Chapter 137: Darkchilde
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The corridor back to our box was quieter than the arena, but not by much. The stone walls turned the crowd noise into a dull roar while I walked it straight, unhurried, with my hands still crusted in dried blood.
The guards at the door glanced at my knuckles, then cleared their throats and decided looking at the sky was more interesting.
The wards tasted Illyana's mark on me and let me through.
Inside, the place looked the same as before with the same people. Table covered in cups and plates, floating disc showing the next match, and the balcony open to the mountain air. Everyone turned when I stepped in.
I thumbed the Omnitrix, felt the green wash over me, and shrank back down to two eyes and two arms. My shirt was torn up and stiff with blood, ribs already bruising underneath, but it was all still attached, so I counted that as a win.
"Miss me?" I said.
That broke the pause.
Most of their reactions I caught in one pass. Amadeus' mouth tightened for half a second before he dropped his eyes to his tablet and started typing faster. Lin Lie gave me a small nod and based on the look on his eyes, I assumed that he'd already replayed the fight in his head a few times.
The new girl, Colleen, stayed near the wall with her hand a little closer to her sword than necessary. I hope she was thankful to God or whoever she prayed to, realizing I hadn't gone all out on her.
Luna sat cross‑legged on a cushion in front of a bowl of untouched noodles, spoon still in her hand, watching me like she wasn't sure what to do with what she'd just seen.
Charmcaster had draped herself over a mound of cushions like a cat. Psylocke stood by the balcony with her arms folded, staring out over the arena instead of at the replay. And Illyana sat on her bone throne at the far end, cheek on her fist, mouth curved in a way I'd learned to recognize.
Charmcaster looked really happy for some reason.
"That was you?" She jabbed her chin at the floating disc, which kindly froze on the slam where the Tiger girl bounced. "Ben Tennyson, protector of crying civilians and stray puppies, just turned a girl's ribs into modern art?"
"She had it coming," I said, walking toward the table and picking at a stubborn flake on my knuckles.
"Oh, I'm not saying she didn't," Charmcaster said. "I just had you filed under the type who hits hard but pulls the last punch. Today you tried to nail her through the floor. I have to redo my whole mental spreadsheet, Ben."
"You underestimate me," I said.
"Apparently."
Colleen cleared her throat. Her eyes hadn't left me since I walked in. "You fight differently than I expected," she said.
"Yeah?" I looked over. "What were you expecting?"
"I thought you'd stop when she stopped being a threat..." Her tone stayed polite, but the grip on her hilt was a little too natural. I was right, she was thankful I hadn't given her a beating like this. "You didn't."
"She stopped being a threat when I stopped swinging," I said. "Any earlier and we'd be talking about my kneecap instead of hers. She's not a weakling."
She didn't argue with that.
Psylocke stepped away from the balcony and came closer, giving me the same checking look she used in training. "I didn't think you were the angry type, but I should have assumed so given the incident with Julian," she was talking about Hellion.
"Yeah."
"You don't regret it, either…"
"There's nothing to regret, Psy. I appreciate you practicing restraint, but humans don't have to be restrained all the time."
She frowned but accepted that with a small nod. "You do need better training, though. It's not as if you're slow… but she played you like a cartoon. If you're willing, we can focus on that after you learn more chi control."
I was surprised she was offering to teach me martial arts. Psylocke was in no way the best fighter in Marvel, but she was on the upper echelon. I had no reason to refuse her, "Thank you. I'll contact you after my summer vacation ends," I said.
That was enough for her. She turned back toward the balcony and the ongoing match. Luna still hadn't said anything. She just sat there with her spoon hovering over the bowl.
"You alright?" I asked her.
She blinked, like she'd forgotten she was holding something, and set the spoon down. "I was going to ask if you were okay," she said. "But that sounds stupid now. You're clearly… fine."
"Walking, talking, and a little hungry," I said. "Pretty okay."
"Right." She let her eyes flick up to the replay disc, which chose that moment to show the final slam again in slow motion, then back to me. "Heaven got its ticket's worth today."
"That's what they wanted."
The match wasn't some never-seen incident for people, but the brutality made it fun. Luna didn't seem to appreciate the brutality, but she didn't speak up against it. I finally let myself look at the far end of the room.
Illyana hadn't moved.
One leg crossed, elbow on the arm of the throne, fingers resting against her cheek. The Soulsword hilt rose over her shoulder like a silver threat. Her bangs shadowed her eyes, but the little smile was clear.
"Well?" I asked. "How did my Queen like the show?"
She laughed. It was a soft, amused sound. I hadn't heard her laugh like that. "Mhm, acceptable," she muttered. "I thought you'd go easy since she's a girl, color me surprised. You humiliated a man I hate, and you did it on his own stone with his people watching. I am satisfied."
"High praise," Charmcaster muttered.
Illyana pushed herself up from the throne. "No, I mean it."
The air shifted around her as she took the first step off the dais. The lamplight seemed to sharpen, and the shadow under her boots darkened. Heat brushed the room.
Her skin darkened from pale to violet starting at her fingers, the color crawling up under her sleeves and along her throat. Thin lines of gold lit along her veins for a heartbeat, running across her collarbone and down where her robes dipped, then sank back inside. Black horns pushed out through her white hair and curled back from her forehead. Her eyes went from ice blue to bright gold.
[Image Here]
The Darkchilde walked toward me.
Everyone else gave her a little more space without thinking about it. I stayed where I was. She stopped close, heat coming off her in a steady wave. It wasn't the uncomfortable type of heat, it felt rather good actually.
"I know what type of man you are, Benjamin, and so I appreciate it more that you beat up a girl to that degree. You broke their pride… for me," she said. Her voice sounded almost the same, just roughened. "On their oh so important sacred realm, where they thought they were safe. They won't forget that."
"Good," I said. "I didn't do it for them."
"Who did you do it for, then?" she asked as if she didn't know already. Her hand came up and settled along my jaw. The claws on her nails were obvious now, small dark points, but she didn't scratch. "Come here," she said.
Although she asked me to come, she didn't let me. She pulled me down, her strength irresistible, and kissed me.
The demon form didn't feel that different from a human's, just… turned up. Her lips were hotter, and there was a faint taste of smoke under everything. Magic buzzed under her skin where it touched mine.
I put a hand behind her waist and let it happen, feeling the hard line of her horns brush my forehead and the weight of her hair against my fingers.
Somebody behind me hit a cup with their knee and made it clink. I ignored it.
When she let go and stepped back a little, the gold in her eyes dulled. The horns shrank. The color drained from her skin and left her as just Illyana again, pale and sharp with bangs almost in her eyes.
The aura went, but she stayed where she was.
"Damn," I said, "your other half is acting up quite a bit."
"Mhm, isn't she…?" Illyana seemed to hesitate. I half‑expected her to crack a joke and pretend that had just been a demon thing. Instead she reached up with her bare hand, fisted it in the front of my torn shirt, and dragged me down again.
The second kiss was slower. There was no demonic heat, just her mouth, her breath, and fingers curled in my collar. Her bangs bumped my nose. I rested one hand on her hip and let the other hold the back of her neck.
When she drew back, she didn't go far. "Today," she said, looking up at me, "I'm really happy. Me and Darkchilde both."
"That's good news…" I muttered. "You should be."
I hadn't done what I did to get a kiss from her, but I did love it. It felt great. And it felt even better seeing her not try to pretend it was just her demonic side.
Her mouth twitched, like she'd almost smile wider and thought better of it. She let go of my shirt and went back to her throne, settling into it with the kind of relaxed satisfaction I didn't see on her often.
"What was that, Illyana?" Luna said from behind me. "That was… a hate crime against my brand."
I turned. She had one hand over her face and the other pointing accusingly at Illyana. Her ears were red enough to match her lipstick.
"You alive there?" I asked.
"No," she said flatly. "Illyana's been teasing me for years! She said she doesn't like boys, and now… this?! What's this!? Illyana, stop looking away, answer me you liar!" Luna seemed offended and… turned on? She also shot me a glare, but didn't say a word – what happened between us during the outing was a secret. "Well, this sure is a day."
Charmcaster propped her chin on her fist. "What, are demon queen kisses too much for the pop star? Hey, he's my boyfriend and even I don't mind, stop being so jealous."
That did surprise me. I thought Hope would need another session of convincing, but it seemed our last talk had gone very well. Perhaps it helped that Illyana had helped save her life.
"I was having a little uncertainty about my… preferences because of Illyana, you know?" Luna said, ignoring her. "Self‑discovery was supposed to happen in my thirties, so I was waiting. After a nice glass of wine. But then she just..."
I shot her a look, reminding her of our kiss and she looked away. Why was she spiraling like this?
Amadeus snorted. "Congrats, Tennyson. You just broke our K‑pop."
"Shut up, Amadeus," Luna said without looking at him. She dragged her hands down her face. "You could have warned me."
"Huh, how?" he asked. "You want a flier next time? 'Warning: demon girlfriend may cause unexpected feelings'?"
"I am not his girlfriend, it's just a kiss," Illyana said from her seat, turning to her for a brief moment, and then quickly turning away.
She made a noise into her palms and slumped back on the cushion. She was adorable. I guess she had some feelings for Illyana, despite all her denials, and something had happened between her and me too. So to see me and Illyana kiss… must have short-circuited her brain.
"Poor K-pop," Charmcaster said, walking over to me and leaning against me. "Be careful, you might be his next prey."
Luna and I exchanged a glance.
If only she knew.
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