Last Chapter

"I can't believe my little brother's a fucking doctor!" Kayla bemoans, pulling a high laugh out of Flug. "I mean seriously, you're twenty-one and you've got three PhDs. That's amazing, Flugbug."

"Thanks," he replies, trying to put on an affronted edge, but there's a smugness in his grin; he's so excited to have finally graduated, to finally show the world that Dr. Flug Slys is an important person. He wants to show the world, in his own way, that he's just as important as any human being. "Now I can finally leave the morgue."

"I didn't realize you hated work so much," she teases.

"I think it's mostly the coworkers," he replies, trying and failing to keep a straight face as Kayla makes a playfully affronted sound. "Except for this one girl, she's alright."

"Oh? And who is this girl? Is it Meagan?" Kayla's grin grows exponentially when Flug fake gags at the mention of his annoying work rival. "Come on, Flugbug. She's pretty cute, and I'm sure she'd like you more if you'd just smile at her."

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you, if I started bringing Meagan to family d-"

Flug's cut off by the impact of a purple and electric blue body into the ground before them, the young man leaving a crater in the cement. Blood drips from a large gash on the side of his face, and Flug salivates… The smell is enticing, nearly hypnotic in its youth.

"Don't," Kayla whispers and reaches out for his arm, snapping the predator from his stare off. "We should get out of here."

They never get a chance…

Flug barely notices the villain called Ice Caster: a wiry, Asian woman in white and blue spandex, as she powers up an ice blast and lobs it at the junior hero. He barely notices the way that the hero runs away, leaving two civilians behind… No, his eyes are on Kayla, who sees the oncoming blast before he can… and pushes him out of the way.

Her body crumples to the ground; she isn't as strong as the heroes; she can't get back up…

Flug smells her blood.

Her head's too far to the side…

Her neck's broken…

Flug drops to his knees and crawls to her body, his fingers reaching out and feeling for a pulse.

There is none…

She's dead.

"Oops." Ice Caster's reedy voice warbles out in the tiny alleyway as she powers up yet another blast. "Don't take that so hard, dear. That really wasn't for your friend there."

Flug's eyes flash golden as he turns his attention to the villain fully, a low, throaty growl leaving his throat; he stands up then and snaps out of vicious, "I figured as much… But it doesn't change the fact of what you did…"

"I suppose not… but I can fix it." When Flug quirks a brow in interest, she grins maliciously and throws a blast his way. "I can reunite you in death!"

Flug doesn't move out of the way, torn between wanting to see if Ice Caster can truly hit him and wanting to get away just in case, and the blast collides with his chest… But nothing happens. He shivers slightly as the cold washes over his skin, but the powerful punch that had killed Kayla feels like nothing.

Taking only a second to marvel at his health and revel in the shock on Ice Caster's face, Flug stalks forward, his pace even and steps measured, as he spies a loose chunk of asphalt. Before Ice Caster can run or the heroes go to stop him, Flug bolts to the chunk, faster than their eyes can see, and rips if from the ground before throwing it as hard as he can.

Ice Caster makes a choked sound and drops out of the sky as her ribs push into her body and his sternum cracks with a wet squelching sound. She tries to shuffle backwards through the pain, clearly terrified of the still-advancing monster, but she doesn't get far before a hand wraps around her throat and squeezes, the cartilage and bones creaking and cracking in his grip.

"Stop!" Captain Colossus cries and reaches out as if to stop Flug, but he's far too far away. "You shouldn't do this."

Flug narrows his golden eyes and grabs Ice Caster's hair with his other hand. "Don't tell me what to do." He yanks as hard as he can, not stopping until her head tears off and bounces to the ground, spraying the area with blood.

"She was a human being!" The graying man takes a step closer to the creature, motioning for his fellows to remain powered up, and without a moment's pause, Ice Caster's minions fall in step with them. "She didn't deserve that!"

"So was my sister! She didn't deserve to die either!" Flug uncurls his fingers from the dead villain's throat, allowing the decapitated body to fall to the floor. "She was an innocent… This is your fault," Flug snarls, baring his teeth at the senior hero. "It's your fault just as much as it was Ice Caster's."

With a loud scream, the hero who'd dodged out of the way leaps at Flug, fully intending on either arresting or killing the deranged doctor, but he never makes it far. He gurgles, mouth dropping open and body convulsing as he desperately gasps for air through the chunk torn from his throat.

"Pathetic," Flug hisses, his mouth dripping with red. "I've never seen such sad excuses for heroes before."

A part of Flug is horrified at what he's done, but that part never makes an appearance on the outside, not even in his eyes that glow with fiendish delight. But that part is swallowed up by the overwhelming hunger that builds in his chest and overrides his thoughts.

The next few minutes become a whirlwind of blood, organs and instincts as he rips and shreds anyone who comes close enough to him; Flug is gone at that moment, replaced by a bestial rage that cannot be swept under the rug any longer.

He barely notices when he catches Colossus, but then he's scratching at his skin and throwing the man around the alleyway, listening to every scream and cry as if it's the sweetest music… His claws sink into Captain Colossus' chest, tearing through the flesh and piercing the bones. Colossus grapples at his shoulders, trying to throw him off, but Flug merely spreads his hands apart. With a sickening crack, the hero's chest opens up to Flug's eyes, exposing his pounding heart; Flug sees it stop beating…

Suddenly, the spell is broken, and Flug drops the hero's body, his expression filled with horror.

He takes a step back, only to stop when his heal squishes into something soft and slick: the intestines of the disemboweled minion behind him. He shakes and turns around and around, trying to make sense of the carnage around him. "I-I did this?" he whispers, voice colored in disbelief.

Then his eyes fall upon Kayla.

Flug drops to his knees beside her body, shaking as he crouches over her body. "Kayla…" Her skin is still warm to his touch, but not warm enough to continue the illusion of living. "I'm so sorry!" he wails and presses his hands against his face. "I didn't mean to! I-I…" His claws catch on the skin, and with another whimpering whine, he tears into his own skin, leaving large gouges anywhere his claws can catch.

"It's all my fault…"

Blood drips from his face, speckling her body and clothes. He falls silent, tears welling up in his eyes, and the few that escape sting his torn flesh. Still, he stays quiet, keeping vigil over Kayla's body as he tries to sort out what he's going to say and what he's going to do…

Then he hears the voice: "What are you, sweet creature?"