Roach Rider's Challenge

Today was July 4th. A celebration of the nation's achievements and fight for independence so many years ago. A time to renew one's patriotic feelings and indulge in cookouts and alcohol. A time meant to enjoy the brighter side of life. It would no longer be a day of celebration after today.

Every news channel broadcasted the event planned at the White House. The President would give a typical speech and move on to let families enjoy their time together. It was straightforward and simple. Bodyguards both parahuman and mundane were on high alert, scanning the grounds for any potential dangers and making sure that the area was as safe as possible. It didn't matter.

“Welcome to the White House!”
The newly inaugurated President of the United States took to the microphones to the applause of the crowd.
“And Happy Fourth of July! Michelle and I are honored and proud to have you here on the Fourth. And we’re humbled…”

There was no preparing for what had happened next. No one would have expected the last words of the president to be a small holiday greeting to the nation. No one could have spotted the giant structure hurtling down from the sky in time. No one expected that an attack on the president would snuff out thousands of lives in an instant. No one expected the most devastating attack on America to occur on a day like this. Maybe that was their mistake.

The words of the president cut off in confusion as he was suddenly interrupted by his staff and escorted off to safety. The crowd started muttering amongst themselves as people wondered what was happening. Then the shocked gasps started, followed by the panicked stampede of innocent civilians as they attempted to get away from the danger. The last image before the feed cut out was a look upwards into the air, a roaring bright fiery light enveloping the sky.



Roach Rider sat in on his torn and bloodstained couch starting blankly into the screen. The static on the screen was like a reflection of his own mind attempting to understand the events that had just unfolded in front of him. As the pieces clicked together in place, his disbelief started giving away into a swelling anger. The static was quickly replaced by the hosting news channel, revealing just a single man standing in front of his desk, his eyes downcast and expression solemn. The sounds of anxious whispering and choked out cries could be faintly heard behind the camera. After a long pause, he spoke.

"There has been a terrible attack on America. Just minutes ago, Washington D.C was struck by a large unidentified object." The reporter shakily drew in a breath to compose himself before continuing. "Satellite images are coming in, and the devastation has wiped out everything in a 17-block radius around the US Navy Memorial Plaza, which was the center of the impact. There is severe damage to surrounding structures from the shockwave, and first responders are facing difficulties in their relief efforts as pieces of debris continue to rain down around the area." He looked off screen as someone grabbed his attention and quickly turned back to face the camera.

"It seems that we have just received new images on the suspect and permission to broadcast." The reporter motioned to the staff offscreen, and the feed was replaced with a grainy image of a flying parahuman. The details were not clear enough to make out their facial features, but it was enough to see their red furred physique. The voice of the reporter spoke over the still image on screen. "Authorities are asking civilians to report any sightings of this individual and to avoid confrontation. If you see this individual, do not engage, and report it in. They are suspected to be a Class 10 Brute with an additional Mover 5 classification, so physical conflicts should be avoided. Again, if you see this individual, report them to the authorities at this number..."

The sound of the reporter was drowned out by the ringing in Roach's ears. His clenched fists were cutting into his palms. He felt every muscle tensing in his body, urging him to move. This was more than an attack on the nation. This was an attack on the world, on the hero ruled society which protected the innocents from the dangers they faced on a daily basis. He couldn't let this stand. No, he couldn't stand here and continue watching after seeing what message was being sent. The overwhelming impulse to let out an explosive scream of wrath was replaced by a silent icy rage.

If they wanted to issue a challenge to society like this, then so would he. Roach Rider walked over and grabbed his uniform, still ripped, and shattered in various areas dotted along the front and back. He could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly from his agitated breathing, feeling the glued together ribs inside him bend and shudder. He knew that he was nowhere near the peak of health, but there was no time to wait. He pulled the chest piece on and started strapping it in place.



It didn't take long for Roach Rider to reach his destination. His travel time was cut significantly shorter as he was carried by the emotions of vengeance and anger inside him, pushing himself as much as he could, leaping across buildings and propelling him across the open air. His target was the Brockton Bay news station. He knew that like every other news station in the nation, they would be live and reporting on this recent tragedy. And it would be here where he would make his stance clear to the world of villainy and evil.

He landed in the street in front of the building with a small skid, stomping the ground in front of him to bring himself to a sharp stop. Without giving so much as a second thought, he strutted through the doors. The unpowered people inside barely registered to him as he moved forward in his march. A receptionist tried to call out to him as he made his way down the halls. They didn't attempt to follow as he passed by without a word. A security guard attempted to block his way and pull out his weapon to stop him, but a quick spring forward disarmed the man and pushed him out of the way. They didn't matter to him. None of them could make a difference as he made his way to the studio.

A heavy kick sending the door flying off its hinges and onto the ground announced his presence. Roach Rider walked into the room, heading straight for the desk where the reporter was sat. The man looked up at him in a mixture of fear and confusion before Roach grabbed him by the collar and threw him aside onto the ground. Roach looked at the co-host and barked the single word, "LEAVE". She didn't need him to repeat himself as she scrambled away from the desk and hurried behind the camera crew for safety, who were all frozen in place from the shock of his surprise appearance. Roach Rider extended his hand and pointed at the group.

"You will broadcast this message to as many channels as possible." Threats were not needed as Roach's commanding tone trampled over any thoughts of fleeing, and they simply hurried to their positions. Roach turned to face the camera. He didn't need to prepare any speeches ahead of time, because there was only one thing to say. Repressing his anger to prevent it from obscuring his words, he began his monologue.

"Today, the world has been hit by villains in a move that could only be called cowardly. Their evil acts could only be carried out under the neglectful eyes of society, to wreak havoc on the peaceful lives that people enjoy. They want to prove to the world that their remaining acts are not just fading death throes possessed by cornered cowards and the weak willed." Roach spat out the words with venom and malefic hate. He paced in frame as he continued. "No, they want to try to make themselves and us believe that they still have a place in the world. But they will have to face the scales of justice pushing back at them. They may have taken the lives of many, civilians and heroes alike, but there will always be more that will stand in their way and fight back." Roach suddenly stood still and leveled a cold and unyielding gaze to the camera. "And if there isn't, I will be there. No matter what, I'm going to be coming after you all, to anyone who believes that they can simply turn a blind eye to these acts, and to anyone who dares to think that they can get away with it." His last line was punctuated with him pointing towards the camera. He heard sirens coming from outside the building. He had to wrap this up quickly.

"So, to all the villains of the world, my name is Roach Rider, and I'm coming for you."

With that, he hastily walked out of frame and back out into the halls. By now the authorities would have been alerted to his break-in and would have surrounded the area, so he'd have to take a bolder exit strategy. Roach sped up into a run, the sounds of footsteps drawing closer. The sight of police officers appeared around the corner. They spotted him moments after he did. As they drew their weapons to fire, Roach tensed the muscles in his legs, and took an explosive leap upwards and over the crowd. They could only watch from below as he moved faster than they could react over their heads. In the instant that he reached the end of the hallway he took the opportunity to leap once again to dash down the corridors and to an exit.

Officers surrounded the front entrance with a squad of cop cars, calling in for PRT support due to the reports of an aggressive parahuman suspect. With a heavy crash the front entrance was slammed open by a high-speed figure who shot through it. The figure barely hit the ground before taking another incredible leap over the surrounding forces. Bullets were fired, whizzing through the air as they attempted to hit the suspect. Several cars were ordered to give chase, but by then he had already reached the rooftops.



Roach bounced between different buildings erratically to throw them off his pathing. It wasn't long before he lost them in the urban jungle that was Brockton Bay's residential zone. Slipping down into an alleyway once he was sure that he gained a considering distance away from them, he sat down on the ground against a wall. He had endless energy and could theoretically fight and run forever, but pushing himself for these intense moments of speed and strength put considerable strain on his body. He couldn't afford to damage it any further before he found someone to resolve the issues with his current state.

Roach sat listening for any sirens or footsteps as time passed. Cars went by but didn't stop in their travels. People walked past the alleyway he sat and recovered in. A half hour of this wait gave him enough confidence to continue back out in the city, as his body rested enough to quickly move around again. Living under the constant pressure of being hunted down was nothing new to him, and although he was not exactly the most subtle presence in any public space, he knew how to make a hasty escape to avoid trouble. Now that he had completed that excursion, the only thing left on his mind was making plans to stake-out the remaining drug peddling gang clusters in the city and letting loose his frustrations on them. This thought process was interrupted by the sound of whispers enveloping his hearing, the words obscured by overlapping muttering voices. Roach Rider dropped his current train of thought and tried to discern the source of the sound.

The swirling voices slowly coalesced into a singular form, as a deep and guttural growling of words.
"Come... to the boardwalk... I will guide you..."
Roach straightened up and gave quick glances around his surroundings to see if he could catch sight of this mysterious messenger. Nothing stirred in the empty alleyways. He gave a small nod to signal his understanding.  The voice gave a small heaving laugh before quieting again, speaking up for their next command.
"Now, go. Don't delay. You won't want to see what happens if you do."

Roach quickened his pace. Underneath the mask, his face was contorting into a wicked smile. It looks like he didn't have to do anything himself. The villains were coming to him instead. Just like he wanted.