The Hero Beat

by Nick Svolos

  I pulled out my phone and started snapping some photos of the scene. There was no way I’d pass up an opportunity like this. If Ultiman hadn’t wanted me to take pictures, he shouldn’t have invited me up here.

  Several people were already there. In addition to Herculene, Suave and myself, Ultiman stood talking with Lieutenant Dawson, Ben Jefferson and Steve. The tech noticed me as we came in and held out a manila envelope. “This came for you a couple of minutes ago. One of the cops brought it up.” It was the evidence envelope. Somehow Sinfonie had gotten it inside. Amazing.

  Remembering the thumb drive in the envelope, I walked over to Herculene as she was brushing some dust off the conference table. “Say, do you think I could use one of these workstations? There’re still some files on this thing I haven’t had a chance to look at.”

  She nodded. “Sure. Let me log you in.” We walked over to one of the computers, saying, “You won’t have much time. Ultiman says we’ll get started as soon as Bill gets here.”

  I thanked her and got started looking through the list of files. I sorted the list by the time of the last update, the way Sinfonie had, and soon found the one we were looking at when Herculene interrupted us at Sinfonie’s lair earlier that morning. I started working my way down the list, finding more materials analysis documents and invoices before I found a scanned report from a periodical published by the Astronomical Society of China. It was entirely in Chinese, but I found a matching file that contained an English translation. It had a lot of information I didn’t understand about a Near Earth Object, catalogued “15763 Np” back in 2003. The report included a full-spectrum analysis, telemetry and other data. It all looked very routine, but a markup was attached to the spectrum analysis data. It read, “Mrs. Crenshaw, this might be what you’re looking for.” I marked the file and the asteroid designation down in my notebook for further study.

  I moved on down the line and found something from a satellite launch site in French Guiana. I opened it and had just begun reading when I was interrupted by Ultiman asking us all to take our seats at the conference table. I looked up and saw that Mentalia and Three Dollar Bill had arrived. I ejected the drive from the USB, stuck it in my pocket, logged out and hurried to join them. I found a spot next to Dawson and set the envelope on the table. Dawson caught my eye and then looked at the envelope. I nodded and slid it towards him. “Did your guys come through OK?” I asked.

  “Yup. A few bruises and scrapes when the psychos showed up, but nothing too bad. Wells is having a litter of kittens.” He chucked softly. “She’s stuck down there on the street while I’m in here.”

  I smiled at the thought. I suspected there was some friction between the Feds and the local cops. There usually was. The FBI liked to control things and cut the locals out of the action. It was nice to see the local boys get one up on them for a change. “You know, she’s likely to cause some trouble for you if we don’t find a way to mollify her.” I didn’t know why I said “we.” I guess I was starting to like the old detective. He didn’t arrest me, and that counts for a lot in my book.

  “Oh, I know.” The cop nodded. “I’ll think of something. In the meantime, it’s too much fun not to enjoy it. It’s probably why I still haven’t made Captain.”

  Ultiman called the meeting to order and called for an update on the building’s status. Ben rose and explained that Glowstikk, Unstoppabull and Fist were all locked up safely next to Hammerblow in the Vault. He gave a brief assessment of the damage to the building, and finally he gave us the butcher’s bill. In addition to the guard who had been killed and two that were injured in the firefight with the Omega henchmen, another three had been injured holding off Glowstikk and Fist while the cops evacuated from the upper levels to the garage. The plan to lure the Omegas into the stairwell failed, naturally, but the timely arrival of SpeedDamon, followed closely by Ultiman and then Mentalia saved the situation from being much worse.

  Steve Higgins—I finally learned his surname—went next and gave an update on the situation with Archangel. He finished with an explanation of how he fixed it. “Basically, I just overwrote the boot drive and unleashed a program to completely fill the RAM. That forced a reboot. Archangel came up, and Archdemon doesn’t exist anymore.”

  At the mention of the name, laughter filled the room, with the exception of the stone-faced Angel leader. Ultiman narrowed his eyes at the moniker. “Archdemon?”

  Steve looked a little worried. “Don’t blame me! He came up with it.” He pointed at me.

  Around the table, all eyes turned to me. “Well, I was tired of calling it ‘the evil AI’. It just didn’t have the same cachet.”

  Ultiman frowned. “Well, I suppose we would not want to read in the papers how we were all but taken out by something without cachet. Mr. Conway, I understand your investigation has borne fruit. Would you care to share your findings?”

  “Sure.” I paused and looked him in those steely eyes of his. “All of it?”

  Ultiman caught my meaning and nodded. “Yes. This is the time.”

  “Very well. Here’s what I have so far.” I thought best when I was on my feet, so I got up and stood behind my chair. “Back in the 1950’s there was a superhero by the name of Gale. She served in Korea with the 807th Enhanced Airborne Company under the command of Major Justice. She disappeared in 1952, and the prevailing theory has been that she was lost in combat and her body was never discovered. That theory was wrong. Gale is, in fact, Gail Crenshaw, CEO of Galestorm Technologies.” My standing position gave me the advantage of being able to see everyone’s reaction. My revelation drew several shocked expressions from around the table, and even an audible gasp or two. Ultiman’s flat expression didn’t budge.

  Mentalia said, “My God. So, what actually happened to her?”

  “She became pregnant. I believe Major Justice was the father. For reasons of his own, he broke it off with her and sent her back to the states. Gail married, raised her son, and founded Galestorm Tech. It also appears she has been looking for an opportunity for revenge on the man who spurned her ever since.”

  I paced a bit. “Now, revenge on a man like Major Justice isn’t easy to come by. He’s invulnerable. By all accounts, there’s no way to kill him. Recently, Gail found a way. A meteor fell to Earth in Brazil, bringing with it with a special kind of metal that has similar properties to the radiation in the nullifier beams you’re using to hold the Omegas down in the Vault. Once fashioned into a weapon, say a bullet, it could be used to kill anyone, regardless of their powers. Two hundred of these bullets were made.”

  “So, what does this have to do with us? And where is Major Justice, today?” Suave interrupted.

  I knew I’d have to deal with this question eventually, but I really didn’t want to. It tread pretty close to the line I didn’t cross. I looked at Ultiman, “Do you want to field that one?”

  Ultiman shifted in his seat. He looked ill-at-ease for the first time since I’d met him. “I was Major Justice. I am...older than I look.” Stunned silence filled the room, broken soon after by an avalanche of simultaneous questions from the team members. Ultiman restored order with a raised hand. “One at a time, please.”

  Three Dollar Bill got his question in first, “So, is this true? Are you the father of Gale’s child?”

  Ultiman shifted again in his seat. I could tell this was humiliating for him. “Yes, it is true. I do not expect anyone here to understand or approve of my decision, but I owe you an explanation.” He sat back in his seat, staring at the center of the table. He spoke calmly and evenly, choosing his words with care. “Over the years, I have married and had families several times. Each time, I watched the people I loved grow old and die while I remained as I am. It was painful. I did not wish to experience it again. I explained this to Gale, before we began our relationship. She agreed to my terms, and we,” his face reddened as he paused for a moment, “used the forms of protection that were available at the time. Despite this, she became pregnant. Naturally, she
had to leave Korea, and I broke off our relationship. It was strained, but I thought it was at least amicable.”

  “Well apparently, you thought wrong,” Mentalia said. Anger flashed in her eyes. “Do you even know where your son is?”

  Ultiman’s eyes never left the table. “No, I do not,” he quietly answered.

  “I can answer that,” I said. I looked at Ultiman, knowing this would be painful for him. “I believe it pertains to the case.”

  Ultiman braced himself and nodded. “Proceed, please, Mr. Conway.”

  I consulted my notes. I’m a “rip the band-aid off” sort of guy, so I gave it to them straight. “Stephen Barnabas Crenshaw was born in 1953. He served with the Army in Vietnam and was killed in action in 1972 at the age of nineteen.” Ultiman turned away as if he had been slapped. “He left a wife and daughter. The daughter now works for a trucking firm in Wilmington, Fourstar Transport. That was the lead you asked me about, Ultiman. My contact learned of the refinery attack because Fourstar suddenly shut down the night of the attack. I believe Gail warned her granddaughter to stay away from the refinery.”

  Suave interrupted. “So, why attack the refinery? There must be an easier way to get to Ultiman.”

  “Anyone who has studied your tactics would know how you’d deal with a disaster like the one at the refinery. Phoenix Fire would hover above the fire to absorb the heat while the rest of you helped the first responders. That would isolate her, making her a stationary target. So, Gail hired a bounty hunter named Longshot to set a bomb at the storage tanks. She tipped Omega, knowing they’d jump at the chance to ambush you. That placed them at the site, kept you guys busy and set them up to take the fall for the bomb. Once everything was in motion, Longshot retreated to a safe distance and fired one round of the special ammunition to kill Phoenix Fire.”

  “That’s crazy!” Mentalia exclaimed emotionally. “Why would a bounty hunter like Longshot get mixed up in this?”

  I replied, “Longshot’s not a super. He’s just a normal who’s really good at his job. She paid him with the bullets. They would let him take down bigger targets, the kind he can’t normally touch.”

  “How do you know this?” Three Dollar Bill asked.

  Dawson stepped in. “Because he’s in jail and spilling his guts.” He directed a thick thumb in my direction and grinned. “This guy caught ‘im.”

  More stunned looks from around the table, but I decided to cut them off before they could ask questions, “Hey, I just tied him up. Sinfonie is the real hero on that one.”

  Ultiman raised an eyebrow. “Sinfonie? The eco-terrorist? I thought she was retired, perhaps dead.”

  “She’s retired,” I confirmed. “This was a one-night only sort of gig. She got involved because of what Galestorm did in Brazil. Pretty heinous stuff. They destroyed a rainforest and wiped out a bunch of villages to get at the meteor. She wanted to bring them down, and needed me to expose them in the press. The evidence is in the envelope Sergeant Dawson’s looking through.” Dawson started the packet of documents and photos around the table. I continued. “Gale sicced him on me after the photos I took at the refinery hit the wire. I was a loose end she needed taken care of.”

  Herculene was pale, “My God. When did all this happen?”

  “After I left Sinfonie’s place. Anyway, she took him down, not me.”

  “So, why did Hammerblow go after you?” Mentalia asked. “Seems like Longshot could have gotten to you at any time.”

  “Actually, I was pretty well protected. The only time I wasn’t with Herculene or here in the Tower was when I was at the funeral. Longshot couldn’t have made a play with all those supers around, and after the funeral Ben and I took a different route to avoid the traffic jam. I’m pretty sure Archdemon set the whole thing up and used Hammerblow because she didn’t know about Longshot. It’s the only way it makes sense.”

  Three Dollar Bill changed the subject, asking Ultiman, “OK, so if all this is true, why go after Phoenix Fire first? You do public appearances all the time. Why not just hit you at one of those?”

  Herculene answered first. “They needed to test the cape-killer ammo.” The room fell silent at the use of the moniker I had cooked up.

  Ultiman put a hand over his face for a moment. “’Cape-killers?’ I take it this is more of your ‘cachet’, Mr. Conway?” He sounded irritated.

  “I’m a newsman, it’s what I do.” Something about what Herculene said bugged me, and knowing what I knew now, I began to suspect another reason behind the murder. I amended Herculene’s answer. “As to the ‘test’ theory, it fit with what we knew twenty-four hours ago. But I’m starting to think there was another reason.”

  Archangel’s voice came from the ceiling, interrupting my conjecture. “Ultiman, there’s a call for you on line one. It’s Gail Crenshaw.”

  Well, speak of the devil.

  The Angel leader leaned forward in his seat. “Put her through in here, Archangel. Video feed on the screens, please. Camera on me only.”

  I returned to my seat as Gail Crenshaw’s smiling face appeared on the screens around the room and her voice, dripping with condescension, came through clearly on hidden speakers. She was wearing her Gale costume. “Barnabus, darling. I see you’ve received my little gifts. And, you survived! Good for you!”

  Ultiman rubbed his forehead. “Gail, if you have something to say, just say it. It has been a long night.”

  “Oh, you poor thing. I heard how your little friends saved you. I must say, I’m somewhat disappointed. It’s so hard to find good help.”

  “Gail, it is obvious you have a problem with me. Fine. Why drag everyone else in on this?”

  “You really don’t understand, do you? Barnabus, this has all been for your benefit. You cast me and your son aside because you didn’t want to experience pain. That’s not healthy, dear.” Her voice took on a dark, hateful tone. “Pain is a part of life, and before I end yours, I want you to feel every kind of pain there is. You took away everything I loved. You. Stephen. And now, I’m taking everything you care about. Your little French whore, your precious Tower, your pathetic team, I even brought down Omega, something you could never manage to accomplish.”

  Ultiman’s head snapped up. “Wait. You blame me for Stephen? Why?”

  “You fool! The government approached you, tried to get you involved in that stupid war. You turned them down! If you had been there, it would have been over long before Stephen could have gone!”

  The Angel leader sagged. “So you blame me for his death.”

  Gail shifted into angry supervillain rant mode. “Of course I blame you! I did everything I could to keep him out of the Service. I used my wealth and influence to keep him out of the draft. But, when he found out what I’d done, he went and enlisted just to spite me. He was so willful. So much like you. If you had accepted your responsibility and been his father, I know you would have talked him out of it. If you had done your duty, you would have ended the war before he came of age, but instead you decided to stay in Wyoming, working at a car wash.”

  Gale’s voice rose, shouting her vitriol at Ultiman, “Yes, you bastard, you killed him just as surely as if you shot him yourself. And soon, I’ll kill you and hand those wonderful bullets over to the government. They’ll discover how to replicate them. I’ll destroy the balance of power between our kind and the normals that you cherish so much. Finally, after all this time, your humiliation will be complete!”

  Ultiman rose to his feet, pleading. “Gail, there is no reason for all of this. If you want my life, it is yours. Leave the rest of the world out of it.”

  “Oh, no Barnabus.” She laughed. “I’m having far too much fun watching you squirm to let you off the hook now. You will die, and as the light fades from your eyes, you will know that all you have lived for will soon follow.”

  “Very well. Let us finish this. Shall I visit you at your office?”

  The former hero laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. There are far too many civili
ans around here. I’m not a monster. I believe our little tete-a-tete deserves a far grander stage. I’ll be at the Coliseum in an hour. To make it worth your while, I’ll even bring the bullets.”

  “I will be there,” Ultiman replied grimly.

  Her voice changed back to the friendly tone I remembered from the night before. “Excellent, darling. I’ll look forward to seeing you. Ta.”

  The feed terminated, leaving the room in stunned silence. Suave muttered, “Dios mio, la mujer es una locura.”

  Mentalia sprang to her feet. She was enraged, and she directed the full force of her anger at Ultiman. “Dominique died because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants?”

  Ultiman remained calm. “Mentalia, please. Names.”

  “To Hell with that!” She waved her hand towards Dawson, Ben, Steve and I, the four normals at the table. “They’re the only reason any of us are even alive! Right now, I trust them far more than I trust you.” She turned to us, tears in her eyes. “Her name was Dominique Precourt. She was my friend. And she’s dead because she had shitty taste in men.” She turned and walked to the elevators. “I’m done with this. Archangel, call me a cab.” Seconds later, she was gone.

  Bill was the next to get up. “You know, she’s got a good point. I don’t think you need a karate man for someone like Gale. I’d just get in the way. Besides, I have some thinking to do.” He started walking towards the elevator. Herculene and Suave stared at his back, dumbfounded as their team fell apart around them. Ultiman just stood there in resignation.

  The team was falling apart. Those words bounced around my head for a second before knocking some truth loose.

  “Oh, damn, this was her plan all along!” I slapped my forehead as I leaped to my feet. “Bill, hear me out, please. Gale knows you guys are all alive. The battle ended long before Steve fixed Archangel. Am I right?” Steve nodded. “So, it follows that Archdemon knew what was going on and reported back to Crenshaw. Remember what I said about knowing your tactics and procedures? Well, she fought a damned war with that guy.” I pointed at Ultiman. “What was the first thing you did after a mission?”