I never believed in heroes. No sir, not me, not Mama de Leon’s fav’rit little boy. I was, and still am I guess, a seeker of truth. (That’d mean a reporter to ya smart mouths out there.)  And in my own humble opinion, that meant turning a more jaun-diced eye towards the crap that yer day to day Juan and Maria lapped up so eagerly. Way I saw it, it was my job to expose these so called par-a-gons of vir-tue as the frauds they were. And, if I may say so myself, I was damned good at what I did. Not that many appreciated it but hard as it may be to swallow the public still needs to know the truth. And if that truth showed the idols of millions as the scum they were then ... well they weren’t worth worshipin’ in the first place. The fact that none of the ‘heroes’ seemed to make the grade when I examined them closely was just somethin’ I’d have to live with. Did I say none? Well, maybe I was exaggerating a bit. Some, of them seemed to be true heroes, in every sense of the word. Some like ... like ...um...
    Alright to hell with ‘some.’ Only one man comes to mind, out of the maybe sixty or so costumed heroes.
    Ain’t nothing that I, or anybody else in the world, could say about the Lightnin’.
    Golden Lightning.
    Oh, yeah he was golden alright. Pound for pound he was the man. No other costumed do-gooder could even come close to his abilities. Able to fly higher than any jet and able to move faster than bad tsismis. Strong enough that he once carried a friggin’ air craft carrier - you know how many metric tons those babies weigh?!?-to the nearest shore, eighty or so miles away. Electricity followed at his heels like a pet dog and he could easily use it to blow a building away without breakin’ a sweat or batting an eyelash. Invulnerable, too, as he once proved by blocking an incoming Scud missile with nuthin but his chest and his skin tight costume. And it was probably because of all these powers that he developed the ability that placed him closest to the people’s hearts.
    GL never lost.
    Not once, not ever. Whether it was facing the wrath of  some brainy megalomaniac or that of nature itself , you could always count on that particular square jaw to come out unscathed. The Rodent? Small cheese. The unstoppable, Termagant? Not only stopped but stomped. Planet Eater? Died hungry. Baron Fire? That fight took probably  thirty seconds. The Legion of Sin? Well, fine, this was a hard one. It took him all of five minutes to finish all thirteen of them. Heck when we had that asteroid scare a few years back Lightning personally took it upon himself to obliterate the darn thing after an even dozen tactical nukes failed to do the job. He did it of course ... with one well placed power blast. And those were just the fairly major threats. Goldie served as hour twenty four hour police man and is probably responsible for more arrests than you’ll ever see even if you watch NYPD Blue reruns for the rest of yer natural life.
    And, if that wasn’t enough he was nice too.
    He was always ready to help anyone in need, anytime, anywhere. No dilemma was too small, whether it be averting a war or seeing that a little girl got her doll back, Golden Lightning did it all. The key probably was that he never got a swollen head from all his accomplishments. World leaders shook like school girls at the thought of shaking his hand, and he treated even the rudest beggar with politeness. Not the fawning, over-bearing kind like some other heroes but the simple kind that you instinctively know is heart felt. Truth was he didn’t even say much. His actions spoke louder. Hell, even after he averted the Planet Eater from making breakfast out of our home, he didn’t hardly acknowledge the praises When Kofi Annan, Sec-Gen of the UN asked him to say a few words after his great deed, he merely shrugged and repeated his oft-spoken motto: “The only way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” You can see why the masses deitified him. As for me, for all my snooping, I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with him. As clean as a bimbos brain was our Golden Lad. I don’t think he even had a civilian identity, heroing was his life. So GL out of all the heroes gained my grudging respect, though I couldn’t help but watch for that one flaw that would bring him down. No offense but nobody could be that perfect.
    I hate being right.
    When we heard that Golden Lightning was going to hold a press conference at Malacañang Palace, us media boys got ourselves all into a frenzy. It had been quiet on the fronts for a while by then, with Lightnings old foes actually staying in prison for once. Petty crimes had been rising lately but most thought it was just a cyclic thing. In other words, the taciturn GL actually holding a conference at that time took us completely by surprise. There seemed to be actually no reason to do so ... unless he was to announce some new, world - shattering threat. Whatever the reason, I had to be there.
    Speculations about just exactly why Lightning had called  us dominated the conversation of the multitude of newsmen who milled around the palace lobby on that fateful afternoon. Some thought it was an escaped super felon. Others believed it could be another asteroid, or maybe an alien invasion. Those who believed in a reason other that a threat had ideas ranging from marriage to joining the government, as other heroes had done. Listening to all the varied arguments going on, what I couldn’t find was a hint of anything remotely resembling alarm. Feeling was I guess, even if it was a threat, that ‘ol Goldie would handle it with ease.
    That opinion was shared by my immediate companions (by proximity rather than choice) Carlo Roxas, a respected crime reporter and a rookie snot named Lester Madrigal who was on his first assignment and who practically worshipped Golden Lightning.
    “Unbelievable,” I remember the kid saying, in his thin, reedy voice. “Here I am, fresh out of school, and I’m already doing a Golden Lightning story! Just think after he tells us of whatever it is that threatens us, I’ll probably get the chance to cover him as he demolishes it! Then I’ll do a story on the aftermath, and maybe a special on how GL has affected our lives so far - a two parter!- then...”
    I couldn’t resist poking at the kids bubble. “Lissen Les,” I began, “we don’t even know if this is about a threat. This could as easily be about him admitting, say, that he had an ‘inappropriate’ relationship with Ultra Girl-ila way back when....” I couldn’t help laughing at Madrigals outraged expression, and I held up one hand to forestall an angry retort.
    “Granted even if it is some sort of danger, what makes you think that he’ll win this time?”
 That seemed to incense the rookie even further but it was Carlos Roxas who answered first. “Nothing much except the records Kenneth. He’s done well enough so far and it seems that he is well equipped to deal with anything that might occur. Remember the ingenious way he solved that dengue outbreak...”
    “And besides,” Lester broke in, “Golden Lightning has never lost. And he never will!”
 Before I could make a crack about the law of averages, a hush settled almost forcefully over the room. Almost as one the huge gathering turned towards the raised podium erected before us. Two figures made their way up the steps. The President ascended first, his short frame and pudgy figure made comical by the man behind him. I irreverently remember that his excellency had actually played GL before in his actor days. How he retained his credibility afterwards has always baffled me.
    Then Golden Lightning himself was ascending and all eyes were glued to him. His blue cape flapped dramatically in the wind and his symbol glinted in gold proudly emblazoned on his chest. The muscles covering his six and a half foot tall frame seemed to ripple of their own accord, and I heard a collective sigh from the ladies in the audience. Those females who weren’t ladies probably just drooled.
    The two stood silently for a moment. Then after a whispered word and a brief nod from the President Golden Lightning stepped up to the podium.
    About then I’d noticed something disturbing. The President had not engaged in any of  his usual antics while around his ‘hero’, actions that were supposed to mean they were the best of friends. In fact, his excellency looked positively morose. And the worst part was that if he looked bad, he still looked absolutely bubbly compared to GL. Golden boys handsome features were twisted into a look of grim determination, as with one who was about to eat his own liver. By the time he reached the podium, most of the others had caught on and the silence reached eerie levels, the only sounds being the clicking and whiring of the cameras.
    The hero of the age stood there for a moment looking down at the Earth. Then with a deep breath, he raised his head to meet our gazes with his own.
    “My friends,” he began, “I love my job.”
    “ I was born with powers beyond that of most, and never have I regreted that, for it enabled me to serve you as few could. Throughout my life I have devoted all my efforts to but one purpose - keeping you safe from all harm. It has been a long, hard battle, but never would I change one moment of it. I love you my friends, and I love my job. I wish I could do this forever.”
    He paused then, and had to take a deep breath before continuing. Nobody moved.
    “I have come to announce my ... permanent withdrawal from all world affairs. I am ... retiring as Golden Lightning.”
    Dead quiet. Utter Pandemonium. A thousand questions, reactions and exclamations being voiced at once. For a fleeting instant I thought my joke about an affair had actually come true. But the truth was something ... something none of us could have guessed.
    The hero held up his hands for silence. Retiring or not you did not flaunt the authority of Golden Lightning. The crowd instantly settled down. Externally at least.
    “Please,” he began again, “ I will only say this once. I have tried my best to protect this nation, this world and to an extent I’ve succeeded. I’ve vanquished mutants, defeated anarchists, diverted asteroids, kept us all safe as best I could.
    “But I am not God. Most of you seem to think I am.
    “My prescence, instead of helping you, has spoiled you. You depend on me for everything. Your policemen no longer patrol the streets, Golden Lightning will be there anyway. Your politicians see no need to build parks or beautify the environment ... Golden Lightning is all the tourist attraction you need. People take unecessary risks everyday thinking I’ll always be there.
    “Now you know that I won’t be.
    “I bear you all no ill will. You have treated me well, and I wish ... God how I wish that I could protect you, serve you, forever. But I can’t do it all, and if I tried it would only do more harm than good. As long as I remain here you won’t even try to stand on your own. I want nothing but the best for you... and so this is the end. I only hope my abscence does more ... than my prescence has.
    “Thank you and farewell.”
    The hero of the age stood still for a moment. Then turned and walked down the podium.
    The mass of men and women parted as he approached, leaving him a clear path. No one made a move to stop him. To speak to him. Everyone was in too much shock to do anything but watch him mutely. He walked between us, head held high, his noble bearing so soon after his impassioned speech only adding to the surreal-ness of it all. It was not until he had almost reached the exit that a thin, reedy voice broke through the silence with a single word.
    “How?”
    Golden Lightning stopped, but did not turn. Undaunted, Lester Madrigal approached his hero, his eyes almost tearing , reached out to clutch the blue cape in white knuckled hands.
    “How?” he repeated, stopping directly behind GL. “How could you do this? Maybe we are being complacent, maybe we do need to change but for you to just ... walk away? It’s like giving up. How could you?”
 I could see those massive shoulders tense, and for a moment I thought that the Golden hero was going to kill the young reporter. Instead the hero began to speak again, in a voice as devoid of emotion as his earlier speech was full of it.
    “The girl was about four years old. Maybe five. She had made a plastic kite and wanted to play with it on the street. She ran out without telling her mother. A man stood next to her, maybe waiting for a taxi. Just stood there and watched her, watched her play, watched as a car sped around a corner doing about a hundred and ten, watched as it careened into the little girl, and sent her flying as high as her kite, watched her fall with it and break with it into a million tiny pieces....”
 No sound, no movement. Just a massive chest heaving in pain.
    “I saw it all happen from miles away. I tried to reach her ... but I was just too far away. When I got there ... I could have chased the car, I guess, but instead I lashed out at the man, reached out and almost killed him with my grip, flattened him against the wall. Why, I asked him. You were there, right there. You could have saved her. Why didn’t you do anything?”
 Black locks flew as the hero shook his head.
    “He just looked at me in a sort of terrified surprise. I couldn’t he said, it was coming too fast, I would’ve died, I didn’t even know her... then he got this sort of crazy look into his eyes and started babbling, I’m only human not like you and where were you you could have saved her that’s your job right hero you failed her not me you....”
    Golden Lightning turned then, and glanced at the rest of us. He saw Lester, saw his cape. He could have freed it with less than a shrug perhaps.Golden Lightning reached behind him, unclasped his cape, and let it fall to the ground.
    “I am only human sir..... I gave it my best shot.
    “It wasn’t good enough.’
    He turned. He left.
    We never saw him again.
    Lester looked at the cape he held between his hands, suddenly void of symbolism ... an brimming with it in the same instant.
    “I don’t believe it ... how could he let this beat him?”
    I came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. He took no comfort from it. In his situation, neither would I. I spoke.
    “Easily. For all it takes for evil to prevail, is for men to do nothing.”
    I never believed in heroes ... until the last one was gone.