White Rose was a global organization with departments operating in various countries, collaborating closely with local police forces and governments. Recognizing their expertise in dealing with Altered cases, the United Nations had granted them special privileges. Privileges that only they had above the police force.
Initially, the first Altered that appeared were primarily involved in sports events and similar events. Due to the extravagant costs involved in the process, the number of Altered had been very limited in that era.
However, over time, Altered solutions became a lot more accessible, be it legally through big companies selling them, or illegally through the black market.
When this occured, this was when the first problems started to appear.
Consequently, every country began to face significant challenges, with local governments losing control of the streets to criminal gangs. This problem persisted in many areas despite attempts to recruit Altered individuals into the police force. Unfortunately, due to the inherent dangers and inadequate compensation, very few Altered accepted.
Why would they when they could easily earn more money through advertising, the AFC or by joining a gang?
Given this situation, the world came together and established a public fund to create the organization now known as White Rose. Those unable to contribute financially were denied the privileges associated with the White Rose's power.
In each contributing country, a main White Rose base was established to provide assistance as needed. These strategic location allowed agents to travel across the country for investigations efficiently.
In England, the White Rose base was situated in the central city, Centrefield. Thanks to the base, it had become the country’s safest city. Their presence alone had ensured that aside from some petty crimes, the nearby towns also had no gang presence.
To ensure the safety of high-profile political figures and create a secure environment, parliament had been relocated from the capital to Centrefield. However, this shift had the unintended consequence of making the city an expensive place to live, accessible only to the wealthy and influential.
Some people criticised that this made White Rose no better than any other gang controlled Tier-1 city, though the officials involved vehemently refuted that claim. White Rose insisted that they were merely stationed there to protect the important people that made society work, and unlike gangs their personal followed strict laws.
Despite the White Rose's influence, local governments remained responsible for dealing with issues in separate towns and cities. Consequently, they had little to no control, resulting in the current state of affairs.
In the centre of Centrefield, there was a large oval building which looked somewhat like a mix between a palace and a prison. All the outside of the buildings were white in colour similar to their uniform, and this one was large and round like a colossus.
Outside the main building, there were three walls that one had to get through before they could even reach the base. Constructed with thick steel, only specific sections of the walls had accessible entry points, each requiring a different security clearance.
In between the walls, it was like a paradise, there was a lot of greenery cut to perfection. Rivers flowing through, heading all the way to the main building.
Having walked through the last gate, two White Rose Agents were walking down a stone pathway toward the main building, in their bright uniforms.
“It's been a while since we were last here.” Frank remarked.
"Yes, and it seems like things have finally settled down a bit," Sadie responded. "We were constantly being assigned to one case after another."
“Yeah, but at least everything is good now. I was worried about you when you lost your Altered form.”
When Frank said those words, Sadie instinctively touched the back of her ankle. It no longer hurt, and the wound had long since healed. Although the medical staff and researchers found no correlation between that wound and her loss of powers, she was convinced that it had to have been the cause of it all.
At first, it hadn’t been too much of a problem, she had merely regarded it as a nasty wound that needed more time to heal. Unfortunately, Sadie had quickly found out that it was more than that.
Since the Crazed Altered attack, Sadie had been plagued with issues concerning her Altered form. It was the first time she had encountered such difficulties. From that point onward, her transformations became increasingly unreliable. Sometimes she would achieve a full transformation, other times only a partial one, and frustratingly, there were occasions when her Altered abilities failed to manifest at all.
Even when she did manage to transform, the loss of control was a constant battle. Parts of her body would revert to their human form, defying her attempts to maintain the full manifestation of her Altered abilities. The struggle to maintain command over her Altered form had become a frustrating and unpredictable aspect of her existence.
Following the incidents, Sadie's Altered form vanished entirely. For an agonizing week, she found herself unable to undergo any transformation, feeling disconnected from the very essence of her abilities.
Then, inexplicably, as if by some miraculous intervention, her powers resurfaced without warning, as if the week-long absence had never occurred. Simultaneously, she noticed the wound around her ankle had begun to heal at a normal pace, as if responding to the restoration of her Altered nature.
“I’ve never heard of an Altered being able to do something like that.” Sadie said.
“That whole case bugs me,” Frank added. “Speaking about it, did you see the latest news? That green-haired kid we called in, he’s all over the television as the next big up-and-coming Altered fighter, but I was sure that when we tested him, he showed no signs of being an Altered.”
Sadie knew what Frank was getting at, if their test had failed at the time, there was a chance that the kid was somehow involved in that whole mess. Unfortunately for them, the case had been deemed solved after the discovery of the deceased Altered Billy, along with substantial evidence.
“If you want to argue with the team who created the test kit, be my guest. No, it’s far more likely that he became an Altered after that whole incident,” Sadie speculated.
"Yeah, it's definitely odd, isn't it?" Frank mused, a perplexed expression crossing his face. "I mean, growing that powerful in such a short time frame? It's not something you see every day. Even kids from wealthy families who become Altered at a young age aren't guaranteed a shot at being AFC fighters."
He leaned back, deep in thought. "And let's not forget how strange it is that he even became an Altered in the first place. Didn't we dig into his background? Came from a no-name family, barely had two pennies to rub together, and went to a regular school. It's not exactly the typical profile you'd expect for someone like him."
Sadie nodded, acknowledging Frank's observation. "You're right, it's not unheard of for a candidate to be chosen from a school like that, but it is indeed very rare. There's something about that town, Slough. It feels like there's a lot more going on beneath the surface."
She hesitated for a moment, contemplating the potential implications. "But honestly, I don't think we should delve too deeply into it. There have been minimal reports and requests for assistance from Slough. It seems like the higher-ups have chosen not to prioritize it. So, for now, I think it's best if we follow orders and avoid unnecessarily poking our noses into matters that might not concern us."
"Ah, yes," Frank interjected, his tone shifting to a more serious note. “Well, there might not be anything to do in Slough, but the opponent that Gary kid went against, he’s being brought in today. They suspect that after he got knocked unconscious that he took something akin to the black liquid stuff. If that’s the case, there’s a chance that this could be a big catch for us.”
Sadie sighed. “It looks like we might get pretty busy soon.”
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