"Free from Freedom" (Everlasting Story)

[Zumberge]

It's been a dog's age since I wrote for CoH, for obvious reasons, and recently I got an inkling of an idea that I felt like fleshing out.  Wrote it in a bit of a hurry, and it's less about the hero and more about a level 9 minion, so not only do you not need to know who the other character is, you don't even need to care.

 

_{(Also you can play "spot the reference" if you want to.)}

 

---

 

It wasn't supposed to turn out like this, Hoffer thought.

 

The orders from on high - from an Arbiter, no less - were to explore a section of Faultline that had recently opened up following a shift in a particularly unstable section of earth near the dam.  It was an exploratory mission, slated to leave at two at night and remain out until sunset, obtaining coordinates for further investigation.  The idea was that the cover of darkness would shield the squad from prying eyes.

 

It turned out that some Longbow members have infrared vision.

 

Huntsman Tresca was the first to die, a beam of pure heat burning straight through his armor from above.  Surprised and without orders, Hoffer and the other simply fired skyward at any motion or light they could see.  It was a panicked din of shouting and gunfire as they tried to fight back, to escape, to do anything as they died one by one.  A blast of heat and light erupted nearby, and he felt himself falling, ears ringing before he hit the cold, dirty water below.

 

He flailed, righting himself before surfacing, gasping for air and reaching for anything to grab onto.  One hand took hold of the rim of a pipe and he crawled in, shuffling forward into darkness as he heard voices above him.  The going was slow and claustrophobic, but after some time he entered into a sewer tunnel, still lit by a few aging bulbs and mercifully empty of any of the other factions in the area he had been briefed on.  One long, filthy walk lead him to an out-of-place ladder, and from there to a water-damaged basement that smelled of mold.  He had no weapon, no radio, and the electronic components his helmet had been damaged by the explosion and water, but for the moment he was alive, and with that thought he lapsed into unconsciousness.

 

Hoffer woke up stiff and hurting, sunlight streaming in from an uncomfortably large crack in the far wall.  He was unarmed, exposed, and alone in a hostile city on his first mission outside the Rogue Isles, all in the name of a perfect, enduring future that was growing more empty and distant by the second.  Maybe if he waited until dark he could head back the way he came and hopefully link up with another unit.  Maybe if-

 

A chunk of rubble bounced along the ground outside and he tensed up, holding his breath as he held as still as he could.  A second later a figure came into view; a young brunette, a few years older than he, short-haired, in a blouse, jeans, glasses, and sneakers; at first Hoffer took her for a civilian, but then noticed some sort of green suit beneath her clothes.

 

Longbow was bad enough as it was, but the heroes of Paragon City were worse, cut from the same cloth as most of the Destined Ones back home.  They were maybe more predictable but no less dangerous; officers and veterans in Arachnos had no end of stories about how the vigilante population was barely kept in check by the city's laws, and even then they had to deal with invaders in the Rogue Isles pursuing their prey with a single-minded obsession and no concern for civilian casualties.  He had heard stories of the scheming of Manticore, the hypocrisy of Statesman, and of innumerable "heroes" who considered a quick death to be a mercy few were deserving of.  Hoffer had never seen Paragon City, much less been to it before now, but it sounded true.

 

So it came as a shock when she carefuly stepped inside and held up her hands, softly saying, "don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

 

Hoffer stared at her, jaw agape before shaking it off. "No, no, this is a trick." He glanced about, straining his ears to see if he couldn't hear some unseen persons closing in on him from elsewhere.

 

"It's not a trick." She thought for a moment before lowering herself to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the soiled carpet. "I just want to ask you some questions."

 

"An interr- this is an interrogation."

 

"No, I'm just..." She gestured, giving a sheepish shake of her head. "...not from around here, so there's a lot of things I don't know.  People have talked about 'Arachnos,' but... what is it?  What's it about?"

 

He wasn't sure what to make of the situation.  Whatever she was capable of, she probably could have done it by now.  If she knew he was here she didn't have to buy time for reinforcements to show up because he wasn't in much of a condition to make a quick escape.  Yet here she was, politely waiting for him to speak.

 

So he did.  He talked about Arachnos and the Rogue Isles, their strength, their unity, the call Lord Recluse made for the Destined Ones and their role in a greater plan.  Every so often she would ask about one thing or another, her tone more of curiousity than judgement, and if Hoffer said he didn't know or it was classified she accepted it without question.  It was unusual, speaking to someone who not only genuinely didn't know, but a hero no less, the very person he was told stood in their way.

 

Then she asked a question he wasn't expecting.

 

"So why did you join?"

 

The room fell into silence again as Hoffer internally debated whether to talk about it.  Eventually the words came, slowly at first, then nearly spilling from him: His father was a dock worker, his mother a nurse.  He was average in school, with no real talents that could get him a scholarship in a university either in or outside the Rogue Isles.  There were so many ideas on what he wanted to do with his life and so many possibilities but was unable to act on them.  Arachnos gave his life direction, order, and the chance to be a part of something greater.  He didn't have to worry about what to do because it was decided for him.

 

Again, she listened quietly and with interest, nodding sympathetically every so often and asking questions to learn rather than condemn.  As he spoke, however, something felt more and more off, and he began to feel pangs of regret over what he had done.  Joining Arachnos seemed like the right choice when he made it, but things felt more and more off the more he tried to explain why he did it.

 

When he was done, it was what she said afterwards that struck him the hardest.

 

"You wanted to be free from freedom."

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

Despite their claims, the detectives of the Paragon Police Department weren't so jaded that they couldn't still be surprised.  Thus it came as a shock when one of the resident heroines escorted a nervous-looking Wolf Spider into the New Overbrook precinct, the soldier seemingly entering of his own volition.  Stopping in front of the main desk, he looked over at her, who nodded reassuringly at him before he turned his attention back to the officer at the desk. "My name is Simon Hoffer, Wolf Spider with Arachnos.  I've come to turn myself in."

 

The officer stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Alright." Turning to his computer he began typing. "Can I have the name of the arresting individual?"

 

"Zoe," she said.

 

"Zoe, right.  You, uh, have a last name, Zoe?"

 

"Yes."

 

Silence.

 

"You gonna tell me what it is, or...?"

 

"No."

 

He gave Zoe a look. "Okay.  If you're bringing him in we can have you attend his trial when-"

 

"I'm not testifying against him."

 

The officer exchanged glances with a co-worker beside him. "Really."

 

"I'll go to defend him, but I'm not going to try to make things worse for him.  What's going to happen?  You throw him in jail for a few years and then he comes out with no work experience and a criminal record?  He made a stupid mistake, but he doesn't deserve to be punished for the rest of his life for it."

 

"So you want to testify on the behalf of an Arachnos soldier."

 

"Yes."

 

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, typing, "buncha fuckin' weirdos in this city."