Escaping the Darkness

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

“Aye good… are you alright?!” He called out and moved in the direction of the girl’s voice till he found her trapped under a piece of wall. “You look like you could use a bit of help.” He smirked jokingly even if this was a most inappropriate time for such levity. Kneeling down he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel his body start to shift again as it had before till he was in an in-between state, a point where he was not in full demon form but nor was he fully human. In this stage his physical strength was increased, not as greatly as it would in full demon from but still enough to lift the piece of debris off of his would be helper. “You look no worse for wear lass. In fact you look better than I would were I thrown through a wall or two.” He laughed and reached his hand out to help her up. “You got some moves on you girl but I need your help one more time if you feel up to it. I need you to help the rest of the bystanders out of the bank. I slowed the annoying Lightning Bug down but if this keeps going as it is this bank will more closely resemble a block of Swiss Cheese than a major metropolitan place of business.”

"Something tells me I'll be fine," she said softly, she stared at his hand for a moment before reaching out with her good hand and allowing him to help her up. "Would you mind helping me...fix my shoulder?" she asked a bit embarrassed she had to ask him this. Alyssa motioned her nearly lifeless left arm to which he nodded and moved behind her. “This is going to hurt like hell and you won’t be able to use it for a while but it should help… brace yourself” He said softly while wrapping an arm around her midriff and gripping her damaged shoulder with his free hand. “1…2…3…” He growled between his teeth as if it were he to feel the pain then pushed in, back and twisted her shoulder till it popped back into place with a sickening fleshy crack.

Alyssa nodded to his words; she couldn't describe the feeling of having him touch her like that. Part of her wanting nothing more than to throw him through a wall, the rest of her enjoyed the touch, as if it'd been a long time since anyone had touched her like that. As he counted down she took a deep steadying breath. Her cry of pain wasn't as loud as perhaps he would have thought. "Thank you," she told him, extracting herself from his grip. "Don't worry about me, apparently I heal quickly." she told him, almost teasing him in return as she brought her left hand up and waggled her fingers at him as proof. He nodded with an impressive acknowledgement. “Well that should help you in your next task lass.” He looked down at her with his pitch black demonic eyes and smirked evilly then turned to the wall behind them. “Going through the front door is gonna draw that bitches attention… you need a back door.” He snarled, looked down to his both of his hands which again were charged with dark energy. Raising them he aimed and fired a long continuous blast of black fire which immediately melted an opening into the wall and out back to an alleyway. “Get the bystanders through here and out into the street while I take the Electro-Bitch on for the third and final round.”

He turned without waiting for an answer and moved back into the bank proper. “Come out come out wherever you are…” He grinned and closed his eyes again, concentrated till his body twisted painfully, violently. His claws tore through his gloves, his muscles bulged and skin became pale and grey as cement, as tough as leather. His face flattened out with his nose almost completely disappearing and his mouth filling with fangs and lastly his hair seemed to grow inwards leaving him bald and deformed, a living monster waiting for its prey. “I got a surprise for you lass! Come out and play…” His voice was gravely, his accent gone and replaced by a more sadistic evil echo. “I smell you… I hear you… I can taste you…” He knew what he was now and he didn’t care who saw or what they thought but this from was exactly what was called for to take this enemy down.

“Time to die tall dark and ugly!” a hiss from above called out from high above on the banks second level just as a stream of energy flared out and struck him directly into the back. “Arrrrrhaaa” Demon cried out as he was brought to his knees and felt the purple lighting run through his entire altered form. “Suck it up prince charming… this is your fault. If you had pressed your advantage instead of going to help your pretty girlfriend you may have won!” The lead thief called out and increased the flow of power from her hands till the room was bathed in purple and white light and Damien was completely enveloped in her power.

[XXVII]

Alyssa didn't need to be told twice, She didn't understand where her knowledge of her abilities had come from, or how she could summon it back up again, but getting the bystanders out she didn't need powers for. As Damien left her, Alyssa turned to face the door that led into the office, as both Damien and Alyssa hadn't used it to begin with. She flung the door open and was glad to see it led into a hallway blocked from view from the front of the bank. Most of the people had come here to hide, hoping they'd be safe if they couldn't be seen.

"This way, everyone out this way." She hissed, motioning for them to remain quiet as she waved them through the door and out the large opening into the street. Their fear helped them to move quickly, and those that weren't injured were helping those that were all on their own. Through the now open wall, she could see the police cars and ambulances waiting to help the innocent as they came out of the building. Alyssa helped support the last man as his leg seemed broken. She turned him over to a paramedic and then turned to go back inside, a hand on her arm stopped her and she whipped around, yanking her arm free.

A police officer had stopped her "Miss, you can't go back in there," He warned her, Alyssa shook her head. "I have to, don't worry about me, I can help him," She told the man, turning back. She ignored his shouts as she hurried back into the building. Rounding the corner Alyssa was met with an odd sight indeed. Elctro Bitch seemed to have the upper hand, and if she hadn't seen him shift earlier, Alyssa would have never known that it was Damien she was targeting. The thief was too high up for Alyssa to reach her, glancing down to the floor Alyssa picked up a good size brick and hurled it up towards the thief. The brick caught her in the shoulder, deflecting her lightening upwards for a moment as she stumbled. Alyssa picked up another in case it was needed, but knowing that now he was free, he would most likely end this quickly.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

As the ringleader thief was distracted and shaken by Alyssa’s assault and the purple and white lighting blast which had enveloped him dissipated Demon had to take a moment to catch his breath and yet at the same time he knew there really was not a moment to spare.

He stood up straight and took to the air with little ease. His demonic strength in this form made things seem so much easier. He could do anything like this… that was the problem… could he let this get a hold of him? Could he allow the power to overwhelm him again? Could he let his inner demons reign free?

Inner demons… real demons…

The answer was easy…

The answer was…

“No!!!” He screamed and swooped down then upwards in an aching pattern, back flipped in the air with his wings pulled clod to his body and black infernal flames aimed then fired at the masked thief just in time to see her turn again on Alyssa. “No!!!” He snarled and unfurled his wings again in a dive towards his mysterious ally. His own flames missed as the thief dodged but hers were spot on until he was able to tackle Alyssa out of the way a fraction of a second before the energy struck.

The floor exploded where Electro-Bitch’ purple lightning struck and nearly brought the whole building around them all. He looked down at Alyssa panting a little breathlessly before growling “Get out of here… and… Thanks…” Immediately turning he ran out into the middle of the bank again and watched as the ringleader thief slid down a circular column the size of a red wood and stood before him. “Your good kid but I am better.” She hissed and pulled her mask away to reveal a beautiful angular porcelain skinned face with purple lips, purple and white glowing eyes and long purple hair with strands of white electricity running down strands randomly. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. They call me Amethyst, you and your girlfriend there are the first to ever get this close to catching me. I applauded the effort but let’s finish this so I can take my cash and split.”

He looked to Alyssa and then back to Amethyst glaring at her deeply. “Your move…” He smirked and raised his fists again at the same time she mimicking his movements fired her purple and white lightning. He was ready this time as his own black demon fire burst forth and hit her power. He watched this battle of wills and power and mused for an instant how cliché this all appeared, two super humans face to face with their beams of energy between them meeting in the middle. Again the building shook around them as their streams of energies moved back and forth nearly blinding him with their ferocity as each tried to gain the upper hand on the other.

~That’s right Damien if you get the upper hand you roast the bitch… you will take her life… you will taste her death and so will well… give in and enjoy it kid… ~

“No… not this time…” He growled low and slowly started to take steps towards Amethyst with his power slowly starting to overwhelm hers. “She does not die… but she does not get away either do you hear me you bastards!!!” Damien shouted too apparently no one as his black flames overwhelmed the thief but made no contact with her, swirling around Amethyst like a funnel and burning up her oxygen till finally she collapsed unconscious to the shattered floor.

“I win… you lose…” As he said it he suddenly did not know if he was saying it to Amethyst or to Legion and he realized it didn’t matter because it was true… he had won… no he didn’t, he looked to Alyssa and he knew that they had won.

[XXVII]

It was a good thing Damien chose to save her, without the knowledge of how to use her powers, Alyssa wouldn't have been able to shield herself from the blast. She grunted as Damien's demon form smashed into her, tossing her to the floor and knocking the breath from her lungs. She heard his words, but like hell she was just going to leave him. She didn't understand what had snapped in her before, but she kept hoping it would come back so she'd know what she was doing once more. Either way she was the only one who could help him, the only one who wouldn't die.

With the blinding light of their powers dancing all over the room, Alyssa wouldn't be able to pick up any shadows as they weren't steady enough for her to use, even if she could remember how. So instead she waited, she figured trying to get in there and help him might be the same as trying to break up a dog fight and it would just distract him. Alyssa didn't have long to wait it seemed, as Damien took control and came up with a new way to incapacitate the Elctro Bitch.

As the final threat was nullified, Alyssa sank down to sit amongst the rubble. She couldn't believe what she'd done. What they had done. All those people they'd saved. Something felt wrong about saving those people, as if something was telling her that she shouldn't have cared about them at all. He was probably going to ask her a million questions that she didn't have the answer to. Her dog tags had fallen free from her shirt during the fight, and now she absently played with them, lost in thought.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Damien fell to one knee feeling quite exhausted by this little altercation. He panted deeply for breath while he felt his body once again painfully revert back to its human form, bar the ever present bat wings which he could hide but chose not to. He felt like falling over and taking a long nap right about now but he knew that this was defiantly not the place and the worst possible time imaginable. He looked at the thief known now to him as Amethyst and bowed his head respectfully. She was a worthy enemy and he had come to respect those who gave him a run for his money. In the end however he and his impromptu ally were now victorious and by the way the police were quickly filing into the building with weapons drawn he knew it was over and time to get things wrapped up.

“You did good lass and I thank you.” He smiled to Alyssa from where he sat on the busted up marble floor and bowed his head to her too. “You got some skill and obviously some powers but if you are gonna use them again you better get yourself registered. It’s illegal to use your powers in heroic fashion unless you register these days. A crummy law but that’s the way of the world now. I won’t be running you in this time though.” He chuckled and slowly got to his feet again just as a dozen human SHIELD agents entered the building. “Ahh it’s about time you showed.” He spat snarkly as Agent Berger approached him. “Just in time to clean up or are we leaving that to Damage Control being that this is a public business.” He eyed the senior agent then watched as the other agents took command of the situation out of the local authorities hands and began to secure what little was left of the gang of thieves. “Your attitude is noted Demon and not appreciated.” Agent Berger quipped before she turned to look down at the unconscious body of Amethyst and then to Alyssa. “What is her involvement in this?” She asked coldly and turned to face Damien again who immediately gave her a cold impassive look.

“This young woman helped me. She was caught in the crossfire and decided to lend aid. She helped get the other innocent bystanders out when I was able to make an opening for them and then got caught in the crossfire and was unable to get out herself.” It was partially a lie but he felt that SHIELD did not need to know of another skilled unregistered mutant who had used their powers in service of the greater good and thus arrest them. No this girl had helped him, she deserved the glory but not the bureaucratic shit that Director Sage would no doubt put her through were he to divulge all the details. “Very well you are free to go. The Police officers outside will see that you get any medical attention you need and make sure that you get home safely miss.” Berger said as she looked to Alyssa coldly and in a dismissive manner. “As for you Demon, Director Sage is away on a special mission. The Black Widow is currently in charge and she has ordered that you and your team report to her on the Helicarrier immediately. Is that understood?”

“Perfectly Agent Berger but I won’t be going right away. This girl helped me and I aim to see her home safely. If you want to stop me… try…” He glared into the eyes of the senior agent and flashed a quick display of his demon flame before dowsing it out just as swiftly. Without another word he turned from her and approached Alyssa. “Well lass, need a ride home? It is the least I can do for the help.” He smiled at her and motioned towards the stairs leading up to the second floor.

[XXVII]

Alyssa had been so lost in her own thoughts that she'd barely noticed anything that was going on around her. The clinking of her dog tags rang in her ears as she tried to understand that odd dream she'd had when she'd been knocked out. She remembered everything that had happened during the fight, what she didn't understand was how she'd done all those things. Curious she turned slightly and lifted her jacket to see the spot where she'd been shot. Of course there was nothing there but a dried blood trail. Her new clothing was pretty much destroyed, and she felt really badly about that. The doctor had been so sweet to her, and all of his hard work had apparently been for nothing now.

As Damien addressed her, Alyssa's pretty face betrayed her confusion at his words, but before she could ask him about this registration he was talking about, the SHIELD agents came in and took up his time. So Alyssa took the time to walk towards the front doors. She wasn't planning on leaving yet, but she did look for the van which was no where in sight. She didn't blame the driver, with all the police cars and commotion he probably wanted to get as far from here as possible. With a sigh Alyssa returned to waiting for Damien, she didn't understand what they were talking about, but it seemed Damien was an agent for this SHIELD operation, whatever that was. She noted that the agent referred to him as Demon, but she didn't like the name for him, she was sure he had another.

"I don't even know your name, and you're offering me a ride home?" she asked him curiously. "I'm Alyssa, I guess, I don't really have a home. I was supposed to be heading to a specialized facility." She told him, again a bit embarrassed about her situation. From her pocket she pulled a card that the nurse had given her, it proclaimed the name of the facility along with it's address. She held it out to him. "The van that was supposed to take me there has apparently run off, I'd be grateful if you could take me here." she told him.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

“MacLeod, Damien MacLeod at your service.” He smirked as he used the old James Bond quote mixed with his Scottish accent to sound much like Sean Connery had in the old Bond movies. “My Codename is Demon for obvious reasons.” He chuckled and flapped the huge bat wings on his back. The codename had been given even before he had been possessed by the biblical demonic horde known as Legion. He had been trained as an X-Man and had been the protégé of the original X-Men member, Warren Worthington III also known as Angel. It made sense then and now in his current condition it made even more.

“I know the facility you speak of. Many people who have been injured or suffer from conditions such as Alzheimer’s go there. It is sort of a half why house were patience can live and receive help till they are ready and or are comfortable enough to rejoin society. It is not far and if you like I will fly you there if you like.” He smiled at her and continued to ascend the stairs allowing her to follow if she wished. “It would be a good idea to get out of here before my fellow Agents of SHIELD want to ask you any more questions.”

As he reached the second floor he looked out onto the street and the huge crowed below which had gathered. Police officers, fire fighters, ambulances and general curious citizens all gathered around and were only held back by a mixture of Police and SHIELD personnel. “Quite a gathering… we sure stirred up a ruckus.” He laughed and crouched low allowing his enhanced mutant eyes crawl along the crowed and then further out into the city. “The time is as good as any to go… what do you say?”

[XXVII]

Alyssa listened to his explanation of the facility, of course she'd already guessed what it specialized in. It did irk her that she'd have to go live with a bunch of Alzheimer’s patients, course, she didn't even know how old she was. With her ability to heal...did that give her immortality too? Just how old was she! Her thoughts seemed to be scattered everywhere, but still she followed Damien up the stairs to the second floor...or what was left of it.

"I'm not so sure I like the name Demon for you, I realize why they must call you that, but I don't particularly like it. Course, who am I to talk, I don't even know my own name! Alyssa Black is just the name the hospital gave me until I can regain my memories." this was probably the most talking Alyssa had done since she'd awoken in the hospital. "Could you explain to me about the registering you were talking about?" she asked him curiously. As he looked out over the street, she joined him at the edge, but her eyes weren't on the ground, they were on the sky. The view from even just the second floor of the bank was still breathtaking. Despite what had occurred below, life seemed to be moving back into normal, however slowly in parts. She could see Electro Bitch being loaded into a medical van with SHIELD printed across the side. She had so many questions for Damien, mostly about people with powers, like her own, which she knew nothing about.

"I've never flown before...well, not that I can remember. I realize I probably won't die if you dropped me, but you won't drop me? Will you?" she asked him. She really didn't know him at all, and if they were going to fly, that would mean he'd have to touch her again. She just couldn't understand the odd array of feelings having him touch her brought on. With everyone else who had touched her she'd felt angry, but with him she felt other things. "Thank you, for helping me. Something tells me I'm not used to having help." She said softly, her fingers toying with her dog tags once more. She could feel the imprint of the printing against her thumb: XXVII...could that be her call sign? What on earth had she been doing to need a call sign? And how had she known what to do with that gun? Now that she remembered she'd even picked it up, she reached behind her to check only to find it wasn't there. It must have fallen out when she'd been thrown through the wall, someone will find it while they were cleaning up.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

“Demon suits me lass, it’s what I am inside and out, but you can call me Damien if you like.” He continued to look out into the city and then up to sky as she did wondering what she was thinking. Her face was troubled; she seemed lost and more distant now that she had thus far. This though he could attribute to her memory problems but he did not wish to make judgments concerning his recent ally. No she had helped in and probably saved his life in the process, she deserved his respect and her secrets. “Alyssa Black is a pretty name and also seems very mysterious, I guess it suits you well in that respect.” He laughed a little sarcastically though not at her expense then stood again and faced her with a gentle smile.

“I would never let a beautiful lady such as you fall, I would sooner dive bomb into the concrete myself than let any harm come to you my friend.” He answered to her fear while picking her up into his arms, wrapping an arm under her legs and cradling her torso to his chest. Alyssa blushed as he said such things to her, yet again she got the feeling that no one had ever spoken to her like this. As he picked her up into his arms she hesitated a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself. "You...you think I'm beautiful?" she asked him softly, glad that she hadn't picked the skirt that had been in the pile of donated clothing back at the hospital. “Aye I do indeed but any lad would tell you as much and you could see it yourself if you just looked in a mirror. Now hold tight…” He stepped onto the edge of the shattered wall and jumped out. They fell swiftly like two stones in a free fall for but a minute, he laughed as she gasped a deep breath in and then suddenly opened his wings to take the air currents under them and swooped upwards into the clear sky. “…and enjoy the ride!” He shouted over the rushing air finishing his statement then looked down to her to see if he had truly frightened her or not. “Dunna worry really I have done this before. Now as for the registration, to put it simply it is a law, which requires those with naturally-occurring superhuman abilities, super abilities acquired through science or magic, and even non-super powered humans using exotic technology wishing to act in a law enforcement capacity, or if arrested for breaking laws, to register their identities, nature of their powers and known weakness’s. It’s a bit lame I know and had potential to cause a lot of problems but it thus far is being run jointly by two of the world’s greatest heroes, Iron Man and Captain America. It has even been adopted in one form or another in almost all friendly nations affiliated with the UN.”

Swiftly they moved through New York’s many sky scrapers, touching the highest peaks of the famous American city. “Iron Man and Captain America, with oversight from the UN, have gathered a council to coordinate and facilitate Super-Human Affairs primarily in order to make sure super-humans, also known as meta humans, get a fair shake. Captain America however is the primary record keeper of the Registration and he is the only one privy to 100% of the information given concerning identity, powers and the lot. He is the only man alive who can truly be trusted with all this information and that is the only reason why thus far this new order to things is working.” He laughed suddenly at himself realizing she may not have any idea who Captain America or Iron Man were but he had no doubt that she would learn soon enough. These along with names such as Spider-Man, Thor and the Fantastic Four were household staples; their exploits were always in the papers and on the television news. “Sufficed to say though if you wanna use your powers to help people you need to register. I can get you started if you decide that’s what you want but I suggest thinking long and hard before making that choice.” Suddenly his flight slowed and he came to a hover over a nice three story Victorian house with a large sprawling estate located on the west side. “That there is your, for lack of a better word, home. Ready for landing?”

Alyssa took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodded her head. "I have no idea the reception I'll receive there, I'm sure I'm nothing like their usual patients. I suppose I should get it over and done with though. I'm ready." she told him, her gray eyes still focused on the beautiful house. He could understand where she was coming from but he hugged her closer and slowly lowered them a block away from the house. “Well I am sure you would have a lot more questions to ask if you appeared on their doorstep out of the bright blue sky in the arms of a man with giant bat wings on his back. I think I will let you off here and let you go on alone. Show them your card, explain to them what happened at the bank though don’t tell them everything and I am sure you will be accepted just fine.” He smiled to her as they touched down on the deserted sidewalk and he let her down on her own two feet. “If you need to get in touch with me…” he started and took out a piece of paper with a cell phone number on it. “… call me if I am able I will come running. I owe you a debt and I intend to repay it. You take care of yourself and believe in yourself. I am sure things will work out for you.” He smiled at her, leaned in and kissed her cheek then with a wink he swiftly took to the air again. He had meeting with his superiors and he was already late, though in truth he could care less for he had made a friend.

[XXVII]

Alyssa watched Damien fly off for a few moments and then glanced down at the card in her hand. She ran her thumb over the writing before turning to look at the beautiful house. Heaving a sigh she started off down the sidewalk, slipping the card into her pocket. Just as she was about to step up onto the porch, the front door opened and the driver of the van stepped out. "Well, I'm glad you managed to find this place, I left your bag inside. I'd have stayed at the bank but the police told me to leave. I figured if you were trapped in their they'd bring you where ever you needed to go when it was over. You're alright aren't you?" He asked her. Alyssa knew she probably looked a mess, but she nodded to him. "I'm fine, thank you, it's just been a long day." He nodded and held the door open for her.

Inside, the house was cozy, decorated warmly, though it still held the feeling of a medical facility. An older woman was just coming down the stairs, upon seeing Alyssa, she practically rushed Alyssa. "You must be that young girl the hospital phoned about. Now don't you worry, I have a room all set up for you, I've already taken your things upstairs. I'm sure you're going to want to wash up after what happened to you." The woman reminded Alyssa of the type of person who was everyone's mother. "I'm Milicent, but everyone calls me Millie. It's not often we get such young patients here. Your room is spaced out a bit from the others, I thought you might like the privacy."

Millie led Alyssa upstairs and down a lovely hallway with beautiful landscape artwork on the walls. At the end of the hall, Millie opened a door into a room decorated in warm oranges and reds. It had a lot of space, and even it's own bathroom. "This will be your room while you get acclimated to life once more. If the decorations aren't to your liking, you and I can talk about changing some of them. Miranda is our cook, I've asked her to prepare you something small to eat. Dinner is at 7, and we all eat together downstairs in the dining room. We can talk more tomorrow." Millie patted her hand and then left Alyssa alone, closing the door behind her.

Alyss felt like she hadn't managed to get a word in edgewise, course Millie hadn't really given her the opportunity. She didn't mind so much, remaining silent suited her just fine. She took a few minutes to walk around her new room, trailing her fingertips over everything. While she thought she was just exploring, she was actually memorizing the placement of everything in the room. Her bag sat on at the foot of the bed, but Alyssa didn't really need anything out of it. There was a large vanity complete with mirror near the bathroom door and Alyssa took a moment to stare at herself. She still didn't recognize the person staring back at her. From her pocket she pulled the card Damien had given her, she stuck it into the frame of the mirror, the first piece of the new Alyssa. She heaved a heavy sigh and pulled a piece of dry wall out from her blonde hair. Yep, she was definitely a mess, but that was nothing that a shower couldn't fix. Turning away from the vanity, she moved into the bathroom. This was the start of a whole new life for her, and after the events of the day, she wanted to relax.