Lucas 1:4 BEGINNIG

A quick upward nod as I let myself drop to the leather sofa behind me and the door flung open and Matt exploded into my place, laptop in hand, mouth going already.

"Please tell me you are watching the fuckin' news. Why isn't your tv on Lucas? You made the news man! Someone got you on fucking film. Ha ha haaaah! This is exactly what I've wanted to do with you for the last year. I respected your wishes like you asked, didn't do it and just a year later someone else does it for me and you've got nothing to stand behind but you're precious little destiny bullshit cuz if this isn't fuckin' fate I don't know what is."

I made him shut up. I closed his mouth and held it shut with just the smallest bit of effort on my part.

"Shut up for five minutes."

His mouth popped open. "You said you'd never do your shit on me."

"Shut up."

"You did your shit on me man. You said you'd never use your fucking powers on me for evil."

The uncomfortable silence we were drowning in was all voluntary.

"It wasn't for evil. Are you doing coke again?"

"No and fuck you for asking."

I met Matt about a year ago when I first arrived in Richmond. It was my search for her that led me to one of my closest mortal friends. Matthew had always been my favorite name. When my dreams of her involve a child, his name is always Matthew. Matt is a great kid but he is just that, a kid. In this lifetime, being 22, and because he is still in his first age, in the grander outlook, he has much to learn. I met him at a bar. He is the bartender at place appropriately named The Hell Hole. Immediately I was drawn to its name. One look at the sign and I could already taste the whiskey and smell the musty aroma of stale beer that all great corner bars have in the city. I found myself the only soul at the bar, save for the couple playing darts and making out in the side room. Matt and I strung up one of the most surprising conversations I have had with a mortal. It being Christmas Eve, which explained my solitary drinking, our discussion led to that of religion and most importantly spirituality. Soon, I found myself drawn to the place late at night and it bacame my favorite place to unwind after my work was done.

The silence had grown uncomfortable at this point and I snapped myself out of my memories long enough to realize that I had hurt his feelings. Leaning forward, resting my elbows on my knees I assured him that I had not meant it when I asked if he had been doing coke again. He felt it and the energy in the room shifted to a more positive one.

"Matthew, you cannot be my Robin if I refuse to be Batman."

"I don't want you to be Batman in the literal sense but man you're a gajillionaire, genius, philanthropic tycoon with super powers; you're already Batman in the figurative, which by default makes me your figurative Robin."

I sometimes forget how intense my glare can be.

"I want to help" his voice cracking.

"I do need your help Young Grayson."

"Huh?" I nearly groaned aloud at the look of confusion on his face.

"You don't know that Dick Grayson was Robin's name? Well, one of them at least."

"No, but he went on to become Nightwing."

"Yes he did Matt."

"What do you need my help with?"

"Finding out who is responsible for 2 child abduction attempts so we can stop a third from happening tomorrow."

LUCAS 1:3 RE-CONNECTING

I landed on my balcony just seconds after confirming the girl's safety intent on returning to my previously magnificent slumber. Preoccupied with the images of my dream that have been burned into my head I didn't even sense his presence in the penthouse until I heard the ice clanking in the highball with a splash of scotch. Being one who valued moderation, he always liked more ice than scotch. There he was, behind my bar, silhouetted by fog, illuminated by the city below.

"I know why you didn't notice me until the ice hit the glass. Did you know she was here? In Richmond that is."

I felt like the girl who just witnessed the destruction of another human being by a creature that clearly was not. I couldn't find the words but they were secondary the moment he connected with me. It felt good, nostalgic, like a pleasant aroma you haven't experienced in a long time.

"You feel why I have come to you do you not?" The shadow behind the bar inquired.

"How's the scotch?"

"I always liked that about you. How you wanted to lie, to tell me that you didn't feel the reason why I come to you tonight, after nearly forever. Instead you asked about your scotch. Both of us know you keep the best scotch on Earth but since you're fishing for compliments: It's exquisite."

"If it wasn't for you feeding my ego I may have starved as a child."

"You certainly were never a child. You play the part well at times but being childish is much different than being a child. That is one of the things you regret isn't it, not having what they call a normal childhood?"

"You're here because it is time isn't it?"

"You have not changed one iota. If I ever want to speak to you about something uncomfortable merely suggesting another topic that makes you squirm more was the path."

Bored with my words I emoted with him again. It had been so long. I always miss it most when I get the opportunity to do it again. My fear, my excitement, my trepidation, all of it filled him. His reaction, eyes closed inhaling one quick luxurious breath told me he missed me.

"I do miss you. I always have brother."

Our eyes had locked and we felt each other from across the room.

"I missed you too." I admitted.

"The girls. There is going to be a third. Tomorrow night."

"Is that what brought you to me after so much time.?"

"He needs you."

"Yeah. I don't have a choice do I?" I asked knowing the answer already.

"He's concerned. The plan, unfortunately, is not going as planned."

"Is that even possible?" I can't believe my ears, or my heart. I felt fear in my oldest friend. I can't think of ever feeling that from him, at least at this level.

"A loophole has been found, one that he, we all, should have caught. As a matter of fact it is truly a miracle that it took so long for them to discover it." With that, in a flash, he flew through the window on his right into the foggy night. While the pane of glass he had just passed through still rippled back to its solid form a frantic knock arrived at the door.

LUCAS 1:2 CONNECTING

Everyone has those dreams. The ones that are cut short before they completely play out. They are always amazing wonderful dreams and then you are yanked back to reality by the alarm clock, a barking dog, or a piece of vermin kidnapping a young girl. The moment that piece of shit was reset, before his carcass even had time to turn to ash and get carried away by the fog, I was thinking of getting back to my bed and willing my dream to return and continue from where it left off. This was the second time in one week that I had dreamt of her. Usually when they become that frequent I am near to her and that is the extent of my thoughts at present. This time a car door opening yanked me back to reality. The girl. I spun, literally in mid air, trying to reach her heart if for no reason besides my own curiosity about what it must be feeling while her brain attempted to interpret the events of the last 20 minutes. It's hard for even me to imagine being yanked out of sleep into a reality that involves a child molesting, addict kidnapping you from your own bed. By the time we make eye contact and I connect with her I sense something is wrong. She is different. She has already connected with me and she is not afraid. It is almost as though she understands - everything. She hears the sirens almost before I do and I soar into the low hanging fog leaving her staring up jaw dropped into the night. From my perch next to my motionless gargoyle friend on the precipice of a nearby building I oversee the girl's return to safety in the arms of the police officers. I think tonight she may have realized just how special she is and it looks to me as though she has accepted it.

LUCAS 1:1 AWAKENING

It woke me from the most beautiful dream. I'm certain that is why I was so brutal tonight. The only reason to sleep is for the chance that I will dream and it will be of her. She was radiant and just dreaming of her filled me with such joy. It was the closest I'd come to the warmth of home in the many years since I had been banished. It came through the police band which I monitor at all times of course. A seven year old girl, missing from her bed in the middle of the night. It was unknown for how long and I had to move swiftly. Shaking the image of her, of us from my mind, I opened the glass door to my 15th floor balcony and jumped.

The freefall is the most enjoyable part of taking flight. It is a bit ironic that I've grown to love the fall so intensely; more often than not I let it last as long as I can just for the sheer exhilaration of it. Sometimes I fall to nearly 20 meters above the ground before turning skyward. Tonight though, I ended the fun prematurely and rose on an updraft high above the city. There is something so beautiful about cities from this vantage point; far enough away to not notice the depressing details of its inhabitants and events, but just close enough to appreciate the collective sheep bringing the city to life. There was only one that I was interested in finding and that was the bastard that stole the innocent from her bed.


I should have found him sooner but I was hopelessly distracted. All day I had felt an inexplicable uneasiness that I could not shake. I wandered the city for most if it, observing the naive as they busied themselves with nonsense such as working, and shopping; loving and hating. I knew something was coming and for a moment from this height, I thought this was it, but I'm sure it was something bigger than just another abduction. This was the second one in just a week. The police found the last one before I did though. He was an amateur. It seems he stole a car and hadn't noticed the satellite navigation system which had the police in pursuit before he even grabbed the child. Whats the use of a brain if you're not going to use it?

I felt this one suddenly. His fear I could sense, and his adrenaline I could almost taste. I flew near the source and looked closely, hovering silently above the world. The Chevy Cobalt that just made a turn on Jefferson is him. My instincts were sharp and my senses accurate. I was sure of it.

It wasn't clear whether he was most surprised that I had landed on the hood of the vehicle or that I was essentially surfing on it; perfectly balanced as he tried to shake me off. Needless to say it didn't take long for the shock and the fear of what he was seeing to force him to jump from the driver's door without stopping the vehicle first. I had precious little time to act because the Cobalt was speeding toward the wall of a corner store with its precious cargo crouched in the back seat. I used most of my strength and generated enough negative energy to slow the car enough so the force of impact was such that she was not harmed. Seeing her safe for the moment I pursued her abductor who had fled of course, into a dark side alley.

The rest is really a blur. I was furious at being pulled from such a wonderful dream, and a bit upset by the fact that he was so easy to apprehend. I like to have a little more fun with the chase when I'm pissed off. I took my time with him once I got him though. Really let loose much of the rage that had been building inside of me lately. He never had a chance, especially after my fist first made contact with his face. Instantly, his life flashed before my eyes, and believe it or not it wasn't a pretty one. Rape, theft, abuse, the list goes on. There was no saving this one.

It appeared there was only one option left. The humane one some would say. The Reset. Yes this one was most in need of a good old fashioned Resetting. Sometimes there just is no salvation for the wicked. I threw him into the side of a green dumpster near the back door of a restaurant. The impact seemed to have knocked the wind out of him and from what I could tell he never had a chance to catch it back. He had taken his last breath before I grabbed him by the sides of his head and lifted him from the damp pavement. I focused all of my energy and it grew as I was treated to more insight into the life of this scum frantically searching for the ground with his feet. I let loose, directing most of the energy directly into him, ending his pathetic existence instantaneously. It was the least I could do, he couldn't possibly atone for the things he had done in this lifetime, hopefully he'll have better luck in the next one.

FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT READ: SALVATION:
THE DIARY OF MARIA