Chronicle XXX

Charles Masters and Dark Duperman conspired to turn Big City’s undeserved hero into a villain in the public eye. Helicopters chased him from the Cloud Corridor in the direction of mainland Big City. He flew backwards and projected his voice backwards as he moved to convince the police of his innocence. He wasn’t convinced himself, however. Watching people flee from the rubble he created, he got flashes of the rubble left behind when his home planet Mynt was obliterated.

“I was trying to save a friend.” Duperman shouted at the helicopter closest to him. “I got carried away - you know I’m an ally.”

“Go to the police station willingly.” the helicopter said on a loudspeaker. “We can talk there.”

Duperman looked at the street below as he approached the station. They were packed with specialized tanks he’d never seen before. He recognized the style of the tech equipped on them as something Charles Masters provided. It was truly an elaborate orchestration by Big City’s wealthiest man to criminalize Duperman. Dark Duperman was the part of the puzzle that Duperman didn’t quite understand.

“Do I go inside?” Duperman asked a wall of soldiers and cops lining the way to the door. He noticed all the tanks were pointed directly at him.

“Well, we’re not all staying out here.” an officer mocked in a deep, sensual voice from behind a riot shield. “Move, Duperman.”

“MOVING.” signaled Big City Sheriff, Tango Monday.

They all walked into the precinct. The building was full of gawking humans, only a few of which had seen Duperman up close in all his glory. Female officers looked at each other as if wondering if he was real. He was three feet taller than the officer guiding him, whose face was bitter and jealous.

“In here.” The main officer pointed to a large, cage-like, tungsten cell which would hold Duperman. He lowered his riot shield to reveal himself as Officer Mike Nasty. Duperman had seen him around, but never dealt with him directly. Mike gave him a wink as he slammed the cell door, which Duperman could only interpret as some kind of advancement.

“He just harassed me.” Duperman tattled on his ally to the two heavily armored officers stationed just outside his cell. They did not respond.

As he sat there, Duperman considered turning some of the tungsten bars into origami to show the humans how silly it was to keep him encased in any material. He surrendered completely to them as a sign of goodwill and in hopes of returning to unhindered heroism in Big City.

“Hey! Guys...” Duperman got the attention of the guards. They both turned and looked at him through their visors. He held the bars of the cage and continued, “I can read your minds.”

“Hush.” one of the guards shut him down quickly, facing away.

“Okay, Devin. Don’t worry, you smell fine.”

“Really?” Devin turned back around eagerly and sniffed his shirt. “This gear has been sitting around our locker room for months.

“Fine. Not great.” Duperman replied.

“OOOH do me!!” the second guard nearly giggled with excitement.

“Alright, Kevin.” Dman went silent for a second. “They really put you two together on this? Okay.. Sorry about your uncle. He says ‘hi’ by the way.”

“Oh no. I’m not supposed to talk to uncle Ron anymore.” Kevin’s energy palpably dropped.

“This was uncle Jay.” Duperman clarified.

“Oh thank God.”

“I’m sorry for what happened to you.” Dman added.

Devin held Kevin as he cried a little bit. Duperman averted his eyes, noting the awkwardness of the situation.

“So you can speak with the dead?” Devin asked once he and Kevin separated.

“No.”

Both guards laughed and eased up, realizing that Duperman was pretty much a normal guy, other than being a goofball and having more powers than any other being in the universe.

“Rest in peace uncle Jay.” Dman followed up, sitting back against the cage while the guards clearly wanted to keep chatting with him.

At the end of the day, Tango Monday entered the room, presenting Duperman a stack of papers with designated signature lines.

“I don’t have a car.” Duperman said.

“What?” Monday replied, irritated.

“There’s no extended warranty to renew.”

“That’s not what this is. Stop messing around.” The Sheriff remained dead serious. “This is a contract. It’s between you and the citizens of Big City.”

“Okay… and what am I contracting to?”

“Heroics must be sanctioned by me. You may not use any ability that you possess without my explicit consent.”

“HA!” Duperman shook the room with an uncontrollable single chuckle.

“This is no laughing matter, Duperman. People were hurt. More could have been if Mr. Masters wasn’t so kind as to alert us ahead of time.”

“What happens if I don’t sign, Tango Monday?” the hero asked, his demeanor darkening with the mention of Charles Masters, also making fun of the Sheriff’s clearly silly name.

“We find a way to euthanize you. Or exile you from Earth altogether if that fails.”

Duperman was silent for a moment, then stood from his seated position to approach where Tango stood near the wall of his cage. Devin and Kevin took a step back, feeling his energy. He placed his two pointer fingers between a pair of bars and spread them. From the Sheriff’s hand he grabbed the stack of papers. His hands flashed bright light and when they stopped, the papers had disintegrated completely. He then returned the tungsten to its original form.

“Hope you have a few million years.”

“If we don’t figure it out by the end of the week, you’ll have to find a new planet.” Tango Monday told Duperman just before leaving the room.

“Harsh.” Kevin said once the door shut.

“Right?” Duperman responded, returning to where he sat. “Would be a great time for a global crisis.”

“Huh?” said Devin.