City of Heroes
Birth of the Brotherhood
Disclaimer: If you hadn't been paying attention to every chapter before this.. seek help.
Author's Note: Now with the Brotherhood's foundations set I will begin these little mini-stories. Think of them like the sort you find in the backs of the comic books. Mostly these will just provide the substance for the story, showing more depth to the goings on in Paragon or even the Rogue Isles. These mini-issues will be the staging grounds for alot of things like major background stories for some of the more prominent arcs, new hero debuts or villian origins, or just something to be amused with.
Mini-Issue #1: The Yellow Blur
A few years back my uncle died. Sure he was more like a uncle-in-law and my mother didn't approve of him marrying her sister but it came as a serious blow to me.
Through the streets of Atlas Park there was a yellow blur. Most people didn't see it, as it passed all they felt was a strong breeze and chalked it up to the windy conditions that had been going about all week. The blur ran straight into a wall, but instead of crashing, it actually went up the wall without pause and continued down the other building to keep on progressing through the streets.
Although I only knew his name, I felt that I should have gotten to know the man better. So, I did some digging around in my deceased aunt's belongings and found a diary. When I got halfway through I nearly had a heart attack, my uncle had been a super hero!
A group of thugs were cornering a young woman who was clutching her purse to her. For all the good it did the action merely encouraged the men as one decided to comment. "Well boys look what we have here.. got something in that purse besides ya boyfriend's class ring? Maybe she has something for us eh?" The others all laughed while the woman tried to press herself against the wall more, eyes filled with fear. Had the Surviving Eight not been captured this woman may have not been rescued, but now the lesser heroes were being forced to step up. Without Statesman or his allies there was no longer a reason to leave every major crime upon the shoulders of one man. Despite all the good the godlike hero had done, it only made the other heroes weak as they had him as a man with a imagined crippled leg had a crutch.
He wasn't very famous, but he had been one of the fastest men in the world before World War II. So enthralled was I with this knowledge that I found out everything I could and then tracked down the someone that could recreate the experiment. It was a sucess, but also a failure. Though the experiment gave me the same powers of my uncle it also set my destiny in stone. For like him, if I continually use my powers they will kill me one day.
The man that had spoke was suddenly sent flying, broken teeth and blood trailing behind him from a punch that was so fast it couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Before any of the remaining four men could act similiar things happened to them. A kick that knocked the breath out of one, an elbow to another's jaw, or a series of rapid fire punches that completely incapacitated the largest of the group. The remaining two were the only ones that clearly saw what was doing this. For a brief moment the blur stopped, and a man in a full body dark yellow spandex costume was seen encouraging the woman to run for help. He turned to look at the thugs, eyes narrow with his entire head, save for his brown eyes covered by a mask that had lightning bolt designs on either side where an ear would be. He also wore gloves and boots that were a slightly lighter shade of yellow.
Then all in an instant he was gone again, sending a hard punch and then a knee into the remaining crooks, knocking them out and then off he went at a speed that soon broke the sound barrier.
I don't really know how stupid of a mistake I made to involve myself with the company that made this all possible. However, until my foolishness catches up with me, I'll make my uncle Cyrus Thompson proud and continue the legacy that he helped build as one of the first black super heroes. I may fail, but then again what is humanity without it's uncertain destiny? So, until either a villian or my own powers catch up to me I will go on as the new Breakneck.