The Anthem Force Chronicles

"Not all of us can fly you know."

::I have no powers and not nearly enough training, but I'm doing this anyways. Being a super hero is amazing. Everyone should try it.:: Hawkeye:: 

  VOLUME l: SUPER

Superheroes really shouldn’t have to take the bus.

They should come in soaring across the skies, leaving a tailwind of clouds in their wake and rippling the ground upon impact. Or maybe screech onto the scene in their all black super-mobile, with chrome wheels and pop-out lasers on the top.  I'd even take the ability to teleport to the scene of the crime, not as flashy but much better then my current situation: stuck in the back of the Anthem Express, pressed behind a gum covered seat and trying not to internally freak out over the fact the Anthem City Bank was being robbed and traffic was currently at a standstill. 

 Usually Luke would pick me up but he had been across town at his cousin’s piano recital when the distress call came in and so far my attempt at finding my own means of transport wasn't going according to plan. Brian was going to have my head for taking so long. I sneeked a glance at my phone and cringed at the long list of missed calls and messages, all from our not so understanding leader. 

"Anthem Force Alert: robbery at Anthem CIty Bank. Sending over coordinates. Meet in ten minutes."

"You're late."

"Where are you?"

"It's getting serious Dante, we need to take action." 

"Last warning. Get here now." 

"Five minutes past the meeting point. We're going in without you. You better have a good excuse when all this other."

Yep, Brian's mad. I'm never going to hear the end of this when I get there... that is if I ever get there. Why isn't the bus moving? 

My phone buzz's again. 

"Dante, where are you??? Brian's freaking out."

It was Luke, only he would find the time to text during the actual mission. 

Stuck on the bus. Not all of us can fly you know.

I shoot Brian a "sorry" text as well. I doubt it'll help appease him at all but I can earn all the points I can get. I don't blame Brian for being mad. When you run a team of teenage superhereoes you have to uphold some sense of discipline. 

His signiture sense of strictness was only amplified on me. It's not just because I'm the youngest or the only girl, no it's because I'm the only member of the team without super powers. I live in a world where people can zoom around at the speed of light, shoot electricty from their palms, lift whole buildings over their heads. That's what a superhero should be, really, not someone like me. Someone... normal. 

Yet for some crazy reason, here I was. Rushing to go fight supervillains in a brightly colored costume hidden under my sweats and a mask in my back pocket. Despite all the odds, I'm a superhero. Or maybe just a hero. Costumed crusader? I'm not really sure about the terminology for us non-super superheroes. Regardless, I'm Anthem Girl. 

Correction: I'm Anthem Girl, girl wonder, superhero until Brian kicks me off for being twenty minutes late. I need to go and I need to go now. 

 First things first, time to change into my costume. I slid off my thick sweatpants to reveal black athletic shorts and high-top sneakers. After pulling my hair into a ponytail I pull on a teal athletic jacket from the knapsack I always carried with me. The final touch was a thin black mask to conceal my identity. My outfit wasn’t the typical ‘superhero’ garb. No tight unitard, no typical superheroine boots, and no cape. In fact, Ricky insisted on joking that I looked more like a jogger then a crime fighter, but hey, functionality, right? 

I put all my clothes away back into my bag and pulled on my signature tool belt, stock full of gadgets Brian had helped me make.

And just like that I've made the transformation from Dante Caslon, average civilian, to one of the city's famed heroes, no telephone booth required. 

Standing up I make my way to the front of the bus. It's almost empty, only a few passengers who perk up from their dazes when they see me. 

 “There’s Anthem Girl!” someone shouts.

Everyone on the bus stands up to crowd around me. Someone even takes a picture. Here in AnthemCity we are kind of like miniature celebrities; we have our own posters, action figures- the works. I think there are even a few ‘fan clubs’ created by the thousands of girls obsessed with the Anthem Force boys.

I give an awkward smile. I was never good at the whole ‘dealing with the public’ thing like the rest of my teammates.  Probably why I don’t have my own fan club…

Turning to the bus driver I speam with as much authority as I can muster. “This is my stop. I need out now.”

The driver’s mouth gapes open, as if he is about to protest.

“Well don’t just stand there man, don’t you know who she is? She’s Anthem Girl,” a random man shouts out.

“Yah, she needs to go save the day somewhere,” another woman adds. The bus driver looks around for a moment, muttering something about protocols, before finally opening the door.

“Um, thank you… citizens,” I said with a small salute before jumping down out of the bus, not even bothering with the steps.

. “Where did she even come from?” I hear some exclaim as I began to run down the street. All the cars are standing still; some began to honk as I ran by.

No one had noticed me. Why would they? I was just a normal teenage girl slouched down in the back of a bus. But now, now I'm a superhero, the super part more or less. 

Scanning the scene I find the nearest street sign. The bank is two blocks away and there is bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Looks like I'm going to have to run for it.

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