Tragic Origins
By Daniel Myhre.
The following is a letter sent into the Paragon Times by Madam Enigma. It is printed exactly as we got it. What would have happened if it had been edited is up for debate. However given Madam Enigmas impressive body count so far we feel it is safer to print it without any editing.
I am always being asked to give an interview. I continue to refuse because my time is very valuable. I do my duty. There are some who love me, some who hate me, and many who rightfully fear me. I feel it is time to answer some of the questions that are always asked. This letter is to be printed exactly as it is written. I read the Paragon Times too, and will know if its been changed at all.
Why am I a hero? You really want to know? Well its rather complicated. Lets just say it all started with a little girl, a very evil man, and the girls best friend. My name isnt really important. In fact, you could say Im dead. Now Im known as Madam Enigma. Yes, The Madam Enigma. You probably heard of me on the evening news. I know Im not the media darling. I tend to leave too many dead bodies behind. In my opinion the only good crook is a dead one. Ive been chewed out for it many times. A few times they threatened to remove my clearance. Quite frankly, I dont care. I do what I do, and to hell with others. So far they havent revoked my clearance because I am good, and they know it.
When I was a child I was always getting sick. I missed more school due to serious illness then anything. Eventually Mom heard of a doctor Biggens who claimed to be able to help. Let me say right now that growing up in Guttenburg Iowa, we didnt pay much attention to the events in the big city. Mom took me to the clinic and Biggens agreed to help. That was the last time I saw my family for three years.
Doctor Biggens was nothing more then a criminal. I guess he had stumbled upon some kind of experimental process. I much later learned that the clinic had been nothing more then a front for his super soldier experiments. I was the lucky one. I lived through the radiation and drugs. For months I was in pain. Constant pain. Im not entirely sure when it happened, but Biggens at some point started calling himself Doctor Anarchy.
After awhile the pain faded. While I was still all but helpless he placed a metal collar around my neck. At the time I didnt think anything of it. After all, I was just barely alive anyway. When I had fully recovered Doctor Anarchy began my training. At first it was simple things. When I would try running away he would electrocute me with the collar. Forcing me to eat when he allowed it, sleep only when he said I could. After two months of that I quickly fell into the habit of doing whatever he told me to do. It was better then the pain he delivered when I disobeyed.
On my ninth birthday I didnt get a cake, I didnt get a party, instead I broke the law the first time. Doctor Anarchy had thrown together a crude outfit for me, little more then a bikini and a ski mask. He lead me to the local bank and ordered that I make a path for him into the vault. Naturally I refused. Even more Naturally I changed my mind after getting electrocuted again. A month previous I found that my bones had become metal like, and I could extend claw like blades from my hands. At the time I had been horrorfied, Anarchy however seemed pleased.
As I staggered into the bank the guards saw me. Anarchy followed along behind in his garish pink outfit. Yes, pink. I dont think he had much of a fashion sense. He demanded that everyone surrender, and of course the guards laughed at him. I think that pissed him off. Anarchy then ordered that I kill them. At first I balked, then saw his thumb moving towards the control for my collar. With a sickening tearing sound my claws burst from my forearms.
I advanced on the guards, reluctantly but determined to avoid more pain. Already Anarchy had me well trained. Whimpering the entire time I started to carve up the men. They were just doing their job, and I killed them. With each cut it felt like a part of me died. As I mauled the two men my spirit broke once again. I feared Id never get away from that madman.
That was just the start of Doctor Anarchys reign of terror. Over the next year he used me to acquire enough money to build a lair or his own. For furniture he used the skulls of my victims. The worst part was he made me construct every chair, table, and bed. At night he would chain me to the wall in my cell. My food was by then almost always still alive. I learned to kill my own supper.
One day Doctor Anarchy threw a bag into my cell with me. Inside it he told me was my supper. He then told me to eat it exactly the way it was. Since the bag was moving I knew he meant I should eat whatever was in the bag alive. It wasnt the first time hed done that. Usually it was a dog or some such. This time however was different. This time it was my best friend. A boy I use to play with before Mom took me to that accursed clinic.
I was stunned. How could I do that? I thought I would rather die then do what He wanted this time. I had heard the door to my cell lock when Doctor Anarchy had left, so knew there was no way out. Not for Sam. Upon learning who my intended meal was I cringed on my horrorific bed. All that day I huddled there. I didnt dare speak. Didnt dare look at Sam. Surely this was a sick joke? Or a test?
As evening neared the next day I feared it wasnt a joke. He hadnt brought me any food yet. He brought Sam a small amount of food, but just enough for one person, and left it far out of my reach. My hunger was beginning to get the better of me. Seeing Sam eat while I was denied sent me into a rage. I dont remember clearly what happened, but in the morning I found my bed was utterly destroyed. Sam was cut in a few places, and the scent of his blood made my hunger even worse.
Finally my will was broken. I stalked towards Sam like the wild animal I am. The fear in Sams eyes only served to fuel me. I pounced and thrust my claws through Sams left leg and right arm to pin him down. As I bit into my friends arm he screamed. I still can hear that scream. Until the day I die I will hear it. I ate, and I enjoyed the meal. And yet I died that day. I had done the unthinkable, and Sams anguished cries were still ringing in my ears.
I heard a explosion outside my cell, and looked up from the half eaten boy at my feet. Who he was had been temporarily forgotten. When the solid steel door was ripped from its hinges I cringed. There in the doorway was six feet of solid muscle in a white, red, and blue outfit. I recognized him. How could I not have recognized Statesman? At the time however all I could think was that he was taking away my food.
I pounced, and Statesman easily brushed me aside. He looked at me in disgust, or was it pity? I dont know. He took out a set of photos and looked at them. Then he looked at me and my meal. Sadly he shook his head. What Statesman said then Ill never forget.
Its a shame one so young is so far gone. I came here to save you Janet.
Save me? Did that mean I was free? Statesman gently ripped the collar off my neck and grabbed my wrists. Then he handcuffed me. I spent the next year in a mental institution being treated. The doctors said I had been brainwashed, but it was reversible. Maybe they were right, maybe not. It doesnt really matter now. When I got out of the institution I was returned home. The media had never learned my own part in Doctor Anarchys activities, and he I guess had managed to escape when Statesman raided the lair. I know I wasnt the only one Anarchy had. By then there was a small army of us.
I tried to live a normal life. Honestly I tried. On our way home from my high school graduation however I heard a soft ticking. I recognized that ticking. I had set so many bombs just like it. In fact I could tell by the sound it was about to explode. I opened the car door and jumped. Just barely in time too. As the car blew up I was rolling to safety. Once the fires had died down a little I returned. I extended one of the blades and cut open my forearm. The blood I drizzled in my seat would make a convincing piece of evidence that I had died in the blast. I knew I healed fast. Not as fast as some of the others, but still fast.
I ducked into the sewers and waited for the police to arrive. Already a plan was forming. I had been getting faster and more agile over the last few years. In secret I had trained myself. Although the police didnt know who did this, I did. I used the old routes to get to the lair. I checked the warehouse Anarchy rented. Finally I tracked him down at the local power plant. I knew he liked to oversee splicing into the plant in person. His current crop of servants were no match for me. They were little more then children. Untrained and barely fed children. I gutted them one and all.
Doctor Anarchy didnt demand who I was, he already knew. He didnt try to control me again ether. He could see in my eyes what I intended to do. Instead he tried running. He should have known better. I easily chased him down. His screams were like music to my ears. What did I do to Doctor Anarchy? Well, lets just say he didnt taste like chicken.
I tapped into the police band and listened in. They thought some wild animal had torn through Doctor Anarchy and his minions. I let them continue thinking that. With my entire family gone, and the last unfinished part of my life dealt with, I felt lost. As I drifted from town to town I heard of reports that something was invading. Nothing I could get a grasp of. Street people dont hear that much. Then the posters started to appear.
When I got to Paragon I looked bad. I had been only eating what I could hunt, and my cloths were six years old. As I strode towards City Hall a group of thugs attacked me. What did they want? Ill never know. Its not like I gave them a chance to demand anything. After nimbly ducking under a baseball bat I began to carve them up. I didnt care about the blood I was splattering everywhere. Or what I looked like. When I entered city hall I still had my claws out, and was covered in blood.
I marched up to the registration desk and demanded to see someone. After filling out a bit of paperwork I was asked about the blood. Some punks thought to mess with me. They wont be doing it again, I replied off hand. The receptionist told me theres a no killing policy, but I dont care. I never take prisoners.
I am what I am. I am crimes worst nightmare. I am a killer. I am Madam Enigma. Let Paragon Citys criminals beware. I dont take prisoners. I dont show mercy. And I am not going to start doing ether. Even if my clearance is revoked I will continue. Now that I have found a reason to continue living, I will never abandon it.
Signed,
Madam Enigma
Editors note: Based on information in the above letter our reporters have managed to trace the series of events described. Fifteen years ago the Star family moved to Iowa from Hollywood. Three years latter they reported their daughter Janet Star had been kidnaped. No trace of the child was found, and the case was dropped within a year. Shortly after the kidnaping a costumed criminal calling himself Doctor Anarchy and a young girl started a crime spree that lasted almost two years. During that time at least fifty other kidnaping were reported. All those cases were closed due to lack of evidence.
Ten years ago during a tour of the nation Statesman discovered a group of terrorists in Iowa. Reports at the time say that he had also rescued the young Janet Star from the terrorists. The child had suffered a severe mental breakdown and was hospitalized for treatment. A car bombing in central Iowa was also reported three years ago. The car belonged to Jason and Martha Star, and their daughter Janet was presumed to have also died in the explosion.
It can be surmised that Janet Star and Madam Enigma are one in the same. By Madam Enigmas own words she is also responsible for the massacre at the Dubuque power plant that was discovered two days after the car bombing.
