[ WP ] The super villains took over the world , turns out they are pretty good at ruling it and usher in a golden age

Not many people remembered the times before this lie, before the dawn of this oppressive *New Era*. 
 
 Ethan did. 
 
 He rushed up the clean, well lit stairs. His dark kevlar armor, his unkempt looks contrasting with the shiny polished surfaces of the office building's interior. He moved with the grace only decades of training could grant, his footsteps silent as he climbed the steps at a solid pace. 
 
 Twenty years. It was n't that much, he thought. Not enough for everyone to forget, to regard the times before this as some sort of nightmarish, turbulent epoch. As if it had been a dark age, long past. 
 
 No, he knew the truth. The terrible truth. They had been brainwashed, all of them. Forced into submission, into acceptance of the twisted new society, ruled by those who had once been supervillains, now regarded as the saviors of humanity. Ethan felt the burning hate rise within at the thought, but he reigned in, controlling his emotions. 
 
 He reached the top of the stairs and approached the closed metal door. Heavy and large, its surface so smooth he could see the reflection of his own face. He was wearing his old mask, the wedge shaped red visor that had been his signature symbol back when he had been a superhero, so many years before. 
 
 It was still a symbol, he mused, just of a different sort. One that civilians feared and hated. The symbol of a terrorist, of a dangerous subversive psychopath. 
 
 For him, the symbol of hope, of fighting for the truth, for what was real. Whatever the cost. 
 
 He placed the palm of his hand on the door, and pushed with his power. The bolts snapped as the door jumped out of the frame and flew outwards, as if pushed by an invisible force. Ethan stepped out on to the building's roof, unstrapping his handgun. 
 
 A security agent was turning to look at him, surprise then recognition in his face as his eyes fixated in Ethan's mask. The man was reaching for his automatic gun, but Ethan was faster. One shot with his silenced handgun and the guard collapsed, a red bullet hole in his chest. 
 
 Ethan stepped over the body as he walked up the roof's edge. He had n't carried guns before, he thought, back when he was a hero. He had n't *killed*, either. But that had been before this, before the whole world had turned on him. 
 
 The city was a gleaming marvel of technology and luxury. Skyscrapers bathed in a myriad colors rose high in the night sky, giant holograms decorating their walls. Automatic cars propelled by antigravity engines flew across the glass canyons, as if from a science fiction paradise. The brainchilds of *Rewatt*, Ethan knew. The supervillain had turned millionaire when he started selling the results of his tinkering to the masses. 
 
 Ethan pushed *Rewatt* out of his mind. There would be time to go after the villain in the future, but he was n't a priority. No, he had to focus on the now, on the current task. His gaze went down, at the well lit square in the intersection between two of the largest avenues in the city. The Council Plaza. 
 
 The podium was clearly visible, right behind the massive marble statue in the image of Doctor Dominion, the supervillain who had ushered this New Era twenty years ago today. The plaza was packed with people. A huge crowd had gathered to witness the celebrations, to cheer at the heroes in the podium. 
 
 Ethan gritted his teeth, looking at the four celebrities waving at the crowd. They dressed in flashy suits and armors, two of them with capes hanging off their shoulders. Their *heroes*. Scum, villains, psychopaths, all of them. 
 
 All but one. His gaze paused on the second woman to the left. *Sonicgirl. * The traitor. 
 
 He had received the letter, of course. Doctor Dominion wrote to them all. Villains and heroes alike, it did n't matter. If you had a power, you got a letter. Inviting them to the New Era, begging them to help him guide humanity forward. Telling them of his plans to end hunger, to stop poverty and war. Offering them a lifetime position in his new *'' Super Council'' * as long as they agreed to cooperate, to stop fighting each other and work together. 
 
 Ethan snorted. Like he would work together with a band of criminals. He had burnt his letter that same night, right before calling his superheroine partner, *Sonicgirl*, to start planning a counter movement. 
 
 Turned out, *Sonicgirl* had n't burnt hers. 
 
 Ethan clenched his jaw. Did n't matter. She had made her choice long ago. She had been weak. A victim, brainwashed by Dominion too, probably. But it was too late to save her now. 
 
 He pressed his hand on the metal statue that decorated the building's roof. A thirteen tons stylized rendering of a generic superhuman wearing a cape. Another symbol of this New Era. This is why he had chosen this particular roof. The symbolism, the imagery. It was important. He had to deliver a message. 
 
 He pushed with his power, charging the statue. More and more energy flowing from his body into it. 
 
 No, it was too late for *Sonicgirl*, Ethan knew that. 
 
 The metal vibrated and groaned, the energy wanting to be released, to explode in movement. But he restrained it, forcing the statue to wait, while he kept charging it, pouring even more energy. 
 
 But he knew he could still save everyone else. Save the world from its benevolent superpowered dictators. 
 
 Ethan moved his hand away, breaking the contact. In a heartbeat, the statue lunged into the air, tearing free from its metal framing, pieces of the building facade raining down on the streets below. 
 
 The buildings rocked as thirteen tons of flying sped-up metal crashed into the plaza down below. An instant later he heard the cries, the panicked screams from the surviving civilians. 
 
 He gazed down. It would be hard, he knew, but he had to. 
 
 Two of the four superhumans were down. *Parry* had managed to cover himself and *Sonicgirl* in a force field shield. The bodies of dozens of civilians were scattered all around the place. Ethan sighed, but then reminded himself of the importance of his task. These civilians, as hard as it was to say it, were acceptable casualties in this fight. 
 
 *Sonicgirl* turned to look at his building, and her eyes locked into Ethan's. He saw hate in her face as she recognized him. 
 
 It was n't the first time. Silently, Ethan cursed Doctor Dominion, the bastard, for brainwashing the heroine. For turning her partner into another of his pawns. 
 
 But Ethan knew he had to focus in his task, no matter how hard it was. He had to free them all. To rid the world of the Council. 
 
 To kill every other superhuman.
