A/N: OKAY I'M GONNA WRITE THIS AND I'M GOING TO BE VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MYSELF IF I DONT FINISH THIS CHAPTER SOON CUZ I MADE YOU GUYS WAIT HELLA LONG OKAY SO HERE WE GO Btw, this is a flashback chapter so everything that is a flashback is in italics and the present is in normal text if you get confused. Btw, r0bstarfan13 you are now my bae (hope that isn't weird) and you have supported this fic throughout most of it, so I just wanted to say thank you and I keep writing this mostly for you tbh. Anyway, on with the story...
Dark Secrets
PAST:
Wildfire and his friends were rushing around in their spaceship getting supplies, coordinates, and fuel. Lady Styx and her Darkstar Zombies had been unleashing their wrath by attacking the planet just below them. The team would've sprung into action, but none of it would have matter if they didn't stop what she liked to call "The Final Phase". It was the last step in her plan. She was going to murder the king and queen of the planet and elect herself as their new leader. If the citizens of the world did not comply with her actions, she had a laser cannon placed on each of the planet's moons ready to blow their home world to pieces. The team doubted she would blow herself up, but her lust for power was too strong. If she were to die, she would want to die with an entire planet eating out of the palm of her hand. The lasers were considered impenetrable, but to The Omega Men, nothing was impenetrable.
After clicking a few buttons on the spacecraft's main frame, Wildfire announced, "I set the coordinates for each pod to go on a separate moon. If we can take out the lasers, then she'll have no leverage against the citizens."
Cecilia commented, "It sounds like a good idea, but she will kill the king and queen. We need someone to protect them."
From behind, Chantale interjected, "Lady Styx is smart and resourceful. Once she realizes she has no more power, she will see that killing them would be pointless."
"Alright, we'll go with Wildfire's plan. Everyone find a pod and be careful. Take out the laser and get out of there as soon as you can." Tigorr agreed. Wildfire gave himself a mental pat on the back. He was new to the team and had been trying to prove himself worthy of being a hero who could do some good. He wanted to be braver and stronger than he ever was before. He still thought the Gordanians had taken over his home world and killed everyone he loved and knew. He didn't want to run away anymore. He didn't want to be a coward, not again. He wanted to be a hero and for Tigorr, the leader of the team, to use his plan to take down one of their greatest enemies was amazing. Maybe he really was cut out for the saving business.
After watching his friends jump into their pods, he climbed into his own and shot through the abyss of space. Soon enough, he landed on the fifth moon, Mal. The laser had thankfully not been too far away from where he landed and could manage the small hike. One he got to the laser, he unscrewed a metal panel to access the inner working of the fatal machine.
Wildfire's com buzzed and listened to Tigorr say, "Alright, team. There's a purple wire on the left side behind the front metal panel. Before you cut it, though, you must put in the code, 2793. That should allow you to bypass the alarm based security system. If we do this right, we will not only save the king and queen, but all 16 billion citizens on that planet below. Tigorr out." Wildfire typed in the code and took out his blade, but before he could cut it a hand grasped his shoulder and roughly flung him backwards, forcing him to land harshly on his back.
Not wasting any time, he quickly got up, but winced at the pain in his back. Lady Styx was standing in front of him and was no doubt the person who manhandled him seconds before. She was tall and her alien form was nothing like the Tamaranean's. She had six long limbs, including her neck, and had overgrown black nails that complimented her black stained hands. The rest of her blue skin seemed forcefully stretched across her ribs and bones. Her oval-shaped face had red, ruby lips that turned into a creepy smile as her scorpion tail whipped in excitement behind her.
"What do you think you are doing, young man?" she sneered.
He confidently stated, "Stopping you." He flew up into the air and began throwing furious star bolts at her. Clouds of smoke and dust encircled around her, and she shielded her face. He flung himself down at her, ready to throw his strong punches, until she caught him by throat. He struggled to get free, but even with his alien strength, her tail was too powerful.
She chuckled and mocked, "The funny thing is you don't even know what you're actually trying to stop me from doing. You're absolutely clueless, you and you're friends."
He struggled to breathe, but managed to ask, "What are you talking about?"
"You all believe that I'm trying to take the power from the poor planet below us, which does sound amusing, but that's not the real reason I have you here." She paused and chuckled again. "You Omega Men have been irritating me nonstop since I started my affairs and it's now time that you all have stopped yours. When you're team mates try to cut the wire, it will set off an explosion to kill each of your friends."
She pulled him closer to her and hissed, "And now it's time for me to kill you." She flung him across the dirt a second time, but Wildfire caught him and stopped in midair to hover above the ground. He lunged at her, but this time he ducked low to grab her long insect-like legs and carry her into the air only to slam her back down to the moon's surface. He stopped to see if that was enough to knock her out, but he soon felt her sharp nails curl around his ankle to slam him into the metal laser. The sturdy wall dented behind his back due to the amount force. When he fell to the ground he coughed, struggling to get air back into his lungs. She was running towards him, but even though he was still recovering he shot his fiery red star bolts at her, sending her away.
He wearily stood up and thought he could win this fight. He could stop her plans and save his friends. He could be the hero. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.
Out of nowhere, Lady Styx' long, thick, tail struck him, harshly sending him back into the already crushed metal. The wind was knocked out of him again and felt as if he was going to die if he didn't get air in him soon. His wishes were quickly crushed as he wrapped her hand around his throat. Her grasp was tight, but not tight enough to cut off his air completely. She knew what she was doing. She wanted to kill him slowly. With nothing filling his lungs, his limbs soon became useless. His could barely lift them to stop her from choking him.
She scoffed and added, "Look at you. So weak you can't even fight back. I expected more, but then again you are just a troq." With even more disgust she finished, "A Tamaranean. You don't even deserve to live, you and your kind. Maybe after I kill your friends, I'll kill your race."
He spit in her face, and with the last of his energy he said, "They're already dead. I'm the last of them."
"Then that makes things much easier for me." With her hand still clutching his throat she walked along the laser, but threw him against the wall again and again. Each time his back met the metal, the wind was knocked out of him. He couldn't take much more of this. He knew his friends were probably dead by now. He had failed as a hero, as an Omega Man, as a friend. The only thing he could do left was take down Lady Styx, but even that seemed hopeless. But he had to at least try for his friends.
Every time he felt the cold wall hit his back, he was getting closer to the metal panel he took off only moments before. He was going to blow them both to pieces and he hope he had the strength to tear the wire. As his lungs were begging for mercy and black spots clouded his vision, he lifted his arm. She slammed him into the weapon's side once more, and he grabbed the purple wire as tightly as his oxygen deprived muscles would allow him. She pulled him back along with the wire.
The first thing he felt was the blissful oxygen filling his lungs when she let go of him. He didn't feel the invisible force from the explosion against his back or the blistering heat nipping at his cheeks. Time seemed to slow down and thanked his god for the air flowing through his throat. No matter how much he enjoyed the sensation he was ready to die. He knew his friends had left this world and he wanted to see them again. He soon felt the fire burning off the skin on his lower back and began to scream. The world became a blur and he felt the rough dirt scruff against his shoulder, knee, and then his cheek. His hearing was long gone and his body was hopelessly tumbling across the moon's surface. He then felt something hard and sharp strike his head. All the lights went out.
...
His body felt like a brick. His arms, legs, feet, fingers, and eyelids were all too heavy to lift. Wildfire felt blind. Not because he couldn't open his eyes, but he felt blind to as what was happening to him, to his body. He didn't know what position his limbs had fallen into. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his hands. His brain wasn't able to process anything other than the fact that his body was present. He couldn't even tell if he was breathing, but he knew he was no longer being choked.
He was being choked. He was being blown to pieces. He had stopped Lady Styx. He had killed her. He had killed himself. With that thought, he forced his eyes open and saw the countless galaxies and stars above him, staring at him like he was a mistake. Air forced itself down his throat, making his chest expand and bringing the rest of his body back to life. He was alive. He was breathing. He was moving.
Wildfire soon remembered his friends were dead. He knew that it was surprising how fast he accepted it, but thought maybe it was because if they were alive, they would be disappointed in him for creating such a terrible plan. They would think he was an excuse of hero, of a person. Now that they're dead, they won't do that to him. Wildfire wouldn't have to face the disgusting truth so quickly. Sick thought. But he's half dead at the moment, so he lets himself have terrible thoughts.
Laying there on the ground, he realized he was utterly alone. No friends, no family, no planet, and no home. He was beaten and bloodied on the ground like road kill. Wildfire still wished he had died. He wished on that moon that he was dead.
He slowly got up and looked around him. Debris from the laser cannon was littered across the floor and small fires were spread across the site. He looked around for Lady Styx, but she was nowhere in sight. He searched for her, but came out empty handed. He didn't kill her. He had failed all over again.
Wildfire flew to the other moons to look for her, but every time, he found a body of one of his friends. He would hold them in his arms and silently cry. He wanted to take all his sick thoughts back, every one of them. He would rather them be angry at him for hurting them instead of being forced with dealing with the guilt of killing the people who he cared about most. Sure, he was new to the team, but they had taken him in and treated him like family. As if he had always been part of their lives. Now, he just wanted to see them. Wildfire whispered apologies into each of their ears and hoped they could hear him from wherever their souls had floated off to.
...
Wildfire was sitting on the metal floor inside the spaceship. Everything, including the air, felt cold, quiet, and empty. He had already landed the ship at some random planet to save fuel. As the ship was descending he could see a small market was near him. Other space crafts were selling whatever junk they had to lighten the load. Once his own craft was safely on the ground, he didn't know what to do. He decided to just sit there for a bit. Wildfire had no idea how much time had passed since then.
There was a knock on the door and a voice that called, "Hello? Are you still open?" Wildfire knew he shouldn't have parked next to market. He decided to tell the person to leave and maybe make a sign or something. He walked over to the entrance and pulled the door open. The words stopped in his throat when he saw who was standing in front of him.
"Blackfire?" he croaked.
"Brother?" she asked breathily. They lunged at each other, creating a strong, passionate hug. They were trying to make up for lost time.
"I thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.
With confidence seeping out from her voice she replied, "Actually our army wiped out the Gordanians quite easily. We took back the throne soon after you left to continue the bloodline, but we had no way to contact you."
"I thought they had taken over our planet and killed our people. But now that you're back it must mean Starfire, mother, and father are still alive! I'm not alone anymore...more or less."
Blackfire took down her cocky personality and gently told him, "I'm sorry Wildfire, but they have passed."
"Even Starfire?" he asked with tears starting to form in his eyes.
"No, she is still alive."
"Then mother and father are..." he didn't want to finish his sentence and he really didn't want to see Blackfire's answer. He forced himself to look at her and saw her nodding her head slightly.
He had accepted his family had been dead, but for it to be confirmed was like grieving them all over again. He let the tears fall, but remained silent. He felt so alone, even with his dear sister right next to him. The people he loved were dropping dead left and right and there was nothing he could do about it. She put an arm on his shoulder, which pulled him out of his thoughts.
"There's something you're not telling me. What is it?" she almost demands.
"I made many dear friends when I left, but not too long ago they all...um they just...I…" More tears flowed down his face. He couldn't say it out loud. He didn't want to face the truth. Blackfire turned him so he would face her.
"Wildfire, tell me what happened." she commanded him sternly. After another moment of hesitation, he explained to her the bombs, Lady Styx, and how he was the only one who made it out alive. He choked back more tears as he told the story.
He ended with, "There's nothing left I can do, Blackfire."
"But there is." Wildfire saw the familiar fire in her eyes and she continued, "Take down Lady Styx and get vengeance for what she did to you. What she did to your friends."
He protested, "Revenge is never a good idea. You know that."
"So you just want to let her off the hook? If she did that to me, I would make sure she paid for it." Wildfire considered what his sister said. Revenge always led you down a dark path, but he couldn't do that to his friends. He didn't want to fail them. He was done failing. He wanted to serve them right.
He looked her in the eyes and stated, "Let's do it"
...
They began searching for Lady Styx at the planet's moon where Wildfire blew both of them up. They checked databases, searched the news for anything weird, scouted the area, and did anything to find her.
After weeks of coming up empty, Wildfire became more and more obsessive with finding her. He swore to himself and Blackfire that he will do anything to take his revenge. He kept telling himself it was to honor his friends and not to fill the hole he felt in his chest.
Finally, Blackfire got a lead. She was last seen on the sister planet of the one she was trying to take over. Blackfire pointed out that Lady Styx thought Wildfire was dead, so he had the upper hand. They created a plan to jump her when she was alone to get his vengeance. Soon, they landed on the planet and found her location. They broke into the building and followed her until she told her guards to leave her in her room.
Wildfire was about to move when Blackfire grabbed his arm and asked, "You know what to do?"
He answered, "Yeah. I'm making her pay." A proud smile crept across his sister's face. She released his arm and let him go off on her. He saw the new found fire in his eyes. His obsessive behavior only let his anger grow and grow. Blackfire knew her sister's dear friend was very much the same, but he had friends to hold him back from becoming ruthless. But this time though, she wasn't going to hold Wildfire back. She wanted to see him be cruel, savage, and have no barriers left. She wanted him to be her weapon. She had found him months ago, but waited until the perfect moment to sneak back into his life. What better time than when all his friends were dying? She knew she was a manipulator and used that trait to her advantage. She even kept tabs on his new enemy and waited to tell him her whereabouts until he was on the edge of going insane.
As he was beating Lady Styx to a pulp without hesitation, she knew he was all too perfect to get back at their goody two shoes, flawless, little, sister.
Wildfire stopped shooting his red star bolts at her when she didn't get up from the ground. Then, he started punching her with his bare hands over and over again. He didn't stop when her fluids spattered onto his hands and face. To his horror, he realized he liked the feeling. He liked getting justice this way, getting revenge. It was filling that hole inside of him.
She was the one who took his friends from him.
*punch*
She was the one who made him feel so alone.
*punch*
She was the one who made him fail.
*punch*
She was the one who was going to pay.
His arms soon grew tired and he stilled his fists. He looked up at Blackfire, not knowing her reaction to what he had just done. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him up to his feet.
"Good job, Wildfire. This is only the beginning." she promised him.
Throughout the next couple months, she took him with her to fight evil and bring criminals to "justice". Each time Wildfire took revenge from a criminal, he felt whole again. The hole and loss inside him was filled, but only for a moment. The feeling soon became addictive, which was what Blackfire was counting on. She was going to twist him into doing whatever she wanted to whoever she wanted.
PRESENT:
Wildfire took out his com and said, "I struck down his ship and tied him up here."
Blackfire replied, "Don't kill him yet. Wait for Starfire to arrive to see her precious, Robin."
"Agreed." he answered with a devilish smirk.
A/N: I know I should've done more research on the team members of the Omega Men, but it was unclear who was still on the team when Wildfire arrived because he wasn't originally part of them in the mini-series, so I hope it worked out. And damn it got hella dark. But I really wanted to build Wildfire's character soooo have some angst :D Anyway, reviews are life and I love you guys!
