Member of Achilles' Legion Dead in Prison
The headline rolled along the screen behind Alyx Turner as she started on the story.
"So, at least we got a proper press release this time," she said, glancing down at the tablet on her desk.
"General Isaac McGuire released information yesterday afternoon. Well, I guess you can read the headline. Most of you have probably seen it floating around. But I want to get the facts straight here. This story's a lot bigger than just one headline. So here we go.
"Firstly, we all know that Hot Rod of Achilles' Legion has been causing trouble recently. Trouble on par with Team Chaos. And it's been escalating. However his Miracle thing works, he seems to be getting more experienced with it, or better with it, or something. He's been tossing around more fire, and in the past two weeks he's been...seeming more and more unhinged.
"But, hey, he's a member of Achilles' Legion and they're the closest thing to good guys we have at the moment. We've got too many bad guys kicking around to not cling to whatever half-decent good guy team we can find. Team Chaos, consisting of Corrosion, Cold Snap, Ferry, Shell and Paris, who's ditched his Phalanx. Then we have the remnants of said Phalanx after their falling out with Paris - Mist, Manifest, Scattershot, Itera and Magnetic.
"Those are kind of the two big ones. We also have more minor groups causing trouble. Whiplash and Twinblade, as the Legion has called them on their website. Then Sleeper. We also have a couple of others that haven't done anything major enough to really be noticed among all the other dastards out there. They're crawling out of every crevice on the city they can find. It's frankly ridiculous. But, hey, that's the times we live in. I'm tired of questioning and doubting everything, so I'll buy whatever crazy Miracles the media claims exist. Dangerous mindset, I know, but I'm too tired for anything else.
"Anyway, the Phalanx got into it with Whiplash and Twinblade, who seem to be from the same emerging organization. The Legion intervened, Hot Rod almost killed someone, Whiplash and Twinblade got away, and Scattershot got arrested. Finally. They manage to get another one of these creeps off the street - other than Olivia Hahn, aka Phantasma of course.
"We haven't heard anything with regard to Scattershot, so I'm gonna assume she's awaiting trial quietly somewhere. That was at the end of September.
"Then, last week, less than a week after that incident, Hot Rod, Achilles, Lightning and Prime end up in another fight with Team Chaos. Shit happens, civilians got involved, you should know the drill by now. These villains just seem to love dragging innocent people into things. Corrosion melts someone's face off, while Hot Rod and Cold Snap incinerate and freeze a different bystander.
"Now, I understand if Cold Snap does it. I don't like it, but I know she does that kind of stuff. Does she deserve to be locked up? Yes. Does she deserve the Phantasma treatment? Maybe. I don't really know how I feel. Sure, nobody deserves to die, but if anyone does, it'd be someone like Cold Snap. But Hot Rod? A member of the Legion and defender of the people? That's just wrong. It's completely messed up. We heard that the victim of that incident was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, but we haven't heard anything since. Did she die in hospital? Is she still clinging to life? Who knows.
"And, of course, Corrosion's victim was declared dead on scene. So last week, we have two civilian casualties when the Legion was present. I...I'm frustrated, people." Alyx sighed heavily and lowered her head into her hands, running one through her hair.
"The Legion seems to be our best defense, but with people like Hot Rod on it, I don't know if I can say I feel truly safe. And a lot of you on the web say you feel the same way."
A list of comments scrolled on the screen behind her, each expressing fear and uncertainty.
"Like, Sam says 'I can't believe this. They were supposed to protect us, and they pull this shit.' Anna says 'I used to feel safe in Arx. Sure, the military wasn't perfect, but I didn't have to worry about getting mugged on my way home from work. Now I don't know when I'm going to die. I have kids at home. I don't want them to live without their mom. But it's far scarier to think that one of my kids might be the one to die.'
"Am I the only one who feels like we've landed in a war zone? You read about wars in history class, but...did we really think it would ever come to us? And could any of us have anticipated it happening like this? Our own people, killing each other for shits and giggles."
She sighed again, moving as if she was putting her professional face back on. The glimpse of vulnerability was over.
"Sorry. That was a bit off track. The Hot Rod saga continues on Tuesday, when he and Knight Errant went to stop a Sleeper robbery. They caught Sleeper in the act, and for whatever reason he wasn't able to put them to sleep and escape this time. Instead, Hot Rod scorches him from head to toe. You can't find photos online, but I spoke to a couple of the responding officers and they said that it was like nothing they'd ever seen or smelled.
"Sleeper was declared dead within 24 hours of that incident. They've released his real name and a few anecdotes about him. Amias Benjamin, age 30. Career thief, who's been arrested multiple times for various infractions since he was 18. As for what happened before that, we don't know anything. Since he would have been a minor at the time, we aren't allowed to access the files. A few years ago, he got arrested and sentenced to a long-term jail stay with his partner-in-crime, Rayne Faulkner.
"We don't know anything about Rayne. Maybe she went straight after their last jail term. Maybe they split up and she's doing something else now. We don't know.
"Anyway, not a great guy, I admit. But did he deserve to be turned into a human torch? Not really, I think. He never killed anyone as far as we're aware. Sure, there have been a couple fall-related injuries from the use of his power, but let's face it, we've got bigger fish to fry.
"So during that incident, Hot Rod was arrested for attempted murder. Which then became actual murder, assuming last week's victim is still hanging on to life by a thread. Apparently Lightning showed up and knocked him out so the military could put him in solitary for a bit while they and the Legion decide what to do about him.
"But, then yesterday. We got a report that Hot Rod had overused his Miracle, absolutely destroying the cell he was in. This resulted in his death from smoke inhalation.
"Now, I didn't know this was a thing. I mean, would any of us have thought this would be the way he'd go out? Overuse of his own Miracle resulting in...fatal oxygen deprivation or something?
"K, I know some of you are gonna be confused, so let me elaborate a bit. Basically, fire produces smoke as a byproduct, with consists of very bad gasses that humans should not be inhaling. Stuff like carbon monoxide. Bet you haven't heard that name since your school days, if at all. Long story short, CO causes issues with your breathing and blood flow, eventually resulting in your body being completely unable to transport oxygen and thus forcing you to suffocate.
"A painful way to go. And no, I don't know that off the top of my head. Someone with a medical degree wrote that explanation up, and the staff put it on the teleprompter for me.
"But...it sounds weird. These Miracle freaks seem to have an intuitive understanding of how stuff works or something. Wouldn't Hot Rod figure out that he was killing himself before it got too far? Like, this can't be an accident. Did he commit suicide to get out of the consequences of his actions? Did he suddenly grow a conscience?
"Or...and I hate to be the one to say this...but, is the military using this as an excuse to cover up some shady shit like what happened with Phantasma? Did Hot Rod actually destroy his cell? I mean, we haven't seen any photographic evidence of any of this. Apparently it's to spare us the sight since it's gruesome, but...
"We never saw the body either. By the time any press were able to ask for photos or whatever, he'd already been cremated. Seems a bit suspicious to me. You'd want to investigate whatever happened fully, right? But it's been, supposedly, two days since he died. Is that enough time for a full autopsy? Is that enough time to get everything you need and make sure you have all the evidence? Usually we don't just cremate people the day of their death, right?
"It makes me wonder what the military's hiding. Don't you feel the same way?"
