Val The Vessel

24 / Mason II

"Yo! Where y'all at?!"

I raise my leg and kick in the front door, reducing it's lock to metal smithereens. The door smacks hard into the wall as I storm through the home's entrance. The inside is obscured with darkness but I rely on my thermal senses to navigate my way around. Two warm bodies are present upstairs, along with a third object that's exuding its own massive heat signature.

"What the..."

There's so much heat concentrated in one person's body—an inhuman amount—enough to rival a star. Something isn't right. I don't like this.

"Ugh, I told those idiots not to come up in here," I utter, taking flat steps up the moldy stairs. I begin to pick up the sounds of muffled voices. I assume that they belong to my buddies. They're afraid of something. Whoever or whatever is in the room with them is triggering intense perspiration from their bodies. They're sweating.

"Guys! Hold on!" I sucker punch a final wooden door. It tumbles to the floor with a thud and I spot my buddies behind the screen of dust, tied together in chairs with cloth forced into their mouths. "Guys! Wha—"

"Mason Dunmeyer."

I sense the third individual lurk in the darkness. It's feet never touch the floor as it glides closer to my buddies. It's big, powerful, and quiet.

"The most powerful man in the world. That's how the other Vessels describe you. The supervillain with a 'heart of gold'." A blonde boy in tight red spandex emerges from the shadows. The ends of his long crimson cape are connected by a circular, golden pin with the letter 'S' on the front. His arctic blue eyes are paler than his skin and almost sharper than his jawline.

"Look, I dunno who you are... but you're messin' with the wrong nigga. Like seriously. I am not the one. Let these niggas go and I won't tear your spine out yo back."

The caped teen kindles with laughter, his perfect teeth breaking the serious expression on his face. "Ah yes, it's not a good showdown without the typical graphic death threat. I admire your power, Mason. But I worry that you lack the... 'motivation' necessary beat me."

"Wha—"

The boy's hand grapples my throat and launches me upwards until we crash through the ceiling. He kicks his heels off the roof and nears his face with mine as he flies us higher and higher at rocket speed. It's not until we break through the stratosphere that I start to feel my oxygen deplete.

The boy smirks, "You see, you don't even have a reason to fight me. You don't even know who I am." He halts us in the vacuum of space with his fingers still scrunched around my neck. "But I have every reason to fight you. I know exactly who you are. You're the eldest son of the family who tore mine apart."

I make a futile attempt to rip the boy's hands away but he's stronger than me somehow. His blonde hair is now wavering around his head without gravity present to drag it down. "Though I have no direct hatred towards you specifically, I'm still required to dispose of you. No hard feelings, Mace."

"Like hell you will!" I scream, crushing the boy's throat with an invisible force. He doesn't expect it, desperately clawing away at something even he cannot touch. I want to kill him. I'm going to end his life. I'm going to...

The cold of space catches up with me. My fingers feel like peanut brittle, and I can feel my corneas wither away like cigarette ashes. I can't see. I can't breathe.

"D-Damn, you almost had me there," the teen coughs out. "I know about your family's powers. Your blood is invincible. Even if I managed to wound you, you would just heal in twenty-four hours and come after me. That's why I have to suspend you in space. It's the only way to defeat you."

He hovers closer to me. "I don't require oxygen to breathe, but you do. That will always be my advantage over you. Now that you're out of the way, taking care of your sister will be the final task. Your poor 'brother' though. He's going to grow up all alone with no family, just like I had to."

He lightly taps my chest, pushing me further into the infinite reach of space. "Goodbye, Mason Dunmeyer. You will always be one of the greats. I want you to remember that."

I hear him soar away with a low sonic boom echoing behind him. The last person I think about is my little brother. Wow, I just called him my brother. That little punk really is a pain, isn't he? Even now as I'm slowly losing consciousness, all I can do is worry about him. It feels nice to finally accept him as family though.

"Doron..." There's no sound when I say his name, but I still try before the frost can completely consume my head.

"Doron, I l-love you... lil' bro..."