maskormenace | video.

[ when the feed clicks on, it's easy to tell that nick's in the kitchen, probably one that's similar to most in the issued residencies. his tone's a far cry from casual, but the fact that he's apparently wasting time at home at least offers some semblance of nonchalance. ]

My name is Nick Burkhardt. I'm with the Portland— previously of the PPB, currently with the... [ a pause, and extremely reluctantly: ] Heropa PD.

[ that's the formal introduction out of the way. which is the easy part; identify yourself, follow routine. going out of his way to make friends isn't something nick's done in a long time, which is probably going to be obvious in roughly ten seconds. his effort to drop the professional approach ends up sounding more neutral than genuinely amicable, but at least it keeps this from sounding like a full-on interrogation. ]

I wasn't planning on getting a tattoo, but given the choice I'd have gone for something a little less on the nose. And while I'm sure cops everywhere would appreciate the vote of confidence, something tells me this place is working with a flexible definition of the word hero.

[ definitely a judgement on what he's seen on the network rather than any kind of careful introspection. no offense. ]

Everyone's talking about whether or not we should register. I'm wondering what gives us the right to in the first place. [ a slight pause, and then he has the decency to sound a bit wry at his own expense. ] So on a scale of recycling to wearing spandex, how heroic do you think you rate?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So it was tragic. Was it your brother or lover or clone or something. Did you shoot your gun into the air and yell after?

[ yes, with imogen heap playing in the background. ]

It was a man who'd murdered one young woman and abducted a second. [ sorry, were you hoping for a sense of humor. ]

Evil women?

Innocent. One was just a kid. [ and because he's vaguely hoping you're from a world that's not his, given the morbid fixation— ] Where are you from?

It's complicated. One of those places ended, like, a month ago.

[ oh my god april you can't just say someplace ended. ]

Sorry, did you say it ended?

Yeah.

[There isn't even a touch of sarcasm there. The attempt to joke has failed. The whole thing still has her entirely messed up.]

The world ended. And now we're here. And that's all there is to it.

[ nick picks up on the shift in tone, and the wry questioning is dropped in return. being kept from home is one thing; knowing home is gone is a thousand times worse. ]

I'm sorry. [ and he's tempted to ask for more, but after a beat: ] One of my last cases involved a geriatric serial killer. Adorable grandmother by day, vigilante by night.

[ so much for not dateline. it's an obvious distraction, but that's better than digging into her trauma on the network. ]

[And it works like a charm]

Who was she serial murdering? Kids who were mean to her cats or something?

Think Batman, only with more grey hair and without the no-kill clause. If the law could've gotten to them, they would've been locked up before she had the chance. [ well. ] Maybe locked up. Some of them were just delinquents.

[She snorts. Batman. It was always Batman.]

Cool. So did you have an epic stand off?

More like she got one up on the department and dodged arrest on a technicality. She's still out there, somewhere. To my knowledge she still doesn't own any cats, though.

Finally, a hero this city could believe in. When she shows up.