Chapter IX
Birth of a Hero
So everything led to this point. I stood there, in the middle of the street, the entrance to my ruined house next to me, my family and supposed protector unconscious lying around me, the invader staring at me hungrily. I did not know why the neighbors had not called the police after hearing all this noise and possibly seeing this monster - but in a way, it was better that way. I did not want to put more innocents in danger.
The Beast lowered its head and locked his intense gaze with mine. I focused on that light in the midst of the stifling darkness - that intelligence in the midst of madness - and stared without turning back with all my strength. Maybe he was going to kill me tonight, but I was not going to show that I was scared.
The Beast almost looked like a smirk that reflected a crazy madness behind her gray fur.
Then, turning to the side, he threw himself into the idle form of the bird-girl. As if he wanted to play with me.
I knew this game. He wanted to test me, to see how far I was going to go to block him.
Swearing a curse, I ran to the middle of the street to block his way, forcing my energy in the hope of pushing him back in the opposite direction of the bird-girl. He stumbled a little, as Mr. Amataro did, this afternoon, before roaring at me. I groaned defensively in response, expanding my position firmly. But Beast Ours was smarter than I thought. He lay down and stared at me hungrily and calculating for a long time ... before jumping to Oscar. A shiver of fear running down my spine, I ran in the direction of Oscar too and arrived in front of him just in time. I felt the backlash of the air by pushing the Beast. He stopped as close to me as possible and lay down again, looking me in the eyes with a deadly glow.
It was just a monster, I realized, standing in the middle of the street panting. He had no other goals in his life. I could continue playing his game until he caught me...and he could kill a member of my family during the process.
I suddenly realized that I did not have a choice. I was only going to continue hurting people around me until he devoured me. All the Beasts were going to try. My city, my neighborhood, my neighbors, my friends, my family...I put them all in danger by the simple fact of existing close to them. Thanks to my damn super powerful aura, I could just as well have a target marked on my back. As I realized all this, I understood what I was going to do. I would have to offer myself to him.
I was going to have to commit suicide.
...It was surprisingly easy to make that decision.
Maybe, whispered a voice in the back of my head, maybe I really was destined to die from the start. Maybe I was destined to die with Grandma that day on the road. Maybe it was death that ended up catching me. I COULD die; in doing so, I could save, my brother, my mother, and even the bird-girl. Once Bear Beast got me, he would leave chasing another poor guy with an aura too powerful. He could end up getting killed by the bird-girl or another STAR member. But my own existence would be...over. Just like that. Gone.
My family would be able to move on without me; it will not be easy, but I would have saved their lives - finally something that I could do for them and be proud of. The same for my friends - those who had been my friends, but did not know me very much personally, really; nobody at school really knew me. Mr. Amataro had managed to survive before meeting me, so he could continue to do so.
Suddenly, thinking of Mr. Amataro, as absurd it could sound, it was him that I felt the most difficult to give up on.
All this in a moment of hesitation. Then I looked up at the Beast with fire in my eyes. Maybe it was something in my behavior or in my aura, but the Beast stopped completely, staring greedily at me...as if waiting for something.
I raised my hands with a false calm, ignoring the burning anger in me, and pointing to myself.
"Okay," I whispered, "come on."
I waited patiently, my arms wide open without moving an inch, ready to accept my fate. Beast Bear stared at me with an air of caution, as if I were a new species he had never seen and expected me to take a surprise shot. I pushed my energy hard and gave him a decided look.
"No, I'm serious," I sighed, wondering if he could understand what I was saying. "Come and get me, I'm right there..."
He kept looking at me silently, not daring to make a single gesture. It was strange to see him so hesitant about someone who was not even trying to fight.
"Go on...," I murmured, looking at him impatiently.
When I saw that he persisted in not moving, I took a deep breath and released all my energy with as much ardor as possible. Even I could feel the pressure change in the air.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! COME AT ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I screamed my last words to the top of my lungs, my guard down to tempt him further.
Finally, the Beast realized that he was really dealing with a suicidal person. Roaring, he rushed right at me, his huge pointed teeth out. I watched my end arrive. Then, I closed my eyes. Ready for impact...
...which never came... Instead, I heard the Beast's roar stop at once...but I did not feel anything... I opened my eyes. And my body froze instantly.
The bird-girl was not K.O., as I had thought. She had woken up, had seen what was happening...and had run between us, taking the attack that was destined for me.
Her body covered in red (not her feathers this time) held his huge teeth, her two hands throwing flames blocking the face of the monster with determination.
As I watched in horror, almost with admiration, the bird-girl - still astonishingly conscious - was trying to push her flames even further between the Beast's eyes, her face reflecting her pain and determination, and her body producing a horrible noise between the jaw of the monster. Her beak was wide open with a silent grimace, but it looked like she could not find the strength to scream.
Then, Bear Beast pushed her away, I could even say it spat her on the asphalt in front of me, and recoiled at the speed of light, rubbing his new wounds.
I stared blankly at the blood-covered body of the bird-girl in front of me. The flames of her hands were now weak, her chest was sprinkled with her own blood, and each of her breaths seemed to be a battle to stay alive. But she remained silent, almost full of dignity, and calm as she looked at me with her blue eyes trying in vain to hide her pain.
Guilt began to hit me horribly, hot and familiar.
"…Why…?" I asked, unable to say anything else. "Why would you die for me?"
The bird-girl's face tried to keep her mask empty and strong. When she began to speak, her voice was calm and controlled, scolding me tiredly.
"That's my question...silly," she whispered. "Why...would you take into consideration the idea...of killing yourself?" What could it have been good for? Idiot, "she insulted me again.
I opened my eyes wide as well as my mouth to protest, to explain myself, but she kept talking.
"Did you really think it would be over...if you had just given your life? I said...that Beasts preferred people with high energy...not that they...would stop eating others...after finishing their hunting! A B-Beast...is never satiated! It never has enough! It's a BEAST!"
Then, all of a sudden, her face turned pale and she closed her eyes, breathing heavily as if she had used her last energy resources. Anger and frustration passed briefly over her face - I could not tell if it was against me or herself.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, something I almost never said, especially in such a desperate tone. "I-I'm sorry, I just wanted-"
"I know what you were trying to do," she whispered to cut me off, but there was no anger in her voice this time.
Then, she opened her eyes tiredly and looked at me with kindness and sweetness so unexpected that my throat closed a little.
"But now, because of your good will, we're going to finish a meal," she sighed and this time the anger was directed towards herself. "I can not fight him now, I should have, but I could not let you die too..."
Her tone was full of misery and it was as if I was no longer there for her. She began to disappear in her thoughts.
I stood in front of her without knowing what I had to do. Impotence, the feeling that I hated more than anything. And I was disgusted by myself, after that moment of weakness that had apparently ruined everything. I thought I got rid of those kinds of ideas, years ago.
"There...There must be something we can do!" I finally exploded, the bird-girl looking at me again with difficulty. "Something I can do!" I declared with determination. "You said my energy is greater than the average, right? So I must be able to do something, right? I'll do anything, please!"
I clenched my fists very hard and looked at her with all my will as if it could bring out the solution.
She remained silent for a moment, her gaze calculating.
"There is...a way...that could work," she admitted between breaths.
I widened my eyes, hope returning to me. The idea seemed to give her strength too because she finally managed to get into a seated position with a painful effort...raising her hand to me. She locked her eyes with mine.
"You can always become a fighter yourself."
I only watched her without saying anything for a long time.
"B-But I can not! I mean, I can not, I'm not-"
I did not know how to answer her that I did not want to become some kind of superhero.
"You can," said the bird-girl in a firm, authoritarian tone despite her weakened position. "If I can transfer some of my energy into your heart, you should unlock powers to fight that monster for me."
I quickly picked up a keyword.
"Should?" I asked her.
She winced a bit - perhaps because of an uncomfortable feeling or pain - and for the first time, she seemed uncertain.
"Well," she whispered, "as you have such a strong aura, it should work... But if it does not work, you could be seriously hurt or even die," she admitted earnestly.
Her air was reciting as if she thought I was going to back down because of this detail.
After all the times that I almost died tonight, and all the reasons I had for wanting to fight, it only took me a quick glance at my still unconscious brother to withdraw this thought. I smirked in spite of myself when she looked surprised and saw me put my hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, bird-girl, let's try your plan, okay?"
She blinked at my firm determination. Then, her expression slowly formed a cute little smile on her beak.
"Not 'bird-girl'," she said and, for the first time, I detected respect in her voice. "My name is Firestorm."
"That's a cool name," I replied with a smile. "I'm Jason Keyber," I introduced myself, raising an eyebrow with amusement. "Nice to meet you, let's hope it's not our last meeting, okay?"
That, I hoped with all my being. But if I had to leave... I began to think about my family and the bird-girl who risked her life for me anyway, and my resolution was even stronger. If I had to leave, I would leave.
"Are you ready?"
My eyes turned to Beast Bear for a second. He was recovering from his injury and turned his head towards us angrily.
"Yes let's go!"
I was ready. I had to be.
She nodded solemnly and her blue eyes reaching mine was the last thing I saw before she slammed the palm of her hand directly into my chest.
I did not even have time to record the pain in my chest before everything happened. There was an explosion of purple light, obliterating all my vision and suddenly...I could feel absolutely everything. For half a second, I could feel my aura - and it was not surprising that Firestorm claimed that her senses of STAR were obstructed because of it.
I knew that sometimes I had been pushing my energy a few times...but I had never realized that I had only used a small portion of it. My energy did not just push back the barriers of my body - there were so many that my body did not have enough space to hold everything and it constantly came out of me to form a kind of purple cloud around my body. Firestorm probably did not feel the Beast because of me. As far as I knew, I could have surrounded the whole house while I was inside.
Everywhere, I could feel my aura, squirming and getting lost around me, sinking deeper and deeper into the center of his power - heart beating in my chest.
Then, with a single flash, all the tiny drops of energy were sucked into the center and trapped inside in a small, shiny mass around Firestorm's hand that worked like a magnet. It pulsed and struggled, creating a hot and suffocating presence in me, a giant entity that was fighting to stay in place there but giving the impression that I was going to break in two, my bones, my blood and my pulpit flying everywhere...I tried to call Firestorm, but I could not, my throat was closed and the light continued to shine around us.
Then, pushing towards me with a last effort, I felt Firestorm offer some of her own energy in her hand, to my chest...and everything changed in an instant.
Suddenly, her hand was no longer a prison. All of a sudden, my power instinctively understood that this new presence transformed it completely, changing it into something else, giving it an electrifying sensation of freedom for the first time ...!
And after that, I could not have stopped, even if I wanted to.
My own aura leaped quickly along its arm and met hers, coming into contact with a huge crash. Waves of power ran, pushed through both of us, and some of her incredible power was transmitted to me, and it was like taking my first sip of air after many hours spent underwater. It was amazing and electrifying, moving at full speed through my aura, then through my body, pushing its limits until I felt like I was exploding again. Only, there was a pleasant feeling in this pain, and I wanted more, it was as if my energy had the desire to explode, to breathe even more without anything physical to block the way.
My aura contracted and I pushed it to Firestorm, feeling her struggle, but mine was much stronger. I absorbed more and more of this pleasant energy until it pushed the limits of my body and finally, my changed and new aura exploded. I left my body briefly, feeling the pleasant pain, and for a moment I was nothing but energy.
A scream escaped my throat - a cry of joy - and it was my last act as a normal human.
By the time the purple light disappeared, I had rematerialized myself with my mass of energy.
But I had changed places - and I could record that my form was different.
My vision came back after the light had disappeared, and I lowered my eyes to see that even though I was still physically the same person, my clothes had changed. I was now wearing a kind of purple battle dress with black marks in places, a pair of brown gloves, boots of the same color firmly attached, and a purple copper band with a metal plate around my forehead ( at least, no one would see Firestorm's drawing) - all fresh, unblemished and complete. And despite the fact that these clothes should not have looked so natural to me, in a way they were. They were part of my aura, they would be part of my power - they were perfectly good. Just like the huge purple aura that was rising in smoke around me.
Did it mean I had more power than Firestorm? I wondered as I watched my hands and all the rest of my body that was so familiar with this new sensation.
It was surreal.
A small groan brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see that I was standing in the middle of the street, facing the Beast, and he was kneeling, grunting, and staring at me with new caution. Seeing the huge rush of power running through my body, my new sense of freedom, and the lack of slowness with the purple cloud around me...I could fully understand why. I smirked.
The shivering form of Firestorm was kneeling on the asphalt behind the Beast, just where I was a few moments ago. She was closed in a ball on the floor, clearly hurt - probably because of the absurd amount of energy she had just given me, but I could not be sure. She was looking at my new form, my new presence, with her eyes wide open. But she was safe. Just like Oscar with her. Our house was still in place, like those in the neighborhood. And the Beast was focused on me. I, who now had the power to protect all those who mattered to me.
It was going to be fun.
I raised my hand to my headband and lifted my chin before plunging a determined look into the dark eyes of the monster. Maybe it was because of the rush of adrenaline, maybe not, but one thing was sure; the Beast did not intimidate me as much as before.
Then, testing my new power, I teleported behind his leg as he tried to swing his arm towards me. Without really knowing how, I could do it by looking or imagining where I wanted to go and my will took care of the rest. I jumped and delivered a powerful kick directly into his leg, breaking his bone. The Beast squealed with piercing pain, one leg lost and almost unable to move with the wound inflicted by Firestorm.
I was really impressed by the speed I had just acquired. Trying again, I teleported behind the Beast who hit the floor of the street where I was, a second ago. Still, I had moved too fast for him to follow me. I could feel the new sharpness of my energy running through my body, courtesy of Firestorm, pushing me further, giving me more power, and helping me adjust.
"Now, that's what I call being thorough," I whispered with a smirk and the Beast had probably heard me, because he turned to swing his arm again while pushing frustrated grunts but I was ready for it.
He threw himself at me, raising his foot to crush me like a grape, and as he reached the level of my head, I threw him a violent punch loaded with energy. Suddenly, Beast Bear seemed...slow. He seemed to lose his balance, his piercing cries seemed panicked, and a fit of burning anger filled me.
"That's for attacking my family, you bastard!" I screamed at the monster before jumping high - just as I had seen Firestorm do it, this afternoon, but this time, my huge rush of energy propelled me over the Beast's head, the ground now looking very far from me - then I performed a backflip to kick him on the top of his head with as much power as possible, reducing it to bits which surprised me a lot...
As I landed, the giant collapsed, uttering a last howl that died quickly with him.
The fight was over. But the energy had a last gift for me - my reflexes had become better, and I landed on the ground with excellent speed and grace. The shock crossed my legs, but I felt nothing at all - nothing except the energy that ran through my veins and the beating of my heart that went to my ears... Suddenly, the world began to spin around me... I could barely breathe, my energy metamorphosing inside my body, becoming more and more similar to Firestorm's. At first, this energy had made me stronger, but now, it seemed like it was trying to take control, take control of my body and, despite myself, I began to feel fear trying to use my knees as a point of support on the ground, but it attracted me more and more...
I knew this chorus and, with a grunt, I dropped and allowed my body to lie down, the energy starting to scream in my ears... I closed my eyes, feeling the world continue to spin around me... But through the darkness, I could hear a female voice screaming my name... A footstep was coming towards me... Someone knelt next to me, placing a hand on my back...
"Jason?" I vaguely heard Firestorm's voice.
I looked up at her fuzzy form above me, her deep blue eyes reflecting an unusual worry. Not that I could really focus on this detail. The electric energy running through my body and pushing my aura to its limit was too much for me...
"You're in me," I whispered in her shady face in admiration, not even fully conscious, feeling much better than I felt long ago. "You are truly in me..."
"I know...," she sighed.
Then, the shadows swallowed me and all that remained around me was the darkness...
He did it! Jason unlocked his inner power and defeat the Bear Beast to save his family and Firestorm too.
Jason's new costume after he obtained his power is inspired from the one I made for my MII in Super Smash Bros Wii U. I just loved the design too much to leave it there.
What's gonna happen enxt for Jason now that he saved everyone? Will things return to normal? Stay stunned to find out.
