[hider][indent]A DVD.

They had been sent a DVD. Oddly enough, the team of superheroes were relatively used to fanmail, but DVDs were… so outdated. Most of what they sent was through email, or on social media or something. This was new. Included with the disk had been a single note, requesting that the team watch together. And so they’d reluctantly gathered, and slipped the disk in.

As it turned on, it showed a man wearing a plain [url=http://img01.cp.aliimg.com/imgextra/i1/787558495/T2Ru9zXe4XXXXXXXXX_!!787558495.jpg]mask[/url], sitting in a wooden chair, with the camera focused on him in a dimly lit room, with cement walls.. There were a few silent seconds of the masked man staring at the camera, before he began to speak:

[color=dimgray]”What if I told you I was crazy? Would it be strange…? Would you believe me?”[/color] His voice was slow, carefully choosing each word, but nonetheless it [i]commanded[/i] attention, filling the empty room. The man stood up from his chair and the camera followed him as he did so, before he began speaking again. [color=dimgray]”[i]Or[/i], what if I told you that it is YOU that breached the boundaries of reality, and that it is [i]I[/i] who is perfectly sane. You people consider yourselves the shield against injustice for the people against this town, and you’ve got them fooled. But me? I see the truth. I see [i]you[/i] for what you are! A facade. A [i]joke![/i]”[/color]

He moved toward the camera, picking it up and shifting it so it turned to face the other person in the room--the mayor of the town that the team had protected for so long, tied a chair not dissimilar to the one the masked man had been sitting in. In its new position, he sat the camera down, and began to speak again. [color=dimgray]”You recognize him, right? Mayor Brenton Wesley.”[/color] He paused, withdrew a knife from his pants pocket as the mayor whimpered into the gag tied around his throat. [color=dimgray]”I’m gonna slit his throat, right here, right now. Live for this recording. He left a simple will, really, I helped him write it. Do you want to hear? Oh, I’m sure you do, I don’t know why I even asked…”[/color]

Carefully placing the knife on the knee of the mayor, the masked figure reached into his pocket and withdrew a crumpled piece of paper, which he methodically unraveled before beginning to read: [color=dimgray]”To the people who live in the city that I’ve mayored over for nearly a decade, I will leave… distress. To the Coalition, the team of [i]heroes[/i] who have so happily and selflessly protected myself and my city, I will leave [i]chaos[/i].”[/color]

Immediately, the knife was snatched up off of the mayor’s knee and sliced across his throat. The effect was instant, and blood began to spurt everywhere, splattering onto the masked man’s clothes, the perfect white mask he wore, and even droplets landing on the camera. The man reached underneath the mayor’s chair and tipped it backwards, causing the corpse to fall, before he walked up to the camera and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing off the splatters to make sure the picture was clear. [color=dimgray]”The Coalition… you brave few. You mighty few. You truly, truly consider yourselves a shield against injustice? Then [i]I[/i] shall be the spear that will [i]pierce[/i] your shield! You think you protect them from monsters? You don’t understand, you haven’t met a monster yet. [i]I am the thing that lurks under the bed[/i]. I am what goes bump in the night.”[/color] He paused--his words had been getting heated, angry, and he didn’t want it that way.

[color=dimgray]”There is no malice in what I’ve done here tonight. No underlying reason, no justification, I have no plan for world domination, I’m not extracting my revenge on the mayor for locking me up. No, no. It’s much more simple than that. I am just [i]evil.[/i]. I am [i]not[/i] just [i]a[/i] villain, I am [i]the[/i] villain.”[/color]

He reached up and grabbed the base of the mask, slowly peeling it off his face. A streak of the mayor’s blood traced across his entire face from the backs of his fingers as he did so, and he licked at his lips. There was a smile on his lips as he stared into the camera. His face was undeniably attractive, but his eyes had an eerie look to them, almost as if they were detached from reality. [color=dimgray]”And now, I leave you with a single desperate cry--no, a [i]plea[/i] for help.”[/color] The man dropped the mask and it seemed to fall in slow motion to the ground, splattering into the pool of blood at his feet. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.

[color=dimgray]”Please stop me.”[/color][/indent][/hider]

[indent][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/UYlkUMG.png[/img][hr][hr]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/lEHqhZr.png[/img]
[color=ff5f0f]Location:[/color] A press conference, then the Watchtower
[color=ff5f0f]Interacting with:[/color] [@Silent Observer]
[hr][/center]
Nathaniel was grateful that the press conference had been delayed as long as it had. This had given him time to catch his breath, to think and consider things. There was a lot to think about now: The Coalition were not the only Enhanced, [i]and[/i] the only other one that they knew about was stronger than the whole team, combined. Not to mention that this person, someone that was left unnamed (a few press companies were coining names for the villain, but nothing had stuck yet), had killed the Mayor.

Throughout their entire tenure, since nearly the [i]day[/i] the Coalition had been formed, Mayor Brenton Wesley had been their friend. One of the few people to advocate for, rather than against, them in the beginning, the Mayor had taken a great risk in giving the Coalition as much freedom as he did. When there was the chance to put more regulations on them, Mayor Wesley had declined. When the [i]Detroit Daily Journal[/i] had first declared them dangerous vigilantes, Mayor Wesley had been quick to publically announce his support of the group, going so far as to name them official members of Detroit Law Enforcement.

When Nathaniel had brought up the unexpected necessity of room and board for the team, the Mayor had outdone himself, handing them a huge office complex, all their own, and even given them a huge budget for revamping it — with the Coalition’s influence, crime rates had dropped, and there was money lying around that had been poured into ineffective security measures.

When Brenton Wesley, Nathaniel’s friend, and a beloved guiding light in the darkness of their once great, but fallen city, had died… he’d written Nathaniel Shroud as one of his pallbearers. Not the Sentinel; Nathaniel himself, the man. It had been written into his will that Nathaniel be one of the six people to lower him into the ground and, with tears in his eyes, he’d done just that. After the funeral, there had been a brief lull in his routine. There was little crime left in the city and, despite their best efforts to hunt him down, the Villain had seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Now, seven days after the catastrophic event, Nathaniel was making an appearance in public, at a press conference. His presence had been requested by the new Mayor, Liam Foster, and of course the Sentinel had accepted. There was not a reason for him to decline, and he knew deep down that it was almost necessary that he show up. There was going to be a storm coming, and he had to make sure that he was at the eye of it before anything even began.

Standing in front of the cameras, which were constantly flashing, Nathaniel was at the stand. After the cameras started to die down, he spoke, selecting a random reporter in the audience to begin.  [color=ff5f0f][b]“Go ahead.”[/b][/color] He was not ready for this, not prepared. He didn’t know what they were going to ask, and he didn’t know how he would answer. His best, and frankly only, option was to answer straight from the heart. Total honesty, no PR show.

[color=Gainsboro][b]“Since the tragedy that happened a week ago, everyone has been wondering: does the Coalition know who executed the attack?”[/b][/color] The reported readied his pen and Nathaniel visibly grimaced, broadcasted around the world, live in HD. Great.

It was a heavy hitting first question, and the answer was going to sting more than he was ready for. [color=ff5f0f][b]“No, we have not yet pinpointed the origins of the assassin. Almost 24/7, though, my team is working on it. We [i]will[/i] find the perpetrator of this attack.”[/b][/color]

Almost immediately after he finished his response, another reporter spoke up. [color=Gainsboro][b]“The battle that you had with the terrorist who murdered Mayor Wesley was [i]catastrophic[/i]. If something like that happened within city limits, and not in the abandoned area that it had, how would your team have contained it? If what we’ve been led to believe is true - that this attacker is also Enhanced - how can you plan to ensure our safety in the ensuing battle [i]if[/i] your team finds him?”[/b][/color]

[color=ff5f0f][b]“My team won’t let anything happen to our city. If he appears within city limits, the fight will either be held off, or we’ll lead him elsewhere. Trust me when I say this, the Coalition’s priority is the safety of Detroit, first and foremost, our own safety secondary.”[/b][/color]

[color=Gainsboro][b]“How do we know you’re not working with him?”[/b][/color]

Nathaniel glared at the reporter that had asked that question. Was it even a serious question? Of course it was. [color=ff5f0f][b]“We are absolutely not affiliated with anyone who would do something so… frankly, so evil. Mayor Wesley was my friend, a man I looked up to and respected dearly. You’ll have to take my word for it, but I promise you that no one on the team is working with the man responsible for all of this.”[/b][/color]

There was a sudden cacophony of voices as the reporters clamored to talk over one another, trying to get in a last burst of questions before the conference ended. [color=Gainsboro][b]“If there are more Enhanced out there, how can we locate them? Will they be regulated? Will you be working to find and locate them? Will they be brought in to join the Coalition?”[/b][/color]

These were excellent questions. Later, Nathaniel would have to discuss them further with the other members of his team, preferably the… smarter ones, like Austin. Could they locate others? Were there even more? [color=ff5f0f][b]“At this time, I and my team are of the idea that there aren’t any others. If there are, they will be welcome to join us. I can’t answer questions about regulations; I’m not a politician.”[/b][/color]

[color=gainsboro][b]“The Coalition plans to find this assailant and… do what, exactly? If he beat you so handily before, how can you possibly fight him again?”[/b][/color] This time, two rapid fire questions from the same journalist.

[color=ff5f0f][b]“Like any other criminal, he will be brought to justice. I understand that our last showing against him was certainly not up to par, but you have to realize that we were caught off guard. We didn’t expect what he was bringing to the table. We weren’t prepared and the next time we see him, it will be a different story. We’ll be ready for him, and on my honor. We will take him down.”[/b][/color]
[hr][hr]
Nathan was quick to leave the conference after the questions were finally brought to an end. The Coalition’s leader was eager to get back to their Watchtower, despite knowing inside that there wouldn’t be any new leads on the location of the assailant. He didn’t know if they ever would. The way the villain had disappeared after obliterating, yes obliterating, them in combat — something that hadn’t been done before him, and likely wouldn’t be done again after him…

Nathan was of the opinion that he was untraceable. So far, that opinion had proven correct. The Sentinel was certain the enemy would strike again, and Nathaniel was simply waiting for the villain to show his face again. When he did, all that Nathan could do was hope that they would be ready. Until they actually got a chance to try, he was simply blowing hot air out of his lips when he said that they would bring the villain down.

He knew deep down that they had no chance in hell.

So, Nathaniel was choosing to attack the other elephant in the room; DIscovering if there were more Enhanced out there, and getting in touch with them. It wouldn’t be impossible to find others, if they were out there. Most Enhanced powers were so insane, hiding them forever had to be impossible.

Nathaniel pressed his hand on the scanner in front of the double doors to the Watchtower, and the doors slid open slowly. After he stepped inside, he almost immediately felt a weight lifted off of his shoulders. With the press conference over, he was able to focus on the future, rather than continuing to dwell on the loss of the mayor. Nathaniel didn’t waste any time, heading straight to the elevator and hitting the button that would take him directly to the lab.

Hopefully, there, Austin would have made some headway on finding others like them. If there were others, the Coalition needed to locate all of them to discover if they were good, like the Coalition, or evil, like the one that had taken the Mayor’s life.

The doors slid open, and Nathaniel stepped out into the massive lab, looking around. [color=ff5f0f][b]“Austin?”[/b][/color] Once he found him, they could talk. Of course there were lots of places to be in the maze like laboratory, and it didn’t help that Austin could literally turn into gas.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/amxeE85.png[/img][/center][/indent]