Masks

Friday 19:00
Base of Team Razzmatazz and Guests

After a successful mission stopping the latest machinations of the Villain Falls-apart-Frankie and her eclectic band of lackeys our heroes return back to base in order to celebrate their victory.

While most of the group head further into the base. a couple fall behind. The first is "Pursuit", a wolf oddity within the group owing to the fact that they have no superpowers of their own, relying on an array of tools and skill to pursue justice. The other is "Gou Mitami" who despite some heafty breasts, is a teen rabbit boy and one of two sidekicks amongst the group. With powers over electricity allowing for enhanced offense and a technique dubbed "Electroportaion" permitting him to teleport short distances.  

"Ugh, these masks get so uncomfortable." Gou said whilst removing the mask from his face, breaking the silence before moving on to inquire "How can you stand to wear yours all the time?" Pursuit paused for a moment before answering "The benefits of wearing these masks outweigh the discomfort." Gou looked kind of irritated with the response as though he were being lectured "Yeah, yeah I know we wear these so that the bad guys can't target us or our families." the rabbit boy responded. 

After a few seconds Pursuit started chuckling before commenting "Oh you don't realise how naive you are." This prompted a rash reaction. "And what is that supposed to mean?!" The bun boy shouted. Pursuit paused, took a deep breath and answered "Alright, I'll tell why I wear this mask."

"You see Gou it is a common perception that our secret identities need to be hidden from villains, lest we, or as you pointed out, our families be targeted. But there is another group that can do so much worse to us. Would you like to take guess on what I am talking about?" Gou nodded in the negative. "I am talking about the Civilians."

Pursuit was interrupted at this point "Civilians? But we protect them. How could they possibly cause us harm?" Pursuit resumed "While they cannot cause us bodily and mental harm like typical villains the fact we can operate is down to them. We operate under a branch of the government and as such the funding comes from the one source. Taxes.

"So, the Civilians pay us. What's so bad about that? The young sidekick stated. "The Civilians will only support us if they feel it is for their benefit. That opinion could change in a heartbeat. If we fail one time too many, or we cause more harm than good they may decide that they don't need us."

Gou was silent.

"If that were to happen and our identities were known to the public all sorts of things could happen. For one we'd be out of a job and there aren't many, if any, other careers were having powers is a boon. Secondly if we were responsible for any damages we would have lawsuits against us and I'm not fool enough to expect the government to help us with that. Finally we would be ostracized, the people won't forget about our failings, once that happens say goodbye to any chance of a decent life."

"I hadn't thought about that" Gou meekly replied.
"I cannot tell you what to do. You are your own person. But you are a fine young man with his whole life ahead of him. I may just be paranoid and what I've just described may never come to pass. But it would be foolish to assume so." Pursuit took one last pause and asked "I realise the masks can be uncomfortable, but will you at least consider keeping them on?" 

Gou kept silent.

"Come on, the others will be waiting for us. You don't need to decide right now."