Rebirth: The Origin of Zeroth
I had a dream last night. It is one I am certain will one day become reality.
It is a premonition more certain the stars.
I
always said, "The stars hold mysteries man will never hold." The power,
the magic they hold has and always will mystify man and mutant alike. I
devoted my life to them, to understand the mystery, to harness the
magic. It was a life well spent; I had no regrets save one. I never did
the one thing I should have done.
I remember the day I
discovered I was a mutant. It was Halloween Night, 1936. I was out with
a girl, Priscilla Collins. We were leaving a mutual friend's party when
a group of Darklings, precursors to the Hellions, showed up. They
threatened us, told us if we didn't hand over her purse, they'd "mess
up her pretty little face." I was enraged that they'd threatened her,
but I could do nothing. I tried to stand up for her, but one swift blow
to the solar plexus and I was laid low. I was a student of physics, not
a fighter. They approached Priscilla drawing their knives with
murderous intent.
In my desperation, I tapped into something
deep within me, a power that had lain dormant for 18 years. With a cry
of anger, I flung my assailants into the air, crushing their bodies
with a power more primal than any mankind had ever known. They were
dead before they ever hit the ground. My eyes burned with violet fire
as I surveyed what I had done. I had no choice, I rationalized, they
would have killed us had I not done it.
Then, I looked at
Priscilla. Her mouth was agape with horror at what I had done. I
remember her words as crystal clear as the day she spoke them. "You...
you're a monster! Stay... stay away from me!"
She ran away screaming. That day, the day I discovered the primal force within me, was also the day I vowed never to use it.
And
so my life passed by, and with it, thoughts of what might have been.
But my memory of that night, the twisted and contorted bodies and the
look of horror on Priscilla's face always held me back. Instead, I
devoted my life to science, to understanding the forces that boiled
within me. To some, I was a genius, compared the likes of Albert
Einstein and later, Steven Hawking. To others, I was a raving lunatic
with poetic delusions. It didn't matter to me. All that mattered was
that I could control the forces within, and ensure that I'd never have
to use them. And I never did, until that day.
I am going to die.
Very soon.
Five
months ago, I had been diagnosed with liver cancer. Rather than spend
the remaining months of my life wasting away, I worked even harder. I
realized that for all my work, I still felt as if I had accomplished
nothing. I worked feverishly, to do something to validate my life. It
was then I realized that I had wasted my true potential. Irrational
fear had prevented me from doing any real good with my life. Instead of
trying to understand my power, I should have learned to use it.
Then,
she re-entered my life. Priscilla, whom I'd not seen in sixty-six
years. She entered my lab, looking not a day older than forty. She said
she had a way, to make my life mean something. In this, the twilight of
my life, I figured I had nothing left to lose. I followed her blindly,
into a trap. The Rikti laid in wait for me, and I foolishly fell into
their hands. Rikti science had given Priscilla her youth, in exchange;
she would deliver me unto their grasp. For what? What would the Rikti
want with a feeble old man?
I'm not afraid.As long as he understands, my mission will be complete.
At this point, I don't think of my life as precious.
The
secret deep inside, the power to control the primal force which shapes
the stars themselves. They carried me into one of their ships, and took
me off this world to conduct their experiments. Their machines kept me
alive while endured every manner of examination their twisted minds
could comprehend. Yet their every experiment failed, they lacked
something, an x factor that would allow them to control my power. The
Rikti leaders grew agitated, and Priscilla even more so. Finally, one
night I felt a warm light envelope me. Death, I hoped, had come at last.
Rather,
for a second time, an extraterrestrial forced would take interest in
me. These beings called themselves The Aegis. They explained themselves
as ancient enemies of the Rikti. They told me I had been chosen, but
this mortal frame was not long for this world. I would have to be
reborn. The wrapped me in a field of light, and sent me deep within the
cosmos. My exodus ended at the ultimate expression of destruction and
creation, a black hole. I was sent spiraling past the event horizon. My
body was bathed in radiation, then violently torn asunder. The
consciousness it once held, though, expanded to proportions
unimaginable, For a brief moment, I was one with the universe. I saw my
home, Earth, as it began, as it grew, as it matured. But the final
sight disturbed me, as I saw it end. Blackened seas and crimson skied,
lightning blighting the landscape. Humanity was reduced to a scattered
afterthought on a dead world.
Somehow, I willed my body back to
together. The Aegis brought me to their ship, then deposited me back on
Earth. I could feel my power boiling to the surface. I would not waste
this life; I would use these powers to prevent the future I had
foreseen.
My resolve was tested, however, when I came across a
young woman. Her eyes widened in fear. I looked in a mirror, and saw
that while I was once again young and strong, my skin was black as
night, my hair a white as starlight, and my eyes burned with violet
fire. Penance, no doubt, for a lifetime already wasted. Then, I saw
Priscilla, the woman who'd been a catalyst to everything in my life.
She was glowing with the same energy as the Aegis, emitting a sense of
purity I'd not known since that horrible night all those years ago. She
mouthed something to me, words I could barely hear, but would stay with
me for the rest of my newfound life. Her body dissipated, and became
one with the stars.
At last, you understand.
I
silently carry this legacy with me, of a wasted lifetime, and knowledge
of a bleak future. As long as I draw breath, I will fight the fate The
Aegis shown me, and make this life worth something. I realize their
will be hardships to endure and sacrifices to be made. I understand the
battles will be hard, but I will fight on. She helped me understand.
Even when this body lies sleeping at the bottom of the ocean of eternity...
I will continue to love and yearn for you.