New Darkstar: Mason's Legacy

Prologue (Benedict Crypt)

"How... how could you do this?!" I shouted at Sam.

Sam regarded the corpse of Uncle Dennis, whom he had killed with a horrifying slash of his black tail construct.

"This world... everybody here. They've always put me in a box... because of my parents. Even my name. I'm forced to follow in his footsteps." Sam seethed, eyeing at the rest of us with pure hatred.

"We're not saying that. You've been gifted with the powers of two of the greatest heroes in the history of Croft!" Jin yelled at Sam. We were in utter shock at what Sam had done. Up until now.

Sam was one of us. He was part of our group.

"We were supposed to be New Darkstar, Sam. What happened to our dream?!" I screamed at my brother. "You were supposed to be the greatest... you HAD EVERYTHING!"

"NO! I... Everybody here. They don't see me for ME. Why do I have to be a hero. Why do I have to follow in the same footsteps as Mom and Dad. I don't want to be known as Jason's son, or Amana's son. Everywhere I go, people expect me to be the next Blackflame. I want to be known as ME. WHY CAN'T ANYBODY UNDERSTAND?!" Sam roared, sending us back in a wall of red flames. A column of Sam's celestial fires, the same ones Mom had used, came racing towards Baxter, but Rift created a portal, sucking the fires into another dimension. Rift turned to me.

"Ben, we can't take Sam head on. We need to get out of here."

Tears raced down the side of my face. "Sam, if you do this... you will become an enemy not just to Corinth and Croft. You'll become an enemy to us. US. To ME! Your FAMILY."

Sam's face was full of hatred and pity. "If that's what it takes, to escape my shackles, then so be it."

I could only plead as Rift extended his hand, creating a breach that redirected Sam's fires back at him. But Sam took out Kronus and slashed the air. Citybreaker Slash. Dad's move. A huge black arc blasted the fires away as he turned to the Warpgate.

Rift held out his hands, and several breaches formed taking Baxter, Jin, Danny, Rigel, Lilith, Courtney, and I away from Corinth. I watched as my vision became warped, elongated from the reality bending power of Rift's breaches. I watched Sam open the Warpgate, to the dimension that held the Aspects prisoner.

Chapter 1 (Rift)

"Absolutely not." Danny put the paper on the table. Danny and I were sitting in the interview room of our really beat up basement suite. We were in the process of hiring new vigilantes to help with our heroisms. As of now, we only had Danny, me, Ben, and Sam. We had fourteen candidates. Of the fourteen, only four had actual powers, and all of which were Tier 8 and below.

Needless to say, we were short on people in our quest to fight crime.

In this world, meta humans aren't uncommon. I would say about 15 percent of the population have the right gene. Some were mystically enhanced. Some were gifted genetically. I'm new to this world, this dimension. But apparently, in the past, there were a LOT of powerful people around. Then a race of cosmic entities known as "Aspects" invaded or something. There was a huge war, many were killed off, until one man stood up and fought the leader of the Aspects hand to hand in a titanic battle, and won. This man was known as Samuel Mason. Or the "Blackflame". He and his team of superheroes, known as Darkstar fought back, inspiring everybody to give it their all. Eventually, the Aspects were sealed into some kind of inescapable dimension known as the Warpgate. Blackflame sacrificed himself to restore the lives of everybody who had died from the Aspects. Unfortunately, his sacrifice worked partway. Because while resurrected, many found their powers no longer functional.

As for what had happened to the rest of Darkstar, everybody retired or settled down. Ben and Sam, they're the sons of Darkstar leaders Jason and Amana.

Also, you probably might have caught on the fact that I am in fact not natively from this universe. I am a meta human known as a "Viber". One who manipulates the energies of the multiverse to gain dimensional awareness, portals, blah blah blah. At first, I was pretty garbage with it. Only able to portal to different places in my home universe. But over the years, I perfected my powers, and now I would say I'm pretty much one of the more powerful vibers.

Anyway, back to the interview.

"Wait, why not?!" The candidate looked disappointed. Danny eyed her. "We need team players, people who are strong and have heart. You literally just said you spent two years robbing banks."

Evelyn glared at Danny, taking the papers, and phasing out of the door.

"Dude, that was pretty harsh." I told Danny. Danny simply readjusted his eyeglasses and crossed out Evelyn's name. "I'm simply honouring the wishes of my progenitor."

Danny was so hardcore. Of all the people in the Ghetto Ghosts, Danny was the most serious, as well as the oldest. I guess you would consider him the stereotypical leader of the team. Rarely smiling. I knew he had a rough childhood, so I never really had the courage to ask about his past, or even who the heck his "progenitor" was.

"So, who's the next guy?" I asked.

Danny flipped through the pages. "Says his name is Rigel."

"Rigel? Just Rigel?"

"Yeah. No last name. No real name. Just Rigel. Probably another bust."

Chapter 2 (Benedict Crypt)

"Keep climbing, Ben." Dad encouraged me, as I traversed and climbed the mountain, wheezing a storm.

We were climbing Mount Sienna to develop and test our strength from training. As usual, Sam scampered to the top in record speed, while I barely clung onto the rocks, struggling to get up.

Dad extended his hand, his greying beard fluttering in the wind. I took it as he pulled me over the ledge with astonishing force. I hit the ground, lying on my back and staring at the sky, catching my breath. Sam peeked over.

"Ben, if you can't even catch up with Sienna, you should probably quit."

"No." I wheezed, clutching my stomach. "I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna be a hero, like Dad."

Sam shook his head. "You don't even have any powers. I'll admit. You got heart, but you gotta face facts. You're not gonna be a superhero. You might as well stay back at the house with Mom and do chores."

I sat up. "I'm not giving up. Unlike you, I see the value in walking in our parent's footsteps."

Sam scowled. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

I glared at him. "Means you're being ungrateful. You have all the powers and I have none. Yet I'm the one who's got all the drive."

"Knock it off, you two." Dad ordered us. He stood above us, a towering six foot man who had seen countless battles.

I looked at the landscape, the clouds moving along the mountains. The mountains all below us. Like we were at the top of the world. But turning around and seeing Dad and Sam, I was once again reminded that no matter how hard I climb, I could never catch up to him. I could never catch up to the people I looked up the most.

"Blackflame and I once climbed a mountain very similar to this one."

"Oh god." Sam muttered, rolling his eyes. I elbowed him. Dad continued.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be at the top. Blackflame always wanted to become stronger, and even in his past life, as my Paladin, he strived to become the best. But you must always, always. Always remember why you are doing it. For what reason.

"To be the top... is like a double edged sword."

The Black Jason turned to his sons. To us. "Becoming number one, to save and protect. Or to seek and destroy. You must keep your centre clear and straight."

We returned to our house. A modest and humble home in a modernized Corinth. We were always told that Corinth used to be a place of magic and old fashioned tech. But ever since Maven of the Machines became the chief administrator of defence, he had helped revolutionize the place to become more advanced, while also keeping the old customs alive.

Despite that, it wasn't enough to make our place any less beat up looking. I walked under a piece of broken ceiling as Dad, Sam and I entered the house.

Sam went up to Mom, who was bedridden and still comatose and kissed her forehead. Dad went to the chair and collapsed, breathing hard. The strain of climbing the mountain was probably too much for him, yet despite that, he put us before himself. I respected him for that.

"All the magic in the world, and Mom is like this." Sam muttered.

Mom, or I guess many of you probably would know her as Amana Cross, was a really big heroine back in her day. Working alongside Dad and the rest of Darkstar, she was super famous for being smart and a good leader. Truth be told, I don't know much about Mom. The only memories I've had were her singing songs to me when I was very little. After Sam was born, she went into a coma.

Sam had taken that to heart really hard.

"We'll find a cure, Sam." I reassured him, but even I didn't seem convinced.

Sam clenched his fist, a sputter of red celestial flame coming out. "We will." Sam got up and walked to the windowsill.

"I wonder how Danny and Rift are doing."

I leaned back. "I'm sure they'll find their right guy. He made the posting on the Encrypted Web. Only the hardcore vigilante metahumans would find the posting. Who knows, maybe they've got the right guy as we speak."

Chapter 3 (Danny Mason)

"I need the money. The new VR headset came out."

Rift and I stared at Rigel. This guy couldn't be serious.

"That's your selling point? To buy a freaking VR headset?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm. I spent an entire month working on the job posting, organizing the group, searching for recruits. Every mission we went on was for the betterment of a broken society, which was ruled by crime. Despite Uncle Mavus' best efforts, there was only so much political power he had.

People died or were robbed and lived in poverty because of the "peace" we lived in being an excuse for the government to be slacked. Father gave his life to give us a bright future. I needed to make it perfect. I had to. I must.

"Hey, Dan?" Rift glanced at me. I shook my head out of my trance. I was going on a tangent.

"Rigel, the work we are doing requires each member to give in their all. Our world, our future. If you're not able to invest in this, then I can't see why I would want you on my team." I told him coldly.

Rigel was silent. He simply pointed at the portfolio he had given me. Gesturing me to keep reading. I was already set on rejecting him, but I might as well take a look at what he had done.

Rift peered over my shoulder. We read the portfolio. Nationality, DOB... It was all...

"Blank?" Rift asked, his face incredulous.

Rigel regarded us. "I am nobody. No one here knows who I am. They don't know what I can do. I am a blank. Because of this, the things I do cannot be traced. Is that not enough of a selling point?"

I closed the portfolio. This guy...

Rift turned to me. "He might not have the drive, but he has the skills man. I think we could get his help. Come on, we haven't had a single metahuman who was above Tier 8 at all. This guy is like Tier 2."

"I don't trust you." I handed the portfolio back to Rigel. "But for the time being, we're short on members. So I suppose..."

"Sweet. Well, here's my cell. I'm gonna go, see ya." Rigel threw me a slip of card with his phone number. Before I could say anything, he was already out the door.

"Why that little..." I grumbled. Rift stood up. "Well, I guess that concludes our posting. I'll take it down then."

I sat in my chair, staring at the wall as the rest of the day ended.

"Father." I mumbled, inspecting my hand, which transformed into a claw, then back. "I can't let your sacrifice be in vain."

My father, well, my biological father, is Samuel Mason. To the people, anyway. In reality, I knew him only as his old self. His true self. Paladin Decen of Acadia. I was created off of his cells by the Aspect of Wisdom and Intelligence, Mynell, to take down the Inquisition and Darkstar during the Cleansing. Bound to a singular purpose, my brothers and sisters greeted it grimly. I never knew my father. But on that day where I was to face him in the final fight, he regretted killing my brethren.

During the short time that I knew him, when I was still young, he had made an effort to get to know me, despite how little time he had left. I hated him for that, but it took his remnant, Jonathan Crypt of Croft, to show me what kind of a hero he really was. One to put others above himself. And one to atone for his past.

Father was never perfect, and his past as Decen proved that. But despite this, and his shortcomings, he became a hero to the people. He gave his all to protect everyone from the Aspects.

It was now my turn to continue his legacy.

Chapter 4 (Samuel Crypt)

I don't want to be a hero. There. I said it.

I sat at our busted up dinner table alongside Dad and Ben. We ate whatever we could. Dad was telling Ben stories of Darkstar, and he really liked it. Seeing Ben happy made me happy. Of course, I wouldn't tell him that.

Ben wanted to become a hero, just like my namesake and Danny's father. I just wanted to see my mom awake again.

I got up and left dinner early to tend to Mom, putting a damp cloth to clean her face. She looked so at peace, her silver hair almost going perfectly with the sheets.

"I'll find a way to make you better. I promise. I'll undo what has happened to you." I spoke to her. I felt pretty stupid, since it was obvious she wouldn't be able to hear me. But I always made the habit of telling her that whenever I tended to her.

When I was born, Mom went into a coma. Dad theorized that it might have been because of how powerful I was, after all, I inherited both Mom and Dad's genes. In many ways, I hated myself for what I was, and I still do. I hate having to be the cause of all of Dad's pain.

Every time Ben tells me he wanted my powers and that I didn't deserve them because I had no drive to become a hero, he was right. I don't care about being a hero. If I had it my way, Ben could have my powers and I could be powerless. I wouldn't care. If it meant having Mom around and having Dad smile for once. Genuinely.

My stream of consciousness was interrupted from a phone call. It was Rift.

"Hey Sammy, just wanted to let you know we found our guy."

"Really? Was it the fire dude." I replied.

"Yeah..." Rift muttered.

I smirked. I knew it was going to be Rigel all along, considering he was the only proficient candidate.

"Sammy?"

I got up. "What is it?"

"You ready for patrol? I'll portal you in."

Shit. I forgot about patrol. I sighed.

"Yeah, okay. I'm ready."

I stepped back as reality in front of me warped, bending and convoluting as ripples of distortion emanated from a single source. A 5 foot 7 man emerged from the singularity and I took his hand as I stepped through, entering the portal.

Reality distorted and changed as I ended up in the back of an alley of two buildings.

"Hey." A voice appeared behind me. I whipped around, summoning my black fox tail and nearly decapitating David's head.

"Dude!" Rift squeaked. I instinctively pulled back.

"Sorry." I muttered. Infernal reflexes. Trademark Amana powers. My black tail construct dissipated.

Rift and I walked the streets of Corinth. If a tourist had come here with no knowledge of how corrupt the people were running it were, they would have found this place incredible. Mesmerizing, and magical. Because it was. Rift watched as Old Man Kenny opened the floodgates, allowing the river dam to unleash a torrent of water, activating a magical treadmill, tending to the crops. Sparkles of light and a rainbow arced across the sky.

"God, feels like I'm walking in an MMO."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's an MMO?"

Rift looked surprised. "You don't know what an MMO is? I thought you guys have computers."

I crossed my arms. "Never heard of it."

We walked by a couple of huts and vendors, appreciating the scenery. A chariot rode past us, and the rider greeted me.

"Crypt." He saluted, as the horses drove off. I nodded, hiding my annoyance.