Lady_Cobra

((Now that the public persecution of the Militia has died down, Angel should hopefully be back in action, just as soon as she gets her arm out of that sling - expectedly in good time for next Thursday as - luckily - the bullet only grazed (sp?) her))

((So, could be fun to see where that plots takes us, and I agree it could be fun to RP it out in game - so basically I say go with the flow ))

Sounds interesting - I am out of slots at the moment, but will be using the new combined box-set as an excuse to finally getting a second account, so count me in as a prospective member for a "Blue Bulleteer" inspired character if hopefully that would fit.

Lady Cobra rose and took the floor.

"I am not convinced that to run and hide is our best, let alone only option.

Clearly, the conviction of young Dragonfly here was a travesty of justice and equally clearly the allegations against the Militia are fabricated and maybe even part of a larger conspiracy as suggested."

Lady Cobra paused and watched each of her teammates closely before continuing.

"I agree that it will take time and effort for us to clear our names in court and I agree that having all of us behind bars will make matters complicated for us, and free up the playing field for those who conspire against us. However, I also believe that for us to blindly run off and hide will put us in a bad light in the public eye and probably will be just what our apparent enemies are hoping for us to do in order to further discredit us. Also, we have to think of our younger members: Saffron, Derek, Meriam, Justin, Franklin, Sabrina - they all have their lives ahead of them and we should carefully consider the impact our choice of action now will have on their future."

Lady Cobra paused again.

"In light of these concerns, I propose a dual strategy. I propose that a few select representatives - and I am willing to be one of those if deemed appropriate by the rest of you - should report at the hearing and defend our case within the boundaries of the legal system, even if that will mean that we are sent to jail. The rest of us, I propose should go into hiding as suggested and try to solve the mystery of why we are being set up, and by whom."

With that, the Asian former celebrity sat down. In the background, the Masked Angel rose and spoke up - her voice somewhat frail and shaking, the young girl clearly uncomfortable at briefly being the centre of attention.

"I...I just want to say that I...am really unsure about what we should do. I...am quite scared by all this...especially by the thought of going to jail, but you are all my close friends, and...well...I just want you to know that...whatever the decision...I will stick by you, and do my best to defend our honour, and the honour of the Militia. That's...that's all I have to say for now."

Meriam found her seat again, hoping that someone else would quickly take the floor.

With a faint sigh of impatience, Lady Cobra shifted her position on the less than comfortable interrogation room chair. Crossing her legs, she glanced at her sponsored special issue Rolex and sighed yet again. She had been waiting like this for upwards on three hours!

At that moment, the door opened and two men entered - both of them dressed in dark suits. They could have been identical twins if it hadn't been for one of them being a good head taller than the other. Lady Cobra lifted her head slightly in acknowledgement of their arrival. The taller of the two men spoke, as they both sat down behind the desk facing Lady Cobra.

"I am Captain Burns and this is Lieutenant Walker - we're sorry to have kept you waiting Ms. Chang."

"As I am sure you will know Captain Burns, I stopped answering to that name years ago."

"In that case Ms. eh...Cobra, may I ask what name you do answer to?"

"As you will also know and appreciate, my real name is a secret..."

Burns rose to his feet and made his way round the desk.

"And as you will appreciate, this is an official PPD investigation..."

"So?"

"I'm sure you would not want to be charged with obstruction..."

"And I am sure that PPD investigation or not, you would not want to be charged with violating my secret identity privileges under the Djakarta Treaty ratified by my country as well as by yours..."

Burns clenched his fists.

"Ms. Cobra, may I remind you..."

"No Mr. Burns, may I remind you that I am visiting Paragon as an official guest of your government, that I have agreed to this interview completely voluntarily, and that you have nonetheless had the audacity of making me waste my time waiting here for three hours, while I have important business to attend to. On those grounds may I request that we dispense with the idle threats and proceed to the subject of the ongoing accusations against the Militia." Lady Cobra's voice was cold and without its usual softness.

Burns' face had turned red, but he managed to control his anger. Walker remained silent and appeared to be staring at either the desk or Lady Cobra's knees.

"Right, if that's how you want to play it...do you admit to being a member of the Militia?"

"A reserve member, but yes I do - proudly I might add."

"And during your so-called reserve membership of the Militia, have you ever met Dragonfly AKA Sabrina San?"

"Certainly - a very feisty and nice young lady, although she seems to regard me as somewhat delusional..."

"Pardon?"

"Ah...sorry, an inside joke."

"This is hardly a laughing matter Ms. Cobra - are you aware of the fact that Ms. San has been accused and convicted of murder?"

"I am now, it has been all over the news. Are you aware of the defficiencies of the Chinese penal system? And are you aware of the strong evidence supporting that Ms. San acted well within the boundaries of permitted self defence? And are you aware that the extradition of Ms. San to China took place in violation of protective measures laid down in at least five applicable treaties all ratified by your government?"

Burns' face was now close to purple.

"Ms. Cobra...you seem to be forgetting that I am not the subject of this interrogation - you are! And it so happens that Ms. San and the Militia are not the only criminals you seem to be affiliating yourself with..."

"Would you please refrain from referring to Ms. San or the Militia as criminals. They...we were heroes the last time I checked! And what is this nonsense about my affiliation with other criminals?"

"Well...how about Henry Chang for starters?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I am sure you are perfectly aware that I have had no contact with my ex-husband for years. I bet you are also familiar with all the nasty little rumors surrounding the nature of our relationship and marriage..."

"Well then, how about the name Shadow Whisper - does that mean anything to you?"

Lady Cobra looked at Burns without comprehension.

"No...I don't believe I have ever heard it before. Why should it mean anything to me?"

"Denials, denials...I suppose the name Jessica Chang doesn't ring a bell either?"

Lady Cobra's face ashened.

"Jessica...what...what has Jessica got to do with this? I don't understand..."

"Well perhaps you will show more understanding after a night in the slammer - I'm sure there'll be lots of inmates who would like to have a friendly little chat with a true celebrity like you..."

"You have no authority to detain me and you know it..."

"After Thursday I will - trust me!"

"I wouldn't count on it Mr. Burns...and now, if you have no further questions, I must excuse myself; I have an important meeting to attend - and don't bother trying to follow me!"

Nobody tried to stop Lady Cobra as she got up and left the room.

From the shadows, a slender figure watched the base portal. A long coat was covering the white costume, and a scarf and sunglasses were hiding the mask.

Lady Cobra sighed to herself. It was just as she had thought. They had all entrances to the base under surveillance. The attempted disguises were appalling. She could have spotted them as PPD officers from miles away.

A sudden faint touch on the arm made her swirl round. With lightning speed her hand moved, catching the supposed assailant’s hand and wrist in a painful and inescapable lock. To Lady Cobra’s surprise, the assailant’s gasp of agony came from a voice both young and female, and moreover from a voice she recognised – it was the voice of the Masked Angel.

“Meriam…I’m so sorry…you startled me!”

The Masked Angel rubbed her wrist, and struggled to produce a faint smile.

“No worries…my own fault for sneaking up on you like that…I just didn’t want them to see me…” The Masked Angel nodded her head towards the not so cleverly disguised PPD officers.

“Well…you certainly move silently Meriam…I’m supposed to have my guard up, but didn’t hear a thing…I take it from your stealthy approach that you have heard the news too…”

“It’s…awful…I can’t believe it…Sabrina being accused of murder…and now they want to arrest all of us…it makes no sense…Sabrina is a hero…we all are!”

“They do seem to be giving Ms. San and the rest of us a rather harsh and unfair treatment at the moment. I mean, from the Press it’s what you could have expected…but the authorities acting like that – publicly accusing and judging us and hanging us out to dry before we even get a chance to comment – it’s hardly fair play!”

“H-how can you take it so calmly? They…they want to put us in jail! If…if my dad found out…I…he would kill me…I…don’t know what to do…I…can’t go to jail…I just can’t!”

Lady Cobra placed her arm comfortingly around the young girl’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry Meriam; This is going to be sorted out one way or the other, I know it will. The best you can do is to try to hang low and stay out of costume for the next few days…”

“But…I won’t let my friends in the Militia down…Sabrina needs me…Derek needs me…they all do…I can’t just desert them.”

“Listen Meriam…nobody is asking that you desert your friends. However, neither Sabrina, Derek nor anyone else is going to benefit from you getting locked up as well, and as you said, if you go to jail, your secret will be out and all hell will break lose with your dad…”

“But…what am I going to do?”

“You need to go home and speak with your mother Meriam – she is a very resourceful and influential woman, she will help you stay clear of trouble for the next few days, while I see what I can do to get this sorted…”

“What will you do? Will you go on the run?”

Lady Cobra produced a faint smile.

“Run, me? No, I do not think this situation will be resolved by running. I am thinking more along the lines of politics, PR, and very expensive lawyers. I may have fallen from grace, and the fame of my youth may have faded, but I still have contacts and money, and I believe that time has come to call in a few favours…”

“But…how…what are you going to do?”

Lady Cobra smiled her strange, almost saddened smile again. Then, she removed her scarf and sunglasses.

“First, I think I am going to surrender myself to the authorities…look after my things for me, will you?”

Lady Cobra shed the long coat and handed it to Meriam. Then, dressed only in her familiar white costume and mask, she stepped out of the shadows and started walking slowly towards the poorly disguised PPD officers, leaving behind a stunned Masked Angel.

I was very sorry to read about your friend, Cognito - please accept my condolences too.

A warm welcome from me to new member Nightsparrow - Angel and Cobra look forward to meeting you.

Lastly, my apologies for not making it last night due to nasty schedules and travelling - Looks like I really missed out on some good RP and fun - I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Hi,

Could you please add Mystery Girl X - MA/regen stalker with Ghost Widow as patron.

With just a little bit of luck, I might be able to make it tonight at 7 after all - so, I hope very much to be there for the final TF-push

Hi,

Looks like this week is going to be tricky for me too - probably all of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights will be out for me [img]/uk/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

I could do the TF (late) tonight, if anybody else are free - otherwise it's probably angel out pf the final mission I'm afraid.

This TF really has been a tricky - but fun - venture

Hi,

Morgue is certainly most welcome as is any other toon - looking forward to seeing you.

I could make it a bit later tonight (20.30 BST) if that would work for others?

As regards the costume competition, I unfortunately have no further toon slots available and hence can't make a "dummy" toon for costume suggestions.

Derek, I wouldn't mind helping with the moderation, as long as it's not too technically demanding, in which case I would be a poor choice.

Oh no - I hope you'll have everything sorted asap

If all can't make it tonight I think we should abandon that idea - too bad about the Unit 29 team-shortage, perhaps he/it could do with an SK and some hunting in IP/Talos Thursday? I would probably go with Lady Cobra before the tf, so she can meet some more of the other members.

How about a quick extra session tonight as suggested by FC if everyone is available?

Then we could clear the TF and "free" the toons for Thursday's session and team back up with the non-TF'ers (and new member Morgue who joined and teamed with Drummond and Cobra Saturday)

This of course relies on people being available this evening - I could be if everyone else is.

An alternative could be to focus on social RP/hunt sessions for Thursday and do a late TF session when FC is available - if we took it to IP or Talos, we might get some challenging encounters and test our strength as a team against higher level foes.

In other words, I'm up for any idea that accommodates as many as possible...

It was the outdoor ambush in Skyway - and Seph and Derek showed up to help together with some other nice people in the zone, who formed alternative teams - was great fun, but we'll need Mer'de for the final TF push

Just joining in on the choir praising the fun and magnitude of last night's session and the epic Babbage fight. I also think it was cool and very IC-conform that FC took charge when we were being hampered at first.

Also, the forum set up by Derek rocks - I just posted somewhat hastily compiled bios and plot summaries for Angel and Cobra - hope I didn't get things all wrong!

Looks cool! I had no idea such venues existed - I learn something new every day .

Wow (the exclamation, not the game), Derek and Shadowcrown

Free forums and websites - both sounds really cool, although I'm not sure how the free forums work - but I would love to learn.

Good luck with the villainous activities tonight HC if you don't make it to the continued Militia TF

Would be cool if any of us had the technical ability to create a Militia-website - Perhaps we should put out an ad for a creative genius/roleplayer

Ah...finally I understand - a thread with a brief description of each character's known facts (i.e. age, name, relatives, school/work, plot status etc.) right?

This seems like a great idea to me - just one problem, that we may need to consider: the maximum time for editing posts (somewhere in between 7-14 days I think) - so how would we best do that continuity/update wise?

Any ideas what would be the best way to do it in terms of updates?

Hope to see you back soon Dutch - if Ex wants in on some of the "extra-carricular" leveling sessions (one planned for Saturday), just give a shout

I have my RP toons equally divided between Union and Defiant (all listed on the COX rolepayer list except for the two most recent Defiant ones Mystery Agent X and Mars Girl) and I would certainly be up for some more RP/IC on Defiant too.

Hi Ultra,

Good idea. As regards the SG-listings there is already an indication of active members/reserve members/inactive members if I recall correctly.

Plotwise, I think recaps are mostly done indirectly via IC-posts on the Militia thread, but perhaps you are looking for a more formal OOC-resume?

Hope to see Blitz and Hyper back again soon.

I know the feeling - at least I have now exhausted my available Union and Defiant character slots, so unless I brush up my German and French or get a second account, I am temporarily forced to contain my altitis

Could be cool to run a weekend Militia/IC alts outing on Saturday.

Whichever toon I'm on Saturday, I'll try to maintain the "MILITIA IC" search comment, so hopefully I can be easily identified.

I forgot how far UNIT 29 is level-wise?