I stood up and began to gather my things. I removed any possible evidence that I was the one behind this grisly scene. Oh, that stuff about the crime syndicate being on the way? I made that shit up. There's no way I'd mess with those kind of people, but I wanted Siler to experience some real fear before he met his end. I figured he was familiar enough with that groups stance on rats to know that he'd be in some serious shit if word got out that he snitched on them. I got the reaction I wanted, without having to endanger myself. Invite the Tokyo mafia into my little plan? Do I look like I'm fucking crazy? Hmm, maybe you shouldn't answer that...

So with that all done, I went back to my lonely home. I saved the costume, mask, and bat. I knew they'd come for me eventually, and when they did I decided that I'd rather the world see me the way my best friend did. I scoured the message boards and waited for news of what had happened to break. When it did, several people applauded the deed. I wasn't the only one that had trouble with those two apparently. It was customary to not take responsibility for a Twenty Faces crime on the board, and I certainly didn't do so now that one of my deeds was there.

Over the next few weeks I kept an eye on the news, waiting for any new leads in the case, but none were readily available to the public. It wasn't surprising they put a media ban on the crime, seeing something like that could potentially start a panic. But for our theory to work, there needs to be fear. Fear of what could happen if you decide to harm others. Hiding the truth from people won't make the problem go away. We won't be going away anytime soon.

Nearly a month after I claimed my own justice, the police showed up at my door. Along with the officers, several detectives arrived as well. I let them search my house and as expected they found the bloody bat, costume and mask. Before they arrested me I insisted I put the costume back on. Not wanting to turn this into a hostile situation and figuring as long as the evidence comes with me, they allowed me to wear it as they took me away. One of the detectives kept staring at the mask. He was much younger than the rest, but still seemed capable. As I walked past him, he noticed the scar leading up my neck and under the mask. I wasn't expecting someone to react sadly at that moment so I had to ask, "What's wrong, detective?"

As I was led out of my house, the detective answered me, his brilliantly shaded violet eyes now glassy, "Nothing. You just... remind me of someone I used to know."

Epilogue-

My court case didn't seem to take long to start, and once it did, the prosecutor seemed to have a hard time finding anyone that would testify against my crime. It's not that I went out of my way to keep anyone quiet. They just... claimed they didn't see anything. The costume and bat covered in blood? It was already used as evidence in the first trial, so any blood obtained from it now could be argued to have been from the first attack. In the end, I was found not guilty. I was technically free to go, although it was recommended that I undergo a mental health assessment.

I can't say that I'm proud of the way my case was won. To be cleared of it the same way those two had been seemed like a slap in the face. But nevertheless, I'm free to continue supporting Dark Star and the Twenty Faces that have yet to be made. I left the courthouse that day and as I was going down the front steps, I noticed that same young detective standing off to the side. He had two younger boys with him this time, maybe as some kind of mentoring program. He saw me again and I saw that same look of sadness. I'd had enough of the law for one day however, so I just continued on my way home. Mother still hadn't been home after all the trouble with the court case. She said that it was too shameful for her to show her face in our neighborhood. Doesn't hurt my feelings much, I always preferred to be alone anyway.