Gone in Seven Seconds
While we’ve all seen publicity-friendly heroes, and we all know of those few supervillains who will actually take time out from blowing up the world to speak to their oft captive public, there are still plenty on both sides who prefer to avoid the camera. And then there a few who want to tell their stories, but for various reasons can not.
My subject for today was one such example, and one who offered an intriguing prospect. He had been a supervillain, one of the “bad guys” so to speak. However, events had seen him chose a different path, and he was trying his best to turn over a new leaf. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that he was still a wanted criminal. However, he was hopeful that his story could get out and hopefully explain his point of view and his reasons for turning to the heroic path.
A fascinating prospect, and one that I felt needed to be explored. After making initial contact with him, I arranged to meet him in a secluded location, one that I cannot disclose. While I knew that there was a considerable risk involved, I also felt that his story was one that needed to be told.
Droch, as he is known, is a rather impressive figure. Nearly two meters tall, his heavily muscled build was obvious even through the casual clothes he had adopted for our interview. That his right eye shone with an unearthly power only added to his fearsome image. He was clearly intimidating, yet, at the same time, he didn’t act it; he was rather relaxed when we met, and certainly more then happy to talk openly.
Of course, I instantly recognised him. I didn’t want to say that, however. He probably knew that I recognised him, and, more to the point, the reason I did would come up. So I left it for now. Instead I decided to start with his background and what it was that had bought him to the conclusion that he was better off being a good guy rather then one of the “baddies”.
“It really started with the Underworld.” He began. “They were the first villain group I came into contact with when I first arrived in Millennium City from New Zealand.” His accent was pretty thick, but still easy to follow. Certainly it was easy to peg him for an outsider. “They… they found me, actually. I don’t know what it was, but I guess it was the way I got my powers or something.”
“And how was that?” I asked.
“The short version is that I somehow absorbed a magical artefact into me, which gave me supernatural strength.” He explained. “But I think that was what drew the Underworld to me; they were all supernatural in nature. She Devil sold her soul to get her fire powers; Death’s Chaplain uses black magic and can raise the dead; Wolfgang is a true werewolf, the product of a family curse that dates back centuries, and Doctor Death is…” he trailed of for a moment. “Well, supernatural or something.”
“Anyway, we found that we had a lot in common, being all powered by evil magic and stuff. And for a while, it seemed to work. We stuck together; She Devil said it was because our powers made us different, separated us from mere mortals; we weren’t just better then ‘normals’, but we were also better then those who got their powers from radiation accidents and chemicals and stuff.”
“But the biggest thing is that we all suck together, no matter what. We never left a man behind, no matter what. If one of us was knocked out, then the rest would try top drag his arse back with them. And if one of us was captured, then the others would do their best to get him out, no matter what.”
He pauses for a moment before continuing. “And that was a really telling moment; Wolfgang and Doc Death had ended up imprisoned after a job that went wrong. That Knight Watch guy had shown up and flattened them, and there were more capes on the way. We’d had to leave them, but we’d vowed that they’d not be forgotten.”
“Even though it was a big risk, She Devil decided to spring them; her, me and Death’s Chaplain attacked the convoy en-route to the containment facility; it was a big risk, but it worked out; we sprung the pair of them and got away unharmed.”
“So there was a strong feeling of camaraderie then?” I asked.
He nodded. “As strange as it sounds for a group of evil supernatural guys, yeah. I guess there was.”
“It must have taken a lot to break that down, for you to abandon the rest of your team.”
“Yeah well…” He glanced away for a second. “It did. But don’t think that I was the one abandoning them. And trust me, I have good reasons for wanting to get back at them for what they did to me.”
“Please explain, then.”
He fidgeted as he explained. “It was another job; I was a running distraction; you know, use my strength to break stuff and keep the capes busy while SD and DC did the real work. It made sense to me, and wasn’t something that I really had any problems with; after all, I kind of liked breaking stuff.”
“Except it didn’t go to plan. A cape came out of nowhere – I didn’t see them coming – and flattened me with a single blow.” He slammed his fist into his open hand for emphasis. “It was like, one second I’m up, the next, I’m driven into the concrete.” He shook his head. “And they hit me so hard, I didn’t come round for ages.”
“What happened then?”
He sighed. “When I woke up, I was in custody. The cops had made sure that I wouldn’t escape, using the sort of restraints they’d reserve for a monster like Grond to keep me down. However, I figured that I might as well play along, after all, I knew that SD would bust me out. It was just a matter of time, that’s all.”
“But they didn’t, did they?”
He shook his head, looking down. “No, they didn’t. I was sent to prison, and languished there for some six months. For a while, I held onto the idea that they were coming for me. I figured that there was something that had happened, something that had gone wrong to prevent them from doing such, like they’d been also captured and taken somewhere else. But after a while, it became obvious that they just weren’t coming.”
“So instead, I became determined to get out anyway, and find out why the hell they hadn’t come after me. I was pretty damned angry at that point, and demanded to know the truth. Fortunately, a chance presented itself; Graviton and his ‘Renegade’ gang attacked the prison. No idea why, but I saw an opportunity when it presented itself. I busted out, along with a good number of others. I bummed my way back to the city, determined to find out what had happened and why they hadn’t sprung me.”
He rubbed his forehead, staring down as he did. “Must have been one of the most humiliating moments of my life.” He looked back up at me. “I tracked them down easy enough, and found out why they hadn’t rescued me. They’d bloody well replaced me. There was this new guy, Howling Fart” (I assumed he meant Howling Wind) “who had taken my place. And the worst part was he even bloody well looked like me.”
“So I was pretty pissed off. I asked why they’d replaced me, whey they hadn’t come after me. I wanted answers.” He slumped. “And I got them.”
“See, turns out someone had gotten footage of my defeat, some kid with a phone cam or the like. And it was worse then I remembered it. The fight had amounted to me getting my face driven into the pavement, and that was all. But it got worse. Much worse.”
“The cape who’d done me in was a complete nobody, literally nobody had ever seen her before they’d come in and flattened me. Not just some minor name who nobody’s head of, but literally, somebody who was just starting their career. As near as I can tell, I was the first ever ‘supervillain’ she’d bagged. I’d been flattened by some nameless amazon with a tight… costume.”
The hero in question was one Skadi who, at the time, was a complete unknown. Droch had indeed been the first supervillain that she’d fought, in fact, she’d mistaken him for a thug and not realised he’d had superhuman abilities until after someone had identified him. I wisely decided not to mention this bit of research I’d turned up, instead letting him continue.
“But the worst was yet to come.”
“You see, that kid had uploaded the video to the internet and it had” he gestured wildly with his hands “Gone viral or however they put it. It was everywhere. Everyone was talking about it, or linking to it. And they were all laughing at me. Every last one of them. They called me ‘the seven second man’ because of how long the fight lasted. Seven seconds for her to flatten me and destroy my villain career, just like that. You can watch me get flattened five hundred times an hour, and laugh while it happens.”
I’d seen the ‘seven second man’ video. I can see why it would be humiliating; knocked out by a complete unknown in seconds. And while I suspected that it was at the heart of his career change, I was interested to know more.
“She Devil explained this to me; she said that she couldn’t have me in the Underworld any more because I was an embarrassment and I would ruin their image. Like having a gay werewolf in hotpants wasn’t stupid enough or something.” He gave a derisive snort. “So she’d replaced me, and decided to abandon me to my fate. I demanded to be let back in, and they all laughed. Howling Fart asked if I would fight for my spot. I said I would. They laughed more, joking that I wouldn’t even last seven seconds against them.”
“While they didn’t actually attack me, they made it clear that I was no longer welcome. And I will admit, I was kind of at a loss; I’d expected to return to the Underworld, no questions asked. Now, I had no idea. I ended up wandering the fringes of the city, trying to see if there were any other opportunities available to me.”
“There weren’t. The other villains out there, well… they knew who I was, and knew what had happened to me. They laughed at me. They all laughed at me. The Atomic Pimp laughed at me, for Christ’s sake.”
“It must have been a trying time.” I offered.
“It was. I had no idea what to do. And that’s when I met him.”
“Him?”
He takes a deep breath. “I’m not sure how to describe him. I’d guess he’d be my guru or something. He changed my life.”
“How so?” My curiosity was peaked.
“I told him about what had happened, and how I was the seven second man. He said that I was being limited by my own perception of myself. He said that I should know no limit.”
“I see.”
“It transformed my life.” He looked up, his voice suddenly hopeful. “That simple summary changed everything. I was being held back by a limit, but I should know no limit. You see, I should have understood that there was no limit to what I could do; possessed of magically created super strength, I should be able to defeat any foe. The limits had existed inside my head; all I had to do was to know no limit.”
“And it was those limits that had caused your defeat?”
“Exactly.” He nodded enthusiastically. “I had made myself subservient to She Devil; in effect, I had limited myself. That is why I was knocked out so easily. But, by freeing myself of She Devil, I had freed myself of that limit.”
“So is this what lead you to becoming a superhero?”
“It was.” He explained. “I knew that, in effect, my past misdeeds were a limit, one that still constrained me. There was no way that I could undo them; rather, I had to find a way to atone for them. Whereas before I had been an engine of destruction, I instead vowed to use my powers to defend others and protect them from those who would misuse their abilities for evil.”
“Of course, there are still other issues; I am still a wanted criminal, and there are few who would want to openly associate with me. For the moment, I have to act from the shadows rather then basking in the light. However, this is not an obstacle to me; I see it as just one more limit that I can overcome.”
“So when you overcome this, when you are no longer hunted for your crimes, then you will know no limit?”
“Exactly.” He beamed.
“Most fascinating.” I concluded. “Thank you so much for your time, Droch. This interview has been most illuminating.”
“No, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain myself.” He replied. “And thank you for respecting my desire for privacy. After all, I am still a criminal in the eyes of the law.” And then he gave me a smile. “The ninja will show you out.”
“I didn’t see a ninja.” I looked around frantically, but could see nothing but a darkened room.
“That means the ninja has done his job.” He finished as he put on a battered cap.
So there you have it; Droch, the seven-second man, a one-time villain who has turned to a more heroic path. Will he succeed? Probably only time will tell. But has he made the right choice? I’d like to think so. It’s certainly what many would say is the morally right thing to do.
Of course, the fact that two days after I finished this interview the entire Underworld were single-handedly defeated by Knight Watch might suggest that the answer is, indeed, yes.
