The Hounds - The Protomen

Tonight the streets are red

The lights are blue and blinding

No sign of the «Good Doctor,»

But the siren’s wail and whining

Tell us he’ll be found

He made his way to the window overlooking the city

I can almost hear the hounds…

He turned back to the reporters

What kind of man builds a machine to kill a girl?

No he did not use his hands

Like a smart man, he used a tool

But just the same

How can you question who’s to blame?

What was her name?

Doesn’t matter, now listen-

«The Good Doctor» has to pay!

Stepping away from the throng of reporters, he looked at the digital countdown

above the nerve center of his broadcasting controls.

He whispered quietly to

himself…

When I say he was a monster

When I set fire to his name

It does not matter where you hear it from

Whether truth or lies

It gets said all the same

Glancing once again at the countdown, he spoke plainly to the reporters

Whatever’s on the table plays!

1 minute, 46 seconds until the broadcast would begin

Wily shut the door on the tumult of voices continuing to shout questions after

him.

He walked down the empty hallway and around a corner and into the studio

adjacent to his control room.

A pane of double-plated glass sealed out the

bedlam of the reporters.

He watched as their mouths continued to hurl impotent

questions

In the silence of the studio he didn’t bother trying to make out what they were

saying.

His eyes focused on a blinking red light above the digital countdown.

He spoke aloud.

His words bounced off the soundproofing glass.

The cameras

weren’t yet rolling.

The microphones were not yet active.

His words went

unheeded for the last time

There is a flame that I’ve been fanning

There is a fire waiting to catch

There is a hell that has been building

From the moment we first met

58 seconds to air

If there ever was a time

If there ever was a chance

To undo the things I’ve done

And wash these bloodstains from my hands

49 seconds to air

It has passed and been forgotten

These are the paths that we must take

Cause you and I, Tom, we are men

And we can bend and we can break

40 seconds to air

If you think that you can run

If you think that you can stand

Well you forget who turned this city on

You forget who plugged this city in!

30 seconds to air

They’ll not switch it off again

He straightened his tie, knocked the wrinkles out of his suit jacket and faced

the camera lens

One by one they’re tuning in

15 seconds to air

At this very moment — his moment of glory — he wished he could be out in the

streets of the city.

He wished he could hear the hum of a thousand tubes,

powering the screen, popping to life and warming up simultaneously…

wished he could feel the wave of sound as they drew the attention of every

person within the walls of the city.

His city.

He wished he could float above

the streets as every person walked from their homes, left their dinners,

their polite conversations, their lives.

Wished he could be there as they

filed out into the streets, fixed their eyes on the giant screen, and waited

3 seconds…

But Albert’s place was here.

His time was now.

He cleared his throat

The red blinking light went solid…

Outside, on the giant screen, Wily’s face came into focus.

For the first time,

the people of the city looked to one man.

They saw the face of a leader.

One man towering above the city

After a few inspirational opening lines, Wily turned his attention to the

matter at hand.

Thomas Light.

He assured them that the murderer would be

apprehended.

He promised them that their city would be made safe again.

They trusted him completely