Blue Bird

The television blared big red letters reading, "Breaking news: Murdering superhero Mask on the run." Yellow strips reading, "Keep out," surrounded the structure's entrance behind the pretty blond news reporters as onlookers shoved one another to get front view seats of the incident.

"What's that?" Henry asked. His father, Roy, was in the kitchen. The sweet scent of pancakes floated toward the dining hall and entered through the tunnels of Henry's nose. Clattering rang from there, followed by his father's voice.

"Have you heard of Mask?" Henry's father asked strolling into the dining hall. Pancake batter was smeared across his long white lab coat. His beard and hair were shaggy from long days at the lab. Henry noted the bags beneath his father's eyes growing with each passing day, which worried him.

"No, have you heard of sleep?"

"You know, it's hard to sleep when my son is running around fighting crime all day long," Henry's dad clapped back. Roy sat next to his son with nothing but a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Not hungry?"

"Making three pancakes for you was enough cooking for me. Anyway," he said taking a sip of his coffee, "Back to Mask. He's a new hero that's been surfacing on the web lately. He's been gaining traffic on X and Reddit through videos of him beating up thugs on the streets."

"Really? Surprise none of the other heroes have encountered him."

"It's cause he operates mostly at night."

"Even still, Bloodwarp would have run into him at some point. He's worse at sleeping than you."

"True. But he hasn't. Leads me to believe that our new friend might have his way around getting caught. Which is useful in case of screw-ups like that," Roy said pointing at the large Titan Zeus TV hung up on their marble wall.

"It's nothing I can't get around," Henry bragged shoving a large spoon full of pancakes in his mouth.

"Maybe, but don't get arrogant. I'll be on standby in case you need help with anything."

"I've gone after murder cases in the past, I'll be fine, trust me. Also, how do they know it was this, Mask guy?" Henry asked waving his fork around. His dad scolded him for throwing syrup everywhere.

"There was a camera that recorded the incident. A lot of interesting footage in it I bet."

A spark shot across Henry's brain, "Probably," The last bite of pancakes was gulped in an instant. "Ok, ima get going now, Ima see if Beast Woman wants to tag along."

"Most people chew their food, Henry, and you and Beast Woman have been hanging out a lot, huh?" Roy raised his eyebrows. "You better not be getting into trouble while you're out on patrol."

"Trouble? Well, I am your son," Henry smirked lifting his messy plate. He dashed around their table, nearly dropping the plates, and quickly got to washing his dishes. The water flowing from the faucet hissed through the kitchen as Henry got to work

"By the way Henry, the charity event, don't miss it."

"How could I?! It's my event!" He yelled from the other room, itching to set off for work.

***

Sirens sliced through the wind making drivers poke their heads outside their car windows. Flashes of red and blue painted car and store windows as people walked along the sidewalk, all too entranced with their busy lives to care.

From above the towering structures of the city, the people looked like ants keeping a colony going. The only way Blue Bird, Henry, could see them was thanks to his incredible eyesight.

His hero suit was a dark paste of blue with hints of purple wrapping around his waist, wrist, and bird symbol at the center of his chest. Blue Bird adorned a blue cape and hood that wrapped over his head and extended into the wind, flapping like the wings of a bird.

The metal, Urathium was the foundation of his suit, a strong metallic substance that was five times lighter than steel and incredibly flexible.

Beast Woman was perched up on the edge of the building alongside him. Her suit was tight around her skin with faulty stitching covering up the tears in her suit. She wore a black mask around her eyes that reached to her ears and formed cat ears in their place.

"Busy morning, huh?" Beast Woman began.

"Isn't it always?"

"True. You gonna tell me what we're doing here?" Beast Woman edged turning her back to the streets below. Her head peered over the ledge, allowing the air to sweep away her long golden hair.

"Careful not to fall over." Blue Bird curred.

"Seriously? After the things you've seen me do?" Beast Woman laughed.

"Fair. But accidents happen."

"I could stick the landing, I'm quite flexible. I could show you if you'd like."

Blue Bird blushed beneath his blue mask. He doesn't think he's ever been more happy to have his face hidden. The strange wording of her words made Blue Bird confused as to what she was implying.

"Uh, I'm good. Besides, I'm quite flexible myself," he challenged.

"Really? You should show me when we aren't busy," Beast Woman teased inching closer to him.

His heart began beating as fast as the flaps of a hummingbird's wings. Beast Woman slowly traced her fingers up his arms. She began from his fingertips and traced them up the smooth surface of his armor. She then began placing force on the parts that weren't covered. She felt the rigor of his biceps and loomed there for a moment. Blue Bird said nothing as his eyes followed her movements.

Beast Woman continued over his shoulder and gently laid her hands there. She rested her head on them and was now only inches away from Blue Bird's face. She stared into his brown eyes and let out a small jerk before bursting into a laugh, still holding a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hold it, you looked so flustered!" Her laugh rang through the rooftop. She laughed and laughed until her stomach ached and she bent over, wrapping a hand around her stomach.

Blue Bird felt as if her laugh could even break Bloodwarps stoic demeanor. It was like a melody to him, one song by a dozen Woodlarks. His heart slowed but was left in a state of wanting. It wanted to burst out of his chest and run to her like an addicting drug. It was a struggle not to fall into the temptation.

"Hahaha, yea…" He said clearing his throat. "Anyway, have you heard of the wannabe hero Mask?" He asked unsure if she heard him through her laugh.

"Yeah, here and there," she said recollecting herself. "Is this about the murder?"

"So you've heard? We need to track him down asap before he causes any trouble for us."

"Nice to know that there's a we now. Did you get any leads?"

"Not really. But police found an old two thousands camera lying on the ground with footage of what happened. I got a connect in there that could let us take a look."

"A year and a half in and you already have police connects? Wow, impressive. I still can't manage to get one and we started around the same time."

"You won't believe who it is too, but you'll get there eventually" Blue Bird encouraged as he opened up the data pad on his wrist. A series of blue, yellow and white lights came to be. Each one had different names and purposes with shapes to help categorize what they did. With a couple of clicks, an aircraft came floating down from the sky, lifting off its invisibility cloak as it came to hover just off the edge in front of them.

It had a slender and sharp build like a dagger or like a stealth bomber. The front of the aircraft was shaped like the beak and head of a hawk in blue, as was the rest of the ship. The top of the ship, or where the hawk's scalp would be, opens up its glass shell with a single voice command, "Shell Open."

"The things money can buy," Beast Woman said.

"And intelligence. My dad and I built it a while ago and it just got done. I was looking for an opportunity to use it."

"Opportunity has been found."

The duo entered the ship. The interior featured a grid of buttons, data pads, and levers all clustered around the pilot's seat. The seats were made of ordinary leather, which Beast Woman found peculiar considering their wealth. Besides the pilot's seat at the front, two additional seats were positioned behind it, adjacent to each other. Each seat had its own set of data pads and buttons, controlling similar aspects of the aircraft as the central controls did.

"What is all this?"

"Oh you know, coms, radar, weapons, radio, ejector seat, seat heater-"

"Seat heater? Wow, you really did think of everything."

"Can't be too prepared, right?" Blue Bird joked as the aircraft began moving.

In a matter of moments, the two were at Central Community LAPD station near Little Tokyo. They hovered just above the police station, warranting the attention of the policemen and citizens around the area.

The two entered the building and were greeted at the door by an annoyed Commissioner Carter.

The years have worn down the Commissioner and his hair, or lack thereof. He was a tall man with skin akin to chocolate and his mustache was one Blue Bird certainly admired.

"Commissioner," Blue Bird soluted.

Beast Woman greeted him similarly whispering, "he's your connect?". Blue Bird nodded.

The building was infested with the opening and closing of cabinet doors and the crying of coffee machines. Oh, how it reeked of coffee.

Beast Woman expected to walk into a busy police department but when the two entered the main offices, it halted.

Beast Woman and Blue Bird looked at each other noting the sudden change in atmosphere. The room grew quieter than Beast Woman's classrooms during testing. They could even hear a pin drop in there.

"Follow me," Commissioner Carter hurried them. Blue Bird wondered what the rush was but followed anyway. Beast Woman on the other hand noted how the policemen and detective's heads followed them as they entered the commissioner's office. To her, it felt like they walked into a viper's nest, though she didn't say anything to Blue Bird yet.

"What was that all about?" She questioned closing the door behind them. The officers got back to work, though they kept peering at them through the glass wall of the commissioner's office.

"Close the blinds," Commissioner Carter ordered. Beast Woman did as he asked. "I take it you've heard of the little incident with this, 'Mask' right?"

Blue Bird and Beast Woman shared another look. The atmosphere was no different from the one outside. Commissioner Carter's eyes were haunting, like knives sinking into their victims. His nose scrunched up and his eyebrows came together in a V-line sort of way.

Blue Bird didn't know what to make of his expression so he answered, "I have. That's why I'm here."

"Mm," the commissioner's chair creaked as he laid back, looking back and forth between Blue Bird and his companion. "You two are one of the five registered heroes in this city. Tempest, Bloodwarp, All-Star, and you two. Not one of you could discover an unregistered superhero lurking around your backyards?"

"Oh come on, if we started rounding up all the rouge superheroes they'll fill up-"

"HE MURDERED SOMEBODY!" Commissioner Carter rumbled. Blue Bird's body rang as the sound waves of his voice passed through him.

The policemen outside turned to look at one another, smirking as the commissioner scolded the young heroes. "He is different than some idiot stopping a mugger. He blew up an innocent man, THE SON OF OUR MARE! We cannot allow this!"

"Yea, no shit we can't allow this-"

"Blue Bird," Beast Woman cut him off before he could start digging them into a hole. "Look we know the gravity of the situation, that's why we're here. We heard your men found footage of the incident."

"That we did, Beast Woman. I take it you need it then?"

"We do," Blue Bird reentered the conversation, "the faster the better please."

Commissioner Carter stared daggers into him as he stood from his chair. The commissioner slid open one of his metal cabinet doors and took out the camera. It was wrapped in a ziplock bag along with a folder presumably with notes from the case.

He placed it in front of Blue Bird and asked how long he'd be needing it for.

"Not long, maybe a day or two."

"Good, bring it back as soon as possible, I'd hate for the footage to be leaked again."

"leaked?" Beast Woman questioned.

"You haven't heard? Some idiot leaked the footage and I don't want to repeat that incident again."

"That idiot being someone in your department, right?" Blue Bird said as he turned to look at the busy station.

"That's right," Commissioner Carter spat bitterly, "We don't know who but I have a pretty good guess as to why. I take it you too have noticed you've been turning heads the second you stepped foot in here, yes?"

Blue Bird turned to Beast Woman, both locking eyes. They could almost feel what the commissioner was about to tell them, it was obvious. "We have?"

"They blame you."

"B-b-b-bingo," Blue Bird joked rolling his eyes. Beat Woman smirked as well, feeling amused with the sentiments the policemen were feeling.

"Oh it's funny to you, is it? Ok, how many do you think have died in this past year due to enhanced individuals?"

"A couple of months ago it was somewhere around 150," Blue Bird answered swiftly.

"And those aren't even including the ones indirectly killed by them. The people are tired of seeing their own kind killed by those who are trying to protect them."

"Everyone?" Blue Bird dared.

"Yes, everyone." Commissioner Carter leaned forward, placing both fists on his desk.

"And how many have we saved in the past year, commissioner?" Beast Woman pushed.

"Countless," He replied.

"Countless," she repeated.

The commissioner let out a loud sigh as he continued, "Even still, the people are more interested in when a hero fails rather than succeeds. And even when you do succeed, it sometimes comes at a great cost. Remember the destruction of San Francisco? The invasion of Moscow? The disaster of Okinawa? Everywhere you people go, challenge follows. And believe me, I know you don't mean to but often times your heroic acts lead to even more chaos. The people are angry. Your operations have cost the government billions of dollars in property damage alone. At least I'm guessing. Imagine how much more it costs them to house these enhanced individuals in a cell. The cost of Medicare? It's becoming a problem."

"You realized that if superheroes didn't intervene in those instances the destruction and casualties would have been greater, right?"

"Destruction caused by your people!"

"My people? Half of those were aliens from other WORLDS! What were you guys gonna do? Shoot missiles at them that couldn't even get past their shields?"

"Blue Bird," Beast Woman called, though her words past right through him.

"We have laws in place to handle these kinds of situations! If you just-"

"LAWS?!" Blue Bird almost exploded from laughter, "What laws?!"

"Laws against people like you,"

"Blue Bird!" Beast Woman called out again, clutching his forearm

"No!" He told her turning his attention back to the commissioner, "People like me? Am I no human?"

"You're not like us, you're enhanced. And with this incident, the government is more than likely looking to tighten up hero registration."

"The government has already placed a mountain of laws that restrict us as heroes. What? they wanna add more now? I can't even leave the city as a superhero without special permission. A decade ago superheroes couldn't leave period, regardless if I was working or not."

"Look kid, I get it, you and the other registered heroes here aren't to blame. But my point is, if there's a disaster in your city or an unregistered hero lurking about it is your responsibility to handle it. Especially if it relates to a rouge hero."

"You know, police are kinda in our field of work too."

"I will not send men to die handling someone like that."

"'Enhanced individuals' you know commissioner, not all heroes are enhanced." Beast Woman said, snatching the ziplock bag from his desk.

"Still a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Are we wolves, commissioner?" Blue Bird asked standing from his chair.

He paused and thought about his answer, "Untrained pups is what I'd use."

They stayed quiet. Walking out Blue Bird could feel eyes trailing them.

Outside a crowd gathered around his plane. Flashes of light came from their small devices and soon the lights turned to them. The duo quickly boarded his aircraft.

Beast Woman mentioned how she too has seen videos circulating online pushing for restrictions on heroes. Blue Bird says nothing. He simply nods and prepares the aircraft for take off.

The commissioner's words lingered in his mind. He didn't know why, but urgency began crawling into his belly. He knew how things could go bad if he couldn't catch this guy.

Outside his window, by the doors of the police station, the Commissioner and a group of police emerged, scattering the people who were watching his aircraft take off. The commissioner and he locked eyes. Neither one was content with one another, but Blue Bird understood his assignment well, so he got to work immediately. Setting course for his manner in Beverly Hills.