[THE COMPUTER SCREEN SCANS THROUGH HUNDREDS OF NEW REPORTS]
[SMALL ALERT SOUNDS AND SCREEN STOPS WITH Crey Report # 99795601]
Patriot Guardsman lifts the blast shield from his face and switches off the blow torch, looking at screen. On the worktable is a half finished robot.
Guardsman walks to the computer console and scans the report. His eyes spot E.V.I.L. and immediately grabs his communicator from the table.
[THE AIREWAVES OPEN WITH A HISS]
Patriot Guardsman to Captain Patriot
do you copy commands Guardsman.
[
]
Suddenly the channel bursts open with a wall of sound, fighting can be heard in the background.
Im a little busy Guardsman, can it wait for 10 minutes! shouts Captain Patriot.
Confirmed, but I thought you might want to know that the computer scan has picked up a non-encrypted communication within Crey Biotech laboratories. It mentions E.V.I.L.
Thanks Guardsman, hopefully this is the lead weve been looking for. Ill finish this up now, tired of playing with these Sky Raiders. Ill be back at Patriot Towers as soon as I can
Roger, over and out Captain
[15 minutes later]
Captain Patriot walks into Patriot Guardsmans workshop. Guardsman is still sat at the computer console.
What have you found asks Cpt Patriot.
This is the internal report from Crey Biotech, non-encrypted I might add which is strange in its self! Ive been gathering information about this Rose Adams A.K.A Midnight Rose and Geoffrey Warner
Captain Patriot scans over the report and profile information of Midnight Rose.
Theres no definite link with E.V.I.L. but its a start. Ill start with this Geoffrey Warner at Crey Biotech see if I can get an more out of him. Replies Cpt Patriot.
Be careful Captain, do you want me to call any other members of the Brigade? asks Guardsman.
Make Vixen and DragonBane aware, this should just be routine but I dont want to take any chances.
Captain Patriot flies out of the window exit of Patriot Towers towards Rogue Isles.
31 Bartock Avenue, Founders' Falls - Thursday 14th September, 2006 [11:13 GMT]
Rebecca Adams looked out of the window of her parents' house. The privet obscured most of the pavement but she could still see photographers and so-called journalists creeping around, trying to catch glimpses of the grief-stricken family. Her mother, Elizabeth, knocked quietly at the door and entered with a full tea tray.
"Are they still there, dear?"
"Seems so. I doubt we'll get rid of them before Hallowe'en. No doubt they'll jump at the prospect of turning Rose into some kind of monster for the kids to be afraid of."
Rebecca turned her back from the window and claimed a mug of steaming hot tea. Her usual preference was coffee but now anything hot - and sweet (she grabbed a couple of sugar cubes, most unlike her) - was welcome. Elizabeth responded in the only way she knew how, whenever she saw the dark moods sweep across her two daughters.
"Why don't you get some rest? It makes no sense to keep vigil here. Your father is worried about you."
"I'll be fine, mother. Thanks for the tea." Rebecca chewed her lip and wondered when the phones would start ringing. Not the journalists, nosy neighbours and old school friends who suddenly remembered the bad girl at school and wished that they had done more - but the 'other' callers. The ones who sometimes left threatening messages scribbled on driveways and threw bricks in windows. The ones she and her sister had protected their parents from for the past five years. Rebecca was unsure if she could stand up and face them alone, this time.
Elizabeth made her way back to the kitchen, glancing into the main parlour where her husband sat, disconsolately, in the gloom. He had taken to looking through the old photograph albums late at night. Elizabeth would find him in the morning, a picture of Rose as a little girl, pasted to his cheek. They said nothing to each other now, just like ghosts in different timestreams.
The phone rang.
Elizabeth instinctivley put down the tea tray and shouted down the hall, "I'll get it"
Rebecca dropped her mug of tea, scalding the front of her jean-clad legs. She cursed and ran to the phone, gesturing wildly with her hands to her mother that it would be she who answered and not to worry.
"Good afternoon, may I speak to Mr. Adams?" The voice was unfamiliar, but then they always were.
"No, I'm afraid he's out at the moment."
"Then may I speak to -- Mrs. Adams?" The voice sounded distracted, clearly not having prepared itself for the eventuality of speaking to the lady of the house.
"I'm sorry they're both out. Can I ask what this is about?"
There was a pause and Rebecca fancied she heard a sharp intake of breath.
"This is just a courtesy call. Eden Windows have asked me to tell you about their amazing new offer on all conservatories..."
Despite her sister having just died and what with journalists waiting outside the family home, Rebecca was relieved to find herself on the receiving end of a telemarketing call. Of course she didn't listen to a word that the poor man said but it was comforting to know that life was still very much continuing outside these four walls.
"...introductory offer of thirty per cent off all triple-glazed products. Eden Windows can assure you, the customer, absolute peace of mind when it comes to installation and their after-service guarantee lasts a phenomenal three years..."
Elizabeth made a gesture to her daughter, her face was a picture of concern. Rebecca placed her hands over the receiver and spoke,
"Relax. Nothing to worry about. It's just a cold-caller. Something about windows-"
A brick sailed through the front room window. The clatter of glass brought with it the sounds of the street outside. Both women rushed to the front room. The brick had been smeared with dog faeces by the look and smell of things. A 'Mickey Mouse' present tag had been taped to the brick. It was dirty and a little battered from its trip through the window. Elizabeth covered her mouth with her delicate hands, sunlight reflecting off of her glasses and watched as her daughter, seemingly in shock, bent down to see what was on the card:
DEATH: DESERVED
The perpetrator had printed the message in thick, red marker pen. Rebecca looked through the broken glass still hanging tentatively onto the frame. She caught sight of a flash bulb and saw red.
"What do you think you're doing out here, huh? Who did this? Who did this?!" She flapped her mucky hands at the gaggle of reporters, her face hot with anger and her eyes streaming tears. One man cleared his throat.
"We honestly didn't see much. Looked like some gangbanger type. Just a punk kid. He ran up to about here," the man indicated the privet hedge, "and lobbed the thing at your window. Look, we're really sorry. It happened so fast we didn't have time to react."
"Well, if you're so sorry then you can haul your butts outta here now. Now!!" Rebecca screamed at the crowd and turned to see her father standing quietly on the threshold of the porch. He said nothing but Rebecca sensed his anger and bewilderment and it made her want to punch the nearest lampost. She glared at the reporters and passers-by and went back inside the house. John Adams closed the door solemnly on the world outside his broken window.
So, it had begun. First a brick through a window then who knows what. It was time for Rebecca Adams, chairperson of the Paragon Mutant Anti-Defamation League to start the ball rolling her end. She had faced opposition like this before but never like this before - her own sister.
Rebecca knew that Rose hadn't been your archetypal, goody-two-shoes 'metahuman'. She never condoned the violence or the drug trafficking of course, but Rose was her older sister. And her sister, Rose Adams, was a mutant.
Off the coast of Rogues Isles - Thursday 14th September, 2006 [11:32 GMT]
Captain Patriot is flying towards Rogues Isle. The Patriot Brigade has been investigating links of an organization E.V.I.L. recently and a number of leads have run cold. This new revelation linking the execution of Rose Adams A.K.A. Midnight Rose, has brought up a new lead possibly linking the two.
[COM LINK PATRIOT GUARDSMAN TO CAPTAIN PARIOT]
Go ahead Guardsman
Cap, I know your halfway to the isles by now, but I thought you should know. There has been some disturbance at the Adams residence in Founders Falls. Its turning into a media circus down there and the locals are not taking well to the news about Rose Adams. Do you want any other available Brigade members to attend?
Negative Guardsman, this could be a delicate situation Im turning around. Do you have any more information on the rest Rose Adams Family?
Only that she lived with her parents at 31 Bartock Avenue. She also had a younger sister named Rebecca, shes chairperson of the Paragon Mutant Anti-Defamation League.
OK, thanks Guardsman. In that case she may have enemies of a legal nature jumping all over this announcement about her sister.
Opportunists?
Yes, this would open floodgates for any defamation clams currently open or the perfect person to use as a scapegoat to cover any E.V.I.L. links. I need more information on this Midnight Rose.
Im on it Captain, Ill see what background information I can dig up on her.
OK, Captain Patriot out.
Captain Patriot turns quickly and heads for Founders Falls back in Paragon City. Hopefully he can offer assistance to the Adamss. He has a gut feeling E.V.I.L. is player a part in this, but to what purpose?
Paragon Mutant Anti-Defamation League 'Headquarters' - Up 'N' Away Burger, Galaxy City - Friday 15th September, 2006 [12:10 pm GMT]
"Thank you for your time, councillor Connaught."
Rebecca disconnected the call and sighed deeply. She was vaguely aware of a faces looking at her - you see quite a large proportion of Up 'N' Away's clientele were metahumans so a woman wearing a baseball cap and a cheap, off-the-rack business suit, making phone calls whilst doodling designs for a poster was bound to garner interest. Rebecca absentmindedly wondered if any of the customers were mutants who had suffered prejudice, perhaps even more recently. Perhaps Rose's death was just another death in a city of heroes and villains and didn't matter all that much. Perhaps this Anti-Defamation League was a waste of time and she should start looking for a proper job.
Contacts had dried up - apparently nobody need care about the individual rights of mutants in the City and beyond. Freedom Corps had seen to that. Damned blanket protection policies - they even offered attractive pension plans for staff. Perhaps she should...? No! Out of the question. Besides, once they found out about Rose then no one would be likely to employ the sister of a drug trafficking killer.
Rebecca cursed herself for being this harsh on Rose, the blood relation who had wasted her talents on stealing and hanging out late at night with boys: The girl who had worried her parents stupid and had shown scant regard for anyone's feelings but her own: The girl who had run away and not been in contact for six years. This was the second time they had mourned the loss of Rose Adams.
Rebecca continued scribbling on the paper in front of her and listened to the street sounds outside. She heard a gunshot followed by a crackle of electricty and then some gangbanger flew past the café window followed by a gaggle of fresh-out-of-the-box heroes. Sirens in the distance provided the hook and the rhythmic thumping of the dishwasher and the counter clerks tapping keys was the base. Rebecca started to tap her spare hand's fingers on the formica table - she was getting kind of comfy here.
"'Scuse me, ma'am. Are ya gonna buy anything?" a too-muscly-to-be-real man tapped her on the shoulder then pointed to a sign above the stall. It read:
THESE SEATS ARE FOR PAYING CUSTOMERS ONLY!
Without word, Rebecca packed up her things and made her way out into the warzone that is Galaxy City.
People jostled her as she walked to the station to catch the monorail back to Talos. Rebecca looked up to see three flyers tackling a single Clockwork robot - they were like gulls, spewing cogs and bolts, so she automatically put her briefcase over her head and ran for the cover of a side street. The air was a little musty here - trash collection probably didn't even know this place exists. An old Crey Biotech poster was the only street decoration - even the guys who come round and put up posters for films and the like had missed this street off their list.
With no further sign of Clockwork robots or, indeed, gang members, Rebecca relaxed and took in more of the 'sights'. A few people in the distance, wearing suits, appeared to be enjoying their lunch break and a light breeze picked up, rustling leaves.
Then she was hit round the back of the head with what felt like a brick. Her laptop bag fell to the floor, spilling its contents of doodled-on paper, a selection of biros and, for reasons unknown even to Rebecca, a stapler. Luckily she wasn't in the financial league of actually owning a laptop. Before blacking out she heard a gruff male voice say,
"Think this is her?"
Then nothing.
Crey Biotech Laboratories, Mercy Island - 2137 hours, GMT
The Rogue operative known as Midnight Rose has been captured and executed by Blue Alpha Wave division of Crey Biotech. Subject was found attempting to steal important research data into The RH Project.
Midnight Rose has been identified as one Rose Adams of 31 Bartock Avenue, Founders' Falls, Paragon City, USA.
Our metahuman affairs lawyers are on the case.
Subject was believed to be in the temporary employ of the E.V.I.L. organisation. Operatives are advised that retaliation may occur. All base security staff have been issued with orders to kill unknowns on sight.
Geoffrey Warner, Crey Biotech Public Relations Officer, Rogue Isles