In This Country Act 01 Ch. 05

*****Hey dear readers, I'm back with another chapter. I'm sorry that it's taking too long, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to comment though. I'd like to hear your thoughts about this chapter. -DM23*****

*****Special thanks to Decal_last for proofreading this story. *****

Arc One: Brutal Beauty

Chapter Five: Publicized

"I'm telling you man, she was a babe!" Reggie exclaimed . . . again.

It was early Tuesday morning and Grey and his coworkers were in the final hours of their shift. Having seen the figure of Grey's girlfriend since last Thursday, Reggie went and told his buddies, Eddie and Maurice, about what he saw. At first they didn't believe it. Grey was very tightlipped about his romantic life and hadn't allowed anybody a chance to meet her. Not for no reason either since he was a former gangster, he didn't want her to be gossip material across the whole city.

But they did believe Reggie when he showed them a picture of her figure. It pretty far away so the girl's face was blurred and unrecognizable. However, since they've been over to his apartment before, the guy's knew what Grey's patio door looked like and came to the understanding that she must've been his girlfriend.

Or, she could be a call girl.

"She's not a call girl," Grey snapped.

"Well, she's acting like she doesn't want to be seen," Eddie shrugged.

"Of course she doesn't want to be seen," Grey explained for the umpteenth time. "I am a former gangster."

"We know that," Eddie scoffed. "If we accidently forget, you'd remind us in a minute."

"We just want you to be careful," Maurice stated. "These days, anybody could be using you."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you," Grey sighed. "I'm just saying I don't think this applies to my girlfriend."

"It applies to everyone," Maurice said. "That's why I said anybody."

"Yeah Grey," Eddie laughed, "she might be a gangster."

"Say that again," Grey demanded, leaving his working spot. "Say that again!"

"Whoa, time out! Time out!" Maurice yelled as he raced to get in front of Grey.

The three friends looked at Grey, his jaws set and anger coursing through him. His fists were clenched and they could tell his teeth were grinding together. His steps were being restrained because Maurice's attempt to push him back to his post.

"Grey, calm down, man!" Reggie said. "Calm down."

"So this is what we're doing now?" Grey asked. "You guys haven't met my girl and that gives you the right to talk shit about her?"

"We're not talking shit, Grey," Maurice replied. "We're just being cautious."

"Yeah, just being cautious," Grey mocked angrily. "But when we've talked about Eddie's girl or you wife, Maurice, or Reggie's on and off again girlfriend, I don't say shit like this. I'm supportive however I can be."

"That's because you've met them man," Maurice said. "We haven't met your girl. We don't even know what she looks like."

"Yeah, you haven't introduced us to her at all," Eddie added.

"Fuck you, Eddie," Grey said as he pushed against Maurice.

"Grey, we just want to meet the girl," Reggie consoled him. "Why can't we do that?"

"Maybe it's because you guys ruined all of my previous relationships," Grey growled. "Then you come back and laugh about it in my face."

"That's to get you over the hardships of breaking up," Reggie explained. "We do that so you can meet other ladies without scaring them off."

"No, you guys did a good job doing that for me," Grey glared. "Thanks for everything."

"Grey, you got it all wrong, that's not what we were trying to do," Maurice insisted. "We just wanted them to know a little bit about you, because they will ask questions in the future."

"They never even got the chance to do that," Grey argued back. "So excuse me if I'm apprehensive about my girlfriend meeting you guys."

"What if she gets hurt?" Maurice asked, whispering into his ear and temporarily stopping Grey from struggling. "God forbid it, but what if something happens to her? What if she gets into trouble and one of us is nearby but she doesn't know who we are? She could come to us to help her, defend her, get her to safety, to you, but she wouldn't know. She wouldn't be able to do that because we haven't been properly introduced."

He had hit Grey right where it hurts. Honestly, Grey knew his girlfriend could take care of herself. She wasn't shy to throw a punch if need be. But even his confidence in her couldn't stop the worst case scenario from playing in his head.

"You're good?" Maurice asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm just pissed off," Grey responded angrily.

"Is there a problem?" they heard as they saw the boss walking towards them. Due to their commotion, they had everyone's attention and keeping them working. As a result, their progress almost stopped completely, which in turn drew the attention of their boss. "Maurice, is there a problem?"

"It's just an argument," Maurice shook his head, "nothing that I can't handle."

For the rest of the day, none of them spoke. Each was lost in his own thoughts as they had to catch up and reorganize the fish. When their shift was over, Grey went with Maurice to catch a ride home. Even the ride was silent and they pulled up to Grey's apartment in no time.

"Hey, you know we're just looking out for you, right?" Maurice asked. "And Eddie . . . you know him. He's a good guy, but he just doesn't know when to shut up."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Grey sighed. "Forgive and forget."

"See you later," Maurice said as Grey stepped out.

The wind blew hard as Grey hurried to his house. The number one thing he needed right now was a good sleep . . . and lunch afterwards. And the only thing that could do that was the news. He clicked it on and instantly dropped his remote, unable to move.

In big, bold letters, the news headline read: CRYSTAL'S CRUSH?

*****

"- and she just goes in as if it's not a problem," anchorwoman Taylor Springs complained. "Did she forget who she represents?"

"The question we should be asking," anchorman Wallace Fields said, "is did she forget who else stays in this country? We people aren't being strict about our curfew for nothing, now. There's gangs, crooks, and villains out there, still roaming the streets."

"They're free and she's going to meet some man," Taylor grouched. "And from our anonymous source tells us, she's been doing this for weeks. I guess some things just don't change."

"Fortunately, nothing happened at that time, so we can breathe a sigh of relief," anchorman Harold Quartz said, trying to end things off a good note.

They sat in silence, each and every one of the heroes and heroines silently watching the screen as it played the news theme song. Usually, the heroes hold their meetings around nine in the morning, but Commander Shinobay had them up and in the meeting at seven on the dot, no tardiness allowed. That meant no showers, no coffee, and no breakfast; this was important.

It was so important that the Commander didn't even know where to start the argument. The problem was that it was going to be an emotional problem, intangible and unsolvable. Unfortunately, that meant all of his statements and conclusions didn't mean shit. Now, thankfully, this was Crystal he'd be talking to, not Jasper, so he knew she'd feel the weight of his words concerning her actions and take the proper course in dealing with it.

He hoped.

Well, here goes nothing, he sighed.

"Do you have anything you'd like to say, Crystal?" the Commander inquired.

"We didn't do anything," Crystal declared. She knew the Commander wasn't going to be lenient with her so she'd have to stand her ground till the end.

"They just showed multiple videos and of you and him together," Commander Shinobay pointed. "That's something."

"Yeah, we just went on a couple of dates and watched a bunch of movies," Crystal gritted her teeth.

"At his house . . . at night," the Commander added.

"When was I supposed to go?" she glared.

"This isn't the time to be going anywhere at all!" Commander Shinobay glared back. "The Committee hasn't finished recovering from the attack done by Carbon! And even if they were, the villains are still out there. We haven't even brought half of them in and you're going over to somebody's house!"

"Am I not allowed to do that?" Crystal demanded.

"Not right now!" the Commander exploded. "As heroes, we can't make mistakes and show our weak points. Otherwise, the villains will use it as leverage and the people will begin to doubt us."

"I don't show my weak points," she defended. "I have everything covered."

"Do you think they care about that?" the Commander crossed his arms. "News flash, they don't. They're only trying to get the next big news and you just gave it to them."

"I was just relaxing!" Crystal yelled. "Can't I get some privacy?"

"Privacy isn't a luxury we can afford, Crystal," the Commander stared her down. "Did you forget that Dr. Genie made another villain? We haven't seen him recently, but every villain has a proper debut and his is coming. That means we're going to have another problem on our hands and most, if not all, of our hands are already full. I need everyone's mind focused on the top priority instead of thinking of their own self interests."

"Sorry," Crystal said after replaying what he said in her head.

"Unfortunately, that won't appease the people," the Commander spat. "They want more than apologies and promises."

"Then how am I supposed to let them know I'm apologetic?" Crystal demanded.

"By taking action," Commander Shinobay glared.

"Yeah, Crystal, the Commander's right," Jasper slyly said.

"Jasper, stay quiet," the Commander ordered.

"I'm just trying to . . . advise her or something like that," Jasper replied. "The problem is that the people like to be treated equally; no one is above anyone else. That's why we only protect the people and not their assets unless it's a bank robbery."

"Everyone knows that, Jasper," Cherry replied, not trying to listen to him.

"Okay, then you should know that people aren't going to like what she's been doing," Jasper smirked. "She needs to be fair."

"What?" Crystal said.

"For example, if a store sells a product for a certain price," Jasper analogized, "then they can't reduce the price for one person but sell the product for the original price to everyone else. That's being unfair. Instead, they'd have to reduce the price for everyone to make sure their customers stay happy."

"Speak English, would you?" Hyper said.

"Simply put," Jasper sneered, "Crystal would have to . . . ahem . . . treat everyone else the same way she's been treating her -"

Jasper jumped to the side quickly as Crystal's metal chair flew across the room at him. It missed and hit the wall before clanging on the floor. Peeking first, Jasper rose up panting with glee as he saw Crystal being held back by Osprey and the Commander's force field.

"Calm down, Crystal!" Osprey yelled. "He's just trying to piss you off."

"You think this is funny?!" Crystal demanded.

". . . Yeah," Jasper chuckled. "You see, this is just like what happened to me. Remember that day? The news found out I'd gone to a club and picked up a girl. Boy, they had a field day. Everyone was super mad at me, but I soon realized it was because I wasn't being fair to everyone . . . or more specifically, the females. Nowadays, you don't hear them complaining about me, do you?"

"That's because you're disgusting," Crystal spat at him.

"Nah, not really," Jasper shook his head. "But what will be disgusting is when you have to please a whole bunch of fat bastards."

Enraged, Crystal picked up and threw Osprey at the Commander. The Commander retracted his force field from in front of Crystal and used it to protect himself before Osprey collided with him. The other heroes and heroines rushed between Crystal and Jasper to stop them from clashing, but Crystal simply pushed them to the side.

No one in front of her, she swung with all her might at Jasper . . . but he caught it with a deviled grin on his face. Surprised, Crystal was put off guard as she tried to comprehend what happened. However, Jasper wasn't surprised and pulled Crystal towards him. Off balance, she stumbled as Jasper twisted and pinned her arm behind her back before slamming her against the wall.

"Get off me!" she yelled.

"Why, so you can swing at me again?" Jasper laughed. "No thanks."

"Jasper, release her," Commander Shinobay warned.

"This is self-defense," Jasper declared. "And don't give me the she's a girl speech, because Osprey fought Ruthless last month and nobody said nothing."

"She's a villainess," Osprey reminded him.

"So, you were still defending yourself," Jasper replied as Crystal struggled in his grasp. "Everyone tends to forget that Crystal and I are just about equal. She's strong, I'm stronger. She's a combatant, I'm a better one. I just don't show it. The only difference is that she's a frosty bitch and I'm a hot, sexy asshole."

"I'm not saying it again," the Commander glared. "Release her."

"Alright, fine," Jasper mockingly groaned. He pulled off the wall and pushed her towards the group as he stepped out of the Meeting Room. "And that Crystal is how you redirect someone's attack against them. If you need any more pointers, you know where to find me."

Snickering, Jasper left them alone and went to start his day.

"Disregarding what he said," the Commander sighed, "you need to fix this Crystal. I don't care how, but you need to get on top of this and handle this situation."

Everyone filed out of the room quietly, with Hyper and Crystal being the last to leave. Embarrassed, Crystal left ignored Hyper's attempt to console her and rushed to her room to be alone. However, being alone wasn't going to change the feeling brewing deep inside her. Like ice in hot water, Crystal cracked, sliding to the floor and crying in humiliation.

*****

"So what do we do now?" Asphalt inquired as the villains looked to Dr. Genie for answers.

They had all seen what the news had reported and were appalled at what they heard. However, Asphalt celebrated, shaking the building to show his glee. Even when he was threatened with acid to his face, he expressed his satisfaction at what he heard.

"We wait," Dr. Genie said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean wait?" Asphalt snapped.

"I need to gauge her reaction," Dr. Genie explained.

"She'd be bawling in tears right now!" Asphalt bellowed. "The heroes' motivation has been crippled!"

"I will determine that when we hear their response," Dr. Genie replied. "They will explain themselves and when they do, we will move accordingly."

"I don't believe this!" Asphalt yelled. "We're missing the perfect opportunity to strike!"

"Asphalt, I promise that you will be leading the strike against the heroes when I hear their response," Dr. Genie assured. "But if you make a move before they issue a response, then I can guarantee you that Crystal will never have to worry about you anymore!"

"This is bullshit!" Asphalt shook with rage, stomping out of Dr. Genie's lab.

Despite his frustration, the rest of the villains knew he wouldn't disobey the doctor's orders. They knew she was anticipating a response and, when shown to be in the villains' favor, she was going to unleash them upon the country, and show the true strength of crime. But first, it had to be in their favor. In the event that it wasn't, it's probable that they could be defeated because they moved too early, in which each and every one of them would be sent to prison and decrease the rate of crime significantly and possibly end it once and for all.

"I know you guys want to go out and wage war," Dr. Genie calmly stated. "But first, we must wait. They will respond, and when they do, then so will we."

*****

They didn't have long to wait. By the time Friday rolled around, things had taken a turn for the worst. The news media made sure to keep the citizens of Cavalanchee in the know about what had happened, as well as taking it upon themselves to explain what the hell she was thinking. They even had some information about Crystal being at the fundraiser, citing that an anonymous, yet valuable informant wanted to share what he knew about the heroine and her apparent new boyfriend.

The internet, on the other hand, was blowing up with all sorts of videos, pictures, and memes that were negatively directed at Crystal. It was so much that she ended up locking herself in her own room and freezing the door to keep the other heroes from retrieving her. And on some days, there were times when the heroes could hear objects shattering, despite the door muffling most of the noise.

Regardless of the situation, at any point of the day, Crystal couldn't help but think of only one topic: Grey. Despite the serious situation she was in, she just grew increasingly worried over the week that someone would be able to concentrate the photos around him, discover his identity, and reveal it to the public.

But even with all of her worries, she hadn't tried to contact him. Since it was apparent someone was following her, they might be listening in on their conversations as well, or even start to follow him, so she convinced herself it was for the best not to feed the fire. And with the rules that she set for him to follow, he hadn't contacted her either.

But after today, they'd never see each other again, much less contact one another. As if he could tell what was going to happen, Commander Shinobay demanded that she speak with the media and resolve the problem. But because she wasn't responding to no one, the Commander had Jasper melt ice off and had the heroines drag her out as she resisted tremendously.

His reprimanding of her was quick and thorough though, harshly ordering her to get herself together and talk with the media. Begrudgingly, she had no choice but to obey. With a permanent scowl on her face and a heart full of sorrow, she made herself presentable and ready to speak with the public at three in the afternoon.

When three in the afternoon came around, Crystal couldn't have anticipated the amount of people who wanted to hear what she had to say. It almost seemed like half the city of South Lineck, where the Heroes Headquarters was stationed, was there, standing in the parking lot to hear the words she had to say. But first, the Commander had something he wanted to say.

"We all know why we're here," he began without a preamble, "so there's no point in trying to sugarcoat anything. Crystal will speak but right now, I want every crook, criminal, and villain to listen to the sound of my voice and know that this doesn't change anything. This is NOT a moment of weakness. We will not falter, we will not waver, and we won't compromise. So if anyone thinks this is their moment to rise and shine, they better wake up from their coma because this isn't a dream. This isn't a fantasy. This isn't your own little world where everything begins to go your way. This is real life and in life, there are consequences for your actions. No one is exempt so don't expect any mercy when we come at you with full force for you actions. Now, Crystal will come up to speak and explain herself, so I ask that you hold your questions until she gets finished. Make no mistake, this only reflects on Crystal. She will rebound from this and this will make her stronger, however it happens I don't know. I now ask Crystal to come to the podium."

He looked to her when he finished and gestured for her to step forward. The moment she stood up, multiple news reporters fired off questions at her all at once, but the Commander shut down their onslaught immediately. As Crystal stepped up to the podium, she saw a couple sheets of paper taped to the surface, with big bold letters saying READ THIS.