#or an opportunity for escape that wouldn't have endangered the life of another respected pro hero

[the-wonder-duo]

LiveWire’s doing well! Or as well as can be expected, in his current circumstances.

It took a little while to prove that he’d been coerced into poisoning heroes at the Billboard Ceremony. His case actually bears a striking similarity to a few others who were targeted throughout the hero community these past few months— even on an intentional scale. 

It turns out that LiveWire had been singled out a few hours before the ceremony. After supplying LiveWire with Trigger, a masked party had told him that they had eyes on both him and Chargebolt, and that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill Chargebolt if LiveWire was seen engaging any of the other heroes in conversation at the event, or if he approached any other authorities in any means.

He was shown evidence of this when he attempted to contact the police shortly afterward. He dialed a direct line within the Hosu Police Department. He contacted an officer that will go unnamed for now. 

This officer had appeared to have taken a liking to LiveWire, even though he’d been disliked by many in the department— many of the others still remembered the days when they’d arrested LiveWire, you see, and weren’t shy to show their dislike of him. This young officer was a recent recruit and didn’t have a history with LiveWire. He seemed to be open and kind, and LiveWire had built a tentative trust with him during his apprenticeship at the Endeavor Hero Office. 

The young police officer told LiveWire to hang up and await further instruction. 

A moment later, he received another call, and he froze when he recognized the voice. The unknown party told him to look into a nearby alley. LiveWire watched, stunned and unable to move, as a citizen was gunned down silently in front of him. The party told him to keep walking and reminded him that they would be monitoring his calls. They assured him that Chargebolt would be the next to fall if he attempted to speak out again. 

LiveWire did as he was told. 

Unfortunately, the citizen had been convicted of several petty crimes in the past, and the department had written the death off as a result of gang violence. 

After ascertaining that his phone hadn’t actually been tapped, LiveWire became convinced that the police had been infiltrated by the same group that had threatened to kill Chargebolt. If he turned himself in, he was certain that he would be jailed once more. He was afraid that he would be unable to defend himself against any corrupted police officers that may come to finish him off. 

Perhaps those fears weren’t unfounded. 

Some of you may remember that last year, corruption was discovered within local police departments. 

Senior Commissioner Wairo Okane and his chief secretary, Sha Satsujin, were even arrested— and while I realize that the group has gained popularity, I can’t help but point out that Satsujin committed these acts in the name of the Anti-Quirk Liberation League. Even if President Kenkaku has denounced her, many AQLL followers are devoted to the same principles. 

In any case, nothing ever came of LiveWire’s call. It wasn’t shared with other officers. Nobody was ever notified. The logs have been modified. And the young recruit who’d seemingly taken a shine to LiveWire abandoned his post in mid-January of this year. 

His whereabouts are unknown as of this time. 

You may recall that Triomphe, a popular French hero, faced similar circumstances around last March. He admitted that he’d undergone duress to join the group that unleashed Quirk Quash upon the city of France during last year’s World Leadership Conference. 

There are a few more worrying connections that have been made between these instances. These ties are being investigated now, and we hope to have more news for you all soon.