Escaping the Darkness

[XXVII]

Nurse Holloway had been making her usual rounds on the fifth floor of Lenox Hill Hospital's East Wing. This floor was affectionately regarded the 'Vegetable Floor' by the nursing staff. This floor housed the Coma patients, and those patients who were essentially vegetables, with little to no higher brain functions left. A Nurse's normal rounds here was usually just checking the equipment to make sure nothing needed repairing and that all the signs were the same. The Hospital was still recovering from the small war that had broken out a week earlier, no one really understood what had happened, there was rumor that a 'Hero' had been attacked by another 'Hero'. Of course to the general population of normal humans, anyone with super powers was either considered a Hero or Evil, there wasn't much gray area.

It had taken awhile for the Search and Rescue teams to get through the rubble of the Children's Wing. Thankfully most of the children had managed to get out at the first sign of trouble. The Search and Rescue teams weren't sure what to make of the sight that awaited them in the rubble. They found a small boy, quite obviously the worse for wear. The boy had been asleep when they first came up on him, though he awoke when they shook him. "She saved me," Was all he kept saying. As they moved him, they realized he was holding another person's hand. The rest of her was buried under rubble and they weren't sure she was even still alive. Upon uncovering her, they turned her over to the Hospital staff, who proclaimed that she was indeed alive, and that she'd suffered no physical wounds from having a building fall on her.

Still, she had remained unconscious, and while the Hospital had tried to figure out who she was, there was no record of her in any data system, anywhere. Nurse Holloway was checking the readouts on the machines in the young girl's room, when they began to go haywire. Suddenly the young girl sat up with a deep gasp, rapidly pulling the sensors and IV tubes from her flesh. Nurse Holloway was almost as panicked as the young girl. Though she managed to regain her composer and slap the button over the bed calling for back up.

"Calm down, you're alright, You're in a hospital." Nurse Holloway moved slowly around the bed, speaking in the soothing tone she'd been trained to. The young girl was now huddled in the far corner, with her hands over her head and her knees up to her chest. She was muttering to herself in a language the nurse couldn't understand. "I'm Nurse Holloway, do you know who you are?" She held her hands out, palms forward, showing the girl she didn't mean her any harm. The girl turned her gray eyes up to her, quite obviously focusing hard on the nurse's words.

"Cad a tharla dom?" The girl asked, then she shook her head as if she were angry with her own words. She even went so far as to bang her head against the wall, as if she were trying to dislodge something stuck inside her brain. "What happened to me?" she asked again. Nurse Holloway breathed a sigh of relief as the girl spoke English.

"You were trapped under a lot of debris when a part of the building fell on you, you've been in a Coma for the last week. Why don't you come back up here, and lay down on the bed so I can check your vitals?" The girl seemed to be focusing incredibly hard on the words. She shook her head to the Nurse's suggestion. "Tá feel fine." she told the nurse.

The backup arrived, and the flurry of activity at the door seemed to make the girl highly uncomfortable, forcing her to clap her hands over her ears and hide her face in her hair. The Nurse quickly turned to them and held up her hands, forcing them to stop. Turning back to the girl, she knelt down so as to be on her level. "Can you tell me your name?" Again the girl focused for a moment and then shook her head.

"Well are you hungry?" After a moment the girl nodded, "I'll go get you a tray then." The girl watched the nurse leave, waiting until she shut the door before slowly getting up from the corner of the room. She looked on everything as if she were seeing it for the first time. Reaching out to touch the blinds on the window, the blanket on the bed, the fabric of the couch. As she passed by the small bathroom, she caught herself in the mirror above the sink, causing her to stop and stare for a moment. The girl who stared back at her looked nothing like a person who'd survived a building collapse. Her hair was in need of a good washing, but there were no cuts or bruises. Stepping closer, she reached up and touched her face. She remembered what a mirror was, but she didn't know who the girl was staring back at her. Coming back into the main room, she noticed a sealed bag on the small counter. The writing on the bag told her it was the personal effects for room 542.

Opening the bag, she pulled out a black outfit made of some sort of strong material. While she had come out of the rubble unscathed, if she'd been wearing this, then the outfit told the story that her body did not. It was torn and bloodied in a lot of places, the outfit was essentially ruined. Touching a spot of blood, she cried out as a small vision flashed across her mind. Pain mostly, she saw a knife sticking out of a leg, and then someone pulling the knife out. Reaching down she rubbed her leg. Setting the outfit aside, she pulled out a pair of dog-tags from the bag. Most of the symbols were unintelligible and the tags were dented a bit. She could make out large letters however. "XXVII....27," She spoke softly, hoping it would trigger something.

The door opened, and she jumped, quickly spinning to face the door. She didn't realize what she was doing, but she brought a hand up before her to protect herself. The shadow of the chair near her suddenly wavered and then flew across the empty space to her hand where it solidified into the shape of a dagger. She was so shocked by what had happened that she instantly dropped the shadow, where it returned to the chair once more. All of this happened in a split second and the nurse bringing in the tray of food hadn't seen it.

Nurse Holloway set the tray down on the small table and turned back, noticing the girl was holding the dog-tags. "You were wearing those when you brought down to the ER. The letters are also tattooed on the back of your neck." The girl frowned slightly and stepped back towards the bathroom, lifting her hair, she turned slightly so she could see what the nurse was taking about. "You should eat, why don't you come lie down." Turning to the bed, the girl stared at it for a few moments and then moved over, carefully skirting around the nurse so she didn't touch the woman and then climbed up on the bed.

The Nurse had noticed that she didn't like being touched, so she decided to try not to. Holding up the small sensors the girl had ripped off her, she showed them to her. "These are to monitor your heart rate, you can put them on yourself if you'd like, but we need to make sure that you're doing alright." The girl nodded and the Nurse set the sensors down on the bed, then indicated on herself where the sensors should be placed. After a few moments, the girl got them in the correct position and the monitor began it's steady beeping. "You seem to be doing well, the doctor will want to see you, why don't you eat while I go find him." The Nurse gave her a reassuring smile and pulled the table of food closer. She then left again, and the girl sat up, pulling her legs under her as she pulled the table closer. She picked up the fork and stared at it for a moment as if she didn't know what it was for, then the memory seemed to fall into place and she gave a small smile, beginning to eat as if she'd been starving all week.

[NPC]

After several hours to give the nameless woman time to calm herself, eat and adjust to her situation a voice sounded at the door. “Good evening miss.” An older man in white coat and glasses stood at the door and nodded respectfully at her before entering and taking a seat across from her bed. The nurse who had thus far had the most contact with the odd patient had briefed him already on her skittish nature and the fact she did not like to be touched. He did not wish to make her at all uncomfortable as he had this conversation. “I am Doctor Bernstein; I am the lead physician in this wing of the hospital so thus far I am quite familiar with your case. I would first like to say you are a very lucky young woman. You had part of a building fall down upon you burying both you and a child which you had shielded with your body. You came out of this miraculously without a scratch yet you were unconscious and have been in a coma state near a month now.” He pulled the clipboard from the compartment of the young woman’s bedside and began to silently go over it making the occasional nod more towards the information presented before him than anything else. “Well everything seems to be in order here. But is it correct that you have no prior knowledge before the unfortunate accident? We would very much like to know what you were doing in that wing of the hospital during the attack and why you stayed when it began. All surveillance footage pertaining to incident was destroyed but from what we and the authorities have been able to piece together is that a super-powered individual, most likely a mutant, attacked the man infamously known as The Punisher and in so doing destroyed a good portion of this facility. Do you have any knowledge of this?”

The Doctor waited for a response and continued to go over the woman’s medical record taking express interest in her brain scans and blood sample analysis. Her brain scan was interesting only because it showed no irregularities which would explain her loss of memory and periodic lapses into other languages other than English which the nurse had reported. Her blood however did show a slight abnormality, an increased rate of cell production. It could not be locked down in any tests but it was quite interesting and made him wonder if it had to do with any of these strange events. “As it stands young woman you are physically alright. There seems to be no lasting ill effects from the accident other than your obvious lack of memory however this is not a reason to keep you here. That said we cannot and would not as responsible medical practitioners send you out into the world as you are. If you agree we are willing to put you up in a facility that caters to cases such as yours. It is an informal place run much like a boarding house but has medical staff on hand in needed. They will also monitor your progress if there is any and arrange for appointments with professionals in the field of memory loss. This is however your choice entirely miss. Please think on it carefully before you make a decision.” The elderly man smiled at her softly and understandably feeling compassion for what she was obviously going through. Though she was a mystery he only wanted to see the best for this unfortunate young lady, a victim of a small war that to his knowledge had nothing to do with her and a hero who protected a child at the near cost of her own life or so it seemed.

[XXVII]

At the knock on the door, she brought her gray eyes up to take in the older gentleman who entered. As he introduced himself, she sat up, crossing her legs before her so that she could focus on his words. It was odd, she knew she understood the language he and the nurse had been speaking, but it was almost like it had to go through a filter before her mind could comprehend them. As it was he told her a lot that she couldn't remember. She waited until the man was done before she spoke. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and set her chin on her knee.

"I'm sorry, I can't recall anything that happened before waking up here. You say I saved a little boy?" Her brow furrowed slightly, something tugged at the back of her mind but she wasn't quite sure what it was, could it be that there should be something wrong with what the man was telling her. She reached a hand between her leg and chest, gripping the dog tags she'd put back on. "As far as I know, I have no where to go and no one who would be willing to take me in. This place you describe sounds like it could be helpful, I suppose I don't really have any other options. If someone could supply me with some clothing and point me in the right direction, I'm sure I can find it."

She knew she had no possessions to speak of except a lot of questions and the burning fear that she might not want to find out who she had been before this. Her instinct was telling her that she needed to get out of this place, and seeing as she had nothing else to go on, her instinct seemed fairly trustworthy. A sudden thought popped into her head and it gave her something to think about. Hospitals had always made her uncomfortable, but as far as she could remember this was the first hospital she'd ever been in, so how could they make her uncomfortable...so much made no sense, too many pieces that didn't fit together. She needed answers and she wasn't going to find them here.

[NPC]

“Dear girl I do not feel comfortable letting you wonder the streets of New York in the state you are in.” The Doctor smiled tenderly at his patient for both in looks and in attitude she reminded him of someone special to him. She strong yet vulnerable, intelligent yet lost, in her stat he could not help but pity her and wish to do his best to help her. “The hospital can provide you with clothes and a ride to the facility. Though we do need something to call you, 27 is not really a name and there are far too many Jane Doe’s at the facility as it is. Are you quite sure you cannot remember anything?” He asked this again not to be patronizing but because the test results just did not support the possibility of memory loss, at least not any rational reason why she should be experiencing it. From what he could see she was in tip top physical health inside and out. “No I guess not.” He sighed and shook his head as he stood to leave. “Perhaps… no…” he started then stopped and looked at her. Yes she was so like his only daughter, he had recently lost her and his grandchildren in a terrible car accident. The pain was still fresh and yet looking at this unfortunate girl he could not help but smile sympathetically. “What would you say to being given a name? I think… I think Alyssa would suit you well young lady. It is better than a number at any rate. Alyssa Black, Black is a name sometimes given to patients with no identity in place of the usual Doe.” He did not know why he was suggesting this, giving this girl such a personal name, it seemed outrageous and if the other doctors were to know the history behind the name he was suggesting he would assuredly be brought before a review board. Nevertheless this woman was in need and as a physician he had to help her.

[XXVII]

She thought on his words for a moment. "Alyssa," she spoke the word softly, trying it out and then turned her gray eyes back to him. "She meant something to you, I can tell from the tone of your voice. I'm going to guess daughter, you wouldn't speak of wife with such sadness and regret..." her words trailed off and she got a rather confused look on her face, wondering how she knew that. "I apologize, I shouldn't have pried, I like the name, and I am honored that you would so think to allow me to have the name." Her words held a soft Irish accent to them, the sort of accent that had been broken down by being too far away from it's homeland for far too long.

"I thank you for your concern for me and I'll gladly accept the ride to the facility you speak of. You don't need to worry about me quite so much though, I have a feeling I can take care of myself." She said this as she was thinking back to when she'd almost attacked that kind nurse with a dagger made of shadow, how had she done that? Could she do it again?

[NPC]

Doctor Bernstein was completely taken aback by the young woman’s intuitiveness. She had guessed correctly concerning his daughter by his mere expressions and tone of voice. She was apparently well educated if she did not know it herself. “Yes dear girl that was my daughters’ name. She… died… along with my grandchildren. You remind me of her, you both resemble her and you seem to have strength of spirit like her. All you have been through you still give off courage and optimism. For this reason I am proud to give you that name.” He smiled softly, his old heart feeling a bit lighter by this act. “Think nothing of this young lady, I am a Doctor and it is my duty to provide care for my patients. The road ahead of you will be long and hard but I think you are up for it. Now please excuse me while I make preparations for you.” He smiled at her one last time before leaving the room.

After several more hours he returned with the kind nurse carrying clothes, papers and a suitcase. “The van is waiting for you outside; the driver will take you to the facility. You just need to sign these papers, pick out an outfit or two you like from these public donations and you are on your way. I have also arranged the driver to take you to the bank.” He smiled as he handed placed two hundred dollar bills at the foot of her bed. “A gift from me and Dr. Bernstein to help you get settled.” Nurse Holloway spoke as she placed the papers and clothes on the table alongside her own personal effects. “Anytime you are ready just dropping those off at the nurse’s desk and meet the blue van outside.” The both nodded to the girl encouragingly then left the room as quickly as they had come.

[XXVII]

Alyssa was shocked at how kind the two of them were being. Though she didn't quite understand why it shocked her, she didn't have any other previous experience to go off of. Something was telling her that their behavior wasn't what she was used to. They didn't even give her a chance to thank them properly before they were both gone. Rising up from the bed, her dog tags jingling merrily, she moved to the pile of clothing the doctor had brought in. Some of the articles of clothing she dismissed almost immediately, bright happy colors just didn't feel right.

Finally, Alyssa settled on a pair of black and gray checkered pants with a black belt. The belt had silver designs that resembled vines curling along it's length. The pants were perhaps a bit long in the legs, and Alyssa figured she was just shorter than the average person, seeing as both Nurse Holloway and Doctor Bernstein had been taller than she was. Foregoing the faded sneakers, Alyssa found a pair of closed toed boots in the pile, with a three inch heel. They were the perfect height to keep the pants from dragging on the ground.

She topped the outfit with a white tank top and a slate gray jacket. Picking up the bag the doctor had left, she chose out a few more items of clothing and another pair of shoes and folded them carefully into the bag. Nurse Holloway had also brought her small make up bag, complete with a brand new toothbrush and a hair brush. Taking the make up bag into the bathroom, Alyssa brushed all the tangles out of her hair and applied some slate gray eye shadow. The color brought out the gray in her eyes.

Once she was finished cleaning herself up, she tossed the bag over her shoulder, stuffed the money in her pocket and carried the extra clothes out to the nurses station. The nurses seemed rather busy, but one of them took the clothes from her and pointed her to the elevator, explaining how to get outside once she reached the first floor. The first floor seemed like chaos compared to the floors above, but Alyssa managed to weave through the bustle without touching anyone. Outside, it didn't take her long to spot the blue van the nurse had spoke of. The driver was waiting on the curb, leaning up against the van. He was an older gentleman with the type of happy face any little girl would feel comfortable with.

As she approached him, he stood up and gave her a smile. "You must by Alyssa, I didn't believe the Nurse when she told me your hair was that color. I'm Thom, pleasure to meet you." He didn't move to shake her hand, and Alyssa assumed Nurse Holloway had also warned him that she didn't like to be touched. He opened the door of the van and held it for her as she climbed into the front seat, setting her bag on the floor between her feet. Thom climbed behind the wheel and the van took off. The radio was playing some sort of jazz that Alyssa found very soothing. She kept her gray eyes to her surroundings, taking in the city and it's people.

Ten minutes later, Thom pulled the van to the curb and pointed to a bank across the street. "First stop, Do you want me to come with you?" He asked her, quite obviously concerned for her. Alyssa gave him a soft smile and shook her head. "No, thank you Thom, I need to do this on my own, I'm sure it won't take too long." Alyssa checked the traffic before she climbed out of the van, leaving her bag on the floorboards. She quickly moved to the sidewalk, again ever so careful not to touch anyone. Placing her hands in her jacket pockets, she moved across the street, thanking an older woman who held the door open for her as she approached.

Inside the bank she was almost overwhelmed by the largeness of the space, there were so many people, and so many desks, she didn't quite know where to go. Thankfully an employee seemed to see her lost look and came up next to her, though he made the mistake of touching her elbow. Alyssa jumped away from his hand instantly, turning to face him directly. He placed his hands palm up before him. "Sorry miss, is there something I can help you with?" he asked her. Alyssa thought on it a moment and then nodded her head, explaining to him that she needed to open a new account. He gave her a smile and motioned for her to follow him. As she was lead further into the large building, the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up, something wasn't right and she feared that danger was closing in on her. She couldn't explain the sensation however, she just seemed to know that something bad was going to happen.

[NPC]

“My name is Donald Preston and if you will follow me I will be happy to help you out with whatever you need.” The young man who had approached Alyssa spoke gently as he led her into his glass walled office. He was young like her, 6’ tall with ashen eyes and a tan that almost made his blond clean cut hair unnoticeable. He smiled at her softly for he had noticed the way she had reacted when touched and did not wish to alarm the girl any further. Taking a seat behind his desk he booted up his computer and motioned for her to take the nice leather chair in front of him. Now Miss how may I help you today?” He asked cheerfully then listened as she explained that she wished to open an account with the bank and also that she was without any normal identification but had been provided the standard card for situations like this. He took the card gently from her making sure not to make contact with her fingers as he did and after reading the information over he nodded, turned to his computer and punched up to correct forms. “Alright Miss Black, I can set up our standard chequeing and savings accounts for you. You will have sole access to these accounts with the use of your interact access card that the front tellers will have ready for you by the time you are done with these forms.”

He soon stood up and moved to the printer in the corner of the office where he pulled out 3 sheets for her. Placing these and Alyssa’ card in front of her he motioned to several places. “I already filled out most of the information on these with your card but you will need to sign in several places on these forms.” He stood beside her though far enough from her that he did not come off as threatening in the slightest then pointed out each section she needed to fill out. “I also need you to write down on this piece of paper the 5 digit code you would like to use to access your accounts. I will take this out to the tellers right now and make sure your card is made up.” After she had written her password he promptly left her alone in the office to sign where she needed. He moved across the open marble floor of the bank and behind the desk to speak with the tellers but suddenly stopped in his tracks as a group of masked individuals entered the bank.

“Get on the ground now!” A female voice hissed from behind a black ski mask before turning to two bank guards approaching her. “You too gentlemen or you will pay the price.” Though her eyes were covered by black shades it was apparent to anyone that she glared at the pair of burly men as they ignored her warning and continued to advance on her with their pistols raised and aimed at the masked group. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you bunkies!” The female snarled and raised her own gloved hand which immediately released what appeared to all around to be purple and white bolts of lightning. “Fry piggy’s fry!!” One of the male masked individuals shouted out sadistically as the two guards were struck by the electrical discharge and swiftly began to burn where they stood till they were no more than charred corpses. “Gotta love the smell of bacon.” Another masked woman cackled as she brandished metallic claws and spines as they pierced her black body suite and fired into the crowed killing several and wounding others. “Now ladies and Gentlemen… please on the ground now or more will have to suffer.” The lead female hissed again as she moved along the center of the bank till she stood before Donald and the tellers. “And fill this pretty boy!” The first male of the group shouted before throwing a leather bag in Donald’s face. “Fill it to the brim or I do to you what I do to this desk!” With that he turned, pulled his mask up over his mouth, grinned with his fang filled mouth and then spit a long line of green acid onto a bank workers desk which ultimately dissolved it like acid.

[XXVII]

Alyssa moved with Mr. Preston, following a couple of steps behind him and to his left. She didn't realize that she had been trained to do just that for years, that she was doing it on instinct. Pulling her identification card from her pocket, she handed it to him, carefully explaining her situation so that there would be no miss-communication. Everything seemed to be running smoothly, and yet, the sense of danger refused to dissipate. It was essentially driving her crazy, but she somehow knew that the feeling wasn't coming from the attractive man sitting across from her. Following his instructions, she signed her new name with handwriting she didn't recognize. Scrolling elegant script most Americans would never have used.

Coming up with a code....most codes meant something to the people who thought them up, but she knew practically nothing about herself. After a moment's thought she gave a soft smile and almost chuckled, quickly writing down five numbers on the piece of paper. She handed it to him, and watched him leave. As her eyes followed Mr. Preston, something caught her attention off to the side, near the doors. What happened next, Alyssa couldn't have explained to anyone properly. It was like something shifted inside her, the sense of danger seemed to explode from within her, filling her entire body with a cold calculating emptiness. Instantly, she slid from her chair, moving to kneel behind a nearby desk, remaining out of view of the intruders. She could see their reflections in the various windows and mirrors littering the lobby floor plan.

Unknowingly, her hand reached for her thigh, she was reaching for a weapon that was no longer there. One of the guards had dropped his pistol when he was attacked, and it had slid forward under a couple of desks, she could see it from her position crouched behind her own desk. Getting to it would be complicated however. Though she did see something else that might come in handy. Reaching up to the underside of the desk, she depressed a small button, setting off the silent alarm and alerting the nearby law enforcement as to the bank's crisis. Now, to get to that gun.

As one of the bank robber's dissolved a desk, XXVII's mind turned even more inward. Shadows from around her began to waver, and then they slid across the floor to crawl up her body. They hardened into a skin tight armor, this would keep her safe from any stray bullets, or lightening that may come her way. Moving around to the far side of the desk, she stuck her head out, to anyone looking at her, she would simply resemble a shadow that had taken on a mind of it's own and decided to move. Noting the positions of the criminals, and where their attention was located, she darted to the next desk over, repeating this process a couple of times. She was careful to only move when they weren't looking in her direction, though she must have startled some of the staff members lying on the floor nearby. There was too big a space between the last desk and the row of desks that held the forgotten gun. She'd have to make a run for it. "Is féidir liom go n-éirí leat a bheith" she breathed softly, before lunging out from behind the desk and rolling to the under the desk with the gun, scoping it up in the process. She had no idea if they'd seen her, she knew they wouldn't have heard her, but she would know soon enough if her movements had been noticed.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Damien had entered the bank on personal business moments before this altercation had occurred. He had come to look into the many accounts and trusts his father had set up for him before his parents had died. These accounts his greedy bastard of an uncle could not touch and thus left him a tidy little nest egg to live off of and left him free and clear of his uncles influence. This pleased him and enabled him to continue living as he saw fit… well for the most part at least. At the moment the Director of SHIELD had him working for her and the world peace keeping organization somewhat against his will. That in mind he had already pushed Sage’s buttons well to the breaking point and Legion, the demon horde which he was accursedly possessed by, had at least been useful in knocking her down a few pegs by ripping at her mind when she had pushed him too far and almost fully released them.

~That’s right bat boy… we did good… we hurt that mutant bitch… her screams were music to us… you know you enjoyed it…~

“Shut up…” He hissed to himself as the thousands of evil voices whispered maliciously in his mind. He shivered at the thought of losing control to them again. Legion had become more powerful than all the Hell Lords put together now that they had possessed a mortal body. It seemed a strange piece of the puzzle to him though, such a frail thing like a human soul, a human form giving the demons known as Legion such awesome power. This power had corrupted him at one time and had it not been for a global threat at the time Legion surly would have become one. Damien remembered the feeling of helplessness, of being trapped in his own body while thousands of demons twisted its form and used it to their own ends. It was only thanks to the Ancient One that he now had control over his body and with it a fraction of the infernal demonic powers alongside his own mutant abilities. Thus far said powers had come in handy but when Sage had pushed him to the near breaking point he felt doors not only in her mind open when Legion attacked but in his own as well.

~That’s right sport we are here and we are not going anywhere. Just give up… give in and we will spare your loved ones… we promise… you know you enjoy the carnage, the suffering, the blood and pain… give in and we will make this world our own hellish playground.~

He growled at himself or was it the demons? He didn’t know really but he shook off their taunts and continued about his business. His accounts were in good order and so were the stocks he had bought into. If he could but erase the records Sage had on him he would be free to do what he wanted, to look for Amara and beg her forgiveness, perhaps win back her love and start a new and better life. In the mean time he would do what he could to help SHIELD keep the planet safe from major threats.

Then again minor threats were sometimes a priority as well…

As the group of super-powered group of criminals entered the bank he stood his ground. Their brutal slaughter of several individuals did not faze him and though he was loath to admit it even to himself it sparked a slight excitement in him mingled with disgust. He grimaced as he continued to stand as the many workers and patrons of the bank slowly slid to the ground as commanded. He stared directly into the sunglass covered eyes of the leader, the female with electrical appearing powers. “Surrender Now…” He hissed as he slowly moved towards them while opening up his own long black leather trench coat, tossing it to the ground and revealing his own armor underneath and the harness which at the moment kept his wings tied to his back. “I am Damien MacLeod, I am an Agent of SHIELD and you have committed several of heinous crimes. I suggest you surrender now or pay the price.” He spoke boldly while bit by bit approaching the group and unhooking the harness on his chest and back until his massive bat like wings unfurled out in all their menacing glory. “I warn you all I am licensed to use lethal force… and I might enjoy doing it.” He smirked darkly which gave him a sinister outlook fitting his codename Demon.

His enhanced mutant senses had allowed him to detect the young woman moving with purpose from desk to desk but to what purpose he could not say. He himself had moved with reason to keep the groups eyes on him, their attention on him as she did this. Who she was he did not know but whatever she was doing he hoped she was competent and it would either surprise these jackass thieves or help the people in the bank in some way. The opposite however was his fear that whatever this girl was doing was fool hardy and would just get more people killed including him. “Well what do you say… want to call it a day or do we take this to the next level? I can hear the cops coming, this place will be surrounded in moments and along with local authorities I can assure you I will have 6 dozen highly trained SHIELD operatives on scene in minutes.”

“You really think we are gonna give up to some punk kid like you?!” The male with the metallic spikes snarled and pushed his way beside the leading female. “Man I bet he has a secret decoder ring to go with that fancy get up!” The man cackled and immediately fired two metallic spears from his body straight at Demon. The smirk never left Damien’s face however as he swiftly brought his hands up, glowing darkly with infernal powers and fired to disintegrate the blades in mid air.

This shocked the man as evidence by his audible gasp though it did not seem to faze their female leader as she only placed a hand on her hip and cocked her masked head challengingly.

[XXVII]

So she hadn't been seen, well that would certainly be useful. Whoever it was that had taken their full attention seemed quite capable of taking care of himself. Not to mention the fact that he was gorgeous! "Fócas," She hissed to herself. Absently she has pulled the clip from the pistol and checked the ammo, tapping it to align them all before slipping it back in the gun and loading it properly. Taking a deep breath she let her hold on her shadow armor weaken slightly, shifting them so that the would waver about her and give her a slightly demonic look. This also made it so that her true form would be visible through the shadows. Opening her slate gray eyes, she stood up and calmly moved out from behind the cover of the desks. She was still behind all the criminals so she turned her attention to the people laying on the floor around her.

Pressing her finger to her lips, the universal sign for be quiet, she motioned them towards the cover of the desks and walls, telling them to quickly move out of harms way. Thankfully, they seemed to get what she wanted and started to move off to the side silently. Her gray eyes met the human/demon half breed. Tucking her gun into her belt, she brought her hands up showing him that she meant him no harm. Silently she moved up behind one of the criminals who hadn't shown that he had any special abilities. Wrapping a hand around his head to cover his mouth and nose, her shadows seemed to slither into him and down his throat as he tried to cry out, keeping him silent. Her other arm came up to wrap around his shoulder. She kneed him in the back of the knee, bringing him gently to the ground as her shadows cut off his oxygen supply and forced him to pass out.

This took only a matter of moments, of which the criminal's companions were solely focused on Damien. He seemed to be with some sort of organization, she needed to take his lead. Crouching over the now unconscious body, she brought her gaze up to his again. In her hands, the shadows formed solid shapes that resembled batons. They wouldn't kill, but they would harm. XXVII nodded to him, showing him that she was ready to back him up.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Demon was impressed with the girl’s skill and ingenuity in both handling the crowed and the apparently human member of the criminal group. She had helped move several of the innocent bystanders to safer positions within the bank and had taken out an armed robber silently and stealthily without any of his comrades taking notice. She had power, that was clear as day by the dark substance, like living darkness, she controlled by sheer will and it served her well. On top of this she had skill, seemingly military in its precision and execution, which alone was an asset and it was also obvious she would be of help in this little escapade.

“Well miss you seem to be the one in charge. You willing to take on a fully trained combatant with, I will repeat, a license to legally use lethal force?” He continued to smirk as his thick Scottish accent became more malicious and taunting. “Come on sister make your move… If you got what it takes do it!”

~That’s right let loose… let all that anger flow out… lose control…~

He growled more at the demons inside while feeling his hands changing under his cloves, his nails sharpening and curling into claws, his skin hardening almost to leather, his teeth sharpening and extending some. If he could look into a mirror he would see his eyes turning black as charcoal with the demon energies flowing through him. In moments his hair would fall out and his muscle mass would double, his skin would turn grey and his face would shift till it resembled a demon like bat creature. He didn’t want this to happen, that form was useful at times but this was not one of them. No he had to calm down; he had to get a hold of himself. A few deep breaths, a quick mental check of his faculties and his skin, hands and teeth returned to normal though his eyes remained as black as the abyss while staring at the criminals before him.

“Nice parlor trick Agent man.” The leader finally responded with an amused sadistic tone as she slowly moved toward Demon till she found herself face to face with him. “I am a mutant too though, and I have lots of power. Power enough to blow this whole city block to pieces. You wanna take that chance law man? You here all alone with all these…” She paused as she looked around and finally caught site of her fallen comrade and the woman with the weapon. “You little bitch.” She growled low with pure hatred but suddenly found herself spun around by the arm and then rattled to the floor by a thunderous right hook from Demon. She shook her head clear for a moment and stared up at the winged mutant with glowing purple eyes now revealed as her sunglasses fell to the marble floor. “Take her… this punk is mine… all mine!”

Damien took no chances, pulled no punches, and took no prisoners. This was his way and he followed it to a tee when slugging the woman. Chivalry was not dead but in this instance it had taken a vacation and as her order was given he knew he needed to act. Lunging forward, his wings spread wide he fell upon the leader like a vulture only to be blasted in the chest by white and purple lighting and subsequently hurled across the room into the tellers desks.

[XXVII]

XXVII barely had time to admire Damien's ruthlessness. The woman's words forced all of her companions to turn on her. As the woman's order still echoed around them, XXVII tumbled forward. Refusing to wait for them to make the first move, she'd already picked her first target, the one who had proven herself more deadly then the rest. XXVII decided to name her Spike Girl for the moment, and as she tumbled forward she brought both her baton's around, one hitting Spike Girl in the hip to distract her, the other sweeping her legs out from under her. This motion caused Spike Girl to tumble backwards, landing directly on the spikes sticking out of her spine.

With Spike Girl temporarily impaled to the floor and occupied, XXVII turned her attention to the closest enemy. This forced her to turn completely around, only to come up nearly face to face with Acid Moron who liked to melt desks. "Tá brón orainn raibh baint aici le leat?" She asked him with a wicked smile on her face. While Damien was Scottish, there wasn't much different between Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic, so if he knew the language of his heritage, he'd be able to guess that she was mocking the Acid Moron.

Acid Moron only knew she was mocking him because of the tone of her voice, he instantly became enraged and spewed forth a stream of acid. XXVII instinctively ducked and rolled away, allowing the stream to bathe Spike Girl thoroughly where she was still impaled on the floor. The girl's screams echoed around them as XXVII brought her batons up and around, bringing Acid Moron to the ground where she effortlessly knocked him out. The sound of a gun shot met her ears as fire burned through her torso, it caused XXVII to cry out sharply in pain and turn around. The last human had shot her, not realizing that it would only piss her off. "Ba léine nua!"

Her angry words were backed up by her small yet menacing frame striding forward. Her batons dissipating as she gripped him by the throat and spinning him around with her other hand. Cutting off his air supply she forced him to kneel before her, wrapping her shadows around him to keep him still. This allowed her to turn her attention to Damien and his fight with the ring leader.

( Tá brón orainn raibh baint aici le leat = Sorry, was she yours? )
( Ba léine nua = That was a new shirt! )

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Slowly Demon got to his feet and brushed off the dust and debris from being smashed through the teller desks. He glared at the ringleader of this group of thieves yet the sadistic smirk never left his face. She had pissed him off (her mistake) with that impressive attack of hers but he was lucky he had come out if it relatively unscathed. He could feel burns and abrasions riddling his body but luckily the armor Hank McCoy had designed for him long ago had absorbed most of the blast. “Your good but I’ve tasted better lass. Wanna take another shot?” He laughed darkly while at the same time watching the other young woman swiftly and efficiently take out the other thieves and also laughed at the woman’s cocky use of Gaelic to which it seemed only he understood amongst this crowed. He had lived most of his life in the US after his parents had died but before that sad event he had been taught the ways of his people, his clan, and his land. This girl however had impressed him just as much as the leader of these thieves. Neither of them were what they seemed to be and he had to be quite cautious of this. “Well don’t stand there like an Eejit, take your shot!” He shouted out at the thief whose eyes glowed even more fully purple with rage driven energies.

“You’re a kid, what has SHIELD come to when they start employing teenagers to do the work of men!” The thief called out through gritted teeth but then turned and fired her purple and white lightening at Alyssa sending her flying through the air and through several walls as it struck her shadow armor covered chest. “That takes care of one pest. Now bat boy what are you gonna do without your little friend to sneak up behind me?” He hissed and turned towards Damien again though to her shock she found his fist immediately connecting with her face as she did. She stumbled back then again found another fist into her gut and a right cross across her face knocking her to the floor. “You son of a bitch!” where her next words though they were swiftly drowned out by a double fisted blast of her purple and white electrical discharge.

Damien had been swift in his movements though not swift enough to help his mysterious ally. He moved with incredible speed using his wings to propel him through the air while he ran at the same time and was able to connect with his blows. It felt good to doll out some punishment in return for the hits he had taken so far but he knew now more than ever he could not let his guard down. As she fired at him wildly he took the chance to take to the air, his great leather wings flapping hard and fast to help him soar and maneuver in the confining building and avoid the lightning. “Your good lass but not good enough!” He mocked her which immediately resulted in even more wild and random blasts of purple and white electricity.

~Better knock off the taunts boy… your bringing the ceiling down around your ears and those of the human innocents… unless that’s what you want… we like that thought… on second though don’t knock it off… let their blood flow…~

“Shut UP!!!” Damien roared suddenly at Legions voices in his head despite the fact that he knew the demon was right about the innocents, both their danger and the fact that he almost liked the thought. “No… I gotta end this quick but first…” He swooped low his fist aglow with demon fire, aimed and fired his own blast at the ringleader’s feet. The hole his blast created shook the building and sent the woman tumbling down into the lower level of the bank. “That will nay slow her for long…” He moved low as he said this landing outside the walls his mysterious ally had been thrown through to search for her. “Lassie! Are you in their girl?! Answer me…” He moved into the debris pushing the bigger piles out of his way both with his hands and wings. “Come on now… make some noise!”

Eejit - idiot

[XXVII]

Turning her attention to Damien didn't appear to be fast enough, as XXVII barely had time to register what was happening before her world became a blinding display of purple and white. While she may survive the voltages coursing through her body, the human she'd been holding wouldn't be so lucky. The lightening hit them both, sending them both flying. Her world went dark as all of her shadows dissipated, slithering across the floor back to their original place when she'd collected them.

Alyssa didn't remember being flung through a couple of walls, nor landing amidst the rubble of what was once an office. Though she did remember an odd dream world, all fuzzy at the edges with clouds swirling around her. She stood before a large mirror, but the image staring back at her she didn't really recognize. The woman who met her gaze held herself upright, with all the confidence of a highly trained killer. "What are you doing? You're ruining everything! He'll come for us you know, you'll never escape him....he created us, and we belong to him." Alyssa was utterly confused, looking down at herself she realized that her reflection wasn't even wearing the same clothes as her. She didn't have time to ask any questions of herself though as another voice penetrated the clouds. "Lassie!" The mirror before her began to crack and ripple, and her reflection gave a mocking smile before it pulled a gun from the holster at it's thigh and pointed it directly at her. "You can run, but we can't hide." and with those parting words her reflection shot her right through the heart.

Alyssa awoke with a cry of pain and surprise, sitting up out of the rubble. Her sharp intake of breath also forced her to breathe in a lot of the dust and debris and she started coughing. Her outfit was basically ruined, except for her boots which were actually quite an expensive donation by a young socialite. Her face and arms were riddled with cuts, and her left shoulder was dislocated. Her mind was all fuzzy, though she did remember what had happened it was as if she'd been watching from inside her body and someone else had been in the driver's seat.

"Over here!" she managed between coughs, she made to move, but couldn't get a large part of the wall off her leg. With only one working arm she'd have no hope of doing so. As she put her hand out to push on the wall, a large gash down her wrist caught her attention. It laid open half her arm, but as she watched it the tendons and flesh knitted back together, leaving only the blood she'd shed behind. Staring at her arm she had no idea how she'd done that, though now what the doctors had said about her surviving a building falling on her made more sense.