maskormenace

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[After the last few days, there is a single temptation in Kate's mind: to put this off. To let it rest. She's earned it. Then again, she'd end up guilting herself and worrying about it too much, so it's worth getting it out of the way. Besides, all of it is important, and she wants to help.

So, it's back to the daily grind.]

Hey, everyone, a few things of note! First, I've updated the FAQ to reflect a few questions from you guys, as well as the recent bills that passed (or failed to pass). Hopefully, this clears up some things, and as always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

On to the cleverly numbered points!

1. Shepard and I spent the last couple of months looking for information on some of the people from Annie's list. I call it Annie's list only in short hand.

I've compiled that information in this document here. Hopefully, that will add some light to things. Whether these people are Hornets or not is yet to be made clear, but I do want to draw everyone's attention to Eleni Wang and the fact that she might be in Greece. If you're up for going to Greece to ask her some questions, I think you should do it.

2. Unrelated to this, my team is looking for some new members! We call ourselves the Young Avengers, and we're a branch of a much larger team of heroes from back home. While this won't give you officially sanctioned Avengers-status due to the circumstances of being here, we are looking for a few extra hands.

The only conditions we have are that you're at least seventeen (though we can be a little flexible on this point), and that you're willing to work with us as a team to do some good. We all play to our strengths, and we'd love to work with some of the heroes here moving forward. As a team, we're a little less "you must do this" and "you must go here. Also, we're very fun, and you can annoy Loki a lot.

If you're interested, you can either drop me a line here or contact me privately with your credentials.

Oh, and I figure it's implicit in our name, but we're generally looking for younger heroes.

Thanks!

3. My twenty-second birthday is this Saturday, and I've gotten one of my favorite diners to agree to let me throw my party there. It's intended to be a less rambunctious gathering, especially with Christmas right around the corner. If you know me, you're probably invited. Please use your judgment wisely! Also, gifts are not required. Sorry for the short notice.

The location is [insert Maurtia Falls location that's near Loki's apartment.]

That's all!

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Ah, well, that's fascinating.

The other catch is that I'm an unsettled imPort. My team is about fifty-fifty right now on that front.

Basically, we're doing vigilante work, but in a good way.

[Aaand he freezes. This. Well. To say this isn't exactly what he had in mind is an understatement]

Define "vigilante work".

[just what did he get himself into here. Yes, he knows that imPorts have a... shaky relationship with the law, but he knows that they have certain liberties, as well. Or at least, the registered ones do.]

Mostly it's stuff like stopping mugging. It goes beyond that, but I think you'll understand why I won't give you the details.

Either way, your older self and I had some ... differing opinions on it. He felt that we should join the police force, but in my experience, such official measures tend to have their hands tied.

If that's the case, then why not register? From what I understand, registered imPorts have certain privileges that both unregistered imPorts and native law enforcement lack. If red tape is your only concern, then that seems like the logical way to go.

It's a very (very very very very very) [she almost types "very" more, but she got tired of typing "very"] long story that amounts to "I don't trust any government that forces people to register to help." I also don't like the fact that new registrees are given dog tags. The whole military part of it doesn't feel right.

But something like this happened back home. It went badly. This will go badly.

[Christ, how many times does she need to type very? HE GOT THE HINT THE FIRST THREE TIMES, KATE- oh hey she's done. He takes a moment to respond - the phrase vigilante work, but in a good way makes him roll his eyes, and he can't say he trusts her or her methods. However, she has been a valuable source of information up until now, and as much as he hates to admit it, her response makes him curious]

And how do you define "badly"?

[This world has already gone pearshaped. He might as well see how it could get worse]

Well! Back home, the whole thing was a ploy by aliens to come in and invade and take over our planet. It was supposed to pit heroes against heroes, and people died. People were nearly lost to oblivion. Nasty stuff.

Here, we have a government that's hiding information and was once a military police state. Right now, one of our last liaisons ended up in a maximum security prison purely because he had some lapses in his memory. It's worrying, to say the least, and we're on a strict need-to-know basis. That's leaving out the annoying science-experiment-like paintball game a few months ago where shooting each other led to us experiencing explicit and very real pain.

I'm just saying. Things aren't good. I'd rather not be signed up for the guys whose only interest in me is ... self-interest. And control.

[Okay, so what does she have to saaaliens. Aliens. Of course her world was victim to an ALIEN PLOT to TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE PLANET because no, life in Heropa was clearly not insane enough-

...he is not going to respond. Not right away, at least. And he doesn't have to; this is a text conversation he's just going to. Make himself a cup of tea, and come back to this when he's done. Okay, so. Aliens. That's, well, unfortunate, but it also doesn't apply to him. Her situation is an outlier and should not be accounted for in debates regarding law and order, unless one comes from worlds cursed with similar bad luck. Now, to read about what she has to say about the version of Earth that they're currently stuck in-

...

.....

.......

Maybe he can make a second cup of tea.]

While the actions of world's governments are, unfortunately, highly suspect, there is something to be said about accountability. When fighting crime within the boundaries of the law, either conventionally or as a masked "hero", there are clear limits to what actions men and women can take. Everyone is held accountable for their actions, and everyone's motives are out in the open.

But while working outside the law, there are no such controls. You have no sense of who your true allies are, no idea of their past or their true motives, and even those with the best intentions risk being corrupted by the company they keep - and, while some may claim that they fight for more noble reasons, others have much less savory reasons for hiding from the light of the law. In short, you have no idea who you can trust.

[It's for that reason that he can't approve of her vigilante actions. There's a small voice in the back of his mind, though, that latches onto her liasion, on the governments experiments, on their cloak and dagger actions and the ghost of Cold War politics that continues to haunt them. He remembers Kotetsu's words, how his bright, overbearing demeanor turned dark when he recalled the events of Colorado, and dozens of other posts and conversations he's witnessed since his stay here.

He grips the handle of his mug and silences himself, only to let go when he nearly scalds his hand.]

Edited 2015-01-10 04:57 (UTC)

Well, at least you're still Edgeworth.

[On the other hand, that was a fairly cogent argument, and she feels bad for her urge to be brushing it off. She understands his perspective, but it's just a perspective. Kate's entire life has been dedicated to being an unregistered superhero. She made that decision early on.]

I see where you're coming from, but you can also see why I was saying we have different opinions. You make a very good point. An excellent one, even, but it isn't going to stop my methods. And given what's been unearthed and what will likely continue to be unearthed about this world, going about things my way is important to me.

But trust that I hold myself and my team with every ounce of accountability. We don't hurt people, or take that kind of ... "lawfulness" into our own hands.

Besides, it's what this government wants. You can have a cape who is registered or who isn't, but there's still a unique approach to accountability.

Just answer me one thing. If your comrades or any of your allies *did* cross the line, what *would* you do?

I would have them arrested myself. Why wouldn't I?

Sometimes people's standards weaken when emotions get involved. While you might be able to bring your comrades to face justice, others may find the decision too difficult to make.

I've unfortunately had some experience with it. While it's never as easy as the response I just gave you, I'm not willing to let that sort of thing fly.

[Of course, Nate ran away before consequences could've come about for his actions, but ... Kate still feels strongly for it.]

That makes you stronger than a good many people, I'm afraid.

[He fidgets in his seat, tapping his finger against the device. Her experiences - well, he's no stranger to trusting the wrong person]

But that is unfortunate. [And what you deserve, whispers a nasty voice in the back of his head, thinking back to her work as a vigilante. But that voice strikes him as harshly as it strikes her, so he ignores it] You have my sympathies.

Thanks. It's a part of the work, and I'm not surprised it'd be a concern.

[Not surprised, but perhaps tired of explaining it? She's definitely that, but she's been here for a year. It's normal.]

[He wonders for a moment how many friends and allies have turned on her in the past, but before he can follow that train of thought, he's reminded of his own disastrous debuts. The lies that he missed and the traps that he fell into, the facts and the people he failed to check thoroughly, his idiotic hyperconfidence - god, what a fool he was!

And here is, criticizing her for trusting the wrong people.

...perhaps it's time to bring this conversation to a close. After all, he got the information he wanted, didn't he? If he needs anything else, he can just... ask later, or better yet, ask somebody else]

So it seems. I'm afraid I have to rescind my offer, but thank you for the information, regardless.

Edited 2015-01-17 03:52 (UTC)

[She's not surprised by those words. There was a reason why Kate hadn't eagerly accepted Edgeworth's assistance only to have him find out later that she was partaking in vigilante activities. That would make a worse and less reasonable conversation.

As for not trusting the right people, it's more a matter of "many people have asked her why she's a vigilante."]

No problem, Mr. Edgeworth. I'm glad we were able to talk reasonably about it.

[That was a good life decision, Kate. That conversation would have been much less reasonable and much, much louder. A very bothersome conversation all around.

But, enough about that hypothetical conversation. This one seems to have come to an end, so instead of giving a proper goodbye, Edgeworth will simply stop replying]

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