The Demon's Angel

Chapter 1

One Week Earlier (still Kurt)
       "Woohoo!!!!!" I shouted, careening around the tent using various limbs, including my arms, legs, and long, pointed tail. "We're finally here!!!" Amanda giggled as she slouched against a pole below. Her messy auburn hair fell into shining green eyes as she stared upward. "Slow down, Kurt!" she called. "I know you've been cooped up for the drive, but if you don't watch it, you won't have the energy for the show tonight!" Teleporting to her with a "bamf" noise, I laughed. "I don't think I'll ever run out of energy!" I declared. "Famous last words...." muttered Amanda. Sticking my tongue out at her defiantly, I leapt back into the air.

That night, as I watched the scene down below, I carefully adjusted my 'horns' on my small perch. This was where I waited for my cue, whipping my tail back and forth for balance. I had the perfect looks and skill set for my part in the circus. With deep blue skin, the pointed tail, and bright yellow eyes, I really did look like the Devil. In the circus, this made me the star of the show, but in the outside world, not so much. I was feared and distrusted. God was the only one who had never judged me, and never would. Sometimes, even my family would, if only by accident. My strange skills came in handy for the circus. They made it extremely easy for me to pick up acrobatics. My flexibility made my movements a bit unnerving at times, and they were impossible for a normal human to do. Either way, it came in handy.

Suddenly, I heard my cue. Amanda loudly called, "Oh Lord, send us a sign! Tell us what we must do!" Swooping down, I cackled, "You cannot escape me, oh woman!" The crowd gasped as I nimbly landed and grabbed Amanda as she screamed, "You lie! Unhand me, demon!" I grinned and said, "Does this face look like that of a liar?" The crowd gasped as I leapt onto the trapeze, using my tail to swing myself and Amanda on top of it. Amanda continued to scream, "Unhand me! Lord, save your servant, I pray! Lead me to the path of righteousness!" I smirked and proclaimed dramatically, "Even the Lord cannot save you from your fate, woman. You will forever be mine!" Right on cue, one of the 'angels' swooped down on the other swing. I leapt up to the tightrope right as the angel made the move to grab Amanda's wrists. Two more appeared on each end of it, moving in to where we were balanced. Amanda continued to call to the Lord. Feigning panic, I nimbly swung and jumped to the ground, where a crowd of angels surrounded us. I hissed and spat at them. Pushing Amanda behind me, I growled, "You'll never take her! She's mine!" The crowd cheered as an angel was lifted up by two others, and he was launched over me with a flip. He scooped up Amanda before yelling, "Begone, demon! Go back to the place from whence ye came!" With a loud screech, I used my powers to teleport back into the shadows with a puff of smoke.

Backstage, I let out a sigh. I wish they hadn't made this act for me. I already hated how I looked. I didn't want to pretend to be the same thing that people screamed when they saw me in public. I loved my old act. It was a comedy act where I was an imp that tormented a human that I had discovered in the forest. As an acrobat, it was amazing to swing through 'trees' doing tricks to amaze people and make them laugh. However, my partner, Lance, the human in the act and one of my best friends, had shattered his ankle in practice a week before we were due to perform. We had to throw together a quick act to make up for ours, which had happened to be one of the most popular ones in the circus.

My costume was fun at least. It was designed to look like a fancy suit, but with shorter pant legs for better movement. Like most of my clothes, it had a lot of different designs that would normally clash, but the colors matched (technically, so I guess that made it different than my other clothes). Either way, it made an interesting and noticeable costume for the Devil, with its purples, golds, blacks, and reds.

I perked my ears as Lance hobbled up to me from where he had been watching the show and patted my shoulder. "Good job today, Kurt. You did really well, especially considering how fast that act was thrown together." I rolled my eyes, although Lance probably couldn't tell, since I had no pupils. "I don't really like it that much, to be honest," I admitted. Lance looked confused. "Why not? You looked like you were having a pretty good time," he said. I sighed. "It was a little fun, I guess, but it also felt really degrading. I don't need everyone to remind me of how I look. Being Nightcrawler usually gives me a break from all of that, and even for a moment, people treat me like I'm a human being. Most of the time, they just run. It can hurt, make me feel like..... maybe I'm not human. Maybe Kurt Wagner is just a little demon playing pretend." I sighed again. "I don't look like a person, so what am I?" Lance laughed. I glared at him. "What's so funny? I mean it, Lance." He immediately shut his mouth. "Oh crap, you were being serious!?" I folded my arms across my chest and turned away with a huff. My tail slapped Lance across the face. "Kurt...." I gave an indistinct grunt. "Kurt, I'm sorry." When I continued to ignore him, my tail lashing angrily, he sighed. "Ok, I'll leave you alone. I really am sorry." He paused, looking at his injured ankle. "At least you only have to do this until I get better...." Then, he turned and moved away. When he was gone, I slumped against a pole and slid to the ground. Peeking out into the arena, I watched my adoptive family finish the last few seconds of the act. Even though they weren't always sensitive to how I felt, I still loved them all so much. Even Lance. At the end of the day, I was really happy in the circus. "I have been blessed," I murmured to myself, a small smile forming on my lips at the thought.

When the show ended, the crowd went absolutely wild. It was surprising, considering people usually came to see mine and Lance's act. I reappeared to soak in their cheers with all of the other performers. Then, I followed everyone else out to wait for the time when the audience could meet us.

This was one of my favorite parts of the show. I was able to interact with those in the outside world without being feared or called names, like demon or monster. The kids just loved my show and my 'costume'. I could pretend that I was normal during this time, that, like everyone else, I would be able to wipe away my strange appearance with a bit of makeup remover.

After the last act, I was surrounded by them, asking for demonstrations and if my color and other strange features were real. I always told them the truth, that this was how I looked (the adults just assumed that I was still acting for the kids' sakes). I would swing younger ones by my tail (too suspicious if I did more; although I can lift a grown man) and do silly flips and other tricks to make even the shyest of them laugh at my antics. My smile was a bit terrifying with the fangs, but no one seemed to care. For once I felt like I could be accepted if I decided to go out into the world. I knew that this was just a lie, a fantasy that I liked to tell myself. I would never truly be accepted by these people. The only reason they weren't running was that they thought that all of my abnormalities were part of my costume. I could remove the horns and the clothes, but nothing else. The only place that I knew that I would always be accepted in was there, in my circus, with my family. Or so I thought.

The week continued as normal. I performed. Margali, my adoptive mother, nagged me endlessly about the need to comb my wild, curly black hair. I had a blue streak the same shade as my skin that always seemed to be in the same spot, no matter how messy it got, which infuriated her worse than the messy hair itself. I made up with Lance (there was no need to lose a friend just because he did something stupid). Amanda, my sister, played cards with me when we both had time. I visited the local church one night, when no one else was around.

However, on that Friday, I began to feel strange. After breakfast, I started to feel... heavy, like my limbs and eyelids had weights on them, even though I almost never felt even a little tired. It took a lot to exhaust me.

As I walked out, another man I didn't recognize strode with me. I blinked at him, confused. It was... rare, at best, seeing new faces at the circus, let alone without my mother making sure to inform me of the new person. I gave him a wave, and he waved back, smiling strangely. I shook it off, pinning it on my muddled brain.

Lance kept shooting me concerned looks while I warmed up for the morning show. "We can find you a replacement," he said for the fifth time. I stubbornly refused. "I'm fine," I insisted. I missed my cue by a few seconds, which I had never done, but besides that, the only sign that I was tired was that I moved a bit slower than usual.

Margali ran up to me after the performance. "Kurt, are you ok?" she asked. "You've never missed a cue before." "I'm perfectly fine," I said, rolling my eyes. My mother was very overprotective, especially of me (for obvious reasons). Every little thing set her off, so I shook off her concerns as I walked into the tent a few hours later for the evening performance. However, as I began to warm up, one of my legs gave. I collapsed. "Kurt! You are not ok!" cried Margali as she rushed forward. "I'm fine, Mutti," I insisted, despite my vision swimming. I dragged myself back to my feet tiredly. "I'm just a bit tired is all." Margali continued to look strangely at me. "Either way, you should rest," she said, patting my shoulder. We'll figure out something. I frowned. "But-" "No buts," said Margali fiercely. "Go lay down." I sighed, but walked back to the trailer that Amanda, Margali, and I shared. I sat on my bunk and began to say the rosary. I finished and couldn't stay awake any longer. I slipped my rosary into my pocket where I also kept my small bible and, not bothering to take off my costume, I fell asleep.

Suddenly, I woke to a hand being clamped over my mouth. I could still hear the show going on outside. Quickly, I attempted to fling the person off with my limbs and my tail. More hands attempted to pin me down. I thrashed around, clawing and biting anything that got too close. However, I was still sluggish from my strange exhaustion, and soon, I was totally pinned. I was satisfied to see one of my captors cradling his arm where I had bitten him. However, the victory was short-lived as the men began to tie my wrists and ankles. They even tied up my tail with my wrists. I felt the rope cutting into my skin painfully; I wouldn't be able to slip out of these. I began to panic. Teleporting wouldn't help because I couldn't concentrate enough in my panic to get away without taking the people holding on to me. I struggled fiercely, yelling for help, only to be knocked out by something large and heavy.