Blue Nexus #38 - Cracked, not Broken

            Their names were Officer Langston and Sergeant Patterson. They’d grown up together in East City, though Patterson decided he wanted to be a cop halfway through college, while Langston pursued engineering, hoping to develop the city. When Riko first landed on Earth and took Phoenix under his wing to fight the crime of Earth, Langston knew that crime rates would shoot through the roof. Patterson helped him get the hookups. This was Langston’s first real assignment, and was Patterson’s first in dealing with super-heroes.

            Both were stationed to keep anyone from going back into the city, but were also among the first allowed back in once the fighting resolved and quieted down. They were the ones that greeted Kyle on the ground as he slowly came down from Wave Two and made his way to his base Nexus powers, almost as if letting water spill from a bucket.

            Officer Langston and Sergeant Patterson, for the next several hours, stood guard over Kyle. They asked for his identity to check and see if he was allergic to any medicine, they treated his wounds, and they helped out anyone else they could that was injured among the crowd. Blue Nexus was just another patient to them, and that was the way Kyle wanted it.

            A medical tent was set up for them. Power was out for most of the city, either because a power source was damaged or it was shut down for safety precautions, so they had to rely on first-aid for most of the night until the power could be restored. The higher-ups from the companies to restore this power were long gone, leaving the laymen around to pick up the pieces. Citizens were advised to still stay away from the city in case of any roaming monsters, or if another super being should attack them as Riko and Lalay did out of nowhere.

            Kyle got a good one hour’s nap before waking back up, still sore all over his body and still in his Nexus form. The healing would by quicker in that form. Langston and Patterson stayed in his tent, too, with two of the other doctors. Kyle looked around the tent for Brian or Boomer, and worried for a moment when he didn’t see them. Brenda was still out there, probably, so she must’ve been tending to Brian, who was with her at least. Kyle did grow worried, though, when he heard that there were still people unaccounted for, and a large portion of them. Had Brenda and Brian been defeated?

            He wanted to go out and check but wasn’t able to. Patterson and Langston refused earlier in the evening and now Kyle found himself physically unable to do anything more than shift his legs underneath the blanket.

            A light flashed overhead and a helicopter whirred. Langston, at the tent’s flaps, groaned and Patterson shook his head. They whispered to each other, Kyle unable to pick up their conversation. The light flashed through again, this time much brighter because of its closeness. Kyle covered his eyes from it while the helicopter landed.

            Someone approached the tent, Langston and Patterson addressing them with confusion and discontent. Their voices were raised. Kyle tried to sit up in bed but soreness and numbness immobilized him once again. More footsteps pattered about behind him. The encampment must have been growing, or people were being given an ‘okay’ of sorts to go back out around the city. Kyle was surprised he wasn’t hearing reports of looting or theft around the city, those were common in the movies when it was the end of the world. Maybe Alucard scared them all of, or turned them into monsters?

            Langston shrugged and looked over to Patterson, who bowed his head and nodded. He opened the tent flap fully, letting in more light, and a female figure stepped in, covered completely as a silhouette. They squatted down, blocking the light, but were smiling.

            “I didn’t think Evart had it in him to go a few rounds with the Blue Nexus,” Detective Patton said.

            “It was only one or two,” Kyle said, his voice hoarse.

            “Still, when I think English teacher I don’t think, unlike his students, about supervillains,” Patton said. “Or whatever the hell he wound up being.”

            Kyle smiled, though he knew it was weak. Langston stole a quick glance over before resuming his duty of keeping watch.

            “Aren’t we a bit beyond your jurisdiction, detective?” Kyle asked.

            “I’ve been here longer than you have,” Patton said. “I was helping these people get out, now you’re going to make me tell them it’s okay to go back? Make up your mind.”

            “Trust me, I wish I knew,” Kyle said. “I’ve just…I’ve just been stuck here.”

            “Napping, yeah, I get it,” Patton said. She patted Kyle’s leg. “You deserve it, though. Couldn’t see much of the fight, but damn kid. Just damn.”

            It was difficult to tell because of the light still bathing into the tent, but Kyle could swear he saw a smile on her face, a genuine one. Kyle kept his weak smile up, too. Patton moved away from him, then stopped between the tent exit and Kyle’s bed.

            “Oh, and get well soon,” Patton said. “I’m sure you noticed that you made a bit of a mess outside. Enjoy the rest for now, there’s not going to be much of it when you can walk.”

            Kyle tried to nod but only got halfway, instead just bowing his head. Patton ducked out, calling for someone as she did. Langston turned around.

            “She’s an old friend,” Kyle said, though it was barely more than a whisper. Langston didn’t notice what he said, and just turned back around.

            Another hour of staring at the thick blue tent ceiling passed by. More footsteps wandered about the tent, and even more authoritative voices appeared. There were fewer “yes sirs” or “what do you need me to do?” going around, which told Kyle that people were just doing as they were asked, thank goodness. The last thing East City needed now was an imbalance of responsibility.

            More helicopters came in, and the light was removed from their faces. The room seemed to turn pitch black, despite several smaller lights in the actual tent. A couple of patients were allowed to leave when their families got the chance to see them. There was still no sign of Brenda or Brian, though, which worried Kyle.

            Langston approached Kyle when the hour ended, kneeling down beside his bed.

            “How you holding up?” he asked. Langston was no more than four or five years older than Kyle, it was obvious just by the youthful look of him.

            “I’d like to try moving around, if you don’t mind helping?” Kyle asked. He didn’t want to come off as a child, but wasn’t too arrogant to deny the help he needed.

            Langston nodded and held out his arm firm. Kyle latched on and pulled himself out of bed. His legs wobbled and his back muscles tensed up. He sucked in a sharp breath and heard Langston do the same. Kyle let go, bracing himself against the bed as his feeling slowly seeped back down into his legs and feet. Langston held his arms up behind Kyle, ready to catch him if necessary. Kyle took a larger step and straightened out his back. His ribs and back cracked.

            He groaned, clenching his fists. There was something else brewing in him now. Kyle felt his eyes glow and saw the faint blue aura around him. Kyle grunted, taking a quick step this time, and it came natural to him. He raised his arms up, throwing a weak punch. His arms began to gain feeling again, his muscles tensing up and then relaxing. Kyle took in a deep breath, letting warmth flow in his body like a river, and exhaled.

            His legs and arms wobbled one more time. He dropped to one knee, Langston too slow to catch him.

            “I’m fine,” Kyle said. “I can get up.”

            He was waiting to hear his knees and elbows creak like a rusty door as he pulled himself up, but instead his joints just cried out in strain. Kyle forced the thought of it away, focusing on just getting back to his feet. Sweat rolled down the side of his head. He felt like he was keeping a building on his shoulders, trying to stand up with it. Langston stayed close enough only to catch him if need be, but otherwise watched with caution.

            Kyle made it back to his feet, letting himself draw in more energy from the Nexus. He saw the blue lines light up along his body, watched as his aura intensified around him.

            “Come on,” he grunted to himself, waiting for his legs to straighten out.

            He swung back when he did, letting a gust of wind erupt around him as the energy flew throughout his body like a dam had just broken down in him. He gasped, feeling the power overwhelm him just as it had back when he first traced his fingers along the bracelet. Langston had to take a step back, and Patterson turned to look at them with worry.

            Kyle loosened the grip on his fingers, and held out his arm. He felt better now, but his concentration was off. He began to think of Alucard, of that final attack, of all the energy he summoned. Of nearly dying so many times, when now all he needed was just one simple thing. His aura intensified, and Kyle glared at his open palm. Energy swelled within it, as if preparing to burst. Something began to take shape…and then the lance appeared.

            Kyle gripped it and swung it around, ready for battle. The power of his swing knocked the sheets off his bed and ruffle his own hair. Kyle twirled the lance around again, letting it dissipate back into the Nexus where he could call for it again.

            “Ah, hell yeah,” he said. He turned to look at Langston, who was in shock at sight of the glowing teenager in front of him.

            “Whoa,” he said.

            Kyle smiled. “Thanks, officer. I really appreciate all your help. I better get going now, to see how I can help out.”

            “Are you sure you don’t need us to follow you, make sure you’re safe?” asked Langston. “Are you really back at one hundred percent?”

            “No,” Kyle said. “But I’ll get there, and I can handle myself now. You guys did great, thanks so much again. I’ll come back to help when I can, I promise.”

            Kyle held out his hand. Langston shook it. The fact that Kyle still felt the tight grip told him that he was definitely not at hundred percent, but at least the Nexus was able to move through him now, he was back to being able to manipulate it.

            He strode to the exit, where Patterson nodded to him.

            “Thank you, sir,” Kyle said. Patterson patted Kyle on the shoulder.

            “Thank you,” Patterson said.

            Kyle jogged away, moving into an entire camp of people either helping others or scurrying about looking for something or someone. The camp extended for another two full blocks, shutting down the entire road for oncoming traffic. Before anyone could notice right away, Kyle braced his legs and jumped up. He summoned the proper energy and shot away, shakily, into the very early morning’s sky.

            The sun was just the barest light over the flat horizon. Kyle smiled as he saw it, then ducked down toward the city, realizing he’d flown too high for what he wanted. The epicenter hadn’t seemed so bad when it was blurring past him as he chased down Alucard, or when he was plummeting through buildings unable to feel anything.

            Kyle dropped down, sweeping his vision across the smoky streets for anything that moved, good or evil. When he touched down, he was hardly able to keep his knees from buckling. He latched on tight to the bent over street sign, then managed to get his legs straight and keep on walking.

            He held his hand out, the lance forming in his hand. Kyle continued on, having the lance ready as a crutch to lean on when he would stumble forward. Every few steps he would move rubble out of the way, checking to see if anyone were underneath, or if some precious possession were there.

            “Ah, there you are,” a familiar voice grumbled to his right.

            Kyle swung around to face it, holding the lance out. A body, colored in dust, lay down on the ground, arms and legs out limp. Their head was turned to the side. Kyle made his way over, noticing that the body was in a metallic suit of armor.

            “Boomer?” Kyle asked.

            “In the armor,” he said. “At least you look good. Alucard must have been a bigger pushover than we all thought.”

            Kyle propped Boomer up against the fallen rubble from a crumpled restaurant. Boomer’s face was cut up and bruised. He struggled to keep his eyes open. His head rested on his shoulder, as if his neck muscles were shot.

            “What happened to you?” Kyle asked. “Why can’t you move?”

            “Alucard took out my pressure points,” Boomer said. “Or something. I’m just tired. Very tired.”

            “Yeah, well, don’t worry about it,” Kyle said. “They’ve got medics moving in the city now. I’ll shoot up a flare or something for you.”

            “That’d be great,” Boomer said. “But I don’t think they’ll be needed.”

            He blinked twice. A red light shone in his eyes for just a moment, followed by a blue one. Kyle turned around, watching as Brenda and Brian descended. Kyle’s throat caught. They looked awful. Brenda’s didn’t have cuts or bruises but looked very pale. Brian was the one that had the cuts and bruises on him. His Nexus outfit was almost ripped to shreds, leaving nothing but something of shorts on his legs.

            Brenda rushed up and hugged Kyle, trying to squeeze him but clearly very tired. Brian clasped him on the shoulder, smiling.

            “Glad you figured out how to use Wave Two again,” Brian said.

            “Glad you two turned out to be okay,” Kyle said. “What about all those people, what happened?”
            “We brought them to the nearest camp, they’re going to be okay,” Brian said. “When we sensed you flying around we came running. Luckily, we found another one of our heroes.”

            Boomer laughed. “Me, a hero? Quit joking. I just did what I had to. Lock me up in your Cube already and get it over with.”

            “After what you did today?” asked Brenda. “You stood against Alucard and all of his monsters, something we all struggled to do. Not even Riko or Lalay could do that in full. You should be proud.”

            “I caused all of this,” Boomer said. “Alucard worked through me. Now just look at the city, look at me. Hell, look at yourselves. We fought to the bone and nearly lost everything because I got greedy, because I wanted that bracelet shining on your wrist.”

            Brenda squatted down, laying a hand on his shoulder. It began to glow. “It doesn’t matter. The city can be rebuilt.”

            “And all the lives lost?” asked Boomer. Kyle saw that he was straining to move her hand away. “The families torn apart?”

            Nobody spoke. Brian bowed his hand. Brenda concentrated on healing him, containing him in a red cube.

            The rubble behind them moved. Brian and Kyle were quick to turn, holding up their fists. Kyle was quicker than Brian to be ready, though. He still kept them up when he saw that Sandy, still holding her bow, approached. Her arms were raised, and she looked fine if not a bit tired and beat up.

            “You aren’t the only one who did things they regret,” Sandy said.

            “How did you find us?” asked Brian.

            “Relax, I’m not here to fight you,” Sandy said. “I’m here to ask for what Boomer is asking for. I want to be put in the Cube, to make sure this damn magic can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

            “You still have the magic?” asked Kyle. “How? Alucard is destroyed, you shouldn’t be tethered to his magic anymore.”

            Sandy shrugged, laying her bow down. “I guess I’ve always had it in me, Alucard just awoke it. I made a vow to keep my magic to him, I made a blood sacrifice. It’s with me forever. But I can’t…Kyle, I killed people for him. I was an instrument of all of this. Alucard got into my head and used me and I remember all of it.”

            “You can’t understand, Blue Nexus,” Boomer said. “What we’ve done? It’s irreparable. Luna, my closest friend, is dead.”

            “And it was her choice to sacrifice herself so that we could make it back!” Kyle exclaimed.

            “The city is wrecked, school is shut down, half the community college is in smoke and all of those people out there are going to struggle for months, maybe years, because of what we did today!” Sandy shouted back. Her lip trembled. Kyle lowered his arms.

            Brenda stood up. Boomer looked up to her, grunting as he moved his arms. He reached up and tapped a button on his suit, a small green one. Blue mist poured out from several pores, and the suit fell apart around him. Boomer’s clothes were pressed tight to his skin, which had some indentations of armor around it.

            Kyle stared at Sandy, wondering what to say. He had no idea. When the baseball field was destroyed was one thing. They would rebuild, and it was all for nothing. Whenever a monster attacked the school, people panicked and wondered why. But this was something different. This was East City, this was people’s livelihoods that were just tossed around like they were sticks on a path. Alucard played them all so easily, manipulating every move they made until he was poised to make his first move. Even when he didn’t get to make that move, the city still suffered more than it ever had.

            “Nobody deserved to die today,” Brenda said. “Nobody should have been fighting. In a perfect world, all of us would not need to be here. We would be sleeping now, resting for another day to just be ourselves, or hang out and have a good time. Sure, not all of us had a choice in this matter. But that’s because we don’t live in a perfect world. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have met any of you, I wouldn’t have become a hero. I would just be a little girl on the other side of the galaxy still with her family, not a little slave girl being forced into mage-hood.”

            “Every battle comes with a cost,” Brian said. “On all the planets and all the fights I’ve been in, that remains the one constant. Sometimes it’s small, sometimes it’s like this. We paid a price to get here. Like she said, nobody deserves this fate, but someone has to walk in this life. When Kyle and I discovered our Nexus abilities, it wasn’t destiny that told us who we were to be. We were presented with a choice, to wield this power or to move on.” He pointed to Sandy. “You did kill people. You helped a force so dark that it nearly broke the three of us, and it drove some of the galaxy’s strongest warriors apart. But here you are. Maybe there is some sort of fate that drove you here, or maybe you’re just here because now you want atonement for your sins, archer.”

            Boomer stood up, rubbing his wrists. Brian turned to face him as well, but Kyle put his hand out in front of him. He took a step toward Boomer.

            “I didn’t know Luna very long,” he said. “I helped her once, and then she helped me. But I know that this, where you are now, is where she wanted you to be. She would be proud, Boomer, and I think you know that.”

            “The city will be rebuilt,” Brenda said. “Now you have to choose how you go from here. Will you let this mark you forever, or will you let restoring hope to the people of this city be what drives you?”

            Boomer nodded to Brenda, then looked over to Sandy. Kyle kept his gaze on Boomer, watching as the frail man stepped away from Brenda and over to Kyle. Boomer held out his hand. It trembled.

            “Thank you,” he said.

            Kyle took his hand, shaking it. Boomer smiled and did the same with Briana and Brenda. A shiver ran up Kyle’s back, and he looked to the rooftop.

            Riko and Lalay stood, averting their gaze away from the conversation below. Riko straightened out, leaping away while Lalay lingered there. She looked back down to them, and nodded to Kyle, who nodded in return. She swung her arms out, letting the wind take her away.

            Brian and Brenda helped bring the two away to another camp while Kyle continued, like Riko and Lalay he assumed, to search for more people in the rubble. The further he got from the epicenter, the happier he became to see the damage getting worse. It still spooked him to see the once-vibrant East City so devoid of life, but he knew that it would be better soon.

            He landed when he saw a man sprinting away from an open car door. The man had a worried look about him. Kyle raised an eyebrow and followed quietly from the air, watching as he darted through a few alleyways. The man finally looked up to Kyle and yelped, raising a handgun and firing. Kyle dodged the bullet, but the man kept running.

            “Hey!” Kyle shouted, and blasted toward him.

            Before Kyle could reach him, a figure in silver rammed into the burglar, knocking him out against a street light. The light flickered, but remained on and hummed. The burglar dropped the wallet and the gun while the man in silver stood over him, putting away a knife. Kyle lowered him to the ground.

            “So we got another hero popping up around here I didn’t know about?” he asked.

            The man in silver looked over to Kyle. His pants, cloak, gloves and torso were silver but his boots were black and he had a black mask covering the bottom part of his face. The poor light around made it impossible to see the man’s eyes. Two pistols were on his belt, along with pouches running along to the back.

            “Popping up?” he asked. His voice was deep, intimidating. He chuckled. “Kid I’ve been doing this since before the aliens dropped down here. I came as quick as I could when I heard the Zanderia finally turned on us. I was hoping to get a good lick on the Phoenix but he never showed up. Damn same.”

            Kyle took a step toward the man, cautious. “Wait, you’re the Sentinel? From Pacific City?’

            “Well I’m not the Viper,” the Sentinel said. “I was glad I wasn’t in the epicenter when it all went down, I’d definitely be dead by now. I’ve been spending the night doing what I love: kicking the crap out of deadbeats who like to turn devastation into opportunity.”

            Kyle was star struck. The Sentinel was the first ever superhero, but was exclusive to one city and never joined the Zanderia. He had no special powers other than the best martial arts that anyone on Earth had ever seen. He once took down ten professional assassins in under two minutes, Kyle had heard. Though, that stat came from Phoenix, who was often unreliable in his detailing of events.

            “Uh, oh, yeah, then thanks, I guess,” Kyle said. “Have you been able to rest at any of the camps, or have you just been going on some sort of spree?”

            “This is what I do, kid,” the Sentinel said. “I’m not built for that sort of skyline fighting. But I can appreciate a man who does that, if he can appreciate what I do down here. We fight for the same cause, it’s why I rushed here. From what I hear you’re a pretty quick responder, Blue Nexus, and pretty reliable. If someone like you were in Pacific City, I’d sleep a little easier.”

            Not sure the people of East City feel the same about you, but whatever, Kyle thought. He grinned. It was weird to see the Sentinel here, or just in personal at all, yet seeing this side of him, the one out in the open fighting crime like superheroes were born to, couldn’t help but plant a smile on Kyle’s face.

            “I appreciate the help,” Kyle said. “It’s going to take all we can get to fix this broken city.”

            “Broken?” the Sentinel asked. “Are there still people here? Is it completely destroyed? Look right in front of you, Blue Nexus. That there building is fine. The city’s not broken, it’s just cracked a bit. Needs a good patching up. As long as there’s hope, there can’t be a broken city, or a broken world. In our line of work, something I’ve found is that you can either believe in that hope, or be that hope.”

            Kyle nodded. The Sentinel moved into the middle of the street, looking both ways and tapping his ear, pausing his stride as he did. He turned back to face Kyle, holding his arm up.

            “And if you see the Phoenix make sure to let him know I stopped by, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear about it,” the Sentinel said. “If you need help, I’ll keep in touch!”

            “Thank you!” Kyle shouted, and felt weird afterward. Thank you? Jeez, why not just hug the guy?

            Kyle braced himself to shoot into the sky, but stopped, and instead just looked up to it. Nothing about it had changed. Kyle tilted his head, then saw a shooting star pass by overhead, and a cloud followed it. He smiled again, and instead jogged down the street.

            The city wasn’t broken. It was like the sky. Things changed and covered it up, sometimes it seemed the stars moved things around, but the sky was still there. It was constant. And it always provided light, like the hope that the Sentinel spoke about. Boomer was once a man who devoted himself to nothing but finding the Nexus bracelet, and now? He was a reluctant hero, who took the bravest stand Kyle could have dreamed. Sandy, Riko, and Lalay would get better, just as he had. Because they had hope.

            For a better tomorrow, and for a better world that was worth fighting for.

           

Next time: The heroes get hard at work toward rebuilding East City, with the Zanderia finally coming together to discuss their actions. Meanwhile, Phoenix faces the world governments, who seek answers after what has happened. Check it out in "Blue Nexus #39 - Fallout"!