Page 43

The girl rolled her eyes again. “Whatever, Roy. Everything with you is always so complicated. You’re always looking for reasons why things can’t be simple.

” She started off towards the rear of the store and the kitchenette in the small apartment he used.

“What’d you cook for dinner today? Hopefully something good. ”

“There’s no such thing as ‘simple,’ Red.” He called after her. “The world’s problems are multifarious; they can’t ever be solved entirely, no matter who you beat up or what powers you have.”

She turned around to walk backwards, spreading her arms wide. “If the world’s problems are so varied, maybe the world just needs a heroine with a different power set each day.” She pointed at him, smiling. “But I’m still not going to the Horizons Academy, old man. Forget it.”

Roy watched her walk away, shaking his head in amused resignation.

That girl was already so headstrong, and she still watched cartoons. He was genuinely afraid of what would happen once she grew up.

One of his joys in life was watching that little girl interact with the world. And his greatest fear was that she’d…

He cut the thought off in his head before it fully formed, just in case she could read his mind from the break room.

Roy had lost his brother Hector to darkness. His brother had long ago become a super-villain, dedicating himself to being “The Roach,” a madman who kept trying to destroy the world.

Roy was constantly afraid that he’d lose the girl to that kind of life too. And he knew all too well that if the girl ever really wanted to cause destruction and death… she’d be faaaaar more effective at it than Hector had ever been.

Roy made his way to the back of the store, checking the rear doors.

He loved his brother and the girl, but…

The door he was checking unexpectedly swung open when he pressed against it, the lock having been broken. Roy stared down at it in confusion, his nightly routine interrupted and his brain not yet caught up to that fact.

He walked through the door and out into the alleyway beyond, fully expecting to find another teenage addict searching for something easy to steal in the store.

He found them out here all the time and it wasn’t a big deal.

It usually cost him a few bucks to buy them a meal and get them into treatment, but…

“Hello, Killroy.”

Roy recognized the Agletarian accent immediately. He spoke three dozen languages. Agletarian was one of the shit ones. And it was the only one he always listened for, because he knew that he’d one day hear it again.

The bullet struck him before he even saw the men in the rain-drenched alley, slamming into his chest and knocking the breath out of him.

Sadly, Roy had long ago ceased wearing the body armor he’d incorporated into his white uniform. He stumbled forward, hand sliding along the rough brick wall to his left.

In front of him, two men appeared from the shadows. They were dressed in suits and Roy didn’t need to be told who they were or what they wanted.

“ Where’d you hide it, Killroy? ” The man on the left asked, gun still leveled at him.

The men had miscalculated though. They obviously assumed that Roy possessed some kind of invulnerability or enhanced durability. Sadly, that was not the case. The only real powers Roy had ever possessed related to strength and agility. The rest of it was just a costume and memorable mask.

They’d just shot an old man in the chest, and the results would be the same as shooting anyone else.

He staggered forward, tripping on weakening legs, and fell into the icy puddle which filled the center of the alley.

The men swore, recognizing their mistake. They’d just killed the hero they’d been sent here to interrogate.

Part of Roy thought that was pretty funny. If it hadn’t ended up with his death, it would have almost been worth it to see their faces.

He coughed, flecks of warm blood spattering his face and then being washed away by the cold rain.

It wasn’t fear that he was feeling. He was an old man and he wasn’t afraid of death. No, he just felt… sad.

He had failed.

He’d worked his whole life to prevent bad things from happening to good people.

To try to make the world a better place and keep people from killing each other over senseless things.

To give them a symbol, seemingly everywhere, letting them know that they were not alone in their struggles and pain.

That other people cared about them and were their brothers.

He’d tried to make the world a better place.

But in the end… he had failed. He had failed in the worst way possible.

And there was no one left to prevent bad things from happening to him. Or to others.

And it would get so much worse.

The door to the store swung open again. “Roy?” The girl called into the night. “Are you…” She stopped in her tracks, meeting his eyes and instantly recognizing what was happening.

The alley was entirely silent except for the sound of the rain pouring down and Roy’s labored gasps for breath.

He gave the girl a small nod of his head, as a sign of respect for who she was and what he knew she could do. And as a goodbye to a big part of his life. Certainly the thing he was most proud of, anyway. The part he loved, more than anything.

“It’ll be alright…” He whispered softly to her, feeling himself already going home to Melissa.

“It’ll… be… alr…” He slumped over onto the wet concrete, the pain now gone.

He met the girl’s eyes from his position, as his vision grew dimmer.

“Don’t…” He mumbled to her weakly, trying not to cry. “Please don’t…”

He had walked on the moon…

****

She stared for a long moment at the still body of the man she considered her real father, then stumbled back to huddle next to one of the dumpsters. The action caused the metal to creak and groan though, a noise the killers would certainly hear, if they hadn’t already seen her exit the store.

Whoever the men were, they’d killed Roy and they would certainly come for her next.

She had no idea what to do. But for the first time in as long as she could remember, she was terrified.

Something moved in front of her and she looked up to see a darkened figure standing over her. The young man stepped into the flickering light of the overhead lamp mounted on the exterior of the building, casting shadows on his dark face. He was older than she was. And he was holding a gun.

Unfortunately, she recognized him. Even without her powers today, she would have been able to identify the man .

He tilted his head to the side upon seeing her again. “Hello, child.”

She blinked up at him. “Hello, Rondel.” She choked out, trying to sound more confident than she was. “I should have known you’d show up. But I thought I was finally rid of you .”

“I’m rather hard to kill, child.” He told her flatly. “Run all you like, but I’ll find you eventually. I’ll always be back.”

“So I’ve noticed.” She nodded, hot tears still streaming down her face, unnoticed. “Evil never dies.”

A sinister smile crossed his face. “Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the old man.”

She bit her lower lip to keep from sobbing again. Rondel was so mean! He didn’t have to be that mean!

Her hands balled into fists, preparing to hit him.

Rondel rolled his eyes. “Oh, come now. We can’t have that, now can we? You need to make your peace with this now, because you’re not really going to have too many more opportunities again.” He gestured with the gun. “Sadly, you’ll be leaving us shortly.”

She met his harsh gaze defiantly. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Do you think the dinosaurs looked into the night skies with fear as they beheld the tiny spot of light on the horizon which heralded the comet which destroyed them?” He asked her calmly.

“If 200 million Europeans had watched as a single flea was carried to their shores on the back of a rodent, do you believe they would have had even a glimmer of fear that it would bring with it the Black Death and the destruction of their lives?” He shook his head.

“No. The weak and stupid never know enough to fear the small things which bring their deaths. Because they’re weak and stupid. ”

“Maybe.” She stood up, her legs feeling like jelly.

Roy had taught her to stand up to bullies though, even ones as scary as Rondel.

“But I’m still not afraid of you.” She crossed her arms over her chest to show her determination on this issue.

“So you know what? You go ahead and do your worst .”

“You’re going to die tonight, child.” He sounded almost amused. “You know that, right?”

“Yes. And I don’t care anymore.”

“That is a very mature attitude.” He nodded. “It usually takes people many more decades to understand that life is shit and everything is a lie.”

“That’s not what Roy says.” She defended quickly. “Roy says that…”

“The old man is dead.” He interrupted. “He’s dead and he’s not coming back.”

“ Because of you! ” Her hands balled into fists again, her teeth gritting in fury.

“Yes.” Rondel nodded. “He is not the first, and he won’t be the last. So, you have a choice to make: you can die here with him or you can come with me.”

She pointed at the other men, who were making their way towards them. “What about them? I can’t just…”

“I can handle it.” He told her with utter confidence. “If you agree to come with me, I will kill them both right here and we’ll walk away. We will walk away and we will never come back.”

“You’re with them!” She shouted in indignation.

“I’m with no one but me. Ever.” Rondel lowered the gun.

“And I can take you far away from here, where I’ll show you everything I know about protecting what’s yours.

” He knelt down in front of her so that they were eye to eye.

“This life is nothing but a competition to be the killer or the victim. That’s all it is.

Capes, and villains, and soldiers, and death rays…

All of that is a distraction. Fuck the rules, I can show you how to get what you want.

Do what you want. Kill who you want. I can show you how to master chaos and use it to rise .

” He pressed the gun to her forehead. “Or I can kill you right here and you’ll never have to deal with this pain, girl. I’ll give you a choice.”

She turned to look at Roy’s fallen form, then at the gunmen who were still walking towards her.

Hate, and fear, and an unbridled rage filled her. She wanted these men punished. She wanted someone to teach them a lesson. Even if that someone was just as bad as they were. Even if it was someone worse .

“If… if you kill them, I’ll go with you.” She promised softly. “They… they killed my father. If you make them bleed, I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Once you do this… I’ll own you , kitten. Do you understand?” He met her eyes. “You will be mine. Body and soul. Simply an extension of my will. I won’t be letting you go. And there will be no escape.”

She was silent for a beat, then firmed her jaw again. “As long as they’re dead and you made them suffer for what they did… I don’t care what happens to me.”

“Excellent.” Rondel started towards the men, preparing to slaughter them . “You know, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful partnership, Kitten.”