Righteous Tyrant- Epilogue

It Ends

"You would call me a villain.

Am I still the villain if

I'm only trying to help?"

-Mr. Gone, 'The Maxx'

Four weeks later.....

              Erin Bantor stood to one side of the stage, mopping nervous sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. Captain Righteous, dressed in an impeccable Armani suit that made Bantor look like a shlub, leaned in close to whisper to him. "You've got nothing to worry about. You're doing the right thing here."

              "I know that," Bantor whispered back. "I just hate being on camera. I get nervous, knowing how many people are out there watching."

              "Just take a breath," Lester said. He reached out for a young woman passing nearby. "Could you get the congressman a bottle of water, Tammy?" The young woman, one of the surviving skirmishers serving Dr. Tyrant only a month earlier, smiled and nodded, whisking away to fetch a bottle of water. "Do you have your cue cards?"

              Bantor patted his blazer pocket. "Right here. Do you think Farat is watching?"

              "I hope so. I like to think it'll help him choke down his crow," Lester grumbled with a sickly grin. "Thank you, Tammy." He handed the water to Bantor, who took a sip, then headed out in front of the lights and cameras, and two dozen reporters.

              He cleared his throat, took out his cards, and set them on the podium before him. He looked up, smiled, and began his speech.

              "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, of America, and of the world, I am Erin Bantor, representative of Virginia's eighth district and head chairman of the Hero Action Committee, also known as the HAC. A couple of months ago, the HAC was contacted by one Aberdeen Tyrannus, once known as Dr. Tyrant, about the development of an impending global crisis. We believed him to be lying in an attempt to regain a piece of confiscated technology from one of his campaigns. We believed he was trying to wage one final war on freedom. We were wrong.

              "A man within the HAC, Colonel Brant Chambers, had sent altered environmental data from the polar ice caps to a colleague of Dr. Tyrant's, knowing that he would see this data. The implications were world-threatening. Dr. Aberdeen Tyrannus was acting on good faith when he asked the HAC to return the Freeze Ray to him, and the HAC treated him like a reactivated supervillain.

              "In that vein, we assumed that Captain Righteous had turned traitor when he agreed to work with Tyrannus. But they were the heroes here, duped by Colonel Chambers into taking action.

              "Since the events which culminated in the death of Aberdeen Tyrannus, we have learned that Colonel Chambers has for years been building a secret organization bent on getting revenge against Dr. Tyrant and the HAC for the death of his father. Colonel Chambers's father was a mob enforcer slain in a crossfire during a battle between the villain Tiger Tank and the HAC back in the early 80's. Said villain's combat suit was designed and built by Dr. Tyrannus. Hence the Colonel's desire for revenge.

              "This organization, known as the Grays, has been responsible for thousands of criminal activities, including the abduction of dozens of journalists around the country. I see that a couple of you are here today, and we are all greatful that all of you survived your ordeal.

              "The Ultra Soldier known as Major Patriot, we have also discovered, was a mentally unstable man pushed forth into that program by Chambers, to be used as his own private superhuman weapon in the field. Major Patriot died, however, assisting Captain Righteous in the final battle between Tyrant's forces and the HAC one month ago. He, like Dr. Tyrannus, were sorely abused pawns in a scheme orchestrated by Colonel Brant Chambers.

              "For my part, these tragic losses and the battles in New York City, Texas, the arctic, and the neighborhood where Tyrannus had resided when this all began, could have been avoided. However, I, along with my fellow HAC chairmen, was too zealous in my desire to assume the worst of the great and brilliant Dr. Tyrannus. He believed we were in immediate peril as a planet. It turns out that we are indeed in trouble, but with the use of his Freeze Ray, we are now stabilizing the polar ice caps, and ensuring that our species will survive.

              "Without his desire to save us all, we would be looking at possibly losing our world in forty or fifty years. Instead, we will now have a livable world for many generations to come, thanks to Aberdeen Tyrannus.

              "The Hero Action Committee, by a unanimous vote in both the House and the Senate, is hereby disbanded." Gasps at this, the flash of cameras. Bantor held up his hands for silence. "Hey now, the real historical moment here should be that anything went through both the House and Senate unopposed." Laughter from the audience, and suddenly Bantor didn't look so stiff up on stage.

              "Ladies and gentlemen, a memorial is going to be erected here in Washington, to honor the men and women, both henchmen and HAC agents, who fell during this campaign, and most of all to honor Dr. Aberdeen Tyrannus. For though he terrorized us as a supervillain in the past, his last act in this life was to save our world."

              No truer words spoken by a politician, Lester thought as he turned to leave the building. He took one last look back at congressman, then exited through a side door.

              Out on the back lawn behind what would no longer be HAC headquarters, Kurtis Boe and Big Three stood with their blazers draped over their arms. Lester sauntered over to them, and the three men, the larger two looking out-of-place in dress attire, Boe looking perfectly natural except for his cast, shared a moment of silence.

              "Hard to believe it's been a month," said Big. "It all seems like it lasted forever."

              "I know," said Boe. "But honestly, it was the shortest campaign I've ever served." He checked his watch briefly. "It's ten past noon. They'll be dedicating the statue out front in an hour. Should we go wait?"

              "No," said Lester. "Let's go grab some drinks. I got to know Aberdeen Tyrannus too late in the grand scheme of things, all because they told me he was my enemy. I'd like to get to know you gentlemen before the same thing can happen to us." He put an arm companionably around each man's shoulder, and led the way to the sidewalk and towards the nearest bar. "Tell me something about yourselves, fellahs. And by the way, you don't have to call me captain or sir. Lester will do just fine."

But all was not well; in just six months, the HAC was re-established, and though the organization would return to its original mission, it would, inevitably, bring its fair share of problems to the world again in due time.

-Fin

Author's Note

              First of all, I'd like to thank everybody who stuck by me and waited patiently for me to release any little updates and announcements concerning this story while I was working on it. I faltered about halfway through writing this book, setting it aside to write a Megaman X fanfiction for Fanfiction.net, and that threw the pace way off.

              For two years, I didn't try producing a commercial novel, and while another Tamalarian Tales fantasy novel or Amelia City horror story might have been a safe bet to get back into the mix with, I felt that the tale of Dr. Tyrant and Captain Righteous was truly deserving of being the tale that put me back into the market.

              I struggled mightily with this story, because it doesn't fit neatly into either genre in which I've previously worked. This tale borders more comfortably on the path of science-fiction. I've been wanting to complete a sci-fi story for a while, and, well, here it finally is!

              Anyone familiar with comic books in the slightest will realize who Lester Collins was based upon, but perhaps not Aberdeen Tyrannus. Abe was loosely based upon Dr. Thaddeus Venture of 'The Venture Brothers', an amazing and hilarious animated series spoofing many of the conventions of the comic book universe (and shows like Johnny Quest). It was 'The Venture Brothers' that the Henchmen's Union came from as well, inspired by the Guild of Calamitous Intent.

              There have been a ton of superhero and comic book inspired films dominating the cinema for the last few years. One of the things that has bothered me a little about most of these films has been the lack of henchmen. In the comics I read growing up, and in the animated versions of Batman, there was always a group of willing soldiers enlisted in service to the powerful villains. In the latest batch of comic book movies, henchmen don't get enough of a look, I feel.

              I truly hope you've enjoyed reading this story. I had a wonderful time writing it. And who knows, I may decide to dabble in superheroes again at some point. If I don't, I hope you'll instead enjoy my return to commercial fantasy and horror.

              Take care, ladies and gentlemen, and as always, keep reading!

-Joshua T. Calkins-Treworgy

October 30th, 2012 (original date of completion)