Chapter 7: We All Shine On

"Wally!" screamed Kuki. She ran to him and he collapsed in her arms.

"Hi, Kuki."

"Wally, you're...you're alive?" asked Crow, bewildered and overjoyed at the same time.

"Yeah. Hey, Crow, how'd you like the flames?" Wally chuckled softly.

"Pretty damn cool," said Crow, smiling. Tears were forming in his eyes and he brushed time aside. His voice suddenly became business like.

"What the hell is going on, Wally? Alcarin stabbed me, and now I don't have a scratch on me. You and Hoagie are supposed to be dead, and now you're both alive. We were all in a huge mansion just a minute ago, and now we're here. Mind explaining?"

"Everything that's happened, everything we saw, it was all an illusion. You were right the first time, Crow. Everything was fake."

"But I felt that hellhound bite at me. And I felt Alcarin stab me, too. How is that an illusion?" asked Crow.

"That guy was an advanced telepath. Not only could he make you see the illusions, he made you feel them too. He was able to reach deep into your mind and play hell with your nervous system. He never really stabbed or killed anyone. He was just an old man that could barely move. Everything that happened there, everything, was an illusion."

"Not everything," whispered Kuki softly. Wally looked into her eyes and smiled.

"Everything that mattered, anyway," he assured.

"I can't believe it. This entire thing was all a big prank? Where the hell are the warheads then? Where was he keeping them?" asked Chad.

"I don't think there were ever any warheads, Chad. Looks like he fooled us there, too," said Abby.

"Then what was this entire thing about? Why in God's name did he drag us all the way over here! He wasn't even a threat!" cried Nigel.

"Who knows what this guy was thinking. Maybe he just wanted to play a game with us after all," pondered Hoagie.

"Some game," muttered Crow. "Which brings me to my other question. How could you tell this was all fake, Wally?"

"Well, when Kuki shot me–"

"WHAT!" cried the the others.

"I'll explain later," he said annoyedly, waving his hand like it was a trivial issue. "Anyways, after I was shot, I thought I died. Luckily, Father made me damn near indestructible(see Get Back), so I survived. Getting shot triggered that "flame on" thing that Crow has, and before I knew it, I was bathed in fire. What's weird was that I was so calm about it all. I wasn't worried or afraid about anything, and my mind was shut off to the world. That's how Alcarin's illusion stopped affecting me. Once I realized what was going on, I headed out to stop him."

"This is damn near the silliest thing Abby has heard in her entire laugh," scoffed Abby. "Why is it that we never get the endings that make sense?"

"Those aren't any fun anyway," countered Hoagie. He fell back and lay down on the soft green grass. "So what now? Do we just head back home?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds pretty good right now," replied Wally.


Two hopelessly in love teenagers were approaching the Lincoln residence. The girl was humming the Rainbow Monkey theme song loudly, and the boy was doing his best not to rip her vocal chords out. The boy took out his rage on the door, knocking loudly and nearly breaking it in two.

"Hi you guys!" exclaimed Abby, greeting them with a big smile. Cree had decided to throw a party, the first one she had thrown in years. No one knew what it was for, exactly, but everyone was sure it was going to be big. Except for Wally, who was oblivious to the entire thing.

"Hey, Abby. 'Ave the others gotten here yet?" he asked.

"Nope, afraid not," she replied. She and Kuki started talking animatedly about girly crap, and Wally tuned them out and stared into space.

Cree approached the trio, wearing her trademark pink shirt and jeans. "Glad you guys could make it! Say, Kuki, there's something Abby and I wanted to show you up in my room. Sorry, Wally," she said, turning to him, "girls only."

"What, is it a cruddy bra or something? I've seen lots of Ku–ouch!" he yelped, as Kuki stomped on his foot with all her might. Right, Wally thought. Don't bring up in front of the others how many of Kuki's bras you've seen.

"You really are tactless, you know that?" mocked Cree. "Anyway, that is not what I was talking about. Say, while you're waiting, why don't you go outside? One of my other male guests is out there, he could probably use the company."

"Right," agreed Wally, "seeing as how this is 'exclude the boys from the girls' day." The girls laughed and went upstairs. Wally muttered under his breath and grabbed a Coke from the fridge. He went outside to the balcony to see what other poor bastard got an invite to this party. He stopped suddenly. He could see through the glass door a young man with long, black hair, holding a glass of scotch. He was sitting on a lawn chair, his back turned to the door.

"Crow," whispered Wally. So, now he finally had a chance to talk to Crow about everything. Was this all part of their plan? Stupid girls, always thinking they know what's right. Wally slid open the glass door and stepped outside. Crow didn't even turn his head, and continued to gaze out the balcony. Wally sat in the lawn chair next to him. He gave a small gulp, and decided that Crow should be the one to talk first. He waited for what seemed like an eternity before Crow finally spoke up.

"So what do you want to know?" asked Crow.

"Um, well, for one thing, I'm curious about this entire "bursting into flame at random" thing. If I end up doing that during math class, I think someone will notice."

"Don't worry about it. Chances are, that'll never happen again," replied Crow.

"Why not?"

"Pyrokinesis takes a large amount of mental strength to harness. No offense, but you don't really have it. Father made sure not to enhance your mind when he created you, because he wanted you to be a tool. Even if we recreated the exact same circumstances, it would probably never happen. It was a once in a lifetime thing."

"Oh," said Wally, a little disappointed. "One more question. What am I going to do about this super strength thing? I almost killed a kid about a month ago. How can I control myself?" asked Wally.

Crow remained silent for a few moments. "Father gave you far more strength than he gave me. I think he wanted to make you into the Hulk. At the rate you're going, you'll probably be able to smash tanks. Learning how to control all that power isn't going to be easy. But...I'll help you. I'll train you to control your powers. It's the least I could do, I suppose. It's my fault that you were created in the first place."

"You're gonna train me?" asked Wally. "Wow, I...I don't know what to say." Wally was never particularly gifted with thanking people, as he had never done it very often in his life.

"Oh, and another thing. What's going to happen with Joey? You said you altered his DNA, right?" asked Wally, a touch of anger in his voice.

"I shouldn't have done that, Wally. I wanted to pass on those genes, so that there could be others like us, gifted humans that could change the world. I didn't want our kind to die out." Crow paused and created a small flame in his right palm. He put it out with a wave of his hand.

"I realize now that it'll cause more harm then good. As for what'll happen to Joey...I made him a mix of both of us. He'll be smarter than you, but not as strong, and stronger than me, but not as smart. Should be interesting to see how he turns out. I wouldn't be surprised if he could use pyrokinesis. If that happens, I'll help him, don't worry. I'm the one responsible for all of this."

"Damn straight," replied Wally.

"Oh, there's something I have to ask you, too," said Crow.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was, um, wondering if you would..." Crow turned his head in embarrassment. Damn it, it shouldn't be this hard! "Would you and your friends like to join the Tears of Blood?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course we want to join! This is what we've been waiting our entire lives for!" cried Wally.

"Even after what you went through in Germany?" asked Crow.

"Eh, we got over it. Besides, it's gotta be all uphill from there, right? I can't wait to get started! And once we get those vids released, we'll be international heroes. No one will think the Tears of Blood are terrorists."

"You can't do that, Wally," sighed Crow. "We can't let the public see those tapes. Ever."

"Why the hell not? You said you were going to release them before Alcarin interrupted everything!" countered Wally.

"We said that to calm you down. We didn't want you to think we would be known as villains forever. But we can't release those tapes. If we do, other countries will see this as a call to battle. Any country not in America's pocket will band together and declare war on America. We can't afford such a destructive war to happen. If it ever gets to that point, the Tears of Blood won't be able to control it. The public must never know the true motives of the Tears of Blood."

"So we're going to be known as villains for the rest of our lives? Isn't anyone ever going to know what we've done, the sacrifices we've made?" asked Wally.

"It's enough that we know we're heroes. Perhaps, a long time from now, we'll be able to tell the world what we've done. But until then, the Tears of Blood can be no more than terrorists to the rest of the world. Are you willing to accept that, Wally?"

Crow didn't have his eyepatch off, but Wally could still feel his red, bionic eye boring into him. Did he really want to be known as a villain for the rest of his life? The public would never actually know his true identity, but still...it would be a hard life to live.

"Yeah, I'll do it. It doesn't matter what the world thinks. I know I'm a hero. I can take some comfort in that."

"Good. As of now, you and your friends are the only members of the Tears of Blood."

"I–we're–what?" asked Wally, stunned. "Hey, you can't just ditch us like that! You're the leader of the whole damn organization!"

I'm tired, Wally. I can't keep fighting anymore. At least, not at the pace I've been going. Besides, I can't keep battling across the planet. I'm going to be a Father soon."

"You're...you're what?" asked Wally.

"Cree's pregnant. That's the purpose of this entire party, I suppose, to announce it to everyone. Oh, but I wasn't supposed to say anything yet. So act surprised when she tells everybody."

"So then you and Cree are going to get married?" Wally asked shrewdly.

"Looks that way. Christ, married and a kid already. Well, I guess it's time for me to settle down," he sighed. "Kill some people for me, would you?"

"Uh, sure. Hey, it sounds like some more people have arrived. Guess the party's finally starting!" Wally and Crow went inside to find that everyone had arrived while they were talking. Hoagie and Abby were dancing together, as well as Nigel and Lizzie. Chad was talking to a pretty blonde girl that looked familiar.

"Chad'll be leading the Tears of Blood. He says he wants to stay a little longer. Don't worry, he's a good leader, if you don't remember. Uh oh, here comes the Asian Fury." Kuki ran up to them and got them both into a giant bear hug.

"You guys, Cree is about to make an announcement! Isn't it exciting?" she asked happily.

"All right, guys, cut the music," said Cree. Hoagie paused the stereo. "Since you've been waiting so long to find out what this is about, I guess I might as well come out and say it. I'm going to have a baby."

Crow elbowed Wally hard in the stomach, and his eyes bulged in shock. Meanwhile, everyone went crazy, jumping up and down like lunatics and asking Cree questions about the baby.

"What–what was that for?" croaked Wally.

"Sorry man, but you're a bad actor, and I had to make sure you looked surprised."

"So, who's the father?" asked Mr. Lincoln.

"Daddy!" shouted Cree, punching him on the shoulder. Crow put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"I was just asking!" he replied defensively, rubbing his wound. Hoagie turned the stereo back on, and a new song played.

"Hey, isn't that Instant Karma?" asked Wally, indicating the song playing.

"Yeah. It's one of my favorites," said Crow.

"Yeah, me too." Before they knew it, their lovers had grabbed them and forced them to dance. Wally gave Crow one last smile. He realized then that it doesn't matter what happens in life, because no matter what,

We All Shine On

Epilogue

"She's beautiful," said Crow, gazing down at his newborn baby girl. Cree was lying in the hospital bed, exhausted, but was patiently letting her daugter feed. She smiled up at Crow.

"So, we've decided, then? We're going to name her Raven?" asked Crow.

"Yeah, I like the sound of it. Here, take her. She's your daughter, after all." Crow hesitated, and then took her in his arms. She looked just like her mother, same exact skin tone and everything. But her eyes were beetle black, like her Crow's.

"Hi Raven," whispered Crow. "I'm Crow. I'm your dad." Even as he said it, the words sounded strange. Never in his life did he expect to become a father.

"Crow, take that eyepatch off, for pete's sake," scolded Cree.

"What! But...it'll scare the living crap out of her!" he exclaimed.

"Take it off. She won't be scared. And besides, she should see what her father really looks like," she explained.

Slowly, Crow took the eyepatch off. Raven continued smiling at him and giggled a little at his red bionic eye. Relieved, he flung the eyepatch to the floor and lifted her above his head.

"So, you think your dad looks funny, huh?" he smirked.

"Well, you are pretty funny looking, Crow," said Chad. Crow turned and saw that the TV was displaying the inside of the DeadWind, with Kuki, Nigel, Abby, Hoagie, Chad, and Wally all trying to squeeze into view. "Don't worry, we're only broadcasting to your TV. Cute kid, by the way. Good thing she takes after her mother."

"Thank you, Chad," replied Cree, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Wow, women are a lot less attractive after childbirth," observed Wally. "Ow!" Kuki and Abby both smacked him upside the head.

"I trust everything's going well?" asked Crow.

"Just fine. Tears of Blood is thriving under me. Stopped Iran from getting fojacked just a few days ago," said Chad.

"Good. We can't have you getting killed or anything. You and Abby are the godparents, after all," said Cree.

"We are? I... jesus," mumbled Chad, a little embarassed.

"So make sure you act responsibly, kids," scolded Cree jokingly. "I don't want either of you–Crow what's wrong?"

Crow was staring at Raven with a mix of fear and wonder on his face. "I don't believe it," he whispered. "She has it."

"Has what?" Cree asked nervously.

"The Mark," he replied, pointing at his daughter's right biceps. "The Mark of Father."

THE END

(A/N)Man, I wish I could make this into a cartoon. Anyways, this is the end of the Mark of Father trilogy. I'm not going to be writing any stories that take place after The End. However, I will be writing stories that take place before The End. What, you thought I was gonna end a universe as cool as this? Hell no. Too many great stories to pass up. Thanks to Riobella and lovebird3000 for giving me some great reviews. Oh, and if there's anyone out there that wants to use my OC's, just ask me and I'll let you. Well, I'll see you around.