Heroes wear Capes

Chapter 5 - Who wants superpowers?

"Lightning gave me abs?"

~ Barry Allen (The Flash)

"So, did you hear about how White Knight saved April Watson from Black Knight again?" Xander asked, sitting across from his best friend in the coffee shop booth.

John nodded slightly, sipping his straight black coffee. "Yep, and I can't believe you're so excited about it."

Xander sighed in exasperation, "John, it's so cool! Like, she's only a couple of years older than us and she personally knows a superhero!"

"Yeah, but she went to Kingdom Hills," John argued. Any kid who went to Oakland automatically had a bias against the kids who went to Kingdom Hills. They were rich kids with tutors and pompous attitudes. Why wouldn't they hate them for having what they couldn't?

"That doesn't mean she's a horrible person. If she was horrible like most of those jerks, why would White Knight save her all the time?"

John chuckled. "There is not one person enrolled in that school who isn't a self-entitled asshole. White Knight probably went there too. I mean, haven't you noticed that he only saves people in that area? If White Knight ventured one step into Oakland he would get shanked, superpowers or not."

John did have a point.

"But he still saves people. Without our heroes, Kingdom City wouldn't have the lowest crime rate in the world." Xander countered.

"Which is due only to the fact that we have three heroes. If we only had one hero like a lot of cities do, we'd be on the bottom of the list, especially if we were stuck with one of the two hotshots who are too busy fighting a nemesis to fight real crime."

Xander smiled slyly. "So, this is really about the fact that you think Silver Streak is a better hero than White Knight or Wild Fire?"

John blushed, though it was hard to tell on his dark skin. "Shut up. I'm not wrong. She is better than them, you have to admit it."

Xander shrugged and took a sip of his cappuccino. "Yeah, but even if you think April Watson is as bad as all of those other Kingdom Hills High kids, you have to be happy she was saved."

"When has she ever not been saved?" John asked, narrowing his eyes. "It seems to me like she's never really in danger in the first place. There's no way Black Knight would ever actually kill her. If he was going to do it, he would've done it by now."

"For once I agree with your friend, Xander."

Trevor Rossi, the one person John probably hated the most in the world.

"See," John commented, "Even String Bean over here takes my side."

Xander gave Trevor an offended look. "I feel personally attacked right now that you would take his side on this issue."

Trevor sighed, "Yeah, keep up with the antics, it'll only help your case more, trust me."

Xander sighed and took a sip of his cappuccino with an exaggerated expression. He found it was the best way to deal with the tension in the room. Laughter always solved every problem, didn't it?

"So, what is Richie Rich doing here at this fine establishment anyways?" John asked Xander, never glancing once at the son of a billionaire.

Trevor sighed and turned to Xander like he couldn't possibly believe why John would hate him so much. "I just came in for a coffee and saw a friend, is that a crime?"