((Judicious use of wonky-time here. Setting the clock back to last Friday afternoon.))
Renn's shoes tapped out a sharp rhythm as she climbed the stone steps leading up to the Paragon City Courthouse, and her mind buzzed with thoughts and worries.
The DA's office had wanted to talk to her. Immediately the school had said. It hadn't mattered to them that she had been scheduled to lead a taskforce for Sister Psyche tonight. Apparently someone was concerned that she'd end up in the hospital (and from her past experiences with the Freakshow, Renn had to admit the fear was well founded), and whatever it was, it was important.
The sun was low in the sky, and the early spring air still had a bit of bite to it. Her legs were freezing in the skirt, St. Joseph's tartan. The chill made her quit dawdling, and she rushed up the last few steps and ducked inside the glass double doors. She flashed her hero ID to the guard inside the door, stepped through the metal detector (grateful that she had left the badges she normally pinned to the jacker at the quad), and was on her way.
The District Attorney's office took up a large portion of the first floor. It almost had to, with the sheer amount of cases that flowed through it on a daily basis. Renn hadn't been here before, even now, at the end of day, the office still buzzed with activity.
She checked in at the front desk and was escorted to an office at the back, one of the few in a sea of cubicles. The man at the desk stood up as she entered, and held out a hand.
"Ah, Ms. Haven, another fine hero of the city. It's a pleasure to meet you." She reached out and shook his hand briefly.
"The school said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. Have a seat."
Renn glanced quickly around the office, months of habit making her paranoid, and sat down.
"I'll get right to the point. A few weeks ago, at the request of the Paragon Police Department, you single-handedly infiltrated a Crey Industries lab, gathered a great deal of evidence, and arrested one of the company's top scientists, along with his assistants."
Renn nodded, breath half catching in her throat. Had she done something wrong? Was that what this was about?
"That scientist, Dr. Ames, is now being held at the Zig awaiting trial. Unfortunately for us, Crey Industries is pushing for a quick trial and an early start date, screaming that we had unfairly arrested one of their employees. I don't usually like to involve our city's heroes into this, goodness know you all have enough to do as it is, but I'm afraid in this case I don't have much choice."
He leaned forward over his desk, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm going to need you to testify for us."
"I can't."
"You can't? Ms. Haven, this is important. Crey's pushing too hard and too fast for us to have a solid defense in time. We need you on that stand."
"I want to help, really I do," Renn replied, feeling more hopeless than ever, wanting to make him understand. "But, I can't go on the stand. Not like this." She gestured at her uniform. "There are people who would recognize me that can't know that I do this."
The Assistant DA slumped down in his chair. "Ah. I see." He looked thoughtful for a minute. He looked up at Renn again.
"You went into that facility as Nightwatch. Can you come to the stand as her?"
Renn thought about that for a moment. In the armor and the mask, few people would be able to recognize her. "Yes. I think I can do that."
"Good. Well, let's get to work. We have a lot of ground to cover, and the trial starts Monday morning."
Justice
Moderator: Student Council
-
Renn Haven
- Posts: 188
- Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:23 pm
- Contact:
Renn was alone in Quad 9. Nennya had gone to talk to someone, probably Bryan for all she knew. Jane and Calia were god only knows where. Renn gazed at her reflection in the mirror, adjusted some imagined imperfection in the domino mask that covered her eyes, and wondered how the uniform that she had worn as Nightwatch for at least the last half year could feel like it was new.
Uncomfortably new.
Okay, so she was nervous. Terrified even. Even though this was just a preliminary trial, even though there was no jury, even though the courtroom was likely to be as empty as a church during Mardi Gras, she was terrified. For the first time in months, she felt like a little girl parading around in pajamas, pretending to be a hero. Her father would be humiliated, if he saw her like this.
She looked over at the clock and bit down on her tongue to keep from swearing. She was going to have to hurry, even with the school's teleport bays, to get to the courthouse in time. Double-checking for the last time the clasps that held her cape in place, Renn hurried out of the dorms and across the campus to the part of the complex where the bays were held. A few minutes later she was outdoors, blinking her eyes furiously as they attempted to adjust to the sudden brightness. She was already moving before her eyes were fully adjusted, speeding through the streets at top speed, jumping over any obstacle that she was too busy to go around, mostly street intersections and buildings.
The courthouse was frantic with activity when she arrived, a huge change from her last visit. She reached into a small compartment on her belt and pulled out the slip of paper with the circuit court number written on it. She frowned slightly as she looked around the gleaming interior of the courthouse, looking for a directory or a map or something.
She was trying very hard to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her as they hurried past. Renn had to admit, she had been expecting it. The Paragon City District Attorney's office tried very hard to not drag registered heroes into legal cases; and it had been decades since protections had been passed for those same heroes removing the potential for lawsuits and other legal nastiness. And wasn't she grateful for that!
The whole thing was very strange. It had only been a few weeks since Renn, a.k.a. Nightwatch, had entered the Crey Lab and arrested the doctor and his assistants. Usually, it was months or even years before the overloaded Paragon City courts could schedule a trial. It wasn't uncommon for superpowered criminals to escape and be re-arrested multiple times before they finally ended up in the Zig. Like Frostfire, for example...
Renn shook her head in disgust. Crey's legal team was leaning hard on the courts, and the preliminary hearing was moved up to the head of the line. She wouldn't be surprised if the case got thrown out all together. It was disgusting, but she had seen what kind of protection the kind of money Crey had to throw around could buy. She had agreed to help, because she knew she was their best bet, with so little time to prepare.
She finally found the courtroom, minutes before the business of the morning was set to begin, and slid into a hard bench seat in the back row of the room. Small groups of people murmured amongst themselves, filling the room with a subdued hum, that stopped suddenly when the bailiff entered the room.
"All rise." Renn stood up, looking towards the doorway. The bailiff continued "The third circuit court of Paragon City, Rhode Island, is now in session, the Honorable Amelia L. Veracruz presiding." The judge, a petite brunette woman, entered the room and sat down at the bench. Renn watched her carefully. She had eyes like steel; you'd have to be a fool to think that this woman was a pushover.
"Be seated." The judge paused long enough for the noise of a few dozen people sitting down to end, then pressed on. "Now, we have a rather full docket today, so let's move right along, people." The clerk called the first case number, and Renn settled in to wait. And wait. And wait.
After about an hour and a half, she had gotten to the point where she was wryly amused by the fact that her backside was starting to ache from sitting on the hard wooden bench. Considering that she'd been thrown across the room by any number of Circle mages, and literally slammed into the side of a skyscraper by Babbage, and still managed to brush off the pain, Renn was rather impressed by the construction of the seats. Her attention wandered, not knowing how many other cases were scheduled ahead of hers.
"State calls Nightwatch."
She startled back into reality after hearing her hero designation called. She stood and made her way up to the witness box, and faced the clerk.
"Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give in the matter now before the court to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"Yes."
"Be seated. Please state your name, and spell it for the record."
"Nightwatch. N-I-G-H-T-W-A-T-C-H."
The assistant DA leaned into his microphone. "Ms. Nightwatch, on the evening of March..."
Uncomfortably new.
Okay, so she was nervous. Terrified even. Even though this was just a preliminary trial, even though there was no jury, even though the courtroom was likely to be as empty as a church during Mardi Gras, she was terrified. For the first time in months, she felt like a little girl parading around in pajamas, pretending to be a hero. Her father would be humiliated, if he saw her like this.
She looked over at the clock and bit down on her tongue to keep from swearing. She was going to have to hurry, even with the school's teleport bays, to get to the courthouse in time. Double-checking for the last time the clasps that held her cape in place, Renn hurried out of the dorms and across the campus to the part of the complex where the bays were held. A few minutes later she was outdoors, blinking her eyes furiously as they attempted to adjust to the sudden brightness. She was already moving before her eyes were fully adjusted, speeding through the streets at top speed, jumping over any obstacle that she was too busy to go around, mostly street intersections and buildings.
The courthouse was frantic with activity when she arrived, a huge change from her last visit. She reached into a small compartment on her belt and pulled out the slip of paper with the circuit court number written on it. She frowned slightly as she looked around the gleaming interior of the courthouse, looking for a directory or a map or something.
She was trying very hard to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her as they hurried past. Renn had to admit, she had been expecting it. The Paragon City District Attorney's office tried very hard to not drag registered heroes into legal cases; and it had been decades since protections had been passed for those same heroes removing the potential for lawsuits and other legal nastiness. And wasn't she grateful for that!
The whole thing was very strange. It had only been a few weeks since Renn, a.k.a. Nightwatch, had entered the Crey Lab and arrested the doctor and his assistants. Usually, it was months or even years before the overloaded Paragon City courts could schedule a trial. It wasn't uncommon for superpowered criminals to escape and be re-arrested multiple times before they finally ended up in the Zig. Like Frostfire, for example...
Renn shook her head in disgust. Crey's legal team was leaning hard on the courts, and the preliminary hearing was moved up to the head of the line. She wouldn't be surprised if the case got thrown out all together. It was disgusting, but she had seen what kind of protection the kind of money Crey had to throw around could buy. She had agreed to help, because she knew she was their best bet, with so little time to prepare.
She finally found the courtroom, minutes before the business of the morning was set to begin, and slid into a hard bench seat in the back row of the room. Small groups of people murmured amongst themselves, filling the room with a subdued hum, that stopped suddenly when the bailiff entered the room.
"All rise." Renn stood up, looking towards the doorway. The bailiff continued "The third circuit court of Paragon City, Rhode Island, is now in session, the Honorable Amelia L. Veracruz presiding." The judge, a petite brunette woman, entered the room and sat down at the bench. Renn watched her carefully. She had eyes like steel; you'd have to be a fool to think that this woman was a pushover.
"Be seated." The judge paused long enough for the noise of a few dozen people sitting down to end, then pressed on. "Now, we have a rather full docket today, so let's move right along, people." The clerk called the first case number, and Renn settled in to wait. And wait. And wait.
After about an hour and a half, she had gotten to the point where she was wryly amused by the fact that her backside was starting to ache from sitting on the hard wooden bench. Considering that she'd been thrown across the room by any number of Circle mages, and literally slammed into the side of a skyscraper by Babbage, and still managed to brush off the pain, Renn was rather impressed by the construction of the seats. Her attention wandered, not knowing how many other cases were scheduled ahead of hers.
"State calls Nightwatch."
She startled back into reality after hearing her hero designation called. She stood and made her way up to the witness box, and faced the clerk.
"Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give in the matter now before the court to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"Yes."
"Be seated. Please state your name, and spell it for the record."
"Nightwatch. N-I-G-H-T-W-A-T-C-H."
The assistant DA leaned into his microphone. "Ms. Nightwatch, on the evening of March..."
-
Renn Haven
- Posts: 188
- Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:23 pm
- Contact:
Eventually, she would have to stop moping around. Eventually. The trial had been over for several days; he had gotten off, of course. Hardly a second thought about it from the judge, just dismissed the charges. Not enough proof, the judge had said, no probable cause.
Dammit.
Renn was out and about, wearing her school uniform this time. She had no desire to go out patrolling, not for the last few days; her costume hung neatly in the closet back in the quad. Instead, she sat in an out of the way diner, nursing a mug of coffee that could be better described as a bowl, and contemplating the teetering stack of pancakes in front of her. Stupid metabolism...
"Mind if I join you?" a male voice asked.
"I don't generally share my table with stran-" she cut herself off as she realized that the voice was very familiar... She looked up. "Oh. Umm...hello, father." She sighed and sank back into her chair, and James Haven took the chair across the table from her. "Aren't you supposed to be in Bangkok for a meeting or something this week?"
"I was. I cancelled. This is more important." He slid a small wrapped present across the table towards her, but there was no trace of a smile on that handsome face. "Happy Birthday, Adrienne."
Renn's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't quite right here... "Why are you here?"
"To talk to you. See how you are doing. Maybe take you out to dinner..."
"Bull." Renn stood up, pushing the chair backwards with that harsh screech of old wood on tile.
Her father's eyes widened, not used to hearing any kind of hash language out of his daughter. "Now just one second, young lady..."
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that? I've tried to get in contact with you dozens of times since you dumped me here, and I've talked to more of your assistants than I care to count, but you've been content to pretend I don't exist!" She paused momentarily. "By the way, you need to fire your newest one." She pushed the present back across the table for him. "You're three weeks early." She turned and started to storm away.
"Adrienne Elaine! Don't you dare walk away from me!"
Renn paused, years of habit halting her feet. She took a deep breath, and pivoted around on one heel to face her father. She struggled to keep her anger under control; her voice was flat and deadly quiet. "What?"
"Sit down, Adrienne. We need to talk."
"I'd rather stand," she retorted, but she was already sliding back into her seat.
"I don't think you quite understand how much trouble you're bringing down on this company with your antics, Adrienne. What were you thinking? I believed that I had made myself quite clear when I enrolled you at this school that you weren't to do anything to draw attention to yourself, and by extension, Haven Biogenetics. And you pull this non-sense!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"What I am talking about is your recent stunt in that courtroom. This "Nightwatch" thing." Renn paled and looked around the diner nervously. It was empty. Even the owners were conspicuously absent, the door sign was turned over to CLOSED. James Haven clearly took nothing for granted when it came to his company's image.
"Adrienne, I had made it perfectly clear when I enrolled you here--"
"You mean, when you abandoned me here!" Renn burst out, raising her voice for the first time since her father had sat down."
"--that you were not, under any circumstances, to do anything strange in public. And that especially includes these heroics of yours." The hint of distaste in his voice made it perfectly clear what he thought of the whole business.
It's okay, just explain things to him. He's always been reasonable before... "No one knows who I am. I swear. I've been careful." Her voice half pleaded with him, wanting him to understand.
"Adrienne, I've got Crey Industries leaning very heavily on me. The Countess herself wants to know why my daughter is harassing one of her top scientists and wreaking havoc with her bottom line--"
"Well, that's just too bad for her. Someone needs to show her that money can't get her out of every--Wait. What!?" Renn stood up sharply, slamming her open hand palm down on the table and causing the bowl of coffee to slosh violently over it edges. "You aren't telling me...you can't be...you're working with those twisted monsters?"
Reason, it seems, is dead. Time for something more drastic then.
"Crey is one of our biggest research collaborators; it will cost us billions of dollars and years of wasted time if they pull out of the projects we are working on now. Adrienne, listen to me. It could ruin us."
"Well then that's too bad for you, isn't it?"
"Don't you care about the company?"
"Not as much as you do, father. I don't care enough to be able to overlook the things that Crey is doing in this city while the Countess uses her wealth as a carte blanche and keeps anyone from looking too close at where all that money comes from and goes to. I can't."
"Not everything they do is horrible."
"Okay. Fine. I'm sure that the people you work with are as pure as the driven snow, and somehow haven't ever once been assigned to a project that's even in the least morally suspect--"
"Adrienne--"
She held up one hand, cutting him off. "Let me finish. I cannot stand by and let Crey get away with the sick, twisted, disturbing, and downright evil things that I know are going on in those labs. Why? Because I am a hero, whether you like it or not. You sent me here to learn how to control my powers, but maybe you didn't think about the other lessons that I learned. That when good people suffer, then people need to stand up for the right thing. Even if it is the most difficult thing to do. And that's what I'm doing. The right thing." She met his eyes, and stared into them. "Whether you like it or not."
"However...I do still care about the company. And about you. So I'm going to offer you a choice. A compromise, if you will."
Dr. Haven leaned back in his seat, clearly resigned to the situation. "All right. Go ahead."
"Your first option is, you let me go. I continue to do what I feel needs to be done, but I keep Haven Biogenetics out of it. I go out and fight as Nightwatch, and no one needs to know that HBG's darling poster child is now a flame slinging freak of nature. You publicly cut me off, disown me or whatever it is you need to do to convince your colleagues at Crey Industries that I don't answer to you anymore. Distance yourself from me; I'll make sure that no one finds out who I am. You'll also set up a trust fund for me, some kind of filtered bank account that doesn't allow people to track that connection. Probably a Swiss bank or something. A quarter of a million should do quite nicely."
"And my other option?"
"Option two! You refuse the compromise, and I walk out that door right now, as Adrienne Haven, and ruin everything you've worked for. It wouldn't be hard."
"And if I tried to stop you?"
"Do you honestly think you can stop me from walking out that door? If I really wanted to leave?"
He met her eyes, and stared into them for a long moment. Time seemed to stretch out towards eternity, until he broke the gaze and looked away. "You're right," he said simply, shrugging it off. He stood up and held out an arm. Out of habit, she ducked into his embrace and let him pull her close.
"Everything is going to be fine, I'm sure of it. I promise it'll be okay, father. Maybe after all this is over--" But whatever it was she had hoped to say, it was lost in the realization that this might be the last time she saw her father for years. It took all her strength to hold back the tears, and pull away from him. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a twenty, and tucked it under the plate of now-cold pancakes.
"I guess--'
"Goodbye, Adrienne." Was that regret in his voice? Renn couldn't quite tell, but she'd like to think it was. She turned, and half ran out of the diner, just needing to get away. Her radio unit was turned off, the channels mercifully silent for once. She wanted to be alone, she didn't want to talk. She just wanted to find somewhere to be thoroughly sick, and to stare at the war walls until she couldn't think of anything anymore.
My god, what have I gotten myself into?"
Dammit.
Renn was out and about, wearing her school uniform this time. She had no desire to go out patrolling, not for the last few days; her costume hung neatly in the closet back in the quad. Instead, she sat in an out of the way diner, nursing a mug of coffee that could be better described as a bowl, and contemplating the teetering stack of pancakes in front of her. Stupid metabolism...
"Mind if I join you?" a male voice asked.
"I don't generally share my table with stran-" she cut herself off as she realized that the voice was very familiar... She looked up. "Oh. Umm...hello, father." She sighed and sank back into her chair, and James Haven took the chair across the table from her. "Aren't you supposed to be in Bangkok for a meeting or something this week?"
"I was. I cancelled. This is more important." He slid a small wrapped present across the table towards her, but there was no trace of a smile on that handsome face. "Happy Birthday, Adrienne."
Renn's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't quite right here... "Why are you here?"
"To talk to you. See how you are doing. Maybe take you out to dinner..."
"Bull." Renn stood up, pushing the chair backwards with that harsh screech of old wood on tile.
Her father's eyes widened, not used to hearing any kind of hash language out of his daughter. "Now just one second, young lady..."
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that? I've tried to get in contact with you dozens of times since you dumped me here, and I've talked to more of your assistants than I care to count, but you've been content to pretend I don't exist!" She paused momentarily. "By the way, you need to fire your newest one." She pushed the present back across the table for him. "You're three weeks early." She turned and started to storm away.
"Adrienne Elaine! Don't you dare walk away from me!"
Renn paused, years of habit halting her feet. She took a deep breath, and pivoted around on one heel to face her father. She struggled to keep her anger under control; her voice was flat and deadly quiet. "What?"
"Sit down, Adrienne. We need to talk."
"I'd rather stand," she retorted, but she was already sliding back into her seat.
"I don't think you quite understand how much trouble you're bringing down on this company with your antics, Adrienne. What were you thinking? I believed that I had made myself quite clear when I enrolled you at this school that you weren't to do anything to draw attention to yourself, and by extension, Haven Biogenetics. And you pull this non-sense!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"What I am talking about is your recent stunt in that courtroom. This "Nightwatch" thing." Renn paled and looked around the diner nervously. It was empty. Even the owners were conspicuously absent, the door sign was turned over to CLOSED. James Haven clearly took nothing for granted when it came to his company's image.
"Adrienne, I had made it perfectly clear when I enrolled you here--"
"You mean, when you abandoned me here!" Renn burst out, raising her voice for the first time since her father had sat down."
"--that you were not, under any circumstances, to do anything strange in public. And that especially includes these heroics of yours." The hint of distaste in his voice made it perfectly clear what he thought of the whole business.
It's okay, just explain things to him. He's always been reasonable before... "No one knows who I am. I swear. I've been careful." Her voice half pleaded with him, wanting him to understand.
"Adrienne, I've got Crey Industries leaning very heavily on me. The Countess herself wants to know why my daughter is harassing one of her top scientists and wreaking havoc with her bottom line--"
"Well, that's just too bad for her. Someone needs to show her that money can't get her out of every--Wait. What!?" Renn stood up sharply, slamming her open hand palm down on the table and causing the bowl of coffee to slosh violently over it edges. "You aren't telling me...you can't be...you're working with those twisted monsters?"
Reason, it seems, is dead. Time for something more drastic then.
"Crey is one of our biggest research collaborators; it will cost us billions of dollars and years of wasted time if they pull out of the projects we are working on now. Adrienne, listen to me. It could ruin us."
"Well then that's too bad for you, isn't it?"
"Don't you care about the company?"
"Not as much as you do, father. I don't care enough to be able to overlook the things that Crey is doing in this city while the Countess uses her wealth as a carte blanche and keeps anyone from looking too close at where all that money comes from and goes to. I can't."
"Not everything they do is horrible."
"Okay. Fine. I'm sure that the people you work with are as pure as the driven snow, and somehow haven't ever once been assigned to a project that's even in the least morally suspect--"
"Adrienne--"
She held up one hand, cutting him off. "Let me finish. I cannot stand by and let Crey get away with the sick, twisted, disturbing, and downright evil things that I know are going on in those labs. Why? Because I am a hero, whether you like it or not. You sent me here to learn how to control my powers, but maybe you didn't think about the other lessons that I learned. That when good people suffer, then people need to stand up for the right thing. Even if it is the most difficult thing to do. And that's what I'm doing. The right thing." She met his eyes, and stared into them. "Whether you like it or not."
"However...I do still care about the company. And about you. So I'm going to offer you a choice. A compromise, if you will."
Dr. Haven leaned back in his seat, clearly resigned to the situation. "All right. Go ahead."
"Your first option is, you let me go. I continue to do what I feel needs to be done, but I keep Haven Biogenetics out of it. I go out and fight as Nightwatch, and no one needs to know that HBG's darling poster child is now a flame slinging freak of nature. You publicly cut me off, disown me or whatever it is you need to do to convince your colleagues at Crey Industries that I don't answer to you anymore. Distance yourself from me; I'll make sure that no one finds out who I am. You'll also set up a trust fund for me, some kind of filtered bank account that doesn't allow people to track that connection. Probably a Swiss bank or something. A quarter of a million should do quite nicely."
"And my other option?"
"Option two! You refuse the compromise, and I walk out that door right now, as Adrienne Haven, and ruin everything you've worked for. It wouldn't be hard."
"And if I tried to stop you?"
"Do you honestly think you can stop me from walking out that door? If I really wanted to leave?"
He met her eyes, and stared into them for a long moment. Time seemed to stretch out towards eternity, until he broke the gaze and looked away. "You're right," he said simply, shrugging it off. He stood up and held out an arm. Out of habit, she ducked into his embrace and let him pull her close.
"Everything is going to be fine, I'm sure of it. I promise it'll be okay, father. Maybe after all this is over--" But whatever it was she had hoped to say, it was lost in the realization that this might be the last time she saw her father for years. It took all her strength to hold back the tears, and pull away from him. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a twenty, and tucked it under the plate of now-cold pancakes.
"I guess--'
"Goodbye, Adrienne." Was that regret in his voice? Renn couldn't quite tell, but she'd like to think it was. She turned, and half ran out of the diner, just needing to get away. Her radio unit was turned off, the channels mercifully silent for once. She wanted to be alone, she didn't want to talk. She just wanted to find somewhere to be thoroughly sick, and to stare at the war walls until she couldn't think of anything anymore.
My god, what have I gotten myself into?"
-
Renn Haven
- Posts: 188
- Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:23 pm
- Contact:
((this happens about a month or so after the last post, so there is some wonky time involved again here. my apologies in advance))
The past month had been horrid; the past week, excruciatingly so. Most people would spend as much of their day as possible in bed until things cleared up. After all, most everything seemed better after a good night’s sleep. So they said.
Renn would, as always, have to take their word on it. Whoever “they” were. Thanks to her father and the other scientists at Haven Biogenetics, “sleeping on it” would never—ever!—be an option for her. Though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, for the last month she’d been running; from fear, from doubt, from—god help her—countless insecurities.
The last week was the worst. For the last few days, even the normal distractions failed to take her mind off the recent events. She wandered restlessly through the school and the surrounding city, finally ending up outside the entrance to the school chapel. She paused and stared at the holy water font, slightly confused at how she had gotten there. It certainly wasn’t where she expected to end up; after all, religion had never been a big part of her life growing up. Her father was the type of scientist whose world view had no room for “a tissue of myths and lies and legends,” and if Saint Joseph’s hadn’t been such a convenient place to dump his defective daughter, he never would have given the place a second look, let alone a donation.
But...there must be some reason that she had ended up here. She took a deep breath, and attempted to remember what etiquette the sisters had taught her prior to her attending Christmas and Easter mass. She hesitantly dipped her fingers in the font and made the sign of the cross in front of her, then walked into the sanctuary.
The air felt different here, though she wasn’t sure if that was just in her mind or not. She thought about this as she walked forward, and slipped into a pew in the middle of the chapel. She lowered the kneeler and knelt on it, and lowered her head down onto clasped hands. She could smell fresh wax, old incense, and candle smoke. She breathed in deeply, and forced herself to face the memories of recent events that she had spent so much time running from.
He called himself Black Lancer, and she never saw his face. Another hero, one of many that she had never heard of.
It was only a few days after her fight with her father, when Renn had foolishly decided to go out on patrol without the calm wariness she normally felt. Her thought were so jumbled that she had found herself cornered by a large gang of Warriors. She had shouted out for help, as she attempted to fight them off, and he had shown up. Several Warriors fell to the ground screaming as a stream of bullets poured into their backs and chests. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Renn sprung into the air, and landed behind the gang and to the side of her armored rescuer. Less than a quarter of the hour later, the fight was over, and they had retreated to a empty rooftop to catch their breath.
They talked a bit, too. At first he chewed her out for not paying attention to her surroundings, getting into that mess in the first place. She snapped back, and they were on the verge of a potentially enjoyable argument when he spotted the badges that she had pinned onto her uniform. The impressive array had shut him up almost instantly, and the respect in his voice after that was unmistakable. Renn was almost disappointed by this. A full blown argument with someone else might have been just what she needed to get her mind off of things.
Lancer was a vigilante, and like Renn he felt angry and exasperated at the justice system. Unlike Renn, he didn't feel the need to ensure that the criminals he fought survived long enough to go behind bars. He listened intently as Renn spilled out all her frustrations about the trial, and Crey in general. He was so intense, so matter-of-fact. Everything he said made so much sense, at least at the time. Renn had found herself looking up to him, despite the differences in mindsets.
She never saw him after that afternoon though–
A hand on her shoulder startled Renn out of her reverie. She was surprised to see that the light coming in from behind the windows was dimmer, redder. She'd barely even noticed the hours passing. The back of her neck was damp with sweat, and her knees and hands were starting to ache, from being motionless for so long.
She looked over at the owner of the hand. It was one of the priests, though which one she couldn't recall. Father Montoya, perhaps?
"Do you need to talk to someone?" he inquired with a soft voice. It would have been hard to miss the concern in his words.
She shook her head, more violently than she intended. Her head spun. "N-no thanks. I think right now, I uh, I just need some time to think."
"All right. If you change your mind, Father Pat or myself will be here." With that, he turned and walked away, just as quietly as he had arrived.
This wasn't the first time she had been called into the police statement to make a statement. Thirty-five security levels ensured that there were many noteworthy arrests where her side of the story was needed. Though she wasn't normally escorted by several Longbow agents, she didn't think much of it at the time.
She entered the small room where a detective and an assistant were waiting for her, and slid into the wooden chair on the other side of the table from them.
"Good morning. For the record, can you verify that you are Renn Haven, aka Nightwatch, current security level 35, hero registration–" He rattled off a long string of numbers that matched the number on her hero ID.
"That's me. How can I help you today, Detective Ainsworth?" Her hands were calmly folded on the table in front of her.
"Have you ever encountered this man?" He slid a open manilla folder across the table towards her.
Renn looked down at the top item in the folder. A mug shot. She didn't recognize the face, but the bit of armor-like uniform that could be seen looked familiar. She flipped to the next page, and her breath caught in her throat. It was a full length image of the Black Lancer, seemingly taken from the front page of his hero registration file.
“Yes, I met him once. I had gotten in over my head with a group of Warriors, and he pulled my ass out of the fire. He seemed decent to me.”
Another person had entered the chapel (church? Renn wasn’t entirely certain what the appropriate word was). She could hear a vaguely familiar male voice talking in a low voice with Father Pat. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was that ex-Freak boy. Billy made her nervous, mostly because she was sure she hadn’t gotten off on the right foot with him.
And it wasn’t entirely her fault either. One of her contacts had her running back and forth across Brickstown one afternoon several months back, trying to halt a full out Freak gang war, and she had taken one too many metal spikes in the back from gangers she thought she had dropped and sent on their merry way to the Zig. So she had said as much on the comm channel, not knowing that one of the new kids might be overly sensitive.
For the most part, she just avoided him. It was probably for the best. She’d heard all kinds of nasty rumors about him, and she wasn’t about to take the chance that he was still annoyed at her, just in case any of those rumors were actually true. She looked straight down at the back of the pew in front of her, and prayed that he hadn’t noticed her this time.
Renn felt a strange tingle at the base of her spine, like an itch inside her bones. It was annoying, but not enough that she couldn’t ignore it. She just wished she could figure out why exactly the sensation felt so familiar.
She looked back at the detective, who was paging through the file in front of him somewhat nervously. The Longbow agents in the room also looked edgy, expectant. Was there something going on in one of the holding cells nearby?
“And, uh Ms. Nightwatch, did you, at any time during your encounter with this man, explain to him about any frustrations you may have had regarding Dr. Ames’ recent trial?”
“I might have.” The tension level in the room jumped. Renn was startled by everyone’s reactions. She hurried to explain herself. "I’m not trying to be evasive. It’s just, we talked for a little bit, while we were recovering from the fight. All pretty innocent, mostly trading war stories and the like. The hearing had been only a week or so before, so I’m sure it must have been on my mind. Whether or not we actually talked about it, I can’t quite remember. Why?”
“The Black Lancer was apprehended the other day on two counts of premeditated homicide. He is currently being held in the Zig for the murder of both Doctor Fredrick Ames and Judge Amelia Veracruz.”
Renn felt a chill as the blood rushed out of her face, and her hands were almost ghostly white. The tingle at the base of her spine grew stronger, more insistent. After a moment, she remembered where she had felt that sensation before. It was a power suppression field generator, like they used on superpowered criminals. Or suspects that they expected to get violent.
“You think I had something to do with this? That’s absolutely ridiculous!”
“It’s a known fact that you were not pleased by the outcome of the hearing, and–”
“And I would never consider anything that low.”
“So, you did not, at any point during your conversation with Black Lancer, request, hint, or otherwise lead him to believe that you would like him to murder Judge Veracruz or Doctor Ames. Is that correct?”
“No matter what I may feel about them personally, I never wanted them dead.” Fired, yes; in jail, almost certainly. But never dead.
One of the Longbow officers leaned across the desk to look Renn straight in the eyes. She felt a whisper soft brushing against her thoughts, and then it was gone as quickly as it started. The officer turned to the Detective and nodded.
“The Black Lancer was quite vehement about your non-involvement in this. But we had to be certain. You are free to go, Ms. Nightwatch, and we are sorry for the inconvenience.” The suppression field dialed down slowly and then shut off, and Renn stood up, still emotionally numb. She didn’t remember much of the walk out of the station, other than the awareness of an officer gently leading her by the arm, more for support than for anything else. Someone from the school came to make sure she got back to the dorms all right, but she couldn’t remember if it was one of the staff, or one of her quadmates.
Renn stood up, her knees and back groaning from an unknown number of hours kneeling on what amounted to a thinly padded board. For the first time in over a week, she felt marginally calm, focused. Perhaps it was the atmosphere here. Maybe it was just giving herself time to think, uninterrupted. But whatever the cause, for the first time in a week, she had a label for the emotion she had been running from: guilt.
She walked over to the shelves with the rows and rows of votives, some lit, some not. Prayer candles, memorials, a thousand and one different meanings, depending on the person lighting them. She used a long stick to transfer a small flame from one already lit candle to another. And then to another, so that there were two more pinpricks of light among the sea of lit votives. She took a deep breath and looked straight at the candles.
“I’m so sorry. If it wasn’t for me, you might still be alive today. Maybe you would have become a different person, and we wouldn’t have been opponents anymore. But you’ll never have that chance now, and I regret that. I hope that wherever you are now, you’ll find it in you to forgive me,” she whispered softly.
Renn took a deep breath, and turned and walked out of the chapel. Outside, the eastern sky was just starting to lighten as she turned towards the building that housed Quad Nine. It wasn’t the end, and it wasn’t over; she knew that. But for the time being, it could wait. She could push it aside until she was as brave and as tough as so many thought her to be...
But, in the meantime, there was always, always homework.
The past month had been horrid; the past week, excruciatingly so. Most people would spend as much of their day as possible in bed until things cleared up. After all, most everything seemed better after a good night’s sleep. So they said.
Renn would, as always, have to take their word on it. Whoever “they” were. Thanks to her father and the other scientists at Haven Biogenetics, “sleeping on it” would never—ever!—be an option for her. Though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, for the last month she’d been running; from fear, from doubt, from—god help her—countless insecurities.
The last week was the worst. For the last few days, even the normal distractions failed to take her mind off the recent events. She wandered restlessly through the school and the surrounding city, finally ending up outside the entrance to the school chapel. She paused and stared at the holy water font, slightly confused at how she had gotten there. It certainly wasn’t where she expected to end up; after all, religion had never been a big part of her life growing up. Her father was the type of scientist whose world view had no room for “a tissue of myths and lies and legends,” and if Saint Joseph’s hadn’t been such a convenient place to dump his defective daughter, he never would have given the place a second look, let alone a donation.
But...there must be some reason that she had ended up here. She took a deep breath, and attempted to remember what etiquette the sisters had taught her prior to her attending Christmas and Easter mass. She hesitantly dipped her fingers in the font and made the sign of the cross in front of her, then walked into the sanctuary.
The air felt different here, though she wasn’t sure if that was just in her mind or not. She thought about this as she walked forward, and slipped into a pew in the middle of the chapel. She lowered the kneeler and knelt on it, and lowered her head down onto clasped hands. She could smell fresh wax, old incense, and candle smoke. She breathed in deeply, and forced herself to face the memories of recent events that she had spent so much time running from.
He called himself Black Lancer, and she never saw his face. Another hero, one of many that she had never heard of.
It was only a few days after her fight with her father, when Renn had foolishly decided to go out on patrol without the calm wariness she normally felt. Her thought were so jumbled that she had found herself cornered by a large gang of Warriors. She had shouted out for help, as she attempted to fight them off, and he had shown up. Several Warriors fell to the ground screaming as a stream of bullets poured into their backs and chests. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Renn sprung into the air, and landed behind the gang and to the side of her armored rescuer. Less than a quarter of the hour later, the fight was over, and they had retreated to a empty rooftop to catch their breath.
They talked a bit, too. At first he chewed her out for not paying attention to her surroundings, getting into that mess in the first place. She snapped back, and they were on the verge of a potentially enjoyable argument when he spotted the badges that she had pinned onto her uniform. The impressive array had shut him up almost instantly, and the respect in his voice after that was unmistakable. Renn was almost disappointed by this. A full blown argument with someone else might have been just what she needed to get her mind off of things.
Lancer was a vigilante, and like Renn he felt angry and exasperated at the justice system. Unlike Renn, he didn't feel the need to ensure that the criminals he fought survived long enough to go behind bars. He listened intently as Renn spilled out all her frustrations about the trial, and Crey in general. He was so intense, so matter-of-fact. Everything he said made so much sense, at least at the time. Renn had found herself looking up to him, despite the differences in mindsets.
She never saw him after that afternoon though–
A hand on her shoulder startled Renn out of her reverie. She was surprised to see that the light coming in from behind the windows was dimmer, redder. She'd barely even noticed the hours passing. The back of her neck was damp with sweat, and her knees and hands were starting to ache, from being motionless for so long.
She looked over at the owner of the hand. It was one of the priests, though which one she couldn't recall. Father Montoya, perhaps?
"Do you need to talk to someone?" he inquired with a soft voice. It would have been hard to miss the concern in his words.
She shook her head, more violently than she intended. Her head spun. "N-no thanks. I think right now, I uh, I just need some time to think."
"All right. If you change your mind, Father Pat or myself will be here." With that, he turned and walked away, just as quietly as he had arrived.
This wasn't the first time she had been called into the police statement to make a statement. Thirty-five security levels ensured that there were many noteworthy arrests where her side of the story was needed. Though she wasn't normally escorted by several Longbow agents, she didn't think much of it at the time.
She entered the small room where a detective and an assistant were waiting for her, and slid into the wooden chair on the other side of the table from them.
"Good morning. For the record, can you verify that you are Renn Haven, aka Nightwatch, current security level 35, hero registration–" He rattled off a long string of numbers that matched the number on her hero ID.
"That's me. How can I help you today, Detective Ainsworth?" Her hands were calmly folded on the table in front of her.
"Have you ever encountered this man?" He slid a open manilla folder across the table towards her.
Renn looked down at the top item in the folder. A mug shot. She didn't recognize the face, but the bit of armor-like uniform that could be seen looked familiar. She flipped to the next page, and her breath caught in her throat. It was a full length image of the Black Lancer, seemingly taken from the front page of his hero registration file.
“Yes, I met him once. I had gotten in over my head with a group of Warriors, and he pulled my ass out of the fire. He seemed decent to me.”
Another person had entered the chapel (church? Renn wasn’t entirely certain what the appropriate word was). She could hear a vaguely familiar male voice talking in a low voice with Father Pat. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was that ex-Freak boy. Billy made her nervous, mostly because she was sure she hadn’t gotten off on the right foot with him.
And it wasn’t entirely her fault either. One of her contacts had her running back and forth across Brickstown one afternoon several months back, trying to halt a full out Freak gang war, and she had taken one too many metal spikes in the back from gangers she thought she had dropped and sent on their merry way to the Zig. So she had said as much on the comm channel, not knowing that one of the new kids might be overly sensitive.
For the most part, she just avoided him. It was probably for the best. She’d heard all kinds of nasty rumors about him, and she wasn’t about to take the chance that he was still annoyed at her, just in case any of those rumors were actually true. She looked straight down at the back of the pew in front of her, and prayed that he hadn’t noticed her this time.
Renn felt a strange tingle at the base of her spine, like an itch inside her bones. It was annoying, but not enough that she couldn’t ignore it. She just wished she could figure out why exactly the sensation felt so familiar.
She looked back at the detective, who was paging through the file in front of him somewhat nervously. The Longbow agents in the room also looked edgy, expectant. Was there something going on in one of the holding cells nearby?
“And, uh Ms. Nightwatch, did you, at any time during your encounter with this man, explain to him about any frustrations you may have had regarding Dr. Ames’ recent trial?”
“I might have.” The tension level in the room jumped. Renn was startled by everyone’s reactions. She hurried to explain herself. "I’m not trying to be evasive. It’s just, we talked for a little bit, while we were recovering from the fight. All pretty innocent, mostly trading war stories and the like. The hearing had been only a week or so before, so I’m sure it must have been on my mind. Whether or not we actually talked about it, I can’t quite remember. Why?”
“The Black Lancer was apprehended the other day on two counts of premeditated homicide. He is currently being held in the Zig for the murder of both Doctor Fredrick Ames and Judge Amelia Veracruz.”
Renn felt a chill as the blood rushed out of her face, and her hands were almost ghostly white. The tingle at the base of her spine grew stronger, more insistent. After a moment, she remembered where she had felt that sensation before. It was a power suppression field generator, like they used on superpowered criminals. Or suspects that they expected to get violent.
“You think I had something to do with this? That’s absolutely ridiculous!”
“It’s a known fact that you were not pleased by the outcome of the hearing, and–”
“And I would never consider anything that low.”
“So, you did not, at any point during your conversation with Black Lancer, request, hint, or otherwise lead him to believe that you would like him to murder Judge Veracruz or Doctor Ames. Is that correct?”
“No matter what I may feel about them personally, I never wanted them dead.” Fired, yes; in jail, almost certainly. But never dead.
One of the Longbow officers leaned across the desk to look Renn straight in the eyes. She felt a whisper soft brushing against her thoughts, and then it was gone as quickly as it started. The officer turned to the Detective and nodded.
“The Black Lancer was quite vehement about your non-involvement in this. But we had to be certain. You are free to go, Ms. Nightwatch, and we are sorry for the inconvenience.” The suppression field dialed down slowly and then shut off, and Renn stood up, still emotionally numb. She didn’t remember much of the walk out of the station, other than the awareness of an officer gently leading her by the arm, more for support than for anything else. Someone from the school came to make sure she got back to the dorms all right, but she couldn’t remember if it was one of the staff, or one of her quadmates.
Renn stood up, her knees and back groaning from an unknown number of hours kneeling on what amounted to a thinly padded board. For the first time in over a week, she felt marginally calm, focused. Perhaps it was the atmosphere here. Maybe it was just giving herself time to think, uninterrupted. But whatever the cause, for the first time in a week, she had a label for the emotion she had been running from: guilt.
She walked over to the shelves with the rows and rows of votives, some lit, some not. Prayer candles, memorials, a thousand and one different meanings, depending on the person lighting them. She used a long stick to transfer a small flame from one already lit candle to another. And then to another, so that there were two more pinpricks of light among the sea of lit votives. She took a deep breath and looked straight at the candles.
“I’m so sorry. If it wasn’t for me, you might still be alive today. Maybe you would have become a different person, and we wouldn’t have been opponents anymore. But you’ll never have that chance now, and I regret that. I hope that wherever you are now, you’ll find it in you to forgive me,” she whispered softly.
Renn took a deep breath, and turned and walked out of the chapel. Outside, the eastern sky was just starting to lighten as she turned towards the building that housed Quad Nine. It wasn’t the end, and it wasn’t over; she knew that. But for the time being, it could wait. She could push it aside until she was as brave and as tough as so many thought her to be...
But, in the meantime, there was always, always homework.
-
Renn Haven
- Posts: 188
- Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:23 pm
- Contact:
EPILOGUE
A few days ago:
"Attention please, attention please!" the police band channel blared into Renn's ear as she crouched on a fire escape, looking down at the group of Crey minions milling about in a Brickstown alley. "Arachnos attack on Ziggursky prison in progress. Longbow and police request immediate assistance from all heroes in area. Repeat, Arachnos attack on Ziggursky prison in progress."
Renn let out a harsh breath, and swore softly in frustration. She didn't want to leave this group, but she didn't have time to send them in. Besides, even if they did get to the Zig, they wouldn't stay in there long. Not with Arachnos causing havoc. That decided it, she pused herself up the her feet, and leaped into the air, heading towards the center of Brickstown, and the Zig.
"Radar Towers One, Three, Four and Eight are down!"
"We've lost contact with three of the squads that were sent in. There's some sort of GPS jamming set up...'
The impromptu command center was buzzing with activity as Renn arrived on site. A few minutes and a flash of a hero ID card later, and she was inside the fences, and heading to join a group of Longbow already fighting a group of Arachnos Wolf Spiders.
A large explosion ripped through a nearby tower, sending debris flying everywhere. Renn dodged out of the way as a large chunk of concrete buried itself in the ground.
"Shit! We've lost Tower Five!" The officer turned to Renn and pointed at one of the remaining towers. "If we lose the rest of the towers, that flyer's going to take off, and we'll lose dozens of super powered inmates. Take Johnson and Simons with you, and keep them away from Tower Seven."
Renn nodded and ran off towards her new assignment...
Arachnos started sending in reinforcements to make sure that the escapees managed to get to the flyer. A squad of them closed in on Renn's position. She watched as the other two remaining towers exploded, and kept an eye on the surroundings.
Johnson and Simons had gone in to attempt to get some answers out of a cornered Arachnos operative; she had stayed to guard the door. A group of soldiers approached, but they made the mistake of swarming in in one bunch, and she released as much fire energy as she could gathered. They fell as one, and shimmered out as their med system grabbed them.
Renn dropped to one knee to catch her breath; but jumped back to her feet and whirled around when she caught the sound of approaching footsteps.
"You..." she hissed under her breath. She and Black Lancer caught each other's eyes, and he hesitated, one hand on his rifle. Renn breathed hard, and tried to throw fire at him, but she was still too tired.
Besides, could she really fight him? Despite everything, he had been a hero...
She didn't get a chance to decide. She felt the sharp pain of a mace to her back, and she was forced to turn and attempt to fight off her new attacker. She heard a door open and slam shut behind her, and moments later, shouting over her comm as Johnson and Simons went down.
A few minutes later, a different but familiar voice cut in over the circuit.
"Run."
She managed to drop her attacker, and turned towards the tower door. Maybe it wasn't too late to stop it–
Fortunately for her, she didn't manage to get close enough before the tower went up in with a large blast. She retreated from the area, and keyed up the comm.
"We've lost Tower Seven. I repeat, the last Tower is down."
She watched as the Flyer lifted off; with the radars down, the prison's anti-aircraft systems didn't stand a chance. She turned back to the chaos that was left behind. The next several hours would be spent mopping up the mess, and getting the distractions back in their cells.
Next time she saw him, he wouldn't get away.
FIN
A few days ago:
"Attention please, attention please!" the police band channel blared into Renn's ear as she crouched on a fire escape, looking down at the group of Crey minions milling about in a Brickstown alley. "Arachnos attack on Ziggursky prison in progress. Longbow and police request immediate assistance from all heroes in area. Repeat, Arachnos attack on Ziggursky prison in progress."
Renn let out a harsh breath, and swore softly in frustration. She didn't want to leave this group, but she didn't have time to send them in. Besides, even if they did get to the Zig, they wouldn't stay in there long. Not with Arachnos causing havoc. That decided it, she pused herself up the her feet, and leaped into the air, heading towards the center of Brickstown, and the Zig.
"Radar Towers One, Three, Four and Eight are down!"
"We've lost contact with three of the squads that were sent in. There's some sort of GPS jamming set up...'
The impromptu command center was buzzing with activity as Renn arrived on site. A few minutes and a flash of a hero ID card later, and she was inside the fences, and heading to join a group of Longbow already fighting a group of Arachnos Wolf Spiders.
A large explosion ripped through a nearby tower, sending debris flying everywhere. Renn dodged out of the way as a large chunk of concrete buried itself in the ground.
"Shit! We've lost Tower Five!" The officer turned to Renn and pointed at one of the remaining towers. "If we lose the rest of the towers, that flyer's going to take off, and we'll lose dozens of super powered inmates. Take Johnson and Simons with you, and keep them away from Tower Seven."
Renn nodded and ran off towards her new assignment...
Arachnos started sending in reinforcements to make sure that the escapees managed to get to the flyer. A squad of them closed in on Renn's position. She watched as the other two remaining towers exploded, and kept an eye on the surroundings.
Johnson and Simons had gone in to attempt to get some answers out of a cornered Arachnos operative; she had stayed to guard the door. A group of soldiers approached, but they made the mistake of swarming in in one bunch, and she released as much fire energy as she could gathered. They fell as one, and shimmered out as their med system grabbed them.
Renn dropped to one knee to catch her breath; but jumped back to her feet and whirled around when she caught the sound of approaching footsteps.
"You..." she hissed under her breath. She and Black Lancer caught each other's eyes, and he hesitated, one hand on his rifle. Renn breathed hard, and tried to throw fire at him, but she was still too tired.
Besides, could she really fight him? Despite everything, he had been a hero...
She didn't get a chance to decide. She felt the sharp pain of a mace to her back, and she was forced to turn and attempt to fight off her new attacker. She heard a door open and slam shut behind her, and moments later, shouting over her comm as Johnson and Simons went down.
A few minutes later, a different but familiar voice cut in over the circuit.
"Run."
She managed to drop her attacker, and turned towards the tower door. Maybe it wasn't too late to stop it–
Fortunately for her, she didn't manage to get close enough before the tower went up in with a large blast. She retreated from the area, and keyed up the comm.
"We've lost Tower Seven. I repeat, the last Tower is down."
She watched as the Flyer lifted off; with the radars down, the prison's anti-aircraft systems didn't stand a chance. She turned back to the chaos that was left behind. The next several hours would be spent mopping up the mess, and getting the distractions back in their cells.
Next time she saw him, he wouldn't get away.
FIN