Deep below Neutropolis, in areas too choked by the thousands of cast off experiments of the mad Neuron to be secured by the PPD, Calvin Scott, mastermind of the Resistance, looked at the feed in front of him. A woman with long dark hair was currently being interviewed by John Houston, one of the Praetorian regime's main mouthpieces. The dark skinned man watched quietly as the reporter made the usual pro-Cole comments before moving onto the real reason he was watching this garbage.

"-currently speaking with Celia Stingray, the stunning Silver Sabre and one of Praetor White's newest rising stars in Powers Division. Miss Stingray amazed much of Praetoria over the last month with her stunning solo career and lightning series of arrests and actions in defense of our fair city. From the arrest of convicted murderer Paul Valus, to the suppression of radical terrorist elements inciting riots in Nova Praetoria, the Silver Sabre has been there, swiftly cutting a swath through the forces of anarchy and injustice. And not only has she devastated many of Praetoria's enemies, but also protected Praetoria's finest such as when she rescued an entire squad of PPD who'd been ambushed by terrorist forces within Sifotyne Industries' main facility. But as impressive as her record is, we're not here to talk about that," Houston said, despite the fact the reporter knew full well how important her record was and that he'd just highlighted nearly the entire thing. "We're here to meet the woman behind the armor. Celia, it's a pleasure to have you with us today."

"It's my pleasure to be here, John," Celia said, smiling. That smile was one of the first things that stood out to Scott as he watched. She smiled naturally, fondly. Unlike Reese or several other Powers Division dogs, she was well and able to act like "one of the people" as she fielded basic questions designed to build her up as the interview progressed. Her favorite food, hobbies while off the job, some sanitized details of her work for Praetor Berry's public front company. However, Scott leaned forward as the fluff finally finished and Houston asked the question Scott wanted an answer to.

"So, Miss Stingray, just how did you decide to go from a simple technician to an armored protector of justice?"

Celia looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "Well, ever since I was rescued from the Devoured on the outside of the city by the PPD, I've always had a healthy respect for what they're responsible for. Protecting the people of Praetoria from any threat, external and internal, is a massive job, and everyone needs to consider what they can do to ensure such things. While I could've stayed working on improving the Clockwork and such under Praetor Berry and Professor Keyes, but I felt I could do more. I got the idea for the armor both from some things that were under research considerations for T.E.S.T., as well as being inspired somewhat by Praetor Keyes' own powered armor. I tinkered a bit in my off hours, and eventually got a working prototype design. With that done, I petitioned for a brief audience with Praetor Keyes, who felt the design had merit and directed me to some of his assistants to pursue the idea. The end of the project discerned that the finished product, while highly flexible, was just too expensive to mass produce."

Scott considered what his spies had been able to find as he listened to her talk. Files dug up had confirmed that Stingray was a certified genius, and everything about this story was remarkably truthful aside from the usual Praetor ass-kissing. In fact, Anti-Matter had actually been confirmed to have stopped his current projects and personally assigned Stingray to one of his top technicians, bypassing Neuron's people entirely. Probably more in-fighting between the two, but given Keyes was far more competent in hard engineering than Berry, it was a considerable feather in the woman's cap from an analysis standpoint.

"This was when terrorists attacked the lab you were working in, correct?" Houston supplied, right on script as the woman across from him nodded.

"The Resistance had heard about my work and planned to steal the prototype in order to upgrade their existing equipment. The security Clockwork were unfortunately much less than were needed to stop the invasion, because we seriously hadn't thought my armor design would be that tempting to the Resistance. Given I didn't have any other choice, I activated the armor and fought them off long enough for PPD and Powers Division backup to arrive. One of the Powers Division on scene, Warrant, was suitably impressed with my work that he forwarded my name to Praetor White. Since then, I've been operating along with him to get me up to speed and keep the streets safe. Even if the armor isn't practical for widespread use, if I can use it openly to protect people, it can still serve its intended purpose."

Which is where it got interesting. Despite the public portrayal, the PPD was far, far too willing to utilized lethal force against the Resistance. And Powers Division, if anything, were even worse. Yet the raids that Silver Sabre had conducted had had almost zero fatalities and minimal injuries. It was almost as if she was intentionally minimizing the damage to any of the sides. Which would fit the squeaky clean image she portrayed publicly, but didn’t gel with what Scott knew of Cole and his henchmen.  “So, what do you think of her?”

The enigmatic mask behind him tilted slightly. “She is....unique,” Vanessa DeVore said, the enigmatic leader of the Carnival of Light putting a finger to the side of her mask. “She is deceptive in what she portrays here, but not like the others. But not like ours either. She isn’t like Paolo or Larsen, who deceive only because they have to. It’s something she’s used to. Something that is as natural to her as breathing. If I had to compare her to any of our people, Belladonna would be the closest fit. But I can’t be sure at this distance. I’d need to meet her in person to verify it beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“There are other ways to verify her loyalties,” Scott said, dialing a number. He looked at Vanessa as the line rang. “And even if she’s a blind idealist like she seems, there are ways to use her for our cause until she’s used up.”

“Yes?”

“Cleo. It’s Scott. I’ve got someone for you to keep your eye on.”

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"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay waste."