Chapter 9

The junior and senior classes were in the university church, attending Sunday morning service. Normally, Helena would be too distracted to focus on the hymns she and everyone else was singing. After all, it was in this very church that Xavier had enslaved her, and nothing since then had worked against him. Hate him as she did, she had to admit that he was right about one thing: she was used to having him around. Unless they were sparring, he really had no intention of actually hurting her. He just seemed interested in practical jokes and mind games. The loss of that uncertainty meant the loss of a lot of her fear. Now, at last, she could take a deep breath and regain her composure. Enjoying the tranquility of the moment, she opened herself up to feel God's love and let her anxiety melt away to the sound of her own voice.

Xavier wasn't there, as he was spending time with Lily. Ever since he had tricked her into whoring herself out, she had become even more dependent on him, so he had to shape her neediness into an even stronger instinct to sacrifice herself and do whatever he asked her to. Attendance to the church service wasn't mandatory, and students often skipped to spend time studying or working. Better he was gone; Helena could fully relax with the knowledge that he wasn't watching her.

Towards the end of the service, the priest giving the sermon cleared his throat. "Children, there is an important matter I must discuss with you. There was a terrible accident yesterday and someone very dear to all of us is in critical condition and needs your prayers..."

The name and the details were given, and the moment the words struck Helena, her lungs ceased to function and her porcelain cheeks became wet with silent tears.

Xavier wandered the campus, alone and bored out of his mind. He had just had sex with Lily, so his lust was satiated. Should he kill some time torturing Sophie or some other girl? Nah, he wasn't in the mood. He had already done all of his homework and he wasn't the kind of student that needed to study. There was nothing to do but aimlessly float across the green sea of the university quad.

"You son of a bitch!"

He turned his gaze from the sun to Helena, sprinting towards him while sobbing in anger. Oh boy, had she found out that he had resumed abusing her roommate?

She threw herself at him, hurling punches and kicks that never landed. "I'll kill you, you bastard! How could you?! Of all people, how could you do that to him?!"

Dodging her attacks, Xavier hummed in confusion. Was she talking about Thane? He hadn't really done much to him, and he never bothered messing with guys. They weren't nearly as fun to torment as women.

"What are you talking about?"

"Shut up! I'll rip you apart if it's the last thing I do! I'll make you pay for what you did! Was it you or Daphne?! Either way, I'll kill you both!"

She tried to throw a punch towards his face but he caught her wrist, staring at her with a stern look. "Helena, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Still crying, she tried to hit him with her other fist, but he caught her arm. She stood immobilized, feeling her strength vanishing, but not because of any power Xavier possessed. She leaned against his chest, wetting his shirt with her tears. "Why? Why did you have to do that to him? He was like a father to me!"

"Helena, I don't waste my time hurting men. I'm guilty of a lot of things, but not what you're accusing me of. Now take a deep breath and tell me what's going on."

He let go of her and she fell to her knees, kneeling at his feet with her slender shoulders shaking. Her face was in her hands, her tears dripping from between her fingers. "Father Hauser was in a car accident yesterday. He's in a coma now and he'll never wake up because of the brain damage he suffered. The last time anyone saw him, he was frantic, screaming about some kind of emergency. He was heading in the direction of the Vatican."

"He was one of the priests that performed that blessing on you, wasn't he? He must have figured something out and was trying to warn the Pope. I won't lie and say that this isn't convenient for me considering what he might have wanted to tell them, but I assure you that I didn't orchestrate that crash."

Helena didn't respond.

"Have you gone to see him yet?"

Finally, she looked up at him. "What?"

"Have you gone to see him in the hospital yet?"

"N-no ... I just heard about it. I was going to, but..."

"Well then, let's go."

Xavier grasped her shoulder and the two disappeared in a shroud of darkness. They reappeared in Father Hauser's hospital room, Xavier having used his powers to check the room of inhabitants before teleporting. They were alone, save for the comatose priest. Helena looked around wildly, shocked by the extent of his powers. Hauser was lying in bed, surrounded by machines monitoring his weak pulse and keeping him breathing, as well as several flower vases. He was hooked up to an EEG, showing the near-silent brain waves. Xavier helped Helena to her feet and turned her to the priest. With fresh tears streaming from her eyes, she took small steps towards him and collapsed at his side, clutching his hand and sobbing. For over a minute, Helena did not move, save for the trembles from her crying hiccups. Xavier simply stood there, watching her and using his powers to soundproof the room so that they wouldn't be discovered.

Finally he strode forward and pressed down on Father Hauser's forehead for a few seconds. Helena looked up, her face lit with rage. "Get away from him!"

Xavier pulled his hand away and the EEG seemed to double in the activity it was receiving. "There, he'll wake up in a month."

She stared at him, as if he had just spoken in gibberish. "What?"

"He'll be fine. Other than some memory loss, he won't have any problems. I reversed the brain damage, but to avoid suspicion, it would be best to let his body heal on it's own. But, since I'm already here..."

He poked Father Hauser in the stomach for a few seconds. "That tumor on his pancreas was just about to start causing trouble."

"He'll ... he'll really be ok?"

"He'll need some physical therapy and may be on a cane for a while, but he'll be back teaching before August."

For the second time, Helena slumped to her knees, her body going limp and losing all sensation. Was it possible? Would Father Hauser really be ok? She had been telling the truth when she said he was like a parent to her. If she lost him, she didn't know how she would be able to go on after everything that had happened with Xavier. But to think, of all people, it would be Xavier to save him and give her back her oldest friend. For a moment, she found herself unable to hate him, and she knew she had to say the words.

"Thank you."

Xavier walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Was there anything you were going to do today?"

She looked up at him, confused. "Huh? What? Uh ... no."

"Have you ever seen Rome? Really seen her?"

This only confused her more. "I've been around the city. Why are you asking me this?"

He smiled. "Come on, let's enjoy ourselves."

Helena followed him out of the hospital, her limbs and back stiff with straitlaced tension. "You're kidding, right? You can't be serious."

"Come on, you've been under a lot of stress lately. Let me show you a good time. See the sights."

"I've been under a lot of stress because of you! And I've already seen the Colosseum and all the other places."

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, he turned to her and grinned. "Not with me, you haven't. Come on. Think of it as a chance to get to know your enemy."

"But I hate you!"

"Well let's change that. Tell you what, if I can't make you smile ten times today, I'll remove your collar and never put one on you again."

Helena's eyes became as wide as dinner plates. "You mean it?"

"I swear on the Seven Circles of Hell and dear old dad on his black throne."

Helena scowled. "And what if I lose? Are you going to make me do something awful?"

"If I can make you smile ten times today, you have to give me a kiss on the lips. Tongue or not is up to you."

Helena's body became rigid. Her first kiss ... with him?! "And if I win, you'll leave me alone?"

"Oh no, I'm not letting you go that easy. So do we have a deal?"

She sighed, knowing that she could not pass this chance up. "Fine, but no funny stuff."

"Perfect, then follow me."

He began walking down the street with Helena cautiously trailing behind him. What was he up to? What was this really about? After walking a hundred feet, Xavier turned back to her with a look of annoyance. "When I said "follow me", I meant walk alongside me."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Helena approached him and stood at his side. As they continued walking, Xavier put his arm around her, making her stiffen up. She wanted to pull away, but she was afraid of what would happen if she angered him. Besides, she owed him for saving Father Hauser.

After a block, she worked up the nerve to speak. "So where are we going?"

"Right here."

She looked around and her heart dropped into her stomach. The street was lined with red rental Vespas in front of a scooter shop.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Come on, it's just like the old saying. When in Rome, do as the Romans. This is tourist tradition. Don't tell me you're scared."

"I prefer to be surrounded by steel and airbags."

"Said the girl who wanted to become the Pope's bodyguard..."

Xavier touched one of the scooters and it activated without needing a key.

"Oh god, you're going to steal it?"

He gave her a dry look and sat down on the bike. "Helena, don't you know who I am?"

She covered her face with her hands, feeling this day spiraling out of control for the second time.

"Ugh, fine, I'll bring it back."

She looked up, seeing the storeowner inside. He was getting to his feet, hearing the revving of the scooter and preparing to chase down the two teens.

"Well I'm not getting on that thing without a helmet."

"Oh for fuck's sake..."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the bike. Sitting sideways across his lap, she yelped as he pulled out into the street with the storeowner running out after him. Speeding down the road, she held onto him for dear life, screaming into his chest. She was silenced when he placed his hand on the back of her head.

"Relax, I'M your helmet."

At that moment, her heart calmed and she momentarily forgot she was on a scooter. She felt only the kiss of the wind on her skin, the warmth of the Italian sun, the roughness of Xavier's coat in her hands, and the softness of his shirt against her face. She actually felt ... safe.

'That's right. With Xavier's powers, it's impossible for us to get in an accident. As long as I ride with him, I'll be ok.'

Helena worked to suppress her grin of amazement as she gazed at the Colosseum, Rome's pride and joy. She had seen in before, but it still left her awestruck. With Xavier around, she couldn't allow herself to smile. The walls of concrete curled around each other, like a stone rose.

"You should have seen her in her prime."

She turned to him. "Excuse me?"

"This is nothing. When she was first built, she was a masterpiece."

"You ... you were there back then?"

"I was born at the same time as Christ and I've been traveling ever since. I spent a lot of time here in Rome back in the golden ages. Those were good times. Come on, let's head inside."

This time, Helena didn't tense up when he put his arm around her. She simply let him lead her to the ticket gate. Since they were "both" underage citizens of the European Union, they didn't have to pay to get in. The corridors were roped off in certain areas to keep tourists from wandering or doing something they shouldn't have. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt the weight of awkwardness on her chest. The sounds of their footsteps in the dark halls seemed to reinforce the lack of conversation between them. Should she say something? No, why would she do that? Why would she need to? But this tension...

"So ... what was Rome like back then?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. If you wanted to do something, you did it, and if you knew what you were doing, you could get whatever you want. It was like Sodom and Gomorrah but much classier. Getting drunk on rich wine and having orgies with the social elite. What a time to be alive.

And that's one."

Helena's body turned to ice as she realized that her lips had curled into a small smile when he talked. The way he described it invoked a tiny giggle in her, but he caught it.

He laughed at her embarrassment. "Relax, just enjoy yourself. Who knows? By the time the day is over, you might just end up looking forward to that kiss."

She scoffed and turned away. "Yeah right, you can't fool me that easily."

"If you say so..."

They stepped out into the sun and gazed out across the labyrinth remains of the Colosseum basement.

"Yeah, not like the movie Gladiator, is it? Come on, let's get a higher view."

They moved over to a nearby staircase leading up alongside the ancient seats. As they climbed the stares, Xavier removed his arm from around her, but surprised her by grasping her hand instead.

He saw her blushing and cracked a grin. "Is this your first time holding hands with a guy?"

"No, I've held hands with boys before!"

"Anything before puberty and adults holding your hand don't count."

"Considering your age, I guess this doesn't count either!"

Again surprising her, he began to laugh. "Ah, that's what I wanted to hear, that spiteful tone, arrogant almost. You're doing your best not to smile, but I can tell your ego is purring from that witty comeback. To be honest, that sounded less like you were talking to the man you hate and more like you were bickering with a childhood friend. You're finally relaxing. Like I said, you've become used to having me around."

Helena's face became red with embarrassment and anger, but she decided to just let him have the last word. Finally, they came to one of the upper levels, giving them a greater view of the great arena.

"Can you smell it? The culture in the air? The history? Not to mention the long-gone sweat and blood..."

"I'm surprised to hear you say something like that. I thought your goal was to destroy the world."

"No, just to rule it."

"And let me guess, you'd restore this place and start executing Christians like back in the good old days?"

"Ok, THAT tone is far from your best quality. But speaking about the good old days, how about I show you what they were like?"

Xavier placed his hand on the back of her head and sent a bolt of electricity through her body. All her muscles locked up and she felt something rush over her eyes like a liquid curtain. The world before her became pitch-black, but the darkness soon receded, and something new came. A tidal wave of sound washed over her, like the world beneath her feet was exploding. It was more than a choir; it was a terrestrial conglomerate of voices, cheering and screaming, with a secondary layer of clapping, and even beyond that, the strikes of metal on metal. The decrepit arena was gone, replaced with an amphitheater fit for an emperor. The Colosseum had returned to its former glory, with level upon level of howling spectators. Above Helena's head, a net of flags and sails hung across the vast manmade crater, protecting the viewers from the heat of the sun. Down below, the battlefield had been flooded and a naval battle was taking place, with full-scale ships being hit with arrows and boarded over and over by the opposing forces.

Helena was left breathless, gazing at this new world. Had ... she just traveled back in time?! She turned back to Xavier, feeling him move his hand from her head to her shoulder.

"No, before you ask, we haven't traveled back in time. This is a memory of mine. This was a real naval battle that I got to see."

The smile slipped free before she could stop it, but it was wide and beautiful. She was about to cover her mouth, but he stopped her. "Don't. I've already seen it, that's two. Tell you what, until the memory ends, the deal is suspended. Want to get a closer look?"

She turned to him, unable to reel in the smile and feeling embarrassed that she was showing him a look of anything other than disgust. There was no point in playing tough. She rushed down the stairs she had just climbed, the stone steps still pristine and sharp in this look back at history. She came to the edge of the arena, jumping up and down and laughing as she watched the warriors battle. A part of her was telling her that she was wrong to enjoy this, that she was actually watching people die in a place where, as she had said, Christians had been executed. But the rest of her knew that these guys had died almost two thousand years ago, and besides, with all the fights she had gotten into in her life, she would be a hypocrite to turn her nose up to this.

Xavier stood beside her, watching the combat unfold. "This is a reenactment of the battle between the Corcyrean Greeks and the Corinthians. Amazing, isn't it?"

For over an hour, the battle waged, with swords and spears striking shields and armor. More and more gladiators were sent out onto the ships, as if the ships themselves represented every vessel from the actual event and the directors wanted to show just how many people fought in it. Blood and bodies spilled out into the flooded arena, turning it into a marsh of gore. Xavier eventually ended the memory, leaving Helena much less tense than she had been before. She almost had a heart attack when she realized she had to go back to hide her smile. Xavier had already caught her twice, she couldn't let it happen any more times!

"Come on, there is still so much more to show you."

The two students rode through Rome on back of the Vespa, continuing their date. After getting pulled on the first time, Helena made sure to stay out of Xavier's reach and ride behind him. She tried to make as little contact as possible and lean away from him, but even while knowing that his powers would keep them safe, she immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life, especially on the turns. As well as the tourist attractions, he brought her to places that had nothing to do with Rome or her history, but were interesting nonetheless. They were little pockets of amazement that Helena had never known existed, but he showed her to and made her laugh and smile against her will. At many historical landmarks, he would show her more of his memories, letting her see Rome the way the city had been in its prime.

The longer the date progressed, the harder and harder it became to keep from smiling, laughing, and dare she say even enjoying herself. Every grin slipped free easier than the last, and was all the brighter.

The Roman Forum was bustling with life, with citizens in togas and tunics buying and selling merchandise from across the empire with coins bearing the face of Caesar. Helena moved through the mental projection, amazed by everything from the smell of fresh fruits to the calls of wild animals. The air itself was rich with culture, with Helena wishing she really could travel back in time and insert herself into this web of life. She jumped when she felt Xavier put his arm around her.

"Look at that handsome bastard go."

He was pointing at someone through the crowd, and Helena's eyes widened realized it was his past self. Dressed in the clothes of the citizens, the young Xavier was gambling in the street and winning gold from his opponents with every roll of the dice. He looked exactly as he did now, but he spoke in Latin when he bragged and told the losers to pay up.

Sitting on the back of the scooter, Helena was struggling to work up her courage. Goddamnit, this was humiliating. She tugged on his sleeve. Xavier pulled over and turned to her. She shied away, unable to believe she was about to ask something from him. The look on her face was the one she had worn all day when he placed that vibrating hex on her panties.

"Can ... can we go to St. Peter's Basilica? It's just over there."

She expected him to laugh or ridicule her in some way, but instead he simply nodded. "Of course."

They drove over to the Vatican, parking in the tourist garage, and made their way inside. The cavernous cathedral left her breathless, the beauty of the walls, floor, and ceiling filling her with warmth. She didn't even bother to hide her smile, feeling like she was going to start crying in joy.

Xavier placed his hand on her shoulder. "Is this your first time coming here?"

"No, Rosewood University has yearly fieldtrips here for every class. This is just my favorite place in the world. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that I would end up here as a member of the Swiss Guard. When I'm here, I truly feel..."

She trailed off.

"You were going to say "I truly feel God's love" or something like that, weren't you?"

She swatted his hand off his shoulder. "Someone like you doesn't deserve to be here. You should have burst into flames the moment you stepped inside."

Xavier looked around, watching the other tourists pass by. "You know, when I take over the world, I think I'll make this place my office. I'll set up a desk under the main altar and play World of Warcraft. You could be MY Swiss Guard."

Helena just sighed in annoyance and Xavier gave another look around. "Sometimes when I'm bored, I'll send a threatening letter to the Pope. And I get bored A LOT."

Making sure no one could see, he drew forth a piece of paper from nonexistence. "This was my most recent. Take a look."

Knowing that he would keep bothering her until she read it, she gave another sigh and started reading.

'Dear Chief Replacement,

I wanted to send you this friendly little letter to remind you of your imminent demise. If you're curious as to the frequency in which I've sent these letters, it is merely to instill as much fear as I can. As if basting a turkey. Which I will then proceed to have sex with.

That's right.

I'm going to FUCK the fear turkey.

Follow me @themanofsin!'

Helena was not proud of how hard she laughed and the scene she caused.

"It's this way, they sell some really cool stuff here."

Xavier was leading Helena through the back roads, wanting to show her an obscure shop hidden amongst the buildings. Wandering the crooked streets, he stopped when her footfalls became silent. She was looking down a narrow alley at four men, ganging up on a woman. At least one of them had a knife and she was removing all of her jewelry. Helena was shivering in uncertainty, her hands balled tightly into fists. Wretched sinners, she wanted to bash their skulls in, but Xavier would probably stop her. Hell, he'd probably join the men and they'd gang rape her.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

She turned to Xavier, jumping at the sound of his voice. "What?"

"Why haven't you pounced on them? Isn't this what you normally do in situations like this?"