Out of Place · Midnight Disease Productions LLC

Presenting: Vigil

December 23, 2022·22 min·2 clips

Journalist Maria Kennedy investigates Vigil, a deceased superhero the world forgot, uncovering dark industry secrets.

The episode opens with Pacific, the Out of Place host, introducing Vigil as a separate podcast being presented as a special guest episode. Pacific gives a brief overview: Vigil is set in a future where superhero conglomerates manage public safety, and the series follows journalist Maria Kennedy investigating the life of a recently deceased hero the world forgot. Maria Kennedy then narrates the setup in her own voice, explaining she spent eight years as a HeroTrackers journalist without ever encountering Vigil's name, until she began noticing off-hand references to him from heroes describing past cases. A contact in the hero industry confirmed Vigil's existence and provided access to his personal audio logs, recorded for every case he ever worked. The episode's main story is Vigil's first recorded case, his sixth overall. Vigil contacts the Safeguard, a major equity hero agency, with a detailed analysis showing they have misattributed a string of thefts and assassinations to the wrong criminal. His second call refines the profile: the criminal has an alcohol-based power, operates within 50 yards of bars, and can kill both heavy drinkers and teetotalers with equal ease. He correctly predicts the next crime's timing. The Safeguard ignores him. An intern named Urgent, whose codename reflects a speed power he can only safely use once per day before risking a coma, reaches out to Vigil on a personal line. Urgent confirms that Vigil is on the no-answer list at the Safeguard. Vigil reveals to Urgent that the criminal Lush can transmute alcohol across space, moving it directly into victims' bloodstreams, which explains how Vigor — a hero immune to harmful substances — was incapacitated. Vigil also reveals he has access to copies of nearly every camera storage server in the city, through means no one can account for. He then reveals his primary superpower: he never sleeps and has never needed to, giving him eight additional hours of mental activity per day. Vigil proposes a plan — he has fabricated a fundraising event perfectly suited to Lush's targets, at a venue with a bar in range. Urgent objects that the Safeguard's contract forbids vigilantism. Vigil notes he has already read the contract and presses Urgent to act, arguing no one else can stop Lush. Urgent reluctantly agrees. On the day of the operation, Vigil coaches a nervous Urgent through a careful pre-operation routine and monitors Lush's approach via camera. When Vigil counts Urgent in, Urgent uses his speed to grab Lush — but Lush slips free, producing many travel-sized bottles of alcohol he carries specifically to ensure he always has a power source. The episode ends on this cliffhanger.

As heard by us

A superhero scandal told with newsroom discipline, polished enough to make the conspiracy feel real.

It opens with a superhero death and quickly widens into a future where corporate superhero power has spilled into public health and safety. Maria Kennedy gives the setup a steady center as an investigative journalist, and the episode works best when it leans into that newsroom…

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Why you'd press play

You want a superhero thriller that feels like an investigative report.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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