Futuristic Arcadia: Heroes World Brave

[Lord Saethos]

Peter cocked an eyebrow at Sasha. Now, Peter didn't know Sasha from Adam, but the person he remembered encountering back in Atlas City seemed... Different from this.

Perhaps Fang also had its claws in him. That could complicate things in ways Peter couldn't predict. As fun as that could be, he really wasn't in the mood for complicating his life further at this specific time.

"Sheesh, now I feel like a bad omen. First your friend group breaks up, and now I gotta tell everyone that your parent's are getting divorced? Not how I saw today going."

He chuckled a bit while shaking his head as he produced a cigar from one of his pockets. As he lit the thing, he thought of how the Marshal was missing out on the celebratory smoke.

"The whole divorce thing wasn't a joke by the way, kind of a metaphor, trying to help illuminate what's going on in the world. I do apologize for interrupting your painful goodbye with my own stuff, but to be honest, my stuff is kind of... Everyone's stuff." His demeanor became more nonchalant as he began taking in small mouthfuls of grey smoke.

"Tell me something gang... What do you remember about the fight in Anthem City?"

He cast a glance towards the door the general had gone through. Hopefully the General actually gave them the privacy he requested. The Brave had already caused him enough problems.

 

[PiePillager]

"Anthem City?" Henry muttered, turning to look from Sasha to Peter. He still had many questions for the recently found teammate, who didn't appear to want to speak much on the matter regarding his allegiances at present, but Peter's question caught him off guard enough that he thought it should be quickly addressed. "That's when we fought against those two factions warring in the city," Henry recounted. "Was difficult, but we took them down eventually," he went on, his response somewhat vague.

 

[DarKnight36]

Sasha's eyes narrowed at Peter's mention of Anthem City but he said nothing as Henry explained his recollection of the events.

***

"There's a message for you, sir," the General's secretary said, handing the General a sealed folder as he seated himself in the other room. The General raised an eyebrow but broke the seal with a practiced hand. His eyes perused the contents.

"You haven't heard from the commander who brought you this?" the General asked, raising his eyes to the secretary. When the response was a shake of the head, the General nodded to himself. "See if you can get in touch with them. They may need assistance."

The General closed his eyes and concentrated, unsurprised to find Jacques was blocking him. "And see if we can get eyes on Jacques. I want to know where he's at."

***

Jacques strode confidently down the brightly lit hallway, heading straight for the Black Room. Technically, it was Lab 3A, an old hangar that had been transformed due to the presence of the Sliver, but no one used its official name anyway. He'd already passed through the security checkpoint with no trouble. It seemed that the General either wasn't aware of his pending arrest yet, or was under orders to keep things quiet if possible. Either way, it was good for Jacques.

Jacques entered the outer area of the lab, passing by the two guards stationed there. They barely glanced at him as he passed - Jacques was a familiar face here, after all. Even if he was no longer stationed here, he was one of the regular visitors.

The door shut behind him and the three lab workers looked up in mild surprise.

"Ah, good day sir," Ivanov, the lead tech, said, covering his surprise. "We weren't expecting you."

"It's a bit unexpected but I need the Sliver opened to 9D7F," Jacques said, smiling pleasantly. "There was an old review of past notes and we want to try that one out."

"9D7... F?" Ivanov repeated, his face paling slightly. "Isn't that, ah, one of..."

"Orders are orders," Jacques said, still smiling as he approached the other workers and the equipment. "I'll take care of it, so just get it plugged in."

"Um... d-do you happen to h-have those orders... sir?" Ivanov said, his hands slowly moving towards the desk near where he'd been standing. "Just to..."

"Ah, to hell with it," Jacques muttered, gesturing. All three lab workers were instantly flung across the room, colliding with the wall on the other side of the lab with loud thuds. The entrance opened as the guards quickly stepped through, their weapons at the ready. Jacques gestured again, the guards smashing into the floor and then cracking against the multi-layered ballistic window separating the hangar from the rest of the equipment.

"I'll just do it myself," Jacques grunted, seating himself at the main station and beginning to run the start-up sequence. Fifteen minutes... he just needed fifteen minutes.

 

[obscured_light]

Akiko's eyes searched Sasha's gaze, his face, and she swallowed loudly. They didn't leave his face as he listened to Henry explain what clearly should have been Sasha's response. A gear began turning in Akiko's head and she tilted her head to the side, contemplating the events that had led them here.

"Anything to add, Sasha?" Akiko questioned, her demeanor much calmer now.

 

[DarKnight36]

Sasha shook his head. "Why bring this up Peter?"

 

[Lord Saethos]

Peter looked between Henry, then Sasha, then Akiko, then back to Sasha.

"Interesting... Y'know, I bring this up specifically because when I talked to quite a number of people who'd been in Anthem City that day, they had similar responses to you."

He sauntered over to the general's desk, unzipping his tactical vest, and pulling out two folded newspapers, laying them down next to each other.

"Everyone was exceptionally vague. Couldn't remember much. Now, when I was interrogating some of the Red Death and Union folks, I assumed I'd get evasiveness, pretty typical for members of criminal and terrorist organizations. But what wasn't typical was how vague even my own people were. How vague the US soldiers were, civilians, etc. And you wanna know something else?"

His gaze lingered on Sasha for a moment.

"None of you were there at the end."

Peter took another drag of his cigar, letting more smoke billow as he rolled his fingertips over the desk, hovering close to the newspapers.

"I saw you there. I saw you fighting. And then... Poof... Gone without a trace." He pointed to a newspaper, on the left side of the desk from where The Brave stood facing it.

Two simple headlines read:

Atlas City Tribune - May 15th, 2045
Aftermath of Anthem City Attack - Secretary of Defense Victor Novadrak Still Missing, Search Continues

And

Culprits of Atlas City Terror Attack Still at Large, Residents on Edge From Second Tragedy in Only Weeks

"Now, I know you're a busy bunch, politics may not matter to you, so you might have missed some of the recent goings-ons. Fortunately, I do pay attention to these sorts of things. I pay attention to a lot of things. So it's strange to me that you're here right now, and the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America is missing."

Peter pointed to the other paper. "Because for the past couple months, he wasn't missing, and you were. And it's also strange because until yesterday for me, this FANG terror attack had never happened."

He pointed out the various article titles in the second paper, at the right side of the desk.

Spoiler: Newspaper

• Article: Search Continues
• Article: New President, New Cabinet
• Article: New Director of National Intelligence
• Article: Legal Aftermath of Capitol Battle

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  Search Continues
  Bodies of President Ford, Top Brass, Still Missing in English Channel Following Possible “Monster Attack”
  ----------------------------------------
  By Anika Chopra
  
  London, UK – The devastating loss of President Gordon Ford has left America reeling, and the search for the remains of him, and some of the top members of United States governance, has brought no clues or closure as of yet. Memorials have been held for the missing President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and other high-ranking officials. The tragedy occurred in the early hours of May 8th, VE Day, as US Naval ships, carrying the President and other dignitaries, crossed the English Channel from Dover to Normandy. The gathered dignitaries were intended to travel from Normandy, to Berlin, "retreading" the paths of Allied Troops who had defeated the Nazi regime 100 years ago that day.
  
  Tragically, the naval flotilla was attacked by an unidentified creature that many are calling a "sea monster", and which has already drawn parallels to the attack on Atlas City. Naval radar have attempted to track the creature's path, but to no avail, having seemingly vanished from detection. Meanwhile, the search for bodies continues, and of the ones recovered, the President and other high ranking US officials were not among them.
  
  Speculation grows that the attack on the President's Ship, as well as the riots in Washington DC, were coordinated by Anti-Super terror groups, in response to a bill President Ford was attempting to pass that would see greater Super integration into the military, law enforcement, and other defensive branches of American government.
  
  

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  New President, New Cabinet
  President Victor Novadrak Begins Making His Leadership Picks
  -----------------------------------------------
  By Stacy Kirkpatrick
  
  Washington – Following his swearing in to office, and the selection of Attorney General Claudia Burke as the new Vice President, President Victor Novadrak begins selecting new members of his cabinet. With the deaths of numerous senators and congresspeople, numerous special elections are being quickly ran across the United States to fill empty seats. However, to help a speedy transition for the new President, and to restore stability in America, the senate is expected to sit with the surviving members, and is likely to approve most of President Novadrak's appointments with reduced delay and debate. Peter Radovan, who quickly rose through the ranks of the illusive SINS agency to become its Director, after an attack on SINS offices a mere few weeks ago left the former director dead, was quickly approved by the senate to become the new Director of National Intelligence, following the death of Douglas MacNamara during the Capitol Supers and Anti-Supers Riots.
  
  New Vice President Claudia Burke was quickly chosen by President Novadrak after the chaos both for VE Day, and the Pro and Anti-Super Riots in Washington, likely due to both her role as the Attorney General, as well as her work with Novadrak in the Department of Hero Affairs (DOHA). VP Burke was also present at the riots in Washington, directing members of the FBI, NAHLA, and other Law Enforcement agencies. During the outbreak of violence, the Secretary of the Treasury, a long time friend of VP Burke's, attempted to escort her in his own government vehicle to a safer location. The car was attacked during the violence, likely by Anti-Super extremists, and the Secretary of the Treasury was tragically killed. VP Burke was barely able to escape thanks to the brave efforts of FBI agent Amira Turner, and other law enforcement agents.
  
  

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  Exclusive Interview with Director of National Intelligence, Peter Radovan
  
  We sit down for an exclusive interview with America’s new Director of National Intelligence, to learn more about his time as a top spy, and how he plans to use that experience to overhaul the country’s defenses. Only mere weeks ago, Peter Radovan had quickly been promoted to be Director of SINS (Supernatural Intelligence for National Security), following an attack on their headquarters that lead to the tragic death of its former director. Clues are still sparse as to whom was responsible, but it is suspected it may be connected to other incidents of Anti-Super terrorism in the United States, particularly by the Witchfinder Generals. During the riots in front of the Capitol, members of the Witchfinder Generals were able to enter the Capitol without detection, likely by carrying ampules of a narcotic which enables temporary superpowers for non-super humans. This lead to various members of government being killed, including Douglas MacNamara, the former Director of National Intelligence, who'd been present at the Capitol to assist in security services and intelligence gathering on protestors. - More on p. 8
  
  

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  Terrorism Charges for Battle in the Capitol
  
  Following brutally violent clashes with Super Activists, Anti-Super Hate Groups, and even a few Super Supremacists in the Capital, charges are finally being laid against all participants for the atrocities that took place, costing the lives of civilians, members of congress, the Speaker of the House, Senate Pro Tempore, the Secretary of the Treasury, and even Douglas MacNamara, the former Director of National Intelligence. The events took place in the late hours of May 7th, at the same time the Naval Flotilla of the President was attacked in the English Channel. This is leading many to speculate that the attacks were coordinated, but it is as of yet unclear who all may have been involved.
  
  The Riots began first as protests, by Pro and Anti-Super demonstrators, over a bill proposed by President Ford for greater Supers integration in the military. The Pro-Supers side was composed of advocates who both argued that Supers should be allowed to engage in the armed forces if they so choose, but also of those decrying the President's bill as "exploitative" of supers, and "weaponizing" their abilities for military purposes. The Anti-Supers side, by contrast, was made up of various groups completely opposed to Super involvement in the military, seeing supers as inherently posing a danger to the safety of non-Supers. Other various hate groups were also in attendance, but were not aligned necessarily on the bill itself, but rather attempting to seize this as an opportunity to amplify their own messages and goals.
  
  The bloodshed in the Capitol had many competing parties involved, but chief among them were members of the Anti-Super terrorist organization, the Witchfinder Generals. Conflicting communications have been uncovered between members of the organization which indicate it may have been a splinter cell, operating outside of the orders of the organizations commanders. Agents from SINS had been present to try to keep the peace between the heated factions, both Pro and Anti-Super, but were forced to open fire after the protests turned into bloody riots. Hundreds were killed in the foray, and several thousand injured, with significant damage being caused by members of the Witchfinder Generals. Evidence was recovered by SINS and NAHLA indicating that new narcotics may have been involved, which grant users temporary super powers.
  
  Some also speculate there may be a connection with the events that took place in Anthem City, but that is still unconfirmed. – More on p. 12
  
  

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Peter scratched his chin gently as he looked to the group, his posture almost felt like that of a homicide detective trying to get a confession.

"Like I said, you folks might not be that keen on politics, but I think it's fair to assume you'd try to stop an anti-super riot, or save the life of the president from a sea monster. But of course, how could you do that? You weren't there. You were here."

He took a moment to thumb the second newspaper as his glance met Sasha once more. "The way I heard it, this isn't your team's first time going to strange places. You catching my meaning? The gravity of this? And more importantly, why I have to talk with all of you."