"A long long time in the day has past in a galaxy, well, the same one we've been living in since we've been recording time. Didn't end in 2012 of course, if it did i wouldn't be here. We as people never have been the best at record keeping. Heh, speaking of records, that's where i come in. My name is Cooper. You may have heard of my family before. You know the one. We're the mythical monster fighting, bank vault heisting, wanted dead or alive Cooper family. Shame about the poor bastards who share the name but not the blood. There's gotta be a lot of tricky misunderstandings.
With all that being said my ancestors are bound to expect a lot from me. I don't plan to live up to their expectations, i just want to live up to my own. I'm me. I'm not my father or my mother and i'm certainly not the Thievius Raccoonus. I left home when i was 16, my parents never exactly approved of the person i wanted to be and that's okay. I like to think i'm doing okay with everything. Oh no, i've always wanted to be a thief. But not in the way they wanted. My parents never thought i could be a world class criminal and the frontman of a band at the same time.
As of now i'm 17 and in highschool. My tuition is paid and i'm set to graduate in 4 months. My band is starting to make a local name for itself and we just purchased our first touring van. We being my 3 best friends/roommates and i. Ann is our drummer, when you think of the commercial image of punk she's it. Dyed crimson red short spiked hair, black skinny jeans and a self cut sleeveless t-shirt that she spray painted the anarchy symbol on herself. She's our resident pyromaniac. Been playing with matches since she was little. The irony is she doesn't smoke. Wallace is our guitarist and unclean vocalist. (That's a screamer for the musically challenged.) A classic metalhead, almost literally what with the ivory horn in the middle of his face. He is what i like to call our on stage security guard. He's been known to rush off into the crowd to stop some jerk groping a girl or hurting someone in the pit who doesn't want to be there. Once you're friends with him you're friends for life. Then there's AJ our DJ. He raps, controls our lights, soundboard, electronic parts in songs etc. You name it, he does it. He has a photographic memory, you can't get anything past him. He's real helpful when we need to know what piece of gear was in which case. He's our self proclaimed know it all. Come to think of it. I've never seen him without headphones. And me? I'm Scott Cooper. I'm what securities call a thief when actually i don't keep much of what i steal. I live in Color City Oregon, an artists dream. Music, food, and art exploded in the 22nd century and it hasn't stopped yet.
The year is 2347 which sounds super futuristic when in reality we still don't have flying cars. Robotics, game systems, computers, security and most other things have gradually advanced however. I play bass and i sing in a band called The Law Abiding Citizens. (We thought we'd throw the cops off with our name.) My parents are still alive. No one knows i'm a thief. I am the first Cooper since my line began to not have the book my ancestors wrote to help me. But that won't stop me from chronicling my own adventures. My other family members may have had a main mission in life but as for me. I'm making my legacy as i go along."
Saturday January 20th 2347 7:15 PM
*Fade in to the room. 20 to 25 people stand waiting looking up at a stage cluttered with cords and instruments. A small group of people walk onto the stage, and one grabs the microphone*
"Ahem, *coughs* mic check, 1,2. Alright, sounding good. Ladies and gentlemen. We are The Law Abiding Citizens." the group of 4 now visible in the low lighting of the concert venue begin to play their instrument of choice. The drummer is a lanky rabbit, the guitarist a muscular rhino, the DJ a focused wolf and the singer who is holding an interesting bass guitar with a hook on the head is a devious looking raccoon.
*After the show in the van headed home*
"Well i don't know about you guys but i think that show was just the prep we needed for the battle of the bands Monday afternoon." Scott stated with a grin on his face. Ann, riding shotgun looked out the window lost in thought while Wallace and AJ were playing rock paper scissors in the back of the van. Scott looked out further along the road and saw a light close to their destination. As they arrived at their apartment they saw a grass fire on the lawn shaped in a Skull And Crossbones pattern. The symbol of the band they were set to play against on Monday. New Age Piracy. "A group of dogs (Literally. They're literally a group of dogs.) who put more focus on their stage presence than musical quality. Sully, their singer mouthed off about my band last week to me, and our music teacher Mrs. Raynor decided a contest of talent would be a better way to handle things than a fist fight. I wonder how she would feel about one band destroying public property? Oh well, snitching isn't my style." Wallace looked around on street level for tire tracks or evidence of some kind. AJ took the fire escape up to the roof to get a better view of the surrounding area while Ann started mumbling about them using her own element to threaten her. Scott looked at the fire in concern while stating they need to call the fire department but put out parts of the fire themselves so no one could tell what the pattern originally was.
10:38 PM
"After the fire department put out the rest of the flames we headed up to our apartment to check if it was broken into." The group arrived to the door and found the lock in tact."The lock isn't busted but that doesn't mean it wasn't broken into." Wallace fumed. Ann used the key, and from a quick glance nothing looked out of place. Each went in their own direction and fully searched the home.
"It doesn't look like anyone has been here guys. But i'm picking up a scent that definitely isn't us." AJ addressed the group. "My room is clear. Everyone else have good reports?" Scott asked. "They used fire but i still have all my matches so at least it wasn't my fire." Ann answered. Wallace remained silent and went into the practice room to look around while the others went downstairs to start unloading equipment. Wallace rummaged through the practice room searching up and down for anything that could have been stolen. Nothing was missing but something was added, a small bug in a high corner near the ceiling of the room. Wallace may be strong, but he's not stupid. He took a mental note of it and kept silent, walking out of the room and down to the van.
"I found a little something our swash buckling friends left for us in the practice room. They planted a bug to hear us practice. I think they may be trying to play our song before we do." Wallace spoke firmly. "Well that would make sense. They spend too much time on their hair to do any real practice." Scott replied. "They came into my house and did something like that? Oh they're gonna pay, they like fire i'll giv..." Ann exclaimed before being interrupted by AJ "Whoa, whoa relax. None of you are thinking about the opportunity here. No one was supposed to know who would play first so clearly someone went into Mrs. Raynor's classroom and looked at her notes. The rules were neither band could play an original song, if we could then this wouldn't be a problem because they wouldn't know how. But since we're doing a cover they can learn it by Monday. All we have to do is practice at a place that isn't bugged and prepare a different song for Monday. Our musical talent alone will beat them." AJ explained. "I know just the song and just the place." Scott grinned out. "C'mon it's late. We need to rest up for the next two days. Let's get the last load and head up." Scott continued.
Sunday January 21st 2347 7:00 AM
*An alarm bell rings, signaling the morning has arrived. The gang loads up their gear into the van to drive to their new practice destination all while leaving the equipment cases in the practice room to fool Sully and his crew.*
The sound of snoring echoes in Scott's ears as he drives down the road next to the water and parks next to a warehouse. He honks the horn and stops short to get everyone awake and is then greeted by a storm of yelling and confusion. "Rise and shine my fellow Law Abiding Citizens, we have arrived." Scott Pointed to the abandoned building. *Yawns* "This is the place, Scott?" Ann asks still half asleep. "That's the one. Grab your stuff and let's head inside."
The group grabs arm fulls of gear and follows Scott into the building and down the stairs. The building is completely dark and the band looks puzzled. Scott flips a switch on the wall and the power starts to come on light by light. Now in plain view, the group realizes where they are. "I remember seeing on the news one day that the first subway station built in Color City was being condemned due to a lack of funds. They built up walls with cement when they made more subway stations so the other cars wouldn't come down this way. When i ran away from home this is the first place i went. I found that the city never shut the power off. I slept somewhere else every night, inside the subway cars, in the token booth, in the offices. I never saw anyone come in except me. This is where i lived out of before i met you guys at school and moved in." Scott told the trio as they walked through the well preserved station and into an office. "This place has plenty of outlets for all our gear and we're far enough underground that no one can hear us practice. We're in the clear."
Monday January 22nd 1:55 PM.
*The stage is set for the battle of the bands. A makeshift platform built in the middle of the football field. Mrs. Raynor, a younger woman as far as teachers go begins to walk up the stairs with mic in hand.*
"Last Monday in my class, two young men began to argue over each others musical ability. As with football, basketball, wrestling or even dance. I want to show these boys that talk is meaningless unless you can prove your skill. Going up first we have New Age Piracy! *Claps* And playing after them we have The Law Abiding Citizens! *Claps* Here are the rules for the audience. Be respectful of both bands. They're here to entertain, if you aren't entertained then sit through it. This is not the place to boo and be disrespectful. Pick the best one. After each band finishes their one song, if you liked the performance then clap. If you don't then stay still. This is how we will judge the winner. As for the bands. Play well, do your best and prove your ability."
New Age Piracy took the stage with instruments in hand. Sully picked up the microphone and began to speak. "Color City High, how are you doing today!?" *Cheers* "I saiddd. How are you doing today!?" The dog yelled into the microphone, slicking his long hair back with his hand. *Screams* "Alright! 1,2,3,4." The band started to wail on their instruments as Sully grabbed the mic to sing out I Fought The Law. *Crowd yelling during the instrumental solo*
"Okay they actually put effort into this performance." Scott stated to his friends as he looked at the crowd getting into the song. New Age Piracy played strong til the finish. The crowd started clapping loudly and cheering for Sully and his crew as the last notes were played. Mrs. Raynor walked onto the stage clapping for them. "Alright give it up for our talented students in New Age Piracy! You guys clearly liked them so i think you'll like our next group. You may have even seen them at a show in the inner city on Saturday, we have The Law Abiding Citizens! *Cheers*
The gang took the stage and was completely silent. The drums and bass began to roar across the field as Scott made eye contact with Sully and started to sing. Scott sung and Wallace screamed the lyrics to Spitting Image by Sylar into their respective mics, never breaking eye contact with New Age Piracy. *The band continued* AJ rhymed into his mic as the crowd began to jump and yell throughout the rest of the song. Screams and enough clapping to sound like thunder shot across the field as The Law Abiding Citizens took a bow and went off stage sure that they had won. Mrs. Raynor walked up again. "Alright that was great! *Claps* It was a close contest but by round of applause i think we have a winner. *Both bands wait on the edge of their seats* This goes to... The Law Abiding Citizens! Cheers erupt as our gang go back up to accept a gold plated statue of a microphone.
4:32 PM
*Both bands pack up their stuff and head to their respective homes. Scott and Wallace leave in the van while AJ puts Ann on his back, runs to the woods outside of Sully's house, and calls Scott.* "Scott? We're outside the dogs garage. Their van is here and closed up so i think they've unloaded everything. Are we still going through with the plan?" AJ whispered into the phone. "Yeah, just be careful. Make sure everything goes as planned and tell Ann to keep it small scale. We want to hurt Sully, not his neighborhood or his family." Scott said before hanging up.
AJ lets Ann down and walks to the garage window, he sees everything is plugged in and tells Ann to move to position. "Alright it's just like i thought, their sockets are overloaded. There is an acoustic guitar laying next to one of the amps. All we have to do is overheat the socket and it'll start to spark. That'll catch the acoustic on fire and that will be enough to make it spread. Ann, Scott said this should be small scale. No evidence left, no mistakes. Grab your blowtorch and that wooden plank, and burn where i tell you." AJ explained as he used his ability to see scent trails to position Ann where she needed to be.
Ann placed the thick wooden plank against the metal wall and held it there as she turned on her portable blowtorch. She made circles on the board with fire in an attempt to center the heat through the wall at the socket. "Is this working? I'm almost out of fuel." Ann said worried. "Wait... yes, that's a spark! Use the rest of your fuel, we're almost there." AJ exclaimed. The socket started to spark with short bursts onto cords, amps and finally the acoustic guitar. The duo watched the blaze begin to spread through the cords and equipment, completely ignoring the metal walls and the cement floor. "Alright i think I've figured out the garage WiFi password. Now i can turn on the fan, the family will smell the smoke and call the fire department. We're done." AJ said as he grabbed Ann and started running back to the apartment.
9:06 PM
*An ongoing news story continues to play on the tv*
"Earlier today a fire broke out in a family's garage in the Color City Gardens suburb. The son, who is in a local band used this garage to store his and his friends instruments and equipment. Due to an overloaded socket sparks began to fly. The fire couldn't travel along the cement floor so it clung to the cords and gear, scorching them. Everything was burned beyond repair. The garage also suffered minimal damage to the walls and vent system. Although if the fan hadn't been on the family might not have smelled the smoke. No one was hurt. But now one local band has to start all over. This is Color City nightly news at 9, Tom Brown signing off."
Scott turned off the tv. "Wallace. You can go ahead and destroy that bug now. I don't think New Age Piracy has the ability to steal our songs anymore." Scott said with a grin. Wallace went into the practice room, looked in the camera of the bug and grabbed it. After looking it over he impaled it with his horn and threw it into the garbage. "Who else loved the look on that group of dumb faces when we started playing a song they'd never heard?" The rhino said with a laugh. "My eyes were locked with Sully's the entire time. And big props to Ann and AJ for the finishing touches on the garage. Ann i'm proud of you for not leveling a city block." Scott said with a smile. Ann and the group laughed happily, content with the days success. Scott withdrew into his room to write about the day.
"If you're reading this you may think our response to being spied on was harsh. I don't think so. They came into our home and put something there in order to steal our ideas and probably steal our victory. If we went up there on stage after they played the song we had prepared, we would have lost. Today was the only time I've seen them put any real effort into playing music. They stole the song we would've played today. We stole their ability to steal. No one was hurt, but they can't steal anymore. The only time they cared about what they did was when they could cheat and take from someone else. If they actually played better than my band i would have gladly lost. But i will never lose to cheaters, and i will never let that kind of injustice stand. My name is Scott Cooper. I am not Sly or Tennessee Kid or Sir Galleth. Along with my friends, we make up The Law Abiding Citizens.
End of book one.
Hey, authors note here. This story contained the song Spitting Image by New York Nu Metal band Sylar. And the classic I Fought The Law written by Sonny Curtis and originally performed by The Crickets. It's been covered by The Clash, Green Day, The Dead Kennedys, Johnny Cash, Social Distortion and most other bands you can think of. I do not own any of the songs listed, and am not associated with any of the bands. I can't post the lyrics in the story so go ahead and listen to those songs yourself. I don't work for Suckerpunch, Sony or Sanzaru games, i don't own the Cooper name or have any rights to the series. I don't even own Sony stock. Now that that's out of the way, hey. I wanted to do a reimagining of the Cooper gang, i've never read a story like this on here and i figured since music is something i know and love i'd incorporate it into one of my favorite game series.
I want these characters to grow and be totally different from the old gangs or from other original characters you've seen before. I want heists to be about more than stealing money from the corrupt and carting them off to jail. I want Scott to make his own moves and have his own adventures that don't necessarily involve his ancestors. This series will be updated as often as i'm interested in writing. I want every character to have an absolute end by the time the series wraps up. Please rate and review. Thanks for reading, and i hope you stick with this story.