Powerhouse: Legend of the Archwave

Chapter 16 (Act II): Meeting With The Monarch

We last read Chapter 15, in which Spraywatch vandals Valentina Valdez and her best friend Tyrone Hoover show both James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse and his companion Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave a massive mural—spanning the entire right wall of the Spraywatch Hub's right wall—which the Spraywatch vandals have spent the better part of thirty months painting. At the mural, Valentina and Tyrone inform Powerhouse and Archwave of the Spraywatch gang's past and current plight; specifically, that they were all either teenagers or young adults that were abandoned by their own families—and now chased down by local law enforcement—simply because their methods of artistic expression differ from a lot of other artists. They want to make art and share it with people.....but because their dreams and visions are bigger than traditional papers or canvases, they end up finding themselves resorting to the sides of buildings instead, which have put them at odds with the rest of the city of Seattle. Valentina laments that other artists get fame and accolades when they put their ideas on a canvas......while the Spraywatch gang gets thrown behind bars for trying to do the same with theirs. Powerhouse still initially thinks they're criminals and argues that by spray-painting the sides of buildings, they're forcing people to look at their art, but Valentina counters with the idea of billboards always making people look at advertisements for sometimes unwanted products. She continues to insist that the Spraywatch gang are oppressed artists—not criminals—and her best friend Tyrone adds that Valentina was hoping that Powerhouse, being a well-known Paragon—would put in a good word for the Spraywatch gang with the city's government and begin paving the way for change using his platform.

At that moment, the archer woman Archwave comes up with an idea, stating that when Powerhouse arranges a meeting with the mayor, he will try to convince the mayor to open up the abandoned parts of Seattle for the Spraywatch gang's use, so they can express themselves on the sides of the abandoned buildings without bothering the local populace. Tyrone, Valentina, and Powerhouse all then complete the plan by realizing that when enough paintings are up, the "abandoned" portion could be opened back up.....and then turned into a tourist attraction to increase commerce; additionally, no one would be "forced" to look at the gang's art any longer, with only paying customers able to view the site for themselves.

Now with a plan to create peace between the Spraywatch gang and the citizens of Seattle, Archwave, Powerhouse, Valentina, and Tyrone perform a brief rallying cry, with Valentina in particular becoming quite emotional after realizing that her plan to use Powerhouse to broker peace actually worked. Then, upon being notified that the Spraywatch gang's leader is arriving at the Spraywatch Hub, Valentina invites both Powerhouse and Archwave to stay for his arrival, saying that he will love the good news—regarding the new plan for peace—and that he will want to meet the two heroes who had a hand in its creation. Together, Valentina, Tyrone, Powerhouse, and Archwave return to the entrance of the Spraywatch Hub's outer courtyard and witness a long black limousine pull up near the sidewalk just outside. The chapter ended with the right back passenger side door opening up.....and the leader of the Spraywatch gang—Monarch McIntosh—stepping out of it, greeting Valentina while making his exit.

This time, Monarch McIntosh sits down with Valentina, Tyrone, Powerhouse, and Archwave in the indoor portion of the Spraywatch Hub to discuss the peace plan further, but the two superheroes end up running into a bit of trouble from a familiar third faction on their way back to the Markovsky Residence.....

***********************************************************************************************

Monarch McIntosh, the leader of the Spraywatch gang, bowed courteously to both James Markovsky a.k.a. Powerhouse and his companion Isabela Acosta a.k.a. Archwave upon being introduced to them.

"So.....Valentina tells me you'll be trying to get us out of the Hub and into the outside world for good?" he clarified. "Without worrying about being pinned down by the badge?"