Deadly Attachment

Chapter 18

- it's beautiful, isn't it? how it all hurts but we never give up.

Darkness clouded the alleyway, and it seemed just like I imagined it to seem. The aggressor, standing above the victim with a gun poised to the victim's head. When the aggressor turned and saw me, he demanded that I walk away now, before anyone gets hurt.

"My friend, you're the only one who is getting hurt." I dragged my finger across the brick building, walking towards the aggressor slowly, with the young victim staring at me with confused and terrified eyes. Is that how people looked at me, once upon a time? I don't remember.

Then the aggressor turned his gun to me, with the victim still scared stiff. "Stay away." His voice wavered. He must see the getup I had on and knew that something was different about me, compared to every other do-gooder in this city. Since Natasha didn't want me to do this, I had gone to Tony for help. He accepted the idea immediately and got me a black suit, that mimicked a black mamba's skin which he didn't realize was actually a very dark brown.

"You know," I started. "A black mamba is named not because of its skin, but because of the color of the inside of its mouth." I smiled at the aggressor, continuing. "Mr. Stark got my suit wrong, but just slightly. He just assumed a black mamba had a black skin." I shook my head at my costume, and the aggressor just stared at me, confused. "Do you know what's wonderful about a black mamba? Only two drops of their venom are enough to kill a human."

"Why are you telling me this? Who are you?" He suddenly dropped the gun when I placed the image of it being a black mamba in his mind. I resisted the urge to scoff, he was incredibly weak minded.

"Angel to some, a demon to others." I stopped my walk and smiled. "It's your decision which you see me as."

He was still staring at the gun, continuing to think it was a black mamba. "Call off your snake." He slowly began to back up, poised to run. I could see right through him.

"Black mambas can move faster than any human can run. Running will do you no good. Surrender, or die a painful death."

He was shaking violently, terrified for his life. "Okay, okay I surrender. I give up." He put his hands up, and I moved towards him, lifting the gun and hitting him atop his head with it. The aggressor slumped to the ground in a heap.

I moved to the victim, helping him to his feet. "Are you alright?" I asked. He nodded, fixing his clothing that had specks of blood from his busted lip.

"Thank you," He breathed.

I handed him his wallet and briefcase. "Try to pick another route home next time."

"I will. Thank you." He said again, taking his items and hurrying away.

Looking back to the aggressor, I wasn't sure what to do with him at first, but I decided to do the logical thing. Lifting him on my shoulder, I carried him to the nearest police station.

At the sight of me, they all rose from their seats, scared and unsure of what to do. "I found this man attempting to mug someone." I dropped the aggressor. "See to it that he is taken care of."

The man who seemed in charge took steps towards me, and I placed the idea that he was in agreement with me in his mind. He took it instantly to my satisfaction, ordering someone to put cuffs on the aggressor.

"Who are you?" Humans always asked the same questions.

I grinned, black face paint from my cheeks becoming more visible. "I am considered the Black Mamba. Clever, isn't it?" I brushed my arms across my suit as if to dust it. "Mr. Stark created this for me. Very nice, don't you agree?"