Massive Explosion in Riverside! [IC]

[N/A]

DarkStar, when was the last time I made a request of you that didn't turn out to be vitally important in some way? I'd like to think I've earned the right not to be second-guessed by now. But nevermind. I have other ways.

The Scarab broke off mental contact with DarkStar and initiated a sharing with Phantom. I suspect you have no more desire to talk with the police than I do. I need to get back to The Lair, quickly. There is another matter I must attend to. Can you take me?

[alderwitch]

Of course. Phantom diverted her attention from going down to talk to officials. She was certain Ace Danger knew them all by name anyways. Teleporting straight up to Scarab, Phantom made certain she had the co-ordinates for their landing firmly fixed in her mind before the folds of her cloak enveloped the armored psychic.

After a moment of endless black void, Phantom depostited Scarab inside her lair's med lab. "Simple."

[N/A]

"I should be OK."

That remains to be seen, Arrowhawk.

The Scarab hovered a couple of feet above the ground, her arms crossed, staring at Arrowhawk's bed. Without turning to look at them, she spoke to her colleagues. "Thank you, Phantom. Your help is appreciated. Now I must ask you both to please leave us alone. The archer and I need to talk. Now."

[Ecalsneerg]

Arrowhawk laughed, partly from genuine amusment and partly from a haze of pain. "You think I'm scared of you? Even in your sanctum, and helpless and half-blown up, you're not going to scare me. So just level and talk normally, less of the theatrics." Oh, and stay out of my mind unless I ask you. I'm not that helpless yet.

[N/A]

Oh, and stay out of my mind unless I ask you. I'm not that helpless yet.

Stay out of your mind? An hour ago, five minutes ago, I could have honestly made that promise. Now? It remains to be seen. I haven't gone prying yet, in the hopes that you'll be honest with me. But I'm not ruling it out. Not after this.

I haven't told the others. I haven't told anyone. Yet. Tell me why I shouldn't.

I know what really happened there. I saw it. And I'm content to let Malice twist in the wind. He's guilty of enough atrocities that I honestly don't care if he goes down for the one crime he didn't actually commit.

But tell me I'm wrong. Look at my face and honestly tell me you didn't kill those people. Convince me that you should still be on this team. Convince me that you should be free to roam the streets at all.

[Ecalsneerg]

Honestly? I did kill them, and I'm not going to say I'm not guilty. I'm guilty as hell, right here. I'm not looking for pity here. But, frankly? I don't think I could have not done it. Down there, he had enough missiles, bullets and other gadgets to destroy three quarters of this city, if I'm any judge. Not to mention miniaturised EMP technology, which was my original reason to be there. He was dangerous, and I neutralised the danger. The deaths? A complete accident, and I can't atone for that.

He rolled onto his side to look Scarab in the eye. "Sorry, you two. Remember, Scarab keeps it all mental due to a desire for secrecy."

Now, your other two points. One, I'm not on your team. I'm left out in the cold, all because I'm not stupid enough to give up my secret identity to people I barely know. Working with someone is some trust, but it's nowhere near enough to trust something that big. Hypocritical, considering they all trust your hockey-masked lieutenant despite him doing the same thing.

As for why I should walk. You can't stop me. You could kill me right now, but you're no executioner. You could lock me up, but you know that wouldn't work too well. As for mind-wiping me... well, you could do that easily enough, but who's to say it'll hold well. And I don't think you want to walk down the road of lobotomising people.

[alderwitch]

Phantom blipped out silently. She didn't know what the fight was about, nor did she care. At the moment, the city was burning and she had talents that could be better put to use elsewhere.

Returning to the burning section of Riverside, she glanced around to do a quick survey before teleporting down to the bivouac where the national guard where deploying to see what help she could offer.

[N/A]

Would you rather we have this conversation out in the open? Do you really want the other Knights to know what you've done?

You discovered that a supervillain had a secret stockpile of weapons. I call that "a Tuesday." You could have retreated and followed up later. You could have continued infiltrating the headquarters and taken Malice down before he had a chance to suit up. You could have asked for our help. You could have even called the police. Anything but what you did do. Instead, you go and blow up an entire city block, and now two innocent people are dead because you couldn't be bothered to plan properly. Because you acted on impulse and irrational hatred. After two decades of crimefighting experience, you should have known better.

The truly ironic part of all this is that I was about to give you access codes to The Lair. I was going to show you the location. I was just about to extend the first hand of trust, to make you feel like you were part of the team. I still may, depending on the outcome of this meeting. But it's not looking good for you right now.

I have no intention of killing or "mind-wiping" you. Your sins would have to be far greater for me to even consider destroying your body or your mind. Unless you mean erasing your memory of these events, and that I will certainly not do. You need to remember this mistake for the rest of your life.

As for containment? I wouldn't even need to bother with the authorities. I have holding cells right down here, surrounded on all sides by solid rock and accessible only by teleporter. I could keep you imprisoned here for the rest of your life if I thought I needed to.

I could imprison you here. I could invade your mind, seize control, and force you to march into police headquarters, take your mask off, and turn yourself in. But we're not here to debate whether or not I can do those things, but whether or not I should. I asked you to convince me that you should be free to walk the streets. I'm still waiting.

[Ecalsneerg]

"OK? I blew up that munitions dump. It was me, which explains why I was lying under the rubble." Don't call my bluff on whether or not I want them to know. "The deaths? Accidents, and for that I'm sorry. I know that's enough, but there's nothing I can do about that right now. Resolving that has to come as soon as I walk out of here," he said pointedly.

"So here we are. Fact of the matter is, I've said my piece. I've said what I did, and I don't regret what I did. I can't. Second I stop to have doubts, I'm dead. I don't have a force field, or invulnerability. I've got a bullet-proof vest and a box of painkillers. I'm a dead man if I hesitate. Thus, if I make a mistake, I have to DEAL WITH IT," he snarled at the last few words. "Want me to attest? I will. Want me to hand myself over? OK. But want me to regret stopping a supervillain from killing god knows who, and don't retort with the obvious, as that was an accident I'm going to have to live with, and there is no way to reverse that now. Nothing can repay their loved ones." Arrowhawk took a deep breath.

"So, stop asking me to explain myself. I did. If I could go back, I'd clear the area, but guess what? I can't. So I did what I've done. Do as you will, I can't justify it. How can you ask me to defend myself when I've accidentally become a murderer? Because a screw-up I can't justify to me is one I have no chance of justifying to you."

[N/A]

"Malice could have used that pile of ordnance to blow up the city. And what exactly were you trying to accomplish by setting it off?! Why can't you just drop the reactionary self-righteousness and admit that you acted out of emotion rather than logic? That's why those people are dead, Arrowhawk. Because you didn't hesitate. You didn't think things through. You say you can't afford doubt. It looks to me like you could use a little more."

The Scarab floated back down to the ground. Her cape fell to her back, no longer flowing behind her. She walked over to Arrowhawk's bed. A chair slid across the floor to rest beside him. She sat down and looked him in the eye.

"I can think of one thing, one thing that could earn back my trust in you. And make no mistake, if I let you walk out of here, if I decide not to crack open your mind like an egg, it is because I have decided to trust you. Given your erratic behavior today, that would be a great leap of faith on my part."

"Tell us who you are. Take off the mask and tell me your name. Then I'll take off mine and do likewise. I'll tell you where The Lair is, and give you your own set of access codes. You'll be free to come and go as you please. When you need help, you'll be able to contact us. And we'll be able to contact you when we need your help. If one of crosses the line or goes rogue, you'll know everything you need to take them down. And we'll know what we need to if we have to take you down. Because the events of this day have made it very clear that you are no more infallible than the rest of us."

"You told me you felt like we left you out in the cold. Well, now the door is open. Come inside, Arrowhawk."

[Ecalsneerg]

Wait... reveal who I am? But... but... I can't, thought Arrowhawk to himself. Arrowhawk, you can't actually consider this... but could John do it? He's only human, who the hell does he have anymore? Some alter ego who seems to run his own mind? Arrowhawk's hands went up to his mask, miraculously intact. The lens had cracked on the left eye. No. He hesitated. You can't carry on like this. You annihilated a neighbourhood. You killed people. What do you think you can do? Run? The villains'll get you if the heroes don't. His fingers tightened around the mask. Do it. John Fraser's fingers tightened against the edge of the mask and peeled it off, the gum chafing his skin as it tore free. He swept his hood back, revealing a mess of greying black hair throwing his grey eyes and scarred face into sharp relief.

John turned to look at Scarab and held his hand out. "I'm John Fraser. Nice to meet you," he sighed. His face seemed to soften, becoming less harsh and angular as his body lost its tenseness.

[angrydurf]

Ace called the general over as the officers began arrest procedings on Malice aka Eric Michaels.

"General!" He called out with a wave. As the general and his aids approached Ace gave them the basic rundown, "We don't know the exact reason behind the explosion at this time. Immediatly following the explosion Myself and several other Heroes mobilized for the rescue effort, Dark Star found Mr. Michaels, aka Malice, in the center of the crater and brought him here."

He continued to watch Malice carefully for any hidden weapons, "Luckily most of the area was empty when the explosion went off, we were able to make several rescues and belive the are is largly clear of casualties but I'm sure emergency services could use some help getting those fires under control."

He took his eyes off of Malice for a moment to lean in cloaser to the general as he further explained, "Given his proximity we can only assume Malice was some how responsible though he denies any responsibility he is clearly not in a clear state of mind at the moment, lost in paranoid delusions."

[Cyroa]

Dark Star had stood off to one side listening. If he had facial expression, it would would have been filled with shock and dismay upon hearing the truth. Arrowhawk had done it all. Dark Star understood that people make mistakes. Accidents happen. But Arrowhawk didn't sound sorry or remorseful. He acknowledged that fault but that wasn't the same thing. Dark Star couldn't fathom that. When he failed to save someone, whether it was his fault or not, it still ate at him, made him regret. Yet the tarnished hero had none of that. That was the truth.

Truth. Truth that Scarab intended to hide it seemed. Lie. Dark Star felt for a moment like his world had turned upside down. How could this be? What had happened that caused all of this? Why...just why?

He shooked his head slowly. He started to speak... "I...How... I..." His voice was filled with sorrow and regret, disappointment and shame, all packed into those few words. He just shooked his head a final time and moved. In a second, he had passed the speed of sound several times over, gone.

But not gone entirely, there was still work to do. He moved to the river and concentrated, extending his powers. He used gravity on the river itself, lifting massive amounts of water high, higher, following it up. A little gentle pressure to move it over the fires high above before he released it. The thousands and thousands of gallons turned into rain, falling down from the sky. Falling like the tears he couldn't shed for the loss; physical, spiritual and emotional.

With the fire likely out over under much better control at this point, there was one last thing he needed to do. Over the radio, he sent one burst of radio transmission downward to the police, firefighters and those below before he vanished into the stars. "Malice may be guilty of many things, many crimes. But the truth is that he did not set off this explosion. Hold him accountable for his own actions. The explosives were his. But this explosion was not his fault." In the blink of an eye, Dark Star was gone. He needed to be away from this. To remember why he did wwhat he did, to find the truth about himself.

[Geez3r]

Malice had been staring off into space with his hollowed eyes when the voice came over the radios of the national guard in the area. The was the first to break the stunned silence that followed with a mad cackle. "Did you hear that? I'm innocent. I didn't do a god damn thing! So, all you heroes, all you guards, with all your strength, only managed to hold onto a crippled man who got blown half to hell, and you let the real terrorist get away!" Malice points up in the sky where Dark Star had disappeared from. "Everything done here today was done because of that glorious man! He dug the villain out of the rubble, got him to surrender without a fight, tended to all of the wounded, put out the fires and now, has gotten to the bottom of the case and clears the name of the man he hated probably as recently as an hour ago.

Without him, without the heroes to hold your hand, you're all too powerless to do a damn thing. Everything I've ever said is right! He can see through the wool that has been pulled over his eyes, and in time he will find his rightful place at my side. At long last, the gears of war are turning, and the revolution is now at hand!"

[alderwitch]

Phantom gave Malice a look of acute dislike at his hysterical ramblings, "It really doesn't matter at the moment. There is still rubble to be cleared and work to be done. Questions can, and should, come after we've dealt with the disaster itself."

She glanced out at the few heroes remaining. Phantom was not happy with the one fact Malice did appear to be right on. Several of the heroes had left the scene. Phantom could only hope that equally important matters held their attentions.

Malice wasn't the only individual that called Riverside home. She nodded once at Ace before quietly telling the head of the men, "You have my skills as long as they're of use."

[Dr Archeville]

Maj. Gen. Rieth nods at Ace's words, and two of the soldiers with him moved to flank Eric Micheals. "Few casualties? Well, at least that's one bit of luck -- when we first got word, we prepared for the worst. Not that this isn't bad, of course, but we take what good news we can get." He turned slightly to the fourth soldier, still at his side, "Lieutenant, radio the base, tell the-"

The Major General paused as he saw Dark Star fly over head, carrying about 20,000 gallons of water overhead, and pouring it out onto the fires. This helped the firefighters considerably.

"Never get tired of seeing things like that," the Major General muttered. Then, "Right, Lieutenant, radio base an-"

And then Dark Star spilled the beans, through every radio in the area.

And then Eric Micheals ranted.

"... Hunh. Men," the Major General said to the two flanking Eric (though one was in fact a woman), "secure this man for later questioning. I've a feeling this is going to take a while to sort out. Once this settles down some," he nodded towards Phantom, "we'll track down everyone else involved in this and find out just what really happened."

The Major General and is men took over coordination of the rescue efforts, directing the heroes where they could do the most good once they found out what the heroes could do. Due to Dark Star's delivery, it only took about 15 more minutes to get all the fires completely put out. There was still tons of rubble, of course, and downed power lines, burst underground water and sewage lines, not to mention the giant crater in the middle of the neighborhood, which due to the water running off from the firefighting was temporarily a very nasty pond.

[Geez3r]

Malice was cackling far too madly and relishing the moment far too much to put up any real resistance to being dragged off by the soldiers. Cackling and the occasional tripping aside Malice went quiet as can be with the soldiers. He wasn't much for hand to hand combat and with these two guards he was now out numbered 4 to 1. A fact that he shared with the guards, but they didn't seem to find it as funny as he did; their loss. Jail was nothing. It had been a long time since he had felt this feeling. Malice had hope for the future.

[N/A]

John turned to look at Scarab and held his hand out. "I'm John Fraser. Nice to meet you," he sighed. His face seemed to soften, becoming less harsh and angular as his body lost its tenseness.

The crimson and gold armor slid and compressed and retracted from The Scarab's body, revealing a small Latina in her late 20s or early 30s sitting next to John. She smiled, took his hand, shook it, then guided it back down to his bed and rested her hand upon it. She smiled, though her eyes still showed concern. "Nice to meet you, John. My name in this life is Elena Guerrero. In my last incarnation, I went by Alexander Rhodes. But I was born for the first time 5,000 years ago, as Heru-Ra, Prince of Egypt." She waved an arm out toward DarkStar, though she did not break eye contact with John. "And this is Doctor Derrick Lumins. Welcome to the team." She stood up, reached up, and patted him on the side of the shoulder. "The next time you get in over your head, don't be afraid to ask us for help. Now get some rest."

[N/A]

He shooked his head slowly. He started to speak. "I...How... I..." His voice was filled with sorrow and regret, disappointment and shame, all packed into those few words. He just shook his head a final time and moved. In a second, he had passed the speed of sound several times over, gone.

Elena shook her head as she brought a hand up to rub her eyes. "This is why I wanted to keep the conversation private. Most of the Knights are pragmatic enough to acknowledge that certain ethical compromises are justified by the greater good they serve, yet we manage to draw the line shorter than would, say...F.O.R.C.E. Ops. Avenger or Phantom would have been more accepting. But DarkStar tends to see the world in terms a bit more black and white than most. Letting Malice take all the blame for this mess might be one compromise too many for The Big Blue Boyscout. Just get some rest. I'll try to talk to him."

She reached out to make mental contact with her comrade. DarkStar, this is The Scarab. Where are you going? We need to talk about this. The situation isn't as simple and clear-cut as you'd like it to be. Malice has committed plenty of atrocities that he has not, and likely will not, answer for. Is it really so wrong if the one crime he isn't guilty of is the one that finally puts him away?

[Cyroa]

Dark Star never slowed when he left the site of the explosion. As soon as he breached the Earth's atmosphere, he jumped to hyper-speeds. He heard Scarab's voice and debated not answering right before he jumped. He didn't particularly want to, but...it wasn't in his personality to be rude like that.

No Scarab, there is nothing to discuss. It is exactly that clear cut. Malice is guilty of plenty of crimes as you and most people are aware. You are a lawyer, you should know that should be more than enough to convict him. This incident should have no effect on that at all except to drive the metaphorical nail into the coffin lid. Doing so is wrong. A lie. Where do you draw the line Scarab? This isn't even a minor lie. It's significant. People died. I saved everyone I possibly could and it wasn't enough. Because of 1 man, who was supposed to be significantly smarter than that. One man who doesn't even feel guilt or remorse over those deaths, let alone the massive destruction and multitude of injured who could have and would have died without our intervention. That the person who is guilty of those crimes shouldn't be held accountable. Someone else should be blamed instead. That's what you're saying. He sighed, disheartened at the days events from so many angles. I cannot and will not do such a thing. The truth is something to be honored in all things. We are heroes. We stand as example for people to look up to among other things. And if you truly feel that this lie you wish to perpetrate is acceptable, then I have no place among you. With that, the link broke as he left the solar system and headed out and away.

[Dr Archeville]

The fires are put out, the wounded treated, the dead carted away, and one of the two men responsible -- the one who stockpiled thee explosives -- was escorted to jail to await sentencing. The loss of life was blessedly minimal, but the loss of property was astronomical; Doctor Metropolis could repair the damage to the infrastructure and the buildings, but the personal effects of the dozens of families destroyed by this -- the family photo albums, the home movies, the mug made by a child for their parent -- were beyond his abilities to restore.

And what of the heroes of the day? Many had proven themselves worthy of the title, but a rift was forming between two of the Knights as one began to see his idealism crumble just as the homes had. Would it be healed over before the residential area was restored? Or would it take longer?