I, Spartan

[Swordmaster]

I, SPARTAN

Taking place between the events of Spartan: Reckoning and Spartan: Endgame, "I, Spartan" tells the story of how Kyle Wyatt discovered his destiny. In a tale unlike any other Spartan before, Kyle fight for the protection of a city state, and meet many new faces that teach him important aspects of himself.

 

[Swordmaster]

ONE

My name is Kyle Wyatt, and I have no idea who I am...again. The apparent contradiction may confuse you, but if you give me a moment to explain, I’m sure you will understand my reasoning.
About two or so years ago, a serum, coupled with an electric shock, gave me incredible powers, and after a while I realized I could appease my inner comic nerd and become a superhero. So I became Spartan, the world’s first, and only, superhero. For a while, everything went well. The people loved me, and I was pretty much undefeatable.
Until this past year, anyway.
On my birthday, a member of the cultist organization Adventus put me in a dream world to harness my abilities and create clones of myself to take over the world. In this world, my late mother, Nina Wyatt, lived, and my father had no trace of the enigmatic, eccentric scientist as I knew him. I also had a younger sister, Ashley, and was dating the love of my life, Briana Walker, who in the true reality was one of my best friends and had no knowledge of my secret life.
The biggest change, however, was that I had no abilities and no memory of my previous life. I had believed that the dream world was the real world. Eventually, though, my enhanced mind broke through the illusion, and I awoke and defeated the enhanced Adventi warriors, though not without cost.
The incident in the alternate realm left me confused as to who I was. For a while, I believed that Spartan and Kyle Wyatt were two separate personalities inhabiting the same body. But the experiences in the dream world left me confused as to who I was. I didn’t know if I was Kyle Wyatt, Spartan, or both. So at the end of the school year, I bid farewell to my father, Thomas Wyatt, my friends Leon Allain and Jackson Crichton, and Briana. Before I’d left, I took her flying with me, where she asked me to tell her everything. I did so, and when we landed back on her balcony we were about to kiss, but my enhanced hearing picked up a disturbance in the city, so I told her goodbye and flew away, and that is where the story truly begins…
***
When I arrived at the chaos, I found it was an old enemy of mine, FlameHead, causing it. It was FlameHead who had aided in placing me in my dream world, and I was pissed at him for it.
It was time to let him know how pissed.
Fueled by my anger I flew top speed at FlameHead and tackled him. He grunted in pain before blasting fire in my face from one of his flame gauntlets. It didn’t hurt, but it distracted me long enough for him to escape my grasp.
FlameHead kicked me, but I caught his leg and threw him into the air. I leaped straight up and knocked him back down. I landed before him, and before he could get up I started ripping off his ember colored armor piece by piece, causing as much pain as possible. Soon enough, he was naked.
“Stop, you’re hurting me!” he screamed in pain and frustration.
A crowd had started to form around us, but I paid them no mind. I ripped off my sunglasses.
“I’m hurting you? You think this is pain? You haven’t felt anything yet!” I bellowed. My eyes glowed red, and I ask coolly, “You like fire, right?”
FlameHead nodded, right before his eyes widened as he realized what I was going to do to him. “Please…,” he whimpered, “don’t.”
As I prepared to blast him with full powered heat vision, turning him to ash, a booming voice said my name, except I didn’t hear it with my ears. I heard it with my mind.
“SPARTAN.”
I looked around, wondering who was saying that. “Show yourself!” I screamed, spitting saliva.
A second later a bolt of blue lightning struck me, and I vanished.

 

[Swordmaster]

TWO


I found myself standing in white appeared to be infinite whiteness. I looked around, but the whiteness was pure, with no furniture, not even a television to make it appear less dull. Wondering where the hell I was, I bowed my head to figure out what I was going to do.
That was when I realized I was naked.
“KYLE WYATT.”
The same, booming voice that had called me Spartan before now said my civilian name. I looked up, and temporarily forgot I was in the nude.
A man with glowing white hair, a glowing white beard, and shock blue eyes, faded into existence. He wore brown-and-cream colored robes. Despite his hair and beard color, his face appeared quite youthful, about late twenties.
I looked at him, and he looked at me. “Who are you?” I finally asked, after ensuring this wasn’t a dream.
The man’s eyes glistened. “I am known as Sage, the world’s first superhero.”
My mouth dropped. This…Sage...stole my title. “If you’re the world’s first superhero, how come I’ve never heard of you?” I asked accusingly.
Sage inclined his head. “My apologies, Kyle. You would obviously know nothing of my existence. Allow me to provide you with a brief history lesson, please?”
Knowing I couldn’t deny the man, as he’d brought me here, I said, “All right, I’ll humor you.”
Sage nodded. “Very good. I was born many years ago, my true name and birthday forgotten to time. When I was young, I discovered I had a great power, the ability to alter reality to my whim.”
“At first, I used my power selfishly and with abandon, neither knowing nor caring what the consequences were. Then I met a man, whose name I forget as well. For the stories sake we will call him Mentor. Mentor taught me how to use my abilities wisely, and how to use them to help people. After he’d taught me everything I needed to know, Mentor disappeared, never to be seen by myself again. Seeing that he wished to be alone now, I did nothing to find him.”
“As my abilities were great, I was able to help the people with minimal effort. But one day, a deed I undertook nearly broke reality. Therefore, to save it, I created my own pocket dimension, which you are now in, where I would monitor the Earth and ensure it was not destroyed.”
“But to make my disappearance complete, I wiped my existence from the minds of everyone on Earth, so they would not call on me again. They do not know what consequences would entail if I were to step into your realm of existence again.”
Having concluded his story, Sage sighed sadly. I felt bad for him, but I had many questions, and my sadness for him would not stop me from asking.
“Wow. Some story,” I said. Dick-ish, I know, but I needed to get to my point. “But I fail to see what this has to do with me.”
Sage looked directly at me, his eyes so cold they sent a chill down my spine. “Kids today, you lack patience. I was getting to it. The reason you are here, Kyle Wyatt, is that you have lost sight of who you are: Kyle Wyatt and Spartan.”
I rolled my eyes. “You sound like Briana.”
“Briana has a point. Your powers do not define you as a hero, nor does your costume, hence why I stripped it off of you.”
“Could have given me some new clothes…,” I grumbled.
Ignoring me, Sage made a pushing motion with his hand, and an invisible wave passed over me. My eyesight blurred; my hearing dulled; I felt my muscles turn to flab, and suddenly felt incredibly weak. I fell to my knees and vomited.
“Wha…what did…did you do to…me?” I coughed.
“Removed your powers,” Sage said simply. “When you truly realize that you are a hero, no matter your name or ability, they will return to you?”
After gathering enough strength to rise to my feet, I growled, “And how am I supposed to do that, huh?”
Saying nothing, Sage waved his hand again, and I was met with the familiar feeling of transportation.

 

[Swordmaster]

THREE

I awoke in a trash filled alleyway, finding myself wearing some clothes, at last. It wasn’t anything I’d ever worn though: Black jeans, red t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. The colors went well together, and I looked pretty good in it, I felt.
I walked out of the alley, and saw how much of a hell this place, whatever its name was, was. Fires were not uncommon; neither were the homeless. Everywhere I looked homeless littered the streets.
A soccer ball rolled in front of me, and a second later a little boy, no older than four and dirty as hell, followed it. I stooped down to pick it up and handed it back to its owner. “This is a good ball,” I said with a smile. “Don’t wanna lose it.”
The little boy grinned, revealing the gap where his two front teeth should be. This warm, happy scene was interrupted by a woman who I could only assume was his mother. She ushered him away from me, but not before giving me a dirty look.
Wondering what was going on, I aimlessly walked around…wherever Sage sent me, and received similar looks from other people. Shaking them off, I found a group of men and women, all wearing combinations of navy blue and dark green, harassing a woman and her infant.
I ran to help her (a lot slower than I used to be able to), and, upon confronting them, promptly got my ass kicked. The group of eleven swarmed on top of me, punching and kicking me until I was near unconscious, all while being called a “New Sun.”
My pain overwrought my confusion, and I slowly began to black out. Then, all of a sudden, the beating stopped, as quickly as it had begun. I heard footsteps scurry away, before hearing new footsteps approach me.
I barely opened one eye, seeing a group of all ages staring at me with interest, all wearing a combination of red and black.
I began to ask who they were, but then I passed out.

 

[Swordmaster]

FOUR


I awoke not in an alley this time, but a bare, stone cell. I was lying on a stone bed. To say the least, it was uncomfortable. I felt no pain in my body, which was quite interesting, considering that I’d just had the **** beat out of me. I opened my eyes and found myself being observed by a man with short gray hair and a neatly trimmed gray beard, whose vivid green eyes stared upon me with great interest. Next to him was a younger copy of him; his son, I assumed. He looked a few years older than I, had white-blonde hair as opposed to his father’s gray, but shared his father’s eyes. Lastly, there was a girl around my age, Caucasian, with shoulder length black hair which had a streak of purple running down it. All wore red and black.
I cracked my neck. “What’s going on?”
The blonde haired man said, “We were about to ask you the same thing, friend. Why do you wear the colors of the Crimson Sun’s? You are not a member of our army.”
“Oh, so these are your colors?” I asked. I began to vaguely see what Sage had done, but did not have the full picture yet.
“Yeah,” the girl said coldly. “And you have no right wearing them.”
I sat up. “Who are you to decide what I wear?”
The younger man replied, “I’ll be asking the questions here. Now: who are you, and why are you here in Halona?”
Now, even before I’d gotten my abilities, I’d be an excellent judge of character. And despite the cruelties that were being inflicted on me, I realized I could trust these people.
“Kyle Wyatt. I was sent to…Halona, you called it?...I was sent here by a being called Sage, to realize I’m still a hero.”
The three stared in awe at me. The younger man mouthed, “Sage?” The older man, who had said nothing as of yet, stared at me intently, before nodding. “I believe you, Kyle Wyatt.”
That was a surprising turn of events. “That was fast,” I said.
The older man grinned. “Well, when you have telepathy, it’s kind of hard to be fooled.”
I looked at him oddly. “You’re a telepath?”
He nodded. “I was born with an incredibly developed frontal lobe, granting me the abilities of telepathy and telekinesis.” He laughed. “But where are my manners, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is William Storms. Call me Will.”
Will motioned to the younger man. “This young man is my son, Connor. And the young woman is Keira Novak.”
The two nodded at me shortly. It was obvious they didn’t trust me, despite Will’s faith. After a moment of staring at one another, the two bombard me with questions, but Will calmed them with a wave of his hand.
“There will be time to ask young Kyle questions later, but he must be more confused than we are. So Kyle, ask away.”
I nodded. “First and foremost, who are the Crimson Sun’s?”
Will sighed deeply and pointed his index finger at the cell door, opening it. As he walked out, he said, “It is a long tale, one that encompasses Halona’s entire history. We best discuss this in a more comfortable location.”
The three led me to what looked like a war room, where other red-and-black garbed men and women were talking animatedly.
With another wave of his hand, Will summoned four chairs, and invited us all to sit. He looked at me directly, and said, “I warn you, this tale is a little long.”
I looked back. “I’ve more than likely been through worse.”
Smiling slightly, Will began his story.

 

[Swordmaster]

Five


Fifty years ago, a great warrior-monk known only as The Master was able to rid the city-state of Halona of crime. However, his attempts to spread this to the rest of the United States failed. The government, you see, felt the Master was a threat to their power and way of life.
To prevent a civil war, The Master contacted the being called Sage and asked him to help. Using his reality-bending power, Sage removed Halona from the U.S. and made it an island, free to govern itself. His power also allowed him to make it so no lasting effects would come from the movement of such a landmass.
Unfortunately, Sage used up so much power that he was now unfit to live in this dimension, and so he left us, erasing his and our existence from the memories of the world.
The Master was unanimously named the leader of the independent nation of Halona. With his new governmental powers, he created an order known as the Knights of the Sun, created to maintain the peace. I myself was once a Knight, trained by The Master himself. The Master trained only one other student that year: John Alastair. We were the two most promising students, and the Master was like a father to us.
Years later, at the Ascension Ceremony where students officially became Knights, Alastair betrayed us. He believed Halona should be ruled by power, not peace. A charismatic man, he persuaded many other students to join his cause, and so the Tomorrow War began, with those loyal to The Master against those loyal to Alastair. This was thirty years ago.
The Master’s group, The Crimson Sun’s, have fought to preserve Halona, but the constant fighting makes it nearly impossible, as Alastair’s group, The Black Dawn, constantly raid the city. Because we are involved in this war, the people hate us almost as much as Black Dawn.
Twenty years ago, Alastair killed The Master in a duel. Before he passed, he named me head of Crimson Sun, and granted me the unique ability to heal others physical wounds. This happened just after my wife passed away giving birth to Connor.
Fifteen years back, Keira watched her parents and older sister be brutally murdered by Black Dawn. I saved her from a similar fate, and took her as a foster daughter.
The war has gone on for too long, and Halona herself is suffering, as you most likely saw on the streets. We, the Crimson Sun’s, are losing this war. We need help.

 

[Immortalfire]

I thought this was a story about the undying fandom of Farmerfran.

 

[Swordmaster]

I thought this was a story about the undying fandom of Farmerfran.

...













It is

 

[Swordmaster]

SIX


I stood up as Will concluded his story. “I’ll help you.”
Connor laughed sharply. “You? What can you do? You’re a scrawny little man.”
I stared at him coldly. “You’d be surprised how much of a difference one person can make.”
Though Connor was a few inches taller than me, my gaze appeared to make him uneasy. “Yeah…but you? You don’t look like you’ve ever been in a real fight before. This is war, kid, and not some game.”
I walked up to him, so that our noses were almost touching. “You think I haven’t been in fights before? That’s a laugh. I’ve seen as much combat, felt as much pain as any of you.”
Connor now looked at me skeptically. “What do you mean?”
And so I began to tell them my whole history, everything from my mother’s death to becoming Spartan to losing my abilities. When I was done, everyone was looking at me like I was insane.
Will cleared his throat and said, “Well, that’s quite a story, son, but-“
I cut him off. “You don’t believe me? Go into my mind. See that I’m telling the truth. And play is for Keira and Connor, too. See that I’m not a liar.”
Will was about to refuse, I could tell, so I finished by saying, “What have you got to lose?”
Defeated, Will nodded and entered my mind. As he did so, I watched the faces of my three companions morph from one of bemused disbelief to one of pure awe.
“You…are Spartan,” Keira said in an astonished whisper.
Connor and Will said nothing, merely looked at each other. Connor nodded. Will turned to face me. “Connor will be training you, starting tomorrow. We think you could be an asset to us. And…I can tell you want to help, nit just in hopes of gaining your powers back, but because you care.”
I nodded. “So…until tomorrow, what do I do?”
Will motioned to Keira. “Keira will take you to your room. I had someone prepare it as we talked.”
“What time is it, anyway?” I asked. It seemed as if we were talking for hours.
Will checked his watch. “Eleven p.m.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” I turned to Keira. “All right, I’m ready to go.”
The girl said nothing, merely got up and walked to my room’s direction. The walk there was silent, so I spent the time admiring the Crimson Sun base. It was large, and I didn’t remember seeing such a big facility when I was wandering.
“Um, Keira?”
She merely grunted a response.
“Where exactly is this base?”
“Underground, ” she said, and gave me a look as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Oh,” I said. Thinking back, it was pretty obvious.
We got to a door, and I opened it. For a room that was in an underground facility paid for by freedom fighters, it was pretty well furnished. I jumped on the bed. Bouncy.
Keira stared at me in the doorway with an odd look on her face. It was different from hatred, different from revulsion, but I couldn’t place it. Was it…admiration?
I laid down on my bed. “Something on your mind, Keira?”
She blushed slightly. “Uh…no…well, yeah, actually. I was wondering…I mean I saw the things you did as Spartan and I just wanted to know…why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you fight?”
I smiled at her. “I’m still trying to figure that out. When I first started, I just wanted to help people. But now…I’m not sure. Maybe it’s that, maybe it’s less.”
“Or maybe it’s more?” she suggested.
“Yeah,” I said. “Maybe it’s more.”
Seemingly accepting that, Keira nodded and turned to leave, but came back in. “I suggest you get some sleep, Kyle. Training with Connor’s no picnic.”
“Thanks, Keira. Good night.”
“Good night, Kyle.”
As the door slammed, I whispered to myself, “Maybe it’s more…” I closed my eyes and dreamed of my friends back home, wondering how they were doing.

 

[Swordmaster]

Seven



It seemed as if I’d only just fallen asleep when Connor pounded on my door and woke me up. I looked out my window. The sun wasn’t even out yet.
“Dude,” I said, rubbing my eyes, “what the hell?”
Connor walked into my room, a serious expression on his face. “Get dressed and meet in the training room in a half hour. Do not be late.” And with that, he left.
As he left, though, Keira walked in. “He sounds happy,” I yawned.
She smiled sadly. “Sorry about him. It’s just that the war’s been part of his life since he was a child. He may not be dead, but he’s a casualty of war nonetheless.”
I nodded. “I understand. Back when I was Spartan, I was afraid he would consume me. Different scenario’s, I know, but still.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Well, get changed fast. I’ll be outside to bring you to the training area.”
“Alrighty,” I said. As she walked out and I put on my shirt, I said to myself, “She digs me.”
***
Keira and I had to run to the training area to make it on time, and even so, we’d just made it. I opened the door, but Keira held back. “You’re not coming?” I asked.
She shook her head no. “Connor made it clear it would be just him and you. Besides, I’d just distract you.” As she turned away, she said, “A word of advice: don’t talk back to him.”
Thanking her, I walked in. The training room was the size of a football field, without the stands or the grass. Instead, there were weight machines, pull up bars, mats, balance beams, treadmills, and other workout machines. In the center of the room stood Connor, arms folded. I ran to him, and when I arrived I was out of breath.
I felt his eyes burn through me. “You just made it. Come on.”
“You mean I’m not even gonna get some breakfast?” I panted.
In response, he tossed me a single slice of bread. “Oh this will be fun,” I muttered.
***
The first thing Connor had me do was face him in unarmed combat, “to see how good I was.” I charged at him, aiming to tackle, but he sidestepped, grabbed me by my collar, and threw me back. Then he ran up to me and kneed my stomach. I coughed up blood, something I hadn’t seen in a while.
In anger, I went to punch his face, but without my powers my movements were jerky and easily dodged. Before my powers, I never found it necessary to work out and train, and whenever I got into a fight as Spartan I relied on my powers to bail me out. I had no combat skill whatsoever.
Connor dodged that punch and tackled me to the ground, pinning me until I couldn’t breathe. When he got off, I welcomed the nice, lovely air. Connor looked at me with disgust. “Pathetic,” he spat.
I stared at him with pure anger, but I remembered Keira’s last words to me, about not talking back. I bottled my anger deep inside, and vowed to train as hard as possible, so that Connor would see that I wasn’t pathetic.
Connor stalked away, obviously expecting me to follow. I spat blood and did so.
***
Surprisingly, after our bout, Connor didn’t begin to teach me how to fight. Rather, he had me do five hundred jumping jacks, followed by five hundred sit ups, all while having the hot lights of the training room focused on me.
After that, it was five hundred push ups, followed by five hundred squats. Though every muscle in my body objected, I did everything he asked of me perfectly. When I was finished with the squats, he said nothing, which means I’d done well. He didn’t look happy about that.
***
I paid for his unhappiness by being forced to run around the whole training area five times. When I was done, I threw up. As a result, Connor kicked me.
“You think that’s gonna earn you a break, kid? Because if so, you’re wrong. Dead wrong.”
I had had enough of his attitude. Screaming like an animal, I lunged at him and managed to tackle him to the ground. I raised a fist to strike him, but stopped when I saw him laughing.
“Very good,” he said.
Confused, I got off of him.
“Sorry for acting like a real *******, but I don’t think you would have responded nearly as well to the training as you have today if you knew I actually liked you. You have learned your first lesson, which is your most important: Never bottle up your feelings. If you do, it will be all too easy for you to be defeated. Let your feelings be known, or you could be defeated. There is great potential in you, Kyle. I would hate for you to die on me.”
I stood in shock. His whole assiness was an act? Feeling dizzy, I fell to my knees and passed out.

 

[Swordmaster]

EIGHT

I was really starting to miss my powers. Besides the obvious reasons, I was getting sick of falling unconscious every other minute. I woke up in my room, where Keira was patting my face with a damp cloth.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
“Don’t mention it,” she said warmly. “I was watching you from the sides. I’ve never seen anyone work like that. You trained like a machine.”
“Wasn’t as easy as it looked,” I grunted. I tried to sit up, but my whole body ached, and I winced in pain.
“Easy, buddy,” Keira cooed. She looked into my eyes, and I into hers, before I changed the subject.
“So, what’s going on? When do I start training again?” I asked wearily.
“Well,” Keira began, “Will wants you to heal up completely. He wants you to feel fresh when you start your physical training again, so that nothing worse than this happens to you.”
“Is feeling worse than this even possible?” I joked.
She laughed. It was a nice sound…
An image of Briana entered my mind. I shook my head.
“What is it?” Keira asked worriedly.
“Nothing…” I gasped. “I just…can I be alone? I’m kinda tired, still.”
Looking at me with a mix of worry and sadness, Keira nodded. “You’re not gonna have much time to sleep, though. Will wants to put you through some mental training. Why, I don’t know.”
“That’s fine,” I said.
As Keira retreated, I called her back in. “What’s up?” she asked.
“Thank you, for all this.”
She smiled at me. “Don’t mention it.”
When she left, I was left wondering what I was going to do about this. I loved Briana, definitely, but here was someone I was also attracted to.
“You know, Kyle, when you get home you’re gonna have a lot to answer for.”
Next to me sat Briana, looking exactly the same as when I’d left her, save for her furious expression.
“Briana! What the hell are you doing here?”
Briana shook her head. “The how isn’t important. It’s the why that is. I can tell you’ve been having romantic thoughts about that girl, Keira. That was wrong of you. Very, very wrong.”
I felt tears welling up. “Briana, I…”
“Shut up, Kyle. First, you leave me to go “find yourself”, and now here you are, flirting with a girl whose way less pretty than me. There is only one way you can redeem yourself to me?”
“How’s that?” I pleaded. I didn’t want Briana to be made at me.
“Join Black Dawn.”
“But…they’re trying to take over the-wait. How do you know about Black Dawn?” I asked, eyebrows furrowed accusingly.
Briana looked scared. “Um…T.V.?”
I roared and put my hands around Briana’s throat.
“Kyle!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” she shrieked.
“You’re not Briana Walker,” I snarled.
“Briana’s” expression of fear changed into a manic smile, and her body became a black gas that hovered before me, with glowing red eyes staring right at me.
“So…you were able to see through my illusion. You’re better than I thought, Wyatt. But…sooner or later, you will be mine.”
And then the shadow vanished.
I looked around my room before being struck by a fierce headache. The pain was so intense that I again faded into darkness.
***
I woke up with a start, sweating. Will, Keira, and Connor surrounded me.
“What happened?” Will asked urgently.
Breathing shallowly, I told him of my dream, and of the shadow. This caused Will’s face to become grave. “Alastair,” he snarled.
Connor looked at him sharply. “Dad, you don’t think…”
“It’s the only possibility, Connor.”
Keira and I shared incredulous looks.
“What’s going on?” Keira asked on behalf of both of us. “What’s Alastair doing to Kyle?”
After what appeared to be a telepathic conversation between the father and son, Connor said, “My father and I believe that Alastair is trying to telepathically influence Kyle to join his side, hence why he used his girlfriend in the dream.”
Keira looked at me and mouthed, “Girlfriend?” before storming off.
“Damn,” I said. I got up to go after her, but Will telekinetically kept me down.
“Sorry, Kyle. I just need to know one more thing: did you feel tempted at all by this?”
I stared at him, offended. “Of course not! I know what he is. I’ve trained my balls off to stop him, and you think I would even consider joining him?”
I got up and stormed out, leaving Will and Connor in my wake. Then I walked back in. “Oh, it also would have been nice if you’d told me he was telepathic.” And then I was off again.
***
I found Keira in her room, dried tears on her cheeks. I walked in without knocking, and she turned around so she wouldn’t have to face me.
“Listen, Keira. You don’t have to talk, just listen. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Briana. I thought it was obvious from my story. You’re still my friend. If you want to be, at any rate.”
She said nothing for a minute, and then turned around with a grin on her face. “Of course I still want to be friends with you. I’d be a ***** not to.” She got off of her bed and hugged me. I hugged her back.
“So…why did you like me, anyway?” I asked.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Because I saw the hero in you.”

 

[Swordmaster]

Edit

 

[Swordmaster]

NINE

For the next two months, I was put through a rigorous training schedule. For eight hours a day, I would do workouts that only increased in difficulty. After I was done with that, I would undergo rigorous mental defense exercises, to block any mental attacks or invasions I could suffer.
After those two months, I underwent combat training. I had the strength and speed to fight, now I needed the technique. This time, I had Keira, Connor, and Will teaching me. Keira taught me how to be agile and nimble, where Connor taught me how to be fast and parry. Lastly, Will taught me how to fight using his own Martial Arts style, which he called “The Storm.” Unlike some other styles, The Storm taught you how to be dirty in a fight, while using your whole body, not just your arms and legs. After another month of intense training, I had become quite adept at it. Will himself said I was a master, second only to him. Connor, who had previously held the title of second best, graciously passed the title on to me. Despite only being together for 3.5 months, the four of us were becoming a family.
I just had one more thing to do. A “final exam”, Will called it. I had no idea what that would mean, but I hoped I was up to the task.
***
I stood before my three friends in the mission ops room, where my final exam was being given to me by Will.
“There is a mole in the Black Dawn. A woman named Gwen Phillips, about thirty two. She apparently has information for Crimson Sun that could be instrumental to our victory. Your job is to meet her at the old factory, find out what her information is, and bring her back here for further questioning. Is your mission clear?”
I nodded. “Crystal.”
Will nodded, and then dropped his leader demeanor. “Kyle, I will not lie to you. There is a chance she is lying to us. You could be attacked by Black Dawn. It is not that I lack confidence in your abilities, I just fear for your safety.”
“Same here,” Connor said.
“Do you really need to ask what I think?” Keira asked with a smirk.
I looked at all of them individually. “I won’t fail you.”
After a moment, Will said, “I know you won’t.”
***
I arrived at the old factory right on time, but the woman, Gwen, was no where to be found. I waited five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and she never showed up. Just when I was about to give up, an anxious looking woman with red hair darker than my own approached me.
“You the Sun?” she asked hurriedly.
“Yeah. You the Dawn?” I responded
“That I am. Now let’s get out of here fast. I think he knows I’m here.”
“John Alastair?” I asked. If he came, I was gonna give him hell.
“No. His right hand: Darrel Stone. We need to hurry, before he finds us.”
The two of us moved through the streets and back alleys as fast as humanly possible, keeping an eye out for this Darrel Stone. Whenever I researched Black Dawn, his name had never come up. I assumed he was a secret. Until now.
As we got to the elevator that would bring us to the base, I stopped Gwen. “Why are you doing this?” I asked. I wanted to know what could cause a person to betray something they believed in.
Gwen put her hand over her stomach. “I’m pregnant,” she said with a smile. “Crimson Sun said they’d protect me and my baby from Black Dawn if I helped them.”
“What exactly is the information you’re giving us?” I asked.
“In exactly one month, Black Dawn will set out to take over all of Halona. They will initiate a massive assault against her, using every member of their army. I tell this to Crimson Sun in the hopes that they will stop them.”
I stared at her. Black Dawn was planning a full-out battle? This hadn’t happened in the entire history of the Tomorrow War. This information was vital. Since we had it, we could prepare for the battle and not be caught by surprise.
“You don’t have to worry,” I assured Gwen. “You and your child will be taken care of to the best of our ability.” I patted her on the arm. “You don’t have to worry.”
She smiled at me, but that changed when a fist punched straight through her heart. She fell to the ground and died instantly. Behind her stood a twenty-something Black Dawn member. He was bald, and he had yellow eyes, like a hawk. His nose was curved like a beak. He smiled maliciously.
I let my anger fill me, let it give me strength. “Darrel Stone, I presume?” I growled.
“Yes. And you are Kyle Wyatt. How my master so desires you.”
“Why are you here?” I whispered menacingly.
“I had two objectives: to kill the traitor, and to convince you to join Black Dawn. In the event you still refused, I have authorization to end your life.”
I get into a combat stance. “You can try to beat me. You’ll fail, but you can still try.”
Stone’s malicious smile turned into an angry frown. “So be it.”
Stone leaped at me, so I sidestepped and kneed his stomach mid-air. He let out and “oof” as he was thrown back. He recovered as he landed, and charged at me again. He was good, there was no doubt about it, but I was able to read his moves easily. He punched; I blocked. I punched; he bled.
I let the monster wear himself out attacking me, then began my own assault. I jumped as high as I could and punched the man on the top of his head. I palmed him in the chin, and then elbowed his crotch.
I slammed him to the ground, and on instinct tried to web him up. Unfortunately, I still had yet to receive my powers back, so he took the advantage and threw me off of him. He started to walk towards me, but staggered.
“You are fortunate today, Wyatt,” he sneered. “I am too weak to finish you. But we’ll meet again. And when we do, I hope you don’t have as many compunctions about ending lives as you do today.” And with that, he walked away.
I had every desire to go after him, but I had to go back to base and tell Will what I had learned. And how I’d failed my mission.

 

[Swordmaster]

TEN


“You let him get away?!” Connor yelled in my face, covering it with saliva.
“What was I supposed to do, kill him?” I retorted.
“Yes,” Connor snapped.
I stared at my friend with new eyes. “I don’t kill. Ever. It’s part of my honor code.”
Now Connor stared at me with sympathy. “Kyle, in war you have to kill. It’s necessary to prevent the monsters we fight against from coming back to fight again. What if those clones of you hadn’t self-destructed? They’d still be destroying Xavier City. Do you understand?”
I did understand, but I didn’t accept it. I didn’t say as much to Connor, so I merely nodded.
“That’s not the issue right now, though,” Will said. “What really matters is the fact that Black Dawn is preparing to launch a massive strike with their entire army in a month. We can’t let that pass.”
Keira chimed in, “We have a month to prepare for the fight. I suggest we start preparing.”
Will nodded. “Right. Keira, you plan that out. Connor, you come with me to plan our strategy. Kyle…go train.”
I stared. “Why? Why can’t I help Keira or you guys? Is it because I refused to kill Darrel Stone? I’m sorry about that, all right? Really. Bit for the past two years I’ve lived by a moral code that prevented me from ever taking a life. Do you know why? Death would be too good for all the criminals I’ve met. I think they should rot in jail, alive, knowing what they did was wrong. And knowing that I stopped them.”
After that, I walked back to my quarters, passing Keira, who had stopped to listen. She followed me.
“That speech was…wow,” she said in awe.
“So you agree?” I asked without looking at her.
She said nothing and stopped in her tracks. I stopped and looked back at her. “Keira?”
She looked at me, fire in her eyes. “No, I don’t. You don’t understand Kyle, Black Dawn killed my family. I intend to repay them back in full.”
I watched her. I knew where she came from. “You know, Keira, once I was in the same position as you. At the time, I was fifteen, and this person stole someone very dear to me. You have no idea how angry I was. I almost killed him. But with the help of my friends I realized that killing him wouldn’t change anything, and it wouldn’t bring this dear person back.”
I left Keira on that note, hoping I’d gotten through, even just a little bit.
***
And so I trained for another month. I wasn’t nearly as strong or fast as I had been as Spartan, but I was as close as any normal human could get. I had trained for the whole month, stopping only to eat, drink, and sleep. I hadn’t had any contact with Will, Connor, or Keira since I’d told them my stance on killing. Maybe I was afraid to face them. Maybe they were afraid to face me. Either way, it was an awkward reunion the day before the battle.
I was about to apologize for forcing my views on them, but Connor got to it first. “Hey, Kyle…on behalf of all three of us, I’m sorry. After considering what you said, we realized you were right, and we were wrong. Killing should only be used in the most extreme of circumstances.”
I would have made a clever retort, but I realized that their apology was sincere. I shifted uneasily on my feet. “Well, um, thanks…I guess.”
Will patted me on the back. “You’re a good kid, and an excellent fighter. We’d hate to lose you. In fact, I would like you to make one of your impassioned speeches to the rest of Crimson Sun before the big fight tomorrow.”
I was shocked, and a little touched. “Sure!” I said enthusiastically.
Everyone laughed. Okay, I admit it, I was being a little too enthusiastic.
***
I spent the whole day working on a speech and memorizing it. By the next day, I felt I had it down. I got on the uniform and walked out to the rest of the base.
Everyone seemed to be on edge. This was the battle that would decide the fate of Halona. I must confess that I too was a little nervous.
Keira walked out of the elevator and jogged to Will. “I told everyone in the city to stay underground today.”
At first I didn’t know what she meant, but then I realized that what she’d done was smart; if everyone was outside during the fight, civilian casualties would go through the roof. If they stayed underground, they would be severely limited. Hopefully there would be none.
As soon as Connor saw me, he gathered all of the hundreds of Crimson Sun’s around me. I looked at all of them. Men, women, teenagers, all of them looked at me with admiration. Despite having not spent much time with them, I felt a kinship with them. We were all fighting for the same cause, and thus we were connected.
I cleared my throat. “Today, we, the brothers and sisters of the Crimson Sun, go into battle for the last time. I will not lie to you, I do not expect you all to come home. Hell, I don’t even expect to come home. But today, we fight for the future of Halona. I may not have been here as long as most of you, but I care for Halona’s future as much as the rest of you. So today, we will march through the streets and we will defeat Black Dawn. All this will happen today. Today, we fight for tomorrow!”
The whole group cheered and roared with enthusiasm. I looked at my three good friends, who smiled and gave me thumbs up.
***
The Crimson Sun army marched through all the streets of Halona, with Connor, Keira, Will, and me leading them. As usual, the sky was dark and cloudy. I looked around the streets, and was glad to note that Keira had done her job well; no civilians were on the streets.
I saw a blue and green mass in the center of the street, led by Darrel Stone and a man with gelled black hair and a pointed beard that I could only assume was John Alastair. Will held up a hand to stop us.
“Ah, my old friend Will Storms,” Alastair sneered. “It had been far too long.”
“Not nearly long enough,” came Will’s cliché, yet badass reply.
“Oh, is that really a way to treat a man you once considered a brother?” Alastair said with a fake frown.
“Whoever you once were is dead…John,” Will said deliberately.
“Too true, Will. Too true.” Alastair surveyed all of us, his eyes resting on me last. “Ah, Kyle Wyatt. It is an honor to meet you in person.”
“Wish I could say the same,” I sneered.
“Ouch, that hurt.” Alastair chuckled. “But I like you, so I’ll give just one more chance to join me. I could teach you things you couldn’t even dream of.”
“Like bad hair care?” I asked. All of the Sun’s laughed, while Alastair stared at me coldly.
“You’re too funny for your own good, kid.”
“So I’ve been told,” I replied truthfully. “Now, can we get on with this? I have a nail appointment.”
Alastair’s neck reddened, and he motioned for his army to attack. They screamed and charged forward, and we followed suit.
The Ultimate Battle had begun.

 

[Swordmaster]

ELEVEN


I ran towards the nearest Black Dawn and punched him the face, knocking him out in one hit. Another leaped onto my back and tried to strangle me. I grabbed him and through him into yet another who was giving Keira a hard time. She gave me a quick smile and ran off to fight again.
I fought for hours, or so it seemed, getting bruised and bloody. This being the first true application of me fighting without my powers, I found myself doing a pretty decent job.
A huge Black Dawn rammed through a group of Sun’s and ran towards me. I stepped to the right and tripped him. He landed with a loud THUD! I got on his back and choked him until he was unconscious.
True to their word, none of the Sun’s had killed any of the Dawn, but many of the Dawn killed my brethren, and I could sense that they wanted nothing more than to kill each and every one of them. I myself had to fight off the urge.
With every Dawn that I incapacitated, I came closer to finding Stone. I wanted to pay him back for killing Gwen Phillips and her unborn child.
A Dawn leaped out of nowhere, and gave me a particularly hard time. She was able to match any of my moves, and was faster than me. It was only after Connor helped me out that she was beaten.
“Thanks,” I panted, looking at him. He was dirty, and a cut ran down his left eye. “Where’s your Dad?”
Connor motioned up at the roof of a nearby building, where he and Alastair were having a telekinetic duel, where Will looked like he was losing. “I have to help him,” I said, and began to run to the building, only to be stopped by Connor’s hand on my arm.
“You’re not Spartan, you can’t win. The only reason Dad’s even doing as well as he is is because he has powers to. Like it or not, we’re just normal humans. We can’t do this.”
I stamped my foot in frustration. He was right. God I hated this. Connor lessened his grip on my shoulder. “Come on,” he whispered. “We’ve got more Dawn to take care of.”
I nodded and followed him back into battle.
***
We continued to fight on, and I was beginning to get tired. But as soon as I felt like giving up, I saw Stone…aiming a gun at Keira, who was taking on another Dawn.
Now, Black Dawn and Crimson Sun may have been mortal enemies, but we also had a silent truce: No guns. It looked like Stone had broken the truce.
Without hesitation, I sprinted to her. “KEIRA!” I yelled, and pushed her out of the way just as the bullet pierced my heart.
I fell to the ground, and Keira ran to my side, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said something to me, but I couldn’t hear it. The world was becoming black, and I died knowing that I saved someone I cared about.
***
Or so I thought.
I found myself back in the familiar white realm, this time wearing clothes. I looked down at my chest where the bullet had struck me. The hole was gone, as was the blood. I felt my face, and all my wounds were healed. To top that off, I felt great, better than I had in a while.
“How do you feel?” Sage said, appearing directly in front of me. I screamed like a little girl. Now I knew how my friend Sarge felt whenever I appeared out of nowhere.
Recovering, I asked, “Am I dead?”
Sage looked at me with a slight smile. “You dove in front of the bullet meant for Keira Novak, knowing full well what would happen when you did. That say anything to you?”
I shrugged. I wondered where he was going with this.
Exasperated, Sage sighed. “Tell me, why did you jump in front of the bullet?”
I thought for a moment. “Because….because I cared about Keira, and I didn’t want to see her die, and…it was the right thing.”
Sage nodded. “And thus, you have realized you are a hero. Anyone who wasn’t a true hero would never have made the ultimate sacrifice.”
I looked at him, hopes rising. “You mean…?”
Sage nodded…sagely. “Yes, Kyle. Your powers have been restored to you, as has your life. Now, I will send you back, Since your, for lack of a better term, “death,” Crimson Sun has lost much morale, and is losing badly. Whereas Will Storms is still battling John Alastair, the rest of the living Sun’s have been rounded up and are being lined up for execution by Gatling gun.”
My eyes bulged. “Send me back, now!”
Sage smiled warmly, the first time I’d ever seen him to do so. “You’re a credit to humanity, Kyle Wyatt. Or is it Spartan?”
As I faded away, I said, “Both.”

 

[Swordmaster]

TWELVE


I found myself in a burning building. With my restored hearing, I heard two Dawn say that they threw my “corpse” in there to remove it. I laughed maniacally. I was back.
While assessing my situation, I discovered a new power of mine. During my training, I had learned how to maximize my lung capacity, being able to remain underwater for an hour. With my powers, it appeared I could expel some of the air from my body and use it as a “super breath.”
I used my new ability to extinguish the flames that surrounded me, but the damage to the building’s infrastructure was too great. It collapsed on top of me. Thankfully, I had my invulnerability and strength back, and so I pushed all the debris off with ease.
I walked out of the building, and in the light saw that my Crimson Sun outfit was ripped and torn. But there was something under it. I ripped off the once mighty looking uniform, and my silver-on-black Superman ‘S’ revealed itself. Grinning, I ripped off the rest of the outfit, and was Spartan once more.
I listened for Keira or Connor, knowing that if I found them, I’d find the other Sun’s. I never did find them, but I heard the sound of a Gatling gun about to fire, and without second thought I flew into the air at top speed, ignoring all the bodies that littered the streets.
***
I arrived in the nick of time. In my speed mode, I saw the bullets moving towards Connor, who, along with the rest of Crimson Sun, was tied up. I landed in between the two, and the bullets bounced off of me harmlessly.
Stone was operating the gun, and looked at me in horror as I walked towards him, bullets flying in all directions. He desperately emptied the entire gun into me, with no luck. I stood there, as healthy and unharmed as before.
When his gun was empty, he backed away from it and yelled, “Black Dawn, attack Kyle Wyatt!” He was sweating fervently.
I laughed and awaited the attack, but it never came. Stone looked from his men to me, screaming incoherently. “What are you doing?” he shrieked. “I told you to attack!”
One of the Black Dawn spoke up. “We’re not fool enough to go after him. I mean, did you see the way the bullets bounced off of him? He’s not human.”
“You got that right!” Keira yelled. “He’s superhuman!”
“Shut up, *****!” Stone spat.
“I wouldn’t talk about her like that if I were you, Darrel,” I said, quietly yet menacingly.
“Or what?” he yelled at me. “You may have the…the power…to let bullets bounce off of you, but that’s probably all.”
“Really?” I asked, amused. I shot webs rapidly, tying up every member of Black Dawn that was present. I smirked at his terrified expression.
However, his expression changed after a minute. I read his thought process across his face. In his mind, he thought he had nothing to lose, so he just ran at me and attacked me everything he had.
I blocked all of his punches and kicks without effort, and punched him into a brick wall, where I heard his back break. He groaned in pain. I walked up to him slowly, every step causing him to flinch.
“Wha…what are you?” he asked me.
I leaned down to face him and gently smiled. “I am the menace of menaces; I am the answer to those who cry out for help; I am the hero where there is none.”
Every trace of a smile slid off of my face. “I’M THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS, AND THE NIGHTMARE TO YOU!”
Stone started shaking with fear, and passed out. I looked down on him with disgust, webbed him up, and spat on him.
I walked to the Sun’s and freed them of their ropes. They all looked at me with a reverence that I didn’t need…or deserve.
“Okay,” Connor said. “Any doubts I ever had about you being a hero are gone.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Clean the streets of the dead, and gather all the other Dawn here. Tie them up using the rope Stone had used on you.”
“Where are you going?” Keira asked.
“To help Will,” I said, flying away.
***
I wish I could enjoy the ability of flight again, but I had no time. I had to save Will. I flew to the building where he was fighting Alastair, only to see him get pushed off by a telekinetic wave.
I raced to catch him, but I realized that I’d miss. I thought of something to save him, and threw a web net, which caught him gently.
“Are you all right?” I asked, helping him off.
“Yeah,” he said, looking at me the same way the others had. “My god, you’re-“
“I know,” I interrupted. “Go to that old apartment down the road, about a mile back. The living Sun’s need healing.”
Will just stared at me. “Go!” I yelled. “I’ll take of Alastair. I can beat him now.”
Will was about to object, but after a glare he respected my wishes. Before he left, he said, “You’re a good person, Kyle. Thank you.”
Nodding, I flew up to the roof and landed right before Alastair and his bewildered expression.
“Hi,” I snarled. “I’m Kyle Wyatt, but my friend’s call me Spartan, the best superhero on Earth.”

 

[Swordmaster]

THIRTEEN


Alastair just stared at me. “I knew there was something special about you, Wyatt, but I could never figure out what it was. Until now. You have powers beyond reason. It is a shame I will have to kill you to find out what they are.”
I looked at him tiredly. “You think you’re going to dissect me?”
He shrugged. “Of course. It’s obvious that I’m going to defeat you, and then I can learn the secrets of your power by ripping you open piece by piece.”
“We’ll see,” I said.
“Indeed.”
And then a giant steel fan was thrown at me. I attached a webline to it and threw it back at Alastair, who, caught off guard, got hit with the full force of the attack. Taking advantage, I dashed to him and punched him in the stomach, and then elbowed him across the face. He appeared to go unconscious. Webbing him up, I went to grab him, but he was faking it. Using his power, he ripped the webs apart and threw me back with a TK wave.
I fell off of the building, but that was no problem. I maneuvered myself in the air, attached two separate lines to the building, and flung myself back up.
Unfortunately, I was not entirely used to my great strength again, so I shot myself about a mile above the building. Catching myself, I flew back down, attached a web to my enemy, and threw him onto another building.
In the heat of the moment, I flew after him, but my anger blinded me, and so my Battle Sense didn’t warn of Alastair’s next move: He used his telekinesis and suspended me in mid-air. Twisting me around at his leisure, he examined my body.
“You’re a fine physical specimen, you know that? I think, instead of dissecting you, I will brainwash you, and make you my own personal servant.”
Without further warning, Alastair entered my mind, and I was powerless to stop him.
***
*Let’s see what makes you tick*
His voice ran through my mind, and I struggled, but I could feel his influence entering every crevice in my brain, infecting me. Unsummoned memories drifted up to the surface, memories of love, of hate, of friendship, of good, and of evil.
*You’ve been through quite a lot, Mr. Wyatt. But you will remember none of it once I am finished reconditioning you. Once I am done, you will go back to the Crimson Sun base and kill everyone in there, starting with Will, Connor, and Keira. What do you say to that, hm?”
Their images entered my mind, and by thinking of them and my loved ones back home, I expelled Alastair from my mind.
***
He staggered back, amazed at how I pushed him out. My eyes glowed red. “BURN!” I screamed. Heat Vision burst from my eyes, and it struck him with such force that it knocked him out, freeing me from my telepathic chains. I landed on my feet and walked to my fallen enemy. His hair and beard were gone, no doubt that they were burned off. Webbing him up, I grabbed him and flew back to the Sun’s, where I hoped they would finally find peace.

 

[Swordmaster]

FOURTEEN


Fourteen
Back at the Crimson Sun base, a huge celebration was occurring. A smile was on nearly every face. But in spite of the celebrations, a cloud of sadness hung over us. Many good people had perished in the final fight. And it was for them we silently mourned.
The celebration went on for hours, and soon everyone was in bed. Everyone but Will, Connor, Keira, and me, that is.
“What will you do now?” I asked.
“Rebuild,” Will replied. “It will take a long time, but sooner or later Halona will thrive once more. And the people no longer have to worry about street fights anymore, thanks to you.”
I smiled modestly. “Nah, it was because of you. You taught me how to fight, and without you guys, I doubt I would have realized who I was.” I patted my ‘S’. “Kyle Wyatt. Spartan. Two halves of one person.”
“So what’s next for you?” Keira asked, not looking at me.
“I go home. My city probably needs me,” I said.
Keira sniffled, so I walked up to her. “Hey….chin up. I’ll come back and visit every once and a while. I promise.”
She looked up at me and smiled. I hugged her, and she hugged me back. “You’ve been a good friend,” I whispered. “You too,” she whispered back.
I turned to Connor and offered him my hand. Instead, he slugged me in the arm. Once it would have hurt, but now it barely registered. I smirked at him as he shook his hand in pain.
“Right…,” he murmured. “Invulnerable…” Connor glared at me, but I kept smirking, and eventually the both of us wound up laughing. We embraced as brothers would, and when we broke apart he clapped me on my shoulder. “Be seeing you.”
I nodded. “And you.”
I walked to Will and held out my hand. “It was an honor.”
Will looked at me with tears in his eyes, and it was then I figured out he saw me as another son, and I realized I saw him as another father.
When all the goodbyes were done with, I moved towards the elevator. “Well,” I gulped. “Bye.”
The three nodded and waved. I pressed the button for the door to open, and as I did my Battle Sense went off, and my body went cold. “No…” I whispered. I backed away from the elevator.
“What is it?” Keira asked urgently.
I looked to Will. “Check on Alastair.”
We’d locked up the Black Dawn in cells even deeper underground, and it would take about fifteen minutes for a normal human to check up on them. Luckily, Will could mentally check up on them. He focused, closing his eyes, and when they opened he shook his head.
“Alastair’s still in his cell…but he’s angry. I can’t determine the exact cause, though. He’s dampening my telepathy.”
Sighing, I listened for him. When I heard him, he was screaming at his minions. “YOU WORMS THINK YOU CAN FAIL ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT?! THIS IS THE PRICE FOR YOUR FAILURE!”
And with that, the base of Crimson Sun went up in flames, from the bottom up.
Keira and Connor looked to Will and me. I couldn’t do anything to figure out what had happened, so I too looked to Will. Concentrating once more, he snapped his eyes open.
“What is it?” all three of us said at once.
“Alastair telekinetically sped up the molecules in the other members of Black Dawn, effectively turning them into human bombs!’
“What can I do?” I asked immediately.
Will looked at me sadly, yet his voice relayed none of that sadness. “Go home, Kyle.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “What?” I said, practically yelling. “I have my powers back, I can help!”
“Which is exactly why you need to go,” Will replied, wincing. “Your city needs you. Don’t argue with me, I’m using all of my strength providing a telekinetic bubble around the people here.”
Connor and Keira stared between the two of us. Will shot them a look, pretty much telling them to go help. Before she left, Keira gave me a small smile and wave, and then ran off to do what she could to help.
“Will, I…” I tried to make him see my point, but he would hear none of it.
“GO!” he roared, waving a hand and sending me flying through the ceiling, through dirt, and through cement. I continued to fly upward in a telekinetic hold until I was a few miles above Halona, before I was released.
As soon as I was free, however, I tried to fly back down to the independent nation, only to be stopped by some invisible shield.
“What the-?” I said to myself. I tried flying against the shield again, faster this time. Nothing happened, except that I felt a little weaker.
GO HOME, KYLE.
Sage’s voice rang through my mind. “What’s going on!?” I screamed to the heavens.
WILLIAM STORMS REQUESTED I PUT A SHIELD AROUND HALONA TO KEEP YOU OUT, AS A LAST REQUEST.
“Last request? You mean he’s gonna die!?”
HIS FATE, ALONG WITH CRIMSON SUN’S, CAN GO IN TWO DIRECTIONS. NEITHER OF WHICH INVOLVE YOU.
“You have to let me in! I can help them!”
When Sage didn’t respond, I screamed in futility and started ramming the barrier with everything I had. Each attempt scarred my costume, and each attempt weakened me. After hundreds of tries, I hung in the air hopelessly, panting and sweating.
YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING KYLE WYATT. GO HOME.
And before I could object, I was flung through a rainbow hole in space-time, hoping for the best for my friends…
***
When I was free of the rainbow, I found myself on a random rooftop, but I recognized where the rooftop was: Xavier City. I was home. I was also greatly weakened by my attempts to shatter the barrier, and just wanted to rest. Regrettably, the universe had different plans for me. I heard the voices of people I hadn’t seen in five months. I looked over the edge of the roof and saw my friends, Leon Allain and Jackson Crichton, as well as my father, Thomas Wyatt, surrounded by a gang wearing the colors of blue and gold.
Letting the anger at my inability to do anything to save Halona fill me, I roared in rage and leaped off the building to save the people I cared for. Because that’s what a hero would do. And that’s exactly what I, Spartan, did.