The Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask is the third volume of Catalyst Prime's character, KINO.

### Summary

The story starts with Alistair Meath revisiting his death and his time in Assante's lab while outside Patricia's home.

Patricia is at home watching TV where the newly appointed Foreign Secretary, Edmund Spode is being interviewed mentioning that The Event didn't happen and that Meath is being blackmailed by the government to maintain the lie. Patricia takes some prescripted Zoloft while tearfully saying that Spode needs to stop lying.

Patricia and Alistair make small talk while Patricia mentions that while she doesn't know who he is, he "sounds familiar" and offers him to come inside for some tea. Alistair, now donning a beard and rags, denies the offer claiming he "takes the sun with him" and shows his alcohol.

Meanwhile in **Nairobi**, Clarence Coal is on a mission to free some hostages that was orchestrated by Payan to kill Coal after failing to retrieve Meath. Cole survives and declares vengeance against Payan.

Agent Gilmour meets up with Director Hatch to revisit the Meath incident in Algeria only to find that they're joined by Spode with claims that his report was false due to Assante's lab being in good shape five hours after what happened (later mentioned to be Payan's doing with assistance from Coal). Gilmour mentions that Meath would agree with his side only for Spode to that he's going to keep a close eye on Gilmour.

In the presence of Event deniers, Meath gets hit by a truck with no response whatsoever, saving a homeless woman named Gabby as he walks away from the accident. She dubs him one of the "impossible people" who "shouldn't exist", mistaking him for another homeless veteran.

Meath mentions that he's not homeless, he's been "usurped" from his home as the chapter ends with David being difficult with **another Alistair**.

After encountering Hatch, Gilmour goes to the bathroom to prepare himself to propose to his boyfriend only to get approached by Clarence Coal with a gun. After a brief scuffle that resulted in a broken sink, they agree that they're not each other's enemies with Coal mentioning that he wants Payan. Gilmour then proposes to his boyfriend, Eduardo Cordova.

After a drunken passout, Meath has an attack of PTSD until Gabby calms him down. Gabby mentions that he causes earthquakes when it happens after Meath denies that he has PTSD. He asks Gabby how she can stay so calm about everything to which she mentions that after the event, things changed for normal people as well as enhanced people that she just managed to get used to, referencing Accel as an example.

Agent Gilmour visits Patricia and the other Alistair for a follow up on his report and what happened in Algeria after delivering a bag to them that was left outside their home, only for the other Alistair to point out that he doesn't remember anything after the crash. Gilmour, then presses a button that shocks the other Alistair only for the real Alistair to generate plasma while out at a liquor store.

After Meath flies away from the scene, Gabby gets on the phone and says that "the sun eater is active, ahead of schedule, no less, you're welcome".

Meanwhile, Patricia tells Gilmour that she's aware that the other Alistair isn't the real one.

Meath questions who he is and how he's capable of flight before being approached by three Spode supporters who call themselves "real Englishmen" who attack Meath. Meath kills two of them effortlessly. Gilmour visits the third in an ICU before being intercepted by Spode's officials

Gabby finds Meath after his attack, lamenting about the men he killed, and mentions that "a sick man couldn't do what you did". Patricia meets up with Alistair (not knowing that it's him) pointing out the present from the bag earlier, a whittled figurine of their old family dog. Gabby slaps it out of her hand and claims that Patricia is making Meath "worse" only for Alistair to reveal that he's the real Alistair to Patricia.

As the other Alistair is test driving another jet that almost explodes with him in it, Alistair feels the electric plasma that the other Alistair emits, wondering why can he see the other in his head.

Agent Gilmour and Eduardo are at home enjoying the view before the "home office" officers from the Ransome visit in the ICU visit him. Spode mentions that he knows about Gilmour questioning the Meaths due to surveillance, he also know about the encounter with Coal and he finally mentions his plan to make everything "whiter than white".

Meanwhile, Gabby and Alistair talk about what just happened with Patricia and how Gabby practically ruined it. Gabby points him to a group of people getting trafficked before getting attacked. Gabby, briefly tells him about his power, leads him to a car (after changing her accent) to lead him to Spode.

Patricia confronts the other Alistair after he says he doesn't remember their old dog, pointing out that she fell in love with him after how gentle he handled the dog after it died and also how he ate a floret of broccoli after she points out that he's always hated it.

Alistair confronts Spode about denying the Event before Spode tells him that his Payan got to his family, the scopalomine kicks in in the tainted drink Gabby gave Meath earlier and Spode uses that to manipulate Meath into putting on another simulation helmet.

Agent Gilmour infiltrates the Scullery and reads up on reports that gets him locked into an interrogation room.

While inside the simulation as KINO, he encounters another enemy called **Sloppy Trevor**, who blames him for the accident that causes him to become the giant golem of oil he is before encountering Mark Motu (in simulation) who just kidnapped Spode and his wife.

Gilmour gets interrogated for breaking into the Scullery and stealing information about Algeria and tries to explain that Meath is a slight danger because of what his power is (redirecting energy into kinetic energy), before the interrogation could go any further, Coal intervenes and on their way out, mentions a Foresight facility in Ohio.

Meanwhile at the Meath household, Motu's powers are overreacting and he tells the family to leave him only for one of the kids to mention that Patricia isn't home and the Parliament's been attacked by a man in a mask wanting to kill Motu. Patricia recognizes him as Alistair among the destruction that she just so happens to be near.

As KINO continued to rampage, Motu approaches him in hopes that Alistair takes off the mask, a fight starts with Spode manipulating KINO from the mask helmet. During the fight, "Motu" breaks the helmet and "Meath" is revealed to have been the doppelganger the entire time.

The events that transpired between Meath and the imposer resulted in Spode being the Prime Minister of England as news broke out to a bedridden Aturo Assante in **Tripoli**.

Meath meets with Prime Minister Spode and they discuss Patricia leaving Meath and the imposter, Aiden Myers current condition to which Spode lies that he's fine (but in reality, he was killed in the ambulance he was driven in).

After revealing Meath's suit to him, Spode converses with Lorena about a deal they had worked on.

### Characters

* Lance Corporal Aidan Myers
* KINO
* Patricia Meath
* Edmund Spode
* Clarence Coal
* Lorena Payan
* Agent Gilmour
* Gabby
* Mark Motu
* Director Hatch
* Eduardo Cordova
* Sloppy Trevor