Annihilation Day by Alex Flynn

Author:Alex Flynn [Flynn, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Polis Books
Published: 2015-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE NEXT morning every channel was covering the story. The press conference had gone viral, a slow-motion car crash. Bit by bit, we got more details. The “villain” was a Misshape who had the ability to make small sparks with his fingers. He had a history of mental illness but never anything violent. He was, in fact, visiting his grandmother. Something had made him agitated, or he got in a fight, it wasn’t clear, but some residents got nervous and the police were called.

Speculation flew back and forth. Talking heads bloviated about the story, whether he was a threat, if The Red Ghost had overstepped his bounds. On WXBS, pundits, all in the pro-Hero camp, about the dangers of Misshapes—though they called them The Unregistered, as in people with powers that don’t have a Hero Card—and how this incident was clearly not Heroes going wild, but a reason to put greater controls on Misshapes.

The Police Commissioner and the mayor were on another channel telling people not to rush to conclusions and think of all The Red Ghost’s good work. The man who stood next to The Red Ghost at the event was defending him at his very own press conference, with a row of citizens behind him whose lives had been saved by the Hero. On another channel, a woman with a shock of red hair was demanding he be prosecuted for his crimes while a man with Botoxed cheeks told her that the old women should be arrested for assisting terrorists like her son.

But while the twenty-four hour news speculation had begun, there was no real movement on the story. It was just a case of Hero-said/she-said, with just enough information that every channel could devour it, minute by minute. I couldn’t tear myself away from the T.V. The case was unsettling, messy, and it seemed like it was a cover-up happening in real time. Johnny was outraged, and I was too. I wanted this Misshape’s name to be cleared. I didn’t think he was a murderer, a crazy guy keeping a nursing home hostage. I had a suspicion that it was really The Red Ghost who caused this mess.

The non-stop television coverage was stopped with an official report from the Bureau of Superhero Affairs. Every channel featured J4 behind a podium with the Bureau of Superhero Affairs logo. The Red Ghost stood next to him. J4 made an announcement that “the case has been looked at thoroughly, and there was no wrongdoing.” He continued, “While it is unfortunate that the man did not get the treatment he so needed, this is an indictment of our mental health system, and the need for more care in the community. Who know how many lives may have been lost if not for The Red Ghost’s heroics? As I said when I took office, Heroes are the protectors of our great nation. We need to allow them to do their jobs without the intervention of Bureaus like my own, or all of us are at risk.

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