Psycho Killers (Wade & Kari)

[Wade Von Doom]

The tale of Ben Forbes is such a strange tale. One of mystery for certain, as most of his life is shrouded in it. He grew up an orphan, and spent most of his life centered around crime, though rumors vary between him involved with gangs, mafias, underground markets to sell illegal goods, even leading terrorists groups. The reality is only known to the man himself, but he's never been one to discuss his past, not out of shame, but rather he knows it's unbelievable. Would you believe him if he said he could travel between universes, and is the chief of staff to military of an authoritarian government in a far off future, where earth's colonies rebelled, founded their own governments based of Marxist ideologies, and eventually went to war with each other with two colonies becoming one massive country called Olvania.

No of course you wouldn't, you'd rightly call that out as bullshit and fucking stupid. And Ben himself was aware of the ridiculous nature of such an explanation, but he didn't see any reason to reveal it. The technology behind his ability to travel was highly advanced, only he knew about its origin, and he always planned on using it to his own advantage, as power could be easily gained with it. An entire multiverse to travel across, an endless wealth of information, technologies, magic even, everything one would need to become the most powerful person imaginable, second only to a god if you knew what you were doing.

And Ben certainly had a plan. He was, in the words of others, 'a sick psychopathic misogynistic pig,' only seeing people as objects for his personal goals. And...... Yeah, there's no denying he was a genuine sociopath who cared little for others due to a lack of an emotional connection and, well, giving enough a of damn about them. If he saw you as a obstacle, expect either a shiv across the throat, or a bullet lodge through the skull. If you died painfully, try not to scream so loudly. Though he wasn't lacking in charm to hide that side of his, Ben was a regular Harry Lime to speak with, having a cunning and witty personality as if he was showing off, but a more mischievous side many wouldn't notice from his smile. Ben enjoyed being the life of the party, wanting to be the Great Gatsby of hosts where his parties were wild and the booze ran freely, all while he watched from the sidelines to enjoy his work, as if he was a puppet master watching his finalized work.

His biggest trait, or rather critic, depending on who you ask, is his love of romance. Specifically, the sexual side of partnership. He was always one to woo and flirt with those he found an interest in, no matter the gender, and his mind was filled with kink, fetishes, fantasies, whatever you enjoyed or disliked he likely tried with a partner or two. Even if some were illegal. He never said no to a night of lustful delights, but he never truly found companionship in any of them, placing each partner into three groups: His 'members,' his friends, and his one night stands. His 'members' were usually addicts or troubled people, those he could easily convince and persuade, even give them guidance in his newly opened rehab center, a community where they could be surrounded by those who shared their experiences, and gave them love in return. Some called it a harem, as it was filled with men and women Ben slept with, but when closely examined, you realize this 'harem' is more like a cult, as they all worship Ben as if he is their savior, following his orders to the tee like fanatics to a religion. While he never abused or hurt them, there was still plenty to suggest gas lighting, indoctrination, brainwashing techniques used to make them more open to suggestion.

Those he couldn't keep under his thumb were simply friends with benefits or one night stands never to be seen again. His sexual life was a peak into his brain, a visual of how he treats those he likes, a glimmer into his twisted mind. Ben's background may have been odd, but it was nothing compared to the mind he kept well hidden from public view. But, we have studied the chief of staff long enough, now is the time to tell a story with him, is it not? Ladies and gentleman, this is a story about fraud. About lies. About action, suspense, romance, mystery, intrigue, spies, sexual content, and of course, character study. This is, after all, a tale about a manipulative, womanizing multiverse traveler, who plans on turning a two planet nation built upon Marxist beliefs into a monarchy, with our male in question naming himself king, finding the one true love of his life. It's such a strange setting, with strange characters and an even stranger story, with an conclusion surely to be just as strange.

We do hope you enjoy.

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It was evening. Around four in the afternoon. The sky was clear of clouds and still glowed blue, while the sun was slowly fading down below the horizon. There was a small house not too far from a village, near the large fields of crops. It was a farm house, with a barn not too far away. A woman wearing ragged clothing covered in dirt was finishing up for the day, as she pulled up a bucket of water from the nearby well. Clearing her forehead of sweat, she looked to the dirt road leading to the village, with two small fields of crops on both sides.

There, she saw a horse. Its fur was pure black with white marks on the hooves, and its rider wore a heavy armor. The sight was majestic, as the armor was beautifully crafted and shined off the sun's rays like the noble hero was finally returning home after a long journey. Course, he wasn't gone for very long, two days at minimum as he led a small group of soldiers to the borders of their home nation to check the outposts, as the neighboring country was heard to be having some 'issues.' Everything though was still good, and he returned home without a scratch.

He stopped his horse and got off, while the woman smiled softly and walked towards him, the two embracing each other with a hug. The man smiled back and was happy to be home. The woman took the horses reigns and guided the animal to the barn, while the man entered his home, removing his armor once inside. Relaxed, he went to the bedroom to check on the little man, his year old son; sound asleep in his crib and covered with a blanket. The young child looked more and more like his mother each day, as he had beautiful blue eyes and was starting to grow bright blonde hair, though he still retained his father's facial features.

When his father cradled the infant in his arms, he stayed asleep, with his father rocking back and forth to keep him so. The mother entered the room not too long after, watching the sleeping boy from over his shoulder. Both parents smiled to each other, then slowly kissed. They were very passionate for each other, becoming love birds since when they were children.

Of course, forces beyond their imagination were at play in their world. And I don't mean magically.

Only a week later, on the porch of that same house, the sky was burning. In the distance, where the village was, every building was on fire, with the smoke billowing the night. It wasn't an invasion by the other country, far from it. Another army, one from what many believed was another dimension, invaded the other nation, destroyed it, and was now moving on to this one. They wielded weapons unlike anything seen before, as if they could harness the destructive power of the sun itself.

The father was in charge of defending the village from the invaders, but his troops were no match. He fled to his home to save his wife and child, but he was too late. The enemy had reached his home first. The attacker tried to kill him, but while the man fought back with as much as he could, the enemy was too strong. The front door broke open, and collapsed was the father, his throat sliced open and spewing blood across the floor. As he was dying, the attacker slowly entered the house. He had no weapon, no armor, no shield, just a suit.

A suit and tie, which he straightened out as he walked inside. The mother was shaking behind a wall, fear taking over her thoughts, as she was scared for not herself, but her child. The invader walked around, looking for whoever he could, but as he peaked around the corner, the mother attacked; stabbing him in the throat. It did nothing. Only sparks flew off him, and the attacker was quick to smash the mothers head into the wall as hard as he could; knocking her out cold.

Without hesitation, he pulled out his actual weapon, and fired two rounds into her skull, smiling all to sadistically. The loud bangs caused the child to suddenly cry out, scared of such a noise, but drawing the attention of the attacker. He entered the bedroom and looked to the crib, seeing the lonely child crying tears of fear and wishing for its mother. He looked at the child up and down, still smiling as he was unaffected by the infant. "Look at you," he said to the infant, "quite healthy, no physical disabilities, a very strong bloodline of warriors I can guess, and quite the innocent look. I imagine you'd be involved in this world, be a major player somehow, like the dragon slayer or savior of the realm." He continued to speak down to the child, as it stilled cried.

"Come now, no need to cry. I'm not planning to hurt you, on the contrary." The invader picked up the child by the arms and raised him up to the height of his head, his arms stretched out so the baby could see him. "You have a lot of potential. Hate to see that be wasted." The child stopped crying after some time and looked into the invader's red eyes. "How about we skip with my boss' orders, hm? Wouldn't mind taking you under my wing, being your dad. Be a fun challenge, don't you agree?" The child's tears dripped down his face, with some snot coming out his nose.

"No need to worry. You're in good hands." The invader cradled the infant and slowly rocked him, still smiling, but this time with more comfort than anything sadistic behind it. He walked out the room and past the now dead bodies, reaching the porch. "Before, we go however," he put the child down and entered the house once again, only to come out a minute later, "tie up loose ends." He said, picking up the child again.

The two disappeared from the farm, and seconds later did the house explode into a massive fire.

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Ben's eyes opened slowly, awakening from a deep sleep thanks to the loud noise of his phone alarm. It took a few moments, but he got the surroundings of his room again as his vision got used to the light. It was around 7:30 in the morning, and Ben wasn't exactly in the best mindset for school. He had a late night, staying up a little later than usual thanks to his new laptop. Never had one in his life until now, and he saved up all summer for it. The machine was a good one too, high function with a variety of tasks, and can play games at high quality. The first thing he tried out was Portal 2, since that came free with his new Steam account. Eventually, he finally lifted himself up out of the covers and looked around the room with saggy eyes, trying to start up his brain for the day. With a large yawn and stretching out his arms, he grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm, rubbing his eyes with the free hand.

It was 8:30, with the sun shining into his large room and down onto the back of his head. His bed was a mess, with the covers mangled around, and he was only wearing briefs for pajamas, though he had no issue looking at his own body. The man was quite well built, as well recently going to barbers for a hair cut and shave to look his best. Jumping out of bed, the blonde went over to the bathroom in the hallway and entered, starting the shower. With a quick look into the mirror, he looked over his facial features and hair cut, with his platinum blonde hair shining from the bathroom light and stunning blue eyes peering over his slender, but built body. He wasn't as buff as he wanted to be, but he was making progress slowly. The muscles were starting to show, and his workout was getting much more intense each weekend he had available.

He wanted to look good, if only because the man enjoyed having people oggle at him. Giving himself a egotistic smirk as he looked himself over, he jumped into the shower and began playing music, 'Pompeii' by Bastille. Once Ben was done with his own cleaning up, plus a small working of push-ups to help get the joints ready for the day, he dressed himself with a light black T-Shirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and a soft shell jacket with a turtle neck he kept unzipped. It was a nice day out, though it was gonna be a cold day apparently, since it snowed last night, and there was a large blanket of white all over the campus grounds.

 

[Kari]

Marissa Holmes rolled out of bed around 10:30. She had already missed one class, organic chemistry, but she might barely make it to physiology at 11 if she hurried. Not that it really mattered, really what was the point? Marissa had never really been the academic type. The subject matter was never difficult for her; on the contrary, her sharp mind quickly took in new facts and understood them as well as the best students. But the whole academia setting was just to pretentious and monotonous for her. And she always couldn't help thinking that she was meant to do something different. Something more exciting.

At 23 years old, she should have been graduated by now, and in medical school already. At least that was the plan, but between switching majors almost a dozen times and dropping out for a couple semesters, she was only just over halfway toward her pre-med degree. Many subjects fascinated her, but none moreso than human anatomy and psychology.

On the outside, Marissa looked like another attractive 23 year old. Her body was slender but curvy, and with her shoulder-length dark hair and hazel eyes, some would even call her beautiful. Her muscles had a nice tone to them, mostly from running, rock climbing, and swimming.

But beneath the pretty face, she had a dark side. She was generally a fan of most drugs, had a bad tendency to hook up with randos, and was a major klepto. She loved to steal, anything from jewelry at a party to shoplifting to pickpocketing. She was incredibly clever and had never been caught, not really. She also had dark fantasies, constantly thinking about what it would be like to torture or kill people. Not just her enemies, but anyone who she felt deserved it. So far she had been able to surpress that side of her, but only barely.

Marissa padded over to her closet, where she threw on some clothes for the day - a cardigan, black jeans and boots. Her head spun a little... she probably shouldn't have stayed up so late or drank so much wine. But it didn't matter. She'd go to class, pretend to pay attention. Then later that night she told Sara that she'd go to some party. Sara was the closest thing she had to a friend... in general she was sort of ambivalent toward other people. She didn't even know the last time she talked to her other two roommates.

But she'd go to the party, get fucked up, swipe some shit, maybe hook up with some sucker with a pretty face, steal from him too, and call it a night. Same shit, different weekend. She ripped the bowl of half-burnt weed, left on her desk from the night before, figuring it would help with her headache. Then she threw on a jacket and walked out the door to deal with the day.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

Ben's day consisted on classes, work within the library, workouts in the gym, followed by a swim in their pool as a way of cooling down, lunch in the cafeteria, even if the food wasn't up to par, and if there was a chance, flirting with a couple girls who seemed to like Ben. That was always the catch with Ben, he enjoyed being busy, and he certainly enjoyed being a playboy. It wasn't too much a secret that Ben was a bit of a 'manwhore,' he always had a body in bed with him over the weekend and most weekdays. Most took it as him being a very open minded human being, sex and various fetishes and kinks weren't taboo in his mind, and with how social and approachable Ben was, he was easily liked by many. Of course, the biggest issue for Ben was keeping a handle on sex. As much as people liked Ben, there were quite a few who despised him because he was, without a shadow of a doubt, a serial cheater.

He could never stay with one person. If the relationship seemed serious, Ben would cheat on them with another person. And even if the relationship was more open, Ben wouldn't tell you he was already sleeping with someone else. Many of his relationships were either one night stands, or regulars who weren't looking for a strong commitment, but someone to help with destressing. Anyone who wanted something more with Ben, it was a coinflip. If he enjoyed their company, he would keep them around, even if they wanted a better commitment as boyfriend and girlfriend, though he never stuck to it. Instead, continuing to search for others he could enjoy sexual pleasures with. Usually never telling his 'girlfriend.' It was usually better if Ben said no to you, because at least you knew Ben was just using your body, and wasn't looking to break your heart either.

Relationships were messy, and he didn't enjoy them. People were fickle, and following the rules needed in a relationship seemed ridiculous in Ben's mind, not to mention Ben followed a philosophy of 'love not existing.' It was hormones in people's bodies, and a need to release sexual frustration, or give birth to the new generation of children to take their place. Emotional connections never lasted, most marriages end in divorce, most relationships end when communication between both parties fizzle out, and god forbid the two people who think they love each other are emotionally unstable, making their 'love' toxic and abusive in some way to each other.

Why go through all that? Ben liked people, he didn't hate them, and neither did he wish to hurt them intentionally. But, they were like a stuffed bear, as strange as that sounds. Something you take to bed with you to not feel alone.... Or feel scared, sometimes. We'll return to the latter bit later down the line. For now, Ben had a party to attend. The party was being held in one of the frat houses in town, the usual weekend party to help people with destressing and find some fun in the tedium of college work. These parties were held for holidays and special events, like birthdays if you knew the party hosts, and this week was no exception. Valentines day was fast approaching, and since it was on a weekday, the party was to be held Friday night, just as the weekend was about to begin.

When Ben arrived, the party was just beginning. He walked there by himself, and the music wasn't so loud you couldn't hear people, those who had arrived wasn't too big a group, and the alcohol wasn't put out yet, though that was coming later. Instead, you got sodas and other drinks to enjoy. The frat house was somewhat older than the other buildings, had a late 1960s architecture style to it, and it was surprisingly very generic with the furniture and decorations.

It was more sanitized than you might expect, but considering this was Valentines Day, and everyone who was going to show up was bringing a date, or going to try finding one, having it be so white meant don't shine a blacklight anywhere, or else you'd get a Jackson Pollock painting on your hands. Ben's instinct was to mingle with the party hosts, since he already knew them, along with getting a drink. Root Beer, he wasn't planning on getting drunk tonight. He always preferred a straight thinking mind.

 

[Kari]

Marissa's day seemed to crawl by. She went to the rest of her classes, finding some of the content interesting, but still wishing she was somewhere else. She ate on the go between classes and pounded through some homework at the library before saying fuck it and going home for the day.

That night she was in her room listening to music off her laptop when Sara knocked on her door. "Are you ready to hit up that party?" Her roommate asked opening the door.

"Oh yeah, the frat party right? Ehh yeah I guess I'll go. Wanna do a shot first?" Marissa asked with a smirk, indicating a half bottle of vodka.

"That's the spirit" Sara said with a grin. The two girls took a shot, and shortly after they departed for the party. They walked together and chatted, Sara reminding her that tonight was specifically a valentine's party. Sara was dating one of the guys in the frat and asked if Marissa would try to find a valentine. Marissa said something about if she did it would be up to her, not cupid.

At the party, Marissa immediately went to grab a drink, deciding on a vodka lemonade since she had already started on vodka earlier. Sara had left her to go find her boyfriend, which was expected. Marissa scanned for someone interesting to talk to.

Even though she was a bit reclusive and nihilistic by nature, she could be pretty convincingly social and almost bubbly when she wanted to. She mainly used this to get what she wanted from people, whether it was sex, free drinks, or to just appear innocent and friendly to get someone's guard down.

It had been a long week. She wanted to unwind and find someone to go wild with, even if she wouldn't admit it. Maybe if he was a sucker she'd even snag his wallet or something. The nice part about being an attractive girl was that they would come to you, and you could take your pick. So she sat by the bar, letting her mind wander, and waited for someone to approach her.