The Shadowverse

by Francesca Gallo

  Titan lifted Ryan off of him and attempted to break his neck by slamming him into the ground. He smashed Ryan into it, forming a hole in the soil as if it was a meteorite strike. But it was to no avail, as Ryan was still alive and kicking, the matter his body had absorbed protecting his human frame.

  Jane shoved Titan forward, lifting him up and smashed him into the ground as wel .

  To her dread, Titan jumped onto his feet in one motion. He reached out and telekinetically grasped her by the throat. “Come over here, weakling!” he bellowed. She flung in a straight line into Titan’s grasp, who choked her there.

  Johnny made his way through the army, catching sight of Sonovan, who had been enjoying himself in the heat of battle. Once he turned, though, he saw Titan with Jane in his grasp once again. “No!” he screamed. He bolted for him through the misty dirt and gravel, kicking him in the crotch. A painful spray of knees, elbows, and punches succeeded the first strike before Johnny leapt onto him, arms strangled around Titan’s neck. Titan dropped Jane and grunted as Johnny held on, dangling over the ground due to Titan’s nine-foot height. Reaching as far as he could, Titan latched onto Johnny’s hair, pulling him up and slamming him onto the ground in a loud thump.

  Titan spoke into his armor. “Take me to the lab.” A portal opened just as Johnny stood up again. To his horror, Johnny watched as Titan sneered and jumped into the floating transport. He had to move fast and come up with a plan in only a millisecond.

  Sprinting to Sonovan’s location, Johnny grabbed him and ran toward the spherical portal. The world progressed in slow motion as Johnny pul ed Sonovan along. The duo slipped into the rapidly closing sphere at the very last moment. If it had taken any time longer, Johnny would have missed the chance.

  Titan exited the wormhole at the former Montauk Air Force Base, where he observed al kinds of tents, trucks, cars, and mobile homes. The scientific community, news outlets, and NASA had been there ever since the wormholes had opened. Titan

  chuckled to himself at their amazement, but it did not last long, because the people spotted him and ran in fear. On top of that, Johnny and Sonovan had somehow passed through the portal. “Why must you persist? Wil you never learn?” he said.

  “No, I’m very thick-headed,” Johnny replied.

  Sonovan glared at Titan, who did the same. “Look at them. How primitive and underdeveloped. Now it is too late to wake up this place and bring you al back to life—

  to reality!” he bel owed. “If it I do not save them, this species will destroy themselves.

  Can’t you see that? I am not hurting them—I am trying to save them!” he bellowed again, bal ing his raised fist.

  “You are not misguided, Titan,” responded Sonovan. “These people are so distressed and agitated. And you are right. Freedom can destroy a people, and this place is becoming increasingly lawless. But you must not give up hope. Each person should strive to be the peacemaker—the control ed, serene one—not a nothing. To work together towards a common goal.”

  “It pleases me we can agree on something, but Earth is beyond hope. And any hope they do have I wil rip from them.”

  “So be it,” Sonovan replied. “You still have not changed.”

  “Justice never changes.”

  “Enough talking,” Johnny said.

  “What do you think I am doing? I am distracting you to prolong the time!”

  Johnny darted to Titan, who, though foreseeing an attack, was tackled because he was not fast enough to dodge the speedster. Johnny sent Titan through the gate, landing as many punches as possible, instantly shattering the “No Trespassing” sign.

  Sonovan sprinted behind; trying his best to catch up to Johnny’s blazing speed. Titan and Johnny both slammed into the ground, Johnny on top of the armored ruler of the Tetra. Consumed by hatred for his enemy, Johnny punched and punched without relent.

  His anger fueled his every move, unremittingly and ruthlessly letting out his pure rage. “I will kil you!” In a span of three seconds, Johnny had landed fifty punches.

  Now it was Titan’s turn to retaliate. The giant man swept his arm to the right, easily shoving him off his body. As his eyes burned red, Titan picked up Johnny by the back of his neck and rammed him into the wall. Roaring in fury, he grabbed the speedster’s leg and slammed his body into the ground like a rag doll. Telekinetically grasping onto him, he flung the speedster’s body back into the wall inside the building. Johnny yel ed at the pain. The Ooris in him worked on overdrive to keep him going.

  The damage would have been worse if Sonovan had not rushed to the rescue, executing another flying side kick on Titan’s shoulder, eliciting a grunt and pushing him away from the downed but recovering Johnny Sparks. “A rematch, once again,” Titan noted. Titan looked about at the surroundings, not ever imagining this to be the place.

  “The years have led to this moment, Sonovan. Here we are again. Oh, such memories.”

  “It has been a millennium in waiting,” Sonovan replied. “This is for Zydok, Orslon, and Venarian. For The Shadows.”

  The memory returned to Titan. He remembered them clearly. It was so long ago, but even then, he had known in his very being they would defeat him. In their eyes had been the desire and the wil to overcome. And now, almost one thousand years later, Titan could still see the same in the eyes of Sonovan. Much time had passed, but Sonovan still had the unchanged, consistent look of wisdom and strength in his eyes.

  For that, and for that reason only, Titan found respect for him. Never in all his journeys did Titan ever come across a being of such passion and convictions.

  Sonovan advanced toward him, skil fully sidestepping a wide kick from Titan, who then spun into a spinning backhand, followed by a hammer fist. Sonovan ducked the attempt, but instead of getting hit or dodging the downward attack, he clutched the giant fist with both hands. Gripping tightly, Sonovan threw the giant arm aside as Titan’s entire expression shifted. Without warning, Sonovan executed a 540-degree jump triple kick, landing a potent strike on Titan’s leg, body, and face—all in one kick. Titan was heaved backward as his eyes widened. “Indeed, you are powerful,” he marveled, astonished. Yet, what had he expected? Though he himself had trained in his own style, Sonovan had been a member of the most skilled league of assassins in history, The Shadows.

  Sonovan slid the swords back into their respective sheathes. “No. Power does not determine anything. Only will and desire does. And I have both.” Pieces of the wall of Montauk Laboratory slid off their bearings, crashing to the ground as the two dueled with bare hands.

  The duo worked off each other’s strikes, parrying, ducking, and responding with similar attacks. The attacks were fueled with Ooris, leading to blows with such ferocity and power any other being would be ripped apart. Not even the partial y-connected Shadowforce members could resist the sheer power of every strike.

  Titan telekinetically grabbed Sonovan to bring him closer. Sonovan felt himself floating, but only a moment elapsed before his body sailed into Titan’s grip. “No, not this time, nemesis!” Sonovan roared. He channeled even more Ooris, the dark, misty energy flowing al the more than before. The beast had awoken. They were now matched. The Ooris coursed through Sonovan’s arms, discharging through his darkened, misty fingers before rupturing into Titan like a blaster. The two were once again flung into the opposite walls which had basical y fal en, the crashes of the concrete pinning the nemeses in an arena as Johnny stil recuperated.

  Griping, Titan pushed himself to stand, as did Sonovan. He scowled at the man.

  “Argh!” he roared, preparing for an onslaught no person could survive without a miracle

  —but Sonovan was the miracle. A perfect product of the Shadowverse itself.

  Sonovan, his body near completely shrouded in the Ooris, took a step forward. Titan took a step. One. Two. Three. On the fourth, the rivals vaulted into the air, the red eyes of Titan matching the gleam of Sonovan’s white. It is time for an onslaught of pure Ooris.

  No
w standing, Johnny flipped over rubble to escape the sheer force of the two opposing Energies as Titan and Sonovan exasperated themselves in a fury of Ooris.

  They both landed fist-first, Titan’s giant hand landing in sync with Sonovan. The dark blast radiated first from a single whitish-red point. The ground shivered underneath the ferocious power. The two nemeses were left in stasis—neither able to push back the other as the dark Ooris blasted in every direction like a large circle. It pushed forth further still like an uncontrolled tornado, snapping trees, cables, and the fence surrounding the former military base. Johnny rushed through the debris as they hailed down.

  “You…will…kneel!” Titan roared through the thunderous reverberation of the two Energies. It was a stalemate as the two glared into each other’s eyes, one set pure

  white, another deep red. This would be their destiny — always opposites, always equals.

  “No!” Sonovan shouted back through the whirlwind. “We both will!” The Energy leveled the surrounding area, forming a reddish-white barrier between Sonovan and Titan, fists still in stasis as if sending their Ooris through the terrain, despite only being within inches of each other. Soon enough, though, the resistance barrier between the two grew too much to bear. They were both flung in inverse directions, hundreds of yards apart.

  But within seconds, the two had risen. Johnny sprinted back in superspeed through the now desolate Montauk Lab. Only the soil was left. No grass. No trees. No wal s. No fences. Titan and Sonovan ambled not away, but closer. “You…you are truly powerful, Sonovan Lung. Why did we end up being so different?”

  Sonovan was quiet for a few seconds as Johnny arrived, sliding to a stop next to him. “God damn,” Johnny marveled. “I’m out for like a minute and it al goes to shit.”

  Unlike his personality, Titan began to laugh in his deep tone. In a crazy change of events, Sonovan did as well, before stopping himself. The emotion erased itself quickly as the mist permeated from his body. “I wished so much for us to have been brothers, Titan. But I am mistaken. This is our destiny.”

  “I know,” Titan answered. He did know. “But not for long.” Titan lifted his arm and spoke, “Zeo,” into it.

  The spherical portal rose from the ground and Titan leapt in. Johnny grabbed Sonovan and they squeaked by the rapidly col apsing wormhole.

  On the other side, Zeo turned out to be Stonehenge in England. The sun shone high in the sky as Titan walked amongst the gargantuan slabs of rock. The wires attached to the back of his head swung in the wind.

  Back turned to Sonovan and Johnny, Titan began a short monologue once again.

  “All of creation has groaned from the beginning until now. This is the reckoning, or, may I say, I am. I am humanity’s savior and the reckoning of the omniverse. The Shadowverse, at long last, has a ruler. Oora will be pleasantly surprised when I bring the Justification to the Shadowverse and this universe. Even The One, the name I have given the creator of everything, will be glad. No more injustice. No more corruption. No more death. No more free will.”

  “Oora would never agree with you,” Johnny replied. “I can say so from experience.”

  “No, Johnny Sparks. You have never truly experienced it.”

  “My redemption is at hand, Titan,” responded Sonovan. Sonovan would keep his plan hidden from his thoughts so that Titan would not discover it. He had learned to master mental warfare. The psychic powers of Titan could not affect him. Well, not anymore.

  In a spurt of anger, Titan telekinetical y grabbed Sonovan and flung him into Johnny.

  They both bounced off a rock slab. Titan stomped to them, but Johnny moved quickly and swept Titan’s leg. The move shook him off-balance, so Johnny pointed an uppercut right under the jaw, which smacked Titan with enough force to stagger him backward.

  Regaining his balance, Titan spat a white substance, eyeing it in curiosity and amazement. “Blood.”

  “That will be the least of your worries,” Johnny shot back, smirking.

  “I’m afraid not. Come, let us continue this battle for the very soul of the universe.”

  Reaching out, Titan created another portal. Johnny sprinted to him, landing a kick to the leg and his side. He grunted, grabbed Johnny by the neck and threw him in. Sonovan leapt to his feet and jumped in just as the portal was closing.

  This time, the trio of fighters jumped to somewhere in Japan, among the hills of Mount Yari. They fought and battled with speed and skil . The lessons Sonovan had taught Johnny on Herook were clearly never wasted.

  The stars of the night shone down upon them at the high altitude. Many a time, Sonovan and Johnny would together attack, which required Titan to hold them off with both arms. Other times, Titan would telekinetical y throw their bodies. Telepathy would not totally work, for their minds were impenetrable. Whatever Sonovan had told them worked swimmingly. They were relentless, unwilling to surrender.

  ~~~

  On the other side of things, the rest of the Shadowforce was thoroughly busy with Titan’s robotic Special Forces units. Although their abilities were quite superior to the soldiers they had annihilated in the desert, the Shadowforce was ful y equipped to defeat them.

  “Jane!” called Ryan.

  “What?” she called back as she shoved another Special Forces soldier into six, ripping the seven apart.

  “Form a shield around yourself, Dustin, and Sam! I don’t think this armor will be enough to deflect the incoming fire! I saw Titan do it! You’ve grown powerful enough!”

  “I don’t think I can!”

  Ryan leapt into the air, clearing the area around them. Ryan turned to her. “Yes you can,” he said in his gruff, rocky voice. “Believe in yourself.” Within the very minute, it had been done.

  Unfortunately, the endless onslaught of fire, ice, strength, and telekinesis counteracted an equally endless array of blasters and bombs. Megiddo had turned into a war zone within the span of ten minutes. In fact, only one thousand of the now nineteen thousand members of the Special Forces had been obliterated. This being because the robotic soldiers would also teleport once or twice, reappearing behind the heroes.

  Adding to the hardship, Solis was an extremely talented fighter, who somehow had kept his skin even after al the explosions. Israeli military helicopters and fighters had been sent in, but they were easily shot out of the sky by the giant war mechanisms Solis and other soldiers set up. Another ten thousand soldiers were deployed, with more on the way as the other ten million aboard the five warships in space stayed in place above the face of the Earth.

  Further, the Shadowforce began to weaken. Their strength was shrinking, and their powers followed suit. Only Rose could keep up the assault unfailingly, mostly due to the fact her powers were borne from her alien DNA.

  During the battle, a portal opened, and Titan, trailed by Sonovan Lung and Johnny Sparks, burst out from it. A loud kiai sounded as they saw Sonovan in mid-air executing

  a flying sidekick to the back of Titan’s head. Johnny followed closely behind, trying to hit low on Titan’s giant frame.

  Stumbling through, Titan turned and telekinetically threw them into the air and landed with a crash. The rest of the Shadowforce realized the trio had returned.

  Raising his arm and snapping his fingers, the Special Forces, to their surprise, ceased their fighting. Solis meandered through to Titan, who wiped the blood off the back of his neck. “Ah, would you look at the time? Less than twenty minutes from now, the universe will be on its way to freedom from injustice, tyranny, and death.”

  “No, I won’t let you!” Johnny retorted. The Shadowforce had run over by this time.

  “Men like you and your Shadowforce must be broken, and there is only one way.

  Shall we begin?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “This.” Titan levitated the entire team in one motion. “This will take an excessive amount of energy, but it must be done. You took my Justice from me, so I will take something you love as well, Sparks. Eq
uilibrium.”

  At that very moment, Solis walked through the helpless pack of heroes. In his arms was an unconscious Irene Sparks. To Johnny’s horror, he placed her into Titan’s grip.

  “You have become the new Sonovan Lung. And for that, you must be broken. All of you.

  One is not enough.”

  CHAPTER 42

  ULTIMATUM, PART II

  Titan released his grip on Dustin, Sam, and Johnny. Instead of floating above the burnt soil, they were locked in place on the ground. Titan kept the rest in their place. In a single movement of his arm, Titan dragged Dustin over to his empty hand. “We have a winner. What a superb warrior you are, Dustin.”

  Not a word escaped from Dustin’s mouth. “No! Get your hands off of him!” Sam cried. “He is my brother! Don’t you touch him!”

  “Titan, please! Do not do this!” Johnny begged. “She is innocent. Take me instead.”

  “Actually, I won’t. I wil not kill them both, but you wil have to choose. So, who will it be? The wife of Timothy and mother of a hero, or your best friend? A difficult choice this is.”

  “Sam, listen to me. You know what I said,” Dustin cried. “I love you man.”

  “No, don’t say that! Come on Johnny! Do something!”

  “I don’t know what to do.” He froze, as if time had stopped. Turning his head, he saw the Shadowforce floating off the ground, locked in an invisible prison. The scene turned dark when he saw Sam literally crying in slow motion and Titan with his mother and best friend in his clutches. Coming back to reality, time sped up once again. “I do not know what I must do, but I know one thing. I will not play this game of yours. You want to prove that in the hour of need, humans will commit the worst atrocities. But I wil not do anything.”

  “You are very wise, Sparks. But you understand what that will mean.”

  “If you touch him, just be aware you are already dead,” Sam shouted.

  “I hope such measures are not necessary.”