You wouldn't think a few pieces of paper could cause so much chaos.

The government had decided to visit Central City after King Shark was lost by ARGUS. Geomancer's attack, a definitely red flag for taking down multiple buildings, was already a reason- ignoring the other weird things that had happened, such as the black hole that had opened over the city previously and the mere existence of the Flash. Most metahuman villains, however, seemed to be solely after the Flash- and as long as the Flash kept civilians out of the way, which he usually did, the government kept their noses out of it. They had other problems, after all, with the apparent rise of superheroes throughout the entire country.

Seriously, where were these people coming from?

But King Shark's ripping the roof off of a civilian home and apparently eating multiple tailors after their failure to make pants to suit his needs seemed to have toppled the scales.

The feds poured in, and suddenly a few hotels were very happy with their newly earned money. And there was one topic of discussion among these government goons, one whispered about in hallways when they thought no one was listening.

The metahuman census.

At first it was just a rumor, a highly official government secret that of course spread like wildfire as soon as social media caught wind. A census that required metahumans to list themselves as metahumans and detail their abilities, then submit to questioning. Questions arose- would it be confidential? What about children? Would they be subjected to experiments? What if a metahuman didn't want to talk about his abilities? What if someone didn't even know they were metahuman?

STAR Labs had released Earth-2 Wells' metahuman detection app as an actual app, but it didn't always work- everyone knew that. There were always inaccuracies or unusual tendencies in the human body, and that was what the app picked up on. So few people expected it when the census actually happened.

Overnight, posters that would cause gossip, protests and one very memorable riot went up throughout Central City. The headline for Picture News was boring- "Documentation of Metahumans." The whole article was government-issued.

Every deli, pharmacy and newspaper stand sold out early in the morning. The Picture News webpage got three thousand views in under an hour, and all for people to read this article.

Documentation of Metahumans

After the arrival of the man known as "The Flash," multiple people with unusual abilities have surfaced. These people are known as "metahumans," and most have shown themselves to be unfriendly.

If you or any of your family members above the age of 16 are what is known as a metahuman, you must call the number listed below and report it. You will be asked to detail your or your family members' abilities in full. If considered a potentially dangerous ability, you will be asked to give your name, home address, and phone number and submit to questioning.

This survey is mandatory for everyone above 16 years of age. Children are encouraged, but not required, to speak about their abilities. If found dishonest, metahumans will be detained and subject to questioning. To report metahuman activity, please use the S.T.A.R. Labs metahuman reporting app or call the hotline listed below. Please note that the listed hotline is not for emergencies- if confronted by a dangerous or hostile metahuman, please call 911.

The information gained from this survey will be placed in a federally-protected metahuman file and kept fully confidential except in the case of emergency. This survey is to protect all citizens of Central City from possible metahuman threat.

In addition, all official workplaces involved in law enforcement will be swept with a metahuman alert system. This is to ensure the safety and lack of corruption amongst our officers.

We thank you for your cooperation.

- United States Bureau of Citizen Health & Safety

Not everyone seemed to be able to cooperate.

High schools buzzed- they'd find out who among them was really a metahuman now. Reckless children dared each other to tell the feds they had powers, truth or not. And in law enforcement offices- such as CCPD- police officers eyed each other warily.

Who was on their side?