Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
So this has been one of my favourite chapters to write, I had a lot of fun at the end. But the beginning is a bit depressing, and it's meant to be. I wanted to show that Sven Reilly (the true main character, but every hero is important in this) is no Gary-Stu, he's flawed, troubled and he's filled with self doubt as a lot of real people can be some times (confidence and brilliance comes from overcoming doubt in my opinion)
Excelsior is one of my favourite words, and I figured the meaning should fittingly play an integral part in this story. That willingness to always go forward is something we all have to have, sometimes just to get by.
And I used a variation of one of Stan Lee's quotes, because it has to be one of my favourite of his sayings.
Marvellous World
Chapter 16: Excelsior
The whistle came and he ran, just like he said he could. He followed the pace the others on the track set, pacing oneself was what someone had to do. His legs dashed back and forth, and he breathed in and out. He kept going, trying not to pay attention to the people who got ahead of him. But they ran far ahead of him, the sweat was soaking his shirt and he was just so tired.
"It was a good effort Sven," the coach said to him.
They soon after played basketball and he waited for people to pick him. One person after another left the line he stood on, and soon he was left as the last to be picked. Again the whistle was blown and the game started, the ball was thrown around, people dribbled and he did his best to defend. It was certainly a better effort than the running. He ran across the court, putting himself in the best position for a goal. He knew he could score if his team just passed to him. It was the perfect place to be, there was a wide open path for the team captain to pass. Their eyes met, the captain knew it, but he did not pass. In the locker rooms, he slowly changed.
"Is that the kid?" he heard someone asked.
"His name is Sven, he was friends with that girl who got killed."
"Wasn't he also friends with that kid who got expelled?"
Sven worked in class, raising his hand when he came across an equation he couldn't solve.
"Wasn't his father some great detective?"
"Nah, turned out the guy was crazy!"
"Where did you hear that?"
"You hear things, his mom apparently can't cope with him."
He sat in the park reading his books, eating a sandwich.
"So bland, maybe his mom really doesn't pay much attention to him."
"Apparently they've got a small fortune though, a military family or something."
"But he's so weak!"
He smiled and waved at people in his class, everyday he smiled and waved at them.
"There goes Sven, every bodies friend, but he hasn't got any."
"He may have grey eyes, but he's really a blue eyed boy."
"The teachers won't do anything because of what happened to him!"
In the gym he did push ups, on the track he ran, faster and faster past his class mates. When on break he spent it in the toilet cubicles, fists shaking as his teeth gritted together. He slapped his cheeks in front of the mirror and pulled his head back, then pulled the edges of his mouth into a smile.
"Apparently he shot that girl's dad."
"Right in the shoulder, before the guy was going to kill him too."
"Wasn't he also found under the rubble during the cataclysm?"
"That's bull shit, no way he's lucky enough to survive that!"
"Of course he's not lucky, he's a jinx, his dad died that day too, then his best friend turns out to be one of those mutants, and then he finds that girl's body."
He went home, smiled at his mother and sister and went up to his bedroom.
"Is everything all right Sven?" she asked him.
"Everything's just fine mum," Sven said.
He smiled and waved at his class mates as he went through the gate the next day. Though he didn't ask for help, he found the math a lot more difficult. On the track he ran a little faster, and he just stuck to defence at basketball. Afterwards he collected other books from his locker and looked to the ones across from his. Bullies, intimidating others with their size, or even their intelligence. People getting bullied because they were good in class, or because they had rich families. Or even rich people bullying others because of that. He wanted to say something, but knew he'd only make people angrier. He wanted to tell them they were wrong, but knew that that wasn't what people liked. Anything he had to say would just be preachy, he loved anime, but no one liked being preached to. No one listened to self righteous people anymore. He looked online at protests against racism and corruption, and admired people for that. But at the same time he saw people get labelled as bigots for mistakes, or opinions.
"Hadn't that actor been drunk when he said those things?"
"No one online really cares, they just want to jump on whatever a celebrity says so they can pat themselves on the back and say they did a great thing."
Sven ate through lunch, sitting with people who weren't considered popular enough to sit with them. They talked about Manga and new sci-fi films released, which was nice. When he finished he smiled and waved at the more popular students. He bumped into a few other students, dropping some of his manga.
"What is this? Cartoons? What are you some kind of faggot?"
"Hey wait a minute, aren't you the one who shot that crazy guy after he cut up his daughter?"
There were smiles and laughs on their faces. Sven raised his hand and asked without a smile:
"Please give that back!"
"Fine, freak!"
They threw the book back to him, seeing that there was no reaction. That's what he noticed, when people cried, when people spoke against them, then they carried on. He didn't fully understand it, but they craved a reaction. Even if it hurt someone, they craved the reaction and told themselves they were joking around. He returned home and nodded to his mother and sister.
"Are you okay?" his sister asked him.
"Just fine," he said.
He did some push ups, remembering what Mohammed Ali said about not counting until it hurt. It didn't really work out for him that way, so he was lying on his bed reading when his mum came into the room.
"Sven," she had a serious expression on her face, one akin to the day he went out of hospital to attend his father's funeral. "Listen, I want you to feel safe all right, I trust you to keep secrets for the right reasons. But, there are certain things I need to know, if you're ever upset about anything, please tell me." she said.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
"Everything's fine mom," he said, smiling.
Another weekend went by and he stood in the school toilet. After washing his hands, he slapped his cheeks and again pulled the edges of his mouth into a smile. His eyes were shining, seeing in the reflection the cackling face of a killer, the lifeless eyes of a friend. When he slept that night, he saw the lifeless eyes of so many, felt the flames, saw the monsters that came down from the sky that day. The day the cataclysm consumed the Earth. He would gasp every time he woke up, feeling as if he had been pulled from the rubble again. To hide the bags under his eyes, he would leave for the bus before his mother could see him.
"Sven," someone called to him.
He turned and saw that girl, she was smiling at him, the same kind of smile he had. But she had clearly been crying.
'Should I ask if she's all right?'
'Does she want to spend time with me?'
'How can I talk to her, without reminding her of everything that happened?'
'Am I still her friend?'
All of these questions and more circulated through his mind as he walked with her.
"Careful Faith, he's clearly a jinx," one of the girl's at school said.
"How can you say something so horrible?" she demanded.
"Oh, you like Sven Reilly, of all people," they teased her.
"You people really are bitches you know, he went through something horrible..."
"So you feel sorry for poor Sven Reilly right?"
"No you idiots, he's my friend, if you took a moment to see beyond your own interests you'd know when someone was nice!"
He ran on the track, faster and faster. He strained his muscles at the gym, feeling the pain ringing in his muscles. He ate alone under a tree, an apple he'd bought from the store. He'd watch bullies pick on people for one reason or another, weight, religion, sexuality, some birth mark or the things they enjoyed. Again he would pull on the edges of his mouth for a smile, his eyes shining before he banged on the sides of the sink.
"Everything's all right," Sven said to his mother as he came into the house. "I'm looking forward to dinner," he ran up the stairs to play games.
Before he could even boot up his computer however, his mother barged into the room
"Now I know something is wrong, Sven, please talk to me," she had tears in her eyes as she gripped his shoulders. "Please, I need to know if there is something wrong, you have to talk to someone."
"There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong," he repeated.
"Faith called the other day, she's worried, you don't talk to her anymore, you haven't been in touch with James or Lazlo and they've been trying to call you too. Don't you even look at your phone anymore? I know it seems like no one could understand what you've been through, but that isn't the point, if you don't let good things into your life then that negativity will just well up inside, until it'll come out in the worst way imaginable," she explained.
"Just leave it be mom, please just leave it be," he said.
"I can't, I can't sleep at night knowing that my boy is upset, and don't try to deny it because I can tell. I've tried to keep distant, I've tried to let you have control because it's your business Sven but there has to be a limit. I'm worried, so is Kate and so are your friends," she continued to talk to him.
"I'm...just stop all right," he shook his head and rushed past his mum.
She tried to grab his shoulder, but he shook her aside. A look of regret crossed his face when they knocked over the photo at his desk. It was his dad, crouched beside Sven's younger self, an oversized riot helmet covering the boy's head. Sven broke off into a run down the stairs, going out through the front door.
"SVEN! SVEN COME BACK!" he heard his mother yell.
He just ran, ran as fast as he could. Running into the city, he cut through a network of alleyways and dashed across the blocks.
'They don't need to know, they don't need to know, it'll just be too much trouble for them. I'll mess up, I'll make a mistake,' he thought.
He kept seeing his mistakes during martial arts lessons. Kept on seeing himself slipping when he practiced climbing, or falling into water when Arthur would take him kayaking. Dragging his feet through an alleyway, he saw the flames of the cataclysm, the people he tried to help. He threw a stone at a monster, called out to it, taunted it and then he ran. But that was the limit of how much he helped, he kept running even as monsters attacked people around him.
'I want to do good, I want to be good, I want to achieve something good,' he collapsed and put his fingers in his mouth, pulling them up into a smile.
Sven yelled, tears streaming down his face as he pulled the edges of his mouth down. A black haze began to seep out of his mouth, he coughed as a black circle formed behind. Twisting his head around, Sven screamed and fell into the dark portal. He emerged as a shadow, eyes glowing red and red lightning crackling across his body. His scream echoed through the streets as he darted from one rooftop to another. He smashed his head into the floor, dragging clawed finger tips across his face and roaring.
"This darkness will consume you!" he heard someone say to him.
He returned home, called his mother and stayed silent as she cried and yelled at him.
"I'm sorry, I'm just scared," she said afterwards.
"You need...to let...the light in!" again he heard that voice.
He went to bed and dreamt that he was under that rubble again. Waiting to die, knowing the chances of anyone coming to help him was slim. He tried to move his hand and failed.
'I'm going to die here, dad, where are you?'
"I...want to...save...anyone!"
'Save! Can you, help? Help everyone? Help me? No!'
"You...don't want...to...be saved?"
'I want to...save people, I want to do...good!'
"Good...I had...forgotten that. But I can't do it!"
'Maybe, I can help.'
"Help...I'd nearly forgotten...what it felt like...to help...to save...to be good."
'I'll let you in.'
He felt a sensation across his body, a light that warmed his heart. Red markings glowed across his skin, illuminating the darkness that the rubble had surrounded him with.
"Thank you."
He opened his eyes, the next day. And he was wondering if what he had just dreamt was a memory, or just a construct of his subconscious mind? He had been saved, by Arthur, not some distant voice. After dressing, Sven walked to school before his mother could talk to him. This time, he didn't wave at people as he passed them, he didn't smile, didn't talk. And when he ran it didn't provide him with the relief he once had.
"I don't understand Uatu, why am I here?" Aaron asked.
He watched the boy walk through school, watching him try to work in his class.
"Strange, I did nothing to bring you to this place Aaron Stack, this is an insignificant life," Uatu said.
"How can you regard people like that? I recognise that boy, he survived when so many others didn't," Aaron said.
He followed Sven through the school, watching as he saw one of his friend's getting knocked to the floor. James Crowner, Tito, the boy had his glasses knocked off.
"Hasn't your uncle's company made some kind of fund for mutant freaks?" one of the bullies asked.
"My uncle run's a non-profit yeah, it's about funding programs to help mutants control their abilities," Tito said.
"You're helping those mutant people?" a girl asked.
"I'm not, my uncle is, besides what's the big deal, when someone needs help you help them," Tito said.
"What about the victims of those mutants? Is he working on a cure? Because really that's the only help they need."
"Look, if you want me to react in anger, you're going to be disappointed," Tito said to the bully, wiping his glasses and putting them back on.
The young man huffed, kicking out Tito's legs and in turn knocking his glasses off. Tito reached for the specs, only for the bully to squash them.
"How pathetic must your family life be, that you'd choose physical violence as a way to get satisfaction from it," Tito said.
It was said without fear or remorse, and the bully kicked Tito without fear or remorse.
"Now whose pathetic?" the boy asked.
Sven's fist snapped forward, punching the boy in the face. His punch was so hard that he knocked some of the boy's teeth out. He knocked him to the floor, and the people around him looked at Sven in shock and horror. The timid and calm guy they knew before was gone.
"FUCK YOU! FUCK ALL OF YOU! YOU WANT A REACTION! HERE'S YOUR FUCKING REACTION! YOU HURT PEOPLE! YOU LAUGH AT OUR PAIN AND OUR DISCOMFORTS! YOU HATE US WHEN WE ACHIEVE SOMETHING! YOU HATE US WHEN WE DON'T!"
He kept punching the boy, tears flooding out of his eyes.
"YOU BLAME US FOR YOUR PROBLEMS! YOU HURT US AND YOU CALL IT A JOKE!"
He screamed, Tito grabbing his arm.
"Stop it," he said.
Sven screamed at the top of his lungs, falling to his knees.
"Stop Sven," Faith whispered to him.
She wrapped her arms around him, gently, lovingly.
"I'm here," she whispered.
"Strange," Uatu whispered.
"Not really, when you have so much pain and depression in you, it starts to boil like a pot on a flame. and unless you let those feelings out some time, they'll end up exploding. This environment was toxic for him, it's just common in both childhood and even adulthood, some people don't want to understand how something can hurt others, sometimes they don't even understand limits," Aaron explained.
"We have wasted time, there must be something in the world more significant than this boy's break down," Uatu said.
"I think this is something of significance, something worth looking into maybe," Aaron said.
"Sven, I'm here, Sven, SVEN!"
He opened his eyes, and saw Faith standing over him. And what was that man behind her, some kind of translucent man with machine parts? Sven looked at his side, seeing Faith trying to use a paramedics jacket to stop his bleeding. He supposed that explained his confusion and possible hallucinations, he was just losing a lot of blood.
"Sven, oh god, SOMEONE! SOMEONE HELP!" Faith screamed.
'She's crying,' Sven thought.
The tears dropped onto his face as Faith kept yelling for someone to help. She tied the jacket around Sven's chest, again trying to stop the bleeding.
'She cried when we lost Laura, when Lazlo and Cade...' he tried to move his hand to touch her face.
'Oh yeah, doesn't work that way does it? I've lost too much blood, my body is shutting down, oh wait...' he saw his fingers twitch.
"Is this how you truly want to die?"
'Now I'm hearing voices, it must be getting close...'
"Quit being so melodramatic!"
'My subconscious must not be very nice!'
"I'm not you idiot, come on you haven't suppressed me all this time have you, or did you think you were having dreams every time you remembered being in that rubble? You let me in Sven, you let so many of us in, but ever since you've been rejecting that goodness inside of you, that allowed you to save so many of us," the voice explained.
'I couldn't save anyone that day,' Sven felt tears on his cheek, they were still Faith's.
"Wrong, you saved a little girl when you threw a rock at a demon. The gates of different hells opened that day, and you saved someone from those demons. When the spirits of the great beyond were in need of a host, you opened your soul to them. And when I wanted to help someone, you let me in so that I could keep you alive for that second longer," the voice explained.
'It was Arthur who saved me,' Sven thought.
"He saved us both, but what truly saved you was your friends, people like her."
He looked up at Faith as she pulled on his arm. They were similar weights, though she had the advantage on muscle. He was however a dead weight, lifting a person wasn't a simple matter for the human body. She draped his arm over her neck and began carrying him away.
"I'll save you," she said.
Yukimura looked down at the scene, arms crossed and eyes shining with tears as he worried for his student. In particular he admired the strength of the girl carrying him.
"Faith," Sven whispered.
"That's right, she saved you, the old man on that rooftop saved you, anything they could have done in their lives, wouldn't have made a difference without you. Who you are, allowed them to help you, allowed their actions to matter. You let them into your heart Sven," the voice said.
Sven closed his eyes and when he opened them, he wasn't standing with Faith anymore. Both of his arms were intact, and he was devoid of bruises. He even felt better, no longer cold or delirious. Then he looked in front of him and widened his eyes. There was a tall man standing in front of him, dressed in red and grey armour, his round helmet had a knight's visor on it, his white and red gloves matching the white material on his chest and boots. A kanji symbol for heroism glowed red on the figure's chest.
"Who are you?" Sven asked.
"He who resides within you, they whom reside within you, I am both individual and embodiment, collective and singular. We and I am Aeon," as the figure spoke, others appeared beside him.
A man in a grey suit with mech style spikes on his helmet. With similar helmet designs appeared a man in grey armour with red gauntlets boots, and a helmet, a gold A glowing on his chest. There was also a man in white, red and black armour, a black 'A' stamped on his left breast. And there was a man with more tech based grey and red armour, followed by a man in white and red armour, with a sword on his back.
"You, are Aeon too!" the figures said.
"Aeon," Sven whispered.
"Life, a period of time, in this case, the years and moments that people spend dedicated to one thing."
"Heroism," Sven said.
"Yes, a parent whom raises a child, a rescue worker whom chooses to make a living out of helping, a stranger helping another on the street, a teacher whom guides a group or individual, an artist whose work inspires another. We are the spirit that those actions have created, the spirit of heroism. One of many spirits whom were released when the barriers between worlds were breached during the cataclysm. A great disaster that you survived, a disaster that saw your father, his partner and many other individuals saving others."
"Yes, that's what I wanted to do, save others," Sven looked at his hand and smiled.
But then a look of utter depression crossed his face.
"But I failed, I, I failed," he trembled.
"Life is never completely without its challenges," a voice said behind Sven.
He tried to turn his head but couldn't, the voice seemed familiar, like that old man whom took him to the paramedics.
"No one has a perfect life, everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is. We all wish we had super powers, we all wish we can do more than we can do. You may have super powers kid, but that doesn't make you perfect, it doesn't mean there are always going to be things that you can do, not alone at least. But the greatest power you can have, is the same power all those others before you have.
"Those people who help others, simply because it is the right thing to do, are indeed, without a doubt, real Super heroes!"
"Wise words, now it's your turn Sven, embrace what you can do, embrace your power. The power of a spirit knight, and the will that all super heroes bear," the Aeons joined back into one, offering their hand to Sven.
The red markings appeared over his skin again, but this time they turned blue. He closed his eyes and nodded, taking the hand that Aeon offered. Light shined across Sven's body, red fabric began to wrap around Sven's hands and lower body, a type of under suit. Then grey armour covered his body across the suit, leaving his red gloves exposed. A helmet formed over his face, the spikes of the visor pointing outward past his head. The knights visor covered his eyes, which glowed blue as blue markings spread across his armour.
"I am the spirit knight, he who will try, because it is right, Aeon!" Sven's voice echoed out of his helmet as he squeezed his hands into fists.
"That's the spirit kid, the power you have gained is the power to connect people's souls, even without the spirits of Aeon, you can draw on the heroism within others if they let you. Remember kid, forward, ever onward..."
"Excelsior!" Sven said with the wise man.
He opened his eyes, the blue glow was shining across his body. Faith looked at him in fear for a moment, before she returned the embrace he gave her.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said.
He wasn't in the armour he had manifested in that mindscape, his arm was still gone, and he was still bleeding.
"I didn't talk to you, I didn't tell you or the others where I was going, or what I was feeling," he said, stroking her hair.
"I lost friends too Sven, I grieved too, we'll always miss them, but we'll always have each other," she said.
"I know, I'm sorry it took me so long to realise that," Sven said.
Yukimura suddenly landed behind Sven, his arms crossed with his back to his student. The glow across Sven's body spread to Faith, and after a moment's hesitation, she nodded to Sven.
"Are you ready Sven Reilly?" the old ninja asked.
"Yes."
Yukimura clapped his hand onto Sven's back.
"YOSH! IKUZE!" he yelled.
Faith and Yukimura turned into glowing blue and red orbs respectively. Sven's body shined with a white light, destroying his facial features and clothes, blue eyes glowing on his face. He flew at first, the orbs circling around him. The light gave way for the red fabric, then the grey armour. When the light faded, Aeon landed on the rooftop overlooking the battle between heroes, elementals and hybrids.
"Sven-san, you've forgotten most of your training, but draw on my power and I will show you the ways of the Shinobi," Yukimura spoke through his mind.
"Wow, I can understand Japanese now, I heard him Sven, you did all right in Arthur's self defence classes...but I've always been better at throwing punches than you," Faith said.
Within the depths of the Orbs, they appeared as respective red and blue spirits.
"Thanks Faith, I'm sorry, but can I borrow...your power?" Aeon asked.
"Anytime Sven," Faith said.
Aeon grabbed the blue orb as he jumped, diving down towards the streets. The blue orb shattered, and ribbons flew around Aeon's armour. The blue ribbons wrapped around his arms and legs, forming armoured gauntlets and boots. The visor across Aeon's eyes also became clear and blue as he pulled his fist back, energy gathering and forming a boxing glove styled construct. He slammed it into the ground as he landed between Luke Cage, Maverick, Iron Fist and the Mammal and fish hybrid.
"Who the hell?" Maverick muttered.
Aeon turned to the three heroes and nodded to them, before running towards the hybrids. The Mammal hybrid swiped at him and he shifted on his legs, bobbing to the left and delivering a cross to the creature's maw. He practically danced on his feet, delivering multiple punches to the hybrid's chest and face. The fish hybrid jumped over the mammal hybrid, shooting his tongue out and wrapping it around Aeon's neck. Sven kept hold of the tongue, and took a few of the mammal hybrid's strikes.
"That's it Sven, take a few punches, to give a few punches," Faith said.
Iron Fist and Maverick suddenly punched the mammal hybrid in the stomach, so hard that it knocked the creature out. Sven wrapped the fish hybrid's tongue around his arm and began to spin on one toe. The creature's eyes rolled into the back of its head before Sven threw him.
"My turn," Luke said, cracking his knuckles.
He pulled his arm back, and then slammed his fist into the fish hybrid's face, sending him flying onto the mammal hybrid's back.
"What are you doing Sven-san?" Yukimura asked as Aeon knelt by the unconscious hybrids.
"I know that this power within you both was born of an infectious darkness, but please, let me save you, help me to save others," the markings across Sven's armour glowed again
Those same markings glowed across the hybrids. Slowly, the two creatures turned back into men and black orbs floated in the palms of Aeon's hands. Those orbs gradually shifted into brown and yellow, and green and silver orbs respectively for the mammal and fish hybrid.
"Thank you," Sven said as the gauntlets faded from his armour, the blue orb floating around him.
He crushed both the hybrid orbs, and his armour suddenly changed. Though the colours remained the same, a metallic lion's head formed on his right shoulder, his hand shaped itself into the maw and head of a wolf, a bear's head formed on his chest plate, and his right boot grew sharp claws. On his left shoulder formed an octopus's head, whilst his hand shaped into a hammer head. A fin formed on his back, and his boot shaped into a webbed claw. Finally a combination of tentacles and lion's mane formed out of the back of his helmet.
"Hybrid forms, unlocked!" Yukimura let out an engrish word, making Faith chuckle.
Sven looked up at the sky, seeing the Elementals firing at the other air born heroes. Elizabeth wrapped her tentacles around Angel, wrapping his wings. Aeon jumped upwards shooting tentacles out of his shoulder, latching them around Elizabeth. The fire and nature elemental grit her teeth together she fired blasts at Sven. He swerved to the right, running along the wall of a building before retracting his tentacles and jumping towards Elizabeth. She hit him with a blast, and grabbed his waist with her tentacles. Angel used all the strength of his wings and broke the tentacles binding him apart. Aeon then used the jaws of the shark and wolf arms to snap through the tentacles binding him. Elizabeth flew back in shock and horror.
"No, NO! WE'RE THE RIGHTEOUS!" she yelled.
Angel grabbed the fin on Aeon's back, smirking at him as he began flying around Elizabeth, dodging her blasts and tentacles. He span through the mass of tentacles that Elizabeth fired at him. Diving towards Elizabeth, he let Aeon go and sent the armoured hero flying towards Elizabeth. A flaming wolf's head formed around Aeon's right hand, and he struck Elizabeth with a punch. Then, water formed around him as he span, a blue construct of a Hammerhead forming over his left hand. He swung through the barrier Elizabeth conjured, knocking her into Tanya. They and Kim fired energy blasts at Aeon, pushing him towards the ground.
"We are the righteous, the heroes, and our Saviour is..."
"Sorry, but we're not in the habit of letting people gang up on new friends," Luke Cage said.
"Indeed," Beast jumped off of a lamppost, taking Angel's hand.
Iron Fist ran and jumped onto Luke's cupped hands. The Harlem hero launched his friend towards Kim. Iron Fist slammed his hand into Kim's back, a shockwave of KI throwing her off course. Angel span around and threw Beast. Hank rolled into a ball, impacting with Tanya. Elizabeth grit her teeth together, flying back to the safety that Lilith provided. Spider-man jumped from one building to another, refilling his web cartridges every time he emptied them, forming an intricate wall of webs.
"This is going to put me back a lot," Peter muttered.
Lightning flashed and the eyes of Spider-man's mask widened. He saw Thor flying by his hammer towards Lilith. The man formerly known as Donald Blake slammed his hammer into Lilith's face. He quickly fell towards the ground, leaving a crack in the concrete as he landed.
'Wait a minute, he's not flying, he can't actually fly,' Spider-man realised.
Thor threw his hammer, hitting Lilith's chin. With a motion of his hand, the hammer flew back to it. Swinging it by the leather strap, Thor built up momentum and threw it again. Only this time, a sword batted the projectile back towards him. Thor caught the hammer, but the impact slid him across the floor. Quickly recovering, Thor span his hammer around, using the speed to block an energy blast the Saviour fired. Gary swung his sword again and again, launching energy projectiles at Thor. But the god of thunder bashed them aside. Saviour landed in front of Thor and swung his sword. Hammer and blade clashed, and the hammer won, shattering the blade.
"I have the same Asgardian training as you Thor, and the training of the Hand, the protectors of K'un Lun, I am the ultimate hero," Saviour shuffled his feet into a stance.
"Ultimate hero huh?"
He looked up and saw Iron man. Tony swooped downwards, catching Saviour with a punch. A shield then slammed into the side of Saviour's face. Thor finally delivered a swift uppercut with his hammer, striking Gary in the chin and throwing him back.
"I don't know about any of those disciplines, but try army basic," Cap said.
"Ditto that, and real life Asgardian training," Thor added.
"Youtube!" Iron man said and Cap looked at him in confusion, whilst Thor shrugged.
Gary got up off of the floor, only for Thor's hammer to fly into his face. He stepped back, deflecting Cap's shield with his wrist. Iron man hit him in the shoulder with a repulsor blast and Cap threw his shield. Gary ducked, only for Thor to throw his hammer, rebounding it off of Cap's shield and hitting Gary in the back. As Saviour was thrown forward, Iron man flew in and kneed him in the chin. Cap caught his shield and flipped over Iron man, striking Gary across the face, taking off a piece of his helmet.
'I can't, I can't,' he thought, futilely blocking and dodging, only to be hit in the end. 'I cannot lose,' the anger surged within him.
His veins turned black, and a crack formed in his back. Thor charged his hammer with electricity, and threw it towards Gary. Iron man gathered energy into his chest and fired what he dubbed the 'Uni-beam'. Cap span around, building up the momentum before he threw his shield into Gary. The three attacks collided with him, shattering the armour around his chest and mouth. He was thrown onto his back, only for a black and red centipede to burst out of it, lifting him off of the floor.
"I CANNOT LOSE!" he screamed.
The Centipede reformed into a pair of wings, mandibles of energy poked out of Gary's mouth as he roared. He flew towards the trio, focused entirely on ripping them apart. But Thor threw himself upwards, and Iron man grabbed Cap and flew out of the path. Then, Optimus drove at full speed, slamming into Gary and knocking him off course. He bounced across the road, his armour breaking apart and the construct on his back flailing like a broken limb. Gary raised his head and saw Dark Hawk and Danvers joining Iron man in a strafing run on Lilith. Lilith raised her hand, drawing the three flyers away. She took a step forward, and the flowers she left in her wake expanded, the otherworldly grass grew on top of the cracking pavement.
"Fascinating, an entirely new environment growing beneath the First Woman's feet," Beast said, looking at the new plants.
He flipped away from Lilith, seeing her foot absorb a car that Captain Ultra threw at her. Danvers fired two blasts from her hand, only for yellow lights to spread across Lilith's body. She fired a blast from her eyes, hitting Carol and knocking her out of the sky. Thor jumped onto one of the rooftops and called down bolts of lightning on the giant.
"She's absorbing energy, inorganic material, and you guys all saw her absorb a woman right?" Spider-man asked.
"So that's organic tissue she absorbs, but like the bouncing guy said she's producing an environment with every step," Iron man explained.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Angel asked.
"It isn't," Charles's voice echoed through the minds of every gathered hero. "You must stop Lilith, you must stop her from spreading her Eco-sphere, if you don't, the new life she creates will absorb every living thing in the city. So many souls have already been lost in the creation of Lilith," he explained.
"If she hits the water, she'll spread unchecked and overrun the entire planet," Optimus said.
He fired a few blasts from his cannon. But much like Carol's blast, she absorbed the energy.
"Wait, Spidey's webs seemed to stop him," Dark hawk said.
"Well technically I don't shoot webs, it's a chemical compound!"
"I always suspected your web slinging was artificial, that's a pretty good substance you've made, smart kid," Iron man muttered.
"Oh thanks," Spider-man said bashfully.
"All right, Spider-man use as much webbing as you've got to make another wall and block Lilith's path. Anyone who can fire energy blasts, I need you people to build a trench in the ground," Cap explained.
"I'll help, as soon as I've..." Cyclops ducked, avoiding the fire hybrids hook swords.
He fired a blast that the hybrid deflected. The hybrid swung his swords down, only for Aeon to jump in his way. Sven blocked the swords with his gauntlets.
"Go help them, I'll take care of this," he said and Cyclops nodded his head.
Aeon was knocked back by the hybrid, grabbing the red orb that was his ninja master.
"Remember the teachings Sven-san," Yukimura said.
"Here it goes," Sven shook his hands about before he began to form symbols with them.
The orb flew into his armour, making it glow as Sven spoke the words.
"RIN!"
"PYO!"
His armour became slimmer, the knight's visor getting cast aside for a solid black visor. A grey mask formed over his mouth, and grey ribbons waved behind his neck.
"TO!"
"SHA!"
He span rapidly, knocking the fire hybrid back. The armour on his feet turned into a shape similar to Japanese Tabi socks and sandals, slim armour surrounded his heels whilst black trousers formed around his legs.
"KAI!"
"JIN!"
"RETSU!"
He brought up his leg, stopping the fire hybrid's blade with a kick. But when the fire hybrid brought his sword around for another strike, a bullet slammed into his hand, knocking his weapon out of it. On the nearby rooftop, Frank Castle lifted the rifle he had used onto his shoulder.
"Go for it kid," he said.
The grey and red armour formed over Sven's chest, black pads on his shoulders. A ninja star span behind him, forming a symbol on his back.
"ZAI!"
"ZEN!"
With the declaration of the final symbol, a sheathed Ninjato formed in Aeon's hand. He drew the Ninjato, revealing its serrated blade, and the red line travelling through it. Aeon span in midair, the grey scarf on his armour fluttering behind him as he brandished the Ninjato in a reverse style grip.
"AAAGH! Remember what I told you, reverse grip isn't practical, badass though!" Yukimura said.
"Exactly old man," Faith said.
Aeon ran at the fire hybrid, dashing in a trail of blue energy as the hybrid teleported in a burst of flames. They slammed their blades together, once, twice, Aeon then threw his blade up and kneed the man in the face. He formed a few signs with his hands, and suddenly, six other copies of him appeared.
"Wait a minute, I thought you always hated Naruto Sven," Faith said.
"The anime, so many filler arcs it just got so tedious," the six rushed forward, but each one fell to a single slice.
The fire hybrid gasped, realising the clones were just illusions. He crossed his swords together as Aeon came down from the air, swinging the glowing Ninjato down.
"Now declare it Sven-san, in one great yell!" Yukimura boisterously drove his student on.
"AEON-BLADE!" Sven yelled.
He cut through the hook swords, slashing the hybrid's chest. A line of red energy appeared over the hybrid's chest as Aeon turned around. Sven flicked the blade and then slid it back into the sheath. Just as the blade slid into place, the red line on the hybrid exploded and the man yelled in pain. His body burst into flames, Aeon's armour returning to normal as he fell. Sven caught the man, the markings across his armour glowing orange.
"Let it go, I'm here to help, let me use your power, to save people," he said softly.
The hybrid turned back into a man, falling into unconsciousness. Aeon gently laid him down, holding an orange orb with a fire hazard sign on it.
"Fire element, unlocked!"
Aeon turned towards Lilith, and where all the other heroes had gathered to stop her. Except he didn't need to run up to catch them, he stood alongside them already. Sven squeezed his hand into a fist, reaffirming his determination with his favourite phrase.
"Excelsior!"
Next Chapter 17: Nature's balance
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I know I enjoyed writing it.
Sven's powers are a form of fusion with people's spirits, able to manifest the abilities of super humans, or manifest an armour style based on the person/spirit he's fusing with.
Aeon: A design and power system based upon Japanese heroes like Super Sentai/Power Rangers and Kamen Rider. In future chapters, this'll present so many different combinations for future team ups to be had.