GAHHHH!

Guys, there have been over 10k hits on this story; I nearly died when I checked the stats this morning. I am literally a ball of mush, anxiety and excitement you guys are amazing! I can't believe so many people have read this little fic, now I have to work on making it worthwhile! *Breaths heavily into brown bag*

WARNING: This chapter is LONG AS HELL and contains much fluff.

Top Tip: Get yourself a drink, maybe some tissues and a little box for your feelings you don't want them where you are heading trust me!

Seriously this chapter is 9.5k words long and 16 pages on WORD…I ain't messing around y'all.

This chapter is completely from my little brain and there are no scenes from the movie involved, so forgive me if I have no good original ideas. HUMANS WHO COMMENTED: I love you and as usual there is a message down belooowwww. But for the love of God read the chapter first! ^_^

So, once you are all prepped with drink and such, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

NQ

X

Chapter Ten: Our Monsters

Cleo POV

Harley was right, I was a monster but I already knew that. I had been reminded of the fact each day since I was born. I had tried, I had tried so hard to make a life for myself – it had gone horribly wrong but at least I had tried. I could have become a criminal, I could have become an infamous hit man or a thief but I wanted to be normal, I wanted the normal life. I wanted to be sitting with the rest of the 'normals' on the dryer as Harley had said.

I would have given anything for that. The family, the nice house, the boring job with the car and the pet dog, I would have happily put up with the mundane routine of day to day life if it meant I could not be the monster I really was for once in my life.

Lifting the bottle of vodka to my lips I sipped the liquid through the plastic straw, I had to admit this was not the highest point in my life. Why did it all have to come out now? We could have just finished the mission and then no one would have needed to know, it was alright for Harley and the others – their lives were all on public record. I didn't want mine out there for the world to see, it was too much for me to deal with.

I was a mess of tears and static, the images of the accident replayed over and over in my mind. I tried to blink the images away but they wouldn't leave me, they remained torturing me every time I closed my eyes. I was a child when the plane had crashed yet I could still remember the accident as if it were yesterday, I could never forgive myself for what I had done. My father blamed me, everyone blamed me for the accident – the authorities had made an agreement with my father, they allowed him to keep me for testing under the condition that I was not allowed out of the lab.

I was kept in a glass room for years, until the day my father was murdered – then I was free for a time or so I thought. It seemed to be the running trend in my life; I would be passed from one controlling psychopath to another like some stray animal. Waller was evil, I was not stupid – she was evil and she was controlling but she was not the worst I had ever seen. The worst kind of psychopath makes you feel like you matter makes you feel like you are loved, they build a bridge underneath your feet with the promise that they would never let you fall, only for them to burn that same bridge when you let your guard down.

I blinked back tears as I thought on the worst person I had ever met. I had not thought on him in months – I tried not to think about him it just brought the pain back and fuelled nightmares. I blamed Harley; her questions had got into my head. "Have you ever been in love?" What kind of person asks that kind of question to someone like me? Only naïve normal people fall in love, it is all chemistry – I had out grown that kind of thing….or so I thought.

As I took another sip of the vodka I heard some heavy footsteps heading towards the bathroom door, removing my gloves I conjured an electric ball in my palm. I didn't know who was approaching, it could be a member of the team but it could also be those horrible creatures and I for one was not about to be killed by a walking pustule. I didn't want to take my chances, not today.

3POV

"Hey Sparky we are free. Flag cut off the link to our bombs" Boomerang shouted as he barged into the ladies bathroom. Cleo threw a bolt of lightning at the wall next to him making him scream and fall on his ass with a loud thud. Cleo opened her mouth in shock as she watched the Australian groan and stand up again.

"Sorry, I forgot you may be a little jumpy." Boomerang chuckled as he closed the door to the bathroom. Cleo sighed and pulled her knees into her chest trying to hide her red tear stung face from the thief.

"Oh Sparky…Harley was out of line, she never knows when to shut her mouth that one." Boomerang said as he walked over to the French woman. He was not normally the comforting sort but he had seen the display that had taken place outside and he felt bad for the woman.

"She was right though." Cleo sighed as she looked up at the Australian who leaned himself against the white porcelain sink, pulling out a can from his coat. Cleo started to wonder where on earth Boomerang managed to store all of his alcohol; it seemed to appear from nowhere.

"You were a kid, Darlin'" Boomerang sighed as he watched Cleo wipe away her tears and wince as her skin let of small static charges.

"It doesn't matter, I still did it." Cleo hissed, her anger directed at herself, the memory of the accident flooding her mind. Boomerang could see that she was distressed; crouching down to meet her eye level he placed a can of beer in front of her and sat down opposite her. "Here, have a can you will feel better." He said as made himself comfortable.

Smiling weakly at the thief, Cleo took the can of beer and placed it next to her bottle of vodka. "Thank you I will drink it after my bottle is empty." She said with a small smile. The one thing Cleo and Boomerang had in common was their high tolerance for alcohol, that and the fact they used their drinks to numb their pain – it worked for a while. As the two got comfortable in the small bathroom, Cleo picked up the half empty bottle of Vodka and began to drink again.

"Girl after my own heart ain't ya" Boomerang chuckled as he too took out a can from his coat and opened it taking a large gulp of the cold beverage. Cleo raised an eyebrow at his comment, clearly unamused at the suggestion. "Sorry sorry – totally platonic darlin'" Boomerang chuckled raising his hands defensively as the French woman broke into a smile.

"Thank you, Boomerang." Cleo smiled sadly. "Digger, my name is Digger, Love." Cleo smiled over to the thief and nodded "Thank you Digger." As the two drank in a comfortable silence Cleo was shocked but happy that at least one of her team was looking out for her, even if it wasn't the one she wanted to be spending her time with

"Not a problem, Sweetness."

Diablo POV

I watched as Cleo stormed out of the bar, tears streaming down her face, I don't know what came over me I had tried to hold her in front of everybody but she shocked me back, that was to be expected. My heart broke for her – I was ready to talk about my shit, I had taken time to come to grips with the truth of what I had done. It didn't make me hate myself any less – it just made is a little easier to deal with the questions.

I stayed quiet as Colonel Rick walked into the bar, he sat and explained the whole situation; turns out the witch was his old lady, that shocked me a little and I felt for the guy, the woman he loved was trapped inside the witch and he would have to kill her, he knew it – we all knew it. There is nothing worse in this world than killing the person you love and I wouldn't wish that feeling upon anyone. I sat at the bar as the team slowly made their way out of the bar; all of them had decided to fight the witch. Colonel Rick had put his cards on the table and had destroyed the detonation device.

We were free...

I sat for a while drinking my second glass of water, alcohol and I did not mix very well. It made me lose my temper and I became quite explosive; maybe it was linked to the fire I did not know but at this moment in time I was not planning on testing that theory. Someone who seemed bound to test that theory was Cleo, I had watched her carry a litre of vodka into the bathroom with her, I was slightly concerned that she way does something she would regret. My anxiety was not lessened when I watched Boomerang run into the bathroom. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, I should be the one that comforted Cleo; I had been the one looking out for her during this mission Boomerang was just a pervert, he was no good for her – I was no good for her but we had more in common than he did with her.

Was I out of order to be jealous? I felt guilty, I had only just spoken about my late wife, and now I was worrying myself about a woman I had only met less than 24hrs ago. It was silly, it was childish and I was trippin' if I thought about continuing with it. I had killed my wife, I had loved my wife once, she meant everything to me, she was my angel and my world but then it all changed and it all went to shit.

We would argue every day, I would stay out late, she would spend her time with the kids and then when she and I got a moment together we would fight. She hated my reputation on the streets but she knew who I was when she married me. I made the mistake, I brought that shit into our home, I ruined our home life but we were broken before I started that shit. She was my best friend once, my girl, my rock and then it all changed and she became the person I would have to fight with to get anything done, the house was a battlefield and I avoided the issues for too long. I still remember the moment she told me she didn't love me anymore, when she told me she was leaving, the kids were asleep in bed and she broke down in the living room. She couldn't take it anymore, I could see it in her eyes and I couldn't blame her, I was a monster and she had tried her best to do right by me and my kids.

I just let them all slip away. When she told me she was taking my kids it was the final straw, I couldn't watch her take my children from me. I knew she would not allow me visitation so I lost it, I don't remember much of what happened it was a blur. All I remember was holding the bodies of my dead wife and kids as the house burned around us. I prayed to God to let me die too, I wanted so badly to burn in those flames and to be with my family again, everything came crashing around me, I realized what I had lost and I couldn't take it back. I surrendered to the cops, when they got to the house it was too late they were all gone, they were dead. I killed them – I was the monster.

3POV

As Diablo sat at the bar deep in thought he was distracted by a flash of bright light coming from the ladies bathroom. In a slight panic the he jumped off of the bar stool and made his way over to the bathroom. When he opened the door and walked in the sight that met his eyes shocked him.

"That is awesome Darlin'! Can you hit that same spot twice?" Boomerang laughed as he pointed to the wall with his beer can, Cleo smirked as she looked round at the Australian. "Of course I can, hold this and be amazed." Cleo purred as she handed the Australian her glass bottle of vodka. Diablo watched from the doorway as Cleo pointed her fingers like a fake gun and shot a bolt of electric at the wall making him step back a little as the sparks flew off of the wall lighting up the room.

"Did the wall upset you, Guapa?" Diablo asked making himself known to the pair. He looked down at the slightly intoxicated woman. "Oh shit look it's the fire bloke! Come to join us for a drink amigo?" Boomerang asked as he lifted up Cleo's bottle of vodka, Diablo shook his head and leaned against the doorframe crossing his arms over his chest he did not look happy, something about Boomerang being sat so close to Cleo did not sit well with him. He hated to admit it but he felt jealous and protective, Boomerang shouldn't be that close to Cleo – I mean he wasn't touching her at all and he wasn't in her area so he was free from shocks but something about the fact that he had caught Cleo laughing with the thief didn't sit well with him.

Boomerang noticed his teammate's expression and clicked on immediately; chuckling to himself he thought he would try his luck. "She is practising her marksmanship mate, leave her be. Don't you have some candles to light?" He snarked as he took a drag of his can. Diablo narrowed his eyes and stood up moving closer to the pair. "Ain't you meant to be robbin' some corpse man?" Diablo snapped down at the thief. Boomerang stood up from the floor and stood toe to toe with the gangster; Cleo sighed and took another gulp of vodka not in the mood for their shit.

"Both of you shut up!" Cleo barked as she slammed her bottle of vodka down on the floor, setting the main light into a flickering spasm. Diablo pushed past Boomerang and stood looking down at the French woman who was staring at the scorched tiles.

"Cleo, can we talk?"

Cleo looked up and swallowed slightly, she could feel Diablo's eyes burning into her. Something had snapped inside of him over the last hour and it was unnerving, she was not afraid of him, no it was something else. Diablo had never used her first name before – something about hearing it fall from his lips made her heart race a little faster, pushing down the strange new emotions Cleo stared back up at the tattooed man and nodded slowly.

Boomerang looked over at the pair; he was no fool he did not need to be told twice. He could feel the room getting warmed and warmed as the seconds went on, the tension in the room was unbearable he decided it would be a good time to bow out. "Alright, I can sense the tension in here so I am going to take my leave before something blows up."Boomerang said as he slowly backed up out of the room and left the bar to find the others.

Diablo and Cleo were silent as they looked at each other, both scared to move or speak, the bathroom was practically a sauna – the combination of Cleo's sparks and Diablo's heat had made the room an almost unbearable temperature for anyone in the close vicinity.

Cleo didn't know if it was the vodka but Diablo looked different. Something in his eyes made her feel uneasy; she could feel her heart beating in her ears as she looked up at the tattooed man, she was almost shy to be in room on her own with him. She was ashamed of the state she was in, the fact that he know knew what a monster she was made everything worse. She bit down on the inside of her mouth as she thought about the situation. He probably hated her after hearing about the horrible things she had done. He would never treat her as his friend again, she would always be a monster to him and that scared her more than anything else.

Diablo stood there in silence, looking down at the woman who had broken the exchange between them, her eyes falling onto her bottle of alcohol once more, he sighed as he watched her take another drink. He couldn't let her carry on like this, she needed to keep up with the team or she could get hurt, he had to do something.

"Come on, get off the floor and come back into the bar." Diablo said breaking the silence. Cleo shook her head and took another drink. "I don't want to see the team; I don't fancy any more interrogations." She said as she pointed her finger at the wall and shot another bolt of electric at the tiles, lighting the room up once more.

"The team have left, they're going to fight the witch and I told them we would catch them up." Diablo sighed as he moved out the way of the electric bolts not wanting to try his luck with the intoxicated woman. He wasn't so sure about the accuracy of the young woman in her intoxicated state.

"Of course they have – why wouldn't they be going to fight a witch?" Cleo muttered to herself as she shot another bolt at the wall shattering the tiles into tiny pieces. Diablo frowned and watched as Cleo continued to blow holes into the bathroom wall, he could see she was not dealing with everything very well and he couldn't blame her.

"Come on woman get up, sitting on a bathroom floor ain't right." Diablo said as he motioned for her to get up. "I ain't asking again." Diablo snapped as Cleo sighed in defeat she knew it was not worth fighting with Diablo, he had done nothing wrong there was no good going to come from the two of them arguing now.

Diablo let out a small groan as he followed Cleo out of the bathroom, he knew there was going to be some deep conversation coming up and he didn't know if he was totally prepared for the subject matter. Cleo made her way over to one of the booths and slid onto one of the sofa holding her bottle of vodka tightly, the only thing that seemed to be taking the edge off of reality.

"Maybe you should calm it with the drinks. We have to fight a witch." Diablo said as he watched Cleo take another large mouthful of vodka. Cleo scoffed as she shook the bottle in the air trying to make her point. "Liquid courage" She chuckled as she took another sip. "I didn't think someone like you needed liquid courage." Diablo said as he watched her drink, her behaviour was completely out of sorts, she changed when she had a drink in her. That was obvious -

"You deal with your shit how you do and I will deal with mine." Cleo snapped as she took another sip from her bottle.

Diablo POV

This was getting out of hand; she was drinking way too much. We were supposed to go and fight a witch and Cleo was half way through a bottle of vodka. I could see it was affecting her, considering most humans would be on their asses at this point she was doing well to stay awake. Cleo continued to drink in silence, I could see she was dealing with flashbacks; she would shake her head and wince every few minutes. I understood how that felt, I was in the same place she was in now. I wanted to help her, I wanted to show her that she wasn't a monster – it was an accident. She never meant to kill those people, she wasn't a killer over the short time I had known her I could tell that much.

"You were a kid, that shit weren't your fault. You know that right?" I said as Cleo sat opposite me leaning her hands on the wooden table. She let out a small whimper and shook her head, she was trying so hard to block it all out – I was doing the same as my own memories flashed in front of my eyes.

"It was though, my brother warned me – he told me to calm down but I just couldn't. They all died because of me. The scary thing was that I was a child and I wasn't even trying – I was having a panic attack, I am terrified of heights and I got scared and I killed them…" Cleo said as she tried to hold in more tears, her eyes red and puffy from crying, her skin reddened from the static shocks.

I didn't know what to say to make anything any better. Words were not enough – they never had been when it came to the loss like we had. It was something that sitting with a therapist would never fix, it had taken me five years in solitary confinement to even begin to come to terms with the evil that I had committed.

"You know I never got to tell her I was sorry, my wife she wanted a divorce – she had enough of the shit I would bring home. I never paid her or my kids the attention they needed, I was too wrapped up with gangs and violence; I let them all just slip through my fingers." I said quietly, looking down at my hands- the images of my dead family forcing their way into my mind. I looked up at Cleo who had put the vodka down and was looking at me. Her eyes full of something I couldn't make out, it wasn't fear, it wasn't hatred but it wasn't pity either. I knew what pity looked like and I didn't want it.

"I could say I am sorry about your family but I know it won't bring them back." Cleo said sadly. I was shocked at her comment; she was the first person to be that brutal about it and she was right, they were not coming back, I had done what I had done and no one could change that. It was refreshing to hear someone not try and make me feel better about it but at the same time she didn't make me feel like a monster.

"It's been five years and I still see their bodies when I close my eyes." I said sadly as I rubbed my face in a sorry attempt to mask my falling tears. Cleo nodded slowly, as she stretched her neck from side to side and let out a small groan.

"I could say it gets better but it doesn't. I thought as I got older I would forget, I thought the memories would get foggier but they never did. That's the one thing that no one realizes, the monsters have nightmares to." Cleo said as she picked at her fingers; a nervous habit I had noticed over the time spent with her. She would play with her fingers and pick her nails to avoid looking at people.

"Remember when I told you I didn't murder my father?" She asked softly her body language changed, it seemed as though she had let her guard down a little, she was no longer cold and aloof but her softer more timid self had returned. I nodded silently as I let the woman continue.

"Sometimes I wish I had…does that make me a monster?" Cleo said, tears in her eyes. I understood now why she was tearing herself apart over this, she had been labelled a monster but she was scared of her own choices. Like me she was scared of her own power and her own mind – when we lost our tempers we could both hurt or even kill people. I knew what it was like to be that scared of yourself you don't open up to people. It hit me that she must trust me a great deal to be having this conversation with me.

Cleo POV

"No, I would have killed my old man if he did that shit to me."

How could he do that? How could he sit there and not see me as a monster, I know he had done horrible things but I had massacred innocent people. They were all dead because of me – there was no ignoring that. I was a walking weapon, he knew it and I knew it yet somehow the way he was talking to me made me feel like I was worth something.

I watched as Diablo walked over to the bar and poured himself another glass of water. "You know my mother used to say I was the child of the Devil, she would beat my ass so hard growin' up."He said as he walked back over to our table. "I used to pray to God every day, I would ask him to take this from me…but why would he take something from a demon child. God ain't looking out for me." Diablo said as he took a sip of his water.

I frowned as I watched my friend talk, he was cursed as much as I was; some Meta-humans had it lucky they had abilities that allowed them to hide away in plain sight – not us. We had to fight and avoid the other people in this worlds, we could do so much harm and there was nowhere for us to be safe. "I don't think God is looking out for any of us. He has never answered any of my prayers that's for sure." I sighed.

We sat in silence for a while, letting our own thoughts creep around the inside of our heads. After a little while I looked over at Diablo who had rested his head on his knuckles, looking down at the table I could see the emotion in his eyes, the horrors must have been torturing him.

"When I met my wife things were cool you know? We got married had two beautiful kids – then it slowly crumbled underneath us." I looked over to Diablo; I didn't want him to talk about his past if he was not ready for it.

"When my daughter was three, my wife and I we changed, it wasn't the same between us no more- we fought all the time."

"You don't have to tell me all of this you know..." I said softly, causing the gangster to shake his head and continue. He was getting this off his chest for his own sake I could see that now, I sat back and listened to the rest of his story.

"You see, I was on the streets doing business, you know? My wife she stayed home with the kids and did her own thing – the spark we had faded and our home became a battlefield. I never meant to kill them…I never wanted to hurt them – but she said she was taking my kids and I couldn't let that happen and I lost it, the house burned to the ground in under ten minutes – and they were gone…" He said as his voice breaking under the pressure.

"Harley was right; people like us don't get normal. I thought I could have normal but I was trippin'."

I sat in silence as I watched Diablo try to hold it together, silent tears threatened to fall from his eyes. I wanted to reach out and comfort him but I knew better than to ever try something like that so I remained silent, letting the man deal with it in his own way.

Diablo POV

I watched for her reaction; I was ready to see it I knew how this would go. She would hate me; she would think I was a monster just like the rest of the team. Her expression never faltered as she looked at me the same way she had done hours ago. I was shocked, she was not scared of me and I just couldn't understand why. At first I was angry, if she wasn't scared then she must pity me, I was angry that she had no common sense; any other person would be scared of me. My own wife was scared of me to an extent – but Cleo just looked at me like I was a normal person, she wasn't scared of me and I had to know why.

"You have seen the shit I can do, now you have heard what I have done…what I could do. Why are you still here? You should be running away like the others. I can see it you know – when people are scared of me. But you, you are still not scared of me. Why?"

I watched carefully as Cleo's expression changed, was this the anger and the fear about to show itself? I knew it she just delaying her real reaction – she was scared of me. Cleo took a deep breath and she smiled gently as she crossed her gloved hands over one another and placed them on the wooden table, I didn't know what to think. Had she lost her mind? I sat in silence waiting for her to say something – she was being quiet and it was making me nervous.

"I could never be afraid of someone who lives with the same pain that I do. We have both killed our families- the people that were supposed to love us and now we are both alone. We may know different kinds of loss but the pain is the same. So no Diablo, I could never be afraid of someone like me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I stared at her words escaped me. She wasn't afraid of me, I couldn't believe it. There was something very wrong with her if she thought her reaction was normal. I felt my heart start to race in my chest; it was starting to hurt as I watched Cleo as she took another sip of her drink. I had never met anyone like her before, how could someone look at me and not be afraid, I had covered my skin in tattoos to become more fearsome, I had murdered countless people, I was feared on the streets and in prison – I was a weapon once, now Cleo was talking to me like she was the monster. I didn't understand her…

Placing her drink back down on the table Cleo's expression saddened as she leaned forward onto the table. I was thankful that the wooden table did not conduct her static although at this point I felt like I needed to be shocked back into some kind of reality.

3POV

As the pair sat at the booth talking, their guards being let down ever so slowly they began to see something more; something familiar between the two. They were the same; they knew the same pain and the same loss. Neither one was able to fear the other for that reason.

Cleo sat in silence for a moment as she tried to put the right words together, if she was going to be talking about her past and talking truthfully she didn't want the alcohol to have an impact on her words, she wanted the truth to come out even if it hurt.

"I know what it is like to be alone because of something you have done. I am alone because I kill everyone I care about and you are alone because you killed your family, it's the horrid truth of all of this. People like us have to get used to being alone – that's just how it has to be." Cleo said sadly as she looked at the gangster he was still in awe of her; he was in awe that someone could be able to talk to him like he was a person, like he wasn't the monster that everyone had seen him for.

He was saddened however by her words, she thought she was alone. Someone like her should never have to be alone; she was a kind soul and didn't deserve to be left to fend for herself. It wasn't right and Diablo was angered by the thought of Cleo being on her own for so long.

"You are not alone, Guapa, not anymore." He said as he moved his hand over the wooden tabletop, in a minor attempt to take hold of her hand; Cleo was alert she noticed his hand moving to hers and pulled both hand back off the table. She knew better than to let him try to touch her, she didn't want to hurt him anymore than she already had. His words echoed in her head, she knew she was alone – it was a fact, it wasn't some pretty self deprecating phrase she said to get sympathy. She had been alone since the first day she was born and after twenty eight years, she had grown to like it.

"Yes, I am – I have been alone my whole life and that is alright with me. That is all I know. I could be surrounded by groups of people but it means nothing if they can't even give me a hug without being sent to the ER." Cleo said and she wiggled her fingers in the air in an attempt to make Diablo understand the extent of the hurt she could cause.

Diablo watched with a heavy heart as Cleo rested her hands back on the table once more, with a sigh she looked away trying to hide the redness and tears that had begun to cascade from her eyes. She hated letting people see her cry, she hated crying in general it hurt – as a child she had learned not to cry as it would sting her skin, the static didn't take well to any liquids her own tears included. Cleo winced as she used one had to wipe a few tears from her face the shocks running through her body.

"Your static is not that bad…" Diablo said as he ran his hand gently over Cleo's free hand, wincing at the static which came off of the glove; he could take the pain and it went after a while, over the course of the day he had been shocked by her a number of times and her gloves managed to hold back more than half of her static – the pain was brief as it traveled up his arms and around his body, warm vibrations spreading around his body he couldn't lie, once the initial shock was over the warmth that remained he liked…He liked it a lot.

Cleo opened her mouth a little shocked at Diablo's actions. No one had taken her hand of their own will, not someone that could be hurt by her – was he insane? She didn't like the feelings that were spreading through her, her heart was beating too fast and she didn't like it. What she did like was the how warm his skin felt, even through the gloves he emitted such a beautiful calming warmth that just made her feel so comfortable, if her heart wasn't echoing in her ears she would have enjoyed it even more.

"It's not that bad then you are touching the gloves. When these come off, it ain't nice – still my static is nothing compared to the voltage I can produce when I really get upset." Cleo said sadly as she pulled her hand away and rested it on her lap, a light blush covering her face.

"How did they care for you when you were growing up? You were a kid, you must'a had someone that could hold you." Diablo asked as he put two and two together, how could a baby have been raised without being touched? He never even thought about the fact that she would have been alone growing up – if she had killed her own mother she must have hurt the people caring for her too.

Cleo smiled sadly she removed both her gloves; her hands began to glow a light blue as the electrical waves formed around her arms. The blue light reflecting off of her face as she looked into the lights; Diablo watched with a mix of awe and suspense as the woman played with the lights around her hands, it was a beautiful sight to see but he knew that it was as deadly a power as his.

"You know, when I was a baby I was cared for by nannies in shock proof suits, they would have those shock proof gloves I do not know the correct word in English but they were attached to the glass window of my crib, they'd open up a slot in the glass and place things in for me food and things like that. When I grew up a bit more I was kept in a glass room I could see everyone going past, that was nice. I was never allowed out without an escort in a shock proof suit, I had a little collar that would gas me if I acted up - "

"Esos cobardes te habían tratado como si te fueras un animal!" Diablo said as he pushed himself off the sofa and began to pace the room, running his hands over his head. "Voy a matarlos te lo juro, voy a encontrarlos y los voy a matar! Los cobardes van a sentir un dolor inimaginable voy a quemarlos hasta los huesos, te lo juro!" Cleo sat wide eyed as her friend began to rant and rave to himself in his mother tongue. "Cómo se atreven a pensar que pueden hacer eso a una niña?!" He did not expect to get as angry as he was at this moment. He could have left the bar and hunted those sons of bitches down and destroyed them all. The way they had treated her, it was unforgivable and he didn't know how she was so calm.

"Woah! Diablo, you might as well be speaking Russian. Calm down, I don't understand a word you are saying." Cleo exclaimed as the gangster continued to pace the room and rant to himself. She could see he was angry and I guess she expected a small reaction, nothing like this.

"They treated you like an animal that shit ain't right! I will find them, I will find them and I'm going to kill them, I will burn them to the bone, they will never feel pain like it!" he barked as Cleo watched in shock, she had not expected such an explosive reaction – she didn't think it was that bad.

She had been kept behind glass for her own protection – her father had told her so, it was to stop her hurting anyone. If they did need to touch her skin, they would have gassed her so she slept whilst they did what they needed to do. It was effective and relatively pain free, after this long Cleo thought it could have been much worse. "How could they have done that to a kid? You were a kid damn it!" Diablo yelled as he turned to Cleo who was still perched on the chair.

"It's alright, it is over now. It's the past it's just how my childhood went. Like you said, you can't change the past – what happened has happened." Cleo said as she tried to calm Diablo down from a distance, he was livid. The room was getting progressively hotter as he got angrier Cleo had started to sweat a little causing her to flinch a little at her shock waves.

"You asked why I wasn't scared of you, I know what it is like to have people be so scared of you they won't even treat you like a person and to me you are a person and a damn good person at that." Cleo said turning the conversation on its head. Diablo stopped pacing and stared at her in shock, Cleo turned herself round on the chair so she was facing the meta-human, her knees now dangling off the side of the seat facing him.

"You have done some horrible things – I won't lie to your face and tell you that that shit is ok because it isn't; you have killed innocent people and no matter what you do that won't change but I have killed innocent people to, you are not the monster you think you are. You have to deal with the truth or it festers and corrodes your soul and I think your soul is worth something." Cleo said as the Diablo stood in silence, breathing heavily – his emotions going from anger to confusion and back again too fast for him to register. It was all too much for him; her words hit like a bullet Diablo took a deep breath and stormed out of the bar leaving Cleo sat in silence.

3POV

A few meters down the street Rick and the remaining members of the squad sat prepping their weapons for the attack ahead, they needed time to plan an attack they were not about to go in blind. They had made that mistake before – that I why there were in this mess.

"Were do you think they have got to? They are taking a while." Harley asked as she sat on a burned out police car, swinging her legs off the roof of the car she watched as her team sharpened and reloaded their weapons.

"They are probably going at it on the top of the bar, whilst we wait here like idiots." Boomerang chuckled as he polished his blades, his comment making the team all grimace and turn to him in disgust."Don't say shit like that man!" Deadshot snapped as he grimaced, reloading his handguns once more. "Come on you don't feel the tension between those two?" Boomerang chuckled as he looked up from his knives.

"Diablo was just talking about his dead wife and children; I don't think that kind of thing gets people going." Deadshot shot back at the thief who shrugged. "You never know some of the best sex I have had has been sad or angry sex." He said winking at Harley who shook her head with a grin. "Oh God please stop! I don't need to hear that shit." Deadshot grimaced as he motioned for the Australian to stop talking.

"He is right though, the tension between our little meta-humans is electric." Harley said with a giggle, entirely too proud of her own innuendo. "Hey, I am just trying to lighten the mood." She said as she watched the rest of her team give her a disapproving look.

"Yes, that worked so well in the bar." Boomerang said, lowering the mood slightly as the rest of the team tensed up a little. Harley had tried to explain that she was only trying to get the two meta-humans to realize the truth about themselves, it had not worked so well. She had tried to go see Cleo in the bathroom before they left but Deadshot had pulled her away, almost certain that if their friend went into the bathroom she wouldn't come out again.

"Jeez, I was only tryin' to help! You boys are so mean; I would kill you all if I didn't love ya." Harley chuckled as she jumped off of the car and took out her guns and began to reload the magazines. "Don't worry Shorty, it's all good." Croc said as he leaned against a car with his eyes closed, taking the few minutes to relax before they rushed into the forth gate of hell to fight the witch.

As the team stood talking Rick had made his way over to them. "Boomerang, can you go and fetch Montagneux and Diablo please." He asked, this time with a little more respect for his team, they had come to fight the witch and rescue June of their own free will; he had to give them some credit for that.

"Alright I will go but if I come back blind you are paying my medical bills Colonel." Boomerang said as he stood up and placed his blades in his coat. "I didn't ask for your life story? Just go!" Rick snapped as the thief raised his hands and stepped back. "I'm going, I'm going jeeez!"

"Why would he be coming back blind?" Rick asked as the thief walked off, clearly confused by the comment the team chuckled to themselves and looked up at him. "Diablo and Sparky might be having angry sex at the bar." Harley giggled as she licked her lips and winked at the Colonel.

"Oh Jesus! Forget I ever asked…"

Cleo POV

He hates me! He hates me I am a fucking idiot. What part of my pea sized over electrocuted brain thought it would be a good idea to have such a deep conversation with him? I should have known, he wouldn't want to go that deep, I barely know the guy. I met him less than a day ago, this time last night I had no idea about him or this team, or the evil witch we were supposedly here to kill.

I let out a groan and lay back on the chair, my feet dangling off the edge of the booth chair; I tried to calm myself down – everything was moving too fast for my brain to understand. I didn't mean to upset him, I just wanted to be honest with him and now I have lost the closest thing to a friend I had on this team. I lay in silence as I thought on the tattooed meta-human, my views on him hadn't changed all the much after he opened up about his past. If anything I respected him more and liked him more, if someone could come through that much devastation and turn himself into such a different person he deserved the respect. He deserved someone to care about him, and I couldn't lie over the short time I spent with him I had grown to care for him, he was the first person in a very long time to look out for me because they wanted to. He wasn't looking out for me because he was under orders, he didn't come to back me up because he was getting paid – he did it because he wanted to and that scared me a little. I have never had anyone care, genuinely care without reason too – people can fake emotions, they can fake their empathy, their sympathies can be lies and pretty words but something about the way he made me feel when we were together made me feel safe.

I felt miserable, the vodka should have gone to my head by now but I knew after years of working in a bar, being given access to multiple beverages that it took a hell of a lot more to get me drunk. I lay resting my head against the cool chair material, resting my eyes shut; in an attempt to calm my own inner turmoil I let out a groan.

"Thank you…"

I let out a scream and shot a bolt of electric at the bar, I didn't hear anyone come back into the bar. I jumped up from the chair and saw Diablo stood in front of me, he had removed his jacket again, my heart was racing I thought I was being attacked by those creatures. I let out a long breath before I shot Diablo a glare and sat back down, resting my head on my arms I tried to calm my breathing, panic stations were now on high alert. I would thank him for that later – if I wasn't sober before he had shocked it into me.

I watched as Diablo broke into a smile, I shook my head and watched as he placed his jacket on the table behind them. He seemed to have calmed down over the ten or so minutes he had been outside for.

"Thank you, Guapa" He said softly, I tilted my head a little, confused as to why he would need to thank me for anything. I hadn't done anything – he was the one who had taken care of me. I should be thanking him. "What are you thanking me for?" I asked.

"Thank you for seeing past the monster." He said, the expression on his face made me forget myself for a moment, I tried to find my words but they escaped me. They way he was looking at me scared me a little bit; no one had ever looked at me like that before.

"I never saw the monster to begin with Diablo." I said gently looking up at the tattooed man his eyes were softer, he was no longer angry or agitated he had returned to the man I had got to know over the last few hours.

3POV

"Chato…My name is Chato Santana; El Diablo is what they called me on the streets. It means The Devil. I have the devil's gift so the name stuck. No one calls me Chato anymore." Diablo said, as he leaned against the table behind him. He hadn't told anyone his real name in years, no one used it anymore – he was the devil, he had it tattooed on his face, everyone knew he was El Diablo but for some reason Cleo had seen past the mask of El Diablo; he thought she deserved to know the name of the man underneath it all.

Cleo smiled at the new information, she liked the sound of his name it suited him. There was nothing devilish about Chato, not in her opinion he was the closest thing to a guardian angel she had had over the last twenty-four hours.

"I am afraid I do not have any secret names. At the bar the punters would call me Princess because they thought I was haughty – I still don't know what that means." Cleo chuckled as she turned to sit properly in the booth. "I could see why Princess would stick." Chato smirked as Cleo opened her mouth to protest. "Are you calling me high maintenance?" She snapped with a smirk, making the pyrokenetic smile. "I did carry you here..." he shot back at her with a chuckle.

"I didn't ask you to carry me did I?" Cleo exclaimed, blush covering her cheeks as she picked up her bottle of vodka and placed the straw to her lips.

"Give me the bottle." Chato said as he held out his hand, Cleo shook her head and shuffled back on the seat away from Chato who chuckled at her defiance. "No, I need more liquid courage if we are going to fight a witch." Chato was not used to being told no. "Dámelo, you need to be able to walk to fight the witch and you ain't the Australian you will pass out, and I ain't carrying your ass no more. You hear me?" he said as he moved closer to Cleo who pulled face and handed him the bottle of vodka. "You are really bossy you know that."

Diablo chuckled at her comment as walked over to the main bar and placed the bottle behind the bar. "Yes and you have to do exactly what I say." He shot back at her making Cleo's mouth open a little in protest.

"Come here." Diablo ordered with a smirk, leaning back on the bar he watched as Cleo shook her head and then pushed herself off of the bar and slowly walked over to him, ever time he looked at her he noticed more and more little things that he liked and that scared stood in front of Diablo looking up at him, half expecting new order. She waited quietly while he looked down at her, she didn't want to move for some reason had decided not to cooperate with her.

"Do you have any control over the static on your skin?" Diablo asked as he swallowed and blinked a few times, a little flustered. "Occasionally I can if I try hard enough." Cleo replied, curious as to why the question had come about.

Diablo nodded and thought for a moment, he had an idea and it would either work well or it would hurt….it would hurt a lot but he had to do it or he would never forgive himself.

"Ok, turn it down now." he said gently, as he moved closer to her Cleo's heart began to pound against her chest, the warmth radiated from his skin wrapping around her skin was the most amazing sensation she had ever experienced. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she knew better than that. Looking up at Diablo she felt something inside her switch, something inside her didn't feel the same anymore, something was changing inside her and she didn't want to fight it. "What? Why?" She stuttered a few times before she forward back a little wanting to be closer to the warmth radiating off of Diablo's skin.

"Just trust me please..."

.

Heeeeeeeyyyyy!

If you made it this far…WELL DONE YOU NOW HATE ME! ^_^

I am sorry this chapter is soooo darn long guys I couldn't find a good place to split it up. I'M SORRY!

I have pulled an all nighter as I start uni on Thursday…and I need to get back into sleeping with the rest of humanity. *sulks like a child*

The next chapter may very well be the last one…let me know if you want me to continue with the story or you want me to end it with the next chapter ^_^ The choice is yours and your decision dictates big events in next episode so no pressure guys!

If you enjoyed this LONG as hell chapter please leave me a little something down in the comment section. I still jump up and down when I get a new comment – my neighbours abhor my existence at this point I can assure you.

I love you all. Have a great day!

I will see you tomorrow for the battle! Dun dun duuuun!

Favourite humans who comment:

ZabuzasGirl: I am glad you are enjoying the story. I sped up typing just for you ^_^ Also if your name is reference to Zabuza Momochi you go girl!

Lutfie : Thank you so much for your comment. I am so happy you are liking the story – I had to wiki Static Shock *Hangs head in shame* but you were right they are very similar!

Eolian: You comment whenever you can I always love reading your comments. ^_^ Hope your enrolment went well, I have to enrol on Thursday (send help! I'm not ready to learn!) I hope you liked this chapter I am sure you will let me know! See you in the comment section! *waves whilst eating chocolate cake*

gossamermouse101: IKR! My heart hurts for them, maybe I was too mean to Cleo she should have had a more chill life…but I'm evil. He he

VampWolf92 : Thank you for all your comments! ^_^

JustARandomHuman: I know I wanted to punch Harley but I made her mean so I should punch myself and that would be painful, I don't take punches that well.

MemeSoldier: Gracias por el comment, espero k t he gustado ese capítulo! Y porfa perdóname si me fallo el gramática, hace ya mucho tiempo sin hablar o escribir en español so I am rusty as hell. ^_^

Twilighterheart xxxx I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for following the story ^_^

Thank you guys you are the best! It's 6:21am and I have to stay up all day now to scare my body into a normal rhythm….*cries into coffee*

See you in the next chapter!

NQ

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