Chains lock Mari’s wrists, ankles, and waist to a reinforced platform inside a transparent barrier. Purple warning lights pulse across its layered glass, while Association Superheroes monitor every movement from the public side.
A young adult woman sits behind a compact broadcast desk, her copper-brown bob tucked behind one ear. She wears a sharp navy blazer, a white blouse, and an expensive headset, with a camera’s red light fixed on her.
Dana Vale
I’m Dana Vale, reporting live for MetroStream News. Mari, the Association says this barrier prevents both escape and infection. Is that really protection, or is it imprisonment?
The question hangs between the cameras and the sealed chamber. A hero near the control console raises two fingers, signaling the technicians to keep every restraint system armed.
Dana Vale
One answer could make the exclusive. One wrong answer could give them the justification they want.
Behind Dana, her warm brown skin and small silver nose stud catching the studio light, a producer silently counts down with a raised hand. Beyond the barrier, four costumed superheroes remain spread across the room, ready but visibly unwilling to provoke her.
Dana Vale
The audience is watching, Mari. What do you want them to understand before anyone decides what happens to you next?
Every camera stays live. The microphones wait for Mari’s answer, and the heroes do not move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give the audience a credible account of the Association's treatment of Mari
“"while it is the only thing that can 100% stop me from infecting you right now, And while I wouldn't do that without your consent most understandably don't want to gamble on that." "I would consider it both."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Mari
It is the only thing that can guarantee I do not infect you right now. I would not do that without your consent, so I understand why you would not gamble on it.
The chamber’s dread presses through the microphones, turning every word into a threat before it lands. Yet that same pressure makes the truth impossible to soften: the barrier protects Dana, and imprisons Mari.
Mari
I would consider it both.
Dana Vale
Both necessary protection and imprisonment.
Dana’s practiced composure falters under the localized horror, but she keeps her eyes on Mari. Behind her, the four Association Superheroes remain ready, their restraint now reading as containment rather than simple security.
Dana Vale
Then let the record show this clearly: the barrier may keep everyone safe, but it also keeps you contained. Those are not contradictory facts.
Dana turns slightly toward the nearest camera, allowing the audience to see the chains at Mari’s wrists and waist. No technician lowers the locks, but no one can honestly call them invisible anymore.
Quest Complete
Give the audience a credible account of the Association's treatment of Mari