Hey, there. It's been another rather long wait, I know. I would apologize, but with my inconsistencies, an apology probably won't make that much of a difference anyway. So from when I last updated until now, I was in my freshman year of college studying biology, pre-medicine, and Japanese, as well as my required freshman courses. The course load was heavy but kind of what I was used to in high school. I was also in orchestra and a cello cabaret group as well. But, long story short, I'm not in college anymore because of money struggles and plan to transfer over to another college in the fall. Right now, I'm looking for a second job to pay off my original school.

Since I'm not in school anymore, besides my own side studies and the like, I'm going to try and write more and just spend some time for myself. I'm back at home now, so my family is happy about that, and I'm working on getting my license (because I'm a bad adult and still don't have it).

Please enjoy the story and leave a review. You can also PM me as well.

Title: Corpse Flower

Rating: M

Summary: My mind is a dark place, an endless abyss filled with horrors that no sane person could ever dream of. Everything I care about is gone, and I am constantly on the run as I struggle to control my demons. But my dark past is rapidly catching up with me, and my sanity continues to slip by the day. It hasn't helped that I'm now stuck with a bunch of egotistical superhumans, either. I just hope I don't end up killing them, too.

Warnings: Schizophrenia, Extreme Gore, Masochism, Sadism, Torture, Graphic Descriptions of Illness, Graphic Descriptions of Corpses, Slight Necrophilia, Hallucinations/Delusions, Unreliable Narrator, Twisted Morals/Sense of Right and Wrong

Author Notes: Warnings are always important. This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, and there's another Avengers introduction. Stark and Danny are getting to know each other a bit better, and the outcomes of Barton, Tony, and Danny's fight are explained. As for who to trust, all I can really say is use your better judgment. Also, remeber that Daniel doesn't make himself eat human food, but he doesn't necessarily remember what he does when his alter ego takes over. Just a little side note. Don't forget to review!

You've got to understand—I'm not the type of person who would have usually done something like this. I was different once, you know.

I wasn't always a monster.

If it's still in your mind, it is worth taking the risk.

I shuddered and wrapped my arms tighter around my torso as I followed the scientist closely, staring hard at his broad back. My vision was slightly blurred and I found it hard to maintain my balance completely, but I forced myself to stay upright—if anything, it would stop the humans from looking at me too long.

I didn't know how to look people in the eyes without thinking about all of the things I've done.

Murderer. Sadist.

Killer.

I've been called a lot of things.

An involuntary whimper escaped me as I began to shiver. Ever since the attack by whatever agency the little bird worked for, the hunger that had been gnawing a hole in my stomach had increased tenfold. It was all I could do not to lunge at the beautifully delicious huma—

No. Stop thinking like that.

"Daniel?"

Dimly, I realized that I had stopped following the goateed man. I didn't remember stopping even as the rain began to soak my clothing in a futile attempt to chill me to my core.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" I felt two strong, work-worn hands—human flesh, why is it touching me—steady me as I began to sway on my feet. I didn't like him touching me. I would have to tell him that later.

You're tired, Daniel. Why don't you rest a bit? There's no hurry to do anything.

I shook my head roughly and blinked away the crimson lights, forcing myself to look in Tony's direction. "I'm...I'm just tired."

I'm exhausted, actually. But I'm not going to tell him that.

How do you think he'll react if we stop for a moment? Just to close our eyes and rest.

I glanced up at the man, who was watching me intently as he none-too-gently pushed me into a nearby alley. I hissed out a sharp breath as his actions shoved my shoulder into the wall—the one that seemed prone to attacks by weather-beaten brick walls.

"Look at me, Daniel." The scientist's warmth was suddenly closer than it had been before as the aroma of perspiration and iron increased. "Daniel, can you look at me? I need you to look at me."

"I—" I frowned and swallowed harshly, feeling acid fire burn its way down my throat. "I can't—" A moan escaped me as my knees gave out, and I was gasping harshly as I slid forcefully down the ragged brick wall and fell against the ground.

Stark cursed violently and kneeled in front of me, keeping his hands close but not enough to startle me. "Daniel, what's wrong?" His amber eyes scanned my body quickly and his frown deepened. "Are you hurt anywhere? Can you talk to me?"

My tongue was dry and felt too big in my mouth, and it was hard to breathe. Even the monster in the back of my mind was growling at me to breathe and calm down.

"Daniel, open your eyes. Open your eyes and look at me. You need to—"

Open your eyes, boy. We're almost there. You can eat when we get there. You just need to get up and move.

"—at me. Daniel!"

I forced my eyes open and peered through the black spots darting in and out of my vision at the scientist. His face was alarmingly close and his features were twisted with concern.

"Good. Focus on my voice, okay? I'm not leaving you."

A faint and almost involuntary smirk curled back the corner of my lips and I could vaguely feel myself shake my head. "I know...you wouldn't."

"That's good. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

I let out a deep sigh and focused on a groove in the brick wall before me. "I'm tired. I can't...can't move much."

Tony glanced out at the people on the sidewalk for a brief moment before looking back at me. "That's okay. It's not too far from here. We'll just stop at a fast food place or a convenience store. Maybe a diner. Good quality processed food."

Processed food? Human food? My stomach twisted and I growled softly, my body shaking and making the brick dig into my skin.

"Don't like that idea so much?"

I flinched and bit my lip, the skin and veins throbbing as my actions reopened the crudely-healed wounds. The bitter taste of spoiled iron filled my mouth and I couldn't repress the moan that escaped my clenched lips.

Stark shifted slightly in front of me, moving slowly as to not aggravate my hyperactive senses. "Okay." He sighed deeply and I faintly felt the warm air brush over my skin. "Okay. That's okay. I can..."

I frowned and peered at him as he trailed off. He had a hand pressed against the side of his head, his frown twisting into a pained scowl.

"T...Tony? What's—?"

The scientist frowned and sent me a look that called for me to be silent. I pressed my bleeding lips together—spoiled iron mingling with old flesh—and watched worriedly as he turned away, keeping a hand out in front of him. I didn't know if it was to steady himself or to keep my curiosity at bay.

He spat out a violent curse as he turned to face me again, a handful of words so harsh it had me flinching. Stark noticed my hesitation and shock and pulled back slightly, concern creasing his brow. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I know you're not well, but we need to get moving. SHIELD's looking for both of us. It won't do good to settle down too much."

"...I have a...hideout." I dug my teeth deeper into the wound, clamping my fingers over my skin. "I d-don't know if it'll..."

Stark stared down at me with wide eyes, tilting his head with an incredulous look on his face. "A hideout? What do you mean?"

"...I d-don't know if it'll work..." I shut my eyes and rested my head against the brick wall. "It's...out by the pier, I think. I can smell...saltwater from it."

He seemed to consider something before running a work-worn hand over his face. "Do you remember where it is roughly?"

The waves were consuming me again, but I nodded once and focused on the brick wall again. "I...think so."

"Daniel, look at me. Look at me, not the brick wall." Tony's aftershave was strong in my nose, and the scent made me confused. Had he even had time to shave? Or maybe it was just something he'd done before he had come to the motel?

Look at him, boy. You need to focus.

"—niel? Daniel!"

I grimaced and glared at the scientist, staring into darkened amber depths. "...stop yelling."

"If you answered me the first time I called, then I wouldn't have to yell." Tony glanced away and watched the passerby intently, moving to keep me shielded behind him. "We can head to your hideout if it isn't too far. But it may take longer than what you're used to to get there, seeing as how we're both wanted by SHIELD."

I nodded and found my eyes drawn to the way the skin on his brow creased with his varying emotions. "That's fine. Can I just—?" A chill raced down my spine and I barely restrained a shudder as I clenched my eyes shut.

Stark frowned when my words died in my throat, peering closely at me. "Daniel. What is it? What's wrong?"

I forced my eyes open and met the scientist's gaze. "...there's someone watching us."

The scientist's hazel eyes burned as he stared at me intently, the emotion in his gaze making me back down for a moment. When he spoke, it was in a light and barely-audible voice. "Where?"

I groaned as the monster snarled and hissed and begged to tear into those eyes watching me so dangerously, but I managed to calm myself before nodding shortly at the roof of a building nearby. "She's on top of that roof. Watching us."

"Can you tell anything else from here? Is she posing any kind of threat?"

My gaze darted over to the nearby rooftop as I narrowed my eyes, trying to search for any kind of threat. "She's...armed, I'm pretty sure. She's probably from the...um, SHIELD."

Stark's body was tense with a bitter irritation as he moved closer to me. "Anything else?"

"We should probably leave." And kill the woman, you stupid child.

I bit the inside of my cheek as a harsh breath escaped my nose. No, we can't do that. Not yet, at least.

How stupid can you be? She's posing a threat right now. If she reports her findings back to SHIELD, then both you and the scientist will be in danger. You don't want that, now, do you?

You know I don't.

Then get rid of her before she has that chance.

Tony didn't seem to notice my existential crisis and nodded slowly. He had turned back to me but I knew his attention was fixed on our surroundings. "I know that. But first, we need to get you something to eat and drink. As much as you don't seem to want to, you need to keep your strength up."

I frowned and shook my head. "She'll know we're leaving."

The scientist's lips curled back in a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Not if we create a distraction."

"What do you—?" Suddenly my body was heaving, the world was spinning, and I couldn't stop the groan that left me as vertigo slammed into me like a brick wall. I fixed a watery glare on the brunet, baring my teeth slightly in a scowl. "Tony..."

"Sorry, kid." The look on his face showed that he was anything but sorry as he peered out of the alleyway as inconspicuously as possible. "Come on. We have to get moving."

I scowled and made to retort, but by now Stark had taken me by the arm and pulled me close to him. A shudder ran through my body as his heat—almost unnatural in its strength, or maybe that was just because I was physically too cold for human standards—seemed to pierce through what remained of my own, and a moan left me as the hairs on the back of my neck rose. A few glances from the people passing by were more than enough to make my discomfort even stronger.

Stark muttered something and shifted my not-so-substantial weight so I was leaning against his side. I could feel his broad chest rise and fall with each breath he took as we began to move down the sidewalk.

"Where are we going?" I murmured, risking a glance in the man's direction and almost regretting it. He was watching me carefully, his amber eyes dark and piercing enough to remind me of my mentor's endless gaze.

He completely avoided my question and his eyes shifted to the side. "Is she still watching us?"

I sighed and drew in my focus, trying to conserve what little strength I had left. "Yes. She moved a bit, though. I don't...she's not on the rooftop anymore."

"Then that means she's coming down to follow us." Tony narrowed his eyes and I could all but taste the caution wrapping itself around him. "We either have to disguise ourselves or find your hideout. Which do you prefer?"

He was looking at me again, I could tell. I could feel his gaze boring into my head, but I didn't want to meet his eyes again.

I didn't want to see the humanity I had lost in them.

Shifting my weight and dragging my feet to make the man slow down a bit, I shook my head slowly and ran my tongue over my teeth. "...I don't want a disguise."

Good boy. You already know what you want—or should I say, what we want?

That's not important right now. Just focus on conserving my strength.

That would be a lot easier if you would actually eat and drink something.

Isn't that what I'm going to do?

Everything's easier said than done, you fool.

You should keep that in mind, then, so you don't go and make the same mistakes you did all those years ago.

Touche, boy.

"Daniel?"

I flinched and bit my lip, not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough to make the thin flesh throb. "What?"

Stark was looking at me strangely again. "Who are you talking to?"

The human's smarter than he looks, you can give him that.

"I'm not talking to—"

"Ah, ah, ah. Stop right there. You may think I don't know you're lying, but that's not the case." Stark's footsteps slowed even more and he turned his head towards me, but thankfully his eyes weren't on me. He was still surveying the area and the people around us. "You've got more than one voice in your head, don't you? Your so-called conscience and the others, right?"

This feeling he's giving off is making me uneasy. Be careful, boy.

I felt a rush of something—some strange emotion, like a combination of rage, despair, confusion, and satisfaction—pass through me. I did my best to hide it from the overly observant man and blinked to clear away the crimson seeping into my vision. "Why would I...tell you the truth?"

Stark laughed, and I grimaced openly. It wasn't a cheerful laugh, no—it was the one he had made when we were fighting the birdie. "Don't you trust me?"

No. You're too bizarre and erratic and unpredictable.

He's like you, isn't he?

You don't trust yourself, you know. You're too afraid.

"I...I don't have an answer for that yet."

He wants to find out what makes you tick. Or did you forget he said that?

No, I didn't. We'll talk about that later.

"Daniel, if you want me to help you, it would be greatly appreciated if you stopped drifting off into your own world." Stark's eyes were on me again and this time the shudder that rushed through me didn't go unnoticed. The scientist huffed and shook his head but said nothing.

Be careful, boy. You don't know what he's capable of just yet. He's no ordinary human.

I know that. I'll just leave if anything goes wrong, okay? No need to worry.

That's something else, coming from you.

Don't push it.

I flinched as a heavy, warm arm wrapped itself around my shoulders, making the ache that had settled in my bones writhe and groan in discomfort. Not bothering to hide my wince and my irritated look, I fixed a glare on the scientist. "What?"

"Aw, I'm hurt. Don't look at me like that." Tony placed a hand over his heart and pouted, looking very much like a child who didn't get his way. He probably grew up getting whatever he wanted—I knew the basics of his background, enough to know that his parents had been more than well off financially. "We need to get you some food. Everything's on me, okay? Don't worry about paying me back."

"What—?" I was cut off as he turned a sharp corner and shoved open a grimy glass door with his foot. Somewhere above us, a tinny bell jangled wildly, making me wrinkle my nose as the sharp, piercing sound bit at my oversensitive ears.

"Table for two, please and thank you," Stark all but announced as a slim male with auburn hair and hazel eyes appeared before us. I turned to look at the scientist, who had somehow procured a pair of sunglasses that were resting on his nose.

The host nodded and bowed slightly, motioning with a sweep of his arm to a nearby hallway. "This way, please."

I shuddered—not as violently as I usually did, but pretty close—and felt Stark's arm around me tighten as I was jerked closer to his broad frame, almost as if he were trying to shield me from prying eyes. It didn't really work; people still whispered and pointed at the dark scars on my arms and my overall unkempt nature, from my pale skin to my gangly limbs to my messy raven hair.

"Hey." The man nudged me slightly and I blinked myself back to reality, finding the two of us standing in front of a booth. A lamp with a stained-glass shade hung over it, and surprisingly, there were no signs of dust or cobwebs or disarray. They must have had staff that cleaned the tables and lampshades between customers.

Stark urged me into the booth first and then slid in himself. As the host set down two menus and quietly excused himself, I almost wondered why we didn't sit across from one another before I realized he was either trying to make me more comfortable, to shield my strange appearance from the other humans, or to keep me from escaping. I still didn't really know which one it was.

"Daniel?"

I bit back a growl and turned to glare at the man again. "What?"

Some strange emotion flashed through those piercing amber eyes as the scientist watched me carefully. He moved slowly, reaching out and handing me a laminated piece of paper. "What do you want?"

He did say he was going to get you some food and drink. Take the opportunity.

I frowned and blinked hard, trying to focus my distorted vision onto the list of food and drink items beneath me. The plastic was sticky and smelled of spilled coffee and fruit juice and I wrinkled my nose in irritation. My eyes narrowed as I scanned over the menu—we were in a diner, and from what I could tell based off of where we were, we were somewhere towards the back of the restaurant. It wasn't a huge building, but it wasn't exactly small either.

His eyes were on me again.

With a sigh, I turned the menu back towards the man and pointed at a blurred image of a basket of fries. I wasn't sure if I could even keep food down without my body rejecting it—I had been refraining myself from eating for a while now—but if it would make the man get off of my back about keeping my strength up, then it was worth it, I guess.

You guess? I thought you needed to focus on building and conserving your strength, even if it's only to make sure this human does what he said he would.

Which is? I let out a harsh breath through my nose and rested my chin on my balled up fist, trying to curl in on myself and not draw more attention than was needed.

Idiot. He said he would help you, that he would fix the broken pieces. You're lucky I'm here to keep track of those things. I don't know what you would do without me.

I lived for quite a while without you here.

"—have the basket of fries with water, and I'll have the cheeseburger with fries." I was brought out of my dreamlike state by the scientist's voice, which I frowned upon hearing. He was using that overly exaggerated voice that people tended to use when they wanted someone to leave them alone—and while I hadn't known the man for long, I could tell when he was, to put it bluntly, being fake or being real with someone.

A sudden realization came over me as I straightened in my seat, a chill racing down my spine. "Tony?"

He had that fake smile on his face as he waved the waiter away, turning to face me at the sound of my voice. The eerie smile vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared as he noticed the tension in my body and my voice. "What is it?"

"I thought you said..." I shook my head slowly to rid it of the foggy haze surrounding it. "What are we doing stopping here? We barely moved from...from where we were before, and—it'll be easier for her to find us."

"You thought I didn't think about that?" Stark was grinning widely, but it still didn't reach his eyes. Those eyes. The attention he had fixed on me never wavered even as our food appeared before us; the waiter seemed to notice the tension between us and quietly placed our orders in front of us, as well as a handful of neatly folded napkins, and excused himself, but not before Tony asked him for to-go containers.

My glare hardened and I leaned back a bit from the man. "What...what did you plan?"

Stark reached out for the salt shaker in the center of the table and generously coated his fries with it, his eyes never leaving me. Never had I seen such an observant man. From what I could tell, he put up a show of bravado and arrogance that made anyone near him shy away from being subjected to such brashness. The scientist seemed to use that same bravado and conceitedness as a front that would disguise the fact that he watched the world around him with chilling attention to detail. Come to think of it, there seemed to be a bit of paranoia there as well. Just what had caused him to be such a detail-oriented person?

He let out a throaty laugh and watched me closely, waving a fry in the air at me. The waiter reappeared with the containers, and Tony handed him two twenty dollar bills while muttering keep the change.

When he returned his attention to me, he didn't utter another word as he tilted his head towards the window.

I frowned as a low drone hummed in the air outside and I could faintly detect the tangy scent of metal.

I couldn't restrain a flinch as the man's work-worn hand was placed on my arm. He moved slowly and calmly as he placed my order into one of the flimsy styrofoam containers before putting his food into his own, placing both of the containers into the nearby plastic bag. I watched his movements carefully—he had put the sunglasses from earlier back on—and took note of the fact that he seemed to be waiting for something. When I began to voice my concern, he shook his head and glanced out of the window facing our table.

Tony's chuckle rumbled through the air as the entire town was descended into darkness.

Gerard narrowed his eyes and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, tilting his head to the side and hunching over against the cold.

There was something about him. Something about the way he watched the people around him.

It was unsettling, to say the least.

Stamping his feet in a manner reminiscent of an agitated animal, the young man watched his coworker carefully as he swept the floor in slow, deliberate strokes. The dust collected at his feet and swirled in abstract patterns in the chilled restaurant air, seeming intent on going the opposite direction the raven wanted it to go in.

He paused mid-sweep, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side. He appeared to mouth words to himself before his grip tightened on the wooden handle and he spun on his heel to face the window.

Gerard cursed under his breath and moved just at the last second, pressing himself against the cold brick wall just as Daniel came up to the window. He was all but pressing his face against the glass as he peered out into the night, no doubt searching for the owner of the pair of eyes he had felt watching him.

Seemingly satisfied with finding nothing, Daniel's shoulders rose and fell in a heavy sigh and he returned to his slow, methodical sweeping. Gerard watched him for another moment before turning and heading down the sidewalk.

The days were steadily getting colder with the disappearance of summer and the tedious arrival of autumn. The weather didn't seem to know what to do as it oscillated back and forth between high-eighties and low seventies and sixties.

With a low sigh, Gerard tugged at the collar of his coat and burrowed deeper into the fleeting warmth. He couldn't help but feel as if there was something watching him.

He flinched as a sharp crack sounded from somewhere in the alley, chills racing down his spine. Something wasn't right.

"Why were you watching me?"

Eyes wide, Gerard whipped around to find Daniel standing before him. The raven was hunched over slightly, something between a grimace and a scowl pulling down his lips as he peered at the other male with suspicion and irritation staining his ice blue eyes. Despite the eerie look the young man was giving him, Gerard couldn't help but shift his weight and stamp his feet against the cold.

"Is it forbidden to look at people or something?" Gerard demanded, stamping his feet as the icy numbness began to seep into his skin once more.

Daniel tilted his head slightly at the movement and his eyes darted down to the man's feet. "Why do you keep fidgeting?"

"It's cold outside, in case you haven't noticed." But as soon as he uttered those words, Gerard noticed the lack of a coat on the pale boy. Concern and agitation crawling down his spine, he shook his head roughly to rid it of the exhausted haze clouding his mind. "Or maybe you haven't noticed, I guess."

With that incensed scowl still on his face, Daniel slowly made his way towards the other young man, his breath clouding in frost-glazed wisps around his mouth and nose.

The strange and eerie chill racing through his bones again, Gerard found himself backing up as the pale boy made his way towards him. His movements were like a predator, slowly but surely closing in on its prey.

"You are an...interesting man, did you know that?"

Gerard frowned and hesitated, his fingers trembling and his breath caught in his throat. Despite that, he forced himself to speak, but if that was for fear of what was soon to come, he didn't know.

"What do you mean by that?"

Daniel let out a heavy, slow breath and scratched at the side of his neck. Gerard noticed the long red marks left behind that trickled darkly-colored blood and the faint scars hidden beneath the freshly bleeding ones.

"What do you think I mean?" Daniel's eyes widened as he stared intently at the other male, his icy blue stare piercing him to his core. "You're an interesting man."

Gerard forced down the urge to get out of there as the raven made his way closer to his coworker. He felt like he was being cornered in a trap, one where his chances of getting out alive were slim at best. "Daniel, I don't know about you, but I don't swing that way, man. I've got a girl back at home I'd like to get back to."

The raven didn't seem to get the hint and his frown deepened even more. "A girl? Why would you have a girl?"

Gerard shook his head and stared incredulously at the younger man. "I guess someone like you wouldn't understand, huh? Sometimes we need something or someone other than our family and ourselves to keep us company."

Daniel's face drained of any emotion that had been there and he tilted his head to the side, the frown vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. Gerard couldn't restrain the shudder that ran through his body at the strange lack of emotion and expression the young man was showing. His eyes were lifeless and cold as he stared at his coworker. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

Gerard scowled and shook his head again—it seemed like that was all he could do with how strange the young man before him was. "No, I don't, and I don't want to know who you are. You're just a coworker and a weird one at that. You're freaky, no offense."

Those chilling ice blue eyes reflected the moonlight as the raven scowled viciously. "No offense? That's...not right." He turned his head to the side and began to mutter indiscernible words beneath his breath. "No offense when you're offending me?"

"You should know you're pretty weird, Daniel. Haven't you ever noticed how people shy away from you?"

"I don't..." He shook his head slowly and his hands rose to tangle in his thick curtain of dark hair. "That's not—"

Gerard sighed roughly and slowly edged his way around the trembling raven, heading towards the entrance of the alleyway he'd been all but dragged down. "Look, I've got to get back. I've had enough weirdness for today. I'm sure you understand."

He couldn't help but cry out as Daniel appeared before him, a chilling rage in his pale blue eyes as he stared intently at the other man.

"What the heck, dude? You can't just do that!"

Daniel didn't appear to regret his action as he leaned close and his lip curled back in a snarl. "I wasn't finished talking."

Gerard narrowed his eyes and threw his hands up in the air. "I don't care! What part of I've got to get back do you not understand?" He didn't want to resort to brute strength because the raven-haired man looked like a gust of wind could knock him over, but he would use physical force if he had to. "Daniel, get out of my way."

Those haunting eyes darkened and a shudder raced down the elder man's spine. "Let me finish talking, then."

"No." Gerard made to step around the pale man, but he anticipated his actions and moved to block him off once more. "Look, I just want to go home, and it looks like the only way to do that is either have you move or for me to move you myself. Now get out of my way."

Daniel shook his head slowly, and Gerard's sight was drawn to the scars on his neck. "You're not going anywhere, Gerard."

"Excuse me?" The older man narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to gain an advantage because of his larger size.

"I said, you're not going anywhere." The raven's eyes seemed to glow as his glare strengthened. Gerard bit the inside of his cheek as the feeling of being trapped by a ravenous predator returned.

Daniel either didn't notice his discomfort or was ignoring it completely. "I need you to stay, Gerard. You're not going anywhere because I need you to stay here and hear me out for a second."

Dear Lord, he's crazier than I thought he was. Gerard shook his head roughly and pushed his way past the pale young man. "I already told you no, Daniel, and I'm not saying it again."

Without any warning, a thin and icy hand latched itself onto Gerard's arm and yanked him back. The man let out a shocked cry as he was slammed forcefully against the cold and ragged brick wall behind him, gasping as stars and darkness flickered in and out of his vision. Once his vision cleared, he could see that Daniel was looming over him, his eyes all but glowing in the dim light of the early evening.

Gerard's panic made its forceful way to the surface and he couldn't restrain the shudders traveling through his body. "Daniel, you need to—"

"Be quiet." The raven moved barely in the blink of an eye and his fist connected with his coworker's stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs and leaving him wheezing. It was all he could do to force his watery eyes open and glare pathetically at the slimmer male.

Daniel's lips curled back in a grin that had the other male nearly recoiling at its ferocity. "Oh? What's this? The little worm wants to fight back?"

"You—"

The raven moved again, hitting a spot that had pain rushing through Gerard's body and causing him to gasp for air as his body froze against his will. How was this scrawny stick of a man able to land such effective punches, let alone be able to hit with such strength?

"Ah, ah, ah," the raven tsked and shook his head as if scolding a small child. "I told you to be quiet. I'm not joking around this time." He stuck his arms beneath the other man's and heaved him up, restraining him against the brick wall once more with enough force to most likely leave a bruise. Through the pain clouding his mind, Gerard felt the raven's icy and skeletal fingers crawling up his skin and caressing his neck. "The next punch goes to your liver. I'm sure you know how painful that is, don't you?"

Gerard gasped and tried to nod, but he could only make a strange choking noise as his diaphragm spasmed.

"I need you for something. Something I'm planning in the future," Daniel murmured, his breath strangely cool against the sweat-slicked mess of his coworker's skin. "You're probably going to be a useful part of my plan, not that I'm going to tell you what it is right now. But what I can tell you now is that I know what's been going on between you and Anson."

His eyes widened and disbelief slammed him like a tidal wave. How could this stick of man know what he and the boss had been doing? He had been sure to check if he was being followed home after work.

"The cameras never lie, Gerard. Or did you think no one would notice?" Daniel chuckled deeply and released the elder man, watching with a dark and twisted sense of amusement as he struggled to maintain his balance. "You can't void out a transaction before it settles without someone noticing. You thought that just because the books balanced out you could make a little extra money on the side?"

"How—?" Gerard shook his head and gasped once more, but this time he wasn't in as much pain as he had been before. "You should've been—"

"I know how to make an entrance, Gerard, but I also know how to blend in." Icy blue eyes carved a hole into the brunet's soul as the smile curling back his lips didn't quite reach his eyes. "If I don't want you to notice me, you're not going to."

"What...are you going...to do?" The panic that had somehow settled itself beneath his skin rose full force as the brunet began to tremble, both from the fear lodged deep in his stomach to the aching pain in his diaphragm. "No one...will believe you."

Daniel's laugh was cold and bitter as his eyes darkened to a deep navy blue. The strangely emotionless expression on his face starkly contrasted the laugh that seemed to grow wilder and wilder with each passing second. Once the laughter had died down to a throaty chuckle, he leaned close to the other male, so much so that their noses were almost touching. "I don't really care if anyone believes me or not. I just have to ruin your reputation enough to make you see things a certain way. Kind of like how I see things, but not exactly."

His smirk was wide and seemingly painted on as his eyes burned in the moonlight. "I'm not that cruel."

Gerard made to protest, but the raven twisted suddenly and the brunet felt his hand collide with the side of his neck. Almost instantaneously, the man fell unconscious and slumped forward.

"Maybe I should have planned this a bit more," Daniel muttered, steadying the unconscious man's body with his own. He paused and seemed to listen to nonexistent words, nodding slightly and running his tongue over his teeth. "No, I should have just taken a different approach. What am I going to do with this dead weight on me now?"

He froze and murmured approval at a sudden idea. "Oh, what can I do with this dead weight? Whatever will I do? So many choices..."

Turning into the deeper darkness of the alley, Daniel dragged the unconscious man along behind him.

The entirety of the town knelt on the bloodstained asphalt, their heads bowed and bodies trembling with terror, rage, and despair. They all felt as helpless and furious as she did.

She could tell by the tensed muscles and clenched lips that they wanted to fight, just as much as she did. But she was terrified. They all were.

The man—was he really a man, at this point?—that had been their hero and their savior stood looming over all of them, his snow-white hair flowing in violent flames around his sickly pale face. He wasn't that bizarre radioactive green that the other monsters were—no, he retained at least some of the color of his living flesh, and that made them all the more terrified that a being that resembled a human had been the very one to destroy everything they had held dear.

"Look at you fools," the beast sneered, his lips curling back to display elongated canines that glistened in the light of the fires around them. "All cowering and sniveling like the pathetic humans you are."

A collective flinch rushed through the crowd as he whipped around and fired an ectoplasmic energy beam at the remnants of the nearest building. The explosion that followed shook the earth and sent a wave of heat rushing towards the huddled humans.

He whirled on his heel to face them once more, only this time his features were twisted with rage. "You think you are alive because you can fight?" Each step he took was an earthquake, each snarl that erupted from his throat a thunderstorm, each breath a tornado. "You are alive because of what I did to save you! And this is how you repay me?"

Somewhere, a woman screamed as the beast reached out a massive hand and dragged a middle-aged man to the front of the group, gripping his shoulder-length hair with such a ferocity that blood began to stream down his pale, trembling face.

"You were a policeman, weren't you? Answer me," he snarled, giving the human a violent shake when all he did was stammer and stutter incomprehensible words. "Where were you when I was tearing innocent humans limb from limb? Where were you for the girl whose lover I crushed to pieces?" The ex-hero let out a vicious roar—his forked tongue lashing out and green energy formed like flames trickling from his mouth—and shook the human harder, enough to make his eyes roll and his tongue lave out of his mouth. "Answer me! Where were you when the people of this city needed help?"

But somewhere, deep inside her, she had one thought that clawed at her mind with every passing second. No matter the horrors he had brought with him, no matter the pain and agony and despair he caused so many people, there was always one thing that whispered to her in the back of her mind.

~You know he'll always be your hero, even though he's lost his mind~

There was another scream—maybe from the same woman that had screamed earlier? The thick and cloying scent of iron filled the air and she could dimly feel something warm and wet splatter over her skin. A tremor of fear raced through her body and she clenched her eyes shut, wishing she could move her hands to cover her nose and mouth as well. She didn't want to see what the ex-hero had done to the man.

"You know, this is all your fault." The beast was speaking again, and he had taken to pacing the bloodstained ground before them. "If you had just helped the poor boy all those years ago, this would not have happened."

He must have seen the confusion on their faces and laughed throatily. "Oh, didn't you know? The Nasty Burger explosion was the underlying cause of all of this. No one wanted to help the poor, stupid child then, and he went running to his greatest enemy for help."

Phantom leaned down and, with a massive hand, pulled up the broken corpse of the policeman from earlier. He grinned widely as he shook the mangled body with a violent flick of his wrist, raking his talons through the flesh and spraying blood and bodily fluids on the nearest humans, who shied away from them with a cry.

"Look at this here policeman, who was dallying along the streets as countless people were ripped apart by none other than your childhood hero," he sneered, his fangs dripping with poison and his forked tongue lashing out of his mouth. He was moving again, this time circling the group of humans he had gathered like a flock of animals—livestock, in this case. "You let me violate your justice. You let me desecrate what you love."

He yanked a woman up by the hair and snarled in her face, spraying the sweat-slicked flesh with burning and bloodstained spittle. "You let me penetrate your soul and devour the things you once thought were good."

The woman fell to the ground as the monster crushed her skull between his hands, chuckling at the screams of terror from the audience.

"You did all of this. And yet you still think you can be free?" He laughed wildly, a deep and piercing sound that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth. "Well, think again, you pathetic little worms. I hold your lives in the palms of my hands. I can end everything with just a wave of them. There is nothing you can do to stop me and you know it."

He was grinning again—monstrous, ugly, and vicious—and then he was descending into the flock of cowering humans, tearing into them like a hungry lion into the soft, tender flank of a gazelle.

She watched them closely, following their movements with her binoculars. They had left the alleyway and were making their way down the street.

With a sharp breath, she pressed a leather-gloved finger to the communicator in her ear. "The target has been acquired. Unless otherwise stated, keep this radio line offline and tuned to a higher and less-detectable frequency." She didn't bother waiting for a response and shut off the small device, slowly rising to her feet and stretching with a soft groan.

The woman paused as her thoughts were interrupted by the broken form of her comrade laid out on the bed in the medical bay back in SHIELD headquarters. His face had been relatively undamaged aside from the stray scrape or bruise, but when they had stormed the motel room, she couldn't help but recall the strange combination of emotions that had rushed through her—terror, despair, and rage at the sheer fact that some beast had injured her partner to that extent.

She had at least hoped that he had managed to land hits on that monster.

With a shake of her head, she ran a hand through her hair and rid herself of those thoughts. While her emotions only sometimes interfered with her missions, she made sure to keep herself levelheaded and calm even if she was as irate as she was now.

Her eyes swept over the bustling cityscape beneath her, watching the nondescript people bustle about their day. Sometimes she wished for that sense of naivete and ignorance about the world. Ever since she was a child, her world had been stained red and her metaphorical ledger was dripping.

Arching her back with a groan, she shook out her hands and mentally checked her hidden arsenal of weapons. She had them stocked in more than enough places, but she knew that when she fought the raven-haired boy who was posing as a human, she would either have to rely on her speed and resourcefulness or find out what weapons worked against him.

Her partner had been all but destroyed—crippled and abused—by some creature that had the nerve to pretend to be human. She usually didn't go on revenge streaks, but she had been with her partner for years, much longer than any other team they had been on. They were partners and they were family—if one of them ended up injured, whether that be emotionally or physically, the other would protect them and take down whoever had hurt them.

Her boss had given her the file on the monster and she had taken what she felt like hours to review each and every detail. They didn't know what species he was, because his endurance, strength, and agility were off the charts. She was pretty certain that he could go toe-to-toe with the supersoldier if he wanted to. He looked human enough, but there was something in his eyes that hinted at him having lost the last of his humanity ages ago—even though he was supposedly in his late teens.

Right now, she had taken up the mission her partner had failed to complete. While she wasn't as volatile as he was, she knew she was capable of o holding grudges and being petty, for lack of a better word.

She packed her binoculars in the small black bag she had brought with her, double and triple checking the contents. She had her usual weapons on her person, but she knew that she might have to be overprepared for this mission. It was like SHIELD knew everything and nothing about him at the same time. They were well-versed on things like his background in Amity Park, the people he had known there, his relationship with a man named Vlad Masters—who had seemingly vanished without a trace after an explosion in the town.

Yet they knew next to nothing about his full range of abilities. He possessed enhanced strength, speed, agility, and endurance, but they all knew he had more than that. They just had yet to figure out what the rest of them were.

She was making her way down the stairs of the apartment building whose roof she had been on, moving with a speed and grace that only years of training could shape. She hadn't been able to hear the scientist and the monster's verbal exchanges, but she knew they both knew SHIELD was coming after them. She had measures in place that in the instance she did not make it back from this mission, the government agency would storm in with all of their manpower and take down the monster once and for all.

But she had an inkling of realization in the back of her thoughts that Fury may have another trick up her sleeve.

Now at the ground-level entrance, she zipped up her black leather jacket and turned the collar up to block against the cool evening air. The sun was setting and she knew she had to find the scientist and the beast before nightfall. She had made it her own side mission to locate them within a single day and keep tabs on them for the next few days.

She narrowed her eyes as she thought back to their appearance. Stark hadn't looked too bad, but the man was used to putting on shows to convince others that he was fine when he wasn't. The monster, on the other hand, usually always looked sickly. He was pale, shaky, and unsteady, having to use the inventor's body to keep his own body upright. Despite his horrific strength, he was as thin as a stick, almost as if a powerful breeze could knock him over or break him in half.

She guessed that because the monster used what appeared to be a human body, he had to keep it sustained in some way. Judging from how he had looked earlier, he wasn't making it a top priority to keep his body up to full strength even when he wasn't fighting.

They were most likely going somewhere to eat.

There had been a diner a few blocks from the alleyway they had been in.

Moving with an even greater sense of purpose, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and made her way down the sidewalk towards the diner in question. She felt the slightest hint of satisfaction, but she knew the feeling would be magnified tenfold once she caught them.

It was only when a deep drone filled the air and the city descended into pitch-black darkness that she acknowledged the fact that this mission would be much, much more irritating and exhausting than she wanted it to be.

Damn you, Stark.

With another slight sigh, she picked up her pace and headed towards the diner.

I may edit some things a bit more after the initial reception for this chapter shows up, but still, let me know what you think. If there are any typos, grammar mistakes, or spelling mistakes, feel free to point them out. This chapter was in the works for months and I've reread it a bunch of times, but I still manage to overlook some things.

I know I've said it a bunch of times, but don't forget to review!