Lady Iris

Hope? ~ 16

I was lounging on a pool chair on my penthouse. Surrounding me was loads of boxes of outdoor furniture to be opened up. On top of one box was a small TV I had quickly set up.

The sun was once again setting, casting it's orange glow on everything. I was still in my costume since I was too lazy to take it off, and besides, it was pretty comfortable.

The penthouse came free with joining Nova. The rent for Magna City... much worse than New York. We would've for sure declined the offer to join Nova if they didn't pay for the rent, we just didn't have to money for it. And now I have the best apartment in the building.

The only reason why I joined Nova was for Davyn. Otherwise I would've been quite content staying at home in my small town. I had no desire to be a hero, at least not this young.

The TV finally zipped on, after an hour of working on plugging things in without my moms help. It was a miracle I even got it on. I got up to change the channel, and I raised the volume then sat back down. On it was "Magna City News"

Well today has been good so far, let's hope it continues like that.

On it was a blonde news reporter woman, and the headline was Eclipse.

Not a more perfect time to get on the news.

I had a sinking feeling though that he was on the news all the time.

Behind her were drawings of Eclipse, but none of them seemed to get the features right, he seemed to be masked in shadow. You didn't get any clue what he looked like at all, other than that he wore an outfit that looked mostly black, but then half of the outfit seemed to fade off the page. It was messing with my mind.

"Now we'll start our daily recap of Eclipse and the Equinox clan, so everyone is aware of the threat that is out there, and how to stay safe from it."

The woman then pressed a button, and a recorded video of another woman-Zaya Clear- showed up. I lazily took my mask off and swung it around my finger. Nobody was going to see me up here.

"Eclipse and the Equinox Clan. No  pictures exist of Eclipse, whenever he is public he freezes every camera for thousands and thousands of miles
The only ones who have seen Eclipse are his followers... and the dead. And the ones he deems keepable for his 'inevitable' future."

The introduction already sounded ominous.

"Equinox is a worldwide group- whose goal is, like a typical science- fiction book, world domination. Their goal, however, is to join up all countries together under one ruler- Eclipse himself. Equinox is to be Eclipse's superenhanced police squad. He believes under him and his enhanced 'Moonwarriors', he could ensure world peace. Yet communism was made to create world peace, but it only created more war, didn't it?

Eclipses powers is a reflection of those symbolically of the moon. Nobody knows how he gained those powers, however, or how he is superenhancing his Moonwarriors. He has power over fire and ice, and can withstand temperatures on both sides of the spectrum. He also has increased weightlessness- which, used with fire blasts, results in flying at extremely fast speeds. He is almost unstoppable, especially when he is with Equinox. "

A girl was then seen sitting with Zaya.

"So, how, and why, is it worldwide?" The girl asked.

"Eclipse travels all around the world on a campaign to gain members. He travels to about every city he could get to, and he especially goes to the rural cities. Equinox offers protection, security and safety if you join them, which looks very promising to the poor, so they wonder, 'why not?' Another reason to join is because they blatantly believe in it. Some join to gain enhancement, as that is the only known way how. It isn't only the poor joining, there is also loads of the very rich joining, who are supporting the group with money, though they already have money from their famous 'large bank break-ins.' They never bother with the small easy ones. Some people believe that they don't really need the money, it's just a show of power. Absurdly, teenage girls also join, hoping to get to be with 'the man of their dreams,' as quoted from a captured Moonwarrior."

"Why is he focusing mostly on Magna City?" The girl asked.

"He believes Magna City will be the toughest to take: the last showdown. The city with the newly recruited warriors of Nova that will be tougher to take down than the mundane police of other cities, if they were to take it by force. He wishes to stop the war before it begins. He wants to defeat us when we're weakest."

The girl hesitated for a second, and then put the card with her questions down. She was trying to hide it but it was definitely there: Fear.

"Can we stop him? Is is possible?" The girl asked. Zaya also hesitated for a second.

"Don't be pessimistic about it. Every great foe can be defeated if we try hard enough."

Zaya looked very sure, but I could tell deep down she wasn't sure at all. The girl looked as if her worry wasn't alleviated at all, and I guess that was how everyone in Magna City was feeling.

That's why everyone was so nervous. Moving fast. Not looking into anyone else's eyes. They were scared.

Fear took over this city even before Eclipse could.

The next questions the seemed fade away from me. I was deep in thought.

"I didn't realize..." I whispered, panicked. "I didn't realize how big this was. He's... he's the real deal. All of this is riding on our backs... Four people against billions of followers and one powerful villain."

I feel just as pessimistic as everyone else now. How am I supposed to-

I paused. Wait a minute, the noise didn't fade because I was deep in thought... It sounded muffled....

Frozen

"Villain? I wouldn't call myself that."

I didn't need to turn. I knew who it was. I could feel the powerful aura... how could I not feel it earlier? My blood was frozen, and it wasn't because of him.

And this is where my day takes a sharp downward plummet.

I turned.

It was Eclipse.