During the last year that Alfred worked as a secret intelligence officer for England, he was tasked to infiltrate and dismantle a fake ghost hunting branch of the US government. This fake branch that called themselves the Ghost Investigation Ward who was attempting to set up camp on English soil.
During his infiltration using a false identity and credentials, Alfred came across a boy named Phantom. He was the GIWâs âmost prized catchâ. Alfredâs heart ached as he saw the boy get hauled back to his cell day after day. With each day the boy sported more and more injuries from the GIWâs cruel âexperimentsâ.l (Alfred knew damn well what they were doing to the boy was just short of torture and nothing more.)
Seeing the boy get hurt day in and day out, Alfred was more determined than ever to tear this place apart brick by brick. Soon enough, Alfred found enough evidence to prevent the GIWs from ever setting up camp on English soil ever again. After that, the British military invaded the place and took care of the workers while Alfred worked on freeing Dann, which the GIWâs files informed him was actually a boy named Daniel Fenton. The GIWs completely obliterated his hometown and reduced it to rubble. He had no home to return to and was expecting to just live in the ghost zone for the rest of his life. Alfred wouldnât let that stand.
He made the rash decision to raise the boy as if he was his own. He later got hired by The Wayneâs after the butler Jarvisâs passing. Danny stayed in the manor with Alfred in the servant quarters. He wasnât shown to the public and as far as the world knew, Alfred had no family.
Then the tragedy of The Wayneâs occurred on that fateful night. Martha and Thomas Wayne were murdered right before Bruceâs very eyes.
Danny helped Bruce learn to cope with his trauma and searched the Ghost Zone for his parents. (He came up empty handed. Bruceâs parents didnât have a strong enough drive to become ghosts. Bruce appreciated the gesture none the less.) He and Alfred taught Bruce how to fight. He still went on his training journey all over the world but he knew a tad more before his travels than without his ghosty older brother.
Danny doesnât really do anything as Phantom in Gotham. Heâs done with fighting. The GIW capture convinced him that the only thing that would stop those bastards from hunting him was to destroy the Anti-Ecto acts and to dismantle the organization piece by piece.
Danny went to university and got a double major in computer programming and forensic science.
During the years that Bruce was away training, Danny was cracking down on the GIW and managed to successfully expose and fully dismantle the fake government organization.
Danny refused to premiere in Gotham as âPhantomâ. Heâs much rather leave his fighting days behind him and instead when Batman first came to the scene, he was the guy in the chair. Helping Bruce through an earpiece and assisting in putting the pieces of a crime together with the batcomputer.
He does help Bruce with the intimidation factor though. A slight spell to make him blend into the shadows a tad more than a normal person would, a small charm to make his movements seem twitchy and inhuman, a tiny incantation that made Bruceâs eyes glow a bright white, small spells to help make Batman less human and more a symbol of fear.
When the first Robin came around, Danny welcomed Dick with open arms as an uncle figure. Casting charms on Robin to let him glide and make chittering sounds that are impossible to make with human vocal cords.
He helps Jason and when the boy comes back, Danny immediately knows that something is off and collects the boy before he gets whisked away by the League of Assassins. He and Alfred teach Jason how to use a firearm at Jasonâs request and non lethal rounds become Jasonâs preferred weapon.
Danny positively adores Tim. He reminds Danny of himself when he was a teenager. Now in his mid to late 30âs, he recalls those years with a fondness that was definitely affected by rose tinted lenses. He takes him under his wing and teaches the boy about magic and how to integrate it into technology.
Damian instantly attaches himself to Danny the second they first make eye contact. Danny is obviously the most powerful person on the household and respects Damian in a way that surprises the boy. Danny knows Damianâs type well and he, along with Dick, help Damian adjust to the Bats code of vigilantism.
When Danny meets the League, itâs because Klarion summoned the Ghost King. Apparently The Ghost King was a Lord of Order but commonly evil aligned. They all are fearful with whatâs to happen besides Batman. His shoulders relax when he hears whatâs about to happen and informs the League to let Klarion finish his Ritual.
The League thinks that Batman has gone mad but Batman insists. They follow his orders and watch as Klarion calls the Lord of Infinite Realms to the mortal plane.
Danny appears in full Ghost King regalia. Danny positively radiates power in an absolutely terrifying manner. He notices Klarion and frowns. Looking around, he perks up when he notices Batman and Nightwing next to the various League members.
The League is extremely confused that this all powerful god of a being excitedly smiled and waved towards them. That confusion was nothing compared to a few moments later where the King of the Undead started talking to Batman about what was being made for dinner today. That and Tim finally managed to get the wrist portal to work. Batman is silent and simply silently nodding at the appropriate times but Nightwing is happily chatting back and forth with Danny as the Leagues jaws are on the fuckin floor.
Klarion doesnât know what to do honestly. He thought the Ghost King was Pariah Dark, not this lanky inhuman looking figure who was sitting crisscross in the summoning circle and waving his hands animatedly to talk with Nightwing.
Klarion yells to The Ghost King to stop talking and to fight these fools. Danny then stops and the temperature drops a solid 30 degrees. He pauses for a few moments and oh so slowly turns around to Klarion. His eyes now blading with green fire, his limbs extending and gaining extra joints, his teeth growing more and more elongated and sharp. He looms over Klarion and tells him to kindly fuck off and to never talk to him, his brother, or his nephew ever again.
Klarion is fucking terrified as Danny just fully shifts into his true form and looms over the Witch Boy. Klarion hastily agrees and leaves in fear of getting fuckin evaporated by this being that is much more powerful than him.
The League is freaking out because âNephew?!?!â âBrother?!?!â What?! How on earth was the fuckin ghost king related to Batman?
Flash asks Nightwing and Dick just smiles and goes âhe was adoptedâ and that was that. The League sees Danny more often now. Be sometimes pops into the Watchtower to watch the stars, to help out during watch duty, to check in with the batfamily that is in the watchtower. Sure Shazam and John have an adverse reaction to Danny Initially but they eventually just accept that this all powerful ghost lord is just there to talk to his family.
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Information about The Bill for use in fan fictions or anything similar. (aka: how I found out there's a character limit on Tumblr) This will be edited, please feel free to comment anything you want adding or editing.
Part 2
Nicknames for the police/officers:
The Old Bill, Bizzies (busybodies or 'too busy to help'), Feds, Bluebottles, Coppers, Bobbies, Rozzers, Peelers, The Filth, The Fuzz, Dibble (Officer Dibble from Top Cat), Pigs, Plod, Plonk (Person Of Limited Or No Knowledge), The Thin Blue Line, Bacon ("Can you smell bacon?") "The Babylon" (Jamican slang), Boys In Blue, Hawaii 5-O, Woody/Woodentops, The Scum, PoPo, The Law, Gammon.
In the earlier series, CID would refer to Uniform as Woodentops and Woodentops would refer to CID as Superstars and The Brains Dept
Community Support Officers: CHIMPS (Completely Hopeless In Most Policing Situations), Hobby Bobby, Plastic Policeman,
Police Lingo, acronyms and abbreviations
ABE: Achieving Best Evidence - recording a victim of serious sexual assault on video for their first statement so it can be played in court to show how they were/the state they were in and try and limit the victim having to be there in person/cross examined etc.
ABH: Actual Bodily Harm
AMIP: Area Major Incident Pool (now Specialist Crime And Operations)
ANPR: Automatic Numberplate Recognition
AP: Agrieved Person - Victim
ARV: Armed Response Vehicle
ASBO: Antisocial Behaviour Order.
ASNT: Area Searched No Trace.
ASP: Baton
Big Red Key: The enforcer
BIU: Borough Intelligence Unit - this is where they could check facial recognition, check through CCTV and use the computers to check for suspects and find out peoples backgrounds.
BLO: Borough Liaison Officer
Blues and twos: Lights/Sirens on police cars
CAD: Computer Aided Dispatch
CIB: Complaints Investigation Bureau, later DPS (Directorate Of Professional Standards)
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
CIM: Critical Incident Manager - Inspector usually who oversees all the big jobs and makes decisions to keep things rolling smoothly rather than lots of chiefs making conflicting decisions.
Civvies (normal civilian clothes - ie a PC changing for an obbo)
CO19 (Used to be SO19 - armed officers. Smithy and Max used to be CO19 officers.) Apparently now MO19!
Code 11: Off Duty
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service
CPT: Child Protection Team
Crimint: Criminal Intelligence
CRIS: Crime Report Information System
CS Spray: Sprayed at criminal resisting arrest. Temporarily makes them unable to see properly and irritates their respiratory system. to enable them to be arrested. Sometimes now called PAVA spray.
CSE: Crime Scene Examiner (was SOCO- Scenes Of Crime Officer)
CSU: Community Support/Safety Unit Now joined with DVU and called SODAIT - Sexual Offences And Domestic Abuse Investigation Team
CLO: Community Liaison Officer
D&D: Drunk And Disorderly.
DVU: Domestic Violence unit. See CSU.
ETA: Expected Time Of Arrival "ETA, 5 minutes."
FATAC: Fatal Accident
Fence: Someone who buys and sells stolen goods
FED REP: Federation Representatives. Officers trained to support officers who are accused of crimes or otherwise want to take the service/bosses on.
FIU: Financial Investigation Unit
FLO: Family Liaison Officer (supports the family members/person who is going through a horrendous time. IE: Jim when Eva's daughter when missing and Smithy to Leanne Samuels when her daughter Carly was murdered)
FME: Force/Forensic Medical Examiner (Police doctor who reviews and treats criminals (and occasionally injured staff) who have gotten hurt, have complex medical issues or who need medication)
FPN: Fixed Penalty Notice - an on the spot fine.
GBH: Grievous Bodily Harm
Grass: informing on someone who has done a crime.
Handling: someone who has accepted/bought stolen items either knowingly or unknowingly dependant on circumstances.
IBO: Used in later years instead of the CAD room, the Integrated Borough Operations handled non emergency telephone calls, CCTV viewing, contacting officers and similar. The CAD room was not needed as emergency calls were answered at Scotland Yard or Hendon and then sent to the relevant IBO Operator for the borough (which would be at Bow Central Communications Command) who would then send it to Sun Hill's IBO so all information can be relayed to the officers attending. Much like CAD, the IBO has a Sgt and PC's who would monitor the CCTV and IBO computers and assign officers to calls.
IC1-6 This is how the officers described skintones when searching for suspects/victims/witnesses.IC1 is White skinned european. IC2 is Dark Skinned European. IC3 is Afro Caribbean appearance, IC4 is Asian appearance (Indian Pakistani or Bangladeshi), IC5 is Chinese or Japanese appearance and IC6 is Arabian/Egyptian appearance.
Index: Vehicle registration - spelt out phonetically
India 99: Police helicopter.
IRB: Incident Report Book (Notebook) apparently now it's a force/work phone!
IRV: Incident Response Vehicle
LIO: Local Intelligence Officer
LEO: Local Enforcement Officer
LOS: Lost or Stolen
Misper: Missing Person
MIT: Major Incident Team (Used to be Murder Investigation Team)
MP: Met Police Information Room (Scotland Yard)
NCPA: No Cause For Police Action
NCS: National Crime Squad
NFA: No Further Action
NOIP: Notice Of Intended Prosecution. You're not arrested but the police are coming to take you to court soon.
Nonce: Sexual Offender - most used for Paedophiles.
OBBO: Observation - Keeping watch on suspects
OP: Observation Point
PACE: Police And Criminal Evidence Act - The police are bound to act by all rules, objectives and codes of conduct of this act of parliament in every part of their work.
PANDA: Normal police car that's not used for pursuing other cars. That's generally left to the Area Car or an IRV.
Pimp - someone who takes money from a woman on the sex trade. Also known as living off immoral earnings.
PIT: Precision Immobilisation Technique Manoeuvre (usually they try using a stinger to burst the tiers of a car thats speeding away from the police but it's not always possible. Where the road is wide enough and no one will become endangered by it,advanced drivers who are TPAC trained can do a manoeuvre to the car they're chasing and put it into spin to stop it. It CANNOT be done to busses/trucks/motorcycles etc and it's advised to not do it to a car you fear may be carrying armed occupants but to be honest it's not a massively used thing in the UK.)
PNC: Police National Computer = Real time checks on criminal records, outstanding warrants, missing and wanted people, registration checks etc.
PolAc: Police Accident (Ie car crash or hitting a pedestrian etc when it's a police officer involved)
PR: Officers police radio.
Refs: Refreshments/break time
Ringer - A vehicle that has been made up of parts of other cars or identity changed. Sometimes called a Cut n Shut.
RJ: Restorative Justice - a criminal doing something instead of being cautioned/imprisoned - like painting over their graffiti with a new coat of paint.
RTA/C: Road Traffic Accident/Collision
Rule 43 (Now 45): Vulnerable Prisoners in a prison. Smithy endured bullying to avoid being put in this as it means segregation and would bring him more attention and also a lot of isolation. This is for prisoners who are sex offenders, mentally ill, have a target on their back for grassing or being a convicted police/prison officer etc.
RUI: Released Under Investigation - bailed but the case is still being investigated and can be rearrested at any moment. The police hate this but the government have got touchy over bailing people.
Section 59 - Anti Social Behaviour Vehicle Seizure - you've kept driving like a prat so they're taking your car.
Section 165 - Seizing a car for no insurance. Most likely to be crushed.
Shout: A call out/incident communicated over the radio.
Sierra Oscar: Sun Hill Station Call Sign
Snout: Registered informant who gets paid for giving info. NNo sometimes CHIS - Covert Human Intelligence Source or Informant.
SO10: Now Covert Operations - Undercover Policing - can be long term and go really deep undercover. Stevie used to be in this dept. Now includes Counter Terrorism.
SOCA: Serious And Organised Crime Agency
SOPO: Sex Offenders Prevention Order (useless essentially!)
SOR - Sex Offenders Register
Stretch: Prison sentence.
TIU: Telecoms Investigation/Intelligence Unit
TOA: Time Of Arrival "Show me TOA 13.23"
Tom: Prostitute
TPAC Tactical Pursuit And Containment - trained officers who bring vehicles to a stop - like boxing cars in etc.
Areas Of Sun Hill/Canley
Wharfs/Docks
Jubilee Wharf, India Wharf, Limeharbour Dock, Sussex Wharf, Limeharbour Dock, Sussex Wharf, Old Jubilee Dock & Boatyard, Masters Wharf, Dockland Pier, Skippers Wharf
[The earlier series had Riverdale Estate and one of the blocks was called Elizabeth Garret Anderson]
Other Stations
Barton Street (Sierra Bravo) , Spicer Street, Putney Green, Stafford Row (Sierra Charlie), Tottenham (Echo Oscar) Diplomatic Protection (Delta Papa), East Greenwich [suggested by Gina for prisoner overspill in 127]
The Canley Arms, The Askill Arms, The Rose And Crown, The Green Archer, The Bears Head, The Elcott Arms, The Seven Bells, The White Swan, The Scales, The Grape And Bottle, The Dog And Gun, The Pikes Head, The Thames Tavern, The Tully Arms, The Boat Inn, The Tug, The Emma Hamilton, The Cock And Crown, The Sultan. Lord Banbury, The Two Angels,
Misc
North Canley Sports Center, Canley Fields, City Farm, St Ann's Church, Cheetham Community Support Center,
Earlier series
Miskin Manor High School (mentioned series 5)
Bob Cryer's youngest son attends Medway Comprehensive.
St Clements is a hospital mentioned in series 5.
FME is first called 'FME' in Bad Company (series 5) before then it is divisional surgeon.
The vehicles pulled up behind Roni's bar and she led them inside the backway, after unlocking it and flipped on the lights.
"WowâŚ" Emma said.
"Mind your tongue, Miss Swan," she warned.
"NoâŚit's nice. Just not what I pictured for you," Emma replied.
"This way," Casey said, as he led them into the backroom, where the liquor was stored. On what Regina thought was her security pad for the door, Casey entered a code and the wall slid open, showing a set of stairs that descended into the basement that Regina didn't know she had. They followed him down and saw a room with a large screen, with computers and control panels.
"This is the war roomâŚI assume you're familiar with something like this?" Casey asked.
"YeahâŚit looked a bit different, but Snow and I are no strangers to a good war room," David replied.
"These are containment cells, in case there's ever an intruder or we catch something alive that we need to hold until it can be transported," Casey said, as he showed them the glass prisons.
"And this is the armory," he said, as he led them into that room, where weapons lined the walls and rested on a table of open cases.
"WhoaâŚthat's a hell of a piece," Emma said, as she picked up the gun.
"Think you can handle it?" he asked.
"YeahâŚbut David said bullets aren't going to work," she replied.
"That doesn't fire bullets," he said, as he pressed a button and the far wall slid back, revealing a target wall. He flipped the safety off and the weapon whined to life.
"An ionic laser blaster that will obliterate anything," Casey said, as he fired and burnt a hole in the target.
"WhoaâŚ" Henry said, as he watched. It was comic book level stuff, so naturally, he was enthralled.
"This bow looks a bit different than what I'm used to," Snow said, as she picked it up.
"It's very durable and you have different kinds of arrows. The standard arrow, the exploding arrow, and the grappling arrow," he said.
"Think you can handle it, Princess?" he asked.
"Snow is the best archer you'll ever meet," David assured him.
"Can you shoot like your daughter?" Casey asked. David smirked and took the weapon and aimed at the target, firing three shots that hit the bullseye each time.
"What else have you got?" David asked. Casey smirked and led them to the sword table.
"AyeâŚnow you're talking, mate," Killian said, as he immediately went for the cutlass.
"Compliments on craftsmanship. This world certainly can make attractive weapons," he mentioned, as David chose the broadsword and scabbard.
"We'll need daggers too," Snow said, as they both chose a couple of small daggers and holsters for them too.
"Where are you going to put that one?" Emma asked.
"One on the waist and probably another hiding on my ankle," Snow replied. Emma blanched, realizing this was kind of normal for them. Killian smirked.
"How about you, Swan? Sword for you?" he asked.
"Uh noâŚI think I'll stick to guns. It's in my wheelhouse," Emma replied.
"Everyone will be required to train regularly on all weapons," Casey said, as Regina picked a sword. She only hoped to figure out her magic in this world, because it was her
comfort zone. An alarm beeped and Agent Casey went to the main control panel, before bringing an image up on the screen.
"Looks like our first mission is here," he said.
"That's a bridge trollâŚ" David replied.
"Bad?" Emma asked. He nodded.
"The worst. They hate humansâŚpeople will get hurt if we don't stop it," David replied, as they geared up.
"Follow meâŚthere's an external exit down this hall," he called, as they followed him out and to the vehicles in back.
~*~
"What is that thing?" Tamara asked, as they watched from afar. Part of their new job was to surveil those from Storybrooke that had been chosen to fight the magical anomalies that were in the world now. Their new superior had informed them that the body had been dumped, with no shred of forensics, in the river. Apparently, when she was identified by the authorities, her name would be flagged in the system and General Shaw, who was in charge of their operation, would be alerted. Their new boss wanted them to soon learn that they were being hunted and he wanted his former employees to be baffled as well.
"I don't knowâŚbut whatever it is, it's ugly as hell," Greg answered, as he glared at them.
"I can't believe the Queen is still alive," Greg growled.
"EasyâŚwe have to follow orders or we'll end up right back in prison," Tamara warned, as they watched.
~*~
David got out of the vehicle and he and Killian looked at the monstrosity that was wreaking havoc in a busy business district smack in the middle of downtown.
"How exactly does the government plan to explain this away, mate?" Killian questioned.
"They can't," David interjected.
"Most people will buy whatever we come up with and tell the news to push," Casey said.
"So that's how it works, eh? Just come up with a narrative and push it to the sheep? People are just cattle to you?" the former pirate asked.
"Bingo," David replied, with disdain.
"LookâŚthe normies can't handle this stuff. Right now, we're calling it unexplained phenomena. Hologram and CGI tech is getting really good. Those watching on television will
buy that someone is causing these hoaxes and we're investigating to find who is behind it," Casey explained.
"And for those up close and personal?" Snow asked.
"They don't know what they're looking at. Let's just handle it and make it go away," he replied, as they moved in.
"Bloody hellâŚI can smell it from here," Killian said.
"YeahâŚbridge trolls smell like death," David replied.
"Since when are you two friends?" Emma questioned.
"We weren'tâŚbut then we worked together for three years and he often joined us for evening meals and holidays. Guess we are now," David said, just as surprised as her.
"AyeâŚyou're not so bad either, Dave," Killian quipped and Emma rolled her eyes.
"I need a good bird's nest," Snow said, as they looked around and saw a fire escape on a nearby building.
"Give me a boost?" she asked. He smiled.
"Always," he replied, as he lifted her up so she could grab the ladder and then she proceeded to climb up it. Snow positioned herself at the top of the building, readying her bow to fire at the first opportune moment.
"Doesn't seem too concerned with us," Emma mentioned.
"You're rightâŚ" David said, as he unsheathed his sword and shouted at the ugly, rampaging troll.
"HEY!" he called, as he thrust his sword toward the monster, hitting it in the belly. It roared angrily and pulled the sword out, before tossing it away.
"Thanks for pissing it off," Casey said, as his blaster whined to life.
"It's a trollâŚit's perpetually pissed," David retorted, as he rolled away from the creature's hand and grabbed his sword in the process.
"That's right uglyâŚcome get me," he called, as Casey and Emma fired their blasters and it cried out in pain, as the blaster fire burned its flesh.
"HEY!" David called again, drawing his attention toward the building where Snow was perched. Killian made a slash with his cutlass while David was distracted and lopped off his left hand. The creature roared in agony and looked up at the sky, howling in pain. Snow took her shot and got him dead in the eye. The creature dropped dead to the ground, as Snow climbed down and David helped her down.
"That was an amazing shot," David said, with a smile.
"Guess I still got it," she mused, as they shared a kiss.
"Impressive," Casey said.
"Thank you Major," Snow replied.
"How are you going to contain all this? Dozens of people saw this," Emma said, as several black vans pulled up around them.
"Clean up crewâŚwhich is our cue to return to Castle. As for the spectators, most will be encouraged to keep their mouths shut and most will comply," he said.
"Out of fear, I presume," Gold stated.
"You know how powerful fear can be, Mr. Gold," Casey retorted.
"You're lucky I don't have a hang of the magic here yet, Major," he hissed.
"RumpleâŚ" Belle chided.
"As for the ones that decide to shoot their mouths off on the Internet, they'll be labeled crazy and conspiracy theorists. Our media is very good at spinning a narrative," Casey stated.
"So the media does the government's biddingâŚguess I'm not surprised," Emma said.
"I don't make the rulesâŚI just follow them and I expect the same from my team," Casey stated. There was an uncomfortable silence. None of them were quite comfortable with the rules outside Storybrooke and as far as they knew, there was no getting back what they once had.
"WellâŚthat's one dead troll. Who knew that Snow White could do that," Greg mentioned.
"Nevermind thatâŚ" their new boss snapped.
"We've planted the body and they'll soon know of her death," he added.
"How? The body will go to the morgue and city Police will investigate," Greg said.
"Very trueâŚbut all people from that place are marked in the system by the government. She'll be flagged immediately and the case will be handed over to General Shaw's little taskforce he's created. Then they'll soon know that someone is ripping hearts," he replied.
"But one bodyâŚthey might think it's a coincidence," Tamara reasoned. He smirked.
"So trueâŚit's time to seek another victim. Let's go," he snapped, as they followed him.
"That was good work, team," General Shaw said from the video screen. They were back in Castle and debriefing was fairly quick. His image blinked out and Casey pushed back from the console.
"Does that computer look up anything?" Snow asked.
"YesâŚbut it's only to be used for missions," Casey replied. She sighed.
"I just want to know what became of Red and Granny," she said.
"You don't need the computer for thatâŚjust google Ruby's diner," he replied, as Henry took out his phone and did so.
"Ruby's Diner in Brooklyn," Henry said, as he showed them.
"Anyone up for dinner?" David asked.
"I could eat," Killian replied
"Can we, Mom?" Henry asked excitedly. She smiled.
"Sure," she agreed, as they started to leave.
"Are you coming?" Emma asked Regina, who looked surprised by the invitation.
"Sure," she answered, eager for any time spent with Henry.
"You two should come too," Snow said to Belle and Gold. She smiled and he relented, as they followed as well.
~*~
The elderly man walked as fast as he could with a cane, as he looked behind him and tried to escape the two people that had been stalking him since his trip to the drugstore. He rounded the corner and was just moments away from his apartment when he was shoved against the brick wall of the building. He looked at the two young people in fear.
"WâŚwhat do you want? Take my moneyâŚjust don't hurt me," he pleaded.
"SorryâŚyour paltry earnings aren't of any use to us," Greg said, as a third figure approached and was shaded by the darkness. The man suddenly gasped for air and tried to scream in excruciating pain, but his breath was stifled. His last image of his life was watching the figure pull his own heart out of his chest. It glowed and that was the last thing he saw, as it was crushed. The three left the body to be found and soon, they would know they were being hunted. The old man was just a villager in the Enchanted Forest and a simple, retired senior in Storybrooke. But the message would be received, nonethelessâŚ
~*~
The bell rang on the door of the diner, as it opened, giving them all instant Deja Vu, as they painfully remembered Granny's. Their town was gone and their people were scattered throughout a city of millions.
"HiâŚwelcome to Ruby's," Ruby herself said and Snow tried not to tear up.
"HiâŚI'm not sure if you have a big enough table for this brood," Snow replied.
"We can push some tables together and it looks like we'll need a highchair. Hello, you little cutie," she cooed at the toddler in her husband's arms. David smiled.
"This is Bobby," Snow said to the woman who should be her son's Godmother.
"WellâŚthat's a cute little name to go with such a cutie," she cooed, as he smiled shyly.
"We can push these tables together back here," she said, as she ushered them to the back of the diner and they sat down.
"This isn't fairâŚ" Snow said, as she watched her best friend go behind the counter with Granny to get drinks for them.
"I know, my loveâŚ" David said, as he squeezed her hand.
"RumpleâŚdo you really think they'll let us go if we complete this mission?" Belle asked.
"If magic is here in any capacityâŚthen I'm not sure this mission is ever complete," Rumple answered.
"That's what I don't understandâŚI can't summon it and I haven't seen you do it yet either, so how do we have magical creatures running amuck?" Regina asked quietly.
"Oh magic is here, dearieâŚwe just haven't found a pocket of it yet, but I can feel it at every point one of these things pops up," Rumple replied.
"But it's different from StorybrookeâŚit's muted somehow," he added.
"Maybe we can track the locations. A detailed map with all that equipment back at Castle wouldn't be hard to create," Snow suggested.
"That's a good idea," David said.
"AyeâŚperhaps there are similarities in the location," Killian agreed.
"A common denominatorâŚmaybe that's how we figure the magic out," Emma said.
"And how these creatures are even being created," David said.
"If we can answer some of those questions, perhaps we can figure out a way to diminish magic's presence here and there'll be no need for this task force then," Belle replied. They nodded.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they're never letting any of us go. He said they would, but his superiors will never let it happen. Right now, we have a job and if that changes, we'll likely end up in a government facility somewhere," Rumple said, alarming them all.
"We can't let that be our fateâŚwe have to figure out exactly what happened with that trigger," David said, as he looked at the former Queen.
"And here comes the blame game again," she deadpanned.
"NoâŚno blame, because like it or not, we're all in this together and we have to stay together if we're going to survive. I just want to know everything about that thing," David said, as he paused as their food was delivered.
"That's just the thingâŚit was supposed to just destroy the town and everything in it. It would be as if the town never existed. How most of us even survivedâŚI have no idea," Regina said.
"What about Greg and Tamara?" Henry asked.
"What about them?" Emma asked.
"WellâŚthey had a bean. They were trying to open a portal. MyâŚmy dad fell through a portal," Henry replied sadly. Emma put her hand on his shoulder. It was the first time any of them had spoken about NealâŚbut he was remembered by all of them.
"Is that it?" Killian asked curiously.
"What do you mean?" David asked.
"Those lunatics opened a portal while the trigger was activated. What ifâŚ" he replied.
"What if the magical creatures are coming through portals and just not appearing with magic?" Belle asked, finishing his thought. He nodded.
"EssentiallyâŚyes," he agreed, as they continued to eat.
"If it is portals that are causing all thisâŚthen maybe escaping isn't impossible, after all," Snow said.
"WaitâŚyou mean escape back to the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked.
"YesâŚat least we'd be free again," David replied.
"But if they find out there are portalsâŚthey could follow us. Can you imagine if people like this had access to other realms and what they could do?" Regina asked.
"As much as I hate to admit itâŚthey have proven that technology is a match against magicâŚand sometimes supersedes it," Rumple added, clearly uncomfortable in admitting such a thing.
"They're rightâŚ" Snow realized.
"Or they already know it's portals. Ten bucks says they're not telling us everything," Emma said and no one seemed eager to take that bet.
"Where is my book?" Henry asked.
"I'm afraid they have it, my boyâŚand it's under lock and key. I don't think we'll be getting it back," Rumple replied regrettably.
"The clean up crewâŚthey're using us to dispatch the creatures so they can examine the scene," David realized.
"Then we need to get back to that siteâŚwithout getting caught somehow," Emma said.
"Perhaps that is a conversation best had elsewhere," Rumple suggested.
"We can go back to our house. I can make coffee and we can discuss this more," Snow offered. They nodded, as Ruby came back.
"How was everything?" she asked. Snow smiled.
"It was delicious, but this little one is sleepyâŚcan we please get the check?" she asked.
"Sure thing," Ruby replied, as she promptly returned and they paid for their meal.
"I hope you come back soon," she called.
"Oh, I think we'll be back. We really liked it," Snow assured her, as they left and headed for the small house that Snow and David had made their home in for the last three yearsâŚ
Arkham Echo Team Sparrow Bat-Computer Files #1 - Erica Davis/Sparrow
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
Sparrow
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Real Name: Erica Ronda Davis
Occupation: Registered Delinquent (formerly), Gothamâs Reaper in White (Vigilante)
Based in: Gotham City
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Weight: 125 lbs
First Appearance: Batman: Arkham Echo Prologue, The Black Erinyes
~~~~~~~
Attributes
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-Expert hacking and programming skills, as well as electronic repair and building, along with auto repair
-Avid and self-taught in various forms of fighting, including martial arts, boxing and street fighting, along with hand-to-hand combat
-Proficient in firearms and blades, especially concerning military, navy and martial weaponry
-Well-versed in Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Military Phonetics. Other languages and communications vary
-Self-taught in First-Aid and medicine, as well as toxicology and forensics
-Mysteriously well-trained in deter and misdirect, as well as interrogation and investigation skills
-Skilled in espionage and evasion, being able to stay out of sight
-A formidable interrogator, using death threats in order to gain the information or things she needs
~~~~~~~
Psy. Eval.
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-Suffers from a prolonged anxiety disorder, most likely a generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD or C-PTSD
-A personality disorder is a possible and likely diagnosis, but unconfirmed or unlikely
-Prone to anxiety attacks, mood swings and violent outbursts
-Anti-social for the most time, unless she is around her roommates or those she trusts
-Believes that any criminal, petty or super, willing to kill or hurt someone in an inhumane manner should be put down
-Has a long-standing fascination and obsession with avenging Jason Todd and her blood-related family
-Also has an obsessive compulsion to kill the Joker and any who hope to succeed him
-Chosen alias likely a link or homage to the late Robin
-Refuses to let anyone call her 'Eri' or 'E', due to its association with the most recently deceased
-Holds a burning hatred towards the Joker and Harley Quinn due to the prolonged torture and mistreatment they subjected her and Jason to for a year
~~~~~~~
Synopsis
~~~~~~~
Erica was the only daughter and youngest child to achieved and decorated Gotham City doctor, Steven Martin Davis. One night, a hit and run killed the doctor, his wife, Sarah, and eldest and only son, Erica's older brother, Brady. Ten-year-old Ericaâs body was never found; however, in actuality, she had survived the incident and was picked up by the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker. Since then, Joker forced Erica to hide her identity by dyeing her hair, wearing a specially-engineered gas mask (made to filter out toxins, debris and unclean air, including Joker's own toxins) and the like. She went by the codename, Spades and became a bit of an anamoly in and around Gotham. This went on for five years until she gave her true identity to the second Robin, Jason Todd.
Jason and Erica became fast friends and would continously meet up at random locations. Jason even revealed his true identity to her and unmasked in front of her. Erica promised not to reveal this information to anyone, even Joker, and kept that promise well. Their friendship then continued, with Erica becoming increasingly attached to him. Unfortunately, it didn't save Jason from his fate at Jokerâs hand at Ma-Gunn.
Erica disappeared a month after Jason was taken. Both of them were exposed and subjected to unfathomable tortures and horrors by Joker and some of his other accomplices and even his enemies. After hearing the gunshot that killed Jason, Erica passed out and was rescued by a talented witch, Kiera Thorn. Erica then awoke, now with her own renewed sense of justice and only one mission --- kill the Joker, whom she was wanted, dead or alive, byâŚ
She hid under the false name, 'Eri Davids', the name being an homage to her deceased friend. She then took work at the local grocery store as a service manager and front-end supervisor. She hid in plain sight in order to avoid being found by Joker or anyone else in association. That was, until, an old cold case was reopened...
Well, this is interesting! So, in that post yesterday, there was one line that really baffled me, a thing about people brushing off a character as an asshole âbecause he shows literally zero growth.â I kind of set that aside because it was such a weird non-sequitur, and guessed that it was just someoneâs sentences not quite keeping up with their train of thought, which has happened to me many times. Apparently I was wrong! I already spent long enough on that one post, Iâm tired of talking about that, but this is new and interesting.Â
Okay. I kind of wanted to see if I could talk about this purely in terms of abstracts and not characters, but I donât think itâll work. It would be frustrating to write and confusing to read. Itâs about Jiang Cheng. Right up front: This isnât about whether or not heâs an abuser. Frankly, I donât think itâs relevant. This also isnât about telling people they should like him. I don't care whether anyone else likes him or not. But I do like him, and I am always fascinated by dissecting the reasons that people disagree with me. And the process of Telling Stories is my oldest hyperfixation I remember, which will become relevant in a minute.
I thought I had a good grasp on this one, you know? Jiang Cheng makes it pretty obvious why people would dislike Jiang Cheng. But then the posts I keep stumbling over were making weird points, culminating in that âliterally zero growthâ line.
So! What happened is that someone wrote up a post about how Jiang Chengâs character arc isnât an arc, itâs stagnation. Itâs a pretty interesting read, and I broadly agree with the larger point! The points where I would quibble are like... the idea that itâs absolute stagnation, as opposed to very subtle shifts that still make a material difference. But still, cool! The post was also offered up as a reason why OP was uninterested in writing any more Jiang Cheng meta, which I totally get. Iâm not tired of him yet, but I definitely understand why someone who isnât a fan of his would get tired about writing about a character with a very static arc. Okay!
Now, internet forensics are hard. I desperately wish I had more information about this evolution, because I find this stuff fascinating, but I have no good way to find things said in untagged posts, reblogs, or private/external venues. But as far as I can tell, that âliterally zero growthâ wasnât just a slip of the tongue, itâs become fashionable for people to say that Jiang Cheng is an abusive asshole (that itâs fucked up to like) because he doesnât have a character arc.
Asshole? Yes. Abusive? This post still isnât about that. This is about it being fucked up to like this character because he did bad things and had a static character arc.
At first, that point of view was still deeply confusing to me. But I think I figured out the idea at the core of it, and now Iâm only baffled. Iâm not super interested in confirming this directly, because the people making the most noise about this have not inspired confidence in their ability to hold a civil conversation and Iâm a socially anxious binch, but I think the idea is:Â âThis character did Bad Things, and then did not improve himself.â
Which is alarmingly adjacent to that old favorite standard of âThis piece of fiction is glorifying Bad Thing.â I havenât seen anyone accusing mxtx of something something jiang cheng, only the people who read/watched/heard the story and became invested in the Jiang Cheng character, but things kind of add up, you know?
Like I said, I donât want to arbitrate anyoneâs right to like/dislike Jiang Cheng. Thatâs such a fucking waste of time. But this is fascinating to me, because itâs like..... so obviously new and sudden, with such a clear originating point. I canât speak to the Chinese fans, obviously, but exiledrebels started translating in... what, 2017? And only now, in 2021, do people start putting forth Jiang Chengâs flat character arc as a âreasonâ that heâs bad? Iâm not going to argue if he pings you in the abuse place, Iâm not a dick. Iâm not going to argue if you just dislike his vibes. Iâm just over here on my blog and in the tag enjoying myself, feel free to detour around me. But oh my god, itâs so silly to try to tell other people that they shouldnât like him because he has a static character arc.
I want to talk about stories. I donât know how much Iâll be able to say, because itâs impossible to make broad, sweeping statements, because there are stories about change, there are stories about lack of change, there are all kinds of media that can be used to tell stories, and standards for how stories are told and what they emphasize vary across cultures and over time. But I think that what I can say is that telling a story requires... compromise. It requires streamlining. Trying to capture all the detail of life would slow down most stories to an unbearable degree. Consider organically telling someone âI made a peanut butter and jelly sandwichâ versus the computer science exercise of having students describe, step by step, how to make one (spread peanut butter? but you never said you opened the lid)
Hell, Iâve got an example in mdzs itself. The largely-faceless masses of the common people. If someone asks you to think about it critically like, yes, obviously these are people, living their own lives, with their own desires, sometimes suffering and dying in the wake of the novel plot. But does the story give weight to those deaths? Or does it just gloss by? Yes, it references their suffering occasionally, but it is not the focus, and it would slow the story unbearably to give equal weight to each dead person mentioned.Â
Does Wei Wuxianâs massacre get given the same slow, careful consideration as Su Sheâs, or Jin Guangyaoâs? No, because taking the time to weigh our protagonist with âwell, this one was a mother, and her youngest son had just started walking, but now heâs going to grow up without remembering her face. that one only became an adult a few months ago, he still hasnât been on many night-hunts yet, but he finds it so rewarding to protect the common people. oh, and this one had just gotten engaged, but donât worry, his fiancee wonât mourn him, because she died here as well.â And continuing on that way to some large number under 3000? No! Unless your goal is to make the reader feel bad for cheering for a morally grey hero, that would be a bad authorial decision! The book doesnât ignore the issue, it comes up, Wei Wuxian gets called out about all the deaths heâs responsible for, but thatâs not the same as them being given equal emotional weight to one (1) secondary character, and I donât love this new thing where people are pretending thatâs equivalent.
When Wei Wuxian brutally kills every person at the Wen supervisory office, are you like âholy shit... so many grieving families D:â or are you somewhere between vindicated satisfaction and an âooh, yikesâ wince? Odds are good youâre somewhere in the satisfaction/wince camp, because thatâs what the story sets you up to feel, because the story has to emphasize its priorities (priorities vary, but âplotâ and âprotagonistâ are common ones, especially for a casual novel read like this)
Now, characters. If you want to write a story with a sweeping, epic scale, or if you want to tightly constrain the number of people your story is about, I guess itâs possible to give everyone involved a meaningful character arc. Now.... is it always necessary? Is it always possible? Does it always make sense? No, of course not. If you want to do that, you have to devote real estate to it, and depending on the story you want to tell, it could very possibly be a distraction from your main point, like the idea of mxtx tenderly eulogizing every single character who dies even incidentally. Lan Qiren doesnât get a loving examination of his feelings re: his nephews and wei wuxian and political turnover in the cultivation world because itâs not relevant, and also, because his position is pretty static until right near the end of the story. Lan Xichen is arguably one of the most static characters within the book, he seems like the same nice young between Gusu and the present, right up until... just before the end of the story.
You may see where Iâm heading with this.
Like, just imagine trying to demand that every important character needs to go through a major life change before the end of your book or else it didnât count. This just in, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg go through multiple novels without experiencing radical shifts in who they are, stop liking them immediately. I do get that the idea is that Jiang Cheng was a ~bad person~ who didnât change, but asdgfsd I thought we were over the handwringing over people being allowed to like ââbadââ fictional characters. The man isnât even a canonical serial killer, heâs not my most problematic fave even within this novel.
And here is where itâs a little more relevant that I would quibble with that original post about Jiang Chengâs arc. Heâs consistently a mean girl, but he goes from stressed, sharp-edged teenager, to grief-stricken, almost-destroyed teen, to grim, cold young adult (and then detours into grim, cold, and grief-stricken until grief dulls with time). He does become an attentive uncle tho. He..... doesnât experience a radical change in his sense of self, which... itâs...... not all that strange for an adult. And bam, then he DOES experience a radical change, but the needs of the plot dictate that itâs right near the end. And heâs not the focus of the story, baby, wangxian is. He has the last few lines of the story, which nicely communicate his changes to me, but also asdfafas weâre out of story. He was never the main character, itâs not surprising we donât linger! The extras arenât beholden to the needs of plot, but theyâre also about whatever mxtx wanted to write, and I guess she didnât feel like writing about Jiang Cheng ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ
But also. Taking a step backward. Stable characters can fill a perfectly logical place in a story. Like, look at Leia Organa. Iâm not saying she has no arc, but I am saying that sheâs a solid point of reference as Luke is becoming a jedi and Han is adjusting his perspective. I wouldnât call her stagnant, the vibes are wrong, but she also isnât miserable in her sadness swamp, the way Jiang Cheng is.
Or, hell, look at tgcf. The stagnant, frozen nature of the big bad is a central feature of the story. The bwx of now is the bwx of 800 years ago is the bwx of 1500+ years ago. This is not the place for a meta on how that was bad for those around him and for him himself, but I have Thoughts about how being defeated at the end is both a thing that hurts him and relieves him. Mei Nianqing is a sympathetic character whoâs also pretty darn static. Does Ling Wen have a character arc, or do we just learn more about who she already is and what her priorities always were? Iâm going to cut myself off here, but a characterâs delta between the beginning of a story and the end of a story is a reasonable way to judge how interesting writing character meta is, and is a very silly metric to judge their worth, and even if I guessed at what the basic logic is, for this character, I am still baffled that itâs being put forth as a real talking point.
(also, has it jumped ship to any other characters yet? have people started applying it in other fandoms as well? please let me know if this is the case, I am wildly curious)
(no, but really, if anyone is arguing that bwx is gross specifically because he had centuries to self-reflect and didnât fix himself, i am desperate to know)
And finally. The thing I thought was most self-evident. Did I post about this sometime recently? If a non-central character experiences a life-altering paradigm shift right near the end of the story (without it being lingered over, because non-central character), oh my god. As a fic writer? ITâSÂ FREE REAL ESTATE. This is the most fertile possible ground. If I want to write post-canon canon-compliant material, adsgasfasd thatâs where Iâm going to be looking. Okay, yeah, the main couple is happy, thatâs good. Who isnât happy, and what can I do about that? Happy families are all alike, while every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, etc.
Itâs not everyoneâs favorite playground, but come on, these are not uncommon feelings. And frankly, itâs starting to feel a little disingenuous when people act like fan authors pick out the most blameless angel from the cast and lavish good things upon them. Iâm not the only one who goes looking for a good dumpster fire and says I Live Here Now. If I write post-canon tgcf fic, itâs very likely to focus on beef and/or leaf. I have written more than one au focusing on tianlang-jun.
And, hilariously. If the problem with Jiang Cheng. Is that he is a toxic man fictional character who failed to grow on his own, and is either unsafe or unhealthy to be around. If the problem is that he did not experience a character arc. If these people would be totally fine with other people liking him, if he improved himself as a person. And then, if authors want to put in the (free! time-consuming!) work of writing that character development themselves. You would think that they would be lauded for putting the character through healthier sorts of personal growth than he experienced in canon. Instead, I am still here writing this because first, I was bothered by these authors being named as âfreaksâ who are obsessed with their âuwu precious tsundere babyâ with a âlove language of violence,â and then I was graciously informed that people hate Jiang Cheng because he experiences no character growth.
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These are DEFINITELY not based off of my teachers this year... definitely not...
Characters: Hange, Erwin, Levi, Miche, Zeke, Petra
104th Kids In Online School
HANGE
The fun teacher!
Teaches science, mostly biology but maybe chemistry
Probably also super burn out, so they do everything they can to make lessons easy and fun
Barely any homework. Nobody needs more time on their computer after a whole day of online classes
Made it very clear that nobody NEEDS to turn their camera on, but most people just do
The only stressful part about their class is group projects. They STRONGLY believe in group projects.
ERWIN
The boring teacher
Probably teaches history, or maybe business/public speaking
Doesnât understand technology AT ALL, really tried to learn but failed.Â
Mostly lecture based lessons, with the occasional really poorly formatted notes assignment that probably isnât shared correctly
He tries really hard though!! He makes jokes sometimes and is actually pretty understanding about late work.
His class is SO easy to cheat in. Not that I endorse cheating, but... you gotta do what you gotta do, and he makes it pretty easy
LEVI
The straightforward teacher
Teaches math, probably higher level or AP classes
He has private messages turned off on his meetings, but he makes it clear that you are always allowed to unmute and ask a question.
Weekly asynchronous days so everyone gets a break. When he gets burn out from teaching, he takes that as a sign that his students need a break, too. You canât be productive when youâre overworked.
Has an incredibly fair but strict policy on late work. He makes it really easy to get a good grade in his class, but you have to show that youâre actually trying.
Also really terrible with computers, but he just asks a student for help when he needs it
Once turned on his camera, realized Erwin was in the background, and immediately ended the meeting, emailing everyone that the period would be asynchronous.
MICHE
The chaotic teacher
I think heâs a PE teacher, but I could be convinced otherwise
Honestly pretty bad at teaching online, and once his school started letting students come in on certain days, he completely forgot about his online students.
Maybe two graded assignments the whole year, for the most part, he just kind of expects you to show up to class
Fell asleep in front of the camera once, and a student had to wake him up at the end of class.
His class is still pretty fun, though. Nobody turns on their cameras (sometimes not even Miche), but a lot of people unmute to talk, and they have a pretty solid discussion going.
ZEKE
The annoying teacher
I honestly donât know what he teaches, my best guess is maybe physics? Possibly forensic science? No idea.
Constantly complains about how he wasnât trained to teach online classes
That one teacher leaving hints that they donât âbelieveâ in the pandemic. Like sure, he wears his mask when people are in his room, but does he wear one outside of class? Nobody can be certain. He also probably wears a gaiter mask.
His class is pretty easy, though, especially online, because he just assigns worksheets and easy tests
Definitely has teacher drama with Levi
PETRA
The BEST teacher!
English teacher, 100%
Posts check-in forms for her students and makes it clear that she actually wants to hear how everyone is doing. If you seem like youâre really struggling, sheâll reach out and see if she can help at all, and try to arrange for some classwork accommodations.
Her class is really informative, so it can be difficult, but she makes the assignments easy to follow, and grades kindly.
Never sets expectations for her students that she wouldnât be able to meet. If she needs a month to grade essays, they get a decent chunk of time to work on it. If sheâs feeling overwhelmed, she gives the students a break as well. Totally understanding of all the stress theyâre under this year
Group discussions are optional! Nobody has to unmute if they donât want to, but she makes it really easy to participate, so a lot of people still do! Itâs a lot easier to participate without the stress of a discussion grade, and she knows that.
Just wrapping up a few loose ends from the past few months stories. I hope you all like it. And feel free to give me some ideas on what you want to see, or who you want to see more of. I will try to do my best :)Â
Breaking News tonight from the Apollo 11 memorial landing site as Admiral Adam Vr and Captains Warren Richarards and Mary Chavez were rescued from the Pacific Ocean following a journey that was supposed to be historical, turned harrowing. Amy Grey comes to us this morning with the story.
Thank you Julie, it was only a week ago here on the historic Cape Canaveral launch site, that the reconstructed Saturn V rocket was launched by the UNSC International Space and Aeronautics Division on the two thousand and fifty first anniversary of the original Apollo 11 mission. On board The reconstructed rocket were astronauts Fleet Admiral Adam Vir head of the UNSC deep space exploration division, Captain Warren Richards five year veteran and historical aeronautics expert, and Mary Chavez six year shuttle pilot veteran, and communications specialist.Â
The reconstructed Saturn V rocket took off thirty minutes behind schedule at 10:03 GMTJuly 16 after delays attributed to engineering standbys. However, reports by UNSC investigation early this morning indicate that the delays were called for by engineering head Jade Clein who noticed something strange during her final checks of the Saturn V recreated rocket. In an interview early today, flight director, Aaliyah Seif of the Apollo re-creation mission informed outlets that there was evidence of attempted tampering on the hull of the Saturn V rocket. The tampering case in the shape of these small silver tape strips covering loosened bolts along one of the Saturn V side panels. Engineers stated that the tape was not heat resistant and would have burned off in time to rattle the bolts loose and, likely, cause a devastating spin that would destroy the rocket.
While this attempted tampering was thwarted, the mission would only become more dire. A sudden and shocking report by Mericanda News 5 showed an uncut image of an unknown alien hybrid woman claiming that the UN President had ordered th attempted assassination of Admiral Vir, in conjuncton with an audio recording by Admiral Colter Massie, Head of the Galactic intelligence division an known isolationist, that admitted to the attempted assasination of Admiral Vir, and the acquisition of twenty thunderhawks which were used to harry the Satern V on itâs way to the moon. Admiral Kelly, long time friend of Admiral Vir, corroborated the story, saying she caught General Massie just after he ordered the deployment of the twenty thunderhawks. During their conversion he attempted to kill her before being detained by two members of Admiral Virâs crew, and was later seen being escorted into custody by Military Police.
Indeed footage has been captured from the hull of the Saturn V showing approximately twenty thunderhawks attempting to destroy the rocket while Rundi remote piloted drones and an unknown group of what appear to be racing jets, fought back to delay the attack while word was sent to the UNSC to deploy F-90 darkfire pilots to assist. This all after communications between Houston and the rocket were sabotaged shortly after leaving orbit. The F-90 darkfire pilots were able to arrive on time to rescue the rocket, though a hole was reportedly torn in the hull sucking Admiral Vir out into space, though he was later recovered and returned to his ship without any injuries. Patch teams were then able to repair the torn hull and the astronauts completed their mission landing to crowds on the moon and returning to earth on time on time landing in the Pacific ocean only nine miles away from the waiting ship.
All three astronauts were recovered and are reported to be in good health.Â
The investigation into the UN presidentâs involvement is still ongoing at this time, however preliminary reports from the Global Bureau of Investigation suggest evidence is both staggering and damning to the current UN president, who earlier today, attempted to cut all ties to the sabotage efforts saying she was framed. Political experts report that, even assuming her innocence, she will likely not last to the end of her term.
International News Network was able to interview Admiral Vir shortly after his landing while still on board the rescuing ship UNSS Victory.
Here is what the Admiral had to say.
âI find itâŚ. Really very disheartening that someone we all trusted, and someone that we all should have looked up to could do something like this. It really is a heinous demonstration of what political corruption can lead people to do.â
âAnd how do you feel, personally about all of this.â
âPersonally, IâŚ. well to be honest I am hurt and appalled. Not to mention that I fear for the safety of my family and my friends. Every day I wonder if my involvement with them is going to get someone I love killedâŚ. The thought haunts me, but I hope after all of this is over I⌠and all of us can breathe a little easier.â
âWere you scared?â
âI donât think that even needs to be a question. Of course I was scared, getting sucked out of your spaceship isnât ideal.â
âWhat do you hope will happen now?â
âI hope that justice can be upheld to those who deserve it.â
âWhat do you have to say to the UN president.â
âŚ
âI have nothing to say. Wouldnât want to waste the air.
****
What followed would be one of the largest scandals in recent political history. At some point an unknown number of classified government documents was leaked onto the internet, and after that it was all over for the Presidency. Thousands of enterprising humans, and aliens alike, viewed the documents to discover all the underhanded and dirty things which had been going on in the UN governmental body over the past few years. Forensic accounting experts (mostly Tesrtaki) uncovered plenty of fiscal tampering which shed light on plenty of isolationist related projects and bank accounts. There was even evidence that they had something to do with the original assassination attempt against Admiral Vir so many months ago. The drama had even managed to capture the attention of Rundi political experts and Vrul computer science geniuses, and together they unearthed a world of unfathomable, but not unexpected corruption. The process to remove the UN president from office was probably one of the fastest movements of human government ever seen by UN congressional leaders, who were likely trying their very best tro distance themselves from association with the president, who despite not being the only one involved, had become the political scapegoat for everyone else that had a supposed link with isolationism.
Even the VP fell under suspicion and was watched closely for the rest of his term.
Admiral Massie and the UN President were placed under arrest and set up for court dates in the nearing future, though everyone saw a long and arduous litigation process ahead. Even Ramirezâs family had filed for damages against the government after the news came to light confirming that their son had been shot as collateral in one of the UN presidents plans to assassinate Admiral Vir. They settled out of court to the tune of an unknown, but impressive sum of money.
No one really knew how much, but a couple months later Ramirezâs younger sister was seen training at one of the most prestigious olympic academies on earth.
Ramirez himself was suddenly able to afford housing on the moon in a condo just next door to his best friend, though no one else inquired further.
The Rundi chairwoman came forward with her own investigation admitting to being suspicious for a long time though she feared accusations without proper proof. Admiral Vir was seen having lunch with her not so many months after the events took place, suggesting that the trust between the two of them had not been completely dissolved. With much of the isolationist element gone from government, public policy began to lean heavily towards integration with the alliance. The occasional isolationist demonstration or protest was held, but none of them managed to gain traction.
Admiral Vir was finding himself more important than ever, though it was to his chagrin that his ship was grounded for the intervening months while the investigation continued.
No one was entirely sure what the future held.
***
Admiral Vir stepped into Admiral Kellyâs office. The last time he had actually visited her here had been over a few years ago before his promotion to captain of the Harbinger. It seemed so distant now, and he never expected to walk into her office with a star on his shoulder. She stood as he entered, and the two of them shook hands, ignoring all the stuffy formalities that usually come with the meeting of two military officers.
The wall behind her was decorated with a myriad of metals and awards she had received over her career, and he couldn't help but note the slight tinge of grey he could see forming in her hair. He knew that feeling, he was going prematurely white much to his chagrin. She stood and the two of them shook hands.
âVir.â
âKelly.â
She motioned him to sit and he sat sighing lightly as he had been on his feet all day consulting with political figures and other members of the UNSC.
âA strange couple months wouldnât you say.â
âTell me about it.â{
Kelly reached under her desk and withdrew an amber bottle which she placed between them, âI always forget; Do you drink?â
âOn occasion.â
âWell consider this an occasion.â She said popping off the top and pouring two glasses for them. She handed his across the desk and he leaned back in his seat cupping the cool glass in both hands.
She swirled the amber liquid around in her glass, âSo what are your plans after all this.â
He took a sip of water warmed by the burning liquid, âHoping things will go back to normal and I can go back to traveling the galaxy.â
Kelly grunted, âA simple man with simple motivations.â
He laughed , âSometimes I think a stupid man with simple motivations.â
She chuckled then grew serious, âA lot of people make the mistake of assuming simple people donâ[t have the intelligence to match. Some people assume that trusting means gullible means dumb. Just because we are trusting and expect others to do the right thing is not necessarily a fault. I believe there is a kind of beauty in assuming the fundamental goodness of humanity.â
\Admiral Vir shook his head, âHow can you after seeing what we have seen.â
âHow can you not?â She shrugged, âWe always knew that politicians were corrupt, but think about everything else we have seen.â
Admiral Vir nodded slowly, âThe enthusiasm for the Apollo 11 recreation mission, the people who flew up to help us. All of those people who went digging through years of information just to uncover the truth.â
SHe raised her glass, âPrecisely. Goodness in humanity is all around us, but we tend to overlook the good in favor of the bad.â She placed her hat on the desk and sighed, âIt is up to good people to keep their goodness going even when it might seem easier to give into the bad. I I have and will always believe in the fundamental good of humanity. Some may call it naeve, or even stupid. Others have said I have a romanticized view of a species that is fundamentally broken.â She turned her head to look out the window a contemplative expression on her face before turning back to look at Adam.
âYou understand me, I think.â
He nodded slowly.
âPeople need to be believed in. You tell someone for long enough that they are fundamentally bad at their core and they will begin to believe you. For thousands of years pessimists have gotten it into our heads that we are no better than animals, worse even since animals donât fight in wars. But I believe that is wrong, I have seen people, I have met people, and I have interacted with people who prove to me that humanity cannot just be fundamentally bad or else these people wouldnât exist.â She tapped her nails against the glass, âI think it is easier to corrupt purity than wash away a stain,â
He listened quietly as she continued.
âHumans are born good, Adam, and life stains us. We arenât born stained while some of us are wiped clean. â She shook her head, âDoesn't make sense to me.â She caught him with a look pinning him to the spot with her intense stare, âPeople like you convince me of this every day.â
âMeâŚ.â
She held up a hand. âAdam Vir, I am convinced that the best outcome this universe ever had, was when a happy go lucky science fiction freak was lucky enough to be the first man to meet aliens. Any other way things would have gone horribly wrong.â She leaned across her desk, âThe universe needs men and women like you, and not only that but the universe needs people who are going to support men and women like you.â She sat back, âWhich is why I have made a decision.â
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity not entirely sure where this could be going.
She smiled, âI have decided to run for President.â
He nearly spit his mouthful of expensive scotch onto the table but managed to choke it mostly down.
Eyes wide he set his glass down, âAre you serious.â
She smiled, âSeriously serious.â
âWell shit, you have my vote for sure.â He raised his glass to her, âI couldnât think of a better outcome.â
