Chastisement of the Castigators: Chapter 1 – Virtuous Chaos vs Sinful Anarchy

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.