Daniel Johnson's Story

Back at the blocade the break in the cyborg flood had the fight for Main Street swaying in favor of those manning the barricades. In a roar of gunfire WCPD officers, NPA officers, and Invictus soldiers were cutting through the remaining cyborgs and laying down cover fire for the soldiers moving out into the street to retake it. Daniel Johnson, a man of thirty-two and a long standing member of the police force was among those holding the line. Popping a fresh magazine into his rifle, he sighted down it and fired off a few more shots that dropped another cyborg.

The bodies piling up in the street in front of the blocade were beyond count, and those still walking were rapidly thinning, but movement far in the distance betrayed the imminent arrival of the next wave if the soldiers didn't secure the street.

Snuffing out the still blazing corpse of a nearby cyborg tentatively with the heel of his boot, Benjamin Davis sighed, nudging the charred body away and wrinkling his nose. It was starting to smell badly of rotting flesh, the piles of bodies formed of already dead flesh swiftly deteriorating as the battle went on.

"Uhg," the long-haired mage grimaced, wringing his hands together and glancing at Daniel, who was adjacent to him in the line. "Did we miss a mass excavation of graveyards, recently? Where does anyone get this many bodies? This isn't what I signed up for."

"Damned if I know," Daniel shouted back over the gunfire. "But I'm sure they'll take your preference into account if they break through the blockades."

There was another crack of Daniel's rifle and another cyborg fell to join its brethren on the pavement.

"Do you think? They don't seem very considerate, to me." Ben replied, frowning and extending a hand outwards to catch an approaching cyborg in a burst of fire that knocked it to the ground where it was promptly finished off by one of the others on the barricade.

"Have you ever tried to give out parking tickets in this city?" Daniel yelled back. "Believe me, these things are far more reasonable."

Ben cracked a smile at that remark, "I suppose you're right. In no other city will you see something escalate from a speeding fine, to resisting arrest and several thousand dollars worth of property damage in the space of ten minutes. That was a fun one."

Daniel Johnson sipped at his steaming cup of coffee as he entered the Wing City Police Department. He was freshly shaved, his hair still damp from his shower, and his uniform orderly. Despite the at times strenuous nature of his job, both physically and emotionally, he had a meticulous habit of keeping his appearance crisp and fresh.

"Hey there, Johnson," a co-worker greeted. "Good luck with the newbie," he called out as he left the station.

"What was that about?" Daniel asked another cop as he set his coffee down on a desk.

"You drew the short straw," the officer replied. "Your new partner is the new woman. You know how the new ones are. We're lucky to keep them a week. You've been through what, four partners in two months now?" the officer laughed. He clapped Daniel on the shoulder as he moved past. "You'll get a keeper eventually."

Daniel shook his head. "Sarah wasn't so bad," he pointed out.

"Didn't she get turned into a ferret three weeks into the job?" the officer asked.

"Well yeah..."

"Hah. Good luck."

Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his hair before shaking his head with mild amusement before sitting down at the desk to rifle through some paperwork he needed to fill out.

"That would be me alright," Daniel replied as he stood from his chair and took her hand in a firm handshake.

"I was just getting some paperwork done. We're patrolling the business district tonight," he explained. "Oh, and I'm driving," he added with a grin.

"You ever worked in this city before?" he asked.

Maria made no move to shift her position to allow the pair a clear route to the escalator as she continued to keep herself positioned between them and it. The woman was clearly on edge, and the wolf-mind was prowling restlessly behind her ambers eyes. Maria wasn't the most stable of individuals even under the most ideal of circumstances - let alone in the midst of such destruction and chaos.

The scent of the explosive components stung her nostrils, a scent she remembered well from the building she had been trapped within only a few weeks prior. The aggression she was gleaning off the trio added to the unease of the situation. They in no way looked to be affiliated with any of the local law enforcement agencies, or any of the known mercenary groups. Nothing about this seemed right to her and she warred with her primal instincts to walk away, and her human rationality to stand her ground.

Movement beyond Shing drew her gaze momentarily.

With the cyborgs pushed back from this region of the city the street had been largely cleared for the WCPD and other city officials to make a push to sweep the area for survivors - both cyborg and civilian. The thudding of boots and shouts passed the building by as uniformed men and woman began to search the streets and buildings.

Pushing the wolf-mind further down Maria gave a loud shout for several passing WCPD officers.

The thudding of boots was accompanied by the sound of heavy clanking, faintly audible amidst the group of WCPD passing by the building's opening. Hearing Maria's shout Danielle, the source of the clanking footfalls, came to a halt, catching the arm of the nearest officer to halt him with her. "I think I can hear someone in there," the solid-metal woman stated, gesturing inside. "Watch my back and stay close in case there are stragglers."

Still brandishing an automatic rifle despite her enhanced physical form (after all, who wanted to get up close and personal with the undead unless they had to?) Danielle advanced carefully into the building with several WCPD officers at her back. "Hello?" she called out, "Who's there? This is the WCPD, we have cleared the street and you now can and should proceed directly to the nearest evacuation point." There was a brief pause. "Do you require assistance?" she added as an afterthought.

"This place looks like it got hit hard," officer Johnson told her. He had his pistol drawn but it was pointed down towards the ground as they moved into the building.

A moment later Danielle's call was answered by one of Maria's own.

"Maria Raghild," she called out, her accent thick. "With the Invictus."

She didn't much look like a mercenary given her current state of dress which included nothing more than a coat that barely afforded a measure of modesty. The look in her eyes was hard as steel though and she nodded towards the pair lugging explosives through the building.

Danielle glanced between the barely-clothed Maria and the men opposite her, taking in their armament and the unusual baggage they were carring with them, along with the obvious tension between the two parties. "I want all weapons kept lowered and this situation explained immediately."

She gestured with her gun towards the group of men, "I know who she is now, but what about you?"

Officer Johnson was just turning onto Main Street in his vehicle when the bright beam of light cut across the road ahead and fell the man in the street. He wasn't strictly on duty at the moment, but he had his side-arm with him, and his radio.

With a muttered curse he grabbed the radio up long enough to call in the shooting and to get an ambulance en route before he got out of his vehicle and made for the building where he had thought he had seen the flash of light originate from. He moved at a low jog with his firearm in both hands, but the ground floor of the building appeared to be empty.

A step inside and a scan of the room with his gun turned up nothing save for the backdoor that was standing ajar. The shooter had likely either gone out the back, or was still upstairs. Either way pressing on in either direction without backup would be foolish. Save for a quick glance out the ajar door to get a look into the alley out back he opted instead for holding his position until more officers arrived.

A black van sped towards the scene of the incident, a few WCPD squad cars ahead of it with their sirens effectively clearing the streets. "Chemo, Mulan, you're with me. The rest of you assist the cops and NPA if they arrive. Keep a path cleared for ambulance to move, okay?" Taco ordered as the van slowed to a stop.

"Everyone back up!" A police officer shouted, he and the others trying to put some distance between the downed man and the apathetic denizens of Wing City. "Find Johnson, help him out." The officer ordered, apparently being one of the more senior officers on the street.

The Invictus soldiers climbed out of their van, Taco, Chemo, and an Asian soldier, Mulan, trying to rush towards Shin'ichi as soon as their boots hit the concrete. "Any idea who this is?" Chemo asked the other soldiers, "Beats me." Mulan answered.

As the arriving WCPD officers joined Johnson at the floor level of the apartment complex, it took only a moment for him to bring them up to speed. Fanning out, the officers made short work of searching the building - but there was no sign of the shooter still on the premise.

Once the area was deemed clear, further investigations of the scene could begin.

While the building was being searched the situation down in the street was still tenuous as Tamotso seemed uncooperative to allowing anyone near Shin'ichi - medic or otherwise. The serpentine dragon coiled and hissed menacingly at the Invictus soldiers that sought to approach, and the ripple of coiled muscles beneath his thickly scaled hide warned of the poised tension within the animal.

"Hey, hey, easy." Taco said to the dragon, carefully removing his weapons from his person and placing them on the ground. "I'm here to help. You want him to live, don't you?" Taco asked the dragon, taking slow steps forward.

"Let us help." He said, staring the dragon down. Practically pleading to be allowed to do his job and save a man's life. The longer they weren't helping him the more his chances of infection increased.

Not considering anything that Wing City would bring about. Like cyborg fire ants.

Tamotsu was unrelenting as he hissed at Taco. His coiled form served to shield Shin'ichi from further harm, but did little to permit medical care for the wounded man. Taco's slow movements seemed to be helping to not provoke the animal into an outright act of hostility though.

All around people were continuing to gawk, and the crowds were making the beast uneasy. There were people everywhere, and cameras were flashing as pictures were taken.

"We need everyone to leave. Right now." Chemo said loudly, "That means you should go home or back off!" He shouted, gesturing for the Invictus soldiers to assist any police officers in clearing the people out. "You don't have to go home, but you have to get the fuck out of here, as they say." Chemo continued, joining in to herd the masses away from the scene.

"You need to let me help him. He could die otherwise." Taco said to the dragon, the wail of ambulance sirens growing near.

"He will die if you don't let me help." Taco said, "Please?" He pleaded, continuing to face down the dragon. But, he didn't do it with hostility. Taco was genuinely concerned for the man.

With brakes that came to a screeching halt a beverage truck, with the HellHound brand soft drinks logo, parked just outside the front doors of the Wing City Police Department. The large vehicle just idling on the curb while the beer bellied driver stepped out with a clipboard in his right hand and a key hanging from a string on a belt spool. He walked over to the first fridge door and pulled on the key to unlock the door; letting the key go and it whipped back into it’s former place when the string reeled back into the spool. The door rose open and inside was a dolly and a few crates of soft drinks.

After some work the dolly and soft drinks were all ready to be wheeled into the building. The driver placed the clipboard on the top crate, pressed his foot against metal bar, and began pushing the dolly towards the front door. He went up the wheelchair ramp and passed a few police officers and gave them a friendly nod like he usually did.

A cop came and opened the door for the man, and with a quick exchange of pleasantries later the driver was inside with his delivery. He walked up to a large scanner and parked his dolly for a quick second.

“Sorry, Bill.” said a guard. “You know the drill.”
“Fine by me, Frankie.” the driver said. “Just doing your job. And you won’t see me arguing with the men and women in blue that keep this city safe.”

The guard smiled and stood up from his computer. “Alright Bill, just keep still.” The guard waved a scanner around Bill’s crates and nothing was detected to be out of the ordinary. He then passed the scanner over Bill and the guard got the same results. “Clean as always, Bill, Now just push the dolly and yourself past the magic scanner and you can sign in.”

Bill pushed the dolly through the machine and not one thing set any alarms off, not even bill himself set any alarms off. Bill and Frankie exchanged a smile once the whole thing was over with. Bill pulled out a can of the HellHound energy drink from a crate.

“Got word from the Management above my Management that Wing City police be given some new promotional drinks for free. Thanks for all the work you guys do for the city.” Bill said. He tossed the cold can to the guard.

“Thanks, Bill!” the guard said. He popped the top of the energy drink and took a few sips. The small sips became big gulps and then it seemed like the guard was chugging the drink down. As if something else was forcing the drink down his throat and wouldn’t let him come up for breath.

When the drink was gone after only quick minute the cop slammed the can on his computer desk. He sucked in the air as if he had been apart from it for too long. “Wow, never chugged a drink like that before. Not really sure why I did it either” he said between breaths. “It was good. One of the new promotional drinks?”
“Yeah, Legion of Lemonade.” Bill said. “Thought I’d give you the first can.” Bill pressed down on the handles and pushed the dolly up to the front desk where he gave the clipboard for the officer to sign. Bill told the officer about the first crate with the free promotional drinks and placed it on the desk. Bill signed the departments guest signup sheet and carried on to fill the department’s vending machines.

The free promotional drinks being picked up by cops passing and going by the front desk. And even more officers going to the front desk when they heard the free HellHound drinks were being given away at the front desk. Pretty soon the crate was empty before Bill himself was even finished stocking the vending machines.

Inside the idoling beverage truck, a group of armed men stood patiently waiting to begin the assault on the Wing City police department. The truck fitted to only carry that one fridge, while the rest of the truck was gutted to hide the men inside.

“When do we attack?” a man said.

“Soon.” Skylar said. “We just have to wait for the right moment. When every can that has Mammon’s poison in it has been taken.”

“How will we know when that happens?” another asked.

“I’ll know.” Mammon said. The demon lord leaning against the wall of the truck and smoking a cigarette. “The poison has a little bit of my blood in it. When they have in their body i’ll know.”
“So how is it the poison and your power isn’t detected by the scanners.” a terrorist asked.

“The Sigils I used to hide my little surprises for the Wing City Department are of an ancient and rare power. Hasn’t been used or even heard of for over a few thousand years now, so their technology won’t recognize it when it scans for it.” Mammon said. “Now lets get ready for the attack boys, Legion is in position.”

Officer Johnson rubbed at his brow from behind his desk. He was tired, and he wanted to get home, but he still had a lot of paperwork to get filed from the earlier shooting he had been involved with.

First a Volarian diplomat goes missing, and now a Losenyu prince shot in the street? He shook his head against the thought and got back to work with the scribbling of his pen. If this was any place but Wing City he might suspect someone was out to cause them trouble, but as it stood, the two incidents didn't appear to be related. Just more random crime in a city renowned for such things.

He had a cup of coffee set out on his desk and when another officer passed his desk by and offered him a can of some promotional energy drink he waved the offer away. There were others too that seemed more inclined towards a cup of coffee over an energy drink and though many were partaking in the promotional offer, many too were abstaining - especially those otherwise too occupied to drop what they were doing, like those with Bray.

Julian lingered in the front reception area of the police station exchanging casual conversation with one of the men at the reception desk. In his hand was an unopened energy drink that someone had handed him, and at his side was seated a large black dog, its tongue lolled out as it panted. For most people, pets weren't allowed within the building, but Julian it seemed was waved on the matter. The young politician was becoming well known among the officers, and he was here to see Thaddeus. If Thaddeus said he could have the dog around, then he could have the dog around.

"I'm sure the wife will be looking forward to it," Julian was saying. "You know how she loves these fundraising events."

At his side, the large dog rose to its feet with a low growl.

Julian frowned. "I'm sorry, he's not usually -"

His dog wasn't the only one acting out of the ordinary, but it was said that animals were oft able to sense that which humans were unaware of. When technology failed, sometimes primal instinct took hold. A pair of officers entering with police dogs in tow from a drug bust seemed to be having trouble with their animals as well. One was whining and pacing restlessly, and the other strained on its leash equally as riled as Julian's own. Perhaps it was the demon lord and his men out front, or the unnatural nature of the drinks being distributed through the premise, but something had the animals on edge.

"Huh, wonder what's gotten into them."

"Earthquake maybe?" Julian joked.

"Why don't you head inside," the receptionist told Julian. "That door there," he explained as he pointed to the area in question.

It was probably nothing, but then again it was Wing City. Any peculiarity was worth concern and investigation, and if there was going to be trouble then the interior of the building was likely more secure for the politician. It wouldn't do for their reputation to have a well known public figure hurt or killed inside the police station of all places.

"Alright, see you around," Julian replied. He set the can down on the counter before giving the leash a light tug. "Come on," he told the dog. The animal seemed resistant to following, but after a moment it padded along after him.

The receptionist meanwhile picked up the phone at his desk.

"Hey, can you get the Chief up here? The animals out here are acting strange -" He was momentarily cut off before continuing. "I know he's busy. If I thought it was nothing I wouldn't be on the phone. Just get him up here, okay?"

He scowled and hung the phone up.

The can of HellHound that Julian had left on the counter was gone - picked up by one of the many officers partaking in the beverage.

Alexander Leonard grinned as he moved towards the WCPD building. He was glad to be home now that the drugs bust was over. Though his partner, Benji, an aggressive looking German Shepherd that no one wanted to mess with but was really a softy at heart. They'd been partners for a good ten years, ever since his last dog, Garrett had died of cancer. Benji was a great dog though.

"I think I'm getting too old for this." Alexander commented.

"Well, you are getting on to fifty."

"Thanks for reminding me." He laughed. "I'm still as fit as any of you though, don't you forget it."

"I won't." The other man laughed. "Think you'll be out with the reform? I heard it's going to be brutal."

"I doubt it. I'm a good cop. I doubt they'll be getting rid of us. We have nothing to worry about. Well, unless you've been doing something you shouldn't be."

"Nah. I'm good."

The two men moved into the building eventually and as soon as they were in things weren't normal. The other dog, who was called Redd, was crying and whining. It wasn't normal behaviour. Alex laughed a little, but then heard Benji snarl. "Hey hey, calm down boy. We're off work now. We got them. It's okay." One of the guys passed by handing him a drink and saying something that he didn't quite catch among the chaos of inside the department as well as for the fact that Benji was grabbing his attention.

"Thanks," Alex commented, wanting to have a drink after the long day. He opened the can and that's when Benji started barking and growling at him. Alex frowned, trying to get his dog in line but Benji wasn't having any of it. The dog was getting worse and Alex was struggling to keep the dogs leash in his hand.

Before he knew it, the dog had struggled until the leash of free and in moments was crashing into Alex sending him and the drink flying.

"Benji!"

And then the dog moved to the spilled drink, barking for a few moments before sitting down next to it, just as they were trained to do when they smelled drugs. Just like he'd done that morning when they'd been searching for drugs in a house on the outskirts of Wing City.

Slim flicked his indicators on, eyeing the idling truck over his steering wheel. The car halted and the investigator flared his ignition, crossing the dotted line back onto the road and parking around the side of the department. "Du mak meran." Slim grunted, opening the door of his police cruiser, clipping his WPCD shield around his neck.

Slim slammed the side door open, flashing his shield to one of the doormen and stopping short of the many cops enjoying the new promotional energy drinks. "Slim! Come try this out man, it tastes great". Another officer shouted though the crowd of policemen, underhand throwing him a can of HellHound.

Slim caught it with two of his extra hands and examined the labels. "Jugo, jikal. I can't eat sugar things for two moth now" Slim threw the drink to another pair of hands. "That means you can't have donuts either, you poor bastard." The other investigator grinned, playfully punching the alien on one of his many shoulders.

Slim gave him a metal smile. "You guys seen Randi-" Slim caught sight of the dog barking at the spilled drink and thwacked his investigator friend in the throat, causing him to throw up on the pristine floor. "Whayduhfuk." The investigator coughed, holding his knees.

"Look sniffer over there, Slidak." Slim practically shouted, patting him on the back and putting a hand on his sidearm.

Leon stretched as he gave his back a loud crack. It was getting late and his shift had ended a good half hour ago. He didn't mind working late though, it was good to be back on Terra. There was some sort of promotional advertising going on around the station, but Leon's muzzled snout spared him from partaking. His canine visage simply wasn't designed for drinking beverages out of a can.

He didn't pay the matter much mind until the pair of police dogs started making a scene out in the front reception area.

Getting up he headed out to see what the commotion was about.

"What's got the pups in a tizzy?" he asked.

"Dunno, can't you just ask them?" an officer replied.

"Har, har, very funny. Can you speak chimpanzee yet?" Leon retorted.

Being the only wolven on the force, the dog jokes had become something of a routine at the WCPD, but Leon had learned to take them in stride. They were usually meant in good humor.

Arriving a few minutes later, he stepped out into the commons, glancing around to take stock of the situation. Dogs going wild at the spilled drinks, and officers chugging them down like it was their last. A litany of curses came to mind, but the bearish man bit back on them, instead roaring as he strode forward, bellowing out with such authority his officers could hardly not listen.

"STOP WHAT YOUR DOING, AND GET YOUR ASSES SQUARED NOW!" The sight of the Chief coming onto the floor was made all the more spectacular as the crystal points on his gauntlets and boots began to churn with a glow, inner lights crackling and flaring with contain eldritch energies. His sharp lone eye ripped over the group, settling on the dogs setting off on the spilled drink with the same sort of reaction to finding the drugs they were trained for.

"Officer's who drank that shit, get in a line on the wall. Those who haven't, keep an eye on them. Leon, bring me that driver passing out the drinks, and the next one I see lift a fucking can is getting slammed into a wall." Glaring at the assembled officers, he snarled. "I'm not waiting for role call, ladies. Move!"

That gaze turned to Julian, softening slightly as he waved the man over. "Mr. Harris, pleasure to see you, but now might not be the best time."

Randin was just bounding up the marble steps to the WCPD HQ, his duster pulled tight around his chest to ward off the morning winter chill. It'd been a long night with Kianna deciding to crash his place out of nowhere, but he had gotten some sleep. His day off hadn't been for nothing, and the detective felt rested and ready to get back to work.

As he crossed the entrance, he caught the sight of the HellHound Beverage truck sidling idly on the curb. Early morning snack restocks weren't an unusual thing... but something about this particular vehicle struck Randin the wrong way. He stopped moving, his boots clicking to a slow halt on the concrete, his eyes narrowing. A familiar tingling rushed through his veins... a feeling he'd known before on several occasions: his earliest bar fight in Gambit's, protecting a young girl from a demon... his drug bust with Maria, taking down a major Elysium warehouse... what did these things have in common...

"Hey, Kaye! The drinks are over here y'know!" shoued one of the cops at the top of the stairs, smiling. A cigarette trailed from his hand, his other occupied with a can of HellHound. Randin smiled, his train of thought broken. He resumed his ascension up the stars and nodded to his fellow officer.

"Lil' cold to be smoking outside, Dak," Randin nodded. The other cop only laughed.

"Not when you've got this boiling in your belly," he held up the can, "I'll tell ya'Kaye, this stuff is great. Fixes you right up. I feel like I could take on the whole city myself right about now."

"Well you do that," Randin smirked, "I'll stick to coffee. These newfangled fancy teen drinks never sit well with me." He quickly entered the precinct.

Randin stamped his feet on the mat inside the lobby, shaking out the cold. He immediately noticed Slim, gently patting the shoulder of another officer who was puking his guts out on the floor.

"Come awwwwn man. Slim's ugly as fuck, but you don't see me chucking my stomach because of it." He turned and noticed the unusual noisiness of the dogs. "What's got the dogs riled up?"

A few rooms away from the front lobby of the police station, a debriefing was taking place between a group of officers and one of the force's recent re-additions. Aiedail, the android who had frequently served as an auxiliary WCPD agent as well as one of the Terran Militia, had recently returned to officially rejoin the force after several involvements with WCPD cases.

She was currently playing recorded footage of an attempted bank robbery back to an investigative team, the culprit of which was sitting in one of the cells below. "As you can see," she said cheerfully, smiling like a child explaining her day at school rather than a police officer explaining evidence, "The suspect's face is clearly visible in frame 2308, which I believe is more than enough evidence to bring charges against him!"

One of the men with her nodded. "That it is. I'll call his lawyer. We have at least one eye-witness statement too, this should be a clean one. Good work."

A can of HellHound energy drink sat on the table next to one of the younger investigators, who was vigorously working his way through a second.