It\u2019s called \u201cThe Tour,\u201d and only a handful know how grueling, how exhausting, and how heartbreaking it can be. The Tour is the two-year average of most heroes who hit the streets before injury or PTSD or burnout bring their careers to a sudden halt. The ones who get back on the horse are the tried and true superheroes who see such stumbles as part of the trade. This isn\u2019t a shortcut to fame, for them, but a calling to help the world. Many more are looking for their 15 minutes of fame to launch endorsement and book deals or acting careers, and they\u2019re usually the ones who retire within their first two years, if an injury or death doesn\u2019t force them out of the game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Friday night and the tourist trade on Canal Street is brisk. It\u2019s hard to see what\u2019s happening along this section of Chinatown as the crowds ply the stalls and simple storefronts that sell a variety of knockoff merchandise, but D\u2019Mystify has a sharp eye. She\u2019s a Charlie-class hero with limited prescience. She can follow a person\u2019s actions along a limited timeline.<\/p>\n
D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>I can\u2019t see the future like some folks can, but I get flashes and images. Bitch of a thing, though, I\u2019m my own worst enemy. I get involved, I change the outcome. I jump in too early, my visions aren\u2019t admissible in court.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Right. The Stranger Witness Rule. A separate, state-sectioned body has to confirm your vision.<\/p>\n Tonight, however, D\u2019Mystify\u2019s watching people of interest, plotting their trajectory as they move through the crowd and trying to figure out where they\u2019ll end up in the next hour.<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>Whatever you want\u2014shoes, purses, jackets, lids, you name the brand\u2026 down there, they\u2019ll misspell it and sell it.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>You\u2019re going after counterfeiters?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>I\u2019m going after the warehouses that supply the stores. They got them hidden all over the place here and they see the cops coming a mile away.<\/p>\n Two years ago, D\u2019Mystify crawled into New York-Presbyterian, bleeding from several gunshot wounds that left her near death. It wasn\u2019t the first time she\u2019d been injured during the Tour either. She\u2019d been stabbed, blasted, and beaten before, but this was the first time that she nearly died since her trigger event.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>So you carry a gun now?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>And body armor. Wouldn\u2019t you? I used to worry about how the armor would look under my costume. I couldn\u2019t afford that expensive carbon-nanotube shit. I thought looking bulky would spoil my chances for my \u201cbig break.\u201d I was so damn na\u00efve.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>How did it change you?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>[Laughs, but without humor] Getting shot? Almost dying? What do you think? I felt like an idiot. When I first got my powers, I thought I was made, I mean set up for the life. I was going to move to New York, Hero Central, I was going put in my two years on the street, and turn that into a book deal. Such nonsense.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>It took you seven months to recover.<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>You know, that wasn\u2019t even the worst part. No, the worse part was being treated like a joke. I made all the talk-shows that week. Nobody talked about the good I\u2019d done for the community or the people I saved. No. They laughed at me because if I could see the future, how come I didn\u2019t predict getting shot? That\u2019s what made them laugh.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Then why still hit the streets?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>Pride, I guess. No, you know, that\u2019s not even true. I guess I felt ashamed. I get these amazing powers to help people and all I do is look for the payday. So, as soon as I could move on my own, I came right back out into the streets, trying to do right by other folks first.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>You\u2019re now in your second tour?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>I am. I\u2019m still working off what I owe the hospital, though some heroes stepped up and ran one of those Fund Me campaigns to help me with the day to day? God bless \u2018em, I\u2019ll tell you. My apartment is a gift from a patron who\u2019ll remain anonymous, but she knows who she is, and I get the odd job now and then, but, forget insurance. No company wants to give me coverage. And a social life? You\u2019re looking at my night out right here. But it feels good. It feels right, you know?<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>Do you ever see yourself getting shot? I mean, do your powers show you that?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY: <\/strong>I always<\/u> see myself getting shot. It\u2019s always a possible future on any given night, and some days it makes me want to stay in bed all day and eat ice cream. Pralines, if you\u2019re wondering.<\/p>\n HERO BEAT: <\/strong>How do you do it, then? How do you swallow that fear and come out here night after night?<\/p>\n D\u2019MYSTIFY:<\/strong> By taking it one night at a time. That\u2019s all any of us can do.<\/p>\n Suddenly, D\u2019Mystify spots something that piques her interest. She smiles at me and shrugs, as if to say \u201cinterview\u2019s over.\u201d She\u2019s gone a moment later, shadowing her lead along the rooftops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s called \u201cThe Tour,\u201d and only a handful know how grueling, how exhausting, and how heartbreaking it can be. The Tour is the two-year average of most heroes who hit the streets before injury or PTSD or burnout bring their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6OdZi-2O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":151,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/11\/19\/hero-beat-interview-with-grimsta\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":0},"title":"HERO BEAT: INTERVIEW WITH GRIMSTA","author":"Lucien","date":"November 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It was April 27th,\u00a02011 at the height of the Super Outbreak of storms when over two hundred tornadoes touched down across Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. It devastated towns and killed 355 people over the course of four days. Four of the tornadoes that spawned that day were F5s, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Grimsta-copy-218x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":245,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/01\/07\/hero-beat-storm-chasers-part-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":1},"title":"HERO BEAT: STORM CHASERS PART I","author":"Lucien","date":"January 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s 16:40 at JFK International Airport, and Jake Simmons anxiously sips his coffee three hours before his flight to Caracas, Venezuela. He drums his fingers on the table, hardly the figure I was expecting, but Jake Simmons is a contradiction. He\u2019s a nervous flyer, which is a rather strange admission\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":288,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/02\/04\/hero-beat-roadkill-inc\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":2},"title":"HERO BEAT: ROADKILL INC.","author":"Lucien","date":"February 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You\u2019ve probably seen their white and yellow vans driving around Manhattan following a metahuman \u2018incident.\u2019 That\u2019s the industry\u2019s polite term for when metahumans get involved in something messy. Roadkill Inc. isn\u2019t a name that inspires confidence, Donna Bartlet will be the first to admit with a broad grin, but nobody\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":392,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/04\/28\/hero-beat-is-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":3},"title":"Hero Beat is Back!","author":"Lucien","date":"April 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hero Beat is back! Work has been hectic recently, and I can't wait till I get to announce what I'm working on at my day job at Ubisoft Montreal. Until that time, however, here's a new Hero Beat article talking about The Narcissist, who we showcased in a mini arc\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":402,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2016\/05\/05\/hero-beat-street-angels-network-part-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":4},"title":"HERO BEAT: STREET ANGELS NETWORK PART I","author":"Lucien","date":"May 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you first become a crime fighter, there's a lot you don't know. The first lesson is that it's not a clubhouse out there; metahumans are either territorial about protecting their opportunities for fame and fortune, or they're the diehard vets suspicious of your motives. Then there's the stuff nobody\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":208,"url":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/2015\/12\/10\/hero-beat-talking-with-riot-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":174,"position":5},"title":"HERO BEAT: TALKING WITH RIOT ACT","author":"Lucien","date":"December 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s Friday night at the end of a long shift, and Harry\u2019s is packed. Obviously, Harrys\u2019 isn\u2019t the bar\u2019s real name, the officers of the Armored Mobile Police (A.M.P.) and the investigative arm better known as Amplitude Squad like to keep their favorite watering hole a secret. So I\u2019m here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hero Beat"","block_context":{"text":"Hero Beat","link":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/blog\/category\/hero-beat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mozaikcomics.com\/HeroesWithoutBorders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}