JCL ARCHIVE – AUDIO LOG 0031
Date: 1966-03-22
Location: [Undisclosed rural area – believed to be in the Midwest, United States]
Interviewer: [Name withheld – anonymous civilian/possible agent]
Subject: “Superhero” – Former Government Asset, Retired 1955

[Recording begins. Audio quality is poor, with heavy static. A faint crackle follows each word. Wind is audible, suggesting the recording is outdoors.]

Unknown Man: [voice muffled, hesitant] For the record…I’ve found him. After eleven years, I’m standing here with the man they once called Superhero. Sir, would you be willing to talk?

Superhero: [deep voice, gravelly from age and stress] …Who the hell are you?

Unknown Man: That doesn’t matter. The world still wonders where you went. They deserve answers.

Superhero: [snorts, bitter] The world? [pause, faint sound of footsteps pacing] The same world that cheered when I broke trenches in France? The same one that begged me to fly into fire over Korea—then spat on me when I didn’t burn myself out for their war games?

Unknown Man: [quietly] You disappeared in 1955. People thought you were dead.

Superhero: [curt] I should’ve been. Would’ve been easier than the damn headlines. [voice raises slightly] “Superhero fails troops.” “Superhero turns his back.” You think I don’t hear them? Even now?

[Static spikes. Superhero breathes hard, clearly agitated.]

Unknown Man: Then why not set the record straight? Why not tell people what really happened?

Superhero: [growls, then exhales] Because they don’t want the truth. They want a god they can parade on camera. A perfect soldier with a smile. I wasn’t that. I was…tired. I cracked. And in their eyes, that meant I wasn’t worth keeping around.

[Long pause. Only the wind and faint static are heard.]

Unknown Man: [softer, coaxing] Then tell me, off the record, what’s next for you? Do you ever think about coming back?

Superhero: [laughs bitterly] Coming back? To what? The wars never end. Europe, Korea, Vietnam, the next one, and the one after that. If I come back, I’ll just be another tool they sharpen till I break again. No. I’m done. I’m—

[Abrupt silence, followed by a metallic click. Superhero’s tone sharpens.]

Superhero: …What is that?

Unknown Man: [hesitant] …It’s just a recorder. For documentation. Nothing mo—

Superhero: [voice explodes with fury, static distorts] You’re RECORDING me? You—!

[Sudden loud scraping noise, like the microphone being shoved. The sound of a struggle. Superhero’s voice roars through distortion.]

Superhero: Turn it off! You don’t get to spread my voice! You don’t get to make me a headline again!

[More shuffling, then the sound of the unknown man stumbling back. His breathing is quick, nervous.]

Unknown Man: [panting, shaky] …You’ve changed.

Superhero: [coldly, breathing heavy] No. I finally learned. Get out of here. And don’t you ever come looking for me again.

[Silence. Only wind is heard. Footsteps retreat into the distance. Superhero mutters something faint—indistinguishable through the static. After several seconds, the tape cuts.]

End of Log 0031 – Audio Degraded. File classified by JCL High Command.
Note: Last verified recording of “Superhero” before his final disappearance.