Meta Magic ep. 1: Guest Starring: The Savior!

The cameras began rolling on Ken in his human form standing in front of a convertible. He had taken a small offshoot of the crew to ensure every moment of his trip to Vegas was being watched. He was in the spotlight again. God did it feel good.

“Hey Lightfans! I’m going on a little adventure without the normal crew this week! We’re heading to Las Cegas for a little R&R. Maybe I’ll save some people, maybe I’ll end up gambling with the ghost of Al Capone! Who knows, right?” He was quite clearly happy with himself, when he rolled over the side and into the car. ”Lets get moving, shall we?”

The cameras cut away to reveal the hotel Ken was staying at that week. ”This week, I’ll be staying at the world famous Cosmopolitan.” The crew did a panning shot of the outside as Ken spread his arms wide. ”Lets go inside.”

It cut to Ken, obviously on a phone camera this time looking a little peeved. ”We actually couldn’t film in the lobby. Which is ridiculous but whatever. We’ll be staying in a suite tonight, and after that I’ll see what trouble I can get myself into.”

The Cameras turned off for a bit, and Ken began posting on social media about meeting fans at the hotel.



He was fairly sure this would attract attention. He decided to order a pizza before heading downstairs.


Ken walked downstairs, to be greeted by his fans. He basked in their admiration. Ken jokingly stuck his tongue out for the cameras before sitting down at a table to start autographing.

Anthony took a sip of his late, eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he considered the live stream. Lightyear, a public farce of a hero that social media had taken a liking to. Popularity had begun to spread among the younger generation as well as even some adults, all of which seeing him as some manner of rock star. The type to get magazine interviews and even occasionally asinine videos on YouTube asking him personal questions which ended up being deflected with painful attempts at being coy.

Meta-Magic.

He couldn’t help scoffing at the title as he stared out his car to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, a big spot in Vegas but not one out of his reach. All it took was a little social maneuvering, asking someone he had ascended to get him some tickets and he was there. Reservation and everything should he want to call upon that little favor. A small amount of effort required but in the end it all was for the greater good. His greater good.

Finishing off the caffeinated beverage he walked across the semi-busy road way, stepping into the building with just a name drop. By the time things were meant to be put into motion, fans had begun to gather couple his own supporters he eyed where they were gathering. This false idol basking within the love of his admirers. Little did they know the folly of their misgiven attention.

Dressing for the event was required, which came down to a soft black dress coat over a white button up shirt and dark blue slacks. Glasses felt like the proper thing to wear, so he chose a pair of horn rimmed glasses, keeping facial hair groomed. The perfect picture of cleanliness he would have thought.

A small procession had formed for autographs, which would have been an easy enough opening for him to take advantage if he were a moron. No, Anthony had a small love for the theatrical so he would do just that. His thumb pressed the send key on his cellphone, sending the signal to one of his followers who had come  That was when a fireball careened into the ceiling, causing a sudden panic while he weaved through the now chaotic crowd. There was no real identifiable villain from there, just chaos and people trying to escape a rapidly spreading fire.

Subtlety was always a favorite of his.

Slipping his phone into his pocket, he started the part and bumped into one of the people running about and they immediately knocked him down with impressive force. A jolt ran up his arm and he felt the glasses skitter across the floor. Within view of mister hero as well. He groped for the glasses, which were then stamped on by someone else. Not ideal but it worked.  ”Dammit, people always step on your glasses in a crisis.” He cursed, feeling over the crushed spectacles with an almost forlorn expression.

Lightyear was in the middle of signing an autograph when the fireball exploded through the ceiling. Crap. He couldn’t do anything with fire. And even if he transformed in the throng of the crowd; he could seriously hurt his fans, or make the situation worse. For once, Ken turned off his camera as he ran down to see if he could help people.

A fire extinguisher would be his best bet, he spotted one across the room, but that was before he spotted the man that had fallen. ‘Shit. Shit. Shit!’ He had to make a call.

If the fire spread, everyone would die. But if he didn’t save the man… Fuck! He went towards the man through the throng. ”You good buddy? Need a hand up?” He reached down to offer his hand. The heat was getting unbearable, not to mention the smoke.

The great conflagration that the fireball produced begin to choke the building with smoke, rising in great plumes upwards that began to kill some visibility. A little overkill in his mind, but something that made the situation seem all the more dire. Anthony rubbed the bridge of his nose, noting no soreness and letting his senses focus on what sounded like someone coming his way. The voice that spoke confirmed that it was Lightyear. ”Thank you.” he said shakily, reaching for the hand that was extended towards him. This was almost painful in how easy the celebrity made things.

Despite the fact the heat was nearly unbearable, he couldn’t help feeling a certain level exhilaration.  Anthony inhaled and felt his lungs roil from the irritants flowing through the air, hand pressed over his mouth as he began to cough. It honestly hurt, but then again this was all part of his plan. He would have to do a little relaxation after the fact. However that wasn’t something he would do right now. Instead he accepted the hand up and stood, rising to full height without an issue.

”Sorry, my eyesight is pretty bad and I think you saw my glasses got totaled. Could you um...help me?” He lied smoothly, eyes looking around as if someone were trying to decipher blurry surroundings.

Something was off about this guy, Ken realized. But he couldn't not help him, after all. He was supposed to be a hero. "Sure thing man." Ken said and wrapped an arm around the mans shoulder. "As long as nobody got hurt, I'd call this a successful meet and greet." Ken said as he led the man towards the emergency exit. "I got to sign a few autographs, save some people, I even got a bit of footage for my vlog!"

Ken allowed himself to go on like this for a while, until eventually they exited the building. Ken leaned into the strange man he had met, and whispered. "Hey, you think you could help me give these guys a real show? Just follow my lead." Ken raised his, and by extension the other mans hand into the air. "You're welcome, citizen! I am happy to help!"

A helpful arm wrapped around his shoulder as the two of them moved through the smoke and out the building, He had to keep his eyes narrowed, smoke irritating them enough that he felt a little blind. Mingling with the pain and irritation that came from his lungs which burned much like the fire that was raging through the place. People screaming as emergency efforts had already begun to work to put out the fire. Metahuman units were useful, though they didn’t react quickly enough to stop any major damage from taking place in the poor hotel. It would be restored, but not before having a little bit of time spent closed.

Eventually they escaped the building, fresh air hitting his lungs like a balm as he began to cough loudly. The other whispered something, about giving the crowd a show. ”Sure thing, i’ll give them quite the show.” One hand was raised into the air, having clasped onto the others, and letting the pressure increase. Before Lightyear could really do anything he reached with his free hand snapped into motion in an instant. Five fingers pressed against the others side and seemingly sliding through without issue, clothes seeming to pulsate as if they were liquid and then his hand pulled back. Bringing with it a compact disc, yellow and silver with streaking trims.

”Ladies and gentleman! Your hero and his worth boiled down to its most essential components. Just a grandstanding fool who cares more about their views and revenue than actually doing what makes a hero truly a hero.” With a flick of the thumb, the CD spun on his index finger. ”Just another example of the metahumans that are allowed to have and waste their great potential.  So i’ve judged you no longer deserve this power you’ve been given!” People gasped, shock and even confused at what was happening. One of the press approached enough to ask a question.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

”My name is Savior and i’m doing what no one else can. I’m taking away the power from fools like Lightyear.” He smiled, a smile that might have even seemed charismatic.