Sector 102 // Laughs from the Lower Levels

Peps here. And today’s story? Not funny. Not even a little.

Meet Obarkon

There’s always someone in Mega City One looking to “spice things up.” A new hobby, new cult, new bad decisions. Enter Obarkon.

He signed up with the Cult of SIMP, one of those feel-good, laugh-more, spread-joy type groups. Harmless on the surface. Bit annoying, sure, but nothing the Judges usually lose sleep over. Problem is, Obarkon wasn’t there for joy.

At first, it was small stuff. Pranks that crossed the line. Property damage dressed up as “performance.” That kind of thing. Then he found his crowd.

A subgroup calling themselves the Buffooners, same energy, but darker. Way darker. These weren’t people chasing laughs. They were chasing reactions. Fear works better than humor. Obarkon figured that out fast.

The turning point? The local Block Library. Smashed up in what they probably called a “statement.” To everyone else, it was just senseless vandalism. Still, it didn’t stop there. It never does. Damage turned into violence quicker than people could think.

One night, Obarkon crossed the line for good. Assault became murder. No punchline. No act. Just a body, and someone who realized they liked it.

These days, people don’t call him Obarkon much anymore. Down in the lower levels of Dan Abnett Block, there are whispers about someone else. Someone who stalks the corridors where the lights flicker and the lifts don’t always come back. They call him Obarkon the Clown. And he’s still looking for laughs. Only now, laughter sounds a lot like screaming.

Here’s the thing about Mega-City One, people love to pretend the line between joke and crime is blurry. It’s not. Obarkon saw that line. He stepped over it. And now there’s something walking the lower levels that doesn’t remember why anyone ever laughed in the first place. So if you’re in Dan Abnett Block and you hear someone laughing in the dark?

Don’t join in. Run.