Prism academy shadowfal.., p.25
Prism Academy- Shadowfall, page 25
A part of me knew that my bonds were right. But my punch had likely killed hundreds of innocents—maybe even thousands. I lifted my head to stare at those who stood respectfully just outside our huddle.
Gabi was battered but stood tall. Her arms were a patchwork of black, purple, and yellow bruises. She returned my wan smile with one of her own. Petra’s armor was scuffed and dented, and she clenched and unclenched her hands as she met my eyes with a worried gaze. Hua was covered in dirt. A cut on her forehead dribbled blood down alongside her eye.
The petite blue Ray was strangely calm as she said, “I know what you’re thinking. It’s easy to get lost in either side of this. It’s easy to believe you have every right to sacrifice innocents for the greater good. It’s also easy to think that you can never take an action to stop an enemy if it might harm those we strive to protect.”
She met my hollow gaze with a surprisingly vulnerable one of her own. “Both ways of thinking are traps and lies.”
Willow nodded. “The truth rests firmly in the middle. You will have to make hard decisions. It’s your lot, Aden, but never think that you have to do so alone. You have us—you have your team around you.”
Sybil looked up from where she still pressed against my chest. “You can’t think you’re a monster because of this. The shadow had to be stopped—even at this price. That thing was beyond any of the others we’ve fought. You’ve only lost, my love, if you stop caring.”
Jenn squeezed my arm. “As long as you care, then I believe you’re the right man to make these decisions.”
The next few hours were rough. We helped clean up and rescued anyone that could be rescued. Prism Academy, Amazo Corps, and the Soros Clan all sent aid. Medical teams and aid workers got right to work, setting up temporary shelters for those left without homes.
General West arrived before the sun had set and he brought an army with him. He took charge of the city until the Assembly could be gathered and a temporary government set up. Elections would need to be set up almost immediately, as many of the dead had been politicians. For once in the history of the world, the ones to pay the price for the defeat of a foe had been at the top—many of whom I knew had been corrupted by the shadow.
That brought me precious little comfort.
What I needed more than anything now was some sleep. I felt it calling to me, but I feared the dreams I would have; I had to keep working. Only by fighting to keep Atlanta from descending into chaos could I hold my guilt at bay.
Inferna went on all the news channels and explained what had happened here. I could have kissed her for sparing me most of that—though, in the end, I still had to make an appearance. By then, it was into the wee hours of the morning.
The people still wanted… no, they needed to hear from the Prism.
They cheered when they saw me. It made me feel hollow, even knowing they’d been told the truth. The shadow had infiltrated the government. The devastation had been the result of a cataclysmic fight between me and an Elder shadow.
I apologized to those who suffered and didn’t shirk my responsibility. They’d also been told the truth about Mexico City and the news was eating it up. They say that people love to see a hero fall, but in this moment after two cities had been attacked, they needed a hero to stand tall.
They loved me, but I felt unworthy.
General West followed my interview. He talked about the successful campaign to liberate half a million square miles of human territory. He praised me for my involvement and for the help of my team. By the time the interview was done, the sun was coming up.
People were exhausted, and many lives had been lost or changed, but that was war. Humanity showed its resilience in this moment. We’d been held down for nearly two centuries by the shadow, but now we wanted to push back.
Perhaps it was because I was the one doing most of the pushing back, that I’d become the symbol for that resilience. So, I forced a smile onto my face and pledged to reclaim the world for humanity. I just hoped I hadn’t lost mine.
In the end, I was beyond exhausted. I was more tired than… well, I didn’t know. I felt just as drained as I’d been after the battle with Krig, even though objectively I wasn’t. I still had reserves of power.
The battle with Krig had been hard, but I knew I’d done everything I could to defeat him while protecting those around me. This time, I questioned whether I could claim that was the case. I was emotionally drained.
I smiled so much that my face felt frozen in a grin. All my bonds, even my non-bonded teammates, encouraged me. We had struck a blow to the shadow. I knew it had to be done, yet it simply drained me.
Eventually, Sybilla, CB, and Twinkle took me back to Chicago. They ordered me to bed and , for once, I didn’t even try to argue. Sleep was what I needed, that and time to process this. The strength of my bonds and their belief in me was already easing my pain. Before I fell asleep, though, I replayed the words of the shadow monster in my mind.
He’d wanted this. He hoped this would turn me into a monster. The thing was, that humans always had the potential to become monsters in them—we weren’t all rainbows and smiles. No, that was a lie of the light.
I determined to embrace what it meant to be human, being a part of both the light and the shadow. I knew—intellectually, at least—what that meant, but thanks to my Mother and ANOP, I didn’t have much experience with it.
For now, though, I simply wanted to sleep. I fully expected my guilt to haunt me when my mind relaxed into slumber. Surprisingly, pleasant dreams awaited me.
Interlude 3 - Into the Light
In an apartment a dozen blocks from the government center in Atlanta, a family sat around their table. They didn’t move—even when a massive explosion went off. Their building shook from the shock wave and one of their windows even broke. Through it all, though, they didn’t move. They didn’t make a single peep. They didn’t even blink.
Their eyes remained open. If anyone had put their fingers to the members of this family’s necks, they would have felt a pulse, even noted that they were all breathing—but that would be all. Whatever had been done to them, these people were still alive, but no one was home. They didn’t give any indication that they were in any way aware of their surroundings.
In the other room of the apartment, a large humanoid sat. He wasn’t human—his leathery red hide streaked with black strips made that apparent. He also had two great horns rising from his forehead. In a world of supers, it wasn’t impossible for a metamorph to appear like this, but this creature—whatever it was—gave off a different aura.
Any humans who came into his presence felt terror grip their hearts and they experienced an immediate desire to fall to their knees. This was as he intended, for Baal, the god of deceit, had no love for humanity—or for mortals of any type, really. He’d been forced to flee his home world when an upstart war god had risen to become an overlord of the gods. Baal found it particularly ironic that the usurper had once been a man from this very world.
Pacing back and forth at the far side of the room was a gorgeous woman—or at least her appearance was mostly that of a beautiful woman. She had leathery black wings, two smaller horns that curved back from her forehead, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and an unnaturally perfect face. Her body was wrapped in the barest excuse for clothing and everything about her screamed seduction.
Baal rumbled, “For the last time, will you sit down, For’Lese? Someone watching you would never realize you’re a demi-goddess and queen of the succubae.”
“But am I that anymore? I followed you to this rock because you promised we could set ourselves up as the gods of this world. It was supposed to be a world of mortals with little to no magic.”
“It has precious little Essence, even now; that’s for sure.” The massive demon snorted. “But Krig’s incursion here, followed by the invasion of the so-called shadow and light, and then our own arrival has ripped a hole in the barrier which set this world apart from the rest of the cosmos. Essence is starting to pour in to fill the vacuum.”
“I know this, but it doesn’t solve what we’re supposed to do. You said that giving Krig to the shadow would set things up for us taking control.”
Baal frowned. “It has. I just didn’t expect that there would be enough of himself left inside his head for him to break free of their control. He was meant to serve as a weapon, a threat which would finally push these so-called supers to destroy the shadow. You’ve seen them, they have it in them to push the Plegarians from this world.”
He scowled, and it was terrifying. “I can’t imagine ceding so much power to mortals, but what’s done is done.”
“Then what? Even if they do drive the Plegarians away, it isn’t like they will suddenly turn this world over to us,” For’Lese said.
“Of course not, but without their progenitor energy there will be no more of these so-called supers. They are still mortal. They’ll die off and we can rule the world. Even before they are completely gone, do not forget that they are only mortals—we can control their minds.”
The scaled ridges over his heavy brow lifted as he studied his companion. “You’ve been doing that for thousands of years on our home world, For’Lese. Surely you can manage it here, too.”
She got thoughtful for a moment. “Fine. Some of them would make tasty treats, I suppose—that prism in particular.” She licked her lips. “Oh, what fun I’ll have corrupting him.”
Baal rolled his eyes. He had his own plans, but for now he’d tolerate For’Lese. He was the god of deceit after all, not the god of something stupidly reckless… like war.
___________________________
Jen stood up with a sigh. She was sweating, and she never sweated—not since her transformation. It wasn’t from the heat, her power prevented that. No, it was the hours and hours of work. She had just finished cutting through some metal beams that had blocked the rescuers from getting inside a building to search for survivors.
She was exhausted. The interviews with media, immediately followed by the discussions with the remnants of the government and General West had really taken it out of her. And only after that was done had she worked for hours to save those that they could.
The physical work was hard, even with her powers. But what took it out of her more than anything was the drain she felt across the bond. Aden was suffering and she wanted nothing more than to fly to him and hold him, to never let him go.
He was too virtuous for his own good sometimes—and this was one of them. Those shadow-supers had been terrifying and whatever had possessed Bosch had to be put down. Collateral damage was inevitable when the enemy elected to hide amongst innocent civilians.
Still, she and her sister-bonds loved him all the more exactly because he cared so much. His heart was big and made of gold. He needed a healthy dose of pragmatism to balance his big heart of gold.
When she saw another group of the city’s councilors walking her way, she sighed. It looked like she’d be asked to settle yet another of their bureaucratic squabbles. She’d been amazed that the political infighting had hardly paused, despite their battle destroying the heart of the city.
Aden was going to owe her big time for dealing with all of this crap while he got to go home and sleep.
Jen shook her head, berating herself. That wasn’t the way relationships worked—not healthy ones, anyway. Aden gave so much to each of them without asking for anything in return. How could she do any less? She only wished that meant she could be at his side instead of being here, where she could do the most good.
Jen was wise enough to recognize that she didn’t have what he needed most, right now. Aden needed psychic soothing, someone who could siphon off at least a portion of the anguish he was feeling. His upbringing, with ANOP blocking any strong negative emotions, had not prepared him to deal with the heavy burden of guilt she knew had overwhelmed him. No, Sybil and Hua were the best of them to ease that burden. She just had to trust her sister-bond and the woman who waited to officially join the team. Hua hadn’t been patient about it, but she had waited.
Thinking of the petite blue Ray, Jen laughed. If anyone could get Aden to think about something other than what had happened here, the woman who wore the nickname ‘Crazy Bitch’ with pride should be able to distract him. Yes, Hua would provide Aden a worthwhile distraction.
Jen even managed to grin. The bond didn’t allow for jealously—she just wanted Aden to be happy and whole, bond or not.
___________________________
Twinkle deposited Sybil and Hua in the living room of their apartment on the 174th floor. Then, she teleported one more time to the back of their apartment to ease Aden onto the bed. With her newfound strength, he wasn’t particularly heavy—even if the size of his body made carrying him rather awkward. It simply pained her to see him like this. He could barely stand on his own.
“Do you need anything?” she asked. “I can stay with you.”
Aden flopped back on top of the covers, lying there without bothering to undress. He was quiet for a moment, his forearm covering his eyes. “No,” he finally said, “I just need time to think. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“Sorry that I’m not the man you thought that I was,” he replied.
Kenna got angry at that. “Don’t start moping on me,” she snapped.” We need you too much, Aden. You are every bit the man that I thought you were, and more. You had the courage to do what had to be done, and yet you are gentle enough to feel bad about it.”
He didn’t say anything.
The bond told her everything that she needed to know, though. He was wallowing in his guilt. She wished she had words that could fix it. Jen would know what to say. For all that she teased the princess, Jen was a smart woman and generally knew exactly what to do or to say.
Kenna shook her head. No, this wasn’t a problem that even Jen could handle. There was a reason that Sybil and Hua had been the ones to come back with them. Hua might not have bonded with Aden, but she was a part of their team. They were two of the most powerful psychics in the world, and together they’d help him deal with this.
“Rest up Aden. If you need anything, even just for me to hold you, know that I’m here for you.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “This is what being a family means.”
She paused just long enough to see if he would say anything more, but when he didn’t, she walked back out to the kitchen to get something to drink. When she got there, she saw Sybil and Hua holding hands across the table. What was it about physical contact that made it easier for psychics to use their powers? Both blue Rays had their eyes closed and the strain of concentration written clearly on their faces.
Kenna wondered if she shouldn’t interrupt them, but a part of her needed to know that they were doing what she couldn’t. “Are you helping him?” she asked.
Neither woman responded for a full minute, but Kenna stood there waiting patiently. Finally, Sybil opened her eyes.
The white-haired woman nodded. “We are doing what we can. I won’t rob him of his emotions or bury the pain, not even to make things easier on him. We are simply flooding him with the feeling of support and love—from all of us. He needs to feel those things at least as strongly as he feels his grief.”
Kenna nodded, but didn’t know what to add.
Hua opened her eyes and grinned impishly. “You know, I could provide him a distraction. In my experience, certain types of distractions help men forget about what’s bothering them.”
Sybil sighed. “It may come to that, but he still needs to process this.”
Hua’s expression got serious. “I know I flaunt the crazy a bit. And, to be honest, it’s the only way I’ve survived without truly losing it, but I do know what I’m talking about.”
Sybil squeezed the other woman’s hands.
“After my bond died,” Hua continued, “I wanted to kill myself. I wanted nothing more than to crawl in a hole. Fortunately, I had some friends who pushed me to do more than wallow in my pain.”
She frowned. “I don’t want to bond again—even with Aden, were that an option. I never want to be so completely dependent upon another person like that ever again.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It nearly broke me before, and I couldn’t take that again. But, I do like Aden and I would like to have something more with him, even if it isn’t the same thing that you two have with him.”
“There will be time for that,” Sybil murmured.
“I know.” Hua sighed. “And trust me, while I agree that he has to process these feelings, he doesn’t have to do it all at once.”
Kenna looked at Sybil; they locked eyes. An understanding passed between them. They’d all do what they could do for Aden. And maybe after he got some sleep, a small distraction would be in order.
