end. By the time he realized it wasn't and had finally gotten in touch with the cops it was probably already too late. In short order the reports came back after the police finally responded to the last known location of the team. Only three were found littering the streets. The Savage Animal was in a coma from a beating that he had taken that was beyond severe and had been whisked off to the hospital. Highway had suffered a broken spine and had to be stabilized, the doctors weren't sure if he would ever walk again after their initial diagnosis. Then there was Dice who had been struck so hard in his head that he was believed to have been left with permanent damage to his brain and was probably going to end up living institutionalized for the rest of his life. Curb Appeal, well she was nowhere to be found, gone without a trace and none of the others in the team were in any condition to answer any questions, or provide any information about what happened. Henry lifted his hand up over his face and tried to palm away the distress and headache surging through his skull. Finally they slid away from his weary face and went to reach for the black plastic office phone. There was a short quick stab by his index finger as he lifted the phone up and pressed it against the side of his head. He listened briefly to the response when the other end answered before speaking up. Yeah, hello Cindy, it's Henry out here in Empire. I got bad news, again. His voice wavered off into a sigh. Team B just got shut down, three are in the hospital, and Curb Appeal's missing in action. There was a significant pause as he nodded subtly along to the response from Cindy. Mhm, look, I don't like it any more then you do. I sure don't like it any more then the boss will, but she signed up for a reason. It's time for Vallie to get her ass off the pine and get to work. Another pause followed as the muted babbling of Cindy rang in Henry's ear. I don't care if she isn't ready, if she can't do the job then we might as well just shut the whole fucking program down, I'm sure Simon will be fine with that. He nodded once to Cindy's short reply. Yeah, well you tell her to meet me at my office first thing Monday morning, eight o'clock sharp. I'll go over the situation with her then. Henry hung up the phone then with a clang as the plastic handle slammed down into it's place and his gaze worked back over the screen on his computer monitor as he looked at the file of Vallie Olsen for the eleventh time that night. God help us all.