Alter Ego

Shane smirked, rolling his eyes and stepping closer, “You brood to often, I figured you could use some social interaction.” He stated matter-of-factly. He leaned on his cane, using his other hand to fix the hair that the wind had pushed out if place. “That you are, darling, that you are.”

Shane stretched out his neck as his body recovered from the glitching that his demon pulled off for him to get to Erica. The man crossed his arms, his suit still orim and proper despite the look of grey on his face and the static in his hair. “I’m no threat. I was bored and figured you were up to something interesting.”

“The devil? I could only wish to have that title, dear. Shane wanted to summon something, and he got me out of the ritual. He agreed to be a host. Simple as that, love.” He paused, taking a sip of the wine, “I get plenty out of it, darling. I get to cause mass destruction, I get to live on the overworld, I get sex, drugs… Anything a demon could ask for really.” The demon slowly made his way over to Thana, taking her hand and shaking it lightly, a charming smirk make its way onto his face. “My bad, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, but you can call me Azal.”

"Imagine being trapped in a room, a tiny one, barely big enough for your body mass. You've been there you're whole life but finally you met someone with a key, willing to let you out. After a while of being let out frequently, you get used to it." He paused, taking a sip of wine. "Shane hasn't let me out in weeks. I needed out, he promised me he would, and wasn't fulfilling. Put on top of that I needed energy, as his was running out. So I.... Forcefully pushed myself into consciousness."

“Attack dog? Heavens no, dear, I might be a thing of evil but I would never be a beast. My…. Past barbaricness just shows at stressful times.” He spoke smoothly, taking a step forward as he straightened his suit and fixed his tie. It was a shame Thana was around, Shane was looking forward to some destruction.

“Tsk, Tsk, What does Shane want?” The demon corrected, waving a hand and fixing the destruction the fight caused. “That’s simple, love. His little fucked up self just wants to see the world burn. Wants things to be perfect, and to be perfect you must get rid of all imperfections.”

Thana rolled her eyes. “Those would be goths and capital R Romantics. Punks are all about anti capitalism and saying fuck you government. C’mon man, get your subcultures right.” Thana said crossing her arms, but keeping her hands glowing. 

She listened to him explain his arrangement with his host. “Right, so you’re not the devil whispering in his ear, you’re just a boost of power to make sure he gets what he wants, am I getting this right? It’s a symbiotic relationship?” She posed, still working it out. “And if that’s the case, other than a body, what do you get out of the deal. Also, do I call you Shane or do you have a name not in whatever tongues hell is speaking this year?” She asked, mostly to stall, but anyone who knew her knew that her main strategy was to get a villain to start monologuing and hopefully get some information out of them.

"The devil? I could only wish to have that title, dear. Shane wanted to summon something, and he got me out of the ritual. He agreed to be a host. Simple as that, love." He paused, taking a sip of the wine, "I get plenty out of it, darling. I get to cause mass destruction, I get to live on the overworld, I get sex, drugs... Anything a demon could ask for really." The demon slowly made his way over to Thana, taking her hand and shaking it lightly, a charming smirk make its way onto his face. "My bad, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, but you can call me Azal."

The demon slightly twitched but let in no sign of pain, “I needed to stretch out.” He spoke before Shane decided to butt in, slightly fighting for control. I never said you could come out at the dinner party though! The demons face faultered, lashing out suddenly, “You promised to let me out!” He yelled, using the opportunity to get out of one of the skeletons grip, using the now free hand to attack the other. Once both of the boney creatures were subdued he stood up, straighting his suit. “Now let’s be civil, yeah?”

“What about my demeanor screams “Romantic Tragedy Fan”?” Thana asked as she gestured to all of herself: leather, ripped jeans, and punk band t shirt. She wanted to remark about yes she was a fan but the skeletons got thrown and she didn’t have time. She was quick to reassemble them as the demon fought with the host. “Let you out? What are you an attack dog?” Thana asked, still trying to figure out the demon’s game. She didn’t sick the skeletons on him again but did keep them assembled, above ground and ready to fight. The grey glow around her hands stayed. “Fine, civil. What do you want?” She asked again.

"Attack dog? Heavens no, dear, I might be a thing of evil but I would never be a beast. My.... Past barbaricness just shows at stressful times." He spoke smoothly, taking a step forward as he straightened his suit and fixed his tie. It was a shame Thana was around, Shane was looking forward to some destruction.

"Tsk, Tsk, What does Shane want?" The demon corrected, waving a hand and fixing the destruction the fight caused. "That's simple, love. His little fucked up self just wants to see the world burn. Wants things to be perfect, and to be perfect you must get rid of all imperfections."

“What? Didn’t like the Shakespeare? Obviously you are not a woman of culture.” The demon spoke sarcasticly, eyeing around for anything he could use to his advantage. “Me? I have what I want, sweetheart. It’s Shane that you should be asking. His nice guy persona isn’t real, love, you should’ve realized that by the fact he was letting me inhabit him.” He spoke, acting calm and collected.

“Oh I like Shakespeare just fine, just have some better taste would ya?” Thana said. “Seems to me that Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” She quoted with ease. He didn’t seem to be moving which meant the skeletons were doing their job. The glow around her hand intensified. “Fine, So he’s not a good guy, that’s fine by me, but why did you choose to rear your ugly little head now?” She asked. 

The demon slightly twitched but let in no sign of pain, "I needed to stretch out." He spoke before Shane decided to butt in, slightly fighting for control. I never said you could come out at the dinner party though! The demons face faultered, lashing out suddenly, "You promised to let me out!" He yelled, using the opportunity to get out of one of the skeletons grip, using the now free hand to attack the other. Once both of the boney creatures were subdued he stood up, straighting his suit. "Now let's be civil, yeah?"

Thana rolled her eyes and strengthened the skeletons. “Absolutely not, why on earth would I do that. Besides, they’re too dead to realize they’ve been brought out of peace.” She growled. She changed the strategy to just pinning him. So she sent the skeletons to hold him down. “Now stay down.” She said with a glare. “What do you want demon?” She asked.

"What? Didn't like the Shakespeare? Obviously you are not a woman of culture." The demon spoke sarcasticly, eyeing around for anything he could use to his advantage. "Me? I have what I want, sweetheart. It's Shane that you should be asking. His nice guy persona isn't real, love, you should've realized that by the fact he was letting me inhabit him." He spoke, acting calm and collected.

“If you say so, love. Just remember who the one in control is here.” He replied, no emotion coming across. Shane silently cheered on his alter, loving a good fight, even if he did try to keep things somewhat nice if he could. He moved his hands behind his back, ready to use his powers to fight the girl if necessary.

Thana hissed as one of her skeletons got knocked aside, she quickly pulled it back together and then pulled up the other body, sicking the bodies to grab either side of his hands. Thana then started one working on the concrete, tearing up a chunk and chucking it at him at top speed. 

“We’re gonna have to really talk about the pet names…” She muttered as she started breaking the floor again and sending out another pulse to track down another body.

Thana took a step back. The new voice wasn’t the previous guy’s voice. She raised a skeleton and sent it towards him. She then looked to the others in the room. “EVERYBODY OUT GO!” She yelled as she flicked out a knife to prepare to fight if the skeleton didn’t keep him back. “Don’t call me doll.” She stated as she strengthened the skeleton’s resolve.

"If you say so, love. Just remember who the one in control is here." He replied, no emotion coming across. Shane silently cheered on his alter, loving a good fight, even if he did try to keep things somewhat nice if he could. He moved his hands behind his back, ready to use his powers to fight the girl if necessary.

Thana glared. “Bullshit, let me help, do you want me to just hold you down?” She asked again. This guy was at the very least a hazard to himself, and possibly to the remaining people in the room. “I’ve been in far worse situations dude, so you ain’t gonna scare me. Just let me help.”

Thana furrowed her brow. She had dealt with this in theory. “Are you… possessed?” She barely remembered an exorcism rite, but she did have one stashed in her pocket, metaphorically, but god did she not want to have to use it. “I can clear the room, trust me.” she said. She let her hand pulse and found a body or two to use in an emergency. 

“Why is that?” He questioned, a smirk placing itself upon his face. He was always intrigued by the villians, but he felt more curious towards this girl than the others. There had to be a motive for their actions, each couldn’t be the same. The same went for the heros, something had to make them who they were.

“Do I get a gold star for my performance?” He questioned, determined not to let her get to him. His face didn’t change, but he could tell the demons interest was peaking as well. He wasn’t sure that it was a good thing, but as long as he could keep his temper at bay he could handle it. That was until he felt the sting of heat brush his hand.

He let go quickly and brought his hand to his side, one of his eyes darkening as he hissed. His body glitched, his demon ready for a fight. “Not now, let me handle it.” Shane mumbled to himself, his eye going back to normal as he frowned. “That wasn’t a very smart move, doll. I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” He spoke smoothly, not sure why he was so determined to keep his cool. Perhaps it was because he wanted to seem heroic, perhaps it was pride, but something irked him that is was something entirely different.

She watched his response intently.  The grumble and the flash of black eye were promising, but again, frustratingly, he covered it.  Why was he so set on resisting his frustration?  His charming facade bothered her the longer it stayed, the longer she had to wait to see beneath it.  This was no longer an experiment so much as a challenge–a challenge Ari would not back down from.

“You wouldn’t want to hurt me?  That’s cute.”  Her voice started sweet, faking like she was genuinely touched by his compassion before turning to a sneer.  “I don’t think you could.”  She crossed her arms, considering a moment before the smile crept back onto her face.  “Or maybe I’ll let you…”  She pressed a hand to her chest, suddenly shifting her demeanor to appear small, frightened.

“I don’t know what happened, honestly.  I just went over to ask if employee knowledge of the museum would be helpful to the heroes when suddenly he–”  She cut herself off, returning to her normal posture, “well, I suppose that’s up to you.  What will you do?  And what will the press say?”  She stepped closer again, trying to be as in his face as possible, curious as she aimed for a new angle.

“Do you think they’ll blame your lack of control over yourself?  Or over that thing?”

He watched as she moved, her acting skills were impressive, he supposed that was a similarity between all villians. "I don't quite care of the press, as long as myself and the other heroes know the truth." He attempted to talk himself into believing the statement, knowing full well he cared about public image. The moment the word thing came out of her mouth however he couldn't hold back anymore. The pain ceased as the colour drained from his features, his eyes blackening, and an aura wrapped him.

"Darling, I'm more than a thing. I'm more than you could ever imagine." He growled, his voice somehow lower and with a almost repeating echo. "You intrigue me, too bad you had to push and push, and push." He paused, a cold hand coming to her jaw, "Shame that he let me took control, I think he liked you."