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Author's Note: Contrary to how this chapter ends, this is the last chapter for this story. Ellie's story will pick up later but for right now this is the end.I'd like to thank djkauf for the devilishly good editing and DC Comics for the characters. I'd also like to thank those of you who took the time to comment...we lowly CRU writers thrive on them :)

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Chapter Ten:

“What the fuck?” grumbled a stunned Desmond, looking at the arrow.

It had just barely missed his left foot. I looked at the arrow too, if only in shock and awe. I stared at it in excitement until my eyes snapped quickly in the direction of where it came from. At first, I didn’t see anything due to the bright lights but then I saw her: a shadowy figure crouched high in the rafters of the warehouse. I couldn’t really make out much of her but I could see the billow of her hooded cape and the outline of the bow she held in her hand. It was the Green Arrow, fabled protector of San Francisco. What the hell was she doing here?

Desmond recovered from his shock quickly. He snapped around and glared up at the ceiling too, but the lights didn’t seem to bother him. “I’d like to see you try that again you little bitch.”

The Green Arrow quickly notched another arrow and fired. It went straight for Desmond’s face. I’m not sure how he did it, but the big monster caught it in midair. He looked pretty damn smug about it. I looked at his face and then at the arrow. It looked different, the head was bigger. He didn’t seem to notice but Rose did. When it started to flash green and beam, she grabbed my arm and pulled me away. The two of us jumped into the corner of the cage just in time. The arrow exploded in a flash of light, causing Desmond to scream out in pain. Rose and I hit the mat face first; she covered a good portion of me with her body.

The light was blinding, forcing me to close my eyes. I’m not sure how long it lasted but Rose nudged me, telling me it was done. So I reluctantly opened my eyes and lifted my head.

“What the hell?” I asked as I pushed myself to my feet.

“Flash bang” said Rose getting up as well. “I wouldn’t have thought to put it on an arrow though.”

I smiled then remembered the situation the two of us were in. I quickly looked over at Desmond. He was dazed and stumbling and looked pretty mangled. When I say he looked mangled I might want to change that to his hand looked mangled, at least what he had left of one. It might have been a non-lethal explosive but it didn’t help to be holding it when it went off. His hand was a charred mess, three of his fingers were gone, the other two were bent at horrible angles. You’d think that something like that would cause huge amounts of pain. Surely, I’d be on the floor writhing in agony but not this guy.
It was like he didn’t even feel it.

Desmond recovered. But he completely ignored us; his new target was the Emerald Archer. I snapped my head around, wondering if she was gone. But no, she was still in the rafters, notching another arrow. Desmond roared like an enraged gorilla. Then he stumbled over, scooping up Elise’s axe in his good hand. He jumped out of the cage, forgetting us completely. He shouted something unintelligible at the Green Arrow and then lobbed the axe. It spun in a deadly circle, barreling right toward her. I watched in awe, wondering when she was going to move. She didn’t until it was almost on top of her. She was so quick. I saw a flap of green and then she wasn’t there anymore. The axe slammed into the spot where she was and stuck there. Ten seconds later, two arrows whizzed through the air from a different direction. They hit Desmond, lodging in his left shoulder. He bellowed in pain but it didn’t seem to faze him in the least. I’m not sure what this guy was made of but it was insane.

I turned to Rose, about to tell her to stay put. I needed to knock this guy down a peg but she was already running. I cursed. Rose wasn’t as fast as the Arrow but she was pretty quick. Desmond ignored her as she flipped by him, going for her swords. As soon as she recovered them, she went at him, spinning like a damn top. When the blades touched his skin, I thought for sure that was going to dice the hell out of him. I think she thought she had a good shot at it, too. It surprised both of us as they harmlessly glanced off his flesh.

A stunned Rose took a moment to rethink things. Desmond swung a hand around and swatted her, sending her crashing into a stack of chairs. I snapped. Anger took over and felt the changed come on. I was running on pure rage as I jumped out of the cage and charged him. I don’t even think he saw it coming. The Green Arrow was still keeping him busy, shooting her arrows into his skin. They were like bee stings to him but enough of a distraction for me. He didn’t see me coming until it was too late. He turned his head just in enough for me to slap into his side, sending him sprawling. The two of us skidded across the ground, tearing up concrete in our wake.

We finally stopped with a crashing thud into the side of one of the makeshift stands. There were several cracks of rickety wood and the whole thing came down on us. Such a calamity probably would have killed two normal people but it seemed neither of us were normal. Desmond recovered first. He grabbed me by the head and tossed me off of him, tearing through the rumble. I flew about twenty feet into the air, almost hitting the ceiling. For a moment, I actually thought I might be killed. As I was making my way toward the ground, my wings unfurled and I sailed down to it safely.

“YOU FUCKING FREAK” roared the Man Mountain.

I turned and he charged like a bull. He was several yards away and moving fast. An arrow hit the ground directly in front of him. He didn’t seem to care one bit, not even when it blinked like the last one. But unlike the last one, there wasn’t a flash bang explosion. This one was a real one, blasted a huge crater in the ground. Desmond was nearly on top of it when it went off. I couldn’t see what happened through the blast but there was a loud crash so it was clear that he was thrown backwards. When some of the smoke cleared, I finally caught sight of him. He was wedged in the far wall, his body bent over. I let out a sigh of relief because it was clear he wasn’t getting back up from that.

I transformed back into my Ellie self---no, make that my normal self. Who, when did I start thinking that? I took one last glance at the defeated Desmond then ran over to where Rose was lying. I grabbed a few chairs, tossing them away. Rose was on her back, panting and groaning. At first, I thought it was serious until she sat up but doing so caused her to wince.

“Some precog I turned out to be” she said, using one of her swords like a crutch as she pushed up to her feet. She coughed; I was at her side in a second.

“Are you out of your mind?” I asked as I slipped myself under her arm and helped her the rest of the way to her feet. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Her eyes snapped shut and then she gripped my hand tightly. When she opened them again, she groaned. “Forget about me, you need to get Fugate before it’s too late.”

Fugate? I looked around the room. I was so preoccupied with Desmond that I’d completely forgotten about him. Sure enough he was nowhere in sight. He must have taken off running when the real fighting started. I looked around the room, trying to find his possible exit. But there was only one real way out of this place and I’m sure he took it. I reached down and kissed Rose on the forehead, she smiled and blushed. I couldn’t figure out why she was so bashful until I realized we weren’t alone. I snapped my head around and the Green Arrow was standing behind us. Hey, was that a new costume? I thought she wore all green, where the hell did the black jumpsuit come from? I shook my head, now wasn’t the time to think about it.

“I…uhhh….” I said, at a loss for words.

She smiled. “Go, get the bad guy. I’ll clean up here.”

I nodded and took off toward the only exit. I ran as fast and as hard as I could. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where Fugate was going. First he’d run back to his Clock Factory and then he’d high tail it out of here. Why the factory you ask, well because he had a giant safe in his room. I was pretty certain it was full of all the money he’d gotten off his patrons over the last few matches or whatever. There was no way that a weasel like Fugate would ever cut and run without the cash.

When I got outside the building, I half expected to see him running away from the factory with huge bags of money. Of course, that only happened in cartoons. I took off, glad that it was night; I’m not sure how much more bright light I could take, actually. I ran as hard as I could but didn’t break a sweat; I guess it’s one of my superpowers. I hadn’t really thought about what had happened to me since becoming Ellie. I guess there wasn’t really much time before and even now with it on my mind there wasn’t much time for it either. Later, later I can sit down and write a list. I’m not sure how happy that made me feel but at least it something.

I made it to the factory. I ran around the side to the back door. I wasn’t really suspecting anyone to ambush me when I walked in the door so it was kinda a surprise when the wooden plank went at my face. Luckily, I saw it a split second before it impacted---throwing up my arm---or else it would have hurt like a bitch. There was a snicker and a curse. The plank clattered to the floor and a shadow moved on me, faster than I knew Fugate could move. It could only be one other person.

“Not so tough now, are we little girl” said a familiar voice from the darkness.

I groaned. “Prince, this doesn’t involve you. Get the hell out of my way.”

“Prince?” said the sneering voice of the nutty bank robber. “I’m not Nathan Prince, I’m Copperhead.”

I rolled my eyes. This guy truly was off his rocker and I didn’t have time for it. I saw a flash of copper color in the dark---illuminated by a wisp of moonlight coming in through the door. I launched on it, trying to see if I could grab him. I missed the first time, getting a kick in the chin for my efforts. It brought me to my knees and I cursed, tasting blood in my mouth. I got to my feet quickly and caught a shape coming at me out of the corner of my eye. I smirked and transformed. When Prince’s foot connected with my side, he was kicking the fiery red flesh of my demon form and not the soft flesh of a normal teenage girl. You can imagine how that must have felt. The rubber sole of his snake costume melted on contact, searing the ridiculous to his flesh. He screamed out in pain, hopping with a real case of “hot foot.”

He stumbled backwards, trying to hide in the dark. I lit one of my hands on fire, using it like a torch in the dark. Not that I needed it, Prince was whimpering like a wounded dog. I found him a few feet away from where he kicked me, lying against a wooden crate. When he saw me, he tried to get up but the immense pain in his foot drove him back to the ground. I smirked. I walked over to him and reached for him, he tried to fight me off but it was no use---especially now that he knew touching me was very bad. Instead of hitting him like I wanted, I pushed him onto his stomach. Then I ran a red hot finger along the back of the suit, searing the seam shut, melting the zipper.

“You like being Copperhead so much then so be it,” I said and stepped over him, leaving him crying like a baby.

I wove my way through the factory, using my “torch” to guide my way. That is until I got close to Fugate’s office. I doused my hand. Besides I didn’t need it, there was a light on in his office. I smirked; I figured he wouldn’t be running away so fast. I took deep breath and started up the stairs. I thought about transforming back into me but then I might be vulnerable. No, I needed to do this as the demon, that way in case he tried anything I could easily counteract it.

When I got about half up the stairs, Fugate screamed. It wasn’t the good kind either, it was one of those girlish, sacred shitless screams. Then I heard his voice.

“Who are you? Get away from me!”

Was there someone else in the room? I charged up the steps, taking them two at a time. I didn’t care what was happening, Fugate was mine. I threw open the door, not sure what to expect. What I saw blew my mind. There was a figure standing before him, shrouded in a green cloak. From the size and shape, it was clearly a woman. Fugate looked scared out of his mind. He dropped his bag and quivered and then she spoke. I won’t lie, I quivered too.

“Temple Fugate, I am Vengeance” said an icy cold voice that sent shivers up my spine and then there was a muzzle flash.

It happened so quick, one shot right to the head. Fugate crumpled to the ground.

“Holy shit” I gasped and regretted it as soon as I said it.

The figure in the green cloak slowly turned around. What I saw surprised me a bit. It was a woman but she wasn’t scary like I thought she might be. Yeah she had chalk white skin and red eyes but she was actually very beautiful. But surprisingly more than that, she couldn’t have been much older than me. I gulped, feeling stupid that I spoke to this spectral thing---the thing that just killed a man without even batting an eyelash.

“Ellie Bloomberg” she said, the scariness leaving her voice somewhat. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

I sighed. “How did you know my name?”

She looked a little confused. “I’m not really sure; I’m kinda new at this.”

That kinda floored me. “Who the hell are you?”

She smiled, it looked kinda freaky. “I’m the Spectre.”

She said it like it was the most common thing in the world and then she was gone. It wasn’t like one of those blink and you miss her things either. It was like her entire body dissolved into nothingness and vanished into thin air. For the longest time, I just stood there, staring at the spot where she’d been. I’m not sure how long it was but I heard the faint sounds of sirens in the background and felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped, not even realized I transformed back into my human self. When I turned around, Rose was standing there. She was panting.

“Ellie, we have to go” she said, then looked over my shoulder at Fugate. “Did you do that?”

I numbly shook my head. “Someone else” I said in a hollow voice.

She nodded, grabbing my arm. “Good riddance.”

She yanked me from the room. The two of us ran down the stairs and bolted from the factory in the nick of time. As we ran off into the darkness, I could see the headlights and hear the wailing sirens as several police cars pulled up around the place. I let out a big sigh after I knew the two of us were safe, several blocks away. We slumped in an alley, panting and exhausted. Then I collapsed into Rose’s lap and cried. She stroked my hair, holding my head to my breast.

“What is it, baby?”

I didn’t answer for several minutes. “I think I’ve just seen a ghost.”
_____________________________

We doubled back to the factory about two hours later, hoping some of the fuss there might have calmed down. There was only one police car now and the place was surrounded by yellow tape. I waited outside---beyond the yellow perimeter---as Rose slipped inside. It helped that she was precog and knew what was going to happen before anyone else. Why were we here, you ask? Well Rose wasn’t going anywhere without her stuff, I’m not sure why she was so obsessed with it, but oh well. It didn’t take her long, Thank God. When she came back, she was carrying our two bags plus her guitar case. To tell you the truth, I think it was all about the case. She seemed utterly attached to it. Her swords were back inside because she wasn’t carrying them anymore.

“You didn’t do anything stupid, did you?” I asked as she tossed me my back.

She shrugged. I groaned and the two of us got out of there pretty quick. It was several hours before we stopped moving. After leaving the factory we hit a little coffee shop, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. While I bought the food, Rose rifled through her bag. When I came back with some cappuccinos and Danish, she smiled. But there was something about it that seemed to bother me. It wasn’t a happy smile, more like a frown. I knew that frown, it was the “I’ve got something to tell you but I’m afraid to” frown.

“You’re not telling me things again?” I said, sitting across from her in the booth.

She sighed. “I don’t want to but I think I gotta run again.”

I nodded. “Where are we going this time?”

She shook her head. “The thing is Ellie, I work….”

I cut her off before she finished. “You’re not leaving me again and if you do so help me I’ll hunt you down and break both of your legs.”

She smiled. “I think you would, too.”

I reached over and took her hand. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I said this before but I’ll say it again, you’re not protecting me from anything. You and I will work things out, no matter what comes.”

She nodded. We ate in relative silence after that. There was only one other person in the shop and that was the waitress. She was behind the counter, glued to the flatscreen on the wall. It was the news and guess what they were talking about. I tried to tune it out but it was hard to when it was about me again. Ok, not specifically about me but pretty close. The footage wasn’t live---we probably missed that---but they were replaying some of the live stuff they shot earlier. I did watch a little bit of it, I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. I saw the police take Prince out of the factory in handcuffs, he was raving like a lunatic about “demons” and the “end of the world”. Go figure, huh. I also saw them loading a body into the back of a coroner’s van, good guess who that was. What I didn’t see was them escorting a large body bag out of there nor a pissed off looking Desmond in handcuffs. That kinda scared me a bit, meaning that that bastard slipped away sometime after us.

“She said she’d look for him,” said Rose after a minute or two.

“Huh?” I asked, not realizing she was watching too.

“The Green Arrow” said Rose as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

In all that had happened, I’d completely forgotten about her. I’d also forgotten to ask Rose about what went down after I went after Fugate. She quickly filled me on the few details there were. The Green Arrow made sure she was all right and then when the two of them went to get Desmond, they found him gone. He must have slipped out after I ran but neither of them saw him go. That’s when the Green Arrow said she’d go looking for him. Apparently, she had a lot of “resources”, her words not mine. I’m not sure how she knew we there in the first place but I was eternally grateful that she showed when she did. If it hadn’t been for her it might have been a lot more difficult to take down Desmond.

“Authorities are looking for these two in connection to the factory” said the newscaster.

Rose cursed. My back was to the television now but it was clear what pictures were on the screen. I threw a twenty down on the table, grabbed the rest of the Danish and the two of us bolted. We didn’t give the girl at the counter time enough to call the police. We didn’t stop running until we were several blocks away. Rose---having been in the city longer than I---knew a few places to hide out. One of them surprisingly, was a church. She wasn’t a very religious person but apparently the priest there---Father Mike---helped her a few months ago when she first arrived here. When he saw her this second time he frowned but he gave us a place to stay anyways.

“Always trouble with you, isn’t it?”He asked as he took us to a back room.

“I’m really grateful, Father,” she said, giving him a gentle hug.

He smiled and left the two us alone nut not before handing over a sleeping bag. There was only one of them, meaning one of us would have to sleep on the couch. It was clear that we weren’t the first to be crashing in this back room. Neither of us had much to say after that. It was well into the early morning hours and let’s face it; I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I think I was asleep before I slipped into the sleeping bag. Hey, a gentleman---even if I’m not so much one anymore---always lets the lady have the better sleeping accommodations.

I’m not sure how long I had been sleeping or why I woke up but it didn’t take me long to realize we weren’t the only ones in the room. I wasn’t the only one who realized it either. Rose was already on her feet, one of her two katanas drawn. The figure was sitting on the corner of the desk, a thin curved weapon in their hand. My first instinct was to “demon up” but I stopped myself when the desk lamp clicked on. I let out a sigh, recognizing the green and black that was the Green Arrow. She smiled, dropped her hood to reveal the braided blonde hair underneath. I’m not sure but I think Rose and I were the first two people in existence who’d ever seen her without that hood. Not that it mattered much; she was wearing one of those black domino masks like Zorro, except way cooler.

“You two are hard to find” she said with a laugh.

Rose lowered her Katana. “How did you then?”

“I tapped into the micro transceiver under your skin,” she said causing Rose to look down at herself.

Then Rose cursed. “So that’s how he’s been able to find me.”

The Green Arrow nodded. “Don’t worry, I killed the transmitter and rerouted the signal, your father now believes a bald eagle is in fact his daughter.”
Rose smiled, I was confused. But there were more pressing matters at hand. I was worried about what she might be doing here.

“Did Faraday send you after me?”

“I don’t even know who that is.”

I wasn’t convinced. “Then what were you doing in the factory?”

She smiled. “Cute but not very bright” Rose nodded at that; I stuck my tongue out at her. The Green Arrow continued. “They were broadcasting that stupid thing all over the Internet you know. It started a few weeks ago; my friend has been trying to track it down ever since. We finally traced it to the factory. We thought it might have something to do with several missing Metas in San Francisco but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Missing Metas?”

She shook her head. “They weren’t here. But don’t worry, I have another lead on that.”

I nodded, not sure what the hell she was talking about. But I still was kinda weary of her. Yes, she saved my life but I still wasn’t ready to trust her. “So you were just in the neighborhood?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

Rose took over the questioning from there. “How did you know about my father?”

“Anyone with a computer and a good hacker can find out about Slade Wilson. Not a very nice guy mind you, I have half a mind to pay him a visit. But I’ll leave that to the professionals, besides he’s a little out of my league.”

Rose nodded. “And Desmond?”

She sighed. “I tracked him for a few blocks but lost him. I’m afraid he knows this city a little better than I do. I’ve put some feelers out for him though. I have a few friends in interesting places. If he pops up again I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

Rose asked a few more questions and the Green Arrow answered them to the best of her ability. I only half paid attention. I used this time to think about my own situation. I’d been involved in two crazy over the top incidents, both of which didn’t seem to turn out so right for me. The first time I was incarcerated by the government and now I was a fugitive from the law. I might have Rose now, but I wondered how long that would last. She didn’t seem the type to stick around for long periods of time. I’d make sure she’d stay out of trouble but I was certain I’d slip up somewhere and she’d disappear one night. It was a given. As far as Green Arrow went, I wasn’t so sure about her. She helped us out but I was sure she knew what I did. She didn’t say it in some many words but it was the way she kept looking at me. She knew I was guilty and a criminal. The question was, what was she going to do about it.

She finally spoke to me again. It was like she could read my mind. “I’m not here to bust you.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

She laughed and held up her hand, showing a shining green ring on her finger. “We’re on the same side, Ellie. In fact, I think if the two of us sat down and swapped war stories you might find we have some things in common.”

I stared at the ring. So she was visited by Jade, too. I guess it made sense. I wondered if Cassie had one of those rings now, too. But having one of them and saying you were my friend was one thing but there was no way to prove it. I think she still saw the distrust in my eyes. She let out a sigh and did something that I didn’t expect her to do; she took off the little black mask. For a moment, I had no idea who she was until she leaned forward a little bit further. Rose gasped first. It took me a few seconds to connect the face in front of me to a very familiar and popular face.

“Holy shit” I said, seeing Olivia Queen.

“No way” said Rose a few seconds later.

Olivia aka the Green Arrow smiled. “If I was truly dishonest do you think I’d show you my real face?”

She smiled then reached into the pouch on her belt, taking something out. It a sleek cell phone. “I’m not all fancy like Jade with rings and all but if you need any help, call me on this. It’s preprogrammed with some interesting goodies as well.”

She tossed the phone to me; Rose reached out and caught it before I could. I stuck my tongue out at her. I turned to thank Olivia but she was gone. Both of us looked a little surprised. But the window as open and the wind was whipping the curtains. I shook my head. Who the hell did she think she was, that “Bat” guy in Chicago? I didn’t bother to rush to the window to see her off, she was probably long gone by now. Instead, I crawled back into the sleeping bag. I suppose it didn’t matter but it was cool that Olivia trusted the two of us enough to reveal something that big.

I feel asleep with a smile on my face.

________________________________

After our night in the church–and our meeting with Green Arrow---the two of us tried to stay one step ahead of things. Over the next two weeks, the two of us never stayed in one place very long, moving as soon as we got too comfortable. But we didn’t leave California. Rose figured it was a big enough state that we could easily get lost in it, and if necessary the two of us could hightail it to the border. It helped that we made contact with Elise and Terry again. The two of them were now up in Canada, Terry having been from there. After teleporting Angelica to the hospital---she’s alive, big sigh of relief---he realized something was up. That’s when he decided to get Elise out of there. Now the two of them were living comfortably near the border of Alaska, far away from civilization.

But he promised that if we needed him to just give him a call and he’d teleport us anywhere we wanted to go---as long as he saw it beforehand of course. That was the limit of his power, I guess. Rose quickly put his number into the speed dial of our phone. Speaking of the phone, it was an awesome brand new Q-Phone---Queen Industries' latest model. It could do everything except tie your shoes. Ok, I’m exaggerating a bit but it was pretty cool. We alternated who got to hold it, just in case we got caught by someone we didn’t want too, either her father’s goons or the DEO.

Not that we seemed to be having a problem with either.

I’m not sure what Olivia did to Rose’s transmitter---but whatever it was, it seemed to work. So far, we hadn’t seen a single one of her father’s thugs, not that they weren’t out there. Plus we were far from danger. They were still plastering our faces all over the news---it was a shame that Agents Fite and Maad got a good look at Rose. The two of us were alternating disguises now, trying on different wigs and different looks. So far no one’s seemed to make any connections but I’m not sure how long that’s going to last. You’d think that all this running would make a girl unhappy but strangely, I couldn’t be happier. At least for once in my life---well in the last few months---I felt like this is where I truly belonged. Ok so the girl thing was still a bit bothersome but as long as I had Rose, everything felt all right.

But there were always problems of course. Rose snapped her fingers in front of my face. The two of us were scoping out a new motel; the last one was getting a little hot. Someone must have recognized us because there was a police officer there asking questions this morning. So we had to move again. Now we were looking at a new place---from the security of the alley across the street. It was in a seedier part of the neighborhood but it would suit our needs nicely. It better because we were down to our last hundred---having spent nearly all of the cash my aunt wired me nearly three months ago.

“You were daydreaming again,” said Rose, taking her hand out of my face.

“I was thinking,” I said with a frown.

“Think later, we need to see if this place has any vacancies.”

I nodded and the two of us cut across the street quickly. We rushed into the office and Rose did all the talking. She was good at it, call it a gift. She was able to secure us one room for three nights with only forty bucks. I guess it helps that she was wearing a tight, low cut top. The manager agreed to pretty much anything she said, he probably would have handed over the keys to the place if she asked. I’m actually surprised she didn’t.

“You were daydreaming again,” said Rose, taking her hand out of my face.

“I was thinking,” I said with a frown.

She got our key and we went to our room. It was a small dingy thing, but it would do. We dropped our bags near the door and nearly collapsed together on the bed. We didn’t even both to pull off our wigs---I was blonde today, she was a brunette. I did manage to roll over and take her hand, hoping to get a little passion. But whatever I wanted was not going to happen because she was already asleep. I frowned and rolled over, grumbling. It didn’t take me long to sleep either but as soon as I did I wished I hadn’t. There was fire again, lots of it and that horrible laughter. I hadn’t had this dream in a long time, I was hoping they were gone but apparently, I wasn’t so lucky.

He was there too, sitting in that damn chair of his. But he was alone in this dream, Wendy and Marvin nowhere to be found.

“You think you’re safe from me just because you squashed my little operation?”

“Neron” I said with a sneer. “Or is it Mr. Darksyde?”

He smirked. “That fool Fugate had no idea what he was fumbling into. He thought he was creating a network of underground Meta Brawls but if he knew the truth…”

The truth dawned on me at that second. “You were recruiting for your army?”

He smirked again. “I knew I liked you, Princess,” he said, a goblet appearing in his hand. “Did I ever tell you that you were my favorite?”

I frowned. “Sounds like desperation to me.”

He grumbled. “I won’t lie to you, things are not good here. There’s a war coming in this Realm, the other are already trying to gather their followers…Dormammu, Trigon, Mephisto…all of them vying for the top spot.”

“And you’ve got…?”

He smiled. “You, of course.”

I shook my head. “I told you I’m not interested.”

He laughed; his voice did that creepy rumbling thing. “You see, that’s what I like about you. You think that just because I let you go, that you can decide whether or not to defy me.”

He might have been scary but for some reason he didn’t scare me in the least. I’m not sure what it was but I knew that he had no real power. At least not in my Realm. If he had power---true power---he would have used it by now. Instead, he used Fugate and his henchmen, sending them out to do his bidding. Which meant that he couldn’t come and get me himself. Yes, he might be able to torture me in my dreams but that’s the only real power he had over me. But even dreams were mine as long as I found the control.

I smiled. Control. The look in his eyes went from smug to scared. This great Demon Lord was scared. Scared because I think he figured out that I wasn’t a puppet.

“You don’t control me, you’ve never controlled me.”

He laughed. “I made you burn your house down and kill your poor mother.”

“That was before I understood my power.”

He laughed. “You have no grasp of who or what you really are. You don’t even know why you are what you are.”

I shook my head. “I don’t care, it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does.”

I shook my head. I had enough of this, enough of his torment and lies. I took a deep breath and transformed in my dream. As soon as I did so I felt the power, felt the anger and the rage. The look on Neron’s face was genuine. I scared the hell out of him and I was glad. He dropped his goblet, reeling back in his chair. I leaned in, my face inches from his. Then I blew fire over him and he screamed. It only lasted for a few seconds as his body burnt to a crisp.

“YOU THINK YOU’VE WON” said his disembodied voice. “THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. YOU CAN’T ESCAPE ME, I AM YOUR MASTER AND TO SERVE ME IS YOUR DESTINY.”

“NOT ANYMORE” I shouted and snapped awake.

I shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was breathing like a racehorse. Rose woke up quickly too, looking around. She saw me and frowned, not really comprehending what was going on. Instead of asking, she just leaned over and took my hand, squeezing it gently. I closed my eyes, it felt kinda nice. But just as quickly, her grip got tighter. I forced my eyes open. Rose jumped off the bed---clad only in her panties---and rushed over to her guitar case. She flipped it open but didn’t get a chance as a dozen red dots hit her in the chest. She dropped her hands, holding them up at her sides. I was as confused as hell until the door of the motel room was battered in, then it all made sense.

Several men in black tactical gear poured into the room. Red dots hit me too and I cursed. I held up my hands and waited for what was to come next. It didn’t take long as King Faraday walked into the room, shaking his head.

“You girls had us on the run for a while you know.”

Rose cursed. I sighed. “Can’t run forever,” I said and he nodded.

I held up out my hands, welcoming him to cuff but he didn’t move to do so, instead he reared into his coat and took out an envelope, tossing it onto the bed.

“I think you and I need to talk.”