Chương 152: EX: Epilogue

The clicking and clacking of plastic heralded the removal of the camera's cover, revealing a hustling and bustling street corner, the yellowing grass of the park adjacent to it just bordering the frame. Within the viewfinder was a pale hand pulling the lens cap away. As the hand obscured less and less of the camera's view, the hand's owner could be seen: A man, likely mid to late twenties or early thirties, shaggy in appearance with a patchy shadow along the jaw and shaggy dark hair.

He wore a white leisure shirt with a red button-up shirt under it. In his hand was a microphone. Tapping the microphone, the man spoke.

"Testing, okay, I see the light on that. You've got recording on?" He asked someone just off-camera. A deeper-voiced "Yuh" prompted a nod from the man.

"Good, good. Just going to... 1, 2, 3!" On "3," he clapped one hand against his forearm.

"Alright, got that synchronized. We'll just cut this in editing, and…" He then sauntered up to the camera, spanning one arm out as he spoke.

"Howdy folks, it's Adam 'Witty' Witts, host of KTT 'The Katt.' I'm here in Charlottesville, Virginia on a sunny but really chilly afternoon. If you remember the news cycle, about two months ago, Charlottesville had a real rough Summer courtesy of some magically-inclined ecoterrorists. They took over the city and caused trees to go everywhere, it was pretty crazy!" Lowering his microphone, he looked back towards the camera operator.

"Cut there. Yeah, we can do some B-Roll and show off all the construction they're still doing, put it over that last few seconds. I remember when we were coming in from downtown we had to detour all the way to the West side just to get in. You got shots of that in the car, right?" Another "Yuh" from the cameraman.

"Awesome, awesome. I'll get some overheads later, too. Okay, then after that we cut in on… 1, 2, 3!" Adam clapped his forearm again.

"The problem was solved by Charlottesville's own superhero team, The New Sentinels," he elaborated as though he never stopped to talk production. A learned skill.

"Most notably, a lot of credit has gone to the previously controversial superhero 'Hercules,' who witnesses say was the first to charge into where the ecoterrorists were hiding out after a one-man war on crime on the way to it." Taking on a more relaxed pose, Adam sat his empty hand on his hip.

"Now, you all might have seen that I am one of the biggest supporters of The New Sentinels and Hercules, I was on the frontlines of social media with The Jackal and the Forces of Nature talking about how the death Hercules was responsible for was a one-off incident and how he could easily grow as a hero. I still believe that, and if these witnesses are to be believed that's exactly what's happened. But I can't just say that all and be done with it." He raised that empty hand, pointing a finger up.

"We here at the Katt need to get real boots-on-the-ground words from the real civilians who were witness to this amazing superheroic rite-of-passage story! Not just about what Hercules did, but the events of the past Summer as a whole, and the work of the other New Sentinels. All of them are heroes and deserve recognition, and we're going to be asking passers-by for their takes. Speaking of which, someone's coming now!" Coming into view of the camera came an older man, heavier set, with a face worn down by time.

He looked almost confused by the set-up as Adam accosted him, offering out a handshake.

"Hi there, my name's Adam Witts, and I was wondering if you'd be down for a quick street interview?" The older man returned the handshake after a few seconds, nodding.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Name's Jesse. I know who you are, I run a comic shop so I gotta keep my finger on the pulse. Kinda why I wandered over here," he said with a chuckle. Adam cocked his head.

"Oh wow, comic shop. Hope you're not a scalper!"

"Oh no, no," Jesse denied with a shake of his head.

"Honest businessman here. But I do follow what gets popular so I know whose merch to have in stock!" He added on, laughing. The journalist nodded.

"Okay, okay. So we're running some post-mortem interviews after what happened in August, get some insights on The New Sentinels, things like that. Is that okay with you, are you fine with talking about that?" Jesse gave two thumbs up.

"Oh Hell yeah I do, I even got my own stories on all of that."

"You do?" Adam asked, cocking his head as he held out the microphone, letting it more clearly catch both sides of the conversation.

"Yep! So lemme start off by saying, since The New Sentinels is funded by the government, I got no stake in that. I wasn't too huge on 'em at first because they were putting merchandise absolutely everywhere which kinda interfered with my business since the market's all saturated. But I got over that after The New Sentinels fought Technofiend at that concert and Hercules did 'em in."

"Oh wow, were you at the concert?"

"No, no, I was watching the news. I don't go to concerts! Not after Woodstock." That last part made Jesse burst out into laughing, for whatever reason.

"But initially I wasn't a fan. I know with the whole bodycam thing there was some controversy but I assumed it was fake, to be honest with you. I met Hercules in person and he was nothing like that!"

"You met Hercules?" Adam asked, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Yeah. Broke down the door to my shop!" Adam looked shocked at those words, until Jesse laughed again.

"Just messing with you. He did but it's because I asked him to. I was locked out. His insurance got me a new one with a fancy lock I can open with a clicker."

"Wow. So, during the crisis, did anything notable happen?"

"When all the trees grew and the sky got all messed up? Oh yeah. I was running my shop when it happened, and I immediately ran out to go keep my wife safe, since she was at home. A couple of those goons. Me and a few other people got headed off by this guy with like, bamboo that was sharp enough to stab into concrete and another guy who people kept gagging when they were near him. I thought I was screwed, but then the other New Sentinels show up!

Teiú, the lizardy one — though I guess he kinda looked more like a bug at that moment — and Spectroma fought them off while Flowstate led me home."

"That's amazing. And he got you home safe?"

"Yeah! Flowstate managed to keep me calm the whole way, we talked about what was going on. He didn't give me the details at the time but I knew it was bad. But he never got upset or anything. He just smiled and said 'We're not gonna let anyone get hurt here. You're the safest you'll ever be.' And I believed him. I never thought I'd take a superhero's PR talk so smooth but I think he really did mean it." Adam let out a little noise in awe.

"You really got a one-of-a-kind story."

"Oh I did not, a lot of people in the city're gonna have similar. Hey, I gotta be somewhere, but here's my last word on all of this." He leaned over, holding onto the mic a bit.

"Hercules is a goddamn hero and The New Sentinels are the best superhero team on the East Coast, end of story." With that, Jesse waddled off, and Adam looked towards the camera, raising an eyebrow.

"Glad we've got some high spirits already, wonder if we've got any others around…" The camera witnessed several minutes of Adam calling out to people who may not have heard, until a couple showed up, man and woman. The woman spoke first.

"Hi, I heard you were doing interviews about Hercules?" Adam perked up.

"Yeah! Do you have some comments you wanted to make on them, The New Sentinels, anything like that?" He held out the microphone excitedly. They both nodded and the woman continued.

"Yeah. Just wanted to tell our own story. When everything happened with the trees and all of that, a few of those terrorists were plinking away at our car. We would've died if Hercules didn't show up and escort us somewhere safe, this empty mechanic's garage. He didn't like how open it was and gave us directions to the police station if we felt unsafe. We were actually able to sneak off to the police station a few hours after that. If he didn't help us, we'd have died." The man next to her spoke.

"Hercules saved our lives. I don't know much else about him, but that man's a hero in my book for just that." Before Adam could ask further, they hurried off. After a few more minutes of waiting, Adam sighed.

"Let's just walk around ourselves, see if we can accost random people. We're bound to find more that way, let's go." The cameraman and Adam made their way along the sidewalk, not taking long before finding a man sitting on the stoop of a brick building. Adam quickly hurried over, offering his mic and a hand to shake.

"Hi there, Adam Witts with the Katt. Are you interested in an on-the-street interview?" The man perked up at the sudden approach, accepting the handshake but not taking the microphone.

"Hi, uh, depends what it's about."

"We're just talking about the events of August, mostly related to The New Sentinels, particularly Hercules. Does that sound up your alley?" The other man's eyebrows raised as he sat up and took the mic.

"Oh Hell yeah, sure." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Awesome, could you tell us your name, please?"

"Name's Tyson Hart. I've had a few run-ins with The New Sentinels myself. Before all the crap with the trees growing in August, a few weeks prior there was this smaller attack where a bunch of those terrorist guys kidnapped people and were holding them hostage. I was actually one of the hostages," he explained, pointing to himself.

"Holy crap, I'm so sorry to hear that," Adam noted.

"It's good you seem to have made it out okay. Did you?"

"I did. I was saved by one of The New Sentinels, Spectroma. She took on two supervillains by herself and saved my ass and everyone else there. She's definitely my favorite." He grinned at the camera. Maybe it was an artifact of the recording, but it almost seemed like he winked at it.

"Glad to know Spectroma has a favorite. What about the other heroes? Any comments on Hercules or Flowstate, or Teiú?"

"Hercules I've seen a couple of times. He may act like a big grouch but I can tell you that guy's a sweetheart, don't let him fool you. The whole team makes me feel safe in Charlottesville, but him and Spectroma are the big reasons why. I was watching that big tree from the roof of my apartment complex every night, praying. I saw chunks of it getting blasted and blown out constantly and I just kind of knew it was him. Sounded like bombs going off, but it made me feel real assured we were gonna be okay."

Adam nodded.

"That's beautiful. Do you have any other stories or last comments?"

"Uh, yeah. Just wanna do a shout out to my sister, May. I'm gonna come see you this Halloween, I've just been busy, I swear to God!" He says with a laugh. Adam nodded and collected his microphone, moving along while glancing at the camera.

"That's a shout out to May, happy Halloween to her if she sees this!" He noted with some pep in his voice, continuing to move along. A woman ended up accepting an interview as well.

"Hi, my name's Glenda, I had an experience encountering… Oh I'm so awful for this but I think his name is pronounced Teiú. He's become a favorite after he really, really saved my life like four times in a row in one day."

"Holy smokes, in just one day? How'd that happen?"

"So there was this whole thing where there was a bomber in Charlottesville. I'm one of that bomber's many, many ex-wives. Turns out he hid a lot of bombs in my apartment. Teiú had to come into my apartment three times just to rip bombs out of the walls because he kept sniffing them out there. He was sorry every time but I was just thankful he saved me!

And on the fourth time, since I guess Technofiend had a bunch of robots attacking at the same time, one actually broke into my apartment to get a fourth bomb we didn't know was there!"

"Oh my goodness!"

"Yeah!" Glenda said with a nod.

"It tried to kill me, but Teiú busted in and ripped it in half, before telling me 'Sorry' for making a mess and getting rid of the last bomb. Honestly, his insurance covered all the damage. I have a plush toy of him now because he's kind of become my little guardian angel."

"That's incredibly sweet. What are your thoughts on the New Sentinels as a whole?" She put a hand on her hip.

"You know, for the longest time I kind of thought superhero stuff was a lot like regular celebrity gossip. Until this summer, there wasn't like villains or much crime out here. But seeing them in action, I really know why people love superheroes now. They're doing all of this just to help us, and it's been so thankless for them. I'm certain the government's paying them, but you couldn't pay me to do half of what they're doing. I fully support them."

Glenda moved on, and throughout the search, they found a rail-thin man with bags under his eyes and wispy dark hair, who accepted an interview offer.

"My name's Dylan, and uh, I did have a superhero experience with Flowstate. I was trying to, um. Take my own life. Was going to walk off of a building, but he showed up. I thought he was gonna throw me away from the ledge, or use a chain or something like I'd seen him do on YouTube and stuff. But he just sat down like ten feet away from me and kept talking about like, movies. I don't really care about movies, but he kinda just… sucks you into a conversation so easy." Adam nodded.

"Really personable, then?"

"Yeah. At some point, I don't remember when, the topic kind of changed about what was going on with my life and I came off the ledge. I had gotten kicked out by my mom and a lot of bad stuff happened. But Flowstate kept listening and didn't seem to really judge me for anything I talked about at all. He ended up getting me set up with the local homeless shelter, and he kept stopping by to talk with me and help me figure out things like where I could maybe get work or something so I can get on my own two feet.

I've got an apartment now because of that."

"So he didn't stop at all just from getting you off that ledge, he was thorough about making sure you were really saved."

"Yeah. When things went really bad with the sky and stuff, some police actually showed up at the homeless shelter to protect it. One found me and told me Flowstate asked to make sure I was okay. It feels really good to know the superheroes here really care about us. He could've just yanked me off the ledge with a chain and had me Baker Acted or something. I think that's all I really want to say. I can't think of anything else. Oh and uh, if he sees this, thank you Flowstate. For everything.

Anyways I gotta go, I've got a Bible study I'm late for." After Dylan handed off his microphone, Adam resumed his search, but it wasn't long until they encountered a woman who was quick to agree to an interview.

"Hi, my name is Monica," she started. She had what seemed to be close to a lisp. The camera could pick up on the coloring of some kind of hearing aid.

"Hercules saved my life when that big crab showed up in Virginia Beach. He got launched into my hotel and I initially couldn't hear him until I got my hearing aids on, and then the roof nearly collapsed on him but he held it up. If he wasn't there until the Forces of Nature showed up, I think I would've died. And of course I would've died if he didn't do stuff back in August. I feel like everywhere I go is just disaster after disaster!" She and Adam both laughed at that, some sort of levity and gallows humor.

"I only ever encountered him the one time, but he seriously changed my life. I don't take stuff for granted anymore. And also, Hercules… you should call me! My number is-" Adam politely tugged the microphone away.

"Not putting your phone number up on the air, sorry ma'am! But he'll know where to find you now!" Adam and the cameraman rushed off, going through interview after interview.

"Hercules caught a car that was about to hit me!"

"When there was an attack at a bank, Hercules and Spectroma were there to stop the terrorist who caused it!"

"Hercules has helped me cross the street so many times."

"Not a single guy on the force'll tell you this except me, but they've all got little Hercules and New Sentinels keychains and stickers. They used to hate the guy but they all love him now. Even the chief's taken a shine."

"Hercules stopped a van from crushing me when they first did their public demonstration!"

"A bunch of jerks tried robbing my convenience store but it was Hercules who beat them all up and got them arrested!"

"Hercules-!"

"Hercules-!"

"Hercules-!" After a few hours, and the last interviewee walking away, Adam took a deep breath.

"Man. With all the positive buzz, you wouldn't even think he had a bad reputation for a while. But, I think we got enough interview materi-" He perked up as he looked off-camera, before glancing back at the cameraman.

"Hey, let's do one last one." Adam pointed, and the cameraman went where he was aiming. Four people. A woman, thin, pale, walking with a bit of a limp. Her hair was frizzy and barely managed, and her eyes were shielded by thick glasses. Beside her were two children, who looked like far more nourished and healthier — if still distinctly smaller — versions of her, a boy and a girl. Next to them stood a man. About six feet, three inches, wearing a heavy jacket.

His eyes seemed to be constantly scanning the surrounding area, his messy dark hair constantly being teased by the breeze. The camera then saw Adam rushing over to them, and the cameraman having to skedaddle to hurry up after him as Adam brought up his microphone.

"Hi there, Adam Witts with The Katt," he called out. The jacketed man immediately looked over at Adam, initially scrutinizing, but for a split second his eyes widened in something. Surprise? Recognition. It wasn't known for sure.

"Hi," he said curtly.

"We're just doing some street interviews, I was wondering if you'd like to participate?"

"On what?" The man asked. Adam smiled.

"Just wanted to see if you had any comments on Hercules, after he apparently saved the city just a couple of months ago." The man stared at Adam for a few seconds, before the woman tapped his arm, giving him a smile in encouragement. At this distance, the camera could pick up on other facial details. Notably, the man wasn't actually that old. Clearly quite young, barely crossing the border into adulthood. His facial expressions just made him seem older, maybe a bit more jaded.

"I can give one comment, I guess," the young man answered. Adam's smile widened and beamed, before offering out the microphone.

"Could you tell us your name first?" The man nodded.

"Sure. My name's Leo Holt. I'm actually an associate of Hercules' real identity. If any of you watching this ask me in person, I'm gonna tell you I don't actually know him, so don't bother. But I can give you some perspective on Hercules as someone who knows him pretty close." The woman next to him raised her eyebrows, but kept quiet.

"Hercules has been through a lot. He's hurt and been hurt. Been threatened and betrayed. He's nearly been killed just trying to do what he can. But I think it should be remembered that even if that all happened, he still did it. He doesn't do it for any reward. He doesn't even accept the money he's paid. He gets mad when people try to offer him gifts, or compliment him. He got pretty frustrated when he was being given birthday presents. He likes to just mind his own business and do his job, helping protect people."

Leo's gaze focused more on the camera. Past the lens. Towards the eyes of the viewer.

"Because Hercules is a hero. He doesn't care about if he's liked. He's going to protect everyone in his reach, no matter what." Leo handed the microphone back to Adam, beginning to walk.

"Thanks for the interview. I've got a movie to go see." The other three walked alongside him, the woman patting him on the back as they moved. Adam glanced towards the camera, shrugging.

"Well. There you have it. I don't think I could come up with a better last interview if I tried." Adam stared at the camera with a smile for a few seconds, before exhaling.

"Got it? Awesome. Let's head back to the hotel so we can start editing this. That new documentary about all the kaiju in Death Valley is coming out tonight and I wanna catch it live." τέλος (the end)