And so it ......

....begins.

He sat on his back porch cigar in hand and a beer on the table next to him. Blowing smoke into the air it lingered as there was no wind to spread out the grey vapor. Even this close to midnight the Texas heat radiated out of the red clay, and swest rolled down his tanned, muscled up arms.

It had been quiet a while since he had sat in this chair, walked the empty halls of the past he had called his home. He could almost hear the foot steps of Nathan and Olivia running down the hall. He could almost smell the his wife's cooking on the stove.

Mani, oh how he missed her. Her voice carried through out the house calling out to the kids, the way she almost strut when she walked... Oh and way she smelled. It was somewhere between lilac and sex. But that was all to long ago. That was before roses on pillows, that was before empty beds and nightmares, before his daughter could barely whisper his name, and before his son Was lost to the fire within.

But there he sat.... A legendary warrior, a weapon of destruction, the Angel of Death. There he sat.... With a tear sparkling in his eye, smoking a cheap cigar, drinking his shiner, sweating..... And waiting...... Waiting until...

"RING RING" ....

"Hawk we need you."

"I'm on my way..."

Nice welcome back

Some might have said that the monster known as X-23 had been vanquished. Others whispered that the anti-hero known as Talon was long gone. Each rumor had a grain of truth to it but neither was fully accurate. For X-23 had not resurfaced but she was far from destroyed, and Talon? Talon had dropped below the radar but she was certainly not gone.

“I’ve done a lot in my time in that world. I’ve battled mighty men such as Gambler, Dark Child, Precise I’ve also worked alongside them. I joined forces with the great Andferne, Hunter, Kurrent, Sylver, Hawk, Kiara Sullivan and many more. I’ve banded with teams that by their very name either great joy or fear would be struck in the hearts of all men; Ice Dragons, Champions of Peace, The Wolf Pack, Crimson Rose.” She paused a taking a breath as a spirit of reminisce washed over her very soul. Those memories seemed to have occurred in another life time, another universe. As she ran hands through her shoulder length midnight hair her emerald eyes pieced the darkness before her. “They’ve forgotten you; they no longer speak your name.”

A slithering voice hissed from the shadows, its slimy vapor wishing to engulf the young woman. Nevertheless she stood her ground, unshaken by the monstrosity before her. “I must return” she shouted with the determination of an avalanche cascading down a mountain side. “They need me….they WILL need me.” A deep chuckle came from the figure as his bulbous eyes were glazed with devilish intent. “Need you? You are weak! You’ve done nothing in your time back, you are not worth the rumors that whisper your name” he bellowed as a large black fist came toward the girl, wishing to crush her to the floor.

“I may have kept myself unnoticed in this past time” she said as her jade eyes caught a glimpse of the pillar of darkness rushing towards her. Just as his fist was about to reach her the glint of lightening silver pierced the darkness, just before it sliced his arm. The thud of a limp piece of flesh echoed off the silence as it was followed by the spewing of blood as it pooled on the floor.

The young girl could be seen near what use to be his hand, her bright eyes beaned crimson as a low growl could be heard reverberating in the pit of her throat. “But I will always be Laura Chabot Greystoke, adopted daughter of the King of the Lycan Underworld and bastard child of the assassin, Precise.” Her voice had changed; it was no longer the words of a timid child but of grown and confidant woman. Laura rose to her feet as the blood from her recent victim’s arm dripped repeatedly on the floor. She was wielding a sword of minute stature that appeared to glow blue and give off a low hum, before sheathing it. “Now forgive me, but I must return to them.”

“How dare you!” The dark figure scowled “After everything I’ve done for you, you do this to me?!” He bellowed his enraged voice causing the entire cathedral to quiver. “I have come to realize that this is no longer my home and that my true family lies beyond that portal.” With that Laura began to walk toward a ball of light and fire as she knew from this point there was no going back. “You will not leave here with your life!” Then charging toward her the creature desired to make one final attempt at ending this presumptuous girl’s life. “I had wished you could have been more understanding.” She said in a rather calm tone. It was then that she clenched her fists, and from both, twin blades shot out.

As the figure burrowed toward her she spun on her heel contorting her body so that she was propelled into the air with first head first toward her assailant. Eyes filled with a burning passion she made a collision with her antagonist as she forced him to the ground. The blades from her one hand pierced his upper shoulder as the other rested dangerously close to heart, ready to rip into his chest. Suddenly his eyes were filled with fear as he gasped for mercy “You…you’re no longer this monster…you don’t do this anymore….” He quivered staring timidly into her sparked eyes. “Maybe not…” she whispered as she slowly retracted her claws and released him. Standing to her feet she looked toward the portal with longing and regret as she let out a bewildered sigh. Her once assaulter cautiously rose to his feet as relief washed over him.

Then from the tip of her foot the unsheathing of another internal blade echoed off the silence as once again metal struck flesh. The blade stayed true and sliced across the man’s throat, causing a mosaic of blood and bodily fluid spewing to the floor. The once forgotten harmony of inaudible gasps and gargling cries flied the entire arch way. Laura looked back over the dying body that laid behind her as she shook her head. “They do not need what I have become. They need who I was. They need me.” With that Laura took the final steps. “They need Talon. “ Those were the last words uttered before her entire figure was enveloped in portals flame.