Chapter 136

Destroy Everything 4

-:-

A 1 hour later

Hellhole District Train Station

“Boooooring! So boring! What the hell is wrong with the criminals of Hellhole?! Here I am, an innocent young man outside of his element, walking through a den of hungry man eating lions…. And I only get attacked ONCE?! Did my BFG blow your balls off or something?! PATHETIC”

At the moment, Theo was pouting like a spoiled brat not getting the toy he wants.

He knew that the reason for his tantrum was petty and his desire was unreasonable, but he couldn't help but feel frustrated.

The appetizer he had a few minutes ago has wet his bloody hunger to a feverish pitch.

For an agonizing hour, he waited in bated breath for the next encounter…. Yet none came.

He walked through alleyways that were perfect for ambushes and crowded streets filled with the scum of Vermilion City…. Yet none wanted to dance with him.

There was no doubt that they knew who he was based on the faces they made when they saw him.

The media made damn sure that he became famous for all the wrong reasons.

Yet for some reason, they just throw a death glare before ignoring his presence.

How pathetic!

How boring!

How disappointing!

He even took the long route back to the train station, yet the result was the same.

Since no one wanted to play with him, Theo had no choice but to go home unfulfilled.

The state of the train station was as you’d expect from a lawless area. Full of graffiti, haphazardly maintained and an overall state of chaos.

If you look hard enough, there were a few blood splatters here and there.

Despite its appearance, the core functions remained perfectly intact thanks to the extremely heavily armed guards at the station.

It might seem weird for a train station to continue operating in such an environment for a few thousand Rooks a day. Running and maintaining a train station was expensive after all.

However, it was the more illegal aspect of business that not only justified the station’s existence, but also gave the city and a few corrupt individuals a large monthly bonus.

Drugs, weapons, ill begotten wealth were among the common commodities secretly transported through the public transport.

FYI: the Superheroes know of this, but they can't act on it due to the many bureaucratic protection around the whole scheme

It’s not fun to be sued to oblivion.

Personally, Theo has some gripes with the very existence of such an obvious crime. However, blowing it up does nothing but cause problems to the average joe.

If he had a means to solve the problem that he would create, he would have no problem completely obliterating the rail system off the face of Vermilion.

However, since he was such a small fry, Theo had no choice but to patiently bide his time until he can find a way around this dilemma

Theo bought his ticket and boarded the next train.

There were 8 stops before Theo has to change to another line for another 5 stops till he’s near his home.

It was a long ride for sure, but Theo found it relaxing to watch the scenery pass by so he didn't really mind it.

There was something that he did find annoying.

There weren't much people on the train when leaving Hellhole District.

However, it becomes infuriatingly packed after it reached one of Vermilion City’s many low cost housing areas 3 stops down the lane.

Theo was flattened into an area opposite to the sliding door.

He could have occupied of the many seats that were vacant in the first stop and relaxed the entire way. However, it was proper manners to give up one’s seat for the elderly.

It was uncomfortable, but at least he has a good view of the scenery outside from the glass window.

For the next few minutes, Theo entered a zen-like trance while letting his mind wander aimlessly. It was a relaxing experience like no other.

However, like every good thing, his relaxation time came to an end.

A familiar metal object gently pressed onto his back and a small click soon followed.

“Don't move and stay quiet Theodore Lorne. We have you surrounded. If you do as we say, we won't hurt you too much” said someone who was using a voice scrambler.

Thanks to Theo’s experience with voice scramblers and Miss Samantha’s training, he was able to extract a bit of info from that one statement alone.

He could tell that his mysterious friend here was shorter than himself based on the position of the voice in relation to his ears. He could also detect a decently high pitch in the voice, which led him to believe that it was a woman.

Thanks to his usual paranoia, there were always at least 2 spy drones flying around his vicinity, allowing him to view everything around him.

Unfortunately, he could not see the appearance of his mysterious friend from the spy drones point of view because of the crowded train.

He was 100% sure though that this girl was not tailing him since his Hellhole District visit.

She and her group probably entered the train at the 3rd stop.

As for how many they were, he did not know.

They’re making good use of the crowded train to hide themselves.

It seemed that this group was not the garden variety vermin that he has grown used to exterminating.

Theo decided to poke his new found friend for information

“Yeah yeah. What do you want? Make it quick” replied Theo in a bored manner.

This caught his new friend by surprise.

“You don't seem to understand your current predicament….” said the friend as she pressed the gun harder to his back.

“You’re not the first wannabe killer that was stupid enough to cross me and you won't be the last. Do what you need to do or say your piece, I don't give a rats ass. Let’s just get it over with, okay?”

Theo could hear his friend’s breathing accelerate as she contained her rage. It seemed she wasn't used to being talked down to.

Was she someone of high social standing? Or was she simply a prideful brat?

She took a couple of breaths before she could calm down and return to her script.

“We are the ‘Penitence’ and we have been watching you for awhile now, Mr. Lorne.” said Theo’s new friend.

It didn't take Theo long to connect the dots.

“Oh! A Vigilante group, huh? Why didn't you say so? If you’re in need for cybernetics or guns, come to my office. I’m sure I can set you guys up with whatever you desire.”

Theo has been wondering for a long while now if he should branch out to arms dealing. Naturally, he only wanted to sell his wares to people that shared his ideology and convictions, AKA doing what is right by any means necessary.

The thing that held him back from actually doing this was the lack of assurance that the vigilantes were going to do exactly what Theo hoped them to do.

The main reason why he was doing his sales pitch to his new friend was not because he wanted to support them, but to illicit some form of reaction from her.

She looked like she was someone with a strong sense of justice.

These types of people were very easy to piss off.

Who knows, she might stupidly reveal something in her rage.

“Shut up you murderer!” hissed the girl as she violently shoved Theo’s face into the wall. “We’re not like you who kills people for fun! You’re a person who’s very presence promotes chaos! You-!”

As the girl was increasingly getting angrier, she received a comms message that one of Theo’s nearby spy drones was able to pick up.

“Stop it Tetrina! We’re only here to beat him into a vegetative state, not kill him!” said what seemed to be a young man’s voice, though it was hard to be sure given the heavy voice scrambling.

This single phrase caused the girl to freeze for a second before calming down.

“Voice scrambling even in the comms? These guys are good.”

Theo accessed Miss Samantha’s census records and searched for anyone with the name Tetrina.

There were 191 individuals that had the name Tetrina, but only 5 had this girl’s body size.

Unfortunately, none of them looked like they had the background that would justify joining a vigilante group.

Tetrina was probably a codename.

For not, Theo kept quiet and waited for the girl and her group to finish.

“Hold on Duke! Beat him to a bloody pulp?! You said that we were only going to scare him! I didn't sign up for this!” said another guy, though this voice was strangely more feminine.

“I understand your concern Casanova, but do you seriously think that Theodore Lorne will fear us if we just talk to him? If he is an HAA student, then he’ll most likely be much more mentally resilient than common criminals. If we want to steer him back to the path of the righteous, we can't be half hearted on our methods. I understand you dislike this form of violence, but this is what being a vigilante is all about. Doing the right thing by whatever means necessary.” replied the guy named Duke.

“.... Fine...”

“I know you don't like this Casanova, but this is for the greater good.” said Duke. “Now that we’re all in agreement, Tetrina, lead Lorne to the designated spot. The others should make sure to be at least 5 meters from her. Just in case.”

‘“””Roger that”””’

Theo was able to extract a couple of info from that short exchange

First. He wasn't sure if this Duke guy has training or not, but that little speech was full of voice intonations, words and the right tempo of a skilled manipulator.

One thing was sure, this Duke person was the leader.

Second. Based on the number of voices that replied ‘roger that’ to Duke, there were 3-5 enemies on the field.

He doesn't know what they’re capable, but knowing their numbers was a big boon in its self.

For now, he needed an area where he can minimize their numerical superiority while maximizing whatever advantage he can find.

Fortunately, there were so many places that were ideal battlefields. Even inside the train, he still held quite a big advantage.

However, fighting here would result in quite a bit of collateral damage. He might be a general scumbag of a person, willingly killing innocents was the line that he refused to cross.

Sadly, tiptoeing near this line was also his best chance of success against these vigilantes.

For now, Theo abandoned the idea of fighting inside the train. The more ideal battleground was just a few seconds away.

All he needed to do was wait.

“Theodore Lorne. You and I will get off at the next stop. Don't even think of running away. Aside from getting shot, my friends will beat you to a pulp if you do something stupid.” said Tetrina.

“Let’s make this quick. I don't have time to play with you wannabe vigilantes. I have to be in a certain bakery in 1 hour. Their special egg pies sell out way to fast. You will NOT make me late.” replied Theo in a dismissive manner.

Nothing pisses of a young teenager more than being talked down to like they were some kind of idiot.

Tetrina kept silent though her breathing was gave away her intense battle with the temptation of putting a round into Theo.

A few seconds later, the train slowed down and eventually stopped at the station.

The train station was on an elevated railway located above a busy shopping district. Thousands of people disembark and board the train daily.

This was the perfect place for Theo to fight.

Theo disembarked with Tetrina walking closely behind with her pistol firmly pressed on his back.

At this time, Theo’s combat drone finally got a clear look at his adversaries.

There were 4 of them, all sporting hoodies and masks of varying designs. 3 of them were close to Theo while the last one was located one carriage away. He’s probably a support or something.

Theo stepped onto the platform and took a couple of steps forward before stopping in the middle of the crowd that was about to board the next train.

“Keep moving Lorne.” said Tetrina as she jabbed the pistol into his back.

“Bad news Ms. Vigilante” replied Theo

“Huh?”

“I changed my mind. I’m going to destroy you and your boy toys right now!”