Chapter
3 – Alone, but Never Truly Alone
I look at the death around me and
the blood on my hands and see myself reflected in my actions.
This is who I am. This is what I enjoy,
causing chaos and death for my own purposes and enacting my will on others.
This is a part of myself that still
lingers and curses my soul with its sins. Where was I? What was I doing? Oh, I was
in a town with Idelle and Kane, because everyone was fighting one another for
an unknown reason. I don’t know where either of them is, and all I see around
me are corpses, some of which I recognize as being the dead bodies of my pregnant
wife and child, and the many others I remember killing. This must be the trick
of some superhuman who has psychological or supernatural powers.
I should thank whoever they are.
Being with Kane and Idelle suppressed my inner desire and true self. Perhaps I can
find them and ally myself with them so I can find Kane and Idelle to kill them.
I need to find Kane and Idelle so
they can help me fight against my sinful self. Wading my way through the
corpses around me, I try searching the area to see if I can find a way out. As I
keep walking, I see the other version of myself, who is clothed in black, rise from
the bodies of corpses.
He grabs my neck and says, “You
think you’ve killed the self that you created, but I will always be a part of
you. You will always want to kill and create chaos, and betray your so-called
new family. You don’t deserve them. You don’t deserve anything other than to
die in the dirt like the rabid dog you are.”
I transform my arm into a white
shield with three inner-connected circles on it and push away the false version
of me.
“I die to myself daily and rise
again after every sin. The past may haunt me, but it’s not my master. God alone
is,” I say.
“You mean the new God that you’ve
embraced, the same one who allowed you to fall to such sins and kill your family?
Is He the same God who forces you to endure challenges with little to no rest
and has put you in the situation you find yourself in now?”
“Your questions are dishonest. I
have no room to judge the judge of all when I am a flawed, idiotic, and impulsive
man. Begone.”
My right arm turns black with
tendrils and sharp fingers reaching out. Using it, I cut through my false
version and continue forward. Still, it appears and bothers me with its words.
“It won’t be that easy or simple.
God has abandoned you to suffer with me for the rest of your life, and at a
moment’s notice, my sin can forever damn me. How is that fair?”
I cut through myself and say, “I
will abandon myself to His mercy.”
Again, he appears and says, “You abandoned
yourself and get let down anyway. The last time you sinned wasn’t too long ago,
and yet, you trust someone who lets you down?”
Cutting through myself, I say, “Yes.
I won’t always know the reason behind everything God puts me through, but I pray
that I will.”
Appearing again, the false version
of myself says, “You’ll never attain perfection in this life. The catechists and
your friends said so themselves.”
“I don’t need to be perfect to be
loved or receive mercy. In fact, my imperfection is the reason why I receive
mercy, and a blessed curse that always reminds me of my need for God.”
After cutting myself again, I find
a tear in the fabric of reality. I go through it and see that I’m in a black
and white void with floating pieces of cities and towns I’ve been in around the
area. At the other end of the voice is a towering, dark figure.
The being’s voice says, “I am the
god you’ve abandoned, the god of Nexum. Give yourself to me, and you’ll be free
and happy forever.”
Refusing the false god’s offer with
my action, I leap from floating structure to structure with my black arm and
white shield out. The god sends corpses at me and projectiles of light, which I
either block or cut through.
“The world is against you, and so
is your new master. You need me,” the god says.
“Like hell I do,” I respond.
I jump from the ruins of Meridian
and Solis to those of Poca Bellezza and Nexum.
“You’re nothing but a traitor to
all you pledge allegiance to. What makes you think you won’t get over the
honeymoon phase you’re in, get bored, and embrace some other god or ideology?”
“I am committed more than ever to
the road I’ve chosen, and I know that it’s the only true one.”
Leaping to the next set of floating
structures, they move away, and I hardly manage to grab onto the edge.
“No one knows how much you suffer. No
one will help you.”
“My struggles internally are mine
alone, but I suffer them with the help of others.”
As I’m about to fall, Idelle and
Kane grab my hands and pull me up.
“Zandro, you alright, brother? I’m
glad to see you alive and right state of mind,” Kane says.
“I told you he would be. He’s our
friend, a member of our family,” Idelle adds.
I have no words for the kindness
shown to me, so I instead remind them of our objective and the enemy in front of
us. “We need to take down that false god. Doing so will free us from this spell,”
I say.
“Let’s get it done, Castigators,” Kane
says.
Together, Kane, Idelle, and I leap
towards the false god, Kane shooting at the thing with his ebony pistols, and
Idelle and I blocking the incoming projectiles and helping him through the crumbling
structures. When we get closer, Idelle leaps at the false god, taking it down,
but it separates in half. Going after the other half, I see my face in it;
however, that doesn’t stop me from decapitating it. With his head off, the
spell lifts in an instant. Idelle, Kane, and I find ourselves in the middle of
the town we were in, and a decapitated woman at our feet, cloaked in black, who
is presumably the one who put the spell on us. Around us, we see the townspeople
waking up as well and coming to their senses.
Investigating the woman’s identity,
we find that she was a big fan of ours and, according to her diary that we find
in her apartment, she researched our history before putting the town under her
spell, using them to get us to come to her, so we could be under her spell as
well and make her change the world in the way she wanted.
“What she failed to learn about us
is that we’re a team, not a solo act,” Kane points out while reading the diary.
“We rely on each other, rather than ourselves, to get things done, and together,
we’ll change the world.”
Idelle and I agree, report to the
Dominion that the job is done, and head back to Idelle’s parents' house for
dinner. During dinner, Kane receives a call from the Dominion office. He’s told
that the people we’ve helped over the past few days want to work under us in
the places they’re in, and he accepts.
“Castigators are expanding their
ranks,” Kane further says. “If we keep this up, we’ll be more than a subsidiary
of the Dominion.”
“We could have Castigator groups
across all the places that the Dominion are in, accepting ex-criminals and
repentant troublemakers, just like us, and turning their chaos into help,” Idelle
says.
“I wouldn’t think that far ahead,
but it is an alluring idea,” I say.
“That’s what’ll happen,” Kane
decides. “The Castigators will embrace reformed criminals and villains and turn
them into heroes for the greater good.”
Idelle and I agree with Idelle’s
parents. Together, we toast to a brighter future. Even Idelle and Kane’s son
wants to toast with his little bottle and gets loud and excited like his
parents are. I didn’t expect to ever have a family again, and part of me still
feels like I don’t deserve one, but being here with my friends and their family
is nothing more than being with my new family. Who would expect that an
extremist like me would find togetherness with people like me, and we would be
the ones to convert like-minded people to have an organization for our own? Never
did I expect that things would turn out this well.
“Praise be to God forever,” I say
out loud, to which my new family around me repeats and toasts again.
The End
Chapter
2 – More than a Rebel
Waking up in the morning and seeing
my family around me, I see myself reflected in my son and the self I want to be
in my parents, even though they’re not blood-related. Every day, I get up and
pray that I can be the person I need to be for them and that I can appreciate
every day as much as my younger brother does. I’ve also tried to cook and learn
my family’s recipes so I can cook for my family on my own. Of course, it’s
still a bit hard for me to let go of Kane in bed, so I can get up early to
cook, but I’m getting better at it. Zandro is still getting adjusted to staying
here and my family’s hospitality. I guess they don’t have nice people like this
in Nexum, where he’s from.
Zandro prays our morning prayers
with us, and as we simply be with one another on the house’s porch, talk, and
enjoy each other’s company, it feels like my job as a hero could’ve been just a
dream. If this is all I did for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t mind it, but
reality comes calling. Kane gets a call from one of the newer Dominion offices
in Intermediario about new extremists inspired by us that are causing trouble
for law enforcement. Because of what we did yesterday, they think we’re the
best people to take care of them. My parents understand that we need to get
going, and they tell us that they’ll be praying for us, as always. We thank
them for their kindness and head out to Intermediario, which is a two-hour trip
from Poca Bellezza.
When we reach the part of the city
that’s under the control of the extremists, we are immediately met with guns on
us and superhumans standing in front of everyone, ready to fight. Since they
haven’t started a fight and Kane hasn’t fired a shot or even manifested his
guns, I don’t do anything either, despite having the feeling I should. Kane
parks his motorcycle on the side of the street and looks at everyone around him
as if evaluating each one to see if they’re worth fighting or not. Noticing
that Zandro’s hand is shaking, since he must be tempted like I am, I grab his
hand.
“Thank you, Idelle,” he says to me.
I let go of Zandro’s hand, and he
seems to be under control of his good side.
Going over to Kane, I whisper,
“What do you think?”
“Hmm. It’s interesting. I get the
same feeling I get from these people as normal civilians, in that I shouldn’t
bring any to justice despite what I’m seeing and they’re doing,” Kane whispers
back. He then says out loud, “Bring me to your leaders, if you have any. I want
to talk to them.”
The superhumans and civilians look
at one another and whisper before a few of the superhumans agree to Kane’s
request and take us to a city hall where the extremists’ leaders are. Just like
the others, the leaders look like normal civilians and superhumans, and they also
have cops by their side.
“Castigators, please take a seat,”
one of the civilians says.
As we sit down in the conference
room, Kane says, “I wonder if I took the wrong turn from where I was told to go
to search for the extremists inspired by me. This setup you have here on your
side of the city looks legit, and from what I can tell from your soul, you are
all legit.”
“We are all legit, as you say, but
we’ve acted outside the law. This side of this city has been taken care of by
neighboring families for generations, while the other side has been taken care
of by its own.”
“I guess that explains why the city
is so large, and highways separate the two sides of it, where no one lives
underneath.”
“But because the other side is
larger and has more people in it, the law favors them, and they get to
institute laws and regulations that both sides have to follow. The people on
this side have to suffer their heavy taxes that enrich the government, while
forcing the common man to pay their tab for little to no benefit, such as
taking care of foreigners and tourists who take what they want from the city
and leave or send it to their own country or homes.”
“So, a lot of politics is involved
in this?”
“If you can call it that. Our side
of the city isn’t seen as important as theirs because of all the funding they
receive from superhuman fights that happen there, and the population density.
Each of us here who has real power tried to influence the decisions being made
as we were elected to do, but we failed nearly every time. We let our people
down, and although some understand that we couldn’t do much, others have
accused us of breaking promises or lying. I can’t blame those quick to judge
and refuse to see the messy reality of politics. In fact, I feel like a liar
because I can’t keep the promises I make to the people I love.”
“Don’t say that,” I interject. “If
you tried your best, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You aren’t a liar or
bad person for failing.”
“What have you done that makes you
extremists and has made the law get called down on you?” Zandro asks.
“We’ve forcefully declared
independence from the other side of the city. After years of trying to separate
from it through the law and getting turned down time and time again, we’ve just
decided to set our own borders and focus on ourselves.”
“It sounds like a purely Columbian
Union thing to do. It’s what the colonies did at their founding, so I don’t see
an issue with it,” Kane says.
“The other side of the city and
country will. It’s still illegal,” I say.
“Okay. We’ll represent you then and
legitimize it. Be back in a second.”
“You’ll have the entire city
against you!”
“So what? You do as well, and
should already know that doing the right thing matters more than anything. You
are inspired by us, right?”
“We are, but we don’t want you
putting yourselves in harm's way for us.”
“What inspirations would we be if
we didn’t lead by example? Sit tight here and let us handle this.”
Kane, Zandro, and I head to the
borders between both sides of the city, and Kane announces that we support the
other side of the city’s decision to be independent from the other. This
receives pushback from the opposing city’s protectors, who say we should be
upholding the law.
Finally, manifesting his guns, he
puts them in the face of law enforcement and then says, “We uphold true
justice, not man’s flawed laws. The Castigators follow the law where it’s just
and break it where it’s flawed, so we can fix it. Give the people behind us the
right to define the borders of their home, and we won’t have a problem. Refuse,
and I won’t hesitate to use force to get what’s due to them.”
The law enforcers in front of us
hardly get a chance to argue as Kane shoots them midway through their talking
and tells Zandro and me to fight them and make a way to the city hall on this
side of the city. Since Kane hasn’t held back using his ebony pistol to kill,
neither Zandro nor I hold back in our fight, killing where necessary, when
knocking them out prevents us from fighting properly. I break the bones and
snap necks with my snakes and use my superhuman strength and speed to beat down
the law enforcers that oppose us. By the time we reach the city hall, we find a
group of law enforcers, superhumans, and cops waiting for us. Without a second
thought to how outnumbered we are, we head into the fight.
I focus on keeping Kane and Zandro
safe, while they do the same to cover my blind spots and prevent me from taking
as many attacks as possible. Still, we get shot and hit by the strength and
powers of the superhumans. I’m not worried so much about myself or Zandro since
we can take the hits without it affecting us that much, but Kane isn’t so
blessed. An explosion sends him flying into the side of a building, and he
struggles to get on his feet, while continuing to fight off the law enforcers
who are focusing on him alone now. Zandro and I cover him, while not caring
about the hits we are taking.
“I got this! Don’t worry about me!”
Kane says.
“Clearly, you don’t,” Zandro says.
“What kind of wife would I be if I
didn’t defend my husband?” I say.
The density of the people we are
facing lessens as superhumans, cops, and civilians with guns that we saw on the
other side of the city come to help us. Kane jumps up to his feet and
immediately joins in on the fight to get the heat of the attack back on him and
us, and Zandro and I follow his example, despite the pain we’re in.
“Didn’t I tell you people that
we’ll handle this?” Kane says to the city leader we were previously talking to.
“Didn’t I tell you that you
inspired us?”
“Heh. I guess we’re a bad influence
then.”
“You’re our heroes!” the crowd of
our supporters says, almost in unison.
Their words empower me to fight
more and make sure that no one on our side is injured or killed. Inside the
city hall, we break our way into where the leaders are, and Kane holds them at
gunpoint.
“How could you side with these
rebels?” one of the opposing city leaders says. “We’re on the same side, aren’t
we?!”
“You’re false friends. You talk
about loving tradition and religion, but you do so because it’s the fashion of
the age, and it gives you riches and power. It’s written all over your rotten
soul,” Kane says.
“Give up and let us run our city the
way we know is right,” one of our allied city leaders says.
“You wouldn’t know the first thing
about it. None of you know how the game of politics and business is played and
meant to be used.”
Seeing that as a sign of refusing
arrest, Kane shoots the opposing city leaders, and the fighting resumes as
superhumans and other law enforcers come in. We’re surrounded, and seeing many
of our allies getting hurt and killed sends me into overdrive. I no longer hold
back and try to incapacitate anyone. Instead, I let the brutality that I’ve
been holding back take control as I leap around the room, smashing heads in,
punching through people’s hearts, and having my snakes tear them in two. I even
break off a person’s arm and kill them by shoving it through their head.
My eyes dart around the room for my
next target to kill until Zandro grabs my hand and says, “Idelle! It’s over
here. We have to head outside so we don’t get boxed in!”
Looking at him and Kane, I calm
myself down, thank Zandro, and head outside where the fighting continues, until
it suddenly stops seconds after. It’s like something in the air changed that
everyone can sense, and I don’t know what it is. What changed is made clear
when I see everyone turn their attention to my little brother, John Elio,
approaching us from a distance. He looks almost exactly as he always does, with
bright blonde hair, light blue eyes, fair skin, and wearing his red deacon
shirt, golden cape, blue jeans, and brown farmer boots. The one crucial
difference is that his usual soft expression that fills people with hope and
comfort is replaced by one that could kill by how terrifying he looks. He’s mad,
and I’m not sure where his anger will be directed.
At first, one of the chief law
enforcers tells him about what is happening. That the Castigators have turned
on the law and are helping extremists, and that he should help them bring us
into custody or be killed for the violence and death we’ve been causing. John
looks at me, my allies, and the chief law enforcers.
He then punches the chief’s head
off and says, “Do you think I’m such an idiot to fall for your deception?! That
I would trust you, corrupt and hypocritical protectors of the law, over my own sister?!
Your sin is obvious for all to see. I should kill you all where you stand!”
The force and terror behind John’s
voice sends our opposition running and begging for their lives. Seeing that the
situation is dealt with, John runs over to me and gives me one of his big hugs.
“Are you alright? I’m sorry I couldn’t
get here sooner. I ran from the other side of the country to get here as soon
as I heard what was happening,” John says.
“I’m fine, and it’s okay. We’re
fine, at least, most of us are,” Idelle says.
Kane walks over and says, “Thanks
for the assist, John. This would’ve been disastrous if you hadn’t-”
John brings Kane into our group
hug, asking him the same questions and apologizing to him.
“John, you’re hurting him,” I say.
“I’m sorry!” John says.
Kane coughs and says, “I’m fine. Might
need some minor medical treatment, though, for the beating I took today. How
did you know we didn’t go rogue?”
“I just knew it, I trust in you all
to make the right decision, and my gut feeling was confirmed when I saw the
souls of the people you were fighting against, and seeing you all throw
yourselves into danger to protect the people you were fighting for. No one who
is sinful will throw themselves into life-threatening danger to save another
person,” John explains.
“Thank you, John,” I say as I hug
him.
“Thank you for always being the big
sister that I look up to.”
With that settled, John helps us
give our allies control over their own city and arranges for the remaining
corrupt city leaders and law enforcement to face justice. Afterwards, we clean
up at a hospital and head back home, where my parents are excited to see John
after so long, and John is especially happy to see my son, whom he baptized. At
the dinner table, we discuss having our families come together to spend some
quality time with each other for about a week.
“Does that include having me around
for it?” Zandro asks.
“Of course it does!” we say.
“We had you along for Idelle's and
I’s honeymoon. Of course, you can be with us,” Kane says.
Time together with the family could
be great, so I can practice being a normal mother.
Speaking of which, I whisper to Kane,
“When can we have a second?”
He looks stunned at me and says, “We
just had this one not too long ago, and you want a second already.”
“Yes.”
“Tch. I guess I don’t have a
choice.”
John seems to have heard us,
laughs, and says, “There’s no denying her another child.”
“There isn’t,” I confirm.
Everyone laughs, but I’m not. I may
just want another child because being a mother proves that I’m more than a
brutal killer and hero, but then again, being with everyone here and the things
I’ve accomplished already prove it in spades. I’m also a loving wife and
mother, a daughter who her parents are proud of, and an older sister who
inspires her little brother. Still, I want that second child and may get Kane
to give it to me sooner than he thinks.
Chapter
1 – Virtuous Chaos vs Sinful Anarchy
Outside the windows of the Dominion
hero association office, my friends and I watch the sunny city of tomorrow,
Solis, at war with itself and burning because of it as law enforcement and
civilians fight each other. In the window, I see my reflection over the scenes
of violence like an accusation for what is happening. I look at my own
appearance and reflect on my actions. My appearance of a black and crimson
hoodie, white shirt with a snake on it in the form of a Chi Rho, black pants,
and black boots evokes that of a modern gunslinger. My eyes, one light blue and
grey, and the other red and black, judge everyone they see with God’s judgment.
Some are judged to die for leading
their loved ones and neighbors to Hell by believing and living the way they do,
while others are judged to live because of their repentance despite their
previous deeds, such as murder and adultery. I look to my side and see my wife,
Idelle Ellio Mundr, who is hanging on my arm like always. She’s dressed in her
usual golden armor and crimson bodysuit with her white and black snakes on her
back wrapped around me as well, and taking small jabs at one another. Her grey
hair is a bit longer than it usually is and has spots where it's as blonde as
her younger brother’s hair.
“What do you think, Idelle? How
guilty are we of the chaos in front of us?” I ask her.
She looks at me with her white,
gold and red, and black eyes as if confused by the sudden question.
“Kane, we’re not guilty at all. Let
the baseless accusation leave your head. The extremists may say they’re
inspired by us, but they learned the wrong lessons from our harsh way of
justice,” Idelle says.
“Your wife is right, Kane,” Zandro,
on my other side, says. “The people below us are self-righteous, while we are
justified by God and true justice.”
Zandro's simple appearance of a
black and white hoodie and accompanying contrasting outfit hides how wise a
person he can be. Half his face is pale, and the other is even paler and seems
almost out of sync with the other half. He can be a distant and weird guy
sometimes, but when it counts, he’s here for us.
I grab Zandro’s shoulder with my
free arm to hold him close to us and say, “Thanks, man.”
We have all just gotten back from
our patrols of the city, and we're told by our contacts and the media on TV the
motives of the extremists, and we are assessing how we should handle it.
Noticing something is off, I remember it and call Polina Yelizaveta, who should
be calling and yelling at me by now.
“What is it, Kane?” Polina asks.
“Huh? I just found it weird you
aren’t yelling at me about how it’s my fault for the riots in Solis, and I
should be fixing it right now,” I say.
Polina makes a sound as if she
stops herself from saying something she really wanted to. She clears her throat
and says, “I trust that you’ll handle it.”
“You do?”
“You handled the last situation
with the traitors as morally and legally clean as possible, so yet, I do. Have
Timeo or John called either you or Idelle?”
“Besides Idelle getting her daily
call from John, we haven’t been called by either of them today.”
“They’ve said they trust us, trust
you, with the responsibilities they’ve given us. What can I say besides, do
what you think is right, and try not to cause more trouble than you already
have.”
“Ha! I can’t make that promise.”
“Kane!”
I hang up before I get yelled at
and manifest my two guns, one an ebony pistol for executing the guilty, the
other a white revolver for knocking out those deemed worth sparing.
I look at Zandro and Idelle and
say, “Let’s get to work and show these pretenders what real chaos is,
Castigators.”
Idelle and Zandro agree, and we
head out. I get on my motorcycle and drive it ahead of the other two, who are
using their superspeed to run alongside me. Parking my motorcycle just outside
one of the areas where the most action is happening, we run into the fight and
get in the front where the fighting is heaviest.
“Get behind us! The Castigators are
here to take care of this!” I say.
Idelle and Zandro warn me of being
out in the open like this since I don’t have as much superhuman resistance to
physical attacks as they do, but I refuse.
“A true leader leads from the
front, giving a courageous example to those behind him, especially when he’s
the reason why the battle is happening,” I explain.
My two friends save me from attacks
from the superhuman extremists and restate their appeal for me to be careful.
“If you want us to follow your
example, then I’m heading further into the fight. I don’t want our newborn to
see his father die before his time,” Idelle says.
“You have a real family to live
for, Kane. I have already forsaken mine and owe my life to you for the mercy
you’ve given me; therefore, I will give it to safeguard yours,” Zandro adds.
They both then get ahead of me,
taking the brunt of the attacks, while I shoot the extremists from a distance.
This is how we usually fight, but today, I can tell that we’re all fighting
harder than we usually are. Given that we somewhat inspired this, this is our
problem to fix. Seeing the judgment on the souls of my targets, I see that many
are average citizens, and those originate from other cities here in the
Columbian Union. They all have their hangups on how the country is being run or
the people influencing it, such as the hero association my group is a
subsidiary of and the affiliated Coronamento Corporation. They’ve seen how
Idelle, Zandro, and I have gotten results through alegal means, fixing the law
by focusing on where it is broken and grey, and making things black and white,
so that true justice can be accomplished.
What they don’t realize is that
there’s a crucial difference between us: it’s in our beliefs and methodologies.
Ours is a counter-revolutionary chaos, while theirs is a sinful rebellion,
anarchy for the sake of their false gods and sense of self-righteousness. The
Castigators bring structure where law and order are lacking, but some of them want
chaos, to loosen laws, or to have their way of life enshrined in the country’s
laws. The truth takes no prisoners when threatened and fought against. This
battle is one of truth against falsehood, as all battles are, and truth has
already won on the cross. How could we possibly lose?
With one area pacified, my friends
and I go to the next and then the next without a moment’s rest or holding back
against our foes. No one who goes against the order we protect is spared, even
if they beg or say we’re on the same side. Instead, all they get is the bullet
due to them that either knocks them out so they can face jailtime or face
judgment in the face of God. None of the foes we face is a challenge to us,
which doesn’t make me feel bad for them. I’m just glad this’ll be easy.
I know this isn’t over despite all
areas of danger being pacified and the extremists being sent running or into
hiding. If they’re still out there, they need to be made an example of to scare
the others into their senses, and I know one place they could be, thanks to
what I’ve seen on people’s souls. Going to one of the underground shelters in
the city meant for civilians during superhuman attacks, we find our marks. The
people, police, and heroes are thankful to see us, some more or less than
others.
Picking out one of the people who
are my targets, I go up to her and whisper, “I know who you are and what you’re
going to do.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Will you
help us?” she asks.
“No,” I say while putting my
revolver into the extremist’s gut out of view of everyone. “Not in the way you
want me to, at least, but if you convince your friends to give up without a
fight, I promise you a job at the Dominion and your criminal record cleaned. Do
you really want to put these people in danger to save yourselves?”
“What about the rest of my family
and friends who are here? Will you let them have a job at the Dominion as well?”
“Assuming you convince them to turn
themselves in. Try anything else, and you’ll either be locked away or shot
dead. Make your choice.”
The woman swallows hard and takes
my offer. She calls out her friends and family to stand down and appeals to
their motives of forcing the world to change for the better, in their eyes,
because no one else seems to change it for them.
“Why should we trust someone like
Kane who only makes the world in the image he, the Dominion, and the Coronamento
Corporation wants?” one of the extremists asks.
“I’m willing to convert you to the
truth if you work with me. If not, I can arrange a one-way meeting with my God with
you, who will be more convincing than I can ever be, so give up. I don’t want
to put the innocent people here in unnecessary danger,” I say.
The extremists look at one another,
while I have my guns up, and Idelle and Zandro, ready to pounce. Thankfully,
they concede. The heroes and law enforcement take them away, not in cuffs, to
the Dominion office to arrange their employment. Meanwhile, the rest of the
civilians here cheer us on for what we’ve done.
“Let this be an example to those
who say we’re nothing more than violent psychopaths,” I say while the civilians
record me with their phones. “The Castigators and Dominion and Coronamento
Corporation, as a whole, will be merciful to those who turn themselves in and
work with us to create a better world. Those who want to make a difference need
more than violence. You need mercy and the willingness to forgive those who
seemingly don’t deserve it because we’re all sinners who deserve the harsh hand
of justice to fall on us for one reason or another.”
The crowd’s cheers are louder than
before, and they chant our name as we leave them. Back at the Dominion office, I
relax after a day’s work and am about to offer Idelle and Zandro dinner out in
one of the expensive restaurants in Solis when I receive a call from Polina.
“Did I do anything wrong?” I ask.
“Not at all. In fact, you proved me
right by sparing the extremists in the shelter and giving them jobs. I’ve heard
they were extremely thankful, saying that what you did for them changed their
way of thinking,” Polina says.
“I’m happy to hear it and not get
yelled at.”
“Please. I only yell at you because
I know you can be a better person, as you proved today. Keep it up.”
“Later.” Turning to Idelle and
Zandro, I say, “You guys want to celebrate a job well done today? I know a good
place around here.”
“I’d rather head home, if you don’t
mind,” Idelle says.
Knowing why she’d rather head home,
I agree. We clock out for the day and head to Idelle’s house in the rural town
of Poca Bellezza. There, her adoptive parents greet us at the door with my son
in their arms. My eyes focus on him, a little hotshot with the temper and face
of his father and the passionate love and eyes of his mother. They welcome us
in, congratulate us on a job well done, and we all have dinner together. I
think I better understand my mentor, Timeo’s, appreciation for moments like
these and sparing people to prevent inspiring others to use violence to get
what they want. It feels better having spared lives, preventing the deaths of
others, and being the man Timeo and Polina think I am. If it means further
growing as I should be and having moments like I’ve had today more, then it’ll
be my modus operandi from now on.
Chapter
4 – No Way Out
The remainder of the traitors are
held up in a joint Dominion and Coronamento Corporation research facility near
the casino, vacation, and resort city of Luck and Providence. They’re holding
hostages and are threatening to execute them or experiment on them to send them
against us if we go after them. Of course, we ignore their advice and go in
anyway to bring them to justice; however, we’re going to be as careful as
possible to limit the deaths of innocents, if not completely avoid them. To do
this, Idelle and Kane are hanging back from the facility, while I infiltrate it
in the form of a traitor, whom the traitors inside the facility think is
probably still alive, when he isn’t. My power allows me to copy the appearance
of people whom I see, making me perfect for assignments like these. After I
free the hostages and get them to safety, or when the plan goes sideways, I’ll
have to call in Kane and Idelle to help me execute and arrest the traitors.
As I pause to say a small prayer
and take a deep breath before heading in, Kane puts his hand on my shoulder. He
smiles at me and says, “You got this, Zandro.”
Idelle nods at me, and I nod at
both of them.
“I’ll try not to let either of you
down,” I say before driving off in a truck that the person I’m impersonating
had.
Heading up to the gate of the
facility, the security sees me and lets me in without checking for credentials,
and thankfully, doesn’t spark up a conversation since I can’t replicate voices.
Inside the facility, I see what looks to be a normal Dominion office with
people talking and working on their computers as if they aren’t isolated and
hunted by the rest of the country. Deeper in the facility, I see a familiar
sight, a series of labs where they do experiments on superhumans and
non-superhumans to give them powers, similar to the one I was in when I got my
powers.
They’re just like the others.
There’s no reason to start killing them and blame the casualties on them.
Shhh. Ignoring the other side of
me, I continue scouting the facility. They don’t appear to be doing anything to
the hostages here that they are holding in the cells, besides giving them their
daily meals, seem to be treating them well, and trying to convert them to their
side.
“The Dominion and Coronamento
Corporation are extremist organizations,” the traitors say. “They enforce their
beliefs upon everyone, including those outside of the country. Before you know
it, it won’t be just us; they’ll be going after. It’ll be people just trying to
live their lives in isolation, and who don’t bother them at all.”
The captives argue back and forth
with the traitors and don’t seem to budge in their beliefs, thankfully.
Because if they did, I’d have to
kill them.
There’s no obvious or safe way to
free the hostages without attracting attention, given how many of the traitors
have the cells in eyesight. It seems like the only way to do this is the loud
and messy way, with the hostages' lives on the line.
Meaning it’s time to begin the
slaughter.
Meaning it’s time to find the
security room so that all the cells can be opened. Perhaps there’ll be some
kind of security I can activate to give the captives some cover for their
escape properly, and also lock down the building to prevent the traitors from
escaping.
Where’s the fun in shooting fish in
a barrel? Huh? I should just let loose and have at them. Once this is over, I
won’t see any action until Kane and Idelle finish their honeymoon and have
their first child. Or maybe, that’s a good thing. My infiltration and sabotage
of the Dominion to get back at the Coronamento Corporation can begin without
them behind my back all the time. There’s also the option of making the
traitors wear disguises, so I can bind them to me and work with them to exact
my revenge.
No. I’ve been good about not
letting the sinful side get to me, and I can’t let it do so at the finish line
of this assignment. I make my way towards a security office that has a few
people in it. Checking the computers, I find access to seal and unseal all
doors in this facility. There’s also a purge function that will activate
turrets and gas to knock out or kill people in specific or all areas.
Giovanni is not without his
failsafes and secondary plans. Hell, this whole thing of purging traitors and
getting himself in jail was probably part of his plan this entire time. It’s a
shame that this facility doesn’t have a function to kill those in the Dominion
office, but let’s start here. Actually, I’ll just kill them all by hand, the
old-fashioned way. I can’t be sure the purge function can kill every superhuman
here. Firstly, I activate the lockdown function so no one can escape.
Secondly, I activate the knockout
gas and make the turrets fire non-lethal knock-out rounds of every kind so that
everyone outside of the cells can be taken out. That was too close. I almost
killed everyone here. Since I didn’t activate the purge function in this room,
the security here looks at me, and seeing that my disguise is broken, I revert
to my normal self, turn my arms into tendrils, and pin the three guards to the
wall.
“Resist arrest, and I will crush
you. Come on, give me a reason to,” I say to them.
“You’re Zandro, right? It figures
you’d work for someone like Giovanni. What did he offer you for you to work for
him despite the experiments done on you by his corporation, sanctioned by his
approval?” a guard asks.
“He offered me a way to redeem
myself for my actions, for killing innocents, my family, and the chaos I
caused.”
“By doing what? Killing more people
and causing more chaos? I’m an ex-criminal too, bud. I know the offer he gave
you, and I thought I’d be bringing peace and order to the world, but he uses
violence and manipulation to get what he wants.”
“Maybe so, but he’s answered for
his crimes, while you run away from the consequences of yours.”
“This whole mess he’s caused is
just his way of cleaning house. He’s an extremist through and through by
pushing his beliefs on others around the world. I didn’t sign up for that. I
wanted to be civil about it.”
“And yet, you hold hostages.”
“None of them has a hair hurt on
their heads by our hands. They’ve been well taken care of. It was necessary for
us and the only way to ensure our safety and theirs.”
“Giovanni can say the same thing
about his actions, even his more extreme ones.”
“That’s where we’ll have to agree
to disagree. It’s what I want to fix in the world, and violence and forcing our
way to prominence and influence will only make the problem worse. You’ll see
that more extremists like him will rise on both sides because of your actions.”
“It’ll be a benefit or a detriment,
which we’ll deal with based on whose side they fall on and their actions. As
for you three, you’re finished, and I’m tired of listening to you.”
I knock out the three guards with
force before my temptations manage to crush them. Taking a look at the cameras,
I see that everyone in the facility is knocked out except the captives. I turn
off the gas and turrets, then free the captives once everything is clear.
Calling Kane and Idelle, I say,
“The captives are safe, and everyone in the facility is knocked out. All that’s
left to take care of are the traitors in the office.”
“We’ll be there shortly. Good work,
brother,” Kane says.
Brother, huh? I guess we are
brothers in arms, and I’ve earned that role through my actions and honest
repentance. Before joining Kane and Idelle, I confirm the captives are safe and
know what’s going on. When I reach the offices, I find that most of the work
has already been done, and by the time I rejoin the Castigators, they’ve taken
down the remaining superhumans and their help.
There goes my take on the action.
This won’t satiate my desire for justified violence. It’ll only make me want it
more.
I can deal with holding it off, and
need to substitute it with something more holy. Kane and Idelle don’t mind that
I’m late and congratulate me on a job well done. When we go back to Meridian
and the substitute boss of the Coronamento Corporation announces that the purge
of traitors has been complete, we receive a mostly positive reception. As far
as I know, our supporters are still loyal, and our naysayers are reluctantly
accepting of what we did. Kane decides we should bring the news to Giovanni,
who is in jail. We get an appointment to see him and meet him in a prison, in a
room where he’s on one side of strong, superhuman-proof glass, and we’re on the
other.
Kane and Giovanni activate their
speakers so we can talk to him, and Kane says, “It’s done, if you haven’t
heard.”
“I’ve heard,” Giovanni says. “My
contacts here told me the moment it hit the news.”
“Are they treating you well in
there?”
“Oh, yes. I have the Al Capone
treatment here, like I’m a celebrity prisoner. People treat me with respect,
and those who fear me keep their distance. I don’t know why they’re so afraid
when others here have powers, while I’m just a mere man.”
“It’s because of the power and
influence you wield. It was obvious to me that this entire plan of yours was
purely for your benefit.”
“What do you mean?”
“All the traitors from our
organizations are gone, and any that we possibly don’t know of are far gone or
too scared to act against us. Any crimes that you’ve been hiding and speculated
about by the media are brought to light and are being paid for by your generous
prison sentence of five years. No one has anything against you now, and you and
your organizations are now scrubbed clean.”
“Heh, it’s not all sunshine and
rainbows.”
“Really? Like I said, that
five-year sentence is generous despite you pleading guilty with no attempt to
get anything less, and the fact that you were found guilty of consenting to
illegal human experimentation, government and corporate corruption, staging
assassinations, and murder. Less influential men would get the death penalty or
several life sentences, but since the judge and jury liked you, you got the
equivalent of a slap on the wrist, while also being praised for your humility.”
Giovanni smiles and says, “What can
I say besides God is merciful to those who confess their sins and accept their
due punishment?”
“Yeah, and that mercy includes you
getting to still be as influential as always behind a jail cell.”
“May God be praised forever. I
trust that the Castigators got their due reward?”
“We have. We all got nice paychecks
and a reputation as brutal but necessary law enforcers.”
“You’ll all make history together,
apart from your mentors and inspirations. I know it. Have Timeo and John told
you yet?”
“I haven’t heard much from him
lately. He trusts my judgment with things.”
“John calls me every day to let me
know what he’s doing and that he loves me,” Idelle says.
Giovanni looks at me as if waiting
for me to say something.
“I have no loved ones left in the
world to check on me,” I say.
“That’s not true,” Giovanni says.
“You have Kane, Idelle, and me. You’re a part of our family now.”
“That’s right, brother,” Kane says.
“Yes. It’s true,” Idelle adds.
I’m unsure of what to say at this
display of sudden kindness
“Thank you for visiting me in
prison, but shouldn’t you two be on your honeymoon? Stop wasting your time with
me and enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
“Yeah, I wanted to stop here first
to talk to you before we took our break. Zandro, do you want to join us?” Kane says.
“You can be with us or go off on
your own and meet us back at where we choose to stay, as long as you don’t
interfere with anything…private, we may be doing,” Idelle says.
“Actually, you should if you notice
we aren’t getting up in the morning. Idelle may just want to keep me in the
room all day.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Because we’ll be traveling! If you
wanted to stay in bed all day and night, then we might as well stay home.”
“We could do that for a day or two…”
Finally, I say, “Do I really
deserve such kindness from you all? You’re treating me like we’ve been friends
our entire lives.”
“Never ask if you deserve anything
because none of us do,” Kane says. “Like I’ve said before, we’re all guilty of
heinous sins, so you’re in good company.”
“Thank you. All of you. It’d be an
honor for me to join you.”
“You just want him along to save
you from me,” Idelle points out.
“Let’s head out, Castigators. Our
next assignment, relaxation time! We’ll hear from you later, Giovanni. Try to
stay out of trouble in there.”
“I can make no promises on that,”
Giovanni admits.
Idelle continues to argue with Kane
on our way out of the prison. Meanwhile, I quietly thank God for the new family
I’ve been given, one that’s just as messed up as me, but is also a force for
good, despite how brutal we can be.
The End
Chapter
3 – No Mercy Given
“Idelle? Idelle!” I hear Kane
saying to me while tapping on my arm.
“Hmm?” I sleepily grunt.
“Can you stop breaking my bones
while holding me?”
“Hmm…” I loosen my grip a bit, but
don't let go.
Kane’s soothing petting of my head
makes me want to stay like this for another hour or so. He allows me the
pleasure of enjoying the moment for a few more minutes before reminding me we
have work to do.
“Okay…fine…”
“Hey, we’ll get our vacation
together soon. Just hold out a bit longer, okay?”
“…okay…”
Getting up from our bed, I put on
my armor and follow Kane out of the room. Today, we’re in the town of Oberon, a
place that reminds me a lot of my rural hometown of Poca Bellezza. It’s quiet,
patriotic, faith-focused, and so isolated from the rest of the world that it's
like this place is its own universe. The Dominion placed an office out here to
combat villains and criminals that set up their lairs in the middle of nowhere,
and the Coronamento Corporation built offices, warehouses, manufacturing, and
research facilities to offer opportunities for work for the local population. I
look back at Kane, who is struggling a bit to get his armor and clothes on and
appears to be a bit woozy, so I go to him and catch him as he stumbles.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to
help you?” I ask.
“No, I’m fine,” he says in a
nasally tone.
“Maybe you’re having an allergic
reaction to the food we ate yesterday. Perhaps you should rest for the day with
me.”
“No. I’m not allergic to anything.
I’m fine, just a little tired.”
Kane has been sick since we arrived
here two days ago. Again, he claims he’s fine and just tired, but it’s strange
that he would get so sick from something so minor, considering his superhuman
health. Our search for the traitors has so far turned up empty, making it seem
like they've either left entirely or gone into hiding somewhere hard to find.
The only clue we have is that some civilians and locals helped them in some
way. It would have been easier if Kane’s illness hadn’t affected his ability to
read the judgment on people’s souls, because at this point, I wouldn’t mind
interrogating every civilian, law enforcement officer, and official suspected
of collaborating with the traitors.
They had to have something to do
with his condition, either poisoning his food or putting some kind of spell on
him. I swear, I’ll tear them limb from limb if they’re responsible for his
condition. No. I have to keep a level head. Even if the people here are
sympathetic to the traitors, I can’t leap to conclusions just yet. Kane thinks
the traitors forced them to help them, made them sympathize with them, asked
them for a favor because of their previous help, or put them under a spell.
For now, the Dominion office has
brought our attention to various lairs of criminals they’ve been trying to
find, and tells us to check there for clues to the traitors’ whereabouts. With
no other lead to go on, we head out to the location of those lairs, which are
various small, abandoned settlements, farms, factories, and neighborhoods. Again,
since Kane is sick, I force him to stay behind to get better.
I tell him, “If you’re not
confident in your judgment of souls, you won’t use the correct gun or revolver
on the right people.”
“Tch. You’re right. You probably
don’t need my help telling who’s a bad guy out there anyway, so go out there
with Zandro and be careful of traps. I’ll try to rest and do what I can here,”
Kane says.
“Okay,” I say before kissing Kane.
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I know there’s no convincing Kane
to rest completely, so I don’t bother to argue with him. Also, I know that it’d
be better for him to be up, alert, and investigating what is happening, just in
case someone is secretly affecting him and our separation is part of their
plan. Not wanting to leave Kane alone for too long, Zandro and I use our
superhuman speed to reach the locations we were given and immediately leap into
action without a thought for strategy other than taking in the criminals, dead
or alive. I tear to shreds everyone who attacks me, throw them around like
ragdolls, use their own bodies as weapons against their friends, and beat them
into submission with my fists and legs. At the same time, my snakes strangle
people, stab themselves right through people’s heads, chests, or necks, and
also use them as cover against the guns and powers being used against me.
The rush of violence is tempting me
to indulge in it and not make me pull my punches, but I pray and do my best to
ignore the feeling as I focus on finishing the fight as soon as possible. By
the time Zandro and I got here, the fight began and ended in roughly ten
minutes. Few survivors remain, and most lie injured or on the verge of death. I
call the authorities to let them know this location is pacified, and I am about
to head to the next location, until Zandro stops me by putting his hand on my
shoulder.
“Yes? What is it?” I ask.
“You’re rushing this for Kane’s
sake, aren’t you?” Zandro asks.
“Yes. We have to. We don’t know
what plans the traitors have. They may be in league with these criminals or
have their eyes on Kane since he’s by himself.”
“I know we’re dealing with a lot of
unknowns and you’re concerned about your husband, but you shouldn’t let your
panic get to you. It’s a way that sin can enter your heart.”
“I’m fine. Thank you. I have my
emotions under control.”
“Do you?”
Heading back out, we go to the next
location. I don’t let the humble, unassuming appearance of the small shops get
to me, as I immediately tear through the area in my search for the criminals,
going from house to shop, searching the buildings for hidden basements or
tunnels. During my search, my rush to get back to Kane increases, and it’s now
that I recognize some of the voices aren’t my own.
“Over here, Idelle!” Zandro says.
Zandro points me to a hidden
doorway that I almost missed and asks again if I really have my emotions under
control. I say I do and nearly prove him wrong by clearing the underground
marketplace where the criminals are hiding, leaving fewer survivors and
brutalizing many of our enemies. In the process of fighting, I accidentally
hurt the people being trafficked here and have to rush to get them and the
remaining criminals out of the underground, where I started a fire. The people
on the surface, who faked a humble appearance, turn on us, forcing Zandro and
me to fight, and this time, no survivors remain. I pause, take a breath, and
hold out my hand to Zandro before he says anything to me.
“I know. Do you hear the voices as
well?” I ask.
“Yes, I do. Both sides of me hear
another voice trying to impersonate me to further tempt me to indulge in
violence rather than spare the criminals here. They must know something that
they don’t want to get out,” Zandro says.
Questioning the people here, they
have no idea where they are; not even the criminals seem to know what they are
doing here. Surprisingly, they say they were part of the Coronamento
Corporation or Dominion and were trying to hunt down the traitors before some
kind of fog fell over their minds. Now, this all really seems strange and has
red flags all over it, so Zandro and I stop our hunt for criminals and go back
to Oberon, only to find Kane fighting for his life by shooting at civilians and
law enforcement, who are shooting at him and using their powers against him. We
help defend him, and he’s thankful that we figured out something was off.
“This is all a setup,” Kane sickly
says. “The people here are the traitors and are sympathetic to them. It took me
a while to realize that the people in the Dominion office were wearing a
disguise that made them look like different people, and there’s a superhuman
with psychological powers here, distorting our minds.”
My anger grows exponentially
because we were easily fooled and had done their dirty work, possibly killing
and hurting our own. Kane and Zandro put their hands on my shaking hands, and
tell me it’s okay and we’ll make them pay.
“You’re damn right we will,” I say.
Zandro and I cover Kane since he's
still affected by the spell and his illness, then we head toward the Dominion
office. There, we pacify and arrest every false ally and the reinforcements
arriving from the rest of the town. Fewer are killed this time, mostly because they
fight to the death or kill themselves to avoid facing justice. Once all the
traitors and their supporters are restrained, we start questioning them. We
discover they put something in Kane’s food and drink to make him sick, and
their psychic superhumans mainly targeted him because they knew he would see
through their disguise. They also control the people of neighboring towns and
settlements; some were actual criminals, while others were allies and innocent
people who unknowingly helped create the illusion of multiple criminal groups.
“No one was hurt or killed when we
took over. People were killed and seriously hurt because of you and your
Castigators,” they explained. “We had majority control and were simply trying
to ensure the protection of our beliefs, our families, neighbors, and way of
life. Isn’t that what the Coronamento Corporation and Dominion do for their own
beliefs?”
“No. We value things differently
and are justified in our view and actions, while you used manipulation to
safeguard yourselves,” Kane says. “If you had opposing views to ours, you shouldn’t
have joined in the first place.”
“What better organization was there
to join in the country? We took the best choice so that we could protect
ourselves and live peacefully in our isolated town.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.
You should’ve started your own or moved to a different country.”
“We have similar goals to protect
our country. Shouldn’t we work together?”
“We have parallel goals, but the beginnings
and ends of them are different, so no, we won’t work together, and your allies
and you will be locked up for your betrayal.”
Through further questioning, we
discovered that they knew Zandro and I would kill or seriously injure the
people under their mind control, silencing witnesses to their crimes and
betrayal. Once our true allies arrive from other cities, lock up the remaining
traitors and collaborators, Kane, Zandro, and I take a rest in the park of the
mostly deserted town, as most of its inhabitants have either been executed by
justice or imprisoned.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t catch onto
their trick sooner,” I say.
“I’m glad that you did before you
did more damage and came back in time to save me. If anything, today has shown
that you two can do just fine without me,” Kane says.
“Don’t say that. You’re our leader,
and your skills are invaluable to us.”
“Without you, we’d be like a body
without its head,” Zandro adds.
“Take it as a compliment, guys. I
may be superhuman, but I’m not as tough as either of you. You might think that
you’d both be significantly weak without me, but look at what you did today
without much help from me. There will be scenarios when the success of the
Castigators will rely on your particular skills, while I can only do so much.
Remember, we’re the Castigators, not Kane and his two sidekicks.”
“Yeah…you’re right,” Idelle says.
“I promise not to let either of you
down and will step up when I need to,” Zandro says.
“Thank you. Both of you. Now, I
should reward you both for taking charge when I needed you most. What do you
want?”
“Heh, is a day off out of question?”
Zandro asks.
“Not at all.”
“Okay then,” I say as I grab and
hold Kane’s arm. “I decide how we spend it and how long we cuddle together.”
“If it was up to you, it’d be all
day.”
“So?”
Kane laughs as I tell him how
serious I am and mention other things we could do, some of which I make sure
Zandro doesn’t hear. I feel like I failed Kane because of the unnecessary loss
of innocent and allied lives caused by me, but since we still succeeded, I
can’t say today was a complete failure. In the days ahead, I hope to improve
and see myself as positively as Kane and my brother do.
