Interlude — The Broken Shield (1/2)
Then
Bastion watched from the street, as the man he admired most calmly stepped in front of a police station, arms held high. Champion had debated this moment long and hard with the People's inner circle, but his mind was set. He entered in full regalia, both to speed up the process of arrest and as a small measure of protection for his friends and family. Unmasking was rarely done in public, though that was more a representation of how few heroes and villains ever submitted themselves to capture. Still, Champion had earned enough good will from the CPD that they should treat him kindly. It was what would come later that worried Bastion.
He watched the faces of the present officers, meticulously cataloguing the worryingly broad reactions. He saw fear, anger, confusion. He saw sadness and understanding. What he did not see was gratitude, and that fact burned at him. Did they not understand what he was doing? What Champion was giving up? Were they so blind to the consequences had he chosen to fight? None of them, not a one, understood what Champion was saving them from.
Some still called for violence, Echo loudest among them. It was an absurd thought that was becoming less so by the day. But the targets were all wrong. Echo wanted to target businesses that peddled in upgrades. He had argued that their existence was an existential threat to both Naturals and humanity itself. Champion had not cared for that line of thinking. The People were meant to protect. How could they turn on those they sheltered?
He watched those same sheltered people gather up on the street, openly gawping at Champion as the man was placed into cuffs and lead away. He watched their faces, seeing more sympathy than in the officers, yet still no understanding, nor gratitude. Some jeered and some cheered, some voiced support while others screamed insults. The crowd was split. How quickly people forgot those that saved them. How quickly opinions could turn with a few cleverly chosen words and the right story.
Champion did not believe in such things. Honesty was his brand and he was unyielding in its portrayal. No bending, no misleading, no spin to speak of. He presented himself as who he was, and let that image settle as it may. It was a naïve way of operating, even Bastion saw that. Echo had said it best, what good was a reputation if it was never used? What good was a symbol if it were never displayed? But Champion would malign neither ally nor enemy. He stated facts in a straightforward manner, and trusted that people would see the truth.
The truth was simple: The People had protected this city for years. They'd fought villain after villain, incarnated gangsters and madmen all lusting for power. The People had put them down, one by one, while the police stood by, helpless and afraid. Bastion had expected so much more from his fellow citizens. He'd thought they'd fight for their protectors, as the People had done for them time and again. In his wildest imaginings, he'd expected this ploy to fail from the outset; for the CPD to acknowledge Champion's role in keeping the city safe, and refuse to arrest him at all. He'd expected passerby to leap to the defense of their Champion, for public outcry to be furious and united.
Instead, Bastion watched a restless crowd uselessly shuffle about on the sidewalk while their hero was taken to prison. He watched as journalists arrived with their flashing bulbs and notepads, shouting questions that couldn't be answered. He watched the police close their doors and bar them shut, refusing to take a side, to take a stand, to make a statement. He watched the crowd disperse, one by one, until only bare pavement remained. He watched for longer than that, until the sun set and darkness draped itself over the Windy City like a cold blanket. He watched until there was no more to see.
”We cannot fight,” Kyoma declared in his stoic baritone. ”It would destroy any chance of Champion's plan working.”
The silver giant stood at the head of the table, arms crossed and glaring at Echo. The younger, smaller man spread his arms wide in a gesture of helplessness.
”It is out of our hands,” Echo said. ”Our sister teams lack patience. They will strike with my word or without.”
”With your word, I should think,” Bastion said, drumming his fingertips against the table. He slouched in his chair, elbow on the table and propping up his head with his fist. He features were tired and angry, and he did not hold back his accusation. ”You've been stirring the pot, Echo. Don't bother denying it.”
”I deny nothing,” Echo replied, glancing to Kyoma. ”I've always done what I thought is right. Years now I've warned you this was coming. Years. Now our leader rots in prison and we debate our own helplessness.”
”The country is against us,” Kyoma replied sternly. ”We live in a democracy, and the citizens have spoken. We are criminals, until Champion has his day in court. We will not shame this organization further by becoming that which we've fought against.”
”The citizens have said nothing!” Echo growled. ”This was politics plain and simple. The powerful fear us, rightfully so. They fear what a society of Naturals means for their own positions. How could they ever hope to hold on to power when every citizen has power of their own?”
”This organization does not exist to further your paranoid delusions,” Kyoma said. ”Upgrades exist. The technology cannot be undone. This is a fact.”
”They are trying to control us,” Echo hissed. ”They want to limit our own growth, our individual potential! We must strike before these abominations become entrenched in our society!”
”This was always going to happen,” Bastion interrupted wearily. Anger burned aimlessly within him. At Champion, at Echo, and the People and the citizens around him. He wanted nothing more than a target at which to vent, but willpower and faith kept him steady. ”Uncontrolled incarnation would tear this country apart. The first few years after White Sands more than proved it. Upgrades are a necessity, you know this.”
”People will adapt, it is what they do,” Echo argued passionately. ”Given time, things would have stabilized! We could have moved forward as a species, and harnessed the vast possibilities now open to us! But no, we are being purposefully limited, while Naturals like us are corralled or hunted!”
”You are being dramatic,” Kyoma stated. ”There are many Naturals within the government, and upgrades merely bestow order upon an inherently disorderly process.”
”Whose order?” Echo demanded.
Kyoma remained silent, arms crossed.
Echo's gaze turned to Bastion.
”And what say you? Will you not fight for Champion? For the People?”
Bastion stared back without flinching. ”Champion ordered us not to fight.”