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Chapter Two: Power of Hell
Static stared at Francis, then at Gear, and then back at Francis. Then he started laughing. "You…you expect me to believe that? How dumb do you think I am?" Francis opened his mouth to reply but Static hastily cut him off. "Don't answer. Seriously man, that's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
Gear nodded his agreement. "It is unbelievable. I think even you would be able to think up a better excuse than that."
Francis' face went as red as his hair and his features turned to stone in anger. "It's the truth damn it. Not my fault if you won't listen to me. When the ground splits open underneath your feet don't come crying to me."
Now it was Static's turn to frown. "Is that a threat?"
Francis rolled his eyes and sighed, standing up and stretching his back before answering. "No, and at the risk of sounding cliché I won't say it's a promise either. But it damn sure is going to happen, and pretty soon if the weather is any indication."
"I knew it." Gear breathed.
"Don't tell me you believe him?" Static asked incredulously, moving over to Francis and pulling him back to the couch.
Gear looked up sharply, he had been muttering to himself and Backpack. "Wha…no, at least I don't think so. But I do believe that the weather will progress in that way. The air pressure has been dropping sharply for the past few days…"
Static, still holding onto Francis, jerked the pyro's arm to get his attention. Francis swung his head at the hero. "Yes?"
"What can we do to stop it?"
Francis shrugged. "Nothing that I know of."
"What you don't have any awesome angel powers?" Static asked again, this time sarcastically.
Francis raised an eyebrow and answered in a mocking tone. "Course not. Only fully realized angels and devils have access to their powers. I won't get them until my birthday."
Static stared at him. "I don't know what to believe but if there's going to be an earthquake we need to warn the police and the public as soon as possible."
Gear nodded and the two made for the window when a loud ripping noise reached their ears. The heroes paused confusedly, one foot each on the sill, and looked at each other.
Francis jumped, his face going pale, and dashed to one of the bedrooms. Static was about to follow when the entire building shook on its foundation. The room seemed to slide to one side and Static had to fight to remain standing.
Outside, screams were tearing through the air and there was the sound of more buildings shifting weight as the earth moved beneath them.
As one, the two heroes launched themselves out the window. Static gasped and plunged for the street in terror.
The street was being torn in two, a definitive crack spreading down either end. People were running out of buildings and stumbling over debris, some were falling and tripping into the crack which was not yet big enough to swallow them entirely.
That would change soon. Even as Static watched, the crack grew another few inches and a woman nearby sobbed in fear as her ankle got caught in the crevice. Static shot toward her and latched an arm around her waist, dragging her out of harm's way.
Gear was busy struggling with pedestrians as well, but for every one they flung out of the way, two more toppled into danger.
And still the ground shook and rumbled, a building shuddered and fell, one story collapsing into the other. "This is impossible!" Static shouted choking on the dust flying through the air. He could hardly see Gear now through the mess.
"V! There!" Gear was pointing at a van full of people, leaning haphazardly toward the hole. They both took off toward it as fast as they could but saw the van was falling onto its side…
Then, all at once, the chaos ground to a halt.
Francis felt the first shock wave course through the building and he gripped the sides of the doorway, feeling sick to his stomach with the power of it. He could feel the energies of hell behind the earthquake.
The building stopped moving for a moment and Francis collapsed into his bedroom. He quickly threw dry clothes on and pulled at the window until it budged open. Some idiot had painted over the latch years ago and it took him a few precious seconds to wrench the window open.
He was met with a wave of sound, buildings groaning under pressure and people screaming all around him. Francis shook his head to clear his thoughts and jumped out onto the fire escape. The metal had been twisted into an unrecognizable mass but Francis carefully clambered down whatever he could and jumped the last few feet, landing softly on the balls of his feet.
His agility allowed to him leap out of the way as a large piece of the building dropped through the air and exploded into shards where Francis had just been. Francis threw up an arm to protect his face and was rewarded with a biting sting in his arm and side.
Francis growled and ran to the street, stopping short at the scene. His mouth opened in revulsion and horror. Static and Gear were doing everything they could, that was obvious, but people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. If people weren't dead yet, they soon would be.
There was a shrill scream just a few feet away from the pyro. Francis spun and saw a waitress from the bar, one he personally liked named Carol. She was sliding, the ground arching under her body and sending her toward the gaping hole in the street. Francis dove at her, knocking them both off the death slide and into a car. Francis spun in the dive, wrapping his arms around Carol and holding her to his chest while his back collided with the car's bumper.
Carol opened her eyes in surprise and turned her head to see Francis sitting up slowly. "Oh! Hot…Francis! Thank you!" She hugged him quickly.
Francis hid his groan of pain and smiled thinly at her. "No problem." He got to his feet and offered her a hand. "Stay on the sidewalk."
Carol's face went blank. "Wha…?"
"The sidewalk, go." Francis shoved her away and surveyed the street. Then he spotted them. A van, parked on the side of the road, was tipping toward the crack. Inside was a family, the father in the front seat frantically trying to unlock the doors but the car wasn't responding. They would be crushed almost instantly. Francis moved to help and saw Static and Gear zooming at the family as well.
Francis found himself panting for breath. This wasn't right. People shouldn't die because of him…not innocent people. It was his fault, how could he stop it? How?
Francis screamed and fell to his knees as a bright light radiated out of him, sweeping across the street in a moment.
Static spun around and saw Francis kneeling on the ground, his hands clenched into fists beside him. His face was ashy and streaked with sweat and he was gasping for breath. Then the hero noticed something else. The only thing moving on the street was the rapid rising and falling of Francis' chest.
Static's mouth fell open. People were frozen in their tracks, caught running and falling, as though they were statues. The air seemed hazy and thick. Gear moved his arms experimentally, as though to assure himself that he still could. There were even pieces of rubble suspended in midair, Static pushed a pebble in the air beside him and it moved at his touch.
"Hotstreak?" Static ventured, sure this power had come from the pyro.
"Get them out of the street." Francis ground out between clenched teeth.
"Who…where?"
"Sidewalk." Francis said again, sounding more pained with every syllable.
Gear had Backpack tear open the door of the van and he and Static took turns flying the frozen people to the sidewalk. Next they moved people in the street out of the way, rescuing people who had been only moments from death.
The two ran back to Francis, who had dropped to all fours and was wheezing with some unseen effort. "Everyone's safe. What are you doing?" Gear asked.
Francis lifted his head and looked at the deserted street. A small grin flitted across his face. "Good." Then he exhaled and everything burst into motion at once.
Rubble crashed into the street and people screamed again. Before realizing they weren't where they had been a moment before. After a few more seconds of rumbling, the ground became still.
The earthquake had ended as soon as it had begun.
Static looked around to make sure all the people were safe before hooking an arm around Francis' waist and lifting him to his feet. Francis stumbled for footing and leaned into the hero, unable to carry his own weight.
"Let's get out of here." Static said quietly to Gear.
"Where?"
"Gas station. Help me, he's heavy." Gear took the other side of Francis and again, for the second time that day, they flew the pyro somewhere to be questioned. After he woke up that is.
Francis woke groggily and sat up slowly, shaking his head and groaning. His vision cleared after a moment and he saw the inside of what appeared to be a run-down, half-destroyed gas station. But, things aren't always as they appear. Francis stared in awe at the complex mechanisms littering the place and high-tech computers humming away in the corner. He recognized only a police scanner and what looked like some of Gear's zap caps half assembled.
Francis tried to sit up fully but found his arm handcuffed to the arm of the beat up old couch he was lying on. Using this new evidence and the gadgets all around him, he figured it was safe to deduce that this was Static's and Gear's headquarters.
"You're awake. Good, sit up and put this on so I can unchain you." Gear was standing in the doorway, holding out a metallic bracelet to the pyro. Francis sat and took the bracelet, but didn't put it on.
"Fine, stay locked up." Gear pulled a chair around and sat on it backwards, staring at Francis and twiddling a key in his gloved hand.
"What's it do?" Francis asked, running his fingers over an electric strip on the metal.
"Controls your power in small dosages. Don't want you frying anything. It's actually just a prototype, I've been working on it for some time to make transporting metahumans easier on the police. Fits on your upper arm and tightens, not uncomfortably...at least I don't think so. This is kinda a trial run." Gear explained offhandedly.
If anything, this made Francis more suspicious. "So this thing could just zap me for no reason or cut off the circulation in my arm at any random moment?"
Gear shrugged. "Well, I would take it off in that case but yeah, pretty much."
"Great." Francis fiddled with the bracelet for another moment before slipping it over his free hand and pushing it up his arm. A light blinked on the bracelet and immediately Francis felt some of the fire in him diminish. It was still there, but just beyond his reach. "Freaky."
"Excellent, now I can do this," Gear jumped up and unlocked the handcuff. "Oh, and also follow me."
"Where?" Francis stood and followed Gear out of the room, distractedly stretching his sore muscles and feeling the lacerations and bruises from earlier.
"Static's waiting. We...well, we have to talk again. After what just happened I think we're both willing to re-think our stand on this whole angel-devil thing." Gear said without turning around as he opened a door and led Francis down a flight of stairs.
"Ummm...cool. I guess. How long was I out?"
"About two hours. Cleanup has started on the south side and it looks as though there were only one or two fatalities. Pretty good considering the damage done to the street and buildings. Without the warning tremors more people would have been trapped in the buildings, contractors skimped on the concrete in a lot of them because it's the most expensive thing in building a house and so the foundation's weren't very solid. They all collapsed fairly easily. Ah, here we are. Watch your head." Gear pushed open another door and ducked inside. Francis followed after him and had to duck as well, there were water pipes criss-crossing much of the room's ceiling and some dipped low enough for him to run into.
Static was sitting at a desk, writing something on a notepad and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked up when he heard the door open and frowned at Francis. "I thought you said only a full realized angel...devil...whatever the hell you are could use their powers?"
Francis stopped and frowned, confused. "Wha...oh you mean the time stop. Right, well, the thing is I shouldn't have been able to do that. That's probably why I passed out, used my own life force instead of energy from the Earth like the others do."
"This sounds like some twisted anime to me." Gear said bluntly, dropping into a chair near Static.
Francis' frown deepened at the comment. "Look I...oh no." Francis was cut off as a swirling smoke enveloped his legs. Soon the whole room was full of smoke but strangely none of them was choking on it. In fact, it was giving off a rather pleasant smell and both Static and Gear leaned forward to inhale deeper. Francis grabbed them by the collar and threw them back into their seats. "Don't move, it's a trick. What the hell does he think he's doing here?"
The smoke drifted away slowly and Static and Gear lurched unpleasantly as the pleasant scent turned into brimstone, an odor so strong they nearly gagged.
"Why must you ruin my fun? They would have made a fine addition to my collection." The smoke cleared finally and all smells disappeared, revealing a tall man in a fine suit, hands stuffed in his pants pockets nonchalantly and an easy grin across his handsome face. His hair was as fiery red as Francis', but without blond streaks, and he was sporting a similar goatee as well although he was clearly much older, around twenty-five.
"Hello Dad." Francis crossed his arms. "Usually you send some of your cronies up to check on me, what's the occasion?"
"I need an occasion to say hello to my favorite son?" The man crossed the room and slung his arm casually around Francis' shoulders.
Francis shrugged him off. "Only son, at least only semi-legitimate one. Unless you and Persephone know something I don't?"
The man looked affronted, but then a smirk slid across his face, one Static had seen many times on his son's. "No, but what a remarkably underhanded comment. I tell you you'd do well with me in hell."
"Ha, nice try. You know that neither you or mom can have any part in this. Although the earthquake today was a nice touch, were you going to wait until the day before my birthday to blow the whole city up?"
"I tolerated the insult before but you should really refrain from questioning my decisions in the future." The man's face went icy in a moment and both Static and Gear shivered from the intensity of the look he was giving Francis. Then, to their surprise, Francis shot almost an identical look back. Instead of things icing over, however, the temperature in the room seemed to skyrocket and before long, both heroes were drenched in sweat.
"Um, excuse me? You're his dad?" Static interrupted quietly.
Francis and the man snapped out of the glaring contest and faced Static. "Forgot you were there Sparky. Yeah, this is my dad."
"But, you're...young." Gear said.
The man rolled his eyes as if to say, tell me something I don't know. "Devils, as well as angels, stop aging after reaching the age of twenty-five. I'm actually several thousand years old."
"Oh. Cool." Gear looked away embarrassed.
"And you are...a devil I presume. I always thought there was only one devil." Static spoke again.
"There are many devils, truly brilliant men on Earth who rise through the ranks after their deaths can become devils and devils who breed have offspring that are automatically born devils. Only one may deign a man who was once mortal worthy enough and command all the devils." The man flashed them a cocky grin. "Take a guess who."
"Y-you? So you're like the king of the devils?" Static stammered.
The man snorted in derision. "King, please. Call me Lucifer. Although Hades, Satan, Iblis, the Adversary, and several others are also appropriate."
"So, you're the son of Lucifer?" Gear asked, although the answer was obvious again.
Francis nodded. "The real Prince of Darkness if you will."
"Whoa." Static slumped in his seat, his mind whirling with this new revelation. "Okay, okay. I believe you now."
Francis rolled his eyes like his father, in fact, most of his mannerisms seemed to come from Lucifer. "Well good to know Sparky. Only had to show you the freaking Antichrist to make you believe me."
"These jokers didn't listen to you? Even after you time stopped earlier? Which, by the way, I'm not too happy about. Want me to smite them?" Lucifer said, stepping forward menacingly.
"Dad, no. No smiting." Francis put a hand on his father's arm to stop him. "If you're here, that means mom can't be far behind."
"She's coming later tonight after I leave. You know we don't like to talk." Lucifer said stiffly at the change in topic.
Francis grinned. "That's why I brought it up. Well, it was nice chatting, but shouldn't you get back to the underworld? You know, spirits to damn and all that. Can't keep them waiting."
Lucifer turned to his son. "These next few weeks are very important Francis, you must know that. Not just for you either, the last time there was a mussito it changed the entire course of Earth's history. It is crucial that you choose correctly."
Francis looked away hastily, unable to hold his father's intense gaze this time. Lucifer sighed and clapped Francis on the shoulder. "I know I can't do anything to make up your mind for you but...wouldn't you look great as a devil?" Lucifer snapped his fingers and Francis was suddenly wearing a suit just like his. A full length mirror appeared in front of them and Lucifer reached over to smooth Francis' blood red tie. The two of them looked almost identical. "So handsome and dapper." Lucifer said with a grin.
"Dad." Francis shaking off the allusion. "Thanks but..."
Lucifer raised his hand to stop him. "No, I know. Can't blame me for trying. Let me just fix you up." Lucifer laid both hands on Francis' shoulders and exhaled deeply. In a moment, Francis' cuts and bruises had faded and his muscles weren't sore any more. Lucifer straightened and pulled at his suit jacket to smooth the creases. "I'll see you soon." Without acknowledging either Static or Gear, Lucifer snapped his fingers again and in a swirl of smoke he vanished.
"Sooooo." Gear said awkwardly. "Angels do blinding lights and devils do smelly smokes. Good to know."
Author's Note:
Soooooo. That was a...fun chapter. God, it was hard to write right up until the last bit. I find Lucifer an enjoyable character. Kind of like the devil on Reaper, y'know? But obviously younger and hotter, literally. Poor Francis, now his mom's gonna come. Can you say parental interference? I was going to make his mom Gabrielle but then I realized it's actually Gabriel, as in a guy. Oh well.
I did research for this chapter! Yay me! Now you must LEAVE ME A REVIEW, you simply must!
P.S Mussito is latin for mutt. I figure half-angel and half-devil qualifies as mixed breeding and also it was the best word I could find.
