Claimed

Chapter 13 - Choice

The five of us may not be friends at the moment, so to say, but it was pretty evident with the appearance of more that we were definitely allies - we would have to be.

It wasn't hard to recognise exactly what was going on, after all.

What would it be, but the return of the ragtag group of villains we'd been chasing since day one - plus one, apparently.

I didn't recognise his face, but the light in his eyes was scarily familiar; they gleamed the same way they did all the way back down in the dark cave of my dream.

My eyes met his, and a shiver ran down my spine.

I knew from experience how difficult it was to go up against my mother, against Maleficent, and that was her alone.
Until this point, I had pictured worst-case scenario as her, Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella, against the four of us.

Somehow, things had managed to get a little bit worse.

Add another opponent, capable of Hades knows what, and take half our team and replace them with three people I'd rather not be in the same building as: voila. It wasn't hard to tell this wouldn't end well.

The man I didn't know stalked forward, arms pinned formally at his side in a way that made him look unthreatening, yet unnerving at the same time.

I moved to meet him, squaring up against a man several feet taller than me, older and wiser too.
Wasn't exactly great for the confidence.
And to make things worse, in my initial panic, I had entirely floored on the fact that two of my 'team' had even more connection to him than I did.

I couldn't see Evie's face, to my utter despair, because she was behind me. Katelyn's expression, however, told her emotions clear as day.
She looked unsure, half-staring at the man's back in curiosity, half-glaring a hole straight through it.
I could only hope she sorted herself out before this got serious.

We would need as much help as we could get if we were going to deal with this.

My attention was drawn back to the man when he coughed, running his fingertips up his ginger sideburns and up to his neatly-trimmed poof of hair, before pulling at the edges of his suit for an attempt at formality.

It didn't work.
I glared at him, and the smarmy half-smirk he sent back just made me more angry.

"Mal. Pleasure to see you again-"
"I can't say the same."
"-Ah. Fortunate, really, that my audience is not with you, but with your friends. So if you will kindly..."
He phrased it like a request for permission, but his tone told me it was anything but.
Inclining his head in faux politeness, a plastic smile pasted on his face, he turned from me and to--

No.

I had barely realised I moved when I was suddenly in front of the man, shielding my best friend from whatever ridiculous request he had of her.

It didn't matter what he wanted, either way. I wouldn't let him get a word out to her.
"Hell no. Find someone else to bother."

He looked at me, unamused, raising an eyebrow like a teacher scolding a student.
"Mal, I ask you move before I have to force you-"

Both he and I paused, my head snapping round as I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulder.
My features softened as Evie stopped by my shoulder, bumping it gently with her own as she smiled supportively at me.
"It's okay, Mal."
Some of the tension left my form, but I was still on edge. Still, I allowed her to gently push forward.

I could tell that my read on Evie matching Katelyn was correct from the way she addressed him.
Her eyes flitted around, only meeting his for mere moments at a time as she nervously cleared her throat.
I pushed down the prickle of anger in my chest.