Summer's End - Bucky and Mel Universe 1

Devil Doesn't Bargin

Karma Taj, home base for the sorcerers. Surely Wong would have more information in the library there. She had already poured over most of the texts from New York and the information wasn't pointing towards something good. Apparently, working with magic had started changing her. For good or evil, that was yet to be determined.
The grays disappearing, now the scars, while looking younger may be appealing, it was a sign of a regression of sorts. Next her wings would be placed back. She didn't know if she wanted that. It would definitely make having a low profile in New York very difficult. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad. It's the not knowing that was killing her. She chewed her lip as she went through the various texts. Hours had passed and apparently she discovered she was cursed. The curse was being lifted due to being involved with magic. If she had never met Dr. Strange, this would have never started. It was magic that was slowly eating away the curse. To a god, a demon, even another angel, the corse was to be human. What concerned her most was losing her humanity over losing out on being human. She had worked so hard to become who she was, she was afraid of what she might become. It was a severe punishment for an angel to have their wings removed. What could she have ever done to deserve that and did she want to know.
Her phone pinged, she ignored it. Hours passed by, Wong did check on her, but she remained buried in the texts, tombs, and scrolls looking for a solution to stop or slow the progress. Mel didn't eat anything, she barely touched the tea, didn't get up to use the bathroom. She'd get up get another book, put one back, cross reference something, and then start all over again. Her phone pinged again. She ignored it again. Hours passed again. Still no change in what she was doing.
"Are you going to get that?" Wong asked.
"Huh?"
"Your phone, it's been going off quite a bit, are you going to answer it?"
"I need to find an answer, Wong," exhaustion was starting to take its toll on her.
"No you, need to go home and get some rest. You've not left this room for three days." She didn't realize she'd been there for that long.
"What am I going to tell James?" She asked really no one. He was supposed to be home today, that's where she wanted most ti be right now. That is where she went.
"Bye Wong, thanks for everything and I really do mean that," with that she sling ringed it back to the compound. Took a hot shower, sat in James' room and texted I'm home now to him. He was looking for her everywhere. She made a cup of tea then sat in his favorite armchair waiting for him to come home.
"Hon, I've been looking for you everywhere. Thor was the last to see you Wednesday night. No one had seen or heard from you since then. You missed thanksgiving dinner here and no one saw you at St. Mark's. I came home yesterday and have been going insane trying to find you." He was able to get it all out in one breath. She stared at the floor and chewed her lip some more.
"I went and visited Dr. Strange like you wanted. Um, I thought it would be good, I learned a few things....," she swallowed hard, "apparently, I was cursed and being exposed to magic is undoing it." She looked up at him. He could see her grey was gone and so was the scars on her face and neck. She turned around lifting her shirt to show her back. The scars there where completely gone. If anything, she glowed, he noticed.
"This is a good thing." James said.
"It may not be. I can feel that I'm changing, reverting. First, it will be like a galactic flag is being wave to who or whatever did this to me. Second, I may lose my humanity. I'd rather die then forget you." She was hugging him tightly, shaking slightly.
"I won't let that happen." He cupped her face, at that touch she could feel all the emotions, urges, and thoughts he was having instantly. It was overwhelming. The love, passion, and compassion he felt for her actually was painful. She started to collapse and he caught her taking her to the bed.
James literally ripped her clothes off and began to do the same to himself. His hands were everywhere, his mouth tasting every part of her. To say it was intense would be an understatement. The feelings, thoughts, and emotions were too much for her, they were radiating off of him and she couldn't block them off. She was consumed, it was becoming more and more difficult to focus, she couldn't enjoy this. She wanted so desperately to enjoy it. She wanted to lose herself, James was too much prevalent. Mel could literally feel his emotions, how she felt to his touch, she felt drunk on it. She couldn't prevent it.
This time instead of her normal platinum shading to the biological vibrainium, it was pearlescent. James kept making love to her not stopping. The change let her place a mental barrier between the two of them. She was able to enjoy his love making now. She hated that she couldn't have real contact with him. It was eating at the back of her mind the entire time. They were making love for what seemed like, not it was hours. James finally collapsed and fell asleep. Mel wasn't tired. She kissed his forehead lovingly, tucked him in, got dressed and left.
"Matt, can you meet me on the roof in about an hour? I need some clarity." She asked.
"Long time no see."
"Haha, funny. You know if I made that joke, you'd be insulted."
"Why an hour?" He asked.
"I need to stop at storage for something first."
She picked up a box from storage and returned to her apartment. Showered and changed into the costume she through she would never don again. It was matte black. Block heeled boots that were thigh high, leather and a mask which only revealed her lips which she dawn deep red lipstick. A hood covered her head as well and pooled around her shoulders lending to an angelic look. Ok, she thought. Let's do this, she felt the leather rip at her back and two wings sprouted a black pearlescent, matching the costume. She went to her roof and jumped. She soared to Matt's roof top and waited.
"Um, Mel? Are you ok? Something has changed with you." Matt began. He was dressed for an evening of battle.
"A lot," she began to explain everything that had happened since the night months ago. "I need to let off some steam and try these new powers out."
"You look different," he didn't see how normal people saw things. He reached out and touched her wings lovingly, softly. Briefly, for a second, she was able to see how he saw her. The word was in flames around her, she was cool blues and greens of radiant energy.
"No, don't." She said as she backed away. "It's like I'm a radio tower and everyone's thoughts and feelings are being broadcasted directly into me. Touch makes it worse, the transmuted form helps, but it's not foolproof."
"Well, let's get to work, shall we?"
To say it was freeing, was an understatement. The wings added another appendage to fight with, although she would need some more training with them to use them correctly. In the back of her mind, she was hoping Sam would offer. She would tie the men they stopped up in the Eldritch whips she conjured and leave them attached to light posts or trees.
"Seems like you picked up a few things while we've been apart."
"You can say that. I really missed you. I'm sorry if I had hurt you, your not meant or me. James loves me, I love you, too. It is just not the same way. Please understand. I don't know how else to make you understand." She was lookin up to him. "I will always be there for you no matter what. I want to make sure you understand that in case something happens."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I might not become myself any more or something may be coming. Something bigger than humanity. If I had to make a choice, ..." she trailed off, "Goodbye, Matt." She kissed his cheek and flew out of there.
She went back to the compound. Dawn was starting to arrive. She entered James' apartment as quietly as she could. She looked down at him in bed looking all sweet. Mel was being as quiet as possible, yet he woke up anyway.
"Hey darling, um nice outfit?" He was looking up, wrapped up in a sheet.
"Wings are new, outfit was from working with the Daredevil." She pulled the mask off then the hood back. She was still transmuted. When she changed backed, the wings retracted, she was glad that they did.
"So, when were you going to tell me? I have to say, I'm a little hurt." James said as she walked across the room into the bathroom and started the shower.
"You never asked. I thought it might be a little emasculating. After Eric died, I needed to do some restructuring of my life. It wasn't exactly easy. You helped a great deal," clearly she looked deflated. "Before the snap, this is what I did. When Eric disappeared, I almost killed someone in my grief. Daredevil prevented me from going too far, I stopped. Cold turkey. I gave up protecting people so I wouldn't hurt anyone else."
"So what does this mean for us?" James asked.
"I love you, I don't want to lose you. If you ask me to put this away," she pointed at the costume she was removing, "I will walk away from it and never come back to it."
"I'm afraid you will get hurt, more than anything." He wrapped his arms around her, she was dressed still in her sports bra and thong.
"Here's the thing, I was doing this long before we met, without the amplifications I now have. While I am not making an argument to continue, I can do this. If whoever or whatever is coming for me comes, I need to be ready to defend myself and others. I hang it up now, I might not be ready."
James knew she was right. The only thing there was left to do was to train her, really train her this time. He would get the help of the others. She was too precious to him to lose.
"I understand how you might feel right now, the thing is, in every universe we meet each other. In every universe, eventually, I do get to this point with my powers. Sometimes before we met, sometimes after we met. What I don't see is anything really past a certain point. Yesterday, I learned how to look. You are my everything. I would walk away from it all for you." She knew he needed time to process, think. She finished stripping and headed into the shower. He soon joined her washing her slowly. Mel leaned into him tenderly. After the shower, she went to bed and slept dreamlessly.