Villain of Crime: Chapter 1 – Attempting a Change

Chapter 1 – Attempting a Change

Chief of Police Raymond Ellory is investigating a crime scene, or rather, one where justice took place, as the skin of the criminals who did deals in this abandoned apartment building has become one with the walls, ceiling, and floors. He chews his gum while thinking about how much he hates vigilantes and what his next move should be. Raymond has a shaved military cut hairstyle with a scar over his left eye, scars on both sides of his face, and is wearing a long dark coat, body armor, and his Chief badge for all to see. His assistant, Chief Assistant Ralph, is dressed in the same way except he isn’t scarred at all and has slightly longer hair.

Ralph approaches him from behind and says, “There’s not much else here to find that the forensics team can dig up. The guy who’s been doing this leaves no trace of entering or leaving. He never gets hit, so he never leaves bloodstains, nor does he seem to walk because we can’t find any shoe marks unique to him.”

“Even if I don’t find anything new, I want this to be a motivator to find him,” Raymond says.

“Motivator? Ha! For most, it either scares them or motivates them to do the same thing. You’re lucky we had other officers come here first after people heard about screams and moans coming from this building.”

“Yeah. No one deserves to live stretched out like this. I don’t blame those two who came here first and put them out of their misery.”

“Will you be here long? You still have dinner with Mayor Jeph and Deputy Mayor Tim later tonight.”

“You can have my meal and be there in my place if I don’t show. Looks like it’s going to be another long night.”

“When is it not? Call me if you need anything.”

Raymond nods while examining the faces of the criminals, all of whom have their faces stuck in a state of perpetual horror, their mouths wide as if they’re still screaming. After checking the two floors of the apartment, he heads to the rooftop and looks out at the city of Meridian. Ahead of him is the center of it that constantly shines and towers above the poverty-stricken areas that surround it. He spits out his gum into a wrapper and is tempted to light a cigarette, but holds back and just plays with his lighter, turning it on and off again.

“Nice view, isn’t it?” I say from the shadows.

Raymond pulls out his revolver and points it in the direction of my voice as he turns around. He says, “Why don’t you share it with me rather than hiding?”

“Oh, I’m not hiding. I’ve been with you. Ever since you got here. Allow me to introduce myself.” I partially manifest my head and part of my body right in front of Raymond, scaring him. “My name is L’Obscurité. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve been wanting to meet you and put you behind bars for all the killing and torturing you’ve done.”

“My powers force people to see the sin in themselves. How they suffer and if they die is entirely dependent on them.”

“I don’t care for specifics. I just want you in cuffs! Manifest yourself completely, or I will blow your head off.”

“I’m not here to turn myself in. I’m-”

Raymond fires a shot that cuts across my face.

“Do. What. I. Said.”

“Haha! If that’s how you want to play this, then I will as well.”

Using my powers on Raymond, he starts to shake uncontrollably.

“What…what did you do to me?” he says while his finger keeps slipping from the trigger of his gun.

“Making you see your sin for yourself and revealing more to me. You shake because you hesitate to act at times. You don’t always hold your fellow officers’ feet to the fire when you notice they are slacking, acting childish, or being unbecoming of their office. You think that you can’t handle and solve every problem, and that it’s someone else’s problem to deal with, and even when it is, you don’t always help that person. In those you served, you see corruption at all levels, from the poorest wretch on the street to the most powerful politician and businessman, and you do nothing to change them.”

“Shut-shut up! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Inaction is just as sinful as action and can be worse than it. You are guilty of sloth. Guilty of letting criminals get away with theft, murder, the corruption of government, and unspeakable acts of lust, all because you didn’t think it was your problem to solve. That’s why you’re here. You have something to make up for and know that you’ve done wrong.”

“I said shut up!”

Raymond gets control of himself again and fires bullet after bullet into my face until his gun is empty and clicking. The large holes in my face close, and I stand as if nothing happened.

“Your superhuman rounds do nothing to me. Again, I’m not here to turn myself in. I want to work together with you.”

“I’m not going to work with a sadistic freak like you!”

“You have the opportunity to make me less of a freak and more like one of the law-abiding heroes and vigilantes of this city. It’s the better option, don’t you think?”

Raymond thinks for a bit, sighs, then says, “It is, but why would you want to when you’ve been working solo for a year?”

“You know that what I’ve been doing has been inspiring many others to do the same for better and worse. I’d like to make sure it’s for the better by working with the law. My efforts throughout the year have been less than effective in preventing extremist acts of vigilantism.”

“Ha! What does someone like you consider to be extremist?”

“I have no problem with the beating and killings of those truly guilty of heinous crimes, but there are those out there who will harm others just because they have different beliefs, have done minor crimes, work for shady companies or the government, and may appear to be more suspicious than they really are.”

“Understandable, but wouldn’t it have been better to have gone legit or stop trying to be a hero?”

“Trust me when I say that I’ve tried taking a break for a few months and working legitimately with my friends under my true name.”

“And your true name would be?”

“I’m not going to tell you. Not now, at least.”

“Come on. It would establish a bond of trust between us. Show me the face behind that mask.”

“…as you wish.”

I manifest a hand that pulls down my scarf that’s covering my face to reveal that half of my face is rotting and skeletal. This scares Raymond, who unintentionally takes a couple of steps back.

“I’ll let you know that this isn’t my real face, and I have something better than my identity that will establish trust between us. The information that I’ve gathered from the people in this apartment building has allowed me to find the location where they keep their stolen weapons, drugs, and other valuables.”

“How is that better than your identity?”

“Because it shows you that I’m intentionally restraining myself so that I don’t act like I usually do. If I had, those people at their secret stash would’ve been long-dead by now, and you wouldn’t have heard about it until tomorrow. So, what do you say? Can we work together?”

“Seeing as how it’s my best option to keep you from killing every criminal on the street, I accept, but remember, we’re doing this by the book.”

“Yes, sir, Chief Raymond. As an added favor, I’ll fly you to our target.”

“Wait, hold on!”

I wrap Raymond in darkness, and together, we fly through the air until we reach our destination. He’s shaky when we land and takes a second to gather himself.

“Don’t…do that without my okay. Okay?”

“Heh, sure.”

I go through the heavy steel door, unlock it, and allow Raymond inside. This warehouse is a dark, dim place that stinks of sin and the scum that inhabit it, and if I weren’t in my L’Obscurité form, I’d probably get sick and throw up. As for Raymond, he seems to be dealing with it fine and has his revolver out. He makes our presence known and tells the criminals to turn themselves in. No one responds, making Raymond think that no one is here until the criminals respond with gunfire. I shield Raymond with my body until the gunfire calms down and my power starts taking effect on the criminals. Some start throwing up money out of their bleeding mouths, while others start uncontrollably scratching themselves, shaking, or some other side effect as a result of their addiction to drugs, money, or violence.

“What’s happening?” Raymond asks.

“They’re debilitated and won’t die. That is if they don’t kill themselves as a result of their condition, of course,” I say. Raymond immediately calls his assistant, Ralph, to come to this location and bring help for the addicts. “Come. There may be more here.”

Following me with his gun up and ready to shoot, we search the rest of the warehouse until we enter the office within it and are met with gunfire again. Raymond manages to get a few shots off to injure a few of the criminals, so they don’t fight back while I string up the others. Going up to the boss of this gang, I ask him about his other operations, but he is uncooperative and acts tough. I’m not sure if it’s the drugs and alcohol in his system making him act this way or if he’s just that full of himself. Because we can’t get any answers out of him, I manifest a hand and put it down his throat and into his body, which starts expanding like a balloon.

“Hey!” Raymond says.

“Don’t worry. He won’t die from this, even though he may wish to,” I say as I search through his internal organs before pulling out feces from his mouth. “Huh. I couldn’t find a spine, but I did find this where his heart should be.”

The man splits in half from the bottom of his nose down to his crotch, and feces come out of his open body. He’s still alive, his eyes darting around the room, and his mouth agape with a gurgling scream coming out of it.

“What the hell…” Raymond says in astonishment.

“Again, he won’t die and will be back to normal by tomorrow morning, but he may need therapy,” I say.

“You’re screwed up in the head.”

“Maybe, however, this man got what he deserved. I can’t control what happens to those affected by my powers. Anyways, I got the information that I need, but I will have to act on it tomorrow. I have somewhere else to be tonight. Tonight has been fruitful, hasn’t it?”

“I won’t lie. There’s a lot here to lock up, and it’s a gold mine of weapons, drugs, and criminals to lock up. At the same time, you’ve shown that you’re more messed up than I thought.”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you again. Remember well what you have seen and experienced today.”

I laugh as I enter the shadows, leave the building, and travel faster than the speed of light to tonight’s dinner with the mayor. After manifesting myself from the shadows, I enter the meeting at the hotel from the front entrance and take my seat with my best friend, Lancetto, who is dressed in his favorite top hat and suit, glasses, and tie as usual. His gold, white, and blue outfit contrasts with my black and grey suit, tie, and shoes as if he’s the more joyful side of the two of us, while I’m the dark, brooding type.

“How did it go with the chief?” he asks in a lowered voice.

“I think it went well, even though I did scare him a lot. I gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse,” I say.

“Do you really think this is the best way to make your comeback? The people whom you inspired are still at large despite what you did to temper them.”

“I’m open to suggestions since there doesn’t seem to be a better option. I mean, throwing money at the problem, creating jobs, and promoting being good, law-abiding citizens have done less. You should know.”

“Pfft. You could say that again.”

“Besides, Darcy’s contacts confirm that working in the field is better than me behind a desk.”

“Do you really still listen to her after what she did?”

“Sometimes.”

“Are you in love with her?”

“No, I don’t think I am.”

“You don’t think? That doesn’t sound like a sure answer. Oh, and speak of the succubus herself.”

Lancetto and I watch Darcy walk towards our table. She wears a big Scala hat and long dress with her signature colors of pink and black, however, she has been wearing more black and darker pinks lately. Darcy stares straight at me as if I’m the only thing worth looking at in the room, and her gaze pierces me. Even when I look away, I can’t help but feel her eyes on me, and when she sits down, she’s still looking at me while completely ignoring Lancetto, who is greeting her and asking how she is doing.

“So, my dark prince is back in action?” Darcy asks.

“He is,” I say while trying not to make eye contact. “Did one of your friends tell you that?”

“I don’t need them to know when he’s left his unique mark at every scene he’s at. How come we haven’t worked together more often?”

“I’ll ask for your help when I need it.”

“Don’t be so cold and distant. Are you still mad at what I did? I have repented of it already and am trying to make amends. You know I am.”

“And?”

Darcy puts her hand on mine, and I pull it away from her.

“I want to help you, my love. You know I have the contacts you need to enforce divine, dark justice on those deserving of it. Give me a chance to prove that you need me because I need you more than you know.”

What I want to say is that she needs me just because she wants her life to be like one of her dark romance stories, but I don’t say anything other than, “I’ll consider it.”

She smiles and says, “It’s good to know that I’ll be on your mind, at the very least.”

Thankfully, the last person we were waiting for, Klinge Geben, arrives at our table before Darcy can say anything else. Lancetto and I turn our attention to him even as Darcy tries to keep mine. The large, mutated man with lizard-like eyes, claws for fingers, and visible teeth on both sides of his face is dressed in business casual with a buttoned-up shirt, a tie, jeans, and boots, all of which are various shades of dark blue.

“Sorry, fellas. I was held up at work like usual,” Kinge says.

“It’s no big deal. We’re just glad you’re here,” Lancetto says.

“More than you think,” I add.

Klinge looks at us, then at Darcy, and seems to understand what I mean. He says, “I was just making sure the deal between our mutual friend was kept, especially since he’s back to keep the peace.”

Even though Klinge doesn’t know that I’m L’Obscurité, he knows that we “work” with him, so I can keep all the heads of the major families in Meridian on the same page and meeting together.

“I’m sure we’ll have a lot to tell him at our next meeting. For now, let’s enjoy the pleasantries,” I say.

The dinner starts in earnest now that most of the guests are present. To start the dinner, Lancetto is first to give a brief speech about the importance of faith, business, and government. Next, Darcy poetically talks about the arts, Klinge bluntly speaks on blue-collar work and mechanical innovations, and I lastly give a talk on charity, healthcare, and education. Each of our families has sponsored this dinner, has given Mayor Jeph words of appreciation, and will speak to him later during the dinner to voice our concerns for the city. To my surprise, Chief Raymond shows up an hour into the dinner, looking as if he ran all the way here from where I left him. He walks up to Ralph, talks to him, walks to Klinge and Lancetto, and talks to them each for a bit, with Lancetto currently holding his attention the longest.

Darcy sneaks up behind me and says, “He’s asking for you.”

“Do you think he knows?” I ask.

“It didn’t take me too long to figure it out and pull the answer out of you, so maybe. I can get my people to distract him so we can leave. They’ll give him a good excuse.”

“Like what? It’ll make us look even more suspicious.”

“Like us going out on a date that I planned.”

“Is this just an excuse to go out with me?”

“…maybe…”

“You’re ridiculous. I’ll talk to him face-to-face. Maybe I can convince him to be on our side.”

Walking up to Raymond, he seems surprised to see me, and Lancetto seems even more surprised that I approached him directly.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been asking for me, Chief Raymond. It’s an honor to finally meet you face-to-face. You should come to these gatherings more often,” I say.

“I should, especially you and the other three families and their allies have been aiding the city’s and its crime problem,” Raymond says. “I hear you were the one who pushed the other families to do so. Why is that?”

“After my parents recovered from a coma, I decided to make up for lost time by helping the city. It was criminals that put them in a coma, and I want to make sure no one has to go through what I did.”

“Your parents must be proud of you. How come you haven’t been taking care of your brothers and sisters, who are still recovering from their beating from an unknown criminal?”

“Call me insensitive and judgmental, but they got what they deserved for not being there for our parents and taking their inheritance and spending it on the vanities of the world. Besides, I’m not a doctor like my parents are. I prefer helping with the big picture problems.”

“Does that involve getting the help of hero and vigilante associations? I’m sure you’ve heard of the biggest vigilante in the city, L’Obscurité?”

I can’t help but smile at the thought of being the biggest vigilante.

“Who hasn’t, but I haven’t worked with him directly.”

“Not directly?”

“He helps rid the city of criminals at the street level while my friends and I prevent the reasons for people to become criminals by creating jobs, programs for rehabilitation to repent and reintegrate into society, and-”

“Save the list for the mayor. I know he works with you in one way or another, and I want to know more about him now that he’s back on the streets.”

 “I’ll let you know when I find out something. He is a dark, shady, and elusive man, after all.”

“So are you, Timeo Severe.”

Raymond and I smile at one another for a few tense seconds. He is about to say something else until an announcement is made that the mayor will now be hearing and discussing the deals with the four families.

“Let’s catch up after the meeting, chief. I have great respect for you and your family. Despite it being considered one of the minor ones, it still brought order to Meridian during its founding.”

“Yes, it was the Ellory family that was sent by the government to bring order to the lawless city created by the four original families. We’ve kept you all in line and will keep doing that, so if you’re hiding anything, we’ll find it. I promise you that.”

Again, we smile at each other before taking our seats.

“That was too close,” Lancetto says. “For someone who is so elusive, L’Obscurité sure does let himself be known.”

“You think he suspects me?”

“I’d say it’s fifty-fifty.”

Darcy sits down as Klinge represents his family’s businesses to the mayor. She says, “You owe me for getting you out of that conversation.”

“I’m afraid to ask what you want in return,” I say.

“I want a meeting with the three of us and L’Obscurité to make our plans for the year. We need to do more than what we did last year if we really want to crack down on the sin of this city.”

“I have to admit that Darcy has a good idea.”

“Okay. I’ll arrange it.”

Taking a short break almost made me forget about how complicated being a vigilante is, but it’ll be worth it. The nightmare of Meridian and the villain of crime is back to bring justice, and he’s better than ever.

Another in the Divinity in Darkness trilogy is redone and out today!

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How long can you suffer without breaking? Adler is suffering the trauma of the damnation of his parents and his old friends and the deaths of his new friends, and yet, he continues his dark path in bringing real truth and love to a world imprisoned by false peace and happiness. He stands with the Sufferer and his new friends against his brother who is the king of the world and the Light who is the world's false savior in the capital of the world, but will he succeed in overthrowing them or fall like so many before him?
This author's edition contains the original artwork for this story and redone ones along with Behind the Story trivia.

Return of the Blessed Curse is now redone with improved art in an author's edition!

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Would you give up a life of happiness for doing the right thing?
Adler is posed this question after living one-hundred sixteen years of happiness in a world where no one suffers or dies. The Sufferer who shows him that to suffer is to love blesses him with the gift of necessary suffering and charges him and his new friends to save the world from the false peace it finds itself under and his older brother who is king of the world.
This author's edition of this short story contains concept art of the covers and original character emotes along with a few bits of Behind the Story trivia.

My 300th book is done and out today!

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Crimes against the Divine must be punished. Timeo Severe is the dark executioner of justice known as the vigilante L’Obscurité. He'll use his influences as part of one of the richest families in Meridian and powers to read people's souls and make them suffer based on their sins to do this in his quest to rid Meridian of criminals, starting by looking into the four powerful families that built it.

Ballad of L'Obscruite: Chapter 4 – Guilty With/Out Evidence

Chapter 4 – Guilty With/Out Evidence

The thought of what Darcy and her allies could be up to keeps me up at night, especially since Lancetto told me how his own companies and allies are influenced by and have connections to them. Eventually, I give in to my need to know more, transform myself, and move faster than the speed of light to Darcy’s mansion. There, I find her in her room with a single light on over her while she paints a dark figure standing among death.

“Darcy, your soul demands my examination,” I say from the dark.

Darcy immediately drops her art tools and looks excited to hear from me. She says, “I’ve been waiting for you to come to me this way, my love, L’Obscurité, or should I say, Timeo Severe.”

Caught off guard by her words, I say, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, my dark prince of divine justice. I figured out who you really were by talking with you and expressing yourself through art. It’s why I told you where Klinge Geben was. Speak to me in earnest or I may tell everyone your secret.”

Not wanting to risk the exposure, I manifest myself in front of Darcy.

“I’m done playing nice with you,” I say. “Tell me what the true purpose is of your art or I’ll force it out of you.”

Darcy runs to me and embraces me. I keep one arm out so she doesn’t get too close to kiss me.

“Do you see a guilty woman in front of you? I’ve done the same as you in my own way. I inspire people to take justice into their own hands or have you been so focused on the four families that you’ve failed to recognize the violence that’s been happening in the city? The protests and civil unrest have led people to turn on their officials, police, and heroes and made them kill and take from those they think deserve it.”

Looking into her soul, I see that she’s telling the truth and I see the reflection of my own thinking and mistakes.

“I’ll get to them soon enough. I thought cutting off the problem at the source would do the most good to cut off the problem at the source.”

“You know as well as I do that the problem is the sin of men. They only need to look into themselves for a reason to sin or commit crimes. My art and your example just gave them the final push they needed to do what they wanted, to bring justice to this crime-infested city, and bring real, lasting change to it.”

Further into her soul, I see that Darcy has encouraged people to murder, steal, and cause others to suffer through pain and torture. None of these things can be punished by the law other than a confession from them since it was all inspired by the lines in between her works of fiction and artwork and the words said between them.

“I can read the souls of men and know their God-given punishment. You had no right to tell people to kill, steal, and harm others, so no. We’re not the same,” I say.

“Teach me how to be. I want to be like you. I want to be you. I want you to be mine.”

I make Darcy’s body go limp and hang her in midair by her snake scarf that’s come to life. She’s able to give herself some breathing room, but she’s still suffering the effects of the hanging at the same time.

“I’m going to go fix ‘our’ mess. You’ll be seeing the results of your work as your life flashes before your eyes. Repent and you may live,” I say before leaving.

Knowing where the people Darcy inspired are, I go from place to place bringing judgment upon them. Many are executed for their sins while few repent. Suffering the same fate as their victims or their deserved divine punishment, some are hung to death, thrown out windows, left with nothing to their name, beaten within an inch of their lives, torn or cut to pieces, eaten by insects or rodents, and left crippled or scarred for the rest of their life by the undescribed terrors of Hell that I show them. When I tire of going from place to place, I go to the building where I first revealed myself and make myself known to everyone with my laughter that echoes throughout the streets.

With eyes on me, I say, “Beware, citizens and sinners of Meridian. I, L’Obscurité, offer you another warning. You will not kill without due cause. You will not take without earning. You must not harm no matter how righteous you think you are. I have been avenging the innocent and enforcing justice since I can read souls and hand out punishments due to sinners from God. Unless you can do the same or can truly know right from wrong, I suggest you stop playing heroes otherwise the punishment due to villains will also come to you and others who consider themselves justified. This is my last warning.”

I laugh, terrifying both normal humans and superhumans alike. Going back to Darcy, I find her sitting down on the floor.

After manifesting myself, I ask, “Will you truly change?”

“I will for my sake and the love I have for you,” she says.

“Do you truly love me or do you just love my dark power to enforce justice?”

“I do. I love you, but do you love me?”

“I feel that you’ve been trying to get me to love you so our relationship can be a storybook and use my power to enforce justice as you see fit.”

“But you’ve been able to resist me and get me to change. If I was trying to use my charms to romance you into doing what I wanted, then it backfired and only made me want you more. Again, I’ll ask, do you love me?”

I’m hesitant to answer at first, but then I say, “We’ll see.”

Darcy smiles, laughs, and says, “Always such a tease. I’ll be the woman you deserve in time. I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine forever.”

I disappear into the dark and go to sit on one of the many towers in Meridian and reflect on what I’ve been doing. Surely, I haven’t been doing everything wrong. Even so, my good deeds have inspired people to do the wrong thing and I’ve been focusing so much on the bigger picture that I haven’t bothered to focus on smaller issues that contribute to it. That stops now. I’ll make sure the message I give is felt clearly in every aspect of Meridian. Darcy was right in that the problem of sin lies within everyone, so that is where my terror will strike. The night is young and crime and sin are still running rampant in the city despite my message and they will know true fear by the end of it. As I go to work, I laugh with renewed confidence and a will to see God’s justice done.

 

The End

Ballad of L'Obscruite: Chapter 3 – Where Secrets Lie

Chapter 3 – Where Secrets Lie

I meet Lancetto at his house at night with my parents with me since they haven’t seen his family in a while. His house is just outside the city like mine and staffed with people cleaning and taking care of it. It has many decorations, paintings, and statues of political and religious saints, some of which are hundreds of years old. His parents and staff are glad to see my parents and me while Lancetto has a fake, uneasy smile on his face. While our parents talk and catch up, Lancetto and I go to talk in his room. He closes the door behind me as I sit down on the chair near his desk and look around the room.

“So, what game are we playing to pass the time while dinner is being made?” I ask, not knowing what else to say. “You still have to beat me in-”

“Oh, I have to beat you alright,” Lancetto says as he sits on his bed. He takes off his glasses, rubs his face, and continues, “When were you going to tell me? Were you going to tell me at all?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play stupid or lie to me, Timeo. You’re a faithful Catholic and should know better.”

I take a deep breath and breathe out.

“Okay, I didn’t really know when to tell you, so what happened earlier today was just me talking without thinking.”

Lancetto grunts and starts tapping his foot on the ground.

“I don’t know what to feel. I’m thankful for you saving my life, killing those criminals, and exposing the sins of others, but at the same time, you killed those people and many more in such…horrifying ways.”

Lancetto mentioning how horrifying my powers can be gives me pause as if I’m just realizing how scary they can be. I then say, “They deserved it and I don’t get to choose how they die. It’s up to God.”

“What? Did God give you those dark powers?”

“He did. It was after I beat my siblings within an inch of their lives and took care of a homeless person on the street.”

“You became a superhuman after that? L’Obscurité is blamed for all those deaths of criminals in the days before.”

“That was God’s wrath directly from Him. He wanted me to continue enacting His justice on Meridian and then He healed my parents. It’s been a while since I last directly heard from Him.”

“It all makes too much sense now to me. Your parents being healed and your thirst for justice and rooting it out of Meridian. Does anyone else know you’re L’Obscurité? Does Darcy know?”

“No, no one else knows. You’re the first.”

Lancetto sighs, thinks for a few seconds, and then says, “I guess I should be honored. Well, your secret is safe with me, closed doors and all that.”

“I knew I could trust you, brother.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now, to beat you in that game we still have to finish.”

“You’re on.”

Lancetto and I play video games and eat together as if we were kids again. It’s a nice time that comes and goes after four hours, and as per Affare Italian tradition, we go home with a box full of leftovers to eat for lunch and dinner for a week. I’m glad that the talk with Lancetto went well and he accepts my superhuman alter ego. With that bit of messy business done, I focus on my day with Darcy at one of the art museums. She eagerly asks me about the meeting yesterday.

“Tell me especially about what happened when L’Obscurité appeared,” she says.

“What can I say? It was horrifying, and yet, it was just,” I say.

“I see. Only divine justice can be both. I think L’Obscurité was sent by God, don’t you think?”

“I think so and subscribe to the theory that God is the reason why all superhumans obtain their powers.”

“Hmm. Yes, you really are an inspired person. Let’s go to the art room and make something with that vision of yours.”

“Already?”

“Yes! We must work while the memories of yesterday are still fresh in your head.”

Darcy takes me to a room where I can’t hear the noise of the museum or the noise of the city. It’s completely white from floor to roof and contains painting boards, various kinds of paper, and tools to draw with. Darcy sets up a painting board for me and gives me various tools to paint with.

“Paint a scene of what you saw,” she says.

“Okay, but don’t blame me if what I draw looks no different from something that a preschool kid would draw. I’m not that good at it,” I admit.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you draw,” Darcy says as she takes my drawing hand. “Describe the scene for me. First, let’s start with the drabness of the meeting room. What was decided between you and Lancetto?”

“Basic deals to restore the reputation of the Affare family. They agreed to fund new job opportunities and expansions to what we own and we agreed to hold events at their buildings and give scholarships and discounts at our hospitals for their employees to begin with,” I say as I draw. “Honestly, I forgot what my businessmen decided because of the chaos that followed and I had to read my emails before I got here so I could tell you.”

“So, the scene is hardly recognizable and mostly taken by horror. We won’t worry about that then. What about L’Obscurité?”

“He’s…an agent of God, executioner of justice, knower of men’s sins…death.”

“He sounds like an interesting and dangerous man. It’s a shame that he’s presented as a self-righteous vigilante by the media and government.”

“He’s a force for good, whether they admit it or not.”

“That he is. There. I think that’s good.”

Looking at the image, I only see a man cloaked in the dark, standing in a scene of death and destruction, and a cross crushing a dragon.

“It’s pretty basic.”

“Sometimes it’s best to keep things that way. Overcomplicating a picture can make it look too busy and exhausting to look at. I like what you’ve created.” Darcy holds up the painting like a proud mom looking at her child’s drawing. “I think I’ll hang it in my personal gallery.”

“I’m honored.”

For the rest of our time at the art museum, Darcy walks me through it and only really stops at the interpretive art gallery to ask me my opinion on what the paintings represent. I see divinity, death, rebirth, suffering, innocence, and redemption.

Looking at Darcy to see if I answered to her liking, she smiles and says, “It’s a typical Catholic answer to take from these paintings. I see much the same, but the common theme in all these paintings is struggle. Conflict. Things to fight for such as the divine and innocent and the results of a life well lived.”

“I get it.”

“Do you? I find the mystery of it all more enlightening than the pure fact.”

Darcy’s words are profound and everything that she’s done has admittedly distracted me from asking her deeper questions about her beliefs and what she does explicitly, and yet, it seems like she’s giving me the answers in an artistic way. After a couple of hours in the art museum, we go to one of her family-owned libraries, the biggest in Meridian. It has the newest in literature and some of the oldest books, including those in different translations, including the originals in a museum part of the library that shows some of the most ancient and famous works of fiction and non-fiction. The first area that we look at is the mystery section which sits in between the romance and non-fiction sections.

“I love this part of the library,” Darcy says. “You could be reading stories all along this section and accidentally stumble into the non-fiction section without knowing about it. Reality can be more unbelievable than fiction, after all. What’s your favorite genre?”

“Thrillers, crime stories, and mysteries, so this is my section. When I was in college for a short time, I studied to be a criminologist since comics about criminals and heroes both fictional and real interested me so much,” I say.

“What about romance,” Darcy says as our hands touch while looking through the books. “It can be a mysterious thing. That’s why my family puts the two sections close together in our libraries. My parents met in a library like this and happened to bond over their favorite genres and stories.”

“Mine met and bonded while they went to medical school together,” I say, taking a book from the shelves, and pulling my hand away from Darcy’s. “They didn’t think they’d fall in love, but eventually they did because they kept running into one another, taking the same classes, found that they kept thinking about each other, and that they felt afraid and empty at the thought of being apart forever.”

“Love is divinity itself and true love is divine love. Do you think that’s why we’re together? Did God bring us together for that reason?”

“I…don’t know.” I shake my head as if shaking off a spell. “What’s the reason for this? What are you getting at?”

“Don’t leave me wanting with an ‘I don’t know’. Give me a yes or no because it’s only going to make me want you more.”

Darcy grabs me and is about to kiss me, but I put my fingers on her lips.

“You’re up to something and want me to fall for you. Why?”

She kisses my fingers, smiles, and says, “Maybe the darkness and want for justice is so alluring to me that it makes me fall for you.”

“There’s more to it than that.”

“Okay, then. I’ll tell you plainly. I want to work with you on art to inspire people to live virtuously and take justice into their own hands.”

“You want me to help you inspire more people to be vigilantes?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, especially with how the vigilantes and heroes need to be legitimized by the government, so I’m not asking them to act outside of the law.”

“What about me? What do I get in return?”

“You want to expunge corruption from the four families and the only family left to ally with is the Geben family, right? I can tell you where Klinge is so the last piece of your puzzle falls in place. All you have to do is sign our contract,” Darcy says with a smile and a finger on her lips.

Already knowing where this is going to go, I kiss her on her lips and she pulls me in to make the kiss last longer. I push her away before she can introduce her tongue into it, but she holds onto my collar.

“I didn’t mention it, but our agreement could come with the benefit of romance. Your resisting me only makes me want you more. This is all so storybook.”

“I…‘signed’ our contract. Tell me what I need to know.”

“Such a tease. Okay.”

Darcy gives me the address of Klinge who is working at the docks today, and not just there, but an underground workshop where his family and allies meet. People know about it, however, it’s a secret club that only people trusted by the Geben family can enter and know when people will be there. I thank Darcy for the information, before promising to see her again and walking out of the library. Lancetto calls me and tells me to go somewhere private, so I duck into a dead-end ally where no one will eavesdrop on us.

“What is it?” I ask in a whisper.

“I talked to my contacts about the Geben family and I know where Klinge will be today. Even though Timeo Severe may not be able to see him face-to-face, I’m sure L’Obscurité can,” Lancetto says with a proud smile.

“Darcy told him where he is.”

“She did? How does she-wait…are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am why?”

My phone vibrates as Lancetto sends a request for a video call. I sigh as I accept.

“See? I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Your face is all red and is that lipstick on your mouth?”

I wipe my mouth and say, “Don’t worry about it!”

“Haha! I was joking about your meetings being dates but-”

“But nothing! It was just…business. Closed door stuff.”

“And you’re the one who is supposed to expose scandalous dealings?”

“Shut up! It didn’t go beyond the kiss. Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

“Yeah, so back to business, not involving romance. Surely, she didn’t give you these?”

Lancetto shows me pictures of the maps and shares the scans of them with me through encrypted emails.

“No. They’ll help me know what is where in there. Thank you.”

“One more thing. I’m surprised Darcy knows where Klinge is today. It’s sensitive information that only those close to the Geben family would know where and when they would meet. There’s more to her than it seems. Since she knows where Klinge will be and many people in your organization, I have to check if she has allies in mine as well. I’m expecting it at this point. Has L’Obscurité found any corruption in her family’s museums, libraries, and guilds?”

“He hasn’t taken a deeper look yet.”

“You’re not doing a good job at convincing me that your time with Darcy hasn’t been just dates. He’s exposed all the corruption at my companies, but not at any of the Travail’s?”

“I’ll get to it. It can’t be that bad. She wants to make art with me to inspire more people to be vigilantes.”

“If that’s the case, you should look into it sooner rather than later.”

“Tomorrow I will because tonight, L’Obscurité will meet the mysterious Klinge Geben.”

Even though the Affare family is the most powerful one and most likely to be filled with corruption, I should’ve checked on the Geben family first. They have connections in all levels of society, and there are more middle-class and poor people in Meridian than rich, and the value of power is more corrupting than physical wealth and a person’s financial status can make them seem less powerful than they actually are. I get my driver to take me to the docks and tell him to leave until I call him again. After he leaves, I enter the shadows and cloak myself in darkness and enter them. While entering the buildings and traveling through the vents, I manifest myself in seclusion to see where I am with the maps that Lancetto gave me and start checking out certain spots, starting with an armory.

These people are already talking about giving these weapons to criminals on the streets and villains, making them easily recognizable targets. This is good because I need something to do to release the stress within me. I laugh, introduce myself, tell them their sins, and lock the doors that they try to escape out of.

“There’s no escaping what you’ve done! The blood of the innocents will be avenged!” I say.

“We give these guns to make criminals fight each other! They can kill each other for all I care!” one of the criminals says.

A mess of barbed wire appears around the man and crushes him into a ball.

“What of the innocent people who get caught in it? What about those among the criminals who could’ve been redeemed?” I ask.

“You can’t do this! You’ll pay for it, I swear!”

“Justice has nothing to pay for. Time runs short for your repentance and the fiery gates of Hell are opened for all of you!”

The people in the room say they repent, but none of them are honest. Because of this, I allow the spirits of the innocent to manifest in this room who were killed because of these people. The spirits grab guns from the room, shoot everyone in it, and then return to their rest in Heaven. Next, I turn my attention to a bar and dining hall that doubles as a meeting room. There, many of the lower-end criminals are discussing deals that would bring more people into its ranks and get rid of competition for the Geben family. Those who are overindulging themselves in alcohol start to puke until they die because of my power and I make those who are eating more than their fill choke to death on what they eat.

“Gluttonous pigs are found among the poor just as much as the rich. Both take advantage of the average man and are deserving of swift justice,” I say with a laugh.

“We’ve given those people jobs, ways to take care of their families and themselves! What’s so wrong with that?” one of the crime bosses says.

I crush one of the crime bosses to death in bars of gold that turn into flesh-eating cockroaches that go after the rest of the criminals until the insects are all crushed and shot.

“Sin kills the soul whether or not it’s done for ‘justifiable’ reasons. There is no good deed that can redeem them beyond repentance, penance, and never sinning again,” I say.

“We have nothing to repent for! We’ve done nothing but good things for ourselves and others!”

Starved, wild dogs come out of the darkness and start feeding on the criminals in the room.

“If you want to feed and help the poor, then how about you die for these dogs!” I say before laughing and leaving the rest of the criminals to be eaten alive.

Finally, I go to the last location where Klinge Geben should be. Searching through room after room, I don’t find the mutated man until I go to one of the buildings on the surface, working on cars by himself. He’s able to lift heavy machinery and party without any help and takes periodic swigs from a whiskey bottle. Multiple layers of teeth are visible on both sides of his face, his eyes are lizard-like, and his fingers are like claws.

“Klinge Geben,” I say from the dark.

He disinterestedly looks around and says, “Who’s there?”

“L’Obscurité, the manifestation of your punishment.”

“Punishment for what?”

“The criminals who you’ve allowed to operate within your family’s businesses such as the ones I’ve already killed downstairs.”

“Ah, so that’s the reason I hear so much commotion downstairs.” Klinge puts down his bottle of whiskey on a table. “Take a swig of it or I’ll get you a fresh bottle as thanks for the favor you’ve done for me. This stuff is like soda to me because of my mutation.”

“I don’t drink on the job. Hmm. I can see in your soul that you’re a simple and honest man.”

“I’m not involved with my family’s businesses besides helping the ‘lower’ workers. I like it since it isn’t headache-inducing like being in those higher positions. I just come in, do my job, and then leave, so I’m not guilty of anything.”

“That’s what you think.”

“Pardon?”

“You have a responsibility for your family’s businesses, and like I said, there were criminals just downstairs. You must’ve known they were there and know about the shady dealings that happen behind your back and under your feet.”

“I’ve heard about them, but that’s none of my business. The people who are involved with it are the ones you should worry about. I just stay out of it and they leave me alone.”

“And that is your sin. Sloth.”

“I’m no lazy man,” Klinge says as he picks up a car with both hands. “Can a lazy man pick up a car he’s put together with his own two hands like this?” I lessen Klinge’s power. He starts to weaken to the point where he struggles to hold up the car and is unable to throw it to the side. “What…is happening?”

“Nothing you have is anything you earned. The ‘accident’ that would’ve killed other men and given you your mutations was from God, the job that you have was given to you by your parents, and people fear to push you to do anything for the previous two reasons. You are the epitome of a spoiled child.”

“Fine…I get it. I’ll do something with my life and clean up my act. I swear!”

Sensing the honesty in him, I grant Klinge his strength back, allowing him to safely put down the car.

“Whew! That was close,” he says.

“It was. Your soul was almost damned forever and still may be if you don’t change,” I say.

“I will, starting with the scum downstairs. I think I’ll actually respond to those invitations from the other families that I keep getting, especially Timeo Severe’s and ones from the Travail family. Nothing says I’ve changed than spending time on charity, right?”

“Right,” I say as I leave the building while laughing.

With that done, I only have one more family left to investigate and one that I also should’ve been looking into from the beginning. Darcy, what are you hiding from me?