Commercial Break 3
“And we are back. Dr. Chromatic claims to have created an imperfect clone of the hero Greyscale, but Greyscale claims if that is true, what will happen if this boy’s DNA matches with that of his wife?
“One person we have not heard from today is the boy himself. Please welcome to the show the young man in question.”
The crowd applauded as a young boy was escorted out from backstage. He wore a Misfits t-shirt, tattered jeans completed with a white lab coat and safety goggles. From his attire he looked exactly like a protege of Dr. Chromatic, but beneath the attire there was no denying his athletic build and jawline resembled Greyscale, even at his young age.
“Please take a seat,” said Tony, motioning to a seat conveniently placed in between Greyscale and Dr. Chromatic. “Introduce yourself to the audience and our viewers at home.”
The boy looked to the crowd, then to the camera, then to Dr. Chromatic. When he opened his mouth to speak his voice was monotone. “My name is Tonedef. I was created by my father Dr. Chromatic.”
Some of the crowd booed until Tony motioned for them to be quiet. “And this man here,” he motioned to Greyscale. “Who is this man to you?”
“He is my father’s enemy.”
“No, I AM your dad, son!” said Greyscale.
“I may share your DNA, but Dr. Chromatic made me, raised me. He is my father.”
Greyscale’s gloves stretched thin around his knuckles until the armrests of his chair splintered. “Those are implanted memories, son. Chromatic brainwashed you.”
“I’ve been made aware that you hate my father and that you have a biased opinion because of the feuds you and he held in the past, but I have been shown undeniable proof that you are not my biological father.”
Greyscale rose from his broken chair pointing his gloved finger at Dr. Chromatic. “You disgust me. To do this to my son, the mental damage…” Then he looked to Tonedef. “You want undeniable proof son? Tony.”
On queue Tony’s lovely high-heeled assistant brought forth a sealed manila envelope. “Well, we have the truth right here in this envelope. Do you want to know the truth?” The crowd erupted into applause. Slowly he unwound the red string that kept the envelope sealed and removed the paperwork from within. He took a breath. Silence hovered over the crowd like a dark cloud before the rain starts. “When it comes to this nine-year-old young man, the DNA test shows that he does have the same DNA as Greyscale.”
The crowd applauded.
“Of course he does,” agreed Dr. Chromatic.
“When we cross-examined the DNA of Greyscale’s wife with that of this boy, we found that… it matched! Greyscale, you are the father!”
The crowd jumped out of their chairs applauding.
Greyscale got out of his chair slowly, a scowl on his face. He picked up the armchair he had been sitting on and tore it in half throwing it across the stage, knocking Camera 3 off of its tripod which would have to be fixed in post. The crowd gasped. Greyscale did not see the crowd, he did not see Tony, he did not even see his son. His eyes were only on Dr. Chromatic. Now that he was vindicated he had only one agenda.
“You broke my wife’s heart.” He took a step. “You broke my son’s mind.” He stepped closer. “Now I’m going to break you.”
Tony raised his eyebrows. “I think we’re going to need some help.”
Immediately ushers and security men rushed in to tackle Greyscale, but it was too late. He flung them across the room like a child dismantling a block tower. One man collided with a Skycam 1 wiping out the top-down wide angle. Another usher flew into the crowd and landed on several large women, none of whom were hurt thanks to the extra cushion.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Dr. Chromatic did not try to run, did not even rise from his chair. Greyscale gripped him in his gloved hands, hoisted him up and levitated into the air. A quick-thinking stagehand powered up a large fan and aimed it at Greyscale so his majestic cape would billow.
Greyscale raised his right hand making a fist.
Dr. Chromatic erupted with maniacal laughter.
“This is going to hurt,” whispered Greyscale. He threw one punch, then another, and then many more. The crowd oohed, then grimaced, until finally a man screamed, “Someone stop him!”
The more bloody Chromatic became, the harder the villain laughed. The crowd was out of control and the cameras that still worked rolled on. Tony and several security officers were standing on the chairs trying to grab Greyscale by the ankle and pull him down. Someone brought a ladder.
Amidst the chaos and the beating, Tonedef screamed hysterically. “Let my father go. Stop hurting my father. You think you’re the hero? You’re the villain.”
Greyscale heard the words and inclined his head in his son’s direction.
“You see,” said Dr. Chromatic through busted lips, “You may have proved your point, but I still won. You may have outsmarted me, but your son’s mind is mine.”
“Fix him,” growled the hero.
“I can’t he’s beyond repair.”
“Then I’m afraid you’re beyond repair.”
Before anyone could cheer or scream Greyscale flew through the roof dragging Dr. Chromatic with him.
Breaking News Channel 4
“I’m Kevin Chittle with this afternoon’s breaking news. It appears that our beloved hero Greyscale has lost a mental battle with Dr. Chromatic. But while Greyscale may have lost his mind, it seems that Dr. Chromatic may have lost his life. Reporting for us live on the scene is Sasha Montoya.”
Sasha stood smiling dumbly for a few seconds until her audio caught up to Kevin’s live feed. “Thanks Kevin. I’m here live, just outside of the studio where Tony Cantrell’s morning talk show is filmed. As most of us know, both Greyscale and Dr. Chromatic had called a truce in order to hash out a dispute they had over a young protege. Greyscale claimed that the young boy was his new sidekick, his own son in fact, while Dr. Chromatic claimed that he biochemically engineered the boy from Greyscale’s DNA. Apparently there was some heated arguing on the set which led to a physical altercation that moved to the rooftop of the studio. Witnesses say this is where Greyscale allegedly threw Dr. Chromatic from the building as you can see behind me there are the remains of a splattered corpse behind me, so the allegations are anything but…”
“I’d like to interject here to remind those at home that viewer discretion is advised as some of this footage coming to us live may be quite graphic and disturbing,” said Kevin.
“Thanks Kevin,” said Sasha with a cheerful smile.
After going over the gruesome scene Sasha turned the broadcast back over to Kevin who turned it over to a station break. When they came back Kevin was sitting with psychologist and long time Greyscale expert, Leo McKinsey.
“Leo, what do you think drove Greyscale over the edge today? Can he ever come back from something like this?”
“To answer your second question first, no. I do think we will look back on this day as a pivotal turning point in the life of our resident crimefighter Greyscale. In the fifteen years that he has served our city, twenty if you count his amateur days as Spectrum, we have never seen him cross the line, and that is what he did in fact this morning. He went from fighting crime, to dishing it out with his own hands. To answer your first question, witnesses from today’s scene repeated the chilling words of Dr. Chromatic, accusing Greyscale of mental illness, even schizophrenia. I think these are the aftereffects of Greyscale’s last defeat at the fists of Haymaker.”
“Do you think he should be held responsible for the life of Dr. Chromatic, a man who has terrorized our city with numerous nefarious plots?”
“Yes,” said McKinsey. “While he took the life of a villain, he still took life. He should be held responsible and accountable for his actions.” Leo went on. “What is so devastating about this occurrence is that today marks a new chapter in Greyscale’ life story. While he may have satisfied some brief need for revenge, his son Pitfall is still brainwashed and continues to think that he is Tonedef.”
“Do you think that this will have a lasting effect on the family?”
“If you want my honest opinion, I think that Greyscale has created his most potent arch-nemesis to date in his brainwashed son, Tonedef. Only time will tell.”
Kevin turned to the camera. “Thanks Leo. Sobering words from the resident expert on all things supers related. We will all have to wait and see what comes of our fallen hero and his deranged son. Is Greyscale still out to protect us, or has he become a danger to us all? We’ll talk more after the break.”
END