aeons_crackshot | Trinity/FreakAngels AU: A Heart as Cold as Ice.

Something about the place tells Connor this is not the work of a beast, of a 'monster' in a common sense. This is deliberate. Planned.

The sensations make him queasy, and angry.

"Come out. Now." Now! He is angry.

Annabelle picks up on Connor's anger and readies her gun to target whatever may present itself.

"It would seem your rudeness knows no bounds," a man's voice calls out, amused. When he steps into view, Connor may recognize him as Constance's husband.

"You've cut my bait loose, and it's going to be such a bother to drag her back here. Although... I might be inclined to forgive you since you've brought me a present," he replies with a smile, eying Annabelle. Some of his expression is lust, most of it is a far more horrid appetite for pain and suffering.

Annabelle snarls at him, and trains the gun on a spot between his eyes.

The world explodes in purple light as Connor lashes out: the empathic gathers all the painful miasma of the area, each bit of pain, despair, fear and suffering, and sends it against the man.

Oh, yes, he brought him a present: it is called payback.

Sadly, the purple light doesn't have as much effect as one might hope. He staggers a moment, but somehow earths the purple light into the crystals lining the cavern.

Annabelle takes this opportunity to fire. Alas, it would appear that telekinesis is among his arsenal of abilities, as the bullet bounces off a shield shaped distortion in the air.

"Well, well, you are a curious creature," he remarks. "I do believe it's my turn, now." Aiming for the perceived weaker target, he slams an incredible amount of power at Annabelle's mind. Will the shield hold?

cowardscumyouthinkyouarebigshitbecauseyoucanhurtpeopleyouarenothingbutacowardhidingbehindtricksatickaparasiteworm

Maybe not if he were going to just block it, but instead Connor redirects, deflects, dissipates the attack.

clichéstupidcartoonyshityouarenothingworthlessyouwillendasmearonsomerocksandwillneverevenbeknown

That is his special gift: feedback. Chains of every emotion in the area, darts and bolts of everything he inflicted on innocents.

haveatasteofwhatyoudidcowardscumpatheticlittlenothinglikeaspoiledbratwantingtocausetroublewhatsyourproblemmommydidnotloveyouenouhgyoudidnotgettheponyandthepinkdressandthepricesstiarayouwantedforyourbirthday

Connor smashes the ground under the man with raw telekinesis, then attacks with the sharp crystals.

He snarls, his face a mask of rage. He has to shift the shield a bit to deflect the crystals. He's forgotten Annabelle entirely. This is a very bad idea. She can't quite get a body shot, alas, but being shot in the arm with a .45 hurts, a lot.

"You bitch!," he snarls at Annabelle, his hand moving to try and staunch the flow of blood. He throws his power at her again, but he's planning to affect her body not her mind this time.

Thankfully, the shield absorbs most of the attempt to crush her heart, but an observer can hear ribs crack and Annabelle lets out a pained noise before she collapses, unconscious.

Oh no.

He did not do that.

IwasgoingtobenicetoyoubutnowyoucrossedalineandIwillhavetocrossalineandyou.will.die.

The mental stream turns an eerie cold, and Connor strikes tree times.

The first attack is mental, another bolt on concentrated emotional miasma. The second attack is physical, at the arm wound, tearing it open so it will bleed profusely. The final blow is a mix, a telekinetic vise clamping on the man's balls and squeezing, couple with a jolt of psychic energy amplifying the pain a hundredfold.

There's really only one possible response to all of that. There's going to be a lot of screaming in agonizing pain going on.

If Connor's is paying attention to anything other than the beatdown, he might notice that the crystals in the cave seem to be absorbing his pain, his suffering, amplifying Connor's own power. This may explain the fiend who's screaming in agony's uncanny psychic strength....

Oh, they are next, shattered crystals do make great projectiles, after all.

Having fun yet, you piece of shit? How it feels like, to be in the receiving end and realize you are just a miserable coward?

Now, comes the real attack: dig into his mind, for every memory of the things he did... and make him feel each mote of suffering he imposed on others.

Funny how the crystals almost seem to scream as they shatter...

He attempts to fight back, of course, but Connor has righteous wrath on his side and the sheer unbelievable agony is making it hard for him to concentrate.

The men who died here were not his only victims, far from it. He was a cruel sociopath even before his Inspiration. An emotional abuser to his wife, Constance, and most everyone else. He's used her as bait to bring him victims, erasing her memory every time and reversing the process to let her drown in horror when she realizes what she's done. That she'll do it over and over again because she's powerless against him...

Karma is a bitch.

It is payback.

Connor presses the point: now he is hopeless.

His wife will never know the truth: she will grieve for a basically different man, and will move on, meet someone nice and be happy.

The people in the city will never know the truth: they will be told of a strange monster that was killed and buried, and the real culprit will be forgotten.

The government will never learn about his actions. Nobody will be touched by fear.

Connor and Annabelle themselves, can simply forget him: reduce the memory to 'strange nasty thing in the backwoods, dead and people safe now'.

Forgotten. Insignificant.

Does not matter if the part about himself and Annabelle is not true, what matters for Connor is that the monster will die, convinced of his own irrelevance.

You are nothing. And now it is time for him to die, with the last crystals used as lances and daggers to snuff him out of existence.

The monster gurgles his last breath and expires. The cave is oddly silent to ordinary and extraordinary senses, with the odd feel of Telluric energy gone with the last of the crystals.

It's just him, an unconscious Annabelle, and the dead here now.

He is dizzy, and feeling sick, but first... Annabelle. Connor will check her, her injuries, her condition, and do as much as he can to help.

It would be much easier of Miki were there, but his own limited talents will have to do.

It's not as bad as it should be. Annabelle has been told that she's too stubborn to die, and fortune tends to dote on her Inspired children.

Annabelle starts to stir when Connor checks her. Quite a few ribs are cracked and there's considerable bruising. Nothing dire or requiring the immediate attention of a doctor.

Connor may learn several very profane and impolite phrases in foreign tongues when Annabelle come to. "Connor?" she says, wincing a bit.

"I'm here." Amazing how he can be both pale, and green. "How you feel?" Some distance behind, there is a human form that looks like a porcupine with crystal quills.

"Been better, but I've been a hell of a lot worse than this," she says after a moment. Considering that she's been a hairsbreadth from death twice, this may not be all that reassuring.

Annabelle catches sight of the body. "Well, I think we can safely put him in the dead column," she remarks with a shake of her head. "I take it things got ugly once I hit the floor?"

She reaches out a hand to reassure him. She has no idea how apt that last statement is.

Connor gives a nod, squeezing her hand. "Can you get up? I need a bit of distance before I sit down to rest."

Annabelle nods and stands up, using the wall to help the process along.

"I'm eager to see the last of this place myself," she replies, one hand reaching up to touch his cheek.

Connor helps her, and starts away, supporting Annabelle. "Not too far for now... still need to bury the whole mess, collapse the cave if I can."

"Nobody needs to really know what that bastard was doing here."

"No," Annabelle says with a shudder. "I can't believe there's something out there that uses human life energy like that machine they built in Siberia."

This is not a pleasant thought.

"We're not going to tell her, are we?" she asks quietly.

"No, nobody." He glances back at the cave. "That bastard will be forgotten.

"Like the coward he was."

"Good," Annabelle says firmly.

"We'll need to put the truth in our report," Annabelle points out. "But I agree with not telling anyone else."

"Are we far enough out, do you think?"

"I hope so." He needs to sit down and let go of his mental shield, to catch his breath.

But first, he will help Annabelle settle. "You think our guide would scare much if I called him?"

"I don't know," Annabelle admits. "On the other hand, between me and Constance, when we find her, we could really use a lift back to town."

Annabelle looks at the sky. "Especially since it looks like a storm is moving in."

"Great." Connor takes a deep breath.

John. It's Connor. We need help.

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