Chapter 1, The Beginning

I haven't written anything for a good long time. I like to think that I've matured as a person and as a writer since then. But, I leave that to the readers, if any such creatures exist any longer. I've heard rumors that these marvelous things still wander the information sea, seeking out interesting information for nutrition, but I have yet to catch one feeding. I have a good feeling, though, that this will be a great success.

I present: Line in the Sand

The Story

Chapter 1, The Beginning

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"Miracle City… a spicy cesspool that will soon be burned to the ground."

The outskirts of Miracle City; but not quite as far out as Calavera. The warehouse wasn't even as far out as the desert. So, it was actually a rather good place for a meeting. Now, perhaps warehouse is the wrong word for the location. True, it was once a warehouse. But over the course of the harsh years of villain wars and day to day deviance, this ruined storage facility for week old churros was converted to a secret meeting place for a gang of ruthless thugs who had, for a time, succeeded in cornering that particular market. They now monopolize their own portion of a gutter. And here, "monopolize" means "rot in." Despite the gang's misfortune, the meeting hall continues to be put to good use. At the head of the table sits the man who summoned each of his esteemed contemporaries, visible only by the poor ambient light supplied by dingy, flickering fluorescent tubes nearly fifteen feet away from him. Needless to say, he is hardly visible at all. But that was equivalently hardly important. What mattered was what he told them, which is exactly what he thought about upon arriving in Miracle City for the first time. They remained clustered, huddle near each other on the far side of the table. He could hear them mutter. He could here them plot. Their doubt, their distrust… it was perfect. Finally, one stood.

"How exactly are you gonna' do that, man?"

Silence again, only this time paired not with curious gazes into the darkness, but stares of demand, and smiles that mocked this newcomer's gall. Who was this gringo to come to them and tell them something they already knew, something that they had longed planned? He only smiled back; though his guests could not see, they could feel it. The intensity of his delight was staggering and disturbing, though none present would admit that. There was the sound of a chair sliding across the filth ridden floor, followed by two steps and the creak of someone leaning against an old table.

"It's easy. We light it on fire."

And now an awkward silence; that was not the answer that any of them were looking for. El Oso smiled, looking first to Voltura, and then to everyone else. Only glares met his eyes, and when he looked to Voltura again she shook her head and punched him in the arm.

"That's not even close to being a good enough response!"

"Yeah! What she said man! Ow…"

A slight chuckle filled the air, but no one was paying enough attention to pick up any malice from it. The man in the dark scratched at the grime covered table, peeling away at years of unclean. That, of course, did not compare to the blood stains under his finger nails. He'd need a nail file for that nonsense. Who would have thought that gang members bleed that much?

"I think, my friends, that you should invest a few points in humor. That was intended to be a joke, after all. How do you burn things down? With fire. But, if you really want my plan, I first need something from you. You do remember what that is, don't you? It was the first thing I said after my comment about the burning the city to the ground."

No one did, because they were too busy thinking up responses of either a witty or arrogant form. Unfortunately, El Oso was the first to respond, setting a pace of non sophistication. But it didn't matter. He didn't care about that. He just wanted to know if they were going to be with him, or if Miracle City would have to die the old fashion way. But after another awkward pause, the man in the dark sighed. It was sad that no one was paying any attention to what he said. That's sort of the reason why his brain worked this way. There was muttering from his end of the table now, combined with more scratching. One woman was brave enough to disturb him; she scuttled forth, weapon in hand, peering through her orange visor in the dim room.

"I think we would be more likely to help you if we knew who you were."

"Of course… where are my manners? Oh, right, dead in a ditch. Heh, jokes… no, thank you, Lady Gobbler, for asking that obvious and important question. But, as I can't have my presence, and therefore name, known to the local powers just yet, I'll tell you in cryptic forms, giving you more and more information as I gather my strength here. First, I'll say that if you pay any attention to international news, or even just your neighbor to the north, you'll recognize this."

Out of the darkness came an eight-pointed star. It bounced on the table once, twice, three times before Lady Gobbler reached out and caught it. Turning it about in once hand, she analyzed the compass star, a piece of etched bronze with a stylized W in the middle. Her daughter, Voltura, looked at the signet and scoffed.

"W? Oh my, beware the wrath of W!"

Laughter broke out, but not with great strength. Voltura was silenced by her elder, which also caught the attention of the small assembly of villains. Lady Gobbler turned the emblem over, turning the W into an M. She recognized it now, and looked up into the dark. Grandmammi Aves was stern in her speech.

"You will show some respect to our new friend…"

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Miracle City, Tuesday, 7:34 AM

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"Yeah, Manny!"

El Tigre, menace of Miracle City, as well as its brightest star, landed feet first on the pavement, smirking as the remains of some ridiculous monster fell to the ground. What remained of fierce cephalopod was quickly baking in the hot sun. Manny Rivera strutted away from the battle, garnering the adoration of local young ladies and small children as he left. Frida Suarez, never one to be misled by the grandeur of the superhero thing, only giggled as she ran to catch up with him. She nudged his shoulder.

"Keeps getting easier, huh?"

Manny only smiled. In a burst of green flames, he had cast off the trappings of his not-so-alter ego. He dusted off his jacket as he and his friend continued their walk to school, reveling in the ease of that victory. Frida was right; this was getting easy. Too easy. It was getting so that each win made his head get a little bigger; which only made Frida laugh more, as she enjoyed deflating his ego on a regular basis. She likely only got away with such teasing because she was his best friend and a girl. Or that he didn't mind being teased instead of swooned over. It made him feel human.

"Frida, easier doesn't describe it. Even if they made a new word to say how easy that was, it wouldn't be good enough."

Frida rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. I saw you take that hit. You know adult teeth don't grow back, right?"

He laughed and pushed her in play, knocking her off course enough to stumble a bit. Manny stopped and grabbed her shoulder, steadying Frida before this led to her falling down again. Once stable, she smiled and pushed him back, running ahead before karma could catch up with her.

"You're it, Manny!"

"Hey! Get back here! That's cheating!" Manny took off after her, though he was unable to cope with her head start.

"No, it's tag! And you're it!"

The teenaged pair continued their game down the street and into the high school court yard, where they weaved in and out of the crowd of the less personally blessed students. By now in their educations, all sense of life and creativity had been beaten from them, or at least smothered to the point of unrecognizing. A few of the teenagers weren't so unlucky… but most of them had some extra things on their plates to keep them going. Zoe Aves was one of them. She personally had two activities unrelated to school. Two activities that no one was aware of, as opposed to Manny Rivera, who had no problems with flaunting his power and privilege. Zoe Aves was often upset by that fact; she couldn't reveal herself, or fear persecution and abandonment. Plus, what would Manny think? That was certainly the core of her fears. Years of wanting him to herself had only made her family life worse. It wasn't long after El Tigre had used her for information mining that the Flock of Fury discovered its youngest member had not let go of her crush. It had developed since then. Even in public, seeing him made her physically weak.

"He won't want you if you don't talk to him you know…"

That voice made her crazy. The way he always ended his sentences on a low note, and how he dragged it out for "dramatic effect." Zoe hated having to hang out with him. But she admitted that it was better than nobody. And they shared certain mutual feelings towards the Rivera-Suarez pair. The specifics differed, but, you know.

"Diego, you're doing it again."

"What? Talking?"

"Yes. Stop it or I'll remove your tongue. And you know I will."

"…"

She smiled. He was actually being obedient now. It only took two years, and a few… unorthodox negotiation techniques… but now he was like a damn puppy. Perfect. Still, she had yet to really capitalize on her friendship with Diego Chipotle to actually accomplish her desired ends. But even now a glorious new plan was formulating, and it would culminate in—THE RINGING OF THE WARNING BELL.

"Ahhhh! I hate that thing! It always does that to me!"

"Come on, Zoe! We can't be late again!"

"Stop talking, dammit!"

Once inside the building, Chipotle Jr. had slowed down, and was no longer dragging Zoe along by the wrist. He thought back on what he had learned the night before, after meeting the mysterious M villain. He turned to his companion.

"So, my father says that guy was the real deal. We can win if we join with him. But I don't think I trust him. We don't even know who he is."

Zoe stared forward, bearing ill will to all in front of her. She liked how people scattered before a truly terrifying creature. It returned power to her, which was important as she had long been without power gained from self-esteem.

"Diego, I don't really care who he is. All I want to know is if he can help get me what I want."

Diego sighed and shook his head. "Why do you want him? I mean… I want Frida Suarez to myself, but. Don't we have a good thing going?"

"No. Now go to class."

Zoe pulled open the door to her class and slammed it shut behind her. Down but not out, Diego shrugged and ran off to his own room. Another day started and soon to be finished.