The gentle glow of the morning sun washed over towers of steel and glass. A foghorn sounded as the docks began to come alive with the new day. Ships with tall masts and rowdy crews gently drifted through the water, carrying their wares to and from the Manhattan port. The salty air swept over the wooden piers and ramshackle buildings along the docks. Hardened sailors went about their business, as well as two young men traversing the scene that morning.

One of the boys held a camera in his hand, with which he would capture the tranquil scene. He was a small, scrawny fellow with large inquisitive eyes and a wry grin on his face. He had light brown skin and close cropped black hair, but it was certainly his grin that was his most striking feature. It was small and crooked, but betrayed a sort of introspective awe for the world around him.

His companion was tall, with a muscular frame, fair skin, and a mop of blonde hair. This man's general demeanor was much rowdier and alive. From his gait to his smirk, every action seemed to be a resonating boom. Certainly there wasn't a stranger pair walking through the docks on that peaceful morning.

"Did you know France was having a problem with exploding frogs a few months ago," Ray Miller mused, snapping a picture of one of the sailors pausing for a cigarette.

"Didn't exactly hear about that, seems the US news had a bit more to worry about than France's exploding frogs," Jason Albright scoffed. He peered across the horizon at the water, impatiently waiting for his friend to take his pictures. "I thought we had come out here to get a few shots of mutant town, not this… harbor or whatever."

Ray continued to take shots of boats and sailors, silent, as if he was mulling over Jason's comment. "I have enough pictures of empty streets and scared people. You can only handle so much depression before you need to take something else in." Ray continued to snap pictures of the harbor around him, taking in the view and basking in its liveliness. "Aren't you going to ask why the frogs were exploding?"

Jason sighed; kicking at an empty beer can on the ground. It was obvious that he didn't share his friend's calmer demeanor. "I don't know… magic, mutants, or something? The world has been on its head lately. Mutants are all but gone, there was a superhero civil war, an alien invasion… I don't even know what type of world we're living in anymore and you want me to muse about why some French frogs were exploding?" At this point Jason just seemed irritated, giving another beer can a strong kick off the peer.

"And why does any of that bother you," Ray asked, as calmly as ever, his voice exhibiting the slightest hint of curiosity. "For you my pictures are just something to go with your article for the Banner. All this stuff in the news… it's all sensation. The dust is settling just like it always does when the Gods do battle."

Jason gave his friend a hard pat on the back, shaking his head slowly, as if surprised Ray couldn't see his point of view. "I care because when these "gods" do battle they affect my life and the people I love. These pictures aren't just for our crappy school newspaper, they're for the people. You may see empty streets and scared people, I see Mutant town as a symbol of a changing world. Some day people will wake up and realize it's time we do away with superheroes and go back to letting the good ol' boys in blue take care of us."

Ray paused, taking his eye away from the camera. He looked at Jason, member of the Empire State University Basketball team, a headlining reporter for the ESU Banner, and the son of a relatively wealthy family. Here was a guy who had the world handed to him on a silver platter and all he saw was sensation with the way the world was changing. The world was rocking and he was riding the tide.

"Do you really believe that? Superheroes can't be perfect, everything that's going on now… it's because we don't trust them. The superhero registration act, the mutant incident, heck maybe even the Skrull invasion… It sure was the reason Osborn ended up in charge for the while," Ray sighed, his brow knit with concern. "People are running around scared and we're paying the price for it."

"No offense Ray but you're an Engineer, you probably see the world as parts and pieces. People are more complicated than that, life is more complicated than that," Jason snapped. "You want to see scared people, just look at the superhero community. The Avengers, our so called "mightiest heroes" are all disassembled and spread out over a dozen different, fighting teams."

"That's not their fau-"

"No, I'm going to explain something. It's people like you and me, normal people, which rule the world. We want to get through all this nonsense, we have to stop putting these so called heroes on a pedestal and really show them as they are. They're not marvels… they're monsters that are tearing us apart as a country." He jabbed a finger in the direction of Ray's camera. "The pictures on that camera are proof of that; my article is proof of that."

Ray pursed his lips, letting his camera hang down his neck as he stared down the dock. Everything in that scene just seemed perfectly constructed, a collection of shapes, and machines, all with their own function and purpose. Sometimes the tranquility of a scene like this just made so much more sense than life.

"I know you idolize those guys in masks," Jason sighed, undeterred by Ray's silence. "I've seen those Spider-Man pictures you clip from the Bugle, the Avengers pictures… the Giant-Man pictures. The pictures are plastered all around our dorm room like they were damn models. Hell, you're the only person I know crazy enough to try and understand that whole Pym Particle nonsense. The thing of it is Ray, these are just people, and they're playing a dangerous game where innocents are going to get hurt."

For yet another moment Ray was silent, allowing his friend's words to sink in. "It was a bird," Ray finally spoke up. "It was injecting them with poison that was causing them to explode."

"What?"

"The French exploding frogs, it was a poisonous bird that was doing it. Go figure, sometimes weird situation have equally strange reasons behind them." With that comment Ray snapped a picture of Jason's reluctant smirk.

"You know, you are perhaps the strangest person I know," Jason sighed. The man shoved his hands into his pocket, going back to overlooking the water.

"I try my best," Ray retorted. He shot a quick glance down at his cell phone, noting the time. "My first class of the day is starting soon, I better run back to campus and change. Strangely it seems that most people don't enjoy the smell of salt and rotten fish," Ray quipped.

Jason took a whiff of the air and crinkled his nose with disapproval. "I can't imagine why."

Ray waved goodbye and began a light jog down the length of the dock. As he bounded through New York's busy streets his eyes were looking up. Above him was the air through which heroes flew, Spider-man swung, and battles over the fate of the cities inhabitants were fought. He uttered a few apologies as he bustled past people, clutching his camera to his chest and readjusting the bag on his back.

Ray shot another look down at his cell phone, groaning as he realized just how close he was cutting it to class time. He bounded through the bustling pathways, eventually making it to a subway stop. Leaping a few steps at a time he made his way down into the warm underground. With a flash of metro card he was soon standing on the train platform waiting for the next train to come.

As he stood on the platform he looked around, amused at the way the people around him were digging their faces deep into books and newspapers. All were so desperate to completely forget about the people around them and Ray was just fine with that. He understood the constant need and wants to disappear into a crowd and just allow himself to melt away into it. He had never been one for being the center of attention, in the city though it was easy to just lose yourself. To every other resident and guest of New York, he was just another face in the crowd.

Ray boarded the subway train and was soon on his way to the Empire State University Campus, in Queens. He took the time, sitting in the dimly lit train car to review the pictures he had taken. They were nothing special, but photography was a hobby of his that he had been more interested in ever since coming to University. Being a freshman Ray was just looking for ways to spend his time, ways to broaden his horizons. Photography, music, superheroes, these were just the things that helped him pass the time.

The ride passed by quickly, with minimal awkward contact with other people. Ray kept his eyes facing downwards as he shuffled odd the train and towards his next destination. Once out of the subway station again he made the brisk walk to the University campus. He took in the familiar sights as he made his way towards his dorm. Cyclists zoomed by and other students chatted loudly as they made their way through university streets. The University certainly did feel like a home away from home for the young photographer.

He walked into the old building that served as his residence hall. Ray offered a few shy salutations as he passed by familiar faces and up to his room. Unlocking his door he walked into a mess of a room. Both Jason and his clothes littered the floor and various pieces of furniture. Computer and other machine parts laid scattered around the desks, as well as a variety of books and photographs. Unfortunately Ray wasn't very organized to begin with and with Jason, his best friend since High School, their room had devolved into utter chaos.

The student placed his camera on his desk and began to rummage through his closet for fresh clothes to change into. As he freshened up he glanced at his wall of sticky notes, photographs, and newspaper articles. It was a wall exhibiting all of the things of the moment that interested Ray or otherwise caught his attention. They detailed both minute tasks for him to do, as well as news of global proportions. If anything the wall was a good metaphor for Ray's mind, a wild mess of news, ideas, and confusion.

One particular sticky note caught his attention, written in bright red sharpie against the yellow square of paper. DINNER WITH MOM TODAY, DON'T FORGET! Ray couldn't help but smile thinking about it. His Mother lived in the Forrest Hills community of Queens, it was for the most part a very pleasant community but due to economic hardship his mother was staying in a boarding house in a slightly seedier part of town. Ray figured that a nice home cooked meal with his mother would be a good end to the day.

Ray sat for a moment on his bed, swiping a picture off his desk. It was a photo from his High School graduation. There in the background he could see the large entrance of Midtown High School. There was his mother's and his own smiling face. Karen Miller's face was beaming here, her toothy grin exhibiting a sort type of exotic air. Her gaunt visage also showed the years of stress and worry that life had pounded into her.

Ray ran his finger over the photo with a small, sad smile on his face. His mother had always been a fighter, providing everything that he needed even after his Dad died when he was only four years old. She made sure that he never had to do without, and all throughout imprinted her strict moral sense into him. Now that he had flown the nest Ray felt he would have to start providing for her now. Sure, he had only been in college for about a month at that point but he felt a new sense of responsibility.

He placed the picture back on his desk and began the process of shoving his books into his bag, there was nothing like an early morning college algebra class to really get one excited for the day ahead. He tossed the bag on his back and grabbed the camera from his desk as he exited his room once again. He glanced at his phone for the third time that morning, confident that he had enough time until his class to simply relax a little and grab a bite to eat.

Strolling through the university campus Ray made a stop at one of the diners and began to snack on a muffin absentmindedly. He grabbed an old copy of the Banner off a table and began to leaf through the pages, Sure enough there were more than a few of his pictures featured on the pages, just as they would be tomorrow.

Most of the news was the same old drivel that came from most campus papers. There was an article on raising the cost of tuition, the scandal behind book prices, and all sorts of topics writers thought students would find interesting. One article in particular did manage to capture the young man's attention though. It was a small piece on the reformation of some super-villain team known as the Lethal Legion. From the sound of it in light of the current turmoil in the superhero community, three costumed kooks getting together to talk smack about the Avengers seemed to be small fries. All the same Ray read on, allowing the wonder of the world around him to keep him entertained.