Interveiw with a norm: Behind the masks. (Open RP)
By
BloodandMetal,
Posted on: 2004-08-07 14:53 in Roleplaying
Now this I could see happenning, it's something so profound it would mark a hero for the rest of his life. I could imagine the moment when a hero is totally futile. It would be a deep and burning scar that the hero in question could never be able to fully deal with no matter how much time passed. In some ways he would be able to come to accept it, but because he is a hero it would haunt his every waking moment.
((Ok, first off, an appology. I haven't written in years, and I think this became kind of long winded so I'm sorry if you get bored.
I just wanted to try and get the scoop on how the Rikti affected different countries, and how it affected the people who had no homes to hide in, and also, explain the origin of my main toon. Anyway, if you can make it all the way through, I hope you enjoy. Also, sorry for any spelling mistakes.))
So, lets get started, can you tell us your name please?
Um, what like my real name? Or my hero name? what?
Whichever you feel comfortable with.
Oh, well I guess I can tell you my real name, I didn't tick the annonymous box when I signed up to be a hero. My name's Jamie Tide, otherwise known as Kryoman. *he smiles lightly*
Pleased to meet you Kryoman.
You too mate, when I saw in the paper that you guys were looking for people to interview who weren't from Paragon I figured why not, ya know? People around here got hit pretty hard, but they weren't the only ones, we got it pretty bad too.
And by we you mean...?
Oh yeah, sorry. England, or more specifically London.
Well, why don't you start by telling us about invasion day where you were?
Hmmmm. I was living on the streets at the time, so I didnt have access to the TV like most people did, I learned most of the news from the other homeless folk.
Homeless? How old were you at the time?
Well, I'm 24 now, so I was about 18 when it all kicked off. And as for being homeless, well when you live in a council estate in London with no dad and a mum struggeling to cope with two kids on her own, and over the course of six months or so your 13 year old boy starts to develop powers you pretty much freak out. She got sent to the nuthouse and me and Claire, my sister got put into foster care. Back then they put all the powered foster kids in a group home, wouldn't let me see my sister, so I thought **** it. I ran away, lived rough right up until the invasion.
Sorry, please continue.
No need to be sorry. Anyway.
Like I said, I was on the streets at the time, when suddenly over the Thames, a great big red disc appeared, bloody huge it was. Me and some of the others thought we'd get a closer look. We didn't really care about what it was, we just figured that the press would want to interview a bunch of homeless people about it, see how it affected us, and they always used to give us a few sarnies ya know? Sweeten the deal.
Anyway, on the way there we saw no end of those red *******'s floating in the sky, small ones at ground level, the coppers were going mental moving people along, telling them to go home. Thing is where do you tell a homeless person to go? The shelters were full, and no one really gave two ****'s about us. Fine with us through right? No one ever has.
I remember the majority of us split up, some of us wanted to try the shelter in Whitechapel, rumour was they'd opened up another temporary shelter in a disused warehouse. Me and this kid we're the only two left on the streets. Jenny her name was, about 15. I'd told her loads of times to go with the others, but she didn't want to be there. Despite all the fear and confusion on the streets the shelters we're still pretty dangerous places, junkies and that. No place for a kid *he shakes his head slowly*
Anyway, there we were, two people alone in the world, but surrounded by people. Weird eh? She said she'd feel safer by the coppers, so we went down to one of the police roadblocks. They'd set up right infront of one of the ground level discs, of course they weren't gonna let a bunch of people hang around, so they kept moving 'em on. Me and Jenny decided to sneak down one of the alleys near the roadblock, that way we'd be able to stay there. Not be seen right? Looking back at it we should have gone to the shelter, but she said the coppers made her feel safer.
Were there any heroes on the streets with you?
'Course there was. They were as paniced as the rest of us, but they put on a brave face. They had to. The greatest of 'em all though. He was over here with you lot. Im not bad mouthin' him or nothin'. I'm glad he was here, otherwise things woulda been a lot worse.
The greatest of them all?
Yeah, Hero 1. There were others of course, like The British Empire, he was on the streets helping people get home, clearing any car accidents up. Westend Lucy, she was there as a police advisor, using her magics to try and see what those things were.
I didn't know any of this at the time 'course. I found it all out later. At the time I was just tryin' to make Jenny feel safe. So we stayed by the cops.
Please continue.
Well, I dunno what time it was, we coulda been there for an hour, or for three, but we heard some of the coppers talking about some geezer over 'ere in Paragon going through one of the red things, people freaking out about how he didn't come back. They went on and on about it, how we'd sent some probe through and all it had recorded was screamin'. I dunno. Jenny started to panic. I tried to calm her down, but the poor kid just sobbed and sobbed. She passed out in the end, hyperventilating or some ****.
And when did the alien invaders first make themselves known?
Damn. I dunno. Coulda been ten minutes, coulda been hours. All I know is, when it all got worse I was still cradeling Jenny. Poor kid. *he shakes his head again* One of the coppers started shouting, I couldn't hear what was being said, but I knew it wasn't good. I put my jumper on the floor and laid jenny on it, and covered her with my jacket, and went to have a gander.
And what did you see?
****in' 'ell. It was scary mate. About ten of these things stepped out of the dics.
The Rikti?
Yeah. Ugly lookin' *******'s they were too. Armed to the teeth with ray guns. ****in' ray guns! The coppers didn't know what to do, what can you do in that sort of situation? One copper just stared, he was the first to go. No warning, no shouting, one minute he was there, the next he was just a pile of burnt meat and smoke.
That's when the screamin' started.
How did the remaining police react?
They died. I mean, how the **** were they supposed to fight back? Coppers don't carry guns in England, so they were pretty much screwed from the beginning. I don't think any of that lot got out alive, but to their credit they tried, they didnt run.
What happened next?
*He looks down at the ground* My first instinct was to scarper ya know? I'd done it before at the home. But, I dunno. I couldn't leave Jenny there in the alley. She reminded me of my sister, she needed help yeah?
I ran down there, hopin' to christ that none of them ugly *******'s had seen me. When I got there Jenny was already awake, poor thing was scared outta her mind. She tried to ask me what was going on but I couldn't find the words. How can you explain to a 15 year old kid that ten foot away there were coppers being incinerated by ****in' ray guns?
I picked her up and I ran. Clear out the otherside of the alley. That side wasn't much cop either. Great big bloody tanks were spewing outta the discs, blowing up cars and buildings like they were nowt. I ran. I ran and ran and ran. I had no ****in' clue where I was going. I had nowhere to go. I saw the military send in it's troops, and heroes alike. Trying to stop those ****ers from killing everyone.
And how did your heroes fare against the alien invaders?
Pretty much the same as yours did. Alot of good people died that first day, alot of street heroes died facing down those *******'s. Me and Jenny seen The British Empire die. He was a good bloke ya know? A Good friend of Hero 1. And he gave his life making sure people could get off the streets. I dunno how the rest of 'em were doing though. I know it sounds *****y but I didn't really care. I was just worried about me and the kid.
And where did you go?
Well, I figured I'd try to get into one of the makeshift shelters they'd put up, they'd forced everyone into the London Underground since them things were used in world war II as shelters. But we never made it.
What happened?
I ran round this one corner, and there they were. Twenty of 'em, just standing there plain as day. A tank was on fire behind 'em and the poor bloke inside was screamin', but they just stood there, emotionless. Then one of em shot me, right in the chest.
How did you survive that?
Well... *he looks down and rubs his eyes gently* ... I was still carryin' Jenny.
If you need a minute...
No no. I'm fine. I woke up what must have been a few seconds later. And I was still holdin' her. 'Cept now she was just smokin' meat. Poor kid never even had time to scream. I was alright, I mean, my powers make me pretty tough, even back then before I used 'em everyday, I wasn't even really hurt, just winded. But she was gone. How ****in' fair is that? They didn't even care.
And what happened next?
I don't even remember mate. All I can remember is the cold and the sound of crunching bone and metal.
You don't remember what happened?
Nope. I woke up in the AnE on the other side of the city, I'd been brought there by some passing hero. They'd seen what happened. Apparantly I'd gone nuts. After Jenny died my powers came to full bloom. I'd taken the lot down, froze 'em like ice cubes and smashed 'em to peices. Broke danm near every bone in body doin' it too.
And someone had seen this happening and rescued you?
Yeah, I don't even know the guys name. I never met him again, some nurse told me what he'd told her, so I don't even know how much of it's true.
And what happened then?
Not much really to be honest. I was tucked away in the hostpital for the rest of the war. I heard some news come through now and then, but I was passing out every ten minutes, shock and anger and grief and broken bones'll do that to ya.
When I came round for good it was all done. I was told about Hero 1 and the rest of 'em giving their lives to save us, I got all healed up, and then they booted me out back into the streets.
Where did you go from there?
Well, the country was in a pretty big mess. The shelters were crammed full, and the Rikti as I found out they were called were holed up underground doing raids against our military bases. We'd won the war, but the danger was still there. I'm not gonna lie, I really couldn't have cared less at the time. I was so angry, so upset that I couldn't care about anythin'.
I went back onto the streets, did some pretty bad things to stay alive, stole, hurt people. I was lashing out at a world where a 15 year old girl could be murdered in the streets and no one was even lookin' for her.
How did you get from there to here though?
Like I said, I was angry and back on the streets. I saw alot of old faces that had made it through the war ok, and it made me mad that they'd made it and Jenny hadn't. I went back to one of the old houses where we all used to stay, and I found Jennys old makeshift bed.
It was probably wrong of me, but I went through her stuff. I found a letter she'd wrote to her mum and never sent. It was all about how she was ok, and fine, and they she'd run away cos her dad had been touching her up, and she needed to get away, and how she was safe with a bunch of other people blah blah blah.
That's when I broke down. I figured out there and then that I wasn't mad at the world. I was mad at me for lettin' her die. If I'd have used my powers sooner she'd have made it. I could fly for ****'s sake, even back then. But I wanted to fit in, I wanted to belong. Even homeless people are scared of super powers, and these people were my family as much as my mum and sister, I didn't want my family to be scared of me.
So I decided to fix things, to make 'em better for other people like myself. I set up a shelter in the eastend, it was pretty easy at first, I used an abandoned building and set up shop there. Then when I'd got enough people in there I applied to a grant, made things legit. Got it done up all nice like. I took in about a hundred or so folks off the streets. Helped 'em out.
And how did you get from running a homeless shelter to being a Paragon City hero?
Well, about a year down the line, the guilt started to get to me again. I knew that Jenny wanted to send that letter to her mum, and I knew that her mum deserved to know what had happened to her, and if I got the chance I would kick her ****in' dad's [censored] while I was at it.
So I found out Jennys letter and looked up the address, it was some little doss hole town in Leicestershire. Took me about an hour to build up the courage to knock on the door. Her mum answered almost straight away but it seemed like forever stood on that street. I dunno how she knew, but she did, as soon as she opened the door she burst into tears. We talked for hours and I gave her the letter. Turns out she booted Jenny's dad out a couple of weeks after Jenny had left.
I told her the whole story, about how I'd failed her, and how I couldn't live with myself over it, and she told me how she felt. It was very theraputic to get it all off my chest. Im sure she felt the same. She didn't hate me though, I figured she would but she didn't. She actually thanked me for being there for her daughter when she was scared, and she thanked me for bringing her the letter... we still keep in touch.
And that's when you decided to become a hero?
Kinda. I went back to the shelter to start off. Things weren't the same though. I was helpin' but not as much as I could ya know? I had these powers, and I wasn't usin' 'em.
Things got better in England, we managed to get rid of all our Rikti. Took hero squads months to sweep the sewers and underground bases out, but they did it. I mean, Englands pretty small, not too many places to hide ya know?. I kept thinkin' to myself, what could I do to help?
That's when I read up about the true fate of Hero 1 and the others, and how things were still pretty bad over here. We don't have all the gangs you guys do, and apart from the odd super villian trying to knock off a security van now and then we don't have much going on.
So I came here. I thought where best could I use my powers to help? This seemed like the right place. You lot have it tough, and there are more problems here than in most places in the world.
So you came here and become a hero?
Yep. Registered my first day, before I'd even got a place to live. Made my first arrest three hours later. Felt good too. Some poor lady being mugged. She sends me Christmas cards now.
And what about the shelter?
I still run it, but in name only really. It's doing good too. We're helpin' alot of people.
Have you got anything else to add?
Yeah actually. Alot of people critiscise some of the heroes on the streets of Paragon and in the rest of the world, but they need to rememeber, that beneath their masks, or helmets, or suits of armour, that most of 'em are just regular people too. They do what they can 'cos they can. Most of em don't even get paid for it, they spend all day at work and all night on the streets, no sleep, no rest. Paragon City is a City of Heroes, and you should be thankful for it.
Thank you very much for your time today Kryoman.
No probs mate.
"Well then...I can't say we've ever done anything quite like this, and it's probably a new experience for you too. So...how about we get started...and just see where it goes?"
"Acceptable."
"Okay. Well, first of all, could you tell us your name please?"
"..."
"I understand. Would you mind if we called you 'K' for the time being, then?"
"Acceptable."
"I can see you're uncomfortable with this. Tell you what: just...start wherever you feel like. Don't bother trying to sound nice or not offend anyone, we're not doing this for publicity. Well, we are, but...nevermind. In your own words, could you tell us where you were in the first...um..."
"Rikti invasion."
"Yes...that...I..."
"I understand. I harbor no animosity. I will recount: on May 23, 2002, 1925 hours, I had been attached to a forward unit also serving as a potential-threat response team. No one could be certain of just what might come through the portals, and as we had received reports of a strange machines emerging from other gateway sites, including a surprisingly large example not far away, we had decided to err on the side of caution."
"So you were...basically on standby until it happened?"
"That is correct. However, my unit encountered no emergence phenomena. We did not enter combat until 1935 hours local time."
"Go on."
"In as few words as possible: it was madness. The improbable had become manifest, and seeing my fellow soldiers slain with terrible efficiency before my very eyes paled in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of negative thought patterns that attempted to break through into my mind, never ceasing their assault against my mental barriers. Before I had even come to realize this fact, rage had overtaken me, and I began to fight."
"To fight?"
"I leveled my primary weapon at the nearest human and incinerated him."
"Did...did you feel any satisfaction at this?"
"I did not. Though I had attempted to capsule my emotions, I could not stem the tides - neither those of my own heart, nor those of my soldiers. We wanted revenge. We wanted retribution. But most of all, we wanted to rid ourselves of the great fear."
"The great fear?"
"That you would return. Return to finish what you had begun...what we thought you had begun."
"Please, don't. We know...and in a way, we are responsible. But this is not the time, nor the place. Please continue."
"Affirmative. I directed my unit to establish a perimeter, the one created by the first group smashed apart by a human with strength that rivaled that of the Great Destroyer. Fortunately, he did not share his resilience, and our weapons soon ended his life. I still see before me my fellows snapping like twigs between his fingers, their broken bodies littering the area. We had not believed so many humans held such power."
"Neither do I, sometimes."
"I called for aerial bombardment in response, and made my way to a ground support vehicle, believing I could better coordinate the assault from there. As I ran, however, I spied in the sky none other than the Great Destroyer himself, on a collision course with the discus ship I had requested cover us."
"What happened?"
"Catastrophe. The Great Destroyer not only withstood the cannon fire directed at him, but cleaved through the vessel as if its armor had been softest fabric. The ship came down not far from us in a matter of mere seconds. I stood frozen in shock."
"What did you do then?"
"For some time...nothing. I found myself unable to move, both awed and horrified at the sight of such power. I was afraid. Terrified. But then I remembered why we were here: and that was why. I had seen him before, in the hospital, amidst debris and corpses. No one had been able to stop him."
"Stop? From doing what?"
"Destroying the incubation chambers. I thought I might be able to, but I was not."
"I...don't entirely understand...I think you're in the middle of something else right now. Could you start from the beginning?"
"Affirmative. I had been with child for several months. The day had come to remove my offspring from her incubation pod. I could not wait to hold her in my arms. Unfortunately, my duty delayed me, and my mate went ahead alone. In retrospect...no, I cannot connect anything fortunate with what took place. I found him there, the fingers of the Great Destroyer clasped about his throat, slowly crushing the life from his body. He had tried to fight, but against such power..."
"..."
"I came at him with all my might. It was a pitiful attempt. He crushed my armor as if it were a mere beverage container, leaving me broken and immobile on the floor as he forced me to watch...forced me to watch the life fade from the eyes of my mate."
"Your mate...that's a little strange for me. Would the term 'husband' be okay with you?"
"The designation is inaccurate, but acceptable."
"Thank you. Please go on."
"He dropped my...husband to the ground beside me. His lifeless eyes still pled for aid. I had never felt so helpless. There I was, a proud soldier of the Lineage of War, a Warmaster even...merely lying on the ground, my body shattered, unable to move. Unable to stop, or even delay the monster as it tore through the incubation ward, snuffing out all life within...including that of my daughter."
"That's...that's quite the story. But you survived. You held on."
"I did."
"So...what did you do once you had healed? Once you cold move again?"
"I put my blade to my throat."
"You were going to commit suicide?!"
"I was. I had lost my mate, my child...my honor. Everything."
"What stopped you?"
"Guilt. Rage. Anger. Fear. Duty. But fear and duty most of all. Fear that you would return to finish us. As a member of the Lineage of War, it is my duty to safeaguard my people. I had failed. But I was alive. That meant my duty was not over."
"Oh wow...so...so how did you feel when you found out...how did you even find out?"
"An old friend. I had believed him a traitor when he began to work with Vanguard, and for several months thereafter. However, one day, much like any other, a doubt suddenly stood within my mind. I know not why. Or rather, I recall not. There is a...gap within my memory. In the memory of all my people. It is not long - but none of us can remember what events took place within that time."
"I...wow, I don't know what to say to that. Please, tell me more."
"There is not much more to tell that is relevant. Apart from the apparently unrecoverable nature of the lost memories - specialists have told me the case is not amnesia, but that the memories have truly been purged, as if...how did he say...'converted into another form'...I am unsure of the meaning - many of us have experienced a sense of repetition upon coming into contact with a select few humans. You call it 'deja bu', I believe."
"Deja vu. But go on. What sort of humans?"
"Some heroes...some villains...but also Vanguard personnel, especially the Lady Grey. Regrettably, we are unsure of what meaning can be gained from these happenings at this time."
"I see...oh, not now. We're just about out of time. Well, I would very much appreciate if you contacted us when you have more information. Not to sound...um...insensitive, but it's truly fascinating, and we'd all very much like to know more."
"I shall consider it."
"One last question before we have to stop: now that you know the truth, how are you coming to terms with it?"
"One step at a time..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
That was an interesting take on the invasion. I'm not sure I follow about the missing memories. Is that based on canon lore somehow or is it something you made up for some purpose?
The latter. I've had the Warmaster as a character for well over a year now, but never got around to giving her an actual backstory, not to mention explain her change from disbelieving the 'human lies' about the Rikti War to actually coming to terms with them. This is the first piece to that puzzle, and will be explained in further detail once I finally get around to finishing Anomalous AAR. 
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Jenna, why are we here?"
"Come on, Hank. I need an unusual interveiw to get hired at the station. That means I need an unusual hero. All heroes come thru atlas park and they all use the yellow line."
"True, but getting another hero's veiw isn't that new. Hasn't been for quite a while."
"But... oh, drat! You're right. What do I do? The editor wants a new look at the first ritki war, now that they're back. Where else can we go?"
"Hmmm... I don't know about that; but aren't those hellions quite a ways off their stomping grounds?"
"Yes, Hank. They are. What are six hellions doing next to the yellow line in Atlas park? One's a damned, too. This is serious. I came here to talk with a hero and now that one's needed, none around. Just my luck."
"Jenna, those hellions aren't just roaming around. They're after that guy and his mother."
"I wonder why. Can we... too late to warn them. Now what? Hank, get out your camera!"
"GEEZ! Look..."
"Whoa! What she'd do to them? Is THAT a ritki blaster?"
"It ain't a water pistol. Jenna, this is your story, if you can get her talking."
"Three hellions running, one hellion underfoot, another down holding his knee, and she's holding the Damned on his tip-toes... with a finger? That is one heroic woman!"
"Uh, Jenna. Let her finish before we ask for that interveiw. I don't think she'd appreciate the interruption."
"OK, ok. Just get this on disk."
"I am, I am. Uh? She's letting them go? There's a scene you don't see very often. A damned carrying two of his buddies with his tail between his legs. That is one tough lady."
"Yeah, that ritki blaster isn't a toy pistol, either. Come on! MA'AM! MA'AM! Can we talk a moment?"
"Young lady, we are in a bit of a hurry. Those punks delayed us a little bit; but we are already stretched for time."
"We got a van. We can give you a ride."
"Jenna! We don't know where they're going."
"Jenna, is it? Well, my name is Lisa. That's all ya need. This here's my nephew, Mark. If that offer of a ride is valid, ya got yur interveiw. I'll even spring fer da gas."
"Deal. Just where are you going anyway?"
"We're going to the truckstop on I-95. It's about 25 miles. I'll fill your tank when we get there, okay?"
"A truckstop?"
"Yes. The ONLY truckstop in Rhode Island. Doesn't even have a name. Half the parking lot is dirt and we truckers STILL have to pay eight bucks to sleep there."
"You're a lady trucker?"
"Yes. That is NOT a contradiction, by the way. One can just as easy be a lady or a gentleman on the road as you can be not."
"On the road?"
"Yes. That means driving over state lines, interstate, coast-to-coast, whatever cooks your cookies."
"An 18-wheeler?"
"Yes, G-- D--- it! An 18 wheeler. I run a skateboard. I used to run boxes, reefers, and pups, and even some triples; but I like the challenge of skateboards."
"Aunt Lisa, I don't understand everything you're saying. I don't think the girl understands any of it."
"What? Oh, sorry. Guess I was letting my prejudices get ahead of me."
"Your prejudices? Why?"
"Truckers don't normally like reporters of any type. It's not like we get a fair shake from ya'll."
"Oh, that is ridiculous. We don't report on truckers often, I admit. But we try to do right..."
"... right by your ratings. When was the last time you saw or heard a broadcast saying something GOOD about a truck? I can tell you of several incidents I have experianced where the newscasts were PURPOSELY skewed to make truckers look bad. The first ritki war was a shining example of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you city folk REALLY believe those D--- portals only opened in cities? The vast majority of them opened in open country. The invasion focused on the cities because that's where the enemy... us humans... were. But that was NOT where most of the battles were."
"A lot of those portals opened close to nothing... in open feilds and on mountain sides... such like that. Some opened close to power plants and other important locations. When the troopers started coming thru, the county mounties and super troopers didn't stand a chance alone. Luckily, they weren't alone. Mind you, those guys were brave; but there simply weren't enough of them and they were outgunned as well."
"Excuse me, my name is Hank. what are county mounties and super troopers?"
"I can answer that one, Hank. I've heard Aunt Lisa rant about them often enough. County Mounties are county sheriffs, deputies, and such. Super troopers are highway patrol. Local police are 'local yokels'. Truckers have almost their own dialect when it comes to communicating."
"So I've heard. Ma'am, I understand you even have secret names like the heroes have."
"Girly, we call them 'handles'. They're not secret any more than one of your so-called heroes is called Statesman and another Synaspe."
"So-called?"
"Yeah, I would also be a lot more prone to go into a bad situation if I knew I would be teleported out when things go wrong."
"Fearlessness is foolishness. True courage is facing that which scares the be-jezies out of ya and standing even when ya know it could be the last thing ya do."
"During the first ritki war, a lot of good men and women (not all wore colorful outfits, mind you) gave the ultimate to make sure the ritki were pushed back. Now THEY were true heroes. THEY had true courage."
"Here is our stop. Let's get ya'll filled up. I'd ask ya'll in; but I think you should come back on your own."
"I have just one more question. Where'd you get the ritki blaster?"
"Ha! From the original owner, of course. Cost me an arm and a leg."
((Alright, I'll bite, looks fun))
(A young woman was walking around Atlas Park with a small videocamera, apparently looking for something. She spotted a hero walking towards City Hall and ran up to him)
Girl: Hello! Sir!
(The hero, a tall, big man with gloves the size of beach balls turned)
Hero: Yes?
Jesse: I'm Jesse, and I'm videotaping interviews of heroes, I'm looking for a job as a cameraperson, and this is my, uh, audition you could say. May I interview you?
Hero: Sure, why not?
Jesse: First off, what' your name, or handle?
D.B. : Detective Big
Jesse: Oh! Your a detective?
D.B. : Yeah, but not a detective as you might think. I am from the FBI, but they're trying to get a bit more, aggresive, you could say
Jesse: Aggresive? As in how?
D.B. : They're training men and women to be in top physical shape, then giving them gloves like these that are programmed to give 'superpowers'. I'm one of the first of these people, although I'll bet there will be many more.
Jesse: Okay, now that we got that cleared up, what powers do these gloves give you?
D.B. : These gloves give me ice-like powers. I'm classified as a Blaster, though these gloves could give you any archetype like powers, and not just ice.
Jesse: Now, how long have you been heroing for Paragon City and the FBI?
D.B. : About eight years.
Jesse: So you were a hero during the rikit war?
D.B. : A new hero, and I still think I am, but yes, I was there.
Jesse: Can you tell me about that experience?
D.B. (sighs and puts his head down slightly, then begins) I was in Atlas Park, me and my Supergroup leader were talking, when these portals opened up.
Jesse: I'm sorry to interupt, but what Supergroup are you a member of?
D.B. : Destiny of the Stars.
Jesse: Ahh, sorry, please, go on with the story
D.B. : (nods) We didn't know what they were. A few heroes flew up to look at the portals. Some went in, like a freind of mine, Crossboned. He went in to investigate, and didn't come out. The longer he stayed in there, the longer I worried. As I got more nervous, I decided to go looking for him. As I neared the portal, I saw ships, huge, giant ships, coming out of portals that were above us. My Supergroup leader flew up to one, and got shot down immediaty. She fell into a pool, and I didn't know what to do.
I decided my first priority was protection, and the best protection is wound prevention. I called about what happened on my Super's radio, and got an empath on her way to take care of the leader. The rest made their way to Atlas and other surrounding areas. As co-leader, I took it upon myself and split the group into groups. I made three, A, B, C. A went to Atlas, B to Kings Row, and C to Galaxy City. When my group was assembled, we took flight, some had group fly, and went to the ships.
We took down four ships before being so heavily wounded we retreated. I saw one of our older members fall heavily towards the ground. I tried to fly down and get her, but I was to late. Just as I thought her dead, a tree grew out of no where, and she fell into the top. She was safe, so I flew back up and escorted other members to the ground.
Jesse: It sounds horrible.
D.B. : You've got no idea. I was afraid, not of the Rikti, of the death. So many dieing, dead that day. As the ships retreated, and we thought we were safe, it had only begun. As I was walking around giving small first-aid, these, things appeared from no where. They immediatly started shooting. Several people around me died on the spot, more deaths. I always felt they were on my hands.
Jesse: But they weren't.
D.B. : That's the human heart for you, a curious thing. Anyhow, I shot an ice blast, and it struck one in the face. It fell and died, but was replaced by more. As I saw we were loing ground, I kept backing up until I was in a small group with Ms. Liberty. I saw a machine, and I didn't know what i was, maybe a police drone at first thought. Then it got a shot off right at my leg, and I fell. Blood was pouring everywhere, but there was a tree that gave off, well, heals. After a second, I had enough strength to raise my arm. I shot a blast and the thing exploded.
I felt energy course through me, and looked at my leg, which had healed. There was empath who was looking at me, then turned to fight the fight. I got up and heard Ms. Liberty order a retreat. I started flying away, towards a school where I saw many cars and thought was a makeshift hospital.
As I was flying, I heard a scream, and I looked down and to my left to see three Rikti. I knew there was someone down there, but I couldn't see them. I flew down, punched one with ice around my glove, blasted another, then drew back a little and froze the last. As I looked around for the innocent, I saw a small boy, maybe five, lying on the ground, and bleeding heavily. I picked him up and flew away.
I looked down at the boy, and he looked up at me. After all this, I was feeling quite weak, so I dropped slowly. I was still about half a mile from the school, and I knew I couldn't make it there fast. I looked down at the boy and asked 'What's your name?'. He answered it was John. I told him it would be alright, that he would live. I asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up, and he answered it was a fireman. I took off my sun glasses and said to him 'Your going to be the best firefighter there ever was'. He looked up at me and said-said-
(At this point he choked a little, but his sunglasses hid his emotion well, ad he got under control)
D.B. : He said 'Thank you'. He died in my arms. A small boy died in my arms. I got up and forced myself to run to the hospital, fly-jumping everytime I could. I burst into the school and shouted to get this boy help. They were to busy to even hear me. I looked at the boy, sank to my knees, and put him down.
Jesse: That's horrible...
D.B. : (nods) I swore from that day that no Rikti in my sight would live, tey would feel the same pain I did.
Jesse: I understand, now, can I say one last thing?
D.B. : Sure.
Jesse: Thank you. On behalf of all of Paragon City, thank you and all like you, you are truly heroes.
D.B. : It's my pleasure.