Heroes of Millaine - The Hearing

[Quellian-dyrae]

"We want to make sure it is very clear - this is not a trial."

The room was luxuriously appointed with fine wooden panelling, shades of deep red and brown polished to a glossy sheen. The furniture was all hard wood and hand-carved, from the frames of the comfortably-cushioned chairs the Heroes sat on, to the long table in front of them, to the curving desk on the slightly raised dais before them. Two tall, decoratively designed windows rose up to the full height of the ceiling, and the walls were adorned with classical, understated paintings. There was a certain quietude to the room, a solemnity appropriate to its purpose.

"Contrary to what certain...overzealous members of the media have reported, nobody here is accused of breaking any laws. There is absolutely no intention to disband the Heroes of Millaine, or outlaw Hero Corps, or any other such nonsense."

Seated at that higher table were seven figures, four men and three women. Their ages varied but none of them were young, and they regarded the Heroes with sternly professional neutrality...mostly. One fair-skinned woman with dark red hair seemed to be fighting the urge to smile at them, but the expression was visible in her eyes, and a dark-skinned man whose black hair was showing faint traces of gray, actually was smiling. Not so much at them, but the look on his face was just generally more friendly and approachable.

The lip of the man speaking, however, was just faintly curled with the barest hint of contempt.

"This is merely an investigative hearing, regarding the possibility of the Senate creating new legislature to limit some of the...unprecedented freedoms that Hero Corps has been entitled to in the past. A law to require, in essence, some manner of official protocol and governmental oversight."

They were Senators all, some of the most politically powerful figures in the Ilessian government. The man speaking, a slight fellow who white hair and slightly sagging skin were truly starting to show signs of age, was Senator Arnold Halwick, also known by the not-so-affectionate nicknamed Filibuster. He sat at the center of the curving desk. To his left, a dark-haired, tan-skinned man of fine feature and perfect posture named Nereus von Brandt; the dark-skinned, iron-gray-haired woman that was Millaine's own Elizabeth Pawlitzki; and the aforementioned trying-not-to-smile Melissa Sultan. To his right, the youngest of the group, a pale-skinned, dark haired woman with a prominent widow's peak named Jocelyn Downer; a brown-haired, lightly tanned, bearded man named Sonnie Reyer; and the more friendly-looking Dr. Jere Law.

Senator Arnold Halwick is an Arberan Senator with a background in the IIN. He is a Dreamer with an Empowered Voice, kinda like the Speakers of Haptarus but...different. In political circles, he has the nickname Fillibuster, owed to both his powers and his tendency to give long speeches.

He's a big fan of those long speeches. He honestly believes that if you can't be bothered to put some words behind your points, you don't care enough about them. When speaking to him, well, let's just say brevity is the enemy. (And it shall not win.)

He's known for his ego. Flattery will get you everywhere.

He has little respect for those who aren't completely certain of their position. Any sign of self-doubt will cause him to dismiss you.

He likes a lively debate, but in all honesty, he's more likely to side with the one who crushes their opponent with wit than the one who makes the most reasoned points.

Back in his IIN days he was involved in some classified black ops that his constituents probably would not be best pleased to learn about.



Senator Sonnie Reyer is a Lastellen Senator and a devout Deionist.

His faith is a big part of who he is, and phrasing things with Deionic rhetoric is a good way to get him on your side.

Conversely, invocations to other religions is a quick way to make him less interested in what you have to say.

He has a strong respect for Senate procedures, and expects everyone to behave with calm professionalism.

He strongly believes that points should be respected even if they are not agreed with. Dismissing someone's point without addressing why you feel it is wrong says to him that either you don't respect the discussion or you don't actually have a good reason to oppose the point.

There's an old writing of his that claims that the Seekers of the Dream "aren't a real religion". If this were to get out, it could turn a non-trivial portion of his political base against him.



Senator Nereus von Brandt is an Arberan Senator with a background in the National Watch.

Hid time in the Watch has taught him to take nothing for granted. Evidence is key to swaying his opinion.

Conversely, he has no patience for speculation. If you don't have something solid to hang a theory on, he considers it a waste of everyone's time.

He appreciates clear, well-organized points, feeling that it shows preparation and forethought.

After years in the Watch, he is not a man who will be intimidated. Attempts to sow fear and doubt will only annoy him.

There are rumors that he's taken more than his due share of credit for several important Watch cases during his career. Some of these cases formed the foundation of his campaign platform.



Senator Melissa Sultan is an Adaran Senator with a background in the Assembly.

She's likes to be recognized. Adding a personal touch to one's interactions with her is generally well-advised.

Her time in the Assembly has left her jaded to most forms of advertising and PR hype - she sees right through them.

This isn't to say, however, that modesty is the best policy. A strong and well-deserved self-confidence is a good thing, and she pays attention to people who talk like they mean it.

One thing she absolutely can't stand, though, is people who try to foist their responsibility - or the responsibility for what they've done - off on others.

She's...kinda a Heroes of Millaine fangirl. If they were to give her some manner of personal recognition, she'd probably be too busy squeeing in her head to really disapprove of anything else they said.



Senator Elizabeth Pawlitzki is a Verdanian Senator with a background in FIRE-SIDE. She is a Dreamer with the power of Iron Mimicry. She is a Millaine native and is the Senator whose district includes Millaine.

She's straightforward and practical, and favors smart solutions without unnecessary frills or complexity.

It's important to take things seriously when trying to persuade her of anything. A laid-back or casual attitude will earn her dismissal.

As a SIDE agent, she believes in patterns of behavior. An established pattern will matter more to her than a stirring speech or singular piece of evidence any day.

And for the love of Arch, don't tell her that something "isn't fair". She's one of those people who will spit "life isn't fair" back at you without a second thought.

They've been sealed, but deep enough digging can find a couple citations for excessive force and even brutality in the early days of her SIDE career. That's...actually pretty significant, since the level of force that SIDE deems "excessive" is...high.



Senator Jere Law is an Estruani Senator with a background in IDEA, specifically the Department of Dreamer Studies.

As a scientist, he always questions, seeks truth regardless of beliefs or biases. Those who are willing to accept other possibilities and ways of thinking are those who are most likely to know what they are talking about, by his mind.

He's a classical debator. If he asks a question or makes a point, be sure you answer or acknowledge it. You don't have to agree, but don't ignore him.

He's a very logical man - the sort who likes to know why one believes as they do. He gives credence to well-reasoned arguments even when he doesn't personally feel the same.

He sees debate and discussion as key to coming to correct conclusions and making good decisions. Appropriately, damaging the discussion with insults and smack-talk annoys him greatly.

There's evidence that his wife has hired private investigators to check into him in the past - it's possible that he's having an affair.



Senator Jocelyn Downer is an Adaran Senator with no particular ties to any major organization.

She cares a lot more about being right than learning what's right, and will naturally approve points which confirm her existing biases.

She is, however, quite focused on whatever matter is at hand. Trying to involve other agendas will try her patience.

She's proud and expects deference. Showing humility when interacting with her is generally a good way to keep her pride from turning her against you.

That said, it's very easily to take it too far. If you're wishy-washy and won't take something of a stand, she'll pretty much ignore you.

There are some...pictures floating around in the dark corners of the internet that she would very much prefer not to get out.

Senator Arnold Halwick is against android equality.
Senator Sonnie Reyer is against android equality.
Senator Nereus von Brandt is undecided on android equality.
Senator Melissa Sultan is probably for android equality.
Senator Elizabeth Pawlitzki is undecided on android equality.
Senator Jere Law is definitely for android equality.
Senator Jocelyn Downer is undecided on android equality.

"This hearing itself has no official legal standing. This committee is simply seeking to gather information on whether or not this is a law worth proposing to the Senate as a whole, and if so, what sort of restrictions should be included."

Aside from the Heroes and the Senators, there was a media presence. Some journalists standing in the back taking notes or recording the process with portable devices, a few with more elaborate camera setups, positioned behind either the Heroes or the Senators. They were quiet, silent even, foregoing even the light tapping of touchscreen devices in favor of neural linking technology, so as not to cause even the slightest disturbance to the proceedings.

"The Senate would like to formally thank the Heroes of Millaine for providing us with information in this matter. You are not required present any cases today. Over the next few weeks, we will be requesting you and various others who can provide some insight into this question to present what information, evidence, and suggestions you can. If you have any questions about how the hearing will proceed, you are welcome to ask. But if we could, we would like to ask for each of your natural responses to this idea of additional government oversight for the Corps. Do you foresee yourselves arguing for such a law, or against it?"

The already quiet room took on an even more hushed stillness as breaths were held and all eyes, and cameras, focused on the Heroes.

I'm getting a little experimental here. If this sounds like a terrible idea to any of you let me know.

Basically, you know how in like various police procedurals and stuff, the characters will kiiiiinda not play by the book very well and it generally just gets glossed over but then after the show's been going for a few seasons someone actually starts paying attention and there's a whole subplot about it?

Well, we've reached that point :smallbiggrin:.

Over the course of this next adventure, I'm going to be running this thread in parallel. Each episode, one PC, rather than taking part in the episode itself, will be here offering testimony, evidence, suggestions, whatever regarding the possibility of this new law. So this won't be in lieu of our normal crazy adventures, it's basically a side-show for one PC at a time.

Along with them will be a few NPCs, drawn predominantly from those we've met previously in the game, who will be providing testimony based on their previous experiences with the Heroes. Some will be for the law, some will be against it, based largely on things you guys have said or done to/for them in the past.

...Yes, yes, it's basically like the trial scene from Crono Trigger. Shut up.

So really, the whole thing is primarily just an elaborate excuse to bring some old NPCs back, explore some of the consequences (good and bad) of prior PC decisions, and just give each PC kinda a scene to themselves for whatever they want to do with it. That all being said, the premise itself does matter. When the PCs and NPCs are presenting before the Committee, I'll be keeping an eye on what they're saying.

See, each Senator has certain things that it approves of and disapproves of. SOME of those are given in those Well Informed spoilers above. There are also a couple that I've kept out of them, but that could be discovered through role playing or Downtime Actions to investigate or so on. I'll be loosely noting when you hit on things that a given Senator would approve or disapprove of, and when you do their general response to the law will shift a bit towards or against you. They've got numerical ratings for it. Fair warning, some things that one Senator approves of others disapprove of, or might come close to something that Senator disapproves of, etc.

At the end, if at least four of the seven Senators are for the law, it'll move forward. Otherwise, it dies here.

Now, I am kinda assuming the Heroes would be against the law. You absolutely do not have to be! If you want to argue for it, you totally can. However, bear a few things in mind:

First, this isn't the sort of "maybe we should have someone kinda looking over our shoulder" stuff that got bandied around a bit earlier. For those who are in/paying attention to IDtC, it's not Simon's plan to make the Corps more efficient and militant (although by this point in the timeline, his efforts may wind up having been partially responsible for it :smallamused:). It's also not specific to the Heroes of Millaine. It would mean official government oversight for Hero Corps as a whole. That means political agendas. It means bureaucracy. It means well-meaning government officials trying to "improve" how the Corps works. The strength of Hero Corps lies in its speed of response. The wrong bureaucracy in the wrong place could kill Hero Corps as we know it - or worse, kill innocent people who the Heroes are prevented from saving due to red tape.

Second, this sort of law would be extremely unpopular among most other Heroes. For what its worth, Heroes arguing for it would...not be making friends.

Third, Hero Corps is popular, throughout Ilessia and the rest of the world. Part of that popularity comes from the fact that they're an independent organization just out to do good things. If they had government oversight, any biases against the Ilessian government would hit them as well. As it stands, there are a lot of people out there who are willing to trust Heroes when they wouldn't trust, say, police or SIDE agents. There are many countries out there who welcome Heroes and even actively request their aid while telling say the Ilessian military to keep the heck out. A law like this could very easily damage that.

That said, right now Hero Corps has a lot of power and is largely self-regulated. You guys have seen (and benefited from) this fact. So if your character would feel that an organization like that needs some official checks and balances, don't hesitate to argue for the law.

For right this moment, if you guys can please make an initial post here with any immediate responses or questions your characters have for the Senators, that'd be great. I figure this introductory scene will go a couple or few rounds of posting and then we'll move on. BUT! In the meantime, please decide who wants to be the first and second PC to take part in the hearing (or just get an entire order figured out, if you're feeling frisky about it, or we can just roll randomly if you don't particularly care). This is mainly so I know who's out for what episode so I don't go doing something with, like, those drugged guys who went after Waterworks while she's over here at the hearing or whatever.

UPDATE

And I forgot a few things.

Social Skills: If you wish, you can make a DC 15 check with an interaction skill of your choice (as long as it's thematically appropriate to the post - you wouldn't use Intimidation unless you're saying some kinda unnerving/threatening/scary stuff etc) with each post made while presenting to the Committee. For each degree of success, you can choose one cohesive bit of your post (I'm not defining this specifically, but probably somewhere between a sentence and a paragraph; a single point if you will). Any shifts towards your side that are due to that bit of the post will be increased. And shifts against you from that bit will be reduced. You may choose the same bit more than once.

The Immediate Scene: What you say in this current scene won't influence their views one way or another. It might influence how they react towards you later, depending on just how you act (if you insult them all, they won't be kind to you later, etc) but don't worry about influencing them here. And even later, the "mechanics" of the situation, like Downtime Actions, are there so there's a semblance of structure that you guys can consider/interact with/take advantage of/read once and completely break/etc. But as always, I don't want to be assigning homework. Don't worry about the numbers and stuff unless trying to "win" is going to be fun for you.

The Various Laws You've All Broken :smalltongue:: Just to make sure it's perfectly clear, the more legally/morally/ethically dubious things you guys have gotten up to are by and large still unknown. As our buddy Filibuster said, no one's on trial here. This could change if you guys reveal this sort of stuff to them, which could have lasting and/or severe repercussions.

Android Rights: Mainly for Maestro, but these guys are Senators, and you can absolutely use this situation to influence them on your android rights law.

Downtime Actions: While this hearing is going on, you can attempt to influence the Senators ex-parte with Downtime Actions. This is an interaction skill of your choice, with a DC depending on their current standing; right now, Halwick strongly favors the law, Downer and Brandt favor the law, Pawlitzki and Reyer are neutral, Law is neutral but leaning against, and Sultan is strongly against. The DC to influence a neutral Senator either way is 20. Influencing someone further towards a position they hold is 15, or further towards a position they strongly hold is 10. Influencing someone away from a position they hold is 25, or away from a position they strongly hold is 30. Each action targets one Senator, and each degree of success shifts them the same as making a point they approve of.

[Capt. Infinity]

"Well, first and foremost, thank you very much for your hospitality, all of you. I hope we can do our best to aid you in this endeavour." Maestro stood firmly at attention in his illustrious chair, and gave a calm and metered expression to the whole of the table of Senators before him.

"If I may be so bold, might I ask why you chose the Heroes of Millaine specifically to speak as a voice for the Hero Corps in these initial proceedings? Not that I doubt we can certainly help draw forth a decision in all this, but I feel like it's worth asking what brought either the seven of you, or perhaps an even larger portion of the Senate, to deem us worthy of speaking on behalf of the Corp as a whole."

[manwithaplan]

Copycat nodded to Maestro for a moment before his face turned back to Halwick.

"I'd also like to know if you know exactly what these legal restrictions are going to look like, or if that will be a part of the discussion as well. I'm of the mind that Hero Corps is uniquely effective due to the freedom that its members have afforded, but I also can't deny the issues that could arise from that same freedom. I like the idea of laws being introduced, Senator Halwick, but I believe my vision of these laws may be different to yours, given your greater breadth of experience. My initial suggestion would be to continue allowing members to operate under complete freedom, as revoking that privilege will inevitably change the face of the organisation in unprecedented ways, but also to introduce a far tighter screening process. Brutal is the word I'm wanting to use. No real focus on combat training; just pure mental scanning and psychological testing, repeated on a quarterly basis, to ensure that our Heroes are utterly selfless and devoted."

"Taking away the Hero Corps' freedom would be like taking away the military's strict hierarchy. The two systems of command are completely opposite, and yet both can lead to problems, and both organisations will completely crumble without them. You'd be better off taking all the Heroes and training them for a new organisation than trying to turn Hero Corps into something that it isn't. But we kind of need Hero Corps. While the military trains their people to be a part of a system, learning both to give orders and to take them, the Assembly's fighting force hasn't been teaching its people to deal with the self-managed responsibility of working unrestrained. Not only that, we still let people sign up when they're not up to snuff! Can we consider this option at all?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

Oooooooh *sparkly eyes*

And it was so that Declan discovered his calling as a politician and became the Delegate of War under President Mentallo.

Or not. :smallbiggrin:

My natural response?

"...bureaucracy's gonna kill Hero Corps. I'm against it." Declan stated in reply. He remembered his days of training in FIRE-SIDE, and the protocol was too restrictive for his taste. It went also without saying that, as long as it remained purely an Assembly branch, the Corps was practically guaranteed free of Defiant influence - not much so for the government, though.

[Llyarden]

This is going to be a mess.

"I assume you'll want us to explain the reasoning behind our answers later," Wilson said. More out of habit and instinct than anything else, he'd slipped back into a slightly more formal tone than he normally used. It wasn't the first time he'd been in front of a hearing, after all. "So for the time being, I'll just say that my natural response would be to be against such a law."

"I'd be against it too," Sean added, though he didn't sound quite so certain. It looked like the younger Hero had had a harder time making a decision than some of the others.

[Zelphas]

"Oversight... probably isn't a bad thing," Waterworks admits slowly, trying to choose her words with care, "But I'm not sure if governmental oversight is the right fit. One of the things that makes Hero Corps effective is its response time; we can respond rapidly to situations without needing to worry about forms and specific procedures. If we had needed to run through proper channels six months ago, we wouldn't have made it up to stop the APEX meteor in time." She pauses, trying to sort through her words in her head. "So, while I'm not against increased responsibility... I'm against the law as it is now. If Hero Corps is to have oversight, let it come from within Hero Corps."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The Senators didn't react much to the Heroes' responses, other than a few small nods that seemed less of agreement than of expectations confirmed. They did answer the questions asked, however.

"You are all some of the biggest names in Hero Corps these days," Senator Sultan answered Maestro. "We're speaking to several members of the Corps, but it would have been silly to exclude you."

"Beyond that, several of the claims that have prompted this discussion into whether such a law might be necessary have involved one or more of you, so we also want to make sure we are getting both sides of such stories," von Brandt added a bit pointedly. Did his eyes linger on Declan just a moment as he said so?

"Those might be possibilities worth discussing," Senator Reyer said, regarding Copycat's and Waterworks' points.

"But they are not the matters we are here to discuss," Halwick intervened, just a touch sharply. "Such proposals would be matters to take to the commanders in Hero Corps itself, or to the Assembly executives responsible for it. What we are deliberating on here is whether the Corps should be required to accept government oversight."

"That being said," Pawlitzki added, "as of now the exact form such laws might take is entirely undecided. And while that isn't even the primary purpose of this hearing, it will be something that will likely be influenced by our findings here."

[Quellian-dyrae]

With no other questions raised, the remainder of the meeting passed brisky, the Senators once again thanking the Heroes for their assistance in the matter and dismissing them.

Four Days Later

Declan was the first of the Heroes to be called back. The room had changed just a little bit. Rather than the single large table that the Heroes had initially sat at, there were two smaller ones spaced evenly apart before the Senators. The configuration resembled nothing so much as a courtroom setup, with separate desks for the prosecution and the defense. An appearance reinforced when a security guard informed Declan that those presenting testimony against the new law were requested to sit at the table to the right.

The Senators were all already seated, and the gaggle of the press was assembled, but the tables themselves were empty as Declan entered. Only a minute or so after him though, the others who would be speaking today started filtering in.

"Heya, Probie," Major Hammond Briggs greeted you with a handshake as he walked over and took a seat at the cool kids table. More quietly, he added, "Glad to see I'm not the only one talking sense in this place. Government oversight for Hero Corps. Can you even imagine?"

The next entrant came in wearing a set of power-suppressing manacles, and with an armed SIDE agent walking about two steps behind her - or, as SIDE called it, out of reach but still within point-blank range. It had been a while, but time hadn't seemed to do much to dampen Earline Georgeson's anger, judging by the venomous glare she shot Declan the moment she saw him. The illusionist walked over to the other table and sat down hard, the SIDE agent taking up a position behind her.

And finally, in came a fairly average-looking guy wearing what was sadly probably the nicest suit he owned (it just barely managed to creep above "business casual"). Declan didn't know his name...but that didn't necessarily mean he couldn't recognize him, although he might not have. After all, last time he had seen the guy, he was kinda panickedly spraying around green energy, and Declan himself had been rather busy burning close to a dozen of his fellow Defiant-in-training half to death. The man walked over to take a seat...about as far from Georgeson as he could while still being at the same table, his gaze sweeping over the room.

It landed squarely on Declan.

...

...

...

And passed right over him without even a flicker of recognition.

Three Hours Earlier

If you asked a dozen of Beth's friends to come up with five words to describe her, and rejected any duplicates, "hesitant" wouldn't come up anywhere on the list.

So the fact that it had taken her this long to gather up the gumption to broach the topic was actually kinda telling.

Or, you know, maybe she had just intentionally been delaying it for the explicit purpose of setting up a combat advantage in their next sparring match. She'd had a good teacher, after all.

"So are we going to talk about what happened in the forest the other day?" she asked as her fist went sailing for Declan's head.

Beth:
Move: Startle Declan at [roll0]. Given the situation, I'm ruling this doesn't count as [Fear] descriptor in this particular instance :smallamused:. You know what dice I don't care what you say. That was pure gold.

Standard: Attack Declan with Staggering Strike, Power Attacking for 2, at [roll1]. On a hit, you're immune to the damage, but Fortitude DC 24 vs. Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. Hits regardless.

Declan is on turn

[Hyperbolic sine]

The Hearing.

"Major!" Declan exclaimed, vigorously returning the handshake and betraying a non trivial amount of relief: he was already feeling like a fish ouf of water, having an old friend on his side was more than welcome. "I don't even want to." he replied. "So, how's it goi..." he started to ask, but let his voice trail off as he was distracted by the other two entrants.

Well, in hidsight Earline was to be expected. The other guy, though...perhaps he didn't recognise Declan, but Declan recogised him: his hand reached instincitvely for DAMOCLES, though of course he had to leave it outside the courtroom.

"Uhm. Who's that over there?" he asked Major Briggs, trying to regain his composure.

Three Hours Earlier.

I'm declaring the Startle to succeed, even though it doesn't matter :smallbiggrin:.

Beth's punch landed squarely on Declan's face, like didn't even try to dodge: the sudden question all but paralysed him. That said his face was as armoured as the rest of the body, so he still weathered the blow.

"...Yeah. I'm sorry you had to see that...I suppose I'm not the person you thought I was." he said after a moment of silence, while throwing a straight punch.

Move: thinking what to say.
Standard: Attack with Declan Punch at [roll0], Toughness DC 24 vs Damage.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Briggs looked the guy over a moment, before responding with a shrug. "No idea," he said.

"We would like to thank you all for coming. You understand what we are here for, so let's get started. While we all have some questions to ask, we would like to begin with each of you giving us your reasonings behind why this sort of law should or should not be instituted."

"Mr. Reynolds, if you would care to begin?"

Three Hours Earlier

Beth was quicker to react than she used to be, but still not quite fast enough to avoid Declan's punch. She got far enough out of the way, though, that it only grazed across her forcefield. A grazing strike from Declan wasn't nothing, but it wasn't going to slow her down much.

"Don't give me that!" Beth shot back, along with a hard kick straight for the chest. "I think by this point I know you plenty well enough to know that you weren't just a cold-blooded killer waiting for a chance to blow some people up. I know you had a reason for it. And I can see that you regret having done it. So why did you? That's all I want. Just to understand why you felt those people had to die."

Beth:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Declan with Awesome Blow at [roll0]. On a hit, you're immune to the Damage, but Strength DC 17 or get sent flying into a wall. Hit. Would have been a crit, but Declan's immune to those.

Declan is on turn

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Ah, yes. Archdamnit." Declan muttered. He'd never been really good with speeches, so even if he did prepare one he'd really rather not have been the one starting.

He took a moment to gather his toughts, cleared his voice, the started.

"Let's see. Hero Corps strength lies in its quickness to deploy and relative freedom in dealing with threats: both would suffer from the bureaucracy a governmental oversight would involve. For example, Adair Gaertner or the Recruiter: we striked as soon as we had the chance, but what if we had to wait for an official permission to sortie, a warrant to enter their bases, and had our options for attacking unreasonably restricted? We might not have been able to catch them yet."

Well, perhaps calling that a speech was a bit exaggerated, but still. It probably managed to get the point across. There was actually something else he wanted to say, but considering the audience he probably shouldn't.

"..."

Bad idea. Very bad idea.

"...and if that wasn't crippling enough, the Corps would become just another piece in the hands of politicians. Promotions due to favour exchanging instead of merit? Check. Shady deals to keep us on a leash in exchange for support? Check. Defiants doing everything they can to oppose and destroy the Corps?"

No matter how hard he tried not to, in the end he couldn't avoid shooting a glance to the man he knew was a Defiant trying to do actually that, and attempted to cover that by panning over the entire audience.

"Check. And I could go on. This law would spell Hero Corps doom, and I'll oppose it as long as I draw breath."

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not Maestro "Routine for 30" Mentallo."

I hope Intimidation qualifies (if not, reduce result by 3). DC 15 [roll0] Rerolled, 19.

Three Hours Earlier.

Beth's punch went straight for Declan's solar plexus: if it wasn't for the extra layers of protection, it would definitely have hurt.

"Why? That's the only thing I can do!"

He rolled with the punch to absorb the momentum, then retaliated with a punch of his own...or not, it was just a (quite predictable) feint: he actually tried to grab her arm to use it against Beth and throw her on the floor.

"You've seen what they did when they attacked here, and they're planning to do much worse! I have to stop them!"

Move: Feint at [roll1]
Standard: Power Attack 3 at [roll2], Prowess DC [roll3] vs Trip. If feint succeeds, Power Attack for 5 instead.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The Senators listened attentively but impassively to Declan's points, although Law nodded along some as he explained how the Corps would be crippled by such a law, and Sultan cracked a tiny hint of a smile at his confident finish. Von Brandt, on the other hand, was wearing a faint frown all throughout his checklist of possible dangers the law would impose, and his brows rose just a bit as the Defiant, of all people, were brought into it.

"Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. Major Briggs?"

The Major stood to address the Senators. "I don't know precisely why this law is suddenly being considered, but you have in here one of the most straightforward reasons he should never get past this Committee. I've uploaded for the Committee's perusal reports of a recent testing procedure conducted by OUT-SIDE. Some of the data is still classified, but if you'll turn your attention to the brief and the resource reports, you'll see the parameters for the test and the resources available to each team."

"The defenders had a substantial materiel advantage, the benefit of existing fortification, greater preparation time, and included two top-tier military Dreamers. In terms of sheer power, IDEA evaluators have confirmed that both teams of Dreamers were roughly equivalent. This was expected to be an easy victory for the defenders, but hopefully to determine some areas that could be improved on. Instead, the Heroes achieved the mission objective."

"And the thing is, this is just one of many such stories. Hero Corps regularly seems able to achieve things that should be beyond them - sometimes, that should be beyond possibility. I'm not going to make any claims as to why, but I can tell you this much for certain - their system works. For the role they serve, it works better than any system the government's been able to implement."

"We all remember the meteor. It was a unique case, sure, but the fact remains that the Heroes of Millaine went up to stop it when nobody else could. What was the military contribution to that mission? A space transport, five space fighters, and some adaptation harnesses. With the world on the line and a threat that nobody was prepared for bearing down on us in a matter of days, that's all we managed to scramble together. The Heroes were the ones who detected the danger, identified how our current defenses weren't sufficient to dealing with it, came up with a way to handle it themselves in less than a day, and then went up there and did it. And I will tell you this: the most useful thing we did for them was not giving them some ships to pilot. It was getting the **** out of their way and letting them do the job."

"Neither of which have anything to do with what Hero Corps actually does on a day-to-day basis," Earline said venomously, before even being called. "Which is, in fact, going out and using superpowers to fight people." She points at you, glaring. "He says a law like this would kill Hero Corps, and the thing is? Maybe it should. We have the police, the Guard, the Watch, SIDE, the military, all these institutions that are supposed to be protecting us. All of them accept Dreamer members gladly. Most of them have specialized Dreamer operatives or teams for dealing with appropriate threats. What does Hero Corps offer that they don't? I'll tell you what: lack of accountability."

"No one is responsible for Heroes who go too far. No one punishes them. No one reports them to a higher authority. I'm here because I've been on the other side of a Hero response. Me and the people I was with...we made some bad choices. None of us pretend otherwise. We were going through a rough time, we were manipulated, and we needed to be stopped. But people like the police, the Guard, SIDE, they've got all kinds of regulations, protocols, specialized weaponry for subduing people...this guy, the freakin' Unbreakable who is almost literally impossible to harm, goes into battle with a freakin'...I don't even know what his crazy gun is, but I know when it was finished with Rena there wasn't enough of her left for her family to bury. But there wasn't a trial. Or a hearing. Or even so much as a suspension and a dock in pay. It was kinda talked about on the news for a few days and then everybody forgot about it because of a movie!"

Senator Reyer opened his mouth, likely intending to restore some order to the proceedings, but a little gesture by Halwick halted him. The Committee's Chairman was looking your way with a little, anticipatory smile, evidently expecting you to respond to the illusionist's rant.

Three Hours Earlier

Beth's instincts were improving; she ignored your feint and slapped your arm away when you lunged in, trying to get inside your guard and get you into a lock that would leave you in a poor position to strike back at her. "That's baloney and you know it! If all you can do is blow people up, then how do you explain how you've managed to teach me me much else, huh? How to fight smart. How to anticipate attacks. How to cow an enemy so it doesn't even have to come to blows? You've taught me a lot of lessons, Declan, and not one of them has been 'just wreck everything with as much power as you can bring to bear.'"

"Yeah, I did see what they did last time. And I've heard stories of other attacks. The entire Reclaimer movement is pure bunk, and the Defiant are the worst of it. And if I'm totally honest, I'm not entirely convinced that they didn't deserve exactly what you went there to give them. I'm not judging you, Declan. I'm just trying to understand. I don't know if it was right or not, but what I saw back there...it wasn't you."

Beth:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Declan with Flurry of Blows at [roll0]. On a hit, you're immune to the damage, but Strength DC 15 vs. Fast Grab. Beth is Defended at [roll1] this round. And that would have been a full multiattacking crit if any of that mattered literally at all against Declan. :smallamused:

[Hyperbolic sine]

Well, everyone who knew who Earline was probably saw that coming a mile away - and so did Declan. Even then, though, he couldn't help - be it because it made him recall the argument he had with Maestro back then, she dared to attack the trusty DAMOCLES, it was an unconscious reaction to suppress lingering guilt, or a combination of the three - but find her speech quite annoying.

"Accountability?" He stood again, staring right in the illusionist's eyes without bothering to conceal his irritation. "Listen very well: we are equipped to deal with high-powered threats. It is not the Corps fault if some civilians decide to gear up, take Archdamn hostages, force heavy artillery to deploy, and then end up badly if said gear si disabled. Do I need to remind you that were stimulating every single pain receptor in my body and you were invisible? I was left with no choice but to sweep the room, and unfortunately her armour was disassembled just before I did so. No regulation could have prevented that."

"You want to talk about accountability? Sure, your friend payed a higher price than the rest of you, but it was your actions, your decisions she payed for. You made a choice, and you have to live - or die - with the consequences."

T-3h

Nope, feints were definitely not Declan's cup of tea: the attempt left him with poor footing, and Beth's lock succeeded.

"Not me...or the real me? You know, when you made me snap out of it I just felt empty...but before? When that missile exploded, I was euphoric: after years of letting the strike first, I was finally drawing first blood. Pressing that trigger was one of the most satisfying things I've done in all my life." he admitted, trying to wrestle himself free. "If you and Sean hadn't been there to stop me, if I could have kept it a secret...no doubt I would have wiped the whole camp, and I probably wouldn't have stopped with that one."

Move: Escape(@ -5) DC 22. 20. Fails.
Standard: Escape(@ -5) DC 22. [roll0] Barely Escapes.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Halwick's smile broadened as Declan retorted hard. He looked suddenly more interested in the proceedings. Reyer, though, just sighed, and Sultan winced a bit at the response. Downer had a kinda smugly satisfied look on her face.

Earline opened her mouth to retort, but this time Reyer spoke up. "If we could, perhaps, return to order," he requested politely, but with a pointed steel in his tone. "Mister Nicolas, your opening statement, please."

The (former?) Defiant (or maybe new Repentant? Who knows?) spoke rather more tentatively than the others. "I...I mean, I personally think Hero Corps aggrandizes vigilantism and perpetuates a culture where Dreamers believe it's okay to use their powers as weapons, but I don't expect anyone here to take that matter seriously. But, yes, if they're going to be 'protecting' people," he actually made the air quotes. He put air quotes around Hero Corps protecting people in front of a Senate Committee, "there should be some oversight. In both directions. So that they don't overstep their bounds, and so they actually are helping people in need."

"I...developed powers a little over a week ago, when me and a group of others came under attack by some...power armored madman. The only reason I survived was that these...powers literally picked that moment to manifest. He blew three of my friends to pieces with a rocket. We weren't hurting anyone."

"A Hero came. That, uh, Steve Myers guy. And someone else. And they kinda talked the guy down I guess, but they didn't actually fight him. This was some deranged psycho killer out attacking random people in the woods and they...I dunno, I guess kinda gave him a stern talking to and then left with him. But it didn't look like he was under arrest or anything. And I've been watching the news for the past week waiting to see something about it and it's just nowhere. They swept the whole thing under the rug. I mean, it just goes to show that Hero Corps fights the battles they want to fight. There weren't any cameras around or anything, so I can only assume they didn't feel it was really worth their time and they let the guy off in hopes that next time he'd attack a more publically-visible target. Point is, if the Heroes are supposed to be protecting people, they should actually have to do it, not just do it when they feel like it."

...

...

The...entire room was kinda just...giving the guy a disbelieving look. Like, even Earline looked like she thought he was somewhere between lying outright, delusional, or simply crazy. Or maybe all of the above.

"Where did you get this guy?" Briggs asked the Committee.

Three Hours Earlier

"So what are you trying to say, Declan? I mean, seriously, what are you getting at? You're arguing that deep down you're really just some cold-blooded murderer, right? So what am I supposed to do with that? Forget everything? Just push you away? Is that what you want?"

"I'm being serious here, I want to know! Is that what you're looking for? Me to leave you so next time, I won't be following along to stop you while you go blow up some Defiant? Oh, and that'll be some great motivation too, won't it? Oh boo-hoo, the woman who loves me" she said it out loud and to your face "left and it's all those Defiants' faults! I'll make them pay! Is that what you're looking for, Declan? Another excuse to go on the warpath?" She punctuated the question with a hard punch for the face.

Move: Demoralize on Declan. Once again, this is not [Fear] descriptor. [roll0].

Standard: Attack Declan with Staggering Strike at [roll1]. On a hit, you're immune to the Damage, but Fortitude DC 22 vs. Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated and Strength DC 16 vs. Fast Grab. Miss

[Hyperbolic sine]

You know, I was thinking that maybe I wasn't roleplaying Declan's lack of social skills right...but it looks like I was worrying for nothing. :smallbiggrin::smallamused:

At Reyer's call to order, Declan sat down with a dissatisfied grunt: it appeared that his retort had, at least on the Senators, not the desired effect - quite the opposite, in fact. Why people who got burned playing with fire were even allowed to complain was lost on him.

Nicolas' speech was...underwhelming, in the very least. The "Steve Myers" part would even have elicited a giggle or two, hadn't he been annoyed by the previous exchange. He dismissed the Defiant's words with a "Bah. Who would even want to be swarmed by reporters." and then turned to the Senators, his expression echoing Brigg's question.

T-3 hours

"I...I DON'T KNOW, OK?" Declan yelled, dodging the punch. " This is not how it was supposed to go! I don't know what to say! Should I give priority to the lives of innocents? To my happiness?" He said, charging in to sweep at Beth's legs with a kick of his own. I don't know anything anymore!"

Move: nah.
Standard: All-out Power Attack at [roll0], Strength DC [roll1] vs Trip.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Ahem. Yes, well, be that as it may," Senator Downer said, a bit awkwardly. "Regardless of Mr. Nicolas'...strange experience," she said as politely as possible. "He does make a valid point. As of now, Hero Corps operates at its own discretion. Its members largely protect the locations they are at rather than those where they are needed. Take Arbera. They have the single largest contingent of Heroes in the nation, and one of the smallest instances of the sort of supercrimes and disasters that Hero Corps is best at solving. Now, one could argue that the one is to some degree causation for the other, but even so. Consider the sort of good that could be done if even say half or a third of those Heroes were assigned somewhere in greater need. Adaros, for example."

"Or, well, Millaine gets it both ways, in a sense. A few months ago, would it not have been practical for some Heroes of less-embattled cities to have gone to Millaine to assist with the crises that were going on there? And now that they are apparently resolved, would it not make sense for some of Millaine's Heroes to provide assistance to other cities? Does a small city like Millaine really require that much concentrated fighting power on hand continuously? I understand the concern of government bureaucracy, but greater organization can also lead to greater efficiency and more effective distribution of resources."

Three Hours Ago

Beth didn't even budge from Declan's sweep. She just looked at him almost blankly as he answered that he didn't know if he wanted her to leave.

"Well," she said, voice low and a little cold.

"Let me make it easy for you then."

...

...

And then she reeled back and lashed out with a kick that might, maybe, even send Declan flying into a wall.

"**** THAT!"

If he actually got launched by the kick, she'd leap after him. Otherwise she'd just stare him down. "I'm not giving you that excuse, Declan. You want to end what we have? That's on you. But unless and until you say that too my face? Guess what, you're stuck with me. I'm not forsaking someone I care about because you made a mistake. Because one mistake doesn't change who you are, or cancel out all the good you have done. You don't like the choice you made? That's fine, because you can always make better choices in the future. My suggestion? Stop beating yourself up over which priority to choose, and start figuring out how to choose all of the above."

Reaction: Reverse Trip attempt since Trip failed at [roll0] (after half immunity).

Standard: Attack Declan with Awesome Blow, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 4, at [roll1] (extra +5 if reverse trip succeeds). On a hit, Strength DC 19 or get launched into a wall. Huh, that'll actually hit if he's tripped thanks to his prior All Out Attack.

Move: If launch succeeds, Leap into Close range of Declan.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"It's not just a matter of numbers," Declan replied, "and there's more going on in Millaine than what it seems..." he added, ominous.

"..."

"Still...those are good points. I have nothing to retort with..." he admitted after a a moment of thinking.

"...except that the Corps doesn't need an overseer to become better organised. We can do that on our own."

T - 3h

I am fiating both rolls as failed.

Declan's unsuccessful maneuver left him unbalanced: when Beth's kick hit him straight in the chest, he had no leverage to resist with. A muffled rumble echoed in the base's hallways when the Unbreakable - after a short flight - violently landed on the wall, leaving a web of cracks in the reinforced concrete.

He was - of course - still unharmed, but the impact managed to shake him out of the state of self-loathing he was falling into; Beth's words echoed, and made him recall, what he said to Copycat after his addiction-fueled rampage: "don't let one mistake define you".

"You know, I've never been one to cry over spilled milk...guess there's a first time for everything." he commented with renewed vigor, getting back up on his feet. "You're right. Thanks...I needed that. I...I'll try. Don't know if I'll manage to, but I'll try."

"If I survive this Hearing thing, anyway. By the way, nice kick." he then added with a smirk. "Let me give that back!"

Move: Stand.
Standard: Power attack at [roll0], Toughness DC 29 vs Damage.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Declan's simple, practical response seemed to meet with the approval of several of the Senators, even Downer gave a little acknowledging nod and said, "That's not unfair." Halwick, though, kinda leaned back in his seat a bit. Whatever interest he had garnered in the proceedings seemed to have diminished. And Von Brandt gave Declan a skeptical look at his ominous claim.

Briggs followed up the point. "Precisely. Look, no one's saying there isn't room for some improvement in how the Corps handles things. Which is fair enough, since I don't think anyone'd be making that claim about the Army or the Senate either! But the thing with a law like this is, it's just adding moving parts where they don't need to be. I'm not familiar enough with the inner workings of Hero Corps to know exactly what would serve them better, but I do know a government babysitter ain't it."

Earline just shook her head. "Okay, wait, am I missing something here? Are we just totally not going to discuss the sort of excessive force Heroes can get away with? I thought that was the whole reason for this law, not just little organizational stuff."

Mr. Nicolas...just kinda slumped back in his chair a bit, not even bothering to speak. No one took him seriously anyway. It was nothing he wasn't used to, although he could admit, he had thought that having Dreamer powers might have actually changed that.

"It is one of many matters we will be discussing," Law answered, calmly, but with an undertone of rebuke. "There are both reasons that government oversight could be important in restraining Heroes, and ways that it could be of benefit to Heroes. Despite the claims that this law would 'kill' Hero Corps - and you are not the only one to have said so, Mr. Reynolds - that is far from our goal. We all want only to make the Corps better."

"To that end, another matter that we are considering is that adding additional regulation to Hero Corps would open the way to more direct assistance from the government, in terms of funding, supplies, staff, and so on. The Assembly does an excellent job, of course, but perhaps with some additional tools and resources, the Corps could do a better job as a whole."

"Now wait just a second, Senator," Briggs responded. "Don't get me wrong, as a military man, I'm not one to deny the value of more toys. But I'm absolutely gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, because a free horse that collapses under the soldier riding it still carries a cost I'm not willing to pay." The analogy might have worked a little better if it weren't referencing a means of troop transport more than two centuries out of date. "That sounds to me like you're saying 'accept this law and you'll get these shiny toys in return' or something."

"Not at all. I'm merely bringing up one of the matters of consideration. The...setup that we have for this hearing,"

His eyes flick just for a moment towards Halwick.

"Makes it rather polarizing. I'm simply trying to make sure it's understood that the goal here is for a better Hero Corps, and we have many avenues to consider to potentially achieve that goal."

Three Hours Ago

Beth looked satisfied as Declan kinda snapped out of his funk.

And she dropped her guard.

WHAM!

Declan's foot smashed through her forcefield. It absorbed most of the force, but enough was left to give Beth a solid kick to the gut, doubling her over. "Uuhhh," she groaned, holding her stomach with one arm and holding up her other hand to show she was done. "Ow. Darn it..." she grumbled.

After taking a few moments to recover, she looked up and said, with just the hint of a grin, "I won the moral victory."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"I see, but I won't change my mind. It's pointless to have better equpment if we then can't use it because of bureaucracy." Declan stated in reply.

He started wondering how many times that day he'd have to repeat the same thing...for once, something wreaking havoc downtown would be welcomed.

T - 3h

Declan actually felt a little bit guilty: kicking one's girlfriend in the guts was, in his eyes, not something particularly...awe-inspiring, so to say. Still, it wouldn't be meaningful training if he went easy on Beth, so.

"Heh, guess you did." he replied, grinning back. "Alright, let's end it here for today, but look forward to the next session. It's time I teached you to deal with super-heavy armour."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That's fair enough," Pawlitzki said. "But we aren't here to convince you - you're here to convince us. Your claim is that bureaucracy would - how had you put it? - kill Hero Corps. The example you gave earlier was of the recent arrests of Adair Gaertner and Leopold Daniell. But my understanding is that warrants for their arrests had been in place well before you had actually attacked them, and that SIDE agents had the go-ahead to shoot to kill. Moreover, going after established criminals is not part of Hero Corps' duties in the first place, so even discounting that, such measures would not impede Hero Corps' ability to do what they are meant to do in the first place - act as a first-response team in the event of major disasters or other highly destructive threats."

"Except you said it yourself - going after Gaertner and the Recruiter isn't part of Hero Corps' official duties," Briggs countered. "But as it stands, there's nothing wrong with them helping SIDE or the police by bringing in dangerous threats. If we're talking more restrictions on Heroes' actions, we're probably talking first and foremost making all their little traditions and protocols legally binding. Something like that might have stopped the Heroes from going after Gaertner and the Recruiter in the first place. So, what, you'd have FIRE-SIDE go in against a summoner of the Recruiter's level? FIRE-SIDE's good, don't get me wrong, and maybe they could have taken him. But I doubt they'd have been able to take him in alive, and I doubt they'd have been able to do it without extensive casualties on their end."

"Except that, again, there was a substantial amount of time passed between identifying the threat of these individuals and actually tracking them down and bringing them in. This was not a rapid response situation. There was plenty of time to go through channels, receive an official aid request, or otherwise deal with any necessary bureaucracy. It might have been a little inconvenient, but it would not have proven detrimental in this case."

"But what it would have done is ensure that Hero Corps was working inside the system, and that they were accountable for their actions. Because the reality is that that is one thing they really don't have - accountability. It's not that Heroes are not subject to the law, but...well, I spent twenty-five years in Verdania SIDE, and for the most part our relationship with Hero Corps was very positive. However, on some occasions, Heroes would step over the line, and that was terrifying, because they are such a powerful organization, and they protect their own. We were never really sure that going after a given Hero, even when it was justified, wouldn't turn into an entrenched conflict between SIDE and the Corps. And it didn't help that the law is somewhat murky and their limits vaguely defined. And while they will self-police, they are slow to do it. I remember the falls of Greatbow and Brava Suldoon from Hero Corps in my city, and I remember thinking that they should have been stopped long before it got to that point."

"So, that is a concrete benefit of oversight - stopping Heroes who are going down a dangerous path before they turn into full-fledged criminals and threats to others. That is a clear risk that exists, that has happened in the past, and that additional accountability could absolutely help to prevent in the future. Can you provide any concrete examples where such oversight would actually curtail the Corps' ability to do their jobs, or any alternatives that could reasonably accomplish the same goals?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"I beg to differ, Senator." Declan replied. "I highly doubt Gaertner and The Recruiter couldn't, one way or the other, eavesdrop on official channels - in which case, using them would have been detrimental. Especially because bureoucracy isn't exactly instantaneous. Also, the Army has governmental oversight, but that didn't stop the Defiants from obtaining a cruise missile...I don't see how having it could make much difference on a Hero going rogue."

"So there's that. There's the fact that, as I've said already, with the right connections one could retaliate - or outright force the Corps not to intervene. The fact that speed of response and flexibility are our strong points, and this is going to impair both. Your choice."

"I mean, if you are going to take away all that, what would the point of the Corps existence be? Just have the Army take over, it wouldn't be any different." he remarked, though it has to be noted that his words didn't contain scorn or loathing for the Army itself - he simpy found dumb that it couldn't intervene on Ilessian soil, and if the Corps was going to get all the bureaucratic shackles that plagued the Army they might as well be merged.

My deepest apologies for my prolonged absence.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sorry for the delay, had some writer's block on this.

"This particular discussion seems to be about played out, I would say," von Brandt said. "But there is more to consider here than the potential costs and benefits to Hero Corps. At the end of the day, this is not a matter of simply trying to improve the Corps. There are legitimate concerns that have been raised in recent months. Let us take as a given that it is a strength of Hero Corps, even a necessity, that its members be able to act on their own oversight. That is fine for them, but the question at hand in whether it is good for the rest of this country."

"There is a reason that we do not use the military for the sort of tasks that Hero Corps works on. The military possesses enormous firepower, and the training to use it to deadly effect. They are soldiers, it is their job to fight and kill in defense of Ilessia and when need be of other people of the world. Yes, the military could handle the sort of opponents that Hero Corps faces, absolutely. And if they did so, the vast majority of those people would be killed in the fighting, to say nothing for the potential for collateral damage from high-powered military-grade weaponry."

"Hero Corps has in the past proven able to bring the necessary level of power to bear with an impressively low rate of collateral damage or suspect fatalities. When a soldier, or a SIDE agent, or a police officer, or any other member of an armed organization points its weapon at someone, it is with the implicit understanding that that target's death is now a probability. Hero Corps is the only group that wield offensive power on this scale and yet still go into battle with the assumption of bringing their opponent's in alive. And this is their true advantage over other defensive organizations. And it is an advantage that many are concerned that they are losing. You in particular have a number of deaths on your hands, do you not? Why is that? A police officer or SIDE agent has to write up a report whenever it fires a weapon, and significantly more paperwork if a target is injured or killed. But no such reports are required for you. You explained the situation regarding Miss Georgeson's associate earlier, but what about the events surrounding that missile you had mentioned? I believe there were something like a dozen Defiant dead in the aftermath, and yet dozens more were brought in alive. Why? What situation resulted in those dozen being killed where so many others lived?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

Declan's expression, already not particularly friendly, hardened.

"Yes. I do, Senator, not the rest of the Corps." he replied. Not entirely true, as technically Waterworks had some to, but she was being controlled by the Maelstrom, and he did not really mind taking the heat for both of them - especially when the Corps was on the line.

"And let me get something straight: those 'events' are nowhere near the same level of what happened at Helping Hands." he continued, his tone making pretty clear that he considered only Rena's death to be worthy of weighing in favour of von Brandt's argument. "Have you ever seen a Defiant training camp, Senator? You know what they do? They torture each other so that they can better whitstand nonlethal takedown."

"You ask why the Defiants had casualties? Because if there's a bomb that's a click of a button away from killing an entire building's worth of innocents, I'm not taking the chance that someone detonates it. Ever."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Mr. Nicolas actually spoke up again. It was, if anything, even more ill-advised than his previous attempt. "It's not torture, it's training! And that's a completely inflammatory way to put it! 'Better withstand nonlethal casualties'! Or as the rest of the world calls it, training to keep going even if you're hurt! No different than any other soldier, or athlete, or anyone in a physically demanding or hazardous job learns to do! But it doesn't matter how hard we trained, normal people aren't going to be as hard to take down, lethally or non-lethally, than Dreamers! When we got attacked, all the training didn't matter when the power armored guy shot a ROCKET at us! The only reason I survived was because I developed powers literally right that moment! You can't say you killed them because they were harder to take out! You've taken out plenty of WAY tougher enemies non-lethally! That's a total victim-blaming cop-out!"

...

...

"Dude..." Earline said. "Did you seriously just confess to being a Defiant in front of a Senate Committee?"

"I...I wasn't actually...I was in training for...ugh, what does it matter, no one here cares what I have to say anyway." He slumped down in his seat.

"Although while we're on the subject, I'm not sure how much credit the Heroes of Millaine can really be given for non-lethal fighting. I mean, they've fought a lot of like, summoned monsters and mutated giant animals and stuff that no one pays attention if you kill. And really, if you read between the lines, it sounds to me like the Unbreakable here is basically saying that they kill when A) they think they can justify it and B) it's tactically advantageous. And that isn't right!"

"That's oversimplified hogwash and you know it," Briggs countered immediately. "And even if it wasn't, the Heroes still manage to keep casualties lower than the police, the Guard, and even SIDE do when it comes down to open combat. You don't like the judgments they're making in the field, here's a law you can write: give the Heroes the exact same authorization to use lethal force as armed law enforcement agencies have. Let the default assumption be that if you're a threat to others and you don't stand down when the Heroes arrive, they'll be shooting to kill same as a cop or a Guard would. Heroes are already held to a far higher standard than most people with equally dangerous jobs, and even if they aren't perfect about it, they still more than meet it."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Declan tried to resist the urge to retort. He really tried.

Unfortunately, with little success.

"Do you really have the nerve to say that?" he growled at the Defiant, just after Briggs had finished speaking. "When your friends were trying to kill entire blocks of people, just because a few of them were Dreamers? Being on the other side wasn't so fun, hu?"

He then turned to Earline.

"And you...you call choosing the lives of dozens of innocents over those of a few of these... these f*****g terrorists" - he spit the words with as much poison as he managed to - " a 'tactical advantage'? You, who chose crime because the legal ways weren't giving you what you wanted? Disgusting."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I MADE A MISTAKE!" Earline shouted back, only a hair below shrieking. "I was distraught! I had just lost my home! And as far as I knew at the time, a bunch of other people were getting screwed just like I was! And someone gave us the chance to do something about it! We weren't 'turning to crime'! We weren't trying to hurt anyone! We thought someone was making money off of our suffering and we were trying to expose them! But we were wrong, we were being manipulated, and we owned up to it anyway because YES, we broke the law, and YES, we put people in danger, and YES, there should be consequences for that. BUT THERE SHOULD BE CONSEQUENCES WHEN YOU DO IT TOO!"

By this point, most of the Senators were looking somewhere between offended and annoyed at what the discussion had devolved into - except for Halwick, who was once again sitting forward in his seat and watching attentively, as if things were finally getting good. "Perhaps it would be a good time to adjourn for the day," Senator Reyer suggested.

Halwick shot him a quick, slightly annoyed look, and added, "Unless any of you have anything further you believe we should hear, of course." There was a certain encouragement in his voice.

We can keep going and I'll just finish up this Hearing scene concurrently with the next one, or we can end here/with your next post, as you choose.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"I COMMITTED NO CRIME!" is what Declan wanted to shout. Unfortunately, with his raid on the Defiant camp and the talk with Beth fresh in his mind, he really couldn't say it.

Instead, he simply took a deep breath to calm down, replied "No, I think I've already done enough damage for today." to Halwick and slumped back in his chair.

"What a mess." he muttered, addressing no one but just loud enough for Briggs to hear. "I hope it's nothing Maestro can't fix."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Apologies on the continuing delays on this. It's turning out to be more a challenge to write for than anticipated :smallredface:.

Also, Declan, take a :smallcool: Hero Point for getting through your Hearing.

By whatever coincidence, Sean and Wilson had both been called before the Committee this day. Or perhaps it was less coincidence than some sort of scheduling hiccup or adjustment, since it looked like there were several people there to speak.

They were already sitting at the tables when Sean and Wilson were directed in. At the "opposing the law" table on the right sat two men. Wilson would recognize the first as Jimi Zhang, AKA Oli Kobayashi. He was handcuffed, with an armed SIDE agent standing behind him. He raised a brow slightly when he saw Wilson, but didn't otherwise react.

You can tell Wilson's presence made him kinda uncomfortable, though.

At the table beside him was a thin, blond guy. He wasn't particularly familiar-looking, but his face lit up with clear gratitude when he saw the Heroes enter.

You do recall seeing him on the news in the aftermath of the Recruiter's capture. After the Heroes had called in emergency personnel after the slaughter at the supermarket, this man, Devin Siddall, was the only person who by some miracle ((that miracle being that Hero Point Sean had spent :smallwink:)) had survived, albeit in critical condition.

You notice a faint red scar peeking out from the collar of his shirt.

That scar is likely from the Luminous Blade of an Angel of Light. Word was that emergency personnel had found one miraculous survivor in the aftermath of the slaughter at the supermarket ((thanks to that Hero Point of Sean's :smallwink:)); this must be him.

At the other table sits Shara Hartmann, the Oil Controller. She cast a smug look and a tiny smirk at the two Heroes as they entered.

There's something strange about her demeanor. There's more to her presence here than meets the eye.

In fact, unless you miss your guess, it seems like she's in some way involved in all this, or maybe even in some way responsible for it.

Most of the Senators also seem a little put out by her presence. Like they don't feel it's appropriate that she's here.

You smell a sort of similarity in the blood of Hartmann and Senator Halwick. They're related in some way.

In fact, you're quite confident that she's his niece.

On her left, and in full costume no less, are Sean's parents. Despite their flashy attire, both of the experienced Heroes are wearing grim, serious looks. Sean knows those looks well. Those are the looks his parents don when they want to appear troubled, when they want to make it seem like they have made some tough decision that they had to make because they know it is for the best. It was the very look they had worn when they had kicked him out of the house when he was sixteen.

This has nothing to do with them thinking the law is hard but necessary. This law is extremely unpopular among Heroes, obviously. They're speaking out in favor of it for no better reason than to attract attention by creating controversy. In doing so, they craft the narrative of being the only Heroes with enough integrity to speak out in favor of the law despite the inconveniences it might cause them - even going against the powerful and phenomenally popular Heroes of Millaine and their own son to do it. It will absolutely guarantee them amazing spotlight time, and if the law actually passes, they'll be in an extremely favorable position in the "new" Hero Corps. What this means for the actual work the Heroes do is, of course, more-or-less irrelevant.

And finally, biting on her lip and looking extremely uncertain about being there and especially about which table she's sitting at, but with a determined set in her gaze nonetheless, is Mary Wilson. She glances over as Sean and Wilson enter, and on seeing who it is almost immediately looks away. She's obviously not surprised, since Wilson (I presume) didn't keep his Hearing date a secret, but she clearly looks embarrassed, even a bit guilty.

Still determined, though.

Sarah has a sleepover at a friend's house today. They've ordered pizza for dinner and she's having a great time, thanks for asking.

Wilson/Sean, take a :smallcool: Hero Point for your Relationship Complication(s).

[Llyarden]

Wilson paused slightly as he scanned the room, gaze lingering on his wife a moment longer than on anyone else, before he took his seat next to the blond man. "Mr Siddall," he murmured in greeting, nodding politely before returning to looking across the room, carefully not letting himself be distracted by wondering about Kobayashi's presence.

Ironically of the two it was probably Sean who seemed more surprised by Mary's presence, on top of the assorted other attendees, most of whom he didn't recognise. He looked curiously towards Hartmann, and then across to the senators...and then over to Filibuster. He half started thinking something to Wilson before remembering that he didn't have the benefit of Maestro's mental link.

He did his best to ignore his parents, but the overly flashy outfits made doing so a little difficult. So did his surprise at their choice. The cynical part of him wondered if they'd done so purely to spite him, but when Sean himself had only finally made a decision as to which side to sit on just before the Hearing he found that somewhat unlikely. And whatever other consequences it might have had, a governmentally-managed Hero Corps would have had no place for their version of heroics.

Unlike Wilson's relatively calm demeanour and carefully-maintained neutrality, Sean was somewhat less composed as he took the last remaining seat on the 'against' table. He seemed only marginally more sure of himself than Mary, and his gaze kept coming back to Hartmann.

[Quellian-dyrae]

I...suddenly realized, somewhere along the lines, I totally forgot that Hartmann had never actually been charged with any crimes. I'm not quite sure how I forgot that considering that all is in fact a major part of why she's here in the first place, but here we are. She is not in handcuffs or under guard, and that bit has been stricken from the prior post. :smallredface:

When Sean took his seat, his parents gave little, disappointed sighs. They weren't exaggerated, in and out through the nose, but in the quiet room, they were clearly noticeable.

"We would like to thank you all for coming. You understand what we are here for, so let's get started. We have a large group here today, and we would like to hear from all of you regarding the law that is being proposed. Miss Hartmann, would you care to begin?"

Senator Sultan cast Senator Halwick a look, but said nothing.

"I would be happy to, Senator. Hero Corps, to put it bluntly, is out of control. They have no oversight, no restraint, and think nothing of grossly exceeding the limitations they are supposed to be operating under. Now, granted, sometimes this can turn out okay, but the fact is that individual Heroes are no more inherently blessed with perfect judgment than anyone."

"I would never question the value of what Hero Corps is meant to do. Their ability to provide a rapid, Dreamer-powered response to emergencies is a great asset to everyone in Ilessia. But there are still problems, particularly when Heroes overstep their bounds to actively take the fight to, for the lack of a better term, some 'nemesis' figure. We've heard the stories of what happened in Adaros, veritable warfare in the streets, common citizens being sucked into a conflict between Hero Corps and a powerful crime ring. And we have seen it elsewhere too."

"I have personally experienced this. Several months ago, before everyone was really aware of just how vile the Recruiter was, I made the misjudgment of hiring some of his summons for personal protection. Millaine at the time was a kind of scary place to live, what with the rash of recent attacks, and I was concerned for my safety. Not even an hour later, the Heroes of Millaine swooped in and assaulted me. They destroyed the summoned creatures that I had invested a significant amount of money in, and tried to arrest me like some common criminal. When..." she hesitated a moment to take a shaky breath, and there were tears in her eyes. "When I tried to run, as anyone would have when they came under sudden attack by powerful Dreamers, Mr. Wilson himself," she gestured in his direction, "not only chased me down, but opened fire on me. It-it was by far the scariest, most traumatizing event of my life. I honestly thought I was going to die."

She takes a few breaths to collect herself. "It doesn't matter what the Recruiter did, how evil he was. I admit that in retrospect, possessing the information I have now, it was ill-advised to hire his summons. But I had not committed any crimes. I was not a threat to anyone. The Heroes of Millaine had no right to attack me, and if our current laws are insufficient to punish such acts, then yes, there should be new ones in place to make sure those sort of unprovoked attacks never happen again!" she finished strongly, the blazing conviction in her eyes only intensified by the glimmer of the tears they still held.

...It was somewhat undercut when Devin Siddal immediately shot back, "Oh cry me a river! You didn't go and hire some private security! You bought military-grade weapons from a psychopathic superpowered arms dealer! The Heroes of Millaine weren't off on some vendetta - they were trying to stop a deadly threat that could strike anyone at any time from near complete safety! You want to talk about personal experiences? I was there when the Recruiter's summons slaughtered thirty people outside a supermarket and stuff them all into the freezer! The only reason, the only reason, that I'm still alive, is because the Heroes of Millaine were tracking him, and they called emergency services before I died. And I was the lucky one. Those other people? There wasn't anything they could do for them."

"We were just out shopping when some winged angel-like thing just appeared and started laying into us with a sword of light. It happened faster than anyone could so much as cry for help, let alone put something into an app! Thirty people dead in seconds! There's no rapid response capable of dealing with something like that! Even Hero Corps! The only way to protect people from those kinds of threats is to put them down preemptively! You bought a bomb, and you're complaining that the Heroes took you down before you had a chance to detonate it!? They did exactly what they should have in that situation!"

[Llyarden]

"As Mr Siddall said," Wilson interjected smoothly, before the debate could become any more heated (as much as Filibuster might have enjoyed that happening), "the Recruiter's summons are not exactly the same thing as private security. While I have never done so myself, if I was to consider hiring 'private security' I would like to think I would do my due diligence on the person offering first."

"Besides the obvious fact that shady back alley deals with someone who erases themselves from your memories are not exactly the usual method of acquiring legal goods, we also had a precognitive warning that you were waiting for 'a suitable target.' I hope you can understand the reason for our suspicion in the circumstances."

"And, personally," he added, "if I, as a completely innocent person, found myself under attack by Hero Corps I would probably just surrender. And, being completely innocent, I'd be more than happy to allow a telepath to read my mind to prove my innocence," he added, after a beat.

It was just barely possible that Wilson was still irritated about not having the full story about that whole affair. It was like having one word left in a crossword puzzle that you couldn't figure out.

"Sorry to interrupt," Sean said, somewhat suddenly, "but I just wanted to ask something that's been confusing me a little."

"It may be just 'cos I don't really understand the legal intricaces of how this Hearing is meant to work, or maybe just because there's no real official outcome, but...isn't it a bit of a conflict of interest when the chairman of the meeting is related to one of the people giving evidence at it?

[Quellian-dyrae]

Hartmann seemed momentarily caught off-guard by the mention of the precognitive warning, but nonetheless rallied and was getting ready to fire back when Sean spoke.

That...kinda got her wrong-footed. She stammered a bit and unconsciously shot an uncertain look at Halwick.

"Thank you," Senator Sultan muttered under her breath. A few of the journalists in the room exchanged some quiet whispers.

Senator Halwick, however, seemed completely unconcerned. He gave Sean a little smile, but it wasn't a sincere one. It was a contemptuous smile, and to Sean's predatory instincts, seemed to closer resemble an animal bearing its teeth in threat than a person being pleasantly sociable. When he spoke, it was in tones of patronizing politeness. "It is not, and I will tell you why. This Hearing is an exercise in gathering information, to assist us in making a decision of whether or not to propose such a law and guide us in writing it if we do. We have requested for some people to speak; others have volunteered to do so. But there is no conflict in receiving information from sources we have a prior relationship with. Indeed, it is better for the decision-making process as a whole that such concerns be aired openly before the Committee, rather than in private to only one Senator. You may rest assured that I am already well aware of my niece's views in this manner, but she wished also to express them on the record, which as a citizen with personal experience regarding Hero Corps, she is welcome to do."

"Furthermore," he added, his tone beginning to become didactic, "I would argue that it is the responsibility of any Senator to seek out information and opinions from those closest to them. For one-hundred people to decide the laws on an entire country in the vacuum of their own thoughts and arguments would almost certainly be to the ultimate detriment of Ilessia. We have a responsibility to seek out information from any sources we trust in rendering our opinions, and to share what we find with our peers, so that the work we do truly relates to the will of the people, rather than our imagination, assumption, or worse, desires for what their will would be."

"I do understand that some people may feel some natural reservation towards a familial connection in an official government capacity," he said it smoothly, but there was a subtle bite beneath the words, and not directed entirely at Sean. "But there is no conflict. Indeed, I should say that if my relationship with Miss Hartmann gives me a certain personal stake in this decision, that is good. For our laws are not dry, abstract things, mere words on a screen. They will influence countless lives in countless ways. We should feel a personal investment in our decisions, for the choices we make will have extremely personal impacts on the people we serve."

One might note that his focus had gone a bit past Sean to the cameras as he gave his speech, but his gaze came back to the Hero when he finished, and he gave another smile that looked beatific but nonetheless might cause the hair of someone with Sean's instincts to stand on end a bit. "Does that answer your question, my boy?"

For all that, you still get the feeling that Sean was on the right track there. In fact, the ultimate reasoning behind this Hearing, this proposed law, clicks clearly for you. Undoubtedly there are other factors in play that caused it to get this far, but you are certain that the catalyst for the idea came from Shara's discussing her conflict with Hero Corps with her uncle. Whether the idea has grown into something reasonable and valid is subject to debate, but it's clear to you that the concept was birthed in a desire to get back at Hero Corps in general, and the Heroes of Millaine in particular.

...And given that you and Sean were somehow scheduled to appear opposite your wife and his parents, it might behoove your team to approach this matter with even more caution.

A consideration perhaps driven home when...

Halwick's speech gave Hartmann time to collect herself. It...did kinda make going back to answer Wilson's points a bit awkward.

In fact, that might well have been the intention, pushing the conversation along so she wasn't required to address Wilson's claims.

But apparently she had a reply she wanted to give. "Oh would you, would you really, Mr. Wilson? Would you happily open your mind to a telepath if you were accused of doing something you didn't do?"

She knows. And there's only one possible person she could have learned it from - after all, Senator Halwick has a background in the IIN.

Zhang cast Wilson a certain look.

"If I may," Mr. Hyer said in his stentorian voice. "It is, I am sad to say, precisely Mr. Wilson's line of thinking that has convinced us that Hero Corps does need some form of oversight. We are Heroes, the first line of defense for the people of Ilessia against threats that only those with the power of Dreamers can stand against. Lives and livelihoods are on the line every time we go out. The need is great, and so we completely understand why so many of our comrades are opposed to this sort of law."

Mrs. Hyer stepped in smoothly, a rhetorical tactic the two had long since mastered to present a united front and add weight to whatever they were saying. "But that makes it all too easy to conflate the righteousness of our cause with the rightness of our actions. I cannot attest to the details or the accuracy of whatever prediction the Heroes of Millaine received regarding Miss Hartmann, but we are not thought police, or possibility police."

"Or, in fact, any part of the police at all, ah-ha-ha!"

"We are first responders. And of course, where we know of an imminent threat, it is our best work to stop it before it happens. And we are sure the Heroes of Millaine truly believed they were doing just that at the time."

"But nonetheless, I do feel it would be fair to say that they overstepped their bounds. Prophecy is often a vague and challenging power. I would say that the proper response to such a prediction would be to keep an eye on the suspect, or perhaps alert SIDE, rather than to wage a direct attack. To collect more reliable evidence that such an attack was imminent, rather than merely possible, before rising up in arms."

"We have no doubt that the Heroes of Millaine acted with only the best of intentions, and that is unfortunately the problem. When the goal is to keep our people safe, it is far too easy to overlook questionable means to reach it. There must be some protections in place to ensure that in our drive to keep our people safe, we do not become the very ones who compromise their safety."

[Llyarden]

"Yes, Senator, that answers a lot. Thank you." Sean smiled at him. It was mostly even a genuine smile. Mostly.

Just for a moment, when Hartmann made her comeback, Wilson's expression turned cold. Ignoring the Hyers' interjection entirely, he looked back to Hartmann. "I'm not suggesting grabbing some random telepath off the street, but an interview with an accredited SIDE mind-reader, under appropriately controlled conditions? Yes, I would be willing to undergo that."

Sean - who was alert enough to catch the cold undertone in Wilson's voice - glanced across to his parents before they could take offence at being ignored. "I'll admit I wasn't there, or even in Millaine at the time, but from what I understand, Miss Hartmann was waiting in an alley with what basically amount to military-grade weapons. If someone was found outside pointing a rocket launcher at this building -" he gestured to their surroundings "- I'm pretty sure they'd be taken down before anyone took the time to check whether or not it was loaded or what they planned on doing with it."

"That said," he added after a moment, "I do agree with you, Mom, Dad. I've not been a hero long, but I've seen enough - and heard enough from what people have said here - to believe that you're right. I think oversight of some sort or another - responsibility to face up to the consequences of what you've done - is a good idea. The reason I'm sitting at this table is because I don't think it should come from the government."

So I can't remember if there were any houserules for Innuendo being used. Hopefully there are because both Wilson's and Sean's Deceptions are pretty poor.

Wilson's Deception for Innuendo to Halwick/Hartmann (probably DC15): [roll0]

Wilson's past was sealed under whatever the Millaine equivalent of the Official Secrets Act was; Halwick telling Hartmann is almost certainly in breach of that. If Hartmann wants to threaten Wilson's family he will threaten hers right back.

(The above seems a logical assumption given that it was SIDE that went through the effort of cloaking his past. If Wilson's Cipher rank and backstory wouldn't cover it I'll spend a Hero Point to edit that into being a thing.)

One more Insight check from Sean: [roll1]; is Hartmann manipulating Halwick or are they in this together?

And Sean's Deception for Innuendo to Halwick/Hartmann (probably also DC15): [roll2] (target depending on the result of the previous check)

Sean knows a whole lot more than the fact that the two of them are related. He doesn't have any particular emnity towards the two but equally he would have no hesitation in revealing it if he thought it would help his case.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Nothing from Hartmann suggests she feels in any way controlling or dominant over Halwick. It wouldn't be unfair to say that her motivation here is driven by spite, but even then, it's more that the spite has given her a reason to consider these things and bring them up, not that they're just a pure excuse for taking a swing at Hero Corps.

You can't get any read on Halwick's motivation or allegiance here.

And yeah, I know Innuendo's rules as given don't work, and I know I've thought on them before, but I don't know if I established them. I have some modified ones for QDe...but actually, I think I like these better, so going with them. (Probably will swap the QDe ones).

If your Deception check beats the DC, it functions as a Team Check for the recipient's Insight check (+2 for success, +5 for three degrees), means the recipient needs only beat the DC to receive the message, and others attempting to overhear the message roll against your Deception check rather than the base DC. They need one degree of success to recognize that there's innuendo going on, two degrees to get a vague sense of what you're trying to communicate (i.e. making a veiled threat, planning something, sharing information, etc), three degrees to understand the message.

If you fail to beat the DC, then the DC to understand the message is the base DC + the points you failed by, and nobody counts as the "intended recipient", so even the person you're trying to communicate it to needs three degrees of success to actually get the message itself.

Halwick continued smiling tightly at Sean, offering no sign of concession. Although whatever Wilson was trying to convey seemed to go over everyone's head.

"That is a suggestion worth exploring, I think," Senator Reyer said. "Now, Hero Corps already receives support and funding from the Assembly, and so, as I understand it, is to some degree beholden to Assembly oversight. And of course, the Corps has its 'Commanders', as they are called, which provide some manner of direct authority. But of course, these are rather loose structures. So how might they be invested with more authority, or what other structures might be placed, if not governmental oversight?"

"If I may?" Mary asked. "The Assembly and the Commanders...I don't have quite first-hand experience with how they work with Hero Corps, but I'm a member of the ACC, which has a similar relationship to the Assembly, and the wife of a Hero, so I have some perspective on it."

"The Commanders...have always struck me as more...I guess I'd say organizers than leaders. Maybe it's a bit different in the cities with regional bases, but the only time I can remember one of the Commanders in any way getting involved with the Heroes of Millaine is when Interceptor extended their jurisdiction following Meteor Day. The Assembly provides us with resources, and they occasionally ask us to do certain things, but for the most part we're left to our own devices in the Crew, and my understanding is that the Corps has at least as much independence. Likely more."

"The point is, I can think of a number of times where it would have been good if the Heroes of Millaine had...I mean, not necessarily someone telling them what to do or giving them paperwork and such, but a support network." Mary's initially-tentative voice started getting firmer, more passionate. "It's not really my place to speak on the specifics, but being a Hero is hard. The choices they have to make, the perils they have to face...it changes people," her eyes unconsciously flicked towards James for just the barest fraction of a second. "I mean, of course it does. And they just have to muddle through and hope they're doing the right thing. They need a proper support network, people who can look at the hard choices from a bit of distance and help them make the right decisions. People who can tell them when they're pushing themselves too hard and it's okay to take a break. People who they can talk to about things they can't-" with one last, slightly guilty glance James' way, Mary abruptly cut off.

[Llyarden]

"A support network would probably be a good thing, sure," Sean accepted, "but that doesn't actually help with the issue of what to do if, despite the best efforts of the support network, there are Heroes out there that do the wrong thing. Or even if they do the right thing in the wrong way."

"I've seen enough to know that the Assembly...is pretty good at closing ranks and throwing PR at problems until they go away. And that...that isn't going to work forever. It makes people angry. Like I said, Heroes need to face responsibility what they do - or don't do."

"I mean, yeah, the support network would definitely help, if for no other reason than they could spot Heroes who aren't coping too well and tell someone to keep an eye on them. But that relies on the Heroes actually using the support network and not just sort of lone-wolfing it."

"It would also make the support network none too well liked, if people felt that they were the ones responsible for them being put on...whatever it might be, restricted duty or whatever decision might eventually get made," Wilson observed, taking a break from glaring between Hartmann and Halwick for a moment.

"I mean, maybe..." Sean paused for a moment to consider. "Even just making it clear to the Assembly that they're responsible, ultimately, for what their Heroes do and that they can't just gloss over it, maybe they could be encouraged to set up some sort of more detailed chain of command within the Corps. They probably know more about its operations on a wider scale than any of us here."

I don't have a whole lot more to say, especially with Hartmann's totally-not-a-threat-honest hanging over Wilson. Admittedly I had more ideas for what Sean would have to say here anyway, so that's not a massive problem, but yeah I'm about out of things to say.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I must say, this sounds much like more of the same, to me," von Brandt commented. "Strictly speaking, we are not here to discuss ways Hero Corps operational procedures might be improved, but laws that can prevent problems and abuses of their power."

"Yes, but specifically, we are discussing whether such laws are actually necessary. And a big part of that involves determining if their are alternate options that will prove equally or more effective. I think such matters as a support network, or additional responsibility assigned to the Assembly, should certainly be discussed..."

Four days later - Copycat

The sun is already setting when you are finally called in. It's not super-obvious, but the signs of a long day are clear on the faces and in the postures of the Senators as you enter. Kinda makes sense. Apparently, the number of people who have requested to speak before the Committee has been growing, due no doubt to the near-constant media coverage. It's a polarizing topic, and many people seem to want to be a part of the discussion.

From the cool kids' table, in full military uniform and appraising the room with calculating gaze over a faint but visible grin of almost roguish confidence, Magnus Mindrider raised a hand to you in greeting as you entered.

And from the other table, Jep Eldridge responded to your arrival with a flat glare. He muttered something under his breath. You couldn't quite make it out, but there were several credible guesses available.

Shortly after you had entered, Asher Sato came in, wearing shackles and a prisoner's uniform and followed by a security guard. Not a SIDE agent though, as Asher was no Dreamer. That...that was actually kinda dangerous. Even with his hands bound, in a chamber like this, proofed against many forms of hostile Dreamer powers, a martial artist of Sato's level could actually cause serious damage. I wouldn't say he could kill everyone in here - Senators are furnished with powerful defensive technology, and even with powers curtailed, you are an MMA master after all! Still, it really wouldn't be hard for him to, say, get Jep in a stranglehold with his shackles and use him as a human shield to facilitate an escape, or something. This level of security, though sufficient in the general sense for an unarmed, unpowered human, was nowhere near appropriate for a brawler of Sato's level.

He halted after entering, fixing you with a challenging stare for about five solid seconds, before giving a smirk, a cocky upnod, and heading over to his seat at the same table as Jep.

[manwithaplan]

He'd never looked so crisp. Futuristic tailed suit, Dreamer-tier haircut, eyes bright enough to be glowing. Tom's newly whitened teeth were hidden behind firm lips as his gaze made its first impression upon the Committee.

He said nothing.

Taking his seat, he gave Magnus a generous handshake before looking over to the other table. For Jep he offered a most warm and condescending grin. When Asher entered, the mimic swivelled slowly and looked him dead-on. It would be hard to tell, but as the two made eye contact, something materialised in the mimic's demeanour. General, all-reaching bravado had given way to supreme confidence in a specific, structured plot.

His response was slowed, somewhat, as some sort of clockwork structure in his head determined how things were going to happen in lieu of how he should behave. Then he caught himself and resumed his act, shaking his head in disappointment at the chained brawler as he turned to face front.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"We thank you all making the time to speak with us today, and for putting up with the wait," Senator Halwick said formally. "It's quite late, so let us get started. If anyone would care to-"

Before Halwick even finished the sentence (yes, he just interrupted a Senator. Heck, he just interrupted Filibuster!) Asher Sato, leaning back in his seat and actually kicking his feet up on the table in front of him (he made it look graceful despite the shackles; Jep's lip curled in distaste) quirked a thumb in the general direction of the other table and said, "Copycat used his powers to try to murder me in cold blood, in front of witnesses, and no one's done a thing about it. Least of all the rest of Hero Corps or the other Heroes of Millaine."

It was kinda a shame that the room was already solemnly quiet. Since it would have been dramatically appropriate for everything to have gone silent at that. Alas.

Jep Eldridge kinda...coughed.

The Senators seemed momentarily taken aback.

Magnus Mindrider rolled his eyes. He didn't even bother to ask Tom if there was any truth to it. "Sir, I don't know who you are, but I believe the Senators are here to hear serious debate about adjusting the command structure of Hero Corps. Now, as Senator Halwick said, it is quite late, so please kindly stop making up unbelievable stories and let us get to the matter at hand. If you have a legitimate complaint about how you were, I would guess, brought in after whatever crime you committed, I am sure the Senators would be happy to hear it and take it into account. But nonsense like this is a waste of all of our valuable time."

"Nope. Sorry. Got witnesses, got proof," Sato responded, still at total ease.

[manwithaplan]

Tom raised a single eyebrow as Asher spoke, but remained in character. He'd thought this would have come at least slightly later, but so be it. His sleeved arm, on the table, pointed to his right. With just a tense of his ring finger, the neuron-activating yet inaudible soundwaves would fire across the room from his watch. He just had to line them up perfectly...

"I'm sorry, I believe this man is confused."

Back straight, resonating tone, striking eye contact with a number of the senators.

What a show.

He did not gesticulate, and very little of his time was spent looking towards Asher and his table. This made it harder, mind, to get a nanowide soundwave in his ear.

"In the midst of a terrorist attack, his men unloaded on me with various firearms. Using an illusion, I fooled two of them into opening fire on him to hamper his defences. If it's illegal to utilise a professional-grade force against a Hero-level threat who is currently conducting a terrorist attack, I..."

His eyes went up to one corner, as sarcastic as he could be without breaking his cool demeanour.

"Yes, I believe I've committed a life sentence worth of 'crimes' by now. Not to mention, I'd be shocked if one of you could get him to admit he thinks that sort of firepower poses a threat to him."

Activating Psychological Intuition.

Using the soundwave with Power Attack 5. Not sure if I can All-Out Attack but I will if I can. Attack [roll0] for DC 28 Will against Entranced/Compelled/Stunned. Also possibly losing two points from the attack if he's past 26 feet (don't think Power Attack extends this).

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sato's face twisted in sudden fury. "Man, shut up! You know what you did!" he yelled back at Copycat! "You- you totally know! Don't act like you don't! Everyone saw it! Stupid!"

Jep Eldridge glanced at the man sitting next to him and mouthed, "Wow."

"And we're done here?" Sultan asked the rest of the Senators, not entirely hiding her bemusement.

"Quite," Pawlitzki agreed.

"Wonderful. Who would like to speak next?"

"Man, he knows! Stupid!" Sato called out, before getting a glare from about half the Senators and settling into an angry mutter, seething.

Meanwhile, the grown-ups continued the discussion.

"If I may," Magnus requested. "I've served in both the military and Hero Corps, so I have experience with both. And I do have a modest, if largely second-hand, understanding of how SIDE handles law enforcement. And the sort of regulation that this Committee seems to be considering, it works well for military and law-enforcement organizations. But it must always be remembered that Hero Corps is rapid response. They leap into dangerous situations at a moment's notice, and are required to assess and respond to the situation with minimal preparation. They save countless lives by doing so."

"In the military, plans are worked out in advance. Resources are allocated. Commanders give orders and troops are required to follow them because every soldier can't be briefed on every detail of every operation. They must respond to a higher authority because chaos in a military operation leads to defeat. Law enforcement, likewise, in most cases prepare their operations in advance, and have the time necessary to get warrants, receive orders, and so on. In times of exigent threat, law enforcement has much more leeway to act, easily equivalent to Hero Corps. It only seems like they are more tightly regulated because they are not thrust into those situations nearly as often. And, I suppose, because they have to fill out so much more paperwork in the aftermath." Magnus flashed a winning smile.

"There are two other primary differences between the Corps and the police which I think are central to the discussion. First, the police, the Guard, the Watch, the military, all of these organizations that we are comparing Hero Corps to contain vastly more members. There are somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand Heroes throughout the entire country. That is the barest fraction of a percent of our law enforcement and military forces. The more people there are in any given group, the more that group needs rules and bureaucracy to keep it operating efficiently. Hero Corps has far fewer people, so what is common sense for say the police or the army becomes silly when considered in regards to Heroes."

"Second, the notion that Hero Corps does not answer to a higher authority is inaccurate. Heroes are public figures in the way that no individual police officer or soldier could ever be. If, say, that man's accusation," he gestured in Sato's general direction, "had any basis in fact, there would be a public outcry. It would be spread across the media in minutes. And the law would take it from there. There is no need for some dedicated oversight group for Heroes. The watchful eye of the public does the job at least as well as any official group could."

[manwithaplan]

Just a moment.

A single, meaningless moment when Jep's eyes were on Asher. When the senators were glancing at each other. When the cameras were on the other table. For just a tiny sliver of time, Tom turned to make full eye contact with Asher.

I'm in control.

I'm better than you.

They'll never know.

A look could say so many things. And then he was facing front, nice and professional.

He sat and watched as Magnus spoke, reading the Senators' faces and trying to get a look at their opinion on Magnus' points. When he was finished, the mimic nodded and leaned forward.

"Yeah, I think these points are a logical justification for Hero Corps working in the way it does. It'd be folly to make a stand for government oversight without having a rebuttal to all three; military-like oversight is not practical in an environment defined by urgency and danger, there aren't enough Heroes to warrant an elaborate and clunky chain of communication, and Heroes are self-governed externally by their people. Perhaps we should elaborate on the three of them, and see what points can be made for either side of each."

"So, first; Heroes and soldiers are different kinds of specialists for different situations. Just a few days ago now, we got word of an attack planned on a contained event that night. It'd be awkward, politically, for our military to engage with theirs. SIDE and the military had their hands tied."

He threw in just a tiny glance at Pawlitzki.

"So Heroes were called in. We convinced the event holder to cancel, borrowed his building, and established an ambush for the Protectors. Nothing broken, from a bone to a sweat, on the Illessian side. Cost us zero credits besides salary. That's not because we're more capable than, say, SIDE. We were just suited to that emergency. I believe that Hero Corps being structured as free-form rather than strict is not better or worse than the alternative; it is different, with different benefits and disadvantages. But turning the Corps into another structured organisation would be like...erm...imagine that right now you've got two energy batons and some pepper spray. In a vacuum, the baton is likely the superior weapon. But when you already have two of them, trading the spray in for a third baton is silly. It might be useful sometimes, if the other two are broken or something, but what nobody is ever talking about is what happens when we really could use the spray, but not the baton. What would you say to that?"

Deception [roll0].

[Quellian-dyrae]

Asher's muttering kinda intensified, in pitch if not volume, at Copycat's look. And a few seconds later, in the middle of Copycat's suggestion, the brawler let out a growling, "RRRRRgggghhhh!"

Senator Reyer fixed him with a firm, disapproving look. "Young man, if you cannot contribute to the discussion, you will be escorted back to your cell."

His words did not seem to particularly sway Asher any. Halwick eyed the brawler momentary. "Hmm..."

With your Psychological Intuition, you detect that Halwick considers Sato's actions rather odd, given the situation.

His analysis counts as an attempt to Detect Influence. However, due to the Insidious nature of the compulsion, I'm assessing a -5 circumstance penalty on his check.

Filibuster Insight (DC 25, -5 circumstance): [roll0]. Yay for Insidious

Once you finished, Jep spoke. "The problem with this line of reasoning, as I see it, is that Hero Corps is not currently particularly obligated to adhere to their 'specialty'. This argument essentially assumes that Heroes will be doing their jobs as stated. The point of oversight is not to get in the way when everyone is doing what they are supposed to; it is to step in when they aren't, and make decisions in grey areas. It is one thing if SIDE or the military request Heroes to engage some force that they, for whatever purpose, would rather not fight themselves. But it is quite another matter when Heroes go after designated enemies as personal vendettas, sometimes exposing civilians to danger in the process. Of course, Heroes should not have to wait for authorization when people are in imminent danger. But they should absolutely answer to some higher authority when they believe someone to be a potential threat and want to target them directly. That is, as you say, more SIDE's specialty, and their protocols are designed to handle it."

[manwithaplan]

"Yeah, okay."

Tom nodded to Jep.

"That's definitely fair. But I don't think it's strictly relevant to what we're doing here. Sometimes Heroes go a bit into somebody's territory. But again, this oversight will turn Hero Corps into an organisation like the police, without their free roam or response time. Right now, Hero Corps is the only organisation offering what it offers. But it's occasionally stepping into other groups' areas. The solution to that problem can't be to take away its niche and force it to act like those other groups, can it? Again, we already have them. And to remove Hero Corps as-is from our justice system would be, in the current state, leavimg a hole that needs to be refilled anyway."

He swiveled back to face the Senators.

"This is becoming a bit of a theme. I've been hearing about flaws in the Hero system and things we're doing wrong that are valid, but not would draw one to 'government oversight' as the clear first solution. I want to dispel any notion, if there is one, that Hero Corps' flaws need to be proven. I'll happily admit that the system doesn't quite work. I don't think it's flawed to the point of being an emergency, but okay, it's imperfect. Nobody needs to prove that. Now..."

He opened his arms wide, palms facing the senators.

"Can anybody come up with a problem in the system that government oversight could fix without turning Hero Corps into another disciplined military organisation? Can they also think of such a thing that wouldn't also be fixed just by having more soldiers instead of taking them from the Heroes?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

I'll be honest, I truly don't know whether it just so happened that the best argument I could come up with for Jep mirrors the discussion the Heroes are having (which would not be the first time the Hearing had related to the parallel events in the IC, I believe), or if that discussion subconsciously implanted the idea in my head. I lean towards the latter, but I'm really not sure. I am not, however, intentionally trying to set the two up to parallel each other.

"How about if a Hero uses a technically harmless but personally violating power on a civilian without their consent?" Jep eyed you coldly as he said it, a mildly contemptuous curl to the corner of his lip. "Under the current system, there is nowhere for that civilian to report the Hero's misconduct. The civilian could attempt to seek legal recourse, or spread word of the misdeed to the public, as Commander Mindrider suggests, but that is putting them in direct opposition to the Assembly's legal and/or media departments, which have a vested interest in assuring that Heroes have a positive image, rather than that they act in a manner befitting their authority and responsibility. In fact, I think it would be fair to argue that any form of authority over Hero Corps that is provided by the Corps themselves or the Assembly beyond them comes with the same issue. Even an independent oversight agency. It is always in their, or their employers', best interest to ensure that Hero Corps comes out of any scandals looking good, even if this means the Heroes are allowed to get away with acts that merit punishment or reprimand."

"This is, by the way, why when police and soldiers do something wrong, they are investigated by the IIN, not by their own people. Self-policing sounds good in theory, but it inevitably creates a conflict of interests. This can only be resolved if the oversight comes from people who are committed to the Corps being able to do good work, and the authority to be able to enforce consequences. And that pretty much limits it to the government."

"Now you see, myself, I've been hearing a lot about the flaws of instituting an unwieldy bureaucracy to direct the actions of Hero Corps, many of which are valid, but not that would draw one to 'a total lack of oversight' as the clear first solution. And I think we should also dispel the notion, if it hasn't been already, that Hero Corps' merits need to be proven. I think most everyone who has been at this table has happily admitted that Hero Corps does good work." He somehow managed to keep a mocking lilt out of his tone as he shamelessly plagiarized what you had said not two minutes ago. "But just because turning them into another 'disciplined military organization' isn't the solution doesn't mean that there isn't a solution out there, and it certainly doesn't mean that Hero Corps itself, or the Assembly beyond it, are more likely to come up with a solution than the officials elected by the people of Ilessia to make the rules."

[manwithaplan]

Jep just wouldn't give it up. The senators had barely had a chance to speak yet with the actor's determination to see his way. Tom wouldn't use the soundwave on him, too - Halwick was suspicious enough. But without his powers, Jep wasn't that strong...perhaps it would be possible to neutralise both of them, or at least shake the telekinetic a little bit, with one manoeuvre.

Listening to what Jep had to tell him with half an ear, Tom focused on a very specific series of minuscule finger motions. In truth, the actual invention of this device hadn't been overly taxing; it had been the three days of learning and memorising an extremely elaborate number of unimaginably precise manoeuvres, only one or two of which he'd actually end up using, as Tom found the only almost-undetectable way to utilise his device was to control it with one set of fingers while he covered them with the other hand. Even now, small vibrations were changing the inaudible soundwaves already messing with Asher Sato's mind. Tom had already decided that no other Hero would know of what he was doing to 'save' them, but part of his mind suddenly desired to share notes on this project with Maestro. The genius didn't have quite the dexterity to line his soundwave up, but surely he'd come up with some more efficient delivery method - would he rely on soundwaves at all? It was a little clunky.

Shaking his thoughts aside, Tom finished his series of signals. Asher's anger would begin to exponentially increase - one of the next few things he heard, if provocative enough, would produce yet another outburst.

"Sure. I think we can agree we're both in the middle ground between 'don't do anything' and 'do this'. We could go on, but I'd like to use this discussion to bring attention to the fact that this concept might be suffering from poor execution." He turned back to the senators.

"Not that I'm particularly versed in correct political procedure. But the first question I asked, last time I was here, was exactly what form of oversight you were hoping to implement. The group of you don't seem to know. Which is fine! It should take a lot of deliberation to figure this out - indeed, I pray to the Truth and Drive for whoever ends up with the burden of having to make these decisions, which will inevitably impact all of Illessia. But the nature of this Hearing is such that it ends in either the idea being abolished, or the group of you being approved to go and implement what countermeasures you like. That's not to say that I don't trust you. But let me offer a hypothetical scenario. Firstly, I think you can all see the theoretical possibility of these laws being implemented in a way that significantly hampers Hero Corps without seeing much benefit in return, yes? With some poor thought and unwise decisions, likely by people who haven't served in the Corps or a similar role, such a thing could at least plausibly happen. If that is the case, then of course every Hero would be aware of it. And they are - there is no doubt a sort of fear surrounding what you're offering. Of course there are the self-centred ones afraid of being put on a short leash, but there are just as many Heroes out there who want nothing but the good of the people, and are still afraid that soon they won't be able to maintain that as well as they do now."

"And so you come to these Heroes, not with an elaborate plan of what you wish to do, but with something far more worryingly abstract. 'We want to restrict you in some way. We don't know how exactly, but when we figure it out, can we get your retroactive permission now to start planning and pushing for it?' Can you see how that could be seen as concerning? And not just for Heroes - perhaps there are civilians who equally are okay with Hero restrictions but are very shaken by the prospect of letting this move on politically without knowing what it's going to mean. And so we get into this situation, where I can't deny that Heroes have done wrong, but am doing my best to 'protect' my coworkers from what might happen, because...well, could you imagine?"

His look become a steely glare. Not aggressive - just focused.

"Because we're afraid to let a group of powerful people make life-impacting decisions for us without any visible restriction."

And now the time had come. He made a few more finger motions - Asher would explode at any second, with or without a trigger. Better give him some.

"We get it. It's scary. And we can tell, because there are people like this," he gestured to the other table, though more to Asher than Jep, "Who are forced by the tension of the situation to make a show, and convince people of the failings of the Heroes even while we sit here and freely admit them ourselves! Just not with the same exaggerations. Mr. Sato was, in our first encounter, a reasonable gentleman. An opponent of mine, of course, and he tried to kill me - though thankfully he was not a reasonable threat. But he was logical, he had a cause, and I respected his persona if not his fighting ability. The man we see here seems arrogant, aggressive, and indeed...furious. And all of that, I believe, is an expression of the fear of Hero Corps. People on both sides of this argument are struggling to be rational and look at their opposition clearly, because both sides are afraid of what will happen when they...lose, so to speak. Mr. Sato exemplified this when he made up a false story to appeal to the court, twisting real events to suit his belief. I don't think this is intentional - I think the trauma of seeing Hero Corps continue to act unrestricted, especially after suffering an easy defeat as he did at my hands, has-"

He was happy to keep ad-libbing after that point, but he didn't have any more words planned - he fully expected to be violently cut off in some manner or another.

Deception [roll0].

All the modulation stuff throughout the post is fluff, but as Tom is going into his last paragraph, he's going to switch Asher to being utterly furious. Furious at Tom's lying, and also at the nature of the situation, which has brought him here and had him humiliated. Furious enough that he wants to harm Tom (as well as everybody else involved in this farce, but especially Tom), but he also is still looking out for his own life, and is rational enough to realise he could not only fulfil his goals but then escape unharmed to avoid his extended punishment.

Tom will also Ready an action this turn, if he can do so without giving it away, to prepare himself to selflessly and loudly jump in the way (as per Interpose) of any attack directed at somebody within his move range.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Halwick interrupted at one point to say, "I will remind you, we are not 'asking permission'. We are simply collecting information to aid our decision. The single, unified plan that you are suggesting we should have is what will be presented to the Senate as a whole, if we decide to move forward with the law in the first place. We are simply not there yet. We do, of course, recognize that this makes the matter more difficult to debate, as different people imagine the law as different things. This is intentional. It allows us to get opinions and ideas on a broad range of possibilities, which will not only be useful to us in deciding whether or not to make the law, but also what its final form should look like."

There were no further interruptions, until...

"YOOOUUU!!!" Asher yelled, leaping up from his chair with a fist clenched, shaking at Copycat!

The Senators all looked rather annoyed, but Halwick showed it least reservedly, letting out an exasperated sigh and giving the brawler a flat stare. "That is quite enough. Sir," he said to the security guard, "Please remove your charge from this chamber and conduct him back to prison."

"Let's go," the security guard said, setting a hand on Asher's upper arm to nudge him along.

Big mistake.

In a single, smooth motion, Asher Sato, one of the most hard-core straight-sleeper brawlers on the planet, shattered the chains bonding him and took hold of the guard's hand. Before the guard could even go for a weapon, he had kicked his legs out from under him and bodily hurled him straight at Senator Halwick, yelling at the top of his lungs, "REMOVE THIS, OLD MAN!!!!!"

Chaos.

The journalists started spreading out to get better angles, the silence of the chamber broken as reporters started giving a narration of events for those watching at home. Senators rose from their seats and started moving to the exit behind them, not in a panic, but with orderly haste. Halwick, though, faced the oncoming human missile with a smirk, the air around him already rippling as the forcefield tech provided to all Senators activated. He knew he had little to fear from the attack.

Little, and less beside, as Copycat leaped heroically in the way! Halwick actually raised an eyebrow.

And then he turned his attention onto Sato.

Even Senators were not exempt from the suppression of offensive Dreamer powers in this building. But the offensive blocker also wasn't perfect, and Filibuster didn't much care.

"Really? Really. You actually thought that was a sensible course of action? Throwing the guy at a Senator of Ilessia? I can't even imagine the thought process that led to that decision. I can only assume it was something along the lines of 'duh-hurr...duh-herr!' Because no actual thoughts formed by actual words could possibly lead a functioning brain to choose this course of action. It's not even a question of how stupid you are, but of how you actually manage to dress and feed yourself each morning!"

From the moment Filibuster opened his mouth, there was a sort of tension in the air, a sort of tactile pressure akin to the sound of nails scraping on chalkboard...and then suddenly a release. There was a silent explosion, a rippling shockwave, as the Senator's Dreamer power crushed the defense presented by the power suppressors. With every word, invective fell upon Asher Sato like boulders, slamming him with pure, undiluted, focused spite.

But Asher Sato, he didn't turn away, as so many would have. He didn't cover his ears and try to drown out those terrible words. He stood unbowed, facing the Senator, meeting his gaze as he loosed his stream of blistering insult.

And he didn't. Even. Flinch.

Magnus rose from his chair. ~Good save, Tom!~ he sent telepathically, in that serious-yet-encouraging tone of his that just, no matter if you already knew things were going your way or everything seemed to be going bad, always made one feel like everything would turn out right, and there was a plan, and events were proceeding according to it. Then the Commander of a Thousand Eyes turned his attention to Sato. "So, you've fought Copycat before, right? Do you have...any reason to believe you're going to do any better in round two? I mean, any reason whatsoever? I'm actually interested here."

Senator Halwick, Filibuster, was a powerful Dreamer. And you know, let's be clear, power to pure power, his gifts dwarfed those of Magnus Mindrider. But Magnus had never been one of the most powerful Dreamers on the planet. His strength was his tactical mind, his strategic creativity, his ability to say just the right thing in just the right way. And even were he not, most of his best abilities would have been suppressed by the more persistent, less reactive infiltration blocker. Really, he was down to telepathic communication and precognitive tactical enhancement.

But he was a former Hero and Millaine, and Filibuster was not.

When Magnus spoke his taunt, backed though it was by a mere trifle of Dreamer power compared to the force of Halwick's insult, Asher Sato's right eye gave just a little twitch.

The two Senatorial Guards in the room stood ready to fire if Sato made any further move for their charges. "Senator Halwick, sir, please come-"

"Don't interrupt me, son! Now, where was I, ah yes!"

And then of course, there was Jep. A Hero-level telekinetic, standing within arm's reach of the Sato while the brawler's attention was elsewhere. A perfect opportunity! With his power, he could lock Sato immobile to be knocked out and carted off with ease! The power suppressor would give some difficulty, but nothing that a sufficient exertion of will couldn't and he already flew out at top speed, didn't he?

Apparently character growth was for the movie.

Asher:
Move: Escape his bonds, succeeding by Fiat.
Standard: Attack the Security Guard with Mixed Martial Arts, Routining the attack and throwing him at Halwick, but Copycat leaps in the way! The guard fails his resistance check by fiat. Copycat, give me Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. In addition, if you wish, you may forego your Defensive Roll to focus on catching the guard so minimal damage occurs to him; in this case, he'll still be up and fighting rather than auto-incapped, and the cameras will catch you intentionally taking additional risk on yourself for his safety.

Assorted Newsy Types:
Take video! Narrate actions! Be intrepid!

Assorted Senators:
Double Move: Follow protocol and get out of Dodge.

Filibuster:
Move: Laugh in the face of protocol.
Standard: Use FiliBUSTER on Sato, rolling at [roll0] vs. the [roll1] Offensive Power Nullifier. If he succeeds, Asher rolls Dodge ([roll2] after Evasion 2) DC 22 to negate, and if that fails, Will ([roll3]) DC 27 vs. Concentration Damage. Halwick crushes the nullifier, manages to force Sato by sheer force of will to listen to that whole spiel, and Sato doesn't even flinch.

Magnus:
Move: Taunt Asher at [roll4], Second Chance: 23 vs. [roll5]. Set Up to pass the benefits to himself, Copycat, and Filibuster. Demoralized
Standard: Taunt Asher at [roll6], Second Chance: 28 vs. [roll7]. Set Up to pass the benefits to himself, Copycat, and Filibuster. Not quite enough for the four degrees required to Disable even after the -2, so still just Demoralized.
Free: Grant Copycat a Luck Reroll. It must be spent this scene.

Senatorial Guards:
Move: Covering the Senators.
Standard: Ready actions to attack Sato if he takes a hostile action against a Senator.

Jep:
Double Move: Defaults to his usual combat tactics.

Copycat is on turn.

[manwithaplan]

"Sir!"

Tom flipped and twisted through the air to catch the thrown guard in the safest way possible, holding on to him from behind and pulling him down so the two of them would hit the stand in front of Halwick. Paying no mind to his own safety, the mimic slammed into the hard surface and yelled out in pain, making sure to safely grip the guard and help him down softly even as he fell onto his face on the floor. Getting back to his feet, he surveyed the situation with urgency in his eyes and teeth gritted in a sort of self-blaming grief.

Both fake.

Turning up to face the senator behind him, he yelled with compassion.

"Senator Halwick, it's not safe, and you can't resist the nullifiers forever! There's no honour in harming a broken man - you must retreat!"

Then he was truly on his feet and sprinting, moving at haste through the Hearing room to face Asher as sticky goop began to drip from his fingers.

"He's not in his right mind! Stay back!" He was addressing the gunmen.

And, man, don't do that, he shot back to Magnus.

I'm sorry. But I'm worried about this guy.

Getting into position, he didn't strike - he moved around Asher, trying to get him into various grips and holds, supplementing his manoeuvres with the goo as he tried to restrain his target.

Standard Action: Charge! Using Adhesive Strike, boosted to Rank 13, to Grab with All-Out Attack 2. Rank [roll0] against Nullifiers, and Attack [roll1].
Free Action: I will use Extra Effort to get another action and change Asher's moves, but I'm going to see how this resolves first.

Status: Bruised, Dazed, Fatigued and -2 Defence next round.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Asher shot Halwick a glare, and promptly covered his ears, both drowning out hiss voice-conducted powers and making a clear response to Magnus' taunt - that not only could he beat Copycat, he didn't even need his hands to do it!

Of course, without his hands, he kinda didn't have much leverage for fending Copycat off. He whirled and kicked and maneuvered, but Copycat managed to plant some glue on the bottom of his left foot after one kickback, not quite enough to completely stick it to the ground, but enough that it would make it hard to lift it off the ground, hampering him.

Asher didn't care, lashing out with his remaining leg with a swift kick for Copycat's face, aiming to get him dodging before following up with a powerful shot for his collarbone. "KILL YOOOUUU!!!" he, uh, "quipped?"

"Hmph," Halwick sniffed. He had a means of dealing with enemies who tried to drown him out, but it involved actually sullying his hands. He turned and headed for the door after the other Senators, much to the relief of the guards, who brought up the rear, slamming the doors behind them.

~Thought never crossed my mind,~ Magnus sent, approaching the melee. Without weapons and with most of his powers suppressed, Magnus was still a formidably skilled fighter, but he wasn't exactly a bruiser. His right hook probably wouldn't mean overmuch to a brawler of Sato's level.

Fortunately, Copycat seemed to be having some luck dealing with the offensive suppressor, and a teammate was all Magnus ever needed to wreak havoc. He came around from the opposite side, kicking out at Asher's un-pinned leg, aiming to force him to shift his weight to the other one to stay up, further limiting his ability to respond to Copycat's strikes.

Asher:
Move: Agile Feint Copycat at [roll0].
Standard: Attack Copycat with Crippling Strike, Power Attacking for 4, -2 for Impaired, at [roll1]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, and if it fails to beat DC 20, also lose points of all defenses equal to the points below. Miss UNLESS Feint succeeds.
End of Turn: Mobility (replacing Sleight of Hand) to recover (DC 23, -2 for Impaired): [roll2]. My NPCs can never recover from Afflictions, even when recovery is skill-based and they have the skill in question at well above PL.

Magnus:
Move: Into Close range of Asher.
Standard: Aid Copycat's next attack with Unarmed Strike at +5 for Teamwork: [roll3]. Copycat gets +5 on his next attack.

Copycat is on turn.

[manwithaplan]

Tom ducked and weaved around Asher's kicks, right up until the shot at his collarbone actually knocked him off-balance and sent him reeling back a few steps. He would never admit it as he stopped a few feet away to catch his breath, but there was a truth to Asher's superiority - he'd never be as fast or as tough as Tom. But that was all talent. When it came to raw understanding and skill, he was his own sort of genius. Still recovering, Tom nodded as Magnus forced Asher onto his half-stuck leg, almost smiling to himself as he rushed back in.

Hey, you're actually pretty good at this.

The mimic lunged in with a haymaker punch, as if he was about to knock the brawler out cold - but no, he wouldn't be caught dead on camera doing such a thing. He swung wide and opened his fist into a palm as it went by Asher's face, a glorious blast of light seeping out to dazzle his eyes.

Eyes disabled, ears and arms not in use, one leg busy, the other one stuck. One couldn't be neutralised much more, and yet neither Hero had truly laid a hand on him. This would make the evening news without a doubt. Spinning around, Tom brought one of his legs against Asher's, aiming to sweep through his one-leg stance without enough force to risk knocking him over, but not to leave a bruise. In doing so he left himself with his back to the brawler and, looking at the room around him, his enhanced Lightbringer eyes gave him a beautiful image of the people watching him. Including a brief flash of the face of Jace Pettigrew.

Hmmm. Evening news indeed.

Whatever Asher did next, Tom likely wouldn't be prepared to defend himself - he was, just for a moment, stuck in some sort of contemplative thought.

Free Action: Switch to Light Control, upping Blinding Strike to Rank 13.
Standard Action: Blinding Strike on Asher, Defensive Attack 2. This time using Strength to Trip, Power Rank [roll0] against Nullifiers. Attack [roll1] for DC 23 Fortitude against Visually Impaired/Disabled/Unaware. If the attack hits by 2 or more, Asher must also roll a DC [roll2] Mobility check against a Trip.

Status: 2 Bruises and Dazed, Fatigued, -1 All Defences.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The dual tech was enough to give Copycat a clear shot at his eyes. Light gathered in his hand...and faded away as the power suppressors squelched down on the cheap power copy provided by a cheap summon.

Copycat tried to take him down while he was off-balance, but Asher used the glue locking his leg to his advantage, allowing his balance to fail and relying on it to keep him upright by leaving all his weight on it, knowing he wouldn't slip and topple before he caught his balance again. This was Asher Sato after all; anyone who had fought as many Dreamers as he had, without powers of their own, had to get good at using the abilities of their enemy to their advantage.

Asher lashed out then, a rapid flurry of blows at both Copycat and Magnus, although his attention was a little occupied scraping the rest of the glue off his foot. His assault left Magnus reeling regardless. Then, in a sudden move, he bounded away from them, leaping and back-flipping over the heavy table that the Senators sat at. He landed with his feet planted on the backs of two of the Senator's chairs, the chairs tipping back precariously, but staying steadily upright as he balanced perfectly atop them, one hand held behind his back for control - and the other hand, he stretched towards Copycat and made a "come on" gesture with his fingers.

Gonna do Magnus' turn next, since it'll depend on his status after Asher.

Asher:
Standard: Attack Copycat and Magnus with Flurry of Blows, All Out Attack for 2, Multiattack for 2, Power Attack for 2. On a hit, Toughness DC 23 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 18 vs. Cumulative Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction.
Copycat: [roll0]. Hit
Magnus: [roll1]. Hit
Move: As stated.
(Think I forgot his Impaired, but both hit anyway).

Magnus:
Stunned.

Copycat is on turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Meanwhile, the dinky little security guard, who had up to this point been kinda just watching the fight in shocked, narrowed his eyes and bulled out his Stun Baton! "Stand down or get put down!" he challenged authoritatively, and when Asher didn't make any move to surrender, he swung the weapon, clicking the button that extended its reach as he did so it swiped over the table at the martial artist!

Security Guard:
Move: To within ten feet of Asher.
Standard: Attack Asher with Stun Baton at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness ([roll1]) DC 19 vs. Damage, Fortitude ([roll2]) DC 14 vs. Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. Accomplishes EXACTLY what he was supposed to!

...Asher, of course, just kinda jumped over it and landed back on the backs of the chairs, his balance not even swaying.

[manwithaplan]

Whatever horrible thing was happening in his mind came to an end before Tom could be struck; he spun around and began to parry and block his way through Asher's attacks. Forced not to rely on his powers, he instead used his own talent to swing through and around the combo relatively unharmed. Asher was wearing him down, though, and finally got the Mimic into a corner right as he also knocked Magnus away. But he didn't seem to notice, retreating away. And then in came the security guard; Tom almost laughed. It was like playing a game of chess where his pieces autonomously moved into the ideal position for him.

"Sir, do not engage!"

But of course he did. A grimace and a concerned cry were all the Mimic could seem to muster. He turned to exchange a look with Magnus, but he was stunned; yes, there would never again be a more perfect opportunity to show the people why they should revere the name of Thomas Chide.

"Asher, do not harm him!"

His hand rose up, glowing with light. This was not the light he had used to strike the brawler a moment before; it was golden, restorative, healing.

"Whatever wound you make on him will be undone twice as fast! By my word, nobody will be injured at this Hearing!"

One hand was raised and ready to heal. The other was at his side, his fingers...twitching, for some reason.

Free Action: Switch into Eskiro's Healing.
Standard Action: Ready an action to use Healing Word on the guard if he's attacked.
Move Action: Asher's fury and pride cocktail together; he wants to create an injury Tom won't heal, but he's aware of the readied action. He uses that one throwing power he has to take the guard and launch him at a wall :smallcool: Jace Pettigrew with enough force to kill him Jace. Edit Scene applied.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME!? HEAL THIS!!!" Asher screamed, springing from the chairs and landing before the security guard. The man collapsed his stun baton back down, bringing it around to defend himself, but he was far too slow to stop Asher Sato. Before his baton was even in a sure grip, Asher lashed out with all his tremendous strength in a crushing kick so powerful it would send the guard flying if it hit.

Right at Jace...

Asher:
Move: Into Close range of the guard.
Standard: Attack the guard with Mixed Martial Arts, Power Attacking for 5, Routining for 15. Toughness ([roll0]) DC 30 vs. Lethal Damage. Copycat's Healing prevents the lethal damage, but the guard's still unconscious if when he fails his save. Strength ([roll1]) DC 25 or sent flying into Jace (Routined for 15) who will have to roll Toughness ([roll2]) DC 30 vs. Lethal Damage, dying instantly on a failure due to Minion status. Guard Incapacitated and launched. Jace KILLED!

Magnus:
Stunned.
End of Turn: Recover (DC 18) at [roll3]. Recovers

Copycat is on turn.

Copycat's power healed the worst of the guard's injury instantly - but didn't stop him from being launched like an arrow across the room, straight into the mass of newscasters. But whatever terrible fortune, straight at Jace Pettigrew. The popular talk-show host, there to gather information for his next day's show, didn't have a chance. Although maybe it sometimes seemed it, not everyone in Aranth whose name we know can reach down and find a wellspring of power and courage when they need it most. Some of them are just people. And sometimes people just...die.

The guard's head cracked into Jase's at the speed of a professional fastball, and the talk show host went down, his head lolling weirdly.

Sudden, complete silence fell over the journalists as what had appeared to be an insane, but really kinda humorous, brawl, suddenly turned deadly serious.

Some of them even ran.

Magnus managed to gather his wits. Too late. A pained look crossed his face.

He hadn't even seen it coming.

...

Meanwhile, in Millaine, Suzanne Leon stared at the television screen with her hands covering her mouth, tears in her eyes, and her whole body shaking.

A light dusting of frost covered every surface in the room around her. But she was not shaking from the cold.

Copycat, roll a check using your total accumulated Suzanne Relationship Building successes (not those currently available as favors, the total you've built up). The DC is 30, and it cannot be Routined.

[manwithaplan]

It had started as an idea. A strategy. Of course the Hearing would be dangerous. Not only were his secrets out there, but so were the people that would happily volunteer to announce them. And all his career, this entire year, Tom had unknowingly gathered the powers and abilities that would allow him to protect himself - to silence them all, remove it all from existence so it could never come back again, and make himself and his organisation look incredible. A year ago he would never have thought he could talk calmly to a whole group of senators, fight toe-to-toe with somebody like Asher Sato, invent and operate a unique Dreamtech device, and put on an impressive act in front of a whole room full of reporters.

At least now he didn't have to act.

A big part of Tom had simply wanted to know if, hypothetically, he could do something this elaborate. Now at the climax he felt his heart sinking, and for just a moment, he had to wonder...what had he done?

A thought for later. His head slowly turned to look at Magnus.

"Help me."

Switching powers, he reached again towards Asher; this time with the intent to restrain.

Move Action: Tuning Asher back to the main event; kill Copycat.
Standard Action: Targeted Time Stop on Asher. Power Rank [roll0]. On a success, DC 21 Will against Entranced/Stunned/Incapacitated.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Copycat's power beat the suppressors that time, and fell over Asher. The martial artist froze for a few seconds as he found himself briefly cut off from Time.

Magnus, face grim, all his usual witty cheer gone, replied to Tom with a firm nod. "It's over. Stop resisting," he demanded of the brawler, a military commander's unshakable authority in his tone.

Asher:
Entranced.
End of Turn: Recover from Entranced (DC 21, +2 for Defiance) at [roll0]. Recovers.

Magnus:
Move: Taunt Asher at [roll1], Second Chance 26 (didn't notice his Benefit last time) vs. [roll2]. Demoralized.
Standard: Taunt Asher at [roll3], Second Chance 28 vs. [roll4]. Disabled after -2 from Demoralized.
Benefits passed to Copycat as well.

Copycat is on turn.

[manwithaplan]

His hand was still raised, and Tom shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

He clenched the fist, grabbing the very table that the brawler had been held at, and levitated it into the air in a silvery grasp of telekinetic energy. Then he flung the object towards the brawler, aiming to knock him out with the concussive force. Part of him just wanted this to be over.

Move Action: All good.
Standard Action: Telekinetic Exertion, boosted to Rank 11, to throw a table at Asher. DC 25 Toughness Damage is all.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued, Vulnerable (F18; Recover [roll0]).

[Quellian-dyrae]

Asher hesitated, visibly, at Magnus's order. Just enough that when Copycat threw the table at him, he wasn't quite fast enough to fully roll with it. The table clipped him, but even propelled by the force of Copycat's will, it was nothing he couldn't take.

He came up from his roll rushing at Copycat. "YOU GOT LUCKY LAST TIME, MIMIC! THIS TIME YOU DIE!" There was...a sort of conflict on his face, like he almost wanted to obey Magnus' command, to stand down, but something in him demanded he refuse.

His fists rained down in fury, though his strikes were jerky, hesitant.

"You keep fighting. WHY? Do you really think you can win here? You know you can't escape - Copycat has a dozen different ways to move at speeds you can't imagine! You can't defeat the both of us! Surrender!" Magnus shouted furiously, keeping up the pressure, as he charged in, arm's outstretched. Not that he really expected to be able to land a hold on a brawler like Asher, but hopefully throwing him off would leave an opening for Copycat.

~We just have to hold a bit longer. The Guard should be in here in another twenty seconds.~

He had meant it as an encouragement. He didn't know it was more like a time limit.

Asher:
Move: Into Close range on Copycat.
Standard: Attack Copycat with Flurry of Blows, -5 for Disabled, at [roll0]. On a hit, Toughness DC 21+Multiattack vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 16+Multiattack vs. Cumulative Vulnerable/Stunned/Incapacitated Affliction. Hit. +2 for Multiattack.
End of Turn: Five ranks of fake regen apply. Bruise will "Regenerate" (be ignored) at the end of next turn.

Magnus:
Move: Taunt Asher at [roll1], Second Chance 26, vs. [roll2]. Resists after +1 degree for Natural 20.
Standard: Charge Asher as an Aid action for Copycat at [roll3]. +2 to Copycat's next attack.
Free: Grant Copycat another Luck Reroll.

Copycat is on turn.

[manwithaplan]

Tom raised his already-bruised arms to defend himself against Asher - the rain of blows came down hard on him but couldn't quite break the guard, bouncing off as he stood firm under the brawler's flurry. Then his arms opened and his steel glare matched his opponent's. No more. He pushed the brawler back to get space and then dashed in to follow.

"Please stop." And he did the one thing Copycat would never do.

A light, quick jab to the head.

Which happened to weigh a couple tonnes or so.

Free Action: Switch to Magnus' powers. Give Magnus a Luck Reroll back.
Move Action: Taunt Asher at Deception 22. If that fails, Second Chance [roll0].
Free Action: Ultimate Dreamer - Switch into Noel's Weighted Attacks.
Standard Action: Weighted Punch! Boosted with Power Mastery, Effect Rank [roll1]. Accurate All-Out Attack 2. Attack [roll2] for DC 26 Damage, DC 21 Fortitude against Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued, -2 Defence next turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

When two skilled precogs both tried to learn about the future in opposition to each other, it created a sort of static. A cloud of possibilities updating too rapidly and chaotically to easily get a clear picture of probabilities.

When two skilled precogs both tried to learn about the future working together, it was another matter entirely.

In a lightning-fast telepathic exchange of vision and analysis, Copycat and Magnus bounced future probabilities back and forth in their heads, and found precisely which path led to the future they desired.

A quick, light jab from Copycat, backed by the force of Amand Noel's power was all it took. Asher didn't recognize the threat. He was so busy looking for the real attack, that he didn't worry about the more-or-less harmless punch.

*Thud*

Asher dropped to the ground unconscious. The remaining journalists let out a subdued cheer.

~That was clever. Mid-combat precognitive triangulation. I'll have to remember that next time I'm working with another seer. You've gotten...awfully good at using my power, Tom. Don't think I've forgotten our little War Game. I'm impressed. A little bit annoyed that you can beat me at my own game, but impressed.~

Magnus is totally trying to take your mind off the poor man who was killed.

[manwithaplan]

Tom stopped to catch his breath as he looked at Asher's unconscious body. Then he looked at Magnus as the man communed with him mentally, staring at the other seer with mouth slightly open. Projected in his eyes were loss, fear, and perhaps a little self-loathing.

Concealed by his own leg, the Mimic tensed his ring and pinky finger joints. By the time he broke eye contact with Mindrider to sprint across the room, the sound-modulating attachment in his wristwatch was halfway through melting itself to a crisp, internal temperature regulators filtering out the metal waste and keeping the rest in working order.

"Sir!"

As he approached the corpse of Jace Pettigrew, gently but urgently moving through those nearby if necessary, he dropped onto his knees in front of the man. Suddenly, Copycat was very quiet. After a pause he looked about at the reporters surrounding him.

"I...my goodness, I..."

Emotions were contagious. Surrounded by despair and loss, it wasn't that hard to feel and embrace the same; his hands trembled some as he looked at his handiwork again.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The journalists quieted as Copycat approached. They were more spread out now, making space around the body. All of them looked shock. Many of them had tears in their eyes. Some were crying openly. Still, they were there. They documented this event, so that people could know about it. They did their jobs.

The cameras pointed at Copycat. Televisions across the country showed a picture of the Hero Corps Member's dismayed face.

"Is..." one of the reporters said hesitantly. "Is there anything you would like to say?"

Magnus watched with cautious yet hopeful eye. He...knew, of course. His sister had told him. But could he really...?

Barely noticed, a squad of Regional Guards burst inside, weapons ready. Magnus held up a forestalling hand, approaching to speak with them.

[manwithaplan]

Tom stared into the camera for just a moment, showing off the same look he had given to Magnus. He turned to look at the body, then back to the camera...and then his face changed. Mouth closed, eyes strong, he took on a sort of grim determination.

"I hope this doesn't seem...insensitive."

His eyes had closed, he'd looked away again, and he was slowly rising to his feet.

"And I...I don't want to get anybody's hopes up."

Eyes open again, slowly.

"But I may be able to...I mean, he's...I..."

He shook his head. His hands opened, and the same golden light from before seeped out. Kneeling back towards Jace, Tom moved both hands closer, and the two globes of golden energy he held met together and began to react in some way. A whirlwind of gold formed between his palms, something charging up and moving along the spectrum between yellow and white as he drew it closer to Jace. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead now, as his hands were almost touching and the raw power writhed and crackled in reaction to being spatially suppressed.

"It likely won't be enough. I'm sorry"

He unleashed what he had prepared. Blinding, golden-white light, and the sound of a holy shockwave to boot as he did what a man should not be able to do. A new spark entered Jace Pettigrew, a process that no viewer could understand even if they were unable to see.

And then the light faded, and Jace Pettigrew was among the living. In the golden afterglow Tom stood at his height, staggering back a bit as his own energy made him recoil. For a moment the mimic seemed to find his balance, getting square footing on the floor and coming to a still. But then everybody saw his exhausted face. Staring straight ahead, unfocused, barely present in the wake of what he had sacrificed. He began to topple, his legs giving way-

Bang!

And struck his head on the very corner of a table that had been behind him. The Hero landed indignantly on the ground, an unsightly bleeding wound on the side of his head, now unconscious in the middle of the room.

You know the drill. Stunt Resurrection, take it to 11.

Healing [roll0].

Succeeds regardless, but below a result of 20, a Hero Point will have to be spent.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The power to revive the dead was awesome, in the classical sense of the word.

It was the power to undo some of the most permanent of consequences, of the most grievous of errors, of the most terrible of evils. All true Heroes feared the day when they might fail, and that failure would come at the cost of an innocent life. And so this power, the ability to turn back that fear, was revered.

And yet, for all that, it was not widely sought. Not by Heroes, certainly, nor by members of the Assembly Cleanup Crew. Few of those who would most wish to use that power truly wished to possess it. For the power to revive the dead was never without limits. It was not perfectly reliable. It operated within narrow windows of possibility. Most of all, it took staggering amounts of energy. Even for the greatest of Dreamers, the simple fact was that you could not save everyone.

To deal with that, with the power to choose who lives and who dies, knowing you could not choose everyone, knowing that you would be blamed by the loved ones of those you had lacked the strength to save, was enough to break the will of many a great healer. Eskiro Asama would say that it was a blessing that through his powers, lives lost could be saved. But he would never say that he was blessed.

The wise understood that the power of resurrection was a wondrous burden, a miraculous curse. It was no mere tool, certainly no toy to play with.

Copycat's power rushed through Jace Pettigrew. Despite his outward protestations, we know him to be confident. And why shouldn't he be? His plan was executed to perfection, and this, the restoration of a life on camera, in front of the whole country, would be his crowning achievement. He had done it, had mastered that most difficult power. He had the strength, he had the will. He manifested the power perfectly, even stronger than Eskiro himself could, the brilliance of his power exploding outward to break the Promise of Life and Death.

The journalists watched in awestruck silence, with bated breath.

The Guards ceased their talking, turning to stare.

Across the nation, hopeful eyes stared at screens consumed with white and gold.

Magnus Mindrider gave a slender grin.

Slumped back against a frost-dusted couch dozens of miles away, Suzanne Leon gripped her television remote in both hands, and prayed.

The light faded. Copycat fell.

Jace Pettigrew...lay still.

Copycat did not see the Guards turn back to Magnus and resume speaking with professional discipline.

He did not see Magnus' face fall just slightly, before he excused himself to tend to the fallen mimic.

He did not see the shaken, crestfallen faces of the journalists, as they let out weary sighs, or squeezed their eyes closed against the tears.

He did not see the shock and grief that spread across the country in a wave.

...And he did not feel his phone vibrate.

He didn't feel it the first time. The second time. The fifth time. The tenth time...

Amidst the shattered ruin of frozen shards that had once been all the furniture in her once-tastefully-decorated living room, furious tears trailing lines of fire down her ice-cold cheeks, Suzanne Leon hit "call" again.

By GM Fiat, Jace does not revive.

Copycat, take two :smallcool::smallcool: Hero Points, one for me Fiating the action as a failure, one for me throwing a monkey wrench into your plan as a whole.

Maestro also receives a :smallcool: Hero Point, since even though Jace wasn't really a critical NPC, he still introduced him.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Copycat awoke in the aftermath. At some point, someone had taken several chair cushions, laid them out on the ground, and set him atop them.

The unconscious Asher was being hauled out, once again manacled.

Magnus was speaking to Guards and local police, giving his statement.

Most of the journalists were gone, but a few dedicated reporters remained to give statements and chronicle the events.

Paramedics were wheeling away a body bag.

There was no sign of Jace.

In his pocket, his phone gave a couple short vibrations, indicating a missed call.

So, it sounds like "leave Jace dead" has the vote, but again, if anyone's at all averse to that, say the word and I will not hesitate to retcon.

That in mind, starting this back up so Manwithaplan isn't just sitting out for the rest of the episode, and also because I figure there are a few things Copycat may or may not want to do in the immediate aftermath.

[Quellian-dyrae]

It had been nearly two weeks since the committee had last convened.

On that evening, thirteen days ago, the Hearing was rocked by the stunning attack by Asher Sato that had brought the discussion to an abrupt end, and caused the tragic death of Jace Pettigrew. That was bad enough, but shortly thereafter, Senator Halwick had learned that his niece had gone missing. (Along with, inexplicably, her front door, but the front door's uncle isn't an Ilessian Senator, so it wasn't considered a big part of the story). Thus, the Hearing was suspending to give Senator Halwick time to support his family, and also to honor the death of Mr. Pettigrew.

But the hold was at an end. All seven Senators were seated at their table, the journalists were crowded in the far side of the room, and the chamber nonetheless retained its profound quietude.

When Waterworks entered, Senator Halwick shot her an unmistakably angry glare, just for a moment, before gazing back ahead, steely-eyed.

There were already three others in the room. Sitting at the table on the right, for those who intended to provide testimony against the law, was Pleasance Derrik. The regenerator was outfitted in her shiny new cybernetic prostheses, replacements for the horrific implants that Adair Gaertner had installed upon her and that Waterworks herself had previously melted away. She gave the hydromorph a warm smile as she entered, although she retained a professional enough air that she didn't wave or anything.

At the table on the left, for those intending to provide testimony for the law, Emil McBride sat in the leftmost of the three chairs. The military mage was wearing his officer's uniform, finely pressed and boots polished, as was his wont. He glanced at Waterworks and gave her a respectfully neutral nod.

Sitting beside him in the center seat was a woman that Waterworks would recognize only by pictures of her. A tall, athletic woman with long dark blond hair, vividly green eyes, and tanned skin, she was dressed in a pale green blouse and white pants, and didn't seem entirely comfortable in her seat. She looked over Darla briefly as she entered, but there was no trace of emotion on her face, positive or negative, at the sight of the Hero.

Which, all things considered, was just a little strange, coming from the manager of the Verdanian Assembly Cleanup Crew, Felicity Moreau.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks wishes that there was a middle seat she could take, in between the pro- and anti-bill sides. She hesitates for a long moment at the entrance to the Hearing room, ostensibly surveying who is there to give herself some more time.

She meets the Senator's glare squarely, allowing her grief and sympathy for him to show in her eyes more than her face. Had I been a few seconds faster... Waterworks pushes away the old thoughts that haunt any Hero who has done their job for more than a few months, dismissing them as useless.

Waterworks nods back to Emil McBride, smiling slightly to him. She keeps her smile when looking at Felicity Moreau, though her thoughts turn worried at the others' taciturn nature. Is she here because of Saint Romsmere? Or Mentallo Industries? Actually, I should stop being specific; she's probably here because of the Maelstrom, among other things.

In the end, it was seeing Pleasance Derrik that decided her. Greeting the regenerator's smile with a warm smile of her own, Waterworks moves over and seats herself on the right side of the room. Seeing the woman whole and well puts to rest one recurring nightmare, at least.

For a moment, she glances in the direction of the Hero Corps building. Something, a protective, almost mothering instinct, nags at her for a moment... but she shakes her head slightly and looks back at the Senators calmly. She had chosen her side; it is time to focus on the Hearing.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Before we begin, I would like to say a few words," Senator Halwick said. Most of them hid it, but there was a flicker of a bemused look on Senator Law's face as he said so. Filibuster wanting to say a "few words" was something of an inside joke in the Senate.

"I would first like to thank everyone who has offered their sympathy and well wishes to my family and I in the aftermath of my niece's disappearance. They have been a welcome support in a very difficult time for us. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to my fellow Senators for agreeing to suspend these Hearings for the past two weeks so that I could attend to the needs of my family."

"During this time I have been devoting all of my resources and attention to trying to find her. I have reached out to my former colleagues in the IIN, my own network of contacts, and to Dreamers with powers to uncover information where there is no evidence to find. I have already informed both my family and law enforcement officials of the results of my investigation, and now I must sadly inform the public at large, that my investigation confirms that in all probability, we will not be finding my niece alive." He had maintained a dignified, professional tone up until those last two words, on which he did sound just a bit choked.

"As best I have been able to discover, Shara was not only killed, but her body destroyed in its entirety.
It is the only realistic possibility that remains after excluding all other practical means of extracting her from her home in the timeframe that would have been necessary. As a result of this heinous action, my sister must not only live with the loss of her daughter, but is denied even the chance to give her a proper burial. And I vow that the person responsible will be punished for this, to the fullest extent Ilessian law allows."

"We live in a world where anything is possible, and as such, I have spent significant time seeking evidence that would deny this conclusion, that some Dreamer power or another was able to whisk Shara from her home undetected. In doing so, I had her home and its surroundings scanned for evidence of teleportation - which, at first hearteningly, was found, and analysis indicated the teleportation matched fairly closely with the presumed time of the attack."

Senator Halwick's gaze settled onto Waterworks, and though he managed to keep it mostly out of his voice, his anger and blame showed clearly in his eyes. "The analysis also indicated that it was a hydroportation effect of the kind you are known for. Records of the Hero App show an alert being put in from my niece's house at around the same time.
You were there, Miss Sanders, weren't you? I am asking you, in my official capacity as an Ilessian Senator and before the assembled Committee for this Hearing, to provide testimony as to what you witnessed that night!"

The other Senators are definitely surprised at that, and several of them look uncomfortable about it.
You get the sense that Senator Halwick isn't...entirely within his rights here, but how could they really challenge his request after all that? He's a grieving uncle trying to get justice for his niece.

Okay, technically, Senator Halwick doesn't have the authority to compel testimony from you on that because it's outside the scope of the Hearing. That being said, if you were to give testimony on it before the Committee anyway, it would be legally binding testimony, and if proved false could be subject to penalties of perjury.

[Zelphas]

Waterworks listens to Senator Halwick's words, her face alive with sympathy. She has been blessed in that no one close to her has been killed, so she can hardly imagine the pain that the Senator is going through at that moment. The fact that he would attempt to use this Hearing, about a law he obviously believed in, in an attempt to gain some closure for his niece's death is heartbreaking, and Waterworks hates what she has to say next.

(Of course, the thought has occurred to her that things might be the other way around; Senator Halwick may be using his niece's death in an attempt to sway public opinion in favor of the law by blackening Waterworks' name. The hydrokinetic simply refuses to believe that anyone would be so heartless.)

"Senator Halwick, I am truly sorry for your loss," Waterworks begins, her voice calm and clear. "However, I am afraid that all I can tell you is that I have done all I can to ensure that SIDE is able to conduct a proper, thorough investigation of the matter, knowing all of the facts. If SIDE has not made their investigation public, it is not my place to do so." Waterworks wishes that she had paid more attention to Ilessian law in school, but she thinks that what she's saying works.

She takes a deep breath. "Again, I am sorry, but I have to ask what relevance this has to the Hearing at hand. At the very beginning of this Hearing, we were explicitly told that this was not a trial, and that this Hearing has no legal standing. Furthermore, there is currently no evidence that the death of Shara Hartmann has anything to do with the freedoms of Hero Corps."

I'd like to roll Persuasion here; Waterworks hasn't said anything that is untrue, and she is trying her absolute hardest to be non-confrontational and as gentle as possible. If I could, I'd Routine this check for a 20; if not, here goes: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Senator Halwick's face noticeably darkened a few shades. He opened his mouth to deliver a scathing retort, but Senator Sultan quietly cut him off with, "She's not wrong, Arnold."

Halwick's mouth snapped shut, and though he glared at Waterworks fiercely, he gave a terse nod.

"Then perhaps we should begin," von Brandt said. "Mrs. Moreau, I admit I am a little surprised to find you at that table. Would you care to start?"

"Of course. And I had not expected to be sitting here either. And to a large degree, I still don't agree with the idea that Hero Corps should be restricted by government oversight. Their freedom to react and respond to crisis immediately, without concern for protocols and hierarchies and authorization, is as much a part of their strength as it is the Assembly Cleanup Crew's. While it's not quite the same, I do have some experience with making the sorts of decisions that Heroes must make every day, often in exigent circumstances that do not allow for a delay to gather all information. Even in a circumstance where action in the moment remained unrestricted and merely needed to be accounted for later,
I am concerned that simply the knowledge that they would have their every action judged would, even if only subconsciously, cause hesitance. It's fine to say, from a place of safety, that taking more time to think in the heat of the moment would be a good thing, but there are situations where even a moment's hesitation can be disastrous."

"That being said, what recent events have shown me is that the Corps does need some measure of oversight when it comes to situations that are not immediate crises. It's long been taken for granted that if Heroes wish to track down and apprehend villains, they just can. And to a certain extent, that's a good thing! When faced with a powerful Dreamer or similar threat, Hero Corps has proven time and time again that they can get the job done with much reduced risk. It would be foolish to require that a unit of SIDE agents risk death because Hero Corps doesn't have authorization, and likewise foolish to allow a dangerous criminal to act unchecked because all resources are not being brought to bear against them."

"But it's in these circumstances where Heroes risk crossing the line. In these cases, the circumstances aren't exigent and the danger isn't immediate. Hero Corps does not require the same freedom of action in these cases. If the Heroes have discretion over how far their authority extends beyond their stated goal as a rapid response force...that can lead to situations where a single paranoid Hero might target a non-threat, or attempt to punish people for something they only might do. It can lead to Heroes thinking their own judgment more important than that of the law and the country, and using their powers and ingenuity to try to enforce that judgment regardless of the cost. And it can lead to disaster where Heroes try to contain a danger that is beyond their capacity to contain alone."

"So, what I think would be the best thing this committee can do, is develop a law that doesn't touch Hero Corps' standard and official purpose, while establishing a framework for working with the authorities when going beyond rapid response. Ideally, this would also create a framework for when the authorities should call in Hero Corps, so as to ensure that Heroic aid is rendered when it will be useful, not merely when someone gets it in their heads to have Hero Corps help with a particular problem."

"Except," Pleasance Derrik spoke up immediately, "That if it weren't for Heroes stepping up to go after villains even when they aren't actively doing something, I'd still be a brainwashed murder-cyborg. Those concerns you listed sound all ominous and menacing, sure, but how often does that sort of stuff really happen? Because Heroes save people like me every day, and any law that curtails their ability to do that is...well, I'd like to have some fancier way to say it before a Senate Committee but I don't so I'll just come right out with it. It's stupid."

[Zelphas]

Waterworks nods back to Halwick, attempting not to provoke the man more. He's suffered enough already.

She holds back a sigh as she opens her mouth to reply to the matter at hand, realizing that what she's about to say will probably be repeated several times today. "I think I can understand both points here. If Heroes are given impunity to simply hunt down whoever they like, then that's definitely an issue... but if too many restrictions are put in place, a lot of people could and would get hurt.

"I'm only speaking from my experience, but to my knowledge the Heroes of Millaine as a group have never 'targeted' anyone without concrete evidence of past wrongdoing. I thought that that was required of us, actually, and I trusted--" Waterworks pushes through the slight hesitance quickly "--my team to give that evidence before we acted on anything. Making a law that would require us to present evidence before tracking down a villain makes sense on the surface, but I would worry that the law could easily be either so specific as to be nearly useless or so broad as to be actively obstructive to our everyday work, if someone in power chose to use it in such a way."

Persuasion to smooth that over and have it make some sort of sense?: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Brief as it was, Senator Halwick caught that slight hint of hesitation, and there was a fleeting flash of contempt on his face at it. Several of the other Senators nodded slightly at Darla's point, though.

Emil spoke up in response, a frown on his face. "Honestly, that's a point I've heard raised several times over the past few weeks, and it rather irks me that it keeps getting brought up," the war-wizard said crisply. "'If someone in power were to use it in such a way,' and all the variations of it. One of the biggest arguments against this law seems to be 'what if someone bad uses it to keep Hero Corps from doing their jobs'. And I think we need to finally strike that one from the discussion."

"Look, don't get me wrong. I'm aware that corruption, conflict of interest, and simple incompetence are things that exist. I'm not going to pretend that SIDE, or the police, or the Senate itself is perfect. I'm sure as spit not going to pretend that in my time in the military I haven't seen my share of officers abusing their power or violating their oaths. But I'm not going to pretend Hero Corps is somehow on a higher moral plane. We've all heard about fallen Heroes turned terrors like Brava Suldoon, or petty schmucks like that Victor whats-his-him from whats-its-place." To be fair, Emil didn't bring up the recent controversies and questions surrounding Wilson and Copycat, although it was certain that people had to be thinking about it.

"And I'm not saying that's any worse than anyone else, either. You get a big enough group of people, you're going to get some bad apples. Sometimes those bad apples will be found in positions of power and authority. That's just fact.
But this argument seems to be trying to convince people that having people in authority is what leads to the corruption,
and that's demonstrably untrue. The military has it's problems, but it wouldn't have fewer problems if every soldier answered only to itself. No large organization would. We use rules, authorities, checks and balances, to minimize chaos and corruption, and to root it out and punish it where it is found. Hero Corps isn't above that."

"When I found an officer abusing his or her authority, I took it to their CO and action was taken. That's how it should be. I'm not saying Heroes need a babysitter. I'm not even saying they should have to fill out the sort of paperwork that say the police do when they discharge their weapons. But yes, there should absolutely be a set of laws that make clear what Heroes may and may not do, and there should absolutely be an authority to which infractions are reported and which can take appropriate action in response. Before things get out of hand."

[Zelphas]

"I can see your reasoning," Waterworks responds, keeping her tone even, "And I can definitely understand a desire for some sort of authority to have a final say over Hero Corps. My concern is over who that authority will be. If oversight of Hero Corps is tied directly into the government, then Heroes will become, in effect, government employees; this would change who they are and what they can do, both in Ilessia and around the world. While some of that change may be good, it would also limit how quickly Heroes can do their jobs, which is the absolute last thing that should ever happen.

"Related to slowing down our jobs... as you said, Mr. McBride, when you had an issue with an officer, you took it up the chain of command and action was taken concerning it. How long, on average, would you say that it took between you reporting the abuse and action being taken? How long had the officer been abusing his authority before it was noticed and the people in charge of him were notified? And this would be in the military, which is pretty close to the best there is when it comes to efficiency." Waterworks took in a deep breath. "Mrs. Moreau, you mentioned before that a moment's hesitation can be a disaster when you work as a Hero. I have several times arrived to save someone with seconds to spare... and more than once, I have arrived literal seconds after someone could have been saved." She takes another deep breath, settling her thoughts. "Let's give everyone the benefit of the doubt and say that the person put in charge is not incompetent, or corrupt. Let's say that as a government-appointed official assigned to work as oversight for Hero Corps, they are simply unfamiliar with Hero Corps' workings in more than an academic sense. Someone who hasn't made the sort of split-second decisions that come up almost daily in Hero Corps, who's used to taking hours or days to work through a problem when we only have seconds..."

Waterworks shakes her head, trying to keep the tiredness out of her voice. "I don't mean to sound like I'm fear-mongering, and perhaps my own understanding is skewed by the events in and around Millaine in the past year, but in my experience Heroes can't afford to have someone who slows us down in an emergency in charge of them, any more than they can chance having no one in charge at all. One bad day costs too many lives for that."

Moar Persuasion: [roll0]

[Quellian-dyrae]

"You do seem to be conflating two different points there, Miss Sanders," Felicity said gently, but firmly. "Do not get me wrong, Hero Corps' ability to respond rapidly to peril is absolutely critical to its function. But the time it took the military to learn of and then properly deal with their rogue officers is a separate matter entirely. Or are you trying to say that even with no serious oversight, when a Hero goes rogue or becomes a danger to others, his or her fellows not only notice immediately, but take immediate steps to ensure they do not cause harm?" Her entire question was definitely pointed, but there were a few words that carried particular emphasis.

"For what it's worth," von Brandt said, "We have heard the concern about bureaucracy slowing down Heroes' response in exigent circumstances rather frequently at this point. Although the exact form this hypothetical law might take is still nebulous, I do think it is fair to say at this point that ensuring whatever oversight is involved does not obstruct rapid response to immediate dangers is a priority to us all." He cast a bit of a glance aside to his fellow Senators, most of whom were nodding in agreement.

"It does seem to me," Downer added, "that the overall shape of the law would in fact have very little to do with Hero Corps' stated purpose. Heroes responding to exigent circumstances in the heat of the moment would, I think, require no particular interference. The question is much more about Heroes taking action before a threat has fully manifested - that is, what amount of evidence they need before they can deploy against someone they believe will be a danger in the near future - and after a threat has manifested - investigating, tracking, and engaging those who have committed crimes, but are not actively doing so in the moment. And, of course, a central authority for dealing with the possibility of rogue Heroes."

"I do, however, think it would behoove us to further discuss Miss Sander's other point." Senator Law suggested. "I have seen enough studies on the subject, as well as anecdotal evidence, to be fairly well convinced that there is a significant portion of the population which would in general trust Hero Corps even ahead of their local police and other law enforcement. And I certainly think it is safe to say that in terms of Ilessian actions on the world stage, many other countries would afford our Heroes far warmer welcomes than they would our soldiers! I would like to hear more on the subject that this sort of oversight might make Hero Corps come across as just government employees. While we have, as Mr. McBride has noted, heard the 'what if it gets abused' argument a time or two before, this is not something that has been much discussed. Could governmental oversight of Hero Corps somehow reduce the public trust in them, merely by connecting them to the government?"

Pleasance spoke up. "I mean, talking just as a...more-or-less regular citizen. I wouldn't necessarily say I like...would mistrust the police, or the military, or whoever. It's more like...it's hard to explain, but I think the best way I could put it is, when it's the police, or SIDE, or the Watch, or whoever...they're doing a job. They're the authority, they're representing the law. You want to, you know, stay out of their way. Keep your head down, so your life doesn't get more complicated. But Hero Corps...I mean, yeah, I know it's their job too. Like, they get paid for it and all. But it doesn't feel the same. They're not there to enforce the law. They're there to save the day. And...I mean, yeah. That matters. I hope that makes sense."

"I think it does," Felicity told her with a friendly smile. "And I can largely agree. I wouldn't say it is a matter of trust and mistrust, for the most part - certainly, there are some people for whom it would be, but I expect for the majority it is much more about hope and fear. When you hear a siren going down the street, your first thought is 'something's wrong.' When you see a Hero flying through the air, your first thought is, 'everything is going to be okay.' You can trust the police just fine, but it's still an undeniably different feeling."

"With that said, I would not necessarily agree that government oversight would take that away from Hero Corps. And, of course, if matters such as rogue Heroes are a factor, then this would be another point potentially in favor of oversight. The last thing we want is for a few Heroes who have lost their way or made a bad choice to cause the rest of the Corps to be regarded with fear."

"...I don't think it's a factor at all," Emil said bluntly. "Look, the IIN is responsible for investigating law enforcement and military breaches. Does anyone actually associate the police or the military with the IIN? All your average person knows about it is the IIN are the suits that come in on the cop shows to bother the main characters for half a season every so often. Which draws a fairly clear parallel to the arguments against the law. Yes, most people think of the IIN, as relates to their law enforcement and military investigations, as obstructive bureaucrats who get in the way, because that's how they're usually portrayed on television shows because the cops on there need to be able to get away with things that would never be allowed in real life so they can solve the crime in fifty minutes. But in real life, the IIN is invaluable in making sure all the other organizations actually can be trusted to do their jobs properly."

"I can't actually come up with any reason Hero Corps would be at all hindered if their rules got actually codified somewhere, and then the IIN - or, well, I guess it would be IN-SIDE, actually - were authorized to audit and investigate them for breaches the exact same they do for SIDE."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Zelphas, your Hearing is still going, I'm just starting up Maestro's in parallel since A) the new adventure is starting and B) I'm actually starting to feel like my creative energy is beginning to approach its old level again and I want to seize the opportunity in case it's temporary.

Also, not gonna lie, I've been eagerly awaiting the chance to write this post since the day the Hearing started. :smallbiggrin:

Maestro was the first of the speakers to arrive that day, but the others came in shortly after he was seated.

...And as soon as they did, it became clear that it was going to be a very long day.

They came through the door in short synchrony, and in the back of the room, a ripple of surprise and some consternation went through the watching journalists. Even the Senators were not immune from a reaction, with Senator Reyer shooting Halwick a quick glare, Senator Sultan just shaking her head, and Millaine's own Senator Pawlitzki giving a visible eye-roll and asking under her breath in the completely deadpan, "I wish I couldn't believe this, but sadly, I actually can" voice that I'm starting to think was just a Millaine thing in general, "Seriously?"

The first of them to enter the room paused for a moment to let the second catch up, casting him a sidelong glance as he came up alongside him. "Recruiter," Adair Gaertner greeted his counterpart in a low tone of ominous meaning.

The Recruiter, not even sparing Gaertner a glance, just sighed and walked over to take a seat at the "pro-law" table, a little bit stiffly given he was chained hand and foot, the manacles and the collar around he neck all displaying glowing lights to indicate that they were far more than merely physical restraints. Two fully power-armored, elite DES-SIDE agents followed behind him by the SIDE standard of several feet (out of reach but still in point-blank range), their autolock machine guns trained on his back both physically and technologically.

Gaertner just stood there for a moment, as if waiting for acknowledgement, before giving an affronted huff and stomping over to the anti-law table (yes, he was actually speaking on your side...this could be bad), ranting as if he wasn't in front the collected mass media and a full Senate Committee. "CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT GUY!? Hey Maestro how you doing? I MEAN THE NERVE!!!!! This was a big thing! Adair Gaertner and the Recruiter! The two most powerful, most feared, most respected villains to ever battle the Heroes of Millaine!! Meeting each other face to face for the first time!!! And he just- he just ignored me! ME!!!! As if I'm not a fellow supervillain of equal caliber!"

Gaertner gave another huff, and for one blissful second, it almost seemed like he had wound down. But it was only wishful thinking. "AND ANOTHER THING!!!!!! What's the deal with the guards!? You have the Recruiter, oh yeah, he gets the full 'lethally powerful supervillain' treatment! With the full chains and manacles! And the power suppressors!! And the shock collar!!! And two fully power-armored DES-SIDE agents!!!! With their ludicrously powerful military-grade weaponry!!!!! Which they keep constantly trained on his back, ready to fire at a moment's notice, as if with even a single instant of distraction he could summon some horrific doom-beast that could slaughter everyone in here!!!!!!"

"And what security measures, you ask, do they put on Adair Gaertner, Dreamcatcher extraordinaire?(!!!) I get bill," the name of the freckle-faced security guard who was standing awkwardly behind him was spoken in a completely flat, blunt, inflectionless voice. "Say hello bill," Gaertner said in a still kinda blunt, sarcastic voice.

A little awkwardly, Bill said, "Um, hello, Mister Mentallo. How are-"

"Very good bill. Do you see what I'm putting up with here?!!? I'm not even handcuffed!!!! Look Maestro, no cuffs! I could totally strangle someone right now and there is nothing but bill to stop me!!!!! Is he even old enough to drink? His gun isn't even out!!! THE SAFETY ISN'T EVEN OFF!!!!! Do you know that SIDE didn't even take me? ME!!!!! Adair Gaertner! I'm in just a regular prison!!! Millaine's regular prison!!!!! Not even the maximum-security one in Verdania!!! Are these people crazy!?! Don't they know who I am!?!?! What I can DO!!??!?!!!?! As far as anyone here knows, I could have been preparing for this Hearing since WEEKS(!!!) before I was arrested!!!!! Fully half of those journalists could be undetectable androids under my express control, just waiting for me to give the word to slaughter everyone in here!!! One of the Senators themselves could have been replaced!!!!! And who knows that but I don't have deadly nanotechnology a hundred times more advanced than that which took James Wilson from merely a slightly above-average SIDE agent to become one of the foremost Heroes of the age(!!) sleeping in my blood, ready to burst out and affect every piece of technology within a thousand meters!!!!!!!!(?) HOW CAN THEY BE SO COMPLACENT!?!?!???!!!!!?!???!?"

"Maybe it's because they know there is nothing you can do, that I can't easily stop," answered the calmly competent voice of Kathlyn Street as she walked over to take a seat on your other side. "Hey boss."

The Recruiter, sitting all alone (if you don't count the two SIDE agents prepared to kill him at a moment's notice) at the pro-law table, just gave another sigh. Typical.

[Capt. Infinity]

Oh.

Oooooooh no.

Ooooooooooooh BOY.

It was gonna be a DAY.

Thoughts to this effect were bandying about Maestro's enhanced mindscape in the tens of thousands as his, well, his rogues gallery poured into the room, ready to have their say.

It had been a tactical move to lay his argument last amongst his fellow heroes. A decision that Maestro believed would have given him the greatest power to sway the senators without worry of a counterpoint thereafter, albeit, with a greater amount of baggage to surmount thereafter.

A concept he hadn't considered in his risk calculation, however, was the fact that, in the time it would take to GET to his meeting, basically everyone who'd ever made an enemy of him (that he know's the name of and isn't currently running an aspect of the Assembly) would be allowed to legally and practically exist in one place to stand against him.

This... This was going to be a challenge. Even for him. But Maestro was fairly certain he could still handle the task at hand.

...And then about 30 more seconds passed, and Adair Gaertner moved to Maestro's side of the floor.

And about a half a mile away, with seemingly no cause in sight, a fire hydrant exploded off the side of the street.

Maestro, at least as far as anyone in the building could tell, just sort of sighed. "Well, at least you openly admit to being villainous now. Progress, I suppose. Good to see the Millaine penal system isn't wasting it's money on its rehabilitation policy." Maestro, knowing it would be bad form to slam his head into the desk, simply generated an invisible wall of physical force at head level and pressed his head against that instead.

He spared a wave at Bill.

"If it makes you feel any better, Dr. Gaertner, I personally still think you are a sadistic affront to the human species, who should never be forgiven for the war-crime-level acts of torture and disfigurement you levelled - as though it were a gift - upon my kin."

You know what? F*** it, the Hearing hasn't officially started yet. Maestro muses as he turns to look dead in the eye the man who brought him nigh to the brink of sanity-breaking rage. "And, if I might add, you shouldn't be surprised that no one takes you seriously. Because, guess what, Adair? You may have made international news, but literally everything else thereafter and before to do with your heinous experiments was covered multiple times over by cipher after cipher after cipher. Truthspeakers felt uneasy about reporting on you for how little info there was to draw from. Maybe, if you wanted to be "recognized for your genius", you should have either a) owned your own madness, or b) gone into a more marketable and media-friendly profession than deranged, villainous science."

Allowing himself a single huff of indignant air, Maestro nodded towards his tied-for-top star employee. "Kathlyn. Always a pleasure. Glad to see you on our side, despite... Well, past grievances with Hero Corps. Most people would be a touch more petty." He muses, attempting to make some light conversation with the Technopath, before turning an eye towards the Recruiter.

"Drink it up, friend. This is the world you live in. The one with which you decided to get involved. It's loud, it's over-the-top, it's suspiciously lacking in commas, and it is something you lost literally all rights to be indignant about the minute you thought 'Literal Angel Made of Tangible Light' was a not-ridiculous form to make a bodyguard into."

[Zelphas]

The Maelstrom realizes it first.

Waterworks throttles down the explosion of furious rage with the ease of long experience, bewildered as to the cause. She mentally reviews what has been said in the past few moments: All right, Felicity doesn't like the Maelstrom, but that usually wouldn't create this much of-- Then Maestro's words from their meeting a few days ago hits her, and she feels her control wobble slightly as her own shock and anger bolster the Maelstrom's attack. A single, tiny bubble appears on her skin, floating slowly upwards until it pops silently at the top of her head.

I can't do anything about it right now, Waterworks thinks furiously. This is not a trial, and I don't have any evidence in any case. From her words, it seems like she's worried about the Maelstrom, so maybe--no. She drugged dozens of people and sent them to get hurt. You can't cross that line and still be a Hero.

"I can see your reasoning," Waterworks says finally, turning away from Felicity and towards Emil. "And I would be the last one to advocate protecting our image at the cost of not actually living up to it. I am leery of direct governmental or SIDE oversight because it adds more than simply oversight to the situation, whether we want it to or not. Any sort of oversight on Hero Corps will change the public perception of them, and I'm not going to argue that that wouldn't be for the better; however, being directly overseen by an already-existing government agency, or even a new agency directly connected to the government, will bring the perceptions of that agency into the public's perception of Hero Corps.

"As you said, Mr. McBride, the people usually think of IIN as the people who get in the way of the main characters, but that's not entirely true; they're also thought of as the people who show up only when something has gone horribly wrong. If IIN--or In-SIDE--was put in charge of overseeing Hero Corps, there's a chance that the people would see it as saying that Hero Corps has done something so bad that the big, scary men in black who are supposed to be able to make people disappear have to go in and clean up the mess. That perception would seriously damage the people's trust in Hero Corps, and if we aren't trusted," she finishes bluntly, "We can't do our jobs.

"Hero Corps needs to live up to the trust of the people of Ilessia, first and foremost. If changes are needed to ensure that we live up to that trust, then those changes should be made. However, it also needs to ensure that that trust isn't taken away by false perceptions."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Maestro

Gaertner stared at Maestro with a positively owlish expression on his big, stupid face in response to his blistering retort, which gradually melted into an almost comically crestfallen look. "But- It- You- We- ...I thought we were friends..." he squeaked out forlornly.

"Wowwwww..." Bill said under his breath.

Gaertner shot him a look, before letting out a deflated sigh. "Shut up, bill."

The Recruiter just responded to Maestro with a deadpan stare. To be fair, he didn't actually choose the forms his summons took. He to this day wasn't entirely sure how that got decided, although he speculated it had something to do with unconscious associations on either his part, the part of the Dreamer from which came the power the summon was based on, or perhaps an amalgamation of both. Since he didn't feel inclined to invite his reality to become more surreal by getting into a pointless argument with Maestro Mentallo, though, he elected not to say so.

"It annoys me when overreactions dictate policy," Kathlyn answered simply, with a bit of a smirk.

"Let us begin. Mister Mentallo, would you like to-"

"Senators!!!!" Adair Gaertner jumped in excitedly. "I thank you for inviting me here to convince you not to put this silly law into practice!!! I have been following this Hearing closely on news days, and I would like to present an argument against it that has been both largely ignored and should settle this nonsense matter once and for all(!!!!)!!! So please, I implore you, THINK OF THE VILLAINS!!!!!!!!"

(The Recruiter began wondering if any of his secret accounts were still active, and if so, how much it would cost to bribe one of the DES-SIDE guards behind him to shoot Adair Gaertner in the head.)

"People have been arguing that Hero Corps should not be able to freely hunt down any Villain who catches their interest. BUT! Heroes hunting Villains is a symbiotic process by which both sides(!!) benefit! A Hero is only as good as the Villains it fights, and likewise, the truest measure of a Villain's success is the scope and power of the Heroes who foil it!!!
If you need evidence, why, just look at the Recruiter!!!!!" Gaertner stood up from his chair, pointing helpfully.

(The Recruiter decided a single spray of automatic weapons fire autolocked to the head would be too good for Adair Gaertner.)

"If it were not for Tara Ellens, the Recruiter would have languished in relative obscurity as just another Dreamer criminal who SIDE had brought in as a result of one of their, you know, competent, professional, by-the-book, boring investigations. But as the secondary(!) nemesis of the Heroes of Millaine(!!!!), he became one of the most feared Villains in all of Ilessia!!! I myself was able to watch with pride as Maestro - who I think will agree was basically my protege(!!) - grew to be able to circumvent my security measures and finally betray and defeat me, as all great students eventually do to their mentors! But can you imagine if the fall of the mighty Adair Gaertner had just been because some, some, government rube SIDE agents had, you know, put in months of dedicated effort to track me down through all the proper investigative channels and servzzz mzzz zzzz zzzz...SORRY!!!!! I almost fell asleep just talking about it!!! In any case, I hope it's clear that the absolute WORST(!!!) thing you could do for the Villains of Ilessia is create a law denying them their ability to wage deadly(!), destructive(!!), expensive(!!!), needless(!!!!), EPIC(!!!!!) conflicts with Hero Corps!!!!!!

Oh, Arch, this isn't a ploy. He believes every word and actually thinks he's making a helpful argument.

Waterworks

"Honestly, I dislike the entire notion that on a systemic level people would be less trusting of a Hero Corps with some manner of governmental oversight and regulation. At the very least, that seems to indicate a belief in a widespread mistrust of the government by the people, which I do not think exists and which if it does should be addressed.
However-"

"If I may interrupt you for just a moment, Mr. McBride, that is itself a point which the Senators should consider. I think it has been made clear that it's not that the government is inherently and systemically mistrusted,
just that they are viewed differently than Hero Corps. I do not think it would be unfair to say that Hero Corps is more trusted than the government, though. This is not a condemnation of our elected officials or security institutions - rather,
it is a symbol of just how much respect our Heroes have. That being said, if the argument is that a connection between the government and the Corps would influence public trust and perception, I think the possibility should be considered that it could go both ways. A Hero Corps working with the government to improve in areas where its own organization has proven inefficient might reduce trust in the Corps, perhaps. Or it might increase trust in our institutions. What is presented as an argument against the law may in fact be a very good reason for it."

"Perhaps. But regardless, let us even assume the argument stands on its merits. That indeed, people would trust the Corps that much less if they were government-regulated. Fine. Would that actually impede Heroes when it comes to doing their actual job? I can admit that it would impede them in doing the sort of before and after work that the law is meant to restrict. But it has to be remembered that that is not Hero Corps' job. Their job is to quickly get to dangerous situations and stop them. I don't think people are going to put fewer alerts in the Hero App because they're concerned of government interference or bureaucratic corruption when there are bullets or powers flying. At worst, they might hesitate to put in more trivial alerts that waste Heroes' time. I do not foresee any meaningful negative impact if people call the fire department rather than Hero Corps to get their cats out of their trees."

"To be fair, statistics show they actually call the ACC for that more than either the fire department or
Hero Corps," Felicity noted with a little, amused grin. "But it's a good point."

[Capt. Infinity]

A younger Maestro would've taken absolute satisfaction in dismantling Adair Gaertner's deranged and nonsensical view of reality as a whole. But now... Maestro actually felt kinda bad. And, despite himself, despite EVERYTHING the man had done to him, the young genius couldn't help but soften his tone as he spoke to the mad scientist beside him.

"Gaertner. No matter what you think you were doing, no matter what your intentions were with what you did, you hurt people. Perhaps irreversibly. And now, you can either own up to the pain you've caused, and try to learn from it. Or you can wallow away in your own grand delusion, convincing yourself that you're infallibly right, and were always meant to win. Whichever path you choose, I'll be there for you with either congratulations or handcuffs, respectively." The exact origin of the statement was one that Maestro didn't exactly want to confront. As, if he did, he knew that the place from which he derived it would land squarely too close to home.

Despite that, he still managed to spare a snide look to the Recruiter, and a tactful nod in Kathlyn's direction. "Good to know I hired someone with a level head, as well as a smart one."

Maestro turned to the Senators, a determined look on his face as they officially began the proceedings.

And then Gaertner spoke.

And then Gaertner kept speaking.

And, throughout the whole ordeal... Maestro just sighed.

No explosions, no quakes, no broken anythings anywhere. If he were to waste valuable brain cells being angry that Gaertner did the stupid thing, he'd be helping no one, and only hurting himself.

After what felt like an infinity of hours (for reasons ENTIRELY separate from Maestro's hyper-speed intellect), Adair Gaertner finally finished his piece. And, from the position of his forehead firmly planted onto the desk, and without moving from that position in the slightest, Maestro raised two fingers in the air.

"Alright. So, two things." The telekinetic pries his face from the wooden paneling, meeting the gaze of the Hearing officials in as serious a manner as he can muster. "First, if there was ever a question of whether or not I can be trusted with rational and reasonable decision making, absent of any external enforcement of the law, I would like to make it known that I made absolutely no effort to tackle this man at any point during his speaking of the words he just said. Despite ample reason, want, and capacity to do so." He gesticulates a pinky at Adair Gaertner, for he did not deserve an index or thumb.

"And secondly - and I feel this needs to be said - this Hearing has enough bad press as it is. Might I be stepping out of line by suggesting that, perhaps, if the proceedings are to be taken seriously, we should not allow entry and testament from those who are of legitimately questionable mental states? Criminals and recovering Repentents are one thing, but... Well, the case stands for itself." Maestro gestures further with a hand, though he was a bit upset that he had to do so.

[Quellian-dyrae]

More than a few of the Senators seemed in varying shades of agreement with Maestro's suggestion. This was a serious matter, and Gaertner wasn't the first questionable speaker that had been brought before them. Maybe Halwick thought they added some drama to the proceedings or something, but even he seemed to find the argument more amusing than credible.

But then the Recruiter answered, "To be entirely fair, even blistering stupidity is not the same as insanity, although I suppose I cannot argue the evidence of delusion. However, as nonsensically as he might have put it and as thoroughly as he might have inverted it, Gaertner does hide a valid point in his ranting."

"I'm beginning to think no one here actually respects me..."

"Hero Corps, at the end of the day, is a publicity stunt. You can argue that they do good work, fine, but regardless of whether or not they do, it does not change the fact that their purpose is at the end of the day to bring prestige to the Assembly and further their political ends. Hero Corps strictly benefits from having powerful, dangerous 'nemeses' that they can weave into a narrative of good overcoming evil, of the mighty Heroes saving the day from the dangerous Villains. And they are so powerful that the costs of such conflicts almost never fall on them."

"You can argue that the 'Villains' are dangerous and need to be brought in, and that Hero Corps has a sufficient concentration of personal power to do so with minimal risk. Fine. But none of that requires they have free reign in how to conduct such operations, answering only to their own authority. And now, perhaps that doesn't matter. Perhaps nobody cares if powerful Dreamers who use their gifts for selfish ends have their rights violated in the name of public safety. But here's what you should really be concerned about - when the Heroes' desire for their 'Saving the Day' narrative comes at the risk of the very people they are professing to protect."

"My experience with Hero Corps is limited to a specific sample, but even so I can name several occasions where the Heroes of Millaine put their desire to defeat the villain ahead of the safety of others."

"I at one point had set a trap for the Heroes of Millaine, a bomb supplemented by a summoned elephant with powers of explosion.
I had placed it in an unoccupied home on an otherwise populated street. 'Oh such foul villainy!' you might think. Well, sure, but the move was tactically sound from my standpoint, meant to restrict their options in response, lest they cause tremendous collateral damage. I am not...completely certain what actually went down, but I know my summon was destroyed, more-or-less instantly.
They had engaged it despite the risk to the populace."

"When they confronted me for the final time, in a situation where victory was far from assured, I made them an offer. I would leave, forego the mantle of the Recruiter, no longer be a threat. If they refused, I would make it a point to cause even more damage,
to not just offer my summons to others, but to wage an active campaign of destruction. They did not even consider my offer, happy to fight their Villain regardless of the risks."

"And when the APEX meteor threatened the entire world, only the Heroes of Millaine could be immunized to the radiation, due to their prior exposure to it, right? Except that was not true. I had been exposed to APEX through the powers Copycat had allowed me to absorb, and could have lent my summons to support the endeavor. There are few Dreamers more effective at waging an extended campaign than a master summoner! Yet again, they did not even consider the offer, rejecting out of hand the possibility of sharing their glory with a Villain, even with the fate of the world on the line!"

"And now the obvious argument. It all turned out okay. The elephant was trivially destroyed, the Villain defeated and captured,
and the world saved. It all plays back into the narrative, the great Heroes facing overwhelming odds, making the hard choices, and saving the day anyway, right? But that's just the story you want to tell yourself. The reality is that time after time, the Heroes of Millaine have willingly accepted greater risk to the people they are supposed to protect in favor of the chance to be the biggest, baddest Heroes on the block. And I expect you will find more examples of the same decision-making process throughout the Corps. If you want Hero Corps to prioritize the safety of the populace, that must be their sole duty. As long as their reputation and the political agenda of the Assembly remains a competing priority, their role as protectors will be compromised. And that is why they should have oversight."

"But, seriously, you guys would have taken my upgrades before his stinky summons, right? Maestro?"

[Capt. Infinity]

Maestro sighed as the Recruiter began his eminently high-minded spiel. Closing his eyes as he finally began to face legitimate opposition in his time of tribulation. "Allow me to translate what the recruiter is attempting to say, as he is nothing if not a man who hides his statements behind eloquence and subterfuge." Maestro steeples his hands, attempting to regain power in the situation.

"What the Recruiter is saying, quite simply, is that a job that requires great effort is, shock amongst shocks, risky." The indignation in Maestro's voice was explicitly rather light, but implied a deep distaste for the wordsmithing at hand. "And that's ALL he's saying. That a job that is difficult requires risk. That, in doing our jobs, Hero Corps must make tough, split-second decisions which bear the weight of lives upon them. In counter to that, I simply ask a counter-question. When would it NOT?"

Maestro turns to look at the collective senate, his voice brimming with attempted sway. "Has there ever been a situation in which lives hanged in the balance where there was never a risk of failure? Where worry of harm to those nearby was not present? No! And why is that? Because these villains, as Gaertner and the Recruiter so heavily put it, purposefully create situations which endanger as many people as possible. Because doing so often either acts as a distraction to their ploys, and opposition to their beliefs, or a means to an end. This is a fact that would continue regardless of government oversight, and one that, dare I say, would be EXACERBATED by such a situation."

Maestro continued, picking up momentum. "Let's take some of the Recruiter's examples as examples of our own. The Elephant, which the Recruiter summoned, was meant as a distraction, a means of delaying us such that he could escape and perform further nefarious deeds, or to kill us dead, should we attempt to intervene. I would have to guess the collateral damage would be salt in our corpses wounds. Had we NOT acted with the haste that we did, sure enough in our abilities that we could easily handle it before it did damage, instead following some SIDE procedure or another, his ploy would have succeeded, and he would have gone underground once more, possibly killing us in turn, if we'd made a misstep in our acts. But, instead, the populous had trusted us to do our job under our own judgement, and we succeeded as a direct result." Maestro began gesticulating with his hands, emphasizing his statements with sweeping motions and grand gestures.

"Both of his next two points fall under the same umbrella. Namely, that of negotiating with criminal entities. In the first situation, we had the Recruiter down to his last leg. He had pulled out all the stops, bringing the whole of his power to bear against us. This man, a man who at that point had been labelled one of the world's most hated individuals, was asking us to surrender our duty in order to allow him to escape, simply because of grim odds. All while he held the mind of one of the most powerful meta-Dreamers under his direct control. Tell me, friends, if you were made to call that shot, what would you do?
Would you sacrifice your mission on the promises of a terrorist? Would you give up everything you had worked for, everything you had sacrificed, on the promises of a man who had done nothing but criminal acts for as long as he has been active on the world scene? I don't think I'm going out on a limb here when I say no, you would not."

In regards to his last statement, Maestro simply glared at the recruiter, his gaze incidentally carrying physical weight to it, as he subconsciously exerted a degree of pressure on the summoner across the room.

"And then, we have the Meteor. The single most dangerous thing to ever threaten the whole of humanity. A force so unholy in its power, so tremendous in its threat, that Heroes across Illessia had planned to lay down their lives should our team fail. Do you know what the Recruiter said to us when he learned of his capacity to aid us in that?" Maestro snapped his fingers and, precisely on cue, the air was filled with the sound of the Recruiter's mental voice, emulated in totality by Maestro's control of sound. Every snide inflection, every sickening implied smirk, born out of raw memory, and brought directly to bear.



"I suppose I shall wish you good luck. Of course, if additional assistance is required, I would be more than happy to provide it for you in exchange for certain...considerations. After all, the world is at stake, is it not?"





There was a purposeful pause, as Maestro let those words sink in.


"The world was at stake. The end was at hand. The fate of all life hung in the balance..."

"And the devil man chose to bargain."

"If there is an authority alive that would give that man quarter then. Then they are either more pragmatic than even me, or they are the exact kind of person your laws are supposedly trying to stop."

Maestro then spoke to the Recruiter directly. "There is no aim for glory in what we do, Leo. No narcissism. No narrative to make clear. It is just a group of people, putting their lives on the line time and time again, so that they NEVER have to make concessions to the likes of you."