Bloody Joker (MPC 65B) [Completed]

Yori Himura entered a notorious local pub. In there, he spotted his apparent target; A middle-aged man who had clearly seen better days, sitting on a table with three other men and playing cards. His playing hand was clearly visible if one were to peek behind his shoulder… Four of Spades, Ace of Hearts and a Joker. What a weird hand.
With a steeled expression, Yori rolled up his sleeves, revealing a set of elaborate tattoos covering the entirety of his arms. He slowly approached the man on the playing table without making a sound to alert him of his presence. A metallic object gleamed in his hand…

Click.
BANG.

The giant bird whipped up powerful gusts of wind from its massive wings and unleashed destructive bolts of lightning produced from the metal plate on its forehead, aiming its attacks straight at the police cars on ground level and blowing them all to bits with minimal difficulty. The men ran away, taking cover behind anywhere they could and calling for backup on their coms, only to find out that all their signals were jammed. This unprecedented crisis was like a natural disaster… There was nothing humans could do to stop it.

Yori’s car sped through a highway like a bullet, blatantly violating the speed limit. By sheer coincidence, a card flew out of the open window, getting swept up by the wind and landing on a bridge that was underneath. It was the Joker, though its colorful illustration now had red dots spilled all over it.
A long, pointy shoe stepped on the card. The moon cast its pale light on a tall and slender humanoid figure dressed in a gaudy, flamboyant outfit that resembled that of a medieval jester. The skin on its face was white as a sheet, and its red lips curved into a wide, sinister smile. Wielding a long, deadly sickle in its hand, this foolish figure cackled maniacally, as it jumped sky high on a collision course with the giant bird that was flying overhead.
The giant bird shrieked in agony as the sickle’s curved blade pierced its feathered hide, a glowing stream of floating numbers oozing out of the open wound. The mad clown only continued to laugh with demented glee. The shock from the injury caused the bird’s large talons to open, releasing the little girl from its grasp, who screamed as she started falling towards the ground below. However, she was saved mid-fall by the laughing jester, who swooped in and caught her in his long arms. “W-what…?” The human child stared at the form of her savior in disbelief, clinging to them for dear life. “Thank you, Mister Clown.”

On a small harbor just outside of town Yori stood on his own, putting a cigarette in his mouth, while contemplating his next move. There was nobody else in sight. He crushed his phone under his boot and threw what remained of it into the river. Then he closed the trunk of his car and soon drove off, leaving no traces behind.

The giant bird, now grounded, let out a fierce, intimidating screech, but the jester chuckled mischievously and smugly wagged his finger. At that moment, a glowing magical circle of the most intricate design appeared directly beneath the bird, shooting up devastating beams of blinding light that pulverized it completely.
“What happened to Mister Birdie?” The little girl muttered in confusion, her mind still unable to fully comprehend everything that had transpired. Her question did not receive an answer, for soon the jester’s body also began to slowly vanish. The child’s eyes widened and filled with more tears. “No! Don’t go, Mister Clown, don’t go! We should become friends…”
Before its body dissipated completely, the jester looked at her one last time, smiling widely and reaching its gloved hand down to pat her on the head. “See you soon, kiddo.”

Later, Yori returned to a nearly devastated Highton View Terrace to find his daughter having just woken from a presumed stupor, being tended to and receiving first aid from the rescue workers and ambulances that had arrived at the scene. Shocked, he immediately ran up to her and hugged her tightly. “Yuu! What happened?”

The local authorities would soon blame the damage done to the area on a terrorist bombing. However, it was possible that some children living with their families in Highton View Terrace had observed what really had happened from their balconies and windows. Perhaps it had affected them, perhaps it had not. Perhaps they always remembered it, perhaps it was brushed off as a bad childhood dream.

As for ‘Yuu’, while she was dozing off at the back of her father’s car that was driving back to their hometown, she muttered something about ‘real’ monsters. Normally, this would be the part where a parent replied by telling to their child that there was no such thing as monsters, but Yori decided to impart a slightly different piece of wisdom.

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