A Scripta

Brickstown has little crime, they said. After all, the prison's there, they said.

Guadeloupe DeJesus gathered her books closer to her as she walked by the five Council men, standing on their soap box. "Our numbers will only grow! You, too, will understand our strength. We will soon be willing and able to take control of this city, to bring peace and end the oppression of those so-called heroes."

She bent her head and kept walking. They were silent as she walked by them, but she could feel their eyes on her, assessing her. She hunkered down and picked up her pace, then saw a pair of black and blue boots step before her. She jerked, pulled her head up.

"What is that book?" The Council man in a mask demanded.

She looked at the book in her arms. "It's only...It's about Prenatal Medical P--"

The Council man tore it out of her arms. He turned it over in his hands, opened the cover. He examined a few pages, while Guadeloupe tried to look unconcerned, but wasn't doing a very good job as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Where are you from?"

"Arizona," she said quietly, looking at the book and watching his hands page through it.

"No, what country are you from?"

"My... my parents were from El Salvador."

The blue-clad man focused black eyes on her. "Where were you born?"

"El Salvador," she whispered.

The man slammed the book shut. "Are you legal?"

"I'm a student," she protested. "I'm here on a student visa."

"And we're paying for your education, aren't we, wetback?"

She flinched at the slur.

"You come across the border illegally! We welcome you with open arms! We give you an education! All for FREE! We, WE pay for whatever YOU do. What do we get in return? A constantly pregnant hoochie-mama, who milks the system and neglects what five children she already has, so she can sit on the porch of her subsidized housing and smoke crack!"

He threw the book in the air. There was the crackle of gunfire that made her duck and the local people bolt for the nearest cover. She heard herself screech as she hit the sidewalk.

The blue-clad leader laughed, and Guadeloupe risked a peek from the sidewalk. She saw papers falling down like leaves from a tree in autumn, the remnants of her book. He turned and spoke, standing ominously over her, "Know your place, bitch."

"Okay, that's quite enough."

Guadeloupe turned her head to see a tall and broad white-haired man, dressed in a dark green t-shirt and blue jeans. He seemed to be barely holding in his anger as he glared at the Council member.

"Well, well, well, it's Sweetness and Light come to save the day. What a hero!"

He tilted his head. "You know something, I'm really not. But you destroyed a perfectly good book and that I will not abide."

Guadeloupe stared unabashedly at the man. Then he broke out into a grin, looked down at her and winked. A second later, light erupted from his hand and a bolt of energy knocked the blue-clad man away.

Gunfire erupted all around her. She covered her head with her hands and arms and tried not to scream. She felt the earth shake under her and heard the cries of men getting beaten. She stayed that way, even while the sounds of moaning men faded away as their bodies were teleported to the Zig or the hospital.

She felt a touch on her shoulder and jerked up with a cry. "It's okay," the white-haired man said. Guadeloupe turned, latched onto him. She started shaking, and the man gathered her close to him, his huge body covering hers.

"They're gone. It's okay. I took care of them. They won't bother you anymore."

She didn't realize she was crying until she sniffled loudly.

"Thank you!" she cried, burying her head in his chest. The man let out a long sigh.

"You are so welcome." He lifted her head with a finger under her chin. His eyes blazed with white light for a moment and then he blinked, extinguishing the light. He smiled warmly. "Let's see about getting you another book, huh?"

As he helped her up, she saw that he glowed.