"I used to dream about flying." "It went the same way every night" "I'd realize that I could fly" "No, that's not quite right." "I'd realize that there was no reason I couldn't fly." "And after that, I'd float off the ground and soar above the city." "But I haven't had that dream in a while now." "Lately I dream about more ordinary things like doing my laundry or shopping for groceries or riding on elevators." "I wonder why that is." "Drug use, prescription or otherwise?" "No." "Do you experience persistent headaches?" "No." " Trouble sleeping?" " No." "Any feelings of lethargy?" " No." " Lack of appetite?" "Difficulty becoming sexually aroused, maintaining an erection?" "Problems with premature ejaculation?" "No." "What about thoughts of a suicidal or homicidal nature?" "No." "You never fantasize about hurting anybody- yourself or others?" "Well..." "You know, sometimes, I guess." "But, you know, I would never act on it." "I understand." "And you're in good health, so..." "There you go." "I'm in?" "Take one pill a day, preferably with food." "But wait, you don't- you don't have to wait for my blood-test results?" "No, we're good." "I just need your John Hancock right there." "And these- these- these really work?" "Our results have been remarkably promising." "Okay." "And there." "And also there." "Welcome to our study..." "Les." "And thank you." "'Cause you're not just participating in a clinical trial, you're helping develop a medication that will benefit a great many people." "So you just pop in here one time a week so we can monitor your progress." "And here's a free T- shirt for you." "can I take the first one now?" "Mmm." "And how long till I start feeling... you know, different?" "I've decided to start this medication journal so I don't forget anything noteworthy between visits." "It's funny because I joined the study on a whim." "You see, I'm really pretty happy with my life." "Well, maybe "happy" isn't the right word, but I'm not unhappy." "It's more like" "I once read about a monster called the extricator that lived off people's souls." "Only the thing was, the extricator ate a person's soul in their sleep over a 16-year period." "Like it would nibble off a crumb every night until there wasn't anything left, so a person had no way to realize what was going on." "They just had this vague sense that something was slowly disappearing." "I don't know, maybe I am a little depressed lately." "Wait wait wait wait wait!" "You have to stop." "I am so broke." "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I already started writing the citation." "Um, listen, you could park here all day and I promise I won't- I won't write another ticket," "But once I start writing the ticket" "See, I get reprimanded if" "Please..." "Oh, thank you!" "Thank you so much!" "I'm sorry about that." "Some asshole was trying to ticket me." "How many times do I have to tell you?" "We're not gonna take any comics you find in a dumpster." "End of story." "What do you say, chief?" "Five bucks?" "What if someone pissed on them?" "I swear to God, if you pay him for those, I'm" "You're a good little man." "And you" "You're a very bad little man." "Les?" "Could you explain to my retarded sibling here that I can't keep the store open if he insists on throwing our money away on crackhead piss comics?" "I should" " I probably should go back to work." "Oh, Les, Les?" "Come here, man." "Check it out- I got you the new "Iron Woman,"" "The new "Nightmare Killer" and the new "Time Travel. "" "Cool." "I'm so sick of people thinking "Time Travel"" "is all about some dude who shows up from nowhere saying, "I've come from the future that will no longer exist,"" "and then fixes your problems." "Don't let him harsh you, Les." ""Time Travel" is seriously dope in an old-school kind of way." "Yo, if you want to come by later, we rented this crazy iranian knockoff- "When Animals Attack. "" "Yeah, man, come by." "Check it out." "Save me from another night alone with Captain Piss Comic." "Sure." "Yeah, maybe." "I know I'm too old to like comics as much as I do, but in comics, a villain can launch a missile at a superhero and the hero just keeps coming." "And then the villain can throw an atom bomb or an asteroid or an entire planet at the hero, but that won't stop them either." "Because a real superhero is like a force of nature." "And when I read comics, I get this faint glimpse of what it would be like to be not just stronger, faster, or smarter than ordinary people, but what it would be like to be, well, to be unstoppable." "Les, Les, Les, Les." "You want to explain this to me, champ?" "Yeah, I'm sorry, Steve, I just" "I like you, kid." "I really do." "But the money that those parasites con from you, it goes to schools, hospitals, soup kitchens." "So really what you're doing is, you're helping them steal from terminally-ill homeless children." " No, I know" " I know it's tough out there." "Believe me." "Even our fellow police officers think we're some kind of joke." "That's why you have to remind yourself that we are the ones that keep this city running." "I know." "Then say it." "Pardon me?" "The mantra exercise." "Look, I have seen this job snap a lot tougher men than you, champ." "So unless you change your attitude," "I'm afraid you're not gonna last much longer around here." "I'm important and I keep this city running." "Good." "Now repeat." "I'm important." "6:48 P.M." "Still not feeling anything." "Les?" "Oh, man." "I think I just" " I might be too nervous or something." "Les" " Les, what are you doing?" "Les, why don't you come down from there and we can talk a little bit more?" "Les?" "No!" "Amazing, isn't it?" "It's quite unusual." "Are you hurt?" "No no, I never felt better." "Why?" "Well..." "Hey, has this happened to anyone else?" "No, I've never seen anything quite like it before." "What do you think caused this, Dr. Dobson?" "Well, I think we have to discuss that" "Could- could you excuse me for a second?" "Is something wrong?" "Just don't move." "I" " I'll be back in a moment or two." "What seems to be" "Sorry about that, Les." "Who are those people?" "Please just follow me." "Can you hear me, Les?" "Of course." "Excuse me?" "This room could be bugged." "How'd you do that?" "Do what?" "I assume you've heard of telepathy." "You're telepathic?" "What?" "I'm not telepathic, Les." "You are." "I am?" " You are what?" " Telepathic." "The drug bestowed you with many powers." "You're having an adverse psychological reaction, Les." "You're reading my mind right now." "Do you understand what I'm telling you?" "Why is this happening to me?" "The medication was designed to suppress the chemicals in the brain responsible for self-doubt." "Unfortunately, brain chemistry can be as unique and as unpredictable as a fingerprint." "Oh." "Okay." "So the medication unleashed powers that I already had?" "What do you mean by powers?" "Never mention your powers out loud." "Why not?" "It isn't safe." "The important thing is that you cease the medication immediately." "Luckily, it has a half-life that's extremely short in the bloodstream." "So whatever you're experiencing should disappear soon after you've ingested your last dose." "Can you hear me, Dr. Dobson?" "Very good, Les." "You're learning to control your powers faster than I would have dreamed possible." " Les?" " Just a second." "Should I really stop taking the medication?" "Heavens no." "I just said that because they're listening." "Keep taking one pill a day." "By the end of the cycle, your powers will be permanent." "What are you staring at, Les?" "Sorry." "Um..." "Okay." "So I'll just, um..." "I'll just flush the rest of the pills as- as soon as I get home." "Good." "What's best for you right now is to go home, have a good night's sleep, get this all behind you." "Okay, I will." "I'm also obliged to remind you how seriously this company takes the- the nondisclosure section of the contract you signed." "I understand, Dr. Dobson." "I won't say anything I'm not supposed to." "If you have any problems or concerns, anything at all, this is my personal phone number." " Uh-huh." " I want you to call me, anytime." "Thanks for everything." "I really appreciate it." "Take care, Les." "He could have simply asked, but no, everything has to be a passive-aggressive game with him." "They should really get better security in this place." "I'm fat, that's the problem." "I'm like a dump truck." "It's like there are two kinds of people in this world" "Ones who feel bad when rock stars kill themselves, and the ones who think it's funny." "Like a sweet, juicy peach." "Peach cobbler- I could go for some peach cobbler." "I miss Thelma." "Condoms?" "I don't see her for two months and when I finally do, she's buying condoms?" "with Chuck." "Oh, I have to sneak out before they notice me." "Oh." "What if she spots me trying to run away?" "Don't be a sucker." "Don't be a little punk." "Just go over there and shove the barrel in her face." "She'll give over the cash." "Can't you read, bitch?" "Oh, shit." "Sorry, Les man." "I thought you were a customer." "Hey, can I come in?" "Yeah, mi casa es your casa, bro." "Les man, you won't believe some of these customers today, dude." "They go totally ballistic if they can't get their manga exactly when they want it, right?" "Just knock knock knocking all day long." "Is Everett here?" "'Cause I need to show you guys something." "Yeah, dude, just go on back and take a mental-health day." "Les, my friend." "Hey, explain to my retarded sibling here" "Just because something has a force field, right?" "It doesn't mean it has to be invisible." "Don't even get into it with him, Les, all right?" "He's been in extra-cranky mode all day." "Listen, I have to tell you guys something." "What is it, Les?" "First you have to promise you won't tell anyone." "Tell anyone what?" "Just promise me you're not gonna tell anybody." "What are we, the fucking Boy Scouts all of a sudden?" "I'm serious." "I promise, Les." "You satisfied, or do we need to pinkie swear too?" "Okay." "The thing is..." "I have super-powers." "You guys, I'm serious." "Oh, you- you got me, Les." "That was priceless." "You're thinking about pizza." "And you're thinking I'm full of crap." "But now you're thinking about pizza too" "No cheese, extra olives." "That is some serious David Blaine trickery, my friend." "I'm telling you, it's no trick." "And not only do I have powers," "But they're developing like gangbusters." "Even on the way over here, I discovered a new one." "What was this new power, o puissant one?" "You really want to see it?" "Yeah." "God damn, Les." "That was punk rock, bro." "And that's just the tip of the iceberg." "The more difficult powers- it seems to exact a slight physical toll." "So what do you plan on doing with these awesome powers?" "Oh, that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about, see?" "I understand the need to keep our secret, but stopping that robbery today was the first time in my whole life that I've ever felt like..." "I could really make a difference in the world, like I could do something that nobody else can do- something important, maybe even necessary." "So I talked about it with my friends and they agree that if a person doesn't do good with the gifts they're given, well, that's almost worse than doing evil, isn't it?" "I have no idea what you're talking about, Les." "But if you leave here without giving me a month's notice, you can kiss my letter of recommendation goodbye." "I understand." "Did one of those lowlifes make you feel guilty again?" "Is that what this is about?" "Because if it is" "I'm sorry, Steve, but I've told you as much as I can." "Excuse me." "The costume is obviously integral for any superhero." "It can protect the hero's true identity, it can inspire fear, curiosity or amazement." "But in my opinion, the most important part of a costume is what goes on the back of it." "Because it's not just the hero's name, it's their message to the public." "I want my costume to tell people that they shouldn't give up no matter how alone they sometimes feel." "Because anything is possible." "It turns out that being a superhero was like many other things in life:" "When you want to avoid it, crime seems like it's everywhere, but when you're looking for it, crime is nowhere to be found." "That's why you have to learn to always trust your instincts." "Whoa, Candy, that had to hurt." "You can say that again, Chuck." "Now let's take one more look at it." "If you have any information about this bizarre local case, that number again is 1-800-555-8477." "1-800-555-tips." "Our mad tackler is caucasian, approximately six feet tall, and is wearing a white leather suit with an unexplained symbol on the back." "I think we have a problem." "Before all this happened," "I assumed a superhero would be free from everyday fear and insecurity." "But I'm discovering that when the costume comes off, some of the most simple things in life still feel the most dangerous." "Hey." "So that was pretty crazy the other day, huh?" "With the guy and the gun and everything." "But maybe that kind of thing happens a lot in your line of work." "Well, I guess I'll- I'll see you around." "I'm sorry." "Do you know, what I wanted to say is" "I wanted to ask you" "I wanted to know if you- you wanted to have" "you can..." "Keep the change." "I suppose the main point to get across here is that even with good instincts, the life of a crime fighter takes a small adjustment period." "And even then it's difficult to understand exactly what's going on sometimes." "That's why I've decided to pursue a more conventional work environment." "Excuse me, officer?" "I can't tell you my real name," " but I used to work here." " You're a cop?" "Pardon me?" "No, um, parking enforcement." "But, uh... that's all in the past." "Anyway, there's something you need to see." "Pretty solid wall, huh?" "Yeah." "Or it seems that way to most people, but the truth is..." "Jesus, Mary, Joseph." "I'm not like most people." " Yeah, I can see that." " Who can I talk to?" "Talk to?" "About helping out, putting this stuff to work." "You know?" "Fighting crimes." "I've had some luck recently, mostly small stuff" "Shoplifting, armed robbery." "You're an armed robber?" "No, I stop crimes, officer." "Convenience-store stuff mostly." "But I think I'm ready to move up." "You know, I've heard of you." "I was thinking we could... develop some sort of signal." "You know?" "It doesn't have to be as complicated as the bat signal." "In the meantime, here's my card." "Take one of those." "Pager number on it." "You" "You give me a call anytime you need something and I'll be right there." "Actually, I think I've got something for you right now." "Really?" "There's this loon going around tackling innocent people." "Right?" "Get in, Les." "Crazy metermaids." "That was exciting." "You have a genuine flair for making a scene, don't you, Les?" "Maybe you're trying to get on television again, maybe something national this time." "Who are you?" "My name is Jonas Exiler." "And this is my brother Theodore." "Maybe you know us as the... people whose dreams you're trying to flush down the toilet." "We've spent the last five years of our lives and every penny we've ever saved trying to get this company off the ground, Les." "It's been an uphill battle," "Believe me." "You're telepathic too?" "You're a deeply troubled individual, aren't you, buddy?" "We want to help you, Les." "Can you understand that?" "You have to realize that the reaction that you're having is a complete anomaly." "And really, there's no proof the special is responsible for anything you're feeling right now." "You could just be experiencing some sort of unrelated..." "What?" "Fucking hell." "I" " I can't do that." "Can you understand anything we're trying to tell you, Les?" " I will never join you." " The medication is making you sick." "All you have to do is stop taking the medication." "And stop running around in that silly suit." " That's all we're asking here." " Never." "We could sue you to hell and back for running around on TV wearing our logo." "You understand that, right?" "But we'd just as soon avoid any negative publicity right now." "Just stop taking the pills." "We can put all this behind us." "Well, then we have a problem..." "Don't we?" " Because the way I see it" " Who are you?" "I come from the future that will no longer exist." "Who is he talking to now?" "These are the men that convinced the police" " that you did something wrong." " Of course." "Les?" "Earth to Les." "They designed the drug to build an army of unstoppable assassins." "And if you won't work for them, they'll try to strip you of your powers." " Or worse." " Worse?" " Much worse." " I told you this was a bad idea." "But don't worry..." "Because I won't let that happen." " Let's just take him to the E.R." " The E.R.?" " Are you crazy" " No!" "Ow." "Don't just stare at him." "Get him." "Ahhh!" "How do you like my invisible force field?" "Not much oxygen inside, is there?" "Ahh!" "You should have joined us when you had the chance." "Your force field is good, but my teleporting is better." "Yes!" "You son of a bitch!" "Yeah, you love that shit." "Whoo!" "Ha ha!" " Oh, shit." " Fucking game." "This is the best game ever invent" "Les!" "Les, man, what's going on?" "Yeah, man, Antoine said he saw you on the idiot box or something." " Bad outfit, by the way." " Oh, yeah." "Do you- do you know him?" "Yeah, he comes in here sometimes." " Are you okay?" " I'm good." "How are you?" "Yeah, I'm good." "Listen, we have to talk." "What's up?" "After I started using my powers to help people, these two brothers in suits showed up." "And since I wouldn't join them, they're trying to destroy me." " What?" " Yeah." "And I think they might have some control over the news media and maybe even the police." "Yeah, because when I came back from the future, they managed to frame me for crimes that I didn't commit." "You're serious about this, aren't you?" "Of course." "Uh- uh, I'm sorry." "Um, I'm sorry, everybody, but we're closing up early today." "You gotta go." "I'm sorry." "But I want to buy this." "Flamethrower defeats the eye in a prolonged and bloody battle wherein we learn that the woolian's death was a complex Morovian subterfuge, okay, buddy?" " Get the fuck out." " Sorry, man." "Come back tomorrow." " Listen, Les..." " Les?" "Hey, no no no." "You could shut those, Everett." "Shut that." " Yeah." " Les?" "Les, Les," " The thing is, man" " You don't have super-powers." "No no." "What do you mean?" "We just thought you were screwing around with us, you know?" "But you saw the thing with the wall- you saw that." " You mean you running into it?" " You mean through it." " I mean into it." " You mean through it!" "Les, we were just really high." "Jesus, Les," "What happened to you, man?" "Okay, you guys." "Okay, you got me." "But this is no time for fooling around." "You know, we have to figure out what to do about the suits." "There are no suits, Les." "There's no suits," " there's no super-powers" " And Les," "Les, you know you're our bro no matter what, man, but" "You're losing your mind, man." "You're losing your fucking mind." "Really?" "If I don't have powers, then how do you explain this?" "Explain what?" "This." "You can't see this, Joey?" "You're just reaching your arms out." "You honestly can't see this?" "I don't know what I'm supposed to see" " Joey!" " Les," "I don't know what I'm supposed to see." "Everett?" "Les, man, I can do it too." "Okay." "They must have" "They must have already got to you." "Who got to us, Les?" "The suits!" "The suits- they know that you're my friends, so they must have put you in some sort of mind shield so that you can't see my powers." "Mmm." "It's genius." "No no no, Les, Les, it's totally" "Crazy!" "Crazy, right?" "They want me to think that I'm going crazy." "Les" "That's how they like it." "Les, Les..." "I think we might need to get you some medical attention." "Is there a doctor or someone we could take you to?" "That's a good idea." "Do you really think he's taking- taking us to a real doctor..." "Or just an imaginary one?" "Don't worry." "Dr. Dobson will explain everything." "Stop the car!" " What the hell?" " Where'd he go?" "There he is." "Les!" "What are you doing, man?" "Get down from there." "Somebody stole my purse!" "He stole my purse." " Don't worry, ma'am." " No!" "I've got it." "Thank you." "Ma'am, in the future, please be careful walking around this neighborhood after dark." "I will." "It's like a move straight out of "Urban War. "" "You just- booyah!" "Quit encouraging him." "You could have seriously messed yourself up, dude." "Why is it so hard for you to believe that I have special powers?" "Special powers?" "Are you listening to yourself?" "People don't have special powers." " I believe you, Les." " No, you don't." "Yes, I do." "How else could he have done what he did?" " It was awesome." " It was stupid." "You wouldn't recognize a miracle if it bit you in your ass." " A miracle?" " Yes, a miracle." "Miracles don't exist, Joey." "You have become such a downer lately, you know that?" "Look, Les," "You're part of a very small group of people on this earth" "I actually give a shit about, okay?" "Not because you got special powers, but because- well, because you're you." "So I just can't fucking handle you trying to kill yourself right now, okay?" "Can you understand that?" "Yes, I can, Everett." "You can doubt my powers all you want, but you're about to discover the truth." "Dr. Dobson?" "Can I help you?" "It's okay." "We can trust them." "Is this man a friend of yours?" "You're not his doctor?" "For some inexplicable reason, he seems to be under that impression." "He came around the other day claiming to be part of a medical study we're conducting." "No no, we don't have time for all this secrecy." "Okay?" "The suits, they already know about my powers and they somehow- they brainwashed my friends." "Okay?" "You have to tell them everything." "I'm sorry, young man, but if you come around here again," "I'll be forced to call security." "That won't be necessary, sir." "No, it's okay." "We have to go." "No!" "You have to warn them." "You have to tell them- you have to tell them about the suits." "Okay?" "They're after me." "They could be after all of us." "These are my friends." "I don't have any idea what you're talking about, young man." " The suits!" " Don't worry about the suits, Les." " It's gonna be okay." "Let's go." " You don't understand!" "Okay, they're very- they're very powerful." "They're very- they're scary people." "That's why he's packing up." "Okay?" "That's why he's scared, because- see, he's running away, you see?" "He's running away." "I suspect your friend has ingested some relatively harmless narcotic." "Have him drink this." "It'll help clean any residual chemicals in his system before it's absorbed in his bloodstream." "Wait about six hours or so." "If he doesn't seem any better, take him to the Emergency Room." "Okay?" "Okay." " Ahh!" " No no no no no." "Hee!" "Huh?" "What is this?" "The antidote?" "This is the antidote, isn't it?" "Drinking this will take away my powers?" "No no, it's gonna strengthen your powers, Les." "Les, if you drink that, man, it's gonna strengthen your powers." "Yeah yeah yeah." "Les Les, please." "Please." " Just take it." "It's not a big deal." " You think I'm stupid?" " No, Les" " You think I don't know what's going on?" "No, I know that you know what's" " You don't know what's going on." " We have to go, Les." "You're the one who doesn't know what's going on." " No, I do know" " You don't know what's going on." "Okay?" "You're the one who doesn't have a clue." "I have a clue." "Not you, me." "Come on, man, let him go." "You're scaring the shit out of him." "Sorry, Les." "Haa!" ""I saw a piece of shit on the sidewalk the other day- not dog-shit, but from a person and it made me feel so hopeless, not just for whoever went there, but for every person on the planet," "if you know what I mean. "" "I told you he was a basketcase before he ever came to us." "Put that down, please." "Help me look for the pills." "Forget about the pills." "What do you mean, forget about the pills?" "I say we wait for him to come home, we knock the fucker out... tie him up for a few days and wait for his powers to go away." "What do you say?" "You can't be serious." "Why not?" "We're not dealing with the kind of people we're used to." "This kind of guy could disappear off the face of the earth for a few days," "Nobody would care." "Nobody would even notice." "No no no no no, I am out." "I don't care anymore." "This kid's gonna get hurt running around in that state." "So what if we lose everything?" "At least I can get back to getting some sleep at night." "Well, excuse me for not giving a crap, but I can't seem to muster up any sympathy for you right now." "Ahh!" "Remember me now, Dobson?" "Leave 'em off." "I said off!" "You didn't really think you could get away this easily, did you?" "Huh?" "Okay, turn on the lights." "Not the overhead one!" "This one." "Don't try anything funny." "You understand me?" "Don't do it." "You're not gonna find your file there." "I don't believe you anymore." "I don't believe anything you say." "You're a liar." "They made me shred it." "Yeah, right." "Listen, Les, I'm very sorry for everything" "Ha!" "Ha!" "Ha!" "So you admit knowing me?" "Of course I know you." "You're working for the suits, aren't you?" "Maybe you should take a seat." "No, I'm fine standing." "Can I sit down?" "You sit down." "You have to understand how much time and energy" "I put into developing this medication." "It became my whole life." " When?" " Pardon me?" "When did you turn on me?" "We tested Specioprin on thousands of subjects, but you were the first and only one to have an adverse reaction like this." "No, but this is not an adverse reaction." "You wanted me to feel better." "You told me that." " You wanted this to happen." " No." "A few weeks ago, we got an offer- that's what I wanted to happen." "What do you mean, offer?" "To buy us out" "The drug, all our research, the whole operation was going to be absorbed by a sizeable corporation." "That's  that's what we worked all this time for." "We were afraid that your results would scare them off." "So this is" "This is about money?" "We've done a terrible injustice to you, Les," "And there's nothing I can do about it now." "But I've told my partners I'm out." "And I'll confirm your story should you decide to take legal action." "And if you ask me, you'll have a very strong case against all of us." "But, Les, it's very important that we get the medication out of your system." " No." "Never." " Yes." "I'll never let you take my powers away." "Give me the pills, Les." "Les!" "No no!" "Come on, spit 'em out." "Spit 'em out, Les." "Spit 'em out." "Come on, spit 'em out." "Les!" "You can never take my powers away" "You can never- you can never turn me back into the person I used to be." "Nobody can!" "Nobody can." "So, nice to see you again." "You don't scare me anymore." "Good." "Then why don't you get in and we can have a nice talk?" "You can't stop me now." "I'm too powerful." "I'm not the kind of man who takes kindly to threats" "I know exactly what kind of man you are." "I've been dealing with guys like you my whole life." "You think you're so much more important than everyone else," "that you can do whatever you want to whoever you want." "Who do you think would care if you disappeared?" "Who would care about that, huh?" "Who would care about that, huh?" "Do you think that anyone would actually care if you disappeared?" "Pardon me?" "What the hell is he doing now?" "This is no time for Tai Chi, Les." "We're willing to negotiate a very fair deal with you." "Try to make me disappear?" "I'll make you disappear." "Huh?" "Ohh!" "You have no idea what kind of man I am, motherfucker." "Dahh!" "Ahh!" "Ooh!" "You think Dobson could protect you, him and his sudden burst of conscience?" "Take it easy, Jonas." "You don't want to kill the guy." "Why not?" "You heard him." "He's too powerful!" "He thinks he can make it all disappear." "He thinks he can sue us." "He thinks he can make it all disappear, everything we've worked for!" "He thinks he can make it all disappear!" "You want to let that happen, Theodore?" "Everything we've worked for- you want to have it ruined by some maggot like this guy?" "Some nobody!" "Stop it, Jonas!" "You're a worthless piece of shit!" " Say it!" " Ooh!" "You're a nobody!" "I'm a worthless" "You're a nobody!" "Oh!" "Ooh!" "I'm a nobody." "You're nothing!" "Oh!" "You're nothing!" "I'm nothing." "I'm nothing." "You're a worthless piece of shit." "Oh!" "I'm a worthless piece of shit." "Oh!" "I'm a worthless piece of shit." "Oooh!" "Stop it." "Ow." "I swear, if I ever see you again, if I ever hear from you again, you're a dead man." "A fucking dead man." "Fuck you." "You see?" "You can't reason with this maggot." "Put it down, Les." " You're gonna get hurt." " Nooo!" "No no!" "No!" "Most people never stopto think about the problems associated with being a superhero." "Instead they tend to focus on the more glamorous aspects of our lives." "They focus on the powers we have, the things we can do that no one else can." "But the unfortunate truth is that, while being different from everyone can be exciting at first," "Ultimately it can get a little lonely." "I'm sorry." "I just" " I don't know who to trust anymore." "I don't" "They couldn't have gotten to you." "They don't even know I know you." "I don't even know you." "What happ- happ- happened- to- to- to" "Shit." "I'm sorry." "I sound- s- s- stupid." "I like the way you sound." "I do." "Are you on drugs?" "Yeah." "I am." "Oh." "What kind of drugs did you take?" "Pills." "I took" " I took all my pills." "You see?" "Yeah." "Okay." "Uh, we really need to- we really need to... g- g-g-get you some help." "Tell me one thing, please." "What is it?" "Does this place have a bathroom?" "I thought" " I thought I got rid of 'em all." "The pills?" "Just- no, the suits." "The suits, they- they wouldn't leave me alone." "They wouldn't, so I had to do it." "I did." "D- d-did you hurt someone?" "Because that doesn't sound like a very nice thing to do." " Ha" " What's wrong?" "Nothing." "I think there's- there's a strong possibility that I'm losing my mind." "I think I'm losing my mind." "Come on, Les!" "Can't you see me?" "I'm standing right here." "Aren't you gonna finish me off?" "It- it's okay." "Shh." "Everything's gonna be okay." "Does this door lock from the outside?" "Oh, I" " I think so." "Can you- can you lock me in here?" "That doesn't sound like a very good idea." "Please, I'm not safe to be around." "You have to let me take you to the- ho- ho" "to the E.R." "Please." "Please." "Please." "You have to lock it from out there." "Uh, hold your horses." "That- that should get you through till morning." "Hey!" "You really do have a beautiful voice." "G- g-good night, Les." "Goodbye, super-powers." "I suppose this will be my last journal entry." "I'm not looking forward to returning to my old life." "But the truth is, with so many billions and billions of people on the planet, most of us can't be unique or important in any meaningful way." "We go to sleep, we wake up," "We go to work, we eat, we spend time with friends," "We watch TV, maybe we even fall in love." "But we don't have any magical powers and we don't have any great battles to fight, no evil forces to defeat, and no mysterious men in suits chasing after us." "We just have reality." "And believing anything else is just- well, believing anything else is just crazy, isn't it?" "We better get out of here." "But he" "We did what we had to do." "Come on." "Ted, what are you doing?" "Ted!" "You can't make me stop." "You can't make me stop." "You can't make me stop."