Self Destructing Messenger

#11 - Crosstown Traffic

"I'm glad you came out on patrol with me, Revy. We haven't really had a chance to catch up, what with that guy..." Pyro D trailed off and the stillness of the evening fell heavily around them. Azalea let the silence turn into discomfort. Doing the RLSH thing with Pyro was less a desire and more one of those things the voice in her head commanded. She didn't want to have a heart to heart so instead the blonde focused on their surroundings. They steered silently into a desolate park. All the children had long gone home and only a few late joggers dotted the area. No crime to be found.

Azalea could sense the wheels turning in Pyro's mind as they walked side by side. There was doubt there, something the statue-esque man was quite unfamiliar with. Finally it became more than he could bear and he stopped her.

"Did I do something wrong? I thought when you showed up it'd be just like old times. I don't understand."

She maintained her cool facade but the rage was there like embers waiting to be stoked. Not a bit of it had died over the years. "Are you serious?" Azalea replied carefully.

"That! That right there. What is that? I've done nothing to deserve that."

The costumed blonde couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Really? Not one thing?"

"What are you talking about? We were great together and then you left." He lowered his head. "You don't know what that did to me."

And like that, the embers burst into flame. "Of course I left! Why was I supposed to stay? So I could have front row tickets to you sexing Gia?"

Pyro stepped back like she had physically struck him. "What are you talking about? I loved you and Gia's a kid. She's practically a sister to me. I've never touched her."

The dusk air was electric as the two waited for the other to blink. Azalea looked away first. She hadn't wanted to do this in the first place. The voice in her head usually led her to trouble but she much preferred the physical kind. Finally she took a deep breath and turned her focus back on the man before her. His face was a mask of hurt and bewilderment. "I can't believe you are denying this. Is it because she was underage at the time? If I wanted to send you to jail I would have gone to the police a while back."

"I didn't touch her." Now he was getting angry. "Whoever told you that I did was a freaking liar."

"You do remember that I can walk through walls, right?"

"Let's bring out the lie detector results, shall we?" A skinny man dressed all in black strode up to them, clutching in his hand an invisible envelope. Azalea and Pyro exchanged glances as the guy proceeded to struggle to open the nonexistent document. Finally the nothing agreed with his handling and he brushed some of his long black hair from his face before he began to read. "We asked you if you had sex with this alleged Gia. You said no. And the lie detector revealed that was a lie. You had sex with her more than a bajillion times."

"Who the-"

The man continued. "We also have the DNA tests here and holy #@!$. Dude. You ARE Gia's father. Is this Jerry Springer or Maury? Wait let's make it Steve Wilkos. Now get the hell off my stage!"

The crimson crusader clenched his fists at his side, shaking with rage. "You are about to get hurt if you don't-"

"Enough of you." The man turned from Pyro to Azalea, who had been enjoying herself to some extent despite the shit storm she assumed was coming her way eventually. "Finally! The great and powerful Az! Big fan of that whole untouchable thing! You think you could teach me? I want to be Swayze."

Azalea's features were static as she processed what he had really said underneath the psycho speak. He knew who she was and what she could do. Not good.