Eat the terror, Lick the spark

[shifting]

Who: Sam and Sylar (and later Lucifer)
When: 3/21, afternoon
Where: Sam & Edgeworth's apartment
Summary: Sylar stalks a shapeshifter
Warnings: Graphic violence and language.
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There was good weather today. Clear and bright, the first real sign that spring was on its way. Sam was grateful for it on the walk home from work. Wednesday nights were never that busy at Merlotte's, so he had an assistant manager holding down the fort. There was only paperwork to catch up on tonight, which could be done at home. ...Maybe even the park, if he could convince Edgeworth to go out with him after the lawyer got off. If he claimed it was for Gizmo's sake it shouldn't be that hard to do.

He whistled when he walked through the door, shutting and locking it carelessly behind him. Gizmo scampered out from the back room with an eager greeting, and he bent to a knee to give her an affectionate ruffle and a few good pets behind the ears. "How you doin', girl? Huh? You been good? Let's get you somethin' to munch on."

Comments

Let me know if you need me to reword things; Lucifer's a godmod in canon so it's hard D:

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer saw the fingers begin to glow, and reacted by looking at Sam, and yanking a knife out of his hand. And then sawing Sylar's hand off in an impossibly, inhumanly strong motion.

"You don't get it." He threw him to the ground. "All the powers you steal, and you've just made this easier for me. I know how to kill you...but I won't."

He glowered cruelly at him, and jammed the point of the knife under his jaw. And began literally peeling the skin off his face. "I won't, because I can keep you going for a thousand years just. like. this. That?" A bloody gesture at Sam, before he viciously began flaying him again. "He's off limits. And if you ever threaten me or anything of mine again, I will leave you so broken you won't know how to stop pissing yourself."

It's all good!

[gabriel_gray]

As soon as he had lungs back, and a mouth, he was able to scream - wail, even - because the only thing more painful than having his hand cut off was growing it back.

He was shaking by the time he hit the floor, frightened and wild eyed, staring up at Lucifer as he swooped down, an avenging angel, driving a knife to his throat and cutting ruthlessly. There wasn't a moment's hesitation, and why should there be? This was Satan after all, and if they had anything in common it was that they were both ruthless. He howled again, curled his newly grown fingers in, outward again, and flattened both wrists above his head.

And then smirked through the pain as he melted the knife with a look, and spoke through what was left of his lips.

"I'm not a mind-reader. Oh--wait..."

[shifting]

"Nnngh-!" His expression twisted, the serrated kitchen knife ripped free from his right hand. Sam caught his breath and brought the hand forward, flexed his fingers weakly and winced. But it could still bend, which was all he needed to pull the second knife free. Blood dripped to the floor and Sam lurched from the wall, feebly clenching the knife handle. He tried to flex his left hand. It hung limply at the end of his wrist, unresponsive. Sylar had severed the central nerves.

Sylar. Sam swallowed and looked down with disgust at the half-faceless, grinning thing on his bedroom floor. Logically, he knew he should have expected such a gruesome response from Lucifer. The sight still turned his stomach all the same. ...But not enough to ask it to stop. Obviously it couldn't be that horrible for the bastard, not if Sylar could still manage humor.

"Don't waste your breath," Sam told Lucifer distantly. All he could muster for Sylar was a sick churning in his stomach. "He's a worm. ...Even if it's a worm with teeth. You can talk all you want, it's never gonna sink in for him."

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer smiled as the metal melted...and then he heated it until it glowed, so molten steel poured over the exposed muscle of Sylar's face.

"You're right, Sam. I think this needs to be a learning experience. Something hands on." He gripped a flap of flesh and yanked, like a magician pulling a tablecloth from under a set table. It left him with what almost looked like a torn rubber Halloween mask. Which he wagged at Sylar's remaining eye, before he leaned down and blew ice over it. With no eyelid to shield it, he imagined that would be a certain kind of agony; at least, he hadn't met a human yet who'd enjoyed it.

"It's so easy to remember, Sylar. Don't touch. Just behave yourself. I'd love to stay and drive this lesson home for you, but someone needs a visit to the doctor." He stood, stretched, and snapped his fingers to send Sylar's limbs flying in pieces like shrapnel in four different directions. "Mull that over as you regrow yourself, would you? I'll be in touch."

Then he turned his bloodied attention to Sam, looking him over and assessing his injuries. "Hm-hmm, do I take you to the hospital or to my brother...?"

[shifting]

Sam realized what Lucifer was going to do the moment he grabbed Sylar's face and turned his head with a wince, listening to what followed and swallowing back bile. There was a wet ripping sound that sent Gizmo running from the room, and when Sam looked back he had to clench his jaw against his gag reflex. What a fucking mess.

He shook his head, eyes closed. "Get the fucker outta my home first." There was no hiding the scene from Edgeworth at this point - blood was pooling over the floor and splattered on the punctured, damaged walls, but there didn't need to be body parts for him to find. ...Or a regenerated Sylar, for that matter.

[thelightbringer]

By that point, Sylar was dead; bleeding out from four arteries at once, compounded with shock, would do terrible things to a human. Lucifer made a shooing gesture and the body was gone, dumped in the salty ocean a mile away.

"You know, I doubt he learned a thing today. Shame." But more seriously he turned to Sam again. "Are you all right?"

[shifting]

He considered asking where Lucifer had sent him, but the truth was that as long as it wasn't here Sam didn't really care. He leaned back against the wall, collecting himself. Superhuman senses sucked sometimes - the stench of blood and sweat and fear in here was overpowering.

"Peachy," he muttered sourly, but after a moment he shook his head. "Sorry. Thank you. For comin'. If you hadn't shown up when you did..."

Well. Sam swallowed and opened his eyes, wiped his arm across his forehead, smearing the trickle of blood from Sylar's interrupted incision. "I thought for sure that was it. It almost was. I owe you."

[thelightbringer]

"I'm glad you thought to call me." As if Lucifer didn't end most of their conversations reminding him to pray if he got in trouble. And oh, look: Sam had got into trouble. At least it wasn't Lucifer's fault; that was actually something of a shock.

"I'll take you to my place." Naked and all. It wasn't like the angels cared. "Just keep an eye out for the hellhound."

So saying he took them both straight to his own apartment, and set him on the little-used bed he and Michael had set up just to have. And sure enough, Gwolithua the hellhound padded in and started licking blood off of Sam.

[shifting]

"Even if it took me too damn long to do it." If he'd remembered Lucifer's proposal the moment he'd seen Sylar in his home, it wouldn't have come to this.

Before he could say anything to the plan, he was already somewhere new, falling back on a mattress. Something wet touched his hand - the hellhound's tongue - and he drew it back to his chest, his nostrils flaring as he fixed a stare on where the assumed creature was. Sorry, boy - he wasn't ready for a tongue-bath.

"...I didn't even know you had an apartment." Part of him had figured Lucifer subsisted by just appearing in and out of other people's homes. "Where are we?"

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer whistled and motioned, and the hellhound reluctantly padded out. The puppy was equally as curious, but much more wary about the smell of blood and pain.

"Michael set it up. It's a sort of safe haven for us, which is why I can't tell you where it is. Nothing personal." He began gathering things to help to stop the bleeding, then exhaled in irritation with himself. The only reason his healing hadn't worked on Fred was because she had already been dead.

"I'll try to patch you up. If I can't, Michael will come around."

[shifting]

"Yeah, that's fine. Devil's gotta have a secret lair." He glanced around. ...As far as secret lairs (or bedrooms) went it wasn't really impressive. Not even a torture rack.

"Sure. With a pair of pants, if you've got 'em to spare? First impressions and all." His lips twitched like they wanted to smile, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Maybe once he was sure he hadn't lost the use of his left hand there would be room for proper banter. For now it was little more than a way to cope with something he hadn't quite processed yet. His shoulders shook.

[thelightbringer]

"We don't...really keep clothes around." When they wanted to change their look (and they never did) they were able to do it through their powers. But that rarely happened. "He probably won't even notice."

Lucifer would have gone to scrub his hands clean if he'd been a little more considerate. But he wasn't, it didn't occur to him, and he rested his hand on Sam's shoulder. "I'll try to heal you. Just relax."

[shifting]

"Oh." Well, than answered that question. At least it wasn't like Sam wasn't use to being naked in front of people.

Cleanliness could wait until Sam could feel more than shooting pains from his hands again. Still, he stiffened under the touch, and his nod was curt. Still shaken.

[thelightbringer]

"It's just me."

He moved, just to be in Sam's line of sight. And then he closed his eyes and a second later had everything set to how it had been before Sam was attacked by a raging lunatic.

[shifting]

Relief. Peace washed over his muscles in a soothing wave. The pain was just suddenly gone. Sam stared down at fully-formed hands and flexed them. Both sets of fingers curled into his still-bloody palms.

If ever Sam needed proof of angels, this was his - to become so easily whole after being so broken.

Sam closes his eyes and leans in close, rests his forehead against Lucifer's arm. "Thank you."

[thelightbringer]

"Well, you didn't think I'd let Sylar leave a mark on you, did you?" Which was just Lucifer's way of saying 'you're welcome'.

He strokes the back of Sam's neck, fingers moving in slow circles. "I hope he's learned a lesson. But if he hasn't, I don't sleep. You can call for either me or my brother."

[shifting]

He'd likely never call on Michael's name - the angel was an enigma to him. Better to rely on someone he knew. Someone who cared about him. But Sam nodded all the same and made himself draw back and pull upright, leaving an unpleasant chill where the warmth of Lucifer's fingers had been. There was little more he wanted right now than to spend the whole rest of the night under Lucifer's hands, safe and cared for, but he had to get home. Edgeworth could be home any time. Sam would just have to be strong.

"I don't think he's got the sanity in him to learn lessons. ...But just like any dumb beast, he'll know to avoid what hurts him." Hopefully.

"...I'm gonna have to get back soon."

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer nodded slowly, but his gaze kept wandering slowly over Sam's naked body.

"If he keeps coming back, I know how to kill him. I don't want to have to do it, but if he's not worth the risk..." He made a slashing motion across his own throat.

"I can get you there in under half a second. You have some time to spare." Besides, he knew that Sam was worried about Edgeworth, and the childish part of Lucifer enjoyed having Sam here even more because of that.

"I think if there's some sign to other creatures they'll be more likely to leave you alone." A sign that Lucifer has a claim on Sam, he means.

[shifting]

He'd noticed. He assumed Lucifer was inspecting his handiwork.

"Plus there's always the chance the Core would just keep yankin' him back. Like some brain-stealin' yo-yo." ...Okay, even Sam had to second-guess his wording there. But he moved on. "Will you know when he gets home? 'Cause I don't."

He snorted. "Sorta like a 'No Soliciters' sign? Hang somethin' on the front door that says 'Guarded by the Devil'? I can't see Edgeworth goin' for it."

[thelightbringer]

Lucifer gave him a wry smile for that. But rather than harp on it he closed his eyes and focused, then opened them a few seconds later. "He hasn't even started heading home yet."

He sat on the bed by Sam's feet. "First of all, Miles knows I've had a day pass to your body already anyway. Second, I think he'd prefer my autograph on you to having your head cracked open, or some demon possessing you."

[shifting]

Hard to argue with someone who can telepathically pinpoint people. Sam nodded reluctantly.

"I hope you didn't actually say 'day pass' to him." But he blinks with a start, realizing what Lucifer is getting at - which is not, as he'd thought, a sign on their front door. He's talking about an actual mark. "You want to tattoo me?"

[thelightbringer]

"For your protection. It's up to you, of course, but if Sylar had seen that you were off-limits to begin with he might have thought twice." Might have. Sylar is the sort of man who gets off on pushing boundaries.

[shifting]

Sam rubs his knees, not looking at Lucifer. Thinking.

"...What would it mean, exactly? What'd you have in mind?"

[thelightbringer]

"Just my sigil, somewhere on your body. Either they would see it and know, or they would see it and continue and then be burned by it. You won't be, obviously."

[shifting]

So it would be more than just some sign of alliance; it would actually protect him. Magically. That was different.

"But it wouldn't burn anyone who touched me, right? Where would it be? What does it look like?"