SilverHawk: Did you see the news? Iron Knight busted another exec at the VR arcade, and instead of praise, they’re calling him a terrorist.

CivicMind: Yeah, I saw it. Unbelievable. The guy’s out there trying to make a difference, and they’re painting him as the bad guy.

VirtualKing23: That’s how it always goes, isn’t it? You try to do the right thing, and they come down on you harder than the real criminals.

ConstructionJoe: It’s messed up. They should be thanking him, not hunting him. I guess the N.E.O. doesn’t want anyone interfering with their business.

MomOfThree: And did you hear about Silencer? He killed that executive Iron Knight caught before, and the D.A. who let him go. Now they’re saying Silencer’s a terrorist too.

SilverHawk: So that’s it then. Vigilantes get labeled as threats, while the real crooks keep running things. We can’t win.

CivicMind: Makes you wonder why anyone even bothers. Iron Knight puts himself out there, and this is what he gets? What’s the point?

VirtualKing23: The point is someone’s gotta stand up, even if it doesn’t look like it matters. But it’s hard when the city treats the heroes like villains.

ConstructionJoe: And now the N.E.O.’s using this as an excuse to tighten their grip. More checkpoints, more crackdowns. They’re making it impossible to breathe.

MomOfThree: It feels like we’re stuck in this endless loop. Every time someone tries to make things better, they just get shut down.

CivicMind: And what’s left for us? We’re not vigilantes. We’re not heroes. We’re just trying to survive, and even that’s getting harder.

SilverHawk: You know what’s really scary? How quickly they turned the story. One day Iron Knight’s a hero, and the next he’s public enemy number one. Just like that.

VirtualKing23: Yeah, because the N.E.O. controls the story. They decide who’s good and who’s bad, and the rest of us just have to live with it.

ConstructionJoe: And now they’re cracking down on anyone who even looks like they might be a vigilante. It’s like they’re trying to scare people into silence.

MomOfThree: It’s working. I’m scared. I don’t want to think about what happens if they come knocking on our doors next.

CivicMind: They will. They’re making sure no one feels safe, not even the ones trying to protect us.

SilverHawk: So what do we do? Just keep our heads down and hope we don’t get caught in the crossfire?

VirtualKing23: That’s all we can do right now. Just survive. But it sucks, because it feels like we’re losing even when we’re not the ones fighting.

ConstructionJoe: Yeah, we’re stuck in the middle. Can’t win for losing.

MomOfThree: I hate this. I hate feeling like there’s nothing we can do.

CivicMind: Well, maybe there isn’t. Maybe all we can do is watch it all fall apart and try to pick up whatever’s left.

SilverHawk: That’s a pretty bleak outlook, Civic.

CivicMind: Yeah, well… I’m not exactly feeling optimistic these days.

>>>End of Chat