“Indra, what can you tell us about the areas that were affected by the fighting? How bad is the damage?” Stan Bendis asked.

“Well, the authorities are currently still assessing the damage. Fighting within the city was confined to the Northern Barrows District, but the damage was extensive. Most of the damage was attributed to the battle between the Champion of Velocity City, Thundersky, and a giant bird-like monster that came out of the Gap.”

The screen cuts away from the two reporters again to show footage of the fight. Many cameras had picked up the battle high above Velocity City and Jennifer’s heart skipped a beat when the screen showed the giant bird monster leaving a line of destruction with its breath laser. There were clips showing the battle between Thundersky and the bird monster before a video showing the giant monster flying away from the city. Then, the last image was an aerial overview picture of the severely damaged Northern Barrows.

“What is the mood right now in Velocity City?” Bendis asked.

“Well, the people in the city have a variety of emotions after such an incident, but they are mostly relieved. Relieved that nothing worse happened. Northern Barrows District was badly damaged, but it was an industrial district so the loss of life over there, though unfortunate, could have been a lot worse if the monsters had dropped over other areas of the city.”

“I must tell you, Indra, that there have been some complaints online about the actions of Thundersky and the heroes. Critics are saying they should have prioritized closing the Gap over Northern Barrow. A Gap over a populated part of the city should have a higher priority than one over a Gap outside the city.”

“Unfortunately Stan, that’s not the way it works.” Indra Chambers said in a choreographed display of indignation. “It is a known fact that some Gaps grow bigger over time, and the standard operating procedure has always been to deal with the older Gaps first before dealing with the newer ones. That’s what the heroes did over here.”

“I understand that Indra, but the bigger threat to the city came from the second Gap.”

“Yes, but that is very unusual. Eyewitnesses had reported seeing the giant bird-monster physically widening the Gap on its own before flying through it. No word yet from Velocity Tower about how the monster was able to do that, but if true, it is a very concerning development.”

“There are also some people who say that the champion should have chased down the giant bird-monster, and not allow it to escape. What do the people in Velocity City think about that? Are there any criticism of the Champion?”

“None.” Indra Chambers immediately replied. “Everyone I spoke to is grateful to the champion for his heroic defence of the city. There is no official classification yet, but most witnesses claim that the bird-like monster was at least a C-list threat, and they are proud of the fact that their champion managed to drive it off alone.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Are people afraid that the Gaps would reopen?”

Indra Chambers gave a small shrug at the question. “There are always worries about that, but the people of Velocity City are made of stern stuff. The city faced a crisis, a sudden one, and the city’s premier supergroup responded. The heroes and villains of Velocity met the challenge of the two Gaps admirably, and the premier villain of the city, Master Sweet Fist, even went into Northern Barrows. So, while there is a sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop, the people of Velocity City believe that when the other shoe does drop, the heroes and villains of Velocity City will be there to catch it.”

“Thank you, Indra, for that amazing report and please, stay safe.”

“Thank you, Stan.”

The screen turned off, and after a moment of quiet … the cheers erupted!

“Sweet Fist! Sweet Fist! Sweet Fist!”

The cheers rang out continuously among the group like they were in a sports game and Jennifer couldn’t help but smile behind her mask. Her father just scratched his chin in fake embarrassment. Jennifer knows he love attention.

“They showed the villains. That never happened in the past. Do the news really credit villains nowadays when they fight during the Accords?” Sweet Fist asked when the cheering died down.

“With all the cameras and videos, they could hardly afford not to.” Mister Black said with a chuckle. “I think most corporate heroes and villains have a clause in their contract about having a drone filming them whenever they put on their costume.”

“I was told they can’t stream during the Accord.”

“They can’t,” Bradley agreed, “but there is no rule about uploading the videos after the event. The various media channels should be swarmed with videos right now and advertisers would be knocking down the doors of H.A.V.E and the various corporate hero companies in their rush to get their advertisements on the channels.”

Jennifer took that as a cue to press on her tablet. The television screen turned back off, and this time it was showing a popular video website. Jennifer typed in a few important keywords in the filter, and clips of the fights from various internet channels began showing. Most of the corporate channels were displaying footage of their heroes fighting the monsters, and there were even a few videos showing civilians fighting the monsters while escaping. No one was truly helpless on Nexus.

The screen kept flipping from channel to channel before Jennifer finally stopped it when they found a good video showing the fight between Thundersky and the giant bird monster. Her father made an off-hand remark that the monster is more of a dragon-bird hybrid and should be called that. No one was stupid enough to contradict him, but no one agreed either.

The video started with the giant bird monster flying out of the Gap and looking confused by the change in scenery. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an unusual occurrence with extradimensional monsters. Most of the time, these monsters were simple-minded and they would be confused when they passed over to Nexus. Confused creatures are usually scared creatures.

And scared creatures usually lash out.

The video showed the blast that came out of the giant monster’s mouth and the immense destruction it left behind. The giant bird gathered itself for another shot, but then came the blast from Thundersky. Jennifer had to admit her knees went slightly weak when she saw the Champion. Thundersky was in full combat mode and the combination of his golden armour, helmet, and the small arcs of lightning across his body made him look like a demigod from the ancient myths.