Xavier wasted no time taking the angry God's advice.
Adrenaline shot through his veins and he leaped to his feet. He ran from the alleyway as fast as his legs could carry him, his face and hair still soaked. He ran as far as his small lungs would allow him, running out of breath a mere two blocks later. Forcing himself to jump behind a nearby building, he slumped down against the wall and took a few deep breaths.
He placed a hand on his chest, feeling it heave up and down. The hand soon moved to his face. His eyes exploded open as he came to the horrific realization that he had lost his most important tool. His glasses were gone, most likely sitting at the bottom of that disgusting puddle in an alleyway guarded by some monster freak.
"You're going to have to run farther than that," a voice boomed beside him.
Xavier froze. His heart skipped a beat, a sudden burst of orange flame appearing in his peripheral vision. He slowly turned his head towards the source, his neck shaking and his breath erratic. The flaming shadow was there, sitting directly beside him. It gave him a little wave as it opened its mouth to reveal a devilish smile of pure flame.
Xavier screamed like a small child as he jumped up again. He dashed out onto the main street, running directly into oncoming traffic.
"Wait, don't!" the creature shouted as he tried to grab the boy, only for his hands to pass right through his back.
Horns wailed and brakes screeched as Xavier sprinted into the road, not a single doubt in his mind concerning the logic of his actions. He saw the blurry edge of the road coming closer and closer. He gasped with relief as he fell down onto the concrete sidewalk.
Except he hadn't made it there yet. His face hit black asphalt as he fell onto his hands, just a few feet shy of the curb. He gasped as the fleeting feeling of safety deserted him. A screeching sound filled his years, the bright glare of headlights blinding him. A horn blared right next to him, deafening him with its shrill cry.
He felt an intense pressure on the back of his leg, though only for a second. The headlights passed by him, the sound of squealing tires now on the other side of him. The pain hit him shortly after, searing up his legs and forcing tears to flow from his eyes. He screamed into the air, one of the loudest he had ever managed to muster. He looked back down at his shattered limb, blood spilling from it as it twisted in ways not naturally possible.
"Holy shit kid!" the driver of the car shouted as he pulled onto the sidewalk.
Xavier could think of no other reaction but to keep screaming. He looked towards the other side of the road, the fuzzy being of flame still standing on the other side of the street. It began to walk forward, stepping directly into the street and in front of an oncoming car. The car passed right through it, like it wasn't even there.
He felt hands grab his shoulders, pulling him violently onto the sidewalk. The man who had hit him groaned and swore as he pulled the boy up the curb and on the concrete. No one else was around to witness his pain, or they merely did not care enough to come to his aid. The man pulled the leg of Xavier's pants upward, examining the wound.
Blood gushed from where it had broken, his lower leg barely attached to his body anymore. Xavier tried to move his toes, but they would not budge. All he felt was pain, but not from the leg itself, just the part above the break. Tears were streaming down his face as he realized he would never walk again. Even worse, the being of fire was growing closer.
"What the fuck is your problem?" the driver screamed.
"He's…he's coming," Xavier forced out between wails.
"What?" the man replied simply.
Xavier held his hand out, weakly pointing in the direction of the fire being.
"Are you a fucking loon or what?" the man shouted. "There's nothing there! Stupid kid! Do you know how much my insurance is going to go up because of your crazy ass?"
Xavier sputtered and gasped as he tried to explain himself. The being was right in front of him now, shadowy arms held at its sides. It looked at the man with a smile on its face. It playfully tapped the man on the cheek, completely without reaction.
"Looks like running isn't an option anymore," it said with a chuckle.
"I'm gonna call an ambulance," the man said as he dropped Xavier to the ground, walking off with his cell phone.
"What…do you want…with me?" Xavier choked out.
"I need you," the creature said. "Well, I need your body. I can only stay in this form for a little while before everything starts to fade. Only issue is your mind can't be in it when I take it."
"You want to kill me?" Xavier sputtered.
"Well, it's certainly a method of getting rid of your mind, isn't it?"
"No!" he shouted at the creature with such force that it recoiled.
"Oh, look at you, acting all tough and strong! I'm so intimidated by a tiny little child!"
"Why me? Why not him or something?" he found himself saying without thought to his words.
The man who had hit him was standing by his car, phone held to his head as he spoke to what he presumed was a 911 operator.
"Oh a couple of reasons," the monster said. "I can already tell he's stubborn and wouldn't go without a fight. I don't want to damage the body too much. Plus, his face is ugly."
A loud crack reached their ears, pulling their attention towards the driver. He had dropped his phone, and now stood frozen by his car. He jerked his head upward, loudly sniffing the air. He looked back towards Xavier, growling loudly.
"Oh, and it looks like he's already taken," the monster said calmly.
The man stomped towards the grounded and shaking Xavier, grabbing him by the back of his jacket. Xavier screamed as his leg was drug across the pavement, the inside of his wound scratching against the concrete. The man pulled him into a back alleyway, just out of sight of the road. He roared as he grabbed the crying boy by the neck and slammed him up against the wall, cracking the old brick.
"Wait," the fire monster said. "Why's he after you and not me?"
"War God!" the man shouted in a deep, grumbling voice, different from how he had spoken before. "You hurt the mother!"
"I'm over here, dumbass," Ares said to the creature, but it payed no attention to him.
Xavier's eyes spewed tears as he tried to gurgle out a response, but he could not get enough breath.
"Gods will pay for what they do to mother!" the thing screamed, grabbing Xavier's already half torn leg and ripping it all the way off.
Blood gushed from the wound with intense pressure and volume, tears erupting from Xavier's eyes with the same magnitude. He managed to scream in agony as he felt the nerve and bone completely separate from his body. Any hopes of reattachment were gone.
'This isn't right," the fire being said with a gasp. "The only reason he would go after you was if I was in you…"
Xavier was in too much pain to hear anything around him. His world was beginning to fade into black. Ares paced around the two, grumbling to himself and devising a plan.
"No, that's impossible," Ares said. "Your mind is still in there…"
"Show me God!" the man screamed.
"Screw it, I'll try it anyway," Ares said, reaching his shadowy arms out towards the severed stump of Xavier's leg.
Xavier felt the pain subside as Ares touched his wound. The feeling of his lower leg did not return, but a new sensation appeared entirely. His skin began to stretch and grow, moving down his leg and outward in front of him. It began to harden and point outward, turning silver as it grew thin and sharp.
His lower leg took the form of a crescent blade, long and sharp. It stuck off the blood covered stump of his thigh and hung downward.
"Kick, kid, kick!" Ares chanted.
Xavier obliged to the God's word, thrusting his thigh forward with all the strength he had left. The scythe flew upward, violently piercing itself into the man's chest. It emerged through his upper back on the other side, his mouth widening as he roared in pain. He gasped as he began to lose his grip on Xavier's neck. He stumbled backward, Xavier's "leg" dropping out of his chest and causing the boy to fall to the blood soaked ground.
He coughed one last time, blood spewing from his mouth and onto the ground in front of him. With a disgusting gurgle, he face-planted into the asphalt. Blood pooled underneath the body, covering it red stains.
"Is he…did I…" Xavier babbled, mouth agape as he took heavy breaths.
"Nice," Ares said. "Didn't know you had it in you!"
"I just…killed someone."
His eyes drifted down to his bladed leg, his former limb laying a few feet away and leaking red blood.
"What the hell is happening to me?" he shouted, his breathing becoming quick and unstable.
The body of the man began to twitch and stir. The flesh underneath his torn shirt began to bubble and move, expanding outward and pushing against the fabric. Xavier's mind began to shut down, his thoughts melding into a mix of fear and primal instinct. He felt his grip on reality loosening. He rolled over onto his stomach, pulling himself away from the body as best he could with such a bad leg.
"No no no!" Ares said, his form wavering slightly. "Don't pass out! We'll both die if you pass out! C'mon, you're human, fight or flight!"
Xavier screeched as the words echoed in his head, the idea of flight ripping through his brain. He imaged wings, giant ones, like those of a bat. He imagined being able to fly away, as far away from this horrendous city as he could possibly be. It had brought him nothing but pain and fear, and this was the climax of it. He felt power surge down his spine as his shoulders lit up with horrible pain.
Two massive wings, like those of a bat, erupted from his back, tearing his shirt and stretching into the air. Tears flowed from his eyes as he tried to control the new appendages. They smacked up and down against the pavement, wildly whipping the air around him in an attempt to lift himself.
Ares watched with astonishment, his fiery eyes widening as he came to fully realize the situation. The body behind them began to surge outward, arms and legs expanding and reshaping themselves. Its back began to rise upward, a loud roar escaping its mouth as it grew rows and rows of jagged, yellow teeth.
Ares reached his arms out taking hold of the flailing wings that had sprouted from the teen's back. They began to calm as his shadowy arms melded into the charcoal skin they were made of. He felt them in his own mind, as if they were his own.
The body began to stand, nearly twice the size of the man it used to be. It was hunchbacked and twisted, muscle wrapping around it in ways that resembled shredded meat. Its face began to twist, its left eye socket expanding and warping the skull around it. The eye expanded in size, centering itself on its forehead. Its other eye severed itself moments later, slopping out of its place as the socket that housed it began to close.
"Damn cyclopes," Ares muttered.
The monster roared, adjusting to its new body. It brandished its horrible, misshapen claws. It stomped forward, snapping its deformed jaw as it stomped forward. Ares growled as he pulled on Xavier's wings, forcing them to flap with his will. The two minds that controlled them fought each other, twitching randomly as Xavier attempted to flap them wildly and Ares tried to bring them to order.
Xavier screamed once again, his eyes rolling back into his head. His back felt as if it had burst into flame, slowly creeping its way into his spine and up towards his head. His body fell limp, the strength of two wills forcing his muscles to shut down. He heard the stomping of the Cyclops grow ever closer, its growls growing more and more menacing.
The world around him faded to black, his paralyzed body resting on the ground. He felt the heat burn him, although he paid no attention to it now. He saw an orange light through his eyelids.
He felt the pain disappear as he opened his eyes again. He looked down at himself, though he still could not feel his limbs. He was normal again, as if nothing had happened. He stood up, a flickering orange behind him. He turned towards it, no room in his brain for fear any longer.
The massive form of Ares loomed over him. It looked down upon him with a disapproving glare, though it did not move to attack him.
"Why do you fight me?" Ares shouted. "I will give you power! Fame! All I need is your body!"
"But I'll be dead. I don't want to die."
"And what will you do with your life? Sulk and wander the streets, desperately hoping for some sort of miracle? I chose you because you were a nobody! The new kid nobody would care died. The one who's parents would hardly notice. You would just be another case of a stupid child going out after dark in one of the most dangerous cities in the world!"
Xavier hung his head.
"Now, with my power in your body, everyone would know the name of Xavier Rodriguez. You'd be the rising star of the underworld, a mob boss by age 20, a war criminal by 30! Everyone would know your name!"
"And fear it," Xavier whispered.
"And what's so bad about that?" Ares said. "It's been working for me."
Xavier lifted his head. He stared directly into the God's chest, a small mass of something hidden inside. Xavier pushed himself forward, the flames moving away from his skin. He saw what was inside move back, trying to avoid his grasp.
"You cannot hurt me, little human," Ares said, though there was some break in his voice.
Xavier ignored his words, pushing further into the black flame. Ares began to twitch and shake as Xavier disappeared into his essence. The fire of his body tried to eat him, but Xavier merely ignored its presence. The mass inside moved farther and farther back, but it could go no further. It bowed against the fire, desperately trying to shake itself away. He reached out for it once again.
"What are you doing? I am a God! I will destroy everything you hold dear!"
He caught hold of something hard and metal. He pulled it out of the dark flame and towards himself, revealing its face to his eyes.
It was a boy. He was around Xavier's age, though much larger and taller. His hair was bright orange in color, his eyes matching it. His mouth was turned into a toothy scowl, showing off his shark-like teeth. His torso was bound with grey chain, bolted to the ground beneath him.
"Did I do this?" Xavier asked.
The boy's angered frown faded, his eyebrows relaxing.
"I trapped you," Xavier continued. "You can't leave."
The God continued to struggle against the chains, growling and swinging at Xavier. To his surprise, his fists made contact, knocking Xavier to the ground.
"My power can't touch you, but my mind still can."
But Xavier did not flee. He pulled himself to his feet, staring intently at the trapped form in front of him. He saw anger, hatred, anguish in the God's eyes.
"You aren't happy," Xavier said.
"Well, no shit," Ares growled.
"Everyone deserves to be happy," Xavier said. "I don't like what you did to me. But I know you had reasons for it. And I know giving it to you won't make you happy."
"Don't try to bullshit me," Ares growled.
"I will not let you take my body."
"Then we'll both die!"
Xavier stood his ground. He stepped towards the chained man, confident and defiant. Ares's chest heaved up and down, bearing his teeth as he roared. He lifted his arm back, thrusting his fist forward and directly towards Xavier's face.
And Xavier caught it.
Ares's eyes opened wide as the scrawny boy held his arm in place. He threw another punch, only for Xavier to catch it with his other arm. Ares tried to pull them away, but Xavier's grip was like steel.
"I am going to live!" Xavier shouted, his fingers melding into Ares's fists. "We are going to live!"
Their arms began to combine into one flesh. Ares began to yell, both in anger and fear, the will of the small boy coming over him. Xavier gasped as he felt Ares's anger enter him, travelling into his brain. He felt the pain, the frustration, the anger. He felt his thoughts, his memories. They began to flood into his brain, his own mind mixing with that of Ares.
But he did not feel the darkness as he had before. He did not feel like he was dying. In fact, he felt powerful. The fire of Ares's form began to wrap around him. He felt it touch him, though not to burn him, but to emanate from him. The two stood in the depths of mind, the power shared between their two souls.
And Xavier's eyes were shocked open, pupils dilating and changing to a fiery red.
The Cyclops stood over his crumpled form, deformed claw raised into the air for a killing blow. It swung its spiked club of an appendage downward, flying with enough speed to smash Xavier's bones into tiny bits. It whined as it fell, the wind whipping around the mass of skin and bone.
And it stopped before it hit him, a shock wave resounding through the alleyway, stirring up years of unmoved dust and sand.
The Cyclops growled as it tried to force its arm downward. Xavier laid on his back underneath it, stopping the attack with his arms. His now orange eyes opened wide, burning the tear stains from his cheeks. He opened his mouth into a wide grin, wider than anything he could have made before, the power of Ares coursing through him.
With a loud grunt, Xavier threw the beast to the ground. He propped himself up on his remaining leg, spreading his new wings into the air. He growled and screamed as the power coursed through his veins, too much for his scrawny body to handle. Ares's influence moved into his mind and his body. He felt his skin tingle as the muscles underneath began to expand from that of an underdeveloped teen to those of an athletic young adult.
He felt his hair grow on his head, reaching down and straightening from the curls he had before. The shade changed from a deep brown to a fiery crimson which glowed in the yellow lights of the dark street. His teeth became sharp and shark-like, his demonic grin growing even more extreme.
He heard his flesh and bone snap and crack as he felt a new leg grow from the stump of his old one. It reached down to the ground, allowing him to plant both of his feet down. He felt both his arms and legs lengthen, his height quickly shooting up to be eye level with the once towering Cyclops.
His growls and screams began to turn into roars as the transformation finished. Xavier felt the power coursing in him, though he had only taken a small portion of it. The concept of rational thought disappeared from Xavier's mind, only Ares's rage and indulgence remaining. He was now truly demonic, though he was not like the monster he now stood against. He was elegant. His chaos was controlled, the broken minds of the two inside coming together to form a terrible harmony.
He spread his wings high above his head, the Cyclops recoiling in a manner that could be seen as fear. But this was a monster. It felt no emotion but anger and hate. It recovered from its brief moment of sentience with haste, roaring and gnashing its disgusting teeth. It charged forward, swiping at Xavier with its smaller arm.
Xavier's smile faded from his face, his newly grown hair falling into his vision. He jumped away from the monster's attack with reflexes he had never used before. He swung his own arm backward, sharp claws erupting from the skin of his fingers and ripping through the skin on top. He paid no attention to the new form of his hand, preferring to drive his fingers directly into the chest of the deformed monster.
The creature roared in pain, blood spurting from the wound in its chest. The red liquid exploded onto Xavier's claw, spattering his face with red. His tongue tasted the material, causing an even deeper roar to escape from his mouth.
"I am," the creature that was once Xavier growled, "going to live!"
His other arm grew claws just as the first, allowing him to plunge his fingers into the flesh of the thing that used to be a man. The Cyclops roared and screamed as the sunk his claws deeper and deeper into the twisted flesh, grabbing hold of the thick insides of the monster. Then, with one burst of animalistic rage and demented strength, he ripped the monster in half, blood exploding from its body and dumping itself over Xavier's torso.
"We will make them happy," the demon muttered as death moans echoed from the Cyclops's mouth, "and the perpetrators of despair will pay!"
He threw his head back into the air, spreading his blood soaked wings. He roared like a lion who had captured his latest meal, both with a sense of victory and heavy satisfaction. The part of him that was Ares reveled in the feeling of the fresh blood on his body.
A flash of red light caught his eye, forcing his orange irises to look towards the end of the alley. A white ambulance pulled into view, sirens blazing. Paramedics dressed in blue jumped out, instantly spotting the pile of blood that belonged to Xavier's leg.
"Oh my god!" he heard one of them yell. "What the fuck is that thing?"
The demon felt his mind pulse as he realized what was going on. The rage began to settle, confusion taking its place. He looked down at his blood soaked hands, the taste of disgusting iron filling his mouth. The orange of his eyes began to fade as the part of him that was Xavier fought for control.
He shook his head. The man had called an ambulance for him. He had tried to help. He may not have been the most caring person, but he had tried to help the boy who had jumped out in front of him. And now he was dead, bisected and bleeding out in the back alley of the worst place on Earth.
Xavier felt his heart pounding in his head. Emotions flowed through his brain in a way that he never thought possible, almost painful in a way. He cried out with a terrible roar as he spread his wings, flapping them with tremendous force. He flew high into the air, claws grasping the sides of his head.
He disappeared into the night sky immediately after, leaving the paramedics to deal with one of the most horrific scenes that had ever witnessed.