S5 - 8th Wonder
There was something else I wanted to write about, but it doesn't fit in with the Super Seven. People don't even know exactly what it is--mutant human, alien, natural force, sentient energy, an angel--but we call it 8th Wonder. Whatever it is, it seems to be helpful and a force for good.
There have been several sightings of it around the city. A glowing form of white light. Sometimes so bright that you can't look directly at it.
Two months ago, there was a fire in a huge apartment complex downtown. Most of the tenants evacuated the buildings and the firefighters helped people escape the flames. Someone saw an eight year-old boy standing two blocks away and asked him why he was outside in the middle of the night. He stared at the burning complex and said he had been in his bedroom a second ago and black smoke was filling his room. A firefighter asked the boy how he got out of the building. "I don't know," he said. "I saw the smoke and then all I saw was white. Then I was standing here."
Last week a group of teenagers was swimming in King's Lake when a tornado hit an electric tower nearby. The power lines snapped away from the tower and one of them landed in the lake. It happened so fast. Those teenagers in the lake should have been electrocuted but they ended up on the shore, safe. A reporter asked one of them how they had gotten out of the lake. The girl said she had no idea. She had heard the tornado touch down a couple miles away and then her vision "blanked."
I'm not sure why I'm telling you this now, but it goes along with the local superheroes. Even if we don't know exactly who or what 8th Wonder is.
There have been several sightings of it around the city. A glowing form of white light. Sometimes so bright that you can't look directly at it.
Two months ago, there was a fire in a huge apartment complex downtown. Most of the tenants evacuated the buildings and the firefighters helped people escape the flames. Someone saw an eight year-old boy standing two blocks away and asked him why he was outside in the middle of the night. He stared at the burning complex and said he had been in his bedroom a second ago and black smoke was filling his room. A firefighter asked the boy how he got out of the building. "I don't know," he said. "I saw the smoke and then all I saw was white. Then I was standing here."
Last week a group of teenagers was swimming in King's Lake when a tornado hit an electric tower nearby. The power lines snapped away from the tower and one of them landed in the lake. It happened so fast. Those teenagers in the lake should have been electrocuted but they ended up on the shore, safe. A reporter asked one of them how they had gotten out of the lake. The girl said she had no idea. She had heard the tornado touch down a couple miles away and then her vision "blanked."
I'm not sure why I'm telling you this now, but it goes along with the local superheroes. Even if we don't know exactly who or what 8th Wonder is.
S4 - Super Seven
The Super Seven is the main group of superheroes here in Primacity. They coordinate their activities and work together to bust major crime, but they all work independently too. It's not a strict organization. I'll make a list here to tell you about them briefly.
Pillar - Male. He has super strength and is more resistant to injury than the average human. Far from invincible, though.
Falcon - Male. Flight and super sharp senses. Pillar and Falcon are fraternal twins.
Sure Fire - Male. He's the oldest of the Super Seven. Basically a cowboy crime fighter. He has excellent aim with his pistol, a knife...anything really. But he treats shooting a gun as a last resort. There's some old news footage of him using a lasso. It's sort of campy these days so he rarely has the lasso with him anymore. He doesn't seem to have any superpowers, but there are theories that his aging process was somehow slowed. Watch news footage of him from 20 years ago and you'll see he looks mostly the same as he does today. Perpetually mid-forties.
Jet - Female. She moves really fast. Her costume is all white so when she shows up, all you can see is a white blur shooting down the street.
Agua - Male. He's the newest member of the Super Seven. (He replaced Midnight who retired about six months ago.) He can manipulate water, any water in the area--water vapor in the air, rain, sewer system, fire hydrants.
Fate - Female. She can see the future, the end-game of an event. She's also good with a bow and arrow. Seems to have a thing for old-fashioned weapons. I'm not entirely sure she's human.
Atom - Male. Super smart scientist and resident superhero doctor. He doesn't come out into the field that much.
Then there are casual members of the Super Seven. These are superheroes who live in Primacity but they might not be full-time heroes or their powers might be especially helpful to the Super Seven in specific cases.
Streak - I've already told you a little about him. Male. Telekinesis. Saves people more often than he busts crime.
KaBoom - Male. Explosives expert. The Super Seven call him in when they need to disarm a weapon.
Feedback - Female. Can manipulate sound.
There have been others, but these three have helped the Super Seven on multiple occasions.
I mentioned that Midnight retired. She was a skilled fighter and could take on guys twice her size with her bare hands. She retired because of her age, and I would think her body can only take so much. The stress from her training and damage from fights probably caught up with her.
Pillar - Male. He has super strength and is more resistant to injury than the average human. Far from invincible, though.
Falcon - Male. Flight and super sharp senses. Pillar and Falcon are fraternal twins.
Sure Fire - Male. He's the oldest of the Super Seven. Basically a cowboy crime fighter. He has excellent aim with his pistol, a knife...anything really. But he treats shooting a gun as a last resort. There's some old news footage of him using a lasso. It's sort of campy these days so he rarely has the lasso with him anymore. He doesn't seem to have any superpowers, but there are theories that his aging process was somehow slowed. Watch news footage of him from 20 years ago and you'll see he looks mostly the same as he does today. Perpetually mid-forties.
Jet - Female. She moves really fast. Her costume is all white so when she shows up, all you can see is a white blur shooting down the street.
Agua - Male. He's the newest member of the Super Seven. (He replaced Midnight who retired about six months ago.) He can manipulate water, any water in the area--water vapor in the air, rain, sewer system, fire hydrants.
Fate - Female. She can see the future, the end-game of an event. She's also good with a bow and arrow. Seems to have a thing for old-fashioned weapons. I'm not entirely sure she's human.
Atom - Male. Super smart scientist and resident superhero doctor. He doesn't come out into the field that much.
Then there are casual members of the Super Seven. These are superheroes who live in Primacity but they might not be full-time heroes or their powers might be especially helpful to the Super Seven in specific cases.
Streak - I've already told you a little about him. Male. Telekinesis. Saves people more often than he busts crime.
KaBoom - Male. Explosives expert. The Super Seven call him in when they need to disarm a weapon.
Feedback - Female. Can manipulate sound.
There have been others, but these three have helped the Super Seven on multiple occasions.
I mentioned that Midnight retired. She was a skilled fighter and could take on guys twice her size with her bare hands. She retired because of her age, and I would think her body can only take so much. The stress from her training and damage from fights probably caught up with her.
S3 - Confused
This morning I woke up on the floor of my living room. Naked. I can't remember what happened last night. I was here, in my apartment. It's not like I was out anywhere and something bad happened. I just don't know how I ended up on the floor without any clothes on.
There's something else. The window was open when I woke up, the big one above my desk. I don't know how that happened either. My apartment is on the seventh floor, so it's not a convenient entrance or exit.
Maybe I was sleep walking. I've never done that before, as far as I know. But that kind of thing can start randomly, right?
Anyway, I took a shower and got dressed for work. I just wanted to write down what happened before I left.
There's something else. The window was open when I woke up, the big one above my desk. I don't know how that happened either. My apartment is on the seventh floor, so it's not a convenient entrance or exit.
Maybe I was sleep walking. I've never done that before, as far as I know. But that kind of thing can start randomly, right?
Anyway, I took a shower and got dressed for work. I just wanted to write down what happened before I left.
S2 - The Saving Type
The thing that makes Streak different from most superheroes is that he isn't really in the crime-fighting business. He's more the saving type. Say there's a fire and people are trapped inside the building. He's there to get them out. The clichéd cat stuck in a tree? Streak shows up. When there's a car about to go off a bridge, Streak comes hovering in and guides the car to safety. That was his first big save, if we're in the business of ranking superhero activity. It was on the news and everything. About a year ago, Mr. Mayhem set bombs on the Liberty Bridge and of course they went off during rush hour. Streak contained the explosions and he saved two of the cars that were skidding off the bridge. Some of the Super Seven showed up to help. I think it was Sure Fire who captured Mr. Mayhem a few hours later.
Don't get me wrong, if there's major crime in the city and the Super Seven are tackling it, Streak will jump in to help. But he's not good at that on his own and in all honesty, it wouldn't be very exciting. That's how it is because his superpower is telekinesis. He can move things around with his mind all he wants, but I don't think he can fight well. I've seen him throw a decent punch on news footage, but that's it. I guess he could use his telekinesis to pick up guys and toss them around, but that's kind of lame isn't it?
In some ways, I think it's better if Streak sticks to saving people. Vigilantes get a bad reputation for "taking the law into their own hands" and not being accountable to anyone. At least no one will think Streak is irresponsible. He can keep a lower profile too, since he's not out on patrol every night or busting any crime rings on his own.
Don't get me wrong, if there's major crime in the city and the Super Seven are tackling it, Streak will jump in to help. But he's not good at that on his own and in all honesty, it wouldn't be very exciting. That's how it is because his superpower is telekinesis. He can move things around with his mind all he wants, but I don't think he can fight well. I've seen him throw a decent punch on news footage, but that's it. I guess he could use his telekinesis to pick up guys and toss them around, but that's kind of lame isn't it?
In some ways, I think it's better if Streak sticks to saving people. Vigilantes get a bad reputation for "taking the law into their own hands" and not being accountable to anyone. At least no one will think Streak is irresponsible. He can keep a lower profile too, since he's not out on patrol every night or busting any crime rings on his own.
S1 - The Girl Next Door
Last night was the first time I saw it, the first time I was sure. I had been hearing noises out on the balcony for a few weeks. Not my balcony--the one next door. And not every night. But last night I looked out the window and I saw dark blue material flutter out in the breeze before he pulled in his cape and shut his window. That's when I knew.
It sounds crazy, I know that, and maybe I watched too many cartoons as a child. Maybe it's just something I want to be true. But the thing is, it fits. He's a taxi driver, so he has an alibi for showing up anywhere in the city. He probably drives around tuned into a police radio. He can work odd hours--it doesn't matter. Very private personality. He doesn't quite have the All-American vibe that so many superheroes have, but they don't all have to be that way.
There it is: I live next door to a superhero. But I can't go ahead and tell him that, can I? I imagine the conversation going something like this:
Me: Oh hey, so I figured out who you are.
Him: Sorry, what?
Me: I figured out [meaningful look] who you are. The cape, coming and going throughout the night. I know you're the--
Him: [feigning confusion] I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.
Then he brushes past me and rushes off down the hall.
Actually, after I said hi I'd probably be distracted. I'd be thinking about what it feels like to fly over the city, the way he does.
It sounds crazy, I know that, and maybe I watched too many cartoons as a child. Maybe it's just something I want to be true. But the thing is, it fits. He's a taxi driver, so he has an alibi for showing up anywhere in the city. He probably drives around tuned into a police radio. He can work odd hours--it doesn't matter. Very private personality. He doesn't quite have the All-American vibe that so many superheroes have, but they don't all have to be that way.
There it is: I live next door to a superhero. But I can't go ahead and tell him that, can I? I imagine the conversation going something like this:
Me: Oh hey, so I figured out who you are.
Him: Sorry, what?
Me: I figured out [meaningful look] who you are. The cape, coming and going throughout the night. I know you're the--
Him: [feigning confusion] I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.
Then he brushes past me and rushes off down the hall.
Actually, after I said hi I'd probably be distracted. I'd be thinking about what it feels like to fly over the city, the way he does.
209 - What We Became
When we started, we worked together. They wanted it that way. Identical assignments. Start us at the same time, in the same way. They split us up years later, after they made us identical. I could do what you could do what I could do.
All that time together--would the separation matter? I still have my rhythm. I assume you still have yours. I don't see you anymore, but I wonder what'd we be if we were still together.
All that time together--would the separation matter? I still have my rhythm. I assume you still have yours. I don't see you anymore, but I wonder what'd we be if we were still together.
208
Some nights he hung his cape over a chair and went straight to bed. Sirens or alarms would wake him again soon.
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