Gray Guardian sighed heavily as he walked down the stone steps of the Durnett Mental Health and Wellness Facility. He glanced over to his right as heroine clad in a three-tone blue outfit guided a fit man wearing nothing more than a white swim cap, goggles, and tight orange swim pants up the stairs.
She twisted the man’s right arm tightly behind his back and looked over at Gray Guardian with an exacerbated smile. “You too?” she asked.
Gray Guardian nodded at the woman whose thick brown hair seemed to explode out from under the back of her light blue mask. “This was my fourth.” He gestured back toward the building. “Things are bit tight in there.”
“I can imagine,” she replied as she yanked on her prisoner’s arm to keep him still. “This is my second …” she sighed. “I had to pick today for foot patrols. I had to bring this one back on a city bus. The police couldn’t pick him up because they’re swamped answering other calls.”
“What’s his story?”
“Oh, he kept trying to dive into the pools at the water treatment plant. That after he was chased out of someone’s yard for swimming in their pool.”
The man suddenly exploded with energy and tried to get free of the heroine’s grip. He cringed as she twisted his arm even tighter and forced him to the ground. “I must go! There’s pools that are underutilized! They call out to me! I give them purpose!”
“You said that when security barely kept you from diving into the sludge pond! I don’t think that would have ended very well!” she yelled as she placed her knee on her prisoner’s back. “Now, will you calm down, Mr. Swimmer, so you can walk or do I have to drag you up these stairs?”
Gray Guardian leaned down for a closer look at the man’s face before looking at the heroine. “Do you need some help, Blue Sentry?”
“No, I’m good,” she replied as she forced Mr. Swimmer back to his feet. “Now walk,” she demanded with another twist of his arm, “or I’ll twist your pinky again!”
“Okay! Okay!” whimpered Mr. Swimmer as he relented and started walking up the stairs once more.
Blue Sentry glanced back at Gray Guardian as he continued down the stairs toward his parked sedan. “Are you going to The Haunt later!?”
Gray Guardian looked over his shoulder with a nod. “I’ll be going right there! My shift is finished!”
“Great! If you don’t mind waiting, I’ll ride with you!”
“Alright!” he replied with a wave as he walked the rest of the way to his car. He opened the door and collapsed into the driver’s seat with a heavy sigh. After closing the door, he reclined his seat some and hit a concealed button on the back of his steering wheel. “Call base.”
A computerized female voice chirped, “Command accepted. Calling base.”
The sound of a ringing phone sounded over the car speakers for a few moment before a cheerful voice answered. “Yo! What’s up! Heard all of you heroes had a busy day today!”
“You have no idea …” He paused for a few moments. “I hate to ask you, but could you have a stiff drink ready when you get the signal that I’m in the transit tunnel?”
“Why do you hate to ask? I told you when Carl went on vacation, I’d be more than glad to take up his duties as butler while he’s gone since the only temp available is that old coot Rockfeller. I can’t stand when he goes on about the cleanliness of everything, especially my area … ‘Of course it has grease all over it and the chair is stained! I’m a mechanic and an engineer!’ Sheesh! Did I mention I can’t stand that guy?”
Gray Guardian laughed. “Thanks. I needed that … and thanks again for filling in like you are.”
“Hey, don’t mention it. I don’t mind. It’s not like you’re paying me to have my dream job of working on and helping to invent equipment for heroes or anything.”
Gray Guardian chuckled. “Alright, well, Blue Sentry is almost to the car. She got stuck on foot patrol today.” He cringed. “She had to bring in a hand-off on the bus because the police were too busy, so I’m giving her a lift to The Haunt.”
“Aiesh. That’s harsh. I’ll see you when you get back. Later!”
“Bye,” replied Gray Guardian calmly and he pushed the button to end the call just before the passenger door opened. He looked over at Blue Sentry as she buckled herself in and leaned back in her seat.
“I hate using public transit when costumed,” she mumbled. “People are used to seeing us about on the streets is one thing, but when you’re holding prisoner someone that looks like he escaped from swim competition tryouts, they tend to stare. I need a good stiff drink. Just enough to take the edge off.”
Gray Guardian chuckled and smirked. “That’s about what I just told my engineer. I wonder if someone is trying to drive us to drink with all of this.”
“I don’t know what someone is trying to do,” Blue Sentry sighed, “but the whole city has gone insane. They don’t know where to put people anymore. Let’s just get to the haunt. Maybe we can figure something out there.”
Gray Guardian nodded, adjusted his seat, and they set off.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Some time later, Gray Guardian pulled up to a reinforced garage door next to a security checkpoint. The guard in the security boot leaned forward and peered at the tinted windows of Gray Guardian’s sedan. His finger settled on a small button as the window started to lower. When Gray Guardian became visible above the glass of the opening window, the guard moved his finger away from the button and he grinned. “How’s it going out there?” he asked.
Gray Guardian returned the grin with a blank look of exhaustion. “Swell. Just swell.”
A ping from the guard booth could be heard. The guard glanced at a monitor and peered back into the vehicle. “Could you lean forward a bit more Miss Sentry?”
Blue Sentry laughed as she leaned forward and stared into a small camera on the guard station. “Miss Sentry? That’s not my name, you know?”
“Well, yes,” retorted the guard with a smirk, “but I’m only being polite.”
Blue Sentry rolled her eyes as another beep sounded from inside the guard booth. “You’re not just trying to get my attention, are you?”
“Well, maybe a little bit,” replied the guard as he glanced at the monitor again. “Alright. Both of your identities have been confirmed and you’re clear to go.” He looked into the car. “And maybe a little bit.” He gave a hopeful smile. “Is it working?”
She looked at him flatly. “Try a different approach. Open the door, Chuck.”
“Yeah, right. Flowers then?” he asked as the window of Gray Guardian’s window started moving up.
“That would be a start!” she replied before the window shut fully.
Gray Guardian glanced at her with a smirk as the heavy steel garage door opened in front of them. “Having a date later?”
“Oh, don’t get me started,” mumbled Blue Sentry. “Though, with this one … maybe. I think he might actually treat me as who I am and not some costumed celebrity.”
Gray Guardian chuckled as he pulled forward and onto the downward ramp that led into secure garage underneath the building. When he parked, both he and his passenger got out of the sedan, took a nearby stairway, and walked down a short hall to a large and semi-ornate doors. The two glanced up at the bold letters jutting out slightly from the wall above the double-doors that read Lounge.
Gray Guardian opened the doors and took in the sight that greeted his own weary eyes. Seated at a number of tables, and some with glasses emptied to various levels were many of his fellow costumed crime-fighters that helped to keep Durnett City safe. The looks on their faces, except for those whose heads were resting on the tables in front of them concealed by their arms, were much like he imagined his to be.
Blue Sentry dodged past him and led the way to a bar at the side of the room. A man behind the bar wearing a red vest over a black outfit grinned. “Welcome back to the Durnett City Hero Assessment Underground Networking and Training facility. What’ll it be? City Hall called and said all drinks are on the house after the day you all have been having instead of just the usual at cost … though the drink limit still applies. Oh, and don’t worry too much if the fatigue of the day combines with the drink to throw you for a loop, Freight Train volunteered give people rides since his part of town was calmer.”
“I don’t think I’ll be needing that, thanks,” replied Gray Guardian as he approached the bar, “I’ll take a double-shot on the rocks with a fruit mixer. Something tropical if you’ve got it.”
Blue Sentry, who was studying the menu contemplatively sighed and looked at the man behind the counter. “Just give me something stiff. I need something just enough to take the edge off so I can start to relax.”
“Coming up!” replied the man as he set to mixing drinks. In just a few moments he had finished both drinks and handed them to his patrons.
“Thanks,” said Gray Guardian as he raised the glass to his lips and took a sip. “Perfect. At least let me give you a tip for the both of us.”
The man laughed as Gray Guardian withdrew a twenty and laid it on the counter. “I’ll never say no to that! You’re such a darn fine tipper, and that’s why you’ll always be my favorite patron.”
Blue Sentry smirked after taking a sip of her own drink. “I hope I rank somewhere high on that list.”
“You’re up there somewhere,” replied the man with a nod.
Gray Guardian shook his head and smiled as he turned and started walking toward the tables. One of his fellow heroes noticed him and waved as he called out. “Hey! Gray! Why don’t you come over here and join us?!”
Gray Guardian nodded at the invitation and walked over as Blue Sentry took a seat at a stool by the bar. She looked at the menu again. “I don’t suppose the food is complimentary today as well?”
The man behind the bar shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
= = = = = = = = = = = =
If you’re a fan of super heroes then you undoubtedly enjoy it when there is a team up between super heroes or even villains because it allows for grander stories to be told involving what could potentially be your favorite characters in fiction. One of the most obvious ways to top the temporary hero, or villain, team up is to make it a permanent, rather than a temporary thing. Enter, the super hero, or villain, organizations.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of hero or villain groups. First, there are characters who are created to carry a broader narrative as a group rather than focusing on a single individual such as the Ninja Turtles being a tight-knit group of ninja or the X-Men begin an extended team who can pick and choose from their members for missions like a mutant of the month club. The second type of group is made of normally independent characters like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and The Flash joining with other heroes to form the Justice League.
Whatever form the organization takes, there is one thing that lies at the core of a properly functioning group. Without this single thing a group can easily fracture. Comradery. In the story, both Gray Guardian and Blue Sentry relaxed when they were among their peers. Gray Guardian, in particular, found comfort in the realization that he was far from alone in his exhaustion. Blue Sentry also shared her sentiments that, even while the guard was on the periphery of the organization and not a hero himself, she valued that he viewed her as a person and not a celebrity.
The interaction between Blue Sentry and the guard sheds light on one of the motivating factors for heroes, villains, or any like-minded people forming into groups. When people are particularly different from the ‘average’ person, they regard themselves as outsiders. Even though the heroes of Durnett City are viewed as celebrities, it doesn’t change the fact that, when in their costumes, they are regarded as being apart from regular citizens and have an almost mythical status. Also, in their case, trying to establish open bonds with non-heroes while in disguise could actually endanger those they are trying to get close to if an enemy decides to target the people a hero is close to.
Besides establishing greater comradery with other heroes, or villains, one of the most important factors of an organization is having a source of capable backup if an individual ever finds that they’ve gotten in over their heads. This is especially important for those heroes who don’t have a revolving door of sidekicks, like the Dark Knight. Speaking from a narrative perspective, this allows for greater moments of tension to be reached because a hero or villain can be brought to the cusp of defeat, or even be entirely defeated, before backup arrives to turn the tables on their common foe. This can be done with a normal super hero team up, although there being a full organization behind a character allows for additional factors like fighting on as either part of a larger plan or holding out in the hope of help arriving.
There being an organization also opens the door to new plot opportunities such as addressing tensions or conflicts within the group, how the group is seen as a whole by the outside world, how or if the group seeks out new members, how the groups funds its efforts, whether there’s any supporting staff employed by the organization like technicians or janitors, and a great deal of other factors that would rarely, if ever, come into play with simple team-ups or even larger crossovers between title characters. The downside to all this is that more dynamics have to be tracked and developed to make it feel like a worthwhile thing or believable thing, particularly if there are characters with conflicting personalities or viewpoints.
To summarize, having a hero organization allows for a much greater range of potential plots and allows for drastically higher tensions without also destroying the suspension of disbelief in regards to how other heroes just happen to show up when they’re needed when they’d otherwise have no reason to be there. It also allows for more intricate plots where different threads can be followed from different directions and for heroes to have an outlet where they can associate with other individuals who treat them as peers rather than celebrities. The downside of this is that it can require a lot more extra work and world building to make an organization seem believable such as explaining how any headquarters or assets are funded, how the heroes communicate, and keeping track of how the different heroes within the group get along and where their viewpoints might clash.
Providing all the cons can be effectively managed with skillful world building, the advantages of having a team, whether hero or villain, can far outweigh the risk. Although, unless you, or cooperating creators, already have complimentary characters that can be used to form such an organization, I would advise against jumping straight into creating several characters to fill the role unless you first have an idea of what you want the team to be like first. Unless you have a clear understanding of how you want the team to function and create characters specifically to facilitate this, you may find yourself stretching and making characters act in ways contrary to their natures to direct the team where you want it. This happen would cause much of the immersion that would hold an audience to a story to be lost.
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