Dark Side (Completed)

The Heart

I collapsed onto the concrete as Blood's attention was drawn away from me. Weakly turning my head, I saw a streak of ocean blue pass by Blood, as well as my father reeling back for a punch.

I looked back to the pile of orange lying just a few feet before me.

Everything felt dulled, disconnected. Time seemed to move in slow motion. The only sound I could hear was the frantic pounding of my heart in my ears.

I knew I should move, that I was in a dangerous situation and should be helping, but I couldn't pull myself away from him.

I weakly crawled towards him, a singular tear escaping my eye.

I pulled his head onto my lap, brushing some stray pieces of his golden blonde hair out of his eyes.

Another one of my tears dropped onto his forehead. I quickly wiped it away with my thumb.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as tears started to flow freely, "I'm so sorry."

I gently placed his head back onto the concrete before moving to kneel by his side.

I charged my hands to around 500 volts, roughly the same as a defibrillator. I hovered them above either side of his heart, diagonally across his chest. Quickly tapping them against his chest, his body jerked under the strain of the electricity. Once my hands were removed, he fell back into limp silence.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I counted a few seconds and tried again. Nothing. A few more tries produced the same result.

Killing the electricity in my hands, I leaned over him and placed a hand on his cheek. I let my forehead press against his as I closed my eyes, willing the tears to stop, but no matter how hard I tried, more kept coming. As the tears fell into his skin, they crackled and hissed with built up electricity.

"I'm so sorry, Lawrence," I tried to choke out through my closing throat, "You never deserved this."

If this is what it felt like to have a heart, then I didn't want one.

I pulled back to look down at him through blurry eyes. He could have been sleeping, but the despair in my heart told me otherwise.

"Why did you have to be the goddamned hero, Lawrence? Why did you have to die?"

He looked so peaceful in death, and I realized in a sudden pang of sadness that I would never get to tell him how I felt about him.

I would never get to tell him how I loved his wild green eyes, and the kindness he never failed to show. How I loved his witty comments and his willingness to help everyone who needed it. I would never get to tell him how badly I wanted to kiss him that night I found him alone on a park bench, how grateful I was that he was there for me when no one else was, or even how much I secretly loved his obnoxiously orange spandex.

I'd never get to tell him how much I loved him.

At that point, I decided to do what I never got the chance to. Slowly, I leaned down and pressed my lips into his.

He was cold, such a devastating contrast to the heat that always seemed to radiate from him. I couldn't help but cry more at the thought that I would never feel his warmth again.

He was such a good person. He didn't deserve any of this.

Looking back to that park bench, when he was doubting the person he had become, I knew the answer was never a question now.

He was a hero, through and through, and he wasn't just any hero. He was my hero. And now he was dead because of me.

I couldn't control my emotions at that point. Anger and devastation coursed through my veins. Heartbreak and frustration made my electricity spike out of control.

I accidentally sent a high voltage through Lawrence, making the veins on his back and neck turn an eerie black.

Like lightning strike victims, he now had his means of death printed on his skin like a tattoo.

Pulling away from him and seeing this only served to remind me that he was dead because of me, because of my powers.

Killing my electricity, I stretched my arm out one last time before saying goodbye forever. Before I could make contact however, a low groan escaped his lips.

My eyes widened as I leaned over him again, not sure if I had imagined the sound. Placing a hand on his cheek, I turned his head to face me.

"Lawrence?" I asked, my voice quivering with both hope and desperation. Had it really come from him, or was my brain in such a state if shock that it was making up sounds to cope?

It took him a few minutes, but he finally responded with a weak, "Ow."

I sat back and sobbed in earnest now.

He was alive.

Jesus Christ, he was alive!

I threw myself onto his chest and hugged him tightly, afraid that if I let him go he would be gone again.

He weakly wrapped his arms around me in return.

"Don't ever do that again," I sobbed into his chest, clutching desperately at the fabric of his suit.

"I'm not planning on it," he whispered, holding me a little tighter in return.

Just the sound of the breath shakily entering his lungs was enough to send me into a flood of more tears.

"It's okay," he whispered as he stroked my hair, "I'm here now."

It took me a few moments to calm down, but once I had, Lawrence spoke again.

"Johanna?" he asked quietly. I lifted my head to look at him, "Did you just kiss me?"

I let out a short mix between a sob and a laugh before quickly changing the subject, "We should probably get you out of here."

He smirked and tried to sit up, wincing in the process. I immediately moved to help him, slipping under his arm to help support his weight.

"Are you fine to travel through the circuits?" I asked as I helped him to his feet.

"I'd rather not, if there's an option," he shot me a pleading look.

I nodded in understanding, trying to move us as quietly as I could to the hatch that led inside.

I helped him down the ladder, taking one last look at the remainder of the battle before following him down.

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Who thought Lawrence was going to die? I had a lot of trouble deciding whether I was going to break your hearts in this chapter, but ultimately it was Kristine's ( stardragon98 ) reaction that convinced me to save him. So here's to you Kristine! It was good to finally meet you in person!