Ed Roland (Collective Soul) December
Startled, Victor rolled off Justine, moving to his knees and then to his feet in easy, fluid motions. He moved one leg, resting his booted foot on Justine's chest and stared at Logan and Magnus. "Git the fuck outa here," he demanded.
With slow, easy, deliberate gestures, Logan pulled a cigar and wooden match out of his pocket. He put the cigar in his pocket and scraped the match along his thumb, where it lit with a popping noise. He brought it to the cigar and lit it. "Nah, I don't think so," he said, smoke slipping out of the corners of his mouth and nose. "See, Vic, you were about t'kill Justine there. And, we don't like that. We've gotten fond of the kid." His voice was calm; he could have been a personnel director explaining the best possible medical plan for Victor to choose. "We'd be really disappointed if you killed her. Brother Aaron over here would really be upset. And, like me, you really don't want to see him when he's upset. I told you when I met you, you're an ass wipe. My opinion of you hasn't changed. Sooo ... step away from Justine. Take yer damned foot off her chest and step back. Do it slowly, don't make any sudden moves."
With cat-like reflexes, Victor reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled out a gun. "I thought I told you to git outa here!" he snapped, pointing it at Logan.
Logan chuckled. "Oooh with your reputation, I figured you'd pull something bigger than that outa yer pants," He looked over at Magnus, who was looking down at Justine. The kid didn't look good. This casual banter was a cover up for a lot of anger. If this prick has hurt Justine, he's gonna pay, big time, he thought. I don't think Magnus'll hold back on him. "Are you gonna stop this kid, or do I have to take a bullet to prove I'm not scared of his toy?"
Magnus' gaze went from Justine and up to Victor. Without a word, without a sound, the gun flew from Victor's fingers, and rose straight up in the air, higher and higher till it was barely visible in the night sky. Then it appeared to be falling straight from the sky, but stopped abruptly in front of Magnus, hovering in the air in front of him. He appeared to study it for a moment, as if he'd never seen a gun before, then it simply seemed to melt away and disperse into the air.
"What the fuck are you?" Victor whispered, staring at the space where the gun had been only moments early, as if he expected it to appear again.
"Your worst nightmare," Magnus answered calmly. "Now, are you going to take your foot of Justine like Logan here suggested?" He looked over at her again, noticing that during this whole exchange she hadn't moved at all. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would have looked dead. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get hold of himself. Take the example from Logan; he ordered himself. Keep it calm, keep it steady until we know what's going on. He'd heard enough of what Victor was saying to Justine to know that the deputy of Jericho South Carolina brought new meaning to the words, psychologically disturbed.
"You might have power over somethin' like a gun, but you can't make me do anythin'," Victor retorted bravely.
Again, Magnus didn't move a muscle, just stared at him. Slowly, Victor began to rise from the ground, surrounded in a magnetic shield. Yes, he could have used hand motions, made it all look dramatic, but why waste the flash on this ... thing that tried to pass himself off as a human being.
Victor looked around, wide eyed. "Holy fuckin' shit!" he gasped, his mind trying to figure out what was happening and why. Melting his gun was one thing, but moving him? "Put me down, put me down on the ground, now."
When Victor was well above Justine, Magnus looked at Logan. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill him right now," he demanded, ignoring Victor's protests. As far as Magnus was concerned, Victor's voice was little more than an annoying buzzing noise in the background.
Logan trotted over to Justine, kneeling down beside her. He looked down at her for a few moments, as if completely ignoring Magnus' question. Magnus continued to suspend Victor in the air as if he had all the time in the world. After a minute, Logan looked up as if finally hearing the question. "Uhm ... I dunno Mags. I'm sure there's a damned good reason why you shouldn't, but I just can't think of it." He turned back to Justine. "Hey kiddo, you okay?"
Justine didn't answer.
Magnus continued holding Victor. "Is she all right?" he asked.
Logan sniffed. "She's ... outa it, but I don't smell any blood; don't sense any physical damage."
"Ah'course she's fine," Victor said, sounding angry. "Ah wouldn't hurt her, Ah'd never hurt Justine!" Ah was only gonna kill her!"
Magnus turned his attention back to Victor, who was looking as if he hadn't quite expected this turn of events in his evening plans. "How would you like to die Victor?" Magnus asked almost pleasantly.
"You can't kill me!" Victor protested. "A person can only die once and Ah already have."
"Well, let's test that theory shall we?" Magnus' eyes narrowed into steely slits. "Since Logan here hasn't given me any reason why I shouldn't."
Logan looked up at Victor and over at Magnus and snapped his fingers. "Aw shoot, I just thought of a reason."
"And what is that?"
"We don't kill remember?" Logan shook his head in mock-sadness. "We're suppose to be good guys now."
Magnus turned his gaze to Logan, his eyes glittering dangerously in the silvery moonlight. "Who cares?" he said, his voice soft, but threads of steel running through it. "Maybe it's good to let him live, but there is a difference between good and right. Tell me Logan, is it right to let him live?"
Very good question, Logan thought. Just wish I had a good answer. He didn't blame Magnus for wanting to kill Victor. Logan had a pretty good idea if he'd come across this little scene without Magnus tagging along, it might have well ended up slice first, question the corpse later. In our own ways, we both walk the line between the sides of good and right.
Logan reached down and took Justine's wrist in his hands, feeling for her pulse. Slow, but steady. "I can't answer that question now Magnus, and it doesn't really matter. What matters now is the kid here. Leave Victor Black to me. Take care of Justine. She needs you."
Magnus' eyes flickered. "You're better with her than I am," he said softly. "You never felt you had to keep your distance from her. She should have reached out to you, you wouldn't have kept pushing her away."
Logan looked up from Justine. "Mags, you sure pick some strange times to try to figure yerself out. Like it or not, Justine looks at you as her savior. Right now she needs a savior. Sooo, why don't you put ol' Victor down an' let me deal with him." He looked up at the boy, who was still sputtering about how wrong this was and how Magnus had no right to do this to him. "I'm pretty good at dealin' with guys named Victor."
Slowly, Magnus lowered Victor down. When he was only five feet above the ground, he dropped the shield completely. Victor landed with and abrupt thud, falling backwards onto his rear. As he scrambled to his feet, preparing to bolt, Logan sprang, leaping on top of him, knocking him back to the ground again.
"Not so fast, Bub," he growled, pinning Victor to the ground. "We got some business t'take care of."
"You can't hurt me," Victor said, struggling. "There is nothing you can do to me, I did nothing wrong. Justine is mine as I'm hers. She owns my soul, I can do whatever I want to her."
"That so?" Logan asked, rising to his feet, hauling Victor up with him. "Well, we'll just take ya downtown. You can explain yer little story t'the cops." We'll see if they take your side."
Magnus didn't even hear what Victor's response was. He'd moved over to Justine, kneeling down next to her. "Justine? Justine can you hear me? Are you all right?"
She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes. A sharp feeling of relief went through Magnus. "Justine, it's going to be okay," he assured her. "Victor Black has been taken care of. He won't bother you again."
She sat up, looking at him. "Oh Magnus," she whispered. "You should have let him kill me."