Survivor Guilt (Shadow)

by **Red** August 2nd 2015, 8:38 am

The worst part about a heel face turn, even if it's not a total one, is the guilt. Lucius had plenty of it, he had killed numerous people personally and was indirectly responsible for even more deaths. The worst part is that he hadn't cared much until now, he didn't care he was essentially doing to those what was done to him oh so long ago. Really he didn't know what to do, not like he could just say sorry or send a fruit basket to those he had wronged so deeply. And he was still on his crusade, perhaps he hadn't changed at all. He liked to think he had, but here he was, essentially doing the same thing with slightly less death.

More would still be sacrificed for his ideals though, countless more, but what could he do? This is what he was and what he stood for, perhaps he would always be a bad man. He was a monster in some regards, and what do monsters do? They create more monsters, and that is all he had ever truly done. His children, those he had wronged, his followers, all of them were worse off morally because he was a part of their lives. Maybe that was the problem, maybe he was the problem. But then again, maybe he was just overthinking things. Maybe he was driving himself crazy with all this mental banter. He had been unhinged by Sin, and he was desperately trying to get back on track.

He had to start somewhere, and he knew somewhere out there was a girl who's life he had utterly demolished. Maybe just talking to her would help them both, but then again he had a feeling it wouldn't go that way. He wouldn't fight the girl, but he would defend himself as he tried to at the very least calm the girl, maybe offer her something, just as a start, it was the least he could do really. So he managed to track her down with Hector's technological outreach, using camera systems and such in combination with facial recognition. All he had to do now was approach her, his goal a simple one. He just wanted her to move on, to live her life without pain. So, using his chameleon chip along with some scans he took that fateful night to shift his appearance.....to that of Bella's brother. Once that was done, he would teleport into an ally near the girls location then walk around the corner, likely shocking the female to the degree she would shift into her normal form.

"Hey Bell." Lucius said with a smile, mimicking the fallen teenagers appearance and speech pattern.

by **Shadowoof** August 2nd 2015, 9:04 am

A lone cheetah would walk the alleyways of Chicago. Not how Bella like to spend her days but after her... Changing with Alexander she was careful to not go hectic. He gave her something real nice that was for damn sure but he also did something else, it made her aggressive and... Something else she didn't want to think about all too much. Still she needed to be else wear and with Ryan, her brother. She needed to be in another city that didn't have any connections to her past or anything to do with that man.

Thinking about the Dino forms, she hadn't tried them much. They were basically like her animal forms only they felt stronger then what her old forms were yet somehow the same. But she didn't want to test them too much, not till she needed too. Just in case that psycho did anything else she didn't ask for. Of course she made it into a street and found that it was... quiet. No one was walking by, the sound of car's was not to be heard and so she kept walking. That was until a young man walked and got in her way and called out words in a voice she had hoped she would never hear yet hear once more. Her brother was standing right in front of her. Changing form to her normal self she wore a tank top with cargo pants, her hair it's normal self. "Al..ex." They were all the words she could muster. She had to fight the urge to Run up to him to punch him or hug him. But ether way tears started to swell up in her eyes. "It can't be.. you died.. it can't be."

by **Red** August 2nd 2015, 9:30 am

Lucius felt truly awful when he saw the girl before him cry, he had felt that feeling before. He felt it when he lost Isabella, when he lost his loved ones. He knew now why the girl had so much rage against him, because he had felt the same. He actually started crying as well, tears rolling down the face that wasn't his own. It seemed these tear ducts hadn't been trained as well as his normal ones. Why was he doing this? How did he know this would help her? How did he know he wouldn't just make it worse? Honestly, he didn't, he just needed to tell this girl to move on, for her sake as well as his.

"It is.......but I'm still dead. I don't have much time Bell, so you gotta listen." Lucius said, walking forward and hugging the girl as her brother likely would. He would then guide her to the wall where he would sit down, and then gesture to the spot next to him hoping she would do the same.

"I've been watching you...and I'm so, so sorry for leaving you. You've been lost without me, angry, but i need you to be strong from now on. I need you......i need you to forget about me, you need to live your life." Lucius said, tears still rolling down his face and onto his jeans.

by **Shadowoof** August 2nd 2015, 9:54 am

Bella didn't want to believe his words. That he was still dead, yet when he hugged her she could feel her tears rising to a new level. He would move and evidently she would follow and watched as he sat down but she didn't dare do so. "Yea. I've been lost. Sometimes I think back to that day and wished we'd just said yes. Even now but you.. You were too stubborn thinking you could raise me right." Her anger began to fill up as rage combined with sadness. Then it came to her, he looked like Alex, felt like Alex, spoke like Alex... but he didn't have that smell, he had another smell and if he truly was dead. Then a smell would've, must have been void. "Heh. You yourself were too damn scientific to believe in supernatural. Who are you." Right now she didn't care if this was a ghostly image of her bother or an imposter just trying to be him. She was mad, angry and she needed something to vent that anger on. Taking a few steps back, she would focus before turning into a raptor, one that had muscles and claws that were made for a predator. If this was an imposter then she would give him a chance to run and she hoped he was a fast runner.

On a nearby rooftop an on viewer looked on. A faint light in his hand as he stared at the two. "Well what a strange girl. I wonder what she'll taste like." The demonic voice said as he rose his hand and aimed towards the newly formed Dinosaur before throwing, mild yet still enough of a hellfire ball to pack a punch. A crackling laugh as he did so to boot.

by **Red** August 2nd 2015, 10:21 am

Well, what a clever little girl. However the girl found out, it didn't matter. Perhaps it was just an aura, or a smell, that's how Lucius knew that 'illusion' of Isabella was actually real, he felt it. Even so, you would think the female would have been a bit reluctant. Instead she turned into a raptor and decided she was going to eat him. Very odd, even if it didn't feel quite right that seemed like an overreaction, but one he had to deal with none the less.

"You couldn't just listen to me could you? I came here trying to help you move on, but it seems you don't want to forget. As for who i am, well, i don't think you would like the answer." Lucius said as he got up, not reverting to his true form just yet. He wanted to work with this, perhaps settle her down, but then something happened that was....unexpected. He reacted almost instantly upon seeing it, watching the fire attack move in slow motion as he went to tackle the raptor girl to the ground. He went for the legs, staying out of the way of the females mouth as to not get bit. He was just trying to get her out of the way of the attack really.

Once that was done, he felt some minor burns on his legs, then looked up to see a familiar face, one he had vowed to murder if he had ever seen it again. Great, he couldn't face shadow without access to his powers, and he couldn't reveal himself without causing Bella to go off the handle. Looks like he was in one of those two against one situations again. Standing up, Lucius deactivated the chameleon chip, which slowly shifted him into his normal form. There he stood in all his glory, grey and red robes billowing in the wind and red optics staring at Shadow, what had he gotten himself into this time around?

"You better run like you did last time, boy"

by **Shadowoof** August 3rd 2015, 3:28 am

Bella topped over as the fake tackled her to the ground and before she reacted to get her claws at him she felt a searing heat that landed nearby and the warmth that came with it, her reptilian scales defending most of her from it. She would look up too see a man in a mask along with the fake who turned into the man she disliked the most. Someone that she would be charging at right now if it wasn't for what he just did. Standing herself up and moving next to the robed man she should have been eating right now, she would start to give a vocal call like one would hear from the Dinosaur movies.

"Oh Lucius. Unless you want me to harm another one of your children. Maybe you should keep the Dino out of this. Hows he doing by the way? I know a fireball inside a kids chest is never healthy." Marcus would say as he lit his fingers on fire but that's when the unexpected happen. Taking a few steps back, Bella would begin running towards the building, first moving at sixty miles per hour too moving in a flash, becoming a blur as she hit the wall and climbed till she was eye and eye with the man. Now midair she would bite onto his head and upper body and pull him down with her as she fell down with him, a thud as the dinosaur and Marcus hit the ground side by side. Turning into a Shadow he would leave the teeth and reappear a few meters away with blood seeping down his chest and a fireball in his hand but he didn't move to send it at the Dino that was currently trying to stand back up but was having trouble. "You win this time.... human."

by **Red** August 3rd 2015, 5:04 am

So, this encounter seemed to have devolved from what could have been a rather emotional and character enhancing experience to nothing but a dinosaur and a demon trying to kill each other. Since I'm an asshole narrator, I'm going to make this slightly more amusing. Lucius saw that the two attacked each other, then just sighed and walked away, quite done with the whole shadow thing. Honestly he was getting bored with the kid, every damn topic was the same, they either talked and got nowhere, or fought and got nowhere. So you know what? He was just going to go over to the nearby soda machine and buy himself a Dr Pepper. He did so, digging through his belt for some change to get his beverage. Once he finally fumbled a few quarters from it, he ended up dropping them. They sputtered against the concrete, and with a grunt of irritation Lucius bent down to pick them up. After a few moments of tediously grabbing the thin pieces of currency he stood up, about to continue with the whole soda buying thing but he was caught off guard by a creature standing in front of him.

The creature in question appeared to be a shark, a Left Shark. Standing at about six feet tall and with humanoid yet still fin-like limbs. It also seemed to have a smile on it's face, not a joyful or sadistic one though, one that made it look like it had down syndrome. Lucius just stared at this creature, and the creature at him. They said nothing, their expressions were empty, yet tension built with each second. For some unknown reason things were about to get violent. Lucius made the first move, leaping toward the Left Shark and throwing a hook. Lucius caught the creatures face, causing his head to turn to the side from the force. However, it appeared to have no effect as the Left Shark silently turned back to Lucius with the same sinister look on it's face, then all hell broke loose. Left Shark started hitting Lucius, shots to the body causing his head to snap back and shots to the stomach causing him to double over, but he returned just as many strikes. He hit the Left Shark with punch after punch but it's expression never changed, it just grunted with a wild squeal every now and then.

It was clear this was going to take forever if they just kept hitting each other bare fisted, so Lucius decided to use his surroundings, but what he didn't know was Left Shark had this same revelation. Lucius picked up a news paper box and flung it at Left Shark, who just swiped it away with his newly weaponized parking sign then began to batter Lucius with it. He hit the man in the face, chest, legs, everything, getting several good hits in before Lucius grabbed the pole and yanked it from the Sharks fins. Lucius then retaliated with the sign, hitting Left Shark several times yet still that retard smile on his face didn't go away. At this point the two were continuously walking and fighting, finding themselves in a clothing store after landing multiple blows each then bursting through the window. Lucius got up, using a shard of glass as a makeshift knife to try and cut Left Shark. He swiped and stabbed at the creature, catching some flesh before left shark brought it's skinny fin leg up and kicked the glass from Lucius' hand.

Left Shark then started throwing clothing at Lucius, which confused him and eventually a large coat flung over his head, taking away his sight momentarily. Left Shark used this opportunity to jab at Lucius' head multiple times, brutally battering the clothing inhibited male. Eventually Lucius fell to the floor and the coat fell from his head, revealing a black eye. Left Shark now stood over him and was about to attack once more, but Lucius swept his fins out from under him. Left Shark fell to the ground with a rather odd shriek, then Lucius bolted out of the shop to at least take the fight to a less cramped space. Left Shark seemed to be faster then he looked as he was hot on Lucius' trail, trading blows with the man as they fumbled toward an open taxi cab someone was loading their bags into. They both got in, still punching the living day lights out of each other, and the cab started to drive.

Blood and bruises could be seen on both of them, yet still Left Shark didn't change his expression, it seemed that was the only one he was capable of doing. Eventually the cab stopped and they both got out, finding themselves at the local beach. They both walked toward the sand and water, still punching and kicking, causing blood to fall from their mouths and other random parts of their bodies. Once they backed onto the beach Lucius grabbed some sand and flung it in Left Sharks face, then pushed a fat male off a beach chair and started whacking the creature about the head with it. Eventually Left Shark came to his senses and grabbed the chair from Lucius, throwing it to the side. They would continue to fight as they made their way to the pier, grabbing drinks and food as well as people to throw at each other and shield themselves.

They would then fight there way to the end of the docks, continuing to go at it as if it wasn't going to end and causing them both to fall off the edge mid fight. They still kicked and punched as they did so, though. They ended up landing not in the water, but on a large ship that was being boarded. The ship took off and they continued to fight, hitting each other with whatever they could find. They made their way to the kitchen, and Lucius ended up taking a pot of boiling water to the face while Left Shark got a knife in his back fin. They then burst through the walls of that room and found themselves in another dining room. Lucius grabbed a fork in each hand and stared to try to stab Left Shark, but the creature had thought fast and grabbed some guy to shield him from the blows before using him as a club to beat Lucius. They then knocked over a waiter who was carrying a flambe, which started a raging fire instantly for some reason. The two then walked through the flames as if they weren't even there, getting burnt as they did,

Once they finally cleared the dining room they made it out onto the front deck, which they quickly crossed still slugging away before they walked right off the ship and into the water. They then continued the fight under the surface, not seeming to care about physics at the moment and just doing it as if they weren't under water. they used fish, sharks, and even whales as clubs to hit each other before finally walking out onto dry land. For some reason someone decided it would be a good idea to have an air strip right on the beach. They continued to fight, Lucius using a boat anchor he found in the water to beat Left Shark who was using a license plate to defend himself and slash back at the male. They seemed to not even notice their surroundings besides the fact that parts of it could be used as weapons.

A plane then hit them, causing them to flip over the top of it and on to the top where they continued to fight. Lucius eventually knocked Left Shark over and started to drive the creatures head toward the planes propeller, which cut his head slightly but he managed to head butt Lucius and break free. Somehow they got into the cockpit, still punching each other and causing the pilot to lose control of the plane. They went down, fast, ramming into a research facility and causing the entire plane to explode. It looked like no one could have survived that, but they came out of it, still swinging at each other. They then knocked over several scientists and started throwing bottles of liquid and equipment at each other, which caused both to grunt in pain as they were hit.

They then made their way to a room housing a chamber that read "Incinerator" above the door, which they both walked towards as they fought. The door to the chamber was grabbed by Left Shark and the metahumans head was repeatedly slammed in it for a good two minutes before he drove forward and threw Left Shark into the chamber. Lucius then slammed the door and activated the chamber, causing the Left Shark to scream as he was deatomized. Watching, Lucius sighed in relief, holding his many wounds and limping away into the distance. Somehow he managed to get back to exactly where he was before all this in moments, using his quarters to buy his drink before walking back over to the dino and the demon. He sipped his drink, collapsed against the wall, and just sat there. Back at the lab, Left Shark reformed, his eyes opening suddenly as his face returned to its creepy normal state. It seemed there would be another round, some day. Of course, this isn't actually canon, so.

by **Chellizard** August 3rd 2015, 5:31 pm

Red, edit your post to remove the nonsense, or disqualify your post for XP for this topic.

Red's last post:

by **Shadowoof** August 4th 2015, 9:51 am

(OOC: Thank god for writing)

It started when he sat down, he spoke his words, telling her to move on but that's when he stopped. Stared ahead and began to drool and he just sat their for several minutes. Bella wanted to argue with him but simply got down, leaned over him and poked his face. He felt real enough to not be dead and after moving his face a little she would back away and slap him across the face while yelling simultaneously. "Alex? ALEX?" This was just him, going to his own little world in an important moment it just made her giggle, it felt like old times with her older brother. "Wake up sleepy head. Or I'll fly you to the highest building in this city." She said, having done it once only carrying him via her gorilla form. King Kong was very much her reason for that plan and the memory gave her a small smirk.

by **Red** August 6th 2015, 7:14 am

Left Sharks aside, this wasn't actually real. You see, the chameleon had an odd effect on Lucius' mind, likely because he hadn't fully tested it yet. This body wasn't keeping up with his super intellect, so it ended up causing a very odd hallucination. Eventually Hector figured this out though and made a quick adjustment, allowing Lucius to wake up once more, just as he took a slap to the face which likely made it seem as though that was the cause. That was actually perfect really.

"W-wha? Oh, that was weird." Lucius said boyishly, keeping in character. A smile was on his face now, and he even laughed a little, but then his face turned serious once more.

"....Ya gotta forget about me Bell, i want you to move on with your life. You can do it, ok? Go to the police, and tell them your living on the street, they will find a place for you to stay so you can get your life in check. Being depressed about me leaving you isn't going to get you anywhere." Lucius said, getting back on track. He didn't really know how the female would react, but he hoped she would just accept his words and not ruin her own life. Lucius had already taken one, he didn't need another.

by **Shadowoof** August 6th 2015, 7:41 am

Bella's smirked ended with a face of guilt. Looking down to her brothers leg, Bella sighed before leaning over him and getting to his ears. "Sorry brother. But I already did." She would back away with a tear to her eye. She had already taken to account that she needed to get ahead, that he wasn't their any more. She already had moved on from her brother but not from her hatred. "We lost Dad. Then Mum. Then I lost you. I've been fine, happy. I did my best to forget. But I'm a monster. You tried to help me be something else. That man just brought back the beast. Took my new friends but..." She went back to when she saw the broken videos of a fight that had included Red, a young boy and a man in a mask.

"Ohh, I have to show you something I learned with the help of a man called Alexander. I found that part funny. He wanted me to be part of his pack and kept being all alpha when it came to wanting to teach me but I got something really cool from it. Yes it may include shifting but it's really cool."
This was all a ploy to move to the conversation to something else before she felt something she might regret. And it would be like old times. "If that Red thought my old shifting was good then he would drop dead from this." She would stand up and motion for her brother to follow. If he would then she would begin running towards the alleyway he came from, a silent prayer she wouldn't turn around to find nothing followed her.

by **Red** August 6th 2015, 7:56 am

So the subject would be changed. It seemed the girl had already moved on, maybe not from the hatred and anger, but enough to live a halfway normal life. It seemed Lucius wasn't really required, he could leave.....but he wasn't quite done. Not to mention the mention of new forms interested him. Honestly....a shapeshifters metagene had endless possibilities, so if he wasn't going to stick around to have a talk with Bella in his normal form, he would stick around to see her display.

"Didn't you learn not to trust science types from what happened?" Lucius said, though he was mostly just keeping character. Either way he followed, interested in what the girl had to show off. He debated in his head how long to keep this up, or what he was even doing. Really the only way he could make himself feel better about this would be if he talked to her in his normal form, to get her forgiveness. Nano was one of the youngest he had ever killed, and that had eaten away at him or awhile now.

by **Shadowoof** August 6th 2015, 8:10 am

"He saved my life. And offered me power. I was planning on using to hunt your killer down after what he did to Ryan.... But that anger almost changed me too much. If I was to see that man now. I would slap him, demand an apology.. And after that, I don't know. He offered us a place you know and you declined. I followed like the good little sister I was, To be frank brother I still wish you had said yes." She would say before stopping and turning to Alex.

Cracking her knuckles as she went along. She had planned to scare him with her biggest form but rather went with her best choice and most memorable one. Closing her eyes and focusing, Lucius wold see her skin moving under her shirt before almost in a flash she was the extinct species known as a velociraptor, a purr emitting from her throat as she moved in one her brother and nestled her neck on top of his head being taller then him now. Making sure to avoid cutting with the her razor sharp claws that rested on her new hands. but would slowly back off him before spinning a few times and running around the enclosed space to show off. She was enjoying herself alright and hoped her deceased brother liked it.

by **Red** August 7th 2015, 2:34 am

Lucius didn't say anything to the female in response, he just curiously followed until they were in an open area. The female prepared herself, cracking he knuckles and such before turning into a rather shocking creature. Lucius gasped, his eyes widened, this was incredible. How did whoever modified her get instinct DNA to work with? This interested Lucius though the forms themselves he didn't have much of an interest in, just the females shapeshifter powers. They seemed to not only allow the shift but also made the form more powerful, so if she was able to do that with other metahumans her potential could be limitless. Either way though, that wasn't something he would bring up now. As interesting as it was he had made that mistake before.

"You wish i had said yes? Well, i guess that makes sense......" Lucius said, thinking over that statement. He had a choice to make now, would he take his normal form and try to talk to the female, or no? It wasn't like he couldn't get away if he needed to, but would he make the girl worse by revealing himself? Maybe, but he had come here for a reason, and he wasn't about to throw the opportunity out the window. He would wait for the female to take her normal form, and then once she did that he would do the same, rapidly shifting into himself. He wasn't wearing his gear it seemed, just a classic suit.

"How about another chance then?" Lucius said, looking to the girl with glassy eyes.

by **Shadowoof** August 7th 2015, 7:16 am

Bella would run around more till she started to slow down and focused on shifting back, the new form was a little harder to change from and too. But they had their advantages. Shifting back to her human self, she would crack her neck and lean to the side before turning back to her brother only to find a man in a suit in his place, a man she recognized from their first meeting. Emotion worked it's way though her, wanting to hit, yell, cry. She should have known her brother was too good to be true but at least she saw his face again, heard his voice.

Walking towards him, she would keep on her promise and when she made it to Red she would go to slap him. "Apologize. Then we can talk." She would growl at the man with sharpened teeth. Her fingers twitching from not placing her hands on his throat. He had pretended to be her brother, did he really cry when he did or were they fake. Why did he want her to move on, to try and live a normal life, all questions she wanted to ask but were petty to what was happening right now. She was whiten arm's reach of the man that killed her brother, her friends mother and she was tempted by an offer she could have taken a long time ago but for some reason she felt like she just needed to talk. She was alone and this man offered her a home, just like Alexander did only he was creepy. This man was different from times of old, he even smelt different. "Who was that boy to you. The one that was hurt by the masked man?" She would ask first when it looked like he would speak. She remembered the broken videos from a while ago, things reached you-tube pretty quickly and while not the best quality she saw quite a bit. Like how Red rushed to the boy's side after the man lit a fireball inside the kid before the video just followed the mask man.

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