Memorial Day. It's been 5 years since Blitz lost their life taking down Shrike.

We called them a supervillain, but that's just playing into the fantasy we should call them what they were- Shrike was a serial killer. Blitz had got caught on her barbed wire, but pushed anyway. People don't like to talk about the how, only that it was first and last act of true heroism this town has ever seen. It feels bad to sully his name, but I needed to make sure they'd show.

The dawn service started like every year. So when the mournful blare of the horns started looping, I wasn't met with the usual knowing smiles. People were first confused, then they booed and jeered. I was killing my own PR for this.

"Esteemed guests, I apologise for the rude interruption, but I assure you this was necessary. Please bare with me a moment, Eclipse Squad is likely being shaken out of bed by their handlers, we may have to wait for them to arrive."

"We're already here Dastardly! How dare you sully such an important day!".

I have to admit, their PR firm was good. Of course they got the kids out of bed for the dawn service photo ops.

Black fog rolled from Midnight's palm and... stopped.
Moonlights eyes lit up, but before they reached their crescendo, he froze.
Luna... had clearly been practicing. There was almost some speed to the chair she launched at me. It was almost at my face before it too froze. Then reversed, at speed. She froze mid-fall after it struck her.

The crowd stood eerily still, but that was more shock than anything I was doing.

"Eclipse Squad, Mayor, Citizens of this blighted city. You've laughed for years, and I've laughed along. This was my joke. But these IDIOTS hurt the group of teenagers I was supporting. The ones YOU FAILED. A broken system, filled with injustice, designed purely to funnel 'undesirable' characters out of the public eye, and into the cycle of incarceration. Do you know what the recidivism rate is? These kids could've been supported and done something with themselves but YOU-"

I jabbed an accusatory finger at the frozen heroes, sweeping it around the crowd to end on the mayor.

"YOU let a group of teenage kids beat on any 'delinquent' they find, then funnel them into a penal system that either breaks them, turns them into villains, or both. It's time the city had a real villain. Someone to scare the edgy teenagers straight, and to remind the heroes what villainy looks like, so they might think to go a little gentler the next time they're tempted to beat on a 15-year-old with a spray can!"

A hollow grin creeps across my face. Slowly, leisurely, I stroll over to the nearby fences, trimming the barbed wire from the top. But that's from my perspective.

To them, a blur of steel and costume streaks along the plaza. In a second Eclipse Squad is wrapped tightly together in barbed wire, unfrozen, but screaming in panic, and the beginnings of pain.

"Today, I am no longer DJ Dastardly. Today, I'm Shrike 2.0 - Remix."

[ParaSEC Target File, Threat Level: Lethal]

• S-Class Chronokinesis [Time-Stop, Looping, Short-Term Reversal.]
• S-Class Speedster Abilities.
• Target demonstrates a committed vendetta against the city and heroes in particular. Possesses a clear willingness to use lethal force for acts of cruelty. Preparation Required. DO NOT ENGAGE WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORISATION.

[End File]