Daily Short: Matt 13

Matt’s form shifted as he stepped out of the shadows. Where once stood a living legend, only a merely handsome man remained. A sharp suit in purple, gold and black wreathed his form. He added the customary touches like a pocket watch made of stolen moments and cufflinks crafted from glittering mermaid tears. The shoes shined brighter than the lobby lights. They were deep pools of darkness, giving Matt the appearance of hovering if viewed without care.

“Are you sure we should start with this one, sir?” Jeeves said, appearing to Matt’s left in a crimson and black suit of his own. Sniffing in disdain, the Divine Butcher gave his butler the side eye.

“Just because it will antagonize a System, you think we should collect our dues some other time?” Matt said. He shook his head in mock dismay. “Where did the Butcher of Evermore go? Are you a doppelganger?”

“Very droll, sir,” Jeeves said with an eye roll. “You know how problematic Systems are.”

“This embezzler isn’t hiding in the Big Two. Anything else is just smoke and shadows to me. Some of these, like this Green Matrix, barely have enough power to hold a single planet!” Matt said, strolling through the expensive lobby and directly to the elevators.

“Be that as it may, caution is never bad,” Jeeves said.

Matt entered the elevator as it opened and stared at Jeeves for a moment before sighing. “Fine, we’ll do it your way.” Taking out a smartphone, he dialed a number. It took a few rings before the embezzler on the other end picked up the line.

“Mr. Anderson, I’m calling on behalf of Dark Industries,” Matt said. There was a short pause on the other end before the line clicked and went dead. The Darkness calmly put the smartphone away and stared at his butler with a level smile.

“No, don’t say it. Dammit!” Jeeves said with a moue of irritation.

“I told you so,” Matt spoke with a sneer. “Individuals with power that embezzle are all cut from the same cloth.”

The elevator gave a soft ding as it arrived at the upper floor. Matt and Jeeves exited in style, their eyes covered in soul-stealing sunglasses.

“Sir, the individual is attempting to escape out a window. Should I intervene?” Jeeves said, staring at a wall nearby.

Matt shook his head. “There’s no need. It’s not like he can die in this place.”

Both immortals walked through the wall, leaving office staff gaping behind them. As they emerged from phasing, a puffed-up corporate office paper pusher took notice of them. The office drone took one look at them, calculated their net worth with greedy eyes, and turned incredibly polite.

“My name is Mitchell. Who do I have the honor of speaking with?” Mitchell said, rising from his corporate throne to greet the two immortals.

Jeeves snapped his finger, depositing everything in the room on top of the roof in a fraction of effort.

Matt walked forward until he was staring out the unencumbered glass at his target who was staring back while perched on a ledge.

“Hello, Mr. Anderson. I represent Dark Industries. You’ve embezzled a rather large sum of Soul Mana.” Matt said with a dark grin. “If you’d applied for a loan, giving you the same amount would have been no issue.”

Jeeves walked up beside Matt with his eyes glowing crimson and filled with terrible power.

“Unfortunately, you didn’t take a loan. We have only one way of dealing with thieves.” Matt said as Jeeves sank his hands through the glass without effort. With a short pull and a twist, the embezzler spilled out on the floor, looking terrified.

Jeeves snapped a knife hand down, and Mr. Anderson’s legs were lopped off at the knee. The blood that spilled out was quite suspicious in the extreme.

“Oh my, already starting to experiment with the power of the Soul, are you?” Matt said, watching the severed limbs re-attach themselves. He reached down faster than lightning and grabbed the embezzler by the throat. It was a trivial effort to lift the slowly choking man to eye level.

“Stealing from me is a mistake,” Matt said as his form became blurry and dark wisps of power began to float off his suit.

The screams were like music of the highest caliber and lasted for a long time with an immortal as fuel.