Superhuman Registration Act: A Civil War Begins.

At precisely midnight on Deadline Day, a few citizens of New York-including myself-witnessed the very first act of the incoming Civil War, a war that will change the entire course of history of America, and possibly the world. Most people didn’t know it at the time, nor could they have conceived it. All they knew were the ongoing debates about the controversial Superhuman Registration Act. Some of us were for the Act, some of us voiced our dissenting opinion. But all of us had to watch in awe as our newest law was violently, efficiently and forcefully enforced that night.

“D’you know who I am? Huh?” said the costumed clad man on the roof of an apartment building. “I’m a hero!” with both arms wide open, proudly reaching out to the night sky, a glassed bottle of alcohol in one hand.

It was raining heavily, the wind howled through the city buildings like wolves on a hunt. But nothing was more terrifying than to see a costumed hero on top of a building, drunk and shouting at the top of his lungs. He was standing there in front of a huge nylon lighted billboard advertisement, his red cape soaring violently as the wind, like a god gone mad, or maybe gone mortal. People gathered around to see. All confused, all speechless. He’s a costumed hero! What the hell is he doing up there? Cops were everywhere, ambulance, fire trucks, but they all didn’t know what to do exactly, at least what legally to do.

“Yeah… That’s right… I said I’m a hero, a good guy!” said the masked man again after taking another sip out of the bottle.

With one hand, he pointed his finger at the large clock outside the public library across the street where everyone was standing which showed a minute to twelve. “But in one minute, I’ll be a bad guy, ’cause some politician says there’s a deadline!”

I was amongst the crowd, with my friend Sally, a fellow reporter for the Daily Bugle. I wasn’t half as surprised as most of the people down here, after all I’ve got enough news since the past few days. Neither was Sally, boy was she steady when she first caught a sight of this when we first arrived.

“Anyone recognize this guy?” I said to Sally as I looked up against the pouring rain.

“One of the old slingers, his name’s Prodigy. Seems he’s not taking off his mask to proof a point” replied Sally, certain as to every word that came out of her mouth.

I would have to agree with her. It seems fair that a veteran superhero like the Prodigy himself would fiercely resent the very idea of a Superhuman Registration Act itself. But I guess what really ticked the costumed hero was the fact that recently a prominent costumed superhero had taken off his mask in public for the press in compliance and support of the Act. That costumed superhero was none other than Spiderman-now also known publicly as Peter Parker. Maybe this was what drove the Prodigy to depression and alcohol.

A bright light shown out of nowhere from behind the masked man. It was a dark helicopter vessel with a clear silver logo on its side and an emblem right below the cockpit; “S.H.I.E.L.D”

“Looks like he proved it” said Sally sarcastically.

Out of the darkness of the night, a roaring sound of jet boosters soared closer and closer to the scene. From the same direction which the helicopter came a figure rose from the blackness and rain. It was the cause of the whole Act itself, the Iron Man, now also publicly known as Tony Stark.

Balancing himself from the sudden brightness, he finally realized the approaching Iron Man. “Oh yeah… That’s it Stark. You come and get me you big wimp! Then we can let the people decide!” said the Prodigy.

The clock in his HUD and the large clock opposite him showed exactly twelve midnight, the deadline for costumed heroes to register themselves with the government or face legal enforcement.

“You are now recognized as an unregistered combatant. Please exit this area quietly. You have ten seconds to comply” was the only thing that Tony could say. In a metal suit that hovered a few feet away in the air from Prodigy he spoke as if he was an enforcer drone deployed for duty, without conscience, without remorse, without sentience. What else could he have done? He had made a decision and he must keep to it, to set an example or risk another catastrophe similar to that in Stamford. But little did he know, a civil war is about to break loose and the consequence might be more dreadful than the incident at Stamford.

“D’you know what you’ve done, Stark? You’ve given them all the ammunition they need!” said Prodigy again, totally ignoring the warnings given by Tony as his rage, depression and intoxication clouded his sense of all rationality. He didn’t even really know what came out of his mouth, but the Iron Man should very well understand where he is getting at.

“They’ll tear us apart because of you, and you’ll go back to your billionaire mansion and think of something else to spend your money on while the rest of us try to get by on squats!”

“Where are the millions to support my family, huh? Where’s my pension plans?” said the Prodigy as his voice soared higher and higher into the night sky.

What could have seemed to be heart breaking words to all of us below didn’t seem to shake Tony. He was still there, hovering in the sky, expressionless with the face made of gold-titanium alloy.

“Prodigy, please… All I’m asking is that you give some consideration to this. Keep an open mind. Don’t ruin everything you’ve worked for because of preconceived notions” said Tony finally in words which seemed more human like than before, though still distorted by his suit.

“People want the Act… They need it. And if we deny it, we’re just hiding our heads in the sand. We can still work something out if you’ll just come with….”

Tony’s words were interrupted as the Prodigy threw the bottle onto him. It smashed into pieces as it hit the Iron Man’s chest and fell into the night sky.

“Make me you traitor! Make me!” said the Prodigy in a very low threatening voice as he looked directly at the glowing blue eyes on the gold-titanium mask.

“Yyyy~Aahhh!!” the Prodigy screamed as the leaped with full force toward the Iron Man, with arms wide open and hands ready to grab the suit with all his super powered might.

His HUD showed a critical level of incoming danger and immediately prompted Tony to an evasive move. He moved his left foot forward with its thrusters on the metal boots bursting at full power to strafe backwards while the other leg held back so as to keep his balance.

To his surprise, this skilled and experienced maneuver wasn’t enough to evade the incoming tackle. The Prodigy managed to grab the suit with his hands tightly, pressing it down, hoping to crush the wearer inside. With a change in the situation, the Iron Man had to engage his enemy. Both held on to each other, both couldn’t let go of each other, but more so it was because the Prodigy was holding on to his opponent and didn’t want to let him go. Like a mad man, he held on not for his life, but to take away the life that was in the metal suit.

For a moment it seemed as if the Prodigy had gotten a complete hold over the Iron Man, but then quickly Tony moved both his legs backward, forcing his thrusters to push him forward against the Prodigy. But his flight maneuverability was disrupted by the constant wrestle in the air and they were both floating in the sky violently and randomly with no direction at all.

The violent sky wrestle finally led to the Prodigy’s advantage. As they floated closer and closer to the nylon lighted billboard, he pushed the Iron Man hard against it hoping that it’ll give him a violent concussion.

The billboard shattered and loose electricity scattered everywhere, electrocuting both combatants. It was then when I realized we are now in danger. The billboard fell from its stand and continued to crush through the roofs of the apartment building. Debris were falling everywhere, people ran in panic at every direction for shelter and safety. It wasn’t just a civil war, but hell had broken loose on Earth. What could be worse than two superheroes fighting each other up in the sky?

“Get down, get down!” a loud voice came from amongst the panic crowd. But there was I, I just stood there looking up.

“Hey, what are you getting at? We’ve gotta get out of here! This is a war zone!” shouted Sally, frustrated and confused as to what I was doing standing there while she was covering her face with her hand bag from the falling glass and debris.

“Look up there” I said, pointing my finger up in the sky.

Seems like reinforcements have arrived, more S.H.I.E.L.D labeled helicopter vessels arrived and the night sky was now brightly lit with spotlights that penetrated the still pouring rain.

But the fight was still on, the two combatants continue to wrestle each other in the sky, banging onto buildings wildly and violently with no direction. As the situation got worse it was time I took my flight from this “war zone”. I pulled onto Sally’s hand, grabbing her tightly and leading to a random direction which could possibly be safe. But this time she hesitated, she managed to let herself loose from my rained-wet grip and ran the opposite direction.

“Leave him alone, you fascist! All he ever did was his job!” shouted Sally at the direction where the fight was ongoing with her hands raised in frustration and anger.

I could have agreed with her and joined her in her new-found crusade. But it really didn’t matter anymore, this was just simply out of our hands. It was for the power players to decide, not us. It seemed as if the Superhuman Registration Act was for us, but with what I’ve seen tonight, it may not really be for us. Eventually, powers will always consume itself.

Things were getting out of hand and Tony had to do something or risk further collateral damage which could take lives. He had no choice, he had to do it. He held on to the Prodigy tightly. Charging his powers in this gauntlet to its maximum capacity he unleashed a huge burst of Repulsor ray from his palms upon the Prodigy.

The Prodigy couldn’t have stopped it or withstood it. It was simply too powerful for him to handle. The concussive blast immediately threw the costumed hero downwards. Like lightning that struck the ground, he banged onto the concrete roof and laid there motionless, unconscious…

The Iron Man landed slowly on his feet near the Prodigy, speechless and with the same expression-a gold-titanium alloyed face with glowing blue eyes. Soon S.H.I.E.L.D agents with full battle armor race out of a helicopter that had just landed nearby on the roof, sprayed the fallen hero with white creamy substance that immediately froze him in place. Then some other agents came and took him into the helicopter.

People who witnessed this event that night will never forget what had happened. Emotions flared and a mixture of shouts of anger and cheer distorted the true mood of the occasion. As for me, I kept silent. People could debate forever the reasons for this, but no one will question the enforcers-they couldn’t. And it will continue on till it is too late.

As quick as it came, Iron Man and the rest of the helicopter vessels flown into the night, leaving the crowd to their own bidding. And as the night sky cleared, the debris stopped falling, but a scar was left there that night. A scar was left in everyone who has witnessed it, whether or not they may agree or disagree with it, a scar was still left in their hearts. This was inevitable, this was unavoidable, but one thing remains the same. Who’s going to pay for all this? We are…