AHOY TATERS WELCOME TO THE NEW CH OF GRIM GHOUL! AS A REMINDER THIS IS A STORY THAT I PAY A FRIEND OF MINE TO WRITE FOR ME AS A COMMISION ON CHRISTMAS AND MY BIRTHDAY SO IT DOESNT GET UPDATED REGULARLY AS MY OTHER STORIES, ANYWAYS THIS CHAPTER WILL COVER MERIWETHERS CIVILIAN LIFE AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF JOKERS DEATH FROM LAST CHAPTER!
"Another order of Pizza Mac 'N Cheese Waffles!"
Meriwether smiled to himself as he passed through the kitchen. The restaurant was busy tonight. A couple of the chefs nodded to him as he passed. He didn't have time to check in on them, though. He needed to get out to the floor and see how things were going there.
He sighed with satisfaction as he looked out at his restaurant and strip club: Papa Stross' Milkshake Bar and Japanese Strip joint. Most of the customers were down at the strip club portion of the building, whistling and hooting at the girls, but there were a few sitting in the restaurant proper, enjoying the show from afar while eating.
Meriwether heard a rather heated discussion going on. Almost without meaning to, he listened in.
"Look, I like the place. I'm just saying, who ACTUALLY comes here for the food? It's all about the girls. I like that we have something to eat at the same time and all, but… I mean, have you seen this menu? 'Mac and Grilled Chili Cheese Lasagna?' It's like whoever designed it doesn't have taste buds."
Meriwether growled with frustration. In a way, he DIDN'T have taste buds. Not when it came to regular food anyway; Anything aside from human flesh - and for some reason, coffee - tasted awful, and wouldn't do anything for him nutritionally. He devised the menu based on some of his grandmothers recipes. He couldn't taste-test any of it himself, but he told his chefs to do their best with the dishes.
"Nah, I like the food. It's sorta like comfort food, but turned up to 11. Besides, it's unique. There are other strip joints in Gotham, but none of 'em have food like this."
Meriwether nodded his head, grateful that somebody appreciated it. He had built the place basically from the ground up, using gold and jewels he had created with his quirk and then pawned off to fund it.
Unfortunately, by now almost every pawn shop in Gotham had banned him. None of them believed that he WASN'T a supervillain, assuming that he had gotten all of it by stealing. They also claimed he was "flooding the market," whatever that meant. But he got enough money to get the place going, so he could rely on it for income now.
He glanced up from his thoughts when he heard a commotion. Looked like someone had gotten touchy with one of the strippers. He almost couldn't blame them - He personally vetted all the girls, selecting only the most gorgeous Japanese women. Still, rules were rules, and a bouncer was carrying the offender out by the seat of his pants in no time.
Meriwether's stomach grumbled. He wondered to himself if the man could be dinner. Not touching strippers was common knowledge, and it was sexual assault, so he WAS commiting a crime. But finally, he decided against it. He got handsy with his girls sometimes too, so it would probably be a bit hypocritical.
Trying to distract himself from his hunger for now, his attention wandered to the tv mounted on the wall. The news was on, and he perked up when he recognized his name on the screen. Not his real name, but his hero name.
"...sweeping the nation after news of the Joker's death at the hands of the Grim Ghoul entered the public's awareness. Once thought to be no more than just another villain, ever since that day opinion has been fiercely divided. With me is G. Gordon Godfrey, who has some VERY strong thoughts on the matter."
An oily-looking man in a suit appeared on the screen. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.
"Thanks Cat. I just think that this goes to show how utterly incompetent the Justice League is. The Joker has been terrorizing Gotham and the rest of the world for years, and the League couldn't do a damn thing except give him a slap on the wrist and cart him off to jail, all so he could hop back out a week later to take more lives. The fact that some deranged psycho cannibal fixed a problem that a whole army of so-called 'superheroes' couldn't fix is absolutely appalling to me."
"Now, Gordon, some people would say that the problem there has more to do with the legal system's treatment of criminals. There's a growing movement that claims that we're not doing enough to keep them contained. Thoughts?"
"Absolutely untrue. I would never put the blame on our fine American penitentiaries. The issue is, surprise surprise, the Justice League. They lull us into a false sense of security, making us rely on them. We're not desperate enough to do what's needed to keep them behind bars because we know that somebody is just going to swoop in and put them right back. But what happens if they change their minds? What if they suddenly say we have to pay a fee every time they catch a criminal? They could take the whole world hostage!"
"Interesting. So, would you say you approve of what the Grim Ghoul did, by ridding the world of a dangerous criminal?"
"Oh, absolutely not! He's just another side of the same superhero coin. There are only two ways someone with superpowers can be: An ineffectual figurehead, or an insane monster. There IS no middle ground."
"Well, thank you for being with us, Gordon. To see the other side of things, we've contacted - get this - the leader of the Grim Ghoul Fan Club, Shelly. Can you hear us, Shelly?"
A different face replaced Gordon Godfrey's, this time a portly young girl who was wearing a mask reminiscent of Meriwether's own.
"Hi! Thanks so much for letting me be on the show, Cat. I just want to say: Grim Ghoul, if you're listening, PLEASE marry me!"
"Oh! Well, I can see you REALLY like the Grim Ghoul. What is it that sparked your fascination?"
"He's just so STRONG and COOL! Not to mention, that body..."
"Mmhmm… And, what about the cannibalism?"
Shelly giggled.
"I kinda like it. It's so dark and mysterious. I think he's just misunderstood. He just needs a REAL woman who he can press against the wall and-"
"Ooookay, that's all the time we have for you, Shelly, but thanks!"
Meriwether grinned to himself. He was growing in popularity - at least among certain groups. He wondered to himself what the Team thought of that.
(LINE BREAK!)
"It's ridiculous! Why would anyone say that about him?"
Robin patted Artemis on the shoulder. "I know, I know. It's not unheard of for villains to gain a following, though. Joker's fans seem to be more active than ever, despite his death. Maybe because of his death."
"I'm with Artemis. Villains are one thing, but the Ghoul is worse. Way, way worse." Superboy said, still glaring at the TV.
Miss Martian cleared her throat. "I mean… At least he wants to stop crime, right? He's not just in it for money or something."
"He wants to eat people, Megan. The fact that they're criminals doesn't make that okay. A person is a person." Aqualad said sternly.
"Of course! Of course, I know that. I'm just saying… I don't know."
Robin tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I'll admit, I worry about what would happen if anybody started to copy Grim Ghoul. He hasn't eaten anybody that's completely innocent yet, but somebody out there will almost definitely use his example as an excuse to kill whoever they want if he continues to get more popular. Maybe we should come up with some sort of plan to deal with these fans."
"I'm pretty sure a few visits to a psychologist would cure most of them." Artemis said. "They probably all have daddy issues or something. Maybe a PSA telling people to suggest any friends of theirs who are fans go to therapy?"
"As if they'd go? Shouldn't we be locking them up instead? They're worshipping a murderer."
Robin held up his hands appeasingly. "Alright, let's take a step back, Superboy. The problem with Grim Ghoul is that he thinks he can treat people however he wants just because they did something bad. We don't want to go down the same path. People have a right to say what they want to, even if what they say is… ill-advised."
Miss Martian sighed. "If only we could find a way to reform Grim Ghoul, then it wouldn't matter. I managed to ask some of the brighter minds in the Justice League to look into a sort of… human flesh substitute. Maybe if we give him an alternative to eating people, he'll stop the killing."
Aqualad sat down next to Miss Martian. "Listen, I know you want to give him a second chance. But look at what he's done in the past. How brutal he is. If he was only killing to survive, he wouldn't enjoy tearing people apart like that. That's not something a sane person is okay with. The flesh substitute is good, but it will only help us after we've put him under lock and key."
Artemis shook her head. "I think that sometimes you're too kind, Megan. The way he's touched you - touched both of us. He sees us as objects, can't you see that? He doesn't value life, he doesn't value consent. He doesn't seem to value anything except himself. He'll justify absolutely anything as long as it benefits him."
Miss Martian didn't say anything else. She just stared up at the TV screen.
Robin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alright… Well, I guess we should focus on just stopping him. Megan has a point; if Grim Ghoul isn't out there doing his thing, then hopefully his fans will stop, too."
Superboy grunted. "Like Joker's did?"
Robin shrugged. "I assume that's because he died. Hopefully their idol getting caught will take the wind out of their sails."
Superboy cracked his knuckles. "I guess there's only one way to find out."
(LINEBREAK)
Meriwether dashed down a gravel road. At the speed he was going, anyone seeing him run by would assume he was a gust of wind and a trick of the light. His home was far removed from the city - for anyone else, the commute would just be impossible. For him, it was quick and easy.
Finally, he arrived at home. With all the money he had accrued - first from selling gold he made from his own body, then from his restaurant - he had managed to construct the house of his dreams: A traditional Japanese-style mansion. His neighbors questioned why he would build a Japanese home when he wasn't in Japan. He always ignored them.
The first thing he would always do when he got home is grab some chips (not for him, but for his pets), plop down in front of the TV, and watch some anime. He was relieved to find out that it existed in this world. One of his first concerns after arriving here - before finding shelter, even - had been whether he could maintain his favorite pastime.
Interestingly, there were some anime in this world that he could swear he'd never heard of before. And a few from back home were notably missing - though fortunately, none of his favorites.
His female basset hound puppy Whitebeard plodded over to him. Whitebeard was blind and had been born with an extra set of legs. Meriwether thoroughly enjoyed seeking out animals with rare genetic conditions and adopting them. He tossed Whitebeard a few chips.
After a few episodes, he wondered to himself where his other pets were. As if on cue, Lady - his male Scottish terrier puppy - came tearing through the living room with Re-destro - his albino hermaphrodite three-legged pig - hot on his heels. The two loved playing together, and Re-destro never let their missing leg slow them down.
Meriwether chuckled at their antics. He decided he had done enough sitting around and went outside.
The air outside was fresh and cool. He had a farm on his land. It made the air smell like… well, a farm, but he was more than used to it. He strolled around the grounds, taking stock and making sure everything was as it should be.
On his humble little farm, he had ducks and chickens for eggs, and fainting goats for milk. Collecting the milk and eggs made for a relaxing pastime, and put a little extra money in his pocket. Not to mention, he supplied them to his own restaurant.
Satisfied with the state of things, he headed back inside. Checking the time, he realized it was already getting late. Time to get ready for his "other job."
Meriwether suited up. He had kept his costume more or less the same. Have to keep up the brand, after all.
As soon as he was ready, he dashed off towards the city. He had tried searching for crime closer to home, but there just wasn't that much going on in the countryside.
Over his stay in this world, he had developed a patrol route, passing by all the most popular places for criminals to hit: Banks, jewelery stores, museums, and the like.
Unfortunately, some of the more savvy criminals had caught on and started to avoid the route. He had to start randomizing things to catch them off gaurd. The effort he had to go through to successfully catch a crime in progress was frustrating.
But tonight, luck was on his side. He could faintly hear gunshots. He rushed in the direction of the sound, dashing around cars as he ran. He almost got clipped by a turning truck that took him by surprise, but otherwise he managed to make it to the scene of the crime without incident.
There was a shootout happening, probably between rival gangs from the looks of it. There were quite a few of them. Before they had a chance to see them, Meriwether made sure to take pictures of every one that he could see with his camera quirk (Taneo Tokuda's whole body lens). It was useful for hunting down any criminals that escaped the scene of the crime.
Tapping into another of his quirks, he reached out and caused the glass from some nearby windows to melt like a liquid, forming into a transparent spear in midair. (Star servants Glass control) One of the gangsters noticed it and shouted a warning, but not before the spear went in one eye and out the back of his head.
"It's Grim Ghoul!" One of the gangsters shouted. Meriwether prepared to strike again, but he was distracted by something one of the others threw. Too late, he realized it was a flashbang.
The resulting explosion blinded and deafened Meriwether. He forced his bleary, watering eyes open long enough to barely make out the criminals escaping.
By the time he had regained his vision, they were long gone. In truth, Meriwether might have been able to stop them even with his hampered vision, but sometimes it was good to let them go. Sometimes when he tracked criminals down, they led him to even more. The one gangster he killed would be enough to serve as a meal for tonight.
As he scooped up the corpse, he pondered over the flashbang. Those weren't especially easy to come by. Normally, you'd never expect a gangster to bother with one when a gun did the job faster. Were they starting to carry those specifically for him? He decided he might have to invest in a pair of specialized sunglasses, or something.
Meriwether was about to leave, when he heard a shuffling sound. He followed it to discover that one of the gangsters had been left behind, hiding behind a dumpster. It looked like he had been shot in the leg and couldn't run.
The gangster looked up at him pleadingly. He didn't look all that old. "C-Come on, man. I didn't choose this life. There wasn't any choice! You don't know what it's like."
Meriwether snorted. "Can't be that hard to NOT choose to be a criminal."
"It's kill or be killed! When you live in the streets, you gotta join a gang for protection. Otherwise, you just get killed by some other gang. If you'd ever lived in the rough part of town, you'd get it."
"See, criminals are always saying stuff like that. 'I had no choice,' 'I needed the money,' 'It was in self defense.' I don't buy any of it. I've never been forced to break a law."
The gangster was clearly still terrified, but he gritted his teeth and looked Meriwether in the eyes. "You eat people. You do break the law. You do worse things than most people ever will on a daily basis."
Meriwether grunted. "Okay, this conversation just got boring." He pulled a katana right out of his hand, using his quirk to create it on the spot. "Bye then."
With that, he beheaded the gangster in one slick move. After sealing the wound so that he wouldn't have a trail of blood leading to his house, he rushed home for dinner.
END CHAPTER
SO THAT'S IT FOR NOW BUT I'VE ALREADY PAID FOR CH FOUR, SO THAT'S COMING RIGHT UP.
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