This Man, This Monster (Obsolete; to be remade)

[Savage]

Late night came rolling in, though the millions and millions of lights of Epcot City served to pierce the darkness. The corner diner in the heart of Epcot City's downtown contained a handful of hardcore patrons who were either eating or sitting off to themselves. Few took notice of the dog-like anthro who walked in and took a seat at of the booths. The stranger was careful to avoid eye contact with anyone, picking up a menu and read it, though with the way he held the menu it was more like he was trying to hide his face.

Anyone from Doctor Delbert Doppler's old life would have done a double take upon seeing him now. His hair, tied back in a ponytail, was scruffy and in need of a trim, and his face had a rather tired, worn-out look about it. His clothing consisted of what he had managed to get from a homeless shelter: a tan jacket that looked like it had seen better days, a plain white shirt, old denim jeans, and sneakers.

The good doctor had debated with himself on even coming in here, but the police car coming down the street had made up his mind for him. He needed somewhere to hide. After his escape from the military installation all the way back in the deserts of Nevada, the government had wasted no time in going to the media and screaming for his apprehension. He watched through the window as the police car cruised past the diner, and, lowering the menu, shut his eyes and released the nervous breath he was holding.

So far, no one seemed to have taken any real notice of Delbert. Over time, he had gotten surprisingly better and better at laying low. How had he, a famous astronomer back on his home world, been reduced to hiding and running about like some common criminal? If anything, the inhabitants of this planet were the criminals, locking him away and treating them the way they had.

While Montressor and Epcot City were similar in that both were large and bustling, Epcot City had a decidedly less pleasant (and clean) atmosphere. The reason Delbert chose to come to the "most corrupt city in Calisota", as he had heard it described, was because he was interested in meeting a professor at the university there who was an expert in the field of genetics. Delbert had hopes of getting some assistance with his... unique problem.

[The Masked Mallard]

The Masked Mallard stood stock-still, listening intently as the agent, who was very professionally dressed in a pressed black short-sleeved shirt and dark gray pants, addressed him and several other members of the Dream League. It concerned the matter of an escaped fugitive. The human, one Agent Sanchez, wasn't overly friendly to the superheroes, but at least she was polite and pragmatic. According to her, the North American Department of Special Security had tracked said escapee to Epcot City.

"The fugitive is extremely dangerous. The ECPD is already aware of him of course, but my superiors and I believe that the Dream League might actually be better suited to dealing with him." The woman said before handing the Gentleman’s Crimefighter a sheet of paper. On it in prominent bold lettering blared the headline "WANTED", along with the side and front head-shots of a nebbish-looking canine anthro who wore what they called a ‘deer in the headlights’ expression. This was their deadly fugitive? However, the Masked Mallard expressionlessly studied the wanted poster before passing it off to his nearest colleague.

"If you do encounter him, try to incapacitate him immediately if you can, and without lethal force if at all possible." The agent continued.

It came as a surprise to the Scottish duck that a government agency had actually approached the Dream League in the first place. He didn't know what the government made of the Dreamers, but was willing to bet that they had the same suspicion of them as the ECPD did. The NADSS must've really wanted this Doppler fellow if they were willing to swallow their pride and turn to the Dream League like this.

Truthfully, the whole situation made him rather suspicious -- basically, it almost sounded like this NADSS wanted the Dreamers to do their dirty work for them. Exactly what made this man so dangerous that the department wanted the Dreamers to capture him? Still though... Agent Sanchez had requested their aid, and well, being heroes, it was their job to give assistance to those who needed it.

The duck glanced over at the rest of his team, wondering if they too shared his misgivings.

[She-Wolf]

The Dreamer standing close enough to the Masked Mallard to be able to take the wanted poster from his hands was She-Wolf, who had been giving Agent Sanchez a dour and suspicious look for the entirety of her explanation. Taking the sheet of paper in hand, she glanced over it for a moment in silence, taking in the visage of their so-called criminal with incredulously-lowered eyebrows.

She-Wolf had more than a few suspicions about this. The dog-man in the poster didn't look anything at all like a criminal, or someone who would willingly go out of their way to harm somebody... He did look rather strange, unlike any other variety of two-legged canine she'd ever seen. But she didn't buy into the bug-eyed dog-man being dangerous, at all - and she wasn't about to go and apprehend someone who she wasn't even sure was a criminal...

"... Why are you after this man?" she questioned Agent Sanchez with that hardened icy glare of hers. There didn't seem to be any real concern for the "fugitive" in her voice - if there was, it was masked by indignation and distrust for the government agent. "And why is it you want us to capture him?"

[dawnchorus]

Dawn Chorus listened in silence as the government agents explained the mission at hand to them. Of course, given that they hadn’t offered up any reason for why they were hunting this man, ‘explained’ was hardly the most apt word for the situation. The Ostrich was standing close enough to the Masked Mallard and She-Wolf that she was able to reach her long neck over their shoulders and take a look at the sheet of paper that passed between then, hoping it may answer some of her questions.

“He doesn’t look dangerous,” she observed, voicing what she felt her teammates were probably also thinking. Delbert Doppler looked more like one of the education aficionados who spent hours tucked away in a corner of Epcot City Library with a pile of books than any of the hardened criminals that she’d encountered during her vigilante career (or any of the non-hardened criminals for that matter). The idea that somebody like that could be hiding a highly dangerous side to them as Agent Sanchez was claiming was certainly a most troubling thought. Dawn Chorus wouldn’t have given him a second thought if she’d passed him on the street; could it really be that she walked past violent maniacs every day?

“I suppose looks can be deceiving,” she added, a troubled expression coming over her face, “what’s he capable of? That is, what are his powers?” She felt it was fairly safe to assume that their target had some sort of ability that set him beyond the capabilities of the ECPD, otherwise there would be no real reason to come directly to the Dream League this. Of course, she wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of people treating them as an extension to the police force; it seemed to somehow diminish what they were doing.

[The Masked Mallard]

The Masked Mallard barely suppressed a pleased smile. He shouldn't have wondered if he would be the only one to find something off about this entire situation, as both She-Wolf and Dawn Chorus voiced their skepticism.

"Well put, ladies," He complimented, turning to take the both of them in before returning his attention to the federal agent. "Miss Sanchez, if you would be so kind as to further explain? I too am curious as to why your bosses desire Dr. Doppler so." His tone remained polite.

If Agent Sanchez was annoyed by their questioning or by She-Wolf's harsh demeanor, then she didn't let it show in her voice or in her expression, which were as cool and measured as ever. The old-timer mused that she would be a excellent poker player.

"Because he's like most of you -- he has superhuman abilities. Namely greatly enhanced strength, durability, and gravitative leaping. Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. And before any of you ask, the only reason you may not have heard of any incidents concerning him is because we have requested that the media try to keep a lid on this for right now. Those recent reports of earthquake damage in Albuquerque, for example? It was him. We don't want to start a nationwide panic and have a bunch of whackos running around with guns trying to find him themselves. As to why we want him, he is a threat to this nation's security. Aid us, and you'll be doing your country a great favor."

The Masked Mallard managed to restrain a snort and a dry remark. "Bad as all that, is he?" Their "deadly fugitive" looked like he could by taken out by Dreamchild of all people with one or two punches. And even if the doctor was so dangerous, suppressing news of a lethal madman on the loose? Was that really such a good idea? He wasn't one of those conspiracy kooks who believed in a government cover-up around every corner, but that only begged the question of what else could they possibly be hiding?

[She-Wolf]

Like Agent Sanchez, She-Wolf's stern expression changed little as the woman went on to explain everything. She remained just as suspicious about this as before - she stole another glance at the frightened, gawky-looking dog-man on the poster as Sanchez described how he was capable of causing earthquakes and left nothing but destruction in his wake. It didn't seem entirely improbable... after meeting the Dream League, San became well-aware of just how many people with unique powers populated the world, and the abilities they had didn't always, necessarily, comply with their appearance - Sunshine particularly came to mind. That wasn't quite enough to erase the doubt that She-Wolf felt, however...

It was just all too suspicious, how they had covered up the very existence of this man until now. She-Wolf couldn't shake the feeling that the government wanted him for something more than just imprisonment... There had to be more to this situation than this woman was letting on. Still, She-Wolf would have liked to see for herself the truth behind all of this - and if the Dream League were to encounter this man, themselves, the truth could very well be revealed. On the other hand, this could also amount to no more than a wild goose chase... but it's not as if Epcot City would have been left unprotected in their absence, as only a handful of members were involved in this mission. And if this woman was lying? That could easily be rectified by means of punishment, thought She-Wolf, as she felt her fingernails - currently just that, rather than claws - with the tips of her fingers.

She-Wolf lowered her eyebrows as she contemplated all of this, until she finally looked Agent Sanchez in the eyes. "We'll go look for him," she announced, although the intense suspicion in her gaze contradicted her agreement to this request. Briefly, however, she looked to her teammates, particularly the Masked Mallard, for their input on her decision.

[dawnchorus]

Dawn Chorus listened in silence as Agent Sanchez explained what their target was capable of, still not quite able to put together the things she was describing with the picture of the terrified man that she’d shown them. There was something distinctly strange about the way the government had apparently covered up all news relating to the not-so-good Doctor. Surely if he really was that dangerous it would have been a better idea to warn the public, thus allowing them to better protect themselves.

The ostrich was frowning by the time the woman’s explanation drew to a close; however she still slowly nodded in silence. There was no use speculating whether there was something strange going on or not at this point, for in either case their only lead was to track down Doctor Doppler. For the moment it seemed that the best course of action was to play along and do as they were asked, in the hopes that if anything fishy about the situation would reveal itself to them in time for them to do something about it. Besides, this course of action still allowed for the possibility that she was just being overly-paranoid, which did happen quite a lot. She made a mental note to compare notes on this with the Masked Mallard and She-Wolf later, to see if the same thought had occurred to them.

“Have you tried to capture him before?” asked Upanova curiously as she glanced down at the photograph again, “It would probably be a great help if we knew what methods had already failed to bring him in.” If she knew the government these methods had probably involved a lot of guns and very little restraint. She knew it was distinctly cynical of her to think so, but it wouldn’t have surprised her in the slightest to learn that this apparently earthquake-level of damage had been more caused by the attempts to bring him down than by the man himself, who judging by the picture looked like he’d have a hard time tearing through a paper bag, never mind a city block.