yes, if you are seeing this, i have indeed finally created a new story, and it's finished and ready to publish. i hope you can handle it.
The Dark Defender: Lightstorm
“Ok, see you at seven.” Jameson White set the phone down with purpose and heard the receiver click into place, ready to take the next call. His watch read 5:30 PM, he had just enough time to get some after hours work in. He closed his eyes and thought about the girl on the other end of the call that had just ended. Jessica Jackson was very petite, only about three inches taller than five feet, and the kind of skinny that would look unhealthy on just about anyone else but only added to her attractiveness. She had long brown hair that hung a few inches past her shoulders, beautiful piercing blue eyes, and the cutest little smile.
With all the money he had, girls were a dime a dozen, but there was something special about this one. The others pestered him with annoying stupid questions, and he knew that without his money they wouldn’t be within ten feet of him. But Jessica was just different somehow.
He’d known her since he was a college student, long before he made even his first million or even his first thousand. She had looked at him then the same way she did now. When he looked into her eyes, it was as if she stared past his exterior and saw his soul and the burden he carried for other people. So why was it that he never seemed to spend any time with her? The date they’d scheduled for eight was their first in almost a month. The very thing that he could tell she loved him for, his love for those less fortunate than he was, was what kept them apart.
He sighed and opened his eyes, ready to begin the night’s real activities. Even though he had a date, he still had some time to help out any way could. At only eight years old, he’d found out the hard way what kind of power he’d possessed. On his way to school one morning, one of the class bullies had tried to take his lunch money. Unable to fight back because of how much bigger the other boy was, all Jameson could do was think about hurting the boy back as he endured a beating.
Suddenly, the boy was surrounded by a cloud of darkness. As Jameson heard the boy’s screams, he realized that he’d created it. He enjoyed hearing the boy crying in pain, but when the screams suddenly stopped, Jameson got scared. The cloud vanished, and the boy lay still, quite dead. No one had seen the altercation, and ever since then Jameson had kept the reason for the bully’s death a secret.
Now, even as he would walk the streets at night, looking for those who took advantage of people weaker than them, Jameson kept that memory as a warning to himself of what his power could do. He avoided using his clouds of darkness as much as possible, only resorting to use them for seconds at a time, and only in times of desperation. Even though he had control over them now, the cries of pain he heard from those inside the clouds made him sick. He knew that they deserved it, but he hated causing pain to anyone and he vowed never to kill again.
He was glad that whatever mutation gave him the power over darkness also allowed him to temporarily acquire abilities from other super powered people. He could absorb a power from any hero or villain he touched, up to three at a time.
Though he kept his secret life hidden away from the media, the other superheroes were very public figures. A man with as much money as Jameson White possessed had no problem arranging meetings with Superheroes for various reasons, and he always greeted them with a warm handshake. Sometimes he’d even run into them accidentally during his normal activities.
During his patrols of the streets, Jameson stayed in the shadows and protected those in trouble. Among the criminals he had left for the police to pick up he was viewed as a myth, a delusion that drug use had forced them to see. They called him the Black Hole, but he preferred to think of himself as Blackout.
Blackout’s hideout was located several stories below his office building and was accessible by way of a keypad hidden in the elevator. Upon entering the code into the keypad, the elevator descended far below the ground floor lobby and opened to a stark white hallway with only one door. The door opened to reveal a fairly large cavern equipped with a state of the art computer and a tricked out black Lamborghini. A closet immediately to his left opened to reveal a suit made out of material that was specially designed to absorb almost all light while also providing him ample protection during any fight. It had cost him a fortune, but every night he was thankful that he had it.
Most nights he patrolled a random area of the city and looked for street thugs and criminals in the back alley, but every so often he would check the computer screen in case something larger required his attention. As he opened the screen, he realized it was a good thing that he had.
Empire State Building, Twenty Minutes LaterAs Blackout’s sleek black Lamborghini pulled up to where the Empire State Building was located, he couldn’t believe the devastation surrounding him. Twisted hunks of metal burned around him, and only after driving within a few feet of one did he realize that they were the remains of cars. Three buildings along the street had already collapsed, and another seven were on fire and ready to implode on themselves any second. The streets were littered with the smoking remains of bodies. Blackout drove carefully in an attempt to avoid them but a few sickening crunches spoke to his failures.
Twenty stories up the front of the Empire State Building, he spotted what looked like a miniature sun and shone as bright as day. Even though by now it was past six o’clock and the sun had slipped over the horizon a few minutes ago, it looked like midday. If not for the dark field he generated around his head to protect his identity, he was afraid he’d have been blinded, and even with the darkness present, the light was still nearly unbearable. It seemed to be in the form of a man, and he heard directions being shouted towards a SWAT van that had arrived moments before Jameson.
“Put your weapons down! You have ten seconds to comply before I blow you all to Hell.”
The SWAT team hesitated, unsure of what to do. One quickly raised his gun to take a shot, but before he could press the trigger, a beam of pure light flashed from the incendiary figure above and the man exploded into a miniature fireworks display.
“Just because I did not include the words ‘Don’t be stupid’ in my instructions doesn’t mean that they don’t apply. I felt that was obvious, but apparently not. Now you have only three seconds before you join your friend. It’s your choice.”
The remaining men quickly dropped their guns, and two of them took off in a dead sprint away from the scene. Their escape attempt was short-lived though, and within seconds they had suffered the fate of their fellow insubordinate team member. The remaining three men dropped to their knees and begged for mercy. Their cries were met with laughter and a haughty voice that spoke with a hard and bitter edge.
“I’ll spare your lives, but not because you groveled before me. I need you to send a message from me to the President of the United States. I know he’s in New York on urgent business, so no excuses about not finding him. Tell him that we will meet to discuss giving me control of every single dollar bill currently located in the US mint, as well as all of the plates and printing material.
“If he declines or fails to show up for any reason the Empire State Building will be destroyed in precisely one hour from now, and one landmark in New York will follow suit for every minute afterwards that he delays in getting me my money. If I’m forced to, I will go to DC and do the same there, though I doubt that will be necessary. Now go, and don’t disappoint me. Oh, you on the left. Not you.”
Yet another beam of light jumped from his hands and took out one more member of the SWAT team, and the remaining two men quickly jumped into the van and sped off to find the President.
Jessica’s apartmentJessica had been preparing for her date since Jameson had hung up the phone. She danced and primped and was excitedly picking out a dress when she turned on the news. “This is Tracy James reporting live from the Empire State Building. I and the camera crew are about twenty-five yards from what looks to be total devastation in an arc roughly one thousand yards all around the front of the Empire State Building. A man who is glowing very brightly has shot beams of lights at people that vaporize and kill them, and has destroyed cars and buildings as well. Less than five minutes ago he destroyed half of a SWAT team before they could even get one shot off, and he seemed to be giving orders to the two men that he didn’t kill. So far the death toll is far into the hundreds and is likely to keep on rising. I’ll be back in just a few minutes to give an update. Folks at home, trust me, you do not want to go anywhere tonight.” Jessica stared numbly at the TV. Jameson works not far from there. He drives right by there to get home. Oh god, if anything happened to him. . . Oh dear Lord, please let him be safe.
Empire State BuildingBlackout stood staring at the man made of light, stunned to realize just how much power he had. Although Jameson knew that the power was probably within him somewhere to take him down, he’d never actually gone up against anyone with powers before as he had always been content to let the real superheroes take the out.
Heroes. I always left it to them. But now no one else is here but me. I hope I’m ready. Gathering himself for his first true battle, he strode out to face his destiny. He looked up at the man still hovering twenty stories above him and spoke loudly with a confidence that belied his true feelings of terror.
“I see you have given me one hour to kick your butt and hand you over to the president himself. I’m grateful to have so long, but I shouldn’t need but a minute or two to take you down.”
“You DARE talk to me, Photon, that way? You probably aren’t anything more than a common mutant freak! Your powers cannot match mine, for science has given me the ability to shape and control any light at all. I bend it to my will, and no one can stand against me. Now die, like everyone else here tonight!”
Photon turned to face Blackout as he spoke, and fired a beam of light much like those that had killed the SWAT team. Jameson knew it was coming but he had hardly moved a muscle when the beam struck him. The suit absorbed much of it, but he was still knocked hard to the ground and he thought he felt something crack in his left wrist. Knowing he would have to act fast, he looked at the display that showed his current acquired powers. He was glad that he’d included the display in the costume; he switched powers so many times a week he could never keep the current ones straight. Tonight, the display read “Flight, Speed, Microscopic Size.”
Jameson muttered angrily upon seeing the last power. “Stupid Microscopic Man. Why couldn’t he have paid attention to where he was going in the lobby yesterday! He’s so lame! How is that power even useful?” He quickly sped out of the way of another beam of light and used his super speed to dodge the beams as he approached where he needed to take off to reach Photon. Even moving at roughly 300 miles an hour in super speed, the deadly beams missed their target by only fractions of an inch.
After the first several missed, Blackout was ready to jump into flight when out of nowhere a wall of light appeared. Thinking it was just a distraction, he didn’t bother to slow down and was shocked when he slammed into the wall and rebounded several feet backwards. The impact of hitting the wall sounded like a mini-bomb going off and he rolled over on the ground groggily. He sat up and shook his head to clear it. He could hear Photon gloating from above.
“That’s right, little man. I don’t just use light to destroy; I can make solid shapes out of it too! You can’t get to me, no matter how fast you move, because nothing is faster than the speed of light!”
Blackout, determined to proof him wrong, took off into the air, flying at super speed toward Photon. He zigged and zagged around the walls Photon created for almost thirty seconds, but as he got to within ten feet from Photon a wall appeared so fast that he couldn’t dodge. He crashed into it at Mach 3 and hurtled to the ground, nearly unconscious.
He hit with a disturbing thud, and lay motionless for several seconds. Photon waited for a second, just to see if he was already dead or if he’d need to finish him. On the ground, the thoughts rolled through Jameson’s mind. It’s over; I just can’t get to him. He’s so fast! I was a fool to think I was good enough. But I can’t give up. I can’t die, I have a date tonight! There’s got to be something. . . Wait a second, of course! That’s it!
Jessica’s Apartment“Tracy James once more reporting live.” Jessica’s tv sprang to life again as she unmuted it. She continued her silent prayers to God, just hoping he would answer them. She checked her watch, it was twenty til seven. He should be here soon. He’s always early the few times we get to go out. It’s almost as if he tries to make up for avoiding me the rest of the month by showing up early. But if he’ll show up early tonight, he’ll actually have done that this time. The reporter on the screen continued, “The man made of light hovering twenty stories in the air in front of the Empire State Building has now engaged in battle against what seems to be a brand new superhero. He seems to be about six feet tall, and he’s wearing a suit so black that it absorbs every ounce of light. He’s attempting to bring the villain under control but so far has only taken a beating and hasn’t even come close to accomplishing his goal. More to come on this developing situation.”
Empire State BuildingPhoton was readying himself for his most powerful beam yet, one strong enough to overcome the dark suit’s protection and destroy his enemy once and for all when suddenly Blackout seemed to shrink and disappear from view.
“What! Where did you go? You can’t hide from me! I’ll kill you, you hear? You are dead! I don’t care where you are, you are dead!”
Just then Blackout grew back to his normal size, less than a foot in front of Photon. “Hey, what do you know, shrinking actually does come in handy. Who knew, right?” He swung as hard as he could at Photon’s head. Instead of feeling the satisfying crunch of bone on bone though, Blackout’s hand passed through Photon’s head harmlessly. “What the . . .” His sentence went unfinished as a beam of light shaped like a large fist came through Photon and smashed Blackout into the ground.
“You want to make this a game of fisticuffs then!” Photon roared, “Fine by me!” The fist of light lifted and dropped again and again and again. The suit absorbed some of the impact, but even with as advanced as the technology was, it was wearing out and Jameson was getting severely injured.
Knowing he had no other recourse, Blackout lifted his head to see where Photon was and then shut his eyes. He wished he could shut his ears; nothing was worse than the screams of pain that accompanied is greatest power. He reached his hand up and before Photon could deliver the killing blow, he was enclosed in a ball of pure dark energy. The area went pitch black, and it seemed as if Photon had never been. Jameson could feel him though, fighting back with his light energy. Before long, beams of light had pierced the edges of the bubble and streamed off into the night, carrying with them the cry of pain from Photon.
Their struggle to overcome the other’s power was a terrific and intense battle of wills. To those watching on television, it looked as if no battle was being fought, but the two men could feel the other’s power attacking their source of energy, draining their strength. Finally, even against Blackout’s best efforts, the dark field shattered and Photon was free once more. Something seemed different now, though. He spoke again, but the confidence and bravado from his earlier taunts was gone.
“Don’t . . . Don’t you think you should have opened with that one?” Random beams of light burst from him as he hovered above the ground, but he continued to speak. “It doesn’t matter though. That’s the best you got, I can tell, and it wasn’t good enough. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that darkness is never stronger than light?” He cackled and a beam of light shot from is hands to obliterate Blackout when suddenly the entire block was swallowed up in darkness.
The screams of hundreds of people rang out, each one suffering horrible agony, but none were louder than Photon’s. As Blackout lay on the ground, unable to move due to the tremendous amount of effort it took to create a field large and powerful enough to overcome Photon’s power, tears streamed from his face. He knew that the majority of the cries of anguish came from those that didn’t deserve it at all.
After thirty seconds, he was unable to hold the darkness anymore and the energy vanished. Barely able to open his eyes, Blackout could just barely see what was left of Photon, now just a naked ordinary man; plummeting to his death on the pavement twenty stories below.
Blackout realized something as he heard the villain being introduced to burned and pitted concrete. All this time, I’ve been afraid to use my power against people who were evil. I couldn’t stand to see anyone suffer, even people who weren’t good. But some people, the ones who kill for pleasure, they don’t deserve to live. I shouldn’t seek to kill them for fun, but if that’s the only way to stop them, then why should I punish myself for saving innocent lives? He closed his eyes and rolled over, unconscious, just as the sirens of the police became audible in the distance.
Jessica’s Apartment, 9:00“And that’s the situation here at the Empire State Building. The man who somehow captured the power of light itself is dead, defeated by a new hero who exhibited several powers, none more unique than the black fields that finally took down the criminal once and for all. The President has arrived on scene to congratulate the new hero, but he seems to have disappeared . . .”
Jessica clicked the tv off, tears streamed down her face. Something had to have happened to him, he’d never be this late. She lay down to cry herself to sleep when the phone rang across the room. She sprang out of bed, tripping more than once in her haste.
“Hello, Jameson, is that you? Oh my god that has to be you!”
“Hi babe, can you let me in? It’s cold outside.”
She quickly ran to open the door, seeing him blurrily through the remains of her tears.
“Oh my god, you scared me so much”
He stepped inside and began to talk. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said sheepishly. “I had a little trouble on the way. I also want to say that I’m sorry that I see you as little as I do. You deserve so much better. I realize that you are my life; you are all I care about. I could have died tonight. I almost did die. I would have died and you’d never have known how I actually feel about you, and for that, I’m deeply sorry. I love you.”
“I’m just glad you’re alive. You have no idea how worried I was! Wait, did you say lo . . . ”
Her words trailed off abruptly as Jameson grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her passionately. “I love you, Jessica. I want you to know that you are the most important thing in my life, and I want to share everything about me with you.” She finally got a look at his face and saw how bruised and bloody it was. She gasped in shock.
“You were at the Empire State Building weren’t you? I knew something was wrong. How did you get away? And we need to get you to a hospital!”
“I need you to know something first. This might be a little bit scary, but just let me show you.” He didn’t speak, but instead formed a little ball of dark energy as her mouth widened in surprise.
“The new superhero on the news, the one who took down the light guy, it was you wasn’t it.”
He grinned even though it hurt. “I hope you don’t mind being a superhero girlfriend. You might have to handle my late nights a bit better though.” She laughed and hugged him again. Jameson smiled, kissed her once more and shut the door as she kissed him back.