Title: Seraphina
Chapter: 6/7
Author: MrGrayson24
Rating: T
Author's Note: Second to last chapter! This is when it gets fun! (well, it's been fun but, you know…)
-x-
The hairline fracture that started in the center of the diamond wall ran from the ground to the ceiling and then spread out like a spider web.
Psimon released Megan, who crumbled to the floor and he attached a collar around her neck.
"In case you get any ideas."
Dick ran to her side, with Savage too distracted to care.
"What happened?" Megan asked as Dick rested her head on his leg.
"They used you to open her tomb." Dick couldn't take his eyes off the distorted figure within the wall as the surrounding rock broke away and shattered into pieces, until nothing was left but a naked woman with the face of an angel.
She fell forward. Savage motioned for his men and a group of them ran forward with their guns drawn.
One of them held out a blanket to her. "We're here to help." He reached down to touch her shoulder, but the moment his hand brushed her skin, she jumped.
She moved so fast, she became a blur, but when she stopped, the guards lay scattered around her.
Savage laughed. "Looks like I'm going to need more men."
Seraphina's head snapped toward him. "Kenara evaune esq monexo?"
"I'm sorry my dear, I don't speak Drune."
One of the guards on the floor gasped. Seraphina reached down and grabbed him around the throat.
"No!" He begged. "Please!"
Seraphina held him off the ground and looked into his face. Then, she opened her mouth and a faint light appeared on his skin. It migrated to her as he screamed in pain. She dropped him and by the time he hit the ground, he was dead.
"Who are you?" Her voice was so deep and thick, it reverberated around the entire room.
"My name is Randall Savage." He gave a slight bow. "I'm the man responsible for setting you free."
"I remember now." Seraphina looked about, like she was seeing it for the first time. "I fell." She turned to Savage. "Is this Earth?"
"Yes, it is." He stepped forward. "You made it."
"Take me outside."
-x-
"What're we going to do?" Dick whispered to Megan. "We can't make a break for it and leave Artemis here."
"Do you remember anything from the book? Did it say if she has a weakness?"
Dick shook his head. "She gets stronger the more she feeds. And judging by the group of dead soldiers back there, she's probably pretty full."
Up ahead, Seraphina walked next to Savage but Dick could swear he saw her turn her head and give him a slight smile.
-x-
"That's the entrance to the mine." Wally ducked behind the boulder. "You were right. Whatever. Let's go." Wally turned to leave but Jason pulled him back.
"Wait a minute! We don't even know what's in there! Do you think you could give it a speedy run through?"
Wally groaned. "Fine, but don't tell me what to do."
Just as Wally was about to dash away, a group emerged from the tunnel. Jason pulled Wally back down.
"Stop doing that!"
"Look! There they are!"
They both peered over the boulder. "The woman at the front, do you think that's Seraphina?" Wally asked.
Jason gave him a look. "No, it's some other 8 foot tall woman."
"Oh… So where do you think Seraphina is?"
Jason rolled his eyes.
The moment they broke into the morning air, Seraphina seemed to come alive. She separated herself from the group, held out her arms and took a deep breath. Even her complexion started to give off a heavenly glow in the sun.
"It's beautiful." She said to herself. "Look at all this… life."
"Take the young heroes away." Savage said to Psimon, who looked disappointed. "Seraphina and I need to speak alone."
Dick, Artemis and Megan, along with Savage's remaining guard were ushered into the forest, while Savage and Seraphina paced along the path.
"I know why you are here Seraphina."
"Do you?" Her expression was unreadable. "Tell me."
"You want a place to call your own. A world with infinite energy. And nobody to stop you from taking it. I can help you."
They stopped inches from where Jason and Wally hid.
"This world can be ours but there are those who protect it." Savage continued. "Help me stop them and I can give you what you've been waiting centuries for."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I've been on this Earth since the dawn of man. I was here when you crashed and I'll be here long after. Nobody knows humanity the way I do, nobody will be able to give you what I can."
"And what do you want in return?"
"Power."
She looked away in thought. "I will need time before I am at my full strength. Can you offer me protection until then?"
Savage held out his arm. Seraphina stared at it but eventually linked her arm with his own and they started back down the path. "Those were my thoughts exactly."
-x-
"I can't get it off." Dick groaned.
Megan pulled at the collar. "If I could just get my powers-"
The flap to the tent opened, two guards rushed in and grabbed Megan.
"Hey!" Dick stood but they pushed him back down. And by then, Megan was already pulled from the tent and Dick was left alone with an unconscious Artemis.
A few moments later, Seraphina sauntered in. Dick opened his mouth to protest but Seraphina gave him a look and he stopped.
"I wished for us to speak privately. Your Martian friend will be returned to you."
"It's so weird how I don't believe you at all."
Seraphina glanced to Artemis. She stood over her and gently ran her finger along the archer's temple.
Artemis's eyes shot open but she didn't move.
"What's wrong with her?" Dick asked.
"Her brain had begun to hemorrhage. She would have been dead within a day. She will recover now."
"Why not just drain her?"
"The men I drained after waking will sustain me for now. But they were filled with so much… hate and insecurity. But not you." She smiled. "I've felt you and your friends since the moment you arrived on my island. I've felt the hope, and the love. And that's something I can live on for ages. So you are owed a thank you."
"So, if you aren't here to feed-"
"I'm here because I wanted to meet you in person, to see the shell that houses all these emotions that fill me with life. But, I have been trapped for near an eternity and I couldn't help myself."
She held out her hand to Dick's forehead but he moved back. "I thought you said you weren't here to drain me."
"I don't think I said that." Her finger brushed his temple. "All I want is a little taste."
The tent was filled with Dick's screams and then a blinding light.
