Washed up (open)

Tempest was so happy that Falkor had found the swirling clouds easily. He smiled as the dragon came down on wide wings, disturbing the air currents, which Tempest let go anyway so the fog could rush back in. He was truly a creature of legend; this mutant was astonishing.

All that marvel and awe melted away into horror as the words ‘I’m sorry’ echoed throughout the abandoned warehouse. Blood dripped with punctuated clarity to the floor. There were clothes between his teeth and it was only too clear there were bits of flesh stuck up around its gums.

>> "I lost control...... The hunger was, to much. I really am a monster. I deserved to be locked away in those labs. At least then I would not hurt anyone"

A rage filled Devon. Whatever explosion, whatever happened at Plum Island… He was going to find out. How many others were suffering because of that place? Now someone had lost their life, but it wasn’t the dragon’s fault.

Tempest exhaled slowly. “That’s not true. No mutant deserves that treatment,” he said, maintaining a calm and confident tone. “But you’re right about one thing: you lost control. Control you would have already if you were treated as a mutant with an incredible ability and needed to learn rather than a beast for someone to experiment on. They punished you, mistreated you rather than helped you.”

>> "The world does not seem so bleak now knowing people like you live in it. Rare are the souls that shine so brightly."


“Thank you, I meet a lot of people who need help, especially mutants. Your gratitude is more than enough thanks,” Devon said softly, holding a hand up as his other drew out his cell phone. “I think we should call a friend of mine. She volunteers at Sanctuary so you might have met her before: Juliette. She’s an X-Man now and if anyone will help you, treat you with respect… It’s her and them. This is bigger than me or Sanctuary…”

Truly it was. He didn’t have the resources they did. The dragon needed a haven Tempest couldn’t yet provide.

“You deserve real help, so I’m going to call her and ask her to come down. I’m going to stay with you and make sure I can visit you.” He nodded a few times and waited for the dragon to felt comfortable before he found Juliette in his text messages and called her. It rang a few times before she answered.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got an important urgent issue that requires care, someone who needs important help. X-Men help…”

Devon didn’t say his name. It was Níðhǫggr. On the way from Montauk to Red Hook he’d looked it up. He was right. It was some old story from Norse mythology. Níðhǫggr was the villainous dragon who gnawed at the tree of knowledge, the world tree Yggdrasil. Murderers, adulterers, and those devoid of honor earned such titles. Either someone at Plum Island was especially cruel or they knew what he was capable of.

Of course, this story was far from over.