my heart's an autoclave

Once a week, Atticus liked to push himself to the limits around the city.  He always chose Tuesday nights - it was the most likely time in the week he wouldn’t be tracking people down to go to the bar with him or sniffing around for something to smoke.  He was nowhere near qualified to join the Hero Squad, on account of his innate laziness, but he still wanted to be in the best shape he could be powers-wise so that if the time came to run, he’d be good to go.  He wasn’t necessarily trying to run faster - something told him he’d outrun a decent percentage of the city - but doing what he liked to call “crash course” - finding abandoned buildings or whatnot, usually in Lompico, and running through or into something to see what happened.  Helmet on, he started at his apartment by the hospital, ran around the city a few times to get his body warmed up, then really started speeding until he found the bright blue X he spray painted beforehand, bursting through the brick with a loud clatter, falling onto the concrete floor.  “Holy shit!” he shouted, on reflex, taking off the helmet and starting to stand, before stumbling back down onto his side with a shake of his head.  Getting his bearings and shaking drywall out of his hair, he finally stood and noticed the other person standing in the room.  Atticus cleared his throat and, with a lazy salute, said, “Good evening.” @wotnastarters​

Very little surprised Leo at this point in his life, but he had to admit that this was a first. Some scrawny boy blasting through one wall of his garage? Thankfully it wasn’t a load bearing wall, but it pissed him off all the same. Once he had gotten enough drywall and dust out of his eyes to see properly, he stomped over to the young man and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Sei fuori di testa cazzo? You have left your head and your ass in the wrong places, yes? That is the only explanation I can see for throwing yourself through my wall.” Leo spat, grease covered nails digging into the younger man’s shoulder as the dust began to settle. Settling into the wrong places, like the engine he had been overhauling before the little bastard had shown up. “And that is all you say? Good evening? Fottuti Americani, you are all ridiculous.” Oh, and he was smiling. Of course he was, that was just Leo’s luck. Some elfin looking bastard who thought it was funny to use what he could only assume was some kind of Metahuman ability to crash through brick. Well, he wasn’t letting go until he got answers. “Who are you? Why are you here? Are you with the CARMA?”

He had rivals, of course. Rival thieves that were nearly as good as him, that is, and Leo had hoped that most of them had gotten locked up or killed in the years he had been out of commission. That was clearly expecting too much, he reflected as he watched the skinny American slide his way down the opposite end of the hallway that Leo himself was in. Of course they were working the same target. “Hey! Bastardo riccio! Could you not have had the decency to die while I was gone?” Leo said in a harsh whisper to the other thief once they were close enough to hear one another. He knew the targets weren’t home, and thankfully they were cheaper than they were suspicious. A single guard and a housekeeper who didn’t live on site, that was all he had contended with earlier. He could knock this bastard out, if necessary, but in the moment itself he wanted to know just why they were stepping on the same path. How, too. So he could avoid it in the future. Leo made an obscene gesture at Noah and scowled at him, close enough to grab but far enough away to run if need be. “I was here before you tonight. You do not get to take this win from me, pretty man.”

Mari couldn’t help the small chuckle. As if she looked like either a cop or any member of the clergy. The smile came easy to her face which was a strange feeling these days. “Well if I’m a priest, you must be a nun.” She sat on the seat across from him and perched on the edge of it uneasily. It wasn’t Leo that was bothering her, just being in public these days gave her the feeling of being watched. A strange new paranoia that she had woken up with. 

“I doubt very much that you are boring. Jaden doesn’t like boring. I don’t remember much from before but that one is pretty obvious.” Mari picked at the peanuts in the bowl in the table just for something to do. She thought that she should probably feel more awkward given the situation but for some reason she didn’t. She definitely knew Leo from before, must have trusted him too even if only because Jaden did. “She told me a little about you but didn’t mention the accent. Italian?”

Originally posted by lovingyennefer

“You do not remember anything? That is unfortunate. Well, maybe not the forgetting the explosion part. I did not enjoy it, myself.” Leo snorted at the very idea that he could be a nun, then handed Mari a menu to peruse. Better that than let her fidget, though his own menu was already laid to rest under his hands. He gave her a polite clap for getting his nationality right, then smiled warmly. “You are very good! I like you more already, not assuming I am French or something. I am not very good at talking about myself, but I will try.” Truthfully, he just wasn’t good at deciding when and if to lie about himself but he also knew practically nothing about Mari. Did she share in her father’s powers? Probably a poor choice then, lying to her in any real way. Besides, she seemed like a nice enough young woman. “I will assume Jaden told you many things, some of which are just to tease and needle at me.” He shrugged, unbothered by that fact. Jaden was as near his sister as his actual sister, and twice the brat. “What do you want to know, principessa?”

Auralie listened as he continued to explain, yet again giving something of a feasible explanation for not knowing the name of the building’s super.  Truth be told, she’d never had any issues with the man.  But then again, she was extraordinarily neat and cleanly; a cluttered apartment making for cluttered visions.  If only she’d foreseen this before she’d gone to bed!  Then maybe she wouldn’t be caught so off guard, or waffling so much on whether to believe the strange man or not.  But she had heard complaints from other residents from time to time, realized her experience with the super wasn’t universal.  Finally, eventually, the Frenchwoman sighed and one corner of her lips quirked up ever so slightly.  “I have heard others say such things of him,” she admitted, lowering the bat but not releasing her grip of it all the same.  Brows furrowed at what sounded to be a guilt trip, another sigh parting her lips.  “I would not forgive myself if you were caused injury doing such a thing.”

Leo let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware he had been holding, perhaps more loudly than was wise. Sure, she was still holding the bat but it seemed highly unlikely she would use it on him now. That seemed to ease the possibility he’d have to tangle with CARMA as well, so he let his body language soften a tad and his lips curve into a wan smile. “Signorina, it would be my fault if I was injured doing such a thing, but you are kind to say so.” Leo said, hoping he looked as sheepish as he should be in such a situation. He gestured at her front door, taking only the smallest of sidesteps towards it as her eyes followed him. “If you are so kind, I will leave by the front door and do the uh...” Leo’s brows knit as he searched for the English phrase, then he nodded slightly as he remembered. Well, thought he did at least. “The walking of shame up to my apartment. Face the wrath of the super, you know.” Or decide he was going to go pull another job instead, far and away from this building until he felt less like his feet were inching closer to law enforcement lava. Leo took a few more steps, then paused, hand on the door. “I am not a citizen yet, so...you are not going to call the CARMA woman, are you?”

Uriel said nothing as he watched Leo process the information he had just dropped on him.  He could feel the emotions swirling around the man, noting that they were similar to those experienced by the Counsel when he first appeared before them.  “Yes,” he replied, keeping an eye on the bartender and pitching his voice low enough for only Leo to hear.  “That is certainly an interesting description.  We can switch to Italian if it would make it easier for you."  The man’s unease was expected, if disappointing.  "You did not fail, you succeeded in performing your task for as long as you were able.  For that, I thank you."  He chuckled a little and nodded.  "No one did except for myself and my daughter."  Sighing softly, Uriel turned to face Leo.  "I am here to see our goals succeed.  At the beginning I told everyone that I would see this through to the end, thus my return."  Taking a rather large swallow from his drink he smirked.  "Though if you mean here at this bar, I would remind you that you chose it.  As for what I want, that’s simple… the world.  I will settle for starting with this city."  Lifting his head to look into Leo’s eyes, his own started to glow; one red, one black.  "Will you help us take this city Samael?”

The answer had to be yes. It was very Uriel to ask anyway, to posture and bullshit when the answer had to be yes. Even without the glowing eyes, Leo had been a Nephilim long enough to know what happened to anyone who would dare betray their leader. But he...shit. He was tired, he was broken, and he didn’t truly believe the way that Uriel expected he should. So what use was that? A power play, most likely. Leo sighed and sipped his drink, swirling the orange peel in the glass around as if it had done him a great wrong. “She is a nice girl, your Mari. I am glad that she is well.” He said, well aware that Uriel could tell he was stalling and precisely why. There were things he wanted desperately, things that he likely couldn’t have if he went down this path again. Hopes, dreams, all of that bullshit, but he had sworn, had he not? “Will I help? If I can. I am not as good as I was before the explosion. You may decide you need someone else, arcangelo. But I swore you my loyalty, my life, did I not?” They made him shiver a little, the way that Uriel’s eyes had changed, but he forced himself to stare back with similar intensity. The better to fend off any accusations of him being a liar. “Whatever that is worth, I hand it to you again. My loyalty, my life, my talent. I am hoping they are worth having.”

Seth could not have sat idly by when he found Leo – Leo, of all people – randomly passed out in the street. He’d clearly been beaten to a pulp by someone and needed medical care he could not provide. He knew first aid for scratches and bruises from his own experiences, but this was a little more out of his department. He sat by his bed when he’d been allowed, not wanting Leo to wake up alone. He was a good customer and a nice man and well, if Seth were to wake up in a hospital room alone, he’d be pretty terrified. The sound of the Italian’s voice cut through the rhythmic beeping of the monitors and Seth immediately sprung into action, gently pushing him back against the fluffed pillows. “How hard did you hit your head?” the younger Meta huffed with a soft laugh. If Leo was trying to flirt with him, he wasn’t overtly aware of it. “I brought you here,” he explained, releasing the other’s hand now that he was awake and sitting back in the armchair next to the bed. Seth didn’t all seem bothered by the dried red stains on his white shirt. “I found you all beaten and bloodied on the street not far from Knight Life.” His gaze softened. “Do you remember what happened? Who did this to you?”

That was a question, right there. Who did this to you? There wasn’t enough morphine in the world to make Leo answer that truthfully, and so he sighed instead. “You carried me here? And you say you are not an angel? Pfa, I do not believe you, mio angelo.” Leo said, frowning at the release of his hand from Seth’s own. He was clumsy and exhausted, but he managed to fumble his way back into holding hands all the same. Small victories. Questions, questions, but if he could do anything right now he could bluster. Dredge up something unrelated that would put off answering any of these questions. “I am owing you a shirt now, bello. A shirt and many, many extra tips.” He said, thumb brushing over the top of Seth’s hand with the same intensity of touch that devout Catholics gave their rosary beads. “I lied, you know. To you, to the manager lady who asked me once. I am a coward like that. Lied and said I came to the bar for the drinks only.” A nurse asked him if they could draw blood and he nodded vaguely, offering his free hand to her before turning back to Seth. “My people. we call it ‘colpo di fulmine’. It is like...I do not know. I saw you and I spoke to you that first time and it was like the lightning strike, straight through me.” Vaguely, he realized he probably shouldn’t be saying any of this out loud, but it was as if the strict lines between his brain and mouth had been cut, leaving anything and everything through. “I am sorry. You should not have to deal with this. With me. You are too good.”

Heart pounding in her chest, Auralie listened to the man’s explanation but did not lower the bat.  It sounded feasible.  And the way in which the man was holding himself also seemed to support his story.  But she’d been in this particular apartment building since she arrived in Pansaw and the stranger in her living room was just that - a stranger.  His face didn’t ring any bells, and she was fairly certain she knew most of the residents within the building by sight, at the very least.  But there was the distinct possibility that they ran on different schedules and simply had never had the opportunity to meet even in passing.  There was a simple way to see if he was telling the truth right then and there, without involving the authorities.  And so she spoke - 

“Nomme-le.  Name him, the super, and I will believe your story and possibly put down the bat.”

Leo hadn’t had a building super for ten years, not since he had bought a warehouse in a back alleyway downtown and spent his spare time making it livable. So he had a choice: either pretend he knew it and get that wrong, or pretend that he loathed this hypothetical man enough to not remember his actual name. The latter was dicey, but the whole fucking thing was at this point. If he had to run for the window, then he had to run for the window. She had a weapon, but she probably didn’t spend her days doing the kind of work he did, so it might fly. “Mademoiselle, I have not lived here long enough to call him anything but ‘Signore Stronzo’ or you know, Mister Asshole. Also I am you know, two bottles of wine to the wind. Not good for thinking.” Leo lied, squinting slightly to give a little extra to the performance. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, careful to still watch her in the moment before and after he closed his eyes. “I tell you what, Mademoiselle. Since I am stupid enough to do this, I will climb out the way I came. I do not know how well that will go, but I deserve nothing less than a few bumps and scrapes, yes?” His shoulders he slumped in mock exhaustion as he gestured loosely at the still open window. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get past her or that he feared her bludgeoning skills, it was that he needed to be able to work in this part of Pansaw freely. If she called this hypothetical CARMA person, he was going to have to avoid it for months, if not longer. And that was the last thing he needed.

Tell me something I don’t know||Leo&Mari

Everything was falling back into place. Her father was alive. The Nephilim were together again and growing. Something was still bothering her. Mari could not remember so much. Sometimes it was minor things like an old phone number. That was a normal thing to forget. Other times it was a bigger issue. There were whole chunks of time gone. Some of the other Nephilim would reminisce about former escapades involving her, but Mari had no idea what they were talking about. Hours, weeks, months of her life that were just gone. The biggest thing she felt she should remember is what landed her in this position to begin with. The scars that covered half her body were a reminder enough but still, nothing. Jaden was way more patient with her than she deserved and would sweetly try to explain everything for her. Even though Mari couldn’t remember why, she absolutely knew to her core that Jaden was her best friend. 

Another thing that Jaden did was explain how another Nephilim member had gone through an explosion, possibly the same one that Mari had survived. He had similar scars and had even lost some of his hearing because of it. Mari had requested a meeting and it was set up for a local bar. She knew his face from a photo but it was more the feeling of familiarity that stopped her. She stared at his back and the curve of his shoulders before taking a deep breath, “Leo, I presume?”

Originally posted by tvd-forever

Seth, bless his obtuse little heart, did not need any of the trouble that might come from Leo meeting former Nephilim at his bar. So as much as his occasional drinking was an excuse to see him, Leo had directed Mari elsewhere. A louder, more crowded bar on the opposite side of town where no one in the right mind would be able to overhear them. Hell, he could barely hear in this place. That made him nervous enough to take out a hearing aid and fiddle with it, only to see Mari standing at the table. Maybe it had been the fact that she was Uriel’s daughter that had made him keep to his side of the hypothetical pool before the explosion whenever the Nephilim met, or maybe he was just a standoffish bastard, as Jaden had said more than once. But she had asked, and he came here to nurse one exceptionally shitty drink during the discussion he assumed was ahead. “So long as you are not police or a priest, sì.” He joked as he put the hearing aid back in his ear, though his tone came out a little more hollow than usual. Getting his ass beaten up by Jaden’s paramour could do that to a person. Leo gestured for her to sit in the booth he had claimed in a far corner, then tried to summon up a smile. “I do not think we have ever spoken one to one before, but I am very boring. That must be why.”

“You’re not wrong,” Uriel replied with a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair.  “Though I would argue that that is a worldwide phenomenon and not limited to just America.  Most people are rather clueless to their surroundings."  Of course, if they were, Uriel wouldn’t have been able to do what he did.  He waited patiently while the other man studied him, thanking the bartender for his drink and sipping on the dark rum as he waited for the man to leave.  "You are partially right, but also partially wrong.  I do know you, though I did not pick you out on the street.  It was only after you stopped and began to speak that I was able to identify who you are.  As for why well… you know me as well Samael.”

There were few things that could truly throw Leo off when he was in defense mode, but your not quite boss dragging himself back from the dead and buying you a drink was...well, he’d have to add it to the list. Unfortunately he had taken a sip of his drink as Uriel began to talk and he had to painfully force himself to swallow before it either went up his nose or on the bar. “So you are saying that the reports of your death were uh...” Leo began, trying and failing to remember the phrase correctly. “Overrated? No, that is not it. I do not like this language, it is like a bag of Legos thrown around a room.” He had always been uneasy around Uriel, even before he ‘died’. Outwardly loyal, always fulfilled orders given, but he never spent any time with him that wasn’t ordered. Mari he liked, but her father? Well, nothing to be done for it now. “I failed, you know. I held position, but then someone blew it up for me. Scarletta, Jaden, they came looking for me recently, but you? That I did not expect.” Or want, but that was something he’d keep to himself. Leo sighed, swirling the bit of orange peel around his drink for want of something else to fidget with. “Why are you here, archangelo? What do you want from me?”

Scar couldn’t help but feel bad about what happened to Leo; he’d done well, but he also could’ve been killed. She moved a little closer when he showed his scarring, no doubt from skin grafts, her brow knitting into a soft frown of concern. He didn’t let her see them for long though before he went back to focusing on his cooking, and honestly? Scarlett couldn’t blame him. She would likely want to distract herself from injuries like that if she had them herself.

She smiled softly as he poured out the pesto; Scarlett really didn’t mind at all. It reminded her of Italy, of her family’s cooking and the dinners they would have. “Thank you,” she chuckled. “You’re going to make me fat,” Scarlett joked, laughing softly as she moved even closer, standing next to him and leaning against the kitchen counter. His question was one that she’d briefly asked herself, but she needed them to reunite. Scarlett and Alessandro needed the Nephilim to get back on top, so they could stop hiding. “The Nephilim are more than just Uriel, tesoro. You guys are my family. Alessandro and I need you all.”

Leo clicked his tongue in disagreement and waved a hand at her as he slid the glass jar of pesto across the counter towards Scarlett. “None of that in this house, Scarletta. You are molto bella, you are sitting in my kitchen like the Venus di Milo come to visit.” Her answer made him frown as he hunted down a paper grocery bag to send her home with. Not out of any true unhappiness, but just...discomfort. There were people that felt at ease being cherished and included in a family group, and then there was Leo, who had been jolted out of every one he had found himself in over the years. Not always by choice, but he was wary all the same. “I am not against seeing more of you, of Jaden. I would like to know your brother more too. But you know me, Scarletta. I worry. About you, about the rest. Maybe we should just be family.”

More than he should, but his shiftless life always seemed safer if he had one foot on the ground at all times. Leo carefully began to pack the bag with pesto, baked goods he had made the day before, and a bottle of proper olive oil to go with that he had stolen from a boutique the other week. “What I am saying is that what we tried to get before, being gods among men, it did not end well. The world is very different because of what we did.” He said, rolling the top of the bag down with a flourish before turning around to hunt down some string in the drawer behind. “I worry that...if we go the same path, we will destroy ourselves and those we love. I did not really believe in the god thing, mia imperiatrice. I just believed in you, in Jaden. So I worry.”

Seth couldn’t stop the smile that crept over his features as he listened to Leo. He wasn’t wrong. That was pretty much what he had been thinking. A truly tragic day suddenly felt so superficial and insincere in that regard. He thankfully hadn’t suffered any loss from the day of the attack but he’d faced similar, lesser experiences in his life growing up. “The channel with all the bad action films,” he repeated, sounding both amused and confused as he tried to recall precisely which channel that was. Momentarily turning his back on Leo, Seth grabbed the remote and clicked through the guide as he tried to find the channel for the other man. Bad action films seemed much more preferable at this moment. “Ah, there we go,” he murmured to himself once he’d found it and selected it. If anyone complained about the change of content, well, he supposed they could find another bar to drink at. Seth turned back to the other man, a short breath of laughter escaping him. It was a habit when someone said something nice about him like that. He never could take a compliment. “That so?” he asked, raising a brow with a lazy smirk, “And just what is it that makes me so interesting to you, Leo?”

Leo sighed inwardly at his awkward phrasing. What was it about this bartender that made him stumble left and right over his English? Seth was beautiful, certainly. Sweet, intelligent, all of those things, but Leo could not find one to cover what drew him to the younger man. Ah well. At least he seemed amused at what Leo asked of him, then flustered at the compliment that followed. “You know, it is funny, but answering that is very hard to do in English. Some things, they do not translate well, but I will try.” He answered, feeling his own cheeks heating as he looked down at his drink for a moment to gather his thoughts. “I feel at ease in your presence. Maybe, you know, more than I should. You are molto premuroso, thoughtful, but when I look at you it is as if your mind is always doing the uh...” Leo gestured at the clock on the wall, then pursed his lips while he searched for the right word. “I do not know, the thing clocks do. Always moving. But you do not seem to know what to do with kindness returned.” Then again, neither did Leo most of the time. He smiled softly and looked Seth square in the eyes for once. “I do not tip you to buy your company, bello. I just am sensing that you are not as kind to yourself as you deserve. That is something...Well, I do that. To myself.”

Leo hadn’t fainted in years, not since his days of recovery after the explosion. He’d gotten some great migraines, he’d been lightheaded from overusing his ability, but fainting? That was too much of a danger for him to allow it unless circumstances spun way out of his control. So he woke with a jolt, moving before he took time to process his sterile surroundings or the person beside him. “Dove sono? Come sono arrivato qui?” He said hoarsely, eyes unfocused for a good thirty seconds. It was a gentle hand that pushed him back onto the bed again, one that then squeezed Leo’s own in a comforting gesture. Well, he assumed it was intended as comforting. Leo closed his eyes a moment and forced himself to breathe more slowly, to try to piece things together. Hospital, shoulder dislocated, nose probably broken, and Seth? That last part he felt the need to double check, and opened his eyes again to groggily scrutinize just who was holding his hand. Definitely Seth and he was definitely hooked up to something that had both muted his pain and muddled his head. “What are you doing here all bloody, bello? I must not have died, they do not make angels as beautiful as you.” That was intended to be thought, not said, but it was a little late to stop the words now. His brain felt like a sieve, letting anything and everything seep through his lips and out of his mind, but if it had to be anyone to deal with that, better Seth than Jaden. She would never let him live it down.

Perhaps Hunter was overreacting, but that wasn’t something he was ever going to admit. He was too stubborn to even care about what anyone else might think of his actions. It was satisfying to see the other man on the floor, blood streaming from his nose – it satisfied his inner blood lust. Hunter smirked down at the Italian, crossing his arms over his chest. “It made me feel much better,” he muttered.

Hunter just watched as the injured man got to his feet, showed him a few rude gestures and then tried to take off in his unsteady state. Perhaps if he wasn’t injured, he would’ve managed to get away from him, but Hunter followed after him, grabbing his arm and tugging him backwards. “I’m not done with you yet,” he hissed, grabbing Leo by the throat. “She might be pissed for a little while, but it’s nothing she won’t get over.”

It wasn’t wise to keep prodding at an angry wolf, but it felt good. A little bit of power in an otherwise powerless situation such as the one he was in now, pinned against the wall and in enough pain that he was having a hell of a time thinking, let alone staying upright. The Leo of ten minutes ago could have the luxury of trying to parse out meaning in what was being done to him, but the Leo of now had burned the candle down to pure instinct. Almost. Leo let out a harsh, strangled laugh at the idea of Jaden ever being pissed for a little while when it concerned people who mattered to her. “I have known her longer than you, Cop Boy. But you go ahead...thinking that.” Blood was running down past his lips and his shoulder was definitely dislocated, so staying perfectly calm was a distant concept at best right about now.

Necessary for survival, but distant, and it was deeply unfortunate that he was about half the size of his attacker. Leo stared into the taller man’s eyes for a moment, thinking, then decided he wasn’t doing himself any favors standing here. Rolling his shoulders was a good starting point at getting free, but it was going to hurt like a motherfucker. There was a knife in his pants pocket, but that seemed like a good way to get it used against him. He was right, it did hurt like hell and then some to roll his shoulders, but sheer adrenaline got him through it. It shifted the taller man’s hold enough that Leo could jab the fingers of his uninjured hand into his jugular and dart away in the aftermath. Where he was headed Leo had no idea, but he shoved and stumbled his way through alleyway after alleyway. The sun was going down and light was fading, but it was shock that forced darkness on him as he smacked into a vaguely familiar form. It looked like Seth, but Leo fainted before he could confirm. Oh well.