With so many independent vigilantes and crimefighting organizations operating in Paragon City, a great deal of public focus is taken off the city-funded law enforcement, the PCPD.

While heroes handle the investigation of most criminal cases and apprehension of suspects and felons, police officers are still asked to maintain security and patrol of certains areas. While under-equipped to deal with meta-level threats, most officers have what PCPD's PR office refer to as "the incredible resolve and courage of humanity".

This is a formidable claim, but evidence has arisen that the average officer is NOT what the PCPD promises. Numerous heroes have seen officers come upon a crime in progress, only to flee the scene at breakneck pace.

On a recent mission to secure the popular floating club Ravin' Warehouse from Hellion crashers, a stealthy hero known as The Spy reported seeing a fully-equipped SWAT officer, "running around with his arms flailing, screaming like a little girl." For proof of this incident, I obtained footage from a camera recording the events of the party.

Perhaps the "screaming like a girl" remark cannot be qualified, but the behavior of the officer in this situation still raises questions as to how rigourous entry into the Paragon City Police Department is, especially considering this "man" was a SWAT officer.

An example of Paragon's Finest in action.

It has taken less than a month for some of the new heroes of Paragon City to reach the maximum security ranking, currently capped at Level 40.

Crimson Death, a Fire / Devices Blaster, is widely credited for being the first of the "new wave" heroes to hit the max. level, but other heroes were not far behind him in reaching this achievement.

The max. level has been capped at 40 for the short term, but Paragon City Hall is expected to announce a new level cap of Level 50 in the next few weeks.

Shocking claims of associations with villains and payments being made to secret bank accounts have marred the Paragon Times' exclusive shots of Lord Recluse's battle with Paragon City's most prestigious heroes. The Beholder has information that indicates the reason that the Times got this "exclusive" could be because they were forewarned that this fight was going to occur and perhaps even paid for this information.

An informant who wishes to be known as Mr Griffen has come forward, claiming that the Times was told the specifics of the fight after making a payment to a middleman, possibly an agent of Archnos. This allowed the Times to have a photographer ready in Santiago, Chile for when Lord Recluse made his move.

It is not known if Statesman, along with the other prestige heroes of Paragon City, was forewarned that a powerful villain was going to be strike in Chile, but their arrival certainly captured public attention and boosted the Time's circulation of that issue.

Although the Times' story appears to indicate that the events just happened to be captured on film, Mr Griffen claims they were part of a carefully staged plan. "The Times' got used on this. They made a payment... a large one at that... to someone who could be working for a villain group. In exchange, they got exclusive photos of a new villain who could be big news in a couple of months - this Lord Recluse could be the leader of a secret villain group dating back to Word War II. How would the Times' know this connection unless they got told by the bad guys? What the Times' didn't know (or chose to ignore) was that in giving this guy the front page, he's given Archnos the perfect launch and will actually assist them in recruiting more villains."

Other spider men have been known to sell pictures of themselves in the past to finance their lifestyle, but usually they have been individual heroes. Rarely have journalists made pacts with villain groups in the way the Times' appears to have done.

The Times' refuses to comment on the allegations brought against them by Mr Griffen and have threatened legal action against the Beholder if we printed this story. In the interests of public knowledge we have released this information and will be following up with more information as it comes to light.

There are no playgrounds in Paragon City. No sounds of fun arising from the school yard. No patter of little feet following parents into the enhancement shops. Look around - there are no children in Paragon City at all.

So where have they gone? Has the modern Paragonite rush-rush lifestyle left no time for having children? Were they all packed off to their uncle's farm at the start of the Rikti invasion and haven't made it back yet? Is it the work of some as-yet-unknown villainous plot?

It is perhaps a mixture of all three. Citizens of Paragon City are very busy attempting to re-establish their routine after the disruptions caused by the Rikti. The lack of cars on the road have also forced citizens to walk everywhere. While good for their health, this takes up a lot of time... time that might otherwise be spent considering family matters.

It is also well recognised that children were the first to be evacuated when the Rikti invaded. Given the current concerns that the Rikti will invade again shortly, perhaps parents are leaving their children in the care of out-of-town family members to be on the safe side.

In its current state, perhaps Paragon City isn't the place to bring up a child. Sections of the City have been leveled completely and villain groups run riot in the streets, despite the best efforts of heroes fresh through the city gates.

Talking to the citizens on the street indicates their concerns in bringing their children back to Paragon City. Thom Brodie is a father of three who thinks leaving his sons on his brother's farm is preferable to bringing them back to the Birthplace of Tomorrow. "It's just not safe," says Mr Brodie. "I get mugged four to five times a day, and that's on a good day. On a bad one I get abducted by the Circle of Thorns or some Vahzilok attack me for my 'parts'. There's no way I'd bring my children back to these conditions."

Other parents the Beholder talked to shared Mr Brodie's concerns. Some stated that although their children are still in Paragon City, they keep them mostly at home with the door locked. "It's not what we want to do, but it's the safest option," said one mother.

With no children on the street, Paragon City certainly loses something. The sound of childhood - a mix of laughter, hopscotch and kickball - is a sound rich with hope and possibility. Here's hoping children are able to soon return to City streets - streets made safe by the tireless efforts of all heroes.