Master Report (2)

Cheap intern made graphics flashed across the screen in a visually offensive display. The field of vision cleared as left sitting front and centre was the contrite sneer of the anchor, "Mitch Masters HERE with the Master Report! Brought to you by the News Network. Networking new news as it newly becomes networkable!" He spun to find another camera, didn't find one, and so swung back, "This evening! Another in our series of hard hitting interviews! HOW HARD?! About yay hard. Would you join me at home in welcoming, a mayoral hopeful - Ms Charlotte Rosa Desiree!"

Charlotte waited patiently as Masters started opening, walking in when her name was announced and sat down in a very poised, ladylike manner by Mitch's desk. "Thank you for having me~" Charlotte said flashing an award winning smile- and as always, she was well dressed to impress.

"Don't thank us. The hot seat chooses." Whatever this meant, Mitch pulled up his papers and straightened them, "For those at home not following, and with no clue! We're nearing the final innings of that oh so important mayoral race. Never a more vital campaign has been run. The fate of our city hangs in the balance. And our guest today - or so she claims! Thinks she has solutions to what ails us. But where does she come from? Where does she go? Does she collude with Cotton Eye Joe? Do you welcome transparency of history, Ms Desiree?"

"As I'm not originally from this fine country, it's only appropriate for the people to know alittle about me before voting. And if I am to earn the honor, I want them to trust me going forward," Charlotte nodded with a smile, hints of an accent slipping in.

"Then let's shine a light.", the lighting changed to signal a format shift, "Not the first time we've heard the name. Is it? Desiree! Printed on old money. Hotelier, concierge, and business magnate Mr Desiree was your father. Yes? No?"

The lovely red head smiled. "That is correct; my father started out as most people do in an unassuming job, a cook in this case. He was a very ambitious and long-sighted man though, and went into the service industry with very strong principles. 'Everyone deserves a place to escape the troubles of the world, if only for a short time' was his motto," Charlotte added with barely visible rehearsal.

"Admirable. He'd have my vote. But is that you? Are you your father's daughter? It's a far cry building an industry to inheriting it. What stuff are you made of?"

While she didn't outwardly show signs that the praise for her father bugged her, it wasn't unwarranted. And besides, he had the legacy left behind as evidence of his work. "It's true people are expecting a lot from me to live up to the legacy he left behind, even while he was still alive," she paused for a moment of brief, silent reflection- only her sister would be able to see through the act. "As such I've followed my father's principles while also trying to hold myself to higher standards while I find my own path. And whereas my father built places to offer people an escape, I've devoted some of my own time to offer artists with a vision or a voice to help create moments of escape, and beauty to be enjoyed by others," Charlotte continued, referring to helping fund aspiring artists or musicians in the form of art galleries, or record studios, "And above all else, I've set my sights on the actual problems affecting our day to day lives and hope to be given the chance to alleviate people of these problems."

"And we got problems!" Masters grabbed a stapler from out of shot, stuck his papers in it, and slammed it down, "It says here Jump City has many a more percentage point metahuman incidents than an East coast city of comparable size! Takes a mayor with a heart of steel and liver of cobalt to seize the reins. But I'm not reading any past political holdings of yours. Why should we trust you? Tell them. You're new to this. Why should they think you can work?"

There was some movement that wouldn't be seen on camera- but an obvious 'bodyguard' from the opposite end of the room moved on a hair trigger. He didn't do anything overtly hostile, he simply reacted to it much like a guard dog would upon hearing a sudden loud noise. Charlotte briefly looked back at him in kind and he relaxed his posture as she started speaking again, "After my father passed away and I was out of college, I spent time visiting some of the restaurants, hotels and so forth left behind by my father. Any great business, country, or civilization is built by the people in it- and in order for one to hope lead, they must be among people first," Charlotte said charismatically.

Anyone hearing her voice at this time wouldn't feel anything out of the ordinary, apart from the fact that whatever she was saying sounded like it made sense to them. "Speaking of metahumans- since I've lived here I've learned that the local police have grown to rely on the titans more often than their own specialized- Metahuman Response Officers I think they're called. Anyway, part of the reason for this I believe is due to their lack of resources to properly handle the metahumans they are responding to. DOMA has arrived with properly trained, and equipped men and women in comparison to the MRO," she finished.

"Those are hard facts! You can't fight with facts, folks. The MRO are woeful. And the Titans have been this city's dirty laundry for years. But the feds put 'em on a fast spin! That's what's needed now. Keeping the pressure on. It's been local government who's been their shield for years. Are you pledging to remove their shield?"

"The state's arrangement may have been ideal at one point due to the by product caused by the undesirables with metahuman status. I would feel more comfortable knowing that the titans or anyone that thinks like them at least answered to some kind of organized authority instead of their operating as they see fit. Plus I'm sure we'd all feel safer if we knew more about what they're capable of in the event one or more of them fell prey to the temptations of abusing their abilities," Charlotte replied, her tone still silky and practically hypnotic. "But if they were to work within the local police force, I'd like to hope that the MRO's abysmal performance would be a thing of the past. And they would directly answer to someone working in the city's interests," she added.

"Oversight! The concept's as alien to them as the green-eyed one. But if you stay the course, you've got the people behind you. The Titans can fall in line, or they go put some other city in the crosshairs. But our incumbent! Our incumbent says we're surrendering too much control to a Washington bureaucracy. Okay - today Titans. But what of tomorrow? Will you acquire an office in time to see it rendered impotent?"

"Another wise piece of advice my father gave me when I was younger was 'eyes on the prize, not the horizon.' I can assure you this is merely the beginning of my political career, and I hope to see myself reaching higher and more influential positions to better handle the problems affecting this nation," Charlotte replied with a smile. "But for now, I am hoping to be given the chance to address the current pressing concerns of Jump. DOMA's arrival while welcome has caused a divide, and each side has it's concerns that I hope to alleviate. A house divided cannot stand on it's own," Charlotte added firmly.

"That it can't. You don't build half a house! Now I want you to look at this." Mitch gestures and a large screen displayed charts behind him, "Our very own polling results. News Network's finest. We've uncovered a great discrepancy when compared to the other polls. You're clearly polling 15% higher than they say. What do you say for the dishonest support that Titans and their backers still enjoy in this city?"

Charlotte smiled sincerely, whether or not this was from just The News Network's end or genuine, she liked to think she deserved this. "The Titans have done good for this city- albeit without proper guidance. As you've said, Jump has more incidents related to metahuman activity than any other city. So it would be short-sighted to not try and utilize the abilities and skills the titans have... just under proper supervision. And I can't speak for all of their supporters, I can only assume that many of them are simply star struck to have living breathing 'comic-book' heroes living so close-by. They've gotten swept up and haven't thought of the consequences of having them operate freely as they have up until now," Charlotte replied thoughtfully.

"And this image isn't dimmed any by the MRO's inability to quell the metahuman activity- this inability only makes The Titans look better and even necessary which brings us back to what we talked about a moment ago. If the police were better trained and better equipped to handle these metahuman criminals, the arrangement the titans have with the state would not have had any grounds to flourish in the first place. It is an oversight I hope to remedy, among others," Charlotte continued firmly, crossing one leg over the other.

"Well it's clear, your hopes are our hopes. Thank you Ms Desiree, that's all we've got time for." Mitch gave the cameraman one of his steely stares, "As always - Pictures! Titans! Make it happen. I wanna see the moment they realise the jig is up. This has been Mitch Masters with the Masters Report - use my website to find your nearest voting booth. Goodnight!"