Chapter 6: Hunter's Arrival
The darkness that swallowed Vincent Torrino's crew wasn't natural. It moved with purpose, flowing around the broken doorframe like liquid shadow given hunger and intent. The emergency lighting in the hallway flickered once, twice, then died completely, leaving only the pale glow from Sofia's IV monitor to illuminate the nightmare about to unfold.
Vincent fumbled for his phone's flashlight, his usual confidence cracking like ice over deep water. "Tony, what the hell—"
The words died in his throat as something vast and impossible unfolded from the shadows near the ceiling. The Architect had been watching Vincent's building for three days, studying every entrance, every routine, every weakness. He'd learned their patterns the way a spider learns the vibrations of its web—intimately, patiently, with the certainty of inevitable death.
But seeing them from the shadows was different from meeting them in the flesh. The Architect dropped from the ceiling with feline grace, his form still shifting between human and something far more predatory. In the dim light, Vincent could see broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, arms that seemed too long for any human frame, and hands that ended in fingers capable of becoming claws, blades, or worse.
"Vincent Torrino," the Architect said, his voice carrying harmonics that human vocal cords couldn't produce. "The scales are broken. Time to balance the books."
Tony Ricci, to his credit, went for his gun. The motion was smooth, professional—the result of fifteen years collecting debts for the Torrino family. His .45 cleared leather and was rising toward the target when the Architect moved.
The superhuman speed wasn't flashy like the heroes Vincent had seen on TV. There were no blurred afterimages or sonic booms. The Architect simply wasn't where Tony was aiming, and then he was behind Tony, one impossibly strong hand covering the gunman's mouth while the other transformed into something that belonged in butcher shops, not human bodies.
The blade that emerged from the Architect's wrist was bone-white and sharp enough to part steel. It slid between Tony's ribs with surgical precision, finding the heart in a single thrust that would have made Vincent's grandfather proud. Tony's eyes widened in shock, then went glassy as the Architect held him upright for exactly three seconds—long enough for the others to understand what they were facing.
"Anthony Ricci," the Architect whispered into the dying man's ear. "Twelve counts of aggravated assault. Six counts of sexual battery. Two counts of murder in the second degree. Sentence: death by cardiac puncture."
He released Tony's body, letting it crumple to the floor with the wet sound of meat hitting tile. The gun clattered away into the darkness, suddenly useless as a paperweight.
Vincent's two remaining men—Bobby Torrino, his worthless nephew, and Marcus Webb, a leg-breaker from the old neighborhood—pressed against the wall like cornered rats. Both were armed, both had killed before, and both were discovering that courage was much easier to find when beating helpless victims than when facing something that treated them like prey.
"You boys want to run," the Architect observed, tilting his head with predatory curiosity. "But you know Vincent will kill you if you abandon him. Interesting loyalty dynamics. Let me simplify your decision."
The Architect's right arm extended like a striking snake, transforming mid-motion into a tentacle of living biomass. It wrapped around Bobby's throat and lifted him off the ground, his feet kicking frantically at empty air. The tentacle's surface rippled, and Bobby's struggles became weaker as it began to feed.
"Robert Torrino," the Architect said conversationally, ignoring Bobby's gurgling attempts to scream. "Aggravated battery of a minor. Conspiracy to commit human trafficking. Accessory to murder. And..." The tentacle pulsed, and Bobby's memories flooded into the Architect's consciousness like a river of filth. "Ah. That's disappointing. Even for a Torrino."
The feeding process was obscene in its intimacy. Bobby's face went from red to purple to gray as the Architect absorbed not just his life force, but his memories, his knowledge, his accumulated experiences of cruelty and cowardice. When the tentacle finally released him, Bobby's body hit the floor like an empty suit of clothes.
But the Architect was no longer just himself. Bobby's memories had shown him the location of three more safe houses, the names of seventeen additional victims, and the details of a trafficking operation that stretched from Gotham to Coast City. Each absorbed mind made him more dangerous, more knowledgeable, more certain of his righteousness.
Marcus Webb broke first. The leg-breaker who'd crippled a dozen shopkeepers for late payments turned and ran for the broken door, his nerve finally snapping like an overtaxed cable. He made it exactly six steps before the Architect's other arm caught him, transforming into a whip of living tissue that wrapped around Marcus's waist and yanked him back into the apartment.
"Marcus Webb," the Architect said, reeling his catch in like a fisherman with a prize bass. "Assault with a deadly weapon. Extortion. Conspiracy to commit rape." He paused as Marcus's feet left the floor. "And such creative uses for that crowbar. How did you sleep at night?"
"Please," Marcus gasped, his tough-guy facade crumbling like wet cardboard. "I got kids, man. I got—"
The Architect's grip tightened, and Marcus's ribs began to crack with sounds like breaking kindling. "You have three children. Marcus Jr., age twelve. Rebecca, age nine. Timothy, age six. You beat them regularly. You've been selling Rebecca's photographs to Vincent's clients. You used Timothy as collateral for gambling debts."
Marcus's face went white as his darkest secrets spilled from the Architect's lips. "How do you—"
"Your nephew Bobby was very thorough in his documentation. Child services will be collecting your offspring tomorrow morning. They'll go to families that won't use them as currency."
The Architect's grip shifted, and Marcus felt his spine compress like an accordion. The pain was indescribable—not just physical, but existential, as if his very soul was being pressed into diamond by unforgivable pressure.
"Sentence," the Architect continued, his voice patient as a teacher explaining mathematics to a slow student, "death by compression fracture of the cervical vertebrae."
Marcus's screams cut off with the wet snap of breaking bone.
Vincent Torrino stood alone in his borrowed apartment, surrounded by the corpses of his crew and face-to-face with something that made his worst nightmares seem like children's bedtime stories. The loan shark who'd built his reputation on being the scariest thing in any room discovered what true fear felt like.
"Vincent Torrino," the Architect said, turning his full attention to the trembling man. "Age forty-two. Net worth approximately 2.3 million dollars, most of it earned through usury, human trafficking, and systematic brutalization of the poor. Married to Elena Torrino, who knows exactly what you do and profits from it. Two children: Vincent Jr., age sixteen, and Maria, age fourteen."
The Architect stepped closer, his form shifting subtly as absorbed biomass integrated with his existing structure. He was larger now, more imposing, with the predatory grace of something that had never been fully human.
"Your son deals drugs at his private school. Your daughter has been prostituting herself to pay for your wife's gambling addiction. Your family is as diseased as you are, Vincent. Corruption breeding corruption, generation after generation."
Vincent's back hit the wall, his expensive suit now soaked with sweat that reeked of terror. "What do you want? Money? I can get you money. More than you've ever seen."
The Architect's laugh was the sound of breaking glass in a funeral parlor. "Money? Vincent, you misunderstand the nature of our transaction. This isn't a negotiation. This is an execution."
"Wait, wait!" Vincent's voice cracked like a teenager's. "You can't just—there are laws! Due process! I have rights!"
"Rights?" The Architect's head tilted at an angle that human necks couldn't achieve. "Like the rights David Martinez had when your chemical plant poisoned him? Like the rights Sarah Martinez had when Judge Morrison buried her case? Like the rights Sofia Martinez has while you plan to sell her to the highest bidder?"
Vincent's mouth opened and closed like a fish drowning in air. Every crime he'd committed, every corner he'd cut, every life he'd destroyed—somehow this thing knew all of it.
"You want to discuss rights, Vincent? Let's examine yours. You have the right to remain silent, though you'll scream anyway. You have the right to an attorney, though none of them will represent you where you're going. You have the right to a fair trial, which you're receiving right now."
The Architect stepped closer, and Vincent could smell something like ozone and copper pennies, the scent of electrical storms and spilled blood.
"The verdict is guilty on all counts. The sentence is death, to be carried out with prejudice and malice aforethought. Do you have any last words, Vincent? Any final appeals to a mercy you never showed?"
Vincent's bladder released, sending warm urine streaming down his legs to pool in his Italian leather shoes. The loan shark who'd made children beg for their lives was reduced to his fundamental nature—a coward who preyed on the weak and folded when faced with real strength.
"Please," he whispered, the word barely audible. "I'll do anything. Give you anything. Just don't—"
"You have nothing I want and nothing I need," the Architect replied. "But you do have something I'm going to take."
His hand shot out faster than striking lightning, fingers wrapping around Vincent's throat with enough pressure to crack vertebrae. Vincent's feet left the floor as he was lifted into the air, his hands clawing uselessly at the Architect's grip.
"Vincent Torrino," the Architect said formally, his voice carrying the weight of final judgment. "For crimes against humanity, for the corruption of justice, for the systematic destruction of innocence, and for the sin of making children suffer for profit—I sentence you to death by biomass absorption."
The feeding began slowly, almost gently. The Architect's hand against Vincent's throat began to change, becoming porous, developing root-like tendrils that burrowed through skin and muscle to reach the rich network of blood vessels beneath. Vincent felt his life being drawn out of him like water through a straw, but that was only the beginning.
The real violation came when the Architect began absorbing Vincent's memories. Every moment of cruelty, every calculated act of evil, every time he'd smiled while destroying lives—all of it flowed into the Architect's consciousness like sewage backing up into clean water. The psychic contamination was nauseating, but necessary. Knowledge was power, and the Architect needed to understand the full extent of Vincent's network.
He saw Judge Morrison's private chambers, where cases were bought and sold like commodities at market. He saw Detective Ray Morrison taking envelopes of cash while evidence disappeared from lockup. He saw Captain Hayes providing police protection for drug shipments and human cargo.
He saw Robert Cross, the plant manager, authorizing illegal chemical dumps while his lawyers prepared liability shields. He saw Maria Santos, the insurance investigator, shredding claims while bonus checks cleared her bank account.
He saw a web of corruption that stretched across three states and involved dozens of officials, hundreds of victims, and millions of dollars in blood money. Each absorbed memory added another name to his list, another target for his particular brand of justice.
Vincent's body withered as the feeding continued, his expensive suit hanging loose on a frame that was collapsing from the inside out. His face went from flushed to pale to gray, his eyes sinking back into their sockets as the Architect consumed not just his life but his very essence.
"Your network," the Architect said conversationally, his voice now carrying harmonics absorbed from Vincent's vocal cords. "Quite extensive. Judge Morrison will be particularly interesting to meet. As will your contact at the chemical plant."
Vincent tried to speak, but his larynx had already been partially absorbed. The sound that emerged was more whistle than words, a pathetic keening that spoke of absolute despair.
"Don't worry, Vincent. Your death will have meaning. Every memory you've given me is another step toward balancing the scales. Your pain will purchase justice for your victims. Your life will pay for their suffering."
The feeding process reached its climax as the Architect absorbed the last of Vincent's viable biomass, leaving only a desiccated husk that barely resembled anything human. The corpse crumpled to the floor with the sound of breaking sticks, its eyes now empty sockets staring at nothing.
The Architect stood in the center of the carnage, his form stabilizing as Vincent's absorbed mass integrated with his existing structure. He was stronger now, more knowledgeable, and infinitely more dangerous. The memories he'd consumed would guide his next targets, and the biomass he'd acquired would fuel his transformation into something even more lethal.
From Sofia's bedroom came the soft sound of monitors beeping steadily. The little girl had slept through the entire execution, protected by medication and her mother's desperate prayers. Sarah Martinez remained pressed against her daughter's door, too terrified to look but too protective to run.
The Architect turned toward the bedroom, his footsteps silent on the blood-soaked carpet. Sarah's heart hammered against her ribs as shadows moved in the hallway, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle.
"Sarah Martinez. Your daughter is safe. Your debt is forgiven. Vincent Torrino will never hurt anyone again."
A moment later, Sarah heard the sound of the front door closing. When she finally found the courage to look, the apartment was empty except for four corpses arranged in a perfect square around her coffee table. At the center of the arrangement sat a small pair of scales, their balance arm broken but their meaning clear.
On Sofia's nightstand, someone had left an envelope containing $50,000 in cash and a note written in elegant script: "For medical expenses. The scales are broken, but justice endures."
Outside, the Architect melted back into Gotham's shadows, his hunt just beginning. Vincent's memories had given him seventeen new targets, each one guilty of crimes that demanded the harshest possible justice. Judge Morrison would be next, followed by Detective Morrison, then Captain Hayes.
The scales of justice were broken, but the Architect would balance them with blood and bone until every debt was paid in full.
In the distance, sirens wailed as someone reported gunshots in the Martinez building. But by the time the police arrived, they would find only four corpses and a mystery that would consume the front pages for weeks.
The reign of Vincent Torrino was over. The age of the Architect had begun.
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Advanced chapters on patre*n
DC : Architect of Vengeance
Xmen : Evolution through Death
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