Eduard walked slowly to the hotel's exaggeratedly large door and pushed it open slowly; the lights in the hall were off and the only light that permeated the room was the moonlight, which for ordinary people would not allow them to see the macabre scene in place, but for Eduard this scene was perfectly clear and even the cameras managed to capture the scene even though they were using night vision to do so. Looking around Eduard counted dozens of freaks staring at him and in attack positions, some of them carrying bladed weapons while others carried ordinary firearms, and some carried nothing at all and just seemed ready to throw themselves at him and try to hurt him in some way.
- It's hard to imagine that they were all once human... - Eduard muttered frowningly.
[Yeah, that's just disgusting!]
- Uh-hu...
(A/N: I know that scenes like this would hardly occur in the DC universe, especially considering that everyone is superhuman, but remember that this is a fragmented world where two of the most screwed-up universes exist and influence each other, this construction is the smallest change I'll make during the story and the biggest one will be that there will be a lot of mutants in the league of assassins; I need to up the ante on the enemies a bit).
Eduard, who had just finished talking to Cortana, saw one of the human/owl hybrids running at a speed that would be alarming for an ordinary human, but for Eduard? He seemed to be in slow motion, and when they say slow, it was really slow, and that was because he had already slowed down his perception, something that both he and Kara knew how to do instinctively; Eduard was forced to slow down his perception a few dozen more times to at least be able to see him moving at a speed that was bearable for him.
Eduard waited until the first attacker was right in front of him before simply kicking it with carefully regulated force to prevent it from exploding, but even this caused the poor creature to fly at terrifying speed and knock down a wall before falling to the ground like a rag doll, at which point all the others attacked as if on cue.
Two hybrids advanced from either side at a speed similar to a racing car, they carried bladed weapons such as military knives, machetes used in the jungle and one was even holding a katana with both hands raised ready to swoop down on Eduard as soon as he came within range; Eduard observed this calmly before approaching the one holding the katana first and with a simple open-handed slap he made the man's arms go even higher leaving his guard open before hitting him with an elbow in the stomach throwing him towards his companion who was holding the machete, and his companion ended up being smashed into the wall along with him. For the others, Eduard's action was also simple, still maintaining a speed just a little above them, he waited for one of them to stab him and leaned back before striking back with a quick, direct kick with the front leg, ignoring the man who was thrown a good distance away with broken ribs he turned to the last one next to him and moving a little faster he intercepted his opponent's knife sweep and hit him with a circular punch from his rear hand that knocked him unconscious instantly.
When Eduard had finished with those closest to him, others kept coming and even those he had left on the brink of death got up after a few moments thanks to his healing factor, yet Eduard just kept hitting them with the same intensity for a few minutes just to vent some of his frustration and as incredible as it may seem, it actually made him feel a little better, did he know why? No. Did he care? Obviously not! So Eduard just stood there using the freaks genetically modified to be the soldiers of the Court of owls as a punching bag for about five minutes.
[Honestly, I feel angry and very disgusted by these things, but after watching this beating I kind of feel sorry for them...]
[yeah... Even though I don't like it when it's brutal, in a way I think it's more "humane" when it ends once and for all...]
[I agree!]
[In just five minutes I went from hatred to total pity...]
[In that sense I think their powers are more of a curse...]
[At least the healing powers are one for sure!]
[I agree!]
[I wouldn't want super-regeneration in that state either...]
[Wow! Look at that punch!]
[Fuck is he using one of them as a club!?]
[What the fuck am I looking at?]
[Fuck! Look at that Jab!!]
[Instant knockout!]
[Are you guys really enjoying this?]
[Sick!]
[If you don't want to see it, just leave (¯(ツ)/¯)]
[Haven't you seen that they've just been trying to kill him from the start?]
[Really? Do you feel sorry for them? Have you forgotten that we're dealing with murderers with animal heads instead of human ones?]
[Ignore the idiots, there will always be some idiot to complain about everything!]
[This right punch must have sent his beak into the unfortunate man's skull (^_^)]
[Wow!! \ (O) /]
Eduard continued beating all the hybrids for a few more minutes before he started to get bored, by now he had calmed down and in the last few seconds he was just thinking about how to end this in a non-bloody way since according to Cortana that would be the best way to achieve a good result in our main objective which is simply to establish an image and maintain control of public opinion over it.
- This is already annoying... - Eduard commented in a genuinely bored tone and simply inhaled a large amount of oxygen into his lungs where it was compressed and quickly lost its energy in the form of heat, then Eduard exhaled with a surreal force that threw most of those who had already recovered and were advancing towards him away, even some furniture and windows were blown out, but that was only the beginning since at the same moment that the impact of the winds that Eduard deliberately maintained with more speed and force than necessary pushed everything in their path, they also froze them, and not just the individuals, the expelled wind froze everything uninhibitedly by Eduard's own will.
[Unbelievable...]
[He just froze everything?]
[A breath can do that!?]
[Looks like it...]
[(^_^)]
[Wow!! \ (O) /]
Eduard stared at the frozen space for just a few moments before simply moving on, ignoring the upper floors which only had a few more of these things, and calmly heading underground, while he slowly walked around the place and dealt with the hybrids that appeared from time to time, he also entered the locked rooms in search of documents or anything else that his sister and Cortana couldn't find since a lot of the organization's information was far away from the network. Continuing with this act for a few minutes, he finally reached the end, a place he hadn't really expected since he didn't think that in any game or story, he had seen in his previous life there would be a place like this; the place looked more like a huge cave than a man-made structure and the whole floor had a kind of green water with a strange smell.
- This isn't normal water, is it? - Eduard asked himself, but he didn't intend to research it or try to keep it away from people as he should, why? He didn't know what it was, after all, he was an ordinary Marvel and DC fan, so he only knew common information and surely the importance of this "water" in the creation of superhuman beings wasn't common information since it had only appeared in a few comics up until the time he had been killed on duty.
[I don't think it either, but surely, it's not affecting your body, you could take some this to study and if it's a risk ban the place].
'I think you're right, anyway, let's get on with it and take care of it after the broadcast is over!'
[All right!]
Eduard walked until he found a huge door and looking through it he could see the last target of the night who was strangely awake; Benjamin Orchard who even though he was a high-ranking member of the organization had been turned into a Talon should be inanimate most of the time, and even considering the job he had been given to protect the Grand Master's mask in the Garden of Eden under the Orchard Hotel the man still shouldn't be awake, at least he wasn't protecting anything right now and Eduard also couldn't see even a shadow of that famous Garden of Eden under the Orchard Hotel. The current situation was definitely strange and Eduard knew that his limited knowledge wasn't as useful as he had hoped, and even though he knew that both worlds would influence each other to some extent he couldn't quite accept that tonight almost everything he knew had been useless with minimal exceptions. Ignoring the differences he perceived, Eduard pushed open the door and entered with calm steps.
(A/N: I don't think this was clear so I'll go over it again, Eduard didn't go into the worst rooms where some people were and he won't go in during the broadcast since he intends to help these people after he finishes the broadcast which will end in this chapter; honestly I intend to skip this and just introduce some people who were rescued and will appear in the story in the future, anyway that's it...)
- Welcome...
As Eduard entered, he heard a gruff, indifferent voice greeting him; looking ahead, he saw a man with grayish skin and long hair staring at a green water fountain. Eduard stared at the man for a few moments before ignoring the length and asking. - Benjamin Orchard?
- ... - The man stared at Eduard for a few seconds before sighing and answering ironically, but his expression remained serious. - If I said no, would you believe me?
- Unfortunately, not... I have a portrait for comparison... - Eduard lied, but that was enough to be sure as the man's heart raced fast enough to show his surprise even though his expression betrayed nothing.
- That's surprising considering my age...
- The photo is old...
- ... - Benjamin didn't even bother to reply at the moment and simply prepared to fight, after all, even if the chances were slim, he would still try to get rid of the man in front of him.
Eduard watched as Benjamin ran at an astonishing speed compared to his previous enemies, he caught up with him in a few moments before unleashing a cross to his face with enough force to send a car skidding for a few meters, but unfortunately for him that wouldn't work on a Kryptonian, let alone one like Eduard; Watching the hand approach in slow motion while analyzing all the bombs and weapons the man had hidden to probably take him by surprise, Eduard paused for a few moments while pondering how he should end this fight, he would definitely do it as quickly as possible, but he still didn't know if he should kill the man immediately or just deal with him calmly. After pondering for what normal people would consider seconds, even though time was practically at a standstill Eduard decided to just put on an act for a few minutes simply for his transmission; after deciding he looked at his fist and drastically reduced his perception and speed while dodging and returning Benjamin's attempt with a powerful straight punch that was delivered with his backhand.
- BOOM!
- Urgh! Coff! Coff! Coff!
Even though Eduard was obviously holding back, he still attacked with enough force to put his enemy on the brink of death since less force than that wouldn't do much since Benjamin's healing factor although not extraordinary like Logan's was still far above the hybrids he had used as punching bags recently.
"Steps"
(A/N: I don't really know the best way to describe the sound of footsteps so I'll just write it down, I'll do that from time to time)
Eduard walked up to Benjamin's battered figure without any rod, giving him enough time to recover, which his enemy took advantage of, since just thirty seconds later he stood up, albeit groggily, threw two spheres in his direction and forced a jump, increasing the distance between them.
-BOMM!
Observing the explosion, Eduard realized that this was just a camouflage for the real attack, which was a kind of gaseous poison that should be imperceptible. In all honesty, Eduard didn't mind receiving this "attack" head-on, since even if we disregard the fact that he is half-Kryptonian, only his mana manipulation or his cosmic energy would keep him perfectly well, However, he still had to consider what he would like to show in the broadcast and perhaps the fact that he was wary of inhaling poison would make it easier for people to accept him and he could also show his "weakness" to the government by making them use something useless against him if they decided to act. With this in mind Eduard acted, not a splendid action really, he just clapped his hands dispersing the gas in other directions; Eduard realized first hand how easy it was to manipulate the most noticeable people in one direction when the man he was "fighting" at the moment decided to just take advantage of his "weakness" rather than engage in a fight with him again.
- BOOM!
- BOOM!
- BOOM!
- BOOM!
- BOOM!
- BOOM!
Several explosions continued to sound in the place while Eduard continued to disperse the noxious gases in various ways such as using quick punches, clapping, blowing, or simply moving his arm quickly; this game went on for some time until Benjamin seems to move facing the problem of any common soldier, he ran out of any ammunition or in this case any grenades to use, the Talon internally cursed Eduard's speed and strength for a few moments before sighing and simply closing his eyes.
- I think that's it... - Benjamin's voice sounded with the same indifferent tone, but this time it had a touch of melancholy mixed in.
- Yes, it's over... - Eduard replied and after looking at the man and around the room and confirming that there were no surprises, he simply stepped closer and looked him in the eye.
- Any last words?
- ...
- Very well... Bye... - As on previous occasions, Eduard incinerated Benjamin with his eyes before looking at the cameras. - Well, that concludes the night of the owls! - Eduard held back the urge to smile to himself at the name and looking at the cameras he continued. - Tonight I just showed a little of the many problems our society faces and left the evidence for everyone to understand that these people couldn't be stopped by the law unfortunately... - After a pause he decided to end it as he knew that the more he spoke in this situation the worse it would be, the better it would be to give time to the people who had actually witnessed all this madness, so he simply ended it all and sighed, the truth is that he knew that this was a bad ending, he knew that he should prepare a speech or just ask Cortana for one that should have several that she and her sister had prepared, but at the moment what he had done began to take its toll and he still needed to help the victims so he couldn't simply rest or console himself for killing so many people.
- What a shitty night...
[...]
- Cortana. - Eduard pulled himself together a little and called out to one of the few "people" who had always been by his side and understood him perfectly, in fact she could well be the only "person".
[Yes?]
- Did I ruin everything in the end?
[Not really... It could have been worse...]
Eduard just smiled at that and decided to let it go, he could settle it with a broadcast where he actually concentrated on talking to someone and wasn't going through the trouble of coming to terms with recent murders.
- Let's just finish!
[Of course!]
(A/N: Por enquanto há 3 capítulos extras no patreon, tentarei aumentar isso semanalmente; também estarei publicando outra história nas próximas semanas com antecedência)
- Patreon: p@treon.com/Aedificationemmundoscumimaginatione
(A/N: Did I finish that bit, honestly? I'm terrible at speeches as far as I can tell and I decided to end the broadcast this way since it will take time for the protagonist to get used to ignoring the sensation of taking a life, and it will buy me some time to read speech books and learn how to write an acceptable one without having to use "trauma" as an excuse to end it if I continue to use the broadcast frequently (unlikely, I intend to use it only occasionally so that Eduard can control the narrative of his image))