Guardian: My city, my protectorate
By Xenomorph666
Disclaimer: I own Vile, HOMe, Macto and the Angel twins. Everything else is owned by Marvel or Disney. Mike Harrigan is owned by FOX as well as Aliens.
Summary: 1 year after his defeat by HOMe and acceptance from the Morlocks, Vile has found his way to LA and adopted it as his home after a fateful night full of tragedy.
AN: WARNING THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME EXTREME VIOLENCE, I'm talkin' Hannibal Lector type violence here people, no for the squeamish.
Stages
When I came to I was became acutely aware of another presence. From instinct I sprung to my feet only to loose my balance. I caught myself on the smoke stack, but not before I saw who was there with me. It was the shifter, she had followed me. Whether out of orders or intrigue I never knew.
"You've been out for hours." She said simply, and then my heart sank.
Father Horn could no longer be alive. I had failed in protecting my friend, but I could not believe it. How could I have failed him, my thoughts went racing and they were fraught with denial and begged for this not to be real. I rose to my feet slowly, my heart no longer pounding as I looked over the edge and a spark in my heart ignited.
"He will pay…" with those words I leapt to another roof, a new strength guiding me on greater than anything I had felt before, my hatred for this new enemy and myself.
===
Father Horn had been signing off on the last forms for the children's permission slips when he heard the noise. At first he thought it was Vile returning for a game of chess, but when his door opened he could feel the presence was far to dark and full of madness.
"Who are you?" He asked as he rose to his feet, immediately he felt pressure push him back into it.
"Quite old man or do you want the children to awake to the heads of those shrews you call nuns attached to their bed posts." The voice was high and full of madness, but familiar as well.
"Who are you, what do you want?" the old priest asked with out fear, although he asked it much quieter.
"Call me Leto." He felt the familiar feel of an exo-skeletal finger stroke his cheek. "Leto Illusis Macto."
"So he's come for me." Father Horn said bravely, thinking that he was facing a representation of the devil.
"If you mean the source of all darkness you humans label as the devil, no. But I do want something similar." A cackle escaped Leto's throat. "You see 'Father', humans made me from Vile's DNA." He heard the monster pause. "Would that make us brothers?"
Father Horn stayed silent refusing to answer the threatening monster.
"Answer me holy man. Or the children might not wake up."
"By my understandings. No, a brother is born and raised in love, spawn are made for no other reason than to kill. Spawn of hatred is what you are." A sudden forceful blow to his side caused the priest to grimace and clench his teeth in pain.
"Oh you have no IDEA how correct you are." He heard the beast roar with laughter as he felt sharp pains in his side, like five knives stabbing him. "Now tell me, where is the girl? I know he cares for her, above all else, where is she, hm?"
"I will never reveal the innocence of her to you, you vile…" he felt the monster's wet finger press against his lip, it was wet with his own blood.
"Shh, father. I'll find out sooner or later, between the screams and the pleas, you'll say something. And then he will loose his family and I, well I will go dig mine up."
With a sudden burst of hidden strength Father Horn threw the beast off of him and slammed a metal letter opener down in a random spot. The spot happened to be Leto's hand and he let out a roar of pain. Then he felt himself get slammed into his chair again.
"Foolish mistake old man, I was going to simply put you through a living hell, but now you are going to die and you WILL scream and I will enjoy it." Then Father Horn felt the pain of knives cutting at the surface of his face, but despite the pain he would not scream.
"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou art with me..." His prayer was cut off as he felt the pain of knives in his mouth, and then he could speak no more.
===
When I arrived at the church I knew the shifter was following me, so I waited for her to find me. It didn't take to long, her raven form came flying down within minutes. She had a look that almost resembled sympathy on her face.
"Confused recently?" I asked mockingly of her.
"My son, he believes so much that God has a plan for us all…" I could her voice trail off.
"And you? What do you believe?"
"I'm not sure anymore. Between Magneto's preaching's of war and Xavier's constant lesson's in humility I've lost sight of what I wanted for them." She sat against a rock.
"Them, you do this for others. I find that hard to believe." I smirked, but it faded as soon as I saw her face. It looked broken and filled with sadness. "I apologize."
"No, you're right. They said the same thing, but I guess hearing it from a stranger hits you hardest. I want so much for them to live in peace though to not have to fear being different." She sighed.
"I doubt my saying anything did anything more than confirm your own fears. And as for peace, it's only an illusion, the best you can hope for is mutual existence. Man is far to good at fearing what is different, especially when it looks so similar to themselves."
"Maybe, or maybe Xavier has a point. Maybe I have been going down the wrong path."
"It's up to you to decide that, but I can't imagine someone with as much fire in their spirit teaching classes and pampering those little brats. You seem more disciplined than that."
"I should I taught myself how to kill for goodness sakes…"
"And now the lioness wants to rest even though the leader want more food." I said it under my breath so she couldn't hear.
"What?" she looked up at me.
"Nothing, why did you follow me?"
"I don't know, why did you come here, you know the priest is dead if what Celeste said is true."
I gave he a funny look before realizing what she meant, "The girl is empathic, great another one to deal with."
"Is it true, you were worried about someone here?" She looked at me.
"Yes, the only man I can truly call a friend… well could anyway."
"He could still be alive." She said, getting up and opening the door. "There's only one way to find out though."
We entered the church slowly, the both of us wary about entering the large building, although I suspect for different reasons. I was worried that the monster that called him self Leto would be hiding in the rafters and ceiling. I could sense another kind of apprehension coming from her though. We found our way to his chambers quickly enough.
When we entered however my senses were on high alert as the smell of blood filled my nostrils. I saw his chair spun around so the back was facing the door, and on his desk was a note written in blood. I went immediately to the note and read it.
"Dear Brother, I hope this reaches you in time. Oh wait no I don't, anyway you should be proud of your priest friend he refused to scream during the whole ordeal of me killing him slowly and painfully. Of course my cutting out his tongue might have had something to do with it. But not to worry it's holding his the spot in his little book that he was trying to say the whole time. Oh and one other thing. One down six point five billion more to go. Ciao!"
"Monster." I tossed the note to the ground and cursed.
It was then the shifter spun the chair, she immediately turned away and stopped herself from throwing up. He had mutilated Father Horn's face and body, carving crude statements and limericks into his skin. In his hands however was the bible, his own tongue holding place. A morbid curiosity swept over me then and I reached for it and read a few lines out loud.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever." The words stung me like knives as I roared in pain and hatred only to be immersed in the familiar white darkness that preceded the God of man.
===
When the light faded and I was again in my mind the old being sat before me, this time a dark skinned man in his late twenties. A sad expression on his face as though he had not planned on this.
"I am sorry this had to happen." He said.
"Apologize to the children, apologize to the nuns, apologize to him, but NEVER apologize to me, and never show yourself to me again."
"You think I wanted this to happen? You think I wanted that soulless abomination to kill such a good man? How could you think that."
"You let him die, that I can accept it's not your way to interfere, but the way you let him die…"
"And I 'let' millions of my followers dies in similar horrible fashions during mans 'World War two'. I can't affect how people die only people can affect that."
"That I can understand, but like you said. He's a soulless abomination, you should have done something." I was in the middle of forcing myself to consciousness.
"It's not my place, I wish you could understand that."
"Never speak to me again. Never." With that I turned from him and brought myself to the waking world once more. It would truly be the last time I ever saw him, at least in my mind.
===
"Are you ok?" the shifter shook me a little. I sat up and looked at her, she could see my sadness, and my surprise. "I called the police and moved us higher. You know how heavy you are?"
"Thank you shifter. Now if you'll excuse me I have an abomination to destroy." I got up to leave but I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"I'll help, just do me a favor." I gave he a look. "My name is Mystique, use it from time to time. And we're going to still nee more people you realize that, right?"
"So we know each others name know, interesting." I said as I leapt and heard her raven wings flap behind me, she was right though, I would need help to destroy him. Lots of it, and unfortunately I knew who to seek out.
===
AN: Guess who's going to help…