-1Collision
Author: DarkAngelus1
Disclaimer: I own none of characters in the work below. Witchblade and The Darkness belong to Top Cow and Kenneth Irons (the one in the comic, not the wuss in the show), who is undoubtedly running everything. Bill Gates, eat your heart out!
Synopsis: The World of TNT and Top Tow come together as comic-Ian makes his first dramatic appearance in Sara Perini's life. Jackie Estacado, AKA The Darkness will be there. Kenneth Irons from the comic will also make an appearance, as he was too bad-ass to leave out. Everything after the first episode of TNT's second season will be used only sparingly as it pretty much sucked (never change writers mid-season). Long live the Witchblade, and all it's future movie and game counterparts!
Chapter Four
Ian played with the computer once the puppy had left, carefully hacking past all of Vorshlag Industries's defenses. What he found didn't surprise him. Kenneth Irons' interests were no different here, although the genetic experimentation had apparently gone further. Then, he invaded Irons' personal system and retrieved all of Nottingham's records. A quick perusal showed that Irons had lied to the pup about his origins, as Ian had suspected.
After backing them onto disk, he loaded an extremely virulent virus into all of Irons's systems and shut down the computer. It would take Irons' experts weeks to find and treat the virus, and by then it would already be too late. It would appear as though Ian Nottingham, as well as half of Iron's domestic and corporate staff, had never existed.
The puppy would probably not appreciate his efforts at first, but when Ian explained everything to him, he would understand. Freedom would be a foreign concept at first, but he would come to appreciate it. Especially, once Ian ran interference with his Wielder for him.
To think, he mused, that in this world, he was not responsible for her partner's death. Though the man had meant nothing to him personally, Michael Yee had meant a great deal to Sara Pezzini. To this day, Ian wasn't sure if she had been in love with him, or if they had merely been friends. Yee had been married with a child, but what did that matter? His death had shattered Sara, and set her up to be victimized by Ken Irons--and himself.
Ian would always regret the way he had entered Sara's life. Had he known her before that damnedable auction, he would have kept her away from Irons, and the incident at the Rialto would never have taken place. She might not have become the Witchblade's next Wielder, but she would have been happy.
As it was, he had nearly died for her that night in the penthouse, when he had defied Kenneth and tried to kill him. Kenneth had beaten him soundly for his loyalty to Sara Pezzini, and had thrown him from the penthouse balcony. Had he not landed in the Hudson River, he would not have survived.
Of course, had he died, his beloved Setsuke might still be among the living. The scope of his grief, the very depth of his rage, would always be overshadowed by the by a crippling sense of guilt. There was nothing he could do to bring her back, nor had he been able to avenge her. When Ken Irons wanted someone dead, it was impossible to thwart him.
Ian turned his thoughts away from the young Japanese girl he had loved like a daughter. She was gone, and he couldn't bring her back. The puppy, however, he could help. He would arrange a meeting with this world's Sara Pezzini, and he would find a way to make her accept the man's place in her life.
His spiritual doppelganger had been trained slightly differently than Ian had himself. Irons had used not only chronic abuse and an instilled sense of honor, but familial bonds to tie the boy to him. He was willing to bet that the boy had no memories of his past at all. Irons had likely used the drug therapies to erase his memory when he was young.
Ian himself had been orphaned at the age of six. He had been a hellion as a child, unpopular with the other children at the orphanage, as he protected both himself and his younger brother. Two years later, he had been dragged away by the man who had adopted him. Nottingham had trained him to be the perfect weapon, an assassin unrivaled, who's loyalty would be only to him. After a lengthy sojourn in Japan, his 'father' had sent him to kill Kenneth Irons. He had joined with Irons instead, killing his father for his new master.
As to the Witchblade's previous Wielder, Elizabeth Bronte, Ian had no doubt that the pup had been injected with her stem cells to enhance his tie to the Witchblade. He wondered briefly if Nottingham had ever worn it, then dismissed the notion. Had the boy been capable of wearing the Witchblade, Irons would have turned him into the first male Wielder in this world's history, as his own benefactor had attempted to do. As it was, Ian was determined to thwart this reality's Irons and give the pup a chance at a better life.
He kept the disc with him as he went back to the living room. Estacado had gone out after Nottingham had left, saying he'd be back in a couple of hours. The pup had left them a bag filled with money, two million dollars to be exact. Estacado had been thrilled, and decided to go shopping. He'd only taken two thousand with him, but Ian had to wonder just what he thought to purchase with that small amount of money.
Ian truly hoped that the cub was smart enough to stay out of trouble. If this reality's version of himself was dead, Jackie would have a hard time explaining his existence to the police. And the last thing Ian wanted to do was take on a station full of armed policemen just to break him out.
He sat on the living room floor in the lotus position and closed his eyes. Meditation was something he needed desperately to balance the chaos of recent events. He also hoped that it would give him some clue to Sara's whereabouts. Not knowing her fate was going to slowly drive him insane. He felt as though the descent had already begun.
Ian reached out through the bond they shared, ignoring the images of past encounters, instead focusing on the unknown aspects of both Excalibur and the Witchblade. More images shimmered past his closed lids, but the woman shown to him was not his Wielder. Long brown hair, startling green eyes, a vulnerability that belied her inner strength. The red-stoned bracelet forming a metal gauntlet, medieval in design. The gauntlet deflected bullets, as did Sara's own, but what surprised Ian was the full set of dark age armor that it morphed into. That was something new.
Intense emotions assaulted him, and he had no defense against them. Feelings of lust, awe, a love so powerful it bordered on worship. More feelings, a complete lack of ego, doubts of self-worth, anguish at that love not being returned, suffering always because the object of his desire spurned him. Humiliation when as her many verbal darts found his heart. Indeed, she did not even bother to censor her contempt when they met, only confirming his father's assessment that he was not worthy of love.
Ian's eyes snapped open as he realized that he had tapped into the puppy's emotions. Nottingham had met with his Sara briefly, and she hadn't even taken the time to listen to him. She had cut him down with a few well chosen words and walked away.
'Freak.'
The word echoed through Ian's mind, so laced with derision that the puppy was likely to never stop bleeding. Rage flowed through Ian as he felt the other's pain, and he was suddenly filled with the urge to kill this other Wielder.
'No, you cannot!'
Ian's silvery eyes widened at the deep, panicked words. 'Nottingham?' he thought tentatively.
'She does not understand our bond. I will not allow you to hurt her.'
'She treats you with a contempt that even I do not receive from my Wielder, he returned.
'You lie,' came the abrupt response. 'I see your memories as you see mine. Your Wielder has said, and done, much worse to you.'
'Then, you know that Sara's disdain does not affect me nearly as much.'
'Why not?' that voice whispered. 'I can feel that you love your Wielder as much as I love mine. Why does it not pierce your heart when she speaks to you so?'
'Because I know that she desires me,' Ian responded silently. 'Can you not see that in the eyes of yours?'
Flashes of those green eyes, shimmering with tears, narrowed in anger, heavy-lidded with passion for another man. 'Is that answer enough?'
'Yes,' Ian thought heavily, 'it is.'
'Promise me that you will do nothing to harm her.'
'You have my word,' Ian swore solemnly.
'Thank you.'
Ian felt the presence in his mind withdraw and exhaled harshly. The puppy might not have practical experience when it came to women, but he knew his Wielder well. Sara Pezzini truly seemed to hate him.
Perhaps, he should take Nottingham with him when he returned to his own world. He would be able to live a life completely free of Irons, who would never guess his true identity should he inconveniently return from the dead. He would have to change his name, but he would have the total autonomy that he so desperately needed. And he would no longer be so completely alone.
Nottingham would have him as a friend, as family, if he wished it. Ian was sure that Estacado would be there for him, as well. The byplay he had witnessed earlier this night confirmed that.
The only question would be whether or not the puppy could live without his beloved, verbally abusive Wielder.
First, he would go with his original plan and talk to Detective Pezzini. If he could make her see reason, force her to acknowledge the man's devotion, then perhaps Nottingham would survive his 'father's' death. Only time would tell.
Nottingham huddled on the fire escape outside of Sara's bedroom window, his dark gaze fastened on her slender figure as she moved about her kitchen. Her movements were as brisk and economical as always, yet they in no way detracted from her femininity. She raked a hand through her luscious brown hair and carried a cup of coffee to the sofa. She palmed the remote and turned on the television, sipping her coffee with obvious contentment.
He smiled slightly as he watched her relax. She was never this way around him. Had he not spend a great deal of his nights here on her fire escape, he might never have seen her this way. As it was, he was grateful that he was allowed this small respite from the anger he always seemed to invoke in her. Her beautiful emerald eyes were not flashing angrily, her sensual lips not twisted into a sneer. And as much as he loved the sound her husky voice, he was thankful that he did not have to hear her say such cruel things to him right now.
He sighed in the shadows, his loneliness a living thing. He couldn't risk going back to the loft tonight. Though Irons gave him a small amount of freedom, he would get suspicious if he spent too much time in one place. And the last he wanted was to be around Father right now. He found that he missed Jackie's foul mouth and warped sense of humor. He missed the darklings, as well, no matter that they drove him crazy with their childish behavior. He even missed the enigmatic Englishman who's temper was truly a frightening thing.
His other self had shown no reluctance to end Sara's life, and for so small a reason. Her treatment of him was normal, even kind compared to Father's. Nottingham thought that the Kenneth Irons he hadn't met must be much worse than his own to make Ian face killing with such cold rage. Even he did not hold so much buried anger, and it worried him. If the Englishman were to go back on his word and harm Sara, his life would end. Nottingham didn't think he would be able to stop himself from killing the man. He truly hoped that it would not come to that.
The phone in his pocket vibrated and he sighed. Flipping it open, he said, "Sir?"
"Where are you?" came the cultured, impatient demand.
"Watching over Sara Pezzini, as you ordered."
"And is your lovely Sara well tonight?"
Nottingham clenched his teeth so tight that his jaw ached at the cruel taunt. "Yes, sir."
"Then, come home, Ian. I have need of you."
"I'll be right there, Sir."
Nottingham closed the phone and took one last look at his lady before retreating into the night.