chapter 11 { EDITED BY NEW GUY}

A/N: MY EXAMS ENDED ON 7TH AUGUST AND I WAS KINDA TAKING A WEEK OFF FROM WRITING. BUT LIFE CAN'T HAVE IT, I HAVE TO HOSPITALISE MY MOTHER SHE HAS SOME PRETTY SEVRE EYE ALLERGY. AND TGEN SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY DIED 2 DAYS AGO, AND AS WE ARE INDIAN WE HAVE TO DO A LOT OF WORK FOR CREAMATION SO SORRY. IN THAT ALL HODGE PODGE I FORGOT TO POST A CHAPTER. MY FRIEND NEW GUY REMINDED ME OF THIS AND I TRIED WRITING CHAPTER 12 FOR PATREON TODAY, WAS NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE IT ONLY THE TORTURE SCENE AND PROTEST SCENE WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE.

ALSO BIG NEWS I AM INCREASING THE WORD COUNT. BEFORE IT WAS SOMEWHERE ARROUND 3.5 K TO 4K NOW IT WILL BE 4 K TO 5K. ATLEAST 4.5K EVERY CHAPTER.

TO SUPPORT ME YOU GUYS CAN SUPPORT ME ON MY PATR. EON WHICH IS

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Also this fic is on scribble hub too now.

So without further ado let's read the chapter.

Happy Independence day India.

(Tu abad rahe ae mere watan.)

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3 hours before the death of Victor Zsasz

" White Lilies? '' Asked a middle-aged Asian woman. 

" Yes "

*sigh*

" Look, Carl, I know you love her and miss her, we all do. But you know you have to let her go, she's gone. " The woman looked genuinely sad when she said those words. 

" Not again, Mrs. Wise. " 

" Why not? It has been three years. She is dead. Killed by that monster Victor Zsasz. 

And for the last 3 years, you have been buying White Lilies every morning at 6 A.M. for her grave. 

You have to let her go." 

" How much, Mrs. Wise? " 

" Don't change the subject. We are talking about you destroying your life over someone who is not coming back. " This time Carl's expression changed. He became angry but only for a short moment. 

" Here, 6 dollars and thank you, Mrs. Wise. "

Carl took the bouquet of White Lilies and started walking toward the graveyard.   

Carl is a blond man with blue eyes in his 30s, he has a smile on his face, and only those that know him knew that he was an orphan. He doesn't have any parents, but he has two lovely children. His adopted son Mike and biological daughter Karen. 

Carl is a software engineer and gadget shop owner. He was smarter and more hardworking than most people. He started working when he was 14 years old. Carl earned a lot of scholarships and managed to enter college with their help. 

Carl opened his shop at the age of 20. From there, the shop started to make a profit and his life settled by the age of 22. He made that shop his own. 

Carl met Katherine when he was 18 years old in college. Katherine had those blue eyes that were hypnotic, blond hair, and a sweet voice. When Carl first saw her, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Soon they started dating, Carl got to know that she too was like him, alone in this cruel world. 

They became each other's family. They loved each other. Katherine supported Carl throughout his life, becoming his pillar. With her help, Carl achieved his dream and with Carl's she achieved hers. She started to work for a news agency while Carl opened his shop. They married at the tender age of 22. They bought a house in front of Mrs. Wise's shop. They quickly became friends with the Wise family. Mrs. Wise was like an older sister to them and Mr. Wise like an older brother. 

Everything was going great. They were happy, they made a family and had each other's support. Life was all sunshine in this dark city. When they turned 25, they decided to adopt a child. They wanted to give someone a family that they didn't have before. They adopted a 2-year-old boy from an orphanage. They named him Mike, the boy brought more joy to their life. When Mike was 5-year-old, they found out that Katherine was pregnant with a girl. They named her Karen. The family was full of laughter and happiness. Carl was overwhelmed with joy. 

Then it happened. 

At the age of 32, Katherine was pregnant with another child. She went to her office like always, this time she was there to apply for her pregnancy leave….. She never returned from the office. 

Carl received a phone call from the police and they say that they found Katherine's body. She was killed by Victor Zsasz along with the baby. 

On that day, Carl broke. 

The one whom he loved left him. Carl cried for weeks, Mr. And Mrs. Wise too were grieving, but they made sure to take care of Carl's children. 

After some time, Carl came out of depression, or so it seemed. He pasted a fake smile on his face, took care of the kids as well as he could. On the outside side, it seems like he was okay but inside he was still grieving. He would take White Lilies every day to her grave and talk to her for an hour every day, without mistake. Mr. And Mrs. Wise knew of this and it hurt them a lot because in 12 years the bond that both families share was much deeper than it seemed. 

They wanted Carl to let Katherine go but they themselves were not able to let her go, although they still tried. 

##################################

At the Graveyard

At Katherine's Grave, a bright pink tombstone could be found. 

The name on the tombstone was Katherine Kin. 'Kin' is the word that is synonymous with the word Family. She came up with that name. 

Carl gently put the Lilies on her grave and sat in front of her tombstone. 

" How are you, Munchkin? " Carl said with a slightly sad tone. 

" Hope there is no problem. Did anyone disturb your sleep? " Carl said with a chuckle. 

" Do you remember what you did when one day I woke you up early in the morning? You became a wild beast and stormed the whole house. I remember that morning, I had burnt toast for breakfast. I had to take you to an expensive restaurant and order lobster. On that day I knew how expensive your sleep was." Carl let out a chuckle. 

" What about the day when the bakery delivered the wrong cake for Mike's birthday? You went Full Karen mode on that Bakery and when you showed them your press card, that poor guy nearly shit himself. " 

" Silly me, still rambling about those past events. Let me tell you about the children. 

Mike is going to start middle school this year. He is a smart lad not as smart as your husband though.  

Karen, I am pretty sure she will hate you when she is all grown up for this name. Well, our little bundle of joy will be starting junior school this year. 

Though there is something about Mike that is bugging me. That boy misses you, maybe more than anyone. He is...I don't know how to describe his condition. He doesn't talk much, he smiles like me, a fake smile in front of his sister. He loves Karen maybe because she is the only thing we have left of you. 

Mike is a fierce fighter, I have been called to school quite often, because of him picking fights with other kids, and oh Boy, that little guy can punch. 

He is … He is sad Katherine; He misses his mother. I think He..*Sob*... He too is broken from inside. I am trying to divert his hatred for good, but I don't think I am doing a good job. 

Just the other day I saw his drawing book. He had drawn the corpse of that bastard, Victor Zsasz. I…. We are alone without you Kathy. "

Carl was on his knees and tears of sadness, loneliness and grief were falling from his eyes.

" I…. I think he even sees me as a weak person. " 

If someone were to see Carl right now, they would not see the successful man who has paved his path through the struggles of life. What they would see is a man broken, grieving. His eyes were red. 

Carl has a secret. Carl bought a gun after Katherine died. He wanted to avenge her; he was full of anger toward everyone for what happened to Katherine. 

He roamed Gotham's streets that night. It was his first encounter that told him his life's truth. That he was just a weak-willed person.

He saw a guy trying to rape a girl with a knife in his hands. At that moment, the image of Katherine overlapped with that girl and Victor with the man, Carl aimed his gun at the guy. He wanted to shoot him, but he was not able to pull that trigger.

He tried but it was like his body was frozen, he was not able to pull the trigger. He managed to save the girl but lost his will. He saw Victor's smiling face in that man and yet he was not able to pull that trigger. 

He didn't understand, why? He was ready, the gun was in his hand, the fingers were on the trigger, all he needed at that moment was just to pull the trigger and end that man. But he was not able to. 

Maybe morals held him back or maybe it was his children and what would happen to them if he got caught. He didn't know, but what he realized on that day was that he would not be able to avenge his wife. He would not be able to grant her beloved the rest she needed, he realized that he was not strong. Maybe his son saw through him. So he then did what every helpless person did, he believed in the law and its protectors, and guess what they spat on his face. Batman never truly killed Victor Zsasz, he would just capture him and hand him over to the GPCD. He would be then sentenced to Arkham and proceed to break out of the place whenever he wanted. He would kill again and again. It became a joke. 

But it didn't end there. Whenever Carl saw his children, he saw his failure, his helplessness. So, he would sometimes take that gun, put it on his head, and when he was going to pull that trigger, he thought of his children and stopped. After that, he had tried to commit suicide many times but his children's future without him stopped him every time. One time, Mike saw him with that gun on his head, he didn't say anything but, in his eyes, Carl saw contempt. 

Today too in front of Katherine's Grave he pulled that gun and put it in his mouth but was not able to pull that trigger again too. 

He left the graveyard, put on his fake smile and that confident persona. He dropped the kids off at school and went to his shop. 

He didn't know that today his life would change. He didn't know that God had listened to his prayers and he will not only take revenge in his stead but will also grant him strength. 

Around 9 A.M. It happened. He witnessed the happiest moment of his life.

He saw a man named Rudra giving Judgement to Victor Zsasz. When Rudra asked for the votes, his hands clicked the yes option without him noticing. He saw how Rudra punished those bastards. He saw their painful expressions, them trying to beg for mercy, their eyes that were just begging to be killed. It brought immense joy to his heart. He was cackling like a madman; his eyes shedding tears of joy. His Katherine was avenged. She can rest in peace knowing that her killer got what he deserved. That bastard stabbed his wife 32 times and he saw him pay for everything with interest. To Carl, Rudra was nothing less than an angel. 

He was so happy that he gave everyone at his store discounts for the day. He ordered lobster, pizzas, burgers, and many more expensive items. He was going to throw a party. 

He received a call from the Wise couple telling him that Victor was dead. That Katherine was avenged. Mr. Wise sounded the happiest as for him his little sister was avenged. 

He drove to the kids' school because the one person who needed to know of Victor's demise was not him or anyone else in the world. It was his son, Mike. 

He took Mike out of his class. Mike saw his dad smiling from the heart for the first time in a long while.

" What happened, Dad? " Mike questioned his father. 

Carl smiled and said 

" He's dead. " 

Mike was stunned at his father's reply. Now, Mike may seem like a normal 12-year-old kid but he was by no means normal. He was a genius with an IQ of at least 157. He never told anyone because he had a mission. To kill Victor Zsasz in the most painful way there is. That man took his family from him. His father became a husk of his former self, while his loving & caring mother and his unborn sibling were gone forever. To achieve that goal, Mike started studying Detective science, psychology, criminal psychology, martial arts, and many others. No one knows about him learning so many things because it is all his plan. So, when today his father, who was smiling for real, came to him and told him about someone's death, he thought that his father had finally snapped. 

" Who is dead? " 

" Victor Zsasz. " 

Mike was shell-shocked when he heard that name. He couldn't believe his ears. His eyes bulged out so much that it looked like they were going to fall out of his eye sockets. 

" Repeat what you just said. '' Mike asked his father because he was not able to believe what he had just heard. 

" Victor Zsasz is dead, son. I and the whole of Gotham just witnessed his death. " Carl said with a smile. 

His son Mike had tears in his eyes and Mike rushed to him and hugged him as tightly as he could. 

##################################

It was night, Carl and His friends were enjoying the party he threw for the demise of Victor Zsasz. Everyone was happy and enjoying the food not knowing that Black Mask's goons were approaching. 

Black Mask ordered his people to remind Gotham that he was still the boss around here. He wanted to settle his fear in people's hearts. So, he ordered his goons to kill those people who were most vocal on T.V. and Carl was one of them. 

They wanted to kill Carl's family and reinstall the fear of Black Mask. But unfortunately for them, they were all playing into Rudra's hands. 

Rudra was watching the drama unfold. He had sniper drones ready in every place to kill those goons when the situation got out of hand but first, he wanted to observe how people would react to it. He needed to know how much more motivation, hatred, guilt, and anger they would need to go in the direction that he wants them to. 

He doesn't want to coddle them like other heroes but instead, he wants them to be strong enough to get their justice themselves. He wants them to be self-dependent. For that goal, he had everything ready. 

He has given people a little hope and now it's time to give them the motivation they need. 

Rudra looked at Carl, he chose Carl because he was the perfect guy. A good man whose life story demanded respect. Now imagine him taking up a weapon to protect his family because the police and Batman couldn't. 

Him killing gangsters to protect his family on live television, will affect the people on a much larger scale than Rudra or Batman. 

Because Carl was one of them. People generally brand Batman and Rudra as a different species than them. But Carl is not of that different species, he is the same as theirs. They will see him killing, see his desperation and will see him struggle as he keeps those that he loved safe. 

That will give them the strength and motivation to fight back. They will never support Rudra or Batman, but they will support Carl. They will fight with Carl, and all of this is only one bullet away. 

Today Gotham will regain its lost vigor back. Its people will defeat fear for the first time. Do you know what happens when you defeat fear? You feel the rush in your bones, you feel like you take cocaine, champagne, and orgasm mixed with drugs. You also feel accomplished and happy. You will feel free, once people feel free and someone dares to try to chain them back, they will retaliate. They will retaliate fiercely. 

That was what Rudra is going after. He can kill every criminal in Gotham in less than a minute but after that what would he do? He can't always be in Gotham to protect it. He has a mission to complete. No, he needed to make people aware of their strength, the strength they had to push back the evil. He will make them powerful enough to protect themselves and those whom they love. 

He will not be the one who makes Gotham peaceful, it will be Gotham's citizens who will do it. 

They will fight for themselves and Rudra will make sure of it. 

Rudra casted some spells on Carl and other people there. The spells were courage enhancers, emotion enhancers, and anger enhancers. He cast at least 10 anger enhancers on him. He also put the thought that Carl needed his gun with him for the party.

He wants Carl and only Carl to be the one who will kill the mobsters, no one else. He needed him to do it alone. 

Rudra also put the thoughts in Katherine's colleagues to interview Carl at the party just to be sure. Now the stage is ready and all he needs are just some actors, who he will make sure play their characters really well.

##################################

Black Mask's goon reaches Carl's house and sees him happy and laughing with his family through the window. They never thought for a moment that killing the people here for no apparent reason was bad or pointless. 

One of them kicked the door open and then fired his gun in the air. 

The other goons entered the house and pointed their guns at the guests.

Everyone got frightened and put their hands on their ears in fear. 

Karen, who was playing with Mrs. Wise, started to cry. 

The goons in their heated show-off and firing didn't see the cameraman and reporter, that they were live. 

The police started to move and Batman hurried over to the scene when he received the message right after his father's untimely demise. 

Batman and Gordon knew that if anything were to happen to the family, Gotham would burn in rage. The undefeated enemy, the enemy you can't fight will rise, the public. The public was filled with rage. The crowd will not see the lives of people, they won't see guilt or innocence. They will only see them as something to vent their rage on. 

Batman took his Bat plane driving over as fast as possible.

" Hands in the air and on your knees. " one of the goons shouted.

Linda, who was the reporter and Katherine's friend, took a hold of herself. 

" Who are you guys? " 

" Oh, we are just some old friends of Mr. Victors. Imagine our surprise when we didn't get our invitation to attend his funeral party. " The leader of goons said with a smile on his face, waving his gun in front of Linda's face. 

" Yeah, he would have loved it, man. " Another one chimes in. 

" But isn't there something amiss here? " 

" You too think so. Me too. " 

" But what's missing here, any idea? " 

" Oh, I know just what is missing. " The leader said, smiling menacingly at Carl. 

Carl was scared shitless. He has all those visions where his children Grow without him and all that. 

" Oh, please tell us, boss, what's missing? " 

" Blood. " 

*Laughter* they all started to laugh without even realizing that they were on live television. 

" So, who should we cut open first? The pretty chick or that hot milf over there. " 

" It's our first tribute to Mr. Victor. So, it needs to be special. Something that he would love, something that he would like. Something like her " The boss pointed toward little Karen who was still crying in Mrs. Wise's lap. 

Everyone's eyes moved toward little Karen. There was fear in the guest's eyes and madness in the goon's eyes. But one little kid's eyes were red with undiluted rage. Mike's eyes were seeing red, his eyes moving rapidly, trying to find a way to attack the goons, his brain was finding the optimum root for the attack. His fist was clenched, his rage was so powerful that it surprised Rudra. His rage was so powerful and raw that he would even put a Red Lantern to shame. 

Rudra saw someone in that boy. He saw himself. A thought came to Rudra's mind.

' Well, since every superhero has a sidekick then why can't I have one? ' 

Now it might seem abrupt for him to think like that, but Rudra's thought process was not like humans, his thought process was like Flash's while he was on an overdose of the speed force. 

He calculated the pros and cons of his decision very carefully and at last his heart said 'F*CK it, that boy is a diamond in the rough. Even if he becomes like Batman or other superheroes, he will still do a better job than them. Not training that boy to achieve his full potential is a pity.'

Rudra saw that the goon moved toward Mrs. Wise. The goon tried to take Karen away but Mrs. Wise kept her in her lap tightly with tears in her eyes. 

" No, please don't do this. Not her. She's just a child. " 

Mrs. Wise pleaded and the more she pleaded, the more the Goon smiled.

" Let go of her, you bitch. "  The goon hit Mrs. Wise at the side of her head and she started bleeding, but didn't let her Goddaughter go. 

The goon kicked her, and other goons laughed at the scene. 

Carl was scared. He was having a mental breakdown. He was seeing visions of his children's dead bodies. He saw their bodies get stabbed. He saw his sister, Mrs. Wise, dead after being raped. He saw Mr. Wise with his head cracked open, he was seeing many horrible images. Tears rolled down his cheeks. 

Then he imagined their dead bodies and Katherine speaking to him 

" Coward " 

" It was because of you "

" It was you who killed us " 

" Why father? " 

" You promised me that you will protect our children. " 

" I bleed to death in front of you. " 

" Why didn't you save us? " 

" It hurts, Daddy. " 

" Weakling " 

" Why didn't you pull that gun out " 

" You didn't avenge me. " 

" My children died because of your cowardice. " 

" How did I ever love a spineless bastard like you? " 

" We loved you like a family member. " 

" You were like my little brother and I bled to death in front of you and what did you do, nothing. " 

' No, I will not let that happen. I will not let these bastards do as they like. I will protect my family. ' 

With that newfound resolve in his eyes, Carl opened his eyes and saw what was happening in front of him. 

He saw that no one was paying attention to him and saw that goon beating his sister, he took out his gun and brought it to bear at the man kicking his sister.  

*Bang* 

The bullet left the gun and penetrated the guy's skull. 

He dropped dead.

Everyone slowly looked towards Carl and saw him with a shaking hand, tears in his eyes but the look he was giving was that of a man who will do whatever it takes to protect his family. 

The boss felt scared for a moment and that moment cost him the hand in which he was holding his gun. Carl didn't think and just fired at the guy. 

The boss dropped his gun in agony. 

Meanwhile Mike threw a knife at a goon who had an automatic rifle. He didn't notice how the knife, which was at least 12 meters away from him, came into his hands. The knife sank into the guy's neck. 

The guy died choking on his blood. 

The fourth one received a bullet in his head from Carl. 

" Mike, take your sister to bed and stay with her. " Carl ordered

" Aargh… I will kill you and everyone you love. " The leader yelled still on his knees tightly gripping his bloodied hand in an attempt to lessen the pain.

" No, you will not. " Carl said with a cold voice that sent chills down to the guy's spine. 

" Do you know why? Because you won't be alive anymore. " 

Carl picked up Mike's steel baseball bat, approached the guy and started hitting him. 

" You bastards took my wife from me. "

" You guys made my family go through hell. " 

" I tolerated that."

" Yet, you dared to barge in my house. " 

" You dared to beat my big sister, you dared to harm my daughter. " 

" NOT ANYMORE. " 

" I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ANYMORE. " 

" I TRUSTED BATMAN AND POLICE TO GET HER JUSTICE AND THEY SPAT ON IT." 

" THE LAW EVEN PROTECTED YOU, I TOLERATE THAT. BUT NOT ANYMORE. " 

" I WILL NOT BELIEVE IN BATMAN OR THE POLICE TO PROTECT MY FAMILY, I, MYSELF WILL DO THE DEED. AND IF FOR MY CHILDREN'S FUTURE I HAVE TO KILL YOU, I WILL DO SO GLADLY. " 

With every word, Carl just kept smashing his skull and tears were falling from his eyes. 

" I WILL NOT COWER IN FEAR, NOT ANYMORE. " 

Police and Batman were too late. The bullet was fired, and this bullet will penetrate deep inside Gotham's underworld. Batman tried to stop things from escalating but failed. He knew that if he didn't do anything quickly, then there would be a civil war in Gotham. 

The Public vs Gangsters and Villains.  

Elsewhere in Gotham inside a bar, some of the Penguin's Goons were forcing a girl while no one said anything. A middle-aged man watching the news suddenly stood up, took a beer bottle, and slammed it on one of the goon's heads.

" NOT ANYMORE " 

Somewhere inside an alley, a guy was in the process of raping a woman. She kept shouting for help. An old man nearby threw a brick at the rapist and then proceeded to beat the shit out of the guy with his cane. 

" NOT ANYMORE " 

They say a common man is like a sleeping lion, don't wake him up, or he will tear you apart. They were right. Today in Gotham, the common man has awakened from his sleep and now it is time to hunt. 

A/N: Well, this chapter is 5 days late. 

The reason is that I had enlightenment. My consciousness asked me a question

Batman has Robin ( A lot of them like pokemon ) 

Superman has superboy 

Aquaman has Aqualad 

Green arrow has Speedy and Artemis

Flash has kid flash 

WonderWoman has Wonder Girl

But Who does Rudra have

This enlightenment made me destroy that 3500 word chapter and has to write  again. 

So here it is a 4500 word long chapter. 

And ladies and gentlemen meet Mike. 

Haven't decided on a superhero name.

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