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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:32:23 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
Vanguard’s only disadvantage, from a certain point of view, was their multiple layers of security. Laventera and Borea were good … but not that good. Sharing leadership means holes in Vanguard’s security network are more easily found … or created. Ironically, the Scarlet Scorpion literally used such a hole as she stepped onto the bare metal floor from the teleport vortex of Vanguard’s headquarters in the Rikti War Zone. The swirling miasma of reality sucked and pushed air around it causing her cape to flutter wildly until she was far enough away not to be affected by it.
No sirens. Laventera and Borea were good … but not that good. She smirked as she stalked the familiar corridors to Lady Grey.
---
The gelatin within leaked out as the eyeball squished and rolled on the table. “You want proof, there it is!” Scarlet was being dramatic as she pointed to the grisly item but it had the effect she wanted as Gaussian stood from his seat in shock and disgust. Dark Watcher smiled under his cowl and Lady Grey was unfazed by the theatrics. It was she that Scarlet needed a response from.
“Lady Grey, only Nemesis employ’s that level of technology regularly. You know this.” She turned to Dark Watcher then to Gaussian. “Simply put, Vanguard has been compromised. I do not know by how much, but at the very least by one … and it’s been destroyed.” Dark Watcher grabbed the plastic eyeball and studied it in silence as Scarlet spoke.
“It’s true that Vanguard units were dispatched to Dawn Patrol headquarters –“
Interrupting Lady Grey, Scarlet slapped both hands on the table and stood. “You’re damn right they were!”
“-but that action was not authorized by me or any division of Vanguard,” she calmly responded and turned to Gaussian.
He regained his professionalism and sat down. “To be sure. No agents are reported missing.”
Scarlet sat abruptly at the Gaussian’s revelation. “Are you saying none of the Vanguard that attacked DPHQ are actually from Vanguard?!”
“I’m not saying that. You are.”
Scarlet was getting frustrated and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What are you saying then?”
Gaussian looked to Lady Grey, who then nodded back to him. “Commander Epps was a decorated veteran in the Rikti War. She led a specialized platoon capable of various duties and was highly trained in non-Rikti-related measures. As you spoke, I relayed the presentation to my division, back-tracking to validate your statements.” He placed fingers to an earpiece and paused, then nodded and continued. “Every member of the team that attacked your base has been accounted for. I can’t speak to the other teams sent against your member’s families. Epps must have been planted years ago.”
“In other words, Commander,” Lady Grey said coolly, “your assessment was correct: Nemesis was playing both of us. I’m not interested in the details anymore and this situation is tangentially related to the current Rikti problem. Scarlet Scorpion, as of yesterday the Vanguard is not conducting any operations against the Dawn Patrol.”
“Tangent …” Scarlet cut herself off and forced herself to look relaxed. Is she aware that we know about the deal? Darling must not have contacted Vanguard after his capture. My gods … is he a … triple-agent?! “Th- thank you, Lady Grey.” She nodded nervously to the others.
Lady Grey stood and took a step away from the table then stopped and half looked back. “Are we done, Commander?”
“More than you know.”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:35:33 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
Scarlet appeared in Ouroborus through the temporal gateway. She needed some time to think and this place reminder her that time was relative. She couldn't stop time, per se, but being here also gave her the external tranquility she needed. She thought to herself as she flew around the main island ...
The meeting at Vanguard Headquarters was difficult and strange. I'm settled on the idea that Vanguard may not know everything that the Dawn Patrol knows. But Darling is a loose variable that needs accounting. If he were, in fact, an agent of Nemesis then the flow must have gone like this:
He works for Nemesis who moled him into Vanguard to position him in Dawn Patrol. Lady Grey must have placed him there to "watch the watchers". All the while he was reporting back to both Vanguard and Nemesis. Once discovered by us he first pushed us against Vanguard and visa-versa. That would explain Vanguard's attack on us. Also, Epps was a Nemesis automoton leading a Vanguard-equipped unit. Dawn Patrol was in a classic pincer-move but survived. Epps is out and Vanguard is off our backs. Yet Nemesis is now on the offensive across Paragon City and the Rogue Isles … is this a diversion? Would he go to that trouble? Is all this really about him?
She shook her head.
So, Lady Jane was in the video found by Lady Victoria. As damning as that is, Lady Grey was in another video. Both are related to this incredible story about the Earth betraying various heroes to prevent a war that is happening anyway …
If Lady Grey is truly oblivious to Dawn Patrol knowing her role, it doesn’t excuse her, but she’ll need to be faced with justice another way. Lady Jane needs a visit next …
Scarlet willed her flight path back toward the main island. She landed softly and stood at the edge of the floating disk toward the sunset. She closed her eyes and breathed in the calm air, knowing that other members of the Dawn Patrol were taking the fight to Nemesis directly, while others were trying to rescue their family. All she was doing was talking … and somehow that just wasn’t enough.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:35:57 GMT -5
Drive Train
Letting loose another double palm-strike into the chest of a Nemesis soldier, Sheena watched him crumple, unconscious, to the ground. Her crimson electrical fields were playing havoc with several spherical brass robots around her, and the combination of the ozone smell generated by her electrical powers, the gas bombs being launched around by the Nemesis troops, and the exhaust the robots were spewing forth was making a truly foul-smelling miasma in the air. Around her, her fellow Patrollers, along with a large contingent of unaffiliated heroes, were also battling the forces of the Nemesis Army. They were currently fighting a pitched battle just north of the Talos Island tram station, as more and more Nemesis soldiers and robots teleported into the area. It had been this way ever since she and her strike force had left the Dawn Patrol base. It was almost as if Nemesis had been waiting for them to go on the offensive, just to keep them off-balance - and here they were, desperately trying to stay ahead of the waves of antique-looking soldiers the arch-villain was throwing at them.
At the peak of the hill, Sheena watched as an independent hero dressed in a green and yellow robe was gunned down by an onrushing Warhulk, only to see the Warhulk torn in half by one of the downed hero's enraged friends. A loud, slightly accented voice then shouted over the sounds of combat: "Imbeciles! I shall pacify Talos Island myself!" With a great rush of air being pushed aside, a suit of brass power armor, fashioned to look like a man, appeared. In its right hand it held a sparking staff with a turning gear on the end. It gestured with the staff towards another hero, this one in purple and white spandex, and the hero flew backwards, a bolt of bright energy having struck him full in the chest. As loud as she could, Sheena yelled, "Dawn Patrol! Hit that brass loser AS HARD AS YOU CAN!!!" She then directed as much power into her kinetic converters as she dared, willing the outflow to both her legs and arms, and sprinted full speed at the brass behemoth. Winding her arms about in a coiled strike, she impacted the power armor at waist level on its left side. A counter-blow of energy hit her hands as she struck home, and she knew that the strike she delivered was barely felt. Spinning quickly to her left, she barely dodged as the sparking staff came down where she was just standing, impacting the ground and throwing up a fountain of dirt and rocks into the air. Using the debris as cover, Sheena quickly backed off. Concentrating even harder now, she drew the power out of her converters and gathered it in her hands. Raising her arms above her head, she forced the power into a coherent form: that of a huge red mass of electricity. Sheena released the huge bolt of crimson lightning, striking the powered suit in its abdomen. The blast of electricity quickly arced to all the nearby metal targets: the Warhulks and smaller Nemesis robots, even to the long, slender brass rifles held by the Nemesis soldiers. Most of the smaller robots exploded or slumped to the ground, as did a number of the soldiers. The large suit of power armor, though, looked her way, and emitted the sound of derisive laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Weak fools! You think such petty powers can stop the Prussian Prince of Automatons?!"
Sheena stood up straight, looked directly at the supervillain in their midst, and said, "I don't give a crap if yer tha second comin' o' Elvis. We're the Dawn Patrol, you fascist rustbucket. And we're gonna stop you, any way we can!"
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:36:53 GMT -5
Battledog post
She was so tired.
She fell.
A shadow pasted over her...then under as the Dawn Patrol's flyer manoeuvered. A strong hand caught her and pulled her in as the flyer levelled out.
"We got her, Lupe"
The arms of her adoptive mother wrapped her up into a hug.
"Lil...Sam...Go!"
Tallybird brushed past the hug with a feral grin and dove out the door as her psychic wings sprung to life. Lily kissed the tired girl on the forehead and then followed the wings out the door.
"Deploying fastrope!" Lupe's voice crackled through the compartment.
A thick rope quickly lowered from an housing on the side of the flyer as the Little Professor made her way to the door. She grabbed the rope, smiled, and slid down. Quasi caught her breath and could feel some her strength returning. Dave crouched down in front of her and turned.
"Grab onto me, kiddo."
She climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood and grabbed the rope.
He slid down...
...into the battle below.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:37:15 GMT -5
Battledog
Battledog landed in a crouch, allowing Quasi to slid off his back. She knelt down on one knee and surveyed the battle around her.
A mental hum filled her mind uplifting her. She knew it was the mental abilities of Dave's sister Sam. Tallybird was using her 'battle meditation' to sharpen the assault team's reflexes and body responses. Quasi could feel her body move in-sync to the mental rhythm.She watched as Sam and Lily caused an entire squad of troopers to crumple soundlessly to the ground with their telepathic abilities.
To her side, Terra was slamming a stone mallet onto the foot of a Vanguard wizard, causing the man to hop around in pain, holding his wounded appendage. Terra cackled in glee as she brought her rock-encrusted fist to the wizard's other knee, dropping him down to her level and then finishing him off with another fist to his temple. She kicked the downed magic-user in the ribs as she went in search of another target.
To her other side, the Little Professor danced through a team of Rangers, her dual blades flashing. Their equipment fall off their armor as her swords touched them. She slammed the flat of her blades on their heads, knocking them to unconciousness.
A burst of gunfire sounded through the battle and she watched as Dave smoothly moved and intercepted the rifleman. He brought an elbow to the sergeant's temple, followed with a knee to his abdominals, and finished with a strong uppercut to his jaw.
Quasi rose to her feet. The seconds that passed had allowed her to catch her breath. She fired off a blast of energy at a Ranger, blasting him to a wall.
"Prof...Quasi...with me." Dave shouted, "Lil, Terra, Sam....make us a hole to the street!"
Quasi quickly followed Dave deeper into the warehouse.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:37:51 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
“Scarlet Scorpion.”
“Lady Jane.”
“Please have a seat.” Lady Jane gestured toward a plush leather seat in front of her desk, and then sat back down. Her massive desk was made of dark wood and the desktop was completely empty. Scarlet sat firmly into the seat.
“You know why I’m here. Woman to woman, I’m not leaving without answers. I should have come earlier but-“
She was interrupted by the familiar sound of a pistol hammer locking into place from underneath the desk. Scarlet raised an eyebrow.
“Times are strange, Commander. I’m not taking any chances. I hope you can appreciate that.”
“As much as I can learning you being a traitor to the human race.”
“Please, don’t be so dramatic and blind. Look out there; hundreds of metas and thousands of civilian lives lost, religious fervor on the rise because aliens are not just here as heroes or villains but as an invading force, and finally the rampant fear you can feel walking down any street around the world. I was a part of a plan to save humanity and attempt to prevent further damage and death.”
“At that cost?!”
Lady Jane shrugged slightly. “Thirteen for thousands to millions.”
“But that’s just it … the plan failed! It was a waste because the Rikti returned with a vengeance! You were and are a part of Dawn Patrol, whose group lost it’s greatest leader … for nothing. No offense, sir.” Scarlet was frowning.
Lady Jane sighed, unaffected by the verbal jab Scarlet added against the current leader of Dawn Patrol. “I know. Believe me, if we knew that the Rikti would return for a second invasion then some other alternative may have been sought to end the first.”
Scarlet nodded in thought and decided to cast a net. “Was Statesman pushed to create the Teams for public show or was he part of this plan?”
“Really? He came up with the Teams on his own. It was a grand coincidence. With his implied and unaware stamp of approval to the deal, no one challenged his plan in order to accept the only option available at the time.”
Scarlet raised an eyebrow, and then the revelation hit her like a ton of bricks. “Nuclear weapons …”
Lady Jane nodded grimly. “Exactly. The Rikti delegation asked for samples or threatens world domination toward complete human eradication. The U.S. officials would rather let hundreds of millions die by nuclear fire than have the human race become extinct. With Statesman's plan, only a few were needed to stop the entire invasion. The Teams were a literal sigh of relief.”
Scarlet had to stand. Each word her commanding officer uttered seems to stab into her sense of morality and she couldn’t just sit there listening to it. “So, if the deal was made then why did the Rikti return?”
Lady Jane sat back into her chair and raised both hands to behind her head. “That’s the real question. Omega Team was sacrificed, from a certain point of view, up to a point. But, on the other hand, they saved the Earth in more ways than simply stopping an alien invasion.”
To be continued …
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:40:09 GMT -5
Battledog
The ranger's head slammed against the wall. His electronics sparked as Prof employed her power. Battledog's foot completed the maneouver. The team had finished off the squad guarding the security door in a few scant seconds.
"Prof. The door...if you please?"
"Most certainly, Dave."
With a small florish, the young woman's blades disappeared into a wisp of metal. She sauntered over to the door's security pad and gave it a look. The display flickered with light as the heavy doors opened.
"Thank you." Prof spoke to the display.
You are welcome. came the reply from the screen.
The Little Professor walked confidently through the doors.
"Let's get my boyfriend...OOF!"
A large metal arm connected with Prof's torso and flung her across the room. ***** The stone mallet impacted with the facemask of the sergeant as the winged imp swooped past. Terra landed in the middle of the Vanguard patrol with an extreme boom that knocked the opposing force to the ground. She turned and punched a rocky fist into a trooper's sternum. Lily and Tallybird floated throught the room unleasing their psionic abilities. The prone troopers groaned and went limp as their synapses overloaded. Lily took a brief look around the now quiet foyer and headed to the exit doors.
"Terra, please cover the hallway. Sam, you sense anything on the outside?"
Both young women probed the other side of the door with their minds.
"One hostile, Lily...posing as a bum...to the right."
"Are you sure? ...he doesn't seem harmful.."
"He is...he thought about another trooper in here...in a very inappropriate way..."
" I didn't sense that..."
"Not surprising...you never probe deep enough...wait one sec..."
Lily flinched as a mental scream sounded in her mind.
" What did you do? He was in terrible pain."
"I gave him a 30 second glimpse of what I went through in a millisecond. He couldn't handle it and he passed out. He wouldn't interfere with us now."
"That's barbaric, Sam! He could have permanent damage from that."
Tallybird shrugged.
" It shouldn't have grabbed my brother. He had that and more coming."
Lily was about to give Samantha more of a reprimand when a muted thump sounded behind her. She turned and saw Terra dropping one of the unconscious troopers to the ground. She did a quick survey of the area. Terra had arranged their defeated enemies around the foyer in depictions of sexual acts.
"Terra!"
"What?" the small imp responded as she shoved the head of a sergeant into the groin of a ranger. "They were in the way, so I moved them."
Lily just shook her head as Terra pulled out her everpresent silver flask and took a swig.
*****
Quasi reacted instinctively and released the strongest blast she could muster at the HVAS that stood over the prone Professor. The blue-white beam caught the robot in the torso and melted right through it, as she pumped every erg of power she had into it. Battledog launched himself over the beam and connected his knee to it's cranium. The head flew off with a shower of sparks as it toppled over. Dave landed in a roll and strode further into the room. Prof rose with a groan. The armor in her outfit had absorbed most of the hit. Quasi bent over, placed her hands on her knees, and caught her breath.
"You okay, Prof?" she asked between breaths.
"Quite. Only my pride was hurt."
Battledog shifted through the room, landing strikes on the guards present.
"Eyes front! The fight isn't finished. Move to live, ladies!"
The Little Professor gestured and her blades reformed into her hands. She sprinted forward into the pack that Dave was tearing through. Her blades sliced weapons in half as her heavy boots kicked out legs. Dave twisted out of the pack and leapt over a railing into a group of technicians working quickly at their consoles.
Quasi straightened up and came forward. The trooper was right around the corner. She gasped and attempted to fire a bolt at him. Nothing happened. He threw a fist at her. It struck her in the face and knocked her down. She tried to backpedal along the floor as the man moved after her. Her back thumped up against the wall. The trooper raised his rifle to strike her with its buttstock. Quasi lashed out with her small fist. A bright nimbus of energy wrapped around it as she struck him in the groin. Her target doubled over in pain, dropping his weapon. A dark blue boot connected with his head, knocking him unconscoius.
"Nice punch." Prof said as she helped Quasi to her feet.
A blast impacted over their heads. The shooter stood in the middle of the room in a white labcoat, sighting down the barrel of his long brass rifle.
"Prof! We need his memory core! It's a Nemesis automaton!"
"You will have it, Dave."
The young mutant strode forward, deftly deflecting another shot from the automaton with her blades. Its motion became more jerky as she closed the distance. It arced its back as she arrived. A brass box forced its way through its chest and landed in her hand.
I have it." she called as the robot collasped at her feet.
"Nice work! Now, go get my brother."
Dave pointed to the far wall at the liquid-filled tube. Jayson floated weightless in the neural gel. Prof gasped and quickly ran to him.
"Quas. Gimme a hand here."
Battledog pulled the unconscious technicians off the consoles and pulled out several micro hard drives.
"Dump the computers' memory files into these."
As Dave and Quasi set to work, Prof caressed the glass front of the tube. The locks popped along the sides and the seals let go with a deluge of fluid. The slender young man slid out of the tube onto the cold floor. The Little Professor knelt down and raised his head up into her lap. As she wiped the liquid off his face, his eyes flickered open.
" Ello, poppet." she said lovingly.
"Prof?"
She kissed him.
"Time to go, poppet."
She helped him to his feet. He stood shakily and started to collapse. She caught him as she called out to Dave. Dave vaulted the consoles and crossed the room. He scooped up his younger brother into his arms.
"Dave?"
"It's okay, Jay. We're getting you home. Quasi! Let's move out!"
Quasi unhooked the hard drives and made her way over to the rest of her team.
"I got the files!"
" Excellent. Prof, lead the way."
*****
Lily watched as Terra took another swig from her flask and then poured some of the alcohol on to the floor. It was the sixth time she had done that.
"What are you doing now?"
"Leaving a message."
Terra took another swig and wrote another letter. Tallybird shifted where she stood.
" They're here." she called out as Prof and Quasi rounded the corner. Dave followed them carrying Jayson.
" Get that door open!"
Lily and Sam hit the door with their abilities, causing them to slam open. They exited the building and scanned the area. Prof and Quasi followed them as the high-pitched whine of turbines could be heard. Terra snapped her fingers. A small tongue of flame sparked on the floor, igniting the alcohol lying there. She gave a mischievous laugh. Dave turned, snorted, and walked to the hovering flyer. Terra followed.
"Nice work, Terra!" Dave praised, "That's perfect!"
Terra's Message *Caution-Imp Antics Ahead*
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:40:42 GMT -5
Battledog
The flyer hovered into its hanger bay and landed precisely on its pad. Its turbines moaned as they slowed to a stop. Battledog hopped out of the troop bay and banged on the cockpit glass. He gave the pilot, Lupe Vargas, a thumbs-up and began to issued order the ground crew. "Move my brother to the med-bay. Prof is to accompany him." "Yes, sir" "Re-fuel and re-arm the bird. It will be needed by the Drive-Train's wolf teams." "Yes, sir." "Make it fast, chief. I have a feeling she doesn't know she is going to need help." The ground crew chief turned and began to issue orders to his team. The pilot and her crew dismounted the flyer. "Lupe, get your crew fed and rested. I believe you are going to be needed soon....and thanks." "My pleasure, Dave. Anytime." Lupe walked away with a smile on her face. Battledog turned to his team with a smile. "Thanks. Tania, Crim, and Scarlett are goin to want to debrief us and get a look at those data drives. Get cleaned up, grab some food, and meet back at the briefing room." Lily move up to side and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back. The rest of the team split up, moving deeper into base.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:41:11 GMT -5
Drive Train
The carnage was impressive. Broken, smoking brass robot parts and power armor remnants littered the hill, the unconscious bodies of hundreds of Nemesis Army soldiers and at least a dozen heroes laying amidst the wreckage in a now-peaceful repose.
From her vantage point on the roof of the tram station just to the south of the hill, Sheena surveyed the damage and took a mental tally. Of the fourteen patrollers she had wrangled into helping in the Nemesis attack, six had responded to her broadcasted call to assemble in Talos Island to fight off the incoming Nemesis hordes. As they were trying to hold off the onslaught, Canister was feeding her constant reports of more Nemesis invasions all over the city and the Rogue Isles. Four of those six patrollers were among the injured and unconscious currently being mediported to area hospitals. As for the other eight, Sheena could only guess at this point.
Her days in the Praetorian Resistance taught her, though, that the injured could be worried about later. Right now, there was a mission to finish, and that was more important than anything else. She turned and looked at the only other conscious Patroller present. "C'mon, Rho. Now that tha party's dyin' down, we still gotta beat some info outta these Nemmy goons. Lets' hitch a ride over ta Peregrine, see what we can dig up."
The sleek, dark-skinned, fit man next to her responded with a curt nod and a clipped, "Yes, Sergeant."
She barked out a laugh. "C'mon, Rho. Yer gonna make me all cocky with that kinda talk."
When the dark-skinned man didn't respond, Sheena pulled herself to her feet, feeling every ounce of the eighty pounds of metal attached to each shoulder. She glanced over at the other Patroller present and cast a mischievous grin in his direction. "Race ya to tha ferry!"
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:42:05 GMT -5
Lady Britania
“Bee! Got some toys for you to play with!”
Tania turns her wheelchair around to watch Dave walk up the ramp to DOGMA. “Is Jayson okay?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. He’s being taken care of in the med center now.” He holds out the data drives to her. “Took these out of the base where they were holding him. Thought you might like to dig through them.”
Tania takes the drives and sets them on DOGMA’s diagnostic station. “Thanks Dave. Where’s your team?”
“Getting a quick bite to eat.”
Tania nods. “After that, you guys might want to head over to Peregrine and back up Sheena. After a scrap with a Nemesis invasion in Talos, she’s only got Rho with her. Everyone else medi-ported back here to get fixed up. She could use some help. I’ll get started on the drives.”
“Okay Bee, sounds like a plan.” Dave turns and walks out of the room.
Tania turns back to DOGMA and hits a control. “Scarlet? I have some developments for you.”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:45:48 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
Scarlet shook her head. “Sir, you’ll have to explain that to me because I’ve had Vanguard attacking us and our families as if on a witch hunt, a traitor to locate, and if that’s not enough, preventing a potential public-relations catastrophe that could destroy the entire Dawn Patrol!”
“Calm down Field Commander. It’s not as bad as it looks.” Lady Jane raised her hand to stop Scarlet from protesting. “To be frank, without the Team’s interdiction in the invasion, the Dawn Patrol faced a shrinking presence if not annihilation. Homeland already had plans to withdraw all personnel back to England. In effect, Dawn Patrol in Paragon City was to be shut down. Then the invasion happened and it was all hands on deck. You know the mauling we got from the Rikti. When Hero-1 volunteered for the Omega Team, their demise enshrined Dawn Patrol’s presence in Paragon City.”
Scarlet was incredulous. “So, not only did they save the world but served to keep the Dawn Patrol active?! That doesn’t make sense!”
A black gloved finger pointed to Scarlet. “Belay that tone Scarlet. I’m just pointing out consequences.”
A white gloved finger pointed to Lady Jane. “I don’t give a shit about consequences. Don’t give me smoke and mirrors.”
“From a certain point of view, that’s the truth and from that point of view, it’s indisputable. But you’re right, Omega Team inadvertently did more. It was a long shot they’d survive, but not returning created a delicate situation: their action was applauded as truly heroic.” Lady Jane stood from the desk, holstered both of her pistols and walked toward the windows, looking outside. Scarlet noticed the hammers were still pulled back. “It’s undeniable that the meta-community was changed after the war. More metas came out of hiding to fill the many spots emptied in various supergroups, including ours. More people took the mantle of ‘hero’ even when they shouldn’t have. Since the war Paragon City has become the nexus of all that is truly good … and evil … in the world. If there is any legacy to Omega Team, it’s that.”
The Field Commander shifted in her seat. The leather of the uniform creaked. “That’s just a silver lining.”
“Very perceptive Commander. The United States government wanted to keep a record for posterity, maybe as leverage in some way. It doesn’t matter. Publically, monuments would be raised, plaques written to commemorate the event and a glossed-over version would be taught in schools. Privately, the truth would be hidden, must be hidden, and everyone was expected to be loyal to whatever cause they had, blind to the dark truth. Surace Industries is in the picture because they were created decades before to safeguard the dirtiest secrets and darkest artifacts of the world. The truth was added to their vaults at Lady Grey’s highly skilled suggestion.”
Scarlet’s anger was simmering and she spoke in hushed tones. “That is why my command has been attacked by Vanguard; because the Dawn Patrol was involved in a diabolical and heinous pact. It’s not a secret if there is a trail that can be found and followed. It’s also utterly arrogant to believe no one would find it eventually.”
Lady Jane turned and walked toward Scarlet, leveling a deadly stare. “Again, you are right.” She stopped a few paces later. “For everyone’s protection, you should disband the Dawn Patrol here in Paragon City.”
Scarlet stood quickly and balled her fists. “What?!”
“I could order you to do it.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t tempt me. I don’t want to and honestly it’s not the best option from Homeland. Your group has done too much good to suddenly disappear.”
Turning away, Scarlet took a few steps toward the door then looked back and smirked. “We’re too good to lose and you’re reluctant to follow those orders anyway. So why are you here in Paragon?” The words seemed to echo in the large office.
Jane sighed. “Officially, I’m researching the rumors of Omega Team survivors. Woman to woman: to watch your group. Major Britain was remarkable rebuilding this unit and Endless One took it to another level. But this situation does not bode well for you because you’re in command.”
“I’m not here for glory or a legacy. What does Homeland want me to? Resign?!” Her hands raised and fell in obvious frustration.
Lady Jane ran a hand through her hair across the back of her head then put both hands on her hips above the holsters. “If you do not disband, then you will have to step down as Field Commander. I’ll be here to back you up regardless of what you decide, but there are no other alternatives.”
The communicator on Scarlet’s wrist activated and Lady Britania’s voice filled the space between the two leaders in the room. “Scarlet? I have some developments for you.”
Without looking away from Lady Jane, Scarlet raised her arm and acknowledged the message. “On my way, give me two minutes then brief me.” After closing the line, Scarlet shrugged.
“Do what you need to do. Dawn Patrol is here to stay. I’ll step down to satisfy Homeland, but that’s all that needs to be done. We can handle the rest.” Scarlet saluted crisply.
Without another word, Lady Jane returned the salute and watched the Scarlet Scorpion quickly leave the room.
THE END...
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 19:48:40 GMT -5
OOC EDITOR'S NOTE:
There was more to this story, but this was the point that we had transported our forums over to Guild Portal. All posts after this were lost when Guild Portal closed and we weren't able to save any of the posts done there.Since the shutdown happened, unless any members happen to have copies of any DP stories that took place on Guild Portal, the SG's official story line will pick back up with the new thread Dawn Patrol: Return to Paragon. Thank you for reading.
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