The training facility was as quiet as a cynic at a cemetery. Everyone, including my friends and I, and especially the adults were straining to hear any more sounds from the entrances. Finally, to what felt like an eternity, unlike before a screeching noise came from behind the entrance doors. The sound of nails scratching chalkboard grinded our ears making me wince at the horrific noise.

"Everyone get behind us" Equinox again commanded as he took control of the group once again.

Ashley glanced at me wide-eyed before following everyone's lead and walked behind him, we almost touched the platforms that stood at the back-end of the center circle where we stood. I should be scared, but I'm excited. I mean we're going to be safe with the superheroes protecting us, and with my friends, we may get some real-life action ourselves. But then the bloody memory of the revolting remains of the woman's head and the whimper of defeat that the shifter gave me pause.

More screeching, louder this time like they were close to breaking through whatever barrier that stood between us and them. Who were they? What did they want? Were there more secrets that were buried here in the facilities? It began to struck me how little I knew of the things that went around here, I mean sure they tell us what was happening to us. But how much do they not tell us mere children in their eyes the things that were conducted unbeknownst to us?

Whatever the reason I had to focus on the situation at hand, also thinking too hard about topics I don't know was going to give me a headache. Well If I got those anymore, the screeching increased from irritating to mild agony. I squinted my eyes at the entrance doors, scouring anything for details onto what was happening.

Suddenly, there was something. Cracks began to appear around the central door, with each second that passed the cracks grew larger, dust began to haze the air in front of it like when someone dropped an ancient spellbook in the movies as well. The entire began to creep back as if the distance between us mattered in the big picture.

As if all was needed was one big puff of wind from the big bad wolf, the door alongside the wall around it shattered as if a wrecking ball crashed into it at full force. Instantly a luminous green shield appeared, it stretched from wall to wall, ceiling to floor, instantly dividing us and the unknown. Whispering began to spring up around me, while the older guys were deathly quite the kids around me were not quite as brave.

A familiar crackling caught my attention to my right, the older Supers were obviously getting ready. One man was creating one rapidly enlarging ball of blood red electricity, one had white spikes beginning to form over his fists, skull, and coated his skin, the only woman had snowflakes circling her gracefully like a satellite orbiting Earth.

"Everyone capable enough to help get ready but stay back and out of the way. You will do more harm than good in intervening." Equinox said, his voice barely above a whisper but everyone understood.

Before I could even think of what I could do to get ready a figure, a step away from being able to be distinguished began to make its way out of the dust that shrowded the person. Why was the person just standing there? Equinox nodded almost indistinguishable to the lanky man, the ball of electricity was now larger than a basketball, sparks were flying off of the orb or energy. I could almost feel it's power from several yards away.

He cupped both hands together and extended them forward quickly right as the shield of energy opened up a small hole for him. With a crack, the orb flew through the opening like a cannonball being shot from a... well cannon, although it soared through the air erratically like it was being pulled at all sides as if barely being kept together.

Closing my eyes subconsciously as I've been on the other side of that power, although maybe not as potent. The boom, like a lightning strike hitting a tree, and the force that followed made up for my blocked sight, was unlike anything I've felt before. Like before the ground shook beneath the force, I could hear the cracking of concrete and rubble falling from the ceiling. If the invisible fallback of the catastrophic orb of thunder was even a fraction of how potent it was then whoever stood before it will surely fall.

"Woah" Julian whispered to himself in awe.

Smoke, ash, and soot was now the primary reason to not being able to see clearly to what we were dealing with, but fortunately, with a whistle coming from the smog it all dissipated instantly to reveal a group of men who were unfortunately not as injured as I hoped. At the forefront was a short, stocky guy on one knee A bubble of white energy much like Equinox's surrounded the group. The front of the bubble was a dark red unlike the rest of it, it was the darkest at its center and grew lighter to the outsides like a paintball splattering against the pavement. This time it was my turn to go woah, the man shakily stood up but was still alive and intact like his bubble.

I glanced back to my friends, each and every one, and yes even Jayden were sporting an expression of shock and awe with me.

I quickly counted and what I could see there were six men all in all and from them, I could only recognize the bronze dude. One who was powerful enough to sustain an attack that shook the very foundations of an underground room, who knows how capable the others were. From behind him a man in a tuxedo stepped forward, a movement that signaled bubble guy to drop his shield. Even from my limited views on human body language, the group as a whole seemed to cower before him almost...afriad.

Even aside from the fact that unlike his crew who wore different attires (gray suits) and he wasn't shadows shrowded his face even though nothing physical was creating them.

Even from the heavy breathing of all the people on our side of the green energy shield I could here Equinox whisper frightened "That's not possible."

"What isn't possible?" I whispered to Jayden who before could respond the man in the suit spoke.

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"Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise!" His voice was garbled, like it went through a modulator of some kind making it distorted. "Guess this kills two birds with one stone, now since I'm in a good mood I'm going to be polite only once. Where is it" He said all the while I strolled almost causally towards the shield, making direct eye contact with Equinox.

Equinox still in shock at...something took a second before answering in complete innocence "Where is what?"

Instantly the room darkened, both physically and metaphysically, I took an involuntary step back sensing danger, like the red sunrise before the storm.

"Tsk, here I am asking politely after you fire a ball of death our way" he sighed seemingly sorry.

"You attacked our facility!" Equinox retorted as he clenched his fist.

Instantly, before anyone on our side or theirs, green energy encased the man in the black suit. But... something was wrong, after a few seconds of nothing happening a seed of blackness appeared in the shield. Like a virus it grew, corrupting the pure energy with its insidious power. It's disconsolate tendrils grew until it encased the shield, just as fast as it happened it dissolved like a food rotting, leaving the man without even a smudge on his sleek tuxedo.

Silence ensued, this was unprecedented. We were supposed to feel safe, to feel protected by an unbreakable legend. But that legend had blood now dripping from his nose like he had a nose bleed, and from his mouth like he'd been stabbed in the stomach.

"That little trick won't work against me, nor will you ever be able to harm me. For unlike you I am not a shield, I am a sword. And now you've spoiled my good mood." He said slowly as if he was upset.

Instantly a shadow, moving at light speeds to connect with the shield, but unlike before it didn't slowly decay, it shattered like a porcelain glass pot being hit with a baseball bat. An unhuman like scream came from Equinox, now broken. He crumbled to the ground, blood began to fall from his blood-shot eyes as well, the whole ensemble.

"Now now, think about the mere children around you. They did nothing wrong yet here they are in the middle of all this monkey madness." He said slowly as he approached the fallen hero.

His entire body was a shadow, it was difficult to even get a lockdown on his body. It was as if there was an entire absence of color, it wasn't even black it was a void drinking of all color. I knew I should be doing something, but after a display of power like that, I don't even think I could even annoy him with my petty sticks and stones.

"It'd be a shame if one by one...they were torn away from their family, and so full of hope too..." He almost sounded remorseful, if not for the tendril appearing at every one of our throats.

Groans rang out, a soft stifled sob from behind was sharper than any knife, shadow or not. A sob of sadness, of fear, of remorse. Julian was shaking to my right, while Jayden was as still as a stone while I was... I don't know.

A fellow teenager to my right fell with a shriek of pain, without moving my head in the corner of my eye I saw him, blood was gushing out of his throat as he lay spasming. Bile rose in my throat but if I leaned over now to throw up it may be the last of me. And I'm not going to die vomiting my chicken parm so I quickly swallowed it down.

"One by one they are going to fall until you tell me where the lab is that holds that very special serum," He said while with every second another kid fell.

I gritted my teeth, again I was helpless, after becoming a Super I thought I was finally going to be able to do something. But yet after all those years of being something less than a Super I'm being pulled around like a puppet on strings by an aberration of God who would mindlessly kill children.

"O-okay fine! The lab is down another floor to the right, down the hallway until you reach the second door on the left. Just please let the children go" Equinox muttered, his words hollow.

No more people fell, it was still for a moment before the man went on "And the code?"

Equinox sighed apparently hoping to pull one over him "It's four, six, two, two, three, eight, nine" He said defeated.

A shadowed hand made a signal behind him and two men left the room. It stood there for a moment, with a shadowy head cocked to the right.

"You better hope you are telling the truth, for if you are not...Well, there are worse things than death for some people..." The man in shadows said.

That's when the tensest minutes of my life passed, each second ticked by slowly. Sweat dripped from my brow, down my nose and dripped down to my feet. The only sounds were the stifled sobs, the heavy breathing, and the gurgling of the shadowed man's victims on the ground.

My throat began to tighten, a sign of crying. But no, I had to be strong, I don't want to die. But I don't want to live in the shame of bearing weakness in the face of it either. This was not how I will live, I will not wallow in fear, in weakness. I will be a construct of strength. I will be an anchor for those in need. I will be Super. But I'll be none of those if I don't stay still and survive, I mean I have to think of the ladies of course as well.

The shadowed man put a hand to his ear and cocked his head to the side as if he was listening to an earpiece.

"Guess you were telling the truth, it warms my heart to see such bravery." He said without emotion.

In a blink his shadowed hand plunged deep into the kneeling man's chest, skewering his heart, killing him instantly.

"That was for my father,"

Before the barest of a spark of electricity was formed in the lanky man's hands tendrils of darkness did the same to each of the adults that stood there, killing several Supers in less time than it took to say bangarang.

"And that was for me," He said before even the largest man, presumably a strongman that took hits that would make the great wall of china shudder fell dead.

It was Anarchy, screams rung out as the shadow at everyone's throat dissipated, freeing us from its cage. The intellectuals ran to the back behind the massive platforms to hide, the cowards stood in shock, and one idiot charged the man shrouded in an abyss.

Those kids were like me, they had dreams, they had principals, ideals, family, and even crushes. And this, this monster killed them without a thought, so I came at him without a thought. Maybe not my smartest choice but it was a hell of a way to go out, with a growl I flung myself at him with carbon pillars following me and propelling me for a crash course for the man.

In a flash, blades of shadow made ribbons of my pillars turning them into dust. Tendrils of impalpable darkness grabbed me mid-flight and threw me past him into the ground. my body thudded as I hit the ground, and bounced once before hitting the base of the platform. Before I would be incapacitated by the pain, but I was not nearly as gifted as I am now. I slowly crawled myself to a standing position, ready to go at it again.

The man stood there a second before laughing, a cold hollow laugh but one of what he thought was good nature, "I like you boy, you got spunk."

He chuckled to himself, "You seem like a good kid, with a bright future in front of you, but as bright and as fast light moves, darkness will always be there to greet it." He said cryptically.

He raised his hand, opening it a small black like snake which was somehow darker than himself slithered off of his hand to the ground and towards me.

"Be grateful kid, many would kill for a gift like this," He said as the snake slithered its way towards me.

Before I could squash the thing, well if you could squash a snake made out of the absence of light, it jumped forwards straight up my nose.