The Power and The Passion
Love.
Hatred.
Two sides of the same coin, or so it would seem. One can become the other, and vice-versa, given time. But how truly different are they?
Love casts people in a special bond which can last for life. Hatred can do the same. Love can inspire people to great thing.....or horrible things. Hatred can also.
How truly blurred are the lines between them.........

Erik went smashing through the window like a wrecking ball, and did not recover enough this time to properly break his fall. He grimaced as he felt one of his ribs crack. Damn her.
Erik rolled to his back and flipped up. A dark figure, he was dressed completely in black and had jet black hair, which was sitting in a tangled, matted mess apon his head. His eyes were a startling shade of blue. One of them anyway. The other was glowing blood red.
Erik was a cyborg, and had been made into one against his will. Parts of him had been replaced by the most advanced machinery know to man, and his senses and overall being had been augmented greatly. Erik was a killing machine, pure and simple. But in his heart, he knew right from wrong, and he fought for good. More specifically, for Legacy.
The woman he was fighting, if she could even be called a woman anymore, was far different. Startingly beautiful, she had red hair laced with black streaks and a sensual body. Trim and atheletic, the moonlight seemingly followed the long lines of her curves. She was a very attractive woman.
Until you saw her eyes.
Devoid of any emotion or humanity whatsoever, all that burned in her eyes was an all-consuming lust.
Her name was Agony.
Erik knew her well. She had murdered his family, and made him what he was.
"Having fun yet?" Agony smirked.
Erik, realizing he was in a church, snatched a nearby candlestand and hurled it at Agony like a lance. She dodged to the side easily.
She realized too late it had been a ruse. She had managed to dodge right into the line of fire, as Erik was now charging at her like a guided missile.
Erik snapped out his right hand and foot-long reinforced metal talons came snapping out of his fingertips. He lunged in a long scything slash, trying to eviscerate Agony.
Too late. She managed to pull back and avoid what would have been death to a normal human, but Erik still managed to deliver a long slice down the front of her person. She shrieked.
And then began to laugh at the wounds automatically closed and healed.
Thus was Agony's power: Pain. Through others and her own, Agony lived for pain. No matter how badly you hurt her, she would feed on it and heal herself. Erik knew. He'd fought her time and time again, and no matter how badly he injured her, the wounds always closed and vanished, and she was fresh again. Even now, he could feel her leeching off the pain his cracked rib was emitting, sucking it down like a parasite.
Could she be killed? Erik didn't know. He thought he'd done it, time and time again. But she always returned. And all Erik could hope to do was battle, and defeat her, another time, and hope this time she stayed dead.
"Come now, is that the best you can do? Going senile in our old age?" Agony mocked. Unlike Erik, who still had a rather uneasy grip on his mind, Agony was totally insane. She would eat the hearts of children if it struck her fancy. And it did. Erik loathed her with every ounce of his soul.
Erik didn't reply. He just leapt at Agony again. She grabbed him and they went smashing through the wall. Erik recovered first as Agony leapt up, a splinter of wood impaled through her shoulder. Almost non-chalant, she yanked it out and tossed it aside, the wound closing and healing before it hit the ground. She didn't stand for much longer, as Erik spun and blasted her with a kick that sent her flying through another boarded up window.
Erik was after her in a second, like a wolf stalking prey.

It had been an intimate night for the two of them. Too many of their nights were filled with violence, bloodshed, and fighting for their lives. They always enjoyed when the two of them could be alone. They had had dinner with wine by candlelight, and had spent hours just talking about their hopes, fears, and dreams.
Christine was dressed in a red evening gown, a touch away from her usual colour scheme, which were mostly whites. Ash was in a tuxedo, a rarity for him. He said he didn't like wearing such nice clothes because something could happen and they would be wrecked. Christine thought he looked very sexy in those outfits.
As the bell tolled midnight, he rose and offered her his hand. She took it, knowing where they were going. And wanting what was going to happen.
They walked up the stairs, to their bedroom. He opened the door and closed it behind them. After a pause, she went to lock it and then turned to slip into his arms.
Their lips met, softly at first, and then slightly stronger. Christine's hands rose and caressed her husband's long locks of golden hair. Then she slid her hands down to his neck and around it to his top collar button as she broke the kiss.
Her eyes shined luminescence as she undid the top button. She continued down his shirt, undoing each button delicately and with care. She finally slid the shirt, along with his jacket, off his frame and onto the floor.
She raised her right hand and placed it on his cheek as their lips met again. There was passion this time, as she ran her hands over his well-muscled chest and back. He tensed as she ran one hand over the puckered flesh of one of his battle scars, but he loosened almost immediately. He trusted her.
His hands, content at her sides, slowly moved up the soft fabric of her evening gown until he came to her shoulders. He broke the kiss and turned her around.
He kissed her cheek and then down her neck, slowly caressing one point where he could feel her heartbeat as he hooked his fingers into her dress straps and slowly began to pull it down off her.
As the satin slipped down off her body, she felt the cool air break her heated flesh out in goosebumps. Her nipples hardened like pebbles as the dress slipped down off her breasts. As he undressed her, she reached up behind her and ran her hands through his hair again as he continued to softly kiss her neck and caress it with his lips. The dress dropped to the floor. She wore nothing underneath.
As she turned back into her husband's arms, she felt herself swept up as he lifted her up. He kissed her again as he carried over her over to the bed. He'd seen her unclothed before, but the sight of her body never failed to excite him. Her slender throat, the delicacy of her shoulders, the fullness of her breasts, the concavity of her belly, the flair of her hips, the long smooth supple sleekness of her legs-every line and curve excited him but always filled him with great tenderness.
He laid her down on cool silk sheets, and for while they spoke to each other in murmured whispers and kissed. Finally she grabbed him and pulled him down on her, whispering delicious things into his ear. As he obliged by kissing her neck again, she inhaled sharply, wanting him to take her.
Wanting him to love her.

Erik wanted to find Agony before she decided to flee. He had managed to kick her into an old factory that had been closed for repairs. The boarded up window would have kept a normal person out, but it hadn't been designed to block someone being thrown through it.
The tall piles of machinery gave plenty of hiding places, but Agony was not one to hide. She was one to ambush. Erik's eyes flited around to all the equipment lying around that could be used as weapons.
What the hell did they make here? Erik pondered as he looked around. But he knew he didn't have time to wonder. He had to find Agony, and fast, or she could slip away, and whoever she killed would be on his head.
Then with a roar, the machinery returned to life. That sudden noise made Erik whirl and lash out at the nearest movement. All his metal fist did was leave a large dent in some sort of large industrial machine. Erik wrenched his fist out and turned around.
Then a fist smashed into his face. Erik reeled as stars exploded in his vision. Agony lashed out with a kick, but he blocked it, grabbed her foot, and shoved her backwards.
She was aiming for my cracked rib. DAMN! If she kicks that it could fully break, and that's all I need: A makeshift dagger at my heart.
Agony smiled at him, a twisted lopsided grin, and charged at him. They collided, the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object.
Then Erik twisted his body backwards and tossed Agony into the machine. He whirled and grabbed her hair in one swift movement, then reared back and smashed her face into the metal as hard as he could. She screamed, but her broken face reduced it to a thin, reedy wail.
Agony struck back, tapping into her powers and using a blast of concussive force to send Erik flying. He grabbed a ladder rung as he flew by and used it to flip over another machine. He landed in a rolling somersault. Flipping back up to his feet, he attempted to survey his new surroundings. He managed to see several different machines and smaller industrial tools lying around. His ear picked up a strange whirring sound in the background.
He didn't get to investigate what it was though, as Agony vaulted over the machine and lanced a knee into his back. He flew forward and smashed into the side of another machine. Agony laced her fingers into his hair and yanked his head up.
Then Erik saw what was making the whirring noise: a buzzsaw. It's original purpose was unknown to Erik, but Agony had found a use for it. The large spinning blade loomed large in Erik's vision as she shoved his face towards it.
"Feel the buzz!" she half snickered, half-snarled.
Erik twisted his right arm and drove an elbow into Agony's torso. He felt ribs snap as she recoiled, pulling out a handful of his hair in the process. His right arm snaked up and grabbed her hair before she could recover.
"YOU FIRST!" Erik snarled, and shoved her face into the buzzsaw.
Bone chips flew as it immediately sliced through the thin face muscles and began to saw open Agony's skull. Her resulting scream was cut off as the tissue that composed her face and neck were shredded by the blade. Blood sprayed as Erik kept her face pressed to the blade, trying to turn Agony's brain into pulp, hoping that would kill her this time. And maybe for good.
He was destined to fail as Agony's flailing arm finally managed to pull itself together enough to aim and let loose with another blast of force. Erik's handful of Agony's hair ripped from her skull as he flew backwards. He slammed into the side of another machine, and his neck twisted from the whiplash. He slid to the ground, dazed.
Agony turned around, and Erik watched as her sawed skull sealed and her face rebuild itself. In 10 seconds, Agony was once again smiling that twisted smile Erik loathed so much.
"Is that the best you can do?"
Erik answered her question by raising his right mechanical arm as a tube extracted from it. With a hollow WHOOSH, napalm spewed from the tube and ignited, bathing Agony in flames. She recoiled as she caught fire and backed into the buzzsaw, which proceeded to saw into her back and into her spine until it jammed from gore. She let out a long wailing scream of agony until the oxygen in her lungs caught fire and began to burn also.
"NO!" Erik screamed at the writhing, burning figure as she fought to snuff out the flames. The figure that had been Agony threw out her arms and unleashed a bolt of black energy at Erik. It slammed into him and he went flying through a nearby stone wall.
As the last of the flames were forced out by Agony's abilities of pain, she snarled. Her critically burned body already repairing itself, she stalked after Erik.
And gasped as a shovel swung out of nowhere and smashed into her face.

Christine gasped as Ash traced paths of cold fire down her with his kisses. Down her neck, all over her breasts, along her stomach, and down her legs. She loved it when he did this, feeling dominant and at the same time, adored. She murmured in appreciation as Ash kissed back up her right leg and down her thigh. Her murmuring dissolved into soft cries as Ash kissed her womanhood, and then began to gently caress it. Christine arched her back, wanting more, as he used his lips and tongue to drive her wild.
"OH ASH! Yes, YES!"
Ash listened and caressed until she was driven to the very threshold of her control, and then he drew away. Her burning desire for him now heightened even more, she moaned as he stopped. Taking charge, she grabbed his head and pulled him down on her, then found he was still hindered by clothes.
"A mite hasty, aren't we?" he teased. She responded by kissing him again.
"Take me Ash. Make love to me." she whispered in his ear.
He slid away. A few seconds later, she felt his arms slide around her and lift her up. As their faces became level, she kissed him again. A second later he slid into her.
Christine let out a sigh of pleasure, and returned to her kiss with him. The burning within her heart grew, and she felt as if there was actually fire flowing through her veins as he made love to her. She shuddered as he broke the kiss, rocking back and forth as he began to suckle on her neck again.
Soon though, her desire grew higher for him, and she wanted more. She began to thrust herself against him, heightening her pleasure and his.
As he lowered her back down to the bed, she gently grabbed his face and pulled it up to hers.
"I love you." she whispered, and silenced him with another kiss before he could reply.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Agony screamed, as her busted nose twisted back into the natural position Erik had smashed it out of. Erik's only reponse was another scything shovel blow, sending her backwards and slicing off a good chuck of burnt flesh that had yet to fully heal.
The pain, or maybe the rage, sent Agony over the edge. With a sound of rage that no human throat should have been able to make, Agony threw out her arm as a long snaking coil of energy flew from her hands. In a blink of an eye, it wrapped around Erik.
It didn't burn him as he expected, but somehow solidified against his skin and pinned him in a makeshift vice. "Oh shit."
Agony lifted up Erik in the vice and hurled him against the wall. Erik willed himself to go limp, but it still hurt. A lot.
And it was only the beginning, as Agony extracted her revenge in spades as she then proceeded to smash Erik against the side of a machine, then against the ceiling, then pistoning him into the ground before she hurled him across the factory room.
Erik's back smashed against metal as he hit the side of another factory industrial device, and it was only through great luck that his spine didn't snap. His head hit pretty hard though, and strange shapes danced in his vision as he tried to think coherent thoughts again.
Gradually he realized he wasn't slumped on the ground, but instead he was somehow stuck to the machine face. He tried to move his arms and legs and found they were stuck.
A quick glance confirmed that the same energy that Agony had used on him to throw him around like a rag doll was still there, but had now formed manacles which locked him down. Erik began to struggle furiously. He was not going to be a sitting duck.
"There, there now, my friend."
Agony emerged from the shadows, fully healed. Erik had expected nothing less. He redoubled his efforts, hoping Agony planned to do some gloating. If she didn't, he was in big trouble.
Agony almost strolled over to the trapped Vengeance and reached up to grab his chin in her hand. Her grip was steel as she turned his face towards hers.
"You know, I was going to eat your heart, but I've changed my mind. I think I'll desecrate your remains instead." she said in a half-purring tone which was even more frightening when you considered where it came from.
Erik looked at her in horror as he wondered what she meant by that.
And then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Erik nearly vomited at he tried to recoil, but his head had nowhere to go as Agony parted her lips and slid her tongue into his mouth. Unlike Erik, who loathed her with every fibre of his being, Agony had developed a twisted love-hatred for Erik, and she was enjoying doing this as well as the great pain she knew was ripping him apart by her actions.
In a far corner of Erik's mind that wasn't going haywire with shock and disgust, he observed that Agony's tongue was actually rather soft and warm as it probed his mouth against his will...........
And then anger and fury burned through his mind at what this woman was doing to him, and he clamped her tongue between his teeth and bit down. Hard.
Agony screamed and pulled back as blood began to pour from her mouth. Erik spat the chunk of tissue he'd bitten off her tongue at her and yanked with all his might at his bonds, pure rage fueling him now.
The right one snapped and his mechanical arm was free. Before Agony could mount more offense, he pistoned his fist forward and smashed it into her face, almost caving it in. Agony half-recoiled, half-flew backwards, clutching her badly damaged face.
Erik grabbed the solid energy bond on his left arm and yanked. It snapped off. Erik quickly did the same thing for his legs and hopped down.
And walked right into an Agony spin kick. Erik's shoulder met the machine this time, and he used the more favorable position to spring back towards Agony. But she'd anticipated his move and met him with a thrust kick which knocked the wind out of him, then a scything snap kick which sliced his cheek open. He felt blood begin to pour down the side of his face.
"Did you like my kiss, lover?" Agony said in the purring tone she had used earlier.
The burning fury came smashing through Erik again as he backhanded Agony as hard as he could, sending her twirling like a top. Erik looked around the room for weapons in the seconds he had before Agony recovered.
His eyes seized apon an industrial drill that was nearly as big as he was. He snatched it up.
As Agony turned around Erik thrust the end of it into her gut, impaling her on the drill. She did not scream this time but looked at him in cold horror.
"Screw you." Erik hissed, and turned the drill on.
Agony began to scream this time, as gore began to splatter everywhere as her intestines and spinal cord were shredded into hamburger. A flood of blood suddenly erupted from her mouth as her lungs got ripped open. The drill tore through her body as blood and worse splattered all over Erik. To him it was pure bliss.
Finally, the drill jammed from the gore that now caked it's mechanisms. The ruin of Agony's body slid off the end and slumped on the ground.
Erik dropped the drill. He could feel blood, both hers and his, running down his face. Mixing together.
Erik's gorge rose, and he began to gag and spit, trying to get the horrible feeling of Agony kissing him out of his mouth and out of his mind. He was utterly sickened, considering what that mouth had done.
But what sickened, and horrified him the most, is that deep deep down in the very blackest depths of his being, part of him had liked her soft tongue plying around his mouth..............
Erik, feeling more alone then he had in a long time, fell to his knees as his body was racked with shudders of revulsion.

Christine felt it happening. There was no turning back now.
Every muscle in her body tensed and then the waves of pleasure flowed through her. Her mouth opened to cry out, but Ash silenced her with another kiss before it could happen. He could feel her body writhe under his as she shuddered in absolute ecstasy.
Christine sighed and turned to the kiss. For a long while they lay there, just kissing.
Then Ash whispered something in her ear. Christine smiled and slid her hands into his hair as she returned to gently kissing him again. For her, the night had just begun.

Erik was so caught up in his digust he almost didn't see her until it was too late.
Agony was crawling away slowly. Her lower body, having been cut nearly in half,dragged behind her, tissues being reattached and regenerated even as she crawled away, as she fed off the huge amount of pain that the drill had caused her.
Concentrating, she began to draw apon her powers even more, leeching off the incredible pain from her wounds and the pain that lurked within Vengeance's being, and began to convert it into raw destructive energy. She'd held back on her previous attacks against Erik, but she was through holding back now. When she struck this time, Erik's flesh was going to fly off his bones like melted wax.
Erik looked over to her just as the energy drawing was complete.
Shrieking like a banshee, Agony threw out her hands.
"EAT THIS!" she screamed.
As the white-hot blast lanced from her hands, Erik realized he had no time to dodge. That left him one option.
While Erik was far from Compatriotess, he did know how to tap into the inate magical energy that surrounded the world. He just rarely needed to.
But he did it now, throwing up a makeshift shield and hoping it would deflect that blast.
The blast slammed into the shield. The process cancelled out most of it, but enough of the energy remained to smash through the shield and then into Erik. He flew across the wide room again and through one of the walls of the factory, burying him in rotten wood and sheet metal.
Agony pulled herself to her feet, her body still healing, and stumbled off. She needed to get away so her powers could recharge fully, and then she would deal with Erik.
There was a roar and then the rubble covering Erik was blasted off. Shrapnal flew everywhere as Erik flipped up to his feet with a snarl.
Agony weighed her options and decided that it might be best for her if she ran for the moment. She bolted for the nearest door.
"OH NO! YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Erik roared, and gave chase.
Agony ran out the door into an alleyway, and spying stairs going up one wall, she ran for them and began to ascend as fast as her still-recovering body would let her. The pain from running at full tilt at less then full calibar only served to help her recover faster.
Erik leapt out the door and sprang into battle position, expecting to be ambushed. He saw Agony running up the stairs almost immediately. He sprinted over and began running up them after her.
Agony reached the top of the roof first. She turned and focussed what power she had gathered so far, and then even though it left her weak, she lanced energy down, melting the supports holding the stairs to the wall.
No longer held up, the stairs buckled and began to fall. The sudden lurch nearly threw Erik off the stairs, but he managed to catch a railing and avoid plunging to his doom.
And then the stairs collapsed, metal buckling like wet paper under it's own weight. Erik went down with it. As he fell, Erik aimed his arm at a nearby statue on a nearby roof.
A grappling hook shot from a tube that emerged from his arm and embedded into the statue. Erik swung on the cord away from the collasping wreckage. He hit the wall hard and had the wind knocked out of him again as the stairs collasped below him.
Realizing how much of a sitting duck he was, Erik regained his breath and racheted up the wall as quickly as possible. Flipping up on the ledge where the statue resided, he looked around for Agony.
But she had not attacked him. She instead was fleeing towards another section of the city.
"No!" Erik hissed.
He leapt off the ledge onto the roof of a building below him and gave chase.
She had a major head start and was as fast and resortful as Erik, but he was determained not to lose her. He chased her for hours, slowly whittling the distance between them down bit by bit.
Finally, after traversing rooftops, alleys, and god knew how many other dark areas, Agony stopped.
Before her was the Reznor Tower, the building that would soon be the largest skyscraper on the planet. 130 stories high, the roof was the only part nearing completion. The stark metal skeleton shined in the moonlight that provided the only light.
She'd go there. On that roof, she's make her stand.
"AGONY!" Erik's voice came drifting to her ear. He was closer then she thought. She had to hurry.
Leaping across several other roofs, she began to scale the building with whatever means she could find. She'd made it up a few stories when Erik arrived and began climbing after her. She shot an energy blast at him and continued her climb. Erik dodged the blast and climbed after her, dodging the occasional blasts she continued to throw at him.
After a long exhausting climb, she reached the top and vanished into the shadows on the top of it. Lightning cracked, thunder rumbled, and rain began to pelt the roof.
When Erik's face appeared over the side, Agony leapt out of the shadows and cracked her fist into it. He recoiled and nearly fell off the tower. Agony lashed a kick at his face, but he grabbed her leg and shoved her backwards. Before she could regain her balance, he'd flipped up on the roof.
"Prepare to die, Agony."
"I've heard that before, lover" Agony taunted.
Erik's only response was a pistoning kick that caved in her rib cage. Even as the broken bones snapped back onto position, Agony retaliated by throwing herself at Erik. She slammed into him, and knocking him down, began to claw at his face, reopening his cheek and opening a gash near his right eye. Erik drove his skull into her face and then flipped her over him.
Getting to their feet, Erik and Agony proceeded to battle all over the roof. Erik delievered injury after injury, but they all just healed. Agony fought back, and soon Erik was bleeding from several wounds.
Agony kicked Erik in the shin and then smashed a knee into his face. As he stumbled, she delivered a spinning backwards roundhouse kick which sent him nearly tumbling over the edge. Erik retaliated by picking up a screwdriver lying around and throwing it at her. It lanced through her shoulder, and as she yelled, Erik delieved a leaping axe kick and flipped around to drive his feet into Agony's chest.
Agony swung another punch, but Erik blocked and retaliated with one of his own. Another punch followed, and then another, as Agony was forced back towards her own edge.
Then, Agony's hand lanced out and grabbed Erik around the neck. Her hand clenched and her twisted grin spread across her face as she prepared to crush his throat and feel his life's blood flow across her hand.
And then Erik struck, pistoning his mechanical hand out and driving it straight through her rib cage. His hand found her heart, and as it closed over it, he could feel it beating as blood flowed throught it, even as Agony's grip loosened as she opened her mouth to scream. But no sound emerged.
And then Erik yanked her heart from her chest, pulling it out into the alien open air.

The rest