I had an awesome dream last night/this morning, about two rival groups of costumed superheroes/villains.
As usual I don't remember as much of the dream as I would like (it was kind of one of those 'stayed awake being sad at my computer until I passed out' evenings), but even the very premise was amazing.
Both the heroes and villains were incredibly secretive. From what I remember they were very far-flung and rather loose knit groups. The younger members were generally more interested in fighting their foes at any chance they got, whereas the older hands in both groups placed far more value in remaining hidden from everyday folk.
One 'plotline' that I remember was a young boy being initiated into the family secret- both of his parents were members of the superhero organization. I think he had lived with them for all/some of his life,
but they had kept as much of the details of their organization secret from him actually no, I think he had been well aware of the 'guild', he just wasn't allowed to hear any sensitive information and they did their best to keep him out of danger.
Either way, this night he was trusted more fully, having spent years in early training.
Now he had a costume of his own, basic fighting skills and knowledge, a secret identity and what-not.
Now the guild would take a more hands-off approach to his training, keeping a distant eye on him whilst he honed his abilities and fought opponents that they considered a match for his skill level. The first such opponent was a member of the villains guild, also young and recently-initiated. As a twist, he was also the son of a villain the main guy's parents had killed (probably unintentionally, you know how these good guys are- but I can't say for sure) in a fierce battle some time in the past.
So our protagonist decided not to waste any time. He knew where his unwitting opponent was: at a dingy nightclub.
He also understood the need to be at least
somewhat subtle, so as much as he wanted to show off his new costume, he dressed in mundane, if somewhat dramatic, clothes. Very light, loose-fit black jeans, sneakers of some kind, a thin black jacket and a black t-shirt with the logo of his father's super identity printed on the front.
Some time later he arrived at the club, looked around, and then made a beeline for the bar.
His target was seated there, so he leaned on the bar next to him and immediately began taunting him, because why not?
Can't remember the details of the conversation but he was quite aggressively poking fun at the guy without immediately giving away his identity/purpose. The guy- around the same age as himself- began to get annoyed, but kept his temper due to not wanting to bring attention to himself and, by extension, the villains guild.
Finally the main character grew bored of this and said, "I'm trying to pick a fight with you, can't you take a hint?"
The other guy looked at him somewhat suspiciously and demanded to know who he was. In response he pulled open his jacket, revealing his father's logo- a stylized red mask- and said, "Someone you used to know."
This got the desired reaction. He jumped back and prepared to defend himself as the guy sprang away from the bar, and then they fought for a while in the nightclub, neither really being tellingly defeated as far as I can remember.
I don't believe the superpowers of either combatant were particularly powerful or combat-oriented.
I believe both of them did have
some form of special ability, though.
After that fight I don't remember much of anything for a while, until the dream ended with a clash between two higher-up members of the two societies. I don't remember much of
that, either, except that it culminated at a dramatic mansion sometime late at night with the villain coming out on top and fleeing the scene, but there was at least one normal human witness left alive. The villain belatedly realised this (I believe there were cop cars approaching with lights and sirens) and set up on a hill above the house with a sniper rifle, but he was too late to take them out before the cops arrived.
This was a terrible thing for both sides of the conflict. Neither of them wanted information about them getting out, not even the half-dead hero who was dying in their mansion. A large group of high-ranking members from both societies wound up converging on the place, encircling the small band of cops (who were ecstatic to finally be getting some concrete info on these superpowered nutjobs) and trying to decide how to handle the situation.
Most of the villains would have simply killed the cops and any witnesses and been done with it.
The heroes couldn't very well do that and still be 'good guys, but some of them said it was preferable to having their secrets get out. Weapons were drawn. Tensions were rising. Members of both sides attempted to talk their way to a solution. It seemed violence was inevitable, only I didn't know just who would end up fighting who.
...And then I woke up.
Tl;Dr: Costumed societies of superheroes and supervillains wage a secretive war all around the world.
The only thing more important than defeating their opponents and foiling their plans? Keeping it all a secret from mundane society. In this dream we see a young, inexperienced hero, born into the society, honing his skills in battle against an equally-young member of the villains, and later a confrontation between higher-ranked, more experienced members of each group, torn between killing their enemies and keeping their deeds a secret from the police.