Perspectives: Bad Press (Sep '08)

[Visavis]

shaydeswhisper: Perspectives September - Post here!

Sorry for putting this up so late. I was a bit lost in what I was going to do for September. I wasn't even sure I was going to do a September topic. Saturday night, thanks to the Recip Warburg group, I got some inspirtation.

Alot of heroes, especially the Reciprocators work in the public eye. Likely many articles are printed about heroes every day. Some heroes are like celebrities. Sometimes with great power comes... bad publicity.

This month's topic we are going to look at the bad press our characters might have generated.

Is there a newspaper editor that just plain hates you and wants to smear your good name?

Have the tabloids linked you romantically with someone?

Is there a misquote attributed to you, that could really cause problems?

Did you make the worst dressed list?

The subject matter for this month's can be as serious, dark, or light-hearted as you want. So have fun with it!

Thanks Warburger group for the idea =-)

-Yuki

[Visavis]

Showstarter: Press Conference

((Oh, just a couple of notes. Firstly, thanks again to Yuki for the awesomeness. I absolutely love Perspectives, and it's given me so many great ideas for storylines.))

((Second note, for all those Aussies in the SG. I've used quite a few name references from a classic Aussie film. You shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out which film it was. And of course, there's a reference to a major inspiration for one of Showstarter's personality quirks. See if you find it. ))

((Anyway, enough OOC prattle. On with the story!))

“That is a baseless accusation.” Akechi Masatoshi repeated into the microphone. “And as a Reciprocator, he has our one-hundred percent support.”

We sighed as we looked around at the sea of reporters, cameras, note pads and recording devices. Every time that our Earth Prime counterpart Showstopper went on some rampage through Paragon, we had to defend ourselves against the same onslaught of accusations, questioning whether or not we were really on the right side.

Looking further into the crowd, we could make out a reporter from the Paragon Extra. It had been their editor-in-chief, Derek Davison, who’d started this whole campaign, demanding for us to be thrown in prison. Bringing our mind back to the present, we heard Akechi throw to us. We stood up, and once again, stepped in front of the podium. As soon as we turned to face the crowd the barrage of questions began.

“Is it true that…?”

“Rumors say that you are…”

“What do you have say to the families that…?”

The torrent continued for another thirty seconds before we raised our hands calmly. “One at a time, please.”

A hand shot up. “Mike Pratt, Channel 9 News.” The reporter cleared his throat before continuing. “Is it true that you are under investigation for these recent crimes committed by ‘Showstopper’?”

We frowned, though it wasn’t visible under the mask. The way he emphasised Showstopper sounded almost sarcastic. “As our Reciprocator liaison Police Inspector Zap over here already stated, there is no investigation into our activities, nor are there any restrictions on our movements.”

“Is it possible that Police Inspector Zap and the PPD are conducting an investigation without your knowledge?”

Out of the corner of our eye, we could see Akechi shudder slightly, and we knew that comment hit a nerve. “We have complete faith in Police Inspector Zap, and this conference is not about questioning his abilities or motives. Next question.”

Another hand shot up. “Greg Paddock, Paragon Times. If you and Showstopper are different people, how come there are no reports of you being seen together?”

“Well that’s pretty obvious, it’s a big city. We’re sure there are people in this city that you haven’t crossed paths with.” We tried to keep our voice level, but a hint of sarcasm crept into our tone.

“But you have never responded to any of his bank robberies. How do you explain that?”

We leaned on the lectern, getting as far forward as we could without tipping it over. “Do you have any idea how many threats Paragon faces every day? Each day, we…” We motioned to Akechi, who was sitting behind us, “face off against Hellions, Skulls, Outcasts, Lost, Pantheon, Clockwork, Vahzilok, and that’s not even mentioning the big threats, like Arachnos or the Council. You sit down there and accuse us of not attending a bank robbery. Quite frankly, we were probably saving your ass from one of those other groups.” We stopped to calm ourselves. “Next question.”

“Ted Brock, Paragon Globe. Is it true that you are possessed by a demon?”

That question stopped us in our tracks. How does he know? That info is even hidden from most of the Reciprocators. “Excuse us?”

“Well, it’s just that I’ve heard from an eye-witness that you attacked a Hellion summoning ritual, and in the process, ‘transformed’ into a demon-like creature.”

Our eyes narrowed slightly. “We think that your eye-witness has been watching too many horror films. Now, seeing as the questions are becoming ludicrous, this conference is over.” We walked away from the lectern, ignoring the shouts of the reporters as they tried to get their questions heard.

“How the fuck did they find out about the demon?” We whispered to Akechi.

“Don’t know. There’s no recording of that information anywhere.” Akechi replied quietly as they walked out.

Ted Brock watched them leave before turning to walk out of the room, keying a small commlink in his wristwatch as he did so. “Well, he was surprised. Could see it in his eyes.”

Showstopper’s visage appeared on the small commlink screen. “I’ll bet he was. Good work Lex. That should keep the public guessing, and maybe turn more people against him.”

“All right, well I’m out now, so I’ll meet back ‘home’. Oh, just out of curiosity, will Theresa still be stalking him?”

Showstopper nodded. “Of course.” The commlink shut down.

Lex walked out of the conference hall and to his fake news van, where his Crab Spider armour was stored.

Now it was time to pay Derek Davison another visit as Serration, to further discuss Showstarter’s ‘treachery’.

[Visavis]

Visavis: Press

February 3rd, 2009

"I do solemnly swear to uphold the law of the great state of Rhode Island and that of Paragon City to the best of my ability, and to stay true to the ideals which they represent. Furthermore, I accept all responsibility for my previous wrongdoings, and acknowledge that, in the event of further infractions upon the law, it is only right for the judicial system of these United States to act with full authority against me. With this, I also accept the absolute authority of Henry Dudenfal and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections."

He was sure that, if he still had pores, he would be sweating. The oath probably wasn't even real, he thought. Probably just a piece of Hero Corps propaganda meant to look good to the public. It seemed to be working though. The reporters present certainly seemed to be soaking it up. Sean was a bit surprised at how many had shown up. It wasn't a huge crowd, but he had always thought himself to be largely unnoticed in the media, so the dozen or so present was a bit of an honor. More would have shown up if he had ever been one of the evil mastermind types, he was sure. His gaze hovered on a particularly attractive female reporter. A brunette, with curves. She looked as if she had been carved as a statue and brought to life, though her face was better than that of the Greek statues he had seen. She glanced up from her laptop, met his gaze... and sneered. So much for attractiveness.

The presiding judge cleared his throat. "Mr. Casus?"

Sean shook his head, clearing it. "Yes, your honor?"

"You may lower your hand now."

"Oh.. thanks."

The judge frowned slightly at the mild impropriety, then looked to his left at the assorted legal personnel. "Mr. Dudenfal?"

The personification of routine stepped forward and turned his gaze to Sean. "Yes, your honor. Mr. Casus, you are hereby entrusted to the authority of Hero Corps and the, ahem, Black Cell division. Regularly scheduled meetings are still mandatory. As the parole officer of your case, I will be in charge of the legal matters which are not fulfilled by Hero Corps."

"...'kay."

"...Ahem." Dudenfal turned to the judge. "Thank you Judge Henderson."

The judge nodded. "Thank you Mr. Dudenfal." His gaze turned to Sean, and became somewhat cold. "Mr. Casus."

He considered sticking his tongue out at the judge, but decided that, for the time being, he should feign respect as much as possible. "Thanks, your honor."

He turned away and managed to suppress a sneer. Mr. Dudenfal was waiting by the doorway as he exited the room, and began trailing him from behind just a little bit. "Your first appointment is on the 14th."

"Got it," Sean replied briskly.

Dudenfal raised his voice slightly. "If you miss it and we don't hear from you within forty eight hours a warrant will be put out for your arrest."

"'kay," he replied shortly.

"Mr. Casus, you don't seem to realize how serious this is."

Sean turned on his heel and glared at the man. He considered telling him the truth. Telling him that he planned on being back in the Isles within the next week, at most. How, after this, his campaign against the self-righteous "Heroes" would be even more terrible than they thought him capable of. Instead, he took a deep breath, and remembered his training. "Look, I figure I'm not comin' off that great, but ya gotta believe me when I say I'm serious about this. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than Paragon. My home, yeah? An' sure, runnin' 'round doin' whatever I feel like could be great.. but.. it'd feel wrong goin' against tha city. Ya know?"

Mr. Dudenfal stared at him for a moment, and Sean returned the favor with a cold reptilian gaze. Just as it became a bit too long, Dudenfal spoke. "Alright, I'll admit, I believe you. But believe me when I say that showing a bit of respect can go a long way. I'll see you at our meeting."

Sean nodded. "Thanks." He turned, started walking down the hallway, and failed to repress his smirk. Yet, it faded quickly, and a bit of a chill ran through him at the realization that his words had been true. There was no where else he'd rather be. Not because of the havoc he could cause, but because it was his home. He shook it off for the time being, dismissing it as being overly sentimental. There was planning to be done. He'd wait until tomorrow. That would give him time to even read the news reports on the little event here.

He passed through another doorway. To his right, a bizarre man with ruptured skin and exposed bone join him, trailing slightly behind. "Casssuss, sso good to ssee thingss went well." Sean shivered slightly and turned his head.

"Vehas. Where'm I off to?"

"Hm.. The bassse, I think."

"A'ight... I'll meet ya there."

"Yesss.. I'm ssure you will. And.. don't forget our little deal." He raised his left hand and wiggled his pinky finger. Inside his gut, Sean could feel a twitching. He paled a bit and felt the nauseous feeling coming.

"Y-yeah, course.."

Vehas departed, leaving Sean to his thoughts again. There were certain things he still didn't like about Paragon. He would report back to Arachnos soon. He still had until tomorrow. He could read his article, bask in the glow of his utterly convincing performance, and then take off and make them all feel like a bunch of idiots.

---------------

He could barely believe it. The article, written by the brunette with curves if he remembered the face accompanying the article correctly, had reported the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, this truth included his thoughts during the proceedings. Of course, they weren't clearly stated as such, but it was easy to see that there were some psionic powers behind it. They were written as speculation, and were dead-on. He contemplated his next course of action, then quickly decided to follow his original plan. Who would believe her? He would be out of Paragon and fighting the heroes again within a week.