Part 5

The little girl was right though. Annabelle was peeling the skin off the 3 men that had killed her husband. She was afloat in the air, about 6 stories up from the ground, with one of the men in front of her, a bloody mess. I could see the flesh was off his arms and most of his face. The other two were pressed against a building wall, being held by an invisible force. One of them was all limp, and judging from the fact that he had no skin left, I assumed he was dead. The last man was screaming hysterically for God to intervene and calling Annabelle every derogatory name he could.

I could see bullet shells littering the street beneath Annabelle. The cops must have tried shooting her, to no avail. Her TK shield was more powerful than that. I needed to do something to break her concentration and separate her from the men. I started towards her, coming up on her side. She was so engrossed with her torture, that she didn't notice me.

As I got near her, I pictured a huge Louisville Slugger bat and swung it at her. "Batter Up!" I yelled, and she turned just in time for the bat to hit her full force with an upward swing. She flew out of sight. I should be playing for the Red Sox with that type of swing. Without Annabelle holding the men up, they immediately started to fall. I encased them in bubbles and gently lowered them to the ground.

Police and paramedics rushed to their aid. The one that hadn't yet been harmed could only keep saying "Thank You" to me. It made my skin crawl for a piece of garbage like him to thank me.

"Save it" I snapped, a piece of green tape appearing over his mouth. I turned to the nearest police officer. "Once they are treated, you may want to look into their involvement in the murder of George Manning." Just because I wouldn't let Annabelle kill them didn't mean they got off scot-free. "They may be linked to other hate crimes as well. They are neo-Nazi's" The officer shook his head.

"YOU CALL THAT JUSTICE!" I heard bellowing from all around. As I looked around, I couldn't see her anywhere. I turned one last time to get greeted by a light pole batting me across the street and off a concrete wall.

"Shit. Caught me off guard" I muttered, as I clutched my ribs. I didn't have my shields up. That hurt. A lot. As I staggered up, I saw two big SUV's heading at me from opposite directions. I only had time to think of being safe, but that was enough. I was encased within a green safe as I heard the two vehicles crash and crunch around me.

"This bitch plays for keeps" I thought to myself. Once the noises from the SUV's stopped, I split the safe in half and had them push outwards, knocking the trucks away from me. And before me, there she was.

It was the first time I really was able to look at her since she flew out of my apartment. Her body looked like it had been bathed in various metals, as her outfit glistened in the sun. It was mostly black, yet with a huge white bird, a phoenix, across her chest, yet her gloves and boots were white. But it was her face that caught my attention. It was just total darkness. As if it was covered in ashes. Except for the eyes. The eyes looked like the were literally on fire. What little flesh showed on her face, under the darkness, looked paler than before. Her hair, which was black, now seemed to have red highlights, a crimson red at that.

"You cannot stop me Jake. The police won't do anything. Hell, George's body was destroyed when we merged together." She told me as I could see the men floating behind her. I got myself ready, my green sheath back around me, my mental shields in place. I think she actually smiled though.

"Jake, I don't want to hurt you. it is them that need punishment. But, I can't let you stop me. So, I won't delay the inevitable anymore."

Before I could even react, I could hear one of the men, his bones all crush at ones, crushing into saw dust. And the other, I'm assuming he must have been the ring leader, as his was the most gruesome. Every limb, every joint was, at the same time, ripped apart from his body leaving only a pile of flesh, bones and blood. He basically became a human jigsaw puzzle.

My mouth fell open in shock. In my time, I had seen many horrific things done to other living beings. But never by one human to another. My horror started to turn to anger. I wanted to help this woman? This is what I pleaded with Ganthet about to spare her life, so she could do this? I was angry with failing, angry for not being quick enough. And mostly, I was angry with the laughter I heard from Annabelle…from the Phoenix at what it had done.

"Now, there are more sinners out there. More that need my judgment" she said as she started to fly away. If my eyes weren't green from all the years wearing this ring, they would have been red. As red as hers.

"You cold hearted bitch" I mumbled, "More judgment?! Over my dead body!" the words came out louder. I launched myself at her, grabbing her with an emerald claw. I could feel her fighting it, lashing out with her powers, but my will was too strong this time. I wanted her off this planet, and dammit, she was going to get off it. I headed for the stars. Earth was going to be spared, but I wasn't sure about me….or the universe.