ya_assemble | [AI] It begins

The Defenders: A "Just-Us" Society?
by Sally Floyd

Every week brings new challenges to the Post-Cataclysm world we live in but the recent actions of the Defenders have left the public wondering if the team is up for the challenge - and if they think they're above the law. A solid week of questionable actions started with a tantrum by the younger Blue Beetle, usually polite and soft-spoken in his appearances, caught on youtube yelling at a freelance journalist and breaking his camera.

While the incident could perhaps be written off as the actions of a hero under heavy pressure having a rare moment of ill temper, Blue Beetle has regularly been seen working with the joint US-Mexican coalition in the fight against the drug cartels in Juarez and El Paso, is the Young Allies' official liaison chairperson, and has been spotted fighting crises around the world on a daily basis. With the hero balancing such a full plate, it begs the question of whether or not the Defenders are putting undo pressure on already unstable individuals or pushing their younger heroes too heavily into the line of fire. The Defenders are so secretive at times, one must question whether or not the sidekicks that have gone missing from the Young Allies have actually returned to the Crisis like they claim.

This alone wouldn't be that alarming if it weren't for other recent actions by members of the team. According to representatives of The Avengers, the recent appearance of both Hawkeyes was fraught with conflict. After a briefing by hero Iron Man on the state of the world post-Cataclysm, the two heroes reportedly broke a window in Avengers Tower, leaving civilians below at risk of falling glass, and ziplined away from the Tower. The two were immediately accepted onto the Defenders without any public reprimand or comment, despite their reckless actions.

Perhaps most disquieting was the team's recent actions upon the return to Earth of the superhero Nova. According to Avengers representatives the dangerous metahuman, currently a Defender and formerly a New Warrior, was mentally unstable due to a psionic attack by a Starro. While unstable, the hero was responsible for causing property damage at the 8th Street Soup Kitchen due to an uncontrolled release of his powers.

Instead of assisting the Avengers in escorting the hero to a secure HAMMER facility where he could receive care, the Defenders on scene - Justice, Ricochet, Hulkling, and Martian Manhunter - interfered in the Avengers' attempt at securing Nova's surrender. Martian Manhunter reportedly psychically restarted the supercomputer residing in the hero's mind, an act that could have led to an unstable lashing out of his powers. According to the scale used by HAMMER, and formerly SHIELD, to classify planetary threats, Nova registers as a class 12 worldwide threat due to his power levels.

"Nova was clearly not in his right mind after the Starro attack," Norman Osborn stated in a recent press released. "He had already caused some damage to Central Park and damage to the 8th Street Soup Kitchen, who had called in the authorities for assistance. Rather than cooperating with authorities, the Defenders disregarded our attempt to bring Mr. Ryder in for treatment and then made a very risky move with an unknown and powerful piece of alien technology implanted in his head. The outburst of uncontrolled power that could have resulted from their actions was averted only by sheer luck, but one day, that kind of luck will run out, and we've already seen what happens then."

With the specter of Stamford and the actions of other New Warriors still looming in the memories of half the population, one wonders if indeed, the Defenders' luck will hold out. One thing remains clear: apparently the Defenders feel that they only have to operate under their own rules.

Threaded | Flat

texastoasterman: Did you see that article Floyd did in the Planet? No comment on my team-mates because I know the value of moving possible explosions to secluded places. And believe in using doors. But I am seeing red rn.

Thanks to recent actions by the Blue Beetle being brought up, again, by the press, I have been tasked by PR to help you all master methods of effective communication with the press. This will be a three hour course, complete with certificates at the end, and it will be replacing my lecture on how to safely backflip onto and off of motorcycles. Which, as you all know, would be the last credits you need for your driver's ed courses.

I'll expect you all in Meeting Room C at 10:30 am on Friday. Bring pen, blue or black ink only, and paper. Participation is mandatory. No food, but you can bring drinks if they have tops.

Yours,
Taskmaster

P.S. Reyes, do you happen to know what size skirt you wear?

BendyGirl99

This is just awful. I SAW that video and Blue Beetle just wanted to keep the guy out of the poor girl's face. You're being way too hard on him for doing his job.

He didn't really want to do it. He didn't really need to do it, either.

The press would have moved on. They always did. They'd moved on when he'd accidentally killed Ginger's psycho abusive husband while defending her from a murder attempt.

But part of the reason they had was because he'd turned himself into the police and answered all their questions. They police had decided to not press charges because he'd been honest and forthright, and with Ginger not willing to press charges, the press had deemed the incident an unfortunate accident that happened in the defense of an innocent.

The same principle applied here. There were some questions people deserved answered and some he was tired of having people ask him and he figured it'd be good to get it all out in the open. He knew people on Earth weren't used to some of the things he was used to. At any given time there weren't actually that many people on Earth that could go against the Silver Surfer and be able to hold their own long enough to at least avoid a one-punch KO.

"This thing on?" Nova said, tapping the mike. It immediately screeched out with feedback and he winced. "Oookay, it's on."

He squirmed slightly where he sat.

"I'm not sure if I'm doing this right but I was gonna start this with a statement and then I'm opening things up to questions. I know this is a little...unconventional. But I'm a cop. I'm not comfortable with not saying anything when people are asking for a little transparency."

He drew in a deep breath and let it out.

"To start with, a lot of people have expressed nervousness over, uh, my return to Earth and that recent article in the Planet, specifically in regards to my power levels and level of control. Worldmind is the supercomputer in my head; it's kind of an organic energy matrix that is the sum total of all the knowledge of the Xandarian people. It was on the fritz because when I first arrived to Earth I was attacked by a Starro. Worldmind was able to prevent the damn thing from controlling me but in the process, it got locked in a state of needing to reboot without being able to, which left me a little mentally off-kilter."

Time for honesty.

"I did cause some minor property damage at the 8th St. Soup Kitchen. Melted a table by accident. I've already arranged for its replacement, on that note. When I realized the risk, I moved to the park to try to find a place away from people. That's where I was confronted by the Avengers. When I told them not to engage in a park where there were civilians, and tried to fly to a more secluded area, both the Avengers and the Defenders tried to stop me."

Yes, he was throwing his teammates just slightly under a bus with that, because if he was going to criticize the Avengers for it, he had to be even-handed.

"Martian Manhunter was able to knock me unconscious with his telepathy and forcibly rebooted the Worldmind. This was not as much of a risk as Osborn made it out to be. To start with, I was mostly just having some energy bleed off - nothing explosive. I wasn't so out of it that I had no self control at all. I was also a Defender around the time the team first formed and J'onn was 100% aware of my med-profile and mental architecture, so to speak - more familiar than the Avengers would've been. He and Justice are also both powerful telekinetics so had there been any more bleed off, they would've been able to contain it."

He added, "Was it ideal? No. But people call me 'the human rocket' for a reason. If they'd engaged and tried to take me in, I probably could've gotten away and that would've been no good for anyone. J'onn knocking me out and fixing me right then and there de-escalated it."

A pause.

"Okay, so, you probably have questions. Go." One of the reporters raised a hand. "You with the hair."

to Nate

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