2015.01.19 - Habitat for the Future

Things never seem to get better in Suicide Slum. But this doesn't stop Superman from continuing to try. However, there are times when the job seems especially hopeless.

In the middle of Suicide Slum, a gleaming structure towers over all of the other buildings. The polished stone and the visible steel girders are arranged in an almost futuristic configuration, as if the building was not truly of this world. It's unlikely that any of the residents of Suicide Slum can recognize Kryptonian engineering, but practically all of them recognize who it was made by.

But unfortunately, there are several gaping holes in the sides of the tower, evidence not only of violence, but of high-grade weaponry. Through the holes in the building, gang members in mismatched paramilitary gear can be seen patrolling their new headquarters. Fortunately, only those with X-Ray vision can see the full extent of the violence that has transpired within the structure.

"Shame. Shame. Shame. Such a shame. Shame." A man sits across from the building, clutching the sides of his head and rocking back and forth. He repeats his mantra over and over, although he alone may know the full extent of what he means.

"Poor fella. He took it real hard when they kicked us out. I heard they even killed his cat." Two other homeless men watch from across the street, staring up at the futuristic housing project that was given to them by Superman, only to be quickly snatched away by opportunistic thugs. "Oh well. Too good to be true, right?"

Neither the homeless men on the ground, nor the thugs in the stolen building can see the little black speck floating high above the city. But it would probably give them all a chill if they knew that he could see them.

Croyd does a pretty good job of helping the down and out, and this place looks good to a lot of them. Free housing? Sign em up, but they called in some favors and wanted good ole Croyd to check the place out...you know...just in case. So he teleports in, right news to two of the heavily armed thugs. "Well...guess that answers that question...don't suppose you fellows have any rent controlled...yeah...I thought not. Free housing is free housing. And as a teen with no family and nowhere to go (not to mention the ability to get anywhere she wants), Charlie has been making good use of the building. Of course, she also doesn't use the doors like most people and she tries to keep to herself, so someone "taking over" doesn't really affect her that much when they claim the lower floors of the building. But she's home at the moment, oblivious to any of the happenings by the entrance of the structure.

A quick sweep of the building identifies the number of potential hostiles and the armament that they're packing. It only takes Superman a couple of seconds to scan every floor with his X-Ray vision, but that's all the time needed to put a frown on his face.

From his position high above the Metropolis skyline, he watches for the best opportunity, waiting only until he's convinced that he can storm the place without causing any civilian casualties. And then, like a diving bird (or a diving plane, whichever you like best), he streaks toward the tower so quickly that the human eye can barely register him as anything other than a blur.

His first move is to crash dramatically on the pavement in front of the structure. He lands in a three-point stance, making an impressive crater around himself. It might seem like unnecessary damage to the pavement, but at least it gets the attention of all of the gun-toting thugs in the building.

"Attention, residents of the Habitat for the Future Project. I am here to disarm and arrest all those who have committed crimes within the premises. I suggest that everyone who is armed throw down any weapons they might be holding."

From inside the building a collective cry can be heard from several of the thugs: "Oh shit! It's Sooperman!"

Croyd snickers. Oh this is awesome. That this building is patrolled by the caped crusader changes a lot of things. Homeless people might even be welcome here. He wishes he had the power to summon popcorn (well...again) but pulls up a chair...this is really brazen since two of the thugs who are swearing are literally feet away from him. Huh. That's not one of the usual sounds that Charlie usually hears outside the building. Usually she'll investigate when she hears gunshots or even sounds of fighting outside. But the sound of exploding concrete? It's enough to get her outside and across he street right away, already in costume. Seeing the source of the sound though, her jaw drops. Superman? Seriously? She's not sure what to do, but she is seriously geeking out right now.

If Superman wasn't so peeved that his creation has been co-opted by a group of gun-toting thugs, he might take a second to relish the fact that he still knows how to make an impression. Literally, in this case.

None of the thugs seem interested in trying to fight back. They know the deal in Metropolis. There is a quick series of clatters as guns are thrown out of the holes in the building as fast as the thugs can possibly get rid of them.

One of the men even yells down to the Man of Steel. "Sorry, Sooperman. We thought you was gone fer good this time." It's not much of an excuse for forcibly evicting homeless people, but at least it's a sign that there won't be any violence.

Looking up at the building, Superman begins doing yet another X-Ray sweep of the building to ensure there are no guns left over inside.

Croyd briefly considers putting a gun on one of the thugs just to see what could happen but decides against it and just smiles. This is fun. He looks about the room, completely ignoring the thugs now whimpering and barely relieving themselves. "This is a pretty nice setup..." With the guns discarded, Charlie is somehow even more impressed. He didn't have to do anything. He just showed up and... it's done. Assuming that it's now safe to approach without fear of getting in the way of anything, in a puff of pink smoke, she appears a few steps behind and to the right of Superman. "That was... so cool." She doesn't even bother with her "superhero" voice for the moment. She's a little past geeking out here and while she normally has a very healthy opinion of her abilities, this was just on completely another level.

Superman allows himself just the briefest of smiles, before shouting back up at the tower. "Now come down here, all of you. You've just been drafted... as maintenance men for the Habitat for the Future."

This proclamation is met with a considerable amount of complaining. But sure enough, the formerly-armed thugs all start heading toward the exits and making their way down to Superman's level.

Down on the ground, Superman turns his head backward to catch a glance of the woman who's talking to him out of his peripheral vision. "You're right, young lady. Trying to make a better tomorrow is extremely cool. I bet you'd be great at it as well."

Croyd says, "Oooo...being a janitor of tomorrow sounds neat!" Croyd lined up with the thugs. "Do I get like...a Space Mop?"" Charlie's first response is a weird choking "urk" noise as Superman turns to speak to her. Starstruck is the only word for it. This isn't just meeting anyone. This is Superman. She even managed to almost keep her cool when she met Batman. This is different. He's like... exactly what everyone says he is, but somehow you can't believe. He managed to encourage her with the first few words he said after he took down a gang. Plus... dreamy. Too unreal. She manages to pull herself together afterwards though. "Thanks... I uhhh... this is a great place. This thing you're doing here." No, she doesn't have the right words for the situation. Or even really know what to say. It's a little unreal. It certainly doesn't seem real as the thugs gradually start appearing outside.

"I appreciate it. It seems like some of the people here missed the entire point of it, but I think they'll come around and make something great out of it. You've got to hope, anyway."

Superman waits for the rest of the stragglers to get into place before addressing the group. But even though he's clearly not happy with them, he seems to have bigger things on his mind than mere retaliation or even punishment. "Okay, all of you. The future is going to happen whether you like it or not. But if you work hard today, when the future comes you'll have a place in it. Which is why we're going to rebuild this Habitat building, all of us. Yes, some of you will have to do janitorial duties..." He looks narrowly at Croyd, almost as if singling him out. That oughta teach him to joke when things are Really Serious. "... but if we all work together, we can have this building back in liveable condition before it gets too dark."

He lifts himself up off of the pavement, hovering a few feet in the air. "So... how about we start by cleaning out all this rubble?"

Croyd doesn't think he is joking. This is awesome. "Will you sign my mop? Will you superman? That'd be awesome! Here watch this..." He shoot lasers out of his eyes and softens the debris,"Space mop! Hooooo!" He begins mopping debris.... Charlie smiles at Superman's continuing positive attitude. Even she doesn't believe that this is going to stay in control after Superman leaves. But she wants to believe it can. "Yeah, I hope so", she comments. And puffing herself up a little, she adds, "And with good people watching over, it can't fail." And with that, she gets a great swell off pride. Whoa! So /that's/ how he does it. Then, cracking her knuckles, she does to help with the rebuilding and clearing of debris, picking up a particularly large piece of stone rubble and disappearing in a puff of smoke. She'll be back to help, but for now, she's looking for a good place to get rid of the debris. Everyone helps in their own way.