Chapter 15

Once he was free of the snowy forest Billy felt his full power surge inside him. Everything that had been held back all this time was screaming to be let out – and he let it. Launching himself into the air high above the clouds he soared toward town as fast as he could fly. The colors of everything below, the dark greens and blues, the little blips of glowing yellow from the streetlights, the cars on the highway, it all blended into a haze of color he was moving so fast.

When he got back to town they had already loaded Tommy into the back of the van, a crowd had gathered to watch as people whispered back and forth about what was happening. A new fear was in their eyes when they looked toward Tommy. Billy wasn't sure what was happening and he didn't care, he just knew he had to stop it. He was going to stop it.

In the van Tommy pushed himself up onto his elbows as Noh stood at the open door and leaned in.

"Last chance Speed." He whispered, "It's your brother or you going to the Cube."

"Screw you." Shepherd replied and Noh slammed the door shut. He tapped twice on the metal and the driver took the cue. The engine revved and the van prepared to drive off.

Billy plunged back down to earth in front of it. The blue aura around him blinded the driver making him raise a hand and not see Billy as he shielded his eyes. Using his powers he made his cape disappear as he circled the van in just his navy sweater and black slacks. He stepped up onto the bumper and looked into the barred window.

"You okay brother?" he asked and Tommy looked shocked to see him.

"Billy?" he exclaimed surprised but Billy didn't have any time to fill in his twin. He turned to the crowd and Noh-var who was closest.

"Let him out!" he demanded.

Noh put on a mask of false pity. "I'm sorry William but your brother has been making some pretty extreme and irrational claims."

"Yeah, he's been raving about some beast in a castle!" Av-rom joined in and there were voices of agreement that rose throughout the crowd.

"There is a beast in a castle, I've just come from there." Billy told them. It felt so wrong to call Dorrek that now, but he had to do what he could to persuade everyone that Tommy wasn't insane.

Noh scoffed, "He's your brother of course you'd say that. You'd do anything to set him free. Your word isn't proof."

Billy sneered now filled with rage, "I'm not a liar!"

"No, you're a queer!" Kesler shouted back from the crowd. As little as that had to do with anything Billy knew in the small town it would remind people that – as far as they were concerned – something might not be right with Billy's head. And that would only cause a flood of all the other oddities the people already believed about him.

"Fine. You want proof?!" he pulled the mirror from his back pocket where it was tucked under his sweater. Noh kept a close watch on every move he made but looked confused at the item he pulled out. Clearly he'd been expecting some sort of weapon. Billy held the mirror in his hands looking into the reflective surface, "Show me the castle and it's master."

The image rippled again and showed Dorrek sitting on one of the ledges along the roof, he was hunched like a statue of a gargoyle and his wings were open on either side of him. Billy turned the mirror and held it out to the crowd who all gasped. Noh stormed forward and snatched it. He held it in his hand and looked into the mirror with a scowl. For a moment Billy thought he saw recognition enter his eyes. But before he could analyze further Noh turned away from him.

"Look at this thing!" he shouted looking to the crowd. "It's like a winged Hulk! How long until it comes to tear up our town like the Hulk did to Harlem?"

Everyone murmured an agreement.

"He would never do that!" Billy argued and Noh turned back to him.

"You're siding with this beast over humanity? Not a surprise given your affliction!"

Billy recoiled a bit at the harsh words but they did their job as the people in the crowd looked at him even more distrustfully.

Noh turned back to the others, "We have to kill this thing before it comes for us!"

A roaring cheer erupted and at the idea of anyone killing Dorrek Billy lost it and charged for Noh. But the Kree was skilled in hand to hand combat and before Billy could do a thing Noh had his wrist in a vice grip and twisted his arm behind his back.

"He's as dangerous as his brother!" Noh shouted knowing he could kill two birds with the same stone. They'd all seen Billy try and attack him just now, and with Tommy's record now public knowledge this would be easy. "I say we lock them both away!"

Shouts of agreement rose from the crowd as Av-rom approached the van and readied the door. Billy felt something pierce the skin of his wrist in Noh's grip and an electrical current went through him. His knees buckled and Noh's grip was now the only thing keeping him standing. The next moment he was tugged aside and thrown into the van. Tommy, instead of taking the opportunity to zip out of there, leapt for his brother who was shaking in pain as the electricity surged through his veins.

"Billy!" he shouted before he realized what was happening and searched for the device. When he found it he pulled it free and Billy took deep breaths. But the door had been shut and locked behind them and Billy was too winded to focus on any kind of teleportation, all he had the strength to do was roll onto his back.

Outside Noh riled the crowd.

"We won't be safe til that thing's dead!" one of the mob cried.

"No need to worry about that." Noh spoke up drawing the crowd's attention again as he sauntered away from the van, "Shepherd brought us through the forest before, we can find the path again. Grab a weapon and follow me!"

The crowd quickly dispersed looking for anything to fight with. Many grabbed kitchen knives, some people had shotguns, some grabbed shovels and tools from a fireplace. Some grabbed ropes and baseball bats. Some had sledgehammers or garden hoes. They piled into pickups and engines revved as the group took off out of town. Noh-var had another wicked grin on his face at the idea of the hunt and the kill. He not only had the Wiccan and his brother captive back in the van without their powers but he was about to lead the charge for the extermination of the abomination that was the infamous Skrull-Kree hybrid.

Noh knew of him, the son of Princess Anelle of the Skrull Empyre and the great Kree hero Mar-vel. The Skrull had been preening him since boyhood to take their throne and restore peace between their two peoples. But the Kree were not a peaceful race, especially when it came to making amends with enemies. Noh stood in the back of the pickup Kesler was driving, he rested his hands on the roof of the vehicle as he looked back at the stash of weapons behind him and the vehicles full of fearful people who were ready to kill if it meant they'd be safe from a potential threat.

"We can't have it stalking us at night!"

"What about our children?"

"He'll wreak havoc on us if we let him wander free!"

"We have to take action!" their conversations drifted through the night air.

Noh smirked and looked at the mirror in his hand, "Show me the path to the castle."

The magic rippled and showed him the way. He passed the mirror to Av-rom.

"Give Kesler the directions when we reach the forest." He directed.

Av-rom nodded then swallowed nervously, "Noh, this Skrull. . . he is the –"

"I know who he is." Noh snapped at him running a hand through his now windswept hair.

"Then is this wise?" Av-rom asked, "He's the son of Mar-vel, our hero, our greatest warrior, our comrade –"

"Our dead comrade Av-rom. He tried to be peaceful and what he got for it was death. His son will go the same way."

"But killing another Kree –"

"He's only half Kree! An abomination! Don't get soft on me now Av-rom. We're on the cusp of a perfect trifecta! Wiccan and Speed prisoners and a dead Skrull!" he chuckled darkly, "Maybe I'll hang his wings on my wall. Tonight is sure to be an exciting ride."

"Did you see the claws on that beast?" the conversations drifted to his ears again.

"I'll bet it has fangs."

"Well I'm not going home until it's dead."

"We can count on Noah to lead the way."

Noh turned to Av-rom with another smirk, "It's not a war, but enough of a threat to get them to do whatever I say." He said proudly, living up to old aspirations of leading Kree armies into battle against disgusting Skrulls. He turned and crouched beginning to rifle through the weapons they'd brought for the humans. Perhaps he'd use some too, the Kree weapons sometimes made the job too easy and too quick.

"Skrulls are beasts there's no question." Av-rom said then softer whispered, "But I fear the wrong monsters released."

Their vehicles turned off the road and started through the woods. They wove through the trees and bumped over rocks. Av-rom looked to the mirror and called to Kesler's open window which ways to turn.

"Ugh." Billy groaned. He barely had enough energy to push himself off the floor of the van as he braced himself on his elbows. Still crouched beside him Tommy helped him sit up, wrapping an arm behind his back. "We've got to get to the castle first. We need to warn him."

He struggled to get up and make for the door but Tommy grabbed him and made him sit down. Billy took deep breaths as the effects of being electrocuted wore off and he regained some strength.

"What are you talking about?" Tommy questioned looking at his brother like he was crazy, "What's wrong with them killing that thing?"

Billy cringed at his brother's hate and shook his head, "He's not a bad person Tommy –"

"He locked you up in a tower!"

"I haven't been in the tower, he gave me a room!" Billy rebuked which made Tommy pause again and his silver brows pushed together in a perplexed expression. "He's been kind to me. It took a bit of time but. . . he hasn't been treating me like a prisoner. I'm like his equal."

"Is that how you escaped?"

Billy shook his head, "I didn't escape, he let me go. He let me come help you. He insisted actually."

Tommy still seemed confused and tried to figure out how his brother's statement could possibly make sense, "That horrible thing –"

"People change."

"Not that much."

Billy turned to his brother as he sat on his knees, "People thought you were a criminal too once." He softly reminded his twin of his days in juvie, "People do change."

Tommy looked down at the floor, it was quiet for a moment and the silence probably would have lasted longer but Billy knew they didn't have the time.

"We can't just let them kill him." He urged his twin.

When Tommy looked back up at him he saw a shift in those green eyes. They'd hardened with resolve and were ready to do whatever they had to do. Tommy had gone into hero mode.

"We've got to get out of here first." He began, laying out a plan, "The Cube knows how to block powers so this van is probably equipped."

He looked around trying to get an idea. Then his head snapped to the floor where he'd tossed the small tasing device. Grabbing it Tommy found a prong, one of many that had embedded the tech into Billy's skin. He looked up at his brother and smirked, "Luckily I was a criminal long before I had super powers."

Billy smiled as his brother rushed to the door and began doing his best to pick the lock. When it clicked open he grinned with self pride.

Billy placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder with a smile, "Pat yourself on the back later."

Shoving open the door the twins rushed out. Immediately Speed was off and Wiccan was following close behind thanks to his ability to fly. His blue magic surrounded him in a bolt of light much like Thor's as he changed into his uniform and Speed – moving quicker than the eye could see and the mind could comprehend – had already changed.

The town, then the hills, then the forest blew past in a blur again until they landed right at the start of the snowy path that led to the castle.

Stopping on a dime Speed turned to him as he landed. One brow was quirked behind his orange tinted lenses, "You know once we step in there none of our powers are going to work the right way?"

Wiccan shook his head staring straight ahead with determination, "I don't care, we have to do something to stop this."

Speed nodded at him and held out his arm. Wiccan grabbed it and half a second later Speed took off. Even restricted to a lesser speed he was still able to get them there in a flash, and it helped Wiccan to store his powers for what laid ahead of them. With Noh leading the pack there was no telling what he could rile the mob into.

Back at the castle Dorrek sat in one of the glassless windows of the tallest tower looking out in the direction Wiccan had gone. Ironically, the tower he was perched on was the exact tower with the cells where Wiccan had very briefly been kept his prisoner. Where he'd traded his life for his twin's. As sad as he was he hoped that the mage had arrived in time to save his brother.

Downstairs in the foyer Kate sat in the wing backed chair Wiccan usually occupied in his free time. Eli stood by the fireplace with one hand on the mantle as he looked into the flames. Both of them were covered in green now, their eyes yellow with swampy irises. Kate looked down at her sharp nails and ran her pointer finger along her knuckles almost like she was expecting scales to pop up any second. Eli scratched behind one pointy ear before he turned, rested his back against the wall and crossed his arms. The door to the dining room was propped open and Cassie was sluggishly polishing silverware before setting it in its proper place. Mealtimes would no doubt go back to the silent and solemn duty they'd been before – maybe worse, if Dorrek chose to lock himself in his chamber.

Kate let out a long sigh, "At least he's finally learned to love."

"But it's not enough." Eli replied still gazing at the floor, "I knew we shouldn't have gotten our hopes up."

"Well it's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all." Cassie chimed in trying to be positive, but not succeeding. "Or so they say."

As their conversation died out a new sound filled the air other than the crackling of the fire. It was a dull hum but was enough to rouse them all. Eli looked up from the floor, Kate sat up straighter in her chair, Cassie's hand froze on the fork in her hand.

"What is that?" Kate was first to ask as she stood and headed for the nearest window. Eli was hot on her heels as she pulled back the thick curtain and gasped.

"Uh oh." She gasped as they saw the headlights of a handful of vehicles at the gate.

"We are under attack!" Eli shouted as he turned, his military instincts immediately kicking in. "We need everyone here now!"

Cassie nodded and ran for the kitchen door to usher in her staff. There was clattering as others who had heard Eli's cry went deeper into the castle to fetch the others.

"Man a barricade!" Eli shouted when enough of their makeshift cavalry arrived. "Arm yourselves!"

From his place on the window ledge Dorrek saw the lights below and heard the hum of the several voices. He gave a deep huff as his shoulders sagged. There wasn't a single ounce of energy in him to move a muscle, not even lift a finger.

"Pardon me Sire?" Came Cassie's voice from several flights of stone steps below.

"Leave me." He ordered sternly.

"But sire, we're facing an attack." She said looking for his commanding presence. But the Beast who had attacked Tommy Shepherd and anyone else who dared to enter his home no longer existed and he had no desire to lead his friends into a battle he truly believed they would not win. The best thing for them was to hide until the oncoming mob got what they wanted. And he was fairly certain he knew what that was.

"What should we do sire?" Cassie asked, attempting to get some kind of response from him other than the dreary replies he was giving.

"Cassie it doesn't matter now." He told her thinking of the rose. Even if these people broke in he was certain that last petal would fall before they could reach him. Maybe a quick death would be kinder then living the rest of his days cursed. At least that way Wiccan would be free to live a life in the world, and not be restricted to his crumbling icy castle.

But Cassie remained where she was. She wanted an order? Fine, "Let them come."

Her feet padded away as she rushed back to the foyer to join the others. She exited the small door from the dungeon tower and made it to the top of the steps. At the bottom Kate looked up at her but the blonde only sadly shook her head.

Others passed them carrying things as weapons. Most were objects taken from the decorative suits of armor that served a fairly better purpose right now. Eli grabbed a shield off the wall and Kate hustled and ripped a bow and quiver from the nail they hung from. Cassie picked up a spear before the trio stood in front of the door, Eli in the lead with the girls flanking him on either side, hearts ablaze ready to march into battle though the danger had increased.

"Hold fast!" Eli commanded the staff bracing the door shut with their bodies. Only a minute after he said it something smashed into the doors making them shudder. Some people fell but quickly recovered as they resumed their positions. The bang, bang, bang, repeated and the doors began to break as they splintered.

"Eli, we're going to be outnumbered." Kate said softly over his shoulder.

"I know."

"Please tell me you have another tactic other than charging a crowd three times our size."

He glanced to his left, then right looking at the thick pillars and the shadowy corners that usually were such a depressing sight.

But now. . . the corner of his mouth lifted.

"Surrender the door." He ordered making many eyes turn to him confused, he nodded at them in confirmation before turning to Kate with a smirk, "Military strategy."

She smirked back and nodded immediately on the same page like she could read his thoughts.

Dorrek heard the voices grow louder and stood, only to step out the window and onto the thick ledge that surrounded the upper portion of the tower. He could imagine archers taking positions up here if there was ever a war, there was good cover and enough room for them to move and stash their arrows. He moved forward between two of the higher pillars of stone and rested his forearms in front of him gazing out at the frozen lake where he and Wiccan used to walk. Blocking out everything else, he tried to drown himself in the memory, imagining it was real and happening right now.

He let time slip away and smiled at the memory of Wiccan looking up at him with a smile and warm, kind eyes.

"Hello Dorrek VIII." He heard and opened his eyes as his brows pinched together. He turned and saw a young man, but not the young man he was hoping to see. This man had much lighter hair, was taller by a few good inches and. . . and was holding a Kree gun at him.

Dorrek stood up straighter confused by the Kree's arrival.

"I am Noh-var." he introduced with a wicked grin, "I believe we share a mutual friend."

Dorrek's confusion grew. He knew there was no way Billy would call a Kree his friend and never mention it. Much less this Kree who obviously had intent to kill. But like most enemies with the upper hand, this one chose to gloat.

"Wiccan won't be coming back I'm afraid." He said and Dorrek's tough exterior melted, his facial expression dropped and he knew his misery was clear for the Kree to see. His eyes lit up and he chuckled, "Aw, you're in love with him."

Dorrek turned back to look at the lake. He wasn't about to give this Kree Noh-var the satisfaction of his full attention and he certainly wasn't going to spend the last minutes of his life listening to his mockery.

"I'm fairly certain he loves you too." Noh said and Dorrek's head snapped back to him. Billy loved him back? Slowly, he looked down at his clawed hand. Then why hadn't the spell. . . he shook his head in sorrow. Billy would have to tell him, not some stranger.

"Not that it matters." Noh went on, "Seeing as I have Wiccan locked up tight back home."

Dorrek looked back at Noh, now with anger in his eyes, his brows were still pushed together in confusion, mainly because he had no idea why a Kree would cross paths with a mage. Still, the idea of Billy in restraints, either behind his back or above his head, possibly gagged or in pain sent a heat through the prince's veins.

"Killing a half breed illegitimate atrocity like you is only the icing on the cake. Still, I wonder what will be worse for Wiccan? Seeing your head roll across the floor. . . or having his own head split open as my friend experiments on his brain."

Dorrek's eyes went wide and pure fury rushed through him. He snarled and lunged for the Kree who meant Billy harm. But trained by one of the best armies in the galaxy, Noh was ready. He fired his weapon and hit Dorrek directly in the center of his broad chest. The prince was flown back and somersaulted backwards through the air landing on his stomach as he slid across the stone. He groaned from the pain, whatever that gun fired packed a punch. But in his Skrull form he could take it, the thicker skin covered in scales over sheets of pure muscle kept him from taking too much damage. Though the wound singed like he'd been burned, he didn't bleed and for that he was grateful.

Having been trained to fight Dorrek quickly pushed himself back up to his feet. Noh took another shot at him, this one hitting his bad leg. It had healed enough that he'd been fine walking and running but taking a blast from that gun rewounded an already tender spot. His leg gave way beneath him and Dorrek gave a loud roar of pain. Before he could fall to one knee though he spread his wings and took off of the tower. Noh charged and stood on the edge as Dorrek wove through the other towers ready to take cover from the next shot the Kree warrior tried.

When the twins got to the end of the path they found the gate pushed open, both intricate doors spread as far as they could go to accommodate the crowd that had barged in. A few of the vehicles had been abandoned here and tire tracks led further inside. Speed took them down through the courtyard and through the hedges. At the marble steps that led to the front door they stopped and Speed fell to his knees taking deep breaths. Wiccan crouched by his brother who nodded repeatedly, silently confirming he was okay.

He rest of the pickup trucks had been left here, empty of both people and weapons. Ahead of them the front door was open and they could hear the kafuffle inside as golden light poured out the ajar door and into the night.

From high above they heard a great roar and tilted their heads up simultaneously as they looked for the source of the sound. Wiccan's eyes were wide with both alarm and worry.

"Get up there." Speed told him, their heads turning to look at each other. "I'll meet you."

Wiccan nodded and shot into the air. Speed rushed into the castle intending to zoom up the stairs and meet his brother at one of the towers. However, one foot through the door made him skid to a halt at the scene in front of him. People with green skin fought the townspeople, makeshift weapons were flying across the room the kafuffle of chaos making his jaw drop open. Out of all the weird things he'd encountered in his life this won the gold.

As he came back to his senses he saw a couple arrows fly through the air and his eyes landed on the archer launching them. He didn't remember seeing her the first time he'd come to the castle but she immediately held his attention. She was perched on the rail of the steps and each arrow she notched found it's intended target once she released it. She made no killing shots, but was able to unarm dozens of people with a single shot to the inner elbow or the back of a hand. However, a couple people were able to dodge their attackers and get the archer in their sights. As they charged she tried to backpedal along the rail when it crumbled from under one foot. She fell back from the steps, a fall that would not end well. Speed charged forward zipping between the fights around him and caught her in his arms just in the nick of time.

"Whoa, nicely handled." She said looking up at him and he gave her a smile. Even with green skin she was very pretty.

"Thanks." He said trying to play it cool and not blush. Then the chaos around them snapped them out of their little moment and he put the woman down.

"Shall we get to it then?" she asked him readying another arrow.

"Uh." He began hesitantly as he looked around. He knew Wiccan needed him but there were people getting hurt here too. He needed to get this fighting to stop before anyone got really hurt, or worse.

He just hoped his brother could hold his own in the meantime.