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**Chapter 11: From On High

Reprieve**

"Flame Runner!?" Jason exclaimed.

"Surprise!" Mr. Laurence laughed.

Lightning lashed out from behind Flame Runner, striking the shuttle and instantly igniting the fuel cells. Jason was hurled forward from the explosion, crashing right at Flame Runner's feet.

WHAM!

He saw stars and was partially aware of a dull throbbing across his muzzle.

"Get Riley!" he heard someone shout. It sounded like Rex Cumulus.

What are they doing here!?

Wait a second...

They said...

Jason shook away the pain and dizziness. "Kevin!"

Too late.

He saw Flame Runner suddenly become engulfed in flames and surged forward, sweeping up an unconscious Kevin from the ground and bolting straight for the centre of Reprieve. As Jason traced the flaming lunatic's path, he saw the state of the Justice Guard's base of operations.

Those silver towers lay shattered and broken, smoke billowing out from their remains and mixing with the dark storm clouds that were cumulating over the mini-city. The glass dome that contained the city held firm but there appeared to be countless scorch marks across its surface. What had once been a magnificent garden to welcome newcomers to Reprieve was ablaze with roaring flames.

Who could've done this...?

Then his attention snapped back to his companions.

"Connor! Dad! Robin!"

All three emerged from the wreckage of the shuttle. No mere explosion could keep down supers for long. However, the civilians who acted as Kevin's retinue weren't so lucky. Countless news crews were who had arrived earlier lay scattered across the enormous landing pad. None of them were moving.

"Goddamnit..." Dan swore. "They were waiting for us..."

"They took Kevin!" Jason exclaimed. "We have to go after them!"

"Do you have Genesis?" Robin replied critically.

No... No he did not.

Someone tapped his shoulder and he spun around, ready to punch whoever it was.

It was R3 in his disguised form, that stately man with the black hair and sunglasses dressed in a black suit.

The Writer of Reality held Genesis in his hands.

"You tend to be very forgetful when you're in a rush," R3 said, handing him Genesis.

The instant Jason's fingers wrapped around the blade, his clothing dissolved into the blue-white stars and feathers to be replaced with his combat attire including his visor to hide his identity.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

R3 pointed towards one of the other shuttles that had landed and now lay in ruins. It was a shuttle dedicated to news crews and it still had some active, live televisions on it. A frighteningly familiar image appeared on the screen.

The image of a jet-black lion with a shadowy figure and with blood-red eyes.

Bane Bloodbath.

A Malefactor.

"No..."

"Greetings people of Enria," the Malefactor said, grinning from ear to ear and showing terrible, white, blood-stained teeth. "I am Bane Bloodbath... Hrmmm, yes. I have destroyed your once-precious icon of power and peace... Hrmm...Reprieve... Hrmmm..."

The scene cut away from Bane's grinning face to pan across the destroyed structure of Reprieve.

"Your 'superheroes' have fallen... hrrmm..."

The streets and hallways of Reprieve were shown next. Countless superheroes lay across the metal walls or the streets either unconscious or dreadfully still in their own pools of blood. A large number of them were still conscious but they were so heavily injured that they limped and staggered, the weakest they had been even when facing their arch nemeses.

"And now.... Hrmmm... Enria will fall."

All screens flicked instantly back to Bane. The Malefactor stepped aside revealing the central chamber that was the heart of Reprieve.

Jason had always imagined Negative X would be some majestic, powerful figure that was the epitome of what it meant to be a 'superhero'. But the creature suspended in light-blue fluid was just a frail, apparently malnourished man barely kept alive by tubes, breathing apparatuses and wires. The human had no hair on him and his eyes were completely milky white. Whether he was even conscious was debatable.

That's Negative X...?

"With this," Bane announced triumphantly, raising what appeared to be a machete made of pure shadow towards Negative X, "I will bring the descent of Enria! Reprieve will fall upon New Hope City, crushing the two symbols of this withering planet into oblivion!"

"No!" Jason cried.

Bane lashed out with the dark machete, a crescent-shaped blade of shadow lashing out and slicing cleanly through the glass and the supporting mechanisms that held up Negative X. The entire tube shattered as the bluish liquid spilled out to the ground.

All of Reprieve shuddered.

"Negative X can probably survive ten to twenty minutes without the life support!" Dan shouted, tearing Jason's gaze away from the screen. "We've got to get him back on the systems before it's too late!"

"Bane destroyed the systems!" Robin protested. R3 tossed her the white sniper rifle that became her trademark and her mask.

"There's a backup! There's always a backup!"

Twenty minutes... Jason thought grimly. Twenty minutes to save Kevin, save Negative X and save the world...

But he couldn't help but wonder...

... Why would they want Kevin...?

His feet started taking him down towards the city, Dan taking the lead since he knew the way having been on Reprieve before. As he ran with Connor and Robin beside him, he considered that it made sense for Bane to be working with Flame Runner. Laurence has come in direct contact with Bane and H2 had specifically told Jason that was how Malefactors operated. Just a single touch and a person would have their very souls corrupted into the same ideals as the Malefactors.

But why would they need Kevin...?

Those thoughts were pushed aside as they left the burning garden and entered the outskirts of the city. He had envisioned walking into these streets one day maybe not as a superhero but just as a man deserving to be see the seat of power for all superheroes. Maybe as a lawyer as his father had been. Even in his blind hatred of superheroes, he had wanted to see the magnificent architecture of the almost alien landscape.

A city encased in a glass dome floating in the middle of space with Enria just in sight.

The beautiful, blue and green planet cast and warming glow through the glass even in the roaring fires and destruction of Reprieve.

He understood why those living here could fight so hard to protect the world that often shunned or hated them.

They cut through several alleyways, seeing countless wounded and weeping heroes along the way. Seeing them so weak in the wake of disaster made Jason realise that Kevin had been right. These people weren't any different from those on Enria right now. They were all mortal. They weren't immortal or invulnerable.

Just like any other Enrian, they cried, they bled and they hurt.

And they need our help...

Fifteen minutes until Negative X died.

The central tower, the tallest building in all of Reprieve loomed over them.

A single figure blocked their passage into the tower itself.

Warhorse.

But there was something off...

The pained grimace on his face... and the red-blood eyes...

"R - R - Run..." Warhorse stammered.

"Lance," Dan demanded. "What's going on? How'd they get the drop on you?"

"It was easy," a deep voice replied from within Warhorse's throat. It wasn't the equine's voice. It was a voice that Jason had heard once before and had struck fear both into his and Connor's heart.

It was the voice of Titanitus.

"I just took over the body of this weak-minded fool and arrived on Reprieve just like everyone else. They were all too trusting."

Warhorse suddenly clutched the sides of his head and cried out in pain. Jason went to aid but Connor and Robin both held him back. The super-powered equine fell to his knees as blood poured out of his mouth in a gruesome torrent. The blood reformed itself in front of them into the terrifying shape of Titanitus.

Warhorse collapsed behind the supervillain.

"Heroes are weak. The smallest seed of doubt and they are paralysed beyond all salvation. Threaten their loved ones and they will are putty in your hands. They will bend to your demands. Do as you say and even sacrifice themselves to see the ones they care for alive."

Jason's mind suddenly leapt into action.

"Wait a second..." Pessimist began. "He wants Connor's body..."

"And Connor loves you... He said so himself..." Optimist began.

"Jason!" Horndog cried. "RUN!"

Pain erupted from all over Jason's body and he doubled over in agony, dropping Genesis. Blood seemed to be threatening to break through each of his veins, urging them to pop and burst. He could barely cry out in agony, so much was the pain.

"Jason!" Connor cried.

WHAM!

WHOOSH!

Jason vaguely registered Dan being thrown away by a charging, flaming man and Robin being swept up in a titanic gale that sent her over several buildings. Connor's hands rested on his back, trying to support him with what strength he could offer.

"Leave him alone!" Connor roared.

"Give me your body, Connor," Titanitus answered. "Join with me and I will release him."

"Why do you want my body!? You're practically invulnerable as you are!"

"That is true," Titanitus answered with a degree of sadness in his voice. "In this form, nothing can harm me but your mate's enchanted weapon. Even the most destructive fire or the freezing kiss of a blizzard could ever hope to fully extinguish my life."

"But I am not ALIVE!"

There was a temporary release in the pain and Jason gasped.

Then it returned and he roared in agony, curling up on the ground and feeling like a child being punished by the gods.

"I cannot feel, Connor. I cannot touch. I do not eat! I cannot savour the taste of cooked meat, I cannot feel the warm embrace of another and I cannot smell the scent of fresh flowers in the spring! But with your body, I can do all that and more..."

"Why not take someone else's then!?" Connor demanded, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Why am I so important!?"

"Because of power, Connor. If I fully fuse with another person, the molecules that give me power will rearrange themselves to the DNA of the creature I bond myself to. I will not possess the powers I do now. While the genes may have been diluted from the generation gap between you and I, I know that should I fuse with you, I will retain much of my former powers.

"And do not bother suggesting your father either. He may have carried the superhero gene but he could not manifest it. You have an active gene. You are the only one compatible with my powers!"

Connor growled and Jason saw his mate's body start to gain muscle beneath that baggy clothing.

Go Connor... fight... I don't want to lose you...

"Fight him, Connor!" Jason shouted through the agony. "Forget about me! Fight - AH!"

The pain increased. The blood in his muscles felt like it had been replaced with red hot, liquid iron.

"Jason!"

"Submit to me, Connor!" Titanitus demanded. "Submit to me or I will kill your mate!"

Jason exchanged glances with Connor...

They both knew the answer they'd give.

"Over my dead body!" Connor roared.

****

"With this, I will bring the descent of Enria! Reprieve will fall upon New Hope City, crushing the two symbols of this withering planet into oblivion!"

Everyone around Brett screamed as Bane destroyed the tank containing Negative X. They all knew what that meant.

Reprieve was going to start falling.

The Rottweiler stood numbly as panic ensued around him.

All he could think of was, 'Jason is up there'. Standing back at the town hall, he along with what seemed like millions of people had watched the multiple screens arrayed around the hall suddenly switch to the face of a black lion. He had seen the devastation on Reprieve. Seen the fires, seen the ruined silver city and the near-dead superheroes.

It seemed impossible that they could all have been defeated so easily.

BANG!

He flung around.

Soldiers dressed in black were charging through the town hall, guns lifted and firing wildly into the crowd. People were dying left, right and centre. The big 'R' indicating they were troops working for the Rileys were planted on their chests.

Brett wasn't sure what was happening.

Then he recalled...

Albert Denton, Kevin Riley's advisor, hadn't been at the welcoming speech yesterday.

While Kevin made the decisions, it was Albert Denton who made sure those decisions were executed.

... and most of all...

Albert Denton was a lion.

One of the soldiers saw him and lifted his gun -

Brett tried to move but felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car.

He was completely paralysed.

Ssssshing!

The soldier's gun dropped in two pieces onto the ground. Beside the man stood a dignified, young man no older than fourteen in appearance with jet-black hair, a pair of cool, silver, wraparound sunglasses and dressed in a black suit. In one hand, he held a thick, jet-black blade with a surface that looked like it was made of water and in the other, he had a pure, white blade with a golden pommel shaped like a star. A chain was attached to the pommels of both weapons, the black one possessing a black feather and the white one a white feather.

"Who -?" the soldier began.

The teenager swung around with lightning speed, slicing right through the soldier. Brett choked back in horror, expecting the soldier to fall apart in two pieces just like his gun. Instead, the armoured man erupted into a burst of brilliant, glowing blue feathers similar to the effect of Jason's sword, Genesis.

The remaining soldiers instantly took notice of the mysterious swordsman and turned their guns, pulling their triggers, showering the teenager with bullets. Even faster than his earlier move, the teenager spun rapidly around, swinging the blades in a mesmerising dance that deflected every bullet that came his way.

Brett just stood there in utter awe bullet swung by, wrapped in an eerie, blue light. When they hit a soldier in black, that soldier would erupt into a shower of those blue feathers.

"Who is this guy!?" one of the soldiers exclaimed, ducking behind one of the pillars in the town hall's atrium.

"All the supers are meant to be contained!"

"Maybe this one got away!"

The teenager adjusted the sunglasses on his face slightly.

A white door made completely out of an odd, stone-like material appeared behind him and swung open. The boy jumped backwards into it and the door shut, vanishing instantly in a flash of light. Before any of the soldiers could ask what had happened, a similar door appeared behind them and the teenager came jumping out, hacking at them deftly.

"Shit! He can teleport!"

"Call the boss! We've got a situation here!"

The boy suddenly flung his white sword in the air. The blade shattered into ten different shards that flung around the atrium of their own accord, sweeping in every direction and slicing through the remaining soldiers with ease. Brett ducked as one such blade swung overhead and cut through the soldier behind him with a soft whistling sound.

The mysterious super lifted his right hand into the air and the white sword reassembled itself there. He turned to Brett and stepped closer.

Brett staggered back.

"Brett Sykes?" the boy asked.

"Um...?"

"I am Jacob Reaper otherwise known as R3 the Writer of Reality."

Brett froze. He had met R3 once before at Homecoming and the No One - apparently the most powerful - barely spoke to him. He remembered R3 being dressed in white and gold armour draped in a cloak of stars with features hidden behind a helm.

Was this...?

"No," R3 said. "This is not how I truly look. This is my Avatar on this world. Come" - R3 gestured they leave - "we have to get to the Force Cannon."

"Th - The Force Cannon?" Brett stammered.

"Reprieve is falling to Enria. The Force Cannon is the only weapon that can ease its descent."

Gunfire sounded in the street and Brett instantly felt fear grip his heart.

"Can't you do it? I'm no super. I don't have any powers!"

Jacob - R3 - turned his head over his shoulder towards Brett. "You don't need superpowers to be special."

Brett really wasn't sure why but those words uplifted him and he swiped an assault rifle from the ground, readying it.

"Are you sure you can use one of those?"

He nodded with a grim grin. "I've played enough video games to know."

Jacob chuckled, turning towards the atrium doors as more soldiers came pouring in. "And your government wanted to ban violet video games." He spun those two swords expertly in his hands, the blades whirling in the air and clashing together, spraying sparks in the direction of the charging soldiers. "Zenith... Nadir... Horizon awaits."

****

WHAM!

Robin slammed hard into what felt like a bed of nails. She screamed and arched her back away from the agonising shards that bit deep into her flesh.

Shuddering from the pain, she fought away the tears and tried to focus.

Rex Cumulus' face instantly came into view.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again, dear," the weather-controlling supervillain chortled. "Let us pick up where we left off. I believe I was about to blow you away!"

A gale like nothing nature could muster kicked up and threw Robin high into the air. Her screams were drowned in the roar of thunder and wailing of the winds. Rex Cumulus swooped in towards her, riding his disc of clouds.

"Try to scream, girl," he laughed. "I hate silent deaths."

He threw a punch at her, striking her abdomen. Not only the physical pain from the impact hit her but thousands of volts of electricity shocked her system as a follow-up bolt of lightning struck her from above. For a second, she thought her brain had actually melted as her eyes fluttered and her limbs jerked randomly.

Rex Cumulus laughed and the winds suddenly threw her back down into the -

WHAM!

... ground.

Robin was more angry at herself than at Rex Cumulus. Here she was, a skilled warrior who had not only trained as a superhero but trained under a No One and she was down on her back within two seconds of the battle's onset. Worse, the only two friends she had ever made - yes, even Jason was a friend - were now back down on the streets facing one of the most powerful supervillains on Enria!

She was stronger than this!

But... what could she do against Rex Cumulus?

He had been right when facing her before.

Her illusions were nothing if he hit everywhere at once.

Thwack!

Her breath escaped forcefully through her lips as Rex Cumulus delivered another punch into her abdomen. It wasn't lightning-charged this time but it still hurt like hell.

"Usually, I don't like torturing women," Rex Cumulus said. "Of course, this is no exception. I will make it quick but still very painful."

Robin grew desperate. She focused all her strength, trying to drive his attention away from her.

Nothing.

His eyes were still planted straight onto her face as his hands gathered lightning.

Dan had been right... She could alter the direction of people's attention but she couldn't alter the content of their attention. She could cast an illusion but would that be enough?

The lightning began intensifying, small whips lashing out and striking her face, breathing the icy facade. Tears began running down her face.

"Aw, don't cry girl," Rex Cumulus laughed. "Soon, it will all be over. Your petty illusions could never hope to combat someone who controls the weather."

Robin's eyes snapped open.

That was it!

Rex Cumulus controlled the weather not the elements of weather.

So if...

She looked around feverishly...

Yes!

Slowly, with her right hand, she groped for the small, sharp, metal pipe resting beside her probably part of some internal sewerage for the building they had crashed in. She focused her power, attracting all of Rex Cumulus' attention solely on her face and not on her hand.

It worked.

He never took his eyes off her.

Which was his downfall.

"Die!" he roared in triumph, thrusting his hands forward.

At that instant, Robin lashed out, jabbing the pipe in her hand straight into Rex Cumulus' leg. The lightning that cascaded from the storm clouds above them jerked straight towards the metal pipe. Rex Cumulus' eyes went horribly wide as his entire body jerked and twisted in every which way.

Robin dove away, unwilling to see the supervillain fried by his own powers.

The screams died out shortly and she staggered to her feet, feeling so weak.

A cough caught her attention and she glanced over to the charred image of Rex Cumulus. It horrified her that he was still alive. Something white caught her attention just in the periphery of her vision and she picked up the sniper rifle Dan had given her.

Rex Cumulus lay on his back, his skin charred black but his eyes were still wide in anger and hatred.

"How..." he croaked. "I defeated countless others... In one swoop, I took down more than half the Justice Guard... How did a girl like you defeat me!?"

Robin thought about that... and lifted her gun towards Rex Cumulus, levelling it right between his yes.

"You just were not paying attention."

BANG!

****

Thud!

Dan had been through a lot worse than being thrown around like a ragdoll by a flaming lunatic that used to be his son's teacher. Hell, when he was running around with Jacob - R3 - when they first met, he had almost died multiple times and he wasn't a No One then. But this time, there was a lot at stake.

If he died here and now, he would never get to be with his son again.

He didn't want his time with Jason to end so soon.

Flame Runner stood grinning a few yards from him, red hot flames covering every inch of his body except for his eyes. Dan slowly prised himself from the small crater his impact had created and grunted.

"You know, I never liked you, Laurence," he growled, baring his fangs.

"I never liked you either, Wolfe."

WHAM!

Dan gasped as Laurance's fist slammed into his left cheek, a burning sensation from more than just the impact striking his senses. He crashed to the ground but the instant his palms struck the concrete, he summoned his ability to alter the shape and composition of all matter. A large, steel spike shot out from the ground, singing out past his shoulder and straight at Laurence's face.

Flame Runner bolted away, circling Dan with the flames growing.

Dan remembered this move.

The flames would reach unbearable levels and slowly consume all the oxygen within the small dome. If the heat didn't kill him, the lack of air would.

But this time, he had a strategy.

He slammed his fists into the ground, the concrete crawling up his arms and coating his entire body. With a deafening roar, he charged straight into the growling dome of flame -

WHACK!

"You think it's that easy, Wolfe!?" Laurence laughed as Dan slammed back into the ground, the concrete covering his body crumbling around him.

The heat was rising and the dome had completed itself. A faint roaring from the flames movements reached his ears. He had maybe five minutes before he either ran out of oxygen or the flames burned him to a crisp.

To his horror, the dome began shrinking.

He had to think fast!

He wasn't going to lose Jason! Not again!

Dan shoved both hands into the ground. Spikes shot up around him, stalling the dome's advance. But the flames continued to rage and he was starting to feel short of breath. His vision was blurring from the heat and sweat was dripping from every part of him.

"What's the matter!?" Flame Runner laughed. "Can't grab anything!? I know your powers, Materialist! You can only transform things you touch but you can't touch flames, can you!? Ha!"

An idea sparked in Dan's head.

He couldn't touch flames but...

Grunting, he coated his arms in concrete once more and charged towards the dome of fire.

WHACK!

He hit the ground again, his chest hurting from the impact.

"Didn't you learn from last time!? You're going to die here! Crispy wolf! Crispy wolf!"

Gnashing his teeth together, Dan made another bid for the dome of fire -

WHACK! WHACK!

He got hit twice this time, both on the chest.

But he didn't stagger back.

Dan lashed out with his concrete-covered arms and seized something solid. The dome around him didn't dissipate as Flame Runner continued his control but Laurence had stopped circling. Dan held him by the throat.

"So it's going to be either you suffocate me or I suffocate you, eh?" Flame Runner laughed, the flames around his body increasing in heat. "Can you stand the heat!?"

"Don't have to," Dan growled. "And you were right, I can't touch fire. But you aren't made of fire."

Laurence's eyes went terribly wide as his entire body started to go rigid. The flames around his neck began to dissipate as flesh was quickly replaced with stone. Before he could even scream, his entire neck had completely turned to stone. Barely conscious, Laurence began lashing out with his legs and arms, striking Dan with the flaming limbs.

Dan held on grimly. He could feel the oxygen rapidly being consumed around him and he held his breath. Laurence's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his last breaths were consumed by solid stone.

Flame Runner's body grew unnaturally hot -

Dan remembered Laurence had the ability to overload himself...

BOOOM!

****

Jason watched helplessly - trapped in agony - as Connor threw his titanic fists at his blood-based counterpart. Titanitus merely absorbed the hits but didn't counter, allowed Connor to exhaust himself.

I've... I've got to...

He tried to move but Titanitus seemed to sense his actions and increased the pain. His cry temporarily distracted Connor, giving the blood tiger a chance to strike.

Titanitus thrust his palms forward, unleashing torrent of blood that knocked Raging Tiger to the ground.

"In your current form, it is impossible for me to take your body for myself," Titanitus said ominously. "But as before, there is a way to revert you to your original form. I will not be distracted this time."

Connor's eyes bulged as his back arched, a cry of mixed agony and pleasure escaping his lips. Jason gawked as Connor's dick began pushing past the ripped shreds of what had been some pretty expensive slacks.

No! He's going to make him cum!

Ordinarily, Jason wouldn't thought that was pretty hot but this was not the time!

He looked around desperately for some way to stop Connor's grandfather.

Genesis lay just outside of arm's reach.

If I can just...

"AAAAAAH!"

His eyes went back to Connor as the big tiger's cock ripped right through his pants and underwear, bulging forward even bigger than Jason, Dan and Brett's combined. It was a huge, throbbing, pink monster bigger than Jason's arm. For a second, Jason remembered coddling that dick and jacking Connor off in that sexy, muscular form.

He promised himself that he would get to do that again.

Jason reached for Genesis, fighting the overwhelming pain that felt like every nerve in his body was on fire.

Just six inches...

"Stop resisting," Titanitus growled ominously.

Five inches...

"JAAAASON!" Connor cried, as his cock grew into impossible lengths and thickness, rising up to the massive nine-foot tiger's jaw and consuming almost half his chest size. Huge amounts of pre-cum began dripping from the monster, coating Connor's chest and filling the streets with the tiger's musky-peppery scent.

Four inches...

Jason wasn't going to lose Connor.

Not now.

Not when they had been through so much!

Not when their 'happily ever after' was so close!

Three inches...

"AH-AH-AH-AH!"

Jason knew that sound. It was the sound Connor made when he was really close.

Two...

Titanitus' black eyes widened in anticipation. "Soon..."

One...

"NO! JAAAASON!"

Connor unleashed a titanic roar that shook all of Reprieve as his cock exploded into a waterfall of white, sticky cum. His entire body shuddered and twitched as his muscle mass began to shrink, like all his muscle and strength was tied closely to the cum that was escaping him. A huge, deep pool of semen gathered around Connor as his body returned to its original, handsome, athletic form. His cock was the last to subside, shrinking back to its eight inch length with the last drops of semen.

Titanitus loomed over his grandson. "Now, Connor... It is time you embraced your destiny..."

Jason seized Genesis.

Gotcha!

But he was still in agonising pain!

He got his weapon but he could barely move!

No! I've got to -

Titanitus bent over to Connor, the latter tiger breathing heavily and trying to pull his head as far away from his grandfather as possible. The blood tiger leaned in close as if to kiss him.

Connor...!

No!

The bloody feline's lips pulled open and tentacles of blood began crawling from deep in his throat, reaching forward and slithering towards Connor's face.

I WON'T LET YOU!

Jason felt a power like no other flood him as he surged to his feet, gripped Genesis tightly - switching it into its three-bladed shuriken form - and threw the weapon straight at Titanitus. The blood tiger jerked away in time to dodge the weapon, collapsing into a puddle of blood and slinking away before reforming a short distance away.

Seizing Genesis on its return flight, Jason stormed through Connor's ocean of cum and stood over his boyfriend - his mate - defensively.

"I won't let you take him!" he roared.

"Child, your love is meaningless," Titanitus snarled. "In the face of power, love is nothing! Power overwrites all else in existence!"

Jason felt wetness on his cheek.

Was he crying?

Then he tasted iron.

He wiped his cheeks with his sleeve and saw his own blood there.

Weakness began overtaking him.

Oh no... He's making me bleed to death!

Jason gripped Genesis tighter and tried to take a step forward but his knees gave out from underneath him and he fell, barely managing to catch himself into a crouch. A shadow crossed over him and he glanced up.

Titanitus was looming there.

"Try as you might, child," the blood tiger rumbled, "but no bond forged by love can ever withstand the sheer might of power. Now die..."

Titanitus lifted a hand towards him...

... and Jason felt like every vein in his body burst -

Smack!

The pain instantly subsided and Titanitus staggered.

"Connor!?" Jason exclaimed.

His mate had his lips firmly planted around his grandfather's, holding them both tightly together.

What's he -?

It hit him.

"NO!"

Titanitus instantly pounced on the opportunity, his entire form flooding straight down Connor's mouth and causing the athletic tiger's body to jerk uncontrollably.

"Connor! NO!"

Connor staggered, bent forward and made choking sounds.

"J - J - Jason..."

Is he...?

Suddenly, Connor straightened and spun to face him, a terrible, alien grin on his face and those heart-warming emerald eyes gone, replaced by jet-black orbs.

"At last..." Titanitus chortled.

No... Connor... He....

Suddenly, Titanitus jerked back and gave a cry of pain, clutching his temples.

"What!? Still you resist!? Connor! Stop this!"

The disembodied voice transformed back into Connor's and the tiger's right eye switched back to those dazzling emeralds.

"Jason!" Connor shouted. "Kill me!"

He couldn't believe his ears. "What?"

"It's the only way! He has a body now! He's vulnerable!"

Titanitus seized control again but Connor was still fighting back. Two souls in the one body fighting for control. Connor was jerking right and left like two invisible forces were trying to play tug-of-war with his arms.

"No! If you kill me, Jason, you kill Connor too!"

"There has to be another way!" Jason pleaded, rising to his feet with Genesis in hand. "I can still save you!"

"Jason! Reprieve is going to fall! Thousands of people will be killed! You don't have the time to - AH!"

"You love him, don't you!? You cannot kill the one you love!"

"Please, Jason!" Connor pleaded. "You have to save the world!"

Jason stood numbly. "But you are my world..." he whispered.

"You know it has to be done," Optimist said grimly. "Connor is giving you this window of opportunity. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain."

"You know you couldn't have faced off against Titanitus without this handicap," Pessimist added. "You only beat him last time because you caught him off guard. This is it, Jason... For Connor."

Standing there, watching Connor struggle and listening to his conscience, Jason was stuck... He didn't know what the right thing to do was... Connor, his Connor, was barely keeping Titanitus at bay... With Reprieve about to come crashing down on New Hope City, the world would be thrown into anarchy. A large number of superheroes were on the space station and if it was destroyed along with the United Governing Bodies building at New Hope City...

... the world would fall into chaos.

...but what world was there without Connor...?

He recalled the first time they met... How they had both met at orientation as freshmen. Connor had asked him what time it was... Now that he thought about it, that was probably the most clichéd pick-up line in the world...

... then the way Connor had stuck by him even as he raged on about his father's return... Followed by the first time they came together as one. He would never forget when Connor moved in with them and had to remember to thank Robin next time he saw her.

Their first threesome with Dan...

Their 'Dining Table Disaster' with the Blue Wolf...

Their fight... and eventually Homecoming...

They year they had spent together...

He would never forget them.

"Jason," Horndog said softly. "Stick your sword in him one last time."

"I love you, Connor."

****

Robin jumped down onto the ground and gasped as she sprained her ankle. Ignoring the pain, she staggered out of the alleyway back into the front of the central tower.

Her eyes went wide.

"No..."

****

"Stupid exploding pyromaniac," Dan cursed, dragging his limp, left foot across the ground while clutching his badly burned right arm.

He rounded the corner...

... and froze.

"... Connor..."

****

Brett froze... and glanced upwards.

R3 stopped as well.

They were surrounded by about twenty of the Riley soldiers all with their assault rifled levelled.

"Something bad just happened," he murmured.

****

Jason felt a wetness on his cheek and this time, it wasn't his own blood.

Connor lay beneath him, smiling contently and with tears running down his cheek and being absorbed into that fluffy, orange, striped fur. His eyes were his again.

Those heart-melting, emerald eyes...

"Thanks, Jase..." he croaked.

Jason didn't want to look.

He knew Genesis was embedded right into his mate's chest and, bit by bit, Connor's body was dissolving into a shower of angelic, blue-white stars and feathers that drifted into the air and vanished. It was like the death of an angel.

His angel...

He was speechless...

What could he say?

With the last ounces of his strength, Connor reached around his neck and pulled the dog tags from his neck with his right hand. He pressed the cold metal against Jason's cheeks, that smile on his face so serene and warming.

"Move on, okay?" he asked weakly. "For me.... I want you to be happy. I'm just sorry... I couldn't give you 'forever'."

"You did," Jason laughed through his tears, wrapping his hand around Connor's. "You're be with me... forever."

Connor laughed as the lower half of his body dissipated into the shower of feathers and stars. "Stupid soap operas... They've corrupted you..."

"Nah... That was you."

Jason bent over and shared his last kiss with his mate... with Connor. His tears ran down his muzzle and slipped down Connor's, merging as one. He felt Connor's torso vanish and he pulled away to take one last look at his mate.

"I love you, Jason."

He could barely find the strength to reply.

"I - I - I love you too, Connor."

With that, in a flurry of blue-white stars and iridescent feathers...

... the Raging Tiger...

... Connor Stark...

...

... died.