Seven exhaled heavily, a plume of smoke rocketing from his slightly parted lips. He now stood mere yards away from the building which had been used by Dr. Otto Shoemaker. His phone vibrated in his pocket, necessitating him activating his headset.
"You in position?" he asked, crushing his cigarette below his heel.
"Ready," came the steady voice of Bai Li.
"You're certain of this?" he asked. He'd probably asked the question at least ten times, but he was living on the hope that the answer might be returned in the negative.
"As sure as I can be," she answered.
Sometimes, it really was worthless to hold out hope for much of anything.
"Besides," the Asian beauty continued, "you may not even need to do this. Your role is largely contingent--"
"On him noticing me at all," Seven finished. "Right, I caught that part."
"Alright, then," Bai said. "Maybe you'll think twice next time before asking me to come up with something..."
"That I might," he responded. "That I might."
"Whenever you're ready, then."
"T-minus five minutes until execution," Seven responded.
"Five minutes?!"
"Just plotting my contingency, love," he answered. "Just plotting my contingency..."
Vatican City
Father Indigo Vespucci was under a great deal of stress. As an official within the Vatican, he had no shortage of responsibilities to attend to and no shortage of people who needed his services. Furthermore, he had just settled down for an audience with His Holiness, the Pope, when his cell phone had begun to ring.
Never mind that he hadn't the time to explain to the Pope why he had to take this call. Never mind that he had to excuse himself with barely so much as a 'by your leave' as an explanation. Never mind those things...
...he knew who was on the other end of that phone.
"This is Vespucci," he answered, his Italian accent tickling each syllable.
"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," came the clipped British accent on the other end of the phone. "It has been an eternity since my last confession..."
"Aidan," the priest breathed heavily, "if I thought that you were at all serious about that, my interrupted audience with His Holiness would have all been worth it..."
"You left the Pope to come talk to me?" came Seven's astonished voice. "Why, Father, I didn't know you cared!"
"Yes, you did," the priest said softly. "Now, what is so pressing?"
"I'm assuming you can still rattle off any Scripture at the drop of a hat?"
"Well, I have never claimed to be able to do that, but I am knowledgable about the Word, if that is what you mean."
"That's what I needed to hear," Seven responded. "Father, I need your help..."
Los Angeles
Hours ago, the City of Angels. Now, Hell on Earth.
The transformation had been quick and decidedly painful. The Lord's vengeance was being done here and now on earth.
The being who had once been Emmanuel Nwanjoku floated high above the city. Eyes that were both young and timeless gazed out over the ruin. A small grin wormed its way across his dark complexion.
"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth."
And he saw all that he had destroyed... and it was good.
There... there, below! A man walking - a sinner! Protected somehow...
Immediately, Nwanjoku knew the only way to halt this one would be to face him directly. He began to descend, quickly at first, slowing slightly as he neared the ground. He touched ground right before an arrogant fool of a man, his jacket thrown nonchalantly over his shoulder and a cigarette dangling from his thin lips.
"Thus saith the Lord God: 'Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.'"
The young man raised his eyebrow a bit and stared Nwanjoku right in the eye. He paused a bit. Waiting for what, Emmanuel didn't know, until...
"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" His tone was one of genuine inquisitiveness. Of earnest yearning.
"'Vengeance is mine; I will repay,' saith the Lord."
Another pause.
"The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
"Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?"
"We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
This... challenge? Was it a challenge? It had taken a turn. A most unexpected one at that. Was this mortal attempting to challenge the sheer force of the vengeance of the Almighty Himself?
"It is written, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'"
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
This... this man, this mortal man... was using the very Scriptures against him! How... how could this be?
"...he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil."
A pensive look crossed the man's face. Finally, he turned back toward Nwanjoku.
"A new commandment I give unto you: that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
And then, before Emmanuel could open his mouth, the man shot back again with: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
* * * * *
"Is this even working, Aidan?" the worried voice of Indigo Vespucci sounded from the other end of the phone. "Clear your throat for 'yes'..."
Seven smiled and cleared his throat. Before him, Emmanuel Nwanjoku's expression was one of clear confusion. He and Indigo had actually managed to stump the divine.
Bai's plan indeed had merit. While Nwanjoku exhibited all the powers of a divine being, on an emotional and subconscious mental level, he was still a human - a mortal. Choosing to fight fire with fire, Seven enlisted his mentor to test 'God with us' using a little Scripture...
...and it had worked.
As Seven pondered this, he noticed the heavenly aura that seemed to surround Nwanjoku's body begin to wane for a moment...
* * * * *
A moment was all she needed. She had been patient, biding her time. After all, it was what she did best. She'd followed around this ridiculous-looking suit in the hopes that he would lead her to a method for weakening her prey...
...and, for a moment, he had succeeded.
Letting loose her battle cry, Bellatrix swooped in for the kill, effortlessly lifting the form of the nineteen-year-old into the air and carrying him off into the sky...
* * * * *
The sheer force of the wind accompanying that... thing's velocity knocked Seven to the ground and sent him sprawling back at least ten feet.
When the air returned to his lungs, he muttered a quick "holy shit" as he stood to dust himself off.
"Aidan!" came the voice of Father Vespucci. "Aidan, are you alright?"
"Fine, Padre," Seven said, slowly rising to his feet. "I'll fill you in on the rest later. Seven out." Tapping the side of his Bluetooth, he switched to his other line. "Bai, Nwanjoku has just been extracted by an unknown third party! Repeat, Nwanjoku has just been extracted!"
"Get a good look at him?"
"Her," Seven corrected, trying to find some outline or silouhette in the night sky. "And... she looked like a... like a bird..."
A pause.
"Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but..."
"Seven," Bai interrupted, her voice suddenly sounding panicked. "Get to the lab... now!"
