Love Struck Delusion

Chapter 197 - A cold embrace.

Raptor's POV, A few hours later.

"So the pain in your eye was just there because when you do something that intense your power has to go somewhere to formulate. Concentrated focus. It's like sunburn. You get too much in one spot and you're left with an enormous amount of pain. It'll go away but not till you rest or at least try to focus on recovery." Marcus explained as I sat on the floor with my eyes closed. My legs crossed and a hand on each knee as he stood there maybe two feet away looking down at me.

"Can I just do this when things like that happen?"

"You could but you really need to be focused. Like there can't be other things going on that can distract you. It's the quickest way to recover your strength, but the easiest to lose track off. By the way, how does it feel? Do you see what I mean by focusing on your center?"

Nodding my head very slowly I replied in a relaxed voice.

"I can see it. Thank you."

Marcus just smiled as I tried to focus. Maybe after another minute or I heard him wonder.

"What's it like being a dad?"

Even though my eyes were closed and I was trying to focus, I gave him this stunned grin as a response to even the thought of him asking such a question. In concern for him I questioned.

"What's that all about? Never would have expected that in a million years as a question that could leave your mouth Marcus."

Giving me a faint huff and a puff he soon replied.

"Color me curious. Not like I ever had a chance to experience it. And you know I was a real person at a point in time, so it's not like I can just pretend anymore I'm just some otherworldly display of power being casted by mind tricks."

"But you are." I told him as he chuckled and replied back.

"Hah! I guess to everybody else I am huh? But you know what I'm trying to say; so just out with it already. Is it any different then love?"

Giving it some thought as I felt my heart beating once every second I replied.

"It's different."

"How so? He then wondered as I tried to come up with the words. After maybe a moment or two more of thinking I replied to the fox.

"Love is something you develop. The feeling you get when you become a father is so far out there it's hard for me to even describe Marcus."

Sitting down next to me in time, I felt his cold shoulder as he listened.

"When I had Abbey or Ghost for example. I would be lying if I tried to say it felt good. It felt incredible. Trying so hard to make something of myself my entire life. Going through all the shit the world had for me, and still finding a way to make something good come from it all. Having it in a little package that was made from the effort of an even greater person like Julie or Alicia; just made me feel special. For once in my life I felt that everything I've ever gone through had just paid off. Having a kid is a chance to make the world better. You can make sure they don't fuck up as much as you did by passing on your knowledge to someone who is bound to grow up to be something better. It's amazing Marcus. My description doesn't do it justice. I'm sorry."

Marcus just seemed to be looking at me. Checking me over as he remained quiet to it all. After about a minute I told him.

"I have a strange feeling you would have been an interesting dad."

I got a laugh not nearly a second after saying that. I knew he had to think I was joking, but regardless he replied.

"Thanks."

Showing a small smile, I reopened my eyes to look right at the door. I could sense a pair of guards walking by. Marcus who watched with me; soon asked after they had passed.

"How's your head?"

Looking up to him I replied.

"Better now that I'm doing this. Still trying to cope with the facts."

Marcus let out a small sigh and began to pace towards the door. Once at the frame he wondered.

"How are you going to do this?"

I knew what he meant by that and simply replied.

"I need to just trust the people around me. I have an idea now but without help it seems all but pointless."

Now Marcus chuckled and that got my attention as he turned back around to begin heading back over to me. As he neared I asked.

"You thinking otherwise?"

Keeping straight he replied.

"It's not what I'm thinking. It's what you are not thinking."

Exhaling deeply and shutting my eyes, I slowly got off the ground and back to my feet. Marcus waited till I was planted back on the bed before saying.

"You're mad. What's gonna stop you from just killing Linnen?"

He had a point and knowing that I replied truthfully.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping I can see the bigger picture, because whether I like it or not Marcus; Hecans' right about this. Fucking up like that can really ruin everything for the middle east."

"I just don't understand how you can feel for a country." He said unsure as I quickly replied while undoing my cloak.

"It's not about the country. Well it used to be about that, but I think now I'm just doing this for me. For my kids. If they were still here I'd be trying to do this for them. I think now that they are gone it's mainly about me and the future I know can come. The universe isn't surrounded around me. There are so many people with kids that need this to happen. I need to make this about them, but I know there are things I need to be concerned about. Linnen being the big one. I don't know yet if I can handle facing that man. Not after everything he's done to me."

"Like what?" Marcus asked jokingly as he proceeded to sit down next to me on the bed.

"Shot you out of the sky, proceeded to capture and torture you senseless, cut your ear off, sent those user goons after your best friend Wreak, and proceeded to have your family kidnapped and murdered in the dead of night. You ask me and I'd think there are no hard feelings."

"Fuck you." I whispered back as he chuckled and began to pat my back.

"Ahhh that's more like it. You'll find a way. But I'd do your best to make sure you keep above ground."

"Can't promise you anything. Just thinking about Iraq right now makes my head spin."

"Why not go to Iran first? They'd be good allies."

Rubbing my neck, I gave it some thought. He was right but clearly unaware of the problems that idea presented. Knowing this I replied.

"Iran has been a neutral player in these wars. They made that decision prior to the first war and it was the smartest thing they could do. Without them I'd hate to think just how messy things could have gotten between G.U.N and the rebellion early on. The only reason G.U.N fought so hard the first time around was because of the oil. Every drop that comes out of the ground is sent there. It's the Middle East's number one commodity. It's the only thing that makes this stretch of barren desert worth it. If we didn't have oil, our next best bet would be to start selling bottled sand and that isn't going to do a fucking a thing."

Marcus began to laugh and I let out another sigh.

"Nah going to Iran will have to wait. I'd be shocked if they even got involved; and fact is they shouldn't. Leave the fighting to everyone else. Once the storm blows over, if I'm still standing where I am now; I'll head over there one day to see what I can do. Things go well and peace is an option; I'll make a deal. Working with them one day would be a good start to getting our economy up again. Which every other country right now really needs. Fighting wars with the weapons of the past isn't going to cut it forever. No matter how many people we have."

After a second of glancing off into the distance, I stood back up to look at him. Marcus kept himself together as I asked following my next statement.

"I'm going to Iraq before anything. Gorgon still takes my time before anything can be resolved. Once I'm done there, I'll think about Afghanistan and see just how much shit Archer has kicked up for me to deal with. You know?"

"No problems killing your own?" He questioned as he got up alongside me.

Just staring into his eyes, I replied bluntly.

"Their not mine. Not anymore. The soldiers who have killed people out of their thirst for power aren't rebellion soldiers anymore. Their traitors like Archer and I'll kill them the same as any enemy."

Marcus went silent to that. Wanting to cut the mood short, I then asked him knowing I had nothing else to do.

"You want to tag along and get a drink?"

"I have time. Give me one second though. Let me just change here."

My eyes looked back to him as I reached the door. Without any movement his clothes changed completely. Now dawning a GenSec uniform to match the ones outside the lodge. Adjusting a pair of snow goggles that were now under his chin I questioned.

"Playing the part?"

Nodding and beginning to catch up Marcus replied.

"Can't be too safe nowadays. Just in case we run into anyone."

"You don't plan on running?" I then asked as we began to walk into the hallway and off towards the main lobby.

Marcus looked really good. Blended in even better than I could have imagine. But not like there was anyone other than GenSec guards to be worried about. Once starting our cross across the main room, he replied to my question.

"I'd like to finish my drink without worrying about that kind of thing. And don't worry no ones gonna know."

"Apart from your natural charm?" I wondered with a joking tone as he chuckled and replied back almost instantly.

"I'll blame it on the weather outside. Trust me we'll be good for a while."

"Okay." I then said as we were nearing the bar. As we entered I could sense Zeta and the others nearby. They were a good ways down the hall but still. I'm sure he knew that too and upon entering the room we shut the door and proceeded to take a seat. Marcus went behind the bar to begin looking around. The collection was vast and without a care; I told him as he looked on the bottom shelves first.

"Pick whatever you want. I'm not picky."

"Hmmmmm." He hummed as he debated the options. After a minute or so he had pulled out a bottle of what looked like vodka. But I found out as he got over here that it was moonshine.

"Hmmm is right. You know this shit is harsh right? Compared to what we had the other night, moonshine can really mess with your system."

"Fuck it." He replied as he got us glasses. Once on the counter, I popped the top to the bottle and began to pour us the first round. Marcus took his care to get a seat back around my side of the bar and once down on his ass next to me I took the first sip to whisper.

"Oh that's nice."

"Really?" He questioned as I chuckled and watched as he took some down his hatch in no less then a second after my comment. Instantly his eyes widened and he began to cough shouting.

"Fuck me, is that gasoline?!"

Now he had me rolling and with laughter taking over I just did my best to chill as he attempted a second sip. After which he stated.

"Holy shit that burns. But I'll manage."

"I'd hope so. Hard to take you seriously if you wimp out over a drink."

Nudging my arm Marcus chuckled. In time we just were focused on drinking. After a moment or so more of silence he broke it by stating.

"It's nice to just relax once in a while."

"You're telling me that? I knew that fact years ago."

"Yeah well fuck you. You don't know half the shit I've had to deal with these last few decades."

"Well I know about Shadow. Any other good stories you remember that can be shared?"

Marcus took that as a queue to just think. I could see it in his face. He was harkening back in his mind. There had to be a lot going on in there. After maybe thirty seconds he replied.

"Well back maybe twenty or so years ago; there was this mob family back in the states. Actually there were about five of them. All itching to control the major cities and their crime rackets."

My ears flicked up as he started this off. Catching my interest I stated back.

"I can already see that being a problem."

Chuckling he replied.

"Oh it was. So many deaths. People getting killed over petty bullshit and major heel turns across a couple of families. The biggest one being this family whose last name was Yin. Their head of family started seeing differently when they began to see eye to eye with a rival family. Probably the most dangerous group of criminals under the sun at the time. The Marxist family. Top assassin starts fucking the head to the Yin family and shit hits the fan pretty quick once bullets started to fly. In the end however, almost all the families died out. But the Yin and Pharynx family who was based out of New York combined their muscle and now run the crime world over there."

"No more bad blood?" I questioned as he chuckled and replied.

"Oh there is plenty of that to come. Times have changed since that moment came to light. New families moved in and the one that remained has a new head to it. Kid doesn't know shit, so I don't know what will happen yet. But in time maybe I'll have an answer for ya. But I'm sure shit will go down. Lucky for them; G.U.N doesn't bother doing anything about it."

"Must be nice." I muttered out of jealousy as I neared the end of my first drink. Marcus quickly poured me another and topped his off again as I grew curious of another question he may have an answer to.

"So is there any chance I'll be able to do what you do one day?"

Laughing Marcus replied while putting down the bottle.

"Gonna have to be more specific there for me. Hahaha."

Smiling back, I restated the question.

"You do this thing where you phase in and out of reality. I assume it's like phasewalking but you seem to be able to just pop up anywhere at anytime you want. What is that?"

Now he knew what I meant and replied after another sip.

"There are levels to phasewalking Raptor. What you can do is basic. Walk through matter and such. But you remain visible to anyone while you do it. If things progress well with your powers; you'll be able to do that for longer periods at a time and might even be able to do it while invisible to the naked eye. But that's phase two I like to think."

"Is it hard?" I wondered as he nodded and replied.

"Yeah it's hard. It takes a lot of power to perform the first couple of times. But you can't just do it. Your body needs time to adjust. Once that happens it'll be like taking candy from a baby. It'll become second nature."

"But there are more levels to it right?" I then asked as he nodded and shifted in his seat to face me directly.

"Phase one is walking through matter. Phase two is doing it for longer and invisible. Phase three is the ability to teleport small distances in the blink of an eye. Phase four is being able to do that, but have it span much greater distances. Phase five and lastly of course, is being able to do what I do and just go just about anywhere. But shit phase five basically requires you to be what I am. You need a lot of power to do that. Hell even the third phase can be nearly impossible to perform in your current state. Your body needs to naturally learn it. Which requires a lot of phase two to be done in order for your powers to adjust."

Maybe it was the drink getting to me but I had to ask now that he was being straight with me.

"Say I wanted to try phase two or three. How do you do it exactly?"

Now he just gave me this blank stare. After which he briefly chuckled and replied.

"Phase two will come naturally to you soon I'm sure Raptor. Phase three requires a great deal of focus on your part. You need to have a location set in mind that you want to go to and from there you need to channel every ounce of power you have and just find your center like you did in meditating. If it goes right you'll shut your eyes and the next time you open them you'll be right in that location. But please don't try it. You are not ready. Your fucking insane to me right now with how good your control is over the matter, but pushing your body to skip phase two is a sure fire way to kill you."

Marcus's POV.

I shut my eyes for a second just to think after telling him all that. I was honestly getting tired. This drink was wearing me down and I could already feel my head spinning slightly as I was kinda caught off guard by not hearing a response from him. Keeping my eyes closed, I mumbled with a smile across my face.

"You hear me?"

Again I got nothing back and in confusion I opened my eyes to look to my left. My whole body shifted focus when I saw he was gone. I damn near dropped my drink off the counter when I soon realized what had happened just now. Almost unable to speak, I panicked and shouted.

"Where did….?! Raptor you….!? You stupid son of a bitch!"

My mind was hazy from the alcohol but I managed to figure out where he went. In nearly half a second I found myself back in his room. The man himself was laying on the ground motionless. Getting down alongside him, I placed my drink on the floor next to his side and quickly went to work feeling for his life. The whole time I was shaking as I was shocked at the shear fact he did what he just did, but fuck was he almost dead from it. Using everything I had; I shouted at him in disarray.

"You stupid fucking asshole! I told you not to do it! This is why I don't say shit to you! I just let you figure it out in time!"

Raptor was breathing and after maybe a minute his eyes flickered open to see me sitting there with my hands on his back just giving him this nasty glare. Giving me a lifeless smile he whispered.

"Did I do it?"

I couldn't keep a straight face as his sheer stupidity brought me back to healthy spirits. Starting to shake my head and chuckle I replied.

"Yeah you did it. You fucking idiot."

"Heheheh…..?" Not to my surprise he passed out after hearing that. Thank god my body was able to handle this. This fucking dumb ass was going to be the death of me. The death of death! What the fuck was I going to do now? If he tried that again, especially if I wasn't around. This fucking guy would be dead. Then what?! I'd be out a good candidate to replace me and this whole middle east bullshit would be truly fucked up.

In time I calmed down and I got his vitals under control. But when it was done and he was okay; I just sat there and finished off my drink over his motionless body. Once the glass hit the bottom, I let out a small burp and looked back to the bed just feet away. Gently I decided to lift him back up and get him laid out. During which I muttered.

"God damn your heavy for not having a brain."

With his head resting on one of the pillows, I let out another sigh and decided now was a good time to leave. I was feeling tipsy and now that I used a good chunk of power to keep him alive; I felt like I deserved a nap. But before leaving, I took one last look at him to whisper.

"Fucking stupid idiot."

mT Shadow.