Sentinel Services Headquarters-Atlanta Field Division

Supervisory Special Agent Jace Turner wasn't known for his patience nor his tolerance of bureaucratic red tape. All too often things like procedure and regulations were a hindrance to law enforcement that criminals used to get away with their actions. Turner learned this working as a police officer in Dallas and now learned how big of a problem they were working for Sentinel Services. Jace understood the importance of law and order yet was baffled how bleeding hearts from both sides of the political spectrum couldn't understand the kind of danger they were up against. He found out about the threat they faced the hard way.

On July 15, 2013, Jace Turner was enjoying a picnic with his wife Paula and his daughter Grace. It was the first time in months he had a day off and spend a whole day with his family. Grace was having fun on a merry-go-round when violent bursts of energy lite up across the park. A mutant rights protest had turned violent and once the dust had settled, thousands of people were dead including Grace. The mutants claimed it was only the actions of a few but Jace couldn't care less. That day proved to him just how dangerous mutants were and that humanity needed to see them the same way.

He quit the police force and joined the newly created Sentinel Services, a government agency that dealt specifically in crimes related to mutants. The US government also began taking more steps in combating these criminals by passing the Enhanced Patriot Act which gave Sentinel Services large autonomy in handling mutants. It was a step in the right direction and yet despite all these measures, things only seemed to get worse. The mutants started forming terrorist cells, smuggling criminals out of state and attacking anti-mutant targets.

Jace moved with his wife to Atlanta to start over and get on the front lines of this war. He helped take down multiple mutants, some worse than others. Some mutants generally made him feel empathy towards their situation but most were like the Mutant Underground. This band of terrorists considered themselves something akin to the Underground Railroad, revolutionaries fighting for freedom. The truth was they were criminals who thought the laws of humans didn't apply to them and that their powers put them above everyone else.

Jace learned firsthand how ruthless they could be. After the Underground attacked a prison convoy and freed Lorna Dane and Reed Strucker, they later kidnapped Jace. One of the mutants was a mind reader and messed with his brain before he could be rescued by Sentinel Services. He didn't know if they learned anything but he didn't know they did something else until he got home later that night. Jace wanted to say goodnight to Grace only to find out that his little girl was dead. The mutant bitch who messed with his mind took away the memories of his daughter's final days and Jace was forced to relieve the pain of losing his baby again. Whatever motivation he had for seeing these bastards taken down escalated tenfold. Jace returned to work with a renewed purpose and wasn't going to tolerate any excuses to putting those freaks into either a cage or a coffin.

His reappearance stunned most of his co-workers. He was supposed to be on mandatory leave after all. Jace brushed them off, telling him he was fine. As a Supervisory Special Agent, he outranked the majority of the staff. There was only one person he needed to tread carefully with and Jace had no doubt he would get called up to the top floor came soon enough.

The summons came while Jace was working in his office when Special Agent Edward Weeks knocked at the open doorway. The man had worked with Jace for several years and the two had struck up a friendship during that time. The Turners didn't really know anybody in Atlanta so it was nice when Ed invited them to a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. After that, Jace and his wife had attended several other family dinners becoming almost an extended family of sorts.

"Jace, Davidson wants to you," Ed told him.

Division Chief Michael Davidson was the senior agent for the Sentinel Services Atlanta Field Division. He ran operations that extended throughout entire state of Georgia and was Jace Turner's immediate superior. He had been a career FBI agent who switched over after the July 15th incident. A lot of law enforcement did so just like a lot of Americans signed up for military service after September 11, 2001. The Chief probably had his own personal reasons to join the fight against mutant criminals but he's never spoken about it.

Jace contemplated what to say since Davidson wasn't calling him to his office for coffee. He'll want Jace back at home and may even resort to a suspension to do it. Hopefully the recent breakout by the mutants and Turner's own kidnapping will convince his superior that the Mutant Underground was turning this into a war and all hands were needed on deck.

The secretary outside the Chief's office told Jace to walk right in so imagine the agent's surprise to find Davidson was already meeting someone else. Sitting opposite of the Chief's desk was a young blonde-haired woman dressed in a dark suit and a white blouse. The way she dressed indicated she was either an agent of a federal agency or possibly a lawyer from the district attorneys, Justice Department, or a law firm.

"Jace come on in. Have a seat," Davidson said. Turner did as he was told, wordlessly taking a seat next the woman. Seated next to her allow him to finally see the handgun holster she had just partial revealed underneath her suit. Definitely law enforcement then but Jace wasn't certain whether she was local or from out of state.

"This is Special Agent Samantha Reston. She just transferred in from the Chicago Field Division. Agent Reston this is Supervisory Special Agent Jace Turner. He heads Field Operations within the county," Davidson introduced the two. The two agents shook hands, exchanging courtesies. Now with that out of the way, they could finally get down to business.

"I recall giving you mandatory leave Jace. Care to explain what you're doing here?" Davidson asked.

"With all due respect sir, this is where I need to be. Not sitting at home on a couch doing nothing," answered Jace.

"If this were any other situation, you wouldn't have been able to get past the lobby but this recent breakout by the Underground has a lot of people above both our paygrades nervous. They want these criminals caught yesterday and they made damn sure that I am to utilize every resource I have at my disposal. So you can stay but if I get so much as a thought that you're unhinged, you'll be sitting on your couch for a lot longer than a few days of leave. The last thing I need is a Dirty Harry going off half-cocked in my department. Do I make myself clear?" Davidson spoke.

"Crystal," replied Jace.

"Good. None of our leads had panned out and so far our wiretaps and monitors haven't come up with anything useful. The rats are scurrying back into the sewers," Davidson explained. "But make no mistake. Breaking criminals out of custody and kidnapping one of my own agents is the last straw for me. I want every one of their faces plastered on every block. I want every one of their families and suspected associates questioned and monitored. If that doesn't pan out, do whatever you need to do. I don't give a damn what it is, just give me some results."

Jace nodded, realizing the situation must be more dire for his superior then he thought. Davidson was essentially letting him off the leash knowing that there could be political blowback. The Chief had always dealt with politics such as the likes of bleeding heart liberals like the ACLU but he's mostly tried to avoid a confrontation with such annoyances. Davidson must be putting a lot of trust in Jace to get results and the agent wasn't planning on letting him down.

"Which leads me to Agent Reston," Davidson added. "She was instrumental in taking down the Chicago cell of the Mutant Underground. Her knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to you and your team as well as her other talents."

"Talents?" frowned Jace.

"I'm a mutant," Reston spoke bluntly. There was no shame or discomfort from her confession.

Jace couldn't hide his shock, certain he heard wrong.

"Personally I hate the term Person of Genetic Difference. Too PC for my liking," Reston chuckled.

Jace stared at her then glanced back at Davidson. "Sir are you serious?"

"Quite serious. Agent Reston has been honest to the agency about what she could do from the start. That's why she was recruited in the first place. She worked undercover within the Mutant Underground for two years, her information leading to the arrests of a nearly a hundred people both part of and contributing aid to the Underground," Davidson spoke.

"With all due respect sir, I'm sure she's very good at her job but I don't think this office is the right fit for her. Things are already tense within my team as is and adding a mutant to it will only make it worse," Jace tried diplomatically to explain. What he was really afraid of was if Miss Reston found out about the Hounds program. It took a lot of work to convince Davidson to approve it and even when he did, it would only be limited to captured members of the Underground. How would Miss Reston feel that her own kind were going drugged up and indoctrinated against their will?

"They'll get over it," Davidson remarked in a tone that meant this wasn't up for debate.

"There are also other…projects that are of a sensitive nature sir," Jace tried to refer to the Hounds program without right saying it.

"You mean the Hounds Program? Where you turn terrorists into assets for use in the field?" asked Reston. To Turner's confusion, she didn't seem disgusted or angry at the slightest mention of it.

"You…know about it? And you're…just fine with it?" asked a stunned Jace.

"Do you care that Khalid Shiekh Mohammed, the man behind the 9/11 attacks has been water boarded more than a hundred times and is rotting in Guantanamo Bay without ever having a trial?" replied Reston.

"Not really," admitted Jace.

"Neither do I. As far as I'm concerned, the only difference between them and Al-Qaeda is that the Underground has powers," Reston shrugged.

"There you have it Jace. You don't need to tread eggshells around this one," smiled Davidson.

"And what exactly can you…do?" asked Jace. This whole situation just seemed unreal to him. When has a mutant ever helped Sentinel Services without threats of prosecution?

"Two things, both of which will come in handy," answered Reston. "First I can sense when mutants are near me. It's not like radar so I can't tell who the mutant is. I just get a feeling in my gut that goes off whenever I'm within a few hundred yards of one. Second is probably the most useful power. If I'm close enough to sense them, I can do what they do."

"You…mimic their powers?" frowned Jace.

"Precisely," nodded Reston.

"And if you had several mutants close to you?" asked a curious Jace.

"Then I have several powers at once," smirked Reston.

"Like I said before, Agent Reston will be invaluable to you. Give her a chance in the field and I promise those rodents won't know what hit them," Davidson told Turner.

Jace still wasn't comfortable with this but the thought of a mutant who could hit back those terrorists with their own powers was too good of an opportunity for him to turn away. The mutant with the ability to disable electronics and mutant abilities proved that these criminals weren't defenseless even without their powers. It was time to hit them with overwhelming firepower and Agent Reston may just be that.

(I made a few changes to the show to fit the story. In the show, Jace is technically the head of the Atlanta Sentinel Services but I felt that wasn't appropriate for someone that high up operating in the field so I made him a Supervisory Special Agent. Since Sentinel Services doesn't really have a ranking system, I used titles and ranks from the FBI to give the agency more depth. The biggest change however has to be a mutant being a Sentinel Services agent. I realize that wouldn't happen on the show but I'll try my best to at least make it seem feasible.)