"Creates Another Fiend." Living Dead Girl; Rob Zombie
Almost there, just a little bit longer. Enjoy, -N.
When he threw the explosive, he wasn't sure what to expect. Maybe for them to move, attempt to get out of the way. Possibly try to hit the disc before it reached them and destroy it, but definitely, definitely not to just stand still like a deer in the headlights. He was already pulling Raven away from the room, wanting to get her as far from the fight as possible. He felt the blast's wave propel them farther from the two, and the flash and high-pitched whine behind him was the signal that he had to move quickly. When he saw the blinding light fly over his shoulder, close enough for him to feel the heat from the beam, he realized that they weren't planning on just letting them leave.
He shoved her away from him when he heard Victor's battle cry, and felt the guy tackle him into the door. From talking with him, he knew that before his accident, he had weighed two hundred and twenty pounds. After his life saving surgeries, and his own personal upgrades, Rick knew that Victor, "Cyborg" Stone was now tipping the scales at around three hundred and fifty. That being said, he wasn't surprised when they went through the steel door and landed outside.
Vic had his cannon pressed against Rick's head when the world had finally stopped spinning. "Rick, stand down man." He turned his face, and stared down the barrel. Victor was going for blood now; normally, his cannon had an opening around three and a half inches, it impressed him that the guy could shrink the caliber down what looked like an inch. If he fired, Victor wouldn't just knock him unconscious; he would blast a hole the size of a quarter through his skull. "I know you love her, but that thing isn't Raven," he watched as the cannon shifted back into an extended hand. "Let's take this thing, and destroy it. Raven is gone, and now something is just running around in her skin. Help me kill it, and we can forget all this."
His answer was out his mouth, and running down the side of Victor's chrome face by the time he finished speaking. Rick didn't close his eyes as the weapon reappeared. If they killed him, fine. It just meant that she would have more time to get away; he could die knowing she was safe. The muzzle was glowing with power as he stared it down. "Stop drawing it out, and just kill me already. That is, if you're still human enough to do it." The last thing he saw on Victor's face was anger and hatred before he was swallowed by darkness and cold.
He wasn't sure what had happened, but knew that that thing had helped him escape. It still felt good though when he fired the gun into the rubble below. He wasn't sure how deep the beam had went, but knew that, a few minutes ago, he had been ready to kill his best friend because of something stupid the guy had said. Turning from the smoking crater, he made his way back to the tower, and presumably, a broken Kori.
When he was back inside, he again saw Gar lying on the floor, his head twisted back over his shoulder, but no Kori. Then he heard it, a faint grunt and dulled scream. Looking towards the ceiling, he could see her, bundled in what he discovered was the carpet torn up from the floor. "Sit tight girl," again, he focused his weapons, and was able to cut her down. The moment she was free, he could see her eyes blazing green. She was pissed, and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
"Thank you," she looked around him, and he knew she was searching for Rick.
"He's gone, that thing pulled him out at the last minute."
"I understand, when you attacked, I went after it. When it noticed me, it started to hit me with everything in the room," he looked around, and could see the smoking furniture and shattered TV. "I could barely dodge it all, and then everything went black. I thought it had just done that, covered me with darkness. Not wrap me up like a present." He wasn't surprised when she started to stare at Gar and got quiet. Shaking his head, he turned from her and went to their friend.
With care, he lifted the body into his arms. He never realized it before, but the guy weighed a lot more than he looked. "Com' on," she followed him to the elevators, and soon, they were at the medical wing. He could hear her start to cry when they approached the coolers. He tapped into the tower's computer, and it responded, opening a door and sliding out a table. He took the time to turn his friend's head back around and wipe the blood from his face. Finished, he stopped for a moment to close his eyes, and slid him back into the cold. With a hiss, the door shut and he turned to the girl.
She was a wreck; he wasn't sure how she was even standing. When Raven died, it was several days before she even spoke. He couldn't begin to imagine how she was feeling after watching one friend kill another. "Star," she settled down to whimpers, and he took that as a good sign. "We can mourn Gar later, but for right now, we have to stop that thing." He turned away so she wouldn't see him shudder.
When Gar crashed through the wall with Rick on top of him, he panicked, but that turned to confusion when he saw Raven standing behind them, watching. He didn't know what to believe at that point, maybe Rick was right, maybe they had given up on her too soon; that he had been able to bring her back, and that Gar was just freaking out about seeing her. Then her face changed. He had expected her to start yelling at them to stop, or to use her powers to pull them away from each other, but she didn't. Her eyes were glued on the two fighting. When Gar changed back and was covered in blood, he saw her, no, it, grinning at the scene, and giggle when his head was twisted back.
But then it changed back into a woman, hiding behind Rick and acting just like Raven would, comforting the guy because what he had to do. They had to kill it; they had to kill the thing that was wearing her face. "But Victor, what if Richard tries to stop us?"
With a sigh, he held out his arm, and heard her gasp at his weapon. "Then we'll just have to do whatever it takes."
He knew she had saved him when he couldn't see anymore. She had moved him so many times this way, it didn't bother him anymore, it was cold and comforting, like snow, like her. He could feel her anger at the others through the energy, and he understood. Their friends had just tried to destroy her, and kill him; he wasn't going to forget that anytime soon. It could have been hours, or even just seconds, but the next thing he saw after Vic trying to gun him down, was rubble.
They may have been underground, or the building could have just been that large, he wasn't really sure, all he knew was the room they were in was enormous and filled with shadows. Part of him wanted to explore it, but he knew that had to keep moving. He had to put some distance between them and the others. It was then that he could sense her amusement with him, so out of spite he explored, and growled at their location. He could see the broken monitors and heavy machinery easily enough. The man may not be there at the moment, but the place was one of the old holes he would crawl into.
"Raven?" Yes Rick? He couldn't tell where she was, the shadows were so dense, he didn't doubt that she could disappear for as long as she desired. "What is this place?" The laughter echoes off the wall, instead of his mind. Searching, he found her. She was lounging on the throne that the man seemed to always torment them from, he legs hanging carelessly over the armrest. In the thin beam of light entering the ruins, she looked like she had always belonged there.
He could see the amusement on her face, along with the impatience. "You already know where, just say it."
"But why here?" She rose, and taking his hand, pulled him away from the light, and towards the shadows. Eventually, they stopped when he felt his foot brush across something.
"I took us somewhere they would never look for us. I hope you don't mind, but I don't think that he'll care that we're here." He felt her drop something into his hands. He recognized the shape, and the single hole in the metal was a dead giveaway, he didn't need to see it to know he was holding Slade's mask. He wanted to throw the object away, to get as far from it as possible. He remembered the last time he held one of the damned things, how it had almost destroyed his mind.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that it hadn't been just a mask. He had to have been dead for several hours, maybe even days, and it looked like he had died suffering. It was more a torso with arms than anything else. The eyes were gone, and half a tongue lolled out of his mouth. Looking at his chest, he could see that both lungs were punctured, and his heart appeared to have been bruised, like it had been put in a vice. Even his head looked like someone had taken a hammer to him. He slowly raised his eyes, and saw her standing back in the light.
She was acting the same way when he first met her. It was like she was trying to be coy, evasive, something she often did but was never good at, at least with him. Hands clenched together, and eyes refusing to meet his, her way of saying she was constantly sorry for something that she may or may not have done. "Raven, what happened to him?" He kept the anger out of his voice; he was saving that for the people that tried to kill him. For now, he was willing to settle for just finding out what she had done.
"I'm sorry," he went to her, and sat down on the chair. "I was just so angry at what he did to you," he didn't object when she sat in his lap and pulled his arms around herself. "I was worried he was going to come back for you, and I didn't want to lose you." She spun in his arms, and he stared into her eyes. "Do you forgive me?"
He didn't hesitate to nod his head. He couldn't count the number of times he went and did something in the heat of the moment. He could forgive this; after all, it was Slade. If anything, he was jealous she didn't bring him along to watch. He had to ask though…"Did it hurt?"
She started to blush, and actually twirl her hair in her fingers, like what she had done was nothing spectacular; as if she had just gone to pick up milk instead of literally tearing someone apart. "I like to think so, he actually screamed when I pulled out one of his kidneys." He laughed, and then realized where they were; in a burnt out building, with a rotting corpse, hiding from their 'friends', with almost no weapons, and he was in half his uniform. Perfect.
He felt her tugging at his mind then, wanting attention, and he turned to watch the power pouring out of her. He knew he was staring as the broken stone flew back to the walls and seemed to merge together without leaving a seam. The shattered equipment pulled itself against the walls, and in moments, he heard it begin to groan and move. Eventually, even the lights started to flicker and glow. When she finished, he felt her slump against him, and he smiled at her efforts.
She had even repaired the monitors, and he could see them in the tower, plotting against them. Even though there was no sound, he didn't need to read their lips to know what they were saying, how the woman he held was a monster, and that he was insane for protecting her. All lies. "Raven," She opened those eyes, and he could see the exhaustion there, yet he couldn't help but ask. "I don't suppose you can sew too?"
She raised a hand to his bare chest, and he saw the corpse begin to glow black. "I think I can work out something, but for now," when she rose and pulled him behind her, he didn't resist. She seemed to know the entire layout of the complex, and eventually, she had found the bedroom. As she pulled him onto the mattress, it disgusted him that she wished to be in his bed, but it was what she wanted.
"Are you sure?" Her only answer was to pin him against the sheets.
"Of course, this is our home now, our nest." Again, he watched her eyes glow red and he didn't resist her. "What was his is now ours."
He had patched into the city's mainframe to start looking for them, Richard and that thing. He knew that they would go to ground, but that didn't mean they'd disappear. When she was alive, Raven always gave off a type of energy. When her powers flared up, it was even more noticeable. When he father first started nosing around the city, he left behind an energy field that people could feel, but when he was forced back to hell, ability to leave that 'mark' was left with Raven.
From the map, he could see the blip coming off of the tower. It made sense, he figured. It had to use a lot of energy to get them both away. "Anything?" he turned, and saw Kori pacing the room. She had changed after they put Gar away. The only glow in her eyes was anger. No happiness, no innocence, just hatred for that thing. Maybe when this was all over, things would get better. Maybe.
"Nothing yet, but something'll pop up soon. We just need to wait." He went back to the computer, and looked for the telltale blip on the screen.
"Do you think he was right?" He turned from the monitor to look at her. "That we did ignore her, that maybe we should have tried harder to get to know her." It had been years since Kori got here, stumbling over Basic English and nursing an addiction to mustard. Now, she had a handle on the language, and they realized just how intelligent she was. He knew what she was asking, hell; he had been wondering that since the day of the funeral.
"I don't know Star," her eyes twinkled for a moment when he used the name she gave herself. "Maybe he was. Let's face it, when did we ever take the time to notice her." He took his head in his hands. "She acted like it didn't bother her, but we all know that it did. Rick is feeling some heavy guilt for not paying any attention to her, and now we know he cared about her. When whatever creature it was crawled into her skin, and it came back to him, I think he lost his mind."
He didn't know when he did it, but the next thing Vic knew, he had his cannon out, and was powering it up. "Now that he has her, I don't think he is above anything. We both saw him kill Gar to keep that thing safe. I hate to say it, but, we might have to bring him down to put Raven back in the ground."
He expected her to object, to argue with him and say that they could save. Instead, he only got a nod. It was then he heard it, a quiet chime.
He spun to the computer, and the coordinates put them in the middle of the industrial district. He knew it was them. He hadn't seen a power reading that big since Trigon crossed over into their world. He heard the growl over his shoulder, and had to agree. Rick wasn't the same man he was three weeks ago. He was a killer now, a criminal, someone they had to bring down. "Let's go."
The first thing he was aware of was music. It started low, but he recognized the melody. It was Beethoven, if he had to guess, probably his eighth. It didn't really surprise him that Slade listened to classical, it made sense. The music was high, powerful, and mighty in its own right, just like the man. He wandered the rooms, and eventually found her. She was back in what he would call the 'throne room', lounging against the seat, staring at the monitors. "You're awake, good." He wandered to her side, and smiled at her grin. "I hope you don't mind, but I needed the noise, even with the equipment running, it was too quiet."
He didn't want to admit how much he enjoyed the bed, or her being there. As much as he had come to despise Slade, he had to admit that the guy knew how to live. He couldn't think of a time after his parents dying that he had slept more than three hours a night. "I am and you're right, it was too quiet." His eyes fell on the screens searching for the others. "What's been happening in the tower?"
"They left, I don't know where though." She just adjusted herself, and he couldn't help but watch her. The way she sat, it was as if she belonged there, ruling. Like father, like daughter. He felt her eyes on him then, and the familiar feeling of her probing his mind. It wasn't painful; in fact, it felt like a cool wind against his skin, pleasant. But he didn't doubt that she could make the pain legendary. Of Course.
"I think it is safe for us to assume that they are coming here."
He didn't smile when she quirked an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
"Because lately, that's how our luck has been running. We have to believe that they were able to figure out where we are, and that they are coming for you. Which they won't get." He smiled at her growl, it was strange that she was acting this way, but given the way life has been lately, he didn't blame her.
"I finished your suit," when she forced the clothing into his hands, he wanted to shove them back at her. What he had stood for death and pain. He had done many things lately, but he wouldn't wear his colors.
"No."
"Please, it will give you an edge when they come." She was forcing them back into his arms before he could object. "Besides, it will make me happy." It was that last statement that had him changing. Again, he found himself surprised. He expected the armor to be bulky and uncomfortable; instead it felt like he was just in his skin. He tried to keep from panicking though when she placed the cold metal against his face.
"Take it off," he watched her shake her head, and continue to fasten it to his face. When he finished, he felt a slight pressure against the metal, as if she were stroking his face.
"No, it will work for you." He wanted to argue, but then he heard something. It wasn't like their tower alarms, but close to it. What is, he turned to the screens and saw them standing outside what he guessed was the entrance. "I'll handle Kori, you take Victor." He nodded and started to run towards the sound of metal twisting. She was fading into the dark when he spotted them inside their sanctuary.
"Be careful."
He didn't waste time when they found the building. "Remember Kori, hard and fast." He hit the door just like he said, and felt it shatter under his hands. When it caved in, he realized just how deep they were in. The room was covered in darkness. They couldn't see more than five feet in front of them, where the light from outside ended. He was already moving when he saw the guy, Slade. He knew the man anywhere. "Where are they Slade?" He watched the man cock his head to the side, and he took off. "Kori, find them, he's mine."
Vic didn't wait for a response; he just went after the figure, but soon realized that he wouldn't catch him. "Screw this," he started to fire, and was surprised when he actually managed to get a hit. He didn't remember ever being that lucky, any other time, he would be celebrating. "Ready for your whoopin' boy?" That was when he heard the laugh. It made his skin crawl, scratchy and sore, like he had been going for hours. "What's so funny Slade?" He watched the guy point to where he was standing.
He jumped back, expecting a bomb; instead, he realized what he was standing in, correction, who he was standing in. The body was huge, and well into rot. It took all his effort not to vomit onto it. When he raised his eyes, he saw that Slade was standing, still laughing. "That, dear Victor, was Slade," he felt his jaw hit the ground when the mask came off. It was Rick, wearing the dead man's armor, with an almost maniacal look in his eyes. He steeled himself when he pulled his staff. "You were saying something about giving me a 'whoopin'?"
Kori wasn't sure what she was looking for, but knew that she had her orders. Find them. She eventually found the main room, when she heard the quiet sound. At first, she thought she had just imagined it, but them she realized what it was, crying. She summoned her power, and scanned the area, when she found it. It was curled up in the corner, weeping heavily, and didn't seem to know she was there. "What are you doing?"
It looked up at her, and she saw something on its face, fear. "Kori, is that you?" She approached, wanting to comfort her, until she realized that it wasn't Raven.
"It is me, what have you done with Rick?" She was again confused when it started to cry harder.
"I don't know. When Victor almost killed him, I just grabbed him and we ran. When we got here, Slade attacked, and took him. I just woke up, please, don't hurt me." She could see the large bruise on its face, and could make out the shape of a fist. Maybe this was Raven, and they were wrong, maybe Vic just wasn't seeing things clearly? What if he was just confused?
"I believe you, come on, let's go find them." She was lifting Raven to her feet, and pulling her away from the room. "We'll find them, and then go home."
"No." She wasn't ready when she was, again, surrounded in energy. "I won't let you find my Richard. I waited long enough while he fawned over you, and tolerated your disgusting relationship with him, so I won't let you find him.
"What would you do, if you were to find him? You would apologize, give him a beat up puppy-dog look, and he would be following you around just like last time." She felt the pressure getting tighter, and she tried to break it, but couldn't. "I'm surprised that you actually believed these," she watched it raise its hand to its cheek, and wiped the bruise away. "I am back, and refuse to leave."
Kori felt her vision start to blur, and stopped struggling, waiting for the pressure to leave, or finish her. "I am going to let you live, provided you never follow us." She didn't wait for an answer, just dropping the other to the ground. Satisfied that Kori would not awaken, she wandered away, smiling widely. "Oh Richard."
He smiled as he dodged yet another blast from the cannon. Rick had to fight the urge to laugh at him. He always knew that he held back against the others in practice, but he didn't realize just how slow they were. He figured that Vic would have been able to hit him at least once, what with all the cybernetics in his body, apparently not. "Is that really the best you can do?" He dodged another blast, but it was closer, he actually felt the heat on that one.
Enough, he ran close, and whispered into the man's ear. "Only human." He heard the scream, followed by the dull thud of metal hitting the ground. Turning, he could see him nursing what was left of his left arm, arcing electricity and what appeared to be blood pouring out of the stump. "You really think I don't know about your weaknesses? Before I formed the team, I made sure to find out how to bring all of you down." He could see the fear and disgust in his former friend's eyes. "You know about the eighteen weaknesses you possess, what would you say if I discovered twelve more?" Again, more fear. "What you just experienced was number five. Just walk away from us."
He watched as Victor fell to his knees, and he moved towards him. Perhaps the blood loss was worse than I thought. "We'll leave; you'll never see us, never hear from us again, why do you care what we do? Sure, she is different, but it's in a good way." He knelt near the ruined limb, and again said the key word. The blood stopped, and power was restored. "What do you say?"
He was unprepared for the hand around his neck. He tried to speak, but he couldn't get the words out, he could feel his bones straining under the weight of those fingers. "You changed Rick." He noticed that his voice had changed. It was flat and monotone, very unlike him. "I don't know what that thing did to you, but you're different. I'm going to have to bring you in, you did things that you said you'd never do. I'm sorry."
He dropped him when Rick slammed his hands into the sides of his head. "I'm sorry Vic," he stepped back, creating space between them. "But, since you can't take a gentle hint, would you like to hear what your bio-organic shutdown keyword is? Its-," he felt a sharp sting in his throat, followed by a second in his chest, high on the left. Looking down, he could see his suit burned black, could smell his charred flesh, and he fell to the ground. So this is how it ends? "Raven, I'm sorry."
Victor walked slowly over to him, feeling rage at himself for what he had to do. "You left me no choice Richard. I'm sorry." He felt it in the room then, the temperature seemed to drop to freezing.
"You killed him." The statement wasn't filled with hate, or malice, it just sounded like it was giving him a lecture. He scanned the room, and couldn't find it. He noticed the lights had failed, and he powered his weapons, expecting it to come at him from any angle. "He always liked you, you know. Always respected you, even looked up to you, and now you killed him." He could see its eyes then, glowing in the dark, and fired. He panicked when he heard its laugh.
"Don't try again, or I may have to hurt you." A single light started again, and he saw it kneeling over Rick, kissing the hole in his throat, and stroking the wound in his chest; like he was simply asleep instead of cooling on the ground. When it raised its head, he saw the crimson on its lips. "I expect him to be buried, with honor. He did nothing except what he thought was right." He felt it grab him in its power, and he didn't struggle as it dragged him towards it. "If I find out he was cremated, or anything else happens to him, I'll come back and say the magick words," he found himself staring into its eyes, and he knew it was telling the truth. "Understand?"
He could only nod as it released him and he fell to the ground with a clang. It knelt down once more, and giving Rick a single kiss disappeared, taking the darkness with it. When the light returned, he made his way over to the body, and lifting him, pointed his stump to the wall. He felt the explosive leave his body and hit the stone, and heard the low 'beep' as it armed itself. He continued to wander the halls, firing charges into the rock. When he found Kori weeping in the main room, he understood what had happened. That thing had gotten to her, gotten inside her head, but he was grateful she was alive. She fell in line behind him, and again he kept arming the building. When they were outside, he walked to his car, lowering Rick into the rear seat. When Kori joined him in the front, he activated the charges, but felt nothing as the fire flew into the sky. Instead, they went home, to bury two friends
I've got a short epilogue in the works, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you liked it, if you hated it, please let me know.
Take it Easy,
-N