It was the next day after Netnet's successful mission. He arrived in school and the whole class was in a fuss. One of their classmates, Sefus Quizon, was talking about a vigilante he read on social media this morning before. Netnet was at the door when he heard Sefus talking about it.
Liu was silently listening to everyone when he heard Sefus said, "I read on Biobook about a masked hero targetting muggers and pickpockets. I saw a photo of one of the muggers with a blown up thigh, and right next to him was the word 'Karma' in red spray paint".
This caught Liu's attention because to him a blown up thigh sounds very familiar. So he turned his eye on Netnet who was at the door, but Netnet didn't look back at him. In the background, he could hear the other boys continue discussing the matter.
"He sounds like a protector of the weak, the defenseless."
"Yeah, like a Batman figure, don't you think?"
"I think comparing him to Batman is a stretch, but he is kind of a vigilante for sure."
"Yeah, a very brutal one. But I think his techniques are reasonable. I mean those criminals certainly deserve what that guy did to them."
"I agree. He's doing things that Alphas can't do."
"Yeah. The Alphas may be strong, but you can't rely on them to deal with crimes immediately."
"I wonder what his super power is."
"Hmm? That's a good question. Maybe he has fire-based powers."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Then, suddenly, they were interrupted by the guy on the seat in front of them. It was Kagi. He said, "You 3 sound ridiculous talking about political stuff. Why don't you shut up before you unknowingly spark a conspiracy?"
"Why don't you mind your own business?", said one of the boys.
An annoyed Kagi turned his head and gave them a glare. It made the 3 boys feel uneasy, so they stopped discussing loudly.
Then, one of the boys whispered, "Maybe his name is Karma?"
Netnet, who was on his way to his seat heard that, and it gave him a good idea. From that moment, he knew that he had to call himself Karma, the brutal vigilante.
-
After school, Netnet hurried home because he was excited to continue his vigilantism. He waited patiently for an alert to show up on his computer. At one point, his mother called him for dinner, but he decided to skip his meal. He was so eager to get a new mission. In fact, he might already be addicted to the feeling of accomplishment, and he's craving it. He could've had his dinner and just wait for an alert to show up on his phone, but he didn't consider that an option.
Soon enough, an alert came up. It was another robbery nearby. He rushed to the crime scene and did the same thing he did the night before. It was another successful mission. He felt the rush within him. He kept going that night and managed to take care of a few crimes. Little did he know that the most challenging mission was yet to come.
Later that night, he received another alert while he was on his way home from another successful mission. He saw that it was near the last crime scene so he hurried there. He didn't even stop to check what the crime was about.
It was when he arrived to the crime scene that he learned what it was about. He saw the body of a dead man in a dark alley. He felt shivers all over his body. He wasn't equipped to deal with a murderer. He would've been if he went home first to get his other stuff that are meant to deal with murderers, and if he checked the alert before rushing to the crime scene. The situation worsened when he heard a whisper behind him.
"You must be the real vigilante that I was looking for."
He suddenly felt great pain on his lower back. Then, he realised that he was stabbed by the murderer. He was kicked and then he rolled to the ground. He felt immense fear because he knew that he was in an inescapable situation, and could mean his death. Luckily, the knife that the culprit used was a balisong(butterfly knife), so the wound was not that deep.
As he was trying to figure out a way of this terrible ordeal, the murderer spoke to him.
"So tell me... are you the real Karma?"
Netnet couldn't speak due to the pain and fear that he was in.
"Your silence tells me you are."
"Pity... I killed that guy over there thinking he was Karma."
The murderer walked towards Netnet and picked up his stuff to confirm if he's indeed Karma. He saw the IEDs and picked up one of them.
"Ah... I see you have the explosive phones. You really are Karma."
Netnet desperately crawled backwards away from the murderer. He couldn't stand up.
"You see... last night you foiled one of our operations and severely injured one of our men. Then, word of the incident spread on social media. That embarassment hurt our reputation. So we knew we had to deal with you if you foil another one of our operations, which you did earlier tonight."
The murderer menacingly approached a crawling Netnet.
"I gotta give you props though. I didn't expect you to be a child. Not gonna lie... killing a kid is on my bucketlist."
The murderer checked the explosive phone he was holding trying to look for the switch.
"How do you turn this thing on?"
"... Oh, nevermind. Figured it out."
Then, he armed the explosive phone and put it in Netnet's pocket.
"Considering this a parting gift. No pun intended."
"Oh... where are my manners. I at least should introduce myself before I leave you for dead, so you'll know the name of the man who ended your little game."
"I'm one of the high seats of the Ginto Syndicate. I'm Haso."
Haso winked at Netnet and walked away. But then he stopped because he was expecting the phone to explode, but it didn't. He was certain he set a timer and that it would explode just as he was walking away. So, he turned around to see what happened, only to see the phone flying towards his face, then it exploded. Haso fell to the ground.
Netnet knew Haso was still alive because the phone barely reached his face before it exploded. So, he mustered all his strength to stand up and used the opportunity to flee. He managed to reach a crowded area where the people were alerted by the explosion.
Haso got back up with a minor burn on the right side of his face. He tried to chase after Netnet, but the place was too crowded. He couldn't afford to make more scene than what they already created with the explosion. Additionally, he knew the police would arrive. So, with an irritated look on his face, he decided to leave the place.
-
Netnet managed to get home by tricycle. He left his bike near the crime scene because he doesn't have the strength to ride it back home. He treated his wound immediately and washed himself before he dropped on his bed.
He was contemplating about what happened. He learned his lesson. Not about discontinuing his vigilantism, but about checking the details of the crime before rushing to the scene, and about always being equipped and prepared.
He was still shaking because he knew that he got out of that situation through luck. If Haso didn't play with his food, Netnet would've certainly died.
But, he manned up and realised that he has to be mentally strong if he wants to keep going with the vigilantism. So, he hacked into the database of the National Bureau of Investigation(NBI) for any information about the Ginto Syndicate but he couldn't find any. He thought maybe there was some cover up happening because syndicates are supposed to be there.
Then, he realised something. He check the public database of the National Alpha Overseeing League(NAOL). To his surprise, he found information about the Ginto Syndicate and Haso there. He learned that they're not just an ordinary syndicate, but an Omega syndicate. That means everyone in the high seat of the Ginto Syndicate have super powers that made them tagged as Omegas or super-powered criminals/villains. That syndicate has 10 high seats, and Haso is the 3rd seat. That means he's one of the strongest members. Sure enough, when Netnet dug for more information about them, he learned that Haso is considered a 6-star Omega.
In the NAOL's 10-star Omega rating system, the more stars an Omega has, the more dangerous and powerful they are. On the other hand, the Alphas use a letter ranking system. B ranks are the least powerful, while the S ranks are the most powerful. NAOL also uses C and D in their ranking system, but it's reserved for Betas AKA the sidekicks.
In comparison, a 6-star Omega is about the same level as a B-ranked Alpha. That means Netnet was way out of his league.
"He could've easily killed me considering he's a 6-star Omega. Why didn't he?", he thought to himself.
He pondered on that thought longer than he should.