Quod Sum Eris

I am who you will become.

[justwantedsomepie]

     “There she is.” Announcing with genuine joy in his voice as he surreptitiously handed one of his men a bloodied rag after wiping his hands clean. Sporting only a pair of light blue denim jeans, a brown leather belt with a chrome skull buckle sitting comfortably on his fastened waist. Snakeskin boots shifted under his hulking frame as he crouched down with both arms outstretched for his baby girl.      “C’mon now, darlin’. Come t’ Daddy.” Plucking the cigarette from his lips-- almost as an after thought-- and flicking it far from where they were. Making sure she didn’t see her father resolving a dispute between himself and a former employee of his who was dragged away, only able to see through one eye. Claw-shaped gashes littering his chest as he mumbled unintelligibly to himself.      “How’re we t’day, sweetheart? That’s a pretty sundress y’got on, baby, did Mommy get that fer ya? She does have good taste after all, that mother o’ yer’s.”

[wwprice1]

Uncanny X-Men #311 features some of John Romita Jr.’s best X-Men art, IMO!

[thenightsplutoniumshore]

justwantedsomepie​:

     The bodily damage had dissipated on Victor but he could feel the enclosing heat. It was around this time the Priest had gotten his attention. A shit-eating grin couldn’t help but find it’s way to his lips, only for them to part and reveal salivated incisors and canines grinding aggressively against each other.      “You’re a rather interesting specimen. I wonder how your regenerative capabilities will accommodate you when I rip your head from your body!”      “Stop talkin’ then an’ find out, bub! RrrRRRRrgh–” Ready to pounce, he was interrupted with the fire poker that impaled the head vampire’s… head.

     “Whoah!” The Lupine exclaimed, wiping the blood that abruptly splattered onto his face until they were faint orangey-red smears. “Howzitbout a li’l head’s up next time, darlin’? I don’t mind a mess as much as th’ next guy but–” That was about the time she had told him they needed to go and beyond the crumbling infrastructure and the roar of the voracious flames around them.      “–awright, let’s get outta here.” Instinctively taking her by the hand, he guided them out from the subterranean lair and out to where the store front was. They had less than fifteen minutes to get out of there, run across the pumps outside and get to their car. He made sure the hold he had on her hand was ironclad, confident once they got away from the flames and suffocating heat that she’d regain a majority of her faculties.      She was a Slayer, after all. He thought.

She thought the big man’s concern for her was cute…

…not many people worried about her these days. Once the fresh air hit her the burning in her lungs started to ease up. The fire Faith wasn’t really overly concerned with but the smoke had been rather oppressive. Especially once some of the other vampires that had been hiding from them started to go up in flames. The smell of burning bodies in close quarters and vampire dust filling the air. It was etched in her nostrils. That didn’t stop the grin she’d had on her face as soon as she could breathe again.  Fighting gave her a certain glow and a burst of energy, the smoke was gone and Faith felt like she could go another ten rounds. Once at the car she jumped in the passenger side deciding to let him drive this time, The smell of smoke clung to their hair and clothes, but the grin returned to her face as she peered out the window, “Whole place is probably gonna go up eventually,” she wasn’t sure how long it would actually take for the fire to burn out into the gas reserves under ground. Perhaps it never would get there.  “Fuckin’ hell I’m starving,” she muttered as she fished out a pair of cigarettes.  His ability to heal as quickly as he did never ceased to amaze her. Aside from being disheveled he barely looked like he’d been in a fight. She laughed slightly flopping back in the seat and lighting both cigarettes she offered him one, “Now see if Church was always like that, I might go.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     As they were pulling out of the gas station, Victor could see the police approaching the horizon of the road behind them. It was around this time that the reserves Faith had thought about were acquainted with the inferno they set off in that subterranean lair filled with the undead. Just before the cops could put two and two together that the car driving away was involved in the fire ravenging the gas station, said gas station had been engulfed in a spontaneous and encompassing pyro. Multiple pieces of burnt and melted shrapnel are airborne while clouds of thick billowing smoke blanketed the area whilst the two of them had breached it’s perimeter and made it a safe enough distance that they had no one on their tail.      Most of the Lupine’s attention had been on getting away but when she offered him a cigarette, he couldn’t miss the smile on her face.      “Heh.” An infectious smile, he soon learned it to be. 

     Because he was smiling, too.

     “Let’s get th’ pretty lady somethin’ t’ eat, then.” Accepting the cigarette, he winked at her and chuckled. Turning his attention back to the road as he let the hand cradling the cancer stick rest at the elbow on the frame of the rolled down window. Putting it to his lips so they could enclose around the filter as he took in a few puffs or two, letting it dangle outside so he could flick some ash here and there. Resting his head against his seat, hand rested at the wheel as he lazily looked over to his “partner” in crime.            (Damn, she really is pretty... ain’t she, Vic’?)      “What’re ya in th’ mood fer, darlin’?” Relishing in the fresh breeze hitting his face.

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[justwantedsomepie]

     “So I says t’ th’ guy: Is that a herniated disc my fingers are feelin’ or are y’jus’ happy t’ see me? Get it?! HahaHAhaHA!” He reaches into the bag in his lap and pulls out a handful of Cheesitums that he successfully stuffs into his face.      Munching down unceremoniously.

     “Make a left here.” Instructing offhandedly.

[justwantedsomepie]

     The bodily damage had dissipated on Victor but he could feel the enclosing heat. It was around this time the Priest had gotten his attention. A shit-eating grin couldn’t help but find it’s way to his lips, only for them to part and reveal salivated incisors and canines grinding aggressively against each other.      “You’re a rather interesting specimen. I wonder how your regenerative capabilities will accommodate you when I rip your head from your body!”      “Stop talkin’ then an’ find out, bub! RrrRRRRrgh--” Ready to pounce, he was interrupted with the fire poker that impaled the head vampire’s... head.

     “Whoah!” The Lupine exclaimed, wiping the blood that abruptly splattered onto his face until they were faint orangey-red smears. “Howzitbout a li’l head’s up next time, darlin’? I don’t mind a mess as much as th’ next guy but--” That was about the time she had told him they needed to go and beyond the crumbling infrastructure and the roar of the voracious flames around them.      “--awright, let’s get outta here.” Instinctively taking her by the hand, he guided them out from the subterranean lair and out to where the store front was. They had less than fifteen minutes to get out of there, run across the pumps outside and get to their car. He made sure the hold he had on her hand was ironclad, confident once they got away from the flames and suffocating heat that she’d regain a majority of her faculties.      She was a Slayer, after all. He thought.

[justwantedsomepie]

@deamonassassin​

     “She’s beautiful, darlin’.” He was leaned over her in the hospital bed, he had Japanese men in black suits guarding the door. The Hand. Victor stood in a two piece suit himself, simple black and white apparel with his hair combed back and tied into a bun. A clawed index finger from his right hand gently tickled the cooing infant’s blanket-covered stomach.      “She’s definitely got yer looks.” Murmuring softly to his lover. “That’s fer sure.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Only th’ best fer my baby girl.” The phrasing felt weird on his tongue for a moment but he doesn’t dwell on the thought when he walks up behind Del’, resting a hand on the small of her back as he leaned forward to press his lips to her neck. Drawing his attention to his daughter who immediately falls asleep as soon as she’s laid down in the cradle beneath them.      “Look at ‘er.” He whispers, wrapping his arms around the mother of his children’s hips, hips that 24 hours ago had bore his offspring. “We did that.” 

     A sense of pride and adoration could be sensed with his words, giving her neck another kiss. Rocking back and forth to the twinkling melody emanating from the spinning carousel trinket dangling above the crib.      “C’mon, let’s let ‘er sleep. We got th’ baby monitor.”

[nanlanmoarchived]

continued from x with @justwantedsomepie

“Well, when someone says there’s a big fuck off monster runnin’ around causin’ havoc, that’s when I gotta get involved.” A hip is leaned against the door frame, as she starts undoing the bulletproof vest from around herself, “I woulda worn somethin’ a little cuter if I’d known it was just you causin’ trouble.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Goodnight kiss, huh? I better be on my best behavior, then.”  Victor notices the glamor and thought to himself neat trick as they’re being escorted to their gigantic booth. The number of eyes on them had at least doubled because of this, though Victor was still unfazed. How could he be when he had this beautiful woman sitting right beside him?      Though he couldn’t help but go back to the hypnosis trick she pulled not even a few minutes ago, wondering if that could work on him with how often he’s had his brain scrambled with. Memory implants and removals, telepathic communication and blockage, physical and psionic lobotomy. He’s been through it all and because of it, he’s grown a sort of tolerance for it.

     “Fuck ‘em.” Summing up how he felt about the situation in two simple words. He had pulled her chair out for her and tucked her under the table as soon as she was seated and shortly after he’d do the same for himself. Not too far along after they were approached by a waitress who seemed both nonplussed and intimidated at the two of them, the bigger of the two more so than the pale skinned redhead.      “H-Howdy there. Eherm. My... My name’s Abigail and I’ll be our hostess for the night. Can I start you two off with some, um, drinks?”      “Yes, darlin’. That’d be fantastic. Howzitbout y’bring us a bottle o’--” He seemed stuck for a moment before turning to his date, “--what would you like?”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “So I says t’ th’ guy: Is that a herniated disc my fingers are feelin’ or are y’jus’ happy t’ see me? Get it?! HahaHAhaHA!” He reaches into the bag in his lap and pulls out a handful of Cheesitums that he successfully stuffs into his face.      Munching down unceremoniously.

     “Make a left here.” Instructing offhandedly.

[justwantedsomepie]

     There was a sense of awe in his watching her, especially when she somersaulted above his head and stuck the landing right in front of him from the top of the stairs. Was that what they teach ya on yer first day o’ bein’ a Slayer? Victor couldn’t help but think to himself. Now pupil absent eyes survey the area as he starts to slay a vampire or two, getting into fistful exchanges with them before coordinating instinctively into position where he can stake them into dust.      “Got me feelin’ like a regular ol’ Van Helsing over here, ha!” What could only be construed as snarling laughter bellowed deep from the pit of the mutant’s chest. Though no matter how much fun he was having, he made it a point to keep Faith and her opponent in his periphery. Doing so alerted him of the fiery bloodsucker who decided to grab her when she was caught unawares, this prompted Victor to tackle the burning nightwalker down to the ground with an animal’s pounce. It was sheer madness that possessed Victor in this instance because he had abandoned his stake on the floor where it had dropped after puncturing it into the previous vampire’s chest. Flesh blistering and popping, he raised an arm and brought it down in one fell swoop that swiftly beheaded the screaming thing. It wasn’t too soon Victor was hurriedly patting himself down until the fire on him was out, his clothes seared and tattered. Soon enough the burnt, charred and disfigured flesh would begin to clear itself and pull back together. Healed.      “Th’ Father huh? Well, ain’t like I haven’t visited th’ valley o’ th’ shadow o’ death before. Look up th’ convent in St. Alamander’s Church in Barcelona, Spain, sometime... o’ course, granted, that’s if Faithy here doesn’t eviscerate ya from groin t’ gullet.” Walking over to where his stake laid, picking it up and twirling it around in his grasp playfully. Readying himself for the next wave.

[apocalypsxmaidxn]

Raven crossed her arms with her sneer still visible on her face, it was obvious that was for him and wishing that broke his skull in the process but she was lucky the debris atleast hit him however the Cambian was watching his moves and noticed the wheels in his head were turning, what was he planning? “I was planning for you to get a concussion but that didn’t work , “ But before she said anything else, her body went on red alert and saw him jumping at her levitating body. She used her levitation to pick up some metal but before she could do that, seems that it was too late finding herself in the street. 

 A small groan whilst looking at her surroundings only to see she wasn’t in the train station anymore, in the street was more like so seeing him only made her pick up a boulder of a rock and smacked him in the face, only so she could get away from him long enough to get back up on her feet. “I think the pound would be more of a place for you.” Either that, she’ll put the dog down herself  if it led to something like that. 

[justwantedsomepie]

     When their bodies collided mid-air, Victor mentally prepared himself for impact as severed telephone wires and a dented stop sign cushioned their fall. Hitting the streets like a pebble skipping across the rippling surface of a pond after having been tossed. Asphalt and concrete being thrown up into the air in sporadic upheavals, until finally two of them had managed to make a ditch of sorts from how hard they had landed. Victor was the first of the two of  them to stumble to his feet, uniform torn to shit and limbs bleeding profusely.       “Goddamn, darlin’!”  Breathless laughter left his lips, “Howzitbout y’buy a fella dinner first, eh? Anyway, this has been fun but--” As he was saying this he lunged forward with an arm raised, intending to swipe down at a diagonal. Wanting to leave a series of gashes across that chest of her’s but instead he was met with a piece of debris that collided directly with his face.

     “Rgh!” The amount of force behind the toss had sent the behemoth a few steps back, which coincidentally, had been in perfect timing to a pickup truck swerving into him because of the traffic they disrupted with their almost meteoric descent.            (THUMP!)      Rolling across the windshield, splintering it into a cobweb of cracks, Victor had then continued to roll up the roof of the car and finally fall into the back of the carriage. The collision had sent the truck into full helter-skelter, swerving left and right until it finally tipped and launched itself into the air. The momentum gained from Victor’s rolling had him exit the truck’s now open back just before it took off. Leaving him in the street while the pickup truck crashed into a lineup with parked cars with a tremendous ensnarement of crushed metal.      “RrrRRrr...” Frustration eventually gave way to disbelief and amusement, because the mutant was rising to his feet. His wounds from the car crash and their fall already beginning to heal, the streetlight reflecting off what seemed to be silver beneath his skin. Adamantium. His bones and claws had been coated and infused with the extraterrestrial alloy, adding to his weight with an additional hundred pounds. But because of his peak physical prowess and regenerative capabilities, it made carrying the unbreakable metal all the more easier.      “I’ve gotta say, darlin’... y’are one tough cookie.” The taste of copper filled his mouth until he spat it out with a quick jerk of his head. Orange smeared incisors poke from his now grinning lips, using the side of his thumb to wipe away the blood.

[justwantedsomepie]

@deamonassassin​

     “She’s beautiful, darlin’.” He was leaned over her in the hospital bed, he had Japanese men in black suits guarding the door. The Hand. Victor stood in a two piece suit himself, simple black and white apparel with his hair combed back and tied into a bun. A clawed index finger from his right hand gently tickled the cooing infant’s blanket-covered stomach.      “She’s definitely got yer looks.” Murmuring softly to his lover. “That’s fer sure.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Heh.” Hovering over Del’s shoulder as he watched his baby try get a grasp on her surroundings. Learning ‘Liz was going to be a girl made things a little difficult for Victor, at least in terms of shopping. The three of them had ascended the stairs not too far from where they stood, each step smooth concrete while the railing had consisted of metal and glass screens. Round light fixtures dangled on reinforced metal cords from the high-hoisted ceiling. When they got to the second floor of the complex, it would be a long corridor they’d walk down before they reached their daughter’s nursery. The trip, however, not long in time because of how much distance the two of them covered in their stride.      “Awright, here we are.” A reassuring left hand rested on the small of Del’s back, as his right hand held the door open, he himself stepping aside so that the mother of his child could have a look of the room herself. Victor’s parents weren’t extravagant in their home decor, it was a combination of the bible-belt Christian upbringing and humble farmer life. So that’s why his childhood home’s interior design consisted mainly of browns, greys and beiges. For his kid though, he made sure to instruct the interior designer to make it somethin’ a kid would love. Bright colors, teddy bears, cotton candy, cute shit y’know? He emphasized.      “Whaddaya think?” Leaving the door open as he stepped in, greeted with stuffed animals big and small, a white cradle that sat comfortably in the center of the room. Dangling above it was one of those toy carousel-things that Victor would see in movies and tv shows. The walls were painted with clouds and birds on one side and on the other, grass, trees and lion and tiger cubs. There had been a baby monitor sitting on it’s charger by the nearest window sill of a two window room. The blinds had been drawn and the glass was bulletproof plexi, shielded with frilly see-through curtains. He took another sip of his beer and chuckled.      “I was thinkin’ o’ gettin’ her a flat screen but thought that’d be too much.”

[justwantedsomepie]

@fantasmagoriie​ is in yer neck o’ th’ woods.

     “Good morning, Mr. uh--” He checked his clipboard with a pensive stare, “--Creed. Yes. Ahem. Welcome to Arkham Asylum.” The man that had been greeting his new patient had been skinny in stature, having a halo of brown tresses enclosing around his scalp. Black, thick rimmed glasses sat on his beak of a nose while his lips beneath it remained in this perpetual scowl.      “My name is Jeremiah Arkham. I’m the director of this facility.” It was then we finally got to see our transferred inmate, he was a rather large specimen. Strapped down to a gurney with reinforced belts of leather and multiple steel padlocks. His face had been hidden under a muzzle, the sort you would only see in Anthony Hopkins’ movies.      But his eyes were what the most prominent, they were a deep blue that you could almost drown in and they were always staring at you. Always. The mountain of a man had remained silent during his orientation, letting the orderlies wheel him into his new cell.

     “Once you’re settled in, we’ll have one of our best doctors see to your evaluation. She goes by the name of Dr. Harleen Quinzel. She comes highly recommended.” The Ravencroft transferee didn’t respond at the name. He simply waited for his cell door to be shut.

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Hmm… Lemme think on it.” Swirling what was left of his own drink, he let the thoughts come to him at that moment. He wasn’t doing anything, at the moment. His business for the day had been handled and he was simply shooting the shit here. Bringing the glass to his lips he emptied the rest of it’s contents down his esophagus with unflinching ease.      “Awright, let’s go.” Rising to his feet he rummages in his pocket and pulls out a metal clip with a thick wad of cash clenched beneath it. Plucking a couple of bills– all hundreds– he set it down on the bartop with a wicked smile.      “Buy yersel’ somethin’ nice an’ a drink on th’ house fer everyone here.” The bartender grinned when Victor finished his gesture, shaking his hand after the fact and announcing the news to the rest of the patrons.      They cheered accordingly, the drunk bastards. Victor chuckled.

     “Where t’ next?” Was the question he posed to his companion.

[nonempyreal]

She grins at the crowd of happy drunks, OBLIVIOUS to the danger that walks among them, and leads the way outside the bar. “I can’t jump us directly into the facility,” Haven manages to chirp over the noise of the bar patrons as the pair make their exit. “I’ve tried, they’ve got some kind of magnetic FIELD up to protect their equipment. But I can get us close enough to sneak in the old-fashioned way.”

Outside, they find a narrow little alley way where no one would see her rip open a PORTAL to the compound miles away. She slides her hands apart, there’s a bright light and images of barbed wire fences and armed guards swirling inside it.

Inviting him to step through, “After you.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     "Much obliged, darlin’.” And like that he’s watching her tear open the fabric in space and time, bridging the gap between where they were at to the facility that she was about to break into. Stepping through the threshold, he felt himself de-atomized and slingshotted through the interdimensional ether. Molecularly composing himself on the other side, standing in the forest enclosing the perimeter of the facility. Blanketing it, Victor and his partner in indiscernible night. Watching the portal close after she stepped through, he turned his attention back to the facility. Tinkering with his wristwatch without even looking at it while he did so, fingering a secret button that activated a molecular field that engulfed him.      “Don’t leave home wit’ out it.” The wristwatch had been spliced inconspicuously with Shi’ar technology and thus had started to destabilize the particles of his clothing on a subatomic level and rearranged it so that he was wearing his yellow & brown in-field uniform instead.      Gloves, boots, fur lined collar, the works.

     "Awright, let’s do this.”

[nanlanmoarchived]

continued from x with @justwantedsomepie

“Well, when someone says there’s a big fuck off monster runnin’ around causin’ havoc, that’s when I gotta get involved.” A hip is leaned against the door frame, as she starts undoing the bulletproof vest from around herself, “I woulda worn somethin’ a little cuter if I’d known it was just you causin’ trouble.”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “S’ppose we’ll agree t’ disagree this time around.” He turns his head away from the window he was looking out of to flash her that grin of his. Pearly white incisors and canines protruding from behind his stretched lips, moistening said lips with a quick swipe of his tongue before turning his attention to the restaurant/bar they were taken to. Flashy lights and people waiting outside, Victor can’t help but chuckle as he raised an eyebrow.      “Now this is what I’m talkin’ about.” The car stops in front of the place as he opens the door, holding it open for his lady of the night. “After you, madame.”

     He could hear a few hushed voices and the holes being burnt into the back of his head and body when his gargantuan self had stepped out the SUV. It was a feeling he stopped caring about a long time ago but didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t aware of when it was happening to him. Some looked in awe, in curiosity and even in disgust. It was all the same. A man of his stature and physiology, it was inevitable. Even if Vic’ didn’t like scrappin’ and maimin’ so much, he temporarily contemplated, he wouldn’t get by in life lookin’ the way he does without some form of ridicule one way or another. He suppose the prejudices and abuse that traumatized and scarred Victor at an early age left an impression on him that he’d soon apply to the rest of the human world. They were all just hypocritical, judgmental pieces of shit that didn’t deserve the time of day. Though-- that in itself-- was a judgment on Victor’s part if he were to be completely honest but that was neither here nor there.          (I’m thinkin’ too much.)      He just disregarded it. Nothing but smiles was what Jessica was greeted with as he offered a sleeveless arm for her to loop her own around.

     “Shall we?” Asking in a mock-proper voice, wanting to get a laugh out of her.

[justwantedsomepie]

@theoriginalbloodcountess​

     “Now what did I do t’ deserve th’ pleasure o’ yer company, darlin’?”

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Well we wouldn’t want t’ deny a woman her last dyin’ wish, now would we?” The ire detected in The Countess’ voice stoked that fire in the pit of Victor’s gut. Shedding off the layers of his clothes as she talked, rising from where he sat so that he was in front of the regal monstrosity. Reaching to cup the left side of her face as he leaned into another kiss, this time slowly guiding her to lay on her back while their plaything laid there dying; a spectator. The right hand at The Countess’ thigh which rested at the Lupine’s hip had slid up gently until it was at the center of her back. Mindful of who he was with and what she had on, he let his fingers make short work of the corset that held her bust. Unfastening knots and loosening strings with intricate tugs until it was finally undone altogether.      “Y’taste s’fuckin’ good, darlin’.” Grunting as he felt his own arousal take shape in those very same britches she was caressing earlier. Breathless laughter not too far behind from his compliment as he started to undress The Countess.Kicking off his own shoes and his belt already unbuckled and dangling.      He, himself, shirtless.

[justwantedsomepie]

     “So I says t’ th’ guy: Is that a herniated disc my fingers are feelin’ or are y’jus’ happy t’ see me? Get it?! HahaHAhaHA!” He reaches into the bag in his lap and pulls out a handful of Cheesitums that he successfully stuffs into his face.      Munching down unceremoniously.

     “Make a left here.” Instructing offhandedly.

[justwantedsomepie]

     “Priest, huh?” He was holding the clerk by the hair on his head with his left hand, turning his attention back to him with a look that complimented his piqued curiosity. But he doesn’t pursue it, nah, better to let sleeping dogs lie. It was in that moment-- without any warning-- that he rammed his other hand into the fledgling’s chest, the tips of his fingers elongated with razor sharp claws that broke into the housing of his ribcage and punctured his heart. Blood splattered onto both their faces and shirts as Victor simply watched the light go out in the man’s eyes. Unfazed by the act he had just committed.      “Wouldya look at that? Heh.” With a quick jerk, he tore his hand out the now limp cadaver’s ruptured cavity. Not paying attention as it simply plopped onto the counter in front of it. Victor turned his head to the cheap whiskey on sale built up like a pyramid. Evan Williams. This’ll do, he thinks to himself. This’ll do jus’ fine. Turning back to the counter, he grabs a clump of napkins with his left hand while simultaneously biting off the wrapping on the bottle. Wedging the cap between his right thumb and middle finger, producing enough friction to twist it open. Eventually he’s stuffing said napkin’s into the bottle, all while making a beeline towards the doorway where Faith stood in. It’s when he’s a foot or so from her that he unearths a lighter from his pants’ pocket, flipping it open with a now free left hand and in that same gesture, flicking the switch once or twice to get the fire going.      Presto, Molotov cocktail. The rest to follow was pretty self explanatory.

     “Watch out, darlin’.” He said with a disconcerting amount of casualness. Even going as far as to wink at her with that coyote’s grin plastered onto his face. It was then he had flung the bottle down the stairs, pushing her behind him as he did as he remained on the staircase for a moment before slowly descending. Reaching behind himself to grab his stake, twirling it in his paws playfully as he kept his peripherals open and his senses focused.      “Howdy, gentlemen. Hope we didn’t come at a bad time.” Victor shouted from the top of his lungs, making their presence known. Moistening his lips with the quick swipe of his tongue as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs, making sure to avoid the ensuing flames that were burning everything around them to a crisp.

[justwantedsomepie]

     If it wasn’t for his heightened sense of hearing, Victor would have gone on oblivious to the fact that Faith had inconspicuously locked the doors behind them. Good girl, Victor thought to himself as he kept his eyes trained on the other clerk while his coworker had moved away from the counter to help Faith find the bathroom. This left Victor with the fledgling. Making his way to the counter, he leaned against it on the palms of both his hand and took a gander at the items aligned along the shelves behind him.      “S... Sir, I-I’m going to have to ask you to lea--”      “--To leave? Is that what y’were gonna say? What? ‘Cause I’m a mutant we ain’t allowed t’ shop anywhere? I thought this was America, bub.” Pupil absent eyes were staring into the clerk’s, lips contorted into a menacing scowl. But the hard countenance he sported shattered when he broke into laughter.      “Aw, Christ, y’should’ve seen th’ look on yer face.” Chuckling as he shook his head disapprovingly, reaching over the counter to playfully smack the clerk in the face. Frozen with what seemed to be fear, he didn’t do anything to stop the gesture. It was then that hand immediately grabbed the back of the fledgling’s head and a snarl rippled out from behind the fanged grin.      “Now you listen here, son, y’re gonna tell me how many o’ those blood suckin’ ticks are recuperatin’ downstairs an’ y’re gonna tell it t’ me straight. Honest Injun. ‘Cause if y’don’t, my lady friend an’ I are gonna put ya in th’ trunk o’ that car back there, drive ya t’ th’ furthest reaches o’ th’ desert an’ bury ya alive where only th’ coyotes can hear ya scream.      “That-- o’ course-- comes after we strip ya naked an’ dismember ya until what’s left is grotesque ‘n’ puzzlin’ fer th’ coroner’s report they’re gonna eventually fill out... Ya hear me there, pal?” He nods; compliant. “Good.”

     “Hey, darlin’, we good back there?” Victor shouts back at Faith.

[justwantedsomepie]

- Credit to Michael Ibarra.