HOMEMADE DYNAMITE !
❝ BIBLICAL. ❞

A SCREAM.

That was the first thing Abby heard as she stepped foot into the house. It was shrill and deafening and terrified. It was all Abby needed to take off through the darkness, following only her ears towards the source. The closer the got, the more the house started to rumble. Like a great beast was awakening in its foundations. The lights started flickering and Abby grabbed at the wall to steady herself.

Another scream ricocheted around the house, this time a different voice. She heard Kory utter an inquisitive hello? and spared a glance back, only to find her breath escape her throat as she caught sight of a woman stood behind her pink-haired friend. Before Abby could yell a warning, heavy metal boots sounded in front of her. Shit.

Her head snapped back, facing the metal man now staring her down. Get out! could be heard in a guttural screech and Abby reached out to grab Kory's arm as she stumbled back towards her. Fire began to brew in her chest, she could feel the particles surrounding them begging her to use them.

"Who the fuck are—," Abby started, fist beginning to clench as her narrowed eyes swept across the three individuals.

The third scream of the night was one Abby recognised.

Rachel.

Another thought didn't cross her mind. Any consequence didn't seem to matter. Rachel. She took off without a word, a flick of her wrist casting the bandaged man in her way out of it. She didn't think, didn't worry about losing control of her abilities. She couldn't lose control. She wouldn't. It was a mistake she couldn't make.

This girl needed her, and she wouldn't let her down.

The growing rumble of noise coming from the direction of Rachel's scream led her like a beacon, guiding her run as varied sonic blasts from her palms demolished any strewn or overturned furniture from her path. Her heavy boots soon thundered to a stop in front of wooden door, barred by a collapsed column. Abby's eyes scoured the entrance for a way to move it to no avail. Okay. Powers it was.

She raised an arm and felt herself tune into the vibrations of the atoms around her, felt them shift to her pull and react to her demands, felt the vibrations build and build until they were brimming at her fingertips. With barely a quiver of her hand, they propelled forwards, emitting a shockwave that shattered the column into splinters and blew the door straight off its hinges.

Abby felt a small smirk curl up her lips. "Still got it."

The brunette charged through the open archway, racing out onto a hallway leading to a spurs staircase, overlooked by skylights, and bordered by a metal balcony. She skidded to a stop, lurching to the balcony and peering over. Oh God. Her throat felt like it had closed up. Seized up.

Below her, Jess lay unconscious, purple hair matted with blood, a terrified green haired boy cradling her, almost hunched over her, almost shielding her. When Abigail's eyes moved to the rest of the room she wasn't surprised why. Darkness didn't seem to do it justice. Chaos appeared to suit Rachel's powers more.

Stemming from the blue haired girl, tendrils of night amassed to legions, spreading out and filling the room, engulfing it in shadows and strife. The broken form of a well dressed man lay discarded in the corner. A tornado stood between Abby and the illuminated blue portal at the other end of the building, a tornado of blades, made from darkness itself.

At the centre? Rachel. Encased in ink like spindles and her ghostlike skin stained with dark cracks, Abby saw the girl she'd raced to save causing the carnage rhat now threatened her. Threatened Jess, Jess and Kory and Dick and everyone else in this house.

Abby found herself pulling her form over the balcony, hurtling herself down towards the ground. Her powers caught her, breaking her fall with a booming crack of cement as the brunette landed.

The sound drew the attention of whatever was inside of Rachel to her. Even now, she knew evil when she saw it. The same way this parasite new a threat. A growl escaped Rachel's lips. Feral. Brutal. Abby swallowed the lump forming in her throat and stood from her crouch, straightening up slowly.

"Rachel. It's Abby."

Quicker than Abby had time to comprehend, Rachel was before her, black eyes and cracked skin filling her vision as she sneered down at the brunette.

"You can't stop me."

The demonic distortion of Rachel's kind voice felt like knives crawling up the skin of Abby's back.

"Rachel, I know you're in there. Please, stop this. This isn't you."

For a moment, innocence was regained, and the devil behind Rachel's eyes vanished. A terrified young girl stood before the brunette, eyes pleading, begging.

"Ab — Abby, I don't want to hurt you. Please, go!"

Abby shook her head fiercely and took a determined step forwards, nearing the darkness before her. It swallowed Rachel whole in a blink, and reacted accordingly, knives of shadows slicing into Abby, catching her face and arms.

But Abigail Lance was no stranger to darkness.

Her fingers moved with a grace that could only be granted from years of practise, sending shockwaves through the air that obliterated the dark tendrils that threatened to slice her to pieces. Almost as if bored, the darkness inside the young girl let out a disgruntled snarl and turned on its heels, in a blink back before the portal.

Abigail took another step deeper into the storm, dark whips lashing out at her, cutting into her skin in legions. She raised her arm in feeble defence, pushing after Rachel. She offered what little consolation she could to the green haired boy as she passed him, a gentle glance as her eyes fell to Jess. She wouldn't let her die in here.

Rachel was within arms reach now. Abby's boots dig into the concrete, her arms pushing against the rising darkness, eyes squinted against it's sharp edges. She stretched her other arm out, fingers grasping for Rachel, hoping, praying, that she could get through to the girl.

The blue haired girl turned to face her, sensing her presence.

Abby let her gaze with a silent plea, "Rachel."

"You need to leave, please. I don't want to hurt you, but I don't think I can control this anymore." The girl's eyes morphed between darkness and blue viciously. Like she was losing a battle. Like the light was dying.

Abby shook her head fervently, "I'm not leaving you."

"I'm not giving you a choice, Abby! Run!"

But she didn't get the chance.

As soon as Abby's fingertips grazed Rachel's shoulder, a force, so strong even she couldn't withstand it, exploded from the girl. It hit the brunette full on, throwing her backwards violently, not stopping until her back hit the metal beams of the staircase beneath the balcony. Abby's limp form crashed into it with such momentum she bounced back into the fading light of the room's centre.

Crumpled on the cold stone, Abby feebly pushed herself up onto her forearms, spitting blood onto the concrete through a clenched jaw. She hauled herself up more, a pained breath escaping her bleeding lips as her shoulder cried out in protest. The old building creaked and groaned around her, fissures beginning to creep across the walls.

Either she or the thing before her was going to bring this whole place down on top of them all. She couldn't keep taking hits like that. She ground her teeth together. But she wouldn't use her powers on Rachel.

"Abby!"

That voice. Oh there was no mistaking it. She could never. It sounded stronger now, stronger than before. He sounded stronger. She prayed to any god out there that it wasn't the final rush of adrenaline before the end.

Her eyes drifted upwards, feeling a warm liquid ooze down the side of her face as her brown gaze locked with Dick Grayson's. She felt a dizziness begin to set in, her eyes struggling to stay focused as the sharp, metallic tang of blood tainted her tongue. The minute their eyes met his grip tightened on the railings, then he took off, stumbling down the stairs and tripping to her side.

Kneeling beside her, his sickly face, sweat matting his hair to his forehead, peering at her in search for any serious wounds. The fact that he himself was on the brink of oblivion seemed to be the last thing on his mind.

"I'm — I'm okay, Dick," she mumbled, pressing her hand to his gently in an attempt to soothe his fretting. "What the hell are you doing here? You should be—."

His voice was gentle, but she wasn't sure if that wasn't because he had no energy left. "—Did you really think I was gonna let you run headfirst into this crazy shit by yourself?"

"I had Kory," Abby replied softly, moving a hand to touch to the liquid coating the side of her face. She pulled her hand, looking down at her fingertips. Crimson.

Dick let out a faint laugh. "Okay. Fine. You really think I'm gonna let you run headfirst into this crazy shit without me? Regardless of who you're with?"

"Crazy?" Abby echoed back, a smile teetering on her lips. "This shit is biblical."

"I'm ninety percent sure that's because she's the fucking Antichrist, assholes."

Dick and Abby's eyes flew across the room, landing on a conscious, but struggling, Jessica Rhodes. Abby's lungs deflated with an almighty sigh at the sight of her. She was okay. The green haired boy beside her looked almost as relieved.

"Antichrist is a bit harsh, Jess," Abby breathed, taking Dick's hand as they helped one another to their feet.

Jess gestured dramatically to the scene before them, "Well she's not exactly the Holy Spirit is she? This doesn't look like holy or divine!"

"She has a point, Abs," Dick smiled in her ear, though it dropped as the brunette turned to him.

She wore a face like stone. Her eyes took one look at Rachel and the portal she was opening with a heart wrenching scream, before back to him. He was their last shot. She couldn't get through to Rachel, but maybe he could — he had to.

"You need to help her, Dick," she murmured, fingers clutching his jacket tightly, "She'll listen to you."

He placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing it softly, nodding firmly despite the tiredness in his eyes. His touch left hers, taking with it what little warmth it offered. He stepped into the chaos, falling out of reach and range and earshot. Out of her protection.

Abby watched with her heart in her throat. Watched Dick reach her, grab onto her shoulders. Watched Rachel turn to him, turn and listen and talk to him. It was working. He pulled her into a hug, holding her with what little strength he had. But then that strength began to fade.

Yet as he faded so did the tendrils and spindles, the night fading away, relenting to the light reflected through the skylights by the silver moon. The portal closed, dissipating and dying, taking with it the darkness it had brought.

Footsteps above heralded the arrival of Kory, and the other inhabitants of the manor. It didn't matter. Abby could only see the tears smearing Rachel's cheeks as Dick sunk to the floor, her now being the only thing holding him up. Her mind recalled when he was first shot. This was it.

"Abby?" Kory's voice called out worriedly to the brunette but she barely even heard it.

He sunk to the ground, Rachel cradling his body as he sunk towards the abyss. She was screaming his name, begging him to open his eyes. Abby pulled herself to them, aching knees pressed to the rough ground as she wound her fingers through Rachel's, gripping her tightly.

"No, no, no, no. No!" Rachel's voice cracked, her wet cheeks crinkling up as she shook her head.

Blue hair lay strewn on his brown jacket as Rachel pressed her face into his chest, her body wracking wretchedly with sobs as she pulled her hand from Abby's and wrapped her arms around Dick. Abby pressed her lips together, a dam holding back the flood as she instead placed a hand on Rachel's back, rubbing soothing circles.

His chest began to slow, bleary eyes fixed on Abby. She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. Rachel's pleas for him to stay made her bite the inside of her cheek until she could taste blood. This was it.

She held her breath.

Then he dragged in a strangled gasp.

NOTE!
honestly thank you to anyone who's still here after the DISASTER which was the previous chapter 🤦🏼‍♀️ do you guys think i should rewrite it? would you read it again if i did? i feel like i could do it much better? i could write abby so much better???? let me know!

anyway, NEXT CHAPTER!! HE IS COMING!! it's not a big deal i'm just excited to introduce this dude... and, as per, tell me your thoughts on this chapter?!