Economos hated Mondays, especially Mondays in Arlington. Traffic had been a nightmare thanks to the new roadworks down near the outer boulevards.

Everyone was on edge in the room. It smelt damp. In the middle of the table sat a ash tray. The silver bowl was a graveyard of cigarette butts, wafts of light grey smoke wisping out from the mound. Chatter was abuzz as usual around the room. Meaningless small talk about missions, domestic details, vacations, not in that order. Economos kept to himself, sipping in his coffee cup. As a data analyst, He was sandwiched in between two agents. Stillwell sat to his left, taking a drag of a cigarette whilst Johnson was kneading her eye with a manicured fist.Stillwell was the definition of a braggadocio. Theree was an unspoken hierarchy at the agency where hotshots like Stillwell, gunning for their next promotion, were the talk of the town at the mess hall whilst low level techs and admin staff like Economos were busy twiddling their thumbs, satisfied with their paycheck and benefits they got. Economos was alright with that. Stillwell was a man who demanded results whilst Economos was a man who calculated and waited for results. Two different philosophies. Only one seemed to get all the attention though.

Economos peered around the room. Avery from Analytics. Carson from Investigations. Tactical. Administration.

Why would Hill call a meeting from different departments? As though he had summoned her, Maria Hill burst through the door, the chatter ceasing in the room. Her spine was straight as a railroad spike, iron and unbending, as she walked to the front of the tabl. A crowd of assistants and secretaries congregated around her, like ducklings.  Wordlessly, she  nodded to an red-faced assistant who was struggling with a mountain of files in her arms who began passing it out to each agent. 

" Good morning, everyone. Yes, I know how unusual it is for us to have an early meeting, especially on a Monday." Maria nodded in acknowledgement to Economos and he raised his coffee mug in reply. " I wouldn't gather all of you if this wasn't a matter of national security."

" Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet the face of the mark we're targeting over the next few months." The projector turned on and Economos thought what he saw was some sort of photo editing glitch. It was a mugshot of a person, well, as best as he could make it out. The shadow held a sign reading "DAKOTA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT - IVAN EVANS". Before anyone could ask a question,Economos heard a snide giggle from his left side. Maria's head turned towards his direction, her gaze owlish. 

" Something funny, Agent Stillwell?," Maria asked. 

" Seriously, this is who we're worrying about? I've read his file before, Hill." Stillwell eyes rolled, laying back in his chair with a smug grin. "A metahuman gangbanger? Low level gang wars over territory and cocaine? Can't we just leave this to the feds?" Some other agents in the room let loose a few sniggers and wry grins. Economos remained impassive, rolling his yellow pencil in between his fingers, observing Hill instead. The senior agent didn't so much flinch, remaining stony faced. Well, attempting to. Economos had worked with Amanda Waller long enough to know to spot a copycat. He could see the chinks in how her fists tightened, the way her shoulders tensed. The power suit she was wearing was the same as the one Waller wore during her inaugration speech at D.C.

" Really?" Maria raised a single eyebrow. " Since you're so outspoken, do you mind telling me who the Agency should be more worried about?"

The laughs died off. Stillwell shrugged his shoulders, now speaking in a patronising tone.

" Director Waller's directive has been to concentrate on Superman -"

" Correction. "  Maria cut him off . " Superman is one of our primary focuses but he is not the only one out there. Big Blue is a paper tiger. He is only one man and with our friends at LexCorp, he'll be kept busy in Metropolis for a good while. He is fundamentally an outsider and effectively has no political bearing on what goes on domestically. Until he starts becoming a threat, he's a nuisance and a useful one at that."

Grabbing a remote to the table, Maria pointed it to the television, turning it on with a flick of the switch. Black and white static faded into a live broadcast on WHIH News.  It looked like there was some protest in Chicago judging by the large crowds of people wielding signs. Only these weren't any ordinary people.There was a winged woman standing on power lines and holding a megaphone. A towering giant of pure energy waving a flag that was carved out of a small tree. They were metahumans. 

" This is Christine Everhart, live at Washington D.C where the Meta Breed is continuing their third day of public protests this week.  Mr Ebon, this is the second demonstration your Meta-Breed. What are you hoping to gain out of this discussion?"

The shadow talked. There was no mouth in the blackless expanse of that living shadow, only two slivery beads of moonlight that shimmered as though they were on the surface of a lake. He spoke in a vaguely brouguish east-coast accent, harsh and unrefined. There was a second tone glued to the first, an oily slick static that seem to cling to every syllable.

" Hope that the fine people of New York be more willing to let us be in their neighborhood  without havin' a rock thrown at us."

" Are you willing to come to any compromise with Governor -"

" Compromise?"  Ebon's voice grew angry. " 'Scuse me? Ain't no word I hate anything more in the dictionary than compromise. Instead of being forced to suck their dick, we get a dollar each time we suck their dick. Lord ain't anyone new. Same as the last administration in fact. No matter if it was the most woke ass liberal up there or the most racist pig standing on that their podium, it's a mould. The president fits that damn mould. You think this power makes me different? We just the same as everyone else. Powers ain't gonna be anything new in the equation if some people on the other side got powers too. We ain't meta if you're fighting for the same old things. Way I see it, you meta if you fightin' for a new meta, baby. A new meta that's free - "

The television clicked off. The temperature in the room had changed. The boredom on everyone's faces had been wiped away by Ebon's speech and now, a stoic grimace filled their furrowed eyebrows and frowns. Economos glanced to his left.  Stillwell looked as though he had swallowed a prune. Maria stared, laser-focused, at the agent, a savored look in her eyes, before regarding the silence of the room with a commanding voice.

" This protest was just over 6 hours ago. The Meta Breed are growing fast and have the potential to become one of the greatest threats this nation has ever faced.  They had only a few dozen people in their ranks 8 months ago and now, their ranks have swelled to the hundreds across the east coast. Mr Evans here has the potential to unite the mutant, the metahuman, the vigilante and all superpowered individuals into something new that could threaten the stability of this great nation. We must prevent his rise before he can start a metahuman revolution." Maria paused to let the gravity of her statement sink in. " The first and last one we'll live through. "

Agent Harcourt, a blonde agent in her mid thirties, was the first one to break the silence, leaning forward on her elbows.

" Why not just get a sniper? He's not bulletproof as far as the files tell me." 

"We kill him now and we'll make him a martyr." Maria replied, her face grim. "The movement will continue on without him.  We need to kill his image, his reputation in the eyes of the public, and then, we can properly kill him. "

" So, what do you propose, Hill?," Stillwell said, irritated. 

" We need a patsy. We can't fight a meta but if we make a meta fight another meta, well....."  Maria said, a slight curl on her lip. " And I just know the perfect one...."

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[center][h1][color=blue]STATIC[/color] [color=yellow]SHOCK[/color][/h1][/center]  
[center][h2][color=yellow]JUMPSTART[/color][/h2][/center]  
[center][h2][color=blue]PART ONE[/color][/h2][/center]  
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Robbery was never something Terry Erwell took joy in. As he wedged the bolt cutters in between the steel iron chain behind the F.E.A.S.T community centre, he was wondering how the hell he had ended up here in the first place. His partner, Turk Barrett, had proposed the job a week ago. Erwell wouldn't have even dreamt of it. Hell, he crashed at F.E.A.S.T a few times when the landlord kicked him out for inspections and had supper there when he didn't have enough left over to pay the loan sharks. He disagreed to it but when the electricity bills came in, Erwell succumbed to the pressure. 

" Come on, man,"  Turk was behind him, egging him on. He held a crowbar in his arms that was for forcing the door open once  He looked over his shoulder for signs of any cops. " How long is it going to take for you to snap through, man?"

" Just gimme a second." Erwell grunted, feeling the metal slowly give way. " It'll take 5 minutes, tops." 

" Well, hurry up." Barrett stood on the balls of his feet, holding the crowbar like a lifeline. " We stand out here. Pretty soon, someone's gonna spot us in our dumb masks -" 

" Dude, what the hell are you two doing behind here?" 

The two criminals jumped. The voice was young and sounded like your typical teen. Erwell knew immediately who it was. It was a face that you would have seen plastered on signboards, graffitied in subway tunnels and in blurry afterimages on late night talkshows. An overly large parka shadowed his head but two gimlets of blue lightning sparked within them. His hair stood on the end as all the lights in the alleyway seem to dim in the figure's presence. Two plastic grocery bags, stretched in the seams, were held in his hands.

Static.

The vigilante dropped the bags and took off his hood. His dreadlocks coiled outwards like stretched springs and the lightning faded from his eyes, revealing bloodshot irises.

" Erwell, I swear to god I told you off last week.  " Static said, exasperated. " Don't tell me what I think you're doing. For fuck's sake, man, what if the cops spotted you?" 

" Uh, Static, look, this is all a misunderstanding." Barrett raised his arms up, trying to defuse the situation. You see, we were just doing late night repairs -" The hero signed. Blue electricity began to drip from his right hand and with a wave, the crowbar his partner was holding leapt out like a frog and skittered on the concrete. 

" Look, look, guys." Static pinched his nose. " It's 11:30, I got chores I need to run and I don't got time to send you two fools down to the station. " Static lifted up the bags invitingly. " How's about you help me distribute these hoagies to all the folks in the shelter and I'll let you two have a bite?"