It’s back, part three! This time dedicated to @nameless-beanie who liked the first parts!
I’m sorry it’s so late but enjoy!!!
Vigilante just watched. Watched as the boy got up to go to Central hospital. To his doom. In silence.
Watched as Karma turned back to address the rest of his followers, accepting reports and problems that all sounded muffled over the roaring in Vigilante’s ears. Hero wouldn’t have let this happen. Hero wouldn’t have been in this position in the first place.
The group disbanded one at a time, until DeVine left. Then it was just Karma, the moustached man and Vigilante left. The moustached man looked from Karma to Vigilante. At their tear stained face, and snot dribbling down their chin. Vigilante didn’t care what they looked like. They felt so utterly helpless.
They were so utterly helpless.
And it was all Karma’s fault. His power was dangerous, yes, but he could just as easy have been a life coach. No, even without his power to obey his every word whether you wanted to or not, Karma was cruel. Sadistic, and cold. He was organised and thought he was a victim, so he thinks he’s right in what he’s doing. He thinks justice is on his side.
“For all it’s worth, Vigilante,” said the moustached man. “It was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to next time.”
Vigilante’s knees would have buckled at that if they weren’t kept upright by Karma’s command. There would be a next time. Another time to witness Karma’s divine retribution in action.
The moustached man bowed and left. Vigilante’s eyes went to Karma’s and their stomach turned over. They wanted to be sick. Karma walked over to them with graceful precision in every movement. They placed a hand on Vigilante’s shoulder and said: “I release you.”
Immediately Vigilante’s knees hit the concrete and they let out a shuddering sigh. They were freezing, reaching up to wrap their arms around themselves. Karma got down on one knee then, a hand going to the back of Vigilante’s neck who flinched with the contact.
“Sshh, ssh it’s okay,” Karma said and Vigilante glared up at them.
“I hate you,” Vigilante said, voice full of venom.
Karma smiled a gentle smile. A smile unusual on the face of a killer. Of a monster.
Karma reached up with their other hand, a handkerchief in it and wiped at vigilante’s face and nose, and mouth cleaning the snot and tears off them.
“I told you you would,” Karma said.
“Just let me go,” Vigilante begged, a hand reaching up to cradle Karma’s wrist. Fresh tears formed in their eyes and Vigilante let them fall. “Please. Tell me to forget, please. Tell me to forget everything so I can’t tell anyone please.”
Karma’s hand went to cup Vigilante’s cheek. “I told you already, Vigilante. I’m never letting you go.”
A sob broke from Vigilante’s throat at that and it quickly turned to rage. The hand holding Karma’s wrist closed on it like a vice and they pushed back on their knees, using their feet to springboard them forward and pin Karma to the ground.
Vigilante straddled Karma, a knee either side of their waist and screamed, going to punch Karma but Karma caught their fist. Vigilante looked down at them and Karma stared up at them with an apologetic look in their eyes.
“Reflexes,” they said by way of apology.
Vigilante’s eyes widened looking down at Karma.
Their hand on their shoulder.
Their command: “I release you.”
But they didn’t specify from what.
The magic buzzed underneath Vigilante’s fingers and they leaned down near Karma’s ear and said: “You’re going to let me go. You’re going to think you made me forget and there’s nothing to worry about—”
Karma tilted their head, a slow smile creeping onto their face. “Am I now?”
Vigilante had barely processed the response before they were on their back, Karma on top of them, their wrists pinned in one hand above Vigilante’s head.
“How interesting,” Karma said, eyes alight with that same malicious interest they had when they decided to take Vigilante against their will. “You’re a little power sucker, hmm? The fire…”
Karma’s eyes widened in realisation. “The fire boy… that’s why he thought you were a hero, huh? You stopped him that day. Is that what you were going to report to Hero?”
“Let me go!” Vigilante screamed, bucking their hips uselessly against Karma.
“So even my command, that you couldn’t use your powers… you don’t really have any do you? You need other powered people to be useful, don’t you?”
“Go fuck yourself,” Vigilante seethed, wrestling a hand free and throwing a punch to Karma’s stupid face. They caught it again and this time pinned both of Vigilante’s fists with one hand.
“Cute,” Karma said and Vigilante bared their teeth in response, like a feral frightened animal.
“Funny thing about mind control, Vigilante, it doesn’t work on me. Don’t worry I’ve tried everything. Even talked to other telepath’s about why it doesn’t work, but for some reason I’m immune. How lucky I am huh? To have found someone like you, and be immune to your only hope in freeing yourself,” Karma laughed, their grip tightening like a clamp around Vigilante’s wrists. “Fate is cruel, and unfair isn’t it? Kind of funny in a way. You just got far more interesting dear Vigilante. So let this sink in: I am never letting you go. Never.”
Karma leaned back then, releasing Vigilante and standing, sticking a hand out for Vigilante. “Come on. We’re going home.”
Vigilante stayed as far away from Karma as they could on the drive home. They were exhausted and the bumps and drone of the car was threatening to lullaby them to sleep, but they fought it. They didn’t want to sleep anywhere near Karma. Didn’t want to give them an opportunity to attack them before they knew.
“You should rest,” said Karma. “It’s a long drive.”
Karma laughed. “No. I’m quite happy with what I’ve done already. Your free will is yours again.”
“Until you decide to kill someone else,” Vigilante spat.
“I didn’t kill that rookie.”
“Yes you did. You forced him to kill himself.”
“Maybe if he was stronger he could have burned me alive, hmm? Before I could get a word out.”
Silence. Then a quiet, “are you going to make me watch every time you compel someone to die?”
Karma didn’t reply right away. They didn’t need to. Their silence was enough. Vigilante banged their head against the window.
“I’d rather die than go through that again. I’d rather be dead,” Vigilante said, and banged their head again.
“I forbid you from killing yourself.”
“I forbid you from hurting yourself in any way.”
Vigilante let out a frustrated scream and went to punch the dashboard but just before their fist touched it their arm locked. Vigilante’s eyes blew wide as they watched their fist shake just before making contact.
“I’m not going to let you get out of this. Don’t you understand that yet? You’re too fun. My little Good Samaritan forced to watch all the horror you tried to prevent. I want you to know that none of it made a difference. Not saving those people. Not saving the mayor’s kid. Nothing. That’s what your hard work got you.”
Vigilante lunged to grab the wheel and skew it off the road, but their hand stopped just before and they nearly cried.
Crashing the car would hurt me…
“See? I’m always one step ahead, dear Vigilante. Now go to sleep.”
Physically they were fine. They weren’t sick, it was just like there was something scratching at their brain that they couldn’t see and every time they tried to find it it disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.
And what’s worse is that Superhero had noticed, and pulled them up on it.
“Hero, your reports? Have you finished them?”
The look on hero’s face must have said enough because Superhero just sighed, sitting back on their desk and looking down at hero like a disappointed parent.
“What’s wrong with you today? Did something happen last night?”
“No,” hero said, and honestly nothing had happened last night. It was very ordinary. They went home, watched TV went to bed. On all accounts they were fine.
Then their mind slipped to Vigilante. Maybe they just missed them.
“Well, look. If you’re here, you’re here to work. The reports. If you’re fine, fine. Do your work and we’ll be okay.”
That was a couple days ago now.
Hero had gotten their reports finished and it didn’t clear up the fuzziness in their head. Even now as they waited for a meeting in the Mayor’s office to report what seems to be a sudden influx in suicides that seem a bit too coincidental to be normal.
Hero didn’t particularly like the mayor. I’m fact, Vigilante had always talked about how much they hated the mayor. They always said he was: “a low life thug in fancy suits who gets rich off the poor.” Hero would smile at them when Vigilante got all protect the weak and eat the rich, and when they told Vigilante to become a hero Vigilante refused. Simply for the fact that they “could never work for the problem plaguing the city and sleep at night.”
Maybe it was just Vigilante, Hero thought sadly. Maybe they just missed them. It has been a while since they last talked. Maybe they’d check the radio tonight and see if Vigilante was free, or if they noticed the suicides too.
Totally not just to see them and make sure Vigilante’s alright, a voice in the back of hero’s head said and Hero ignored it. They needed to focus on the meeting.
The Mayor’s receptionist, Rachel, smiled at Hero and told them the mayor was ready to see them and Hero thanked them and walked into the door just beside the reception desk.
“Hero. Good. I’ve been expecting a report, thought Superhero would deign this problem more serious but I suppose the sidekick will do too. Sit,” he said in a gruff voice. The mayor was dressed in a blackish navy suit that showed his slim figure and his signature red tie. He was young enough, maybe early thirties with a handsome beard and just long enough hair for it to be wavy but not enough for it to look messy and unkempt. No the Mayor swore his image was the only reason he was elected, that no one cared what policies he wanted to make as long as he was a strong face and silhouette for the public to lean on.
“Yes sir, superhero sends his apologies there’s a villain in the dregs threatening to—“
“Mr Big shot couldn’t see me himself because of a villain in the dregs?” Mayor scoffed, slipping his hands into his pockets of his trousers. “Sounds about right. When is there not a villain in the dregs? They’re all villains there…”
“A villain is threatening civilians, sir. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“As long as it’s not in city hall, Hero. I couldn’t give a fuck. Now tell me about what you found on these suicide cases. Have you found the guy yet? Fucking balls on this one tried to make my son kill himself, if it wasn’t for that Vigilante oh what’s their name? The Greek guy everyone’s got a hard on for?…”
Hero’s breath nearly caught in their throat as they all but whispered: “Achilles?”
“Yeah. Achilles. He saved my boy who was about to walk onto the road.”
Hero’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Isn’t your boy only six?”
Mayor’s lips twisted up into a grim line. “Yeah. That’s why this sick fuck needs to be caught, drawn and quartered. I want him dead, not in a cell somewhere. Coming after my kid…”
“And you said Achilles saved him?”
“When was this?” Hero stuttered, eyes searching the mayor’s face for the trick. The lie. Vigilante would have told them about this.
“Fucking… I don’t know, two days ago? Who cares! The fact is I want this guy brought to me publ—”
There was a commotion outside that cut the mayor off and Hero was on their feet going to the door. “Stay inside, sir,” hero said before opening the door and seeing a small frightened teenager with his arm in a sling and a gun against his head.
Only this boy was crying and his hand was shaking where it held the gun. Hero had crossed the distance between them and had the gun out of the boy’s hand in a second, safety on and magazine unloaded, even took the time to loose the bullet from the chamber before dropping all of them to the ground and grabbing the boy’s wrist.
“I have to do it, you don’t understand…” the boy cried, snot running past his lips down his chin and onto his blood stained shirt.
Hero frowned looking at the boy who was struggling to reach the gun discarded and useless on the floor.
“They told me… told me I had to do it. Have to blow my brains out in front of the mayor… I have to do it. I have to do it,” the boy cried wrenching their wrist left and right trying to free themselves from Hero’s vice like grip.
“I have to do it, please it hurts. I have to, please. The pain I have to do it or it hurts so much,” the boy wailed, and Hero looked around the reception area, their eyes going to any exits and taking note of who was in the building.
“Okay. Okay. You have to do it? In the mayor’s office?” Hero asked, escorting the boy inside.
“Yes, but I need the gun. I need to blow my brains out. I have to do it,” the boy broke from incoherent rambling to screaming in agony and Hero relented, picking the gun up and giving it to the boy.
“It’s okay. We’re going to do it inside, okay? You got the gun we’re going to the Mayor’s office. It’s alright. Can you tell me your name?”
“It’s Declan,” the boy whimpered and hero nodded.
“Nice to meet you Declan. I’m Crow, you’re going to be okay, okay?”
“What the fuck, Crow?! Bringing him in ‘ere! With a fucking gun? Are you serious?”
“They have to do it,” Crow (hero) told Mayor with a dark look in their eyes. “So they’re going to do it.”
“Do what?” Mayor asked, throwing their hands up in exasperation.
The boy cried harder at that and Hero let them go. Declan went to the middle of the room, gun raised to their temple and pulled the trigger. A shadow had made it’s way from the empty chamber through the boy’s skull and out the other side imitating that of a brain splatter and the boy fell backwards.
“What the fuck, Crow?” The Mayor yelled and Hero went to Declan’s side and forced his face to the wall where his shadowed brain was spewed.
“See? Declan you obeyed you’re dead. You completed your task right? Look at your brain, hmm? It’s disgusting and it stained everywhere and you obeyed your command right?” Hero demanded, desperation slipping into their voice.
Declan opened his eyes and they went wide as he turned over and threw up on the carpet.
“Ah my fucking rug,” the Mayor griped, while Crow rubbed the boy’s back.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Mayor, I know you’re upset. But I need you to call the police and the Heroes and make a scene. Call an ambulance, we’ll get the boy away in it and later on tonight you’re going to make a statement to the public about this menace of a villain and how he’s gone too far by sacrificing good little Declan here.”
“The guy who threw up on my rug? No thanks.”
“If you don’t then more people are going to come here and try and kill themselves in front of you, and we need to make the villain think that they succeeded.”
“Fuck,” Declan coughed. “Sorry abo’ your rugsir,” he said, words slurring together as exhaustion pulled at his features.
“Do you still have the pain?” Crow demanded and Declan shook his head and then groaned. “What pain?”
“No. The room’s spinning,” he told crow and crow told him to sleep if he wanted. They’d sort out the rest.
Crow turned to look at the Mayor but he was gone from the window, now half out the door and saying: “Rachel will you be a dear a call the fucking dry cleaners for me? Tell ‘em it’s urgent.”
Hero didn’t bother addressing the mayor again. Instead they looked down at their small radio and signalled for Vigilante to meet them at the usual place that night.
Vigilante woke up in a bed. A very comfortable bed. Once that realisation crossed their sleep hazed mind they were on their feet out of it like the bed was a threat. Their hand went to their face and found their mask still on it. They breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ah, good. You’re awake.”
Vigilante searched the darkness for Karma and finally their eyes fixed on a silhouette by the window. Karma pulled the blinds up and light flooded the room around them. Vigilante stood on guard, well rested and yet their brain was exhausted.
“No need to be so defensive, Achilles,” said Karma, looking at Vigilante over their shoulder, gauging their reaction.
Vigilante’s heart hammered against their throat. That’s the name the dregs gave them when they first started saving people. The name Hero called them by. It sounded wrong on Karma’s tongue. Strange and foreign and off.
“You don’t get to call me that,” said Vigilante, their voice deep from sleep.
“Do you want to give me your civilian identity then?”
Vigilante stepped back a hand on their mask, their final protection against this monster. Karma chuckled to themselves, looking out the window. “Thought not. Although I must say, you did hide it for a long while. Credit where credit’s due, and all that.”
Achilles’ heart sank a bit in their chest. If karma knew about their name did they? Did they have hero now too? To mess with them? So they could watch Achilles suffer under their cruelty.
“The hero agency put out a missing person’s on you,” said Karma and Achilles fought back a sigh of relief. “Turns out that hero of yours is far more meddlesome than I gave them credit for, but no matter,” Karma shrugged turning to walk out the door. “I’ll get them again. Eventually. Then I’ll just compel them to forget you entirely.”
“You can’t do that!” Achilles snarled, slamming the door in Karma’s face and blocking their way out. Karma smiled their sadistic smile down at Achilles, their eyes unusually bright.
“There it is,” Karma whispered, hand going to Vigilante’s cheek. Achilles flared their nostrils but did nothing else. They didn’t want to give karma the satisfaction. “That little protective streak of yours. Hero must be important, but then so was that rookie, huh?”
Vigilante’s muscles had barely twitched before Karma had them immobilised against the door. “You don’t know how fun it is to see you so scared. You try to be brave and then it cracks the moment you lift your fists to try and stop me, hmm?”
“Go fuck yourself, Karma.”
Karma just smiled their creepy smile then got off Vigilante, pulling them forward by the collar of their jumper and opening the door. Karma got a hand on the back of Vigilante’s neck and started guiding them out of the room and down the stairs. Vigilante threw an elbow back but Karma caught it and pressed them down further and Vigilante cried out.
“I’ve got something to show you, Achilles. The more you fight the more I hurt you, hmm?”
Karma was leading them down unfamiliar halls of the house until they walked into a room with wooden floors, Vigilante’s bare feet padded cold on the wood and they only realised then that Karma had taken their shoes and socks. Easier to control if they were barefoot. Harder to run away from them.
“Sit,” Karma said throwing Vigilante onto a couch and when Vigilante moved to get up they said, “Stay.”
Vigilante huffed, a hand going to the back of their neck and rubbing the pain away. Karma sat on the couch next to them and grabbed vigilante’s hair pulling their head back and forcing them to watch the TV which played the news.
“In other news an attack on the Mayor’s office today resulted in one fatality of a young boy who is as of yet unidentified. The boy — who had just been treated in Central Hospital for a work related injury — walked into city hall at half twelve this afternoon and threatened to shoot unless they got an audience with the mayor.
Hero was at a meeting with the Mayor at the time, and offered no comment. The mayor is expected to offer a statement later today. Most of the people in city hall are suffering from the shock of the loss of a young life suspected to be involved in gang activity, with some speculation that this is just another victim in the suicide epidemic that has overtaken our beloved city.”
Vigilante watched it all. Their chest rising and falling, heavy, with every breath. Their eyes lingering on the photo of Hero and they nearly cried. They would be beating themselves up over not saving the fire boy. They didn’t know what Karma was or what was coming for them. Vigilante had to warn them. They had to.
Karma let go of Vigilante’s hair and stretched their arms over the length of the sofa. Vigilante glared at them, tears brimming behind their eyes.
Karma’s features were neutral. Their eyes that cold sadistic thing that scared the shit out of Vigilante. Calculating and cruel and observant of everything.
“You see now, don’t you? How your little interference with my work didn’t step my plans back at all? How little of a difference you made. That rookie was just at your fingertips. Within your reach… and you couldn’t do a thing to stop me sentencing him to death.”
Vigilante set their jaw, biting their tongue trying to keep themselves from sobbing. “You know how hopeless it is to fight me, and yet you still do.”
Karma put a hand in Vigilante’s hair and Vigilante flinched, as they ran it through the length. Petting them like a dog. “Your unrelenting nobility will be the death of you.”
