Post by Bonnie Blue on Jul 17, 2021 15:17:27 GMT -5
July 11th, 2021 -- In a Holiday Inn somewhere near Jennerstown, Pennsylvania:
Bonnie Blue stands outside the door of a motel room, hesitant; thoughts a whirlwind of chaotic impulse. She clutches a long, slender case beneath one arm. With a sigh, she lifts a hand to knock -- when the door swings open.
“Bonnie?” The surprise is evident in Damian’s tone. “What are you doing here?”
“I -- we need to talk,” she says. “Can I come in?”
Kaine steps aside without a moment’s thought.
“My door is always open, you know that. What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head.
“Nothing’s wrong, Damian. For the first time in a long time, nothing’s wrong. But I need to ask you a favor… and I’m afraid you won’t like it.”
Puzzled, Damian shuts the door behind her and follows her into the small room. She takes a seat on the edge of the bed and places the case across her lap.
“What I’m fixin’ to ask of you… well, it ain’t gonna be easy. But I’ve been thinkin’ about it for a while now, and it’s really the only solution that makes any sense. You’re gonna try an’ talk me out of it, but I’m at peace with the decision I’ve come to. I came to you because outta everybody who’ll even still talk to me, you’re the only one I can trust.”
With something approaching reverence, she flips the catches and opens the case. Nestled in a sapphire velvet lining is a long shaft of wood, sharpened to a wicked point, and inlaid with intricate sigils wrought in silver.
“I had this made not long after my wedding, intended as a -- well, a parting gift, for the day John Rabid inevitably turned on me. I hadn’t been expecting it quite so soon, and now, in spite of everything, I don’t think I quite have the heart to use it.
“The thing is, Damian, all that tough talk about not needing him. About being free. That’s all it was: talk. He’s part of me. Always will be. I wake up alone, and my heart breaks all over again. And again. It’s too much.”
Kaine’s brow furrows as he considers her words.
“You…. want me to use it on Rabid?”
Her eyes never leave the stake. A sad smile plays at the corner of her lips.
“No, Damian.”
Bonnie lifts the exquisite weapon from its velvet nest and offers it up to him.
“I want you to use it on me.”
Damian is taken aback.
"You want me to… okay, hold up."
Damian shakes from his confusion and grabs his duffel bag from beside the bed. He rifles through it, pulling out a set of keys.
He picks up the duffle and does a sweep of the room, leaving a crisp $100 bill for the housekeeper, before heading towards the door. He looks back to Bonnie.
"Come on, we're leaving."
Wordlessly, still clutching the stake, Bonnie allows herself to be led outside, to a waiting 1967 Chevrolet Impala. She slides into the passenger seat, staring straight ahead as he starts the engine and pulls out into the two-lane blacktop.
"Just do me a favor and make it quick."
Damian chuckles.
"Well.. if you want quick. I'll have to do something I haven't done in a long time."
Damian pulls up to a red light and rolls down his window.
"Now, I didn't think this was still possible… but lately I've been getting the feeling I still can…"
He holds his palm out the window, pointing it dead ahead of the vehicle. For a moment, nothing happens.
The light turns green and cars behind them get antsy.
"DK, I don't what you're doin', but ya better get a move on."
"Just one more second.. I know I can."
After a few more seconds, and a lot effort, a blue rift opens before the Impala.
"Ahh… perfect…"
Damian seems exhausted as he drives through the rift. The Impala is engulfed in a blue cloud, completely disappearing from the Jennerstown streets.
A few seconds later, another rift opens, and the Impala drives onto another street, almost colliding with an '05 Civic.
"OOPS!"
Damian straightens up and continues driving, parking in front of a familiar bar.
The Drunken Dragon
"Yeah, you need to talk."
Bonnie sighs.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Damian, but this ain't gonna to turn out the way you're hoping…"
"You say that. But I have a feeling you came to me first for a reason. You knew Alex would be able to talk you out of it. And I agree. Which is why we're in Chicago."
Damian turns off the ignition, and the two sit in silence for a moment.
"Alright look. If Alex can't talk you out of it, and you really want me to drive this stake through your heart at the end of the night, I'll do it. But I don't see this going the way you expect, Bon, because you and I both know that the Time Witch is not dependent on any piece of shit man. Or, vampire thing. Whatever John is."
"It's not that simple. It isn't just what he did to me. There were things I did. Bad shit. For him. And… I know I should have some remorse about the things I've done, but the fact is, all I regret is wasting the effort on him.
"That's not even all of it. Some of that shit? I actually enjoyed it. It satisfies something dark in me. Something that urges me to do it again. Without John's guidance, controlling those impulses gets more difficult all the time.
"Right now, I'm tempted as hell to turn on you. I got it under control, but what happens when I can't anymore?"
Damian sits silent for a moment.
"Then you turn on me. It happens. But here's the thing, Bonnie. I knew you long before you were turned. You're my family. And you know I'm yours. I trust you. And because I trust you, I'm trusting that you're not going to kill me. It's the vibes I'm getting. In case you forget, that's my area of expertise."
Bonnie turns from him so he won't see the solitary tear running down her cheek. Her mind is made up. Damian’s insistence on trying to save her serves only to highlight everything she'd lost. Everything John Rabid had taken from her.
"All right," she says at last. "Let's go talk to Alex. But this isn't going to change my mind."
Without saying another word, they get out of the car and enter the building. They bypass the bartender and immediately head upstairs towards the top floor. Upon reaching the door, Damian knocks heavily.
"ALEX!"
Several long moments pass, Bonnie keenly aware of the subtle pulse of Kaine’s heartbeat as she struggles to restrain her hunger. He’d said it himself: he trusts her. It would be so easy…
Suddenly, the double doors swing inward. Rebecca stands centered between them, a crossbow at her shoulder, expression tense. Behind her, Alex Richards scowls into the darkness behind the two before urging them hurriedly inside. His brother hastily shuts the doors again, dropping a heavy oaken beam across them. The men relax as soon as the doors are secure, but Rebecca keeps the crossbow aimed directly at Bonnie. A glance full of meaning passes between Alex and his lady, and reluctantly, she lowers the weapon. Kaine studies the faces of his friends, struck by the sudden realization that something isn’t quite right. There’s tension in the air, and even the typically irrepressible Archduke of Mass Confusion has an edge to his welcoming smile.
“We, uh, catch you at a bad time?” Kaine asks.
Shaun Zach nods. “You could say that.”
Alex, meanwhile, is eyeing Bonnie in quiet speculation.
“Or maybe,” muses Alex, “your timing couldn’t be better. Shit’s been getting weird in Chicago. Our kind of weird. Guardians weird.”
Before he can elaborate, the power cuts out, plunging the Drunken Dragon into total darkness.