A True Hero

The Dirty Part of the Job

Liberator walked through the dark streets and alleyways of Florence. While the city was well kept and clean, the hero couldn't help but see the dirty parts. As they walked by, they saw a business owner give a package to a couple of shady looking fellas. The cops were very chill and lack, even when an obvious drug dealing was happening right in front of them. An elderly lady watched them with narrow suspicious eyes as did everyone else.

Okay, that may have been because they were walking in public in their costume, but that's because a hero's job was never finished!

Ignoring more stares from the public that may or may not have been mafiosos in disguise, the hero entered a dark alley. It was night time and that was the perfect time to do suspicious things. They walked up to a rusty metal door and gave it a shave and a haircut, two bits. It's that one knock that everyone instinctively knows but doesn't know the name of.

There was a pause before a hatch on the door slid open. Beady eyes peeked out, bouncing everywhere before settling on the wrapped figure.

"Who are you and what do you want?" His voice was raspy and quick, but the Liberator's was raspier and quicker.

"Ya don't gotta know who I am, and I want a damn drink!" they all but growled. The person behind the door narrowed their eyes before they clicked their tongue. The vigilante rolled their eyes before reaching into their pockets. They produced a coin and flipped it through the gap.

"Ah! Yes, yes, please come in!" the hatch slid closed. Multiple locks and bars were heard moving before the door finally opened. Slouched over and acting grumpy, the Liberator walks in. They glanced at the bouncer who was a short man with crooked teeth. He gave them a wide smile that somehow had far too many teeth.

"Piss off, Mort," they growled as they flipped them another coin. The bouncer grew excited like a squirrel and snatched the coin midair. He eyed it and cleaned it, accepting the bribe to stay quiet about the new arrival.

The Liberator walked through what looked like an abandoned warehouse before approaching a bald man with a beard. They wore a gold chain necklace with a pendant similar to the coin they gave to the bouncer.

The bearded man looked at the tattered vigilante before frisking them. His big manly hands lightly padded them, taking note of the blades and the backpack. Once satisfied, the man nodded and kicked a crate revealing a trapdoor.

"No trouble." He plainly said before opening the hatch. Cool air spilled out of a dark stairwell. Liberator nodded, recalling nothing about procedures had changed. They walked down the stairwell, the bearded man closing the trapdoor.

It was dark, very dark, but the vigilante was used to it. They walked down the stone steps, their feet never missing a slab. After a few moments, light began to illuminate the dark, and the Liberator was presented with an underground club. There were flashing lights and music playing. Tons of people danced and laughed. There were naked strippers of men and women, all of them expertly dancing on their poles. One could see infamous villains milling about as well as a few famous heroes too!

The vigilante frowned, they hated clubs like this. It seems while the entry hadn't changed, the lobby did. It used to be nice. A quiet calm place like that of a hotel or an office. They supposed appearances needed to change to hide the truth.

Walking through the mass of people, some naked, others barely dressed, Liberator made their way to the back. A topless man wrapped an arm around the vigilante, laughing as he was obviously drunk and high.

"HEY MAN! YOU WANNA HIT?" He offered a boof to the hero, the joint stinking of something that was most definitely not weed. They growled before shoving the junkie off, sending him into a threesome that soon turned into a foursome.