The Mistress of Magnetism
It had been days since the She-bat creature had been seen leading to the belief many that the creature had left or had died. Ivy knew better off course knowing that Francine Langstrom actually was the creature the self proclaimed She-Bat. There were some at the DEO and in the public at large that worried about this new class of criminal. In the last few years Doc Ock, Dr Doom, She-Bat, the Phantasm, Blight, the team of mercenary robbers all fell in such a short time and there was a fear that it would only get worse. This new wave of criminals was becoming a major problem for Maggie and her campaign. Reeves and Garcetti criticized Maggie for this new crime wave, blaming her reforms and her working with the DEO and vigilantes. Of course Maggie argues that without this partnership many of these villains would be running a muck and the city would be less safe then it is now. Maggie was preparing for the upcoming debate in the next few days, seeing this as the linchpin in the election. If Maggie hits it out of the park her lead maybe insurmountable, and for her opponents its there big change to try and take Maggie down. All the major candidates had been invited so Maggie, Reeves, London, and Garcetti had made it but it was determined that the other candidates did not have the resources or the support to be competitive in the election any longer.
At Powers Tech Daniella Powers was facing a certain type of extinction. The Blonde CEO was looking at her company dying right before her eyes and for the first time ever there was nothing she could do. By firing the board members she did have control of the company, but she did not have the capital it provided. She had almost no allies to call upon and with the dominance of L Corp and Kane Industries, Power Tech could not compete. Now she knew how her father felt fighting against Bruce Wayne in Gotham. She was broken from her revelry when her assistant spoke on the intercom and told her that Andrea Beaumont was her to see her. Daniella was perplexed by this, why would the Phantasm of all people be here to see her? She told her assistant to let the woman come into her office. Andrea entered the office and approached the blonde. Daniella was the first to say " what can I do for you Andrea? I am a very busy woman and I have a company to try and save." The red head took a seat in front of her. " Funny you should say that I am here to help with that actually." Daniella raised an eyebrow at this statement " Oh and how exactly would you do that?" Andrea sat back in her chair " Since i am staying here for the conceivable future. I have decided to keep myself occupied. I am the only one of this team of ours that does not have a day job so to speak you have your company, Langstrom is your head of genetics, and Von Doom runs her country. I am looking to change that, and I have become aware your company is struggling with money right now, and it looks like it is without a massive cash infusion ." Daniella took her usual intimidating posture " and you can help with that problem of mine?" andrea looked at her " yes i can my late father left my mother a lump sum of money and in secret she left a portion of that in a trust for me and over time that sum acquired a lot of interest and then i parlayed that trust and invested in many companies and those investments garnered even more money. I think enough money to save your company and all i want in return is to be co CEO's." Danielle pondered this for a minute " How much money are you talking about?" Andrea smirked at the question " last I checked a hair under 3.4 billion dollars and counting." Daniella's eyes went wide at the mention of the large sum. " So you're just willing to bail my company out and all you want is to be CEO alongside me." Andrea nodded her head " yes you need me and i need an excuse to stay here in National City and this gives me that. So what do you say Daniella? Let's take on Luthor and Kane together and start a new company, shall we say Powers/Beaumont." Daniella did like the sound of that and she had to admit without this her company was dead, and she did like the idea of taking Lena Luthor and Kate Kane down a level. So the decision was simple " you have a deal then Andrea let's make this official and draw up the paperwork and officially make the announcement.
At Lena's penthouse apartment the group was immersed in a debate prep session. They had Maggie up on a makeshift stage with Lena representing Reeves, Sam representing London, and Pam representing Garcetti. They had Kara and Leslie representing the debate moderators, and Diana and Kate representing the audience for possible audience questions. Maggie was clearly more nervous then she was this time around compared to the first time she ran for the police commissioner position. The first time around it was a shot in the dark kind of like putting your money where your mouth is kind of thing. She said if she had the power she could make the department better. So the group convinced her to run, and they would help her in any way that they could. At first it was a campaign that started out by voicing some policy and reform changes that no one was talking about but then before they knew it the campaign started to turn in their favor, and then in the blink of an eye Maggie was the new police commissioner of National City. In that election the stakes were not high because they had no expectations going into it, certainly not winning. Now the stakes were at an all time high Maggie's agenda and legacy were on the line, and some would say the future of the city was also at stake and it unnerved Maggie a bit. 3 years ago she was a hot shot detective, and now she was the police commissioner of the countries biggest police force, and the poster child for the new era of change that so many people had been yearning for. The debate format was agreed by the four attending campaigns and to their surprise they agreed to a town hall style debate that allowed for audience questions which was a huge bonus for Maggie because Maggie is at her best when talking directly to the people showing off that trademarked maggie Sawyer authenticity and empathy that endeared so many people to her, and inspired the loyalty of one of the most patriarchal police departments in the country.
This was the group's fourth debate prep session, and though Maggie had made some major improvements in comparison there was still some refinement that needed to be added, and some kinks that needed to be ironed out. It was a big help having Kara and Leslie as debate moderators both having made careers out of asking hard questions albeit in different forms. Kara was the idealistic young journalist who in a short time had garnered a reputation for being an aggressive pursuit of the truth, and Leslie who was National City's queen of radio captivating audiences for years under her radio personality Livewire. The team had used the first three sessions to in essence fine tune and refine Maggie's platform. The first was geared to Maggie's reforms and policies, the second was geared at the community relationship between the police and the community, and the third was the differences between Maggie's administration in comparison to her immediate predecessors and whether or not the city is better now than it was in the past. Maggie had done well with both the moderator and audience questions, but she did have her stubbles and moments of uncertainty, especially on the attack of the rebuttal, and this worried the group for this last session. This was as leslie called in the "Shit on Maggie session" Every single question whether it be Moderator, Audience, or candidate remark would in some way be an attack at Maggie the idea obviously to prepare Maggie for the vicious onslaught of attacks that will be coming her way and how to counter them or lessen the blow. They had agreed to use the most common attacks on Maggie and her record. The so called new crime era, the rise of vigilantism, the dismantling of the police departments, and as councilman Reeves would call it the oppression of the law abiding citizen. The four were standing behind there podiums, and kara right out of the gate went for it " Commissioner Sawyer many of your opponent have criticized you for what they call the weakening of the police force, and under your administration it has become a growing trend with officers not having the necessary equipment to to protect and serve the people of National City. How do you respond to these claims'' Maggie composed herself " Well like most things levied against me by the Reeves campaign this is just another baseless fiction meant to discredit me and my administration as well as trying to get people to fear this new era i have tried to usher in with in the department. What Councilman Reeves and District Attorney Garcetti have described as the weakening of the department is the reforms i have put in to try and foster in a new era of female cop to bring the department into a knew light and end the patriarchal past of the department that people like Councilmen Reeves, DA Garcetti and my immediate predecessor Commissioner Loeb championed. Every day across this country you have men and woman put that badge on and fight to protect and serve our communities. They put their lives on the line just as much as any man, and I can tell you as someone who was on the beat as a detective only a few years ago we had to put up with a share of prejudice from male coworkers who thought we had no business putting on the uniform. I made it my mission to prove them wrong day in and day out if they gave 110% i gave 115%. Here in National City, what cops in other cities say is the crown jewel of law enforcement: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere as a cop. This department, so admired by many, has the lowest ratio of male to female cops in the country, and I thought this can be so. SO i have spent every minute of every hour since I took my oath to this city to tyr and inspire and bring women into the NCPD, and I am proud to say that from the seven percent when I came in just two years ago to now we have almost tripled that number twenty percent. Now to the claim that my officers don't have the tools or the resources available to keep themselves or the community safe I laugh. Last year we took measures to limit the amount of spending on tactical gear as well as downsizing the amount of tactic gear we have. There is no justifiable reason why a municipal law enforcement agency has weapons of war. We are trying to make people feel safer not add to the fear. This is not some war zone in a foreign land where you have enemy combatants shooting at you, and we don't need to be moving around like the armed forces. Furthermore the money we have reallocated has been put towards thing like community outreach so that the community knows that the police is always there to keep them safe, and since that areas like the Bitterman projects, lincoln heights, and cadillac heights some of are much stricken communities has seen a massive reduction in crime across the board. We are working for a better future for all that we need to move forward and leave the decadent past behind." The group was actually surprised by just how strong that response was they worried Maggie would get lost frustrated because of some of the claims the other candidates had made against her, but that response was all business. It set a trend because more and more they hit Maggie from all sides, and Maggie parried the hits and returned some in kind. She even took a unique stance blaming people like Commissioner Loebs and his failed policies leaving the door open for this new wave of criminal, and she is just picking up the pieces and trying to play catch up.
A few blocks away at the first national bank business was going as usual people of all walks coming in and doing their business not knowing that this normal days was going to take a remarkable turn for the first. Suddenly the lights started to flicker uncontrollably. Then suddenly everything metallic started to come alive. Necklaces, watches, coins, paper clips it did not matter they all seemed like they had a mind of their own. When suddenly a car was thrown right into the building crashing through the wall causing the people to scatterer. As man of the people tried to compose themselves some looked on stunned by what they were witnessing. Before them floating off the ground was a figure clad in a red uniform, purple cap, and a red helmet " excuse me folks i am here to make a withdrawal and i am in a hurry so i hope you don't mind if i cut in." the figure floated towards the bank's vault " ah the typical human condition you think just because something is heavy or metal it means its safe, you think your protected." the figure raised her hands and started to concentrate. Almost immediately the building started to shake violently frightening the people many rushed to leave the bank while the figure was preoccupied other paralyed in fear. Suddenly the wall started to crack and large pieces of the wall and the ceiling started to fall. Finally the whole vault itself was pulled from the wall leave a whole where the vault used to reside. The figure then smirked and began to make her exit with the vault in tow behind her.
At Lena's penthouse the session was progressing when suddenly everyone's phones went off at the same time, usually a tell-tale sign that something massive was happening. Maggie had been notified that there was a bank robbery in progress, and that every officer in the area was being sent to respond, which she thought was peculiar till she was. informed that it was a figure that had powers. That was all the team needed to mobilize and handle the situation. Maggie was the first to leave, heading to the bank to take control of the situation to make sure nothing goes wrong. At the bank the figure exited the bank with the vault, and was met with more than a dozen squad cars and officers ans swat with their guns all pointing at her " ah national cities finest coming to welcome me to the city and kind of you unfortunately i have business to attend to so if you will excuse me." the officer leading the scene immediately ordered her to stop and to put her hands up. The figure smirked " well if you insist" she raised her hands and the front two police cars lifted into the air catching everyone off guard, and then she put her hands down dropping the cars right on top of another two squad cars making the officers retreat a bit. The officers readied themselves again pointing their weapons back at her again. The figure started to move towards them again. The officer again repeated his command, but was unheeded by the figure. The officer then gave the order to fire on the figure, and all officers opened fire, sending hundreds of bullets. The figure put her hand up and one by one the bullets began to slow till they finally came to full stop, and as she put her hands down the bullets dropped to the ground, shocking everyone watching. The officer quickly reloaded to quickly fire another volley, but the figure again used her magnetic powers and the guns were stripped from the officer's hands. The figure started to point the guns at the officers, and cocks the guns ready to fire at them. Before she could pull the trigger she was hit from the side sending her flying into the ground. The vault and the guns all fell to the ground no longer under the influence of the figure's magnetic powers. When the figure composed herself and stood up she saw the origin of the shot. Standing before her were the heroes of National City " the if it isn't the legendary siren in all their ferocity. I am honored that all of you felt the need to show yourselves, and I look forward to the challenge. Diana tried to end this quick and launched Triam at the figure. However almost like a magician pulling a rabbit out of the hat the figured lifted her hand and like the bullets from a few moment ago, and the mighty weapon stopped about a foot from its target " Ah its not really a smart thing to do to use a metal weapon against someone who can control metal now is it." and without warning she sent Triam right back at Diana who took the shot dead center in her chest, sending her crashing through a nearby delivery truck and into the wall of the nearby building. Kiara was none too happy about what had just happened and immediately flew at the figure with lethal intent in mind. The figure lifted into the air again and this time used her powers and all the metal around came alive and lifted with her. She started to throw the debris at the heroes, causing them to scatter to evade. Kate pulled Ivy and both ducked behind a nearby wall just as a car landed right where they were. Leslie turned into electricity and surged into a nearby street light to avoid even more debris. Lena was the first to fire any type of shots at the figure. However, the figure would use pieces of debris to block the attack and then use her power on Lena. Balling up her hand into a fist then causing the metal frame of the iron maiden suit to crush itself causing critical damage to the suit, disabling it and almost killing Lena in the process. The figure then tossed Lena like a used piece of garbage. It looked for the moment that Leslie was the only one still standing of the group. She started to send bolts of electricity at the figure, but just like with Lena the figure used the metal debris around her as a shield to block the shots. The figure then starts to use the same debris and starts to throw the debris at Leslie. Leslie tried her best to evade the debris, but not having the speed or grace that Kate has to evade all the debris. Leslie gets hit by a street mailbox knocking her to the ground, probably cracking a rib or two from how it felt. Leslie was helpless struggling to get to her feet. She saw the figure lift what looked to be a pipe with a serrated edge which gave it the look of a dagger, and before she could do anything the figure sent the pipe at Leslie. Leslie put her hands up in what she thought was a useless exercise in futility. However after a few seconds she realized something: the piece of pipe had not impaled her yet. She peaked her eyes open and was shocked at what she was seeing as the pipe was right in front of her about a foot away from her just levitating in front of her. Then she realized that she was doing it her electrical powers had created a field of electricity that was powerful enough to stop the piece of metal from almost certainly killing her. The figure was equal parts shocked and equal parts angry that the shot had not hit its mark and that Leslie was able to stop the attack. The field disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared and the piep hit the floor with a metallic clank,and Leslie fell down with it more than like super weak from the surprise release of power. Before the figure could send what she was sure would be the death blow to the former electrical villainess another figure came in close to her while her attention was on livewire and grabbed her by the neck. She turned to see Overgirl having her at her mercy by the throat with malicious intent in her eyes. The figure tried hard to speak out against the force of the grip from the kryptonian " this is why you were the one i was worried about. You're not like any of these other heroes, you don't have a moral compass, but maybe even the ruthless and powerful Overgirl has gone soft being around these homosapians for so long ." Overgirls grip grew even tighter " you still have a very sharp tongue considering with one good squeeze i can snap your neck like a twig, and end you." the figure gave a labored smirk " maybe a few years ago when you came here yes you would not have given it a second thought, but the fact you have not done it means that you have changed, and i will show you how much." Before Overgirl and retort the figure lifted her hand. The action caused Overgirl to look in the direction and to her shock, a building that was a few blocks from them started to fall. The figure had used her powers to destroy the support beams, keeping the building standing and making it fall to its side on other buildings and onlookers. Kiara did not waste anymore time with her and released her and flew as fast as she could to the building. Before she was out of earshot of the figure " remember this day National city the day that Magneta the mistress of Magnetism defeated your most powerful heroes." Kiara got to the basement of the building and got beneath one of the beams that had failed and used every ounce of power and strength she had to support the building and released a deafening yell and she took the weight of the building on her shoulders. quickly the rest of the team jumped in to help in whatever way they could. Maggie had her officers clear the area as fast as they could. Batwoman helped the police with the crowd control. Lena and Kara in flight strategically positioned themselves on the side of the building and began to fly to push to try and get the building vertical again. Ivy brought a gang of trees with her and sent them to help Overgirl support the building. She used another group of trees to bring heavy beams from a nearby construction site and positioned them around the failed beams. Diana and Leslie then used their electrical powers to weld the beams together to finally make the building somewhat stable to get the people inside out. After the situation with the building had been handled, everyone took stock of the damage left behind. The villain now known as Magneta had escaped; she however left the bank vault behind, leading to the conclusion that this was just a ploy to get the heroes here to introduce herself to National city in a big way.
In the coming days much was talked about in terms of National City's newest rogue. Off course Maggie came under fire from her opponent about the failure of the police to stop this new villain saying that if the police had the proper tools they could have beaten her. Everyone was trying to find any information on the mistress of magnetism. Kate being the detective that she was able to find the first reports of Magneta. Most people were looking for signs of Magneta, but that only told half of the story. Like everyone starting out she is not always as polished or big time yet. The team was assembled at the DEO for Kate's briefing. " so most people are not looking in the right place. They are looking for Magneta, but they are not going to find who she really is. I crossed referenced strange magnetic anomalies going back years prior to Magneta's first appearance. A school in Grozny Chechnya mysteriously collapses and witnesses say that the building began to shake violently and the metal started to come alive like it was possessed. A few days later a steel factory also had a similar accident metal beams crumbling apart bring the building down. These attacks stopped until almost two years later in Poland when a studio was brought down, and a bank was robbed. In those instances witnesses reported metal objects taking a life of their own before the structures came down. Shortly after this Magneta made her first appearance in Germany. After that she got around Munich, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Madrid, London, and from what i can tell New York although the fed tried to keep it under wraps. Not everything has been stolen. It looks like she took contract jobs as well of various types." Kate finished her briefing and Maggie was the first to respond " so your saying that Magneta was born in Chechnya, and from the looks of it before she became the villain we fought.'' Kate looked at the commissioner " i have a feeling that early on much of what she did was either motivated by revenge in some form or by survival." The room looked to Kate in confusion at her statement " I have a potential suspect so I tried to to prove my theory. Erica Lehnsherr. She lived in Grozy with her mother, father, and brother, but was orphaned when her family was killed in the Russian chemical attack on the city. She went to the school that was destroyed and rumor has it she was bullied by everyone. The Steel factory was where her father worked, but was unceremoniously fired by the factory. The bank I believe was her way to get money. So i did some more digging, and it looks like miss Lensherr was in poland at the time of the attacks in Poland except she changed her name to Erica Maximoff. It just so happens that the studio that was attacked was where she worked in her time living in Poland. So after this she gave up her normal living and tuned to the life of crime, thus Magneta is born. I crossed referenced anyone with the last name Maximoff or Lensherr at the other locations and in every instance miss Erica Lensherr has been around the time of the attacks, and it just so happens that a few weeks ago miss Lensherr arrives at a private airport just outside of National City." this got everyone's attention. Alex then spoke up " is there anything we have to tie her to any of these crimes?" Kate shook her head no " no everything i found is conjecture and an educated guess, but not trying to brag or anything, but everyone here knows that my guesses are usually right and there is to much coincidence for me to not think that Erica Lensherr is Magneta." With the revelation that the person they believe to be Magneta was in fact in National City they put all their collective resources into trying to find her. However this task was proving to be a hard task. With the combined resources of the DEO, NCPD, and Kate herself, normally the person they would be looking for would be found in a day, maybe two. However, trying to find Erica Lensherr was proving to be like trying to find a nail in a haystack. After she leaves the airport she becomes a ghost with no credit card slips and absolutely no paper trail whatsoever. As the coalition worked around the clock to find Magneta before she could strike again, a bit of the focus shifted to the campaign and the debate set in the evening. It was so easy to forget the debate being such a trivial thing in comparison to stopping the mistress of magnetism. Maggie even wanted to pull out of the debate to focus all her energy on the search, but the team did not let her. So while the rest of the team was at the DEO maggie made her way to the venue for the debate at Cal State National City reluctantly of course.
At the debate the candidates were kept in separate rooms till they would come on the stage. The debate was getting ready to start, and the moderators were two newspaper journalists. The two moderators welcomed the crowd to the debate and explained the rules of the debate. After that was done the moderators then introduced the candidates " ladies and gentlemen it's my great honor to introduce the candidates for the office of police commissioner. Attorney General Robert Garcetti, Undersheriff Jerry London, Councilman Arthur Reeves, and Police Commissioner Maggie Sawyer." All four stepped onto the stage to the cheers and applause. The four candidates stepped to the middle of the stage till they were standing next to each other for the reporters in attendance to take various pictures of them. After all the fanfare was over the candidates took to their podiums, and once again the moderators gave the candidates the rundown of the rules. After all that was out of the way it was time for the debate to officially begin " By way of a coin toss Councilman Reeves the first question is to you. Councilman you have staked your candidacy on a smear campaign against commissioner Sawyer attacking her reforms and agenda. However voters have criticized you for basing your campaign on rhetoric, and not policy. So if you win the election what policies would you put forth?" Reeves took a breath and began his response " thank you for the question and its a pleasure to be here tonight. On election day voters will have a decision to make. On one hand you have a radical leftist agenda that has made this city less safe by taking away essential tools from our police officers they need to keep our city safe. I will return to this department back to normalcy to the policy that kept this city and its citizens safe for decades. I have heard from voters across this city that they want a police commissioner that will do more to keep this city safe rather than focusing on radical reforms costing the taxpayers millions for nothing. I am that candidate. When we oust Maggie Sawyer and her progressive administration we will return this department to you the people." Reeves, as expected threw the first of what would be many punches of the evening. The moderator then gave Maggie a few seconds to respond to the attack as was the rules of the debate. I hope the people of National City realize what Councilman Reeves just said. The Councilman essentially just said he did not have any agenda or platform whatsoever. He has focused his whole campaign on why i shouldn't be commissioner and not on why he should. He wants to go back to the same draconian policies that had the police department in chaos running rampant with corruption and dishonesty. The streets of the city are less safe, mobsters and wealthy businessmen getting kick backs as long as they are willing to pay. This is the city the councilman wants to bring back. He criticizes my reforms, but at least i had an agenda and a platform, and unlike opportunistic politicians like Arthur Reeves i stuck to my plan and in the short two years i have been the commissioner we stamped out the corruption left behind by commissioner loeb and his lackeys, a whole generation of young female officers has entered the force. Crime across the board has fallen, and I have trimed the needless fat from the budget. I don't know what reality councilman Reeves is living in, but it's certainly not the real world." The Moderator then turned to Garcetti " Mr District Attorney on the topic of corruption you decided to not run for reelection against current District Attorney Donna Spectre because of the growing corruption scandal that your department was involved in where many top officials were taking kickbacks from organized crime. How can you expect people to trust you running their city if you could not even run your own department?" Garcetti looked flustered at the question " i have served the city with honor for decades as councilman and district attorney. I admit that at the end because of the decision of some in my office it compromised the safety and security of the city and its citizens and for that i apologize to everyone especially those who were inconvenienced by the scandal. I have learned from my mistakes in the DA's office, and because of what happened there I know better than most what needs to be done to prevent that kind of rot from occuring again. "
Maggie raised her hand wanting a rebuttal to the DA's response which was granted " Mr Garcetti i find it hard to believe being in the game for so long that you expect us to believe you're the novice your trying to present yourself. When the scandal broke the web of corruption was extensive and it went to the highest reaches of your office men who were there since the early days of your administration. Men at one point you described as your right hands and you expect us to believe that you knew nothing of their involvement in the scandal. I for one find that hard to believe, and if it is true how can you expect people to trust you if you can't even keep your house in order?" the look on Garcetti's face was all Maggie needed to see to know she just gave him a major jaw jack, and his response was nothing short of mediocre. Then it was Maggie's turn for a moderator question " Commissioner Sawyer over the past two years you have led the department, and many have given you high praise for your successes, closing the gender gap between male and female police, crime is low across the city,officer pay has gone up, a successful war against organized crime, as well as the removal of millions of dollars of weapons and narcotic from the street. You, like many politicians, are not without your critics. A few of them on this stage tonight have criticized you for defunding the police and letting vigilantism run rampant. How do you respond to this?" Maggie smiled at the question knowing this would come up eventually " you hit most of it on the head in the question. In the two years since I took over as commissioner we have had an unprecedented wave of reforms answering issues like the gender gap, community relations are better than ever, drugs are off the streets, organized crime has all but been run out of this city. Now to the criticisms both are unfounded. We have not defunded the department like my opponents claim. What we have done was cut back spending and cut contracts we had providing us with things like military issue tactical gear used by the army and marines in wars abroad. I felt that the millions of dollars we spend on that could be better used with community outreach, starting new programs within communities to help at risk youth so we can keep them off the streets and out of our jails, hiring more officers to patrol and keep the streets safe. We are not fighting against a country we don't need military grade anything all that does is invite a ramp up from the gangs because as soon as we get better equipment guess what they are going to get even better equipment, and then we are stuck in an arms race and that makes the city as a whole less safe. Now for the second part of your question when my opponent says that I have given the city to vigilantes, and to that I say the city is better for it. Since the rise of these vigilantes as my opponents call them, I like to call them heroes who have come onto the scene and the city has become safer. They helped us run out organized crime from the city as well as help with other crimes across the city. Furthermore with this rise in super villains in the city it is essential we have a good working relationship with the heroes. We all saw what happened just a few days ago with Magneta. Without the intervention of the sirens how many officers lives could have been lost, How many people would have died as that tower collapsed. We have the greatest officers in the country, but as great as our officers are there are situations that are just too much for them. I don't know about Councilman Reeves or District Attorney Garcetti, but if I can find a way to limit the risk to my officers. To make sure that these brave men and women make it back to their families at the end of the night. The worst part of this job is when i have to tell a wife or husband that their spouse is not coming home, a child that their parent is not coming home, a parent that their kid is not coming home.
Fortunately since I took office I have only had to do that task three times in two years. Unfortunately I had to do that task three times, and each time it was like I had died along with them. The Councilman and the former DA can talk all this rhetoric that they want, but the truth is they never served on the force or worked the beat. They never lost a partner in the line of duty. As many of you know, I worked back east in the Star City police department. I had a partner named Dan Turpin, the model for what a police officer should always be: hardworking, dedicated, incorruptible, a man who would risk anything no matter the cost to keep his community safe gave his life to take down Bruno Manheim and his gang. It was the hardest moment of my life finding out Dan didn't make it, giving the eulogy knowing that the force had lost one of its best officers. I try to honor his memory every day I wear the uniform even now by making sure we are creating more Dan Turpins, and putting to rest fewer. I wish every day that we had a wonder woman, or supergirl, Batwoman, or Iron Maiden to help us and maybe Dan would still be here. I don't like to dwell on what if, but if i can get those three phone calls to zero then i don;t care what i have to do, but i will get it done." Maggie's response got a standing ovation from the crowd, but Maggie was not done. " However, I do want to ask one thing of my opponents. I want you both to tell me what would you have done in response to these supervillains. You both have spent a lot of time attacking me over it, but not saying what you would do so here and now tell us how you would have handled it?" After the moderator gave the two the chance to respond it was clear they were not expecting that kind of a shot, and neither had a great answer to the question. Sheriff London was then asked a question, and actually had a decent response unlike Reeves and Garcetti. The debate would go on like this for the rest of the hour: Garcetti and Reeves and some times London would take shots at her, and other times she would turn their swords on themselves with her great answers. They were entering the closing statements part of the debate. Maggie was the first to give her closing arguments as the frontrunner. However before she could get a word out she noticed something peculiar: the spot light above the stage and began to move almost like they were getting pulled. Then Maggie looked down at a lone paper clip she had with her and the paperclip was putting in the same direction of the lights and was pulled away at a fast speed. Maggie knew what this could mean and she was not liking the situation with an arena full of people in potential danger. She reached into her pocket and pressed the DEO panic button which will send a distress signal to the DEO where everyone was.
At the DEO the team was watching Maggie giving these other guys an ass-kicking pretty confident that Maggie had just wrapped up the election with her performance. However, Alex noticed something right before Maggie was going to give her closing statement. Maggie looked slightly distressed " guys look at the look on Maggie's face something is wrong." The group then paid attention to what Alex was saying and started to agree that the commissioner looked unsettled. They all saw that Maggie was reaching for her pocket, and almost at the same time that she reached into her pocket the distress beacon signal went off. Seeing that it was Maggie's, they confirmed their suspicions that something was wrong, and began to mobilize for the university. Back at the University things went from bad to worse before Maggie could say anything, the building began to shake causing panic and a mad dash for the door. The beams and pipes in the ceiling started to rip apart causing big pieces of the ceiling to fall, but lucky everyone had abandoned their seats where the debris fell. The shaking stopped, and Maggie looked up to see a big whole in the ceiling, and from that her worst fear had been confirmed. Magenta lowered from the whole hovered a bit off the ground " I hope you don't mind, but as a concerned citizen I was hoping to ask the candidates a question ?" Maggie stepped up and said " Magenta you don't need to do this. There are innocent people here that don't deserve to be hurt. Let them go and we can talk about whatever you want to talk about." Magenta looked at the woman " ah evening commissioner you never seize to amaze stepping forward it's no wonder you're the one winning this election these two fools over here would never do something as selfless as that. It's one of the reasons I am here. I am sick and tired of men like this telling anyone what to do when they just want to line their pockets with money or protect their own power and the expense of everyone else. So i am here to take out the trash." maggie drew her weapon " Magneta i can't let you do that. I get what your saying, and god knows i agree with you to a point, but i took an oath to protect and defend the citizens of this city and that means them as well. Just because i disagree with Reeves and Garcetti does not mean they deserve to die." Magneta smirked at the female " come now commissioner surely you must know that gun is useless against me." Maggie took the safety off " it doesn't matter that's the job i signed up for. No matter how much i may think they are scum they deserve the same defense as everyone. Anything less I become no better than either of them." Magenta lowered to the ground " as you wish commissioner." before Maggie could do anything Magneta used her powers and picked Maggie up by her gun and tossed her aside sending her flying across the room. Maggie was winded and pretty sure she has a broken rib or two, but she tried to get back to her feet. Magneta walked towards Reeves and Garcetti with malicious intent. Reeves like the coward he was started to make a break for it, but Magneta used her powers and used a wire to trip up the councilman and dragged him back " oh councilman men like you are all the same they talk a big game, but when the chips are down you run away at the first sign of danger. Its men like you that made me who I am today, and now its time for you to meet the same fate as them." Magenta used her powers and some sirated pieces of metal came alive and lifted off the ground with malicious intent and began to point at the councilman before she could unleash the pieces of metal to do their sinister deed Magneta heard someone say stop causing her to turn around, and to her surprise the Sirens were all standing there side by side " I was wondering when you would show up, but i am surprised by how quick you showed up. No matter what, I have been looking forward to this rematch." Magenta lost interest in the people on the stage and took a battle stance against the Sirens. Wonder Woman was the one to speak up " thats funny we were looking forward to it as well. Let's see just how strong you are." After that Magneta used her power and all the metal debris around her lifted and she hurled it towards the heroes causing them each to evasive action as a result. The fight was on when each of the heroes came for magenta, but the mistress of magnetism was equal to the task. Iron maiden, Overgirl, and Supergil took to the air using their heat beams and una beam respectively to try and get a hit on Magneta, but she used the debris as shield to block the attacks. Livewire and Wonder Woman used their electric attacks on the ground and were met with the same resistance. Batwoman and ivy tried to get in close but were stopped by all the debris circling around. It was impressive to see one person hold the sirens to a standstill; it really did illustrate just how strong and powerful she was. After playing defense she felt it was time to kick this party off. She let the sirens get closer and closer waiting for the right moment. Then when she was sure they were close enough she unleashes a burst of power sending all the debris she was using for defense as projectiles taking out everyone one of the sirens. As everyone tries to gather themselves Magneta does not let them get their bearings and continues the barrage of attacks. Magenta then used her powers and took control of the Iron Maiden suit and used Lena as a projectile. Magenta then activated Lena's wrist missile and fired it right at a charging Overgirl hitting her directly in the chest sending her flying backward hitting the support pillars for the arena balcony and crashing into Batwoman and Ivy. the three had been buried under the debris from the falling balcony, and after that Magneta then catapulted Iron Maiden through the roof sending her flying. Kara went to go and save Lena, knowing that she had no control of the suit. Magenta was very satisfied with herself knowing that the fight was going her way, but the mistress of magnetism was broken from her revelry by the incoming strike from Wonder Woman. The Amazon was swinging at her with prejudice with her battle hammer causing her to try her best to evade. Magenta then used her powers and the pipes under the floor started breaking through, and like snakes they started to coil around Diana restraining the amazon. More pipes joined in, binding the Amazon and bringing her to her knees, forcing her to drop Thriam. Diana could do nothing but yell with rage and frustration " A Wonder Woman all that furiosity and spunk. Look at the great sirens now defeated, and now i think there is no more fitting way to put the exclamation point on this victory than walking away with the greatest trophy of all the head of the great Wonder Woman." Magenta then raised triam of the ground using her powers, and making the pipes that bound Wonder Woman forced the Amazon to bow, exposing her neck to the fatal strike " Well Wonder Woman looks like the end for you had come at last. The Hammer raises, and Diana is resigned to her fate, and waits for the inevitable kiss of oblivion. However the strike never came, causing DIana to force herself to look up, struggling against the restraints, and to her surprise the hammer was stopped a few inches from its targets. She managed to look up at Magneta who had a frustrated look on her face, and turned to where the villain was looking and saw that Livewire was the reason. To Diana's shock Leslie was using a power almost identical to that of Magneta. The villain then spoke " well well it looks like at the bank it was not a fluke, i have to tell you i am impressed for someone who never had powers of magnetism the fact you were able to stop my strike is impressive. However you are a novice in comparison to me. Magneta was ready to fight, but Magneta in all her hubris forgot about one very important member of the team. Maggie had gotten herself together in all sorts of pain and while Magneta had her sights on Livewire, she aimed at her and took two shots. Magneta heard the shots ring out and turned to face the Commissioner, and was able to perry the first shot but not the second one which hit the villain grazing her neck. In the momentary distraction caused by Maggie, Livewire sent a powerful bolt of electricity at the villain, striking true and launching the villain through the wall of the arena. This allowed Diana to break free of her restraints. Livewire rushed to help the amazon to her feet. At the same time the rubble where the balcony had collapsed on Overgirl, Ivy, and Batwoman started to move, revealing Overgirl lifting the mountain of debris on top of them, revealing that the three were okay. Maggie made her way toward them clutching her ailing ribs. A few minutes later the police had arrived to clear the scene. Magneta had managed to escape. Maggie was taken to the hospital to check on her injuries, and make sure it was nothing more then a few broken ribs. The team had told Maggie that despite the abrupt ending to the debate many people had thought that she had won the debate.
Over the next few days the DEO and the NCPD had launched a massive manhunt for Magneta, but the villain had evaded them, but after the way the fight ended they were sure it would not be the last time that they would face the mistress of magnetism. Leslie in general was pleased she had discovered a new power, but she had also kind of found her nemesis in the mistress of magnetism and after mastering her powers she hopes she gets a chance to test them against her. Several miles away at a small airport in the desert named Lerner airfield. It was once an air force base but had been decommissioner for decades, and was Magneta's point of escape because it was so far away from the city that no one would think to look for her here. Her charter plane had arrived to take her away from her vowing to return to finish what she had started. As she was boarding her plane a group of vehicles had arrived and encircled her. This shocked her, not thinking anyone would know where she was or how she planned to escape. So took up a battle posture ready to fight whoever this was. In the center vehicle the back door opened and a female walked out " I assure you miss Lensherr there will be no need for that." this mysterious figure was flanked by others " who are you and how do you know my name? " the trio stopped in front of her " i assure you miss Lensherr i know a great deal about you or would you prefer i call you Magneta. Now you can lower your defenses we are not here to fight quite the contrary, in fact we are here to make you an offer in fact. I am putting together a team of powerful individuals that wish to defeat the Sirens, and the four off us want to invite you to join our team.'' She looked at her weirdly. You said the four of you and I only count three?" before she could get another word out a loud thud was heard, and she looked to see a wing-like creature. The other figure spoke " this is our fourth member she-bat, this person to my left is the second member Blight, and on my right is the Phantasm, and you can call me Doom." Erica raised her eyebrow at this display, but she had to admit she was more intrigued then anything, and she was planning on coming back to finish what she started. In addition, she would not just be on her own this time. She smirked and nodded her agreement, figuring there was nothing wrong with hearing their offer. So she walked with them to their vehicles and they drove away
Here is the new chapter of the story. I want to apologize that it took a bit for this one school to be a mess. On another note, I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every single one of you who have been with this story from the beginning, and to those of you that came into this story late I welcome you to the world beyond the crisis on earth X. I am going to start writing the new chapter soon after things calm down, but I wanted to give everyone a reserved sneak peek into the next two chapters. In the following chapter we will have the introduction of Morgan le Fey, and Tala will finally become a more central character. Finally Alex will have a fall from grace and descend into madness in a very unexpected way that i hope people will enjoy