who are you... without your memories

[slayers_desire]

Xander Harris piled all his Superman comics up against the pentagram he had engraved on the wall. He cut open his wrist, glancing over his shoulder at the woman in black behind him cautiously. She could attack him at any moment. But hopefully, his magical bonds around her wrists and ankles would keep her tamed while he was vulnerable.

They called him desperate... and after losing everyone important to him perhaps he was. Xander even mourned those that he disliked. There were very few heroes left. Times were desperate.

A few days ago Xander had captured the woman in black. She was important to his plan too. They claimed that she had the powers to make their world right again. To stop the evil. The problem was she was evil herself. Xander called her Lilith, basically because he had nothing else to call her and it seemed appropriate.

And right now, he was sacrificing the last few treasured memories he had. To fix the world, Xander needed to take Lilith to the Stone of Power. But he couldn't do it alone. He needed a hero. And his comics... this spell was his only hope.

He was asking for a Superman.

"He who seeks for the path, never knows where it will lead." The soft voice of the woman whispered behind him. Xander could feel her staring at him. He didn't care. He placed his blood onto the pentagram and opened the portal. This had to work. He had nothing else...

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Why not?" he asks. He's not sure if the leader she means is him, or the leader of the darker forces of this world.

[slayers_desire]

Lilith looks towards Xander, who has stopped to check an exit out of the tunnels. Then replies back to Superman's question. "He should be nicer."

"I should be..." She is not sure how to end that statement. And stares at her hands again.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"What?" he asks her, trying to see if she can come up with the word she wants. Something about this whole situation doesn't feel right, and he doesn't know why either.

[slayers_desire]

Try as she might, the word just doesn't come and the voices in her head just get louder. She holds her fingers to the side of her head as they do.

Xander gestures for them to come to the exit of the tunnel. "We are clear to go. We need to get to the mountain."

The mountain in question is surrounded by a dark cloud of smoke and fog.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Superman supposes it'll have to wait. "It's all right... stick close to me," he tells her, and turns to face the mountain. Of course it's obscured from sight. He would feel a lot better if he could fly them both there, but with two passengers, it would be much harder to defend them if they're attacked.

[slayers_desire]

Xander seems to be an expert at this. He dodges out, and weaves through the streets to a close-by car that was turned over. He waits for them to follow, before repeating the same thing. Darting through the streets, trying to stay hidden.

There are other people out right now. But upon closer inspection they are not people. They look deformed.

Lilith stays close to Superman, her hand staying on his arm.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He's not as used to stealth, not the kind where he can't simply blur through without being seen. And his costume is designed to be easily seen, so he has a disadvantage there, forcing him to remain on alert. He keeps watching and listening, to sense anyone approaching before they get in range to attack.

And all the while, he's very aware of the woman at his side, almost attuned to her like he's known her for years, even though they just met. It's puzzling, to say the least.

[slayers_desire]

For the next few hours they dart from building to building, destroyed car to destroyed car, keeping hidden as much as they can. Xander even takes note to take detours, when it looks like they might have enemies ahead of them. Thus, preventing any need to kill anything.

Suddenly, Xander rushes them inside a building. "It is dawn. The sun will come out for a few minutes."

Lilith hides in the darkest corner she can find.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He does a sweep of the building with x-ray vision, to make sure there are no nasty surprises lying in wait, and stands in the doorway where he can feel the sun. "How long will the light last?"

[slayers_desire]

"An hour at the most. We can't go out while it does last." Xander stands by him. He too has missed the sun.

Lilith sinks to the ground, where she sits with her knees hugged to her chest.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Because of her?" he asks, nodding towards Lilith. "Or is there another reason?"

[slayers_desire]

"She would burn. I have seen it before." Xander replied.

"She... she isn't in your head is she?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"In my head?" he repeats, looking at Xander quizzically. J'onn occasionally uses telepathy with him and the other Leaguers, but he doesn't think any of what Lilith has said to him has been like that. "I don't think so."

[slayers_desire]

"I just... she could be trying to influence you. You have to be careful." Xander glanced out the door. Looking left to right.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Why?" Caution is a reasonable response, but paranoia is another. "She's agreed to help us. I believe her."

[slayers_desire]

"She is touched by evil. Lived with the Demons. Ruled them for a long time..." Xander explained. "We lost a lot of warriors fighting her. Capturing her."

"She is acting different. It is... scary."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Really." He looks at her with a frown. He's seen captured villains attempt to look harmless and frightened to serve their own purposes, but this is different. He can tell when they're faking. He has a hard time believing she could be as ruthless as Xander is implying.

[slayers_desire]

Xander checks his watch. "Damn... speaking of which... I have to go out and find her some food. Watch over her will you?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Of course. Will you be safe out there on your own?"

[slayers_desire]

"Yah. I will be okay. And even if I don't return... you know the mission." Xander glances once more behind him. Then heads into the streets.

Lilith looks up when he leaves.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

With no way to leave at the moment, it's just the two of them, her in the shadows and him in the light. The sun here feels like a paler imitation of the one back home, like the corruption here has effected even that.

And there's still that strange, unplaceable feeling he gets when he looks at her. "Who are you, really?"

[slayers_desire]

"Not Lilith." She replies. Looking at her hands. "The name doesn't feel right. Doesn't ring true."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"You can see so many things, but not that?"

[slayers_desire]

"I remember the name being taken from me. But I know it is still there..." Lilith looked up at him. "I remember walking in the sun once. The sun should have saved me... when the Demons came. But... it wasn't there."

"I miss it so."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Now how is that possible, he wonders. Xander said she'd ruled the demons for a long time. Maybe before she was cursed? "Is there a way to reverse it?" He wants to help her, and not just because he's Superman.