Chapter 11: Psychology 101
Gotham Community College
The lecture hall buzzed with Monday morning energy—coffee cups rattling, notebooks flipping open, whispered conversations about weekend escapades. Alex Thorn sat in his usual spot, third row center, close enough to demonstrate engagement but far enough back to observe without drawing attention.
Professor Martha walked to the podium with her characteristic brisk stride, graying hair pulled back in a practical bun. She'd been teaching abnormal psychology at Gotham University for over two decades, and her reputation for challenging students preceded her.
"Today we're discussing antisocial personality disorder," she announced, clicking to the first slide. The symptoms appeared in neat bullet points: lack of empathy, disregard for social norms, manipulative behavior, absence of guilt or remorse.
Around the room, students scribbled notes with varying degrees of interest. Jessica Chen highlighted everything in bright yellow. The football player in the back row was clearly still hungover from whatever fraternity party he'd attended.
"Can anyone give me an example of how someone with ASPD might present in everyday life?" Professor Martha asked, scanning the room.
Several hands went up. Psychology majors eager to impress, pre-med students building their transcripts. Alex kept his hands folded, taking careful notes in neat handwriting.
"They might seem charming at first," offered a blonde girl in the front row. "Like, really charismatic, but it's all surface-level manipulation."
"Good. What else?"
"They don't feel bad about hurting people," said another student. "They know it's wrong intellectually, but they don't actually care."
Professor Martha nodded. "Exactly. The cognitive understanding of social rules without the emotional component that typically enforces them. These individuals often excel at reading others, becoming experts at identifying vulnerabilities."
A hand shot up from the back corner. Marcus Kellerman—pre-law, political science double major, known for his passionate debates in every class he took. His dark eyes held an intensity that made other students uncomfortable.
"But Professor," Marcus said, his voice carrying across the silent room, "wouldn't someone like that just be another kind of criminal? If they don't have normal moral constraints, they're basically predators waiting to happen."
Professor Martha considered this. "That's certainly one perspective, Marcus. Though many individuals with these traits never become violent. They might simply be more... pragmatic."
"Right, but here's what I don't understand," Marcus continued, leaning forward in his seat. "We have all these systems—police, courts, prisons—but they clearly don't work. Look at Gotham. Corruption everywhere, criminals getting off on technicalities, victims never getting real justice."
Several students shifted uncomfortably. The Torrino murders had dominated local news for weeks. Vincent Torrino and his crew, found tortured to death in ways that suggested intimate knowledge of their crimes. The killer had left a calling card—broken scales fashioned from the victims' own bones.
"So maybe," Marcus said, his voice gaining heat, "maybe someone who thinks differently isn't the problem. Maybe they're the solution. If someone had the ability to actually stop these predators—permanently—wouldn't that be objectively better than letting them manipulate our broken system?"
Uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Professor Martha's expression tightened, but Marcus wasn't finished.
"Look at Vincent Torrino. How many families did he destroy? How many women did he have his men rape for 'insurance'? The police knew. Everyone knew. But he had connections, he had money, he had lawyers. So he kept operating while children suffered."
"Marcus—" Professor Martha tried to interrupt.
"No, let me finish," he said, standing now, pacing slightly. "Whoever killed Torrino didn't just eliminate a predator. They sent a message. They showed every other corrupt piece of filth in this city that money and connections won't save them. That someone is watching. Someone who actually cares about justice."
The room was dead silent now. Several students looked genuinely frightened by Marcus's intensity.
"The person who did that—they're not a criminal. They're what justice looks like when the system completely fails."
Alex raised his hand slowly. Professor Martha nodded at him, relief visible on her face.
"I have to respectfully disagree with Marcus," Alex said, his voice calm and measured. "That kind of thinking is exactly how we get vigilante violence. It's how we get people taking the law into their own hands."
Marcus turned to stare at him, clearly surprised by the pushback. "But Alex, you have to admit the system is broken. How many times do we see criminals walk free while their victims suffer?"
"The system being imperfect doesn't justify abandoning it," Alex replied steadily. "When individuals decide they're judge, jury, and executioner, where does it end? Who decides who deserves to die? What prevents that person from becoming the very monster they claim to be fighting?"
"At least they're doing something instead of letting evil flourish unchecked," Marcus shot back, his voice rising.
Alex shook his head. "But that's exactly the problem. Once you cross that line—once you decide some people don't deserve due process—you've lost your humanity. You've become the same kind of person you're supposedly fighting."
"So children should suffer because we're worried about the moral purity of their potential saviors?" Marcus's hands clenched into fists. "You'd rather preserve some abstract principle than save actual lives?"
"I'd rather work within the system to fix it," Alex said firmly. "Support police reform, vote for better prosecutors, donate to victim advocacy groups. Real change comes through institutions, not through one person's twisted idea of justice."
Jessica nodded along beside him. "Alex is right. Vigilantes are just criminals who think they're heroes. Same mentality—thinking rules don't apply to them."
"Exactly," Alex continued. "The moment we decide that ends justify means, we lose any moral authority to judge anyone else. A society of laws might be imperfect, but it's preferable to a society where individuals dispense personal vengeance."
Marcus looked genuinely angry now. "So we just accept that evil people will keep destroying innocents while we file paperwork and hope politicians grow consciences?"
"We work for change," Alex replied without hesitation. "Real, systemic change. Not the temporary satisfaction of murdering individual criminals."
"What about true psychopaths?" asked a quiet voice from the corner. "What if someone genuinely lacks empathy? What if they see other people as just... objects to be used?"
Alex turned to consider the question seriously. "Then they need treatment. Rehabilitation, medication, therapy. If that fails, secure containment. But the moment we start deciding some people are irredeemable, we open the door to horrific abuses."
"Even if they've committed atrocities?" the girl pressed.
"Especially then," Alex said firmly. "Because if we only protect the rights of people we like, then they aren't really rights at all."
Marcus was staring at Alex with something approaching disgust. "You're exactly what's wrong with this world. All theory, no action. You'd rather let monsters destroy families than get your hands dirty."
"And you're exactly the kind of person who becomes a monster while believing they're a hero," Alex replied calmly.
Professor Martha quickly stepped in. "That's enough for today. This is exactly why we study these disorders—to understand intervention and treatment, not to rationalize violence."
As students began packing up, Marcus stormed past Alex's desk without a word. Several classmates approached Alex instead.
"That was really well said," Jessica offered. "It's scary how Marcus thinks, you know? With everything happening in the city."
"People want simple solutions to complex problems," Alex replied. "But the easy path usually leads somewhere dark."
"Yeah. Like whoever killed those loan sharks—people online are calling him a hero, but it's still murder."
Alex nodded gravely. "Absolutely. No matter how terrible the victims were, crossing that line changes everything."
Professor Martha watched approvingly as Alex discussed ethics with his classmates. Here was a student who understood the importance of institutional justice, who could argue passionately for human rights even when discussing society's worst criminals.
After the room emptied, Alex gathered his materials slowly. Through the tall windows, autumn sunlight cast long shadows across the campus quad. Students hurried past in clusters, their conversations mixing into white noise.
Walking back toward his dorm, Alex passed the campus news board. Headlines about the Torrino murders still dominated the local section. Police remained baffled by the killer's methods and motivation. The FBI had been called in, but they seemed equally stumped.
In his dorm room, Alex set his backpack on the desk and pulled out his psychology textbook. He had reading to catch up on before his next class. But first...
He opened the bottom drawer of his desk, pushing aside old assignments and unused notebooks. Hidden beneath everything else was a small wooden box, unremarkable except for the careful craftsmanship of its joints.
Alex lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in black velvet, lay a miniature sculpture no bigger than his palm. Scales of justice, carved from what appeared to be bone, but the left arm was snapped cleanly in half. The broken piece lay beside the main sculpture, never to be rejoined.
Alex picked up the delicate carving, turning it slowly in the afternoon light. The bone had been bleached white, then polished to an almost luminous sheen. Tiny scratches marked the surface—deliberate imperfections that caught the light.
He set the broken scales on his desk beside his psychology textbook, the irony not lost on him. Here lay the symbol of justice abandoned, while Marcus Kellerman raged about the failures of law and order, never suspecting that the very person he'd defended sat three rows away, quietly arguing for due process and human rights.
The scales caught the sunlight, casting fragmented shadows across his notes about antisocial personality disorder. Alex stared at them for a long moment, then carefully returned the carving to its box.
He had studying to do. And later tonight, he had research to conduct about a certain police captain in Star City whose son had been avoiding consequences for far too long.
The mask was fitting more comfortably each day.
**************
Advanced chapters on patre*n
DC : Architect of Vengeance
Xmen : Evolution through Death
patr*on*com/Lord_Meph1sto