Chapter 12

Bad Looks

The duo made of Dana and Kyne had stopped at a gas station to fill up the detective’s car as well as their own stomachs. The hunt for Hive Queen had taken quite a bit of energy from both of them and they needed a moment to refuel in more ways than one.

“Anyways, what’s our next move?” Dana asked while taking a bite out of her cheeseburger. “Who should we go after next?”

Kyne thought about it for a moment, while taking spoonfuls of his soup. While they could simply go look for the Bio-Gladiator that was closest, it might not be the best option in the long run. Hive Queen was someone that they needed to take down fast, as her abilities allowed her to effectively create an entire army to back her up. The telekinetic knew that Hive Queen wasn’t the only one that would become a more dangerous threat with time. There were also those that Kyne was fairly certain they could handle with relative ease and those that he knew would pose more of a threat or he didn’t have much information on.

So what would be the deciding factor? Distance? Level of threat? Knowledge?

“What should I base my decision on?” Kyne asked after thinking it over. “What do you think should be the deciding factor on which to take down the others?”

“Hey, you know more about them than I do, so I’m willing to listen to your advice on this one,” Dana said with a shrug. “All I know is that we still 12 crazy ass monsters on the loose that need to be taken down.”

“Hang on… Did you say 12?” the telekinetic asked. “I thought there would still be 13 of us left.”

“I thought so, too, but turns out we were wrong. One of them got wasted without us knowing about it,” the detective explained. “Soon after we took out Hive Queen, I got a call from that dickhead running this whole show. He congratulated us on our victory with that smug voice of his and told me that we still had 12 opponents remaining.”

“...I see. Did he tell you who it was that was killed?” Kyne asked.

“Some guy called Boneblade, I think,” Dana answered. “Does the name ring any bells?”

“He was a fairly dangerous opponent. He could create sharp blade-like objects from his body,” the telekinetic explained. “However, when compared to a lot of the others, I’d say he wasn’t as much of a threat as some of the other Bio-Gladiators. Not only was his ability rather simple, but he wasn’t exactly a clever opponent. His desire for blood often got the best of him, making him careless when in a fight.”

“Sounds like a typical serial killer. Too focused on enjoying themselves to really notice anything else,” the detective remarked. “I tried asking who got him, in case you would be able to recognize the name, but he wouldn’t tell. Said that it would ruin the game or something like that.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have expected him to give us any information in the first place. Just knowing that one of our enemies has been taken care of is more than enough,” Kyne said before getting lost in his thoughts again. “Do you still have those files related to the deaths by Bio-Gladiators?”

“Sure. Here you go,” Dana said as she placed the file Shane had given her on the table. “You looking for anything specific?”

“Kind of. While Hive Queen was someone we needed to handle as soon as possible, there are still troublesome opponents that we are going to have to face,” the boy explained. “While they don’t pose as big of a threat, they could turn out to become dangerous opponents, if we let them build up their defenses. If left alone for too long, we might end up in a situation where hunting them down might be close to impossible.”

Kyne went through the reports and pictures in the file, looking closely at every gory detail. When most would turn away in horror at such sights, the telekinetic remained completely stoic and calm as he read the papers and looked into every disturbing detail. For him, these were the markings of his opponents, the other Bio-Gladiators. Much like an artist having their own style of painting a picture, each mutated killer had their way of finishing off their opponents. This allowed him to recognize the handiwork of each Bio-Gladiator.

However, as he flipped through the papers, he noticed that one of the Bio-Gladiators he knew of seemed to be missing. There were no pictures with victims mutilated in their style of killing, which made Kyne wonder what they were doing. The opponent he was thinking of should definitely still be alive, so where was their trace?

It was then that he noticed a single piece of paper. It was a report regarding people that had gone missing at the sewage treatment facility. There was an added note by Shane stating that he suspected this to be connected to the other incidents as well.

“What is this sewage treatment facility mentioned on this paper?” Kyne asked as he handed the report to Dana.

“Well, to put it bluntly, it’s the place where all the water used in the city is gathered and cleaned. It’s also connected to the lake, as most of the city’s water comes from there,” the detective explained. “You think one of the Bio-Gladiators is behind people going missing over there?”

“It’s a possibility. This at least seems to be the most likely location for Aqua Jaws,” the telekinetic answered.

“...Aqua Jaws? Seriously? That’s the- Never mind,” Dana said bluntly, before letting out a sigh and dropping the subject in regards to the name. “So what exactly is that guy’s deal then? Judging by the name, it has got something to do with water.”

“You would be correct in that regard,” Kyne replied. “Basically, Aqua Jaws was designed to be a completely water-based Bio-Gladiator. While he is a dangerous opponent on land, it’s in water that his abilities truly shine.”

“I figured as much. But why would he choose a sewage treatment facility as his base?” the detective asked. “There’s a big ass lake nearby, that the city has been named after. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to hide there? There would be plenty of fish for him to eat as well.”

“While there would be plenty of space for him, the sewage treatment facility is a far better hiding spot. The building provides far more in terms of cover and other strategical advantages,” the telekinetic explained. “As for the fish… Well, he sort of prefers human meat.”

“How lovely. Good thing I just finished eating,” Dana mumbled as she gave a look at her empty burger wrapping. “Anyways, this guy is our next target then? Well, let’s not waste too much time and go get the fishy bastard!”

With their next destination decided, the detective asked a waitress to bring them their check. The young girl walked up to them and handed Dana a note. However, as she was about to leave, the waitress gave Kyne a look of disgust, clearly not liking how he looked.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the detective.

“Hey, what the hell was that supposed to be!?” Dana yelled angrily as she stood up and walked up to the waitress. “What gives you the right to treat customers like crap!?”

“I-I wasn’t- I mean- Just look at him, okay!?” the young girl yelled while pointing at Kyne. “How am I supposed to look at THAT!?”

“Here’s the thing, kid. You’re not supposed to give any looks. You just do your job and that’s it, got it?” the detective said in a threatening manner. “Otherwise, it might come back and bite you in the ass, like with me. I was going to give you a tip, but you can forget about it now.”

With her business done, Dana put down the money for the food and gas before leaving with Kyne. The two were soon back on the road again.

“You didn’t need to do that,” Kyne said after a moment of silence. “There was no need to get so aggressive with her over how she looked at me. I know just as well as anybody else that I’m not exactly a pleasant sight for the eyes.”

“That might be true, but you shouldn’t let others walk over you like that, okay?” Dana said. “If you do that, people will keep treating you like crap until you finally snap. The way I see it, it’s best to confront it as soon as possible before it gets worse.”

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask something. Why aren’t you disgusted by my looks?” the telekinetic asked. “The doctor you had treating me was similar. It’s almost like neither of you care about how I look.”

“...Look, I’m not going to lie, I don’t exactly think you’re any beauty contest champion, okay? It’s the same with that doctor guy. It’s just that not only are we smart enough to know that a nasty face isn’t all there is to a person, but we’ve seen our fair share of nasty shit. To people like us, beauty is the last thing on our minds when judging people,” the detective explained. “There was also a certain… incident that I think really drove this into me.”

“What happened?”

“We had this… local celebrity, so to speak. She was some sort of a rising sports star that basically had the media and every notable person in the country kissing her ass over any possible little thing. There honestly wasn’t a day that went by without some article written about how great she was. It was nauseating,” Dana began explaining. “Well, it turned out that little miss perfect had a darker side to her that a lot of powerful people wanted to keep hidden. She was constantly breaking the law and getting into trouble. The media was constantly trying to spin things in such a way that she was the true victim, no matter what she did. Claimed she had a “difficult childhood” and all other such bullshit. Can’t make a profit from someone who is looked upon unfavorably, you know?”

“I’m going to make the assumption that things only got worse with her,” Kyne said.

“Your assumption is correct. As if driving drunk or using drugs wasn’t bad enough, stories about her being abusive started to appear,” the detective said. “It all finally came to a point where she was caught torturing some kids. Only one of them was saved, but not before she had mangled the poor boy’s face badly. With a little bit of digging, it was discovered that she had all sorts of strange disappearances surrounding herself dating back to her time in elementary school. Despite how much the people backing her tried, they could no longer protect their little golden goose. She received a death sentence and pretty much everyone was glad about it.”

“That’s quite the story,” the telekinetic said, thinking over what he had just been told. “But I fail to see how this is related to the way you don’t mind how I look.”

“You see, I was the one who took care of that case,” Dana replied, surprising her partner. “In fact, I was the one who stopped her from killing her last victim. There were of course those who tried to smear my name for simply doing my job, but luckily I had good superiors back then that were able to keep my identity hidden. Unfortunately, there was someone that didn’t get the same help I did.”

“Who was that?”

“It was the boy that I had saved. Like I told you before, while I managed to save his life, the maniac had managed to mutilate his face. It probably goes without saying that he didn’t look so good after what he went through,” the detective explained. “I tried to help him cope with what he had gone through by visiting him in the hospital, but that turned out to be a mistake. Not only could I only offer empty words of comfort to him, I also let myself show the kid just how bad I thought he looked. Of course I didn’t actually say that to him, but my expression and body language were so obvious that anyone could have told what I was thinking. Some time later, the poor kid committed suicide, feeling like there was no way he could keep on living anymore. Ever since then, I couldn’t help but think that it was my fault he did that to himself.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t because of you alone,” Kyne said in a comforting tone.

“That might be so, but I can’t help but feel that I should have done more for him. If I had, he might still be alive,” Dana said. “It’s because of that incident that I will do all I can to help those who deserve it, no matter how bad they look.”

“...That’s admirable and everything, but do you think that alone is enough?” the telekinetic asked. “While it’s nice of you to treat others well, I’m afraid it won’t be enough. Like it or not, the world isn’t kind to those who look different. You even admitted it yourself, didn’t you?”

“...I know what I’ve said, but I’d like to think that there is always a chance for you, no matter how tough things get for you,” the detective said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes that as long as you keep fighting, you can overcome your difficulties and achieve the things you dream of. There have been a lot of people that were dealt a rough hand. They were born with bad looks, they were poor, didn’t have a family or even any limbs. Yet I’ve seen such people fight and struggle, eventually earning themselves the happiness they deserve. That’s why I don’t want people to give up or lose hope.”

“...Do you- Do you think I could be the same?” Kyne asked.

“Of course. If anyone can achieve a happy life despite the odds being stacked up against them, it’s definitely you,” Dana said with a genuine smile.

Kyne considered the detective’s words. It made him think about the caretaker that had looked after him back in the lab and had been the only one to treat him well.

“As long as you don’t give up, you can achieve anything! Even you can earn a happy and good life, if you fight for it!”

Was it fate that he had met someone that said similar things almost as soon as the game began? Or was it all just a coincidence? Whatever the case, Kyne wondered if what Dana and his caretaker had told him was true.

First he had a game to win.