"Then, for the first choice!" I said. "Who wants to go first?"
None raised their hands. Sadness.
"Then I shall pick for you!" I said. "Let's see." As though my hand had a mind of its own, I began to wave it around, pointing toward each of the three in succession. "It's you!" I picked on the first guy.
"For the first round—" I clicked the remote "—is worth $300. The choice is—drum roll, please—would you rather have a cat or a dog?"
Lord Aqua seemed confused. He said nothing, tilting his head at me as though I was insane. I was not, thank you very much.
"Is this—not going to be like Jeopardy?" he asked.
"Nope," I replied.
"Cat?" he said, his tone rising at the end.
"Sure!" I said, clapping my hands. "You have now won a cat and $300. Practically free money, don't you think? Aren't I so generous?"
No one clapped. However, I saw Lord Aqua look down at his phone, watching as a payment came into his bank account.
"I-is this real?" he said. "Not a trick. Why would you do this?"
"Because it's fun!" I said. Only half the answer, but what did it matter to him? He didn't seem satisfied, but his turn had passed.
"Everblood! Your turn. The next prize—$300 again. The choice is: alcohol or water?"
"Alcohol?" he said.
"Nice! You guys got the hang of it." Again, Everblood stared down at his bank account and saw $300 entered.
"Ms. Lily. $300. A Nokia 300 or a new Banana 13 Pro?"
"Nokia," Ms. Lily said flippantly. But I watched as her eyes crawl down to the numbers on her screen, widening as they saw it rise.
This was it. This was the greed, the corruption that these supers had. Hiding their true nature, their equality with all regulars, behind their powers.
"Next up! Lord Aqua, again, it's your turn. For $1000—Oh wait. You guys didn't think it was going to be easy, did you? If I asked you questions on your turn, it wouldn't be any fun? Isn't that what life is? Money and fun? This is a competition! So you guys are going to compete."
I swept my hands toward the three of them, pointing at them one by one.
"When I say a number, and then a choice, whoever presses the button first and yells out their answer gets the money. Simple, so simple, even you could do it. Come, let's do a test. For $1000! Will you—save this innocent person?" I pressed my remote. On the second screen, a regular stood tied up beside explosives. Familiar sight, much? Whatever. "Or will you throw away this piece of trash?"
The three looked at each other, confused and unable to speak as they watched the struggling video. This was part of my plan. Desensitization to their choices, drawing on their greed, until eventually—they would even sell themselves to earn more.
"S-save the innocent!" Everblood yelled out pitifully, pressing the button.
"Wonderful!" I clapped my hands. "You saved the innocent!" In the video, the regular was freed from his bonds. His head swiveling around, the man soon ran out of the screen.
All three supers seemed relieved. As though they really cared. Everblood was staring at his phone, looking at the number rise. Despite their best attempts, I could see Lord Aqua and Ms. Lily glancing over at his numb expression. Perfect.
"For 1000 dollars again!" I cried, growing ever more excited. "Will you give this homeless regular a good meal? Or will you burn down this house?" The screen split into two, showing the depressed and downcast man on a street, as well as a picturesque suburban house.
"Homeless!" Ms. Lily cried after a moment of hesitation, looking at Lord Aqua and Everblood.
"Bingo!" I said. The ball was really rolling now. Ms. Lily's eyes gleamed as she saw her bank account rise, and she whipped up, hand unconsciously ready over the button. On the screen, a hot and ready meal appeared floating on a parachute before the homeless man.
"For $5000, $5000—" I glanced over at the three supers. They were tense, waiting for my voice to fall. "Give this old lady a hand crossing the street—or rescue this puppy from this shelter?"
While Ms. Lily hesitated, her hand shaking over the button, Everblood took advantage.
"Puppy!" he said.
The money rolled in. On the screen, the puppy was released.
"Now, rapid fire," I said. "For $100,000, these next choices. Come on, get some energy in here, ladies!" Even Lord Aqua, who had remained impassive during the last questions, began to react.
"Let's go!" I yelled. "Save books or people!" The screen flashed.
"People," Everblood yelled, with Ms. Lily's overlapping voice following just behind.
"This trapped hiker or a cat from a tree?"
"Hiker," Lord Aqua said. He was finally participating.
The money was rolling, flooding in, and I could see their lights glowing. Desperation growing as they attempted to listen closer.
"Burn river or forest?"
"River!"
"Gold or diamonds?"
"Diamonds!"
"Sea or sky?"
"Sky!"
Numbers flashed, the screen flashed, everything whipped before the numbers rolling into their bank accounts. It was time for the final blow. I was dancing with joy, staring at them.
"Kill this guy or that guy?"
"That guy!" yelled Lord Aqua.
"This guy!" yelled Everblood.
Although Ms. Lily hesitated, her voice followed. "That guy!"
I stopped, raising my hand. I pointed to the screen. On the fa—totally real video, that guy was thrown off a bridge.
Rather than horrified gasps, the three supers focused on me again, staring at my lips as though I would speak.
"Look at you guys," I said. "Do you understand what you have done? What choices you have made. Think, please, think, will you?"
The images on the screen and the question finally seemed to gain recognition from the three. They stared once at the numbers on their phone, then the still image on the screen that showed the man. Ms. Lily dropped her phone, and the metallic sound echoed around the studio.
I turned toward the three secret cameras that had been set up within the room, recording the show as though it were a real competition. But of course this wasn't real. None of it was real.
"You see folks! This is the true face of the supers. These greedy supers who will sell anything for their own souls."
The three supers were in shock, watching the screen as it flipped toward the livestream of themselves. Comments were flowing on the bottom, right hand side.
Crazy. What the heck
Lol
First
Shut up
Is that Everblood?
Does anybody know what's going on? Is this real?
Nah :) :) :)
Comments flowed throughout the whole page, rushing. There were around 80,000 people watching. Good enough for my purposes.
"These supers just killed an innocent regular. Don't you see? They are so blinded by their greed that they didn't even realize the choices they were making."
Lord Aqua, Everblood, and Ms. Lily stared, horrified. All three were attempting to push out of their bindings.
"You psycho!" Everblood yelled. "I knew this was fake."
"I'm not a psycho," I replied. "I'm just—the Hanged Man."
Mic drop.
Anyway, I returned to the livestream.
"And do you know what these supers have done! Let me remind you. Lord Aqua—abduction and slavery of animals. Everblood—murder and stealing blood. Ms. Lily—allowing illegal activities, siphoning funds, and stealing people's hard-earned cash!"
"Everybody," I said. "Everyone who is in New London! Come to District 5. I will have a little show for you."
With those words, I clapped my hands. The livestream cut off, the stream of messages disappearing with the screen.
"What have you done?" Lord Aqua said. "You have ruined us."
I stared at them, unblinking. Did he really just say that to me?
"Nah," I said. "You did."
Soon, I pushed away the wooden studio walls. Collapsing in a fit of dust, the wood fell, revealing a large, empty warehouse. Walking over to the three supers, I used the one thing that could solve all problems in the world: duct tape. Taping their mouths shut, one by one, I loaded all three into the van I had prepared earlier.
I jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Enjoy the ride!" I said to the three, who remained trussed up like turkeys in the back.
I pressed the pedal, bursting through the metal sheet doors, and out onto the street.
It was midday, with the sun rising across the city and shining off distinct glass skyscrapers. Cars were few, and I rushed through the street, people and metal poles mere speed bumps in my way.
Soon, I arrived at a small square in District 5. A pavilion before a set of old, marble buildings that had remained before the Nights of Disaster. Old, towering columns spiraled above white, before a small fountain. There were only a few people walking around as pigeons rustled among large crowds.
Here I stopped the van. Going to the back, I popped open the doors before throwing the three supers into the street. Everblood's body slammed down on stone with a heavy thud. He was heavier than I expected.
Ms. Lily attempted to speak, but the duct tape stopped her.
"What?" I asked. "I didn't quite hear you."
She said something again, muffled. But I didn't respond. Instead, I jumped back into the van and sped off.
After relieving myself of the van, abandoning it in a random parking lot, I returned to the pavilion. I know, I shouldn't return to the scene of the crime—but how could I miss this?
By the time I reached the square, a crowd had already gathered near the three supers. Through the gaps in the crowd, I could see Lord Aqua desperately motioning toward his duct tape, while Everblood was like a worm, attempting to squirm away from the square, but failing miserably.
Soon a chopper appeared over the horizon, its blade thundering. I could see it was a news helicopter. Perfect.
I watched in fascination and satisfaction as the regulars began to beat the living heck out of the supers.
It started with a man, a regular-looking guy, who seemed to have a vendetta against Everblood. He ran into the super, fist flying, beating the poor, deserving man. Soon, the crowd joined. As people began to walk toward the street, fists and kicks flew. Curses rang out in the air, as rage joined in.
Most would have seen my livestream. I was using their rage against them. They had truly seen, seen everything.
I was in the shadow, within my trenchcoat, leaning against the nook of the building, when I saw the first UHA officers come. The crowd, which had become almost a riot, was throwing the beaten and bruised supers up into the air as though they were in a circus. Concert? I don't remember.
"Stop!" I heard a female voice cry. A captain, it seemed, by the gold marking on her uniform.
Light filled her palms. A super. I was curious, truly, and I used my power. It only hurt a bit, but I saw her name: Firefly. I had heard the name somewhere.
I was tiring of this, watching as the supers were beaten within an inch of their lives. Officers rushed in, more helicopters filling the air, as they attempted to stop the commotion. I saw Firefly weave a path through the crowd, using her light powers to drive a hole.
This was enough for now. Just enough, barely enough to satisfy me. But this would continue. This was not the end. I would make the world truly see—these supers.