The Big Talk

The most important room in the White House existed in the building's West Wing, made iconically famous in the television series of the same name. The room earned its name by its shape, and thus it was called the Oval Office. At one side, in front of a grouping of windows, sat a large desk with more papers atop it than any man cared to believe he could have piled on his desk. Just slightly off center was a grouping of couches, maybe a couple chairs, and a small coffee table, around which the furniture was placed.

Behind the large desk at the one end of the room sat a man who was known throughout the world. Most people couldn't turn on a television without hearing about or from him, sometimes with threats from local terrorist leaders being directed at him. The President of the United States had no super powers of his own, but he wielded enough power nonetheless. He wasn't sitting behind the desk, he was standing, staring out the window. There were at least three helicopters on the lawn, and soon, the meeting would begin.

To the President's left stood a man who's physical description could only be average. He had no distinguishing featuristics, he wasn't abnormally tall, nor was he overweight. Average was the only thing someone could remember after seeing this man. Despite the President's stance on smoking, this man lit up a cigarette, pausing every so often to tap the ashes into a portable ashtray that was hidden behind the face of his watch.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" the President asked. "We're actually about to have this conversation."

The cigarette smoking man nodded. It was all the gesture he needed to make, but he still said, "It's long overdue."

The President turned his head toward the man. "I know. The sad thing is that a city is tearing itself apart because we took too long."

"Two cities."

The President nodded. Pine Ridge was officially a war zone, with National Guard forces stationed at every entrance to or exit from the city. Los Milagros had just suffered a devastating attack caused by a seventeen year old girl named Melody Hunter, though that unfortunate situation had since quieted down, save for the occasional rioting. National Guard troops were on station there, as well. He had hoped that the emergence of the Chosen wouldn't take the situation to these extremes.

I hate the fact that we're here. We should never have gotten here.

There was a knock on the door. "Let them in," the President said. One by one, several people entered the Oval Office. Generals Halsey and Carpenter, Senators Shuster, Liefeld and Lee, Attorney Kennedy of HealAll, Brand of Brand Industries and Kaplan of Banter Industries. The President hadn't expected Penelope Banter herself to come, though he was surprised at Kennedy and Brand's appearances. Kennedy was situated in a wheelchair after the recent attempt on his life, and Brand was well-known for his beliefs about the government, despite his rather personal role in law enforcement. "Thank you all for coming," the President said, turning to address his guests.

Kennedy was the first to speak. "I'd like to express my surprise, being called here during such a severe crisis. Pine Ridge is in a state of complete anarchy, thanks to HARP."

General Halsey spoke up next: "This HARP movement is nothing but a few peaceful demonstrators. It's my personal opinion that HealAll is escalating these events for their own press, passing off their own people as HARP, and then using them to cause chaos."

"We'd do no such thing!" Kennedy spat back at the general. "And what about the HARP attacks in East City and Los Milagros? And there's suspicion that HARP was involved in both the attack on Glassview College and the Evergreen Mall incident in Glassview City."

Senator Shuster cleared his throat. "Though credit for the Glassview College attack was later taken by HARP, eyewitness reports at the Evergreen Mall state that an, excuse me, 'orange-furred monster' was to blame. There were reports of HARP members in the mall, however they weren't involved with the incident."

Senator Lee spoke next, "HARP does appear to be on the warpath in East City, however. Police Captain Montoya reported several HARP members escaped custody, and then a group of robot attacks were later attributed to HARP, which were stopped thanks in no small part to Arachnya."

Halsey jabbed an index finger in Lee's direction. "HARP wouldn't be so much of a problem if it weren't for people like Ms. Harkins."

Kennedy moved his wheelchair slightly. "So now we're blaming a terrorist organization on people who didn't choose for this to happen to them."

Halsey snorted a laugh. "Very funny thing to say about people known as Chosen."

The President leaned against his desk and noted that William Brand hadn't said anything. It wasn't a big surprise, the CEO of Brand Industries wasn't a man of many words, but considering the role the President knew Brand had played in many Larsen City events, he was very surprised that that the man hadn't spoken yet. The President turned to General Halsey. "What's your personal take on HARP, General?"

The military man snorted another laugh. "As I said before, they're peaceful demonstrators. They've caused no harm to anyone."

"And the murder of a man rumored to be a Chosen on the front lawn of HealAll's Los Milagros office? That was peaceful? It was on live TV. The situation just yesterday, when Mr. Kennedy and a young Chosen boy were shot at a press conference? The boy died, General."

"Though Mr. Kennedy will disagree with me, the incident on the HealAll lawn was no doubt a HealAll propaganda stunt. And the shooter at yesterday's press conference was acting under duress, hardly evidence of a HARP death agenda. From what I hear, there's reasonably good intel that the psychopath known as the Joker is somewhere in Pine Ridge, and after all the things he did in Larsen City, blackmailing a man into committing murder wouldn't even sound out of place."

The President turned to Kaplan. "Mr. Kaplan, does Banter Industries have anything to say about the recent events in Glassview City? There were Chosen identified at both the college dorm and the mall, and Ms. Banter quickly swooped in and took care of both crises."

Henry Kaplan, the man the President dealt with most often when it came to Banter Industries, pushed his glasses back up from where they had slid down his nose and then leaned forward on the couch. "Ms. Banter has asked me not to comment on these incidents, sir. She's told me that her eventual plans will come across your desk once the time is right."

The President sighed. He turned to Brand. "Mr. Brand, you've been awefully quiet. Seeing as you're a resident of Larsen City, I'd like to know your take on the recent Joker situation, including the murder of one Francis Holden."

Brand nodded. "Going by what I know, mostly from the live broadcast in which Mr. Holden was murdered, the Joker was playing up Knight's similarities to the comic book hero Batman. The Joker appeared to see himself as Knight's mortal enemy, much like how the comic book Joker is to Batman."

"The Larsen City murders number just under a thousand, compiling both the mall and church explosions. How many of them were suspected to be Chosen?"

Brand shook his head. "We have no way of knowing, sir. The Chosen appear to be nothing but random, no rhyme nor reason to their selection. In the interview Ms. Harkins had with her newspaper, she mentioned a being in human shape that appeared to her in her bedroom, and the Chosen that was murdered in Pine Ridge suggested he had once been female, and that the Choosing reversed his gender. We can't substantiate these claims, as a few Chosen don't seem to have records suggesting they were the opposite gender prior to their Choosing."

The President nodded. "I know that this gender transformation issue is unclear to most of you, but the research my top advisors tell me about indicates that this is the case for all of them." He gave a small look toward the cigarette smoking man, standing in the corner. "From Ms. Harkins to Pro-Tech to the orange-furred beast in Glassview City."

Kennedy looked like he was gripping his wheelchair a little tighter. "Mr. President, I'm deeply shocked. HealAll entered into an exclusive contract with the United States government for all Chosen research. As stated by a clause in that contract, we're to be informed of any such research  Which agency did this research go through?"

The President waved his hand. "I'm not at liberty to say, Mr. Kennedy."

"Mr. President! Am I to assume our contract has been terminated, then?"

The President shook his head. "On the contrary, HealAll is very important to us. Your company is leading the charge in nanotechnology."

General Carpenter said, "Nanotechnology that is supposed to be for our soldiers on the battlefield, I might add."

Senator Shuster added, "And if our law enforcement personel were equiped with such measures, so many men wouldn't have died when Melody Hunter slaughtered them in Los Milagros. Just how far along is your nanotechnology, Mr. Kennedy?"

Kennedy appeared to be fuming. "I can't speak for the science division, as I'm simply a lawyer, but I'm told we're making good progress on that front. Sasha Jackson, our test subject, has recently made a complete recovery from he - his physical situation."

The President looked back at Brand. Before he could say anything to the reclusive billionaire, Senator Shuster asked, "And does anyone know who manufactured those nanocytes we've heard about being used in East City? Had we someone had a needle of those, Melody Hunter may not have even been able to kill so many people."

The President hid a smile. Senator Lee answered, "The only thing anyone seems to know is that the hero Knight supplies them to the East City Police. No one knows where he comes from, however."

The President held his hands up. "Gentlemen, I believe we need to get back to the original subject: HARP. General Carpenter, we've yet to hear your opinion on them, or do you share General Halsey's rather limited beliefs?"

Halsey gave Carpenter a look, one that the President didn't fail to notice. Carpenter sighed. "My own position on HARP is a little clouded, Mr. President. My daughter was recently killed in a HARP raid in Denver. She wasn't a Chosen, but they killed her anyway, because her roommate was a Chosen."

"So you know that HARP is, indeed, a terrorist organization, unlike General Halsey believes?"

Carpenter nodded. "Yes sir, Mr. President."

Halsey stood. "Mr. President, I hardly believe this one situation constitutes anything. Though claiming to be HARP, they could have simply been members of HealAll's propaganda campaign."

Kennedy groaned audibly, like a child. "No such campaign exists, General. The only thing we've done is show the country - no, the world - what monsters the HARP are. Christine and Rick's struggles prove that HARP is on a warpath to not only get rid of the Chosen, but to slaughter them, no matter their age."

Senator Liefeld finally took his chance to speak up. "I can't understand how HARP could be seen as anything other than a terrorist organization?"

Halsey said, "Is your opinion based on what Mr. Kennedy tells you, Senator? Just because Pine Ridge lies in your state doesn't mean that these attacks are anything less than HealAll propaganda." Halsey turned to Kennedy. "You've given us nothing that suggests otherwise, Mr. Kennedy."

Kennedy responded, "I don't see how you don't have proof yet? Pine Ridge: A city is tearing itself apart. Los Milagros: A man is murdered on the lawn of HealAll's headquarters. Glassview City: A college dorm is burned to the ground. East City: A HARP chapter opens up shop by assaulting a post office. A federal offense at best, an act of terrorism at worst." Kennedy leaned forward in his wheelchair. "So, tell me, General Halsey, what does that suggest?"

The President heard clapping. He turned his head and saw the cigarette smoking man slowly clapping his hands, walking forward from the corner. He was surprised that his advisor was making his presense known. This was the first time he'd ever done so.

"And just who the hell are you?" General Halsey asked.

The cigarette smoking man shook his head. "A simple advisor. The President asked me to sit in on this meeting because I'm in a very... interesting position."

Kaplan asked, "And just what position is that?"

"For instance, Mr. Kaplan, my organization knows about Ms. Banter's intentions to form the Chosen team, the Light, with Ms. Hobden and Mr. Jones." He turned to Kennedy. "We know that, while HealAll has had nothing to do with HARP's recent attacks, they are harboring the identities of three Chosen. Seeing as the Chosen are under your protection, I won't divulge their names, but I do know them." Next was Halsey. "You, General, have made several donations to HARP over the last few weeks, including military weaponry."

Halsey looked like he was about to blow his cap. "Military weaponry that was stolen before it arrived in Pine Ridge."

The cigarette smoking man shrugged. "Either way, I'm sure the Secret Service agents outside the door will be ready to take you in as soon as this meeting is over. You've committed an act of treason, at best." He smiled. He turned to Carpenter. "I'm sorry for your loss, General Carpenter, the tragedy in Denver was... I don't think I need to say much about that. Her roommate was very special. She could see truths behind lies." Next was Shuster. "Senator Shuster, Ms. Hunter herself isn't a Chosen."

Shuster asked, "Then what is she?"

"Another sort called a Rejected, generally given significantly more power than a Chosen. She's quite the specimen, too. We've had quite a bit of work on our hands examining her."

Kennedy asked, "You've taken her in? How?"

"Thanks to her dual personalities, using tranquilizer darts on one of her brings the other out. Access and Problem Child are her names, and Problem Child is under heavy sedation, and will remain so as long as she's under our care."

"And what exactly are these 'Rejected'?"

The cigarette smoking man smiled again. "I'm not at liberty to say, just yet. We've had only twenty-four hours to examine Ms. Hunter, and we don't have much information yet." He looked at Senator Lee, now. "Senator Lee, East City, your own home, has seen the largest influx of Chosen. If there's a reason for this, we don't know it yet, though we have attempted to find out many times."

Kennedy spoke up again, "And have you contacted any Chosen? Perhaps the reason lies with them."

The cigarette smoking man nodded. "We have, though none of them know. Though, our efforts to discover the reasons behind the Choosing have taken a backseat to our attempts to find the subjects pre-Choosing."

Kaplan asked, "You have a way of detecting Chosen before they're Chosen?"

"We do. There's a particularly interesting pair in Glassview City that I think you'll want to know about, but that's all I can say for now."

The President put his hand on the cigarette smoking man's shoulder. "That's enough for now, my friend."

"Actually, I did have one more surprise." The cigarette smoking man turned to Brand. "Mr. Brand, I'd personally like to know just what the Joker said to you in that church before he destroyed it."

Brand stepped forward. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. The Joker and I have only spoken on one occasion, at the press conference after Ms. Harkins' unfortunate unmasking."

"On the contrary, you spoke on a few occasions, including on live television, just before Francis Holden was murdered."

Senator Liefeld said, "That would mean..."

The cigarette smoking man nodded. "Yes. William Brand is the hero Knight, and he's standing in this room with us, pretending he's not."

Everyone in the room turned to Brand, their eyes focused on a living example of a super hero, standing in the Oval Office.

Brand asked, "Tell me how it is you know that."

"I'm not at liberty to say, but I can tell you that we're proud of the work you've done, both in Larsen City and East City. Taking Guardian, Angel, Blackhole and Terror and turning them into a formidable fighting force, a force for good. Assisting Erica Morris in starting up that little children's group, though that didn't work out quite so well, did it?"

Brand's hands balled into fists. "What do you know about that?"

"We know that Ms. Reston is now in quite negative hands, working with the Benefactor."

Halsey asked, "Who is this Benefactor?"

Brand answered, "He's a criminal, taking Chosen and using them for some end that we haven't been able to figure out, though I assume you," that was directed at the cigarette smoking man, "have some idea."

The cigarette smoking man shook his head. "No, unfortunately, we don't. He's the one area that we haven't been able to figure out, no doubt due to his ability to hide himself from everyone except those he wants on his side."

The President said, "Make no mistake, gentlemen, the Benefactor is a threat to each and every one of us in this room."

Kennedy asked, "Does the Benefactor have anything to do with HARP?"

The cigarette smoking man answered, "Not that we know. His loyalties don't seem to lie with anyone but himself. He's not too dissimilar to the Joker, though he seems more focused. What he wants and what his means are are the questions that we've sought to answer, and why we've remained so secret."

The President added, "And why his organization answers only to me. You all know this now, and you all need to remember it when you leave. HARP and the Benefactor are the two biggest threats that we've ever had to face as a nation. The Benefactor uses Chosen, men who can rip apart cities with their minds; HARP does the exact opposite, and slaughters families in their homes. Both sides have put American lives in danger, and too many people have been caught in the crossfire. These two things are what we all need to focus on in the near future." He walked over to the window and looked outside. "I want you all to return to your homes, to your cities, and get ready for the coming battles. Mr. Kaplan, tell Ms. Banter to start her team; Mr. Brand, return to yours; Mr. Kennedy, get HealAll's Chosen ready. Every asset we have, every Charlotte Harkins we have, we're going to need."