Falice One Shots

12.

"Mom?Mom, where are you?"Betty called out once she entered the house, her eyes frantically searching for her mother. "Betty. Thank God. I've been calling  you. Where have you been?"Alice asked, holding the mug tightly in her hands as Betty entered the living room as she sat back down. "Mom, is Dad here?Is he-?"Betty asked next not even answering Alice's question. "Yeah, honey, why?"Alice answered, putting the mug down. "Where is he?"Betty asked causing Alice to worry at the strange behavior her daughter was showing. "What's going on? What..." "We have to leave. Let's go."Betty said, stopping Alice from finishing her sentence, already picking up her mother's handbag but before they could even stand up, Hal had joined them in the living room. "Betty! You made it home!"He said, a smile on his face. "Your dad has some crazy idea to show us old homemovies. I figure we indulge him, since we're practically on lockdown anyway."Alice explained to only notice her daughter staring at her father in a strange way. "What's wrong?"She asked, looking from Betty to Hal. "Well, I'm just happy we're all here. As a family. Sit down, Betty. I think you're really going  to enjoy this."Hal said, putting a movie in before taking a seat next to Alice while Betty sat in the armchair next to the couch, clearly nervous about something which did not slip past Alice's eyes, who couldn't help but to occasionally look at her husband, noticing the blood stains on his sweater by his shoulder. 

What was really going on here? She tried to pay attention to the video that had started, looking at the little boy that faced the camera as a woman talked. "I'm making this movie so we never forget what your daddy sacrificed for us. You do love your daddy, don't you, Harold?"The woman asked. "Yes, mom."The little boy answered. "And you want your daddy to keep on living with us?"The woman asked next as the little repeated the same answer. "I don't understand, what are we watching?"She asked confused, looking at her husband. "Is that you, Hal?"She asked pointing at the screen. "It is."Hal answered, keeping his eyes on the screen. "Your daddy did something very noble, Harold. He took care of that Conway family. They were sinners. And what happens to sinners?"The woman asked next. "Sinners have to die."The little boy answered straight away, without thinking. "Oh my god..."Betty whispered, looking away as Alice sat up on the couch. "What is this, a snuff film?"She asked, looking at Hal. "Shut the hell up, Alice, for once in your life."He answered, not looking at her as she closed her mouth at that, her eyes going to Betty for a moment. "That's right. Now that little Conway boy who survived, they're gonna ask him who killed his family. He needs to point out somebody. Anybody but not Daddy. Because we don't want Daddy to be taken away from us, do we?"The woman asked. "No, I love my Daddy."The little boy answered sadly. "So you have to help him. Make sure that when  they ask  the Conway boy who he saw kill his family, make sure he doesn't say Daddy. Can you do that, Harold? Convince him?"The woman explained. "I think so."The boy answered. "You're a good boy, Hal. Your father let him escape, but you? You will do better. You must do better."

"Take out your tape recorder, Alice."Hal ordered, still not looking at his family. "I need you to record this."He added, standing up. "The Conways. The family that was murdered 40 years ago?"Alice questioned. "Yes, oh my god..."Betty whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "Take it out!"Hal yelled loudly, startling them both as she quickly did it, picking up her handbag from the ground, her eyes landing on the gun she had put in there after the riots broke loose, making her feel a little bit safer. "Now I wanna tell my story."Hal said, his eyes on her as she took the tape recorder out of it before putting her bag back down on the ground. "No, our story really."Hal corrected himself as she pushed the record button, laying it down on the coffee table carefully. "First, to clear something up: Your Great-Grandpappy Cooper wasn't murdered by his brother like some dog. He was the killer. He killed Great-Grandpappy Blossom and then took on the Cooper name to create a new identity for himself. For us."Hal explained, his eyes mainly focused on Betty. "What does that have to do with the Conways?"Betty asked. "The Conways knew our secret. Mr. Conway blackmailed my father, your grandpappy."Hal answered. "So, Grandpa killed them."Betty said back, holding her father's gaze. "They were sinners, Betty."Hal said. "Even the children?"Betty asked immediately. "Well, there was one survivor. The Conways' boy Joseph."Hal explained. "Mr. Svenson. Who you convinced to accuse an innocent man."Betty said back, knowing what Mr. Svenson had done. "Joseph was easy to manipulate. As a boy and as a man."Hal said, remembering the man. "What are you telling us? Hal? That-?"Alice started to only get interupted by him. "That I have a darkness, Alice. The same darkness my father had, the same darkness his father had. And now, it lives in Betty."Hal explained, his eyes back on Betty. "Our daughter."He added, his eyes back to Alice before he slowly made his way towards Betty, stooping in front of her. "Who am I, Betty?"He asked softly. "Say it."He added, his eyes holding hers as her chest rose up and down quickly. "Say who I am!"He said louder, startling her as Alice sat up in her seat, sitting closer by her handbag as a strange feeling filled her. She had never seen her daughter this scared before, the fear was written in her eyes. "You're the Black Hood."Betty said softly, tears in her eyes. "That's right. Now say what I did."He said next as Alice reached in her handbag, her hand wrapping around the gun. "You shot...Mr. Andrews. You killed Ms. Grundy, the Sugarman, Midge, Dr. Masters. But the debate..."Betty said softly as Alice had pulled her hand back, slowly sliding the gun under her shirt behind her back. "Was not me. I can't take credit for that."He said, knowing what she was gonna say.