Men of Mystery

Wanted for Murder

The next day, DA Gates held a press conference. Dolores Delvecio, a reporter from the Daily Star, was there to cover the event.

"Good morning everyone. Today I am announcing there is a warrant for the arrest of Cerulean."

A murmur went through the crowd.

The DA continued on. "Lucas Lyster claims Cerulean destroyed his laboratory equipment yesterday and has filed charges of harassment and destruction of property. We also found several bodies in the wreckage and have added charges of murder to the complaint."

"Isn't Lucas Lyster, an eccentric scientist who has conducted illegal experiment on people?" Dolores asked.

"Mr. Lyster's past is not at issue here. No one is above the law. Cerulean will have to answer for his crimes."

Gates left the room and was met by several men in dark suits. They flashed their badges for identification. State police reporting to Governor Peterson.

"This way," said one of the police officers." They escorted Gates into a nearby conference room. An older gentleman sat their waiting for them.

"Wait outside," the older man said to the policeman. They inclined their heads and left.

"Governor Peterson," said Gates. "What can I do for you?"

"Have a seat."

Gates sat down at the conference table.

"Mind explaining what all this malarkey about arresting Cerulean is about?" asked the older man.

"I have a valid complaint from ..."

"... A crazy man," the governor broke in. "Don't you know we've been trying to find Cerulean for months. The president wants his help. Arresting him doesn't help matters."

"He destroyed private property and murdered five men."

"If that's true, what didn't Lyster file murder charges with his other complaints?"

Gates didn't answer. Finally he said, "I'm not going to drop the charges."

"I don't want you to. But if you manage to arrest him you are to turn him over to me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Governor."

"Good. That's all." The governor stood and stared out a window with his back towards Gates. The DA took the hint and left.

Later that day, the afternoon edition of the Union American featured a large notice on the front page.

$5000 reward for the capture of Cerulean.

Linus Trent, the newspaper's publisher laughed when he saw it. "You can't catch Cerulean," he said to his newsroom editor. "It's like trying to catch starlight."

The Daily Star ran the same notice accompanied by an editorial by Dolores extolling the many virtues of the cyan sentinel. She paced in the newsroom worried sick that the man she loved might be arrested and accused of murder. Finally she broke down and went to see Craig Crent.

"Craig, I need your help."

Confused, he replied, "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

"That's not true. You're a fine reporter and we need to work together to prove Cerulean didn't murder anyone."

"Funny you should say that. I just got reports from the medical examiner. The men found among the debris in Lyster's lab had unknown lethal serums in their blood. They think it was some sort of mind control substance that ultimately killed them."

"So Lyster could have ordered them there and then the serum killed those poor unfortunates," Dolores concluded.

"Right. Lyster is the killer here."

"Great work. I'm going to revise my editorial for the next edition."

"Perfect. It can run with the story on these reports which I gave to the chief."

Dolores smiled and run back to her desk. Maybe it was possible to save Cerulean. She wasn't sure but she was going to try.

Meanwhile across town someone had gone out of window of a skyscraper and was standing on the building ledge. A crowd began to gather on the street below as rumors about why the man was out there began to circulate. One man, Artie Schulman, saw the unfolding situation and rushed to a phone booth. He had seen the newspaper this morning and dialed up the police.

"There's a guy on the ledge of the Simmons Building. I bet he's gonna jump. If he does, Cerulean is sure to try and save him so this is your chance to arrest him."

The policeman on the other end agreed and dispatched three police cars to the area.

Across the street from the Simmons Building stood Cerulean atop the Candell Tower waiting to see what the man on the ledge would do. Minutes ticked but at the man on the Simmons Building was unsure. He heard the sirens of the approached cars and jumped from the building. An instant later Cerulean leapt through the air, catching the man about halfway down to the street.

"Suicide is never the answer," the cyan sentinel chided the rescued man before jumping away. The police arrived seconds later and took the suicidal man into custody.

"That was close," Cerulean said to himself. "A few seconds longer and I would've had to fight the police. Guess it's time to talk to Gates. See if I can get those charges dropped."