John Cage

" And with its anniversary coming up, we at Big News Central once again cover the story of the great disaster that occurred nearly ten years ago between the famed superhero team Space Force with its members Silver Comet and Astro Force, against a crazy being known as Eclipsor. Space Force was a small team of famous heroes including the likes of Supergiant, the solar powered hero, Astro Force, the human cannonball, and their leader the famous heroine Silver Comet.

During the Battle, Astro Force and Silver Comet battled against Eclipsor with no sign of Supergiant anywhere. Some assume that Supergiant had already been killed before fighting the rest of Space Force, however this was never verified as a body was never found. The deadly battle raged on for quite some time before a sudden explosion leveled the city. Thousands died and Silver Comet along with Astro Force, disappeared. Some say the duo died in the blast that erased most of Big city. But with no bodies ever being found it's truly hard to say. But what we do know is, the world has sorely missed our shining blue guardian! We'll reconvene in a week when The Guardians of the Globe will once again come together to recognize their fallen friends.

" Huh? Blue Guardian? What a joke." Johnathan grabbed his keys and turned off the tv, having heard the news caster speak about an event he participated in himself.

Johnathan was a dirty middle-aged man, with a thick bushy black beard and scraggly black hair that fell down to his shoulders that covered the traces of grey on the sides of his head. He had on a blue jean jacket with a black T shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of wrangler boots that were brown.

Johnathan left his small run-down house and got into his blue pickup truck.

Before driving off, his phone rang. When he looked at the number on the screen, the number was blacked out. Seeing this slightly disturbed Johnathan, so he ended it. Then as soon as he ended it, the phone rang again.

This disturbed him even more.

Who was it trying to contact him? Who would even know his number? There wasn't anyone left alive to know it... Well, not entirely.

Johnathan could think of only a small handful of people on the planet that might still have his old cell number. And an even smaller number of them had the know how to mess with technology. That in and of itself reduced the possibilities down to only one.

Johnathan clicked the answer button and raised the phone to his ear and spoke to the person on the other end. " What do you want, Cecil?"

" Good to hear your voice again, old friend." The man on the other end was none other than Cecil Steadman current head of the GDA, Global Defense Agency.

" Cut the bullshit, Cecil. You haven't contacted me in years. What brought me up this time?" Johnathan asked the man.

It had been ten long years since Johnathan last heard from Cecil. Until now, Johnathan had been living on the funds his old team possessed, and on land technically owned by the GDA, which was given to him from Cecil. But other than that, no words had been said between the two.

" I've got a problem. And I really need your-"

" Forget it, Cecil. I'm done. You need someone to clean up your messes? Call on the other five hundred heroes on earth. I hear there's a new kid in the mid-east. Firebreather. Go bug him. " John told the man.

" John, you don't understand, the guardians are-"

Click!

Before Cecil could finish his sentence, Johnathan ended the phone call. He really couldn't care about Cecil or his problems at this point. He just wanted to be left alone and live out whatever life he had left.

Johnathan started up his truck and drove into the city.

Meanwhile across the country Cecil was in full stress mode over his problem.

" Argh! Damnit!" Cecil cursed. He raised his hands in frustration and clenched his head.

" Things didn't go well, sir?"

" Does it look like they went well, Donald?" Cecil asked his friend and second in command.

Cecil was an older man with a large amount of scars around the right corner of his mouth. He had white hair flowing down to his back.

Donald was a younger man, than Cecil, with a short, shaved head of brown. Like Cecil, he also wore a standard black and white suit, but sported a pair of sunglasses.

" Uhm, no sir."

" Great! Just my luck. The Guardians are dead, Omni man is down and now, the world is defenseless. Hope the lizard league don't decide to attack." Cecil muttered. He gave a deep sigh of stress and turned towards Donald. " I need you to go get, Nolan's family. Bring'em in and let them know what's going on."

" Yes sir."

Cecil watched as Donald disappeared from the Guardians headquarters.

.......

A little while later, in Downtown Manhattan.

Johnathan was walking out of a supermarket after picking up supplies, like food and other necessities. He placed the bags in the passenger seat of the truck and climbed into the driver seat.

" What a shit show." Johnathan grumbled. " Guess it could have been worse. I at least got milk and some toilet paper. But I did need paper towels." Johnathan took a deep breath in and exhaled. " I'll get them tomorrow. It's no big deal."

Johnathan looked out his window and for a moment, felt a bit of his stress fade away as he passed through the beautiful city.

The huge buildings, the greenery, the people running in fear.

" Huh?"

*Boom!

Without noticing, a portal opened up in front of Johnathan and an entire platoon of aliens came swarming out of it carrying laser weapons and riding in vehicles resembling takns.

One of these tanks opened fire and blew Johnathan's truck into smithereens while he wasn't paying attention.

From there, all hell broke lose.

The green skinned aliens opened fire on the general public, blasting them with lasers that literally tore them to pieces, as if they were pieces of thin paper.

The police tried desperately to set up a parameter and keep them from advancing, but all it took was one fire from one of the many tanks to completely decimate the police line, scattering those that survived.

No one was spared. Not men. Not women. And not even children.

However it wasn't long until finally someone came in to save the day. Or at least, planned to.

Soaring straight over the gunfire and placing himself between the civilians and the invasion force, was one of New Yorks latest heroes, and a powerhouse at that. A kid calling himself-

[Title card]

Invincible surveyed the field nervously. This was his first big fight. Never before had he had to deal with something like this. Fighting a guy with a laser for a hand? easy. Dealing with a guy made of stone? Sure. But an alien invasion where hundreds of people were being slaughtered was completely new territory for him.

" Hey! Get away from those-" Invincible tried being tough, but before he could finish his words, a man was blasted from behind with a beam that tore through him and hit Invincible causing him to fall hard on his back.

Invincible got back to his feet and stared at the obscene amount of blood on his hands in a daze. This was definitely more than what he had imagined. But unfortunately, this was the harsher side of being a hero.

Invincible found himself struggling to breath and started panicking as the world around him slowed. He breathed hard and whispered to himself. " Get it together."

The aliens continued forward, with slaughtering the population. It wasn't until one of the aliens pointed his weapon at an older woman that Invincible finally sprang into action.

Invincible rushed forward, grabbing a piece of broken concrete with sharp rebar sticking out of it and threw it, hitting the alien and splitting his face open from his cheek up to his right eye, knocking him down.

Invincible quickly flew over to the older woman and knelt down next to her. " Are you hurt he asked.

The old woman simply groaned in response.

Invincible lifted her up into his arms and protected her from the coming fire, however, those laser beams were beginning to hurt even with his dense skin.

" Brax Moy!" The leading alien in the invasion force, finally picked himself up off the ground and commanded his troops to focus fire on the hero.

However, before they could pin him down, a sudden beam of red energy shot past Invincibles' head and blasted the approaching party away. Killing them all instantly.

" Huh?!" Invincible was taken off guard by the sudden beam. He looked to the cloud of smoke, where the beam had come from and watched as a tall man, with wildly long black hair and a thick black beard crawled out of the rubble, his shirt was slightly torn, and his jeans were ripped. Compared to Invincible, this man was quite large.

" Hey, you gonna just sit there, kid? Or are you gonna do something about all this?" Johnathan asked Invincible.

" I was... I... Uhm...-"

Johnathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. " Oh, for the love of- Kid, just get the woman out of here. And keep your mouth shut up about this. I don't need the damn GDA knowing about this." Johnathan told the young hero.

Invincible looked up at as Johnathan walked past him, still trying to adjust to what he was seeing.

" What are you-"

" GO KID!" Johnathan yelled, out of aggravation, for Invincible to get himself and the old woman out of the way.

" R-Right!" Invincible carefully held the older woman in his arms and exploded into sky all the while ignoring the sound of laser beams as he tried to get to safety. Unfortunately, in the midst of his clumsy flying, Invincible was struck by one of the aliens' stray laser beams and crashed into the road below.

Invincible groaned weakly as he lifted himself up, not realizing what had happened until he looked down at the woman he was carrying and saw how badly she was hurt.

" Oh! OH GEEZ!" Invincible muttered. He was overcome with shock.

To say she was bad would be an understatement. Her arms and legs were twisted in ways they were never meant to. She had multiple open fractures.

" OH SHIT! Oh my God!" Invincible sat in the crater for a moment, growing even more traumatized by the old woman's wounds, not knowing that the alien that he had previously injured was now targeting him with one of their high-powered tanks.

The alien fired the shell, right at Invincible, however, before it hit a strong pink shield of energy was projected in front of the new hero, deflecting the missile away from him.

Invincible watched as a woman dressed in an all-pink leotard, that was cut off at her thighs, pink boots, and a cape landed in front of him.

" I don't know who you are. But it's time to go!" She spoke.

following her, was the arrival of what Invincible perceived to be her teammates.

The team consisted of one man, two females, and a robot. To the eye, they didn't really look spectacular. But as Invincible watched them work, he couldn't help but feel a bit useless compared to them.

In fact, he was so caught up in his own self-pity that he hadn't even noticed the woman lying beside him in pain, or the continuous laser fire being directed at him.

Thankfully, the hero identified as Eve, created a shield to protect them both. She turned back to the new hero, Invincible and shouted at him. " You! Get her to a hospital!"

It took a moment to register, but Invincible quickly realized what she was saying. In a moment he had snatched the old woman into his arms and was once again flying her off the battlefield.

' Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' That's what he thought of himself. His first big invasion. A chance to be like his dad, and he blew it. How was he ever going to live this down, he wondered. How could he ever live up to his father's legacy.

.........

Johnathan watched as the young hero vanished.

' He must be quite new to this.' He thought. He remembered his first fight too. And it was not nice. He was thrown into the deep end and had it not been for the arrival of Captain Dynamo, Savage Dragon, and other heroes, he might not have made it as far as he did. ' People are always so caught up in the glory and spectacle of being the hero, they always fail to see the darker side of things.'

Johnathan looked around as the new team of heroes quickly stepped in and tried fending off the aliens, but even with their abilities they seemed to be losing, and pretty fast.

There was a nagging feeling in Johnathan's heart.

He could stop this. Quite easily actually. That's what his heart told him.

But his mind... His mind told him not to get involved any further. How would these kids learn to deal with these things if he saved them whenever they were on the verge of losing?

Or maybe... Maybe it was because THEY were kids that he wanted to help. The idea of children being heroes was always a sour topic, even more so now. But then again, who was he to judge, especially since he was only sixteen in his first fight. Those memories brought up another question, in his mind.

' Where are the guardians of the globe? Omniman? Surely, they would have been called for something like this.'

Johnathan was certainly confused. But the more he thought about it the more he began to worry. Something was wrong.

' Cecil called earlier today. Maybe, the guardians are out of action? What could put them out of action? There's something going on. Never have I seen them fail to show up for a major incident. Not something like this.' Johnathan needed to make a decision now.

Okay then.

Johnathan prepares himself to unleash a devasting attack on the aliens. He was finally ready to let it all loose.

However, just as his eyes began to glow something changed within the alien's invading forces. They were all... Shriveling?

Within moments, the aliens were starting to age and shrivel, and some of them were even beginning to fall over dead. It was weird. But the sudden change was just what was needed to push them back.

Johnathan watched as the teen heroes quickly composed themselves and launched a major counterattack against the aliens, causing them to quickly retreat back into the portals they came from in a panic.

' What was that?' Johnathan asked himself. ' Why did they leave so suddenly?' He then took a look at some of the bodies, and the machines they were using and noticed how old they had gotten. And it hit him. " They were aging." he muttered.

" Hey! Grampa! What are you doing?"

One of the heroes from the team, the one in orange, ran up to Johnathan.

" Dude, who the hell are you?"

" Forget it. Help the people you can find. I'm going home. I'm too tired for this shit." He grumbled bitterly.

Johnathan stormed off before the young hero could answer his question, easily slipping out sight at speeds no one else could follow. However, as he ran through the street, Johnathan caught a glimpse of a small child, lying amongst the rubble. And for some reason, he stopped.

He stood there for a moment, watching the body and then as motionless as it was before, the young girl suddenly took a sharp breath.

" Damn it, kid." Johnathan groaned and grabbed the young girl. Picking her up into his arms. And in an instant, he exploded into the sky.

........

" Damn it! Can anything go right today? First the guardians and now this. What a shit show." Cecil grumbled.

He was back at the GDA, coordinating cleanup crews for the aftermath of the invasion.

He was just getting ready to leave for the invasion site itself, when the front doors of the GDA opened up with a loud bang.

Johnathan burst into the front doors of the GDA and immediately men with guns appeared out of thin air and drew on him.

Needless to say, Cecil was surprised when he saw who it was that had just come through those doors. Not many people would recognize him, but Cecil... Cecil had been keeping an eye on him.

" Freeze!" One of the guards yelled out.

Cecil watched as Johnathan lowered the kid in his arms and lifted his head.

' Uh ow, glowing eyes.' Cecil noted. That wasn't good. He knew what was coming next. Best not let it get out of hand.

" Hey!" Cecil shouted.

Immediately, the crew and staff looked towards the head of the agency.

" Knock it off, all of you! Don't you know who this is? He's a hero. Astro Force. He was saving lives before some of you finally popped off your moms' tits. Now, stand down. And someone come get this kid and get her checked out immediately, or you're all fired!"

" Yes sir!"

Johnathan, hearing Cecil speak, settled down, at least a little. He didn't much like the idea of him throwing his dead name around like that. But at least it had its merit.

It didn't take long for an attendant and a doctor to take the kid from Johnathan. It was almost immediate.

" Johnathan. Long time no see. Looks like you've had your hands full." Cecil said to the man. He approached Johnathan and held his hand out, but Johnathan just stood there.

" Not too happy with you, Cecil. What the hell was that?" Johnathan asked the man.

" What do you mean?"

" The invasion! Where the hell was the big leagues? The Guardians, Omni man, Savage, Brit. None of the veteran heroes were there. If I hadn't been there, you'd be burying a cape today. That stupid kid in yellow and blue."

" John, if you'd listened to what I was trying to tell you earlier, you'd know. But you effectively blew me off." Cecil told the man.

John relaxed a bit and stood there. " Well, what is it?" John asked the man.

" You might wanna come with me, this is... Private." Cecil stated.

He cut Johnathan a look.

Seeing the intensity in his eyes, Johnathan nodded and followed Cecil into the GDA headquarters.

They walked for quite some time, until finally Johnathan spoke up. " Cecil, we've been walking for some time now. Either tell me what's going on or I'm leaving."

cecil sighed. " I figure it'd be better if I showed you." Cecil told the man. He approached one of the many hospital rooms and placed his hand on the panel, turning on the two-sided glass window and revealing an injured omni-man.

" What the hell? Nolan? Who did this to him? Who can? I only know a handful of men on this planet that can fight either of us. And almost all of them are dead or have been missing for years." Johnathan muttered. He looked back to Cecil with a look of shock on his face.

" Yeah. I know. But that isn't the worst of it."

" Cecil, what aren't you telling me?"

" Sometime last night, someone broke into Guardians HQ and during that period, someone murdered every member of the Guardians of the Globe."

Cecil's words cut deep like a knife.

" That's not possible. Abe, Holly, Josef, Alana, Darkwing, Aquarius, Martian...." It took Johnathan a moment to collect himself.

Many years had passed, but he still had a deep respect, and a deeper love for the guardians. They were friends and even mentors to Space Force.

" Johnathan, now you know why I called you. Captain Dynamo, Supreme, Solar Man, and now the guardians. All of them are either dead or have simply vanished into thin air. You're the only one still around from the old days that has the power to contend with the likes of Omni-Man. The world needs you again. The world needs Astro Force."

Johnathan was so taken by the news that his mind was having trouble processing it all the way, that he hadn't even noticed that there was a young man in the room with Nolan.

" That kid..." Johnathan muttered.

" Markus Sebastian Grayson. He's Nolan's kid. Calls himself, Invincible." Cecil spoke.

" He's nothing like his father. Not yet anyway." Johnathan muttered.

" So, how about it John? Will you suit again?"

Johnathan looked at Cecil and sighed. His breath was sad and filled with regret. " I'm... I'm sorry, Cecil. I can't. I just..." Johnathan closed his eyes as hard as he could and clenched his fists together. " I... I didn't even want to use my powers again. I couldn't... Not after-"

" I understand, John. I do. We all... The world was a better place with Sarah in it."

" I was a better man."

" You're still a good man, John." Cecil rubbed the back of his head. " Look, I'm sorry for asking, You're right. I shouldn't have brought it up. There are more heroes out there, but.... Not all of them were what you guys were. You were all young when you first exploded onto the scene. Despite, the government getting in your way, you guys were pillars for young kids everywhere. You inspired a whole new generation of heroes."

" That's the problem, Cecil. We inspired dumb kids to go out there and get themselves killed. I... I can't live with that. Not anymore." Johnathan muttered.

Johnathan turned on his heel and started to walk away, but not before taking one last glance at Nolan and his family. He had looked up to Omni-man when he was first starting out.

" John. One last thing, before you go." Cecil spoke up.

Johnathan looked back at the man, a tired look on his face.

" What is it, cecil?"

" You should probably think about shaving. If you were out there, I'm certain cameras got a somewhat look at you."

" Yeah."

" And last thing. You need to keep your guard up. Whoever attacked the guardians obviously intended to take out earth's strongest heroes in one move. If anyone is able to id you from the invasion, then I have no doubt, that whoever attacked them, will be coming for you next." Cecil told the man.

" Thank you, Cecil. I'll try to keep that in mind."

" Take care, John."

" You too, Cecil. You too."

Johnathan left the GDA headquarters, there wasn't much of anything left for him there. And it's not like it mattered anyway. He was done being a hero. Now, he just wanted to return to his exile.

But there was something bothering him. Something that he just couldn't let go.

Why is that boy stuck in his mind.

" Invincible?"