Morpheus’s Legacy Universe – Part 00
Baa Baa Black Sheep
by
Morpheus
Baa Baa Black Sheep is listed as number zero because it is a story that was written several years before the first Legacy Universe story. I originally had no intention of Black Sheep being part of this universe, but at the time I was writing The Knight is a Lady, I ended up tying him into the Legacy continuity.
The wind whistled over the darkened rooftop, giving an even eerier feeling to the night. As if a thousand ghosts were crying out from their graves, though whether for sadness at what they had left behind or for vengeance, the figure on the roof could not tell. It was the same every night.
Moving from his place in the shadows, the man stood revealed in the moonlight. He had long brown hair that flapped faintly in the wind and a somewhat rugged though handsome face. His eyes were covered by a pair of green goggles that glowed faintly in the dark. A pair of specially made night vision goggles.
Though it could not be seen, the man wore a uniform of dark blue with gray, and a pair of slightly metallic looking gray boots. His hands were crossed in front of him, each covered by black gloves. Black gloves of the sort that race car drivers would wear.
The belt around his waist was filled with pouches, holding spare clips for the semi-automatic handguns strapped under each arm. Some were filled with normal ammunition and some with the more specialized armor piercing variety. Then there were other pouches, filled with metal canisters that were vaguely the same size and shape as rolls of quarters. These were each a different type of grenade. A dozen total. Most were normal or smoke grenades, though there were several thermal, tear gas and even one phosphorus flare.
And as a final touch, the man wore a long black trench-coat, hanging open in front. However, the coat was not merely a matter of style. Far from it. The man was far too practical for something as simple as that.
The flowing black trench-coat was a clothing item that was forged in calculated versatility. Not only did the coat provide protection from the rain and chill, but was made with kevlar to provide protection from bullets as well. However, there was another, even more important purpose to the trench-coat. Camouflage. With it, the man could vanish into the shadows while stalking his pray or pull it closed and walk through the middle of a crowd without attracting undue attention.
For several minutes, the man known as the Black Sheep stared out at the city, attempting to determine where his target was going to strike. He shuddered slightly as he thought of the monster. The monster that had killed at least a hundred people. Most of them elderly, sick or injured.
"Sick bastard," Black Sheep whispered, thinking of the hospital.
Two days earlier, the monster had struck a hospital, walking right through and shooting nearly everyone in the emergency room. Or at least all the patients. Oddly enough, he left the doctors and nurses alone, then went and shot several more of the hospital's patients while fleeing the scene.
"The monster has a name," Black Sheep reminded himself. "Painkiller." A name which the killer had left his witnesses with.
The Black sheep scowled as he mentally ran down everything that he knew about the serial killer known as Painkiller. The man had struck numerous times, though rarely in as large a manner as he had with the hospital. He usually only went after individuals that he appeared to run across randomly, though not always. However, there was one thing in common with all of his victims. They were all sick or injured.
"I've got to stop him," the vigilante growled in frustration.
It was obvious that Painkiller would hit someplace with injured people next, but that didn't narrow things down too much. Nor did it tell Black Sheep WHEN that would happen. There were to many possibilities and there was no way that he could cover them all.
Finally, Black Sheep grimaced, knowing that he had no choice. No choice but to talk to HIM. Nicky the Nose, one of the city's lowlifes and Black Sheep's least favorite informant. The man had a knack of hearing every rumor in the city, so if anyone knew anything, he would.
With that, the Black Sheep burst into action, leaping the distance to the next building with uncanny ease, then over to yet another building and several more before flipping and jumping down the fire escape to the alley below. All of which happened in moments, caused by strength, speed, agility and reflexes far beyond those of a normal person.
As he landed in the alley, Black Sheep looked back up and frowned, wishing that his powers lasted longer. He could do things beyond a normal person, but only for several minutes before his powers cut out. His powers were more like running a dash than a marathon, though fortunately they recovered extremely rapidly.
Then the vigilante started down the back alleyways towards his destination, knowing that from here on it would be better to go it on the ground. He might draw less attention that way, not to mention that he would need to travel part of the way underground, through a series of basements and tunnels under the city.
Without warning, a figure suddenly jumped out from a dark doorway and straight at Black Sheep. In an instant, Black Sheep noticed the knife in his attackers hand and lashed out with his fist, impacting with the sickening crunch of a broken nose.
The Black Sheep didn't even spare a backwards glance towards the attacker who was curled up on the ground behind him, screaming in pain. He only wished that the man would shut up and stop making so much noise.
When Black Sheep had gone a little further, he froze as the sound of a scream reached his ears. He snapped around, listening more intently, hearing the pain and terror in the voice. Without hesitation he jumped to a window ledge, then to the distant wall, reaching the top of the 5 story building in mere seconds. Then he was off, racing across the rooftop as fast as he could.
"There," he grimaced, hearing a woman's voice screaming for help.
The vigilante hit the ground again a minute later, instantly taking in the alley. The main street was just visible, but obviously not visible enough. There were 4 people in his view, two of them were young men, holding down a screaming woman that they were obviously in the middle of raping. Just several feet away there was another man, lying on the ground dead. Probably either the woman's husband or boyfriend.
"Who the fuck...?" the man who was inside the woman growled, pulling back and glaring at Black Sheep. "I'll fucking kill your ass."
The other man held a gun at the vigilante but looked more nervous than his companion. "Oh shit. It's him." The man yelled out in near panic as he started shooting at the Black Sheep.
Black Sheep was already in motion, both of his guns coming out in an instant, one in each hand. A second later, a series of shots had torn through the armed man, leaving little if any chance that he would survive.
"Help me!" the woman cried in terror while the rapist continued grabbing at her, this time with the obvious intention of using her as a hostage. One of his hands had already reached for a knife.
With a surge of anger, Black Sheep shot the man's hand, knocking the knife out of it and leaving the rest a bloody mess.
The rapist scrambled backwards, a look of terror in his eyes. "Please man..." he sobbed while the vigilante advanced, "Mercy..."
With a snarl, Black Sheep spat, "I don't do mercy," firing another bullet straight between the rapists eyes.
For a moment he just stood there, then bent over to the woman. She wasn't too injured he saw, at least not physically. Emotionally though, he knew that was something else.
"Get out of here and call the police." he told her gently, "I'll make sure that no one else bothers you."
She nodded and started to get up while Black Sheep glared at the bodies again, snorting as he thought about how often those type got out of jail, only to commit the same crimes again. That was the main reason that he did what he did. He took care of the vermin without playing their games. Not like those super heroes who danced around with those super villains, putting them in jail only so that they could escape and do it all over again.
Suddenly Black Sheep thought about his family, scowling as he did so. "No," he snarled, refusing to think about them at the moment. They were just another part of the problem.
After making sure that the woman was safe, Black Sheep continued towards Nicky the Nose, knowing that he had an even bigger threat to deal with at the moment. There was no telling when Painkiller would strike again or how many innocent people would die.
Several minutes later, Black Sheep arrived in the cramped hole in the wall that served as Nicky's home. The smell hit him almost immediately, as it always did. Nicky might have a nose for news, but Black Sheep wondered if he could possibly smell anything else. There was no doubt though that the man lacked any sense of hygiene.
"Whatcha want?" Nicky asked, looking up at Black Sheep from his chair. The man was chubby and balding, having a slightly large nose and a set of eyes that darted around wildly. "I don't know nutin."
Black Sheep sighed and shook his head. "Tell me about Painkiller."
Nicky scratched at the side of his nose for a moment, looking rather thoughtful. "I hear that he's got soma them fancy powers." Black Sheep's eyes immediately widened at that. He'd heard no such thing since all of Painkiller's murders had been committed with ordinary means. "Yeah, and he hangs out down by the old theater."
For a moment, Black Sheep just stared at Nicky, wondering where he got that information but not doubting it. Nicky was NEVER wrong. There were numerous times when Black Sheep suspected that Nicky might have some sort of powers himself. Perhaps clairvoyance since it would explain how he knew so much.
"What kind of powers?" he asked.
Nicky shrugged. "No idea." The fat little man scratched at his balls for a moment before lifting one of his butt cheeks and letting out a fart. "Dat's all I know."
The Black Sheep knew that there was no use in pushing Nicky further. That was all the information that he was going to get. So with a nod, the vigilante tossed Nicky his reward, a large bag of M&M's and a porno magazine...as always. Then he left to find Painkiller.
It didn't take long for Black Sheep to get to the old theater. It had been popular once, decades earlier. Now it was a run down building, relegated to showing third run films at cheap prices. Black Sheep stood on top of the building, peering over the edge, waiting for any sign of Painkiller, not even sure what the man looked like.
He waited there for over an hour, quietly watching the streets below him. That part of town was usually fairly busy at that time of night, unlike some of the other places. However, Black Sheep knew that this didn't necessarily make it any safer. The dangers were just a little more...subtle. More hidden.
Suddenly there was a scream from the street below as a man rolled on the sidewalk, grabbing at his side screaming, "Oh God it hurts." Blood was dripping around him and it only took an instant to see the punk with a knife in his hand, running away.
"Damn it," Black Sheep growled, about to chase after the attacker when he suddenly noticed something else.
There was another man a little further down, leaning against a wall and grabbing at his own side with a look of pain on his face. There was no sign of blood though and a moment later, the second man started storming straight towards the injured man, a look of pain and rage on his face.
"Painkiller," Black Sheep gasped, suddenly putting everything together.
In instant, the Black Sheep realized that Painkiller had to be some sort of an empath, able to feel other people's pain. Probably unable to help but feel other peoples pain. The pain of everyone who was within range. That was why he went after the sick and injured. To silence the source of what had to be incredible agony for himself.
With that, the Black Sheep jumped into action, charring straight towards Painkiller. Before he was even halfway there, the man had pulled a gun from his pocket and aimed it straight towards the injured and screaming man on the ground.
Black Sheep yelled out, "Painkiller," distracting the man for a moment. Just long enough for the vigilante to hit the ground close by and pull out his guns. "I've got you now."
For the first time, Black Sheep got a close look at the monster who'd been terrorizing the sick and injured. He didn't really look all that threatening. He was in his mid to late thirties with short cropped light brown hair that was beginning to recede. Painkiller wasn't even dressed like a super villain, but like someone who was about to go to work wearing a cheap brown suit. Then there was a look of agony in his eyes...and madness.
"I've got to stop the pain," Painkiller snarled, aiming his gun at the injured man again. "It hurts..."
Black Sheep growled and took a shot at the serial killer, who'd already started to move. The bullet tore through his arm but Painkiller barely seemed to notice is as he turned and ran into the crowd.
"Damn," Black Sheep spat, knowing that he couldn't shoot without hurting innocents. Instead, he started chasing after Painkiller on foot, trying to fight his way through the people that kept getting in his way. "You're not getting away from me."
For the next few minutes, Black Sheep chased after the surprisingly fast man, finally jumping up to the side of a building and leaping again to land straight in front of Painkiller. He still didn't dare use his guns, not with so many people that could get hurt.
"Gotcha now," He growled. "Now you're in for a world of hurt."
Painkiller just glared at Black Sheep. "You don't know what pain is." He aimed his gun straight at Black Sheep. "I live with it constantly. With everyone else's suffering. I help stop their suffering. Stop my own."
"You don't want to do that," Black Sheep told him in a cold tone, glancing at all the people that could be hurt.
"Don't worry," Painkiller snarled, "I'll be over in an instant. I'll make sure you don't suffer."
Suddenly Painkiller fired several shots. The first hit Black Sheep and knocked him backwards with the impact, though was stopped by his kevlar protection. However, he was instantly aware that the second had missed him entirely, verified by a scream of pain from behind him.
"Aaagh," Painkiller howled, grabbing at his arm for a moment.
The vigilante jumped to his feet, noticing a woman on the ground, bleeding from her arm. And Painkiller was already advancing towards her, determined to end her...and his own pain by taking her life.
Black Sheep jumped at Painkiller, knocking him back with a kick and finally seeing an opening. With that, the Black Sheep was finally able to fire his gun, sending three bullets through Painkillers stomach and knocking the killer to the ground in a pool of blood.
For a moment, Black Sheep just stood there, his gun aimed straight at Painkiller. The serial killer was still alive though jerking in agony in his pool of blood. With his trained eye, Black Sheep knew that the injuries probably wouldn't kill him. Just put him in the hospital for a long...long time.
"No," Black Sheep growled, aiming his gun between Painkiller's eyes.
Painkiller gurgled and gasped, "Please...the pain. Stop the pain." He looked straight at Black Sheep with pleading eyes, "Kill me. Give me mercy..."
The Black Sheep snarled at that, glaring at the serial killer furiously. Then, he lowered his gun, snarling, "I don't do mercy."
With that, the Black Sheep stepped back, listening to the sounds of ambulances and police cards just a short distance off. He took one more look at the helpless Painkiller and smiled, thinking about the months of recovery in a prison hospital. Months of being surrounded by extremely injured people. The thought nearly made him laugh.
Painkiller wasn't going to be a threat again, and Black Sheep decided that it would be worth it to let the slime live for once. After all, killing him would have been a mercy, but to let him live with his curse...that would be justice.
Taking one last look at Painkiller and then the people around him, Black Sheep jumped at the nearest building and quickly used what was available to climb up its side and disappear from site. The night wasn't over yet and there were still things that needed done.
