Chapter Fourteen: The Coming Darkness
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The night sky was daunting as Static was knocked into a wall. Matrix was at his side, instantly making sure he was okay. Nitrix continued to battle it out with the three thieves. The one made of bricks managed to overpower her and throw her several yards away. Matrix gasped as her sister hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"Nightingale!" The redheaded man yelled.
The small girl nodded and began to create dark matter with her hands. Soon it shrouded everything and the thieves got away. When they could see again, Static and Matrix rushed to Nitrix's side.
"I'm fine." The pyro ground out as she stood up.
"Are you sure? Lux you took a hard hit." Matrix tried to keep her sister from moving.
"I'm fine." Nitrix snarled causing both of her comrades to back away.
They watched in silence as she walked past them and took off into the sky. Static looked at Matrix who shook her head, indicating that she did not know what was wrong.
Atrum was sitting on her bed when Lux climbed through her window. He gazed at her as her white hair fell across her face. He seemed to want to tell her something.
"Spit it out or get out." She snapped as she brushed her hair out of the way of her fac.
"You notice you're changing right?" He asked.
Lux shrugged, "I'm more irritated than usual, what does that matter?"
"How long has it been since you've killed?" Atrum smirked at her.
"Years. We both know that." Lux whispered.
Atrum stood up from the bed and approached her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. His lips brushed her ear as he spoke.
"I can sense the urge Lux Aeterna. You want to kill. You want to kill so badly, you don't care who the victim is. It may end up being Morgan." Lux stiffened but he continued, "You're becoming a true assassin Lux. You may not have killed in years, but once you start again, you won't be able to stop. I can save you from that though."
"How?" Lux asked.
"I can tell you your future, and you can prevent it. You just have to do me a favor." Atrum grinned.
"What's that favor?" Lux asked.
"I've loved you for so long Lux. You'll never reciprocate it though so do me this one favor, kiss me." He was dead serious.
The room seemed to grow heavy as Lux stared at Atrum. He wanted her to kiss him? It was such a small price to pay in exchange for her future. She figured she had no choice but to take the deal.
"Alright, close your eyes." Then her lips met his.
The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Lux pulled away and stared at Atrum, "Tell me my future."
Atrum grimaced before looking away and saying, "You return to Eros."
Then he was gone, vanished. Lux just stood with wide eyes as the words sunk in. She couldn't go back to that place. Then she realized that was Atrum's goal. If she knew the future she could prevent it and life would go on. Feeling a bit comforted, Lux sat on her window sill and stared into the moonlit sky. The thieves were going to strike again, and this time she'd be ready for them.
--
"Since when does Dakota have a nuclear plant?" Matrix asked as the four soared through the sky.
"Years, although I've never seen it before until today," Static answered.
As the heroes closed in on the reactors, they spotted the thieves carrying crates of uranium. Static nodded to Gear who threw zap caps at them. The larger thief became trapped and struggled to break free. Nitrix landed behind her and blasted her backwards and she hit the ground.
"Brickhouse!" The redheaded thief yelled.
He ran and tried to attack her but was knocked backward by Matrix.
"Gear, Static, grab those crates." Nitrix ordered as she and Matrix tried to hold off the thieves.
As Gear and Static raced to grab the crates, they disappeared into a pool of black.
"Ebon, of course you would be behind this." Static grimaced.
"You got that right hero; I see you've met my new recruits." Ebon leered as he rose from the ground.
Static tried to attack him but he quickly dodged and created a pool under Static and Gear's feet. Static grabbed Gear's wrist as the two fell into the pool and hung over a nuclear reactor.
"I'm going to give you the chance to see a nuclear reactor from the inside." Ebon sneered.
As he closed the portal and Static lost his grip, a cloud of darkness covered everything and the two heroes found themselves safe on the pavement, Matrix was at their side.
"Nightingale, what's wrong with you?!" Ebon yelled.
"You said no one would get hurt!" The small girl yelled back.
"You're going to regret this." Ebon hissed as he grabbed her and pulled her into a portal, the other two followed her.
When they were gone, Matrix looked at Gear and Static.
"Are you two okay?" She asked.
"We're fine, don't worry. I'm not so sure about Nightingale though." Static answered.
"Don't worry, I can track her." Nitrix stated as she walked over to them, not even asking if they were okay.
"Go then, and call us when you get close. We need to find out what they're building." Static ordered.
Nitrix nodded and took off running.
"She seems different lately." Gear remarked.
"Ever since…you know…she's been so on edge." Matrix nodded.
"Are you worried?" Static asked.
Matrix shook her head. She had come to learn that Lux could handle herself. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She also remembered what she had seen, and knew better than to pry. She could put herself in danger. It was okay to be a little selfish sometimes. Especially when your life is at stake, helping her sister wasn't worth it.
Time passed and there was still no call from Lux. Both Static and Gear felt uneasy about this, if something happened to Lux, it'd be their and Matrix's fault. They let her go alone.
"Nitrix to whomever wants to answer, I've found them at the Dakota football stadium. Move your butts and get over here." Relief filled her friends as Matrix answered, telling her they'd be there in a few minutes.
When they got to the stadium, they saw Nightingale shielding herself from bright lights. She seemed to be in pain. Matrix acted first, using a telekinetic push to turn the lights away from the helpless girl. When this happened, Nitrix leaped down from seemingly nowhere and picked the girl up. As Nightingale's comrades tried to stop her, Nitrix sent up a wall of fire and escaped.
Moments later she stood by Gear and Static. Nightingale held on to Static as they flew away from the stadium to safety. The heroes and Nightingale found refuge outside a supermarket where Nightingale sat on a bench. Static gave her a soda and they all surrounded her, to both protect her and stop her from escaping.
"So Nightingale, what's your story?" Static asked.
"Just call me Gail, it's my real name. And my story began a year ago, on the night of the Big Bang." Gail replied.
She told them her story of how, after the Big Bang light became poison to her. She was forced to run away and live in the sewers, in safety. She and her friends tried to find help from the outside world but found none. Then Ebon showed up and began his plan to shroud the city in darkness so he could rule. Matrix seemed touched by the story; Nitrix thought it was pretty pathetic.
"So being shunned justifies you shrouding Dakota in darkness? I don't think so." She snapped.
Gail looked away in shame as the other three heroes glared at her. Matrix dragged her sister off to the side.
"Could you be any bitchier?" The mentalist hissed.
"What does my name mean Morgan? You really think I sympathize with the 'night breed?'" Nitrix scoffed.
"It doesn't matter that your name means eternal light if your heart is filled with darkness, Lux Aeterna." The words were so clipped and cruel that even Lux was surprised.
"You're right, my heart is filled with darkness, so much darkness that I don't give a damn about what happens to little Ms. Gail and the city of Dakota. I'm out of here." Matrix watched as Nitrix turned and walked away.
Something wasn't right, and Matrix needed to know what.
--
The next morning, Lux heard Morgan enter the house. Since the sun was rising, she assumed the other three had been successful in stopping Ebon. Not that she cared, she had her own problems to deal with. She needed advice, from someone who she knew would understand. And that person was not Atrum Aeterna.
An hour later Lux found herself wandering around Gotham City. Batman had taken leave from the Justice League to watch over his city. She hoped she could find him. As she stood atop a building, her eyes scanned the entire city. No sign of Batman, probably because it was morning. So she had to find Bruce Wayne. As she leaped off the building she remembered the exact location of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce had mentioned it to her during her short stint with the Justice League.
As she walked down the sidewalk, she thought about what Morgan had said. Was she that cold? She always thought being a hero made up for her past but it turned out to just be a ruse. She knew she couldn't fight the monster inside. It was going to consume her whether she liked it or not.
"That's only if you let it Lux. I've seen you in action, you're a good person. You don't realize it though." Bruce chided her as she sat in the Batcave.
Finding him had been a lot easier than she anticipated. In fact, he was the first person she ran into when she walked into the Wayne Enterprises building.
"I feel like a fake though and Atrum is right, I have such a strong urge to kill. It's eating at me." Lux sighed, "I can't though because then I can never go back."
"Sometimes, it's best to go by your instinct." His words shocked Lux.
"Are you tell me to kill?!" She demanded and stood up, staring at him in shock.
"I'm not your father Lux, I don't have your best interests at heart and I'm not going to shield you from anything. The only way to learn from mistakes is to make them. If you kill, you kill, but control the urge, don't let it control you." Bruce finished.
"You may not be my father, but you play the part better than my own." Lux smirked, "I'll control the urge, and I don't have to kill, only when it's necessary. But I thought the Justice League was anti-kill?"
"You were built to kill, it's in your blood whether you like it or not. I've examined your DNA myself. Your first instinct is to take out your enemy, I can't tell you to fight that instinct because you'll lose. I can teach you to control it though if you feel you can't do it yourself."
"Teach me then."
"It won't be easy, it'll be like going through drug withdrawals and if it fails, I'll die. You'll kill me. I'm willing to risk it though."
"When do we start?"
Lux returned home late in the night, covered in scratches and bruises. Most were self inflicted; she had to restrain herself from killing Bruce several times. She wondered why this had to happen to her.
It was because she was a monster, a killing machine. It didn't matter if it had been years since she had last slain someone; the urge to kill was still there. Bruce would help her control but she was afraid it wouldn't work, and then he'd die. No one would truly be able to help her except maybe one person.
She needed to see Crane.
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In case you were confused with what Bruce was saying, here's a translation:
Lux was made to kill, she can't fight it. It's her instinct. Bruce is going to help her control that instinct so that she kills only when it's necessary and not become a bloodthirsty killer. Got it?
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