Protectors- Wrath of The Stranger

Chapter One: Wrath of The Stranger

Noctum rose from his slumber, fully aware, and fully afraid of the fact that his powers had left him. His body stunk of blood and sweat, and he was aware that his friends were wary, surrounding his body. He had done it all wrong, he hadn't been good enough to beat Apis, and the entire world was about to pay the price for his own stupidity. He wanted to apologise, to spend years making it all up to the people who he had hurt more than any others, but he knew, deep down, that it was all for nothing, that he would never be able to truly apologise for ten years of isolation and many days of combat,

"I'm sorry," Adam whispered, turning his back to the others and facing the impending cloud of red energy, "leave, mourn your losses. I have business to take care of,"

"You have no powers, Adam," Zachary replied, "you can't face him alone, no matter how strong you think you are,"

"Someone will need to fight Kinetic," He said calmly, "that is you four. I will fight Apis again,"

"Adam, stop," Spirit commanded, "you need to stop this madness. Just come with us, and we'll figure something out,"

"We need to let him go," Grayson interjected, "it isn't up to us,"

"There's no way we're going to lose him again!" Shaine exclaimed, "Adam, stop being all brave and realise that this whole thing is suicide!"

"You think that I'm not afraid, that I'm not afraid of dying," Adam croaked, turning to reveal the tears, running down his eyes like small streams, carved into the channels of his scarred cheeks, "I'm absolutely terrified, but I know what I did to you guys, and I know that my fear for your lives far outweighs my fear for my own,"

"Adam," Zachary soothed, "We're your friends, you don't have to do this alone,"

"This time, I do,"

The group came together in a hug, and tears were shed, but eventually, as the crimson sky grew brighter, Adam Oughton pulled away, wiping his tears away as he turned his back on his friends. His resolve to fight The Stranger was the strongest it had ever been, and any fear he felt about himself melted away, the only things that remained being willpower and anger. He walked through the deserted streets, seeing nobody but a single woman, crying over the body of her partner. Noctum recognised the man as the one his stray attack had hit, when Kinetic dodged the attempt on his life. Noctum almost stopped to comfort the grieving woman, but found that if he would do that, he wouldn't have any more strength to keep going. He realised that Apis would have the power of the Chrysalis on top of his previous strength, and that even at his peak, Noctum wouldn't have a chance. That's when Kinetic bolted right past him, the only evidence that he had run past being the intense gust of wind that blew Noctum backwards, and the long slice that appeared on his arm, from where Kinetic had slashed it with his old suit of armour, which he had evidently stolen again,

"You come before me again, Noctum," 

The voice almost froze him to the spot, but Adam Oughton continued forward, feeling his lungs seize up from the air that Apis' cold Aura radiated. The power of The Stranger was beyond frightening, beyond any semblance of scaling. Apis appeared next to Noctum, the power of his landing knocking the vigilante aside with a gust of air,

"You really have fallen," Apis chuckled, "my mere presence is too much for you now,"

The air was so cold that Noctum felt his body spasming involuntarily, the lack of oxygen coupling with the icy chill to hurt him further. He put one foot in front of the other, allowing his body to move without thought, coming closer and closer to Apis by the second. The Stranger seemed amused by this, watching the feeble human that had once killed him grow closer,