Episode 3 — A Rat in the Force
The Multiverse Police Headquarters gleamed under an artificial sky. Towers of chrome and glass spiraled into infinity, holographic banners flashing slogans about justice, law, and order across every world.
Kairo Shin walked through the lobby, cigarette dangling, blood still dried on the collar of his uniform from 9-Delta. Other recruits whispered as he passed. Some looked scared, some curious, some disgusted.
He didn't care.
"Shin," a female officer muttered under her breath as he walked by, "psycho motherfucker."
Kairo blew smoke in her face without breaking stride. "Takes one to know one, sweetheart."
She choked and cursed as he disappeared down the hall.
⸻
The Whisper of Betrayal
The squad had returned a hero unit. Official reports called it a clean operation. Civilians freed. Cartel dismantled. Drugs seized.
But whispers traveled faster than reports.
Some officers said Shin didn't follow protocol. Others said he massacred civilians alongside criminals. One rumor claimed he drank blood off a stripper's thigh mid-mission. Another said he laughed while ripping men apart.
Only one thing was certain: nobody wanted him as a partner.
Nobody, except the Commander.
⸻
The Commander's Office
Kairo leaned back in the steel chair, cigarette smoke fogging the office. The Commander watched him with glowing cybernetic eyes, a half-empty whiskey glass in hand.
"You've got a reputation, Shin."
Kairo smirked. "Already? Didn't even fuck anyone's wife yet."
The Commander chuckled darkly. "Give it time." He leaned forward. "There's a rat in the department. Files went missing. Evidence on 9-Delta is gone. Someone's selling intel to the gangs."
Kairo exhaled smoke through his nose. "So? Rats exist everywhere. Step on 'em."
"I want you to find him."
Kairo tilted his head, eyes cold. "Why me?"
The Commander grinned. "Because you don't play nice. And when you find him—I want you to make it ugly."
Kairo's smirk widened. "Now you're speaking my language."
The Setup
By nightfall, Kairo had already pieced the puzzle together.
Level 5 intelligence hummed like electricity in his skull. Connections clicked where others saw noise. He knew which officers drank too much, which ones gambled, which ones sniffed coke during late-night shifts. He tracked money trails, overheard whispers, caught half-hidden glances at terminals.
It was too easy.
One officer stood out: Detective Ravel, mid-40s, greasy hair, twitchy smile. He'd filed half the reports on 9-Delta, but none of the evidence. His bank account suddenly glowed fat with credits.
Kairo didn't bother gathering proof. He didn't care about justice. Proof was for people who needed permission.
⸻
The Trap
Ravel liked to drink at a dive bar on the lower decks of Nexus City. A real shit-hole: neon lights buzzing, dancers on stage who looked half-dead, drug dealers running tabs at every table.
Kairo walked in, cigarette smoke curling like a halo. His uniform jacket was open, his badge half-visible. The whole place went silent.
"Fuck," one dealer muttered. "That's him."
"Psycho cop," another whispered.
Kairo ignored them. His eyes locked on Ravel, who sat with two cartel soldiers at a corner table. Their duffel bag gleamed with the shine of drug bricks inside.
Ravel froze when he saw him.
"Shin," Ravel stammered, forcing a smile. "Didn't expect—"
Kairo pulled a chair, sat across from him, calm as ever. "You're sloppy."
Ravel's face twitched. The cartel soldiers reached for weapons. Tentacles burst from Kairo's arms, lightning-fast. One ripped through the first soldier's face, spraying skull fragments across the table. The second soldier screamed before being split in half, guts spilling onto the floor.
The dancers screamed. Blood drenched the neon stage.
Kairo leaned back, blowing smoke. "Sloppy, Ravel. Very sloppy."
The Betrayal Unveiled
Ravel shook, pulling a pistol. His hand trembled too much to aim.
"You—you don't understand," he stuttered. "The Commander's dirty too! We all are! I just wanted a cut!"
Kairo's eyes narrowed, cold. "So you betrayed the badge for pocket change. Cute."
Ravel's voice cracked. "Please—I've got a family—"
Kairo laughed. "So did the people your friends gutted on 9-Delta."
The tentacle shot forward, ripping the gun from Ravel's hand and snapping his wrist backward until the bone popped out. Ravel screamed.
The bar cleared out, civilians scrambling. Only the music kept playing, bass vibrating through the carnage.
Kairo leaned close, whispering in his ear. "The Commander sent me. He told me to make it ugly. You know what the funny part is?"
Ravel sobbed, choking. "W-what?"
Kairo smiled coldly. "I was gonna do that anyway."
⸻
The Execution
Tentacles wrapped around Ravel's limbs, spreading him out like a crucifix. They pulled tighter, joints cracking, bones splitting. He screamed until his voice gave out, blood foaming in his throat.
Kairo whispered, almost like a lullaby: "Smoother. Quieter. Deadlier."
With one final pull, the tentacles tore Ravel in half. His guts splattered across the neon table, dripping onto the drug bricks. His head dangled by a string of spine before snapping free and rolling onto the floor.
[Crime Resolved.]
[Assassination Confirmed.]
[Level Up: 6.]
[Intelligence Increased.]
Kairo lit a new cigarette off the fire spreading across the bar from an overturned bottle.
Comedy in Carnage
As the flames spread, one half-dead stripper stumbled across the gore, high out of her mind. She picked up Ravel's severed head, kissed it, and giggled.
"Best tip I ever got," she slurred before passing out in the blood.
Kairo snorted, actually laughing. "Fucking disgusting." He stepped over her and walked into the night, smoke curling around his head.
⸻
Back at HQ
The Commander sipped whiskey when Kairo returned, smelling of smoke and gore.
"Well?" the Commander asked.
Kairo tossed Ravel's badge onto the desk, still dripping blood. "Ratted him out."
The Commander's cybernetic eyes gleamed. "Ugly?"
Kairo smirked. "Beautiful."
The Commander chuckled, raising his glass. "Good. You're learning."
Kairo exhaled smoke, staring into the neon skyline outside. "I don't learn. I adapt. That's why I'll be the best."
⸻
The Anti-Hero's Path Continues
That night, Kairo sat on the roof of HQ, staring across Nexus City. He thought of his parents, of graduation, of the infection that had rebuilt him. Then he thought of the future: endless worlds, endless crimes, endless betrayals.
His intelligence sharpened with every kill. His level rose with every mission. There was no ceiling, no limit. He would climb forever.
And he didn't care who had to die along the way.
⸻
[Current Level: 6 | Intelligence Status: Surgical. Predictive. Able to read betrayal and corruption instantly. Colder than ever.]