Mayne

1. Hope of Survival

                                          "The scene was chaotic," the tall thin man stroked the dark hair of his goatee, his brows furrowed and his lips in a tight grimace "I couldn't determine anything of importance from it, nothing remained intact!" He turn to face his assistant as he thought back to the horrible scene of the attack he had just left. "Exactly what am I to say about this!" He gestured towards the windows and the hoards of people all clamoring for answers, they were mobbing everyone that exited the hospital. He watched, his heart sinking as another fleet of vans brought the next round of survivors dug from the rubble that had been Metro City. "They weren't just people, they were brilliant minds all highly gifted and desperate to help humanity in any way they could. They were families, they were warriors that fought for anyone that couldn't fight for themselves" he slugged the window "they were my friends."

                                           "The announcement has to be made sir" His assistant tried to refocus him. "It is the only way to calm down the crowd, they need to know what is going on." she turned to look at the room around them; the pain in his face threatened to distract even the tightest focus she just had to maintain. It was late at night, she was used to a certain schedule in her sleep cycle but tonight the interruption couldn't be helped.

                                            "How" He fought back the tears then turned hesitantly away from the glass barriers that blocked all who were outside from seeing inside the Hospital. "How am I to announce this, what can I possibly say to calm the down as you say."

                                           "Perhaps, you can give them good news not just a body count sir" she twisted the edge of her oversized sweater anxiously as her rumpled pleated skirt revealed the quick manner of her dressing.

                                            "I can't imagine anything pleasant coming from this disaster." He brushed aside a tear from his tired brown eyes as he sank into a nearby chair. "We don't even know if this IS a disaster or a deliberate attack!" He sighed worn out and not wanting to see anymore. He knew it wouldn't help to shy away from all of it. He knew that outside the window the body bags would continue to pile up by the thousands. "How do I say anything and not look like an idiot right now. " He took a deep breath "How did this happen."

                                            "Nobody knows as yet sir." The short curvaceous woman approached him gently "Sir you need to address this situation, your wife" she took a breath and corrected herself "the president made it quite clear that this is your issue to announce." She noted his growing irritation "That it is the Vice Presidents job to address the press over this." She took a frantic breath, "Madam President said she would be wrapped up in the political fallout for months" she tried to straighten her outfit "and clearly a statement to the press needs to be made now!"

                                            "Alright," he threw his hands up in frustration and stood "but first" he pointed at her aggressively "I want to read some of the statements of the survivors" he held his hand out to her expectantly & with a sly smile.

                                            "Um" she took a deep breath "sir, this incident happened no more than 7 hours ago; we don't have statements yet, we are still locating the survivors and treating them."

                                            "Well," he smiled slightly "then why again am I being rushed to make a formal statement when we know nothing about what has happened, how it occurred or even who has survived?" He leaned down a bit so as to whisper "Why don't you go and see what you can learn" he raised his eyebrows "or better yet," his brow furrowed and his voice grew louder "why don't you go light a fire underneath the lazy half-brains that we are paying to keep us updated on current events!" H frowned, his expression turning to anger "Or you could start doing your job instead of harassing me to do mine."

                                           "Yes," She sighed happily "yes sir; right away" she turned and smiled thinking to herself how wonderful it is to get to redirect the anger to someone else.

                                            As she hurried off he couldn't help but hope that somewhere, somehow... the pride of the nation, the smartest of the Elite Powered had survived. "Hopefully more than just one of them survived." He rubbed his forehead in exhaustion and made his way to the couch. "I don't understand" he sat down with his head in his hands "but this has to have been an attempt to get them." He leaned back resting his head "there is no way a disaster of this magnitude is purely accidental. If we are to survive, there has to be someone still alive" he tried to still the panic "they are the only people alive that could make sense of it, this can't be a coincidence that mere days before a break through Metro City gets destroyed."

                                             Somewhere below him, in the chaotic hallways there was a girl... five foot one, sixteen and a half years old, wavy shoulder length brown hair, brilliant blue eyes and tan skin. She laid spread out on a portable hospital bed. The bleeding had been stopped but she was still silent, she was in a deep sleep, breathing strong & fighting through the dreamless vast expanse that lay behind her eyes. Somewhere below him, Mayne had not only survived but had saved everyone, but now, she was alone.