Chapter 31: Antifa

"Everything looks from here so far, they're just chanting slogans." Tim said over the earpiece.

"Gotcha." Connor replied from where he was stood on the balcony of some fancy building on 5th street, watching the protests and counter protests below. He didn't understand why the people protesting against Superman looked as if they'd just emerged from their parents' basement after having pontificated about feminism for eight months and then raped a little boy. But well, he supposed that was their prerogative. The counter protestors who were in favour of Superman looked like they actually saw sunlight and he was inclined to side with them.

Wondering what the others in the team thought about this he asked. "So, are any of you with the pink haired lot?"

There was a snort of laughter as Cassie said. "Heaven's no. They're all insufferable. And most of the women there shame other women for wanting to do things that are traditionally feminine."

"Like what?" Connor asked genuinely intrigued.

"Like stay at home and raise the kids, or cook, or clean, or anything that makes them useful and not just robots." Cassie responded.

"So, I take it you're not a feminist then?" Tim asked.

Cassie snorted. "I am, but I'm not their kind of feminist."

"There are different types of feminist?" Connor asked intrigued, the memories in his head didn't show that. They only showed the type that screamed and yelled and blamed all their bad decisions on men.

"Yes, there are the type of feminists you see below who claim to be all for women having the right to decide what they want to do but are actually incredibly narrow in what they're willing to let women do, and then there are the type of feminists who just want women to do whatever they want and accept responsibility for their actions. No prizes for guessing which one I am." Cassie said and Connor could hear the smile in her voice.

As he was about to respond he heard something, it sounded like a scream and so he said. "Tim have you noticed anything change?"

"No… oh wait, shit. Someone's just thrown a smoke bomb." Tim said.

"Bomb?" Connor asked, images of Metropolis playing through his head. He jumped down from the balcony and landed smoothly on the ground below. His entrance had caused a stir, because some of the protestors were now looking at him and pointing.

"Fascist scum!" One of the green haired men said and spat at him. Connor looked at the man and thought to himself he doesn't look healthy, is he eating enough? More of the protestors were congregating around him now, chanting something or the other. A few of them called him a fascist as well.

"Are you okay?" He asked them. "You don't look like you're eating enough."

One of them gasped. "So, you're a racist and a fascist."

"What?!" Connor exclaimed.

"You're saying we don't eat enough just because we're coloured, you're being racist." The person said.

"I….I…that's not what I'm saying at all. And you're white as well." Connor replied.

"I identify as black." The person said.

Connor stared at the person and wasn't sure how to respond. Was the person being genuine, was this a joke? They were about as pale as Dick usually was on a good day. "I…."

The person turned to his friends and said. "See, the fascist doesn't have a response."

"I'm not a fascist." Connor replied.

The people around him laughed. "He's not a fascist he says whilst he wears the mark of a fascist."

Connor looked down at the S on his black shirt and said. "This sign means hope."

"HOPE?!" The leader of this group snarled. "It is the sign of a fascist." The person then threw something at Connor.

It hit him and Connor looked at it as it fell to the floor, it was a rock. "Why did you throw a rock at me?" He asked looking at the man.

Another rock got thrown at him and then another. They all bounced off of him but he was starting to get annoyed. Why weren't these people using their words to explain why they were angry? Why were they throwing things at him? they weren't children. He heard a scream off to the side and turned to see three of the green haired freaks beating up an old man. He pushed passed the crowd around him and pushed the three freaks off the old man.

He helped the old man up and asked. "Are you okay?"

"I am now, thank you." The man said, though he was bleeding quite badly. "Cassie, we need help here."

Cassie landed soon after that. "What do you need?"

"Take this man to the hospital." Connor ordered, Cassie nodded and took the man and took off.

Once Cassie was gone, Connor turned and saw that there were a whole group of these protestors looking at him. They all had rocks on them. "Listen, I don't know what you've been told, but I am only here to keep order. I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't listen to him." said one woman with pink hair. "He's a fascist and he's lying. Throw the rocks." The rocks got thrown and they bounced off of Connor, though he heard three passers by get hit and even though he managed to protect them from the worst parts of the assault, two of them including one little boy had cuts. He moved them inside and then turned to look at the protestors.

"You shouldn't have done that." He said. He moved quickly then, meaning to only disarm the protestors but because he could have sworn one of them had a gun, he had to break all of their arms. As he was about to move back he felt something hit him. He flew back and then looked up to see "M'gann?" He exclaimed. He'd not seen his friend for so long, he'd thought she was still abroad.

"Stopping you from committing a mistake evidently." The woman replied.

"They were hurting people." Connor said.

"They were scared, Connor. You're scaring them." M'gann said.

"They were hurting people." Connor replied.

"Stand down, Connor." M'gann said.

"I cannot, not whilst they're hurting people." Connor replied.

"Then I will fight you." M'gann said.

What followed next passed by in a blur for Connor. One moment he and M'gann were talking, the next they were fighting. Landing blows on one another at a speed too quick for the human eye to see. He felt her hit him across the face whilst he broke her leg. Still she continued to fight. On and on it went until he felt others joining in the fight. He knew he'd broken a few of the protestors bones, he regretted that but it needed to be done. And then as soon as it started the fight was over and M'gann was disappearing into the air.

The protestors were retreating as well, and there was noise. So much noise. It hurt his ears. Connor took to the air and fled back to Titans Tower. He didn't want to be around this anymore. He just wanted the noise to stop.