It\u2019s Friday night at the end of a long shift, and Harry\u2019s is packed. Obviously, Harrys\u2019 isn\u2019t the bar\u2019s real name, the officers of the Armored Mobile Police (A.M.P.) and the investigative arm better known as Amplitude Squad like to keep their favorite watering hole a secret. So I\u2019m here on my best behavior, knowing the second I spill the beans about this place, I\u2019ll have to answer to a dozen men and women in five-ton exo-suits.<\/p>\n
The NYPD and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department are the most active and successful recruiters for meta-powered officers and exo-suit pilots given the meta-populations in both cities. In the booth with me sits Andrew Rossi, better known as Riot Act. He\u2019s one of a handful of police officers with meta-powers, and I spoke with him about his experiences and what it\u2019s like being a cop with powers.<\/p>\n
HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Did you always want to be a cop?<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>Oh yeah, for sure. I actually got into the Academy and everything. I was going to pass on my own two feet when this thing<\/u> happened.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Your trigger event.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>Class of 2007, the Spring Nor\u2019easter. Flooding, lightning strikes, 18 dead, and me shining like a polished chrome bumper.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>You tried to keep your abilities a secret at first.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>Hell yeah! I wanted to be a cop. I didn\u2019t want to get booted. But the eyes. You try telling your training Sergeant why you need to wear sunglasses during drills.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>So what happened?<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>I told the Sarge and he knew Tango over at the War Academy. They understood, but they said if I wanted to be a cop with powers, I had to go to the War Academy first and then back through basic all over again.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>That must have been heartbreaking.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>I thought I was getting railroaded, but the War Academy was all right, you know? I thought I\u2019d be with a bunch of jarheads shouting \u201cHooah\u201d all the time and getting fed the party line, but there were regular metas there too. It was all about responsible power usage and learning your limits. Normal heroes go just to get vetted to make proper citizen arrests, to learn hand-to-hand basics against powers, to learn tactics, you name it.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>But you surrender your private identity and if there\u2019s a crisis, you\u2019re on call.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>I\u2019m on call anyways, and the heroes that\u2019re really serious about being heroes? This gives them a fighting chance to do some good. It builds their connections, it trains them. If it wasn\u2019t for the War Academy, I wouldn\u2019t be a cop right now.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>\u00a0So, what\u2019s it like serving with A.M.P.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>I love it. I thought I wanted to be a Detective or something, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever stop serving on the streets. I\u2019m the guy they call in when they have a meta on the loose. Hard to beat that rush.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>\u00a0A.M.P.\u2019s mechanized power armors are pretty state of the art. When do they send you in instead of one of A.M.P.\u2019s exo-units.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>The exos take longer to suit up\u2014usually it’s in route to a crisis spot aboard one of their V-T Carriers. Me? I\u2019m usually first feet on the ground, or there solo like when some Charlie* decides to try his hand at being naughty.<\/p>\n *Charlie:<\/strong> Slang for Charlie-Class meta.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Do the other officers treat you differently because of your powers?<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>Sure. Sometimes. Not in A.M.P. but outside the squad? The young guys look at me and see a loaded gun. Not in the head, but what I can do. I don\u2019t blame them. But the old guys, they\u2019ve seen everything so they don\u2019t even blink. They look at me, chuckle, and say the beer\u2019s on me. When I ask them \u2018why?\u2019 They say \u2018it\u2019s because you\u2019re a shit magnet.\u2019<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Do they have a special nickname for you?<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>[Laughs] Yeah. Kegger, on account of my silver skin.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>And what do you say?<\/p>\n RIOT ACT: <\/strong>Nothing. [Calling out to the bar] I just blind the old farts!<\/p>\n The cheer that comes back speaks of a tightly knit unit. There\u2019s no denying the job is tough and the stress high, but there\u2019s also no doubt that Riot Act is a part of something bigger and that no matter what happens, these other officers have his back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s Friday night at the end of a long shift, and Harry\u2019s is packed. Obviously, Harrys\u2019 isn\u2019t the bar\u2019s real name, the officers of the Armored Mobile Police (A.M.P.) and the investigative arm better known as Amplitude Squad like to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6OdZi-3m","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":211,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/12\/10\/charlie-class-hero-riot-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":0},"title":"CHARLIE-CLASS HERO: RIOT ACT","author":"Lucien","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Riot Act\u00a0(CLICK FOR PDF) Riot Act - PL 8 Strength 5\/2, Stamina 4\/1, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 7, Intellect 2, Awareness 3, Presence 3 Advantages Assessment, Benefit, Security Clearance: Police Officer, Chokehold, Contacts, Equipment 8, Improved Aim, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Languages 1, Prone Fighting, Quick Draw Skills\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Stats"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Stats","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-stats\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":331,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/02\/11\/hero-beat-prodigies\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":1},"title":"HERO BEAT: PRODIGIES","author":"Lucien","date":"February 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I first met Gideon March, she looked like any six-year old. She wouldn\u2019t make eye contact, instead looking at her feet like she\u2019d found them for the first time as she kicked them back and forth on the sofa. You knew she was listening, though, by the way she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":160,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/11\/26\/hero-beat-the-liberation-of-metahumans\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":2},"title":"HERO BEAT: THE LIBERATION OF METAHUMANS","author":"Lucien","date":"November 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The photographs are iconic of the 20th Century, as indelible as the flaming crash of the Hindenburg, and a defiant Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston in the ring. The grainy black and white photos on D-Day, June 6th, 1944 show Nazi-Kicker and The Honor protecting U.S., British, and Canadian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":388,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/04\/28\/hero-beat-crime-beat-the-narcissist\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":3},"title":"HERO BEAT: THE NARCISSIST","author":"Lucien","date":"April 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 12th, 2012, Sean Cavendish walked into the Marcoli wake to pay his respects. He kissed Lisa Marcoli, grieving widow of suspected hitman Giovanni Marcoli, shook hands with suspected underbosses, capos, and high ranking soldiers of the Tozzetti Crime Family, and then detonated his suicide bomb vest. At that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":151,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/11\/19\/hero-beat-interview-with-grimsta\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":4},"title":"HERO BEAT: INTERVIEW WITH GRIMSTA","author":"Lucien","date":"November 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was April 27th,\u00a02011 at the height of the Super Outbreak of storms when over two hundred tornadoes touched down across Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. It devastated towns and killed 355 people over the course of four days. Four of the tornadoes that spawned that day were F5s, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Grimsta-copy-218x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":288,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/02\/04\/hero-beat-roadkill-inc\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":5},"title":"HERO BEAT: ROADKILL INC.","author":"Lucien","date":"February 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You\u2019ve probably seen their white and yellow vans driving around Manhattan following a metahuman \u2018incident.\u2019 That\u2019s the industry\u2019s polite term for when metahumans get involved in something messy. Roadkill Inc. isn\u2019t a name that inspires confidence, Donna Bartlet will be the first to admit with a broad grin, but nobody\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions\/210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}