You read River's story, and now its time for Kaiser's. This isn't your typical "hero saves the world from a villain" kind of story. This story tells of a group of people who started out as strangers and simply trying to make it through the day- to a...
"Done yet?" Milo asked Apollo as I walked into the den with Danica.
"Not yet." Apollo replied then kicked over the bookshelf before falling against the wall and sliding down until he was sitting on his floor with his back against it. "Now I'm done."
"Still angry?" Danica asked.
"Nope. Just needed to blow off some steam. Perfectly fine now."
"You're so bipolar." I laughed.
"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't."
"Would now be a bad time to let you know that Rowan has given up his position as the leader of SAGE?"
"Thanks for letting me know after my temper tantrum." Apollo said. "So, who's gonna step up and be the leader?"
"Not it." Danica, Milo, and I said simultaneously.
"Looks like its you." Milo stated.
"Nope. Can't be me." Apollo refused.
"You're the most fit for it. You always have been." I retorted.
"Doesn't mean I want the position."
"Apollo, SAGE needs your leadership now more than ever."
"You don't understand..." He said. "I'm not gonna be around too much longer."
"What do you mean by that?" Milo questioned.
He sighed then lifted up his shirt, revealing a large area on his chest where there were blackened veins.
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"What the hell is that?" Danica asked as the three of us knelt down in front of him to get a better look.
"The day the Rift was attacked, I was shot. I healed pretty fast, or so I thought. A few days later I got a feeling in my chest that felt something like heartburn and when I looked at my chest I saw a mark. I thought it was just a bruise but then it started to spread."
"So what are you saying?" I asked.
"The bullet isn't in my body anymore but it left some kind of poison in my system. Its taking away my powers to the point where I can't heal anymore. My body's getting weaker by the day. I'm not healing. I'm dying. You three need to be prepared for that. And that means one of you are going to have to take over the organization." I'll do it for now. Just until I'm too weak to. Then after that, someone's gonna have to step up."
"No way. We are NOT letting you die again." Danica stated. "What about Kaiser? He's tapping into his powers more and more now. Once his healing kicks in he can heal you."
"Did you not hear what I just said? The poison took away my healing. If my son tries to heal me it'll kill him."
"Why did the bullet leave poison behind?" I questioned.
"It was supposed to kill me. I'm guessing I'm still too powerful for it to kill me instantly so instead its killing me slowly. It'll just keep weakening me until all of my powers are gone. Then until my body's hardly functioning. Then eventually..."
"Don't say that." Danica demanded.
"Danica's right." Milo followed up. "You don't know if its gonna kill you for sure."
"Have you forgotten that I can see into the future? I saw my life end. It's gonna happen."
"Ca'sius and Kratos may know how to fix this." I responded. "I know we're not on the best terms with them at the moment but maybe they can help. I mean they know more about our kind than any of us do."
"Um no. I'd rather accept my fate than go asking my father for help." Said Apollo.
This definitely wasn't what we needed. Especially at a time like this.
I sat on the floor across from Apollo as Danica and Milo did the same.
We all sat in silence for a while, trying to process what was happening and what the hell we were gonna do about it.
"Have you told anyone else?" I asked finally breaking the silence.
"No. And I don't plan on it anytime soon. I will eventually but only when things are a little less chaotic. So keep this between us and only us."
"Are you not scared?"
"Scared of what? Dying? Why would I be? I'm Apollo aka River Carson. Nothing scares me." He replied with a smirk.
"How can you still be cocky in a time like this?" Danica giggled.
"Just because I'm dying doesn't mean I 'm gonna stop being the same arrogant asshole I've always been. In the mean time though, we need to figure out what to do about this split between the 40. Now that the split's official they'll start acting hostile towards each other. Our job is to make sure that they understand that no matter what side they're on at the moment, they'll have to learn to work together for when the Xiotes come. And even worse, when Gazari wakes up."
"So are we still making them train together?" Asked Danica.
"Yes. If we split them up then they'll become used to it and won't wanna work together with each other when its needed."
"What about Raes?" Asked Milo.
"I'm gonna have to stop him while I'm still strong enough to. I have to. If I don't and he keeps this up, his new 'recruits' are gonna become ruthless."
"The 'fearless 40'..." I said in disappointment. "They're tasked with saving the world and instead they're going rogue..."
"They're gonna be the least of your problems when I'm gone." Apollo stated with a concerned expression now on his face.
"It gets worse?" Milo questioned which we were all pretty much thinking.
Apollo nodded his head yes. "When Hudson's powers surface he'll need to be kept away from everyone until he can control them. He'll be extremely deadly. And there's a huge possibility that his behavior will change. He may become hostile. Aggressive. Violent. Noncompliant. Rebellious. Hard to keep in control. But you can't let Raes train him. He'll only use him as a weapon."
"How much time do we have until... You know... You leave?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"Few months maybe.... A year if I'm lucky."
Hearing the news was hard for any of us to cope with.
