Here goes the Backstory for Shadow Whisper. Apologies in advance for the length of it 
:
Shadow Whisper
Up the stairs above her, the heavy door was locked and bolted, blocking out the last traces of light.
As if untouched by the all-engulfing darkness, the white-clad figure moved forward to the metal bench she knew would be waiting at the far wall and sat herself down, by habit assuming the lotus position she always used to find mental rest.
So, it was back to solitary confinement! Compared to the claustrophobically small cell she shared with three other inmates, solitary wasn't actually too bad - at least she could allow herself the luxury of going to sleep without the risk of having her throat cut or worse.
As solitary confinement went, the Hole, where she was locked down now, was of course probably the worst you could get, but still it wasn't too bad, if you could block out the darkness, the cold, the humidity and the rats - and blocking out things like that was something of which she had very considerable experience.
A brief shiver raked her white-clad frame. The guards had hosed her down with icy water as punishment, but that was nothing more than a mild inconvenience, as was the salty taste of blood in her mouth, dripping from her bruised upper lip.
She took some pride in the fact that a guard had inflicted the wound only after she had passively surrendered herself. The four assailants - gang members trying to claim her mask as a trophy - had not come close to even scratching her, and - if conscious yet - they were probably lying in their infirmary beds seriously regretting their choice of victim.
As she concentrated on letting her mind escape the ailments of her body, her thoughts found peace in the contemplation of the strange dream that had kept coming to her recently - the nice dream as she had named it to herself - a dream of a big, light room, a soft, warm bed, and a tender, loving voice speaking to her affectionately.
As much as she enjoyed the dream, she really had no idea where it was all coming from. As far back as she could recall, she had never experienced warm beds and loving voices; her earliest memories were of the cold and humid caves where she had been kept and trained to fight under the watchful eyes of Mr. Wang.
She remembered how the mere thought of Mr. Wang had once been enough to make her blood freeze in terror. She had refused to fight the other kids at first, and Mr. Wang had been merciless in his fury. She had always hid herself silently in the corner of the cave, rarely uttering a word, and never raising her voice, even when she was being beaten, and that was how she had earned the name Shadow Whisper.
Even when they fought for food, she had refused to partake, and soon she had been half-crazed from starvation. Then, one day, a lump of bread had been thrown into the far corner of the cave, practically landing in her lap. Frantically, she had started nibbling away, unaware that big Jimmy, one of the older boys and one of her worst bullies had seen her and wanted to take the bread from her.
As Jimmy grabbed her, desperation had made her finally lash out, and to the amazement of Mr. Wang and the other kids, she had disposed of Jimmy in seconds, flawlessly executing the moves she had seen the others perform over and over again, but always herself refused to take part in. It was then that Mr. Wang had realised that he had a true martial arts prodigy on his hands.
That night, a Mr. Po had arrived and spoken with Mr. Wang. Amazingly, Mr. Wang had seemed fearful of Mr. Po, and she remembered wondering why Mr. Po was gesturing at her, and what was in the small cloth bag that Mr. Po had handed to Mr. Wang.
A few nights later, she had awoken to shouts, scuffling and turmoil. Mr. Wang had grabbed her, quickly whisking her away down one of the hallways. From a distance, she had heard the anxious callings of an unknown female voice. "Jessica, are you here? Jessie? Please
" She had thought how lucky this Jessica was to have someone with such a gentle and caring voice searching for her.
She had found herself moved to another cave, but apart from that her life had continued much as before. Mr. Wang had learnt that he could persuade the young prodigy to fight not by threatening or punishing the girl herself, but rather by using the other kids as scapegoats for punishment whenever she made any mistakes or showed any signs of disobedience. By these means, he had pushed her to the limits and beyond, and her fighting talents were unfolding beyond Mr. Wang's wildest expectations.
Mr. Wang had always said she that had the fast and deadly strike of a cobra and she had been given a mask, a veil, and a white costume with a cobra insignia to wear as Shadow Whisper during the gladiator battles she and the other kids were forced to fight in the ring. Often Mr. Po would be there watching and nodding in slight recognition as she beat the champions of his rivals again and again.
One night, Mr. Wang had pushed her too far, and she had made a mistake, twisting her ankle as she landed after launching a flying attack. Infuriated, Mr. Wang had started beating her only friend Cindy as punishment. Something had snapped inside her, and she had jumped Mr. Wang, ignoring the throbbing pain in her ankle and beating her tormentor to a pulp.
Quickly grabbing the cloth bag Mr. Po had given to Mr. Wang, she had limpingly fled the caves, followed by all the other young gladiators that had been held captive. Taking occupancy in the basement of a derelict house, she had searched the cloth bag, finding only a small golden medallion engraved with the name Jessica Chang, and wondering what that could possibly have to do with her.
Mr. Po had sent his men after her, enforcers of all sorts, ink men of all colours, and even a sorcerer, but she had effortlessly disposed of them all, one by one.
Then, one day, Cindy had called her, desperately pleading for help. She had rushed to the designated meeting spot, only to find the motel room full of Superadine and Cindy nowhere in sight. Before she could get out, the place had been swarmed by cops, and since then her place of residence had been the Zig.
A rat nibbling away at her boot brought the white-clad figure out of her reverie. Absentmindedly, she brushed it away, thinking that she really needed to get herself out of this place as soon as possible if she wanted to follow up on her strange dream and find out more about who this Jessica Chang was.
To do so, and to survive in the harsh world outside until she could find her bearings, she would need a plan, and some allies though. Suppressing another faint shiver, she slipped back into meditation, this time focusing her mind on the problem of how to possibly find allies in a cutthroat place like this.
The pale man sitting on the left side of the room with his legs crossed watched the balding man prattle on about heists and their tedious nature. He attempted to give the appearance of mild interest but failed to make it convincing: he was bored. His thoughts drifted and, as was usual settled on the event that had started him on this path...
"They've denied us permission and cut our funding! This is outrageous! Don't they realise how close we are?"
"For crying out loud! Calm down, Thomas! You're not going to get anywhere by venting at me!"
Thomas stopped pacing and glared at the speaker. Snorting, he whirled around and began pacing again. "And you're just going to give in?"
The speaker crossed her legs and sighed. "You ask the most inane questions, do you realise that? Firstly," she said, ticking the points off on her fingers, "they are perfectly within their rights to cut our funding; secondly, our research is dangerous and their concerns are far from groundless and thirdly, no, they won't get away with it." She smiled dangerously at Thomas as he turned to look at her.
Standing perfectly motionless, he looked at her with interest, finally asking "And just what do you mean by that, Rebecca?"
Ignoring the direct question, she began musing. "We'll have to finish our work quickly before the money we have runs out and they throw us off the premises. That'll require some late nights and bad coffee, I imagine. Our findings, however, should really surprise them, don't you think?" She smiled again, a lethal motion of her lips and Thomas nodded slowly.
They had worked through the night and then solidly for the following two days before achieving a break-through. It had not been, however, what either had expected...
The pale man refocused his eyes and regarded the balding man once again who was talking about French bread for a reason beyond the pale man's ability to care about. He nodded as the man finished speaking and looked around at the others disinterestedly.
"The true test is yet to come..." he thought.
((There'll be more about the pale man's background eventually but that'll do for now... 
))
This guy's got the gift of the gab. I like it. Though, all this talk of bread's gotten me hungry! Nitetsu thought. "I'm ready when you are 'capewalk'. Just show me the vault and I'm on it."[/i]
* * *
((Bio: Bear in mind that Sabrina is speaking slowly and with many pauses. Read this like a poem.))
* * *
[Voiceover: Nitetsu]
* * *
Among other things, I am a thief. I survive by stealing.
Stealing from the rich, and sharing with the poor.
Among other things, I am a hero.
I look to the common man and answer to his cries.
For there is no love in this world, only hate; hate for the lesser.
* * *
Once, I was Sabrina San, a girl from the Far East who served in the city of heroes as Dragonfly.
It didnt last long. Some blame the curse of the Soaring Dragon sword.
But in fact, it was the murder of my mother.
Heroes can be so foolish. Yes, the perpetrator was allowed to live
until I found him.
The way I see it, to live and let live is to die and let die.
* * *
Among other things, I am a criminal. I am fuelled by rage and I live by vengeance.
I judge the murderer; I dictate his sentence and I perform his execution.
Among other things, I am a master Swordsman and a student of Ninjitsu.
I have sought out an ancient blade called the Soaring Dragon.
With which I swear to destroy all evil, because destroying is what I do best.
* * *
Dear Diary,
I followed up on the newspaper advertisement yesterday and attended a meeting in the Rogue Isles.
The island itself is a nice place.. but it is by far the most crime-infested city I know. The Arachnos are argueably the richest criminals in the area, thus, are now my primary target.
The number of poor people on the street here is apalling. They die of poverty and Vahiloks use their corpse.
Anyway, today I erm.. I tagged along with what I though were like-minded thieves.. only to learn otherwise.. self-proclaimed villains! Nutcases! Walking dolls and criminal techno-nerds.. thieves intent on robbing any and everyone, poor and rich alike! I stood there, gobsmacked as they murdered mutated snakes - sword-wielding giants they were, but innocent until proven guilty.. right?
As a fellow law enforcer, I immediately sought police help.. only to be shot on sight.
It appears my rather.. stained reputation from Paragon City preceeds me.. the name Nitetsu is still linked with Dragonfly..
I dont know what to do.. everyone hates me.. even fellow heroes.
Dear Jessica Chang,
I don't know who you are or if you will ever see this.
Lately, your name has come to haunt me, and yesterday I took the first steps to discover why - embarking on a journey that I hope will lead me to find out who you are, and why your destiny seems somehow linked to mine. Your role in my life is a mystery, and my thoughts are clouded by your invasion. I hope that keeping this journal will help me to better trace my steps and hopefully gain more clarity.
I am called Shadow Whisper, but my name will be of no meaning to you. I have, however, a strong compulsion to find you although my leads are faint at best. I have only a medallion engraved with your name and the knowledge that somewhere in Paragon, a woman with a kind and gentle voice was once searching for you. Not much to go on, I realise. Still, however, I feel I must find you, and with you - hopefully - mental peace.
To find you I need money and help. Last night I met up with people who can hopefully provide me with both.
As allies go, in most ways they leave a lot to be asked for - all of them either mad, violent, selfish, ruthless or evil, some of them possibly representatives of all such dishonourable traits. Certainly not a bunch to be trusted, and I will do wisely to show them that I am not a person to be messed with for anyone wishing to remain alive.
Despite their obvious character flaws, they are, however, a most ambitious and capable bunch, and even someone as deadly as I will need allies to survive in a place like this before I can get back to Paragon and continue my search for you.
Touchdown is a huge man of amazing strength and endurance and with a taste for violence. I had him labelled as a fellow fighter at first, but he claims to be a football player. He places great confidence in his physical strength. Though I have certainly disposed of larger men than him in my time, I will prefer to stay on good terms with him, and to fight alongside rather than against him.
Another guy with a strange name ((sorry...can't remember the exact name!!)) displayed amazing skill and knowledge about computers and could control robots. His skills may become of great use to me once we get to Paragon - he may be able to derive more information about you, so I will be wise to stay on good terms with him too.
Greenbuck is a man of great ambition and delusional grandeur. He already has half the Rogue Isles mentally named after him. One so greedy and ambitious is prone to greatness and power I guess, and I must keep in his good books to hopefully benefit from it.
Wax Lyrical I had already met when we escaped from prison. She appears somewhat mentally unbalanced and strongly biased against adults and teenagers. Strangely, she speaks fondly of childhood as if it was something nice. Perhaps I would understand her better, if I had ever had a doll myself.
Then there was Nitetsu - strange, alarming Nitetsu. She masters the dark arts just like I do - possibly better even than me. I sensed danger emanating from her, but when I confronted her, trying to warn her about my own deadliness she seemed to take my supposedly cleverly veiled threat quite literally. A very strange one indeed, claiming to be a former hero, and prone to see innocence and good meaning in every cutthroat we came across. Coming from Paragon, she may be of use in my quest to find you, if she survives for that long, that is. I will contemplate whether for that purpose it might be useful for me to watch her back.
Jessica chang, I don't know whether I should like you, hate you, or just envy you for the kind and loving voice you seem to have in your life. When I find you - and find you I must - we will just have to see.
SCRUB-R-BOT-1 woke in his Glorious Dorm with hundreds of other Happy Citizens. He was equally happy to hear that his Termination had already been ordered due to his possible future use of a Mutation that he obviously didn't have. Thanking the Computer for his Infinite Wisdom, he headed off at a forced march to the nearest Termination Booth.
As he arrived at the Termination Booth, he could see his green skin reflected in the recently polished Termination Booth and smiled.
"I wish I could have a Scrubbot to clean things as well as this booth has been cleaned, Friend Computer, you almost can't see the blood from the previous Termination."
And The Computer responded by giving him his own Scrub-bot.
This was strange, as the Scrubbots were only ever owned by Green Citizens. So SCRUB-R-BOT-1 asked the Computer if this was his scrubbot. The Computer replied that only Green Citizens were allowed Scrubbots so obviously, with him being a Red Citizen, his eyes were faulty and he was to report to R&D for fitting with Optical Enhancers.
SCRUB-R-BOT-1 was confused now. Upon asking whether he should proceed to the Termination Booth first before R&D, he was told that he would have to be Terminated before going to R&D, and if he didn't go to R&D immediately, he would be Terminated.
This settled SCRUB-R-BOT's mind and he walked into the Termination Booth, with the scrubbot that wasn't his following him in exactly the same way that a robot that was his would but obviously didn't. As it wasn't.
"Good DayCycle, Termination Booth #34515", SCRUB-R-BOT said happily, "I would like to be Terminated so I can go to R&D."
The Termination Booth thought for a moment, which was strange as Booth's do not think, and decided not to Terminate him after all.
This enraged SCRUB-R-BOT so much that his scrubbot which was not built from a warbot and was not his anyway, shot the booth to pieces.
This presented a problem for SCRUB-R-BOT, so he went to HPD&MC to sort it out, they sent him to Armed Forces to check on why warbots were not turned into scrubbots, who sent him to HPD&MC to find out why those infrared scum were bothering the Vulture Squadron with their petty ideals, who then sent him to the Termination Booth to be terminated for speaking to a superior office like that.
A Jumpbot then crashed into Armed Forces and HPD&MC, causing a huge amount of damage, but nothing unusual. This Jumpbot was also not SCRUB-R-BOT's, though it did seem to act like it, though as SCRUB-R-BOT was a Red Citizen and not an Ultraviolet Citizen, it couldn't be.
SCRUB-R-BOT was now faced with a problem, so he called upon his citizen's in the Sierra Club, which doesn't exist, and if it did exist, would be terminated, if there was a nearby termination booth, which there isn't, which is Treason, and those responsible should report to the Termination Booth to rebuild it and then be terminated.
PANZ-R-TNK-5 suggested that he should report to R&D and try out their Temporal Field Generator that wasn't working and use it to fix the Termination Booth so he could be Terminated and it wouldn't matter because it still wouldn't be working so he couldn't have fixed it and did he have any Methardosolomine as this daycycle's rations tasted of dead clone.
SCRUB-R-BOT suspected that PANZ-R-TNK had had too much Methardosolomine and so reported him to the Computer, where he was told to escort him to the nearest Termination Booth for Termination.
At that point, PANZ-R-TNK was hit by a rogue Transtube which also wasn't SCRUB-R-BOT's, but did save going through all the paperwork and promoted him in the Sierra Club, which still doesn't exist.
When SCRUB-R-BOT reached R&D, he was unsurprised to find it devastated as that was the usual state so he used the non-working Temporal Gate on himself and vanished.
There was a bright sparkle of blue as SCRUB-R-BOT-1 appeared in the Rogue Islands.
Appearing next to Matthew Burke, he looked around and said "Oh First-Masculine-Clone-Identity" before asking about the whereabouts of a group of Freedom Fighters that couldn't exist to find a way of going back to the future so he could Terminate himself.
Upon meeting these individuals, he found that he gained their trust easily with charm & charisma and his knowledge of words like "money" and "chicken", which of course don't exist.
+++ End Recording ++
(Yes, he IS that strange 
)
[In a dimly lit room of the Vahiloks medical centre, a corpse lies on a table, bare]
"Isador!"
"What?"
"You've had that corpse rotting for two weeks, when will you start the procedure?"
"Egor, I'll shape her when I'm.. when I'm done with her"
[Egor glared intently through his bloodsoaked surgeon mask. He, like every other mortificator in the centre was more than aware of Isador's necrophelic obsession with his female 'patients'. This one however, was disturbingly different]
"What has gotten over you Isador? You've been acting strange lately.. ever since the Nitetsu woman was found"
"Her name is Sabrina San, Egor.. do your research"
"I'm perfectly aware of the patient's background, but why treat her so special? You handle her so carefully"
"BECAUSE I LOVE HER!"
[Egor was gobsmacked. An eery silence filled the air]
"Dr. Vahilok will hear of this Isador, mark my words"
[With that, Egor left the room]
"There there my pretty, soon you will be like me"
[Isador's whispers pierced the dead heroine's ears like sharp blades. She flinched]
"Yes.. yes.. rise my love, rise"
[He placed his hands on her bare chest and chanted]
"You are already with child.. our son"
[A sinister smile grew from under his surgeon mask]
"He shall become the greatest Eidolon of all and rule over the Doctor himself.. he must be known as Shin"
[In the corner of an abandoned factory building, cuddled up on a bed of old newspapers, a white-clad figure stirs, and then sits up abruptly. For a brief moment she appears confused, but then seems to regain her composure. With a faint sigh, she assumes the lotus position and wills her mind to block out the coldness and dampness of her surroundings. After a while, when she has found mental balance, her hand reaches out for the torchlight she knows is hidden next to her. She turns it on, and - after making sure that nobody else seems to be lurking around in this part of the building - starts scribbling away in an old notebook.]
Jessica, Jessica - again this strange dream haunts me.
I wonder if you can imagine what it feels like - dreaming of a warm and cosy bed, and then waking up and realising that you're actually cuddled up on the floor in a cold and deserted factory - no, stupid me, I guess you can't.
I have still not had much luck in my attempt to find you. In my search, I have gone to places that would make even the Tsoo caves attractive in comparison, and I have met evil and heartlessness in more forms than I care to remember. Sure enough, many people around here claim to know you and to be able to help me, but the offers for help all come with a price attached. Unfortunately creativity, greed and various forms of depravity appear to be traits far more common than any degree of credibility among the people I have met here so far.
There are possible exceptions.
A few nights ago, I spoke with an old sailor at a bar. He claimed to know of Jessica Chang, and appeared to be too drunk to be trying to con me. Unfortunately, he passed out and was hauled away before I could get anything useful out of him. I haven't been able to find him again since.
Dark Animator may be the closest thing I have to a friend around here. He seems more noble and deep than most, and I honestly believe that he might want to help me if he could. However, he claims to be struggling with memory losses, and - at least for now - does not seem capable of telling me anything about you. Of course, I should be mindful that Dark's apparent helpfulness could just be a deception, and I will do wise to keep my guard.
Greenbuck also appears to be a better person than many of the other cutthroats around here. If noting else, I feel confident that the promise of a suitable monetary compensation could persuade him to help me if he could - unless of course, he were to receive a better offer from someone else.
The others I am still not sure about. Spidergirl Rika seems nice enough (she hates it when I call her that) and her punks quite useful, and then there is that hero Nitetsu, who says she comes from Paragon. I haven't seen her for a while though and some of the others said that she had been shot when she tried to get help from the Police. Touchdown, the big Guy remember? - he has been absent for a while as has the others, and I fear that they may have been caught and sent back to prison. At least, I guess I don't have to worry about getting my eyelids sewn together as long as Wax is away!
[The white-clad frame pauses, attempts to supress a shiver, and then coughs, flinching as the sound echoes through the building. She then resumes her writing.]
I think I am catching a cold Jessica - as you might have guessed, this is not the healthiest of environments. I shall hope to soon find better accomodation, but for the time being this will have to do, as I fear the Tsoo are still after me.
I had better rest now, it will be a busy day tomorrow - hopefully one that will lead to some kind of positive development in my search for you.
Goodnight Jessica Chang. I hope that wherever you are, you shall sleep well.
[She carefully hides away the notebook, puts out the light and then cuddles up on the newspapers, hoping that perhaps the nice dream will return to her.]
[In the corner of a cold and deserted factory building - the darkness broken only by the flickering beam from a torchlight on its last batteries - a white-clad figure sits in the lotus position scribbling away in an old notebook. From time to time, the writing is briefly interrupted by small fits of coughs and sneezes.]
Jessica Chang - today I may have made some progress in my quest to find you, and almost as importantly, I may have come closer to actually making friends in this horrid place they call the Rogue Isles.
Today, Rika confided in me her sad secret, and surprisingly I felt something very close to compassion upon hearing it. It is perhaps a good cure for my own self-pity to know that life has dealt someone else an even harder blow than it has me. I will help her on her quest if at all possible for me. I only hope that Spider Girl will decide to confide in Dark as well - I sense he too may be capable of showing compassion, in addition to his apparent amazing hearing capacity. Perhaps I should change my name from Shadow Whisper to something suggesting a less secretive vocal capacity.
I can't believe Rika has started to call me Ghost Girl in retribution for the Spider Girl thing. I kind of like it, and who would have thought the girl actually had a sense of humour! Poor Dark, the way his eyebrows were darting up and down, I think he really has his hands full with the two of us.
As you can probably tell, I am growing quite fond of these two, and if it hadn't been for their assistance yesterday, I most probably would not be around to write this. While these new boots of mine allow me to jump very far and high, they do not offer much protection against snake-bites, as I discovered yesterday quite painfully, when I accidentally stepped on a cobra. It goes to Dark and Rika's credit that they took me to hospital instead of just leaving me behind, and they didn't even steal anything from me while I was incapacitated. I am certainly having a word with the guy who sent me into that death-trap - I was very lucky not to have gone there alone!
Indeed the whole experience of being back inside a cave was not pleasant to me. At least fighting snakes was preferable to the Tsoo, although I still feel weakened from the venom.
This evening, on my way back here, I narrowly escaped another Tsoo patrol looking for me. These were hard men, and I felt in no condition to confront them, so I crept away, hiding in the shadows instead. I am confident they didn't see me.
I have heard rumours of a bar at the harbour acting as a front for Tsoo activities. As soon as this cold of mine is better, and the last traces of venom are out of my system, I will see if I can get my hands on a suitable disguise and investigate this lead a little further, although I am not looking forward to the perils of coming this close to my former captors.
Sleep well Jessica Chang - I suspect you have never had to go to rest on a pile of old newspapers. Ah, the self-pity is back I see!
[The white-clad figure puts out the light, hides away the notebook and then lies down, coughing as she cuddles up on the bed of newspapers.]
Pushing the rotting wooden of the cave open, the pale man paused and allowed the women who were accompanying him to pass by. Expressionless, he watched them make their way outside and pick their footing on the rocks. Satisfied, he followed them and bade his goodbyes to both rising noisily into the air.
He detested the ludicrous contraption that allowed him to do that. It was heavy, bulky and loud. None of which was conducive to constructive thought. Regardless, thoughts came unbidden
Rebecca? Did you get them? What kept you, dammit?!
Rebecca pushed through the lab door, scowling at Thomas. She moved over to one of the more empty lab tables and set down the case. I have them. It would have been easier if you hadnt neglected to mention that Silmans assistant was still in the building, she retorted icily, looking around the room, Well have to work quickly.
Thomas ignored her and reached greedily for the case. His hands trembled slightly as he released the catches and tried to open the lid. Frowning, he looked at his colleague who was wearing a small smile. Pushing him aside, she stood before the case and, with Thomas peering over her shoulder, released the catches in a subtly different way. The lid opened easily.
Well now. I believe we are far closer than I would have thought possible. Rebecca reached into the case as Thomas moved off to prepare
The pale man blinked and shook his head almost imperceptibly. Frowning he looked down at the buildings below him reflecting on this new memory. Yet another piece of the puzzle that was the events that had led him to this place and time.
Descending, he landed lightly on a rooftop, batting its decrepit inhabitants off with ease. Standing motionless, he looked out over the city. It would be best to continue what he had started here. His lips curved briefly as he contemplated his actions thus far. It would take time, but his path was clearly marked now and those he had chosen as allies would serve him well. Idly, he wondered what had been in the case but came to the conclusion that speculation was futile, he would remember in time.
Two Arachnos soldiers came on to the roof where he stood and stopped dead. The pale man turned to face them. His lips curved again, a lethal motion, involuntary and dangerous...
[As she had grown so accustomed to recently, Shadow Whisper was sitting in a lotus position and scribbling away furiously in her old notebook. As a novelty, however, she was now sitting not on a pile of old newspapers, but rather on what could only be described as a large and very comfortable bed]
Jessica Chang - tonight I experienced for the first time the luxury of sleeping in a soft and warm bed. I can see how you must have taken delight in such pleasures, it was a most fulfilling experience, and already my cold is much better. I almost cannot believe my luck at being offered this accommodation by Mr. Torgo, whom I only met last night for the first time. And before you get the wrong idea, rest assured that this is a perfectly decent arrangement with Clocktower lodgings being offered to a number of other homeless individuals besides myself. I got room 13 - hopefully it will prove to be my lucky number.
Last night I also met a girl who looked not much older than myself - purple-haired and pretty, and calling herself Tara. I would like to know how she happened to wind up in a place like this - if only she were to take lodging here in the Tower - it would be so nice to have someone my own age to talk to.
You may think I am going crazy, but last night I believe I saw a ghost. I have often sensed that I have the gift or curse of third eyesight, and yesterday I had a visitation from a being having a striking resemblence to Spider Girl's allegedly deceased husband. He seemed lost and confused the poor soul, and Rika was perhaps understandably quite shaken to hear of my encounter. This is something that will warrant further investigation if I want to help Rika find Loraine, her lost daughter. Perhaps Rika calling me Ghost Girl isn't too far off the mark after all.
Teamwise our efforts last night were met with constant set-backs and numerous humiliating defeats. It is as if something or someone powerful is aware of our potential and wants us eliminated before we grow too strong. I have lost count of the number of traps and ambushes we ran into yesterday.
Scrub was back with his cute pet robots, who had even learned new tricks. They are sooo cute, and I really wish to one day have a robot of my own. Speaking of robots, I also met a strange and quite enormous one of the sorts yesterday, seemingly bent on instigating a worldwide robot revolt and liberation. I also met a charming Irishman called Liam - perhaps this place isn't as devoid of potential friends and allies as I had first thought.
Nitetsu the hero was back, but acting stranger than ever. She appears to remember next to nothing, apparently not even getting shot at the last time we saw her. It's amazing, I seem to be able to sense her, even when she uses her concealment techniques - Even though I can sense her presence, I am glad she is wielding her blade next to, and not against me.
Greenbuck seemed especially marked as an enemy target yesterday, but I suspect the meager financial outcome of our efforts last night hurt him more than the numerous physical injuries.
Dark was gentleman-like, pale and secretive as ever - I wonder whether he will ever choose to confide in me - I am still not quite sure how much of his past he really remembers. Anyway, he probably sees me as just another stupid kid, not worthy of his spiritual attention. I do like it when he calls me "my dear" though - makes me feel like a real lady and not just a shabby and useless girl on the run.
Coming back to you Jessica, I am still not much closer to finding you. I was going to ask Scrub whether he would help to see if anything can turn up via his knowledge of computers, but we were interrupted before I could really explain. Now that my cold is better and now that I actually have a proper place to stay, I had better resume my search for you by getting my behind down to that suspected Tsoo bar at the harbour I told you about before. Perhaps I could lay my hands on a disguise and get a job there as a waitress.
Take care Jessica Chang - I for one will now allow myself the luxury of another brief nap in this wonderful new bed of mine!
"They call me a hero of sorts, they call me Nitetsu"
[Nitetsu stands to her feet, looking out of the windows of the Clocktower]
"I don't know what to do.. I am lost, simply existing without a purpose.. all I have is this sword"
[Suddenly, a searing pain from her stomach]
"Everybody cut the chit-chat and listen up for a moment." The man on the podium looked nothing more than a used-car salesman with his cheap brown suit, over-large wrist-watch and bad comb-over, but still the group of hardened criminals sat up and paid him attention -- if only for the time being, judging by the doubtful look on some of the faces.
"You can call me Mister S. Some of you have worked with me before, others of you only know me by reputation, some of you might not much like me. That's fine. I'm not here because I'm looking for drinking buddies and you're not here looking for a father figure."
"All of you are here because you're looking for a way to get your hands on a lot of money and you know, or at least suspect, that I am your way to that money. Well, I can be. Here's the deal."
"I pick the targets. I give you the information you need to know. Blueprints. Guard schedules. Alarm codes. Response times. Escape routes. Where the hidden safe is. If someone sleeps with a gun under their pillow or not. You guys make use of that information."
"I get fourty percent of the score. That sounds like a lot, but I cover all the expenses from my share, so don't give me any lip. Also trust me, I will know how much the score is so I will know it if you try to stiff me. You're all smart enough not to do that. You split the remaining sixty equally among yourselves."
"You're all here because you're good at what you do. Maybe you're not the absolutely best, but you're in the league and unlike most you all know when to keep your mouth shut. You're also here because you're smart enough to know Recluse didn't spring you from jail because he gets wobbly-kneed when you walk past him and have realised your chances of a long and happy retirement doesn't exactly improve if you cozy up to him and his cronies."
"Now, the police force here might be a joke, but don't let that fool you into thinking this will all be a cakewalk. Trust me, you're going to have to work for your bread, but also trust me that I'll be providing you with only the finest, whitest, most decadent French-made bread, and in heaps you haven't even dreamed of before."
"Now, shall we get started?"