Maliki's Story

Molly was exhausted. It seemed like the work load was never ending and she wasn't about to get a break in caseload. The 'special' cases that Catherine tagged her to help out on, in conjunction with the other more mundane MCU work was exhausting, and after that disaster of a staff meeting, she was just glad to go home, get some food, and now, get some sleep.

And she had been sleeping, dreaming of her and Karato together again. Not that Karato had ever been particularly nice to her, but it was nice to dream of them both alive again. Grumbling, she nuzzled closer to the pillow, the dream, not necessarily good despite her 'sister's' life in it, pushing her just to the edge of waking. It was the 'pillow' herself that woke her further, and she went still.

In the past, it wasn't unusual for someone to crawl in bed with her. Lorn, Karato, Vex, Paralysis. They had all done so at one point, sometimes all at once. But she lived alone now. She and Lorn had split up, Karato and Paralysis died, and Vex was off with his lady love once more. Who was in her bed? Uncertain, she opened one bleary eye, and went very very still. Whoever it was felt like a demon, and as she blinked her vision still, she murmured. "K'rato?" It could be. the other had been without form before... She might have recovered from what Molly had thought was her death, and in her sleep addled state, that made some sort of sense to her. Either way, she nuzzled closer and closed her eyes again. "Missed you K'rato."

You could almost cut the eerie silence with a knife. Pitch black, quiet… you’d hardly notice the mangled corpse sprawled out across the living room floor, a massive hole in its chest where the heart used to be. But in its place was a nice bouquet of carnations and something else… for the scholar who was willing to dig deep and find it. In a past life, Malik may have been a poet, or an artist, because he had a sense of macabre that was just medieval. Seated in the corner of the room, he was hunched over, staring meticulously over at the bed. His hands crossed in his lap, a crooked Cheshire grin crept up on his lips.

It wasn’t long now before he got up, pacing the bedroom slowly, deliberating on what he should do. There was no method to the madness or the way his mind worked, so he didn’t hesitate to crawl into bed behind her. For a while, he said nothing, until that name crossed her lips. Malik was almost infuriated by it. “There, there, daddy’s home!” The most maniacal thing he could think to say in a situation like this. Slowly, his hands coursed the woman’s hips, curving around her sides as he pulled her in close, his breath hot against her ear. “You didn’t think you’d lose me forever now, did you my little puzzle piece? Didn’t I tell you when I see you… things just click.”

That sure as hell was not her Karato. Molly jerked awake and put her hand against Malik's chest, pushing away, trying to get away from him. It had been too long. She should have know he was there the moment he arrived! She was slipping, relaxing from her time at court, and now she paid the price of this fucker in her room again. "What the fuck are you doing in my bed, Malik." She demanded, clearly infuriated.

It had been years. She had thought he was done with her! It didn't look like it, and by the look in his eyes he was more insane than ever before. Damn it, of all the times she wished her Inhabitant was up and about, this sure as hell was one of them. "Get out. Now. Out of my bed, out of my apartment, and stay the fuck out of my life." Nothing like dealing with a stalker to make a girl curse to high heaven.

She hadn't seen him since before she had left to the fairy court with Catherine. The fact that he had returned didn't bode well for her, or her sanity. The minute he was out of here, she was calling up MCU to report that the creep was back again. Fighting was something she had given up a very long time ago. He was stronger than her, better at planeswalking than her. She stood no chance. This didn't stop her from wanting to punch him.

“Oh a shot to the heart! Or wait… is that the present I left you in the living room? I forget.” Pushing her from the bed, he propped himself up with his elbow, a palm resting on his cheek. “What do you think? Do you like me like this? Or maybe…” Crossing his legs and sitting up with his weight put on his knees, he smiled. “This. Yes, definitely this!” Peering around the room, he nodded to himself in agreement. “I like what you’ve done with the place. Very… quaint. Listen, I’ve been thinking. We’ve really grown apart these last few years and I want to reconnect.”

Malik was a picky eater. But when he found something he liked, he liked to play it with first. “Now you’re not being very nice. Let me guess. Right now you’re thinking that you need to call the MCU… or wait! Better! Catherine! Yes I know all about Catherine. Fact is, I probably know more than even you do. You should really pick better friends. I want to be your friend, Molly.” Crawling up out of the bed and pulling himself to his feet, he towered over Molly, staring down at her with his head cocked suspiciously to the side. “I brought flowers if that makes a difference. Granted, things got a little messy… after all, killing Molly’s is hard work.”

Molly grumbled as she landed on her feet and stood up. "How'd you even find me? I moved!" He was an asshole. Then he mentioned Catherine and she paled, before hardening her heart. "Catherine could kick even your ass." she snarled, and looked up at him, clearly unhappy.

Wait? Killing Mollys? What the hell did he mean by that. Molly readied herself for a madcap dash through the planes, in hopes of losing him. If he attacked, it was likely her only chance. "Killing Mollys? And what flowers?" This was why she didn't like dealing with him. He was madder than any hatter out there, and it was pretty clear that was the case. Between that and the fact that he'd appear in her room like this, or her home, and it was a recipe for disaster. Hesitating, she backed away from him, slowly. "Look, if you're looking for Karato, she's not here." Mostly not here. Not here physically at least. "So you can go away. And if you aren't looking for her, you can piss off. I'm tired, cranky, and don't want you here." The woman reached behind to, to her vanity, searching for the flask of holy water she kept on top of the vanity. She didn't think it'd do much more than stun him a little, but it may help.

“But I never lost you!” Malik was kind of surprised that Molly really believed herself free of his influence. He hadn’t gone anywhere. For a while, he was depressed after so many failed attempts at getting her full attention, but now he knew exactly what he needed to do for his plan to work. And it didn’t just include Molly, but everyone at the MCU; everyone she holds near and dear to her heart. He didn’t just want Molly to pay, he wanted her to suffer. Though most of all, he wanted his precious Karato. “Oh, I’ll kill your pretty little Catherine in due time, just you see.”

Edging closer towards the living room, his arm reached out to point to the floor. “Left the flowers and Molly right there. You have to admit, she has your eyes.” There was that name again. Karato. Something about Molly saying it just irritated him. Toes curling, and fingers tightening into fists, he smiled. “Looking for this.” Unveiling a small flask from one of his pockets, he waved it around in front of Molly like a trophy. “I may not have been around, but I’ve always been watching. You’ve been quite busy with the MCU. But you might want to push all of your cases to the sideline because this one is going to take you awhile.”

She hesitated and moved closer, the darting around him and through the door into the living room, where she stopped, eyes wide. There was a dead woman on her floor, and in the dark, she looked identical to Molly. She swallowed and stumbled closer. Flowers. Above the heart? No...no there was a cavity there. They were resting where...they...

A fully body shudder worked its way down from her head to her toes and she turned to face him, eyes wide and wild. "What the hell! Who is that Malik? Who did you kill!" In the back of her mind it occurred to her to arrest him. It also occurred to her that this was not going to happen, but it was her job to try, even though this was more than a little terrifying. "I'm law enforcement now, you fucker You're...you're under arrest!" She didn't try and move closer, frozen in place.

She couldn't make herself do more than say the words, couldn't force herself to move closer to him. Dammit, she was too scared too, and that hurt like hell to realize.

He was smiling on the inside; attributed to the fact that she took to his work so fervently. It must have come as a shock, to see a woman lying in your living room; a woman who looks identical to you. Or in this case, Molly. Malik wasn’t about to give away his methods though, not yet. Maybe he’d watched way too my television, but he wasn’t about to spill the beans on his masterplan. He wouldn’t even think about it. “Technically, her name is Molly. As for where she came from, that part is a secret. But you’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out.”

Under arrest? The idea hadn’t even dawned on him. Would she really arrest him? Did she even have the nerve to try? Curiosity did kill the cat. But what the hell. “You got me officer. I don’t know how I ever thought I’d get away with it. Take me in. Book me! Read me my rights!” He spoke with an almost sarcastic tone as he put his wrists out. “Come on, I won’t bite. Be gentle though, it’s my first time.” Almost giddy from excitement, he closed the distance between them, arms still out with his wrists clearly visible. “I’ll ride in the backseat.”

Molly darted to the side table, grabbed an old set of cuffs that used to belong to her sister, and then darted forward, as if scared that being slow would make him leave. There was a trick to this. There had to be a trick to this, there had to be, because things did not go this smoothly for her. Ever. The other girl looked almost identical to her. Less toned perhaps, but otherwise almost identical. Molly swallowed as she quickly put the cuffs on him, or tried at least.

They weren't anti-magic cuffs. He'd only come if he cooperated. Somehow, in her heart, she knew this was a trick. She had to hope though, had to try. It was her job, and if she couldn't do her job, what good was she? The woman swallowed again and looked up at him. "Please come quietly, Malik. She'd be so sad if I hurt you." He knew perfectly well who she was too. Molly knew there was something between him and Karato, but not what. Carefully, she reached in her, to that well of power and being that was Karato, that let her know the other still lived, and drew from it, so she felt more like the other, if nothing else. She couldn't properly channel it now, the other was so tired and weak, but she could feel like her Inhabitant.