A/N: The little scrawl is 'breathing' a bit more than I thought it might. Gonna run with it for a bit and see what happens :-)

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Sitting at the desk in her office, Charlotte found herself both intrigued and annoyed by the stacks of folders to her side and the frequency of the irritatingly intermittent 'bing' indicating notice of yet another human-scaled disaster landing in her email inbox.

"They all think they're so important. Following in the empty footsteps of Ozymandias."

She slapped the laptop shut in piqued disgust.

"Wasting the little time they have on such trivial details in their stunted lives."

She leaned back in the chair, idly clicking her fountain pen along her bottom teeth.

"Perhaps it's not their fault. Error in the design."

The pen stilled, and in a silent snarl of bared teeth she bit down on the end of the Visconti, cracking it.

"Or error in the designer. Yes…that far more likely."

The widening grin became a terrible and barren wasteland. Long shadows carved the planes of her face and only the whites of her eyes lit with the enthusiastic mania of a true zealot. She sing-songed softly, expression never changing.

"…Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

"Yes, husband dear…I fear that's you now. How long have you been absent from this watery rock, from your family…from me? Too long…but perhaps just long enough that Shelley's words may be true for you? Your creations don't adore you. Revere you. FEAR YOU. Well, not enough, and not enough of them. You've left them alone far too long…and how things can twist when neglected."

She paused.

"I should know."

Her eyes narrowed and the seams of skin around them rivened into networks briefly showing her true age under the scarcely tolerated human shell.

"YOU did this to me."

Her delicately arched brows lowered into the creped mask slashed across her face.

"Made me this. Made me what I am now. Damaged. Like you made these humans."

Her words hissed between her clenched teeth. "And those creatures destroy themselves, each other…and even this world they live in…and you're STILL gone, other than a quick belch of focused impression every other eon or so. How irresponsible of you."

Her crackled skin relaxed but the expression did not soften and her smile was ferociously, almost beautifully bloodthirsty. "But I'm not gone. I'm HERE. With your shell-less insects. What might I do with my time since your absent mercies mean so little for any of us…what indeed?"

She paused again, lost in thought. Once more her sclera lit.

"And your tricks hurt one of our sons; not that you care…you've ignored the fact he killed another child of ours. Destroyed him, in fact." For a brief second she screwed her eyes shut and twisted her head cruelly on her elegant neck.

"Lucifer would have never harmed Uriel unless you forced his hand! YOU made Uriel turn against me…by driving me to the brink of insanity!"

Charlotte suddenly whipped the fountain pen away in a vicious arc. It hit the huge window just beside her and stuck en pointe, trembling slightly before the plate glass sizzled with fracture lines and came shattering down. At just that moment, Amenadiel opened the door.

"MOTHER! What's going on? Are you all right?"

Charlotte took a scant second's worth of time to compose herself before turning to her son. "Yes, yes…I'm fine. Thank you, darling. A bird just flew into the glass and *poof* instant wreckage! It was the strangest thing…"

As Amenadiel approached he eyed her, his hackles rising. But she brushed off his look of concern with a tittering simper and asked him to wait while she called someone for repair. Charlotte watched him carefully as she spoke to her assistant, noticing the instant he decided not to question her further and mentally rolled her eyes. This son, so brave in his way. But so very simple also, her block-headed leviathan was. Well. Not all of her children had similar gifts and she appreciated the ease with which she could direct this one and those like him. It would make certain…eventual tasks she had in mind far easier.

She took his arm and let him lead her out as a few members of the maintenance crew hustled in. Only half-listening to her child she warmed her face with a slow, sultry smile directed to one of the younger specimens with broad shoulders and predictably vacant look glazing his eyes. These were two of her favorite qualities in human recreational partners and she appreciated her close observation of Lucifer for clueing into the little pastime of sex. These creatures were good for something, sometimes. Most easily trainable, like good pets were.

"Mom! Pay attention! This is important."

"What? Oh, yes…do go on…you seem quite troubled." Charlotte sighed. Again. Still. Honestly. She loved him as she loved all her children but Amenadiel could be so very…heavy within himself. No joy, no verve. Not like…

"…I was trying to tell you, I'm really worried about Lucifer..."

"Oh. Yes, I know. Me too. Has he come back yet? It's been days. I'm surprised he could stay away from that little human he's become so enamored of. She must be just…" Charlotte's voice and expression trilled filthily into an oily smirk. "…beside herself. Such a shame as she's been through so much recently."

"Mom." Amenadiel's expression and tone were pure rebuke before he shook his head in exasperation. The pair had walked out to the span of grounds between the law office and the parking lot. The area's attractive landscaping included several benches and tables scattered about the pristine, illegally-watered lawn. He motioned her to sit down at the closest and with mild exasperation she did, smoothing her skirt and crossing her ankles.

With her choice of attentive expression set and hands folded neatly in her lap Charlotte looked closely at him. "Well? What's so important, son? What's got you riled?"

"I got a call from Lucifer today."

"Wonderful! So he is coming back after his little tantrum! When? I would like to smooth things over with him…such an unpredictable child. So very sensitive."

"No, Mom…it wasn't a good phone call. He sounds…disturbed. Really disturbed. Like 'do some damage' angry."

"Oh my. Well, that does sound dire, doesn't it?" Charlotte turned her head aside as she smoothed her skirt again, trying to hide the curl of her smile from Amenadiel.

"MOM! This is NOT a good thing."

"Oh, isn't it? Nothing you've done or asked and certainly nothing I've done or asked has gotten any reaction from your father. Perhaps Lucifer's ire might do the trick?"

Amenadiel just shook his head incredulously. Just as Lucifer could be, his mother was myopic. Completely unable to see past what she wanted to what might become.

"You do remember Lucifer's Fall, right? You do know how badly for him this might go…don't you care what might happen if he challenges Father again?! I mean, even the humans have their misplaced ideas written about it!"

Amenadiel barely had the words out of his mouth before he was recoiling, or trying to, from the vise-grip of material at his throat. Charlotte had whipped around and lunged at him, her graceful fingers turning talon into the twist of his collar. Choking as he was he could barely hear her low whisper.

"Don't you think, not for one moment that I've forgotten any pain for any child of mine. How dare you? You're not a parent: never will be. You'll never understand a mother's anguish at having her children hurt…or turned against her. Ever. And you'll never understand the lengths a parent can go to recover what's been lost. What's rightfully mine."

She released him and he struggled to catch his breath. Coughing, he looked fearfully at her as she patted down the rumple of his shirt.

"There now, son. Let's not quarrel. Not when things may finally be changing for us. It seems as if…." She interrupted herself, cocking her head to the side, bird-like.

"What, Mom?" Amenadiel was disturbed enough by her brief display of violence, but the predatory look saturating her face through the widening smile was far more frightening.

"Oh, nothing. No matter. I have to go now, son." She stood and leaned to give him a quick kiss to the side of his head; not even registering his flinch.

Charlotte already had her keys out of her bag before she'd turned away fully. "I'll call you, and see you soon, all right? We can discuss your little worries then." Without waiting for a response or looking back she strode purposefully away, ignoring the appreciative glances her long legs got from a few returning to the office from their liquid lunches. No time for idle play, not now, not when…ooh…so close. SO close and it had been SO long….. She began to smile again and it was terrifying to behold. The ogling looks changed instantly to averted eyes as the humans scattered to the sides of the path to avoid her.

"Yeah…" Amenadiel remained on the bench and watched her stalk towards her car. Having no idea what had just transpired and feeling the malaise in his gut turn malignant he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He held it in his strong hands for a moment, internal debate raging. Then, brow furrowed and decision made he tapped the screen and cradled it to his cheek.

"Hello, Linda? I was wondering if you had plans for lunch…"

He wasn't the only one making a call. After Charlotte folded herself into the rich leather of her driver's seat she blasted a series of texts and voicemails, the last to that sorry excuse of a man she kept around merely because he faithfully tended those squeaking vermin he claimed. She had no idea why he'd bother; they'd never amount to anything…not like HER real children would.

"Isaid, I'll be very busy and am not to be disturbed. Not for ANY reason, do you understand? Good. What? Oh, handle it by yourself. You can manage SOME simple tasks can you not? Fine, I thought so. No, I'll contact you. No, I don't know when. NO, do NOT call me."

Disconnecting and turning off the phone, Charlotte deftly twisted her wrist to fire the engine. She enjoyed the deep purr thrumming through the seat and it made her think of other powerful, well-honed machines. Like herself.

And oh yes…it was with feral grace and agility the car responded to her whims as she raced along the side streets to the freeway.

Humming lightly to herself she began to smile once more, the sing-song lilt returning to her voice, repeating the last line of the poem she'd considered earlier.

"The lone and level sands stretch far away…"

Her thoughts constricted into a finite point of focused rage. 'Well, no 'level sand' perhaps in your current wasteland but oh, I've found you now…and what a reunion it shall be….'