Mad Hadrian

Chapter 2 - Her Smile

"Where are you going?" Hadrian asked as Moxxi released herself from their embrace and moved towards the door. She just turned to him and smiled.

"I've still got a bar to run, sugar." She replied sweetly.

"Bar?" The child questioned.

"A place where people come to get drinks." Moxxi answered. At this, he tilted his head and Moxxi thought, 'He's so cute!'

In a surge of bravery, Hadrian asked, "Can I get a drink?"

The purple performer laughed. "Maybe when you're older, sugar." She bent down to grab hold of his hand. "But if you want, we'll see if I don't have anything for a growing boy like you."

As the duo exited the room, Hadrian realized that she must've had a bedroom in the back of this bar of hers. The atmosphere was dark, with the only lights being several neon signs detailing the ownership of the establishment.

One of the patrons, a gorgeous redhead with brilliant tattoos across her body turn her head and noticed them. Hadrian decided that he instantly liked her.

"Hey, Moxxi!" She called over, "I didn't realize you had another kid."

"The wheel will spin for you one day, Lilith." She responded. Hadrian was surprised that the angel didn't deny that he wasn't hers.

"Heh," Lilith said, "Doubt it." She leaned forward on the bar counter and Hadrian felt as if her fiery eyes were piercing into his soul. But he was strong, so he just put up a glare of his own, matching the burning inferno with his icy emerald gaze.

"Hmm..." Lilith said. "You feel familiar. I ever see you before, kid?" The boy was sure he'd never forget seeing such a woman in his life. He just shook his head.

Lilith broke eye contact and went back to talking to Moxxi as she tended the bar. With this, the six year old took a look around the bar. All he could see were people who looked rough and scary. A few individuals looked back at him before dismissing him altogether.

It was this awareness that allowed him to react in time enough to dodge a body flying through the air. The body made a large crash as it hit the wall and knocked over a few tables and chairs.

"Hey! If there's a fight, take it outside or I'll kill you both!" Yelled Moxxi. The two fighters however, just ignored her and continued to rip up the bar. Some other disturbed patrons joined the fight as well, as their alcohol spilled on the floor.

Thoroughly pissed off, Moxxi reached behind the counter and pulled up the biggest shotgun he's ever seen. Not that he's seen many.

She unloaded a shot in the instigators head, blowing it clean off his shoulders. Everything was silent and it seemed that people were just waiting for something to happen.

"Let's not... 'Blow' things out of proportion, boys." Her words were pleasant but the look in her eyes spelled murder. "Fight in my bar again and you'll all end up food for the skags."

The hooligans grumbled and settled down, one of them even throwing the body outside. Lilith all the while just leaning back on her barstool, sipping her drink.

Moxxi sighed and put the shotgun back where it belonged. She turned and smiled tiredly at Hadrian, who didn't know what to think. At this point, he was so desensitized to violence, it was like it was an everyday occurrence for him.

"Sorry 'bout that, sugar." Moxxi said. "How 'bouts we get you that drink, hmm?"

The woman just took a look around at her busted bar and sighed again. "I just wish they didn't destroy my bar so much." She mourned.

Hadrian looked at her and her broken bar. He couldn't stand the sad look on her face, on the face of the one who showed him such kindness. He wished he could make her feel better. Wished that she wasn't so sad.

There was a burning feeling in his stomach, almost burning as hot as his desire to make her feel happy, though he knew little of the word.

His emerald green eyes glowed with a fury Moxxi had never seen before as the bar started mending itself. Legless chairs became whole once again, tables reattached themselves, and broken glass formed back to its original state. The bar looked as if the fight never happened.

Some people started yelling expletives as the broken items they were near whipped past them. Moxxi's eyes were never wider in her entire life. She instantly looked at Hadrian whose eyes still shown with that same fury.

"W-wha..." For the first time, Moxxi was speechless. Never before had she seen such a feat. And she smiled.

To Hadrian, that smile was worth more than anything he ever owned in his short, tragic life. He then promised himself that no matter what, he would protect that smile at all cost.

"How 'bout we get you that drink, sugar." Moxxi whispered.

Lilith leaned forwards once more into the now fixed counter and gazed intensely at her newfound interest. She downed her drink and gently placed the empty glass on the wood in front of her.

In the back room, the three of them gathered. Lilith was the first to speak. "You know what that was, kid?" To which Hadrian shook his head.

Lilith ran a hand through her crimson red hair and sighed. She now knew why he felt familiar. "You used the same energy as us Siren's."

"Siren?" He asked. He didn't really know what happened back there but he did know that the Dursley's called him a freak whenever stuff like that happened around him. They usually followed it up with a harsh punishment, subjugating him to daily beatings. But Hadrian knew it must not be all that bad, if it were to put a smile on the angel's face.

Seeing the conflict in the young boy's face, Moxxi rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, sugar. Siren's are woman with extraordinary powers."

"That's what I don't get." Lilith interjected, "Sirens are woman, and he's obviously a boy. Why does he have powers like this?"

Hadrian frowned. So even here he was a freak. Unwanted and unloved, he always manages to screw things up. As his train of thought continued, he couldn't help but feel horrible.

"I have to ask, did this ever happen before?" The redhead questioned. "We're there other instances similar to this one?"

Moxxi, ever the supporter, narrowed her eyes at Lilith from behind Hadrian. Lilith was surprised, Moxxi was never this defensive over anyone she knew. And she offended many of the other woman's ex husbands. Even just the sign of the young boy being slightly depressed caused the purple performer to go into mother hen mode.

"I didn't mean to pry. I've only ever met one other Siren, and she's dead, so you can imagine my curiosity." The beautiful woman apologized.

"It's fine..." Hadrian whispered. There was a pause in the conversation, with just an awkward silence permeating the air. Hadrian kept his head down, with Moxxi standing worriedly behind him.

"I can make things move without touching them," he mumbled, "I can make animals do what I want without training them." Hadrian remembered the snake that Dudley got for his birthday because he thought it looked cool. And how they got rid of it after realizing that the freak could make it imitate him.

"I can make bad things happen to people who hurt me." At this, Lilith and Moxxi, both having stayed silent, just looked at each other and then back to Hadrian. "I can make them hurt, if I want." One of the more severe beatings, his freakish nature backlashed and left Vernon with more than a couple scars. And him starved for days as he wasted away in his dark cupboard.

He raised his head, the emerald green eyes almost seemed to glow with intensity. "I can speak to snakes, too." He remembered before the Dursley's got rid of the snake, it seemed to whisper to him, almost being his only friend in that hellish place. And Hadrian will never forget the last two words the snake spoke to him, "Help me."

The room fell into silence once more, with no one wanting to speak up. Finally, Lilith spoke, "I can teach you to control it. That's what you want, right?"

"I'm a freak." He whispered.

Moxxi knelt down and hugged his back into her chest. "No you're not, sweetie." She kissed him on the back of the neck. The feeling sent jolts down his malnourished body. "You're Hadrian. You can be whoever you want to be. Here on Pandora, you can do anything you want to do."

"How will you teach me? I don't have anywhere to live." He mentioned.

Moxxi laughed and said, "Of course you do, sugar! You didn't think I was just going to leave you on that old bed, did'ya?" The mood lifted, "I don't know how you slept on that thing. Last time I did, I was sore for hours!"

Hadrian never felt so loved and wanted before. Again, he turned his head so he could see her smile. That reassured him that everything the Dursley's said was false. That he wasn't a freak, that someone did want him, and that he could be anyone he ever wanted to be.

"Please, Miss Lilith." He searched for his bravery but he was reminded of his previous and only friend. The snake, even gone, was still helping him out. "Help me!"

And Lilith gave a smile.

A/N Hey guys! Thanks for all the support. I really appreciate the feedback and reviews. If you guys have anything you'd like to see in this story either send me a PM or a review. It always helps me to be inspired with new ideas so I can continue to write the best I can. Anyways, I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Stay safe, and happy reading!