Chapter 14: The Evil That Men Do
"So, you're certain you haven't seen him?" Officer Boesch asked.
"Look man, this is my apartment, and despite your probable opinion that we are all oversexed, irresponsible morons, we would TELL you if we saw someone fitting that description. Ok?" the teenager said. His name was Garth Ennis, in case you were wondering.
Not that Officer Boesch could blame the teenager. There had been exactly three witnesses to the man who had just committed two of the most sickening murders he had ever seen in 32 years on the force. With two, he had had his face obscured, and the little girl who had actually seen him was suffering from severe trauma and couldn't remember anything except that he was tall and he wore black. The resulting sketch that the officers had gotten was so vague it could have fit a thousand men.
Boesch had a feeling this one would be going in the "unsolved" file. Not that he really cared. Sure, he, as an officer of the law, had to care about all human life, in theory, but the young girl was finally talking about what her mother and stepfather had been doing, and in truth Boesch couldn't help but think they deserved it.
Plus, this party, which had only caught his eyes due to the noise, was nearly five miles from the crime scene. Witnesses had reported the killer leaving fifteen minutes ago and seeing no vehicles. No one could move that fast…
Well, it was random surveillance, what could he do?
"All right, but if you see anything suspicious, call me, ok?" he said, giving the teen his card. And with that he let Garth close the door and he and his partner left.
Garth, to his credit, waited for the police car to drive away before he turned around and whooped, and all the beer and other alcoholic beverages the teenagers had hidden came out.
And in a chair not seven feet from the door, V relaxed a bit. A sneaking in through a bedroom window, pulling his hair into a ponytail and tucking it under a baseball cap he had found, and then strolling into the party and acting completely natural. Hiding in plain sight. V was very good at that.
"So, as I was saying…" V said, doing his best to blend in by acting like his "peers". Which in this case was telling a story about a sexual conquest he had made up on the spot. But V knew how to speak, and the three men and two women were buying every word. The few drinks they had in them probably helped.
"And to THIS day I flinch whenever I see a jar of soy sauce." V finished. V's audience roared, while V wondered how many brain cells he had lost telling that joke.
V reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck, shuffling it to see if any of his cards were lost or damaged. On the edge of his vision, he saw one of his audience, a pretty blonde, speaking to what appeared to be a friend of hers, a brunette. Something was tugging at the edge of his mind, but he couldn't place it. The brunette walked away, leaving her drink. Well, she didn't exactly WALK away, if you know what I mean.
"Hey, are those Duel Monster cards?" one of the men asked.
"Hey, my little brother plays that came! He wants to find this one card, Crimson-Lensed Draggy or something…" the Blonde With The Friend said.
"Red-Eyed Black Dragon?" V asked.
"Yeah!"
"Those are fairly rare. He'd have better odds sharpening his skills and winning it from someone." V said, spreading his cards out on the table to check again.
"Hey man, aren't you a little old to play some kiddy game?" another one of the males asked.
"Games are all I have left." V whispered.
"What?"
"I said, it isn't just for kids. The amount of strategy in this game is astounding. And the balance is great too. The right cards, the right combos, and some luck, and no matter what your opponent throws at you, you can beat him. Really. I've heard of comebacks against incredible odds that I swear must be some kind of crazy voodoo magic."
"Ah forget that! In the end, I say it just comes down to who has the bigger gun." The last male said. V looked cross.
"Really? Ok then…" V said, flipping the cards over. In a few seconds he had the Vileon, Hikibime, and Bottom Dweller cards on one side of the table and the Queen's Double and four face down cards on his side. "Here is the situation. Do you attack or defend?"
"What, are you kidding? I attack!"
"Of course. You see the numbers and assume victory. But it isn't always numbers that win…sometimes…" V said as he flipped over the face down cards. 'It's how you add them." I won't go into details for the combo, but if this had been a real duel V's opponent would have been hurting.
V took his cards back and began shuffling them again on the table when the second female spied a card.
"Ohhhhh, this one's cool!" she said, snatching it up. "What's this?"
"THAT…" V said, grabbing it back. "Is not a card to be trifled with. Really. Trust me."
"I still say it's a kiddie game."
"Well, if you want to consider something that decided the fate of the world a game, you're welcome to. And now I must take my leave." V said, slipping the deck back into his coat and getting up.
"Hey, did you see where my friend Amy went?" the blonde said. V assumed Amy was the brunette that she had been talking to a moment earlier.
"Sorry, no." V said, looking for an exit. Frowning, the blonde got up and began wandering around. Huh, for a few drinks she was walking fairly…
Wait a second…
What sealed it for V is what he saw in the corner of his eye immediately after his realization: a male making his way out of the room. V only saw him for a second, but his motions looked odd to V. Very…odd.
"Amy? Amy?" the blonde was saying, walking around. Seeing her again, V put together what had been bugging him. There was walking while mildly drunk, there was walking while extremely drunk, and THEN there was walking…
V walked over and picked up the brunette called Amy's discarded drink, turning away as he stuck his finger into it. This would have done a normal man no good, but to V…
V's eyes blinked rapidly for a few seconds. Then their expression hardened.
"Rohyphonol."
V put the drink down and headed after where he had seen the male walking, a hallway that branched off from the living/dining room and kitchen the party was happening in. Back here, the lights were out…except for a brief crack of light coming out of a door at the end of the hall. V walked in, hoping he wouldn't find what he was thinking he might find.
Life disappointed him, as V opened the door.
Amy was lying on the bed, four boys in their late teens over her. The only light source was a small lamp near the bed. Two of the boys were holding her arms, although this really wasn't necessary: Amy was clearly out of it. One of the boys (the one V had seen) was holding her legs, her dress pushed up.
But the thing that was the worst was that as V walked in, the last male, was already taking his pants down, and as V walked in, he turned to see. The look on his face was of that of a pure predator as he acknowledged V's presence.
"Want some? Wait your turn." He said.
V thought he had exhausted his supply of rage. He was wrong, as the fury came roaring back, as he stepped forward and reminded the first would-be rapist why it was a bad idea to expose your genitals by savagely kicking them. The teen doubled over right into V's vicious backhand, throwing him back against the wall.
"Hey…!" the teen V had seen got out before V's fist slammed into his face. The teen staggered back, bumped into the wall, and staggered forward again as V stepped aside and slammed the side of his fist into the back of his head.
The third teen tried to get away, but V stopped him with his favorite punch to the gut/ram face into the knee combo. The forth teen was also trying to run, only to have V flip over the bed and smashed both his heels across the boy's face, knocking him out with yet another satisfying crunch.
The first rapist, his pants still down, was trying to get up, before V grabbed him by his hair.
"WE-" V snarled, slamming the teen's face into the floor. "DON'T-TREAT-WOMEN-LIKE-THAT!" V yelled, punctuating each word with a slam.
His fingers slicked with blood, V walked over and picked up Amy. He was still seething. Why? Because for the few seconds before he had attacked, he had looked at the boys. In the way only he could.
And two things struck deep at him. One was that all of these boys had very wealthy fathers. To the point where they would buy their sons out of any trouble they got into. Including gang-raping a helpless female.
And two was what the would-be rapist with his pants down would have said had V been a woman.
Want some too, you fucking whore?
V laid Amy down in another bedroom and checked to make sure she wasn't about to choke on her own vomit. Then, boiling, he left and walked down the hallway.
No one had noticed the mess V had wrought. They were too busy partying. Their own noises and distractions had hidden from them what had happened…and what was to come.
V walked back into the kitchen. He knew what he had to do. With the kind of men their fathers were, these boys would go through life thinking that this kind of behavior was perfectly acceptable. No, it was encouraged. It was what made them men.
Except it didn't. It made them scum. It made them Unworthy. And V had the perfect way to punish these fucks, as he pulled out the biggest kitchen knife he could find.
And once again, the noise of the party covered everything…
By the time the boys were found, V was long gone. In the end, they all needed extensive facial surgery…and they would never be considered men again, in a technical sense.
V had cauterized the wounds to make sure the fucks hadn't bled to death. He wanted those kids to live with their actions the rest of their lives.
And they wouldn't be able to re-attach them.
V had made sure he burnt the organs to ash.
Except one, and they wouldn't be getting back that one either.
V had a better idea for its use.
*******************
It was raining again, as V, by now several miles away, slowly walked out onto the roof, holding his arms out, letting the water wash the blood away and trying to let it cool his anger.
And it was during that that he noticed the pocket where he held his deck was heating up. That could only mean one thing. V found some cover and pulled out his deck, withdrawing a certain card.
"I'll duel some more tomorrow. I need to sort out some issues now."
I said your blood was not right to use me. Now I am sure of it. Your mind is warped and…
"Cram it." V said.
HOW DARE YOU! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! I WILL BURN YOU INTO NOTHINGNESS!
"TRY. IT." V replied.
For a moment, V glared intensely at his card, and he knew that just behind it, an entity of great power was glaring right back, wanting to take this infidel that had dared call him, via a fake construct at that and smite him.
But…there was that. That thing that made it so uncertain. To the point where he was…no, he was not intimidated! He was a god! He had ravaged the world and nearly brought about its end! Even the greatest duelists with the right blood could barely control him! He should blast this heretic right out of existence…
Except…
If what he had read was right…
He could destroy a world.
But V could do…so much more…
If he was right. It could be a trick. A feint.
But one sophisticated enough to fool him?
And so the two had their staring contest for about a minute, neither backing down.
…I admire your courage mortal, as foolish and suicidal as it is. I will extend you mercy for now. Tomorrow I may not be so kind.
"If that helps you sleep at night." V replied. "You call me warped? If what they say is true, you were the supreme judge of the dead. Surely you understand why they had to die."
Do not presume to lecture me! I know death more then you ever shall! What you do is not right!
"Sure. Sure." V said. "Look. You and I will just agree to disagree. We have more duels to win."
Don't patronize me! I may yet rescind my mercy! If I don't decide this sin of yours is already too great and destroy you!
V said nothing in return. And in doing so, spoke volumes.
After a bit, V knew his not so little "friend" was gone. He stuck the card back into his deck. He'd head back to the D-Arena and do some planning before he slept.
"Joey Wheeler." V said. V had read him too. He was a good guy, and a highly skilled duelist at that.
But…not quite a Worthy.
But fairly close. Close enough that V would not be surprised if Joey beat him.
But he wouldn't be doing that without one hell of a fight.
As V headed off, he mused if he was done with his little crusades for justice. He ALWAYS went off on those jags, when he should have been playing and winning games.
It was not a good idea to give his dark side too much free reign. Bad things happened then. Far worse then what he had done to those corrupt Unworthys.
The world had better hope no one else angered him with their greed, sickness, cruelty, or pride.
He had the type of rage that fed on itself, a snake that grew bigger every time it consumed its own tail.
What Domino City had seen this night and before was just a warmup.
If someone angered him again…
He would scorch the heavens.
And anyone who got in his way.
No matter who they were.
Next: Joey. MXC. Use your imaginations.