July 22nd, 2013. A day had passed since the events of the Kingdom's demise. Now all that was left was the sorrow that the battle had left behind. The main being Jessica Rivera's death; having been murdered a day ago by The Empress. The worst part about it? A day before the Rivera brothers' birthday, where the Fool turned 17 and the Justice 19. Though Ms. Rivera was only the mother of the Rivera Triplets, everyone in the Protector group mourned the woman's unfortunate murder. Currently, the time was 11:03 A.M., EST in Brooklyn, New York. Where their mother's funeral was being held at the Green-Wood Cemetery at 500 25th St. The weather for this day, in particular, this Monday morning, had been different from all the other days.
Ask any of them, Ben, Jason, Madi, they'll tell you that the days leading up to their mother's murder were rainy, sad, and gloomy. As if nothing but rain could fall from the sky despite the usual bright atmosphere that summer held. Until now. The sun peeked its way through the grey clouds, the fluid that fell from the sky had ceased its fall onto the Earth. The priest for the service was soft, maybe he knew their mother, he could tell the emotion in his voice was pure. Full of sadness, not an opportunity to gain money. Long brown hair fell on each side of his head, a beard forming around his lips with specks of grey hair in it. A usual shaded priest's uniform used, the older male began to speak,
"We are all gathered here today to celebrate the life of Jessica Rivera, who has returned to her home with Our God, The Father. We ask for your mercy, Lord, hoping that this gentle soul is treated kindly in the gates to Heaven. And praised for everything she has done to raise these three wondrous children... as her own. As it is written in the Old Testament, 'Only be careful, and watch yourselves so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them...' Would any of the children of Ms. Rivera like to say anything about their mother?" Asked the priest quizzically. To his surprise, Jason's crimson-tinted pupils lifted from staring at the grassy terrain, glancing at his sister at the far left. Their younger brother in between, neither of the two of them had anything to say.
For the first time in maybe a day or two, his head lifted from the ground, the apathetic expression didn't change, remaining stale as he gazed at the casket of their mother. Blue-violet eyes losing their illuminating hue, did he have any real choice but to say to the priest,
"I'll go,"
2:38 P.M., EST. 3 hours since the end of the funeral, the steps leading up to the entrance of the Apartment the Riveras resided within were being sat on. The fabric of the outfit he'd been wearing was itchy, the black-haired man rubbing the rear of his attire with his left hand. The item he held in between his middle finger and thumb was a cigar with a negroid palette, the rear burning as he inhaled the smoke, seconds letter, letting it drift into the warm summer atmosphere. Seated beside the raven-haired Justice, there was the blonde Priestess, arms crossed as she sat with her knees close to her chest. The aerosol from his tobacco slid its way into her nostrils, leaving her to reel back and make a sound of disgust,
"Ughhhh!" Went the blonde Speedster, wiping the invisible matter in front of her face away, the fumes moving with the wind, being pushed away and taken by some ethereal force. Surprised by the audio his fellow speedy friend made, he let the cigar drop from his mouth, chuckling for a short moment at her reaction. After processing it, that is. Shaking his head, he let the cigar drop from his face, one leg stretched out, boot against the cement.
"You know... I never thought I'd feel this way," Remnants of the exhaust exiting his lips, those sounds leaked their way out of his throat. Confused, her illuminated azure eyes turned to his face, still seeking out to see the clouds above. The sun peeking out from the grey that hovered over the Earth, sunglasses covering his pupils. Taking another breath of smoke into his mouth, he held out his hand for the girl beside him to take a hit. The bits of gas retreating once more, a tiny visible shrug rolled off of her shoulders, her extremities wrapping around the waist of the component,
"Whenever I thought about my mother's death, I always felt like I'd be sad at the end of it all. Like I'd want to kill myself should she die. But, now? Now-now, I'm not so sure. I think that I'll continue living, I can find wood anywhere to push into my heart, but her last words touched me, I suppose. She told me, at the end of her life... 'Make me proud.' If I were to die, I know when I see her in Heaven, she'd give me the hardest slap. Heh, so hard I wouldn't heal back from it," The duo chuckled, remembering the touch of their mothers, Ella couldn't help but think of her father. How everything he did was for her, how foolish she was to think any less of her Dad. Even the reprimands, the yelling, everything. It was to make sure that she was the best she could ever be. And not turn out like her deadbeat mother. It was the opposite for Jason, only thinking about the wonderful woman Jessica Rivera was. How she existed to take care of them, she'd only want the best - not only for him but for his brother and sister as well.
"So, I guess I'll keep on livin', not much else to do. The Empress is dead thanks to my bro, the Kingdom's gone, Ryder, pfff, who even cares? And Lucifer and what's his face aren't coming out of there until like... 2059 or whatever. I just know, wherever Mom is- she wouldn't want me to sulk or whatever. I'm supposed to make her proud, remember?" Those final words caused her to drop the cigar in shock. Luckily, he caught it just in time before it could tumble down the steps they were seated on. Putting the front back in his mouth, he heated the butt back up with a simple snap of his two fingers. Thumb and middle. Manifesting a short spark of lightning, he inhaled the fog into the darkness of his throat. 'She wouldn't want me to sulk. I'm supposed to make her proud,' those were words to live by. For her to live by. That was the path her father meant for her to take, to make him proud, in the way she wanted to do so. Using her special talents, not whatever he left behind. Only if it was needed in her journey toward success, that's what the way she saw it. This week held a short journey, but a journey nevertheless. Through time, through themselves. She could only hope the best for their Future, whatever Gifts it may hold.
They weren't supposed to be here. On the roof of her mother's previous residence, three superhumans were together. In the middle was a woman, devoid of her signature snowy locks, hands shoved into the pouches of her shorts. Brunette curly hair flowing gently, Henry stood to her left, the sun was particularly hot today. Steam arising from both of his shoulders, the two best friends had their signature orange and purple auras manifest around them. Only noticeable by themselves, they turned to look at their friend at the right, far-right for the Smoldering Chariot. His shoulders had been surrounded by ice, continuously freezing itself as the ardent rays of the star melted the frosty substance.
A drinkable stream was sucked by through the straw through, sliding its way down the throat of Matt. Suddenly, he could feel it. The burning sting of his friend's eyes as they watched. Their gaze met his own. As a quick response, his lips ensured the peak of the straw fell to lean against the side of the glass,
"What?" Asked the teenager, the remnants of the fluid entering his stomach, a slight gulp heard as he swallowed. The drink was as refreshing as it was icy cold. Both the Empress of Light and the Smoldering Chariot just chuckled at their friend nonchalantly sipping.
"Alright, I gotta head out, I got a hot date," Madi reminded her two boyfriends, walking past the front of Matt, hand swiping away his glass. Liquid sloshing around in the transparent container, she took a big sip, pouring the extract right into her mouth. No remorse as she downed the fluid, throwing the glass back to Miller. It was Henry who caught the cup before it could shatter into a trillion shards on the roof. His head snapping back to where Madisyn was previously standing, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Welp, that's that. Probably won't see her for a while, be too busy sucking up pussy juice," The other, Matt, couldn't help but laugh at the joke said by his best friend. Who had been standing at the edge, before shifting to see Miller, not at the edge with him? An eyebrow rose over his right eyelid, curious at the reasoning for his best friend not following him.
"Not coming?" Inquired the Chariot of his comrade, who shook his head. Fingertips darkening to the temperature of frostbite, the cup was done with just as Henry had hoped to prevent. Frozen into ice, dropping to shatter into shards of not glass- but ice. As if that were any better. Shaded fingertips returning to their usual pale tone, Matt walked over to his best friend,
"Yeah, just get a table for us. I gotta meet Ronnie somewhere real quick, see you with Astin," Henry gave an understanding nod as a response to his best friend, feeling a pat on his arm from Miller. The next thing the fiery superhuman would see was his best friend, cracking the roof they were on. A sound mimicking the audio of thunder audible as the Magician passed through the clouds. Time resumed as normal, and their lives seemingly returned to their usual pace.
He was the only one. The sole member of this friend group that hadn't accompanied them to his and his siblings' apartment, Ben Rivera, the Fool. Her favorite flower was sunflowers, whenever she had enough money, she would buy them to decorate her room.
I remember it smelt so good, I even bought flowers of my own with money borrowed from Jason to match the smell. Mom called me her 'Sunshine', sometimes, he could hear her voice reaching out to him. Singing with that sweet voice of hers, as if an angel from Heaven,
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away~
If I had been fast enough- if I could've had the guts to stop that bitch before she took the sole thing that mattered to me. Maybe I would've been sparred so much hate. A bouquet was placed by my hand, on the very grave, my mother laid below. A wonderful woman that would never see her 44th birthday or any of her children grow up to see the people she wanted them to become. The last remaining thing I could do was stand in the air, over my mother's tombstone. Remembering a phrase I heard from a movie, knuckles cracking, there it was. Engraved on the stone, the quote that resembled her the most, "Do not pity the dead. Pity the living. And above all, pity those who live without love." That is the woman my mother was, she pitied those who lived without an ounce in their lives. Wishing she could forever give them the affection they desired. I knew at that moment, I couldn't go on just mourning my mother for the rest of my life,
"I will make you proud, Mom. I will ensure my life isn't thrown away and become a person that will make you proud. Wherever you are. I love you," In the abyss of his soul, Ben Rivera could feel it. His vigor pulsing through his veins, lightning coursing through his being. The Fool arcana had transformed into the other; fitting for someone who would entirely devote their life to the security of their world. At the end of the journey through time, Ben's former Fool soul transformed to become - The Emperor.
There was nothing left for him here. Away from his mother's tombstone, in his path, he abandoned that weakened part of himself. He would no longer be late to save anyone he cared about. The Fool was dead, murdered by the Emperor. To carry out this devotion, Ben would need something- or better yet, someone to help him. No human could do it, no. Foot entering the rift in space, he decided that requirement would have to wait.
Soon, his whole figure had vanished into the gateway. The beginning of the Emperor's new journey was just starting.
Across the city, underneath Rikers Island, there sat Ryder Karlo. Legs put up on the wooden table, a sip of the coffee sloshing down his throat. The superhuman in front of him visibly shivering, a poisonous whisper slithered its way through his right ear, the daughter of this organization: Athena, leaning down to gift this information. The time had come.
"Alright, kid, stand up. Time to do this shit," Immediately, the grey hoodie that masked the body of the sound-manipulating being had been shed. To reveal the tank top that was underneath the warmth of the sweater. Muscles all over his fleshy arm, abs visible through the radiating shade of the shirt, his opponent did the same move. All superhumans that were given capabilities via the Spread's energy were made more muscular so their body could handle the power that laid deep in all of their figures. His superhuman buddies backing out of the area of the fight, there was some sort of dark determination within the pupils of this other being opposite Karlo.
Somehow, someway, he knew this would be his demise. But he wouldn't be going out without a fight- that is the sort of determination he saw in this young boy's eyes. Nevertheless, Ryder did the first move, using the rocket implant in his metal palm to push him forward. Soaring toward his adversary, the young man simply spun out of his range, tendrils wrapping around the chest and waist of Karlo. Lifting the half-cyborg into the air for but a moment, then slamming him into the ground. Blood splattering out of the crevice of his mouth, streaming from the side of his lip, Ryder groaned.
One of the teenager supers muttered to the girl beside him, his other friend, supporting their ally battling Karlo,
"That guy's never gonna beat Ashy. Motherfucker's lifted a car with just one tendril, who knows what he can do with another?" This encouragement was audible to the boy battling Ryder, who smirked down at his enemy. He believed he'd already won, heh, and they hadn't even fought for more than a minute. Maybe even less?
"That was easy! And here I thought you were scary," That taunt- if only it had been a written rule somewhere. That smirk that had been plastered on the young enhanced Homosapien's face? It had been transferred over to Ryder, his cybernetic emerald retina radiating brighter and brighter. Suddenly, he wasn't in the grip of the boy anymore. The tendril that'd wrapped around Karlo's waist, ready to burn him or maybe even electrocute him had been flat on the floor. That was when he heard the voice... coming from behind him?
"The taunting usually comes after you've won the fight, you piece of shit. Don't change emotions just because you got one hit on me- you're just as useless as everyone else here. Realize that, and die by my hand!!" CRUNCH! The left side of the boy's skull was shattered in a mere instant, the Outcast's fist having met that angle, now it was time for the grand finale. But first, the sounds of pain, blood dripping from the wound around the adolescent intensified human's eye, were music to Ryder's ears.
When he had started to get accustomed to the pain, that was when the back of the boy's hair was pulled, and he was lifted into the air. Shattering his ribcage on the top of the ceiling, Ryder cackled as he spotted his opponent being pushed back toward him by gravity. His fists held no hesitation,
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!!" The boy's destroyed mass flew backward, gravity pushing him downward, spine shattering against the cement. Crawling toward the foot of Ms. Prelle, before he was once again taken by the back of his hair, and slammed into the other side of the ground. Teeth gliding out of his muzzle, the boy moaned in agony. Though they were invisible since the young man's chest was pushed against the lower deck, it had been the most decimating barrage of force ever dealt with by a human. Pieces of his soft hide scattered the floor, the blood-red layer underneath the flesh that covered the epidermis barely visible through the cracks in the boy's arms, face, and chest.
Boot gently creating pressure on the back of the male's head, Karlo began to inform his rival, while he slowly laid dying underneath the crook of his sole,
"Your useless effort has turned out to work against you instead of in your favor. How predictable, and here I thought you were some remarkable prodigy from the way you spoke about me being an easy fighter. Turns out, you were just as useless as every little insignificant speck I've come across that believes their power is somewhat comparable to mine. And ironically, you'll turn out the same way as well. Utterly useless. Allow me to let you in on a little secret, kid. As long as I have the potential to halt time's flow for 5 seconds, I will remain the same. All-powerful, climbing to the top of this world. No one will dare threaten my eternal transcendence to the peak of this social hierarchy. Your ever-beating heart will lose its beat in mere seconds. I will halt time once more so you will not know the moment you cease to breathe. That way, you won't have to fear when the moment is coming. Any last words before you suddenly--" Like nothing ever happened, the Outcast hadn't even begun to finish his statement to the young boy. Head in his metal palm, blood splattered into the brown strands of the male's hair, Ryder chuckled. The body being dragged out by guards that belonged to the Prelle Mob... life was good.
The gateway spat the Emperor out somewhere he hadn't recognized. However, he recognized the stench among all other things and the liquid that sloshed underneath his feet. Wettening his socks and sneakers, the teenager scoffed. ~Where are these fucking lights?~ The boy asked himself, glancing around in the darkness of the area. Arm reaching to press his right side, he admitted the material was something he'd exhibited before. Flicker flicker. The light bulbs abruptly radiated light into the basement, whose basement, he was unaware of at the moment. But it was an intriguing one at that. Three big illuminating monitors towered in front of him, casting his shadow onto the fluid beneath him. Stepping forward, there was of course a desk below these monitors. On the desk, there was a watch, a hard drive, and above all else- a code. Being 8983. This combination reminded him of a safe, and in the corner of his left eye, wouldn't you know it, there was one. Pushed into the wall, ready for numbers to be inserted. Wrapping the watch over his wrist, he heard the whirring and witnessed the flashing of azure blue as it scanned him from the side of the technology.
"Ben Rivera. Time: 2013. Age: 17. Born July 22nd, 1996. Universe: 72206. Access to the vault behind you is yours, Mr. Rivera," That voice..! He'd know it anywhere. It was none other than her- Artemis. The same sound as his mother. Recalling that A.I., he recollected the pink-tinted hard drive sitting beside the watch that had previously been picked from the bureau. Something about it called to him, maybe there was something special about it? He couldn't tell, but, for safekeeping, he shoved the device into his pocket. The moment he spun around, there was the whirring and spinning of a vault, revealing the concealed firearms and weapons held within. Super advanced pulsar weaponry, plasma shooting pistols, rifles, shotguns- all of it was his to take. Above all else, a huge bag that when picked up by his right hand, was heavier than anything he'd lifted before. Metals clanking together, there was no other choice. He was determined to create a better future for everyone he knew.
It was simple. He transported from the depths of the basement to the field in front of the House he previously robbed, in the distance, there it was. The mushroom cloud menacingly hovering over New York City miles away. They'd won. This was their enemy's Future. That was the Superior's House. But who cared? All he could stare at was the stars. Atop a hill, he stood, gawking at the beauty of it all. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of what they resembled. Lights flickering in space, the future CEO's hands shoved themselves into his pocket.
Your pain is the one thing that I feel inside me
That I have been hiding inside me for you
Your death is the singing that I hear when I'm dreaming
And the bell I'll be ringing when I sing for you
This was not time to look at the sky, though. He had a birthday to get to, he'd been through enough trauma this week as it was. Now, was the time for happiness. Dragging the container for the metal with him, there was a sudden flash of light, brightening the darkened grass. Before it evaporated into nothing. And the Kingdom was left to rot. While the Protectors lived on.
Time went on with them, carrying them ever forward to their destined futures. Growing old together, enemies scheming as they always do... their journey continues in Book 2 - Emancipation.
Pain isn't the only gift ill give you slowly
But I'll give it wholly and solely to you
The End...