Work Text:
so… natalie may or may not have been mad when she found out. just a little. maybe a lot. so had xavier. understandably. and her mom. and zelma. and mrs stanton. pretty much anyone who existed in her small circle was pissed off at her.
but natalie was so natalie, and after she overcame the hurdle of well you died but i brought you back to life, and was less… existential… and more natalie, they had come around to it.
riri had to convince everyone (particularly zelda and mrs stanton) that she had already payed the price - that the cost was the hood’s cloak. that, when she returned it to mephisto, he offered her something in exchange. the returning of his power was the price she payed, not-
not myself, she finished thinking, fingers trailing the small purple lines that had began to form on her arm.
mephisto refused to take the power back without a deal, she said. he didn’t want to owe anybody. favours were dangerous in his… line of work. taking anything else would have been some sort of power, and power corrupts.
riri wasn’t going to be like parker. she wasn’t.
natalie wasn’t mad at her anymore. and it was great. riri didn’t care much for the purple patterns on her skin - compared to parker, even when she first met him, what she had was nothing. probably just a consequence of dealing with magic in general. it was fine.
riri looked at herself in the mirror, focusing instead on her own face rather than the purple marks, and the figure standing behind her.
she - wait, figure standing behind her?
riri stopped breathing, eyes darting to the figure standing behind her in the reflection. her body stilled and she dared not turn around. the figure - person - looked maybe like a woman, with long dark hair and even darker eyes, a set of latex-like clothes with really strange cut-outs and a green crown-horn-something on her head.
riri made eye contact with the thing, and immediately knew it had to have something to do with mephisto. with her.
riri tried to open her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t make it move. the person tilted her head, stepping closer to her - slow, calculated steps - never blinking, eye contact never wavering.
by the time riri managed to snap herself out of whatever trance that was, she spun around to face the person head-on, only to find absolutely nothing.
she blinked. nothing at all.
perhaps she had imagined it.
… … … … … …
riri’s heart used to ache on mornings like this. the quiet of the kitchen, soft warmth from the light that poured through the blinds warm enough to comfort but not stifling.
the beautiful glow. after everything she’d been through, not much had been beautiful to her
this was.
they sat together in the small kitchen, the morning light soft on their faces. she was there with natalie. they’d had a sleepover, just like they used to. they gossiped and bickered, recorded a mock-interview, and discussed riri’s long line of experimental fundraising methods at MIT.
natalie sipped her coffee, and riri watched her with a tenderness that felt fragile, as if any moment it might shatter. it still didn’t feel quite real - riri thought that this was, perhaps, the catch.
riri had expected N.A.T.A.L.I.E. instead she’d gotten nat.
mephisto had taken something from her - a part of her soul, a piece of herself, but he’d given her back an even bigger piece. he probably didn’t understand just how huge natalie was to her, how much of her was absorbed in natalie. he had seriously miscalculated just how much natalie meant to her - because she most certainly won in this scenario.
she got more than she gave. it was simple. he took a small piece of her soul and gave her back a bigger piece of her heart.
riri had beat mephisto. after years of god knows how many deals, riri had beat him. she hadn’t asked for power or money or fame, she’d asked for a friend. nothing more and nothing less.
because riri knew, with natalie at her side? she could do anything.
and that wouldn’t be mephisto. it would be her. because riri had always been able to do great things. she didn’t need a devil in disguise to help her.
… … … … … …
riri stared into the glass, gaze fixed intently. she could have sworn she saw something - something dark, something out of place in the light glinting off the glass’s surface.
she couldn’t see it anymore.
she was probably just tired.
… … … … … …
gary’s auto-repair shop didn’t feel suffocating anymore. the only iron she could smell was from her welding and her works, not the phantom bloodstains she used to see under natalie’s chair. how could she imagine such a thing when natalie was right there, spinning in her chair and making fun of riri like she always used to do?
riri would add rocket boosters to her project this time. not only for the surprised (and pleased) look on natalie’s face, but because it was practical. the faster her suit could be, the better she could be.
“when can i meet your new bestie?” natalie asked as riri worked on soldering the electronics required for the boosters. riri frowned, pausing to put the soldering iron down carefully before spinning in her own chair to look at nat.
“girl, what do you mean? you’re right there,” she gestured towards nat, who laughed at her antics and rolled her eyes fondly.
“i mean the princess of wakanda. when do i get to meet her?” she asked, arching her brows in a very natalie way.
riri’s heart fluttered slightly in her chest. she blinked a few times.
“when the princess has the time. she’s running a whole-ass country, you know.” she replied, arching a brow right back at natalie, who sighed exaggeratedly and started spinning around on her chair again.
riri watched it for a few moments - watched her - before turning around herself and getting back to her soldering work.
natalie and shuri would get along like a house on fire, she’s sure of it. were riri anyone else, she might go as far as to say she would be scared of what the two would do together, but she wasn’t anyone else. she’d love for her favourite person to meet another of her favourite people.
… … … … … …
riri didn’t know when she woke up, all she knew was that her room had gotten really fucking cold, and no matter how tightly she held her covers up to herself, she couldn’t fall back asleep. one quick check of her phone on her nightstand showed her it was a clean 4AM, far too early to get up and start doing things and too late for her to claim she’d been working all night.
she groaned, rolling over and throwing her covers off, fighting off a full-body shiver as the cold air hit her full-force.
she hated getting out of bed in the middle of the night - like when you’d find the perfect sleeping spot, you were perfectly comfy, your pillow was cold and the sheets were just right, and suddenly you really needed to piss.
she made her way blearily across the few steps she needed to take to get to her closet, and picked up the first hoodie she could grab.
riri smiled when she pulled it over her head. she could tell just by how worn the thing was that it was natalie’s. she must have left it there when she came over the other day.
a quick, nondescript movement outside of her window caught her sleep-addled attention span for half a moment, before she simple rubbed her eyes and turned away, sitting back down on her bed and swinging her legs up, under the covers, and -
“holy shit!” she whisper-yelled, managing to supress a scream. because the woman was right there, at the foot of her bed, just standing there and fucking frowning like riri had eternally wronged her or some shit.
“what the hell?” she managed after she got her mouth to work again. “who the hell are you?” she demanded, shuffling towards her headboard cautiously.
her room was freezing.
“what are you doing in my room at 4 in the goddamn morning?” she demanded once more when the person said nothing.
all she did was smile, tilting her head slightly, and riri felt her entire world tilt on its axis as she did. tilting, tilting, spinning, and something in her mind - a voice in the back of her head - knew why this freaky emo chick was here.
“you know what you did.” the woman said, and when riri blinked, she was gone.
natalie’s hoodie hugged her frame too tightly, felt too warm.
riri calmed her breathing and settled back into bed, pulling the covers up.
she kept natalie’s hoodie on.
… … … … … …
riri never liked dr. strange. she’d heard his story several times before, and he’d always seemed entitled to her. a rich man with a successful career who didn’t have the grit to get through his traumas like the rest of the normies, so he went to the most drastic and over-the-top ways to fix the mess he made and now he was master of the mystic arts or whatever bullshit.
he was also trying to cause a fuss with natalie, so whatever points he’d gotten for being cool or whatever were quickly lost.
“i seriously think you’re barking up the wrong tree, man.” she told him, sighing loudly.
leave it to dr. strange to show up at her house, entirely unannounced, and decide they needed to have a threat assessment conversation about her magic use.
at least he wasn’t the first strange white man to show up at her house.
“you used dark magic which makes it my problem. this is the right ‘tree’,” he responded snidely, voice clipped.
“technically i didn’t use it,” she retorted, but strange wasn’t buying it.
“you have dark magic all over you.” he said bluntly.
riri managed to cover the hammering of her heart in her chest, the moment of panic, with her - somehow - steady words.
“that’s ‘cause a friend of mine used magic on my suit. to make it more powerful.” she told him, leaning back in her chair. she was very grateful that natalie wasn’t here right now.
“what friend? and what magic?” he demanded.
riri frowned.
“okay, for starters, i aint no snitch, and second, it was just some magic to put me on an even playing field with this other dude, parker. he was into some dark magic shit.” she told him, but he was clearly not believing her.
“guy named the hood? villain wannabe? criminal? made a deal with mephisto?”
that caught his attention.
“mephisto? how do you know about him?” strange's voice was clipped and cold, and riri felt like he saw her as a threat all of a sudden.
i am, she thought to herself, but i can’t be one right now.
“he made a deal with the hood then tried to cut one with me.” she told him and she definitely should not have said that because dr. strange was out of his chair in an instant and his eyes were dark and dangerous.
“did you make one?”
“not really-”
“did you make a deal with him?”
“no, not really, i-”
“did you or did you not shake his hand?”
“i did!” she burst, voice finally rising to reach his. “i did, okay? he wouldn’t let me leave if i didn’t. i gave him his stupid cursed hood back and he said he would give me something in return.” she finally explained, dragging a hand down her face. “he didn’t want to owe me a favour, he said favours were dangerous to a man like him.” she rushed to explain, watching as the man just got more and more agitated, before he sat back down and cradled his head in his hand like riri had just threw an entire bucket’s worth of shit at the world’s biggest industrial fan.
“what did he give you?” he asked tiredly.
riri stayed quiet.
“he took this cloak back. what did he give you.”
riri scratched at her scalp.
“my best friend.”
strange fixed her with a truly dead-eyed stare.
“you asked the nearest known being to the literal devil for a dog?”
okay, now it was riri’s turn to be pissy.
“the hell do you think i am? no, my best friend, natalie.”
strange just stared at her, face unreadable.
riri swallowed.
“she… she died. so mephisto just. undid that. for me.”
if looks could kill, riri would be dead.
she may be dead even if that wasn’t the case. strange looked like he was about to kill her.
riri fidgeted in her chair a little.
“if - if i’m bein’ haunted by some emo stalker-girl who magically appears in my reflections, do i go to you for that? or is - is that somethin’ i can ask my sorcerer friend to help with?”
riri never claimed to be very tactful.
… … … … … …
riri always loved hammering away at her projects, metaphorically and physically: there was nothing better to soothe the anarchy of her mind than a good, coffee-driven all-nighter and starting a project that would challenge her. also literally using a hammer to bend and shape metal was a really good stress-reliever.
she wasn’t using her hammer right now, but her welder was a close thing. even with her protective gear on, she could still feel the heat - see the sparks. beads of sweat trickled down her neck, from both the heat of the flames and the heat of the gear she was wearing.
she was almost done with her weld when a breath of overwhelming cold shot down her neck, and riri fucking dropped her tools as she flinched back in surprise.
her welding torch immediately turned off, thankfully and miraculously not starting a fire. she took her gloves off as quickly as she could, grabbing the nearest tool for protection and ripping her mask off her face.
riri did not think she’d be standing face-to-face with the gothic stalker chick with only a screwdriver to protect herself in the middle of a tuesday afternoon, but here she was.
“what do you want?” she groaned, trying to coax the fear from her voice.
the woman’s eyes gleamed, something dark and amused in their void-black depths.
“you took from me.” she said, as if that was all the answers.
riri put the screwdriver down - slowly, of course, but steadily: if this person wanted to hurt her, they would have done it already.
“took from you? took what?” she asked, cautious.
reason number infinity and one not to deal with magic she reminded herself.
“i want her back.”
with the pit that lurched in her stomach, the cold air disappeared just as swiftly as it came and the next thing riri knew only a shadow remained where the person had been half a heartbeat prior.
dread clung to her breath like a parasite.
you took from me. i want her back. you took from me. i want her back.
riri would never let that happen. not ever again.
… … … … … …
“can we do something?”
riri glanced up at natalie from her work, watching her shuffle through papers for a few moments.
“like what?” she asked back, going back to her etching.
natalie sighed and put the papers down. “anything? anything that isn’t trying to decipher evil magic, anyways.” she huffed, the pages of runes and glyphs landing back in the messy pile of other runes and glyphs.
riri looked at her work, using her miniature grinding bit to continue the engraving.
with this set of magical glyphs completed, it should add extra protection to her suit. a power boost, if not. and her suit needed all the protection and power she could get her hands on if she were to protect natalie from that person.
“let me finish this one up, i’m almost done. we can go grab pizza?” she offered, shooting another quick glance up at natalie before looking back at her work. she didn’t want to mess it up.
“only if we eat it on the roof,” natalie replied, and riri couldn't help the small, breathy laugh that left her.
“girl, that’s the plan.” she told her best friend, smiling as she worked when natalie cheered.
things would be fine. riri would make sure of that.
… … … … … …
her mom’s home may have been small, but it was infinitely better than any of those cold, minimalist, modern urban monstrosities. don't tell shuri.
it was one of those nights where the city’s noise felt distant, muffled behind closed windows. they had put the tv on and were now somewhere halfway through chicagolicious after they watched way, way too many episodes of the blacklist. natalie was curled up on the couch, her head resting on riri’s knee, breathing even as she slept.
she’d fallen asleep around episode 3.
riri let her fingers trail absently across nat’s arm, the familiar warmth and fabric of her hoodie anchoring her swirling thoughts. for a few moments, everything felt safe.
my magic is working, she thought with a small, victorious breath, it’s been weeks.
out of the corner of her eye, a shadow shifted by the window. riri’s breath caught.
you had to go and jinx it, didn’t you?
she turned her head slightly, and there - framed in the darkened glass - was the unmistakable figure of the person. long dark hair, eyes like black mirrors, and that strange green crown resting atop her head.
riri’s hand tensed, subconsciously tightening her grip on the fabric of nat’s hoodie.
her gaze darkened.
“no.” riri’s voice was barely a whisper, but it trembled with the ferocity of her will.
natalie stirred, blinking up at her with sleepy confusion. “what was that?”
riri looked down at nat, taking in the sleepy confusion in her eyes, how her brows furrowed and her nose scrunched.
with a quick glance up, riri only saw an empty room covered in shadows, and she sighed slowly.
she forced a smile, moving one of natalie’s braids from her face. “nothing. just... thought i saw something.”
but the shadows didn’t leave. they lingered, watching. riri knew a warning when she saw one. ans she saw this one loud and clear.
“did you see them shave vanessa, or were you asleep?” she asked, a more devious smile playing at her lips.
natalie’s eyes widened, and she bolted upright like she’d been struck by lightning.
“they what?” she shrieked, fumbling around for the remote.
riri cackled, clutching her stomach as she laughed, watching nat frantically try to rewind to said shave.
… … … … … …
natalie laughed at the jibe riri made, and her heart almost exploded with the sheer love she had for her best friend. it was filled with joy and ache, a yearning for the years she missed with her.
they’d just picked up some take-out from a chinese place a few blocks away and were headed back to the autoshop so riri could test out her newest upgrades to her suit.
natalie wanted to see what they did - like always - and had tagged along with her for the day.
riri held a small stack of napkins and chopsticks in her hand, the other shoved into her pocket. natalie had the two bags of take-out, and despite insisting she could definitely do it on her own, riri had insisted she come with.
riri wasn’t going to risk her.
“you know,” natalie began as they rounded the corner, “you don’t have to walk me back every time,” she teased, bumping their shoulders together gently. “it’s literally four blocks.”
riri forced a tense smile. she scanned the dark shopfronts like she was expecting something to lunge out.
“well,” she managed, swallowing her uncertainty, “you never know.”
natalie sighed and reached up to squeeze her wrist, but riri didn’t relax. her eyes were already darting to the next building, the old pawn shop with its cluttered window displays- tarnished instruments, cheap jewelry, cracked picture frames.
it was only a glance. a reflex, just to check. but in that stupid reflection-
riri froze so fast she nearly tripped nat.
inside the glass, standing between the stacks of worthless junk, the person. the one that had been haunting her.
it looked exactly the same as every other time: long dark hair like ink poured over its shoulders, fathomless eyes that locked on riri. she didn’t move. didn’t blink.
riri’s throat closed. she couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not.
natalie tugged at her elbow.
riri swallowed hard, pulse hammering in her ribs. the dread was hot and oily in her chest, coiling tighter the longer she held the person’s gaze.
“ri, you’re being paranoid,” natalie droned, huffing at her. riri blinked a few times, the person disappearing again just like that.
i’m not protected out here. she’s not protected.
riri forced out a laugh.
“can’t a girl worry about her best friend?” she jabbed. the words felt like ash on her tongue.
natalie stared at her like she was crazy.
“ri, no one is out to get you.” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
i know, she thought desperately, they’re after you.
“so… you’re saying im not good enough to have a stalker?” she settled on eventually, her tone teasing.
natalie scoffed before continuing to walk.
“if you go insane, yeah.”
… … … … … …
the only light in the workshop came from the flicker of her monitors, laptop screen and the soft glow of her suit’s chestpiece. everything else had gone dark hours ago- chicago’s skyline a muted silhouette beyond the autoshop’s windows.
riri didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep.
she’d been working on adding more sigils to her suit, figuring out where and how and what to include.
her cheek was pressed against the back of her hand, the table under it smeared with oil, the blueprints for her newly re-runed flight stabilizers crumpled beneath her arm. her fingers twitched in her sleep, curled loosely around a wrench.
then something shifted.
not a sound. not a breath. but a weight. a pressure. a subtle change in the air that made your skin crawl before your brain caught up.
then it got cold.
riri blinked awake; her eyes were dry, bloodshot. she straightened up slowly, wiping at her mouth, disoriented. the hum of her equipment was still there- the faint whirr of the suit’s diagnostics; everything looked normal.
until she looked up from her work.
across the workshop, seated on one of the old stools by the tool cabinet, was them.
the person.
perfectly still. perfectly real.
riri stopped breathing.
the figure wasn’t blurry this time, not some fleeting mirage in a window or flash of something in the mirror, not the monster at the foot of her bed. no, they sat in front of her like they had all the time in the world, their hands clasped in their lap, legs crossed at the ankle. their expression was unreadable- calm, even- and their eyes never left riri.
riri’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
she couldn’t tell if she was dreaming. if she was still slumped over the desk, unconscious- if her brain was playing tricks on her again. her magic should have stopped them. it should have, it had to.
but her suit’s chestpieces’ glow stuttered in her peripheral vision, and she felt the cold of the air against the sweat on her skin.
this was happening.
she stood- fast, too fast, she almost toppled from the rush. the stool behind her scraped across the floor and toppled. her hand went to her palm repulsor, more instinct than thought. but she didn’t lift it.
not yet.
“why are you here?” she asked, voice brittle, raw.
the person didn’t answer.
“you’re not real. you’re not supposed to be real.”
the person tilted their head. the slow, deliberate movement of someone watching- not judging, not threatening: observing.
like a scientist with a dying star in a jar.
riri’s heart pounded. her knees felt weak, stomach sour and hollow. her fingers twitched again.
“i didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, louder now. “i made the deal. i didn’t do anything wrong.”
stillness. silence.
and then, just for a second, the person blinked. a slow, almost reverent gesture. and then they vanished.
no flash, no smoke, no shimmer of magic, no bells and whistles. just one second they were there, and the next, the stool was empty again.
riri didn’t breathe for a full ten seconds.
then she sank to her stool, slowly, as if her body didn’t quite know how to hold itself up anymore. she sat in the glow of her monitors, staring at the empty chair, shaking.
… … … … … …
never ask riri how natalie managed to convince her of this. it was blackmail.
“i thought you’d never call,” shuri spoke across the line, smiling mischievously at her.
riri rolled her eyes.
“you’re a busy person, shuri, and so am i. even if i’m not at MIT anymore,” she replied pointedly, but couldn’t help but smile.
shuri had been one of the very few good things to come from her whole… debacle in wakanda.
“who is this?” shuri asked, gesturing through the screen to natalie, who was perched on riri’s bed. riri smiled.
“that is my best friend, natalie.” her best friend waved, and riri chuckled. “she blackmailed me into calling you,” she told the princess.
natalie cackaled as shuri gave her a thumbs-up, riri making semi-faux noises of betrayal.
“thank you, natalie, i was starting to think i’d need to corner her in chicago,” the princess said, to more laughter.
“hey, i’m not stopping you from visiting. feel free, whenever you want.” she replied easily, leaning back in her desk chair.
her eyes quickly passed over the rune she’d painted in her desk a while ago, before flickering back to the call.
maybe not any time, but, same difference, she thought to herself.
“only if you get us those tickets.” the princess joked, crossing her arms.
riri laughed, and she ended up chatting with shuri for a good fourty-five minutes before things went wrong.
someone knocked at the door. not to her bedroom, but to the house.
riri rolled her eyes.
“sorry, i need to go check the door,” she said, rushing to make sure natalie couldn’t volunteer to do it. riri knew the possibility of natalie opening the door and then never coming back was very real. “can you keep her royal highness entertained?” she asked over her shoulder to nat, who was laying on her bed now.
“yes ma’am,” she mock-saluted, rolling over and getting off her bed, stealing her seat at her desk as riri slipped out of her room to check the door.
her heart thundered in her chest. what if it was the person again? or mephisto? or, so help her, dr. strange?
the purple tendrils on her shoulder and back had started creeping down her body…
she opened the door cautiously, only to find a man with a parcel under his arm.
“sign here?” he asked, cutting to the chase. riri sighed, sining the paper and taking the box with a small thanks before shutting the door.
she put the parcel on the kitchen counter, pulling the tape off and opening it.
riri hung her head and sighed when she recognised its contents.
bath salts and crystals.
… … … … … …
riri knew she shouldn’t be up here. she knew it in the same way she knew she shouldn’t have been working eighteen hours straight, or skipping meals, or letting the shape of her paranoia decide where she went and when.
but she needed air.
she needed distance from the walls closing in, from the dark gleam of her suit standing silent in the shop corner, from her own reflection.
so here she was, the roof of a building, three stories up, metal fire escape creaking under her boots, and she sat there with her legs hooked over the ledge, the chicago skyline sprawled out and flickering in front of her.
the wind tore at her hair and stung her eyes. she didn’t care.
maybe it was proof she was still herself.
she closed her eyes and pressed the heels of her palms to her brow, trying to quiet the riot of her thoughts. her breathing didn’t slow. it couldn’t.
you’re just tired, she told herself.
you’re just tired, and the power’s just residual, and that’s why his mark is all over your back and why they’re watching-
she felt it before she could finish the thought. that cold.
that presence.
the same cold hush in her chest. the same gravity pulling at her spine.
riri’s eyes snapped open, and she turned her head, slowly, like she could somehow delay what she already knew she’d see.
the person was standing behind her.
not across the roof, not framed by shadow. right there, no more than a yard away. their long dark hair rippled in the same wind that whipped riri’s hair into her face, but the rest of her was motionless, calm in a way that was almost worse than any threat.
their glossy, black eyes met riri’s, heavy and unreadable.
and the city went silent.
the wind didn’t stop, but it felt like it couldn’t reach her anymore.
her heart pounded so hard she thought it might bruise her ribs. she curled her fingers tight against the ledge, not trusting her legs to hold her upright if she stood.
“i’m not- i’m not going to let you take her,” she whispered, voice shaking in the dark.
still, the person only watched.
riri felt her composure splinter, the weeks of exhaustion and terror and magic rotting her edges down to nothing. she wanted to scream, to hit something, to cry until she drowned in it because it wasn’t fair. she couldn’t lose nat again, not for a third time. she wouldn’t be able to take it, to fix it.
but she didn’t move, because if she did, she didn’t know what would happen.
so she did the only thing she could. she glared. she swallowed the acidic taste of fear, and she forced herself to speak again.
“i’m not scared of you.”
a lie. one they both knew.
the person smiled, teeth sharp and inhuman and twisted and wrong, and in the next heartbeat it was next to her, leaning over her shoulder as its clawed fingers dug into her shoulder.
“you should be,” they whispered, words curling around her, around her body, her mind. the words echoed through her spine as the person’s grip tightened, moving from uncomfortable to painful, before nails breached her skin and their touch burnt like agony.
it hurt like drowning, like suffocating on nothing- it hurt like the universe had just decided it was time for her reckoning.
riri’s breath caught, shallow and ragged. she choked on nothing, body tensing as their grip tightened still, claws digging through her flesh as though they were slowly squeezing a fistfull of minced meat.
and then they were gone, and their grip was gone, and the pain was mellow - the aching memory of someone who’d maybe bumped her shoulder a little bit too hard.
riri sagged forward, gripping the ledge so hard her knuckles cracked. she tucked her chin into her chest and tried to remember how to breathe.
… … … … … …
riri woke up in a cold sweat again, like every night before it in the past few weeks. well, the past few weeks if she’d slept at all.
they were there again. watching. waiting.
“i won’t let you have her,” she managed to growl, the words hoarse and scarcely a whisper in the frigid night air.
“this was never supposed to happen,” they said, riri almost immobilized by the fear. they picked up one of her braids, running it though their fingers. “it’s not allowed to.” they breathed, dropping her hair.
riri managed a shuddering breath. by the time the air escaped her lungs, breath visible in front of her, they were gone again.
… … … … … …
they aren’t leaving her alone. no matter how many runes she creates, how many spells she casts, spell circles she forms and curses she wards off, they don’t go away. they’re in her reflection when she looks in the mirror, through the glass as she stares across the room, hiding in the shadows of her room, hiding in her camera roll.
they’re everywhere. riri is running out of ways to ward them off, to stop mephisto’s touch from crawling across her body, to stop the blackened handprint from where they gripped her from burning.
she’s running out of time.
… … … … … …
riri was trying- really trying- to wash the day off her skin. to clean away the lines, the marks spread across her skin. the scalding water should feel good- it should feel clean. but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and she kept on thinking she saw a silhouette behind the steamy shower door. a figure in the vapour.
when she finally worked up the nerve to pull it open, there was nothing but the fogged-up bathroom.
except, on the mirror, a faint handprint that wasn’t hers.
… … … … … …
riri had brought some equipment back home to work on over the weekend. her mother had put her on a house-arrest, of sorts, forbade her from working on her suit in the shop.
so she brought some pieces of her suit to work on at home.
when she looked up, the person was standing across from her in the kitchen, elbows resting on the countertop as she watched her with an indiscernible intent on their face.
riri tried to convince herself she was just tired. she blinked a handful of times, more forcefully than necessary.
the figure stayed.
watching.
… … … … … …
riri hadn't been sleeping, so she crashed on natalie’s couch for the night. being closer to her always helped. knowing she was an arms reach away, somewhere riri could reach out to and protect if she needed.
she woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a kettle whistling in the kitchen. when she got up to check, no one else was there - not xavier, not natalie, not anyone else. just the kettle. shrieking.
riri caught her eye. through the window over the sink, the person was standing on the sidewalk, staring straight up into the apartment.
… … … … … …
she was on the train, hand clenched so tightly around the pole that it hurt. that a nice older gentleman asked if she was okay, if she was motionsick.
her head was pounding, her eyes burning. she could feel them watching her.
the train rattled past a dark station, and in the window’s reflection, she saw them seated across the train cart from her, face half-lit by flickering fluorescents.
riri whipped around- nobody there.
… … … … … …
riri startled awake from a half-doze and immediately felt their oppressive presence in the room, the instant chill down her spine, the cold.
she rolled over- and there they were, sitting calmly next to her on her bed.
riri locked eyes with them. she couldn't move. couldn't scream.
they raised a hand, only to gently stroke her arm, petting her like some sort of cat.
then they were gone. the mark they’d left on her shoulder weeks ago burned like the sting of death itself.
… … … … … …
riri hugged natalie from behind in front of a bathroom mirror, lazily closing her eyes. natalie was brushing her teeth, half-laughing at something riri had tiredly mumbled.
riri glanced up, expecting to see both of them reflected.
instead, in natalie’s place, it was standing there, hand hovering over her own as if about to claim her.
riri shoved natalie away before she could stop herself, heart hammering.
… … … … … …
riri’s hands were shaking as she slammed the metal panel shut, sparks flying, heart pounding like a drum in her chest. the room smelled of burnt circuits and desperation.
she wasn’t weak. she wasn’t some puppet. she had beaten mephisto at his own game - she knew she had. so what if his mark was all over her? he had no control over natalie. he’d promised. that was the deal.
a piece of her soul for natalie’s life. riri knew the deal. she’d made it. it had been fine.
so why did her breath come in ragged gasps? why did the shadows behind her eyes pulse and writhe like venom? why was she being followed by this person, this thing, haunting her like the looming threat of death?
natalie’s voice was soft, tentative. “riri… you need to stop.”
riri whipped around, wild eyes flashing. she ignored the look of fear on her best friend’s face.
“stop? stop what? working? protecting you? protecting us? you think i’m going to just… give up because some whisper in my head says so?” she demanded, her breathing shallow.
her voice cracked- half rage, half panic, and she spun away, gripping at the suit component she’d been upgrading.
natalie took a cautious step forward, hand resting on riri’s shoulder.
“ri… i’m scared. you’re… you’re not yourself.” she tried, voice gentle and soft, like a warm embrace waiting to envelop her in safety.
riri shook her off, ignoring the white-hot flash of pain and fear as natalie’s hand had ghosted over the spot where they had gripped her.
riri laughed bitterly, a broken sound. “not myself? no, natalie, i’m more myself than ever. because i’m still me and i have you. i’m - i’m completed! i’m the one who walked out of his traps, who won.”
but even as she said it, her vision blurred, and the purple lines on her arm flickered beneath her skin like tiny embers- alive and hungry.
her voice dropped to a whisper, raw and shaky. “i’m fine. i’m fine. i’m fine.”
the words didn’t stick.
… … … … … …
were it any other time in her life, riri might have found it in herself to be outraged. instead, all she felt was that trickling dread, a cold panic coiling in her gut like something alive.
“you locked me out of my own suit,” she said flatly, not bothering to look up from the workbench she was leaning over. the words tasted bitter. “you really thought that was going to help?”
the people standing between her and the exit- the people she loved, trusted- watched her in uneasy silence.
her mom spoke first, voice tight with worry. “riri…baby, look at you. you haven’t been sleeping. you look like you’re about to fall over.”
riri swallowed, her throat tight.
“ri, we’re worried about you. you look sick half to death but insist nothing is wrong, you’re working every hour of the day like someone’s coming for you- riri, is everything alright?” her mother asked, concern cresting her every word.
of course it would be her mom. natalie had been insisting she take a break for weeks and zelma had even offered to do her research on protective seals for her.
and shuri was there. in chicago, in her workshop, looking at her with rounded, worried eyes.
riri hugged herself tighter, hairs standing on end underneath the hoodie she wore, goosebumps rising beneath her sweatpants.
“i’m fine.”
“no, you’re not,” natalie said quietly. she stood with her arms folded tight across her chest like she was holding herself together. “you keep…watching the door, like someone’s about to break it down. you don’t even close your eyes all the way when you sleep anymore.”
rain battered the metal roof in a relentless drumbeat, like the marching beat of a war drum, promising violence and blood and death.
zelma stepped forward, her expression softer than her usual blasé.
“if there’s someone after you- some new villain- let us help. this doesn’t have to be all on you.”
riri’s mouth twisted with some wry amusement. “there’s no new villain.”
“riri… please. just stop.” natalie tried, taking a small step closer to her.
riri turned her head, looking away. shutting her out.
“i can’t.” her voice was hoarse, her heart felt like it was beating itself bloody. “i have to finish this.”
zelma tried to edge closer, “you’re tearing yourself apart.”
“i said i’m fine.” she snapped, glaring at the girl in the glasses.
“then what is it?” shuri’s voice was gentle but insistent, cutting through the quiet. “because i know you. you don’t work yourself into the ground like this unless you think you’re the only thing standing between someone you love and-”
“stop.” riri’s voice cracked, just a little. she swallowed hard. “i’m handling it.”
“handling what?” her mom pressed. “riri, if you don’t tell us, how are we supposed to-”
“it doesn’t matter!” riri snapped, louder than she meant to. she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the stinging behind them. “i already made the deal. i already paid for it.”
a dead silence fell.
natalie’s face went pale. “deal?”
riri realized too late what she’d admitted. she looked at the floor, willing it to swallow her whole.
“you…” zelma’s brows drew together, alarm dawning on her face. “riri, what deal did you make?”
“it doesn’t matter.” her voice dropped to a rasp. “i won. that’s all you need to know. i got her back.”
“oh my god,” natalie whispered. “riri, you didn’t-”
shuri took a step closer. funny how it was her, considering she knew nothing about the deal she said she’d made in the first place. nothing about mephisto.
“you think you won. but you’re- riri, your hands are shaking. you’re exhausted. you’re…”
“i am fine!” riri shouted, whirling around. her eyes were bright and wild, and her breath tore ragged through her lungs. “i’m fine, and she’s safe, and you don’t get to make me regret it!”
their eyes were on her, watching her, ready to corner her like she was some sort of wild animal. a rabid beast. her lip quivered, unshed tears threatening to fall.
“you caught me. i lied. i didn’t trade mephisto his stupid cloak for natalie, it never had anything to do with the hood.” she managed, voice wavering.
zelma was the one to ask it.
“riri… what did you trade..?” she asked, sounding hurt.
of all people, zelma shouldn’t be hurt by this. she didn’t have the right.
her blood rushed with something fierce.
“i won. he gave me a piece of myself for a piece if myself.” she said - as firmly as she could.
she’d never confessed it out loud.
zelma looked horrified.
“you traded your soul?” she shrieked, body tensing like the muscles of a predator on the hunt.
“a piece, and i - i got a bigger one back!” she yelled, her shoulders hiking up as she made a gesture - anything to get the buzzing from beneath her veins to stop.
“and i’d do it again. i’d do it a thousand times, even if it means i won’t be here when it’s over.” she added, locking eyes with natalie.
they all flinched at the volume.
she was crying. riri’s chest panged. natalie should never have a reason to cry, she thought quietly. never. not if i can help it.
but you caused this, a voice fought back, this is all your fault.
for a moment, no one spoke.
then a voice came from the doorway behind them.
“except it’s not over.”
riri’s heart stopped. every head turned. just like that, the air in the room went from stilted and thick to cold and heavy. the heavy pressure she knew would be accompanied by a visit. a visit from-
standing in the threshold, half-wreathed in shadow, was them.
their long dark hair spilled over her shoulders, eyes burning like coals.
and for the first time, riri saw everyone else see her too.
natalie sucked in a shaking breath. “what- who is that?”
riri’s mouth was dry. she couldn’t look away.
natalie’s breath hitched. shuri moved to step forward, but riri threw an arm out to keep everyone back.
she forced herself to meet their eternally black gaze.
instead of threatening her, or staring at her like they’d always done, they smiled that twisted smile of theirs, something childlike behind it.
it unnerved riri.
“i’m rio. some people call me the green witch, some people call me rio, others death.”
riri’s entire world came to a halt, air stilting in the moments between her heartbeats.
you took from me. it was never supposed to happen. you took from me. you took from me.
she took from death. she had been stalked by death.
“you’re here to take her back, right?” she spat, mustering every ounce of courage in her body.
it wasn't much.
“you said it before- this wasn’t supposed to happen.”
rio - death looked her up and down, mouth curling into something cold and disdainful.
“i didn’t know he was the one behind it.”
riri swallowed, throat raw. so demon lady knows devil man. good to know. very good to know. great, even. fantastic.
“so what? still breaks your rules or whatever, doesn’t it?” she drawled, pressing natalie and shuri back further behind her.
now would have been a great time to have her suit.
“it breaks more than rules.” her tone was iron, cold and clamping around the air like a vice. “it lets that parasite dig in deeper. you think you’re clever, little girl? you think you got the better end of the deal?”
riri clenched her teeth, voice shaking.
“i’m not scared of you.”
“you should be scared of him.” rio stepped closer. the lights flickered as she moved, her shadow twisting and bending unnaturally, as if it had a will of its own.
“and you should be very careful how you speak. because the only thing keeping you from being a smear on his ledger is me.” she told her, coming toe-to-toe with her. riri looked up, holding her eyes even as her hand - that same, blackened, clawed hand - rested on her shoulder once more, exactly as she’d held it last time.
someone stepped forward from behind her, voice firm.
“if you want to free her, say so. don’t play games.” rio tilted her head, looking past riri until her eyes locked on zelma’s. riri turned her head to look, too, not daring to breathe, not when death was so close to her.
“games? no. i’m here because i want him to choke on his own arrogance.” her lip curled in something that was almost a smile. then, her eyes trailed back down to riri, and that hand moved to trace the side of her face, moving from her temple to her cheek then to her jaw. her eyes shone with an inky-black glee. riri’s stomach flipped over on itself and something within her curdled at the look.
“freeing you will make him furious.” she whispered, hands gentle against her skin like she was porcelain, like she was something to be cherished now. it made riri feel sick.
“then why are you waiting?” she whispered, eyes watering.
rio’s smile cooled, something a little more… profane.
“before you show them what he’s done to you?” she taunted, hand trailing down her neck and to her collarbone. riri shuddered. “i don’t think so.” with a swipe of her hand, air danced along her skin, and suddenly riri was in her tank top and pyjama shorts.
her eyes widened before she could even protest, and the gasps of her family meant they’d seen her. seen it.
mephisto’s marks. streaks of purple and grey inked beneath her skin, trailing across her body like the angry marks of ivy, twisting into runes and symbols that proclaimed to the world that a part of her was his.
rio lifted her hand- palm out, fingers splayed. the sigils up riri’s arms shivered like they were alive.
“once i start, you don’t get to change your mind.” rio told her, walking a circle around her to take her in fully, to look across all the marks.
riri tried to back away, but only ended up backing herself into her workbench, cornering herself against the thing that used to provide her comfort and solace.
natalie tried to push past riri, but zelma held her back. riri staggered as rio approached, one hand bracing on the workbench, trying to breathe.
“you think i care what happens to me?” she rasped, words only meant for rio. “i just- i can’t lose her again.”
for a moment, rio studied her, unblinking. then her expression hardened even further.
“i don’t care about your mistake. i care about the thing that crawled inside you to make it.”
“well?” riri demanded, trying to sound fierce.
rio smiled.
her hand flicked through the air- like snapping a spider’s web.
and just like that - just like that? - every sigil on riri’s body erupted in violet light.
riri screamed, and the garage filled with the stink of burning flesh.
she couldn’t see anything. couldn’t feel anything except fire, boiling from her skin inward. she tried to pull herself away, but her body wouldn’t answer- like rio’s magic had pinned her to the spot. it was like rio’s touch all over again, bursting from underneath her skin and spilling out like molten lava, burning the surface of her body as it spewed.
somewhere behind her own ragged cries, she heard natalie yelling her name. heard her mother- her mother- shouting something she couldn’t make out. her knees buckled. her hand scraped over the workbench, searching blindly for something, anything, to hold onto. her other hand was clutching the workbench, as though it could somehow keep her up, anchor her in place.
but she couldn’t. she felt like she was splitting open.
her vision pulsed in and out of blackness, and every time her eyes focused, she saw the marks all over her arms and collar and ribs glowing so bright it seared her retinas. they weren’t just marks. they were channels. conduits. roots, sunk into her flesh. draining her slowly from herself.
and they were tearing free.
this is what you wanted, she tried to remind herself, but her thoughts kept scattering like dry leaves.
a keening noise reached her ears, thin and desperate, and it took her a moment to realize it was coming from her own throat.
it felt like something was clawing its way out of her- some last, ugly thread of mephisto himself- and for a single, shattering second she was sure it would kill her before it let go. but then-
a final, wrenching tug. it was like a hook had been dug into her ribs and suddenly yanked skyward, leaving all her insides out to the open. like being exorcised, like every secret, every compromise, every slow creeping thread mephisto had woven through her was being torn loose in an instant.
and all at once, the light went out.
her legs folded. she hit her knees on concrete, dimly aware she’d be bruised all over by morning. her forehead knocked the ground below her as she slumped forward, gasping, hair falling across her face.
the silence afterward felt wrong, like her head was full of cotton- like the world was too big and too bright, and she was too small to fit in it anymore.
the marks were gone. she knew it before she looked. she could feel it in her bones, the awful emptiness where mephisto’s presence had been.
a tremor ran up her spine and she squeezed her eyes shut against the tears.
she’d told herself she could handle it. that it was just another tool, another equation. she’d believed that so much.
but now she knew.
she’d been bleeding out from the moment she made the deal.
and all she could think- the thought ringing in her skull like a cracked bell- was i can’t lose her. not again. not again.
even now, with the curse torn out of her, that was all she could cling to.
natalie.
so she tried to lift her head, searching for her through the blur of her tears.
natalie was the first to break from the stunned hush. she tore herself free of zelma’s grip and nearly tripped over herself, falling to her knees at her side.
“riri- hey- hey, look at me-” her hands were shaking as she swept riri’s hair out of her eyes. “you’re okay. you’re okay. i’ve got you.” she whispered, hands a cool balm against her skin where they held her.
riri tried to answer but only managed a raw, broken gasp.
zelma hovered behind natalie, her face pale as wax, one hand braced over her mouth. she looked like she wanted to step in but knew better- like she could feel how much riri needed natalie more than anyone else.
riri couldn’t see her mother’s face right away. she was standing back, near shuri, one hand braced on the corner workbench to steady herself. her shoulders were trembling.
shuri’s jaw was shut so tight the muscle there jumped with the clenching of her jaw. she looked at rio with open, furious accusation.
“did it have to hurt her like that?” she demanded, voice low, dangerous.
rio stood over them all, her expression carved from something ancient and pitiless.
“it was the only way,” she said simply. no apology. no regret. only finality.
natalie was breathing too fast. “you-you should’ve told us-” her voice wavered out, but she kept her hands on riri, moving them to cradle her trembling body against her chest, refusing to let her slip away.
riri felt every place natalie touched her like it was the only real thing left in the room. left of her.
her mom finally moved, pushing past shuri, dropping down beside natalie to touch riri’s face, her shoulder, anywhere she could reach. “baby? oh god, baby, can you hear me?”
riri tried to nod, tried to speak- but her voice was ruined.
“she’ll live,” rio said. “and she’ll be free.”
her mother turned, rage and relief fighting for space in her eyes. “you think that excuses this? look at her!”
rio didn’t flinch. she merely shrugged.
“i’m not here to be forgiven.”
zelma exhaled a ragged breath. “then why are you still here?”
rio’s eyes flicked to riri again. for the first time, something softer passed across her face- something that might have been respect.
“to make sure the monster who marked her knows he’s not the only one who can lay claim to debts,” rio said. her gaze lifted, like she was looking somewhere far beyond the repair shop walls. “he’ll feel this loss.”
riri sagged into natalie’s arms, too spent to process it, her body shivering in the sudden cold.
some part of her knew she should feel triumphant- like she’d won something back. but all she felt was exhausted, hollow, and so small it scared her.
natalie pressed her forehead to riri’s temple, voice fierce through her tears. “you hear me? you’re going to be okay. no more deals. no more monsters.”
riri’s scorched throat worked. slowly, she turned her face just enough to breathe natalie in- like it was the only thing that could ground her.
and for a moment - only a moment - she believed it.