Masks 2

<I know I'm gonna regret this, fuck> She texted Devana, before standing up herself and manifesting her golden wings. She was, technically, still just wearing a swim-suit--but the power of illusion converted that into whatever the hell she wanted it to be.

It had been a simple black dress, just something cute and somewhat formal to wear to Nocturne's big announcement. But right now? Now that she was having to come step on stage? As she flew over, it morphed into an armored gown that seemed to be made from the fabric of the night sky, stars and all. She put out a hand for a microphone, and a table rose from the stage with one on it.

"You may know me," said Lux, one of the most heavily merchandised super heroes of North America. "I call myself 'Lux'. It's a name I invented for myself as a child, just starting on this path--a mask the Omnicorp was more than happy to claim as their own and twist to their own ends, as a vehicle for profit and fruitless feeding of their eternal greed. As they do with everything they touch. With the environment. With ideas. With lives. All callously fed to the grinder of this monstrous capitalistic beast."

"I call myself by other names--such as the one my parents gave me. The one so many of us hide--and why? Not for our own sakes. Your enemy cares not what name you have, unless it can use your name against you. Against this enemy, to be known is not only to endanger yourself, but to endanger also those who know you, who raised you, who love you or merely exist in physical proximity to you--But I speak of things that we all already know. To have your identity exposed is a danger and a tragedy not because we are having fun being cryptic and mysterious, but because it is a shield for those who we love." Yeah, Emily, why are you yelling Orla's name around the compound? Gosh. Shaking her damn head.

"And this is the reasoning behind Prism as well. To further obscure from our enemies our lines of communication, those lines of connection which form a strong basis upon which we can organize, can hold an advantage. Perhaps it is overkill, a shield upon a shield. I shall reveal this now, and let it be considered."

"I am Prism." As she paused a moment to let that be heard, three other women joined Lux on the stage.

One was a woman appearing to be in her late fifties, very tall and wearing a suit of Greek style hoplite armor. A sword was at her side and a shield was at her back. Her hair and eyes were both gray, and her wrinkled skin a mediterranean tone.

The second was a woman closely resembling the first, though likely half her age. She too was tall, and she too wore a suit of Greek style hoplite armor. A sword was also at her side and a shield on her back, though her hair was honey-colored and her eyes blue. She could easily be described as the most beautiful woman anybody in the room had seen, her skin and features flawless.

Finally, the third was a woman of Lex's height, with blond hair, blue eyes, and awfully pale skin. She wore a suit of fur-lined metal armor, and a sword was also at her side.

One at a time, they repeated Lex's words.

"I am Prism."

"I am Prism."

"I am Prism."

They looked to Maria in the crowd as well, though they did so discretely. Nobody expected Coyote to join Lux up on stage. Such an expectation would be foolish.

Indeed, Maria quietly opened a water bottle and placed three question-marks in the air for them to see.

"I helped create her. I am one of those who animates her. The others are all, to a one, close friends of mine, who have fought beside me. Whom I trust with my life, and fight with me to protect the world. It is my preference to guard their identities as well." Though she wasn't the only voice in this matter, and had been joined by at least most of the others, at least the reasoning was out on the table.

"As for what comes after we destroy the Omnicorp? What exact system replaces this great evil we are all assembled here to tear out root and limb? We shall discuss this. We shall debate this. And I dare say a great deal of time and thought will be dedicated to the question."

"I tell you this now, in all seriousness: It is almost completely irrelevant." Fuckin' bombshell opinion there.

"There are many potential arrangements a government can take to distribute resources, to ensure the safety of its people, to create a just and good society. Various arrangements of councils, of judges, of figureheads and elections and checks and balances--these are not questions that are solved overnight, they are built!"

"They are built and grown as this resistance must! By working together! By deciding on a goal, and moving towards it!"

"There will be problems! There will be setbacks, and enemies, and trying times and arguments, but I tell you this now. I will never stop fighting. For Earth. For its people. For a better future. And that is the task I ask you all to join together for. Right here, and now!"

"Who's ready to take down the Omnicorp?!" She called out, spreading her wings as she invited a show of enthusiasm from those assembled.