ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0mc8k9 wrote
Cloudburst hovered above the street, staring down a monstrous tank. Cybertech’s robotic voice echoed out from the vehicle, cold and mocking. Behind it lay a path of ruin. Buildings had collapsed under its twin cannons as it fled from Johnson Research Labs. A few bodies poked out from the rubble. His heart clenched.
“Stand back.” The nearby police officers looked at him in confusion. “The fight could get dangerous.”
Instead of complying, the looks of confusion only intensified.
One officer spoke up: “I thought you could shield us from harm?”
Anger caused his stomach to tighten further. He had to take a breath to avoid lashing out. They did not know that Cybertech was not the only one at fault for the deaths and destruction.
“No,” he replied. “That’s Null’s job.”
There was some murmuring about Null, but some of the officers began backing away. One man’s eyes widened, but there was no time to deal with it. Without another word, Cloudburst rocketed toward the tank. Electricity crackled around his body as he collided with the outer shell. The tank stalled, and a camera turned to face him.
“Ah. Cloudburst. You’re a bit late. It’s been quite a day for the humans.” Cybertech let out a stilted, robotic chuckle. “I forgot how squishy humans were.”
Cloudburst scowled. “Begone, construct.”
He sent a massive surge of electricity through the tank. But Cybertech only laughed.
“The new insulation seems to be working well. Now get out of my way.”
The tank suddenly glowed and Cloudburst found himself jettisoned away from the vehicle.
Panic flooded his mind. No!
But it was too late to change course. He crashed through a building, causing it to shudder. There were screams as people who had not escaped got caught up in the damage.
I need to finish this before it gets any worse.
He reached out and grabbed a steel rod dislodged from the building’s foundation.
“I don’t have time for you today.”
The electric fields in the air distorted, and the rod shot forward with a bang. Cybertech’s tank skidded several feet to the side from the impact. Cloudburst was already on the move, charging up electricity in his palm. A thick bolt of lightning leaped from his hand toward the steel rod. This time, the tank’s lights flickered wildly.
“No… matter…. I’ve already….” Cybertech’s voice box fizzled out and the tank fell silent.
With a sigh, Cloudburst flew back over to the police.
“You.” Cloudburst pointed at the man who had seemed nervous when he mentioned Null. “Where is Null?’
Indignation filled the officer’s face as he realized he had been singled out. “He was hanging around the lab campus, and their security called us to deal with it.”
Cloudburst looked to the other officers. Most of them seemed shocked, but a few looked guilty.
“The Supers Collective will deal with you later.” Cloudburst took another step and repeated, “Where is Null?”
But the officer continued. “We were just doing our job! What’s it matter if that hanger-on wasn’t here?”
“Kemmers! Answer the man now!” His superior officer apparently got fed up with his excuses. “What did you do with the Super?”
Officer Kemmers held fast. “S-Sir! Why are you defending him? Everyone knows he doesn’t do anything. ‘First on the scene, never does a thing.’ It’s all over the news!”
Something snapped, and Cloudburst said, “He’s the reason no one dies whenever we fight!”
He inadvertently let off a crackle of electricity, causing nearby electronics to flicker. The officer paled.
Finally, in a small voice, he said, “He’s in a holding cell at the precinct.”
Cloudburst left in a flash of energy. Moments later, the local precinct came into view.
“Cloudburst?” The officer at the front desk looked up in shock.
“Where are the holding cells? One of your officers arrested Null. Everyone involved in this is now culpable for the resulting deaths and destruction.”
Stunned, the officer could only point to a hallway on the left. Cloudburst strode past the front desk without another word.
“Null!” He kicked open the door to the holding cells to relieve some of his frustrations.
Null looked up as he entered the basement. Even through the mask, Cloudburst could see the bruises beginning to form.
“How many died this time?” Null’s emotionless voice rang out.
Cloudburst shook his head and quickly made his way over to the cell. A quick jolt of electricity unlocked the door.
But Null remained seated. “Sorry I couldn’t get out of here in time.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” The words felt hollow even as he said them.
Null only gave him a sad smile.
...
Rushed a bit to finish it since I was having lunch while writing.
If you're interested in my works, the archive of my various writing responses can be found in my writing portfolio, link through my profile. There's also an original story, The Crossroads.
Thanks for reading.
(Follow-up Story in Replies Below)
ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0o7wmp wrote
You guys wanted this follow-up… Fair warning, there’s no happy ending to this one.
...
Cloudburst knew he should have checked in on Null more often, but the villains had been learning. Ever since Cybertech had rampaged down Richmond Street, things had changed. Attacks near public spaces had become more deliberate. Some went out of their way to have flashy displays. While others began trying to hit major infrastructures.
“That was the third attempted robbery this week.” Freestyle laid his head down on his arms. “Where are they even getting all those weapons?”
Night Wolf nursed a mug of coffee as she asked, “How many casualties this time?”
Cloudburst reluctantly replied, “Not too many, but not zero either.”
“You’re sure we can’t get Null to help out more?” Blaze tapped the tabletop in irritation, his powers causing the surface to sizzle.
Snow Raven shook her head. “No, they’ve got eyes on him now. The last two weeks have only confirmed our suspicions.”
The past few months had been rough. The first time they suspected anything was when a small-time villain blew up a local monument. Despite the chaos and threats of violence, he surrendered when Null arrived. That was when the Supers Collective had begun limiting Null’s activities. Cloudburst and the others had to work overtime to compensate.
“We need a plan, dammit!” Blaze seared a hole into the table. “Anything to slow the villains down! Strike fear into their hearts.”
“Are you hearing yourself?” Freestyle shook his head. “That would go against everything we stood for!”
“And letting so many people die isn’t?”
Cloudburst rubbed his temples as the familiar argument began anew. But before they could start brawling, an alarm sounded.
Night Wolf looked over at the computers. “Another one?”
Cloudburst squinted at the text scrolling past. “No, something’s – ”
An explosion rocked the building. Then, an oversized metal fist punched through the far wall. The impact shook the floor and knocked everyone off their feet. A robotic faceplate peered into the room, one electronic eye scanning them with a red light.
“Supers identified.”
Blaze and Cloudburst recovered at the same time. They raised their hands, sending plasma and lightning leaping through the air.
“Attack! Get outside!” Cloudburst tackled the robot while Blaze dove into its chest.
The construct teetered and fell backward from their combined attack. Screams rang out as the metal frame crashed through a building. The smell of blood filled the air.
“Blaze!” Cloudburst built up energy in his arms and drove them into the robot’s head.
As electricity danced across the machine, Blaze reemerged holding wires and metal. The robot stopped moving, but the damage had already been done. The street was ruined, and several bodies lay beneath the rubble.
Then, a hollow clapping filled the street. “A bit disappointing. I thought my battlebots would have fared better. Oh well. What’s the human term? Quantity over quality?”
Explosions rang out in the distance as two more of the bots crashed through the streets. An android strolled toward them even as the other Supers landed nearby. Only one villain had that sarcastic and inhuman voice.
“Cybertech.” Cloudburst stepped forward.
The robotic villain had been quiet for months. The constant attacks had kept him from thinking about Cybertech much.
“What a shame Null isn’t around. I’m sure his power would’ve been much appreciated right about now. Too bad no one ever thought anything of him.”
Cloudburst felt his heart stop. They know.
“I mean, have you seen the articles of the Sham Hero? That saying really caught on, didn’t it? What was it again? ‘First on the scene, never does a thing’? I can’t even claim responsibility for that one. That was on you humans.” Cybertech opened their arms. “The rest of it was child’s play. All I had to do was manipulate what bits of media he saw and…”
Electricity hissed through the air. Cloudburst accelerated forward and put a fist through the android’s body. Cybertech only laughed in that broken way of theirs.
“Face it, Cloudy. The time of humans is coming to an end. And you Supers will only be complicit.” The android’s eyes dimmed before the body fell limp.
Cloudburst threw it aside in disgust.
“Snow Raven, Freestyle. With me. The rest of you, hold the line until we can bring Null here. We need to stop Cybertech before they destroy the city.”
No one questioned his orders. Almost two dozen Supers leaped through the air to engage a different battlebot. Cloudburst turned to the remaining two.
“Grab ahold.”
“Ah, man. You know I hate traveling like this.” Freestyle complained but grabbed onto Cloudbursts’ hand.
Snow Raven did the same, though the worried look in her eyes did not wane. With a surge of energy, a cage of electricity surrounded them before launching into the air. As they flew, a track of lightning appeared and guided them to their destination. Freestyle let out a grunt as they accelerated. A moment later, they landed near a small ranch outside the city. Cloudburst did not wait for his compatriots to recover as he went and knocked on the front door.
“Null! Are you in there?” A cold feeling filled the pit of his stomach when there was no response.
With a grunt, he kicked open the front door and went inside. It did not take long to find Null. Cloudburst exited the home as the others approached.
“Cloudburst… is he…” Snow Raven seemed as exhausted as he felt.
He shook his head. Freestyle kicked the side of the building with a sharp curse. Snow Raven only bowed her head. Even now, the battlebots rampaged through the city. Bursts of fire and plasma spiraled into the air as Etna and Blaze did what they could. They would not hold long against Cybertech, not while trying to protect the innocents as well.
“He had a wife and child, didn’t he?” Snow Raven looked back toward the building. “Are they also…?”
Freestyle let out a scoff. “You mean you didn’t hear? They got divorced a few months back. She took the kid. Pretty sure she couldn’t handle all the negative press, even if they never knew her.”
Cloudburst blinked, stunned. Null never said anything about a divorce.
Another explosion shook the city, reminding them of what was at stake. Cloudburst took a deep breath and rubbed his stinging eyes.
“We have to get back.” His voice cracked a bit at the end, but neither of the other two acknowledged it.
The mourning would have to wait – Cybertech had made their intentions clear. But even as they flew back toward the fighting, his confidence waned. The world had become a darker place with the loss of his friend.
...
A few bits of inspiration:
One Punch Man – similar mockery, but Null was not as resilient against the public
codeki’s comment – it got me thinking about how Cybertech was not human and couldn’t care less if there was collateral damage
Ultron – naturally
TheBorealOwl t1_j0ogxpx wrote
Crying for the depth of Null's hopelessness. Knowing he couldn't be everywhere and that everyone felt this way... Knowing his power had to be a secret or he'd be a target.
Biggest oof
ShoddyRevolutionary t1_j0oyiep wrote
Did Null kill himself out of the depression of not being able to stop everything or did the villains get to him?
FranG080199 t1_j0p9g7n wrote
He khs
TheBorealOwl t1_j1gs8e2 wrote
What's the difference?
The villains killing the innocent would compound on his psyche and that's the point.
So... Both
MAXimumOverLoard t1_j0oc0xa wrote
Man, that was depressing. Phenomenal writing, my man.
Endulos t1_j0o9lvx wrote
Jesus.
prismstein t1_j0pn7pb wrote
Amazing story
Endulos t1_j0mi2yv wrote
I'd love to see a part 2 of the aftermath of this incident.
ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0o84oo wrote
You guys asked for it. Not sure if it's really what you wanted though...
RazeSpear t1_j0no2l7 wrote
Is Null's role classified for his own safety?
ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0nocf5 wrote
Basically. It's a pretty shitty lose-lose situation. Either villains know and are constantly gunning for him, or they accept the occasional losses from the common folk messing around with him and pulling stunts like what the police did in this instance. I imagine that drains on him mentally like nothing else and he's probably decently depressed and/or suicidal :/
codeki t1_j0nubq7 wrote
Hell, depending on how his powers work, the villains might appreciate him too. They don't have to pull their punches either. Instead of a hero going straight through a building, they hit a glass window and instead of the kinetic energy being absorbed as they go through wall after wall, it gets entirely consumed by the window, because the window is immune to becoming collateral damage.
Or a fire based villain willing to turn his temperature up to the point of melting steel because he knows that city won't burst into flames as long as Null is around.
fredthefishlord t1_j0o8clz wrote
That's a rather optimistic perspective on villains. Some would care, but many would not hold back just to prevent collateral damage.
ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0o8xf1 wrote
Yes.
techno156 t1_j0od4dr wrote
It could also be a case of his powers not being flashy, so if he's not there, people complain about why he doesn't do anything, and if he is there, people complain about why he doesn't do anything.
For the public, even if they did know, they might think the heroes can just control collateral damage themselves, and Null is just riding on their coattails by being there for the media presence.
EmpatheticTeddyBear t1_j0mdczu wrote
This is awesome
ShikakuZetsumei t1_j0mg783 wrote
Thanks! :)
tango421 t1_j0ninpz wrote
Damn, I was looking for the subject of the prompt reading hungrily and well done!
EvidentlyEmpirical t1_j0ns1pi wrote
I need a part 2, the aftermath!
MechisX t1_j0o6on6 wrote
I think the police force is going to be making a LARGE donation to the The Supers Collective in the near future to make this police brutality and total cock-up go away.
arylea t1_j0ptzr8 wrote
My upvote was 666. Yes! Also, great name, Null. Clever writing. Emotional responses were had.
DerelictMuse t1_j0pdnk3 wrote
Wow. I got such an ache of dispair from this story. Well done.
tslnox t1_j0o93lh wrote
Now you only need Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage.
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