Rise of heroes, Dawn of Justice

A Story by Jonathan Stark

What happens when mankind turns it's back against the superheroes that protect us?

The gunshots were deafening. Little bits of plaster flew next to me. I wasn’t sure what to do exactly. I was pinned down. Damn Russian mafia. See, this is why I hate Brooklyn. Other places have small thefts, maybe one or two murders. Well, we had the big crimes. Russian mafia, Mexican cartels, Puerto Rican Sicarios. Murder, prostitution, drugs, intentional fires; that was a calm day here in Brooklyn. Damn immigrants. What, couldn’t cause enough chaos at home, you idiots? I stuck my hand in the wall, found a pipe, ripped it out. Water splattered all over me. Black water. Pipe weas the tough heavy kind. I try to remember where the gunman was. The bullet zipping by showed me. Get out of hiding, throw the pipe real hard. Bull’s eye. Those ribs are going to be broken for a while. I love my job. Being a super hero can be tough though. It doesn’t pay enough. Problem is, crime pays way more.

(“Superheroes or Supervillains?” by Samuel Rodriguez, New York Times)

“Why do they wear masks? What are they so afraid of? Is it because they want to keep their families safe? Or because they plan on committing crime and abusing of their power? I mean, we don’t see police masking themselves when they are on duty. Why should the ‘superheroes’ do it? If any private property is destroyed by them, where do I go report them? If I am handicapped as collateral damage because of their lack of self-control during alleged ‘crime-stopping’; who will pay the bill? Worst of all, what’s to stop them from robbing a bank! How can we be sure that ‘good guys’ will not turn bad? Who’s going to stop them? The police, SWAT, the National Guard, the Army? Well, excuse me, but I don’t see the government stepping in to protect us, to ensure the safety of the average civilian! Superheroes are walking time bombs, just waiting to cause mass destruction. I do not feel safe with a masked vigilante running around!”

This is what it’s come to. People acting paranoid. They fear me for things I’ve never done. Policemen don’t wear masks because not one of them has ever taken down an entire criminal organization! For god’s sake, most of them are in the mafia’s payroll. Acting blind or shortsighted; using their power and authority to help drug lords! People here are all the same! Yesterday a girl got raped in the hallways of a residential building. Not any residential building, but the biggest damn residential building in town! And who helped her? No one! Not one single person flickered their eyes! There’s no humanity, no justice! People not only live in a morally filthy world, but they prefer it that way. They convince themselves that they’re powerless, that they can’t do anything about it! They beg for help; but what do they do when help arrives? They dispose of it! Because living in a clean and peaceful way would require for them to keep it that way! It requires a little sacrifice, a little effort! Therefore people don’t deserve help, they don’t deserve justice, and they don’t deserve peace. They just deserve to die!

(Brooklyn Daily, Government ad) “[…] it is by these means that the United States Government wishes to inform that law F.55 is now in order. Such laws prohibit use of costumes and/or masks of any type while stopping any type of crime. The law, however, does not disable citizens from stopping any crime and intervening as permitted by other laws previously created […]”

So now it’s official. I have an illegal job. I’m the same as any other criminal. Most people celebrated the new law, the ungrateful maggots. Only a few decided to protest. The few that did protest were nerds. Geeks who were brainwashed by comics. Well pardon me, but ultra-man never knew what it was to fear that this day could be his last. Speedo never feared a bullet, never feared a drug lord. Electro never masked his face because he didn’t want to get his neck cut up in his sleep. Comic heroes are all show, all about hot dames and multitudes. They don’t wake up doubting themselves; they don’t feel disappointed when they go out and notice crime never sleeps, crime never dies. So right now, it’s up to me to figure out how to make people want superheroes, need them.

(Fragment of the book “Legacy of the Klan of Vengeance: What we didn’t see.” By Lee Beauchamp) “We never noticed it. We never noticed how much we needed them. Following the prohibition of costumed vigilantes; 85% of super heroes stopped fighting crimes. This caused an increment in crime rates of 350%. This means crime became more than Triple what it was before. Then we enforced the law again and crime went up another200%. By the time superheroes disappeared; crime had been twelve times the original percent than before the law was approved. Yet the average American was too proud to admit it had made a colossal mistake. America had doomed itself. Only the ‘Bigwell Affair’ could save America.”

“Alfa 122, do you copy?”

“Roger Papa Bear, Alfa 122 copies.”

“Do you have visual on target, over?”

“Negative Papa Bear, but target should be visible any moment now.”

“Roger Alfa 122. Advise me when target is on sight.”

“Papa Bear, the sky is beginning to clear and we can see part of the river surrounding the city. Target is now visible and… Wait, what’s that! It’s coming right at me! Go left, go left! Damn! It hit the right wing! Mayday! Mayday! Going down in grid 1-2-5-romeo-bronco-1-2-9-…” The transmition ended with the sound of an explosion. Mission failed.

(Veridical statement in “Military report on the present situation in Bigwell City warfare” the report of the Bigwell crisis presented in the Pentagon; and later, in the White House ) “[…] the war raging within Bigwell City is the worst seen on American soil. It will leave a mark on history, and it will possibly steer the future of mankind; although for good or bad, I cannot foresee which. Here are the facts we’ve recollected and revised: Thirty-five months ago, a band of ‘Supervillains’ (who call themselves ‘The Klan of Vengeance’) took over Bigwell City. I must inform that Bigwell City is a one hundred-by-thirty-five mile island in the middle of the Hudson River. Land troops can only access the river through its twenty-one bridges, all of which have been brought down by the attackers. Therefore, land support is restricted to troops already in the island, which we have confirmed completely KIA. Air support has been our most viable option, and has been a failure. Turret defenses have been enabled throughout the perimeter of the City, bringing down an astounding number of fighter jets. Of forty seven jets, only six have returned, and only one has ventured little more than a mile into the City. Countless soldiers have been KIA during troop drops made from carrier planes. A jammer device seems to interfere with any missile fired into the City, bring the missile back into the camps of which they emerged. This (and also the large number of civilians in the city) has made using nuclear or mass-destruction devises unthinkable. Navigation through or under water is impossible due to a strangely high level of acidity in the water. We find no present strategy reliable and demand immediate reinforcements. […]”

The president didn’t know how to react to the report.

“Gentlemen,” he said to his team of advisors “it is moments like this that define history. Our decision will affect every future generation. We must think things through before taking any options.”

“Well, sir, our options are extremely limited.” Informed the director of homeland security

“I only see one option, Mr. President. Blow the whole city down! We can’t let it spread!”

“General, we can’t send any missiles!”

“I know, I know. I’m suggesting something different. We make tunnels under the city and put explosives under it. When the dynamite explodes, the tunnels collapse, and so does the city!”

“But the cost in civilian lives!”

“Yes, sir, I know. But it’s a small price to pay.”

“That would cause a scandal! The reporters would have a buffet to last for centuries! Books could be written, documentaries made!” Said worriedly the director of the CIA

“Blame it on the ‘terrorist’! I think your agency has a lot of experience doing things to start wars and blaming it on others! Just like 9/11 all over again!”

The president had to shut them up from the discussion that now arose. Professional insults flied from one side of the room to another. This was not why he brought them here. When silence was made, he asked the director of the National Security Agency to give his opinion. He hadn’t talked at all during the reunion.

“I understand the general’s option is the easiest one, but not necessarily the best. People will find out. When the 9/11 incident happened, people weren’t so technological. Damn, my grandson was telling me some secrets of the NSA and FBI only the highest echelon knew! I thought I would have to kill him!”

Everyone chuckled “It turns out he read it in the internet. The easy part is blowing up the city, sir. The hard part is manufacturing the evidence that proves that the Supervillains did it. This has to be a foolproof plan. I do recommend another course of action. Superheroes.”

“Don’t we already have a ‘Supervillains’ problem? You don’t fight fire with fire!”

“General! We’ve been fighting fire with a squirting gun! All I’m saying is; while the CIA, the NSA, and the FBI forge the evidence to blame the terrorist, send superheroes! If that doesn’t work, start digging! Let’s just try this before going on to more desperate measures!”

“I like your plan, but where do we find superheroes? It’s not like they’re on the phonebooks!”

“I suspect our friends in the CIA can help us with that. They always know more than they share!”

(The San Frisco Herald) “Unmarked black vans rolled on to at least five homes in the San Francisco area and picked up the residents of such houses. They later transported them through the closed Interstate, which I assume they had for themselves. They were escorted by local police, who refused to answer any questions of the matter.”

Etch-a-stretch managed to stretch to the other side, serving as a bridge. Dr. Cool froze him temporarily to provide stability. As the nineteen superheroes crossed, they noticed that the turrets did not target them. They reached the other side and Dr. Cool unfroze Etch-a-stretch. As they ventured into the city, someone appeared just a few feet in front of the group. “City Hall” The voice said, immediately disappearing. “If you don’t come, we’ll start killing civ’s”. He had appeared now on the gargoyle of a nearby church, disappearing as soon as the message was delivered. “Well, I guess we know what to do now!” exclaimed Ms. Outlast. The walk to town hall was short. Members of the National Guard hung by the neck in the entrance. “Come on in” Said the same man as before, now opening the door. Just like the previous time, he disappeared quickly. “This could be a trap!” Said one of the superheroes, cuddled I n the small crowd. “It doesn’t matter, we would’ve had to fight them anyways!” Said the Timekeeper. With that said, they all entered. Sitting in front of them were the villains, looking at the heroes as if they had been expecting them a long time ago.

“Let us introduce ourselves!” Said the villain in the center chair, the biggest one. He pointed to the villain on the right end of the file of chairs “That’s Blackout, our security specialist and Technopath. He has the power to control technology. His job is to make sure no one enters the city, except you guys, of course.” He now pointed to the villain sitting next to Blackout “He’s Digits, our crowd control guy. His power is to multiply himself and summon endless versions of himself! He manages most fights and makes sure everyone behaves themselves! Next to Digits are the Harlem Brothers. Our Heavy Support Guys. Their powers are, well, being huge, strong brutes! Any vehicles try to stop us, they stop the vehicles. That guy sitting next to the brothers is the white rabbit! Our explosive and demolition expert! You want to make something go boom, He’s your guy!”

“Someone shut him up and get him to fight!” whispered one of the heroes

“You shut up, I’m thinking of a good strategy while he talks!”

“After White Rabbit goes the Cat, our investigation member. He’s our eyes and ears out there. And last but definitely not least me! I’m the Brooklyn Boss! Cleaned out Brooklyn when I was a hero, got it almost decent! I’m the leader and strategy maker!”

“Wait, you were a hero?”

“We all were, until we got… unemployed, suspended.”

“So this is vengeance I guess?”

“No, not vengeance. Sorry, guys, but to explain what’s happening, I’m going to have to make one of those boring villain monologues. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. You see, people think they don’t need superheroes! They think cops are enough! Well, no cop stopped three drug lords, three criminal organizations, in only a week! They make our jobs illegal, crime goes up 1,200%, and they’re too proud to say they fucked up! What could I do about it? Easy! Make them need superheroes. We are people willing to sacrifice ourselves to open their eyes! So, we make the Army useless, we make the Navy useless, the national guard was already useless, we make missiles useless! We leave them with what? Superheroes. Tell me can you communicate with your superiors?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Tell them we gave up.”

“Do you give up?”

“Of course! They sent you! Which means they acknowledge they need superheroes! Mission accomplished! All I ask for is that you don’t tell them now why we surrendered.”

“Why?”

“Because that would be useless. If they know that, they won’t ever trust any superheroes and our deaths will be in vane!”

“They are informed of your surrender and require you turn of the turrets.”

“Blackout!”

“Off, sir!”

“Very well. Are they coming?”

“They’re on their way!”

“Well, there’s a problem. You know too much.”

“You wouldn’t fight us. Your outnumbered!”

“No, not fight you! We’re going out White Rabbit’s way!”

………………………………………………………………………………......

“Carrier pigeon here, approaching target.”

“Roger carrier pigeon, how far off are you?”

“City hall is now visible about half a click away”

“Roger. Turrets given any problem?”

“None, Papa Bear. They seem to be off line.”

“Good”

“Uh, Papa Bear, is there an attack order on city hall?”

“None, Carrier Pigeon. Do not engage!”

“Papa Bear, someone already did! Town hall just exploded!”

(Fragment of the book “From good to evil: when mankind is no longer kind” Pg.36 paragraph 2) “It was not a surprise when the so called ‘superheroes’ turned their back on us. We rejected them; we hurt their egos. Therefore we were no longer friendly to them (from their perspective, at least). They put their lives at risk, and we point at them; as if they were monsters. We made them seem like the criminals they got out of the streets. We accused them of atrocities they had not yet committed. Yes, we deserved what we got. We deserved the Bigwell event. Pure and simple karma, if you ask me.”

(“History of mankind: What we didn’t noticed at the moment” Pg.184 paragraph 5) “Never could we think that a catastrophe such as the Bigwell Affair would affect so much the course of international governments. The ‘anti-hero’ law was now abolished, thanks to the 20 martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the common American. International policies regarding ‘superhuman’ was revised, […] but thanks to the heroes who are willing to risk their lives, the world is now a safer place!”

(The Vegas Carrier, Jonathan Stark “International Justice Day”) “We saw what we did. We judged! Every man, woman, and child has the potential to do evil. You don’t need superhuman abilities! Was Hitler superhuman? Was Stalin? No! They were regular men, just like I am. You can not hold a man responsible of the power he wields, only of HOW he wields that power. I sit in front of the Bigwell memorial, knowing we learned the truth on that fateful day. We saw the truth, and noticed change was not a luxury, but a responsibility! We all became better men and women; we all embrace the memory of those who fought and died for us!”