[Outside the apartment]
"Gunshots!" Travis dashed toward his apartment followed by Batwoman and Lily.
"What the fuck are you bastard doing here?" He pointed his shotgun at the tall man.
The tall officer stopped, "Shit!"
Travis, Batwoman, and Lily were standing between him and his freedom. Behind him, were the dead bodies of his comrades, lying in a pool of blood. Alison stepped outside the apartment while reloading her rifle.
"Hey, hotshot," Alison said with a smile as she pointed her rifle at the tall officer, "You are late."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Too many obstacles on the way. So, they are the deserters from the morning, huh?" Travis said as his cold gaze fell on the last survivor, "I will take it from here. You take them inside."
"You are going to kill him?" Batwoman asked while clutching her stomach. Her injuries were making her body ache like hell.
"Humm..." He narrowed his brows, "What did they do?" He asked Alison.
Alison quickly filled him in on the officers' intentions and their plan to break into the apartment, take hostages, and harm the women inside. The grim details of their vile scheme left no room for mercy.
"They planned to take hostages and do God knows what to the women here," Alison explained, her voice laced with anger and disgust. "So, I made sure they stay down forever. Just one left."
Travis listened to Alison's explanation, his expression hardening as he considered the gravity of the situation. Things would have gotten worse if these officers had proper weapons.
He turned toward Batwoman, his expression calm, eyes cold like ice, "You heard her. They wanted to hurt my family. Go inside and rest. And keep your moral code to yourself."
She nodded, her injuries making it clear that she needed medical attention and rest. She holstered her non-lethal gadgets, and with a nod of gratitude towards Travis and Alison, she guided Lily back into the apartment. She knows that the world has changed. Old rules and moral code doesn't have any role to play anymore.
As they entered the apartment, the tension outside continued to hang in the air. The surviving officer stood frozen in fear, his gaze darting between Travis and Alison, his hands trembling at his sides.
"You don't want to watch this aunt," Travis looked toward his Alison.
She nodded, understanding his intent. She turned away from the tense scene, "I will clean things up here. Take him far away so that his screams don't reach here. I don't want the others to get more traumatized."
Travis approached the surviving officer, his shotgun still trained on him. The officer's fear was palpable, and he stammered as he attempted to plead for his life.
"Wait, please! I... I didn't want any of this! It was their idea! I just went along with it!" he blurted out, his voice shaking.
Travis regarded him with a cold and unwavering gaze, "You should've thought about that before you followed their plan," he said, his tone devoid of sympathy.
"I... Look man, I got money. I will give it to you, yeah? We looted a bank. Just spare me... I will give you everything," the officer begged as he pissed his pants in fear.
"Get up and walk with me. I don't want my family to hear your pathetic voice," Travis said coldly, pointing the gun at him.
The officer complied, stumbling along as he followed Travis out of the neighborhood and toward a remote location where no one could hear his pleas for help. The scene was soon enveloped by the silence of the night, the only sounds were those of the shuffling feet and the sobbing man.
Soon they were alone in the deserted alley. There was not a single sign of life other than them and a flickering street lamp.
"Allow me to share a piece of information with you," Travis began, "Back in the other world when the Villains were winning, and our no-killing methods weren't working, we heroes decided to change our methods. It was then we understood how wrong our ways were. We captured them and put them behind bars, but they as usual escaped and we failed to stop them from harming the innocents."
He looked at the quivering officer, his gaze devoid of empathy, "Sometimes, the worst thing you can do is to give mercy to those who don't deserve it."
"Wait man, please have mercy. I am begging you..." he pleaded as Travis summoned a knife.
"But not everyone saw us in a good light when we started eliminating them for good. If killing them means the people under our wings will be safe, then be it. But don't cry and tell me you regret it when you could have stopped it all," Travis replied as he threw the knife before the officer's feet, "You wanted to do what? Fuck my family and take them as hostages? Pick it up and cut off all the fingers of your right hand." His expression was that of a cold-blooded killer.
"What?! No! Are you mad?! Fucking psycho!" The man let out an anguished scream. He stumbled back, trying to put as much distance between himself and the glinting blade on the ground. His body trembled, his mind reeling with fear and disbelief.
"Or, I can slit your throat and throw your body into the streets. Either way, I don't care," Travis said without batting an eyelash.
"F... Fuck! You are a fucking animal," the officer whimpered as he attempted to comprehend the gravity of his situation. He tried to gather his scattered wits, his mind racing to formulate a plan.
"Yeah, that's good. That fear in your eyes... I want every single fucking villain to feel this feeling you are experiencing right now..." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Tell you what; you don't even know how good your life is right now. You think you are living the worst moment? What I could do to you would make hell look like a day at the beach," Travis warned, his face mere inches away from the terrified officer, "You got one minute before I go insane on you."
The officer frantically looked around for some way to escape the gruesome fate, but there was none. His resolve and will to survive flared through him, pushing aside the terror he felt. He glanced at the knife on the ground and tentatively picked it up. He gripped the handle of the blade, the metal cool against his clammy palms.
"Yes," Travis encouraged as he watched the man with calculating eyes. "Go ahead, cut off your fingers. I'm right here if you need a little extra encouragement."
The officer's face contorted into a mask of revulsion as his arm trembled. His gaze flicked up to meet Travis's impenetrable stare.
"Fuck this!" The officer jammed the knife into his throat, slicing through skin and flesh with a sickening sound. Blood spurted out of his neck, coating the blade in a layer of crimson. The man gurgled in pain, his body jerking as his eyes glazed over.
Travis's eyes widened in surprise, "Well, wasn't expecting that," He shook his head. He kicked the bloody mess lying on the ground, the lifeless body staining the pavement with blood. "Fucking weakling..."
He grabbed his head and stumbled on the wall, a sadistic smile appearing on his lips as he saw his work, "Puh-haha! Ahhhh, no... what the fuck?! Puh-haha! Stupid fuck!"
He laughed like a crazed psycho as the moonlight shone on his dark, sinister face. The cold wind blew on his slick-backed hair, as he glared at the dead body, "It is no fun when the one in front of you can't suffer..."
A man who was used to war and killing in the other world, how can he stay away from shedding blood? How far can he suppress his bloodlust? How far can he control his urge to slaughter those criminals hiding in this world? He wants to kill them all and cleanse this world of impurity, but he can't possibly leave his family in danger.
With a loud thud, his back hits the wall, "Fuck... You know what, a monster wouldn't care. He would say this shit was entertaining... But what kind of fucked up world is this?!" He slammed his fist onto the wall, the impact shattering the brick and sending debris flying.
"Can a man really be good? Can he choose not to take a single life even though his entire existence is defined by its destruction?" He cursed, "If only it was easy to choose..." He raised his fist once again, preparing to vent his frustration upon the already damaged wall.
"Even if you don't take a single life... They won't go. There is no fucking justice... it's either you survive or perish in the shadows. In the end, evil is the most selfish creature in the world and always finds a way out. It doesn't wait till tomorrow, it takes a toll today, today!!"
"God damn it..."
He doesn't feel regretful. He fears that he might lose control of his sanity and hurt his family someday.
"This power... All For One, it's fucking with my mind..." He slowly crouched down and touched his chest, where All For One lay dormant in his flesh. "God damn it! Every time... Every single fucking time..." He glanced at the crumpled form before him, "Even when I get a chance to vent, it never feels enough..."
"Hey, System, do suppress my anger from time to time when I think about killing these weaklings and impaling them."
"Will it get better in the future?" Travis muttered, staring blankly at the night sky, "When the time comes and my power is completely unshackled... Which personality of mine will remain... Fuck! I need to unlock my original Quirk as fast as possible."
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