Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[B4UTRUST]

"Hai. Alien-san and I do have something, yes."

Kyosuke coughed and composed himself.
"In reference to the question of whether or not there is a spirit, soul, ghost or other entity residing in or around the body that could assist us, the answer is no. Whatever was there is long gone.

"Also, my thoughts on the artificial nature of the body are on par with the evidence seen on the body itself. Alien-san has confirmed that the biomodifications done to the body are prevailant. He has also somehow managed to give us a rough geographical location of the origin of the biomods, that being somewhere in the southwestern United States.

"The biomods themselves are rather interesting in that there is modification work done to nearly the entire body. Very little of the host is natural. This level of modification suggests that there are very intelligent people with large resources behind this."

[Cynical Cat]

"Billions if independent science," said Blackheart. "Or at least tens of millions if you have deep black fed research data."

[SirNitram]

"It'll be a group with reams of biotech expertise, libraries of Christian lore and hocus-pocus, and I can guarantee you.. A shitload of security. But this will all leave a footprint. I trust we have someone around here who can do the appropriate footwork? My alien-ass is needing a martini after staring between realities."

[Charon]

Legacies paused as Lei reported that Saibot had left.

"We shall go collect Saibot. His powers are important, though his attitude is less than pleasing, we shall attempt to straighten him out."

[LadyTevar]

Lei looked at Legacies for a long moment, then nodded once. "He was at the apartment, on the roof I think. Where he flew from there I don't know."

Out of all of them, Legacies had the best chance to talk to Saibot, and Lei knew it.

[B4UTRUST]

Kyosuke looked over at Blackheart and asked the question on everyones' mind.
"Can we get a list of biotech corporations that have resources in that area?"

[B4UTRUST]

"I felt the wind blowing through the last strands of my hair and across what was left of my skin. I looked around me and smiled at the beauty of it all...

"'Look up in the sky!' She said it. She really said it. I guess that's what you're suppose to say when you see him. All we could do was stand there starin' at him. Everyone was so happy. Giggling and cheering like a bunch of little kids. God, it was the worst moment of my life."
"My God, you actually saw Pulsar?
"A-are you even listening to me? That's NOT what this is about. I didn't call to talk about some brush with greatness. I called 'cause I don't see any point. Because he's everything and I'm nothing. I called 'cause I'm gonna kill myself."
"Easy, Jerry. Easy. Look, I can't believe that seeing Pulsar would make you want to end it. There's gotta be more to it than that."
"Y-yeah. There's more. A LOT more."

"My job sucks. I got no friends. Got nobody. And that ain't even the worst of it. Doug, right? Doug, let me ask you a question. What would you do... if you could do anything?"
"I don't understand..."
"It's simple doug. I can do anything ...and it's not enough."
"Wait, back up, Jerry. I don't get it. Why's your life so bad?"
"You live in Heaton, right?"
"Actually, just over the state line. In Knox. Crisis Hotline's a college thing. I get credit for it."
"I almost went to college. Got stuck here instead. In Heaton, Penn-syl-van-ya. I hear it was really something, back in the day. My mom used to tell me that when she was a girl, it was a big deal to come downtown. All sorts of restraunts and nightclubs and theathers... 'Course that was back when the auto plant was still goin' strong. When Heaton was known for its industry, instead of its unemployment, crime and suicide.

"My life used to look easy - I'd go to school, then work at the plant. Just like mom and dad. They were happy. Why wouldn't I be? Then, right before I graduated the plant closed... dad died... and mom left. She went out west to find work. 'Least that's what she told me. Truth is, I think I reminded her to much of dad. I decided to stick around. Figured there had to be a decent job for me somewhere. Figured wrong.

"Sure, I got depressed for a while. Really depressed. Then I heard about a place that was hiring. So now, instead of making cars for 20 bucks an hour, I make sundaes for minimum wage. I work there year-round. Teach the seasonal employees the ropes... They move, and I stay in the exact same place, doing the exact same thing. Bad as that is, the customers are even worse. Especially the old ones. And oh God, the 9P.M. rush, when the mall closes - awful families, rotten kids, mean old people stormin' the joint... Soda jerking - the lowest of low jobs. t stinks, it's sticky, you take orders from everyone... I hate every second of it. But the plant closing ate up so many jobs. This was all I could get. I couldn't even move up to tables. Most of the waitresses were there years, and they weren't makin' room for me. The only one ever nice in there was Molly. Man, that smile of hers... it... it..."

"Jerry? Hello...?"
"Hm? Oh. Forget it. S'nothing. Let's not... ah, just don't ok?"
"Hey, Jerry, you called us. It's your time. What, she didn't notice you? Story of my life, Jer'. Story of my life."
"N-no, that's not.. she always..."
"Always what, Jerry? C'mon, you can tell me. I'm just some guy you never met on the other end of the phone."
"It's just... She'd always want to talk about that day. That one damn day. The day I saw Pulsar.
"I still remember walking home after seeing him. Everything looked... I dunno, worse than before. Seeing him fly up there, in all his glory. I just realized how stupid my life was. I mean, this guy outruns bullets, he flies... How'm I supposed to compete with that? No matter what I do, it'll never be a millionth of what he can do. So why do anything? And every time I try to forget about that day Molly wants to hear how I saw Pulsar again."

"Listen, Jer- you can't be like Pulsar. I can't be like Pulsar. Not many people can. It's no reason to kill yoursel-"
"No-no-no. You don't get it. I DID become like Pulsar. That's why I want to kill myself."
"Come again?"
"One night, couple of weeks ago, things were not going well. This old woman who always comes in, asking for a scoop of something called White House. Every time. Every time I tell her we don't have it and have never had it... So I told her 'Jesus, lady! Here's your scoop: We DON'T have White House!' And then my boss started yelling at me... I got sent in back to cool off with the dishes. But that night? Man, I was not in the mood to run my fingers through half-eaten sundaes and sandwiches. I'm tellin' you, Doug, you wouldn't believe what some people leave on their plate... Sitting there on this plate was... hell I had it in my hands and I couldn't tell you what it was. It was some device, round and a few inches thick. Before I could take a good look at it the boss came in the back yellin about some customer saying she lost a strange gizmo. I told him I hadn't seen a thing.

"Aside from Molly checking back on me, I was alone all night doing the dishes. But that was fine. It felt okay to be alone. I went home after locking the place up. Home alone, with all to keep me company is a cat and my tv. I don't even know why I kept it... I picked it up and stuck it in my pocket after watching an old horror movie on some late night channel. I took it and went for a walk...

"Heaton Saving's is the tallest building around here. Ten stories. When I was in high school, we'd climb the fire escape and drink beers, me and my friends. Still went up there sometimes, though I'm not sure why I did that night. It just felt like the thing to do. I saw up there staring down, thinking. I pulled that thing out of my pocket and started looking at it. There were buttons on it. I looked at it and realized that four of them had letters in them. Of all things... h-e-r-o. What the hell, I thought. I hit them. They lit up. And after that, nothing...

"Here's where my store gets a little weird. You ever fly, Doug?"
"Sure, all the time. Just went down to Florida for spring break..."
"No... I mean, have you ever Flown?"
"hat, like a drug thing?"
"No, no. I mean have you ever flown? In the air? Under your own power? It's like those dreams you have, but a million times better. No, a billion. It's better than sex. Better than love. Better than any high... God, it's better than ANYTHING. You gotta try it sometime."
"Uh... okay... Listen, Jerry... I'm just a volunteer, y'know? But we've got people here trained for this sort of thing. I could get one of them to talk with y-"
"Damnit, I'm not crazy! This really happened! You want me to tell you about it, or hang up?!"
"No, no! Tell me what happened, Jer..."

"Right. So I'm really having fun with these super-powers. But I forget they come with a catch. You gotta earn them, y'know. Catch crooks, save lives. That sort of thing. Anyway, there's some kid riding his bike a hundred or so yards down the road. I see him perfectly. Like a camera snapping into focus. could also see what was coming... A drunk driver was riding headlong at him. Unless I did something about it. I flew down at them. I caught up to the kid right before the car hit him. I grabbed him and pulled him out of the way. Next thing I know the kid's yelling at me to let him go. I tell him to relax, to take it easy... He asks me who I am. I tell him - I tell him that I'm Afterburner. The guy who just saved his life. 'Yo, you the guy just scared the Hell outta me! Where's my bike?' Who asks you that right after you just saved their life?! I told him it was crunched under the wheels of that car, which was where he'd be if I hadn't stepped in. 'Y-yeah, well... Who asked you to, anyway? I didn't need your help, and now my bike's ruined. Jerk!' Thanks a pants-load, get the hell out of my way. Not exactly the reaction I expected, but I couldn't worry about it. I had something else to take care of. That crazy drunk was still on the road, but I could stop him. I had all the right super-powers. Flight, strength, invulnerability... 'Cept I was kinda wrong about the last one, though. The car hit me dead on, throwing me. I layed on the ground by the side of the road bleeding, my body broken. And then the device slipped out of my costume and rolled away. And I turned back.

"Why do I want to kill myself? I dunno... maybe it's 'cause my life just plain sucks? Could it be seeing Pulsar once made me realize how worthless I am? Or maybe it's cause when I got super-powers, I got hit by a car broke half the bones in my body? Wait- I know: try all of the above!"
"You don't really believe that, Jerry, or you wouldn't have called. Listen, maybe you should speak to someone with a little more... training? I'm just a-"
"Hey, I don't need some shrink! I'm not crazy! Aw, Hell. This is stupid. I'm gone..."
"NO! D-Don't hang up, Jer. You were right to call. So, uh... What happened next? You, uh, you changed back to normal..."
"Normal?! I was good as new! Not a scratch on me! Everything that broke when Afterburner got hit was fixed when I turned back to myself! So there I was laying on the ground where a few seconds before I was dying. And now I'm fine. So I get up and grab the device. And I look around... And that car's there. It's wrecked, I mean totalled. It was burning and threatening to explode. So I run over to it, not thinking. And I see the driver. The drunk. He's bleeding from the head bad, there was no airbag or anything... I couldn't tell if he was alive or dead, but I grabbed him just the same and pulled him out, the entire time praying he was still alive.

"I pull him away from the car, talking to him, telling him to keep breathing. I saw his cell phone on his belt clip. I grabbed it and called the 911. Told them I needed an ambulance out on Wells road, just over the east of the overpass, there had been an accident. I hung up the phone and dropped it next to hm. I remember it started raining. So, even with super-powers, I was still the same Jerry. Still nothing."
"But with, errrr, super-powers like that, you could've done anything, right, Jer? So, what did you do next?"
"Next? Not a damn thing. Least not till the next day...

"I was back at work again, making coffee. Molly was telling me about this Pulsar fanfest at the community college, wondering if I wanted to go. She's in love with the guy, I swear... And in the background I heard my manager talking to an old lady about something that hadn't turned up yet. I listened closer and asked her what it was she was missing. She accused me of taking it, but I deflected the accusations telling her that if I did know I could keep an eye out for it. She dug into her purse and pulled out this picture, an old black and white newspaper clipping. It was of some beautiful woman and it looked like she was flying. She asked me if it looked like anyone I knew. I didn't but man, I think I would have liked too... She told me that if I found what she was looking for, maybe she'd introduce me. Geez, Doug. That old bat gave me some freaky dreams. I dreamt I was flying again. And then that chick from the paper showed up and started flying with me. Then she told me I couldn't fly and I started falling... I woke up in my floor, and on the table that gizmo was glowing again.

"So there I was, headin' back to the roof of Heaton Savings. If I wasn't givin' that lady the device I figure I'd use it myself."
"But she had more right to it than you. It WAS hers."
"Yeah, I suppose... but I'd seen her in the store, Doug. I knew what kinda person she was. Petty, mean, always givin' me a hard time. Still, I was scared. What if changed back into Afterburner, and he was still all broken up? I'd be in a hell of a lot of pain. Heck, I'd probably die right there on the roof. As bad as that would be, Doug, I decided it wouldn't be much worse than my life already was. So I took it out and hit those buttons...

"'Cept I didn't turn into Afterburner after all. This time I was smaller, and wearin' a green suit. And my legs felt all springy. Somehow - and I'm not sure how - I knew this gu was called 'The Bouncer'! Plus, I wasn't hurt at all. Everything was fine. I bounced around a few hours, then decided to take another shot."
"Another shot?"
"Hey, if this gizmo could turn me into two different super-people, it could turn me into a lot more. So I let it. Over the next coupl'a days, The Blur covered the land. The Wake hit the sea... ok, the river near the old auto plant... And Winged Victory soared through the air. I didn't want it to end - ever."
"...What about your other responsibilities? Your job..."
"Sick. I was sick. Every day I would call in sick. Then one night I called in sick and changed again. My 'job' that night was to turn into a guy called The Wrecker and go out to the old auto plant. That plant took this town straight into the toilet when it stopped cranking out cars. So I tore it to pieces, then stood there and watched it burn to the ground. It was the greatest night of my life..."

"That... doesn't sound like the act of a hero, Jerry."
"What? It was abandoned. Nobody got hurt."
"You said you could do more with the device than that lady - but you just used it for cheap revenge. You could've gotten someone killed-"
"Hey, who the Hell are YOU to judge ME? You don't know me! Don't know what I'VE been through!"
"Jerry, I..."
"Screw you, man!"
"Jerry? Jerry?! Oh, no. Call back, call back... Please call back..."
"Doug? You just have a hang-up? Damn, I'm sorry. Better tell the supervis-"
*RRINNG*
"Thank God! Hello! Jerr-"
"Good evening, sir! Are you interested in saving big money on home insulation?"
"Wha? Insulation? You FUCKING IDIOT! This is a suicide hotline!"
*SLAM*
"Uhh, other line, Doug... ?"

"Doug? Jerry. Sorry. I got mad. Probably 'cause you were right."
"I-It's OK, Jerry. Let's keep going. Just tell me what happened next..."
"I'd been playin' with that gizmo for days, barely stoppin' to eat or sleep. I had to take a break. All those powers, no one knows who you are. I could've done anything I wanted. Anything."
"But you didn't. Well, you did destroy the auto plant, but at least you didn't hurt anybody."
"Naw, that ain't me. I wouldn't be right. But I needed something to focus on. A reason for the powers, or I was gonna lose it. I'd seen TV shows about those other guys. How they keep an eye on their cities. I figured I could do something like that. I wasn't exactly Batman, but then, Heaton wasn't exactly Gotham City."
"Who? Batman?"
"...An old comic character, like Superman. Back when the metas hadn't become so common. Back when people needed heroes to believe in... That was it. The focus I needed. I'd become Heaton's very own super-hero."
"Good, Jerry. You set yourself some goals. That's a positive step."
"That's what I thought, too. Then I learned something about Heaton. Basically, if you don't have a plan and don't know what you're looking for, you're going to come to one conclusion. There's no crime in this damn town!

"You never been to Heaton, right, Doug? Well, it's got its good side and its bad side. Only in our case, the good side ain't that great and the bad side is awful. And it's just a bus ride away. So I took the bus one night. Damn, what was I thinking. Just normal old me. I get off the bus and start it off. I hit those magic little buttons and transform.

"See, that's how stupid I was. I thought all I had to do was wander over there with some super-powers and everything would go fine! What an idiot!"
"Jer, you were trying to do something. That's more then most people. Maybe you're blowing things out of proportion. How bad could it've gone..."
"Well for starters I tried to stop two prostitutes and get them off the streets. They told me that it was extra to party with the two of them... Then some punk made a comment about my costume, wondering if I was Underwear-man! I told him that my name was Powerhouse, and that I was in no mood. He tried to sell me drugs. I tried to explain that I was a superhero. I didn't do drugs. He informed me that everybody needed a little something and that he had something that would really make me fly. I told him that I wasn't buying and that I was taking him in. He started laughing..."
"...Alright, still not to bad. At least no one got hur-"
"It wasn't done. The punk kept trying to get to me, that I was joking about takin him in and even if I did he'd be out in ten minutes. That with all my muscles I wouldn't use them because I didn't have the balls. I know, I shouldn't have. It was wrong. But I couldn't stop myself.

"I remember my hand curling into a fist and slamming into his stomach. I can remember the blood flying from his mouth, his eyes going wide and stupid. The wet snap of his bones, like celery. I remember him falling to the ground. I freaked. I hadn't meant to do that. I grabbed him up and ran. I jumped, leaping blocks at a time, running like a marathon sprinter. I ran into the ER of the hospital and yelled for the doctors. They started looking him over and I tried to explain what had happened. But it just came out wrong. I was nervous, in shock. The police officer was right there. I ran. He chased me but I was faster. I took out the device and changed back when I was outside. By the time he found me I was normal old me again. He asked me if I had seen a big guy in a costume running by. I told him he just took off into the sky. You know... Up, up and away. So the cop just walked back into the hospital. He never thought, even for a second, that I could be the guy he was looking for."
"Well, that's good right, Jerry? I mean, you got away."
"Got away? Got away?! I deserve to be locked up! I almost killed that guy!"
"Then why didn't you tell the cop the truth?"
"Because I'm a coward. I'm no hero. I don't deserve super-powers. I don't even deserve to live."
"C'mon Jerry. It can't be that bad. You must have people who love you, respect you..."
"What? Like my mom? I tried calling her that night. Tried to talk to her. To get her advice. I told her about my little crime fighting project, only I didn't tell her exactly what I was doing. You know what she told me? That there was no reason to keep trying if it wasn't going to work. That I should give up. That she knew. She'd been there.

"Every time I talk to my mom, I wind up needing a beer. That's why I don't talk to her much. Well, that's one reason, anyway. There was one other person I could call. I think I spent a couple of hours sitting there on my couch, holding my phone, talking to no one, practicing, working up the courage... And when I finally did it, it took me changing to do it. I called Molly. She had just gotten off of work, she had closed. I managed to get up the nerve to finally ask her out. And she said yes... And for once, she didn't even mention Pulsar."
"That's great, Jerry! You took a big, chance and it paid off!"
"Jesus, Doug. If this had a happy ending, would I even be talking to you? Why the hell do you think I called a suicide hotline? I mean, sure, things looked good. I'd ben wanting to go out with Molly for months, but I never had the guts to ask her. Now, thanks to that gizmo, I not only had the guts to ask her out, I had a way to impress her. And I mean REALLY impress her. How many other guys from this little pisshole could take her for a romantic flight over the city? 'Course, it wasn't exactly me impressing her, but still. She seemed like she was excited about seeing me.

"So I went to work the next day. Molly and I were going to go out after we got off, we had brought clothes to change into. And that old lady was there again, after her damned device. When she saw me she stormed over to me and pushed a news paper article in my face. It was about me. Well not really me, but my super-heroes. She told me she knew, that it had all started the night she had lost that device. She knew... I went in the back and changed for work. Even that old lady couldn't spoil my mood. In a couple of hours, I was gonna show molly the time of her life. Everything was going great. That is until..."
"Until what, Jerry? What happened?"

"I'm not sure how it started but some guy came in and started holding the place up. He was using Molly as a hostage. And I'm watching it all from the kitchen where I was washing dishes. This was it. I was the only one could save Molly. This is wh I found the device. This is what my entire life was leading up to. I took out the device and once again I hit those buttons. God, what a curse it has been. My anger over the situation that was happening just behind the door boiled over, exploded. It burned me and through me and fire danced across my skin. I burst through the kitchen door, flames billowing from me. I confronted the robber, told him to put the gun down. He shot at me. I blasted him with those flames, burned him. And he put the gun to Molly and fired, even as he himself was on fire. She collapsed, blood flowing from her chest, her clothes on fire as well. She layed there, unmoving, lifeless and gone from all the pain... The guy turned his gun to me again, telling me to get back. I told him to go to Hell. And I sent him there. I remember after I put him through the building wall he was in agony. I remember burning him alive, letting him suffer, letting him hurt. And it wasn't enough. When it was finished the building was on fire and sirens were sounding in the distance, but coming closer. And the man was gone, a pile of ash and bits of bone. I ran. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I ran and I ran. I took that damned device out and changed back and I ran some more..."

"Jerry, I... I had no idea."
"I- Molly... She was dying... I killed her. I looked at that device and I knew. I had to use it one more time. To make things right... I knew what to do, but I had to tell someone why. So I crawled into this phone booth and flipped open the phone book. And this voice on the other end picked up. A man. And he said 'Hello, you've reached the Heaton Crisis Hotline. This is Doug. Can I help you?' And I told him 'Um, Hi Doug. This is Jerry. I think I might um, kill myself.' And you know what happened next..."
"Sure, Jer, I-"
"Thanks for listening to me, Doug. You'll never know how much I appreciate it. But I gotta go."
"What? J-Jerry, what are you saying?"
"Doug, don't feel bad. I didn't call you to talk me out of this..."
"Jerry! No! Don't go! D-"
"I just wanted somebody to know I tried..."
*Click*

I walked out of the phone booth then. It was dawn and the sun was rising over the horizon. I looked at it, stared at the simplicity of its beauty and breathed deep. I walked back to the Heaton Savings building one last time and took out that device. I stood on the edge, looking down and then looking out at the sun rising, the brilliant reds and oranges lighting up the world. I hit those buttons and stepped off. And I flew. Every time it's still as exhilirating as the first time. It's the best feeling in the world and I hope Doug gets to do it one day.

I flew upwards, higher and higher still. Above Heaton, above Pennsylvania, above the birds and the planes and the clouds. Above the world. And there I came to rest. And I looked down at the world which birthed me. I cried. It was so beautiful. Something everyone should see in person. No words can describe the majesty, the serenity. I whispered something to the Earth. Telling it that I was sorry, and bidding it goodbye. I looked at the device cradled in my hand and I threw it away. It floated outwards from me and will do so for the rest of time. And I changed back. And I fell.

Right now I'm looking at the world coming closer. The clouds coming nearer. And feeling the heat burn my skin from reentry and my lungs burning from lack of air. In that burning I'm cleansed of my wrongs, restored, clean. I took solace in the fact that I would never feel the pain of impact, I would be dead long before that. And I still had minutes to go before that was even an issue.

And in these final seconds, as my body plumets ever faster towards death I'm able for the first time to do something that gives me greater pleasure then anything else imaginable. For the first time in my life, I fly."

[Cynical Cat]

"That's what we don't look for," said Blackheart. "They would have been found already if we could find them that way. Tracking that kind of shit is about the only thing half the spook factory is good for. We check for very specific kinds of equipment sent to transportation hubs like Chicago or New York. We eliminate all those units going to big corps and labs that'll use them and track the rest. Some of it will get shipped somewhere else, or sold to some small transportation or holding company. That'll get shipped somewhere else and somewhere else and somewhere along the way it'll transform or vanish. We put all those pieces under the microscope and then we'll find them."

[LadyTevar]

"How do you suggest we manage that, Blackheart?" Lei asked simply. "Finding a shipment of goods is easy, but works best when you have an idea of the arrival. You are talking shipments from months or years back. That is all paperwork... which is something I've never been that patient with."

[SirNitram]

"How do you suggest we manage that, Blackheart?" Lei asked simply. "Finding a shipment of goods is easy, but works best when you have an idea of the arrival. You are talking shipments from months or years back. That is all paperwork... which is something I've never been that patient with."

"The miracle of government, my dear." Gravitas smiled brightly. "We're a team of metahumans. They have whole staffs of bog-standard Joes to sift through paperwork. That and computers. Computers are great at this stuff, though I think they're still struggling with quantum processing here.."

[Cynical Cat]

"The man from another world is entirely correct. This is where Ultima's entirely mundane and quite important support staff earns its money. The list is also not that large. Some of the necessary equipment is somewhat exotic and essential. There simply won't be that many of them to track."

[LadyTevar]

"And in the meantime, we metas do... what?" Lei asked.

[frigidmagi]

"Well I don't know about you, but if there is nothing else, I'll go to church." Blast said.

[SirNitram]

"NASA's been bugging me to go clean off their little rovers on Mars. I figure that'll kill a while, plus, it should be nearly dawn by Opportunity. Martian sunrises are truly wonderous." Gravitas intoned.

[LadyTevar]

Lei had to blink at Gravitas. "How long have those rovers been going now?"

[Charon]

Legacies turned on his heel and walked away from the group.

"We are going to go find Saibot." Legacies almost disappeared from sight save for a thin outline where the room seemed to shift around his figure

"Don't wait up for us."

With that even the shifting form seemed to disappear as Legacies slipped down a hall and out into the open air. A tendril lashed out and pulled Legacies along. There were only a few places that Saibot would go in this city, and considering his mood, that narrowed it down more.

Legacies turned towards the ruins of New York City.

[LadyTevar]

Lei sighed heavily, watching Legacies leave. "That leaves me ... with a few hours to kill, it seems..."

[B4UTRUST]

"I would suggest rest and meditation. But those are only my suggestions," spoke Kyosuke as the others began to leave.

[Cynical Cat]

"You can get in touch with your navel if you want," said Blackheart. "I'm going to do something useful."

[LadyTevar]

Lei turned to Blackheart with one eyebrow raised. "What are you suggesting, Blackheart?"

[Cynical Cat]

"I'm going to go play super boyscout. Spontaneous hero stuff. See how many rapes and robberies I can stop. That's what us capes do, right?" He headed toward a window and opened it.

[LadyTevar]

Lei was momentarily stunned. "... Boyscouting?" It was as if she'd never even considered the idea. Not surprising, considering her background. There were no 'boyscouts' in the backalleys of SanFrancisco. No 'boyscout' had ever stopped her and Ember's little capers, although that might have been their modus operanti more than the lack of heros.

"Does it even help?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Most of the time you don't get anything big. Sometimes you stop rapes, murders, rescue people from fires, or beat the ever living shit out of gay bashers. And rarely, something really heavy is going down and you make all the difference in the world."

[SirNitram]

"I would say that stopping the unglamorous crimes of rape, murder, and brutality are worth far more than stopping any major bank robbery or silly blackmailing of major governments." Gravitas said softly. "NASA can wait a week."

[LadyTevar]

Lei looked wide-eyed from Gravitas to Blackheart. It was clear the last two weeks had not given her much chance to realize how different her past and her present could be -- the muddle of emotions wisped around her as she tried to understand the notion.

"But... if we stop them... what about the police?" Lei stammered. "Isn't that their jobs? .... Isn't Ultima meant for meta-level only?"