Later that day
Kathryn closed the loft elevator with one hand. She pulled the tactical visor from her face with the other while teasing her long hair to let her neck receive some cool air. Kathryn crossed into a darkened area of the loft and ducked under a pipe she could not see; its location memorized after several bumps to her forehead.
She turned a corner and in the dim candlelight was her teacher, Grand Battler Daikar, meditating. He had spent more and more time doing that and less training. But she knew her power levels were increasing without his guidance. GB, as she called him, was more like a roommate than a tutor lately.
She stopped short of the light’s aura. “GB, do you have a minute?”
He simply motioned for Kathryn to have a seat on the mat opposite him. Quietly she took her seat in the practiced manner she was accustomed to and waited. Once the Grand Battler opened his eyes to look into hers the silence was broken.
“You want to know the next step?”
Kathryn nodded. She had gotten used to his style of oriental-like Master-Pupil discussions and relationship. Daikar always had answers to everything.
He breathed in deeply. “Have you met your enemy?”
Kathryn blinked. “My enemy? Anyone who commits a crime is my enemy. Anyone who is unjust is my enemy. Anyone who abuses the law is my enemy.” She was proud of that answer. It sounded a little cheesy and scripted, but there was no better way to say it.
Daikar smirked and Kathryn knew she gave the wrong answer. She responded with a frown, her pride replaced with embarrassment.
“I meant your nemesis, your opposite. The one person you will need that pushes you to keep going.”
“What? Is not crime-fighting justifiable enough?”
“No. Crime is never-ending. You asked yourself, ‘when will it end?’ It doesn’t. At some point you will surrender to that fact. You will begin to let certain transgressions go. Some events will have more ‘value’ than others. Standards will change. Eventually you will be faced with a choice. That choice will have consequences that could not be foreseen. You will be desperate to fix it in your mind but fail. In your despair you will find a way to justify your decision. Ultimately, you will blame the one person who forced you into the doomed cage and you will hate them with a passion. They will be your new motivation. Your new standards of justice will define you just as their evil defines them.”
There was a silence of understanding between the two.
“Then I have not met my enemy,” Kathryn said reluctantly.
Daikar frowned. “But you are ready. There is nothing more I can teach you after this.”
He stood and walked to the kitchen and turned on the lights. Kathryn squinted from the sudden light. When her eye adjusted she heard the jingle of keys. Instinctively, she raised her hand and caught the keys that were thrown to her. Kathryn looked at them then to Daikar.
“It’s time for me to move on, to find another like you. I will tell you where I am going but you must promise me not to follow until you have defeated your enemy.”
She suddenly felt very warn as she realized Daikar was planning to leave. She had to be defiant against the realization yet privately remained hopeful. “Why would I follow you?” She immediately wished she said something else.
Daikar moved to the lockers that served as his closet and grabbed a duffle bag stuffed full. “Oh, you’ll find your way because the Fates will it. Everything is as it should be. I have seen the time when you will rise triumphant and in your glory the Gods will smile down on you.”
Kathryn’s sadness turned to anger and she stood to face Daikar whose back was to her. “Don’t give me that crap. What is really going on here?”
Daikar sighed and turned to Kathryn. “I am going toParagon City Chosen will not suffer as I have. So you are going to do things differently from what I have done.” His face was stern and unrelenting.
Kathryn recognized that look as the final word. She counted to herself and started to relax. She bowed to him and let a tear fall to the ground. Slowly she rose to look at Grand Battler Daikar from across the loft. “Once I arrive in Paragon … can I look for you?”
“Of course. I love you.”
Daikar turned on his heels, opened and closed the elevator doors … and was gone. The hard whine of the motor above the roof filled the room. Kathryn Beringer, The Scarlet Scorpion, stood in the dark, stunned.
Kathryn closed the loft elevator with one hand. She pulled the tactical visor from her face with the other while teasing her long hair to let her neck receive some cool air. Kathryn crossed into a darkened area of the loft and ducked under a pipe she could not see; its location memorized after several bumps to her forehead.
She turned a corner and in the dim candlelight was her teacher, Grand Battler Daikar, meditating. He had spent more and more time doing that and less training. But she knew her power levels were increasing without his guidance. GB, as she called him, was more like a roommate than a tutor lately.
She stopped short of the light’s aura. “GB, do you have a minute?”
He simply motioned for Kathryn to have a seat on the mat opposite him. Quietly she took her seat in the practiced manner she was accustomed to and waited. Once the Grand Battler opened his eyes to look into hers the silence was broken.
“You want to know the next step?”
Kathryn nodded. She had gotten used to his style of oriental-like Master-Pupil discussions and relationship. Daikar always had answers to everything.
He breathed in deeply. “Have you met your enemy?”
Kathryn blinked. “My enemy? Anyone who commits a crime is my enemy. Anyone who is unjust is my enemy. Anyone who abuses the law is my enemy.” She was proud of that answer. It sounded a little cheesy and scripted, but there was no better way to say it.
Daikar smirked and Kathryn knew she gave the wrong answer. She responded with a frown, her pride replaced with embarrassment.
“I meant your nemesis, your opposite. The one person you will need that pushes you to keep going.”
“What? Is not crime-fighting justifiable enough?”
“No. Crime is never-ending. You asked yourself, ‘when will it end?’ It doesn’t. At some point you will surrender to that fact. You will begin to let certain transgressions go. Some events will have more ‘value’ than others. Standards will change. Eventually you will be faced with a choice. That choice will have consequences that could not be foreseen. You will be desperate to fix it in your mind but fail. In your despair you will find a way to justify your decision. Ultimately, you will blame the one person who forced you into the doomed cage and you will hate them with a passion. They will be your new motivation. Your new standards of justice will define you just as their evil defines them.”
There was a silence of understanding between the two.
“Then I have not met my enemy,” Kathryn said reluctantly.
Daikar frowned. “But you are ready. There is nothing more I can teach you after this.”
He stood and walked to the kitchen and turned on the lights. Kathryn squinted from the sudden light. When her eye adjusted she heard the jingle of keys. Instinctively, she raised her hand and caught the keys that were thrown to her. Kathryn looked at them then to Daikar.
“It’s time for me to move on, to find another like you. I will tell you where I am going but you must promise me not to follow until you have defeated your enemy.”
She suddenly felt very warn as she realized Daikar was planning to leave. She had to be defiant against the realization yet privately remained hopeful. “Why would I follow you?” She immediately wished she said something else.
Daikar moved to the lockers that served as his closet and grabbed a duffle bag stuffed full. “Oh, you’ll find your way because the Fates will it. Everything is as it should be. I have seen the time when you will rise triumphant and in your glory the Gods will smile down on you.”
Kathryn’s sadness turned to anger and she stood to face Daikar whose back was to her. “Don’t give me that crap. What is really going on here?”
Daikar sighed and turned to Kathryn. “I am going to
Kathryn recognized that look as the final word. She counted to herself and started to relax. She bowed to him and let a tear fall to the ground. Slowly she rose to look at Grand Battler Daikar from across the loft. “Once I arrive in Paragon … can I look for you?”
“Of course. I love you.”
Daikar turned on his heels, opened and closed the elevator doors … and was gone. The hard whine of the motor above the roof filled the room. Kathryn Beringer, The Scarlet Scorpion, stood in the dark, stunned.
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