Episode 10 - Forgiveness
The titanic explosion out in space sent a shockwave down to the planet that threw off everyone's balance. Nanini piloting her ship was forced to make careful maneuvers to maintain control, with Fink holding onto her seat. As the wind settled, she let out a sigh.
"Phew… Nice flying girlfriend."
"Thanks," said Nanini before she froze. "Wait. Girlfriend…?"
Suddenly, their exchange was interrupted when Winnie got between them for a group hug screaming, "I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH," and kissing them both on the cheek.
As the shuttle touched down to Venomous and Vilgax's location, the whole of the Toon Force's fleet descended circling the site of the grassy field. Boxman stepped out with Sandy making a run for his boyfriend when he stopped seeing him holding Cosma's discarded Magisword in his hand and kneeling on the ground. No matter how hard he tried to hold back, he couldn't help but shed a few tears while hiding his face from everyone's perspective. The mere thought of Cosma, a supervillain, doing what she did to save the planet was enough to keep the Professor planted trying to process it. Many questions rolled through his head. But there was one thing on his mind that stuck out from the rest. Black Hat.
People from various corners of the Toonverse began to gather around him but only at a distance seeing his anguish as he silently finished crying.
Timmy asked, "That was the lady who ate planets, was it?"
"It was," Danny nodded. "Even Venomous is here! What're the odds?!"
"In Rhyboflaven no less," said Jenny. "I don't get it. Has he always been hiding here?"
You already know.
Carol, without hesitation, marched toward her ex who remained in his position, no longer having the will to sob any further. His grasp tightened on the grass but not of anger towards his former lover as she began to rant.
"K.O. was right. You are involved. As if having an alter ego as an excuse wasn't enough. You put everyone in danger, and now they fight each other out of fear for you!" She leaned closer to him nearly ready to burst into tears herself. "How much do you want to destroy before you're satisfied?! Just tell me already!"
Boxman was ready to argue when Fink stepped up and shouted, "You think he did all this? He just saved your miserable lives!"
"Huh…? He did," Danny asked.
"Yes, snowflake! This whole time he was trying to stop this from happening while you all twiddled your thumbs! So give boss a break!"
"Couldn't have said it any better Fink," Boxman smirked and folded his arms.
Confused, Carol looked at the pair for further explanation. "So you're telling me this man, this…monster was trying to keep whatever Black Hat's up to from happening and didn't say a word?" She shook her head, "I-I mean, K.O. looked up to him to an extent, but… Just what are you?! Good or…?"
Finally, Venomous rose his head and spoke, "Evil, yes. I was. But I can't put you all in danger over my mistakes again. You can blame me however you want. I don't care. Just…"
He paused before he had the chance to break down again, regaining his composure in front of the masses surrounding him. Even Carol felt his frustrations oozing from him and kept herself from pressuring him more than she already has.
"Please… This is our last chance to keep a full-blown war from escalating. Black Hat's going to Lakewood to plant a bomb that will turn everyone into monsters like him. If we don't stop that, there's no going back for any hero or any villain on Earth."
I completely agree!
Even more surprising, the King himself arrived in the middle of the crowd with his Magisword granting him flight, so much that it spreads his and his son's cape like wings. He brought his arms out directing everyone's attention to him.
"I've been monitoring the Professor's progress for months and seen him take after me in the name of justice. I can tell you he truly means what he says. If we are to stop Black Hat, we HAVE to help him."
He turned towards the professor and smiled back. "Venomous, you've been leading your own time for some time. Now, it is time for you to tell us what we can do to assist you."
"Well first I need you, Vilgax, to tell me where… Vilgax…?"
Looking around, the alien warmonger was nowhere to be seen. Not a single hint was there to indicate where Vilgax had fled to; perhaps having snuck away during the commotion.
Boxman then remarked, "For an alien brute, he sure is quiet."
It took very little time for K.O. to finally make it to the top of Shadowy Fink's ivory tower in the middle of Toon City. As he hurried up the staircase, aiming to make this a quick bout against his longtime rival -or rather an alternate of his rival - he thought to himself, "Nothing matters. Nothing else matters but getting to the bottom of this. And hopefully, we can end everything before it gets any worse!"
CRASH!
Slamming the doors down, K.O. barked, "SHADOWY FINK!"
Just in the middle of the room still in repairs, however, both the rat and her robot companions were casually playing a board game of chess when they were interrupted and immediately groaned, unsurprised at the superhero's intrusion.
"You don't sound enthused..."
"There's no reason to be when people are constantly making a fuss over me," she sighed. "It's getting on my nerves."
K.O. balled his fist and said, "Well I'm about to make it a lot worse."
"Ooooooh," the robots teased.
Sitting up, Shadowy Fink chuckled as she straightened her jacket almost mockingly. "Oh pray tell, how might you pull that off?"
"Like THIS!"
With his fist balled, he launched a pink beam of raw energy at the rat who teleported out of range with Robotboy and Robotgirl in tow. Before K.O. knew it, she was right behind him, kicking him so hard he smashed right through the sliding glass doors of her office onto the balcony! He spun around then flipped back onto his feet putting both hands together to fire another beam at the target, only to stop himself when he saw nothing at all.
"Where is Venomous, Shadowy Fink," he shouted. "I know he's the reason all these villains keep coming out of the blue. I know he used Cosma to draw eyes away from him. And I KNOW you have something to do with him. So spill it!"
Echoing in both ears, the shady Fink explained from all around him, "Honestly, I have no idea where he is myself. He went radio silent on me about an hour ago."
"AHA," K.O. grinned and pointed! "You admit it!"
"And you know why he was out there?"
"Why…?"
WHOOSH
From a gust of wind outside, Shadowy Fink materialized before the young man, towering over him like a snake.
"To save your skin."
"You're lying!"
The illusion was broken. K.O. sent a spin kick that dissipated half of Fink's visage when at that moment, she lasered the entire balcony apart! It crumbled and the human had to hop atop the debris as it fell hundreds of stories to the empty streets below, getting high enough that he punched Shadowy in the snout! He then threw a barrage of heavier blows at her before knocking her a huge distance down to Earth! Her impact sent a shockwave that blew across the park in front of the building and devastated small structures as pedestrians began to flee!
But this assault had little to no effect on the a thro. She laid in the crater, barely scratched apart from her clothes. She stayed calm when she reached her arm outward and grasped K.O.'s incoming fist! She flung him as casually as if he were paper before he propelled himself for her again, only for the rat to warp beside him with her hands in her pockets. As his attacks got more intense yet easily dodged, this very scenario seemed a bit familiar to him. Perhaps this Fink's adoption of the Shadowy form after besting the original has taught her how to fight better. Or maybe K.O.'s focus has regressed despite years of training under his belt. Either way, he won't give up. Can't give up until he lands another strike - this time to do some real damage.
"Venomous wouldn't save anyone! He'd just use them for his own evil scheme," he shouted!
To his disturbance, Shadowy Fink began to laugh as she hopped atop a light post. "News flash! He saved me, back when I was just a sewer rat. I had no one but myself till he found me. And he didn't have his powers."
"Well he's..."
"And let's not ignore the fact that he rescued me and your bro from blowing up with the rest of the world. Now it all circles back to his current job to keep Black Hat away from you and the rest of our folks."
Stunned, K.O. bounced back, "Black Hat…?! So all these villains popping up really is his work. But I'd still expect Venomous to take his place once he's beaten."
"Probably," Fink shrugged as she descended. "But at least he'd be preventing a total disaster."
The hero frowned, "I should be... I was taught how to be the good guy. People look up to me and Dad just keeps getting away. The onus is on me for him still running around."
This remark struck a chord with Shadowy Fink. She froze, visibly understanding his comment. "…What you're really saying is...you blame yourself."
"Why wouldn't I? His shadowy whatever used me and gave me a dark side."
"You mean he opened what was already in you to begin with?"
K.O. stuttered, "No it... Well…yeah. But..."
He sighed and hunched back. "Aw, you wouldn't understand... You loved him! He treated you like a daughter and I was just another good guy to beat! But I wasn't just the hero. I was the gun! I was a mess just like him! It's my fault this whole war started because I let him get in my head. T.K.O. wouldn't exist, and Dad wouldn't have had a weapon if I wasn't so STUPID!"
His last word erupted with a huge explosion from slamming the sides of his hands into the dirt! The flames burst around him and his opponent who stood silently, letting him let his frustrations out. She could do like the old days and continue to mock him for even trying to stand up to her or comment on his need for comfort from his mother and other figures in his life. But she would do no such thing. She waited for him to continue his rant while he was on his knees hunched over to the ground hiding his face.
"Everyone's looking up to me as the premier superhero. But I'm no better than Dad was when he was a hero." For a moment, he she'd a tear as he struggled to speak, "Villain blood really does run in the family…"
Shadowy Fink finally spoke, "But even villains like us can change, K.O. Nobody's perfect."
"I guess..."
Calmly, the young man rose up still on his knees trying to crack a smile and scratching the back of his head. "Gosh… I…can't believe I just told you that."
"Well, we all need to unload a burden sometimes. Besides, you're already the ideal hero. You make mistakes. You don't know the answer to everything, and that's fine. That's why you have friends like the two tall ones you like to hang out with at the bodega to back you up."
"Rad and Enid."
"I'll stick to calling them an Arm and a Leg."
"PFFT," K.O. tried to hold in his laughter.
Shadowy Fink knelt down and placed one hand on the hero's shoulder. "K.O, you and Boss were absolutely a piece of work in the past. But that's just it. In the past. It isn't a good investment to dwell on it when there's so much to do, including but not limited to keeping Black Hat from turning everyone into worse versions of that feral side you have."
KO snapped, "Wait, WHAT?!"
"Yeah. That's what Cosma was doing at the Drive Yards. She and Venomous were after Black Hat's plans for a super weapon made from scraps. If they haven't spoken for this long, chances are something's up."
"Can you call 'em now?"
"I would if you didn't crush my phone when I hit the ground."
"I'll do it."
No dice. As he reached in his pocket, K.O. realized his device was gone too.
"Oh… I uh…must've dropped it when I left home."
MS. FINK!
From the complex, Robotboy descended with his rockets getting between the pair.
Fink said, "Go ahead Robotboy."
"There is a riot in Lakewood Plaza!"
K.O. screamed, "WHAT?!"
"Both sides are fighting each other. And the fleet monitoring them is down!"
"I'll join you in a minute, K.O," said the rat. "Use the city teleport to get back home immediately!"
K.O. nodded, "You got it!"