Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter Eight: Godlike Power

The funeral was not the stereotypical affair. The Australian sun flittered down through the gum leaves, landing upon the hard earth as the caskets were lowered into the ground. Although everyone was dressed in black, the affair had been brightened with the knowledge that Captain had survived the attack, having been saved by a police officer who shot the attacking werewolf dead. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the funeral, they had been unable to save Hannah. For the first time in a long time, the group mourned, without anything else to distract them from their grief. It felt like an insult that the sky was still shining, that dark storm clouds hadn't formed, washing away the world with their sorrow,

"He was probably the only fair boss," Ivy, who was going to grab coffee with Lochlan sobbed, "he paid us well and treated us better,"

Grayson was the only person who shed no tears at the sight, but within half an hour of his strange disappearance from the area, Zachary could have sworn he heard cries of sadness and fury. When Grayson did return, he seemed not to notice the bloody stains his knuckles left on his suit, or the pieces. of bark, buried deep in his fists. Far away, so high up in the sky he could have been invisible, Noctum gazed downward, a single tear running down his cheek, before the madness took over again, and he flew away, head filled with fleeting visions of his dive. He had dove in front of his lover, not hesitating for a second, but Bjorn's bullet had been faster. In his mind, however, Noctum saw himself stop, hesitating for what felt like hours, considering whether sacrificing his life was worth it. The visions tortured him beyond any physical pain, as he knew, in his corrupted soul, that if he had only been slightly faster, slightly better, he could have saved the only life he couldn't have afforded to lose. He had a flashback to a happier, a better time, where the two of them sat on the edge of a bridge, huddling for warmth on the cold night,

"You should be a superhero," she whispered to him, "you have the backstory, the training, and when you beat the Highlanders tomorrow, you'll have the story,"

"So what would my name be?" he asked, humouring the silly idea with a smile, "something dark and brooding, maybe something like The Shadow,"

"That one's probably taken already," she laughed, "I thought about 'Noctum'"

"What's that mean?" 

"Noctum is basically another word for shadows and the realm of shadows," she replied, "you are a shadow that sends bad people to the world of shadows, after all,"

Back then, Adam had considered it a funny interaction, a small experience they would laugh about in years to come. When it had all fallen apart, that's when he had truly began the journey to becoming Noctum, the man in the shadows who would drag the evil into oblivion, but he was lost, lost in his own memories, unable to be truly himself again. 

Kinetic was enjoying the perks of obtaining his speed again, even if he was only a fraction of his original power. His top speed had reached four hundred kilometres per hour, through his secretive killing of the few werewolves who had survived Noctum's assault. Jones had grown distant with him over the few days since he had planted the seeds of doubt, but he had also stopped talking to Samantha, so Johnathan knew that his plan was working well. The rumours were that Zavant had somehow managed to survive, and that had dampened Jones' grandeur further, transforming the violent superhuman into a semblance of a normal man. Kinetic had even heard the sounds of a struggle in mr Blakk's room, as Jones, the original personality, 'killed' his alternate self, Chimera,

"Both of you have seemed distant lately," the High Priestess stated, catching Kinetic off guard,

He had been lounging on the couch in the main room of the cabin, thinking to himself while occasionally testing his speed, making his hand move so quickly that it created an after-image,