The Boys: Season 1 - Harbinger Rising

Chapter 12: Darkbloom

I teleport to the abandoned hospital where Thomas was possibly hiding, chances are he'll be hostile at first and may attack me, if that's the case I need to be ready to defend myself if need be. I enter the building through the front and walk the halls, it was eerily quiet with only my footsteps being the actual noise I could hear. The atmosphere this place was producing was enough to give a normal person goosebumps just from being here.

The building wasn't difficult to navigate as I make my way to the center, I could hear the whispers of past lives that now haunt this place, patients and doctors alike, all mingling here, unable to move on. I see blue light as I near the center of the hospital and enter the shadows to hide in plain sight and enter the central room, I observe Thomas sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with his head in his hands as blue flames surround him, I use my enhanced hearing to eavesdrop.

"Leave me alone demon, I have had enough of your games." I hear Thomas say, clearly, he was talking to someone who isn't human, could this demon be responsible for why such a dark atmosphere surrounds Thomas?

He suddenly lifts his head in surprise. "What?!" He quickly stands up and fires a fireball at where I was located, he continues to launch a barrage at me as I wisp around the room in the shadows, dodging all of his attacks. "I know you are there! Show yourself!" Thomas orders as blue flames cover his arms.

I make my presence known and step out of the shadows. The flames intensify as Thomas looks at me with hostility. "Who are you?! And how did you find me?!" He demands.

"My allies and adversaries call me Harbinger. And I've been looking for you . . . Thomas." I answer.

"How do you know my name?! Never mind! Leave me be!" He says.

"I can't do that." I say.

"Then burn!!!" Thomas fires a large fireball at me and I block it with a summoned shield. The flame-covered Super charges me as he summons a fiery blue blade, I respond by summoning a longsword and kite shield and stand my ground.

Thomas lets out a battle cry and tries to shoulder bash me, only for me to use his strength against him and flip him over with my shield. "Stop this Thomas, I did not come to fight you." I implore.

Thomas doesn't listen and launches a barrage of attacks with his blade, I block and parry them with my sword and shield, as we battle I try to get him to listen, but my words fall on deaf ears.

"Enough!!!" I yell out before unleashing a dark tide of smoke upon Thomas before using a tendril to pull him toward me and throw him to the wall. The impact was enough to get him to stop and hopefully listen to what I had to say.

"What do you want?" He asks hesitantly with hostility in his voice.

"I came here to ask of you to join us, the public and our enemies know me as Harbinger." I remove my mask and hood. "But my friends know me as Gerald."

Thomas looks at me with surprise and ceases hostility. "You, you were at the bar. How can this be?"

"I was given these powers as a gift by a child of the Angel of Death, I am the instrument of fear, one with the ability to use my enemies' fears against them." I explain.

"You speak as if you earned it." He says standing up.

"I don't know why I was gifted these powers, but I know I was chosen for a reason, one way or another, I have a duty, one I wish to extend to you." I offer my hand in friendship, Thomas hesitates.

"Why me of all people? I attacked you without hesitation, and yet you still want me by your side. What's it for you to gain?" He questions.

"A powerful ally against the Syndicate." I answer once more.

"So there are supers doing something about those guys, you've got guts . . . for someone wearing nothing that looks like a costume."

"Then I ask you, Thomas, will you join me and the Forgotten and fight the Black Angels?" I ask him.

Thomas ponders as he looks around the hospital that served as his hideout, he then looks at me with eyes of determination while hiding something I won't question him about for now.

"I'll join you Gerald, or should I call you . . . Harbinger." We shake hands to put our fight behind us and now fight side by side. "My name, only you, your members . . .and a certain other and annoying figure know my name, but out there, call me . . . Darkbloom."

"Strange choice in name for one of your abilities." I say to Thomas.

"If I ever tell you my story, you'll know why. Now let's get out of here, the voices in this damn building are giving me a headache."

I teleport us back to the safe house where the others welcome him to our faction as one of us. Thomas was renewed with a newfound purpose, knowing he won't be alone and that he'll have people to have his back and him theirs. Now came the time to build our faction and our safe house, we were going to show the Syndicate our faction would soon have the manpower and willpower to take out their most prosperous operation: The Market.