Mila Torres sat at her kitchen table, staring at a cold cup of coffee. It was 4:00 AM. She hadn't slept.
Yes.
The word hadn't been a sound. It had been a feeling. A violation. A clean, sharp, impossibly intimate-thought, placed directly into her mind by Vicky Thorne.
He had just admitted to a massive act of vigilante justice. He had confirmed he was "the consequence." And he had done it with a power she couldn't categorize. Telepathy? Magic? It didn't matter. Her world of rules, of evidence, of law, was a joke.
Mila, the detective, was obsolete. Her investigation was a child's drawing next to a masterpiece.
What was left was Mila, the woman. A woman who had just seen the man she was hunting perform two acts of profound, genuine kindness—funding a brilliant, broke engineer and protecting a charity-running student—in the same afternoon that he had telepathically confessed to dismantling a human trafficking ring.
Her heart was a chaotic, thundering mess. She was terrified of him. She was in awe of him. And, a small, treacherous voice in her heart whispered, she was completely, hopelessly falling in love with him.
She grabbed her phone. Her fingers, shaking, typed a text.
(Mila): Where.
The reply was instant, as if he knew she'd be awake.
(Vicky): St. Jude's Hospital. 11:00 AM. Don't be a cop. Just come.
The King's Business
Vicky, meanwhile, was preparing for his day. He was processing his level-up from the night before.
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 11 (100 / 7,200 XP)
Stat Points Available: 3
He allocated them immediately, maintaining his balanced build: +1 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Endurance.
VICKY THORNE: STATUS (Points Allocated)
Level: 11 (100 / 7,200 XP)
STR: 17
SPD: 16
END: 16
Skills: Blood Sense (Lvl 1), Blood Sovereignty (Lvl 1)
...
He felt the power settle into his limbs. The new level made the world feel... slower. Clearer. He was a god in the skin of a college student.
He had sent the text to Mila. Her reply—a single, stark "Where."—told him everything he needed to know. The detective was gone, replaced by the woman. Her professional walls were down, her investigation a shattered wreck. She wasn't a threat, at least not in the way she intended. She was... potential. Like Ethan. Like Sarah. A brilliant, fiery soul, trapped in a broken system.
And, he admitted to himself, he enjoyed her presence. He enjoyed her sharp mind. He enjoyed the fact that she, alone, had been smart enough to find him.
But his first stop wasn't for Mila. It was to finish the job.
The Hospital
St. Jude's Hospital was old, under-funded, and overwhelmed. Mila arrived at 10:55 AM, wearing civilian clothes. She felt naked without her badge and her professional anger.
She found the trafficking victims in a secured, private wing. She'd been here for the last two days, trying to get their statements, trying to calm them down, trying to do her job.
She saw him through the window of a waiting room.
Vicky wasn't there with cameras. He wasn't there as a philanthropist. He was just... there. He was sitting with a small, terrified-looking girl, maybe seven years old, one of the victims from the container. The girl's parents had been killed by the 'Dock Rats.' She was alone, in shock, and hadn't spoken in two days.
Mila watched, frozen, as Vicky knelt in front of her. He wasn't using his power. He wasn't using his money. He was just... talking.
"I know you're scared," Vicky said, his voice so low and kind that Mila had to strain to hear it. "They were bad men. They were bullies. And you know what happens to bullies?"
The little girl just looked at him, her eyes wide.
"They lose," Vicky said softly. "They always, always lose. The men who hurt you? They can't hurt anyone ever again. I made sure of it."
He reached into a simple paper bag he'd brought. He pulled out a small, stuffed bear. "This is 'Bruno.' He's a professional. His job is to fight nightmares. He's very, very good at it. He's yours now."
The little girl looked at the bear, then at Vicky's kind, smiling eyes. For the first time, her expression changed. She slowly reached out and took the bear, clutching it to her chest.
A hospital administrator bustled over. "Mr. Thorne! We... we can't thank you enough. The funds you transferred... it's... it's a miracle. Full-time trauma counseling, relocation services, and a trust fund for this child's future... It's all anonymous, of course, but... we know."
"See?" Vicky said, winking at the little girl. "Everything's taken care of. You just have to worry about getting strong."
He stood up, turned, and saw Mila in the doorway. He hadn't needed to guess she was there. He'd been waiting for her.
He walked out into the corridor. Mila was speechless. Her eyes were burning with unshed tears.
"You're paying for all of this," she whispered. It wasn't a question. "The counselling. Their new homes. You... you finished it."
"I told you," Vicky said simply. "I fix broken things. The law... your law... would have put these victims in a halfway house and the girl in a state-run orphanage. Your system is broken, Mila. I'm just... a better system."
This was it. The final, shattering truth. He wasn't just a vigilante. He wasn't just a king. He was a healer. He wasn't just punishing the bad. He was restoring the good.
Mila's control broke. "What are you?" she pleaded, her voice cracking. "Are you a man? Are you... something else? I saw the reports from the docks. The men... they weren't just beaten, Vicky. Their minds were 'medically traumatised.' That's not a fist. That's you. That's the 'Red Flash.'"
Vicky watched her. His Blood Sense was on, full-blast.
TARGET ANALYSIS: Mila Torres
Status: Overwhelmed, Hopeless, Pleading, Admiring... In Love.
Heart Rate: 135 BPM (Total emotional surrender.)
She was his. Her heart was his. Her will was his. Not because he'd taken it, but because she was giving it to him.
"You're right," he said. "I'm not just a man. I'm what the world needs. I'm the one who can do what you wish you could. I'm the one who doesn't get stopped by 'rules' or 'budgets.' I'm the one who wins."
"But I... I'm a cop," she choked out, the word sounding like a confession. "My job... my whole life... is about catching people like you."
"No," Vicky said, stepping closer. He was close enough to feel the heat from her skin. "Your whole life has been about justice. You just worked for the wrong company."
Mila looked up at him, this twenty-year-old boy who was a thousand years old, this monster who was more human than anyone she knew.
"I don't know what to do," she whispered, and it was the truth. "I can't arrest you. And... God help me... I don't want to."
Vicky felt that strange, warm fondness again. He liked her. He respected her. She had passed every test without knowing she was being tested. She was good, she was strong, and she was, in her own way, as ruthless as he was.
"Then stop, Mila," he said, his voice soft. "Stop being a cop. Stop investigating. Stop trying to find the 'Red Flash.' And just... see me."
He reached out, not touching, but his intent was clear.
"Go to dinner with me. Tonight. A real one. No lies, no files, no badges. Just... you and me. And you can ask me one question. Any question. And I'll answer it. Honestly."
Mila's heart skipped. His Blood Sense reading on her would have shown 140 BPM. A real dinner. A real... date. It was insane. It was unethical. It was the only thing in the world she wanted to do.
"Okay," she breathed. "Yes. Okay."
"Good," he said, his small, genuine smile returning. "Go home, Mila. Get some rest. You're off the case."
The Night's Business ,
Mila left the hospital in a daze, her heart finally, finally, at peace.
Vicky's work, however, was not done.
XP: 100 / 7,200 (To Lvl 12)
He needed to hunt. He needed to be ready for the real threats.
He met his Lieutenants at The Vault.
"Master," Marcus said, the holographic map of the city glowing. "We have a problem. The 'Shadow Stalker' nests are a symptom, not the source. My network has found the source. A Tier 2 Alpha. We're calling it the 'Corrupted Behemoth.'"
"Level?"
"We estimate... Level 15," Marcus said, his voice grim. "It's been sighted in the old city dump. It's... it's eating the Stalkers. It's growing."
A Level 15 Alpha. Four levels above Vicky. A true boss-level threat.
"Perfect," Vicky said. "A 1-Tier-above fight. The XP will be substantial."
"Master," Elias said, "this is not a dungeon. This is the real world. It's... it's a Behemoth."
"And I am a Progenitor," Vicky replied. "Alpha Squad, secure the perimeter. No one gets in, nothing gets out. Marcus, Elias... you're with me. This is a command-level operation."
The city dump was a mountain of trash and rot. The Behemoth was a 20-foot-tall thing of fused metal, rotted flesh, and pure, primal hunger.
"Elias!" Vicky commanded, his voice now a telepathic snap via - Blood Sovereignty. "Battle-Cry! Get its attention!"
Elias (Lvl 7) roared, the psychic wave washing over the beast, which bellowed in rage.
"Marcus! Flank left! Use your speed. Don't attack. Distract!"
Marcus (Lvl 7) became a blur, his speed drawing the creature's eye.
"Alpha Squad!" Vicky's voice hit all nine (Lvl 6) of them at once. "Fire Level 1 Blood Arrows! Coordinated volley! Aim for its eyes!"
Nine crimson arrows shot from the darkness, blinding the beast, which howled in pain.
"My turn," Vicky whispered.
He activated - Titan's Strength (Lvl 1). STR (17). He didn't attack. He waited. The beast charged, blind and furious, at Elias.
"NOW!" Vicky roared.
He burst from the shadows, his speed a match for the monster, and met its charge. It wasn't a fight. It was a collision. Vicky, a six-foot-man, stopped the 20-foot monster. He caught its massive, clawed arm, his own arm straining, his muscles burning.
"You are strong," Vicky grunted, "but you are stupid!"
"Elias! Marcus! Hit its legs!"
His two Lieutenants, empowered by his command, tore into the creature's legs. It stumbled, roaring.
Vicky, using - Titan's Strength, lifted the monster's arm, unbalancing it. He activated his own Level 2 Blood Arrow, but he didn't fire it. He formed it, a 10-foot spear of solid blood, and with all his STR (17), he rammed it straight through the creature's skull.
The Behemoth froze, shuddered, and then dissolved into a fountain of XP.
STATUS UPDATE
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 11
XP: (100 + 5,000) = 5,100 / 7,200 (To Lvl 12)
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 17
SPD: 16
END: 16
Chi: 10 / 10