Villains among Heroes

Chapter Twelve

"Welcome to the third year of Hero-Con!" announced a voice coming from a well dressed man at the end of the stage. "We have some of the most famous heroes in the world with us today. Who wants to start?"

White Sparrow was shocked at the crowd which had gone wild. Several fans stood jumping up and down to hopefully get picked so that the heroes might answer his or her question. Alice leaned to her side towards Matt and put a hand near the microphone to make sure that it wouldn't pick up anything that she said.

"Do you think that this is normal?" She whispered to Volt.

"Define normal," Volt said, doing the same thing to his mic.

"I don't think that either of us could do that." She joked. Volt stared at her dryly.

"Exactly. That's the point I'm making." He said, before uncovering his microphone, effectively ending the conversation. Sparrow did the same and listened to the announcer as he picked the first fan from the crowd. A staff member handed a mic to the fan.

"Hi," He said. "My name is Glen. Is it true that Volt and White Sparrow are dating?"

Volt glanced at Sparrow, before saying slowly, "If we were, would there be any problem with it?"

"The fan club was just wondering." Glen said happily. "Thank you."

"Ok. Who's next?" The announcer asked with an overly large smile. "You. What's your name and question?"

"My name is not important." Said a man with a familiar voice. "I have three questions for all of the heroes. Have you realized that your 'heroic deeds' has cost the city millions of dollars in repairs? Did you know that the new 'hero', White Sparrow, was once a villain and is still wanted by the police? And finally, why should we rely on a few freaks who won't even trust the people they protect? Why do you hide behind the masks!?"

"That was four questions. You said you had three, but that was four." Sparrow said, slightly narrowing her eyes at the man. "I personally can only answer one of those questions."

"And that is?" The man challenged. Alice stood and slowly released her wings and tail. Although it was painful it added to the affect. The silver wing and tail bones ripped out of her skin and slowly produced muscles and feathers. Several metal feathers gleamed in the stage light.

"I was the masked vigilante Black Sparrow." She said. "I was given a second chance and have altered my agenda. If anyone still has a problem then they can tell it to my face. Not through news reports but to my flipping face."

Volt raised a hand to her as he stood, his eyes narrowed as he looked to the person. The speedster put a hand on Alice's shoulder and gently pushed her into her chair, before he spoke, his voice surprisingly calm for the situation as black lightning began to crackle across his suit, but it was obvious he was just doing it for effect as well as playing his card as being the famous Speedster hero of New York.

"If the city wants money for the repairs, we'll get them it by getting it from the villains we catch." Matt said calmly. "Secondly, White Sparrow has reformed and is now my partner. I trust her with my life. And thirdly, we wear our masks to protect those we care for." He pointed at the fan, and it was obvious the speedster was using his skill with words now. "Think about it. If you were in my place and had a family and kids, wouldn't you wear a mask so that your enemies wouldn't find out your identity and target your loved ones?"

There was a sudden twang, before a figure clad entirely in black suddenly dropped down from the ceiling on a cable, landing on the stage. Standing, he was immediately recognizable due to the black metal compound bow he wore, as well as his signature black mask that only went around his eyes, and his black hood.