Windows And Doors (Reflections Of Who I Once Was)

Chapter 2: Details

Sometimes, Liquidator looked in the mirror. He didn't do it often, mostly because it was hard to even see his watery reflection, but he would always get mesmerized by what he saw. He really had changed quite a bit, hadn't he?

He'd look hard, scrutinizing himself, trying to find the slightest hint of who he once was. The set of his shoulders, the flop of his ears, the turn of his nose — he had the basic shape down, but he just couldn't get the details right.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any real similarities to who he had been. Buddy Beagle, Bud Flud, he was as good as gone. As good as dead. Not even the glint in his eyes or the wag of his tail remained.

Maybe that should have upset him. Liquidator knew it should have upset him. But it didn't. He'd liked who he had been, but who he was now was so much better. He knew he should mourn his past self, like other mutants did, but he just didn't.

He'd turn away from the mirror, then, going back to his criminal work with a grin. With his back turned to the glass, he never sees how his lips twist and teeth flash. If he did, maybe he wouldn't think of his past self as truly gone, melted away in acid.