Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Walking with Superman: Day 28

Superman's trip to Seattle coincides with the annual Powerhouse Hero Convention, a massive gathering for amateur superheroes and hero groupies, fans, retailers, and fetishists. Superman marvels at the subculture, seeing panels like "How to Activate Your Meta-Gene," "Costume Design 101," and "'Who talks to fish?': Coping with Lame Superpowers," and gets stopped every ten steps by people who want their picture taken with one of the best Superman cosplayers they've ever seen. Superman finds it strange but mostly harmless, until it all takes a more sinister turn. Amidst the vendors selling memorabilia and knick-knacks and useless crystals promising to harness cosmic energy, someone in the convention center has been dealing in a cheap but very effective single-dose knockoff of Lex Luthor's Everyman Exo-Gene treatment. Now Superman must fight through dozens of excitable new metahumans and thousands of groupies to find the source of the drug before the streets are filled with inexperienced wannabes. Thankfully, he has the dedicated help of the convention's guests of honor: over thirty superheroes of various levels of fame and experience, including Booster Gold, Beast Boy, and the Inferior Five!

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