Chapter 11: A Ghost of the Past

Arc 1: Out of Shadows

*Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or anything Marvel-related, all I own are my OCs.

November 2009 - New York City

Cedric arrived back at home just a few moments ago from a night out patrolling the world. The superpowered alien-human hybrid quickly rushed into his room to change and shower for the family breakfast that was gonna be taking place. He walked out of his bathroom with a towel wrapped firmly around his waist as his defined upper body was exposed to the air.

He walked towards his closet and pulled the door handles of his closet, opening the door to try to find an outfit for the breakfast. A frown managed to sneak its way onto his face as he looked at his closet, seeing how most of his shirts were gone. And the fact that he had done laundry on Tuesday and now just about most of his shirts were already gone. And he had a pretty good idea as to what happened.

Cedric quickly changed into his brown leather Chelsea boots, dark blue jeans, and a red and blue plaid shirt with rolled sleeves. He placed his hand on the door handle and pulled it open, to walk through and make his way to the room that Mikayla was staying in.

He knocked on the door of her room and stood there waiting patiently for her to open the door. He could hear the water cease to run and heard her yell "just a minute".

Cedric let out a deep breath and stood at her door, waiting. The sight that was in front of him next was something that not even superpowers could prepare him for. Mikayla opened the door with nothing more than a towel wrapped around her body with water dripping from her hair.

Cedric took a deep breath and tried to look away, clearly flustered by the sight in front of him. It's not like he didn't welcome the sight in front of him and if it were him a few years ago, he would've done some things that his mama would not be proud of.

"Don't tell me you're here to join me, you know the offer is still on the table?" She said as she looked him up and down, biting her lip.

And now she was toying with him like her little plaything.

"As much as I hate to decline at the moment, I wanted to ask you for my shirts back."

"How do you know I stole your shirts?"

"Well for one, you have an infatuation with things that are mine, and two, I can see a pile of my shirts lying in the corner," He said, making her peek over her shoulder and see the pile of shirts that she just had lying on the floor in the corner.

"I'll wash them and give them back," She said.

"Thank you."

"I'm gonna miss those shirts."

"I might allow you to keep one of them."

"Can I pick it?"

"Yes, you may."

"Perfect."

"And before I go, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go grab some coffee or something after this breakfast," Cedric asked as he folded his arms. The two technically never got to go on their date with each other because Mikayla's apartment burned down and he had to save her from it. And while this doesn't equal the same but it's still a chance for the two to be alone and get some time to get to know each other since they didn't really do so last night at Thanksgiving.

"Sure, I would love that," She said with a smile on her face.

"Okay, great. I'll see you in a little bit," He said as he started to walk away but before he could go, he felt Mikayla grip his wrist and pull him back. He turned around and was surprised when Mikayla placed a gentle yet passionate kiss on his lips.

It was almost like instinct, Cedric wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body as her arms wrapped around his neck. The two ended up pulling away, needing oxygen to continue to breathe. The two shared a chuckle as they looked down at the ground and just held each other in their embrace.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," She said with a smile as she peeled away.

"I can't lie, I wasn't expecting that. I would be lying if I said I didn't like it," He said with a wide grin on his face.

"Alright, I'm just gonna go get ready," She said with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Okay, great. I'll see you later," he said walking away and leaving her there to look at him with a lingering look as he walked away from her. She closed her door and leaned up against her door and let out a deep breath as a smile sneaked its way onto her face.

She wasn't expecting to do that although she had wanted to for a very long time. Something about the way he would look at her and the way he carried himself.

Miles walked into his lab with a purpose wearing a 3-piece Ash Grey suit with a white button-up shirt with a black tie and black Italian leather loafers to go with his suit. Inside this lab, they were working on the new nanomite missiles that he planned to launch on New Year's Day and working on some other side projects that were scheduled to launch rather sooner than later.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Miles saw a figure standing in the shadows making him pause and turn his head to look at that shadow.

"You can come out my friend, I know it's you," Miles said looking on with a smirk as Sebastian Del Sol walked out of the shadows sporting a brand-new suit. It was a leather bodysuit with black military boots with red, orange, and yellow lining coming from the boots that trailed all the way up to the black metallic gauntlets that covered his hands.

"Nice upgrades," Miles said to his business associate who started to walk beside him.

"You weren't kidding when you said your R&D Lab was up to all sorts of no good,"

"The feeling of power that you feel right now, it's only the tip of the iceberg. Stick with me and no one will want to screw around with the Del Sol Cartel or The Monarchy,"

"I like the sound of that," Sebastian said with a smirk as they continued on their way walking through the lab until they got to Miles' associates that were working on the nanomite missiles.

Miles looked on with a smile as he took a look at the missiles that were currently set to launch at the beginning of the new year. These missiles were all a part of Miles' elaborate plan to eliminate the Hounds and send a message to the criminal underworld that The Monarch and his Monarchy were not to be tested and were the ones who should be feared.

These weaponized nanomites were designed to destroy anything metal and the only thing that could stop them was the detonator that Miles designed for them.

"You were serious about taking out The Hounds."

Miles turned and faced Sebastian looking on with a serious face.

"Yes, I was serious. In order for The Monarchy to be the most powerful criminal entourage in existence, I need to take out every possible challenger to my throne. And that damn well includes The Hounds and anyone else who may step up to the plate," Miles said as he clenched his fist looking on at the missiles.

"I hear you. In Mexico, I had to do the same with the Juarez Cartel. I burned a lot of men in order to prove my dominance and I would do it again in a heartbeat. As long as our business partnership doesn't end, I'm here with you till the end," Sebastian said as he placed a hand on the shoulder of his friend, "I just wonder how your friend Adam is going to respond."

"Adam will fall in line, just don't worry about him. But in the meantime, tonight I need you to send a message. A message to The Blur that he should stay out of my business. I wasn't expecting him to show up last time," Miles said as he looked on with a scowl on his face.

Miles's original plan was to make Sebastian seem like an enemy only for Adam to try to take him out and ultimately get burned in the process. Sebastian was gonna take out Adam giving Miles a clear way to the throne with no one holding him back. But now plans have changed, and Miles had a new purpose for Adam. Adam for sure is gonna have a pure hatred for The Blur and he was sure that he would want to exact his revenge.

"The Blur is a pretty powerful guy, if I'm going up against him, I'm gonna need some backup," Sebastian said right before Miles turned his head and looked at his associate.

"I got you covered, right this way," Miles said as he led his associate throughout the underground laboratory. The two would soon arrive at a metal door with the initials Ra engraved within the door.

"What's in there?" Sebastian asked as he folded his arms and turned his head to look at his friend.

"Your partner," Miles said as he looked on with a devious smile.

The two sisters Vanessa and Kimberly both stood in the kitchen whipping up a special breakfast for their family. The way the holidays brought people together was amazing, especially in the way it brought together the two sisters. The holidays gave everyone around the world a chance to be with their families. Or at least, it should have. And if they couldn't spend it with their families, they should at least spend it with friends or people that love them. And that's what Cedric offered to Miles when he invited him over.

This year's Thanksgiving was one to remember with Cedric being around most of his closest family and friends. And he got to meet what felt like more family in Paul and Regina.

And speaking of the two, they both sat on the couch in the living room talking amongst each other, talking to one another while Cedric stood on the balcony looking out over the city that he would now call his home. New York wasn't Chicago but it had its ups and downs. The crazy thing is being in New York gave Cedric a chance to start fresh since no one really knew who he was. In Chicago, most people that grew up around him would say they knew him, or at least to a certain extent.

No one knew Cedric Harvey in this massive city, so no one could put two and two together and piece together that Cedric Harvey was The Blur. The only people that knew were Geoff, his aunt, and his mother. And at least for the time being he meant to keep it that way.

"Someone looks deep in thought," He heard making him turn his head to see Regina standing there with a flute glass filled with a mimosa.

"I guess you could say that. Everything alright in there?" Cedric asked as he turned around and leaned up against the railing on the balcony as he accepted the glass from Regina, who leaned next to him taking his place.

"Yeah, everyone is just missing you inside," Regina said as Cedric took a sip from the glass that was given to him.

"I'm sorry I've been distant, I just got some stuff on my mind," He said as he looked down at his glass.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, I'll be good. I just got one question," He said making her look up at him with a confused frown on her face.

"About?"

"Your dad. Since my mom introduced him, I've been trying to put some things together in my head. I don't know how long they've been together whenever I ask her she says it's been a few years, I need to know how long they've been dating. Do you know?"

"It's been more than a few years. They've been together for the past 7 years," She said making him frown as he looked down at the ground, "And I know you're probably mad that she kept him from you for so long but you have to understand, when you were growing up you were the only man in her life and when she finally met someone who entered how life, she didn't know how to break the news to the man who was the only one for so many years."

When she put it like that it kinda made sense but he truly wanted to hear it from his mother's mouth to see if her reasons were true.

"I guess, you're kinda right. I guess I can call you my sister then," he said with a smile as he took a sip of his drink while Regina let out a little chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess that makes you my little brother," she said as he rolled his eyes.

"How old are you?"

"Don't you know never supposed to ask a woman that question? But since it's you, I'll indulge, I'm 29, my dad had me when he was 16."

"My mom had me when she was 18. She joined the army afterward and spent 4 years in the service, then she became a cop."

"It's crazy how a few factors of our lives are so similar, I-" She was saying but the sound of her father calling her name cut her off from speaking, "excuse me," she said as she walked away leaving Cedric there on the balcony.

Cedric turned his head and looked out over the city with a blank stare. All at once, he could hear the sounds of people's voices. He closed his eyes listening on until a familiar voice captured his attention. It was Kala's voice. A smile snaked its way onto his face as he just listened to her voice. It was calming in a way. Just hearing her voice was enough to bring peace to his mind.

"Cedric, " he heard breaking his attention away from Kala's voice. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to see his mother.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, mom. Everything's fine," he said with a smile as he walked towards him and put an arm around her.

"Okay, the food's ready."

"Thank god. I was out here starving," he joked, getting a chuckle from his mom as the two walked inside to eat their breakfast.

The family sat around on the inside of the home eating their breakfast surrounded by the love and joy of being around each other. The sounds of laughter and happiness could be heard circulating through the home. The family sat in the dining area with Vanessa sitting at the edge of the table Paul and Kimberly sat on one side whilst Cedric, Mikayla and Regina sat on the other side of that table.

"And that's when he walked in the house dragging a rat by the tail and dropping it in the house, saying that he found a new buddy," Kimberly said finishing up her story making everyone in the room laugh with the exception of Cedric who simply just shook his head.

"Sounds like you were a hell of a character kid," Paul said as he lifted up his glass of orange juice and took a sip, "kinda like this one."

"Dad, I was not that bad."

"Bullshit," Paul added making everyone at the table laugh, "you were the type of kid that when you believed in something, you made sure that everyone knew. Like when I tried to get you to believe Santa Clause didn't exist, you would not let me sleep until I gave in."

"When you believe in something you have to follow it. Always," Regina said as Cedric and Mikayla exchanged looks. Vanessa saw this and looked on with a grin.

"Well, ain't that the truth," Cedric said right before he grabbed his glass and took a sip of his drink.

"In a way, Cedric was always like that as a kid. He had this undying sense of loyalty to his friends and the people he loved. This kid would walk through a brick wall if you asked him to, hell he still does to this day," Kimberly said making Cedric smile as he turned his gaze over to his mother.

"Cedric reminds me of Jason in a way, I just wish he could be here to see you," Vanessa said as she wiped a tear away from the corner of her eyes. Cedric took a deep breath as he looked down at the floor. Mikayla was about to speak when she heard an alarm going off on someone's phone making her turn her head to the source of the noise.

Paul picked up his phone, gazing at it's screen as a frown formed on his face.

"What's wrong?" Kimberly asked.

"We need to turn on the news," Paul said as he stood up and walked through the kitchen making his way to the living room as everyone followed. Once he reached the room, he grabbed the remote from the coffee table in the room and pressed on the power button and proceeded to turn the TV to the local news station.

"Breaking news everyone, the billionaire CEO of Stark Industries has just revealed a shocking revelation. Take a look," said the news reporter as the TV cut to a shot of Tony Stark standing behind a podium with the Stark Industries logo as he was clad in a clean black suit with his hair slicked back.

"The truth is…." Tony said as he looked down at the notecard that was in his grasp before he slowly looked back up at the crowd of reporters, "I am Iron Man."

And just like that the herd of reporters jumped up to their feet in a frenzied fit and walked up to the podium as he stood there while a smirk snaked its way to his face.

"And there you have it, folks, Tony Stark has revealed himself to be the man in red and gold. He is Iron Man!" The news reporters said as everyone in the room stared at the TV in shock and confusion. Everyone including Cedric.

This changes everything for him. He wasn't the only hero out there now. With Iron Man officially revealing himself to the public, this meant that there was another hero on the horizon which could either be a problem or something beneficial to everyone.

"Holy shit!" Regina exclaimed as the news sunk for her, "Tony Stark is Iron Man!"

Cedric was in his own head until he heard his phone ring coming from the bedroom making him sigh as he walked away from everyone going off to his bedroom. He closed the door behind himself and walked towards the phone that rests on his nightstand. He grabbed the phone, answered it and put it up to his ear.

"Did you see the news?"

"Yeah, I did."

"This changes everything."

'I know."

"Listen, I gotta run but I'll try to talk to you later."

"Alright man, be safe."

"I will, bye." Geoff hung up the phone as Cedric took a deep breath as he sat down on his bed looking at the wall. He heard his phone go off before he saw a text message from Kala asking to meet up ASAP. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his brown overcoat before leaving the bedroom.

"I have to go Kala needs me," Cedric said as he walked out of his bedroom and headed straight for the door. Mikayla's eyes trailed him as he walked out fo the house before anyone could even say anything.

Miles sat inside his office in his building as he looked on at the TV with a frown on his face. Stark being Iron Man just made things a whole lot more complicated for the billionaire. He was trying to run an empire in the streets and a man like Tony Stark who often times had a habit of sticking himself in business that didn't concern him. He already had to worry about The Black-and-Blue Blur now he had to worry about Iron Man getting in his way too.

He picked up his phone, unlocking it to send off a text. The text simply read 'proceed with the plan. Use the energy source'. After a little while he received a text back saying "Understood. Will be done ASAP". Miles saw this and placed his phone down on the table as he looked on with a frown. The reveal of Tony Stark being Iron Man just pushed his timeline up. He needed to eliminate one problem so that he could focus on eliminating the next one.

He heard his phone ring making him grab his phone from the table and answer it.

"What?" He answered coldly.

"I just heard you pushed up the deadline, I think I might have a way to draw him out into the open," said the person over the phone making him lean back into his chair and turn around, looking out among the city.

"Go on."

Cedric arrived at the location that Kala texted him to go to. She wanted to meet at a local coffee cafe in The Bronx. Why the Bronx? He did not know but thanks to his abilities he was able to get there in less than a minute and a half. He was seriously wondering why she felt the need to meet him so urgently but she said she needed him. It didn't matter what she needed him for, he was still gonna be there. That's how their relationship worked. If she said she needed him, he was gonna go no matter what.

He walked through the door seeing Kala sitting at a table with two cups of coffee in front of her with a laptop and a notebook. She looked up from the brightly lit computer screen to see him walking in. She flashed a smile at him and waved for him to come on over and he did.

"Everything alright?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?"

"When you called on the phone you sounded like you really needed me."

"I did need you. Well, I do need you."

"What do you need?"

"Okay, you have to promise me something first," She said making his frow burrow as the two locked eyes, "Promise me you won't judge me for this and promise me that this stays between us,"

"I promise.."

"Okay, I have been tracking The Blur since he first appeared. Now there was a period where he was active and it seems like he was only active from the year we started high school to the year and up until the year 2003. Now I may be assuming too much here but putting two and two together gives me the idea that he went to school with us. Now he may be that's the question. Now, the disappearance from 2003 to this year doesn't make sense. This does make me question, why the disappearance. What could he have been doing?"

Cedric looked at her with a puzzled look. The fact that she was starting to ask questions about his disappearance and was starting to put together some facts and clues meant that she may be closer to finding out who he indeed was, who he truly is.

"Kala, I think we would know if we went to school with someone like The Blur."

"But how? We've known of his existence for a long time and we've just now gotten a clear photo and it's barely a photo of his face."

And that was for a pretty damn good reason.

"Anybody, you have in mind that could be a front-runner to be The Blur?"

"No, I was hoping you could sit with me and help me look at some options."

"Sure, I have nothing better to do," He said as she grinned while he picked up one of the cups of coffee from the table.

After what seemed like hours and hours of just sitting, and going through previous yearbooks, Cedric arrived home walking through the doorway with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He had some serious apologizing to do. He had completely allowed himself to lose track of time and forget that he was supposed to take Mikayla out and grab coffee.

He messed up and now he was just hoping that she would forgive him.

As he walked through the door, he saw Regina, Paul and his mother all dressed with their bags packed.

"Hey, I'm glad you caught us. We were about to head out," Kimberly said making Cedric look at her with a confused frown.

"I thought you weren't leaving till tomorrow."

"We weren't but our flights ended up getting canceled, so your mother and I are gonna just drive back to Chicago. But first we're gonna take Regina back home." Paul said as Cedric simply nodded while Regina walked towards him.

"It was nice meeting you. I look forward to seeing you on Christmas," Regina said as she gave Cedric a hug. He hugged her back and gave her a smile as she pulled away.

Paul walked towards Cedric and gave Cedric a firm handshake before he pulled him in to whisper something into his ear.

"You give these people hope, don't ever forget that. Be the man that they strive to be like. Be their hero," Paul said before walking away leaving Cedric with a bewildered look on his face. Paul pulled away and patted Cedric on the shoulder before grabbing their bags and walking out of the front door. He closed it softly behind himself, leaving the mother and son together in the same room.

"Did you tell him?"

"No, he knows?"

"I think so."

"Well, that means you need to do a better job of hiding it."

"I'm working on it," He said as he looked down at the ground, he looked back up and his mother with a grin, "I'm gonna miss you, mom."

"I'm gonna miss you too son," Kimberly said as she pulled her son into a hug.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"We're gonna get together for Christmas, right?" Cedric asked as he pulled away from her embrace and looked down at her.

"Yeah, we will. Listen your Aunt had to go out and run some errands. Mikayla left a little while ago and hasn't been back in a while she's only been gone for an hour so I would call her and check up on her if I were you, she seemed like she was a little angry earlier. I think you should handle that," his mother said making him let out a deep breath.

"I know I messed up with her. Kala just called me and I-"

"I know. When Kala calls, you drop everything and fly over to her rescue."

"Mom, it's not like that."

"But it is. I have watched you be in love with that girl before you even knew the true meaning of love. No matter how hard you try to find other women, they don't amount up to her in your eyes and you treat them all in that manner."

"Mom, I-" Cedric was saying when a frown snaked its way on his face as he turned his head looking out to the city.

"You heard something?"

"Yeah. I love you mom but I gotta go," Cedric said as he turned his attention back to his mother. He pulled her into a deep embrace giving her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before he turned and ran out of the front door.

Kimberly chuckled as a smile came onto her face.

"My son's a hero," She said as a feeling of pride ran through her body.

The Blur floated West 52nd street seeing the man who had been a thorn in his side for the past few weeks standing there with flames in his hands tormenting the people making fireballs in his hands and throwing them at the cars along the streets and at the buildings.

He made a ball of flames in the palm of his hands and tossed them at a lady who was cradling her child. The lady closed her eyes and braced for the impact of the flames. She slowly opened her eyes looking up in shock as she saw The Blur standing in front of her making a force-field of blue energy as he shielded her from the blast.

"Go, get out of here," The Blur stated as he lowered his hands as the energy dissipated. Sebastian let out a chuckle as he locked eyes with The Blur.

"Finally I got your attention. I was starting to think you didn't want to come out and play."

"I'm not here to play. I'm gonna give you one chance Inferno, stand down!" The Blur demanded as Sebastian let out another chuckle.

"Not a chance," Sebastian said before he let out a beam of flames from the palms of his hand as The Blur put up a hand to block the flames. He grunted as he felt the hot flames connecting to his skin. The Blur let out a blast form the palm of his other hand this one knocking Inferno back into the side of a car. Inferno grunted as he felt his back collide with the car.

The Blur wasn't letting up and immediately bolted towards Inferno grabbing him by the upper body before he picked him up and tossed him onto the hood of another vehicle across the street. Inferno grunted as his body put a dent in the hood of that vehicle.

"Any minute now," Inferno said making The Blur frown. The Blur turned his head seeing a blast of purple energy coming at him, hitting him directly in the chest sending him into the side of a building putting a dent in the wall. The Blur groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The Blur looked up seeing a sight that made his eyes widen in shock.

"It's been a long time…" said a voice that sent a feeling of shock throughout Cedric's body. The figure was a tall figure standing at approximately 6'6 with a robotic body that was seemingly shining with a silvery metallic appearance with a glowing purple orb in the center of his chest. The face was really what caught Cedric off guard. The left side of the face was a skull with the same metallic texture as the body with a glowing purple eye. The other half was the face of an African American male with a black low-cut fade with a black eyebrow and a dark brown eye. Cedric recognized this man as Jason. His dead cousin, Jason.

"A long, long time. I figured it's time we have a family reunion," He said in a cold voice that would send chills down anyone's spine.

"Jason, you don't have to.." Cedric said as he rose up to his feet only for Jason to bolt over to him with rocket boots and clock him in the jaw with a hard right hand. Cedric dropped down to a knee as he felt pain coming form that blow. He tasted blood. His blood, making him spat out some as he stood up once more.

"Jason, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I've never felt any better. Now you're not the only one who has power," Jason said as he walked towards Cedric grabbing by the head, and clocked him with a knee to the face making Cedric fall flat to his back. Jason put his foot on Cedric's chest right on the center of the logo as Cedric groaned feeling pain run through his body. He didn't feel his usual course of strength but felt as if someone was trying to suck all the life out of his body.

Sebastian walked towards Cedric and placed some circular device on his chest. Cedric felt an intense rush of pain hit his body as he watched the device slowly start to glow as he felt an unbearable pain surge through his body. It felt as if the power was leaving his body.

"J-Jason-" Cedric was saying until he felt out of consciousness while the two evil figures stood tall above him.

A/N: Alright so I've been gone for a little minute mostly because I've been busy doing some stuff like work and school and I also decided to rewrite this story from Chapter 1 all the way to now so go back and read that when you have a chance. Also I had to change the actual date that Iron Man revealed his identity just so I could try to tie in with this universe. Just as a reminder certain aspects of the MCU will be changed and certain things will be slowly be added in.

Castings:

Jason Cade - Eugene Byrd

Later Guys and Gals!