# # #
Valkadaidan came in at Six am. to find the door to the Office of the Professional Heroes already open. Who's in at this time? He readied his katana as he slowly crept in. The sounds of snoring coming from the back answered his question. He relaxed a bit as he walked in to find Deadguy passed out at his desk, his feet propped up on the desk. "Rough night," he asked, pushing Deadguy's feet off with his katana.
The act almost knocked Our Hero onto the floor. He flailed his arms, trying to gain his balance. He rubbed his eyes. "What time is it," he asked
"Six, and you smell like booze."
"Don't worry, I'm not drunk. Or hungover. I just did some bar hopping last night."
"Is this going to end up on the morning news?"
"Probably." Deadguy yawned, then looked into his empty coffee mug. "Why is the coffee always gone?" His phone rang. "What do you want," he asked in his half-asleep haze.
"That's a nice way to speak to your boss," Jill's voice said on the other end.
"Right," he answered, his brain still not functioning properly. If his brain had ever functioned properly to begin with. "I heard that," he said out loud.
"Heard what," she asked.
"The sound of rioting in the background," he guessed.
"Now you know why I'm stuck in traffic. Get down here."
"Where's here?" There was an explosion off in the distance.
"I'm thinking where that explosion just happened."
"Right boss. On our way." He hung up the phone, then crashed his head onto his desk and started snoring. Valk smacked him across the head. "Gah! What?"
"Are we going or not," he questioned.
"Yeah, yeah. Let me just get Masamune. And more coffee."
The guys pulled up a few blocks away from the riots. Traffic and police barricades prevented them from going any farther. "Time for some sneaky sneaky," Deadguy said, stretching.
"Just keep up and keep quite this time," Valkadaidan responded, pulling out his katana from his trunk. The balmy weather meant wearing anything to cover it would be more conspicuous than just carrying it. Our Hero grabbed his mythical baseball bat and hefted it onto his shoulder.
"Let's get this party started," he remarked. The two Heroes ducked into a side alley and quickly made their way into the riots. It was madness. There were cars turned over. Fires blazing in various buildings. People were moving and fighting as if they were a singular entity. "We need to find Jill." A few powerful shots rang out, above the sounds of chaos.
The Heroes looked at each other. "There she is," they said at the same time. They took off after the sound of gunshots to find a flash of familiar blazing red hair duck back behind an overturned car. They found her protecting a few small children.
"About damn time you two showed up," she yelled at them over the noise.
"Would have been here sooner, but we had to stop for more coffee," DG quipped.
"Now is not the time for jokes, Hero," she said. "We need to get these kids to safety."
"I am not appreciated enough around here. There's an alley about a few steps that way that will lead everyone out.
"Thank you," Jill said. She looked around. "Um, what happened to Valk?"
Deadguy looked around as well. "He was just here. How do you lose a spiky-haired dragon -blooded warrior anyway?" There was a mighty, almost inhuman roar that shook to the very soul. It was followed by a loud crash of metal on metal. "Oh boy." He held his forehead with his hand for a moment. "Get the kids to safety, boss. I'll get Valk to...something." Our Hero dove into the riot, trying his best to make his way through the crowd without having to actually hurt anyone.
More than a few times, he felt the urge to give in and start hurting anyone in his way. To let go. To give in to his anger and hate. Thoughts of Marion crossed his mind, almost as if he was being taunted by them. In these moments, these moments of darkness, Masamune sent a pulse up through his arm. It shook him out of the anger and helped him push on through the madness. The clashing of metal on metal grew louder as the crowd started to thin out. He looked down. They weren't thinning out by running away. Dead, bloodied bodies littered the ground as rioters continued to tear at each other.
Valkadaidan roared again as he slammed his blade into the arm of Hate Monger. Any vestige of humanity had faded away into pure rage. The Monger was matching him hit for hit, with each blade strike connecting with his giant fist. "Yes, that's it," Hate Monger urged. "Give in. Let your hatred grow." The Dragon-Blooded responded by trying to take his head off.
"Stop toying with him," DG commented. Both combatants stopped and stared at him. "Yeah, I'll just let you two figure out which one I'm talking to."
Valkadaidan tried to attack, but Hate Monger caught his blade in midair. "Doesn't it irritate you so much that he keeps standing in your way," he asked, tossing the attack away. "You're a warrior. A fighter. A killer." The last word lingered among the sounds of rioting. "Yet, he tries to stop you. Tries to change you. Tries to belittle you." The Supreme Warrior slowly turned his attention to Our Hero There was no sign of humanity in his eyes. Just pure, unadulterated hate.
"Valkster, buddy," Deadguy tried to reason. "Take a breather. Eat a cookie. Just calm down a bit." Valk charged at him, letting out an inhuman roar. "Okay, we're doing this now." He barely had time to bring Masamune up to block the attack. The two weapons slammed into one another, causing a shock wave. Valkadaidan attacked with pure rage as Deadguy tried his best just to keep his head.
The Dragon-Blooded slashed across Our Hero's chest, causing a giant gash to form. He placed his hand over the wound as it started to heal. Another strike from Valk caused a gash on his arm. He retaliated by swinging Masamune and knocking him back a few feet.
"Pull yourself together," Deadguy yelled. "He's just using you." Valkadaidan didn't hear his plead, or maybe he didn't care, as he leapt towards him, blade held high. Deadguy moved out of the way, barely dodging the attack. The two began to trade strikes in the midst of the madness. Their weapons crossed, each holding the other back. Valk kicked Our Hero in the stomach, sending him flying into a burning truck. He recovered in time to see the Supreme Warrior jumping in after him, the blade aimed at him.
He rolled out of the way as Valk slammed his blade into the truck bed. The poor truck was no match as he sliced it in half trying to retrieve his katana. He continued growling and snarling, looking around for Deadguy. There was a whistle. He quickly turned to see Our Hero waving to him in the middle of the empty space. He charged at him again, but this time Deadguy swung and hit him in the chest. The strike sent him flying back, crashing into a shop window.
"And it. Is. Outta here," Deadguy exclaimed. "Now to deal with...where'd he go?" Another inhuman roar rumbled from the shop. "Should've known that wouldn't have stopped him."
Valkadaidan rushed out of the shop, blade held tight. Our Hero rolled his eyes, then ran up to stop him. The two traded blows once again, each one sending shock waves through the air and caused the ground to tremble. Weapon strikes were followed by punches and kicks. The Dragon-Blooded had enough power and experience to break every bone in the human body with just one punch. Thankfully, Our Hero was anything but human, able to at least absorb more damage than normal.
Unfortunately, he couldn't withstand too much damage, and soon faded off into sweet oblivion as Valk beat him to death. The Supreme Warrior walked away, ready to slaughter the rest of the rioters when a blood-filled cough caught his ear. He turned, watching Deadguy's body starting to heal as he stood up. He wiped off his blood covered face, soaking his fingerless fighting gloves. He tossed off his trench coat, then reached down and picked up Masamune. "Where do you think you're going," he taunted. "You're still 'foaming-at-the-mouth' angry. I can't let you walk around like that."
Valkadaidan huffed out a growl, then turned and walked back to him. Our Hero gripped his bat a little tighter, ready for another round. He quickened his pace. First a sprint, then a full run. He slammed into Deadguy, his katana mere i
nches from his throat. If it wasn't for Masamune moving at such a speed that it appeared to think for itself, his head would have been cut clean off. The attack slammed both of them back into a lamppost. Valk was snarling like a rabid beast. Deadguy tried to hold his head away.
"Dude. Breath mint. Seriously," he said, straining to get the words out. The Dragon-Blooded continued to press the attack. The lamppost begin to buckle, then snapped out of the ground. He shoved Our Hero into the brick wall behind it as he kicked aside the lamppost. He then punched Our Hero as hard as he could, causing more of the hole in the brick wall. Another punched sent him tumbling through the other side. A loose brick flew out and crashed into the Supreme Warriors forehead. He staggered back, growling.
He raised his blade again, ready to cut Deadguy head off, when a bullet hit it with an audible TING! He snapped his vision over to see Jill aiming her gun at him. "Valkadaidan," she said, her voice as calm as water. "Stand down." He blinked once. Twice. Three times. He then turned his attention to Our Hero, who was climbing out of the hole.
"Yes," he agreed. "Listen to the person that signs our checks."
He lowered his katana as the other Heroes inched closer to him. "I'm fine," he said after what seemed like forever.
"You sure," DG asked. "You're not using this as a ploy to try and cut my head off, are you?"
"Would I tell you if it was," Valk questioned.
"Yep, he's back," he stated.
"Now, about Hate Monger..."Jill started, but was cut short by someone calling for help.
"Duty calls," Our Hero remarked, then rushed off to the cries for help. The others followed close behind. The scene they found was something that made their blood run cold. There was Casineb, weeping over the still body of Marion. Deadguy fell to his knees, reaching to hold her hand. It was still warm. He tried his best to hold back the tears.
"It just happened," Casineb said. "She just...it was...I don't..." His words trailed off, not that anyone was listening to him. "She was begging for you to save her." Deadguy hung his head. "...even as I squeezed the life out of her," he continued, is a different, but familiar voice. His head shot up as energy started covering Casineb. The energy grew and reshaped itself into another form. When the energy faded, Hate Monger stood there, cackling.
Deadguy grabbed Masamune and slowly stood up. There was no quip, no remark, no warning as he lunged at the Monger, swinging his bat in such a way as to try and take it's head off. Hate Monger did his best to block the attacks, laughing the entire time. His arrogance caused him to miss one swing, and Deadguy was able to knock him into an overturned bus.
Hate Monger snapped the wreckage in half and threw part at Our Hero. He swung Masamune and connected, sending the part back at him. He chased after it and hit it again just as is collided with the Monger. The sound was akin to two airplanes crashing into each other, then into a mountain. Deadguy hit the wreckage a few more time as laughter echoed from within the crumpled metal. The laughter gave away to screams of pain as the pile of metal started to become flatter the more he slammed his bat onto it.
"Deadguy. Stop," Jill called out, running up to him. Valkadaidan followed and grabbed him, locking his arms behind him. She turned his twisting head to look at her, his enraged face being cradled by her slender hands. "Deadguy, please. Listen to me. Listen! This is what he wants." Our Hero struggled to get free of Valk, but to no avail. She wasn't letting go either. "Don't let go. Don't give in. This isn't what Marion would have wanted." He stopped struggling and closed his eyes. The pain on his face said more than words ever could. It almost appeared as if he would cry, but the tears never came.
After a few moments, he breathed a deep breath. "I'm fine, " he said. "You can let me go now."
"Are you sure," Jill asked.
He nodded, almost comically. Valkadaidan let him go. He slumped his shoulders, a man who felt like he had lost everything. He started to walk away. Jill started to go after him, but Valkadaidan stopped her. "Let him go," he said. "He's going to need some time to clear his mind."
It started to rain.
# # #
A few hours later, Jill enter into a small restaurant. It was mostly empty. One of the wait staff invited her to sit wherever she liked. She looked around. Over the well-used wooden benches. Across the walls with rock art and pictures of the restaurant's employees past and present. Music played of a band she had never heard of. Then, she saw him. Second table from the door. Deadguy was slowly eating a plate of nachos, his face sullen. She gently sat at the table. "Thought I'd find you here at Lupie's," she said. He just looked at her, then back to his plate. "drowning yourself in a plate of nachos."
He looked at her again. "No. This would be me drowning in a plate of nachos." He pulled his hat off and dropped his face into the plate. Beans and sour cream flew out. moments ticked by. "It's not working," he remarked. He picked his head up, nacho topping dripping off his face.
"Um...you've got something...,"Jill started.
"On my face. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know that." He wiped the toppings off. He then sat back and sighed heavily. "Boss, I'm going to have to leave the Professional Heroes."
"Excuse me," she asked. "No you're not."
"I can't do this," he argued. "I can't keep being a Hero if everyone I care about is going to get hurt or die."
"And what about all the people you've saved?"
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
"It does matter. It matters to everyone whose loved ones are still alive."
"Bad choice of words."
Jill covered her mouth, thinking. "You think you're the only one who's lost someone they loved? That becoming a hero didn't mean sacrifice?" She sat back. The song changed. "Before I met Valkadaidan, I had a boyfriend. One night, we were out way too late and just a little too drunk. We ended up somewhere we weren't suppose to be. There were these...guys. Not many. Maybe three or four." Her voice began to crack. "He tried to fight them off, but got stabbed for his effort. I ended up scaring them off with a pistol I had concealed." She closed her eyes, then looked at Our Hero. Tears clouded her vision. "He...died in my arms that night before the cops could find us." She wiped away the tears. "You can't give up just because you lost someone you loved. If anything, that should be the reason you keep fighting. To make sure no one else has to feel that pain."
Deadguy looked at her for a long time after she finished, then nodded. "You're right Jill. I hate it when you're right, but you're right."
"So, no leaving," she asked.
"No leaving," he answered. "Besides, someone's going to have to keep Valk in check." They both laughed. He waved over to one of the wait staff. "Bring this lady whatever she wants. Put it on my tab."
"You're not allowed to have a tab," a red-headed woman yelled from the kitchen area. "Not after last time." The girl behind the counter with blue hair laughed.
Deadguy gave a look of mock cringe, then went back to his nachos as Jill ordered a salad. "So, what happened with Hate Monger," he asked.
"Disappeared," Jill answered. "Just like the Lust did."
He dropped his nacho chip. "Did you see the Grey Lady again?"
She shook her head. "No, it was weird. After you left, Valkadaidan said 'He's gone'. Just like that."
He took a gulp of coffee. "Blech. Coffee and jalapeños bad. Just like that, huh?"
Jill nodded as the salad arrived. They sat in silence eating for a few moments. "Do you remember anything about your past," she asked. "I mean, before I found you?"
"Nope," he answered between huge bites of nachos. "Why?"
She thought back to the woman that showed up and then disappeared. "No reason," she replied.
END
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Hate Runs Deep Page 4