Alexia Dark
Warrior Princess
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2004
- Messages
- 12,599
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- Points
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Surprisingly, his hands didn't shake, even as he looked upon the face of the man who had been his uncle's competitor, personal nemisis, and murderer. Distracted by the fighting, no one had seen him climbing onto the roof until he was less than 10 feet away from them. Tightening his grip on the gun handle, Devon focused his aim on Norman.
"You... you *******," was all he could think of to say at first. At Norman's confused and still angry expression, his eyes narrowed. He remembered hearing the news of his uncle's death.
"You killed my uncle," Devon said. He knew it was stupid, but he wanted a reaction. A twitch, a recognition, a trace of remorse. There was nothing.
Slowly beginning to sit up with MJ's help, Peter's eyes widened with shock at hearing Devon's words. He recalled when he had said those very words to someone else, not that long ago. He understood Devon completely. He had wondered more times than he liked to admit what he might've done if the thief had not tripped. Would he have handed him over to the police? Or would he have pushed him? Sometimes, if he thought about it hard enough... he wondered if he could've saved him from the fall if he'd wanted.
He'd never know for sure. And now Devon faced that same choice. Unfortunately for Devon, his opponent was far more than a comparatively weak car-jacker.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific," Norman said, amused.
Devon wanted to scream. What a lack of feeling, of morality... of humanity. Though of course, Devon couldn't begin to understand just how far from human Norman was. How far from human four of these people were.
"He was like a father to me. Dr. Henry Smith, Head of Technology at Quest Aerospace. The man who was about to take over your company, right, Mr. Osborn?," Devon spit through his teeth.
"Ah yes. It's a shame I didn't bother to take any of the technology with me. The patent was pending," Norman replied humorously. "Now if you'll excuse me, I was about to blow someone else up."
He was provoking him on purpose, trying to push him to shoot. Devon was happy to oblige.
"Never again," Devon said, and moved his finger closer to the trigger. Alexia, who had stood in silence for fear of forcing Norman to attack Devon before she could separate them, couldn't take it any longer.
"Devon, no!," she cried, reaching for Norman's arms to hold him back, too late.
With a terrible speed, Norman was in front of Devon, knocking the gun out of his hand before the trigger could be pulled. Sensing Alexia's next move, he turned and pointed a finger at the confused superheroine. Surprise couldn't begin to describe the feeling as 10, 000 bolts of electricity shot out of his armor, blinding her in a painful explosion of sparks. She fell.
'How did she know my-'
Devon's delayed thought was cut short as Norman turned back toward him.
"Like father, like son," Norman stated simply, and hit Devon across the face with a weak blow, still far more than enough to knock him down.
Devon could taste the blood in his mouth as his head spun. When his vision focused, he realized that he had landed on top of the gun. However, he didn't have time to reach for it as Norman approached.
"Norman!," Peter yelled. He was standing. The adreneline had left him a bit numb, and his ribs still hurt, but he was recovering quickly. Watching Devon. Buying time.
"You'll get your turn," Norman said, turning back to his weaker prey.
Devon, who had just noticed Peter, was only a little surprised at realizing Spider-Man's true idenity. MJ, still silent, felt a rush of anger at Norman's suggestion, but kept her eyes on Peter.
Norman got quite a surprise as he saw the gun pointed in his face. He hadn't noticed it. There was no way Devon could have been fast enough to shoot him point-blank in the head, but through some miracle, he didn't miss entirely. As Norman moved out of the way, the bullet skidded across his right side where Alexia's kicks had cracked the usually bullet-proof armor.
Norman grunted in pain as he knocked the gun from Devon's hands again, furious as he admited to himself that the wound had weakened him. And now Peter was almost back to his normal strength. Frustrated, he realized that if Peter fought him now, he was likely to win. And he knew Peter knew this as well. Peter began to move toward him.
Desperate, he yanked Devon up and pushed him in front of him, and Peter stopped as Norman wrapped his bladed arm around Devon's neck.
"Not so fast, Peter," Norman said in a voice that sounded almost normal despite its pain and menace.
Frustrated, Peter knew he had no choice but to stop.
"Let him go, and I'll let you leave. We can settle this later," he said.
Norman laughed.
"It's not as easy as that."
"What?," Peter asked, shocked and annoyed.
"I'll tell you what... I'll let him go, but I want something in return. I've come to close to let you slip from my grasp again." He paused, smiling menacingly. "I'll trade his life... for yours."
MJ's gasped unwillingly, suddenly numb with fear for her fiance. Peter stared in shock. Norman laughed again when there was no immediate response.
"What's the matter? It's time to show everyone just how much of a hero you really are. Die to save his life... or let this innocent fool die because you're a coward."
Peter was torn. Of course he didn't want to die. He had so much to live for. MJ... Aunt May... all of the people he helped. He did so much good as Spider-Man. But how could he live with himself knowing that another had died because of his inaction. And what would Alexia think?
"Well?"
"I-"
The sound of a gunshot cut him off. Norman's eyes widened as the bullet ripped through him at an angle, destroying his internal organs. 10 feet behind him to the left stood Alexia, the gun in her outstretched hands. Norman's hand fell from Devon's neck, barely aware of himself, knowing that he was dying quickly. But there was one more thing he had to do. Alexia watched in horror as Norman drove his other bladed arm into Devon's lower back. Then he fell, landing facing Harry.
'I'll be with you soon, son...', he thought, and his heart stopped.
Alexia was there in a moment, catching Devon as he fell. She carried him over toward Peter and MJ, setting him down gently. He was still breathing. He opened his eyes, looking at Alexia's masked face, confused.
"Who... ?," he began to ask.
Alexia understood. She removed her mask, and immediately the tears flowed down her face. She smiled faintly at him. The shock passed in a moment, and for the second time today he could not believe that he had not seen what was right in front of his eyes.
"I wanted to tell you... I should've told you... but I was afraid," Alexia said.
"Of what?"
"I couldn't have told you that Norman was dead without revealing Peter and I... it would've been chaos. But I was sure I'd be able to stop you from doing something like this. I was stupid... I shouldn't have let it get that far. Of course, it turned out you were right. For the wrong reasons."
Devon felt horrible for not listening to what she'd said earlier. Maybe this would've turned out differently if Alexia hadn't had to worry about him. He looked over at Peter.
"Well... at least you won't have to worry about me telling Jonah," he joked.
"No, don't say that," Alexia insisted." Let's go to a hospital-"
"It won't work. You were right. I should've listened."
Alexia shook her head in denial. She looked over at Peter and MJ. Their expressions offered sympathy, but not hope. She stroked her hand through Devon's hair, looking intensely into his eyes.
"Don't leave me," she said weakly.
"I'm sorry. At least he's gone now. He can't hurt anyone else," Devon replied.
It was strange how his own death no longer horrified him. He felt only sadness at leaving her behind.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too. Don't go. Stay with me. I need you..."
Devon smiled, then closed his eyes. He was gone.
Shaking, the tears blinded her. Sadness and anger overcame her. All the way into Manhattan, her anguished scream carried through the night.
"You... you *******," was all he could think of to say at first. At Norman's confused and still angry expression, his eyes narrowed. He remembered hearing the news of his uncle's death.
"You killed my uncle," Devon said. He knew it was stupid, but he wanted a reaction. A twitch, a recognition, a trace of remorse. There was nothing.
Slowly beginning to sit up with MJ's help, Peter's eyes widened with shock at hearing Devon's words. He recalled when he had said those very words to someone else, not that long ago. He understood Devon completely. He had wondered more times than he liked to admit what he might've done if the thief had not tripped. Would he have handed him over to the police? Or would he have pushed him? Sometimes, if he thought about it hard enough... he wondered if he could've saved him from the fall if he'd wanted.
He'd never know for sure. And now Devon faced that same choice. Unfortunately for Devon, his opponent was far more than a comparatively weak car-jacker.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific," Norman said, amused.
Devon wanted to scream. What a lack of feeling, of morality... of humanity. Though of course, Devon couldn't begin to understand just how far from human Norman was. How far from human four of these people were.
"He was like a father to me. Dr. Henry Smith, Head of Technology at Quest Aerospace. The man who was about to take over your company, right, Mr. Osborn?," Devon spit through his teeth.
"Ah yes. It's a shame I didn't bother to take any of the technology with me. The patent was pending," Norman replied humorously. "Now if you'll excuse me, I was about to blow someone else up."
He was provoking him on purpose, trying to push him to shoot. Devon was happy to oblige.
"Never again," Devon said, and moved his finger closer to the trigger. Alexia, who had stood in silence for fear of forcing Norman to attack Devon before she could separate them, couldn't take it any longer.
"Devon, no!," she cried, reaching for Norman's arms to hold him back, too late.
With a terrible speed, Norman was in front of Devon, knocking the gun out of his hand before the trigger could be pulled. Sensing Alexia's next move, he turned and pointed a finger at the confused superheroine. Surprise couldn't begin to describe the feeling as 10, 000 bolts of electricity shot out of his armor, blinding her in a painful explosion of sparks. She fell.
'How did she know my-'
Devon's delayed thought was cut short as Norman turned back toward him.
"Like father, like son," Norman stated simply, and hit Devon across the face with a weak blow, still far more than enough to knock him down.
Devon could taste the blood in his mouth as his head spun. When his vision focused, he realized that he had landed on top of the gun. However, he didn't have time to reach for it as Norman approached.
"Norman!," Peter yelled. He was standing. The adreneline had left him a bit numb, and his ribs still hurt, but he was recovering quickly. Watching Devon. Buying time.
"You'll get your turn," Norman said, turning back to his weaker prey.
Devon, who had just noticed Peter, was only a little surprised at realizing Spider-Man's true idenity. MJ, still silent, felt a rush of anger at Norman's suggestion, but kept her eyes on Peter.
Norman got quite a surprise as he saw the gun pointed in his face. He hadn't noticed it. There was no way Devon could have been fast enough to shoot him point-blank in the head, but through some miracle, he didn't miss entirely. As Norman moved out of the way, the bullet skidded across his right side where Alexia's kicks had cracked the usually bullet-proof armor.
Norman grunted in pain as he knocked the gun from Devon's hands again, furious as he admited to himself that the wound had weakened him. And now Peter was almost back to his normal strength. Frustrated, he realized that if Peter fought him now, he was likely to win. And he knew Peter knew this as well. Peter began to move toward him.
Desperate, he yanked Devon up and pushed him in front of him, and Peter stopped as Norman wrapped his bladed arm around Devon's neck.
"Not so fast, Peter," Norman said in a voice that sounded almost normal despite its pain and menace.
Frustrated, Peter knew he had no choice but to stop.
"Let him go, and I'll let you leave. We can settle this later," he said.
Norman laughed.
"It's not as easy as that."
"What?," Peter asked, shocked and annoyed.
"I'll tell you what... I'll let him go, but I want something in return. I've come to close to let you slip from my grasp again." He paused, smiling menacingly. "I'll trade his life... for yours."
MJ's gasped unwillingly, suddenly numb with fear for her fiance. Peter stared in shock. Norman laughed again when there was no immediate response.
"What's the matter? It's time to show everyone just how much of a hero you really are. Die to save his life... or let this innocent fool die because you're a coward."
Peter was torn. Of course he didn't want to die. He had so much to live for. MJ... Aunt May... all of the people he helped. He did so much good as Spider-Man. But how could he live with himself knowing that another had died because of his inaction. And what would Alexia think?
"Well?"
"I-"
The sound of a gunshot cut him off. Norman's eyes widened as the bullet ripped through him at an angle, destroying his internal organs. 10 feet behind him to the left stood Alexia, the gun in her outstretched hands. Norman's hand fell from Devon's neck, barely aware of himself, knowing that he was dying quickly. But there was one more thing he had to do. Alexia watched in horror as Norman drove his other bladed arm into Devon's lower back. Then he fell, landing facing Harry.
'I'll be with you soon, son...', he thought, and his heart stopped.
Alexia was there in a moment, catching Devon as he fell. She carried him over toward Peter and MJ, setting him down gently. He was still breathing. He opened his eyes, looking at Alexia's masked face, confused.
"Who... ?," he began to ask.
Alexia understood. She removed her mask, and immediately the tears flowed down her face. She smiled faintly at him. The shock passed in a moment, and for the second time today he could not believe that he had not seen what was right in front of his eyes.
"I wanted to tell you... I should've told you... but I was afraid," Alexia said.
"Of what?"
"I couldn't have told you that Norman was dead without revealing Peter and I... it would've been chaos. But I was sure I'd be able to stop you from doing something like this. I was stupid... I shouldn't have let it get that far. Of course, it turned out you were right. For the wrong reasons."
Devon felt horrible for not listening to what she'd said earlier. Maybe this would've turned out differently if Alexia hadn't had to worry about him. He looked over at Peter.
"Well... at least you won't have to worry about me telling Jonah," he joked.
"No, don't say that," Alexia insisted." Let's go to a hospital-"
"It won't work. You were right. I should've listened."
Alexia shook her head in denial. She looked over at Peter and MJ. Their expressions offered sympathy, but not hope. She stroked her hand through Devon's hair, looking intensely into his eyes.
"Don't leave me," she said weakly.
"I'm sorry. At least he's gone now. He can't hurt anyone else," Devon replied.
It was strange how his own death no longer horrified him. He felt only sadness at leaving her behind.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too. Don't go. Stay with me. I need you..."
Devon smiled, then closed his eyes. He was gone.
Shaking, the tears blinded her. Sadness and anger overcame her. All the way into Manhattan, her anguished scream carried through the night.
