The gym disappeared around me, and I was looking around at an inky void. I could hear muffled voices in the distance, and I recognized them as Aimee and Brad. Looking, I saw my hand was empty... Liminal space? It got used in enough games, stories, and anime that I was familiar with the concept. I was still in the gym, but my mind was in a between space. The darkness was trying to close to reach me, but it couldn't seem to quite close. Searching around, I didn't even see the scythe, though part of me could feel it in my hand, and I could see the rest of my body.

"Reaver! I know you're here, even if I can't see you!"

The darkness receded, it seemed to bunch up, forming until the dark clown appeared, but without the scythe in hand, and now, the voice came out differently, dark but melodic, the rasp gone, "Welcome, Aegis. So strange... I would have assumed you were not foolish enough to take me in your hand. Tsk, tsk, tsk young man, that was a mistake."

I smiled, "Not really. See, you messed up. You gave me prep time, and it wasn't just my body I worked on. I was already becoming strong against what Adam called 'intrusive powers', so I took the next logical step: I had a psychic attack my mind constantly the last few days. My 1% strengthened my defenses between then and now."

I felt the 'ground' beneath me, and took a step forward, "I was the one person you shouldn't have messed with, Reaver, and I'm afraid you're never getting the chance again, not with me or anyone else."

As I stepped forward, Reaver stepped back, "Ah, poor little Timothy. He's been through so much since we met these last couple of years."

"Don't change the subject!", I took another step, and Reaver retreated again, and the ground felt more solid, less spongy, and I chuckled slightly, "You really screwed this up. You're trying to stay back. You can't control me, that's an impossibility, but can I control you? That's why you're retreating, but you're not teleporting. Can't access the powers without a body to control, can you?"

Now a full hop back, and a spear of darkness lanced out at me. If this wasn't the real world, there was no reason to be limited to my real powers. I dodged out and focused my mind on my own internal light, Aimee, Darryl, my family. I watched as light engulfed my body, and as the next lance came in, I deflected it, and felt a weight leaving me. The Reaver shook, dodging back, bending darkness as a shield, "What are you?"

I couldn't just defend, I could just block, I need more, but this was a battle wills, not a fight, "You know, the funny thing is, I'm not the one who beat you, Darryl is."

Reaver seethed, "What?!"

"Oh yeah, totally. See, Darryl's a way bigger nerd than me, always has been. Not sure if you'd be familiar with this, but do you know what an Ego Check is?" I started moving a little faster now, the darkness was retreating, "It's from one of Darryl's games, Dungeons & Dragons. Some magic items and artifacts are so powerful that they become sentient, and develop an ego. To use them, you have to overcome that ego with the power of your own will. Succeed, and you can wield the item, fail and you either can't, or worst case, the item controls you. Sound familiar?"

An explosion of concentrated darkness slammed into me like a wall. Reaver was panicking, launching a hard assault. I'd struck a nerve, at least. Problem was, this was a lot. Think, man, the taunting is working, but you need an offense, something you can center your mind around... oh, that's just stupid.

As I was barely maintaining my 'footing', I focused on the mantra I knew the best, one I'd said week in, week out for years, "A Scout is... Trustworthy!"

The light intensified, and I could feel something change, my shirt becoming tougher, morphing itself to become like armor. It doesn't really matter what you base your will around, just that you have that foundation, that ideal. I'd been made fun of and even bullied for my time in Scouts, but it was about to save my soul, "Loyal!"

Another step against the current of seething darkness, and my senses expanded. Reaver was the darkness, it was all just a representation of wills, "Helpful!"

A small shield... a buckler, formed on my left arm, and I used it to bash away the attack. Reaver was screaming now, the facade of the jester cracking, "Friendly!"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The darkness perverted around me, pushing, condensing, and I could feel light behind me now, lending me strength, "Courteous!"

The light took on form and became its own force behind me, and I began to understand: My light, my ideal, was the weapon, it was the offense. It could protect, it could strengthen, and it could push back the darkness, "Kind!"

Fred, Samson, Brad's Mom, Brad himself. The light I make in the world, my promise to make it better, to ease the suffering. Reaver wasn't talking anymore, its full capability fighting to maintain its domain, "Obedient!"

I sort of chuckled at that one. This whole plan had been couched firmly in not listening to the people in charge, but I had been obedient, just to my own morals, my own ideals, what I knew to be right, "Cheerful!"

The story of me sharing my danish and Yoo-Hoo with Aimee, not even realizing how much that one tiny act, that one small piece of brightening up her day changed so many things. Helping Brad, who now stood ready to stop me if this didn't work, if I failed, "Thrifty!"

I had come so far just in the last few days, used every resource, pulled every strand I could, and even beyond that, my upcoming company, even my Sundays, they all had value, created value, and I wasted nothing. By now, the force of light was pushing ahead of me, and the Reaver was consolidating, drawing back into itself to preserve its essence, "Brave!"

I mean, I'm literally fighting this thing, but really, that's not true bravery. The true strength was in being afraid, but choosing action, revealing myself to the world, and admitting how I feel to Aimee, those were all far more courageous than the fighting, "Clean!"

To keep my mind fit, I'd done it. Sure, I had anger, but I was dealing, I was learning to clear it out, and anger wasn't a problem by itself, it was how it was used, how it got channeled. I could clean away the things in my city, my community that were soiling it. Not people, but the idiocy, the self-defeating cycle of it all, "And Reverant!"

The light shot past Reaver, and now, there was no defense. Reaver stood now as I had, and I brought my arms up and back, a bow of light forming an arrow as I drew back the string, the full light of my will, my being formed into a single point. I fired through the true heart of Reaver, the mask, and it, and the darkness were obliterated.

The gym reappeared as the light dissipated, and I dropped to my knees, taking my hand off the scythe for a moment before touching it again. There was no darkness this time, no force of energy. Brad called over, holding Aimee behind him with one arm, "We good dude?!"

I laughed silently and changed hands holding the scythe, giving him a thumbs up, and collapsed. I didn't pass out or anything, just... fuck. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I was fucking exhausted. Aimee rushed over and knelt down, hugging me. Okay, this part's good, "So, uh, sorry I missed the game."

She laughed really hard as she held my head against her chest, "You are an idiot!"

Cops came blaring in, paramedics, news crews, and H.A.A. reps, I'm pretty sure I saw the National Guard, it was kinda nuts. Using the haft of the scythe, I got to my feet as John came in, Anna in tow, and he seemed both worried as well as decidedly agitated, "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I was really too tired to have an argument.

In the end, we were held up for a couple of hours answering questions. The man who had been taken over by the Reaver was named Tim Ford, an E-Tier. His power was psychometry, and he'd worked abroad with archeological teams and Interpol. His ability had allowed him to see the history and impressions of an object by touching them, so when a rare scythe had been unearthed in an ancient tomb, he'd been called in to get the impression off of it. Reaver awoke and took over his mind.

The ability itself was pretty cool, actually. He could touch a handgun, and see who had committed a crime with it, all the way back to when it was first made. It didn't have a single combat or rescue utility really, but in law enforcement and archeology? Insane. He hadn't moved since he lost the scythe, and had to be rushed off by the paramedics. Becky, physically at least, was fine but would have some sessions with Anna for the mental and emotional end of things.

I got chewed out by John pretty hard. Yeah, sooo... I could go into it, but I was tired as shit, and kind of done with the whole thing, so I just "yeah-yeah"'ed through it for a bit, and then looked at him, "Fuckin' done?"

"You will not-"

I decked him, and as he lay there on the floor, I looked down at him, "I won't what? Or you'll... what, exactly? Send a team of supers after a kid? Think I won't livestream whatever's coming? I don't work for you, I don't serve you, and I'm not going to. I'm about sick of people who can't keep up telling me what I can and can't do. SO, here's how it's gonna work: If I want to fight crime, I'll fight crime. If I don't want to fight, I won't. And if someone threatens anyone or anything that I care about? Fuck around and find out."

Funnily enough, there must've been around a hundred people in that gymnasium, in the middle of open court, and yet somehow, not one person saw me hit him. The four of us went out front and sat down on the curb in front of the gym after that. Just four kids, and a formerly psychotic scythe on my lap. Aimee did return my neckerchief, but put my BSA cap on and decided it was hers. I just spent some time breathing as the others went back and forth about everything that'd happened, and then we all got quiet as everyone finished clearing out. Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore, "Anyone wanna hit up Shari's?"

All three of them responded in unison, "YES!"