The Ballad of The Midnight Man

This is my first and last journal entry because after this, I will be dead. Do not worry about me, but the purpose of writing this is to ask you, can you save everyone? I am a superhero, and I cannot even answer that because I thought you could since it is my job and purpose. Before I die, let me give you a proper introduction, so you will know why I died. The people & most of media outlets consider me the world greatest hero, my enemies consider me the worst, but to me I am just Jonathan Carter also known as The Midnight Man. The origin of my name was unusual. The first person I saved was a pregnant woman from getting raped & robbed by a crack addict. I did not want any recognition, and I did not know what to do, so I disappeared into the midnight without a trace. The next day, my work was making headlines, giving me my name. I never thought of myself as a hero before because I was just doing what I thought was right, well at least from what I seen in my life. My mother was a homeless abused drug addict that sometimes exposed herself to dealers for drugs, so I had some experience when it comes to fighting of addicts. I never knew my father and shit I don’t even know if he exists. It has always been me and my brother/sidekick Sukuna, well that was until he died in battle. My family was something I never wanted to share to the world because I thought that I grew past it, but I guess some things don’t change. My mother sold me and my brother to drug dealers in exchange for crack. Those dealers then eventually sold us to “some people.” These “people” were interesting at least, they tortured us, beaten us, “used” us, but they also gave us something special. I did not know that I had powers until I was 13, but it was amazing and new. Super strength, durability, flight, kinetic energy absorption is just a few of them, but I was only young at the time. I had no intention of being a superhero because I didn’t want the fame, and I was too busy trying to the last of my family from being poor. Stealing food from convenience stores, sleeping in abandoned buildings, and forcing my baby brother to go to school was my priorities. Being a superhero could not fit into my life at the time, and I did not want it to. My life was superhero free until I saved her that night, then everything changed. Saving her made me feel important, worthy, and needed. I wanted to be the protector of weak and the voice for the fallen, so I chose to become a hero, but only in secret. I did not want my brother to get caught up in my lifestyle and I did not want any necessary trouble coming my way. The part-time superhero was going good until my first mission. A McDonald’s was getting robbed, and I stopping it until my brother I got caught in the crossfire. He was shot, but he stopped it by my surprise. Before he gotten my identity, I left, and he stayed and defeated the robbers. I was confused, shocked, and left wondering. When did my brother get powers, what are they, and how did they work was some questions I had. I wanted to know why he never told me about his powers, but I could not be a hypocrite because he did not know I had mines. “Yo bro, I got something to tell you,” “I GOT FUCKING SUPERPOWERS!” he said to me the next day. I was not expecting him to flat out to me, especially after I have not told him about mines for the past 2 months, but everything has an expiration date. He told me that he has telekinesis, super strength, and durability, then I finally told him about mines. He was pissed like I expected, but he deserved to know the truth. After, he was excited. “Damn, so does this mean we superheroes now, like superheroes brothers?” which I replied, yes. “Damn that means I need a name, but I want some cool shit, how about Sukuna Riot like from Jujutsu Kaisen, but different.” I never watched the show or knew who that character was, but it seems like he enjoyed the name, so I didn’t care. I also had to tell him that I am The Midnight Man, which since been doing the superhero thing without him. I know that he will be upset and jealous, but he deserves to know, so I told him, and he got upset.......again. He got over it when I offered him to be my partner in this superhero thing because I wanted to be able to train him and teach him right. Almost 359 lives saved and 162 complete missions later, we accomplished that. We were the greatest duo according to everyone, but we made some powerful enemies throughout our time. General Doomsday was a familiar name to us, shit he gave 2 broken ribs & put Sukuna in the ICU before we put him prison, but this time it changed everything. Sukuna and I had arguments through our tenure together because he wanted more. He sees himself more than just a sidekick and he felt that these villains deserved a more ''permanent" punishment. I understood him not wanting to be a sidekick, but why mess up a good thing over that and I WILL NEVER KILL A VILLIAN, that is a code I made for myself before I started crimefighting. After hours of arguing, we stopped talking for the day until Doomsday broke out of prison. Doomsday planned 2 bombs, one in town hall and another in a mega apartment complex that housed 1600 people. We decided to go our separate ways to deactivate the bombs, but after Sukuna deactivated the bomb in town hall, he decided to go after Doomsday for the last time. He tracked him to an abandoned warehouse outside of town where he was ambushed. Beaten, tortured, abused, and alone, I could not help him. I didn’t where he was, and I heard he was putting up a great fight against Doomsday and his goons. It gotten to a point where it was just him and Doomsday. Drained, tired, and beaten down, he did all he could to defend himself and kill Doomsday. Doomsday ripped his heart out of his chest, and by the time I got there the warehouse exploded. My own brother, the only piece of my family had left was gone now. I see Doomsday bloodied ass crawling away from the rumble, that is when I started to beat his ass. A whole hour of me beating his ass mixed with my crying burned a passion within my heart that could’ve been avoided if I followed Sukuna lead. I stopped, my code & bruised fists stopped my desire to kill him, so I turned him into the police. While there, I made it my mission to bury him under that damn prison because I wanted just in the right way. October 22, 2024, marks my brother funeral, a saddening moment in my life. He’s gone for sure now and that closure did not sit right with me. After that, I retired from the superhero business because it wasn’t in me anymore, besides, it did not feel the same without Sukuna. Beer and Pizza Hut were my delicacy yesterday until I seen that the police precinct was bombed and killed 23 officers. I rushed to the scene, but that is when Children’s Hospital was bombed and killed 48 children. 71 people lost their lives that night and I realized that the city of the weak needed their savior again. A restless night of investigating led only to more bombings and more deaths, but this night seemed personally. Our city’s Councilman was murdered, but with a bloody note attached to him. “REMEMBER ME!!” was spelled out in cold blood with a knife next to it. I'm operating like a madman with all the sleep and hope I’m losing, that is when I turned on the news again, there was a murder on 112th street, but this was different, THIS WAS PERSONAL. My mother was not a good mom, not even close, but to hear that her neck was snapped, broke me until I seen him. “How does it feel to see your world crumble beyond your eyes? All that power and you are still weak without me, that says a lot.” It was him, Sukuna. “I died and waited for this moment. I needed you; I sacrificed my life for you, shit FOR US!” said Sukuna. “I died for what, for him to still live while I rot? For you to give up on avenging me without a fight is wild to me, especially when I know that I would have hunted Doomsday ass for YOU!” Without hesitation, I apologize, but then he cut me off with a “FUCK YOUR APOLOGY AND FUCK YOU, I have waited for this moment. I have killed children, innocent people, and own our FUCKING MOTHER just for this moment. Just so I can kill you.” No more talking happened after that, we charged each other and ended things for good. I falcon punched him through two buildings, and he had body slammed me through the concrete. We fought until dawn where we were exhausted and bloody. He grabbed me and tried to gouge my eyes out until I kicked him out and choked him out. Hours upon hours of fighting led to our last moments where I loaded my final kinetic blast and aimed it at him, then if he ripped a light pole out of the ground and aimed it at me. I gave him one last chance to back down, but he started to charge at me again. My blast burned a hole through his chest, which pierced his heart, but his light pole went through my chest too. My life, dreams, hopes, wishes, and accomplishments were washed away into the fade of existence. As a hero, people expect you to the best, and be their savior. I am a human being that makes mistakes like everyone else, but since I have my abilities, I'm different. My brother was right, I couldn’t save him, and I was a fuck up because I fucked up. Now you have been caught up to everything, and now you know why I died, but I am glad that I’m dead. It’s peaceful, quiet, and no more expectations and burdens. I’m free to just be Jonathan Carter, no more Midnight Man. Freedom comes with a cost that everyone must pay, and sadly I paid with my life. So, I ask you again, can you save everyone, but if you can, how? 

Goodbye, Midnight 

By the way, I’m still dead.