Mitchell's Guide to Villains entry 19: Psychopathor

Mitchell's Guide to Villains entry 19.

Subject: Psychopathor

Civilian Identity: Kurt Theodore Moran. 

Birthdate: 12 December 1971

Birthplace: Des Moines, Iowa.

Height: 6'9"/206 cm.

Weight: 450 lbs/204 kg

Classification: Gamma level boost (?). Type B mod, including among other things: Armored skinweave, reinforced skeletal structure and joints, integrated modular weaponry, full sensory neural interface with his armor.

Note: A fair bit of guesswork here when it comes to the boost. Officially, he's never admitted to being boosted, but there are enough reports of psychic sensitivity and possibly enhanced healing and strength that it can't be disproved. However, the main danger is the extensive physical mods, and especially his custom-built armor. The integrated weaponry is confirmed to be at least three hidden blades, a needlegun and smoke/gas ejector, all poisoned. There are also reports that he can function without oxygen for a considerable amount of time.

The Psychopathor armor: Unlike most, this is not based on a military blueprint/prototype, but seems to be a custom job from the ground up. The specs seem comparable, with a heavy laminated plasteel shell over an exoskeleton, powered by an internal reactor. The reactor also powers the shoulder mounted plasma cannon which is the main weapon, and the auxiliary blue lasers. There are no integrated close combat weapons, as he prefers to rely on handheld ones. With the helmet on, it's underwater capable down to a considerable depth, and has an internal oxygen supply.

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Note: Intercepted letter containing a transcript of an unpublished interview with Psychopathor. Despite continued surveillance of VB, no reply was recorded.

Hello.

I'm sorry to impose on you like this, but your name came up in an interview I did. I know you're not my mentor anymore, but I really valued our talks, and I wouldn't want to submit anything that might get you in trouble. I haven't submitted anything to my editor yet, and I really think this piece could land me a job, but I also know you're in a tough spot when it comes to The Confidential and might not want to help me. I think it was a shitty decision firing you, you were just doing your job. Please excuse my notes, like I said, this is just a rough. Not a finished article, but you'll understand why I'd want to contact you.

Hopefully we can meet up for a coffee soon? 

/Mia.

---

Date: 2 June, 2014.

Present: The Psychopathor (Kurt Moran), Mia Ochoa (interviewer)

[Make sure to describe the surroundings. Set the mood. Spooky. Dangerous. Young intrepid journalist talking to famous villain. Don't mention the tea. Got the okay on the helmetless picture, use the one with the light coming from the back. Need a title that doesn't sound lame or plagiarized. Transcription from audio tapes. Cut as needed.]

Psychopathor - Are you afraid?

Mia Ochoa - Should I be?

P - Probably, little girl, but you asked for this meeting so you tell me.

O - I didn't think you'd actually agree.

P - What can I say, I was bored and had the night off.

O - Night off from what? Villaining?

P - You could say that. Why do you want to interview me?

O - It's my job.

P - No, it's not. You're an intern.

O - Oh.

P - Yes, I looked into you.

O - And you're still here.

P - As are you. With your little recorder and prodding questions.

O - I need them to take me seriously to land this job.

P - They won't.

O - You don't know that.

P - I know people.

O - He told me that. That you were smarter than you acted.

P - He?

O - Vernon Browne.

P - Ah that's where you got the idea.

O - Not the idea. But enough information to contact you.

P - So how is the old curmudgeon?

O - I don't know. It was a while since we talked. I didn't know you knew each other?

P - He liked asking questions. I liked that he asked the right ones. Tea?

O - Please. 

P - Not afraid to drink it?

O - No. You don't need to poison me to hurt me if you wanted to.

P - True. But if you know Browne, you also know I generally don't hurt the media. How else would I get any decent coverage?

O - You care about that?

P - We all do. Why else the theatrics?

O - You're refreshingly honest about that.

P - Please, I am too old to play pretend.

O - Thank you. That makes things easier. I assume you want to read the finished version before I send it in to the editor to make sure you're not misquoted?

P - No need. If I don't like it I'll simply raze your precious little newspaper to the ground.

O - Oh.

P - That was a joke [boisterous laugh]. Now, let's get on with it.

O - Ah, yes. Questions. One of the rumors I have heard about you that is rarely talked about is your marriage?

P - Who told you that? Don't bother lying to me little girl, I'll know if you do.

O - Nobody told me exactly. I saw your folder when I helped Mr. Browne clean out his office, and read it in the bathroom.

P - He did get fired then.

O - He did.

P - She offered Browne to work for her, you know? My wife.

O - Work as what? Is she a villain too?

P - She's quite... respectable.

O - That's not an answer.

P - She wears a less obvious mask than mine. We've got a good partnership that way. Not that we agree on everything. We did not agree on Mr. Browne.

O - So you were against recruiting him?

P - Of course. It could easily be a ploy. Stage an incident, fake a fall from grace, leave yourself open to offers to switch sides.

O - And then what? Write an article about you?

P - You really don't know, do you? 

O - Know what?

P - Huh. Looks like I was wrong about you, girl. I thought you were here as part of his plan. Maybe you still are. An unwitting tool, finding the right folder, drawing the right conclusions. 

O - Are you worried that someone is listening in? You keep tilting your head. I promise, I came alone. Nobody else is here.

P - Nobody but you and me and my... advisers. Looks like you're in the clear with them.

O - And if I hadn't been?

P - You'd be dead. 

O - Oh.

P - You know my reputation. Did you really think I wouldn't kill you if you were a threat, media or not?

O - But I'm not.

P - I know that now. Browne still might be.

O - If you are threatening him...

P - Down, girl. If I wanted him dead he'd be dead years ago. All I care about is not to get caught in the trap when it slams shut.

O - What trap?

P - You want to be an investigative reporter? Figure it out.

O - Perhaps later. But we're here to talk about you.

P - Of course we are. What do you want to know? How it feels to kill someone? How rich I actually am? What the specs are on my armor? Why I am doing this?

O - I want to know why you blew up the Virginia. Nobody ever figured that out.

P - The cruiser? Oh that takes me back. You might say it was a wedding present. My wife is quite the romantic.

O - Two hundred and fifty two people died. 

P - I suppose some would have made it to the lifeboats.

O - Is that really the reason? For a wedding gift?

P - Oh spare me the moral outrage. People die every day, I'm just a bit showier about it than most. The biggest killers in this town still sit on the city council.

O - There's a difference between death and murder.

P - Is there? You walk past someone collapsed on the street and leave them to freeze and die because they look like a junkie and you don't want to get involved. Or you put a bullet in someone's head. Dead is dead.

O - It's not...

P - Are you here to interview or argue with me?

O - So what are you saying then? That you consider yourself a hero?

P - Oh no, I am a villain and a murderer, but I'm not the only one. The moment a person get some modicum of power, they turn from victim to monster. Look at this place. Freedom? Don't make me laugh. Freedom to hurt others. Freedom to not have to bother with others. A freedom from morals perhaps. 

O - So what's the solution?

P - I don't care. My wife has ideas, but the way I see it, people won't change. It's either hurt or be hurt.

O - And nobody is hurting you anymore?

P - Clever move. Did you think you had uncovered my hidden past? My time as mind-mannered nerd Theodore Moran? Shunned by girls? Bullied by my peers? Desperate enough to take the boost drugs and turn myself into this? Is that your angle? Try to get some sympathy for this wicked old monster?

O - When you put it that way, it does sound rather melodramatic.

P - I named myself Psychopathor.

O - Point. Though you do seem saner with your helmet off.

P - I tend to get carried away in battle. It can be quite rousing.

O - Are the rumors of drugs true then?

P - I assure you I do not need performance enhancing drugs to go on a murderous rampage. But they do add to the ambiance.

O - Make you sound more like a murderous thug you mean.

P - Please. I am too old to have to work on my image.

O - Really? I've seen pictures of your armor through the years, it's changed quite a lot.

P - Upgrades. Technology has advanced quite a bit.

O - Spikes and skulls technology?

P - [boisterous laugh] Oh, I like you.

O - So is there a significance to the updated looks over the years?

P - Oh yes. It's an arms race. Imagine the competition I had when I started out. The sorry state of heroes and villains. Utilitarian. Drab. Or worse... homemade! 

O - There are few who has had such a long career in this field as you have, what do you feel has changed the most in the villain community over the years?

P - Money. Not from crime, but the surrounding infrastructure. Designers. Media managers. Stylists. Look at former villains like Sylvan, or Dr. Mortum. They are more successful as consultants than they ever were as villains.

O - And have you ever used their services? 

P - Of course. At leas the technological side. I don't exactly need any brand development. I'm a household name at this point, I was active when the Catastrofiend still had only two arms. Sad story that.

O - Would you like to elaborate?

P - They've gone downright unhinged. That's what happens when you lose control. Drugs are useful, but never let them be a crutch or eventually, you'll find yourself unable to walk.

O - Some people would say the same of you.

P - And yet I am here sharing a cup of tea and a pleasant conversation with you. Trust me, you won't be able to do the same with them these days.

O - Any comment on this current crop of heroes?

P - Oh they won't get any free advertisement from me. 

O - Any general comments? In comparison to the ones from the past?

P - They're more worried about getting hurt. All these armors and skinsuits. Don't they understand that the public wants to see them bleed? That's what made Charge so popular, you know?

O - I didn't?

P - The public loves an underdog. They crave the bruises and the scraped knuckles. They don't want military armors or invulnerability. They don't want gods. They want people.

O - I never thought of it that way.

P - People rarely do. Look at the fights, if people really wanted to kill each other it would be easier to get out there with a sniper rifle.

O - You mean like the Crack?

P - I do. Stupid name. Cowardly tactics. Will be a forgotten footnote in a decade. If they hadn't been picking off cops, nobody would have cared.

O - You make it sound almost like pro-wrestling.

P - Aren't you too young to like that kind of thing?

O - My dad used to love it. Thought it was very American.

P - It used to be a lot more popular. But now people can watch real blood. True drama. Higher stakes. They don't need things directed in a ring. It's on the streets now.

O - And you are a part of it.

P - As are you. You're sitting here interviewing me. On my terms. And you'll walk away to write a piece flattering my image, because you fear the consequences of what might happen if you don't.

O - And people will pay to read the article.

P - Exactly. And you might get a job riding on the fame of my atrocities.

O - ...

P - What is it? Getting cold feet? 

O - That's beside the point. I just realized that none of the things I read about you in the past necessarily are true.

P - Bingo. But my acts are.

O - What if I write the truth? About what we talked about here?

P - Nobody would buy it. It's not interesting enough. It might complicate their worldview.

O - Are you this open with all reporters?

P - Oh no. You are new. So I am curious where you will go with this. What kind of reporter you will become.

O - Is this some kind of experiment?

P - More like entertainment. Apply pressure. Watch what cracks.

O - And if you like my piece? Regardless of the truth in it?

P - Might be the start of a lucrative career. I know plenty of people to talk to.

O - Is this... did you do this with Mr. Browne?

P - Don't make me laugh. He already knew the stakes. Even if he tried to pretend that he didn't. Dropping his old pen name doesn't make him into a new person. 

O - What are you talking about?

P - Might want to look into his career before he moved to Los Diablos and joined the Confidential. Maybe interview him about his pal. [chuckle] 

O - What's so funny?

P - Do your homework and find out. You're supposed to be the reporter, not me. Now get out, looking forward to see what you do with this.

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Note: Mia Ochoa's career has been successful since her debut piece on Psychopathor (which contained very little of the recorded interview.) Is she working with him behind the scenes? Possibly. She has a reputation of being able to talk to people who normally shun the press. Could be worth looking into making her an asset? 

//note: Stick to your lane. She's more useful as she is. /N//