Various social media | Video

[qualityfriend]

Display Name: THE RESISTANCE
Profile Photo: A picture of Fantastic with a red circle with the line through it and dripping with blood for good measure
Notes: Terrorism though it's stopped

All your favorite social media sites have a new livestream posted to them at the same time. It starts by showing a group of hostages, bound gagged and terrified, then the camera turns around to show a woman in a face-covering spandex suit. Those who follow supervillain activity or Fantastic's exploits might recognize her as Flashstep, who has mostly been involved in attempted heists, using her teleportation powers to get past security and befuddle her non-powered opponents, but Fantastic has always stopped her.

She's usually been taunting and almost flirty in the past, but when she starts talking, her voice is unusually cold. She says that fun time is over, if the people are going to accept Fantastic, then they all deserve to die. She moves, leaving the building, a nondescript office, continuing to rant, as the wind picks up and suddenly Fantastic shows up, grabbing her before she can do anything. He wrenches the camera and a detonator out of her hands and, from what can be seen from the camera's new vantage point on the ground, roughs her up and puts her in handcuffs.

Then he picks up the camera and solemnly addresses it. He says that he understands people are upset, but that violence against innocents is unacceptable. He asks, almost pleadingly, that if anyone has a problem with him, they face him themselves and leave others out of it. With that, he turns off the camera.

Comments

[robintohood]

And then what happened?

[qualityfriend]

I don't know! And- [squinting at the sunlight] it must've been hours ago! How can this keep happening?!

[robintohood]

Come on. I'll take you somewhere else where we can talk.

[Jason takes out from the trunk bag of his motorcycle a helmet]

[qualityfriend]

[She accepts it and manages to put it on and climb onto the motorcycle behind him. She does hold on very tight, though.]

Wasn't that tracker supposed to help with this? What's the point if it's only getting worse?

[robintohood]

That's why we need to check. Assuming it's still working, we should see where your body was while you were blacked out.

[Jason revs his motorcycle again and drives out of his territory with Dana in tow]

[qualityfriend]

[She checks her things over as best she can, trying not to dwell on her bruises. Everything she should have is still with her. Her dress even seems to be in better shape than she is.]

I think it's still in my purse.

[robintohood]

Don't suppose you know where that landed?

[qualityfriend]

I have it with me. So I wasn't mugged. Where it was during my missing time, though...

[robintohood]

Hopefully it was close enough to you while you were out.

[qualityfriend]

Let's hope.

[She leans against him. Damn, she's tired. What happened during her missing time?]

Almost there?

[robintohood]

Soon. Gotta park a little away from the safehouse just in case though. How're you feeling?

[qualityfriend]

[Very sarcastic:] Oh, great. Best I've ever felt.

[Then a sigh.] Seriously? Besides hurting for reasons I don't know, and all the bad head stuff around that, I feel- worn out.

[robintohood]

[There's a short pause as Jason tries to work something out in his head]

Maybe bad head stuff is exactly what it is, like someone's been trying to manipulate you.

[qualityfriend]

That's a classic supervillain move. I told you about Spellbinder, right? He hypnotized kids into stealing for him.

[robintohood]

Yeah. What happened to those kids he targeted? Was it like they blacked out too?

[qualityfriend]

They were confused when confronted. I think they had vague memories of what they did, saw some outlandish things.

[robintohood]

What'd they see?

[qualityfriend]

I think Chelsea thought she was in a jungle, and Jared's mom saw bugs.

[robintohood]

So they were powerful illusions to trick them into stealing. You didn't anything see like that today?

[qualityfriend]

I haven't seen anything like that at all. At least not that I can remember.

[robintohood]

[Soon afterwards he pulls over into an alleyway. Then he gives Dana the address to his Candy Lofts apartment, which is a few blocks away]

We can't be seen in there together while I'm like this. Wait for me outside my door. I'll be with you soon.

[qualityfriend]

Wha-? Oh, right. [She briefly covers her face with one hand, mimicking his mask.]

I'll be waiting. [She tries to teleport- and clutches her head instead of disappearing.] Owww...

[robintohood]

[With a straight face]

Might wanna walk.

[qualityfriend]

Guess so. It's like- I've overtaxed myself. Maybe that's something I do during blackout time.

[She heads off at as brisk a pace as she can manage. She does know exactly where she's going, after all.]

[robintohood]

[Once Dana starts walking, Jason drives off in a seemingly different direction.

Several minutes go by as Jason parks his motorcycle away, rooftop jump his way to Candy Lofts, climbs down the building and enters his apartment through a window. He then takes off his helmet and mask before checking the peep hole on his door to see if Dana is there]