Birth of Light

by Ross Buzzell

  “Been a long time since I’ve had a fight that good. You are better than last time.”

  “That’s because I wasn’t busy watching my family die,”

  Konner growls as the darkness feeds the anger within him. Konner charges Xero, and just before the two clash, he drops to the ground and slides between Xero’s legs. With the last of his energy, he forms two small hard light blades and slashes both of his opponent’s Achilles tendons. Xero drops to his knees and lets out a scream in pain as Konner quickly jumps on Xero’s back and begins to choke him with his rapidly depleting strength. Xero reaches behind him; grabbing the back of Konner’s head, he pulls the prince over him and slams Konner into the ground before delivering a powerful one-two punch into Konner’s chest. Again, the attacks do not hurt. His computer calls out audibly this time.

  “Power levels, zero percent.”

  Xero lets an evil grin form across his lips. He bends down and wraps his massive hand over Konner’s skull and grips it so tightly it feels as if he will cave Konner’s head in with one hand.

  “Looks like you’re out,”

  Xero says with an evil smirk on his face before slamming Konner so hard into a dugout that the concrete around him shatters like glass. At that moment, Konner feels something leave him, as if the force of the blow, the hatred of Xero, and the darkness of family fighting family forces the light right out of him. He feels the darkness that has been scratching at the back of his mind for the past half hour begin to assert itself as dark thoughts start to fill his mind. He tries to stand up, but Xero grabs Konner by the throat and throws him into the jumbo-tron, which collapses onto the field with Konner in a fit of sparks. Again, he feels none of it.

  Konner feels his body is impaled by debris; he is bleeding, bones are broken, and even though his body heals much much faster than others of his race, the damage is quite severe. Powerlines spark around Konner as lightbulbs explode from overloading. Xero draws his sword and begins to walk towards Konner.

  “You know, I went through your father’s books. He spoke so highly of your skill as a soldier, of how much power you wielded. How you were the strongest Boronian to ever exist.”

  Xero stands over Konner; he holds his blade over the prince. Konner feels his body begin to mend and his strength begin to return, but it will not be fast enough to stop his imminent doom.

  “I thought I would have to put of more of a fight against you,”

  Xero adds before he lets out a dark laugh, one that resonates with Konner.

  “Hey, Xero!”

  Konner glances to see Emma flying down with a metal pipe in her hand. Xero turns to face her and she slams the pipe into his face. At the speed she is moving, even that blow had to have hurt.

  “Shut up!”

  she yells before coming in for another attack. She hits him again, this time even harder. He nearly falls back. Konner feels his strength returning. He glances at his bracer; the power meter begins to rapidly fill. Emma comes in for a third strike, but Xero catches her by the throat.

  “Stupid girl, haven’t you noticed? You can’t kill me.”

  He begins to squeeze, and Emma starts to struggle to breathe. She tries to fight, but it is more useless than when Konner tried to fight him. Konner pulls himself to his feet. Exhaustion still grips him tightly, but its hold is slipping.

  “Let her go, Xero,”

  he growls, not for her sake but for the fact that deep down, Konner wants to rip Xero limb from limb and doesn’t want to share the credit. Xero turns to him, a wicked smile on his lips as if he recognizes what is going on within Konner.

  “Or else what? You’re out of power, Lorian; you can’t stop me, let alone kill me! I will be a god again!”

  Konner’s lips whip into a wicked grin in the same manner as Xero’s.

  “The girl is right; you do need to shut up.”

  The wires around Konner jump to life as he begins to pull the electricity from them and into himself. The sparks pour into him like water into a low zone when a dam breaks. Konner feels tens of millions of megawatts pour into his body, fueling him, consuming him, and every last atom of his body drinks it in. The stadium lights go dark, as do those in the buildings in the background as he pulls the power from every connected grid into himself. As the last of the energy jumps into him, electricity sparks off of his body, ripples over his armor, and dances across his chest in the shape of his family crest, which ignites and comes to life.

  “You die now!”

  Konner growls. The roar of hundreds of soldiers fills the stadium as they flood into the seats, all their weapons trained on Xero. Helicopters fly overhead accompanied by drones. Konner merely twitches a finger. A spark of energy burns through Xero’s upper arm, causing him to drop Emma. Instantly, she flies a few feet away, coughing in agony before hitting the ground again. Xero moves in to charge Konner once again, but Konner dashes at Xero. Everything shifts blue as Konner feels his body elongate and rip apart as he physically turns into a bolt of living energy. He slams into Xero’s chest and unloads every joule of power into Xero before forming back into his natural form on the far side of Xero.

  Konner turns and faces Xero, who is on his knees, seizing from the power that has just been dumped into him when a thought enters his mind. He will not be able to kill Xero, but there is no way he will let Xero have the Earth. He remembers something the monster said near the beginning of their fight. The rising darkness within Konner gives him a wicked idea. He looks over at Emma.

  “Are you ready to finish him?”

  She gives him a weak smile and holds her throat.

  “Can you fly?”

  he asks.

  “I can try,”

  she croaks.

  “Then on my mark, take my hand.”

  The electricity within him seems to re-fuel itself; he can feel every bit of it is already back. Xero tries to climb to his feet, but Konner lifts both his hands above his head before dropping them both to his sides violently, which brings a storm of electricity down on Xero. Slowly, he begins to travel up the pillar of energy and he gives off a twisted laugh. Konner cuts off the electricity and begins to fly towards Xero.

  “THIS ENDS NOW!!!!!”

  he roars as he soars straight to Xero. He holds his hand out as Xero draws his sword, prepared to strike. Konner feels Emma take his hand. Instantly, he uses her power to pull her into him. The moment he does, time stands still. He hears her thoughts, her memories; they truly become one and he feels the darkness that has begun to cloud his mind dissipate for a moment. In a room of pure darkness, a pillar of light is birthed. Emma slowly enters the light. Her eyes are puffy and red as tears stream down her cheeks. Her head shakes as she speaks in a quaking voice.

  “You’re not him anymore… where did he go?”

  Konner slowly walks into the light as well; he knows exactly what she is talking about. A piece of him feels like it is missing and it is the small piece that gave him a sense of purity and goodness.

  “I don’t know,”

  he responds softly. He offers her his hand, and she recoils.

  “I feel the same darkness in you that comes off of Xero. What happens when you beat him. Will I have to put you down too?”

  Konner shakes his head. His heart would usually break for her fear, her pain, but not today, not right now. Right now, he feels nothing aside from the slight sliver of light she brought with her.

  “You won’t, Emma. I will not let this darkness spread, even through me. I will end this rising tide, but you must promise to be the light this world needs.”

  She nods solemnly. She is in his head, and she knows his plan.

  “Goodbye, Emma,”

  he says softly before shoving her from her pillar of light. As she falls into the darkness, she separates from Konner’s body; he hears her blood-curdling scream as Konner slams into Xero. Using Emma’s power, he fuses with him. As they become one, he can feel the raw power within Xero. It is only then that it becomes clear how truly
futile a fight would have been should it have continued normally. The darkness that is inside Xero is the same that made its way into Konner. Konner is able to briefly get a hold of Xero. He holds Xero’s blade in his hand and looks at the ground. Below, Doug, Natalie, and Danielle enter the field and they stop dead in their tracks, horrified. Emma charges them and Konner looks at her through Xero’s eyes and shakes his head. She slows down for a moment as Konner turns the blade around in his hands.

  Konner feels Xero begin to fight him, to struggle to break free, but Konner holds on as tightly as he can. Xero manages to separate his head and shoulders from Konner’s back; he begins to pull himself away and as their arms begin to separate, Konner focuses all of his strength and energy, along with the last fleeting bit of light within him. To turn the blade fully around, he hears Xero roar in protest, screaming as he tries to escape, but in a single, powerful movement, Konner draws the blade towards himself and runs it through his chest. He doesn’t feel pain, or anger or rage, only peace as his body phases away from the sword. His vision blurs as he begins to fall to the ground. He gets a glimpse of Xero falling as well, his own blade protruding from his chest with his hands around the handle.

  As Konner hits the ground, his mind overclocks one last time to take in the last stimulants he will experience. The military unload everything they have on Xero’s position. Emma lands, but her legs don’t support her, and she falls to the ground sobbing. He feels his body be hoisted up and the angelic face of Natalie fills his every hazy field of view. She is weeping and saying the same thing over and over again, but he can’t hear her. It looks like “I love you god please don’t leave me I love you.” As rounds pass by them, all finding their mark on Xero, a familiar-looking man with dark hair and a thin length that outlines his jaw, dressed in a green shirt and a leather jacket, slides in next to Natalie and covers her with his body. Konner feels a warm teardrop land on his cheek as he begins to lose consciousness for the final time. He hears in an echoing voice.

  “E.T. is down, I repeat, E.T. is down! God forgive us, so is Blue Savior. I NEED A MEDIC!”

  He has ended Xero, both of his homes are safe, and a vanguard is left behind to keep the peace in his stead. His mission is done; a warm peace embraces him as the last light fades.

  Chapter: 24

  Burial of a Hero

  Her eyes burn. It has been two weeks since the battle for St. Louis, but even with the second arch’s construction, visible from her window, well under way, it all still feels like it happened yesterday. Natalie has been ghosting through the past two weeks, drifting as if she is a phantom stuck between this world and the next. Never did she think that someone would come into her life for such a short period of time and affect it so tremendously. She would not have been able to make it had it not been for his team and the unshaking support of Ryan. He is a good man. All of them wanted to be with her this morning, but she requested to be left alone. She asked that they go on without her, so they did. She looks at herself in the mirror, her long black dress flowing over her curves offset by her brilliant red hair and pale skin. Another tear rolls down her cheek; she sniffs, takes a deep breath, and wipes the tear away.

  “Be strong for him,”

  she says softly before she leaves her apartment. She moves like in a haze. Nothing seems real, her body is on autopilot; it knows where it needs to go no matter how much her mind screams for it to stop because going would mean saying goodbye and she is not ready to do that yet. She gets into a large black SUV with a police car both in front of and behind it. They turn on their lights and the motorcade pulls away. She gazes out the window as silence fills the car. It is heavy and its presence feels like a weight pressed against Natalie’s chest, one she can hardly bear.

  After thirty minutes, the motorcade stops in Forrest Park atop a kill that overlooks part of the city. Hundreds, if not thousands of people are gathered, all dressed in black. The driver exits the car and opens the door for her. She sees a pulpit in front of the crowd. Off to the side is a large, strong oak that stands as if to guard the land that will one day hold Konner’s body. Under it stands Doug, Ryan, Danielle, and Emma all in black. Ryan has an azure blue tie on. Natalie steps out of the car. Her knees are shaky and her heart is pounding. The driver offers her a hand, but she waves him off. He was strong for her, strong enough to kill a threat to her even at the cost of his own life; the least she can do is be strong for him now. She begins to walk towards the pulpit. The sounds of bagpipes fill the air to both honor his sacrifice and the woman he bonded so completely with.

  The sound of those bagpipes cuts through her heart like a dagger. She loses her breath for a moment, but she soldiers on. Approaching the pulpit, she steps up to it to see countless faces before her. Some are citizens of the city, others are military personnel, and others just want to show support. On the front row sit the commissioner, the mayor, and the rear admiral. Among some of the other faces, Natalie recognizes the bus driver who dropped her off in the city, and right beside her sits Stan wearing his old uniform, something she has never seen before. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. She clears her throat and swallows the tears welling up within her. After a brief moment, she tries again:

  “He may not have been here long, and he knew almost nothing about our race, but he was willing to lay down his life so that each and every one of us could continue to live ours.”

  She glances over to Ryan. His face is somber yet caring, and it brings her a familiar sense of peace. He nods to her and that is all he needed to do to renew her strength.

  “He was the first hero of his kind this world has ever seen, but he will not be the last. With him came a new age, an azure age where men and women with abilities can show this world that they are ready to follow him into greatness; there are three known among us today. The Emissary, Protolith, and last, but certainly not least, Avio. We should never forget what these three and Konner have done for us. It should inspire us to live by their example, to be the best that we can be no matter what darkness might be within us, and if we can do that, maybe, just maybe his death would not have been in vain.”

  Natalie turns and leaves the podium. She approaches Konner’s azure blue casket with his family seal inlaid in black on the top. Her hand gently touches the cold metal as the ring of seven rifles echoes throughout the park. They fire again, and one last time. Each of the shots makes Natalie jolt. She holds back her tears with every bit of strength she has. A soft hand lands on her shoulder as a woman’s voice speaks softly in her ear.

  “He stopped me from jumping off a building, you know.”

  Natalie turns to see Kassie standing before her; she is in black as well, but her eyes are not red, they are not puffy. She is truly being strong.

  “He showed me how important each and every life is and he told me something that it looks like you need to hear. You deserve this, you’ve earned this…”

  she pauses for a moment, her eyes well up, and she bites the inside of her cheek to hold back her tears and as she finally speaks her voice is shaky.

  “… there is honor in this cry.”

  She turns and walks away; that was something she needed to hear and go figure it came from Konner himself. She feels herself begin to slip. Ryan notices because he walks up to her, gently taking her hand, and he leads her away from everyone as a line begins to form to pay their respects. Ryan takes her to the edge of the woods, near another large old tree. There, she is unable to contain it anymore, and like a dam breaking, she collapses into Ryan’s strong arms and sobs uncontrollably into his chest. It feels as if a part of her has been ripped out before she even had a chance to know it, that a piece of her armor is missing and that she will be vulnerable forever. Ryan says nothing; there is nothing for him to say and she can sense he knows that. All he does is hold her close and let her collapse into him and weep.

  The End

  Epilogue: Ryan

  It has been six months since the incident with Xero. The dark magic
that split Xero into his “mortal” and “god” halves still irradiates off of him and when Konner’s defenses dropped and he started absorbing the “dark energy,” he had been warned about, it was the remnants of the spell that split Xero. That, coupled with the vicious blow into the dugout, triggered the same spell that ripped Ryan from Konner, leaving Ryan without powers. In this time, Ryan has taken to art and managed to get a job with the local comic book company as an artist. The fact that he has exclusive rights to Konner’s story, as given to him by Danielle, helped that fact as well.

  One night, he is working late, trying to finish up a book for his deadline. He texts Natalie that she shouldn’t stay up. They have been dating a few months now and things were going well and just because he loved her as Konner does not mean that changes anything as Ryan. A soft knock on the locked glass door gets his attention. A courier stands at the door with an envelope in his hand. Konner makes his way over to the door, dodging easels and desks as he goes. Unlocking the door, he cracks it open.