Chapter 10: Control

(POV Oionós) 

I'd been in the process of dishing out judgment on some gun-toting scumbags in an alleyway when I'd spotted two familiar figures darting about rooftops. Curious as to where they were in a hurry to get to, I followed. 

From what V told me the supposed 'Bat family' has been the one and only force even attempting to thwart Gotham's crime. While I certainly disagreed with their clearly ineffective methods, I could respect their willingness to take a stand when no one else would. Hell, even the police condemned their actions and often engaged in altercations with them. 

Imagine trying to kill or capture someone who was actively helping you and your city root out its evil. The law enforcement here is honestly just as despicable as the criminals themselves. Why the hell aren't they being put to death? What's with just locking them up and letting them break out the next day? 

It didn't take long for me to spot their destination, an abandoned bridge that appeared under construction. Seeing them slink around the street attempting to sneak up on the goons, I opted for the high ground. 

Soundlessly I climbed the bridge's archway and positioned myself above the present spectacle. Intrigue gripped me as I observed the duo of crime fighters whisper to one another, no doubt planning out their course of action. 

Turning my attention away from them I scratched my chin in thought, based on the two groups' outfits I'd guess they're Banes Street gang and Scarecrows Thugs, but what is it that they're trading? About the only thing they have in common is their use of unique drugs. So, I'd assume it's something to do with that. 

From what little I understand, Bane is just a living walking steroid who likes fighting. Meanwhile, Scarecrow enjoys subjecting innocent people to living nightmares. Scarecrow in particular already has my ire, but I'm unsure what business Bane should have with him. 

Hm? Seeing 'Robin' suddenly bolt out from behind cover clearly without warning his compatriot caught me by surprise. This was only furthered as a large cloud of gas suddenly exploded and entrapped both of them. 

As it cleared the goons instantly sprang into action, one of them trying and failing to incapacitate 'Black Bat'. That is, until what I could only assume was one of the leaders pulled out a fucking AR. Skills only get you so far, watching the duo dive out of the way and still manage to get hit, I couldn't help but stare at the weapon with some apprehension. 

Guns. I've decided I don't like them. Why did things like that even exist? Clicking my tongue I continued to observe the situation, soon discovering just what was in the cannisters. Great, so the living steroid has upgraded its formula- my train of thought was halted as I heard one of the goons' crude remarks. 

Seeing him position himself behind 'Black Bat' and push her into the ground set my mind ablaze. I see now, clearly, I was being ignorant. It doesn't matter if what they're known for is arms dealing, drug dealing, murder, rape, or robbery...they do it all. Their sins aren't singular, they aren't limited, they aren't redeemable. 

"Well, what have we here?" I asked no one in particular. 

Seeing their confused expressions as they frantically looked to and fro, I effortlessly dropped down from my position. A convenient flash of lightning hid my descent, and with a soundless plop, I took a seat next to the young vigilante. 

"I had thought maybe you were just drug dealers, but it seems like I've got it all wrong. You're definitely as disgusting and deplorable as V said." Once more speaking to no one in particular, I ignored the girl and focused on the man on top of her. 

He had yet to notice me, as I'd removed his sense of hearing, and with his lacking sense of awareness, I didn't need powers to hide from him. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the goons, as they shouted at me and charged forward in a mixture of fear, and bravado. 

One, two, three. 

In mere seconds, they were within range and all sight was removed from those in the vicinity, quickly followed by the ability to hear. Casually standing up, I reached for the man who had pushed Black Bat's face into the pavement. 

By now, he'd discovered something was wrong, thought it was too little too late. Plunging my talons into his eyes, I whispered in his ear. 

"See no evil." 

Clenching his jaw, and removing his tongue, I continued. 

"Speak no evil." 

"Hear no evil," I said as I pierced my finger's blades through his ears. 

Such an event was repeated a few more times, though with less theatrics. I felt my point had gotten across. As for the rest of the wandering lambs? I brutalized them enough that they'd remember what had happened here and spread the word. 

Judgment had come. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

An indescribable pressure surrounded my being, pressing me down from all sides, as though it were trying to shatter not only my body but my mind as well. Despite this seemingly uncomfortable feeling, it was actually the opposite. I felt cool, cold even...wet? 

While darkness encompassed my vision, I desperately clung to my other senses to get an idea of just where I was. Moving my limbs seemed to take every ounce of strength within my body, as each movement was met by a nearly irresistible force. 

Time ticked by as I moved my arms and legs inch by inch. What started as robotic and resistant-filled jerking motions eventually turned into a fluid and effortless dance. The pressure was still there, only it was no longer restricting and controlling me, I was controlling it. 

Continuing my exploration of my pressurized world, something caught my eye. Dim, extremely so, nearly unnoticeable. Had my eyes grown accustomed to the depths in which I dwelled and become capable of spotting something beyond? 

Unable to contain my curiosity, I propelled myself toward the speck, the dot, the hole, the light, the sun. The closer I got, the brighter my world became, and before I knew it I was breaking through both a metaphorical and physical barrier. 

The light nearly blinded me as I breached the surface of the water, looking downward I watched my body emerge and continue upward unabated. If I could put it into words, it felt like my body was weightless, without inhibitions. It was intoxicating. 

Whilst my body continued to soar ever higher, the temperature around me rose, and the glare from before was finally given form. Flames filled the skies, the edges of them...merely their shadow licked at my brows. Things like worry, guilt, sadness, pain, all that I carried seemed to be burned away, evaporated. 

The warmth that encompassed my very being had me utterly entranced, I couldn't help but keep drawing closer to its source. Then, things took a turn. The flames didn't stop at just burning the weight I carried, they wanted more. 

I felt the heat seep through my pores, spreading like a wildfire and burning everything, it came in contact with. My blood sizzled, my veins ruptured, my eyes melted, my morals vanished, my love disappeared, and my thoughts were set ablaze. 

The flames hollowed me both inside and out, stripping away what made me human, and turning me into an avatar of chaos. A living flame. Hellbent on reducing any and everything to ashes, and I was going to let it. 

No. What use was an inferno if it burned the hand that ignited it? An uncontrollable flame would burn friend and foe alike, and I wouldn't allow that. I was done being controlled. Reminded of the endless depths beneath me, I made a decision. 

If need be, I'd extinguish this flame once and for all. It wasn't worth the trouble that came with it. All at once, I released that sense of weightlessness, fully accepting that which tormented the human mind. Things like pain, grief, worry, and blame, all flooded back at once. 

A freefall ensued as I prepared to submerge myself in the suffocating, endless pressure below. The closer I got to the calm yet deadly waters, the more at peace I became, however, it seemed things wouldn't be so easy. 

A tendril of fire shot down from the skies, like a flaming lightning bolt. Mere moments before I touched the water's surface it wrapped itself around my left arm and leg, preparing to pull me back into its clutches. 

Why? Why won't you let me go? Before I could consider further, the still waters beneath me suddenly shook, and a wave launched itself skyward, latching onto the other half of my body halting my abduction. 

There I lay, suspended in mid-air by two forces fighting for dominance, completely ignoring my futile attempts to break free. How foolish I was, it seemed that even the depths were trying to control me. Dangling helplessly as these two beings fought over my body, I desperately sought a solution. 

If I can't have one or the other, why can't I have both? Extending my hands, I gripped both tendrils, and with all the strength I could muster, I pulled them together. The very world seemed to tilt, and with a blinding flash of light, the sun and moon collided. 

As the dust settled and my vision returned, I found myself no longer suspended in the air, or submerged within the abyss. I was standing on my own two feet. From the right side of my body onward, lay a world of fire utterly encompassing me and all in its path. Though, its flame wasn't raging, and instead appeared calming. 

Likewise, from the left side of my body and onward resided an ocean, filling the world from head to toe in its bottomless pit. The pressure from before was nowhere to be seen, as both life and light were seen thriving from within it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Awaking with a gasp I discovered a pool of sweat covering my body, and a clearly concerned Veronica at my side. 

"Oionós, is everything alright?" 

"Yeah, just a bad dream." I casually dismissed her. 

Biting her lips, in apparent nervousness, V continued. 

"A bad dream? Oionós, the servants say you were floating above the bed, and the manor...the city was shaking." 

What? Seeing my confusion, one of the servants dutifully turned on the television. A news reporter could be seen standing before a road with a small split down the middle, and a multitude of emergency vehicles. 

'Shock, awe, and fear spread throughout Gotham today as a rather large-scale earthquake rocked the city to its core. According to seismologists, all readings were completely and utterly normal all day before abruptly spiking to a 6.0' 

'While certainly not of doomsday level, the earthquake's abrupt appearance has caused a bit of chaos within the city. People all over have been caught unawares and as a result either died or been hospitalized. I ask you, was this just a random occurrence, or is something greater at work?' 

I'd expected to wake up today and watch the news report on my brutal killings of those criminals the night before, only to actively bury that story with an even larger one. Just what the hell did I do, and how? Was that going to be a normal occurrence now?