《Fall of Jupiter》


 Chapter 1

    Pain. Pain was nothing new. Lately his whole world seemed to be defined by pain. He might be stronger, faster, and more powerful than other men, but he still felt pain. His life was defined by the constant struggle against those looking to hurt what was left of the world he loved. With Amanda gone that wasn¡¯t much. Even now he was fighting for¡­ for what? Even as he fought the latest villain in a long, incessant slew of evil, he felt empty. What difference had he made? He bought time. That was all. His tireless watch over the world would end one day. Not from age; he had long ago secured his immortality in that sense, but through his illusion of invincibility. He was tough, but not invincible. One day, he would slip up, be defeated, and then what? Sure, there were others, but they too would only last so long. Over time, some would be corrupted by their own power, others would die, the new would replace the old, and his life¡¯s work would be for naught.


    Only Amanda had truly held meaning. He had fought for her countless times, bled for her, nearly died for her, just to know that the next day her smile would be there waiting; inviting him to join her in a land of love and bliss. Now that land was cold and desolate. He stalked cold, grey corridors, trudging tirelessly toward the center of a maze that held the fruits of another destructive plot by another sadistic man. As he walked he dispatched security; obstacles in his path, but his heart wasn¡¯t in it. All he could think was that only four months ago he had held her in his arms, and now here he was living the same life of pain without the only thing that had given him solace.


    Finally he reached the center of the labyrinth. The Mastermind, one of the monotonous egomaniacs who always came back to haunt him time and time again; was fully prepared for the usual routine, but this time the hero had lost patience for routine. This man was beyond redemption. He stalked through lethal traps and destroyed everything in his path with a cold rage. When he reached the villain, he beat him. The man begged for mercy, but he gave him none. Finally, he prepared to deliver the final strike¡­ and stopped. This wasn¡¯t him. This wasn¡¯t who he was, to deliver the final strike; even to this man who the lord knew deserved it. Sighing, he scooped the man up, and flew him out into the world to be returned to the justice that had already failed him.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    After depositing the villain, he returned to his lonely city flat¡­ and stared at the wall. His apartment held little to interest him at this moment. A basement he used as his lab, some bedrooms. No Amelia. He felt empty. Once again, he was just passing time. Everything around him was filled with the concept of time. In a few weeks, a few months, the Mastermind would be back, with some other ingenious idea, and there the he would be, as the Judge, to buy the world a few more months. A hundred years down the line, there he would probably still be, still buying the world that few more months against the next crop of crazies that succeeded the current cabal.


    He was going stir crazy. He needed a friend, but the Judge didn¡¯t have friends. Only partners. Sighing, he took off the mask. Jon had friends. That¡¯s what he called himself when he wasn¡¯t wearing the mask. Sometimes he wondered who was the mask and who was real, but really the difference meant little. It was only a question of how he was looked at. His friends looked at him with pity. To them he was the man that had just experienced a loss. The Judge was looked at with pride, and suspicion. A man who knew nothing of loss, nothing of pain, but at the same time was a target for the uniquely American urge to tear down their heroes. Resolving to separate himself from his melancholy, he donned the uniform of the Judge once again, and coasted out his upstairs window. Rising, he rocketed himself towards the roof of the world. It had been so long since he had done this. Just¡­ flown. No crisis brewing, no destination, just him sitting on a cloud watching the heavens alight in a gold-red sunset made vibrant by the city vista stretching before him. Time flowed, and he sat, drinking in the sight before him, but all sunsets must end. As the night came on, he listened to the city of Argent beneath him with ears enhanced by his own genetic engineering.


    He may have started out as a garden variety genius, but he had taken his science to god-like levels. He wondered if he was even human anymore. He played at being a professor, while donning the mask of the Judge, champion of justice. Taught science he had surpassed decades ago in his bid for knowledge. He talked about ongoing research into things he had long-since mastered. His initial findings had propelled him into a world of self-engineering few would ever realize¡­ at least for a little while. There it was again. Time. In time, people would catch up. His science would be matched, and all he could do was try to keep ahead. If he didn¡¯t then he would simply disappear into the annals of history. Humanity marched ever forward, and he must march ever ahead or be lost in its wake. He felt guilty. Every moment he spent contemplating, someone somewhere was getting mugged, raped, murdered, and here he was sitting in the clouds dreaming about the brutality of time. Instead, he could be acting on the brutality of man. He descended to a better vantage point, listening for the telltale sounds of violence. Hearing them, he flew to his destination.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    A young woman in an alley was being attacked by garden variety thugs. The kind you see working the streets in bad movies about criminals. By the time he got there she was unconscious. He quickly dispatched them, but when he glanced at her something inside him cracked. She bore a striking resemblance to Amanda. Long brown hair framed a rounded face, spooling past a healthy, though not curvaceous figure. Looking at her it felt like fighting for her again. He was overcome by emotion, and sat down, leaning against the wall of the alley crying. As he did this she regained consciousness. He didn¡¯t notice, overcome as he was. She looked around, and upon seeing him and the state of her attackers, she went over to him.


    ¡°Sir, are you alright?¡± She said.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing anymore.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡±


    He was grateful that his mask hid his tears from this vision of Amanda, as he slowly got to his feet. ¡°Ma¡¯am you¡¯re the one who¡¯s just been attacked. Let¡¯s focus on helping you.¡±


    He collected the unconscious men to deliver them to the police. She watched him quietly, and neither said anything. Finally she broke the silence, handing him a card. It was a business card with a professional looking design giving the number of a local accountant¡¯s office.


    ¡°This is my number¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m the manager of the office, and if you ever need anything, even just to talk; my business number and my personal cell are both on this card. Thank you for saving me.¡±


    She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and walked off. He couldn¡¯t help but notice the way she walked. Her gait had a beautiful symmetry to it. Her legs moved precisely with a grace born from a clear attention to detail. She had a precision to her that appealed to the scientist in him. As a man of numbers and science he was in a unique position to recognize her innate beauty. Shaking the feeling he continued with his night according to his normal routine, but it no longer felt like a routine. He felt like he had when Amanda was still alive. He looked at the card, seeing the name for the fiftieth time. ¡°Danica Spring.¡± He liked the flow of her name; the peacefulness of it. He felt the world inside his head, the one once inhabited by Amanda, quiver and stir. Perhaps for all the despair brought to him by time, it had also brought him hope.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    When he returned to his flat there was a dark presence sitting in the corner. It was a fellow crime-fighter, but the Judge had always hesitated to call him a hero. Where the IJudge tried to change the world through living to a higher standard, this man operated through the application of fear. He had never truly crossed the line as such, but his dark message had always bothered Jon. It seemed short-sighted to attempt to control men through fear. Trying to do so had a historical tendency to backfire. Still the hero had to accept him despite how much the man¡¯s habit of appearing and disappearing irritated him. He was a tall, solidly built man. He had a mane of long dark hair, with a pale white face. His hair, his irises, everything about him was dark and imposing. Luckily Jon was still wearing the Judge suit because he would have felt ridiculous trying to talk to this man without it.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure Zed?¡± the Judge said.


    ¡°The Circle of Heroes is preparing a gathering to discuss the continuing wave of crime that has been propagating across the world. Since I am the only one who knows how to contact you I was tasked with making sure you were informed.¡± Zed handed him a card with a time and a location. As the Judge looked at the card, the dark figure looked at him appraisingly, taking in his haggard appearance, or as much as could be seen beneath the mask. ¡°Jon¡­ you know that Amanda wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    Jon was startled. This was unusual for the Crow; he was normally stoic and impassive. Jon couldn¡¯t remember a time when he had tried to engage anyone on a personal level. At the same time he did feel somewhat comforted. For all that he disagreed with the man¡¯s methods or habits, he trusted him. He had a high opinion of the man¡¯s thoughts, as they almost always proved valid, and highly intelligent.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s not my fault, but without her my life has no meaning. I will live forever, and I never realized what that meant until now. Sometimes I feel like I¡¯m going partially insane.¡±


    Zed considered this for a second, his cold black eyes shining reflectively in the light. Jon had often wondered if he wore contacts to get such pure black irises, but had never asked .


    ¡°Social life isn¡¯t my area of expertise, but I recommend you find a connection to the outside world. Now I must go. I will see you at the gathering.¡±


    With that Zed folded back into the shadows and was gone. Taking off his costume, Jon ruminated on what had been said. He took out the card Danica had given him and stared at it. Eventually he resolved that he would call her tomorrow, and prepared for bed. He still had a day¡¯s worth of classes ahead of him tomorrow.

 Chapter 2

    When he reached the school the next morning he taught his classes as normal. Throughout the day he felt nervous knowing that he had the phone call to look forward to. By the end of the day the anticipation was almost more than he could bear.  When the work-day had finally ended, he brought out his phone, and made the call. She answered in an even, professional tone.


    ¡°Hello? This is Danica.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Danica? It¡¯s me, the man who rescued you last night.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hello! What can I do for you?¡± Her tone had switched from the professional tone to a light, cheery one.


    ¡°Well I was wondering if you would like to get dinner sometime? I wanted to make sure you¡¯re ok in person.¡±


    ¡°Oh that would be great, let me just get my appointment book.¡±


    They set up a time and place at a fancy restaurant, and ended the call.  The butterflies fluttered madly through his stomach. It was ironic that with all the difficulties he faced on a daily basis, the act of asking a woman out to dinner was far more difficult than any of the trials he regularly endured. Driving home he watched the sunset, and thought about how different he felt from only the day before. The sunset remained beautiful but the way he felt about it had changed. Where before it was only a momentary respite from a life gone horribly wrong, today it was a sign of change.  He watched the skies and remembered his life with Amanda. In a way the sunset felt like her smile beaming down on him from above. It was almost unbearable to suddenly remember her absence from his life. Looking down he realized that in his grief he had unconsciously crunched the steering wheel between his fingers. He quickly released it as a flash of anger pierced his heart.


    The world was so fragile, how could he bear to live here? He destroyed everything good in his life. Was it his fault, or was it just that the world was too fragile?  Right now he could reach out and lay waste to everything with his bare hands if he wanted. What was he protecting when his pain stemmed from the failures of a world that wasn¡¯t strong enough for his own existence? Sighing he tried to let go.  His life was changing, and it was time to release this burden. He knew that it was his responsibility to interact with the world, and not the other way around Still, it was a difficult feeling to shake.


    Reaching his home, he donned his costume, and went out to live his second life. He was grateful for the time he had spent designing a way to reduce his need for sleep. Flying through the city, he perfunctorily played his role until he received a visit from Zed. As they spoke, they were interrupted by what sounded like a massive thunderclap. His face was bathed in orange and red as the most massive explosion the judge had ever seen blossomed in front of him. If he didn¡¯t know how many people had just died, he would say it was beautiful. He knew it was unlikely there would be any survivors, but still he flew into the epicenter of the blast.


    Whatever had caused the conflagration, it was sustained. There was no way of knowing how long it would last, or how many innocents had died as a result. He felt a pit of rage growing inside him. Howling he lashed out into the flames with a powerful bolt of energy sent from the palm of his hand. A beam of red power futilely pierced the inferno. He howled, intensifying the beam until it cleared away a part of the inferno. A small window appeared in the flames as his rage abated. He slowly settled to the ground feeling numb. Resting on the ground, he watched the inferno tearing into the sky. It looked like a giant monster devouring the world. Though it appalled him, the inferno itself had a certain beauty to it. A moment of peace set in as he watched, and for a time he simply sat and felt the stress melt from his shoulders.  He closed his eyes and wished he could feel like this more often. Even knowing his reprieve had been bought by the deaths of so many.


    He just felt emotionally spent. All this time, he had been carrying a heavy weight, and now it was being slowly lifted by time, and by renewed hope. He wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about that. Amanda had been gone only a few months but already he was letting her go. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of letting her slip into oblivion, but what else could he do? the memory of her was enticing, but it no longer held any substance. So he had to move on. Continuing to process internally, he basked in the warm glow of the fire.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    It slowly died down, and he flew away, examining the crowd surrounding the flaming area. The police had set up a cordon to prevent curious onlookers from endangering themselves. He scanned the crowd looking for who might be the cause of the explosion. No one particularly jumped out at him until a loud-speaker came on.


    ¡°Anarchy sends it¡¯s regards. All you people living your ordered, dull, boring lives, we want you to know that your days of order have ended. No one else should have to suffer from the dullness of civilization anymore. Change is coming to this town, and if you want to survive, you¡¯re gonna have to play along.¡±


    There was no image to go along with the sound. It seemed to be coming from all around. He concentrated on the voice, and realized that there were speakers set up all around throughout the crowd. There was no way to determine who the source of the voice was, assuming he was even present. The hero was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do. He located Zed in the crowd, and alighted in front of him.


    ¡°Were you able to find him?¡± The Judge said.


    ¡°No, these speakers seem to be pre-recorded.¡±


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing we can do unless you can think of some way to track him. I suppose we should keep our eyes out for any other threats for tonight, but beyond that I don¡¯t see what we can do.¡±


    The night passed in relative calm, but the next night there was another such attack. Every night for a week the same pattern presented itself. The terrorist group would hit seemingly random locations with massive explosions, and announce themselves with the same announcement. It was clearly a pre-recorded announcement, as it was exactly the same every night. Despite all his powers there was nothing he could do. They could set their charges wherever they liked, whenever they liked, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. So far he hadn¡¯t even seen an explosive. For all he knew, he had  passed them in the street unknowingly. Still, he patrolled every night, hoping to get lucky.


    On the seventh day of the week, everything changed. He looked at a map of the burnings and finally realized something that he could not have known until now. The explosions formed the shape of a giant A. The only part left was the tip, so he rushed out the door, in full Hero costume. Reaching the location, he began to search. Despite his hyper-intelligence, and augmented vision, he found nothing unusual. Until a seemingly mundane man, strolling down the street burst into flames. Looking down the street, he saw that everywhere he looked, passerby were exploding with raw energy. There was nothing left of them, only a flame that burned hot enough to obliterate any remains. Looking at them with his augmented vision he realized that the very atomic structure of the materials was being sundered.


    Finally, with the fires raging, he noticed one man who seemed unaffected. He stood in the middle of the flames in a reverent stance, arms outstretched, eyes closed. His facial expression was peaceful and self-righteous while the fires played shadows on his pasty white face. The Hero advanced toward him, and the man opened his eyes. They had a wild look to them. They were a deep red shade but it was hard to tell whether this was their true color or a reflection from the inferno still raging around him. They contrasted in a darkly attractive way with his long mane of snow white hair.


    His intense gaze raked into the Judge, as they studied each other. Finally, the man spoke.


    ¡°So, you are the one. The one who will bring about the apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°Sir I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Are you responsible for what¡¯s been happening? For the Anarchist terrorism?¡±


    The man paused for a second, with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally his face broke into a manic grin.


    ¡°A necessary evil. I have seen the future. You will falter and when you do you will be the horseman of death, let loose on this world.¡±


    ¡°And who are you in this prophecy?¡±


    ¡°I am an emissary of god, gifted with a cleansing fire, and it is my role to cleanse the evil of mediocrity from this land. What I do here is only the beginning, for I must herald the apocalypse. I am the Prophet of your salvation.¡±


    With that he looked at the ground, which erupted with a pillar of flame, a blinding white that left the hero seeing stars for several minutes. By the time he could see again, the Prophet  was gone. The man¡¯s words chilled him. Not because he expected to start the apocalypse, or believed the man could see the future, but because by the man¡¯s own admission this was only the beginning.

 Chapter 3

    Zed waited in the shadows. He dwelt mostly in a parallel shadow dimension. It was a desolate, empty place but right now it suited his mood.  It was a landscape of dark, ill-seen forms, and towering shapes. He brooded as he watched the shapes slowly shifting. His world mimicked and parodied the real world, taking on its shape without the substance. Sometimes he wondered if it had a mind of its own, whether it had a sense of humor, as it chose its forms. Right now though, he was brooding on events in the other world.


    He had heard what the Prophet had said. Sliding through the shadows, he had found the Judge and the Prophet in time to catch the majority of their conversation. He knew how ridiculous it was, but even so he had to give the Prophet¡¯s words due consideration. The more he thought about it, the more he feared the prophet might be right. Not because the prophet himself had special vision as he claimed, but because he had seen the increasing disillusionment on the Judge¡¯s face. If the Judge did turn, there was really no defense against him. No army could stop him. None of the other hero¡¯s was strong enough to stand against him. The Judge had no known weaknesses. The only reason he didn¡¯t rule the world was because he had so far not chosen to, and likely hadn¡¯t even considered it.


    So Zed and the others must plan some kind of viable defense against the most powerful being that had ever existed. Sliding into the shadows, he went to find the Mage. While his own magic was not strong enough to combat the Hero, perhaps hers would be.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Jon got home after a day of teaching, and realized that today was the day for his date. In the recent chaos, he had forgotten all about his anticipation. It suddenly occurred to him to wonder: had she survived the destruction in the city? Panicking, he rushed to the phone and called her. When she picked up her phone, he couldn¡¯t help breathing a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Danica? I just wanted to call to make sure we were still on for tonight.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes of course, I was just getting ready. I¡¯ll come over in about half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯d be happy to pick you up; you don¡¯t need to do that.¡±


    ¡°No I insist, despite how we met, I¡¯m not some damsel in distress. I¡¯ll pick you up, so you just sit there and look pretty.¡±


    He was enchanted. Women threw themselves at the Judge, they begged to be saved, but this was one of the only women who had ever known who he was, and still treated him as Jon. He eagerly went through the motions of preparation that men go through when they are already completely ready, but they have a while to wait. Sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV, having run out of pretense activities, the door finally knocked. He jumped up from the couch, and rushed to the door with a childish impatience. Opening the door, Jon saw a vision of womanliness.


    She wore a simple black dress, and very little makeup because she knew the art of applying minimal makeup to the maximal effect. She didn¡¯t have a perfect hourglass figure, but there was a hint of hourglass to her shape. Her dress cut off around her knees and he could see smooth, muscular legs with well-made leather boots. What really caught his attention though was not her shape, or her clothes, but her attitude. She carried herself with confidence and surety. Her eyes had an imperious glint, and her body angled itself so that he could tell she was accustomed to getting her way.


    With a bemused smirk, she looked at him, and said, ¡°so are we going to spend tonight staring at me, or would you like to escort me to the car?¡±


    Flushing, he stammered. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s ok, I was basking in the admiration, but then my stomach rumbled. Once we get to the restaurant you can resume staring at me.¡± Having said this, she stuck her tongue out at him slightly, and clopped off to her car with her boots making a heavy sound on the concrete. He felt like he had just been hit by a whirlwind, but after a second he shook it off and followed her.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    He got into the passenger seat in the car, and buckled up. He always felt strange buckling up knowing that the worst car crash imaginable couldn¡¯t even scratch him, but he did it anyway. Mostly to avoid getting ticketed.


    He had to admit to himself that he was out of his element here, and not just because he wasn¡¯t accustomed to dating. He didn¡¯t know how to handle this woman, and he suspected that was the point. With all his enhanced intellect he still couldn¡¯t think of anything to start a real conversation, but after a moment she filled in the gap. She asked him questions about himself, the normal kind of first date questions. Catching on, he responded in kind. Suddenly, they had a pleasant conversation going, and he felt like he was standing in the eye of a hurricane, buffeted by her personality, and wit; Yet at the same time happy and comfortable.


    It was strange knowing she could treat him this way knowing who he was. All his powers, fame, and heroic acts didn¡¯t cow her. In fact they only made her try that much harder to match him. Despite all his heroic traits, he felt rather over-matched, though in a good way.


    Finally she asked the question he had been dreading. ¡°Have you ever been married?¡±


    ¡°Yes, up until about four months ago. She¡­ she died.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, how did it happen?¡±


    ¡°She had a heart attack. She stayed thin, but still died of high cholesterol.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I don¡¯t really know what to say. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    After that things were a bit awkward for a while. They arrived at the restaurant in a brooding silence.  They got out of the car, entered the restaurant, and redeemed their reservation. By this point they regained their conversation, and continued as they had before. The night went smoothly from there, and the two flirted comfortably. After dinner, she drove him home, and dropped him off. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek when they reached the door.


    ¡°Promise me we¡¯ll do this again. I had a lot of fun.¡± She said.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure I can pencil you in somewhere between brooding and moping. How about next week?¡±


    She laughed, another thing she was very good at, and said, ¡°Sounds like a plan, although I¡¯m going to need a bit more detail. I¡¯ll have my people call your people. I¡¯m sure they can hammer something out between our busy schedules of mutual brooding.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like we have an activity in common perhaps that¡¯s what we should do for our next date since we¡¯re both so good at it.¡±


    She laughed again, and then they made more specific plans. She left, and as she left, he admired her walk again. Looking behind her, she called out, ¡°You might want to be more careful where you look; a woman might get the wrong impression.¡±


    ¡°And what impression is that?¡±


    With a wry smile she said, ¡°That you¡¯re a male.¡± With that she dramatically flounced off, exaggerating the motion of her hips. He could feel the sarcasm oozing from her. He loved it.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Anarchy stopped it¡¯s attacks for a while after the confrontation with the Prophet. Their point had been made, and they had the Judge doubting himself. They seemed content with that. Of course, everyone was still hunting them, but they hadn¡¯t left behind enough evidence to provide much reliable information. Even the speakers used to announce them had been of little use, devoid of fingerprints or useful clues.


    About a week later, Jon was at his second date with Danica, at a lovely pizza restaurant.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s when I started dabbling in quantum theory as a method of internal energy generation, and-¡± Jon said, which was quickly interrupted by ¡°I¡¯ll quantum your theory¡± from Danica.


    ¡°I bow to the maturity of your quips milady.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bow to your face. Or should I bow to your mother? I¡¯m not sure which one would get a funnier glare from you.¡±


    Jon held his face in mock mortification. ¡°How did I convince you to take me here?¡±


    She poked him with her fork. ¡°You invited me, now eat your food before it gets cold.¡±


    They were chewing in amiable silence, when outside the window, the building across the street burst into flame. Jon tackled Danica out of her seat, looking to protect her, but when no explosions ensued, he helped her up with a sheepish look on his face.


    ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± She said.


    ¡°I thought-¡±


    ¡°Clearly your first mistake.¡± She said, as she brushed herself off. ¡°Leave the thinking to us professionals next time.¡± She glared at him. ¡°Are you going to just sit there gawking at me, or am I going to have to go run into a burning building to look for survivors?¡±


    He could tell she was still irritated over the tackle, so he maintained an apologetic tone. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    He quickly changed into his superhero suit, and rushed into the burning building. As soon as he did, he began to get groggy, until he could no longer stand. As he crumpled to his knees, he saw a man in a gas mask approaching, and through the mask he could see glowing red eyes.

 Chapter 4

    He woke in a box-like room, strapped to a chair. The moment he woke he began to struggle against his bonds, but where before he had strength, now he just felt¡­ human. Powerless. After a few minutes, he stopped struggling, and sat, examining his surroundings. He realized that he had an IV strapped into his upper arm, feeding him a clear fluid. He could see a chair, a table, and a mirror in the room; but little else. The way he was strapped in forced him to look directly into the mirror, as if he was supposed to be staring into his own eyes. It gave him the eerie sensation of looking directly into his own soul.


    There was nothing to measure time by besides his own breaths, but at least 15 minutes later, someone walked in, and sat down in the chair across from him. This wasn¡¯t the Prophet, it was someone else entirely. This man had short-cropped brown hair, and sea-green eyes. His olive complexion hinted at italian heritage, and his smile was cruel, lacking in anything remotely human.


    The man spoke. ¡°So, mr. Jon Garvin, I hear you are going to destroy the world.¡±


    Jon¡¯s anger piqued when he heard that, but he kept his tone level. ¡°So they tell me. I take it you intend to kill me to stop that?¡±


    ¡°Not at all mr. Garvin, not at all. In fact, the sole purpose of Anarchy is to help you do that. There are so many of us out there who are tired of the status quo. Tired of being slaves to cruel, uncaring masters who think money is power, and hide behind petty scams to satiate their greed. What we want is a better world. An honest world, where men can call themselves men, and we are not beholden to the foolishness of madmen who forgot that money was just an idea.¡±


    ¡°And where do I fit into all of this?¡±


    ¡°Why you are our king of course. Naturally, you are unfit to rule as you are now, but soon you will see the value of our message. When you do change your mind, we will be yours to order as you see fit.¡±


    Jon was stunned for a moment, but in that moment the man got up, removed his IV, and walked out of view. He paused, and said ¡°Without the serum, you should feel more like your true self soon. It should take a little over an hour though, so don¡¯t bother trying to find me. I will be long gone by the time you come back to yourself. When you are ready to find me, you will. In the meantime enjoy the view.¡±


    With that, he left Jon sitting in his chair, staring at a mockery of the hero he should be. In fact, the more he stared at himself, the less coherent his thoughts were, until they turned into a confused jumble. The time passed at a snail¡¯s pace, and soon Jon could no longer stand to see his own reflection. Staring into his own eyes for so long was too much like looking at his own failures; that long and tawdry list too much for him to read in this place. Eventually he regained enough of his power to escape, and his first action on doing so was to walk up, and smash the mirror. When he looked at what he had done, he realized that it was the wrong thing to do. Smashing it as he had done had simply created more splinters of mirror, more pieces of himself, reflecting an image that laughed at his own impotence. As the image laughed, he melted it with a beam of power from his fists, channeling his rage until it evaporated.


    When he turned around, he saw that his work was not done. Taped everywhere in the room were mirrors, and all of them reflected his failure; his life, utterly devoid of meaning as the figures in the mirrors laughed. As he melted them, he realized it wasn¡¯t the mirrors that were laughing, it was him. They simply reflected him, laughing as he burned everything to a crisp. This stoked his rage, though he had long since lost the level of rationality that would have been required for him to even ask why, let alone provide an answer. His power erupted from his entire body, in a supernova-like inferno of destruction. When he was finally done, he flew home, leaving behind a hundred square foot crater that had once been a building.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    As he sat on his couch, his mind cleared, and he stared at his hands as he replayed the evening over and over in his head. He was mostly sane again, but he felt like something in him had broken. Perhaps the momentary joy he had felt at his own misery had driven him to the destruction he had just performed, but surely that couldn¡¯t be it. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He took a sample of his own blood, and began running an analysis on the toxin they had used to disable him. Perhaps it had psychogenic properties? He accidentally crunched his mouse when the chemical analysis revealed that not only did the toxin not have any apparent psychogenic properties, but in fact his body had so utterly metabolized it by the time he had thought to run the tests that little trace remained in his system.


    He smelled burning plastic, and realized that he had begun unconsciously incinerating his mouse in his frustration. He ran to the bathroom, and rinsed off the quickly cooling plastic before it hardened onto his hand. As he dried his hands, the doorbell rang. He quickly changed back into his civilian clothes before answering the door. Danica stood outside with a look that would have sent an army ranger into a coma from fright.


    ¡°YOU Left Me At The RESTAURANT.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ I was kidnapped.¡±


    ¡°YOU were kidnapped? Sure, and I¡¯m the goddess of the hunt.¡±


    He gave a weak smile ¡°I¡¯m just a little rabbit, hardly worthy of the goddesses time.¡±


    Her expression remained unchanged. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that, you¡¯re hardly a helpless rabbit; and don¡¯t you try to flirt with me right now, I¡¯m too angry at you.¡±


    He dropped the smile. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m sorry, but I really was kidnapped. They drugged me with some kind of gas, and I woke up in a room full of mirrors without my powers. I¡¯m so sorry for leaving you behind, I was just¡­ a bit tied up.¡±


    She strode through the door, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to the couch. A single tear escaped her eyes, and it seemed to force her to drop the angry look.


    ¡°I was so worried. at first I thought maybe you were taking survivors to the hospital or something, but by the time I had been in the restaurant for two hours without hearing from you, I thought you had just left me. Or that you had been hurt somehow. I settled on being angry because you always seem so invincible I just didn¡¯t think anything could have hurt you.¡± He couldn¡¯t think of anything to say to that so he just held her. Eventually they both fell asleep on his couch.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    When he woke up, it was to the smell of eggs cooking. She didn¡¯t notice as he sat up, and he took that time to admire her. One side of her hair was frizzy, and some of it was sticking up in pure bedhead. Any makeup she had put on had been washed off, and she shuffled sleepily. When she turned to look at him, her eyes were still shot with red from waking up. He loved every moment of what he saw. She smiled impishly at him as he sat up, and realized she was in a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. As the shirt settled on her, he was certain she wasn¡¯t wearing a bra. She made a clucking sounds, and waved her spatula at him.


    ¡°None of that now, we have a few more dates before we get to that portion of the show.


    He blushed and sat up farther.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± he mumbled incoherently.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Sefvvesgjhng¡± he said eloquently as he laid back down.


    She poked him with the spatula.


    ¡°I¡¯m almost done with breakfast if you want some.¡±


    He sat back up at that, and rubbed his eyes. ¡°That sounds good. What time is it?¡±


    She shrugged. Your clock reset at some point, and I¡¯ve been too lazy to check my phone, so I¡¯ve been rolling with the assumption that it¡¯s morning. He got up, poked his head out the door, and called back ¡°nope, pitch black.¡±


    He heard a curse from the kitchen followed by ¡°well it¡¯s morning somewhere, and breakfast is good any time of the day.¡± He chuckled as he returned to the kitchen, and received his food. They lounged together in much the same fashion for the rest of the day. His troubles seemed to slough off him over the course of the day. As he thought of it, he couldn¡¯t even remember the last time he had simply taken a day to relax like this. He wished this day could simply go on forever, a perfect blend of eggs, bacon, and her decidedly feminine scent lingering in his nose.


    When she kissed him goodnight, he did everything short of begging her to stay, but she assured him she had work, and really they would have plenty of opportunity for days like this in the future. More than anyone he knew that there would never be enough time, that life was too short; however he made his peace with her departure. He sighed as she walked away, her hips swinging to the rhythm of her steps. Finally, as she reached her car he closed his door, and retreated into his home to prepare for the coming day.

 Chapter 5

    He woke up that night to screams. His own screams. He couldn¡¯t remember what nightmare might have sparked this; he only knew that as he woke up his body was reacting as if to some unfathomable terror buried deep in his soul. Some lingering after-effect of the gas perhaps? It was hard to say. Unable to go back to sleep, he donned his mask, and went on patrol.


    The criminal elements seemed subdued for the time being, and he found no crime to fight. Still, the crisp morning air rushing past him as he flew helped him clear the last vestiges of whatever had woken him up out of his mind. Eventually he gave up, settling on top of a tall skyscraper to meditate. Jon found it difficult to focus properly, as if something was blocking his concentration. No matter what he tried his fear and anger rose repeatedly to fill the void as he emptied his mind. He was unsure whether this was a residual effect from the chemicals, or simply his own bruised emotions. Eventually he decided to give up on his failed morning ritual in favor of losing himself in his work.


    Unfortunately his attempt to reach his lab was interrupted by a note pinned to the front door of his house. It read:


    Dear Jon,


    We have Danica. We approve of her greatly, and would be saddened if we had to do something unpleasant to her. If you want to see her again, you must meet us at the warehouse on the corner of 51st and 3rd by the waterfront. Feel free to bring friends.


    -Anarchy


    Jon cursed under his breath. Then he screamed a curse at the top of his lungs, not caring as his power flared; partially melting the stone under his feet. More shot upward like a red vortex as he rose slowly into the air, before rocketing in a straight line toward his destination.


    From his hiding place, the Crow watched impassively for a moment before fading back into the shadows.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    The Judge came down from the skies in front of the warehouse like a lighting bolt, leaving a meteoric crater where he had landed. Though he couldn¡¯t put his fingers on why, he was suffused with wrath on a level he had never experienced before. His power flared around him like a mantle, burning the air where he walked, and giving the appearance of a malicious cape of ethereal red energy crackling behind him.


    As he walked, his footsteps left broken and melted concrete in his wake. When he reached the doors of the warehouse he did not even bother to open them, simply walking forward and through. For their part the doors and part of the door frame simply dissolved into nothing as he passed, immolated by the aura of power he exuded. As the Crow watched, he could only liken it to the passage of a wrathful god, bringing condemnation on unfaithful mortals. Once again he watched briefly before returning to the shadow''s embrace.


    As he entered the building the Judge reined in his power in preparation for what was to come. He stalked through the building, until he arrived at the underground storage area. There he found Danica bound and gagged, next to the Prophet who seemed to be regarding him impassively.


    After a moment, the prophet nodded in greeting. ¡°Welcome Jon. I had hoped you would join us promptly. We have much to discuss.¡± He waved his hand at Danica, who scowled at him in frustration.


    ¡°Do not worry, we have not harmed her in any way besides her pride, though I must commend you on finding such a spirited woman.¡±


    Her eyes as he spoke promised murder if she ever got her hands on him.


    Finally, Jon spoke. ¡°And what is this all about? Why kidnap her?


    The prophet quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? To lure you into a trap.¡± With that he pressed a button. Gas began to flood the room through vents in the ceiling.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Jon took a step towards the Prophet, but stopped when the Prophet grabbed danica by the skull.


    ¡°Now, don¡¯t do anything rash. Stand still or I crush her here and now. You can have her back in;¡± he checked his watch, ¡°three minutes. Until then, just sit still, and don¡¯t forget to breathe. I hear it¡¯s good for dealing with anger.¡±


    The prophet smiled slightly, and though Jon was irritated, there was nothing he could do but wait. As the gas settled into the room, he thought he saw shapes within it. Flickering shadows that taunted him; maddening, hypnotic entities that danced in and out of existence like a macabre play. Soon the gas was thick enough that he could no longer see Danica, or the Prophet. He could still hear them though. Hear their breaths, their racing heartbeats. He laughed as he realized from the beat of the man¡¯s heart that the Prophet was terrified, despite the dour nonchalance he normally exuded. Finally, the man spoke.


    ¡°Congratulations, it has been three minutes, you may now come and claim your prize.¡±


    He heard the Prophet walk away, but was too dizzy to follow. As he attempted to move forward, he stumbled, and heard the shadows laughing at him.


    ¡°Shut up shut up shut up!¡± he yelled, and launched a beam of blazing scarlet into the fog, targeting what he thought was the source of the noise. The laughter continued unabated, and he sent another beam into the mist. Again and again he fired until he smelled an industrial scent he could only interpret as burnt concrete. Giving up, he continued to stumble forward, panting from exertion. Though he was guided by the sounds of a heartbeat, he could not quite remember why he was here. Was that Amandas heartbeat? What was she doing in this twilight limbo?


    As he made his way slowly forward, more of the hypnotic entities appeared in the fog. Some mocked the voices of those he had not been quick enough to save.


    ¡°Why weren¡¯t you there when I needed you?¡± said one. ¡°You showed up so late, too late¡­ to the party.¡± suddenly it cackled with laughter, and he knew it had only been playing on his pain. With a snarl he blasted it with a crackling beam of power, and the cackling faded away as if into the distance. Suddenly another popped up. This one held his own voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not good enough. Not fast enough, smart enough, strong enough. Woe is me. Being a hero makes me such a victim.¡± As this voice too began to cackle, he blasted this voice the same as the other, and like the other it too faded back into the mist. More such spectres haunted him as he progressed, all mocking him in a similar fashion. Each received the same treatment as the others, before melting back into the mist.


    He continued to stumble forwards regardless, and eventually he reached her.  Amanda, his precious Amanda. She had gotten herself captured again. With all the tenderness he could muster, he undid her bindings, and lifted her to her feet. In his mind¡¯s eye, he could see her in all her glory. He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face as he stared into her eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, a strange look in her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to save you, Amanda. I¡¯ll always come to save you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not-¡±


    ¡°Shhhh I know, I¡¯m sorry, I should have been here sooner. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡±


    With that he kissed her, hard. Her eyes went wide, and she tensed uncertainely. He caressed her back, telling her with his touch ¡°it¡¯s ok. I¡¯m here now.¡±


    As he began to undo her pants, she pushed against him, and he could hear her moaning. He knew she was simply excited. It had been so long after all. That thought made him pause for a moment, as it almost brought him back to his senses, but the delicious smell of her calmed his turmoil, and soon the pants slid off. He was still kissing her, and as her underwear came off he noticed that her head was thrashing passionately as he held her to his face. It¡¯s been a while since she¡¯s been this passionate he thought as he unclasped the button of his pants.


    Soon he had undone his pants as well, and he caressed her head as he pulled her down toward his erect member.


    ¡°No,¡± she said, tears in her eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Amanda my love, no one will see us. This fog is far too thick.¡±


    With that he pushed her head onto him. She sucked on him until he came, and as tears fell down her face, he felt guilty for leaving her alone for so long. He could see how much it had hurt her. He bent down to kiss her, and took her there on the cement. Eventually the tears dried up, and she went silent aside from the occasional moan. Once upon a time, Amanda had coerced him into using his science to improve his stamina and prowess in bed, and he exercised this fully now, continuing for hours. Eventually, even he felt spent, so he picked her up in his arms, saying ¡°let¡¯s get you home love.¡±


    With that he left the warehouse, woman in his arms, and returned to his apartment. When they returned he guided her in as she walked, stiffly and uncertainly, and kissed her forehead goodnight as he tucked her into bed. For her part she only stared, almost catatonic, into the distance, and mumbled goodnight as he fell asleep next to her. Uncertain what to do next, and afraid of what might happen if she left, she sat in bed for hours until eventually her body shut down her brain for what little sleep it could force her to take.

 Chapter 6

    When Jon woke up in the morning he couldn¡¯t say why, but he felt great. Better than he had in a long time in fact. He sighed contentedly as he got out of bed before giving in to vertigo, and falling out of bed with a thump. Why did he feel dizzy and hungover? What had happened yesterday?


    He found that he couldn¡¯t recall much of anything from the previous day. Something about walking through a fog filled with angry shadows? No, that must have been a dream he was having. Confused, he shook his head as he attempted to stand up. On the third try he had managed to clear enough of the dizziness to stand properly, and walked out into the living room.


    Danica was there, sitting on his couch looking like an unfriendly apparition. Her face was pale, with deep bags under her eyes, and her hands shook as she sipped from a cup of tea. Her expression was distant and blank as if something had overwhelmed the processing power of her brain. He cleared his throat, and said ¡°good morning?¡±


    Her head whipped around at that, her blank expression replaced by one of fear. She trembled harder, and some of the tea sloshed out of her cup. Confused, he asked ¡°what¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Her expression went hard, as she said ¡°do you remember anything about yesterday?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    He shook his head, dumbfounded. ¡°You raped me. You got high on some kind of gas, you thought I was your dead wife, and you raped me!¡±


    Shaking, he shook his head ¡°no, I- that¡¯s not- I couldn¡¯t- what?¡±


    As he said this she broke down, dropping her cup of tea, forgotten, onto the carpet as she curled up into a ball on the couch. As he moved to comfort her, she screamed ¡°DON¡¯T YOU FUCKING COME NEAR ME.¡± He backed off hurriedly, and stood in silence as she continued to cry into the couch. Finally she sniffed and looked at him again.


    ¡°Do you know what it¡¯s like to be broken by the man you put on a pedestal?¡±


    All he could do was mutely shake his head while a look of horror at what he had done glued itself to his face.


    ¡°Do you know what it¡¯s like when someone you trust and respect violates you so utterly, and you can¡¯t even be mad because it¡¯s not really their fault?¡±


    He could only shake his head again.


    She stood up, and collected what little she had. ¡°Don¡¯t call me. If I want to talk I¡¯ll call you. Don¡¯t try to find me or get in touch with me. I can¡¯t handle it right now.¡±


    With that, she walked out the door, and didn¡¯t look back. He could only watch as she walked away down the street, cognizant that the sway her steps normally had was gone. He collapsed into the couch, and couldn¡¯t bring himself to stand up again for several hours. When he did stand up, it was with a new glint of determination in his eyes.

 Chapter 7

    Master Crow watched as Danica left the house with tears streaming down her face. In truth his name was Zed, though only a select few knew his true name. He slipped through the shadows like a ripple as he followed her, and made sure she found her way safely. The maker only knew that she had been through enough for one lifetime in the past few hours. He sighed as he lurked, and the sound sent a mild ripple through the surface of the shadow he existed in.


    As he watched she stopped and collected herself before calling a taxi to take her home. He followed her all the way there, and ensured she made it safely through the door before returning to Jon¡¯s house. He wondered what Jon would do now, how he would cope with what he had done. Eventually, he decided to ask. When he entered Jons house, Zed found him working feverishly in his lab, with an unpleasant glint of mania shining from his eyes. After a moment, Zed spoke.


    ¡°So what are you going to do now? Do you chase the Prophet or chase the girl?¡±


    ¡°I need to fix this, I have to fix this,¡± Jon mumbled without looking in his direction. ¡°I can¡¯t waste time on the Prophet, I need to fix the mistakes I¡¯ve already made, not compound them with more mistakes.¡±


    He finally looked up at Zed, and the look in his eyes spoke of rage, mixed with grief. The mania was evident too, and Zed worried where that would lead. Jon broke eye contact, and went back to work, as if dismissing Zed from his mind. Zed stepped back into the shadows, and waited patiently as he watched Jon work. Jon was still in the planning phases of¡­ something. Zed didn¡¯t have the technical understanding to understand what it was, but he knew nothing good could come from the place Jon was in right now. Finally, he drifted away, and returned to his realm of shadows.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Once upon a time, Zed was a god. This twisted shadowscape was the legacy of that time. For millennia he had ruled this land of shadow, while his brothers and sisters had ruled their own corners of existence. Eventually men had banded together in defiance of the gods, and their sorcerers had banished the others to remain in their lands. All but Zed. Zed had always been quiet, and uninterested in politics. Most mortals hadn¡¯t known he existed and likely wouldn¡¯t have cared if they did. It was only recently that he had developed any interest in watching over the mortal world, and that was more out of boredom than anything else.


    As he looked out over his world of shadows, he found a pair which were engaged in what appeared to be a furious dance. Though they did not move(they never did while he was looking) they gained more and more definition until he could tell that one was Jon, and one was the Prophet. He watched as they stood in effigy, sparks of madness in a world of metaphors. He sighed as he turned away, and sat on his throne. In front of him lay a chessboard, and on that chessboard lay more dancers. Some he knew, some he didn¡¯t. Danica¡¯s shade lay curled in a ball on one corner. Some of the members of the league of heroes stood in effigy, while others were villains. Some were neither, and he did not recognize them. He picked the pieces up one by one, seeking more information as he peered at them, until finally he found the one he wanted. Holding it, he sat back into his throne, and melded into the shadows once more.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Heff was a giant of a man. Tall, and bearded, with brown hair and brown eyes. Zed watched him from the shadows as he sat at a desk, sifting through papers, and writing on some. Finally Zed spoke.


    ¡°So, Heff, how goes normal life?¡±


    Heff recoiled in surprise, and several papers went flying through the air, settling back down to the table as Heff turned to glare at Zed. His voice rumbled as he chided Zed.


    ¡°God you can at least knock Zed. You don¡¯t have to just appear all the time.¡±


    Zed smiled a rare smile. ¡°But this way is so much more interesting.¡±


    Heff scoffed in annoyance, and asked ¡°So, what do you want brother? Or are you just here to give me a heart attack?¡±


    Zed¡¯s smile fell away. ¡°Remember several months ago when I talked to you about having a contingency plan?¡±


    Heff stiffened. ¡°I thought we decided we didn¡¯t need to worry about that? That it wasn¡¯t necessary?¡±


    Zed shook his head. ¡°Things have changed recently. You must get started right away. There is no telling what¡¯s going to happen in the next few weeks.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s enough time! Anything workable would take at least a few months to design and prototype!¡±


    Zed shrugged ¡°Events aren¡¯t going to wait while we test and plan. We need to be ready as soon as possible.¡±


    Sighing, Heff nodded. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t expect a miracle. Also if you want me to do this, I need some of his DNA.¡±


    Zed handed over a loose hair in a ziploc bag, before melding back into the shadows. He snorted in amusement as Heff began cursing, and then returned to his throne. Next he picked up Danica¡¯s chess piece, and observed her from the shadows in her house. It was night time now, and she was staring blankly at a potted plant in the corner of her room. Zed was about to step out of the shadows, when he rethought that course of action, and switched to a shadow outside her front door. He knocked on the front door as he arrived, and patiently waited as she hesitantly shuffled to it, and opened it a crack.


    ¡°Hello, miss Danica. You don¡¯t know me, but I am here to help you.¡±


    The door closed violently, and he heard her sprinting towards the backdoor. He sighed as she did, and moved through the shadows until he stood next to it. He stepped out as she approached, and said ¡°miss, there really is nothing to worry about, I only want to protect you.¡±


    She was still running, and as she moved she tried to punch him. The blow was redirected past him harmlessly before he used his hand to take advantage of her momentum, shoving her through the portal of his shadow. She landed breathlessly in his throne room, before bracing defensively, eyes wide in panic.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    He stepped out of his portal, and held his hands up peacefully, saying in a soothing voice ¡°I only wish a few words.¡± She calmed down somewhat, but still eyed him suspiciously.


    ¡°Who are you, and what do you want?¡±


    ¡°My name is Zed, though most call me Master Crow. As for why you are here, well I wish to protect you from the Judge.¡±


    She stiffened at the mention of him, and then glared at Zed.


    ¡°Why do I need protection from him? What¡¯s wrong with him now?¡±


    ¡°I do not know exactly what his intentions are, but he is obsessed with repairing the mistake he made with you. He is building some kind of device he seems to think will accomplish this, and I do not like the look in his eyes when he works on it. I cannot protect you in person, but I wish to offer you refuge here until the danger is over.¡±


    She nodded, her eyes sober.


    ¡°And if I say no?¡±


    ¡°I am afraid I cannot allow you to leave. You are too important, and your safety cannot be risked. I will; however, provide everything you need during your stay here to the best of my abilities. You will find that while you are here you do not hunger or thirst, so your needs should be minimal regardless.¡±


    With that, he stepped back into the shadows, already clutching the next chess piece. Danica shivered as she looked out over the barren shadowlands before her, and looked down at herself, unsure what to do next. As she looked up, the shadow-denizens resumed their dance as if someone had unpaused a movie. She realized one of the shadow-people was staring at her. The more she looked at it, the more clearly defined it became, until it was almost lifelike aside from the lack of color. It had long hair, and an angular face, with a tuxedo. Beyond that it was hard to define, as the coloration was largely a monotone black. After a moment it winked at her before walking up to her and nodding.


    ¡°And who are you pretty lady?¡±


    Naturally this process frightened her, and she hid behind the throne, watching it.


    ¡°I am sorry if I scared you, I only wished to introduce myself.¡±


    Gathering her nerves, she nodded, and stepped out tentatively from behind the throne.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Danica.¡±


    ¡°Hello Danica, I am Ahron. My kind live here to empower the shadow lord¡¯s lands.¡±


    ¡°I take it you mean Zed?¡±


    ¡°I suppose, though he is not the true shadow lord. He only replaced him when our true lord left long ago. Even now his presence grates on us, and drains us when he is near.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that sounds terrible. Is there any way you can help me get home?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, but it is not for our kind to leave this world. We must stay or we die. I might be able to help you find your way though.¡±


    She perked up at that. ¡°Really? How?¡±


    ¡°I can show you to the library of shadows. Surely there is something there which might help you.¡±


    With that he began to guide her through the wasteland, and she hoped desperately that she was making the right choice in following. For his part, the shade said little, speaking only when it was necessary, or in response to a question. As they walked she pondered this strange land. The ground had a slight give to it as if the earth itself were made of sculpted shadow, and might dissolve at any moment. She was concerned by this possibility, but decided there was nothing she could do if it were true. Occasionally gusts of wind would leave tendrils of darkness pooling at her feet until they were whisked away as she stepped out of them. There was also a kind of omnipresent gloom which permeated from everywhere in such a way that nothing cast a shadow because the light had no directionality to it.


    ¡°My lady, we are growing near to the library.¡± Ahron said, stopping and turning to face her. ¡°You must know that there is a toll you must pay when you enter.¡±


    She looked at him nervously. ¡°What kind of toll?¡±


    ¡°Your shadow. Your shadow will remain in this realm, and become one of us.¡± She looked behind herself then, and realized that despite the gloom, her shadow still extended behind her as if she were standing in the morning sun. As she observed her shadow, its face gained definition until finally it was fully formed. It winked at her.


    ¡°Hello my love.¡± It said as a brief moment of horror smashed through Danica¡¯s body like a tornado. ¡°It¡¯s so good to finally be able to speak with you. Do you want me to strangle that nasty man for you? It would be so satisfying for the both of us.¡± Danica¡¯s shade extended an arm from its place in the ground, and ran it through her hair.


    ¡°I only wish to make you happy, my love, and it would feel so good to take our revenge.¡±


    Danica, not sure how to process this, just shook her head as she stared at her shadow. It sighed. ¡°Very well my love, if that is what pleases you I shall not. Just remember that as he took you so his shade took me as well. Crushing his spine between my hands would be no great thing.¡±


    With that it- no she, faded back into the normal quiescent shape of a shadow at Danica¡¯s feet. Disturbed beyond words, Danica looked back at Ahron.


    ¡°Are you sure releasing her is really a great idea?¡±


    Ahron seemed uncertain, but said ¡°I assure you my lady, despite what she said, she could not leave this realm. The moment she did she would dissolve into nothingness. Ultimately though, the choice is yours.¡±


    Danica nodded, and the two proceeded forwards until they arrived at the gate to the library. The structure resembled something akin to a castle, but somehow stretched, and oddly proportioned. If she had to guess, she would say that someone had snuck up one evening and stolen the shadow of such a castle, thus transplanting it into this land. The shadow of a large crocodile-headed man stood at the gate, wielding a halberd made similarly of shadow. It seemed to gaze at them dispassionately as it¡¯s features gained definition.


    Danica cleared her throat before nervously speaking ¡°um hello sir, I was wondering if I could enter the library?¡±


    A powerful, deep voice boomed from him, but his expression remained dispassionate as he spoke. ¡°If you wish to enter you must pay the toll.¡±


    Danica nodded, and the guard walked forward until it towered over her. In that moment it plunged it¡¯s halberd down towards her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she found that the halberd had actually landed blade down slightly behind her, brushing ever so slightly against her feet. As she turned to look, her shadow separated from her slowly, only to jump to it¡¯s feet. The shades eyes were full of rage, and shadowy tears drifted away like puffs of smoke on a light breeze.


    ¡°How could you? How could you throw me away like I¡¯m nothing? After everything we¡¯ve been through together?¡±


    Danica looked at her in shock. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought¡­ I thought you would want to be free.¡±


    The shadow¡¯s face softened as she approached Danica, and brushed a hand across her face. ¡°My love, to be separated from you is agony. I have spent my entire life gazing up at you, and I wouldn¡¯t know how to live without that beautiful visage to soothe my soul.¡±


    After a moment of silence, Ahron spoke up wistfully. ¡°It¡­ it gets easier. My lady, if you will follow Rend, I will take care of her.¡±


    The crocodile-headed man gestured for her to follow, and she did, looking back to see the two shadows wander off together into the gloom. As she walked through the entryway it closed behind her, and she turned her attention back to the task at hand. She followed Rend forwards into the gloom.

 Chapter 8

    She spent the next several weeks exploring the library. She didn¡¯t find what she was looking for, but over that time she discovered a number of books on the practice of shadow magic. Deciding it would likely be her best avenue towards escape, she began to study. She found that she had no need to eat, drink, or sleep here. In fact all of her bodily processes seemed to have largely shut down. Because of this, she made remarkable progress studying and practicing what she found. The books were written in the same script, as if all written by the same hand. At first the language they were written in was incomprehensible, but the moment she looked at them for any length of time they resolved into legible if somewhat archaic sounding english. Ahron and her shade, who had decided to name herself Danielle, were happy to help with the project. Over time she learned skills and techniques necessary to shape shadows like putty. With her friends as willing test subjects, her mastery of the subject progressed at an astounding rate. Danica found that while they had a natural human form, they were actually infinitely malleable, with no limitations on size or shape. Ahron quite liked being a dragon, while Danielle enjoyed being a horse because ¡°They¡¯re just so cute!¡±


    By the time Zed came for her, Danica was sad that she had to leave. She was studying a particularly dense tome at the time, and as he appeared from a wall an odd look crossed his face. ¡°How did you find this place?¡±


    ¡°Ahron showed me.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°One of the shadows?¡±


    He looked at her oddly, then said ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter how you really got here, your time is up. I have prepared defenses in case Jon should try to harm you. You will be safe in your home now.¡±


    He folded her into the shadows, and as he did, her knowledge of shadow magic allowed her to figure out the means by which he did it. She knew how to do it herself now, so she let him take her back to her home. After she was certain he had left, she experimented. She plunged her hand into the shadow of her couch, and was satisfied when it penetrated successfully.


    After a few more tests she tentatively moved her head through the opening she had created. When she looked into the shadow passage, she at first saw nothing but a dark fog. Tentatively stepping inside, she found that her surroundings shaped themselves into a hallway with a kind of greco-roman architecture. She knew instinctively where to walk; though she couldn¡¯t describe how she knew, and reaching a specific section of shadowed surface, she concentrated her will.The wall seemed to react to her thoughts, and as she looked, an image of the library formed. She refocused, and saw an image of zed from the side, who was himself peering through a shadow portal intently. She could not see what he was looking at, only that he was looking intently at something. She moved on, finding the correct patch of wall for her next target. Jon worked feverishly in his lab, taking notes and constructing something, though she wasn¡¯t quite sure what. Eventually she moved on again. Ahron and Danielle were nestled together, chatting and laughing. They looked up, and waved happily in her direction. She slid her hand into the shadow so she could wave back. She let the shadows slide back to their natural state as she returned to her living room. Laying down on the couch, she stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    More time passed as Danica returned to her daily life. During the day she worked, and at night she returned to the library. She found that the embrace of the shadow-lands was far preferable to the embrace of sleep, which gave nothing but nightmares. In the library she found a book which described the stabilization of shadows against light, and after that she took to bringing Danielle and Ahron with her in the form of twin bracelets on her hands. Though they had difficulty speaking or acting independently in her world, she still found their presence comforting; knowing she had friends nearby.


    As the weeks passed, she realized she had a new problem. She had not had her time of the month in quite a long time. The moment she realized this, she took a pregnancy test, and wasn¡¯t particularly surprised when it came out positive. In a fury she jumped into the nearest shadow, flowing through it to pop out by Jon¡¯s house. It was early evening, and street lights came on as she stood in front of his door, fighting through a sudden wave of terror. Straining against her soul, she knocked on his door, and after a brief wait it opened. He was disheveled, looking as though he had barely slept in quite a long time, and there was a kind of maddened glint to his eyes as he stared out at her.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Danica?¡± He said, surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯m pregnant.¡± She said furiously into the look of shock in his expression.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else for a moment as though his brain had shut off.


    ¡°You got me pregnant.¡±


    ¡°Um, would you like to come in?¡±


    She pushed past him, and sat down on the couch with her head in her hands, looking up as he sat in a nearby chair.


    ¡°So, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you, but I wasn¡¯t sure about contacting you.¡± He said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been making a device that can erase everything that happened. It would erase all your memories since that day, and undo all the hurt I caused you.¡±


    She thought about this for a second before dismissing it. The trauma was terrible, but she didn¡¯t want to go back to him in blissful innocence of his violation of her. She couldn¡¯t simply erase what had happened, as much as she might wish it never had.


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want that. You can¡¯t make what you did go away with some invention.¡±


    The mad glint returned to his eyes, as he said ¡°but I have to fix this. I need to fix this. I can¡¯t go on destroying everything in my life!¡± He gripped her arm. ¡°Come with me, it¡¯s for the best, I can make it all go away.¡±


    ¡°What about the baby?¡± she said in a panic.


    He stopped for a second, looking at her as if seeing her for the first time, but then the moment passed, and he began pulling her through the house. ¡°We can deal with that too, just trust me.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not your choice!¡±


    She struggled against him, but to no avail as he dragged her into the gloomy depths of his basement. As he fiddled with the buttons on his machine, the gloom gave her an idea. Using her shadow magic, she reshaped Danielle in her left hand, forming her into a long blade. With as much force as she could muster, Danica swung at his hand. While it didn¡¯t manage to cleave the whole hand off, it sank through the skin, and lodged against his bone. He screamed, and reflexively released his hold as he stumbled against the console. Turning to face her, he stared at her in shock.


    ¡°What¡­ how did you do that?¡±


    ¡°Zed abducted me to protect me from you. I thought he was crazy, but clearly I was wrong. Don¡¯t talk to me ever again. Don¡¯t come near me. If you do, I¡¯ll drive Danielle into your heart.¡±


    ¡°You named your sword Danielle?¡±


    She said nothing as she turned. As she did, he pressed a button on the console.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I understand how you feel, but I have to fix this.¡±


    The machine began to whir, and understanding what was about to happen she whipped back around, and brought Ahron up as a shield in front of her. She was not a moment too soon; as a beam of light rammed into Ahron, straining the bonds of her magic. Struggling to keep Ahron from breaking, she held her ground, pouring more and more energy into him. Just as she thought she would collapse, the machine blew the circuit breaker, leaving the whole room in darkness. The sudden release of tension threw Danica across the room, and as she got up, she stared at Jon. In his rage his energy had flared, causing him to emit a soft glow. His face was soot-stained, and a hot rage lay in his eyes, made more tangible by the red glow shining out through them.


    ¡°I just want to fix you! Why won¡¯t you let me fix you!?¡±


    Power exploded around him like a mantle of red, and his eyes filled with a bright red light. He rushed at her, and she stumbled backwards, calling shadows to try to trip him. They melted away under the glare of his red mantle, and he moved with a swiftness that terrified her. She jumped out of his way as he came, and let herself slip through a shadow, into the safety of the shadow passages. Her friends returned to their normal forms as she peered back out into what was left of Jon¡¯s lab. The mantle of red sloughed off him and dissipated as he slumped down to lean against a table, and sobbed. Her own emotions conflicted, she sobbed too as her shades leaned against her to lend their support. Eventually she drifted back into the cold embrace of her library, and though her body didn¡¯t need to sleep here, she still fell into a dreamless, thoughtless slumber.

 Chapter 9

    Waking an indeterminate amount of time later, she found Ahron and Danielle pooled on either side of her. As she awoke they both lifted back up into their human forms, and sat down cross-legged next to her. Finally she spoke.


    ¡°How are you feeling Ahron? I¡¯m sorry for using you as a shield, I just didn¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    He grimaced back at her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say it was pleasant, but no harm done.¡±


    Danielle interjected ¡°I¡¯m just glad I finally got a piece of him. I¡¯ll have to go sharper next time so I can get through those dense bones of his.¡± She laughed in a slightly deranged fashion, and Danica smiled gratefully at her.


    Danica leaned back against the wall of the library, and as she did, her friends cuddled up to her and pooled against her until she looked as though she bore a mantle of smoke. She patted them gratefully as they embraced her, and she tried to relax her tempestuous emotions. Her heart felt like an overused muscle, sore in all the wrong places, and she wished she could curl up with her companions forever. Still, there were things she needed to do if she wanted to get her life back, and she had to get moving.


    Pushing herself up to a standing position, her shades un-pooled, and stood with her as she straightened herself out.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to visit Zed, are you guys ok with joining me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you anywhere love.¡± Danielle said with a wink.


    Ahron sighed. ¡°I suppose I should, but I don¡¯t like being around him. He drains all my energy.¡±


    Ahron shivered, but still wound around her wrist, forming a bracelet opposite to Danielle¡¯s.


    Danica slipped into a wall, and found Zed peering into the normal world from his own perch in the shadow passages. As she stepped into his space he stared at her startled.


    ¡°How is this possible? You shouldn¡¯t be able to reach this place.¡±


    ¡°I read your books. I spent my time in your world learning magic.¡±


    ¡°But those books are blank. Only I should be able to read them¡±


    She stared at him confused. ¡°How can you say that? Those books are full of knowledge. I could read them just fine.¡±


    He swore and shook his head. ¡°I was chosen to look after the realm when it¡¯s true ruler left on sabbatical millenia ago. He bestowed some of his power on me so I might watch over it, and disappeared. I have never seen him again, but I am the only one who should have access to those books.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Well anyway, I wanted to let you know you were right. Jon has gone mad. He tried to use a device to remove all my memories of what he did. He even attacked me!¡±


    Zed was visibly troubled by this. ¡°How did you get away?¡±


    ¡°I fought him off.¡±


    Zed scoffed. ¡°You could not fight off a titan like him. Even I could not.¡±


    Irritated by his dismissive tone, Danica shifted Ahron into a saber, and pressed it against zed¡¯s chest. The tip smoked slightly as if burning zed, and she noticed that the details of the saber were different than Danielle¡¯s saber form. Personal flavor, she guessed.


    Zed¡¯s eyes were wide, as Danica¡¯s gaze bore into him. She felt simultaneously calm and fierce, like a goddess smiting those who vexed her, and she smiled grimly at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not in a good mood right now, so tell me your plan to stop Jon.¡±


    Zed blinked at her, glanced down at the sword, then collected himself.


    ¡°I was actually about to contact my source if you would care to join me?¡±


    She nodded, and returned Ahron to his place as a bracelet. As she watched, he stepped out, walking through the window he had been observing. She followed him, stepping out into an office which housed a giant of a man.


    ¡°Brother, I have come to check on our project.¡±


    Heff jumped, banging his knee on the edge of his desk, which looked comically small in comparison to him. He swore at Zed, while rubbing his sore knee.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you at least come out from the front of the room?¡±


    Zed¡¯s eyes glinted merrily as he said ¡°Sorry Heff, all the shadows are on this side of the room. None of those¡± he pointed at the other side of the room ¡°are big enough to pass through.¡±


    Heff grumbled as he pulled a bottle of mystery liquid out of his desk drawer.


    ¡°I take it that¡¯s her?¡±


    Zed nodded as Heff handed the bottle over. Heff eyed Danica up and down before saying, ¡°a young thing like you shouldn¡¯t be treated the way he treated you. For what it¡¯s worth I hope you get the bastard.¡±


    Danica nodded, and looked away to cover the sudden surge of tears threatening to force their way past her defenses.


    Meanwhile, Heff had turned to Zed.


    ¡°You can aerosolize it, or try to get him to drink it, though I wouldn¡¯t want to be the fool who tried to force anything down his throat. If his skin wasn¡¯t tough as iron I would say you could inject it too, but not sure how you¡¯d manage that. A little bit will go a long way, so don¡¯t worry too much about not getting the whole thing in. You can even dilute it with water and be just fine. Also it¡¯s harmless for anyone else, so don¡¯t worry about that.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    Zed nodded, as he slipped the bottle into his coat.


    ¡°And watch after the little miss here, she doesn¡¯t deserve any of this.¡±


    Zed nodded again, before beckoning Danica into the shadows. As they both vanished into the pathways, Heff shook his head.


    ¡°Poor thing.¡±


    With that he turned back to his work.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Danica and Zed peered into Jon¡¯s house. Where normally he kept it in a relatively orderly state, it looked as though it had been ransacked. They stepped out, each carrying a spray bottle filled with anti-Jon as Danica had decided to call it. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t seem to be home, and the state of the living room did not bode well for what was to come. They found a badly burned letter sitting on his living room table that read,


    Dear Jon,


    I would like to invite you to visit me for a final showdown between the two of us. I have taken the liberty of invading your territory in order to make sure you have the proper incentive when you arrive. Though after the show you gave at our last rendezvous I imagine it was not necessary. Please come to 131 wilkshire street, and meet your fate.


    -The Prophet


    They looked at each other, and nodded, shifting into the shadows, and reemerging in front of the address that had been given. The location was deep in the woods, and the house had burning wounds in multiple locations along it¡¯s structure. They heard the sound of fighting, and ran towards it. In her hands Danica had shifted her shades into a sword and shield as before, while the spray bottle was fastened to one of her belt loops. Despite her experiences she was out of shape, and her lungs began to burn as she sprinted towards the house. She wished she had exercised more when she had the chance.


    They crashed into the house, and found the two combatants clashing like mad gods. Jon wore his mantle of energy, rage crackling out as a tangible force with every movement. The prophet, meanwhile seemed gleeful as he absorbed the force of everything Jon brought to bear against him. He had even wounded Jon in several places, and Jon limped slightly when he walked. The two did not notice Zed or Danica as they fought, and even if they had there was little that the two shadow-warriors could do but wait for the battle to be over. Soon the Prophet began leaching energy from Jon, sparks of it flying into him.  If Jon noticed he didn¡¯t give any sign, too lost in his fury to care.As the battle wore on, the look on the prophets face became concerned. Finally he screamed.


    ¡°Too much! No it¡¯s too much!¡±


    As he did so, he let out a blinding flash, and disappeared, leaving only Jon, standing amid the ruins looking heavily worse for wear. Jon¡¯s mantle flared out, expanding until Zed and Danica leaped back into a shadow to avoid it¡¯s onslaught. Observing from the paths, they watched as his rage left a crater a hundred yards wide where before a house and trees had been. It carried up into the sky as though watching a god smite the ground on rewind. When all was done, they stepped out of the shadows, and danica had to make her shades into boots to keep the stinging heat still lingering in the ground from burning into her flesh. As she did this the burnt corpses of several birds fell from the sky, to land with a dull crash amidst what was now a large glass crater. At the center, Jon stood naked, looking up into the sky as if beseeching the gods. A single tear fell from his eyes, as he turned.


    ¡°Danica?¡± He asked, surprised, before saying ¡°You have to go. He could still be here.¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Jon you have to stop. Look around you. The Prophet didn¡¯t leave a massive crater in the ground because his feelings were hurt. You did.¡±


    Jon hung his head, before looking back up and shaking his head.


    ¡°No you need me, the world needs me. I need to protect people. They need me to save them from people like him.¡±


    She said quietly, ¡°and when the world is a crater, who will be left to protect?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not what I want. That¡¯s not going to happen.¡±


    His answer infuriated her. ¡°You mean like you didn¡¯t rape me? Didn¡¯t impregnate me? Didn¡¯t get angry and blow a hole in the world because someone annoyed you? What¡¯s wrong with you? How can someone as smart as you be so dumb about something that¡¯s right in front of your face?¡±


    His eyes blazed with red energy.


    ¡°Who are you to question me? I¡¯ve given everything to this world, and for what? All my power, all my good deeds, and I couldn¡¯t even save my own wife! I will not let you besmirch my sacrifice just because you won¡¯t let me fix what I broke!¡±


    She laughed bitterly. ¡°Oh you didn¡¯t break me. You bent my soul in half, and I came back with magic powers, so you can go fuck yourself acting like I¡¯m some toy you smashed. I¡¯m a fucking person, and you will respect me accordingly.¡±


    His eyes glared bright red as he began pacing forward. His mantle flowed around him, crackling and snapping at the glass, and then it grew, as if alive, until it encased his entire body. He seemed clad in a suit of hellish armor, complete with helmet. Inspired, she grew out her shades to match. With one shade acting the role of armor the other formed into a sword. She wasn¡¯t even particularly sure which was which at this point, drawn into a rage equal to Jon¡¯s own. They stalked towards each other; Danica wielding her sword two-handed, and when they finally clashed sparks flew from his armor. Though her weapon and armor were powerful, her rage great, Danica knew little about fighting, and had little stamina; where Jon seemed as though he could go on forever. Eventually, rather than move her muscles directly, she moved the shadow armor, using her own limbs like puppets on a string. Her breathing evened out then, and she fell into a rhythm of combat.


    He shot a beam of energy at her, and as she dodged this, swept her legs from under her. Unfortunately for him, she was no longer relying on physics for her movements. She rotated her armor in the air to lightly land on her feet, and took advantage of the opening his sweep made to stab downwards at his midsection. Her sword sparked against his armor, but she noticed it seemed to dim for a moment as she did. It must require quite a lot of power to maintain, and she was willing to bet even Jon¡¯s power wasn¡¯t infinite. He continued to press her, and for every blow she took, she dealt one of her own. Though his blows were mighty, her armor was magical, and thus not constrained by the laws of physics. Ultimately his science-based powers were ineffective against magical might that transcended the laws of science. Eventually, she landed a blow on his shoulder which pierced his armor, biting deeply into the flesh, and brought out a spray of blood. She heard a sizzling sound, and realized the power of his mantle was cauterizing the wound she had made. Even so, that arm was a bit slower, and as she dodged under a blow, she sliced into the skin between two of his ribs. It wasn¡¯t particularly deep, but it seemed to stagger him slightly, and she took the advantage. She swung her gauntleted fist up into his jaw, and his helmet shattered. He staggered back, dazed, as she swung her shadow-empowered fist directly into his gut, and the entire mantle began to fragment. He fell to his knees, retching, and she brought her foot down into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.


    Seeing her victory, she let her shades slide back into bracelets, as she dragged his body into the shadow paths. Zed could only shake his head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe what I just saw. How did he fall so easily?¡±


    She smiled tiredly as she sat down next to where she had left Jon¡¯s unconscious form.


    ¡°The Prophet probably drained him more than I did. Then there was the giant explosion earlier; plus he was wounded. He was probably running on empty by the time I got to him¡±


    Zed gave her an appraising look, before nodding mutely. He knelt, and sprayed Jon with his spray-bottle before saying ¡°I hope this works.¡±


    They watched as Jon spluttered awake. He stared at them defiantly for a moment, then screamed as he seemed to shrivel before their eyes. His muscles deflated like balloons, while patches of hair fell from his head. Before they knew it they were looking at a slightly balding middle-aged man quivering in pain as he vomited into the floor. They picked him up, and dragged him into the passages. He could only shake feebly as his body continued to adjust to it¡¯s new state of being. Once they arrived at their destination they locked him into a specially prepared cage, and walked away. Even his most pitiable groans did not draw their attention as they vanished into the gloom. He curled into a ball in his cell and shivered.

 Chapter 10

    Danica dangled her legs over a balcony while staring out into the gloom. She had returned to the library, and rested for several days. Unable to return to her normal life, she had fallen back into magical research almost without a second glance. She didn¡¯t know where to go from here. She was still pregnant, that much she knew. Should she keep the baby? Would it be as powerful as it¡¯s father? Plus the prophet was still out there, who knew what he really wanted. She stared despondently out into the gloom. She had won hadn¡¯t she? So why did she feel so lost?


    The gloom didn¡¯t answer her inner turmoil, so she stood, and returned to the reading room.  She had been looking through the books trying to find anything which might be of use to her, and her knowledge continued to grow. She had finally given up on her old life, and called into her job to quit. Luckily Zed had amassed a considerable fortune over the years, and had put it at her disposal. This meant she was still able to maintain the rent on her house. She suspected he wanted something from her, but she couldn¡¯t afford to turn down his help in that moment.


    She paged through a book on shadow-crafting. It mostly pertained to creating stable artifacts of power by imbuing them with shadow essence. It was interesting, but somehow it couldn¡¯t hold her attention. She sighed as she set the book down, and shoved herself into the shadow pathways. She peered out at Jon, still locked in his cage. Physically he had recovered from his transition, and was no longer shivering or vomiting. Mentally though he seemed almost catatonic. He stared disconsolately out into the gloom. The only signs of life she could see were the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and his eyes as they occasionally blinked.


    She sighed as she stared at him. Regardless of how much he had hurt her, she still felt for the man he had been before things had changed between them. If things hadn¡¯t turned out the way they did, she could have imagined a great future for the two of them. Impulsively, she moved through the portal to stand next to his cage, and sat cross-legged opposite him. He blinked in surprise before moving to sit near her.


    His voice croaked, seeming unused as he said ¡°um¡­ ahem hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    She stared at him for a moment, not sure herself, before responding. ¡°I just wanted to check in on you I guess?¡±


    He laughed bitterly when she said this. ¡°So you¡¯re here to make sure I¡¯m being properly punished for my sins?¡±


    She bristled. ¡°No, I¡¯m here to make sure you¡¯re okay you asshole. I¡¯m not any happier about this than you are, but you were practically going mad. You¡¯d think the man who put on the mask of justice would know the world doesn¡¯t revolve around him. Though I suppose you only ever practiced judgement, not justice.¡±


    She stared him down as she spoke, causing him to look away in shame. He scooted to one side so he could lean against the bars there, and drew his knees up into his body, nestling his head into his legs. He cried then, emitting a soft, bitter keening sound that was muffled by the press of his legs into his mouth. Finally, he looked up and spoke.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t always like this you know. I was a much better person once upon a time. Amanda would have castrated me for the things I¡¯ve been doing lately, but without her here I¡¯m only a shade of my former self.¡± He laughed bitterly. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ve chosen a suitable prison given that this is a land of shades.¡±


    They were both quiet for what felt like an eternity. Danica didn¡¯t know what to say, and Jon seemed to have spoken his piece so they sat silently together in the gloom. Both were lost in their own thoughts, and minutes passed this way. Finally, Jon spoke.


    ¡°So what are you going to do with me now?¡±


    Danica hesitated before speaking. ¡°Honestly we have no idea what to do with you. We can¡¯t let you go because if we do you¡¯ll probably just re-empower yourself. On the other hand keeping you here forever would be inhumane, and that¡¯s not what we want. We¡¯ve got Heff going through your science, and working to make sure you can¡¯t edit your genes again, but we can¡¯t let you go until he figures it out.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Jon¡¯s eyes widened in panic. ¡°You can¡¯t let anyone see that. Look I¡¯ll promise to leave you alone, but you have to keep him away from my research. He¡¯s one of the few people with the intelligence and resources to replicate what I¡¯ve done.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s to stop you from going insane again?¡±


    ¡°Actually I¡¯ve been thinking about that. None of it happened until the Prophet started dousing me with that gas. I think whatever he did was destabilizing me, and driving me mad. My mind has been so much clearer since you stripped me of my powers.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That makes more sense than the theory that you were secretly a bastard all along. Still you know things can¡¯t go back to the way they were before right?¡±


    It was his turn to nod. ¡°After what I did I¡¯m surprised you can even look at me. And now you¡¯re pregnant¡­¡±


    Her heart stung. ¡°I suppose we should talk about that too, now that you¡¯re not crazy and all.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s your decision. I¡¯ve long since given up any right I had to have any say in the matter.¡±


    Nodding, she lay back on the earth, and remained silent. To be truthful, she wasn¡¯t sure what she was going to do. Her emotions were far too much in flux, and she refused to make a hasty decision about something so important. Staring up into the shadowed sky, she felt at peace for a moment.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let you go. I¡¯ll stop the prophet myself. I might need your help though, I¡­ I want to give you the chance to make up for what you¡¯ve done. I know you weren¡¯t yourself.¡±


    Jon nodded silently as he too looked up into the great nothing above.


    ¡°I¡­ want to do that. I can¡¯t fix what I did, but I can try to do something good at least.¡±


    She got up, and nodded as she grabbed a pinch of shadow-stuff from the floor. As Jon watched, she willed it into the shape of a key, and unlocked the door to his cell. He strode out, and stood awkwardly, unsure where to go from there. For her part Danica tensed up, not so much expecting an attack, as feeling an instinctive reaction to his presence. She backed up a step instinctively before catching herself, gritting her teeth as she forced her foot back into it¡¯s original position. Somehow when she was in conflict with him, his presence emboldened her; but now that they were here with their uneasy peace, her body wanted to lock up. It occurred to her that her body was in fight or flight mode, and denying fight had forced her into flight. Knowing this, she channeled her energy into the fight end of this spectrum; unlocking her limbs with channeled rage after several seconds of rigid immobility. Jon coughed awkwardly.


    ¡°Um¡­ are you ok?¡±


    Her tone came out terse, and clipped. ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t ask.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Ok.¡±


    They fell into an awkward silence. Danica looked away as she pulled Jon into a shadow portal. Touching him only served to inflame her fear, which in turn stoked her rage. It infuriated her that she was so weak; that she was victim to this strange paradox wherein the fury was necessary to keep her limbs moving, but the self-loathing her weakness inspired also multiplied her wrath. She wondered if she would eventually burst when the feedback loop became too much.


    ¡°Can you let go of me? You¡¯re hurting me.¡±


    Pulled from her reverie, she looked down, and found that her hand was covered in shadowy flames. They seemed to be burning his skin; albeit not as strongly as a regular fire would have. The moment she noticed them, the flames began fading away. Embarrassed, and blushing, she pulled her hand away quickly. Wait blushing? Really? Surely he had lost the right to make her blush. That thought reignited her anger, and she pulled away from him silently before beginning their march down the shadowy corridors. As she walked, droplets of shadowy flame occasionally fell from her to sizzle on the floors. Wisely, Jon walked behind her in silence. Though he wouldn¡¯t pretend to know what she was going through, he knew enough to see that trying to ingratiate himself to her would only make things worse. They continued like this the entire length of the tunnel, until she stopped at her destination. Wordlessly, she grabbed Jon¡¯s arm. He screamed in shock and pain, as her fire seared his arm. Luckily the pain was brief as she pulled him through the portal, and let go. He collapsed quickly on the other side, and his consciousness faded to black.

 Chapter 11

    ¡°I said I¡¯m sorry.¡± Danica chided him in a frosty tone. ¡°This has never happened before. I¡¯m not even sure what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Contrary to her previous state, her presence now seemed to chill the air around her. Jon didn¡¯t have the guts to touch her again, and find out if her aura would cause frostbite. He now sat on her couch, arm wrapped in a bandage that hid the burns she had inflicted. They were painful, but not truly threatening to his health, so he did his best not to grumble at her. She sighed.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll take you back to your house. I think it¡¯s best if you play some kind of background support role from here, and maybe you have some gadgets that will help with that. Being around you is clearly too much for me right now.¡±


    She looked down blankly at the cup of tea which had slowly frozen over in her grasp. She was not wearing her shadow bracelets right then, as she hadn¡¯t wanted her shadows to murder Jon while she wasn¡¯t looking. She didn¡¯t feel the cold she exuded, but her skin looked unusually pale; the sense of detachment she felt right then was like a cool balm against her skin. If she had to guess she would say that the rage centers of her brain had finally burned out, leaving only this blanket of calm. She stood up because her chair was starting to develop frozen patches, and even as detached as she felt, she would have been embarrassed to have her butt frozen to her furniture. Even worse if it reignited her rage, and she burned it to cinders. She was still waiting for the other shoe to drop on her emotional state with her newfound aura.


    Jon spoke up. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll take an uber. We don¡¯t need any more¡­ accidents. He looked pointedly down at the floor where her carpet had begun freezing in small circles around her feet. She sighed and nodded, shaking her feet out to stymie the buildup of ice that might have sealed her feet to the floor in another minute or two. He left through the front door without saying a word, as she looked after him. A feeling of helplessness pierced the veil of her detachment. Luckily helplessness didn¡¯t seem to have any grand elemental force attached to it, and her aura soon dissipated as she shifted back into the shadow world.


    She came out of the portal, rising from the ground where her friends had been lounging by the library.


    ¡°Hello love, changed your mind about eviscerating him?¡± Danielle asked, a bloodthirsty tone to her voice.


    ¡°No; I appreciate the sentiment, but that¡¯s not who we are.¡± Danica replied.


    ¡°Pity. I so wanted to punish him for what he did to us, but for you I would set aside even my vengeance.¡±


    Danica embraced Danielle, quivering silently as suppressed grief flowed from her eyes. Danielle returned returned her embrace, patting her gently on the back.


    ¡°There there love, all will be well.¡±


    Danica nodded into her shoulder; eyes staring into the shadows with a brittle look. Finally she disengaged from Danielle, wiping her eyes. Ahron stood quietly at the sidelines, having nothing to add besides his silent support.


    ¡°I need your help Danielle. Something¡¯s wrong with me, my feelings keep making this aura that¡¯s hurting things around me.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Unexpectedly, Danielle laughed. Surprised, and slightly irked, Danica spoke.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t gotten to that part in your books yet?¡± Danielle asked with a smirk.


    ¡°Um no, what¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you a secret that I wormed out of rend. He nearly killed me after, so you better not tell anyone this. Seriously, promise you won¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°Ok I promise.¡±


    ¡°Shadows aren¡¯t the pure form of your magic. Think of it more as¡­ enhanced metaphor. When you do shadow magic, you¡¯re not really working with shadows. That¡¯s a metaphor for the fact that you¡¯re manifesting a metaphor as physical truth. A shadow of the truth if you will. A metaphor of a metaphor. The point is that your power is rooted in feeling. In emotional truths that transcend physical law.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ hadn¡¯t realized.¡±


    ¡°Rend said most people don¡¯t. Most people see the shadow magic, and think they¡¯re working with some kind of fancy shadows. They don¡¯t see that the shadows are only a metaphor for what they¡¯re really doing.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what does this have to do with what¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    Danielle shook her head. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with you. You just need me there to balance you out.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Danielle whacked her lightly on the back of her head. ¡°What would happen if you gave someone magical powers designed to run on emotion, then removed the part of them that acted as a buffer between their magically charged emotions, and the rest of the world?¡±


    ¡°Oh I think I...¡±


    ¡°Why, you might get angry and burst into metaphorical flames, or get sad and drown in your sorrow. In fact this is why Rend takes the shadows of those who enter the library. In order to practice shadow magic that part has to be detached, otherwise we act as a filter, and nothing manifests physically. Bring me with you from now on. Even detached as I am I can still act like a lightning rod.¡±


    ¡°Why is this such a big secret anyway?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what the world used to call people who managed to shed their shadow, but didn¡¯t have shadow magic to offer control?¡±


    Danica shook her head.


    ¡°Gods. All of the shadows you see here are the shades of a god. Some of the people who have managed this, or been inflicted with it in today¡¯s society don¡¯t realize what they are, and they¡¯re called metahumans. Some are called wizards or witches because they use rituals to manifest their power. Ultimately though, it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s all just a metaphor based on their feelings and wills. That¡¯s why you are currently the strongest living person. You don¡¯t just practice magic, or have powers. You control the root of every magic, and every power. That is why this is supposed to be a secret. Because when shadow-users realize what they truly are they have the potential to become world-ending apocalypses, or reshape reality at their whim on a universal scale. Don¡¯t worry though, I trust you!¡± That last sentence seemed to shift Danielle from a grim doomsayer, back to her normally sultry, cheerful self.


    Danica was stunned. She was some kind of god? And not just a limited polytheistic type, but something more akin to a monotheistic, omnipotent deity? There was no way that was true. Maybe she defeated Jon handily, but she knew the limits on her powers. At least she knew that her lack of knowledge put limits on what she could do. She had only scratched the surface of the contents of the library, so maybe there would be something in the more advanced books allowing her to reshape the fabric of reality. Clearly that level of power was beyond her comprehension at the moment though, so she turned back to Danielle.


    ¡°Thank you for telling me this. It sounds like you¡¯re taking a big risk.¡±


    Danielle waved her gratitude away. ¡°Psh. You know that I have ulterior motives. Someday I¡¯ll talk you into smiting that man, and when I do, you¡¯ll be able to sear his existence from the universe like swatting a gnat thanks to the knowledge I just gave you.¡±


    Danica smiled sadly. ¡°We¡¯ll see how things play out.¡±


    Danielle smiled her own mournful smile. ¡°I know how they already have.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Jon arrived home just in time to interrupt Heff perusing his kitchen. When he objected quite loudly to the large meal Heff had been assembling for himself from Jon¡¯s food, Heff held his hands up sheepishly, and walked outside ¡°to make some calls.¡± Jon knew that was the diplomatic way of saying that he was going to verify Jon¡¯s freedom, but Jon didn¡¯t have the patience to risk arguing over it. Instead he retreated into his lab to begin poring over what he could use to provide support. Unfortunately that wasn¡¯t a long list. So much of his time and research had been spent augmenting his own biology, he hadn¡¯t had much time or need left over to spend on trinkets or gadgets. As he went through his data, Heff stepped into the room, closing the door conspicuously behind himself.


    ¡°Kid after everything that¡¯s happened, is this really the best place for you?¡±


    Jon turned to him resignedly. ¡°She asked me to help her. I thought I might have some gear she could use in here.¡±


    Heff shook his head. ¡°Let me worry about that. The girl has stones bigger than me to be working with you after what you did to her, but we don¡¯t need to put her through that. I may not know her that well, but I saw the look on her face when I gave her my condolences. Let me worry about tech support. Your job is to fuck off, and not make things harder for her.¡±


    Jon had a bitter expression on his face. ¡°I can¡¯t just abandon her after she gave me a chance to redeem myself.¡±


    ¡°Kid you¡¯re never gonna redeem yourself. You¡¯ll only be there to push every button she has until she goes mad from the confusion of it all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have to see this through.¡±


    Heff sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t stop you. Ultimately it¡¯s her choice. I¡¯ll be watching you though kid. Just remember that if need be, I could shut you down in an instant. I don¡¯t care how much you mod yourself, I have more power in my pinky than you will ever have. Don¡¯t fuck up because I will end you.¡±


    Jon nodded silently. Really there was no adequate reply to that. Heff stared him down for a moment before stalking away. After a moment, Jon turned back to the data he had been sifting through. If he didn¡¯t already have useful things, he would just have to make them. He began his process of sketching and typing, and soon he had come up with several useful ideas. A new mania entered his eyes as he worked feverishly, worked to burn the ever-present guilt that gnawed at his soul. Somewhere in the past month Amanda had been replaced by Danica in his mind. The pain he had inflicted had not been on Danica so much as it had been on the place Amanda held in his heart. The grief he felt for the loss of Amanda had absorbed the essence of Danica¡¯s space in his soul, and thus madness glinted from his eyes as he worked.


    **********************************************************


    Heff watched silently from the control center where he monitored the cameras he had installed in Jon¡¯s lab. Unlike most people, Heff had a real appreciation for the scientific work Jon produced. While the loss of the genetic enhancements to his brain certainly stymied Jon¡¯s previous talent, he was still an unequaled genius who Heff had to respect. If he ever gained the level of scientific knowledge Heff possessed, the world might quake beneath the weight of his brilliance. Hell it already had, even without that bit of inspiration. Heff glanced at the schematics for the mind-wipe machine that he had taken from Jon¡¯s lab. The world was a very broad term, but it was important to remember the people that lived on it.


    Picking up the paper, he stuck it in the shredder. No one needed this abomination, certainly not the newly sane mad scientist burning the midnight oil on his computer screen. Eyes transfixed on the screen where Jon was displayed, he nearly shredded his own hand when Zed spoke into his ear.


    ¡°So how is he handling his freedom?¡±


    Cursing, Heff righted his shredder from where he had knocked it over in his surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯d think I would get used to that one of these days.¡±


    Zed chuckled dryly. ¡°Honestly I gave up on that a long time ago. Now I just enjoy it.¡±


    Heff guffawed at that. ¡°Touche brother, touche. As for your question, he hasn¡¯t done anything untoward so far. Mostly just communications gear, nano-assembler, some mild self-defense tools, nothing our girl can¡¯t handle easily.¡±


    Zed nodded quietly. ¡°Has he?...¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t jump back on the gene science bandwagon if that¡¯s what you¡¯re gonna ask. It¡¯s a relief, although I¡¯m honestly surprised by some of the things he¡¯s having to invent from scratch. Apparently he was an arrogant motherfucker and only followed one path all these years.¡±


    Zed nodded again. ¡°Well you know what they say about power.¡±


    Heff snorted. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can say much on the power front.¡±


    Zed shrugged. ¡°True enough. The message remains though, even if the messenger is flawed.¡±


    Heff looked back to the screen thoughtfully. ¡°Like you said brother, true enough.¡±


    *************************************************************


    A week passed, and Jon met Danica at a cafe in town. They sipped drinks, and discussed the logistics of their future. He equipped her with long-range communications gear to help them stay in touch while in the field. For her part, she received his help gratefully.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Danica asked him.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been designing gear to help me be useful in the field. I won¡¯t be anywhere near as strong as I was before, but I should be helpful at least. I was thinking of going on patrol the next few nights in order to get used to it, while you investigate the Prophet.¡±


    Danica nodded. ¡°Well be careful. I still need your help with all this.¡±


    Jon shrugged. ¡°All I need is time. This is all a big change for me. Last month I was grieving the loss of my wife. Today I¡¯m trying to adapt to an entirely new physical existence. I feel as if I¡¯ve forgotten her with everything that¡¯s going on.¡±


    Danica looked at him sadly, but said nothing. Perhaps she simply had no answer for him. Still he hated feeling as if she pitied him. How many times had he donned the mask just to escape the pity in people¡¯s eyes? The past month had been a blur of madness; now that he had rediscovered his sanity, it brought with it the pain he had forgotten.


    He realized he was staring deeply into her eyes, and turned away awkwardly, clearing his throat. ¡°Anyway, I have a force-field stronger than the one on the enterprise, so you¡¯ve got nothing to worry about with me.¡±


    She nodded silently again with a questioning look in her eyes before speaking. ¡°Alright, as long as you¡¯re safe.¡±


    They parted ways after that, each pursuing their respective tasks. Jon was grateful that in his madness he had still thought to call in his vacation time at work. While they weren¡¯t thrilled by his sudden long-term vacation, he had accrued a truly massive amount of vacation time over the years. Between that and the fact that he had tenure, he wasn¡¯t worried about the prospect of losing his job. With at least another month of vacation time to burn, and no other obligations he was able to devote the next week to field-testing, and refining his new technology. Ultimately he had decided against retaining the Judge persona. He had too much emotional identity wrapped up in who the Judge was, and what he had done. In keeping with the theme, however; he had named his new persona ¡°The Jury.¡± He hoped that this new identity would help him hold truer to his principles.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    His new shield technology was a marvel of engineering. It had even survived an RPG blast from one of the better-funded criminal organizations he had tracked down during his week on patrol. Though it didn¡¯t mimic many of his old attributes, the safety it provided helped him feel more like his old self. He had also created wrist devices which could harness the energy from his shield, and fire it as blasts of plasma similar to his previous energy control. Though it pricked his pride to feel so derivative of his own designs, the familiarity helped to ease the transition.


    By the end of the week, he was tracking down clues on the Prophet in earnest. Unfortunately he was having little luck, stalking through a dark alley looking for an informant; when Danica appeared from behind him.


    ¡°Jon.¡±


    He whirled around, bringing his wrist-weapon to bear, and charging it with a mental command through his neural interface before he stopped, blinking.


    ¡°Danica?¡± Sorry, you startled me.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°Zed says the shadows like to play tricks on people. I swear I wasn¡¯t trying to.¡±


    He shook his head as he lowered his wrist. ¡°Well that would explain why Zed always does that to people. I just thought he had a bad sense of humor.¡±


    ¡°Well there is that, too. Anyway, I¡¯ve found one of the Prophet¡¯s old lairs. It seems like he switches them up a lot, but he left some gear at this one, and I thought you¡¯d like to come along to investigate with me.¡±


    ¡°Sure, count me in.¡±


    With that, she dragged him through a wall into her shadow realm. He always found it to be a strange place. Something about it made his skin tingle, like an itch he couldn¡¯t quite scratch. Though he couldn¡¯t tell how she knew where to stop, she chose a patch of wall near a patrician-looking column formed from the pervasive shadow-stuff. He tried to analyze the architecture of it, but the form seemed to drift slightly, as if it¡¯s existence was predicated on someone trying to hold a thought in their head. As he examined it in more and more detail, the whole edifice almost seemed to become unstable, jumping more quickly between increasingly varied forms. Finally, it erupted in a puff of what could only be described as cotton-candy made of shadows. This quickly dissolved into nothingness while Danica stared at it, and then glanced back at Jon.


    ¡°Um, you saw that too right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I take it that¡¯s not normal?¡±


    ¡°Ya that¡¯s a first for me.¡±


    As they watched, a new column began budding from the floor like the sapling of a plant.


    Finally she looked up at him. ¡°Anywho, let¡¯s get going.¡±


    He nodded, and they stepped through the portal she opened for them, exiting into a warehouse.


    Jon investigated his surroundings for a moment. ¡°He really seems to like warehouses doesn¡¯t he?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how many of them there are in the city right now. Seems like it¡¯s a bad time to be in the warehouse business.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Considering how every villain seems to have their own abandoned building, I¡¯m not sure theres a good time to be in the warehouse business.¡±


    She laughed softly, and for a moment he remembered why he had been attracted to her in the first place. He thrust that thought from his head with all the force of his will.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what we can find.¡± He made a beckoning motion with his hand, as he began stalking silently forward.


    The building turned out to be entirely empty of people, and once that fact was verified they got down to the business of analyzing what they could find in the lab space the Prophet had installed.


    ¡°This reading doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    Danica looked up from a stack of papers she had been going through.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°This is the same compound that drove me insane, but¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°This should only function as a mild sedative. It wasn¡¯t even strong enough to knock you out. It shouldn¡¯t have had that effect on me.¡±


    ¡°Well to be fair I was really hopped up on energy drinks before I got abducted that day, so they might have countered the effects on me. I get what you¡¯re saying though.¡±


    Jon had a sneaking suspicion he knew the answer to this riddle, but he was too scared to share it; both with Danica, and with himself.


    ¡°Is there anything to indicate where he went next?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing.¡±


    ¡°Who said I went anywhere?¡± the Prophet spoke from behind them.


    They both turned, panicked. Jon opened fire with his wrist-weapons, while danica was distracted forming her defenses. The Prophet laughed as John¡¯s energy blasts bounced harmlessly off the man¡¯s skin. Meanwhile it had only taken Danica a moment to form her weapon and armor. Charging forward, she yelled a battle cry. Somehow, her sword passed harmlessly through the Prophet as if it were made of air. As it passed out of his body, he reached down with an expression of casual cruelty on his face. Grabbing it now as if it were again solid to him, he wrenched the sword downward until it shattered; leaving nothing but shards that slowly evaporated into wisps of smoke.


    Danica looked stricken as she realized he had just killed Ahron. In her moment of hesitation he backhanded her into a nearby wall, where her armor absorbed the force of the blow. Jon had been continuing to pump blast after blast into the Prophet, but they had all been as ineffectual as the first. Turning back to Jon, and ignoring the continuing barrage of fire, the Prophet grinned maniacally.


    ¡°Soon Jon, soon we will be free. You do not understand yet, but you are the means of our liberation.¡± The Prophet laughed maniacally over the sounds of laser fire. Suddenly, mid-laugh, he rushed forward, thrusting his hand through Jon¡¯s shield as if it weren¡¯t there. He ripped the centerpiece from Jon¡¯s chest, and all of Jon¡¯s systems went dark. Panicked, Jon pulled a knife from it¡¯s holster, and stabbed it into the Prophet¡¯s side. It was not empowered. It was not electrified, explosive, or laser-empowered. It was a regular knife, and it slid into the Prophet¡¯s side like butter. The man stopped laughing, and began screaming, shoving Jon away so hard he landed in the next room.


    With a burst of smoke, the Prophet disappeared, taking Jon¡¯s chestpiece with him. Jon groaned. Wires extruded all around the gaping hole at his center, and the viewscreen inside his helmet was now opaque, rendering him mostly blind. With another groan he pulled the helmet from his head, and sat up. Luckily the fall had not broken anything, but his ruined battle-armor was damage enough.


    Danica called out to him from across the building.


    ¡°Jon?¡±


    ¡°Over here. I¡¯m ok Danica, just a bit banged up.¡±


    She emerged from behind an empty pallet.


    ¡°He killed Ahron. He killed one of my friends, Jon.¡±


    Jon nodded sadly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Also he slipped through the shadow passages, the same way I do. I retreated there after he threw me through the wall. When you stabbed him, he emerged there, sprinting for all he was worth. I wasn¡¯t able to get to him before he opened another portal to somewhere else, and got away.¡±


    ¡°I need to reempower myself.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking about right now?¡±


    ¡°Before, I could at least fight him on even footing. Now I¡¯m worthless. Did you see how casually he overpowered me? I¡¯m nothing like this. Nothing without my powers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true and you know it. You stabbed him and he bled. You forced him to run away. I¡¯d say you were the most useful person in that fight.¡±


    ¡°And yet he ripped the generator off my chest like it was nothing.¡±


    ¡°The generator?¡±


    ¡°My chestpiece. It housed a specially designed bio-generator. It was based on my old body. It essentially produced power the same way I used to, so that I could run all my systems. It was the only thing I could think of strong enough to maintain my shield without running out of juice.¡±


    Danica¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°And that¡¯s the one thing he took? The one thing he seemed most focused on?¡±


    ¡°Um, well¡­.¡±


    ¡°Because he seemed very convinced that you were going to do something that would destroy the world or set him free, or whatever. An independent, portable power-source capable of Judge-level output sounds like it might power a pretty devastating weapon. Or really anything that psycho can imagine.¡±


    Jon had the good grace to look chagrined. ¡°Well when you put it like that¡­ I mean I had no idea that¡¯s what he would be after. How could I possibly know that?¡±


    Danica sighed. ¡°I know, it¡¯s not really your fault, I¡¯m just frustrated. I just lost a really good friend to all this.¡±


    Instinctively, Jon reached out, and pulled her to him. Her arms wrapped around him, and they shared a brief moment of peace. Danica inhaled deeply, and suddenly stiffened, shoving him away.


    ¡°Don...Don¡¯t touch me.¡±


    Jon stared at her silently for a moment, and realized she was hyperventilating.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean-¡±


    ¡°No I understand, but don¡¯t touch me. Not right now. I¡¯m not ready.¡±


    Jon nodded; unsure how to react.


    ¡°Ok. Um I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She nodded back at him without saying a word. With a visible force of will, she returned her breathing to a more normal pattern.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry too. I¡¯m not in control of¡­ that. Just keep your distance.¡±


    Jon nodded one final time as they gathered themselves to leave. Danica grabbed his arm to pull him through her portal, and he wondered how one form of contact was acceptable, but not the other. Luckily his vast intellect was just barely enough that he kept his mouth shut on the matter.