~Shadow~Singer~
By Alexia Goddess
chapter Six
Mingling Blood
"Kill me!" Shadow screamed again, and simultaniously released the Dark
Knight and kneed him in the midriff. Terry doubled over in mid air,
clutching his stomach. He went hurtling down to the ground, but Shadow
flew down, flaring her wings and coming back up under him, slamming
a fist into his back so hard he went soaring back upwards. This time he
managed to get his feet under him, jam a button inside his wrist, and
flare his gliders. He growled ferally and shot down to a rooftop,
Shadow hot on his heels.
"Why are you doing this?" Terry growled as he ducked away from one of
Shadow's swings. She anticipated this move, however, and he only
succeeded in ramming straight into her other fist. Super strength
apparently accompanied her arsenal of wings and telepathy, as once
again Terry slammed down into the concrete.
"I told you," Shadow said. "I have nothing to live for." Her voice was
cold and careless, even more so than it had been on that rooftop only
days ago, when Terry had first met her. Shadow whirled in a roundabout
kick. Terry leapt to his feet and caught her foot, gave it a twist,
and sent her spiraling in midair to land heavily a few feet away.
"That's not true!" He snapped at her as she picked herself up, wiping
a trickle of blood off her lip.
"Oh?" Shadow raised an elegant eyebrow. "How so, my darling knight?
You see a reason worth my continuing to live? How? I was created to
nurture evil, to serve someone who was the beloved of a man who
wanted to destroy the world. When that beloved one destroyed her, her
hate and evilness was embedded in me. How? How can I live and not be
the very source of pain and suffering for this city?"
"For one thing," Terry said, standing up straight and seeming to glare
at her. "If you really were all that, you wouldn't feel so bad about it. And second, you give yourself too much credit. Even if you did
become the ultimate villainess, I'd be there to stop you at every turn,
and you know it. Isn't that why you picked me and this city?"
Shadow's laughter rang out clear and sweet. She walked towards him, a
sparkle in her eye.
"You think I deserve to live, my knight?" She said, her voice low and
playful as she neared, her hands impishly clasped behind her back.
"Everyone deserves to live." Terry stated. Well, he amended mentally.
Almost everyone.
"So you think I'm special, even though I was created for evil?" She
giggled.
Damn that telepathy, Terry scowled. Shadow laughed.
She was just in front of him now, close enough so that there was barely
room for wind to pass between them, and it was rather windy atop one of
the tallest skyscrapers in Gotham. Cars and the sounds of the night
city roared below, but up above, things were calm and almost silent.
The wind swirled around tbem, bringing Shadow's long hair around her to
brush against Terry's arm. Her black eyes were bright, and the cloudy
skies were just barely thin enough that a sliver of moonlight was
reflected in them, making her look catlike and devious. The impish
'arent' I a naughty girl?' smile she was giving him was -for some
unfathomable reason- making his heart do flip flops...
"Please, my knight," Terry could almost hear Cynthia's innocence in
Shadow's tone. "Please," She begged, placing a hand in the center of
the bright red bat insignia on his chest. "Please, end the pain I will
sow before it begins. Please...just kill me..." She raised her other
hand, palm up. Smoky shadowy fog gathered in it, elgonating and then
solidifying into the shape of a curved, black handled, garnget and
dark amathyst studded dagger. She offered it to him, holding the hilt
to him.
Terry looked at the dagger, put his hand over hers on the hilt, and
applied pressure. Shadow gasp when his grip began to become painful,
and she was forced to drop the dagger else her hand be crushed. Even
after she dropped it, Terry kept his hand on hers. He didn't want her
going after the dagger before he got a chance to kick it away. At
least, that was what he told himself.
"Why do you want to die?" He asked her suddenly. That gut feeling was
back...
Shadow blinked and stepped away and removed her hand from his chest,
taking her other hand from his, a look of surprise on her face. It was
an usual expression for her, and Terry got the feeling she didn't wear
it often.
"Wh-what?" She asked, then frowned. "I told you. I have no reason for
living. Although I was created for it and by it, I don't like causing
pain to those who don't deserve it. And if I stay alive that's what
I'll end up doing."
"There's something you're not telling me." Terry's eyes narrowed.
"There's another reason you're so eager to end your life right now."
Shadow took another step back. The pleading, hopeful look on her face
dissipated into the sly, cocky smirk of a naughty kitten.
"You are perceptive, my knight," She purred, as they began circling
each other.
"Tell me, Shadow," Terry growled.
"Do you really want to know?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. Terry remained
silent, only narrowing his eyes in response. Though he was having a
hard time concealing his raging curiosity... Shadow giggled girlishly.
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," She laughed. "But very well," She
said. "But I guarantee you won't like it..." She fixed his gaze with
his, and suddenly found that as she made her way closer, he wasn't able
to take a step back...
Damn hypnosis, and double damn that telepathy, Terry growled to himself.
Shadow raised her hand, and the dagger, a few yards away, flew to her
grasp at her silent command. Playful impishness glittering out of her
crescentmoon reflecting eyes, she walked closer and closer to the one
she had proclaimed her ultimate adversary, and whom moments ago she
had begged to end her life.
She was right in front of him now, and Terry was just as frozen then as
he had been a few moments before. She gripped his right arm and raised
it so that the inside of his forearm was facing up. She rasied herself
up on her tip toes.
"I'm sorry," She whispered in his ear, and when lowering herself down
off her tiptoes, kissed his cheek before slicing the dagger deep into
his forearm, once, twice, three, four, five times, crisscrossing to
make a star of of lines all at different angles, but all crossing each
other at the same point.
Terry was unable to cry out or hiss or even wince, but his face would
have gone from an expression of suppressed pain to that of surprise
when Shadow drew the blade across the inside of her own left forearm,
making the same five point star. She dropped the dagger, biting her
lip and whimpering as the blood dripped and ran down to her wrist and
splattered to the rooftop.
Shadow moved her left arm towards' Terry's still frozen right, when a
voice cried out...
"No! Shadow, don't! You can't! Mother wouldn't have wanted this!"
"This is what I was created or, Cynthia." Shadow said, responding to
the voice. "I was created to cause pain...to the the one who caused
you mother pain."
Shadow clasped her hand around Terry's right elbow, slamming the twin
slice stars together. Suddenly the neo Batman was free of the hypnosis,
and a cry of rage and pain was released from his throat as Shadow fell
into him, sobbing.
"No! Terry!" That same voice that tried to stop Shadow screamed.
Faintly Terry recognized it as Cynthia's...
"Batman!" Max...
"McGinnis!" Bruce...
Memories that weren't his own flashed through his mind, and he saw
a familiar slender redhead, young and beautiful though she was well
over a hundred, her father's voice coming from her throat.
Talia?
He remembered fleeing with Bruce as the mansion began to crumble into
flames. But as he watched the images that sifted through his mind, he
saw a shadow of a girl, horror on her face, race towards a back entrance.
Cynthia?
Yes, it was Cynthia! But she was red haired, and had the brightest
green eyes...but it was still Cynthia.
Terry, as he watched these 'imported' memories like one would a movie,
he saw her cough through the smoke, shoving aside burning rubble to
reach the woman who was near death. The woman's body holding the mind
of a crazed man...
"Mother!" Cynthia cried, pulling the woman's burnt body into her arms.
"Cynthia..." Rache used Talia's voice to address Talia's daughter from
Talia's body. Cynthia didn't know, Terry realized. She didn't know that
her mother had died years ago, when she had died to give her body to
her father.
"Mama, don't go!" Cynthia sobbed. Talia's hand reached up and touched
Cynthia's forehead. Cynthia didn't notice the slight shadowy substance
that became visible around Talia's hand and then sunk into Cynthia's
skin. Neither did she notice that as it sunk in, her hair turned
black and her eyes the darknest of blues.
Then the hand fell away, and Rache, in Talia's body, was dead.
As Terry's mind was stuck in the reverie of a limbo, the outside world
seemingly frozen in time, he suddenly knew everything, everything
crashed into place, plaything themselves out in sequence.
A sorceress fell in love with Rache, hundreds of years ago.
Rache loved her at first, and they had a child, Talia.
Rache betrayed the sorceress.
The sorceress created Shadow to not only take revenge on Rache, but to
watch over her daughter and find the sorceress an enemy to play with.
Sorceress died before Shadow could do any of those things.
Shadow felt guitly at not being able to grant her creator's wishes, so
took Talia's body to inhabit in a dormant state, all the while keeping
a mental ear out for someone worthy of the daughter of her creator.
Talia fell in love with the first Batman.
First Batman denied her.
Talia wouldn't allow Shadow to reap reveng on Batman, since Talia still
loved him.
Talia fell in love with Mr. McCain.
Talia and Mr. McCain had Cynthia.
Mr. McCain had an affair with Dorla groove and divorced Talia.
Talia's father's remaining thoughts found Talia via Shadow's telepathy,
and Talia gave her body to Rache to inhabit, dying in the process.
Shadow hid herself from Rache, had a plan to get Talia back.
Cynthia never knew about Rache.
Bruce and Terry ended up killing Rache-within-Talia before Shadow
could bring back her creator's daughter.
Shadow transfered herself from Talia's body to Cynthia.
Cynthia had been in denial...
Shadow kept looking for the perfect adversary, pleased when she
discovered it was the one responsible for her not being able to rescue
her mistress...
Terry, had he not been in this mental limbo, would have growled
ferally.
Shadow was mixing their blood so she could possess him! But why?
*Can we say 'dumb question?'* Terry growled at himself. *So she can
make your life miserable, that's why! The perfect adversary is always
yourself, dummy, because you can't fight something from inside
yourself! That's a battle that would go on forever! WILL go on forever
if this doesn't get stopped!*
Even as he thought this, he could feel Shadow's black blood mingle
with his own in his own veins...time was running out... He could feel
his mind seeping back into his body, but would he be fully back in
control of his own limbs in time?
Just as her blood was in his, his was also in hers, and he could feel
and sense that she knew that he was pushing himself to regain control
of his body. Just as he began concentrating, so did she, and the
race was on...
The clock was ticking.
To Be Continued....
Okay, this WHOLE story is offically dedicated to Smack54. *hugs Smack*
THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I got the inspiration for an actual PLOT for this
story from Smack's VERY encouraging, boost-giving review. THANK YOU! Go
thank him too! He's the reason that there will be at least two more
chapters to this, and probably a sequel! Oh, man, my little brain gears
are turning now... *eyes sparkle* OH, the possibilities for this little
brain storm chapter of mine...ooooooooh..... *eyes glitter more*
*snaps out of it* Anyhoo, if any of you don't know who Talia is, or is
confused on that front (I did my best to give as much background info
as nessecary. Did I do a good job?) then review or e-mail me and I'll
give you a more detailed explanation, okay? Okay.
Now, everyone, I want everyone to read *very* *carefully* You see that
lil blue bar down below???? USE IT!!!!!!!!
*halo* Thanks for reading! You're support was sooooo great!!!!!!! *hugs
all* Thankies! Ja!
Smile More, Dream Always,
Alexia Goddess
*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*
By Alexia Goddess
chapter Six
Mingling Blood
"Kill me!" Shadow screamed again, and simultaniously released the Dark
Knight and kneed him in the midriff. Terry doubled over in mid air,
clutching his stomach. He went hurtling down to the ground, but Shadow
flew down, flaring her wings and coming back up under him, slamming
a fist into his back so hard he went soaring back upwards. This time he
managed to get his feet under him, jam a button inside his wrist, and
flare his gliders. He growled ferally and shot down to a rooftop,
Shadow hot on his heels.
"Why are you doing this?" Terry growled as he ducked away from one of
Shadow's swings. She anticipated this move, however, and he only
succeeded in ramming straight into her other fist. Super strength
apparently accompanied her arsenal of wings and telepathy, as once
again Terry slammed down into the concrete.
"I told you," Shadow said. "I have nothing to live for." Her voice was
cold and careless, even more so than it had been on that rooftop only
days ago, when Terry had first met her. Shadow whirled in a roundabout
kick. Terry leapt to his feet and caught her foot, gave it a twist,
and sent her spiraling in midair to land heavily a few feet away.
"That's not true!" He snapped at her as she picked herself up, wiping
a trickle of blood off her lip.
"Oh?" Shadow raised an elegant eyebrow. "How so, my darling knight?
You see a reason worth my continuing to live? How? I was created to
nurture evil, to serve someone who was the beloved of a man who
wanted to destroy the world. When that beloved one destroyed her, her
hate and evilness was embedded in me. How? How can I live and not be
the very source of pain and suffering for this city?"
"For one thing," Terry said, standing up straight and seeming to glare
at her. "If you really were all that, you wouldn't feel so bad about it. And second, you give yourself too much credit. Even if you did
become the ultimate villainess, I'd be there to stop you at every turn,
and you know it. Isn't that why you picked me and this city?"
Shadow's laughter rang out clear and sweet. She walked towards him, a
sparkle in her eye.
"You think I deserve to live, my knight?" She said, her voice low and
playful as she neared, her hands impishly clasped behind her back.
"Everyone deserves to live." Terry stated. Well, he amended mentally.
Almost everyone.
"So you think I'm special, even though I was created for evil?" She
giggled.
Damn that telepathy, Terry scowled. Shadow laughed.
She was just in front of him now, close enough so that there was barely
room for wind to pass between them, and it was rather windy atop one of
the tallest skyscrapers in Gotham. Cars and the sounds of the night
city roared below, but up above, things were calm and almost silent.
The wind swirled around tbem, bringing Shadow's long hair around her to
brush against Terry's arm. Her black eyes were bright, and the cloudy
skies were just barely thin enough that a sliver of moonlight was
reflected in them, making her look catlike and devious. The impish
'arent' I a naughty girl?' smile she was giving him was -for some
unfathomable reason- making his heart do flip flops...
"Please, my knight," Terry could almost hear Cynthia's innocence in
Shadow's tone. "Please," She begged, placing a hand in the center of
the bright red bat insignia on his chest. "Please, end the pain I will
sow before it begins. Please...just kill me..." She raised her other
hand, palm up. Smoky shadowy fog gathered in it, elgonating and then
solidifying into the shape of a curved, black handled, garnget and
dark amathyst studded dagger. She offered it to him, holding the hilt
to him.
Terry looked at the dagger, put his hand over hers on the hilt, and
applied pressure. Shadow gasp when his grip began to become painful,
and she was forced to drop the dagger else her hand be crushed. Even
after she dropped it, Terry kept his hand on hers. He didn't want her
going after the dagger before he got a chance to kick it away. At
least, that was what he told himself.
"Why do you want to die?" He asked her suddenly. That gut feeling was
back...
Shadow blinked and stepped away and removed her hand from his chest,
taking her other hand from his, a look of surprise on her face. It was
an usual expression for her, and Terry got the feeling she didn't wear
it often.
"Wh-what?" She asked, then frowned. "I told you. I have no reason for
living. Although I was created for it and by it, I don't like causing
pain to those who don't deserve it. And if I stay alive that's what
I'll end up doing."
"There's something you're not telling me." Terry's eyes narrowed.
"There's another reason you're so eager to end your life right now."
Shadow took another step back. The pleading, hopeful look on her face
dissipated into the sly, cocky smirk of a naughty kitten.
"You are perceptive, my knight," She purred, as they began circling
each other.
"Tell me, Shadow," Terry growled.
"Do you really want to know?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. Terry remained
silent, only narrowing his eyes in response. Though he was having a
hard time concealing his raging curiosity... Shadow giggled girlishly.
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," She laughed. "But very well," She
said. "But I guarantee you won't like it..." She fixed his gaze with
his, and suddenly found that as she made her way closer, he wasn't able
to take a step back...
Damn hypnosis, and double damn that telepathy, Terry growled to himself.
Shadow raised her hand, and the dagger, a few yards away, flew to her
grasp at her silent command. Playful impishness glittering out of her
crescentmoon reflecting eyes, she walked closer and closer to the one
she had proclaimed her ultimate adversary, and whom moments ago she
had begged to end her life.
She was right in front of him now, and Terry was just as frozen then as
he had been a few moments before. She gripped his right arm and raised
it so that the inside of his forearm was facing up. She rasied herself
up on her tip toes.
"I'm sorry," She whispered in his ear, and when lowering herself down
off her tiptoes, kissed his cheek before slicing the dagger deep into
his forearm, once, twice, three, four, five times, crisscrossing to
make a star of of lines all at different angles, but all crossing each
other at the same point.
Terry was unable to cry out or hiss or even wince, but his face would
have gone from an expression of suppressed pain to that of surprise
when Shadow drew the blade across the inside of her own left forearm,
making the same five point star. She dropped the dagger, biting her
lip and whimpering as the blood dripped and ran down to her wrist and
splattered to the rooftop.
Shadow moved her left arm towards' Terry's still frozen right, when a
voice cried out...
"No! Shadow, don't! You can't! Mother wouldn't have wanted this!"
"This is what I was created or, Cynthia." Shadow said, responding to
the voice. "I was created to cause pain...to the the one who caused
you mother pain."
Shadow clasped her hand around Terry's right elbow, slamming the twin
slice stars together. Suddenly the neo Batman was free of the hypnosis,
and a cry of rage and pain was released from his throat as Shadow fell
into him, sobbing.
"No! Terry!" That same voice that tried to stop Shadow screamed.
Faintly Terry recognized it as Cynthia's...
"Batman!" Max...
"McGinnis!" Bruce...
Memories that weren't his own flashed through his mind, and he saw
a familiar slender redhead, young and beautiful though she was well
over a hundred, her father's voice coming from her throat.
Talia?
He remembered fleeing with Bruce as the mansion began to crumble into
flames. But as he watched the images that sifted through his mind, he
saw a shadow of a girl, horror on her face, race towards a back entrance.
Cynthia?
Yes, it was Cynthia! But she was red haired, and had the brightest
green eyes...but it was still Cynthia.
Terry, as he watched these 'imported' memories like one would a movie,
he saw her cough through the smoke, shoving aside burning rubble to
reach the woman who was near death. The woman's body holding the mind
of a crazed man...
"Mother!" Cynthia cried, pulling the woman's burnt body into her arms.
"Cynthia..." Rache used Talia's voice to address Talia's daughter from
Talia's body. Cynthia didn't know, Terry realized. She didn't know that
her mother had died years ago, when she had died to give her body to
her father.
"Mama, don't go!" Cynthia sobbed. Talia's hand reached up and touched
Cynthia's forehead. Cynthia didn't notice the slight shadowy substance
that became visible around Talia's hand and then sunk into Cynthia's
skin. Neither did she notice that as it sunk in, her hair turned
black and her eyes the darknest of blues.
Then the hand fell away, and Rache, in Talia's body, was dead.
As Terry's mind was stuck in the reverie of a limbo, the outside world
seemingly frozen in time, he suddenly knew everything, everything
crashed into place, plaything themselves out in sequence.
A sorceress fell in love with Rache, hundreds of years ago.
Rache loved her at first, and they had a child, Talia.
Rache betrayed the sorceress.
The sorceress created Shadow to not only take revenge on Rache, but to
watch over her daughter and find the sorceress an enemy to play with.
Sorceress died before Shadow could do any of those things.
Shadow felt guitly at not being able to grant her creator's wishes, so
took Talia's body to inhabit in a dormant state, all the while keeping
a mental ear out for someone worthy of the daughter of her creator.
Talia fell in love with the first Batman.
First Batman denied her.
Talia wouldn't allow Shadow to reap reveng on Batman, since Talia still
loved him.
Talia fell in love with Mr. McCain.
Talia and Mr. McCain had Cynthia.
Mr. McCain had an affair with Dorla groove and divorced Talia.
Talia's father's remaining thoughts found Talia via Shadow's telepathy,
and Talia gave her body to Rache to inhabit, dying in the process.
Shadow hid herself from Rache, had a plan to get Talia back.
Cynthia never knew about Rache.
Bruce and Terry ended up killing Rache-within-Talia before Shadow
could bring back her creator's daughter.
Shadow transfered herself from Talia's body to Cynthia.
Cynthia had been in denial...
Shadow kept looking for the perfect adversary, pleased when she
discovered it was the one responsible for her not being able to rescue
her mistress...
Terry, had he not been in this mental limbo, would have growled
ferally.
Shadow was mixing their blood so she could possess him! But why?
*Can we say 'dumb question?'* Terry growled at himself. *So she can
make your life miserable, that's why! The perfect adversary is always
yourself, dummy, because you can't fight something from inside
yourself! That's a battle that would go on forever! WILL go on forever
if this doesn't get stopped!*
Even as he thought this, he could feel Shadow's black blood mingle
with his own in his own veins...time was running out... He could feel
his mind seeping back into his body, but would he be fully back in
control of his own limbs in time?
Just as her blood was in his, his was also in hers, and he could feel
and sense that she knew that he was pushing himself to regain control
of his body. Just as he began concentrating, so did she, and the
race was on...
The clock was ticking.
To Be Continued....
Okay, this WHOLE story is offically dedicated to Smack54. *hugs Smack*
THANK YOU!!!!!!!! I got the inspiration for an actual PLOT for this
story from Smack's VERY encouraging, boost-giving review. THANK YOU! Go
thank him too! He's the reason that there will be at least two more
chapters to this, and probably a sequel! Oh, man, my little brain gears
are turning now... *eyes sparkle* OH, the possibilities for this little
brain storm chapter of mine...ooooooooh..... *eyes glitter more*
*snaps out of it* Anyhoo, if any of you don't know who Talia is, or is
confused on that front (I did my best to give as much background info
as nessecary. Did I do a good job?) then review or e-mail me and I'll
give you a more detailed explanation, okay? Okay.
Now, everyone, I want everyone to read *very* *carefully* You see that
lil blue bar down below???? USE IT!!!!!!!!
*halo* Thanks for reading! You're support was sooooo great!!!!!!! *hugs
all* Thankies! Ja!
Smile More, Dream Always,
Alexia Goddess
*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*