Flight of the Archangel
Disclaimer: "I am the world's first fully-functional homicidal artist." – Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Batman
Chapter 7: A New Friend
The Hellfire Club Building
"Mistress!" Dracor called as he appeared in the catacombs underneath the Club's New York headquarters.
"What do you want, Dracor?" Selene demanded as she stomped into the room. "I was working on something."
"Forgive me, my mistress." Dracor bowed humbly. "But this is urgent."
"What? Your sister broke another claw?" Selene frowned, crossing her arms. "I am in no mood to play manicurist at this moment."
"No, mistress. It regards your Archangel." Dracor told the Black Queen.
"What about him?" The dark-haired woman frowned. "I trust you have him looking for the Wand of Watoomb."
"Yes, but….there is a problem." Dracor sighed. "The Archangel rescued a human."
"So?" Selene frowned. "I care not what he does in his spare time, just as long as he gets the Wand."
"Yes, but it was no human." Dracor frowned. "I recognized her. It was Topaz."
"Topaz?" Selene repeated. "Topaz?"
"Yes, mistress." Dracor confirmed with a nod. "Topaz, the-!"
"I know who she is!" Selene hissed. "Topaz…if she discovers his mission, then Strange will know about it." She growled. "Thanks to him, I'm very much trapped down here."
"Indeed." Dracor nodded. "She is his disciple. We had better hope that the Guthrie human doesn't make the connection."
"I doubt he will." Selene shook her head. "Jay Guthrie has never met or even heard of Doctor Strange. And I'm sure as far as he knows, Topaz is an empath."
"He has seen her use magic." Dracor told the mutant sorceress. "Even though he may not have heard of Doctor Strange, we must be careful. He may grow curious."
"We shall deal with that bridge if it comes." Selene frowned. "Just make sure the human gets the Wand. Meanwhile, I must work on another project."
"If I may, mistress, what is this other project?" Dracor blinked. Selene smirked.
"Jay Guthrie is not the only member of his family to be considered…special. His older brother Samuel is like me. He is an External."
"An immortal?" Dracor's eyes widened.
"Yes." Selene smirked. "I have developed a bit of an…interest in him. He is trying to delude himself with a normal mortal life. Wife and children, that kind of thing."
"Such things you Externals aren't meant to have, huh?" Dracor snickered.
"Not exactly." Selene shrugged. "I've lived many centuries. I've had quite a few children myself over the years. This Samuel boy needs to realize something."
"And what is that?" Dracor crossed his clawed arms.
"He needs to realize that like me, he has been chosen." Selene chuckled. "He can do so much with his immortal life. He shouldn't spend it constantly burying descendants. The world is his oyster. He just needs someone to show him what his immortality can allow him to achieve…"
The Voodoo Lounge
The Voodoo Lounge was a small bar that was located in Greenwich Village. The bar had a theme of magic and mysticism. That was not really a surprise, considering the bar was run by a magician. The Lounge was not just a place where regular people could go for a drink. It was already frequented by those who were in contact with the supernatural and the occult. It was none too uncommon to see the occasional werewolf or vampire in the place. However, the bar was closed up tonight. The owner, the young Indian woman known only as Topaz, was restocking drinks. And she had a friend. Jay Guthrie, also known as Archangel, was sitting at the bar, holding a bottle of beer. He withdrew his wings partially back into his body, into a 'standby' position. His hair was still red, his face in its painted form.
"So, tell me about yourself, stranger." Topaz smiled, sitting across from the mystically-resurrected mutant.
"What's there to say?" Jay's painted face formed a frown. "Not much about myself you need to know about."
"You know, you remind me of someone." Topaz told the redhead. "That guy on TV who was murdered a short time ago. With the red hair and wings, you'd remind a lot of people of that Icarus guy." Jay bristled at that. Topaz smirked. "Looks like I hit a nerve…Icarus." Jay angrily leapt up, pulled out a feather, and pointed it at Topaz's throat.
"Don't. Call. Me. Icarus." Jay snarled, eyes glowing red. "And how do you know about me?" Topaz blinked.
"Easy there, Red." The Indian woman slowly and gently pushed down Jay's arm. "I am knowledgeable about sorcery, remember? I can sense a resurrection. I know one when I see one." She looked at him. "I sense a lot of anger."
"You noticed?" Jay grumbled sarcastically, crossing his arms.
"Your death wasn't pleasant, was it?" Topaz asked him. "I can sense it."
"Is death ever pleasant?" Jay scowled. "Mine especially wasn't." He looked at the Indian woman. "I'm surprised you aren't freaked out about this."
"Believe me, Icarus." Topaz looked at him sadly. "I've seen quite a lot of crazy stuff in my time. You'd be surprised by the stuff I have seen and the people I know."
"I bet." Jay frowned. "And please…don't call me Icarus. That name is dead, just like the person who killed me when I get my hands on her."
"Who killed you?" Topaz blinked.
"…My own damn sister." Jay scowled. "That little old hag fell into the Friends of Humanity. Evidently, she felt that she wasn't welcome in her family because she was human and several of my brothers and sisters are mutants."
"And then the old chestnut. You came back for revenge, huh?" Topaz deduced.
"Oh yeah." Jay nodded. "You said you sensed some things about me."
"Emotions, really." Topaz explained. "I'm an empath."
"A mutant?" Jay blinked. Topaz shook her head.
"No. Never was." Topaz answered. She then looked at him. "Jay, why do you want revenge on your sister so badly? Besides the obvious."
"…Well…" Jay frowned. "If you know who I am, then you know what I was."
"I saw you sing once on stage." Topaz smiled. "You had a very beautiful voice. I guess the resurrection gave you a new one." Jay nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, it did." Jay confirmed. "I got a new voice, alright. I was on the verge of making it big. I was going to achieve my dreams. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. I never did anything to hurt anyone in my life." He growled. "I didn't deserve to be beaten. I didn't deserve to be tortured. I didn't deserve to be murdered. I didn't deserve to have my dreams, my goals, my LIFE, taken away from me by a traitor sister who only wanted to feed her damned precious ego!" Jay's eyes flashed red. Gritting his teeth, he whipped his head around.
"Yipe!" Topaz ducked.
EEEEEEEEEEE!
Jay let rip with his sonic scream, shattering the glass bottles on the far wall of the bar. Topaz slowly turned around and blinked at the broken bottles.
"You're paying for those."
Next: Visitation As Jay broods over his new existence, his older brother Sam gets a surprise visit…
