Chương 100: The Interview

Adam clicked a button on the tape recorder, which answered back with a whirr, before crossing his arms and facing me.

"Alright. We're on tape. Everything is on record from here on. Say 'Pass' if you don't wanna answer the question. How do you want to introduce yourself?" I let out a heavy sigh, the mask sitting between my fingers with such grip it might as well have been my heart I was holding. Could practically feel a pulse from it, but I knew it was just the tension in my palms.

"I... I'm Leo Holt. I'm eighteen years old. I don't know my real parents. I'm an orphan, raised by Joseph and Mary Bills, my foster parents, until I was eighteen. I'm also the superhero Hercules, from The New Sentinels. Some people... people in Richmond who I hope have learned better than to do anything while I'm gone, they might remember the name Crunch. That was me, too." The radio host nodded, leaning back in his seat.

"And could you tell me about your superhero stuff like your powers for me?"

"Yeah. I have super strength. I recently lifted a giant crab that my boss tells me weighed something like two million tons. Compared it to being as heavy as five skyscrapers. I'm also really... I think durable is the word. I'm not really gonna notice if you hit me with stuff unless you hit really hard. I'm kind of bulletproof."

"Interesting. And how does those powers work, do you know?"

"I don't really know, we're working on trying to figure it out." I explained, turning the mask over in my hands.

"That happens with plenty of superhumans, where they don't really understand their powers. Is it all good, no bad?"

"Kind of? I have to like... actively focus on where my strength goes, how much I use. If I use it too much, I start to lose focus. I was hallucinating when I threw that crab. I sometimes also lose focus when I think about other stuff. I was told it's because my brain has to be really picky with where it focuses on stuff, due to how I've kept using my powers." Adam's crossed arms moved into a pair of clasped hands as he sat up.

"That's awful to hear. If it's not too rude to ask, that losing focus, would that happen to be what caused the event that was in the bodycam video?" My gaze sat on him for a few moments, before moving down to my mask. Kept just turning it around, glancing at the little details. Nicks and gouges from my fights. One lens had a little scratch on it. Left one. All the way in the leftmost corner. Thought it was a smudge, but it caught on my thumbnail, that's how I knew.

The air sat silent as I kept studying the thing I'd worn so much.

"Do you want to pass?" He asked.

"No. Sorry. Just wanted to think for a second." I looked back up at him.

"Let's circle back to that one." He nodded.

"Okay. Maybe we'll stumble back to that point later, that's fine. Could you tell me about your team, The New Sentinels?"

"Yeah. I can't really... give away their information. But it's a four, technically five, person team. I'm considered their muscle and tactical analyst. The leader is a guy called Flowstate. He's uh... I dunno how to explain what he does. But he's good at it. Second-in-command is Spectroma, who does all sorts of stuff with light. Then there's Teiú. He's more super strength like me, but also super speed."

"Who's the fifth person?"

"Dr. Samantha Way. A mad scientist with ten doctorates, God knows how many degrees. She's not on the frontlines, but she's head of our research and development. Makes a lot of the gear and tech we use. Possibly the smartest person on the planet."

"I recognize that name. She was on the news a few years ago. For-""Cloning, yeah," I interrupted.

"She made two clones of herself. She's their mother. Their names are Samuel and Samara. In spite of the news about how the first human to be cloned became a monster, both of those kids are sweethearts. I'm not huge on their mom, but if anything happened to those kids, nothing would stop me."

"Why aren't you huge on their mother?"

"Pass."

"You got it. Is it just your team? No other structure? I remember at a press conference, there was this balding guy with a mullet and a mustache behind you who fielded the questions." I nodded, letting the mask hang by its strap in my wrist as I clasped my hands.

"Yeah, that's our boss. Agent Abichail Tancred, from the Super Commission. We're government-sponsored. That's how we have our budget."

"How's that feel, being a superhero on taxpayer money? Most superheroes are lucky if they get merchandising, let alone a big budget. Usually that's reserved for villains."

"Doesn't make that big of a difference. I don't use my money for anything but clothes, to be honest. It's sitting in a bank account, I don't even know how much. Might just donate it at some point if I can figure out how." Adam nodded, crossing his legs. One hand held onto the shin of the crossed leg.

"That's fair. Any charities in mind?"

"I don't really know any."

"I do some fundraisers for a few, like the Chicago Survivor Fund and a few animal charities. Are those the kinds of charities you would consider, or what kind of charity would you have in mind?" I shook my head.

"Not sure. Maybe something for orphans like me."

"Maybe something like your foster parents? How did that work?"

"They ran a sort of foster home, orphanage kind of thing. I call it an orphanage usually. Apparently they quit a few months ago. Not much to donate to. But I could probably pay off their property taxes for a couple years or something," I said with a bit of a morbid chuckle.

"Well, that sounds reasonable if you think they deserve it."

"They probably do. I dunno."

"I get it," Adam conceded.

"You mentioned clothes earlier. The older pictures of you in your costume had you look pretty lanky, but I'm seeing a good amount more bulk on you compared to before."

"Yeah, I'm eating more, and actually trying to work out, as best I can. My powers don't turn all the way off, so I have to use two hundred pound dumbbells to really start feeling any resistance. But I've moved on to three hundred pound ones, now." The radio host choked for a minute.

"Three hundred? Each?"

"Yeah."

"Beating my bench PR with just dumbbells! Wow."

"Bit easy when you have powers like me. But uh, I'm eating more now because for about half a year I was homeless. When I was Crunch." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Why were you going by 'Crunch,' if I might ask?"

"Was the noise people's arms made when I got my hands on them."

"People's?"

"Drug dealers, in Richmond. Scumbags, all of them. Giving hard opiates to kids. Saw overdoses on street corners. Had to tell one's mother the bad news. I won't forget the kind of face she made. Ever."

"So you took to making sure no mother ever had to make a face like that again, at least in Richmond."

"To the best of my ability, yeah," I admitted.

"Didn't bother finding work or a real home. Just hunted them like animals, while I lived like an animal. Got them down to just this six block area. Made them too scared to leave it."

"That's impressive for a young vigilante. A lot of younger superheroes tend to have supervillains and stuff to fight early on. They're a lot more reactive. Going straight for hard drugs, organized crime, stuff like that is very old school."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, The Saint started by fighting the Fontaines down in New Orleans, back in the 30s. How's it feel, having gotten started with the classic style?"

"Dunno. I didn't really think much about superheroes at the time. Just that I was strong like them, so I should do something with the powers."

"And you got contracted into The New Sentinels at that point, how?"

"I was arrested," I answered bluntly, a laugh coming from me.

"Literally just walked out from the little den one of the ringleaders was hiding out in. Agent Tancred was there, gun to my fucking head. Didn't even hear him approach."

"What made you decide to not fight back against the gun? You said you were bulletproof." I shrugged.

"Didn't know I was at the time. Plus, he said something that made me think if I tried to fight, I'd be in over my head. So I just... gave in."

"Can you tell me a bit about this Agent Tancred?"

"Biggest asshole you'll ever meet in your entire life. Vulgar, cryptic, and slimy. He was apparently in the CIA first, and when I learned that I wasn't surprised. Said he killed a lot of people. I've met his ex-wife, and she hates his guts. She's not very nice either, I'll admit. Dunno who was first with that."

"And why are you fine with working under him?" I looked back down at my mask, taking a deep inhale.

"Sometimes I don't know. But I do know that, if nothing else, he seems to recognize bad guys. Takes one to know one I guess. So he points me in the right direction, usually. And... he could've put me in the Firmament. He did... see that I could do good. That I wanted to help people. Maybe it's for his own ends. But he did save my life, basically. So I kind of owe him."

"Complicated relationships with the law is superheroism 101," he mused.

"Were any of the other New Sentinels arrested? Besides Dr. Way."

"Pass."

"You got it. What about since you joined? Do you think you've done good? What kinds?" Another inhale from me, my gaze not leaving the mask's. Almost looked like it was judging me.

"I think so. I've stopped supervillains. Like Motor-Runner. Like that freak, Technofiend."

"Tell me about him."

"We don't really know his story. Robot guy who looks like a demon. Hates humans. Batshit insane. Introduced himself before we could do our public reveal, threw a car full of... Clowncar at us."

"Clowncar?"

"Some kind of hench with superpowers. If he gets into a car, he comes out as like... a lot of people. Clones himself. He's still on the run. Technofiend was dealt with, though, second time he came back."

"Second time?"

"He held a stadium hostage. I... kicked him so hard there was a hole in the clouds. We haven't seen anything from him since."

"Wow. And what about the first time? How did you deal with him there?"

"So, he fixes himself. Teiú tried fighting him, and nearly got killed. I was getting cold feet, I won't lie. Just wanted to get Teiú out of there. Teiú told me something that kinda... rung in my chest, I guess. How he wanted a strong fight his whole life, and it was taken from him. He could get it back from Technofiend."

"How did that resonate with you, you think?" I looked back up at Adam, my fingers tensing on the mask.

"I... one of the few things I really, really know about myself, what I've wanted, was to protect the people no one else was protecting. From the bad guys. The monsters." My gaze went back down to the mask.

"Help them, from the fear of being alone. By being there when no one else could be. With my powers, everyone was scared of me. So I was alone." The lenses of my mask caught my eyes.

"But then and there? I wasn't going to leave Teiú alone. Wasn't going to leave any people there on their own either. I could get back that feeling of helping people too."

"And what did you do?" I looked back up at Adam. I could feel a bit of a smile on my face.

"Teiú told me to stand and bang. We did."

"Wow. I had seen some of the footage from one of the local news outlets. That was the big brawl you had with at the end, or was it something else?"

"That was it. First time I... first time I really lost myself."

"That was the first time?"

"I think so, yeah. The second time, I..." I trailed off.

"It's okay if you want to pass." My gaze fixed steady on him.

"No. I have to talk about it. I lost track of my mind while fighting this guy from the Anti-Deforestation Union, the ADU. By the name of Brother Gleditsia. The fight took everything out of me. I knew I was fighting, I could tell what I was fighting, kind of, and everything else just went to the back of my mind. Couldn't even remember what 'blood' was called," I ranted, almost chuckling at those last words. More just a single, noisy exhale.

"How did that feel?"

"I couldn't describe it if I tried. Just... intensity. A need to hurt. And it ended up with..."

"You don't need to go over it if you don't think you're ready."

"No. I do." A heavy inhale, and a shuddery exhale.

"I stopped one of their little tree monsters. Turns out someone was inside it. Killed them in the process." Adam's legs uncrossed, his hands both resting on his knees.

"I'm still very sorry that it happened like that."

"So am I."

"It's... no one prepares superheroes for the idea that in the fight, someone might-""I've heard it from a lot of people. You don't need to add on to the list. And everyone misses the point. It's not that I killed him. If he was evil, he deserved it. The issue is there were innocent people involved with that wood. Some looked like kids. And I just... I don't know if I killed an innocent person. If I just had that answer, I could work it out."

"I see. Sorry for the accidental lecture start. Have your feelings on it changed?"

"That uncertainty is still there. But, I've got too many priorities to sit on it. Especially with the Anti-Deforestation Union." Adam seemed to take the hint on the segue.

"Could you expand a little on the 'Anti-Deforestation Union?'""They're this... ecoterrorist group, my boss calls them. They're more like a tree cult. They work with some magic tree group called the Arboreal Senate. They're trying to have the world get taken over by trees. Me and my team are working on stopping them. They're run by a guy who can control wood called Master Sequoia, and they have some superhumans in their ranks, like a guy named Brother Gleditsia."

"I think they might need a new name guy," Adam noted.

"You'd be surprised at how much I've thought that," I answered.

"Could you tell me a little more about Brother Gleditsia?"

"Their 'champion' as he calls himself. Killed the crab I had tried to get out of Virginia Beach safely. I've never beaten him directly in a fight. And he's the one who sicked that wood monster at me. The one with the person in it that I killed. He's a sick bastard who just wants to fight people to the death for his own amusement. You want how my feelings changed, on that death?"

"Go for it." Leaning forward, I held that mask tightly. Saying this all, making it heard by someone else, by my own to ears. It all just started making sense, then and there. How I felt. What I needed to say. What I've wanted to say but never figured out how, until now.

"I want to make sure that uncertainty never happens again. So at every corner, every stop, every little ambush or threat the ADU makes, I'm going to be there. I'm going to make sure Gleditsia never gets the satisfaction of putting that feeling in my head ever again. I'm going to save everyone from being put through his sick little games. Because..." Standing up, I slipped the mask back on my face.

"I'm Hercules. I'm everyone's hero."