Beyond Good and Evil (Lams Superhero AU)

- Thirteen -

I wake up in a bright room, surrounded by nothing but a blinding white light. I squint and look around, confused as to where I was.

The light slowly begins to fade and as it does, the sound of laughter and joyful cheers starts to get louder, and I am soon standing in a park.

I look around again, seeing children running around playing games, fathers standing around by the grills as they make food for their families, and mothers sitting on the benches under the gazebo. One of the women in particular was looking right at me, smiling a soft smile.

I immediately recognized that smile, and began to tear up, as it was one I hadn't seen in so long. I begin to run towards her and attempt calling out to her, but someone took the words right from my mouth.

"Mom!" A little boy exclaims. I stop and see the small freckled boy, running past me.

He jumps into her arms and she hugs him back.

"Hi, darling. Why aren't you playing with your siblings?" She asks, brushing the curly hair out of his face.

I remember this. I must be dreaming. Dreaming of a moment I had with my mom a long, long time ago.

"They're mean. I don't wanna play with them anymore." The little boy huffs, crossing his arms.

"John, they're your siblings. I'm sure they mean well." She calmly says.

"I'm sure they don't." He mutters under his breath.

"My dear, you know that they love you." She reminds.

"That's the problem. Martha pushed me and said it was because she loved me. But it was just mean!" He pouts.

My mom gently places her hand under younger me's chin, lifting his head so his face would meet hers. "Maybe it was because she loved you. She could have been protecting you from that frisbee your brothers are throwing around."

"But-"

"Remember, my love. Whatever is done for love.."

The little boy sighs. "Occurs beyond good and bad, I know, I know."

She smiles and kisses his forehead. "Don't worry, I'll talk to your sister about this later. But why don't you go have fun rather than sit here upset about it?" She asks.

He nods excitedly and hops off her lap, running right back past me. I smile fondly at the woman, and she seems to look up and notice me. "I love you, John." She says to me.

I breathe out, wanting nothing but to hug her. "I love you, too, Mom."

Before I could run towards her, though, the image fades away, and I hear a slight melody in the background.

I stir awake, the melody still playing. I look down to see I was in a chair, locked in by some gadgets around my arms and legs. I frown and try to pull myself out of the constraints, but find no success.

"You're only going to hurt yourself." A voice says softly.

I look up and see Cyclone sitting in the circle I saw earlier. He was facing away from me, the music box open on the ground next to him, playing the tune I was hearing before. I glance around the circle and see the seven gems sitting in the smaller circles. I then look back to Cyclone, and see his hair is down now.

"I'm still here, did you not make the wish yet?" I ask, huffing slightly. "What are you waiting for? You could have easily done away with me while I was knocked out."

"I'm not sacrificing you, John." He says, and I stop struggling.

"How the hell do you know my name?" I ask. He doesn't answer at first, and I scoff. "Well? Answer me, dammit!"