CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Philip found himself sitting comfortably on the perch of his favorite spot in New York City. Philip sat atop the Empire State Building, this time he did not succumb to his new ability. He had refined it, mastered it. Philip could hear the voices selectively. He planned out his crime-sweep and set out to toss the criminal scum to the curb.

DarkFlood appeared in front of two men raping a woman at knifepoint. The knife was ripped from one of their hands and quickly turned around and rammed into the gut of the assailant. DarkFlood took the knife out and threw it into the neck of the other pervert. The woman pulled her clothes back on and thanked DarkFlood as the blood from the two bodies began to pool around them.

"We're not done yet," Philip grabbed the woman and teleported away.

They land in an apartment building where a man had just finished murdering a boy’s parents. They lay dismembered on their marital bed. Philip threw the woman at the boy and told them to run. The woman wiped her frightful tears away and saved the child from certain death.

The doors kicked open, and three more men rushed into the room after looting the house. Philip blew up two of them with his pulse-blast. They exploded into pieces while he was being shot at by the other two wielding 9mms. Philip took the bullets that hit flesh around the vest and absorbed them. His arms and neck were numb from the rapid healing. He slowly walked towards them as his blood sprayed everywhere after they finished unloading their clips.

Upon reload DarkFlood grabbed them both by the collar and hurled them through the air and into the cement wall. Come to me. Come to me. DarkFlood they call you? Nonsense. You're just-just a plague of a species. Philip lost balance. This thought came clear into his head without any filter. It was precise and clear-cut, like a message. Someone was communicating with Philip, taunting him.

That's it. Find me, DarkFlood. Come meet your maker...

Completely distracted, Philip forgot about the woman and the child and left for the city skyline. He teleported and glided as the signal being transmitted directly into his head got louder and clearer. DarkFlood found himself at the boondocks.

"WELCOME DARK AVENGER!" screamed out a mad man sitting on a construction crane, dangling his legs in the air. He wore an odd hat, many sizes too big, yet tight around the brim, as if unevenly made.

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"Do I know you?"

"You might, but I sure as hell know all about you, and your rooftop antics, Pilgrim."

"What did you call me?"

"I'm sorry. Don't want to get a head of myself." the crazy man began to laugh hysterically. He clutched his side and accidentally dropped one of the chains he was holding in both hands.

"You're mad."

"-Hatter to be precise, but you never are, are you?"

"What do you want?"

"Simple. I want you to make a choice. You see, a super hero is all well and good on paper. But in reality, you have to take the chance everyday that some psycho doesn't approach you with an impossible ultimatum. You see, DarkFlood- I'm saying that correctly?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. You see, DarkFlood. No matter what choice you make tonight, you will always have to deal with the fact that the only reason this is happening, the only reason people are in danger, is because you decided to put on that silly costume this morning!"

The Hatter laughed his face red and fell over as he released both chains. One snapped and rolled all the way up to a pulley system, releasing a lever that started the industrial compactor stuffed with a school bus fully loaded with kids from PS 118. The other chain he yanked down on and immediately nothing happens.

"Right, give it a moment."

Consecutive pipe bombs were ignited on the drawbridge as the cars stuck in traffic caught on fire and exploded one after another. People scrambled out of the blockbuster cars in a dire panic. DarkFlood wished he could stop time. If he didn’t move fast innocent people would die. He did a quick calculus. Part of him even considered letting them all die and going after the Hatter, just to teach the sociopaths out there that you can never get the upper hand on DarkFlood, but alas, his conscience bested him once again, and Philip teleported into the bus full of screaming children.

"ALL OF YOU!" DarkFlood yelled out, "HOLD HANDS!"

One beautiful calm moment amongst the frays. A circle of hands coming together to save one another, youthful naivety conducted by Philip's tenacity. DarkFlood transported them to the drawbridge in the blink of an eye. He let go of their hands and as he emitted two pulse blasts from his palms he clapped his hands together as hard as he could. The resulting shockwave blasted out three-hundred and sixty degrees, all the way around the bridge, knocking all the kids over, then blowing out the roaring car fires, and stopping the bridge's demolition. DarkFlood climbed to the toprise of the bridge and jumped off into a glide as the citizens of the city cheered for him.

He chased after the Hatter.