Netnet was an hour late for school so he missed the first class. Liu saw him subtly limping on his way to his seat, but the look of pain on his face was apparent. The other students were asking him why he was late, but he just came up with a silly excuse and quickly brushed them off. Liu didn't say a single word to him.
During lunch break, Netnet went to the comfort room to clean his wound. He made sure to clean after himself so that nobody would notice. When he came out of the cubicle, Liu was leaning on the sink with his arms crossed.
"Did you stitch it?"
Netnet acted confused and replied, "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Netnet gave up the act and just answered, "Yeah, I did. But how did you know?"
"I can read minds."
"What? You're bluffing."
"Yeah, I'm bluffing. But it doesn't matter how I know. How bad is it?"
"I can manage."
"I warned you. Now it seems to me that someone came after you. Someone you're not prepared for."
Netnet didn't answer and just went to the sink to wash his hands.
"I'm here to help, Net."
That statement triggered Netnet. Irritated he said, "And how are you exactly helping?!"
All of a sudden, a group of students came in and were talking about the news.
"Bro, this Karma guy is really cool I swear!"
"Oh, he saved some people last night again?"
"It's all right here on Biobook. Check this out."
"Wow! He's really impressive. A few more criminals behind bars because of him. Why can't Alphas and the police do the same?"
"Yeah, like what does Karma have that they don't?"
The discussion went on, and Liu and Netnet were just waiting for them to leave the comfort room. When the other students were about to leave, they heard one of them say, "If this goes on, I think I'll start feeling safe walking around Manila at night. Can you imagine that?"
Then, those boys left the comfort room and Liu and Netnet continued their conversation.
"Did you see that? I'm making a difference in society and they appreciate it. And what's funny is I'm just a regular guy with no super powers."
"But you're risking your life out there."
"It doesn't matter to me! What matters is that I save people."
That response shocked Liu. He felt Netnet's perseverance and dedication. He knew that Netnet was sincere in what he was doing, and there was no stopping him.
"Very well. I understand your objective. I'm not gonna force you to stop."
Liu walked away, and as he opened the door to leave he said, "There's a drop of blood on your shoe."
Netnet checked his shoe and wiped the blood off.
-
Days went by and Netnet still continued his vigilantism and his wound was healing. He did his best to keep anyone, including his family, from seeing the wound. He started choosing the crimes he deals with for his own safety because he's afraid of being confronted by the Ginto Syndicate again. They're just too dangerous for him.
One night, as he was walking home from school all alone, he received an alert on his phone. It was another mugging incident that's taking place in a dark part of Intramuros, the district where their school is. He ran back to Intramuros to deal with it.
But on his way there, he felt something strange about the camera feed. He thought the crime has been taking too long. Usually, muggers take care of their business swiftly to avoid getting caught. Although it felt strange, he still went there because he wanted to help.
When he got there, he called out the mugger, "Stop what you're doing!"
However, neither the mugger nor the female victim were moving. He felt chills because it's a dark corner of Intramuros and the two people were like statues. It was like a scene in a horror film. He slowly walked towards them and said, "Hey, lady. What's going on here?"
All of a sudden, the mugger and the lady started laughing maniacally without moving an inch. He realised that there's something wrong about the situation, so he started running away, but as he turned around, he saw a woman in a distance.
"You're not going anywhere... Karma."
Netnet was stunned. He realised that he's cornered but he didn't show that he's afraid and rattled. He asked, "Who are you?
The woman giggled and replied, "I'm Manika. You've met my colleague... Haso. And I'm here to finish the job he couldn't.
Then, she muttered to herself, "That useless dummy. I should be the 3rd seat, not him. They should at least promote me to the 9th seat after I finish you."
Netnet composed himself and acted confident as a bluff. He said, "So they sent the weakest one huh?"
That response annoyed Manika. She replied, "Oh you cocky kid. I'm gonna make you regret you even messed with us."
Netnet turned to the other 2 behind him and asked, "So who are you 2 then?"
Manika laughed hysterically. This confused Netnet. Then, Manika explained, "Those are not real people, dummy! They're dummies."
She muttered to herself again, "That's repetitive. Not very artistic."
Netnet took a close look at them and saw that they were indeed dummies. Then, their heads turned to him, eyes glowed red and they started moving.
"Meet my puppets... Bonnie and Clyde."
"Let me guess... You use them to rob banks and people."
"Oh! So you read about them, too. I'm impressed."
"I read minds."
"You're lying."
"Want proof? Here's another. I know those puppets are your only friends because you always talk to yourself like a lunatic."
That snide remark infuriated Manika. She said, "You little pest... I may be using them for robbing, but this time... I'll use them to kill you."
Manika used her puppets to launch an attack from behind. When Netnet turned around, the puppets were already close so he couldn't react. Clyde landed a punch on Netnet's face sending him flying a few meters.
Then, Bonnie appeared from above about to land an axe kick from mid air, but luckily, Netnet had enough time to dodge it. Netnet was shocked to see that the kick left a crack on the ground. He knew he had to be extra careful or he'd get killed by a puppet.
Netnet checked his smartwatch that he modified and commanded it, "Check the data on an Omega named Manika."
"According to the NAOL database, Manika is the 10th Seat in the Ginto Syndicate. She has the ability to control puppets to do her bidding. She is a 5-star Omega, and is considered very dangerous."
That final sentence worried Netnet. He thought to himself, "Oh, boy. A 5-star Omega is equivalent to a B-ranked Alpha. I'm so dead."
But, Netnet knew he had to put up a fight because there's no way she was gonna let him escape. So, he put up a stance and prepared his explosives.
Manika launched an attack, but Netnet ran away to a nearby abandoned building to hide. Manika chased after him, but lost sight of him. As she was looking around, she saw something coming towards her, so she used her puppets to block it.
BOOM!
Manika and her puppets were sent flying to the wall.
Then, Netnet hurled another explosive towards Manika. However, she was able to use Clyde to take the hit. Clyde shattered.
Due to this, Netnet grinned because he felt hope. He had a feeling that he might be able to win the fight against the 5-star Omega.
But suddenly, Manika's expression changed. She felt frustration and bloodlust. She was determined to kill Netnet on the spot, so she stood up.
"You ruined Clyde! You're gonna pay for that, you pest!", she shouted in rage.
Manika launched successive attacks with Bonnie. Netnet did his best to dodge each of those attacks. In the process, the abandoned building was getting destroyed, and dust and smoke were beginning to fill the place.
Then, Bonnie threw another straight punch, and Netnet stepped backwards to avoid the hit, but something unexpected happened. A long blade sprung out of Bonnie's arm and it reached Netnet. Luckily, he tripped, so instead of the blade going through his face, it only gashed his cheek. Netnet immediately rolled out of the way, and crawled backwards like in a state of panic.
"WOOHAHAHA!", Manika laughed maniacally. And like an insane person with widened eyes she said, "You are foolish to think that you stand a chance against me! Let me show you what my puppets are truly capable of."
Suddenly, 5 Intramuros security personnel arrived at the scene. They were responding to the explosions that Netnet made. They saw Netnet was sat on the ground with a bleeding face, and Manika with Bonnie. They pointed their rifles at Manika.
"Halt! Do not move or we will shoot!", said one of the guards.
Manika remained unfazed and said with a calm and sweet demeanor, "Oh... guinea pigs."
Then, Bonnie revealed another blade on the other arm, and stood on the way of the guards. The guards agreed to shoot Bonnie down, while one of them radioed for police reinforcements.
"HQ, this is Morales. Call for police. We are confronting who I believe is Manika of the Ginto Syndicate."
The guards rained bullets on Bonnie, but although she was being pushed back by the impact of the bullets, she didn't appear to have been damaged. Although, her outfit was badly damaged, and to everyone's surprise, including Netnet, they saw that Bonnie was made of metal unlike Clyde who was made of wood.
Manika laughed maniacally again and said, "Meet my masterpiece!"
Then, Bonnie attacked the guards who were shooting at her. All 4 of them stabbed to death. Netnet knew that he had to do something. So just as Bonnie was about to kill the guard who was calling for reinforcements, Netnet threw an explosive directly at Manika because she was defenseless.
Manika saw the explosive as it was a couple of meters away from her.
BOOM!
Then, Netnet looked at the remaining guard to see if he was still alive and if Bonnie was shut down. He was relieved to see the guard was unharmed, but, he was shocked because Bonnie wasn't there. So he turned his sight towards the explosion. As the smoke cleared, he saw that Bonnie was there shielding Manika from the damage.
"How did she... That's... That's not possible. The puppet couldn't have moved that far in just a split second", he thought to himself nervously.
"Like I told you, you don't stand a chance against me."
Netnet realised that he only had 1 explosive left, so he had to use it wisely. He told the guard to run away.
Manika activated Bonnie's special ability. Blades sprung out all around Bonnie's body, then she started spinning like a top. Netnet's eyes widened in fear and despair.
Manika shouted, "Lover's Spiked Heart!"
Then, she launched Bonnie at Netnet with incredible speed to finish him off. It was so fast that he was unable to react. He knew at that moment that it was his end, so he just closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
SMASH!
Netnet thought that the loud noise and the gust on his face meant he was dead and that he was in the process of going to the afterlife, but when he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see Bonnie crushed to the ground in front of him, and right on top of her is Liu who smashed her down with his fist.
"Liu...", Netnet mumbled in disbelief.
Manika was stunned with what happened to Bonnie. She shouted, "Who are you?!"
Liu stood up and said, "I'm your end."
Netnet asked him, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to help you obviously."
"But... how did you know I was here and what was going on?"
"Hmm... I've been watching you since your second night of being a vigilante. I wanted to make sure you're safe... because you're my only friend."
Netnet was touched when Liu called him a friend. He got teary-eyed because he's never had a real friend either.
Their conversation was interrupted by Bonnie. Her parts floated in the air and she started reassembling. The boys were surprised by this.
Netnet noticed something. He saw symbols on each of Bonnie's body parts written in what appears to be blood. He pointed it out to Liu. He also warned him that Bonnie's really fast.
"She's only as fast as Manika's arm is. If you haven't noticed it yet, each of her arms control a puppet", said Liu.
When he said that, Netnet finally noticed it. Manika had each of her arms stretched out towards each of her puppets with her fist closed. He didn't notice before because he was busy fighting off the puppets.
"Hmm... those symbols on the puppet were probably written with her own blood, and that's how she's controlling them", said Netnet.
As soon as Bonnie was reassembled, Manika used the same signature attack on Liu. Her mistake was she underestimated him. Liu stopped Bonnie by grabbing both her arms. Netnet was amazed and relieved at the same time not just because of how fast and precise you needed to be in order to stop a spinning ball of blades, but also because he saw hope.
"Time to finish this", said Liu.
He tore off both of Bonnie's metal arms at the joints, and dashed towards Manika. Then, he used one of Bonnie's bladed arms to cut off Manika's right hand, which she used to control Bonnie. And just to be certain, he used Bonnie's other arm to stab Manika on the waist.
Manika was stunned, and was so badly hurt that she couldn't speak. She just grunted in pain continuously and coughed blood.
"I don't think you'll be able to reassemble your puppet considering your hand is gone. But if you still try, you'll die because if you remove that blade on your waist, you'll bleed to death", said Liu. "Oh, I'm forgetting something. I don't want you to die of other causes."
Liu took a hot shrapnel from one of Netnet's explosives and used it to cauterise Manika's bleeding arm. Manika moaned in agony that she started crying.
Even Netnet was stunned by what Liu did. He said, "Liu! What the heck are you doing? You're even more brutal than I am. I'm disgusted. I'm not saying that in a bad way though."
"The job's done", said Liu.
With all sincerity Netnet said, "Thanks for saving me, Liu."
Then, they heard police sirens, so Liu said, "We have to go."
"Wait!", said Netnet.
Netnet did something to Manika before Liu grabbed him and they fled the scene.
A few moments later, the police arrived and they saw the brutalised Manika. They confirmed that it was indeed Manika that they captured. At first, they were mystified by the scene because there was a badly injured Omega and no Alpha in sight. They knew only an Alpha could defeat a member of the Ginto Syndicate. But then, they saw something sprayed on Manika, 'Karma'. That's when they knew who defeated her.
-
Meanwhile, the boys stayed on an illumination-deprived section of the wall of Intramuros where they rested for a bit and continued their conversation.
"I almost felt bad with what you did to her, but she deserves it. I don't think she'll be able to control her puppets even if she escapes the NAOL prison."
"That's the objective, right? To make sure the criminals won't be able to do their bad deeds again. At least that's what I've seen you do."
"Yeah, that's right. By the way, how long have you been watching me?"
"Hmm... Since your 2nd night of vigilantism."
"All of them since then?"
"Yep. All of them. I was there when you got stabbed, too. I was about to intervene, but I saw that you found a way to escape."
"Oh... So that's how you knew I was stabbed. But you could've at least helped you know. I barely escaped that lunatic."
"Yeah, but you still did escape. I wanted you to experience the consequences of your actions just like what I warned you about. After that incident, I thought you'd stop out of fear for your life, but you still continued. That's when I realised that you're dedicated to what you're doing, that you'd do everything that you can to help people even if it costs you your life, which I think is noble and brave."
Netnet smiled under his torn face mask not just because he was flattered by Liu's kind words, but also because Liu finally appreciates what he's doing for the people.
All of a sudden, Liu felt an incredibly strong presence nearby. One that's similar to the presence he felt inside the classroom on their first day. Netnet noticed the changed expression on Liu's face.
"Liu, are you okay?"
Liu muttered, "This aura... This power..."
"What are you talking about?"
Liu turned around to see where that aura was coming from. Netnet checked what Liu was looking at. He was stunned by who it was.
"Oh, no... We're in big trouble, Liu", Netnet said as he shook in anxiety.
It was a man with long, flax-colored hair, wearing a long white robe with gold lining and accents, and he was levitating. He had a cold, intimidating look on his face, one that incites fear. He also had a white raven on his shoulder.
"Hello there... I'm Magnus, the Alpha of Manila. Which one of you is the vigilante called Karma?"