[Caption: Odess, Russia, 18 years ago.] (A train yard)
Maarten: He went through there!
Ivan Spektor: Stay out of the way, Noah. Let us show you how real company men hunt.
Noah Bennet: You're the boss.
Noah Narrating: My first "bag and tag". The Company's new program to keep tabs on the genetically gifted. The Company decided to go with a less...lethal way of dealing with those with abilities. Trap 'um, tag 'um, and release 'um. Like...biologists, out in the field. I'm here on this training exercise to take notes. See how upper management is at handling the new operating system. I've never been much of an observer -- I'm more the hands-on type. Get my hands dirty a little though. We wouldn't want them having all the fun now, would we? This new system poses a few problems. Partner pairing is the key. With Ivan and Maarten, There's too much brawn, no finesse. (Maaten's hands flame-on with his ability.)
<*editor's note: Translated from Russian>
Ivan:
Liquid Man:
Maarten:
(Liquid man crashes towards them with in a wave of water.)
Noah Narrating: When you're trying to capture a cat, you need a hint of subtelty, lest you scare the cat into realizing it's in fact, a lion.
Noah: May I make a few...suggestions? We need to funnel him through to the last row of boxcars. Cutting off his routes of escape. Ivan, your job is to push him in the right direction.
Noah Narrating: When dealing with powers, any number of things can go wrong. This is why you need to control the environment as much as possible.
Noah: Your job, Maarten, is to take away his exit options.
Noah Narrating: Most of these people aren't trained. Unsure of exactly what they are capable of. They revert back to normal human responses. Someone fires a gun at you, you run the opposite way. (As he and Ivan open fire.) Even if your body can mimic the density of water -- splashing out of fear and reacting to a ball of fire or a hail of bullets is a different story. These types of situations are invaluable for us. We learn about their inability to see themselves as something more than human. For the most part, these anomalies fear themselves as much as they fear us. So when they are given the choice of fight of flight, nonety-nine times out of a hundred, we know they choose flight. Knowing this, we can set the cage so they fly right into it.
(They corner him at the last boxcar, Ivan and Noah guns drawn, and Maarten surrounding him with a spray of fire until he backs into the boxcar.)
Noah: Gotcha. (slams and seals the boxcar door.)
Ivan: Thank you, Noah, for showing old dogs new tricks.
Noah: Now all we have to do is wait. Maybe give it a half-hour and he'll be a bit less...slippery. Tough part's still to come, Ivan.
Noah Narrating: Best not take too much credit in front of my superiors. Humbleness through gritted teeth -- that's my motto here at the Company.
Noah: We bagged him, but how the hell're we going to tag a man who can turn his body wholly into liquid?
Ivan: Ah, yes. That is a good point.
Noah: Might have to put our heads together for this one, gentlemen. Luckily he's not going anywhere for a while.
Noah Narrating: With the right combination of partners, and the right amount of practice and forethought, this process will become much easier. Until then, we've got to settle for improvisation...
[The End]