Enerix/Fatherly Love

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

People warned him. They told him that his very own daughter was seeking the last drops of his blood. Unfortunately, he was merely a father. How could he believe that her sadistic daughter was out in search of his life? He has been protecting himself against waves of assassins and thugs sent by a mysterious mastermind in the past decade. Now, he knows who that mysterious mastermind is. His beautiful, yet blood-seeking daughter has been trying to get rid of her shameful father for the past years.

Now that everything is clear, he cannot rest until he brings back his daughter to himself. For nearly ten years he has been searching everywhere for Scarlet. Soon after he came back from the dreaded Qor dimension, he heard the news of Desdemona’s death. People told him about Scarlet, but no one knew where she was. Hence, Viktor’s only hope was to one day find Scarlet and hold her in his arms. He never had the joy of having a daughter. He did not care if Scarlet had another biological father or no father at all. All he cared about was that warm feeling running through him once he finds her...

For ten years, he dug up any information he could. All he found out was a torn piece of paper from a book that he found in the fireplace of his house. The book was all burned except that piece of paper. On it, there were two words: Scarlet Rochette. He knew this was her. He knew Desdemona always loved the name ‘Scarlet’. Later on, he also found some records of Scarlet in a Crey facility he stumbled upon while rescuing a hapless citizen in Paragon City.

In the next years, he continued to search for more clues, but all he had was a couple of names, and some information on ‘biological enhancement operations’ done on Enerix; Scarlet’s codename. However, his search was over until one day in Rogue Isles, he heard people say that ‘Enerix’ is a frequent visitor of Pocket D. Even though a night club full of young super heroes and super villains was not really an ideal place for a man in his sixties, it was his last hope. Surely enough, in Pocket D, the visitors told him about Scarlet. They told him everything they knew. They told him everything he shouldn’t have known.

He was devastated. How could her daughter be among one of the most notorious villains of Rogue Isles? How could the daughter of Super Symmetry, a notable hero of Paragon City, be a half-demonic, blood-seeking, seductress? He could not accept it; however, deep within him, he knew he had to. So be it, he thought. Of course it would not be too hard to convince her to stop her ways once she saw her father. Now all that was left was to meet her in person; and would only be a matter of time...

* * * * *

It was a rainy day just like almost any other day in Rogue Isles. Viktor was sitting in his apartment’s kitchen in his pyjamas, eating what resembled a lunch and watching a football game on his tiny television set. The sound of the game was so low that the bashing of rain against the window almost drowned it. Every now and then, he squinted at the miniscule television and talked to it while he mumbled out Russian words, followed either by laughter, or some grumbling.

Suddenly, he heard steps. Someone was approaching his apartment. The elegant rhythm of the steps made it obvious that it was a female. He got off his seat and went to the door. The building he was temporary living in was almost abandoned, and no one knew his whereabouts in Rogue Isles. The sound of steps immediately stopped as the mysterious person arrived at his door. Viktor took off his round glasses and leaned forward to gaze into the peephole with one eye. It lasted only about half a second. But in that half a second, he saw her. He saw a tall, slender figure in crimson leather outfit and an amazingly beautiful face; her maroon, yet exquisite eyes where looking straight him.

In a quick instant, the door burst open with an exploding sound. The blast threw Viktor a few feet in the air, away from the door. Finally, he landed on the floor and put on his glasses, squinting at the charming figure standing in the door way. She looked at him with a sinister grin on her face. Her maroon eyes examined every inch of his small body. Her small wings were spread out as she suddenly began to laugh. Her strong, yet alluring voice suppressed every other sound.

“You are pathetic...” she said, after she finished laughing at the old man. Viktor forced himself up a little and examined her. His face was covered with dust from the ‘explosion’.

“S...scarlet?” he asked, even though deep down inside, he knew the answer. Scarlet nodded slowly as her beautiful lips stretched into a wide grin. She took a single step towards him and dusted her gloves as she looked around the dingy apartment.

“Quite a nice place you got here Viktor, reminds me of that wretched orphanage...” she said before bursting into a small laughter.

Viktor knew she was not here for a hug. He knew she was not here for sympathy. But he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to hold her, stroke her hair and give her the warm hug he so desired. He tried to sit up, but his back was throbbing in pain. As soon as he made an attempt to sit, Scarlet looked at him only to laugh at his failure. Viktor gazed into her eyes. He forced himself no to cry...

“Scarlet! My daughter!” Viktor said. He only managed to smile for a few seconds before his chest was pinned to the floor by the force of her boot. She just gazed into his eyes with a cold expression.

“How dare you call me your daughter you pathetic old man?” she pressed her boot into his chest harder and began to laugh again as Viktor gagged for a brief moment. “Do you think I will stand a single second knowing you are my father?”

Viktor coughed twice under the pressure. He looked up at his only legal daughter. He forced the words out of his mouth. “Scarlet...this is...this isn’t the way...” he finally said.

Scarlet began to laugh again. She then took off the pressure and looked back down at him. “Oh my apologies, sir...how rude of me...” she said before taking a couple of steps away from him, giving him room to stand up.

Viktor looked at her with a surprised expression for a few second. At last, he pushed himself up. He gave out a loud grunt as he tried to stand up. His back pain was torturing him. It took him a while to finally stand up and maintain his balance. He then squinted at her daughter again as he tried to smile for the second time.

Suddenly, Scarlet’s grin widened as she charged at him. A powerful kick struck Viktor in the belly, throwing him in the air. The wall behind him cracked slightly from the force of impact. The moderate rain outside was turned into a storm. Thunder roared in the sky as Viktor just sat there. His back no longer throbbed in pain. He had more important matters to think about than a mere backache. How could this happen? He searched for ten wretched years and all he got was a kick in the stomach? No, this was not fair. This was not the justice he has been fighting for all his life...

Viktor shook his head slightly. He raised a hand and adjusted his glasses. All this time, he could vividly hear Scarlet’s maniacal laughter in the background. His glasses were too dusty. He could only see a blurry version of his beautiful, yet sadistic daughter.

“What do you want, Scarlet?” he mumbled, “Is it my life you’re after? Take it...I have no more reason to fight for life...all this time, you were my only reason...”

He knew Scarlet was getting closer to him. He knew it because his nose was suddenly filled with a scent more pleasant than anything his brain could envision. He saw the blurry figure get closer and kneel in front of him.

“How touching” said Scarlet. She merely chuckled at her own remark. Her sinister maroon eyes were fixed on Viktor. “You are a sad little man, and I am going to enjoy wasting your life. After all, it would not be fair to leave you separated from that miserable hag you called your wife...” Her words echoed in Viktor’s head. This could not be true. He looked up at her, his mouth wide open from shock. Scarlet laughed again.

“Of course,” she continued, “You think she finished her own rotten life all by herself? Come on, I deserve some credit here! Thanks to my demonic friends, I never let her find any of those worthless letters you sent. If she couldn't hear from you, she could not believe that you were still alive. I could not tolerate that woman’s screams anymore. It was time to shut her up; and since I was merely three years old back then, I needed some assistance to do just that. Now, however, I'm a big girl. This time, the pleasure of your death is all mine...”

She laughed again with that wicked tone. This was entirely his fault. If it was not for his stupid thirst for science, he would not end up in that wretched dimension, only to abandon his beloved wife to slowly burn her own life away. Maybe he deserved to be killed by his daughter. Maybe that was some twisted definition of justice after all.

“Now, it is your turn” she resumed, “Of course, I’ve been trying to get rid of carrying the shame of having you as my entitled father; however, you surprised me, Viktor. I guess even an old man like you is capable of defending against some mere goons. Anyhow, I am now here to make sure I don’t repeat my mistakes.”

Scarlet’s grin widened as she intoxicated Viktor’s brain with her unearthly aroma. He no longer had the power to think straight. His hope was shattered into little pieces. His dignity was wasted. However, his love for his daughter was still burning with passion. It was hard to explain, but deep down inside him, he knew he was looking at his only daughter. The thought made him smile again.

“Yet you continue to smile,” she said as she began to laugh, “Indeed, you will be missed. Any last words, father?”

That word was all that Viktor was after. He just sat there and gazed at Scarlet. A single drop of tear ran down his cheek as his blue eyes sparkled behind the dusty glasses. Scarlet was still grinning.

“Goodbye daddy” she said as her grin stretched across her gorgeous face. She then leaned in closer to him. Viktor suddenly felt her breath on his face. Suddenly, he felt like his brain was being consumed by that familiar, unnatural aroma. All he felt after that was the fading of the familiar rhythm of her walk...