Chapter 9
The Overlooking View
(Part 3)
-Murphy Residence- July 2095-
I woke up again and looked straight at my white ceiling, but today, I didn't waste any time. I got up quickly and walked out of my room, heading towards the bathroom. My eyes stared at my own reflection as I began to run thoughts through my mind. Tonight was my battle with that killer and I must take this seriously.
You're going down Johnny Handy. My lips curled into a frown as I looked down to my cast. "My arm is good now. All I need is for Touko to remove this."
Red lines trailed my left arm and I noticed that all of them were straight, which meant the bones inside were all connected again.
Which meant, I was ready for my battle tonight.
-The Hollowed Shrine – Touko's Office-
"Give me your hand." Touko asked as I lifted my left arm. Right after I ate my breakfast, I went straight to the Puppeteer Mage. Touko, after seeing my arrival to her workshop, wasted no time and asked me to sit on her sofa bed. She immediately removed the bandages and began to inspect my arm, checking if her magecraft had successfully treated the broken bones.
"Wow. Truly magnificent! The Viltrumate healing capabilities, I mean. You guys can rival gods and goddesses, both in strength and vitality." Touko's eyes glimmered in amazement as she trailed my forearm.
Her reaction made me gulp in nervousness. I was very weirded out by her reaction.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Touko. So, uh, are we good?"
"Yup. Perfectly splendid!" The woman gladly exclaimed as she walked over her table and sat on her chair. "You're ready for the battle tonight. However, you're still lacking something."
I blinked in confusion at her words. What could I possibly still lack?
"Uh, what is it, Touko?"
Touko beamed a happy grin at me before she moved down and took out a small briefcase. "This one." She opened the case and showed the contents inside.
Wait-! This is…! My eyes widened as I saw the what was inside. It was a bunch of neatly folded clothes, but it was made out of a very familiar spandex material. What's more, it bore colors of yellow, blue and black. Right on top of it was a mask with two shiny pearl-like eyeholes on the front.
I recognized this pile of clothes. This was my superhero costume.
"My costume."
"I took the liberty of creating it since tonight will be your re-debut of being a superhero. I thought it was appropriate for you to wear the best clothes for the occasion."
Touko explained to me, but I did not hear very much of it. Instead, my mind drifted back to my past. The first time I saw my costume, I was so happy. I had based it off of my second father's costume, when he was still 'Invincible'. I got to wear this and started helping people while bringing hope to everyone. I made my second father proud. This costume was an extension of my skin and myself. And whenever I wore it, I felt my strong connection with Mark, and with that, I felt complete.
But now, my feelings for it were very different. The happiness was gone and in its place was a sad feeling.
"Marky?" Touko must have noticed my gloomy frown, looking at me with concern.
"I'm sorry, Touko. This costume is lovely, but I can't wear it. I'm not there yet."" I reasoned with honesty as I looked away from the case.
"If not now then when, Marky? When will you be ready?"
I glanced at Touko and saw her face shift into a questioning frown. True to her question, I also asked myself when I would be ready to take up my mask. I did not have the answer. The painful truth still weighed down inside of me, still fighting my desire to become a superhero once again.
But when will I be ready? When will this pain disappear? My mind began to work and an irritation sparked within it. Yes, the pain of my tainted birth was still there, but I was so tired of it weighing down on me.
This pain, that used to pin me in my place, I now found it to be completely annoying.
"You're right. When will I be ready?" My frown disappeared as a grin formed on my face. My heart began to beat faster as excitement and hope filled me. I looked back at the costume and took the mask.
I had finally decided. Tonight won't just be my battle with that criminal, but my comeback as a superhero.
The world did not need superheroes. It only needed someone who was willing to do the right thing. And I choose to be that someone, only I was wearing a mask.
"I'm not there yet…but I'm willing to go there."
Touko smirked at me as she pulled her glasses off her face before she spoke. "This might be early, but…welcome back, Mr. Invincible."
After a couple of hours, I finally tried my new costume on. I knew it was not my own before, but after I wore it, I felt a very familiar light feeling. It was the same sensation that I had felt when I saw my first costume. I was so happy, blissful, and above all, it made me feel complete.
Welcome back, my other hero self. I thought with gladness as I glanced at the mirror.
"Heh, I know. My measurements are perfect." I shifted my eyes towards the Puppeteer mage who was sitting on the sofa bed behind me.
"Yes. Thank you, Touko. I imagine you spent a lot of time on this. Hero costumes are hard to build."
"Nonsense! I have made many dolls and many clothes before. Your costume is easy to build for me." Touko proudly explained as she lit up a cigarette.
"Now then, shall we get back to business?" Her gladdened face had suddenly shifted into a serious one as she crossed her legs and blew smoke to the air. "Johnny Handy was a young man born in Detroit. He owned a demolition company at the young age of twenty-three. However, that one closed down six years ago, due to bad economy."
I blinked as my mind become confused from the sudden flow of information that came out of Touko's mouth. "Ah, Touko, where did you learn that?"
"I have friends in the force, especially CIA and FBI. They both owe me greatly."
What the hell is your job again, Touko!? My eyes widened in surprise. I never suspected that she had such huge connections. And they both owe her greatly? I was even more intrigued by Touko's profession as a mage, but I gave it up since I knew it would be a loud explanation of insanity.
"Anyway, Johnny Handy, due to his company closing, developed depression, which he chose not to treat. His depression then turned into schizophrenia, and due to that, he murdered his wife and only daughter."
I was startled by the information. Who would have thought that the psychopathic man was suffering from a mental disorder, and not only that, he also had a family that he killed.
"T-Touko, that's…" I began to think more and I decided that I must catch him so that I could bring him to the authorities. Hopefully, he would receive treatment and rehabilitation. However, I remembered our last conversation and I noticed something.
"He said that he received his eyes from a man. What if this man is the true culprit? He gave him a pair of Mystic Eyes, Touko."
"I also thought of that. Whoever gave him those eyes is certainly filthy rich." Touko blew smoke to the air and smiled at me. "Mystic Eyes cost a lot, you know. And you need to have good connections in the Mage's underworld."
Great, more conspiracy. I sighed in exhaustion. The more I dwelled on Johnny's secret backer, the more I felt that I was bring pushed into the darkness of a forest. I was worried of what I might discover in the end.
"No matter. All will be revealed after I catch him." I shrugged off my fear and faced Touko again, this time with a serious expression.
"Indeed, Marky," Touko, amused to my determination, walked towards her fridge and took out a pail of ice cream. "Now, shall we wait until it's dark?" she asked as she glanced at the window.
The sky outside was orange and purple. The night was clearly coming and I think it would be a clear and bright one since I could not see any clouds.
"Tonight is a good night for battle, indeed." Touko commented with a wild smirk slowly curving up her face.
-Sunnyshade Apartment Building- July 2095
After the clock on Touko's office chimed twelve times, telling me that it was already midnight, I immediately walked outside and flew towards the building. I hovered above the infamous Sunnyshade Apartment Building. And just like from the ground floor, the place was very eerie even from above.
The building had an amenity called 'Overlooking View' and it was basically the building's rooftop, but it only offered one thing: a great view of the waterfront and the city of L.A.
I quietly landed on the roof and scanned my surroundings. I landed on a sidewalk with a playground on my left, and a wide park on my right. The place was truly perfect for families of this apartment building. However, since it was abandoned, the only one who could enjoy this place were homeless people or criminals.
"Hahahaha!"
So, he's here. "Well, I'm here. You better show yourself before I start destroying this place." The familiar laughter of Johnny Handy echoed in my ears. I shifted my eyes towards the source of the sound.
"Well, well, I did not expect you to come at all, since I thought you were just one of those fake misogynistic men who only loves to wear spandex costumes out of their weird sexual fetish. But it looks like I am wrong." Emerging from the shadows of a large water tank, Johnny Handy walked calmly and stood a few meters from me. His face was covered with a black hood, but I could still see his wide, predator-like grin underneath.
"Johnny Handy, I know what happened to you and your family." I ignored his remarks and spoke with declaration. After I learned about what happened to his life, I could not help but take pity at him. He had killed those innocent girls, but I think he also deserved to be saved…if he wanted to or he showed some regret about what he had done. "I will warn for the last time, if you give up now, I'll bring you to the police and there you will receive treatment for your mental ailment."
"Receive treatment?"
"Yes, I think you deserve to be saved and receive a second chance to live as a normal human being. Because, at the end of the day…you are a human who deserves to be happy."
Silence loomed before me and the killer. My heart started beating loudly as hope surged within me. I could feel that my words had reached him because I saw his smile disappear and in its place was a contemplating frown. He was thinking, and that was good for me. I hoped that he would heed me.
"Deserves happiness…me…human?" And then the silence was broken as he let out a loud, mocking laughter. My hope disappeared.
"Johnny-"
"I don't give a shit about that anymore! That normal life is nothing to me! It can be so easily crushed by those who have more privilege in life. I killed those girls because they all came from privileged immigrant families!"
Wh—what? I froze in my place, unable to comprehend what he had just said, but he continued.
"I worked hard my entire life to create my company and my family. I was so fucking happy at the time! But then trouble came when a rival company entered the picture, and this company was owned by some rich Asian immigrant who had several congressmen in his deep pocket! He overthrew me! He ruined me…and I could not even touch him, because he is now the Vice President of this country!"
Wait…he became a killer just because he had lost his wealth to someone who has more privilege than him?
I could not believe what I had just heard. The man had built his entire life from working hard, but that was not enough since he soon lost everything – from an immigrant. I understood his anger and disappointment.
But that was also why I found his reason completely ridiculous and saddening.
"I understand why you did it…" I began as anger rose inside of me. "But did you have to kill your own family just for that? You could've moved on and rise again from your predicament!" Anger and pity churned violently inside of me as I said those words, but it was only met with another ridiculing chuckle from the man.
"Have you tried standing in my shoes? Reason all you want with your higher-than-thou morals – you'll never understand my pain!" His eyes suddenly glistened into many colors as his shadows rippled like dark water beneath his feet. He thundered more. "This is why I hate superheroes like you! How could you and your kind possibly save anyone when all of you don't even understand what we 'normal folks' truly feel!?"
His shout must have triggered his power because the shadows beneath his feet suddenly burst out from the floor. My eyes widened in shock as seven shadows, with heights of up to fifty meters, surrounded me.
"Oh shi-" I cursed, but before I could fully react, one of the giant shadows whipped one of its limbs and hit me at my abdomen. I grunted as I was thrown and landed on the floor, several meters away from them.
"Augh…" I moaned and lay motionless in the crater that my body had created. Johnny Handy's powers were very strong. I didn't think that he could enlarged those shadows with his own will. Truly his eyes, the Mystic Eyes of Shadow Manipulation, was very frightening.
But mine is better. The man could control his shadow at will. He could create millions of them if he wanted to. But mine was way better than his. Mine was more powerful than his.
I twitched both of my feet before I slowly stood up. My legs wobbled for a moment, but I eventually stood straight and cast my serious expression at his still smiling face.
"So, you think what you've done is good just because someone got the better of you?"
"Yes. I do not regret killing those bitches. There are fifteen billion people on this earth anyways – why would their lives even matter?"
His words resounded strongly inside of me and I knew what he meant.
That was the last straw for me. This man wanted to die.
"You're certainly demonic…which means I can go all out on you!" I activated my Mystic Eyes and my vision was flooded with huge red lines before I pushed myself forward and flew towards the first shadow.
I flew straight towards the shadow. A huge vertical red line flashed before me and I quickly swiped my index finger. The shadow split apart as I landed on the floor before I jumped up. I spun in midair and saw another shadow behind me, a deep red line crawled on its surface. I quickly spun in midair again before I whipped my leg down, cutting the second shadow diagonally.
Two down…Five more to go. I counted as I saw the remaining five shadows surrounding the man. As for Johnny, his smile was gone and his eyes were now wide with fright. I had just ended two of his giant shadows. He must be thinking about how I could possibly slash it in an instant.
Good, I want him to feel fear. He might return to his senses and start regret killing those girls.
I watched with my steel gaze as Johnny took a step back and threw his right hand. Four of the shadows quickly charged at me, their limbs extending before they started lashing it out.
"Easy!" Were they really going to whip me to death? Pathetic! They should try harder than that.
I quickly flew and made a barrel roll, avoiding the shadow's whip, before I ascended and harshly rolled again, cutting the shadow in half. Then I descended and made a roundhouse kick with my leg, ending another shadow that was trailing behind the first one.
"Four down…Three to go!" I counted as a smile spread on my lips. Killing those shadows had given me a feeling like a predator hunting its prey. Though in this situation, my hunt was going well. Those shadows deserved to die.
I landed on the ground and pivoted my foot again as I made a leap forward.
I spun my body harshly, and drilled the third shadow giant in its middle portion, before I finished the attack with a high kick, hitting the fourth beside it.
"Six down…One to go!" I glanced forward and saw the last shadow crossing to another rooftop of a building. Its huge legs landed and began to move forward again. In its large hand, sitting with a terror-stricken face, was Johnny Handy.
"You'll not escape this time!" I shouted and pulled my glove hard. My eyes watched the legs of the last giant shadow, its red lines flashing at me.
I smirked as I memorized the line. With brute force, I threw my glove.
The glove travelled and hit home. The fabric trailed the line around the shadow's knees. The shadow fell with a loud thud on the floor of the other building, and together with it was the man who let out a loud shriek.
I flew forward speedily before I landed. I softly slid down the wet roof top, splashing water in my wake. After minutes of ordeal, I had defeated those giant shadows. That man's minions were all dead. As for Johnny Handy, he was where I wanted him to be.
In front of me, groaning in pain on the floor.
"Didn't I tell you that I will capture you!" I vent in burning fury as I watched him struggle to stand up. He faced me with a disheveled look as he labored his breath. He must be thinking in disbelief. He thought that he had the advantage with his shadows.
I just turned the tables against him.
"Now Johnny," I began as I walked towards him slowly, "Are you going to do this the hard way or the easy way?"
"AAGH!" He screamed as he cast his Mystic Eyes at me. I noticed a slithering movement below me, but before I could react, the last of his shadows, his own, whipped out and attached beneath my feet, making me freeze in place.
"I have one last shadow on me! My own! And I'm going to kill you with it!" Johnny laughed manically at me.
And as for me, my eyes only went wide. I was shocked that he still had one last trick up his sleeve. I was a fool for not thinking that he could use his own shadow as a weapon.
But…he also failed to noticed one thing about me.
"Are you done laughing?" I asked as a smile spread across my lips. This time it was his turn to be shocked. His laughter disappeared as his eyes looked down and went wide.
"You-you don't have a shadow?!"
"Yes. Because I cut it before I got here, turns out I don't need it anyways." I said in a proud manner as the man shrieked at my statement.
"How is this possible!?" he asked, horrified by the fact that I was moving without casting any shadow at all.
Actually, I've no idea either. Turns out my Mystic Eyes of Death Perception can also destroy intangible things like my shadow. I didn't want to answer Johnny, because just like him, I also didn't know. I was afraid at first when I realized that I need to cut my shadow so he wouldn't be able to control me. I didn't know what would happen to me, but it turned out I was still ok…I think.
"Sadly, you won't get that answer, Johnny…because you're going to jail." I said as I resumed my walk and Johnny moved backwards.
Tears were now streaming down his cheeks as his shriek turned into a whimper. Eventually, he ran out of space to move. His back hit the railings of the rooftop and beyond that was a sixty-meter drop to the sidewalk.
"P-Please…I'm begging you…"
I stopped as I heard Johnny beg for his life. I could not help but relish it. Good, now he would feel what his victims had felt before they died.
"I-I do not want to die-! I don't want to go back to the slum-! He-he just told me to mess with you. He's the one who gave me these eyes just so I could use them to rile you up! I am innocent here!" I stopped and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Now I was getting to the main part of this entrapment.
"Who give you those eyes, Johnny?" I growled and activated my Mystic Eyes gain, causing the man to whimper more. "I said who gave them to you!?" I threatened him more, this time hovering beyond the edge and floated above.
Johnny screamed and grabbed my forearm with his hands as he hung for dear life. He was panicking, but I had no time for his bullshit reaction.
"JOHNNY. NAME. NOW." I said again, this time in low demonic tone and with a devilish, furious frown.
He shut up for a moment before he muttered a name. "Marisbury…Animusphere."
I froze as a very familiar name echoed resoundingly inside of me. "Marisbury…Animusphere?" I repeated what he said with a startled voice.
The man who wanted my eyes, and the one who hired the man who attempted to kill me. The very same man who was the reason Touko had to put those accursed eyes of Ryougi Shiki in me. Who would have thought that he was also the mastermind of this charade?
Marisbury Animusphere. Whoever this man was, he was now back to mess me more up.
Fucking hell.
"I—I said the name-please…I surrender." My mind went back to Johnny Handy, who was still hanging on my arm.
"I surrender-! Please…don't kill me."
Fucking ironic…I thought darkly. This man had killed his entire family and many innocent girls, and yet he had the gall to ask me not to kill him? That didn't seem fair for the victims now, was it?
I didn't reply and only hovered down to the floor. He gasped for air as I let him go and I watched him make pathetic sobs as if he was the victim of tonight's events. I used to have pity on him. Now I only had irate. How dare he cry the same way his victim's cried.
"Johnny…I'm going to bring you to the police. And there you'll confess everything, got it?"
"Y-yes, Sir…"
"Good." But this is not enough. I looked at him for a moment, eyeing him hard before I bent down and grabbed him again by his collar.
"W-what are you doing!? I told you I give up already!"
"And you think this is over? This is for the girls you've killed." I declared with a straight voice before I activated my eyes and saw the red lines over his eyes. Johnny had gained Mystic Eyes that control shadows and he used it only for bloody, petty crimes. Now, I had to punish him in the most appropriate way that I could think of.
Before the man could react more, I raised my index and middle finger…to gauge out both of his eyes. Then I immediately pulled them out without throwing some blood. I only targeted his Mystic Eyes abilities and his sight, not the organ itself. And with that, Johnny was forever blind.
"AGH! I cannot see! I cannot see!" Johnny let out a scream. He rolled on the floor, crying and screaming in horror. What I did was completely painless. He was only screaming in anguish for the loss of his vision and that served him right.
"You'll never see again, Johnny."
"Why did you hurt me?! You are a superhero – you guys shouldn't hurt anyone including criminals."
That is right. I thought as I shifted my gaze beyond the railings and towards the city. Superheroes were the ideal models of the people. They brought hope and spread good to everyone, which was why they should not hurt anyone, including criminals. They should show compassion and empathy, to bring out the best of mankind's behavior.
But now I knew the truth about this world and I was not afraid to embrace it.
"I was 'Kid-Invincible', and I was once a 'superhero'." I hovered above Johnny as I returned my determined gaze at him again. "But now I am reborn, not as a superhero…but as a Hero. And a 'Hero' can only do one thing: 'to always do the right thing, regardless of how he or she would do it'." I declared without hesitation at the man.
This world does not need superheroes. But someone who is willing to do the right thing. Touko…who would have thought that your words were prophetic and true indeed?
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Invincible and Kara no Kyoukai. Names, Places and Events are all purely fictional. If one exists in real life then it's just a coincidence.
Special thanks to Pure Red Crane for beta-reading.
Whoo! Done with the latest chapter! Hey everyone, and welcome to my new chapter. This chapter is the main climax of the arc, the next one would be the last part.
The battle here, for me, is very extreme. I created the character Johnny Handy out of two famous psychopath killers from the nineties or eighties (can you guess who, tee-hee!) and as for the battle, it was actually to pay homage to Fate Stay Night Heaven's Feel part 3 finale. Its the scene where Rin had to face Sakura who uses her familiars to attack her.
And you know what her family is? Yes, shadows! And I think its pretty cool! So it gave me an idea of mixing that scene with Kara-no-Kyouaki's first movie's battle scene.
And with that, I do hope you enjoy this chapter! Stay safe everyone, Thinker out!
