Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Life and Times of the Purple Avenger

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! This takes place in my post-series Pendulum Swings verse, which redeemed the Big Five and Yami Bakura. The augmented reality adventure the gang discusses in one scene is the story Static Code Analysis. The truth they learned about that adventure was told in Mind Screw. Neither story is ultimately important overall to the plot of this one.

Chapter One

The convenience store robbers thought they'd gotten away home-free. It was late at night and no one was around. The cashier hadn't put up a fuss, instead giving over everything in the cash register with shaking hands while begging not to be harmed. Now, laughing to themselves, the bandits were running over to their car and preparing to get in.

They heard the rustle of heavy clothing only seconds before the figure in the long coat and wide-brimmed fedora dropped onto the roof of the car.

Both men screamed.

"It's the Purple Avenger!" one of them yelled.

"Maybe it's just an imposter," the second one objected, gripping the money bag for dear life. He didn't want to give it up, even for the notorious vigilante who had been afoot in Domino City lately.

The Purple Avenger reached out with a gloved hand, pulling the bag right out of the criminal's hands.

"Take it! Just take it!" the punk yelped. "Let us go!"

They both turned to flee, but a lariat swirled around them and pulled tight, sending them to the ground in a tangled mess. In the distance, police sirens were wailing loud and clear. The Purple Avenger looked towards the sound and leaped down from the getaway van. That was always his cue to leave.

By the time officers arrived, the criminals were soundly caught, the stolen money was in the doorway of the store, and the Purple Avenger was nowhere to be seen.

xxxx

"Can you believe this?!"

Joey was waving a newspaper at his friends as they walked to Bakura's house to pick him up for school. The others watched him with quirked eyebrows.

"I'm guessing that vigilante struck again last night?" Tristan said.

"That's right," Téa said. "I heard it on the news. He caught two convenience store robbers and left them for the police."

Joey nodded. "He's been goin' out ever since we got back from New Orleans this last time, but nobody knows who he is! The best picture anybody's got is that one of him standing on the office building."

"And since the photographer was standing on the sidewalk, that wasn't exactly a dream close-up," Tristan remarked.

"We get better info on the guy from the crooks he's caught," Joey said. "According to them, he wears a long purple coat and a matching fedora. And white gloves."

"But it's always so dark that nobody can see his face," Tristan added. "He's tall and muscular and athletic. And he always high-tails it out before the police show up."

"And he never says anything either," Yugi said. "I've heard about him too."

"Who hasn't by now?" Tristan said.

The conversation was cut short as they arrived in front of Bakura's house . . . and Joey promptly screamed at the sight of an entire graveyard, complete with zombies and ghouls rising from beneath several of the wooden markers.

The gravelly laughter startled all of them. Unseen at first due to the horror of the cemetery was Yami Bakura, casually leaning on a tall marker painted to look like granite.

Joey whimpered. "Y-you . . . you did this on purpose, knowing we'd be coming today!" he burst out in accusation with a pointed finger.

"You knew I've been fixing up the yard for some time now," Yami Bakura smirked in response. He straightened, pleased with the reaction. "Although I won't deny that I deliberately tried to finish it for this morning."

"You jerk!" Joey exclaimed.

"This is what Halloween is all about," Yami Bakura intoned.

"Scarin' people stiff?!" Joey shot back.

"That, and celebrating all that is macabre, grotesque, and demented," Yami Bakura said with a grin.

Joey growled. "Why, you-!"

"Oh dear, I'm late," Bakura fretted as he hurried out onto the porch. "I was hoping to warn you before you got here, Joey." He headed down the steps, briefcase clutched firmly in hand. "You know how much Yami loves Halloween."

Joey rolled his eyes. "For him, every day of the year is Halloween!"

"Hmm. How I wish," Yami Bakura smirked.

"Eh. That party you're throwin' had better not be as freaky as the front yard," Joey said to Bakura.

"Oh, not to worry," Bakura said. "It will be safe enough for those who are squeamish about Halloween . . . although there might be a little surprise or two," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

Joey stared at him. "It's them little surprises I'm worried about," he frowned.

Bakura chuckled. "Goodbye, Yami," he called with a wave. "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone!"

"Hmm. We'll see how much is possible," Yami Bakura smirked in reply.

"Why do I get the feeling he's not entirely kidding?" Tristan sighed, throwing his hands in the air.

Yugi, Téa, and Bakura all looked amused. But that quickly faded as they continued to walk and the conversation faded into an uncomfortable silence. Duke didn't usually come with them, instead preferring to drive, but sometimes he and Tristan had ridden in together. That certainly hadn't happened since their last trip to New Orleans. After another argument over Serenity choosing Duke, the two boys remained on rocky terms with each other. Any time they were in the same spot, the tension was so thick it could almost be cut with a knife. As much as everyone else wanted them to patch things up, it still hadn't happened.

"So," Bakura finally spoke, wanting to dispel the gloom, "I hear that the Purple Avenger struck again last night."

"Yeah!" Joey pounced. "We're all wondering who the guy is. And why'd he show up now, anyway? I mean, why now as opposed to any other time? And why in Domino? I mean, sure we've got crooks, but overall I think the crime rate is lower here than some other places."

"Unless you want to count all the nutcases who get drawn here targeting us," Tristan said flatly.

"It is kind of strange, though," Téa said. "Definitely a mystery. But I don't have time to think about it. After school I have to get down to the mall."

"Oh right. You're workin' for that Thorton guy at his holiday shop again," Joey said. "Serenity wants to give it another try too. She said she got some great money for Christmas presents last year."

"It was fun working with Serenity," Téa smiled. "I hope we really can do it again this year."

Tristan's expression darkened. Yugi cringed. Even mentioning Serenity by herself without Duke could cause this.

Bakura looked out at the autumn morning and the colored leaves twirling down from the trees. "It's strange to think it's been a whole year since the Big Five were restored to their bodies," he said.

"There's never a dull moment," Téa said. "And to think . . . we're finally all remembering that they weren't even responsible for the worst things that happened when Kaiba debuted his augmented reality game and they took it over. . . ."

"Actually, they weren't responsible for any of it, since they were under Yami Marik's spell," Yugi said. "Okay, in their right minds they might have tried to take it over anyway to get physical forms, but even as awful as they got in Noa's world, they still didn't want to kill us. And Yami Marik tried to poison them so they would. . . ." He shuddered.

"But they couldn't," Bakura said. "Johnson didn't go through with the proposed plans for me, and poor Nesbitt about that warehouse. . . ."

"That was really low," Joey snarled. "Yami Marik comin' in and settin' fire to it because Nesbitt couldn't do it, and then makin' all of us 'remember' that Nesbitt did do it! . . ."

"It was unbelievably cruel," Bakura agreed, an edge slipping into his voice.

"I hope they're all doing okay," Téa said.

"I think they're pretty busy with Penguin World," Yugi smiled. "The buildings are going up and Nesbitt is having the mini-sub for the pond built. They're hoping it might all be ready sometime this winter."

"That'll be a fun place to visit," Téa said. "Serenity's excited to see the penguins."

"Are you okay with it, Téa?" Joey looked to her in some surprise. "I mean, after what happened in Noa's world with Crump and all that."

Téa sighed. "Well, the Crump who tried to freeze me sure isn't the same Crump who's our friend. Yeah, I've tried to put all that behind me. I'm genuinely looking forward to how Penguin World turns out."

"I think we all are," Yugi smiled. "I'm really happy we're all friends now. I just hope things will stay peaceful for a while."

"Do you really think they will?" Tristan retorted. "Especially with that Purple Avenger running around?"

"Well . . ." Yugi shrugged. "He is doing good, even if it's not strictly legal. Actually, I guess you could really say we're all vigilantes in some ways."

"True," Joey said. "All the times we've had to save the world from crazy nuts. . . ."

"And all the times we'll probably still have to," Tristan sighed.

No one could disagree. It didn't seem like something that would stop any time soon.

xxxx

"Rock Paper Scissors . . . shoot!"

Duke facepalmed as he walked past Lumis and Umbra standing in the middle of a new shipment of Dungeon Dice Monsters figurines and mostly bare shelves. Actually, they had proved to be good workers at the store, but they couldn't seem to get that urge to play their signature game out of their systems. Duke had scolded them for it and it hadn't worked, so now he was attempting to just ignore it.

"I'm going to be late for school," he said over his shoulder. "Just try to have everything on the shelves by the time I get back, alright?"

They looked up.

"Not to worry, Mr. Devlin," Lumis said. "Everything will be done before noon."

"Heh. We'll see. David will be here to make sure you stay in line." Duke hurried outside before they could protest and jumped over the closed door into his turquoise convertible. It was probably about time to put the top on, but he enjoyed the freedom of the wind blowing his hair about, so he kept leaving it down despite the increasingly bitter temperatures.

His eyes narrowed as he drove. He had heard about the Purple Avenger's exploits as well, but it didn't really concern him and he had bigger things on his mind than a local vigilante. The more time went by with the rift between him and Tristan still standing, the more he felt like attempting to reach out as Serenity had suggested and hoped he might do. He still didn't feel that he was at fault, but he didn't like continuing to be so on the rocks with a friend.

He also doubted that Tristan even wanted to make up, though. He certainly could have made a move to do so himself, but he hadn't.

Duke sighed. Well, he didn't like to say it, but maybe if there was another disaster and they had to team up to save the world, that would be the catalyst for getting them to solve their problems.

On the other hand, it could drive them further apart instead.

He gripped the steering wheel. After school, Serenity wanted to come over to the store and discuss how it could be decorated for Halloween. He didn't doubt she genuinely wanted to, as she loved decorating and he allowed her to help with preparing the store for the holidays, but he imagined she was also hoping to talk more about the problem with Tristan.

He didn't want to disappoint her. Maybe he could try to find a time at school to talk with Tristan and just hope it would go well.

He had to admit, however, that he still seriously doubted it.

xxxx

Lector really didn't remember falling asleep. But he must have slept quite well, as he found himself rousing up laying on his side in bed and half-hugging the pillow. He blinked sleepily as he pushed himself up. For a while last year he'd had such drastic insomnia and nightmares, and sometimes he still did, but for the most part he seemed to sleep better lately. That was certainly a relief, although another part of him couldn't help wondering why he kept waking up with weary and exhausted muscles.

He sank back into the bed. Maybe he would just stay a few more minutes. . . .

The door flew open and Nesbitt was standing there, a copy of the morning paper in hand. "Did you see this?!" he exclaimed.

"Now how could I see it, Nesbitt?" Lector drawled. "I've been trying to sleep."

"They're talking about this Purple Avenger vigilante again," Nesbitt went on, half-ignoring Lector's statement. "The crooks described him a little more this time. It sounds like he's running around town dressed like you in that trenchcoat and hat you love. If you're not careful, someone might think you're him!"

"I don't particularly care if they do," Lector mumbled.

Nesbitt exhaled in exasperation. "I know you haven't seemed too interested in any of this, but the last thing I want is for you to get accused of something you didn't do. You and Gansley are always quick to remind me that we're trying to live within the law, and last I checked, vigilantism is hardly doing that."

"I'm still not going to stop wearing my coat and hat because of it," Lector said. "That character is a fool. Although I have to applaud his foolishness to a certain extent." He let his eyes close. "I really need to sleep, Nesbitt. . . ."

"Fine." Nesbitt left the paper on the nightstand and headed back to the door. "Just have a look at it when you wake up for real."

"When I wake up for real, I probably won't remember this conversation," Lector pointed out.

Shaking his head, Nesbitt stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut after him. "He's not ready to get up yet," he told the others.

Gansley sighed. "We've all had our share of nightmares over the past year, but I'd thought that Lector was doing better."

"He was," Crump said. "I thought he'd got pretty good sleep last night, even."

"You don't think . . ." Johnson looked down the stairs to where Lector kept his trenchcoat and fedora hat on the coat tree near the front door.

"That Lector really is the Purple Avenger?" Crump snorted. "Come on!"

"Why would he do that?" Nesbitt frowned. "Vigilantes are reckless and wild. It's more like something I'd do. But it's not me!" he quickly added.

"It doesn't seem like something Lector would do," Gansley agreed. "And yet . . . in another time and place, perhaps he would have. He likes justice, after all."

"Well, I like food," Crump declared. "Let's go get breakfast ready. Maybe some stacks of pancakes and eggs and bacon will wake Lector up."

That sounded like a perfectly reasonable idea even without trying to wake Lector up with the smell of tantalizing food, so the four of them trouped down to the kitchen. They were staying in Lector's house at the moment, but they all treated each other's houses like their own. Lector certainly didn't mind if they cooked in his kitchen.

"So do you really think we're on schedule with Penguin World?" Crump chirped as he dug in the fridge for eggs.

"We should be," Johnson said. He settled at the table.

"As long as there aren't any hiccups, the miniature submarine should be ready for testing before the end of the month," Nesbitt said.

"That's great!" Crump beamed.

Gansley thought so too. "And the building for the first batch of penguins should be ready within a month or so. Will the penguins be ready to ship?"

"The lady I talked to said so," Crump said. "She said they're all really unique characters, including one named George that likes to walk around offices."

"Great," Nesbitt grunted. Somehow he had the feeling he would be seeing a lot of George.

"It will be," Crump insisted. "All of us going into business together is gonna be perfect! It's been so liberating figuring out everything about Penguin World and knowing we've got the final say."

Gansley smiled a bit. "Being your own boss is certainly the best experience," he agreed.

Crump glanced over at him. "Why did you agree to join KaibaCorp anyway?" he wondered. "You'd been running your own businesses all your life! Why switch it up and work for someone else?"

"KaibaCorp was one of the most prestigious companies in the world," Gansley replied. "I couldn't see myself turning down such a profitable opportunity as joining their board of directors. Or at least, that was the reason I gave everyone, including myself. It was only partially true; the rest of it was that I felt I couldn't turn down the opportunity, that for some reason I'd be making the biggest mistake of my life if I did. It was the strangest, most bizarre feeling I'd ever had. I knew it didn't have anything to do with business or making money, but I didn't know what it did have to do with."

"And it was because you and Johnson had to meet us, right?" Crump exclaimed.

"Heh. It would seem so." Gansley smiled a bit.

"Do you ever regret selling your businesses?" Nesbitt wondered. "After all the trouble you had because of KaibaCorp . . ."

"It was worth it to meet all of you," Gansley said. "No, I don't regret it."

It was what Nesbitt had thought and hoped he would hear, but it was still nice to hear it. He relaxed in the chair.

xxxx

Upstairs, Lector started to come out of another doze. This time he was more wide awake, but unlike his prediction, he did indeed remember his conversation with Nesbitt.

He sat up, reaching for the newspaper his friend had left. His eyes traveled over the story as he frowned and raised an eyebrow. Nesbitt was right that he hadn't been too interested in this vigilante nonsense. There were too many things going on in his own life to worry about without paying attention to this. Still, the way the man was described was eerie, he had to admit that. Apparently someone else was running around town in the same kind of coat and hat he liked. It wasn't too far-fetched to think that someone might think he was this Purple Avenger.

That was ridiculous, though. He would certainly know if he was traipsing around Domino City like Batman. He wasn't.

Throwing the covers back, he got out of bed and took the paper with him to the door. It was time to get some of that breakfast he was smelling.