Chapter 14

Arc 1

Club Zero

The matte black Maserati GranTurismo owned by none other than Sunstone City's "Man of Tomorrow" pulled up in the alleyway outside of his popular nightclub, Club Zero. He got out of his car and walked up to the door putting in the code and waiting for a buzz before swinging the door open and immediately walked up the steps going into his office. He walked into his office and saw Azalia Keating sitting on his couch with her feet up reading a newspaper.

"I don't know what it is about people putting their feet on my damn $30,000 table!" He shouted as he swatted her feet away making her put her newspaper down in annoyance. He walked over to his mini-bar and fixed himself a glass of scotch.

"Who spends that much on a freaking table?" She said setting the paper down on the table as he quickly downed the glass.

"Me. And you have a lot of nerve, demanding that I be here right now. You don't demand my presence. I demand yours."

"Okay, whatever boss. I did what you said, I found him and I absorbed his power." This made Miles turn to look at her with a smirk on his face. He let out a chuckle as he powered himself another glass of scotch and walked over to his desk, leaning up against it as he looked at his employee hired to do his dirty work.

"Really?"

"Really." She said as she rose her index finger with a malicious grin as a small ball of purple energy formed. Miles once again let out a chuckle as he shook his head taking a sip of his drink.

"Perfect. Just perfect. Everything is coming together. Did you see his face?" Yes, but she couldn't tell him that. If Miles knew the identity of the Blur, it would end badly for both Azalia and him. Azalia wanted to be the one to end him. After all, he was the one man who vowed to keep her safe but ended up being the one to hurt her. She wanted revenge. She wanted to be the one.

"I don't know who he is nor do I care. What I do care about is why do you need me to take his powers?" She asked standing up as she walked over to Miles looking to his brown orbs full of malicious intent.

"You will find out soon enough. But since you're going to be working for me, I can't have you out here without style." He said standing up quickly downing the drink of scotch and setting the drink down on the desk. He went behind the desk and pulled a silver briefcase handing it to her.

She glanced down at the briefcase with a vile smirk before looking back at Miles who returned her glance.

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Flashback

"And that's when I said where's dick." Cedric said finishing up on a funny story he was telling Azalia who was laughing at him. Azalia had her hair down to her shoulders and wore make-up now. Ever since Cedric had rescued her from Trent Stewart, she had been hanging out with him outside and inside the school. Or at least, whenever he wasn't with Kala. Azalia was starting to catch feelings for Cedric, she just hoped that he had the same feeling.

"Hey Cedric, I've been enjoying the time we've had together."

"Me too. It's nice to have friends."

"Yeah, it is. But I've been thinking and maybe-" Azalia was saying but was cut off when Kala walked up to the table poking Cedric in the shoulder. Cedric quickly turned his head to look at Kala.

The smile that was on Azalia's face slowly faded as she watched the pair exchange conversation. Once again, Kalani Rose had taken Cedric Harvey from her. Every time she would get close to admitting how she felt, Kala would swoop in and take him away. Little did she know, every single time that it was chipping away at her heart.

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Charge HQ

Cedric sat in his HQ on the couch on his phone. He was scrolling through articles trying to keep his mind at ease but nothing was working. Nothing. His mind kept going to Kala and his father. Kala being taken was a direct effect of the way he treated Azalia in High School. He put Kala above her. Hell, he put Kala above everybody except his mother.

"You never told me about the relationship between you and Azalia." Dr. Hart said as she walked into the living room area with her tablet in hand as she still worked tirelessly to find his best friend.

"You never asked." He said looking up at her.

"Well, now I'm asking."

"Let's just say Azalia's the result of me putting Kala above everyone. Azalia apparently had feelings for me. Feelings that I didn't return and turns out I hurt her. So much so that in high school, she started to copy a lot of things that Kala did and said they were her own."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." She quoted the famous quote making him exhaled as he nodded along.

"That applies very much to this situation right now."

"Well, have you thought about how you're gonna take her down?"

"No, I don't want to hurt her. But if I have to, I'll do it. And if she wants to take it to the extreme, I'll go there."

"You're not talking about killing, are you?"

"At this point, nothings off the table." He said with a sense of conviction in his voice. He stood up and walked away from Dr. Hart before she could even respond but she knew that he couldn't have been serious. Cedric was one of the nicest people she had ever met. Always brave, always looking to do the right thing, always looking to help people. He couldn't have been but at the same time, he was in distress. Anything goes when you're in distress.

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SCPD Station

As always, the Sunstone City Police Department was busy. And their station was a direct representative of that. Cedric walked into the bustling station of Police officers and detectives who kept the city as safe as they could to the best of their ability. Before, they were able to do that but with someone like Gemini running around with abilities and the abilities that Cedric has, at that. There was no telling what she could do or what she would do. It begs the question if there are more like her.

"Hey there Sunkid." said Lieutenant Rodney Harrison as he walked out in his button-up with black slacks. Sunkid was always the nickname, he called him. The sun was always bright, always beaming, full of light and that's what Rodney thought of Cedric, so it fits.

"Hey, Mr. Harrison."

"Call me Rod. And it's great to see you, glad you're alive. And you know if you ever want a spot on the squad, I can make a few calls to the academy and get you in."

"No thanks sir."

"Alright, just remember if you want to, doors always open. Your mom's at her desk." Rod patted Cedric on the shoulder before he kept on going, probably to the CSI lab.

Cedric walked through the precinct on his way to his mother's desk. On his way, he received a lot of greetings from some he recognized, and some he didn't. He looked at his mom, buried nose deep into some files for a case. He smiled as he shook his head.

"You always wanted this." Cedric said, making her look up with a smile as she then stood up and walked towards her son engulfing him with a hug. He kissed his mom on the cheek as they separated and looked around, looking for Kala's boyfriend.

"Where's Joey?"

"Don't tell me that's who you came to see."

"No. Not at all. Mom, I need you to keep him distracted. Keep him away from any TVs or anything." Kimberly folded her arms looking at him confused.

"Kala's been taken."

"What?! By who?" She whispered with a sense of worry in her voice.

"Azalia." Kimberly lowered her head and shook her head as she rubbed her hand over her face.

"You and your damn exs."

"Technically we never dated. But anyway, just keep him distracted. If I know Azalia, she'll want an audience. And I'm not gonna let her have one."

"There's something else that's bothering you. I can see it in your eyes."

"I think I screwed up with dad. He was just trying to protect me and I lashed out." He exhaled as he ran a hand over his hair feeling the combined stresses of the situation with Kala and his father.

"Don't worry about it. It'll all work out in the end. Trust me on this." She said placing her pam on his cheek reassuring him.

"I guess you're right. In the meantime, I'm gonna find her. I have to."

"Yeah, call me if you need any more help." Cedric nodded and started to walk away, bumping into Joey.

"Sorry Joe."

"It's cool man. Hey, have you heard from Kala? She's not returning any of my text or calls." Joey asked. Cedric was kind of hoping that he wouldn't run into him and now he did. Meaning he had to explain something or either lie.

"She's working. I spoke to Nat earlier. She said they've been busy working on a case. You know how she gets."

"Well, I guess I can say when she's into her work, she's truly into her work. Alright well, thanks."

"See ya." Cedric said as he quickly walked out of the precinct while Joey and his mother looked on. Joey had a confused look on his face as he turned back to his partner.

"Any reason, he was here?"

"Just to see his mama. Now get ready, I got a few leads I wanna check out." She grabbed her suit jacket and put in on making Joeynod. Joey placed his folder down on the desk and grabbed his jacket and his pistol.

"Got any in particular?"

"Just a few." Kimberly may have just found her way to keep Joey out of the office and distracted away from virtually everything.

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Abandoned Warehouse

Azalia walked into one of the few abandoned warehouses in Sunstone City. She was wearing the new suit that was provided to her by Miles Maverick. She was wearing a black skin tight suit with a X placed in the center of her suit with half of the X being red and the other half being blue. And the X was glowing. Her suit had a mask attached to her suit with her hair flowing from the top of the mask.

"Well, it's a very nice upgrade." She said as she clenched her fist while her fist glowed with purple energy.

"Thanks to the boss." She walked closer to a metallic pod looking at it with a smirk as her eyes began to glow.

"And now for you, Kalani Rose." She looked at the pod which Kalani Rose stood in with her eyes closed currently in a deep slumber while her rival from High School stared at her.

"I hated you. For years, I have hated you. You took from me, the one person that showed any interest in me. You couldn't stand the simple fact that your best friend was interested in someone else. You just couldn't handle the fact that we were on an equal footing, you just had to make sure that you were better than me. But now, I'm better. I'm the one with power. And just like how you took from me, I will take from you. Starting with your life." She chuckled as she looked on at her next victim.

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Bar

Koya AKA Damian McCollum, the millionaire CEO of McCollum Industries, Exiled King of Ryon and the father of Earth's Protector. All those accomplishments ,with the exception of being exiled, typically gave Koya a sense of pride. And normally, he would be happy but the argument with his son started to mess with his emotion. So much so, that it caused him to run to a bar and start drinking. The ironic part, the drinks had no effect on him due to his abilities.

"Just like a human." He said to himself. What his son said to him was getting to him. He was right, he wasn't a father to him. He wasn't there when he needed to wasn't there to teach his son how to drive or how to shave or how to talk to women or to fight. He was nothing more than a sperm donor.

"Keep 'em coming Mike." Koya said as he downed another shot of whiskey. The bartender nodded as he grabbed the open bottle and poured another shot.

"So you just gonna sit here and drink or are you gonna fix it?" Koya heard a familiar voice say making him turn around with a puzzled glare. It was her. The one woman that Koya could say he loved besides his fallen queen. She was the one woman that Koya thought about spending the rest of his days with. She was the one woman that he would give it all away for. She was the one woman, who made him feel like Earth was his new home even after centuries of living there.

"K-K-Kimberly. It's nice to see you."

"Save it KoKo." KoKo was the nickname that Kimberly gave Koya when she first met him those many, many years ago. It was then when things were so simple.

She walked towards her ex-lover and took a seat next to him. They both looked each, other up and down getting a glimpse at each other seeing how maturation was going for them both. Koya had to admit, in her older age, Kimberly had gotten much more beautiful in her older age.

"Still the same old Koya."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"KIm, I'm so sorry. I-"

"Save it. We'll go down that road another time. But right now, I need to explain something to you. You and your son are very much alike. I don't have to tell you that but you need to understand that he had to grow up without you. He had to learn to fight and protect himself which means he doesn't need someone to save him. I get where you're coming from but don't. The only thing he needs from you is to just make sure that he learns how to be the hero, he's destined to be."

"I don't think he really needs the help. You did a good job with that one."

"We. We did a good job. Even though you weren't there. You were the driving force for him. You're the reason, he made it his mission to be the great man he is today. To always stand by the people he loves. To always fight the good fight and never give up."

"Oddly enough, I think he turned out better than he would've if I was there." He said with a light chuckle as he looked down at the desk feeling the guilt.

"Once a good man told me that everything happens for a reason. Maybe you not being there was for a reason."

"Yeah maybe it was."

"Anyway, that's all I wanted. Maybe I'll see you around." Kimberly said as she stood up walking away from Koya as he looked on with a smile on his face.

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Charge HQ

Cedric stood in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in front of him as he looked down at the counter tops with a frown on his face. He still had a lot to think about and the biggest issue at the moment was finding Kala. He was supposed to the positive pillar of hope and not this negative pillar of despair. Positive. Negative. The energy she created couldn't have been Positive or Negative because she wasn't a natural born Ryonian. So if it wasn't positive or negative, it was neutral!

"I think I just found a key to find her." Cedric said to himself as he looked up. He quickly ran out of the kitchen and into the computer chamber to find Dr. Hart at work on the big computer looking for an energy signature.

"Doc, what have you been searching for?"

"I've been looking for an energy signature that matches you and your father."

"Try looking for neutral energy."

"What?"

"Look for a neutral energy signature. Since her Ryonian energy isn't natural, it's not gonna be positive or negative. It could only be neutral."

"Alright, if you say so." Dr. Hart began typing in the information to find the energy signature of the thorn in their side. A few seconds later, they got a ping for a location, Maverick Tower.

"Alright, stay on comms in case I need you." He said sas he walked out with a purpose as his suit materialized out of his BioMatrix as his eyes glowed blue while an aura formed around his body.

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Cedric flew towards Maverick Tower with a frown on his face as he looked on. He saw Azalia standing near the edge of the tower with a silver capsule next to her. He floated over to the ceiling and descended, planting his feet promptly on the ceiling. He lost his frown as he looked at the capsule and saw that it was Kala. He tried to take a step but Azalia raised a finger, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not so fast, lover boy."

"I'm not your lover. Never have been."

"You're right, you weren't. But you damn well could've been, if you weren't obsessing over her. We could've been something much more but you decided to break my heart and continue to worship the ground she stepped on. She never gave you the attention you wanted. She never gave you the chance."

"But all of that can change, right now. Together, we can rule this planet and reshape in our own image. We can finally be that couple, we always dreamed of."

"The couple you dreamed of. Not the one, I dreamed of." Azalia chuckled as she shook her head while Cedric stared her down.

"You are the biggest idiot walking on the face of earth. You just cost your best friend, her life." She said as she used the strength she absorbed from Cedric to push the capsule off the roof making Cedric shout.

"Noooo!" He dashed over the edge falling through the sky. He reached down and grabbed the hibernation pod. He looked through seeing her in a peaceful slumber despite the events going on. He punched through the door and ripped it off its hinges, throwing it off into the air. He reached down and gently grabbed Kala before jumping off the pod just before the pod hit the ground, exploding on impact.

Cedric landed in the middle of 13th street, creating a crater upon impact. He looked down to see Kala's eyes slowly blinking. She groaned as she raised a hand up to her head. As she regained her consciousness, Cedric made sure to have his eyes brighter than before.

"What happened? Where am I? Blur, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You're safe. What do you remember?"

"I remember being taken by this girl. That's it."

"Okay, do you think you can call 911 or do you want me to take you?" He asked with concern in his eyes. A real concern for her.

"Take me please." She wrapped her arms around his neck while he held her bridal style. He crouched down before exploding up into the air flying off.

Up on the roof of Maverick Tower, Azalia looked at the two fly off and frowned as she clenched her fist. She floated up in the air and followed the two flying off into the air.

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Sunstone General Hospital

Cedric dropped in front of the hospital and saw an ambulance parked out front. He walked towards the ambulance and pulled one of the doors open pulling out a stretcher. He placed Kala down on the stretcher as EMTs came running outside, right on que.

"Get her to the ER now!" Cedric shouted as he looked away seeing Azalia land a few feet away from him.

"Who the hell are you?!" asked one of the EMTs as he rushed over to Kala. But before Cedric could answer, Azalia dashed over to Cedric but before she could attack, he fired a ball of energy backing Azalia away.

"Nevermind, I'm good." the EMT said as he and his team rolled Kala into the hospital, leaving Cedric and Azalia off to fight. Azalia would dash over to Cedric looking to take him down but he quickly had it scouted and flew towards her, taking her down. They flew off into the air until they were into the docks. They both went through a series of crates until they landed through one with explosives creating an explosion that rocked them both.

Cedric stood up out of the flames, panting as he had a bit of blood coming from his nose and his lip. Azalia rose out of the flames as well with a bit of blood coming from the corner of her head. It was the fact that she was bleeding that was getting to him. This was the girl, he promised that he would never ever hurt. He promised her that he would dno nothing but protect her and here was hurting her, physically and emotionally.

"Azalia, I'm done trying to fight you. I'm gonna allow you to run. Get away from here. Go as far as you can."

"And if I don't?"

"I will have no choice but you hurt worse than I already have." She smirked as she looked him up and down once more. She slowly walked towards him as he clenched his fist prepared to defend himself if he needed to. She stood closely in front of him looking at him in his glowing blue eyes.

She caught him with a headbutt directly to the face making him back up a bit. He shook his head feeling a bit disorientated before he looked up only to be knocked backwards with an uppercut that sent him flying in the air with an uppercut sending him flying into a stack of crates. His impact shook some of the crates on top of the one he crashed into causing the ones on top to fall on to him. Azalia smiled looking at her damage.

Her smile faded as she saw the crate that was on top of her former crush move and get pushed off to the side. Cedric rose up to his feet with a frown on his face. He wiped a bit of blood from his mouth.

"Azalia, I don't want to hurt you. I've already warned you. End this now!" Cedric shouted. Azalea smirked as she rose in the air looking down upon Cedric before she raised her hands making two orbs of energy.

"I'm going to end it by ending you!" She put the two orbs together and made a beam of pure energy aiming it directly at Cedric looking to end the battle in her own way. She screamed out in anger as her beams made their way towards Cedric who put up a shield of blue energy grunting as he felt the strength of her energy beams pushing him away. Unfortunately for him, the shield broke down leaving the beams to send him flying once more going through several empty crates until he crashed into a ship that was docked there. Cedric groaned as he laid there in the debris in pain. He slowly rose up to his feet feeling the pain as Azalia came flying at him in full speed grabbing by the throat. She kept her hand around his throat and punched in the gut repeatedly before she kneed him in the ribs making him drop down to his knees in pain.

"Any last wishes?" Azalea said making a blade of energy appear in her hand holding it over him.

A-A-Azalia. P-P-Please." Cedric said despite the pain in his broken ribs. Azalia began to bring her hand down but stopped just above his head. She hadn't been able to see it but now that he was here in a weakened state, she remembered who he was. What he was? Although she loved him and he didn't return the feelings, he was still the man who was always willing to protect her even if it meant putting himself in harm's way.

She kneeled down and attached her lips to his, surprising him with a kiss. She pulled apart before he could say anything and bolted up in the sky while he clutched his ribs looking at her confused before he fell back on his back looking up at the sky as he panted for his breath.

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About 2 hours after his fight with Azalia, Cedric stood outside of Sunstone City General in his blue jeans with an olive green v-neck and "Wheat" timbs. Next to him was Natalia who leaned up against Kala's car tapping her feet anxiously. Thanks to his accelerated healing factor, he was healed. And if you factor in, him flying up to the sun that just boosts his factor even more.

"You alright there?" Cedric asked as he turned his head and looked at Natalia looking down at her foot.

"Yeah, just anxious. I hope she's not mad at me."

"Why would she be mad?"

"Because this whole thing is my fault. If I never would've wanted to stop for Burger Bros this-"

"Stop. Stop blaming yourself for something you didn't do. It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."

"I-"

"She's coming." Cedric smiled as he cut Natalie off again. She looked forward and saw their best friend walking out of Sunstone General. She looked around before her eyes set on Cedric and Natalia making her smile. Kala walked towards her two friends and almost immediately was engulfed in a hug by Natalia.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm glad too. I don't remember anything besides being taken up into the sky and waking up in The Blur's arms."

"The Blur? As in The Black-and-Blue Blur?"

"Yes and I have to say the pictures don't do him justice. He looks 10-times better in person."

"Tall, dark and handsome." Natalia and Kala both chuckled as Cedric stood in the background with a smirk. It felt weird to hear them talk about his vigilante self. It seemed like they put his "Blur" alias on a pedestal.

"Cedric, What you doing standing over there? Come over here." Kala said as both, her and Natalia, motioned for him to come join them for a group hug making him chuckle. He walked towards the two and engulfed them both in his arms. They all stood there in a group hug for a few minutes just enjoying the embrace of their friendship. The only problem was Cedric's stomach. A loud rumble could be heard making the girls frown as they looked around.

"What the hell was that?" Natalia asked as they all separated looking around in a defensive stance while Cedric put a hand on his belly.

"That was my stomach." Cedric chuckled making Natalia snicker while Kala rolled her eyes.

"Fine, We'll get Pops. Everybody get in." Kala said as Natalia handed her the keys while Cedric smiled walking to the car.

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Maverick Towers

Miles Maverick and his employee, Azalia stood inside of his state of the art advanced lab. Maverick had finally prepared to fix his friend, Adam Pierce. Adam laid on an operating table with cypernetic parts now. He had his left leg replaced with a silver titanium cybernetic. The entire right side of his body was replaced with a silver titanium cybernetic. His face was mostly replaced with the same silver titanium cybernetic. The rest of his body was covered in a black suit with the 8 point star in the center.

"Hook him up." Azalia grabbed the IV and put into Adam's vein and grabbed the other end putting it into her vein.

"Begin." Miles ordered as his AI system picked up on the command and the IV began to glow with the purple energy as the energy began to go through the IV into Adam's body. Azalia groaned as she began to feel herself get weak. The lights began to flicker in the lab making Miles look up at the ceiling before everything went out.

"What happened? Did it work?"

"You tell me." Azalia said standing up pointing to the table as Adam floated up to a vertical base while his eyes were glowing with energy.

"Finally, I can wipe that creature off the face of the earth."