Chapter 16: Moving On

Word Count : 10177

Night in Los Angeles were rarely, if ever, a safe time. Just like the predators of the wilderness, the onset of night always brought out the greedy and the wicked from their lairs. But as of lately, fewer of these scum have dared to come out to conduct their illegal businesses. Fear kept them in line now, fear of the city's recently appointed guardian. Not many have laid eyes upon this mysterious protector, those who have speak of a faceless monster who ruthlessly brings justice to the wicked.

Whatever the case may be, his presence has marked a steady decline in crime. Lacking any supervillains that can go toe-to-toe with this mystery hero, only the bravest or the most desperate of criminals dare to make a move in Los Angeles these days. Though of course, there are always some criminals who do not fall into either category, but who still persist in breaking the law. For these kinds of people, another word is more appropriate to describe their mindset.

Stupidity.

"Come on now, get a move on already!" lo and behold, one such group of four criminals was at it right now. Wearing simple ski masks to hide their identities, these brainless oafs had the wonderful idea of robbing a convenience store. Shuffling around in the dark store, they relied on flashlights to light their way. Why they simply did not turn on the store's light was anyone's guess.

"Hold your horses there, Freddie, I'm working as fast as I can here," they were currently spread out across the store, packing their bags full of whatever they could get their hands on.

"Are you really sure this is wise? I mean, what if the vigilante finds us?" well, at least one of them seemed to possess an ounce of intelligence behind that mask. Sadly, his words of wisdom went unheard by his comrades.

"Bah, just an urban myth cops tell to make us behave, nothing to be afraid of," three out of four seemed to staunchly believe in those words, as they went back to pilfering to their hearts' contents.

"I don't know, my cousin apparently ran into him just a day ago. He's now lying in a come at the hospital," that seemed to make some of them at least hesitate in the plundering. But once again, the sole voice of reason was overshadowed by the idiocy of others.

"If he's in a coma, how could he tell others who attacked him? He just got jumped by some gang because he looked at them the wrong way or something, you know the drill," and with that said, the matter was closed, and the robbers went back to pilfering. That is, until one of them looked out on the street, where a van was parked with its lights and engine off.

"What the hell is he doing?" the leader, the one who scoffed at the notion of there being a vigilante, asked himself before turning to one of his accomplices. "George, go out there and check what the hell our driver's doing. He's supposed to keep the engine going," the one named George dropped his bag with a resigned sigh before he strode out of the smashed glass door.

"Hey, Willy, what are you doing?" he asked in irritation once he got close enough. He never received an answer. Confused, and more than a bit spooked, he walked around the van towards the driver's seat, all the while babbling on.

"I swear to God, if you fell asleep again on the job, I'll fucking…" the rest of his sentence died in his throat when he found Willy lying unconscious on the street, arms and legs bent in all the wrong directions and a nose crushed beyond recognition. George froze up in terror at the sight, and it took him more than a minute to tear his gaze away and run back to the store. He only managed to take five steps before something slammed into his skull.

Back inside the store, the three remaining robbers were happily stealing whatever they could find, oblivious to what lay just outside. But they were about to learn the hard way. The first one was going through the cash register while his two partners were out of sight among the shelves. Footsteps coming into the store alerted him of another presence, yet he gave it no particular heed. Amateur.

"So, what's Willy up to out there?" he asked, right before someone grabbed his head and smashed it straight into the register with enough force to leave a dent in it, dropping his unconscious body to the ground when the deed was done. But the noise had alerted the other two of trouble.

"Jaime?" one of them asked out loud, whole body as tense as a piano wire. No answer ever came. Both men were literally trembling in their boots at that point.

"Anton, go and see what happened," one of them ordered, to the apparent horror and outrage of the second one.

"Are you crazy, Freddie?! There's no way I'm going!" he hissed in terror, receiving an irritated growl from his partner.

"Fine, we'll go together then," he announced before they both began to fearfully creep towards the exit.

"Where the hell's the bastard?" Freddie asked, having taken up position behind Anton as they slowly moved forward. It had been meant as a rhetorical question, therefore an answer was not expected. An answer was what he received.

"Right behind you," the second after those words had been uttered, Freddie received a baton to the head, smashing him straight through a shelf. Anton had enough time to turn around in shock before a fist broke his nose and a knife embedded itself in his right knee. He went down screaming like a little girl. Freddie meanwhile was trying to get his bearings again as he drunkenly staggered back up, his vision constantly spinning from the blow it received.

His attacker never gave him a chance to recover as an elbow shattered his jaw before a knee knocked all the air out of him. Finally, an uppercut sent Freddie back to the floor a sobbing heap. But not even then was the attacker satisfied, as he straddled the robber and began to mercilessly pound his face. Without a single thought spared at his victim, he hammered down on blow after the other, tirelessly reducing the criminal's face to a bloody pulp.

Freddie tried to plead for mercy, even as his lips were destroyed and his teeth cracked. Even as his vision became filled with blood did he try to feebly plead for his life. His words went unheard by his attacker as he remorselessly pounded his face. Finally, his attacks ceased once his enemy had stopped moving around. Freddie's face was all but destroyed, with no sign of life left in him. Momentarily concerned that he may have overdone it, he checked his pulse. Once he confirmed that there still was a pulse, a faint one, he just left him unconscious on the ground.

He was prohibited from killing, but neither was he required to keep them alive.

In any case, that only left one criminal still conscious, and he had managed to crawl all the way out on the street with the knife still embedded in his knee, whimpering in pain the whole way. Striding out onto the street to finish the job, the attacker was finally illuminated by the street lamps.

"Please, I give up! Take me to jail already, just don't hurt me!" Anton pleaded pathetically. Naturally, Krieg did not care one single bit about the scum's words. A criminal was a criminal, and none of them would ever escape Krieg's brand of justice. With slow and steady steps, he closed the distance between them grabbing his Benelli shotgun slung over his back. The pathetic little scum tried to crawl away from him, but Krieg continued to close the distance until he placed a boot upon his damaged knee.

He was all but deaf to the shouts of pain as he grinded the knee beneath his boot. More than that, he almost became blind to the criminal lying before him. For a few moments, he was not seeing Anton before him, but Adrian. Rage swelled up within his soul as he brought his shotgun to bear, aiming the criminal's throat. Rubber bullets or not, at this distance the shot would crush his Adam's apple.

"No! No! I surrender! Please! I've told you already, I surrender!" Anton screamed in terror. Krieg's finger twitched on the trigger, a mere second away from pulling the trigger. Then, he lowered the aim and rammed the muzzle of the shotgun straight into Anton's crotch before firing a single shot. His howls of agony were audible for several blocks in all directions.

"Consider that a reminder, criminal. And mark my words. If I ever catch you again, then you will beg for death before the end," Krieg warned the sobbing man clutching his crotch with both hands. With that, he ejected the spent cartridge and walked away, leaving his victims to be picked up by the police force, whose sirens could be heard closing in.

Upon his return to his hideout, Krieg made a beeline for his computer. On screen was a series of news articles and city maps, as Krieg was in the midst of tracking down a persistent gang of drug dealers. Most of their operation had already been dismantled by Krieg, but remnants of it still persisted. Worse, they had apparently fled Los Angeles and opened up somewhere else. Well, obviously they were not all hat knowledgeable about Krieg. For when he was after someone, he did not stop until he had caught his target.

They thought they were cleverer than Krieg, hiding like rats. Maybe they were cleverer, maybe they were not. But what Krieg did know was that they were nowhere near as persistent as he was, nor as determined. He would find them, and he would bring the Emperor's justice down upon them, with interest. But when he thought about it, was it really the Emperor's justice he was dealing out? Could he truly claim to be a loyal servant of the one true God, after everything that he has done?

An imposter he may have been, but Adrian's words still echoed in his mind. Like always, the words of a heretic brought upon doubt. Krieg knew that Adrian sought to destroy his spirit by shattering his faith, he knew that he should never heed the words of a traitorous serpent. As it turned out, knowing and doing were two very different things. The words stayed in his mind like a cancer, eating away at his sanity.

Thankfully, something came up that distracted Krieg from his thoughts. His search had at last bore fruit. A pattern, eerily similar to what the drug dealers followed when they worked in Los Angeles, had cropped up in Star City. Making quick checks across the internet confirmed his suspicions. The bastards had fled to Star City and were now bold enough to resume business. A fatal mistake, as they were about to find out.

Krieg was up from his seat in a heartbeat, grabbing all the gear he would require for the hunt. It was as he stocked up on ammunition that he was struck with a thought. Star City was Green Arrow's territory, and he was Krieg's superior officer by merit of being a Justice League member. Most likely, Krieg would require permission by Green Arrow before he was allowed into the city. Though as he thought more about it, there was a greater chance of Green Arrow just ordering Krieg to sit this one out while he dealt with it himself.

It galled him that such a possibility was highly likely. These heroes seemed to cling to that silly notion that his young age makes him weak, and so must be protected. 'I'm sure those robbers I dealt with earlier would beg to differ,' he thought humorlessly to himself. Nevertheless, protocols were protocols, and he would follow them. So, all he needed was to contact Green Arrow and inform him of the crisis.

'Asking heretics for permission to carry out my duty. How low could a man possibly fall?' Krieg was unsure where exactly that thought had come from, but it hit him like a sledgehammer. Was this what he had been degraded into? A watch dog for xenos and heretics? He was supposed to protect humanity, yet he could not do it without the permission of some weak-willed parasites. With an uncharacteristic roar of anger, he toppled over a table in anger, spilling its assortment of maps and weapons to the floor.

"To hell with Green Arrow. To hell with protocol. I am a loyal servant of humanity, and nothing stands in my way," he growled to himself before he stormed out of his base like a vengeful spirit.

Star City. An inventive and modern city. Definitively not on the same level as Metropolis, but still noteworthy. Like its name, it was a star in the eyes of many, a shining beauty of American life. But as Krieg knew all too well, beauty always existed to cover up the far uglier aspects. What Star City sought to cover up was the Glades, a rotting tumor that festered in the city. Home to the poor and desperate, the Glades was more or less an independent city made out of thieves and cutthroats.

The law held little sway here. Politicians preferred to just forget it existed and policemen dared not enter unless in force. Because of this, there was really no surprise whatsoever to Krieg when the trail led him straight to the heart of this blister on the face of Star City. In this case, most heroes would prefer to use stealth to complete their goals, sneak into the heart of the enemy stronghold and quietly complete their mission.

Krieg did no such thing, as he walked down the filthy streets in plain view for all to see. The way he saw it, if you wanted to tangle with lowlife, you needed to lower yourself to their level. As he expected, none looked upon him with any sense of relief or happiness, there was only mistrust. Crime fighters had never made life easier for them, so why would they feel gratitude towards them? Krieg understood that, he understood that not everyone would be on their knees kissing the very ground he walked upon.

It was a truth that few heroes had apparently grasped. They lived in the delusion that just because they lock up a handful of criminals, everyone should be in awe at their accomplishments. They tended to forget that these people were mostly suffering because of the very laws they upheld. Krieg knew better, he knew that someone would always suffer no matter what was done. But his little moment of inner philosophy was put on hold when a particularly ugly individual stepped into his path, leering at him with yellow teeth.

"Well, lookie here, boys. A fancy little caper has come down to grace us with his presence," he mocked as four others stepped out of the shadows to surround Krieg. They obviously sought to intimidate him, but they were about to be sorely disappointed.

"You are in my way," Krieg replied tonelessly, eyes never straying from the filth blocking his path. He just grinned even wider at that.

"Why the hurry, boy? Late home to your mama's curfew?" his mocking question earned him a few chuckles from the brainless oafs he called friends. Krieg was unmoved.

"I am looking for someone in the Glades," he answered with that trademark monotone voice of his.

"Oh, you're looking for someone you say," the disgusting man repeated, his smile growing more sinister. "Who's it you're looking for? Maybe we can help?"

"Black Serpent," Krieg answered. And just like that, the man's smile vanished altogether. Absentmindedly, Krieg noted that the other four had tensed up when he uttered the name. 'Jackpot,' he thought to himself.

"Never heard of him," the man answered in what he tried to appear like a toneless voice. He could not hide his nervousness and sudden hostility. Not from Krieg at least.

"I think you are lying to me. I think you know where he is, and you are going to tell me all that I want to know," Krieg replied as he took a step forward, matched by the man's fearful step back.

"You're out of your mind, boy, threatening me like that. In case you haven't noticed, we got you outnumbered five to one," the man spoke in a failed attempt at bravado. After all, it was hard to sound threatening when your voice quivered like a frightened child's.

"You should have brought twenty men. At least then it would have been more of a challenge for me," Krieg countered, right before he sent the man flat on his back with a fist to the face. Before the others had time to react, Krieg had stepped back and rammed an elbow into the face of the one right behind him before a spinning kick knocked him down as well. The second one charged straight at Krieg and ended up with a knife in the shoulder.

As he fell back screaming in pain, the third and fourth tried to take him on together. It did not work, as Krieg decimated them and left both of them broken and bleeding on the ground. With those nuisances deal with, Krieg turned his full attention back to the man he had been speaking to. He tried to crawl away, but Krieg caught his leg and with a vicious stomp, broke it at the knee.

Disregarding his wails of pain, he slammed his face into the ground before turning him on his back and pressing a knee into his guts.

"Now, you will tell me all that I want to know. And if you do not, I will torture the information out of you," Krieg explained coldly. He received the same reaction from this man as he received from everyone else who had never heard of him.

"What kind of hero are you? You're not allowed to do this shit?" he squeaked in terror. As always, pain would have to be his lesson on how you acted around Krieg.

"Wrong answer," Krieg spoke, right before he drew his second knife, grabbed the man's left hand and cut off his middle finger. He man would not stop screaming after that for over a minute.

"Will you cooperate now?" Krieg inquired as the man's screams ended and he just sobbed beneath him.

"You'll pay for this, you hear me! You'll pay!" the man cried out as tears of agony poured down his cheeks. Krieg felt annoyed.

"Very well then," he said right before he cut off another finger, renewing the man's screams.

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want!" he screamed, too broken to resist any more.

"Where is the Black Serpent?" Krieg questioned, patience already wearing dangerously thin. The answer he received was not helping said patience very much.

"I don't know!" the man admitted tearfully. Sadly, that was not the answer Krieg desired, and he was not lenient when criminals refused to give him what he wanted. Without uttering so much as a single word, he cut off his thumb.

"Where is the Black Serpent?" he repeated once the man had stopped screaming again, though he did take note that he would need to slow down in cutting off body parts if he wanted answers. After all, his prisoner could hardly answer him if he died from blood loss or simply went into shock.

"I told you already, I don't know!" the man answered as he wept like a child. A mental sigh echoed in Krieg's mind upon hearing the words. Some criminals just would not take a hint.

"Very well then, if you are so unwilling to tell the truth, I suppose that tongue of yours no longer serves a purpose," Krieg said nonchalantly as he released his mutilated hand and reached for his mouth. That certainly spurred him on.

"Wait, wait! I don't know where he is, but I know where he usually goes!" the man screamed in terror, trying to crawl away from the steadily approaching knife. To his great relief, the knife halted in its advance.

"Where?" Krieg questioned, already planning where to plant the knife next should the man's words prove false.

"At the abandoned church. He uses it to store his drugs, and regularly goes there to oversee his investments," the man answered fearfully. Krieg was silent after that, debating whether he should believe him or not. And during that time, his prisoner's fears mounted by the second, dreading what may come.

"Thank you, your cooperation is most appreciated," Krieg finally spoke, right before a fist sent the man into the land of the unconscious. With the interrogation over, Krieg cleaned his knife on the man's clothes before sheathing it and standing back up. The sound of a pistol cocking made him tense up in surprise. Slowly turning around, he found the one he stuck a knife into had crawled back up and found a pistol. A pistol he was now aiming straight at Krieg while clutching his still bleeding shoulder.

"I'll fucking kill you," he spat out in anger as he made ready to pull the trigger. It never came to pass, as a red arrow came out of nowhere and knocked the pistol right out of his hand. To Krieg's eternal shame, he was just as dumbstruck as his opponent at that moment as a small shape leaped off a building and landed boot first on the formerly pistol wielding man. A few good punches later and he was out of it as well, leaving only Krieg and his mysterious rescuer still standing. Not one to take any chances, Krieg grabbed his shotgun from his back and aimed it at this new player.

"Identify yourself," he ordered firmly. That caused the small figure to turn around and face him. As it turned out, it was a girl, one or two years younger than him, dressed in a red costume similar to Speedy's with a yellow cape and hood and a domino mask over her eyes. For armament, she carried a bow in her hands and a quiver of arrows on her back. The girl raised her hands in a nonthreatening gesture as she regarded him quizzically.

"Is that any way to treat your rescuer, big boy?" she asked teasingly. Krieg was not humored and fired a warning shot at her feet, causing her to leap back with a startled yelp. A hand instinctively went to the quiver on her back, but Krieg had by then ejected the spent cartridge and had her in his crosshairs again.

"Next one goes higher," he warned her, and she wisely chose not to provoke him any further and so lowered her hand.

"Now I say again; identify yourself," Krieg repeated more forcefully. He was so not in the mood to deal with rogue vigilantes at this stage. Then again, he was never in the mood to deal with rogue vigilantes.

"Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick," she quipped, a hint of fierce proudness in her voice. Her answer only served to confuse Krieg.

"Did not Green Arrow already have an older sidekick bearing that name?" he asked in confusion, receiving a nonchalant shrug from the girl.

"He ran away, didn't he? I'm the new one," she answered. 'Unbelievable,' Krieg thought to himself, another child trained to be a soft-hearted guardian.

"Where do the Justice League members keep finding your kind?" he asked in exasperation, still having his shotgun aimed at her. It appeared she found that one amusing in some way, if that small smile was any indication.

"And who are you?" she asked curiously. Krieg was very tempted to just shoot her and be on his way. But alas, if she was the new protégé of Green Arrow, he would not appreciate it in the least. Not that Krieg cared what that buffoon of an archer thought, but he would no doubt bring his complaints to Batman. And Batman was the sole member of the Justice League that Krieg held any sense of respect for, and who was the only one Krieg could obey without too much remorse.

"Krieg, Justice League associate," he eventually answered. 'Speedy' reacted by cocking her head sideways in a confused expression.

"Then doesn't that make us allies?" she inquired while giving a pointed look at his shotgun, still aimed at her.

"No, it only means that we answer to the same authority," Krieg countered, receiving a raised eyebrow from the girl.

"Isn't that the definition of an ally? Working for the same boss and fighting for the same cause?" she asked. Krieg felt like sneering at her so called logic.

"Irrelevant here. I do not trust you, therefore you are not an ally," he answered coldly. That got a huff out of the girl as she looked at him in exasperation.

"You don't trust me? Well this is my city you're trespassing in, shouldn't it matter more if I trust you or not?" she questioned.

"What you think or do does not hold any relevance to me, so long as you stay out of my way," Krieg stated with finality, making Speedy gape in disbelief.

"Does my status as Green Arrow's sidekick not mean anything to you?" she asked, clearly having a hard time believing it. Krieg answered with a rubber bullet to the head, knocking her out.

"If Green Arrow feels he has an issue with my presence, he can come to me in person, instead of sending his runt," Krieg spoke to the unconscious girl before he walked away.

Finding the church proved to be the easy part of the hunt, getting in without being detected proved to be far more challenging. Wherever Krieg went, he found a guard watching his chosen path. Oh, some of them were not as obvious as the fools standing at the doors, masks on their faces and guns in their hands. No, some were smart, like the little boy playing drums on a barrel. Krieg had been in the Imperial army long enough to recognize a Morse code when he heard one.

Then there was the decrepit old man, sitting hunched in a corner wearing ragged old clothes to match his age. He should have been more careful about hiding his cellphone from watching eyes. Not to mention the whore selling herself on a nearby street. Probably would have been the best guard, if she could have kept her eyes from wandering to every other of the aforementioned guards.

All in all, Black Serpent was a smart one, placing obvious guards in obvious places to fool any would-be infiltrator into not watching for any extra hidden eyes. Would have probably too, had Krieg not been dealing with this particular scum for weeks. He was smart, no doubt about it, but he lacked a creative mind. The man never changed his tricks or habits. Hiding atop a roof, Krieg had already a plan on how to get inside, all he needed was a distraction.

"You're a real ass, you know that?" those words had Krieg dropping his binoculars and drawing his pistol. What he found when he turned around was the infernal costumed girl he had left behind earlier. Could they never take a hint?

"So I am told," Krieg answered coldly, aiming his pistol at Speedy, who for her part this time stood ready with an arrow already nocked.

"Don't think I'll fall for the same trick twice, Krieg," she stated. From behind his gasmask, Krieg frowned at her.

"I do not have time for you. I have important work to complete here," he said with an edge of irritation in his words. The girl loudly scoffed at him.

"Bad for you, 'cause I'm tagging along with whatever you're doing," she revealed with conviction, receiving a pair of narrowed eyes from Krieg.

"I do not require your aid, girl. Go home to your mentor and leave me to my work," he ordered. Unfortunately, Speedy was all but unaffected by the command, even smirked cockily at him.

"Sorry, big boy. Not taking orders from you. Now we can either work together, or we can beat each other up and alert the entire neighborhood of our presence," she answered smugly. And as much as it galled Krieg, it sounded like he would have to fold on this one. He was not about to let the Black Serpent get away because an idiotic girl felt the need to meddle in his affairs. Stupid heretics.

"Very well then, girl. I do hope that you at least have enough common sense to follow the plan I drew up," Krieg said as he holstered his pistol, prompting Speedy to place her arrow back in her quiver.

"Of course, if it's a good plan," she answered snidely. Clearly she was less than impressed with him. Well, the feeling was all but mutual.

"It is simple, really. We infiltrate from opposite directions, you from the back and I from the front. Once inside we plan our next move," Krieg explained before he began moving towards the next building. "You have your order, girl. Now move it,"

"For the record, Krieg. My name is Speedy, not girl," Speedy complained with her arms crossed over her chest. Krieg did not even turn around to face her when he answered.

"And I do not care, girl," he answered before he leaped over an alley and started sprinting across the roofs. Though in a way, he should be thankful that the girl came along. After all, she would serve as an excellent distraction where she was going. Krieg had conveniently forgotten to inform her that her path was in the direct line of sight of the old man he spotted earlier.

Lo and behold, when he got to the other end, he found the guards abandoning their posts and moving to the back. Clearly the girl had already been detected. 'Perfect,' Krieg thought to himself as he leaped down from the roof and walked up to the church door in plain view. Grabbing his shotgun, he carefully pushed the door open and slinked inside, closing the door behind him. Looking around, he found the place packed to the brim with crates, no doubt filled with drugs.

Absentmindedly, he noted that gunfire had started outside, but he gave it no further thought. His target was hopefully in here, and not out there. Rapidly approaching footsteps alerted Krieg of another presence, and so he hid behind a stack of crates just as the man he was hunting stepped into view.

"Damn it, how did that Arrow freak manage to find me so fast? I took every precaution to prevent him from discovering my operation," the Black Serpent grumbled o himself. He sure lived up to his name, dressed in all black with deathly pale skin and a gaunt face. Sunken in eyes gleamed with vicious cunning from his bald head as he paced back and forth. When he turned his back to Krieg, he acted. Raising his shotgun, he placed two rapid shots into his backs, sending him tumbling to the floor with a scream of pain.

Seeing no further point with hiding anymore, Krieg stepped out in plain view and closed the distance between them. Upon seeing just who it was that had attacked him, the Black Serpent's already pale skin turned as white as snow.

"Y-you," he stammered out in fright, trying to crawl away like a worm. Krieg would have none of that, and so rushed over and delivered a powerful kick into his guts, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover from the blow, Krieg turned him on his back and shoved the muzzle of his shotgun straight into his face.

"I did warn you that I was coming for you, and that nothing would stop me. But you seem to have thought that you could escape judgment by fleeing to another city," Krieg spoke monotonously as the disgusting man beneath him cowered in terror. It was truly pathetic, he was not even trying to fight him.

"N-now now, no n-need to get violent h-here. I'm s-sure we can work something o-out," the Black Serpent pleaded fearfully. A colossal mistake on his part, for Krieg detested those who pleaded for mercy. If they wanted to escape their fate, they should be up and fighting, not bartering like cowards. With deliberate slowness, he loaded a red shot into his shotgun.

"Not interested," Krieg finally answered before he aimed at his right hand and pulled the trigger. At such distance, the bird shot all but shredded his hand to pieces. It was a bit hard to explain, but Krieg felt some manner of warm feeling in his chest when the disgusting little heretic was screaming in absolute agony.

It was at that moment that Krieg heard someone kick a door open before footsteps taken with the grace of an elephant were heard approaching. As it turned out, it was Speedy, and she looked downright furious, clutching a broken bow and wearing a torn up cape. The moment her furious eyes landed on Krieg, she snarled in anger.

"You!" she shouted in fury as she stomped over towards him.

"What?" Krieg asked in irritation. Seriously, why did she always have to interrupt while he was working? Could she not wait another five minutes or so while he extracted what he desired?

"You tricked me, you bastard! You didn't tell me about that hidden guard!" she snarled out through clenched teeth, fists tightened in preparation to pummel Krieg's masked face. Krieg, for his part, was completely unaffected by her sudden anger.

"True, but I never said that there did not exist a hidden guard either," he easily countered, watching dispassionately as her face reddened in anger.

"You used me as bait, didn't you?" she finally deduced, glaring accusingly at Krieg, who for his part merely shrugged his shoulders.

"That I did," he admitted shamelessly. That only served to further infuriate Speedy, who looked more than ready to attack Krieg at any second. But before any blows could be dealt out, they were distracted by rapid footsteps fleeing from them. When they both turned to where the sound was originating from, they found the Black Serpent fleeing like a whipped dog out of the church. 'Once again, these damnable heroes' interference has let a criminal escape. This is becoming an annoying habit,' Krieg thought to himself as he began to follow his quarry.

But he did not get very far before a small hand grabbed his arm in a surprisingly strong grip. Confused, and more than a bit ticked off, he turned around and found Speedy halting his advance, a glare powerful enough to melt through steel in her eyes and directed at him.

"You're not going anywhere, asshole!" she ordered in fury, clearly still upset by Krieg's trickery. Unfortunately, Krieg's already short patience had burned out a long time ago, he had now been fed up with infuriating heroes coming and dictating his actions. Without warning, Krieg sent the most powerful fist strike he could muster straight into Speedy's face. The blow shattered her nose in a spurt of blood while sending her flying back to impact against a stack of crates, toppling them over and burying her.

Krieg had no idea whether she truly survived or not, but he did not care one bit at this time. 'I am not a heretic, I do not take orders from heretics, I do the Emperor's bidding,' he kept repeating in his head as he stormed out of the church in search of his original prey. As it turned out, he was not hard to track, he left a trail of blood on the ground. Following it to its source, he found the sniveling man hiding in a nearby alley, talking to someone on his cellphone.

"Your idea failed! You told me that the bastard wouldn't follow me if I switched cities, and look at me now! My hideout is compromised, my hand is blown off, and all my drugs have been taken!" now that sounded intriguing to Krieg's ears. Was someone else possibly pulling the strings on this lowlife? Acting quickly, he placed a rubber bullet in his knee. As soon as he was down on the ground and the phone was out of his hand, Krieg loaded a blue round and fired.

As planned, the electricity sent the Black Serpent into violent spasms before passing out. Krieg could have easily dragged him to prison now, but there was something he wanted to find out. Slowly, he bent down and picked up the cellphone. Caller ID said unknown, so no luck there. But instead of throwing it away, he held it to his ear. Someone was still on the line.

"I do not know who you are, I do not know what you are after. I do not even know where you are. But I do know this, you have sided with my enemy, and that makes you an enemy as well. If you are a smart man, you will heed my next words and leave this business for good. For if you do not, I will be coming for you, and no force in existence will be able to stop me," Krieg spoke tonelessly.

"Then come and get me," the one on the other end responded tauntingly before he disconnected.

At the other end, Deathstroke the Terminator smiled to himself while throwing away his cellphone. Standing up on a rooftop just a few houses away from Krieg, he had been presented with a spectacular show from the boy. Not only had he proven his determination when he followed his prey all the way to Star City, but he also showed a promising level of ruthlessness and cunning with how he used that rookie girl.

Truly, Krieg was a one of a kind hero. No, that was wrong wording. He was no hero, not by a longshot. It did not matter that the Justice League were the ones holding his leash. It did not matter that he was working alongside heroes. None of that would ever change his true nature. Krieg was no hero, he was a soldier. A soldier, fighting a war he did not fully comprehend.

"Congratulations, Krieg, you've passed my second test," Deathstroke spoke out loud for only himself to hear. Then, he leaped down into an alley, vanishing into its shadows like a ghost.

Seeing as the one on the other end was done, Krieg threw the cellphone aside and turned his full attention back to the Black Serpent. Seeing the scum lying helpless on the ground, knowing that he would escape the true justice he so rightfully deserved, Krieg felt sick to his stomach. Death was all he would ever deserve, yet what he would be getting was a comfy cell for a few years, and then back out on the street to do more harm. That was not true justice, that was a corrupted idea of justice.

Without even realizing it himself, Krieg had begun to take slow steps towards the criminal, his hand gripping the hilt of his sheathed knife. Would it not be better for everyone involved if the man simply were to die? How many would be spared the pain and suffering in the future? Would that not be in true service to mankind? To cut the corruption out like a tumor? After all, that was how the Imperium had dealt with corruption, and it had kept humanity alive for over ten thousand years.

But before anything could be done, Krieg heard someone land behind him with a thud. This time, he was not alarmed. And enemy would not reveal their presence in such a blatant move. Letting go of his knife, he turned around to find Green Arrow standing there. And he was not looking pleased in the slightest.

"Green Arrow," Krieg greeted monotonously.

"What are you doing in my city?" Green Arrow asked, cutting right to the chase. Krieg had fully expected that question.

"Tracking down a criminal who fled from Los Angeles," he answered without missing a beat while gesturing to the unconscious and still bleeding criminal lying behind him. When Green Arrow saw what was left of his right hand, he looked like he wanted to first throw up and then strangle someone. He was instantly at the criminal's side with some makeshift bandages. While he struggled to stop the bleeding, Krieg watched on dispassionately.

"Did you do this?" Green Arrow finally asked furiously once he was done, glaring accusingly at Krieg.

"Yes," he answered without guilt or shame, unknowingly infuriating Green Arrow even further.

"Why?" he demanded, receiving an uncaring shrug from Krieg.

"He resisted," he answered nonchalantly, not really caring at that point. Green Arrow was instantly on his feet and strode up to Krieg, fury burning in his eyes.

"That's not how heroes act, kid. We protect the innocent from the bad guys, but we don't mutilate them once we catch them," he lectured harshly. Sadly, Krieg was completely unaffected by his words.

"The Justice League has strictly prohibited me from killing anyone, and I have obeyed those orders to the letter. But never was it mentioned that severely injuring criminals was prohibited as well," he countered uncaringly. Green Arrow looked ready to explode at that point, but then it was as if all the air had gone out of him as he gave a loud sigh.

"What's happened to you, kid? You were always cold and brutal to everyone, but ever since the incident with Adrian you've been growing worse. You don't answer any calls, you ignore your teammates, and you're filling the hospitals with criminals. Your friends are worried about you, many in the Justice League too," Green Arrow explained. Krieg tightened his hands into fists at his words. He himself had been mute about what happened in that illusion, but his teammates had not been as tight-lipped.

Because of that, everyone in the Justice League knew what had happened in his mind, something he would have preferred not have happened. He hated when these heroes came and meddled with his affairs, he hated it even further when they constantly tried to pry into his own thoughts. They would never understand what he went through, the torment he faced at being accused of being a heretic and traitor.

"I am no traitor," too late did he realize that he had spoken that one out loud. Green Arrow thankfully did not comment on his strange choice of words, but rested a hand on his shoulder. A gesture that forced Krieg to rein in his first instinct of breaking the offending appendage.

"Look, I can understand it was hard for you, but you can't keep it bottled up like that. It will only hurt you in the end," Green Arrow said with sympathy, something that Krieg loathed with all his heart.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Krieg inquired coldly.

"Talk to someone about. Your teammates, Black Canary or someone else you feel comfortable around. Just get it off your heart," Green Arrow offered. Krieg was dangerously close to loudly scoffing at the blonde idiot. Talk to someone? Who could he possibly ever consider talking…?

That was when he remembered something. He remembered a particular encounter he experienced not so long ago. With only a nod to indicate he had heard, he turned around and began walking away. Green Arrow seemed content enough to let him go. A sudden thought hit Krieg without warning, and he turned back to face Green Arrow.

"By the way, may I suggest that you keep you newest sidekick under closer watch. She does not appear to be ready to operate alone," he said. However, Green Arrow reacted to his words by adapting a clueless look.

"Newest sidekick?" he repeated in confusion, obviously having no idea whatsoever on what Krieg was talking about. And with impeccable timing, Speedy came running around the corner, blood still running from her broken nose. When she saw Green Arrow standing there, she froze up like a child caught stealing cookies. Green Arrow meanwhile clutched his face in his hand while letting out a resigned sigh.

"Mia," he groaned out in frustration. The now named Mia's way of answering was by turning eyes down towards her feet.

"Hi, Arrow. Didn't expect to see you here," she sheepishly replied. She ended up getting the sharp end of an annoyed glare. While the two archers faced each other off, Krieg found himself standing in-between them, looking back and forth between them with a clueless look on his face. Not that anyone could see it.

"I will simply be on my way," he spoke lamely before walking away, before thoroughly ignored by the archers. 'Is this what they call awkward?' Krieg thought to himself as he left, leaving only Green Arrow and Speedy behind. And in Speedy's opinion, she would have almost preferred him over what was coming.

"Mia, how many times have I told you already? You're not ready to be a crime fighter," Green Arrow admonished. That only served to give the girl her fire back as she finally looked up at him again.

"Then train me! You've seen how good I am! I can help you, I want to help you!" she protested, but Green Arrow just shook his head.

"I did not save you just for you to throw your life away like that," he stated sternly, receiving a glare from the girl.

"But I want to help!" she insisted. Unfortunately, Green Arrow was unmoved.

"Look, kid. You've had a hard life, I know that, but Oliver Queen has agreed to fund your studies. You're a smart girl, you can make a better life for yourself, away from this," he tried to explain to her. He did not want the girl to get hurt, he wanted her to have a normal life. That, and he did not feel ready to take on a new protégé after Roy. He dearly missed that boy.

"But I won't have a life!" she suddenly screamed in anger, bringing Green Arrow's thoughts to a screeching halt. 'What did she just say?' he asked himself, already dreading what the answer might be.

"In case you haven't heard, the doctors say I'm HIV positive. I won't get to live a long and happy life. And even if I do live past 30, what then? Will I be sitting at home munching on one medicine after the other just to get a few extra years of life?" she demanded to know.

"And you want to make your life even shorter by putting your life at risk like this?" Green Arrow countered. That only infuriated Mia even further.

"It's my life! Don't I get to decide what I can do with it?" she questioned while stomping her foot in a childish manner. Green Arrow made ready to continue the argument when they both heard police sirens in the distance.

"I have to go, duty calls. And no, you're not coming," he added the last bit when he saw her making ready to follow. "Please, I don't want you to get hurt, so please drop this and try to live a normal life," he pleaded with her before he ran away, leaving the young girl to stare dejectedly at his retreating back. But then, her look of sadness turned to one of anger as her hands tightened into fists, nails digging into her palms until they drew blood.

He could not believe what he was about to do. Never in his sixteen years of living could he have ever imagined himself willingly doing that which he planned to do now. Standing atop the same building in Los Angeles that he had been on when he met her, he found himself hesitating from where he stood at the edge. Why did he not move? His goal was just three stories below him, so why did he just stand there?

"Wonder if this is what they call nervousness," he quietly asked himself. Taking a deep breath, he steeled his nerves and climbed down the balconies until he stood upon the one he came searching for. It was early morning, so he did not know whether anyone was awake, but he still took his chances and politely knocked on the balcony door. It took a few minutes of silence, but eventually he heard light footsteps approaching from inside. Seconds later, and the surprised face of Rachel Roth was visible on the other side of the door before she opened it.

"Krieg. A surprise to see you here," she admitted. Krieg inclined his head in greeting.

"Miss Roth," he greeted politely, bringing the faintest of smiles of her pale face.

"No need for such formalities here. Now, what can I do for you?" she inquired curiously. Until the day he died, Krieg would vehemently deny that he shuffled nervously on his feet at that moment.

"You once told me that if I ever needed someone to talk to…" he trailed off uncertainly. This way of acting was so unlike how he usually acted, it nearly made him question his sanity. Then again, this was hardly an event he had ever trained for or even experienced. Rachel meanwhile said nothing, she merely stepped aside and gestured for Krieg to step inside. Once inside, Rachel closed the door before leading Krieg into the kitchen.

"I was just preparing some herbal tea. Would you like some?" she asked, to which Krieg only gave an affirmative nod as an answer. With surprising swiftness, Rachel had two steaming cups of tea placed on her small table before taking a seat and gesturing for Krieg to do the same. Hesitantly, he did just that, finding himself seated opposite of Rachel as she took a sip from her cup, her eyes never leaving him.

Looking down upon his own cup, Krieg almost reached out to grab it when he remembered his gasmask. So used was he to its presence he was, that he never remembered its existence until he needed to eat or drink. Rachel quickly saw the dilemma of trying to drink while wearing a mask.

"If you don't want to reveal your identity, I understand," she assured him. Krieg remained unmoving for a moment, eyes locked onto the cup sitting in front of him. Finally, he reached up with his hands and began removing his helmet and gasmask.

"No one knows who I am anyway," he explained as his mask came off. When she saw his face for the first time, her eyes widened in shock. She kept her composure remarkably well, but Krieg knew what troubled.

"A gift from the Joker," he said while running a glowed hand over the scars on his face. Rachel merely nodded her head and said nothing more on the matter, something he was eternally grateful for.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Rachel inquired. Taking a sip of his own tea, Krieg found its smell and taste to be quite soothing.

"It is a matter of faith," he began slowly before looking Rachel straight in her eyes. "Do you believe in any deities, Rachel?" the question caught her a bit off guard, but she answered nonetheless.

"Not really. I've tried some, but none ever truly appealed to me. Often found them to be too strict or contradictory," she admitted. Krieg took a deep breath before he continued speaking.

"I may not look like it, but I am a deeply religious man. I grew up learning the one true faith, I was taught about the one true deity that guides and protect humanity. It is this very belief that drives me forward, that gives me a purpose," he explained with a faraway look in his eyes. Intrigued by this tell, Rachel leaned forward in her seat.

"And what is this purpose?" she asked curiously.

"To protect humanity against all those who desires to harm it, even if they themselves are human," he answered proudly, before letting out a tired sigh. "But lately, I have felt doubt. Not about the righteousness of our cause, but about my own commitment," he admitted shamefully. Saying these things out loud may have eased the burden somewhat, but each word he spoke felt like a knife driven into his soul.

"I have done things that are considered sinful, that would brand me a traitor and heretic. I do my best to stay true to my faith, but at every turn I find myself compromising and making exceptions. Can I then really claim to be a true believer if I cannot even honor its sacred commands?" that question was directed at both Rachel and himself with equal measure. A minute of silence passed between them, until Rachel finally spoke.

"Like I said, I'm not a religious person, so I won't claim to be very knowledgeable about matters of faith. But tell me this, is there anyone else who follows your faith? Some kind of gathering of like-minded believers?" she asked.

"No, I am the only one on this Earth," he revealed. When he looked in her eyes, he strangely enough found no pity, or even remorse for him. It made him relieved, for he desired neither. Strangely enough, there was understanding in her eyes.

"If that is true, then how can you expect to follow a way of belief without compromise when you alone follow it?" she asked, Krieg furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Rachel took another sip of her tea.

"There are a myriad of laws, beliefs, religions, customs and norms all over the Earth many of which clash with one another. It is completely impossible to blindly cling to your own sets of laws when you are surrounded by others. Sometimes, we find that we must bend our beliefs to accommodate our new lives," she explained patiently. It made Krieg curious, for it sounded like she herself had done so.

"You speak from experience?" he asked curiously. Rachel said nothing, instead she picked up a small handbag that Krieg had seen many elderly ladies carrying. Opening it, Rachel brought out a revolver for Krieg to see.

"Like I said last time we met, I am a pacifist and prefer to avoid the usage of violence. However, thieves and rapists won't respect my belief, and so I must make exceptions to defend myself," she revealed. Krieg nodded his head in understand.

"But still, even if you said was true, could I truly be called a true servant of my faith if I did just that?" Krieg asked. In a surprising move, Rachel reached a hand over the table and gently grabbed his own.

"You're a good man, Krieg. Many will probably say differently, but you truly hold humanity's best interest at heart, which is more than most people can claim. And protecting humanity is one of your faith's most important aspects?" caught completely off guard by her words, Krieg could only numbly nod his head in confirmation.

"Then as long as you hold true to that one duty, then yes, I believe you can proudly call yourself a true servant. You may not like having to compromise, you may even ask if it is morally right, but always stay true to your purpose. That is all that matters, and don't let what anyone else say make you think otherwise," she spoke with conviction. While he was not fully convinced by some of her words, he found that she, as usual, was right on other points.

Protecting humanity was what mattered most, no matter how distasteful the means of doing it were. One day, his faith would see the xenos and heretics burn and humanity become strong. But today, they were unfortunately the only ones standing for humanity's survival.

"For a civilian, you show to be deeply knowledgeable about these matters," Krieg commented before de drank the rest of his tea and put on his mask and helmet. "I rarely say this to others, but thank you," he offered before he turned and left. Rachel remained seated at the table, she too drinking up the last of her tea.

"You're not the only one troubled by daemons, Krieg," Rachel spoke cryptically for only herself to hear as Krieg was long gone. In response to her words, both of the empty cups became encased in dark energy and levitated over to the sink.

Finding himself back at his hideout, Krieg seated himself on a chair while clutching his treasured gasmask in his hands. Rachel's words had soothed some of his troubles, but hardly all of them. One thing he had not discussed was one he never expected to experience. 'I miss home. I just want to go back,' he thought to himself. Adrian's world may have been a lie, but it had made him long for the comfort of the Death Korps. Army life he felt comfortable in, war he understood. That was his true home, not all of this.

But it was no use complaining. He would never see home again, he would most likely live out the rest of his days here on Earth. To forever yearn for something you could never have was a dangerous distraction he could ill afford, so it was time he put the past behind him and looked to the future. But even so, he felt that he needed something to remember that which he had forever lost. Something to represent what could have been his, but now would only be a distant fantasy.

Looking upon his gasmask, he knew just what that could be. With his mind made up, he set to work on modifying his uniform.

Lord Kobra liked to believe he was a god, and his followers worshipped him as such. Today, he was an angry god, a very angry god. Ever since the debacle at Santa Prisca, his organization had been on somewhat of an uphill journey. Followers were growing scarce, funding was running out, and the Light had cut him out completely. No longer did he possess the backing of undoubtedly the most powerful secret organization in existence, and it showed in the Cult's decreasing power.

He could have blackmailed them, forced them to help his cult get back up to the top again, after all, he knew about their existence, something the Justice League would have paid anything to learn. But alas, vainglorious as he may be, he was no fool. The only reason he still lived was because he kept his mouth shut. If he revealed their existence, the Light would have no trouble crushing the Cult of Kobra like an insect. So he kept quiet, and was left to watch his cult slowly crumble.

His personal moment of brooding alone was interrupted when someone stepped into his personal chambers. One of his followers, but it irked him that he would come in so blatantly without even knocking and waiting for approval.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly, already planning on snapping the man's neck should his answer not prove satisfactory enough. Oddly enough, the man did not stop and bow like he should, instead he kept approaching Kobra with rapid steps.

"Forgive me, your Excellency, but I'm afraid a change in leadership is imminent here," the servant spoke mockingly, making the target of Lord Kobra's new anger.

"Insolent worm, you should know better than to speak like that to your God," he spoke as he rose from his seat. Only then did he see the eyes of his supposed servant, and it made him take a fearful step back. Those were not the eyes of any mortal creature, aflame with unholy fires that scorched the soul of anyone staring into them. A bone shilling laugh ripped out of the creature's throat.

"You are no God, puny mortal. I have seen true Gods, and you are nothing compared to them. No, you are less than nothing," the creature mocked him before a predatory grin split his face. "But do not fear, I will put both your cult, and your body, to good use," with each step it took forward, Kobra took one backwards until his back hit the wall.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked fearfully as the creature closed in for the kill.

"For Chaos," it answered before it lunged at him. Many hours later, Lord Kobra would emerge from his chambers, sporting a cruel smile on his lips and with the same hellish flames burning in his eyes like the creature before.