Crystal

*****Hi dear readers, this is the new chapter of the Crystal series. I am absolutely sorry about the long wait you guys had to go through; I had stuck with writer's block for the past couple of months so I took the time to think of news ideas after I get finished with the Crystal series. I hope you enjoy it because I myself think the last chapter wasn't the best that I could make it. Don't hold back on the criticism, it helps wherever I need improvement. Thanks. –DM23*****

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Heroes/Heroines

Commander Shinobay – Force fields, Eye vision

Osprey – Bird-like abilities

Ghost – Invisibility, Intangibility

Zipper – Enhanced Speed

Shell – Bulletproof, Enhanced strength

Jasper – Pyrokinetic, Flight (Temporarily Suspended)

Max (Dark Matter) – Dark Matter Manipulation

Crystal – Cryokinetic, Hydrokinetic

Hyper – Flight, Hyperbeams

Cherry – Teleporter, Martial artist

Dot – Cat-like abilities

Dr. Walton – Multitasking

Parents of Heroes/Heroines

Solarium – Light Manipulation, Flight (Hyper's father)

Icicle – Frosting, Minor Weather Manipulation (Crystal's mother)

Reaper – Healing Factor, Super Strength (Shell's father)

Raptor – Enhanced Speed, Throwing Knives (Zipper's father)

Cinnamon – Teleporter, Martial artist (Cherry's mother)

Sorceress – Illusion Manipulation (Dark Matter's mother)

Villains/Villainesses mentioned:

Dictator Jones - Mind control

Asphalt - Concrete-like skin, Enhanced Physical Abilities

C4 - Ninja, Explosives

One-Eye - Sniper, Intangibility

Acrobat - Echolocation, Flight

Dr. Genie - Mad scientist specializing in splicing

Ruthless - Enhanced strength, Martial artist

Mistress - Telekinetic, Flight

Giggles – Invisibility

Crystal woke up from a very much needed slumber in a panic. First of all, she wasn't intending to sleep that long to begin with, just only a few hours in case Max's body needed anything. Speaking of Max, the second reason she woke up was because Max was no longer in bed. This normally wouldn't have bothered her, but with Max's current state, it was highly unusual for him not to be in bed since that was the standard place Crystal was keeping him. The last thing was something subtly out of place that it took Crystal a good while to notice it: someone was cooking.

Hope coursed through her as she bounded out the bedroom and into the living room. No one was in the living room or dining area, so Crystal just whizzed on through and rushed to the kitchen. Standing in an apron like nothing usual had happened to him for an entire week . . . was Max.

"Max!" Crystal yelled, running and hugging him from behind.

"Oof!" Max grunted as they crashed to the floor. Max did his best to keep the spoons in his hands from touching the floor as he felt Crystal's weight smother him.

"Max, I missed you!" Crystal cried, kissing him all over his face. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too!" Max replied.

The two lovers were suddenly raised off the ground by a ramp that Max made until they were back to standing. Crystal hugged him tightly as her tears soaked his shirt.

"You looked so lifeless!" Crystal sobbed. "I thought you were dying!"

"Let's not worry about that now," Max smiled. "There's something more important that you need to know."

"What is it?" Crystal asked.

"My name is not Max," came the reply. "It is Dark Matter."

For a split second, silence had completely taken over. Right after that, Crystal pushed herself out of Dark Matter's embrace and back flipped out of the kitchen. The moment she stopped, she had lowered the temperature as cold as possible and was wielding her ice hammer.

"Crystal," Dark Matter cautioned, taking a step towards her.

She flung the hammer at him and he was forced to make a shield to deflect it. When he dispersed the shield, Crystal was right there to strike him down and attempt to pin him to the floor. Realizing she wasn't joking, Dark Matter pushed her off him, via his powers, and made his powers wrap around Crystal to constrain her. Surprisingly, Crystal evaded his attempts and was still able to get a couple more punches on him.

"Crystal, just listen to me," Dark Matter pleaded.

"Why?" she demanded. "Every time you show up, you attack somebody. When Dictator Jones mind controlled you, you attacked us. When we was at the White House banquet, you showed up and attacked us. When we was trying to recover Max from his comatose state, you woke up and attack us."

"To be fair, I was mind controlled when Dictator Jones had me attack you guys," Dark Matter stated. "At the White House, I was trying to get Pollen, and in the Recovery Wing, that agent shot at me."

"I still don't trust you," Crystal glared. "For all I know, you could be under Dictator Jones' control again."

"If you give me a chance, I can prove to you that that is not the case," Dark Matter suggested.

"Okay," Crystal accepted. "Prove to me that you aren't controlled by Dictator Jones."

"You being alive is proof enough," Dark Matter said. "I know it's a crude thing to say, but I think Dictator Jones would take a chance and force me to kill you if I was under his control."

Crystal knew that was true. Crude or not, the whole time Dark Matter was making breakfast could have been used to kill her. Even when she rushed up to hug him, Dark Matter could have been forced to make a deadly move on her, since she clearly wasn't thinking about being attacked.

"I guess I'm convinced . . . partially," Crystal said, crossing her arms. "What are you going to do now?"

"Eat, get dressed, and meet up with the Commander and the other heroes to clear up any confusion," Dark Matter replied.

Not trusting him fully, Crystal sat opposite of him and they both ate breakfast. Despite her wariness, Crystal couldn't help but savor the delicious flavor of Dark Matter's skill, which evidently matched Max's own skill. Before she knew it, she finished her plate and was actually hoping for another helping of food. But she held back and quickly changed into her uniform while Dark Matter cleaned the kitchen. Once he finished cleaning, he changed into his uniform as well and they both left the room and went to the elevator.

"Do you think they'll have the same reaction like yours?" Dark Matter asked.

"I wouldn't blame them if they did," Crystal shrugged. "Not to be offensive, but we don't exactly have good memories with you in them."

"Then I hope we can make them," Dark Matter replied.

The elevator arrived and both of them got on and went up to the floor of the Meeting Room. As much as he wanted to let the heroes and heroines know what happened, Dark Matter's heart was loudly thumping against his chest as nervousness took hold of him. It felt like his decision to inform the heroes would be futile but virtuous at the same time. And before he knew it, Crystal opened up the doors and pulled him in.

"MAX!" Commander Shinobay yelled in surprise.

Every hero and heroine in the room, including the members of the Superior Six and Dr. Walton, looked at the heroes coming in and cheered. Each of them stepped up to greet him and congratulate him on his return. Even Jasper paid his respects to him, though he was the last in line.

"Alright, alright, let him breathe," Commander Shinobay said. "Come on up to the front, Max. We need to hear how you got out of this one. Were there illusionary traps that Sorceress placed in your mind that you had to overcome? Did you have to fight any evil clones of us? I'm sure whatever the story is, it'll definitely be interesting."

"Well, to make sure everyone is on the right page, my name isn't Max," Dark Matter began. "It's Dark Matter."

Just like with Crystal, everyone froze as what Dark Matter said ran through their minds. The members of Superior Six glanced at the Commander for orders but he discreetly gestured for them not to make move yet.

"If I may," Dark Matter requested, "I would like to show you, instead of going through a detailed explanation, of why you met 'Max' and not 'Dark Matter'."

"Crystal, did you know about this?" Commander Shinobay asked.

"I found out this morning," Crystal answered. "While there is evidence that he could be telling the truth, I'm still . . . skeptical of him."

"You said you would like to show us instead of explaining what happened," Solarium spoke up. "How will you do that?"

"I'll be taking everyone into my mind," Dark Matter said.

"Is that even possible?" Cinnamon asked.

"Yes, Mom," Cherry answered. "He's done it before."

"Is it safe?" Raptor asked.

"It is," Osprey replied.

"You'll be depowered, helpless, and completely at his mercy, though," Jasper added.

"That is, if you antagonize him," Commander Shinobay added as well, glaring at Jasper. "Regardless, it's worth seeing what happened to him and I, for one, am curious to see what his past was like."

"If you trust him, then so do I," Solarium said.

One by one, the members of the Superior Six agreed with Solarium while the current heroes and heroines, disregarding Jasper's opinion, agreed with Commander Shinobay. Dark Matter placed his hands on his head until a dark sphere covered his head. As he extended his hands outward, the dark sphere began to expand until it covered the entire room.

Each of the heroes and heroines saw that they were still sitting in their chair at the table, with Dark Matter standing at the head chair. Looking around them, they saw the planets, galaxies, and deep space of the universe on the walls, the floor, the table, and even the chairs.

"This is astounding," Icicle said, awestruck.

"I like space because I was named after the actual dark matter in space," Dark Matter stated. "Since it still is unexplainable but covered a large portion of the universe, I feel like there are a lot of possibilities, just like me and literally everyone else. Now, let me show you what I wanted to explain."

A screen came up in the form of a square where each and every hero and heroine could watch what was happening in the memory. The memory started out dark, but everyone felt the sense that they were moving towards an opening. Soon, a dim light filled the square and everyone could hear the sound of an infant's cries.

"Before anyone asks, this memory is of when I was being born," Dark Matter informed.

They looked at him incredulously as they couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Looking back at the screen, the screen was then filled up with an even greater light as the infant opened his eyes for the first time and looked at a young woman.

"Hello, little baby," she cooed to the infant. "Do you know who I am? I am your mother, Sorceress, and you are Dark Matter."

"That is not all," Dark Matter said as the memory ended.

Various images of the growing Dark Matter being with Sorceress filled the screens as the heroes and heroines watched him grow throughout his life. The life that Sorceress and Dark Matter was living was essentially that of a mother doting on her child.

"Around five years old, Mom put me in the care of some ill-trusted individuals, the Potenti couple," Dark Matter narrated as the memory scenes showed two strangers no one but Dark Matter and his mom met. "The life I lived with the two individuals was a stark contrast of the life I lived with Mom. They tried to restrict me from using my powers, they weren't interested in me as a person but as a silhouette of a child they could never have, and . . . they kept calling me 'Max'."

"But you didn't have a problem with us calling you Max before," Crystal noted.

"I know and that will be explained as well," Dark Matter assured her. "As of this moment in my life, I will admit, I wasn't a 'well behaved' child like my mother told me to be. But they started this whole mess when they insisted that I answer to being called 'Max'."

More memory scenes came up where it showed Dark Matter against the Potenti couple, doing a tug of war in some scenes, Max throwing things during his tantrums in some others, and with Dark Matter winning overall in the end.

"Eventually, after a few years of this, they put me in an adoption center," Dark Matter continued. "In the short moment of me being there, Dictator Jones kidnapped all of the children, just to get to me."

They saw they eight year old Max fight back Poacher, Mismatch, Pirate Pyro, his wife Madam Dynamite, and Nocturnal and only succumbed when Dictator Jones attacked and made him lose consciousness.

"I remember this," Raptor spoke up. "Someone had called and informed us that Dictator Jones was holding a bunch of kids' hostage."

"I thank each and every one of you, Superior Six, for saving me and the kids of the adoption agency," Dark Matter smiled. "However, the damage that Dictator Jones did to me mentally had already been done. When I regained consciousness, I had no idea who I was, or why I was surrounded by the worlds' evilest villains. The Potenti couple soon found out about what happened and came back to readopt me. Unfortunately, they still didn't want Dark Matter and they continued to call me 'Max', which resulted in something like a split conscious, with 'Max' having control over the body and me having control over the powers, as well as being locked away with my memories."

In the memory scenes, they saw that Dark Matter, now known as Max, was living a very peaceful lifestyle with the Potenti couple. Everything they asked him to do, it was done quickly and correctly. Over the course of the years, they saw Max grow into the person they knew and were quite fond of (excluding Jasper). Eventually, the memories came up to when he attempted to defend Crystal from Ruthless and Dark Matter cut the memories off.

"And what happened to the 'Max' that we know of?" Commander Shinobay asked.

"We merged," Dark Matter answered. He showed them the two minds of both personalities and how they grew closer and closer, overlapping until they were one and the same. "We were not two separate minds in one body, we were just a broken conscious that was fixed back together. However, there was something he wanted to say before we merged; I'd appreciate it if you listened to it."

Another screen rose up as he finished and brightened until they could see Max.

"If you're watching this, I guess you already know what the situation with me and Dark Matter is," Max began. "Honestly, I didn't believe anything Dark Matter said. I thought this power was given to me before and I had forgotten it after my amnesia, which during that time it would've developed its own conscious. But finding out that he was actually the original and I was the fake one was a huge blow to me. But it's all good because nothing changed. We have the same personalities and attitude, so I hope everyone sees Dark Matter the same way you've seen me, because I am Dark Matter and he is me. But we're merging now so this is goodbye."

"So, now that we're on the same page, are there any questions?" Dark Matter asked as he brought everyone out of his mind.

"You conscious is completely merged, right?" Jasper blurted out. "There aren't any other psycho personalities hiding up in there that we need to be aware of, right?"

"Of course there's not," Dark Matter frowned. "I'm sure if there was, you would've been the first to know."

"How do I know you're not the psycho personality and got rid of 'Max'? Jasper glared. "I mean, you could've altered the memories; we wouldn't know."

"Jasper," Commander Shinobay warned.

"Honestly, I don't care if you think I'm psycho or not," Dark Matter shrugged. "And I don't have time to stoop to such a degree to make you realize I'm not. So, I guess you'll just have to convince yourself and everyone else here that I'm psycho if that's the mentality you think I have. Good luck."

"If there are no more questions, this meeting is adjourned," Commander Shinobay said, looking at both of them.

Contrary to what he said, none of the older heroes or heroines moved as the current heroes and heroines left the meeting room. It wasn't until they were all out the door that they sensed something was wrong and went back to go inside the Meeting Room only to find out it was locked.

"Oh come on," Cherry grouched. "They can't keep treating us like kids. We're adults and heroes too."

"Ghost, could you go in and see what they're talking about?" Osprey asked.

"Would that be a smart move?" Ghost asked. "We're locked for a reason and I don't want to be the scapegoat just because I can turn intangible."

"I don't know what you guys are fretting over," Jasper said as he walked to the elevator. "Since it's locked, that means we're not invited. And since there's nothing for me to do, I'm going back to bed."

"Any idea what their talking about?" Cherry asked.

"Most likely it's me," Dark Matter answered.

"But even then, they'd have to speak with us," Cherry replied. "They may be our parents, for some of us, but we're still heroes. We have the same status as the rest of them."

"We really don't have time to worry about that right now," Zipper stated. "We need to start patrolling soon."

With no other option, the heroes and heroines disbanded and went to their different ways. Crystal led Dark Matter went back to their room as she ran over what Dark Matter said. If what Max said was true then Crystal could continue living with Dark Matter since he and Max were the same. Happily, she went in the bedroom and was surprised to see Dark Matter packing his things in a bag.

"You're leaving?" she asked worried.

"Well, I don't have a choice," Dark Matter said. "I mean, you love Max, not me. And like you mentioned before, the last few times we've seen each other wasn't exactly friendly."

"But that was because I didn't know," Crystal replied him. "Now that I know, I don't feel any animosity towards you. Max said you two were the same now."

"Yeah we are," Dark Matter replied. "I just don't know how you feel about all this so I'd rather leave than overstay my welcome."

"This is your room too, you know," Crystal stated. "We'll have to change it from Crystal and Max to Crystal and Dark Matter, but this is still your room."

"And what about you?" Dark Matter asked.

"I'm no different," Crystal insisted. "I'm still your girlfriend. That hasn't changed one bit."

"That's good," Dark Matter smirked. "I'd win your heart again in a minute if I had to, but that would be one less minute for us to do some 'interesting' things."

"Ooh, looks like someone's all talk and no game," Crystal grinned.

The door suddenly closed and she turned around reflexively to open it back up. To her shock, she found it locked. Even when she unlocked it, the door was relocked before she could even turn the doorknob. She immediately put two and two together and turned to face Dark Matter, who as she expected, was waiting for her with a devious grin on his face.

"Is this the best you can do?" Crystal taunted.

"No, the best is yet to come," Dark Matter winked.

"Then bring it," Crystal said.

He pressed her against the door and kissed her softly on the lips. Crystal knew it was foreplay, but just the touch of his lips against hers was making her wetter than ever. She clung to him as he pushed his tongue in her mouth, taking dominance and claiming her mouth as his territory. His saliva even dominated her own, to the point where all she could taste was him. Not that she minded, of course.

As she was too focused on kissing Dark Matter, she didn't notice his hand make a subtle descent to her crotch until she felt him dig in her pants and panties to get to her pussy. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold her up as her knees began to lose their strength. Without much effort, Dark Matter parted her legs for better access and stuffed his hand down her panties. She moaned in delight as two fingers instantly found her hole and plunged themselves right on in.