Unmasking the Nightmare

Prologue

It was supposed to be a day of peace. An hour of remembrance and reflection. A time where the bold line between superhero and supervillain was, for a fleeting moment, blotted out and forgotten. We were supposed to join hands in harmony, for the good of the city and for the benefit of ourselves.

But where there is people, there is only greed and an unquenchable lust for power.

Of course, being a supervillain, I was well-accustomed to dealing with such impulsive desires. But even I couldn't fathom the brashness that had clouded over the heroic hearts of Crisis City's most beloved superheroes.

On that fateful day that had forever altered my world, superheroes and supervillains alike had been herded like cattle into the stifling expanse of that cursed court room, where sly politicians had skillfully chipped away at our values and core beliefs, resulting in strengthening our hate for each other.

They saw power in us, and wanted something that they couldn't have. Something they shouldn't have. Something they had received due to their glib tongues.

Some of them had told us that our powers were a gift to be utilized for the well-being of humankind. Some told us our powers were a curse and sought to restrain us to avoid any further chaos and destruction.

All of their smooth words and their restless tongues was enough to drive anyone insane. In a matter of minutes, the court room had erupted into furious outbursts, supervillains and superheroes alike lashing out.

The temporary truce had been shattered, and the court room had dissolved into mayhem. Some of us had tried to soften the atmosphere, to remind us of who we were in relation to the lowly politicians beneath us.

But the damage had already been done.

No longer lines in the shifting sands, but lines chiseled into stone, rules laid down into the foundation of who we were and what our city would become. Two sworn enemies, evolved into something far more mature and yet, far more frightening.

The superheroes had sided with the belief that our powers were a curse and only a handful of selected individuals should wield superpowers. Those superheroes had banded together and formed the Elites. Anyone who had superpowers who wasn't deemed worthy by them was considered a danger to the city and to themselves. And those unfortunate individuals who had superpowers that the Elites didn't approve of...well, they would have the time of their lives trying to run from the watchful vigil of the Elites.

The supervillains had accepted the belief that our powers were a gift, but rather than believing that our powers should be used to help humanity like the former superheroes had once believed, they believed humanity was too far corrupted, that everyone who didn't have a superpower was the dirt of the Earth. Those supervillains were known as the Reigners, and they desired to rid Crisis City of humanity while promoting their own greedy agenda.

And how do I fit into all of this? Which side have I claimed? How could both sides sound so right, and yet so wrong? Was it possible for both sides to be accurate, or for both sides to be so miserably mistaken? Was there a third option, one that they had failed to consider?

Surely there were more options, but they were too frightening, too horrifying for them to consider. I have done a fair amount of thinking, but I believe I have finally concocted the perfect method. The third option consisted of the blending of both sides, finally resulting in a satisfactory result.

It would take time, it would take resources, it would take earning trust, and it would mean balancing on the thin wire between sides, but I never shy away from a challenge.

My city needed to change. The Elites and the Reigners needed to fall. Any mere human who would dare stand in my way needed to be eliminated. I would need to hang up my previous mantle of a supervillain and adopt a false persona.

But in due time, I will reveal and unleash myself upon the city and the people that had stolen so much from me. All will tremble in fear at the mere mention of my name.

Some will try to unmask me, to expose me to the world so they may look at the living nightmare that I am. But it takes a villain to unmask one, and if I fall, I can be confident that someone will rise to finish my work.

If life has taught me something, it is the fact that people will lay down their freedom in exchange for security. But security will not save them...security is such a fickle thing! I look around at humanity, and all I see is the stain of violence, pain, and fear.

They were my nightmare, so I will become theirs...

(-Excerpt from the journals of Nightmare Nova)