Crystal

*****Hi dear readers, I would like to ultimately apologize for my chapter being so late. It's been a few busy weeks for me and I wasn't able to concentrate on my ideas as much as I wanted to. But the chapter is now here, so please enjoy it and remember to comment on this story on whether you like it or not! I'd love to get a grasp on what my readers are thinking, so post whatever questions, comments, and/or concerns and I'll answer them in the stories! DM23*****

Heroes/Heroines

Commander Shinobay - Force fields, Eye vision (Lasers, X-Ray, Infra Red, and Night Vision)

Osprey – Bird-like abilities

Ghost – Invisibility, Intangibility

Zipper – Enhanced Speed

Shell – Bulletproof, Enhanced strength

Jasper – Pyrokinetic, Flight

Crystal – Cryokinetic

Hyper – Flight, Hyperbeams

Cherry – Teleporter, Martial artist

Dot – Cat-like abilities

Dr. Walton – Multitasking

Dark Matter – Flight, Create objects

*

Villains/Villainesses

EMP – Electricity, Magnetism, Emits soundwaves of any frequency

Pollen - Controls plant-like monsters

*****

Crystal met the other heroes as she arrived at the Meeting Room. The Commander had told them that there was something important that all the heroes needed to know, something that Dr. Walton was able to confirm since Dark Matter was admitted to the Recovery Wing. They waited for a few minutes before they heard the elevator reach the floor and Commander Shinobay and Dr. Walton soon entered the room, pushing Dark Matter in a wheelchair.

"What happened?" Crystal asked, hopping to her feet.

"Nothing, have a seat," the Commander replied. "Dr. Walton has discovered something I think is highly important. Make sure to listen to everything she has to say, because if it comes up then it's going to be you guys who'll have to deal with it. Dr. Walton, the floor is yours."

"Hi guys," Dr. Walton beamed. "Like Richard said, there's something highly important that I could never prove to exist until I met Dark Matter. First of all, I want everyone who was born a hero to raise your hand."

Confused, Crystal, Shell, Zipper, Hyper, and Cherry raised their hands.

"Thanks," she said. Turning to the Commander, she said, "Commander, please make sure a squad of advanced agents are nearby them whenever they are in combat."

"Sure thing," the Commander nodded.

"Hold on, why are agents going to be nearby us in combat?" Cherry inquired. "Won't they just get hurt?"

"We are doing this as a precaution," Commander Shinobay informed.

"For what?" Zipper asked.

"This," Dr. Walton said, pointing at Dark Matter. "As we know, Dark Matter and Max are two separate conscious that inhabit the same body. Because Max has been critically injured to where he can't function normally, Dark Matter, the power that Max has, has taken over his body."

"But what's the precaution for?" Osprey asked.

"When someone born with powers is purposely injured to where they're almost dead, the power takes over the body and gets very violent very fast because the powers are mostly used for violence," Dr. Walton answered. "And before you ask, I don't know why Dark Matter isn't being violent right now, especially since the powers hate to be restrained. However, I do believe since Dictator Jones had a part of Max's mind under his control, it somehow merged a bit of Max's mind with the power's conscious. Now back to the precaution. The physical attributes increase as well as the abilities of the powers. Basically, they get more dangerous."

"And this is only happens to heroes born with powers?" Jasper asked.

"No," the doctor denied. "This can happen to anyone born with powers, whether they're a hero, villain, vigilante, or a person who wants to stay inconspicuous and have a regular life. As a matter of fact, we have a few records of this happening to heroes and villains. In March of 1995, the late hero known as Reaper was shot and tossed from a skyscraper. He should've died but his power of healing took over and he turned into a sort of zombie-like killer. In June of 1997, the late villain known as Mono was critically injured and his phantom powers turned him into an undetectable serial killer that nearly killed an entire city. And just before the turn of the century, Hyper, your father, Solarium, was also dangerously close to death. His power to convert light into energy kept him alive but it made him able to create explosive energy bombs. And those are just some of the examples of what happens when anyone born with powers becomes dangerously close to death."

"Then how do we keep them from happening?" Dot asked.

"We don't," Dr. Walton answered. "As of right now, the only thing we're focusing on is to make sure we're well prepared in case these situations rise up."

"So you're saying those born with powers are going to have that experience?" Crystal asked.

"I'm saying that it's a probability," Dr. Walton replied.

"So there's a probability that Crystal, Shell, Zipper, Hyper and I are going to go mad and kill people?" Cherry inquired.

"If that's so bad, then why don't you just lock us up?" Shell asked.

"It's not a bad thing," Dr. Walton replied. Now they were looking at her confused. "The powers are keeping you from dying. Sure it's a destructive phase we'd rather not go through, but this is the fastest way to preserve your life in case we can't get to you fast enough."

"Then what happens when we're . . . not in control?" Hyper asked.

"I call it Emergency Mode," Dr. Walton stated. "And when you're in Emergency Mode, two things are going to happen. The first is that the power will usually destroy whatever tried to kill you. The next thing that will happen is that the power will start destroying things so that it can heal you in peace."

"But Dark Matter was saving people when they were attacked by the bugs," Dot remembered.

"Like I said, Dark Matter's conscious might have merged with Max's conscious somehow," Dr. Walton replied. "For the rest of you, that might not happen, so that's why I'm informing everyone so that you are prepared if this comes up."

"Thank you Dr. Walton," the Commander said, standing up. After she left with Dark Matter, much to Crystal chagrin, Commander Shinobay resumed the meeting. "The Government has decided to retaliate with bigger firepower against the Pollen and her trees and they want us to join them. We'll be leaving in a few hours, so I want you guys to be ready, understand?"

"Got it, Commander," Cherry answered.

"I said guys for a reason, Cherry," the Commander told her. "The Government has decided to restrict female personnel from combat until these trees are eradicated, or unless the Government absolutely needs them."

"What does that have to do with us?" she asked, getting defensive.

"I figured it was a wise move, so I'm doing the same thing," Commander Shinobay informed. The girls dropped their jaws as he said that. "Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not doing this to discriminate you or the opposite sex. I'm doing this to protect you from being taken by the bugs."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Crystal griped.

"You can still protect the city," the Commander said. "And if there's any bugs around then you can fight them just not alone. This is for your safety."

"Alright, Commander," Cherry sighed, defeated. "We'll stay here."

"Like I said, all male heroes need to be ready in the next couple of hours for the offensive strike," Commander Shinobay announced. "This meeting is adjourned."

*****

It was obvious that Crystal didn't want to leave the tower. It wasn't because she was scared of the bugs (scratch that, the bugs' size did have a minor part in her staying indoors) but the real reason why she didn't want to leave was because of Cole, her self-proclaimed number one fan, or as she saw him, a soon-to-be stalker that she needed to squash. She hung her head as she struggled with what she should do.

She wasn't worried about her safety at all. As a fan, Cole wouldn't want to hurt his idol. What she was worried about was her sanity. Need she be reminded, at the banquet held for Max in the White House, he had the guts to tell other people that he and Crystal were together 'to help her get over Max.' Then, after Dark Matter was subdued, he then had the balls to get a photographer to take pictures of them two together. The photographer obviously noticed Crystal's discomfort and growing anger, but he still snapped the pictures since he thought he was on the brink of a lover's quarrel.

"Crystal, I know you're ready for Christmas, but do that in your room," Dr. Walton said as she walked by. "Some of us love the heat."

"Hey Dr. Walton, can I have some advice?" Crystal asked.

"If you can match my pace, then yes," Dr. Walton answered, still walking. Her face split into three separate faces, one looking at her, one looking ahead, and one texting on a phone.

"Thanks," Crystal said as she caught up with the doctor. "I have a guy problem."

"Is he attracted to you or is he ignoring you?" Dr. Walton asked. The phone beeped as Dr. Walton received a text.

"I believe he's attracted to me," the young heroine answered.

"And you're not attracted to him, right?" the doctor asked.

"Of course not, I'm totally committed to Max," Crystal replied.

"Then my best advice is that you give him a reason why it's best for him to bother someone else," Dr. Walton replied, raising a fist. Or in this case, three fists.

"There should be less violent ways to take this course of action," Crystal said.

"Yeah, you could take this to the Commander so he could deal with the problem," the doctor told her, "or you could uproot the whole thing, burn it alive, and let every future stalker know that you are not a target. But whichever one you choose, I'm all for it."

"Yeah, like I'll believe that," Crystal smiled. "I get the feeling you're more willing to do the latter because you're work here is mundane."

"Sometimes it is, but not at the moment," Dr. Walton said. "With the arrival of Dark Matter in control of Max's body, we get a chance to learn about the secret of the powers that lies in all of us."

"And how is Max?" Crystal asked. "Is he getting better?"

"Well, from what Dark Matter said, he feels like their consciousnesses are disconnected when it should be merged together," the doctor smiled. "Until we can merge them back together, we're taking care of Max's body. Nutritional food that'll make him ravenous when he wakes, baths to keep him clean, and gaseous sedatives to – WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"

Crystal couldn't believe her eyes. It was becoming more of an annoyance rather than a surprise to find her self-proclaimed number one fan in the room. What did surprise her was that the same number one fan was trying, and failing, to pull out the cords from the life support machine that was sitting next to Max's bed.

"Leave those cords alone!" Dr. Walton shouted, using all six hands to grab him.

"Why is he here?" Cole demanded. "Why are these cords hooked up to him?"

"It's a sedative!" Dr. Walton kept shouting. "It's a sedative!"

"This guy is dead! Why are you using a sedative on a dead guy?" Cole snapped, tugging with all his might.

"COLE!" Crystal yelled.

His head twisted as far as it could to look at her and he grimaced. "Crystal, I know this guy is your dead boyfriend, but this love you have for him has turned into an unhealthy obsession. Bringing him back to life isn't right. He won't be your boyfriend anymore. He'll be a zombie!"

Crystal was actually stumped for a moment. Never before had she met such stupidity, not even from Jasper. Shaking her head, she made an ice pole and hit Cole across the head. The momentum sent him to the floor like a rock. Unfortunately, due to his grip being so tight, the cords were also ripped out the life support machine. The machine beeped rapidly as the sedative gas blew out the air hole.

"Cole," Crystal shook with undeniable fury, "I swear, you better give me a good reason why I shouldn't beat you black and blue, because I'm starting to think it'll look good on you. Why are you trying to kill Max?"

"Trying? He's already dead!" Cole glared. "Did you forget why we went to the ceremony in the first place? The guy put a bullet in his head!"

"Then explain to me why his head is still on his shoulders?" Crystal demanded.

"Rapid Recovery medicine," he snapped. "Someone got his brain guts from wherever they were and applied the medicine so his head could look as humane as possible."

"Did you just make that up?" Crystal laughed. "To be honest, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Then why don't you tell me why his head is still on his shoulders?" Cole spat.

"Sorry, I'm not a doctor," Crystal smirked. "Doctor, could you tell him why Max is still alive?"

"Max has a sort of healing power, which was able to take care of his wound," the Doctor growled as she attempted to reinsert the cords into the machine. "He was unconscious because he needed to rest, which was going to help him heal even faster."

"Then what was the sedative for?" Cole demanded.

As both heroines was about to answer his question, Max's skin darkened until it was completely black. Slowly, the body rose into a sitting position as everyone stared at him in disbelief. As before, there were no discernable facial features, but the agent, the doctor, and the heroine knew that Dark Matter was looking at them.

"That's the guy who attacked the White House!" Cole yelled, drawing his gun.

"Cole, put that down now!" Crystal demanded.

"Put your hands up! Put your hands up!" Cole hollered, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

It happened so fast, they barely noticed what happened. Cole fired a warning shot at Dark Matter, who made a shield to deflect the bullet. The moment the bullet bounced off the shield, a tendril shot out from the shield and slammed into Cole's gut. While Cole collapsed into fetal position, the tendril continued flailing around and almost thwacked Dr. Walton.

"Get down!" Crystal shouted, tackling the doctor.

"We can't let him escape!" Dr. Walton yelled over the smashing.

"I got it covered!" Crystal informed. She touched the doorframe and froze the door completely so that it wouldn't move no matter what.

However, that wasn't what Dark Matter had in mind. The flailing tendril was really a cover up of a different way for him to escape. While it was true that the tendril was smashing things all over the room, after every fourth hit, it would slam into a wall in particular. With one final slam, the wall broke and sunlight streamed in unhindered. Slowly, Dark Matter levitated himself off the bed and out the hole in the wall.

"No! We can't let him escape!" Dr. Walton yelled.

She ran for the hole but Dark Matter used tendrils to pick up the wall chunks and fit them almost perfectly back into the hole in the wall then flew off.

"Damn it!" Dr. Walton fumed. "Crystal, I'm going out to bring Dark Matter back!"

"I'm going with you," Crystal replied.

"No, I'll get Cherry, she's more adapted to tracking people down," the doctor informed.

"And what should I do?" Crystal asked.

"Call Shinobay and let him know what happened," Dr. Walton answered and left the two of them in the room.

"Thanks Cole," Crystal glared at him. "Don't ever call yourself my number one fan again."

Cole's jaw dropped as the title of his life was ripped away from him.

*****

Things weren't going well for Commander Shinobay either. When the battle first started out, they were 'winning' since the tree didn't have much of a defense to begin with (just a few insects here and there and it's very, very durable bark). Unfortunately, they were so tuned in on bringing the tree down that they didn't see the reinforcements coming from behind until it was too late.

Of course, both sides took casualties but the heroes and soldiers took a bigger hit than the insects. And along with the reinforcements came Pollen, who took control of the tree and made it attack the military's heavy weaponry. She also put the insects between the military and her tree, forcing the soldiers further back from the tree.

Now they were at war.

"Commander!" one of the soldiers yelled over the blasting tanks. "You have a phone call!"

"Tell them to call me later!" he yelled back. He went back to the microphone and asked, "Zipper, what's your status?"

"I'm trying to outrun a centipede right now!" came the reply. "I had no idea they were so fast!"

"I need you to head over to Shell on the west flank," the Commander ordered. "He's having trouble with a tarantula and needs some assistance."

"I'll see what I can do," Zipper said.

"Commander," Ghost said as he entered the tent, "I got pictures of the inside of the tree." He fished them out his pockets and laid them out for the Commander to see. "There are three layers of bark: the defense, the storage, and the sanctum where the girls are. The defense is what we're hitting right now. The storage is where the food for the insects and their larva are held. Behind that is the sanctum holds the girls, who are alive yet unconscious."

"Is this all you have?" the Commander asked.

"Yeah, the bugs caught onto my scent before I could take more and chased me out," Ghost nodded.

"Commander! Commander!" Osprey voice shouted over the intercom.

"What is it, Osprey?" the Commander asked as he rushed over to the microphone.

"Tell those tanks to stop firing where we are!" Osprey yelled. "Tell them – WHOA! Jasper and I almost got blasted to bits up here!"

"Ghost, tell them to stop firing on the left side of the tree," the Commander ordered.

"Yes sir!" Ghost said, then rushing out the tent. "Hey officer, tell your soldiers to stop – LOOK OUT!"

Commander Shinobay rushed out when he heard Ghost yell. Looking up, he saw a wasp trying to carry off the officer Ghost was talking to. Immediately, he fired lasers and hit the insect square in its abdomen. It fell behind one of the tents and Commander Shinobay used his X-ray vision to locate the insect. Still yet, it caught him by surprise and leaped at him. The wasp hit the shield though and was blasted by lasers again, this time dying from its head exploding.

*****

"Are you going to do anything or are you just going to lie there?" Pollen inquired.

"I don't know," a guy replied, lying back comfortably on one of the leaves. "Remind me what's in it for me?"

Pollen gritted her teeth. This was why she hated depending on other villains and why she lived by the code of not needing any help. Every time she needed their help, they were either unavailable or wanted something out of her, especially Asphalt. She was starting to regret asking this villain for assistance, and was about to tell him off, but the explosions were a constant reminder of how much trouble she was in.

"My insects will retrieve as much money from the surrounding banks as possible," Pollen glared. "Right now, you do your part."

"Calm down, tree hugger," the villain smirked. "I know my job. I just want to make sure you remember our deal."

"Tree hugger?!" Pollen shouted as he flew up to the treetops.

*****

Zipper ducked underneath a branch as he searched for Shell through the woods. A few seconds later, a giant centipede smashed its way through as it chased him through the woods. He did his best to move around obstacles whenever he could but at one point he almost tripped when he tried to sidestep a tree and was almost in the grip of the centipede's mandibles.

He saw Shell wrestling with the tarantula up ahead and pressed forward. When he was closer, Zipper leaped over the spider and let the centipede slam right into the spider. The invertebrates tumbled around, smashing trees and leaving dents in the ground. Simultaneously, the two monstrous bugs bit each other and Zipper and Shell hi-fived each other before rushing back to the front line.