Super Shorts

City of Angels

"Breaking news! Groundbreaking legislation has passed in the both House And Senate. Just three months after the devastating nuclear attack on the capital wiped out almost all members of both the House and Senate, as well as the entire Executive branch. With none of the usual picks for president one of the surviving Senators stepped up, and to much skepticism; has indeed united the country in a way never seen since Ronald Reagan."

The man crouching in front of the storefront filled with various sized flatscreens huffed. His wings tucked tightly under the long black trench-coat rustled and protested being caged.

"This groundbreaking, and indeed extremely controversial, bipartisan legislation that has passed unanimously clearly targets emerging member of what most are regarding as the next evolution of the human race. Mutants, Super humans, Epics. No matter what you may call them, if you know anyone exhibiting powers please call the Super Hotline set up so action for public protection can be swiftly taken."

With that statement he pressed his palm against the glass and opened his mouth in a ultrasonic shriek. The glass popped into a million brilliant shards, and the TVs all simultaneously went black. Shedding the coat, he stretched his wings wide, nearly knocking over a group of teenagers passing by. With a powerful swipe, he launched into the sky and sped through the bustling streets, bringing the attention of onlookers below. The wind rushed around him, blocking out the street noises and exclamations his passage brought. Every swipe of his cream colored wings brought him closer and closer, eventually sending him soaring above the glittering skyscrapers. He soon found himself gently gliding, with an occasional flap to maintain altitude, above the bustle below. A loud repetitious beating advanced toward him; so he did barrel roll to find a police helicopter descending on him fast enough to spook him into a dive.

"This is LAPD. Please clear the city airspace or we will be forced to make you land." In response to that he leveled off, flipped off the cops and took a sharp turn to the north. At this rate he should leave the chopper behind and make it to the sanctuary. He rolled up his wings and went into a full dive. The ground rushed up to meet him alarmingly fast. Letting out another "whoop" he unfurled his wings and glided down a quiet residential street. With a left, right, right, left he pulled up and glided to the ground with a running stop in front of what looked like a very abandoned, very rundown, condemned old apartment building.

Without hesitation, he walked up to the front door, which was boarded up and padlocked. He gripped the knob and turned. It swung smoothly through the barricades, which themselves flickered, then returned to normal once the door closed behind him. Once inside the building it looked far different than the facade it portrayed. A neatly decorated, and well kept foyer opened to a reveal a cathedral ceiling and a second floor with a balcony that left the foyer open in the center.

People of all kinds came and went, some floated, many had wings, and all had some sort of ability. Pushing through the moving sea of bodies, he strode down the main hallway and made a path straight for the elevators. Entering one he hit the up button and the doors closed after about three more Supers entered. He waited the trip in silence as the others conversed amongst themselves. They all exchanged nods in greeting. The elevator stopped and the three exited leaving him by himself when the doors closed. He reached over and hit the roof button.

The trip took no more than ten second and opened to a gorgeous view across half the city and the bay. There were at least twenty people already lounging with hammocks, on trees that grew up the side of the building, and all had wings. A few were leather and one scaled with a dragon tail, but they all looked up at him as he entered.

"What's the verdict?" A young man with brown hair and wings that matched with some black feathers mixed throughout. His blues eyes looked expectant. "Are we safe?"

"No." The man answered. "They've deemed us all dangerous, no matter how passive the ability."

"We should take the city then." A girl stood, brushing a fiery red lock of hair behind her ear. Her pupils were slit sideway like a lizard, and her deep burgundy wings like a bat made a wonderful accent. "With all the Supers we've rescued we have the numbers and the abilities. They'll never know what happened."

The man nodded to this. "That's actually an excellent idea. But we can't just conquer the city that would make us no better than them." He went silent with thought.

"What if we hypnotized the police and then the government?" someone lounging in an overhanging tree suggested.

"Excellent!" The man shouted. "Thank you! Where's the person who can do that?"

A boy in his mid teens dropped down, to the ground. "My name is Hypno." He wore a slightly oversized jean jacket, despite the temperature. "I have no where to go and nothing else to do. Plus my family disowned me after they discovered I had powers."

A murmur of approval and support rose briefly from the crowd. One of the dragon winged women spoke up. "What's the plan then?"

"That will take some thought and collaboration with everyone here. Everyone can play a part and help in any way." The man said excitedly. "We can make a safer city, for everyone."

"So we won't be taking over?" The brown winged boy asked.

"Of course we will." The man said. "But we'll do it the right way. No one needs to die."

"But how will we do that?" Another voice spoke out.

"Hypno here will convince them to hand over the reigns."

"I will?" Hypno said.

"Yes, now come with me. We have much to discuss." The man said to hypno, giving his wings a slight flap, he addressed the gathered Supers. "Tell any Supers you know to all meet at City hall two days from now."

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Two Days Later

The man with wings led Hypno up the steps to the Los Angeles City hall. People were starting to pour in from every street. They watched a crowd pool at the marble steps. Someone in the crowd lobbed what looked like a ball of sparks into the air, whereupon it exploded with a pop. Brilliant green sparkles hung briefly in the air before slowly winking out.

The air warped beside them, and before Hypno could react, a woman appeared in its place. "Glad you could join us on this momentous day, Gloria." She gave the man a nod and a small smile. "Let us make history, Hypno." They made their way up the marble stairs with the crowd on their heels. With a flap of the man's wings, a gust of wind blew the door open revealing three guard with hands on their weapons. "Hypno." He gestured at the guards as if offering them to him. He nodded and his pupils swirled into his iris, creating a mesmerizing pattern that the guards eyes responded to, mimicking his. Their entire persons relaxed and stood to the side, heads bowed in reverence.  "That's right. we mean you no harm." 

Sirens sounded in the distance but were swiftly silenced. As the three people lead the flood of Supers into the inner chamber, proceedings ground to halt. "What is the meaning of this intrusion!" The speaker rose from his lofty seat to get a better view of the commotion.

"Sir speaker." The winged man addressed the boisterous politician. "We mean you no harm, but if you choose to reject our demands, there will be dire consequences for those who oppose us. We only want to become a governing body of our own apart from this corrupt governance."

"For the less intelligent..." Gloria, who had thus far remained silent, spoke directly after him. "This city is ours now, and you can either get on board or get out." A nervous murmur rippled through the gathered politicians.

"That is not simply a demand. This is a coup and treason!" The speaker started to turn red in anger.  He was about to sputter something more, but Hypno beat him to the punch. The eyes of any politicians directly in Hypno's view swirled as he subdued them, extending his power to the rest of the members of the house. A cheer rose up from the gathered supers as the house members collectively stood and filed out of the room. "How would you like to make change for the better. Freedom for all, and all for the sake of freedom." The winged man offered Hypno his hand. "You can take his job and make this city a true utopia."

"What will you do?" Hypno took his hand, to the roar of a united crowd.

"I think my time here is done. It's time for me to find someone else in need." With a flurry of feathers he and Gloria vanished through a rift in the air.