Classic Adventures of PWNage! No. 11: From the Ashes

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== The Story ==
A man with a burn scar on his face sits at a table, welding something inside of his warehouse. Another man storms in, flipping him in his chair, visibly angered.
“Jules?! What the fuck man?! Why is there a charge for ten THOUSAND dollars worth of jet fuel on the account?!” He yells at him.
“Hey, Kurt, take it aisé! It’s just for the fires. It’ll make them burn brighter!” Jules responds confidently.
“You use… Fuckin’... Pyrotechnic stuff for that! Not JET FUEL! I don’t even know where you’d FIND Jet fuel, not to mention ten THOUSAND DOLLARS of the stuff! Are you out of your…” Kurtis stops, noticing the brightly colored suit on the table.
“Wha-... What the fuck is that?” He asks
Jules chuckles, as he stands up
“Check this out…”
He puts on the jumpsuit, zipping it up, and making sure it’s connected to the large metal tank on the table.
“Dude. Is this what you have been spending all of our fucking money on?” Kurt asks, sounding like he’s about to explode with panicked anger.
“Relax man.” Jules says as he puts on the pack, and fastens his helmet.
“It’s for the movie.”
Jules flicks his arms at Kurtis, as flames spout from the ends of tubes on his forearms, cooking the man alive, until he’s nothing but blood, ash, and bone.
He snickers at the smoldering remains, as metallic wings sprout from the tanker on his back. Two turbines form on the midsection of the wings, as he takes flight, bursting through the roof of the Warehouse and into the Night Sky.
He flies through the night sky, lingering above a Wheat farm, before burning a large bird insignia into it, lit by the pale moonlight.
The next morning, Ejay is awoken by his cuckoo clock, pressing the button on the side to make it shut up.
“Worst clock ever. Thanks Gabe.” He says groggily.
Ejay soon smells the aromatic scent of his Mama’s cooking from down stairs. He floats into the kitchen, ready to devour whatever is being made, as he sits down in his chair.
“¡Hola mi dulce niño! Good morning!” His Mother greets him warmly
“Buenos días Mamá.” He says, still in a sleepy tone.
“How is Spiral, is he doing better?”
“Visited him last night. Doc says he’ll be asleep for a while.”
“*Tsk* Aww… Eso no es bueno… I’m sorry mi hijo.” 
“Chad says he’ll be by his side until the moment he wakes up. He hasn’t left it since.”
“Well that’s very sweet of him. I hope his Chica is doing okay.”
“Circa’s just been… Well… I don’t really know. I mean, I still talk to her. She, Aiden and I went to see a movie Thursday, but she just seemed… Empty….”
“She’s just worried, Che-Che.” Ejay’s Grandmother places her hand on his shoulder.
“I went through the same thing when your Abuelito fell off the roof in 2002, and he woke up, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, by some sort of miracle.” Says his Mother.
“Cállate, niña.” Says his Grandmother, as Ejay snickers.
“When you see her again, Che-Che, tell her He’ll pull himself back to put her in his arms again. All her worries? They will fade away.” She rests her hands on his.
“I will Abuela. Gracias.”
“Por supuesto, Che-Che.”
“Okay you two, lunch is ready.” His Mother calls to them.
Ejay and his Grandma sit down to eat, taking in their empty house and enjoying their time together. His mom turns on the T.V, and Abuelita gets up to go watch it with her toast.
“Get any crumbs on my cushions and you’re dead Mamá.” Ejay’s Mom jokes.
“Ni se me ocurriría, niña.” She says with a mouth full of toast.
“It’s weird having the house to just us three, huh Ejay? Guess you’re a part of the Tropas perezosas.”
“Lazy? Hey, I do important stuff Mamá!”
“Just messing with you, tonto.”
Ejay’s phone beeps on the table, and he looks at it, then looks at his mother with a smug expression, showing her an active bank robbery.
“I’ll slap that stupid look off you Cabrón.” She says with a squint.
Ejay rushes upstairs to his closet, sizing up an outfit, before checking his phone for the current chase status. He jumps from his second floor window, diving into flight, as he takes off into the sky, headed toward urban Chicago.
A team of armed Robbers has hijacked an Armored Bank Car, Racing through the streets with several squad cars giving chase.
“This is so much easier without that Orange Fuck being at the Bank before WE are!” One of them says
“Just gotta take care of these pigs, and we’ll be scot free!”
The passenger seat robber looks to his right, and his face morphs into one of utter confusion, as he sees Ejay, flying like he’s pretending to drive a car. He signals for the crook to roll down his window, which he does, allowing Ejay to instantly fly into the vehicle, quickly snatching the driver out of his seat.
“Mother… FUCKER!!!” The passenger seat robber yells, switching to the driver’s seat.
“Alright then… You wanna fool around?” Asks a robber in the back of the truck.
He kicks the back doors of the Car open, where Ejay is following behind, and unloads his submachine gun at him. Ejay pretends that the bullets are actually hitting him, “falling” down as they celebrate.
“YEAHHH! I GOT HIM!” The Robber in the back yells.
“Nice shootin’ Louie!” The New Driver Robber compliments him.
“LOOK OUT!” The fourth robber shouts, as everyone looks in front of the car, where Ejay sits like a brick wall.
The Car slams into Ejay, completely killing it. Ejay skips with adrenaline as he lands, and the robbers attempt to leave the car.
“Whoo! I honestly didn’t know if that was gonna stop it! Man… You guys gave me a real good workout! It’s only 12:15!” Ejay says, excited and energized.
The Driver gets out of the vehicle, and vomits, before falling over.
“Ewww…” Ejay slurs out as he looks at the criminal.
“Good work Ejay.” Says one of the officers, patting him on the shoulder.
“Glad we can always count on you to remember your roots, kiddo.” Says another Cop.
“Gotta do what I can to make up for what you guys have been doing for decades!” Ejay says, as his watch beeps.
“Oh, Gotta go. Thanks guys!” Ejay yells as he booms off into the sky.
The officers gather the robbers in a pile, looking down at them shamefully.
“We’re thorry…” The Sick one mumbles.
Ejay arrives at the Hospital, where Spiral is being cared for. He enters his room, being greeted by Circa with a warm hug, as Aiden and Chad also say hello.
“I’m so glad you could make it Buddy. Sorry if we interrupted anything.” She says.
“Hey, making sure Spiral is okay is always top priority.”
“While I’m sure he’d be flattered by that, I’m also sure he’d say that shouldn’t be so, which is why we called you in.” Says Chad.
“What do you mean?” Asks Ejay.
“Doc says he might be knocked out for a few months, and… Well… You might be a bit on your own until he’s alright again.” Explains Aiden.
“Well… Where will you be?” 
“Normally I would have the Night shift, but recently I’ve come across a… little “investigation” gig, which will wrap me up for a few days, and, since Chad and Circa will be taking care of him…-” 
“You’ll have to deal with alot more on your plate… Pretty much on your own.” Chad cuts Aiden off.
“Huh…”
“It’s a big responsibility, but we know you can do it, like how you kicked ass this morning with the bank problem.” Circa puts her hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah. Things like that only prove how capable you are of handling this.” Says Chad, smiling.
“And if you get to a spot where it feels like there’s no way out alone, you can call us for help.” Aiden reassures him, as the others nod.
“Thanks guys.” Ejay stands.
“Oh and uh, Circa…”
“Yeah?” 
“No matter how his condition may seem right now, He’s making his way back to have you in his arms again.” He rubs her back.
“Bye guys.” Ejay leaves, as Circa tears up, looking at Spiral with a trembling smile.
Inside a hotel, a waiter is cleaning up a used ballroom, when he hears metallic footsteps walk up behind him. He turns around, seeing the metallic winged beast, as it eyes him up and down.
“Hey Gav.” It says.
“Jules?”
Ejay flies back to the suburbs, landing by the pier where he proved himself all those years ago.
“I got this… It’s just for a few… Months… Crap…”
He looks around, seeing the still scarred concrete from the Red Head’s attack, and remembering the chaos and havoc he was able to power through before.
The wailing police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks, kinda like the one coming right at him.
Ejay yelps in shock, flying out of the way quickly as he snaps out of his trance, and the truck wails as it flies down the street like a bat out of hell.
Ejay sighs with relief as the truck slowly disappears towards downtown, and he resumes looking at the pier.
He comes home, putting his jacket up on the rack, with his Mom watching the News with his Abuela.
She turns around and welcomes him back home, before noticing he looks a little downtrodden.
“Hola cariño, ¿qué pasa?” She asks
“Nothin’...” He mumbles as he walks to the kitchen.
“Ahhh, No me mientas, chico. Why are you so down?”
“Chad and everyone basically just told me that I’ll be… Pretty much on my own until Spiral wakes up… In a few months…”
“Oh, that’s horrible Che-che! Lo siento por ti!” His Abuela says, holding his hand.
“Aren’t you usually alone in the street crime business though?” His sister asks, also approaching the kitchen.
“Yeah, but I’ve always had them available, y’know?”
“Well, you’re my strong boy, hijo, and you’ve never had problems on your own before!” His mom tells him, giving him a reassuring smile.
“I know… It’s just… What if something big comes along, and I have to face it all alone? What if I’m not ready?”
“Hey, I’ve been watching you from this TV for years now, you’re ready, and you’re not alone. You always have us to help you, in any way we can.” His mom says, kissing him on the head, as Cujo walks over and licks his hand.
“Thank you Mama…” He smiles, petting Cujo.
Ejay’s Abuela looks at the news on the TV, showing a burning hotel in downtown Chicago. The view cuts to the actual building, with firefighters running frantically through the halls, looking for survivors to pull out.
One of the squad leaders hails his team, calling them over, as he hears someone shouting for help.
A rookie comes over to the door, hearing the pleads as well.
“They’re in here! I can hear it!” He yells
“Sanford! Don’t open the-!” The Leader tries to stop him, but the door explodes with flames due to the oxygen exposure, and the rookie is knocked to the ground, unconscious.
The other firefighters walk over to the door in the room, as a winged shadow approaches from the smoke and flames of the burning room.
Out of the burning abyss, steps Jules, sizing up the firefighters, and flexing his fingers. The Firefighters stop in their tracks, some of them getting ready to fight the burning bird. 
The Phoenix ends the standoff by blasting one of the firemen back into a pillar, but the Captain runs at him with a fireaxe. The Phoenix catches it, and breaks it in half with his wrist blades, before kneeing the Fireman in the stomach, and puncturing his Oxygen tank with the prying end of the axehead.
The Oxygen fogs up around the two, blinding the other firemen, before The Phoenix emerges from the cloud, slamming the Captain into the floor head first.
The other two firemen attempt to run, but The Phoenix snatches one like a hawk. The final Firefighter makes it halfway down the burning hall, before the Phoenix flies through him, as he drops to his knees, and the top of his head slides off.
In the Lobby, a team with a hose is trying to put out the fire, when The Phoenix flies in, cutting it, however, it was too fast for anyone to know what cut it. The Firemen look around, confused, before the one manning the hose is yanked into the air.
Still holding onto the hose, The Firefighter yells as he’s swung around by The Phoenix through the hall. He eventually lets him go, sending him slamming into another firefighter, before he lands with a loud CLANG in front of the final Fireman.
Trembling with fear, he tries to surrender to the burning bird.
“P-please… We… I-...”
“Sh-ch-ch… Listen…” The Phoenix cuts him off, raising his hands up, and roasting the last firefighter.
Ejay is in the kitchen, doing the dishes, when his Abuela pipes up.
“Dios mio… Look at that fire!” She says, her eyes glued to the TV.
Ejay comes over to look, seeing helicopter footage from the outside of the building, when both him and the News Crew focus on The Phoenix bursting from the roof, flying into the sky.
“What the Hell is that?” He asks, squinting his eyes at the TV.
Inside the Helicopter, the news crew, featuring Snark, comments on the flying flaming object, zooming in on it.
“It seems a piece of debris has been launched outward from the building!” Snark says, as he begins to get uneasy at the object’s rapid approach.
“Uhh… Are you guys seeing that? It looks like a-” Snark is cut off by The front of the Helicopter being hit by some sort of explosion, causing it to spin.
While it spins out of control, The Phoenix sinks his claws into the windshield, sticking his arm through the cracked glass, about to incinerate the pilot, when Ejay suddenly tackles him off of the Helicopter.
Snark scrambles as the Heli stabilizes, aiming his camera at their mid-air scuffle.
“It appears that EDF member Ejay Brocks has saved us! A nice change of pace as opposed to his often reckless-” Snark is cut off once again, as Ejay is rammed into the helicopter’s interior by the Phoenix, worsening its condition.
“I TAKE IT ALL BACK!” Snark yells at Ejay angrily, as he struggles with holding back the Phoenix.
“This bird’s going down. Time to make a choice, kid.” The Phoenix taunts him, looking into his eyes.
“The only bird going down, is YOU! You flaming CHICKEN!” Ejay blasts the Phoenix out of the Helicopter.
The Phoenix laughs, rocketing away from them all, as the Helicopter gets closer and closer to the ground. Ejay looks at the terrified passengers, and then at the rapidly incoming concrete.
“Shit.” Says Ejay, before the helicopter crashes heavily on the ground, completely destroyed, and he lightly floats down, holding onto Snark, and the rest of the news crew.
“Wow… Thanks kid. We were dead meat without you.” Says the Pilot, out of breath.
“Make that cooked meat. You gotta get after him, Ejay!” Says Snark, pointing in the direction The Phoenix took.
“Oh. On a first name basis, are we?” Ejay jokes, about to take off.
“Hey… Thank you. For saving us.” Snark says, putting his hand on Ejay’s shoulder.
“What? You’re annoying, but I’m not just gonna let you die. Plus, Chad would totally kill me. Gotta go.” Ejay launches off the ground, looking for the Phoenix.
“He would?” Snarks asks to thin air, as he smirks a little bit.
As Ejay flies, he talks into his tender, hoping to get some info.
“Nugget! Can you give me recent carbon emission scans from all over Chicago? I gotta find this guy, fast!”
“Carbon emissions?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE CARS IN CHICAGO?!?!? HOW MANY PEOPLE SMOKE?!?!”
“Yeah. Okay. I get it.”
“I can give you some security footage though!”
“Why didn’t you do that first?!”
“I diden think about it.”
“Oh my God.”
Ejay lands at the last seen location of something resembling the Phoenix, at the Chicago International Seaport.
“God, this is Spyron’s warehouse all over again.”
He walks around the cargo crates, eventually seeing one marked with a large Phoenix insignia.
“You gotta be kidding.” He says, very unamused.
He blasts off the lock, swinging the doors open and seeing The Phoenix raise his arms at him. Instinctively, Ejay shoots two quick lasers at him, burning two holes straight through him. 
Ejay gasps, before realizing that what he just shot was a mannequin, wearing horrendous
Winter clothing, a biker helmet, and cardboard wings.
“What is this goofball Joker crap?!” He yells, before the cargo doors shut right behind him. A device falls from the roof of the container, beeping rapidly. Ejay panics, and lasers open the doors off of the container, before spinning with the bomb and throwing it away into the ocean.
A massive explosion erupts from the water, shocking even Ejay, as he sees what the bomb would’ve done to him.
With nothing left to follow, Ejay flies in the direction of home, doubting his abilities.
“Almost blown up by a fucking rube goldberg trap. NOBODY else has to deal with that. NOBODY. I’m in the EARTH Defence Force, and I can’t track down an arsonist in CHICAGO.”
He grimaces angrily, as he roughly lands on his street, cracking the pavement, also causing him to groan.
He’s about to head inside, when he stops, calming himself.
“I can do this… Just gotta calm down. I got this. I should visit Chad. He’d know what to do.”
He takes off again, flying over a series of fields, stopping dead in his tracks, as his face fills with shock, witnessing a small, smoldering building.
He shoots down to it, landing hard once again, and running inside the smoking remains, seeing nothing but charred furniture, ash, and broken housing.
“Over… Here…” a weak voice calls over to him, and Ejay’s eyes fill with anxiety, and a little bit of tears, as he turns to see a charred, burnt man, his clothes barely hanging onto his rough skin, which barely hangs onto his bone.
He beckons him, with no eyes, and a ruined body.
“Are… you… a fireman..?” It asks, barely audible next to the still burning crates and other furniture.
“No.. No.. I’m so sorry, I’m not…” Ejay hyperventilates, scared to even touch the person.
“Good… Please…” They struggle to get out.
“Kill me…”
Ejay looks down at the burned person, not even able to comprehend what he himself is going through right now, as tears stream down his face, but he seems to not notice, wide-eyed and jaw agape, all he can do is look up and down at the charred remains.
He steps outside the building, rustling his hair, somewhat even yanking at it. He groans and growls, angry with himself.
He yanks his phone from his pocket, seeing a missed call and a text from his mom.
“I heard you hit the ground Mijo. U ok??”
He ignores both, pressing on Aiden’s name, and frantically texting him.
“Aidn please help I need help I can’t do this alone please”
He looks at his text for a minute, before slowly starting to roar with inner hatred for himself, and deleting all of it, closing his messaging app, as he sees Aiden start typing.
Ejay looks back at the building, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, as he lets out a loud, angry grunt, and calls 911.
“H-hey… I need.. Uhh…. I-I need a firetruck… And an Ambulance…” He struggles to get out of his throat, as he shivers with guilt and shame.
In the Hospital, Ejay walks with the burned person as they wheel him to a room, when Chad catches a glimpse of Ejay from Spiral’s room, yelling for him.
“Hey!” Ejay says, his eyes darting between the Charred Person and his Friend.
“We saw you on the news a minute ago fighting that fire guy. The Flaming Chicken thing was pretty funny.”
“Yeah? You and Spiral? What’d he think?” Ejay jokes, raising an eyebrow.
“Yep. He’s just a bit quiet these days.” Chad puts his hand on Spiral’s knee, looking at his absolutely zonked face, as they both laugh.
“For real though, stuff like that? It’s exactly why I trust you with this sort of thing. It takes some serious gall to save Snark of all people.”
“Like you’d let him get hurt.” 
“Oh yeah, no. I’d kill you.”
They both snicker, as Ejay looks outside, vacant and worrisome.
“Are you alright?” Chad asks sincerely.
“Hm? Yeah! Yeah no I’m all good. Why?” Ejay says, life-like, while Chad silently has a bit of doubt.
“Aiden said you texted him for a second, and then stopped, then you didn’t respond to him. Also, you just look a little… Frizzed.”
“Oh… I must’ve looked at the wrong DM… Ha…”
“Ejay. I need to know. If you’re in troub-”
“Everything is fine, Chad. I got this, all on my own. I don’t need any help.” Ejay cuts him off
“Don’t lie to me. Are you sure?”
“Yes… I’m fine.”
Chad stares at Ejay for a full silent minute.
“Okay.” Chad finally eases up.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Chad.” Ejay says, turning away.
“Don’t forget. You think it’s not in your favor, don’t hesitate to call any of us.
You don’t have to do this alone.” Chad says in a serious, but comforting tone.
“Thank you. Means alot.” Ejay says, half smiling.
“Oh yeah, before you leave, can you get me a Sepsi from the vending machine? I’ll pay you back.”
A little bit later, Ejay lands at his house, coming inside, where his mother gets up from the dining room table, rushing over to him and putting her hands on her hips.
“Ethan-James Verde Brocks! I was worried SICK! Where have you been chico?!” She yells, angry at his ignorance.
Without saying a word, he collapses on her, hugging her tightly. She catches him, her face of anger melting into one of concern, as she brings him even closer to herself.
“Hey… Baby it’s okay, I was just worried, you know how I get-”
“It’s not about that Mama, even though, I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong then?”
Ejay looks at her, the toll of the day’s horrors clearly taken on his face.
“I’m scared.”
His mother looks at him, and her eyes tear up a bit as well, as she takes him inside, shutting the door.
The view zooms out, showing the Phoenix on top of a telephone pole, watching Ejay’s house, and slightly turning his head as a car pulls up in front of it.
Ejay’s sister steps out of it, clearly wayyy drunk, and laughing with her gal pals.
“Ohkey… Ahm juss gunna grab someting then we’re goin to Subourboooon!!!” The girls all “Heyyyy!” together, when The Phoenix crashes down on the hood of the car, turning the hoops and hollers from the girls into shrieks.
“YOU GIRLS HAVIN’ A GOOD NIGHT?!” He yells, laughing.
“Who the fuck are you?! Get away from my car, it’s my mom’s!!!” The girl behind the wheel shouts.
“Hope she’s got insurance then.” He grins wildly as he begins blasting at the windshield, quickly beginning to melt the glass protecting the girls, when he is suddenly tazed from behind by Ejay’s sister, jamming it into the back of his knee.
He growls in pain, aiming his thrusters at her face, charging them for a massive takeoff, when Ejay tackles him in flight off the car, twirling into the sky.
The girls all pop their heads out of the car, yelling in approval of Ejay’s attack.
“KICK HIS FUCKING ASS!”
In the Air, Ejay fights uncharacteristically angry, punching at his helmet repeatedly, grunting loudly.
“¡¿Ven a MI casa?! ¡¿Atacar a MI familia?!” 
The Phoenix reaches over to blast him with flames, but Ejay pushes his hand behind his back, as they ram into the ground, in a nearby field.
Ejay falls a bit away from him, running over to him and raising his fist to strike, when he’s met with a slash to his shirt, tearing it just at the stomach.
Ejay stumbles back, as the Phoenix kicks him in the chest, knocking him toward the ground. He jumps after Ejay, pushing down as he drags Ejay’s head through the ground, and then flies up.
The Phoenix stops in the air, as Ejay, dazed, shakes off his face grinding, seeing a massive passenger plane headed right for them.
“No. NO. NO NO NO. NO!!!!” He reaches around frantically, trying to grab the Phoenix’s hand, eventually finding one of the thrusters, and blasting it, sending them spiraling downward, narrowly avoiding the impact.
The two barrel toward the ground, just about to collide, when the Phoenix pulls up at the last second, evading the crash.
“You keep flying like a fucking maniac you’re gonna get us killed!” Ejay yells at him.
“I CAN TAKE THE G’S BOY, CAN YOU?!” He roars back in a voice bursting with excitement, as he cackles, making another hard right, and pulling up into the sky.
Ejay guides the broken winged Phoenix to the right as they get to the taller buildings, sending him crashing through several windows. The Phoenix reaches back and blows an explosion backward, knocking Ejay off of him.
In the air, The Phoenix quickly reattaches a loose wire on his wing’s thruster, and with a low jet buildup, he rockets toward Ejay, who’s still recovering from the blast. He grabs him, forcing him through the roof of an office building, where they crash through three floors.
Ejay lies in the rubble, as smoke and flames begin to billow out from around him. He groans, sitting up and coughing from the crash, when the Phoenix bursts from the floor beneath him, dragging him to the flaming floor below.
Ejay coughs from the smoke, as The Phoenix grabs him by the back of his jacket, holding the flamethrower on his wrist to his face. Ejay gasps, and grabs it, pointing his forearm upward, then using his right hand to blast the Phoenix backward.
The Phoenix recovers, attempting to slash at him a few times, but Ejay dodges each swing, sending him flying into the growing fire in front of them.
He wastes no time launching from the flames at Ejay, who charges a devastating beam of plasma, letting it loose, and sending him flying out a window.
“How’s THAT for some firepower Coño?!” He shouts, flying outside of the building, searching for his adversary.
Ejay notices the hole in another building’s roof that the Phoenix must’ve crashed through, going down to inspect it. On the inside, it’s quiet, as he looks around, using his hands to illuminate the area.
“You’ve gone too far to be doing this hide and seek bullshit.” Ejay says, irritated and beaten.
“Gone too far?” Ejay snaps in the direction of where he heard the Phoenix’s voice.
“I gots MORE TO GO!” He flies from behind a cubicle, slamming Ejay up against the wall, and scratching at his torso. Ejay blocks the attacks, the Phoenix’s claws tearing through his jacket to his flesh, leaving bleeding wounds on his forearms.
Ejay yelps in pain, charging up a blast of energy from his torso, pushing The Phoenix back to give him some breathing room. He lurches forward, green plasma still riding up his arms and his shoulders.
The Phoenix looks up at the ceiling, and blasts a massive hole in the roof, causing debris to fall, and create an opening for him. He laughs at the destruction, as Ejay guards his eyes from the dust.
“Just give it up boy, the flame is gonna claim this world. All I’m doin’? Just meltin’ the candle a lil bit.” He lifts his hands nonchalantly.
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Ejay screams as he flies at him
The Phoenix’s wings dart him ever-so-slightly to the right, and slamming his fists down on Ejay’s back, stabbing him a bit with his wrist blades.
Ejay screams in pain as he falls to the floor, struggling to pick himself up as he looks up at the Phoenix, who is taking off up into the air, stopping for a second to look down at him.
“Just lay down right there and feed yourself to that fire, son. It’d be a quicker way to die than chasing me.” He taunts, before blasting off into the City.
Ejay looks up, dumbfounded, a look of shock blank on his face as he barely stands, gazing up at the sky from the hole. He looks down, messing his hair with his hands, then hitting his head, before screaming with exhausted fury, and launching from the building so fast and so hard it makes a sonic boom.
On the floor of the building, Ejay’s phone lies, buzzing from notifications of Aiden, Circa, and Chad all asking if he’s okay.
A good portion of downtown is in fresh flames, as The Phoenix stays in the sky, admiring his work, and laughing at the futile attempts by firemen and police officers to stop it.
“I’m doin’ it. This is it. I’m doin’ it!” He mutters with crazed enthusiasm, failing to notice Ejay rapidly approaching him from behind.
Ejay tackles him in the air, making them spiral out of control again. The Phoenix swears and screams at him, but Ejay is silent, as he raises him upward. The Phoenix growls, trying to use his blowtorch to burn his attacker, but Ejay has a forcefield of energy, rendering the attack useless. He balls up his fist, billowing with plasma, and plunges it into the tanker.
It immediately explodes, knocking Ejay out of his forcefield, and sending them down to a tall building being constructed below. Ejay collides with the floor, leaving a big crack in it, with The Phoenix following soon after. A loud metallic clang cracks across the roof, as he lands, causing the floor to crack even more.
“Now you fucked up, Boo.” The Phoenix walks over to a bunch of 2x4s, with a pile of rebar shafts on it. He picks one up, slapping his hand with it as he walks toward Ejay, who struggles to even hold himself up.
He brings the rebar high above his head, and slams it into Ejay’s back, knocking him flat again, causing him to cough and groan in pain.
“Could’a jus’ ran. Took your family and moved, had a lil Hurrication from the fire, till I found you again, but no. Ya jus’ gotta play hero.” He strikes him in the leg, stopping another attempt to get up.
“Then again, you ain’t saved a whole lot since this biz started, so that just begs the question.” He sticks the rebar into the ground, as he kneels, meeting Ejay’s eyeline.
“What kind of hero, are you?” He taunts the boy, who sees his reflection in the visor of his adversary.
Ejay growls, then yells, slamming his fist into the ground with a heavy crack. The crack beneath them begins to spread, as the floor rumbles.
“Son of a bitch…” The Phoenix says, looking for somewhere to escape.
“What’s the matter, your wings clipped?” Ejay says, hardly joking.
The floor finally caves, and both of them fall, with Ejay being too weak to immediately start flying. They both fall, as The Phoenix attempts to fly by flapping his wings, but it just makes him spin out of control.
Ejay lands on the ground with a hard thud, weakly looking up to see the Phoenix falling, screaming as flames spurt and sputter from his thrusters.
Jules spazzes in the air for a little bit longer, before his luck finally runs out, and he lands on a beam, back first, bending him around both sides like a rubber band with a loud CRACK! He tries to scream in anguish, but the shock, and his collapsing lungs render his cries to an almost inaudible groaning, as he twitches and spasms.
He eventually slides off the beam, crashing to the crates and tools below, as the fire from his out of control descent begins to build up. Ejay looks around the burning site with almost a sense of indifference, as he lays on the ground.
Two firetrucks and ambulances pull up to the entrance of the construction site, as several firemen rush out to begin extinguishing the rampant building flame, when suddenly, a large shadow appears from the fire.
With no words, Ejay slowly walks out of the raging fire, holding the barely living body of the Phoenix in his arms. His eyes are half closed, but aside from that, his face is completely blank, as he exits the building. One of the firemen rushes over to him, spraying them both with a fire extinguisher, putting out the fire on Ejay’s back.
He helps load The Phoenix onto a stretcher, before his mother and father run over, stopping with terror as they see the state he’s in. She bursts into tears as she wraps her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder, as a fireman and his father both try to get her to release him, the view closing in on his blank, expressionless face.
A few days later, Ejay is in the hospital too, bandaged to high hell, but otherwise fine.
“Mom, it’s been almost a week. I can barely feel the burns. I wanna come home.” He begs.
“That’s not what it’s about, Mijo. The Doctors want you to stay longer for a reason. Believe me, I would tear you out of this place with my bare hands to have you in your own bed, but you’re not done healing yet.” She holds his hand, gently rubbing it, as his dad waltzes in.
“Sorry I’m late, work was total Hell. How you doin’ bud?” He walks over, rubbing his shoulder. His mom tells him off, worried about his sensitive skin, but Ejay waves his hand to signal it’s okay.
“I’m okay. Don’t need anymore morphine.” He says, lightly smirking.
“That’s not what I mean, Ejay.” His dad looks into his eyes sincerely.
Ejay looks back into his father’s sorrowful gaze, as he looks away, trying not to think about it, or cry.
“I-I… I’m fine.” He mutters, his voice quivering.
“He just needs more time, Martin.” She says, holding his hand as well.
“I know it’s just… We’re here for you, son. All of us. No matter what.” He says, sitting next to him.
Ejay wanders the halls late at night, hours after his visit, looking at the paintings and things in cases, when he hears from behind him…
“Hey Ejay.”
Ejay flips around to see Chad standing in the hall in front of him.
“Oh… Hey Chad… I didn’t know you’d be… Up… I was…” Ejay stutters, still not able to confront Chad about any of what he’s been through.
“Look, I’m really sorry. I know I promised, and I know that I should have taken more time I just… I thought I could beat him… Quicker… I thought that maybe I could… Take one guy, and that I-” Ejay stops, seeing that Chad is now right in front of him, a dissatisfied look on his face.
Ejay looks up at Chad with a worried expression, unsure of what Chad is going to do, when Chad grabs him by his Hospital gown, causing him to gasp a bit, before he pulls him into a crushing hug.
The Comic ends with a wide view of Chad embracing Ejay, who can’t even muster the strength to hug him back, lightly sobbing into his shoulder.
*after credits page*
== Trivia ==
== Gallery ==
== Comic ==
Category:CAoP!