"Come on, Laura." Fang encourages. She smiles shyly, sweeping a loose strand of wispy blonde hair behind her ear. The corner of his mouth goes up to form one of his famous killer smiles. Laurette's knees weaken at the sight of it.
"O-okay." She blushes. "Just for tonight, though." Fang nods in understanding.
"Of course." He unfurls his glorious wings. His wings are the most stunning raven color, just like his tousled hair. So black they almost seem to shine back blue essence. She sighs in contentment. "Laura?" Fang calls, raising a questioning eyebrow. Laurette blushes again. She gently shakes her shoulders and her golden wingspan unfurls to their full thirteen feet. Fang looks her up and down, a playful smile on his face and a hand is his soft hair. "Up and away." He says before leaping off the cliff.
Laurette lets a shriek escape her mouth and she reaches out towards the cliff edge. Her wings fold up loosely against her back in the process. Fang rises back up higher than where they stood before.
"Are you okay, Laura?" He asks, hovering in one place. She observes his wings in awe as they keep him afloat.
She has never flown before, being a rather recent experiment. Fang and his gang, Star, Kate, Ratchet, Holden, and Maya, rescued her during a mission of theirs in Europe. "The Doomsday group is making their way through the city for the largest performance since 1989." The newscaster reported before the disaster occurred. Laurette almost narrowly escaped death that day, in the crowd, brainwashed along with all the other teenagers. Fang saved her, though. He got through to her as she was brainwashed to follow him and his gang, and just in time, too. Unfortunately, two of her closest friends and little brother were not as fortunate as her.
Laurette glanced down at her sneakered feet, the slight breeze sweeping the loose hair from behind her ear and into her face.
"Laura?" Fang calls, a slight note of concern in his voice. "Is something wrong?" With the back of her hand she brushes away unwelcome tears and glances up at him. His face is furrowed.
"I'm fine." She lies, pasting a smile on her face. He returns a terse nod and swoops down in a large, slow circle. Approaching to the edge of the cliff, she unfurls her wings to their full length again. They slowly extend, soaking up the warm sun rays.
"Well, come on then." Fang comments from above, holding out his hand to her.
"Do I just... jump?" Her voice squeaks.
"Begin with flapping your wings first to gain the momentum needed to start flying." He instructs, landing beside her. Butterflies flutter in her nervous and excited stomach. Fluttering her wings, Fang nods in approval. "Try to do larger flaps rather than smaller ones. It will be easier to stay up that way and you won't tire as quickly."
"Like this?" Laurette asks, peering over her shoulder.
"A bit faster." He corrects. Fang suddenly takes Laurette's hand and fans out his set of glorious wings, careful not to bump hers. "Now we jump." She bites her lip worriedly. "Don't worry, Laura. I'll catch you if you start to fall." His words ease her worries. I trust him. She takes in a deep breath, nodding. "1... 2... 3... Jump!"
She leaps and his hand slips from hers. She almost forgets to begin flapping her wings because of the sudden terror of Fang's hand leaving hers. Quickly, she starts to flap her wings. She maintains a steady height and smiles at her success, beside her momentary terror. Fang flies down by her, flying circles around her.
"You dropped ten feet." Is the first thing he says.
"I'm an amateur." She retorts.
"That was normal." He corrects.
"You scared me." Laurette scoffs. "I thought you were going to let me fall."
"I knew you were going to fly. I believed in you."
"Yeah, well believing doesn't mean that it was going to come true. I believed in the One light and I almost died because of it."
"Yes, but we saved you, Laura. Besides, you did fly. We should focus on the success, not the near death." Fang sighs. "Fine. Listen, I'm sorry, okay? But I really think that you will get better." She opens her mouth to protest but the words get caught in her throat. His awaiting face is gorgeous. He is so beautiful and she doesn't think he even knows it. And then she's falling. She screams and tries to flap her wings again but it stings. Limbs flailing, she cries for Fang. Fang swoops down, hard and fast, grabbing her by the waist. But they continue to fall."Tuck in your wings!" He shouts over the wind. She does as she's told and then she is being held up by Fang. She clings to him, breathing rapidly. "I'm so sorry, Laurette." He apologizes. He tilts her chin up gently. Their earlier spat forgotten in that moment.
"Thanks. For catching me." She breathes. He smiles goofily in return.
"That's what I'm here for." Laurette leans in a bit closer, glancing from his lips to his eyes and back again. The two are silent besides the sound of Fang's wings. Her eyes flutter closed as their faces come closer together.
Loud whooping and laughing interrupt them. Laurette jerks back, her face red with embarrassment. Fang's gang swoops over in a line, all laughing.
"We're going to lunch, are you two lovebirds coming?" Holden calls.
"I was teaching her how to fly." He mutters only loud enough for Laurette to hear. She blushes.
"Ah, Fang, we should probably get something to eat. I'm pretty hungry and tired." He seems surprised that she answered.
"Yeah, of course." She wraps her arms snuggly around him and he flies them down to the diner.
"It looked like things were getting pretty saucy between the two f you." Holden winks, nudging Fang.
"I was teaching her how to fly, nothing else." Fang scoffs. Holden gives him a look that implies that there must be more to the story. "I just want her to learn how to fly so she can leave if she wants to." He adds in a hushed voice.
"Anyway, I'll leave you with her so you two can talk."
"Thanks Holden." He grins then waves at the others.
"Wait up, guys!"
"Hey, Fang." He turns to find Laurette behind him. He waves. They walk towards the entrance of the diner but before they enter, Laurette places a hand on Fang's arm.
"About earlier..." She starts quietly. Fang puts a hand up to stop her.
"You were just frightened and needed comfort and I was the closest thing."
"Right." She agrees hesitantly. He holds the door open for Laurette and they walk inside.
"Hey! Guys, over here!" Star calls, waving wildly. The two make their way to the others and sit. "We already ordered for you slowpokes." Star admits.
The others go on to having their own conversations. Ratchet attempts to flirt with Kate but as always she isn't interested. Star bets Holden that she can eat more than him. If it was anybody else, they wouldn't even had bothered. But Holden just can't resist a bet. And Maya tries to chat with Kate with plenty of interruptions from Ratchet.
"Laurette?" Laurette turns to Fang.
"Yes?" She places her head in her hands.
"What are you going to do now? Are you going to go somewhere?" She frowns.
"Um, I'm not really sure. I mean, I really like you guys. But am I welcome here?" Fang sits up straighter. He takes her hand and places it on the table.
"You will always be welcome with us." He says seriously. She smiles, leaning forward.
"Whoo! Fooooood!" Star crows. "I'll beat you so bad that your children are going to feel the hurt!" She brags.
"Bring it." Holden grins. The two wildly grab food and shove it in their mouths.
Interrupted again, Fang clears his throat and joins the others for lunch. Sort of disappointed, Laurette does the same. After nearly all the food is consumed Holden lies his head on the table, groaning. Obviously, Star won the bet and she triumphs by eating even more.
"I'm going to the restroom." Laurette whispers, standing. Fang nods, letting her squeeze by. Fang sits and wonders. Should I have kissed her while I had the chance? He scrunches his nose. It could have been the heat of the moment kind of thing.
"Fang?" He peers up at Maya. "Can you help me throw away the garbage?" He stands in response.
"I'm going to get an ice cream." Star announces loudly. Holden groans at the mention of food, covering his head with his arm. Then Star bolts for the counter, fake credit card in hand. Hey, it's difficult for mutants to get money. Fang and Maya gather the trays and dump them.
"Maya, could you go check on Laura? She's been in there for a while." Maya nods with a slight smile.
"Of course." She makes a beeline to the bathrooms and Fang returns to the table.
"You guys ready to leave?" He places his hands on the table, palms flats against the surface, leaning forward. Star leaps up, half an ice cream cone in her hand.
"I wanted to go check out the arcade over there quickly. Holden, I'm betting you ten bucks that you can't beat me at skeeball." Holden grins.
"You're on!" The two rush over there and Ratchet and Kate reluctantly follow, shrugging. Fang sighs, still standing there. He rights himself and turns to find Maya stumbling out of the bathroom. She appears to be terrified.
"Get out!" She shouts desperately. But it is too late. By the time Fang raises his eyebrow in question, there is a colossal explosion. The blast hurtles Maya into Fang and both of them crashing to the ground. The structure of the building crumbles, raining down on them. Fang half drags Maya under the bolted down booth table. Fang wraps an arm around Maya, keeping her close. They cover their heads as an aftershock shudders the foundation of the building. Fang peers up, squinting. The ringing in his eardrums are almost as loud as the screams.
Thank god the diner was nearly empty in the first place. When it's finally silent all he can hear is crying and sparks. He turns to Maya who is pale.
"Report!" Fang shouts.
"We're good!" Holden answers. Fang digs out some of the ruble so the two can crawl out. As soon as he shimmies out, he grabs Maya and helps her out. He can tell she is terrified but she needs to pull herself together just for now to help. Fang cups her face in both of his hands, bringing his face close to hers.
"I need you to go check to see if anyone is in here." He instructs her. Maya nods, swallows. He releases her and they go their separate ways. "Are all of you okay? Injuries?" Holden speaks first.
"Bad cut on my arm. Bruises probably. Nothing major." Fang heads towards his voice. He finds Holden holed up under a table but trapped by the ruble. Looks like we had the same idea. "I'll get out soon, go check the others." Holden grunts. Fang nods quickly.
"Someone..." A voice squeaks. It's Kate. "Fang, Ratchet is unconscious and I'm pinned beneath all of this. And I think my arm is broken." Fang crouches down, getting to work right away. Not too long later Kate is free from the concrete tomb. And together they scoop Ratchet out. Kate winces and cries out as they pull Ratchet out. By then Holden is next to them.
"I'll make a sling for your arm, Kate. Fang, you should go help Maya. We'll search for Laurette and Star." Fang rushes over to Maya who is helping a scared, crying girl out.
"Her leg is broken." Maya tells him. He realizes that she is all work now. Fang picks the girl up in his arms. She sobs into his shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
"We need to call 911. Ma'am, do you have a cell phone?" She nods and fishes in her pocket, handing her phone to Maya's outstretched palm. "Were there any more people in here when the explosion happened?" Fang asks the woman.
"Only my boss." She sobs. He nods to Maya who slips the phone into Fang's jeans pocket and returns to searching. Fang takes the woman out near the road and returns her phone.
"What is your name?" He asks her. She sniffs, observing his stony features.
"Lily."
"Well, Lily, I need you to call 911 so they can treat you and your boss, okay?" She nods. "Good. I'll be back with your boss, what is his name?"
"Bigby."
"I'll be back." Then he runs back to the wreckage. Maya is already helping Bigby out. He's a big man with white hair and moustache. He doesn't seem to have any visible injuries. "Is anyone in here, sir?" Fang asks him. The man shakes his head.
"Lily, me, and you kids at the table."
"Maya, get him out of here. This kitchen is a hazard, it's like a ticking time bomb." The man's face goes pale. Fang motions them away and returns to his flock. He notices that Star and Laurette are still missing. "Where are the other two girls?" He demands.
"We couldn't find them. They aren't here." Holden answers. Kate stands, assisting Ratchet, who is semi-conscious, with a sling cradling her arm.
"They couldn't have just disappeared, Holden." Fang growls, advancing fast. He grabs Holden by the front of his shirt. He's angry and terrified. "Where the hell are they!"
"Hey, man!" Holden cries out, holding his hands up.
"Fang." Kate says warily. Suddenly the anger is gone and replaced with embarrassment. He drops Holden. His gaze drops.
"I advise you to all get to the road. This place is going to blow." He replies in a hushed, scary voice.
"Come on, guys." Kate says quietly. Holden helps carry Ratchet out. Maya comes rushing back.
"Fang!" She shouts breathlessly. She grabs his arm, pulling him away from the mess of the building. "I was trying to tell you before when I left the bathroom but" She suddenly starts to cry. "Laurette was gone. There was no one in there. The window was wide open and when I saw the bomb ticking in the stall I-" Maya places a hand over her mouth, unable to calm down. Tears stream down her face and her eyes are wide, unbelieving.
And then the second explosion occurs. Fang crouches down, sheltering the screaming Maya with his body. The heat rolls in waves off the wreckage. Fang lifts Maya into his arms and runs the rest of the way to the road. "Oh my god." Holden whispers. Sirens in the distant scream louder as they approach rapidly.
"This is where we part. Holden, wipe the woman's phone. We can't afford to leave prints. We are just going to be wild hallucinations of these two people." Holden nods and does what he is told. Fang sets Maya down. "Up and away!" He calls.
And then they are carried off by the wind. Only but a memory of the two humans.