Black Ice

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Black Ice
Player: @Twylite
Origin:	Science
Archetype:	'
Security Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	Detective Susan Black
Known Aliases:	'
Species:	Human
Age:	28
Height:	5'6"
Weight:	123
Eye Color:	Green
Hair Color:	Reddish blond
Biographical Data
Nationality:	US
Occupation:	Detective with PPD Internal Affairs
Place of Birth:	'
Base of Operations:	'
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	'
Known Powers
'
Known Abilities
'
Equipment
'
'

"I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."

- "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley

Statesman was working at his desk when the young blond woman walked into his office.

"Ahh, Detective Black.. good to see you. Please, have a seat." He waved in the direction of one of the overstuffed, soft leather chairs that sat facing his desk.

Susan shook her head, "No.. no I'd rather just ... stand." She said, then took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you.."

The elder patron of Paragon city didn't look up from his paperwork, "This is about you and... Kasugano, isn't it?" He looked up and pinned her with that intense look. "You know I don't approve."

Susan shifted her weight, "No.. I know sir.. but.. I.. "

Statesman arched an eyebrow at her, ".. you.. what? Couldn't help it? Couldn't help 'falling in love'?"

"Sir, no sir. We got married."

"You WHAT?!" He slammed a fist down on his desk. Susan flinched.

"What in the WORLD are you thinking?" he roared. "I tolerated you seeing him.. hoped you were angling a way to bring him in.. but now you say You MARRIED him? You *married* Shadowed Fate? The most ruthless son of a bitch in Ghost Widow's command? What in the HELL are you thinking?"

It took everything she had not to wilt under that furious gaze.

After a moment Statesman let out a sigh and looked down at his desk. "I'm just glad your father isn't here to see this," he said. "I promised him I'd take care of you. I don't think this is what he meant." He looked at her again. She swallowed hard but held his stare. He shook his head. "Of course you know what this means."

"Yes, sir." She said solemnly, her voice steady, much to her surprise. She stepped forward and laid her badge and gun on the table.

He stared at them for a long moment, then slowly reached over and picked up her badge. "Susan..." he said, "You know this is a mistake."

"I hope not, sir."

"I'm sorry to lose you. You're one of our best," he said and the look in his eyes softened. "But, I wish you luck."

"Thank you, sir." She stood for a moment, then saluted sharply, turned on her heel and left Statesman's office.

• One Year Later *

The young Hispanic woman walked up to Statesman's desk and waited for his acknowledgment.

"Yes?" he said without looking up.

"This came for you, sir" the young receptionist said as she held out an envelope.

He waved vaguely at his in-box, "Just leave it there on the desk."

She hesitated, "You.. might want to read this, sir. It came via an Arachnos courier."

He looked up and narrowed his eyes, then reached for the envelope, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir."

He waited for her to leave, then pulled a folded note out of the envelope. As he read it, his eyes flashed angrily.

"Dammit Susan," he muttered. "I TOLD you he was a bastard... " He turned in his chair and reached for his communicator.

"Sergeant?" he said into the mic, "We've got a problem..."

Susan's eyes were red rimmed and hollow as she looked out the window of the plane. Below them the sun had just risen over the horizon and from 20,000 feet the green island below flashed like an emerald between the silver morning clouds. But the beauty was lost on her as her mind played over scenes from the previous days.

Her son, clinging to Black Scorpion and the horror and agony that pierced her heart as she watched him crumple to the ground

Fate, standing, tears in his eyes and his fists clenched in rage as he accused her of causing it all by her "selfishness" and yet refusing to acknowledge the role his own lies played.

Bishop, so gallant in his Bane Spider armor, the Arachnos Logo scraped off, asking her to stay, fully believing he could keep her and K safe, tho all of the forces in the Isles and Paragon should land on their doorstep.

Chief Justin Smith. The look in his eye when she said goodbye, the pain she hadn't expected from him.. or herself as she walked away.

The movement of the young boy strapped to the medical gurney next to her pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked over at him. His skin was pale, nearly translucent and the strange marks that crisscrossed his neck were a sickly gray. He had slept fitfully during the twelve hour trip and now he whimpered. With one hand she smoothed his dark hair from his forehead.

"Shhh... shhh Keiji... we're almost there... almost home," she murmured.

The boy fidgeted and then, for the first time since they began the trip, he opened his eyes.

"Home," he whispered and looked at Susan. For just a moment she thought she saw the child, her child, hidden in pale eyes that mirrored his father's in shape and hers in color.. then he began to laugh maniacally.

Susan lay still, each breath painful. When she was sure he was gone, she slowly picked herself up from where she'd fallen when he threw her against the wall. Her breath hissed between her teeth as she gingerly probed her side with her fingers.

"Yah.. at least two broken ribs," she muttered, but as she spoke, the bruising around her throat caused her to cough uncontrollably. She slumped against the wall, grimacing until the coughing spell passed then raised a shaky hand to the throbbing welt on the side of her face where he had pressed the business end of his mace. She could smell singed hair and her head swam as the nausea rose in her throat.

She leaned her forehead against the wall and stood quietly until her stomach settled. She then made her way to the kitchen where she numbly poured a cup of coffee.

She would not cry, she told herself. She would not allow him that.

She closed her eyes and tried, again, to figure out what possibly could have happened. She'd only been gone a week, but during that time the sweet, funny, gentle man who told her he loved her had turned into a monster who coldly announced they were over and then did this to her.

She opened her eyes and looked around the small apartment they had shared. There had to be a clue here somewhere.. something. She spotted an overturned trashcan under the kitchen table. Slowly she made her way to it and turned it back upright. Inside, she saw a book. She bent over to pick it up.

It was a bible.

It was *his* bible.

It was open to Revelations and a page had been torn out.

With a soft moan she sank to her knees, hugging the book to her chest.

She didn't notice the tears that ran down her cheeks.

Chief Justin Smith of the PPD was working at his desk when he heard the portal activation sound. He glanced at the clock.

"Pretty late for visitors," he muttered as he shoved his chair back and got to his feet. He walked to the window at the end of his office and looked down into the PPD Base entry.

A familiar figure in a trench coat stood unsteadily by the portal.

His eyes widened, "Oh my God," he said and raced down the stairs.

When he got to her she was leaning on the wall. The sunglasses he'd given her were missing and she looked at him through red rimmed eyes.

"Susan?" he said. "Are you ok? My God.. what happened?"

"I'm.... " she started then she just shook her head. The bruising on her neck suggested that someone had choked her and there was a livid burn on her left cheek. She wobbled on her feet and clutched at her side. Her breathing was ragged and raw.

"What happened? Who did this?" he demanded.

She blinked and looked away. "It was... it was Bishop. I don't know why. He.. he said it was over. And when I pushed him for why.. he... "

A coughing fit interrupted her and he started to slide an arm around her waist. She gasped and flinched, "No.." she whispered, "Ribs.. broken... "

"We have to get you down," he said, then carefully scooped her up into his arms. She leaned her head on his shoulder gratefully.

"Didn't know where else to go," she murmured, "have to find someplace safe for a while."

Justin nodded, "I think I know just the place," he said. "Alicia and her Temple. I'll call her immediately." He carried her up the stairs to the couch in his office.

Susan stacked the last of the debris onto the tarp and ran her hand over her forehead, pushing strawberry blond hair out of her eyes. From her vantage point she could see the townspeople as they moved between the ruined houses, steadily working to rebuild their homes.

In the last rays of the setting sun the village nearly looked normal. The deepening shadows hid the ruined houses and and crumbled walls left by the ravages of the quake. It hadn't been this way when she'd first brought Keiji there. It had been green and vibrant then. A good place for healing.

She had intended to see that Keiji was safely settled then head back to Paragon. The history between her and Kurono would not make her very popular and she was certain she would not be welcome. So it was a surprise when they not only welcomed her, but insisted she stay. Her presence, they said, was important for his recovery process. She had agreed and had made the village her home.

For the first few months she rarely left Keiji's side, let alone the island. Then as he grew stronger, she made periodic trips back to Paragon, to check on her apartment and take care of personal matters.

It was during this time her relationship with Bishop had grown. For a brief time she thought that maybe they could be happy, but that dream had been shattered when he savagely beat her and left her on their apartment floor. It was then she made her mind up to return to the island permanently, leaving the pain and horror of Paragon behind her. During her final trip back to Paragon to pick up the last of her things, the earthquake struck the island.

She had been in the D, on the phone, trying frantically to find transport back to the village when he approached.

"Hello Susan," he said.

She turned slowly. His hair was cut a bit shorter than she remembered but the half-smile was the same.

"Hello Kurono," she answered.

"My transport is at your disposal,"

She shook her head. "Oh, I can find a way. You've done enough, you don't have to..."

He raised a hand to stop her. "Yes, yes I do. I want to," he said. His gaze shifted to a point somewhere over her head and he pursed his lips for a moment. "I have been absent from my son's life for too long. I mean to change that. We will go, now." He tilted his head and returned his gaze to her, "I assume you are ready?"

"Yes, of course," she said.

He nodded once and turned on his heel, heading out toward the helicopter pad.

Keiji was missing when they arrived and no one remembered seeing him since before the quake. Kurono immediately flew back to Paragon to mobilize a search for him. She had stayed on the island, in case he returned. She had found peace here with these people. She wasn't about to abandon them now.

Susan watched as the sun slid behind the mountains, leaving the village in the deep shadows of twilight. The crickets began to chirp.

It had been a year since then and there was still no word on Keiji.

As she turned to gather her tools, soft footsteps behind her alerted her to someone's presence.

"Mother?" said a young boy's voice, "Mother, It's me. I'm home."

Susan looked nervously out the window of the transport as it neared the helipad in Atlas Park. It has been over a year since she'd left Paragon, vowing never to return.

She had steeled herself to never seeing Keiji again so when he stepped around the corner of that building that late afternoon six months ago, she thought she was hallucinating. Or that Arachnos was playing with her mind somehow. It was only after she touched him, hugged him, that she finally let herself believe he was alive and well.

They had talked over dinner and then late into the night. She couldn't get enough of the sound of his voice. He told her of visiting his father, training with him. She was so proud of him and told him how much he reminded her of his father. He had Kurono's dark hair and almond eyes, but the color of his eyes was her own blue. It was late in the conversation he told her that Kurono wanted her to come back to Paragon. She laughed it off, not believing it. But after months of pestering from Keiji that she finally broke down and agreed to come.

Now, as the dome of the Atlas Park City Hall loomed larger, she had more than a few misgivings. She didn't have an apartment to go home to. Bishop had seen to that. Oh, they said it was an Arachnos training mission gone wrong.. even issued formal apologies, but she knew better. She was going to have to watch her back if he was still around. She hadn't even said a formal goodbye to Alicia and the Temple when she left. She wasn't sure she would be entirely welcome, tho the Temple refused no one.

Then there was Justin. She'd heard his precinct had grown and he was doing quite well. She hadn't contacted him after the explosion and felt a bit guilty about it. However, on some level, she thought maybe it was better if everyone thought she was dead.

She furrowed her brow. "Well, coming back sure doesn't help that, now does it," she muttered and for the thousandth time wondered why in the world she had agreed to this.

The Transport landed and the cacophony of the blades quieted. She took a deep breath and got to her feet as the Transport door opened.