Noble IX still unmoved from his position slowly lowered his gun in the direction of Smith. The apeman growled low and fiercely, the lizardman seemingly vanished from where he stood, and various flying Heroes arose from the floor staring daggers at the AVIA. The ground shook even more.
Not even the cool air blowing from the two broken windows could simmer down the boiling tension. Next thing you know someone throws another chair and Ms. Smith would be evicted from this reality. I felt a little bad though. I thought Smith was fake as hell, but putting yourself in such a vulnerable position is never easy, it was brave even. And on account of her personality, that didn’t say much about who she truly was. Maybe she did want to help, to be a hero in her own way. But some ideas are too radical for certain groups and women are picked on more often than not. Whether or not I agreed with what her plan was it did not matter; I would defend her from any bastard who dared harm her, even if it meant fighting everyone.
A gust of whirling wind twirled around Ahyoka, static blue electricity sparked gently around her hands and eyes. She gave me a look that said, get ready.
All of that edge was for nothing however because Sir Blue quickly put himself in the middle of all the malice directed at Smith, flying up and remaining suspended air as he said his piece.
“Being a Superhero is an act of service. It’s about rising up and using your extraordinary powers to help those who can’t. But it's also about freedom. Our autonomy from the federal government is both a right and a privilege, while also giving us money regardless if we are on duty or not is a blessing. Our lives are filled with prosperity in the midst of this rebuilding world, as America is nowhere near the empire it once was centuries ago. But I then think about Godspeed and his vision for our future, one that had Quasi and Non-quasi working together… not for the sake of revenge or hatred like the Apostates but for human prosperity. As Godspeed once said, “Superheroes are the future and the future is bright!”, how else will we be free then? These… anarchists… for lack of a better term… want to bring us back to the chaos, they want to take away our power and everything we worked hard to maintain in this society and bring us to their level. I believe in what the Agent says… perhaps working together can change things for the better. We can combine our might and crush these Supervillains for good! Let's show them what it means to be true Americans!”
Even after his little speech I expected a chair to be thrown, despite how good it sounded.
And to my surprise it didn’t happen.
People clapped and cheered. A triumphant roar erupted throughout the room. Passersby from outside the court would justifiably be horrified by such a rousing noise.
But Sir Blue actually convinced people. I heard that he was a good speaker for his age but the way he spoke to us really hit the mark on what everyone thought.
Some people outright refused the notion of a Fed-Super-Team, and instead opted to cooperate in the hunt as independent agents. While a handful such as, Sir Blue, Noble IX, Pigtail lady, Apeman, Lizard guy, the bee that I heard before grew in size and was just a bee-themed Hero, and a few others I didn’t recognize immediately went up to the agents and started signing up. The speech might not have gotten everybody on board but I also believe Blue was trying to prevent any (horrific) violence that might have broken out.
The meeting was adjourned as we all made our way out of the now trashed courtroom. I was sure compensation for the damages would be offered by any number of us. Or maybe they’d leave it like that? Trials weren’t often and the few that did happen were rarely fair so delayed repairs weren’t that much of a concern. Not like New Geweld was known for its refined justice system.
I for one was ready to meet up with those pancakes, Ahyoka was a good friend and I wanted to spend more time with her before the hunt began. Only she was still inside, chatting up with Smith and her newly acquired entourage, and most peculiar was Overlord standing right next to the ambitious agent. I went up to them asking what the hold up was.
Apparently Ahyoka already joined the team and was very excited by the whole idea. She then tried convincing me to join, that my expertise, quickness, and strength would be a great addition to the team. At the mention of my achievements back at the Academy Sir Blue took my hand and gave it a small kiss.
“Power-Jack I presume? It would be an honor to work with a woman of your caliber. Sir Blue at your service.” he said with a dashing yet humble smile.
“Daisy, it would be wise if you stayed home.” said Overlord. He sounded strained once again, like there was an invisible force tightening his throat.
Smith patted the old Hero on the shoulder saying, “Daisy Doe! Your friend Thunderbird here has got some spunk and we need as much of that as we can get. Why don’t you sign here and we’ll start talking about our next steps?”
“No no… I think we have more than enough on board. You can run along now, rodent.” Noble said that to me. Blue and Ahyoka quickly jumped to my defense, criticizing the aristocratic Hero for his disrespect. But I took it in stride.
I addressed him, “Noble IX… I’ve read a lot about your family. Let me guess, they send you away for not living up to the white man’s image?”
“Speak not of my family you… you… ghetto rat! I’m only telling you to be gone because of your poor performance, nothing personal.”
“What poor performance? If this is about the bank robbery then you aren’t one to talk, the only time you had to fight Supervillains are in the memories of your ancestors.”
He laughed, his armor rattling as he placed a hand on his chest, “You fought a Supervillain?! Oh that's perfect. That RatKing is a joke, he isn’t a Supervillain, he is but a bandit playing pretend. Yet you couldn’t even kill him!”
“Heroes shouldn’t kill.” I said taking one step closer to him, my hands closed into fists as I contemplated drawing more blood on that day.
“Really? Then why is it legal? As a matter of fact I just saw you beat that poor quilly gentleman over there half to death, are you certain he didn’t bleed out?”
I became worried at the thought and turned to see if the Porcupine Hero was still where I left him. Grappling with the idea of killing someone until I breathed a sigh of relief when all that remained was a small trail of blood on the ruined floor.
“I didn’t kill him.” I said assertively.
“Sure, perhaps. And that’s why you can’t go after the Apostates, you’ll hold back.”
I became frustrated with Noble’s words, how they made me feel, and the uncertainty it planted in my mind. Ahyoka and Blue had to see my side of things and I hoped they would do it the right way. Human life is precious no matter what. I looked to the others silently pleading they agree with me and denounce his bloodlust.
Blue begrudgingly said, “Ms. Doe, I am a believer of Godspeed’s philosophy and that justice must be merciful in a truly civilized society. Yet these Supervillains might make that difficult to maintain. We will bring these animals to justice but I cannot guarantee you it won’t get bloody.”
And Ahyoka only said, “We do what we can, DD. We are still human.”
“You’re less than that, darkie.” the southern knight slurred even more rotten things under his minty breath.
My stomach was calling for me, so I grabbed hold of Ahyoka’s hand dragging her with me out of that piece of shit building. I said my goodbyes rather quickly to all the other members, minus Noble. I had more than enough old-world crap and Superhero politics for one day. I was getting chocolate chip pancakes and making Ahyoka try the monumentally exquisite strawberry milkshake with a side of cajun fries.
Racing behind us was agent Smith, her shoes clamping frantically, “Hey wait! You didn’t say anything Power-Jack, you signing or what?”
I looked at the waiver one last time as I felt Ahyoka squeeze my hand gently. I felt so alone at times and I didn’t know why. What good would my powers be if I was in a team? Part of the thrill was making it on your own, no one to tell you what to do, it was freedom. Sometimes freedom was quiet, too quiet. It’s enough to drive you crazy. Maybe that’s why I am the way I am. Too much freedom.
I bit my lip, looking back at that old sword.
What would Godspeed do?
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