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photoshopper42 t1_j0ind6r wrote

The ratio was about 80/20. That is to say the ratio of actors who are playing superheroes to the actual superheroes. The vast majority of the people are people putting on playsuits and playing pretend. I am one of the few in the League of Justice who actually has powers.

It was a big shock really. When I was joining the League, I was kinda confused as to all the secrecy and paperwork that was involved. It was pretty weird, I had to sign an NDA... I mean I guess there were definitely secrets involved in this, people obviously have weaknesses and secret identities and thinks like that. But it just seemed weird the way they were presenting it as official. And it turns out the reason was that they were not hiding weaknesses, they were hiding the fact that it was all big show-business production for the gods.

I can't say that I am not disappointed. Here I was stopping crime and fighting evil on the streets, and I always had this big goal of one day being worthy of joining the League of Justice, and it turns out it is a big jerk off. People playing pretend on ropes in front of greenscreens, shot to make it look like found footage. I always wondered why when I saw a battle in New York on the news, I would go there the next day and it looked brand new. I figured the clean up crew was just amazing.

I thought about exposing the whole thing. Letting the people know that the people they looked up to were all frauds. Lets live in a world where people knew the truth for a change! But then I thought about it... What would actually happen if the league disbanded? The gods would get bored and destroy the Earth... right?

I thought about everything I have done. Stopped guys with knives mugging old ladies. Punched bank robbers as they tryed to run away with giant canvas sacks of cash. What have I never done? Stopped eldritch beings from destroying every living human on the planet. Never done that. I guess these actors might actually be more hero than I am.

Doesn't stop them from being obnoxious narcissists though.

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Taarabdh t1_j0k10a8 wrote

Looking back, it was pretty naive to think that a badge would solve all my problems.

I was eleven when the world stopped for 5 seconds. And then it lurched back, going upon its ponderous journey. My parents didn't believe me, of course, because doing that would mean that I was special in some way. We couldn't have such nonsense spread around the community!

I was thirteen when a bully who threatened me was on the pavement, with nobody the wiser as to how that had happened. And if I hid my wrists for a week after, nobody noticed.

I was starting to wonder if I had the power of invisibility as well.

My seventeenth birthday was the day I became an orphan. Another latex wearing asshole had decided that this was the day to trash a car dealership. My new car burned with my parents inside them.

I put away the decorations myself, turns out 5 seconds can't bring back the dead. But it sure as hell is a long while to send someone to death's doors.

At some point the long coat I wore to shield myself from the weather became a symbol. Ha, take that, mom.

Turns out 5 seconds isn't enough time to mourn, either.

It was two weeks ago that I received an official invitation to join the League. While I had assumed I would receive one, I never did know if it would be from the heroes or the villains.

I had been true on both counts.

The entity called erathmus regarded me, curiousity writhing on his face with the thousand moving spindles.

"I sense nothing in him," came his voice from somewhere. "What a waste of character," he spoke.

5 seconds cannot bring back the dead. But 5 seconds is more than enough to send them a gift. It was the season of Christmas after all.

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