How could she have been so stupid as to ever love a jerk like that? She should have known that he would do this to her. He only thought about himself, no one else. It was always what Logan wanted. And damnit, he got it. And when he got what he wanted, she lost everything. She lost her innocence, her heart, and now maybe even her future. And it was all because she was stupid enough to give it all to him.
She skidded to a halt at the red light, taking deep breaths and blinking rapidly to ride her eyes of tears. When she cried, she couldn't see where she was going, and now was not the time to have a wreck.
The light turned green and she hit the gas hard. She had forgotten to wear her gloves and now her hands were frozen, but she didn't care.
Right now she hated herself more than anything. And it wasn't because she was willowing in self-pity. No, she had a right to do that. But it was because she couldn't hate him. She had tried so hard to make herself hate Logan, but she just couldn't. After all he had done to her she could not hate him.
Their conversation drifted back to her. God, what if she was pregnant? She knew her parents would help, but she couldn't stay there in the tower with him, raising his child while he brought home other women. It was hard enough knowing he would, but the thought of doing that to a child was horrible. If she was pregnant, she could always find a cheap little house, or even move in with Drucilla. But that would not be right to Dru. God, what was she going to do if she was pregnant?
This would have never happened if she had never slept with him. But she couldn't hold on to the past forever. She might not have a future, but damnit, she was going to make the best of any situation thrown at her. She would be a good mom. She would put that child before anything else, and she would raise it by herself. She got herself into this mess, and now she was going to get herself out. Abortion was out of the question, and she could bear to give up a child for adoption, so she would raise it herself.
She turned onto the same country road that she and Logan had been without even realizing it.
She was going to miss him so much when she left. She didn't want her parents to know about her pregnancy, if she was, until after the baby was born. She couldn't handle the pity looks, or the talks about how everything would be okay. She just couldn't go through that without snapping. It was cowardly, but when it was late enough, she would go home, pack, and leave without a second look at her old home. It was going to be hard, never telling her parent or brother goodbye, but Corrie would not make them handle her problem. She would deal with it if it were the last thing she did.
A sob caught in her throat, but she managed to push it down. Thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by veins of lightning. Then the road was completely dark, save for her headlights.
The rain pored down, heavy, making it hard for her to see. She could faintly make out the church up ahead, and decided to stop there.
Lightning flashed again. Something jumped out in front of her bike, and she hit the brakes fast, her wheels skidding against the wet road. She tried to control her bike, but it was futile. Her front tire hit the wall of the church, sending her flying through the stained glass window.
Glass rained down on her as she laid there, her back on fire from hitting the pews. They had cracked under the pressure and shards of wood mixed with the colorful glass.
She tried to move, but it was too painful. Taking deep breaths, she slowly sat up, giving a cry of pain as her back screamed in protest. Slowly, she removed her helmet, throwing it aside.
She could still hear the rain beating against the earth, but she could not see anything. The church was bathed in darkness.
"Perfect," she mumbled, then froze in fear when she heard glass crunching under a boot-clad foot. Someone was here with her, and she couldn't see who it was. Damn, of all the times.
"Who's there?" She asked, her voice calm and steady despite the fear churning her stomach.
Nothing but silence filled her ears. Maybe she had just imagined it. Probably so since her thoughts were so raddled with thoughts of Logan and leaving her family without so much as a goodbye. She slowly stood up, cringing at the pain, but thankful the fall had not paralyzed her.
Slowly, she walked closer to the window. She stopped suddenly. There it was again: The sound of footsteps. And, oh God, someone was behind her. She could feel it.
"Hello Coriander."
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Soaked, he walked into the main room of the tower. Kern watched as the young boy walked in, head bowed, his thoughts filled with hate. With sorrowful eyes, the old man shook his head. Why know, of all times? Why would Apollo choose to defeat the teens now?
"Logan, what is wrong? Where is Coriander?" Starfire stood up, her large green eyes worried. "Did something happen?"
Logan walked passed them, water dripping from his hair and clothes. "I don't know where she is," he said softly.
"But you were with her all day. How could you not know where she is?" His father asked, confusion evident on his face.
"Because I was stupid and thought of only myself. So she left."
"Logan, do you know when she will be back?" Rhea asked slowly.
"I don't know if she's ever coming back and I don't care if she does!" With that, he ran out of the main room.
"Oh God, what do you thing happened?" Robin asked, wrapping a hand around his wife's small waist.
"It is something we do not need to know right now. All that matters is that we find Corrie. If she is as emotionally broken as Logan, it will be the perfect time for Apollo to attack...and win." Kern said, his old eyes sad as he watched the storm.
"Then we have to go find her." Raven said over the loud wail of Grey. He had woken up from his nap on the sofa and heard that no one knew where his sister was. He was scared, and his sister was not there to kiss his worries away.
"There is no need." Starlight said. "Logan overheard us. He is now on his way to find her." As if on cue, the squeal of tire could be heard.
"He took the T-Car." Robin muttered.
"Then we must follow Logan. I will not allow Apollo to touch on hair on my daughter's head." Starfire said, her voice low and lethal. For the first time in 16 years, her eyes glowed a bright green.
"Then let's go."
She was dying. Knew it the minute she spit up blood. Corrie stood up on shaky legs, almost immediately collapsing again. Apollo hit her under the chin, sending her flying back, crashing into more wooden pews.
"Can't take it anymore?"
"Go to hell, Apollo." She spit put more blood, glaring at him. The minute she had turned around when he said her name, he had hit her, thrown her against walls, and kicked her when she was down. And she couldn't take much more. She wasn't Wonder Woman.
Apollo laughed as he bent down, picking her up by her neck and throwing her like a rag doll against the old preacher's stand. "Now, now, Coriander, there is no need for foul language."
"You're a coward. Only a coward would attack someone this weak." His eyes glowed red at the insult.
She tried to push her body up, but he was quicker. Apollo kicked her side as hard as he could and she couldn't help the scream of agony that rose in her throat.
He grabbed her shirt collar and brought her face close to his. "I am no coward. For generations I have killed your family off. And though I could never kill your mother, I will destroy you."
With demonic strength, he threw her against the far wall, the brick cracking under the pressure. She hit her knees hard, blood clogging her throat. She was going to die alone. Her worst fear was coming true in front of her eyes. She was dying alone, heartbroken, and with no one there to say goodbye.
She had found out earlier that she had indeed been pregnant, but she had lost the baby early one. That hurt most of all. She had lost the one tie to Logan. She had lost the one thing that would have made her life better. Tear clogged her throat and spilled from her eyes. Apollo had killed her baby. Rage burned inside her, stronger than the weakness.
"You bastard. You killed my baby." With renewed strength, she fought him. But no matter how hard she fought, he seemed to be better, dodging her blows, and always managing to hit her.
"I am tiring of you fast, Coriander." Apollo picked up a long silver candlestick, and while she was trying to stand, hit her temple as hard as he could manage. She landed on her back, blood dripping into her eyes. She could slowly feel all her strength fading away, and she knew she could not fight anymore.
She watched Apollo stand over her, a long, sharp spear of glass in his hand. She had lost. She couldn't defeat him. Tears spilled from her eyes as she admitted defeat and death.
"You know, Coriander, I would have spared your life. But you just had to go off and fuck Logan. And believe me, it gave me great pleasure to kill the child you made together." Her grinned as she turned her head, tears spilling from her closed eyes. Even bleeding and broken, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
"But it will pain me to see you die." He picked her up by her collar once more, bringing her close to him. With a sad shake of his head, he kissed her, shoving the glass through her stomach.
He let go of her collar and watched her lifeless body collapse in her own pool of blood.
Logan slammed on the brakes in front of the old church, groping behind him for some sort of weapon, just incase Apollo was there. He found the long sword immediately, pricking his finger on the sharp edge.
He scrambled out of the car, and froze when he saw the wreck motorcycle.
"Corrie!" He yelled, running into the church. The smell of blood almost made him gag. But he instantly realized whom the blood belonged to. "Corrie."
Lightning flashed and he made out a still figure lying on the ground. He ran to it as fast as his legs would carry him. He slid in the pool of blood, and panic seized him.
"Oh God Corrie." He ran a trembling hand against her cold, pale cheek, and he couldn't stop the tears the followed. He leaned down, pressing an ear to her chest, and heart her heart, slowing with each beat it took.
"God, Corrie, please don't die on me." Tears made everything blurry.
"Awh, how sad. You know this worked out better than I planned. I had intended on ruining you relationship, but you seemed to do that on your own. But man, Logan, you should have seen the look in her eyes when she found out she lost her baby."
Guilt and pain seized him, making it hard to breathe. She had been pregnant. And she lost it. She lost their baby. And now, she was dying.
He picked up the sword he had lying next to him, pure fury clouding his vision.
Logan's stood up slowly, his rage-filled eyes searching for the man who had caused the pain of the woman he loved.
"Where are you, you coward?" Apollo laughed, and Logan followed the sound, the sword clutched in both hands.
"Come out and fight like the no-good bastard you really are." When Apollo made no sound, Logan yelled, "What, afraid of my kicking your ass? You know you'll die when you face me. You killed my child, and now the woman I love is dying. You're afraid of me. Admit it."
"Oh, but dear Logan. If I remember correctly, you never wanted that child, nor did you want Corrie. So I just did you a favor. You can have a normal life now. Isn't that what you wanted? A life without Coriander and her baby? Well, you got it. That baby is dead and I'm pretty sure Corrie is also. You should be thanking me. I made your life better."
"No! I was scared. I didn't know how to be a good father, and I'll admit it. I was a coward. But I was going to help raise my child even if it meant living in a trailer house, working two jobs to make ends meet. I was going to be a good father, and a good husband. I wanted to raise my child with Corrie." His voice broke. "I loved Corrie more than anything. But I pushed her away and now she lost her baby and she's dying...because of me."
Apollo laughed. "Must you be so pathetic?"
"Damn you, Apollo. Come out and fight me."
"Oh, but it is so entertaining to watch you bawl over a lost love."
Logan glared. He stopped, glancing around. His eyes landed on Corrie. He wanted to hit his knees and cry until he couldn't shed another tear, but he had to kill Apollo. For Coriander, and his lost baby.
"You are a coward. A pathetic coward who waits until his opponent is defenseless. You're to cowardly to even fight me."
He heard a low growl and the sound of footsteps. Sword ready, he turned just as Apollo brought the long, bloodstained candlestick down. The sounds of metal against metal echoed through the church, and left the occupants ears ringing.
Breathing heavy, Logan watched as the candlestick somehow morphed into a large, sharp sword. Apollo grinned. "Now, now we are even."
Apollo brought the sword down, slicing the flesh of Logan's upper arm. Blood dripped down his arm, and made the sword slippery. He couldn't seem to hit Apollo. When Logan aimed for Apollo's neck, fear flashed momentarily in Apollo's red eyes. Apollo somehow managed to push the edge of the blade into Logan's side. Gritting his teeth in pain, Logan stumbled back.
Apollo chuckled. "This is easier than I thought." Darkness danced in front of his eyes, but he would kill Apollo even of he died doing it.
Logan managed to block most of Apollo's blows, and finally nicked the skin of Apollo's shoulder. His blood was black, hitting the floor and eating through the ground like acid.
Weak, the sword dropped from Logan's hand. His knees wobbled, threatening to give out from under him.
Apollo, without thought, shoved the blade through Logan's shoulder. Logan screamed in pain, hitting his knees.
In his cloudy mind, he remembered the fear lurking in Apollo's eyes when he almost sliced Apollo's head off. He knew how to kill Apollo. Logan's bloodstained hand groped for his sword. He stood up painfully, the blade gripped in his hands, his knuckles white. Logan grinned despite the pain. "I know your weakness, Apollo."
Apollo's chuckle seemed to be forced. "I have no weakness."
"Yeah. You do." Quickly, Logan swung the sword like a bat, beheading Apollo with a clean stroke. The demon never had time to scream. Apollo's headless body fell to the floor, disintegrating into nothing more than dust.
Logan hit his knees. He did it. He defeated Apollo. But for what? The price of Coriander's life, of his child's existence?
He crawled over to Corrie, tears mingling with his blood. With every ounce of strength he had, he cradled Corrie's lifeless body to his, rocking her back and forth as he screamed in agony.
Darkness colored the corners of his eyes and he slowly put her down. He lay there, cradling her cold body to his, and listened as her heartbeat slowly started to fade in to nothingness. And as he drowned in darkness, he mumbled, "'Till death do us part."