A Half of Megalomania
She sat there in the dark. The red liquid slowly pooled at her knees as she hunched over. Tears fell from her eyes as her hand shakily threw the knife away. She ran her hands through her short blond hair, and took in the carnage with her vibrant red eyes. Her eye color flickered, then turned to a fearful blue. She cried harder at the scene before her as she stood up. She backed away, faintly recognizing the area around her. The concrete walls, so many cars, all parked up along the ramp-ways. It was a parking garage she realized. She hadn't noticed before. When she was brought here by the other woman.
She walked, her feet numb, and her mind racing. When she reached the ground floor, she stepped through the gate before looking up to the moonlit sky. She remembered it all, saw it all. Those five poor souls. Her eyes stung just thinking about them. Why did they have to die? Why couldn't she save them? Her mind raced as images of the events flashed through her mind. The knives, the screams. Then, she let out a scream of her own up to the sky, letting out her fear, her frustrations all till her lungs burned. Finally, she fell to her knees crying again and whispered as if hoping someone would hear her voice through a void.
"Someone…. Please save me from this nightmare." She said.
She felt her left eye turn red as a voice which sounded much like her own responded in her mind. "Nobody will."
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Matthew stared at the screen. On it was a map of the city, and the locations of every reported crime committed in the area. He looked at each one, ranking them in severity. Behind him, his butler held a tray with coffee.
"Busy night." The butler said with her usual amused tone. "I presume you'll be ignoring sleep again. Should I prep an 'on the go' meal?"
Matthew considered, then shook his head. "Not tonight, Karmen. This city is full of crime. It'll never sleep, but even I need a break sometimes." He leaned back in his seat. "Besides, the police used to handle this stuff well before superheroes started popping up. Tonight, let them be the heroes for once. God knows they need the publicity."
Karmen smiled, a bit more genuinely. "As you say, Master Matthew."
"Besides, the only crime that's on the extreme end is a quintuple homicide by Eastern County Municipal." Matthew explained. "Police are already investigating. The rest of the incidents are minor pickpockets, graffiti artists, and other smaller crimes."
"The smaller crimes do add up though, Master Matthew." Karmen reminded.
Matthew sighed. "I know. Still, if I broke the nose of every single person who committed small-time crimes, I'd have 50 times the amount of criminals to deal with. Besides, with Mystery Master in prison, I'm not too concerned right now."
Karmen nodded. "It's a genuine relief having that madman off the streets."
Matthew tabbed off the crime screen, pulling up local hero files. His eyes landed on one in particular. "Still… I wonder if I should take down The Every-Man. He's becoming a problem."
Karmen frowned. "I know your frustrations with him Master Matthew, but he is a fellow hero."
"He's a drunk party goer who has lost more criminals while on duty than the entire Hero Community." Matthew opened The Every-Man's file. "Not to mention his irresponsible use of his powers. A man who can use any power in existence should be better than a subway bum who lives on street corners, and wastes his money on alcohol."
"You make it sound like his powers should be in the hands of someone rich and intelligent."
Matthew closed his eyes, giving an irritated sigh. "That's not what I meant. It's just… He has access to so much, but he wastes it. I don't even think he cares! He just drinks, parties, and occasionally attempts to stop a robbery or something. He could be so much better." He stood up, running a hand through his short red hair. Karmen offered the coffee she was holding, and he turned to her. She looked concerned, her blue eyes shining behind her glasses. He shook his head. "Not tonight… I'm… I'm going to bed for once."
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"Damn I wish I had a bed." Jack said. His dull brown eyes stared up at the starless sky. "I should go to the countryside. At least the night would be more beautiful."
Jack could still remember the day which shaped his life. Being the son of two supervillains wasn't exactly the best moral environment, but it did give him an idea of what not to be. He recalled the day he saw their names on the news. Killed by a hero called BioMaster. He lifted a bottle to his lips. As the liquid burned down his throat, he focused on forgetting those memories. Ten year old Jack was a thing of the past. He didn't realize when the bottle was empty. He held it in front of him in confusion. Shouldn't he be drunk by now? Oh right… Superspeed. Speeds up the metabolism so fast that it would keep him from getting drunk.
"Crap…" Jack uttered, sitting up. He mentally pictured a hero with mind reading powers, then snapped his fingers. He held the bottle back to his lips, then remembered it was empty. He sighed with disappointment, and tossed the bottle nearly hitting some blond woman. "Woah, sorry!" He called out. The girl looked at him, her blue eyes gave him pause. She looked scared, sure, but something about her look told him she'd hardly noticed the bottle. "You okay?"
The woman hesitated, then nodded before walking off. Jack frowned, and he focused his newly selected power on her.
"Ignore him."
"Don't hurt him."
"Ignore him then."
Jack frowned deeper. Was that lady talking to herself in her head? Nah, people have conflicting thoughts all the time. Probably just pissed about the bottle. He shrugged, then got up, moving away from that creepy woman. He had to find a liquor store if any were even open.
He eventually found himself walking into a shop creatively named The Whiskey Whisker. The clerk gave a wave as Jack stepped in. He looked over the aisles, eventually settling on something with an apple flavor. He took it up to the clerk, and she scanned it. Her hands shook slightly, and Jack frowned. Almost annoyed, he took a peek at her thoughts.
"Please save me."
Jack frowned then thought of another hero. This time from a comic book. Snapping his fingers once, he gazed at the counter, then through it. Then he understood her thought. He'd think the same thing in her shoes. A twelve gauge aimed up at him? Yeah he'd want help without powers. He rolled his eyes, thought of another hero, and snapped again. Then he punched his hand through the wall and crushed the barrel. After that, he grabbed the man by the neck and pulled him through the wall.
"You caught me on a bad day dude." Jack said to the criminal. Then he tossed the guy into the ceiling. Afterwards he made sure the guy was unconscious before looking at the clerk. "So how much do I owe you?"
She stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Take it, on the house. Thank you so much!"
Jack smiled awkwardly then took the bottle. "No problem."
He made his way back to his bench, then curiously checked his pocket. His eyes widened. No money. "Well… that's lucky." He opened the bottle, and sighed with relief as he felt the liquid burn down his throat. After a quick drink, he gazed back up to the sky. This time his eyes widened, noticing one bright star shoot past. He smiled, then laid down on the bench. Before he knew it, he was out like a light.
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She was exhausted. Mentally and emotionally. Opening the door to her apartment, she moved into the kitchen. She turned on the sink, and washed her face, trying to once again forget the events of the night. The tears started to return so she looked to the right of her sink. A photo of herself in a nice blue dress and a green hoodie. Next to her was her boyfriend at the time. They were both smiling in the photo, but she could see one of her eyes had been red in the photo.
"He was so nice." The whisper said, a mournful tone in its voice.
"He was." She agreed.
"At least we can agree on that." The whisper offered. "He accepted both of us Clarie. Those people tonight were part of the group that took him from us."
Clarie shook her head lightly in disbelief. "The mother and daughter who were there weren't."
"Witnesses Clarie. I couldn't let them go." The whisper pointed out.
"All life is precious. We should be kind, and show forgiveness to people." Clarie pleaded, her tears flowing again.
"This world is full of evil Clarie. Best to wipe the slate clean."