President Taylor

"If the world ever needed heroes, it needs them now," I said. "Heroes do not have to be parahumans. A hero can be the man who takes up arms to defend his neighbors who cannot protect themselves. He can be the person who helps drag the neighbor he has never liked away from harm. America will be tested in a way it has never been tested, and I believe that we will triumph. The world will be tested in a way it has never been tested. Today is a day to set aside our petty differences, to stand arm in arm against a monstrous threat the likes of which humanity has never known. We will fight as one, and today, at least we will not war against ourselves. We have a new enemy, an implacable alien menace led by monstrous cannibalistic insects. Hero, villain, today those words have no meaning."

Everyone in the mock up of the oval office on Air Force one was under my control. They'd remember the president making this speech, and he would as well. He was sitting off camera, unnoticed by anyone and looking dazed. Everyone on the plane was under my control.

"The Fae do not care about territory. They cannot be bargained with. There is no power to be gained by making deals with them, because they do not make deals," I said, leaning forward. "Money, power, all the things that villains normally try to gain are not available from the Fae. There is slavery, or death, and those parahumans who surrender will likely be slaughtered as being too hard to control, and too dangerous."

I'd had a visit with Canary earlier this evening, and I'd gotten a look at her parasite. A few minor adjustments to the minds of the principals involved would result in her getting a fairer trial, especially given the idea I'd planted in the heads of the PRT to use her powers to counter Singers in Boston. Everyone in the range of my voice would feel my power, and they'd listen. I wasn't a good speech writer; in retrospect I probably should have had the President's speech writer to come up with something.

***

There was a message underneath what I was saying.

Protect yourselves. Protect your family. Earth Bet is family and invaders are the enemy. Destroy them.

The risk of that, of course was that if everyone survived but me, Earth Bet might become xenophobic, and dimensional travelers would be in trouble. I'd worry about the consequences later.

A touch of Jack's power was carried along with the broadcast. All parahumans in the audience would hear what I had to say, and it would affect them much more strongly than anyone else. The world was doomed if the villains chose to disrupt everything. My biggest fear was that Scion could hear the broadcast because I was using Jack's power. However, if the world was going to end one way or the other, I wanted people to have a chance to go down fighting.

***

Treason