Warning: Rated for language, violence and adult behavior.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

This story also uses characters from the graphic novel 'Sin City' by Frank Miller. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

This story also uses characters from the movie 'Wasabi', directed by Luc Besson. I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

References to 'The Goon' in this story do not refer to the character of 'The Goon' by Eric Powell.


Marv opened a beer and set it on the table in front of her. She took the bottle and poured the brew in a glass he set before her seconds before. Her hands were shaky as she brought the drink to her lips.

"You sure you're okay, Suzie?" Marv asked, concerned, "I still think you should tell Mr. Delmas what happened."

"No, no, that's alright, "Suzanne Hertz told the man, "I don't need to bring the school into my personal problems."


Marv first met the science teacher when he went to her about weeds. By that time, the whole school, staff and students alike, heard about Sissi Delmas' little run in with The Goon, and what became of it. He went to her to make sure he could identify any possible weed that might show up on the athletic field, so he could insure that Sissi and her friends did a through job of clearing it.

When he walked into the classroom, Mrs. Hertz was at her desk, going over her lesson plan for tomorrow. As she was engrossed in her work, she was humming a song, Walking After Midnight.

"Hey, Patsy Kline! I love her!" Marv said, surprising the teacher out of her reverie.

"What? Oh, Marv! I didn't see you there," was her startled response.

"I'm sorry, I should have knocked first," he replied, "but I do love Patsy Kline. She had a beautiful voice."

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of her," Mrs. Hertz replied, "I was humming something by LeAnn Rhimes."

"Almost as good," Marv said, "sometimes when she sings, she sounds just like Patsy."

Suzanne Hertz smiled.

Mrs. Hertz, it turned out, had a thing for American country and western music. When she told Marv some of the singers she particularly liked, only one of them meshed with his taste, Johnny Cash. The others he called "pop pussies in pointy toed boots." Real country, he opined, was Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Red Foley, Patsy Kline and others.

In a world of crazy connections, another one had been made.

One of the things Marv bought with the pay he got from Kadic was a radio/alarm clock/CD player. And the CDs he bought were classic country. Marv took to spending some of his days having lunch with Suzanne. The two of them would listen to the CDs Marv had, then talk. Sometimes, Suzanne would bring some music for Marv to listen to, and they would talk about those. The conversations got quite exciting at times.

The students at Kadic Academy saw Mrs. Hertz as the stern lecturer in the sciences, never to be trifled with. Marv got to see the side that only the staff and faculty saw, a quiet and shy woman, with a sly wit that matched her intellect.

Today, Marv got to see a side of Suzanne Hertz that nobody ever saw, a battered woman.


Marv was returning from an errand that the grounds keeper, Michel Rouiller, had sent him on. It was a small thing, a couple of bottles of weed killer for the rest of the grounds, not, Michel laughed, the athletic field. Marv laughed as he agreed to go.

He was walking into the campus when he heard two voices arguing. Marv was about to walk on by when he heard the slap! of a hand striking flesh, and a woman's cry. Marv immediately locked in on the source of the sound and walked towards it.

When he got there, he saw Suzanne Hertz collapsed on the ground, crying. No one else was around. Marv dropped his bundle and ran over to her.

"Suzie! What happened?"

"It's nothing, Marv! Just go away!" Suzanne bitterly shouted at him.

"Bull Shit it's nothing," Marv replied, as he reached out to her.

She violently slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone!" she screamed, weeping, "it's my problem! Not yours! Just leave me alone!"

Marv stood there. "Alright, I will, Mrs. Hertz," he began, "but it's not just your problem anymore. It's now my problem, too. And unlike you, I tend to solve my problems."

He turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Suzanne shouted, picking herself up and running after him, "don't do something stupid! He's got ways around the law! You could be deported or worse!"

"Well," Marv said, "it's a He. Figured that. Let me tell you something Suzie, I never let a little thing like the law come between me and problem solving."


Now, Suzanne Hertz sat across from him in his cabin. The bruise on her face was just now starting to bloom in all of its purple and blue glory. She took another gulp of beer. Marv had offered her something stronger, but she declined.

"He's my husband, Enrique. We've been married for fifteen years now. And he's been beating me for ten," she began.

"He was nothing like this when we met. We were both in college, I was studying to be a teacher, he was studying to be an engineer. We met and fell in love, the perfect fairy tale."

"When we graduated, I got my first teaching assignment in Calais. He got a job working as a junior draftsman for an engineering company working on the Chunnel. We lived together for a couple of years, then decided to get married. I thought that was the happiest day of my life."

"What happened?" Marv asked.

"As soon as we got married, we tried having children," Suzanne continued, "we tried everything, but I never got pregnant. After a while, Enrique started getting angry, saying it was my fault, that there was something wrong with me. He started drinking more, started muttering more. We had more arguments, then fights. Finally, one night he hit me. We were both shocked, but then he hit me again, and harder. That's when it started."

"The next morning, he was sobbing, saying he was sorry for what happened, that he would never do it again. But he did, the next time he got drunk. And it got worse over the years. I left him many times, but he always found me, and he beat me when he did. The last time was five years ago, when I came here. A women's shelter helped me get away, start a new life here. I thought I was safe until today."

"When I was leaving for the day, Enrique appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me and pulled me away. He told me that he was going rip my traitorous womb from me as a lesson that I can never escape him!"

Marv just sat there with a hard look on his face.

"Tell me something, Suzanne, if you would," he said, "did you ever have a fertility test done?"

"Yes," she replied, "I did. There's nothing wrong with me, I'm perfectly capable of bearing children."

"Figures," Marv said, "a man can't sire kids and it's always the woman's fault, never his. Listen, you've tried running and it hasn't worked. You've tried keeping this to yourself and only gotten hurt. Why don't you try something different and let your friends help you?"

"I don't want anyone else getting hurt, Marv," Suzanne said, "I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for you or anyone else getting hurt by him."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," Marv said, smiling, "I can guarantee that I will not be the one who gets hurt over this."


Marv was all for taking care of business by himself, but since he was a guest, in his mind, of Principal Delmas, he took Mrs. Hertz to him and had her repeat her story. Like Marv said, you didn't accept a man's hospitality then piss on his feet.

Jean-Pierre was shocked when Suzanne told her story. He immediately went to call the police when Marv stopped him.

"Callin' the cops is probably a good idea," he said, "but not until we have the bastard in hand to turn over to them. How 'bout this..."

That night, Suzanne Hertz stayed on campus, in one of the empty dorm rooms. The students were more than a little surprised, but Jim told them to mind their own business and get back in their rooms. One student tried a different tack.

Aelita Stones caught Marv on his way off campus that night.

"Hey Marv, didja hear?" Aelita began, "Mrs. Hertz is staying on campus tonight."

"Yeah, Pinkie, I heard," was Marv's gruff reply, "listen kid, I know you're trying to find out what's going on, but you keep your nose out of this one! It's an ugly business, and one kids shouldn't be involved in. Now just take your cute little self back to your room and stay there."

The look on Marv's face said he would drag her kicking and screaming back to her room if she didn't go voluntarily.

"I mean it, Aelita! If you don't do what I say, I'm going to tell the principal just how your crew ducks off campus to get to that factory!"

Aelita huffed an oh-kaay and went back to her room, pouting.

Marv smiled as she left. Sometimes, cute just don't work, Pinkie.


It didn't take long for Marv to find what he was looking for. Paris is just like Sin City, he thought to himself, walk down the right back alley and you can find anything.

What he was looking for was Enrique Hertz. He was willing enough to let the Paris police handle the situation, but he wanted to be ready in case that didn't work.

He found Enrique on the docks, close to the ship that brought Marv to France. It seemed that Enrique had fallen on hard times since Suzanne left him. He was rooming with a bunch of guys in a warehouse on the wharf.

Something was a little odd to Marv. No, not odd, familiar. Discounting the fact that all docks around the world probably looked the same, Marv thought he had seen a setup like this before, in Sin City. He couldn't quite place it though, so he set the thought aside for later reflection.

Enrique Hertz was a weaselly man. His eyes darted about, almost like a rat looking for the cat waiting to kill it. He was loud and a braggart, telling anyone and everyone that he was the baddest mofo on the planet.

In other words, he was full of shit.

Marv watched the man from his hiding place, taking pictures using a camera he had borrowed. He hardly understood French, but he didn't need to. The man's tone told Marv everything he needed to know.

So, you really think you're Billy Bad Ass, don't you, Marv thought to himself, well I'll be happy to make your acquaintance. I just wonder if you'll be as happy to make mine.


The next day, Marv showed the pictures of Enrique he took to Mr. Delmas. The principal took the pictures and had the security guards keep an eye out for the man, and contact him immediately if they saw him. Then Marv went about his business. Mrs. Hertz was back in class, her stern demeanor hiding the terror she felt deep inside.

It happened after classes for the day ended. Suzanne was walking out of the classroom when Enrique appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her and pulling her back in the classroom.

"You didn't think hiding here would fool me, did you?" he whispered in her ear, "you just made it easier for me to find you. Now, I'm going to punish you for running out on me!"

He dragged his victim over to one of the work tables, then slammed her face into the surface. With one hand holding her face down on the table, he kicked her legs out, spreading them open, then took his free hand, reached under her skirt and ripped off her hose and underwear.

"I think I will take my husbandly due before I give you what your richly deserve," he said, "and once I'm done, you'll feel the Fires of Hell before you enter them!" Suzanne stared at the Bunsen burners sitting on the table and understood what he meant.

Enrique was undoing his pants when someone said, "have you heard enough?" He looked up to see two uniformed policemen standing in the doorway of the classroom, pointing their pistols at him.

"More than enough," one officer said, "put your hands in the air, and step back!"

Enrique complied. The officer entered the room, approached Enrique, getting between him and his victim. His partner remained in the doorway, covering Enrique. The cop quickly handcuffed the man.

By now a crowd had gathered in front of Mrs. Hertz's classroom. Jim Moralés told the students to leave the area or face detention. Jean-Pierre Delmas stood there as the police escorted Enrique out.

"Stalking, assault, attempted murder, attempted rape, I think we have quite a list here," the cop was telling Enrique, "I don't think you'll be getting out anytime soon, my friend."

After they left, Mr. Delmas and Jim escorted Suzanne Hertz to the Infirmary.


That night, Enrique got out of jail. It was a close thing, but his boss sent a lawyer down, talked to the police, and had him released on bail pending trial. By the time his trial came up, Enrique would be miles out to sea.

He was walking by a dark alley when he was suddenly snatched up. The last thing he saw was the brick wall of a building rushing to meet his face.


Enrique woke up to pain. He shook his head, trying to clear it, then took in his surroundings. He was tied up in a building somewhere, a factory maybe. There were channels of water running in canals of concrete criss-crossing the area.

And towering above him was a monster.

"You understand English?" the monster asked him. He nodded in assent.

"Good, at least now you'll understand why this is happening to you. You see, we're here tonight because you hurt a friend of mine."

"You didn't take the hint, asshole. She doesn't like being your punching bag. If you would have just left her alone to live her life, you wouldn't be here right now, but you didn't. You just had to track her down."

"Then, you didn't take the hint when the cops arrested you. All you had to do was tell them everything, and take your punishment like a man, and you'd get to see the sun rise tomorrow. But you didn't do that, either."

"See, where I come from, we take a dim view of men beating up on women. And when we find one who just can't take the hint and stop, we like to give them a taste of what it's like. So I'm going to do to you just about everything you've ever done to her, and just about everything you said you were going to do to her, leaving out the raping part of course. That way, when you stand before God Almighty, you'll know what it feels like to get what you've been giving out."

Marv then flexed his massive hands and got an ugly smile on his face.

"You can scream now if you want to."


"Where's Enrique?" the boss asked as he walked in the room, "he should have been back here after I bailed him out. That sonuvabitch had better show up pretty quick, or I'll rip his balls off and shove 'em up his ass! He's already cost me too much in bail and bribes!"

"Don't know what to tell you boss," one of the men said, "we haven't seen Enrique since he left this morning."

"Well, he'd better show up soon," the boss said, "otherwise he can rot in France. And if he does show up, I'm going to feed his ass to the sharks after I'm done with him!"