Alpha Flight fanfic: "Consider the Diamond"
Northstar isn't the only reason I read ALPHA FLIGHT. ^_^ The following is a fanfic featuring Wildchild (Kyle Gibny) and Diamond Lil (Lillian Crawley), two Alphans I'm rather fond of. It takes place during their days in Beta Flight, back when Kyle was only sorta functionally insane.
Title: Consider the Diamond
Summary: Kyle struggles to understand Lil.
He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't even scratch her. His claws blunted against her skin, cracked when he pushed too hard, trying to pierce flesh that looked soft, had always yielded on others. Even Wolverine would cut, would bleed, if only Kyle could get a strike in. He healed, he survived woulds that would have -- should have -- killed, inflicted when Kyle went into a bloodmist rage over watching the old man shrug off damage, making his holier-than-thou judgments.
Lil was different. She wouldn't bleed, she didn't cut, he couldn't harm a hair on her head -- literally. Each strand was strong as a steel cable and sliced like a razor. He once grabbed a handful and got a lacerated palm for his trouble. They didn't dub her "Diamond" for nothing. She was hard and sharp and bright.
Training against her was, therefore, a nightmare; Kyle loved it. He could let loose and it was totally different from training with Wolverine. That was testing; this was exercise. He had to learn whole new moves to get points on her, and to avoid her. It was good. It was good.
He didn't know what she got out of it, though. He couldn't hurt her; she wasn't learning anything. She could, in fact, just stand there and let him wear himself out futilely clawing at her invulnerable skin. Once or twice she had, and then made him start again. She made him fight with less fury; she made him think and talk and it was good, he got something from that, but what did she get?
They made her team leader, and he cynically wondered if it was because they thought she could control him. She was surprised -- no-one else was, though some were jealous, but her surprise smelled genuine. She was still ...nice to him. She defended him, she protested Wolverine's methods. The old man hated Kyle, hated him for what he reminded him of, and Kyle darkly awaited the day one of them was dead for good from their little training sessions. It would probably be him, but he didn't care.
And still she was nice. Like she might actually care, and he didn't trust it at all. No, he'd been tricked that way before, and he'd learned -- he'd learned to never trust because it was always, always a lie. He could tell when the others were nice, or at least polite, it was because they didn't want to provoke him. They didn't want him after them. She didn't have to worry about that, but she was still nice.
Lil was different, and it confused him. Once she was leader, though, he gradually realised it was to his benefit to be in her good graces, so long as he was careful. He watched. He waited. She would show her hand eventually, and he would plan for that day. In the meantime he would obey her without having to be pulled back physically, as much as he could make himself, because at least with her as leader he was allowed out. He played at hero, and it was new and exhilarating. When he noticed the gleam in her eyes, he thought maybe she was smarter than anyone had thought.
He didn't know why he thought that.
Title: Consider the Diamond
Summary: Kyle struggles to understand Lil.
He couldn't hurt her. He couldn't even scratch her. His claws blunted against her skin, cracked when he pushed too hard, trying to pierce flesh that looked soft, had always yielded on others. Even Wolverine would cut, would bleed, if only Kyle could get a strike in. He healed, he survived woulds that would have -- should have -- killed, inflicted when Kyle went into a bloodmist rage over watching the old man shrug off damage, making his holier-than-thou judgments.
Lil was different. She wouldn't bleed, she didn't cut, he couldn't harm a hair on her head -- literally. Each strand was strong as a steel cable and sliced like a razor. He once grabbed a handful and got a lacerated palm for his trouble. They didn't dub her "Diamond" for nothing. She was hard and sharp and bright.
Training against her was, therefore, a nightmare; Kyle loved it. He could let loose and it was totally different from training with Wolverine. That was testing; this was exercise. He had to learn whole new moves to get points on her, and to avoid her. It was good. It was good.
He didn't know what she got out of it, though. He couldn't hurt her; she wasn't learning anything. She could, in fact, just stand there and let him wear himself out futilely clawing at her invulnerable skin. Once or twice she had, and then made him start again. She made him fight with less fury; she made him think and talk and it was good, he got something from that, but what did she get?
They made her team leader, and he cynically wondered if it was because they thought she could control him. She was surprised -- no-one else was, though some were jealous, but her surprise smelled genuine. She was still ...nice to him. She defended him, she protested Wolverine's methods. The old man hated Kyle, hated him for what he reminded him of, and Kyle darkly awaited the day one of them was dead for good from their little training sessions. It would probably be him, but he didn't care.
And still she was nice. Like she might actually care, and he didn't trust it at all. No, he'd been tricked that way before, and he'd learned -- he'd learned to never trust because it was always, always a lie. He could tell when the others were nice, or at least polite, it was because they didn't want to provoke him. They didn't want him after them. She didn't have to worry about that, but she was still nice.
Lil was different, and it confused him. Once she was leader, though, he gradually realised it was to his benefit to be in her good graces, so long as he was careful. He watched. He waited. She would show her hand eventually, and he would plan for that day. In the meantime he would obey her without having to be pulled back physically, as much as he could make himself, because at least with her as leader he was allowed out. He played at hero, and it was new and exhilarating. When he noticed the gleam in her eyes, he thought maybe she was smarter than anyone had thought.
He didn't know why he thought that.