nextgen_misc:

From the NY Post:

After weeks of hearings and a parade of expert witnesses, the dust seems to finally be settling on what has been called 'The Siege of District X'. While district attorneys were unable to bring any official charges against Castleton Security Holdings or police Captain Erica Strauss, all standing contracts with state agencies have been cancelled for the latter, and Captain Strauss announced her acceptance of early retirement just hours ago. The 11th Precinct has been indefinitely disbanded, with stationed officers being moved to other districts in the interim.

Chief among the allegations against Castleton were the use of MGH, Mutant Growth Hormone, by their agents assisting police. An official transcript of the pre-trial hearing had this statement by Castleton legal counsel, Renee Devreaux -

"Your frustration is understandable, but the facts are plain to see, and fully documented. Castleton Security Holdings is a privately owned company, not based in the United States. Our agents were given controlled doses of our proprietary defensive biological enhancement formula, without which they would be suffering the same grievous injuries as a number of police officers at the same scene, at our off-shore operations facility, outside of American jurisdiction. All the agents were participants in an ongoing clinical trial of our defensive enhancer. The base material, what is known on the street as 'MGH', is freely donated and humanely collected, much like blood by any number of organizations. Our donors are financially compensated, and their identities protected by double-blind standards and non-disclosure agreements, to prevent any 'closeted', if you'll pardon the term, mutants from being exposed against their will."

Local lawmakers and legal experts expressed shock over a company so publicly admitting to experiments involving mutants, but confirmed that Castleton does not appear to have broken any laws with their actions recently. Company VP, Sanae Takahashi, also released a public comment, regarding Castleton's mission statement.

"Castleton Security Holdings is the bleeding edge of metahuman security. We support mutant charities and relief centers, and willfully employ as many mutants and other metahumans as we are able to place. We provide free counseling and medical support to those whose abilities endanger their health, or simply present certain challenges in everyday life and require training.

The X-gene derived mutant condition is the fastest growing genetic anomaly in the world today. As other security holdings companies may specialize in hostage negotiation, human retrieval, home security, or private security personnel, we specialize in placing those with powers beyond those of baseline humans where they can put their talents to use; or, on the darker side of matters, equip our men to protect against them. Just this year we've been granted thirteen contingency contracts for a number of national museums and capital cities.

Specializing in dealing with the superhuman is a business model, nothing more, much like the esteemed operators of Damage Control could tell you, I'm sure."


District X resident Louis Carter, seen attacking police and security personnel in what had become a virally popular video, was released on probation, after medical testimony revealed an adrenal disorder, rendering him into a state of diminished capacity at the time of his outburst. This has lead to renewed discussion of safety risks in some mutations. His son, David, was also returned to his parents after being placed into a treatment plan to help prevent his own mutation, a corrosive field affecting metallic structures, from becoming a public danger.

Reconstruction efforts have taken over much of the damaged areas of the district, spearheaded by support from the Genoshan Consulate and Julian Howard, perhaps best known as the man behind the X-Factor sensation. Andrew Summers, of the consulate, has begun speaking out against MGH, attributing much of the hysteria around it to humans trying to gain powers, and a created link between that problem and quality of life issues in mutant neighborhoods. A drug treatment and counseling center, along with a new shopping plaza, are expected to have ground broken within the next few weeks. These renewal projects have been hinted to being just the beginning of collaborations between the Genoshan Consulate and Howard, fueled further by rumors of a possible shift in location for the filming of X-Factor.

nextgen_citizen:

The phone rings in Julian Howard's office.

When anyone answers it, the response will be immediate.

"I understand Mister Howard needs an in-house geneticist."