Crimson Eternity Part 1

Deep in the city of Las Angels, an explosion erupted in the streets as many people ran in all directions, letting out cries of fear as a man dressed in a black jacket and black pants wearing a black mask with red eyes. A black aura outlines his body as tentacles made of a black material manifests from his body as they whipped around. He walks through the streets when a car comes driving down the road. Without flinching, the masked man knocks the car back with his tentacles, sending it flying a few feet right for a dark-haired woman in a black dress holding her baby.

Suddenly a dark-blue figure rushes through the streets so fast it was a mere blur. The car hit the street, it's windows shattered with glass all around it with the male driver upside down in their seat unconsciousness bruised all over. A hero dressed in a black and blue costume came into view as he set the woman with her baby down about a mile away before running back up to the assailant standing just a few feet away.

"Please, I'd rather avoid innocent citizens dying today" The masked hero responded with a smirk. The villain gave him a frustrated look through his mask, launching all five of his dark tentacles right for him. The arms struck the ground with enough force to crack the concreate it hit, only to find the hero gone.

"Wow, those arms of yours are pretty powerful, too bad they don't have speed"

"Just who are you?" The masked man responded turning his head to the side but not fully looking at him. The villain morphed all of the hand-like things into one large fist throwing down a fist right for the blue hero with an echoing boom leaving a small crater.

"Aww how rude, normally the villain introduces themselves first then tells me their whole plan" The young hero commented standing inches behind the man. "RRRaagh!" The assailant manifested a 2nd fist, throwing punches head on for his targets. However, the hero easily evaded any coming attack as if they were moving in slow-motion.

Using his immense speed, the hero struck his target 50 times in the hint of a second, sending them staggering backwards like a projectile, impacting a red car parked on the side of the road. "You bastard! Fine, my name is Dark Shadow, I originally came to rob a bank, but I'm good with crushing you here...Come out, Demolition"

A seven-foot buff man in black and silver armor stepped out from an ally facing the blue hero. "Why don't you tell me your name, I like to know the name of the people I killed" He said in a dark tone cracking his knuckles loudly.

"The names Diamond Swift, you can try to kill me, but from how I see it, you won't be able to even see me" Taking off at super speed, Diamond moved so fast, it seemed as if time around him had come to a halt, he unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast blows to the armored man's torso but realized the strikes were having no effect. Just then he found himself get captured by the large brute's muscular hands. Diamond attempted to escape but even with his powerful speed, it was pointless.

The hero could feel his body beginning to get crushed from the assailant's tightening grip. "Gaah!" A loud crack could be heard as blood ran from the poor hero's mouth. Just then a figure emerged from the air up in the sky, shielded by the sun's bright light. Demolition felt a powerful blow to his armored face, cracking the helmet protecting him. Looking down at his victim, he knew it wasn't Diamond since the hero was locked tight in his grasp and too weak to escape.

"RRRRRggh, I have a hostage, if you don't come out, I'll crush him instantly!" The masked man watched a few feet behind Demolition as a caped hero dressed in a red and black suit appeared, levitating in the mid of the street about 20 meters away.

"Back off hero, my partner has your precious friend here close to death's door, if you don't want to end up like him. I suggest you fly off before I change my mind" The hero crossed his arms, his hazel eyes gleaming in the sunlight. "You must not know who I am"

"Why should I? You're just another worthless hero" In that moment, the hero vanished for a split second when Dark Shadow felt a surge of pain brushing across his face, sending him staggering backwards like a missile, smashing through a convenient store. His black mask cracked before falling to pieces onto the white tiled-floor as customers ran out of the store in a mass panic.

"RRRgggh!" Dark Shadow put his hand across his face hiding most of his face while revealing black eyes with red irises. "You bastard! No one shall gaze upon my face and live to talk about it!"

"Boss!" Demolition tossed the unconscious hero across the street racing over to Dark Shadow who was getting up still keeping his left palm over his face. The caped hero abruptly appeared in front of the running armored brute, sending an immense blow to the center of his armor. The force of the blow sent a fierce wave of wind through the assailant's back, down the street, wiping out everything within a one-mile radius.

Diamond Swift came to his senses as he witnessed Demolition's armor began to crack apart as if it were mere glass. (I couldn't even dent his armor, yet he was able to completely destroy it!?) Even Dark Shadow stood shocked as his eyes widened at the sight of his partner's armor hitting the ground now in pieces.

"T-this can't be, no one's ever defeated Demolition, or even scratched his armor!"

"You piece of shit!" The seven-foot built man cried out, now only wearing a black shirt and shorts. He had white hair, a beard and green eyes. He threw a punch straight for the caped heroes' face when the target caught his fist looking him dead in the eye. His cape blowing in the breeze when a loud crack rang out. "AAggh! My hand!"

"Are you finished yet? Using merely 10% of my strength and speed you've lost your armor and now a broken hand. Will you withdrawal? Or shall I use 20% power to give you a quick but painful death?" A look of fear washed over Demolition.

"But you're a hero, you're supposed to send me to jail and save as many lives as possible"

"You'd think so, but sadly we all know some villains can't be redeemed or even stop hurting innocent people. However, since this is the first time I've delt with you, I'm willing to grant you a kindness. The hero's eyes turned white before striking the left side of the man's skull with his fingers close together like a dagger. He lowered his hand as Demolition staggered back a few feet, his muscles now beginning to shrink back to normal size.

"W-what are you...how are you making my powers fade away!?"

"My name is Crimson Eternity and I've studied meta-human anomalies. When a human gains super-human ability, there's normally a deformation in the brain or some kind of energy essence. With my many capabilities, I was able to disrupt your anomaly there by sealing off your powers. There's a chance it could heal and your powers could return, but the chances of that is about 20% and even if it does, could take from a month to several years to fully recover from such an attack. Now leave before you want your entire brain struck by my hand"

The weakened villain ran off in fear leaving his boss alone before the hero. Dark Shadow watched as Crimson Eternity set his sights on him. The hero casually walked towards him causing Dark to manifest his dark tentacles, sending them straight for the coming threat. Crimson proceeded forward as the dark things struck his body like whips as they struck his body yet having no effect.

"Enough of your pointless attacks, people like you don't deserve to have that power, I shall take it away even your life if needed"

"S-stay back, you don't have the guts to kill me!?"

"Don't be so sure" The hero's eyes changed to red as he unleashed powerful heat-vision from his eyes right for the assailant. Dark Shadow wrapped himself within the darkness morphing it into a dome. He closed his eyes hoping his defense would hold up against the beam of heat when light broke through the center.

"He's burning away my darkness!?"

"Your so called "darkness" isn't as strong as my fire-power, if I actually tried, I could vaporize your very bones. But as a hero I find no need to do something so destructive. But it's time to end this" Moving faster than before, Crimson Eternity continued to fire his heat-vision so fast, it was vaporizing every direction of the dome simultaneously.

Once destroyed Dark Shadow stood defenseless, unable to remanifest his darkness. "You-you can't do this!" Without a word the hero struck the man in the center of the face. Blood gushed from his nose as he went flying back, landing a few feet away in pain.

"Hmmm, was sure that would've been enough to kill him without destroying the city but seems I was wrong. I'll let you live since a blow from me with that much power should've been enough to cause severe damage" With a sigh Eternity walked over to Diamond Swift who was finally on his feet still badly wounded from the villain crushing his ribs with his powerful grip.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm badly hurt but can stand. Thanks, if it wasn't for you, I probably would've died"

"Don't worry, for a solo fight against those two you did a decent job. But you really need to join a hero team before your next fight. Many heroes are killed from being a solo hero. Best thing to do is join the hero association, it's where heroes come to plan strategies and form teams"

"Isn't it dangerous to have so many heroes in one place?"

"Don't worry, there's many headquarters around the world to keep from drawing too much attention of high-level villains. We should hurry so we can treat your wounds" He grabbed Diamond by his shoulder, flying through the sky at immense speed, the city flying past them like shooting stars. In mere moments they reached a large building with a large steel door with an "R" inside a silver sun in the center of the door.   

Welcome to the hero association. Now let's get you to hero aid" Pulling the young hero's arm over his shoulder, Crimson moved through the halls, dodging everyone reaching the aid center where he sat him in a chair inside a large waiting room with rows of chairs looking like a high-tech waiting room.

The hero walked up to the window a few feet from the chairs where an African American man dressed in a white and black uniform with the "R" symbol on his torso sat using a touch screen on the glass of the window. "Hey mark, I have a hero here who was nearly killed in action, was hoping you could use my hero credits to help him"

"Sure Eric, with how many credits you have it's not like you'll be losing much. Let me evaluate him and I'll give you an estimate of the credits unless you'd rather just pay 10K credits to put him in a heal chamber. Longest I've seen anyone in there was 12 hours. You should've seen it, the frozen crusader was covered in blood, bruises and most of his bones were broken. If not for the healing chamber I'm sure he would've succumbed to his wounds in mere moments"

"When was this?"

"Last week, the investigation team is still trying to locate the culprit"

"Hmmm, well anyway I'll pay the 10K credits, not sure how long the boy has left" Crimson placed his palm on the hand scanner on the desk that read his hand print to use his hero credits.

[Hero Credits]: Currency heroes earn by saving others in danger or capturing villains.

The number of credits given per villain depends on their danger level:

• GREEN: Human/Low threat

• YELLOW: Meta-human/average threat

• RED: High threat

• Purple: Globel Threat

The man in the uniform helped Diamond Swift up from his chair now unconscious once more. He was placed in a cylinder chamber as the glass door shut and a blue liquid filled to the top. Diamond wore a mask to keep oxygen flowing while inside the chamber. Though twitching in pain, he could feel the soothing healing liquid flowing around his body, some of his body feeling warm while others feeling cold as if to relive the pain...

Meanwhile Crimson Eternity made his way through the steel halls with black carpeted floors on the top floor as he made his way to his office. Not long after sitting down, he heard a knock at his door. He sat at a black desk with blue carped floors, the wall behind him a large window to look out upon the city from the top floor.

"Who is it" He responded using his vision to see through the thick-layered steel wall to see his assistant standing at the door. It was a young man dressed in the association's black and white uniform. He had short blonde hair with green eyes.

"It's your assistant Derk Owens sir" With a sigh the hero scanned his palm on his desk causing the door to automatically slide open. "What do you have for me?" The hero responded crossing his arms with his leg over the other looking at him in the black office chair.

"Right, seems we've had an alert in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. It says there's some kind of evil syndicate causing civilians and even heroes to fall into a permanent sleep. This assignment has been declared a possible red level threat. Not many heroes here can take on that level of threat so it's been turned to you and a small few of capable heroes. Also there seems to be some kind of disturbance out in the swamps of Florida, seems people have noticed strange activity in the core of the swamps but are unwilling to go from fear of getting lost or killed by whatever is causing the anomaly"

"Hmmm, keep me updated on the swamp occurrence, for now I'll deal with this sleeping phenomenon"

"Yes Sir"

"Also, let me know when the hero in the healing chamber is recovered, I have plans for him" He placed a high-tech earpiece in his ear to keep in contact with his associate as he opened the door, flying high into the sky, the sky began to darken as night fell upon the city. He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air before soaring through the sky.

A young girl was sitting at her window, she had long red hair with blue eyes when she saw Crimson fly through the sky, but it was so quick she thought: (Wow a shooting star!)

(Hmph, to think they'd have me out on assignments right after I got back. Well...I could've at least eaten something before leaving so it was my choice to leave without eating. Whatever, let's just see what's going on here) The hero touched down in the streets of Philadelphia do see many people asleep in the streets as if laying in the cold road and sidewalks weren't uncomfortable. He walked through the streets carefully. With his anomaly sensing ability, he could see a purple mist flowing through the streets.

"That must be what's causing humans to sleep, now the only thing is to figure out it's source"

"Oh, I wouldn't concern yourself with that, you should first worry about yourself" Crimson looked to see a man with a black mask dressed in a white suit with a black cape, gloves and boots. "I shall entertain you before killing you. So then...do you believe in death?" Without another word the masked assailant pulled out a pistol, firing off a single shot.

"Heh, a mere gun, what use is that to a true hero?" He dodged the coming bullet when a sudden pain struck his gut. (What? But I dodged the bullet!)

"I'm sure you're wondering what happened, allow me to explain, my name is Limbo shot. Anything I do in the physical state can be quite different then within the world of limbo which most can't see since it's on a different plan of existence. To put things simple, you saw me fire, when in real life I fired after you dodged which caught you off guard. That's why I only fired one shot, the first shot is always the easiest hit" 

With his sight focused on Limbo Shot, the hero ran full speed right for the assailant. He threw a punch right for the masked gunmen using 20% of his god-like power, his punch was so powerful, it sent an immense rush of wind blasting through the streets. However, he noticed his hand had went straight through the villain's face. (A mirage? Fine, if he insists on paying mind games, I shall up my game) Now moving at 50% power, the world came to a near halt around him as he found each sleeping human and hero, taking them back to the association for protection before returning within a second of time.

"With all the humans evacuated from the city, I shall use 50% of my power to pull you out from hiding. Crimson punch, 50% power!" Flying high above the city the hero threw a punch straight toward the city with incredible power. He watched as most of the city erupted in a burst of force, causing everything to blow away or be crushed by the force of his power.

That's when Crimson heard his target nearby. Moving at incredible speed once more, he advanced toward the area of the sound, finding Limbo Shot staggering back, flying backwards through the dark empty streets. Not letting the battle continue any further, Eternity moved right up to the villain, striking him several times in the abdomen, his white armor cracking apart as pieces flew off in different direction.

The hero stopped, as the gunmen went soaring through the streets, landing in a nearly destroyed 10-story building. With a smirk Crimson placed his palm against the building, applying force against the weak infostructure, causing it to fall on the already weakened foe. He walked over the pile of concreate, listing for a heartbeat before pulling Limbo Shot out of the rubble.

"Your ability is impressive, but not near my level. Where's the members of your syndicate? I know they're here somewhere. If they weren't hit by my city-range attack I'm sure they're at least somewhere near the city" 

"I won't tell you anything so you might as well kill me"

"I'm considering it. Just because I'm a hero doesn't mean I don't have the nerve to end the life of someone who would end up getting the death sentence anyway. So I'm giving you one last chance to give me their location before your heart comes to a permanent stop" He placed his palm against the target's torso preparing to send enough force to the man's heart it would burst, instantly killing him.

"F-fine, the syndicate is located-" Before Limbo Shot could answer, a beam of purple energy was sent straight through his skull piercing Crimson's cheek before slowly healing. The hero dropped the now lifeless corpse. "Hmph" He sensed the location the energy signature had come from, ascending into the air. Traveling north in the direction his attack had traveled from before. That's when he got a lock on a figure flying at speed near his level.

His eyes changed to blue, using his power to lock-on to the assailant's energy signature, leaving behind a purple mist of energy. (This might get interesting, a being with speed near my level) Crimson Eternity signaled his assistant putting his fingers on his earpiece, telling him he located a unique figure that just killed his own ally and is now fleeing from the scene. "Call in any heroes that might be strong enough to be immune to this sleeping ability, seems the user is capable of giving immunity to certain people"

"Yes sir, I will alert you the moment one has been sent" Keeping his eyes locked on his target, Crimson accelerated to 50% speed, moving at an immense speed beginning to catch up with the fast-moving. He reached the figure dressed in black as he attempted to grab ahold of their cape, they abruptly vanished for a moment before the hero felt a fierce blow to his back, sending him impacting a skyscraper.

Many humans were either instantly killed or sent in all directions as Eternity landed in the 50th floor of the colossal building, several floors of windows shattered as glass was sent flying all over the office with massive pieces falling towards the city streets. The injured hero forced himself up to hear screams from below. He was about to fly outside to check the area when A man dressed in a fully-black suit with a hooded cape landed in the office, standing in front of the large hole Eternity had made when he crashed through the skyscraper walls. His eyes were glowing purple.

"I and the syndicate of darkness want you eliminated as soon as possible, so they've ordered me to kill you where you stand" The hero took a deep breath taking a step forward before advancing right for his opponent, both meta-humans clashed with a devastating punch, causing all of the remaining windows to shatter, along with the building beginning to tip over. (I have to end this fast with minimal causalities)

"Crimson strike: 60% power!" Throwing another blow right for the attacker, Eternity struck his assailant head-on across the jaw, the immense power finally causing the infostructure of the building to break loose. The entire skyscraper began to fall towards the streets with many citizens screaming in hoor. Most running in panic with others accepting their fate that the building was too tall to outrun it's damage range.

Suddenly a blue figure came through the city streets moving at great speed, it was Diamond Swift! The hero had finally recovered from his brutal injuries against Demolition. He used his full-speed to moved so fast that time had come to a halt. He looked around to see hundreds of people running in fear before looking up to see the destroyed Skyscraper in mid-fall, headed straight for the streets coving 100 to 150 meters of distance, much too far for most of the citizens to outrun before the crash hit.

(I better hurry before I run out of stamina. Using my maximum speed like this drains me at a great rate) He began grabbing people, quickly taking them to a park just outside the city miles away from the fight. Meanwhile the pair were trading blows at an incredible rate, each strike shaking the entire city.

"Give it up, you can't beat Shadow Star, I'm considered to be one of few that can match your god-like capabilities!" The villain commented dodging the coming attacks even after being struck in the jaw by the powerful hero. Shadow Star's mouth was dripping blood, the left side of his face was red and swollen. "Think of me as your opposite, Instead of Crimson Eternity, you can refer to me as Dark Eternity"

"Enough of your nonsense, if it's come to this.... I'll do the one thing I've only had to do once...Crimson barrage: 100%!!" The hero moved at full-speed, throwing an onslaught of punches at full power! The strikes were to fast for even Shadow Star to keep up with, the blows struck him each millisecond with the hero giving everything he had to defeat the powerful villain. The entire city began to be destroyed by the god-force of each blow. After 10 straight seconds Crimson Eternity stopped, out of breath, his muscles hurting.

A sudden pain rushed through his body as he spat out blood before falling to one knee shaking from both pain and exhaustion. He looked up to see Shadow star laying on his stomach covered in blood but still alive. "H-heh, you h-haven't won. I might d-die, but the war isn't over. All who witnessed this will begin to either fear or hate you. H-heh. Let that soak in" With his final words Shadow Star died, his body now motionless.

The skyscraper finally hit the ground in the already obliterated city. The wounded hero slowly drifted up out of the building looking at the city he had destroyed from his fight with Shadow Star. He looked at Diamond Swift giving him a guilty look before flying off into the darkness...

Eric Owens was 5 years old watching heroes on the news saving people from a bridge collapse when his father Oscar Owens walked over to him placing his hand upon his shoulder "What does a hero mean to you Eric?" He asked looking at the TV before looking down at his son. Oscar had light-brown hair with hazel eyes dressed in a white shirt and black pants with a muscular body.

"A hero is someone who puts other before themselves for the greater good!"

"That's right, maybe one day you'll be a hero too"

Eric Awoke in the healing chamber wearing merely black shorts. He looked around to find the first-aid room empty aside from Dimond Swift who was sitting on the other side of the room reading the newspaper. Though in a weakened state, Crimson used his enhanced vision to read the headline: "Crimson Eternaty fails to protect city, thousands parish, others lose homes and jobs" The sudden realization of his failure along with the world's view of him as a hero threw him into a panic attack. His heart rate sky-rocked as he let out screams of stress within the blue liquid healing chamber.

Beeping began to ring out to alert the doctors of the high-heart rate. The man from before rushed over looking at his vital signs that were far higher than what most humans could tolerate. He quickly pushed a button on the keypad that began quickly draining the chamber before the hero fell out onto the floor shaking, His eyes wide in fear and anxiety.

"Eric are you ok?"

"Get away from me!" Crimson cried out pushing the medic back with such force, he went flying across the room. Diamond quicky caught him, keeping him from hitting the wall. The medic put his fingers up to his earpiece announcing: Code hero, I repeat code hero!" A red light began to flash as windows and walls were closed off by a steel covering when a group of heroes burst through the room wearing the associate uniforms.

"Which hero needs to be restrained one of the three heroes responded. He had long black hair with pale skin with golden eyes. The medic coughed in pain before pointing to Crimson who was still on his hands and knees shaking in fear.

"Ah, Crimson Eternity...I had hoped this day would never come. Seems he's been driven insane from heroes' madness. Grab him, we need to take him to the maximum isolation cells so he can't hurt anyone else" The one to his left was a woman with long red hair with orange eyes holding a staff. She aimed the staff right for the delusional hero, shooting a bolt of electricity right at him. The electricity wrapped around the hero, trapping him in a net of electricity.

Suddenly Eric broke out of the net, he looked up and in his head he saw three Shadow Star standing before him. "Errr, this is your fault! I won't let you live Shadow Star! I don't know how you survived or how you learned to duplicate yourself, but I won't hold back!"

"Shit he thinks we're a villain, what should we do!?" The woman responded still aiming her staff toward him. The man to the right had short blonde hair and had one blue eye and the other red eye. "I could use my eye of darkness to paralize him long enough for you both to grab him and take him to the isolation cell"

"It's worth a shot, if I know Crimson Eternity, he's the most over-po0wrred hero there is, restraining him will be near impossible if we don't use something to paralyze him" Meanwhile Diamond Swift stood there confused on what was happened though he recognized the three heroes before him. (The dark mistress, Reality Raven and their leader...Peace Maker! Those three are one of the top-rated heroes! But why are they trying to isolate Crimson? He's just not in the right state of mind after such a rough fight)

"RRRaagh!" Eternity moved full speed, knocking everyone back from the sheer force of his speed preparing to kill Peace Maker with one punch when Reality Raven activated his blue eye. "Eye of Justice!" The diluted hero saw a blue light from one of the Shadow Star, causing everything to fade away...

In reality the hero stood motionless, his eyes glowing blue while in his mind...

"Where am I?" He was hit with a flash of light before he found himself standing on a stage with thousands of citizens cheering his name. He looked behind him to see a sign that read: "Crimson Eternity: The greatest hero of all!" A man stood on the other side of the stage with black hair combed back with hazel eyes dressed in a suit holding a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the greatest hero...Crimson Eternity! With his help he stopped the evil syndicate that planned to put us all to sleep and kill us!" The crowd clapped loudly as they all cheered his name...

Meanwhile in reality the trio of heroes brought the paralyzed hero through a long steel white hallway of cells bringing him to what looked-like a vault with a massive steel square vault door. Peace Maker put in a code and his hand print as the massive door opened with a loud screech. They put power-nullifying bonds on his arms that were made of a steel-like material that glowed blue that were meant to block-off any meta-human's powers but with someone like him, it would merely weaken in power but not completely block it.

The pair walked away as Peace Maker closed the door with a loud close while Diamond Swift stood there watching. "Why did you lock him away? He may not be in the best head-space, but isolating him will just make him worse!" The hero put his hand on the young hero's should responding: It's for the best, if we hadn't of sealed him in there, he would've killed us all. If he comes to his senses within a few days, we'll let him go but if not, he'll remain in there for the rest of his life"

"You mentioned something called: "Hero's madness" what is that?"

"It's when a hero is so consumed by their failures or stress as hero that their mind breaks leaving them a mindless shell"

"H-has any hero recovered from hero's madness before?"

"Not that I've heard of, if so then it's a very rare occurrence. I'm sorry if he was your idol or friend, his body was unbreakable, but it seems his mind was nowhere near the same level. Best to remember him the way he was" With that Peace Maker walked away, leaving the hero alone in the halls...

CHAPTER 2 A New Generation Hero

          The Next Day...

Diamond Swift sat in the lobby, thinking about all that had happened, just then he was notified about the swamp phenomenon that was occurring around Florida. The young boy took a deep breath, he hadn't taken off his costume for two full days, but he knew...as a hero, there would be times were he couldn't relax, that he'd have to be on guard constantly. Diamond walked over to the vending machine, scanning his hand to use the credits he had recently earned.

A water bottle fell out and the hero quickly jugged it before taking off at great speed, through the city streets as Diamond swift picked up speed and the area around him became more open. He reached Florida in only five minutes. The young hero took a deep breath stretching before dashing over to the swamp area. The area was silent, cold...the young gifted saw no signs of life anywhere.

"Strange, if it was bad enough to notify Eternity about this, I'd expect this place crawling with villains, but I don't see any signs of life. Then again, villains are known for hiding until you let your guard down, I should be careful" The fast-moving teen ventured deeper into the cold gray swamp searching for anything abnormal when he spotted a large black rose in the center of a large opening with water flowing around it.

"Looks like I found my phenomenon" Just then the rose opened letting out a violet mist fill the surrounding area. "Oh, you most certainly have" A woman's voice called out as a woman with black hair dressed in black and red leather suit descended down from the rose. "Looks like you caught me noble hero, is this where you arrest me?" She gave him an evil smirk as her black hair fell over her right eye.

Diamond Swift put his index and middle finger to his ear piece whispering: "I found the target, send anyone we have left"

"Understood"

"Oh? You intend on sending help? I guess you aren't the big strong hero I thought you were, a true hero doesn't need help from others, they can take care of things on their own"

The hero clinched his fist thinking about what happened to Crimson Eternity as tears ran down his face from his mask. "What would you know about what a hero is!?" Taking off full speed, he advanced toward the woman when he saw large vines with thorns shoot out left and right from the large moss-covered trees around them. They moved in slow-motion, but at his speed, he was surprised at the speed, she could manipulate the vines. He lost his balance, rolling under the crossed vines before pulling himself back to his feet just as more thorny vines launched straight at him like ropes attempting to grab ahold of him.

Diamond Decided to gain distance between him and his opponent in hopes of planning a strategy. She remained by the large rose as vines randomly shot out all around him trying to threw him off balance or block his path, luckily, he managed to dodge each one until they eventually stopped. He stopped near a massive old tree to catch his breath when he noticed a flower just above the swampy water, it looked as though it had an eye and was looking at him.

"Wait a minute!" Just as he realized it, vines shot out from around the flower, wrapping around his arm in a tight thorny grasp. "Damn it! How could I be so careless!?" Blood dripped from his wrist as the thorns sank deep into his skin. He looked to see the woman moving through the trees shooting vines from her body to swing from the tress before landing in front of him.

"I see you realized it too late, I can see and hear anywhere with nature. You were doomed the moment you stepped foot in this swamp. Now...let the pain melt away...as you become sleepy..." Diamond Swift felt his body growing numb and weak as he began to fall asleep... The vines wrapped around his body as a large purple rose grew behind her and he was pulled inside before it closed...

"Sir, Diamond Swift called for back up and they just alerted us they just lost connection with him" Order Prime stood in his office looking out over the city through a large window, he wore a black and gold costume. Turning to Reality Raven. Who wore a dark-blue costume with a mask shaped like a raven. "I'll go, you need to stay here incase Crimson Eternity tries to escape"

"Yes, sir" His team member answered in an obedient tone but unsure. "What about Dark Mistress, shouldn't she at least go with you? Don't forget this assignment was given to Eternity and those are usually high-threat missions"

"Hmph, very well. But I still insist you remain here for the association's protection" He contacted Dark Mistress as they both departed through a purple wormhole she created. She had long dark-purple hair dressed in a black cloak with purple eyes. They entered the rift that brought them to the entrance of the swamp. Now then, we must locate Diamond Swift quickly, the longer we spend here, the more attention we could draw from the enemy"

His ally nodded sending a shadow doppelganger of herself into the gray swamp as it zipped through at great speed while the pair carefully made their way in. Mistress walked on sphere platforms she formed of dark energy over the water while Prime drifted above her, a golden aura outlining his body. At that moment, the doppelganger had located the large rose in the center of the swamp.

Mistress' eyes glowed brighter as she announced : "Spotted a 10 foot rose sprouted in the center of the swamp, no way it's natural, definitely connected to anomaly"

"How far is it's location from us?"

"About 100 meters" Order Prime flew faster but still at a cautious pace towards the overgrown plant before they finally spotted the massive flower. That's when it once more opened up to reveal the woman who looked at them with a lustful smile.

"Ah, you must be friends of that speeding brat, glad to see there's people who actually care about him. Sadly you're too late, I assure you he's beyond saving. My name is Flesh Flower, who are you?"

"I'm Order Prime" The golden glowing man replied. The woman grew excited with a look of surprise on her face. "you mean one of the top heroes Order Prime!? I'm honored to meet such a famous hero. Too bad I couldn't meet Crimson Eternity, meeting two great heroes in one day would be such a treat for one such as myself. So then, let's see just what the great Order Prime is capable of"

Crossing her arms, five vines shot out from behind her right for the two heroes. Putting her index and middle finger together Dark formed a dark shell around her body as the thorns wrapped around it. She managed to stay sealed inside like a cocoon as the thorns bean digging into it like glass. Meanwhile Prime quickly crossed his hands like an "X" Before swiping in both directions, sending a wave of golden energy right for the spiked projectiles, burning them to ash.

"Mmmm, you're good, but can you tolerate my violet mist?" She sprouted three giant roses, releasing twice as much fist towards them, the lullaby mist got through the cracks in Dark Mistress' shell causing her to pass out falling out of the dark shell. "That's one down the villain commented. She turned towards Order Prime who was emanating an even brighter golden aura as if some kind of protective barrier.

He began walking towards her, unaffected by the mist. "Your gas is ineffective, you might as well give up and tell me where my ally is" Out of options Flesh Flower wrapped Dark in a thick layer of vines pulling her over to her. "Not a step forward or I'll acupuncture her entire body"

The hero stopped in his tracks just 10 feet away from his target. He kept his eyes on her when a transparent golden figure of light rose up from the dirt, striking the assailant in the jaw sending her staggering across the swamp hitting a large tree before landing in the muggy water. She slowly looked up seeing A doppelganger of Prime made of golden energy. "I-I didn't realize he could manifest a clone of himself purely out of energy"

"Of course, you didn't, why would I reveal such an ability unless it was necessary? Now then, it's time to finish this up, I have plenty of other things to do"

"Go ahead and arrest me, but you won't find your friend"

"Oh, are you sure about that?" Making his way over to the center of the area, he threw his palm down into the soil, pulling out another massive rose before ripping it open to find Diamond.

"B-but..."

"Next time...choose a better hiding spot" Prime saw Dark laying on the ground out cold but not injured then at Diamond who began to slowly awake as he stretched. "Time to wake up Diamond, we need to finish up here so I can get my work done on time" Standing up he nodded looking at Dark Mistress. He picked her up before taking off at full speed back towards the association.

Flesh Flower just sat there in silence unable to think of what to do or say. "Let's go" He insisted before sealing her within a floating sphere of golden energy. She just sat there while Prime flew back to the HQ with the glowing barrier floating beside him...

They made it back to the association where Dark was put in her office to rest while Prime walked down the hall past the lobby over to a thick steel door where a guard in a high-tech suit stood by the door holding a gun. "Welcome Order Prime, glad you were successful in capturing yet another villain"

"Thanks, she was a pain at first but in the end it was a quick fight" The guard scanned his hand to open the door then stepped aside as the high-rank hero walked through the hall with cells on both sides with bars and red energy field. Most cells were empty aside from one or two captured villains. He converted the sphere holding Flesh Flower into golden bounds binding her arms as the A.I scanned the woman's face through the camera by the cell door.

"[Criminal #003: Alice Carmen A.K.A: Flesh Flower]" The A.I voice announced as the red energy field vanished and the bars lowered into the floor as Prime shoved the villain inside before the bars and barrier went back up. "Don't think about escaping, the red barrier nullifies all awakened so you'll be unable to use your powers"

"How rude, to think this is how you would treat a beautiful woman like me!" She uttered in a flirty tone smiling at him. He just turned back and left the cell room. That's when someone contacted him through his earpieces. "Yea what is it?"

"Crimson Eternity is asking to speak with Diamond Swift privately and requests you accompany him for protection"

"Hmmm, let them know I'll be right there" (Strange, why does he want to speak with Diamond? Has he gotten over the madness so soon, or is this all just an act? Never the less, I can at least see what he wants. Eternity knows I'm a high-ranking hero as well and for a good reason...)

[Flash Back]

Eight Years Ago...

The city of Las Angels was under attack by several high-threat villains, citizens either hiding in destroyed buildings or running away in fear. A man dressed in black knight armor with red glowing eyes and a flaming sword approached a man who laid on his back in fear as the assailant raised his blade preparing to strike when a barrier made of golden light manifested around the poor human as the sword struck the field merely cracking it.

The knight looked up to see Prime descending down before him. "Enough of this! You and your horde of villains have done enough damage to this city. I'm not sure where the heroes of the association are, but I assure you, I'll protect those too weak to protect themselves"

"Hehe, are you sure about that, many pathic heroes have fallen to this blade, what makes you any different?" Converting his golden energy into a sword, he aimed it toward his target. "I don't care if I may fall here, the fact I made it and saved one life is enough for me"

"Phuh, your heroic talk is sickening, I'll be glad to be rid of you" With a quick slash he brought his sword down only to be stopped by Prime's blade of light. "Impossible, this blade should be able to cut through anything, especially a puny energy sword!" They continued to push against each other when wisps of golden energy floated out of the hero forming a duplication of him right behind his target.

"What!?" The villain didn't have time to defend himself and was slashed in the torso and back simultaneously before he leapt away from them, gripping his now bleeding abdomen. "Tsk! You piece of shit! The demonic Knight won't stand for this!" Impaling his flaming blade into the street, a blood-red dome formed around the city, trapping all inside. "Y-you won't escape...I won't let you!" Clinching his armored fists, he began to grow taller as the armor broke off falling to the pavement to reveal a demon-like creature with black skin, red eyes and large wings.

"Hehe, I may lose control in this form, but unlike you, I'm not trying to protect something, that...is a hero's greatest weakness!" Demonic Knight, now in his demon form flew head-on for the golden hero, reaching out with his sharp claws when Prime threw his hand out, forming a wall of golden light between him and the coming foe.

"HAHAHA! That won't stop me, my abilities are multiplied while in this form and within the blood barrier!" He could see the veins on the demonic villain throbbing as if his body was under immense stress.

(His body might not last long with such power putting such a strain on his body, I can tell he's not used to the transformation. Though I'm no better, I just learned to form a duplication from my own energy but it takes a lot of focus to keep it stable. I'm sure he's thinking about ending this quickly so I should too)

Demonic Knight shattered the wall of light as if it were mere glass just mere feet from his target. That's when Prime created a blinding flash of light, buying himself a few seconds. "RRR! You won't get away!" As the villain's vision returned, he grabbed ahold of Prime, beginning to crush him tightly. That's when the hero burst into hundreds of wisps of light. "A clone!?" The target stood surrounded by the firefly-sized orbs when they all abruptly began hitting him like bullets from all directions, striking an area, bouncing off before striking again. "RRRRRaaggh! Enough!" Unleashing a burst of red energy, the demonic villain wiped out all of the small projectiles when he suddenly froze in place, his eyes wide before collapsing face down, the blood barrier slowly vanishing.

"I thought so, his body gave out from too much strain" He walked past the motionless body over to the sword still in the ground. Forming a protective barrier around it, he pulled it from the ground without touching it before walking away. "No one should be able lay their hands on this blade, I sense dark energy within it" That's when a figure flew over, descending down in front of him.

"Impressive work, my name is Crimson Eternity and the hero association would like you to join them"

"The hero association? I think I've heard of them. But sorry I work alone" The hero prepared to fly off when Eternity moved at great speed blocking his path. "They thought you'd say that, which is why they'd like you to hear them out"

[End Of Flash Back]

(To think that was eight years ago...Sometimes I do feel I should leave, but with the pay and the allies I've made being here, the pros outweigh the cons so for now I'm stuck here) Just then a male voice through his earpiece reminded him: "Sir are you coming, you said you'd accompany Diamond Swift with his meeting with Crimson Eternity"

"Oh, right sorry, I zoned out for a moment, I'm coming" Making his way over to the vault where Diamond was waiting, they opened it to find Eternity sitting in the large steel room in the middle of the room. "Close the vault behind us" Prime suggested, that's when Eternity responded: Wait, please keep it open, I assure you I'm in a better state of mind, I'm fine remaining in this room and if I leave you have full right to execute me"

"Eric..." Prime utter in Surprise just then Diamond commented: "Your name is Eric?" Eternity nodded looking at them with a sad calm expression. "Eric...Eric Carson. That's my real name, though I've never told anyone in the association my name since I hated my life before I became Crimson. But, with my time almost at an end, I'm fine telling you both"

"What do you mean almost up!? Are you talking about committing-"

"No, nothing like that, it'd be unheroic to do such an act, though, in this age, what actually is a "hero" to most? For many people, so many have different views on what's considered a hero or at least heroic. But enough of that. Diamond...I no longer deserve my gift...it's time I show you one final ability I've never used" Placing his hand on the young boy's head, Eternity focused all the strength and power he had left. A red aura went from his palm before outlining Swift's entire body. Crimson's black hair began to turn gray as his face grew old and wrinkled with his muscular body also going down to an old worn-out body.

Letting go of the boy Eric staggered back before Order Prime caught him. "Eric, what's going on, why are you suddenly old!?"

"I'm sorry Chris...I'm not stable enough to be called a hero any longer, so I transferred all my power to Diamond. It'll take some time for the powers to manifest, but as time passes, maybe he'll succeed where I've failed" The once great hero looked at Diamond giving him a wink before the last breath left his body...

There was a silence for a few minutes before tears left the boy's mask as he pulled it back reveling his face. He had dark-red hair with green eyes. "I'm so sorry Crimson, I wish you didn't have to give up your life!" He fell to his knees crying uncontrollably when Chris set the departed hero down onto the floor, approaching the young hero.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think he would go that far just to keep himself from making it worse. To give up such power and even your life for the greater good truly is an act of a true hero" Prime insisted placing his hand upon the sobbing hero. 

"You're right...but why do he transfer his powers to me? You're the top-class hero, wouldn't it have made more since to give it to someone like you?"

"He probably wanted to give it to a more youthful hero, you're still young while I'm in my 30's, that might be young now, but time moves faster with each passing year. Also, I'm content with the power I was given. With the power of light, I've mastered the many possibilities of manifesting light energy into nearly anything I choose with enough concentration. You how ever just have speed going for you, but it won't always be enough, so keep that in mind and be careful when your powers develop. Crimson hurt himself using too much of his power at once and that was after having his powers for years"

With that Chris walked over to his deceased friend, lifting him up and walking outside the headquarters with many gasping once they recognized who it was. "Is that Eternity!? What happened to him!?" A crowd began to follow behind Prime as he carried the body over to the hero sanctum which looked like a large collosum on the outside. The citizens watched outside as the hero walked inside. Within the sanctum was a large hall with red carpet and white walls, pictures of other fallen heroes aligning the walls as he made his way down.

Passing through a steel black door, he entered a large room with a steel coffin with a glass cover. He pushed a button on the side opening the coffin where he carefully set the fallen hero inside before closing it. As it locked in place, Chris gave him one final glance before pushing a button on the control panel on the wall.

A large trap door opened beneath the coffin, slowly lowering it underground before the trap door closed. Making his way over to a stairwell he went to the basement where there were rows of coffins aligned in the basement. It was a warehouse-sized steel room with the coffins aligned in the middle of the room with a thick layer of glass over them to walk across. A tear ran down his face before he quickly wiped it away leaving the sanctum...

Meanwhile Diamond sat in his new office looking out over the city in an office chair. He was unsure what to do without Crimson around, he felt as though apart of him had somehow vanished, but he knew if he let it get to him the stress and distraction would keep him from being a professional hero. That's when a notification went off on his computer. He wheeled over to it to see the hero's weekly pay had come in. The boy had 20,000 current credits which was a great amount for a young hero like him. Letting out a sigh he decided to step outside into the hall where he saw a hero Dressed in a dark-red leather coat with a black shirt and pants, he had red hair and golden eyes.

"Hi, I'm new, I haven't seen you on any of the missions" The hero turned towards him, his golden eyes glimmering in the light. "Yeah, I haven't been on any missions lately since the elite heroes normally delt with them quickly. Though, with one of the strongest heroes gone, I'm sure many villains will begin appearing all around once they hear about it. So, I'm here waiting for any assignments. Normally I'm at home and they'll contact me. What about you? Why aren't you at home waiting for an assignment?"

"I don't have a home, I fought with my parents about what I wanted to do with my life. They wanted me to be a doctor or something with a high degree but I'm told I couldn't use my powers working a job since then there would be no point in me working there after I completed everything, along with the fact if I did an operation, they'd think I would make a mistake by going so fast. So, I left...I've been given great power, and to just limit myself to an office job like normal humans, I wouldn't be able to help many people. So, I've decided to be a full-fledged hero as my profession"

"Well as nice as this place is you shouldn't have to live here, let me show you where I live, I'm sure you'll change your mind"

"But what if we get an emergency alert?" Diamond warned. The man looked at him with a sigh. "I remember when I was like you, worried about the next mission, always on guard. But that isn't good for your health, if you're always on guard not letting yourself relax, your body and powers will begin to weaken, such as your stamina and concentration. So let's go, make sure to put in an ear piece, as long as you have your ear piece you'll be up to date with your missions"

They walked outside into the city streets where the hero floated a few feet into the air as flames manifested around his body. "By the way, my name is Kyle, but I go as the Thermal Warrior. I'm not really a fan of the name but I've never been good with names. What about you?"

"My name is Diamond Swift. I think it's a catchy name"

"What about your real name?"

"I don't have a real name...I don't go by the name my parents gave me so I just go by my hero name." Kyle gave him a weird look before flying off in a trail of flames. "Let's head over there" He called out. Swift took off, easily keeping up with him racing through the city. After about five minutes they reached a large house that was on the border between a mansion and a fancy house.