I'M YOUR PUPPET; invincible

chapter 3

[act one; chapter three     -     legacy]

    "I've fought the unimaginable in defense of this world. I've battled alien tyrants, defeated nightmares from the deep. Gone toe to toe with ancient gods...but no matter what threat I faced, I knew I wasn't facing it alone. Darkwing. Aquarus. War Woman. Green Ghost. Red Rush. Martian Man. Immortal. Cable. The Guardians of the Globe."

    An eighteen year-old sits among the rows of chairs, dressed in black. Brown hair in loose waves. Green eyes cast forward. Jaw clenched, hands fisted. Blank faced.

    "Today, we have lost titans, protectors, heroes, and we are left to wonder...who will save us now? I will." Loren Mason drops her gaze from where Omni-Man stood at the podium as his gaze wanders. As it falls upon the boy sitting at her side. "And so will others like me. New heroes answering the call. New champions ready to risk everything to keep this planet safe. All inspired by these great souls who came before us. You will have moments of doubt, of fear, of uncertainty, but in those moments, have faith...and look to the sky."

    It is later, as rain falls from the sky, that they stand once more for a memorial service. This time, however, it is a funeral. The real thing.

    "We seriously have to put everyone through this again?"

    Eve glances past Loren at Mark, "The big one's for show, but the public can't know where the actual bodies are buried." The redhead cringes, lowering her voice. "Souvenir hunters."

    "Jesus."

    He doesn't do it intentionally. Not really. But his hand brushes the back of another's—Loren's. It's brief, fleeting. Barely anything at all. But when his gray eyes drift down, when they find the clench of her jaw, he reaches out. Intertwines his fingers with hers, locking them together.

    Her eyes, the most beautiful mural of green, flicker to his. Her brows are pinched, the only sign of emotion on her face. But she softens, then. As if his touch alone had given her a place to fall, even if only for a moment. A silent promise to catch her if she needed it. Even if she didn't.

    She squeezes his hand, turning her gaze back to the black coffins in front of them. Finding one in particular.

    "I was never a Guardian of the Globe, but it was the Guardians who welcomed me when I first arrived on this planet." Nolan lifted his gaze, finding Loren's. "Especially one in particular. They were my mentors. My comrades. My friends. They knew the reality of this life. Martian Man was exiled from his own people. War Woman was from a different age. Darkwing...well, Darkwing made his own kind of solitude. And Cable understood what it was like to be foreign to this planet. It was a rare, lucky few of us who found someone who understood our path, even rarer if they accepted it. I hope they will rest in peace, but at least they will rest together."