Metropolis native Kevin Brown and his friends hurried to Gotham City's main stadium. They arrived in the city two days before the biggest event in recent years. This darkest metropolis in the United States couldn't remember the last time the stadiums had attracted so many people.
Yes, Kevin was so eagerly awaiting the performance of his favorite idols that he even managed to overcome his inexpressible fear of cold and dark Gotham in order to attend Alison Blaire's concert. A resident of a bright and cloudless city protected by the Man of Steel, he had formed a rather exaggerated and stereotypical image of the Dark Knight's abode.
Gotham is universally recognized as the leader in the number of criminals and, accordingly, the number of crimes committed. It's no wonder that with the propaganda that permeates the consciousness of nearly every American, Gotham City's reputation has acquired such a repulsive and frightening cast.
But to Kevin's surprise, the horror city greeted him with a different face, and he was surprised to discover how different this place was from those terrifying, his rich imagination and fantasies devised for him.
To be fair, Gotham did indeed turn out to be somewhat darker than Metropolis, but this was largely due to the neo-Gothic structures erected centuries ago. This ancient architecture blended so seamlessly with the new buildings, blending past and present, that a completely new metropolis with the enchanting atmosphere of the Victorian era was being created before their eyes.
Exploring and taking in the local sights, Kevin and his friends fell in love with this captivating city and its welcoming residents. They completely forgot about the claims that Gotham was a sacred ground for crime. These claims were far from unfounded, but they were also nowhere near as radical as they were presented.
After the arrival of Batman, crime in the city declined and the streets became relatively safe, but the country's attitude toward a criminal city cannot be changed overnight, and so Gotham remains a dangerous place for them, just as it always was.
Kevin was delighted with the fabulously beautiful city, and this only increased the joyful anticipation of the upcoming concert.
He and his friends left three hours before the show, but even with such a big head start, Kevin didn't expect to be so late. Everyone was rushing to get to the concert, causing a terrible traffic jam.
Future residents would claim it was perhaps the largest and most massive pileup in Gotham City's history. The friends discussed their options and, abandoning the taxi, set out on foot. This way, they figured, they had a better chance of making it on time, especially since they'd spent the previous two days thoroughly exploring the area around the stadium they so desperately needed.
They decided to take a shortcut through an outdoor skating rink, located three kilometers away. As Kevin, slightly behind his frisky friends, ran past, he caught a glimpse of a couple kissing by the rink's fence. He'd been an ardent fan of Alison Blaire since the very beginning of her career. He lovingly listened to all her old songs on repeat and eagerly awaited new ones.
In recent years, Disco Flash had begun to lose popularity due to a creative crisis. None of her songs became hits, and the flamboyant singer performed less and less frequently, greatly disappointing her devoted fans. Her fans, including Kevin, refused to give up and continued to hope and believe that soon their beloved Flash would once again illuminate the music industry with her brilliance. And so, their wishes were heard, and the fading singer's star rekindled, eclipsing even her former self.
She changed her stage name from Disco Flash to Dazzling and presented a hungry public with new hits that unstoppably smashed their way to the top of the music charts. It was then that Kevin heard of a man named Alex Reath.
He learned that he was the one who wrote those brilliant hits for Dazzling and created her new image. From then on, Kevin became particularly intrigued by this talented man, and when he listened to his songs, he immediately declared himself his new fan. He later learned a lot about his idol: he discovered that the game "Subway Surfers," which he tirelessly played on his phone, was developed directly by Alex Reath.
ZThis was a real revelation for him, as Kevin had never really cared about who developed particular games. He also didn't overlook the books Alex had written. He'd heard of them, and everyone was talking about them, but Kevin Brown was in no hurry to start reading them, as he wasn't particularly fond of it. But after he learned who the author was, he immediately put aside all unimportant matters and immersed himself in reading.
Kevin later said that he now understood why everyone admired his works so much and called them masterpieces. Brown tried to understand how one person could be so talented, charismatic, and intelligent. And these weren't just empty assumptions—this man truly was.
He was the one who was able to outwit the Joker himself and save the hostages! When Kevin learned of this, his admiration almost turned to worship. And when he was told that Alex Reath would be appearing at the Dazzler's concert, he and his friends immediately decided to go to Gotham.
However, he never imagined that his desire to see his beloved idols was so great that he would actually see their faces as ordinary lovers. Kevin knew these people couldn't possibly be who he thought they were. The concert would soon begin, and they were probably busy preparing for it.
Putting these thoughts out of his head, he hurried to catch up with his friends, who were calling out to him. "Have I gotten too carried away? Perhaps I should slow down a bit, otherwise I'm not far from madness. Okay, I'll think about it tomorrow."
As dusk slowly thickened, the large plaza in front of Gotham's main stadium was filled with a gigantic crowd. Luckily, Kevin and his friends made it just in time and even managed to squeeze through the crowd to snag some pretty good seats with a view of the entire stage. People eagerly awaited the start...
And then, literally a minute before the show, fog machines positioned all around released a massive amount of dry ice fog. A countdown appeared simultaneously on a large LED screen, as well as on displays on three suspended structures.
"10, 9, 8, 7... 1." An unprecedented silence fell instantly—time stood still. The first notes of a familiar melody began to ring out... It was the song that Dazzler performed last at her last concert in Gotham.
"Firework!" Kevin listened to this hit more often than any of her other songs: he'd listen to it in the mornings when the weather outside was bleak, in his earbuds on the way to work, when he was overcome with doubt and needed to make an important decision—this song helped him believe in himself and get him in a good mood for the whole day. He'd heard it hundreds of times, but he'd never heard it performed live before. Alison always opened her concerts herself and never invited anyone to open. From the very beginning, she wanted to give people what they came to her concert for
.
.
.
Thank you all for your support, please vote with power stones.
YOU ALL CAN READ EXTRA CHAPTERS ON P@TREON. UPTO 40 EXTRA CHAPTERS AVAILABLE.
[email protected]/ANNIHILATOR009
REPLACE @ WITH A.