AN: I apologize for the delay, but I hope it was worth the wait. I've considered renaming the fic to Heroic Satan as opposed to Heroic Hercule. Let me know what you think of the chapter and potential chapter change! And thanks again to Ijustwokeup for a great beta job on this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. This fic is rated M.
The following morning, the Golden blur made another appearance. A would-be-purse snatcher was left, much to his embarrassment, hogtied by his own shirt and pants which left him immobilized outside the local precinct. Meanwhile, Gohan had just arrived at school and burst through the classroom door as the students began to settle down.
"I'm sorry for being late sir," he apologized, bowing slightly at Mr. Alpha. Erasa beamed at his politeness while Sharpener snorted in amusement.
"No problem son, just don't be late again," the instructor replied, already favouring the stellar student for both his professional attitude and dedication to his studies.
His response caused a few murmurs of dissent and of teacher's pet to echo throughout the room.
Mr. Alpha silenced the few disgruntled students with a glance, before gesturing to Gohan, "Take your seat, we're about to begin."
Slightly flushed at being the center of attention, the student rushed up the steps to take his usual seat beside Erasa. The bubbly blonde greeted him with a wide smile while Sharpener merely raised his hand in acknowledgement. Looking around, Gohan noticed that Videl was missing.
"Where's Videl today?" he asked Erasa, keeping his voice low.
Having already asked the female blonde the same question only minutes earlier, Sharpener only half-paid attention to their conversation. Surprising to most, he was actually quite dedicated to his studies, though he often didn't do as well as he'd hoped.
Erasa on the other hand was more than willing to spare Gohan her full attention. In her quiet whisper, she replied, "When I dropped by her house this morning, her mom said she wasn't feeling well."
Unfortunately for her, her quiet whisper was the equivalent of anyone else's regular speech. A small tick appeared above Mr. Alpha's head as he cast his sights up the rows at the blonde. Gohan noticed their teacher's ire and made a shushing gesture before he pointed to the front of the class. Erasa noticed with a small 'Eeep!' while the teacher nodded in approval.
Continuing his lecture, the Mr. Alpha didn't notice Gohan whisper back to Erasa, "I hope she feels better soon."
"She was supposed to help me get ready for our date tomorrow," Erasa pouted her displeasure. A moment later she added as an afterthought, "Maybe she she'll feel better tomorrow? I'd really love it if she could still help…" She placed a finger against her mouth, her worry clearly showing.
Gohan was surprised at the slight selfishness in her words. He looked at her funny, while she continued to lose herself in thought. It wasn't long until Sharpener's snort snapped him out of it.
Apparently the blonde male had been listening in more than Gohan thought. He explained, "Erasa just doesn't know how to express herself properly. She's actually really worried for Videl. It's just easier for her to make it about her instead of having to actively worry about her friend."
Taking a second look, the half-Saiyan noted her genuine concern, hidden beneath the cute puzzled look on her face. He smiled gently before giving Erasa a light nudge.
"You're missing out on the lecture," he chided softly, keeping his eyes on Mr. Alpha. Despite covering the material before, Gohan wished to show his teacher proper respect for his station.
Erasa smiled, placing a hand on his softly in thanks. She quickly returned her focus to the front and attempted to learn from the lecture. Recently, probably due to Gohan's influence, she had been motivated to perform better in school. Gohan shot her a brief smile and she lowered her hand.
Intrigued, Sharpener watched the interaction between the two. Well, that was a warm and fuzzy moment. Friendly too... I wonder how their date will go.
The rest of the school day passed without much event for Gohan, until the very end of school. With a quick excited hug, Erasa quickly squealed out the details for their date the next day. Nervous and completely caught off guard, he tried to mentally keep up and commit all the details to memory. By the time he was calm enough to take notice of his surroundings, the blonde had already left, excited about preparing for their date.
.
The Saturday turned out to be a bright and sunny day, the perfect weather for a first date. Unfortunately for Gohan, the weather did nothing to calm his nerves. It would be his first date ever and he hadn't the slightest clue as to what to do. Thankfully, despite his mother's crazy interjections, the teen had a general idea, courtesy of Bulma.
He was expected to take her out somewhere to talk, possibly a pastry shop or ice cream parlour and then follow up with something fun and casual, perhaps a movie. Gohan felt better knowing the expected structure of his date. Now fully versed in all the shops and attractions near Central Golden Park, a credit to his studious research the night before, he was waiting anxiously for Erasa's arrival, sweating bullets.
"Hey Gohan!" called an excited shout from behind him.
The half-Saiyan nearly jumped out of his clothes; despite his tense alertness, Erasa had startled the bejeebus out of him. Turning around, he gave his friend a tentative wave, taking in her appearance. From a distance he could make out her white patterned skirt, yellow flowery top, and loose pair of beige flats. As she approached, Gohan noticed a skillful touch of mascara, accentuating her naturally long lashes, and a delicate application of rusty-salmon eyeshadow, giving her baby blues a greater pop—or he would have, had he been knowledgeable of such things.
Also dressed up for the occasion, he was glad he listened to Bulma's advice while ignoring his mother's. Gohan sported a fitted blue dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top, a pair of loose khakis tapered near the bottom, and a pair of nice leather shoes, buffed to shine throughout. His mother had squealed, gibbering on about grandbabies as he left. Her semi freak-out had done wonders for his nerves.
"Uh, hi Erasa," Gohan greeted as she approached. Is that lipstick and blush she's wearing? He wasn't completely oblivious when it came to females and their cosmetics. Just mostly.
The blonde paused a step or two away from him, critically eyeing him from head-to-toe. She performed her examination with a stern expression on her face, which could easily be confused with a slight pout. It would be hard for any observer to understand what she was thinking at that very moment.
Almost already a nervous wreck, Gohan was only a few seconds away from snapping.
She stared intently at his legs. Three.
She examined his chest. Two.
She took in his whole appearance. On—
Before Gohan could freak out, Erasa let out a second squeal before leaping at him with her arms wide open, bosom first. The moment her chest impacted his, she curled her arms into a tight hug. Her victim was too confused by her reaction to meltdown.
"Uh, huh?" the teen managed to splutter out in a question. His body was in the tricky process of balancing the available blood supply. Unfortunately his brain was flustered, his face was flushed, and his other head was growing. Gohan simply didn't have enough blood to support both—heads that is.
"You look so handsome!" the blonde explained, her face looking up from where it had attempted to burrow its way into his chest. "You're so much better dressed than you normally are!" Catching her implied insult with unusual mental acuity, she quickly added, "Not that you dress bad normally."
"Uh thanks," Gohan replied, still too flustered to catch her verbal misstep. The constant pressure of her chest against his was impairing his cognitive abilities. "You look really great too. Prettier than normal actually."
Erasa beamed at his praise and explained her getup, "I actually got help from Videl with this. She doesn't have the greatest fashion sense, but her martial arts training have given her the steadiest hands I know!" She slipped smoothly out of the embrace to intertwine her hand with his, much to the half-Saiyan's relief.
"Oh, how is she?" the other teen replied, his initial discomfort being replaced by worry for his friend's absence the day before.
"Well, she swore she was feeling better…" the female nibbled her lips worriedly, "But knowing her she was just pretending…"
"If she'd really needed help she'd ask, right?" Gohan tried to suggest, though it came across as a question.
Erasa contemplated her visit to Videl earlier that morning.
"Hi Videl, feeling better today?" Erasa asked as she walked into the fighter's bedroom, makeup bag in tow. Mrs. Satan had insisted that Videl had slept enough the previous day and needed the wakeup call.
Surprised, the blonde found Videl sitting, staring out at space, already awake. She tried to get her friend's attention by waving her hand in front of the spaced-out teen. It took a few moments of cajoling and waving before Videl finally came to.
"Uh, sorry about that Erasa, what's up?" she asked, blinking as though waking from a sleep.
"Well, I was hoping if you were feeling better, you'd help me get ready for my big date!" the blonde explained, still worried about her friend.
Videl frowned slightly, but quickly noticed the other teen's pout and pasted a smile on her face. "Sure I'd love to help!"
"Really?" Erasa asked hopefully, brushing away her skepticism for the sake of her date.
"Yeah, sure thing."
Dislodging the memory with a small shake of her head, Erasa replied to Gohan's query, "Uh, I'm not sure, but she's a tough girl. She'll be back to school on Monday. She said so herself."
The boy sighed in reply, obviously expecting as much. Trying to lighten the mood, he decided to put his meticulous plan into action, "How about we go to an ice cream parlour?"
"Sure," Erasa's demeanour instantly rebounded to her usual perky self. "I'm not exactly sure where, but there's a few around here."
"Actually, I know exactly where they are," Gohan replied, rubbing the back of his neck in a show of humility, "I kind of memorized the local hot spots last night."
The blonde was shocked at first, pausing in step before launching her bosom towards the other teen for another hug. "You're so thoughtful! It's adorable!" she exclaimed, clamping her arms around Gohan for a second tight embrace, only seconds after the first.
Feeling a sudden surge in his pants, Gohan panicked. The press of her exposed thighs against his brought her lower body dangerously close to his growing bulge. "Uh thanks, I guess. We should keep going, it's just around the corner." He desperately pried himself out of her hug, careful not to hurt her.
Erasa only noticed his attempts to escape and although physically unharmed, took his actions personally. With a small pout, she let go and replied with a simple, "Fine." She took his hand and followed his lead as he explained the merits of his chosen ice cream parlour.
Unsure of her sudden change in attitude, Gohan rambled on in order to fill the silence. When they arrived at the parlour, he opened the door for her, careful to be the perfect gentleman. He even pulled out her seat for her as they sat down with their orders, much to the approval of the store owner and Erasa. At his gracious gesture and nervous smile, she simply couldn't stay miffed at him. She let out a small sigh, before smiling and resetting the date within her mind.
"So, you've mentioned your little brother and mom. Could you tell me more about them?" the blonde opened, honestly curious about his life.
Having just inhaled a rude amount of ice cream in one bite, Gohan was forced to hastily swallow before replying, "Well, my brother, Goten, is just a tiny whirlwind of energy. He's a lot like my father was, very innocent and naïve, but good natured." He smiled at the thought.
"Naïve, even by your standards?" Erasa asked, slightly surprised. She remembered enough to dance around the mention of Goku.
The half-Saiyan replied with an open laugh, finally relaxing a little, "Even when compared to me, yes. My mother on the other hand…" he continued to answer her second question, "Is… very strong-willed and can be quite frightening."
The blonde smiled at his discomfort speaking ill of his mother. It was also amusing how he winced at the finish, as though expecting a blow from out of the blue, "She can't be that bad, can she? I mean my parents can be strict sometimes, but they aren't that scary. Though then again…"
Gohan interrupted her thought with an empathetic shake of his head. "You have absolutely no idea, Erasa. My mother is just… well she rules the household with an iron pan."
"Don't you mean an iron fist?" she asked confused.
"I mean exactly what I said. When she's angry she wields a frying pan like no other," he explained before noticing her skepticism. In amusing and exaggerated motions, he began explaining the brutality in which is mother often disciplined family and close friends. Large arm flailing motions were completed with flying spittle and imaginary impacts, all for Erasa's benefit.
She giggled at first, finding his antics amusing. Her mirth grew into full blown laughter when she realized his explanation was serious, despite the slight pity she felt for him. Erasa continued to enjoy Gohan's presence, glad that he was finally opening up. They continued to talk about, family, friends, and surprisingly, school. Apparently when he talked about the material, it was that much more interesting.
Unfortunately for Erasa, she was quick to notice her growing comfort to his presence. There were no butterflies in her stomach. No rushing sensations when he looked at her. No emotional flare when he talked. Just a comfortable, friendly feeling. When she had first laid eyes on him, she had been looking for a new love interest, but she was already placing him in the friend zone! Erasa, come on girl. He's cute, smart, and an all-around nice guy. The sparks need to fly!
Despite her best intentions throughout the conversation, the spark she needed never formed. The chemistry simply wasn't there. As they finished their ice cream, the blonde began to panic internally. He's such a great guy, I'd hate to lose him over this! I have to let him down easy.
Gohan completely oblivious to her inner turmoil thanked the store owners with a small bow. He turned back before gesturing out the door, "It's such a nice day outside Erasa. How about we go for a walk through the park?"
"Uh sure thing," she replied, trying to maintain an upbeat appearance as they walked out of the store. As they down the sidewalk, she couldn't take it anymore. I might as well settle this now before things get too far. She grabbed a fistful of the other teen's hair before pulling him into a kiss, testing the waters.
Gohan's eyes bugged out in surprise and confusion. Wha—huh?
With a very drawn out and reluctant sigh, Erasa relaxed off the balls of her feet. "Gohan… we need to talk."
Warning bells began go off in his head. That phrase sounded awfully familiar…
"Gohan, whatever happens, be careful if she says 'we need to talk'. If a girl says that on a date, it's bad news," Bulma explained partway through her tutorial on dating. "If that happens you need to—"
Why couldn't he remember the rest? As the warning bells continued to ring, he watched Erasa struggle to find the right words. Suddenly, a very sarcastic drawl drew both their attentions behind them.
"Well, looks like the lovers here are having a great day," Shredder intoned while his two cronies sniggered. "Looks like we're going to have to do something about that." In an instant, the three teens separated slightly before they began a menacing approach towards Gohan and Erasa.
Gohan instinctively took a protective step in front of Erasa. The warning bells within his mind had escalated into a full blown klaxon.
.
In a coolly lit room across town, two people walked through an open pair of dark oaken doors. Closing the heavy doors behind him, Xel Rohtul welcomed his guest with a gracious arm gesture to a chair before walking behind his desk himself. The two took their respective seats in anticipation for the appointment they had set earlier that morning.
"Thank you, , for taking the time to answer some questions for me, especially on such short notice," Soil Laen opened diplomatically, sitting across from across Golden Star City's most influential man. In her lap sat her notepad and pen, ready to write. On the luxurious desk before her sat her tape recorder, prepped to record. "You have quite a reputation for evading the press."
"Of course, I am required to communicate with the press on occasion, being who I am," the bald CEO intoned regally. With a small nod and a gracious hand gesture, he indicated at Soil. "If I must be honest, I was only interested because you were to be the reporter."
"Oh?" the female reporter quirked an eyebrow, "And why is that?"
"To have suffered such an ordeal only two days ago, but return to work with such vigour—it can only be described as phenomenal." The multi-billionaire waved her attempt at a protest before continuing in his smooth baritone voice, "It speaks to the strength of your character. I have always possessed a keen interest in meeting people of extraordinary value and thus, was more than willing to accept an interview conducted by you." As he spoke, his hands moved in smooth expressive emotions, before finally clasping together in front of him as he finished. Intertwining his fingers, the entrepreneur gave Soil a handsome smile.
Brushing off his compliments, Soil began her interview, intent on discovering some truths about the CEO and his company, "Sir, there have been complaints about neglect within certain districts of the city, leaving many citizens in poor living conditions."
"Not afraid diving right in, are we, miss Laen?" Xel Rohtul chuckled softly in amusement. His demeanour suddenly shifted into that of a true business professional, something Soil did not miss, "Unfortunately, my company's primary concern is future economic growth. Certain industries and locale are suboptimal, no subpar, for our needs and would be an inefficient use of our resources," leaning forward, the man continued, "Golden Industries is however committed to bettering our beloved city and thus has implemented and will continue to implement new initiative to aid those in need. Anything more and we would be replacing government entirely," he grinned at the slight joke, leaning back slightly.
"Would you be speaking about your Golden Scholarships?" Soil inquired, attempting to ignore the straightness of his teeth.
The bald man simply nodded in return, "That is but one example, we have many—"
"There have been assertions that the program is merely a disguised recruitment program for your company," the reporter interrupted, not at all intimidated in the presence of the powerful man.
"Admittedly, a high percentage of those winners eventually find their way into my corporation, but I hardly see the problem. Both the city and my company benefit from their flourishing potential as opposed to the other option: would you rather our rising stars leave to West City? Southwest City? It is in everyone's best interest for me to offer incentive for those talented individuals to stay," the man grinned at the woman's brash attitude and noticed his growing interest in her person. At this point in time perhaps he could learn more about her than he originally wanted to.
Scowling at his obviously well thought out reasoning, Soil attempted to throw him off track with an unrelated question, "What do you know of the Golden Blur? There have been people tying his presence to Golden Industries."
"His?" the CEO quirked an interested eyebrow. At last, I can finally get a proper account of the incident.
"This, Golden Blur," Soil explained with an exasperated hand gesture. She hoped she wasn't flushing like she had whenever the Blur was mentioned since the incident. The man was obviously toying with her and enjoying every word of it.
"I was unaware that this mysterious saviour, as you will, was even real. Yet alone male," noticing her subtle blush, Xel Rohtul grinned a soft smile. Adding a richer texture to his voice, he asked suggestively, "Interested in the man, I take it?"
Unusually flustered, the reporter retorted, "No way! He's way too young for me. He's just… such a good person."
"A young man then?" the CEO questioned, almost humming at the implications. Refocusing his attention on the reporter he saw her quickly regain her proverbial footing. A shame, but I doubt I'll be able to get more information from her currently.
Soil features adopted a determined look. She shook her head gently at his question, "Unfortunately, I came here for an exclusive interview with a hero of the city, not give out details of my—"
A sharp knock at the double doors cut her off. Xel Rohtul sat up straight, a frown making his displeasure obvious to the reporter. Another knock at the door a moment later.
The CEO sighed in annoyance, "If it wasn't important, all my employees know better than to interrupt one of my meetings," he gestured at the double doors questioningly, noticing Soil's short nod, he called out, "This had better be important."
Butler opened the double doors slowly, before gracefully entering the room. With a short bow at the bald leader, he spoke with a cultured air, "Sir, I am quite sorry to interrupt, but an incident has occurred and requires your immediate attention."
Soil paid close attention to the Xel Tohtul's frown, it deepened ever so slightly, "Can it not wait?" He's not happy about the interruption as much as me.
Butler gave a small shake of his head, his face emotionless, "I'm afraid not sir, this is a most pressing matter."
"Very well," with a reluctant nod, the billionaire turned his attention back to Soil, "It appears that I have important matters to deal with. However I would be most appreciative of continuing this at a later date. Perhaps over dinner?" he shot the reporter a handsome smile.
Is he making a move on me? Soil was shocked by the idea. Any men who'd spoken to her were often scared off by her condor and forcefulness. Except the horrible man from a few days ago… Unwilling to allow her mind to travel down that unwelcome path, she attempted to refocus her attention on the matter at hand.
"I would appreciate an opportunity to continue this interview at another time," she replied, ignoring the subtle implication. She could play ball. Gathering her things, she quickly made her way out the door before inclining her head slightly at the CEO, "I'll call later today to setup that interview."
"Looking forward to it," the bald man called out, smiling slightly at her retreating figure.
The moment Butler closed the doors behind her, all good humour immediately evaporated from the room, and in place, a serious demeanour settled across the room.
"What happened?" to anyone else the tone would have been curt, however to Butler it was merely a tone that showed Xel's impatience.
"Miss Lavender has failed in her task," the manservant replied simply before elaborating, "Her corpse has been located. What do you wish be done?"
Xel Rohtul steepled his fingers, deep in thought. Butler merely stood across the desk, still as a statue, familiar with the CEO's habits. After a few moments, the business man interrogated his informant, gathering all the information he could before formulating his action plan for the future.
With infinite patience, Butler responded to each question and eventually acted as a sounding board for his master's brainstorming process. Finally half an hour later, some semblance of a plan had been hatched out, leaving Xel Rohtul satisfied with the result.
"…Tomorrow, the Black Demon will be Golden City's most wanted man."
"Very good, sir."
.
Two evenings ago…
"Someone wants you dead," Miss Lavender stated before commanding, "Turn around."
The Black Demon slowly raised its hands above its masked head, presenting the appearance of surrender. The woman almost snorted out loud in derision. If the Demon was so easily subdued, she would not have been hired for the job.
Playing along, she pretended to believe in the Demon's compliance. Instead, she was ready to react at a moment's notice, playing with a second gun in its holster, "Very nice, but I need you to take it slow. Put your hands behind your head. Try anything and you eat a bullet – Teflon-coated for the armour you probably wear."
The masked vigilante paused mid-turn, obviously unhappy with the latest development; immediately its dark clothing began to blend with the darkness. Noticing Lavender was different from the usual trash it cleaned, the Black Demon began devising a new tactical plan to handle the situation. Before the vigilante could react however, Miss Lavender decided to take advantage of her adversary's hesitation.
Her orders had been to retrieve the target dead or alive, obviously alive for the larger bonus. Unfortunately for Miss Lavender, attempting to capture this target alive seemed too high a risk. Firing several rounds at the black figure, she tumbled backwards pre-emptively, avoiding the Demon's likely counter attack.
Not a moment too soon as turns out, the Black Demon almost instantly swung its arm around, elbow first, with enough force to easily incapacitate a normal human.
Miss Lavender quickly rose to her feet, prepared to defend herself against her wounded opponent. She had not anticipated her opponent's speed however, and was sent flying backwards by a well-placed kick. Heavily winded, Miss Lavender found her body unresponsive—until she impacted the wall. First, her nerves flared with an explosion of pain, overwhelming her other senses. Then her lungs spasmed with a violent action, trying desperately to restore equilibrium. And finally, her arms reacted with the twitching of her hand, firing more rounds at her target.
The Black Demon responded quickly, rolling to the side to dodge the incoming fire. The tumbles were only interrupted briefly for a counter attack. With a quick motion, the vigilante hurled a blurred projectile directly at the Lavender's chest.
She barely dodged, still struggling to regain her breath. At the sound of falling debris, she turned her head to see a grapefruit-sized hole in the brick wall behind her. The odds were against her if she took an attack like that head on. The fight was looking less and less preferable as time went on. Her only hope was the initial damage she had inflicted earlier limiting her opponent's fighting ability.
With an exaggerated flick, the Black Demon brought both its weapon and Lavender's attention back to its hand.
Miss Lavender narrowed her eyes in the darkness. That seems a lot lighter when it's not attacking… and did I see a string? Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the imposing figure in the darkness. Fuck, somehow my earlier shots did nothing. Discarding one of her guns, she began prepping a throwing knife behind her back. She waited for the Black Demon to move, figuring herself at a disadvantage.
In return, the vigilante was also wary, taking time to properly prepare an attack. The Black Demon threw its weapon once more before dashing straight at Miss Lavender, hoping to catch her unprepared. A shaft of metal glinted in the darkness, severing the connection between the Demon and its weapon. The vigilante let out a growl in frustration. Careless! I forgot to reinforce the string with Ki! The flying weapon quickly arced downwards, bouncing harmlessly off the floor.
Smirking at the Demon's sudden halt, a sign of her advantage, Miss Lavender goaded her opponent, "What, that's it? Without you're little toy, you're nothing."
The Black Demon nodded meaningfully towards her remaining gun.
"Tools of the trade," she defended. In retaliation, she raised her gun, "And unlike yours, mine doesn't rely on some gimmick."
The Black Demon slowly walked forwards, ignoring the bullets as they pinged off its torso.
Miss Lavender suppressed her upwelling panic, she was a professional. "Why don't we see how you handle this?" she called out, grabbing the gun with both hands. Slowing her firing rate, she began to target likely weakness in the Demon's protection, aiming at joints and soft targets.
The Black Demon didn't even flinch at the new barrage, only shifting slightly when a bullet came near its neck.
"How about this?" Miss Lavender pointed her gun at one of her collapsed hired help. Noticing the Black Demon pause, she cocked an eyebrow, "Really? You don't have trouble maiming some criminals for life, but you don't think they deserve to die? You have a twisted sense of morals, you know that right?"
The Black Demon stood completely still, like a corporeal shadow, occupying the middle of the alley. After a tense internal struggle, the vigilante stood to the side, indicating towards the exit of the alley.
Slowly and cautiously, Lavender took steps towards the exit, careful to keep her weapon trained on her fallen 'ally'. When she stood right in front of the Black Demon, Miss Lavender couldn't help notice how short her opponent truly was, despite the tense atmosphere of the alley. One step, she was past the Black Demon. Two steps, she was closer to the exit than the Demon was. A third step, the tension was beginning to leave her body. A fourth step, overwhelming pain.
Collapsed on the floor, Miss Lavender cursed her carelessness. As soon as the Black Demon had been between her and the target she had lost her only advantage. She had made a potentially fatal miscalculation.
At that exact that moment, a worried man tentatively called out, from the mouth of the alley, "Hello? Anybody there?"
Miss Lavender almost laughed, coughing up blood instead. Although she wasn't able to move her lower body, her arm was responding just fine. Well, fuck you Demon….
Watching the would-be-assassin raise her gun, the Black Demon widened its eyes, instantly understanding her intent. The Demon reacted, knowing that physically intercepting the bullet was impossible, and instead, fired a Ki blast at Lavender.
The energy blast lit the alleyway in a blinding flash of light, enveloping the bullet, gun, and a good portion of Miss Lavender. The darkness quickly returned, but it did little to obscure the gruesome scene. The remains of the criminal sat propped against the alleyway wall. Missing half its face. And its right arm. And its shoulder. In fact, anything above the waist and to the right of the sternum had been vaporized. Unfortunately for any observer, the heat was not intense or high enough to completely cauterize the wounds—parts were falling out.
The remains of the right lung had been seared shut; part of the esophagus flopped just above it, exposed to the stagnant alley air. Small charred pieces flaked off, giving the tissue an appearance similar to that of a spotted snake. If the body were still living, a doctor would have easily declared it septic. Both digestive and fecal matter slowly oozed from various openings, polluting the air with a foul odour.
The innocent bystander stood in shock, unable to process what had happened—until a charred kidney squelched before flopping onto the floor. With a terrified scream he ran for all his worth, heading straight home.
The masked vigilante was frozen rigid, trying to process the past few seconds. The plopping of grey matter onto the cement ended the fighter's stupor. As if its strings were cut, the Black Demon dropped to its knees, pressing its hands to the floor. Tremors began to rack the Demon; they originated from the abdominal region, before violently travelling outwards. The vigilante crossed its arms, clinging to itself, in a desperate attempt to regain some semblance of control. Minutes passed before the Black Demon had composed itself enough to stand, intent on leaving the mess behind.
The Black Demon took one last look at the corpse, moving awkwardly to the alley exit. Suddenly, a pair of hands grasped desperately at their owner's mouth. With a sharp tug, the lower half of the face mask came off, revealing a feminine jawline and blue lips. Trembling lightly, her tight lips opened, completely unbidden.
Bent over, she vomited quietly in the dark alley.
AN: Reviews are my motivation to keep going!