Colors

Ch. 18

Grey Ambitions

By: Cutegirlmayra (I'm just trying to get this done before the Capstone time-limit is up. Sorry if it seems rushed, but I'm just trying to hustle to each plot point. I'll probably rewrite the whole story later on after hearing how much needs to be done for it to be published, but hey! How many people can say they wrote the first write-up of a novel? I think I made it this far, just gotta organize things better and write something truly amazing. This chapter or the next will most likely be the last. Thank you for your patience with me and I hope you enjoy… the exciting conclusion… of Colors!)

Light…

Then my hand moved on its own, summoning the color of the long drapes to shield me from the chains, hitting against the red like a pattering of hard, steel rain.

I rolled my head and felt the sensation of light again. Sparkles must have returned when Shade departed.

What a good girl…

"So… you're Rahfel." I felt Sparkles giving me strength through light, absorbing it around me to help me feel lighter. With all the pain subsiding, I got back onto my feet.

Rahfel remained quiet, almost indifferent to my powers returning to me.

"So… it's not connected to you at all." He finally spoke up.

'This is Rahfel. His mind is wondering what he's seen. He saw a brown rabbit turn into light and move toward you. Then you got your powers back, so now he's putting two and two together.'

'Not again,' I thought to myself. I didn't want another person, especially close to Shade, figuring it out so soon.

'…Should I tell you how to silence him?'

There it was. A piece of Pierce's past seemed to be resurfacing, and I had to nip that in the bud as soon as possible.

'No, tell me what he wants more than anything. I'll try and get him to switch sides.' I readied myself, turning the red color from a shield into a powerful lance.

'What!? He's the right-hand man of-' Pierce was cut-off, and for a moment, I worriedly looked around to try and hear him again.

'…Pierce?'

"Y-your name's not connected to me?"

"You know what I meant!" he growled, shaking his chains and throwing some at me with each wide and strong lunge forward.

"So why are you so fixated on Shade's plan? What has he offered you?" I tried to run and jump out of the way, but Sparkles made a rainbow for me to scale across and I spiraled out of his grasps.

Rahfel reeled himself around and bent his back, shooting the never-ending chains to follow after my ever turn and twist.

"None of your business!" he almost roared out, turning himself around and trying to make sure his chains didn't tie into the other.

…Oh.

I immediately started that plan, moving so close to him as his chains followed, and successfully watched him consciously trying to ensue they wouldn't get looped into each other.

His eyes were so fixated on keeping his chains apart that I was able to slip in a comet blast or two on his side and back.

"Grrr…!" he swung around and leaped towards me, his tail gripping my leg and digging its wires like talons into my skin. I was like a fish caught with net around its tail and immediately began flopping on the light stream.

"What's-your-issue-dude!?" I stated with each bounce of the rainbow light I was riding.

He reached up and grabbed my other ankle with short chains as though that were his hands, frightening me as I purposefully crashed to the ground and surrounded him in light, trying to blind him for a moment but he fought through the light and kept a tight hold on me.

'Sorry, some scouts almost found us.' Pierce returned, and not a second too late!

'Pierce, I can't fight!' I shouted through my mind. 'I'm not that kind of hero!'

'Relax, Sparkles will keep you safe, she always has, hasn't she?' I could sense the fear in his words, but also the positive hope that laced around them. I nodded, though I was still trying to dig my nail under my one-piece tight suit under his triton wire tail in an attempt to free myself.

'His desire is to not be seen as an animal, to be treated like anyone else.' Pierce's words made me look through the light at the boy, possibly older than me, struggling through the blinding light to pull me towards him and get another blow in.

He had fangs, hair like a matted dog, and even his tail resembled a demon. His chains were fitting for an animal persona but if that's not the image he wanted, I could feel the pain of being misjudged for it.

Switching tactics, I figured the only way to divert his attention from killer to human was to distract him somehow.

I reached toward his face, startling him as his chain let go of my leg and straight to it. I began using my thumbs to brush against his cheeks, "What a good puppy! Who wants to play, huh? Who wants to play?"

The random behavior snapped him out of killer mode, and just like I had hoped, flustered him enough to make him mad and let go. "What!?" he pulled away, getting up and moving back.

I had confused him, so it was time to start convincing… "I've seen a video of a beloved companion, a wonderful animal playing with his family and they, in turn, enjoying his company as well." I remembered the old man, his sons, the dog…

He tilted his head like a puppy too, still trying to understand my words, but getting more and more frustrated when he couldn't. "What are you talking about!? Fight!"

"No!" I stopped him from even daring to go back to that mentality. "You weren't created to fight! Humans need friends, Rahfel. Animals mean we're not alone in this world. They feel and think just like us, but if you really don't want to be seen as just an animal, then why not just be a good friend?"

His foot stepped forward, readying his chains when his body flinched back and the chains in return lowered from their raised position. It almost resembled a cobra this time, but the chains slowly descended to the floor, sliding back and forth before most of them withdrew back into his long, open sleeves.

"You don't need to be an animal or a human to just be a good friend."

Pierce remained silent, but I could feel his presence. He almost let off the impression of being awestruck.

Sparkles thought the threat must have been tamed, because she flew out and turned back into her bunny self. He was fixated on her in the air, like a cat to a bird, as she giggled and flew into my arms, loving on me with head-bumps and nuzzles.

I smiled too, but was worried about him seeing her again. Still, I petted her and did the same motion with my thumbs brushing her furry cheeks as I did to him.

His chains fully dropped to the ground now, stopping all movement as he watched us.

"I'm going to save Jet, but not just him, everybody." I eyed him carefully after giving Sparkles some attention and love. "I consider everyone worth saving, worth redeeming. Do you really want to be seen as a fighter that never quits till they die? Or as a friend… who would never abandon you, even in the worst of times?"

"…I've always longed…" I could see his expression turning softer now, breathing in and out to calm himself as he stared at Sparkles, "to protect something… someone…"

Bingo.

"That sounds almost like a hopeless romantic." I lovingly teased, seeing the true nature of the boy as one who didn't want to be used for violence. Like a dog bred to fight, but naturally wanted to be loved in a good home and family. "If you help me rescue Jet and the others, then just like Sparkles who is vastly different-" I laughed when she licked my cheek. "I'll also find a place for you, Rahfel. I promise."

"…Shade makes a lot of offers too…" He began, but rested back a bit and seemed sorrowful. "But he never really keeps his promises."

"I'm not like Shade." I stated that firmly, I had to believe it. Even if it meant convincing myself it was so.

He seemed to nod, "I can tell." And then he smiled, but it looked a creepy with how wide his mouth could actually stretch.

"I don't really need a place." He withdrew all his chains, stepping towards me. "Just a den for my heart. If you can promise me people in the real world won't just hate me, use me like Shade does and disregard my heart, then I'll happily switch sides and believe you… like Pierce apparently did."

I paused, and in that moment, chains entangled me again and Sparkles burst into a light and flew into my eyes.

He pulled me closer, and once again, I was ensnared just like Shade and his dark vines. "Can I, for two seconds, not be surrounded and choked by anything!?"

He chuckled.

"Look, Pierce can read minds, right? How would he trust me if he knew I was lying? How would he so willingly leave Shade and risk his wrath if he didn't know I keep my promises?"

That shook him up, and perfectly evaded his suspicion that I was just following Pierce's guidance.

He froze a moment, thinking…

'Good job, Lily. Finish the deal.' Pierce finally spoke up again, used to being the secondary thought it seemed to validate me.

I nodded mentally to him, glad he was with me.

'I'm just glad you're with us.' He stressed.

"…Fine." Rahfel let me go, the chains withdrawing again except for one that he held up to my hand. "I'll join you, and so will many others. Pierce was good to us. But he also knew Shade. If Pierce believes you can fight and actually help our cause better than Shade ever could, then more will be willing to side with you. Afterall," He looked directly into my eyes, and I saw the reflection of Sparkles's tail in his eyes. "You seem to have proven that you act like a true friend to Supers." He must have thought Sparkles was a Super being, which I guess she was, but she was really just an alien.

Animals in our world… can they be Supers?!

I didn't get a chance to ask, I only grabbed his chain lightly and felt a light ripple like a whip being cracked, but gentler.

"Deal." He agreed and looked off to a corridor exit. "Shade's men are outside, stay behind me and whatever you do-" he looked behind his shoulder to me as he stepped ahead, "Keep your promises… and avoid Ellie at all cost." He looked forward again. "There are some kids who don't care about friendship, just power. Some people here just want to watch the world burn and use the full scale of their powers. Those kids can't be helped… they have nothing left of a heart." He continued to stride forward as I held his chain and followed after.

"Jet's this way, get under and in and you should be safe." He pulled his chain with my hand closer and opened the other chains to spread the wide sleeves open. I was shocked, the inside of his sleeve looked like nothingness. A black void… but he clearly had a body, so..?

"Uhh…"

He wouldn't wait for my answer and just had his chains gobble me up into his sleeve, pulling me close to his body—there it was—and wrapping me in a chain ball. Surprisingly, no one questioned his enlarged side, since he seemed to wildly whack his chains around, making people assume he had just produced a huge number of chains there.

'They assume he's preparing for war.'

I was immediately reminded of Shade announcing an attack, but how long does it take to move out an army? Days, right?

'Not a Super army.' Brutus's voice in my head sounded grave. 'Not with how Shade runs things…'

I didn't see how that plan was well thought out, nor how Rahfel thought his plan was any clearer, but after a few moments of him angrily walking and keeping people back, he dropped me off at a door and looked around.

"Jet's inside. You may have to combat whoever's in there guarding him." Rahfel looked around, keeping watch. "I'll spread your message around. I can't promise anything, but I'll do what I can without triggering any loyalist to Shade." He then looked back to me. "…Thanks for a way out of this mess." He took two chains and squished them on my cheeks, smiling with his fangs sticking out. "Good girl!" he teased and took off down the hall.

Okay, he had every right, I did the same thing to him.

I quickly went to open the door, silently praying that it wasn't Ellie when…

The second I saw his face, my mouth dropped.

"Brutus…"

Brutus… it couldn't be!

He never had any powers, right? Why was he in Shade's army!?

Brutus turned around, holding a device in his hands as he immediately made the same face I did.

"Li-!" he cut himself off, looking to the open door.

He rushed over to me, frightening me as Sparkles made ready a light shield again but he completely avoided me, moving to close the door.

He helped me come further in and stopped.

"You shouldn't be here… I admire you for coming to save Jet, just like you said, but you'd be lucky to get out of here with just yourself, let alone Jet, or a couple hundred other kids who might have listened to me."

"..To me?" I was confused.

"Yeah…" He slowly dragged his hand down the door. "I… I spoke up for you too. Secretly, mind you. Not literally. But everyone believes there's no way out. If there's a Shade, then it'll cover where light can't touch. They don't know who else to turn to who can promise them what they're after like Shade does. He gives them shelter from an otherwise cruel world… Lily, I tried. Honest I did."

So… Brutus must be Super.

But at least his heart wasn't with Shade.

I put my hand on his shoulder, smiling.

He grinned back, "…You didn't say the password."

I gave him a hug, "You helped stop that kid from killing me, I owe you, Brutus. For everything."

"Heh, seeing another Super take wing? That was something." He gave one good, mili-second squeeze to tighten the hug before letting me go. "But my ability is to detect power frequencies, determine if something is a threat or not, hostile or friendly. When I felt that wave of light enter you, I knew it was protecting and not after blood. Don't ask how, I just know. But your power and Shade's… it's different, and yet strangely the same pattern." He pulled away and held up his device. "…I never told him about your powers. I pretended not to know. The delivery kids joined later and told him you worked for us. He never turned to get answers from me though, so I guess we're lucky about that, huh?"

"So… you'll help me stop Shade?" I waited, determined to believe he was going to help us.

"…No." Brutus turned his gaze away from me, "I can't fight, but I can help you free Jet. I can't help you escape, I won't go any further than that. I need a fallback plan. I'm sorry, Lily. Once I figured out that Colors and you were the same, I told myself I wouldn't help beyond what I could handle. I have to preserve myself. But just know, I do believe in you. I just don't want to be involved." He pressed something on the device and scurried over to what looked like an empty chamber.

"…Brutus…" It hurt my heart a bit, how much I understood wanting to protect your own life more than others. But right now… it felt cowardly.

I really had changed… the old Koleroy spirit of looking out for yourself wasn't gonna fly with me now.

"Brutus, you'll regret it. You'll regret not trying." I walked behind him, "Trust me, I know." My voice sank deep, feeling those words.

"I didn't freak out about your powers, Lily." I heard something trigger, something mechanical. I looked around as Brutus wiped some dirt from his brow, "You don't need some speech to convince me. You were always a hero at heart. You just let it get buried with all the filth this city heaps onto good souls like us. I never wanted to be a criminal. I never thought of myself as a villain. Not really a 'hero' either but…" I could really, truly feel his words. It was like he, out of everyone else in my life, really understood what I had been struggling with for so long. "This is the most I can do. Even without my ability, you can do it. Pierce left after telling me about his impression of you. I was the only one Pierce confided in. There are other kids who depend on me too. I want to protect them. Let me keep trying to convince them here, Lily…"

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Good luck."

With that, nothing more needed to be spoken as he pressed another button, and chains began to lower from the ceiling.

Then something horrifying.

"N-no… Oh my… Jet!" I covered my mouth. "No!"

I felt my whole body bleed with each stain of blood I saw on him. His limp body held up by the chains that completely surrounded him. I could feel his hurt. I could feel it as I stared at him.

His wobbling, lowered and probably unconscious head swayed as the mechanism finally stopped his descent and he was hanging there before me, completely battered and shattered.

I rushed to him, grabbing him and crying, touching his face to get any response out of him. Something to prove there was still time to save him, anything…

"Jet… Aldin, Aldin say something. Aldin, I came. I'm here to rescue you…" I felt my whole body want to shut down and cry on him, but I resisted that urge so fervently. I would save him. I had too!

"Let him down!" I blared out, consumed in my sorrow as Brutus pressed another button, unable to continue to watch the scene.

Jet's body was released and I caught him at once, using light from Sparkles to hold the full weight of him and lower him to the ground.

I swept my hand through his spiked hair, used my thumb to rub off the blood dried from his mouth to his chin. "Jet… Jet, you have to know the truth… please… please don't go before I can say it back."

But there was nothing. His body was warm though, which surprised me. I looked up where he had been hanging by the thousands of chains around his arms, legs, waist, and having coiled in every which way over his chest.

I'm no doctor, I can't deduce what sort of pain he must have endured.

"…Shade spared no expense." Brutus finally spoke, but my entire being was dedicated to waking Jet up. "…He was so jealous of that kiss, Lily. You really do care about him… don't you?"

I continued to rub my hand over his cheek, coaxing him to wake up. I nodded profusely after a moment, choked up on my own guilt.

"If I had listened to him…" I began, "If I had just let him help me… He'd never have been in this mess." I leaned down to touch my forehead with his, letting his head rest in my lap. "I rejected every attempt he ever made at trying to help me. He never meant any harm. He just wanted what he felt was best for me, and honestly, it wasn't so bad." I let myself remember everyone's kindness at the hero school. "He lent me his friends, which soon became my true friends. He stood by me, even when everyone doubted me as a good person, he knew I was just confused. I never was very fair to him… but he was so patient and kind to me. I do love him, Brutus… but what does that even mean?" I wiped my tears, leaning up. "What does that mean… to someone who's never known love and kindness before?"

Suddenly, I felt movement from my lap, and looked down.

"Emm… I knew you had it… for me."

My face flushed red.

"J…Jet?"

Brutus suddenly let out an abrupt burst of air into his cheeks, covering his mouth to avoid further laughter.

I looked to him, then back to Aldin.

Aldin slowly rose up, groaning in pain a moment before throwing a thumbs up to Brutus. "Well staged, my good friend. You allowed the players to perform splendidly."

My hands were frozen in place as he stood up, steadying himself and then reaching a hand down to me, "Everyone needs a hero, Colors. But only the very lucky few get a heroine." He winked.

My head slowly rose up… before my fists immediately started rolling into his knees.

"He-hey-hey! I'm still not exactly at my A game here! Lily! Stop!" he smiled as I embarrassingly tried to attack him.

Brutus finally let the laughter out, "When I felt her coming, you surprised me by stating 'I'll play dead!' and dropped your head. I didn't know what else you meant to do besides get an honest reaction out of her, haha!" He clutched his stomach.

I felt Sparkles's joy swell inside me, thinking we were playing, and seeming to want to join us.

"You're getting Sparkles wiled up!" I argued.

"Oh, sure. Blame your feelings on the rabbit."

I tackled him.

"Woah!" he impressively stood his ground but I could see he was hopping on one leg, so I didn't fully take him down.

I hugged him. Glad his quirks never died. Smelling the dried blood and knowing he was still in danger, but at least he was back.

Then it hit me.

"Aw, Lily…" He hugged me back, but I quickly shook him off, surprising him.

"I'm sorry!" I cried out.

"Ha! So serious, calm down, girl." He looked startled but was still smiling from ear to ear. "I knew you'd come around." He still played.

"No, Jet, oh… Aldin! I really am sorry for all the awful things I put you through!"

His joking nature seemed to still down into a reflective state, listening now, and remaining kind.

"I love you not because you're a hero, but because you specifically wanted to do everything in your power to make me happy. Even when I made that impossible. Even when I teased you and yelled at you and made you feel awful about wanting to do so. You just wanted to support me and get me out of a dark place. You just wanted to show me something better than the life I was living. I'm so sorry. You wanted me to laugh and to smile, when all I wanted to do was cry and be upset."

He looked my face over, a silent desire that I could understand now.

"…I really do love you… I just don't know if it's enough."

He held my arms for a moment, looking me dead in the eye, "…It's enough, Lily." He stated, then lightly shook my arms to get the words across even more. "I never asked you to repay me in anyway. I just didn't want to see a beautiful girl lose all the color in the world because she thought she had control over it all."

I stumbled on my balance, almost falling into his arms at his words.

He smiled again and helped me balance, "You wanted so desperately to determine right from wrong. But you refused to look and see that without all the colors, we'd never be able to distinguish the difference in blue and red, yellow and orange, purple and pink." I nodded, agreeing with him.

"And here I thought Richard was keeping them all out of your sights." I kid, letting some chuckles out.

You scared, Lily?

What? No, Sparkles. I'm making a joke because I'm happy. I'm really…

I looked back up and tilted my head towards the most amazing boy I had ever known.

Happy.

"You don't want my love?" I joked again, "Because you did earn it."

He smirked and looked away a moment, as if trying to cleverly think of a comeback.

"Well, if it's a gift…" he was blushing… a familiar color I adored with all my heart. "Then it's really rude to not accept it…"

We both seemed to lean in, a moment I very much wanted to claim when…

Brutus's body shook suddenly and he turned to the door, "Run-!" he waved his hands to us. "Run, run, run!" he frantically began but the doors slammed open behind him, stopping his approach towards us.

"Brutus! Lower the mongrel down, Shade's in a bad mood and so am I-!" Suddenly, a short little diva stomped her way in and paused when she saw us all together.

Jet completely shifted, standing in front of me with an arm out to protect me. I knew who this was… but my heart cracked at realizing that he now did too.

Brutus staggered back, "E-Ellie…"

She stood silent for a moment before putting two and two together. "You… little traitor." She held up her hands. "You think Shade's forgiving?!"

"Ellie, he's a monster! He doesn't feel anything for anyone! He-!"

"Graahh!" she charged him as Jet took a step forward, wanting to leap into action but ended up falling forward.

"Ah..!" he caught himself with his arms but his body was clearly not in any position to fight.

"Jet!" I reached for him, but-

Lily! The Bru is gonna get hurt!

I looked up to see I was too late.

'Lily! Ellie's not holding back, she'll-!"

I realized that without Shade or that boy in the glasses to tell Ellie when to stop, that something terrible might happen.

I pulled some green out of Jet's suit, turning it a lighter color as I fired handcuffs around her wrists.

But it wasn't enough.

She was stronger than I anticipated, and though her hands were tied, she was still able to continue her mad dash to Brutus and grab his head while he stumbled back to escape.

"Ahhh!" Brutus let out a horrid cry.

"No!" I pulled on the green color and tried to move her hands away, but when they did move, she just strained against it and replaced her hands on his head.

Her face didn't look like a child's now. It was scary. Deprived of a heart for sure as she watched Brutus fall to his knees, and pass out.

"Brutus!" I was stuck between wanting to grab Jet or rush to Brutus's side.

Once he fell, she breathed heavily and looked down like a conquering queen.

She looked to me and started fighting against the restraints of pure light. I could feel her trying to pull the particles of the light wave apart, but they remained vibrating before I could see sparkling dots start glowing bigger and bigger, moving rapidly back and forth before distancing so far that she broke the green tie and shook her hands free.

I gawked a moment. Rahfel was right. Some people can't be helped…

"Did Shade make you like this?" I asked, crouching by Jet as he crawled to Brutus.

"Take her out, Lily. Before she sounds any alarms." He was getting his bearings, and clearly, that friendly act before was because he had enough strength to stand, nothing more.

Like a certain bluff with a bride who was also a princess, it seemed he had just enough strength to hopple a bit.

"No, I just needed that." She smirked, licking the side of her lips as she began approaching without so much as a flinch. "Shade only helped me realize my full potential. If it weren't for you, he'd have already professed his need for me." She was delusional. Shade was short, but he wasn't a kid. She wasn't old enough to understand manipulation, or maybe she just didn't care.

But who wouldn't care?

"Listen to me," I got up, remembering what Rahfel said as she reeled a hand back.

"Don't want too." She looked like she was insane… She smiled with saliva dripping from the side of her mouth… what was wrong with her?

'When she transfers pain to others, she sees it too. She doesn't feel the pain, but it made her numb with how many times Shade has made her use it to torture information and punish others. She's become a sort of sadist, where she gets a high from Shade's minimal praise for the pain she delivers to others, but also a psychopath. She doesn't feel anymore unless its dealing pain. She was hurt in her past, but she refuses to leak any thoughts out for me to read. When I was working along side her, I was always worried about her condition. She never wanted to stop torturing people, especially when Shade was around…'

I dodged her first reach for me, "She's just a kid…" I didn't want to believe there was a soul unsavable.

'Lily, you're not a professional. I think she's suffering from multiple mental and emotional illnesses. You can't fight this with words alone.'

I still didn't want to give up, but he made a good point.

This girl needed medicine and some serious help.

"Fine, if you won't listen to reason." I threw a comet at her, charging another one while the first flew towards her.

It was small would do for a distraction.

"Predict where she'll move." Jet stated, helping Brutus but watching our fight carefully. "Keep your feet beneath you. You don't have flying powers."

Heh, wrong.

I took to the air on the rainbow, seeing her move to the left, I shot the larger, more powerful comet towards her.

"Is that all you can do?" she jumped after me, and I was amazed at how acrobatic she was on the chains, swinging and flipping herself in amazing fleets to get to me in the air.

"How the-?"

'Trained. Shade trained the Super kids he thought had the most potential. He was ruthless in teaching but his intimidation taught obedience. Remember, he did learn how heroes think and fight. Who else to train a rebellion to fight heroes than one who knew their ways?'

Makes sense, but this sucks!

'You're not alone in this fight. She's heading left.'

I looked down to see her swing left.

'Double left to distract and then up. She's trying to get behind you. Your blind spot.'

I angled the rainbow like a coba's head pulling back and shot the comet, knocking her down.

She spat her blonde pigtails out of her hair and laughed again. Jumping up, she grabbed more chains and tried to wring them around me.

'What's she doing now?!' I struggled to hit them off of me. 'She can't transfer her power through anything, right?'

'She doesn't have any ability to conduct it through a medium other than her hands. Stay clear of close combat, and you should be alright.'

"Be aware of your surroundings, Lily!" Jet called, and looking down to him, I was confused on what he meant.

What's around me besides chains and darkness..?

…Oh.

I strung the chains she was holding onto and sucked the silver from them, moving them to twirl around her and catch her flexible and springy limps to hold them in place.

"W-what!? Grrah!" she tried to fight it, but I entangled her.

"Knock her out!" Jet cried out as I saw Brutus finally moving his head around on the ground.

His eyes were still white sockets, and I worried her power may have lasting effects.

I looked her dead in the eye, as a wild savage looked back at me, throwing a hand out to attempt at reaching for me.

"If I make you feel pain," she spat out, "Then Shade will be happy. Happy with me!"

"…No one can be happy in suffering unshared."

She looked enraged, but I don't think she understood what I meant.

"Through suffering, we know what happiness is. Happiness is the avoidance of suffering. You don't want him to be happy. You don't want anyone to be happy."

Her face shifted to a child throwing a tantrum, trying to shake out of the chains and pull against them while still reaching a cruel hand toward me.

I floated closer on my rainbow, my hair rising as I absorbed the colors from her body. "You want everyone to be as miserable as you are. To feel pain just like you feel pain every day."

Her face looked like she was about to explode.

"In order to stop feeling pain, you have to let go. But if you let go, you worry you won't feel anything."

"…I like…" her face was turning red, but Sparkles's power immediately took it from her. "Helping others feel pain."

I knew then that Brutus was right. Looking at her cloudy eyes, filled with a haze I couldn't understand, that this was not something to be cured overnight.

I charged up my comet…

Her eyes saw the light as she was fading from my vision, her color almost completely drained and looking ghostly when I stopped absorbing it.

She laughed.

I let the comet slip from my hand as I lowered it back to my side, the flying ball of light slammed into her face and she cried out in the burning sensation it gave.

She looked transparent, some of her color still visible as I used some of it to make that comet. I just wanted to knock her out, but it looks like the effect was more a burn than a hit.

I let her dangle there, fried as her hair was gone in some parts.

She laughed again, letting her head dangle down as I didn't bother to look back. Someone else would have to attempt at saving her.

But I wouldn't let her die here or anything like that.

"Brutus?" I asked Jet.

He was looking me over, as if unsure if I was being unfeeling or merciful in that last moment.

"He'll live." He finally spoke out, "But I have no idea how we're getting out of here with two injured."

"You won't, you won't, you won't!" Ellie chimed, flopping herself in the chains.

"…I got a ride." I used the rainbow to lift them up on top of it, placing it below and tucking it under them. I did pity her, I did feel bad. But what more could I do?

We flew out of the room and got a lot of eyes, but I couldn't stop thinking about my first real battle and how dangerously close I got to burning someone's face off. I didn't know that would be the case, I thought it would be just like with Rahfel or Shade. For some reason, my powers- er, Sparkles's powers were becoming more my own.

I felt them like my own confusing emotions. Sometimes they burned, sometimes they hit hard. Either way, I tried to tap into Sparkles to see what I could figure out for next time.

But she was strangely silent.

"Focus on the road!" Jet ducked as I came out of autopilot in my mind and ducked a ceiling rafter, looking for a window or something.

'You're underground, Lily!'

"Oh, right." I charged a huge white blast at the center of my two fingers pointed up and towards eachother, palms facing out.

"What are you nuts?! You'll bury us!" Jet cried out.

"It's only junk, and besides! There's barely anyone left! They're all fleeing to join the army or not get attacked by us!"

Jet looked down, realizing my observation was right.

Half the Supers were leaving, and others were playing defensive.

"They're lost without Shade." Jet concluded.

"No." I corrected, waiting for the right moment when the comet would reach a bigger state than I had ever let it go before. "They've been debilitated. They're so afraid of not obeying an order from Shade, they don't think for themselves anymore. Since Shade isn't here, they don't want to do anything. They rely too much on commands."

Jet continued to watch, but the blast I released spooked him and he shot a wind force around us to blast debris away.

It was only when I ducked that I noticed Jet was also shielding the kids below.

I looked back at him, amazed he would exert himself for them as well.

"You… you want to save them too?"

"They weren't the only ones who heard your voice." He grinned through his effort, though I could tell he was about spent.

When the crashing finally ceased, he collapsed back on the rainbow, trying to grasp it but having his hand move through it. "Oh, come on!" it was quite comical, him laying on the rainbow ribbon but not having the power to actually grab it.

I flew out and looked for any sign of Pierce, seeing directions come to mind and quickly following them.

'Oh, now you'll listen to me.'

'It's not that I don't listen,' I smirked, 'It's that I choose to do things my own way.'

'What a punk thing to say.'

I mentally laughed so he could have that raddling around in his head for a moment.

I got to the helicopter, carefully disguised behind a black storm cloud, probably with the help of Lady Saint Grace's pegasus. I carefully helped set Jet and Brutus down as Pierce smiled to me. "You have so many friends and people that believe in you."

"…Why didn't you tell me about Brutus?" I waited as I knelt by Jet's side.

The helicopter rattled a little, "… I-" he squirmed further into his seat, "It slipped my mind."

"You and your p-puns." Brutus shook his head, rubbing it with his hand as Jet looked over to him and smiled.

He patted his shoulder, "Pierce told me about Brutus. He then told Brutus about me. Then he filled us each in separately about you and Shade." Jet looked to Pierce. "It was creepy at first, but he couldn't get ahold of Sparkles's odd brain waves. But Brutus sensed Sparkles and thought it was you. He didn't know what to do, hide or give in, but when Sparkles found me and started licking my face he was really confused, haha!"

I looked the boys over, then saw Coop coming in.

"He probably told Brutus and forgot to tell you." Jet defended him, but I still felt that would have been useful information. Still, it made sense why Pierce's voice was gone so long from my mind.

"Thanks Pierce," I nodded to him, "Brutus," he nodded to me. "…Jet."

"…You know, you sound more into me when you say my real name." He had that same look in his eyes again… it drew me in but-

Coop reached his hand in between us, "Hey, now! You're pretty friendly all of a sudden."

For the love of…

Now's not the time to play dad, Coop!

"Shade's already moved out half his army to the lower tier. He's heading up to the middle." He looked to me, "And everybody up top is descending down as well. Villains and Heroes alike."

"Working together?" Jet raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, some of them kids just so happen to be there's!" Coop let his accent slip a little. "Ehem," but quickly recovered, "You kids need to be ready. This is gonna get messy and ugly real quick."

"I admire you, Coop." Pierce spoke up as we all turned to him. He smiled mischievously, "I wouldn't dare stick my hand between the tension of those two without fearing they'd tear into it instead of each other."

I wasn't exactly looking, but from the corner of my eye, I could see that Jet was blushing just as hard as I was.

-Shade's POV-

Imbeciles.

A roar of thunder crossed the heavens as I let my darkness carry me towards the half-reconstructed building my father was crushed under.

Passing its side, I saw the tractors and construction tools all littered in the haste of retreat. This land would soon be a battlefield… just like he wanted.

"Soon… ever father will be crushed under the weight of my revolution." I gave a silent word to him, wherever souls depart. If souls exist.

"You wouldn't let a hero save you?" I scoffed, descending to step down and pick up a pebble from the mess around the site. "Then I won't accept the help of a hero either…" I crushed the pebble, but nothing happened.

I summoned all my strength to keep crushing the stone but after a moment my patience ran dry. I flexed my hand and let the darkness lick and swipe at it. Once it was cracked and split enough, I released a portal to suck it into the black hole. I felt it turn into nothingness, crushed and contorted into matter unrecognizably by the human eye.

I tightened my fist and looked to the youth that swiftly trailed me with their endless powers all being expressed freely and without restraint.

Who said it was right to have rules and laws? They looked excited to finally be out and about without the fear of being forced away from their lives into a tragic system called education.

I let the side of my lips curl and walked back up to be hoisted by my darkness into the sky again. The tower I formed was just enough to see the mass bodies of parent and child, foe to friend, stranger to lover fighting it out for the will to live.

"We so choose this." I looked to see a girl morph into a large leviathan, driving into a stream designed by some company building around its entrance and snap her fangs towards a hero.

A villain tried to stab her, and then the hero with a two-swords style, but the hero made a sound blast to escape the on-slaughter. Or… so it appeared.

I took a strand of my hair and fiddled with it. Heroes and Villains… if they don't accept our ways, then they die. I'm surprised so many villains are fighting back, actually.

I plucked one hair that was unreasonably longer than the others and held it close to my face. "…Jet black… My idea of a joke." I spoke aloud, recalling my little deception on Colors.

Even in the moment of my glorious reign over the twisted infrastructure of this spoiled society… all I could think of was my dear… Colors.

Why does arrogance always pollute the mind of the superior?

She would have been perfect if I just snatched her up before that little eyesore spotted her.

Of course, he liked her, she's interesting and fun. She's just too strong on staying beside herself and no one else. There's no way to control her, because she is chaos embodied.

But that also gave her a charm I found irresistible.

Like sailors trying to tame the sea, I long to pull light into my abyss where only I can admire it.

Useful. Light was more than deception, so my father told me. My mother may have hated me, but my father never dared.

He knew my power would be useful, and what other love can there be… then being useful to those you serve?

Colors doesn't serve anyone but herself, selfish girl… but then again…

I skimmed the rim of my lips, cherishing her face when I took on my true form back at that pathetic hero palace.

If heroes rule the skies… why did they insist on being underground for so long?

Heh, shame.

What else could it be?

I learned first and foremost that in order to achieve freedom in this world, you must destroy it in others. By releasing their worst fears and greatest hopes, they have no where left to turn too but to a future I design.

And I find darkness to be quite unlimiting…

My eyes drifted from watching the squabble of good verses evil, as it has gotten rather dull, and continued to move around searching for the bane of all my existence…

All my father ever talked about…

"Where are you…" I felt the quivering of my vocal chords, like the deep growl of a mountain lion on the hunt for a taste of their favorite kind of blood. Scaling the tops where heaven and earth collide, I peered over the earth from the skies, looking with the same hunger…

"Rocketman?"

-Lily's POV-

I couldn't really speak, a lump forming in my throat that blocked all hope to comment on the scene before me.

Kids attacking what could possibly be their own kin, the heroes and villains, well into their adult and professional careers, having to punch and fight in order to avoid death.

It was like something out of a war book, or the rise of an apocalypse.

I saw someone upheave the earth, only for a kid to phase or teleport to multiple different locations and then jump the guy.

In a battle like this, it was hard to distinguish hero from villain, except if they clearly dressed the part. But it was hard to even see clear enough down to recognize any clearly famous Supers.

There was destruction everywhere, and then, I saw it.

We flew so fast passed my building, the top half of it having been completely toppled down behind it and crashing into other buildings. From the looks of the quick fly-by, I could tell that the two first floors were still in tack, mostly… so my hippie den, in the basement level, would still be preserved too.

But I could really ever go back there? With everything I've experienced up to this point?

I just kept my head back in the direction of my previous home, my life away from…

My parents lived in the hicks where middle-class stood absently away from the affairs of the world. So dull, so pointless, and without emotion besides the constant bickering and disrespect for each other.

I had ran away all my life… looking for something, a mission in life…

I looked back towards the helicopter, flying ahead of Lady Saint Grace's pegasus.

It was decided that they go to the downed hero's school, which was now heavily protected as a safe spot for the injured. Once there, Jet and Brutus could recover with a Super's healing ability, maybe even just the nurse could do it.

Me and Lady Saint Grace would continue to work as a team, our objective to locate Shade…

"We shouldn't engage him." Grace finally spoke up.

"Scarlet," I stated, my hands on her shoulders, "I have to do something. I can't just stand around while he leads the world into a world war 7."

She looked over my shoulder, but seemed to understand what I meant.

"…Were we too late?" I saw her lower her head as I spoke those words, and wondered if she thought this was worse than that.

"Koleroy… is my home." I began, "It's not much, but I live here."

Grace said nothing, just looked head.

"I won't give up." I was convinced, "I won't let Shade destroy everything. Not everything is bad and needs replacing, and hate is not the way to change the world!"

"…No one's giving up." Scarlet agreed. "We're just trying to find a solution."

"Then… the solution is to stop Shade."

"Even with Shade out of the picture, his influence is great enough to start this whole mess. He was undetected by the heroes due to his title of being only a sidekick, but this sidekick has clearly done what no other Super has accomplished before. He rallied so many youth to a cause. It's a shame it was such a false one…"

I looked down again, seeing how careful L.S.G was at weaving through the cloud cover to remain unnoticed. Looking up, you'd swear her pegasus was just another, smaller cloud that happened to move faster and over the other clouds.

No one in this battle of ideals looked up to the skies at the moment, the fierce survival of an entire city was at stake. But I knew Shade's ambition wouldn't just reach the corners of Koleroy's tiers. I knew he would climb the steps up to the rest of the world, abandoned and metallic, a true forgotten plane…

Then, missiles and other canon fire started littering the skies like backwards rain towards us.

The pegasus couldn't keep its cover forever, and sure enough, we seemed to have flown over a territory they had claimed.

"Why'd they spot us!?"

"We must be close to their highest defenses."

"No…" I looked to see a black figure upon a large pillar of oily, black vines… Smoke rose around him from the fires of those defending him below.

"They would only look up if they were protecting something far more precious." I moved to turn myself on the side of the maneuvering cloud pegasus as it whined in protest.

"What are you doing?" Lady Saint Grace nervously watched as I dropped from my seat, flying through the dense mist of cloud and smoke and holding my breath while I spun to dodge left and right, using light to camouflage me from their sights.

I slashed light to push the thousands of firing Supers, or at least a thousand to my untrained and overexaggerating eye, down and away as I summoned a rainbow and began draining some light around me.

There wasn't much to go off of… but the little grass, clothes, and light from the golden sun dispersed through the rising dust was just enough to keep me fueled.

I landed to the ground and walked towards the tall throne of Shade. He must have noticed me, but I couldn't tell at this distance.

As I drew closer, Sparkles bending and forming light shields to block any further attacks on me, pushing people away with her light as I focused directly on whatever Shade could do.

Some would think I'm multitasking, and I would just laugh at the thought.

Two minds controlling the same power equally… at least, it felt equal, but there was something off.

My hair glowed too brightly, it was even more yellow than the sun. I couldn't see any individual strands, they were all blowing like a mass of shimmering light, as though each strand was an attached ray of neon light.

My hair became a glowstick without me noticing it.

That's when I saw Shade turn around, his red eyes showing through all other colors and lights around his frame.

Was he distracted? Had he really not noticed my entrance?

When I turned to see what he was looking at behind me, I noticed that the rainbow had separated itself. Now, there were beautiful, long flowing tails of different bright colors behind me. They trailed after me like a train from a dress, a peacock threatening a dark devil's reign.

But then, I noticed his gaze was still far from that power play Sparkles had engineered behind me. Instead, I heard a sonic boom behind me and turned.

Rocketman.