Some people love reading about true crime. Others love fighting it. All across the United States, in cities both sprawling and compact, men and women have answered to a higher calling - one that makes them feel as though they have regained some semblance of control in a world gone mad. They're called real-life superheroes and they're vigilantes in costume who take to the streets each night to help maintain order and disrupt criminals. Kind of like Batman, but without the butler and the trust fund.