~"You either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" ~ Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight.~

POV: First Person: Hawk

(Because the author writes better in Hawk's first person point of view)

I turned around and looked down at Tim. The air moved around us slowly as Dark entered the room. The two started talking and I had to gather my thoughts for my next move.

It had been years since I last felt this concentration of darkness in one being. My job was to protect Mark. That's why I was allowed to be here. My superiors didn't want me to intervene but I reminded them of my status in this universe and, after some hesitation, told me that it was my call.

I specialize, at the moment, in retrieving lost souls.

I'm supposed to be here.

I looked down at Tim who had begun sobbing some time ago. I held onto his shoulders with one arm and his waist with the other. His head pressed into my shoulder. I took him with me as I stood up. I stood him next to me and held on.

I turned around to see Hero and Light sitting on the wall next to the hole in the wall.

I blinked slowly to try to track Mark's soul. It was faint but still there. Somewhere in Mark's mind that Demon can't go.

My eyes focused on Demon's face and he glanced over.

"Welcome to the new beginning," he called over to me with his stretched smile.

I guess my all black eyes were still there. I always get used to them and forget that they are active.

"Why do you still hold onto the small one?" He asked, pointing at Tim.

I looked at him and didn't move. Instead I altered my voice to be more demonic, like back in the good old days. "Thought you needed a companion," I said with a smile, revealing my demonic tinted fangs. I tilted my head slightly as I spoke then walked over to them.

Dark looked at me confused, "Are you one of us?" he asked. "Or one of them?" he gestured to the now conscious Light who glared at us all. I knew he was trying to formulate a plan to rescue Tim from me.

Tim started resisting me as we got closer so I picked him up, put him over my shoulder and continued. "What do you think?" I asked as I stood near them.

"One of us," Demon said through Mark's voice. I could barely sense him.

I smiled at Demon and let the darkness engulf my skin. I felt it branch from my eyes, across my face and down my neck, eventually covering, mostly, all of me.

"One of us," I replied, letting my lips part and show off my fangs again in my smile.

Dark looked at Demon, "I like her."

Demon looked at Dark quickly, "I saw her first!"

Dark gasped and said, "She threw me into a wall when she got here! I saw her first!"

Demon pushed Dark's shoulder, "She actually looked at me when she hit me!"

Dark put his hand on my black shoulder. I let the fire within me surface to my skin at contact. I simply glanced down at his hand as it caught fire. He pulled it away and he looked at me. He held his hand and looked at Demon.

"See?" Demon smiled. "She even works with fire."

I looked at Demon plainly, "Hell-fire actually."

"How do you work with hell-fire?" Dark asked, "That's impossible, even for a villain."

"Maybe for you," I said slightly annoyed. I looked at him intensely with my black eyes, "But I've got friends on the other side." I lowered my voice and let a demonic heat surround my words.

Demon shot a glance at dark. "I don't think she's joking…"

I smiled and looked quickly at Demon. "Being human isn't the best for you," I turned to him slowly, letting my smile fade. "I can sense your fear."

"I'm not human!" He protested.

As he spoke, my sharp claws elongated on the hand closest to him and I swiped them across his skin. He yelped in surprise and held his face. His blood seeped through his fingers.

"You are bleeding. Yes, you are human." I told him as he put down his hand. I watched the wound heal quickly. I hope my drop of Healing that I encased in venom can survive his new bloodstream.

"So? That's what happens when we take over humans." He argued.

"Don't argue with me." I was getting annoyed by the fact that he was arguing with me. I looked at his pathetic excuse for a side kick and laughed softly to myself.

"You aren't in charge!" Dark shouted at me.

His tall stature did not intimidate me as much as he thought it did. I grabbed his gold and green collar, lifted him up and threw him into the wall. Tim scurried away while we weren't able to keep him there. "Never. Fight. My. Status." I growled, walking over to him as he got up.

He waved his staff at me, in attempt to blow me away but I didn't move. Though Demon was blown back a step.

"I'm the strongest. I'm in charge." I turned to Demon. "Got a problem with that?"

He quickly shook his head and looked down. I helped Dark back up and took his staff. Its electro-shock security field was affecting me, but I played it off.

"There's supposed to be a security field on that…" Dark mumbled.

"Oh there is," I said in response, pointing it at him. And it hurts like hell.

"Wait what?" Dark exclaimed, putting his hands up. "You are one of us."

Demon looked at Dark and then put his hand on his own throat. "Don't even try it."

"You die too, I hope you know." I said to him. I didn't even need to look at what he was doing. I already knew he tried the 'I'll kill him if you do that' villain trick. It doesn't work with me.

Demon hesitated. "She's lying!" Dark yelled.

"Am I now?" I asked, keeping my composure and turned to Demon. "If I'm lying, why don't you go ahead with your plan?"

"What? No! He can't do that! We'll all die!" Light yelled from where he sat. His voice was weak but still intelligent.

"We all take risks don't we?" I asked. "That's what King Dark did when he was here isn't it?" I turned to Dark and put the staff on his chest.

Demon lunged for me and in one swift move I swung around and without hesitation sliced his very human chest open. The gash stretched from the contact point on his torso and went diagonally up across his chest Mark's body collapsed to the floor without any attempt to prevent it. He rolled onto his back and faced me with his blood red eyes and they locked onto mine.

"What have you done?!" He shouted as the body started to fail him.

"I have freed you from your mortal form, Demon." I snapped. "Isn't that what all demons want? Freedom?"

He shut his mouth, glanced at Dark and closed his eyes. Mark's chest stopped moving and Demon clawed his way out of Mark's body. He crouched by the body, looked at both of us in angered silence then flew out into the dark sky. Mark's head fell to one side.

I looked out and saw that the darkening clouds had continued to get darker. I aimed the staff at Dark before he could move.

Tim shouted at Light and Hero to get up. I turned to him. "They'll be okay, Tim."

Dark glared at me. "You…"

I looked at him and smiled.

"You… you ruined everything!" He charged at me. I dodged his attack and tapped the staff on his back. He faded away.

The next few moments of silence were broken by Tim sitting down next to Mark and crying.

I breathed calmly and felt the darkness covering my skin recede back to where it came from. My eyes slowly went back to normal and the darkness shading everything had gone away.

I kneeled down next to Tim, "Demon can't go far." I said softly, putting my arm on his back.

He jolted and looked at me, "So you were never on their side?"

"Never, but someone had to fake it." I said and turned to the body. "I need to be where you are at…"

He scooted out of my way and I sat by the side of the body. I peeled the blood soaked ripped shirt off of his torso and put both my hands on his chest.

I closed my eyes and listened for anything. I searched for any sign of the spark of his soul.

I opened my eyes and moved my hands over the gash. I breathed out and let the leaf tattoo on my shoulder guide my healing powers down my arm and into my hands. The green glow emanated down into the gash and started its healing process.

The gash wasn't too deep but it had sliced up his abdominals pretty bad. They healed quickly and the skin healed just as fast.

"That's a lot easier when I'm not bogged down by the stress of keeping intergalactic peace for a few minutes," I whispered. Tim looked at Mark's torso. The new pink skin slowly faded into the skin color that matched the rest of him.

"You did that?" He asked.

"Yes, it's my talent," I explained. "And another thing I can do," I let my eyes turn green, "is locate a lost soul."

Tim backed off and I looked at his chest. I felt again for any sign of a spark.

It was there this time.

I could also see the effects of Demon on his skin. Impressions from the black tendrils left a faded black tint to his skin and reached out from where Demon had taken Mark over. I put my hand on Mark's neck and supported his head to face the ceiling. His lifeless face was hard to look at.

"I have to bring him back," I whispered with an undeniable tone of certainty. It needed to happen, there was no question about it, but as an Intergalactic Hero… it's my job to keep humans safe in scenarios like this.

My grip tightened on his neck and I injected some of my healing powers into his skin to work around the grooves. They were harder to heal. Demonic remnants were always harder to heal.

I felt a spark of life a moment later.

At least he wasn't a lost soul. "I can sense Mark there. I'll have to go get him though."

"I'll stay here." Tim said.

"You couldn't go with me even if you wanted to." I commented. I sat down by his head, crossed my legs and concentrated. I put my hands on his chest and felt myself go into Mark's subconscious.