Chapter 21

Can You Even Lift Bro

Lilith watched as Klaus made his way over to the bed and sat down. She walked over and sat down next to him. For a few seconds, they were just quiet.

The others who had been present in the conference room had already left. All except for Billy and Liz who was now staying at the hotel. Lilith had given them her contact information so that they could communicate in the upcoming days.

Klaus was the first to speak after letting out a long sigh. "That was so, so tiring and frustrating."

Lilith leaned over and bumped her shoulder against his. "You did well and you helped me out more than you will ever know."

She had not attempted to form a link with him again- choosing to rather let him work through his own thoughts and feelings. She ran a hand through his hair.

Klaus leaned into her hand. It was cold and soft. It felt great and served to calm his racing thoughts.

He could not understand it. Klaus couldn't comprehend why the Roth felt nothing for the people that got hurt during the day's events. He looked at Lilith. "I have never been or aspired to be a hero, but neither have I done anything or gone out of my way to hurt people. Cornelius showed no remorse or one iota of regret for what he did. He did not even think about it at all. How twisted must his sense of responsibility be?"

Klaus felt angry all over again and sighed once more.

Lilith put her head on his shoulder. "I think you do. You know why and it scares you."

Klaus wanted to snort at her but stopped when he realized she was right. "I am afraid of becoming like that. Afraid that I will lose what makes me human."

It was Lilith's turn to sigh. "Klaus, I can't promise that you won't become something that you hate. The Secret Worlds is... brutal in every sense of the word. Your convictions, beliefs, and self-worth will be tested and as you said in your speech- the constant thing in life is change. Even if you never learned of the Secret Worlds- normal life would have had its own share of challenges. You have seen the ugliness of humans already and there is so much more to see. So don't think about it as becoming less human, but rather just a different you, a changed you."

Lilith gave Klaus a kiss on his cheek and got up. She started walking away and stopped at the door before giving him a smile. "Someone I know once said. Change is inevitable and comes for us all, but we can influence it to some degree. So make it a good change."

Klaus finally gave her a smile. "Where are you going?"

She smiled back at him. "You basically just gave me a team. I need to prepare and plan out our expedition."

Klaus watched as she closed the door behind her and muttered what his pride was stopping him from saying. "I wanted to cuddle. I guess it's true what they say- no good deed goes unpunished."

Klaus woke up late into the next morning. He was confused for a moment, but everything from the previous day spilled through his mind. He looked over to the bedside table to see the time on an alarm clock. What he saw instead was the watch Clarissa had gifted him. There was a crack on its face now.

Klaus sat up and scooted over to get closer. He reached out to pick it up only to stop halfway. 'Wait, why does it not hurt?'

He looked down at his chest where the large plaster was still stuck to him and unceremoniously pulled it off. "Nothing?"

There was no wound, not even a scar, just skin that looked lighter than the rest. He rubbed his had over it not sure how to feel. 'This is amazing, but I can't help but fear what I am becoming.'

Klaus took a deep breath and grabbed the broken watch while thinking about that day and his speech. 'So much had happened since then. I wonder how Clarissa is doing?'

He shook his head to try and physically shake her out of his thoughts and then looked down at his chest again. A smile grew on his face and he chuckled to himself. "We are going to literally be from different worlds soon. Who knew I had a flair for words?"

The smile faded and he gripped the watch tighter. 'I am a different version of me, huh.' He smiled again while thinking of what Lilith said the night before. "Let's make it a better version."

'I know just where to start.' Thought Klaus while picking up the phone and dialing a certain demon he did not like very much.

The phone was answered after two rings. "Young Master, I am surprised that you would take the time to phone someone as lowly as I."

Klaus frowned almost instantly after hearing the demon's condescending voice. "I need you to do something for me. A lot of things actually."

Pain was quiet for a moment. "Your words, my command."

"I want to open orphanages, lots of them. They must fall under the umbrella of Red Tree Industries and I want to start a foundation."

A longer pause of silence followed Klaus' words this time. "Young Master, I don't think you should be spending time on these... frivolous things."

Klaus started to sport a sadistic smile. "Oh, it won't be me spending time on it. It will be you."

Almost a full minute passed by this time. A minute in which Klaus nearly started laughing at Pain. If he had known it would bother the creature this much he would have tried to push for it sooner.

"I understand, what pray tell will the foundation be called? Will it be in the Young Master's name?"

"No, in a few days Cornelius will be handed in and made to be a scapegoat of what happened last night. Use the name of whatever the media calls the event and blow it up. Make it so that the whole world knows."

"What would be the purpose of this enterprise?"Asked Pain, the condescending tone completely gone from his voice.

"To help people with events like last night. I am sure it happens often and they are just swept under the rug, the innocent bystanders were forgotten or just left behind in its wake. The Secret World families have not had to answer to anyone but themselves for too long. I want to make it less desirable to cause such things. The governments and officials have no choice but to do what they are told."

Pain smiled on the other side. "Do you want them to answer to you then?"

Klaus was quiet while a quote he read a long time ago flowed through his mind. 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

"No, we will offer protection so that those that were hurt can find justice using the legal system that is failing them right now. I don't want to be a judge. I just want to make it possible for there to be one. One chosen by normal people. One that fits into their society and justice system."

Pain was quiet again. "This will make a lot of enemies."

Klaus smiled, his eyes becoming hard. "I already have those, a few more will just make things more interesting. Besides, I read once that one way to measure a man is by the enemies and friends he keeps."

Pain smiled with Klaus. "Young Master, you are not a man."

"Exactly, its time I start to reflect that."

"It will be done."

The smile faded and Klaus' eyes hardened. "Pain, one more thing."

The demon did not reply so Klaus continued. "The Argents, I know it was you. Some of them were innocent."

Pain's reply came quick. "The Young Master will soon learn- there is no such thing as the innocent."

The phone disconnected.

Klaus started to feel restless and just wanted to move. So he got dressed in comfortable exercise clothes which he got from a closet in the room. He figured that it must have been stocked by Pride since the clothes fit perfectly.

After inquiring from a maid that was waiting outside his door, Klaus soon found the gym. He was not dumb enough to believe that he would find equipment that would help him train, but just using his body would be enough. After all, he could literally make himself weigh a ton.

He was surprised to find Liz was already there. She was on one of those stationary bikes, working up a sweat. He walked over and to the front of her. She would not have noticed otherwise with the earphones she had on.

She took the earphones out while giving him and his clothes a dubious look. "Should you be here with your wound?"

Klaus shook his head. "No, it's fine I am all better now."

She raised one eyebrow at him and sat back while still peddling. "Klaus you nearly died. Don't you think you should take it easy?"

Klaus shook his head while walking towards a cleared area in the small gym. "We don't have time to take it easy."

He got down on all fours, regretting he had approached her in the first place while starting to do push-ups.

She watched him for a moment before joining him and starting her own. She did not miss how the matt sank under his weight. "Why are you not using any of the equipment?"

Klaus was starting to breathe heavily after a hundred. "Did you not see me shove a car into another one last night? The weights here are too light."

Liz stopped after thirty and sat while giving him a once over. Klaus had an athlete's body. He was taller than most, but not the tallest she had ever seen. His muscles were toned and streamlined so what happened made no sense. Besides shoving the car he had also moved unnaturally fast and that without the telltale signs of using an ability. 'Whatever he used must have been hidden below the surface.'

"How much do you weigh?" She finally asked and Klaus ignored her until he reached two hundred and stopped.

He sat down while facing her. "If I tell you, will you tell me a secret?"

She paused and then rolled her eyes at him. "Fine."

Klaus smiled. "I weigh just a bit under a ton."

Klaus burst out laughing when he saw her face change into something he could not quite make out.

She slapped his arm. "You are lying to me!"

He lifted his hands to defend. "I am not, I swear."

She sat staring at him for a moment. "Prove it."

Klaus looked around, but for the life of him could not think of something until he looked at her. "How about you try and lift my legs?"

Liz gave him a skeptical look but finally nodded. "No cheating, okay?"

Klaus sprawled himself out on the matt and relaxed his body while opening the maw a bit more. "My word is my bond."

Liz got up and hooked her hands under his calf muscle and lifted, or tried too. Klaus watched her face turn red, his leg started to lift first one inch and then two, but that was as far as she could go and she dropped it while gasping. "What the hell are you made of?"

Klaus started laughing. It was a hearty laugh, one he had not experienced in what felt like forever to him.

Liz just watched on, incredulous.

Klaus forced himself to stop and then adopted an air of arrogance. Leaning back onto his hands and lifting his nose into the air. "I have superior genes." He then leaned forward raising one eyebrow. "Do you even lift bro?"

Liz watched Klaus with wide eyes, shocked at his words until she noticed his teasing smile.

"You are such a dork." She finally managed to say.

He scoffed at her. "I believe it's my turn to ask."

The mood became a bit more somber and she gave him a nod. "Go ahead."

"How do you activate your ability and where did you learn how to handle yourself like you did last night?"

Klaus watched as her eyes turned a bit colder. "Those are two questions. My ability is tied to my stigmata and I was trained from a young age to defend myself."

Klaus sat forward at hearing her mention stigmata. "How do you do it, use your stigmata I mean? The one who trained me, let me meditate but it never worked."

"I don't know, its complicated. It is different for everyone or so I was taught. It took me a few years to get it right so I am not surprised that you have been struggling. I still struggle sometimes like last night- everything was just so hectic. I was useless, sorry."

Klaus regarded her for a moment. Liz was now looking at her hands which were in her lap.

Klaus lifted his leg and gently pushed the despondent Liz over. She sputtered for a moment before giving him a glare.

He got up and offered her his hand to help her up. "Did we not talk about this last night. Without you, I would probably be dead."

She pouted and took his hand.

He pulled gently only to discover she did not use her legs and was now just hanging from his hand with her legs in the fetal position. "I had to test it."

He shrugged and she put her legs down. "Tell me more about the mindset you need to activate your stigmata."

She pondered for a moment. "Well, they say that the best time to train is just after your awakening. When the feelings and memories were fresh. Some learn to use them instantly that way. Mine was a bit dramatic though so I did not get the chance."

Klaus snorted while he thought about his own. "I know the feeling."

She felt curious but it did not seem like he was in the mood to elaborate so she continued.

"My trainer told me that it would come naturally when we cross over because the world energy is more abundant, its still good to learn some form of control while we can though. So what I do is I try and remember what feelings and thoughts I had while I went through the awakening. I kind of try and put myself in that person's shoes again."

Klaus pondered over her words and started to walk towards a nearby water dispenser. "How do you know when it works?"

"Its as if that person becomes you, or you become the real you. It's confusing and simple all at the same time. The trick for me is to find that mindset. It's especially hard for me because what I witnessed during my awakening... well, it was nothing good."

Klaus saw Liz was becoming more withdrawn the more they spoke about it, so he decided to change the subject.

'I wonder if she can teach me how to shoot?' It was a sudden thought. One he discovered he dreaded. His experience with guns had not been good at all. First, there was Macy and then the attack from the Argents where he had to kill someone for the first time. The previous night he had even gotten shot.

'Do I really need to learn how to use those things?' He sighed, his mind was already made up.

"Liz?"

She was busy drinking from a plastic cup when she heard her name. What surprised her was the serious tone in which it was spoken. 'Why is he so serious? Did I do something wrong or is there something he has been hiding from us?' She swallowed audibly and said tentatively.

"Yes?"

Klaus turned to her, his face set in a mask of seriousness. "Can you teach me how to shoot?"

For a moment she just looked at him in surprise and then she chuckled. "For a moment there I thought you were going to tell me that someone was dying. Why so serious?"

Klaus frowned at her. "Guns are serious."

She nodded. "You are right, but it's as serious as your overweight leg which can kick me to the moon. Guns are tools. They cant hurt people by themselves, it still takes someone to pull the trigger."

Klaus shook his head. "Guns embolden those that would usually not harm others."

Liz shrugged. "So does a knife or any kind of weapon for that matter. Does your new body not give you the confidence to do things?"

Klaus fell quiet, it was something for him to think about.

Liz eyed him for a moment and then grabbed his arm, squeezing it a few times while saying. "Enough about those guns. I wanna see what you can do with these."