Introduction to Meta-human Crime Fighting (Open)

[Taylor Brenton]

Taylor sat in the middle of the room keeping her gum chewing to a minimum as she took notes. She was sure she could probably get a recorded file from Sydney sometime if need be, but this - this seemed like the most useful class to have. Not that she didn't enjoy math and science, but this, sure patrolling was great and she still had her heart set on being a full blown hero, or at least a kickass sidekick after graduation. At least this maybe would make the line between hero of the city and vigilante at large a little less blurry. She waited her turn, then raised her hand.

"Mr. Druce? Did you ever see that movie "The Incredibles?" It's all about superheroes. The main character got sued for saving someone's life... er... ruining someone's death, plus for a lot of collateral damage. Does that happen a lot? I try to keep the damage to a minimum, but I'm a pyrokin, and the world is all sorts of flammable."

[Elijah Elliot]

Eli wasn't really much of a note taker but he had his notebook open in front of him just in case. So far it was mostly serving as a place for light doodling. That's not to say he wasn't paying attention, though. He was very interested in what they might learn here. When the next opportunity came, he raised his hand.

"Immediate danger is pretty subjective, isn't it? Any person who looks armed and ready to cause trouble could well be an immediate danger. Even if there aren't any innocents in the area, criminals are also civilians and could be an immediate danger to themselves. It seems like a hero could easily justify his way into helping out just about whenever he felt like it. Is there a more concrete guideline? Could you maybe give some examples where we might be inclined to jump in and help, but legally shouldn't?"

[Mister Druce]

"Deciding when to intervene in the Rogue Isles is a trick question," the teacher nodded towards Roach. "The Rogue Isles as a whole are a situation. As such, my statement stands. Don't get involved without specific authorization from a recognized authority.

"There's been a lot of debate over the wisdom of forcible intervention in the Isles. Most attempts accomplish nothing beyond further violence and hardships for the citizens. Legally, the Isles are a sovereign nation. It's not a safe place for foreigners, especially young foreigners. I'd recommend avoiding the place entirely, and if you must visit, I strongly advise against making any use of your special abilities while you're there."

[Roach Copeland]

Roach tilted his head to the side before setting his pencil down on top of his notebook. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned back in the chair, and studied Mister Druce as he spoke, offering the occasional nod a the man spoke. Manners remained, attention focused.

"I wasn't trying to give you a trick question, sir," Roach said, his voice not showing any sign of hostility or real spunk. Just determination, at most. "I'm not a foreigner, sir. It's my home. And it's my goal to go back there."

He paused for a second before clearing his voice, continuing. "I'm not tryin' to sound disrespectful. I'm actually really excited about this class. But I'm just curious if this is trainin' us how to be heroes just in the U.S. of A and common countries. Cause that's good and all but not all of us are goin' to be heroin' here. I'm goin' back to Etoile. I know Sammy in the back wants to go back to Congo. Melissa is aimin' for Vietnam."

"Or am I jumpin' ahead a few lessons and I should learn to crawl before I walk?"

[Mister Druce]

"'The Incredibles' is one of my favorite movies, Miss Taylor. It's meant as comedy, but did you know that some of the situations alluded to in that part of the film were based on actual events from the early days of metahuman crime fighting in Paragon City?" Many of the students blinked at that, and a few displayed open skepticism. Mister Druce ignored them and continued.

"Part of the role of the F.B.S.A. is to protect Heroes from frivolous lawsuits. Here in Paragon City, the local government actually assumes legal responsibility for all actions undertaken by licensed Heroes. If a citizen wishes to sue for damages, it's the city that defends the charges and pays any settlements. Most large municipalities extend similar protection, but that's not true everywhere. In those places where Heroes can be sued, the F.B.S.A. provides legal and sometimes financial assistance.

"Regardless of where you are in America, you're generally safe from financial liability as long as you were clearly acting in the public interest. The same holds true for most of the developed world. The worst penalty you're likely to face is suspension of your Hero Licence.

"However, if your actions are deemed to have been sufficiently reckless, you may face further penalties, including criminal charges."

[Mister Druce]

"I'm afraid there aren't any concrete guidelines, Elijah," Mister Druce answered with the barest of shrugs. "It's entirely a question of instinct and it's understood that not everyone is wired the same. I've already stated my opinion on the matter, but the truth is that you can't be running through a set of criteria in your mind before acting. If someone's in danger, you need to act right away. Any thinking you're doing should be about how to protect the civilians, not if you should or shouldn't.

"So yes, some Heroes continually claim 'citizens in danger' as an excuse to involve themselves. If they keep doing it and it causes problems? They can have their licence reviewed and even suspended. It's happened."

[Mister Druce]

"I'm not going to apologize for my American focus. Use of the word 'Hero' as a title rather than merely a descriptive term originated here in Paragon City. Both meta-human crime and meta-human crime fighting have their roots here in America, and the lessons on how to operate here are valid throughout the developed world where the vast majority of you live now or will live in the future.

"With that being said, you make a valid point that the rules are different in other parts of the world and not every lesson I teach will be applicable in third world or outlaw nations such as the Rogue Isles. The sad truth is that once you cross into the Isles, you cease to be a crime fighter and instead become an insurgent. I'm afraid that overthrowing national governments, even corrupt ones, is outside the scope of this class."

[Roach Copeland]

Roach couldn't help but frown at that. He looked down some, nodding his head a bit before plucking up his pencil. He spun it around his fingers, tossing a glance back towards Sammy and Melissa in the back. He shrugged after a second or two before turning his focus back towards Mister Druce.

"Well, we got to start somewhere, I guess. Let's figure out how you Yankees do this thing known as heroing then."

[Savepoint]

Brooklyn slouched down in her seat pretending to write notes while Mr. Druce addressed the questions. Then in the first brief lag she immediately raised her hand.

"Will we be going over stuff like longbow and Vanguard, and how they interact with heroes and.. stuff?"

The clear emphasis was on vanguard with longbow thrown in for good measure. After the question she immediately took her slouched posture back and listened.

[Mister Druce]

"Longbow and Vanguard are actually two very different types of organization," Mister Druce nodded at Brook's question. "The latter is a military organization operating under the authority of the United Nations. It's role is to defend Earth from external threats. As a military organization, its operations fall outside the scope of a class on crime-fighting. While it is true that many licensed Heroes work with and sometimes even join Vanguard, they do so on an individual basis and their activities while acting on Vanguard's behalf do not qualify as Hero work.

"Longbow, on the other hand, is actually a division of a larger organization called Freedom Corps. Many of you will be familiar with Freedom Corps already and for those who aren't, we will be discussing them extensively in upcoming classes. The organization exists specifically to provide support and services to Heroes. The F.B.S.A. works very closely with them and even maintains offices in their headquarters.

"But Longbow itself, despite the association with Freedom Corps, is paramilitary rather than Heroic in nature." A hard look came over the teacher's eyes as he continued. "They exist to prosecute an illegal private war against a foreign nation. Their activities have expanded beyond that in recent years and they've done many good things, but at its core, Longbow is a private army. No, I will not be discussing them in any detail.

"Any further questions?"