Mandy's warning haunted the Spider's mind. A reckless hero was one thing, but Mandy's tone of voice had convinced the Spider there lay more than recklessness behind it. As soon as the other woman had gotten home safely, the Spider had set the wheels into motion. Although the papers might have had different reasons for naming her so, she had as broad a net as her namesake in nature and sources enough to paint a fairly nuanced picture.

As it turned out, the new superhero wasn't a hard man to track. It took a couple of days, mind you, but when the first stories started to tick in, it seemed like there would never be an end to them.

Yes, there were stories of his heroics. Saving people drifting ashore, fighting villains and helping the police placing them behind bars. But there were also different kinds of stories. Stories of flooded lairs and bodies emptied of water.

And it turned out Mandy was right; Ground Zero Journal did have some excellent journalists and the Spider had made a mental note to place one of her own on the inside.

A five year old news article read: As you might have noticed, a new name has made its way onto the list of heroes. This new hero made his first appearance last Saturday when he stepped in and helped the first response team on the site of the hurricane that swept over the East Coast last week.

Members of the response team describe him as a broad-shouldered man with blue eyes (some accounts suggest that his eyes glow when he uses his powers). According to a homeowner who was evacuated Saturday afternoon he was very tall and had a nice, southern accent. No-one has yet to describe him wearing any kind of suit or gear which gives the impression that he only recently stepped onto the stage.

Captain Stephson who flew in with the response team whose job it is to set up an operating base after natural catastrophes such as last week's hurricane, said the following when asked about the new hero: A jolly fine fellow, that one. Made our lives a lot easier, he did, leading all that water away and all. Helped us evacuate a dusine people and put some of that damn water back into the sea.

When hearing this description of the power's of the new hero, it will come as no surprise that the media have settled on a name for him. In the first hours after he made his appearance, he was referred to as Waterman, Flood Control, The Water Bender, and The River Wrangler. By Sunday the public had come to know him by The River Wrangler, and this is the name that has been picked up by the national press corps too.

The linguistic and psychological aspects of The River Wrangler's name might be…

An article published less than two years ago had a much darker take on the hero: The River Wrangler has been on our list of Superheroes Around the Globe for almost two years, but recent events have made some people question whether or not this is where he belongs.

The River Wrangler entered the public eye for the first time three years ago when he helped the authorities and NGO's clean up after the hurricane that laid most of the East Coast bare. You can read more about this incident in the original article.

At the time he was described very positively by both the public and the authorities and in the years that followed, he has moved right to the top of the list of superheroes on spar with the Fates, who are mostly active in and around New York City, the Sirene, who has her base on the Pacific Islands, and Charlie, whose headquarters are set in Berlin.

But new stories have started to emerge. In April last year, the River Wrangler helped stop a planned attack on the President of the United States. This was a collaboration between local and national heroes and the FBI.

The River Wrangler was among the first to arrive at the hostile headquarters. The incident was covered up and apart from an official statement issued a few hours after the end of the mission, no information has been shared with the public. The Ground Zero Journal has acquired a copy of the official report from the incident in which the first agents to arrive on the scene describes the headquarters as "racked beyond belief" and "water was everywhere [...] most of the evidence had been destroyed".

A bit further into the article, you were able to read the following paragraphs: Most of the East Coast probably still remember when the Pyromage used to set things on fire while performing some very public robberies. He has still grown quiet; he left the public eye, so to speak.

Until now his disappearance has contributed to the fact that he stole enough money to set himself up for life. An anonymous source contacted the paper in late January last year and told us a different story. 

This is what our source told us: The Pyromage has not settled down. He did not just disappear off the surface of the Earth. He was killed before he was put to justice.

The River Wrangler, you know him, right? He took down the Pyromage. The government did a good job of covering it up, but secrets like those tend to… come out, eventually.

Our source disclosed more information, and we have spent the last months trying to validate the story.

According to first hand witnesses, the fight between the Pyromage and the River Wrangler was a sight to see. Fire clashed with water, and then it stopped. A flame died in the middle of an attack and the Pyromage fell to his knees. Several of the witnesses we have talked to, claim he clawed at his throat gasping for air before he collapsed on the pavement.

This story is backed by a coroner's report written by the coroner who did the autopsy. The report explains how most of the Pyromage's body had been drained of water, and how his lungs were filled with water. The report does not suggest any explanations for this phenomenon. The report has been classified as top secret and no further document trail has been found.

There are no traces of an investigation into the cause of death, no police investigation following the standoff between the two supers, and no news articles covering the story. Our witness tells us, this is standard procedure when the government wants to maintain the spotless reputation of the superheroes they have hired as independent contractors or otherwise have an investment in.

And the article kept going. It took up a good four pages. The Spider had two thoughts while she read. One was why she hadn't infiltrated the Ground Zero Journal before now. They clearly had a very good network. The other was a little less pleasant.

There was nothing the Spider wanted more than to rid her city of that bastard. But all things in due time. She would wait untill she had everything she needed and then, he would come to her.