In the Wake – Part 4 – The Heroic

<< Part 3 – The Secretary

The editor sat behind his desk abruptly. This day was plain awful. Agreed, the arrest of a millionaire and his being charged for villainy would sell copies of the only magazine dedicated to heroes’ stories. Rejoicing, however, showed very little awareness of the long term crippling effect of the incident. McCallister was a tool to ensure sells. His loss would require the editor and his team to work harder, to actually perform journalistic tasks other than writing the stories that fell on their lap.
“At least,” thought the editor as he laid back in his chair with the first mash-up of the upcoming issue, “it’s ought to be a gripping article.”

Arthur McCallister Accused of Villainy
San Francisco, CA – The Amazon secured millionaire Arthur McCallister and his mad scientist, Dr. Saunders, near a secret lab.

At 10 am last Monday, construction mogul Arthur McCallister left the head office of his international business to be driven to a lab built in a nearby field. Completely oblivious he was being followed by a superhero, McCallister walked in the building to meet with his accomplice, Dr. Saunders.
“Their conversation left no doubt as to the nature of their science,” stated The Amazon when she addressed the press after the arrest. “The creature that attacked me on the premises only confirmed my suspicions.” The superwoman still had a bit of yellow jelly on her shoulder, remnants of the beast.
A backdrop to the interview’s setting, the lab in question slowly burnt to the ground. The black smokes obscured the sun for a moment but soon conceded to the light. A pile of ashes now remains the only memory of the evil that once occurred within the now-obliterated walls.
“McCallister is behind at least twenty of the more recent monster attacks,” erupted the fiery masked woman. “He built his empire of pain and honest citizen’s money. He deserves a taste of his own medicine.”
The Amazon certified McCallister was a warning to all entrepreneurs financing villains.
“They better stop playing with fire or I’ll make sure they get burned,” concluded the green lady as the lab collapsed behind her in a blazing thump.
The Heroic investigated a little bit on McCallister and discovered which monster attacks he orchestrated. It is presented to you in this exclusive 20-pages spread file.

The editor flipped negligently through the rest of the article which was essentially a rehash of things published in the past year. The pictures of McCallister were delightful though. That ought to count for something. Everyone loves to see the mighty fall. Only a superhero accused of villainy could top this one off.
The editor picked up his phone and hit speed dial three.
“Yes?” A growly voice answered.
“Make sure you train the survivor as soon as possible. He needs to be prepped for his revenge by next month.”
“I’ve already conditioned him to stop tickling. The rest shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good.”

The End