Zero Sum

Before the After

Necalli unleashed his unstoppable rage on the felled Cadmael. Out of pure blind hatred. Against all reason, he wanted him dead. All because of the words that were uttered from his despicable mouth. 

"Kyra is dead because of you"

This accusation was more than his mind, which was the only thing holding back his immeasurably rage powered fists, could handle. Of course it was also because Necalli had always believed that himself that the words stung so much. If he had only been a bit stronger back then. If he had had the fortitude to do what needed to be done. Then she would have lived.

Cadmael had appeared back then, appearing as a killing machine. Proving too much for the world, who had just lost its protectors, to handle. As if out of some villain of the week comic book issue, and in a similar fashion there was another team of heroes that appeared and finally stopped him. 

Except these heroes were made up of former criminals. Crimes to the old utopian way of life anyways. Before in a time when the protectors had a vice grip on policing the Earth. Protectors acting as judge, jury, and executioners as they saw fit. 

So their real crime was opposing tyrants. Now with the tyrants deposed, their crimes mean salvation for the protectorate. And they rallied, instead of fighting each other, fighting a common enemy as a new team of protectors.

Necalli, the wrathful frontline heavyweight. Aahdan, the atomic flame slinging conscience of the group. Bethany, the alien succubus whose telepathic commands seduced not only men but the physical laws themselves. Chimsirimchia, the shapeshifting synthoid responsible for freeing the first human earthlings from their alien laboratory. Chiyoko, the kidnapped warrior from the past who mastered alien martial arts, and then returned to liberate her own oppressed people. GNU9, an AI which developed a robotic interface capable of becoming any machine imaginable, after being abandoned by its original owners. Vector, the shadow assassin with a blade for hire, a weapon for every occasion, and the field leader of the group. And the super suited up Kary, wearing her twin sister Kyra's genetically tagged weaponized photon body suit, made of a fabric weaved from fibers so thin they pass between atoms and rearrange them into consturcts. 

Now he needed to do what was necessary and end this monster. In order to give Kyria's sacrifice meaning.

As Necalli brought his fist down, Vector, who had the ability to sense about ten seconds into the future, sprang trying to stop his comrade. But to no avail. 

Cadmael lay sprawled on the ground, grinning arrogantly as he was being smashed down at the molecular level. Before he was disintegrated though he issued another utterance that gave pause again to Necalli.

"You have no idea how grateful you're making me."

Necalli did not understand. He actually did not care. In a moment all the rage, which had pushed him to train his powers to the pinnacle of nigh invulnerability, was going to finally pay him dividends. 

As he delivered the final blow, he was shown something. By a flash that gripped him by the neurons. He started to understand now. As Cadmael was being disintegrated he was being flung with enough power that shot him past the speed of light. But instead of becoming the universe's fastest carcass, he kept himself together just long enough, to reach escape velocity.

What Necalli had not known, was that he was hitting so hard that he smashed through time itself. Delivering Cadmael through a one way trip into the not too distant past. 

Had it been any other enemy this might not have been so. But Cadmael was so stubborn and vengeful himself to be able to accept his own defeat. 

That was why Cadmael had appeared so suddenly, Necalli finally realized.

But it also meant something else, Cadmael would never have appeared back in the past if it had not been for Necalli, who powered up to unheard of levels of strength, all for the purpose of defeating an enemy of his own creation. The paradox was dizzying.

"So now you understand all." Cadmael said as if in response to the sallow look on Necalli's face. "You are hitting me back in time, I am going to murder that girlfriend of yours again, and really savor it this time." Cadmael's eyes narrowed, "This is what happens when you piss me off. I do not do losing."