The Negative Man: Act 1

by Jeremy Croston

  Laughing, "I think you can tell Douglas yourself; he's at your desk."

  That was a nice segue out of the two of us showing up unexpectedly. With a last look, he entered the stairwell and exited. Sighing, I walked over to my desk, ready to deal with whatever nonsense PJ Douglas had to throw my way.

  Issue #5 –

  The Mask’s Lair

  The old sign was still hanging there – Landry's Supply Co. Thanks to Wayne and his access to the security camera project, I had a beat on the Crimson Mask. This time the element of surprise would be on my side. Around back, there was a fire escape. I jumped up and landed softly on the metal surface. I slowly opened the door and entered the abandoned building.

  Inside was the perfect villain hideout. What should have been an empty building was obviously the Crimson Mask's lair. In the low lighting I saw a variety of weapons, masks, and city plans. I stayed low though in my position, waiting for him to show his face. I could feel my anger boiling inside, ready for the revenge I was getting ready to dish out. He would feel the kind of pain I felt from his darts.

  As the minutes turned to hours, my hate lessened and reason began to set in. It was painfully obvious that he was out on a job and not coming back anytime soon. Irritated, I jumped down and began to investigate his stash. While I waited, maybe I'd find some clues as to who he was.

  I shuffled through his desk first. On top were plans to the North Terrace First Bank. Everything from the layout of the sewer system underneath to the security. How could he get his hands on these? That wasn't even the most shocking part. The next schematic showed which transformers in the city to blow to send North Terrace into a blackout. My God, with these plans he would be able to pull the perfect heist!

  My first instinct was to destroy everything on spot. Without his precious information, his plan would go to the shitter just like that. I pulled out a pocket knife, ready to rip them to shreds.

  For some reason I hesitated. I now knew his plan and could reinforce myself against him. If I destroyed these, he would just find another target that I wouldn't know about. Maybe this could be the golden chance I needed to catch him.

  With a plan in mind, I quickly took a few pictures of everything. I didn't know when he was planning on doing all of this, but with the information on my camera, I could watch him from a distance. The idea of an ambush fight quickly left – this would be a long game operation. The more I could watch him and foil him from afar, the better my chances when I did finally confront him.

  My mind was made up, so it was time to go. Before I left, I went over to his work bench. It didn't look like he had a lot of skill, but he had some unique gadgets. Smoke grenades, knives, and guns littered the bench. Combined with his poison darts, it was painfully clear the Crimson Mask never wanted survivors.

  The last gadget was the one that caught my attention. It looked to be a pair of infrared goggles. Instead of having a faint red glow when I turned them on, they had a faint yellow signature to them. I slipped them on and my view of the world changed immensely. The Mask might not have been here, but I found a nice consolation prize.

  What was that? The door to his lair opened and a rush of cool night air entered. I looked in the direction – was my plan wrong? Should I go after him now? I bit down hard and cursed. No, you have a better plan Wonderton, stick with your gut.

  I jumped back up to the rafters, with my newest prize on my head and ducked back out just as I heard him drop something heavy to the concrete floor.

  Issue #6 –

  Unexpected Company

  That was strange; no one ever came to my place. So when I heard the knock on my door, I grabbed a switchblade and wrapped my hand around it. There was never a time to take chances on security.

  I looked out the peephole and saw a woman standing there. She was incredibly beautiful and severely out of place in this shitty little apartment complex. Still, this could be a trap and I wasn't about to let my guard down.

  Opening the door just enough, "Hello?"

  "Are you John Wonderton?"

  How did she know my name? "Yeah, who's asking?"

  She seemed taken aback by my stiff and harsh demeanor. "My name's Moriah, Wayne's neighbor."

  Ah hell, what did Wayne go and do? I hope he didn't tell this woman I was trying to set things right, it'd only make my job that much harder. "Is there something I can help you with?"

  "May I come in? I have something you really ought to see."

  This wasn't a decision to make lightly. It was later, probably seven thirty or so and my night's patrol was due to get started. Plus I wanted to see if I could follow up on Crimson's plans. However, the fierce look in her eyes told me she wasn't going to take a 'no' lightly. I removed the chain and opened the door the entire way. "Only for a minute."

  She walked into my flat and went straight for the tiny couch. Instead of sitting down, she took off her jacket and placed it over the back. When she turned back around to face me, the bottom of her shirt was lifted up. Sticking out of her abdomen was one of the barb like needles that Crimson shot at me.

  The entire area was red. "My God, why haven't you gone to the hospital?!"

  "I did, the night of the attack. They refused to admit me, saying they don't have the capacity to deal with these situations."

  I felt sick to my stomach. I knew exactly what they meant by these situations; problems caused by people with super powers. The stigma was now washing over to the victims of the crimes. Seeing as I already dealt with this before, I might be able to help her.

  I pointed to the couch. "Lie down and be completely honest with me." She did as I said. "When you were hit, what kind of effects did you have?"

  She winced as she stretched out on the small area. "At first hallucinations, then extreme pain. The past few days have been awful; I've been managing the pain with meds."

  The wound was infected. If I could remove the barb safely, she might be able to go to the hospital and get treatment, as they'd have no reason to turn her away. But getting the barb out was going to be a bitch.

  I went to the fridge and got an ice pack. I also grabbed a towel and some alcohol. When I returned, her eyes were in a state of alarm. "What are you going to do?"

  "Wayne sent you here because he thought I could help, right?"

  The pain caused her to wince again. The meds must've been wearing off. "He said you were brilliant, but I was thinking more along the lines of hacking into the hospital to get me admitted or something."

  I laughed, short and loud. "I don't have those kinda computer skills. What I have is real life experience. Here bite down on this – it's going to hurt a lot."

  She did as I said, almost as if in a state of shock. I poured the rubbing alcohol on the knife and on her wound. With everything ready, I went about the gruesome work of digging the barb out. I'll spare you the details, but Moriah passed out from the pain about halfway through. That was actually a good thing. When I was finished, I took her to the hospital and told them I found her like this on the street. She'd wake up in the care of doctors, which was for the best.

  As for me, the night was still young and I had work to do.

  Issue #7

  Identity Crisis

  “I know John.”

  Weeks had passed since I saved his neighbor Moriah and raided The Mask’s warehouse. In that time I had increased my activity and became a tad more reckless. A news team captured me jumping rooftops a few days ago and dubbed me The Prowler. “How did you find out Wayne?”

  He sat down in the chair beside my desk. “Do you think I’m stupid? The areas you have me scout out for you happen to be where that damn Prowler shows up. You’re a super.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of fact.

  I felt my palms get sweaty. “I wanted to tell you, I really did. But remember the look you gave me when that guy attacked your neighbor?” His head dropped. “How could I tell you I was just like him?”

  “You’re not though, are you?”

  “N
o.” It was my turn to be hard. “I’m trying to help this city against threats no one was ever prepared for.” I looked around; making sure no one was paying attention to us. “What this Mask guy can do, it’s deadly.”

  The clock in the hallway struck noon and everyone around us got up and started filing out for the lunch hour. Wayne and I continued to sit there, letting everyone leave and giving us more time to talk things out. “John, there’s something you need to know.” I was waiting for another super related issue. What he told me was something far worse. “Moriah is pregnant.”

  The girl I’d saved from The Mask’s poison barb. Since that night, we’d ended up spending a lot of time together. Against my better judgement, I did something I shouldn’t have. “Damnit.”

  “You have to tell her what you are. She needs to know the risks of carrying your child.”

  My mind was racing. “No, she can’t know. There’s a chance the child will be nor-”

  “Normal?” He cut me off. “That’s not a chance anyone should be willing to take. You have to do the right thing and tell her.” His dark skin was starting to turn red.

  Wayne may have been a friend but this wasn’t his decision. The stigma people like me had to live with; he had no right to tell me what to do. “I’m not going to ruin her life and that child’s before they even have a chance to meet.”

  He pushed himself up. “I never would’ve thought the guy risking his life night in and night out would be a coward, but that’s exactly what you are John.”

  “You have no right to call me that.”

  “I do and I stand by it. I know there’s not much I can do, but stay away from that girl. If you can’t be a man about this, then she doesn’t need you in her life.”

  Wayne walked away before I could counter his argument. Not that there was much to say. He was right. I was a coward and a fool for thinking things through the way I did. Not that it mattered. Normal people would never understand.

  There was only one thing to do – I needed to immerse myself in my new Prowler life and finish what I started. The Crimson Mask had one more score lined up and I was going to be there to stop it.

  Issue #8

  A Massacre Comes

  The blackout never came, the part of the plan I’d been waiting for to signal The Crimson Mask’s intention to rob North Terrace First Bank. Instead, he’d been playing the field, quickly striking smaller banks in the outer regions of the city. His robberies, sometimes with brutal murders or piles of bodies, were becoming the stuff of panic.

  I tried to track him down, but he was like a ghost in the wind. There was no rhyme or reason to his attacks. On this night, I was perched atop Rainier Trust Credit Union. It hadn’t been hit yet and even though it was a smaller establishment, it had a loyal customer following.

  The quiet night gave me a chance to think back on what Wayne had said a number of days ago. In the time since that lunch meeting, we hadn’t talked or even acknowledged the other. The animosity from his part was thick in the air. I did what he asked, ignoring Moriah’s calls and even going as far as to bail when she came over.

  Focus John – these things have you off your game. I knew The Mask could strike at any moment, but the idea of leaving a child to fend for his or herself sickened me. I was exactly what Wayne said I was, a coward. Chasing and defeating The Mask wouldn’t change that.

  From below I heard a noise. I dropped down off the roof and stayed in the shadows. The sound was coming from around back. When I got to the back of the building into eyesight, I saw the familiar red hood over the super drilling into the door. The Crimson Mask was here.

  I knew he was lightning quick with those barbs of his, so I needed to be careful. I crept around until I had a clear path for my first attack. Knowing I had one chance, I leapt into the air and brought my fist down on his head. He dropped to the ground and I landed beside him.

  Blood pulled from under the mask and I ripped it off. The cold, dead eyes of the man met mine and I realized I hit him way too hard. I didn’t want to kill him, just bring him to justice.

  A searing pain hit my shoulder, one I was quite aware of. “Bravo Prowler, bravo. You just killed an innocent man who was doing exactly what I told him to do. Oops.”

  I’m not sure what caused me to want to vomit more – the poison or the guilt rapidly growing in me. “You sick son of a bitch!” I charged him with everything I had. I ripped into his midsection with a huge punch and he fell over. I began kicking him in the face, over and over again. “You’re a monster!”

  In between his muffled grunts of pain, “You are too.”

  I stopped what I was doing. “Me, the monster? I’m protecting this city from scum like you.”

  Laughing was his only response. “These people will never accept you. You think you’re a hero when all you are is just another super for them to hate.”

  I couldn’t help but think back to Wayne and probably Moriah. The hate each of them must’ve felt for what I’d done… “Even still, I can be the monster who protects them at night.”

  He’d been delaying me. Another barb jabbed into my foot and dropped me in pain. The Mask got back to his feet and produced an even longer one. “Well this has been fun, but I got a bank to rob. It turns out plotting the greatest heist in the history of bank robberies takes quite a bit of funding.” He lifted the barb up over my chest.

  As it began its descent towards me, the ground began to shake and something large collided with The Mask – this certainly was déjà vu. This was the second time this guy had saved me. He lifted me up and surprisingly the pain in my foot was going away.

  He appraised me quickly. “Your body seems to have developed a tolerance for his poison Wonderton.”

  “I think you’re right.” Wait he knew my name! “How did you know who I am?”

  “You really get to know someone when you save them twice. Especially when that person acts like a pretentious jerk in the streets just like in the office.” He reached out with his hand. “My codename is Massacre but you know me from Smart Logic as PJ Douglas.”

  Well damnit. This may have been awkward given our history at the office together. Behind the black face paint, he gave me a bit of a forced smile. “Add this to all the useless paperwork you make me do. You owe me big.”

  A spike came from nowhere and hit him in the gut. The large man fell hard while The Crimson Mask, who I thought was out cold, got up and ran off. “Don’t worry Douglas, I’ll get you help.”

  He grabbed my cloak as I turned. “No Wonderton, your system can handle his poison. Finish this, once and for all.”

  I never really cared for PJ; still the thought of leaving him here injured didn’t sit well with me. When I began to protest, the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t going to change his mind. Against my better judgment, I took off after The Crimson Mask, hoping tonight would be the night I finished him.

  Issue #9 –

  From the Rooftops

  The fool took to the rooftops which was my domain. I knew the pattern and the layout better than anyone. He wasn’t nearly as fast as I was, so it didn’t take long for me to catch him and pull him down. “You’ve gone far enough!”

  He rolled to his feet from my push and lashed out with a barrage of barbs. I avoided most of them. Besides the physical pain, for some reason my body was adapting to the poison. I yanked out the few that made contact and tossed them back at him.

  “So, it seems your body is conditioned against my greatest gift.” The spikes he was preparing disappeared into his hand. “No matter, I have many more skills than you give me credit for.” He took two big leaps and began assaulting me with kicks. They were fast and executed very well. The only bad part was my reflexes were so much faster.

  I caught him by the ankle and slung him to the rooftop. Flipping in midair, I brought my leg down on his chest. A knee to the face was added for emphasis. “You can’t beat me in a fist fight.”

  “You might be right, this is a foolish endeavor.” He pu
shed away and faced me again. “Let’s see how far you are willing to go.”

  I couldn’t stop him from jumping to the next roof and took chase. He seemed to have some skill in the urban running phenomenon known as parkour. He hopped from the roof on to a fire escape and burst into an apartment. By the time I got down, he had an entire family hostage.

  I slowly backed away. “You don’t need to do this.”

  “Sure I do. We all know you don’t want more blood on your hands tonight, do you?”

  He was taunting me, using the death of that innocent man he set up against me. “You’re backing yourself into a place you can’t come back from.”

  A spike grew out of his hand and faced the young son between the mom and dad. “I have no intentions of coming back. You picked a fight with the wrong super.”

  As fast as I could, I jumped into the open window and reached out with my arm. His barb dug into it, not making it to the child. I grabbed him by his shirt and whipped him into the front door, shattering it. Running into the hallway, I delivered an uppercut that sent him to the end of the corridor.

  I was amazed at the amount of abuse he took. He got up and broke out the window and back up another fire escape. Our battle/chase once again took us to the rooftops and under the night sky.

  Two roofs over and I noticed a helicopter flying around us. It seemed our struggle had finally caught the eye of the law. We also made it to the last rooftop – a construction site created a long void between the one we were on and the next one over.

  “It seems this is where fate has brought us Prowler. Plus we have an audience building.”

  Besides the helicopter, people were gathering at street level and looking up at us. This made me extremely uncomfortable. How could I use my powers in front of so many people?