Book 3: Fall of the Sun

Spring X042

Prologue

Somewhere in the suburbs of Kant City stood a run-down house.

The lawn was unmown and filled with tall grass and weeds. The fence was unhinged, and the mailbox was covered in rust.

Leftover food and empty cans cluttered the interior. A hoard of unused and old items filled the house. Broken furniture, piles of dirty laundry, and dated newspapers were scattered about.

The only clean area was the mantel. There stood photos of a smiling young boy with his father and mother.

“Zzz,” snored a young teenager as he slept on the old family sofa. He was still holding an empty can of beer when his phone rang.

“Augh…” groaned the hungover teen as he rolled over, toppling onto the carpet. A streak of the morning sun shone in, warming his half-naked body, quickly clearing the migraine.

“Where…” murmured the young well-muscled teen as he felt around for his phone. “Hello… Derek’s speaking… Yes?”

His tired eyes quickly widened as he listened to the caller.

“What? Are you sure?” His hands shook as he held the phone close to his ears, unable to believe what he was hearing. “I’m on my way.”

—-

Spring X037

Chapter 1

Sarah slipped a piece of paper in front of his morning coffee. Adam, curious, looked up from the dining table to his wife. “What is this?”

His beautiful wife smiled, “Derek’s school assignment. Look what your son wrote for his goals.”

“Be like Dad!” Adam read with a wide grin on his handsome face. Then, he looked across to his 12 years old son and exclaimed, “Wow! You really want to be like me?”

Derek grinned a bright, toothy smile. “Yes!”

“Great! That’s fantastic! You will make an incredible hero.” Adam erupted in a roar of laughter as he ruffled his son’s hair. He could sense the dormant powers residing in his son. Powerful, perhaps even stronger than his own.

“Honey!” Sarah frowned disapprovingly. “Don’t encourage him! One person risking his life in this family is more than enough! I mean it!”

She turned to Derek, “Young man, no hero nonsense. Be like your dad in the kind and upright way.”

Without a word, the father flashed his signature bright smile at his wife. Sarah suddenly flushed red. Even after these years, Adam Carnell was as hot and charming as ever. She simply could not resist his manly charms. Damn it.

“Argh,” she let out, exasperated, knowing how stubborn her husband was. She left the room to pick up the car keys. “Derek! Finish up your cereal. We’re going to be late for school.”

Adam looked at his son squarely in the eyes, placing his hand on the young boy’s shoulders. He said, firmly and proudly, “Look at you, son. Go out and shine bright like a solar flare. You’re something special, Derek. Carve your name into the stars.”

“DEREK! WE ARE LATE!”

“Seize the day, my boy.”

Chapter 2

Adam stared into the horizon from Guardian HQ and admired the sparkling ocean reflecting the late afternoon sun.

“Captain Solar!”

The sun hero turned to greet the familiar voice. “Hey, Azure. Come here.”

He rested his hand on the teen’s large bowling ball shoulder. Boy Azure was in his usual short-sleeve blue-white super-suit with a pair of blue gloves. The young hero was in his mid-twenties. He had a broad, muscular frame with a set of bulging pecs and rippling abs.

His young mentee was a very enthusiastic and honorable hero who willingly put himself on the frontlines to protect the innocent. Hailing from Cindra Alliance, Boy Azure was an exchange apprentice hero visiting to learn under his tutelage. Captain Solar knew that his sidekick would one day become a heroic icon, a beacon of light that would bring people hope. As his mentor, Captain Solar felt obligated to ensure the young hero was well-groomed and prepared for the heavy burden ahead.

“Look.” The veteran hero waved his hand over the spectacular sea view.

“As a hero of the people, there are times you will witness bad things happen. Horrible things. Terrifying things. Know that, in your darkest hour, the morning will always come, and with it comes a ray of sunshine.”

Boy Azure swallowed hard. His mentor had always been cliché but his words somehow always struck a chord. It made him look up to the charismatic sun hero even more.

“Now, why have you come to look for me?” asked the leader of the Guardians with a bright grin.

Snapping out of his hero-worship, Boy Azure exclaimed, “Mission control paged us for a mission. There was a surge in energy readings in one of the abandoned buildings downtown. They want us to check out the abnormality.”

“Well, it’s been a while since our last mission,” Captain Solar said, surprised. As the leader of the Guardians, he usually had to attend to a lot of paperwork and meetings, leaving him and his young mentee very few opportunities for fieldwork.

“Are you ready, Azure?”

“Always, Captain!”

Chapter 3

Captain Solar stood on top of a building, overlooking the one they had to investigate. Something seemed off today. It was odd that the mission was scheduled when the sun was setting. Usually, his other superheroes colleagues, Lt. Maverick or Jaguar, would pick up on such missions.

The late-thirties hero leader was dressed in a yellow long-sleeve suit that wrapped around his broad, muscular frame, showcasing his powerful physique. His chest had an “S” symbol for his hero name. His muscle-bound torso tapered down to a slender waist as it met maroon trunks covering black spandex tights. His thick muscular legs stretched the skin-tight leggings. His iconic red cape rippled in the wind.

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, the hero could feel his powers slowly diminish. Of course, he would have to pull from his reserve if he needed to, but there did not seem to be any foreseeable threat at the moment.

*Vroom…*

Captain Solar looked down the streets and spotted his mentee in his blue motorcycle. He reached the site first by flying, but his mentee still had to get around on the ground. His red cape fluttered in the air as he drifted down slowly to meet up with Boy Azure.

The young sidekick took off his helmet and looked up, smiling at the Captain. On the way to the destination, the eager hero grew excited. It had been a couple of uneventful weeks where he helped the hero leader through the growing mountains of paperwork.

“Azure, as you already know, this mission is straightforward,” the Captain recapped. “We will survey different floors of this building and report back if we find anything suspicious. Do not engage with anyone by yourself, and let me know immediately if you see anything.”

Boy Azure nodded thoughtfully.

The Captain continued, “This is a large building, so it will be quicker if we split up. We shouldn’t expect any company.”

“Yes, sir”

The Captain smiled back at his eager mentee as the duo entered the building, unaware of the dangers ahead.

Chapter 4

The abandoned building seemed oddly new. Some of the rooms were partially furnished.

Conserving his energy, Captain Solar strolled through the empty hallways instead of flying. He peered into each room to find nothing noteworthy, but his keen internal senses detected faint energy traces. It seemed that something was in operation somewhere.

“Azure. Did you find anything?” asked the sun hero over his communicator.

A voice crackled over the device. “No, Captain. My detector is not picking up anything.”

Captain Solar realized that he was probably closer to the source than his mentee. So he replied, “I might have something. I will check it out, but you continue on.”

He headed toward where his senses led him and ended up facing a white door.

“Hmm…” the hero rubbed his hand over his chiseled jaw. “There seems to be a lot of energy emanating from behind this door.”

His hand twisted the knob and entered. The room was pitch black.

The Captain’s eyes glowed bright yellow with a blink, illuminating his vision in the dark. Then, peering into the darkness, he took stock of the room. It was a sizeable space that occupied two to three stories.

He noticed a familiar, tall, muscular figure at the far end of the room. 

“Lynx Luxtor!” Captain Solar boomed as powerful beams of lights came on, instantly turning the room bright as day. A metal door came down behind him, sealing the hero in the room.

Lynx smiled and opened his arms as though welcoming the hero, “Captain Solar! We meet again.”

“What is the meaning of this?” asked the Captain. This was atypical of the influential businessman to meet with him, especially in such a setting.

“Captain. Captain. Captain. Always straight to business,” laughed the businessman as he swayed his body slowly side-to-side. “I thought we could have a little chat. A quick catch up, perhaps?”

“You! You better not try anything funny. Otherwise, I will make sure to get you locked up for good!” growled the Captain, pointing his gloved finger aggressively at the man.

Few men could agitate the ever-calm Captain Solar, and Lynx Luxtor was one of them. For years, Captain Solar had been tracking the activities of this slippery man. Numerous illegal and horrific activities seemed to revolve around him, but the hero leader could never put pin it on him.

“Tsk. You have always been so obsessed with my business,” Lynx scowled back. “And honestly, it’s getting on my nerves. You have been messing around long enough. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to come down myself. After all, you know how I like to keep my hands clean.”

“So, what do you want?” Captain Solar frowned. He looked down at his communicator, but the signal was out. Something was jamming their communications.

“The plan was to get rid of you initially. But as a businessman, I thought that the leader of Kant Guardians might be more valuable alive than dead,” Lynx looked at the handsome hero with an arched brow.

Clicking a remote in his hands, Lynx activated the room’s turret system. Row after row of guns extended out from along the ceiling and locked on to their target – Captain Solar.

The towering sun hero laughed, “Do you think these guns can stop me? This room won’t even hold me longer than it takes to open a can of beans.”

*BANG*

One of the turrets fired towards the Captain. The hero quickly crossed his arms to block the shot. But, to his surprise, the projectile burst upon contact and covered his yellow suit in an inky black goo.

“Augh!” winced the Captain as he felt a sharp pain stabbed into his energy core, his reserve of solar energy.

He immediately felt a weakness coming over him. The sticky black substance seemed to siphon away his reserve of solar energy. It was probably an invention to deal with the sun hero’s powers. He now understood how Lynx was confident enough to confront him face-to-face.

“ARGH,” roared the sun hero as he emitted a powerful nova blast that radiated from his body, disintegrating the black substance instantly.

Kicking off the ground, Captain Solar soared up into the air. He knew he could not risk getting hit again. The first hit drained away a significant chunk of his reserve. In this windowless room, he could not recharge from the sun.

The turrets began to shoot at the hero with the black projectiles, but the hero’s speed and agility allowed him to evade the bullets easily.

With a charged punch, he instantly took down five of the turrets. Then, hurling powerful nova blasts, he took out another ten in rapid succession. This was an easy task for the hero, but his powers rapidly depleted from use.

As new turrets extended out to replace the damaged ones, Captain Solar frowned, “This will be endless if I don’t stop the source of this.”

In a blink of an eye, he vanished from the air and reappeared in front of Lynx, lifting up the villain by the collar of his shirt.

“Enough with this nonsense, Lynx,” said the Captain as he sensed the rows of guns locking onto his back. “With this assault, I can finally put you behind bars.”

Lynx glanced down at the sun hero without a trace of fear. His hand fished out a red ruby from his pocket. “Look familiar?”

Captain Solar’s eyes widened. Pigeon Blood Ruby. That gemstone was Boy Azure’s Achilles’ heel.

“No, Boy Azure…” the Captain murmured under his breath. Returning his attention to the villain, he roared with anger, “What have you done to Boy Azure?”

*Zing*

A holographic screen appeared beside them. It was live surveillance footage of Boy Azure as he strolled down the dark empty corridors with his energy detector, unaware he was being watched. He was speaking into the communicator while a concerned look hung on his face. It was likely that his sidekick was attempting to contact him.

“I got sights on your boy,” whispered Lynx, smiling.

The Captain grimaced, “What do you intend to do to Azure?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, really,” chuckled the villain. He knew he had Captain Solar right where he wanted. “Just surrender yourself, and nothing will happen to your little sidekick.”

Suddenly, his face darkened as his voice deepened and became more sinister. “But if you do retaliate, I have hundreds of guns trained on him right now, fully loaded with these ruby bullets.”

His voice abruptly switched back, “In those tight, inescapable corridors, we know our invincible boy might not be able to survive such a heavy barrage of these crystals, right?”

Captain Solar’s hand trembled slightly. The rubies were the only thing that could weaken Boy Azure and penetrate his invincibility. If the decision was between himself and his sidekick, the decision was clear as day.

“How do I know I can trust you to not hurt him?” growled the hero.

“My Captain. As a businessman, if I can’t honor my business dealings, I am nothing.”

His shoulder slumped as he lowered Lynx back to the ground.

“Wise choice as always… Captain.”

Without warning, a rain of black projectiles pummeled into the hero’s muscular back, coating him in the energy-draining goo.

“Augh!” bellowed the Captain as a sharp, intense pain pierced every inch of his body. The mighty sun hero collapsed on his knees as he glared at Lynx with hateful eyes. He could feel the goo directly interacting with his core. His solar energy was quickly draining away.

“Get him,” Lynx called out as silhouettes appeared around the collapsed hero leader.

Captain Solar scowled. “No…”

Coated in the energy-sucking black goo, the Captain summoned his remaining strength and pushed back against Lynx’s muscled henchmen.

Lynx pointed back to the monitor, reminding the Captain of their arrangement. “You or your Boy Azure?”

More goo exploded onto the Captain’s broad back, dyeing his bright yellow uniform black. The sun hero winced in pain. “You… fiend. Leave Azure alone! Augh!”

“I thought so too,” chuckled Lynx as he took out a gun from under his black business suit.

He looked down at the hero struggling to tear free from the sticky goo. It began to drag the mighty de-powered hero down to the ground.

Placing the muzzle just below the hero’s chin, he lifted the Captain’s face. Enjoying the hatred in his hero nemesis’s eyes, he savored the moment as he pulled the trigger.

A burst of black goo wrapped around the sun hero’s head.

Chapter 5

Sarah… Derek…

An image of his beloved wife and son floated in his mind.

How much time had passed?

The windowless room was cold and dark, almost pitch-black. Captain Solar could barely make out any of the room’s fixtures, but he was confident that they were underground, far away from any source of sunlight. The cautious villain would not risk exposing the sun hero to his power source.

He felt weak and drained. As he strained to see in the dark, his eyes flickered a bright yellow before returning to its usual piercing blue. It was an indication that his reserve of solar energy had been drained dry. If only he could get some sun, he would be back to his top form within seconds.

He quickly assessed his situation. He was still in his yellow costume with his mask intact, with no traces of the black goo. He looked up at his binds. Thick metal shackles cuffed his wrists as metal chains spread his broad, muscular arms above his head. His legs were also shackled to the ground, but they had a bit of a leeway to move about.

Captain Solar frowned and grunted at his binds. He was rarely put in this position. He was one of the world’s mightiest heroes, a true powerhouse. Even though his weakness was a lack of sunlight, his energy reserve usually allowed him to deal with villains after sundown.

But this time, it was different. His nemesis seemed to have developed a perfect counter to his powers and a cunning plan to force his surrender. He was really in a pinch now. How was he going to get out of here…?

.

.

.

*Creak*

Hours had passed when the door finally creaked open. A few beams of light brightened the room as a silhouette slowly entered from the shadows.

“Well, well! The mighty Captain Solar.”

The hero leader stared at the speaker with hateful eyes, “… Lynx!”

Lynx’s hand gripped the hero’s jaw and lifted his chin, exerting his dominance over the powerful hero. “Is that a way to greet an old friend?”

“You are no friend of mine!” growled the Captain as he struggled to break free of the villain’s grip. “Get… Get your hands off!”

“No need to be so rude.” Lynx released his grip and slapped the handsome man’s cheek lightly. “I do hope you enjoyed our new little invention.”

With that, he pulled out a glass jar of the black substance, placing it close to Captain Solar’s face. The hero instinctively recoiled from the vile substance.

“It’s actually a failed experiment. We were modeling it around a discovery we found. Trade secret.” Lynx winked. “But I guess, on the plus side, we found out that it’s extremely energy-hungry. Hungry for any kind of energy.”

On a closer look, Captain Solar could see the black substance bubbling slightly as though it was alive.

Lynx stood upright and slowly twisted open the lid of the jar.

“Year after year, you have been poking your nose into my enterprise, halting countless operations.” Lynx’s face darkened, and, like before, his tone grew more sinister. “Do you know how much money it cost me?”

Captain Solar’s eyes were locked on the black substance. It began to squirm.

“Billions! Billions!! You fucking hero!”

Lynx lifted the jar and turned it over. The black goo splattered onto the hero’s golden hair, dripping down his handsome face. Agonizing pain exploded all over the sun hero’s head as the mysterious substance oozed onto his scalp and bare skin.

“AUGH!!” roared the hero leader as the black substance attempted to eat away at his already empty reserve of energy. “ARGH!! NO! ARGH!!”

Veins popped out all over his forehead and arms as he struggled violently to shake the goo off, but it adhered to his head, slowly creeping its way down the rest of the hero’s muscular frame. “GET IT- ARGH!! GET IT OFF!”

His bulging eyes quickly turned bloodshot as the pain continued to intensify. His body temperature shot up as his whole body turned red from the agonizing strain.

Lynx smiled wickedly as he savored his nemesis’s screams. He knew that the hero was already drained dry. The substance, failing to get the energy it needed from the sun hero’s powers, would consume the Captain’s life force, which the Captain learned was an extremely painful experience.

Chapter 6

Lynx continued watching with a crooked smile as the black substance coated the hero’s yellow suit.

It wrapped around the Captain’s tousled golden hair and hardened into a glossy, almost rubber-like black material. An extension of it stretched to form a tight seal across the hero’s mouth, muffling his screams.

“MMMPHGGGFF!” The Captain’s eyes glared with a mix of pain and hatred toward the businessman before the black substance consumed his entire face in the rubber-like material, leaving only two holes for the hero to breathe. It tightened around the hero’s handsome face, highlighting the outlines of the hero’s mask, his deep-set eyes, and his sharp nose.

Once it fully encased the hero’s head, the goo began to draw out the hero’s life force, draining the hero even more. The result was mind-shattering pain across the hero’s brain, almost like his head was electrocuted by a thousand volts.

Under the black hood, tears welled up in his eyes, and his mouth opened wide as he screamed. The do-gooder’s screams of agony were so satisfying to the supervillain’s ears. Lynx gloated at his nemesis suffering under his hands.

The black goo climbed the hero’s thick arms and coated them with the black gloss, outlining every inch of the hero’s well-defined muscle. It coiled around the hero’s large pecs and washboard abs, smothering every bit of the yellow suit in black.

Finished with the hero’s face, the goo made its way around the Captain’s body and squeezed the air out of the hero. His skin-tight suit became even more compressed, showing off his impressive set of muscles. Every mound, ridge, and vein of his pectorals and eight-pack abs stood out in sharp relief, glistening under the black gloss.

All the while, the Captain was experiencing pain beyond his now regular-human limits. He felt as though a million knives stabbed into every part of his body. Without his usual semi-invulnerability, the Captain was unaccustomed to feeling this level of pain, which was extremely difficult for the now de-powered hero to endure.

The sound of rattling chains echoed throughout the room as the hero struggled and flailed around. He tried with every fiber of his being to shake off the goo and get a small moment of relief.

The Captain’s body and mind went in shock from the excruciating pain as he continued his muffled screams. “MMMPPHFFF!!”

Soon, the leader of heroes was covered head to toe in the black energy-sucking substance. He writhed in agony as he hung bound, arms spread open, legs shackled, and his entire muscle-bound body wrapped tightly in the shiny black rubber.

Lynx smiled at the sight of his hero nemesis in such a defenseless state. “Congratulations. Not many of the test subjects survived past this stage. I guess that’s the Captain for you.”

The muffled screams gradually subsided to heavy breathing.

The black substance had completed the first part of its takeover.

Chapter 7

“What do you mean you can’t find him?” Sarah yelled with tears in her eyes.

Lt. Maverick placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Mrs. Carnell, I assure you that we are doing our absolute best to locate your husband.”

“He can’t be gone. It must be the work of a villain.” cried the young woman. “You’ve got to find out who!”

“Yes, we will. Mrs. Carnell,” the Guardian repeated. “We are doing our best.”

A young boy ran over and hugged his mother as she collapsed to the ground in tears. “Mum… Don’t cry, please. Dad won’t like it.”

Lt. Maverick turned away, deep in thought. The building that Captain Solar and Boy Azure visited had been thoroughly scoured. Other than routine cleanings and refurbishments, there was nothing else they could find. Extremely odd. It would seem to be a work of a villain, but who could have taken in one of the world’s most powerful heroes without leaving a trace? Did the Captain not have the chance to retaliate?”

He watched as Boy Azure approached him. Lt . Maverick’s stone-like eyes stared at the young sidekick’s nervous ones.

Boy Azure said, “Sir… -“

Before the young man could continue, Lt. Maverick cut him off, “Take the mother and son home and make sure that they are safe.”

“But Sir, I can help look for…” Boy Azure trailed off under the cold, authoritative gaze of the lieutenant.

“Take. Them. Home.” He continued to stare at the young hero. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

“Sorry. No, Sir.”

“You have done enough.” The lieutenant shot the young hero another glance before leaving.

The sidekick swallowed hard as his heart sank under his tremendous guilt. He was supposed to be there for the Captain. He was right there. Why didn’t he realize something had gone wrong? Where was he when his mentor needed him?

With his spirit at rock-bottom, his voice quivered, “Yes… Sir.”