I’ll do anything, anything at all, to have her hold me in her arms again. I’ll destroy worlds, burn this whole thing to the ground, only to rise up from the ashes like a deeply scarred and tortured Phoenix who wants nothing more than a break, and some peace. I’ll destroy buildings, towns, cities, worlds, if it would only mean that her heart would beat again. This world cares nothing for me, so why should I care anything for it?

They say the most dangerous people are those who have nothing left to lose, who are willing to put everything on the line because their rage and desperation combine together to drive them into madness. I’ve always thought that saying was true, and yet people never learn their lesson from it. Everything they do only serves to light the fire that will eventually come to burn them for their crimes. In the meantime, I’ll be standing off to the side, behind a tree or peeking around the corner of a door, reveling in the destruction that comes with human selfishness.

For my whole life, I’ve been called a monster, a mutant, and a freak, separating me from the rest of humanity with cruel lines drawn in the sand. At first I was resentful, thinking it was a curse, but now I realize it’s a blessing, it’s a blessing to be considered separate from the people who killed her, the people who killed my love. That leaves me free to think of them as the monsters, as the outliers in my world, and so whatever I’m doing is morally right. As long as I can get her back, it doesn’t matter who I have to take down along the way. After all, isn’t that what life teaches us?

A twig snaps beneath my feet but I don’t flinch, I have no fear in me, the only thing left is anger. Something howls in the night, maybe a wolf, and I snarl in response, even the creatures of the night aren’t my friends this time.

Looking up, I see the tower in the distance, and my face sets in a grim smile. I’m almost there, I’ve almost reached them, and I don’t come with mercy or kindness in my heart. Either they help me willingly, or I provide them with no other choice. One way or another, Amy would live again; one way or another, the two of us will finally be at peace.

As I keep marching forward, the tower gets closer, and the lone light in the small window glows brighter. It looks almost welcoming, like a nice restaurant or hotel, a good place to relax and let down your guard, but I know better than to act the fool.

I bang on the tower door, knocking as sharply as I can. I may be many things, but patient is decidedly not one of them. After quite a while, probably at least fifteen minutes or so, an old man with a cane and a gray beard answers the door. He raises his eyebrows when he sees me, and I raise my head higher. I’m thin, dangerously so, and I have a tattoo of the number five permanently inked in bold on the inside of my left wrist. My face is wet with tears of anger and of grief, and my eyes shine with an unnerving amount of anger.

“There is no need to be so impatient, traveler. Although I would ask how you came upon this place. It’s not exactly well known or talked about, and it’s not a place for those who are weak.”

I glare, meeting his eyes. Humans have such interesting ideas about what I am and am not capable of. They manipulate me, abuse me, hurt me in every way possible, and yet they still expect me to submit. No wonder they’re such fools. If they can’t see even the most obvious signs, follow even the most clear rules of decency, then their days are even more numbered than they think.

“I’m Lilac, and I’m not weak. I could throw your fragile body across the room if I chose to, old man, but I won’t. Not yet anyway, because I need you to do a favor for me. The only person I’ve ever loved, the only person who means anything to me, is dead. You need to bring her back, I know you can. Whatever price you ask, I will pay it, but I’m not leaving here until I have her back, that much I will promise.”

He looks up at me, surprise crossing his face. “And what makes you think I would bring back your friend? Did you not hear that I’m retired?”

“She wasn’t just my friend….I love her! And I tried so hard to save her but I couldn’t! She’s the only spot of brightness in my otherwise shitty life!”

This time, he pauses for even longer before responding. “Who are you, really? Tell me the truth and then maybe I’ll consider helping you.”

The whole truth. The whole truth is that I’m a mutant, an aberration, I’m not meant to be here, or anywhere. This is my first ever glimpse of the outside world and yet all I want to do is hide.

“The whole truth is that I’m not human, I was created in a lab, all of us were. Eventually some of us came up with a plan to blow up the lab. I was the only one who made it out. I…I helped come up with the plan after they sent Amy to die. She agreed to go without a fight, if it meant I would be safe. So she saved me, in every sense of the word. And now I have a chance to save her. I have to save her but I can’t do it without your help!”

“Very well. But in return you will owe me one favor, to be called in at the time of my choosing. Agreed?”

I nod, my heartbeat pounding in my chest. “Agreed.”