Chapter 18 – The Rising Sun
Aiden felt the pressure of the wind ripping past him as he and El Desastre plummeted from the sky like falling stars.
They struck the ground with a thunderous crash, asphalt bursting like shrapnel.
A shockwave tore through nearby buildings, glass erupting into deadly clouds. Civilians screamed.
Through the debris, El Desastre rose with a monstrous howl, his muscles swelling with stored kinetic force.
"You cannot outlast me!" he roared.
Aiden gritted his teeth. But I don't have to outlast you… I just have to keep going.
He felt it again—that pulse.
The same force he sensed earlier in the bathroom. But now, instead of fear, it surged as strength. His heartbeat thundered—each beat multiplying his power.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
His suit glowed brighter, containment seals flashing warnings across his HUD.
[POWER THRESHOLD ]
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE ACTIVATED]
Aiden's eyes burned like miniature suns.
On the ground, Kael sprinted through chaos. Massive chunks of concrete rained down as buildings crumbled. He punched through a collapsing doorway, dashing inside just as the structure gave way.
"Move! Move!" he shouted, lifting a fallen beam effortlessly. A trapped family stared in disbelief.
A boy cried, "Are you a hero?"
Kael grinned faintly. "Not today. Today, I'm just your exit."
CRASH!
He burst through the wall, shielding them from the debris with his antimatter arm, condensed into stable solid form.
He set them clear before turning back toward the battleground, eyes narrowing.
"Aiden… hold it together."
The Healing Front
Dozens of makeshift medical tents filled the park outside the danger zone. Lara knelt beside a child with shrapnel embedded in his arm. She pressed her hands over the wound—her eyes glowing faintly.
Shsshhh…
Flesh knitted back together.
She moved from victim to victim, sweat mixing with soot. "Stabilize the officer—tourniquet here! Watch for abdominal trauma!"
A paramedic looked at her in awe. "How are you holding up?"
She wiped her hands, voice firm despite exhaustion.
"If Sunfire fails… none of this will matter."
Aiden floated off the ground, light radiating violently. El Desastre charged—but this time Aiden caught the punch effortlessly.
CRACK!
The air around them shattered.
El Desastre's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible—how—"
Aiden's voice echoed with resonance.
"I'm adapting… my energy is self-amplifying."
He drove a fist forward, the blow compressing force into a narrow beam.
BBBBBOOOOOM!!!
The ground erupted. El Desastre was thrown through a concrete barrier and didn't rise.
Smoke drifted over shattered streets. Aiden staggered slightly, his power beginning to dissipate—light dimming around him. His breathing became harder, each exhale weaker.
He turned toward the people. Civilians began to cheer, cautiously at first.
"Sunfire!"
"He saved us!"
Aiden managed a small nod. The glow faded.
CLINK..
From atop a distant tower, the Cyborg Commander silently loaded a kinetic sniper charge.
"Target destabilized. Now is optimal for termination."
He aligned the scope.
A heartbeat before the trigger was pulled—
CRACK!
Kael appeared in front of Aiden, his antimatter-enhanced arm raised. The bullet hit his palm and stopped—dead.
He crushed it.
His eyes flared with rage..
"You shot at him?"
The Cyborg stood unmoving, voice robotic through comms.
"He is a high-risk unidentified superbeing. Elimination was necessary."
Kael stepped forward, anger radiating dangerously. "You don't get to make that call…"
Exhausted but conscious, Aiden placed a hand on Kael's shoulder.
"It's fine… I'm okay."
Kael didn't break eye contact with the commander.
"No. It's not."
The air between them crackled with tension.
High above, the Cyborg stared down at the two emerging paragons.
Scanning error flashed in his HUD for the first time.
[UNPREDICTABLE VARIABLES DETECTED]
He lowered the weapon.
Lara looked up from the medical tents as the glow around Aiden finally extinguished.
Kael stood beside him—not as a soldier, not as a rescuer.
But as a warning.
The city had seen its first true hero rise.
But also the first shadow that would defend him at all costs.