Honestly, B.C. had the strangest superheroes. Sure, superheroes (and -villains) were pretty out there to begin with, concerning style and general iconography, but that company somehow managed to take the most ridiculous ideas an extra mile every single time. Javier commented on it as they joined the line for sleep masks and other goodies.

>>”Yeah but in the 1930’s, a bat was a bat. You’d be surprised how many were classified as vampire bats when there are tons of different varieties. The artists saw how big flying foxes are, biggest in the Chiroptera family, and decided they would model their vigilante after it. Ironic because, as you say, total fruit lover.”

Of course Booker would know that. He was a librarian. Javier was amused by the way Booker would drop random information like that, about bats, and superheroes, and whatever else came up in a conversation. He ha a very well rounded education - or rather, he read a lot on a lot of subjects - and a very good memory. Once again, Javier had to admit that he liked spending time with someone who always had something interesting to say (and was comfortable talking for the two of them).

>>”That’s actually why they retconned that fruit stand worker into the villain known as the Producer for Flying Fox to square off against in the 40’s. It’s all connected, I guess.”

"B.C. and its villains, huh" Javier chuckled, watching the cosplayer go by. Another well one costume, and a lot of dedication. Honestly, it was fascinating how stories featuring these objectively ridiculous characters could connect with so many people.

"FLYING FOX!"

Javier jumped a little at the loud shout, turning to see the source. He felt stupid right the next moment; they were at a con, of course people were going to shout heroes' names! Huffing, Javier spotted the figure of another classic, Above Average Man in the crowd. His eyebrows ran up. "Aren't they supposed to be friends?..."

Yeah, Booker had a lot useless facts rolling around in his head. Of course that was mainly because of his eidetic memory, both a blessing and a curse. It allowed him to recall, in perfect clarity, almost any memory, but that also meant that he could remember absolutely everything that ever happened to him. Not just the good memories but the really bad ones too. Still, there were times when Booker’s gift allowed him a chance to really impress someone and it seemed as if his skill were being put to good use now.

Javier. He liked hanging out with Javier. He was sweet, nice, and as much as the librarian were ashamed to admit it, not hard on the eyes. Of course that wasn’t why he was out with him today. He was out as a friend, nothing more, a friend who wanted to introduce another to the world of comic conventions and cosplay. And where else to display his brilliant ability to recall events and useless information about comic books. Javier was a smiling the whole time, setting the librarian’s blood pumping a little faster, causing a slight flush to appear on his cheeks. But thankfully there were enough distractions all around for the tailor to miss that little detail.

He hoped.

>>"B.C. and its villains, huh"

Booker chuckled and nodded. ”Yeah, they have some real doozies out there,” he laughed. ”They’re getting a bit better though, trying to open up the traditional characters and modernize them.” Really it was incredible what the industry was doing in metaphorical open their arms to an ever changing world. ”Honestly my favorites have been the introduction of The Night and Sun God, two of my favorite LGBTQ chara--”

>>"FLYING FOX!"

He jumped at the same time as Javier. Whipping back around, he looked over the crowd and then had to smirk. It was someone dressed as Above Average Man, the mary-sue strongman of the B.C. universe. Like most of the costumes here, it wasn’t a bad one but it certainly had some shortcomings but nothing that couldn’t be fixed for the next time around. Still, he needed to get his expressions down as he seemed a little too angry to be Above Average Man.

>>"Aren't they supposed to be friends?..."

”Acquaintences, really,” Booker said. ”Ole’ Above Aveg, tends to think the best of people while Flying Fox is always suspicious. That’s why a lot of people were upset with that movie that came out last year, that ‘Flying Fox v Above Average Man’? Fans did not like that characterization.” He blinked, watching as the superhero strongman advanced on the dark knight. ”Oh! I wonder if they’re going to act out a skit?” he guessed. ”That happens at cons a lot.”

The man dressed as Flying Fox turned to look at the other man yelling after him. More people in the area looked up from whatever they were doing with mixed surprise and anticipation. The random yell would not have been anything out of the ordinary, given how many times fans yelled after their favorites... but the way those two looked at each other across the hallway, it demanded some more attention. And not in a friendly way.

>>”Acquaintences, really. Ole’ Above Aveg, tends to think the best of people while Flying Fox is always suspicious. That’s why a lot of people were upset with that movie that came out last year, that ‘Flying Fox v Above Average Man’? Fans did not like that characterization.”

"Yeah, I heard it wasn't good." Javier nodded. He wasn't very much invested in the modern B.C. universe (or any universes, really, including the one that just recently opened up in New York), but even he stumbled across reviews and opinions on the Internet, and most of those concerning FFvAAM were... not good.

>>”Oh! I wonder if they’re going to act out a skit? That happens at cons a lot.”

Booker was distracted from the booth, and so was Javier. The two cosplayers moved towards each other in a standoff, glaring on both sides.

"You brought ruin to this city!" yelled Flying Fox in a raspy voice "Somebody has to stop you!"

"Um... do they usually... fight?" Javier ventured, looking between the two.

>>"Yeah, I heard it wasn't good."

Booker snorted. That was putting it lightly. Not that he was mocking Javier for knowing that bit of information, but it was true, a lot of the fan community were split on the flick. People had been waiting for what seemed like eons to see Above Average Man and the Flying Fox go at it, especially since events like that had happened in the comics who could tell how many times by now. The two heroes often had differing opinions, which almost always led to a destructive clash throughout whatever city they were in.

But the movie! Ugh! The movie was such a travesty. Rather than be inspired from so many of these award winning graphic novels, these the film producers picked apart the most boring aspects of them and slapped everything together in a barely coherent movie -- if it could even be called that anymore. The public destruction, the cheesy one-liners, and what was the hell was with that cameo / not-really-a-cameo of Amazing Amazon? She is such a great character in her own right and to just be tossed into a film like that already saturated with far too many misued characters, it was just too much!

Okay, he would have to rant about that later. Instead he just stood back and watched as the drama unfolded between both cosplayers. Above Average Man had shouted loud enough to draw near everyone’s attention. Flying Fox stood off to the side, stoic, waiting for the red and blue clad hero to advance. Really, the looks that they were giving each other were of complete distrust and hatred; such awesome acting.

>>"Um... do they usually... fight?"

Booker nodded. ”I mean...yeah. They are supposed to be symbolic of two sides of the same coin. So they tend to clash a lot. These cosplayers, though,” Booker tried to say with an easy smile. ”Sometimes they really know how to capture their characters.”

Then the first punch was thrown. Booker had to admit, it looked pretty realistic. Flying Fox moved expertly around it. He was about to comment on how great the choreography was, when Above Average Man took another swipe and his fist collided with the ground...causing the whole room to shake. Booker blinked in surprise, watching as everyone around him seemed rattled by the hit, little realizing that his adapted aura was nulling any mutant effects within ten feet. Still, one look at the ground and he could see where the cracks formed and spread around Above Average Man’s fist.

He blinked. ”Whoa! Holy ****...” he muttered. He shared a glance with Javier. Things certainly didn’t seem right anymore.

Javier was not adept at going to cons enough to know if these scenes played out often, or what the spectators were supposed to do as they stood by. He tried to be a polite audience, following Booker's more experienced lead.

>>”I mean...yeah. They are supposed to be symbolic of two sides of the same coin. So they tend to clash a lot. These cosplayers, though... Sometimes they really know how to capture their characters.”

Apparently the movie had been bad. Javier vaguely wondered if these two had been among those who wanted to rewrite it, or the minority that actually though it was awesome, and therefore wanted to make a show of their favorite thing (like so many others at any convention). The two of them came together in the middle of the hallway, and the first punch was thrown... some people even clapped for the choreography. But then... then Above Average Man made the whole hallway rattle. Javier's eyes widened as he saw people stumble and gasp, even though the shockwave did not seem to reach him and Booker.

>>”Whoa! Holy ****...”

"Okay, that's not..." Javier suddenly felt way out of his element "That was... not a special effect. Was it?"

Maybe it was. He hoped it was.

Flying Fox danced back, throwing back his cape to reveal some more of his reinforced armor. At the next hit, he vaulted over a vendor's table, and kicked it towards his opponent, merchandise flying everywhere.

"Hey, man! What the f***!" the vendor yelled, scampering out of the way.

Booker had to admit that now he was feeling just a little bit scared. Standing near the vendor, all attention seemed to be diverted to the clash that was getting ready to happen. Above Average Man and Flying Fox were squaring off. It wasn’t the first time that a couple of cosplayers broke out into the fight; sometimes it happened because of a misunderstanding, other times it was because people were just trying to act out their favorite action scenes from the movies. Needless to say, a few raised voices, even a punch or two, were not unknown things to see at a comic convention. What was, however, were real life powers running amok.

Taking a step back, Booker glanced to Javier who, at his side, seemed to notice that something was wrong too. The ground shook and everyone around them were obviously shaken. Booker, while a bit worried, didn’t feel the effects of Above Average Man’s powers, but he had noticed the ground cracking. That was definitely not part of the show and, if it was, it was too damn realistic.

Booker shared another nervous glance with Javier.

>>"Okay, that's not...That was... not a special effect. Was it?"

He shook his head. ”No. That...definitely wasn’t…”

Everything was quickly turning from bad to worse. Flying Fox was dancing around Above Average Man’s strikes, flaring his cape to reveal his far superior armor. Again, it all looked too realistic. What the hell was happening? Booker was too curious, watching everything too closely when Flying Fox performed an acrobatic feat by flipping onto the nearby table, scattering the items on it.

>>"Hey, man! What the f***!"

“Quiet!” Flying Fox growled. “I’m the hero you deserve!”

His hands moving fast and well-trained, Flying Fox pulled out a pair of fox-rangs and hurled them at Above Average Man’s feet, causing them to explode into a fine mist of green. But, through the mist, a pair of red eyes glowed.

Even before he felt the heat, Booker knew what was going to happen. He watched enough cartoon, movies, and read enough comics to know that if this cosplayer was actually Above Average Man, then he knew what that glow meant. Grabbing Javier by the hand, he moved, pulling him away from the vendor’s table, and shouted.

”GET DOWN!!!”

“ARRGGHH!!” Above Average Man shouted, released a beam of concentrated heat vision from his eyes that would have decimated anything in its path; said path was aimed directly at the vendor’s table where Flying Fox goaded him on with a brooding look.

It was definitely not a special effect.

Javier felt his pulse pick up and his stomach drop. How did he end up in a situation like this? His first reaction, as always, was to look around for the people in charge.

"They do have security here, right?..."

The commotion was circling out, down the hallway, as some people moved forward to watch the 'awesome' show, while others were busy trying to get out of the way. Some vendors tried to save their merchandise, while others protested loudly and called for security. Some people had their phones out and they were either taking videos, or making calls. Javier instinctively stepped closer to Booker.

"I'm the hero you deserve!"

There was green smoke now, and weapons being thrown. Javier watched in stunned silence as Above Average Man's eyes lit up.

>>”GET DOWN!!!”

Booker grabbed him, and yanked him out of the way. The laser beams bore into the floor. Flying Fox dodged, kicking the table over; the next moment, the table was cut clear in half by the beams, and caught on fire.

"We need to get out of here" Javier gasped as they watched. People were beginning to run now, although several were still watching and even cheering. Security appeared, running towards the scene, although there was definitely hesitation in their movements.

"Stop that right now! Stand down!"

"Stay out of this!" Flying Fox yelled back at them. There was a mechanical sound from his armor as he gave a kick at the half-table behind him, knocking it across the hallway at the security people. And some bystanders.

Javier shifted without thinking about it. That was the way it always worked. The only way it worked, actually, since overthinking was bad... as the piece of furniture flew at them, he stepped forward, bracing for impact. It was just a table. Half a table. He could easily handle th...

The table hit, and Javier went flying back, knocked into Booker behind him.

"SH*T!"

>>"They do have security here, right?..."

The question fell on deaf ears, but the answer was yes. There was always security at these things. For one, there were some underaged people, the crowd tended to be huge, and with as much sexual harassment that can happen at these things, there would be lawsuits up the wazoo if there weren’t enough security in force. But even though there were trained authority figures, they certainly didn’t have a clue what they were doing with all this.

The fight was both amazing and terrifying. Booker had initially been impressed by it all but seeing as the duo duking it out didn’t seem to care about whether or not innocent people were getting caught in the blast zone, he quickly changed his position.

Flying Fox took the table, goading Above Average Man on, hurling a what seemed to be a projectile that released a green mist. Booker knew everything that was going on but it made absolutely no sense! This was comic book logic! Even in a world full of mutants, how was any of this possible? But he didn’t ponder on this for longer. Seeing that flare of red eyes, and his extensive knowledge of Above Average Man’s abilities, Booker grabbed Javier by the hand and quickly pulled him away from the line of danger.

>>"We need to get out of here"

”I know it,” Booker breathed with barely audible sound. This was mayhem.

The eye beams burst forward, decimating everything from the floor to the table. Booker barely had time to get him and Javier out of the way when he whipped back around to see the security forces trying to get a handle on the situation; something Flying Fox didn’t seem to appreciate. After warning the guards to not butt in, the dark-clad “hero” flared his cape, revealing his highly impressive mechanical armor which he then used to kick the broken halves of the table across the showroom.

Booker barely saw it. He had turned, watching the security guards struggling to dive out of the way of the broken table. But hearing the clattering sounds of commotion draw closer, he turned back to face the Flying Fox, only to see Javier stepping forward, in the way of the flying table. He didn’t even have the time to warn him before the table painfully collided with Javier, knocking the man back into Booker’s body.

>>"SH*T!"

All the air was knocked out of him as the librarian fell into a heap on the ground, Javier splayed out across him. Booker winced, feeling the sensation of full grown man having been flung into him. His hand pressed to his chest, he struggled to catch his breath and ignore the pretty birds that took flight around his head. Sitting up, he reached for Javier, patting him on the cheek.

”Ugh...god...Javier? Javier! Are you okay?” he asked, trying to wake the other up. This wasn’t good.

Everything went black for a moment.

>>”Ugh...god...Javier? Javier! Are you okay?”

Javier opened his eyes and blinked. The perspective... was off. Was he... on the ground? He groaned, turning his head, trying to her his bearings. Above him, he could see Booker's face. He looked... scared.

Right. The fight.

"Ow." Javier sat up, dizzy from the impact, reacquainting himself with directions. He must have landed on Booker, because he did not feel any sharp pain from the fall... except on his arms, where he had braced to stop the flying table. Half-table.
Obvious that didn't work out.

"Dammit." Javier looked at his arms, where already bruises were forming. What a time for his useless powers to completely crap out. It was the smallest thing any mutant with enhanced strength could do, he had done a lot worse before... and yet, this time, he totally failed. And managed to fall on Booker in the process. "Dammit. Are you okay?..."

Flying Fox and Above Average Man were still going at it. People were yelling now, and the chaos was mounting every moment. Above Average got another missed hit, and his punch rattled the walls of the hallway. The security people were focusing on getting people away from the scene.

Booker could scarcely stand up. The feeling of Javier slamming into him had left him completely dazed and breathlessly. He barely managed to stand up but that was only because his fear reflexes were telling him that he had to. He had to move or both he and Javier were going to die. He did not want that to happen and, in order to change that, he needed to get off his sculpted ass and move. Dammit, Javier was smaller but he was still heavy against Booker’s body. So he sat up, reaching down to pat the other’s face. He had to be okay. Please be okay.

>>"Ow."

Thank the lord. A few pats on the face and Javier was beginning to stir. The librarian sighed as he leaned back, holding himself up by his palms. He took the second to revel in the relief but he couldn’t sit there forever. They needed to get moving again.

Javier finally sat up and looked completely confused. A glance down at his arms before he turned to see that Booker was alright. The librarian gave him a small smile, just enough to show that he was alive before his jade eyes turned back to the battle that was ensuing.

>>"Dammit….Dammit. Are you okay?..."

Booker nodded, returning his gaze to Javier. He seemed so disappointed about something but Booker couldn’t even guess what it was. He was alive, after standing in the way of a flying half-table. Wait...why was Javier doing that? Did he just get caught in the table’s trajectory? Booker could have sworn he told him to get down but maybe he just didn’t hear him. Yeah, he was sure that was it. Shaking the thought off, Booker nodded his head.

”Yeah. Alive and breathing,” he said. He got up, wincing as he placed his hand on his chest. That one had definitely hurt. Hands on his thighs, he bent over, catching his breath and offering a hand to help Javier stand up. ”You?”

The sounds of shouting struck his ears. He looked up, watching as security still tried to get the duo under control but they simply were not listening. Above Average Man and Flying Fox were so firmly enmeshed in their combat that they weren’t even paying attention to the security guards, that is until one of them pulled a gun. Almost instantly the duo set sights on them.

”We are your defenders of justice!” Flying Fox shouted. He leapt over, backhanding a security guard and making him fly across the room.

”And we need to settle this! Unlike that stupid movie!!!” Above Average Man lifted off into the air, sending a blast of heat vision down that sent security guards scattering.

The whole showroom was quickly turning into a disaster area and Booker could only shake his head. He turned, watching other people trapped under rubble, some cringing in dark corners, and others looking for lost ones. For people who were playing two of the greatest B.C. universe heroes, they really were acting like a fistful of ***holes. People needed help and if the “heroes” weren’t going to do it, then someone had to.

He turned a meek look to Javier, then turned to the trapped people. ”Someone has to help them…” he said with a little bit of desperation. He didn’t want to put Javier in any more danger, so he wouldn’t expect him to follow, but Booker was going to help. ”...I have to.” He picked up his fallen shield, just a prop but nonetheless, it inspired him.

Javier could already feel a headache coming on as he looked around at the chaos. Hist first instinct was to run. Get out, get away. It was a very normal instinct to have, and yet he felt even more of a failure now that his powers didn't even kick in for a minute.

>>”Yeah. Alive and breathing. You?”

"I'm okay." He wasn't, but there was really no time for self-pity right now.

>>”We are your defenders of justice!”

>>”And we need to settle this! Unlike that stupid movie!!!”

"They are really doing this because of a movie?" Javier winced as another laser blast went off. People scattered, but some things were falling over now, blocking parts of the hallway, and trapping people in.

>>”Someone has to help them… ...I have to.”

Of course he did. Not because he was dressed as a superhero, but because he was Booker, and Javier would have really been surprised if his friend had run the other way. And because he didn't, neither was Javier. Maybe his powers would kick in, eventually?

They hurried over to the debris that had some people trapped. Some pieces of the wall fell off, and tables piled up, and... there was just a whole lot of chaos. Javier moved to shift some pieces off the pile. It was not impossible to do with normal human strength, but if there had even been a time where he could have really used his powers... "Why the hell is it not working?!" he muttered, feeling ashamed, even though no one really expected him to do anything out of the ordinary.
Well, at least he could help Booker do the hero thing.

>>"I'm okay."

Booker nodded, thankful that Javier was okay. He was lucky that table didn’t take his head clean off but, somehow the tailor had braced himself for the impact. At most he probably would have suffered from some rattled bones before he had been hurled back into Booker’s body. He was sitting up now though he looked notably confused and exhausted. Poor Javier, this was not the time that Booker had planned.

Standing up, Booker watched as the security guards tried to get a handle on the situation but they were quickly failing. It seemed that both heroes were going to duke this out in as impactful a manner as possible. The reasoning behind their brawl was most certainly the worst that the librarian had ever heard of.

The movie. These two numbskulls were fighting over a goddamn movie!

>>"They are really doing this because of a movie?"

Booker shook his head in disbelief but, as it came from the perpetrators’ mouths, there was little room for error. ”I’m...afraid so…”

He couldn’t do it. Even as the showroom began to erupt into debris and fire, rather than run for his life, the librarian could only think of those poor people who were trapped. Nessa would kill him for putting himself in danger like this again but, with a glance to Javier, he knew that he had to help them. So, strapping on his shield, for the briefest of moments Booker blurred that line between comic hero and real-life human.

Javier didn’t try to stop him. Heck, even as Booker started to run towards a group of trapped people, he looked back and was surprised to see the tailor join him. He felt a small rise of thankfulness that Javier wasn’t freaking out and quickly through his head into work mode -- people needed to be saved.

The piles of debris were heavy but Booker was a strong man. He moved what he could, shoving bits of the fallen ceiling away as tried to free a person who was trapped underneath. Javier was nearby, doing the same thing, but he seemed far more frustrated by the matter.

>> "Why the hell is it not working?!"

Booker could scarcely hear him but he arched a brow in confusion. That was when he knelt down, picked up the edge of the large piece of concrete that Javier was having trouble with and lifted it with him. A grunt on his lips, Booker and Javier moved the large piece aside, helping to free the person trapped underneath. Booker turned, smiling encouraging at Javier.

”Don’t worry. We got this,” he tries to say calmly.

”LIEUTENANT U.S.A.!!!” a gravelly voice screamed. Booker turned just in time to see the armored Flying Fox glaring at him. ”You don’t belong here!!”

Booker gulped as he turned to face him. ”Guys! It was just a movie! You’re taking this too far! People are going to die!”

”Good!!” Flying Fox shouted. ”They’re probably fans of your stupid movie, Union Combat!!”

”Hey! That was uncalled fo--WHOA! Booker was silenced when a zipline suddenly wrapped around him, pinning his arms and shield to his side. A quick movement and Booker was hurled off of his feet, pulled towards Flying Fox and away from Javier and the people they were trying to rescue.

Javier tried to summon up his strength, and failed again. He was no stronger than an average human right now, and therefore the only thing he could do was what any average human could: Try to help, to the best of his limited abilities. There would be time to be frustrated about his own failure later.

>>”Don’t worry. We got this,”

Booker and Javier lifted a piece of concrete together, and freed the person trapped under it. At least they were helping. Security was still overwhelmed with the fight happening between the two crazy movie enthusiasts.

>>”LIEUTENANT U.S.A.!!! You don’t belong here!!”

Javier jumped as Booker turned, the name of his cosplay alterego being called by Flying Fox. Javier's stomach sank. Why were they getting dragged into this idiotic fight?...

>>”Guys! It was just a movie! You’re taking this too far! People are going to die!”

>>”Good!! They’re probably fans of your stupid movie, Union Combat!!”

Javier felt like he was frozen, and probably about to be sick. The urge to flee was getting stronger. People were going to die? And they were okay with that? The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in. These people were insane. And dangerous.
And the next moment, Booker was being dragged away.

"Booker!" Javier yelled, grabbing after him, but the librarian was pulled out of his reach, and yanked across the hall towards Flying Fox. Above Average Man paused in his path of destruction to watch the developments.

"Yeah!" he agreed "You think you guys are so much better than us? We can take you without breaking a sweat!"

Javier could only see Above Average's back and rolling cape, but the telltale red glow told him exactly what was about to happen. They were not going to stop, and they were not going to pull any punches.

Above Average lunged towards Booker, eyes burning a path into the floor... and then came to a sudden halt, followed by a surprised cry as he was yanked back by his cape, and thrown clear across the hall, landing on top of a pile of debris with a crash. Javier, both relieved and stunned at his own actions, stood where he had been a moment ago.

Capes were a bad choice for a reason.

This was certainly now how Booker wanted this convention experience to go. He had been to a huge number of these and they rarely went wrong. They never went right either, but the reasons were far more mundane than crazed comic heroes coming to life and running amok! Booker wouldn’t have a lot of time to consider this, however, as he felt the line wrap around his body grow taut and suddenly he was pulled from his feet. The strength involved was certainly astronomical as Booker was a big man but the move seemed so effortless. What was he dealing with?

>>"Booker!"

He didn’t have a chance to turn and see Javier. He heard him and Booker suddenly felt a swell of need to get out of this predicament. This wasn’t was Javier signed up for and now that he wasn’t nearby to keep him safe, or at least guide him out of the convention, his life was in Booker’s hands. He wasn’t going to abandon him like that.

>>"Yeah! You think you guys are so much better than us? We can take you without breaking a sweat!"

Booker tried to focus on the other voice as he was dragged towards his attacker but the voice disappeared into the din and chaos on the showroom floor. Gasping to catch his breath, the red, white, and blue clad cosplayer turned when a large fist suddenly grabbed him by the slack of his costume and pulled him close. Blinking away the confusion, Booker looked up to see the glowing, high-tech eyes of Flying Fox staring down at him.

“You’re going to pay for getting in the way, Lieutenant U.S.A!” he shouted.

Flying Fox reared his fist back and Booker winced, bracing for impact. But, as he did, he couldn’t help but notice the small squeak of surprise that came from the usually dark and imposing hero. Cautiously he opened one eye and focused in on his attacker and immediately noted the surprise on his face. His eyes followed his and Booker saw what was making the hero pause -- his fist...it was crumbling...or rather, the armor was fading away.

”The hell…?” he said softly. Looking over the armored fiend, he noted that the same thing was happening to the rest of his body. All the armor was just crumbling, falling apart into little metallic specks before rolling off of him in waves. Underneath Booker could see the bad, obviously homemade costume of a fanboy. Judging by the surprise on the guy’s face, Booker could surmise what was going on...and he smiled ecstatically. ”...mutant. Y-You’re just a mutant! AHAHA!”

Booker squealed in happiness. Flying Fox, not so much. His armor was still fading but some of it was still intact. “What are you!?” he shouted and slammed his forehead into Booker’s. Thankfully the armor melted away just in time so it was forehead-meeting-forehead, and not forehead-meeting-metal.

Booker’s head knocked back, dazed, but he also noticed that the taut line had suddenly given away, meaning that he was only help up by the man’s meaty fists. His arms free, Booker looked up to see Flying Fox going in for another hit...but his fist would meet something far harder than the librarian’s skull…

THUNK!

“ARRGHH!!” Flying Fox shouted. He backed away his hand throbbing after it had collided with Booker’s shield. As the man danced away, Booker regained his footing and tightened the shield on his forearm.

”Alright, you want a showdown, then let’s do it…” he grumbled. He raised his fists, taking his boxing pose and was just about to go on the offense when he remembered something…”Javier…” His head snapped back to where his was pulled from. ’...Javier! Where ar--OWW!!” he stumbled, feeling a hand slap him across the ear. He winced and turned back to the armorless Flying Fox in a really bad, stitched together costume. ”What the hell is wrong with you!? You hit me in the ear!!”

“S-Serves you right! Take a Fox-a-rang!!!”

Booker felt the plastic toy strike and bounce off his chest unimpressively. Shaking his head he reached over and shoved Flying Fox, hard, so the villain landed on his butt. ”Oh, shut up...nerd. Stay there until someone arrests you.” He then turned and jogged back to where, hopefully, Javier was. And where was Above Average Man?

Some people laughed as Above Average crashed into the pile of debris. Others protested about someone in a no-name costume messing up the epic canon showdown. As far as Javier was concerned, both were annoying. He really hated being in the spotlight, and he did not care for the canon. But Booker was in trouble, and he really needed to... not be in trouble.

Javier saw Booker struggle with Flying Fox only briefly, before his own opponent gathered his wits and got up, with the most dignity he could muster after being thrown by the cape.

"You!... Who the hell are you?"

Javier turned back towards Above Average, and it dawned on him that now he had the so-called superhero's full attention. He really... did not think this far ahead.

"I'm no one." he said, keeping a wary eye on the man. He had no focus to make up a more elegant response "But you really need to stop fighting. People are getting hurt!"

"That's the idea, idiot!"

Javier's eyes narrowed. That answer in itself was infuriating, but the way the man said it even more so. Above Average stepped towards him.

"Collateral damage. That's the idea. Superhero fights don't go down without casualties."

Javier could feel his stomach turn into a ball of ice as he realized that he was, in fact, in a superpowered fight. And no idea how to get out of it.

"And you are no one." echoed Above Average mockingly "Therefore, you are part of the collateral."

The laser eyes shot upwards and out, and a chunk of the ceiling and the wall gave way, falling in. Javier moved, but too late; for a moment, everything was dust and concrete, and then Javier stood up, too angry to worry about whether or not he should have been dead.

"You. Need. To stop!" he snapped, tossing a slab of concrete aside. Above Average Man blinked in surprise.