Chapter 7: Aftermath
A few hours had passed since the incident. The city had finally gone quiet. People were fast asleep, or waking up early to prepare for work. Still, the sun had yet to rise. There was only one person still active at this time.
The dark knight. He stood amongst a chain of buildings. Small holes littered the area, and dead bodies were scattered across the ground. Batman tapped on his earpiece.
"Dead bodies everywhere. Cause of death unknown. Something drilled through their skulls." He commented.
A built-in visor shined with light, scanning the point of injury. It was holographic in scale. Multiple results popped up in front of the hero.
"Extremely small leakage of brain fluid. Whatever killed them was of a high temperature."
"Is it a new laser based weapon, sir?" A voice responded through the earpiece.
"Possibly."
Quiet but heavy footsteps were heard as Batman investigated the crime scene. He hadn't expected to find this in Falcone's base of operations. Besides the small holes in the walls, none of the corpses showed signs of putting up a fight. It was as if they had just dropped dead.
"Alfred, where is Carmine?" He spoke in a gruff tone.
"I have bad news sir…he's missing. There are no camera sightings or matching signatures. This was his last known location."
The dark hero searched each and every floor before finally reaching the top. He was finding it hard to get a read on the situation. It didn't take long to reach Carmine's bedroom. An outdoor jacuzzi could be seen on the balcony.
Besides the obvious holes, there was nothing of note. It was time to move on. Batman stepped onto the balcony. There was only one thing here that meant anything. Carmine's bathrobe was crumpled on the floor beside the tub.
"He was caught unaware." The hero concluded.
Extensive research and observation came a long way. He knew many habits of the people he investigated. For Falcone, the dark knight understood that he liked to keep his things neat and tidy.
"It's a bit ominous, sir. Their deaths were too quiet. Police have yet to even discover the crime scene." Alfred commented.
"They were ambushed…but it's not adding up."
"I have a suggestion, sir."
"Let's hear it."
"All of those holes, have you checked the trajectory? Let's see what direction they came from."
Batman immediately hopped off the balcony, utilizing his grapple hook for a safe landing. He then increased the distance before frowning. It didn't feel like he was getting the whole picture.
"I'm not high up enough. Send the Wingjet."
"...Wingjet is en route. Remote flight had been activated."
It took around 5 minutes for the aircraft to reach the hero's location. Bruce dragged his finger across the screen on his wrist, bringing the jet into a higher position. His visor allowed him to see through the vehicle's cameras.
"Can you see it, Alfred? This is it."
"Yes. Whatever attacked them was pretty high up. It must be some type of aircraft. Only a machine could have that much accuracy for multiple headshots."
"......" Batman didn't respond. He only watched the camera.
"Master Wayne, new information is coming in. From the direction of the harbor, an unmanned oil rig is almost completely submerged. There was a breach in the hull, causing it to take on water. It's only a few miles away."
"Mark it. Don't forget to save what we have right now and make a file."
"As you wish, sir."
The dark knight hopped onto the jet and took off in the direction of Gotham Harbor. Upon reaching the oil rig, the aircraft switched to hover mode. Batman checked the hull breach and frowned. It was a small piece of a mutilated hand.
"The hull breach. It was all because of a hand, or what's left of it. How fast would it have to move in order to damage an oil rig?"
"A hand? Odd…" Alfred responded.
A syringe popped out of Batman's suit. Taking the syringe, he drew blood from the lump of flesh. He then returned it to his armored suit.
"Alfred. Run diagnostics." He ordered.
"Running diagnostics. A match will be found in 3..2…1…"
There was a moment of silence. Bruce frowned at the lack of communication. Right before he could say anything, Alfred spoke up.
"Sir…you aren't going to believe this."
"Send the results."
"Sending."
Batman stared at the screen on his wrist. An orange loading bar was in the process of filling up. Once it reached completion, holographic info popped into the air. His permanent scowl grew even darker.
'Match Found: Carmine Falcone'
"No…"
"Sir, whatever killed him…it wasn't a form of aircraft."
"This is bad…I might have to call in the League."
…
…
…
2 Weeks Later
It was always Alice. The first thing Sora would see whenever he woke up. It was her. The broken doll would rest her chin on his chest, staring at his sleeping face. Her blank expression made it impossible to know what she was thinking. Maybe she wasn't thinking at all. A shell of her former self.
"...Good morning." Sora greeted.
She didn't respond, preferring to only observe. The sleepy man eventually grew bored of the eye contact. His hand caressed her cheek, bringing her closer for a kiss.
"I'm hungry." Alice finally said. She ended up pouting, acting as if it was his fault.
Sora couldn't help but sigh. No response to his morning gesture? What a sad start to the day. Of course, he could make it better.
"I have something you can eat…" He trailed off while rubbing her lips.
"Fufufu…of course you do." She giggled before disappearing under the sheets.
Such had been the morning routine for the past few weeks. Had to wake up somehow, right? It was a good way to change the status quo. He wasn't the same Sora that she was accustomed to. Everything wasn't about her anymore, and she'd been learning that everyday. In a way-
SQUELCH
"Ngh!" He grunted.
'She's getting better…' He thought.
A while later, they found themselves in the large bathtub. Alice grabbed a remote on the side and turned on the mounted TV. It was already set to the news.
"Reporting on Channel 9 News, it's still unknown what happened to the Falcone family. Their businesses have recently been assimilated by different companies. Carmine Falcone is still missing…"
Alice immediately turned to Sora while getting comfortable in his lap. She was suspicious. It made sense though. He'd literally asked her about them and now they were on the news.
The young man tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. No words were said, and it was obvious that she was waiting for an explanation. Unfortunately, if she didn't vocalize it, neither would he.
"Hmph!" She huffed and looked away.
Sora couldn't help but smile as he held her close. Her soft body felt amazing, after all. She obviously knew he was the perpetrator. It made him chuckle when he realized that she actually didn't care. All she cared about was the food she would eat after leaving the bath. As long as Sora was beside her, she was content.
Time passed and they eventually got dressed. Alice had a lot of paperwork today. The maids were already whipping up hot chocolate and caramel crusted coffee, knowing that she'd be in the study for a long while. Sora brought the warm beverages in and set them on the desk.
"Coffee for you, hot chocolate for me." He announced.
Alice snatched the coffee and took a sip. The sleepy man browsed through the shelves, looking for something to curb his growing boredom. He needed a book to read. He soon found one, but it was more of a children's fairy tale.
"Alice, do you read this?" He asked. The doll signed one more paper before looking over.
"The Princess and the Evil General? It's a good read."
"...I see."
'Isn't she a bit too old to be reading these? I guess her mind isn't in tune with her body.' He thought. Oh well.
He took the small book and plopped down on the sofa. There was nothing better to do, so he might as well read it. It barely took five minutes for him to grow bored. This wasn't going to cut it. Alice was in the zone, stamping and signing thick documents.
"I'm going to check out the Public Library. Do you want me to find you a new book?"
The mistress thought for a while. Her hollow eyes eventually lit up. She nodded happily.
"I want another book about a princess." She declared with pride. Sora couldn't help but shake his head. What was her obsession with princesses?
"...Will do. See you soon." As he made his way out of the room, Alice frowned.
"So you're just going to leave?"
"...Huh?"
"No hug, no kiss?"
"Ah." He understood what she wanted.
Sora marched right over to her desk and gave her a deep kiss. Once he pulled back, Alice took a sip of his hot chocolate. Now he could finally go.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SwayStar
SwayStar *BAM *BAM *CRACK
"Now talk." - Batman
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone