Chapter
1 – Sanctioned Friendly Fire
Due to recent events, Giovanni
Coronamento has called together many of his closest allies and the media for a
public statement. My new friend, Zandro, a simple man who wears a half black,
half white hoodie and outfit, like how his face is two different shades of
beige, and my wife, Idelle Elio, a golden armor and crimson body suit beauty
with a white snake and black snake on her back, stand on stage with him as his
security. Next to Giovanni, who is dressed in an expensive purple and gold suit
with a green tie, we appear to be a group of ruffians, especially I, with my
crimson hoodie, visible body armor featuring a snake formed into a Chi
Rho-inspired design, and black cargo pants and boots.
With all eyes on him and everyone
quiet, Giovanni begins his speech by saying, “A famous archbishop began his
telecasts by calling his viewers ‘friends’, and I’d like to do the same with
you, including those who don’t consider me a friend. Recent events have given
me a sort of divine revelation, and that is, there are only friends and
traitors. Think about the greatest enemies in history. Satan was one of the
highest angels in Heaven, the Israelites shunned the prophets sent to help
them, Judas was one of the twelve apostles, the priests gave up their God to
the Romans, and so on. In reality, we are all friends, part of one human race,
and all conflicts are infighting.
I have been accused of many things
in trying to make the world a better place, and many traitors have recently
been found in both my corporation and the allied hero association, the
Dominion, so for absolute transparency, I am opening up both organizations to
be scrubbed clean of criminal and traitorous activity by the law enforcement of
this country and the newly formed subsidiary of the Dominion known as the
Castigators who are on stage with me now. You know all three of these heroes as
willing to shoot anyone, from corrupt law enforcement to fake religious
brothers and sisters, if they’re guilty of any major crime; therefore, they
will be leading the purge of both organizations. If you need more reason to
believe that I’m honest in cleaning house and this is not some PR stunt, then
you need only look at the people around you in this crowd. They weren’t told
about this operation, and many of them are among the guilty. Now, Kane, would
you and your friends like to do the honors?”
The crowd is in panic, and those
deserving of death and justice start to flee.
“With pleasure,” I say as I
manifest my ebony pistol and white revolver and leap into action with Idelle
and Zandro.
My eyes judge every soul with God’s
judgment and let me know who deserves death and life, and with my pistol, I
deliver death, and with my revolver, my targets are knocked out. The guards
around the crowd keep everyone in, and those brave enough to keep recording do
so and make panicked commentaries about what is happening. When the last targets
are dead, I give Giovanni the signal, and he allows the remainder of the crowd
to leave.
“As you can see, I spare no one
their due justice,” Giovanni says to a recording cameraman, “Many people here
who received justice were significant investors and protectors of both the
Dominion and my Coronamento Corporation. You can look up their names and roles
soon, as the evidence against them is now public knowledge. If you think that
this was extreme or that more due process should’ve been used, then I ask you,
why should we have given these people a notice that we were going to bring
justice to them? They have already proven to be dishonest people. They would’ve
run away, gotten their contacts to give them a way out, or found a way to erase
the evidence that is now public knowledge. No. Traitors don’t deserve any
kindness. For those who think this purge purely benefits my true allies and
myself and is just a PR stunt, then know that I, the chief of sinners, am not
free from the hand of justice.”
I shoot Giovanni with my revolver,
knocking him out. Our allies in law enforcement come in and start arresting the
traitors who are still alive and clean up the bodies of those I executed. Among
the officers and superhuman law enforcers is the red-haired, by-the-books, hero
cop Polina, and her sidekick and crimson knight in modern armor, Raziel.
Waving at them, I say, “See? We can
do things by the book, and your way. You had your heads-up and everything went
as planned.”
Polina rolls her eyes, waves me off
as she passes me by, and barks her orders.
“At least she didn’t yell at you
this time,” Idelle says.
“It’s because she has no reason to.
We’ve been given a pass by the government to act as we wish, more than we
usually do.”
“I’m still surprised we were given
it. The Columbian Union doesn’t seem like a place where we’d be allowed to
purge criminals from its ranks like this,” Zandro says.
“Things have changed since your
country of Nexum attacked us. We’re better now than we were before, and aren’t
as kind to false allies and leeches on our country,” I say. “Come on,
Castigators. We still have scum to punish today.”
Idelle and Zandro walk with me back
to my motorcycle, then run alongside me with their superhuman speed as we head
to our next destination. Much of what happened has gone exactly as Giovanni
planned, even the part where I shot him. He was the first to suggest this idea
and gave us the evidence of his criminal dealings and those of his closest
allies, who were traitors. As for the reason behind it, I can tell it's to
clean house of detractors and any dirty laundry that comes with them. With both
gone, no one in the media, rivals, or enemies will have any way into the
Coronamento Corporation or the Dominion except through physical force,
legitimate business, or trying to infiltrate again. It’s genius, really, as per
Giovanni’s usual antics.
For me, I can’t help but play
along, especially because of the benefits my friends in the Dominion receive
from this purge. The traitors will be eliminated, and the chaos caused by
various groups will be stopped, allowing the Dominion to be the hero organization
that Idelle’s younger brother, John Elio, and my mentor, Timeo Severe,
envisioned. Idelle, Zandro, and I arrive at the joint Dominion and Coronamento
Corporation office in Meridian and find it in chaos, with people trying to
escape. The guards are stopping them until superhumans from the crowd start
firing their way out in a desperate attempt to escape. Idelle chases after one
group of escaping traitors, while Zandro and I choose our own groups to pursue.
The traitors that I’m after are
using robotic law enforcement and weapons from the armory to cover their
escape. They blow open a wall and use the mechanical suits they are wearing to
run down the side of the building. Not having the time to get equipment of my
own, I leap out the window onto the robots and fleeing traitors and shoot them
on my way down. Before I hit the ground, Idelle catches me midair.
“That was too dangerous! What were
you thinking?” Idelle says.
“I would’ve survived it. I’ve lived
through worse,” I say.
The traitors and their robots that I
was shooting hit the ground with a splat, breaking into mechanical and bloody
pieces. I’m about to contact Zandro, but I’m immediately met with him as he’s
thrown the building's walls at me and Idelle.
“Getting your ass kicked?” I ask
him as I get up.
“I’m doing my best, but reinforcements
keep coming after me,” Zandro says in an aggravated tone.
Looking at our opponents and seeing
that Zandro is in his white angelic form with shields for arms, I say, “We need
to be more lethal. It’s not a sin to let loose on scum, Zandro.”
“I’m afraid I might lose myself to
my lesser self if I do.”
“I’ve done the same and managed to
not let the sinful temptations take control. We’re here for you, Zandro. You
can do it,” Idelle says.
“Okay…okay. Let the darkness serve
the light.”
Zandro’s arms turn into a large
black arm with fingers and tendrils reaching out from them, and his angelic
appearance gains black, finger-like horns. He charges into the fight with a
grin on his face with Idelle and tears the traitors, their robots, and backup.
I support them from the back with gunfire, and allied members of the Dominion
join in on the fight. By the end, very few are spared, and many who are probably
wish they didn’t have superhuman endurance because of how many ugly injuries
they suffered, such as having bits of their face blasted off and various limbs
cut off.
While helping to arrest the living
traitors, one of them grabs me by the collar and says, “It’s not over! You won’t
get us to expose any of our allies. We’ll escape prison and get back at you!”
“Heh. We already know every traitor
in our ranks. Also, you’re not blessed to be among the arrested,” I say before
blowing the traitor’s head off with my pistol.
Many people, not including Idelle
and Zandro, look at me with concern. I wave my hands to make them get back to
work. They all know I won’t hesitate to kill any of them or bring them to
justice. My eyes expose everyone’s fate in God’s judgment, and even though there
are people I see on the street who deserve one fate or another, I keep myself restrained
unless pushed to by conscience or my job as a hero, a Castigator, a punisher of
evil, and defender of the repentant.
“We’re done here, Castigators. Let’s
head out,” I say to Idelle and Zandro.
I head back and get on my motorcycle,
and ride to our next destination to cleanse to punish more traitors on our hitlist
to ensure that both the Coronamento Corporation and Dominion are the arbiters
of God’s will that they’re meant to be.
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