1964-03-12 - Watching Lady Liberty
Summary: Superman floats high over Manhattan in contemplation and is approached by Warbird. The heroine doubts that she is an inspiration and Superman disagrees.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
Clark Carol 


High above the city of New York, the spires of Manhattan's skyscrapers are all that remain. The Empire State Building dominates these with it's tip flickering red to alert flying aircraft to it's location. The Hudson Bay and River, Long Island, and Staten Islend with the nearby Statue of Liberty all are within view and create a breathtaking vista for anyone in a passing plane, helicopter or… some other means of flight.
Which brings us the the stark relief of a humanoid in blue with a flickering red flame dancing behind him as he hovers in place, an eye upon the world below. Who is to say precisely what he is looking for.. or listening for.. but he floats as a sentinel in the sky. It is Superman.

Flying around the city at high-Mach speeds tends to be pretty hard on the windows of New York, so Warbird is actually much higher than Superman, at first anyway. Glancing down, she notices the hovering figure there, and… well, curiosity drives her as she slows down to subsonic, taking a dive towards him.
At a fair distance away, she banks and comes to a hover not too far away, waving hello, "Not interrupting anything, am I? Just… well, don't see many people hovering around here." She glances around, then grins, "It /is/ a pretty good view, though." Warbird has been in the press now and again, a local superheroine that's been trying to do the right thing.

It's hard not to hear things flying at Mach. At least once they slow down. As Warbird goes subsonic the shockwave behind her announces her presence with a low rumble in the sky. He turns his gaze upwards and does not bother shielding his eyes from the sun. "Not at all. I was merely stopping by to take in the view." He coasts a little in the air to take a more conversational angle and smiles at the heroine. "I haven't come to New York in a while so I consider myself overdue. Though, with your presence and others, the city looks well defended." He dips his chin to her in recognition of her efforts.

Warbird actually blushes at that, considering, well, it IS Superman saying these things about the work she's doing, "Well, just trying to put my powers to good use. I'm sure you know how that is, right?" She runs a hand through her hair, the domino mask helping obscure her features. "But it's always nice to have another friendly face around here, especially if you were planning on sticking around for a while, Superman."

"I'm always around." Superman offers with a wink to Warbird. "And happy to help. For some reason, New York seems to keep itself busy compared to the rest of the world. At least as far as the number of villainous plots and schemes go." With those words, his attention trails to the land below him and his brow furrows. "I imagine it has to do with the focus of the world's wealth flowing through Wall Street. Greed has always seemed to be man's greatest weakness."

Carol blushes again at the wink, and shakes her head a little as she nods, "Yeah, it definitely seems to be the most happening place. Of course, that could also just be everyone making this the point of entry into America." She points out towards the Statue of Liberty, "So many people making this city home, and more coming all the time, for better rather than worse."

"America was founded on great ideals." Superman acknowledges with a sober nod when Carol indicates Lady Liberty. "But they are being tested." The last words he offers with some sadness. "Despite all of the clauses within your Constitution, you still oppress your own people." There's a small shake of his head then he looks to her kindly. "But all things worth fighting for come with a like struggle or we would not appreciate the victory."

Warbird nods, "Much as I'd like to argue that, I really can't. I've seen it often enough, just because I'm a woman… or friends, because their skin color is different." She smiles a little bit, "Still, sometimes the light does break through. Not often enough for /my/ tastes, but it does happen." She gives Superman a curious look back, tilting her head slightly.

"I wonder at your mutant neighborhood." Superman turns his gaze from the statue to Manhattan proper as though he is looking at it right now. "Why you've segregated still another population. Though.. this time I think it is fear rather than racism which has made this happen." He takes a deep breath. "I apologize if I sound glum. I often take to the skies to consider what I am to do next." His attention returns to her. "There are so many in need.. and to see a country where others strive to go for freedoms.. struggling for those very freedoms.. it gives me pause." He brings a hand up to his chin and rubs it thoughtfully as his attention returns to Manhattan proper. "Have you considered your name?"

Warbird looks a little sheepish at that, "You mean Warbird?" She ahems, color touching her cheeks as she crosses her arms in front of her, "I… well, honestly, it was just something I went by, before everything changed." So no, she hasn't really considered it all that much.
Then she looks over at Superman, "I definitely don't like the fear driving people these days, even if they don't admit it. Though I'm not sure what I can do about it… I've never thought of myself as an…" She pauses, then wrinkles her nose slightly, "An inspiration."

Superman chuckles at that. "You're floating a thousand feet above Manhattan, capable of bouncing bullets off of your skin, and folding a handgun as easily as a person folds a sandwich.. and you're not an inspiration?" His hand lowers as he looks back to her, mirth in his eyes. "Take a good look in the mirror sometime." He gives a sweeping gesture at her. "You're a woman. Powerful. Who does good things. Whose heart appears to be in the right place." He gestures at Manhattan. "All that you require to be an inspiration is to save lives. But more importantly, you can take a stand. Stand for what is right. What is just. For the oppressed. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." His hand points to the Statue of Liberty. "You are an American. These are your words. Protect them. Serve them. All of them. And you will be a greater inspiration than I could ever be."

Warbird looks wryly over at Superman, "No pressure though, right?" She does smile all the same at that, "Thanks, I appreciate it. Though I somehow doubt I'm ever going to eclipse you as far as inspiration is concerned, Superman." She hmms a bit, looking out towards Lady Liberty, a thoughtful expression touching her features.

"None at all." Superman replies with another laugh. Sure, maybe he makes it look easy.. but truth be told.. it /is/ hard. "I wouldn't worry about it. Fame isn't important. It comes. It goes. What is yours is your integrity. It's the one thing you own and only you can give it away. So ask yourself. What do you stand for?" His gaze continues to rest upon her as she looks towards the statue below. "What do you believe in? Do others know what you stand for? Why not? You have power that few are blessed to possess. Who, truly, can keep you captive should you not wish it? So do not hide your light." He shrugs and looks back down to Earth. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." He pauses for a few seconds then offers, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Again, he points, this time to the south. "Now, nevermind that it says men.. I take this to be all sentients. That governments which disenfranchise those within them are just as violate as the English were when this was written. America, now, is in a crisis. It survived one in trying to reach these lofty ideals, your civil war. What side are you on?"

Warbird grins, then turns back to Superman, "You and Captain America really should meet at some point, if you haven't already…" She hmms a bit, "I believe in the ideals that America was founded on, and I also believe that women are the equals of men, only men can sometimes be too afraid of that."
A wry look crosses her features at that point, "Though, when the Declaration was written, they hadn't realized that non-white men or women existed yet." A joke, but then it seems to be her way, when somethings gets to be a bit too serious. Then she looks at Superman, meeting his eyes, "I'm on freedom's side. Always have been. 'From California, to the New York Island.'"

Superman is smiling. "From the Prime Meridian and back again." Then he gives her a salute. "But thank you for making my point. Fear is not just about being a man or even black.. or even a mutant. It's about power. People who have it do not want to share it and will fight those who would take it from them, justly or unjustly. That's the real battle. The trouble is.. getting them to share it with others without taking it from them.. thus becoming the very tyrant you would depose." And, perhaps, why he's not involved himself in the Korean war.

Warbird nods, "Sadly, rights don't have to be a zero-sum equation… but power is, and as you say, those with the power will do what they can to keep it." She hmms, and glances over towards Superman, "If you don't mind my asking… ah, were you going to be up here all day, or did you have something else to do?"

"I had in mind checking in on southeast Asia before hanging up the cape for the night." Superman offers after a moment of thought. "There've been rumors of some human right's violations that my contacts in the UN told me about and I offered to have a look see."

Warbird blinks, "Wow, and I thought I was fast… but okay, I'm sure I'll see you around then, or something." She might be mentally kicking herself, but she does a good job of hiding it as she waves, "Take care of yourself, Superman." With that, a crisp and very proper salute, then she soars off into the sky, angling off towards the northeast.

Superman returns the salute though its more an homage than anything crisp. Smiling, he watches her fly off then.. begins a slow arc towards the north and up until… crackow! He breaks the sound barrier and ceases to exist as anything other than a white contrail in the stratosphere.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License