Chapter 23: Prayers
Spectra fired her laser vision, slicing through the fog in burning arcs. The smoke peeled back in ragged layers, but it didn't fully clear— embers and ash still drifting, stinging her eyes as she followed the sounds.
A wet sound.
A choking gasp.
She broke through the haze— and saw Aamon standing over Echo, blade buried deep inside him.
Spectra screamed.
Her eyes flared white-hot and she fired at full power.
A blinding beam tore through Aamon's shoulder—clean, violent—severing his arm in a flash of light and scorched flesh. The limb spun away, hitting the ground with a heavy THUD, black blood spraying across the street.
Aamon snarled, staggering backward, boots scraping as he forced distance between himself and Echo.
Spectra rushed forward, dropping to her knees and catching Echo as his body sagged.
She knew immediately.
His weight was wrong. Too loose. Too empty.
"…No—no—no…" Her voice cracked as she shook him once.
Nothing.
Echo was gone.
Behind Aamon— Photon. The real Photon.
He came in screaming, sword raised high, eyes wild.
Photon (feral): "I GOT YOU NOW—STAY D—!"
He drove the blade straight through Aamon's back, the tip bursting out of his stomach in a spray of black blood.
Aamon roared and then twisted.
His claws flashed.
SLASH.
They tore Photon's throat open in one brutal motion.
Wet tearing sounds. A choking gargle.
Blood erupted in a violent fountain, soaking Aamon's chest and face. Photon dropped to the ground, body jerking uncontrollably before collapsing on top of Echo's corpse—his movements slowing, then stopping entirely.
Spectra's eyes went wide.
She gagged—vomiting violently—then rolled away, hands slipping in blood and ash. She scrambled up, using one arm to push off the ground, landing on shaking legs, barely keeping her balance.
Aamon extended his remaining arm and ripped Photon's sword out of his own back with a growl. The blade clattered once—then lifted into the air under his control.
With a sharp pull of telekinesis, his own sword flew back into his grasp.
He looked down at himself at the missing arm, the torn flesh, the severed tail.
Aamon (snarling, voice shaking with rage): "You filthy monkeys…"
Black blood poured down his side.
"You cut off my arm. My tail. You mutilated me."
He limped forward, fury spilling out of him in heavy, uneven breaths.
Aamon: "I WILL ERASE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING EARTH—"
He paused, forcing himself to breathe.
"—even if it's the last thing I do."
Gravity slammed into him again—her power crushing down. Blood streamed from her nose, her hands shaking violently as she screamed through the strain.
Gravity (strained): "He—he lowered his guard…! We—we got this chance… the three of us!"
Frostbite stepped forward, teeth clenched.
Frostbite: "Right. Let's end this."
She hurled spike after spike.
CRK—SHRK—CRACK.
Ice slammed into Aamon's shoulders, embedding deep, ripping open flesh, freezing muscle and bone on impact. Black blood spilled and steamed against the frozen shards.
Aamon staggered, then crashed down to one knee, panting hard.
He threw his head back and roared.
"ROOOOOOOAAAAARRR—!"
A violent energy barrier exploded outward, shattering the incoming ice mid-impact into glittering fragments.
He stabbed his blade into the dirt and lifted his trembling arm toward the sky.
Aamon (ragged): "O' dark energy… gather around me…"
The air thickened.
"…and CRUSH my enemies."
A dense, unstable sphere of energy began forming above him—black, pulsing, lightning cracking across its surface.
Spectra's eyes widened.
She fired.
The lasers struck the energy shell and ricocheted violently away.
Spectra: "What—what is he—doi—"
Her breath hitched.
"Oh no… fuck."
Aamon swayed on his feet, coughing blood, voice barely holding together.
Aamon (faint, broken): "…If I'm gonna die… like this…"
He laughed weakly.
"…then I'm taking you all fuckers with me…"
Gravity's eyes rolled back.
She collapsed unconscious, body hitting the ground hard.
Spectra reacted instantly—grabbing Gravity by the collar with one hand, Frostbite with the other—and launched into the air at full speed.
Spectra (panicked, screaming): "We need to—get—FAR—DAAAAAAMN IT—!!"
Below them, Aamon stood on shaking legs, aura darkening further.
The sphere expanded—black lightning ripping through the sky, tearing the air apart.
He lowered his arm.
The sphere dropped.
FLASH.
A blinding white explosion swallowed the city.
Then the skyline.
Then the horizon.
A mushroom cloud spiraled upward, ripping skyscrapers from the ground, vaporizing metal, melting concrete into glowing rivers.
Spectra didn't last half a second.
The blast caught all three mid-air—skin peeling away instantly, bodies igniting, tearing apart as they disintegrated before they could hit the ground.
When it was over—
There was nothing left.
Only white flame.
And silence.
—--
(Winchester Manor)
The lights in Winchester Manor flickered as another distant boom rolled through the city. The chandelier above rattled, crystals chiming against each other like nervous teeth.
Diana paced back and forth across the velvet rug, her fingers gripping her own arms so tightly her nails dug in. She'd stop… inhale sharply… then keep pacing. The polished floor creaked under her heels. Every few steps she wiped her palms against her coat, like she couldn't get rid of the sweat.
Alan sat on the couch, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. One foot tapped the floor—fast, uneven, almost frantic. He kept glancing at the shut windows, flinching every time another explosion echoed far away.
Diana finally froze, standing with her back to him, shoulders trembling.
Diana (whispering, voice cracking): "Please… p-please God… keep him safe… don't take him away from us, not now…"
Alan swallowed, turned his head slightly.
He stood, grabbed the water glass from the table, and walked toward her—slow, like his legs weighed a ton.
Alan (soft): "Mom… here."
Diana jerked, eyes red, and grabbed the cup with shaking hands. She took a small sip, her breath hitching halfway through.
She sat beside him, the couch dipping under her weight. Alan didn't lean back; he stayed bent forward, staring at the floor.
Alan (quietly): "You don't have to pray."
Diana blinked, confused. "What?"
Alan's jaw tightened. "You don't have to. Dad's out there fighting for everyone. He's strong. He'll come out on top."
She stared at him—really stared. She saw the fear he was trying to choke down.
Diana moved closer, pulling him into her side and resting a hand on his shoulder.
Diana (voice trembling): "I hope you're right, son… I really do. But–Ben is fighting something that can destroy more than just Earth. F-Far more. I don't know how you're so calm… aren't you terrified?"
Alan let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh, but there was no humor in it.
Alan: "Of course I'm scared. But being scared won't change anything. Dad's strong. He's not alone, right? He's got the others with him… I just don't want you breaking before we even know what's happening."
Diana looked down at her hands gripping the cup.
Diana (soft, almost angry at herself): "You don't understand…"
Alan frowned. "Then explain it."
She inhaled sharply, chest rising and falling too fast.
Diana: "Your father is strong. I… I know that. But power… doesn't mean everything. There are layers of power, Alan. Some beings don't have limits. I've seen men who should've been invincible… fall in seconds. Just—gone."
Her hand trembled around the cup, water sloshing over the rim.
Diana: "And with what's happening out there… what if this is the last time we see him?"
Silence swallowed the room.
Alan's tapping foot stopped. His breath got louder—slower. He dug his fingernails into his palms so hard they left marks.
Diana turned, studying him with wide, worried eyes.
Alan: "You… sound unsure. Why? Since when do you doubt him? Didn't you fight side by side? Is this… thing… Megalodon—really stronger than the both of you?"
Diana stiffened. Her lips parted, then closed again. Whatever answer she had… she swallowed it.
Alan noticed. His heart skipped. He knew that she was hiding something—something she didn't want to say.
Before either could speak—
BOOOOOOM—!!
The entire manor jolted violently the floor started lifting under their feet. A shockwave slammed through the walls like a freight train.
Alan and Diana were thrown off the couch— flipped mid-air. Diana reacted fast, grabbing Alan and twisting her body so his head wouldn't hit the floor. They crashed down hard.
Outside, dogs started barking. Car alarms wailed across the neighborhood. People screamed somewhere in the distance.
Every single window in Winchester Manor shattered inward, glass spraying across the floor like a hailstorm.
Another wave hit of hot air, heavy, not burning but thick enough to slam curtains sideways and rattle the doors.
Alan lay on his back, coughing.
Alan (panting): "W-what… ugh… Mother—your shoulder— you're bleeding!"
Diana pressed her hand against the growing stain under her collar.
Diana (breathless): "Don't worry, Al… j-just— just a scratch…"
She turned toward the blown-out window.
Her eyes locked onto the rising mushroom cloud in the direction of the capital— black at its core, glowing at the edges.
Her lips parted.
Diana (under her breath): "Oh…Ben... Please stay safe honey."
Alan holding his side:" W..what… was that?"
-----