Chapter 14

Jax had gone full Sith Lord. The Northern Lights blanketed the ceiling of the sparring room. Instead of the blues and greens usually displayed, this color cloud glowed pink, red, and orange and pulsed with power, like a heartbeat. Nega-Ray narrowly dodged a bolt of red crackling energy and looked back to see a scorch mark on the floor where his feet used to be.

Jax was standing almost against the wall opposite Nega-Ray, glaring at him. Nega-Ray’s fear was palpable, but Jax didn’t care one bit. He wanted to end this guy. The anger coursing through his body had the benefit of supercharging his power. Jax had never felt like this before. Normally, he was laid back and rational. He never wanted to hurt anyone physically. But for some reason, he couldn’t tolerate Nega-Ray’s smug face anymore. How was this asshole trying to become a Herald?

Not realizing the folly of trying to get under Borealis’ skin, Nega-Ray doubled down. “Gee, it’s no wonder Summerset hides her kids away from the public. I used to think it was the protective mom thing. But now I see. She’s embarrassed! And, rightly so. You and your sister are a fucking disgrace to her legacy!” he taunted while quickly sidestepping another energy bolt that rained down from the sky.

Suddenly, Jax felt all of his anger and hatred turn to guilt. Nega-Ray was right! Jax and June were ruining their mom’s legacy. It wasn't the media or the hate groups. Her own kids were the problem. The red tones in the color clouds above morphed into deep violets and purples.

Jax momentarily thought about letting Nega-Ray win. The Bradley boy had already damaged his mom’s reputation. By continuing in the competition, he would only let his family down more. What could he accomplish that June couldn’t? His twin sister had been preparing her whole life to handle a challenge like the Top Seed competition, while he had focused his energies elsewhere.

Jax had almost forgotten about the ongoing battle until Nega-Ray landed an uppercut to his clenched jaw. Jax stumbled back and instinctively pulled the violet energy down from the cloud to envelop him in a shielding cocoon. But he wavered in his control, and the glowing blanket sparked and pulsed. A bolt of red energy exploded from within the protective barrier, throwing Jax and Nega-Ray to opposite sides of the sparring cell.

A nagging feeling that something was wrong supplanted his current guilt and anger. As Jax began to regain control of his emotions, the aurora above their heads shifted to the more natural blue-green tones of The Aurora.

“Goddamnit, just give up already!” Nega-Ray yelled. “You’re a failure, Jax, always have been. I know because I read about it online, like everyone else!”

“Well, that was your first mistake, Nega-Ray,” Jax smiled at his opponent. “Everyone knows you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.” A false anger quickly rose within Jax, and he turned his focus to offense. He must push his feelings of guilt deep down and bury the failure and resentment. He must contain them within his desire to win this duel.

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To diffuse Nega-Ray’s powers, Jax tried to focus on memories of determination and pride. But he was unable to reach into his E.M.R. to pinpoint and bring forward those specific emotional anchors. The third-party anger was just too overwhelming. As he attempted to target a memory associated with strength and perseverance, Jax could vaguely recall certain training sessions with his mom and sister, but not in the same detail he was used to. Jax’s anger and frustration showed on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Nega-Ray taunted.

“Nothing at all! I think I know your power, you fuckwad!” Jax swore. “But you made a terrible miscalculation. Your empathic projection only fuels my power, Nega-Ray. The angrier I get, the stronger this is.”

At that, Jax let out a series of explosive, lightning-like bolts from the expanding red and orange aurora that now covered the entire ceiling of the room.

Nega-Ray was able to dodge the first series of energy bolts, but eventually, one clipped his shoulder, and he was thrown a few feet back and knocked down into a prone position. Breathing hard, Nega-Ray took the hint and stopped manipulating Jax’s emotions. He let the anger subside. The cloud above them turned purple, then blue once again, and the death bolts stopped raining down.

Jax felt his emotional balance return. He was angry at having been manipulated but had trained enough to center himself relatively quickly. Having a power based on his emotional state forced Jax to learn how to return to a preset baseline, even in hostile conditions. Now that the explosive emotions that Nega-Ray had evoked were gone, Jax could safely neutralize Nega-Ray and end this fight.

A glowing blue energy dome lowered from Jax’s aurora, trapping Nega-Ray once and for all. As the timer counted down, Nega-Ray apologized for what he said to Jax to rile him up earlier in the fight.

“Hey, man. Sorry, I said all those things about your mom and family and stuff,” he said bashfully. “I honestly don’t know your situation. Not knowing what you could do, I just thought my best option was to keep you off balance until I could subdue you physically.”

“I get it,” Jax responded. “It nearly worked, to be fair. There was a moment there where the guilt you manifested in me was overwhelming, and I almost threw in the towel. If your power hadn’t been interrupted by the explosion that knocked us both back, I’m pretty sure you would have won.”

“That’s nice of you to say, but I never used guilt on you. I was focused on making you see red so you wouldn’t be able to think straight.”

Jax paused to think about what Nega-Ray had just said, but before he could respond, an alert echoed through the cell, and a voice came over the speakers.

“Borealis has subdued Nega-Ray for five minutes and has won this duel. Congratulations on making the final 12. Please let Nega-Ray free of the energy prison. Move to your corners. Medical will be arriving soon to tend to you both.”

Jax had won his battle, but all he could think about was how June had fared. He hoped he would have the chance to talk to his sister to figure out next steps. If Nega-Ray was being honest, Jax would have some soul-searching to do before continuing in this competition. His powers were built upon emotional control, and guilt this powerful could threaten everything he was working toward right now.