Day 32

[from Electron]

"-and now, we return live to Boston, and one of the most shocking incidents in our recent history. The superhuman Chris Carmichael, popularly known as the superhero Juggernaut, is currently on a deadly and seemingly indiscriminate rampage through the downtown area of the city. The rampage, which was apparently sparked by the murders of Carmichael's entire family, is so far thought to have claimed at least a dozen lives, injured dozens more, and caused tens of millions of dollars' worth of property damage, making it by far the most deadly super-related incident in American history. Our correspondent, Denise Mitchell, is in Boston, and we go live to her now for more information on this tragedy. Denise, I… what started all this?"

There was a moment's silence due to the transmission delay, before Denise started to speak. It almost made it look as though she was struggling to find the words. "Well, this all started on Monday afternoon, when an anonymous poster on an Internet forum outed 37-year-old Chris Carmichael as the locally-known superhero Juggernaut. Juggernaut was known for using his super-strength to fight crime across the city; he would also perform tasks for the community, such as helping to repair damaged buildings.

"After his identity had been leaked on the forum, news of Carmichael's true identity began to spread across the city, and yesterday morning, while Carmichael was at his day job, a group of criminals seeking retribution against Juggernaut broke into Carmichael's house and brutally murdered his 34-year-old wife, Helen, and their two young children, Chloe aged 8 and Jason aged 6. Later that day, Carmichael's 60-year-old uncle, James Carmichael, and his wife Betty were also found dead at their riverside apartment. Their murders are thought to have been committed by a different set of criminals, but for the same reason: revenge.

"It is thought that these murders were what drove Carmichael to begin what is thought to be the deadliest killing spree ever committed by a super, and which is still ongoing; at least fifteen people are now known to have been killed, including two police officers. You can see behind me, a large section of the downtown area has been cordoned off by the police, as they try to contain the enraged superhero; citizens are being advised to stay in their homes, and not to leave under any circumstances."

"Do think that this will lead to greater regulation of super-powered individuals such as Carmichael?" asked the anchor. "I mean, an incident of this magnitude simply cannot be allowed to happen again, can it?"

Another pause. "You're absolutely right," said Denise, "something does needs to change after this week's events, but the big question is what exactly. On the one hand, this incident has highlighted just how much devastation even a single super can cause, and how difficult they can be to apprehend; it's currently estimated that there are almost a thousand supers in America alone. On the other hand, it's likely that if Carmichael's true identity had never been leaked, then this incident would never have happened at all. Perhaps the government should look at providing more protection for supers and their identities, so that the kind of retaliatory attacks that prompted this disaster will never happen again."

"There's also the issue of, if the government does try to somehow regulate supers, would they even be able to enforce those regulations? The police have so far been completely overwhelmed by Juggernaut; they just don't have the capability to fight back against supers."

"You're right," said Denise, "any kind of regulations regarding supers are likely to be controversial, and met with some kind of resistance. The government are going to have to tread carefully to ensure that they retain the support of-"

Denise was suddenly cut off, as behind her there was a chorus of screams and an almighty bang. "Denise?" asked the anchor. "What going on?"

Turning around, Denise saw a nearby house that had been half-demolished, seemingly by a thrown car. Approaching the police cordon at frightening speed was Juggernaut, easily six feet tall, his muscles bulging as he roared at the cops. Most of them fled. Some stayed and fired their weapons, a largely futile effort.

Denise and her cameraman also began to flee the scene, the camera no longer pointed at her or Juggernaut, but at the floor. "Juggernaut's arrived at our location," said Denise, the pitch of her voice rising in terror. "He's breaking through the pol- OH MY GO-"

The camera shook violently for a split-second, and then there was nothing but static.

***

Electron paused the video, letting Cyclone come to terms with what she had just seen. The girl seemed utterly horrified, her hand covering her mouth. Having been sheltered and lied to for her whole life so far, even this, arguably the most infamous incident in superhuman history, was completely new to her.

"What… what happened?" she asked. "Was she okay?"

"No," said Electron. "Juggernaut threw a car at them. The reporter was killed, and her cameraman was in a coma for months. In total, Juggernaut killed twenty-seven people, injured over a hundred more, and caused an estimated $35 million dollars' worth of property damage, before he was finally killed by the police."

Cyclone gasped. "That's awful!" she exclaimed. "And all that just because his family were murdered?"

Electron nodded. "Yeah. It was just one big cycle of revenge, and it all started with one innocent post on an Internet forum. Within months, the Superhero Regulations Department was set up, and ever since then, every single super in America has been required to sign up for it. Partly so you can be stopped if you ever go rogue like Juggernaut did, but also partly to protect you and your family. Since then, not a single super has had their identity released to the public, or had their loved ones attacked. At least… not here in America, anyway."

"So that's why it's needed…" said Cyclone quietly. "Did… they ever find out who made that post? And how they found out in the first place?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Electron. " A few days after the massacre, a guy owned up to having made the post and then committed suicide. I can't remember how he found out, though. But yeah, revealing the identity of a super is now a federal offence, punishable by a pretty lengthy prison sentence."

Cyclone nodded. "And I guess if another super goes rogue, like my father did, then that's what you're there for, right? To stop them?"

"That's what we're all here for, really," said Electron. "That was the basic idea behind SHRED: if you hire every super as a superhero, then there are no supervillains, and if one does appear - like your father - then they have a thousand superheroes to contend with. Of course, it doesn't quite work like that - there are still plenty of supervillains around - but we're all doing our best to find them, stop them, and contain them. You will too, hopefully, once your training's complete."

Cyclone nodded. "I'll do my best." She paused for a moment. "Thank you, Electron," she added. "I… I think I needed to see that."

Electron nodded. "You did," he said.