THE SONG OF MY PEOPLE - I.a.

The skies of Electropolis had never been more cloudless.

The breeze was crisp, the birds chirped and flocked around the city, and the city of heroes and justice shined bright and glorious under the rays of the afternoon sun.

That was until villain Frightbound and his goons rode planes overhead, dispersing a trailblazing amount of fear toxin gas that diffuses in the air like a cloud of smog.

The people in the streets all around the city ran like mad dogs from the streets into the nearby buildings, and as they did, the skies had gone dark with a fog of toxin gas that smothered the whole city.

Suddenly, two flying objects from behind could be seen flying towards Frightbound and his crew with blazing speed, but with no clue on where they could have possibly come from.

Frightbound flew overhead on his plane as he saw the heroes flying in from behind.

Solarman is smiling, signature flying pose of fists out front and his feet tucked together as he glides forward in the air.

His face was calm and cool despite the impending doom.

"I have come to defend you all." He started heroically.

"Oh, no you haven't!" Frightbound snickered as he pulled out a detonator switch.

"What?!"

Solarman gasped in awe as a massive explosion erupts behind him, and one of his allies' planes engulfed in flames and smoke as the resulting crash was huffed aside by none other than-

"It's showtime!"

Solargirl had her hands in the air with her arms straight and her legs tucked as she soared forward, with the explosion's smoke behind her.

The two of them collide headfirst and continue to exchange punches and kicks midair as they fly and fight with intense speed, with each one landing blows on the other planes as if they were sparring.

However, Frightbound pulls out his fear toxin gun and aims for Solarman's head.

A heat vision ray from Solargirl cut Frightbound's wing in half.

Solargirl flew forward as fast as a shooting star, colliding headfirst and landing a powerful uppercut into the other side of his plane as Frightbound soared through the sky and landed in the streets below, sending dust and debris everywhere.

The fear gas in the sky began to spread across the city like a blanket. Solarman immediately used his Super Breath to divert the noxious fumes away from the city. She keeps them under wraps, creating a cyclone in her hand that spins with immense velocity and disperses the cloud into harmless gas as it vanishes into the wind in one swoop.

Solargirl then looks at Solarman who was hovering nearby with his eyes closed, smirking as he opened his eyes.

"Wow, I was actually going to thank you for helping me clear out the city, but that looks like all the fun is done with."

"What were you thinking back there, you could have gotten yourself killed if you kept taking those hits!"

Solargirl laughed and scoffed, "Yeah, right, if it weren't for me, that villain would still be terrorizing the skies right about now, wouldn't he?"

"Don't give me that attitude, Solargirl! If you want to be a superhero, then act like one and do the things right for once! Or else the next villain won't be as lenient as me, and if I find out that you're dead in some alley somewhere, don't think I won't care because I'll still be here making sure you're safe! Do you understand me?!"

Solargirl didn't answer him back.

Solarman sighed despondently: "Look, Solargirl. We have been best friends ever since I first met you. But now I've noticed that your attitude towards your own hero work has been declining. You are getting distracted by petty things like fame, popularity, and getting riches, which I think you've already established. We're here to fight bad guys and protect the innocent, not chase fashion labels and make money."

Solargirl mocked his gesture in perfect mimicry, finally giving in, "Fine! But I'll let you know, Solarboy, I was trying my hardest back there!"

Solarman frowned and shook his head, "If this is what you call trying, then you need some serious work."

Solargirl was left in the dust as Solarman flew back down to Earth as she used her super senses to witness the gathered crowd cheering boisterously in the streets, as Solargirl stood by, watching them all from up high, looking like an abandoned orphan.

The gathered crowd began chanting as one.

"SOLARGIRL! SOLARGIRL!”

The chanting grew louder and louder, yet it fell upon ringing ears as she stared at them.

She began to tune out the cheering crowd from high above, leaving herself in willing silence as a slight breeze shifted her cape like a sail in the wind.