The world is populated by more than just spandex-clad people.
They might not lead interesting lives, but they are still worth
mentioning. After all, you can't save a city without its citizens.
Keystone
You wanna know what's it like to live in Keystone City, don't
you? Yeah, I know the Flash doesn't live here anymore, (though
I think he shows up every day regardless of the restriction order),
but people are still curious to know what's it like to live in
Speedster Town, Kansas.
Well, I'll tell you.
First you get up from bed and there's this shining sun making
fun of you. You have to work. Then you have breakfast and go to
work from 9 to 5. The day goes like any other day in any other
city. You get off and you decide you'll walk home. It's only a
mile and you need the exercise anyway. You're crossing the first
street and you look to the right.
A truck is coming your way.
You put your arm in front of your head and you think you're gonna
be statistics.
You blink.
You are safe in the sidewalk.
That's what it's like to live in Keystone City.
Metropolis
There's not a better place to work in Metropolis than near the
Newstime building. Really, being a hot fog vendor is not the most
profitable job there is, and neither is it very safe in the streets
of metropolis. Yes, the city of Metropolis is safe, but there's
still to be a big city completely rid of crime. Not even Superman
can save us completely from crime.
That's why I was surprised but not all that much when I saw a
woman being robbed ten yards from me. She was an old lady, probably
in here sixties. Her purse's bands were hanging on her shoulder
whereas the purse itself was in the hands of a the man running
in my direction.
I felt like I had to do something. God only knows how many times
have I been a victim of pickpockets. And this lady probably had
her documents, all her money and other important stuff in that
purse. It felt wrong that so many just looked up to the skies
waiting for the Big Blue Boy Scout to come to the rescue. He is
but one and those people were all waiting for him to show up THERE.
Yeah, like hell he was.
When the thief was just some five foots away from me, I used
all my strength to turn over my cart. I'm strong, you know. I
work out at my cousin's gym. And at that moment, I didn't care
that I was gonna mess my business heavily. I just cared to take
down that little bastard running away with an old lady's purse.
The grin on my face when I saw the two left wheels get out of
the ground rapidly turned into a stunned face when I saw they
were back to its original place. But that was impossible! Then
I looked to the right of myself and saw the petty crook hanging
from the lamp pole.
Superman.
He had shown up after all. He was intense, I tell you. Tall,
taller than me. And I'm a big guy. The S-shield on his greatly
built chest was so familiar I only missed three heart beats when
I saw him. His face was blurry, but his imposing voice could be
heard. He said "Nice job. It is good to know there are others
trying to do what I do in their own ways.", and then he patted
my back.
I looked up in the sky and saw the red and blue streak going
in the direction of the peer. I don't know if he was gonna save
the world or just another regular folk, but that moment I felt
not only very proud of myself, but also the safest person in the
world.
I live at Superman's city.
Sydney
Y'know, living in Sidney is good. Australia is a good to place
to live, especially if you like surfing and all. Well, I don't,
but there's still much to do. The Olympics are coming and people
are getting ready. Business are gonna shoot up, y'know. I'll probably
be rich. There's one concern, though.
Y'see, there ain't many superheroes in Australia. There was that
furry guy, what's-his-name, Tasmanian Devil, I think. Not sure
anymore, he was with the old Justice League. But people just didn't
respect him any after those damn dirty aliens leveled the city.
Now they tell me one of them is the defender. Ha! Like I can
trust a Martian. I only trust one superhero. I dunno his name,
all I know is that he had a skin condition. He was green, y'know?
Funny thing that he looked like human being with green skin. Saved
me during the invasion.
I think it was radiation that left him that way. He was probably
bitten by a radioactive bald koala or something. All I know is
that he saved me from a falling building and sure as hell he's
gonna kick this alien's butt.
Wait and see.
Gotham
I saw life flash in front of my eyes. From the earliest moment
I could remember to the very instant before I saw my assailants,
I saw all that had happened to me. If I wasn't alive now, It's
all because of them. Do you know who they are? Well,
neither do I.
But everybody that lives in Gotham City has at least once in
their lives heard of them. Mainly him. Some say
he's a demon or an experiment gone awry. Some say he's an urban
myth, made up by the police to scare criminals. Some, and those
are the hardest to believe in, some say that he's a man.
I do not know. All I do know that near Babylon Towers there are
many more criminals than one would expect around a luxury condominium
ravaged by a pest. I thought it'd be deserted. It was my mistake
to decide that I could take a walk in Gotham. I don't know what
got into me. I just decided I was gonna take a walk. And I walked
outside the little fortress I call home to do something I'd never
do again.
I had just turned my first corner, thinking about the next day
of work at the Public Relations Office, and the full moon over
me when I saw a trio. They had masks. I don't know what the masks
meant, but they were horrible. I think they could represent either
monsters or one of those psychos that started to show up after
he first appeared.
"The money. Now!" one yelled at me. He wasn't old enough
to shave, I knew that even if I couldn't see his face. I took
a step back as they pulled their switchblades I don't want to
know where from. A few more steps and I felt my body touch a brick
wall. They got very much closer to me. One of those knives had
my name in it. The others laughed. I think they were stoned.
My sweat was colder than an iceberg. The eyes of the kid who
had pressed me against the wall were blue and they were colder
than my sweat. I started to think of my children, my job at Wayne
Chemical, and my wife who had asked me not to go out. Those things
kept coming back to me as I started to reach for my wallet. I
looked down and saw I had forgotten to bring it. I was dead.
Then I looked up and I saw him.
"Bah, Bah, Batman!..."
Those three had seen him too. His silhouette was against the
moon and formed a shape like that blasted sign the police made
to scare the criminals. Or at least that's what I thought the
sign was for until I saw that outline in the sky. I think he was
actually flying, just like a bat. The three punks looked to each
other and started to back away faster than Ben Johnson when he
was doing steroids.
But when they saw that he was going somewhere else they turned
around, and they pulled the switchblades back. The eyes of one
of them were green, I saw it as we stared at each other, my fear
with his. He was afraid something was gonna go wrong, him
having passed by. My fear was that everything was gonna go wrong.
"Now, where were we?"
I saw my life again. This time, the image of a bat flying stayed
some time with me. It was comforting to think I could be saved,
but just for a moment. The cold steel against m cheek made me
think I was gonna be pierced by those sharp edges. That's when
a shining golden object hit the knife in front of me and sent
it flying away. When I looked again a colorful blur moved around.
Red, green, yellow, and black were the colors. I couldn't hear
what he was saying, but I felt that this time I was saved. For
good.
Then he approached me and gave me a lecture on safety. I was
never so humiliated. My savior was younger than my assailants.
And when I got home, nobody would believe me. I had been saved
by the legendary Boy Wonder. Not by the Batman, but by the Robin.
Ridiculous. He shot a grapnel up and I went home running as fast
as I could. And there I did the only thing a man in my position
could do.
I changed my pants.
Tampico
I just love the Caribbean.
Tourists from all over the world come here and go topless. Some
supermodels, even. Trust me, sightseeing is great around here.
Well, I had to tell this unfunny joke now. I'm a surfer and I
had an accident. What, you think I was born with this seven inch
scar in my thigh? No way, man!
You see, there I was, my beautiful blonde hair reflecting that
sun, the Atlantic's water clamoring "come, man! It's bitching!".
Well, these weren't the exact words, but I still felt that I was
being called. So I got my board and headed for the sea. Must've
swum a little bit too much, because I saw that fin and… yowza!
I was over my board, like, in no time.
But I got scared and fell. Then I felt that bite and my leg getting
cold. I was deader than that chick in the beginning of 'Jaws',
I tell ya. But then the shark let go of me. It just did.
I was still about to pass out, but I looked up and saw this guy
with a harpoon for a hand. Next thing I know, I wake up n the
beach with people talking about how damned lucky I was to have
dolphins save me around here. I dunno about dolphins or anything,
all I know is one thing.
I MUST have hair like that.
Coast City
Heed these words from beyond the grave, for I am a ghost.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
You are not scared, right? I knew that. Ghosts don't scare anyone
these days. Such a commonplace to have people doing amazing unexpected
things that a ghost is worth zip. Most certainly, the ghost of
an accountant from Coast City, CA, is worth even less. Still,
I have my share to tell.
You see, I lived in a simpler day when seeing someone dressed
in those costumes didn't make you feel like giggling anymore,
but still gave you that sense of… what's the right word? Awe.
That's the word. You felt awe. And in Cost City there was a good
reason to feel awe. We had the best superhero there was.
Sure, they spoke a lot of Superman in Metropolis when I visited,
but ours was a regular human doing and making the most impossible
things. Gloves. Pipes. Nets. Baseball bats. All the size of a
small building, and all to save a kitten on a tree or stop a simple
jewelry heist. It was wonderful.
Sure, sometimes he'd not show up and we'd think he was gone forever,
but I still remember the chats when he'd come back. Everybody
would go to their windows and see him do something good. We'd
just be in awe. I don't tire of this word because it's so accurate.
Awe.
So when that yellow bastard showed up we knew there was nothing
to fear. As sure as the airplanes from Ferris flew in the skies
our shining green knight would come to our rescue.
Shame he came so late.
But I'm not complaining, really. It was just sort of strange
to… die. Heh. There, I said it. I'm dead. I had said I was a ghost
before, but saying I was dead took a while. I don't know why,
you're in denial when you first get here. Oh well, anyway, just
a few days after that everything shone green again. I looked at
myself and saw that I was green. I walked around and everybody
just hugged each other.
It was a miracle.
Then it vanished again. We were never to be humans again. But
I'm not complaining. See, where once there was Coast City now
there's a garden with a big statue of the man who spent the best
years of his life saving us. He sacrificed himself for us more
than once, and then he died trying to get us back. We will honor
him forever.
Ironically, after his death his dream was realized. We ARE back
now.
See, in the garden of Coast City, we are the flowers.
