Fans: A Tale Of The Sunstorm.

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Shadowmask
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Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:28 am

Fans: A Tale Of The Sunstorm.

Post by Shadowmask »

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Chester ran. He didn't run because of the U.S. government and Chicago law enforcement allied taskforce formed to track down and register sunstormers, which can be a good thing if you're willing to work with them but a bad thing if you are not willing to join and go underground and blatantly use your superpowers.

Chester broke the unspoken rule: don't get caught in public and catch Uncle Sam's attention.

No, he had been caught alright but not by the government though he privately wished he had.

No. It wasn't the government watchdogs. It was the opposite. It was the fans...and just not comic book fanboys but the sunbathers: those hero worshippers who took their devotion to their new idols to extremes.

Sometimes they staged crimes like committing small acts of arson, muggings and vandalism to draw out actual sunstormers. Often they support the newly endowed superpowered people but in truth many sunstormers like Chester who only wanted to live his life in peace, working as a truck driver, found them annoying and hypocritical like the media claiming to help out sunstormers but used them to get more ratings and popularity.

This bunch was more rabid than most sunbathers and Chester thought those who hate and prosecuted his kind were the worst threat.

Wrong.

Laughter rang across the area. The laughing chilled him to the bone. They were getting closer now.

He ran faster. He knew that at least one sunstormer in Chicago who was publicly known and sanctioned by the government: a bitchy street cop named Paladino. It was unlikely that he would find her in time or that she would even care if he did encounter her. But being in police protective custody was better than dealing with these nuts.

Chester cursed as he tripped on a empty soda can. He hit his head on the ground. Dazed and in pain he can only watch in horror as the group wearing masks gathered around his prone form.

Some had smartphones which recorded his fearful look, others carried cameras. Many looked up in the evening sky but seemed disappointed. Chester can only guess why: they wanted to see more sunstormers. He couldn't believe that these idiots expected that everyone with superpowers would even bother to use them if they were aware of it.

One sunbather, a young man and of the very few who went unmasked grinned. It was hideous. He began to talking to another with a large shoulder mounted camera or rather to the camera itself.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the 'net! We managed to track down and capture one of 'stormers. We will soon take a poll. But first things first. Show us your power. Come on, sunstormer. We paid you homage. No shame in hiding who you are."

Blood trickled down his cheeks from the gash on Chester's forehead. His head was throbbing and he was afraid.

"Call out for help! Maybe another sunstormer will show up and save the day!" One masked woman squealed with anticipatory delight.

"Yes, yes! Call for help! Help! Help! A man is being attacked! HELP HIM!!!" Came the cries and shrieks from the others. Chester knew as well as they did that no one will arrive.

Then they all laughed. It was not laughter of joy but something much darker.

Chester stopped being scared. He tried to stand, his fingertips growing into sharp claws...

The crowd oohed and ahhed at this. Then the grinning man looked at his own burner phone and shook his head in mock sadness as he pulled a gun from his jacket.

"The poll results are finally in: you die."

Still grinning, the man shot Chester four times at point blank range before the sunstormer can even move towards him.

The crowd sighed. They wanted more entrainment. One or two took out knives and cut off several of Chester's fingers which were still clawed even after his death.

"Trophies." One said eagerly. "This would fetch a good price on our online auctions website."

The smiling man idly watched those with cameras and recording devices still filming the grisly spectacle.

"All good?" He asked in a bored tone.

"Yeah. We've got a good live feed. 4500 likes so far."

"Don't worry, folks! The night is still young and we've id'ed other Sunstormers. So send us any information you have on any suspected sunstormer activity. Even those who have no abilities but you know are close to them is equally important. Send your comments to our forums."

With that, the broadcast was cut off and the group fled into the darkness.

"We received yet another e-mail request to get that supercop, Paladino and do nasty, kinky stuff to her before killing her live on our website."

The leader shook his head.

"Her turn will eventually come. The Feds are not stupid and are keeping close tabs on her. Still open a bidding. If the interest and price is high enough, we might do a pay for view."

The End.
Neo-Paladin
Posts: 3349
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2016 8:48 am

Re: Fans: A Tale Of The Sunstorm.

Post by Neo-Paladin »

The dark woman shook her head. He had been one of hers, but there was no sadness in her heart. He had decided to hide, to ignore her gentle prodding. She knew he was a coward. Not worthy of her attention. Still, in death he might be useful. Let the lawkeepers know what had happened. Let the press learn about it.
It would rile up some of the others for sure. And maybe next time these crazed children would come upon someone with the will and strength to end them. And thus lead to the next round of blame and hatred.
Nemesis smirked as she dissipated into the shadows. It was working even better than expected.
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