10 years ago…
“DeathWatch.”
The Baron stood in the highest penthouse in Varrigan City, examining the site of his new TV series. Hundreds of thousands of people bustled in the busy streets below, none of them suspecting what would become of their hometown.
“You know, I’ve always been kind of fascinated by all of it. Violence, I mean. TV, books, the news - it just excites me. There’s so many problems in the world, and we can’t solve any of them because of all these pussy-ass ‘laws’. Evil people are only allowed to exist because we can’t kill them and throw them in ditches like the garbage they are. Well, this show is going to make my case. It’s going to show people what progress looks like. So we’ll call it DeathWatch. They can watch as evil dies.”
The Baron’s benefactor didn’t respond. He sat back at his desk, waiting patiently for the Baron to finish.
“Can you believe people told me that this was a waste of dimensional transportation technology? Can’t they see how important this is? We’re going to rebuild the world with this. Once this season is over, we’ll have another, and another, and another. We’ll dominate the entertainment world. And people will watch the blood and guts flying, and their children will watch, and soon their eyes will glaze over from the relentless death. They’ll see that hurting other people isn’t a big deal. We’ll subvert everything they thought was true about human nature. And, to be honest, I’ve always wanted to see fights like these… just to settle the debates in my mind. Who would win in a fight, you know?”
“Don’t you think,” the donor said, “that you should take a shower? You’re covered in blood.”
The Baron looked at his hands. They were stained red from the test shooting. He’d participated in the demo reel himself.
“I don’t have time. There’s too much work to do.”
The Black Baron pushed his way out of the rubble. The fresh blood from the dead had splashed on top of the black, congealed blood from all those years ago. It was all the same to him now. Death was a part of his body. Even his words were stained black now.
”Motherfuck, where is everybody?”, he asked. He wasn’t even sure if anyone was still alive at this point. If anyone had survived, they would have been scattered far and wide across the city.
He cursed some more, dusted himself off, and set off down the street. He’d find where the action was eventually.