"Angus, why don't you talk like an Irish guy any more?"

I turned, and looked. Pan is amazing, even after what happened... gah, best not to think about it.

"It's hard to explain." I replied, "Things have changed for me."

She smiled, "I guess having a skyscraper come down on top of you might do things to the old noggin'."

Another reminder of what I hated to think about.

I pulled away from her slightly. "Pan, I'm sorry. I know I've, well, I guess I've been ignoring you, just a little bit. It's not that I mean to, you know?"

She closed the newly-made gap between us. "I know. It makes me sad too, though. Every time I see you, you seem stretched, tense enough to snap. It seems like I can't help."

I sighed, "You're right, though I wish you could. Look, I'll tell you about it sometime, I promise. I just want to be more in control of what's going on when I do."

She grinned, "Of course, whenever you're ready! Look, I gotta run. I have to be back with my parents before curfew."

"Which is in, maybe, forty seconds." I replied.

"Yep." she giggled as she kissed me. About ten seconds before her curfew, she disappeared.

"The wonders of instant transmission." I thought.

******

I had killed before, in self defense, and to defend Pan. I have no issues with that. But now I needed to talk with someone who'd understand the rest of it. Someone who wouldn't blame me.

"Will she hate what I am?" I asked myself, "Probably not, she's dating a devil, after all. But she may not completely understand."

The city was quiet, and Peter was already on patrol, making it a perfect time to visit Laura. I leaped through the city at three times my normal speed. The only good thing that had come out of my experience with Grelm and the now-extinct Fallen Sun, was my increased strength, and uh, some other things.

Finally, I landed on the free way. I jumped lightly onto the back of a semi-truck, and waited out the rest of the ride. Westchester wasn't far away.

As I approached the X-Mansion, I felt an odd emotional signature. This would have been quite normal, if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't actually on the grounds, but skulking just outside. Peter would have investigated, and when he does, he's usually right, so I altered my course.

It wasn't long before I saw: this guy. I tried a line Peter might have used.

"Is it just me, or does that mohawk suck?"

He screamed, popped claws, and charged me. How many Wolverine clones are there anyway? I turned into Fade, and dodged the charge, whipping my claw-like fingers into his back as he passed. Like I expected, he healed rapidly.

"So what do want here?" I asked, hoping for any chance of negotiation.

"None of your business!" he screamed, and charged me again. Instead of continuing headlong, he slowed, and began to exchange blows with me. This normally wouldn't be a problem, as I am much stronger, but he was fast.

He launched one set of claws towards my midsection, which I pushed away, then he brought the other set whipping around from the side.

I stepped back, "Heh, you scratched me."

"Less talking, more killing." he growled, as he launched a rather complicated set of attacks. I dodged, some, blocked one, but then one claw grazed my side.

Hoping to avoid a few more cuts, I slammed myself into him. He lifted off the ground, and flew over one-hundred feet.

I chuckled, "And there's more where that came from."

"Why can't even one thing go right?" he yelled, "First the Laura bitch, now..."

He never got time to finish his sentence. By the end of the word "bitch" I had my left arm holding his arms back while my right hand went around his throat.

Barely holding myself back, I asked, "What was that about Laura?"

He laughed. "What do you think, Idiot? Weapon X wants her back."

I started to squeeze, but he ripped an arm free and plunges his claws into my gut. I fell back, and howled, "If you wanted to hit a nerve, asshole, you did it!"

He just kept laughing, that is, until I released my second form. From the back of my mind, came a voice. "YES! I'm free. Together we can tear the world apart!"

"Shut UP!" I argued back mentally. "The only thing we'll tear apart, is this guy, then I'm putting you back in your cage."

He might have said more, but I didn't listen. Instead, I called the Tail of Daggers to me, and spoke to my demon. "Yes, evil Prince of Persia, we may share a body, but it's mine. I'm keeping you alive, so you're just going to have to sit there and pay rent."

"Fool," he replied, "You don't have a demon inside you. You are a demon. You are me."

(For those of you who would like to know, this is what my second form looks like, only with shorter hair:)



I turned my attention to the man in front of me. He only kept laughing. "So you look even weirder. Now what?" I whipped the Tail at him. It went straight through his chest. I let my inner fire flow through the Tail of Daggers, and into him. It burned him from the inside, and he screamed in pain.

As his pain mounted, the Demon Prince began to laugh uncontrollably, and so did I. Soon, there were flames bursting out of the man. The flames dissipated , while I used the Tail to shred him.

Lights went on in the X-Mansion, as several people came rushing out. Before they could see me, I let myself slip back into my human form, and ran. I'd call Laura later.

This entry was posted by Fade, on Friday, February 16, 2007. You can leave your response.