Tomorrow the newest installment of @findingvigilante will go up as scheduled. I just finished writing the first part and it's looking pretty good so that'll be up sometime tomorrow.
Reminder that this is an interactive story/blog. You can submit little stories of your own about your "experience" with the Vigilante or with anything corresponding to each new episode. Pictures, firsthand accounts, whatever you can come up with. So get creative and become a part of the story!
I saw Vigilante last Thursday at the CVS. He was buying sunscreen, which I don’t understand because his costume covers him head to toe, but I was too afraid to ask about it
I learned a long time ago to not question anything he does. It'll never make sense and I don't think I want it to anymore
I never thought I'd touch this blog again after what happened (or didn't happen) in 2022.
The last thing I posted was receiving a message from Vigilante saying that we needed to talk. He didn't say where or when, but I had a feeling he'd know where I was regardless of the place I chose to meet him at. Or chose not to meet him, if we're going to look at what really happened. Long story short, he didn't show. After getting the note that night I immediately went to the park to see if he'd show but he never did. I waited for hours until the sun came up and he was a no show. All that and he decided to ghost me.
I was ghosted by freaking Vigilante.
So fast forward three years. After my story flopping and going absolutely nowhere despite all the work I put into it, I moved back to Metropolis and got my old position back at the Planet. By this time the city was still recovering from the events caused by Lex Luthor, and I wasn't even sure if I could get my job back at that point (I wrote for the sports section, for those who didn't know). There weren't any sports actually happening for me to write about so it was a hassle trying to make an income on things that didn't exist at the moment. So that being said, I was temporarily demoted to coffee deliverer. And anything else anyone needed.
My old landlord was kind enough to let me rent my old place again since no one else had taken it over, so the move back from Evergreen to Metropolis went as smooth as you could imagine. You don't forget the city life, but the city life definitely forgets about you. My neighbor of four years asked who I was. The guy at the sandwich shop I frequented forgot my usual order. Even my coworkers at the Planet looked at me weird until they remembered who I was. When they asked where I disappeared to, I told them about returning home to Evergreen to write about a vigilante that depending on who you asked, was either a hero or a menace. They laughed when it only took them a minute to figure out that the story fell short and I had to return home. They were right to laugh, honestly. It was a story that I thought would be my big break. My foot finally in the door. But instead I got the door slammed right in my face.
Crazy how life works. Just when you think you've left something behind, it catches right back up and finds you again. It was late one night when my phone went off. The caller ID was that of a person that I made brief acquaintances during my time in Evergreen so I wasn't expecting someone from that experience to be contacting me three years later. They told me that there was some weird stuff happening on our old street (our families lived on the same street. And coincidentally, so did Christopher Smith) and in town. A suspicious van had been parked on the street for a long time, only leaving during the day but always returning to the same spot again. So what did that have to do with me exactly? Still trying to figure that one out myself. I couldn't just leave work for a story that did or didn't exist. Perry would never allow it.
Except he did. Shockingly, he said I could go back home because there "wasn't much happening in the sports department" so he basically let everyone in that section go until things went back to normal. Though he did keep a few people on to cover national sports. He just didn't keep me. So flying back home was back on the table, as was the probable non-existent story about some weird van parked on the side of the road. Some reporter I was.
I'm currently staying at my parent's home while they're away on vacation to Italy for a couple of months. My room hasn't changed; my old Mighty Crabjoys poster had faded from the sun a little but everything else remained the same. Everything stays the same in Evergreen. This place hates change and there's always someone here trying to stir the pot and add ingredients to the already cooked recipe.
That someone being Vigilante, obviously.
At Fennel's (which got a renovation, surprisingly), it was the same old bullshit. Older folks sitting around gossiping. Teens making a racket and a mess everywhere. Tired looking employees except for one. I couldn't believe he was still there. Adrian Chase of all people. He had been promoted to server and was now going around to tables asking if anyone needed anything or how their meal was. He was still cute as ever; a new haircut making him look even younger than he was but everything else, like Evergreen, remained the same. It was a weird moment when we made eye contact and he shuffled away quickly like he didn't want to be around me. Which was odd because we never spoke before and he always seemed to have a smile for me whenever I came into the restaurant. So what changed?
Other than visiting Fennel's, I also went grocery shopping to replenish the nearly empty fridge that my parents left behind. Saw yet another familiar face while I was there: Christopher Smith. He was in the cold cuts section stacking his cart with that many packages of ham, bologna and other lunch meats that I thought he was catering a party and sandwiches were the only thing he knew how to make. He caught me watching him and said "They're for my eagle. He loves this shit" and I just nodded. What was I supposed to say to a man that fed an eagle cold cuts?
The final thing I did when I returned home was visit the graves of the friends I lost during the Butterfly invasion. The big reveal of Task Force X shook up the entire town after the Battle at the Barn happened (not the title I used but rather the title the local newspaper used to dub the fight). It was easy to tell which graves belonged to the police department and which belonged to the prisoners. The cops had flowers galore on their graves. The prisoners had a scattered flower here and there. I felt bad for them seeing as how they were victims of the Butterflies too but you know how people are with criminals and those in prison in general, even for the small crimes. They weren't treated like actual humans.
So here I am again in Evergreen, Washington. Chasing down something that may or not be worth my time and energy. It's currently 10:53 pm and I'm about to collapse from running around all day. Sleeping did sound amazing until I heard loud music coming from the house across the street and yes, you guessed it, that house belonged to Peacemaker himself. When I glanced out my bedroom window I could see party lights flashing and I swear to God I saw a group of naked people walk by the window. I had half a mind to call the cops and report him for the noise coming from his house but I couldn't be bothered. It was my first night home. I was tired. Dealing with the police was the last thing I wanted to do, especially this late.
One thing I did notice though, and it was there exactly as my acquaintance said it would be, was the weird van parked just a couple of houses down the road. It seemed normal enough; a cleaning logo on the side like whoever owned it was inside someone's home doing plumbing or whatever. But it was almost 11 pm. No one calls for a plumber this late at night. So there was definitely something up with his weird van.
And I was right. I sat there and watched a big, tall man exit the back and slowly make his way over to Peacemaker's house. He began to creep around the exterior, looking in through the windows and even snapping photos (at least that's what it looked like from where I was sat, watching him be weird). Maybe he saw the naked people too was stunned by it. He had to have seen them. His pace was even slower now and his body language seemed to suggest he did. Once he disappeared around the side of the house, I could no longer see that he was doing and gave up watching. I was even more tired than I was before but also now very intrigued by what was going on. Maybe there was something here after all.
Note: I reopened this post at 3:43 am to share this bizarre dream I had about Vigilante. He was wearing a Fennel's outfit and kept trying to get me to order a ten layer lasagna. When I told him no enough times, he pulled out his gun and shot me. That's why I woke up. Not even home a full 24 hours and this freak was already on my mind.
My power flickered last night. "Well that's nothing unusual it happens to all of us" the readers will likely say. But not when there's a weird light coming from your neighbor's house around the same time the lights started acting weird. Someone recently informed that they heard that Smith was having an orgy. Like an actual orgy at his house. That must've been some orgy he had. Messed with people's power bill and the cosmos probably. Shook the entire universe to its core.
This morning was like any other. Got up, took a shower, turned on Netflix to finish off Bridgerton while I made breakfast. Realized that the fridge was completely out of milk so I decided to head to the pharmacy closest to me real quick to pick some up. Not a big deal, right? It's a normal thing to do. Until it wasn't. My day was going so smooth right up until I set foot into the pharmacy and heard a conversation happening an aisle or two away. Two women (or one woman, from the sounds of it) were talking until one of them began yelling. Pretty much everyone in the store stopped to watch and listen. Because I'm a nosey person, I peeked around the corner and saw a woman with blonde hair go up to the cash register with a bag of chips and some dip. I ducked away when she turned and made her way to the entrance, stopping to look at something on the door before exiting outside.
That was only the first weird thing of the day. Naturally it had to have a follow-up as soon as I got home to put the milk away. But before I get into that, I did take a closer look at the van that was parked across the street. "Meaner Cleaner" was written on the side but that didn't take away from how suspicious it looked to everyone else. My source said it had been parked there for a while and according to the people they spoke to, no one on the street was getting any cleaning done at the time. So that adds to the suspciousness of it all. I pressed an ear to the side to see if any sounds were coming from inside but I heard nothing. So I snapped a quick photo of it to share here in case anyone has any information about it.
I scurried back across the street to my house when I heard people talking from inside. After that I tried to be as normal as possible about my day but as I was loading the dishwasher, I could see someone approach Smith's front door. It was a woman that I'm pretty sure I've seen before. Then it hit me: Waller's daughter. Leota? I think that was her name. She was the one who exposed both Task Force X and Project Butterfly three years ago. Evergreen was a hot mess after that with scrutiny from the government and the press, but it quickly quieted down after a few months. I was surprised to see that she and Smith were still in contact after all this time, and my busybody self couldn't help but watch from the kitchen window to see what was happening.
Smith opened the door, in which that weird eagle came out and flew away. Then he and the woman sat down on the front step and talked. It looked like it turned pretty heated at one point because Smith got up and started waving his arms around dramatically before sitting back down again. Then she showed him something on her phone and that's when he showed up.
Adrian Chase. It was odd to see him out of his usual work setting. He was dressed casually while carrying a duffel bag that looked stuffed from what I could tell. While that was thrown over one shoulder, in his free hand was a cleaning caddy filled with cleaning supplies. But that wasn't what caught my attention. Let's say he was there to help Smith clean up. Why was there a bolt cutter attached to the side of the duffel bag? The cleaning supplies I understood but that I didn't get. What kind of orgy did Smith even have last night that required bolt cutters? As the possibilities were being tossed around inside my head, I watched as Leota left and both Smith and Adrian went inside the house. I never saw them again after that. But my power did flicker again shortly after they went inside.
I got a text from my source saying they wanted to meet. It helped that they only lived a few houses down from my own so we met up immediately. We'll call her "Mary" as she's asked to keep her identity a secret on the blog. We sat down in her backyard and began to talk about the recent happenings in town. She said the van had been parked there for a while and brought up the fact that it did indeed belong to ARGUS. Whenever someone tried to confront one of their agents, the agent would just brush them off and say it was ARGUS business that they didn't need to concern themselves with (which ironically, was concerning). Then she began to tell me about something that I've never heard of. Apparently throughout Evergreen and several other states, there has been a group called Sons of Triumph on the rise. Mary didn't know a whole lot about them other than their name so I told her I'd look into it as soon as possible. Could be a story there.
We parted ways about an hour or two later. Fast forward to around midnight. This just happened minutes ago so the event is still fresh in my mind. I was getting ready to go to bed when I saw a group of people exit the van. Maybe it was just the sleep taking over but they looked like a tactical team complete with guns and all and it seemed like they were headed to the back of Smith's house. So they were there for Smith after all. That confirmed my suspiscions. It was quiet for three minutes. Then that's when the gunshots began. The entire house lit up like a Christmas tree and even from where I was sat watching horrified out of my mind you could still hear the screams of terror coming from inside. It went silent after a few minutes before I could finally see the figures of the agents crawling and limping their way to the front lawn. I was tempted to call 911 to give them a hand but anyone crazy enough to try and break into the house of a man who owned a bald eagle was bound to get attacked. Somehow, an eagle protecting its home seemed like the most normal thing that's happened so far since I got back.
Edit: it's after 2 am. My power flickered yet again.
So that pretty much summarizes my day. Between learning about the Sons of Triumph and watching the ARGUS agents get taken down by a single eagle, I firmly believe that there may be something more going on here. I'll still be keeping an eye out for the elusive Vigilante but at the moment, I think this is much more important. ARGUS has such a powerful presence in the US government that I'll have to tread carefully. They can make people disappear entirely off the face of the earth if they wanted to. That aside, I really think there's a story here.
but have you been doing any research on vigilante at all? there must be something new you haven't found yet
Not really. I've heard a few stories here and there in passing but I haven't been actively seeking out new information since I've been home. My main focus has been completely set on the Sons of Triumph and ARGUS
Two days. Two days I've been undercover and I've never seen so much death up close and personal in my entire life. Every mission through that door was a consequence. A death wish. When the agents stepped through, almost everyone either came back injured or dead, being dragged back to our world by their comrades. And with every failed mission, Director Flag would get angry. But I don't think he was angry at losing his people.
I think he was angry because he wasn't getting the results he wanted.
I don't know. Something about the way he reacts doesn't exactly scream empathetic or in grievance compared to everyone else. The agents were the most affected by it all; they see things day in and day out that are beyond our everyday comprehension. At one point they were followed back by these little goblin things, which all had to be put down for security reasons. Another time they were chased by literal zombies. One door even had this bizarre world with a giant skull with spider-like legs behind it. None of it made sense yet all of it was dangerous. But Director Flag simply didn't care. Not for the danger of the mission or the welfare of his people. His only goal was…..whatever it was.
Around noon, he declared that everyone should take a lunch break. There was a food truck outside ready to serve us so we could go help ourselves to whatever was on the menu. I stayed behind to finish up a document and overheard an interesting conversation from my "coworkers" at the computers behind me. They were talking about the quantum chamber, which was the name of the room I dubbed as the waiting room. The one with all the doors inside. They mentioned that there was a certain world that Flag was searching for and it wasn't for resources (red flag right there, no pun intended). They didn't say much else after that only because people were returning back to their places as lunch was ending but they did make a comment about Peacemaker and the machine that he willingly gave up to them. "Motherfucker was too dumb to see the incredible opportunity he had in his hands".
Speaking of, Peacemaker was arrested that night ARGUS raided the Chase home. It was front page news in the Evergreen Gazette the next morning and Ms. Chase even got a say in the story. "I didn't realize what was going on until one of those agents explained to me what they were doing afterwards. After the arrest. I thought they were there for Adrian. Turns out they were there for his friend, Chris". Chris was sent to state prison until further notice and even upon requesting to visit him to get a quote that could prove whatever innocence he had, security told me he wasn't accepting any visitors, not even from his friend group. Flag also refused to say anything when I casually brought Chris up in a conversation. Something told me that he didn't do anything wrong and all they wanted was the machine he had that accessed the quantum chamber. Using whatever means necessary to get it, even if that meant illegal arrest and confinement. I didn't put it above ARGUS to do something like that but the way they imprisoned an innocent man all because of some alien technology he owned got under my skin for some reason. It was wrong. All of this felt wrong.
Thankfully though, Smith was released on bail. Someone with a buttload of money apparently bailed him out on millions of dollars and was released a few days after being arrested. After speaking with some of the prison officers, they didn't even know why Smith was there in the first place. He didn't commit any crimes aside from running from ARGUS who never gave him a valid reason as to why he was wanted. He was being wrongfully imprisoned, basically. And claiming he was arrested due to having alien technology isn't exactly a prison offense. But I guess if you're ARGUS and someone has something that you want, it is.
Update on my new "job". We sped up the process on trying more doors in the waiting room. Today was a whirlwind; black holes, giant skull creatures, zombies and more. And with every turn of a doorknob, someone always came back either brutally injured or dead. Agents were dropping like flies yet the person who was responsible for overseeing their safety didn't seem to care. Director Flag only showed disappointment (or at this stage in the game, anger) every time the group came back with nothing. I'd catch him roll his eyes or sigh heavily whenever one of his agents would be put on a stretcher or inside a body bag. I wanted so badly to tell him if he wanted results, go in there himself and look for them. But that would get my ass fired immediately. So I had no other choice but to keep my mouth shut and keep on keepin' on. Sitting there made me realize that I've never seen so much death concentrated in one place in my entire life. Death, sure. I've had friends and family pass away. But to have people die from the same cause continuously and make the same mistakes over and over again that caused their deaths was disturbing to watch. I just wished they'd close the door and never open it again.
But here's the other thing that I've made a mental note of. Aside from the disappointment that Director Flag showcased, he also celebrated whenever they'd find something of interest in there. Despite people coming back hurt or dead as I've previously mentioned, if they came back with results he'd cheer and celebrate with his peers. Never mind that someone returned with a limb missing or was dead. That wasn't relevant to him. Instead he'd crack open a bottle of wine and pour one to the people around him. He might not have noticed this but I did: the shared looks of disgust as he'd clap people on the back and smile and laugh as if nothing was wrong and no one had just lost their lives. It made me want to vomit. I also wanted to vomit when I took notice of a file on the table beside me with a sticky note signed by none other than Lex Luthor himself, which was quickly taken away from my field of view before I could read what it said exactly. It couldn't have been anything good if it was written by Lex. But it also brought up the question as to what part he played in all this. Was he funding this little science experiment? Did he have Flag in his back pocket? The longer I'm here, the more questions pop up and not enough answers are being found.
Today was weird. Or weirder than usual. The tall glasses freak randomly broke out into really shitty jokes as everyone was working and I couldn't help but feel that he was trying to be a distraction from something. Or for someone. So as discreetly as I could, I leaned forward and glanced around the room to see who was acting suspicious and as luck would have it, I noticed the blonde later that was with Smith when he was arrested and Flag's right hand lady both leaned over a computer while peering around to see if anyone was watching. They didn't see me sneaking glances at them and I didn't want them to get caught either so I just sank back down in my chair and continued the work at my own desk. They left shortly after (as did glasses man, who was as red as a beet when he walked out) and I just hoped to whatever God was out there that they were doing something for the good of others and not whatever ARGUS was trying to do.
Later that night, I called Gary to let him know that ARGUS finally found something. When Gary asked what I told him that it was a world that looked like ours and was breathable; the final door we opened today. Flag celebrated more than usual, taking some of the crew out to an expensive dinner. I also told him that his right hand lady stopped me at my car tonight and said she knew who and what I was. I panicked at first but she told me not to freak out. She believed that the world needed to know what was happening here and warned me to be careful. If she knew about my secret operation, then there might be others too. I also warned Gary that the file on that particular world might be encrypted on the ARGUS servers and to keep an eye out for it. Gary agreed, wishing me a goodnight before hanging up. I then sent him a photo I snapped earlier that day of a file to see if he could read what was on it (no doubt the file of the new world that was discovered).
Edit: squeezing in entries that otherwise would've been new posts
It's currently April 21, 2025. The old community center in town suddenly had a new sign out front. No one knows who bought it but according to Mary and several other residents in town, they saw Smith and other people coming in and out of the building, carrying office supplies, furniture, etc. Adrian Chase was one of those people, so I've been told. The building went from Evergreen Sports and Recreation Center to "Checkmate". Again, there's a lot of secrecy surrounding this new place and when I reached out for a quote, I was only told that they were "trying to make the world a better place". It wasn't exactly helpful and cleared absolutely no air whatsoever but I took what I could get. I guess only time will tell as to who they really were.
A quick update on the Sons of Triumph. They're still up to their same bullshit but more and more people have been standing up to them. When they tried to arrest a woman in Star City, about a hundred civilians stepped in and nearly beat their asses. The video that circulated online showed a gentle stepping and forming a literal protective shield around her; a solid bubble that separated them both from the Triumph boys (and no, before you start making assumptions, it wasn't a Lantern. The guy had no ring on any of his fingers and the bubble appeared to emit from his body). He was deemed a hero that day and the public's opinion on metas seemed to shift more towards a positive view after that. People were still upset that ARGUS funded them and the government showed general support and showed no signs of slowing down with protests. Everyday, a new town and city across the US put their distaste for Triumph on blast and it almost always went viral. Even Superman chimed in by saying that (and I quote): "Metas aren't the enemy. Keep up with the acts of domestic terrorism, extremism and fanaticism and you'll see yourself become one". The internet went wild with that quote and he once again showed the world why he's everyone's favorite superhero.
Speaking of the Sons of Triumph, my story was accepted for the front page at the Daily Planet. My first ever front page news. Perry had called me and said my coverage of the Sons was an incredible insight as to what was going on around the country. The people deserved to know what was happening and my story displayed an unbiased opinion on the events. After he congratulated me, I hung up the phone and danced around in my kitchen in celebration. I almost popped open my parents' wine but knew they'd probably kill me if I did. So I settled for a cup of coffee. But it was too early to celebrate just yet. The Sons of Triumph were still around and still active, so celebrations would have to wait until they were fully disbanded and categorized as a terrorist organization by the government. Only then could the country cheer for their downfall.
As for my other story, ARGUS, that one was turned down for obvious reasons. Perry said it was too dangerous to publish something like that. It would put everyone at the Planet in jeopardy, especially myself even if I chose to have it published anonymously. But what Perry didn't mention was posting it on my own time on my own blog where it was probably still just as dangerous but at least it would just be myself in danger and no one else. He never brought that up. So for everyone reading this, the following are my findings regarding the government organization ARGUS:
Led by Director Rick Flag Sr, his goal was supposedly finding rare minerals and resources for our planet
Under his watch, dozens of ARGUS agents were maimed and/or killed on site due to the multiversal door that allowed travel between worlds
An alliance with Lex Luthor was made but for reasons unknown
After working undercover, his true intentions were made clear after scouring through ARGUS servers: he wasn't looking for resources. He was looking for a place to imprison metahumans
He's found that world and plans to send people there as a form of punishment
I'm fully aware that this information will endanger myself and the people who helped me obtain it. They're aware as well. But we firmly believe that this information needs to be shared publicly so that something may be done about it before innocent people start going missing off the streets. Men, women, children; no one would be safe from the tyrannical Rick Flag Sr if he gets his way.
Now. With that out of the way, I think it's safe to say that I need to leave town before I get swatted by ARGUS themselves. Gary made sure both my identity and IP were all hidden from them, but that's not to say that someone out there found a hole in the firewalls and managed to get my information. So leaving town was probably the safest bet right now. It was one hell of a journey and I'm thankful for the town of Evergreen for rekindling my love of searching for the truth, and reminding me that everyone has a story, no matter how big or small it may be. Farewell, Evergreen. I'll miss you.
Edit: it's currently almost 4 am. You'll never believe what I was doing for the last four hours. At midnight, I finally went upstairs to go to bed after watching tv in the living room and in the corner of my room I could see a figure sitting at the chair by my desk. I reached for my baseball bat but a voice yelled out "don't shoot! Or hit me! I come in peace!" and then the light on my desk turns on.
And it's freaking Vigilante sitting there.
He eyes me behind the red visor before speaking. "I've been reading your blog–which blows my mind because I thought the art of blogging died years ago. But yeah I've been keeping up with it and I think I owe you an interview. Sorry for bailing on you three years ago. I sort of panicked. Thought you were going to expose me to the world–I'm pretty famous, you know".
Then he reaches up and takes off his mask. My jaw drops, my suspicions confirmed. He offers a small smile, looking exhausted
"So. You found me. Are we fucking doing this or what?"
i've heard talks abt chris smith having a big orgy from a friend of a friend who apparently was there. but thinking about a random creep snooping around and taking pictures is scary
That's what I heard? An orgy?! I suppose it would explain the naked men and women passing by the window. But good lord. Smith should at least have the decency to close the curtains. Now that creep knows where to go to get his next fix
