This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 46

Unknown left, and life moved on.

To those who once knew her, the complicated feelings left in her wake took some time to fade, but time wears away all bumps and edges, and these were no different. Lives returned to normal, people came and went, and once-broken hearts healed, as those of resilient young folk tend to do. But time catches the inattentive off-guard, and soon enough, these young folk weren't so young anymore. Their sparkling eyes of idealistic vigor changed with their growing understanding of their world- the hardships, the difficult truths. They experienced loss, grief, pain; they saw the common horrors of life and the not-so-common ones as well. Yet their change was not into jaded resignation, but rather ignited their resolve to better the world, to fix the cracks their predecessors chose not to see. Though their path was not always simple, though their vigor was not always unwavering- such were the truths of human nature- yet their white-hot determination to see a better future was not so readily torn.

And it was not only in this scarce corner of the world that the warm glow of hopeful change could be found. The years brought progress, sparks flew, bit by bit, a cascade reaction, all around the world as people began to challenge the realities they had set aside for so long. Many turned their renewed efforts towards championing the causes they believed in, be it children growing up to become policy-makers, denouncing unjust laws, or volunteers, young and old, donating their time to the underprivileged and displaced, or the shifting tide of heroes beginning to amend the oft-ignored rifts they had once struck open. The change was no miracle, no one would wake up tomorrow to discover the world a utopia, yet the slow push of a billion small hearts could not be discounted.

It wasn't until years later that one heart among these began making waves in the western half of the world.

A new hero, though at first merely a single face in the endless flow of hopeful young folk trying to change the world, quickly tore head and shoulders above the rest with the appearance of a single headlining news story:

Newcomer Hero Makes Debut Destroying Inter-State Trafficking Ring: 24 Children Saved!

A notorious human trafficking ring had long been suspected of targeting young children as part of their illicit activities, yet ever since their discovery half a decade ago, the combined efforts of the nation's police and heroes alike have proven fruitless in capturing the elusive ringleaders. However, the case was blown wide open when the United Hero's Federation raided the upper harbor- the location of an anticipated major hand-off, resulting in the arrest of half a dozen traffickers and the recovery of 24 missing children. Mere hours later, another raid was carried out on the Entel Shipping corporate building, and the company's CFO was arrested. Although he was long suspected to be the mastermind behind the trafficking ring, there had been a critical lack of evidence until now. The testimonies of the captured traffickers provided the Federation ample leverage against the now-former CFO, enough that it took only a glance at the mountain of evidence for him to cave. Among the information he revealed were hideout locations, identities of high-ranking members, and hidden communication channels used within the ring, all of which were compiled and passed off to a select number of other hero agencies. One by one, the cogs were swiftly dismantled, and by the end of the week, the once-elusive trafficking ring was no more.

Within a day, the story burned its way into every TV, every home, every school across the country. Families gathered as news anchors opened with the breaking story, children huddled around phones replaying the news footage, office workers gossiped by the breakroom TV, and all of a sudden, the nation's attention was on this unfamiliar new hero who had apparently been the keystone in breaking the case. The public shock was further amplified when, in the same story, they learned of the hero's rather unconventional past. Many of those who paid attention to international news had a eureka! moment as they heard the strikingly familiar story, vaguely recalling some incidents they read about from some other country a few years back- Japan, was it? There were yet more surprises to come, however, as the hero- a young, serious-looking girl, judging by the photos- was confirmed to be working under the United Heroes' Federation: one of the most high-profile agencies in the country. They were an exceedingly elusive group with little information on them publicly available, funded entirely by the federal government, and had among the lowest numbers of signed heroes of any agency in the country. Unlike most groups, the Federation was extremely selective about the types of cases they dealt with, almost exclusively addressing those of pressing national interest. Their public presence was limited, but whenever a new case was declassified, it was almost guaranteed to make cross-country headlines the next day. Really, it was no wonder this newcomer was drawing so much attention. The Federation's heroes, though few in number, were all extraordinarily skilled, each and every one of them ranking within the top 50 in the country. It wasn't every day they added a new face to their numbers, much less someone so young.