by Jason Krate
"Is this them mom?" Kaitlin asked, "Is this the Moraes family from the stories about Old Brightmoon?"
"I think so Kaitlin; I can't imagine who else this family would be." Rachel Addison said examining the family portrait, "they have the white hair like the story says."
"Why did some of them have white hair or a skunk stripe like the girl?" Kaitlin asked curious.
"I assume it was because the father had white hair? Maybe it was hereditary?" Rachel Addison shrugged.
"It's been a while since I heard about them…They were kings and Queens of Brightmoon City weren't they, royalty?" Kaitlin asked.
"Oh Kaitlin, no, not quite…the stories say they were a kind rich family that gave out and did what they could for the city before the end of the old world. When the old world died, they were never seen again. Some believe they perished during the initial years of the new order after the Grim Destruction. When things were at their worse and society was crumbling and restructuring itself as a result of the world's power going of forever. That's what the stories tell anyway." Rachel corrected her daughter.
"The stories are wrong…" Baron Knight's voice responded silently, enough that the two of them could hear him.
They turned around to see Baron Knight walk between where they stood like they were not even there…and then stand in front of the family portrait with tears in his glowing red eyes.
"The whole family never saw what became of the world that night, only two of them…a daughter and the father survived." Baron Knight blinked, causing visible tears to drip down his mask's cheeks "and it is no mystery to me how they died…I watched them all die, powerless to do anything."
"What?" Rachel Addison said in surprise upon hearing this, her eyes darting from Baron Knight to the image of the handsome white haired patriarch on the portrait "Is that you? Are you saying…you're one of the Moraes's?"
"The last of the Moraes's…" Baron Knight confirmed, pointing at the image of his younger self on the portrait "I am him."
"Minra Moraes?" Rachel Addison said in disbelief, and then she slowly approached him in curiosity "is that your actual name? You said it was Minra, is your full name actually Minra Moraes?"
"It is." Baron Knight answered.
"Oh my…" Rachel stammered in amazement, "Back at the church…I thought that was just a pseudonym, not your actual identity."
"It might as well be…for its lack of significance in this ruined world." Baron Knight said wearily, and then looked at the two of them.
"Did they know?" Kaitlin asked.
"That I was a metahuman? Yes." Baron Knight answered, assuming that's what the little girl meant.
"No…that you loved them." Kaitlin corrected him.
He didn't answer.
He didn't want to; it hurt too much to think about how much he had loved his family.
How much he missed them all.
"You're out of the city as promised, but you won't get far in this weather. I suggest you stay here until the weather improves." he said to the two of them.
He then opened up one of his shadow portals beside where he stood.
"Where are you going?" Kaitlin asked, curious.
"I have three more heads to collect." Baron Knight answered cryptically.
Father Morris came into the room, and saw Baron Knight leave the room through the shadow portal.
"What happened, where did he go?" he asked Rachel.
"He's finished with us Father…he got us out of the city away from danger like he promised" Rachel answered, "Now he has to go finish whatever revenge quest against the five and the Deathborne siblings he was working on before we ever crossed paths. We won't be seeing him again. When it's over...he's going to take his own life."
"Did he say that?" Father Morris asked inquisitively, noticing the look of sadness on Rachel's face as she said that.
"He didn't have to." She responded sadly, "I just know."
It was strange, she was actually sad to see him go.
He had brought her nothing but trouble and had placed her in danger dragging her around with him on his quest of vengeance.
Yet, she wasn't bothered by any of that…because he had also cared for and looked out for her, something that she wasn't used to ever receiving by strangers.
She thought that once she had that masked man out of her hair and her life she would be happy to be rid of him…but she wasn't.
She wished she knew why.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the industrial section of the locked down Brightmoon City, Mastermind II was busy going over his father's notes recovered from the abandoned library.
He was looking for information that might help him deal with the Baron Knight problem just in case his appeasement plan he had in mind didn't work.
He was certain his father must have figured out something useful about the masked intruder from his past exploits in Brightmoon City…like maybe who he was and how to beat him.
He found this information sure enough, written down in a book labeled "Judgement Day" of all names.
Within he discovered that not only had his father discovered who Baron Knight was, he had also written down places of interest where he might have made roost.
The Clock Tower didn't seem likely since it was currently lying on its side in ruins in the Historic District, so that left the mansion ruins of the Moraes Family as the possible location of Baron Knight's hideout.
If he was there, then this would be the best way to test his theory as to why Baron Knight was back and was strangely going after the Five instead of him and the Deathborne Sibling's empire that had the city by the throat in spite of the resistance's efforts to wrestle it away from them.
This didn't seem to be a vigilante fighting for the innocent against the forces of darkness, this seemed…personal, a vendetta.
He then decided to test his theory; he called up the communication number of the remaining forces of the Sadistic Five.
He told them he knew where they would find Baron Knight, and if they wanted to take vengeance on him for their fallen comrades…they should head to the co-ordinates of the mansion ruins.
After relaying this order, Mastermind II sat back in his father's chair taken and brought here from his father's study in the library reading room…and awaited the results of his experiment.
Like father, like son.
