Worldheart (A Justice League fanfic)

Chapter 19

Jaz tried to retreat out of the dead end she'd led them down, but the ex had already caught up. She hadn't gotten a good look at him since the diner, he'd grown exponentially since then, now filling the alley with little room on either side to slip past. His black leather jacket was torn to shreds and his pants were ripped up the seams. His skin was split with a lightning pattern of green veins and the flesh on either side was blackened and peeling. His eyes, including the whites, were completely green and glowing and his face was drawn up in an animalistic snarl. "Get behind me, the guy's obviously lost it."

Jaz pushed the girl behind her, scanning the alley for any escape. There was a door at the centre of the alley but it had no handle, only a metal plate where a handle should be. Across from it was a fire escape but it was well out of reach of either girl. Jaz could maybe kick off the wall and grab onto it, but she doubted she even had the upper body strength to pull herself up, let alone do it while protecting the waitress. Though, Jaz noticed it was right at shoulder height with the thug. He started walking down the alley but was quickly picking up speed. The Waitress tucked even further behind her. Glancing past him, Jaz prayed to see Brin or Hero standing to save them but the alley was empty. She grit her teeth, ignoring the welling fear inside her while she racked her brain on what to do.

Her eyes kept coming back to that fire escape until her mind was finally made. Balling her fists, she pushed the waitress off her shoulder, charging at the creature yelling, "You're not laying a hand on her tonight!" The man roared back, bursting into a full run.

Jaz's heart was pounding and her body felt light and shaky. She was playing an extremely dangerous game of chicken, fighting every instinct in her body screaming to turn heel. Especially when she saw him raise his massive, fisted arm. She ignored the burning in her chest and the weakness in her legs, until the last moment when his fist arced to meet her. She dropped her weight into a slide across the rough cement. It bit into her thigh and forearm, but she managed to fit neatly beneath his arm as it swung right through the bottom rung of the emergency fire escape. In his rage he didn't seem to notice it, careening around to face Jaz ripping the fire escape from the brick wall as he moved. It crashed onto him, the rusted metal bending and tangling around him as multiple stories came loose, tangling in a heap of bent and rusted metal around him. He frantically fought to free himself from it, slamming the mess into the wall before punching his fist through the metal, splintering the door in the centre of the alley. Jaz had taken several steps back, terrified he'd crash her way but now she readied herself to bolt. She waved at the Waitress, pointing to the door.

The waitress had pressed herself into the brick wall, shaking her head at Jaz.. Jaz watched the monster thrash, leaping past him the moment he crashed crashed back into the wall leaving a small enough gap for her to pass by. In his attempt to lunge at Jaz passing by, he splintered what remained of the door leaving a perfect escape, if only Jaz could convince the waitress to run. Jaz grabbed onto the waitress's arm, trying to pull her towards the moving bulk of metal and monster. She pulled back, vigorously shaking her head as tears wetted her cheeks. "Come on!" Jaz spotted the perfect opportunity for them to run. He'd lost balance and had toppled the opposite direction of them, leaving ample room for them to dash into the room but the waitress once again resisted. Jaz was no match to overpower her either. "Girl, I need you to trust me. I will protect you, ok? You're not dying tonight, but I need you to run when I say. Got it?" Jaz stared hard into the waitresses eyes, seeing a spark of some sanity return in them. She nodded. "Ok good." This time, the waitress didn't resist, though Jaz noticed he was nearly free of the metal mess.

They rushed through a darkened storeroom, crashing through an employee door into a clothing store's display room. A resounding roar told Jaz he was already in the room behind them. She pulled on the wheeled clothing racks as they passed, sending them crashing behind them but it did little to slow him down. He tossed aside whole racks like they weighed nothing more than a toy to him, and his glowing eyes and snarled face was fixated on the two. Just before he reached to grab the waitress Jaz pushed her to the side, sending her crashing through a circular clothing rack disappearing out of sight. He roared, swiping and tearing through the clothes where he'd lost sight of the waitress. Jaz rushed into another aisle, grabbing some accessories from a rack beside her before tossing them at his back. He immediately forgot about the waitress, chasing after the provocation instead.